The research area covers the history of East Central Europe and the Eastern European region from the early Middle Ages to the Early Modern Period. Within this area I focus on the rise of the various ruling dynasties, the role they played in the process of state formation and in the history of individual states and, finally on their disappearance. Within the research area, the issue related to religion appears as a separate topic: the abandonment of pagan religions, the adoption of Christianity, its institutionalization, and then its breakdown into confessions and denominations. Equally important from the point of view of the history of the region is the study of social processes: the settlement of different communities, the coexistence of older and newer communities, the formation of larger social units, the development of the society of the Estates (Orders). One of the most important parts of my research is the examination of cultural processes, with a particular focus on medieval and early modern literary erudition, beginning from the genre issues of historical sources (lives of saints, chronicles, gests, annals) through medieval chivalric epics and love lyrics to early modern religious debates literature and to the issue of nobles' autobiographies, diaries and travel literature.