Cosmas of Prague: The Chronicle of the Czechs 9789633862995

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COSMAE PRAGENSIS CHRONICA BOHEMORUM

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COSMAS OF PRAGUE THE CHRONICLE OF THE CZECHS

CENTRAL EUROPEAN MEDIEVAL TEXTS VOLUME 10 General Editors

PATRICK GEARY GERHARD JARITZ GÁBOR KLANICZAY PAVLÍNA RYCHTEROVÁ Series Editor

Frank Schaer

COSMAE PRAGENSIS CHRONICA BOHEMORUM

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COSMAS OF PRAGUE THE CHRONICLE OF THE CZECHS

Edited by János M. Bak and Pavlína Rychterová Translated by Petra Mutlová and Martyn Rady with the cooperation of Libor Švanda Introduced and annotated by Jan Hasil with the cooperation of Irene van Rensvoude

Central European University Press Budapest – New York

Published in 2020 by Central European University Press Nádor utca 9, H 1051 Budapest, Hungary Tel.: +36-1-327-3138 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.ceupress.com English translation © 2020 by Petra Mutlová, Martyn Rady and Libor Švanda Photo of János M. Bak (p. vii): Zsolt Hunyadi All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the permission of the Publisher. ISBN 978-963-386-300-8 (hardback) ISBN 978-963-386-299-5 (ebook) ISSN 1419-7782 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Cosmas, of Prague, 1045?–1125, author. | Bak, Janos M., editor. | Rychterova, Pavlina, editor. | Mutlova, Petra, translator. | Rady, Martyn C., translator. | Svanda, Libor, translator. | Hasil, Jan. | Rensvoude, Irene (Irene van) | Cosmas, of Prague, 1045?–1125. Chronica Boemorum. English. Title: Cosmae Pragensis Chronica Bohemorum ; Cosmas of Prague, the chronicle of the Czechs / edited by Janos M. Bak and Pavlina Rychterova ; translated by Petra Mutlova and Martyn Rady with the cooperation of Libor Vanda ; introduced and annotated by Jan Hasil with the cooperation of Irene van Rensvoude. Other titles: Chronica Boemorum. | Cosmas of Prague, the chronicle of the Czechs | Chronicle of the Czechs Description: Budapest ; New York : Central European University Press, 2020. | Series: Central European Medieval texts ; volume 10 | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2018050338 (print) | LCCN 2018058063 (ebook) | ISBN 9789633862995 (pdf ) | ISBN 9789633863008 (cloth : alk. paper) Subjects: LCSH: Bohemia (Czech Republic)—History—To 1526. Classification: LCC DB2081 (ebook) | LCC DB2081 .C67 2020 (print) | DDC 943.71/02--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018050338

In memoriam Dušan Třeštík 1933–2007

János M. Bak, founding member and Professor Emeritus of the CEU Department of Medieval Studies and founder of the bilingual source edition series, Central European Medieval Texts, the co-editor of this volume, passed away on 18 June, 2020 at the age of 91, a week before the book was printed. Until the last moment of his life, he was a devoted scholar, an authoritative and caring teacher, and an indefatigable spiritual father of scholarly solidarity and of our joint endeavor directed at the advancement of learning and broadening of the “Republic of Letters.” ‫יהי זכרו ברכה לכולנו‬ “May his memory be a blessing for us all.”

CONTENTS

General Editors’ Preface  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

ix

Abbreviations  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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List of Illustrations  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Introduction  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Cosmae Pragensis Chronica Bohemorum  . . . . 2 Cosmas of Prague, The Chronicle of the Czechs  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Appendix: The Foundation of the Monastery of Sázava  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 429 Bibliography  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 455 Index of Personal Names  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 478 Index of Geographical Names  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 489 Index of Quotations  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 492 Illustrations  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 500

This volume was prepared in cooperation with the Institute for Medieval Research of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. The research was supported by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) in the SFB “Visions of Community (VISCOM)” F42-G18.

General Editors’ Preface

The present volume is in two respects exceptional. First, it has been prepared by a larger team than any of the previous ones. The basic translation and partial annotation was prepared by Petra Mutlová (Masaryk University, Brno) and Martyn Rady (SSES, UC London) with the assistance of János M. Bak (CEU, Budapest), former member of the General Editors, Libor Švanda (Brno), and, briefly, also of Petr Kopal (Prague). Then, the team at the Austrian Academy of Sciences (Institute for Medieval Research) in Vienna, led by Pavlína Rychterová, joined. Jan Hasil (Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague), in cooperation with Irene van Renswoude (Huygens-Institute of the Dutch Academy of Sciences, KNAW), completed the annotations and wrote the preface. Final editing was done by Bak and Rychterová. They were assisted in the preparation of the Latin text by Agnes Reimitz and Giacomo Mariani (CEU, Budapest and Modena), and for English translations and language editing by Clara Reimitz, Samantha Wehr, Jan Odstrčilík and Michaela Falátková. The General Editors are grateful to all of them for their fine work. They also gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) through the SFB “Visions of Community (VISCOM).” Second, unlike the other volumes of CEMT, this is not the first English translation of the Chronicle of the Czechs. A few years ago, a translation by Lisa Wolverton (Eugene, Ore.) was published. Nevertheless, we thought that Cosmas cannot be left out from our series of major narratives of early medieval Central Europe and anyhow, with its bilingual format and more detailed annotations, our volume still has a place on the bookshelves of historians and other interested readers. With presenting this volume, and hoping that the regretfully delayed second volume of saints' lives (CEMT 7) will appear [IX]

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General Editors’ Preface

soon, the General Editors of CEMT will have completed the original plan of its founders by having placed all the important Latin narratives of earlier medieval Central Europe “on the table.” We hope having fulfilled the mission of the series to the satisfaction of readers everywhere. Budapest, December, 2018

P. G., G. J., G. K., P. R.

Abbreviations

General AV ČR ČSAV cap, capp. d. ed. n. NLN n.s. trans.

Akademie věd České republiky (Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic) Československá Akademie Věd (Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences) chapter(s) died edited by note Nakladatelství Lidové noviny (Publishing House Lidové noviny) nova series translated by

Titles cited in abbreviation CDB CEMT FRB MGH Capit. Conc. DD Epp. sel. Ldl SS

Codex Diplomaticus et Epistolaris Regni Bohemiae. Prague: AV ČR (formerly Alois Wiesner, ČSAV), 1904Central European Medieval Texts. Budapest-New York: CEU Press, 1999– Fontes Rerum Bohemicarum Monumenta Germaniae Historica Capitularia Regum Francorum Concilia Diplomata  Eppistolae Selectae Libelli de Lite Imperatorum et Pontificum Scriptores in Folio [XI]

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ABBREVIATIONS

SS rer. Scriptores Rerum Germanicarum in usum Germ. scholarum separatim editi SS rer. Lang. Scriptores Rerum Langobardicarum et Italicarum SS rer. Scriptores Rerum Merovingicarum Merov. MPH Monumenta Poloniae Historica MPL Patrologiae Cursus Completus, series Latina. Ed. J. P. Migne. 221 vols. Paris, 1841–1864. Classical and Biblical references follow the common conventions.

List of illustrations

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500

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  

501

Topography of the Prague Basin in the 11th–12th c. 

Bohemia in the early Middle Ages

Selected genealogy of the Přemyslids to 1125  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   502

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INTRODUCTION

The Chronicle of the Czechs is the oldest surviving chronicle of the history of Bohemia, covering it from the mythical origins to the first quarter of the twelfth century. While its genre is not as uniform as some other “national histories,” it fits well into the age when such histories were written, beginning with the origo gentis and becoming more elaborate for the times of their authors.1 The last lines of the surviving text testify to the date of death of Cosmas, canon and dean of the cathedral chapter of Prague, on 21 October 1125, who seems to have worked on it until his last days. Dedications to the earlier parts of the Chronicle suggest that he started writing it some years before, thus the date of writing should be something like 1118–1125.

MANUSCRIPTS No autograph or close-contemporaneous copy survived. All manuscripts are younger, but the so-called Bautzen manuscript, presently in the Library of the National Museum in Prague,2 is from the late twelfth or early thirteenth century and is, in spite of many scribal errors, the most complete one.3 In it, the Chronicle is written in two columns on 73 folios with 29 lines per page. It is the  On these, in a comparative framework, see Norbert Kersken, Geschichtsschreibung im Europa der nationes: Nationalgeschichtliche Gesamtdarstellungen im Mittelalter (Cologne: Böhlau, 1995); on Cosmas esp. 573–82. 2  Knihovna Národního muzea v Praze, signature VIII F 69. 3  A  digitalized version of this manuscript (with Latin transcript and Czech translation) can be accessed online at Manuscriptorium, accessed 10 January 2015: http://www.manuscriptorium.com. For other, older and recent editions and translation, see Bibliography, 455–7. 1

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only one with an illumination depicting two figures on two sides of a city with trees in the background . The image has, however, nothing to do with the Chronicle of Cosmas.4 The text of this codex became the basis of the critical edition by Bertold Bretholz, published in the Monumenta Germaniae Historica, still regarded the best printed text of the Chronicle (also because an important late medieval copy of the work he had at his disposal was destroyed during the Dresden raid in February 1945).5 Therefore, Bretholz’s edition was used for the present English-Latin version. In the preface of his critical edition, Bretholz described fourteen manuscripts and their possible filiations.6 A  good number of them belong to a “younger group,” that is, copies from the fourteenth to sixteenth centuries, but occasionally their variant readings were also considered relevant by the editor. Actually, Cosmas may have himself produced more than one variant of the text. As his prologues to the three books suggest, he sent them separately to his various friends,7 while he must have retained a copy for himself. The note on the last page of the surviving text proves that the autograph or a contemporaneous copy was in the hands of Cosmas’s colleagues, one of whom added the date of the author’s death.

 The two figures around the “city” have been identified as Czech and Lech, the legendary eponymous founders of the Czechs and Poles. Cosmas “Latinized” the former as Bohemus (2 see below, 14). The two (and with “Rus,” three) mythical figures are mentioned in the Chronica Poloniae Maioris from ca. 1295, but must have been current much earlier. On the ribbon, only “nō” is legible. It has been suggested that it may have read as “Praga nominetur.” 5  Die Chronik der Böhmen des Cosmas von Prag, ed. Bertold Bretholz, unter Mitarbeit von W. Weinberg, MGH SS rer. Germ. n.s. 2 (Berlin: Weidmann, 1923) [henceforth: Die Chronik]. 6  Bretholz, Die Chronik, XLV–LXXXV. 7  Provost Severus of Mělník, Master Gervase, probably from Prague, and Abbot Clement of Břevnov. 4

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THE AUTHOR Birth, youth, and old age Few sources cast light on the course of life of Cosmas. Among these, the text of his Chronicle plays a  central role, with the few personal asides and recollections that are scattered randomly across the text, as well as the prefaces to the particular libri, which take the form of epistles to leading representatives of Bohemian clergy of the time. As to the source material from which we might learn more about his life, the situation is similar to that of most European medieval literati: only deduction or sheer hypothesizing remains as answer to many important questions. Any attempt at tracing out Cosmas’s curriculum vitae must begin with a basic understanding of the biographical data. As mentioned above, the most reliable date is that of his death on 21 October 1125.8 This agrees with both the Necrologium Bohemicum and the Necrologium Olomucense.9 Another important milestone in the life of Cosmas was his ordination into priesthood. In his own words, he received holy orders on 11 June 1099, from the hand of Archbishop Seraphim of Esztergom at the cathedral of that bishopric.10 We lack a direct source for corroborating this piece of information, but this important moment in the life of Cosmas may safely be pinned to the given date. Cosmas puts his ordination into a broader context of historical events which he appears to report faithfully (the Diet of Regensburg in spring 1099, the investiture and episcopal consecration of the bishop Herman, the summit in campo, qui dicitur  See below, 426.  František Graus, “Necrologium Bohemicum – Martyrologium Pragense a  stopy nekosmovského pojetí českých dĕjin” [Necrologium Bohemicum – Martyrologium Pragense and the traces of concepts of Czech history other than Cosmas’s], Československý časopis historický 15 (1967) [henceforth: “Necrologium Bohemicum”], 808; Beda Dudík, “Necrologium Olomucense: Handschrift der Königlichen Bibliothek in Stockholm,” Archiv für österreichische Geschichte 59 (1880) [henceforth: “Necrologium Olomucense”], 652. 10  See below, 310. 8 9

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­ uczko between the Hungarian King Coloman and Břetislav II).11 L Alas, beyond these dates, we enter unchartered territory. Determining the year of his birth is the major problem of putting together a life of Cosmas,12 as it is impossible to achieve agreement between the few references in the Chronicle without running into contradictions. Scholars usually draw upon a  note at the end of the Chronicle in which Cosmas refers to himself as an octogenerian: The age “curves my back, wrinkled skin blemishes my face, my chest heaves like a tired steed’s, the voice sounds hoarse like a goose’s, and sickly old age weakens my senses.”13 The context suggests that this could only have been written after the death of Prince Vladislav I  (24 April 1125), which would give a birth date of Cosmas of 1045. Unfortunately, a number of other notes are in conflict with this: Cosmas speaks of himself in the narrative for 1074 as being addressed as a “good boy” (puer bonus) who, while still “in school” (in scholis), memorizes psalms in church.14 This would place him as a pupil of the Prague chapter even though he supposedly quickly reached the canonical age for taking holy orders: his thirtieth year of age. But in fact, he would only do so a  full twenty-five years later! Yet we have no reason to assume that Cosmas’s career in the clergy was marred by a sudden turn of fate or stalled for some time;15 if anything, the contrary appears likely. After all, at some  See below, 308–10.  Dušan Třeštík, Kosmas (Prague: Melantrich, 1972) [henceforth: Kosmas], 39–40, analyzed this issue in depth; his interpretation is not entirely convincing, but widely accepted by current Czech medievalists. 13  See below, 420. 14  See below, 240. 15  Deserting one’s clerical career was not an altogether rare occurrence in medieval Bohemia. The author of the Žďár annals, Jindřich Řezbář (FRB II, 519), ran away from his monastery in 1300 and for years pursued a livelihood as artisan. Two of the country’s patron saints abandoned their parish or, as it were, even their bishopric: St. Procopius at the beginning of the eleventh century (Petr Sommer, Svatý Prokop. Z počátků českého státu a církve [St. Procopius. On the beginnings of the Czech state and Church] (Prague: Vyšehrad, 2007) [henceforth: Svatý Prokop], 102–3), and St. Adalbert (see below, 96). 11 12

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point after 1074 and likely for some time, Cosmas attended the cathedral school in Liège where he studied under the eminent master Franco. Towards the end of his Chronicle (and thus towards the end of his life) Cosmas reminisces that he was then but a “youngster” (iuvenis), which hardly corresponds to the image of a mature man of about forty years. Other (if indirect) dates from Cosmas’s life do nothing to lessen the degree of uncertainty. His ordination as a priest would have taken place—if he really was born in 1045—long after his fiftieth birthday. He provably was a canon only in 1110 (when he would have been 65 years old) and thus cannot have been the dean of the chapter, that is, the person in charge of the chapter’s dayto-day operations any earlier than 1110. The task of a  dean was to supervise the chapter’s assets and landholdings, which meant frequent travels. Are we supposed to believe that Cosmas actively held this challenging post as late as 1120, when he would have been 75 years old? This obvious conflict can be resolved either by accepting, along with Dušan Třeštík, the notion of a  thirty-year-old “boy,” a  forty-year-old “youngster,” and a  chipper septuagenarian dean Cosmas, or by relativizing the truth-value of Cosmas’s claim that he was eighty years old in 1125. If we were to allow for a birthdate for Cosmas around the year 1060, we would be looking at a pupil of about fifteen, a youngster of twenty-five, a newly ordained priest of forty whose clerical advancement would be enhanced by a longer stay abroad of, say, ten years so as to prepare him for the career of a dignitary of the church, culminating between his fortieth and sixtieth year of age. Even under this hypothesis, Cosmas would have reached “old age” (as a 65-year-old) in 1125.16 It is also pos-

 It is possible that Cosmas’s remark about his age from the end of the third book of the Chronicle may be read in the sense that he reached not eighty years but the eighth decade of his life. That means he would be just seventy years old in 1025. In that case, all other remarks concerning his age in various stages of his life would fit. I thank my colleagues Ludmila Zelinková and David Kalhous for discussing with me this hypothesis of theirs ( J.H.).

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sible that the relevant passage from the third book of the Chronicle has a more complex meaning. Cosmas ironically inverts here the traditional old man–youth topos, to express criticism of the young, upcoming dialecticians (who were, in contrast to him, trained in France). It is possible that it does not reflect his real age.17 Ancestry and family Closely related to the issue of dating the milestones in Cosmas’s life is the issue of his family ties. Cosmas has nothing to say on his origins. We know essentially of one single remark, a rather cryptic annotation in the younger manuscripts according to which an ancestor of Cosmas (attavus meus), an ordained priest, was among the prisoners of war brought into the country after the 1039 Polish campaign.18 At its core, this note is rather risqué, though not because it implies that Cosmas is the descendant of a priest (married priests were a common enough occurrence in Bohemia in his time);19 besides, Cosmas himself was married. The note becomes scandalous if one takes into account that Cosmas indulged in unbridled xenophobia directed against Jews, Germans, and Poles in many places throughout the Chronicle.20 It does not take much to put the dates together to arrive at the conclusion that—if a direct ancestor of Cosmas indeed arrived in Bohemia in 1039, and provided that Cosmas was born in 1045—that ancestor would have had to be Cosmas’s father. (However, the chronicler, or whoever  That particular topos says very little about one’s real chronological age, see Anita Obermeier, The History and Anatomy of Auctorial Self-Criticism in the European Middle Ages, Internationale Forschungen zur allgemeinen und vergleichenden Li­ te­raturwissenschaft 32 (Amsterdam and Atlanta, GA: Rodopi, 1999), 72. 18  Bretholz, Die Chronik, 90, n. k. 19    Cf. Das Homiliar des Bischofs von Prag Saec. XII, ed. Ferdinand Hecht (Prague: Verein für Geschichte der Deutschen in Böhmen, 1863), 21. 20  Cf. János M. Bak, “Christian Identity in the ‘Chronicle of the Czechs’ by Cosmas of Prague,” in Historical Narratives and Christian Identity on a European Periphery, ed. Ildar Garipzanov (Turnhout: Brepols, 2011) [henceforth: “Christian Identity”], 176–8. 17

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the knowledgeable author of the addendum may have been, would surely have mentioned this). If we push back Cosmas’s birth year to 1060, the captive ancestor could at best have been his grandfather, and even that is not quite plausible. For this reason, Martin Wihoda’s theory, according to which the annotation came into existence much later and originated from a careless copying of the text, is probably correct.21 “It often happens that when a man and a woman sleep together in the same bed, a third human is forthwith born,”22 and so it was also in the case of Cosmas’s marriage with a woman named Božetěcha (d. 1117);23 his son Jindřich (Henry) probably sprang from this union. In 1123, Jindřich joined a group of Czech secular and spiritual notables on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.24 It is by no means clear whether this is the same Jindřich as Jindřich or Henry Zdík (1083–1150), bishop of Olomouc after 1126, though current scholarship largely denies the connection,25 giving preference to the hypothesis that Cosmas’s son Jindřich may have been a later canon and provost in Prague.26 At any rate, the social network of the clerical elite in Přemyslid Bohemia during the eleventh and twefth century could be in fact styled a “family affair.”

 Kosmas, Kronika Čechů, trans. Karel Hrdina, Marie Bláhová and Magdalena Moravová, with an introduction and explanatory notes by Magdalena Moravová and Martin Wihoda (Prague: Argo, 2011) [henceforth: Kosmas], 6. 22  See below, 342. 23  See below, 388. 24  See below, 398. 25  From among the most recent literature, cf. Martin Wihoda, Morava v době knížecí 906–1197 [Moravia in the time of dukes 906–1197] (Prague: NLN, 2010) [henceforth: Morava], 173–205, and Jan Bistřický, “Muž reformy na olomouckém stolci. Jindřich Zdík” [The man of reform at the episcopal see of Olomouc. Henry Zdík], in Osobnosti moravských dějin, ed. Libor Jan and Zdeněk Drahoš (Brno: Matice moravská, 2006), 27–43. 26  For instance Třeštík, Kosmas, 42–3. 21

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Education Petr Sommer described the institutional concept of preparing for the priesthood in early medieval Bohemia as a  “scattered seminar.”27 Individual priests employed assistants to whom they transferred, on an ad hoc basis, without an overarching concept and inconsistently, the knowledge and skills necessary for practising pastoral care. Only a small part of the clergy received training in the chapter schools that opened the doors for a  higher career within the church. The entry requirement for this elite circle comprised, aside from the necessary aptitude, a  certain higher social status. Coming from a priestly background, in particular, probably set the course for a career in the clergy. In the eleventh century, the cathedral school of Prague certainly enjoyed quite a renommé, as can be seen from the active presence of Master Hubald,28 the first harbinger of an intellectual cross-connection between Prague and Liège, during the period 1008–1018. At the time, students enrolled at the chapter school usually mastered the trivium and those portions of the quadrivium which their teachers considered essential.29 The prefaces to the individual libri of Cosmas’s Chronicle show that an elite circle distinguished itself further from this (already rather refined) group. This elite, educated at prestigious schools in Western Germany and France, was certainly not very numerous but was clearly endowed with marked self-awareness, for it was only this outstanding group of individuals who could fully grasp and appreciate the depth and the quality of Cosmas’s work.

 Sommer, Svatý Prokop, 101.  Herigeri et Anselmi gesta episcoporum Tungrensium, Traiectensium et Leoden­ sium, ed. Rudolf Köpke, MGH SS rer. Germ. 7 (Hanover: Hahn, 1846 [1968]), 205 [henceforth: Herigeri et Anselmi], cf. Ex Anselmi Gestorum episcoporum Leo­ dien­sium recensione altera, ed. Georg Waitz, MGH SS rer. Germ. 14 (Hanover: Hahn, 1883), 109; Václav Novotný, České dějiny 1–1 [Czech history] (Prague: Jan Laichter, 1913–1928) [henceforth: České dějiny], 712. 29  Třeštík, Kosmas, 34–6. 27 28

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Cosmas received his higher education at the Cathedral School of St. Lawrence in Liège.30 He studied with Master Franco, who led the cathedral school from 1066 and who was famous as a mathematician.31 Yet Cosmas remembered his old teacher rather for his teaching of grammar and dialectic.32 In the third book of his Chronicle, Cosmas, by now an old man, looked back with nostalgia to the early years of his education in Liège: O Muse, my beautiful teacher, whether to cast anchor here by the shore or now spread my sail to the roaring east winds. You, who never age, and do not stop goading me, an old man, to youthful exploits, must know that in every old man, just as in me, there is a boyish wit and a frail mind. Oh, would that God bring me, already an octogenarian, back the years past in which in Liège, under Master Franco, you played with me in the green pastures of the arts, of grammar and of dialectic!33

Cosmas may have had other teachers in Liège, but Franco was the master whom he remembered with admiration and affection. Cosmas’s remarkable erudition and vivid literary style can be taken as example for the education he received at Liège. His predilection for fables, his versatility with rhetorical figures such as sermocina Marie Bláhová, “The Function of the Saints in Early Bohemian Historical Writing,” in The Making of Christian Myths in the Periphery of Latin Christendom (c. 1000– 1300), ed. Lars Boje Mortensen (Copenhagen: Museum Tusculanum Press, 2006), 94. The mystic and theologian Rupert of Deutz may well have been Cosmas’s fellow student, since Rupert and Cosmas studied with Franco in the same period. Another possible fellow student was the author known as Gallus Anonymus, see Josef Bujnoch, “Gallus Anonymus und Cosmas von Prag: Zwei Geschichtschreiber und Zeitgenossen,” in Osteuropa in Geschichte und Gegenwart: Festschrift für Günther Stöckl zum 60. Geburtstag, ed. Hans Lemberg, Peter Nitsche, and Theodor Oberländer (Cologne and Vienna: Böhlau, 1997) [henceforth: “Gallus Anonymus”], 301–15; Sommer, Svatý Prokop, 123–51. 31  Alphons Smeur, “Francon de Liège/Franco von Lüttich,” in Lexikon des Mittelalters, 1989, col. 687; Menso Fulkerts, Essays on Early Medieval Mathematics: the Latin Tradidion (Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing, 2003), 120–67. 32  See below, 418. 33  See below, 420. 30

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tio, his irony, and his familiarity with late-Roman poets and satirists are typical of the literary-rhetorical tradition of the school of Liège. That tradition was shaped in the tenth century under famous Liège teachers and bishops such as Notger, Everacles, and Rather of Lobbes (better known as Rather of Verona). According to Adelmann of Chartres (d. 1061), who studied in Liège in his youth, the cathedral school of Liège was a  breeding ground of the major arts.34 Pierre Riché even described Liège as a  “nouvelle Athènes.”35 Since Franco died ca. 1083, Cosmas must also have studied under his successor, if the possible dates of his return from Liège (he was back in Prague probably by 1086 but surely by 1091) are correct. We may well wonder, though, whether Cosmas indeed stayed on until 1091 or remained in Liège as a student or perhaps moved on to a different occupation. Clerical career In the year 1086 Cosmas attended, in his own words, the issue of the deed which recognized the borders of the bishopric of Prague, on April 29, at the synod of Mainz.36 On this occasion, Cosmas supposedly witnessed the confirmation of the deed by the emperor’s own hand, which could mean that he had been engaged in  Adelmannus Brixiensis, De viris illustribus sui temporis, in PL 143, 1297: “Legia magnarum quondam artium nutricula.” 35  Pierre Riché, “Education et culture de l’an Mil. La place de la Lotharingie,” in Religion et culture autour de l’an mil. Royaume capétien et Lotharingie. Actes du Colloque Hugues Capet 987–1987. La France de l’an Mil, Auxerre, 26 et 27 juin 1987; Metz, 11 et 12 septembre 1987 (Paris: Picard, 1990); Sommer, Svatý Prokop, 280. 36  See below, 250–4. For another version of this charter, see Die Urkunden Heinrichs IV., ed. Dietrich von Gladiss, MGH DD 4 (Berlin: Böhlau, 1941), 515–8, n. 390. For the analysis of this document, see Helmut Beumann and Walter Schlesinger, “Urkundenstudien zur deutschen Ostpolitik unter Otto III,” Archiv für Diplomatik, Schriftgeschichte, Siegel- und Wappenkunde 1 (1955) [henceforth: “Urkundenstudien”], 132–256. Cf. David Kalhous, Anatomy of a Duchy. The Political and Ecclesiastical Structures of Early Přemyslid Bohemia (Leiden: Brill, 2012) [henceforth: Anatomy], 81–97; also Barbara Krzemieńská and Dušan Třeštík, “O do­ku­men­cie praskim z roku 1086” [On the Prague Document from the year 1086], Studie źródloznawczee/Commentationes 5 (1960) [henceforth: “O dokumencie”], 79–102. 34

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diplomatic matters of the Bohemian realm. However, the character of his Chronicle speaks against this hypothesis; the numerous inaccuracies when it comes to factual circumstances outside Bohemia and the overall thematic structure of Cosmas’s narrative rather suggest that the essence of his official duties—as dean of the chapter— was the management of the bishop’s practical affairs. In 1091, Cosmas appears as a travel companion of the Prague bishop on a trip abroad, accompanying him alongside the Prague bishop-elect Cosmas and the Olomouc bishop-elect Ondřej (Andrew) to Mantua.37 None of the sources reveal the actual position or office then held by Cosmas (who must have been a deacon at the time). In any case, he again travelled beyond the borders of the principality of Bohemia as a member of the Prague bishop’s entourage in 1094 when his namesake Bishop Cosmas received holy orders in Mainz.38 Another trip abroad involved what must have been the most significant day in Cosmas’s life, 11 October 1099, when he was ordained into the priesthood by Archbishop Seraphim of Esztergom.39 Incidentally, the trip itself was undertaken so that yet another Prague bishopelect, Heřman (Herman), could be anointed as bishop (a ceremony that must have been attended by Cosmas as well). With increasing intensity, the more recent passages of the Chronicle take on almost the character of a  memoir, and correspondingly, more and more incidental notes shine through in the text, which gives us an idea of rather marginal temporal issues in connection with the operation of the Prague chapter. In 1110, Cosmas mentions his immediate involvement in property matters of the Prague chapter,40 and it is this year that is usually (and probably quite justifiably) considered as the ante quem of his assumption of the dean’s office (whereas Cosmas himself mentions that he was the dean only in 1120).41 This position marks the peak of his ecclesias See below, 282.  See below, 298–300. 39  See below, 310. 40  E.g. see below, 220–2 and 366–8. 41  See below, 2. 37 38

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tical career. It appears that it not only brought Cosmas an adequate level of material security in his advanced age but also allowed him to take residence directly at Prague Castle and thus to partake in the day-to-day political and social events that took place there.

THE CHRONICLE The three books of the Chronicle cover very different times. The first starts with the mythical beginnings of the Czech people, wanderers who arrived to a  “promised land of milk and honey” and then obtained their first prince, the plowman Přemysl. It continues the story into historical times, down to 1038. The second book covers the reigns of the Dukes Břetislav I  (1034–1055) and his sons Spytihněv (1055–1061) and King Vratislav II (1061–1092). The third is entirely devoted to times that the author witnessed himself, from 1092 to the year of his death.42  The most up-to-date scholarly histories on the oldest epochs are in Czech: Dušan Třeštík, Počátky Přemyslovců. Vstup Čechů do dějin (530–935) [The beginning of the Přemyslids: The entrance of the Czechs into history] (Prague: NLN, 1997, 2nd ed. 2003) [henceforth: Počátky]; Josef Žemlička, Čechy v době knížecí (1034– 1198) [Bohemia in the age of the dukes] (Prague: NLN, 1997) [henceforth: Čechy v době knížecí]; and esp. Petr Sommer, Dušan Třeštík, and Josef Žemlička, Přemyslovci. Budování českého státu [The Přemyslids. Building the Czech state] (Prague: NLN, 2009). A  comprehensive overview in English of the early times is the chapter “Bohemia and Moravia” by Petr Sommer, Dušan Třeštík, and Josef Žemlička, with additional material on art by Zoë Opačić, in: Christianization and the Rise of Christian Monarchy. Scandinavia, Central Europe and Rus’ ca. 900– 1200, ed. Nora Berend (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007), 214–262 [henceforth: “Bohemia and Moravia”]. A study on several issues treated by Cosmas is Lisa Wolverton, Hastening toward Prague. Power and Society in the Medieval Czech Lands (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2001) [henceforth: Hastening], and Kalhous, Anatomy. In German, see also the section on Bohemia in the exhibition catalogue, Europas Mitte um 1000: Beiträge zur Geschichte, Kunst und Archäologie, ed. Alfried Wieczorek and Hans-Martin Hinz (Stuttgart: Theiss, 2000) [henceforth: Europas Mitte um 1000], and Handbuch der Geschichte der Böhmischen Länder I: Die böhmischen Länder von der archaischen Zeit bis zum Ausgang der hussitischen Revolution, ed. Karl Bosl et al. (Stuttgart: Anton Hiersemann, 1967). Even though the Handbuch is methodologically somewhat outdated, it contains much information and extensive bibliographies.

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Causae scribendi and readership Cosmas himself observes in the pages of the Chronicle43 that he began working on it in or around 1118; thanks to the four prefaces that have been preserved, we are able to follow the circumstances under which this literary work came into being—and to do so at unprecedented detail, compared to other large-scale chronicles of the European Middle Ages. As the work progressed, the declared causa scribendi and the possible readership underwent changes. According to the prefaces addressed to Provost Šebíř of Mělník and to Master Gervasius, archdeacon of the Prague chapter, the first book was meant to be a compact literary work designated for an intimate circle of likeminded intellectuals whom Cosmas befriended. Neither introduction betrays any large-scale concept by Cosmas aiming at a national chronicle. The ostentatious modesty with which Cosmas describes his own creation as the whims of an old man is usually understood to be a literary mannerism. Even so, the first book of Cosmas’s Chronicle clearly contains several moments of discontinuity, both in the narrative itself and in the motifs and their literary treatment.44 It is even fair to assume that the works that found their way onto the lecterns of Provost Šebíř and Master Gervasius were quite different in scope and concept and merely foreshadowed the final appearance of Cosmas’s work.45

 See below, 2.  See below, XXXII–XXXVII. 45  Recently Martin Wihoda (in Hrdina – Wihoda, Kosmas, 10–2) reopened the question of whether Cosmas’s work represents a  concept that was thought out from the beginning, or whether it came into existence segment by segment and layer by layer. Major previous opinions on this matter are put forward by Bretholz (Die Chronik, XX–XXV) and Václav Hrubý, “Na okraj nového vydání Kosmovy kroniky” [On the new edition of Cosmas’s Chronicle], Časopis Matice moravské 49 (1925), 371–84, but also the review of Václav Novotný, “Die Chronik der Böhmen des Cosmas von Prag. Unter Mitarbeit von W. Weinberger herausgegeben von Bertold Bretholz,” Časopis Matice moravské 48 (1924), 250–65, and Třeštík, (Kosmas, 69–77). 43 44

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For Šebíř of Mělník, to whom the work in its original form was dedicated, Cosmas provides no details on the contents of his work, which allows for the assumption that he worked off a subject that was generally known and of standard proportions. Presumably, the idea was to provide a  history of the ducal seat and chapter, that is, essentially, what is today the second part of the first book.46 The original intention of Cosmas thus seems to have been a  literary elaboration on annals of the Prague chapter that have since been lost. Dušan Třeštík holds this hypothetical text for the primary source of the Chronicle.47 According to him, it is improbable that this version, i.e. the enlarged annals of the Prague chapter, already included quotations, paraphrases, and references to Regino of Prüm and to imperial annals (that are nowhere developed further).48 These additions seem to be incompatible with the original theme and only attain meaning by the later effort to expand what began as an institutional chronicle into a national chronicle. The second piece of Cosmas’s text, which stands on its own in terms of its literary treatment, motifs, and sources of information, were the first chapters containing the origo gentis narrative.49 They originated, according to the second preface to the first book addressed to Master Gervasius, in the legendary stories of old men,50 but it is probable that they represent the invention of the chronicler. Their classical and biblical templates are obvious. The second preface may be taken as a proof that the origo gentis narrative must have been created only later. Moreover, there is a visible break in narration of the first book: Cosmas inorganically touches upon the figure of Bořivoj twice51 but deliberately leaves out the complex of themes  See below, 60–146.  Třeštík, Počátky, 102–5. 48  E.g. below, 74–8, 370–2 and 376–8. 49  See below, 8–60. 50  I.e. below, 5: “I have started this account with the first inhabitants of the land of the Czechs, and, to the extent of my ability and knowledge, I relate for the pleasure of all good people the few things I have learned from the fanciful tales of old men, not striving for human praise but to prevent the stories from wholly falling into oblivion.” 51  See below, 42–6 and 60–2. 46 47

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associated with the legends of Wenceslas and Ludmila.52 This omission may be caused by the decision of the author to make Prince Břetislav I the main “hero” of the Chronicle. His holy predecessor on the throne would make a sort of “natural” centre of the narrative and would give different meaning to the Chronicle. There is no indication that Cosmas would have expected that his writings be read by wider public (“in schools and castles,” as the so-called Gallus Anonymus had wished53). The moralizing purpose comes through quite a few times when Cosmas compares his contemporaries—vainglorious and servile—to the upright and honest ancients. However, to present a glorious past and teach the present generations about models to follow and errors to avoid was a common concern of all medieval historians (and, maybe, of modern ones as well). Cosmas was no exception. Putting new, “mythical” chapters in front of the original text caused a  major shift in the author’s (hypothetical) concept. The chronicler drew here a connection between the history of the most important institutions in the land and the Herkunftsgeschichte of the Czechs.54 He therefore offered a narrative that could legitimize the rule of the Přemyslid family.55 Even so, this was still not a national (“state”) chronicle that would have reflected the history of the Czechs within the broader context of the history of the empire in particular, in the way the second and third book of Cosmas’s Chronicle do. It appears that the third and most recent layer was created by incorporating the passages from Regino and annals. Cosmas may not have had at first the capacity fully to flesh these out, as can be seen from the fact that he embarked on this exten See below, 62–4.  See Gesta principum Polonorum. The Deeds of the Princes of the Poles, ed. and trans. Paul Knoll and Frank Schaer, CEMT 3 (Budapest/New York: CEU Press, 2003) [henceforth: GpP], 213. 54  See below, 10–28. See also Alheydis Plassmann, Origo gentis: Identitäts- und Legi­ ti­mi­tätsstiftung in früh- und hochmittelalterlichen Herkunftserzählungen, Orbis mediaevalis: Vorstellungswelten des Mittelalters 7 (Berlin: Akademie Verlag, 2006) [henceforth: Origo gentis], 324–9. 55  See below, 30–42. 52 53

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sion only after he had finished the second book of his Chronicle. He revealed it in a preface to the second book addressed to Abbot Clement of Břevnov Monastery, hinting at his ultimate intention: to draw up a history of the Přemyslid realm from its beginnings to the recent times. No doubt, in the second book Cosmas still drew on the lost annals of the Prague chapter as a source for his work. However, as the author himself notes in what clearly appears to be a postscriptum to the first book,56 that mediated testimony, official documents, and in particular Cosmas’s own autopsy now (i.e. in the second book) began to play an ever more important role as sources of information. Cosmas’s “autopsy” dominates the third book, which brings the account up to date, right to the final days of the author. It follows from the closing verse of the second book and the preface to the third book that the extended concept of a  “national” chronicle (i.e. books I and II) included no plan for a further continuation of the narrative. However, when the author broadened his ambition beyond what was originally conceived as a scholarly miniature, his audience grew accordingly. This public voiced interest in seeing more of Cosmas’s work.57 It also included broader circles beyond the higher clergy, as can be seen from Cosmas’s concern (expressed in the preface to the third book) that he might draw the ire of the powerful58 but also from punch lines and flourishes that are clearly addressed at a broader audience. Dušan Třeštík saw Cosmas’s final aim above all in presenting a continuity of the governance in the Bohemian duchy by underlining the people, not only the land or its rulers. He wrote: The origins, as described by Cosmas, play a  key role in Czech history. His statement that the Czechs settled in an empty land meant that they as its first inhabitants were the rightful owners  See below, 142–6.  As can be seen from the reference to a certain Bohumil, pupil of Abbot Kliment, in the prologue to the second book, 150–2. 58  See below, 192–4. 56 57

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of the country. The election of the first ruler had an equally important meaning whereby the people gave up their freedom and fully submitted to the duke’s authority. The election attested to the age-long rights of the Přemyslid dynasty to reign over the land while at the same time sanctioning the principle of monarchy: allegedly, already Přemysl determined that only one person of his family should reign. […] Up until the times of Boleslav II the situation in the Czech lands was orderly, Břetislav I’s law of seniority succession was observed and the dukes did not constantly fight among themselves. There was peace in the Czech lands and their international position was strong.59

Cosmas regretted that this situation changed in his times. He tried to show a mirror to his contemporaries: the past as example for the present and future. By connecting the fate of the people closely to the dynasty, Cosmas wished to underline that (in Třeštík’s words) … the Czech nation was united not only by the knowledge that they had come from a common ancestor (which is something every primitive tribe always and everywhere imagined), but by the fact that they concluded some sort of a  “social contract” with the ruling dynasty. Therefore, the Czechs were not only a  tribe but a community of people who are subject to the duke and who are connected with him through bonds of obedience and fidelity which they undertook long ago when they elected the forefather of the dynasty as their ruler. They are not connected through blood but through politics. Cicero would call them a populus— politically active citizens.60

It is fair to say that Cosmas saw his intentions successfully accomplished in the first and second book of his Chronicle: “Hold your  Dušan Třeštík, “O Kosmovi a jeho kronice,” in Kosmova Kronika česká, trans. Ka­rel Hrdina, and Marie Bláhová (Prague/Litomyšl: Paseka 2005), 12. See also Třeš­tík, Kosmas, 113–20, and Třeštík, Počátky, 99–116. 60  Třeštík, “O Kosmovi,” 12. 59

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pace, Muse, you have had plenty of stories. The song is sung, say: farewell, dear reader.”61 In spite of this sentiment, Cosmas went on to revisit his work. The preface to the third book, which addresses a broad readership, suggests that the first two books resonated with a very special audience. Cosmas does not say anything about the identity of those early recipients, but his account of how he was urged to resume his history of the Czechs indicates that among his readers were now not only his personal acquaintances. He also counted, at least on a mediated level, with the well-connected power holders of his time: “it is better to be fully silent about men and times of our own age than to cause harm by speaking the truth, for truth always engenders hate.”62 Cosmas’s style and approach to his work are noticeably different in the third book. He moved on to the form of personal memoirs and to a description of the shared history of the society of his times. There are fewer references to classical works and to ecclesiastical texts, and the text is now only minimally punctuated by the incorporation of secondary motifs (and if they do occur, they are Cosmas’s private observations and recollections). Genre, motifs, and style Cosmas’s Chronicle of the Czechs is an excellent piece of literature. It may have been based on a more or less faithful rendering of known facts63 (to the extent that his sources were able to supply), but the carefully conceived literary approach is no less significant. This approach is reflected in the author’s constant switching between genres: in the set of partly inherited but adapted motifs that provided—especially the first book that would otherwise be a collection of disjointed historical snippets—a coherent narrative structure. To these comes the broad palette of styles which Cosmas  See below, 288.  See below, 292–4. 63  Cf. Jiří Sláma, “Kosmovy záměrné omyly” [The deliberate mistakes of Cosmas], in Dějiny ve věku nejistot: Sborník k příležitosti 70. narozenin Dušana Třeštíka, ed. Jan Klápště, Eva Plešková, and Josef Žemlička (Prague: NLN, 2003), 261–7. 61 62

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employs and which includes the clever use of biblical and classical quotations as much as various literary figures of speech. The skillful mix of genres, motifs, and styles represents the key element in the lasting impact of Cosmas’s work. It is also a proof of his literary gifts, for it allowed him to make his text attractive to readers and provided the Chronicle with a hermeneutical consistency. It prevented the hodgepodge of heterogeneous historical events from being reduced to a mere annalistic summary of facts, bare of any contextual value. A proper understanding of Cosmas’s text as a literary work is an indispensable requirement for any critique of the Chronicle as a historical source. However, the sheer scale of Cosmas’s inventiveness makes this task daunting, as can be seen from the large and diverse body of literature tackling this aspect. Until recently, no comprehensive work attempted to analyze in depth Cosmas’s text under this important aspect.64 Furthermore, the partial and isolated contributions to the issue were almost exclusively the domain of Czech speaking scholarship. Only recently did the study of Lisa Wolverton65 appear on the scene; its obvious advantage and merit lies in its independence from Czech and Central European debates, which has allowed her to address the issue in a  very personal way but within the context of the broader (especially Anglophone) discourse of literary scholarship. Wolverton’s understanding of the Czech identity as being tied to the soil certainly has the potential to inspire further research, and so does her gender-based interpretation of certain motifs (e.g. the Maidens’ War, Libuše as ruler and prophetess, Matilda of Tuscany, etc.), or her deconstruction of Cosmas’s concept of power. Still we lack a consistent analysis of Cosmas’s text, for Wolverton pays only marginal attention to those aspects which do not resonate with the main themes of contemporary literary studies. Such would be Cosmas’s role as a source for the “etatization process” (state build Berthold Bretholz discussed the issue in Die Chronik, esp. XXVI–XXXVI. Dušan Třeštík (in the studies cited) addressed some of the topics too, but a comprehensive appraisal is still missing. 65  Lisa Wolverton, Cosmas of Prague: Narrative, Classicism, Politics (Washington DC: The Catholic University of America Press, 2015) [henceforth: Narrative].

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ing) in tenth-century Bohemia, or his attitude to Slavonic vs. Latin liturgy; here the traditional approach is unlikely to yield any fresh answers. Thus, not even this latest literary analysis of Cosmas’s work, however unprecedented in scope and ambition, may be the last word in terms of completeness or clarity. A few general conclusions can still be risked about how Cosmas works with genres and motifs. The Chronicle is clearly divided into two parts of roughly equal dimensions. The first, essentially the first book and the first half of the second, is a highly variegated mixture of genres and motifs. The second part can be best described as a stylistically homogeneous, compact account of contemporary political history interspersed at rather regular intervals with occasional personal recollections of the author and anecdotes. The mythical beginnings are narrated in a colorful style with strong leanings on the Old Testament but also with echoes from Virgil’s story on the founding of Rome. The narrative about the first ruler reflects perhaps some kind of oral traditions concerning the Přemyslid dynasty.66 Many elements of the story are variants on themes common in medieval historiography in the East and West alike. Remarkably, however, Cosmas did not connect the ancestors of the ruling family to any known Biblical person (such as one of the sons of Noah, as was usual in the genre) nor to figures of the classical world such as the Trojans but let them appear indigenous. The early historical times are covered unevenly, often only by quite terse annalistic entries, mostly culled from other historians, above all, from the Chronicle of Regino of Prüm.67 Annalistic lines ap On the mixture of possible local (though hardly folkloric!) traditions and common European Wandermotive in this part, see František Graus, “Kirchliche und heidnische (magische) Komponenten der Stellung der Přemysliden: Přemyslidensage und St. Wenzelslegende,” in Siedlung und Verfassung Böhmens in der Frühzeit, ed. František Graus and Herbert Ludat (Wiesbaden: Harrasowitz, 1976), 148–61. 67  “Chronicon Reginonis,” in Quellen zur karolingischen Reichsgeschichte, ed. Reinhold Rau, vol. 3, Freiherr vom Stein Gedächtnisausgabe 7 (Berlin: Rütten & Loening, 1960); English translation by Simon MacLean, History and Politics in Late Carolingian and Ottonian Europe: The Chronicle of Regino of Prüm and Adalbert of Magdeburg (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2009) [henceforth: History].

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pear later as well but vanish entirely from the third book, which is most detailed in reporting the day-to-day conflicts and confrontations with quite a few political-moralizing comments. Princes and prelates While narrating the story of the Czech people, Cosmas also wrote a gesta principum, describing and characterizing Bohemian dukes (and the two kings). Moreover, the Chronicle also contains a gesta episcoporum: all the bishops of Prague up to Cosmas’s own times are discussed in detail and most of them receive nice obituaries from the author. One must keep in mind, though, that these passages, which probably represent the first hypothetical version of the chronicle, may not necessarily have been based on real circumstances—especially in the case of figures from the tenth century. In several cases, we are clearly dealing with retrojection of concerns that troubled Cosmas’s contemporaries into previous eras (for which the political testament of Boleslav II is a characteristic example68). In other cases, older legendary tales and (maybe oral) traditions were elaborated upon to create complementary exempla. In this manner, Cosmas very elegantly resolves the problem of scarce historical information. Such stories are, for instance, the narrative about the contemptible prince vs. the good prince (Boleslav I vs. Boleslav II), or the story about the cursed bishop Strachkvas, usurper of the see,69 and the saintly bishop Adalbert. Strachkvas is Boleslav II’s son in the Chronicle; his baptism provides the backdrop for St. Wenceslas’s assassination. Cosmas describes the course of Strachkvas’s life thus: first he calls him an “excellent son born  See below, 106–10.  For the most recent account of his personality, see Josef Šrámek, “Osobnost procházející dějinami, stále záhadný Kristián” [A character passing through the ages: the ever-elusive Kristián], Studia Theologica 10 (2007), 32–40. From the point of view of the literary studies, the Strachkvas narrative is dicussed in Jan Hasil, “Kosmas: literát, ideolog a historiograf raného přemyslovského státu” [Cosmas: writer, ideologue and historian of the early Přemyslid state], in Přednášky z 56. běhu Letní školy slovanských studií, ed. Jiří Hasil (Prague: FF UK, 2013), 138–46.

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from esteemed wife”70 who with time grew up to become a talented boy, embarking, to the joy of his parents, on an ecclesiastical career71—apparently a successful one, for Cosmas has St. Adalbert sing the praises of Strachkvas’s suitability for the bishop’s office.72 Strachkvas declines the honor, though: “I am a monk, I am dead, I cannot bury the dead.”73 Yet, no later than in the next chapter, the chronicler calls Strachkvas a man who covets episcopal honors, a dandy, a peacock, a hypocrite, and the “high priest of the ignoble.” For good measure he adds a paraphrase of Isaiah when he calls Strachkvas a pseudo-bishop.74 followed by a description of his disgraceful demise during the episcopal consecration.75 Cosmas gives us no good reason for this blatant change of character of Strachkvas; we are left to deduce the twist in the story on our own. The only hint is a prediction by St. Adalbert that Strachkvas will in the end accept the bishopric after all: “Know, brother, know that what you do not do now for good, you will do later but with great harm to yourself.”76 Cosmas thus juxtaposes St. Adalbert—the bishop who yearned to become a  monk, and became a martyr—and a carefully created literary adaptation of the tradition of Strachkvas, the monk who craved to become bishop, and whom betides ignominious death at the very moment at which God should bestow favor upon him. The juxtaposition is further enhanced by the employment of the rhetorical device of vituperatio.77 Cosmas consciously avoided hagiographical texts such as the Lives of St. Wenceslas or (in detail) of St. Adalbert and, in See below, 66.  See below, 66–8. 72  See below, 96–8. 73  Cf. below, 99, n. 257. 74  See below, 102. 75  See ibid. 76  See below, 98. 77  This rhetorical device was correctly identified already by Dušan Třeštík, “Pře­mys­ lo­vec Kristián” [K. the Přemyslid], Archeologické rozhledy 51 (1999) [henceforth: “Přemyslovec Kristián”], 612–3, though without providing any interpretation as to its use. 70 71

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stead of inserting them into the text of his Chronicle, he advised his readers to learn the respective stories directly from them, i.e. from other books (which is again a proof that he aimed at well-educated elites).78 It is the genre of the micro-legend, however, which plays a  singular role in the flow of Cosmas’s narrative, and which the author took to such extremes as to create a “cameo” role for himself in one of them.79 He included, among others, the story of the five eremitical brethren, murdered by robbers in Poland, with very elaborate and poetic praises of their asceticism.80 He also produced a sort of “epos” about the so-called Lucko war, which represents an autonomous insert into the first part of the first book and which makes an impression of a small and compressed stylistic exercise.81 Cosmas’s readings and the Liège tradition As a former student of a famous educational institution, Cosmas knew the works of Virgil, Ovid, Sallust, Lucan, and Statius well and, as a  cleric, he was conversant with the Bible and with such Christian authors as Boethius and Sedulius Scottus. He used both kinds of literary models, Classical and Judeo-Christian, in a free manner: sometimes quoting verbatim, sometimes culling a word or two, or paraphrasing. His fellow clerical readers would have appreciated some fine hints at Biblical passages. The head of a treacher See below, 62–4.  For instance, the legend of the Bamberg Chalice, see below, 122–4, and in particular Cosmas’s own visionary dream, 240–2. 80  See below, 126–32. Actually, Cosmas could have known Bruno Querfurtensis’s Vita quinque fratrum, ed. Jadwiga Karwasińska, MPH n.s. 4 (Warsaw: Państw. Wydaw. Nauk., 1973); see also with English translation by Marina Miladinov in Vitae sanctorum aetatis conversionis Europae Centralis (saec. X–XI). Saints of the Christianization Age of Central Europe (Tenth–Eleventh Centuries), ed. Gábor Klaniczay, CEMT 6 (Budapest: CEU Press, 2013), 183–314 [henceforth: Saints]; but, considering that it survived in a single manuscript and may not have circulated in the Middle Ages, he may have had some other source about their life and death. 81  See below, 42–60. The so-called Legenda Christiani, which is probably older and which offers its own (very short) version of the origins of Přemyslid power, does not contain this episode. 78 79

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ously murdered child (in the story of the mythical Duke Neklan82) is presented to the ducal court on a dish (caput in disco) just like that of John the Baptist.83 A nice parallel to Christ’s Passion can be detected in the chapter about Duke Břetislav II’s murder in 1100. The duke is reported to have foretold his companions, at the table (probably a motif from the New Testament referring to the Last Supper), his inevitable fate. Then, returning from his last hunt, he is received by his men, coming out “with lanterns and torches” (verbatim from John 18:3 on the betrayal of Jesus). The fatally wounded duke fell, like the angel (or star?) Lucifer from heaven (an interesting expression of a  rather ambivalent attitude of the chronicler to this particular ruler: the Angel Lucifer fell because of his superbia) while his murderer was “sent by the devil” and is also styled minister Satane.84 In one instance, Cosmas reinterpreted a line from the Disticha Catonis, regarding the value of money,85 but that is rare. He liked animal metaphors from Classical fables but seems to have composed his own as well.86 His Latin is good, occasionally quite elegant and witty, although when he wants to display his familiarity with Greco-Roman mythology, he occasionally gets into deep waters. The Chronicle is rich in rhymed and rhythmical prose, and is at a  number of places—according to the custom of prosimetrum—interspersed with ten- to fifteen-lines long pieces of poetry. One or two lines long hexameters abound.87 Unfortunately, no library catalogue from the school of Liège that could give us an indication of the readings of the students has survived from this period. However, we have a relevant  See below, 50–2.  See below, 58, cf. Mt. 14:8. 84  See below, 318. 85  See below, 108. 86  On these, in a comparative context, see Krisztina Fügedi, “Bohemian sheep, Hungarian horses, and Polish wild boars,” in Animal Diversities, ed. Gerhard Jaritz, Medium Aevum Quotidianum, Sonderband 16 (Krems: Medium Aevum Quotidianum, 2005), 66–88. 87  A detailed analysis of style and form is offered in Bretholz, Die Chronik, XXXVI–XLV. 82 83

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source that allows us to form at least an approximate idea: the library catalogue of Lobbes Abbey, with which the cathedral school of Liège entertained close relations during the period of interest. Several masters of the cathedral school of Liège and a few bishops were recruited from the monastery of Lobbes. That catalogue accounts for most of the titles with which Cosmas was familiar as proven by the references in his work.88 In the library catalogues of Lobbes, we find much of the classical literature that Cosmas cites such as Sallust’s Bellum Iugurtinum and his De Catilinae coniuratio, Vergil’s Aeneis (as well as his Bucolica), Lucan’s Bellum civile, Boetius’s Consolatio philosophiae, Horace’s Odes and Ars poetica, and Cicero’s De oratore. Although we find no direct references in Cosmas’s Chronicle to rhetorical handbooks such as Cicero’s De oratore, we can assume that these texts played a role in the curriculum of the Liège school. The remarkable richness of the collection of classical literature can be traced back to Bishop Rather (899– 974), monk of Lobbes and bishop of Liège, who was an avid collector of manuscripts and travelled around Europe in search of rare classical texts. In light of the availability of these texts, we need not necessarily go from the assumption that Cosmas derived his classical citations from grammatical handbooks or, as has been maintained, from Regino of Prüm’s chronicle.89 Cosmas may well have had ready access to the full texts of the classical authors he cites. Another indication of the kind of literary-rhetorical education that Cosmas received at the cathedral school of Liège can be gleaned from the Chronicle of Liège, written around 980 by Heriger of Lobbes, a magister from the monastery of Lobbes, commissioned by Bishop Notger of Liège. Heriger describes rhetorical  Cf. Francois Dolbeau, “Un nouveau catalogue des manuscripts de Lobbes aux XIe et XIIe siècles,” Études augustinienses 14 (1979), 69–71; Henry Omont, “Catalogue des manuscrits de l´abbaye de Lobbes (1049),” Revue des bibliotheques 1 (1891), 3–14. 89  Marie Bláhová, for example, took it for granted that Cosmas borrowed his references to Paul the Deacon’s Historia Romana from the Chronicle of Regino, but Paul the Deacon’s Historia is also listed in the library’s catalogue, as was, for that matter, Regino’s chronicle. 88

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exercises, known as suasoriae and controversae, by which students practiced their skills in declamation, dialectical reasoning, and the composition of (fictional) speeches. He remarks that the exercises in declamatio of the school of Liège were different from those of other schools in the sense that students would be given fictional frivolous themes instead of actual judicial cases to practice their rhetorical skills.90 One can easily imagine how Cosmas would have learned to compose his fictional speeches, which are a characteristic feature of his Chronicle, from practicing declamatio via improvisations upon fictional themes such as Heriger describes. The rhetorical device that Cosmas employs frequently in his Chronicle, rendering the views and opinions of his protagonists in direct speech or inserting full-blown (fictional) speeches into his Chronicle, is called sermocinatio or ethopoeia. Quintilian describes in his Institutes of Oratory how sermocinatio grew from school exercises, in which a pupil had to speak as a pirate, a badly behaved son, or an old father.91 According to Quintilian, such exercises in speech making came close to comedy. We can see this comical trait also in Cosmas’s fictitional speeches,92 for example in the speech that he  Herigeri et Anselmi, 165: “Et ne hic labor, qui te adhortante susceptus est, inferacis operis fiat: non eius modo cuius meminimus, sancti scilicet Remacli, verum caeterorum nostrae sedis pontificum tempora et gesta, quae undecumque potuere conradi, ad nostra usque tempora collegi, et cuius potissimum anhelabas desiderio, vitam inde exceptam, votis tuis porrexi; longe quidem mea sententia ab oratoris obtimi excellentia me ratus differre qui plurima paucis absolvere, pauca plurimis protelare, vel magna extenuare, maxima e minimis efficere, lata anguste, arigusta late, vulgata dicenter dicentia intellectualiter, nova usitate, usitata nove et id genus valeat plurima delibare, cui et a poeta praecipitur: Aut famam sequere, aut sibi convenientia finge. Nec ut scholares posito themate quibus verbis uti potuit qui injuriam passus est velle qui intulit aliquid finximus frivolum, immo nec creperum.” Heriger talks about “we,” from which we can infer that he is talking about educational practices in the cathedral school of Liège, not of the monastic school of Lobbes, since he is writing a chronicle of Liège. 91  Quintilian Inst. 3.8.49–54. 92  On Cosmas as humorist see Petr Kopal, “I kdyby snad byl toho dne drahého otce pochoval, byl by se jistě musil smáti. Humor a smích v Kosmově kronice” [If he would bury his own father on that day, he would have to laugh still. Humor and laughter in the Chronicle of Cosmas], in Evropa a Čechy na konci středověku. Sborník příspěvků věnovaných Františku Šmahelovi, ed. Eva Doležalová, Robert Novotný and Pavel Soukup (Prague: Filosofia, 2004), 369–82. 90

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put into the mouth of a certain ruffian, who dared to criticize the female judge Libuše. Although Libuše was the stuff of myth, she was clearly a woman Cosmas admired. Cosmas provides an ironic twist to the abusive speech of Libuše’s critic by having the uneducated man quote the Roman playwright Terence. Thus he gives the man’s inappropriate address of Libuše a slightly ridiculous touch, at least to those readers who were able to pick up the reference to Terence’s play The Eunuch.93 We can find another comic aside in Cosmas’s rendition of the verbal exchange between the peasant Přemysl and a delegation from Libuše who came to tell him he was to become their duke. Cosmas remarks ironically that, in spite of Přemysl’s reputed gift to foresee the future, he apparently had not seen the request of the delegates coming.94 The rhetorical device of sermocinatio provided Cosmas not only with the means to enliven his historical narrative but also with an opportunity to put his own opinions into the mouths of his protagonists95 or express his own moral judgments via an ironic inversion of someone else’s speech. Irony is an important trait of Cosmas’s style of writing. Although Cosmas could have become acquainted with the rhetorical scheme of irony via many possible literary influences, this can also be traced back to his literary-rhetorical education in Liège.96

 See below, 18–24: “A man should rather die [than suffer such things],” from Terence Eunuch 7.773. 94  See below, 26–8: “At this speech, the foreseeing man, as if unaware of future things…” This need not be a contradiction, since Cosmas leaves the option open that Přemysl simply pretended not to know the future; the phrase contains nonetheless an ironic opposition. 95  Libuše’s reply to her boorish critic for example reflects Cosmas’s own opinions on the ideal state. 96  Irene van Rensvoude, Licence to Speak. The Rhetoric of Free Speech in Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, forthcoming). 93

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AFTERLIFE From Continuatores to vernacular versions The “popularity” of Cosmas is borne out by the fourteen surviving manuscripts from the fourteenth to the seventeenth century. However, already the Czech literary-historiographic circles of the twelfth and thirteenth century were overwhelmingly dominated by an understanding of the narrative of Czech history and of the ethos of the Přemyslid state that was shaped by Cosmas. Since the times of the Czech National Revival in the first half of the nineteenth century, these authors are known as the continuatores of Cosmas.97 This group of authors is characterized by an unquestioning acceptance of the “constitution” of the Czech principality that Cosmas had verbalized. That for them was (presumably the only broadly acceptable) hermeneutic point of departure for their contemporaneous reality, even if they ultimately did not agree with each and every opinion voiced by Cosmas, as can best be seen from the series of annotations and addenda concerning the history of Sázava Monastery.98 A second shared characteristic of these authors (to the extent that we are able to identify them) is their close ties to the court and the episcopal see in Prague, so that Cosmas represented a useful role model for them, both conceptually and topically. The first addition to the text comes from an anonymous canon of Vyšehrad, on the events of 1126–1142, written up in line with Cosmas’s style and concept.99 Independent of him, another anonymous scribe, known as the Monk of Sázava, built upon the material by supplementing Cosmas’s text with addenda on the his As noted by Graus already in the 1960s (“Necrologium Bohemicum,” 789–810), sources of a commemorative character hint at the existence of discourses which may have understood the history of the Přemyslid state, and thus the political realities of the time, somewhat differently, but which never penetrated “high literature.” 98  These insertions represent coherent source material and thus have been included in the present edition, see p. n. and Appendix. 99  Text and Czech translation of all texts considered to be written by continuatores is given in Josef Emler, ed., Cosmae Chronicon Bohemorum cum continuatoribus, FRB II (Prague: Muzeum Král. Českého, 1874), 201–81. 97

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tory of Sázava monastery. His continuation for the period 1126– 1162 reads like a  monastic chronicle rather than a  chronicle of the Bohemian duchy and its people. Following up loosely on the canon of Vyšehrad, Vincentius (d. 1167), a cleric and diplomat of (likely) Czech extraction, who acquired vast knowledge on contemporary politics during his various diplomatic missions for King Vladislav (d. 1174) and Bishop Daniel (d. 1167), transformed this knowledge into annals for the period 1140–1167. These annals of Vincentius were in turn the starting point for Gerlach/Jarloch (1165–1228), the abbot of the Milevsko monastery, a scholar originally from the Rhineland, who carried the work forward to 1198. In addition, the annalistic history maintained through the thirteenth and the beginning of the fourteenth century at the Prague chapter is sometimes referred to as a “second continuation of Cosmas.”100 The extinction of the House of the Přemyslids in 1306, followed by the tumultuous events of 1306–1310, necessarily marked a watershed for Czech historical thought. The historical consciousness of the Czechs and the coherence of Czech society could no longer be derived from the continuity of power enjoyed by the Přemyslid princes and kings. The political stage was entered by new entities (such as influential monasteries, landed gentry, and, later, townships), for which Cosmas’s worldview lacked the relevant categories. The ideological concept codified by Cosmas had outlived its usefulness, the era of the continuatores came to an end, and the times called for a new interpretation of the history of the Czechs. However, given that Czech historical thinking and literature lacked any alternative, it was clear from the beginning where the search for that new interpretation would have to take off; and indeed, the reinterpretation of Czech history would largely prove to be a search for new ways of how to understand Cosmas’s legacy.

 On these, Marie Bláhová, “Continuatio Cosmae I” and “Continuatio Cosmae II,” in The Encyclopedia of the Medieval Chronicle, ed. Graeme Dunphy et al. (Leiden: Brill, 2010), 489–91, and Lisa Wolverton’s entry on “Cosmas,” ibid., 494–5.

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The narrative of Cosmas, especially his mythical stories about the beginnings of the Czechs, was expanded and made widely accessible by the vernacular rhymed chronicle traditionally called the “Dalimil chronicle” (1310/1314).101 The anonymous author of its 4,500 lines strengthened Cosmas’s anti-German stance and reformulated the story focussing at the problem of the identity of Czech-speaking elites facing the breakdown of existing power structures.102 That there was demand for an innovated understanding of Czech history is borne out by the fact that, among other things, Dalimil’s verses were soon (ca. 1342–1346) translated into Middle-High-German and quite recently a  fragment of an illuminated manuscript containing Latin translation (probably from Italy, ca. 1330) has also been found.103 The first half of the fourteenth century enriched Czech literature for the first time with an alternative literary form to Cosmas’s monarchical-episcopal gesta: monastic chronicles. These, whether in their more homely manifestation (Chronicon Domus Sarensis)104 or with excellent quality of style (Chronicon Aulae Regiae),105 for the first time offered a dif Jiří Daňhelka, Karel Hádek, Bohuslav Havránek, and Naděžda Kvítková, ed., Staročeská kronika tak řečeného Dalimila. Vydání textu a veškerého textového materiálu [The Old Czech chronicle of the so-called Dalimil. Edition of text and of all textual material], 2 vols, (Prague: Academia, 1988). See also, most recently, Éloise Adde-Vomáčka, La chronique de Dalimil. Les débuts de l’historiographie nationale tchèque en langue vulgaire au XIVe siècle (Paris: Publications de la Sorbonne, 2016). 102  Following František Graus, this understanding of the earliest Czech history may be called protonationalist, see his “Die Bildung eines Nationalbewusstseins im mittelalterlichen Böhmen,” Historica 13 (1966), 5–49. Graus himself later abandoned his proposition, formulated in the 1960s, on the continuity of Czech protonationalism since the times of Cosmas; cf. Graus, Die Nationenbildung der Westslawen im Mittelalter, Nationes 3 (Sigmaringen: Jan Thorbecke, 1980) [henceforth: Die Nationenbildung], esp. 52. 103   See Marie Blahová’s entry in The Encylopaedia of the Medieval Chronicle, 504–5. 104  “Letopisy žďárské,” ed. Josef Emler, FRB II (Prague: Nadání Františka Palackého, 1874), 517-57. 105  Josef Emler, ed., Chronicon Aulae Regiae, FRB IV (Prague: Nadání F. Palackého, 1884), 1–337. German translation: Die Königsaaler Chronik, ed. Stefan Albrecht, trans. Josef Bujnoch and Stefan Albrecht, Forschungen zu Geschichte und Kultur der Böhmischen Länder, Bd. 2 (Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 2014). 101

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ferent genre of historiography and an alternative mode of speaking about sovereign (public) power. With the stabilisation of royal power in Bohemia under the House of Luxemburg after 1344 (when the future Emperor Charles IV was installed as co-ruler), Czech society revisited the issue of legitimization of royal power. During the reign of Charles  IV, several historical narratives were produced, the most successful among them the Chronicle of Přibík Pulkava of Radenín.106 Přibík used the Chronicle of Cosmas, together with the chronicle of the so-called Dalimil, as a basis of his narrative. He concentrated on the history of the rule of the Přemyslid dynasty, which was depicted as the family of the present ruler from the Luxembourg family, and on the history not only of Bohemia but of all lands of the so-called Bohemian Crown, which at that time included several Silesian principalities and Brandenburg. The chronicle experienced several auctorial reworkings. One of them concerned the history of Brandenburg, added into the text of the chronicle after Charles IV gained that land and incorporated it into the Bohemian Crown. The individual stories of Cosmas experienced very detailed reworking in the Czech Chronicle (Kronika česká) written by Václav Hájek of Libočany (finished in 1541).107 Václav Hájek created a real “bestseller”; his chronicle was used well into the nineteenth century, although already Gelasius Dobner revealed its factual unreliability.108 Hájek’s narratives—and not those of Cosmas—entered into the historical consciousness of the modern Czech nation, in which they live as a set of symbolical expressions of the Czech-Bohemian past until today.  Josef Emler and Jan Gebauer, ed., Przibiconis de Radenin dicti Pulkavae Chronicon Bohemiae, FRB V (Prague: Spolek historický, 1893) [henceforth: Przibiconis Chronicon], 1–326. Cf. Marie Bláhová and Václav Bok, “Pulkava of Radenín, Přibík,” in The Encyclopedia of the Medieval Chronicle, 246–7. 107  Jan Linka, ed., Václav Hájek z Libočan: Kronika česká [Václav Hájek of Libočany. Czech chronicle] (Prague: Academia, 2013). Cf. Jan Linka, ed., Na okraj Kroniky české [On the Czech chronicle], Studia hageciana I (Prague: Academia, 2015). 108  Dobner published a  new edition of Hájek’s chronicle with his own critical commentary. See Wenceslai Hagek a Liboczan Annales Bohemorum 1–6, ed. Gelasius Dobner (Prague: Kirchner, 1761–1781). 106

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Only with the beginning of the nineteenh century and the “miraculously found” forged manuscripts of Königinhof/Králův Dvůr and Grünberg/Zelená hora did a complement to Cosmas’s narrative of the earliest Czech history appear. These manuscripts contained lyric and epic poems about the Czech past, much more elaborate, pompous, and heroic than Cosmas or the so-called Dalimil or even Hájek of Libočany. Some of the most famous parts such as the “Court of Libuše” are based on the Chronicle that they not only embellished but also fashioned according to the romantic expectations about an early development of the Czech state and culture. They became the accepted version of the early history of Bohemia—accepted even by the father of modern Czech historiography, František Palacký—and a  cornerstone of the National Revival.109 Thus we owe it to the protracted debate over the authenticity of the manuscripts, in which both the professional community and the general public took part, and which carried strong nationalistic undertones that public buildings, memorials, poetry, and music created by generations of Czech artists in the second half of the nineteenth century celebrate fictitious characters rather than the heroes of Cosmas’s narrative. The master narrative and its challenges Ever since the twelfth century, when a  handful of literate Czech clerks discovered in the pages of Cosmas’s Chronicle an ideological concept underlying the by then mature Přemyslid state, there is an astounding continuity of that master narrative in Czech historical  On the Czech manuscript forgeries, see Milan Otáhal, “The Manuscript Controversy in the Czech National Revival,” Cross Currents: A Yearbook of Central European Culture 5 (1986), 247–77. Now also Pavlína Rychterová, “The Manuscripts of Grünberg and Königinhof: Romantic Lies about the Glorious Past of the Czech Nation,” in Manufacturing Past for the Present. Forgery and Authenticity in Medievalist Texts and Objects in Nineteenth-Century Europe, ed. János M. Bak, Patrick Geary, and Gábor Klaniczay (Leiden: Brill, 2015), 3–30. A  summary of the research concerning the manuscripts was published by Mojmír Otruba, ed., Rukopisy královédvorský and zelenohorský. Dnešní stav poznání [The MSS of Königinhof and Grünberg: Present state of knowledge] (Prague: Academia, 1969).

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thinking. The term master narrative/metanarrative was introduced in the 1970s by Jean François Lyotard who used the term grand récit to describe a  transhistoric narrative rooted in the collective awareness of the advocates of a certain culture, a narrative which lends cohesive meaning to, and determines, the compartmentalized awareness and narratives resonating through the given culture.110 But the master narrative can be a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it defines a prejudice (Vorurteil) within the meaning of the German postmodern hermeneutic school111—that is to say, a point of departure (and, essentially, a prerequisite) for understanding. On the other hand, it draws up rules of discourse112 and thus predetermines, among other things, the meaning of terms and issues worth of scholarly debate. Modern Czech historiography has not always been able to escape the obvious inherent risks associated with the master narrative. As we have shown above, Cosmas’s master narrative represented the cornerstone of Czech historiographic discourse throughout the Middle Ages and into modern times. Modern critical historical scholarship is no exemption. Cosmas’s ideas were favored by František Palacký who in his Würdigung der alten böhmischen Geschichtschreiber wrote: “One may name these three periods [of Czech history writing] after the historians who at the time exercised dominant influence, and thus speak of Cosmas’s, Hájek’s, and Dobner’s history.”113 However, upon reviewing the key works of writing on the earliest Czech history across the centuries, we find that the main source was invariably Cosmas who never had to face the competition of a genetically alternative concept, notwithstanding the various attempts to update and adapt his work.  Jean-François Lyotard, The Postmodern Condition (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1984). 111  Hans-Georg Gadamer, Wahrheit und Methode, Grundzüge einer philosophischen Hermeneutik (Tübingen: Mohr, 1975), 18. 112  Michel Foucault, The Archaeology of Knowledge (London: Routledge, 2002), esp. 55–61. 113  František Palacký, Würdigung der alten böhmischen Geschichtschreiber (Prague: Borrosch, 1830), 11–2. 110

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Palacký himself and his direct successors just added a fourth epoch to the three he had mentioned. Nationalistic political efforts in the nineteenth and twentieth century played their part in making Cosmas’s master narrative an integral part of all leading modern Czech historical schools. “Official” Czech historiography, of which Cosmas was certainly the spiritual father, primarily sought to bring the various interpretations of the available sources in line with Cosmas’s concept (or with that what the later medieval tradition held for it). From the second half of the 1960s onward, the “school” of František Graus in Prague became important in Czech historical scholarship. The scholars involved accomplished a  major modernization of the official (post-)Marxist understanding (which essentially had its roots in the Cosmasian master narrative) both in terms of methodology and theoretical background. From the 1990s onward, the views of this school achieved universal acceptance. The recent standard medieval histories were written by them, by Dušan Třeštík and Josef Žemlička. The more recent studies of Jan Klápště114 and Petr Sommer on the beginnings of Christianity and the state have begun to attain a similar prominence.115 As mentioned above, the notion of taboos is inherent to any discourse, that is, the borders that must not be crossed and a  framework that must not be transcended, which means that certain issues cannot be named and certain questions cannot be discussed. An example of such a  taboo within the master narrative of Cosmas—and, following it, the “official line” of Czech history writing—is the situation in Bohemia in the ninth century. In brief, the question is whether there was a Czech “political na Třeštík, Počátky; Žemlička, Čechy v době knížecí; Jan Klápště, Proměna Českých zemí ve středověku (Prague: NLN, 2005, 22012). See also the (alas, mediocre) English translation of the work: Jan Klápště, The Czech Lands in Medieval Transformation (Leiden: Brill, 2012) [henceforth: Transformation]. 115  In particular, the anthology of case studies by Petr Sommer, Začátky křesťanství v Čechách. Kapitoly z dějin raně středověké duchovní kultury [The beginnings of Christianity in Bohemia. Chapters from the history of early medieval culture] (Prague: Garamond, 2001). 114

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tion” that would have regarded itself as such in that time, before Bohemia was unified under the rule of Boleslav I.116 How it would be related to the term Bo(h)emanos, which had wide currency in the imperial annalistic of the time, and to other source references indicating a diversity of powers in ninth- and early-tenth-century Bohemia?117 The positions of current scholarship are in this respect as inconsistent as the ideas of Cosmas nine hundred years ago were. The self-evident complexity and non-obviousness of the course of events in pre-Přemyslid Bohemia cannot be ignored, much less denied. It may have been pure chance that historical circumstances conspired to give rise to the Czech Přemyslid state and the nation of Czechs.118 In any case, Cosmas of Prague and, following his lead, an overwhelming part of Czech history writing engaged in myth-making. He and they tell us the grand tale of the Czechs, with only very rare forks on the road leading into entirely inconsequential blind alleys, while the phenomenon of the Czech gens remains permanent and immutable. Similar evidence of Cosmas’s impact on modern Czech historical thinking is provided by the case of Slavic liturgy. The conspicuous silence of Cosmas  For an overview of how the perception of this issue during the early, high, and late Middle Ages developed in post-war Czech historiography, see Graus, “Die Bildung eines Nationalbewusstseins,” 5–49; Graus, Die Nationenbildung, esp. 52; František Šmahel, Idea národa v husitských Čechách, [The idea of the nation in Hussite Bohemia] (Prague: Argo, 22000); Třeštík, Počátky, 59–60. 117  The issue is summarized by Jan Hasil, “Les élites franques de l’ouest comme des chefs de clans dans l’environnement slave?,” Etudes Medievales Université de Picardie Amiens 50 (2011), 50–61. 118  Aside from alternative “domestic” centers of state building, in particular around Kouřim (Andrea Bartošková, “Stará Kouřim,” in Europas Mitte um 1000, 314–6), one must also consider established assimilation models that have most recently been revisited in connection with Slavic populations in the southeast of the Empire (Hans Losert, “Slawen in der Oberpfalz – eine Bestandsaufnahme,” Acta Archaeologica Carpathica 42–43 (2007–2008), 301–70; Stefan Eichert, Frühmittelalterliche Strukturen im Ostalpenraum. Studien zu Geschichte und Archäologie Karantaniens [Klagenfurt: Verlag des Geschichtsvereins für Kärnten, 2012]), nor may one ignore the realistic “Moravian” scenario; see Jiří Macháček, “‘Great Moravian State’ – a Controversy in Central European Mediaeval Studies,” Studia Slavica et Balcanica Petropolitana 11 (2012) [henceforth: “Great Moravian State”], 5–26. 116

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on Sázava, the true nature of which is nowhere suggested in the text, has often led scholars to draw a straightforward connection to the conflict between a “Western” Latin clergy and an “Eastern” Old-Slavonic clergy (in truth, a Latin-Slavic clergy influenced by the Eastern Church). For generations of Czech historians this has provided, and continues to provide, fodder for speculation— speculation that often seemed to anticipate current social and political consequences of the geopolitical positioning of the Czech lands between East and West. In fact, however, Sázava is not the only monastery in which Cosmas shows no interest; for instance, ­Ostrov u Davle (founded ca. 999) is not mentioned either. Of course, alternatives were and are available. If we disregard the case of the notorious forged manuscripts, these alternatives begin to appear from ca. 1900 onward. Among them are narratives based on the blueprint of German nationalist discourse119 or on the tradition of Czech humanism,120 but above all approaches that are based on different source categories or different hermeneutical-methodical grounds.121  Cf. Julius Lippert, Die altslavischen Gesellschaftsformen in ihrem Verhältnisse zur Colonisation Böhmens (Prague: Verlag des Deutschen Vereines zur Verbreitung gemeinnütziger Kenntnisse, 1889); Berthold Bretholz, Geschichte Böhmens bis zum Aussterben der Přemysliden (1306) (Munich and Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, 1912). 120  The debate that became known as the dispute over the meaning of Czech history, which in its key phase was fought by representatives of Czech mainstream historiography against liberal-national political thinkers informed by sociology, may have focused on a  more recent period but still harbored the potential for a reinterpretation of even the earliest Czech history. This reinterpretation never really occurred, due to WWI and the subsequent creation of Czechoslovakia. Under the new social circumstances, the main combatants principally found common ground in statist opinions—and accepted the Cosmasian master narrative as a part of the ideological underpinnings of the state. On this, see Miloš Havelka, ed., Spor o smysl českých dějin 1895–1938 [Dispute over the meaning of Czech history] (Prague: Torst, 1997). 121  From among the most important milestones, we should mention: the legal-historical interpretation by Václav Vaněček, Prvních tisíc let... Předstátní společenská organisace a vznik státu u českých Slovanů [The first thousand years… The pre-state organization of society and the origin of the state of the Czech Slavs] (Prague: Život a práce, 1949). An interesting example is early Marxist historical interpretation, on whose development see, most recently, Vítězslav Sommer, “Tři fáze 119

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The twenty-first century witnessed a  new wave of alternative paradigmatic approaches to the earliest Czech history—and thus, in many ways, also to Cosmas’s Chronicle. Lisa Wolverton’s book122 recasts the earliest history of Bohemia as a  hastening toward Prague, with Cosmas’s work in the role of a more or less reliable informant, but which has had only marginal impact on the mainstream, in a clear departure from the majority of previous discourse. The work of Petr Charvát123 similarly remains wholly outside the Czech and Central European discourse; it attempts to infer the idiosyncratic hypothesis of a unified Czech gens going back as far as to late antiquity. Of course, Cosmas’s testimony cannot be shoehorned into this concept, though it still comes useful as a secondary literary reflection of key moments in Charvát’s theory. By contrast to these studies, the representatives of Moravian medieval studies (to the extent that they attempt to capture the earliest Bohemian-Moravian history from a  non-Cosmasian vantage point) prove much more sensitive towards the older discourse. While they do not accept it, they are still able to communicate with it on numerous levels. In the most recent studies of Martin Wihoda and stranického dějepisectví v padesátých a  šedesátých letech” [Three stages of the historiography of the Party in the Fifties and Sixties], in Proměny diskursu české marxistické historiografie: Kapitoly z dějin historiografie 20. století, ed. Bohumil Jiroušek (České Budějovice: Jihočeská univerzita, 2008), 271–86. Further, the concepts of Rudolf Turek, Počátky české vzdělanosti. Od příchodu Slovanů do doby románské [The beginnings of literacy in Bohemia, From the arrival of the Slavs untill the era of Romanesque architecture] (Prague: Vyšehrad, 1988); Turek, Čechy na úsvitě dějin [Bohemia at the dawn of history] (Prague: Orbis, 22000); and Vladimír Karbusický, Anfänge der historischen Überlieferung in Böhmen. Ein Beitrag zum vergleichenden Studium der mittelalterlichen Sängerepen (Cologne/ Vienna: Böhlau, 1980) [henceforth: Anfänge]. Finally, two works that are today all but forgotten in spite of their undiminished topicality are to be named: Rostislav Nový, Die Anfänge des böhmischen Staates 1. Mitteleuropa im 9. Jahrhundert (Prague: Univerzita Karlova, 1969), who addressed the issue in a broader (Central) European context, and above all the excellent comparative analysis penned by Graus, Die Nationenbildung. 122  Wolverton, Hastening. 123  Petr Charvát, The Emergence of the Bohemian State (Leiden: Brill, 2010), as to the positioning of Charvát’s studies within the system of current discourse, see the review by Ivo Štefan in Early Medieval Europe 20 (2012), 479–81.

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David Kalhous,124 we encounter an honest and critical reception of Cosmas’s text as one of many sources on the earliest Czech and Moravian history, even if the objectives of their work are still different in each case. Wihoda attempts a regional history of Moravia in a modern guise, while Kalhous undertakes a structural analysis of society under the Přemyslids. Current Moravian medieval studies do not challenge Cosmas’s particular auctorial intentions but have nonetheless freed themselves from the spell of his master narrative. In contrast to the moderate approach of the Brno school, the most recent Czech contribution to the earliest history of Bohemia, a biography of St. Wenceslas as its ruler penned by Vratislav Vaníček,125 adopts a decidedly confrontational course against “official” historiography. Vaníček polemicizes in particular against the narrative of Dušan Třeštík, emphasized in the public discourse by the exceptional presence of this historian in Czech mainstream media during the past thirty years or so. The biography places the figure of St. Wenceslas to the front and center of its narrative, as some sort of “linchpin” of Czech history, whose ethos it extrapolates not only to chronologically later times but, surprisingly, even to earlier periods! In this manner, a dissenting narrative arises and is set apart from Cosmas’s master narrative. While for Cosmas St. Wenceslas, with his charisma of the eternal ruler cum universal saint, remains above the daily political and social hubbub, untarnished and aloft, Vaníček turns him into a doer, an agent, an active mover of events (for instance, when he calls St. Adalbert “Wenceslas’s bishop”). For this reason, the two narratives remain on different planes, even though Vaníček of course draws upon Cosmas for facts and events to build his story. The above excursion should give a broad idea of how fundamentally significant the Chronicle of the Czechs is and was for Czech political and historical thinking, and it may be regarded as  Esp. Martin Wihoda, První česká království [The first kingdoms of Bohemia] (Prague: NLN, 2015); Kalhous, Anatomy; Kalhous, Bohemi, 122–58. 125  Vratislav Vaníček, Svatý Václav: Panovník a světec v raném středověku [St. Wenceslas: monarch and saint in the Early Middle Ages] (Prague: Vyšehrad, 2014). 124

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“natural” that neighboring scholarly disciplines also show interest in this literary key relic. Current literary studies and textological research are represented by the studies of Jiří Hošna126 and Libor Švanda;127 historico-geographical realia in the text were analyzed in recent years by Pavel Bolina.128 Of course, for the archeology of Přemyslid Bohemia, the Chronicle of Cosmas is an inexhaustible treasure trove. As early as in the second half of the nineteenth century, Ludvík Šnajdr129 systematically collected material at sites which are mentioned in the oldest literary relics, among them Cosmas’s Chronicle, thanks to which he was the first to identify early medieval ceramics in Bohemia. For those studying settlement history, Cosmas represents a  body of information of fundamental importance. Archaeologists regularly return to those passages in the Chronicle that describe the development and construction of fortified centers of settlements and fortresses, as they need written sources to gain a  first idea of where they were placed within the  E.g. Jiří Hošna, “Intertextové vztahy ve svatováclavské legendistice” [Intertextual relations in the hagiographic texts on St. Wenceslas], in Speculum medii aevi, ed. Věra Jirousová (Prague: Koniasch Latin Press, 1998), 25–43; idem, “Slovanský a  latinský fenomén v české literatuře raného středověku” [The Slavic and Latin phenomenon in early medieval Czech literature], in Přednášky z XLI. běhu Letní školy slovanských studií, ed. Jan Kuklík (Prague: Univerzita Karlova, 1998), 89–99. 127  E.g. Libor Švanda, “K recepci antiky v Kosmově kronice” [On the reception of antiquity in the Chronicle of Cosmas], Graeco-Latina Brunensia 14 (2009), 331–40; idem, “Laudationes v Kosmově kronice” [Laudationes in the Chronicle of Cosmas], in Pierwsze polsko-czeskie forum młodych mediewistów, ed. Józef Dobosz, Jakub Kujawiński, and Marzena Matla-Kozlowska (Poznań: Uniwersytet Adama Mickiewicza Poznań, 2007) [henceforth: “Laudationes”], 123–33; idem, “K obrazu ideálního panovníka v Kosmově kronice” [On the image of the ideal ruler in the Chronicle of Cosmas], in Querite primum regnum Dei. Sborník příspěvků k poctě Jany Nechutové, ed. Helena Krmíčková et al. (Brno: Matice moravská /MU Brno, 2006), 211–21. 128  E.g. Pavel Bolina, “Příspěvek k interpretaci Kosmových desátkových údajů. (K 880. vý­ročí úmrtí kronikáře)” [A contribution to the interpretation of Cosmas’s tithe records. (On the 880th anniversary of the chronicler’s death)], Český časopis historický 103 (2005), 828–60; Pavel Bolina and Tomáš Klimek, “K problematice Kosmovy bechyňské cesty” [On the issue of Cosmas’s journey to Bechin], Historická geografie 36 (2010) [henceforth: “K problematice”], 99–136. 129  See Jan Filip, “Ludvík Šnajdr – průkopník české vědy archeologické” [Ludvík Šnajdr – the pioneer of Czech archeology], in Zdeňku Nejedlému Československá akademie věd. Sborník prací k 75. narozeninám (Prague: ČSAV, 1953), esp. 648–52. 126

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terrain of Bohemia, and of the rough chronology of settlement.130 Two remarks by Cosmas on the construction of fortifications around Prague Castle and, in particular, of the opere romano rampart in Stará Boleslav, provide an invaluable glimpse of the efforts that went into building these fortifications.131 Clearly, the archaeology of early medieval Bohemia has also been influenced and formed by Cosmas’s master narrative, the more so since “Slavic” archaeology, both through its choice of topics and the way in which it interprets them, has been complementing the “official” focus of Czech historiography.132 It is not by accident that the strongest concept of Czech archaeology in the second half of  Characteristically Jiří Sláma, Střední Čechy v raném středověku II. Hradiště, pří­ spěv­ky k jejich dějinám a významu [Central Bohemia in the Early Middle Ages, II. Fortresses, contributions to their history and significance], Praehistorica XIV (Prague: Karolinum, 1986). 131  See below, 192–4 and 70–4; cf. Ivana Boháčová et al., Stará Boleslav: Přemy­slov­ ský hrad v raném středověku [St. B., an early medieval Přemyslid fortress], Mediaevalia archaeologica V (Prague: Archeologický ústav AV ČR, 2003) [henceforth: Stará Boleslav], 17–28; Stefan Albrecht, “Von der Anarchie zum Staat: einige Überlegungen zu Cosmas von Prag,” in Der Wandel um 1000. Beiträge der Sektion zur slawischen Frühgeschichte der 18. Jahrestagung des Mittel- und Ostdeutschen Verbandes für Altertumsforschung in Greifswald, 23. bis 27. März 2009, ed. Felix Biermann, Thomas Kersting, and Anne Klammt (Langenweissbach: Beier & Beran, 2011), 177–89. 132  Incidentally, the pronounced overlap in terms of methodology and paradigms between historical archaeology and historiography in Czech scholarship has long been the subject matter of a polemical dispute fought against the representatives of “total or comprehensive” medieval studies (Zdeněk Smetánka, “Dva domy v Jiřs­ké ulici a jeden v podhradí. Ze vzpomínek a rozpomínek na proměny archeo­ logie středověku” [Two houses in Jiřská Street and one in the suburb. From the memories and recollections of the transformations of medieval archaeology], in: Středověká Evropa v pohybu. K poctě Jana Klápště, ed. Ivana Boháčová and Petr Sommer (Prague: Archeologický ústav AV ČR, 2015), 510.) by the proponents of a more narrow concept of archaeology as the science of artifacts—e.g. Evžen Neustupný, Metoda archeologie [The method of archaeology] (Plzeň: Aleš Čeněk, 2007). It appears that Czech archaeology partakes in the discussion of primarily historical topics more frequently than is customary in the rest of Europe—cf. the recent discussion over the character of the Great Moravian State (Macháček, “Great Moravian State”; Ivo Štefan, “Mocní náčelníci od řeky Moravy? Poznámky ke struktuře raných států” [Mighty chieftains from the river of Morava? Notes on the structure of early states], Archeologické rozhledy 66 (2014), 141–76.). 130

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the twentieth century which attained recognition in the general scholarly discourse—namely, Jiří Sláma’s Přemyslid domain—is interpreted as the result of a process that has been dated to an era which Cosmas sidestepped with an elegant rhetorical ­device.133 The desideratum expressed by Graus at the end of the 1960s—that a non-Cosmasian understanding of Czech history has to be looked for—has yet to be fulfilled. But during the past decade, serious efforts within Czech historiography were undertaken to leave Cosmas’s behind and to open up to the broader historiography on the European stage and possibly beyond. Doubtless, the task also calls for new approaches to Cosmas—both the work and the man— and the present edition hopes to help to respond to this challenge.

PRINCIPLES OF THIS EDITION The present—first bi-lingual Latin-English—edition follows the general principles of the Central European Medieval Texts series. The Latin text As usual in CEMT, the Latin text is based on the best critical edition, in this case that of Bretholz (Die Chronik), without the variant readings printed in the MGH edition. Only rarely did  See below, 62–4. Regarding the development of how historians write about the earliest Czech history, we need to note that the basic outline of these concepts emerged already in the first half of the 1970s, in polemical texts by Jiří Sláma, “K historické­ mu významu budečského hradiště” [On the historical significance of the fortress of Budec], Archeologické rozhledy 26 (1974), 34–50; Idem, “Poznámky k problému historického významu některých raně středověkých hradišť ve středních Čechách” [Notes on the issue of historical significance of certain early medieval fortresses in Central Bohemia], Archeologické rozhledy 29 (1977), 60–79; cf. Zdeněk Váňa, “Vý­ zkum Libušína v letech 1970 a 1971. Doplňující poznámky k postavení hradiště ve středočeské oblasti” [The exploration of Libušín in 1970 and 1971. Additional notes on the role of the fortress within the Central Bohemian region], Archeologické roz­ hledy 27 (1975), 52–71, that is, before the important historical studies published at the beginning of the 1980s—in particular the original version of Třeštík’s Počátky published in 1981 and Graus’s Die Nationenbildung of 1980—became influential.

133

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we opt for a reading other than his; we mark these cases—which occasionally helped to clarify the meaning of obscure words or sentences—specifically. We, however, deviated from the previous editions and translations insofar as we do not mark out typographically the rhymed prose (or “poetic entry,” usually hexameters) unless it is longer than one line. We feel that Cosmas used more or less rhymed sentences in many more instances than the traditional one-line verses. We also decided to print and translate only the core text of the best manuscript (see above, p. XV) and not the additions appearing in only a few copies, printed in the MGH edition in small print. (However, occasionally we include these additions if they expand on Cosmas’s text regarding the history of Bohemia, in a note.) Neither did we add all the traditional appendices and continuations, except the one on the foundation of Sázava. The translation The translation aims at a  clear, well-readable English narrative, without departing too far from the Latin prose of Cosmas. So, for example, we retained Cosmas’s frequent change to a “narrative present,” especially when describing dramatic events, however awkward that may sound in English. Alas, we were rarely able to “rescue” some of his elegant alliterations or puns, but did our best. We took the liberty to bring the longer poetic inserts in lyric translation, thanks to the cooperation of the late Barbara Reynolds, wellknown translator of Dante and Ariosto, who had contributed in the same way to the CEMT edition of the Gesta principum Polonorum. She died recently as a centennian and we regret that she cannot see this last work of hers in print. For our translation, we have utilized with much profit the German version by Grandaur (and its recent revision by Franz Huf ), the Russian, the Polish, and the Czech translations and their annotations and, above all, the recent English translation by Lisa Wolverton. (For details, see the Bibliography below, 455–7.) Problems of translation were the same as with the other volumes in the CEMT series. For various titles, institutions, customs

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specific for the region, no precise English equivalents exist, considering that the English words reflect the social, political, legal, and economic development of the British Isles, in many respects different from those of Central Europe. This is less of a problem with the princely (royal, ducal) and ecclesiastical terms, as these were usually “transferred” from regions west of our area. But such local features as the term for the politically or socially significant persons, upper layers of “freemen” (as Lisa Wolverton calls them), in the Latin referred to as comes (pl. comites) is not easy to translate. To call them “counts” would be misleading, as there was no formally titled nobility in the times described by Cosmas, nor were these comites as unequivocally royal officeholders as, for example, Carolingian counts. The vernacular term for them was most likely kmet, and we considered using this word, but felt that it would make the text needlessly strange. Besides, the word suffered a kind of devaluation in the later centuries and meant in modern times not a major lord but its opposite, a lowly, dependent peasant. Therefore, we decided to keep the Latin comes and let the reader decide, based on the context, what kind of a person is so titled. In many cases, however, Cosmas is not using the term comes but refers to optimates, principes, and so on. Here we chose to translate the expression, more or less uniformly, as “great men of the realm,” or (especially proceres), generally as “lords.” Another inconsistent usage of Cosmas refers to the centers of settlement, which he calls variably urbs, civitas, or castrum. Frequently, it is possible to distinguish between castle and town or city, but the author often calls the same place by two different words even in one sentence. Since archaeological evidence is in many instances inconclusive, we were just as inconsistent as Cosmas and translated these terms by one of these words, as far as possible according to the best of our knowledge. (Here we did not follow Wolverton who opted for the general term “burg” for all of these settlements.) A few other specific expressions (such as villicus), which occur only once or twice, will be explained, as far as possible, in a note. A different translation problem originates in Cosmas’s learned style. Well versed in the Classics (as discussed above), he liked to apply terms of antiquity to his medieval real-

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ity. For example, he often wrote legio for a detachment of warriors or called major officeholders satrapes. Moreover, he was able to formulate a whole complicated sequence of elements from GrecoRoman mythological allusions, clearly reflecting a “game” played among scholars in his years in Liège. We usually simplified our task by avoiding much of his classicization, however pedestrian that may sound. Personal names pose a problem in this Chronicle. Except for the princes of Bohemia and its neighbors, almost none of the persons mentioned by Cosmas are known from any other source. The original forms of their names are mostly also unknown, notwithstanding attempts by Czech (and, following them, other) translators to construct Slavic-sounding names for them. Our decision was to print in Cosmas’s original spelling for all those names that are otherwise not known or did not become common as Czech or other vernacular names. We have, as always in the CEMT series, Anglicized those names that appear in the Latin Christian calendar of saints and thus have English equivalents (such as George, Henry, Alex, or Ulrich) or are generally used by historians such as Boleslav, Vladislav, and so on. Place names, however, are not reproduced in their spelling in the Chronicle but are given in the form as they can be found in a good modern atlas, as far as they can be identified. Considering the many changes of boundaries in the region, these may occasionally sound anachronistic, but this principle seems to be the most practical. We have also included two maps (see the front endpaper and p. XIV) for orientation. Annotations identify quotations or borrowings and explain features or data of the text. As mentioned above, Cosmas used Classical and Biblical (or medieval) texts quite “creatively”: sometimes quoting verbatim, mostly, however, using his models as quarries for single words or clauses. Thus, we italicized borrowings only when they were strictly verbatim. Biblical quotations are given in the Douay-Rheims translation of the Vulgate. Explanatory notes are intended to clarify events, persons, and the like, especially for readers less familiar with the history of Bohemia and its neighbors.

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Historical data augmenting (or correcting) Cosmas were taken to a great extent from the MGH edition (and the different modern translations) or from the relevant handbooks for the history of Bohemia and the neighboring countries, to which we do not refer at every instance. Discussion of controversies regarding dates or persons or genealogical data can be read in the critical edition; in many cases, however, nothing more is known about a person or of an event than what Cosmas wrote. We attempted to refer to all titles in languages other than the region’s vernaculars known to us, assuming that those able to read Czech, Slovak, Polish, or Hungarian would be able to consult the relevant national bibliographies and handbooks. Nevertheless, we included Czech and other vernacular titles, especially in order to draw attention to recent literature. On the most informative literature on general early medieval history of the region, see above, p. XXVI, n. 42; those books usually contain extensive bibliographies.

CHRONICA BOHEMORUM

• CHRONICLE OF THE CZECHS

PROLOGUS1 AD SEVERUM PREPOSITUM2. Domino Severo, Melnicensis3 ecclesie preposito, tam litterali scientia quam spirituali intelligentia predito, Cosmas Pragensis ecclesie solo nomine4 decanus post huius vite stadium in celesti regno bravium. Quanta mentis mee devotione ac dilectione vestre paternitati substernor, Deum testor, eloqui nequeo, neque enim est magna dilectio, quam humana comprehendit ratio. Dilectio enim vera nihil proprium, nihil secretum aut occultum habere quit, quod non ei promat, quem sincero affectu diligit. Ea mihi nisi affuisset, nequaquam tante auctoritatis viro hec mea senilia deliramenta offerre presumpsissem. Querens enim quesivi, quid iocundum, quid ociosum vobis offerrem, sed nihil tam ridiculosum quam opusculum meum inveni. Si enim suaviter ridemus, cum aliquem offendi pede ad lapidem videmus5, quot in hoc opere meas offensiones, quot gramatice artis synalimphas videbitis; de quibus si per singula ridere velitis, ultra modum potestis uti proprietate hominis. Valete. Sive enim vobis soli hee seniles nuge placeant sive displiceant, rogo, ne tercius eas oculus videat.

 This short prologue, undated (in contrast to the next one that indicates ca. 1119 to  1122) may have been added by Cosmas later, after having finished the three books.

1

 Nothing is known of him, save that there is a note in Graus, “Necrologium Bohemicum,” 789–810, here 807 (21 August) on the death of a person with this same name.

2

 The fortress of Mĕlník was one of the buttresses of the early Přemyslid territory from the tenth century (see Ladislav Varadzin, “The Development of Přemyslid Domain Strongholds in the Heart of Bohemia – a Contribution to the Discussion,” in Frühgeschichtliche Zentralorte in Mitteleuropa: Internationale Konferenz und Kolleg der Alexander-von-Humboldt-Stiftung zum 50. Jahrestag des Beginns archäologischer Ausgrabungen in Pohansko bei Břeclav, 5.–9. 10. 2009, ed. Jiří Ma­ chá­ček (Bonn: Habelt, 2011) [henceforth: Přemyslid Strongholds], 405–10). This

3

[2]

prologue1, to provost SEVERUS.2 To Lord Severus, provost of the church of Mĕlník,3 possessed of both knowledge of letters and of spiritual wisdom, Cosmas, merely by name4 dean of the church of Prague, wishes reward in the heavenly kingdom after the course of this life. I  cannot express—as God be my witness—with what dedication and love I yield to your paternal care, for the love is not great which the human mind may grasp. For true love can not have anything intimate, secret or hidden, that it would not reveal to the one whom it loves with true affection. Had I  been lacking in this, I  would not have dared to offer these senile nonsenses of mine to a man of such authority. I  was looking out for something amusing and diverting to give you, but I found nothing as droll as this little work of mine. And as we cheerfully smile when we see someone dash his foot on a stone,5 how many dashes of mine will you see in this work, how many flaws in the art of grammar! To laugh at every one of them, would be using that human ability beyond measure. Farewell! And whether you like or dislike these frivolities of old age, I pray you not to let a third eye catch sight of them! title “provost” would imply the existence of a  collegiate chapter at Mělník, the foundation of which is, despite speculations on an earlier date, usually put at 1120; see Bretholz, Die Chronik.  This interjection, just like the one a few lines below in the Preface to Gervase, is most likely one of the many “humility topoi” of prologues, on which, in general, see Ernst Robert Curtius, European Literature and the Latin Middle Ages, trans. Willard Task, Bollingen Series 36 (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1953) [henceforth: European Literature], 407–13, but could also have implied that by the time of its writing—especially if we assume that it was added at the end of his work—Cosmas had retired from his office, while retaining the title.

4

 Matt. 4:6 and Luke 4:11.

5

[3]

4

CHRONICA BOHEMORUM

ITEM AD GERVASIUM6 MAGISTRUM PREFACIO OPERIS SUBSEQUENTIS. Liberalium artium quibusque studiis pleniter imbuto et omnimode scientie sapientia delibuto archigeronte7 Gervasio Cosmas, quod dicitur haud dici dignus, Deo tamen et sancto Wencezlao8 famulantium famulus, debite orationis munus et mutue dilectionis pignus. Cum acceperis hanc scedulam, scias, quod tibi transmiserim Boemorum chronicam, quam ego nullo gramatice artis lepore politam, sed simpliciter et vix latialiter digestam tue prudentie singulari examinandam deliberavi, quatinus tuo sagaci iudicio aut omnino abiciatur, ne a quoquam legatur aut, si legi adiudicatur, lima tue examinationis ad unguem9 prius elimetur aut potius, quod magis rogo, per te ex integro latialius enucleetur. Nam id solum opere precium duxi in meo opere, ut vel tu, cui a Deo collata est sapientia, vel alii potiores scientia, sicut Virgilius habuit Troie excidia et Stacius Eacidia10, ita ipsi hoc meum opus habeant pro materia, quo et suam scientiam posteris notificent et nomen sibi memoriale in secula magnificent. Igitur huius narrationis sumpsi exordium a  primis incolis terre Boemorum et perpauca, que didici senum fabulosa relatione, non humane laudis ambitione, sed ne omnino tradantur relata oblivioni, pro posse et nosse pando omnium bonorum dilectioni. Bonis enim et peritis semper placere glisco, idiotis autem et discolis displicere non pertimesco. Scio enim nonnullos affore emulos  Gervase may have been the master of the cathedral school of St. Vitus in Prague; the day of his death is listed in Graus, “Necrologium Bohemicum,” 805 (3 May).

6

 Hrdina and Wihoda, Kosmas, 29, n. 5 suggested that the strange title archigerons is the equivalent term to decanus. In: Cosmas of Prague, The Chronicle of the Czechs ed. and transl. Lisa Wolverton (Washington: Catholic University of America Press, 2009) [henceforth: Chronicle], 30 , Wolverton translated it as “archdeacon,” an office subordinate to the bishop with unknown functions in Cosmas’s times. In neighbouring Hungary, archdeacons were in charge of a part—usually a quarter—of the parishes of a diocese; see Antal Szentirmai, “Der Ursprung des Archidiakonats in Ungarn,” Österreichisches Archiv für Kirchenrecht 7 (1956), 231–44. In Czech lands they played similar role since twelfth century when we start having evidence.

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5

Again, to Master GervasE,6 a preface on the following work. To the dean7 Gervasius, thoroughly acquainted with all possible disciplines of liberal arts and anointed with the wisdom of universal knowledge, Cosmas, hardly worthy of being called what he is called, servant of the servants of God and Saint Wenceslas,8 the gift of due prayer and the pledge of love one to the other. When you receive this little sheet, may you know that I have sent to you a chronicle of the Czechs. Although not polished with any grace of grammatical art but composed simply and just barely in Latin, I  decided that it should be scrutinized by your outstanding wisdom so that it might, according to your keen judgment, be either utterly rejected, so that nobody may read it, or, if it is judged to be readable, be first scrupulously smoothened carefuly by the file of your criticism,9 or rather, for which I pray more, rendered anew in better Latin by you. For the only thing I considered of value in my work is that it may provide material either for you, to whom wisdom was conferred by God, or for others more gifted with wisdom, who could use my work so as to show their art to posterity and enhance the memory of their name forever, just as was done by Virgil with the fall of Troy and by Statius with Aeacideia.10 Therefore, I have started this account with the first inhabitants of the land of the Czechs, and, to the extent of my ability and knowledge, I relate for the pleasure of all good people the few things I have learned from the fanciful tales of old men, not striving for human praise but to prevent the stories from wholly falling into oblivion. For I  always yearn to please the good and the

 St. Wenceslas (Václav) was—besides St. Vitus and St. Adalbert—the patron of the church of Prague.

8

 Horace Ars 294; Cosmas used the expression ad unguem (‘perfectly,’ ‘completely’) several times later, though it is most appropriate here, as Horace applied it to the quality of revision.

9

 Ovid Met. 7. 472: Aecideia regna; referring to Publius Papinius Statius’s Achilleid.

10

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et eos emori risu subsannationis, cum viderint scema huius operationis; qui tantummodo docti sunt aliis derogare et ipsi per se nihil boni sapiunt erogare.11 De talibus canit propheta: „Sapientes sunt, ut faciant mala, bene autem facere nesciunt.“12 Hii namque ea solummodo linceis oculis13 inspiciunt et in corde suo velut in adamante figunt memoriter, que sunt dicta inproprie aut ubi mens mea dormitans titubavit. Quid mirum? „Quandoque bonus dormitat Homerus.“14 Horum ego nec invidiosis derogationibus perterreor nec yronicis adulationibus permulceor; qui volunt, legant, qui nolunt, abiciant. Tu autem, frater karissime, si me tuum amicum diligis, si meis precibus tangeris, precinge lumbos mentis et accipe in manum rasorium, calcem et calamum, ut quod superest radas et quod non est desuper addas; inproprie dicta proprietate muta, ut sic mea inscicia tua sublevetur facecia. Non enim ab amico corrigi erubesco, qui etiam ab amicis nimio affectu emendari exposco. Continet autem hic liber primus Boemorum gesta, prout mihi scire licuit, digesta usque ad tempora primi Bracizlai, filii ducis Odalrici15. Annos autem dominice incarnationis idcirco a temporibus Borivoy, primi ducis catholici,16 ordinare cepi, quia in inicio huius libri nec fingere volui nec chronicam reperire potui, ut, quando vel quibus gesta sint temporibus, scirem, que ad presens recitabis in sequentibus. Vale; et tuo iussu aut me ad cetera evolven-

 The above and much of the following is a nice collection of typical exordial topics, see Gertrud Simon, “Untersuchungen zur Topik der Widmungsbriefe mittelalterlicher Geschichtsschreiber bis zum Ende des 12. Jahrhunderts”, Archiv für Diplomatik 4 (1958), 52–112 and 5/6 (1959/60), 73–153. Many of them also appear in Cosmas’s favorite source and model, see: Reginonis abbatis Prumiensis Chronicon cum continuatione Treverensi, ed. Friedrich Kurze, MGH SS rer. Germ.  50 (Hanover: Hahn, 1890) [henceforth: Chron.]; see also the English translation by MacLean, History.

11

 Jer. 4:22.

12

 As far as we can see, all editors and translators before Wolverton ignored the reference to the Argonaut Lynceus, famous for his eyesight; see Wolverton, Chronicle 32 (cf. Boethius Consolatio 3p8.10). They translated oculis linceis as referring to the eyes of a lynx. Cosmas, always keen to display his familiarity with Classical mythology, refers to Horace Sat. 1.2.90.

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learned, while I do not much fear displeasing the ignorant and layabouts. Indeed I know there will be some jealous people and that they will die of derisive laughter when they see the scope of this project. They were taught only to criticize others, while they themselves know nothing good to present.11 Of these the prophet says: “They are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.”12 For they only scrutinize with their lyncean eyes13 and readily impress into their hearts as into steel those things that are said incorrectly or where my drowsy mind has blundered. Why wonder? “Sometimes even the good Homer nods.”14 I do not fear their envious disparagement, nor am I flattered by their ironic praise; those who want, let them read; those who do not, let them cast this aside. But you, dearest brother, if you value me as your friend, if you are touched by my pleas, gird the loins of your mind, take a scraper in hand, chalk and ink bottle, so that you may pare away whatever is superfluous and add whatever is missing. What is incorrectly said, change for the better, so that my dullness is leavened by your wit. For I am not ashamed to be corrected by a friend, but rather insist affectionately on improvements by my friends. This first book contains the deeds of the Czechs, inasmuch as I could learn about them, arranged up to the time of Břetislav I, son of Duke Ulrich.15 But the years of the Lord’s incarnation I began to list only from the time of Bořivoj, the first Catholic duke,16 since I did not want to make anything up at the start of the book, nor could I find a chronicle by which I might know when and in which times these deeds had happened, of which you now will read in what follows. Farewell! By your command I will either gird

 Horace Ars 359: widely used proverb.

14

 Břetislav I, duke of Bohemia (1034–1055), illegitimate son of Duke Ulrich I and his concubinate wife, Božena.

15

 Bořivoj I (d. 890?), the first historically recorded Přemyslid prince, exponent of Great Moravia in Central Bohemia, the first baptized—by St. Methodius some time before 885—member of the dynasty; husband of St. Ludmila.

16

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da precingam aut ibi gradum sistam et meis ineptis modum figam ceptis.17 Vive, vale, mea ne renuas optata, sed imple. Est autem hec chronica composita regnante quarto Heinrico Romano imperatore18 et gubernante sanctam ecclesiam Dei papa Kalisto, 19 sub temporibus ducis Boemorum Wladizlai,20 simul et presulis Pragensis ecclesie Hermanni,21 ut in sequentibus datur omnibus scire volentibus, quibus sint acta annis Christi vel indictionibus.22

INCIPIT PRIMUS LIBELLUS IN CHRONICAM BOEMORUM, QUAM COMPOSUIT COSMAS PRAGENSIS ECCLESIE DECANUS. Capitulum I. Post diluvii effusionem, post virorum maligna mente turrim edificantium confusionem humanum genus, quod tum fere constabat in LXX duobus viris,23 pro tam illicitis et temerariis ausis cum divina ultione, quot capita virorum, tot in diversa linguarum genera dividerentur, sicut hystorica relatione didicimus, unusquisque eorum vagus et profugus,24 longe lateque dispersi per diversa spacia terrarum errabant ac de die in diem corpore decrescentes in generationes et generationes multipliciter crescebant. Unde humanum genus Dei nutu omnia disponente in tantum diffusum est per orbem  Cf. Vergil A. 6. 465. For modum figam ceptis cf. Horace Carm. 3.15.2

17

 As Cosmas counted only the crowned emperors and not the kings of the Germans, his numbering of the Henrys is always one less; here: King and Emperor Henry V (1105–1125, emperor from 1111).

18

 Pope Callixtus II (1119–1124).

19

 Vladislav I was duke 1109–1117 and 1120–1125.

20

 Hermann was bishop of Prague from 1099 to 1122.

21

 Indictio was a dating element of Roman origin, continued by the papal and imperial chancelleries; in fact, Cosmas never used it for dating an event.

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myself in order to narrate the rest, or halt my steps here and set a limit to my silly enterprise.17 Live and be healthy! May you not refuse my wishes but fulfill them. This chronicle was composed during the reign of Henry the fourth, Roman emperor,18 when Pope Callixtus governed our Lord’s Holy Church19 at the time of Vladislav, duke of the Czechs,20 and Hermann, bishop of the Prague Church,21 as will be explained in the following to all who wish to know in which years of Christ or in which indictions22 things happened.

Here begins the first LITTLE book of the Chronicle of the Czechs, composed by Cosmas, dean of the Prague church. Chapter 1 After the inundation of the Flood, and after the confusion of the men who with a  wicked mind built a  tower, humankind, which then consisted of some seventy-two men,23 was divided by divine retribution for such wrong and rash ventures into as many different language groups as there were heads. And as we have learned from the historical record, each of them a  fugitive and a  vagabond,24 scattered far and wide, strayed through various parts of the earth, and, though decaying daily in body, they grew in number from generation to generation. Therefore, by the divine order that determines everything, humankind was spread so far throughout  Cf. Gen. 11:4–9, the number seventy-two was a tradition based on the count of genealogies in Gen. 10 and in 1 Chron. 1. It has been argued that it found its echo in the seventy-two missionaries appointed by Jesus (Luke 10:1). Cosmas’s derivation of the peoples and languages from the Tower of Babel is relatively rare in the region, see Arno Borst, Der Turmbau von Babel. Geschichte der Meinungen über Ursprung und Vielfalt der Sprachen und Völker (Stuttgart: Hiersemann, 1957– 1963, vol. 1), 699–703.

23

 Gen. 4:12 (referring to Cain).

24

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terre, ut post multa secula tandem has etiam in partes deveniret Germanie; tum enim omnis illa regio sub arctoo axe Thanay tenus et usque ad occiduum sita, licet in ea singula propriis loca nominibus nuncupentur, generali tamen vocabulo Germania vocitatur. Ad hoc ista retulimus, ut nostre intentionis melius exequi possimus propositum. Veruntamen interim, priusquam ad exordium narrationis veniamus, situm terre huius Boemice et unde nomen sit sortita breviter exponere temptabimus. Capitulum II. In divisione orbis secundum geometricos Asia nomine sub suo dimidium mundi obtinuit et dimidium Europa et Affrica.25 In Europa sita est Germania, cuius in partibus versus aquilonalem plagam est locus late nimis diffusus, cinctus undique montibus per girum, qui mirum in modum extenduntur tocius terre per circuitum, ut in aspectu oculorum quasi unus et continuus mons totam illam terram circueat et muniat.26 Huius terre superficiem tunc temporis vaste tenebant solitudines nemorum sine habitatore hominum; nimis tamen sonore erant examinibus apum et diversarum modulationibus volucrum. Fere silvarum innumere ceu maris harene vel quot sunt stelle in ethere nec ab ullo perterrite errabant per devia terre, et bestiarum gregibus vix sufficiebat tellus. Ad numerum locustarum estate per arva saltancium vix poterant equipperare armenta iumentorum. Aque illic nimis perspicue et ad humanos usus sane, similiter et pisces suaves et ad comedendum salubres. Mira res, et unde perpendere potes, quam in alto aere hec pendeat regio, cum nulla peregrina hanc influat aqua, sed quotquot amnes, parvi et inmanes ex diversis montibus orti, a maiori aqua que dicitur Labe27 recepti usque aquilonale fluunt in mare. Et quia hec regio  Cf. Pliny Nat. 3.5.

25

 Wolverton, Narrative, 246, proposed that in Cosmas’s view it was precisely the connection to the “land enclosed by mountains” the basic identity of the Bohemi. Cf. David Kalhous, Bohemi. Prozesse der Identitätsbildung in frühpřemyslidischen Ländern (bis 1200) (Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 2018) [henceforth: Bohemi], 27–54.

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the earth that at last, after many centuries, it came even to these parts of Germania. For that entire region, which lies under the North Pole as far as the River Don and all the way to the west, is generally called by the name Germania although many places in it have their own names. We tell this in order to better carry out the purpose of our enterprise. Yet, before we proceed to the beginning of the narrative, we will first try to describe in brief the location of this Czech land and whence it acquired its name. Chapter 2 According to the geometers, the Earth is divided into two halves: one received the name Asia, the other half Europe and Africa.25 Germania is located in Europe, in whose parts towards the north there is a place that stretches very wide. This place is girded on all sides by a  ring of mountains that extend in a  wondrous manner, circumscribing the whole land so that it looks as if one continuous mountain surrounds and protects that entire land.26 In those times, a vast wilderness of forests without human habitation covered the surface of this land; yet it greatly resounded with the buzzing of swarms of bees and the songs of various birds. The beasts of the forest, as countless as the grains of sand of the sea or the stars in the sky, wandered through remote lands without being frightened; the land barely sufficed for the flocks of animals. The beasts of burden could almost equal the number of locusts hopping through the fields during the summer. There, the waters were very limpid and wholesome for human use, and likewise the fish were suitable for eating and delicious. What is a wonder—and you can reckon from it how high this region is located—is that no outside river flows into this region, but as many small and mighty streams that spring from various mountains run into a larger water by the name of Labe27 and flow into the northern sea. And because this region

 The Slavic name for the River Elbe.

27

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tempore in illo intemptata iacebat aratro et homo, qui temptaret, adhuc eam non intrarat, de fertilitate sive sterilitate eius magis placuit tacere, quam inexpertam rem dicere. Has solitudines quisquis fuit ille hominum—incertum est quot in animabus—postquam intravit, querens loca humanis habitationibus oportuna, montes, valles, tesqua, tempe visu sagaci perlustravit et, ut reor, circa montem Rip28 inter duos fluvios, scilicet Ogram et Wlitauam, primas posuit sedes, primas fundavit et edes et quos in humeris secum apportarat, humi sisti penates gaudebat.29 Tunc senior, quem alii quasi dominum comitabantur, inter cetera suos sequaces sic affatur: „O socii, non semel mecum graves labores per devia nemorum perpessi, sistite gradum, vestris penatibus litate libamen gratum, quorum opem per mirificam hanc vobis olim fato predestinatam tandem venistis ad patriam. Hec est illa, hec est illa terra, quam sepe me vobis promisisse memini, terra obnoxia nemini, feris et volatilibus referta, nectare mellis et lactis30 humida, et, ut ipsi perspicitis, ad habitandum aere iocunda. Aque ex omni parte copiose et ultra modum piscose. Hic vobis nihil deerit, quia nullus vobis oberit. Sed cum hec talis, tam pulchra ac tanta regio in manibus vestris sit, cogitate, aptum terre nomen quod sit.“ Qui mox quasi ex divino commoniti oraculo: „Et unde,“ inquiunt, „melius vel aptius nomen inveniemus, quam, quia tu, o pater, diceris Boemus, dicatur et terra Boe-

 The name of the mountain may have derived from Germanic rip, “mount,” or “rock,” see: Antonín Profous, Jan Svoboda and Vladimír Šmilauer, Místní jména v Čechách: jejich vznik, původ, význam a změny [Place names in Bohemia: origin, meaning and changes] (Prague: ČSAV, 1949–1960) [henceforth: Místní jména], 566–7. Dušan Třeštík, Mýty kmene Čechů (7.–10. století). Tři studie ke „starým pověstem českým“. [Myths of the Czech tribe; three studies on the ‘oldest Czech history’] (Prague: NLN, 2003) [henceforth: Mýty], 72–77, argued that Mount Říp, in the center of Bohemia (30 km to the north of Prague) was a cultic centre of the early Czechs. While archaeological evidence is slim due to the later forestation of the mountain, there are indications that the site had some significance for the Bronze Age population (see Jiří Waldhauser, Lubomír Novák, Miloslav Slabina, “Archeologie hory Říp” [The archeology of the Mount Říp], Archeologie ve středních Čechách 12/1 (2008), 309–18.)

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lay at that time undisturbed by the plough, and man, who might have disturbed it, had not yet entered it, I  would rather remain silent about its fertility or infertility than say something out of ignorance. Whoever that one of mankind was—and it is uncertain how many there were—after having entered the wilderness, searching for a suitable place to live, he surveyed the mountains, valleys, wastes, and hillsides with a watchful eye. And as I believe, somewhere around Mount Říp,28 between two rivers by the name Ohře and Vltava, he set up the first settlements, laid the foundation of the first buildings and rejoiced in placing on the ground the penates that he brought with him on his shoulders.29 Then an elder, whom everybody followed as their  lord, spoke to his fellows among other things thus: “O, companions, who often bore with me the heavy burden of wandering through dense forests, halt your step and sacrifice a libation of thanks to your penates, by whose wondrous help you have finally reached the homeland, long destined to you by fate. This is it; this is the land that I remember having often promised to you! It belongs to nobody, abounds with game and birds, drips with nectar, milk and honey,30 and as you have seen for yourself, its air is pleasant for living. The waters are copious everywhere and full of fish. Here you will lack nothing, for nobody will harm you. But now that you have such a beautiful and vast land in your hands, think of an apt name for it.” And they immediately, as if reminded by divine oracle, said: “Because you, O father, are called Bohemus, whence can we find a better or more appropriate name than that? Let the land then be called Bo Cf. Vergil A. 4.598. The (di)penates were the gods or genies protecting the household, and, as their statues were revered in the homes; the word can also stand for ‘home,’ as Cosmas often uses it. Dušan Třeštík, (Třeštík, Mýty, 69–72) speculated that this reference may be to pagan idols of early Slavs, for which there are many examples. See Alexander Gieysztor, Mitologia Słowian [Slavonic mythology] (Warsaw: Wydawatelstvo Artystyczne i Filmowe, 1982), 233–40 and Andrzej Szyjewski, Slavic Religion (Cracow: Wydawnictwo WAM, 2003), esp. 184–90. But it is more likely that Cosmas took the word from classical models. Actually, the entire chapter echoes the landing of Aeneas in Italy (Vergil A. 7).

29

 Exod. 3:8 and many more times in the Old Testament.

30

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mia?“31 Tunc senior motus sociorum augurio, cepit terram osculari pre gaudio gaudens eam ex suo nomine nuncupari; et surgens ac utrasque palmas tendens ad sydera sic orsus est loqui: „Salve, terra fatalis,32 mille votis quesita nobis, olim diluvii tempore viduata homine, nunc quasi monimenta hominum nos conserva incolomes et multiplices nostram sobolem a progenie in progenies.“ Capitulum III. Quorum autem morum, quam honestorum vel quante simplicitatis et quam ammirande probitatis tunc temporis fuerint homines quamque inter se fideles et in semetipsos misericordes, cuius etiam modestie, sobrietatis, continentie, si quis his modernis hominibus valde contraria imitantibus pleno ore narrare temptaverit, in mag­ num deveniret fastidium. Propterea hec pretermittimus et pauca ac que sunt vera illius prime etatis de qualitate dicere cupimus.33 Felix nimium erat etas illa,34 modico contenta sumptu nec tumido inflata fastu. Cereris et Bachi munera haud norant, quia neque erant. Sera prandia solvebant glande vel ferina carne. Incorrupti latices haustus dabant salubres. Ut solis splendor vel aque humor, sic arva et nemora, quin etiam et ipsa conubia erant illis communia. Nam more pecudum singulas ad noctes novos probant himineos et surgente aurora trium gratiarum copulam et ferrea amoris rumpunt vincula; et ubi nox quemque occuparat, ibi fusus per herbam frondose arboris sub umbra dulces carpebat somnos. Lane vel lini eis usus ac vestis ignotus, hieme ferinis aut ovinis pellibus utuntur  The word Bohemus is derived from Boii, an Iron Age Celtic tribe that once lived in the region; the word Bohemia originates in Latin term Boiohaemum, or rather Germanic Boi-heim (“home of the Boii”), see Josef Dobiáš, Dějiny československého území před vystoupením Slovanů [History of the territory of contemporary Czechoslovak Republic before the arrival of the Slavs] (Prague: ČSAV, 1964), passim; Natálie Venclová et al., Archeologie pravěkých Čech 7: Doba laténská [Archaelogy of Czech prehistory 7: The Roman era] (Prague: Archeologický ústav Praha AV ČR, v. v. i., 2008), 9–10. For a possible etymology of the word Czech see Vera Titovna Kolomijec, “Etimologija etnonyma Čech,” [Etymology of the ethnonym Czech], Slavia 52 (1983), 290–7. An early mention might be in the Chronicle of Moissac, where a campaign against Slavs in 805 names them as Cicho-Windiones

31

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hemia!”31 Then the joyous elder, moved by his companions’ divination, went to kiss the land, overcome with joy that it was to be called by his name. Arising, he stretched both his hands towards the sky and began to speak: “Hail, destined land,32 sought by us through countless prayers, empty of people since the time of the Flood, keep us unhurt and multiply our offspring from generation to generation as memorials of mankind.” Chapter 3 Anyone who tried to fully describe to modern folk how these people lived, would come in for much scorn, as they do the very opposite: how honest those were, simple, admirably noble, faithful among themselves and merciful to each other, how modest, sober and restrained. Therefore, we leave these aside and wish only to say a few but truthful things about the quality of that first age.33 Very happy was that age,34 content with modest expense and not puffed up with swollen pride. The gifts of Ceres and Bacchus they knew not, for they did not exist. For main meals, they used to take acorn or venison. Clear springs furnished salubrious waters. As the sunshine and the waters, so the meadows and the groves were common to them, and so were their marriages. As is the way of cattle, every single night they besought fresh unions and with approaching dawn they put aside the ties of the Three Graces and the tight bonds of love. Wherever one was caught by night, there he lay down on the grass and dreamt sweet dreams under the shade of (Chronicon Moissiacense, ed. Georg Heinrich Pertz, MGH SS 1 (Hanover: Hahn, 1826) 307) and also the Annales Tiliani (ibid. 223) has a  similar word writing about terra Sclavorum qui vocabantur Cinu (or Cihu). The origin of the identification of Czechs with Bohemians (Czech land and Bohemia) is unclear; it appears first in the writings of clerks trained abroad, such as Cosmas.  Cf. Vergil A. 7.120.

32

 On this description of the “golden age” and of its end, see now, in comparative context, Bernhard Töpfer, Urzustand und Sündenfall in der mittelalterlichen Staatslehre (Stuttgart: Hiersemann, 1999) [henceforth: Urzustand].

33

 The following sentences owe much to Boethius Consolatio 2m5.25.

34

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pro vestibus.35 Nec quisquam „meum“ dicere norat, sed ad instar monastice vite, quicquid habebant, „nostrum“ ore, corde et opere sonabant. Ad stabula non erant repagula, nec portam inopi claudebant, quia neque fur neque latro neque inops quisquam erat; nullum scelus apud eos furto gravius et latrocinio. Nullius gentis arma videre, tantummodo sagittas, et has propter feriendas feras, habuere.36 Quid plura? Proh dolor! Prospera in contraria, communia in propria cedunt; securam paupertatem olim amabilem quasi cenosam rotam vitant et fugiunt, quia amor habendi sevior ignibus Ethne in omnibus ardet.37 His ac talibus malis emergentibus de die in diem peius et peius iniuriam, quam nemo prius inferre norat, alter ab altero sibi illatam pacienter sufferebat et, cui querimoniam suam apploraret, iudicem nec principem habebat. Post hec, quicumque in sua tribu vel generatione persona, moribus potior et opibus honoratior habebatur, sine exactore, sine sigillo, spontanea voluntate ad illum confluebant et de dubiis causis ac sibi illatis iniuriis salva libertate disputabant. Inter quos vir quidam oriundus extitit nomine Crocco,38 ex cuius vocabulo castrum iam arboribus obsitum in silva, que adiacet pago Ztibecne,39 situm esse dinoscitur. Vir fuit hic in suis generationibus ad unguem perfectus,40 rerum secularium opulentia preditus, iudiciorum in deliberatione discretus, ad quem tam de propriis tribubus quam ex tocius provincie plebibus, velut apes ad alvearia, ita omnes ad dirimenda convolabant iudicia.

 Cf. Regino, Chron. ad a. 889, 131–2; cf. MacLean, History, 203 about the Skythians, following Justin 2.2.9.

35

 On Cosmas’s ambivalent attitude to the life of pagan princes and their folk see below, 42, and Bak, “Christian Identity,” 171–82.

36

 Cf. Boethius Consolatio 2m5.25.

37

 This origin of this name has not been deciphered by scholars (see e.g. Třeštík, Mýty, 106–9), but it is not unknown from the Migration Age. The word is similar to that of the legendary prince of the Lechites, Krak (Krakus, Gracus), alleged founder of Cracow, first mentioned in Master Wincenty’s work: Mistra Wincentego zwanego Kadłubkiem Kronika Polska, ed. Marian Plezia, MPH 2, 9 (Cracow:

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the leaves of a tree. They did not know the usage of fleece or linen or raiment, and in winter, they used pelts or hides for clothing.35 Nor did anybody know the word “mine,” but like in monastic life, whatever they had, they called “our” by word, heart, and deed. The barns had no latches and they did not shut the door on a pauper because there were no thieves, no burglars, and no needy people. No crime was worse for them than theft and robbery. They never saw the arms of enemy people; they had arrows only for hunting game.36 What more? Alas! Prosperity turned into its opposite; common into individual; and carefree poverty, once so dear, they avoided and shunned like a  dirty wheel, because the craving for possession burns in everybody stronger than the fires of Etna.37 When these and other evil things came about, matters grew worse and worse from day to day, and injuries inflicted by one to another, earlier unknown, were suffered patiently as there was no judge or ruler to whom one could appeal with one’s complaints. Later, they freely gathered, without bailiffs and seals [of summons] around him who was considered a person of better manners or more respected for his wealth in his tribe or kindred, and freely discussed matters where there was doubt and injuries done. Among them, there arose a man by the name of Krok,38 by whose name a castle is known in a forest near the village Zbečno, by now overgrown with trees.39 A perfect man he was in his generations,40 rich in worldly wealth, prudent in weighing of judgments, to whom all the people not only from his own tribes but from all over the region converged as bees to hives for decisions in lawsuits.

Secesja, 1994), 12; cf. Die Chronik der Polen des Magisters Vincentius, ed. and trans. Eduart Mühle (Darmstadt: Wiss. Buchges, 2004), 100. However, it may have been known from oral tradition earlier.  The location of this castle could not be established by archaeologists; most likely the name comes from a later tradition, see: Rudolf Turek, Die frühmittelaterlichen Stammesgebiete in Böhmen (Prague: ČSAV, 1957) [henceforth: Die frühmittelaterlichen Stammesgebiete], 5, 32.

39

 Gen. 6:9 (on Noah).

40

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Hic tantus vir ac talis expers virilis fuit prolis; genuit tamen tres natas, quibus natura non minores, quam solet viris, sapientie dedit divicias. Capitulum IV. Quarum maior natu nuncupata est Kazi, que Medee Cholchice herbis et carmine nec Peonio41 magistro arte medicinali cessit, quia sepe Parcas cessare interminali ab opere ipsaque fata sequi fecit sua carmine iussa.42 Unde et incole huius terre, quando aliquid est perditum et quod se posse rehabere desperant, tale proverbium de ea ferunt: „Illud nec ipsa potest recuperare Kazi.“ Ad Cereris natam hec est ubi rapta tyrannam,43 eius usque hodie cernitur tumulus, ab incolis terre ob memoriam sue domne nimis alte congestus, super ripam fluminis Mse iuxta viam,44 qua itur in partes provincie Behin, per montem qui dicitur Osseca. Laude fuit digna, sed natu Tethka secunda, Expers et maris, emuncte femina naris,45 que ex suo nomine Tethin castrum natura loci firmissimum prerupte rupis in culmine iuxta fluvium Msam46 edificavit. Hec stulto et insipienti populo Oreadas, Driadas, Amadriadas47 adorare et colere et omnem supersticiosam sectam ac sacrilegos ritus instituit et docuit; sicut actenus multi villani velut pagani, hic latices seu ignes colit, iste lucos et arbores aut lapides adorat, ille montibus sive col-

 The Peonian was a by-name for the Greek god of medicine, Asklepios; cf. Ovid Met. 15.535, etc.

41

 In fact, the Parcae and Fata were identical mythological beings, controlling the thread of life of both gods and humans.

42

 The daughter of Ceres was Proserpina, queen of the underworld.

43

 For the early medieval road to Bechyně, see: Bolina and Klimek, “K problematice”, 99–136.

44

 Cf. Horace Sat. 1.4.8.

45

 Ruins of a  thirteenth-century castle, built close to an original tenth-century Přemyslid stronghold (see Varadzín, Přemyslid Strongholds, esp. Fig. 2)—where now the village Tetín is located—can be seen on the right bank of the River

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Such a great man he was, lacking any male progeny. Nevertheless, he begat three daughters whom nature endowed with no lesser wisdom than men usually posess. Chapter 4 The oldest of them was called Kazi, who measured up to Medea of Colchis in the knowledge of herbs and magic, and to Asklepios41 in the medical art. For often, by magic she made the Parcae halt their work of death and even Fate follow the commands of her enchantments.42 Thus, the people of the land have a saying when something is lost and there is no hope of regaining it ‘That even Kazi cannot find it.’ When she was taken there, to where the queen regnant, daughter of Ceres, was abducted,43 the people erected a high mound in memory of their mistress that can be seen up to this day, situated on the shore of the river Mže near a road44 that leads to the province of Bechyně through Mount Osek. Laudable also was Tetka, the second by birth, A woman, unmarried, with unique discernment. 45 She built and named a castle Tetín, most firmly set on the peak of a steep rock near the river Mže.46 She led on the stupid and foolish folk to worship and venerate oreads, dryads, and hamadryads;47 she introduced and taught them all the superstitious cults and sacrilegious rites. Thus even up to this day some villagers are like pagans: some worship springs or fires, some revere groves and trees or stones, some worship hillocks or mountains, others pray to mute Berounka (in Cosmas’s times called Mže). Here—and at some other places—it is impossible to decide to what extent existing place names offered the basis for Cosmas’s literary constructions. Inventing eponymic heroes for different locations was a well-known procedure, extensively practiced, e.g. by the Hungarian anonymous notary in his Gesta, see: “Anonymus, Notary of King Béla, The Deeds of the Hungarians,” ed. and trans. Martyn Rady and László Veszprémy, in Anonymus and Master Roger, CEMT 5 (Budapest: CEU Press, 2010), XXVII–XXVIII.  In Greek mythology, oreads were fairy creatures connected to mountains and grottoes; dryads were nymphs of trees; if they lived in a tree, they were called hamad­ ryads.

47

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libus litat, alius, que ipse fecit, idola surda et muta rogat et orat, ut domum suam et se ipsum regant.48 Tercia natu minor, sed prudentia maior,49 vocitata est Lubossa, que etiam urbem tunc potentissimam iuxta silvam, que tendit ad pagum Ztibecnam, construxit et ex suo nomine eam Lubossin vocitavit.50 Hec fuit inter feminas una prorsus femina in consilio provida, in sermone strennua, corpore casta, moribus proba, ad dirimenda populi iudicia nulli secunda, omnibus affabilis, sed plus amabilis, feminei sexus decus et gloria, dictans negocia providenter virilia. Sed quia nemo ex omni parte beatus,51 talis ac tante laudis femina—heu dira conditio humana—fuit phitonissa.52 Et quia populo multa et certa predixit futura, omnis illa gens commune consilium iniens patris eius post necem hanc sibi prefecit in iudicem.53 Ea tempestate inter duos cives, opibus et genere eminentiores et qui videbantur populi esse rectores, orta est non modica litigio agri contigui de termino. Qui in tantum proruperunt in mutuam rixam, ut alter alterius spissam unguibus volaret in barbam, et nudis conviciis semetipsos turpiter digito sub nasum54 confundentes intrant bachantes curiam ac non sine magno strepitu adeunt domnam et, ut ratione iusticie dubiam inter eos dirimat causam, suppliciter rogant. Illa interim, ut est lasciva  For the preceding sentence cf. Sedulius Carm. pasch. 1.259.

48

 For the topos of young and old, see Curtius, European Literature, 108–15.

49

 Remains of a stronghold from the tenth century have been found in the village of that name, near Kladno, see: Ladislav Varadzín, “Raně středověké hradiště Li­ bu­šín: Hlavní poznatky z revizního zpracování výzkumů” [The early medieval stronghold in Libušín. The main findings from a review of excavations], Archeologické ­rozhledy 64 (2012), 723–74. The name derives from a male personal name “Luboša,” see Profous, Místní jména, II, 604 and cf. František Graus, “Kněžna Libuše – od postavy báje k národnímu symbolu” [Princess Libuše – from mythical figure to the symbol of a nation], Československý časopis historický 17 (1969) [henceforth: “Kněžna Libuše”], 817–44.

50

 Cf. Horace Carm. 2.16.27.

51

 The implications of the word pithonissa are discussed by Patrick Geary, Women at the Beginning (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2006) [henceforth: Women], 37–9.

52

 Libuše’s position as judge and leader is seen by John Klassen, Warring Maidens, Captive Wives and Hussite Queens: Women and Men at War and Peace in Fifteenth

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and deaf idols made by themselves and implore them to guard their houses and themselves.48 The third, by age the younger, but by wisdom the older,49 was named Libuše. She also built at that time a very powerful citadel next to a forest that stretches towards the village Zbečno, and called it Libušín after her own name.50 She was a  woman unique among women, prophetic in her thoughts, brisk in her speech, with a chaste body, of virtuous manners, unmatched in deciding people’s disputes, and kind to everybody and exeptionaly likable, honor and glory of the female sex wisely dispensing male affairs. Yet, as nobody is utterly happy,51 even such a praiseworthy woman—what an awful human destiny!—was a seer.52 Since she foretold the future often and correctly to the people, after her father’s death the whole tribe by common consent appointed her their judge.53 At that time, a  major dispute arose between two persons, preeminent by their wealth and birth who seemed to be leaders of the people, concerning a  boundary between two adjacent fields. They launched into such a quarrel that they got into each other’s thick beards with their nails and, insulting each other with plain swearing, with their fingers shamelessly under the other’s nose,54 they entered the court raving. With a great uproar, they approached the lady and suppliantly asked her to decide the contested case between them according to justice. She, therewithal, as is the wanton indulgence of women Century Bohemia, East European Monographs 77 (New York: Columbia University Press, 2000) [henceforth: Warring Maidens], esp. 14–32, as a model for the status of women in later Czech history, which he believes was better than in many other medieval societies. Cf. Geary, Women; as above. Vladimír Karbusický, Báje, mýty, dějiny. Nejstarší české pověsti v kontextu evropské kultury. [Fables, myths, history. The oldest Czech stories in the context of European culture] (Prague: Mladá fronta, 1995), 131–9, suggested that the literary form of Libuše was modeled by Cosmas on Mathilda of Tuscany (on whom, see below, 234–8). See also the German translation of the book reworked by the author: Anfänge der historischen Überlieferung in Böhmen. Ein Beitrag zum vergleichenden Studium der mittelalterlichen Sängerepen (Cologne: Böhlau, 1980), 131–9. For a deeper annalysis of this parallelism in Cosmas’s Chronicle, see Wolverton, Narrative, 162–5. The transformation of a mythical figure into a national symbol is analyzed by Graus, “Kněžna Libuše.”  Some translators add the word ‘clicking’ (under their nose). It is not clear, what kind of—apparently offensive—gesture is meant.

54

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mollicies mulierum, quando non habet quem timeat virum, cubito subnixa ceu puerum enixa, alte in pictis stratis nimis molliter accubabat. Cumque per callem iusticie55 incedens, personam hominum non respiciens tocius controversie inter eos orte causam ad statum rectitudinis perduceret, tunc is, cuius causa in iudicio non obtinuit palmam, plus iusto indignatus terque quaterque caput concussit56 et more suo terram ter baculo percussit ac barbam pleno ore saliva conspergens exclamat: „O iniuria viris haud toleranda! Femina rimosa virilia iudicia mente tractat dolosa. Scimus profecto, quia femina sive stans seu in solio residens parum sapit, quanto minus, cum in stratis accubat? Re vera tunc magis est ad accessum mariti apta quam dictare militibus iura. Certum est enim longos esse crines omnibus, sed breves sensus mulieribus.57 Satius est mori, quam viris talia pati. Nos solos obprobrium nationibus et gentibus destituit natura, quibus deest rector et virilis censura, et quos premunt feminea iura.“ Ad hec domna illatam sibi contumeliam dissimulans et dolorem cordis femineo pudore celans subrisit et „Ita est,“ inquit, „ut ais; femina sum, femina vivo, sed ideo parum vobis sapere videor, quia vos non in virga ferrea58 iudico, et quoniam sine timore vivitis, merito me despicitis. Nam ubi est timor, ibi honor.59 Nunc autem necesse est valde, ut habeatis rectorem femina ferociorem. Sic et columbe olim albiculum milvum, quem sibi elegerant in regem, spreverunt, ut vos me spernitis, et accipitrem multo ferociorem sibi ducem prefecerunt, qui fingens culpas tam nocentes quam innocentes cepit necare; et ex tunc usque hodie vescitur columbis accipiter.60 Ite nunc domum, ut quem vos cras eligatis in dominum, ego assumam mihi in maritum.“ Interea predictas advocat sorores, quas non inpares agitabant furores, quarum magica arte et propria ludificabat populum

 Prov. 2:20.

55

 Ovid Met. 2.49.

56

 The proverb is known in Czech as well (as in many other languages): Dlouhé vlasy, krátký rozum.

57

 Ps. 2:9.

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who have no man to fear, leaning on her elbow, lay delicately upon decorated cushions as if just delivered of a boy. Proceeding on the path of the just 55and disregarding the rank of the men, she brought the matter of the whole controversy that had arisen between them to a  state of rightness. Thereupon the one who had lost the case, filled with unjust indignation, three and four times shook his head 56 and three times thumped the earth with his staff, as was his habit, open-mouthed spattered his beard with spit and exclaimed: “What injustice, hardly tolerable to men! A  loose-tongued woman with her wily mind passes judgments that belong to men! Sure enough, we know that a woman even standing or sitting on a throne comprehends little—how much less if she lies on a bed! Is it not then more suitable for her to receive a  husband than to speak laws to warriors. Sure, all have long hair but women have a short mind.57 It is better for men to die than to suffer such things. We alone are set by nature to the shame of all nations and people, we, who lack a  male ruler and manly judgment and who suffer under woman’s law.” The lady ignored this insult to her and, hiding the pain of her heart beneath female modesty, smiled and said: “It is so as you say: I am a woman and live as a woman. However, the reason why you think I am unreasonable is because I do not judge you with a rod of iron58 and, since you live without fear, you justly despise me. For where there is fear, there is honor.59 Now is the time for you to have a ruler harsher than a woman. Thus, the doves once also despised a little white kite that they had elected king, as you despise me, and installed a much crueler hawk as their duke. With false charges, the hawk started to kill both guilty and innocent and from then until now the hawk feeds on the doves.60 Go home now and whomever you will elect as ruler for yourselves tomorrow, I shall take as a husband.” Meanwhile she convoked her aforementioned sisters, who were moved by the same anger, and by whose and her own magic  Cf. Rom. 13:7.

59

 Cf. Phaedr. 1.31.

60

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per omnia; ipsa enim Lubossa fuit, sicut prediximus, phitonissa, ut Chumea Sibilla, altera venefica, ut Colchis Medea, tercia malefica, ut Aeaeae Circes. Illa nocte quid consilii inierint ille tres Eumenides61 aut quid secreti egerint, quamvis ignotum fuerit, tamen omnibus luce clarius mane patuit, cum soror earum Lubossa et locum, ubi dux futurus latuit, et quis esset nomine indicavit. Quis enim crederet, quod de aratro sibi ducem prerogarent? Aut quis sciret, ubi araret, qui rector populi fieret? Quid enim phitonicus furor nescit? Aut quid est, quod magica ars non efficit? Potuit Sibilla Romano populo seriem fatorum fere usque in diem iudicii predicere, que etiam, si fas est credere, de Christo vaticinata est, sicut quidam doctor in sermone sue predicationis versus Virgilii ex persona Sibille de adventu Domini compositos introducit.62 Potuit Medea herbis et carmine sepe e celo Hyperionem et Berecinthiam deducere; potuit ymbres, fulgura et tonitrua elicere de nubibus; potuit regem Egacum63 de sene facere iuvenem. Carmine Circes socii Ulixes conversi sunt in diversas ferarum formas et rex Picus in volucrem, que nunc dicitur picus.64 Quid mirum? Quanta egerunt artibus suis magi in Egypto, qui pene totidem mira carminibus suis fecerunt, quot Dei famulus Moyses ex virtute Dei exhibuisse perhibetur.65 Hactenus hec.66

 In Greek myhtology, the Eumenides (‘the kindly ones’) were Erinyes, genies of vengeance, turned into benevolent deities by Pallas Athene.

61

 Virgil’s IV Ecloga was read in the middle Ages as containing a sibylline prophecy of the coming of Jesus Christ. The reference to the sermon could be, among many others, to Constantine’s Oratio ad sanctorum coetum (MPL 8, 456), or—even if it is not a sermon—to St. Augustine’s City of God lib. 18, cap. 23: Augustine of Hippo, De civitate Dei, ed. by Bernhard Dombart and Alfons Kalb, Corpus Christianorum, series latina, 47–48, 2 vols (Turnhout: Brepols, 1955), 613–5.

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art she deceived the people in everything. Libuše herself, as we already mentioned, was a seer like the Cumaean Sibyl, the other sister was a stirrer like Medea of Colchis, and the third a witch like Circe of Aeaea. Although what these three Eumenides61 consulted or what secret they arranged that night was unknown, it became clear as daylight to everybody the very next morning when their sister Libuše indicated both the place where the future duke was hidden and his name. For who would believe that they would call a duke from the plough? Or who may know where the future ruler of the people ploughs? Is there anything that a seer’s raptus cannot see? Or what magic art cannot accomplish? The Sibyl could foretell the fate to the Roman people almost up until judgment day, as well as, if it is possible to believe, prophesying about Christ, as one Church doctor in his sermon presented Vergil’s verses on the Lord’s coming recording the words of the Sibyl.62 Medea could bring down Hyperion and Cybele from the heavens by herbs and enchantment; she could attract rainfall, lightning, and thunder from the clouds; she could make the old king Aeson63 young. By Circe’s enchantment were the companions of Ulysses turned into different kinds of beasts and king Picus into a woodpecker, which is still called picus [in Latin].64 What wonder? How many wonders did the magicians perform with their arts in Egypt? They are said to have accomplished nearly as many wonders with their enchantments as God’s servant Moses carried out with God’s power.65 But enough of this.66

 King of Iolcus, father of Jason, thus father-in-law of Medea, see Ovid Met. 7.159 sqq.

63

 Cf. Vergil A. 7.189; Ovid Met. 14.320 sqq.

64

 Cf. Exod. 11:10.

65

 Horace Sat. 1.4.63.

66

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Capitulum V. 67 Postera die, ut iussum fuerat, sine mora convocant cetum, congregant populum; conveniunt simul omnes in unum,68 femina residens in sublimi solio concionatur ad agrestes viros: „O plebs miseranda nimis, que libera vivere nescit, et quam nemo bonus nisi cum vita amittit, illam vos non inviti libertatem fugitis69 et insuete servituti colla sponte submittitis. Heu tarde frustra vos penitebit, sicut ranas penituit, cum ydrus, quem sibi fecerant regem, eas necare cepit.70 Aut si nescitis, que sint iura ducis, temptabo vobis ea verbis dicere paucis. Inprimis facile est ducem ponere, sed difficile est positum deponere; nam qui modo est sub vestra potestate, utrum eum constituatis ducem an non, postquam vero constitutus fuerit, vos et omnia vestra erunt eius in potestate. Huius in conspectu vestra febricitabunt genua, et muta sicco palato adherebit lingua.71 Ad cuius vocem pre nimio pavore vix respondebitis: „Ita domine, ita domine,“ cum ipse solo suo nutu sine vestro preiudicio hunc dampnabit et hunc obtruncabit, istum in carcerem mitti, illum precipiet in patibulo sus­pendi. Vos ipsos et ex vobis, quos sibi libet, alios servos, alios rusticos, alios tributarios, alios exactores, alios tortores, alios precones, alios cocos seu pistores aut molendinarios faciet. Constituet etiam sibi tribunos, centuriones, villicos, cultores vinearum simul et agrorum, messores segetum, fabros armorum, sutores pellium diversarum et coriorum. Filios vestros et filias in obsequiis suis ponet; de bubus etiam et equis sive equabus seu peccoribus vestris optima queque ad suum placitum tollet. Omnia vestra, que sunt potiora in

 This chapter is based on literary and mythological narratives impossible to identify in detail. It describes the social organisation of the Bohemian duchy in the time of Cosmas’s life. The narrative, often called “The judgement of Libuše” is very often discussed as an important element in the concept of rule in the given period. See Dušan Třeštík and Barbara Krzemieńská, “Problematik der Dienstsiedlungen im frühmittelalterlichen Böhmen,” in Siedlung und Verfassung Böh­mens in der Frühzeit, ed. František Graus and Herbert Ludat (Wiesbaden: Har­ra­sowitz, 1967) [henceforth: “Problematik”], 70–103; Kalhous, Anatomy, 120–1.

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Chapter 5 67 On the next day, as was commanded, they immediately convoke an assembly, and summon the people. Once all are assembled68 the woman sitting on a high throne addresses the boorish men: “O you most pitiful people, who cannot live freely and who voluntarily lose your freedom, which no good man would lose unless together with his life,69 you deliberately submit your necks to unaccustomed servitude. You will regret this too late and in vain, as the frogs repented after they had elected a water snake as their king who in turn started to kill them.70 Or if you have no idea what the rights of a duke are, I will try to describe them to you in a few words: First of all, it is easy to install a duke but difficult to depose him once he is installed. For he who now is in your power to be installed as a duke or not, once he is installed, you and all that you have will be in his power. In his sight your knees will tremble and a mute tongue will cleave to a dry palate.71 In great fear of his voice, you will barely respond: ‘Yes sir, yes sir.’ While he, with a single nod and without your leave, will condemn this one, have that one slaughtered, the other sent to prison, another hanged at the gallows. He will make you and any one of you, whomsoever he likes, servants, some peasants, some taxpayers, some tax collectors, some executioners, some public criers, some cooks or bakers or millers. He will also appoint tribunes, centurions, bailiffs, winegrowers and farmers, harvesters, weapon-smiths, furriers of various pelts and skinners. He will put your sons and daughters into his obedience; he will even take the best of your cattle and horses or mares and flocks as he pleases. He will take away whatever

 Cf. Ps. 47:5; Matt. 22:34; Acts 4:26. “Libuše’s court” was one of the central pieces in the forged manuscripts of the nineteenth century (see above, XLVI).

68

 Sallust Cat. 33.4.

69

 Cf. Phaedr. 1.2

70

 Ezek. 3:26.

71

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villis, in campis, in agris, in pratis, in vineis, auferet et in usus suos rediget.72 Quid multis moror? Aut ad quid hec, quasi vos ut terream, loquor? Si persistitis in incepto et non fallitis voto, iam vobis et nomen ducis et locum ubi est indicabo.“ Ad hec vulgus ignobile73 confuso exultat clamore; omnes uno ore ducem sibi poscunt dari. Quibus illa: „En,“ inquit, „en ultra illos montes“—et monstravit digito montes—„est fluvius non adeo magnus nomine Belina, cuius super ripam dinoscitur esse villa, nomine Ztadici.74 Huius in territorio est novale unum in longitudine et in latitudine XII passuum,75 quod mirum in modum, cum sit inter tot agros in medio positum, ad nullum tamen pertinet agrum. Ibi dux vester duobus variis bubus arat;76 unus bos precinctus est albedine et albo capite, alter a fronte post tergum albus et pedes posteriores habens albos.77 Nunc, si vobis placet, meum accipite thalitarium78 et clamidem ac mutatoria duce digna et pergite ac mandata populi atque mea referte viro et adducite vobis ducem et mihi maritum. Viro nomen est Primizl, qui super colla et capita vestra iura excogitabit plura; nam hoc nomen latine sonat premeditans vel superexcogitans. Huius proles postera hac in omni terra in eternum regnabit et ultra.“79

 The preceding sentences are strongly indebted to 1 Sam. 8:11–8, although it has not too many verbatim borrowings; cf. their discussion in Töpfer, Urzustand, ­135–9 and Wolverton, Hastening, 289, n. 1. Dušan Třeštík and Barbara Krezemieńska argued that Cosmas selected the different trades and services listed here according to the system of “service settlements” of early medieval Bohemia (similar to those in Lesser Poland and Hungary, mainly based on toponymic evidence); see Třeštík and Krzemieńska, “Problematik,” 70–103, esp. 70–1. This hypothesis is, however, debatable.

72

 Vergil A. 1.149

73

 The village of Stadice (now part of Řehlovice) is in the north of Bohemia, on the rivulet Bílina, (running into the Labe). The legendary location of the “call of Přemysl” was honoured already in the Middle Ages, received privileges from Charles IV, and in 1841, a monument was erected on the “plow field” displaying a  plow and reliefs depicting the story. Remarkably, after WW II, an inscription connected it with the liberation of Czechoslovakia from Nazi German rule.

74

 Land of twelve paces long and wide seems to have been an ancient Czech measure of area.

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is better in your villages, plains, fields, meadows, vineyards and turn it to his use.72 But why do I detain you any longer? Or why do I say these things, as if I wanted to threaten you? If you persist in your intention and are not mistaken in your wish, I shall indicate to you the name and the place where the duke is.” To this the base folk73 rejoice with inarticulate shouting and all as one mouth require a duke to be given to them. To these she says: “There, there behind those mountains—and she points a  finger to the mountains—is a  stream not very big by the name of Bílina, on the shore of which can be found a village by the name of Stadice.74 In its ambit, there is a piece of fallow ground twelve paces long and wide75 that strangely enough does not belong to any field, although it lies in the middle of so many others. There your duke plows76 with two different [colored] oxen, one of which has a white girdle and a white head, the other of which is white from front to back and his hind legs are white.77 Now, if you please, take, my thalitarium,78 a  change of clothes appropriate for a duke; and go and announce the orders of the people and mine to the man, and bring yourself a duke and me a husband. His name is Přemysl and he will contrive many laws upon your necks and heads because in Latin this name means ‘he who considers or contrives.’ His progeny will rule over all this land for ever and ever.”79  Přemysl was not the only plowman among the mythical ancestors of ruling dynasties. In neighboring Poland, Piast was also a  plowman of the then ruling duke; see Knoll, GpP, 18–9, n. 2. The plowman as mythical ancestor (or first ruler) is a widespread motif. For Visigothic examples see Alexander Krappe, “The Ploughman King: A  Comparative Study in Literature and Folklore,” Revue hispanique 46 (1919), 516–46, and 56 (1922), 265–84; for a German example (the mythic Henry “with the golden plow”) see Otto Oexle, “Die ‘sächsische Welfenquelle’ als Zeugnis der welfischen Hausüberlieferung,” Deutsches Archiv für Erforschung des Mittelalters 24 (1968), 448–71. In a comparative context the motif is discussed in: Jacek Banaszkiewicz, “Königliche Karrieren von Hirten, Gärtnern und Pflügern,” Saeculum 33 (1982), 65–86; see also Třeštík, Mýty, 112–29.

76

 The precise description of the colour of the mythical oxen is remarkable, but no parallel or comparison is known.

77

 The word is otherwise not known in Latin texts. From the context it seems to refer to the horse of Libuše (tolutarius), see below, 30.

78

 Exod. 15:18.

79

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Capitulum VI. Interea destinantur, qui iussa domne et plebis ad virum perferant nuncii; quos ut vidit domna quasi inscios de via cunctari: „Quid,“ inquit, „cunctamini? Ite securi, meum equum sequimini, ipse vos ducet recta via et reducet, quia ab illo non semel illa via est trita.“ Vana volat fama, nec non et opinio falsa, quod ipsa domna equitatu phantasmatico semper in noctis conticinio solita sit ire illo et redire pre gallicinio, quod Iudeus credat Apella.80 Quid tum? Procedunt nuncii sapienter indocti, vadunt scienter nescii81 vestigia sequentes equi. Iamque montes transierant, iam iamque appropinquabant ville, ad quam ibant, tum illis puer unus obviam currit, quem interrogantes aiunt: „Heus bone indolis puer, estne villa ista nomine Ztadici aut si, est in illa vir nomine Primizl?“ „Ipsa est,“ inquit, „quam queritis villa, et ecce vir Primizl prope in agro boves stimulat, ut quod agit cicius opus peragat.“ Ad quem nuncii accedentes inquiunt: „Vir fortunate, dux nobis diis generate!“ Et, sicut mos est rusticis, non sufficit semel dixisse, sed inflata bucca ingeminant: „Salve dux, salve, magna dignissime laude, Solve boves, muta vestes, ascende caballum!“ Et monstrant vestes sternutantemque caballum. „Domna nostra Lubossa et plebs universa mandat, ut cito venias et tibi ac tuis nepotibus fatale regnum accipias. Omnia nostra et nos ipsi in tua manu sumus,82 te ducem, te iudicem, te rectorem, te protectorem, te solum nobis in dominum eligimus.“83 Ad quam vocem vir prudens, quasi futurorum inscius, substitit et stimulum, quem manu gestabat, in terram fixit et solvens boves: „Ite illuc, unde venistis!“ dixit; qui statim cicius dicto ab oculis evanuerunt, et nus­ quam amplius comparuerunt.84 Corilus autem, quam humi fixit,  Apella for a Jew is a reference to Horace Sat. 1.5.100, widely used by medieval authors. Here it means ‘nobody but the credulous Jew’. For Cosmas’s attitude to Jews, see Bak, “Christian Identity,” 174–8.

80

 Cf. Gregory the Great Dial. 2.

81

 Josh. 9:25.

82

 L  iterary models for a modest man being called to lead the nation, can be found, among others, in Pliny (Nat. 18.20) and in Livy for Cincinnatus (Livy 3.26).

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Chapter 6 In the meantime, envoys are chosen to announce the lady’s and people’s brief to the man. When they seemed to hesitate, as if not knowing the way, the lady told them: “What do you wait for? Go safely, following my horse; it will lead you there by the right way and back, for it went that way more than once.” Spurious rumor and false guess peddle that the lady used to go there on her fantastic horseback-rides in the silence of the night and come back before the cockcrow, which only Apella the Jew can believe.80 What else? The wisely unlearned envoys proceed, walking in knowing ignorance,81 following the trails of the horse. They crossed the mountains and were already approaching the village that they were to reach when a boy ran on the road, whom they asked: “Hey good boy isn’t this village called Stadice, and if so, is there a man by the name of Přemysl in it?” “Indeed,” he replied, “it is the village you seek and behold, not far from here Přemysl prods the oxen in a field in order to finish his work soon.” To him the envoys come up and say: “You fortunate man, who was given to us as a duke by the gods!” And as is the habit of the peasants that it is not sufficient to say something once, they repeat with full mouths: “Hail, o duke, hail, with great, most reverend praise! Dismiss the oxen, change clothes, and mount the horse!” And they showed him the clothes and the neighing horse. “Our lady Libuše and all the people command you to come at once and accept the realm destined for you and your offspring. All that we have and we ourselves are in thy hands.82 We choose you as our duke, our judge, our governor, our protector, and our only lord.”83 To this the wise man paused, as if unaware of the future, and thrust the prod he was holding in his hand into the ground and, dismissing the oxen, said: “Go to wherever you came from!” Before he could finish, the oxen disappeared at once from sight and were never seen again.84 Moreover, the hazel that he had pushed  Parallels for vanishing animals can be found in Russian folklore, see Karbusický, Anfänge, 51.

84

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tres altas propagines et, quod est mirabilius, cum foliis et nucibus produxit.85 Viri autem illi videntes hec talia ita fieri stabant obstupefacti. Quos ille grata vice hospitum invitat ad prandium et de pera subere contexta excutit muscidum panem et formatici partem et ipsam peram in cespite pro mensa et super rude textum ponit et cetera. Interea dum prandium sumunt, dum aquam de anphora bibunt, due propagines sive virgulta duo aruerunt et ceciderunt, sed tercia multo alcius et lacius accrescebat. Unde hospitibus maior excrevit ammiratio cum timore. Et ille: „Quid ammiramini?“ inquit. „Sciatis, ex nostra progenie multos dominos nasci, sed unum semper dominari. Atqui si domna vestra non adeo de hac re festinaret, sed per modicum tempus currentia fata expectaret, ut pro me tam cito non mitteret, quot natos heriles natura proferret, tot dominos terra vestra haberet.“86 Capitulum VII. Post hec indutus veste principali et calciatus calciamento regali acrem ascendit equum arator; tamen sue sortis non inmemor tollit secum suos coturnos ex omni parte subere consutos, quos fecit servari in posterum; et servantur Wissegrad in camera ducis usque hodie et in sempiternum.87 Factum est autem, dum per compendia viarum irent nec tamen adhuc illi nuncii ceu ad novicium dominum familiarius loqui auderent, sed sicut columbe, si quando aliqua peregrina ad eas accedit, inprimis eam pavescunt et mox in ipso volatu eam assuefaciunt et eam quasi propriam faciunt et diligunt;88 sic illi cum fabularentur equitantes et sermocinationibus iter adbreviarent  The Biblical example of the budding of Aaron’s staff (Num. 17:1–9) may be the model for this legendary event.

85

 Cosmas is obviously referring to his own times, when several members of the Přesmyslid dynasty vied for power, cf. the lament of comes Fabian, see below, 358.

86

 The sandals of Přemysl played an important part in the dynastic legitimation of the Luxembourgs. The Chronicle of Pulkava records on their being displayed as late as Charles IV’s coronation; see Przibiconis Chronicon, 1–326, here 7. Cf. Přibík Pulkava z Radenína, Kronika česká. Kroniky doby Karla IV. [Czech chronicles. Chronicles of the age of Charles IV], ed. Marie Bláhová and Jana Zachová

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into the ground produced three big shoots and, what is even more miraculous, with leaves and nuts on them.85 Seeing all such things happen, the men stood there stupefied. As a kind host, he invited them for a meal and from a satchel made of bast he pulled out some musty bread and a slice of cheese. Then he set the same satchel as a table on the grass and put a rough cloth on it and so on. While they were having their meal and drinking water from the jug, two shoots or branches withered and fell off but the third one grew much higher and wider. This filled the visitors with even greater astonishment and awe. “What do you marvel at?” he said to them. “You should know that many lords will be born of our kin but only one will rule. And had your lady not made such haste in this matter, but waited a little to see the course of destiny and had not called for me so soon, then your realm would have had as many lords as nature brings forth sons born of masters.”86 Chapter 7 Then the ploughman, dressed in princely robe and shod in royal shoes mounted the eager horse. However, conscious of his destiny, he took with him his sandals made of stitched bast which he ordered to be preserved for ever. And they are kept today and forever in the duke’s chamber at Vyšehrad.87 While they proceeded through shortcuts, the messengers did not yet dare to talk freely to the new lord, as happens with doves who, when a new one joins them, fear it at first but soon they get used to it while flying and accept it as one of their own and like it as such.88 So they rode their horses, con-

(Prague: Svoboda, 1987), 273–4. Their memory is preserved on the twelfth-century wall paintings of St. Catherine’s rotunda in Znojmo, see Lubomír Jan Konečný, Románská rotunda ve Znojmě. Ikonologie maleb a architektury [The Romanesque rotunda in Znojmo: iconology of paintings and architecture] (Brno: HOST, 2005). See also Barbara Krzemieńska, “Die Rotunde in Znojmo und die Stellung Mährens in böhmischen Premyslidenstaat,” Historica 27 (1987), 5–59.  E.g., see Phaedr. 1.31.

88

 Cf. Sallust Jug. 85.21–3.

89

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ac iocando per scurilia verba laborem fallerent, unus, qui erat audacior et lingua promptior: „O domine, dic,“ inquit, „nobis, ad quid hos coturnos subere consutos et ad nihilum nisi ut proiciantur aptos nos servare fecisti; non satis possumus admirari.“ Quibus ille: „Ad hec,“ inquit, „eos feci et faciam in evum servari, ut nostri posteri sciant, unde sint orti, et ut semper vivant pavidi et suspecti neu homines a Deo sibi commissos iniuste opprimant per superbiam, quia facti sumus omnes equales per naturam. Nunc autem et mihi liceat vos vicissim percontari, utrum magis laudabile est de paupertate ad dignitatem provehi an de dignitate in paupertatem redigi? Nimirum respondebitis mihi, melius esse provehi ad gloriam quam redigi ad inopiam. Atqui sunt nonnulli parentela geniti ex nobili, sed post ad turpem inopiam redacti et miseri facti; cum suos parentes gloriosos fuisse et potentes aliis predicant, haud ignorant, quod semetipsos inde plus confundunt et deturpant, cum ipsi per suam hoc amiserunt ignaviam, quod illi habuerunt per industriam.89 Nam fortuna semper hanc ludit aleam sua rota, ut nunc hos erigat ad summa, nunc illos mergat in infima. Unde fit, ut dignitas terrena, que erat aliquando ad gloriam, amissa sit ad ignominiam. At vero paupertas per virtutem victa non se celat sub pelle lupina, sed victorem suum tollit ad sydera, quem olim secum traxerat ad infera.“90 Capitulum VIII. Postea vero quam iter emensi fuerant et iam iamque prope ad urbem venerant, obviam eis domna stipata suis satellitibus accelerat et inter se consertis dextris cum magna leticia tecta subeunt, thoris discumbunt, Cerere et Bacho corpora reficiunt, cetera noctis spacia Veneri et Himineo indulgent. Hic vir, qui vere ex virtutis merito dicendus est vir,91 hanc efferam gentem legibus frenavit et indomi-

 While “Rota Fortunae” is a commonplace in medieval literature (e.g. see Boethius, Carmina Burana etc.); cf. 1 Sam. 2:7–8; the “hiding in wolf skin” is unusual; the words occur in Niuardus Gandensis, Ysengrimus, ed. Ernst Voigt (Halle: Verlag der Buchhandlung des Waisenhauses, 1884), 185. Cf. Matt 7:15.

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versed, and shortened the journey by talking, and eased up their efforts by joking playfully. Then it happened that one of them, who was braver and more outspoken, asked him: “O  lord, tell us why you made us keep these bast shoes that are good for nothing but to be gotten rid of, for we greatly wonder at it?” He replied: “I caused them and will cause them to be kept forever so that our descendants may know where they come from, and to remind them to live in fear and apprehension not to unjustly and haughtily oppress the people given to them by God, because we were all born equal. But now I shall ask you in turn whether it is better to be elevated from poverty to high rank or to lapse from high rank to poverty? Certainly, you will reply that it is better to be elevated to glory than to fall into indigence. But there are people born of noble parents who are later driven to hateful indigence and misery and who even more degrade and disparage themselves by boasting how glorious and powerful their parents were because they know well that they have lost through their indolence what their parents had achieved through their diligence.89 For Fate always dices with her wheel, makes some reach the top one day, and then brings other ones down to the bottom. So it happens that worldly rank which was once glorious is afterwards reduced to shame. However, poverty that is defeated by virtue does not hide in a wolf ’s skin, but raises the one who triumphed to the stars, having previously dragged him to the abyss.”90 Chapter 8 Thereafter, when they had passed along their way and were ever closer to the castle, the lady surrounded by her retinue hastened to meet them. They joined hands and with great pleasure entered the house where they lay down on couches, refreshed themselves with the gifts of Ceres and Bacchus, and devoted the rest of the night to Venus and Hymen. This man, who truly deserves because of his virtue to be called a man,91 bound this unrestrained people by laws,  Cosmas is here following Isidore who connected vir and virtus (Isidore Orig. 11.2.17).

91

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tum populum imperio domuit et servituti, qua nunc premitur, sub­ iugavit atque omnia iura, quibus hec terra utitur et regitur, solus cum sola Lubossa dictavit. Capitulum IX. Inter hec primordia legum quadam die predicta domna phitone concitata presente viro suo Primizl et aliis senioribus populi astantibus sic est vaticinata: Urbem conspicio, fama que sydera tanget, Est locus in silva, villa qui distat ab ista Terdenis stadiis, quem Wlitaua terminat undis. Hunc ex parte aquilonali valde munit valle profunda rivulus Bruznica; at australi ex latere latus mons nimis petrosus, qui a petris dicitur Petrin,92 supereminet loca. Loci autem mons curvatur in modum delphini, marini porci, tendens usque in predictum amnem. Ad quem cum perveneritis, invenietis hominem in media silva limen domus operantem. Et quia ad humile limen etiam magni domini se inclinant, ex eventu rei urbem, quam edificabitis, vocabitis Pragam.93 Hac in urbe olim in futurum bine auree ascendent olive94, que cacumine suo usque ad septimum95 penetrabunt celum et per totum mundum signis et miraculis coruscabunt. Has in hostiis et muneribus colent et adorabunt omnes tribus terre Boemie et nationes relique. Una ex his vocabitur Maior Gloria, altera Exercitus Consolatio.96  Petřín is the western corner of the so-called Prague amphitheatre. The etymology, based on the Latin word for stone is, of course, imaginary.

92

 There are several theories about the name Praha. Limen means not only lintel, but threshold as well; práh in Czech, however, means rather threshold. Profous, Místní jména, III, 352–3, proposed an entirely different origin, referring to ‘dry land’ rising above the flood land of the Vltava. In that case, the ‘lintel’ (or ‘threshold’) etymology would be Cosmas’s “explanation” based on the given place name. On the development of medieval Prague, see Jan Klápště, The Archaeology of Prague and the Medieval Czech Lands, 1100–1600 (Sheffield: Equinox, 2016).

93

 Two olive trees as two witnesses appear in Rev. 11:14.

94

 The notion of the seven spheres was common in Platonic and Neo-Platonic thought; see e.g., Plato Republic 10.10 (in Er’s vision).

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subdued a wild people by his dominion and subjugated them to the servitude that still burdens them now. He alone, only with Libuše, set down the laws by which this land is governed and ruled. Chapter 9 One day, during these early beginnings of the laws, the lady filled with the spirit of divination prophesied in the presence of her husband Přemysl and other elders of the people: “I see a city, the fame of which will reach the stars, A place in the woods, thirty furlongs from this village, Bounded by the waves of the Vltava. This place is firmly guarded by a deep valley of the river Brusnice on the northern part; on the southern side a large, very rocky hill, which is because of the rocks called Petřín,92 towers over the neighborhood. The mountain there curves in the shape of a  dolphin, a  sea-pig, stretching all the way to the above-mentioned stream. When you come to it, you will find a  man working on the lintel of a house in the middle of a forest. And because even great lords stoop before a low lintel, you will therefore call the city that you will build Prague.93 Some time in the future, two golden olive trees94 will rise up in this city, and their tips will reach the seventh heaven95 and they will sparkle with wonders and miracles across the whole world. All the tribes of Bohemia and other people will revere and worship them with sacrifices and offerings. One of them will be called the Greater Glory and the other Army’s Solace.96

 The name of the two trees is based on the Czech names of Saints Wenceslas (‘více slávy’) and Adalbert/Vojtěch (‘voje útěcha’). In the best Ms (A1) there is even a fifteenth-century interlinear ‘translation’ as wice slaw and woytiech (see Bretholz, Die Chronik, XLVIII). The same word play on Vojtěch’s name is also found in Bruno’s Life of St. Adalbert, see S. Adalberti Pragensis Episcopi et martyris Vita altera auctore Brunone Querfurtensi, ed. Jadwiga Karwasińska, MPH NS 4, 2. (Warsaw: Państw. Wyd. Nauk, 1969), 4.

96

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Plura locutura erat, si non fugisset spiritus pestilens et prophetans a plasmate Dei.97 Continuo itur in antiquam silvam98 et reperto dato signo in predicto loco urbem, tocius Boemie domnam, edificant Pragam. Et quia ea tempestate virgines huius terre sine iugo pubes­ centes veluti Amazones99 militaria arma affectantes et sibi ductrices facientes pari modo uti tirones militabant, venacionibus per silvas viriliter insistebant,100 non eas viri, sed ipsemet sibi viros, quos et quando voluerunt, accipiebant et, sicut gens Scitica Plauci sive Picenatici,101 vir et femina in habitu nullum discrimen habebant. Unde in tantum feminea excrevit audacia, ut in quadam rupe non longe a predicta urbe oppidum natura loci firmum sibi construerent, cui a virginali vocabulo inditum est nomen Devin102. Quod videntes iuvenes contra eas nimio zelo indignantes multo plures insimul conglobati non longius quam unius bucine in altera rupe inter arbusta edificant urbem, quam moderni nuncupant Wissegrad, tunc autem ab arbustis traxerat nomen Hvrasten.103 Et quia sepe virgines sollertiores ad decipiendos iuvenes fiebant, sepe autem iuvenes virginibus fortiores existebant, modo bellum, modo pax inter eos agebatur. Et dum interposita pace pociuntur, placuit utrisque partibus, ut componerent cibis et potibus symbolum

  Characteristically, the expression plasmata Dei (referring to humans created ‘in the likeness of God’) seems to be borrowed from the Catholic exorcism formula for a person to be freed from demons. For a medieval formula, cf. e.g. The Bobbio Missal: A Gallican Mass-Book (Ms. Paris. Lat. 13246), ed. Elias Avery Lowe, Henry Bradshaw Society 58 & 61 (Suffolk: Boydell and Brewer, 1991), 240, 74. A clear indication of Cosmas’s ambivalence regarding Libuše, as discussed by Geary, Women (as n. 52 above).

97

 Vergil A. 6.179.

98

  On the Amazons-motif in this story of Cosmas, cf. Wolverton, Narrative, 128–35.

99

 Klassen, Warring Maidens, esp. 27–8 pointed out that the tradition of the Czech Amazons remained alive in the later Middle Ages, especially through its elaboration in the chronicle of the so-called Dalimil all the way down to the female fighters in Hussite armies. Alfred Thomas, Anne’s Bohemia: Czech Literature and Society, 1310–1420 (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1998), 56–62, analysed this story including the more extensive version in the “Dalimil” Chronicle. Cf. Pavlína Rychterová, “Frauen und Krieg in Chroniken über die Hussi­ten­ kriege.” In Geist, Gesellschaft, Kirche im 13.–16. Jahrhundert, ed. František Šmahel, Colloquia mediaevalia Pragensia 1 (Prague: Filosofia, 1999), 127–44.

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She would have said more had not the infernal and prophetic spirit left this creature of God.97 They left for the ancient forest98 and having found the given sign, they build the city of Prague, the mistress of all Bohemia, at the place indicated. At that time, the girls of that land grew up unbridled and, just as the Amazons99 pursued the arms of war and elected leaders for themselves; they also went to war like young warriors and took part manly in hunting.100 And so not the men, but the girls themselves consorted with whichever men whenever they wanted, and like the Scythian tribes of Plauci or Picenatici,101 man and woman did not differ in their dress in any way. Their female audacity grew so high that they built a hold on a rock not far from the aforementioned city, strong by its position and called it Děvín102 after the word “maiden.” When the boys saw this, they flared up with indignation towards the girls, gathered in much larger number and within earshot of a bugle, they built a castle on another rock in the shrub land. The castle is nowadays called Vyšehrad but back then, it was named Chrasten after the shrubs.103 And since the girls were often smarter in tricking the boys, and the boys often stronger than the girls, they lived alternately in peace and in war. When they had made peace, both parties agreed to meet at a common feast with eating and drinking and to hold a festive entertainment without  Cf. Regino, Chron., ad a. 889; cf. MacLean, History, 204 (Picenatici may refer to Petchenegs; cf. e.g. Knoll, GpP, 44, n. 7. Pincinatici), and Plauci to Cumans (Polovci).

101

 In Czech děva means ‘girl’. Castles with similar names (e.g., Děvín [Hung.: Dé­ vény] in present-day Slovakia, Deva in Romanian Transylvania or Magdeburg in Germany) have been associated with the myth of human (especially female) sacrifice connected to the building of strong walls, cf. e.g., the Hungarian ballad about the wife of Clement the Mason (“Kőműves Kelemenné”), in: Ninon Leader, Hungarian classical ballads and their folklore (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1967), 19–44. In this case, however, the myth is “turned upside down” and the hold is the stronghold of powerful women. The ancient (mythological?) hold of Děvín is supposed to have been located across from Vyšehrad on the left bank of the River Vltava; no remains have been found. Cf. Třeštík, Mýty, 103.

102

 In Czech chrast means ‘shrub’. Vyšehrad was founded in the second half of the tenth century. See Václav Moucha, Václav Bořivoj Nechvátal, and Ladislav Vara­ dzin, Vyšehrad. Knížecí a královská akropole: svědectví archeologie [V. Princely acropolis: archeological evidence] (Prague: Archeologický ústav AV ČR, 2015).

103

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et per tres dies sine armis sollempnem insimul agerent ludum in constituto loco. Quid plura? Non aliter iuvenes cum puellis ineunt convivia, ac si lupi rapaces querentes edulia, ut intrarent ovilia. Primam diem epulis et nimiis potibus hilarem ducunt. Dumque volunt sedare sitim, sitis altera crevit,104 Leticiamque suam iuvenes vix noctis ad horam differunt. Nox erat et celo fulgebat luna sereno,105 Inflans tunc lituum dedit unus eis ita signum dicens: „Lusistis satis, edistis satis atque bibistis;106 Surgite, vos rauco clamat Venus aurea sistro.“107 Moxque singuli singulas rapuere puellas. Mane autem facto iam pacis inito pacto, sublatis Cerere et Bacho ex earum oppido muros Lemniaco vacuos indulgent Vulcano.108 Et ex illa tempestate post obitum principis109 Lubosse sunt mulieres nostrates virorum sub potestate. Sed quoniam omnibus ire quidem restat, Numa quo venit et Ancus,110 Primizl iam plenus dierum111, postquam iura instituit legum, quem coluit vivus ut deum, raptus est ad Cereris generum.112 Cui Nezamizl successit in regnum. Hunc ubi mors rapuit, Mnata principales obtinuit fasces. Quo decedente ab hac vita Voyn suscepit rerum gubernacula. Huius post fatum Vnizlau rexit ducatum. Cuius vitam dum rumpunt Parce, Crezomizl locatur sedis in arce. Hoc sublato e medio Neclan ducatus potitur solio. Hic ubi vita discessit, Gostivit throno successit.113 Horum igitur principum

 Cf. Ovid Met. 3.415.

104

 Horace Epod. 15.1.

105

 Horace Epist. 2.2.214.

106

 See Virgil A. 8.696. The rattle was associated with the fertility rituals of Isis.

107

 The mythological metaphor seems to imply that the place of the previous hilarity (castle Děvín?) was burnt down.

108

 Principis may be translated ‘princess’ as well as ‘the ruler’ or ‘of princely family.’

109

 Cf. Horace Epist. 1.6.27. Numa Pompilius (787–673 B.C. E.) and Ancus Martius (642–617 B.C. E.) were legendary (Etruscan) kings of Rome.

110

 Gen. 25:8 and elsewhere.

111

 Cosmas consistently avoids the name of Pluto and refers to Ceres’s son-in-law.

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arms at a  given place for three days. What else? The young men launched into the feast with the girls not unlike predatory wolves in search of food when they enter a sheepfold. They merrily passed the first day with eating and abundant drinking. Another thirst grew when they had just quenched the thirst.104 And barely could the young their lust until the eve delay. Night fell, the moon lit bright the sky 105 When one gave sign by blowing a horn saying: “You’ve played and eaten and drunk enough,106 It’s time to rise as golden Venus is calling you with her clacking rattle.107 Soon every one of them snatches a  girl. In the morning, when peace was made, they carried away the leftovers of the food and drink from the castle and left the empty walls to Vulcan of Lemnos.108 And ever since the time after princess109 Libuše’s death, our women are subject to men. But since all must go where Numa and Ancus went,110 even Přemysl, full of days,111 having had set the laws and rules, was carried away to Ceres’s son-in-law whom he venerated as a god while he was alive.112 Then Nezamysl succeeded to the kingdom. When he was taken away by death, Mnata obtained the princely insignia. After he passed from this world, Vojen took over the reins of government. On his death, Vnislav reigned over the principality. When his life was taken by the Fates, Křesomysl was seated on the eminence of the throne. When he was removed from the midst, Neklan was put in power. After he had died, Hostivít succeeded to the throne.113 There  The names of the mythical rulers, mentioned only by Cosmas, are occasionally etymologically interesting, so, for example, Nezamysl [‘not thinking’] in contrast to Přemysl, the precognitans. It has been suggested (cf. Třeštík, Mýty, 16, 101–3) that these two were twins, comparable to Prometheus and Epimetheus, which should imply dual and sacral kingship among the early Czechs; the text, however, does not support this hypothesis. The names of the others may refer to war, to hospitality, to cowardice, or to thinking, thus having mixed positive and negative implications (in contrast, e.g., to the list of mythical rulers in Knoll, GpP, 23–5, n. 3, where they are essentially positive; perhaps even of divine character is hinted at). The suggestions by Karbusický (Anfänge, 218–49), rejected by Třeštík (Mýty, 24), based on the fact that their form is entirely different from the names of Czech princes in contemporary

113

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de vita eque et morte siletur, tum quia ventri et somno dediti, inculti et indocti assimilati sunt peccori, quibus profecto contra naturam corpus voluptati, anima fuit oneri;114 tum quia non erat illo in tempore, qui stilo acta eorum commendaret memorie. Sed sileamus, de quibus siletur, et redeamus, unde paulo deviavimus.115 Capitulum X. Gostivit autem genuit Borivoy, qui primus dux baptizatus est a venerabili Metudio episcopo in Moravia sub temporibus Arnolfi imperatoris et Zuatopluk eiusdem Moravie regis.116 Nec superfluum esse iudicavimus, quod referente fama audivimus, huic operi nostro hoc in loco summatim literarum apicibus inserere bellum, quodque olim antea retro dierum tempore ducis Neclan117 in campo, qui dicitur Turzko,118 consertum est inter Boemos et Luczanos, qui nunc a  modernis ab urbe Satc vocitantur Satcenses.119 Unde autem antiquitus nuncupetur ea natio Luczano, nolumus preterire sub silentio. Quippe illa distinguitur provincia quinque regionibus locorum per compendia. Prima regio est sita circa rivum nomine Guntna; secunda ex utraque parte est fluvii Uzkca; tercia extenditur per circuitum torrentis Brocnica; quarta, que et Silvana120 dicitur, sita est infra terminos fluminis Msa; quinta, que in medio est, dicitur Luca, pulcherrima visu et utillima usu ac uberrima satis nec Frankish annals, concluded that they were not historical personalities. Karbusický’s other, admittedly hypothetical construct—that these names originate in some misread Frankish peace proposals—cannot be substantiated in any way.  Sallust Cat. 2.2.

114

 This usual topos of returning to the narration is illogical here and belongs rather to the end of chapter 13.

115

 This dating of Bořivoj’s baptism by contemporaries is certainly erroneous. Bishop Methodius died in 885, while Svatopluk was prince of Moravia 871–94; Arnulf became king in 887, but emperor only in 896. Bořivoj may have received baptism at some time between 882 and 6 April 885; see Třeštík, Počátky, 74–96 and below, 60.

116

 His name may have meant ‘not fighting.’ Wolverton, Hastening, 40, following Karbusický, understood it as ‘not esteemed.’

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is silence about both the lives and deaths of these princes, partly because they were, like cattle, given over to gorging and slumber, unlearned and uncultured, for whom, contrary to nature, the body was a source of pleasure, the soul a burden.114 On the other hand, there was nobody at that time to preserve by pen their deeds to memory. But let us be silent about whom there is silence, and let us return to whence we briefly left off.115 Chapter 10 Gostivit begat Bořivoj, who was the first duke to be baptized. He was baptized by the venerable Bishop Methodius in Moravia, at the time of Emperor Arnulf and Svatopluk, king of Moravia.116 At this point in our work, we have not considered it needless to relate briefly in a few words what we heard in a story about a battle fought long time ago in the time of Duke Neklan,117 in a field called Tursko118 between the Czechs and the Lučané, who are in our time called Žatčané after the town of Žatec.119 We do not want to pass over in silence why this nation was called Lučané in olden times. For that province is divided in extent into five regions. The first region is set around a stream called Hutná; the second lies on both sides of the river Úzká; the third circles around the brook of Březnice; the fourth which is called Silvana120 is situated within the bounds of the River Mže; and the fifth is in the middle and is called Lúka, which is the most beautiful to behold and most useful and bountiful, and most abundant in meadows. That is how the  Location to the south from Kralupy nad Vltavou, not far from Levý Hradec.

118

 Žatec was one of the most important early medieval centres of Bohemia; settled in the eighth/ninth and fortified in the early tenth century. Rich finds prove its contacts to the West and Poland. In the twelfth-thirteenth century Žatec developed into a medieval city. See Petr Čech, “Saaz (Žatec),” in Europas Mitte um 1000: Beiträge zur Geschichte, Kunst und Archäologie, ed. Alfred Wieczorek and Hans-Martin Hinz (Stuttgart: Theiss, 2000), 393–5 and idem, “Žatec im 10. Jahrhundert,” in Boleslav II. – der tschechische Staat um das Jahr 1000: Internationales Symposium Praha 9.–10. Februar 1999, ed. Petr Sommer (Prague: Filosofia, 2001), 303–21.

119

 That is, ‘forested.’ The river Úzká is called Chomutovka today.

120

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non habundantissima pratis, unde et nomen ipsa regio traxit, quia luca latine pratum dicitur. Et quoniam hec regio primum, longe antequam Satc urbs condita foret, est inhabitata hominibus, recte eius incole sunt a regione Luczane nuncupati. His prefuit dux nomine Wlaztizlav,121 vir bellicosus et in bellicis armis animosus ac consiliis supra modum dolosus, satisque in preliis felix potuisset dici, si sors supprema non clausisset eum fine infelici. Nam contra Boemos frequenter susceperat bellum et semper Marte secundo atque diis auspicibus prevaluerat terramque eorum sepe ingressus cedibus, incendiis ac rapinis crudeliter devastarat et ipsos populi primates in tantum presidiis attenuarat, ut parvo clausi in oppido, quod dicitur Levigradec,122 hostium incursiones timerent oppido. Hic condidit urbem, quam appellavit nomine suo Wlaztizlav, inter duos montes Meduez et Pripec, scilicet in confinio duarum provinciarum Belina et Lutomerici, et posuit in ea viros iniquos ob insidias utriusque populi, quia hii adiuvabant partes Boemorum. Et sicut in omni vicissitudine rerum prosperitas elevat, adversitas humiliat cor hominum, ex nimia quam semper obtinuit in preliis prosperitate, exaltatum est cor ducis et elevatum,123 ut mente feroci exardesceret omnem Boemiam ad obtinendum. Ah! mens hominum ignara futurorum sepe suo fallitur augurio, sepe fit, quod ante ruinam cor extollitur,124 sicut ante leticiam sepe humiliatur. Mox  This prince and the entire story of the war, the miraculous events connected to it and the murder of the enemy prince have been characterized by Dušan Třeštík (Třeštík, Počátky, 54–73) as a literary insert based on heroic poetry (so already in Karbusický, Anfänge), built around a possible “historical core” of conflicts between the leaders of the region around Prague (Přemyslids) and the “tribes” northwest of them. The only external reference is a note by Widukind of Corvey, Sachsengeschichte, ed. Paul Hirsch, MGH rer. Germ. 60 (Hanover: Hahn, 1935), 68 [henceforth: Sachsengeschichte], according to whom Boleslav fought against some subreguli in the 930s. The dating is entirely mixed up: Cosmas puts the conflict into the legendary Neklan’s, Bořijov’s grandfather’s, time (early ninth century?), but tells it after the latter’s baptism at the end of the century. Moreover, Cosmas treated the Czechs and Bohemia—at least since the times of Přemysl—as an ethnic and territorial unit, to which such a major internal conflict does not fit. In the midtwentieth century excavations in northwest Bohemia. re-opened the debate and the possibility of an inner-Bohemian conflict in the late ninth or—latest—early tenth century, which may have been the historical core of the three following chapters. See Zdeněk Váňa, “Vlastislav: Ausgrabungen des slawischen Burgwalls in den Jahren 1953–1955 und 1957–1960,” Památky archeologické 59 (1968), 187–92.

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region got its name, since lúka means in Latin ‘meadow.’ And because this region was inhabited a long time ago, much earlier then the town of Žatec was founded, its inhabitants were justly called Lučané after the region. They were ruled over by Duke Vlastislav,121 a pugnacious man brave in battle, most cunning in his designs, who could have considered himself lucky in battle had his final fate not consigned him to an unhappy end. For he frequently waged war against the Czechs and having been favored by Mars and enjoying divine auspices, he defeated [the Czechs] attacking often their land and devastating it by killings, arson, and plunder. He stripped the leaders of the people of their troops and holds, so that, being closed in a castle called Levý Hradec,122 they feared the foes’ attack on the stronghold. He built a castle, which he named Vlastislav, after his own name, between the hills Medvězí and Připek, that is at the border of the two provinces, Bílina and Litoměřici, and placed in it evil people in order to ambush the people of both regions because they supported the Czechs. And as it always happens when circumstance changes that success raises and failure depresses the human heart, so the prince’s heart was exalted and lifted up123 by the many successes he always won in battles so that he burned with a ferocious mind to conquer the whole of Bohemia. Ah, the human mind, ignorant of the future, is often deceived by its own auguries! It often happens that a heart is raised before it falls124 as well as being often downcast before it rejoices. Soon he became puffed

 Levý Hradec (verbatim ‘fort on the left’, today part of Roztoky) was an early Czech fortification on the left bank of the River Vltava, some 10 km northwest of Prague and in all likelihood the residence of the first Přemyslid dukes up to the time of Bořivoj. Cf. the legend of the so-called Christian, Život a umučení svatého Václava a jeho báby, svaté Ludmily [The life and martyrdom of St. Wenceslas and his grandmother St. Ludmila], ed. Jaroslav Ludvíkovský (Prague: Vyšehrad, 2 2012), 20–3 [henceforth: Život a umučení]. Archaeological evidence suggests settlement in the first and the oldest stage of fortification in the second part of the ninth century. According to the Život a umučení, the first church was built in the 880s by Bořivoj. St. Adalbert was elected bishop here (see below, 86–8). By the late twelfth century the stronghold had lost its central functions.

122

 1 Macc. 1:4.

123

 Cf. Prov. 16:18.

124

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tumido inflatus fastu superbie125 scire volens, virtus sua quante sit potencie, mittit gladium per omnes fines tocius provincie hac conditione principalis sentencie, ut quicumque corporis statura precellens gladii mensuram segnius iusso egrederetur ad pugnam, procul dubio puniretur gladio.126 Quo cicius dicto ut vidit in condicto coadunatos loco, stans in medio aggere, corona vulgi septus clipeoque subnixus, manu ensem vibrans sic est exorsus: „O milites, quibus ultima in manibus est victoria, olim non semel vicistis, iam actum agitis. Quid opus est armis? Arma ad speciem milicie portare faciatis. Quin pocius falcones, nisos, herodios et omne huiusmodi genus volatilium, quod magis aptum est ad iocunditatem et ludum, tollite vobiscum, quibus carnes inimicorum, si forte sufficient, dabimus ad vescendum. Teste Marte deo et mea domina Bellona,127 que mihi fecit omnia bona, per capulum ensis mei iuro, quem manu teneo, quod pro infantibus eorum catulos canum ponam ad ubera matrum. Levate signa, tollite moras; semper nocuit differre paratis.128 Ite iam velociter et vincite feliciter.“ Exoritur clamor ad ethera; utilis et inutilis, fortis et vilis, potens et inpotens perstrepunt: „Arma, arma,“ saltat scabiosa equa ut acer equus in pugna. Capitulum XI. Interea quedam mulier, una de numero Eumenidum129, vocans ad se privignum, qui iam iturus erat ad prelium, „Quamvis,“ inquit, „non est naturale novercis, ut benefaciant suis privignis, tamen non  Regino, Chron., ad a. 890, 134; cf. MacLean, History, 207 (about Svatopluk, see below, 60–2).

125

 A  vaguely similar symbolic message about the punishment of those not rising to arms is found in 1 Sam. 11:7. where an ox is cut up and pieces of it are sent around Israel with the word that this would be the penalty for absence from camp. Cosmas knew about Regino, Chron., 572–4, 29; cf. MacLean, History, 103), following the Gesta Dagoberti I Regis, ed. Bruno Krusch, MGH SS rer. Merov. 2 (Hanover: Hahn, 1886), cap. 14, where the sword is the instrument for the Saxons to be killed with. Sending around a sword for calling up an army is known from German antiquity. Ernst Mayer, Deutsche und französische Verfassungsgeschichte vom 9. bis zum 14. Jahrhundert (Leipzig: Georg Böhme, 2 vols, 1899), 1, 370, has a reference to summoning to a communal assembly in the Low

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up with swollen pride125 and wanting to know how mighty a power he commands, he sends a  sword all around the regions of the province with the princely instruction that whoever exceeding in height the measure of the sword went tardily at command to war was without any shadow of doubt to be put to the sword.126 Seeing that they gathered at the designated place faster than said, as he stands at the rampart, surrounded by people, leaning on the shield, brandishing a sword, he speaks thus: “Warriors, in whose hand is the final victory; You have frequently won in the past; do what you have done before. What are the weapons for? Wear the weapons as martial splendor, but bring rather falcons, hawks, kestrels, and other such birds with you, more apt for entertainment and play, to which we will give the flesh of the enemies to devour, if there is enough of it. By Mars and my lady Bellona,127 who was always good to me, I swear on the hilt of my sword that I am holding in my hand, that I shall make the mothers suckle the whelps of dogs instead of their babies. Raise the banners, cast aside delay–postponement always harms the ready.128 Now go quickly and win gladly.” Uproar resonates to the sky; the useful and the useless, the brave and the timid, the strong and the frail all roar: “To arms, to arms!” and a mangy mare jumps like a high-spirited stallion in battle. Chapter 11 In the meantime, a  woman, one of the number of the Eumenides,129 called her stepson as he was about to go to war and told him: “Although it is not natural for stepmothers to do good to Countries by sending around a sword. Cf. also below, 156. For calling up the host by threat of punishment, see Simon of Kéza, Gesta Hungarorum – The Deeds of the Hungarians, ed. and trans. László Veszprémy and Frank Schaer, CEMT 1 (Budapest: CEU Press, 1999) [henceforth: Gesta], 29–31.  Ancient Roman goddess of war, later associated with Mars (usually as his sister).

127

 Lucan 1.281.

128

 See above, 24 here, however, used in a more general sense as ‘protective spirits’ or something similar.

129

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inmemor consorcii tui patris cautum te faciam, quo possis vivere, si vis. Scias Boemorum strigas sive lemures nostras prevaluisse votis Eumenides, unde nostris usque ad unum interfectis dabitur victoria Boemis. Hanc tu quo tandem valeas evadere cladem, quem in primo congressu interficies tibi adversantem, utramque sibi abscidens aurem mitte in tuam bursam et inter utrosque pedes equi in modum crucis evaginato ense terram lineabis. Hoc enim faciens invisibiles ligaturas laxabis, quibus ira deorum vestri equi obligati deficient et cadent quasi ex longo itinere fatigati, moxque insiliens equum terga vertes et, si magnus post te timor ingruerit, numquam retro aspicies, fugam sed acceleres atque ita tu solus vix effugies. Nam dii, qui vobiscum comitabantur in prelium, versi sunt in auxilium inimicis vestris.“ At contra Boemis resistere non valentibus, hostibus quippe iam tociens triumphantibus, una salus erat victis nullam sperare salutem.130 Sed sicut semper infideles homines et eo ad malum proniores, ubi deficiunt vires et bone artes, ilico ad deteriores pravitatis vertuntur partes, haud aliter gens ista vanis sacris dedita, plus mendaciis credula, iam desperantes viribus et armis militaribus, quandam adeunt sortilegam et consulunt eam atque instant, ut edicat, quid opus sit facto in tali discrimine rerum aut quos eventus futurum obtineat bellum. Illa, ut erat plena phitone, ambigua non tenuit eos diu verborum ambage: „Si vultis,“ inquit, „triumphum victorie consequi, oportet vos prius iussa deorum exequi. Ergo litate diis vestris asinum, ut sint et ipsi vobis in asilum. Hoc votum fieri summus Iupiter et ipse Mars sororque eius Bellona atque gener Cereris iubet.“ Queritur interim miser asellus et occiditur et, ut iussum fuerat, in mille millies frusta conciditur atque ab universo exercitu cicius dicto consumitur. Quibus ita esu animatis asinino—res similis prodigio—cerneres letas phalanges et viros mori promptos ut silvaticos porcos; et sicut post aquosam nubem

 Vergil A. 2.354. Cosmas spoiled the hexameter by adding the word erat, probably consciously wishing to imply that this saying was valid only for pre-Christian times.

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their stepchildren, yet not unmindful of the bond with your father, I  shall advise you how to survive, if you wish. You should know that because the witches and specters of the Czechs have prevailed over our Eumenides by their offerings, so our men will die to the last one and the victory will be granted to the Czechs. This is how you eventually are to escape such a defeat: cut off both ears of the adversary whom you kill in the first encounter and put them in your pouch, then with an unsheathed sword draw lines in the form of a  cross between the legs of your horse. By doing this you will loose the invisible ties by which the gods’ wrath has bound your horses so that they languish and fall as if tired after a long journey. At once, mount the horse, make flight, and even if a great fear assails you, do not look back, but hurry up and thus you alone will just about escape. For the gods who always accompanied you in battle now turn to help your enemies.” On the other hand, for the Czechs, not being able to resist, defeated my times by their enemies, the beaten have had one refuge, to have no hope of refuge 130 However, just as faithless people are often more inclined to evil when their powers and goodly craft abandon them, and straightway turn to worse forms of wickedness, these people, given over to vain devotions and more believing in falsehoods, no less despaired of their martial strength and arms. So they visited a sorceress to consult her and beseech her to tell what they should do in such peril and what would be the outcome of the battle. Full of prophetic spirit, she did not hold them long with riddling riddles. “If you want,” she says “to achieve the triumph of victory, you must follow the commands of the gods. Therefore, sacrifice an ass to your gods so that they may be an asylum for you. This sacrifice is required by supreme Jupiter and Mars himself and his sister Bellona as well as Ceres’s son-in-law.” Meanwhile a poor ass was found, killed, and chopped into hundred thousand mouthfuls as was commanded and eaten by the whole army in an instant. Thus refreshed by eating the donkey meat—that was equally a marvel— you could see the merry troops and men as ready to die as wild boars. Just as the sun is brighter and a more pleasant sight after

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fit sol clarior et visu iocundior, ita post nimiam inerciam exercitus ille fuit alacrior et ad pugnam audacior. Capitulum XII. Interea dux eorum Neclan, lepore pavidior et Partho fuga velocior,131 pugnam imminentem pertimuit et ficta infirmitate in castro supradicto delituit. Quid facerent membra sine capite aut milites in prelio sine duce? Erat ea tempestate quidam vir precipuus ho­nes­ tate corporis, etate et nomine Tyro132 et ipse post ducem secundus imperio, qui ad occursum mille obpugnantium in prelio nullum timere, nemini scivit cedere. Hunc dux clam ad se vocat et precipit, ut arma sua induat et paucis clientibus id scientibus herilem equum iubet ut ascendat atque vice sui milites ad pugnam precedat, que non longe ab urbe, sed quasi duobus stadiis distabat. Ventum erat ad campum ab utrisque exercitibus condictum; sed prius Boemi preoccupant collem in medio campo eminentem, unde et hostes previderent adventantes, et is qui estimabatur dux stans in eminentiori loco concionaretur ad milites Tyro: „Si fas,“ inquit, „esset duci verbis addere virtutem militibus,133 multiplicibus vos tenerem sermonum ambagibus. Sed quia hostis ad oculum stat et breve tempus ad exhortandum extat, fas mihi sit vos vel paucis succendere dictis. Omnibus in bello dimicandi par est devotio, sed inpar vincendi condicio. Illi paucorum pugnant pro gloria, nos pro patria dimicamus et populi atque nostra libertate134 et salute ultima; illi ut rapiant aliena, nos ut defendamus dulcia pignera et cara conubia. Confortamini et estote viri.135 Nam deos vestros, quos actenus  Cf. Horace Carm. 2.13.17.

131

 The name may imply a  ‘young warrior’ from Latin tiro: ‘novice’, ’recruit’. Karbusický (Anfänge, 112–4, 154–7) wants to identify him—following his theory about the heroic song—with Tira, a retainer of Bolesław I and according to older layers of the First Old Church Slavonic Vita, a participant in the murder of Wen­ ces­las (cf. “Ruské redakce původní staroslovanské legendy o svatém Václavu” [Russian redaction of the OCS legend of St. W.], ed. N. J. Serebrjanskij, in Sborník staroslovanských literárních památek o sv. Václavu a sv. Lidmile, ed. Josef Vajs (Prague, 1929), 18 (text Vostokovský).

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a rainy cloud, so after idling long the army became more spirited and bolder for battle. Chapter 12 In the meantime, their Duke Neklan, who was more fearful than a hare and faster than a Parthian in flight,131 was frightened of the coming battle and, feigning illness, hid in the above-mentioned castle. What should the limbs do without a head or warriors without a commander in battle? There lived a man at that time, outstanding with a fine body, by age and name Tyro.132 He was second in command after the duke and, even when a thousand enemies attacked him in battle, he did not fear or surrender to anyone. The duke secretly called for him and ordered him to put on his armor and with only a few retainers knowing of it, he commanded him to mount the princely horse and instead of him lead the soldiers to the battlefield, which was not more than two furlongs distant from the castle. They went to the battlefield that had been agreed to by both armies. However, the Czechs occupied a hill that rose in the middle of the field whence they could see the approaching enemies and where Tyro, who was believed to be the duke, standing on an elevated spot addressed the soldiers: “If it were proper,” he says, “for a  duke to encourage soldiers by words,133 I would detain you with many circumlocutions of speech. But since the enemy is within sight and the time for exhortation short, it is proper for me to spur you on with but a  few words. In a  war, the determination to fight is the same for everybody but the consequence of victory is not. They fight for the glory of a few, we fight for our fatherland, for our own and our people’s liberty134 and for our ultimate redemption. They fight to take away the property of others; we fight to defend our sweet children and dear wives. Take courage and show yourself a man.135 For  Cf. Sallust Cat. 58.1.

133

 Cf. ibid. 58.11.

134

 3 Kings 2:2. Cf. 1 Kings 4:9 and Ios. 10:25.

135

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habuistis offensos, placastis votis, quibus placari voluerunt. Ergo timorem eorum ne timueritis,136 quia, quibus in prelio timor officit animo, maximo versantur in periculo; audacia autem habetur pro muro,137 audacibus et ipsi dii auxiliantur. Credite mihi, ultra illa castra vestra salus posita est et gloria. At si terga hostibus vertitis, mortem tamen non effugitis. Sed utinam mortem, verum peius morte agetur; coniuges vestras in conspectu vestro violabunt et in sinu earum infantes ferro trucidabunt et ad lactandum eis catulos dabunt, quia victis una est virtus victoribus nil denegare.“ Interea dux Lucensis, ferocissimus mente, cum superbissima gente, quibus et hodie a malo innatum est superbire, veniens ex adverso, ut vidit hostes non cedere loco, iubet suos paulisper stare ilico et quasi condolens super fata inimicorum his dictis acuit animos suorum: „O miserabiles timidorum hominum manes, frustra prendunt colles, quibus desunt vires et bellice artes, nec iuvat collis, si est virtus debilis. Cernitis, quia in planis vobis non audent occurrere campis; nimirum si non fallor, iam fugere parant. Sed vos, priusquam fugiant, irruite super eos impetu repentino et, sub pedibus vestris ceu frivola stipularum ut conterantur, facite more solito. Parcite, ne ignavorum sanguine polluatis fortia tela, sed pocius submittite que portatis volatilia, ut perterrefaciatis falconibus pavidas acies ut columbas.“ Quod ut factum est, tanta fuit densitas diversarum avium, ut sub pennis earum obscuraretur aer velut sub aquosa nube vel nigre tempestatis tempore. Hoc cernens intrepidus Tyro ceptum interrumpens colloquium ad suos dixit: „Si forte contigerit me mori in prelio, sepelite me in hoc colliculo et construite mausoleum mihi in secula nominativum.“ Unde et hodie nominatur: militis acerrimi bustum Tyri.138 Moxque prosiliens ceu maxima moles rupis, que fulmine rupta de summitate alti montis fertur per abrupta loca sternens omnia obstacula, haud aliter ruit fortissimus

 1 Pet. 3:14.

136

 Cf. Sallust Cat. 58.17.

137

 Czech nationalistic historiography located Tyro’s grave near the village Tursko.

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you have placated the gods, who were offended by you until now, by the sacrifices that they wanted. Hence be not afraid of their fear,136 because those whose spirits are hindered by fear in battle run into great danger. On the other hand, courage stands for a wall137 and, besides, the gods help the bold. Trust me, your redemption and glory lies behind that camp. Even if you turn your back on your enemies, you shall not escape death. But would it were only death! Things worse than death will happen: they will rape your wives in front of your eyes, kill the infants in their laps by their sword, and give them whelps for breastfeeding because the only power of the defeated is to deny nothing to the victor. In the meantime, the duke of the Lučané, a man of a most berserk mind, came from another direction with his most haughty people who are up to this day innately proud of being wicked. When he saw the enemies not ceding ground, he ordered his people to stay a little while where they were and, as if commiserating the fate of the foes, spurred on the minds of his men with these words: “Oh, the pitiable souls of the cowards, in vain they cling to the hills; where bravery is languid, where strength and martial skills are wanting, not even hill can help. See that they fear to clash with you on the plain field and, well—if I am not much mistaken—they are already preparing to escape. But before they escape, you strike them with a sudden attack and grind them under your feet as bits of straw, as is your wont. Spare your brave lances and do not pollute them with the blood of the cowards but release instead the birds that you carry with you so that with the falcons you scare the troops, who are timid as doves.” When this was done, so dense were the many birds that under their feathers light became shadow as if under a rain cloud or as the darkness of a storm. When the brave Tyro noticed this, he interrupted the speech he had started and told his people: “If I happen to die in the battle, bury me on this knoll and build a memorial forever named after me.” Hence it is called up to this date the tomb of the bravest warrior Tyro.138 Thereupon he leapt forward and as a huge mass of stones cracked by lightning rolls down from the top of a high mountain through the steep hillside scattering all in its way, so the bravest hero Tyro

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heros Tyro in confertissimos hostium cuneos;139 ac veluti si quis in horto tenera papavera succideret ferro,140 ita obstantium metit ense capita hostium, donec plenus hastilibus quasi herinacius in media strage super magnam struem occisorum cecidit. Incertum est, quis a quo vel quali vulnere quisque ceciderit, nisi hoc solum scimus pro certo, quia Boemi potiti sunt triumpho, Lucensibus omnibus interfectis usque ad unum, preter illum videlicet, quem noverca olim premonuerat euntem ad prelium. Isque dum iussa peregit noverce prepeti elapsus fuga dumque concitus veniret ad domum, ecce uxor sua plangebatur defuncta. Quam ut videret vir suus, dum discooperuisset faciem eius—res similis ficte—visum est funus habere in femineo pectore vulnus et abscisas aures. Tunc vir recolens, quod factum fuerat in prelio, protulit aures de bursa cruentis cum inauribus atque recognovit hanc fuisse in specie illius, quem adversantem occidit in bello. Capitulum XIII. Post hec intrantes Boemi in terram illam et nullo resistente devastantes eam civitates destruxerunt, villas combusserunt, spolia multa acceperunt. Inter que filium herilem apud quandam vetulam mulierem inveniunt latitantem. Quem dux ut vidit, quamvis paganus, tamen ut catholicus bonus misericordia super eum motus141 etatule eius et forme pepercit et novam urbem in plano loco construens nomine Dragus142 super ripam fluvii Ogre iuxta pagum Postoloprith, ubi nunc cernitur sancte Marie cenobium,143 tradidit

 Cf. Sallust Cat. 60.7.

139

 Livy (1.54) described that King Tarquinius preferred to cut off the heads of poppies in his garden rather than give an answer to his son’s (the leader of the Gabii) messenger.

140

 Luke 7:13.

141

 Dragúš (today part of Postoloprty), was a fortification on the flood lands of the River Eger; datable to the tenth-eleventh century. See Josef Bubeník, Slovanské osídlení středního Poohří [A Slavonic settlement in the Middle Eger-Region] (Prague: ČSAV, 1988), 190–5, Petr Čech, “Dragúš – Kosmův mýtus a náš his-

142

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attacked the wedge formation of the enemies.139 And as one reaps with a sickle the tender poppies in a garden,140 thus he chopped off the heads of the enemies with his sword until, full of spears like a hedgehog, he fell in the midst of the slaughter into a huge pile of dead bodies. It is unsure who killed whom or by which wound each one of them perished, but we are sure that the Czechs carried the victory and the Lučané were slaughtered to the last man, except namely for the one whom his stepmother had warned as he went to battle. He, having followed the stepmother’s instructions, saved himself by a hasty escape and when he speedily arrived home, he found there mourners over his dead wife. When he uncovered her face to see his wife—it sounds made up—the corpse was shown to have a wound in the breast and the ears were cut off. Then the man recalled what had happened in the battle: he took out the ears with the bloody earrings from his pouch, and realized that it was her whom he had killed in the person of the enemy. Chapter 13 Thereafter the Czechs invaded that country and devastating it without any resistance they destroyed cities, burnt villages and took away spoils. Meanwhile they get hold of the duke’s [Vlastislav’s] son, who was hidden with some old woman. When the duke saw him, he was, even though a pagan, moved with mercy toward him141 because of the boy’s age and beauty and spared him, as if he were a good Catholic. Having built a new castle by the name of Dragúš142 on a  plain next to the river Ohře in the region of Postoloprty, where the monastery of Saint Mary can be seen today,143 the duke

torický problém” [Dragúš – Cosmas’s myth and our historical problem], Archeo­ logie ve středních Čechách 3 (1999), 353–5.  The monastery Porta Apostolorum, mentioned first by Cosmas, was burned down in the Hussite wars (1420). It was located on the southern border of present town of Postoloprty, NW Bohemia (see Petr Sommer and Bedřich Štauber, “Příspěvek k lokalizaci postoloprtského kláštera” [A contribution on the localization of the Monastery of Postoloprty], Archeologické rozhledy 35 (1983), 540–51).

143

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eam144 et puerum pedagogo, cui antea pater suus eum commiserat, nomine Duringo, qui fuit de Zribia genere,145 excedens hominem scelere, vir pessimo peior et omni belua crudelior. Quod utique factum est omnium consilio comitum, ut populus, qui dispersus fuerat, ad filium herilem, suum quippe principem, ceu apes ad suam materculam confluerent; tum si quando resistere vellent, in plano loco facile capi possent, tum quia cum viro alienigena non tam cito conspiraret plebs indigena. His ita dispositis repedant ad propria cum magna leticia atque victrices aquilas146 in sua referunt stacia. Interea scelestus Zribin ille, deterior infidele,147 perpetrat scelus crudele. Nam quadam die piscatores nunciant stacionem piscium non modicam in placida aqua sub glacie nova; erat enim glacies perspicua, quam nec adhuc aura corruperat nec pulvis commaculaverat. Tunc ille Iudas secundus Durinch ratus esse congruum tempus ad exercendam suam nequiciam, quam dudum mala mente, malo animo conceperat in domini sui vitam, ait ad puerum: ­„Eamus piscari,“ quem fraude parabat necare. Quo cum pervenissent, inquit: „O mi dominelle, perspice natantes ecce sub glacie pisces plus quam mille.“ At ille, sicut erat puer, pueriliter genua flectens dum inspicit sub glacie pisces, securus securim tenere collo excepit148 et, cui hostis pepercit, suus eum pedagogus interfecit. Diffugiunt omnes a  tali spectaculo. At ille plus quam parricida, quod non potuit uno ictu securis, peragit cultello, caput suo dominello abscidens ut porcello, quod abscondens sub clamide velut domini sui pro honore munda involvit sindone,149 ut ad ducem, qui sibi eum commiserat, infelix malo suo deferat. Fert sine mora funesta dona sperans pro tali facto

 Several manuscripts have civitatem eam, further specifying the expression of the original text to avoid misunderstandings concerning the used pronomina.

144

 Cosmas calls the region north of Bohemia on both sides of the River Elbe Zribia, from the Slavic tribe of Sorbs living there. We followed Wolverton, Chronicle in “translating” it as Sorbia.

145

 Cf. Lucan 1.339; refers to the eagles as the standards of Roman legions. Cosmas used the word two more times in the sense of standards or banners of troops.

146

 1 Tim. 5:8. However, the passage does not make sense here, as none of the persons in the story were yet Christians.

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entrusted it144 and the boy to a tutor called Durynk, to whom his own father had entrusted him earlier. Durynk, a native of Sorbia,145 was a  cruelly vicious man, worse than the worst and more savage than any beast. This however was done according to advice of all the comites so that the people, who were scattered abroad, would gather together around the princely son as to their duke, as the bees swarm around their little queen, and, if they revolted, they could be easily captured on the plains. Moreover, a native people would not so readily conspire with a foreign man. When this was arranged, they return home with great joy and take the victorious eagles146 back to their places. Meanwhile the evil Sorb, who was worse than an infidel,147 carries out a cruel crime. For one day the fishermen announce that there is a great abundance of fish in still water under fresh ice—for the ice was clear, since the wind had not yet streaked it nor the sand besmirched it. Then Durynk, this second Judas, regarded that the right time had come to perform his villainy, which his wicked mind had contrived earlier in a  wicked heart against the life of his master. Thus, he told the boy whom he was nefariously planning to kill: “Let us go fishing.” When they reached the place, he said: “There, my little master, over one thousand fish are swimming under the ice!” And as he was a little boy, he childishly knelt down and when he was innocently watching the fish under the ice, Durynk hit with an axe his tender neck148 and he, who was spared by an enemy, was killed by his own tutor. Everybody scattered from such a  sight. What the man, worse than a  parricide, could not achieve by one blow of an axe, he finished with a knife, and he cut off his little master’s head as if he were a piglet. He hides it under his cloak, wraps it in a  clean linen cloth149 as if to honor his master, and takes it to the duke, who himself had entrusted the boy to him, to his own misfortune. Without delay, he brings the deadly gifts, hoping he will be given immense rewards for such

 Here one of the many witty wordplays of Cosmas has to be highlighted: securus (‘safe’) and securis (‘axe’).

148

 Matt. 27:59 refers to the burial of the body of Jesus by Joseph of Arimathea.

149

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innumera consequi munera150 et invenit ducem in Pragensi palatio cum omnibus residentem comitibus in concilio; atque optimum ratus fore, ut in conspectu omnium facinus suum referat in medium, intrat et salutat ducem et resalutatus stans expectat et, ut data est sibi copia fandi, dixit: „En ego, en ego solus mea effeci securi, ut vos omnes dormiatis in utramque aurem securi.151 Sepe enim una et minima scintilla, quam incaute custos domus reliquit sub tenui favilla, excitat ignes magnos et non solum domum, sed etiam involvit et comburit ipsos domus dominos. Hanc ego scintillam precavens et previdens in futurum vobis nocituram extinxi et vos vestrosque posteros a ventura clade, quasi ex divino oraculo premonitus, protexi. Vos autem, qui estis capita terre, huic facto nomen invenite. Si est meritum, facite, ut omnes sciant, quantum merui; aut si dicitis esse scelus, plus mihi debetis, quod vos ipsi non facitis scelus.152 An ideo debuistis infanti parcere, quia pater eius vestros infantes interficere et catulos voluit ponere ad sugendum vestras coniuges? Certe nec carnes suaves rabidi nec suave lupi ius.153 Ecce paterni sanguinis ultor, vobis quandoque nociturus, iacet sine vestro sanguine victus. Quin ite pocius, accipite regnum ocius, quod sine metu possidebitis in sempiternum felicius.“ Et statim protulit caput in disco tenellum,154 in quo nihil adhuc vivi hominis fuit exterminatum, nisi tantum, quod erat voce privatum. Expavit dux, corda tremuerunt comitum, confusum inhorruit murmur. Tunc dux torsit caput a munere nefando et solvit ora talia fando: „Aufer ab aspectu nos­ tro tua dona, sceleste, tua scelera excedunt modum et veniam nec dignam inveniunt vindictam. Ad hoc flagicium nec potest dignum excogitari preiudicium nec par supplicium. An putas, quod facere non potuissem, quod fecisti, si voluissem? Mihi autem fuit licitum occidere inimicum, sed non tibi dominum. Hoc quod peccasti peccatum maius est, quam dici potest peccatum. Certe quicumque te  Cf. Lucan 9.1031 sqq., where Pompey’s head is presented to Julius Caesar.

150

 Terence Hau. Tim. 342.

151

 Cf. Lucan 9.1031–2.

152

 Cf. Statius Theb. 10.42–3, but a glossator (in C3) referred rather to the Greek saying kakou korakos kakon oon (‘Bad eggs from a bad crow’).

153

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a  deed150 and finds the duke holding a  council with all the comites in the castle of Prague. He thought it would be best to present his deed in public in the sight of all. He enters and greets the duke and is greeted; then he stands waiting and when granted permission to speak, he said: “I, myself, alone, did it with my own axe so that you all may sleep safely on whichever ear you please.151 Often even one tiny spark that a housekeeper carelessly leaves under powdery ashes can set off a great fire and envelope and burn not only the house, but also the masters of the house. Alert and foreseeing the harm that might come to you, I myself extinguished this little spark and protected you and your progeny from future ruin, as if warned by divine prophecy. You, however, who are the heads of the land, should give this deed a name. If it is meritorious, make it as much as I have merited, so all may know, or if you say it is a sin, then you owe me even more for you were saved from committing a  sin.152 Or was the child worth sparing because his father aimed to kill your children and wanted your wives to breastfeed whelps? Surely, neither the meat nor broth of a  wild wolf is sweet.153 Behold, the avenger of his father’s blood, who would harm you some time, lies now defeated without your blood. Go on now, take swiftly hold of the realm that you shall happily hold for ever without fear.” And immediately he took out the most tender head on a plate,154 in which nothing human was extinguished except that it was deprived of voice. The duke was shocked, the hearts of the comites trembled, and a confused murmur rent the air. Then the duke turned his head away from the hideous gift and opened his mouth to say this: “Take away your gifts from our sight, you scoundrel; your crimes exceed all bounds and pardon, and there is no fitting punishment for them. No judgment nor punishment can be devised equal to such an outrage. Or do you think that I could not have done what you have done, had I wanted to? Yet it was allowed for me to kill my enemy, but not for you to kill your master. The sin that you have done is worse than what can be called a sin. Surely, whoever should kill you or condemn you to death, would commit not a single but a double  Cf. the image of the severed head of St. John the Baptist on a plate; Matt. 14:8.

154

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occiderit vel occidere te iudicaverit, non solum peccatum, sed dup­ lex incurrit peccatum, quia et peccatum quod occidaris, et peccatum quod occidisti dominum, pro utroque peccato triplicatum portabit peccatum. Verum si pro hoc tam scelere inmani aliquod a nobis donativum sperasti, scias tibi pro magno munere hoc dari, ut unam de tribus quam velis eligas mortem: aut te precipites ex alta rupe aut te manibus tuis suspendas in quavis arbore aut scelerosam vitam tuo finias ense.“ Ad hec vir ingemiscens ait: „Heu, quam male virum habet, cum preter spem sibi evenit.“ Et statim abiens in alta alno suspendit se laqueo;155 unde alnus illa, quamdiu non cecidit, quia iuxta viam erat, dicta est alnus Durinci. Et quoniam hec antiquis referuntur evenisse temporibus, utrum sint facta an ficta, lectoris iudicio relinquimus. Nunc ea que vera fidelium relatio commendat, noster stilus, licet obtusus tamen devotus, ad exarandum digna memorie se acuat. Capitulum XIV. Anno dominice incarnationis DCCCLXXXXIIII. Borivoy baptizatus est primus dux sancte fidei catholicus.156 Eodem anno Zuatopluk rex Moravie, sicut vulgo dicitur, in medio exercitu suorum delituit et nusquam comparuit.157 Sed re vera tum in se ipsum reversus,158 cum recognovisset, quod contra dominum suum imperatorem et com­pat­ rem159 Arnolfum iniuste et quasi inmemor beneficii arma movisset,

 Note the parallel to Judas’ suicide; Matt. 27:5.

155

 In fact between 882 and 885, see above, 42.

156

  S vatopluk, ruler (in some sources: king) of Moravia from 871 to 894, who, after achieving independence from the Frankish kingdom, expanded his rule in Bohemia in ca. 882 (Třeštík, Počátky, 338). The legend of his disappearance shows similarities to the fate of King Salomon of Hungary who, according to some traditions, left the world and died unknown in Pula; see Simon of Kéza, Gesta, 137, n. 32. A similar legend also emerged about Bolesław II of Poland, who died in Hungarian exile, see Knoll, GpP, 101, n. 28; also Joannis Dlugossii Annales seu chronicae incliti regni Poloniae/Jan Długosz, Roczniki czyli kroniki sławnego królestwa Polskiego III, ed. and trans. Wanda Semkowicz-Zarembina et al. (Warsaw: Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1969, 174-5). Cf. Jacek Banaszkiewicz, “Czarna i biała legenda Bolesława

157

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sin: because for both sins, that is for the sin for which you be killed and for the sin that you killed the master, he would bear a  triple sin. Indeed, if you expected from us some gift for such an outrageous crime, be sure that I give to you as a great reward that you can choose as you wish one of three deaths: you may either jump headlong from a steep rock, hang yourself with your own hands on some tree, or finish your nefarious life with your sword.” To this the man said moaning: “Alas, how bad it is for a man when things turn out differently from what he hoped.” And leaving at once, he hanged himself by a rope on a tall alder;155 therefore the alder was called Durynk’s alder until it was felled for it stood by a road. Since these things are believed to have happened long ago, we leave it to the reader to judge whether they are fact or fiction. Now our pen, blunt but devoted, sharpens itself to recount the things worth remembering that are vouchsafed by the report of trustworthy people. Chapter 14 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 894. Bořivoj, the first Catholic duke of the holy faith, was baptized.156 It is commonly said that in the same year, Svatopluk, the king of Moravia, vanished from the midst of his army and was never seen again.157 However, the truth is that, when returning to himself,158 he realized that he had unjustly taken arms against his lord, the emperor, and his godson’s father, 159 Arnulf,

Śmiałego” [Black and white legends of Bolesław II], Kwartalnik Historyczny 88 (1981), 353–83. Further literary and mythological parallels were explored in a thesis by Michal Cigán, Korene Svätoplukovskej legendy: Komparatívna analýza témy nadprirodzeného skonu panovníka v indoeurópskej tradícii [The roots of Svatopluk’s legend: A comparative analysis of the theme of the supernatural death of rulers in Indo-European tradition] (Bratislava: University of Bratislava, 2007).  Luke 15:17.

158

 According to Regino, Chron., ad a. 890, 134; cf. MacLean, History, 207; Svatopluk was godfather to Arnulf ’s son called ‘Zuendibold’ (Svatopluk). There is no English word for the Latin compater which denotes the spiritual kinship between a person’s natural parent and godfather, still important in traditional Catholic societies.

159

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qui sibi non solum Boemiam, verum etiam alias regiones hinc usque ad flumen Odram160 et inde versus Ungariam usque ad fluvium Gron subiugarat – penitentia ductus,161 medie noctis per opaca nemine sentiente ascendit equum et transiens sua castra fugit ad locum in latere montis Zober162 situm, ubi olim tres heremite inter magnam et inaccessibilem hominibus silvam eius ope et auxilio edificaverant ecclesiam. Quo ubi pervenit, ipsius silve in abdito loco equum interfecit et gladium suum humi condidit et, ut lucescente die ad heremitas accessit, quis sit illis ignorantibus, est tonsuratus et heremitico habitu indutus et quamdiu vixit, omnibus incognitus mansit, nisi cum iam mori cognovisset, monachis semetipsum quis sit innotuit et statim obiit. Cuius regnum filii163 eius pauco tempore, sed minus feliciter tenuerunt, partim Ungaris illud diripientibus, partim Teutonicis orientalibus, partim Poloniensibus solo tenus hostiliter depopulantibus. Capitulum XV. Borivoy autem genuit duos filios Zpitigneum et Wratizlaum ex ea, que fuit filia Zlaviboris, comitis de castello Psov,164 nomine Ludmila.165 Quo feliciter universe carnis viam ingresso successit pa Bretholz, Die Chronik, 32–3, n. 5) following older editors, preferred the reading of Ms A2, even if others have read Ogra (=Eger), which would not tally with the probable frontier of Svatopluk’s realm. The entire problem of the extent of (Great) Moravia is highly controversial and cannot be rehearsed here; for a brief summary, cf. Ivo Štefan, “Great Moravia, Statehood and Archaeology: The ‘Decline and Fall’ of One Early Medieval Polity.” In Frühgeschichtliche Zentralorte in Mitteleuropa: Internationale Konferenz und Kolleg der Alexander-von-HumboldtStiftung zum 50. Jahrestag des Beginns archäologischer Ausgrabungen in Pohansko bei Břeclav, 5.–9. 10. 2009, ed. Jiří Macháček (Břeclav/Bonn: Habelt, 2011), 333–53. Cf. also the articles in Early Medieval Europe 17 (2009), 238–328 (a thematic issue devoted to the history of Great Moravia).

160

 Matt. 27:3 and elsewhere.

161

 Mount Zobor rises above the city of Nitra and became the site of a Benedictine Monastery of St. Hyppolit. Two eleventh-century hermits from that location, Saints Zoerard/Andrew and Benedict were canonized in 1083. Cosmas may have known about them through their Vitae, written by Bishop Maurus of Pécs, now ed. and transl. by Marina Miladinov, in Saints of the Christianization Age of Central Europe, ed. Gábor Klaniczay, CEMT 6 (Budapest–New York: CEU Press, 2012), 317–38.

162

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as if unmindful of his favors; for Arnulf had made subject to him not only Bohemia, but also other regions up to the River Odera,160 and from there towards Hungary up to the River Hron. Repenting himself,161 Svatopluk, under cover of darkness, secretly mounted a horse in the middle of the night and, riding out from the camp, fled to a place beside Mount Zobor162 where formerly three hermits, with his means and support, had built a church within a vast and impenetrable forest. When he arrived there, he killed the horse in a hidden place within the forest and buried his sword. At dawn he came to the hermits, who were ignorant of who he was. He was tonsured, clothed in a monk’s habit, and for as long as he lived he remained unrecognized by everyone. Only shortly before his death did he let the monks know who he actually was. He died immediately thereafter. His sons163 held his kingdom, but only for a short while and less prosperously, for it was plundered and savagely leveled to the ground, partly by the Hungarians, partly by the eastern Germans, and partly by the Poles. Chapter 15 Bořivoj sired two sons, Spytihněv and Vratislav, by Ludmila,164 the daughter of Slavibor, count of the castle of Pšov.165 When Bořivoj had joyously gone the way of all flesh, Spytihněv succeeded to the  Most sources know about a Mojmír II and Svatopluk II. The story about Svatopluk’s warning his three sons against discord is recorded in Constantine Porphyrogennetos, De administrando imperio, ed. Gyula Moravcsik and transl. Romilly Jenkins, Dumbarton Oaks Texts 1 (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1967), 181 (chapter 41).

163

 Ludmila, grandmother of St. Wenceslas, according to her legend murdered by her daughter-in-law on 15 September 921 was venerated as a saint soon after the “martyrdom” and became one of the patron saints of Bohemia. The following chapters repeatedly refer to the different Vitae of Ludmila and Wenceslas; on these see Alexander Peter Vlasto, The Entry of the Slavs into Christendom (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1970) [henceforth: The Entry], 90–2; and more recently Gábor Klaniczay, Holy Rulers and Blessed Princesses: Dynastic Cults in Medieval Central Europe, trans. Eva Pálmai (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002), 101–8, as well as Wolverton, Hastening, 149–56. The textual environment of the individual legends and questions of authenticity cannot be discussed here and no references will be given to occasional borrowings.

164

 Later and today called Mělník.

165

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ternum in principatum Zpitigneu;166 post cuius obitum obtinuit Wratizlau167 ducatum, qui accepit uxorem nomine Dragomir de durissima gente Luticensi168 et ipsam saxis duriorem ad credendum ex provincia nomine Stodor. Hec peperit binos natos, Wencezlaum Deo et hominibus acceptabilem et Bolezlaum fraterna cede execrabilem. Qualiter autem gratia Dei semper preveniente et ubique subsequente dux Borivoy adeptus sit sacramentum baptismi, aut quomodo per eius successores his in partibus de die in diem sancta processerit religio catholice fidei, vel qui dux quas aut quot primitus ecclesias credulus erexit ad laudem Dei, maluimus pretermittere, quam fastidium legentibus ingerere, quia iam ab aliis scripta legimus: quedam in privilegio Moraviensis ecclesie, quedam in epilogo eiusdem terre atque Boemie, quedam in vita vel passione sanctissimi nostri patroni et martyris Wencezlai;169 nam et esce execrantur, que sepius sumuntur. Inter hos autem annos quos infra subnotamus facta sunt hec, que supra prelibavimus; non enim scire potuimus, quibus annis sint gesta sive temporibus. Capitulum XVI. Anno dominice incarnationis DCCCLXXXXV.170 Anno dominice incarnationis DCCCCXXVIII.

 Spytihněv was duke of Bohemia from 895 to 915.

166

 Vratislav was duke of Bohemia from 915 to 921.

167

 Die Chronik des Bischofs Thietmar von Merseburg und ihre Korveier Überarbeitung, ed. Robert Holtzmann, MGH SS rer. Germ. n.s. 9 (Berlin: Weidmann 1935), 305 [henceforth: Thietmar, Chron.]; cf. also David A.  Warner, trans., Ottonian Germany: The Chronicon of Thietmar of Merseburg (Manchester: Manchester UP, 2001) [henceforth: Ottonian], 254 described the Liutici as an alliance of several Slavic tribes. They were the major force in the Slav uprising of 983; see Christian Lübke “Slawenaufstand (von 983),” in Lexikon des Mittelalters 7 (Munich: LexMA, 1995), 2003–4.

168

 The identity of these texts has long been debated. For the time being, see Dušan Třeštík, Kosmova kronika: Studie k  počátkům českého dějepisectví a  politického myšlení [The Chronicle of Cosmas: Study on the beginnings of Czech historiog-

169

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principality of his father.166 After Spytihněv’s death, the duchy was obtained by Vratislav,167 who married Drahomíra of the hardiest tribe of the Lutici168 from a province called Stodor–a woman who was harder than stone towards the faith. She gave birth to two sons: Wenceslas, who was pleasant to both God and the people, and Boleslav, who was accursed for having committed fratricide. In what way Duke Bořivoj, who was always preceded and everywhere followed by the grace of God, attained the sacrament of baptism, or just how the holy religion of the Catholic faith was spread by his successors in these regions day by day, or exactly which devout duke for the first time built how many or which churches for the praise of God. All these things we would rather omit than bore the reader, since we can now read works by others: some of it in the Privilege of the Moravian Church, some of it in the Epilogue of the same land and Bohemia, and some of it in the Life or Passion of our holiest patron and martyr, Wenceslas.169 For truly the food that is eaten too often becomes loathsome. The things we have alluded to above were done around the years that we note below: for we could not determine in which [exact] years or times these things happened. Chapter 16 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 895.170 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 928.

raphy and political thought] (Prague: Academia, 1968), 54–7, who offered the following solution: The privilegium clearly refers to a charter, perhaps the papal bull Industriae Tuae; the Epilogus signifies a specific literary genre, but none of that kind survived for Bohemia and Moravia. The Vita Sancti Wenzeslai may be any of the saint’s early lives but there is no consensus in respect of which. The argument that Cosmas knew (at least) the legend of the so-called Christian rests on the fact that he refers to Podiven as a companion of the saint (see below, 404) whose name appears nowhere else.  In the rest of Book I (and, rarely in Book II as well), Cosmas keeps his annalistic system and lists the years even if he has no events to record. We retained this only where it is necessary for the basic orientation of the reader.

170

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Capitulum XVII. Anno dominice incarnationis DCCCCXXVIIII. Quarta kal. Octobris sanctus Wencezlaus, dux Boemorum, fraterna fraude martirizatus Bolezlau in urbe, intrat perpetuam celi feliciter aulam.171 Nam Bolezlaus, haud dignus dici sancti viri germanus, quam fraudulenter fratrem suum invitaverit ad convivium, quem potius machinabatur ob regni retinendi gubernacula necandum, aut qualiter coram hominibus, sed non apud Deum, dissimulaverit fratricidii reatum, sufficienter dictum puto in passionis eiusdem sancti viri tripudio. Cuius post vite bravium alter Cain Bolezlaus, heu, male adoptatum obtinuit ducatum. Hec autem inter convivia, que, ut supra retulimus, fraterna cede execrabilia, nascitur proles eximia ducis Bolezlai ex coniuge egregia,172 cui ex eventu rerum nomen est inditum Ztrahquaz, quod nomen sonat: terribile convivium.173 Quod enim terribilius potest esse convivium, quam in quo per­pet­ ra­tur fratricidium? Ergo dux Bolezlaus conscius sceleris patrati, timens penas Tartari, mente semper recolens sagaci, quoquo modo possit Deus super hoc crimine placari, votum vovit Domino dicens:174 „Si iste meus filius,“ inquit, „superstes fuerit, ex toto corde meo Deo eum voveo, clericus ut sit et serviat Christo omnibus diebus vite sue, pro meo peccato et huius terre pro populo.“

 Třeštík, Počátky, 428–9 presented strong arguments for 935. Stará Boleslav was a central location on the Elbe in northeastern Central Bohemia; on its history and archaeology, see Boháčová, Stará Boleslav.

171

 Her name was Biagota, which appears on coins, but nothing more is known about her.

172

 The word indeed means what Cosmas writes, but it is unlikely that a child would have been given this name. Nonetheless, he features thus later in the narrative; see below 68–70 and 96–102. There is no evidence for a son of Boleslav I designated for a clerical career in any other sources, save a reference in Bruno, Adalbert (chap-

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Chapter 17 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 929, on September 28, Saint Wenceslas, duke of the Czechs, having been martyred by fraternal deceit in the town of [Stará] Boleslav, joyfully entered the everlasting heavenly hall.171 I believe that it has been sufficiently said in the celebration of this same holy man’s martyrdom how Boleslav, who is unworthy to be called the brother of this holy man, fraudulently invited his brother to a banquet, plotting to kill him in order to take hold of the reins of the kingdom, or in what manner he concealed the crime of fratricide from men but not from God. After the glory of Wenceslas’s life, Boleslav, this second Cain, obtained—alas!— the wrongfully acquired duchy. During this banquet damned by the fratricide which we have just related, an excellent son of Duke Boleslav was born from his esteemed wife,172 and due to the course of the events was named Strachkvas, which means “a dreadful banquet.”173 For what banquet can be more dreadful than one at which a fratricide is committed? For that reason, Duke Boleslav, aware of the crime he had committed and dreading punishment in hell, always contemplating in his keen mind how he could placate God for his crime, made a vow to the Lord saying,174 “If this son of mine shall live, I wholeheartedly promise to God that he shall become a cleric and serve Christ for the rest of his days on account of my own sin and for the people of this land.”

ter 15, 17–8) to a monk “Christian.” Whether that person is identical with the author of the Život a umučení (see above, 45, n. 122) is an open question. Třeštík, “Přemyslovec Kristián,” 602–13 argued for the existence of the two brothers and identified the latter with Christian, the hypothetical author of the legend. For the recent discussion of this issue, see David Kalhous, Legenda Christiani and modern historiography (Leiden: Brill, 2015).  Judg. 11:30.

174

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Capitulum XVIII. Post hec genitor voti non inmemor, cum esset iam puer docibilis et multum parentibus amabilis, non ferens pater, ut suis disceret pre oculis, misit eum Ratisponam tradens sub regulares alas abbati sanc­ti Emmerami martiris.175 Ibi ecclesiasticis et regularibus sanctionibus est imbutus, ibi monachico habitu indutus, ibi usque ad virile robur est enutritus; de cetero eius vite cursu in sequentibus sat manifestabitur.176 De actibus autem ducis Bolezlai nihil aliud dignum relatione percipere potui nisi unum, quod vobis opere precium pandere duxi. Nam servus Dei Wencezlaus ecclesiam in metropoli Praga sub honore sancti Viti martiris constructam, non tamen consecratam morte preventus reliquit.177 Hanc ut consecrare dignaretur, qui tunc preerat Ratisponensi ecclesie presul nomine Michael, dux Bolezlaus supplex missis legatis cum magnis muneribus et maioribus promissionibus atque pollicitationibus, quo peticionem suam adimpleret, vix impetravit. Quod utique haud annuisset presul, nisi ob recordationem anime et salutem Wencezlai amici sui iam interfecti id deliberasset fieri, quia vir Dei Wencezlaus, dum carne viguerat, nimio eum affectu coluerat utpote patrem spiritalem et benignissimum presulem. Nam et presul Michael similiter hunc sibi adoptaverat in filium dilectissimum, tum sepe instruens timore et amore Dei, tum sepe mittens ei per sua donaria, quibus maxime

 Probably Michael, abbot and bishop from 942 to 972.

175

 See below, 96–102.

176

 The dedication to St. Vitus may point to Saxon influence: he was the patron of the monastery of Corvey. In the early legend its patrocinium is given as St. Emmeram (pointing to Regensburg); see Emilie Bláhová and Václav Konzal, “První slovanská svatováclavská legenda” [The first Slavonic legend of St. Venceslas], in Staroslověnské legendy českého původu (Prague: Vyšehrad, 1976), 55–139. Moreover, in the Vita S. Wenzeslai by Gumpold of Mantua (chapter 15–6; see Kla­ni­ czay, Saints, 54–7) the church is supposed to have been completed in the saint’s lifetime and consecrated by Bishop Tuto of Regensburg. Wolverton, Chronicle, 67, n. 172, argued that Cosmas wanted it to appear as if his church had been conse-

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Chapter 18 Sometime later, when the boy reached the age suitable for instruction and was greatly beloved by his parents, the father, remembering his vow, sent him to Regensburg and placed him under the monastic wings of the abbot of Saint Emmeram the Martyr175 for he could not bear that he should study in front of his eyes. There the boy was instructed in the monastic and ecclesiastical rules, clothed in a monk’s habit, and raised until the flowering of his manhood. That which follows will reveal enough about the rest of his life.176 Concerning the deeds of Duke Boleslav, however, I do not deem any of them deserving to be related except one, which I think worth telling you. For, the servant of God, Wenceslas, had built a church in the metropolis of Prague dedicated to Saint Vitus the Martyr, which he left unconsecrated since death preceded him.177 Duke Boleslav humbly sent legates with great gifts and even greater promises and pledges to the bishop by the name of Michael, who at that time presided over the church of Regensburg, to fulfill his request and deign to consecrate it. However, Boleslav only just managed to have his request accepted. For the bishop would certainly not have agreed to it, save for the sake and memory of his now murdered friend, Wenceslas. For Wenceslas, the man of God, as long as he lived had held very special feelings for Michael and regarded him as his spiritual father and the kindest bishop. Similarly, Bishop Michael adopted him as his own most beloved son, often teaching Wenceslas of the fear and love of God, as well as frequently sending him, by his gifts, the things that

crated before the translation of St. Wenceslas’s body and conflated the dates. Remnants of the pre-Romanesque rotunda were unearthed in the 1920s. Recent results are summarized in Jan Frolík, “Rotunda sv. Víta na Pražském hradě ve světle nových poznatků” [The rotunda of St Vitus in Prague Castle in the light of new findings], in Svatý Václav: Na památku 1100. výročí narození knížete Václava Svatého, ed. Petr Kubín, Opera Facultatis theologiae catholicae Universitatis Carolinae Pragensis, Historia et historia artium vol. XI (Prague: Univerzita Karlova, 2010), 131–48.

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illo in tempore indigebat nova ecclesia Christi.178 Mox ubi dux est factus compos voti, plebs universa et proceres atque clerici obviam advenienti epis­copo ruunt devoti, et cum magno honore et leticia recipiunt eum in metropolis Prage edificia. Quid multa? Decima kal. Octobris dedicata S. Viti martiris ecclesia letus repedat presul ad propria. Capitulum XIX. Anno dominice incarnationis DCCCCXXX.179 Otto, filius Heinrici imperatoris, Edgid filiam Anglorum regis duxit uxorem.180 Anno dominice incarnationis DCCCCXXXI. Heinricus imperator regem Abotridorum181 et regem Danorum effecit chris­ ti­a­nos. Anno dominice incarnationis DCCCCXXXII. Quarta non. Marcii translatum est corpus S. Wencezlai martiris de Bolezlau oppido in urbem Pragam invidi fratris odio. Siquidem frater eius Bolezlaus de die in diem peius faciens et peius, nulla compunctus sui facinoris penitentia, mente non tulit tumida, quod per martiris sui Wencezlai merita Deus declararet innumera ad eius tumbam miracula, clam sibi fidis clientibus mandat, quo eum in urbem Pragam transferentes noctu in ecclesia sancti Viti humi condant, quatenus, si que Deus mira suis ostenderet ad gloriam sanctis, non eius fratris, sed sancti Viti martiris asscriberetur meritis.182 Cetera eius malefacta nec duxi relatione digna nec pro certo  Since Michael became abbot-bishop only after Wenceslas’s death, this close connection may have preceded his promotion. It has also been suggested by Novotný, České dějiny 1–1, 48 that Michael was one of the priests expelled from Bohemia after the murder of Wenceslas. Bohemia was part of the diocese of Regensburg until the foundation of the bishopric of Prague (see below, 82) and played a great role in the Christianization of Bohemia. Since the bishop of Regensburg was also the abbot of the St. Emmeram monastery, Strachkvas would most likely have been sent to Regensburg in the time of Bishop Michael (942–972).

178

 The first two entries are verbatim copied from Regino’s continuator, Adalbert (“Continuatio ad Reginonis chronicon 966–967”, in Kurz, Reginonis abbatis Prumiensis chronicon &c. [henceforth: “Contin. Regin.”], 158; cf. MacLean, History, 240).

179

 Edith/Edgid was the daughter of King Edward the Elder of Wessex (899–924).

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the new church of Christ needed at that time.178 Soon, when the duke’s wish was fulfilled, all the people and the lords and clerics rushed to meet the approaching bishop and received him with great honor and joy in the walls of the metropolis of Prague. What more? Having dedicated the church to the martyr Vitus on September 22, the bishop happily returned home. Chapter 19 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 930.179 Otto, son of Emperor Henry, married Edith, daughter of the king of the English.180 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 931. Emperor Henry made the king of the Obodrites181 and the king of the Danes Christians. In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 932, on March 4, the body of the martyr Saint Wenceslas was transferred from the town of [Stará] Boleslav to the city of Prague on account of the hatred of his jealous brother. His brother Boleslav, behaving worse and worse by the day and not being moved by any remorse for his misdeeds, could not bear in his swollen mind the fact that God, through the merits of his martyr Wenceslas, revealed many miracles at his tomb. Therefore, Boleslav secretly ordered his trusty retainers to transport Wenceslas into the city of Prague at night and bury him in the church of Saint Vitus, so that if God were to exhibit marvels for the glory of his saints, it would be attributed to the merits of Saint Vitus the Martyr rather than to his brother.182 Boleslav’s other evil deeds  A   West Slavic tribe within the territory of Mecklenburg and Holstein in northern Germany. Michael Müller-Wille, “Zwischen Kiler Förde und Wismarbucht. Archäo­ logie der Obodriten vom späten bis zur Mitte des 12. Jahrhunderts,” in Zwischen Starigrad/Oldenburg und Novgorod: Beiträge zur Archäologie west- und ostslavischer Gebiete im frühen Mittelalter, Studien zur Siedlungsgeschichte und Archäologie der Ostseegebiete 10 (Neumünster: Wachholtz Murmann Publishers 2011), 44–61.

181

 The translation, now unquestionably assigned to Boleslav I, was connected to efforts to establish a bishopric of Prague in the years around 970: the extensive debate on this issue is summarized by Dušan Třeštík, “Translace a kanonizace svatého Václava Boleslavem I.” [The translation and canonization of St. Wen­ceslas by Boleslav I], in Světci a jejich kult ve středověku [Saints and their cult in the Middle Ages], ed. Petr Kubín, Hana Pátková, and Tomáš Petráček (Prague: Univerzita Karlova, 2006), 325–44.

182

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habui comperta. Unum tamen eius satis audax et memorabile facinus, quod retro dierum in iuventute sua fecit, vestre caritati referre cupimus. Fuit enim iste dux Bolezlaus—si dicendus est dux, qui fuit inpius atque tyrannus, sevior Herode, truculentior Nerone, Decium superans scelerum inmanitate, Dioclecianum183 crudelitate, unde sibi agnomen ascivit „sevus Bolezlaus“ ut diceretur—tante enim fuit severitatis, ut nihil consilio, nihil ratione regeret, sed omnia pro sua voluntate atque impetu animi ageret. Unde factum est, ut in mente conciperet, quo sibi urbem Romano opere conderet. Moxque populi primates convocat in unum et usque ad unum et deducens eos in lucum iuxta flumen Alb atque designans locum aperit eis sui cordis secretum: „Hic,“ inquiens, „volo et iubeo, ut mihi opere Romano edificetis murum urbis nimis altum per girum.“184 Ad hec illi: „Nos qui sumus,“ inquiunt, „populi fauces et tenemus dignitatum fasces, nos tibi abrenunciamus, quia neque scimus neque volumus facere, quod precipis, neque enim patres nostri tale quid antea fecere. Ecce in tuis conspectibus assistimus et potius tuo gladio quam inportabili servitutis iugo nostra colla submittimus. Fac, quod velis, non enim tuis obtemperabimus iussis.“ Tunc dux diram exarsit in iram et prosiliens stetit in putrido trunco, qui forte tunc ibi iacuit in luco, et evaginato gladio dixit: „O ignavi et patrum ignavorum filii, si non estis semiviri aut non viliores peripsimate piri,185 factis dicta comprobate et utrum gladio an servitutis iugo sit levius colla submittere, temptate.“ Erat res spectaculo digna et audacis procacitate ducis ammiranda. Nam si mille dextras in uno corpore armatas haberet, non in tantum tanta turma hominum trepidaret. Quos ut vidit dux buxo pre timore pallidiores, unum, qui fuit primus inter seniores, apprehendens per cincinnos verticis,186 ut fortius valuit, percuciens amputavit ceu te-

 Herod (37– 4 B.C.E.) king of Palestine (who, according to Matt 2:16–7, ordered the “massacre of the innocents”); Nero (17–68), Decius (249–251), and Diocletian (284–305) were Roman emperors under whom Christians were persecuted.

183

 Stará Boleslav was archaeologically confirmed as having been one of the oldest mortar-built fortifications on Western Slavic territory (see Boháčová, Stará Boleslav, 133–73), but this construction was built later than 935. Cosmas may have seen this building. Only a strong stone wall implies Roman style (as also in

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I do not deem worthy of relating, nor have I established them for certain. Nonetheless, we wish to bring to your attention one quite rash and noteworthy deed of his, which he carried out earlier in the days of his youth. For that Duke Boleslav—if he can be called a  duke who was impious and tyrannical and crueler than Herod, harsher than Nero, surpassing Decius by the barbarity of his crimes and Diocletian183 by his severity, which is how he acquired his nickname “Boleslav the Cruel”—was so much a bully that he contrived nothing through counsel or according to reason, but did everything only according to his will and the impulse of his mind. Thus it happened that he set his mind on building a city in the Roman style for himself. Soon he called together the leaders of the people, every last one of them, and brought them to a grove next to the River Elbe. Indicating the place, he revealed the secret of his heart to them: “Here” he said, “I want and order you to build me a very high, city wall around the city, in the Roman style.”184 To this they said, “We, who are the mouths of the people and the bearers of authority, reject you, for we neither know how nor wish to do what you command, nor have our fathers done such things in the past. Behold, we stand before you and would rather lower our necks to your sword than to the yoke of unbearable servitude. Do as you please, for we shall not yield to your commands.” Then the duke became enflamed with dreadful anger and leaping upon a putrid stump that was by chance lying there in the grove, he unsheathed his sword and said, “You lazy sons of lazy fathers! If you are not half-men or meaner than the pear rind,185 then prove your words by deeds and see whether it is easier to lower your necks to my sword or to the yoke of servitude!” It was a spectacular instance of the astonishing insolence of the duke’s audacity. For, the crowd of men could not have trembled more than if he had a thousand mailed fists in his body. When the duke saw them, paler from fear than boxwood, he seized the man who was first among the elders by a lock of his head.186 Striking him as hard Thietmar, Chron., 24; cf. Warner, Ottonian, 80, regarding Merseburg). Roman town walls were foursquare.  Cf. 1 Cor. 4:13.

185

 Ezek. 8:3.

186

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neri papaveris caput et inquit: „Sic volo, sic faciam, sit pro ratione voluntas.“187 Ceteri hoc cernentes sero penitentia ducti ceciderunt ad genua ducis veniam cum lacrimis postulantes. „Iam,“ inquiunt, „domine, nostris parce culpis, iam per omnia tuis obtemperabimus iussis, iam ultro facimus, quecumque velis, ne sis nobis ultra crudelis.“ Et statim ad ducis voluntatem edificant civitatem spisso et alto muro opere Romano, sicut hodie cernitur, que ex nomine sui conditoris Bolezlau dicitur. Capitulum XX.188 Anno dominice incarnationis DCCCCXXXIII. Ungari orientales Francos et Alamanniam atque Galliam devastantes per Italiam redierunt.189 Anno dominice incarnationis DCCCCXXXIIII. Heinricus rex Ungaros multa cede prostravit pluresque ex iis comprehendit.190 Anno dominice incarnationis DCCCCXXXV. Heinricus rex paralysi percutitur. Anno dominice incarnationis DCCCCXXXVI. Obiit Heinricus rex, cui successit filius eius Otto imperator.191 Anno dominice incarnationis DCCCCXXXVII. Arnolfus dux Bauariorum obiit.192 Anno dominice incarnationis DCCCCXXXVIII. Ungari iterum a Saxonibus multa cede devastantur,193 et filii ducis Arnolfi194 regi rebellant Ottoni.  Cf. Juvenal Sat 6.223.

187

 The entire chapter consists of short excerpts (some verbatim, but we will not highlight these passages) from Adalbert, “Contin. Regin.”, 159–65, which in turn is strongly dependent on the short Annales Augienses, ed. Georg Heinrich Pertz, MGH SS 1 (Hanover: Hahn, 1826), 67–9. For detailed comments and historical context, see MacLean, History, 240–51.

188

 A Hungarian raid as far as France is otherwise recorded only for 924 and 937. In 933 the Hungarians were raiding Saxony, but were defeated by Henry I (as below).

189

 Most sources date the Magyar’s defeat by Henry I (“the Fowler”) at Riade, near Merseburg, to 15 March 933.

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as he could, he cut off his head as though it were the head of a fragile poppy, and said, “This is my wish and this I shall do: let there be will in place of reason!”187 Seeing this, the others, driven by a belated remorse, fell down at the duke’s feet and tearfully pleaded for mercy. “Now,” they said, “pardon our crimes, lord. We shall now yield to your commands in everything. We shall now do of our own will whatever you desire. Do not be cruel to us any more.” And immediately in accordance with the duke’s wish they built a city with a tall and thick wall in the Roman style, as can be seen today, and named it [Stará] Boleslav after the name of its founder. Chapter 20 188 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 933, the Hungarians, having ravaged the Eastern Franks and Alemannia as well as France, returned home through Italy.189 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 934, King Henry with great bloodshed defeated the Hungarians and captured many of them.190 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 935, King Henry suffered a stroke. In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 936, King Henry died and was succeeded by his son, Emperor Otto.191 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 937, Arnulf, duke of the Bavarians, died.192 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 938, the Hungarians were once again defeated with great bloodshed by the Saxons,193 and the sons of Duke Arnulf194 rebelled against King Otto.  Henry died on 2 July 936; he secured his son’s accession by a formal testament; Otto I was king of the Germans and emperor (from 962) until his death in 973.

191

 Arnulf died on 14 July 937; on him, see Timothy Reuter, Germany in the Early Middle Ages 800–1056 (London: Longman, 1991) [henceforth: Germany], 130–46.

192

 The Magyars’ defeat near Wolfenbüttel put an end to their raids into Saxony.

193

 Adalbert assumed that Duke Eberhard of Bavaria and his brothers wished to obtain the duchy and refused to follow the king to Italy; Eberhard was exiled for a year; see Reuter, Germany, 151–2.

194

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Anno dominice incarnationis DCCCCXXXVIIII. Hludouicus rex Gerpirgam, viduam Gisalberti, duxit uxorem.195 Anno dominice incarnationis DCCCCXXXX. Heinrico, fratri regis, Lothariensis ducatus committitur et eodem anno inde expellitur. Anno dominice incarnationis DCCCCXXXXI. Heinricus, frater regis, cum quibusdam Saxonibus contra regem conspirat, sed nil nocere potuit.196 Anno dominice incarnationis DCCCCXXXXII. Sidus simile comete per XIIII noctes visum est et inmensa mortalitas boum secuta est.197 Anno dominice incarnationis DCCCCXXXXIII. Otto dux198 obiit, cui Conradus, filius Werinheri, in ducatum successit.199 Anno dominice incarnationis DCCCCXXXXIIII. Ungari a Carantanis multa cede mactantur.200 Anno dominice incarnationis DCCCCXXXXV. Bertoldus, dux Bauariensis, obiit, cui Heinricus, frater regis, successit.201 Anno dominice incarnationis DCCCCXXXXVI. Hludouicus rex a suis regno expellitur.202 Anno dominice incarnationis DCCCCXXXXVII. Domna Edgid regina obiit.203 Anno dominice incarnationis DCCCCXXXXVIII. Sinodus in Inglenheim a XXXIIII episcopis habita est.204  Gerpirga, King Otto’s sister, was the widow of the duke of the Lorraine. Her marriage to Louis IV may have been a move to secure Louis’s control over the duchy; see Régine Le Jan, Femmes, pouvoir et société dans la haute moyen âge (Paris: Picard, 2001), 30–8.

195

 Henry and some Saxon knights planned to kill the king while celebrating Easter in Merseburg. Henry was incarcerated (or fled), but was soon pardoned; see Reuter, Germany, 153–4.

196

 Astronomical ‘portents’ were often connected with epidemics or famine, see Fritz Curschmann, Hungersnöte im Mittelalter: Ein Beitrag zur deutschen Wirtschaftsgeschichte des 8. bis 13. Jahrhunderts (Leipzig: Teubner, 1900 [repr. Aalen: Scientia, 1970]) [henceforth: Hungersnöte], 14–6. There is no supporting evidence for a comet or ‘guest star’ in 942. On the problems of medieval chroniclers’ evidence for astronomical events, see Richard Stephenson, “Astronomy in the Monasteries,” New Scientist (19 April 1984), 27–31.

197

 Otto was count of Verdun and received the duchy of Lorraine from Otto I only a few years before his death in 944.

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In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 939, King Louis married Gerpirga, the widow of Gisalbert.195 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 940, the Lotharingian duchy was committed to Henry, the king’s brother, who was expelled from there in the same year. In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 941, the king’s brother, Henry, together with some Saxons, plotted against the king but was unable to harm him.196 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 942, a star similar to a comet was visible for fourteen nights, and this was followed by the death of an enormous number of cattle.197 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 943, Duke Otto198 died and was succeeded in the duchy by Conrad, the son of Werner.199 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 944, the Hungarians were destroyed with great bloodshed by the Carinthians.200 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 945, Bertold, duke of the Bavarians, died and was succeeded by Henry, the king’s brother.201 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 946, King Louis was expelled from the kingdom by his people.202 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 947, the lady Queen Edith died.203 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 948, a synod with thirty-four bishops present was held in Ingelheim.204

 Count Conrad ‘the Red,’ a  relative of the Salian dynasty, was duke until 954, when he lost Lorraine due to his rebellion against the emperor. He fell in the battle of Lechfeld in 955.

199

 The Hungarian raiders were defeated probably by a  Carinthian-Bavarian joint force led by Duke Berthold of Bavaria, at Wels on August 12.

200

 Bertold died in November 947.

201

 Actually, King Louis IV “Outremer,” after he was released from Norman captivity fell into the hands of Duke Hugh the Great (father of Hugh Capet) and was restored to power following the armed intervention of King Otto; see Rosamond McKitterick, The Frankish Kingdom under the Carolingian 751–987 (Harlow: Longman, 1983), 305–40.

202

 Edith/Edgid (see above, 70) died on 26 January 946.

203

 This synod in 948 was called by Pope Agapetus II, inter alia to resolve the schism in the archbishopric of Rheims, closely connected to the position of King Louis IV.

204

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Anno dominice incarnationis DCCCCXXXXIX. Liudolfo, filio regis, Machtildis filia nascitur.205 Anno dominice incarnationis DCCCCL. Dux Boemorum Bolezlaus regi rebellabat, quem rex valida manu adiit sueque per omnia dicioni subdidit.206 Anno dominice incarnationis DCCCCLI. Rex Otto in Italiam perrexit.207 Anno dominice incarnationis DCCCCLII.208 Anno dominice incarnationis DCCCCLXVI. Capitulum XXI. Anno dominice incarnationis DCCCCLXVII. Id. Iulii dux, cui agnomen sevus Bolezlaus, male mercatum fraterno sanguine ducatum cum vita amisit. Cui filius eius equivocus in principatum successit,209 multum dissimilis patri moribus bonis et conversatione spiritali. O mira Dei clementia! O quam incomprehensibilia eius sunt iudicia!210 Ecce de rubo uva, de spinis rosa, de tribulis ficus gignitur generosa;211 videlicet de fratricida prodit christicola, de lupo agnus, de tyranno modestus, de impio Bolezlao pius nascitur secundus Bolezlaus, dux nulli probitate secundus. Neque eum contaminat iniqui patris equivocatio, in quo verus Christi fervebat amor et pura dilectio; nam sicut multi nomina sanctorum sortiuntur nec tamen sanctitatem assequuntur, quoniam neque sanctitas neque iniquitas ex nomine, sed pro merito hec utraque dinoscuntur in homine.

 Liudolf later became duke of Alemannia; his daughter, Mathilda, abbess of Essen.

205

 Boleslav was defeated after several years of resistance by Otto I and was handed over to Duke Henry of Bavaria for incarceration, see Thietmar, Chron., 39–40; cf. Warner, Ottonian, 90.

206

 On Otto’s campaign, his victory over Berengar of Ivrea, and his marriage to Adelai­ de, formerly queen of Italy, see Reuter, Germany, 169–70.

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In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 949, a  daughter, Mathilda, was born to the king’s son Liudolf.205 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 950, Boleslav, duke of the Czechs, rebelled against the king, who attacked him with a mighty force and set everything under his command.206 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 951, King Otto made his way to Italy.207 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 952208 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 966. Chapter 21 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 967, on July 15, Duke Boleslav, whose nickname was “the Cruel,” lost, together with his life, the duchy that he had wickedly acquired by the blood of his brother. His son, who had the same name, succeeded to the principality.209 He differed greatly from his father by his goodly conduct and spiritual living. How astonishing is the grace of God! How incomprehensible are his judgments!210 Behold, grape is born of a bramble, rose of thorn-bushes, noble fig of prickles;211 so a fratricide bears a Christian, a wolf bears a lamb, a tyrant bears a man of virtue, and impious Boleslav bears pious Boleslav the Second, in probity a duke second to none. And his wicked father’s name did not pollute him—since true love toward God and pure affection burned in him—just as many are given the names of saints but do not achieve sanctity, for neither sanctity nor iniquity in man are acquired by name but both are recognized as deserved.

 It is unclear why Cosmas did not continue excerpting this source which continues up to 967.

208

 Boleslav II the Pious, duke of Bohemia from 967 to 999.

209

 Rom. 11:33.

210

 Cf. Matt 7:16 and Luke 6:44, where, however, the opposite is affirmed.

211

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Capitulum XXII. Erat autem iste princeps, secundus Bolezlaus, vir christianissimus, fide catholicus, pater orphanorum, defensor viduarum, gementium consolator, clericorum et peregrinorum pius susceptor, ecclesiarum Dei precipuus fundator.212 Nam ut in privilegio ecclesie sancti Georgii legimus,213 XX ecclesias christiane religioni credulus erexit et eas omnibus utilitatibus, que pertinent ad ecclesiasticos usus, ­sufficienter ampliavit. Huius fuit germana soror nomine Mlada, virgo Deo devota, sacris litteris erudita, christiane religioni dedi­ta, humilitate predita, alloquio blanda, pauperibus et orphanis faut­ rix larga ac omni morum honestate decorata.214 Que dum causa orationis Romam veniret, benigne ab apostolico suscipitur;215 ubi tempore aliquanto degens monasticis sat disciplinis imbuitur, et ad ultimum domnus papa suorum cardinalium consilio, immo volens nove ecclesie benigno subvenire suffragio, consecrat eam abbatissam mutato nomine Mariam, dans ei sancti Benedicti regulam et abbacialem virgam. Post hec nova abbatissa novam et sanctam illatura Boemie terre monachicam regulam accepta licentia et benedictione apostolica equitat in dulcem patriam cum suo comitatu valde letificato. Ventum erat ad regiam urbem Pragam, et dux Bolezlaus diu desideratam honorifice recepit sororem amantissimam et inter se manibus consertis subeunt regalia tecta; ubi simul residentes diu mutuis alternatim sermonibus dum fruuntur, dum multa, que vidit Rome sive audivit relatione digna et admiratione, frat­ ri suo refert, insuper literas ex parte apostolici sibi directas obtulit, quarum formula huiusmodi fuit: „Iohannes, servus servorum Dei, Bolezlao catholice fidei alumno apostolicam benedictionem. Ius­ tum est benivolas aures iustis accommodare peticionibus; quia Deus est iusticia et, qui diligunt eum, iustificabuntur et omnia dili-

 These words of praise are borrowed from Regino, Chron., ad a. 874, 107; cf. Mac­ Lean, History, 174 on Louis the German.

212

 No such charter has survived, but there may have been some memorial record without full legal power.

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Chapter 22 And in fact this Prince Boleslav II was a  most Christian man, a faithful Catholic, a father of orphans, protector of widows, comforter of the despairing, pious patron of clergy and travelers, and distinguished founder of the Lord’s churches.212 For as we read in the privilege of Saint George’s Church,213 he, as a believer, founded twenty churches for the Christian faith and fully furnished them with all the means necessary for ecclesiastical use. He had a full sister by the name of Mlada, a  virgin devoted to God, educated in sacred letters, dedicated to the Christian faith, blessed with humility, charming in conversation, who was a generous supporter of the poor and orphans, and adorned with full integrity of morals.214 When she went to Rome for the purpose of prayer, she was kindly received by the pope.215 Staying there for some time, she became well acquainted with the monastic discipline. Ultimately, the lord pope, acting on his cardinals’ advice and indeed wishing to support the new church with generous help, consecrated her abbess with the changed name of Mary, admitted her to the Order of Saint Benedict, and gave her the abbatial staff. After this, having attained permission to bring the new and holy monastic order to Bohemia and having received the apostolic blessing, the new abbess rode to the sweet fatherland with her overjoyed retinue. She arrived at the royal city of Prague, where Duke Boleslav respectfully received his long-awaited and most beloved sister. Hand in hand they entered the royal residence, where sitting together they long amused themselves with the give and take of conversation. She recounted to her brother everything worth relating and wonderful that she had seen and heard in Rome, and also handed over a letter from the Apostolic Father intended for him, the wording of which ran as follows: “John, servant of the servants of God, to Boleslav, nursling of the Catholic faith, apostolic blessing. It is just to lend a fa Mlada (930/935–994), after her religious vows, Mary, first abbess of the monastery of  St. George in Prague Castle.

214

 Pope John XIII (965–972).

215

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gentibus Dei iusticiam cooperantur in bonum.216 Filia nostra, tua relativa, nomine Mlada, que et Maria, inter ceteras haud abnegandas peticiones cordi nostro dulces intulit ex parte tui preces, scilicet ut nostro assensu in tuo principatu ad laudem et gloriam Dei ecclesie liceret fieri episcopatum. Quod nos utique leto animo suscipientes, Deo grates retulimus, qui suam ecclesiam semper et ubique dilatat et magnificat in omnibus nationibus. Unde apostolica auctoritate et sancti Petri principis apostolorum potestate, cuius, licet indigni, tamen sumus vicarii, annuimus et collaudamus atque incanonizamus, quo ad ecclesiam sancti Viti et sancti Wencezlai martirum fiat sedes episcopalis, ad ecclesiam vero sancti Georgii martiris, sub regula sancti Benedicti et obedientia filie nostre, abbatisse Marie constituatur congregatio sanctimonialium. Veruntamen non secundum ritus aut sectam Bulgarie gentis vel Ruzie, aut Sclavonice lingue, sed magis sequens instituta et decreta apostolica217 unum pociorem tocius ecclesie ad placitum eligas in hoc opus clericum Latinis adprime literis eruditum, qui verbi vomere novalia cordis gentilium scindere et triticum bone operationis serere atque manipulos frugum vestre fidei Christo reportare sufficiat. Vale.“218 Et statim, ut iussum fuerat, consilio ducis et abbatisse ecclesia sancti Viti decernitur futuro episcopo, ecclesia vero sancti Georgii martiris ad presens datur abbatisse ducis sorori Marie.219  Rom. 8:28.

216

 Cosmas clearly wished to minimalize the significance of Slavic liturgy in Bohemia (on this cf. Kalhous, Anatomy, 208–37), as it is clear from his omission of the monastery of Sázava and St. Procopius, mentioned only in a  late MS of the Chronicle (see below, 188). On the other hand, Cosmas did not show much concern for the orders and monasteries in general. Cf. Josef Šrámek, “Otazníky nad nejstaršími dějinami břevnovského konventu: Kosmův vztah k českým klášterům aneb na okraj jeho Kroniky Čechů” [The question of the oldest history of Břevnov monastery: Cosmas’s view on the Bohemian monasteries in his Chronicle of the Czechs], in Mladá historie. Sborník studentských prací oboru historie, ed. Jan Stejskal (Olomouc: Univerzita Palackého, 2008), 117–38. Cf. also Vlasto, The Entry, 99.

217

 This papal letter—which may have been available to Cosmas in the ‘original’ version—has been demonstrated to be a forgery from the eleventh century; see CDB  I 342, n. 371. A  precise dating (around 973/4) of the foundation of the

218

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vorable ear to just petitions; for God is justice and those who love Him will be justified, and for those who love the justice of God, all things work together unto good.216 Our daughter, your kinswoman, by the name of Mlada and also Mary, among other petitions that are dear to our heart and can hardly be turned down, brought your request for permission to establish a bishopric in your principality with our assent, to the glory and honor of the church of God. Joyfully we heard this and gave thanks to God, for He always and everywhere enlarges and magnifies His church among all the nations. Therefore, by our apostolic authority and the power of Saint Peter, the first of the apostles, whose vicar, however unworthy, we are, we sanction and approve and authorize the establishment of an episcopal see for the Church of Saint Vitus and Saint Wenceslas the martyrs; indeed, for the Church of Saint George the Martyr we decree that a congregation of devout nuns be constituted under the rule of Saint Benedict and the obedience of our daughter, Abbess Mary. However, for this task you should choose—not according to the rites or sect of the people of Bulgaria or Rus´, or the Slavic language, but by following the apostolic institutions and decrees217—one very able priest, agreeable to the whole church and particularly educated in Latin letters, who is able to turn the fallow land of pagan hearts with the plowshare of the word, and sow it with the wheat of good work, and bring to Christ the baskets of fruits of your faith. Farewell.”218 And forthwith, as it was ordered, in accordance with the duke’s and abbess’s decision, the church of Saint Vitus is assigned to the prospective bishop. The Church of Saint George the Martyr, however, is presently given to Abbess Mary, sister of the duke.219 Prague bishopric as well as the legal form is a  complicated and debated issue, closely connected to the 1086 charter of Henry IV (see below, 249–55); see most recently Kalhous, Anatomy, 81–97, 143–57.  The church of St. George in the castle of Prague remained a nun’s convent. For the early history of the Prague bishopric, see Plassmann, Origo gentis, 338–42.

219

 Actually, to Otto II (973–983), Henry’s grandson.

220

 Tiethmar was a Benedictine monk, bishop of Prague from 975/6 to 982.

221

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Capitulum XXIII. Igitur quidam de Saxonia vir mire eloquentie et literalis scientie, nomine Diethmarus, presbiter promotione, monachus professione, olim in antea diebus causa orationis venerat Pragam. Qui dum ducis secundi Bolezlai deveniret ad noticiam, in brevi tempore magnam eius gratiam adeptus fuerat et amiciciam. Et quoniam Sclavonicam perfecte linguam sciebat, hunc per suos legatos dux advocat, clerum, primates terre et populum convocat atque suis precibus et monitis efficit, ut eum sibi in episcopum omnes communi assensu eligant. Postera autem die, ut duci placuit, favorabili acclamatione ab omnibus in episcopum Diethmarus eligitur et ad imperatorem christianissimum Ottonem, filium Heinrici imperatoris,220 ex parte ducis et tocius cleri atque plebis cum his transmittitur literis: „O gloriosissime imperator et christiane religionis maxime cultor, sus­ cipe nostras clemens et tocius cleri atque populi preces et hunc virum per omnia approbatum, nomine Diethmarum221, quem nobis in pastorem eligimus, vestra sanctissima collaudatione ac iussione ut ordinetur in episcopum, suppliciter exoramus.“222 Tunc imperator, sicut erat divine legis amator, consilio ducum et principum, sed precipue presulum, consulens saluti et novitati christiane plebis iussit Magontinum archiepiscopum, qui tunc preerat curti, ut eum ordinaret in episcopum.223 Tunc presul mitra redimitus novus novam redit letus tocius Boemie in parrochiam atque ut ventum est metropolim Pragam, iuxta altare sancti Viti intronizatur ab omnibus clero modulante: „Te Deum laudamus.“ Dux autem et primates resonabant: „Christus keinado,“ et cetera; simpliciores autem et

 No such letter has survived; probably a literary invention of Cosmas.

222

 According to the “Catalogi episcoporum Argentinensium,” MGH SS 13, 323, Tieth­mar was consecrated by Willigis of Mainz (975–1011) and Erkenbald of Strasbourg (965–991) between 29 December 975 and 16 January 976. The question why Prague came to be a suffragan bishopric of far-away Mainz (until 1344) and not of any of the contiguous dioceses has never been quite resolved. It may

223

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Chapter 23 Then, in those days a man of astonishing eloquence and erudition by the name of Tiethmar, a priest by ordination, a monk by profession, came to Prague from Saxony for prayer. When he came to the notice of Duke Boleslav II, he soon acquired the duke’s abundant grace and friendship. And because he spoke the Slavic language perfectly, the duke sends his emissaries for him and convokes the clergy, the dignitaries of the land, and the people, and by his appeals and exhortations achieves Tiethmar’s election as bishop with their common consent. As the duke desired, the next day Tiethmar was elected bishop by the favorable acclamation of everyone and was sent by the duke and all the clergy and people to the most Christian Emperor Otto, son of Emperor Henry,220 with this letter: “O, most glorious emperor and greatest supporter of the Christian religion, kindly receive our own, the whole clergy’s and the people’s request. We humbly beseech you that this man by the name of Tiethmar,221 who is trustworthy in all things and whom we have elected our shepherd, be ordained bishop by your most holy approval and command.”222 Thus the emperor, as he cherished divine law, sought the counsel of the dukes and princes, but especially the bishops. And since he cared for the salvation of the newly converted Christian people, he ordered the archbishop of Mainz, who was then the leading member of the court, to ordain Tiethmar bishop.223 Then the newly mitred bishop returned to the new diocese to the joy of all Bohemia, and when he came to the metropolis of Prague, he was enthroned by the will of everyone at the altar of Saint Vitus. The clergy sang “Te Deum laudamus,” the duke together with the great men responded with “Christus keina-

have had something to do with the importance of the Mainz archbishopric in imperial politics and/or the unwillingness of the adjacent dioceses. A hypothesis of existing bishopric in Moravia may be taken into account; see Martin Wihoda, “Morava v 10. století” [Moravia in the tenth century], in České země v raném středověku, ed. Petr Sommer (Prague: NLN, 2006), 53–73.

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idiote clamabant „Krlessu“,224 et sic secundum morem suum totam illam diem hylarem sumunt. Anno dominice incarnationis DCCCCLXVIII. Obiit Vok comes.225 Capitulum XXIV. Post hec presul Diethmarus ecclesias a fidelibus in multis locis ad Dei laudem constructas consecrat et populum gentilem baptizans quam plurimum facit Christo fidelem;226 nec post multos dies, anno scilicet dominice incarnationis DCCCCLXVIIII, quarta non. Ian., vinculis carnis absolutus227 talentum sibi creditum Chris­ to reportavit centuplicatum. Capitulum XXV. Interea rediens philosophie de castris, ubi decem aut plus militarat annis, secum haud modicam librorum copiam referens aderat spectabilis heros, nomine Woytech,228 adhuc ordine subdiaconus;  Krleš is a corruption of the Greek Kyrie eleison (‘Lord, have mercy upon us’), transmitted in the medieval Czech liturgical song “Hospodine, pomiluj ny.” (‘Lord, have mercy upon us’). For an in-depth study of the song, see František Václav Mareš, “Hos­ podine, pomiluj ny“, in Cyrilometodějská tradice a slavistika [“H. p. n.”: The CyrilloMethodian tradition and Slavonic studies], ed. idem (Prague: Torst, 2000), 403–76.

224

 Earliest reference to a  comes, a  member of the higher standing freemen in the Přemyslid state; the person is not known from anywhere else. Kalhous, Anatomy, 114–20, 126–7, gives an in-depth analysis of the position of the nobility within the social sphere of medieval Bohemia. He states that the elites and nobles of the early Přemyslid state were closely connected to the dynasty, i.e. as relatives or servants, concluding that social status was directly dependant on a relationship to the ruling family.

225

 We could deduce from this formulation that the organization of the so-called large parishes (‘Grosspfarreien’) could eventually be ascribed to Thietmar; on this process, see Ivo Štefan and Ladislav Varadzín, “Super altare in ecclesia tua: Die Anfänge der Pfarrorganisation in den böhmischen Ländern aus archäologischer Sicht”, in Transformation – Innovation – Umgestaltung, ed. Jan Klápště and Eike Gringmuth-Dallmer (Prague: Karolinum, 2014), 361–75; cf. Libor Jan, “Die Anfänge der Pfarrorganisation in Böhmen und Mähren”, in Pfarreien im Mittelalter: Deutschland, Polen, Tschechien und Ungarn im Vergleich, ed. Nathalie Kruppa and Leszek Zygner (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht, 2008), 183–99. Cf. Da-

226

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do” and so on, and the simple and ignorant folk shouted “Krleš.”224 And so they rejoiced that whole day as was their wont. In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 968. Comes Vok passed away.225 Chapter 24 Afterwards Bishop Tiethmar consecrated churches that were built by the faithful in many places to the glory of God and baptized many pagans to make them devoted to Christ.226 Not many days thereafter, on January 2 in the year of our Lord’s incarnation 969, he was freed from earthly bonds and died227 and returned a hundredfold to Christ the talent given him. Chapter 25 Meanwhile an outstanding hero called Vojtěch appeared,228 returning from the fortress of philosophy where he had soldiered for ten or more years, and brought back with him a considerable stack of vid Kalhous, “Problémy formování církevní správy v českých zemích v  raném středověku” [Problems of the formation of church administration in early medieval Czech lands], Studia Medievalia Bohemica 7 (2015), 7–34.  The date is wrong, since Tiethmar became bishop in 975, see above, 84, n. 223. The correct year is most probably 983. It is worth noting that the Anna­lista Saxo, who used Cosmas’s Chronicle, had spotted and corrected the mistake. See Die Reichschronik des Annalista Saxo, ed. Klaus Nass, MGH SS 37 (Hanover: Hahn, 2006), 234.

227

 The best summary on the life of Vojtěch/Wojcziech, that is, St. Adalbert, is to be found in: Ian Wood, The Missionary Life: Saints and Evangelists of Europe 400–1050 (Harlow: Longman, 2001), 207–27. Cf. also Milosz Sosnowski, Studia nad wczesnymi żiwotami św. Wojciecha: tradycja rękopiśmienna i polemika środowisk [Research on the early Lives of St. Adalbert: The manuscript tradition and the polemics] (Poznań: Wydawnictwo Poznańskie, 2013). In the following chapters Cosmas made extensive use of the Lives of the saint, mainly the Vita by Canaparius and the one by Bruno of Querfurt, but no references will be made to his several borrowings. On the hagio­ graphy of Adalbert, see now the preface to his Life, ed. and trans. by Cristian Gaşpar in Klaniczay, Saints, 77–94. The relationship of the Slavnikids to the Saxons is discussed by Jan Mařík, “The Slavniks and Saxony,“ in Der Wandel um 1000: Beiträge zur Ur- und Frühgeschichte Mitteleuropas 60, ed. Felix Biermann, Thomas Kerting, and Anne Klammt (Langenweissbach: Beier & Beran, 2011), 191–7.

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qui velut tener agnus inter oves sui pastoris super morte merentes sedulus exhibebat exequias funebres; orationibus diurnis instans simul et nocturnis, animam patris universalis elemosinis commendabat Deo largis et precibus sacris. Quem dux Bolezlaus et eius optimates in tam bono opere devotum cernentes et in futurum devotiorem fore sperantes gratia Spiritus sancti inspirante iuvenem nimis renitentem rapiunt et adducunt in medium atque inquiunt: „Nolis, velis, noster episcopus eris et Pragensis vel invitus episcopus vocaberis. Tua nobilitas, tui mores et actus optime concordant cum honore pontificatus. Tu nobis talos a vertice notus ad imos.229 Tu bene scis nobis pandere viam, qua itur ad celestem patriam.230 Iussa tua nobis quam posse sequi, tam velle necesse est. Te dignum omnis clerus, te universus idoneum episcopatu acclamat populus.“ Facta est autem hec electio non longe ab urbe Praga Levigradec in oppido XI. kal. Marcii, eodem quo obiit Diethmarus episcopus anno.231 Capitulum XXVI. Ea tempestate rediens de Saraceno bello232 adiit Veronam urbem precellentissimus imperator Otto secundus, pacis amator, iusticie cultor, gloriosissimo patre primo Ottone gloriosior, qui in omnibus preliis extitit victoriosissimus victor.233 Ad quem Sclavonica manus Boemie cum electo pergit episcopo, ferens ex parte ducis legationem et tocius cleri atque populi peticionem, quo imperiali nutu eorum communem confirmet electionem. Igitur serenissimus imperator condescendens eorum digne peticioni III. non. Iunii dat ei anulum et pastoralem virgam et, cuius suffraganeus erat, Willi Cf. Horace Epist. 2.2.4.

229

 Cf. Heb. 11:14–16.

230

 The exact date is uncertain; the choice of Levý Hradec suggests a bow to ancient tradition. For Iussa tua ... necesse est cf. Lucan 1.372.

231

 If the date is corrected (see next note), then the “Saracen war” refers to the Battle of Cap Colonna in July 982, which was a major defeat for the imperial forces when they were attempting to eject the Saracens from southern Italy (then under

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books. A sub-deacon only by ordination, a gentle lambkin among the sheep mourning over its shepherd’s death, he attentively performed the funeral rites. By praying day and night, he commended with generous alms and devoted prayers to God the soul of him who was father to them all. Duke Boleslav and his noble men, seeing that he was so devoted to such good work and hoping that he would be yet more devoted in future, inspired by the grace of the Holy Spirit took hold of the very reluctant young man and brought him to their midst, saying “Whether you like it or not, you will be our bishop and even though unwilling you shall be called the bishop of Prague. Your bearing, your manners and deeds best fit the honor of the episcopate. We know you from head to heel.229 Well do you know how to show us the road that leads to the heavenly country.230 We will and must follow your orders as far as we can. All the clergy acclaims you as worthy and all the people as suitable for the episcopate.” This election was held not far from the city of Prague in the town of Levý Hradec on February 19 of the same year in which Bishop Tiethmar died.231 Chapter 26 At that time, returning from the Saracen war,232 the most excellent Emperor Otto II, who loved peace and cherished justice, more famous than his most famous father Otto I and most victorious victor in every battle, came to Verona.233 To him a Slavic troop arrived with the bishop-elect of Bohemia and brought the message of the duke and the petition of all the clergy and people to confirm with imperial blessing their common election. Accordingly, the most serene emperor consented to their worthy petition and on June 3 gave him a  ring and pastoral staff. By the order of the emperor, Byzantine sovereignty); see Gerd Althoff, Otto III, trans. Phyllis Jestice (University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2003) [henceforth: Otto III], 29.  Otto II arrived from Rome around mid-May 983 and held a court in Verona; current scholarly consensus is that Adalbert was granted imperial consent on that occasion; see his Life, cap. 8: Klaniczay, Saints, 114–5.

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gisus Magontinus archipresul, qui ibi forte aderat,234 iussu imperatoris consecrat eum in episcopum nomine Adalbertum.235 Nam archipresul Adalbertus Magburiensis236 ecclesie olim confirmans crismate hoc proprio suo vocitarat eum nomine. Consecratus autem III. id. Iunii237 cum suis sequacibus equitat in dulcem patriam et, ut pervenit ad civitatem Pragam nudo pede et humili corde, clero et omni plebe pre leticia modulante episcopalem obsedit ka­thed­ ram.238 Huius tam preclari pastoris Adalberti consilio et predicte atque dilecte sue sororis abbatisse Marie interventu dux Bolezlaus, quicquid presul Pragensis usque hodie in suo possidet vel obtinet episcopio vel quicquid abbatissa optavit dari et fieri utilitatis in suo cenobio, gratuita utrique concessit pietate et canonum sacra confirmavit auctoritate. Capitulum XXVII. Anno dominice incarnationis DCCCCLXX. Anno dominice incarnationis DCCCCLXXI. Anno dominice incarnationis DCCCCLXXII. Sanctus Odalricus239 migravit a seculo. Anno dominice incarnationis DCCCCLXXVII. Obiit Dubrauca,240 que quia nimis inproba fuit, iam mulier provecte etatis cum nupsisset Poloniensi duci, peplum capitis sui deposuit et puellarem coronam sibi imposuit, quod erat magna dementia mulieris. Anno dominice incarnationis DCCCCLXXVIII. Anno dominice incarnationis DCCCCLXXVIIII. Anno dominice incarnationis DCCCCLXXX.

 The presence of Willigis of Mainz in Verona is reported for 1 to 17 June 983.

234

 Adalbert was bishop of Prague from 982 to 997.

235

 Adalbert was archbishop of Magdeburg from 968 to 981.

236

 The Vita prior notes June 29, but that does not fit the itinerary of the emperor and the archbishop, as already noted in Bretholz, Die Chronik, 48, n. 1.

237

 It is not clear where exactly Adalbert—and many other bishops—were enthroned. On this matter, see Mikhail Bojcov, “Warum pflegten deutsche Könige auf Altären zu sitzen?” in Bilder der Macht im Mittelalter und Neuzeit: Byzanz – Okzi-

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Archbishop Willigis of Mainz who happened to be present234 and whose suffragan he was, consecrated him bishop with the name of Adalbert.235 For when the archbishop of Magdeburg, Adalbert,236 had confirmed him with chrism, he gave him his own name. Having been consecrated on June 11,237 he rode with his followers to the sweet homeland. When he reached the city of Prague, barefoot and humble in heart, he ascended the bishop’s throne238 while the clergy and all the people joyfully sang. Upon the advice of the noble shepherd Adalbert and the intercession of his dear sister, the aforementioned abbess Mary, Duke Boleslav with selfless devotion granted both of them all that the bishops of Prague have held or owned till this day and whatever the abbess wished to be given and done for the benefit of her monastery, and confirmed it by the sacred authority of the canons. Chapter 27 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 970. In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 971. In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 972. Saint Ulrich239 passed away from this world. In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 977. Doubravka240 died. She was very shameless for when in her advanced age she married the duke of Poland, she removed the veil from her head and replaced it with the crown of a virgin, which was very foolish of the woman. In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 978. In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 979. In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 980. dent – Rußland, ed. Otto Oexle and Mikhail Bojcov (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht, 2007), 243–341.  Bishop of Augsburg from 923 to 973; canonized in 993.

239

 Doubravka/Dąbrówka (d. 977), a  daughter of Boleslav I  the Cruel,  married Mieszko I, the duke of Poland in 965, and was credited with having insisted on her husband becoming a Christian before consummating the marriage; see Knoll, GpP, 28–31, n. 5.

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Anno dominice incarnationis DCCCCLXXXI. Obiit Zlaunic, pater sancti Adalberti,241 cuius de moribus et vita licet plurima eniteant memorie digna, ex quibus tamen ut referamus pauca, cepta intermittimus nostra. Erat enim vir letissimus ad omnes facie, in consiliis serenissimus mente, alloquiis blandissimus, locuples diviciis quam secularibus tam spiritualibus. In domo illius honestas fulgebat et sincera dilectio, iudiciorum rectitudo et procerum multitudo. In operibus eius erat legum cognitio, pauperum refectio, merentium consolatio, peregrinorum receptio, viduarum et orphanorum defensio.242 Huius tam insignis ducis metropolis fuit Lubic sita loco, ubi amnis Cidlina nomen perdit suum intrans liberioris aque in fluvium Labe. Habuit autem principatus sui hos terminos: ad occidentalem plagam contra Boemiam rivulum Surina et castrum, quod est situm in monte Osseca iuxta flumen Msam; similiter plagam ad australem contra Teutonicos orientales has urbes habuit terminales: Chinov, Dudlebi, Netholici usque ad mediam silvam; item solis ad ortum contra Moravie regnum castrum sub silva situm, nomine Lutomisl, usque ad rivulum Zuitaua, qui est in media silva; item ad aquilonalem plagam contra Poloniam castellum Kladzco, situm iuxta flumen nomine Nizam.243 Hic dux Zlaunic, quamdiu vixit, feliciter vixit.

 Slavník (d. 981), ancestor of a  family in modern literature called “Slavnikids.” According to Bruno of Querfurt (Bruno, Adalbert, cap. I, 3) and the legend of the so-called Christian (Život a umučení, 10–11) they were related to both the Přemyslids and the Ottonians, perhaps through Slavník’s wife, Střezislava (d. 987, see below, 94); recent research suggests that they were actually members of the Přemyslid clan (Třeštík, Počátky, 425). The center of their power must have been in a fortress near Libice nad Cidlinou (see below), but they hardly controlled the large area ascribed to them by Cosmas. Their elevated social status is suggested by their own minting.

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In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 981. Slavník died, the father of Saint Adalbert.241 While from his manners and life much shines forth that is worthy of record, we interrupt what we have begun in order to tell a  little of it. He was a  man of most joyous countenance to all, most clearly minded in his counsels; most pleasant in speech; and rich in spiritual as well as in worldly wealth. In his house shone honesty and genuine love, righteousness in judgment, and a  great number of retainers. In his doings were knowledge of the laws, support to the poor, solace to the grieving, hospitality to travelers, and protection to widows and orphans.242 The seat of this excellent duke was Libice, located in a  place where the River Cidlina loses its name and flows into the broader flood of the River Elbe. His principality had these borders: to the west towards Bohemia the creek Surina and the castle that is on Mount Osek, next to the River Mže; in the south likewise towards the eastern Germans it reaches the border towns of Chýnov, Doudleby, and Netolice, up to the middle of the forest; to the east towards the realm of Moravia, the town located beneath the forest, called Litomyšl, up to the River Svitava that is in the middle of the forest; then in the north towards Poland, the castle Kłodsko beside the River Nysa.243 This is where Duke Slavník lived happily all his life.

 The eulogy on Slavník resembles that of Boleslav II. On such laudationes, see Švanda, “Laudationes,” 123–33.

242

 Libice nad Cidlinou, some 45 km east of Prague was an early medieval castle (ninth–twelfth century). A  tenth-century residence with church and palace is usually connected to the Slavnikids; from the eleventh century onwards, it was a ducal administrative centre of the region; see Jan Mařík, Libická sídelní aglomerace a její zázemí v raném středověku [The early medieval agglomeration of Libice and its hinterland], Dissertationes Archaeologicae Brunenses Pragensesque 7 (Prague: Univerzita Karlova, 2009), 167–84.

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Capitulum XXVIII. Anno dominice incarnationis DCCCCLXXXII. Anno dominice incarnationis DCCCCLXXXIII. Anno dominice incarnationis DCCCCLXXXIIII. Obiit Rome cesar Otto secundus.244 Huic imperatori Adalbertus presul Pragensis adeo fuit familiaris et carus obsequiis, ut in pascha Domini, quod celebravit rex Aquisgrani in palacio coram omnibus episcopis, hac eum officii celsitudine sublimaret, quo sibi coronam inponeret et maiorem missam celebraret, quod solum fas erat, ut archiepiscopus faceret.245 Post festum vero, cum iam acciperet a cesare licentiam redeundi ad patriam, sevocat eum cesar in secretarium et faciens suorum confessionem peccaminum commendat se piis recordationibus eius orationum. Insuper dat ei paramenta, in quibus missam celebrarat in pascha, scilicet albam, dalmaticam, casulam, cappam et faciterium, quo ea habeat sui ob memoriam. Que usque hodie in Pragensi ecclesia honorifice habentur et dicuntur paramenta sancti Adalberti.246 Anno dominice incarnationis DCCCCLXXXV. Anno dominice incarnationis DCCCCLXXXVI. Anno dominice incarnationis DCCCCLXXXVII. Obiit Ztrezizlaua, sancti Adalberti mater venerabilis et Deo acceptabilis matrona, tante et tam sancte sobolis dici mater et esse digna. Anno dominice incarnationis DCCCCLXXXVIII. Anno dominice incarnationis DCCCCLXXXIX. Anno dominice incarnationis DCCCCLXXXX. Sanctus Adalbertus Rome ad S. Alexium inscio abbate, quis esset, factus est monachus.247  Otto II died on 12 July 983.

244

 There are two possible readings of the following story. Bretholz suggested convincingly (Bretholz, Die Chronik, 50, nn. 3–4) that Cosmas mixed up Otto II with his son with whom Adalbert was befriended and whom he may have crowned while attending a  synod in March 992 in Aachen. This synod had been called by the papal legate Leo to discuss the canons of the synod of Bâle. In contrast, Wolverton, Chronicle, 78, n. 215, referring to Althoff, Otto III, 97–9, proposed that the reference is indeed to Otto II, who celebrated Easter in Aachen only in 979, but in whose memory, in 994, Adalbert was asked to say prayers and was given rich

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Chapter 28 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 982. In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 983. In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 984. Emperor Otto II died in Rome.244 Bishop Adalbert of Prague was so intimate and so dear in service to this emperor that once when the king was celebrating Easter in the palace at Aachen in the presence of all the bishops he honored him with such high respect as to let him place the crown on his head and read the high mass which was allowed only to archbishops.245 After the feast day, having obtained the emperor’s leave to return home, the emperor called him to his chamber, confessed to him his sins and entrusted himself to the pious commemorations of his prayers. Moreover, he gave him vestments in which he celebrated the Easter mass, namely, alb, dalmatic, chasuble, biretta and face-towel for him to keep in memory of him. These are respectfully kept to this day in the church of Prague and are called the vestments of Saint Adalbert.246 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 985. In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 986. In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 987. Střezislava died, the venerable mother of Saint Adalbert, a woman so dear to God that she is worthy of being called mother and to be the mother of so holy a son. In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 988. In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 989. In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 990. Saint Adalbert became a monk at St Alexius’s in Rome without the abbot’s knowing who he was.247 presents by the dowager queen. While neither version is unproblematic, it is clear that Cosmas’s story is based on legendary fragments and was merely intended to underline the intimate relationship of the bishop with the imperial house.  Of course, different stories may have been amalgamated into one tradition for Adalbert’s relics that were kept in Prague; see previous note.

246

 The date matches the recently revised itinerary of the saint by Andrzej Źaki, “Szlaki wedrówek św. Wojciecha” [Pilgrimage routes of St. Adalbert], Universitas 68/69 (1997), 7–17.

247

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Anno dominice incarnationis DCCCCLXXXXI. Anno dominice incarnationis DCCCCLXXXXII. Anno dominice incarnationis DCCCCLXXXXIII. Anno dominice incarnationis DCCCCLXXXXIV. Capitulum XXIX. Nec transsiliendum censeo, quod ab aliis pretermissum video.248 Nam presul Adalbertus videns, quod grex sibi commissus semper in precipicium iret nec eum ad rectam viam convertere quiret, timens, ne et ipse cum pereunte plebe periret,249 non ausus est cum eis amplius stare nec passus est suam ulterius incassum predicandi operam dare. Sed cum iam iamque Romam iter arripere vellet,250 forte fortuna tempore in ipso Ztrahquaz, de quo supra retulimus,251 sui abbatis cum licentia venerat de Ratispona, post multos annos visere patriam dulcem et cognatos atque fratrem suum Boemie ducem. Cum quo vir Dei presul Adalbertus secretum petiit et colloquium tenuit, multa conquestus de infidelitate et nequicia populi, de incesta copula et super illicita discidia inconstantis coniugii, de inobedientia et negligentia cleri, de arrogantia et intolerabili potentia comitum. Ad ultimum omnem intencionem sui cordis252 sibi aperuit, quod vellet Romam apostolicum consultum ire et ad gentem apos­ tat­ri­cem253 numquam redire. Inter hec et ad hec hec addidit: „Et bene est,“ inquit, „quod tu frater nosceris esse ducis et huius terre ex dominis originem ducis; te plebs ista mavult dominari et tibi magis obedire quam mihi. Tu consilio et auxilio tui fratris superbos comprimere, negligentes arguere, inobedientes corrigere, infideles increpare poteris. Tua dignitas et scientia, tui habitus sanctimonia multum concordant ad pontificalia regimina. Quod ut fiat, ego tibi cum Dei voluntate et mea potestate concedo et, ut liceat me vivente istic episcopus ut sis, apud apostolicum omnibus votis intercedam.“  None of the following regarding Strachkvas is recorded in any of the Lives of Adalbert.

248

 Cf. Gen. 19:15

249

 This trip to Rome may have been his second, in late 994 or early 995.

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In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 991. In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 992. In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 993. In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 994. Chapter 29 I do not want to pass over in silence what I see that others have left out.248 For Bishop Adalbert, seeing that the flock entrusted to him keeps going over the edge and he, being himself unable to turn them to the right path, fearing that he should perish along with the perishing people,249 did not dare stay with them any longer nor suffer any more that his work of preaching to them be in vain. But when he was almost ready to leave for Rome,250 by mere chance Strachkvas—whom we mentioned before251—arrived with permission from his abbot from Regensburg to visit after many years his sweet homeland, his kinsmen, and his brother, the duke of Bohemia. The man of God, Bishop Adalbert, took him aside and had a talk with him, lamenting bitterly the infidelity and villainy of the people, the incestuous couplings and unlawful divorces of unstable marriages, the disobedience and carelessness of the clergy, and the haughtiness and unbearable power of the comites. Finally, he revealed fully the intents of his heart252 to go to Rome to consult the Apostolic Father and never to return to the rebellious people.253 Meanwhile he added to this the following: “It is good that you are known to be the brother of the duke and that you are a scion of the lords of this land; this people would prefer you to be their master and to obey you more than me. With the aid and counsel of your brother, you will be able to restrain the haughty, censure the careless, correct the disobedient, and rebuke the faithless. Your dignity and learning, and the saintliness of your conduct are well suited to the offices of a bishop. To make this so, I give way to you by God’s  See above, 66–8.

251

 Cf. Heb 4:12.

252

 Cf. Ezeck. 2:3.

253

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Et quem forte manu tenebat episcopalem baculum, ponit sibi in sinum. Quem ille quasi furibundus in terram proiecit et hec verba insuper adiecit: „Nolo, ut aliquam dignitatem [habeam] in mundo, honores fugio, pompas seculi despicio, indignum me iudico episcopali fastigio nec tantum pondus pastoralis cure ferre sufficio. Monachus sum, mortuus sum; mortuos sepelire non possum.“254 Ad hec presul respondit: „Scias, frater, scias, quod modo non facis cum bono, facies autem postea, sed cum tuo maximo malo.“ Post hec presul, ut proposuerat, Romam iter arripit et gentem suis preceptis inobedientem relinquit. Et quia tunc temporis dux non erat sue potestatis, sed comitum,255 comites versi in Dei odium, pat­ rum iniquorum pessimi filii,256 valde malum operabantur facinus et iniquum. Nam sub quadam festiva die257 furtim irrumpunt urbem Lubic, in qua fratres sancti Adalberti et milites urbis universi velut oves innocentes assistebant sacris missarum sollempniis festa celebrantes. At illi ceu lupi inmanes urbis menia irrumpentes, mas­ cu­lum et feminam usque ad unum interficientes, quatuor fratribus sancti Adalberti cum omni prole ante ipsum altare decollatis urbem comburunt, plateas sanguine perfundunt et cruentis spoliis ac crudeli preda onerati hylares ad proprios redeunt lares. Interfecti sunt autem in urbe Lubic quinque fratres sancti Adalberti anno dominice incarnationis DCCCCLXXXXV, quorum nomina sunt hec: Sobebor, Spitimir, Bobrazlau, Porey, Cazlau.  Cf. Matt. 8:22.

254

 Thietmar, Chron., 468; cf. Warner, Ottonian, 348, tells that Boleslav II suffered paralysis and thus was incapable of rule. The significance of the events is highly debated. Jiří Sláma, “Slavníkovci – významná či okrajová záležitost českých dějin 10. století” [The Slavnikids – an important or a marginal issue of Czech history in the 10th c.], Archeologické rozhledy XLVII (1995), 182–224, suggested that had one of the family not have been a highly venerated saint, we would know little or nothing about them and their fate. In their generally accepted book, Michal Lutovský and Zdeněk Petráň, Slavníkovci: mýtus českého dějepisectví [The Slavnikids: a myth of Czech historiography] (Prague: Libri, 2005) and many other current authors agree that the political significance of the massacre was overestimated in the older literature.

255

 Even though Duke Boleslav II was by this time seriously ill and paralyzed (see above) it is unlikely that the unnamed perpetrators (among whom his sons, but

256

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grace and my authority and will intercede with the pope with all my prayers so that you may be bishop here even during my lifetime.” Then he placed the bishop’s staff that he happened to hold in his hand, in his lap. Strachkvas, however, threw it down as in a rage and hurled these words at him: “I wish no dignity at all in this world; I  flee honors and despise worldly splendors. I  regard myself unworthy of the dignity of bishop nor am I  able to bear such a weight of pastoral responsibility. I am a monk, I am dead, I  cannot bury the dead.”254 To this the bishop replied: “Know, brother, know that what you do not do now for good, you will do later but with great harm to yourself.” Thereafter the bishop, as he had planned, set out for Rome and left the people who had been disobedient to his teachings. Because at that time power was not in the duke’s hand but in those of the comites;255 these men, evil sons of wicked fathers,256 turned to hatred of God and committed a most evil and iniquitous crime. For on a feast day257 they secretly attacked the castle of Libice, where the brothers of St Adalbert and the warriors of the castle were like harmless sheep attending holy mass, celebrating the feast. Like savage wolves they broke the castle walls and killed men and women down to the last one and beheaded the four brothers of St Adalbert with all their children in front of the altar. Then they set fire to the castle, soaked the streets in blood, and loaded with bloody loot and ruthless plunder returned merrily to their homes. In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 995, five brothers of Saint Adalbert were killed in the castle of Libice: Soběbor, Spytimír, Bobraslav, Pořej, and Čáslav. certainly Boleslav III must have been) acted without his knowledge. Since Cosmas presented Boleslav II as the opposite of his father, he avoids naming the duke in this context. The report contains also a, hardly conscious, inconsistency: first Cosmas wrote, correctly, about four brothers killed, but then listed five names, following Bruno, Adalbert (cap. 21). In fact, the oldest son, Soběslav (in Cosmas: Soběbor) survived the massacre in Polish exile and—according to Thietmar, Chron., 288; cf. Warner, Ottonian, 246, who as a contemporary is a reliable witness—fell in 1004 at the Polish siege of Prague.  According to Bruno, the siege started on September 27, the vigil of St. Wenceslas’s Day and culminated in the murders on the next day.

257

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Capitulum XXX. His ita peractis dux Bolezlaus inito consilio cum clericis Magontinum presulem his sollicitat verbis: „Aut nostrum pastorem Adalbertum ad nos revoces, quod magis volumus, aut alium nobis in loco sui ordines, quod inviti poscimus. Nam Christi ovilia adhuc in hac gente fidei novicia, nisi eis assit vigilans pastoris custodia, cruentis lupis opima recta fiunt edulia.“ Tunc metropolita Magontinus sollicitus, ne populus nuper Christo acquisitus relapsus in antiquos pereat sacrilegos ritus, mittens legatos ad apostolicum258 clamat, ut aut viduate Pragensi ecclesie maritum remittat aut alium in loco sui ordinari permittat. Et quoniam servus Dei Adalbertus iussu apostolici factus liber a custodia gregis dominici, in cenobio sancti Alexii cum senatoribus celi infra amenam curiam terreni conversabatur Elysii, Hunc dominus papa, suus et pius insimul abba Talibus alloquiis mestum solantur amicis:259 „O fili dulcissime et frater amantissime, per caritatem Dei te deprecamur, et per amorem proximi obtestamur, ut ad tuam parrochiam dignanter redeas regimenque tuarum ovium diligenter recipias. Si te audierint, Deo gratias; si te non audierint, fugientes te fugias, ne cum pereuntibus pereas, et ad nationes exteras predicandi licentiam habeas.“ Hac presul valde exhylaratus sentencia, quod sibi data est docendi exteras gentes licencia, non sine magna mesticia fratrum dulcia linquit consortia. Et cum viro summe discretionis presule, nomine Nothario,260 adiens archiepiscopum Magontine urbis in palatio rogat, quo per eius missos scire posset, si se suus grex recipere vellet. Quo facto, quid sibi suus grex responderit aut quam ob causam eum non receperit vel ad quas gentes inde trans­ ierit, quante etiam frugalitatis omnibus diebus sui episcopii fuerit, quanta morum honestate enituerit, scire poterit, qui Vitam eius seu Passionem legerit.261 Nam mihi iam dicta bis dicere non placet  John XV (985–996).

258

 Cf. Vergil A. 5.770. Abbot Leo is meant here.

259

 Most likely Bishop Notker of Liège (972–1008).

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Chapter 30 After these things had happened, Duke Boleslav, having consulted the churchmen, importuned the metropolitan of Mainz with these words: “You either call back our shepherd Adalbert to us, which we would prefer, or—and we ask for this reluctantly—ordain another for us in his place. For unless the watchful care of a shepherd attends them, Christ’s sheepfolds that are still new in this nation, will become a  right good feed for savage wolves.” The archbishop of Mainz, concerned that the people recently won for Christ might perish by relapsing into the old sacrilegious ways, sent emissaries to the pope258 asking that he either should send back the husband to the widowed church of Prague or allow someone else to be ordained in his stead. Since the servant of God, Adalbert had on papal command been set free from the care of the Lord’s flock, and was in the monastery of St Alexis enjoying the community of the senators of the heavens in the beautiful court of the earthly Paradise, The pope together with his pious abbot Speaking thus attempted to ease the gloom of their friend:259 “Dearest son and beloved brother, we beseech you by the grace of God and implore you by the love of thy neighbor that you should return worthily to your diocese and diligently accept the care of your sheep. If they listen to you, thanks be to God; if they do not listen, then flee from the fugitives lest you perish along with the perishing, and you have permission to preach to foreign nations.” Most pleased by this sentence—that he was given permission to teach people abroad—he left the sweet company of the brethren, not without much sorrow. Together with a man of great discretion, a bishop called Notharius,260 he went and asked the archbishop of the city of Mainz in his palace that he explore by his emissaries whether his flock would receive him. This was done, and anyone who would read his Life or Passion261 would know how his flock replied or for what  On these, see above, 62–4. On chroniclers “sending” their readers to hagiography, cf. János M. Bak, “Hagiography and Chronicles”, in Promoting the Saints. Cults in Their Contexts from Late Antiquity until the Early Modern Period. Essays in Honor of Gábor Klaniczay for His 60 th Birthday (Budapest: CEU Press, 2011), 51–58.

261

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ista. Tunc Ztrahquaz frater ducis, de quo supra meminimus, videns episcopum quasi iure et regulariter a sua plebe repudiatum tumido fastu exarsit in episcopatum. Et quia facile est volentem cogere, protinus hunc idiotam et sicophantam populus nequam in episcopalem levat kathedram. Sic enim, sic Deus sepe permittit per sui providentiam pravorum hominum invalescere potentiam, sicut in hac inregulari electione ludicra prevaluere Cereris generi. Nam fuit hic Ztrahquaz veste compositus, mente tumidus, actibus dissipatus, oculis vagus, verbis vanus, moribus ypocrita262 et tocius erroris mandrita atque in omnibus operibus malis iniquorum archigeronta. Plura referre pudet263 Ztrahquaz de presule pseudo. Sufficiunt pro multis pauca. Ventum erat Magontine sedis ad archipresulem, ubi peractis omnibus, que agenda erant, per ordinem, sicut fieri solet, post examinationem episcopalem choro letaniam modulante, dum procumbit super tapecia archipresul infulatus ante altare et post eum inter duos suffraganeos, qui ordinandus erat Ztrahquaz, dum prosternitur in medio, heu dira condicio, arripitur atroci demonio;264 et quod servus Dei olim sibi predixerat clanculo, palam fit coram clero et omni populo. Hactenus hec inseruisse sufficiat. Capitulum XXXI. Anno dominice incarnationis DCCCCLXXXXVI. Postquam insignis signifer Christi, presul Adalbertus, retibus fidei cepit Pannoniam265 simul et Poloniam, ad ultimum, dum in Pruzia seminat verbum Dei, hanc presentem vitam pro Christo feliciter

 Cf. Is 9,17.

262

 Sedulius, Carm. pasch. I,276.

263

 The story of a  bishop having been made unable to take office by some kind of “demonic” intervention, thus leading to the election of the Saxon clerk and the duke’s personal physician, Thegdag, is not recorded anywhere else. No person by the name of Strachwas or Kristian/Christian is known as a bishop of Prague; see CDB I, 206, n. 228.

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reason it did not receive him; to which people he went thence; how modest he was during the days of his episcopacy; and how he shone by virtue in his conduct, for I am loath to say twice what has been said before. Now Strachkvas, the duke’s brother, whom we mentioned above, seeing that the bishop was repudiated by his people as if this was in accord with the law, lusted with swollen ambition for the bishopric. Since it is easy to force the willing, the wicked people raised this ignorant trickster to the bishop’s throne. Thus God through his providence often allows the power of evil men to grow strong, as happened in this irregular election where mischiefs of the son of Ceres262 prevailed. For this Strachvas was a stick­ler for fashion, conceited in mind, dissolute in deeds, with roving eyes, idle in word, a hypocrite in behavior, a monk full of error and presider over evil people in all their evil work.263 I am ashamed to write more about this pseudo-bishop Strachkvas; a little should suffice for much. They went to the archbishop’s seat in Mainz where all that was to be done was done in usual order. After the episcopal examination, when the choir was singing the litany and as the mitred archbishop prostrated himself on the carpet before the altar, Strachkvas, who was behind him between two suffragans and about to be ordained, prostrated and in the same moment was possessed—what a terrible thing!—by an abominable demon.264 And so what God’s servant had predicted to him before in private, happened publicly in front of the clergy and all people. May this insertion suffice for now. Chapter 31 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 996. After the glorious standard-bearer of God, Bishop Adalbert, had caught Hungary265 together with Poland in the nets of the faith and while he, finally, was disseminating the words of God in Prussia, he joyously end On Adalbert and Hungary, see Gabriel Adriányi, “Der heilige Adalbert und Ungarn,” in Święty Wojciech w tradycji i kulturze europejskej [St Adalbert in European tradition and culture], ed. Kazimierz Smigiel (Gniezno: Gaudentium, 1992), 9–22.

265

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terminavit martirio IX. kal. Maii,266 feria VI. Eo anno fuit pascha VII. kal. Maii. Anno vero dominice incarnationis DCCCCLXXXXVII. Sepe memoratus dux Bolezlaus videns Pragensem ecclesiam suo pastore viduatam dirigit legatos suos ad imperatorem tercium Ottonem rogans, ut Boemiensi ecclesie sponsum meritis dignum daret, ne grex Christo noviter mancipatus redeat ad pristinos vanitatis ritus et ad iniquos actus; quippe profitetur non haberi in tota Boemia tunc temporis clericum episcopatu dignum. Mox cesar augustus Otto, sicut erat in divinis humanisque rebus prudentissimus, annuens peticioni eorum cepit curiosius cogitare, quem de suis potissimum in hoc tam arduum opus dirigeret clericum. Forte aderat in regali curia capellanus nomine Thegdagus, actibus probis et moribus decoratus, liberalibus studiis adprime eruditus, genere de Saxonia, lingua perfecte imbutus Sclavonica. Hunc quia sors obtulerat, omnis regie aule senatus et ipse cesar valde letificatus in pontificem Pragensis ecclesie eligit et collaudat et mittens ad Magontinum archipresulem, quo eum celeriter in episcopum consecret, mandat. Anno dominice incarnationis DCCCCLXXXXVIII. Non. Iulii consecratus est Thegdagus,267 honeste a clero et populo Pragensis ecclesie recipitur atque cum magno gaudio ad cornu altaris 268 sancti Viti intronizatur. Dux valde congratulatur, quia pastor bonus 269 suo gregi arridet et grex letus pastori novo alludit. Capitulum XXXII.270 Rexit autem iste excellentissimus princeps Bolezlaus post patris obitum XXXII annis ducatum, quia, que iusticie, que catholice fidei, que christiane religionis sunt, erat ardentissimus executor,  The date of Adalbert’s martyrdom is confirmed in several other chronicles, only for a year later.

266

 Thegdag was bishop of Prague 998–1017. See abowe, 90, n. 238.

267

 Exod. 29:12.

268

 John 10:11.

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ed this present life for Christ in martyrdom on [Good] Friday, April 23.266 In that year, Easter was on April 25. In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 997. The oft-mentioned Duke Boleslav, seeing that the church of Prague was widowed of its shepherd, sent his legates to Emperor Otto III, and requested him to give a worthy husband to the Bohemian church so that the flock recently won for Christ would not relapse into the old foolish rites and misdeeds, because he declared that at that time there was no cleric in the whole of Bohemia suitable for the episcopate. The august Emperor Otto, since he was most prudent in both spiritual and secular matters, consented to their petition and began zealously to ponder which of his clerics he could best assign to such an arduous task. By chance, there was at the royal court a chaplain by the name of Thegdag, honored by virtuous deeds and conduct, excellently learned in the liberal arts, of Saxon, perfectly versant in the Slavic language. When chance thus suggested him, the entire council of the royal court and the emperor himself very gladly chose and approved him to be the bishop of the Prague church. Then he sent him to the archbishop of Mainz and commanded that he be ordained bishop right away. In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 998, on July 7, Thegdag was ordained bishop267 and respectfully received by the clergy and people of Prague, and he was enthroned with great joy at the corner of the altar 268of Saint Vitus. The duke was very satisfied because a good shepherd 269 smiled at his flock and the happy flock frolicked with a new shepherd. Chapter 32 270 That most illustrious Duke Boleslav ruled the duchy after his father’s death for thirty-two years, because where justice, the Catholic faith and the Christian religion were concerned he was the  This chapter owes much to Regino, Chron., ad. a. 876 and 880, 110–2 and 116– 7; cf. MacLean, History, 174–5, 182, often following him verbatim. The borrowings will not be individually marked.

270

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apud quem nullus ecclesiasticam, nullus mundanam dignitatem obtinuit per pecuniam.271 Fuit etiam, ut res probat, in preliis victoriosissimus victor, sed victis clementissimus indultor atque precipuus pacis amator. Cui erant maxime opes bellica instrumenta et dulcia armorum studia. Nam plus diligebat ferri rigorem quam auri fulgorem, in cuius oculis nemo utilis displicuit, nunquam inutilis placuit, suis mitis, hostibus terribilis fuit. Habuit autem hic gloriosissimus dux Hemmam sibi in matrimonio iunctam, que genere fuit ceteris nobilior, sed, quod magis laudandum est, nobilitate morum multo prestancior.272 Ex qua duos filios suscepit elegantissime indolis, scilicet Wencezlaum et Bolezlaum; sed Wencezlaus ab ineunte etate hanc fragilem vitam mutavit eternitate. Bolezlaus autem post discessum patris sedis suscepit gubernacula principalis, ut in sequentibus declarabitur. Capitulum XXXIII. Factum est autem, cum appropinquarent dies supra memorati ducis Bolezlai, quo iam eternam commutaret morte vitam, vocat equivocum suum et superstitem natum273 et astante coniuge Hemma et multa procerum turma iam interrumpente singultu verba, prout potuit, his dulcem affatur filium dictis:274 „Si fas esset matri sui uteri infanti, ut lactis ubera, sic sapientie dare munera, non natura, sed homo creatus dominaretur in creatura.275 Attamen nonnulla Deus sua concessit hominibus dona, sicut Noe, Ysaac, Thobie  This “anti-simoniac” comment may very well be aimed at the author’s contemporaries.

271

 Queen Hemma/Emma is recorded, besides these few words of Cosmas, by a dedication in the so-called Wolfenbüttel Codex and a Czech penny of the late tenthearly eleventh century with the inscription emma regina. While earlier connected to Bavaria or Burgundy, the aforementioned data suggest rather that she (d. 1005/6) was the widow of the West Frankish King Lothair (d. 986) and the (second?) wife of Boleslav II.

272

 Boleslav II had, besides Boleslav III, two other surviving sons, Jaromír and Ulrich, whom Cosmas (see below, 116) presents as the former’s sons. Wenceslas, allegedly a brother of Boleslav and son of Emma, is known from no other source, but does not fit the chonology. See the Genealogical Table, rear endpaper, below. Thietmar,

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most zealous proponent; from him no one obtained any ecclesiastical or secular position for money.271 As his deeds prove, he was also the most victorious victor in battles, but at the same time, most clemently merciful to the defeated and an especial lover of peace. Tools of war and a  sweet affection for weaponry were his greatest wealth. For he liked more the severity of iron than the glitter of gold; nobody worthwhile was displeasing to his sight, nobody unworthy pleasing; he was gentle with his own people but terrible with enemies. This most illustrious duke was joined in marriage to Emma, who was of a nobler origin than others but— what is more praiseworthy—she was much more outstanding in the nobility of her conduct.272 He begat two sons of the greatest talent from her, that is, Wenceslas and Boleslav. But Wenceslas replaced this fragile life for eternity at an early age. Boleslav, however, took over the seat of princely governance after his father’s death, as will be shown in the following. Chapter 33 When the days of the above-mentioned Duke Boleslav were approaching in which he was to change death for eternal life, he called his namesake and only living child273 and in the presence of his wife Emma and the crowd of the lords, he addressed his sweet child—as much as he was able, for his speech was already interrupted by sobs—with these words:274 “If it was allowed a mother to give the gifts of wisdom to the child of her womb in the same way as she gives him the milk of her breasts, it would be the created man and not nature that has dominion over the creature.275 Yet God endowed people like Noah, Isaac, Tobias, and MathatChron., 247; cf. Warner, Ottonian, 221—in contrast to Cosmas—has the genealogy right. On the factual mistakes of Cosmas in the history of late tenth century see Kalhous, Anatomy, 64–5.  This deathbed speech is a literary construct of Cosmas, extensively relying on Biblical models.

274

 Cf. Sap. 9:2.

275

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atque Mathatie, ita dumtaxat, ut, quos illi benedixerunt, benedixit illis Deus, et quos preordinaverunt ad bone conversationis vitam, contulit et illis Deus perseverantiam.276 Sic et hodie, fili mi, si non assit sancti spiritus clementia, parum prodest meorum verborum iactancia. Ducem te, inquit Deus, constitui; noli extolli, sed esto quasi unus ex illis,277 id est, si te ceteris sublimiorem sencias, mortalem tamen te esse cognoscas nec dignitatis gloriam, qua in seculo sublimaris, aspicias, sed opus, quod tecum ad inferos deportes, intendas. Hec precepta Dei in corde tuo scribe et hec mandata patris tui non omitte. Ecclesie limina frequenter visita, Deum adora, sacerdotes eius honora, ne sis sapiens apud temetipsum,278 sed consule plures, si sapiant in id ipsum. Pluribus ut placeas, sed qualibus, stude. Omnia cum amicis, sed prius de ipsis tracta. Iuste iudica, sed non sine misericordia. Viduam et advenam279 ne despice ad tuam stantes ianuam. Dilige denarium, sed parce, dilige formam.280 Res enim publica, licet sit nimis adaucta, per formam nummismatis falsam cito erit ad nihilum redacta. Est aliquid, fili mi, quod Karolus, rex sapientissimus et manu potentissimus, haud equipperandus nobis, hominibus valde humilibus, cum filium suum Pippinum post se in solio sublimandum disponeret,281 cur terribili eum sacramento constringeret, ne in regno suo subdola et prava taxatio ponderis aut monete fieret. Certe nulla clades, nulla pestilentia nec mortalitas nec non, si hostes totam terram rapinis, incendiis devastarent, magis populo Dei nocerent quam frequens mutacio et fraudulenta peioratio nummi. Que pestis aut que infernalis Herinis inclementius spoliat, perdit et attenuat christicolas quam fraus in nummo herilis? Atqui post hec senescente iusticia et invalescente nequicia surgent non duces, sed fures, non rectores populi Dei, sed ne Cf. Acts 13:48.

276

 Cf. Eccles. 32:1.

277

 Prov. 3:7. The rest of the moral precepts also own much to Biblical models, such as Eccles. 32:1, Prov. 7:3; 25:9; Jer. 11:20.

278

 Ps. 93:6.

279

  Disticha Catonis 4.4. However, Cosmas reinterpreted the word formam, thinking that it refers to the ‘form’ (quality etc.) of coinage—as the subsequent sentences

280

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thias with some of his gifts so that those whom these bless, God himself blesses, and those whom these predestined to a life of good conduct, God too bestows steadfastness upon.276 Thus even today, my son, without the mercy of the Holy Spirit my words would be of no use. I appoint you duke—God said—be not lifted up: be among them as one of them:277 that is, even though you feel yourself to be loftier than others, be aware of your mortality and disregard the glory of office by which you are raised in this world, and strive for the works that you will take with you to the other world. These commandments of God impress on your mind and do not neglect these admonitions of your father. Cross the thresholds of the churches frequently, revere God, have respect for his priests, be not wise in thy own conceit278 but consult with others whether they think in the same way. Try to please many but watch who they are. Do everything with your friends, but first consider them! Judge justly but not without mercy. Do not despise the widow or stranger279 standing at your door. Love money, but scarcely love its form.280 For a state, even if greatly enriched by a false form of coinage will be very quickly reduced to nothing. That is, my son, why Charles, the wisest and the most powerful king—to whom we, truly humble people, cannot be compared—bound his son Pippin when he determined that should be raised to the throne after him,281 by a dreadful oath not to allow any wily and improper valuation of weights or coinage in the kingdom. Surely no defeat, no plague or epidemic not even when enemies ravage the whole country with plunder and arson, would harm God’s people more than the frequent change and fraudulent debasing of coinage. What ruin or infernal Fury mercilessly plunders, ruins, and impoverishes the faithful of Christ more than princely cheating with money? Once this happens, with the decline of justice and increase of wickedness, there will rise not dukes but thieves, not rulers of God’s people but evil publicans, avaricious and ruthless, who do not fear all-seeing demonstrate. In fact, the distichon goes on simply: Quam nemo sanctus nec honestus captat habere, i.e.: ‘No one holy or honorable strives to have it.’  Pippin, king of Italy 781–810 was, however, no successor of Charlemagne.

281

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quam exactores, avarissimi sine misericordia homines, Deum omnia cernentem non timentes, qui ter vel quater in anno monetam mutando erunt in laqueum diaboli ad perdicionem populi Dei.282 Talibus enim nequam artibus et per legum insolentiam coangustabunt huius regni terminos, quos ego dilatavi283 usque ad montes, qui sunt ultra Krakov, nomine Tritri284 per Dei gratiam et populi opulentiam. Nam Divicie plebis sunt laus et gloria regis, Nec sibi sed domino gravis est, que servit, egestas.“285 Plura locuturus erat; sed extrema hora diriguerunt principis ora, et cicius dicto obdormivit in Domino atque magnus super eum factus est planctus;286 dies autem sui obitus est VII. idus Februarii anno dominice incarnationis DCCCCLXXXXVIIII. Capitulum XXXIV. Eodem anno Gaudentius, qui et Radim, frater sancti Adalberti, ordinatus est episcopus ad titulum Gnezdensis ecclesie.287 Hic gloriosissimus dux secundus Bolezlaus, vere et hodie haud [satis], plangendus cuius memoria in benedictione est, in quantum ampliando dilataverit ferro sui terminos ducatus, apostolica testatur auctoritas in privilegio eiusdem Pragensis episcopatus.288 Post cuius obitum  These sentences reflect the conditions known to Cosmas from his own times. Bohemian coinage declined in value and weight during the second half of the eleventh century.

282

 Cf. Deut. 12:20.

283

 The Spanish Jewish merchant and traveler, Ibrahim ibn Jakub, writing probably in the 960s, lists Boleslav II as lord of Cracow; see Relacja Ibrahima Ibn-Ja’kuba z podrozy do krajow slowianskich w przekazie Al-Bekriego [Ibrahim Ibn-Ya’qub’s report on his travel to the Slavic countries related by Al-Bakri], ed. Tadeus Kowalski, MPH n.s. 2 (Cracow: PAU, 1946), 105. For the English translation of the text see Dmitrij Mishin, “Ibrahim ibn-Ya’qub at-Turtushi’s account of the Slavs from the tenth century,” in Annual of Medieval Studies at the CEU 1994–1995 (1996), 185–86. The Tatry/Tátra Mountains became the border between the medieval (and modern) kingdoms of Poland and Hungary. On the problem of the borders of Premyslid realm in the tenth century see also Dušan Třeštík, “Eine grosse Stadt der Slawen namens Prag,” in Boleslav II. – der tschechische Staat um das Jahr 1000,

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God and who fall into the devil’s snare by changing money three or four times a year to the ruin of God’s people.282 Due to wicked intrigues and by the insolence of the laws, they will shrink the boundaries of this country that I have enlarged283 by God’s grace and the people’s fortune as far as the mountains behind Cracow by the name of Tatry.284 For a people’s wealth is glory and honor to the king. Not they, but the rulers whom they serve are burdened by their poverty.”285 He would have said more but at the last hour the lips of the duke fell numb and, faster than said, he fell asleep in Christ and great mourning was made over him.286 The day of his death was February 7 in the year of the Lord’s incarnation 999. Chapter 34 In the same year Gaudentius, also known as Radim, brother of Saint Adalbert, was ordained bishop of the church of Gniezno.287 In the papal privilege for the Prague bishopric288 it is testified by apostolic authority how greatly the most glorious Duke Boleslav II—who indeed cannot be sufficiently mourned even today and whose memory is blessed—expanded the boundaries of his duchy with his sword. After his death, his son Boleslav III succeeded in the ducal office, as was mentioned above. However, he 93–138; Joanna Sobiesiak, Bolesław Przemyślida (+999): Dynasta i jego państwo [Bołeslaw Přemysl (d. 999): The ruler and his state] (Cracow: Avalon, 2006); Kalhous, Anatomy, 46–7.  Lucan 3.152.

285

 Cf. Acts 8:2.

286

 Actually, the archbishopric of Gniezno was founded at the occasion of the famous visit of Otto III to Bolesłav Chrobry in the year 1000; see Knoll, GpP, 35–41, n. 6 and Gaudentius/Radim (d. 1004/1012), an illegitimate son of Slavník, was named its first bishop. The extensive literature on this event and its interpretation cannot be listed here.

287

 See below, 251–7, where the boundaries of the bishopric, including Lesser Poland, are described.

288

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filius eius, tercius Bolezlaus, ut supra relatum est, successit in ducatum; sed non eisdem rerum successibus nec paternis auspiciis terminos acquisitos obtinuit. Nam dux Poloniensis Mesco,289 quo non fuit alter dolosior homo, mox urbem Kracov abstulit dolo, omnibus quos ibi invenit Boemiis extinctis gladio.290 Fuerunt autem duci Bolezlao ex coniuge nobili duo fratres, fecundae matris gloria, nati scilicet Odalricus et Iaromir.291 Sed Iaromir iuvenis patris est nut­ ritus in aula, Odalricus autem a puericia traditus erat imperatoris Heinrici292 in curiam, quo addisceret morem et eorum astuciam ac Teutonicam linguam. Post hec transacto non longo tempore supradictus uterque dux Mesco et Bolezlaus in condicto loco conveniunt ad colloquium et data fide ac iuramento firmata inter se pace dux Mesco invitat Bolezlaum, quo dignaretur venire ad suum convivium. At ille, sicut erat vir columbinus et sine felle,293 suorum consilio familiarium dixit se omnia facturum velle. Sed que pestis nocentior quam familiares inimici?294 Quorum quia non potuit contraire dolosis consiliis, immo iam suis fatis, ah mens presaga ducis, vocat ad se nobiliores et quos relicturus erat in regno, qui videbantur sibi fideliores, et his eos affatur dictis: „Si quid forte mihi, quod absit, aliter et preter fidem atque spem in Polonia evenerit, hunc meum natum Iaromir vestre fidei committo et mei in loco ducem vobis relinquo.“ Sicque dispositis regni negociis it cariturus lumine et intrat urbem Kracov sinistro omine perfidi ducis Mesconis ad convivium. Nam mox inter prandendum pax, fides, ius hospitale rumpitur, dux Bolezlaus capitur atque oculis privatur, suosque omnes alios trucidant, alios obtruncant, alios carceri trudunt.295 Interea ducis Bo-

 Here and further down, Cosmas mixes up Bolesław I  (992–1025) with his father Mieszko I (d. 992). It is, however, unclear when the Polish princes annexed Lesser Poland. Recently –, e.g. by Jacek Poleski, “Kleinpolen im 10. Jahrhundert”, in Boleslav II. – der tschechische Staat um das Jahr 1000, 225–35, it was suggested that this happened as early as the 980s, in Mieszko’s time. Of course, young Bolesław Chrobry may have been in charge of the region.

289

 Strangely, there is no mention of this Polish (re)conquest of Cracow in the GpP.

290

 The wife’s name is not known. As noted above (107) these two were not Boleslav III’s sons, but his brothers’.

291

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did not maintain the boundaries so acquired with the same success in affairs nor such good luck as his father. Because the Polish duke, Mieszko,289 whom no man could surpass in cunning, soon took away the city of Cracow by a trick and put to the sword all the Czechs that he found there.290 Duke Boleslav had two sons of his noble wife: the brothers Ulrich and Jaromír, pride of a fertile mother.291 While young Jaromír was raised at the court of his father, Ulrich was sent as a child to the court of Emperor Henry292 to learn manners, their cleverness, and the German language. Not long thereafter, the above mentioned two dukes, Mieszko and Boleslav, met to talk at an agreed place. They exchanged pledges and affirmed by oath peace between them and then Duke Mieszko invited Boleslav to deign come to his banquet. Boleslav, a dovish man without venom,293 said on his retainers’ advice that he would do everything. But what pestilence is more pernicious than familiar enemies?294 Since he could not act against their deceitful counsel, nay his own fate, he called—with what foresight of the duke!—the more noble men and those whom he was leaving in the duchy and who seemed more loyal to him, and addressed them thus: “If anything happens to me in Poland—which God forbid—in spite of the oath and my hope, I  entrust this son of mine, Jaromír, to your loyalty and leave him to you as duke in my stead.” Having thus arranged the affairs of the kingdom, he departs to lose his eyesight and enters the city of Cracow under a bad star to the banquet of the treacherous Duke Mieszko. For soon during the meal the peace, pledge, and right of hospitality were broken; Duke Boleslav was captured and blinded while all his people were either killed, maimed or imprisoned.295 Meanwhile, the domestic  Henry (II) was at that time still duke of Bavaria; he became king in 1002 and emperor in 1014.

292

 A commonplace, see, e.g. Isidore Orig. 12.7.61.

293

 For the meaning of this obvious quote of Boethius (Consolatio 3m5), meaning a friend turned foe, see Wolverton, Narrative, 189–94.

294

 Remarkably, there is no hint at this in the GpP. Thietmar, Chron., 253–5; cf. Warner, Ottonian, 224–5, mentions it but does not specify Cracow.

295

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lezlai domestici et familiares inimici, gens invisa, generatio mala,296 Wrisovici,297 operabantur abhominabile malum et antea retro seculis inauditum.298 Quorum primus et quasi caput tocius iniquitatis erat Kohan, vir sceleratissimus et omnium malorum hominum pessimus. Hic et sui propinqui, homines iniqui, ducis cum filio Iaromir venientes venationis ad locum, qui dicitur Weliz,299 postquam referente fama perceperunt, que facta sunt de duce in Polonia, „Quis iste est,“ inquiunt, „homuncio alga vilior,300 qui super nos debeat esse maior et dominus vocari? An non invenitur inter nos melior, qui et dignior sit dominari?“ Ah mala mens, malus animus! Quod ruminant sobrii, palam faciunt ebrii. Nam iniquitas eorum ut incaluit et assumpsit cornua mero, capiunt dominum suum et crudeliter ligant atque nudum et resupinum per brachia et pedes ligneis clavis affigunt humi et saltant saltu ludentes militari, saltantes in equis trans corpus sui heri.301 Quod videns unus de conservis, nomine Douora, velociter currens in Pragam, quod factum fuerat, ducis nunciavit amicis: et eadem hora deducit eos ad turpe bravium sine mora. Quos ubi viderunt iniquitatis operarii 302 armatos super se repente irruere, diffugiunt ut vespertiliones per silvarum latebras. At illi, ut invenerunt ducem male muscis laceratum, seminecem—nam ut examen apum, sic ascendebat agmen muscarum super corpus nudum—solventes eum et vehiculo ponentes deferunt Wissegrad in urbem. Servo autem Douore, omni laude digno ducis amico, talis gratia redditur pro merito. Nam voce preconica indicitur ubique per fora, ut quam ipse Douora tam eius proles postera sit inter nobiles et ingenuos in eternum et ultra.303 Insuper dant ei et dignita The Vršovci were the oldest known elite clan of Bohemia. The origins of their power in the early eleventh cenury are not known; their alleged descendant belonged to the first known landowners: CDB I, 105–6, n. 100. Most recently, the Vršovci and their genealogy was summarized by Petr Kopal, “Neznámý známý rod: Pokus o genealogii Vršovců” [An unknown famous clan: An attempt to reconstruct the ­genealogy of the Vršovci], Sborník archivních prací 51 (2001) [henceforth: Neznamý rod], 3–83; on clans in early Přemyslid Bohemia in general, see Kalhous, Anatomy, 120.

296

 Matt. 12:39.

297

 Cf. Prov. 10:29 and John 9:32.

298

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and familiar enemies of Duke Boleslav—the Vršovci,296 a hateful tribe and an evil generation297—carried out such an abominable crime, as never heard of in ages past.298 Their leader and a kind of head of all iniquity was Kochan, a most nefarious man who was the worst of all wicked men. He and his relatives, hateful people, came with the duke’s son Jaromír to a hunting place called Velíz,299 and when they heard the rumor of what had happened to the duke in Poland, said: “Who is this little man, worth less than seaweed,300 who should be above us and be called our lord? Can there not be found one better among us who is more worthy to rule?” Oh, what a wicked mind and wicked soul! What they ponder when sober, they do openly when drunk. When their viciousness became heated and aroused by the drinking horns, they seize their lord, bind him cruelly and, naked on his back, fasten his arms and legs to the ground with wooden pegs. Then they jump in a war dance and on horseback over the body of their lord.301 When one of the servants by the name of Dovora saw this, he ran swiftly to Prague to announce to the duke’s friends what had happened. In the same hour, he brought them without delay to the shameful trophy. When the workers of iniquity302 saw armed men suddenly attacking them, they scattered like bats into forest haunts. The [duke’s friends] found the duke badly bitten by flies and half dead because the cloud of flies rising above the naked body was as a  swarm of bees. They untied him and loaded him on a cart and took him to the castle of Vyšehrad. The servant Dovora, the duke’s friend, worthy of all praise, was rewarded for his merit. The public crier announced all over the market places that both Dovora and his progeny should be counted among the noble and free men for ever and ever.303  Veliz is a mountain and a village near Kublov.

299

 Vergil Ecl. 7.42; Hor. Sat. 2.58. Cosmas uses this expression more than once.

300

 All this is assumed to have happened in either 1003 or 1012 and may have transpired more or less as described; see Marie Bláhová, Jan Frolík, and Naďa Profantová, Velké dějiny zemí Koruny České I [A major history of the lands of the Bohemian Crown] (Prague/Litomyšl: Paseka, 1999), 353.

301

 Luke 13:27.

302

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tem venatoriam, que pertinet ad curtem Stbecnam, quam ex tunc et usque modo per generationes eius possident nepotes.304 Capitulum XXXV. Dum hec geruntur in Boemia, dux Mesco veniens cum valida manu Polonica invasit urbem Pragam et per duo spacia annorum, scilicet anno dominice incarnationis M, anno dominice incarnationis MI, obtinuit eam.305 Sed Wissegrad urbs, duci suo fidelis, mansit imperterrita et inexpugnabilis. Isdem vero diebus idem dux Mesco mittit legatos ad imperatorem dans ei et promittens infinitam pecuniam, quo filium ducis Bolezlai, nomine Odalricum, qui erat eius in obsequio, catenatum mitteret in custodiam. O invictissima fames auri, ubi est potentissimum ius Romani imperii? Ecce possessor auri pressus ponderibus auri ducis obtemperat iussis et fit tortor ac carceris mancipator auro corruptus imperator.306 Nec mirum, si ille paruit duci, cum nostris temporibus Wacek sub mola rusticana natus tercium Heinricum, regem potentissimum—o in-

 Exod. 15:18.

303

 The presence of an elite population in Zbečno is suggested by the find of northern-type stirrup; see Lubomír Košnar, “Raně středověké třmeny ze Zbečna a Kolína” [Early medieval stirrups in Z. and K.], Praehistorica 10 (1982), 53–74, see also Klápště, Transformation, 27–9.

304

 Bolesław Chrobry’s occupation of Prague lasted from 1002 to 1004. – The events between 1002 and 1012 represented a deep crisis of the young Bohemian state, the details of which were not known to Cosmas, writing a century later. Fairly reliable information can be gained from Knoll, GpP, 31, n. 6 and Thietmar, Chron. (book V–VI passim); cf. Warner, Ottonian, 205–305. In essence, Boleslav III was unable to sustain the expanding but internally hardly consolidated duchy of his father under the changing external and internal conditions. The emergence of a unified Polish state, the interference of Emperor Henry II in Czech affairs on the one hand and the appearance of challenging forces within the country (the Vršovci and the duke’s younger brothers) on the other hindered the stabilization of Boleslav’s reign. This led to repeated claims to the throne within and without the dynasty (e.g. by Bolesław II the Bold of Poland and his adherents) and to the—initially merely declaratory but later politically and legally relevant—dependence of the Czech rulers on the German-Roman Empire. Overall, Bohemia lost significant time in the development of the monarchy in contrast to neighbouring

305

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Moreover, they granted him the position of a huntsman belonging to the court of Zbečno, which for generations his scions have ever since that time held until now.304 Chapter 35 While these things were happening in Bohemia, Duke Mieszko came with powerful Polish forces and attacked the city of Prague and held it for two whole years, namely the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1000 and the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1001.305 But the castle of Vyšehrad, loyal to its duke, remained undaunted and unassailable. In the same days, the same Duke Mieszko sent emissaries to the emperor giving and promising him endless sums of money to chain and jail Ulrich, the son of Duke Boleslav, who was in his retinue. O, invincible lust for gold, where is the most powerful law of the Roman Empire? Behold, the possessor of gold, pressed by weights of gold, obeys the commands of the duke and the emperor bribed by gold becomes a  torturer and a  jail keeper.306 No wonder that he obeyed the duke just as in our time Vacek, born in a village mill, brought Henry III, the most powerful king—what a  shameful outrage—to Bohemia on

Poland and Hungary. The history of these critical years can be reconstructed from different sources, among which Cosmas does not offer much valuable information but rather an original literary composition. The best summary of these ages is the article of Barbara Krzemieńska, “Krize českého státu na přelomu tisíciletí” [The crisis of the Czech state around the turn of the millennium], Československý časopis historický 18 (1970), 497–529; cf. also Andrzej Pleszczyński, “Bolesław Chrobry w Czechach: Realizacja idei Sklawinii czy zwykła ekspansja?” [Boleslav the Brave in Bohemia: a  realization of the idea of the Sclavinia or an ordinary expansion?], in Polacy w Czechach – Czesi w Polsce [Poles in Bohemia – Czechs in Poland], ed. Henryk Gmiterek and Wojciech Iwańczak (Lublin: Uniwersytet Marii Curie-Skłodowskiej, 2004), 133–46.  Thietmar, Chron., 288–91; cf. Warner, Ottonian, 245–8, has an entirely different story, in which Emperor Henry helped the exiled Jaromír and Ulrich return to Bohemia, once Bolesław Chobry refused to accept the Czech lands in imperial fief. See below, 118–20.

306

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dignum facinus—catena aurea ut molossum traxit in Boemiam;307 et quod iubet famulorum famulus, paret dominorum dominus308 atque Borivoy309 ducem iusti tenacem virum veracem,310 usque ad genua compeditum rex mittit in custodiam ceu iniquum hominem et mendacem. Sed hec in suo loco plenius exarabuntur stilo. Capitulum XXXVI. Factum est autem anno dominice incarnationis MII. Iam Christo Boemos respiciente et sancto Wencezlao suis auxiliante—incertum est nobis, utrum clam fuga elapsus an iussu imperatoris dimissus311—dux Odalricus rediens in patriam intrat munitissimum castrum nomine Drevic, unde militem mittit sibi fidelem et ammonet, quo intrans urbem Pragam per noctem clangore bucine perterrefaciat incautum hostem. Mox fidelis cliens iussa facit et ascendens noctu in media urbe eminenciorem locum, qui dicitur Zizi,312 tuba intonat et clara voce clamans ingeminat: „Fugiunt, fugiunt Polonii confusi turpiter, irruite, irruite armati Boemii acriter.“ Ad quam vocem irruit super eos formido et pavor, quod erat mira Dei permissio et sancti Wencezlai intercessio. Diffugiunt omnes, alius oblitus sui et armorum, nudus nudum insilit equum et fugit, alius, ut dormivit, etiam sine bracis accelerat fugam. Fugientesque nonnulli precipitantur de ponte, quia pons erat interruptus ad insidias hostibus; aliis fugientibus per preruptam viam, quod vulgo dicitur per caudam urbis,313 in arta posterula pre an-

 Wacek (murdered 1113, see below, 380), was in spite of his common origin one of the leading persons of Bohemia around 1100, first as a retainer of Svatopluk I (of Olomouc), later as a courtier and count palatine under Vladislav I. However, the only information on his carrier comes from this Chronicle, see below, 330–80.

307

 Rev. 17:14, referring to God.

308

 Cosmas refers here to events of 1110 while implying that the emperor put Ulrich similarly into prison.

309

 Cf. Hor. Carm. 3.3.1.

310

 This happened two years later, in 1004. Thietmar, Chron., 286–91; cf. Warner, Ottonian, 245–8 ascribed the re-conquest of Prague to Jaromír.

311

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a golden chain like a Molossian hound!307 And what the servant of servants’ commands, the lord of lords’308 obeys. And the king put in jail Bořivoj,309 righteous duke and a truthful man,310 tied at the knees as if a villain or liar. However, this will be recounted in more detail in its place. Chapter 36 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1002 the following happened. As Christ looked upon the Czechs and Saint Wenceslas came to the aid of his people, Duke Ulrich returned to his homeland—we are not sure whether he secretly escaped or was freed at the order of the Emperor.311 He entered the very well protected castle called Dřevíč wherefrom he sent a loyal warrior instructing him to enter the city of Prague at night and terrify the unprepared enemy with the sound of a trumpet. The faithful retainer carried out the order at once and at night, having climbed a  high place in the middle of the city that is called Žiži,312 blows the trumpet and, shouting in a  clear voice, he repeats: “They flee, the Poles shamefully flee in confusion; Attack them, attack them fiercely, armed Czechs!” By God’s divine dispensation and at Saint Wenceslas’s intercession, fear and terror overcame the Poles at this cry. All dispersed: one, forgetting himself and his armor, mounted naked a  naked horse and ran; another hastened to run without breeches as he had been sleeping. And some of the fleeing fell from a bridge since the bridge has been broken up to snare the enemy; others fleeing along a steep path that is commonly called “the tail of the city”313

 The name Žiži is derived either from ‘žhnouti’ (‘to glow’, indicates perhaps some cultic importance of a fire at the place) or from ‘sieža’ (in old Slavic ‘to sit down’, possibly connected with the stone throne and the election of early Czech duces). Třeštík (Počátky, 338–47), suggested that the “enthronement” of the early rulers, mentioned in many written sources, took place at this elevated location.

312

 Opyš refers to the promontory over the creek Brusnice and the river Vltava, the location of Prague Castle. Cosmas means here obviously the eastern corner of the castle where there may have been a minor gate.

313

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gustia exitus ibi innumeris oppressis vix ipse dux Mesco cum paucis evasit. Sicque fuit, ut solet fieri, quando homines fugiunt pre timore—etiam ad motum aure pavent314 et ipse pavor timorem sibi auget—ita hos nemine persequente videbantur eis saxa et parietes post se clamare315 et fugientes persequi. Postera luce dux Odalricus intrat urbem Pragam et isdem familiaribus inimicis, de quibus supra retulimus,316 fraudulenter suggerentibus fratrem suum Iaromir tercia die privat lumine.317 Huic ex legitimo matrimonio non est nata soboles propter infecunditatem coniugis; sed ex quadam femina nomine Bozena, que fuit Krezine,318 filium prestantissime forme suscepit,319 quem Bracizlau appellari fecit.320 Nam quadam die de venatu cum rediret per villam rusticanam, hanc, quam prediximus, feminam ad puteum lavantem pannos vidit et intuitus eam a vertice usque ad talos hausit pectore ignes amoris non modicos.321 Erat enim corporis eius habitudo insignis, nive candidior, mollior cigno, nitidior ebore antiquo, pulchrior saphiro.322 Hanc continuo mittens dux tulit in sua nec tamen antiqua solvit conubia, quia tunc temporis, prout cuique placuit, binas vel ternas coniuges habere licuit; nec nefas fuit viro rapere alterius uxorem et uxori alterius nubere marito. Et quod nunc asscribitur pudori, hoc tunc fuit magno dedecori, si vir una coniuge aut coniunx uno viro contenti viverent; vivebant enim quasi bruta animalia conubia habentes communia.

 Cf. Vergil A. 2.728.

314

 Cf. Hab. 2:11.

315

 The ones who had attacked young Jaromír, see above, 115, the Vršovci.

316

 Thietmar, Chron., 288–91 and 360; cf. Warner, Ottonian, 245–8 and 285 tells the story differently—and probably correctly. According to him, Jaromír first became duke and was removed only in 1012 by his brother.

317

 From the Latin text it is not clear, whether Božena was the daughter or the wife of Křesina. Cosmas’s comment further below—surely exaggerating the marriage habits of the early eleventh century in the spirit of a reforming cleric—suggests the latter. On the issue uncanonical marriage, see also the so-called decrees of Břetislav (1039; below, 160–4).

318

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were crushed to death in a back-gate owing to the narrowness of the exit, and Duke Mieszko himself barely escaped with only a few men. And as happens when people flee out of fear, that they are frightened even at the rustle of the breeze314 and the fright itself augments the fear, thus it happened now. Although nobody was pursuing them, it seemed to them that the rocks and walls were crying out after them315 and chasing the men in flight. Next morning Duke Ulrich entered the city of Prague and at the deceitful suggestion of the same familiar enemies whom we have mentioned before,316 he blinded his brother Jaromír on the third day.317 He [Ulrich] had no child of a legitimate marriage because of the infertility of his spouse, but of some woman called Božena of Krezina,318 he begat a son of striking beauty319 and named him Břetislav.320 For once when he was returning from a  hunt through some peasant village, he saw the above-mentioned woman washing clothes in a spring. He had a good look at her from head to heel and was inflamed by an immense glow of love.321 For her body was of splendid form, her skin whiter than snow, softer than a  swan, shinier than old ivory, more beautiful than a sapphire.322 At once, he took her with him without dissolving the old marriage, because at that time men were allowed to have two or three wives as they pleased. Neither was it forbidden for a man to take away somebody else’s wife or for a wife to marry somebody else’s husband. What is perceived today as a virtue was back then a great shame: for a man to live content with one wife or for a woman with one husband. Indeed, they lived like brute animals, sharing their marriages.

 Cosmas is borrowing these words from Regino, Chron., ad a. 880, 116; cf. Mac­ Lean, History, 182, who used them to characterize Karloman, son of Louis the German.

319

 The birth-date of Břetislav is not known as Cosmas narrates the matter not in chronological order.

320

 Cf. Ovid Met. 10.253.

321

 Cf. Lam. 4:7; Ovid Met. 13.796.

322

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Capitulum XXXVII. Eodem anno Cesar ab hoc mundo migravit tercius Otto, Vivat ut in celis, ubi vivit quisque fidelis. Huic successit filius eius Heinricus imperator,323 qui inter cetera que fecit in vita sua pro Christi nomine magnalia construxit cast­ rum in quodam monte non modico sumptu empto a  possessore loci, nomine Pabo, unde traxit nomen Babenberk, quod est Pabonis mons.324 Ibi etiam constituit episcopatum, quem in tantum ampliavit facultatibus et dignitatibus pontificalibus, ut in tota orientali Francia non ultimum, sed secundum post primum habeatur episcopium. Edificavit etiam ibi et templum mire magnitudinis in honore sancte Marie virginis et sancti Georgii Christi martiris, quod similiter in tantum adauxit dotalibus ecclesie et ornatibus auri et argenti et ceteris regalibus apparatibus, ut mihi videatur de his tacere melius, quam dicere minus et quam habeatur in re. Utile de multis factum referam tamen unum. Haud longe ab urbe predicta quidam erat anachorita, sanctarum virtutum archimandrita,325 ad quem imperator sepe fingens, quasi venatum ire vellet, sepe faciens aliquam occasionem clam cum solo cliente veniebat et se eius orationibus commendabat. Hunc cum intellexisset cesar quia causa orationis Hierosolimam ire vellet, committit ei dominici corporis et sanguinis calicem aureum, qui pro sui magnitudine, ut facile possit a quoquam levari, duas ex utroque latere habuit ansas, quod nos vulgo dicimus aures, quem ut intinguat sub trina mersione in Iordane, ubi Christus baptizatus est a Iohanne, precipit impe Henry II (1002–1024, emperor in 1014) was, in fact, Otto’s second cousin, not son.

323

 Henry acquired Bamberg in 1007; a new diocese was established in 1008, the cathedral church consecrated in 1012. The etymology (from Poppo/Pabo, ninthcentury ancestor of the Babenbergs) is possible, only the family, famous for holding Austria until 1248, no longer held the site in the eleventh century. An alternative etymology suggests the origin from ‘Baumberg’ (‘wood-hill’), but both are contradicted by archaeological evidence that established a  seventh-century settlement on the Bamberg cathedral hill, see Hans Losert, Die Früh- bis Hochmittelalterliche Keramik in Oberfranken (Cologne: Rheinland, 1993), 103.

324

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Chapter 37 In the same year, Emperor Otto the Third migrated from this world To dwell in heaven where all believers dwell. He was succeeded by his son, Emperor Henry323 who among the other great things that he accomplished for the name of Christ built during his lifetime a  castle on a  certain mountain, which he bought for a  considerable amount of money from the owner of that place who was called Pabo, and thus it takes the name Bamberg: that is the mountain of Pabo.324 Moreover, he founded a bishopric there that he so endowed with properties and pontifical dignities that it was considered not the last but second to the first bishopric in Eastern Francia. He also built there a temple of wondrous size in honor of Saint Mary the Virgin and Saint George the Martyr of Christ, which he likewise provided with so many endowments and golden and silver vestments and other royal splendor that it seems to me better to say nothing of it than to say less than it really has. Nevertheless, I shall mention one worthy deed out of many. Not far from the said city lived a hermit, an archimandrite325 of holy virtues, to whom the emperor—pretending he wanted to go hunting or finding some other pretext—often came secretly with just one retainer and commended himself to his prayers. When the emperor found out that the hermit wanted to go to Jerusalem on pilgrimage, he handed him a  golden chalice for the body and blood of Christ that because of its size had two handles on both sides that we generally call “ears” so that it could be easily lifted by anyone. The emperor instructed and asked him to immerse the chalice three times in the Jordan where Christ had been baptized by John and gave him enough money for the journey. What more? The man of God traveled to Jerusalem and accomplished the order by immersing the chalice in the waters of the Jordan. Then returning through Constantinople, he traveled  The title Archimandrita is used here in the sense of spiritual father, referring to the virtues of the desert fathers.

325

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rator et rogat dans ei pecuniam, quantum sufficeret ad viam. Quid multa? Homo Dei vadit Hierosolimam, iussa facit ter mergens calicem Iordanis in unda. Post rediens per Constantinopolim transibat per Bulgariam. Ibi quidam erat heremita sancta degens vita, ad quem ille veniens Hierosolimita post multa et dulcia atque sancta colloquia suppliciter rogabat eum, ut pro incolomitate imperatoris Heinrici oraret Deum. Ad quem ille: „Non est,“ inquit, „pro incolomitate eius orandum, quia ex hac convalle lacrimarum326 translatus est iam in requiem beatorum.“ At ille instat et rogat, ut sibi dicat, unde hoc sciat. Et ille: „Hac,“ inquit, „proxima nocte, dum nec adeo vigilarem nec omnino dormirem, sustulit me alta visio ad mag­num campum valde planum et nimis latum atque iocundum; et vidi ibi malignos spiritus teterrimos, quorum ex ore et naribus exibat sulfurea flamma, qui imperatorem Heinricum per barbam invitum et quasi ad iudicium trahebant; alii collum eius furcis ferreis inpingentes leti clamabant: „Noster est, noster est.“ Quos a longe sequebatur sancta Maria et sanctus Georgius, quasi tristes et quasi eripere eum volentes et cum eis litigantes, donec suspensa est in medio campo trutina, cuius capacitas lacior fuit quam duo milliaria. Ad sinistram maligna pars magna et inmensa pondera et innumerabilia, que sunt mala opera, imponebant. At contra sanctum Georgium vidi monasterium magnum cum toto claustro imponere, vidi aureas cruces preciosis lapidibus graves, vidi tot plenaria gemmis et auro grandia, vidi candelabra aurea et turibula atque pallia innumera et quicquid boni rex in vita fecerat. Sed adhuc maligna pars preponderabat et clamabat: „Noster est, noster est.“ Tunc sanc­ta Maria accepit aureum calicem magnum de manu sancti Georgii et concutiens ter caput327 inquit: „Certe non vester, sed noster est“ et cum magna indignatione proiecit calicem ad parietem ecclesie, et fracta est una ansa calicis. Ad cuius tinnitum mox evanuit agmen ignitum et accepit sancta Maria per manum dextram et sanctus Georgius per sinistram imperatorem et duxerunt secum, ut credo, in celestem habitacionem.“—At ille Hierosolimita corde revolvens ea, que dicta sunt, descendit ad sarcinas et invenit fractam calicis  Ps. 83:7.

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across Bulgaria. There was a  hermit there leading a  pious life to whom the Jerusalemite came. After much sweet and saintly conversation, he urged and beseeched him to pray to God for the health of Emperor Henry. To this he said: “There is no need to pray for his health since he is already removed from this vale of tears326 to the peace of the blessed.” Then he urged and beseeched the hermit to tell him how he knew this. He said: “Last night when I was half awake and half drowsing, a heavenly apparition wafted me up to a great flat plain, very wide and pleasant. I saw there evil and most hideous demons from whose mouths and nostrils sulfuric flames blazed and who dragged the resisting Emperor Henry by his beard as if to a judgment. Others were pricking his neck with metal forks and joyfully shouting: ‘He is ours, he is ours!’ At a distance, they were followed by the Virgin Mary and Saint George, somehow sad and apparently trying to tear him away and arguing with them until a scale was hung up in the middle of the field, larger than two miles wide. The evil ones were loading the left side with huge, immense, and innumerable weights, which represented the bad deeds. On the opposite side I saw Saint George putting there a big church with a whole monastery, I saw golden crosses heavy with precious stones, I saw many huge plenaria with gems and gold, I saw golden candlesticks and censers and countless vestments and all the good things that the king had done in his life. But still the evil side outweighed and shouted: ‘He is ours, he is ours!’ Then the Virgin Mary took a huge golden chalice from the hands of Saint George, three times shook her head327 and said: ‘But surely he is not yours, but ours!’ and with great indignation she threw the chalice against the wall of the church so that one handle of the chalice broke. Upon the jangle of this, the infernal crowd straightway disappeared and the Virgin Mary took the emperor’s right hand and Saint George his left and they took him with them, I believe, to the celestial home.” The Jerusalemite pondered the things that were told him in his heart and withdrew to get his haversack and found the handle of the chalice broken, as the hermit had foretold.  Ovid Met. 2.49 and 1.179.8.

327

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ansam, sicut predixerat heremita. Qui usque hodie magni miraculi pro testimonio habetur Babenberk sancti Georgii in monasterio.328 Anno dominice incarnationis MIII. Hic interfecti sunt Wrissovici.329 Capitulum XXXVIII. Anno dominice incarnationis MIIII. Benedictus cum sociis suis martirizatus est. Temporibus Heinrici imperatoris, qui post Ottonem tercium rexit Romanum imperium, in partibus Polonie quinque fuere monachi et heremite, veri Israelite, Benedictus, Matheus, Iohannes, Ysaac, Cristinus et sextus Barnabas,330 quorum non est inventus in ore dolus nec in manibus pravum opus.331 Horum de vita patrum scripturus multa malui pauca, quia semper dulcius sumitur, que parcius apponitur esca. Erat enim eorum conversatio laudabilis, Deo acceptabilis, hominibus admirabilis et eam sectari volentibus imitabilis. Nam ad hoc merita sanctorum ammiramur, ut eos imitando ipsi ammirabiles reddamur. Hos quippe viros quinque non incongrue equipperare possumus sive quinque porticibus probatice piscine332 sive quinque prudentibus virginibus oleo habundantibus misericordie,333 quia pauperes ipsi pauperibus Christi, quos in suis confovebant mansionibus, prout poterant, subministrabant misericordie sumptibus. Ipsis autem virtus talis erat abstinentie, ut alius bis, alius semel in sabbato, nullus tamen dietim sumeret cibum. Cibus autem eis holus propriis elaboratum manibus; panem raro habuere, sed piscem numquam, legumina aut milium non nisi in pascha sumere licuit, lympham incorruptam, et hanc libant ad mensuram, carnis esca eis abhominabilis et femine visus execrabilis. Vestis hyrta et aspera, contexta de cauda et equinis  There are parallels to this story in Leo Marsicanus, Chronica monasterii Casinesis, ed. Hartmut Hoffmann, MGH SS 34 (Hanover: Hahn, 1980), 254; and the Vita sancti Heinrici regis, ed. Marcus Stumpf, MGH SS rer. Germ., 69 (Hanover: Hahn, 1999), 304–7, but Cosmas’s narrative differs from both.

328

 See also Thietmar, Chron., 253–6; cf. Warner, Ottonian, 224–6.

329

 On their lives, by Bruno of Querfurt (Vita quinque fratrum…), with English, transl. by Marina Miladinov, see Klaniczay, Saints, 183–313. Cosmas’s narrative

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This chalice is kept as a testimony of such a miracle in the church of Saint George in Bamberg up to this day.328 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1003. The Virsovci were killed here.329 Chapter 38 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1004. Benedict with his companions suffered their martyrdom. In the times of Emperor Henry, who ruled the Roman Empire after Otto III, there lived five monks and hermits in Poland: Benedict, Matthew, John, Isaac, Cristinus, and the sixth, Barnabas,330 true Israelites, in whose mouths there was no deceit nor any evil work on their hands.331 I would be able to write much about the lives of these fathers, but will write only a little, as a frugal meal is always tastier to eat. Their conduct was praiseworthy, pleasing to God, admirable to others and exemplary to those who wanted to follow it. For we admire the saints’ merits so that by imitating them we ourselves become admirable. These five men we can very well compare with the five porches of the pond of Bethsaida332 or with the five wise virgins overflowing with the oil of mercy.333 Being poor themselves, they, nevertheless, assisted as much as they could the poor of Christ of whom they took care in their dwellings from the alms of charity. They had such a virtue of abstinence that some of them fasted twice a week, others once, on the Sabbath, none of them however ate every day. They ate only vegetables they grew themselves; rarely had they bread but never fish; legumes or millet they might only eat at Easter; they drank only pure water and even that they drank in measure; meat was abominable to them and the sight of women accursed. Their contains elements not mentioned by Bruno, while omitting others; thus, he may have had another (additional?), unknown source of information. Since Bruno’s writing survived in only one manuscript, Cosmas may not even have known it.  John 1:17; 1 Pet. 2:22; James 3:16.

331

 See John 5:2.

332

 Cf. Matt. 25:1–2.

333

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iubis. In lectulo lapis pro sustentaculo capitis et matta pro lectisternio et hec vetus nimis et singularis. Nec fuit ulla quies, stant tota nocte lugentes Tam proprium quam plebicule scelus atque reatum. Nunc sonant pectora crebris tunsionibus livida, nunc sudant corpora innumeris genuflexionibus fessa, nunc manibus expansis et oculis erectis, vivat ut in celis, precibus unusquisque instat anhelis. Numquam locuti sunt ad invicem, nisi venientem ad hospitem, et ad hunc paucis. Vere legis factores, non auditores erant, vere semet­ ipsos cum viciis et concupiscenciis mundi crucifigentes et crucem Christi mente et corpore baiulantes,334 gratum Deo sacrificium non ex pecore alieno, sed ex corpore proprio offerebant, quia cotidie vicissim vapulabant. Talis enim Mos erat illorum simul unaquaque dierum Post primam dorsum mollirier usque deorsum. In faciemque cadens ad fratrem frater aiebat: „Si parcis, peccas; cum tangis, ne mihi parcas!“ et stans cum flagello respondit: „Sicut Vis, fiat!“ Christumque rogat fratremque flagellat, dicens: „Hec per facta pius solvat tua crimina Christus,“ Atque cadens iterum prebet sua terga vicissim. Nec „Doluit, frater,“ dum fratrem verberat alter, Sed „Miserere mei Deus“ aut „Benedicite“ cantat. Nam suffert leviter, patitur quod quisque libenter.335 Horum Deus ex alto prospectans pacientiam et vite innocentiam atque fidei et operis perseverantiam cum iam laborum sanctorum suorum mercedem reddere vellet et, ut per viam mirabilem eos ad patriam reduceret exultabilem,336 dux Mesco337 audiens bonam famam eorum et conversationem sanctam venit cum paucis, ut se commendaret hominibus sanctis, et, ut eorum cognovit inopiam,  Combined from Rom. 2:13; Gal. 5:24; and John 19:17.

334

 Translated by the late Barbara Reynolds.

335

 Sap. 10:17.

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clothes were coarse and rough, woven from horsehair. In bed they used a stone as a pillow and a very old single mat as a blanket. They took no rest and kept all night bewailing Their sins and guilt and those of all the people. Now livid chests resound with frequent bruising, now bodies sweat fatigued by so many genuflections; now each of them stands there panting with outstretched arms and eyes to the sky praying to live in heaven. They never talked to each other, only to a guest who came and even then very little. They were true doers of God’s law, not hearers; they truly crucified themselves for worldly vices and concupiscence and carried the cross of Christ in their minds and bodies.334 They offered as sacrifice pleasing to God not from someone else’s stock but from their own body as they whipped each other daily. Together, after Prime, every day, it was their habit meekly to display their naked backs, crying as they fell prone “To spare is sinful, brother, so lay on.” And standing with a whip, one answers: “As thou desirest, so be it” and with a prayer to Christ he whips his brother, saying: “So for thy sins may this Christ’s mercy earn!’” Then likewise he presents his back in turn. Fraternal lashes bring forth no distress, only “Forgive me, Lord” and “All things bless.” Pain suffered willingly is felt the less.335 God from up high watched their patience, integrity of life and perseverance in faith and deeds, and was about to render to the just wages of the labors of his saints and conduct them in a  wonderful way336 to the eternal home when Duke Mieszko,337 having heard of their good repute and saintly conduct, came with a few companions to commend himself to the holy men. When he saw their pov Here, again, Cosmas mistook Bolesław I for his father.

337

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dat eis magnam census copiam, scilicet marsupium centum marcis plenum, et accipiens ab eis fraternitatem et orationum communitatem letus abiit ad suam aulam multum rogans et commendans se, ut sui habeant memoriam. At illi nesciunt, quid faciant de pecunia, quia tale quid numquam habuerant. Stant stupefacti et, quia iam per dimidium annum nihil fuerant ad invicem locuti, unus ex illis aperuit os et ait: „Est laqueus mortis338 argenti pondus et auri, et quibus superhabundat mordax crumena, his non facile patebunt loca Elysii amena, sed horrore plena infernalis pena illos cruciabit in Ethna. Nimirum hec est temptatio humani generis inimici, ut nos faciat inimicos Christi. Nam qui amicus est mundi, inimicus constituetur Dei.339 Deo namque contradicunt, qui eius mandata non custodiunt. Nam Deus dixit: „Nemo potest duobus dominis servire“ et quasi exponens adiunxit: „Non potestis Deo servire et mammone.“340 Iam mammone erimus servi, qui actenus fuimus parsimonie liberi. An non ad motum aure portans aurum pavebit?341 An non cantabit vacuus coram latrone viator?342 Nonne multociens ad nos latrones venerunt et, ob quam rem nos interficerent, non invenientes aliquando plagis nobis impositis,343 aliquando benedictionibus acceptis abierunt? Certe iam volat fama per mundum nos diligere mundum et ea, que sunt mundi.344 Clamat contra nos et hec ipsa, que numquam scit tacere pecunia, et iam iamque aderit inproba manus latronum in ianua, quia quod faciunt domini sciunt plurimi. Quin potius eiciatur cicius mortis fomentum, mali nutrimentum, anime detrimentum, et referatur ad eum, cuius est, hoc argentum.“ Et mittunt unum de fratribus, cui nomen Barnabas,345 qui semper exteriores tractabat causas, ut hec ex parte fratrum referat duci: „Licet nos peccatores et indigni sumus, tamen vestri memoriam in nostris orationibus continuam habemus. Argentum numquam habuimus nec habere volumus. Dominus enim noster Iesus Christus a nobis non argentum, sed bone operationis  Ps. 17:6.

338

 James 4:4.

339

 Matt. 6:24.

340

 As above, 120; Vergil A. 2.728.

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erty, he gave them plenty of money, namely a purse with a hundred marks. Then, accepting from them their fraternity and community of prayer, he joyfully returned to his court pleading them to keep memory of him and commending himself to them. They did not know what to do with the money as they never had anything like it. They stood there dumbstruck since they had not talked to each other for half a year, until one of them opened his mouth and said: “The weight of gold and silver is the snare of death.338 For those who are rich with a biting pouch the delightful places of Elysium will not easily open but full hellish torment in Etna will torture them. Surely this is a  temptation of the enemy of mankind to make us enemies of Christ. For the friend of the world is an enemy of God.339 Those who do not observe his commandments, contradict God. For God said: ‘No one can serve two masters’ and as an explanation He added: ‘You cannot serve God and mammon.’340 We who were until now free in our poverty have become the servants of mammon. Or does not the one who carries gold tremble at the rustling of a breeze?341 Or may not a penniless wayfarer sing in a robber’s face?342 Have not robbers come to us many times who would have killed us, but not finding anything gone away—sometimes having beaten us,343 sometimes having accepted blessings from us? Surely the rumor that we love the world and the things that are of the world 344 already flies all around the world. Even this money that can never remain silent, cries out against us and an ignominious troop of robbers already turns up at the door, for everybody knows what the masters of the house are up to. Let this bait of death be quickly thrown away, this fuel of evil, damaging to the soul, and let this silver be returned to the one to whom it belongs.” And so they send one of the brothers whose name was Barnabas345 and who always handled outside business to tell the duke in the  Juvenal Sat. 10.22.

342

 Cf. Luke 10:30.

343

 1 John 2:15.

344

 His name is, for example, not recorded in Bruno’s writing.

345

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duplex exigit talentum. Monachus si habet obulum, non valet obulum. Ecce quod tuum est accipe argentum, nobis illicita possidere non est licitum.“ Illo abeunte ducis ad curiam mox in prima noctis vigilia affuit manus inimica, et irrumpentes valvas domus subito inveniunt eos cantantes et psallentes Domino. Quorum adactis iugulo gladiis inquiunt: „Vivere si vultis cum pace bona, quod habetis Argentum nobis date nunc et parcite vobis. Scimus enim vere vos censum regis habere.“ At illi teste Deo iurant censumque negant constanter et aiunt: „Pecunia, quam queritis, iam est in camera ducis, quia non fuit necessaria nobis. Quod si non creditis, ecce domus nostra, querite quantum placet vobis, tantummodo nolite male facere nobis.“ At illi rigidiores saxis: „Non est opus,“ inquiunt, „verbis, aut nobis reddite ducis pecuniam, aut diram mortis subibitis sentenciam,“ et statim crudeliter eos ligaverunt et per totam noctem diversis penis affecerunt, ad ultimum in ore gladii simul omnes interfecerunt. Sicque furor impiorum transvexit eos ad regna polorum. Passi sunt autem hii fratres quinque, Benedictus, Matheus, Ysaac, Cristinus atque Iohannes anno dominice incarnationis MIIII. III. id. Novembris. Capitulum XXXIX. Anno dominice incarnationis MV. Anno dominice incarnationis MVI. Princeps Hemma, feminei sexus gemma, febre correpta a vinculis carnis est erepta. Cuius epitaphium his versiculis aut vidi aut vidisse me memini editum: Que fuit ut gemma, vilis iacet en cinis Hemma. Dic, precor: „Huic anime da veniam, Domine.“ Anno dominice incarnationis MVII.346  Ms C3 adds to 1008: “The monastery of Saint Prokop was founded”; on this matter, see Monachi Sazaviensis continuatio Cosmae a. 932–1162, ed. Rudolf Köpke, MGH SS 9 (Hanover: Hahn, 1851), 148–63 [henceforth: Monachi Sazaviensis continuatio] and Appendix, below, 428–54. On St. Prokop, see now Petr Sommer, ed., Der heilige Prokop, Böhmen und Mitteleuropa (Prague: Filosofia, 2005) and his preface to the Life of St. Prokop in CEMT 7 (forthc.).

346

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name of the brothers this: “Although we are sinners and unworthy, yet we still cherish unremitting memory of you in our prayers. We never had and never wanted to have silver, because our Lord Jesus Christ does not demand silver from us but a double talent of good deeds. If a monk has a penny, he is not worth a penny. Here, take the silver that is yours—for us it is wrong to possess wrongful things.” After he had gone to the duke’s court, a gang of foes soon came in the first vigil of the night, abruptly burst in the door of the house and found them singing psalms. Having raised swords to their necks, they said: If you want to have peace, give us the goods you hide Give us the silver now and we shall spare your lives. For we know well, the king’s treasure you have. But they swore to God and steadfastly denied the treasure and said: “The money you are looking for is already in the duke’s chamber, for we did not need it. If you do not believe us, search our house here as you please, only do not hurt us.” But they, harder than stone: “There is no need for words—you either give us the duke’s money or you undergo dire sentence of death.” And immediately they ruthlessly tied them up and tortured them all night with various torments and ultimately killed them altogether with the edge of the sword. So the rage of impious men carried them to the realms of the sky. These five brothers were martyred then: Benedict, Matthew, Isaac, Cristinus and John, in the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1004, on November 11. Chapter 39 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1005. In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1006. Duchess Emma, pearl of the female sex, weakened by a fever was freed from these carnal bonds. I saw or remember seeing her epitaph that was composed in these verses: Lo! Here lies Emma, once a gem, now merely dust. Please say: ‘Lord, have mercy upon her soul.’ In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1007.346

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Anno dominice incarnationis MXVII. III. id. Iunii obiit Tegdagus, tercius episcopus Pragensis ecclesie. Fuit autem hic Tegdagus sancti presulis Adalberti successor idoneus, corpore virgineus, moribus aureus, actibus purpureus, sui antecessoris sequens vestigia, commisse plebis persequens flagicia, et si non corpore, mente tamen tulit martirium nec obiit more hominum, sed secutus Dominum in pace in id ipsum dormit et requiescit,347 cui anno dominice incarnationis MXVIII successit Ekkardus presul.348 Anno dominice incarnationis MXIX. Anno dominice incarnationis MXX. Capitulum XL. Interea natus ducis Bracizlaus de puericia transcendens in iuventutem ibat de virtute in virtutem;349 cui pre ceteris prosperitas operis, proceritas corporis et forme pulchritudo ac virium sapientieque magnitudo, in adversis fortitudo, in prosperis temperata inerat mansuetudo. Hisdem temporibus Teutonicis in partibus fuit quidam comes valde potens, cognomine albus Otto, sanguine de regio prodiens stemmate patrio. Unica huic erat gnata, nomine Iuditha, pulchritudine sub Phebo cunctis que sunt prelata puellis,350 quam bonus pater et eius optima mater, quo addisceret psalterium, tradiderant in cenobium, quod dicitur Zuinprod, loci situ et menibus munitissimum. Sed que turres, quamvis altissime, aut que menia firmissima amori resistere et amantem possunt excludere? Omnia vincit amor:351 rex et dux cedit amori. Igitur Bracizlaus, iuvenum pulcherrimus, heros acerrimus, multis referentibus audiens de nimia pulchritudine et morum probitate ac generositate parentele supra dicte puelle, ultra non habebat spiritum et intra semetipsum

 Cf. Ps. 4:9.

347

 Ekkehard/Helicardus was bishop of Prague 1017–1023.

348

 Ps. 83:8.

349

 In fact, Judith was the daughter of Margrave Henry of Schweinfurt; Otto, later duke of Swabia, was her brother. Cosmas’s reference to Otto being “of the royal line” tal-

350

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In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1017. On June 11, Thegdad died, the third bishop of the Prague church. He was the worthy successor of Saint Adalbert, unblemished in his body, golden in his conduct, splendent in his deeds; he followed in the footsteps of his predecessor and fought against the misdeeds of the people that had been commended to him. And he suffered martyrdom if not bodily yet in his mind; nor did he die like other men but, following the Lord, he sleeps and rests in Him in peace.347 He was succeeded by Ekkehard in the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1018.348 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1019. In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1020. Chapter 40 Meanwhile Břetislav, son of the duke, turning from childhood to youth, went from virtue to virtue.349 Above all, he had success in his deeds, grace of body, handsomeness of figure, and an abundance of power and wisdom, strength in misfortune, and tempered gentleness in luck. There lived in those times a very powerful count in the German lands by the name of Otto the White who was of royal descent through the male line. He had an only daughter by the name of Judith who surpassed in beauty all girls under the sun.350 Her good father and most goodly mother gave her over to a monastery called Schweinfurt, a place most fortified by its position and walls, to learn the Psalter. But what towers, however high, or what walls, however thick, can resist love and keep lovers apart? Love conquers all 351—even king and duke defer to love. Thus Břetislav, most handsome of all young men, most courageous hero, having heard from many relations of the exquisite beauty, probity of conduct and noble descent of the above-mentioned girl, could contain lies with the recent hypothesis of Franz Tyroller, Genealogie des altbayeri­schen Adels im Hochmittelalter, Genealogische Tafeln zur mitteleuropäischen Geschichte, Lie­­fe­rung 5 (Göttingen: Heinz Reise, 1962), 71–82, according to which those of Schwein­­furt may have been related in the female line to the late Carolingians.  Vergil Ecl. 10.69.

351

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cepit cogitare, utrum eam vi rapere temptet an dotalibus conubia paret. Sed maluit viriliter agere quam supplicando colla submittere. Perpendit enim innatam Teutonicis superbiam et, quod semper tumido fastu habeant despectui Sclavos et eorum linguam. Sed quanto fit semper difficilis aditus ad amorem, tanto amanti filius Veneris ignem incutit validiorem.352 Fluctuat mens iuvenis igne succensa Veneris, velut ignibus estuat Ethna. Et hanc apostropham eufonizat secum: „Aut ego coniugio fungar egregio aut ego lu­dib­ rio mergar perpetuo, fieri non poterit, ut mea non fuerit Iuditha, nobilibus edita natalibus, virgo spectabilis, multum amabilis, solis luce clarior, vita mihi carior; vivat ut superstes, laus Deo sit perpes.“353 Et statim quos inter suos novit manu promptiores et sibi fideliores, iubet probatos et laboris pacientiores aptari equos et fingit se ad imperatorem cito iturum et cicius rediturum. Iussa viri faciunt,354 sed quid dominus suus moliatur nesciunt. Mirantur inter se, quod tam celeriter vadunt, et quasi septem dierum iter agentes vice hospitum intrant predicti cenobii atrium. Interdixerat enim suis omnibus ducis natus, ne alicui eum, quis vel unde esset, innotescerent, sed quasi unum ex ipsis se ipsum haberent. Cedat Ithacus callido ingenio investigasse natum Thethidis, nec se iactet Iliacus pastor Tyndaridem rapuisse Amiclis,355 quia hic iuvenis Bracizlaus ambos it pre et animositate et audacis facti inmanitate. Nam post­ quam data est eis ibi pernoctandi licentia, sicut lupus, quando obambulat ovilia querens, qua parte irrumpat, ut nitidam rapiat agnam, sic heros Bracizlaus visu sagaci et animo illustri lustrans claustrum vult vi irrumpere, sed non audet, quia secum tantam copiam militum non habet. Forte fortuna affuit dies festa, et ecce mille votis optata cum suis coevulis de claustro exit virgo Iuditha, sicut puelle solebant tenelle ad vesperas pulsare campanas in medio ecclesie. Quam ut vidit audacissimus raptor sui pre gaudio factus inmemor, ceu lupus, qui ex occulto irruit et rapit agnam et con Amor/Cupid.

352

 The whole clause is written in simple rhymed prose which we tried to reproduce as well as we were able.

353

 Ovid Met. 3.154.

354

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himself no longer. So he began to consider in his heart whether he should try to kidnap her by force or to court her with gifts. But he preferred to act as a man rather than bow the neck in supplication. For he considered the innate conceit of the Germans and how with swollen pride they always despised the Slavs and their language. However, the harder the way to love is, the hotter the fire instilled by the son of Venus.352 The boy’s mind wanders, with the fire kindled by Venus, just as Etna burns with flames. He sings this note to himself: “I shall win a splendid wife or be laughed at all my life. Charming Judith must be mine, daughter of a  noble line, loved by all, a maiden fair, brighter than the bright sunshine, worth me more than the life of mine, let us to the Lord now pray, that she long with us should stay!”353 Right away he orders those of his men whom he knew were quicker of hand and more loyal to him to prepare well-tested and sturdy horses and pretends that he will quickly be off to the emperor and even more quickly returning. The men follow the commands,354 but they know not what their lord plans. They wonder among themselves why they hurry so and after some seven days’ journey, they enter the court of the aforesaid monastery as guests. The duke’s son had actually forbidden all his men to reveal who he was or whence he came and to treat him as if he were one of them. Ulysses who with shrewd mind tracked down Achilles has to take second place nor can Paris brag that he abducted Helen from the land of Mene­laos,355 because this young man Břetislav surpasses both of them by courage and infinite daring. For after they were given permission to stay there overnight, the hero Břetislav, like a wolf that goes around a sheepfold looking where he might break in to steal a white lamb, surveys the cloisters with sharp sight and bright mind. He would like to break in by force but does not dare as he did not have enough warriors with him. By lucky accident, it was a feast day and, lo!, the maiden Judith, the object of a thousand sighs, leaves the cloisters with her companions, for the young girls used to ring the bells in the middle  The denominations of Greek heroes are not translated.

355

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scius facti fugit submittens caudam, petens ulteriorem latebram, sic et ille rapta virgine fugit; et ut venit ad portam, invenit eam catena molendinari fune356 grossiori prestrictam et viam exeundi preclusam. Mox exempto gladio ut festucam precidit acuto, que usque hodie cernitur sectio fortissimi ictus pro testimonio. Ceteris autem sociis id minime scientibus et adhuc in papilionibus manentibus ab irruentibus inimicis comprehensis aliorum erutis oculis et naribus abscisis, aliorum manibus et pedibus truncatis dux cum paucis et virgine rapta per noctis vix evasit opaca. Rapta est autem virgo Iuditha anno dominice incarnationis MXXI.357 Et ne daretur Teutonicis iusta occasio calumpniandi Boemos quasi pro illata iniuria, ilico heros Bracizlaus cum nova nupta patre salutato duce Odalrico recta via proficiscitur in Moraviam. Nam antea pater sibi totam illam terram tradiderat in potestatem fugatis cunctis de civitatibus Poloniis, ex quibus multos comprehensos, centenos et centenos ordinatim catenatos vendi iusserat in Ungariam et ultra; quia re vera post obitum secundi Bolezlai sicut urbem Pragam, ita totam Moraviam vi obtinuerant Polonii.358 Anno dominice incarnationis MXXII. In Polonia facta est persecutio christianorum.359 Anno dominice incarnationis MXXIII. VI. id. Augusti Eccardus quartus episcopus Pragensis ecclesie transivit ab hac luce victurus perpete vita. Fuit autem hic presul contra potentes erectus, erga humiles et mansuetos pius et modestus, facundissimus predicator, largus elemosinarum dator, dominice familie in mensura tritici fidelis dispensator.360 Hic constituit, ut pro decimatione unusquisque, sive potens sive dives sive pauper, tantum qui de suo  Probably meaning the heavy ropes holding floating mills tied to the shore.

356

 Recent research dates the Přemyslid (re)conquest of Moravia to short before 1029; see Wihoda, Morava, 104–9.

357

 See above, 116.

358

 Little detail is known of the unrest in Poland around 1030 (rather than 1022). The GpP, 78–9, n. 19 has a few rather opaque sentences, and so do different annals. On the rebellions against the new faith and political order in the region, see Christian Lübke, “Das ‘junge Europa’ in der Krise: Gentilreligiöse Herausforderung um das Jahr 1000,” Zeitschrift für Ostmitteleuropaforschung 50 (2000), 475–96.

359

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of the church for vespers. As the most daring abductor saw her, forgetting himself for joy, and like a  wolf that rushes out of his hideaway and grabs a lamb and then, conscious of its deed, turns tail and runs to a distant refuge, so he grabs the maiden and runs. As he came to the gate, he found it fastened with chains thicker than a mill-rope356 and the way out thus obstructed. With a sharp sword unsheathed, he severed it as if a piece of straw and the cut can be seen there up to this day as witness to such a mighty blow. His companions, however, did not know anything of this and, still lingering in the tents, were surrounded by enemies who, rushing upon them, gouged out the eyes and cut off the noses of some of them, mangled the arms and legs of others; and the duke barely escaped under cover of night with a few men and the seized girl. The virgin Judith was kidnapped in the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1021.357 And not to give just occasion to the Germans to blame the Czechs for the injustice done, the hero Břetislav, having greeted his father, Duke Ulrich, immediately headed straight for Moravia with his new bride, since his father had previously given him all that land, after having expelled the Poles from all the burgs. Many of them were captured, and, chained in groups of hundreds and hundreds, he ordered them to be sold as slaves to Hungary and beyond. For after the death of Boleslav II the Poles had conquered both the city of Prague and the whole of Moravia.358 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1022. A persecution of Christians happened in Poland.359 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1023. On August 8, Ekkehard, the fourth bishop of the Prague church departed from this light to live the eternal life. This bishop was steadfast against the powerful, kind and modest towards the humble and the meek, a  most eloquent preacher, a  generous giver of alms and a  faithful steward in measuring the wheat for the family of the Lord.360 He determined that everybody, whether powerful, rich or poor, should give to the bishop as tithes of what he had in arable in his  Cf. Luke 12:42.

360

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pheodo vel allodio araturam haberet,361 duos modios362 quinque palmarum et duorum digitorum, unum tritici et alterum avene, episcopo solveret. Nam antea, sicut primo episcopo Diethmaro constitutum erat, pro decimatione duos messis acervos dabant; dicimus enim acervum quinquaginta manipulos habentem. Huius post obitum Izzo obtinuit episcopium, qui ordinatus est eodem anno IV. kal. Ianuarii ab archiepiscopo Magontino.363 Capitulum XLI. Anno dominice incarnationis MXXIIII. IV. id. Iulii obiit Heinricus rex. Anno dominice incarnationis MXXV. XV. kal. Iulii obiit rex Bolezlaus.364 Anno dominice incarnationis MXXVI. Anno dominice incarnationis MXXX. Hoc anno dux Bracizlaus magna cede prostravit Ungaros et terram eorum usque ad urbem Strigoniam365 devastavit. Eodem anno III. kal. Februarii Izzo, quintus episcopus Pragensis ecclesie, transit ab hoc mundo bravio fruiturque iocundo. Hic fuit nobilis genere, sed nobilior opere, qui prior fecit, que facienda precepit. Nam nulli magis est nota propria sedes, quam sibi carcer et infirmorum erant edes. Nec eum latuit, quot hominum capita vite sint reddita, vel quot mors animas ad furvas mitteret umbras. Preterea solitus erat cotidie quater denos pauperes pascere, quibus habunde procurans cibum et potum ipse benedixit et ipse hylariter distribuit. Erat enim et corporis eius pulchritudo insignis, caput capillo albius cigno, unde cognomen obtinuit, ut diceretur albus atque blandus episcopus Izzo.  While Cosmas uses here (and below, 210) “feudal” language, in early medieval Bohemia land was not held in fief (“in service”) but owned by landowners in perpetuity (occasionally granted “for services” performed). Charter evidence proves that Cosmas’s occasional use of such language does not imply “feudal” relations (see Wolverton, Hastening, 20–1).

361

 In Roman times a modius was ca. 8.7 liters. The size of a sack of 40 inches (as the measures suggest) would hold ca. 8 gallons, that is, some 35 liters. The amount specified as the previous tithe cannot be calculated from Cosmas’s data, thus it is unclear whether Ekkehard increased or lightened the burden.

362

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fief or alod,361 two bushels362 of five palms and two fingers, one of them of wheat, the other of oats. For before, as the first bishop Tieth­mar had determined, they gave for tithe two stacks of the harvest, counting fifty sheaves to a stack. After his death Izzo obtained the episcopacy and was ordained by the archbishop of Mainz on December 29 in the same year.363 Chapter 41 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1024. On July 12, King Henry died. In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1025. On June 17, King Bolesław364 died. In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1026. In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1030. In this year Duke Břetislav defeated the Hungarians with great bloodshed and ravaged their land as far as the city of Esztergom.365 In the same year, on January 30, Izzo the fifth bishop of the Prague church, departed from this world and enjoys the joyous prize. He was noble by origin but even nobler by deed, and did first himself what he commanded others to do. For no one is as familiar with his own place as he was with the jailhouse and the dwellings of the sick. Nor was it hidden from him how many human heads were born to the world or how many souls did death send to dreary shadows. Besides, he used to feed forty poor every day, whose food and drink he abundantly procured, himself blessed and merrily distributed. His body was of exceptional beauty and the hair on his head was whiter than a  swan—and so he acquired his name: he was called the White and Gentle Bishop Izzo. After him Bishop  Izzo (or commonly Hyzo) was bishop of Prague 1023–1030.

363

 Duke Bolesław I Chrobry of Poland was crowned king in 1025.

364

 Hungarian sources write of a campaign undertaken by Emperor Conrad II in this year. Břetislav may have joined him against the Hungarians. Cf. Miroslav Lysý, “Politika českého kniežaťa Břetislava I. (1035–1055) voči Uhorsku” [The policy of the Czech Prince Břetislav I (1035–1055) towards Hungary], Historický časopis 52 (2004), 451–68.

365

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Post hunc Severus366 presul successit in ordine sextus, qui tempore iuventutis mire enituit decore agilitatis, quia, quotquot erant in curia ducis, omnes suis precellens obsequiis, sedulum suo domino et magis gratum, quia fidele, exhibebat servicium. Primus enim fuit officiis clericorum nec minus deditus studiis laicorum; semper aderat comes individuus duci in venationibus, primus enim affuit in occisione silvatici apri et abscidens eius caudam purgat et parat, ut ducem velle norat, paratamque venienti domino ad vescendum donat, unde dux Odalricus sepe sibi fertur dixisse: „O Severe, dico tibi vere, pro hoc tam dulci edulio dignus es episcopio.“ His atque huiusmodi studiis habuit gratiam ducis et placuit universis. Anno dominice incarnationis MXXXI. Sanctorum apostolorum Petri et Pauli in natalicio ordinatus est Severus episcopus a  Magontino archiepiscopo.367 Eodem anno natus est Zpitigneu filius Bracizlai ducis. Anno dominice incarnationis MXXXII.368 Anno dominice incarnationis MXXXVII. Obiit dux Bolezlaus, quem Mesco lumine privarat. Capitulum XLII. Eodem anno V. id. Novembris dux Odalricus, linquens terrena captat celestia regna. Tunc Iaromir, de quo supra meminimus, lumine orbus, cui dux Odalricus destinaverat, ut degeret Lisza369 in viculo, audiens, quod frater suus ab hoc migrasset seculo, surgit diluculo, et imperat, ut se deducant ad urbem Pragam vehiculo. Quo cum pervenit, iam fratrem suum delatum ad monasterium sancti Georgii invenit, ad cuius funus stans iuxta feretrum omnium circa astancium movit et concussit corda huiusmodi elogii lamento: „Hei mihi, quid dicam, nisi sepius: Hei mihi, dicam? Hei mihi germane, hei dira conditio mortis amare!  Severus/Šebíř was bishop of Prague 1030–1067.

366

 Archbishop Bardo 1031–1051.

367

 After the indication of the year 1032 the so-called Monk of Sázava inserted his story on the beginning of the Sázava monastery. See the Appendix in this volume, pages 429-53.

368

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Severus366 succeeded, sixth in line. In his youth, he shone forth with the distinction of astonishing agility because he surpassed all the people at the duke’s court in his helpfulness when performing a zealous service for his lord, all the more so since it was done faithfully. He was the first in clerical duties but not less dedicated to lay pursuits. This comes was always an inseparable companion of the duke in hunting and was the first at the killing of a  wild boar. He would cut away its tail, clean it and prepare it as he knew the duke liked it, and serve it when the duke came to gorge on it. Hence Duke Ulrich used to say to him: “Oh, Severus, I  tell you openly—if only for this fair repast, you deserve the episcopacy!” For such and other services he gained the duke’s favor and general popularity. In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1031. Severus was ordained by the archbishop of Mainz367 on the feast of the holy apostles Peter and Paul. In the same year Spytihněv, son of Duke Břetislav, was born. In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1032.368 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1037. Duke Boleslav died, whom Mieszko had blinded. Chapter 42 In the same year, on November 9, Duke Ulrich left the earthly realms and reached the celestial. Then Jaromír, bereft of eyesight as we mentioned above, whom Duke Ulrich determined to live in the hamlet of Lysá,369 hearing of his brother’s departure from this world, rose at daybreak and had himself conveyed in a carriage to the castle of Prague. When he arrived there, he learned his brother had already been taken to Saint George’s church for his funeral. Jaromír, standing at the bier, touched and moved the hearts of all those attending with this lament: “Ah woe! What can I say but once again Ah woe! How dire is death, my brother man!  The full name of the place is Lysá nad Labem.

369

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Mortuus ecce iaces nec ego nec tu modo gaudes Huius terreni fugitivo culmine regni. Nudius tercius dux nobilis, hodie truncus inmobilis, cras vermibus esca, post tenuis favilla et inanis eris fabella. Lumine privasti me nec fratrem ut frater amasti, Non fecisse, modo quod fecisti, mihi malles. Nunc scio, si posses, mihi lumina reddere velles, cum tua sunt nuda et aperta seu bene seu male facta.370 Sed nunc ex toto tibi, frater, corde remitto, Ut pietate sua Deus omnipotens tibi parcat, Spiritus atque tuus post hac in pace quiescat.“371 Post expletis rite funebriis exequiis accipit Bracizlaum fratruelem372 et ducit eum ad sedem principalem; et sicut semper in electione ducis faciunt, per superioris aule cancellos decem milia nummorum aut plus per populum spargunt, ne ducem in solio comprimant, sed potius sparsos nummos rapiant.373 Mox duce locato in solio et facto silentio tenens dextram sui fratruelis Iaromir dixit ad populum: „Ecce dux vester!“ At illi succlamant ter: „Krlessu,“ quod est Kyrieleison.374 Et iterum Iaromir ad populum: „Accedant,“ inquit, „de gente Muncia! accedant de gente Tepca!“375 et vocat eos nominatim, quos norat armis potentiores, fide meliores, milicia fortiores et divitiis eminentiores. Quos ut sensit adesse, dixit: „Quoniam me mea fata non sinunt, ut sim vester dux,376 hunc assignamus vobis in ducem et collaudamus, quo ei obediatis,

 Cf. Heb. 4:13.

370

 Translated by the late Barbara Reynolds.

371

 Cosmas uses the word fratruelem (‘little brother’) which means the son of the brother of the father.

372

 Coronations coins were minted at the coronation of Vladislav in 1158 near Milan, but it is not known whether they played a role at the Prague inauguration. The entire scene is Cosmas’s reconstruction based on events of the eleventhtwelfth centuries.

373

 See above, 86, n. 224.

374

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Thou liest dead and neither I nor thou can climb with joy the worldly mountain now. Three days ago a noble duke thou wert; today what art thou but a trunk inert? Tomorrow food for worms, then a faint spark and idle tale. Unbrotherly, in the dark thou leavest me; but as a brother yet what thou hast done to me thou wouldst regret. I know thou wouldst restore my eyes to me, since both thy good and evil deeds to thee are known.370 With a full heart I thee forgive May God Almighty to thee mercy give and may thy spirit henceforth peace receive.”371 After due completion of the funeral ceremonies, he took his ­nephew372 Břetislav by hand and led him to the ducal seat. And as it always is at the election of a duke, they threw ten thousand or more coins from behind the bars of the upper floor of the hall among the people so that they did not crowd around the enthroned duke but collected instead the strewn coins.373 Soon when the duke was seated on the throne and silence fell, Jaromír holding the right hand of his nephew said to the people: “Here is your duke!” And they shouted approvingly three times: “Krlešu” which means “Kyrielesion.”374 And again Jaromír to the people: “Let those of the Munici kindred come forth! Let those of the Tĕpici kindred come forth!”375 And he called by name those whom he knew were more powerful with weapons, more enduring in faith, braver in fighting and more eminent in wealth. When he felt they stood next to him, he said: “Since my fate does not allow me to be your duke,376 we assign and approve him as your duke, and you  Munici, Těpici (or Těptici) and Vršovci are the only Czech eleventh-century family or clan names known.

375

 Although blinding was to stop unwanted members of the dynasty from succeeding (as mentioned above) a generation later the blinded son of Duke Álmos of Hungary did become king as Béla “the Blind”.

376

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ut dignum est duci, et debitam fidelitatem exhibeatis, ut par est suo principi. Te autem, fili, moneo et repetens iterum iterumque monebo,377 istos colas ut patres, hos diligas ut fratres et in omnibus negociis tibi consiliarios habeas. His urbes et populum ad regendum committas, per hos enim Boemie regnum stat et stetit atque stabit in sempiternum. Ast illos, qui sunt Wrisovici, iniquorum patrum nequam filii, nostri generis hostes domestici, familiares inimici, ut cenosam rotam devites et consorcia eorum declines, quia nobis numquam fuere fideles. Ecce me innocentem et suum principem inprimis ligaverunt et diversis affecerunt ludibriis, post sibi innatis versuciis et fraudulentis consiliis id egerunt, ut frater fratrem me hisce privaret oculis. Habeas, fili mi, semper in memoria sancti Adalberti preconia, qui eorum ob facta crudelia, ter ut fiant super eos excidia, sancto ore confirmavit et excommunicavit eos in ecclesia. Que nutu Dei iam bis sunt facta, tercio ut fiant, adhuc sunt sollicita fata.“ At illi378 audientes hec dissecabantur cordibus et fremebant dentibus in eum ut leones; nec post multos dies Kohan, de quo supra retulimus,379 misso lictore suo dum ille cecus purgat ventrem in necessario noctis in hora, acutissima sica perforat eum in posteriora usque ad ventris interiora. Sicque iustus vir, velut Dei martyr, dux Iaromir obiit anno dominice incarnationis MXXXVIII. II. non. Novembris. Hactenus acta antiquitus liber continet primus. Sed quia, sicut ait beatus Hieronimus aliter visa, aliter audita, aliter narrantur ficta, que melius scimus, melius et proferimus,380 nunc auxiliante Deo et sancto Adalberto ea fert animus dicere, que ipsimet vidimus, vel que ab his referentibus, qui viderunt, veraciter audivimus.

 Vergil A. 3.436.

377

 See above, 114.

378

 See ibid.

379

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to obey him as duke as is proper, and to exhibit due faith as pertains to your prince. You, my son, I warn, however, and repeating it again and again I warn you377 to respect those as fathers, to love these as brothers, and to have them as advisors in all your affairs. To them consign the government of towns and people since the land of Bohemia stands on them, has always stood and will stand for ever. But those who are the Vršovci—despicable sons of iniquitous fathers, domestic foes of our kindred, familiar enemies— avoid them as a muddy wheel and eschew all dealings with them since they were never faithful to us. Look, how they bound me, innocent and their ruler, and mocked me in every possible way. Then with their innate craftiness and wily counsels, they induced my brother to gouge out my—his brother’s—eyes. Always bear in mind, my son, the prediction of Saint Adalbert who because of their cruel deeds confirmed with his holy mouth that destruction shall thrice fall upon them and excommunicated them in church. That has with God’s will happened twice already and whether it happens a third time hangs on Fate.” And they378 heard it and it cut into their hearts and they gnashed their teeth as lions against him. A few days later, Kochan, whom we mentioned above,379 sent his executioner and, when the blind man was emptying his bowels in a lavatory at night, he stabbed him from behind with the sharpest dagger, deep into his entrails. Thus the just man, Duke Jaromír, died as God’s martyr in the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1038, on November 4. The first book contains what happened in the olden times up to now. As Saint Jerome says, things seen, heard or made up are told differently, and those that we know better we even better recount.380 Therefore with God’s and Saint Adalbert’s help, the mind now desires to tell those things that we ourselves saw or what we heard from the trustworthy account of eyewitnesses.

 Regino, Chron., ad a. 813, 73; cf. MacLean, History, 129, quoting Jerome Contra Rufin. 2.25.

380

Liber II.

EXPLICIT LIBER PRIMUS DE CHRONICIS BOEMORUM. PROEMIUM AD CLEMENTEM ABBATEM. INCIPIT PROEMIUM AD CLEMENTEM BREVNENSIS ECCLESIE ABBATEM. Spiritali Brevnensis cenobii381 patri Clementi,382 sic ex re nomen habenti, semper theorie inherenti, Cosmas, haud dignus dici decanus, angelici consortia senatus. Cum multa mecum revolvens supersederem, quid potissimum caritatis viro tante sanctitatis transmitterem, quippe cui pondera auri et argenti sordent solaque que sunt spiritualia placent, optimum fore duxi tue tantummodo voluntati obsequi. Intellexi enim per tuum clericum nomine Deocarum,383 qui mihi clam innotuit familiariter, quod meas nenias, quas olim Gervasio scripseram,384 velles videre libenter. Hac oblata occasione roboratus, immo cari amici persuasione compulsus non solum quod optasti, verum etiam secundum eiusdem narrationis, ut ita dicam, libellum, quem similiter, prout scire licuit, a tempore Bracizlai, filii ducis Odalrici, usque ad eius equivocum385 filium regis Wratizlai386 digestum tue paternitati pandere presumo. Licet enim, pater o ve381

 Břevnov (now in the east of Prague) was one of the oldest Benedictine monasteries, according to tradition founded in 993; see Tausend Jahre Benediktiner in den Klöstern Břevnov, Braunau und Rohr, ed. Johannes Hoffmann (St. Ottilien: EOS, 1993).  Clement (d. 1127) was, according to the Monachi Sazaviensis continuatio, 157, the first known abbot of Břevnov.

382

 Cosmas translates his Czech name into Latin. According to Maria Wojciechow­ ska, “Kosmas z Pragi i benedyktyni” [Cosmas of Prague and the Benedictines], in Opusculo Casimiro Tymieniecki septuagenario dedicato (Poznań: PTPN, 1959),

383

[150]

Here ends the first book of the chronicle of the czechs. Book II Beginning of the prologue to Clement, the abbot of BŘevnov monastery. To the spiritual father of the Břevnov monastery,381 deservedly called Clement,382 who dwells always in contemplation, Cosmas, hardly worthy of being called a dean, enjoins the company of angelic choirs. When I pondered, turning much in my mind, what gift I should send to a man of such saintly life, one who disdains weights /loads?/ of gold and silver and who is pleased only by spiritual things, I thought it best to do what you yourself wanted. For I found out through a cleric of yours, Bohumil by name,383 who secretly informed me as a friend that you would be freely disposed to see the trifles that I once wrote for Gervase.384 Encouraged by having this opportunity and moved, moreover, by a dear friend’s persuasion, I dare to present to your fatherhood not only what you have desired, but also a second, so to say, little book of the same narrative that I have also composed of events, as far as they may be known, from the time of Břetislav, son of Duke Ulrich, until the time of his namesake,385 the son of King Vratislav.386 Although, 345–54, is perhaps to be identified with the librarian of Břevnov and later (1138 to 1144) abbot of Hradiště near Olomouc.  See above, 5–9.

384

 Břetislav II (d. 1100), duke of Bohemia from 1092.

385

 Vratislav (after 1031–1092), duke of Bohemia (as Vratislav II) from 1061, the first king of Bohemia (as Vratislav I) from 1085.

386

[151]

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nerande, divinas non cesses epotare scripturas et profundos philosophie semper exhaurias fontes, tamen hoc tam tenui liquore non dedigneris tua sacra proluere labra.387 Sepe enim fit, ut post fortia vina et soporifera pocula naturalis quandoque homini incidat sitis, fitque haustus puri laticis suavior dulcibus poculis. Sepe fit, ut Martis miles qui sudat in armis, Gaudet virgineis se commiscere choreis, Aut iuvat in circo puerili ludere throco. Sic tu, o sanctissime pater, iam grandia et syllogistica volumina linque et hec mea opuscula sensu puerilia, stilo rusticalia, perlege, ubi nonnulla subsannatione et derisione digna invenies,388 que utique idcirco memorie commendes, ut ea tibi a Deo collata sapientia quandoque ad unguem emendes. Quod autem in quibusdam locis quasi metricos versus invenis, scias me scienter nescium fecisse, dum feci versus.389 Vale.

INCIPIT LIBER SECUNDUS. Capitulum I. Igitur dux Bracizlaus iam in paterna sede vigoratus, quam Deo tam hominibus beneplacitis actibus calcans vestigia patrum et eos precellens contigua arce virtutum, sicut sol in virtute sua sydereum lumen et lune nimio splendore occulit et ebetat, sic novus Achilles, novus Titides390 Bracizlaus novis triumphis fortia acta et victoriosissimas attavorum palmas attenuat et obscurat. Nam Deus talem sibi gratiam contulit, ut, quas singulis hominibus particulariter, has quoque huic indeficientes virtutes largitus est generaliter. Quippe hanc virtutum obtinuit accumulationem, ut in rebus bellicis strennuitate precelleret Gedeonem, corporis viribus exsuperaret Samsonem, quadam speciali prerogativa sapientie preiret Salomonem. Unde factum est, ut in om Persius Sat. Prol. 1.

387

 Cf. Ps. 43:14.

388

 See above, 30.

389

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venerable father, you never cease to quench your thirst from Holy Scripture and drain the deep wells of philosophy, do not disdain to dip your pious lips387 into this thin potion! Because it often happens that after strong wines and sleep-inducing draughts one becomes naturally thirsty and then a mouthful of pure water is more delightful than sweet goblets. For sometimes a soldier of Mars who toils in armor Delights in joining the dance of maidens Or likes to play with a top in a circle of boys. Thus even you, most holy father, should put aside the huge volumes on logic and read this little work of mine, childish in contents and boorish in style. You will find in it much that merits scoff and derision,388 but you should remember so that you may at some time render it more accurate with the wisdom bestowed upon you by God. And should you find some sort of metric verses in certain places, please know that in composing the verse I did so inadvertently.389 Farewell.

The second book begins Chapter 1 When Duke Břetislav established himself on the throne of his father, he trod in the footsteps of the fathers by deeds pleasant to both God and men and even surpassed them by greater height of virtue. As the sun in its power obscures and weakens the light of the stars and the moon by its brightness, so this new Achilles, this new Diomedes,390 Břetislav diminishes and overshadows the great deeds and most glorious triumphs of his ancestors with new triumphs. For God endowed him with such grace that those virtues that He gives to individuals singularly, He gave without despite to him in their entirety. He obtained such riches of virtues that in military matters he surpassed Gideon in valor, exceeded Samson  Diomedes was the son of Tydeus (which Cosmas refers to by calling him Titides) and according to Homer, one of the best warriors of the Greek side in the Trojan War.

390

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nibus preliis victor existeret ceu Iosue,391 auro et argento locuplecior esset regibus Arabie et undique inexhaustis affluens divitiis atque in largiendis muneribus non deficiens assimiletur aque, que numquam deficit amne. Huic coniunx Iuditha nobilissima genere, fecundissima prolis germine,392 genuit quinque iuvenes, corpore insignes et super­ eminentes, ceu Hematie montes,393 sapientia singulares, probitate nulli comparabiles, moribus acceptabiles, in delinquentes placabiles, in universa virtutum honestate laudabiles. Fuit autem primogenitus nomine Zpitigneu,394 secundus natu Wratizlau, tercius stemmate Conradus,395 quartus genitura Iaromir,396 quintus et ultimus Otto397 pulcherrimus. Horum de vita et gloria, prout affluet verborum copia, sufficienter in suis locis explicabitur. Quos adhuc positos annis in puerilibus, sed studiis pollere virilibus pater valde miratur Cernens egregium decus et par nobile fratrum.398 Nec minus angebant matrem sua gaudia letam399 de tanto provectu filiorum et magnifice glorie statu. Capitulum II. Ea tempestate Kazimir Poloniensi nobilissimo duce ab hac subtracto luce,400 filiis eius Bolezlao et Wladizlao adhuc in infantia positis ad ubera lactis una erat spes salutis in misera fuga fugientibus per diversa loca Poloniensibus. Quod animadvertens dux Bra For these Old Testament heroes, see the books of Judges (6 sqq; 13 sqq.), 1 Kings, and Joshua. Cf. also Ps. 71:15 (gold of Saba).

391

 See above, 134.

392

 This name of a Macedonian region was also used (e.g., by Lucan Phars. 1.1) for Thessaly and thus suggests Cosmas had in mind Mount Olympus, rising on the north of that region.

393

 Spytihněv II (1031–1061), duke of Bohemia from 1055.

394

 Conrad I of Brno governed from 1061 the emerging sub-principalities of Brno and Znojmo and was duke of Bohemia in the last year of his life, 1092.

395

 Jaromír/Gebhardus (1036/1038–1090), bishop of Prague in 1068. On his life see David Kalhous, “Jaromír – Gebhard, pražský biskup a říšský kancléř,” [ Jaromír – Gebhard bishop of Prague and imperial chancellor] Mediaevalia Historica Bohemica 9 (2003), 27–45.

396

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in bodily strength, and outshone Solomon by a quite exceptional privilege of wisdom. Hence it came about that in all battles he was victorious, just like Joshua,391 and in gold and silver he was richer than the kings of Arabia. Wealthy all round in inexhaustible riches and never ceasing to give largesse, he was like a  river that never lacks water. His wife Judith, of most noble origin and fertile in offspring,392 gave birth to five boys. Their bodies were exquisite and like the mountains of Hemathia393 they surpassed all others. They were of singular wisdom and unequalled in virtues; their manners were pleasing; they were forgiving to the erring and praiseworthy on account of the complete fullness of their virtues. The first born son was named Spytihněv,394 the second-born Vratislav, the third in line Conrad,395 the fourth in descent Jaromír,396 the fifth and last was Otto,397 the most handsome. Their lives and glory will be sufficiently described in due course as far as the flow of words allows. Their father was much amazed, when they, still in their boyish years, were capable of manly endeavors: Seeing the excellent glory and a noble group of brothers;398 And the very joy grips the happy mother’s heart399 by such great advance of her sons and their state of magnificent glory. Chapter 2 At that time, Casimir, the most excellent Polish duke, was taken away from this world400 and his sons, Bolesłav and Władisław, were still suckling. Thus for the Poles the only hope of saving themselves lay in pitiful flight to various places in Poland. Duke Břetislav  Otto I the Fair (after 1038–1087), governed the Olomouc sub-principality from 1068 onwards.

397

 Horace Sat. 2.2.243.

398

 Statius Ach. 1.183.

399

400

 Cosmas mixes up Casimir “the Restorer,” duke of Poland ca. 1040–1058, with his father, Mieszko II, who died in 1034; however the sons named—and two others, not mentioned—were Casimir’s, see Knoll, GpP, 74–82.

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cizlaus quarto anno sui ducatus optimum fore ratus, ne differret oblatam occasionem calumpniandi suis inimicis, immo ulciscendi de illatis iniuriis, quas olim dux Mesco intulerat Boemiis,401 quantocius potuit, inito consilio cum suis eos invadere statuit statimque terribilem dictat sentenciam tocius Boemie per provinciam mittens in signum sue iussionis torquem de subere tortum,402 ut quicumque exierit in castra segnius403 dato signaculo, sciret procul dubio tali torque se suspendendum in patibulo. Quibus in momento, in ictu oculi404 congregatis in unum et usque ad unum intrat terram Polonie suo viduatam principe et eam hostiliter invasit ac velut ingens tempestas furit, sevit, sternit omnia, sic villas cedibus, rapinis, incendiis devastavit, vi municiones irrupit.405 Krakov autem eorum metropolim406 ingressus a culmine subvertit et spolia eius obtinuit; insuper et veteres thesauros ab antiquis ducibus in erario absconditos evolvit, scilicet aurum et argentum infinitum nimis; similiter et ceteras urbes igne succendit et usque ad solum destruxit. Cumque pervenissent ad castrum Gdec,407 castellani et simul qui illuc confugerant villani non valentes ferre impetum ducis exeunt ei obviam auream gestantes virgam, quod erat signum dedicionis,408 et ut eos pacifice cum suis peccoribus et ceteris rerum appendiciis transferat in Boemiam, suppliciter rogant. Quorum dux petitionibus ad­qui­ es­cens, postquam perduxit eos in Boemiam, dat eis partem silve, que

401

 The reference is to the blinding of Duke Boleslav III by Bolesław Chrobry; see above, 112.

402

 No parallel for this form of calling up an army is known. For “mobilization” by carrying around a (bloody) sword, see above, 46.

 1 Sam. 11:7; cf. above, 46, n. 126.

403

 Cf. 1 Cor. 15:52.

404 405

 In Knoll, GpP, 74–7 the Czech incursion is mentioned in connection with the rebellions of the 1030s, cf. Przemysław Wiszewski, Domus Bolezlai: Values and Social Identity in Dynastic Traditions of Medieval Poland (Leiden: Brill, 2010), 382–4. For a summary of the debate about the dating of this invasion see Piotr Wojciechowski, “Data wyprawy Brzetysłava I. do Polski v rekopisach Kroniki Czechów Kosmasa z Pragi” [The dating of the raid of Břetislav I into Poland in the manuscripts of the Chronica Bohemorum of Cosmas of Prague], Przeglad Historyczny 89/2 (1998), 263–7.

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turned his mind to this in the fourth year of his dukedom and thought it best not to miss the chance of punishing his enemies and repaying the injustice that had been done to the Czechs by Duke Mieszko.401 Having consulted his men, he decided to attack the enemy as quickly as possible. He immediately pronounced his dread decision and had a rope made of bast carried across the province of all of Bohemia as a sign of his command402 and as a warning that whoever arrived in the camp later 403 than the sign given, should be certain that he would be hanged with the same rope on the gallows. When they had in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye,404 assembled to the last man, he advanced on Poland, widowed of its ruler, and just as a  great tempest furiously rages and destroys everything, he invaded it in force, devastated the villages with slaughter, plundering and arson, and seized the fortresses by force.405 When he took Cracow, their metropolis,406 he totally demolished it and took hold of its spoils; moreover, he unearthed the old treasures hidden by the ancient dukes in the treasury, namely an enormous quantity of gold and silver; and he similarly set fire to other towns and razed them to the ground. When he came to the castle of Giecz,407 its garrison and likewise the villagers who had fled there could not resist the duke’s attack and went to meet him with a golden staff that was a sign of surrender408 and humbly asked him to take them peacefully with their cattle and other chattels to Bohemia. The duke accepted their pleas and, having brought them to Bohemia, he endowed them with a sizeable  While Gniezno (below) is legitimately called a metropolis, being an archiepiscopal see, Cracow, the center of Lesser Poland, was only a bishopric, but had by degrees become the “capital” of Poland by Cosmas’s time.

406

 On Giecz, see Teresa Krysztofiak, “Giecz,” in Europas Mitte um 1000: Beitrage zur Geschichte, Kunst und Archaologie, ed. Alfred Wieczorek and Hans-Martin Hinz (Stuttgart: Theiss, 2000), 464–6. In Czech it is called Hedeč.

407

 On the staff as a symbol of surrender or submission, see Carl von Amira, Der Stab in der germanischen Rechtssymbolik, Abhandlungen der Königlich Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. Phil- Hist. Kl., XXV, 1 (Munich: Verlag der Königlich Bayerischen Adademie der Wissenschaften, 1909), 19. See also the final scene of the Bayeux Tapestry, where the fleeing English seem to be waving staffs.

408

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vocatur Crinin,409 non modicam constituens eis unum ex ipsis prefectum et iudicem et decernit, ut sub lege, quam in Polonia habuerant, tam ipsi quam eorum posteri in sempiternum vivant, atque nomine ab urbe derivato usque hodie nuncupantur Gedcane. Capitulum III. Nec longe a predicta urbe ventum erat ad metropolim Gnezden, natura loci et antemurali firmam, sed facilem capi ab hostibus, raris eam inhabitantibus civibus, ubi tunc temporis in basilica sancte Dei genitricis Marie perpetue virginis preciosissimus quiescebat thesaurus, scilicet beatissimi Adalberti martiris corpus. Qua mox Boemii sine Marte potiuntur urbe et cum magna leticia intrant sancte ecclesie adita atque omni preda posthabita solam sibi pos­ cunt dari pro Christo passam sacri corporis preciosam massam. Quorum presul Severus ut vidit temeritatem et pronam in onme fasque nefasque410 sensit voluntatem, talibus alloquiis temptat eos revocare ab illicitis ausis: „Fratres mei et filii ecclesie Dei, non tam ex facili constat, sicut vos estimatis, ut sacram corporis glebam, Dei virtutibus plenam, quis mortalium tam temere presumat tangere. Timeo enim valde, ne percellamur aut mentis oblivione aut cecitate aut aliqua membrorum debilitate411, si id temere presumpserimus agere. Quapropter prius triduo ieiunate, de peccatis vestris penitenciam agite et ab omnibus abhominationibus, quas ipse abhominatus est in vobis, abrenuntiate et ex toto corde, quod eas ultra non faciatis, promittite. Spero enim in misericordia Dei et nostri patroni sancti Adalberti, quod non privabimur spe peticionis nostre, si persistimus fidei in devotione et precum assidua oratione.“ At illis visa sunt presulis verba quasi deliramenta,412 et continuo aures suas continentes fecerunt impetum, ut raperent sacrum corpus, et quia post altare iuxta parietem conditum fuerat et aliter evelli non pote-

 The name survives as the name of a  settlement southwest of Beroun. On this transfer see Klápště, Transformation, 178.

409

 Lucan Phars. 5.313.

410

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part of the woodland that is called Černín.409 He appointed one of them as prefect and judge, and ordered them and their descendants to observe the law they had in Poland forever; and after the name of their castle, they are called Hedčané up to this day. Chapter 3 Not far from the aforementioned castle they arrived at the metropolis Gniezno, strong on account of its location and defense but easily conquered by foes because few people lived there. At that time, there reposed in the basilica of Saint Mary, Mother of God and Eternal Virgin, a most precious treasure, namely the body of the most blessed Adalbert the martyr. The Czechs take the city swiftly without a  fight and enter the threshold of the holy church with great joy. Disregarding all other booty they asked for themselves only the precious remains of the sacred body that had suffered for Christ. When Bishop Severus saw their brazen impudence and sensed their full willingness in all things right or wrong,410 he tried to prevent them from wrongful deeds with this speech: “My brothers and sons of the church of God, it is not as easy as you think for a mortal boldly to dare to touch the very body of a saint, full of divine virtue. For I greatly fear that we shall be smitten by a  confusion of mind, blindness or some weakness of the limbs411 should we presumptuously dare to do so. Therefore, first fast for three days, do penance for your sins and refrain from all the abominations that he found abominable in you, and promise with all your hearts that you will not do them again. For I hope that by the mercy of God and of our patron, Saint Adalbert, we shall not be deprived of hope in our plea providing we persist in pious devotion and enduring prayers.” However, the bishop’s words appeared to them as idle tales 412 so they turned deaf ears to it and immediately rushed forward to seize the sacred body. And since the body was buried by the wall behind the altar and could not be reached 411

 Cf. Deut. 28:28.  Luke 24:11.

412

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rat, nisi altare destrueretur, manus inproba cum mente ferina operantur profana; sed non defuit ultio divina. Nam in ipso opere sue temeritatis steterunt sensibus obstupefactis, nec erat vox nec sensus nec visus per trium fere horarum spacia, donec iterum propiciante Dei gratia rehabuere pristina officia. Moxque licet sero penitencia ducti413 faciunt iussa episcopi et, quanto erant divino nutu evidentius castigati, tanto devotius perstabant precibus infatigati, triduo ieiunantes et veniam postulantes. Capitulum IV. Tercia nocte Severo episcopo post matutinalem synaxim quiescenti sanctus presul in visione apparens Adalbertus: „Dic,“ ait, „ista duci et eius comitibus: Pater de celis dabit quod petitis,414 si non repetitis mala, quibus abrenuntiastis in fonte baptismatis.“ Hoc mane cum presul innotesceret duci et eius comitibus, mox exhilarati intrantes ecclesiam sancte Marie et ante sepulchrum sancti Adalberti humi prostrati, diu fusa communi oratione surgit dux et stans in ambone hac rupit silentia415 voce: „Vultis prevaricationes vestras emendare et a pravis operibus resipiscere?“ At illi obortis clamant cum lacrimis: „Emendare parati sumus, quicquid in sanctum Dei patres nostri vel nos prevaricati sumus, et a  pravo opere omnino cessare.“ Tunc dux extendens manum suam super sacram tumbam sic orsus est ad populi turbam:416 „Extendite, fratres, simul vestras ad Dominum dextras et ad meos attendite sermones, quos volo ut vestre fidei sacramento confirmetis. Ergo hoc meum maximum et  Matt. 27:3.

413

 Cf. Matt. 7:11.

414 415

 Cf. Ovid Met. 1.384.

416

 The authenticity of the “decree of Břetislav” has been often challenged and the entire episode understood as Cosmas’s critique of his own times. However, an excerpt from Cosmas concerning the “decree” was found in a thirteenth-century manuscript of the chapter of Olomouc. It is not clear why only this passage was copied there; see Václav Vaněček, “Nový text (variant) dekretů Břetislavových z r. 1039” [New text-variant of the decree of Břetislav of 1039], Slavia Antiqua 3 (1951–1952), 132–4. Cf. Bohumil Ryba, “Obrat v posuzování priority prokop-

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without destroying the altar, impious hands carried out profane deeds with savage mind. Yet God’s punishment was not lacking, for at the moment they set about their impudent work they stopped, stupefied, without voice or sense or eyesight, for almost three hours until by God’s grace they regained their former senses. Moved by remorse,413 albeit belatedly, they immediately followed the bishop’s orders and—as much as they had been punished by God’s will, so the more devotedly and indefatigably they persisted in prayers—they fasted and prayed for mercy for three days. Chapter 4 On the third night, the holy Bishop Adalbert appeared in a  vision to Bishop Severus, who was just resting after Matins, and told him: “Tell this to the duke and his comites: Heavenly Father will give you what you ask for414 providing that you do not relapse into the sins you renounced in the baptismal font.” When the bishop announced this to the duke and his comites in the morning, they at once entered the Church of Saint Mary in joy and fell to the ground before the tomb of Saint Adalbert and long prayed together. Then the duke rose and standing on the ambo broke the silence415 with these words: “Do you want to repair your transgressions and turn your minds from your evil deeds?” With tears welling up, they shout: “We are ready to repair the sins of ourselves and of our fathers against the saint of God and entirely to cease all wrongdoing.” Then the duke stretched out his hand over the sacred tomb and addressed the crowd of people thus:416 “Raise your right hands together to God, brothers, and pay attention to my speech which I want you to confirm by swearing an oath on your faith. Here is my first and principal commandment: let your marských legend a Břetislavových dekretů” [A turn in the discussion on the priority of the legends of St. Procopius and the decrees of Břetislav], Strahovská knihovna 3 (1968 [ed. 1970]), 15–60. In fact, it contains measures very similar to early legislation in neighboring countries; see János M. Bak, “Signs of Conversion in Central European Laws”, in Christianizing Peoples and Converting Individuals, ed. Guyda Armstrong and Ian Wood (Turnhout: Brepols, 2001), 115–24.

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primum sit decretum, ut vestra conubia, que actenus habuistis ut lupanaria et ceu brutis animalibus communia, amodo iuxta canonum scita sint legitima, sint privata, sint insolubilia, ita dumtaxat ut una vir coniuge et coniunx uno viro contenti vivant. Si autem coniunx virum aut vir coniugem spreverit et rixa inter eos usque ad discidium efferverit, qui ex eis in priorem copulam legitime celebratam redire noluerit, nolo, ut secundum ritum nostre terre huius rei violator in servitutem redigatur, sed potius nostri inmutabilis decreti per angariam, qualiscumque sit persona, redigatur in Ungariam, et nequaquam liceat, ut precio se redimat aut in hanc terram redeat, ne unius contagio ovicule totum Christi serpat per ovile.“ Severus episcopus dixit: „Quicumque aliter fecerit, anathema sit. Eadem sententia sint plectende virgines et vidue et adultere, que nomen bonum amisisse et pudorem corrupisse ac per scortum concepisse dinoscuntur. Nam cum liberum nubendi habeant arbitrium, cur committunt adulterium et conceptus suos abortivant, quod est pessimum scelus scelerum?“ Tunc dux subiungens inquit: „Si vero mulier proclamaverit pari vice non amari, sed inclementer a viro suo affligi et profligari, detur inter eos iudicium Dei et, qui inventus fuerit reus, solvat penas rei. Similiter et de his, qui homicidiis infamantur, archipresbiter417 comiti illius civitatis nomina eorum ascribat, et comes eos conveniat; et si sunt rebelles, in carcerem redigat, donec aut penitenciam dignam agant aut, si negant, ignito ferro sive adiurata aqua, utrum culpabiles sint, examinentur.418 Fratricidas autem et parricidas sive sacerdotum interfectores et huiusmodi capitalibus criminibus irretitos archipresbiter assignet eos comiti vel duci sive per manus et ventrem ferratos de  An archpresbiter or archdeacon was the head of church organization in a castle district, the so-called great parish in the eleventh–twelfth (maybe already tenth) century; see above, 86. At the same time he was commissioned to oversee the castle administration, see e.g. the cases of Prkoš (186) and Mstiš (198 and 206).

417

418

 There is scant evidence of ordeal in early medieval Bohemia, but it must have been integral part of the judicial system as everywhere else in medieval Europe. Besides this reference in Cosmas, only one instance is documented, in the trial of the conspirators against Soběslav I in 1130; see Josef Žemlička, “Vyšehrad 1130: Soud, nebo inscenace?” [Vyšehrad 1130: A court or an inscenation?], in Husitství

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riages that you have hitherto had as if in brothels and common, like among brute animals, be in accordance with the canons of the church, lawful, singular and indissoluble, so that a husband lives content with one wife and a  wife with one husband. If however a wife rejects a husband or a husband a wife, and a quarrel between them flares into a separation, I do not want the one of them who refuses to return to the previous, legally-concluded marriage, to be pushed into servitude as a violator of wedlock according to the rules of our country, but rather by the force of our irrevocable decree, they should be, regardless of person, banished to Hungary; and they may not buy their way out by any payment or come back to this country lest the pollution of one sheep spread to the whole flock of Christ.” Bishop Severus said: “Whoever shall do differently shall be anathema! This punishment should also apply to girls, widows, and adulteresses who are recognized as having lost their good name, sulllied their reputation and conceived through fornication. For if they had a free choice to marry, why do they commit adultery and abort their unborn children, which is the worst sin of all sins?” Then the duke added: “If, however, a woman proclaims that she is not loved in the same way she loves but is instead unmercifully put upon and harassed by her husband, let there be God’s judgment between them and whoever is guilty, must pay for the offense. Similarly, for those, who are accused of homicide: let the archpriest417 write down their names for the comes of the place and the comes shall summon them. And if they resist, he should cast them into prison until they duly repent or, if they refuse, they should be tried by hot iron or blessed water to see whether they are guilty.418 Fratricides and parricides or murderers of priests and those caught in other capital crimes should be handed over by the archpriest to a  comes or the duke or expelled from the country, chained on their hands and body so that they wander around in – Renesance – Reformace I : Sborník k 60. narozeninám Františka Šmahela [Hussitism – Renaissance – Reformation I: a Festschrift for the 60th birthday of František Šmahel], ed. Jaroslav Pánek, Miroslav Polívka, and Noemi Rejchrtová (Prague: Historický ústav, 1994), 47–68. See also the so-called Christian, Život a umučení, 100.

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regno eiciat, ut ad instar Cain vagi et profugi circueant terram419.“ Severus episcopus dixit: „Ista ducis deliberatio iusta sit anathemate firma. Nam ad hoc vobis ducibus mucro pendet in femore, ut manus vestras sepius lavetis peccatoris in sanguine.“420 Iterum dux: „Tabernam,“ inquit, „que est radix omnium malorum, unde prodeunt furta, homicidia, adulteria et cetera mala, et qui parat et qui paratam comparat,“ Severus episcopus dixit: „Anathema sit.“ Et dux: „Qui,“ inquit, „comprehensus fuerit huius violator decreti tabernarius, in medio foro ad palum suspensus et usque ad fastidium preconis cesus depiletur; res tamen eius non infiscentur, sed potus tantum in terram proiciatur, ne quis execrabili haustu polluatur. Potatores autem, si deprehensi fuerint, non prius de carcere exeant, quam in fiscum ducis unusquisque CCC nummos componat.“ Severus episcopus dixit: „Que dux iudicat, nostra auctoritas firmat.“ Adhuc dux prosequitur dicens: „Fora autem dominicis diebus omnino ne fiant interdicimus, que ideo maxime in his celebrant regionibus, ut ceteris diebus suis vacent operibus. Si quis autem quam dominicis tam festis diebus publice ad ecclesiam feriari indictis in aliquo servili opere inventus fuerit, ipsum opus et, quod in opere est inventum, archipresbiter tollat iumentum, et CCC ducis in fis­ cum solvat nummos.421 Similiter et qui in agris sive in silvis suos sepeliunt mortuos, huius rei presumptores archidiacono bovem et CCC in fiscum ducis solvant nummos; mortuum tamen in poliandro fidelium humi condant denuo. Hec sunt, que odit Deus,422 hec sanctus Adalbertus pertesus nos suas deseruit oves et ad exteras maluit ire docturus gentes. Hec ut ultra non faciamus, nostre simul et vestre fidei sacramento confirmamus.“ Sic ait dux. Et presul sanc­ te trinitatis nomine invocato et malleo assumpto, ceteris clericis septem psalmos et alias huic sancto operi competentes orationes ymnizantibus, cepit molliter destruere summa sepulchri, destruens eum usque ad ima thesauri sacri, et cum aperuissent sarcophagum,  Gen. 4:12.

419

420

 Ps. 57:11.

 Cf. Capitulary of 809, ed. Alfred Boretius, MGH Capit. 1 (Hanover: Hahn, 1883), 150:18.

421

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the world as fugitives and vagabonds419 like Cain.” Bishop Severus said: “Let this just provision of the duke be confirmed by ana­ thema. For a sword hangs by the thigh of you dukes, so that you may the more often wash your hands in the blood of the sinner.”420 Then the duke again: “Let him who opens a tavern or takes one over, which is the source of all evil and wherefrom thefts, killings, fornications and other errors stem …” Bishop Severus added: “Be anathema.” And the duke: “The tavern-keeper who is found to be a transgressor of this decree shall be tied to a stake in the middle of the market square, shaved and beaten for as long as the bailiff is able. His belongings shall not be confiscated, but only the drink poured out onto the ground so that no one may be defiled by the execrable drink. Drinkers, however, if they are caught, shall not leave the prison until each pays three hundred coins to the duke’s treasury.” Bishop Severus said: “What the duke has decided our authority sanctions.” Then the duke continued: “We altogether forbid that markets take place on Sundays as has been generally practiced in our region so as to allow people to work on other days. He who is found doing servile work on a Sunday or on feast days that have been designated for public celebration in church, the fruits of his labor and the team of beasts found working shall be taken away by the archpriest and three hundred coins paid to the duke’s treasury.421 Similarly those who dare to bury their dead in the fields or in the woods shall pay to the archdeacon an ox, and three hundred pennies to the duke’s treasury. The dead nevertheless shall be buried again in the graveyard of the faithful. These are the things God hates;422 these had disgusted Saint Adalbert so that he left us, his flock, preferring to go and instruct foreign peoples. We confirm by our and your own oath that we shall not commit such things any more.” Thus said the duke. And the bishop, having invoked the name of the Holy Trinity, took a hammer and, while the other clerics were singing the seven Psalms and other prayers appropriate to this pious activity, carefully began to remove the top of the grave, 422

 Cf. Zech. 8:17.

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omnes, qui in ecclesia aderant, tanta fragrantia suavissimi odoris sunt referti, ut per tres dies quasi opimis ferculis refecti obliviscerentur cibo refici, quin etiam et infirmi sanati sunt eadem ora quam plurimi. Tunc dux et episcopus et pauci comitum inspicientes ut viderunt sanctum Dei ita vultu et habitu clarum et sic corpore integrum per omnia, ac si eadem die sacra missarum celebrasset sollempnia, clerici „Te Deum laudamus,“ laici „Kyrieleyson“ modulantur, et resonant voces eorum usque ad ethera. His ita peractis dux pre gaudio faciem perfusus lacrimis sic orat: „O Christi martir, beate Adalberte, nostri semper et ubique miserate, nunc solita nos respice pietate et nobis peccatoribus propiciare atque ad tuam sedem Pragensis ecclesie per nos quamvis peccatores referri non dedignare.“ Mira res et valde stupenda, cuius tumbam nudius tercius contingere non poterant, continuo dux et episcopus sine impedimento corpus eius sarcophago levant et serico cooperientes in superiori altari locant, ut plebs sua vota solvat, que Deo et eius sancto voverat, atque eadem die composite sunt CC marce altaris in arce. O Deus omnipotens, mundum per secla revolvens, Qui semper regnas, solus qui cuncta gubernas, Nil fit nec fuit in mundo nec erit, bone Christe, tuo sine nutu. Quisnam mortalis hoc umquam credere posset, ut ad gentes apos­ tat­ri­ces iam in celesti regno laureatus corpus suum referri sineret, quarum aspernatus facinora aufugit consortia, cum adhuc viveret. Sed si maiora Dei et antiqua miracula perpendimus, quomodo populus Israeliticus sicco vestigio transivit mare, qualiter de sicca rupe fluxerunt aque,423 vel qualiter factor orbis apparuit in orbe natus ex Maria virgine, non ammirari, sed potius Deo, qui fecit et facere potest, que vult, nos decet humiliari et eius gratie totum assignare, cuius gratia inspirante ascendit in cor ducis,424 ut similiter transferret corpus archipresulis eiusdem civitatis, nomine Gaudencii, qui in eadem forte ecclesia quiescebat. Hic, uti superius retuli423

 Reference to Exod. 15:19 and Num. 20:11. Cf. Ps. 77:20.

424

 Luke 24:38.

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removing it as far down as the sacred treasure. When the sarcophagus was opened, all that were in the church were enchanted by such a pervasive sweet odor that they forgot to eat for three days as if satiated by the most abundant dishes. Also many sick people were healed at that hour. Then the duke and the bishop and some of the comites looked at the saint of God and saw his face and appearance so bright and his body absolutely intact as if he had just celebrated Mass. And so the clergy sang the “Te Deum laudamus” and the laymen the “Kyrieleyson” and their voices resounded up to the heavens. After these things had passed, the duke with tears of joy on his face prayed: “Oh, martyr of Christ, blessed Adalbert, you had always and everywhere pity on us, look upon us with your customary grace and be merciful to us sinners, and do not disdain that we sinners carry you back to your seat in the church of Prague.” It was remarkable and indeed marvelous that the duke and the bishop now lifted the body, whose tomb they could not even touch three days before, without any hindrance from the casket, covered it with silk and placed it upon the high altar so that people could present the gifts they had promised to God and his saint. And on that day two hundred marks were collected in the offertory box of the altar. Almighty God, who ever makes the world revolve, Who always reigns and governs all alone, There was, nor is nor will be naught that’s not your will, Good Christ. What mortal would have ever believed that he who had been crowned with laurel in the celestial kingdom allowed his body be carried to the rebellious people, whose company—disgusted by their sins—he fled while still alive. But if we consider the greater and ancient miracles of God—how the people of Israel crossed the sea dry-shod, how waters flowed out of a dry rock,423 or how the Creator of the world appeared in the world, born of the Virgin Mary—we should not wonder but rather humble ourselves to God who did and can do anything He wishes, and attribute everything to His grace that it likewise ascended into the duke’s heart 424 to translate the body of the archbishop of that place, Gaudentius

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mus,425 non solum carnali, verum et spirituali coniunctione frater sancti Adalberti et comes individuus426 in omni labore et erumna fuit et, si cum eo non corpore martirium, mentis tamen compassione tulit. Nec enim fieri poterat, ut gladius animam eius non pertransiret, cum germanum suum rompheis paganorum in frus­ ta concidi videret et ipse pariter occidi valde optaret. Item visum est duci et episcopo, ut quinque fratrum reliquias sancto corpori adiunctas, quorum de vita ac passione satis supra retulimus,427 qui in eadem civitate sed in alia ecclesia quiescebant, pariter cum summa diligentia transferant. Quid multa? Capitulum V. Ventum erat cum omni sacra sarcina in prosperitate et leticia Boemiam, et in vigilia sancti Bartholomei apostoli428 prope metropolim Pragam castra metati sunt circa rivulum Rokitnicam,429 ubi lucescente die clerus et universa plebs cum processione occurrit. Cuius longam seriem latus vix explicuit campus; talis enim processio fuit: dux ipse et episcopus humeris subnixi dulce pondus portant martiris Christi Adalberti, post simul abbates ferebant reliquias quinque fratrum, deinde archipresbiteri gaudent onere Gaudencii ar­chie­pis­ copi, quos electi XII presbiteri vix sustentantes pondus aurei crucifixi secuntur—nam dux Mesco ter semetipsum hoc apponderarat auro430—quinto loco ferunt tabulas tres graves auro, que circa altare, ubi sanctum corpus quievit, posite fuerant. Erat enim maior tabula quinque ulnarum in longitudine et decem palmarum in latitudine valde adornata lapidibus preciosis et cristallinis sachis.431  See briefly above, 110.

425

426

427

 These words are used by Regino Chron. ad a. 906, 152; cf. MacLean, History, 230 of a certain Count Egino and by Canaparius in the Vita Adalberti (cap. 3, see Klaniczay, Saints, 103) for the Holy Spirit as constant companion of the saint (going back, probably, to Jerome De vir. inl. 7).

 See above, 126–32.  23 August 1039.

428 429

 A rivulet, now called Rokytka, east and northeast of Prague counted in the early Middle Ages as the city’s outer limit to the northeast; cf. below, 278, and 360.

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by name, who happened to rest in the same church. As we already mentioned,425 he was the brother of Saint Adalbert, not only in a bodily but also a spiritual sense, and his inseparable companion426 in every labor and affliction, who, if not physically, then by mental compassion, suffered martyrdom with him. For it could not have been that a sword did not pierce his soul when he saw his brother being cut down for no reason by the spears of the pagans, wishing greatly to die in the same way. Then the duke together with the bishop saw it right to add to the holy body the relics of the five brothers, whose lives and martyrdom we lengthily described above,427 and who rested in the same city but in another church, and similarly to translate them with great care. What more? Chapter 5 Happily and merrily, they reached Bohemia with the holy burden and set up camp on the vigil of the feast of Saint Bartholomew the Apostle.428 near the capital Prague by the rivulet Rokytnice.429 At dawn, the clergy and the entire populace arrived in a  procession the length of which could hardly be accommodated by the wide field. The procession was like this: the duke himself and the bishop carried the sweet burden of Christ’s martyr, Adalbert, on their shoulders; after them the abbots together carried the relics of the five brothers; then archpriests rejoiced under the burden of archbishop Gaudentius; and they were followed by twelve elected priests who could hardly bear the weight of the golden crucifix— for Duke Mieszko had matched his weight three times with that gold430—and in fifth place three heavy golden plaques were carried that had been placed around the altar where the holy body had rested. The heaviest plaque was five ells long and ten palms wide, richly adorned with precious stones and crystalline amber.431  According to Knoll, GpP, 34–5, Bolesław I  obtained the martyr’s body “for a weight of gold.”

430

 The word’s meaning is unclear. Amber is Bretholz’s conjecture; see Bretholz, Die Chronik, 90, n. 2.

431

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Cuius inscriptus fuit hic in margine versus: „Ter centum libras apponderat hoc opus auri.“ Postremo plus quam centum plaustris ducunt inmensas campanas et omnes Polonie gazas, quas sequitur innumera nobilium virorum turma, astricti manicis ferreis et contriti colla bagis, inter quos, heu male captus, adductus est consors in clero, presbiter officio.432 O  dies illa, dies Boemis honoranda et per secula memorie commendanda, sacris misteriis frequentanda, dignis preconiis celebranda, laudibus devotissime veneranda, divitibus letabunda, debilibus exoptanda, pauperibus iocunda, datione elemosinarum decoranda et omnibus bonis studiis excolenda, in qua festis festa refulgent accumulata. O nimium felix metropolis Praga, olim sacro duce sub­limata, nunc beato presule decorata, a  domino Deo tibi collata excipis gaudia geminata et per has binas misericordie olivas433 fama volas ultra Soromatas atque Sarigas.434 Facta est autem hec translatio beatissimi Christi martiris Adalberti anno dominice incarnationis MXXXIX. kal. Septembris.435 Capitulum VI. Sed his prosperis a Deo concessis inprobus delator non defuit, qui apostolico,436 uti gesta hec erant, retulit, divinas sanctiones et sanctorum patrum traditiones violasse ducem Boemie et episcopum promulgavit; et si hoc inultum domnus papa pretermitteret, iura apostolice sedis per totum mundum observanda imminueret. Continuo sacer conventus celebratur, canones recitantur, sacre scripture scrutantur. Dux et episcopus, quamvis absens, de presumptione arguitur; alii ducem omni dignitate privatum per tres annos in exi-

432

 Since two MSS contains the words est meus attavus, several editors and translators have suspected an ancestor of the author to have been among the captives. But Bretholz, Die Chronik, 90, n. 3 dismissed these speculations on the grounds of questionable textual transmission. Dušan Třeštík was similarly sceptical (Třeštík, Kosmas) and was most recently Hrdina and Wihoda, Kosmas, 93, n. 46. See above XX–XXI.

 Cf. above, 36–8.

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In its margin, this verse was written: “This work weighs three hundred pounds of gold.” At the end, more than a  hundred wagons carried large bells and all the treasures of Poland which were followed by an immense crowd of noble men tied with iron manacles and collars. Among these, alas, unfortunately captured, was a  fellow of mine in the clergy, a priest by the office.432 O that day, a day to be honored by the Czechs and to be remembered for ever, commemorated by holy ceremonies, celebrated by worthy laudations, venerated most devotedly by praise, made glad with riches, desirable to the weak, pleasing to the poor, adorned by alms-giving and honored by all good deeds, on which feasts glitter with repeated feasts! O, you happiest metropolis, Prague, once elevated by a  holy duke, now adorned with a blessed bishop, you receive double joy granted to you by Lord God and through these two olive trees433 of mercy your glory flies beyond the Sarmatians and Sarigs!434 And this translation of the most blessed martyr of Christ Adalbert took place in the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1039, on September 1.435 Chapter 6 But even amidst this happiness granted by God, there was an outrageous slanderer who informed the pope436 how it had all taken place and reported that the duke of Bohemia and the bishop had violated divine laws and the traditions of the holy fathers; and that if the lord pope let this go unpunished, he would diminish the laws of the Apostolic See that are to be observed throughout the world.

 The Sarmatians were known ever since Herodotus (4, 12 and elsewhere, called Sauromates) as people living in western Scythia. It is unknown, what Cosmas meant by Sarigas, intending to hint at the farthest places on earth.

434

 The date here is problematic, if contrasted to the previously given day of St Bartholomew. Bretholz, Die Chronik, 91, n. 2 suggests that an VIII before the Kal. was left out by the copyist—as amended in MS A3—and the correct date is August 24.

435

436

 Benedict IX (1033–1042).

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lium decernunt, alii episcopum ab omni pontificali officio suspensum, quoad usque vivat, in claustro monachorum degere iudicant, alii ambos gladio anathematis feriendos clamant. Capitulum VII. Interea legati ducis et episcopi Boemorum ex parte totius populi et ipsorum Romam adveniunt ferentes mandata magis muneribus oblita quam facundie verbis polita. Quibus ubi data est copia fandi, in conspectu apostolici et sacri concilii tali sermone causam sue legationis sunt prosecuti: „O fidei catholice et sedis apostolice sanctissime rector et o patres in libro vite437 conscripti, quibus a Deo collata est potestas iudicandi simul et miserendi, miseremini peccasse confitentibus, parcite penitentibus simul et veniam pos­ tu­lan­ti­bus. Fatemur enim, quod illicita et contra canonum statuta egimus, quia de tam longinquis partibus ob tam breve temporis spacium ad tam sanctum negotium vestrum nequivimus habere nuncium. Sed quicquid est illud, quod fecimus, sciatis, o patres, sciatis, conscripti,438 nos non ex temeritate, sed pro magna utilitate christiane religionis atque bona intentione id fecisse. Aut si umquam bona intentio cadit in vicium, o sanctissimi patres, secundum vestrum iudicium parati sumus nostrum emendare flagicium.“ Ad hec apostolicus paucis: „Si penitet,“ inquit, „haud nocet error.“439 Mox legati summoti a concilio potiuntur hospicio, sequenti die reddituri rationem in iudicio.440 Illa autem nocte ducis missi et episcopi circueuntes corruperunt pecunia cardinalium astuciam, auro subplantant iusticiam, mercantur precio clementiam, muneribus leniunt iudicialem sententiam. Postera autem die iterum legatis sacri concilii in capitolio presentatis domnus apostolicus os   Rev. 20:15.

437

 The term patres conscripti is Classical and was used for the senators of Rome; but Cosmas may here have wanted to play with the word, referring back to his describing the assembled prelates as in libro vitae inscripti (as above).

438

  Error non nocet comes from Roman law, even if not in this general form.

439

440

 Matt. 12:36, referring to the Last Judgment.

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Now a holy assembly is convoked, canons are read out, and Holy Scripture is scrutinized. The duke and the bishop, although absent, are charged with presumption; some propose to deprive the duke of all dignity and exile him for three years; others judge that the bishop should be relieved of all his pontifical office and live in a monastery of monks until the end of his days; again, others call for both of them to be struck with the sword of anathema. Chapter 7 In the meantime, the envoys of the duke and the bishop of the Czechs both in their own name and of that of all the people came to Rome, bearing a message more coated with the grease of gifts than polished by the eloquence of words. When they were given leave to speak, this is how they explained the cause of their mission before the pope and the holy assembly: “O, most holy regent of the Catholic faith and the Holy See, and you, fathers, inscribed in the book of life,437 upon whom the power of judgment as well as of mercy is bestowed by God, have mercy on those who confess to have sinned and spare those who repent and beg for forgiveness. We confess to have acted wrongly and against the statutes of the canons because we were unable to send an envoy to this so holy council of yours from such distant parts in such a short space of time. Nevertheless, whatever it is that we did, do know, fathers, do know, you inscribed ones,438 that we did so not out of temerity but to the great benefit of the Christian religion and in good faith. But if good faith perchance fell into sin, we are ready, most holy fathers, to repair our wrongdoing according to your judgment.” To this the pope [responded] briefly: “If repented, an error is not harmful439.” Soon the envoys were dismissed from the assembly and took lodgings, in order to present their case in court the next day for judgment.440 During that night, however, the envoys of the duke and the bishop went out and going around they corrupted the judgment of the cardinals with money, subverted justice with gold, purchased mercy for a price, and attenuated the judges’ deliberation with gifts. On the following day when the en-

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aperuit sacrum, ponderosis verbis et auctoritate plenum. „Sicut,“ inquit, „pertinacibus in impietatis culpa est sevior exerenda vindicta, ita reatum suum recognoscentibus et penitentiam desiderantibus facilem prebemus assensum et ab hoste inflictis vulneribus misericordie adhibemus antidotum. Magnum enim peccatum est aliena rapere, sed maius christianos non solum spoliare, verum etiam captivare et captivatos ceu bruta animalia vendere; nimis est abhominabile, quod vos perpetrasse in Polonia nobis relatum est per veridica nuncia. Quod autem nulli liceat sine nostra permissione de loco ad locum sacrum transferre corpus, testantur canones, prohibent patrum decreta,441 et presumptores huiuscemodi rei divina iubent eloquia gladio anathematis ut feriantur. Sed quia vos sive per ignorantiam sive bone intentionis ob gratiam hanc rem fecistis, precipimus, ut pro hac tam temeri presumptione dux vester et episcopus cenobium omnibus ecclesiasticis usibus et honoribus sufficienter amplificatum in competenti loco construant probatasque personas ac officia servientium clericorum ex more constituant, ubi Deo sedulum servicium tam pro vivis fidelibus quam pro defunctis in sempiternum exhibeatur, ut saltem vel sic in conspectu Dei reatus vestri transgressio deleatur.“ Mox legati valde exhylarati proficiscuntur et referunt duci iussa apostolici. Quibus dux, velut divinis iussis obtemperans, sub honore sancti Wencezlai martiris in urbe Bolezlau iuxta flumen Labe, ubi idem sanctus olim feliciter consummavit martirium, venustissimum fabricavit cenobium, in quo, sicut et hodie cernitur, Deo servit caterva fratrum numerosa et habetur prepositura et basilica valde religiosa.442 Capitulum VIII. Anno dominice incarnationis MXXXX. Fama, qua nullum peius malum viget in mundo, et que mendaciis pinguescit et miscens plura paucis, falsa veris volando crescit, perfert ad aures impera Cf. Council of Mainz, 813 (MGH Conc. 2, 1, Hanover: Hahn, 1906), 272.

441

 On the consecration of the chapter and basilica, see below, 188.

442

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voys appeared once more in front of the chapter of the holy council, the lord pope opened his holy mouth, full of deliberate words and authority: “Just as the penalty,” he said, “for those persisting in the sin of impiety should be imposed all the more severely, so we readily give assent to those who admit their guilt and ask for penitence, and to the wounds inflicted by enemy we apply the balm of mercy. For it is a great sin to seize the property of others, but an even greater sin not only to rob Christians but also to take them captive and as captives sell them like brute animals. It is altogether abominable, as was reported to us by reliable accounts, what you have done in Poland. The canons proclaim and the decrees of the fathers forbid anyone from translating a holy body from one place to another without our permission;441 divine pronouncements require that transgressors in this matter be struck with the sword of excommunication. But because you did so either out of ignorance or with good intent, we decree that for such rash presumption your duke and bishop must build a collegial church in a convenient place, sufficiently endowed with all ecclesiastical requirements and privileges. They shall also appoint there trustworthy persons and the usual offices of serving clerics where sedulous service to God for both quick and dead believers shall be performed forever, so that the guilt of your offense may thus be rubbed out, at least in the face of God.” Well pleased the envoys leave right away and announce the orders of the Apostolic Father to the duke. The duke obeyed these as if they were divine orders and built a very beautiful collegial church in honor of Saint Wenceslas the martyr in the town of [Stará] Boleslav next to the River Elbe where this saint had once happily suffered his martyrdom. A large number of brethren serve God there as can still be seen today and it has a provostship and a very venerable basilica as well.442 Chapter 8 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1040. Rumor, than which there is nothing more evil in the world, which thrives by lies, and mixing the more with the little, the false with the true, grows in

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toris secundi Heinrici443 cencies plus, quam verum fuit, pondus auri et argenti Boemos de Polonia asportasse. Tunc imperator cepit querere occasiones444 adversus eos, quoquo modo ab eis, quod sibi dictum fuerat, eriperet aurum. Et mandans per questionarios,445 ut argentum, quod in Polonia rapuerant, nisi infra statutum terminum usque ad unum obulum sibi mittant, minatur bellum. Ad hec Sclavi inquiunt: „Semper salvo tenore nostre legis fuimus et hodie sumus sub imperio Karoli regis et eius successoribus, nostra gens numquam extitit rebellis et tibi in omnibus bellis mansit et semper manebit fidelis, si iustitiam tantum nobis facere velis. Talem enim nobis legem instituit Pippinus, magni Karoli regis filius,446 ut annuatim imperatorum successoribus CXX boves electos et D marcas solvamus—marcam nostre monete CC nummos dicimus—hoc testatur nostratum etas in etatem; hoc omni anno sine refragatione tibi solvimus et tuis successoribus solvere volumus. At si aliquo preter solitum legis iugo nos aggravare volueris, mori potius prompti sumus quam insuetum ferre onus.“ Ad hec imperator respondit: „Regibus hic mos est semper aliquid novi legi addere anteriori, neque enim omnis lex est constituta tempore in uno, sed per successores regum crevit series legum. Nam qui regunt leges, non reguntur legibus,447 quia lex, ut aiunt vulgo, cereum habet na-

 In fact Henry III (1017–1056), king of Germany 1039, and from 1046 emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.

443

444

 Regino Chron. ad a. 864, 80; cf. MacLean, History, 139.

 It is not known what kinds of persons are meant by questionarios. Georg Waitz, Deutsche Verfassungsgeschichte IV, Deutsche Verfassung im Fränkischen Reich 2: Die karolingische Zeit (Kiel: Weidmann, 1885), 6, 10 saw in them judicial officers, but that fits ill to their function here. The Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus II, ed. Jan Frederick Niermeyer, Co Van de Kieft and Johannes Burgers (Leiden: Brill, 2002) [henceforth: Niermeyer], 1145, gives for quaestionarii ‘almoners, torturers (!), vicarii, tax collectors’. Cosmas connnects them to fiscal matters, although their role here is only marginally financial.

445

 Pippin’s name in this context goes back to old tradition: By his 805–806 campaign Charlemagne wished to settle the eastern border of his realm; see Capitulary of Thionville, MGH Cap. 1 (Hanover: Hahn, 1883), 122–6. However Pippin fits ill into the main sources for this campaign; see “Chronicon Moissiacense,” in

446

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flight, reached the ears of Emperor Henry II443 that the gold and silver that the Czechs had carried away from Poland was a  hundred times more than it really was. Then the emperor started to look for pretexts444 against them, how he could snatch the gold that he had been told of. And he sent a message through commissioners445 threatening them with war should they not send him within a given term the silver they had carried away from Poland down to the last penny. To this the Slavs responded: “We have always lived under the rule of King Charles and his successors, keeping our own law. Our people were never rebels and in all wars remained and will always remain faithful to you, on condition that you aim to treat us justly. For such a law was issued to us by Pippin, son of the great King Charles,446 that we are to render a  hundred and twenty selected heads of cattle and five hundred marks (a mark counted as two hundred coins in our money) to the emperors’ successors every year as proven by our countrymen through the ages. This we have paid to you without any opposition every year and wish to pay to your successors. However, if you want to burden us with some yoke besides the customary law, we are ready to die rather than to bear an unaccustomed burden.” To this the emperor answered: “It is the way of kings to always add something new to a  previous law, for not all law was constituted at one time but the passage of the laws grows with the succession of kings. For those who set the laws do not rule by the laws,447 since the law, as is commonly said, has

Walter Kettemann, Subsidia Anianensia, 107; and Einhard’s Vita Caroli Magni, ed. Oswald Holder-Egger, MGH SS rer. Germ. 25 (Hanover: Hahn, 1911), 17–8. However, Třeštík, Počátky, 70–2 pointed to a passage in the Historia Langobardorum Codicis Gothani, MGH SS rer. Lang. 1 (Hanover: Hahn, 1878), 111, where Pippin is credited with a successful campaign in 806 against the Beo­vi­ni­ dis. The Divisio regnorum, ed. Alfred Boretius, MGH Capit. 1 (Hanover: Hahn, 1883), 126–30, and the capitulary of Ingelheim (ibid., 134–5) suggest that the dependence of Bohemia on the Empire originated indeed around 806/7.  The Roman legal maxim of princeps legibus solutus est was not (yet) widely pronounced in Cosmas’s times; it was then spelled out by the Hohenstaufen emperors and found its way into Gratian’s Decretum (D. 1.3.31) as well.

447

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sum448 et rex ferream manum et longam, ut eam flectere queat, quo sibi placeat. Pippinus rex fecit quod voluit; vos autem nisi quod volo faciatis, ostendam vobis, quot pictos habeam clipeos449 aut quid bello valeam.“450 Capitulum IX. Et statim mittens litteras per totum regnum valde fortem colligit exercitum. Altera via, qua itur per Zribiam et est exitus de silva in istam terram per castrum Hlumec,451 iussit Saxones intrare Boemiam, quorum tunc temporis dux erat Occardus,452 cui omnis Saxonia tamquam regi paruit per omnia. Fuit enim vir magni consilii et in ordinandis regni negotiis singulari sollertia preditus et rebus bellicis a puericia deditus, sed numquam belli felices obtinuit successus. Ipse autem cesar castra metatus est ex utraque parte fluminis Rezne.453 Postera autem die pertransiens castrum Kamb454 cum admoveret aquilas silve, que dirimit Bawariam atque Boemiam, ut cognovit, quod obstruerent Boemii vias per silvam, indignatus parum tacuit concuciensque caput ter concipit iras cesare dignas atque in hec verba solvit ora: „Licet extruant muros silvis altiores, licet elevent turres sublimes usque ad nubes, uti frustra iacitur rete  For the law as having a  nose of wax, see Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm, Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols (Leipzig: Hirzel, 1854–1954), 7, 408; 13, 130; Thesaurus Proverbiorum Medii Aevi, ed. Samuel Singer, 13 vols (Berlin: De Gruyter, 1995–2002), 8, 414–5. Cf. Alan of Lille (1128–1202), “Auctoritas cereum habet nasum, id est diversum potest flecti sensum,” De fide catholica contra haereticos (1. 30), MPL 210,333.

448

 Cosmas uses ‘shield’ frequently for detachments of warriors. Note that the feudal hierarchy, implying military obligations in the German Empire was described— e.g. in the Sachsenspiegel—as different levels of ‘Heerschild’.

449

 Cf. Sallust Jug. 102.11.

450 451

 This path, also called the ‘Sorbs’ way’ leads from Dohna in Misnia to Castle Chlumec (cf. Klápště, Transformation, 396–9). Chlumec (Kulm) is supposed to have been an early medieval border castle. While there are no ruins of fortification, the number of early medieval ceramics are evidence of a castle and the battle of 1126 between Soběslav I and Lothar III; see Rostislav Nový, Jiří Sláma, and Jana Zachová, Slavníkovci ve středověkém písemnictví [Slavnikids in medieval literature] (Prague: Vyšehrad, 1987), 409–10. See also Hans Losert, “Archäologische

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a nose of wax448 and the king has a long arm of iron so that he can bend it whichever way he pleases. King Pippin did as he wished; to you, however, if you do not do what I want, I shall show how many painted shields I have449 or what I can do in war.”450 Chapter 9 At once he sent out letters all over the Empire and mustered a very strong army. He ordered the Saxons to invade Bohemia through a road that goes through Sorbia, where there is a way out of the forest into the [Bohemian] land by castle Chlumec.451 At that time, Ekkehard was the duke,452 whom all Saxony obeyed in everything as to a king. He was a man of great counsel, blessed with a singular capacity in managing affairs of state, and devoted since childhood to matters of war; yet had never met with happy successes in war. The emperor himself encamped on both banks of River Regen.453 Next day, he passed the castle of Kamb454 and when he advanced the standards to the forest that divides Bavaria from Bohemia, he found out that the Czechs had blocked the paths through the woods. Indignant, he was silent for a while, then he shook his head three times—his heart seized by an anger worthy of an emperor— and opened his mouth with these words: “Even if they build walls higher than the woods, even if they raise towers as high as the clouds, the minor forts of the Czechs will be worthless against the Germans, just as a net is spread in vain before the eyes of them that Untersuchungen am Rauhen Kulm in der Flednitz,” in Kemnath: 1000 Jahre und mehr, ed. Michael Neubauer, Robert Schön, and Bernd Thieser (Pressath: Eckhard Bodner, 2008), 66.  Margrave Ekkehard II of Meissen, 1032–1046.

452

 One of the few rivers of Bohemia not belonging to the catchment area of the Elbe; it originates in “the forest” and flows into the Danube at Regensburg.

453

 The imperial castle and town Cham was one of the centres of the Bavarian march on the route from Regensburg to southwest Bohemia, first mentioned for the year 976 in Thietmar, Chron., 1104–5; cf. Warner, Ottonian, 132. For archaeology, see Bernhard Ernst, Burgenbau in der südöstlichen Oberpfalz vom Frühmittelalter bis zur frühen Neuzeit, 2 Bde. (Büchenbach: Faustus, 2003), 42–8.

454

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ante oculos pennatorum,455 sic nihil valent contra Teutonicos ob­pug­ na­cu­la Boemorum. Aut si ascendent super nubila aut si includant se inter sydera, Perditam et miseram gentem nihil ista iuvabunt.“ Sic ait et iussit cunctos irrumpere silvam et ipse eos precedens ascendit montem altum in media silva situm sedensque in tripode dixit ad asstantes totius regni principes: „Hac in valle cohors ignava latet Boemorum quasi mus agrestis in suis receptaculis antrorum.“ Sed fefellit cesarem sua opinio, nam ultra alterum montem fuit illorum munitio. Tunc unumquemque cesar appellans nomine, prius marchiones, dehinc quosque nobiliores armatos premittens iubet pedestres ire in pugnam, his verbis pollicitans eis victoriam: „Non est,“ inquit, „vobis opus laborioso certamine, tantum descendite, certe ipsi fugient pre timore, nequeunt enim vestrum impetum ferre. Ite, mei, ite, falcones, pavidas capite palumbes et ut feroces leones, more luporum, qui dum irrumpunt ovilia ovium, non curant de numero et non nisi toto grege mactato potiuntur edulio.“ Capitulum X. Mox secundum iussum regis ruunt loricata agmina; de primo loco pugne certant proceres, conspicue nitent acies ut lucida glacies et, ut sol refulsit eorum in arma, resplendent frondes silvarum ab eis et cacumina montium.456 Descendentes autem in vallem neminem inveniunt, quia hinc et illinc spissa silva et inpenetrabilia sunt loca; et sicut solet in omni certamine fieri, subsequentes etiam invitos inpellunt ad pugnam precedentes, sic iam fatigati proceres iterum coguntur a subsequentibus transcendere alterum montem. Sed iam estu et siti sicco lingua adheret palato; vires deficiunt, dextre lan­g u­ es­cunt, anhelitus egros de pectore trahunt nec tamen sistere gradum [queunt]. Alii super scuta suas loricas deiciunt, alii stant appodiati arboribus frustra inanem auram captantes, alii iacuere ut trunci, ho455

 Prov. 1:17.  Cf. 1 Macc. 6:39.

456

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have wings.455 Let them ascend above the clouds or hide among the stars; none of this will help this cursed and pitiable people.” Thus he spoke and ordered all to plunge into the wood. He himself preceded them and climbed a high hill in the middle of the forest and, sitting on a  tripos, he addressed the attendant princes of the empire: “In this valley the cowardly cohort of the Czechs is hiding like a  field mouse in its hideout of holes.” But the emperor was mistaken in his belief, since their stronghold was behind a second hill. Then the emperor called each by name, first the margraves, then the more noble knights, and he ordered them forth to go to battle on foot, promising them victory with these words: “You won’t need to have a hard fight,” he said, “only descend down the hill and they will surely flee for fear as they will not be able to withstand your attack. Go, my good men, go, falcons, and catch the timid doves, as wild lions who, like wolves when attacking the sheepfold, have no care of numbers and only begin to eat once they have slaughtered the whole flock.” Chapter 10 Soon according to the king’s order the armored troops run forward: the magnates fight in the first lines, the battle-array shines as brightly as gleaming ice and, as the sun shone on their arms, the leaves in the woods and the peaks of the mountains glittered thereof.456 But when they descended into the valley, they found no one, because all around there was dense forest and impenetrable terrain. As happens in every battle, the rear push those in front to fight willy-nilly, thus the magnates, already worn-out are forced by the rear to cross the next mountain as well. But the tongue already cleaves to the palate, parched by heat and thirst, strength ebbs, arms are wearied, breasts heave with heavy panting, yet they are unable to halt. Some of them discard their armor on their shields, some stand leaning against trees in vain trying to catch their breath; others, stout men unaccustomed to walking on foot to battle, are lying down like tree trunks. When the stronghold is finally reached,

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mines crassi et insueti itinere, certamine pedestri, et cum applicuissent munitioni, exoritur undique clamor, ascendit ut nebula super silvam fatigato de corpore vapor. Quod videntes Boemii ad breve tempus hesitaverunt moxque, ut intellexerunt viribus eos defecisse, audacter prosiliunt de munitione. Audatiam dabat eis invicta soror Fortune Bellona. O fors fortuna! numquam es perpetuo bona457 Instabilique rota magnates mergis in ima. Fortunatorum en ora verenda virorum Ungula ferrata saltantium fedat equorum, et ventres in deliciis ac lumbos baltheis bis cocco tinctis precinctos runcinus pede rumpit et distrahit intestina et exta ceu fasciam aut ligamina cruris. Plura referre pudet de tante nobilitatis Morte repentina458 nec scriptis promere digna.459 Tanta enim nobilium ibi facta est strages virorum, quanta nec in campis Emathie nec in tempore Sille460 nec aliqua mortalium peste nec hostili umquam gladio fertur simul Teutonicorum interisse nobilitas. Interea cesar sedens montis in supercilio sue mentis fallitur augurio. Nam dum suos vinci non estimat ab hoste, victores ut vidit adesse cruentos, insiliens tergo sonipedis incumbit iubis et admovet lumbis calcar quadrupedis cesar; quem nisi habuisset promptum, eadem hora descendisset in orcum sine mora Romanus imperator.461 Capitulum XI. Dum hec ibi geruntur, Saxones cum duce Occardo, de quo supra dixi, Boemiam ingrediuntur et unam parvam regionem, que est circa fluvium Belinam, hostiliter demoliuntur. Interea dux eorum famam ut percepit sinistram Sclavos de cesare habuisse victoriam,  Terence Hecyra 406.

457

 Cf. Disticha Catonis 4.46.

458

 Cf. Sedulius Carm. 1, 276.

459

460

 The reference is to the Battle of Pharsalia (Lucan Phars 1.1: Bella per Emathios plus quam civilia campos) and to the bloody civil war under Lucius Cornelius Sulla (138–78 B.C.).

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a cry goes up on all sides and a haze rises like a cloud over the wood from the exhausted bodies. The Czechs saw it and hesitated for a moment but soon, as they realized that [the Germans] were out of strength, boldly leapt out from the stronghold. Bellona, the invincible sister of Fortuna, supplied them with boldness. O Fortune, thou hast never been found constant!457 Your restless wheel turns magnates into the depth. Behold, the iron shod hooves of jumping steeds Disfigure the face of men of high esteem. The hoof of the rouncey bursts bellies full of delicacies and loins girded with double-dyed scarlet baldrics; they rip entrails and intestines like ribbons or garters. Shameful would be to write more of the spill458 Of so much noble blood, nor worthy of recount.459 For such a massacre of noble men was done there and the flower of the Germans perished there at one stroke, more than in the Thessalian plains or at the time of Sulla460 or during any plague or ever of the sword of an enemy. In the meantime, the emperor, sitting at the top of the mountain is betrayed by his mind’s expectations. He did not believe that his people could be defeated by the enemy, but as he saw the blood-stained victors approaching, he mounted his steed, held on to its mane, goaded the horse’s flank with spurs and had the animal not been at hand, the Roman emperor would have descended to the underworld without delay at that very hour.461 Chapter 11 While these things were being done, the Saxons with Duke Ekkehard, whom I have mentioned before, invaded Bohemia and devastated by force one small region around the river Bílina. When in the meantime their duke learnt the grim news of the Slavs’ victory  The circumstances of the Polish and Bohemian strife with the Empire in the years 1039–41 were analysed in detail by Barbara Krzemieńská, Boj knížete Břetislava I. o upevnění českého státu [The struggle of Duke Břetislav I for the consolidation of the Bohemian state], Rozpravy ČSAV, řada společenských věd 89/5 (Prague: ČSAV, 1979).

461

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fixit gradum ad pontem Gnevin462 iuxta fluvium Belinam valde sollicitus, utrum bello fortunam temptaret an cum tanto dedecore repatriaret. Maluit tamen prius experiri animum ducis et per nuncios temptans eum verbis suadet amicis: „Qui te modo pugnando vicisse gaudes, si supplicando vicisses, melior multo victor fuisses; propterea noli temetipsum super te inaniter exaltare, quia durum est tibi contra stimulum calcitrare.463 Nam qui modo quasi parcendo vobis et miserando, vestram terram cum paucis intrabat, eius interim gratiam nisi inveneritis, cito cum tanta multitudine exercituum superveniet, quibus nec fontes vestri sufficient et quos vestra terrula vix capiet; tunc erunt novissima peiora prioribus.464 Unde iterum admoneo te et consilium do, ne totum, quod possidere videris, amittas, reginam pecuniam,465 que omnia superat, iratos placat, inimicos reconciliat, per tibi fideles amicos non modicam cesari mittas, quatenus pro te ipsa intercedat et eius tibi gratiam acquirat.“ Ad hec dux Bracizlaus ira commotus salubres sprevit monitus et innixus manum capulo sic ait: „Dicite vestro Occardo: consilii satis est mihi, neve monendo profecisse putes. Audiant te Saxones saxis rigidiores466 et, si qui sunt inconsulti homines, qui te sapere aliquid putant. Ego autem, nisi his in tribus diebus hac de mea provincia sine omni violentia exeas, hoc ense caput tuum abscidam et tua ora ponam tibi ad posteriora. Cesaris in curte quid agatur, non mihi cure est. Quamdiu in femore Bracizlai pendet ensis, non lac, sed similis fluet sanguis ex latere cesaris.“ Que cum duci relata fuissent, quamvis nimis egre id tulisset, tamen invitus ceu lupus, qui cum amittit predam et investigantibus canibus submittens caudam repetit silvam,467 sic dux Occardus cum magno dedecore repedat in Saxoniam. Item relatum est duci Bracizlao de Prikos comite, qui

462

463

 On the road and bridge, see Jan Klápště, “Raně středověké Mostecko a  síť dálkových cest” [The area of the city of Most/Brüx and the early medieval network of trade routes], Archeologické rozhledy 37 (1985), 502–15, and Klápště, Transformation, 397.

 Act. 9:5.  Luke 11:26.

464

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over the emperor, he halted at the bridge of Gneva,462 over the river Bílina, much concerned whether he should test fortune in battle or turn back home in much disgrace. However, first he wanted to learn the [Bohemian] duke’s mind and therefore, sounding him out through messengers, he proposed in friendly words: “You, who now rejoice at having won in battle, would have been much better a  winner had you won by humble request. Therefore, do not exalt yourself vainly for it is hard for thee to kick against the goad.463 Because he who entered your land with only a  small number, as if sparing and taking pity on you, will soon invade you—unless in the mean time you are granted his mercy—with such a multitude of armies that your wells will not suffice them and your small country barely accommodate them; then the last state will be worse than the first.464 Wherefore I admonish you again and counsel you not to lose everything that you seem to have: send to the emperor through your faithful friend no small sum of Queen Money465 which may conquer all, propitiate the angry and reconcile enemies, so that it may speak for you and win the emperor’s favor for you.” Duke Břetislav, angered by this message, scorned the good warning and, resting his hand on the hilt, said: “Tell this to your Ekkehard: I do not lack counsel nor should you think that you achieved anything by your warning. Let the Saxons, harder than rock,466 listen to you and ill advised men believe that you know something. I, however, will cut off your head with this sword and press your lips to your buttocks if you do not leave this country of mine in three days without any violence. What is going on at the emperor’s court is not my business. As long as a sword hangs by Břetislav’s side, it won’t be milk but more like blood that’ll stream out of the emperor’s body.” When this was announced to the duke, he took it badly but then reluctantly, like a wolf that had lost its prey and is chased by dogs turns tail and slinks back to the woods,467 Duke 465

 Horace Epist. 1.6.37.

466 467

 Saxones saxis rigidiores and similar wordplays on the Saxons were commonplace.

 Cf. Vergil A. 11.810.

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prefuit Belin in urbe,468 quod corruptus Saxonum pecunia non stetisset ex adverso munitionis in custodia, sed ubi sunt nemora hos­ ti­bus pervia, ibi posuisset presidia. Hunc enim dux prefecerat tote cohorti, que fuit de Moravia, et tribus legionibus que fuerant misse in auxilium de Ungaria. Quem statim dux iratus erutis oculis, manibus et pedibus abscisis iussit precipitari in abyssum fluminis anno dominice incarnationis MXXXXI. Capitulum XII. Anno dominice incarnationis MXXXXII.469 Heinricus imperator, semper magnificus triumphator,470 volens ulcisci suorum ruinam inclitorum intrat tribus itineribus terram Boemorum et eam fere totam hostiliter devastat ac multas civitates, quas illi defendere non valentes deseruerant, igne succendit. Et ut pervenit ad urbem Pragam, ante ipsam ex adverso fixit aquilas Sibenica in monticulo.471 Ibi nihil actum dignum relatu comperi, nisi quod presul Severus cesaris ad castra clam noctu fugit ab urbe timens, ut estimo, ne quasi domino suo rebellis privaretur sedis honore pontificalis. Quod videns dux Bracizlaus nescit quid faciat, mentem dolor undique turbat.472 Iam penitet eum olim pugnasse contra cesarem, iam penitet eum sprevisse monita ducis Occardi, iam mavult precibus pugnare et eum precibus superare, quem olim pugnando superarat; atque his verbis temptat diram deflectere cesaris iram: „Bella geris, cesar, nullos habitura triumphos.473 Nostra terra tua est camera, nos­ que tui sumus et esse tui cupimus. Nam qui suos in subiectos sevit,  Bilina, a border-castle of tenth–eleventh century Přemyslid Bohemia, see Klápště, Transformation, 43–7, 362–3. On Prkoš´s betrayal and death see Tomáš Velímský, “Vzestupy a pády bílinských hradských správců” [The rise and fall of the custodians of Bílina land and castle], in Středověká Evropa v pohybu: K poctě Jana Klápště, ed. Ivana Boháčová and Petr Sommer (Prague: Archeologický ústav AV ČR, 2015) [henceforth: “Vzestupy a pády”], 328–30.

468

 In fact 1041.

469 470

 These words, borrowed from imperial acclamations, are surely meant here ironically.

 Probably the present-day Žižka Hill in the east of Prague.

471

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Ekkehard reluctantly returned in great disgrace to Saxony. It was also reported to Břetislav that Prkoš, the comes of castle Bílina,468 was bribed by Saxon money and did not stand in defense of the stronghold but deployed his defenses in the woods, where they might be avoided by the enemy. He had been entrusted by the duke with the command of all the troops from Moravia and of three detachments that were sent to his aid from Hungary. The angry duke immediately ordered his eyes to be gouged out, his arms and legs cut off, and him to be thrown into the abyss of the river in the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1041. Chapter 12 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1042.469 Emperor Henry, eternally splendid victor,470 wanting to revenge the destruction of his best men invaded the land of the Czechs from three directions and ravaged almost all of it. Many towns, abandoned by their inhabitants who could not defend them, he burnt with fire. When he arrived at the city of Prague, he thrust his standards in the ground opposite to it on the hillock Šibenice.471 I  found nothing worth recounting of what happened there, except that Bishop Severus escaped secretly at night from the castle to the emperor’s camp fearing, I presume, that he would be deprived of the honor of the episcopal see as a rebel to his lord. When Duke Břetislav saw it, he was uncertain what to do and his mind was distraught in sudden anguish.472 He regrets now that he had once fought against the emperor; he regrets now having scorned the warnings of Duke Ekkerhard; now he would like to fight by pleading and vanquish him, whom he once defeated in battle, by pleadings. And so he tried to subdue the wild rage of the emperor with these words: “You wage wars, emperor, which shall have no triumphs.473 Our land is your treasure chamber; we are yours and want to be yours. For he who  Vergil A. 12.599.

472

 Lucan Phars. 1.12.

473

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hoste crudeli crudelior noscitur esse; si spectas ad robur tui exercitus, nos tibi nec momenta rerum sumus. Cur ostendis potentiam tuam quasi contra folium, quod a vento rapitur?474 Nam ventus deficit, ubi nihil sibi officit. Quod vis ut sis, iam victor es, iam tua, iam cinge victricia tympora lauro.“475 Insuper ei promittit mille et quingentas marcas denariorum, quod erat tributum trium annorum iam preteritorum. Mox velut insignis cum flammis estuat ignis, si quis nimiam desuper fundit aquam, paulatim impetum eius confundit et prevalentibus undis deficit ignis; haud secus extinxit regina pecunia cesaris iram. Nam qui olim hanc terram intraverat inmitis, accepta pecunia revertitur mitis pace interposita. Capitulum XIII. Anno dominice incarnationis MXXXXIII. Tanta fames fuit in Boemia, ut tercia pars populi interiret fame.476 Anno dominice incarnationis MXXXXIIII. Anno dominice incarnationis MXXXXV. Obiit Gunter monachus VII. id. Octobris.477 Anno dominice incarnationis MXXXXVI. Dedicatum est monasterium in urbe Bolezlau XIIII. kal. Iunii a Severo Pragensis ecclesie sexto episcopo. Anno dominice incarnationis ML. Anno dominice incarnationis MLI. Anno dominice incarnationis MLII. Obiit Bozena, coniunx Odalrici ducis, mater Bracizlai. Anno dominice incarnationis MLIII.478  Job 13:25.

474

 Vergil A. 5.538.

475

 See Curschmann, Hungersnöte, 40, 83, 116.

476

 Ms A3 adds: “and was buried in the monastery of SS. Adalbert and Benedict in front of the altar of St. Stephen the protomartyr.” Cosmas does not mention any close connections of Gunther to the Prague ducal court; see Petr Kubín, Svatý Vintíř: poustevník, kolonizátor a diplomat [Saint Gunther: Hermit, Colonizer and Diplomat] (Prague: NLN, 2016).

477

478

 Ms A2b adds: “In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1053, on March 25, that is on the Day of the Annunciation of the Holy Virgin Mary, St. Procopius, the ab-

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rages against his subjects is known to be crueler than any cruel enemy. If you consider the strength of your army, we have no significance for you. Why do you show your power as if against a leaf carried away with the wind?474 For the wind calms when nothing stands in its way. You are already the winner that you want to be. Wreath your temples with triumphant laurel475 right now.” Moreover, he promised him a thousand and five hundred marks of pennies that was the tribute for the preceding three years. Soon, like when someone pours a  large amount of water on a  burning fire that blazes with great flames, the fire slowly loses its force and goes out, the waters prevailing, so Queen Money extinguished the rage of the emperor. For he who had mercilessly invaded this land before, having accepted money and made peace, left mercifully. Chapter 13 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1043. There was such a famine in Bohemia that one third of the people died of hunger.476 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1044. In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1045. Gunter the monk died on October 9.477 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1046. The collegiate church in the city of [Stará] Boleslav was consecrated by Bishop Severus, the sixth bishop of the Prague’s church, on May 19. In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1050. In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1051. In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1052. Božena, the wife of Duke Ulrich and mother of Břetislav, died. In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1053.478 bot, died. He was full of glowing affection, morally pure, famous for humility, whose obsequies and burial were attended by Severus, sixth bishop of the Prague’s church, who buried his body with honor in the church of the Holy Mother of God that he himself had built. How this saint excelled in grace of manners and miracles while he lived this life or when he was already wreathed in the heavenly kingdom, the book about his life’s deeds better shows to the reader. Thus what was said already will not be repeated here.” See above, Lib. I, and also Appendix, below, 428–54.

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Anno dominice incarnationis MLIIII. Urbs Wratizlau et alie civitates479 a duce Bracizlao reddite sunt Poloniis ea conditione, ut quam sibi tam suis successoribus quingentas marcas480 argenti et XXX auri annuatim solverent. Anno dominice incarnationis MLV. Dux Bracizlaus virtutum culmine clarus, Gemma Boemorum, patrum lux clara suorum, cum adiuvante Deo totam sibi subiugasset Poloniam, nec non bis victor iam tercia vice proposuerat invadere Pannoniam,481 dumque precedens suum expectat exercitum, Hrudim482 in urbe acri pulsatur egritudine; quam ut sensit magis magisque ingravescere et sui corporis vires evanescere, convocat eos qui forte aderant terre primates, quibus astantibus verbis fatur talibus: „Quia me mea fata vocant et atra mors iam pre oculis volat,483 volo vobis assignare et vestre fidei commendare, qui post me debeat rem publicam484 gubernare. Vos scitis, quia nostra principalis genealogia partim sterilitate partim pereuntibus in inmatura etate me usque ad unum fuit redacta. Nunc autem, ut ipsi cernitis, sunt mihi a Deo dati quinque nati, inter quos dividere regnum Boemie non videtur mihi esse utile, quia omne regnum in se ipsum divisum desolabitur.485 Quia vero ab origine mundi et ab initio Romani imperii et usque ad hec tempora fuerit [ fratrum] gratia rara,486 testantur nobis exempla rata. Nam Cain et Abel, Romulus et Remus et mei attavi Bolezlaus et sanctus Wencezlaus si spectes quid fecerint fratres bini, quid facturi sunt quini?

 These may have been earlier conquests of Břetislav, which he was allowed to keep according to the 1041 peace treaty of Regensburg.

479

 A mark was a unit of weight of ca. 210 g.

480 481

 Pannonia was a Roman province in the territory of the western part of Hungary. Cosmas uses sometimes the Classical name to mean Hungary, see also below, 302 and 342.  Chrudim was an early medieval settlement with a castle as administrative centre; see Klápště, Transformation, 362–3.

482

 Cf. Vergil A. 6.147 and 866.

483

 Cosmas uses here (and several other places) the Classical expression res publica. This is not the place to enter the extended discussion about the medieval state, see

484

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In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1054. Duke Břetislav returned the city of Wrocław and other cities479 to the Poles on the condition that every year they pay both him and his successors 500 marks480 of silver and thirty of gold. In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1055. Duke Břetislav, famous for perfect virtues, The jewel of the Czechs, bright light of his fathers, with God’s help had subdued the whole of Poland, and twice victorious, for the third time proposed to invade Hungary.481 While he was preceding and waiting for his army in the castle of Chrudim,482 he was struck down by a  severe illness. As he felt that it is was getting ever more serious and that the powers of his body were fading, he called the great men of the land that happened to be present and, with them in attendance, he spoke these words: “Because the fates are calling me and dismal death is already floating before my eyes,483 I want to designate to you and commend to your faithfulness him, who shall rule the state484 after me. As you know, our princely family partly due to infertility and partly due to premature deaths was reduced to me alone. Now, however, as you yourself see, God gave me five sons, but I deem it inadvisable to divide the kingdom of Bohemia among them, because every kingdom divided against itself shall be brought to desolation.485 For truly since the creation of the world and since the beginning of the Roman Empire and until this time brotherly love was rare,486 as is proved by clear examples: Cain and Abel, Romulus and Remus, and my e.g., Susan Reynolds, “The Historiography of the Medieval State,” in Companion to Historiography. ed. Michael Bentley (London/New York: Routledge, 1997), 117–38. Cf. Stuart Airlie, Walter Pohl, and Helmut Reimitz ed., Staat im frühen Mittelalter, Forschungen zur Geschichte des Mittelalters 11 (Vienna: Verlag der ÖAW, 2006); Walter Pohl and Veronika Wieser ed., Der frühmittelalterliche Staat – euro­päi­sche Perspektiven, Forschungen zur Geschichte des Mittelalters 17 (Vienna: Verlag der ÖAW, 2009). We will simply translate res publica as ‘state.’ At other places (e.g. below, 218 and 316), we translate the notion of inimicus rei publice as ‘public enemy.’  Luke 11:17.

485

 Ovid Met. 1.145.

486

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Hos ergo quanto potiores ac potentiores intueor, tanto mente presaga peiora augurior. Heu mens semper pavida genitorum de incertis fatis natorum. Unde previdendum est, ne post mea fata aliqua inter eos oriatur discordia propter obtinenda regni gubernacula. Qua de re rogo vos per Dominum et obtestor fidei vestre per sacramentum, quatinus inter meos natos sive nepotes semper maior natu summum ius et solium obtineat in principatu omnesque fratres sui sive, qui sunt orti herili de tribu, sint sub eius dominatu. Credite mihi, nisi monarchus hunc regat ducatum, vobis principibus ad iugulum, populo ad magnum deveniet damnum.“ Dixerat et inter astancium manus corporeos artus linquens petit ethera flatus eius IIII. id. Ianuarii ac magnus planctus est desuper ilico factus. Quante autem dux iste Bracizlaus frugalitatis vel quante discretionis in divinis legibus et humanis iudiciis aut quam largus dator elemosinarum et quam pius fautor ecclesiarum sive viduarum fuerit, facundia Tullii prius defecisset,487 quam singula eius queque merita explicuisset. Capitulum XIV. Post cuius obitum filium eius primogenitum nomine Zpitignev omnes Boemice gentis, magni et parvi, communi consilio et voluntate pari eligunt sibi in ducem cantantes Kyrieleyson, cantilenam dulcem. Erat enim vir valde speciosus, cesarie pice nigrior atra, barba prolixa, facie leta, gene eius candidiores nive et parum rubentes per medium. Quid plura? Vir bonus et talos a vertice pulcher ad imos erat.488 Prima die qua intronizatus est, hic magnum et mirabile ac omnibus seclis memorabile fecit hoc sibi memoriale; nam quotquot inventi sunt de gente Teutonica, sive dives sive pauper sive peregrinus, omnes simul in tribus diebus iussit eliminari de terra Boemia,489 quin etiam et genitricem non tulit remanere suam, de 487 488

 An elegant use of the Roman author’s own words from Cicero Nat. deor. 3.81.

 Horace Ep. 2.2.4.

 This expulsion of all Germans does not seem to be supported by any surviving evidence. Cosmas’s anti-German sentiment is apparent when he refers back to this event below as an example of wise policy.

489

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forefathers Boleslav and Saint Wenceslas. If you consider what two brothers have done to each other, what might five of them do? And the more prominent and more powerful I consider them, the worse things do I foresee and have presentiment of. Alas, the mind of parents is always anxious about the uncertain fates of the children. Thus it should be seen to in advance that after my death no discord should arise among them over the establishment of the realm’s government. Therefore, I beg you in God’s name and implore your fidelity by oath that the eldest of my sons or grandsons should always have the supreme right and the princely throne and all his brothers or those who are born of the princely family be subject to him. Believe me, unless one monarch rules this duchy, you as the magnates will risk your necks and the populace suffer great harm.” He spoke and from among the crowd of onlookers his spirit left the body and sought heaven on January 10. Great wailing arose at once at this. Cicero’s eloquence would sooner have failed487 before he described every single merit of his: how frugal this Duke Břetislav was, what discernment he had in divine laws and human judgments, or how generous he was in almsgiving or how pious a protector of churches or widows. Chapter 14 After his death, all of the Czech people, the greater and the lesser, elected his first-born son by the name of Spytihněv as their duke by common decision and one will, singing the sweet song Kyrie eleyson. For he was indeed a very handsome man, with pitch-black hair, a long beard, and cheerful face, his cheeks were whiter than snow and slightly red in the middle. What more? A  good man he was and handsome from head to heel.488 On the very first day he was enthroned, he did such a  great and wonderful thing that was to be his memorial to be remembered for all centuries: he ordered all those that were to be found of German stock, either rich or poor or a  traveler, at once to be turned out altogether of the land of Bohemia within three days.489 He did not even suffer his mother to stay, whom we mentioned earlier—Judith, the daugh-

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qua supra meminimus, Ottonis natam, nomine Iuditham.490 Similiter et abbatissam sancti Georgii, Brunonis filiam,491 eliminat, quia hec olim antea eum verbis offenderat acerbis. Nam dum pater eius Bracizlaus reedificaret menia tocius urbis Prage per girum et hic supradictus heros a patre sibi concessam Satc haberet provinciam, forte exiit, ut cum suis circa sancti Georgii claustrum componeret murum. Et cum nullo modo recte poni posset murus, nisi destrueretur fornax abbatisse, qui ibi forte stabat, iactata fune in media, tunc aliis hoc facere cunctantibus accessit natus herilis et quasi risum sibi faciens cum magno cachinno iussit eum deicere subito in torrentem Bruznicam dicens: „Hodie domna abbatissa calidas non gustabit placentas.“ Quod agnoscens abbatissa exiit irata de claus­ tro et valde moleste eius dicta ferens sic eum yronicis aggreditur et confundit dictis: „Nobilis, insignis, vir fortis et inclitus armis, Quam magnas turres nunc expugnavit et urbes Et sibi famosum fert de fornace triumphum, Timpora iam lauro victricia cingat et auro. Clerus multimodas campanis personet odas, Dux quia deiecit fornacem miraque fecit. Ah! pudet effari, que non pudet hunc operari.“ Corpore diriguit vir, vox et faucibus haesit, Indignansque suam gemitu compescuit iram.492 Hec quoniam abbatisse dicta dux alta in mente reposita493 reservarat, postquam est intronizatus, priusquam sancti Georgii ecclesiam intrarat, ad abbatissam . . . mandans sibi talia: „Nunc potius convenit clerum resonare odas et pulsare campanas, cum abbatissa foras et de terra hac eicitur, quam cum fornax eius deicitur. Ecce vir fortis et inclitus armis non turres, non urbes expugnando, sed te  See above, 134.

490

 None of the hypotheses about the identity of this abbess seem to hold water and it is unclear, how, if at all, she might have been related to Bruno (of Querfurt?). See Bretholz, Die Chronik, 104, n. 2.

491

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ter of Otto.490 Similarly, he expelled the abbess of Saint George’s, the daughter of Bruno,491 because she had once offended him with sharp words. For while his father Břetislav was rebuilding the walls around the entire castle of Prague, the above-mentioned hero, who was then given the region of Žatec by his father, happened to come out with his people to complete the wall around the convent of Saint George. But the wall could not have been built right unless the oven of the abbess that happened to stand there was destroyed. When the rope was stretched around the middle and all the others hesitated to do it, the princely son approached and as if by jest and with loud laughter he ordered it to be immediately thrown down to the river Brusnice, saying: “Today the lady abbess shall not enjoy her warm cakes.” When the abbess learnt this, she was very vexed by it, came out of the convent enraged and attacked him and confounded him with these wry words: “Noble, distinguished and brave warrior, who towns has razed and many a great tower, an oven overcomes in triumph now! Let laurel and gold adorn his famous brow. Let clergy sound with their melodious bells the glory of this leader’s miracles. What he has dared we dare not speak about.” His frame grew stiff, his voice stuck in his throat; he curbed his wrath; naught but a groan came out.492 And since the duke kept these words of the abbess deep in his mind,493 after he had been enthroned and before he entered the church of Saint George, he […]to the abbess with this charge: “Now it would be more appropriate for the clergy to sing odes and ring the bells, when the abbess is being thrown out of this country, than when her oven was thrown down. See, the mighty man and  Translated by the late Barbara Reynolds.

492

 Vergil A. 1.26.

493

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abbatissam, illius fornacis domnam, hodie eiciendo fert famosum triumphum et cingit tympora lauro.“494 Et ut iussum fuerat, super bigam imposita fertur velociter abbatissa et citius dicto eicitur huius terre de confinio. Capitulum XV. His ita peractis vadit novus dux novum disponere Moravie reg­ num, quod olim pater eius inter filios suos dividens partem dimidiam Wratizlao, partem alteram Conrado et Ottoni dederat; ­Iaromir autem adhuc deditus studiis inter scolares versabatur alas. Premisit autem dux Zpitigneu illius terre ad primates litteras, in quibus nominatim vocat trecentos viros, quos ipse novit meliores et nobiliores, ex omnibus civitatibus et, ut sibi ad urbem Hrudim occurrant, per salutem capitis sui mandat. Iussa viri faciunt et iam ultra portam custodie in agris Grutou495 duci obviam veniunt, quos statim dux, iratus, quia non ad condictum locum occurrerant, iussit comprehendere et catenatos misit ad custodiendum, dividens eos per singulas civitates Boemie, equos autem et arma eorum inter suos distribuit et tenuit viam in Moraviam. Quod audiens frater eius Wratizlaus valde eum timuit et secessit in partes Pannonie, relicta coniuge496 Olomuc in urbe. Quem rex Andreas gratanter suscepit497 et, quamdiu secum fuit, honorifice eum habuit. Ergo dux Zpitigneu postquam ad suum placitum omnia ordinavit in Moravia, fratres suos accepit, ut essent secum in curia, Conradum preficiens venatoribus, Ottonem vero posuit super pistores atque cocos magistrum. Nurum autem suam comprehensam misit in  Cf. ibid. 246.

494

 The location is unclear. So far, research has concentrated on the BohemianMoravian border region (see Bretholz, Die Chronik, 105, n. 4; Hrdina and Wihoda, Kosmas, 104). The events are also open to interpretation. It is unlikely that Spytihněv II invited 300 Moravian leaders in writing. While this is rather a literary construct of Cosmas, the question remains, who was invited. Viri meliores et nobiliores could have been old local aristocracy, the retainers of the duke’s younger brothers or some other social group (see Wihoda, Morava, 116–27).

495

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glorious in battles wins a glorious triumph today and wreaths his cheeks with laurel not over conquering towers or castles, but over you, abbess, the mistress of that oven, being thrown out.”494 And as was ordered, the abbess, loaded on a two-horse carriage was quickly carried and, faster than said, she was driven beyond the borders of this land. Chapter 15 After these things had taken place, the new duke set out newly to arrange the realm of Moravia, which his father had once divided among his sons, in a way that half of it was given to Vratislav, another part to Conrad and Otto; Jaromír however, given over to study, still stretched his wings among the throng of scholars. Duke Spytihněv sent beforehand a letter to the great men of that land, in which he called three hundred men by name from all the castles, whom he knew to be the better and nobler ones, and ordered them to meet him at the castle of Chrudim under threat of their head. The men obey the orders and come to meet the duke already outside the gate of the guard post in the fields near Hrutov.495 But the duke, angered that they did not come to the designated place, immediately ordered them to be taken and put them in chains and sent them to be detained in different castles of Bohemia. Their horses and arms, however, he distributed among his men and he made his way to Moravia. When his brother Vratislav heard of this, he took fright and escaped to the Hungarian lands, leaving his wife496 in the city of Olomouc. King Andrew graciously received him497 and as long as he stayed with him, he was honorably treated. Once Duke Spytihněv had ordered everything in Moravia to his satisfaction, he invited his brothers to stay at his court. He appointed Conrad to be in charge of the hunters and Otto as the head of the bakers and the cooks. He sent his captured sister-in Name and origin of the first wife of Vratislav are not known.

496

 Andrew I, king of Hungary (1046–1061).

497

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quoddam castrum munitissimum nomine Lescen498 committens eam ad custodiendum comiti nomine Mztis,499 quam ille non, ut decuit talem domnam, custodivit, nam omni nocte eius pedem suo cum pede munivit compede. Quod vir eius audiens egre tulit, et quid mercedis comiti pro tam temeri facto postea reddiderit, in sequentibus patebit.500 Capitulum XVI. Post unum vero mensem evolutum interventu Severi episcopi et comitum nurum suam dans ei conductum fecit eam redire ad suum maritum. Que quoniam vicina partui erat, dum ire properat, matricem viciat et infra spacium trium dierum spiritum exalat pulcherrima mulierum, quia non potuit uteri exponere pondus inmaturum. Cuius de morte rex Andreas cum videret suum hospitem usque adeo merentem, his iuvenem dictis mestum solatur amicis: „O mi care hospes, Deus faciat, ut sis sospes. De cetero iacta super Dominum curam tuam501 et spera in eum, et ipse faciet, ut hic meror cicius vertatur in gaudium.502 Sepe enim fit, ut, unde homo minus proficui sperat, inde plus commodi ferat. De obitu autem tue consortis esto vir fortis nec dolendo excedas modum, quasi tibi soli aliquid contigerit novum, cum omnibus hominibus constet notum omne redire suum humanum corpus ad ortum.“ Dixerat et tristem secum ducit ad mensam hospitem, ubi opimis ferculis reficiuntur atque mero leni efficiuntur leti. Forte fuit huic regi unica gnata, nomine Adleyta, iam thoro maritali tempestiva, valde formosa et multis procis nimium spes invidiosa.503 Hanc hospes ut vidit misere adamavit, quod rex bonus non recusavit, atque post dies matrimonio sibi eam copulavit. Quod cum audisset dux Zpitigneu sagaci ingenio precavens, ne forte invaderet frater suus totam cum Ungaris  Lštění was a fortification southwest of Prague. Its mention here is the only reliable evidence about its age.

498

 See Velímský, “Vzestupy a pády”, 337–47.

499

 See below, 206–8.

500 501

 Ps. 54:23.

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law to a very firm castle by the name of Lštění498 to be guarded by a comes called Mstiš.499 He, however, did not guard her as befitted a lady like her, because every night he fettered her leg to his. When her husband learnt this, he took it hard, and it shall be seen in what follows how he later repaid the comes for such a rash deed.500 Chapter 16 After one month had passed, at the intercession of Bishop Severus and the comites, the duke made his sister-in-law return to her husband, providing her with an escort. She was close to giving birth and as she hurried to go, she damaged her womb and within three days the most beautiful of all women breathed her last, because she could not deliver the premature burden. When King Andrew saw how much his guest grieved over her death, he comforted the mourning young man with these friendly words: “Oh, my dear guest, may God grant that you be healthy. As to the rest leave your concern to God 501and trust in Him, and He will grant that this sorrow is soon turned to joy.502 For it often happens that when a man hopes for less, he obtains more. Be a strong man over the death of your wife and do not exceed the limits of mourning as if something unusual had happened only to you—when everyone knows that every human body returns to where it came from.” Having said this, he took his sad guest to the table with him where they refreshed themselves with rich dishes and cheered themselves up with delightful wine. Perchance, this king had only one daughter by the name of Adelaide, already old enough for the marriage bed and very pretty who aroused jealous hope in many a suitor.503 On seeing her, the guest fell desperately in love and since the good king did not object, he soon conjoined her in marriage. When Duke Spytihněv heard of this, anticipating with his sharp mind that his brother might invade the whole of Moravia with the Hungarians,  Cf. James 4:9.

502

 Adelaide of Hungary (ca. 1040–1062) was the daughter of King Andrew and Anastasia, daughter of Yaroslav the Wise of Kiev.

503

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Moraviam, mittens nuncios revocat eum de Ungaria et reddidit sibi civitates, quas ei ante pater suus dederat in Moravia. Erat enim dux Zpitigneu vir prudens rerum in discrimine, sciens arcum suum tendere et laxare in oportuno tempore.504 Cuius inter ceteras virtutes hoc precipuum studium memoria dignum, posteris vero imitabile exemplum proferimus in medium. Talis enim mos suus erat: semper quadragesimali tempore aut monachorum aut canonicorum degens in claustro elemosinis vacabat, divinis officiis instabat, vigiliis et orationibus inherebat, sic tamen, ut ante matutinalem melodiam aut cum extensione manuum aut cum genuflexionibus totam ruminaret psalmodiam. Post completorium vero ad instar monachorum servat silentium usque ad prime stacium. Et quamdiu ieiunus fuit, ecclesiastica disponit negotia, post prandium autem secularia tractat iudicia. Pelliciam autem episcopalem et tunicam clericalem, quam desuper induens in capite ieiunii per totam quadragesimam gestabat, in cena Domini suo capellano cubiculario eam dabat bene et religiose reputans, ut, qui tempore penitencie particeps laboris fieret, in die magne festivitatis non inmunis abiret. Capitulum XVII. Anno dominice incarnationis MLVI. Anno dominice incarnationis MLVII. Anno dominice incarnationis MLVIII. IV. non. Augusti Iuditha coniunx Bracizlai, ductrix Boemorum, obiit, quam quia filius suus Zpitigneu eiecerat de regno suo, cum non posset aliter ulcisci iniuriam suam in filio, ad contumeliam eius et omnium Boemorum nupserat Petro regi Ungarorum.505 Hec postea a filio suo Wratizlao duce inde translata et sepulta est Prage iuxta virum suum Bracizlaum sanctorum martirum Viti, Wencezlai, Adalberti in ecclesia. Anno dominice incarnationis MLVIIII.  Cf. Horace Carm. 2.10.19.

504 505

  Peter Orseolo, king of Hungary (1038–1041 and 1044–1046). However, Queen Judith, who left Prague in 1055, could have hardly married him, as in 1046 he fell into the hands of his adversaries (Duke Andrew and his brothers), was blinded, and is sup-

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he sent envoys to call him back from Hungary and returned him the castles in Moravia that his father had given him. For Duke Spytihněv was a  prudent man in discerning matters, knowing when to bend and when to loosen his bow.504 Among his other virtues I will mention one in particular that is worth remembering and that should be an example imitated by future generations. For it was his habit always to spend Lent in a cloister of monks or canons, giving alms, attending divine service, and observing vigils and prayers in such a way that before Matins he went through the entire Psalter with outstretched hands or with genuflections. After Compline, however, he kept silence until the time of Prime in the manner of monks. While he fasted, he treated matters ecclesiastical; after the meal, he dealt with secular judgments. He put on the bishop’s surplice and the clerical tunic at the beginning of the fast and wore them during the whole Lent; on Maundy Thursday he gave them to the chaplain of his chamber for he justly and piously considered that he who took part in labors during the time of penance should not go unrewarded on the day of the great feast. Chapter 17 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1056. In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1057. In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1058. On August 2, Judith, the wife of Břetislav and duchess of the Czechs died. Because her own son Spytihněv threw her out of his kingdom and she could not revenge her injury on him in any other way, she married Peter, the king of the Hungarians,505 as an insult to him and to all the people of Bohemia. Later she was brought from there by her son Duke Vratislav and buried next to her husband in Prague in the church of Saints Vitus, Wenceslas and Adalbert, the martyrs. In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1059. posed to have died soon thereafter. True, his date of death is not recorded. However, Cosmas may have misunderstood some information about another Judith, daughter of King Henry III of Germany, who married King Solomon of Hungary in 1058.

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Anno dominice incarnationis MLX. Cum ad festum sanc­ ti Wencezlai dux Zpitigneu venisset Pragam, videns ecclesiam sancti Viti non adeo magnam nec capessentem populum concurrentem ad festivitatem sanctam, quam videlicet ipse sanctus Wencezlaus construxerat ad similitudinem Romane ecclesie rotundam, in qua etiam eiusdem corpus sancti Wencezlai quiescebat, similiter et aliam ecclesiolam, que fuit contigua et quasi in porticu sita eiusdem ecclesie, cuius in medio nimis in arto loco erat mausoleum sancti Adalberti, optimum ratus fore, ut ambas destrueret et unam utrisque patronis magnam construeret ecclesiam, continuo per longum gyrum designat ecclesie locum, iacit fundamenta, fervet opus,506 surgit murus; sed eius felicia cepta in subsequenti mox anno intercipit mors inepta. Eiusdem anni tempore, quo legiones procedunt ad bella,507 cum iam levatis signis milicie dux quasi unius diei iter ageret, obviam habuit viduam, que flens et eiulans ac pedes eius deosculans, currens post eum clamabat dicens: „Domine, vindica me de adversario meo.“508 Et ille, „Faciam,“ inquit, „cum de expeditione redeam.“ Et illa, „Quid si,“ ait, „non redibis, cui me vindicandam dimittis? Aut cur tuam mercedem a Deo accepturus omittis?“ Qui statim unius vidue ad peticionem intermittit expeditionem eamque iusto iudicio vindicavit de adversario.509 Quid ad hec vos, o moderni principes, dicitis, qui tot viduarum, tot pupillorum ad clamores non respicitis, sed eos tumido fastu superbiendo despicitis? Talibus, ut supra diximus, misericordie visceribus510 dux Zpitigneu hoc agnomen sibi ascivit, ut ab omnibus diceretur pater  Vergil A. 1.436.

506

 The Hungarian chronicle (cap. 93) records that King Andrew enlisted the Czech duke, his relative, to support him against his brother Béla; see “Chronici Hungarici compositio saeculi XIV,” ed. Alexander Domanovszky, in Scriptores Rerum Hungaricarum tempore ducum regumque stirpis Arpadianae gestarum, ed. Emericus Szentpéery, I, 356 (Budapest: Universitas Litterarum, 1937–1938); now also with English trans. Chronica de Gestis Hungarorum e Codice Picto Saec. xiv. – The Illuminated Chronicle. Chronicle of the Deeds of the Hungarians from the Fourteenth-Century Illuminated Codex, ed. and trans. János M. Bak, László Veszprémy, CEMT 9 (Budapest: CEU Press, 2018]). Lampert of Hersfeld reports an imperial campaign to the aid of King Andrew, see Lampert of Hersfeld, Annales, ed. Oswald HolderEgger, trans. Wolfgang Fritz (Darmstadt: Wiss. Buchgem. 1957), 70–1. He dated it

507

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In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1060. When Duke Spytihněv came to Prague on the feast of Saint Wenceslas, he saw that the church of Saint Vitus was not large enough for all the people zealously gathering for the holy feast. Saint Wenceslas had built it as a  rotunda similar to the church of Rome and his own body was laid to rest there. Spytihněv visited another little church which was situated next to it as if in the portico of the same church. In its middle in a very narrow space was the tomb of Saint Adalbert. The duke thought it best to pull down both churches and construct a  single big church for both patrons. At once, he designates the place for the church with a wide circle and lays the foundations; the work bustles away,506 the wall grows but in the very next year senseless death cuts off what had been felicitously begun. It was the same year, at the time of year when the armies set out to war507 and the duke has already traveled one day’s journey with raised battle standards, when he met a widow on the way. Crying, lamenting, and kissing his feet she ran after him and cried out: “Sire! Avenge me of mine adversary!508” To this he said: “I will, when I come back from the campaign.” And she said: “What if you don’t come back—to whom do you leave my revenge? Or why do you overlook the reward to be received from God?” At once, he interrupted the campaign at the request of one widow and gave her a  just judgment against her adversary.509 What do you say to this, O you princes of our times, who do not regard the laments of so many widows and so many orphans but rather disregard them disdainfully and with scornful contempt? Due to such bowels of mercy,510 as we said above, Duke Spytihněv earned that nickname by which he was called by everybody: the father of clerics and the protector of widows. But as wrongly to 1061, for Andrew lost the battle and died in the autumn of 1060 whereupon Béla was crowned king on December 6 (as Béla I, 1060–1063).  Luke 18:3.

508

 This episode, first told about the Roman Emperor Trajan, was a favorite topic of medieval chroniclers. Cosmas may have known it from the Vita Gregorii Magni of John the Deacon (MPL 75, 105).

509

510

 Luke 1:78.

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clericorum, defensor viduarum. Sed quia sepius videmus occulto Dei iudicio malos relinqui, bonos subtrahi de medio, hic vir tante probitatis est ab hac luce subtractus V. kal. Februarii, anno sui ducatus VI, anno vero dominice incarnationis MLXI. Capitulum XVIII. Post cuius obitum frater eius Wratizlaus omnibus Boemiis faventibus sublimatur in solium, qui confestim Moravie regnum inter fratres suos dividit per medium, dans Ottoni orientalem plagam,511 quam ipse prius obtinuerat, que fuit aptior venatibus et abundantior piscibus, occidentalem vero,512 que est versus Teutonicos, dat Conrado, qui et ipse sciebat Teutonicam linguam.513 Regio autem illa est planior et campestris atque fertilior frugibus. Interea sole morante in prima parte piscium514 bone indolis Iaromir iuvenis audita nece fratris sui Zpitigneu, quem non minus quam ut pat­ rem timore et amore coluit, iam deposito puerili metu rediit de studio sperans aliquam portionem se habiturum hereditatis in patrio regno. Quem dux Wratizlaus frater suus ut sensit magis affectarier laicalem quam sacre doctrine militiam, his verbis castigat eius pertinaciam: „Noli,“ inquit, „frater, noli a capite, cuius effectus es membrum, per apostasiam abscidi et proici in infernum. Olim divina gratia per sui providentiam elegit te in sacerdotii gradum, propterea et genitor noster tradidit te ad literarum exercicium, ut successor idoneus Severi episcopi habearis, tantummodo Deo favente si superstes fueris.“ Moxque intrante Martio mense prima sabbati die quando celebrantur sacri ordines,515 quamvis invitum et coactum atque nimis renitentem totondit eum, et in presentia 511

 That is the sub-principality of Olomouc.

512 513

514

 That is the sub-principalities of Brno and Znojmo.

 On Přemyslid rule in Moravia see Wihoda, Morava. The new arrangement led to the division of the Přemyslid family into competing branches. This division of power determined the socio-political development of the Bohemian duchy till the end of the twelfth century.

 February 20–28.

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we more often see that by the unfathomable justice of God the evil remain and the good ones are taken, so this man of such probity was taken away from this world on January 28 in the sixth year of his ducal reign and in the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1061. Chapter 18 After his death, his brother Vratislav was elevated to the throne with the assent of all Czechs. At once he divided the realm of Moravia in half between his brothers. To Otto he gave the eastern region511 that he himself had previously held and that was more suitable for hunting and richer in fish. The western part,512 however, that borders the Germans he gave to Conrad who spoke the German language, just as he did.513 This region is flatter, like a plain, and is very fertile for crops. In the meantime when the sun was standing in the first part of Pisces,514 the good young man Jaromír, having heard of the death of his brother Spytihněv whom he worshipped with fear and love no less than a father, laid aside boyish fear and returned from study in the hope of obtaining some part of the inheritance in the realm of his father. His brother, Duke Vratislav, realizing that he desired more to serve with a lay army than to fight with that of sacred doctrine, reproved his obstinacy with these words: “Do not want, brother, that you be cut off through apostasy from the head whose limb you have become and be thrown to hell. Once God’s grace by its providence chose you to the priestly rank, our father sent you to study in order that you might be a suitable successor to Bishop Severus, should you by God’s grace outlive him.” And forthwith at the beginning of March, on the first Saturday when priestly ordinations are celebrated,515 he tonsured him, even though he was unwilling and forced and very resisting, and he was ordained to the office of deacon in the presence of the duke himself, and he read publicly the Gospel and assisted the bishop in celebrating mass, as was usual.

515

 The date is controversial, but it was most likely 3 March 1061. For alternative dates, see Bretholz, Die Chronik, 110, n. 1.

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ipsius ducis ordinatus est usque ad diaconatus officium legitque publice evangelium et pontifici missam celebranti iuxta morem ministravit. Post hec novus diaconus, immo antiquus dicendus apos­ tata Iulianus parma sacre militie non bene abiecta et gratia, quam per impositionem manus acceperat, neglecta sumpsit militare cingulum et aufugit cum suis sequacibus ad ducem Polonicum mansitque secum usque Severi episcopi ad obitum.516 Capitulum XIX.517 Ea tempestate Mztis comes urbis Beline, filius Boris, vir magne audacie, maioris eloquentie nec minoris prudentie, quamvis non inmemor, quod suspectum ducem habuerit, quia eius coniugem sibi quandoque a  domino suo commissam in custodia tenuerit, tamen audacter palatium ducis ingressus rogaturus eum his verbis suppliciter est aggressus: „Fratris tui,“ inquit, „per gratiam in honore sancti Petri apostoli edificavi ecclesiam, cuius ad dedicationis sollempnitatem quo dignemini adventare simul et urbem adventu tuo letificare, supplices meas ne despice preces.“ Ille quamvis non inmemor accepte iniurie, quam olim sibi fecerat in coniuge,518 tamen propter novitatem suam dissimulans in corde quam habuit iram, dixit: „Ego veniam, civitatem letificabo519 meam et, quod res et iusticia postulat, faciam.“ Hoc verbum, quod locutus est princeps, non intellexit comes et magnas duci agens grates letus abiit et parat, que sunt necessaria ad magna convivia. Venerat dux et episcopus, et ecclesia, que est sita in suburbio,520 mox dedicata ascen-

516 517

 See below, 212.

 The events described in chapter 19 and their historical background are discussed in great detail by Klápště, Transformation, 43–6; see also Kalhous, Anatomy, 129–31.Czech historiography has developed many hypotheses concerning the controversy of the duke and the members of nobility but the sources are so scarce that none of them can be substantiated.

518 519

 See above, 198.

 Ps. 45:5 (also above).

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After this the new deacon—who should indeed be called apostate like Julian of old—shamefully threw aside the shield of sacred service and neglected the blessing that he had received by the laying on of hands. He girded his loins with the knightly belt, ran away with his followers to the Polish duke, and stayed with him until the death of Bishop Severus.516 Chapter 19 517 At that time Mstiš, the comes of castle Bílina, son of Bor, a  man of great boldness and even greater eloquence and no lesser prudence—even though he had not forgotten that the duke distrusted him because previously when the duke’s wife had been entrusted to him by his lord, he had kept her in custody—boldly entered the duke’s palace to speak to him and humbly addressed him with these words: “By the grace of your brother, I have built a church in honor of Saint Peter, the Apostle. Do not turn a deaf ear to my supplications but deign to come to its solemn consecration and, at the same time, make the city joyful with your arrival.” Although the duke had not forgotten the injustice that the comes had previously done to him through his wife,518 he nevertheless, because of his recent elevation, concealed the anger that he had in his heart and said: “I shall come and make my city joyful 519and will do what necessity and justice require.” The comes did not comprehend the sense of what the duke had said, thanked him profusely, left happily and he prepares what is needed for a great feast. The duke arrived, along with the bishop; the church in the town below the castle520 was consecrated soon, and after the duke went up to the

520

 Suburbium refers to the settlement below the castle, the origin of many medieval cities or/and relatively broad sphere of administrative influence. On this problematic question in early medieval Central Europe see Burg – Vorburg – Suburbium: Zur Problematik der Nebenareale frühmittelalterlicher Zentren, ed. Ivana Boháčová and Lumír Poláček (Brno: Archeologický ústav AV ČR Brno, v. v. i., 2008), especially the study of David Kalhous, “Suburbium als Phänomen der frühmittelalterlichen Schriftquellen,” in: Burg – Vorburg – Suburbium, 19–26.

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dit dux in urbem ad prandium, episcopus vero et comes in sua curte, que fuit ante ecclesiam, similiter positis mensis epulis dis­ cumbunt. Et inter prandendum venit nuncius, qui diceret in aure comiti: „Ablata est tibi urbis prefectura et data est Koyate,521 filio Wseboris;“ qui tunc temporis primus erat in palatio ducis. Ad hec comes respondit: „Dux est et dominus, de civitate sua faciat, quod sibi placet. Quod autem mea ecclesia hodie habet, auferendi dux potestatem non habet.“ Qui nisi illa nocte consilio presulis et auxilio aufugisset, procul dubio amisisset oculos et pedem suum, quem olim compedivit cum pede coniugis ducis. Capitulum XX. Anno dominice incarnationis MLXII. VI. kal. Februarii obiit ductrix Adleyth, mater Iudithe522 et Ludmile, similiter et Bracizlai iunioris et Wratizlai, qui in primo flore iuventutis occidit XIII. kal. Decembris.523 Evoluto autem fere unius anni spacio post obitum ductricis Adleythe Wratizlaus dux accepit uxorem nomine Zuatavam,524 Kazimir Poloniorum ducis natam, Bolezlai vero et Wladizlai germanam,525 ex qua habuit quatuor liberos,526 bone indolis viros, Bolezlaum,527 Borivoy,528 Wladizlaum,529 Zobezlaum,530 de quibus in suis locis, uti Deus dabit, satis copiose tractabitur.

 See also below, 214–8. Historians used to count Kojata among the clan of the Vršovci. The most recent, partially hypothetical, genealogy, however, leaves him out, see Kopal, Neznámý rod, tab. 1. On the social rank of Kojata and the place of the early nobility in Bohemian society of in eleventh century see Kalhous, Anatomy, 133–4. Most recently, esp. for his role in the Přemyslid court, see Velímský, “Vzestupy a pády,” 347–50.

521

522

523

 In 1080 Judith became the wife of Duke Władisław Herman of Poland (1079– 1102), see Knoll, GpP, 105–7.

 Probably in the previous year, 1061.

524

 Svatava (Polish: Świętoslawa, 1046–1126), daughter of Duke Casimir I, 1062/ 1063 second wife of Vratislav II, 1085 Queen of Bohemia.

 Bolesław II the Bold/the Generous (1041/1042–1082), Duke (1058) and King (1076) of Poland; Władisław I Herman, Duke of Poland 1079–1102.

525

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castle for luncheon, and likewise the bishop with the comes reclined at the tables set up for the banquet in his court in front of the church. And in the middle of the meal a messenger came who whispered into the ear of the comes: “Command of the castle is taken away from you and is given to Kojata,521 son of Všebor,” who was then the first man in the duke’s palace. To this the comes responded: “The duke is the lord and he can do whatever he pleases with his castle. But what my church has today, he has no power to take away.” Had he not escaped that night on the advice and with the help of the bishop, he would have doubtless lost his eyes and the leg to which he had once fettered the leg of the duke’s wife. Chapter 20 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1062. On January 27 the Duchess Adelaide died, mother of Judith,522 Ludmila, and of the younger Břetislav as well as of Vratislav, who died in the first flower of youth on November 19.523 Hardly one year after the Duchess Adelheid’s death, Duke Vratislav married Svatava,524 daughter of Duke Casimir of Poland, sister of Bolesław and Władisław,525 who bore him four children,526 all splendid men, Boleslav,527 Bořivoj,528 Vladislav529 and Sobĕslav,530 about whom, God willing, more will be said in its proper place.

526

527

 Boleslav (d. 1091), governed from 1087 the partial principality of Olomouc.

528 529

 She also had a daughter, Judith, married to Wiprecht II of Groitzsch (ca. 1050– 1124), margrave of Meissen and later also of Lusatia; on him see Thomas Vogt­ herr, “Wiprecht von Groitzsch: Bemerkung zur Figur des sozialen Aufsteigers im hohen Mittelalter”, in Figuren und Strukturen: Historische Essays für Hartmut Zwahr zum 65. Geburtstag, ed. Manfred Hettling, Uwe Schirmer, and Susanne Schötz (Munich: Saur, 2002), 157–69. On his political and especially cultural relations to Bohemia see also Klápště, Transformation, 8–12.

 Bořivoj II, duke of Bohemia (1100–1107 and 1117–1120).

 Vladislav I, duke of Bohemia (1109–1117 and 1120–1125).  Soběslav I, duke of Bohemia (probably 1125).

530

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Capitulum XXI. Anno dominice incarnationis MLXIII. Anno dominice incarnationis MLXVII. V. id. Decembris Severus sextus Pragensis ecclesie episcopus migrat ab hoc mundo, bravio fruiturque iocundo. Hic utramque fortunam prosperam et adversam satis expertus est; nam aliquando a duce Bracizlao captus catenatus, carceri mancipatus,531 utrumque simul in occulto et in aperto martirium tulit. Hic fere omni tempore sui presulatus sine aliqua refragatione et sine omni contradictione Boemie et Moravie quasi unum et individuum episcopium rexit et rexisset, si non post obitum Zpitigneu nimia devictus efflagitatione Wratizlai ducis consensisset promoveri Iohannem episcopum in Moravia,532 prius tamen multorum sub testimonio huiusmodi deliberato pheodo et allodio sive concambio,533 scilicet ut Pragensis presul XII villas, que sunt in omni Boemia potiores, pro illo episcopio eligat, insuper et centum marcas argenti annuatim de camera ducis accipiat; curtem autem, que est in Moravia ad Sekircostel, cum suis appendiciis ut antea sic et in posterum possideat, similiter et villam Sliunicam cum foro atque castrum ibidem situm in media aqua Zuartka nomine, Podiuin534 dictum a conditore suo Podiua, Iudeo sed postea catholico. Fertur autem, quod fuisset in Moravia ante tempora Severi quidam episcopus, ut reor, nomine Wracen.535 De qua parrochia quantum conflictum cum predicto presule Iohanne successor Severi Iaromir habuerit, in loco suo declarabitur.536  The incarceration of Bishop Severus may have happened in connection with his flight to the imperial camp, see above, 186–8.

531

 The foundation of a  Moravian diocese belongs to a  wider context of conflicts among the sons of Břetislav I (cf. Wihoda, Morava, 127–38). John/Jan (d. 1085), was a  Benedictine monk from Niederalteich and Břevno; he became the first bishop of Olomouc in 1063.

532

 On these “feudal” terms, see above, 140.

533

 Sekyřkostel and Slivnice were probably suburbs of Podivín, see Hrdina and Wihoda, Kosmas, 109, n. 139. These properties came to be the subject of long lasting litigation between the two bishoprics, Prague and Olomouc; see in detail Martin Wihoda, “Causa Podivín” [The Podivín case], Časopis Matice moravské 117 (1998), 279–91. See also below, 224 and 368.

534

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Chapter 21 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1063. In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1067. On December 9, Severus, the sixth bishop of Prague, left this world, to enjoy delightful rewards. He was well acquainted with fortune both good and bad, for Duke Břetislav once threw him chained into jail,531 and so he bore both internal and external martyrdom. He governed Bohemia and Moravia as one and the same bishopric without any contradiction or any opposition during almost his entire pontificate and he would have continued to do so had he not agreed, after the death of Spytihnĕv, moved at the insistent urging of Duke Vratislav, that John should be promoted to bishop of Moravia.532 First, however, the following fiefs and alods or pledges533 were transferred in the presence of many witnesses, namely that the bishop of Prague should select twelve of the better villages from all over Bohemia for his bishopric; moreover, he should receive annually a hundred silver marks from the ducal chamber; he should retain in the future as before, the court near by Sekyřkostel in Moravia with its appurtenances; similarly the village Slivnice with its market and the castle named Podivín534 after its founder, the Jew Podiva, who became a Catholic, in the middle of the river called Svratka. It is said, though, that there was a bishop in Moravia before the times of Severus, called, I believe, Vracen.535 The conflict over this bishopric between the successor of Severus, Jaromír, and the aforesaid John will be discussed in its proper place.536

 Vracen, according to Cosmas, bishop of Moravia before 1030, is not mentioned anywhere else. The identity of the unnamed Moravian bishop listed among those attending the synod of Mainz in 976 remains a mystery. Wihoda (Morava, 53– 73) accepts Cosmas’s identification. Cf. David Kalhous, “Granum catalogi praesulum Moraviae jako pramen k dějinám Moravy v 9–11. století?”[G. c. p. M., as a source to the history of Moravia in the 9th–11th c.], Mediaevalia historica Bohemica 11 (2007), 23–38.

535

 See below, 224–6.

536

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Capitulum XXII. Tunc Conradus et Otto audientes Pragensem episcopum migrasse ad Christum mittunt et revocant fratrem suum Iaromir de Polonia537 et discingunt eum zona militari, et iterum recipit habitum et tonsuram clericalem. Interea dux Wratizlaus precavens sibi in futurum et timens, ne germanus suus, cum presul factus foret, cum predictis fratribus contra se conspirarent, cepit tacitus secum tractare, quoquo modo posset eum episcopio defraudare. Erat autem tunc temporis in curia ducis quidam Lanczo capellanus, de Saxonia nobili prosapia natus, vir personatus et admodum literatus ac prepositura Lutomericensis ecclesie sublimatus, moribus et vita non contradicens honori pontificatus; et quia duci semper fidelis mansit, omnibus modis dux elaborabat, his Pragensis presul ut sit. Interim Conradus et Otto veniunt de Moravia fratrem suum Iaromir secum offerentes et subnixe ducem pro eo postulantes, quo sit memor germanitatis, memor paterne institucionis, memor sac­ ra­mentorum, quibus pater suus obligarat fidem comitum, quod post Severi presulis obitum Iaromir sibi eligerent in episcopum. At ille, sicut erat in simulandis et dissimulandis rerum causis vir ingeniosus atque dolosus, ut vulpecula, que non illuc fugit, quo suam iactavit caudam,538 ita dux aliud clausum retinens in pectore, aliud promit suis fratribus ore: „Non est,“ inquit, „unius hominis tractare hoc negotium, quod postulat communis ratio omnium. Sed quoniam nunc interim iam pars maior populi et procerum milicie processit in castra, nusquam melius, ut reor, hac tractabitur de causa quam istius terre ad custodie claustra; ibi omnes maiores natu huius gentis, ibi proceres et comites, ibi qui sunt in clero meliores aderunt, quorum in arbitrio stat episcopalis electio.“ Hoc ideo dux fecit, ut ibi inter suos milites septus armis, munitus presidiis posset contraire suorum voluntati fratrum et hunc, quem volebat, Lanczonem sublimaret in episcopum. Sed frustratur sinistra inten-

 See above, 206.

537

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Chapter 22 When Otto and Conrad heard that the bishop of Prague had joined Christ, they sent for their brother Jaromír and recalled him from Poland.537 They ungirded him of his knightly belt, and he took again the clerical cloth and the tonsure. Meanwhile, Duke Vratislav, concerned about his own future, quietly pondered how he could defraud him of the bishopric, as he feared that his brother, once a bishop, might conspire against him with his aforementioned brothers. There was at that time a certain Lanz, chaplain in the ducal court, of noble Saxon birth, a respected and most learned man, appointed provost of Litoměřice, whose life and conduct was not inappropriate for an episcopal honor. Since he was always devoted to the duke, the duke applied all means for him to become the bishop of Prague. In the meantime, Conrad and Otto came from Moravia, bringing their brother Jaromír with them and asked the duke humbly to remember that they were brothers, to remember their father’s instructions, and remember the oaths their father took from the comites that after the demise of Severus they would elect Jaromír as their bishop. Vratislav, as he was a man well versed and crafty in pretending and concealing the reason for things— just as the fox flees not to where he turns his tail538—thus kept one thing hidden in his heart and promised by mouth another to his brothers. He said “This is not a matter to be decided by one man, but it demands the common counsel of all. And since the majority of the people and of the troops of the great men have now moved to the camp, there is no better place, I believe, for the discussion of this matter than a border fort that protects this country. The elders of this people, the lords, the comites, and those who make up the higher clergy will be there; it is their right to elect the bishop.” The duke did this because there, he, surrounded by his warriors, guarded by arms, and protected by troops, could oppose the will of his  Cf. the Latin proverb recorded in Jakob Werner, Lateinische Sprichwörter und Sinnsprüche des Mittelalters aus Handschriften gesammelt (Heidelberg: Winter, 1912), 67, n. 73: Ore trahens predam replicet vulpecula caudam.

538

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cio ducis, quia omnis potestas a Deo est539 et esse presul non potest, cui a Deo predestinatum aut permissum non est. Capitulum XXIII. Quid multa? Ventum erat ad custodie portam, qua itur in Poloniam, et in loco, qui dicitur Dobenina,540 dux convocat populum et proceres in cetum et fratribus suis a dextris et a sinistris assistentibus, clericis vero et comitibus per longum gyrum considentibus et post eos cunctis militibus astantibus vocat Lanczonem et stantem in medio laudat et commendat eum populo, sic ei clara voce dicens: „Egregia tua fides mihi spectata cotidie exigit hoc et cogit me, ut faciam, quod facturus sum hodie, et ut per hoc discant pos­ teri, quantum dominis suis debeant fideles fieri. Accipe en anulum et baculum, esto sponsus Pragensis ecclesie et pastor sanctarum ovium.“ Fit murmur in populis, nec resonat vox congratulationis, sicut semper solet in tempore episcopalis electionis. Tunc Koyata, filius Wsebor, palatinus comes, hoc nimis inpatienter ferens, sicut erat verax in sermone et simplex in verbo, stans a dextris Ottonis fratris ducis fortiter impingit latus eius dicens: „Quid stas? An onos luras541? Quare non adiuvas fratrem tuum? An non vides, quia frater tuus, filius ducis, repudiatur et proselitus atque advena,542 qui in hanc terram sine femoralibus venit, in solium sublimatur? Atque si dux violat patris sui sacramentum, absit a nobis, ut manes nostrorum parentum apud Deum pro hoc sacramento reddant rationem aut supplicium luant. Scimus enim et ad hoc nitimur, ut possumus, quod genitor vester Bracizlaus nos et patres nostros sub fidei sacramento constrinxit, quo post obitum Severi episcopi frater vester

 Rom. 13:1.

539

540

 On Dobenín, a deserted village near Náchod, East Bohemia, see Barbara Krze­ mieńská, “Konala se roku 1060 polská výprava na Hradec u Opavy? Z politických počátků Vratislava II.” [Did the Polish raid on Hradec at Troppau really happen? The first years of the reign of Vratislav II], Folia Historica Bohemice 2 (1980), 77–119.

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brothers and elevate Lanz, whom he wanted, to the bishopric. But the evil intention of the duke was thwarted, for there is no power but from God,539 and he who has not been predestined and permitted by God to be bishop, cannot become one. Chapter 23 What more? They arrived at the border gateway by which one goes to Poland, and the duke called the people and the lords together at a place called Dobenina.540 There, flanked by his brothers to his right and left, with the clergy and the comites sitting in a wide circle, and behind them all the warriors standing, he called for Lanz. With Lanz standing in the middle, the duke praised him and recommended him to the people, speaking these words in a  clear voice: “The outstanding faith that you show to me every day demands and obliges me to do what I am going to do today so that posterity may learn how much they ought to be faithful to their lords. Receive the ring and the staff, be the spouse of the Prague church and the shepherd of the pious flock.” There was a murmur among the people and no word of congratulation sounded as is always usual at episcopal elections. Then, taking this rather badly, Kojata, count palatine, son of Všebor, a man of true speech and straight talk, standing at the right of Otto, the duke’s brother, poked him forcefully and said: “Why do you just stand there like a donkey listening to the lyre?541 Why do you not help your brother? Don’t you see that your brother, the duke’s son is being repudiated and a proselyte and stranger,542 who came to this country without breeches, is being elevated to the see? And should the duke break his father’s oath, be it far from us that the souls of our forebears render an account before God for that oath and suffer punishment.

 The Greek words are from Boethius Consolatio 1m4.1, going back to Menander; see Boethius, The Consolation of Philosophy, trans. Patrick Walsh (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1999), 8, with a note on 118.

541

542

 Tob. 1:7.

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Iaromir presul sit.543 Aut si tibi displicet frater tuus, cur sordet nos­ tratum clerus non modicus, scientia eque preditus ut iste Teutonicus? O si tot habeas episcopatus, quot cernis capellanos hac in terra progenitos episcopio dignos! An putas, quod alienigena plus nos diligat et melius huic terre cupiat quam indigena? Humana quippe sic est natura, ut unusquisque, quacumque sit terrarum, plus suam quam alienam non solum diligat gentem, verum etiam si quiret, peregrina flumina in patriam verteret. Malumus ergo, malumus caninam caudam aut asini merdam quam Lanczonem locarier super sacram cathedram. Frater tuus, beate memorie Zpitigneu, aliquid sapuit, qui una die omnes Teutonicos hac de terra extrusit.544 Vivit adhuc Romanus imperator Heinricus et vivat; quem tu temetipsum facis, cum eius potestatem usurpans545 das baculum et anulum episcopalem famelico cani; certe non inpune tu et tuus episcopus feret, si Koyata filius Wsebor vivet.“ Capitulum XXIV. Tunc Zmil,546 filius Bozen, qui fuit prefectus in urbe Satc, simul et Koyata accipientes per dextras Conradum et Ottonem et Iaromir: „Eamus,“ inquit, „et videamus, utrum unius versucia et simulata equitas prevaleat an iusticia et mira equitas precellat trium fratrum, quos par etas, una voluntas, eadem potestas sociat et maior militum copiositas iuvat.“ Fit per castra commotio non modica populi, „Arma, arma“ clamant singuli, omnibus est odio illa inconsulta epis­ co­pa­lis electio. Ideoque maior pars exercitus cessit ad illos tres dominos metatique sunt castra circa oppidum Opocen547 et infra. Et quia iam altera pars militum precesserat in silvam, videns dux quasi se destitutum nec satis fratrum ab impetu fore tutum fugit quam  The following sentences are clearly addressed to Duke Vratislav and no longer to Otto.

543

544

 See above, 192–4.

 This matter is discussed at length in Wolverton, Hastening, 137–41 and 230–1.

545

546

 There is a hypothesis that Smil was a member of the Vršovci clan; see Kopal, Neznámý rod, tab. 1.

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For we know well and will hold to this as far as we can, that your father Břetislav bound us and our fathers by oath that after the death of Bishop Severus your brother Jaromír should be bishop.543 But if you dislike your brother, what is wrong with our own numerous clergy, no less learned than this German? Oh, had you only as many bishoprics as you may find chaplains born in this land suitable as bishops! Or do you think that a foreigner will love us more and care more for this country than a  native? For is it in human nature that everyone, from wherever he may hail, not only loves his own people more than another, but would even divert, if he could, wandering rivers from abroad into his own land. We prefer, indeed we prefer to have instead of Lanz the tail of a dog or the dung of an ass placed on that holy throne. Your brother of blessed memory, Spytihnĕv, knew something when one day he expelled all the Germans from this land.544 The Roman Emperor Henry still lives and should live; what are you making of yourself when you usurp his power545 and grant the episcopal ring and staff to a hungry dog? Be sure that neither you nor your bishop will go unpunished as long as Kojata, son of Všebor, lives.” Chapter 24 Thereupon Smil546 son of Božen, who was the castellan of the castle of Žatec, together with Kojata, taking Conrad, Otto, and Jaromír by their hands, said “Let us go and see which will prevail: cunning and feigned righteousness or justice and the true righteousness of three brothers linked by age, one will, and equal power, whom the greater number of warriors support.” There arose quite an uproar among the people in the camp: they called “To arms, to arms!” and all rejected the arbitrary episcopal election. Thus the majority of the army went over to the three lords and encamped around the town of Opočno.547 And since the rest of the troops had already left for the forest, the duke saw himself abandoned and exposed to an  Cosmas’s is the only reference to early medieval settlement of the later Castle Opočno.

547

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celerius potuit timens, ne ipsi preoccuparent Pragam aut Wissegrad urbem. Mittit tamen de via ad fratres nuntium dicens: „Non propter Koyate filii Wsebor magniloquam linguam548 aut Zmil filium Bozen, cuius est in ore mel et in corde fel, quorum pravis atque dolosis consiliis, quod factum est, feceram549—quos ego, si vixero,550 sed reprimam me—verum nunc magis paterne traditionis memor, sacramentorum eius, quod iusticia, quod fraterna dilectio poscit, faciam. Tantummodo sequimini me ad urbem Pragam.“ Qui advenientes castra fixerunt in pratis iuxta villam Goztivar551 et mittunt ad ducem, si factis dicta comprobare velit, quos ille pacifice suscipiens fratrem suum Iaromir eligit in episcopum, Conradum vero et Ottonem datis et acceptis inter se sacramentis dimittit cum pace in Moraviam. At vero Zmil et Koyata quamvis inter principes concionati sint vera et iusta, tamen, nisi noctu elapsi delituissent fuga, sine omni audientia dux eos ut hostes rei publice punisset. Facta est autem electio hec anno dominice incarnationis MLXVIII. sole intrante vigesimam quintam partem Geminorum.552 Capitulum XXV. Nec mora, dux Wratizlaus mittit comites Severum, Alexium, Marquardum Teutonicum cum fratre suo Iaromir iam electo ad imperatorem secundum Heinricum.553 Qui venientes in vigilia sancti Iohannis baptiste554 adeunt cesarem in urbe Magoncia tractantem

 Ps. 11:4.

548

 The accusation of the two men who led the opposition to the duke of having counseled him to act as he did sounds rather strange.

549

550 551

 Vergil A. 1.135.

 Hostivař, today part of Prague, was probably the strategic location held by the rebellious troops, east of Prague at a site fortified since early times. See Michal Lutovský, “Pražská hradiště” [Strongholds in Prague], in Praha pravěká [Prague in Antiquity], ed. idem (Prague: Libri, 2005), 977.

552

 The date is generally accepted as 15 June 1068. However, the calendars of the time counted the entrance of the Sun in various ways, see Hermann Grotefend, Taschenbuch der Zeitrechnung des deutschen Mittelalters und der Neuzeit (Ha-

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attack by his brothers. He fled as fast as he could, fearing that they might take Prague or Vyšehrad before him. But from the road he sent a messenger to his brothers with these words: “Not because of the boastful tongue548 of Kojata, son of Všebor, or of Smil, son of Božen, who has honey on the lips but gall in his heart, on account of whose evil and cunning counsel I did what has been done549— whom I, if I  live…550 yet I’ll restrain myself—but rather because I am now more mindful of the bequest and the oaths of my father, I will do what justice and fraternal love demands. Only follow me to the city of Prague.” When they arrived, they encamped in the fields around the village of Hostivař551 and they sent to ask the duke whether he would prove his words by deeds. He received them in peace, elected his brother Jaromír as bishop and, after oaths had been given and received among them, he released Otto and Conrad to go in peace to Moravia. However, the duke would have punished Smil and Kojata as public enemies, without any hearing, had they not escaped under cover of night, even though they had only spoken true and just words among the princes. This election was done in the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1068, when the Sun entered the twenty-fifth part day of Gemini.552 Chapter 25 Without delay, Duke Vratislav sent the comites Severus, Alex, and the German Marquard with his brother, the elected Jaromír, to Emperor Henry II.553 They arrived on the vigil of the feast of St John the Baptist554 and approached the emperor in the city of

nover: Hahn, 121982), 127 s.v. sole intrante. Cosmas uses this type of dating a few more times in the Chronicle, see below, 235 [for the year 1074], 329 [for the year 1105], and 353 [for the year 1109]. 553

 In fact King Henry IV (1056–1105), who became Emperor after 1084.

554

 23 June 1068. However, the following dates are incorrect as far as the days of the week are concerned; they would fit to the year 1066, but that does not tally with Henry’s itinerary. Various explanations have been suggested including scribal errors; see Bretholz, Die Chronik, 118, n. 2.

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cum episcopis et principibus imperialia negotia et offerentes electum suum rogant ex parte ducis et tocius populi, quo sua auctoritate dignetur eorum electionem confirmare. Quorum petitioni cesar annuens tercia die, id est VI. kal. Iulii, feria secunda, dat ei anulum et pastoralem virgam et in proximo die dominico, VI. non. Iulii, a presule Magontino555 Iaromir, mutato nomine Gebehardus, ordinatus est in episcopum. Eodem die transfretantes Renum, cum post prandium quidam suus miles Willehalmus super ripam sederet demissis pedibus in alveum, accessit retro clam novus episcopus et nesciens, quod ibi lateret profunda aqua, deiecit eum in Reni fluenta dicens: „Denuo te baptizo, Willehalme.“ Qui diu submersus, tandem emersus caput rotando et undas captando dixit: „Si sic baptizas, valde deliras, episcope.“ Hic nisi bene natare scisset, una die et sumpsisset episcopium et amisisset presul Gebehardus. Capitulum XXVI. Qui cum pervenisset Pragam, eo die, quo iuxta morem obsedit episcopalem cathedram, dat Marco capellano suo eiusdem ecclesie preposituram, qui secundum hominis genituram nobili ortus erat attavorum prosapia ducens originem de gente Teutonica, pollens sapientia pre cunctis, quos tunc habuit terra Boemica. Nam in omnibus liberalibus artibus valde fuit bonus scolasticus, qui potuit dici et esse multorum magistrorum didascalus, in divina vero pagina interpres mirificus, in fide catholica et in lege ecclesiastica doctor magnificus. Quicquid enim religionis, quicquid regularis institutionis, quicquid honoris hac est in ecclesia, hic sua erudivit et ordinavit prudentia. Prius enim erant inregulares et nomine tantum canonici, inculti, indocti et in habitu laicali in choro servientes, velut acephali aut bestiales centauri viventes. Quos vir prudens Marcus suis verbis et exemplis instruens556 et e multis meliores, quasi de prato excerpens flores, ope divina cooperante XXV

555

 Siegfried (d. 1084) was abbot of Fulda in 1058, archbishop of Mainz in 1060.

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Mainz, where he was discussing affairs of the empire with bishops and princes. They presented their elected to him and asked in the name of the duke and all the people that he deign to confirm their choice by his authority. The emperor honored their request and on the third day, on June 26, a Monday, he granted him ring and crozier; on the following Sunday, July 2, Jaromír was ordained bishop with the name Gebhard by the archbishop of Mainz.555 On the same day, they set over the Rhine. After luncheon, when one of his warriors, William, sat at the riverbank with his feet in the water, the new bishop approached him secretly from behind and with the words, “William, I  baptize you again,” not knowing that the water ran there deep, pushed him into the River Rhine. He sank for a long time, then emerged, and turning his head and swallowing water, said “Bishop, if you baptize this way, you are out of your mind.” Had William not been a good swimmer, Bishop Gebhard would have received and lost his bishopric on the same day. Chapter 26 After having returned to Prague, the bishop sat on the day that was customary upon the episcopal throne and granted Mark, his chaplain, the provostship of that church. He was by descent the scion of an old German noble family, foremost in wisdom among all who then lived in the Czech land. In all liberal arts he was a truly fine scholar, who could be called and was indeed the teacher of many a master, a wonderful exegete of Holy Scripture, and an excellent instructor of the Catholic faith and canon law. Everything that concerned religion, rule and honor in this church was taught and ordered by his wisdom. For previously, they were without rule and only canons in name, unlearned and uncouth, serving in lay habit in the choir, and they lived like leaderless or beastly Centaurs. The wise Mark taught them by word and example,556 and he selected 556

 On the significance of this term from the New Testament here, see Carolyne Walker-Bynum, Docere verbo et exemplo: An Aspect of Twelfth-Century Spirituality (Missoula: Harvard Theol. St. Scholars Press, 1979), 31.

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fratres ordinavit, dans eis religionis habitum et secundum regulam equalem cibi et potus mensuram.557 Sed cum sepe aut negligentia ministrorum aut occasione aliqua magistrorum intermitteretur frat­ rum prebenda et inde sepe fratres eum affligerent sua querimonia, volens placere eis per omnia, decimationis illorum quartam partem sibi asscribens, tres inter fratres dividit, ita ut unusquisque frater annuatim XXX modios tritici et totidem avene, insuper et IIII denarios ad septimanam pro carne sine intermissione haberet.558 De cuius Deo placitis actibus plura poterant dici relatu digna, sed melius est, ut de his sileam, quam videar e multis dixisse pauca.559 Hic beate memorie prepositus post XXX annos, quibus huius ecclesie rexit preposituram, iam in celesti regno beatam commissi talenti recepturus usuram XVIII. kal. Decembris.560 Migrat ab his te­neb­ ris ad lucis amena perhennis.561 Sed ecce, dum nostra tractamus stipendia, longe digressi sumus ab incepto opere viarum per dispendia. Nunc autem ad ea, que supra promisimus, redeamus et, que causa tanti conflictus inter duos angelicos viros efferbuerit, videamus. O avaricia et ambicio seculi, pestis execrabilis et inimica humano generi, que etiam appetis tuis artibus sacerdotes Dei! Anno dominice incarnationis MLXVIIII. Capitulum XXVII. Anno dominice incarnationis MLXX. VI. id. Iunii presul Gebehardus consecravit ecclesiam suam in nova curte, que dicitur Sricinawez.562 Anno dominice incarnationis MLXXI. Anno dominice incarnationis MLXXII. 557

 The rule referred to may have been the one of the Synod of Aachen (816) about the vita communis of canons (MGH Conc. 2/1, Hanover: Hahn 1906), 394 sqq.

558

559

  Klápště, Transformation, 353 points out the significance of this hint at the monetarisation of eleventh-century Prague.

 Cf. Vergil A. 3.377.

560

 In the year 1098; see Graus, “Necrologium Bohemicum,” 816.

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from the many the better, as if picking flowers in a meadow; with divine help he ordained twenty-five brethren, giving them clerical habit and equal amount of food and drink, according to the rule.557 Since it often happens that because of the negligence of servants or on some other pretext of the officers, the prebends of the brethren were held back, they often bothered him with their complaints. Therefore, wishing to please them in all, he assigned three quarters of the tithe to the brethren and retained only one quarter to himself, so that each brother received annually without fail thirty bushels of grain, the same amount of oats, and moreover four pennies per week for meat.558 More could be said that would be worth reporting of his God-pleasing deeds, but it is better that I keep silent about them rather than seem to say little about much.559 This provost of blessed memory, after having governed the provostship of this church for thirty years, on November 14 passed on from this [earthly] darkness up to the joys of eternal light 560 to receive in the heavenly kingdom the blessed interest for the talent entrusted to him.561 But behold, while discussing our income, we have digressed far by diverse roads from the work begun. Now let us return to what we have promised above and see what were the causes of so great a conflict that flared up between two angelic men. O avarice and worldly ambition! You execrable plague and enemy of mankind, who assail with your tricks even the priests of God! In the year of the incarnation of the Lord 1069. Chapter 27 In the year of the incarnation of the Lord 1070. On June 8, Bishop Gebhard consecrated his church in the new court called Žer­či­ naves.562 In the year of the incarnation of the Lord 1071. In the year of the incarnation of the Lord 1072.  Cf. Matt. 25:27–8.

561

562

 Probably today’s Žerčice, but there is no other evidence on this court.

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Anno dominice incarnationis MLXXIII. Postquam presul Gebehardus vidit, quod labor suus cessit in cassum, quia nec precibus nec muneribus nec per amicos flectere quivit fratrem suum Wratizlaum, ut suum reciperet concambium et Iohannem eliminaret episcopum atque iterum utrumque coadunaret episcopium, vertit se ut Prometheus563 in alterius techne formam. „Quoniam quidem,“ inquit, „iam per IIII annos aut plus supplicando nequeo efficere quod volo,564 faciam quod queo et teste Deo aut utrumque coadunabo aut utroque carebo episcopio.“ Nec mora, disponit ire in curtem suam, que est ad Zekircostel in Moravia, et deflectens iter iam iamque palam nociturus et quasi fratrem565 suum visitaturus, adit Iohannem presulem Olomuc in urbe. Quem ille suscipiens grata vice hospitis: „O si,“ inquit, „scissem tuum adventum, parassem tibi episcopale pulmentum.“ Ille vero velut leena, quam exagitat fames, iam dudum scintillans torvis oculis in eum respondit: „Aliud tempus est, dum sumitur esca, nunc aliud negocii agitur. Sed eamus,“ inquit, „opus est, secretum colloquii ineamus locum.“ Tunc presul nescius futurorum ducit eum in cubile suum; non aliter videres, ac si mitis agnus rabidum lupum duceret in stabulum sponte semetipsum offerens566 ad mactandum. Ubi ante lectum ut vidit Iaromir formaticam semesam et serpilli particulam et cepe super scutellam ac tostam panis buccellam, que forte superaverant presuli post hesternam genticulam, tamquam magna et cruce digna inventa sit culpa, nimis indignans ait: „Cur vivis parce? Aut cui parcis, o miser et mendice? Me hercle, non decet episcopum vivere parce.“ Quid tum? Oblitus sacri ordinis, oblitus fraternitatis, immemor humanitatis, ceu leopardus lepusculum aut leo agniculum rapit, ita ille furibundus hospes ambabus manibus per capillos fratrem suum episcopellum alte sustulit et ut manipulum proiecit in pavimentum. Repente, qui ad hoc facinus parati erant, alius super collum sedit, 563

 The comparison to Prometheus is not quite exact, as his trick was to disguise a less worthy sacrifice (of fat) as fine meat to express his disdain for Zeus and the Olympians, while the bishop (presumably) merely disguised his change from words to violence. This trick was similar rather to the ability of Proteus, a sea god, who could change his shape; see Vergil Georg. 4.387 sqq. A rare case where Cosmas (or some of the first copyists?) slips up in a mythological reference.

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In the year of the incarnation of the Lord 1073. Bishop Gebhard, having seen that his efforts to move his brother Vratislav by entreaties or gifts or through friends, to have what had been exchanged returned, remove Bishop John, and again unite both bishoprics, were in vain, turned, like Prometheus,563 to a new form of ruse. “Because” he said, “I am unable to achieve by pleas for four years or more what I want,564 I shall do what I can and, by God, I shall either unite the two bishoprics or lose both.” He right away decided to go to his estate near Sekyřkostel in Moravia and, turning off his route, already quite plainly with evil design, he went to the city of Olomouc to Bishop John as though he were to visit his brother.565 John received him with gracious hospitality and said: “Had I known of your coming, I would have prepared an episcopal meal.” He, however, with burning fierce eyes like those of a lioness plagued by hunger, replied: “We will eat another time; now is a different business. But let us go,” he said, “for we need a confidential place for a talk.” Then the bishop, unaware of what was to be, let him to his bedroom, which you cannot see otherwise than as if a mild lamb led a vicious wolf into the pen and offered himself 566 freely to be devoured. There, when Jaromír saw next to the bed a bit of cheese, thyme and onion in a little bowl and a slice of toast, which were left over from the bishop’s meal of the previous day, he said, most annoyed as if he had discovered a guilt deserving crucifixion: “Why do you live sparingly? And for whom do you save, you miser and beggar? Me hercle! It is wrong for a bishop to live sparingly.” What then? Forgetting his holy orders, forgetting brotherhood, disregarding all humanity, like a leopard grabs a little hare or a lion a lamb, the raging guest lifted with both hands his brother, the little bishop, by his hair high in the air and dropped him on the floor like a bundle. Suddenly one of those who had been 564

565

 See above, 210. The correspondence between Duke Vratislav, Bishop Jaromír and the papacy regarding the bishopric of Olomouc is printed in CDB I, 62–80, 92–5 (n. 60–78 and 86).

 Otto I the Fair.

566

 Her. 9:25.

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alius super pedes, tercius dum flagellat episcopum, subridens aiebat: „Disce pati, puer centum annorum,567 invasor alienarum ovium.“ Humilis at monachus dum vapulat, sicuti in claustro solitus erat, „Miserere mei, Deus,“ cantat. Talia cernenti magnus erat risus plaususque maligno, qui nulli risit nisi quem male agere vidit; et veluti si quando miles acer noctu hostium castra irrumpit audacter et eos invadit dormientes hostiliter ac, ne capiatur ab eis, aufugit celeriter, ita presul Iaromir fratre dedecorato et felle sue inprobitatis dulcorato, relicta civitate it in curtem suam, ad quam olim condixerat ire. Capitulum XXVIII. Hec fuit prima causa et fomes atque inicium tocius discordie, que post inter duas columnas ecclesie orta est huius ex occasione calumpnie.568 Nam presul Iohannes tanta suscepta iniuria mox dirigit nuncium suum sollicitans ducem Wratizlaum tali querimonia: „Si contumeliam mihi a  fratre tuo Gebehardo inhumanitus illatam equo animo spectas, fac periculum, ut omnes sciant non meam hanc esse, sed tuam iniuriam. Quid enim ego deliqui aut quid merui, qui nil nisi quod placuit tibi feci? Ecce ego licet indignus, tamen dictus per tuam gratiam episcopus, flagellis cesus preconis usque ad fastidium mallem numquam attigisse pontificale fastigium. Certe aut me meo abbati redde, quamvis tarde, aut mecum equanimiter hanc contumeliam comportando divide et me aut nuncium meum ad apostolicam sedem dirige.“ His auditis dux Wratizlaus zelo accenditur magno nec se continet a lacrimis in discrimine rerum tanto. Mox mittitur militum legio pro Iohanne episcopo, ut sine vite sue dispendio posset adesse ducis in colloquio. Timuit enim dux, ne frater suus Iaromir per insidias tolleret eum de medio.569 Fuit autem in capella Iohannis episcopi clericus nomine Hagno, vir Teutonicus, philosophie domesticus, Tulliane eloquentie alumnus. Hunc dux seorsum vocat et multis promis567

 Isa. 65:20.

568

 1 Kings 7:15, 21.

 1 Cor. 5:2.

569

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readied for this outrage sat on his neck, another on his feet, a third, while beating the bishop, speaks thus with a sneer: “Learn to suffer, child of a hundred years,567 thief of the sheep of others.” But the humble monk, while being beaten, chants, as he is used to in the cloister, “Lord, have mercy upon me.” Seeing these, the evildoer, who laughed at no one unless he saw him doing evil, laughed and was amused. Then, just like a zealous warrior who boldly enters the enemy camp at night and falls butcherly upon the sleeping, then flees fast not to be caught, so Bishop Jaromír, having humiliated his brother and sweetened by the gall of his evilness, left the city and went to his estate, where he had previously announced he was going. Chapter 28 This was the first cause, the kindling, and the beginning of the whole conflict that broke out on account of this calumny between the two columns of the church.568 For Bishop John, having suffered such an injury immediately sent his messenger to Duke Vratislav with this complaint: “If you, unmoved, regard the injury brutally inflicted on me by your brother Gebhard as neither here nor there, be warned that everyone will know that this is not my injury but yours. For what did I  commit and how did I  deserve this when I have done nothing other but what has pleased you? Behold me, albeit unworthy yet by your grace called bishop, struck by the blows of a herald till he tired of his labor—I would rather I had never reached the episcopal summit. Surely, either send me, albeit belatedly, back to my abbot or share equally with me the burden of this outrage, and send me or my messenger to the Apostolic See.” When Duke Vratislav heard this, he blazed with great fervor, and at such a critical moment he could not hold back his tears. A detachment of warriors was immediately dispatched for Bishop John, so that he could attend a meeting with the duke without risking his life, for the duke feared that his brother Jaromír might do away with him569 by some ruse. In the chapel of Bishop John there was a cleric by the name Hagen, a German, at home in philosophy and

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sis obligat atque multa sibi super fratre suo Gebehardo, multa super illata iniuria Iohanni episcopo, multa super statu ecclesiastico scriptis pariter et dictis, ut ea referat apostolico, commendat. Qui cum iter ageret, transiens per Ratisponam sinistro omine hospitatus est apud quendam civem nomine Komboldum, qui fuit miles Gebehardi episcopi habens annuatim ab eo beneficium XXX marcas argenti. Hic post cenam inter pocula, ut solet hospes ab hospite, inquirens, quis aut unde esset vel que causa sit vie, callida ab eo mente investigat et, ut cognovit, quod adversus presulem Gebehardum ageret legationem, non tulit hanc deferri contra dominum suum delationem et mittit post illum altera die latrunculos, ut aliqua molestia impedirent vie eius intentionem. Qui comprehendentes eum in via spoliant censu, detruncant naso et, nisi revertatur, adactis iugulo gladiis mortem minantur. Qui timens quamvis turpem amittere vitam reversus est ad presulem suum in Moraviam. Capitulum XXIX. Mox ex magna maior crevit indignatio ducis, et iterum decernitur Romam legatio, sed cauciori consilio et tuciori vie subsidio. Erat enim ducis in capella quidam Petrus presbiter, patre genitus Podiwa, pollens sancti Georgii prepositura et ceteros precellens scientie literatura atque utramque linguam sciens eque Teutonicam simul et Romanam. Hunc dux cum comite nomine Preda, filio Bys, non sine grandi pecunia Romam dirigit primas et novissimas a  fratre suo sibi et episcopo Iohanni illatas iniurias literali compendio inclusas insinuans eis, quo eas ad apostolici aures deferant. Qui ut tucius iter agere possent, committit eos Romani imperatoris palatino comiti nomine Rapothe570 rogans eum nimio supplicatu, quo  This second embassy reached Rome before 8 July 1073 (see below, 228–30), and the protector of the Czechs must have been Rapoto I, margrave of Cham (d. 1080). His son, Rapoto II of Cham (Rapoto V in Bavaria, the palatine of which he was 1082–1099), played an important role in imperial politics and through his marriage to Elisabeth of Lotharingia he also inherited the properties of the Diepoldings. This complex (augmented by additional lands, e.g. the Nordgau and Egerland) came to be a significant power southwest of Bohemia whose rulers frequently interfered in Czech affairs, see below, 282–4 and 288.

570

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a student of Ciceronian eloquence. Him the duke calls aside and binds by many promises, confides in him by spoken and written word much about his brother Gebhard, much about the injuries inflicted on himself and Bishop John, and much about the state of the church so that he might report these things to the pope. While on his way, passing through Regensburg, he took, by bad luck, quarters with a  certain burgher called Gumpold, who was a retainer of Bishop Gebhard, receiving from him an annual pension of thirty marks of silver. After dinner, at drinks, as is usual by a host, he inquired from his guest who he was and whence he came and slyly investigated the purpose of his journey. When he found out that he was on a  mission against Bishop Gebhard, he  could not bear the charge against his lord to be conveyed, and the next day sent some brigands after him that they might by some annoyance thwart the aim of his trip. They seized him on the road, robbed his money, cut off his nose and holding swords to his throat, threatened him with death should he not return. He feared for his life however dishonored, and returned to his bishop in Moravia. Chapter 29 Thereupon the duke’s anger grew yet greater and it was again decided to send a  mission to Rome, but with more care and better security on the journey. There was a priest in the duke’s chapel by the name of Peter, son of Podiva, who held the provostship of St George’s. He surpassed others in the knowledge of letters and was familiar with both languages, German as well as Latin. The duke sent him, accompanied by comes Preda, son of Bys, with a  sizeable amount of money to Rome together with a written summary of the first and recent injuries inflicted by his brother on himself and Bishop John instructing them to report them to the ears of the pope. In order that they should have a  safe journey, he entrusted them to the count palatine of the Roman emperor, called Rapoto,570 humbly enough requesting him that his emissaries should go to Rome and return under his safe conduct. For this count was so powerful that he held an unbroken series of villages and estates

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sui legati irent Romam et redirent sub eius conductu. Nam tante potestatis hic comes erat, quod usque Romam per continua loca proprias villas seu predia et per castella milites sibi devotos habebat; qui etiam ex parte ducis predicti CL marcas argenti annuatim pro beneficio accipiebat. Cuius per conductum cum venissent Romam legati, offerunt apostolico literas ducentis marcis delibutas. Que cum a notario coram omnibus recitate essent, interrogat Romanus pontifex571 eos, si verbis probant, quod litere sonant. Aiunt legati valde inconveniens fore, aliud literis, aliud ut promamus ore. Tunc is, qui post papam secundus erat sessione, consulens omnes qui aderant in concione, iudicat tale scandalum ab ecclesia extirpandum apostolica iussione. Mox dirigitur in Boemiam Rudolfus apocrisarius572 et consiliarius Gregorii pape,573 quod, si ita res se habeat, uti summo pontifici relata fuerat, vice ipsius errata corrigat, inobedientes arguat, infideles increpat, negligentes anathemate feriat; et si qua sint que modum excedant correctionis, ea differat et compellat ad maiorem audientiam apostolice sedis. Capitulum XXX. Quo cum pervenisset missus apostolici, invenit ducem Wratizlaum in urbe Praga, cui offerens apostolicam benedictionem et universalis patris adoptivam filiationem574 tanta auctoritate usus est et potestate, ac si idem summus pontifex ipse presens fuisset. Denique iussit ducem, ut omnes principes terre simul et abbates ac prepositos ecclesiarum nec non et Iohannem episcopum Moraviensem ad synodum convocaret sacram. Ad quam presul Gebehardus semel et bis ex nomine vocatus rennuit venire et ad ultimum tale fertur dedisse re (St.) Gregory VII (1073–1085).

571

  Apocrisiarii were special papal plenipotentiaries, an office borrowed by the Roman church from Byzantine imperial practice.

572

 The identity of this papal legate is problematic, as the papal records for 1073–1074, e.g. Gregorii VII Registrum Lib. I–IV, ed. Erich Caspar, MGH Epp. Sel. 2, 1 (Berlin: Wiedmann, 1920), 27, mention two other legates, Bernard and Gregory, but not Rudolf. However, there may have been more than one mission to Bohemia regarding this matter; see Bretholz, Die Chronik, 124, n. 3 and CDB I, 63–4 (n. 62).

573

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all the way down to Rome and knights in his service in the castles; he also received from the aforesaid duke 150 marks of silver as annual pension. When, with his safe conduct, the emissaries arrived in Rome, they presented the letters to the pope anointed with two hundred marks. Once it has been read out publicly by a  notary, the Roman pontiff 571 asked them whether they might confirm by mouth what the letters said. The emissaries replied, “It would not befit us to say other than is in the letters.” Then the one who was sitting next to the pope, having asked all those present at the meeting, declares that such a scandal must be eliminated from the church by papal command. Right away, Rudolf, the apocrisiary572 and Pope Gregory’s counselor,573 was sent to Bohemia in order that, should things be as they were reported to the pope, to correct the errant in his stead, punish the disobedient, rebuke the faithless, and excommunicate the negligent. Cases, which exceeded normal reproof, he should leave open and transfer to the higher jurisdiction of the Apostolic See. Chapter 30 When the papal legate arrived, he found Duke Vratislav in Prague, to whom he gave apostolic benediction and filial adoption by the universal father,574 and then proceeded with such authority and power as if the pope himself were there. Next, he ordered the duke to call a holy synod of all the magnates of the land, the abbots and priors of the churches, as well as Bishop John of Moravia. Bishop Gebhard, summoned by name on two occasions, refused to attend and at the end was supposed to have given this reply: “According to canon law, and with due respect for papal dignity and juris-

 Duke Vratislav had received from Pope Alexander II—as his brother Spytihněv before him (see above, 172)—the right to wear the episcopal mitre and thus could be seen a “son” of the pope, like other bishops; see the letter of Gregory VII of 17 December 1073 (Reg. Greg., 60–1, and CDB I, 67–8, n. 64), see also Josef Žemlička, “Mitra českých knížat” [The mitre of Czech rulers], Sborník Společnosti přátel starožitnictví 3 (1992), 17–22.

574

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sponsum: „Iuxta canonum scita, salva pontificali dignitate et iusticia, ad tua non venio placita, nisi ubi affuerit meus magister Magontinus metropolita et aliorum coepiscoporum presens frequentia.“575 Sciebat enim, quod ibi incideret in laqueum et in retributiones et in scandalum.576 Videns autem Romanus missus se esse despectum et dehonestatum ira motus suspendit eum ab omni officio sacerdotali et dignitate privat episcopali. Quod audientes non solum canonici verum etiam per capellas clerici omnes sciderunt sua oraria et denudaverunt ut in parasceue altaria. Matris ecclesie sulcatur frons ruga non modica, quia silent sacerdotalia officia et, nisi pastori suo restituatur pristinus honor et gradus, totus clerus mavult in perpetuum suos amittere gradus. Videns autem cardinalis magis tumultum in populo fieri necessitate compulsus reddidit episcopo tantummodo sacerdotale officium; et nisi uterque episcopus eodem anno de inductis causis reddat rationem pontifici Romano, ambos constringit banno.577 Nec mora, proficiscuntur predicti episcopi Romam et offerunt apostolico suarum literarum formam; quibus recitatis nec admissa nec repulsa nec discussa eorum causa iussi sunt ire ad hospicia sua, quoad usque revocarentur ad generalem synodum die constituta. Capitulum XXXI. Hisdem diebus venerat Romam Mahtildis potentissima domna, que post obitum patris sui Bonifacii tocius Longobardie simul et Burgundie suscepit regni gubernacula, habens potestatem eligendi et intronizandi sive eliminandi CXX super episcopos.578 Huius  Archbishop Siegfried supported Jaromir/Gebhard’s argument, CDB I, 64–67 (n. 63). See also Gregory VII’s letter to Vratislav of 18 March 1074, Reg. Greg., 89–90; CDB I, 72–3, n. 69.

575

 Ps. 68:23.

576

 The summons to the two bishops is contained in a  papal letter of 31 January 1074: Reg. Greg., 67–70; CDB I, 68–9, n. 65, but without any reference to excommunication. Cf. CDB I, 69–70, n. 66.

577

  On Matilda of Tuscany (1046–1115) and her territorial possessions see Alfred Overmann, La contessa Matilde di Canossa: sue proprietà territoriali, storia delle terre matildiche dal 1115 al 1230, i regesti matildici (Rome: Multigrafica Edi-

578

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diction, I  am not attending your court unless my lord, the archbishop of Mainz, and other fellow bishops are present.”575 For he knew that he would there fall into a snare and a recompense and a stumbling block.576 The Roman legate, angered by seeing himself being disdained and disrespected, suspended him of all priestly offices and deprived him of his episcopal dignity. When not only the canons but also the entire clergy in the chapels heard this, they tore their vestments and stripped the altars as on Good Friday. The brow of Mother Church was furrowed with deep wrinkles as all priestly services fell silent and the whole clergy would rather lose their orders forever unless the prior honor and order of its pastor was restored. The cardinal, realizing that the uproar among the people was growing, out of necessity restored just the priestly office to the bishop and imposed excommunication upon both of them unless both bishops present their case to the Roman pope within a  year.577 The said bishops traveled to Rome immediately and presented their cases in writing to the pope. These having been read out, they were sent without approval, dismissal or discussion of their case back to their quarters, until such a time as they might be summoned back on the day set for a general synod. Chapter 31 In these days Matilda came to Rome, a most powerful lady who had taken charge of the governance of the whole of Lombardy together with Burgundy after the death of her father Boniface, and who had the power to choose, enthrone or unseat more than a  hundred and twenty bishops.578 The whole senatorial order

trice, 1980); Michèle Spike, Tuscan Countess: The Life and Extraordinary Times of  Matilda of Canossa (New York: Vendome, 2004); David Hay, The Military Leadership of Matilda of Canossa 1046–1115 (Manchester/New York: Manchester University Press, 2008). For her marriage to Guelf V, her reputation for sexual promiscuity and reports of Guelf ’s homosexuality and impotence, see Spike, Countess (see above), 193–4; Hay, Matilda (see above), 124–9, 165–6. Matilda married Guelf in 1089, when he was sixteen, and the marriage was dissolved ca. 1095.

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quasi proprie domne ad nutum omnis senatorius ordo parebat, et ipse Gregorius papa per eam divina et humana negocia disponebat, quia erat sapientissima consiliatrix et in omnibus adversitatibus sive necessitatibus Romane ecclesie maxima fautrix. Cuius de genealogia materno sanguine presul Gebehardus descendens duxit affinitatem.579 Quo ipse de se referente ut recognovit predicta domna, quod suus esset consanguineus, cepit eum valde honorare et domino apostolico commendare ac quasi fratrem suum prout potuit honorifice tractare. Et certe presul Gebehardus nomen bonum et honorem cum gradu amisisset, si hec Rome non affuisset; qua interveniente et multis apostolicum precibus fatigante facta est pax inter predictos episcopos ea ratione, ut in pace quieti et propriis episcopatibus contenti vivant, sin autem, post X annos iterum ad apostolicam sedem hac de eadem causa iudicium accepturi redeant. Et ita per Gregorium papam agente Mahtilda restitutus est presul Gebehardus in pristinum gradum et honorem anno dominice incarnationis MLXXIIII. sole intrante XV. partem Virginis.580 Adhuc etiam et hoc efficiente Mahtilda dominus papa legatis Boemorum tradit apices literarum, in quibus mandat et precipit duci, ut fratrem suum honorifice suscipiat et ei quasi patri suo et pastori per omnia obediat atque in pace cum Dei benedictione vivant.581 Capitulum XXXII. Sed quoniam incidit nobis mencio de Mahtilda,582 unum, quod fecit femina viriliter, breviter referam, ne lectori fastidium inferam. Igitur cum predicta puella semper existens victrix inter multa bel The relationship between the two—presumably through Judith of Schweinfurt—is unclear and according to Peter Hilsch, “Familiensinn und Politik bei den Přemysliden: Jaromír/Gebhard, Bischof von Prag und Kanzler des Königs,” in Papsttum, Kirche und Recht im Mittelalter, ed. Hubert Mordek (Tübingen: M. Niemeyer, 1991), 215–1, Cosmas’s assumption is baseless.

579

 September 8.

580 581

 There is no known papal letter from autumn 1073. There are, however, documents of similar content from April 1074 and April 1075, confirming that the

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obeyed her nods as if they were those of their own mistress, and Pope Gregory himself arranged both sacred and lay matters with her since she was a most wise adviser and the greatest supporter of the Roman Church in all troubles and needs. Bishop Gebhard derived his affinity to her through the blood of his mother’s line.579 When the said lady found out from his own account that he was her blood-relative, she began to honor him greatly, recommended him to the Apostolic Father, and, as far as she could, treated him respectfully as if her own brother. And surely Bishop Gebhard would have lost his good name and honor together with his position had she not been in Rome. At her intercession and because she importuned the pope with many pleas, peace was achieved among the aforementioned bishops on condition that they live quietly in peace and content with their own bishoprics; if not, they were to come back again to the Apostolic See in ten years’ time in order to receive judgment in this matter. And thus Bishop Gebhard was restored to his original position and honor through Pope Gregory and with the help of Matilda, in the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1074, when the sun entered the fifteenth day of Virgo.580 Moreover, Matilda prevailed upon the pope to deliver a letter to the envoys of the Czechs in which he commanded and ordered the duke to receive his brother with respect and to obey him as his father and shepherd in all things and to live in peace with God’s blessing.581 Chapter 32 But now that we have mentioned Matilda,582 I will but briefly, so not to weary the reader, relate one thing that the woman did with manly vigor. The aforesaid young woman, who always carried the curia accepted Jaromír’s (always so called!) denial of wrongdoing, but also confirmed John’s bishopric. A later letter orders Jaromír to return a castle in Moravia (probably Podivín, cf. above, 210) to Bishop John; see CDB I, 74–5, n. 71.  Wolverton, Narrative, 161–9, presents some other theories about the role of this capricious story in Cosmas’s narrative, based on gender analysis of the Chronicle.

582

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la patris sui post mortem vitam ducens celibem583 nimis amplum Langobardie sola regeret regnum, visum est principibus terre et comitibus atque episcopis, ut eam persuaderent, quo sibi acciperet virum, ne sine herede regalis celsitudo simul cum prole deficeret. Que acquiescens eorum consiliis misit ad ducem Suevie, nomine Welphum,584 literas multa paucis continentes verbis: „Non ego feminea levitate aut temeritate, sed tocius regni mei pro commoditate dirigo tibi has literas, quas cum acceperis, me accipe et tocius regnum Longobardie. Dabo tibi tot civitates, tot castella, tot palacia inclita, aurum et argentum nimis infinitum; super omnia hec habebis nomen preclarum, te si facies mihi carum. Nec tamen me notes audacitatis elogio, quod nunc aggredior te prior alloquio. Licet enim tam virili quam femineo sexui legitimum appetere con­ iugium. Nec differt, utrum vir an femina primam amoris lineam tangat; tantummodo indissolubile contingat conubium. Quod aliter non fit, nisi utrorumque per consensum. Vale.“—Quid autem ad hec dux Welpho responderit aut qua ratione ei consenserit aut quot milia armata domna Mahtildis ad suscipiendum ducem in fines Longobardie premiserit aut quam honorifice ipsa eum sus­ceperit vel quanto apparatu convivium fecerit, si quis scire vellet, prius lux diurna deficeret,585 quam hec omnia perlegeret. Cedat rex Assuerus cum suis apparatibus, qui suis militibus fecit magnificum per CXX dies586 convivium; cesset regina Saba admirari mensam et cibos regios Salomonis;587 nam quod illic totum, hic centesima pars maior

 Actually, Matilda had been married to her stepbrother, Duke Gottfried the Hunchback, who died in 1076.

583

 Welf II (1072–1120), the oldest son of Welf I, duke of Bavaria and his wife Judith of Flanders. As a seventeen-year-old he married Mathilda of Tuscany (who was forty-four) in 1089. Since Mathilda had secretly transferred all her property to the church before the marriage, Welf left her in 1095. After his father’s death, Welf inherited the duchy of Bavaria. He did not remarry and died childless. The source of the “risqué” story of the wedding night has not been established. It, however, shows up briefly in a late thirteenth-century text, probably dependent on Cosmas: Thomas Tuscus, Gesta imperatorum et ponitificum, ed. Ernst Ehrenfeuchter, MGH SS 22 (Hanover: Hahn, 1872), 500, but is otherwise not widespread, although Mathilda left a strong impression on contemporaries and later writers.

584

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day in many wars, lived unmarried583 after her father’s death and ruled alone the very large kingdom of Lombardy. Accordingly, the magnates of the land together with the counts and the bishops saw fit to convince her to marry someone so that the royal dignity, lacking an heir, might not perish at the same time as offspring. She agreed to their suggestions and sent a letter to Welf, duke of Swabia584 that in few words contained plenty: “I direct this letter to you not out of female levity or rashness but for the benefit of my entire kingdom; if you accept this letter, accept me and the whole kingdom of Lombardy. I will give you so many cities, so many castles, so many famous palaces and an infinite amount of gold and silver—and above all this you will acquire a famous name, if you make yourself dear to me. Nonetheless, do not rebuke me with the reproach of audacity because I approach you now and address you first. For it is permitted to both male and female sexes to seek a  legitimate spouse. Nor does it matter whether it is the man or the woman who first dangles love’s line—providing it leads to an indissoluble marriage. And this cannot happen without the consent of both. Farewell.” If anyone should wish to know what Duke Welf replied to this or under what conditions he consented to it, or how many thousands of armed men Lady Matilda sent to receive the duke at the border of Lombardy, or how honorably she herself received him, or how splendid a  feast she arranged—the sun would set before he had read it all.585 The splendors of King Ahasuerus, who prepared a  magnificent banquet for his soldiers that lasted a hundred and twenty days,586 should yield; the queen of Sheba should leave off marveling at the table and royal meals of Solomon587—for all these together would be less than a hundredth part of all this. What more? Night falls, they enter the bedroom, and they both lie down on the high bed, Duke Welf without desire

 Cf. Cicero Nat. deor. 3.81, Vergil A. 1.498–499

585

 Actually, according to Esther 1:3–5, Ahasuerus (i. e. Xerxes) held festivities for 180 days.

586

 Cf. 1 Kings 10:5.

587

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fuit toto. Quid multa? Nox aderat, cubiculum intrant, super alta strata gemini se locant, dux Welpho sine Venere cum Mahtilda virgine. Ubi inter alia et post talia, inter tales qualia fiunt, dux Welpho ait: „O domina, quid tibi voluisti, quare me vocasti, ut risum de me faceres et me in sibilum populis et in commotionem capitis poneres?588 Plus te confundis, tu me confundere si vis. Certe aut tuo iussu aut per tuas pedissequas aliquod maleficium vel in tuis vestimentis vel in lectisterniis latet. Crede mihi, si frigide nature fuissem, ad tuam voluntatem numquam venissem.“ Hec cum prima et secunda nocte dux obiceret domne, tercia die sola solum ducit in cubiculum, ponit in medio tripodas et desuper mensalem locat tabulam et exhibuit se sicut ab utero matris nudam et inquit: „En quecumque latent, tibi omnia patent, nec est, ubi aliquod maleficium lateat.“ At ille stabat auribus omissis, ut inique mentis asellus589 aut carnifex, qui longam acuens macheram stat in macello super pinguem vaccam excoriatam cupiens exenterare eam. Postquam vero diu sedit mulier super tabulam et velut anser, cum facit sibi nidum huc et illuc vertens caudam frustra, tandem indig­nata surgit femina nuda et apprehendit manu sinistra anticiput semiviri atque expuens in dextram palmam dat sibi magnam alapam et extrusit eum foras dicens: „I procul hinc, monstrum, regnum ne pollue nostrum. Vilior es galba, proiecta vilior alga.590 Si mihi visus eris cras, morte mala morieris.“ Taliter confusus dux Welpho fugit et reportat omnibus suis confusionem in sempiternum. Hec sufficit breviter dixisse, que utinam non dixissem! Capitulum XXXIII. Factum est autem, postquam presul Gebehardus reverteretur ab urbe Roma, proceres quotquot erant sui clientes, de reditu eius valde gratulantes occurrunt ei obviam sub ipso exitu silve. Quibus  Ps 43:15.

588

 Horace Sat 1.9.20.

589 590

 Vergil Ecl. 7.42, as above, 114–6.

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for the virgin Matilda. Then in the midst and after all that happens on such occasions, Duke Welf says: “My lady, what did you want, why did you call me to make fun of me, to make me a  byword, a shaking of the head among the people?588 You confound yourself more when you seek to confound me. Surely, either by your order or through your maidservants there is some sorcery hidden, be it in your clothes or in the bed linen. Believe me, if my blood were cold, I would have never come at your bidding.” After the duke had upbraided the lady for this on the first and the second night, on the third night she alone led him unaccompanied to the bedroom where she put stools in the middle and over them placed a table top, then exposed herself as naked as she came out of the mother’s womb and said: “Look, whatever may have been hidden, lies all open to you and there is no place where any sorcery can be hidden.” He stood there with crestfallen ears as a sullen donkey589 or as a butcher who, sharpening a long knife, stands in the meat-market over a fat skinned cow that he is going to gut. The woman sat on the board for a long time as a nesting goose turns its rear here and there in vain. But at last the naked woman indignantly stood up, grabs the half-man with her left hand, spat into her right, gave him a hard slap and pushed him out of the door, saying: “Out with you, monster, do not pollute our kingdom You’re worth less than a worm, less than cast-up seaweed.590 If I see you in the morn’, you’ll die a horrid death.” Thus humiliated, Duke Welf runs away and carries back to all his people an everlasting ignominy. What I  have briefly told should suffice—and I wish I hadn’t told it at all! Chapter 33 And it happened, when Bishop Gebhard returned from Rome, the lords who were his retinue were very happy because of his return and came to meet him at the very exit of the forest. As he was jokingly reporting to them what had happened in Rome and how he could rely on Lady Matilda’s help, he said in jest to one of them called Bělec, whom he liked more than the others, “Look

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in iocunditate dum refert, que gesta fuerant Rome, et qualiter sit fretus ope Mahtilde domine, uni eorum, quem pre ceteris diligebat, nomine Belecz, alludens ait: „Vide qualem barbam reporto,“ et permulcens eam manu: „Certe,“ dixit, „est cesare digna.“ At ille: „Placet,“ inquit, „omne quod laudas, domine; sed plus laudarem, si animum mutatum591 cum barba reportares; quem o si mutasses, posthac in pace fuisses.“ Capitulum XXXIV. Nec tacere cupio, quod eodem anno nobis adhuc positis in scolis contigit audire et videre.592 Quadam vero die, dum psalmiculos ruminarem stans in cripta sanctorum martirum Cosme et Damiani, venit quidam vir portans cereum et filum argenteum, quo secundum iussum visionis metitus erat sui corporis artus, et accedens ad me: „Heus,“ inquit, „indica mihi, bone puer, ubi iacet sanctus Radim, sancti Adalberti frater.“ Ad quem ego dixi: „Quem tu dicis sanctum, adhuc non est per apostolicum incanonizatus, adhuc missam eius ut pro defunctis celebramus.“593 Et ille: „Talia ego,“ inquit, „nescio, sed unum scio, quia, cum essem Krakov in urbe per tres annos positus in subterraneo carcere, in quo una fenestrula desuper erat, qua mihi panem raro et aquam porrigebant, hac in angustia dum vita mea versabatur, quadam die astitit vir coram me, cuius vestes erant sicut nix albe et facies eius ut sol fulgebat;594 tantum memini et statim fui in extasi et quasi de somno gravi evigilans ante urbem stare me sensi. Et qui mihi in carcere apparuit, stans iuxta me dixit: „Perge Pragam, ne timeas quemquam et intrans sancti Viti ecclesiam in cripta sanctorum martirum Cosme et Damiani offer munus tuum ad meam tumbam; ego sum Radim sancti Adalberti frater.“ Hec mihi dixit et statim ab oculis meis evanuit. Ecce isti crines et vultus mei macies  Sallust Jug. 49.2.

591

592

 This reference to Cosmas’s school days extending to the same year as Bishop Gerhartd’s return from Rome has given rise to different biographical speculations, none of which hold water.

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at the beard that I’m bringing back,” and stroking it gently with his hand he said, “Surely it is appropriate for an emperor.” To this the other replied, “I like, my lord, anything that you praise, but I would like more if you had brought back together with the beard a  changed mind 591—alas, had you changed that, you you would be in peace from now on.” Chapter 34 Nor do I wish to pass over in silence what I happened to hear and see in that year while I was still at the schools.592 One day, while I  was standing in the crypt of Saints Cosmas and Damian the martyrs, chewing over my little psalms, a man came who carried a  candle and a  silver string which, as he was ordered in a  vision, was the same length as his body. He approached me and asked: “Hey, good boy, show me the place where Saint Radim lays, the brother of Saint Adalbert.” I replied: “The one you call a saint has not yet been canonized by the pope; we still read a mass for him as for any other deceased.” 593 And he said: “I do not know about that but I know one thing: when I was in the castle of Cracow, put for three years in an underground dungeon that had only one little window high up through which they rarely sent me bread and water; while I lived in such dire straits, a man appeared in front of me one day whose garment was white as snow and whose face shone like the sun.594 I remember only this much for immediately I fell into ecstasy and as if awakening from heavy sleep, I realized that I was standing outside the castle. And he who had appeared to me in the dungeon, stood next to me and said: ‘Go to Prague and do not fear anyone, enter the church of Saint Vitus and in the crypt of Saints Cosmas and Damian the martyrs offer your gift at my tomb. I am Radim, brother of Saint Adalbert.’ This he said to me and at once 593

 Radim/Gaudentius, Bishop of Gniezno; on the transfer of his relics, see above, 166–8. He was, indeed, not formally canonized—not a rarity before the twelfth century—but venerated as a saint in the region.

594

 Matt. 17:2.

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testantur, quia vera sunt, que tibi referuntur.“ Preterea sepe in eadem cripta vident visiones custodes ecclesie, dum visitant candelam, que ibi accenditur nocte. Capitulum XXXV. 595 Nec pretereundum censeo, quod dux Wratizlaus et sui fratres Conradus atque Otto contra orientalem marchionem Lupoldum, filium Lucz,596 commiserunt bellum;597 sed prius videndum est, unde orte sunt tante inimicicie inter Lupoldum et Conradum diarcham598 Moravie, nam antea semper fuerant amici ad invicem. Cum enim utrarumque provinciarum terminos non silva, non montes, non aliqua obstacula dirimant, sed rivulus, nomine Dia, fluens per plana loca vix eas disterminat, semper noctibus mali homines alternatim latrocinantes, pecora diripientes, villas vastantes ex utroque populo predam sibi faciebant.599 Et sicut sepe parvula scintilla magnum excitat ignem,600 ita isti, de quibus diximus, domini, quia noluerunt nocivum extinguere fomitem, ex his minimis rebus ad magnam suorum deveniunt perniciem. Nam cum frequenter Conradus ad marchionem huiusmodi de compescenda mitteret verra et ille tumido fastu despiceret eius verba, supplex adiit fratrem suum Wratizlaum ducem Boemorum, rogans eum sibi in auxilium contra superbiam Teutonicorum. Qui suis quamvis non diffidens viribus tamen Ratisponensis episcopi601 unam scaram ex electis militibus precio conducit sibi in auxilium. Nec celat marchionem dux adventum suum, sed mittens unum de satra-

595

 Beginning with this chapter, Cosmas is reporting on events he himself witnessed (Zeitgeschichte), which makes him the best primary source of information.

596

 This armed conflict is usally referred to as the battle of Mailberg (in Austria, ca. 40 km south of Znojmo). Despite Cosmas, the background is rather the feud between Henry IV and Mragrave Leopold of Austria; see Leopold Auer, Die Schlacht bei Mailberg am 12. Mail 1082 (Vienna: Österreichischer Bundesverlag, 1976).

597

 Margrave Leopold II (d. 1095); however, his father’s name was Ernst (1055– 1075), not Lutz.

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vanished from my eyes. Here, my hair and my emaciated face attest that what you are being told is true.” Actually, the keepers of the church often see apparitions in that crypt when they go to the candle that is lit there at night. Chapter 35595 I believe I  should not leave unsaid that Duke Vratislav and his brothers Conrad and Otto waged war596 against the eastern margrave Leopold, son of Lutz.597 Yet first should be shown whence such great hostility between Leopold and Conrad, the diarch598 of Moravia arose, for previously they had always been friends. Since the boundaries of their provinces were not separated by any forests, any mountains, or any other obstacles but only by a small river called Dyje that flows through flat land and barely keeps them apart, wicked people kept pillaging the other side during the night, stealing cattle, plundering villages, and taking booty from the other people.599 And as it often happens that a small spark incites a vast fire,600 so it was with the two aforementioned lords, who, unwilling to extinguish this noxious tinder, suffered great destruction to their people out of these petty nuisances. Conrad repeatedly sent to the margrave to curb such warring but he with puffed-up pride despised his words, and so he humbly appealed to his brother Vratislav, duke of the Czechs, and asked for his help against the arrogance of the Germans. Although he could have relied on his own forces alone, the duke hired for a price a troop of selected soldiers from the bishop of Regensburg 601 to assist him. The duke did not conceal his arrival from the margrave but sent one of his offi-

598

 As mentioned above, 205, Moravia was divided between Conrad and Otto; but only Cosmas uses this title in reference to them.

599

 See Wolverton, Hastening, 192–3 with map.

600

601

 Quintus Curtius Rufus, Historiae Alexandri Magni, ed. Carlo Lucarini (Berlin/ New York: de Gruyter, 2009), 3, 6, 11.

 Otto (1060–1089).

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pis602 quasi per antiphrasin loquens ei mandat, ut sibi paret grande convivium, seque ipsum pollicetur aleam Martis cito venire lusum. Ad hec marchio efficitur letus et a subulco usque ad bubulcum armatos omnigena specie ferri, a subula usque ad stimulum, omnes iubet paratos esse ad bellum. Venerat dux Wratizlaus cum Boemiis simul et Teutonicis, qui erant presulis Ratisponensis; ast alia de parte Otto et Conradus adiungunt se cum suis omnibus qui sunt in tota Moravia militibus. Quos ut vidit marchio longe in plano occurrere campo, preordinat suos lignei in modum cunei et corroborat animos eorum huiusmodi monitis alloquii:603 „O milites, quorum vires per multas satis expertus sum fortune pugnas, ne timeatis illas fugitivas umbras, de quibus valde doleo, quod eis patet campus in fugam. Scio enim, quia non audent vobiscum committere pugnam. An non videtis, quoniam illos arguit inertia virium, quos timor compulit in unum globum? Nulla species ibi apparet armorum; oves sunt, ut reor, et esca luporum. Quid statis, o lupi rapaces et catuli leonum feroces? 604 Irruite in greges ovium et diripite corpora, que stant sine sanguine, prius casura quam bellum visura atque cito milvos nostros et vultures pascitura. O inferne, quantas tibi hodie dabimus victimas! Relaxa tuas officinas ad suscipiendas Boemorum animas. Scio enim, quod Deo et sanctis eius sunt odibiles sine misericordia homines, qui ad hoc hanc terram intrant, ut non solum nostra bona, sed et uxores nostras et earum soboles diripiant, quod Deus procul avertat. Atqui si alicui vestrum contigerit mori, una mors est hec beatior omni morte, dulci pro patria mori.“ 605 Plura locuturus erat, sed eius verba impetus Boemorum adbreviat. Nam dux Wratizlaus ut vidit hostes non cedere loco, iussit Teutonicos dextrum irrumpere cornu, fratres vero suos Conradum et Ottonem ordinat pugnare in sinistra ala. Ipse autem ubi erat confertissima hostium acies, in ipsa fronte Martis iubet exer602

 Cosmas uses frequently the word satrap for higher officers of a ruler, which he knew from his Classical readings. We translate it as ‘officers,’ for ‘satraps’ has acquired in modern usage a deprecatory connotation, which the author certainly did not intend. The word is used widely in Czech texts of the age in a wider sense of men of the court or members of the ducal retinue.

 Imaginary allocutions to the army are also above, 46, 50, and 178–180.

603

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cers 602 to him, who, as if speaking in antiphrases, enjoined him to prepare an opulent feast for him and promised that he would be coming soon to play the dice of Mars. The margrave rejoiced over this and ordered everybody, from swineherd to cowherd, to pick up anything as a weapon, be it an awl or a goad, and be ready for battle. Duke Vratislav came with both the Czechs and the Germans of the bishop of Regensburg, and from the other direction Otto and Conrad joined them with all the warriors from the whole of Moravia. As the margrave saw them at a long distance approaching in the level field, he deployed his troops in the shape of a wooden wedge and strengthened their spirits with such a speech:603 “O warriors, whose courage I  have well experienced in many and varied fortunes of battle, do not fear those fleeting shadows, for whom— I regret to see—the field is open for escape. For I know that they will not have the courage to enter battle with you. Do you not see that their lack of strength is manifested by the fear that forces them together? There are no weapons to be seen; they are sheep, I reckon, food for wolves. Why are you still standing, you rapacious wolves, you fierce young lions? 604 Attack the flock of sheep and tear their bloodless bodies that they shall fall before they see the battle and shall soon feed our hawks and vultures. O Underworld, how many sacrifices we shall bring you today! Open your workshops to receive the souls of the Czechs! I know that those merciless people are odious to God and his saints. They came to this land not only to deprive us of our belongings but also of our wives and their offspring, from which may God save us. And if any of you should die, this one death is more blessed than any other as it is to die for the dear fatherland.” 605 And he would have spoken more but his speech was cut short by the attack of the Czechs. Duke Vratislav, as he saw the enemies not giving ground, gave order to the Germans to attack on the right wing and to his brothers Conrad and Otto to fight on 604 605

 Cf. e.g. Acts 20:29; Ps. 103:21 and elsewhere in the Bible.

 Horace Carm. 3.2.13. On the medieval application of these words, see Ernst Kantorowicz, “Pro Patria Mori in Medieval Political Thought,” American Historical Review 56 (1951), 472–92.

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citum suum descendere et pedestri congressione cum adversariis decertarier. Qui cicius dicto ab equis dissilientes et clamore exhortationis dato, sicut ignis in siccam stipulam immissus furit et in momento cuncta comburit, ita vires adversariorum ferro conterunt terreque eos prosternunt, et de tanta multitudine vix residuus fuit, qui cum ipso marchione aufugit. Sicque greges ovium lactaverunt catulos leonum, et paucis ex suis amissis Boemii de plaga orientali famosum referunt triumphum. Hac in cede occisi sunt Ztan cum fratre Radim et Gridon, filius Zanek, et Dobrogost, filius Hines,606 et alii non adeo multi anno dominice incarnationis MLXXXII, IV. id. Mai. Capitulum XXXVI. Anno dominice incarnationis MLXXXIII. Anno dominice incarnationis MLXXXIIII. Anno dominice incarnationis MLXXXV. VIII. kal. Ian. obiit Iuditha coniunx Wladizlai ducis Poloniorum, que fuit filia Wratizlai ducis Boemorum.607 Hec cum esset sterilis, semetipsam semper mactabat, offerens vivam hostiam608 Deo cum lacrimis, vacans elemosinis, viduis subveniebat et orphanis, aurum et argentum nimis large disperciens per monasteria commendabat se orationibus sacerdotum, ut per suffragia sanctorum, quam natura negaverat, ex divina gratia prolem obtineat. Preterea mittit capellanum suum nomine Petrum, qui et eius vota sancti Egidii ad sepulchrum et alia munuscula abbati et fratribus suis deferat, quatenus per eorum intercessionem Deus exaudiat eius peticionem. Qui mox, ut domne sue implevit iussa, cum iam repatriare vellet, sic ei abbas quasi prophetico ore fertur dixisse: „Vade cum Dei benedictione et dic tue domne: „Spera in Deum et nihil in fide hesites, quia concipies et paries filium.“ Nullus est enim qui non obtinuit, quod sanctum Egidium fideliter petivit. Sed timeo, ne forte Deum 606 607

 None of these persons is known from other sources.

 According to several Polish annals, Queen Judith (wife of Władysław I Herman, duke of Poland) died in 1086.

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the left wing. He himself commanded his warriors to dismount their horses and fight the enemies on foot in the densest lines of the foe, in the forefront of the battle. Faster than said, they jumped off their horses, and with a shout of encouragement, as fire in dry stubble that blazes and burns down everything in no time, they destroyed the enemy forces by iron and laid them low; few remained of this great host to escape with the margrave. So the flock of sheep fed the young lions, and the Czechs, having lost only a few, gained a famous triumph in the Ostmark. In this battle that was fought in the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1082, on May 12, Stan with his brother Radim, and Hrdoň, son of Janek, and Dobrohost, son of Hyneš,606 and a few others were killed. Chapter 36 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1083. In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1084. In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1085. Judith, wife of Władisław, duke of the Poles, who was the daughter of Vratislav, duke of the Czechs, died on December 25.607 Because she was sterile, she always mortified herself, giving with tears a live offering 608 to God, handing out alms and helping widows and orphans. She distributed large sums of gold and silver among the monasteries and commended herself to the priests’ prayers so that through the intercession of the saints and by God’s grace she could obtain the child that nature denied her. Besides, she sent her chaplain, called Peter, to take her vows to the tomb of Saint Giles and other gifts to the abbot and his brethren through whose intervention God might hear her plea. When the chaplain, having fulfilled the requests of his lady, was about to return home, the abbot is said to have told him this, as if with prophetic word: “Go with God’s blessing and tell this to your lady: ‘Believe in God and do not doubt in your faith for you will conceive and give birth to a son.’ For there is none who has not obtained from Saint Giles what he has earnestly asked  Rom. 12:1.

608

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offendamus, cum contra fata precibus eum fatigamus, licet ipse per merita huius nostri patroni nonnumquam petentibus annuat, quod natura vetat.“ Qui cum domne sue hec retulisset, tempore suo concepit et, postquam peperit filium, tercia die obiit in primo galli cantu supra prenotate diei. Filius autem eius post in baptismate nomine sui patrui Bolezlav est vocatus.609 Capitulum XXXVII. Anno dominice incarnationis MLXXXVI. Iubente et peragente Romanorum imperatore tercio Heinrico augusto celebrata est synodus magna in urbe Magoncia, ubi IIII archiepiscopi et XII presules, quorum nomina post docebimus, simul cum abbatibus monasteriorum et ceteris fidelibus residentes plurima decreta super statu sancte ecclesie scriptis roboraverunt.610 In quo conventu idem cesar omnibus sui regni optimatibus, ducibus, marchionibus, satrapis et episcopis assencientibus et collaudantibus ducem Boemorum Wratizlaum tam Boemie quam Polonie prefecit et inponens capiti eius manu sua regalem circulum iussit archiepiscopum Treverensem, nomine Egilbertum,611 ut eum in sede sua metropoli Praga in regem ungat et diadema capiti eius inponat.612 In eodem concilio Pragensis presul Gebehardus scripta sue antique querimonie representat de Moraviensi episcopo Iohanne supra memorato. Qui quamvis eodem anno iam ab hoc seculo migrarat,613 tamen valde  The circumstances of the birth of Bolesław III Wrymouth, duke of Poland 1102– 1138, and the intercession of St Giles are described in great detail in Knoll, GpP, 105–109. However, the date of his birth is given there as August 20 and that of his mother’s death (similarly to here) as Christmas (ibid. 117), and thus not “three days after.”

609

 This synod is supposed to have been held in April/May 1085 and its participants are listed in detail in the Liber de unitate ecclesiae, MGH Ldl 2 (Hanover: Hahn, 1892), 236.

610

 Egilbert, supporter of the king against the Gregorians, was bishop of Trier 1079– 1101.

611

 Much has been written on this first case of the royal coronation of a duke of Bohemia—and at the same time ruler of Poland—and its implications for the relationship between the Empire and the duke of the Czechs. See Demeter Malaťák,

612

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for. But I fear that we might offend God when we weary him with supplications against fate, even though on account of the merits of this patron of ours he sometimes grants to those who seek what nature denies.” After he had announced this to his lady, she in due time conceived and, after she had given birth to a son, she died on the third day at the cockcrow of the aforementioned day. And the son was named Bolesłav at baptism after his paternal uncle.609 Chapter 37 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1086. By the order and effort of the august Roman Emperor, Henry III, a great synod was held in the city of Mainz, where four archbishops and twelve bishops, whose names we will tell later, together with abbots of monasteries and other faithful people attending, confirmed in writing many decrees on the state of the holy Church.610 In the assembly, with the assent and approval of all the magnates, dukes, margraves, officers and bishops of his kingdom, the emperor placed Vratislav, duke of the Czechs, in command not only of Bohemia but also of Poland and, having placed with his own hand a royal diadem on his head, he ordered the archbishop of Trier by the name of Egilbert 611 to anoint him king in his metropolitan see at Prague and place a crown on his head.612 In the same council Gebhard, bishop of Prague, submitted in writing his old complaints concerning the aforementioned Moravian bishop, John. Even though this bishop had departed from this world that same year,613 Gebhard was still so concerned as to the future that he had friends belabor the “Korunovace Vratislava II.” [The Coronation of Vratislav II], Časopis Matice Moravské 121 (2002), 267–86, esp. on the symbolism of “Polish crown,” e.g. Martin Wihoda, “Polská koruna českých králů” [The Polish crown of the Czech kings], Český časopis historický 102 (2004), 721–44, esp. 740–1. Lukáš Reitinger, “Král český a polský”: Úvahy nad panovnickým titulem Vratislava II” [“King of Bohemia and Poland”: Reasonings about the title of Vratislav II], Studia historica Brunensia 57 (2010), 3–28.  There seems to be some discordance in the dates. John’s death is recorded for 25 November 1086, so if the synod was indeed held in spring 1085 John would have been still alive; see Bretholz, Die Chronik, 135, n. 4.

613

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precavens in futurum predictus presul et agens per amicos pulsat aures cesaris, ne iterum in eodem loco alius subrogetur episcopus, replicat coram omnibus privilegium . . . olim a sancto Adalberto episcopo, suo antecessore, confirmatum tam a  papa Benedicto quam a  primo Ottone imperatore.614 Ad cuius iustam querimoniam imperator motus precibus ducis Wratizlai, fratris eiusdem episcopi Gebehardi, et consilio archiepiscopi Magontini Wezelonis615 et aliorum bonorum, qui iusticie favebant, novum antiquo fere eiusdem tenoris addit privilegium et signo imperiali confirmat, ut in sequentibus patebit. Cuius privilegii formam si huic operi nos­ tro inseramus, non superfluum fore estimamus; continet enim aut hunc aut huiusmodi textum:616 „In nomine sancte et individue trinitatis. Heinricus tercius divina favente clementia Romanorum imperator augustus. Regio nomini et imperatorie dignitati congruere novimus, ut ecclesiarum Dei utilitatibus ubique opitulantes dampna vel iniurias earum, quacumque necesse fuerit, propulsemus. Quapropter universis Dei nostrique regni fidelibus tam futuris quam presentibus notum esse volumus, qualiter fidelis noster Pragensis episcopus Gebehardus sepe confratribus suis et coepiscopis ceterisque principibus nostris ac novissime nobis conquestus est, quod Pragensis episcopatus, qui ab inicio per totum Boemie ac Moravie ducatum unus et integer constitutus et tam a papa Benedicto quam a primo Ottone imperatore sic confirmatus est, postea antecessorum suorum con-

 The debate about this charter allegedly of Emperor Otto I—as that about the tribal territories it refers to—centres on whether it reflects the conditions of the 970s or of 1086 or some time in between, see Beumann and Schlesinger, “Urkundenstudien,“ 132–256. Cf. Barbara Krzemieńská and Dušan Třeštík, “O dokumencie,” 79–102; Rudolf Turek, “Listina Jindřicha IV. z 29. dubna 1086 a její teritoria” [The charter of Henry IV of 29 April 1086 and its territory], Slavia Antiqua 20 (1975), 69–122. So far no evidence has been produced by historians or archaeologists that the conditions described in the charter would be later than ca. 973. More recently, Kalhous (Anatomy, 81–97) also voted for the older dating.

614

615

 Wezilo was archbishop of Mainz from 1084 to 1088.   This charter is printed (from a  late eleventh-century non-authenticated copy) in MGH, DD 6, Heinrich IV, pt 2, ed. Dietrich von Gladiss and Alfred Gawlik,

616

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ears of the emperor in order that no one else ever again be elected bishop in that place. Thus in the presence of all he unrolled a privilege once [issued] by Saint Adalbert, the bishop, his predecessor, and confirmed by both Pope Benedict and Emperor Otto I.614 At his just complaint, the emperor, moved by the entreaties of Duke Vratislav, brother of Bishop Gebhard, and on the advice of Wezilo, archbishop of Mainz,615 as well as other good people who favored justice, added a new privilege to the old one with almost the same wording and corroborated it with the imperial sign, as will be shown in the following. We do not regard it superfluous to insert into this work of ours the form of that privilege; for it contains a text of this or similar wording:616 “In the name of the holy and indivisible Trinity. Henry III, by the favor of God’s mercy august Roman Emperor. We know that it pertains to the royal name and imperial dignity to attend to the needs of God’s churches everywhere, averting damage and injury to them wherever it is necessary. Therefore, we want to make known to all the faithful of God and of our kingdom, both present and future, that our faithful Gebhard, bishop of Prague, has often complained to his brethren and fellow-bishops and to other princes of ours, and most recently to us, that the bishopric of Prague, which was from the beginning established as the one and only throughout the entire duchy of Bohemia and Moravia, and was confirmed as such by both Pope Benedict and Emperor Otto I; that this bishopric was later with the consent of his predecessors divided and diminished within its boundaries by having a new bishop enthroned solely by the power of the rulers. When he raised the same complaint in Mainz before the legates of the

515–7, n. 390, the extensive scholarly discussion about its authenticity is printed ibid. 515–6 and in CDB I, 92–5, n. 86. The surviving copy in the Munich State Archives is a stroke-by-stroke copy (‘Nachzeichnung’) of a lost original, but no attempt was made (e.g. by sealing it) to pretend its being an original. Its text, in style and form similar to charters of the same chancellery, differs in details from Cosmas’s.

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sensu sola dominantium potestate subintronizato intra terminos eius novo episcopo divisus esset et inminutus. Qui cum Magoncie coram legatis apostolice sedis presentibus nobis ac plerisque regni nostri optimatibus eandem querimoniam intulisset, ab archiepiscopis Wezlone Magontino, Sigewino Coloniensi, Egilberto Treverensi, Liemaro Bremensi, ab episcopis quoque Tiederico Virdunensi, Cunrado Traiectensi, Odalrico Eistetensi, Ottone Ratisponensi617 cum assensu laicorum, ducis Boemorum Wratizlai et fratris eius Cunradi, ducis Friderici,618 ducis Lutoldi,619 palatini comitis Rapothonis620 et omnium, qui ibidem convenerant, primitiva illa parrochia cum omni terminorum suorum ambitu Pragensi sedi est adiudicata. Termini autem eius occidentem versus hii sunt: Tugast, que tendit ad medium fluminis Chub, Zelza et Liusena et Dasena, Lutomerici, Lemuzi usque ad mediam silvam, qua Boemia limitatur. Deinde ad aquilonem hii sunt termini: Psouane, Chrowati et altera Chrowati, Zlasane, Trebowane, Boborane, Dedosese usque ad mediam silvam, qua Milcianorum occurrunt termini.621 Inde ad orientem hos fluvios habet terminos: Bug scilicet et Ztir cum Krakoua civitate provinciaque, cui Wag nomen est, cum omnibus regionibus ad predictam urbem pertinentibus, que Krakova est. Inde Ungarorum limitibus additis usque ad montes, quibus nomen est Tritri, dilatata procedit. Deinde in ea parte, que meridiem respicit, addita regione Moravia usque ad fluvium, cui nomen est Wag, et ad mediam silvam, cui nomen est More, et eiusdem montis eadem parrochia tendit, qua Bawaria limitatur. Mediantibus itaque nobis et communi principum aspirante suffragio per . . .622 factum est, ut dux Boemie Wratizlaus et frater eius Cunradus supradicto Pragen Sigwin was archbishop of Cologne (1078–1089); Liena archbishop of HamburgBremen (1072–1101); Dietrich (Theodrich) bishop of Verdon (1049–89); Conrad bishop of Utrecht (1076–1099); Ulrich/Udalrich bishop of Eichstätt (1075– 1099); for Wezelin, Egilbert and Otto, see above.

617

 Frederic I (1050?–1105), duke of Swabia.

618

 Lutold (d. 1112), a  son of Conrad, governed the part-principality of Znojmo from 1092.

619

620

 For Rapoto V see above, 228.

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Apostolic See and in the presence of us and many magnates of our kingdom, the original ecclesiastical district within the entire ambit of its boundaries was assigned to the Prague see by archbishops Wezilo of Mainz, Sigwin of Cologne, Egilbert of Trier, Liemar of Bremen, also by bishops Dietrich of Verdun, Conrad of Utrecht, Ulrich of Eichstadt, Otto of Regensburg,617 and with the assent of the laymen Vratislav, duke of the Czechs, and his brother Conrad, Duke Frederic,618 Duke Lutold,619 count palatine Rapoto,620 and all who assembled there. Its boundaries to the west are the region of Tuhošť that reaches to the middle of River Kouby, Sedlec and then the Lučané, the Děčané, the Lutoměřici, and the Lemuzi, to the middle of the forest that bounds Bohemia. Then to the north, these are the boundaries: the Pšované, the Chorvati and the other Chorvati, the Slezané, the Třebované, the Bobřané, and the Dědošané up to the middle of the forest to the boundaries of the Milčané.621 From that place to the east, the following rivers make up the boundaries: the Bug and Styr with the city of Cracow and the province whose name is Váh and with all the regions that belong to the said city, that is, to Cracow. Thence it stretches to the mountains, whose name is Tatry, reaching the Hungarian border. Then, on the side that faces south the same ecclesiastical district extends to the borders of Bavaria, with the attached region of Moravia up to the river called Váh and to the middle of the forest that is called More and of the mountain of the same. Thus due to our mediation and with the positive approval of all the princes, it was [ordered] by [...]622 that Vratislav, duke of Bohemia, and his brother Conrad once again recognize and return the entire ecclesiastical district to the aforementioned bishop of Prague, their brother, as required by the order of law. Hence we, being con The issue of the Czech tribes is one of major questions of Czech medieval scholarship. Cosmas (above, 42–4) and the charter of 1086 are the main sources of information. Graus, Die Nationenbildung, passim, esp. 51–4, and Třeštík, Počátky marginalizes it, but the issue prevails. A modern critical update of the seminal study of Turek, Die frühmittelalterlichen Stammesgebiete, is sorely needed.

621

622

 Unclear passage in all MSS.

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si episcopo, fratri suo, parrochiam iudiciario ordine requisitam ex integro reprofiterentur et redderent. Proinde nos rogatu eiusdem episcopi racionabiliter inducti Pragensis episcopatus redintegracionem nostre imperialis auctoritatis edicto illi et successoribus eius confirmamus et stabilimus inviolabiliter decernentes, ne ulla posthac cuiuslibet conditionis persona vel ulla societas hominum Pragensi ecclesie quicquam sui iuris in prenotatis terminis alienare presumat. Cuius redintegrationis et confirmationis auctoritas ut omni evo stabilis et inconvulsa permaneat, hanc cartam inde conscribi, quam, sicut infra apparet, manu propria roborantes inpressione sigilli nostri iussimus insigniri. Data III. kal. Maii anno ab incarnatione Domini MLXXXVI, indictione VIIII, anno autem domini Heinrici regni quidem XXXII, imperii vero tercio. Signum domini Heinrici tercii Romanorum imperatoris augusti.“

Quod ego vidi ipsum cesarem suis manibus annotantem in privilegio Pragensis episcopatus.623 Capitulum XXXVIII. Similiter eodem anno Heinrico imperatore demandante et Magontino archiepiscopo Wezelone interveniente per legatos apos­ tolici,624 qui eidem interfuerunt concilio, domnus Clemens papa secundum predictos terminos suo privilegio corroborat Pragensem episcopatum id efflagitante et suggerente Gebehardo episcopo per suum capellanum nomine Albinum, quem cum legatis apostolici ex Magoncia hac de eadem causa miserat Romam. Eodem anno V. id. Iunii obiit Otto dux Moravie, frater Wratizlai ducis Boemie.

623

 The veracity of this statement is also highly problematic, as Cosmas is believed to have remained in Liège until 1091.

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vinced and reasonably moved by the request of the same bishop, do confirm the reunification of the Prague bishopric to him and his successors by edict of our imperial authority, and we establish and irrevocably declare that in future no person of any status or no community of people should dare to deprive the Prague church of any of its rights within the appointed boundaries. In order that the authority of this reunification and confirmation remains permanent and inviolable in perpetuity, we have ordered this charter to be drawn up which—as will be apparent from below—we have confirmed with our own hand and marked by the impression of our seal. Given on April 29 in the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1086, in the ninth indictio, in the thirty-second year of Lord Henry’s reign and the third year of his imperial rule. Sign of Lord Henry, the Third Roman Emperor Augustus.”

I myself saw how the emperor drew the sign by hand on the privilege of the bishopric of Prague.623 Chapter 38 Likewise in the same year, at the request of Emperor Henry and upon the intercession of Archbishop Wezilo of Mainz, Pope Clement confirmed the Prague bishopric within its said limits with his privilege through the apostolic legates,624 who were present at that council, upon the demand and suggestion of Bishop Gebhard through his chaplain Albinus, whom he had sent for the

624

 The mention of legates at the synod of Mainz refers to a bishop Peter of Proto “and two cardinals of the Roman church” (MGH Ldl 2, Hanover: Hahn, 1892). The papal bull of (Anti-)Pope Clement III (1080/84–1100) has not survived and may never have been issued.

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Interea Egilbertus Treverensis archiepiscopus iussis obtemperans imperatoris, adveniens metropolim Pragam XVII. kal. Iulii625 inter sacra missarum sollempnia regalibus fascibus indutum unxit in regem Wratizlaum et imposuit diadema super caput tam ipsius quam eius coniugis Zuataue cyclade regia amicte clericis et universis satrapis ter acclamantibus: „Wratizlao regi quam Boemico tam Polonico, magnifico et pacifico, a Deo coronato, vita, salus et victoria.“626 Post hec tercia die archipresul secundum regiam magnificentiam inmenso pondere auri et argenti ditatus et ceteris xeniis ac muneribus donatus cum magno honore letus ad propria remeat. Capitulum XXXIX. Anno dominice incarnationis MLXXXVII. Rex Wratizlaus collecto exercitu intrat Zribiam, quam olim imperator Heinricus in perpetuum sibi habendam tradiderat627 et, dum quoddam castrum nomine Gvozdec628 prope urbem Misen reedificat, aliis insistentibus operi mittit duas scaras ex electis militibus cum filio suo Bracizlao ultum ire olim sibi illate iniurie. Nam quodam retro dierum tempore, dum redit imperatoris de curte, casu contigit in quadam villa nomine Kyleb629 valde magna eum pernoctare, ubi noctu orta  The year of the coronation in Prague is dubious. For certain reasons the year before is perhaps more likely. For the ceremony, see Martin Wihoda, “Die Herr­schafts­ legitimation im böhmischen Fürstentum des 11. Jahrhunderts. Kon­ti­nui­täten und Wandlungen,” in Das Charisma. Funktionen und symbolische Re­prä­sentationen, ed. Pavlína Rychterová, Stephan Seit and Raphaela Veit (Berlin: Aka­de­mie Verlag, 2008) [henceforth: “Herrschaftslegitimation”], 385–404 and De­me­ter Malaťák, The Coronations of the First Bohemian Kings, unpublished MA thesis Central European University, Budapest, 2002, 19–27. Lukáš Reitinger, Vrati­slav. První král Čechů [Vratislav. The first king of Bohemians] (Prague: Argo, 2017), 99–104., discovered that in the year 1085 the archbishop of Trier did not travel anywhere, therefore, according to him, the coronation must have taken place in 1086.

625

626

 The wording of the acclamation has been seen as a borrowing from Carolingian models, perhaps via Regino, Chron. ad a. 801, 62, who, in turn copied it from the Annales Laureshamenses, but this is not necessarily so. The essentially Roman imperial (and also Byzantine) formula was incorporated in several medieval royal liturgies and coronation orders. The inclusion of Poland in the royal title is another debated issue.

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same purpose with the apostolic legates from Mainz to Rome. In the same year on July 9, Otto, duke of Moravia and brother of Duke Vratislav of Bohemia, died. In the meantime, Egilbert, archbishop of Trier, obeying the orders of the emperor, arrived on June 15625 at the metropolitan see of Prague and at a solemn celebration of the mass anointed Vratislav, adorned with the insignia of royal office, as king and placed a crown both on his head and on that of his wife Svatava, who was clad in a royal robe, while the clergy and all the officers cheered three times: “Life, health and victory to Vratislav, king of both Bohemia and Poland, excellent and peaceful, crowned by God.”626 Three days later, the archbishop enriched by an immense load of gold and silver, in accordance with royal generosity, and granted other presents and gifts, merrily returned home with great honor. Chapter 39 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1087. King Vratislav gathered an army and marched to Sorbia, which Emperor Henry had once granted him to hold in perpetuity.627 While he was reconstructing a castle by the name of Gvozdec,628 close to the town of Meissen, and his men were getting on with the job, Vratislav sent two troops of selected warriors with his son Břetislav to go and avenge an injustice once done to him. For a long time ago, when he was returning from the emperor’s court, he happened to spend a night in a very big village called Kyleb;629 there at night strife arose between his people and the locals. Two brothers, first among the first men, mighty pillars of this land, resplendent with the gleam of virtues, 627

 This donation of the Margraviate of Meissen is recorded in the Annales of Lampert of Hersfeld, ad a. 1075 (Lampert of Hersfeld, Annales, 277).

628

629

 This site has been identified by Gustav Hey as a  fortification near Constappel, about 12 km north east of Dresden: Gustav Hey, “Die Feste Gvozdec bei Meißen,” Neues Archiv für Sächsische Geschichte 11 (1890), 1–16.

 A  now unidentified village near Leipzig; the events are presumed to have happened on Vratislav’s return from the imperial court at Goslar in 1075.

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sedicione inter suos et cives occisi sunt a villanis duo fratres, primi inter primates, huius patrie inmanes columne, virtutum clari lumine, Nacarat et Bznata, filii Taz comitis. Mox secundum regis iussum qui missi fuerant, festinantes die et noctu tercia luce summo diluculo invadunt cum magno impetu predictam villam et diripiunt omnia bona illorum, ipsos quoque et uxores eorum usque ad corrigiam calciamenti630 spoliant et funditus edificia subvertunt igne comburentes atque equis et peccoribus simul abductis illesi viam tenuerunt. Facta autem meridie, dum transirent quoddam flumen, filius herilis nactus amena loca fluminis iussit cum preda scutarios precedere, viros autem bello fortiores secum invitat ibi prandium sumere. Et quia magnus estus erat, filius ducis nimio calore exestuans, dum post prandium in aqua paulisper refrigeraretur natans, mittit ad eum Alexius comes631 ita mandans: „Non hic,“ ait, „in Wlitava aut in Ogra tua natas. Tolle moras,632 fortium portas virorum gazas.“ Ad hec iuvenis: „Naturale est,“ inquit, „senibus ad aure motum semper trepidare633 et quamvis sibi iam imminentia plus tamen quam iuvenes timere fata.“ Quod cum relatum esset Alexio, „Deus,“ inquit, „faciat, sed eventu propicio, ut talis assit nunc et inevitabilis fortune occasio, ubi iuvenes videant, utrum senes an ipsi magis fata timeant.“ Dum hec loquitur predictus comes, ecce plus quam XX apparent equites missi a Saxonibus, ut eos provocarent cimbello,634 sicut mustela hostem suum aspidem strangulare volens provocat umbra caude sue de antro.635 Quos ut viderunt nostrates, inconsulti homines, plus audaces quam perspicaces, Alexio nimium refutante et prohibente eos ac revocante, ruunt in sua fata persequentes inimicos. Nam statim ferrea legio Saxonum 630

 Luke 3:16.

 Cosmas latinized his name (Aleš in Czech).

631

632

 Lucan Phars. 1.281.

 Again Vergil A. 2.728.

633

634

 Niermeyer glosses cimbellum in this phrase (provocare cimbellum) as a “challenge”, cf. Niermeyer (s. v. cimbellum). Cosmas also uses the same phrase in a wordplay below, 364: Crudelius enim civili geritur bello, ubi filius patrem cimbello et pater filium provocat duello.

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Načerat and Bznata, sons of comes Taz, were killed by the villagers. Following at once the order of the king, the people who had been sent out, hurried by day and night and, on the third day, at dawn, they struck the said village with great force and plundered all the property of its people. They despoiled the men as well as their wives to the last laces of their shoes,630 set the buildings on fire, and razed them to the ground; having taken the horses and the cattle, they went on their way unscathed. It happened at midday, when they were crossing a river, that the son of the duke found a pleasant place by the river, ordered the shield-bearers to go on with the booty, and invited the fighters who had been braver in battle to have a meal with him there. Because it was very hot, the son of the duke perspired in the great heat, and while he cooled himself swimming a little while in the water after lunch, comes Alex631 sent word to him, saying: “You are not swimming here” he said “in your own Vltava or Ohře. Do not linger,632 you bear a treasure of brave men.” To this the young man replied: “It is natural for old men always to tremble at the stir of the breeze633 and to be more afraid of fate than young men, even though it is imminent for them.” When this was reported back to Alex, he said: “May God now bring about what must happen and be inevitable—but that it should turn out good—by which the young may see whether they fear fate more than the old.” As the aforementioned comes was saying this, behold, there appeared more than twenty horsemen who were sent by the Saxons to provoke them with the challenge634 just like a weasel that wants to strangle its enemy, the snake, lures him out of his hole with the shade of its tail.635 Seeing this, our rash people, more audacious than prudent, rushed on to face their fate and to pursue the enemies even though Alex strongly upbraided them, restrained and called them back. For at once, an armored detachment of Saxons leapt out from covers and not one of our people who had pursued the enemies escaped. When those who had stayed back in the camp saw a ball of dust rising like a whirlwind636 in the sky, and  Cf. Lucan Phars. 4.724–9.

635

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prosilit ex insidiis et nec unus, qui persecuti sunt hostes, evasit ex nostris. Cumque hi, qui remanserant in castris, viderent in celum ascendere quasi per turbinem636 globum pulveris et licet repentini et subitanei casus etiam fortissimos viros in bello conturbare soleant, tamen arma quam cicius corripiunt, hostes viriliter excipiunt, pugna summa vi conseritur, fragor armorum et clamor virorum usque ad nubes exoritur, hastilia in primo congressu franguntur, res gladiis agitur,637 donec Deo opem ferente Saxones versi sunt in fugam, nostrates habuere victoriam sed nimis cruentam. Quia vero secundi ordinis milites cum preda iam precesserant, in hac pugna soli tantum nobiles interierunt, Alexius, Ratibor gener suus, Branis cum fratre Zlava et alii quam plurimi; Preda comes amisso pede vix mortem evasit. Filius vero ducis vulneratus est sub dextro pollice et, nisi capulus ensis, quem manu tenuit, ictui obstitisset, ex toto manum amisisset. Acta est autem hec strages VI. non. Iulii. Capitulum XL. Anno dominice incarnationis MLXXXVIII. Hisdem temporibus, hec acta quibus referuntur, Quidam miles erat, qui Beneda nomen habebat, Magnanimus iuvenis prestanti corpore talis, Hector erat qualis pulcher vel Turnus in armis,638 Ex Iurata natus, cui primus Taz fuit avus. Nescio qua de re tunc offenso quoque rege Wratizlao fugiens in Poloniam factus est miles domne Iudithe, coniugis ducis Wladizlai; iamque duobus annis evolutis remeans de Polonia adiit Wigbertum639 generum regis rogans, ut per eius suffragia pristinam domini sui possit redire in gratiam. Sed quia hic Wigbertus vir erat in rebus valde discretus, nolens, ut in aliquo socerum suum offenderet, dat ei consilium monens, ut interim apud Misnensem episcopum nomine Bennonem640 tucius maneret et eum sibi similiter intercessorem 636 637

 4 Kings 2:11.

 Sallust Cat. 60.2.

638

 Cf. Ovid Met. 12.77 and Vergil A. 11.910.

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even though unexpected and sudden events usually dismay even the most courageous in war, they nevertheless seized weapons as quickly as possible and manfully joined with the enemy. The battle was fought with great force, the clash of weapons and the clamor of men rose up to the clouds; the spears broke at the first attack, then they fought with swords 637 until the Saxons were with the help of God turned to flight, and our men won a victory, yet a very bloody one. And because the warriors of the second rank had gone ahead with the booty, only nobles died in this battle: Alex, his son-in-law Ratibor, Braniš with his brother Sláva and many others. Comes Předa lost his foot and barely escaped death. Indeed, the son of the duke was wounded on his right thumb and, had the hilt of the sword he was holding not checked the blow, he would have lost his hand altogether. This massacre took place on July 2. Chapter 40 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1088. At the time of these things that we have just related, There was a warrior by the name of Beneda, A young man very noble in spirit and with a splendid figure, too, 638 Handsome as Hector and in arms like Turnus, Born of Jurata whose ancestor was Taz the first. I do not know how he offended King Vratislav but he had to flee to Poland where he became a knight of Lady Judith, wife of Duke Wladisław. After two years had passed, he returned from Poland and approached Wiprecht,639 son-in-law of the king, asking him to help so that by his intercession he might regain the former favor of his lord. But since this Wiprecht was a man of great discretion in affairs and did not want to offend his father-in-law in any way, he advised and counseled him that it would be safer for him to stay with the bishop of Meissen named Benno,640 and to win him 639

 Cf. above, 208.

640

 Benno I (1010–1106), bishop of Meissen (from 1066).

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pararet. Interea contigit, ut iterum rex Wratizlaus Zribiam cum suo exercitu intraret, quo predictum castrum Gvozdec in alium firmiorem locum transferret; et ut cognovit rex, quod Beneda in urbe Misen esset, mittit pro eo, quo veniat ad eum sub fidei pacto. Quem statim venientem rex ut vidit, qualiter eum dolo caperet, cogitare cepit. Ubi post multa verba promiscue dicta et quedam convenienter ficta, accepit eum fraudulenter rex manu dextra et ducit seorsum extra castra, quasi ibi secreta locuturus. Tunc videns capulum et caput ensis aureum, quo erat miles precinctus, inter talia querit ab eo, quanti valeat gladius suus. Et ille: „Molam,“ inquit, „si ponas super galeam, utramque simul et caput atque corpus usque ad femur in uno ictu hoc ense dimidiabo.“ Miratur rex dolo et laudat ensem atque rogat, ut eum sibi ostendat. At ille nihil mali suspicans dat regis in manum exemptum de vagina gladium; quem rex arripiens et manu vibrans, „Quid,“ inquit, „agis nunc, o fili mulieris ultro virum appetentis?“641 Et astanti camerario, qui solus erat cum eo, homo peior pessimo, Vito Seliboric ait: „Rape hunc, rape sublimem et liga quadrupedem.“ Sed quia semper in audaces audacia non est tuta, audax miles mox arripiens de femore camerarii per capulum ensem precidit lumbos eius per medium, qui calcitrans humum iacuit semivivus. Nec fugit miles acer, quamvis aufugere poterat, sed velut Hercules circa Lerneam ydram642 assiliens et resiliens Ter vili regem paulisper vulnerat ense, Ipse tamen nullum dextra ducis excipit ictum, donec ad clamorem de castris ruunt. Cucata643 sed primus pre cunc­ tis advolat unus et ceu silvaticum porcum super se irruentem lato excipit venabulo militem. Tunc rex, quasi in mortuo possit ulcisci, iussit eum equi ad caudam per pedes ligari et sic huc et illuc per tribulos trahi.644   Literally: “son of a woman desiring a man wilfully (of her own choice).”

641

 Hercules’s second labor was to kill the many-headed “dragon” Hydra.

642

 See also below, 316.

643

644

 Ms A3 adds: “Thus a good man, warrior Beneda, died as a martyr of God on June 11 and was buried at the castle of Meissen in front of the gate of Saint John the Apostle and Evangelist’s monastery.”

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also as his intercessor. In the meantime, King Vratislav went again to Sorbia with his army in order to move the said castle Gvozdec to another stronger place. When the king found out that Beneda was in the city of Meissen, he sent for him to come to him under safe conduct. When the king saw him coming, he at once started to muse how he might capture him through trickery. After many words promiscuously spoken and some conveniently fabricated, the king cunningly took his right arm and led him outside the castle as if to speak there some secret matters. When he saw the golden hilt and the knob of the sword with which the warrior was girt, he asked him among other things how strong his sword was. And he [replied]: “Even if you were to put a millstone on top of a helmet, I would cleave both of them at once and the head and the body down to the waist with one blow of this sword.” Craftily, the king marveled at it and praised the sword, asking to show it to him. Suspecting nothing bad he passed the unsheathed sword to the king. He seizing it, shook it with his hand and said: “What do you do now, you son of a whore?”641 And to the chamberlain that was standing by, who was the only person with him, a  man worse than the worst, called Vitus Seliboricz, he said: “Grab him, raise him up and hog-tie him.” But boldness is not sage against the bold. The bold warrior at once snatched the hilt of the sword at the chamberlain’s thigh and cut his loins in half. The chamberlain reeled, fell, and lay on the ground half-dead. Nor did the spirited warrior run away even though he could have done, but as Hercules leaping back and forth around the Lernean Hydra642 He shortly wounded the king three times with that poor sword, Himself receiving no blow from the duke’s hand, until the crowd from the castle came running to the clamor. First and before the others, Cucata643 alone hastened towards and pierced the warrior with a broad hunting-spear as he would a wild boar as he rushed upon him. Thereupon the king, as if he could take revenge on one who was dead, ordered him to be tied by the feet to the tail of a horse and be dragged back and forth through the thorn-bushes.644

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Capitulum XLI. Anno dominice incarnationis MLXXXVIIII. Anno dominice incarnationis MLXXXX. Antiquus ille chelidrus645 humani generis inimicus, qui numquam dormitat, sed semper quietos inquietat, non tulit ulterius pacatos vivere fratres, regem scilicet Wratizlaum et presulem Gebehardum. Hunc vexat vana gloria et ambitione, illum exagitat arrogantia et tumido fastu superbie, ita tamen ut nec ille huic crederet nec hic illum exsuperare quiret. Iste non vult fratrem sibi habere parem, ille non vult minor fratre haberi; iste vult preesse, ille non vult subesse; iste vult quasi rex dominari et precellere, ille non vult iussis suis obtemperare, sed soli imperatori suum profitetur servicium, a quo acceperat episcopium. Qui in tantum virili animositate inter se aliquando dissidebant, ut sepe festis diebus rex episcopum non haberet, qui sibi coronam imponeret.646 Hac necessitate simul et ambitione rex compulsus non ratione, sed sola dominatione iterum subintronizat capellanum suum nomine Weclonem in territorio Moraviensi epis­ copum.647 Quo in facto palam se fecit notabilem, non solum sprevisse, quod ipse coram imperatore et eius episcopis collaudaverat, ut unus foret uterque episcopatus, verum etiam pape Clementis violasse privilegium, quo eiusdem terminos episcopii roboraverat. Hanc ut apploraret apostolico illatam ecclesie iniusticiam, presul Gebehardus iturus erat Romam, sed consilio cum suis familiaribus inito prius adit antiquum amicum Wladizlaum regem Pannonicum648 et patefaciens ei sue ecclesie dampnum postulat ab eo  Sedulius Carm. Pasch. 3,189.

645

 A rare reference to festive crown wearing (coronamentum, ‘Festkrönung’) in Bohemia. Cosmas believed the crowning at such occasions to be the privilege of an archbishop, see above, 94.

646

 Nothing more is known of Bishop Veclo’s pontificate. Local tradition—from the fifteenth century—does not mention his name, see “Das Granum Catalogi praesulum Moraviae nach Handschriften des Olmützer Domkapitelarchivs”, ed. Joseph Loserth, Archiv für Österreichische Geschichte 78 (1852), 43–97. Bretholz, Die Chronik, 156, n. 2 suggested that Veclo is in fact identical with Bishop Andrew (1092–1096).

647

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Chapter 41 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1089. In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1090. The old venomous snake,645 enemy of humankind that never sleeps but always unrests the restful, could no longer bear that the brothers, namely King Vratislav and Bishop Gebhard, lived in peace. The one he harasses by a vain desire for glory and fame, the other he stirs up with conceit and arrogant pride, so that neither could the latter trust the former nor allow any advantage to him. The one does not want to consider the other brother equal to him, the other does not want to be lesser than he; this one wants to be in the lead, that one would not be in tow; this one wants to rule and excel as a king, the other wishes not to obey his orders but confesses his service solely to the emperor from whom he has received the episcopacy. They sometimes disagreed with each other in such a vigorous wrath that on feast days it often happened that the king had no bishop to place a crown on his head.646 Compelled by this need together with ambition and not according to reason but only because he could, the king enthroned his chaplain named Veclo once more as bishop in the Moravian land.647 By so doing he openly showed that he not only despised what he himself had earlier approved before the emperor and his bishops, that is, that there would be only one bishopric, but also that he defiled the privilege of Pope Clement in which he had confirmed the boundaries of the said bishopric. Bishop Gebhard was set on going to Rome in order to bewail to the pope this injustice committed to the church, but on the advice of his retainers, he first approached his old friend Ladislas, king of Hungary.648 Laying before him the injury done to his church, he asked him for help for the journey to Rome. He did not know, alas, that his fate was already close at

 King (St.) Ladislas I  reigned 1077–1095. Jaromír/Gebhard’s “old friendship” with him may have gone back to his years in Polish exile, where Ladislas also had spent his youth until 1063.

648

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ad Romanum iter auxilium, inscius heu fatum sibi iam superesse propinquum. Nam prima die, qua regem adiit, nimiam corporis incidit molestiam, et quia prope urbem erat Strigoniam, illuc mittit eum rex navigio, committens curam eius illius urbis episcopo.649 Pertulit heu quales sex lucibus ipse dolores, Inpedior lacrimis nec possum promere dictis. Septima die iam advesperascente, Sol Iulii senas qua tangit luce kalendas,650 Gemma sacerdotum, cunctorum lux Boemorum, Dogmate preclarus, pius antistes Gebehardus, Vivat ut in Christo, mundo migravit ab isto. Moribus et vita de cuius dicere multa Fert animus mihi, sed desunt in pectore sensus. Pauca tamen fari libet hec, que vidimus ipsi.651 Capitulum XLII. Tempore quadragesimali talis mos erat suus: semper cilicium habens subtus, desuper veste episcopali indutus, diebus pascit humanos obtutus, noctibus vero sacco vestitus, latenter ecclesiam ingressus et super pavimentum humi prostratus tamdiu perseverat in precibus, quoadusque largo ymbre lacrimarum madida fuit, cui incubuit, humus. Inde consurgens ad agapem faciendum et, prius­ quam ruminet psalmos, quotquot ante ecclesiam invenit miseros, boni operis per copiam supplet eorum inopiam; finito psalterio idem facit. Post matutinas autem quadraginta panis quadrantes et totidem allecia sive alicuius edulii partes dividit inter pauperes. Quarta autem vice iam appropinquante luce ad numerum apostolorum lavans pedes XII peregrinorum652 dividit his formas bis senas denariorum. Quibus ad horam prandii in abdita stuba vel casa positis habunde ipse necessaria apponit et dextra sua cibum et potum eis benedicit, deinde ad publicam mensam vadit et secum XL  It is not clear who was archbishop of Esztergom at that time. In the foundation charter of Zagreb (around 1091 or later) Acha is listed as such.

649

650

 26 June 1090.

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hand! For on the first day on which he visited the king, he was taken badly ill and since he was close to the city of Esztergom, the king had him taken there by boat and committed him to the care of the bishop of that city.649 What pains he suffered during those six days I cannot tell, for tears my words, alas, impede; but when the seventh eve drew nigh, five days before the Kalends of July,650 that gem of priests, light of Bohemians, famed for his learning among Christians, the pious Bishop Gebhard, this world left to live with Christ. My soul, being now bereft, would speak much more of all that he has been: let my heart say the little we have seen.651 Chapter 42 In Lent it was his habit to wear a hair shirt underneath and the episcopal robe over it; during daytime he delighted the human eye; at nights, clad in sack cloth, he used to visit secretly the church where, throwing himself upon the pavement, he persisted in prayers until the ground on which he was lying was wet from the profuse outpouring of tears. Thereupon, rising to perform acts of mercy, and before he recited the Psalms, he alleviated by an abundance of good deeds the poverty of all the needy he encountered in front of the church. Having finished the Psalter, he did the same. After Matins he divided forty quarters of bread and the same number of herrings or other portions of food among the poor. Fourthy at dawn he washed the feet of twelve pilgrims, according to the number of apostles,652 and divided among them twice six pennies. Then at lunchtime, he seated them in a secluded lodging or house and served them abundantly with everything necessary and blessed their food and drinks with his right hand. Afterwards he went to a public 651

 Translated by the late Barbara Reynolds.

652

 Cf. John 13:5.

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egenos pavit. Similiter ad sedem suam Prage constituit cotidie XL pauperes pascendos et bis in anno vestiendos a corrigia calcei usque ad mastigiam pilei. Item nonnullos adventantes hospites et pauperes clericos nimiis dationibus obligat, ut per totam quadragesimam secum manentes tam pro vivis quam pro defunctis psalteria legant. Ad singula queque missarum sollempnia, quotquot in capella quaque die fuerunt celebrata, trina dari fecit nummismata denariorum. Omnibus autem diebus dominicis XII nummos, festis vero apostolicis et in aliis maioribus sollempnitatibus CC offert super pixidem sanctarum reliquiarum argenteos. Quamque fuerit largus, si te delectat, o prudens, scire, lector, pelliciam episcopalem numquam integrum per annum portabat, sed unam hiemalem in pascha, alteram estivalem in festo sancti Wencezlai suis capellanis donat; sic et in ceteris donativis largum fuisse scias. Post cuius obitum anno dominice incarnationis MXCI, IIII. non. Marcii Cosmas653 electus est in episcopum tam a rege Wratizlao quam omni clero ac populo Boemorum, tercio Heinrico imperante augusto, sed in Longobardia hisdem temporibus imperialia tractante negocia. Capitulum XLIII. Eodem anno XV. kal. Maii, IIII. feria in secunda ebdomada pas­ che,654 combustum est monasterium sanctorum martirum655 Viti, Wencezlai atque Adalberti in urbe Praga. Eodem anno rex ­Wratizlaus valde iratus est contra fratrem suum Cunradum, quia his non inmemor mutue dilectionis favebat parti filiorum fratris sui Ottonis, Zuatopluk656 videlicet et Ottik,657 quibus expulsis de paterna hereditate filio suo Bolezlao rex urbem Olomuc et alias  Cosmas, bishop of Prague (1091–1098).

653

654

655

 Bretholz, Die Chronik, 148, n. 2 notes that in 1091 the Thursday of the second week after Easter was April 23.

 On these buildings see: Jana Maříková-Kubková et al., Katedrála viditelná a neviditelná. Průvodce tisíciletou historií katedrály sv. Víta, Václava, Vojtěcha a Panny Marie na Pražském hradě I. II. [Visible and invisible cathedral. A guide through the history of the St. Vitus Cathedral at Prague Castle] (Prague: Hilbertinum and Archeologický ústav AV ČR, 2018), 88–110.

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table and fed along with himself forty indigents. Similarly, he established that forty poor should be fed at his see in Prague every day and clothed twice a year from the laces of their shoes to the hatbands. He also obliged by great donations guests who arrived and poor clergymen to stay with him during the whole of Lent and to read Psalters for both the living and the dead. At every Mass, however many were celebrated in the chapel on any day, he had three pennies disbursed. Moreover, every Sunday he bestowed twelve and on apostolic and other major holidays two hundred silver coins on the shrine of the saints’ relics. If you, wise reader, take pleasure in knowing how bounteous he was, know you that he never wore one episcopal fur throughout the entire year but he gave to his chaplains the winter one at Easter and another summer one on the feast of Saint Wenceslas; and he was similarly generous in other gifts. After his death in the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1091, on March 4, Cosmas653 was elected bishop both by King Vratislav and by all clergy and the people of Bohemia, while the august Henry III, was at that time treating imperial affairs in Lombardy. Chapter 43 In the same year on April 17, on the Wednesday of the second week after Easter,654 the chapter of Saints Vitus, Wenceslas and Adalbert, the martyrs, in the castle of Prague was destroyed by fire.655 In the same year, King Vratislav was very angry with his brother Conrad because he, remembering mutual love, took the side of the sons of his brother Otto, namely Svatopluk656 and Otík.657 The king had expelled them from the paternal inheritance and had given the city of Olomouc and other cities to his son Boleslav. His life, however, 656

657

 Svatopluk had governed the subprincipality of Olomouc since 1107, and afterwards was duke of Bohemia until he was murdered in 1109.

 Otík is the diminutive of the name of Otto II “the Black” ( b. 1107) who from 1113 governed the subprincipality of Olomouc, and from 1123 also that of Brno until 1125, when he went into exile to the court of Emperor Lothair III and fell under his flag in the battle of 18 February 1126 against Soběslav I at Chlumec.

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civitates tradiderat, ubi non longo post tempore in predicta urbe inmatura preventus est morte III. id. Augusti. Et quoniam illi tres fratres, scilicet Iaromir, Otto et Cunradus, quamdiu fuerunt vitales, ita erant unanimes, ut per nullas posset eos rex divellere artes, et sicut fertur leo pertimuisse tres iuvencos inter se collatis cornibus stantes, ita numquam ausus est rex invadere suos fratres; post­ quam vero vidit solum Cunradum post obitum fratrum ex omni parte fraterno amminiculo privatum, ingressus est cum exercitu Moraviam, ut eum similiter expelleret de provincia, que sibi sorte ac funiculo hereditatis658 et per concessionem iure acciderat paternam. Ventum erat ad urbem, cui nomen Brinen, ubi rex circumstantibus terre magnatibus disponens obsidionem per girum, dum designat loca, ubi quisque comes tentoria figat, Zderad villicus,659 sicut erat homo versipellis, ex obliquo innuens regi oculis iuvenem Bracizlaum inter satrapas coram patre suo stantem denotat elogio confusionis: „Quoniam quidem,“ inquiens, „tuus, o domine rex, natus libenter estate ludit in flumine et natat, si placet tue maiestati, iuxta fluvium hac ex parte urbis cum suis papiliones ponat.“ Hec ideo dixit, quod olim in partibus Saxonie, dum meridie natat predictus iuvenis in flumine, hostes ex adverso irruunt et eos invadunt, ut supra retulimus.660 Hoc verbum nimis alte in corde iuvenis sedit et non minus doluit, quam si toxicata sagitta cor eius vulnerasset. Tristis abiit in castra et non sumpsit cibum usque noctis ad astra. Nocte autem sub opaca turma suorum advocata pandit cordis sui vulnera consulens, qualiter in villico ulcisci possit iniquo. Eadem etiam nocte clam mittit ad patruum suum Cunradum, dedecus sibi et a quo sit illatum exponens, quid opus sit facto, querit ab eo consilium. At ille: „Si te,“ inquit, „quis sis cognoscis, ignem me non minus quam te urentem extinguere noli timere; negligere laudabile non est.“ Non enim latuerat Cunradum, quod rex hec omnia ageret Zderad per consilium. Cumque nuncius dicta patrui 658 659

 Deut. 32:9.

 The exact status of a villicus at this time is not known. In the thirteenth century, castellans were called so, at other periods local (village) officeholders. Zderad, however, was clearly a high official in the royal court. Wolverton, Chronicle, 171 translates it as ‘bailiff,’ a term general enough to fit even here.

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was after a  brief time cut short by an early death in the said city on August 11. Since the three brothers, namely Jaromír, Otto and Conrad, were of the same mind for as long as they lived, the king could not separate them by any tricks; and just as the lion is said to fear three young bulls standing horn to horn against him, so the king never dared to attack his brothers. But when the king saw that Conrad was left alone after the death of the brothers, entirely deprived of brotherly support, he entered Moravia with an army in order to expel him too from the province that had rightly passed to him through fate, lot of inheritance,658 and paternal will. They came to a  city called Brno where the king, attended by the magnates of the land, arranged a circular siege. While he was indicating the places where each comes should pitch tents, the double-dealer villicus Zderad,659 winked surreptitiously to the king and made an embarrassing comment about young Břetislav who was standing in the midst of the officers in front of his father: “Since this son of yours, my lord king, plays and swims with pleasure in a river in the summer, let him—if your majesty permits—put up his tents with his men next to the river on this side of the city.” This he said because once in the region of Saxony, while the said young man was swimming in a river at noon, the enemies rushed against them and attacked them, as we reported before.660 This word stuck very deep in the boy’s heart and it hurt no less than if a poisoned arrow had wounded his heart. Gloomily he retreated to the camp and he did not take any food until the stars rose. At night, however, he summoned his men in the dark and disclosed to them the wounds in his heart, asking how he could take revenge on the evil villicus. That same night, he secretly sent to his uncle, Conrad, explaining the disgrace done to him and who had been responsible, and he asked advice of him as to what should be done. Conrad: “If you know who you are, do not fear to extinguish the fire that burns me no less than you; it is not praiseworthy to disregard it.” For it had not escaped Conrad’s notice that the king did all this on Zderad’s advice. When the messenger reported the words of the uncle to 660

 See above, 258.

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Bracizlao retulisset, favent omnes et assenciunt et quasi a Deo sibi datam laudant ducis sententiam, quoniam et ipsi itentidem prius consuluerant. Quid multa? Tota nocte illa agitur, quod mane per­ agitur. Capitulum XLIV. Nam lucescente die Bracizlaus mittit ad predictum villicum demandans ei, ut, ubi sibi placeret, secretum consilii simul ineant. Qui nihil mali suspicans accepto comite Drisimir tantummodo soli duo procedunt. Quos ut vidit a  longe iuvenis, tantum a  suis prosiliit obviam eis, quantum iactus est lapidis;661 dederat enim suis militibus signum, ut quando suam cirotecam illius proiceret in sinum, facerent, quod facere spoponderant. Ubi pauca exprobrans illi, quibus sepe offenderat eum: „Quam,“ inquit, „pollicitus sum, en abrenuncio tibi fidem meam,“ et avertens equum proiecit in faciem eius cirotecam.662 Non aliter quam cum iratus leo erexit iubas et submittens caudam nodo, qui est in extremitate caude, percuciens frontem suam et stimulo, qui est sub cauda sua,663 pungens posteriora fertur in omne quod obstat, ita prosiliunt ilico ex agmine ardentes et armati iuvenes, Nozizlau et frater eius Drisikray, filii Lubomir, et tercius Borsa, filius Olen, atque frustra fugientem Zderad ternis hastilibus alte in aera sustollunt et ut manipulum in terram deiciunt et calcant equorum pedibus et iterum atque iterum vulnerant et affigunt corpus humi telis. Tali morte sue de summitate rote fallax fortuna deiecit amicum suum Zderad V. id. Iulii. Comes autem Drisimir pallidus advolat in castra et nunciat regi, que fuerant facta. Solus rex meret et plorat et omnes iuvenem laudant, quamvis aperte laudare non audeant. Bracizlaus autem non  Luke 22:41.

661

662

 For the comparative analysis of this gesture and for the symbolic meaning of the gauntlet in general, see Berend Schwineköper, Der Handschuh im Recht, Ämterwesen, Brauchtum und Volksglauben (Sigmaringen: Thorbecke, 1938, repr. 1981); for the region, see Martin Nodl, “Zaniklý svět rukavic. Kosmas, Gall Anonym a  knížecí gesta” [The lost world of gloves. Cosmas, Gallus Anonymus and the

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Břetislav, everybody supported, approved, and praised the opinion of the duke, as if it had been given him by God, because they themselves had repeatedly offered the same advice. What more? That whole night was spent in preparing what was done in the morning. Chapter 44 At dawn, Břetislav sent to the aforesaid villicus, asking him to meet him right away, wherever he so wished, for a  private discussion. The latter did not suspect anything evil and thus taking with him only comes Držimír, the two of them set forth alone. As the young man saw them from afar, he hastened towards them only about a stone’s cast 661 from his people; for he had told his warriors that when he threw his gauntlet into Zderad’s lap that was the sign to do what they had promised. Then he reproached the villicus briefly about how he had often offended him and said, “The safe conduct that I had promised to you, behold, I now renounce!” and turning his horse, he threw his gauntlet in his face.662 Just as an enraged lion raises its mane and, dropping its tail, beats its forehead with the knob at the end of the tail, lashes its rump with the goad that is under its tail,663 and goes against anything in its way, thus the eager and well-armed young men—Nožislav, his brother Držikraj, sons of Lubomír, and, thirdly, Borša son of Olen—immediately leap out from the troop. They raise Zderad, who tried to flee in vain, high in the air on their three spears and throw him to the ground like a bundle, trample on him with the horses’ hooves, and wounded him again and again, staking the body to the ground with their spears. Through such a death, false Fortuna threw down her friend Zderad from the top of her wheel on July 11. Comes Držimír, however, dashed to the camp and announced palefaced to the king what happened. Only the king mourns and weeps while all ducal gestures], in Středověká Evropa v pohybu: K poctě Jana Klápště, ed. Ivana Boháčová and Petr Sommer (Prague: Archeologický ústav AV ČR, 2015), 397– 405. Cf. Wihoda, “Herrschaftslegitimation.” 663

 Cf. Lucan Phars. 1.208.

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longe ultra unum monticulum separatim sua transfert castra, quem maior pars exercitus et forcior bello est secuta. Capitulum XLV. Interea coniunx Cunradi nomine Wirpirk, una mulierum de numero prudentum,664 inscio marito suo venit in castra regis. Que cum nunciata esset regi, convocat rex proceres in cetum, et iussa venire stetit coram rege large perfusa faciem lacrimis et singultibus verba interrumpentibus tandem eluctata in vocem sic est locuta: „Haud ego iam digna dici tua, rex pie, nurus, Supplex ad genua nunc non temere tua veni“ et cecidit in faciem et adoravit regem. Que iussa surgere stetit et ait: „Nullam, domine mi rex, his in partibus belli invenis materiam, nullam de prelio hinc reportas victoriam, bellum plus quam civile geris.665 At si nos et nostra bona tuis militibus predam esse decernis, in te tua vertis tela, cum fratrem tuum, cui debeas esse tutela, spolias rapina cruenta. In Deum vadit, qui suos invadit.666 Nam quecumque hic longe in tuis finibus spolia queris habenda, ostendam tibi potiora in medio tui regni posita. Nusquam enim melius ditaberis nec amplius magnificaberis quam in suburbio Pragensi et vico Wissegradensi. Ibi Iudei auro et argento plenissimi, ibi ex omni gente negociatores ditissimi, ibi monetarii opulentissimi, ibi forum, in quo preda habundans superhabundat tuis militibus. Aut si te delectat, qualiter Troia arserit videre, nusquam magis Vulcanum videbis furentem, quam cum utramque urbem predictam videas ardentem. Atqui: „Illa mea sunt,“ dicas. Ista autem que hostiliter devastas, cuius esse putas? Nonne nos et nostra tua sunt? Sin autem solummodo tua fulmina acuis in iugulum tui fratris, absit,

664

665

 Matt. 25:2. Her genealogy is unclear; she may have descended from the counts of Tengling, a branch of the Arbones; see Bretholz, Die Chronik, 151, n. 2.

 Lucan Phars. 1.1.

666

 Another case where a nice wordplay (vadit – invadit) cannot be saved in translation.

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praise the young man, even though they do not dare do so openly. Břetislav then moved his camp not far away to a separate place beyond a small mountain and was followed by the larger and more warlike part of the army. Chapter 45 In the meantime, the wife of Conrad, Wirpirk by name, who was counted among wise women,664 came to the king’s camp without her husband’s knowing. When she was announced to the king, he summoned the foremen and she was ordered to come forward. She stood in front of the king with her face heavily tear-stained and with sobs interrupting her words, yet she finally regained her voice and thus she spoke: “No more worthy to be called your sister-in-law, king, I now come begging not rashly to your knees,” and she fell down on her face adoring the king. Ordered to rise, she stood and said: “You will not find, my lord king, any matter worth a war in these regions; you will not return in victory from any battle here; you are here fighting a more than civil war.665 But if you regard us and our goods as booty for your warriors, then you turn your spears against yourself when you rob your brother—of whom you should be a  guardian—by cruel plunder. He who attacks his own turns against God.666 For whatever spoils you seek to possess here, far away within your own borders—I can show you more precious ones lying in the center of your kingdom. Because nowhere can you enrich or exalt yourself more than in the suburb of Prague and in the town of Vyšehrad. There are the Jews, most rich in gold and silver, there are the wealthiest merchants from all nations, the most opulent money changers, there is the market where plenty of booty awaits your warriors in abundance. Or else, if it would please you to see how Troy burned, nowhere else will you see Vulcan raging more than if you saw both of the said towns in flames. And yet you will say: ‘These are mine.’ But to whom do you think these things that you destroy in hostile wise belong? Are we and our goods not yours? However, aiming your

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ut alter Cain habearis. Salva tui gratia fratri tuo patet Grecia, patet Dalmacia,667 ipse mavult peregrinari quam te fratricidio criminari. Quin pocius accipe, que tibi mittit, iam non frater, sed quasi tuus servus.“ Et protulit de sinu forcipes et fascem ex virgultis.668 „Et si quid,“ inquit, „frater in fratrem peccavit, emenda; terram autem, que tua est, cui mavis commenda.“ Dixerat et ita cor regis tetigit et movit corda principum, ut nullus se continere posset a lacrimis. Quam rex ad latus suum iubet ut sedeat, sed priusquam sederet, „Quandoquidem,“ inquit, „inveni gratiam in oculis tuis,669 adhuc unam peticionem posco, ne confundas faciem meam queso.670 Pro magno peccato filii paululum supplicii satis est patri.“ Tunc rex: „Scio,“ ait, „quo pergis. Sed perge potius et adduc ocius fratrem meum et filium ad me in osculo sancto et in vinculo pacis,“671 et osculatus est eam. Timuerat enim rex valde, ne frater suus et filius conspirarent contra eum. Qui cum venissent per conductum domne Wirpirk ad regem, dans eis pacis osculum rex ait ad filium suum: „Fili mi, si bene egisti, nulli melius quam tibi erit; sin autem male, peccatum tuum in foribus aderit.“672 Capitulum XLVI. Post hec Bracizlaus intelligens suum patrem non ex corde sed pro necessitate fecisse pacem, cum omnibus, qui suam transierant in aciem, secessit in partes urbis Gradec et ibi morabatur frustra expectans incertam fortune vicissitudinem. Quotquot enim secuti eum fuerant, nullus ausus est proprios revisere lares, quia regem, quem offenderant, valde metuebant, ne captos aut in vincula mitteret aut capitali sentencia dampnaret. Videns autem rex, quod non posset, uti volebat, iram suam ulcisci in filio nec in eius sequa667

 There is no particular reason why these locations are mentioned here, they just stand for “far away lands.”  According to Johannes Grimm, Deutsche Rechtsalterthümer (Leipzig: Dieterich, 4 1899), 236–7, scissors and twigs were symbols of loss of liberty and submission. They may refer to cutting the fasces, i. e. the sign of power and authority. Or refer to the well-known parable about the weakness of the twig versus the strength of the bundle.

668

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blows just at your brother’s neck may make you—Heaven forbid— a second Cain. By your grace, Greece and Dalmatia lie open to your brother 667—he prefers to become a wanderer rather than have you charged a fratricide. Why not accept what he sends to you no longer as your brother but rather as your servant.” And she took out of her lap a pair of scissors and a bundle of twigs.668 She said “If a brother has wronged a brother, correct him; but commit the land that is yours to whomever you please.” She finished and she touched the heart of the king and moved the hearts of the magnates so much that none were able to restrain themselves from tears. The king invited her to sit by his side but, before she had sat down, she said “Seeing that I have found favor in your sight,669 I still ask for one thing—I beg of you, turn not away my face.670 For a great sin of a son, a small bit of a father’s punishment suffices.” To this, the king said “I  know what you are going at. But better go to my brother and son, and bring them here soon with an holy kiss and the bond of peace,”671 and he kissed her. For the king greatly feared that his brother and son might conspire against him. After they had come to the king, by the arrangement of Lady Wirpirk, the king gave them the kiss of peace and said to his son: “My son, if you did well, no one will be the better for it than you; however, if you do ill, your sin will forthwith be present at the door.” 672 Chapter 46 After this Břetislav, realizing that his father had made peace not from his heart but out of necessity, withdrew with all those who had gone over to his army to the regions of Castle Hradec [Králové] and stayed there, waiting in vain for a  fickle change of fortune. For of all those who had followed him, none dared to go back to his home since they feared very much that the king, whom  Gen. 18:3.

669 670

 3 Kings 2:16.

 Rom. 16:16; 1 Eph. 1:20 and 4:3.

671

672

 Cf. Gen. 4:7. The citation recalls Wirpirk’s earlier reference to Cain.

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cibus, advocat fratrem suum Cunradum et congregat terre maiores natu atque corroborat omnium sacramento comitum, quo post suum obitum frater eius Conradus obtineat solium ac Boemie ducatum. Tunc rex roboratus fratris sui consilio simul et auxilio cepit aperte machinari, qualiter ulciscatur in filio. Nec hoc latuit Bracizlaum filium eius, et sine mora congregati sunt ad eum plus quam tria milia fortium virorum et accelerantes metati sunt cast­ ra circa Rokitnicam rivulum,673 in crastinum parati contra regem committere prelium. Premiserat enim ad patrem suum nuncium dicens: „En ego, en assum, longe quem quesiturus eras; quod facturus es posthac, hodie fac.“ Nec pretereundum est sub silentio, quod eiusdem noctis in conticinio divina operari dignata est revelatio. Nam si acta hominum nostre scientie pro modulo pandimus, in­dig­ num est, ut ea que ipsi vidimus magnalia Dei 674 taceamus. Capitulum XLVII. Igitur nocte prefata, dum inter principes ea que prediximus geruntur, nostri patroni, videlicet sanctus Wencezlaus et sanctus Adalbertus, visitant in carcere positos et eos nimia afflictione contritos675 sua sanctissima dignatione taliter liberant. Postibus inprimis anterioribus simul cum ianua erutis, mox ipsius carceris velut ferream posterulam cum suis vectibus frangunt nec non et cippum, in quo dampnatorum pedes crudeliter constringuntur, fractum forinsecus proiciunt, statimque auribus dampnatorum vox pia insonuit dicens: „Hactenus vobis et huic patrie nostra suffragia defuere, quia gratia Dei indigni extitistis, ex quo bellum hoc plus quam ­civile676

673

 Cf. above, 168.

 Exod. 14:13.

674

 While it is not known what kind of prisoners are meant here, the liberation of captives is a  widespread type of miracle. See on this František Graus, “Die Gewalt bei den Anfängen des Feudalismus und die ‘Gefangenenbefreiungen’ der merowingischen Hagiographie,” Jahrbuch für Wirtschaftsgeschichte 1 (1961), 61–157. For a parallel in nearby Rus’ that Cosmas may have known, see Norman Ingham, “Czech Hagiography in Kiev: The Prisoner Miracles of Boris and Gleb,” Die Welt der Slaven 10 (1965), 166–82.

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they had offended, might seize them and send them to prison or condemn them to death. Seeing that he could not vent his anger on the son as he wanted or on those who had followed him, the king summoned his brother Conrad. Having assembled all the great men of the land, he bound all the comites by oath that after his death his brother Conrad would obtain the throne and the duchy of Bohemia. Then the king having won their support, by his brother’s counsel and with his help openly started to plot how he could revenge himself on the son. This did not escape the notice of his son Břetislav, and in no time more than three thousand brave warriors congregated around him. They hastily set camp by the small river of Rokytnice673 and were ready to engage the king in battle the following day. For Břetislav had sent a messenger to his father, saying: “Here I am, whom you have been seeking far and near—what you would do tomorrow, do today!” And it should not be passed over in silence what divine revelation was deigned to work at the dead of that night. For if we recount the deeds of men according to the measure of our knowledge, it is unworthy not to speak of the great wonders of the Lord 674 that we have seen with our own eyes. Chapter 47 Thus in the said night, while the things mentioned above were transpiring among the magnates, our patrons, namely Saint Wen­ces­ las and Saint Adalbert, visited those cast into prison and afflicted by great suffering,675 and liberated them by their most holy standing thus: First they forced the front doorposts together with the door, then they levered and broke the rear door of the prison itself that was provided with metal fittings and also broke and cast outside the stocks in which the convicts’ legs were cruelly constrained. And immediately a sweet voice resounded in the ears of the convicts saying: “Hitherto you and this country were bereft of our help because you were unworthy of God’s grace because the magnates waged this more than civil war 676 between Bohemia and  Lucan Phars. 1.1.

676

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inter Boemiam et Moraviam principes isti habuere. Sed quoniam gratia Dei et misericordia et respectus est in sanctos et electos illius677 nosque eo dirigimur, quo ipsa respexerit, pro certo nus­quam nostri presentia suffragando adesse poterit, ubi illa prius miserando non affuerit. Quare iam certi de misericordia Dei exurgite, ad ecclesiam properate nosque nominatim sanctum Wencezlaum et sanctum Adalbertum vos absolvisse et pacem apportasse omnibus nunciate.“ Qui mox quasi de gravi somno excitati et iam a vinculis absoluti adhuc custodibus dormientibus liberi exeunt iussaque perficiunt. Hac etiam ipsa die aliud item miraculum enituit, quia, ut supra sanctorum martirum revelatio retulit, Conradus frater regis pacem inter ipsum regem et filium eius composuit. Nam antea in tantum discordabant, ut uterque ab utrimque suspecti, iste ne solio privaretur, ille ne a patre caperetur, valde invicem timerent. Sed illum par etas iuvenum et maior pars procerum, manu quidem promptiores et bello forciores, comitabantur, istum vero episcopus Cosmas et prepositi ecclesiarum omnesque terre magnates, etate provectiores et consilio utiliores, cum omni militia plebis favebant et nimio affectu venerabantur. Et profecto illa tempestate post conditam urbem Pragam pessimum facinus patratum fuisset,678 si non regis ad votum omnem principum et populi motum sancta dig­ natio beatissimi Wencezlai et magna miseratio omnipotentis Dei composuisset. Capitulum XLVIII. Quod videntes, qui in castris remanserant comites, mittunt ad Bracizlaum dicentes: „Si tu credulus patri tuo pristinam cum eo redis in gratiam, nos nequaquam credimus ei, quia callidam eius sat novimus astuciam. Plus enim eius amicicias timemus quam inimicicias. Nam veluti ursus nec minimum ictum patitur inultum, ita ille numquam cessabit a vindicta, donec omnia, quibus eum offendi677 678

 Sap. 4:15.

 Cf. Sallust Cat. 18.8.

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Moravia. But the grace of God, and his mercy is with his saints, and he hath respect to his chosen,677 and we are directed to where it may turn, so we surely cannot be there to intercede unless the grace of His mercy was already present. Therefore, being already certain of God’s mercy, rise and hurry to the church and announce to everybody that we, namely, Saint Wenceslas and Saint Adalbert, have released you and have brought peace.” Forthwith, as if roused from a heavy sleep, already freed from their bonds while the guards still slept they left as free men and carried out the orders. On the very same day another wonder similarly shone forth, because—as the revelation of the holy martyrs had indicated— the king’s brother, Conrad, arranged peace between the king and his son. For previously they quarreled so much that they suspected each other and greatly feared one another: the one of being deprived of the throne, the other of being captured by the father. One was joined by young men of his own age and most of those nobles who were indeed readier and braver in war; the other, however, was supported and revered with the warmest affection by Bishop Cosmas, the provosts of the churches and all the magnates of the land, more advanced in age and sounder in counsel, together with all the army of the common people. At that time, surely, the worst crime since the foundation of Prague would have been committed 678 had the holy standing of the most blessed Wenceslas and the great mercy of the omnipotent God not settled all the upheaval of the nobles and the populace according to the wish of the king. Chapter 48 When the comites who stayed in the camp saw this, they sent to Břetislav saying: “You, trusting your father, may return to his former favor; but we do not trust him in the least for we know full well his crafty cunning. In fact, we fear more his friendship than his enmity. For just as a bear will not suffer even the smallest blow to go unpunished, so he will never refrain from revenge until he has avenged to the last jot all by which we have offended him. Therefore, either let us go with your grace to any other land, or

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mus, usque ad unum iota non dimittit inulta. Qua de re aut nos quovis terrarum abire dimittas cum tui gratia aut nobiscum ubicumque terrarum alciora queras palatia. Nulli enim magis quam tibi nostro parati sumus servire domino.“ Videns autem Bracizlaus, quia sicut miles sine armis suo officio caret, sic dux sine militibus nec nomen ducis habet, maluit cum eis extraneum querere panem, quam solus sine milite cum patre domesticam habere pacem. Nec mora, congregatis omnibus tam peccoribus quam mancipiis plus quam duo milia militum cum Bracizlao duce proficiscuntur ad regem Pannonicum. Quem rex Wladizlaus recognoscens cognatum suum679 benigne suscepit et concessit militibus eius inhabitare locum qui dicitur Banov iuxta castrum nomine Trencin; locus in mediis silvis atque in montibus est situs et nimium aptus atque opimus venationibus. Victualia autem et cetera nature amminicula per preceptum regis ab adiacentibus subministrabantur eis regionibus, ipsum autem Bracizlaum cum paucis secum rex habuit in deliciis aule regalis. Capitulum XLIX. Anno eodem rege Wratizlao disponente Cosmas electus ad Pragensem ecclesiam et Andreas similiter ad Olomucensem sedem680 per conductum palatini comitis Rapothe veniunt Mantuam et presentantur imperatori tercio Heinrico augusto inchoante anno dominice incarnationis MLXXXXII in kal. Ianuarii. Secunda autem nonas eiusdem mensis mediante predicto comite Rapotha sedens in palatio Mantuano episcoporum atque comitum ordine non modico ex utroque latere collocato et electis iam predictis epis­ copis positis in medio diu tacita pulcher cesar pulchra aperit labia dicens: „Hos fratres ad nos misit noster fidelis amicus Wratizlaus rex Boemicus, ut secundum canonicam et apostolicam institucionem nostra auctoritate eorum confirmemus electionem, quam sine

679

 Ladislas’s father, King Béla I, and Břetislav’s grandfather on his mother’s side, King Andrew I, were brothers.

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seek out with us loftier palaces somewhere in the world. For we are not ready to serve any other lord but you.” Because Břetislav realized that just as a  warrior without arms loses his purpose, so he as a duke without warriors would not even deserve the title of duke, he preferred to seek bread with them abroad rather than enjoy peace alone and without a single warrior with his father at home. Without delay they gathered both their cattle and serfs, and more than two thousand warriors set out with Duke Břetislav to the king of Hungary. King Ladislas acknowledged him as his kinsman679 and received him kindly, allowing his warriors to settle in a place called Bánov near the castle named Trenčín. The place was situated in the middle of woods and mountains and was very suitable and well stocked for hunting. The provisions and other means of subsistence were supplied to them at the king’s command from the adjacent regions. Břetislav himself and a few others shared the delights of the royal palace with the king. Chapter 49 In the same year, following the order of king Vratislav, Cosmas, bishop-elect of the Prague church, and Andrew, similarly elect of the Olomouc see,680 accompanied by count palatine Rapoto came to Mantua where they were presented to the august Emperor Henry III at the beginning of the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1092, on January 1. On the fourth day of the same month, through the mediation of the said count Rapoto, when sitting in the palace of Mantua and having assembled on either side a long row of bishops and counts, with the aforementioned bishops-elect standing in the middle, the beauteous emperor after a long silence opened his beauteous mouth and said: “These brothers are sent to us by our faithful friend Vratislav, the Czech king, so that in accordance with canonical and apostolic institution we may confirm their

 The day of death of an Andreas is noted in Graus, “Necrologium Bohemicum,” 812.

680

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vestro consensu nolumus facere diffinicionem.“ Tunc presul Monasteriensis, qui isdem temporibus venerat de Hierosolimis,681 surgit et appodians se mense, in qua baculi, anuli episcopales atque reliquie sanctorum erant posite, ait: „Periculosum est valde a paucis destrui, quod multorum sanctione confirmatum est.682 Multi enim interfuimus episcopi, multi et principes imperii Romani atque apostolice sedis interfuere legati, quando vestro privilegio confirmastis, ut uterque episcopatus, Pragensis simul et Moraviensis, sicut fuit ab inicio, ita unus et integer permaneat.“ Ad hec cesar ait: „Sine modo, ut, quod me meus amicus rogat, faciam; de his autem postea tempore in suo discutiam.“ Et statim desponsat eos anulis ad singulas ecclesias dans eis pastorales virgas. His ita peractis iussi sunt ambo episcopi redire Veronam et ibi expectare, donec patratis regalibus negociis palatinus comes Rapotha iterum reduceret eos secum ad patriam. Capitulum L. Interea sinister rumor nostras diverberat aures683 regem Wratizlaum XVIIII. kal. Februarii migrasse ad Christum et eius fratrem Conradum successisse in principatum. Qui statim cursorem mittit ad imperatorem et promittens ei pecuniam rogat cassari episcoporum electionem, quorum supra fecimus mentionem. Sed cesar magis consulens iusticie quam iniquitatis consentiens pecunie: „Quod feci,“ inquit, „feci, nec possum meum mutare factum.“ Tris­ tis abiit legatus nomine Wiclin, quia non obtinuit, quod peciit ex parte ducis. Episcopi vero secundum iussa cesaris morati sunt Verone usque ad inicium quadragesime684 expectantes reditum et conductum predicti comitis Rapothe. Post hec advenientes Pragam in ipsa die palmarum685 suscepti sunt a clero et populo honorifice et adeunt ducem Conradum in urbe Bolezlau III. feria eiusdem eb681

 Erpo, bishop of Münster 1085–1097; not listed among those present at the Mainz synod of 1085.  Cf. Sallust Iug. 8.2.

682

 These words imply that Cosmas was accompanying his bishop to Italy.

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election by our authority. We do not want to make this decision without your approval.” Then the bishop of Münster, who has just returned from Jerusalem,681 rose and leaning on a table on which croziers, episcopal rings and the relics of saints were placed said: “It is very dangerous when a few people destroy what was sanctioned by the approval of many.682 Many of us bishops were present, many princes of the Roman Empire too, many envoys of the apostolic see were there when you confirmed with your privilege that both bishoprics of Prague and Moravia should remain one and whole, as it was from the beginning.” To this the emperor said: “Let me do now what my friend asks me; these things I shall discuss later when the time comes.” And at once he betrothed them with the rings to their individual churches and gave them the pastoral staffs. After these things had been done, both bishops were ordered to return to Verona and wait there until the completion of royal business so that count palatine Rapoto could take them back home again. Chapter 50 In the meantime, bad news burst upon our ears683—that King Vratislav had departed to Christ on January 14 and his brother Conrad had succeeded in the principality. He immediately sent a messenger to the emperor and, promising him money, asked him to annul the episcopal election that we mentioned before. But the emperor cared more for justice than to yield to dishonorable money and replied: “What I  did, I  did and I  cannot change my deed.” The messenger, called Viklin, departed sadly, as he had not achieved what he had sought on behalf of the duke. The bishops, however, stayed according to the emperor’s command behind in Verona until the beginning of Lent,684 waiting for the return and the safe conduct of the said Count Rapoto. Thereafter, they arrived in Prague exactly on Palm Sunday,685 were honorably received by the clergy and the people, and approached Duke Conrad in the  10 February 1092.

684

 21 March 1092.

685

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domade. Quos dux iam mutato animo benigne suscepit et celebravit cum eis pascha in urbe Wissegrad. Et in ipsa pasche ebdomada circa kal. Aprilis descendit maxima nix et tantum inhorruit frigus mixtum cum glacie, quantum raro in media contigit hyeme. Gesta autem huius ducis non habemus plurima ad scribendum, quia post VII menses et dies XVII eodem anno quo suscepit ducatum VIII. id. Septembris cum vita amisit. Cui successit iunior Bracizlaus, quem advenientem in urbem Pragam letis choreis per diversa compita dispositis tam puellarum quam iuvenum modulantium in tibiis et timpanis et per ecclesias pulsantibus campanis plebs letabunda suscepit. Ipse autem Cosmas episcopus cum clero et magnifica processione suscipiens eum in porta civitatis ante templum sancte Marie686 deducit ad solium, et secundum ritum huius terre ab universis comitibus et satrapis est intronizatus dux iunior Bracizlaus XVIII. kal. Octobris. Capitulum LI. Eodem anno facta est eclipsis solis XII. kal. Octobris, VI. feria post meridiem.687 Eius in kal. Octobris quidam pseudoepiscopus nomine Rotpertus veniens in hanc terram referebat se in Wasconia provincia Kavellonam688 multis annis rexisse ecclesiam; et quoniam recognovit eum frater noster Ozzel,689 qui et Asinus, et eum olim episcopizasse perhibuit, quando de Ungaria secum iter ageret Hierosolimam, dux Bracizlaus et Cosmas electus690 gratanter eum recipiunt et divinum officium sive cursum episcopaliter agere per The oldest church in Prague—founded by Duke Bořivoj I—was dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Its exact location is between the first and second courtyard of the Prague Castle. See Ivo Štefan and Martin Wihoda, Kostel Panny Marie na Pražském hradě: Dialog nad počátky křesťanství v Čechách [The church of the Virgin Mary at Prague Castle: A dialogue on the beginnings of the Christendom in Bohemia] (Prague: NLN, 2018).

686

 Cosmas is in error by a year. There was a full solar eclipse over Prague in 23 September 1093. See the solar tables provided by NASA, [accessed 26 June 2011].

687

688

 There was a bishopric of Cavaillon in the archdiocese of Avignon, but not in Gascony.

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castle of [Stará] Boleslav on Tuesday of the same week. With his mind already changed, the duke received them kindly and celebrated Easter with them in the castle of Vyšehrad. In the same Easter week around April 1 so much snow fell and such a  frost mixed with ice made all shiver as rarely happens even in the middle of winter. We do not have much to write about the deeds of this duke since after seven months and seventeen days in the same year that he received the duchy, he lost it together with his life on September 6. He was succeeded by Břetislav the Younger whom, upon coming to the city of Prague, a joyful people received with happy choirs of girls and boys singing at the various crossroads, playing fifes and drums, and with bells ringing in all churches. Bishop Cosmas himself welcomed him with the clergy and a splendid procession at the city gates before the church of Saint Mary686 and led him to the throne where, in accordance with the rites of the land, duke Břetislav the Younger was enthroned by all the comites and officers on September 14. Chapter 51 In the same year there was an eclipse of the sun on September 20 on Friday afternoon.687 On October 1, a  pseudo-bishop by the name of Robert came to this country and reported that he had administered the church of Cavaillon in the province of Gascony688 for several years. And because one of our brothers named Osel689 or ’Donkey’, recognized him and affirmed that Robert performed episcopal services while he traveled with him through Hungary to Jerusalem, Duke Břetislav and the bishop-elect Cosmas690 received him gladly and allowed him to celebrate the divine service, that is, the reading of the Psalter as a bishop. What more? He consecrated many churches, ordained many clerics in March, and on  In Czech Osel (lat. Asinus) means donkey. The death of an “Asinus canonicus” is listed in Graus, “Necrologium Bohemicum,” 811 (15 April).

689

 Although invested by the emperor, Cosmas was not yet consecrated by the archbishop of Mainz.

690

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mittunt. Quid multa? Multas ecclesias consecrat, multos mense Marcio clericos ordinat et in cena Domini sacrosanctum crisma exorcizat. Ad quem quidam in pascha venit clericus, nimirum sui erroris conscius, et nescio quid sibi clam innotuit. Mira res, nec dux nec electus impetrare potuit, ut saltem parvo tempore ibi staret, quin in ipsa ebdomada pasche cum festinatione tenuisset viam versus Saxoniam. Postea vero cum innotuisset, quod pseudoepis­ copus fuisset, mittunt unum ex Latinis691 nomine Constantium in Wasconiam, per quem Kavellone ecclesie nomine Desiderius692 presul demandat litteris, quod illa ecclesia numquam habuisset epis­ copum nomine Rotpertum. Miserunt etiam ad papam Clementem eius consulentes auctoritatem, quid sit opus facto rerum in discrimine tanto? Quibus ille remandans iussit ecclesias ex integro reconsecrare, baptizatos crismate pseudoepiscopi non rebaptizari, sed tantum confirmare, similiter ordinatos non reordinari, sed solummodo inter ordinandos stare ad ordinationem et per solam manus inpositionem recipere benedictionem. Sicque inflicta ab hoste vulnera matri ecclesie curata sunt antidoto iusticie, statum fidei catholice regente papa tercio Clemente, Iesu Christo domino nostro cum Patre et Spiritu sancto regnante per omnia secula seculorum. Amen. Siste gradum, Musa, chronicis es iam satis usa. Carmine completo dic, lector amice, valeto.

 While the identity of the “Latins” is not known, the word may refer to clerks who were not Germans.

691

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Maundy Thursday he blessed the most holy chrism. A certain cleric who happened to be aware of his fraud came to him at Easter and secretly let be known to him I  know not what. It was amazing: Neither the duke nor the bishop-elect could persuade him to stay here at least a little longer; on the contrary, in the very same Easter week he hastily wended his way to Saxony. However, after it came to light that he was a pseudo-bishop, they sent one of the Latins691 by the name of Constantius to Gascony to whom the bishop of Cavaillon named Desiderius692 handed over a letter declaring that that church had never had any bishop by the name of Robert. They sent to Pope Clement consulting his authority what should be done in such a state of crisis. In his reply, he instructed them to reconsecrate the churches entirely, but the people who had been baptized by the chrism of the pseudo-bishop were not to be baptized again but only confirmed; likewise, those who had been ordained were not to be ordained again but were only to stand among the ordinands at ordination and only receive benediction by the laying-on of hands. Thus the injuries inflicted on mother Church by the Enemy were cured by the salve of justice, while the state of the Catholic faith was governed by Pope Clement III, Jesus Christ our Lord with the Father and the Holy Ghost reigning forever. Amen. Hold your pace, Muse, you have had plenty of stories. The song is sung, say: farewell, dear reader.

 Desiderius, Bishop of Cavaillon (1082–1095).

692

Liber III.

EXPLICIT LIBER SECUNDUS DE CHRONICIS BOEMORUM APOLOGIA SUPRA PRETITULATI. INCIPIT APOLOGIA EIUSDEM DECANI SUPRA PRETITULATI IN TERCIUM LIBRUM ITENTIDEM OPERIS.693 Iam pietate Dei promissa favente peregi,694 Me quecunque reor fore pollicitum tibi, lector. Iam de retro actis causis sive transcursis temporibus pauca ex multis commemorans hystoriam mee narrationis usque ad tempora ducis Bracizlai iunioris perduxi. Quare autem opere precium duxi iam ab instanti opere cessare, non est ab re. Nam de modernis hominibus sive temporibus utilius est ut omnino taceamus, quam loquendo veritatem, quia veritas semper parit odium,695 alicuius rei incurramus dispendium. Si autem a veritate deviantes aliter quam se res habent scripserimus, cum pene omnibus note sint cause, nihilominus adulationis et mendacii notam incidimus. Siquidem huius temporis homines virtutibus nudi solis laudibus gestiunt vestiri, quorum ea est maxima dementia favoribus velle decorari et, que sunt favore digna, minime operari. Atqui non ita erat apud veteres, qui quamvis dignissimi laude fuissent, tamen fugiebant quas moderni appetunt laudes, et quod illis extitit pudori, hoc istis habetur honori. Horum nos si ad liquidum stilo exequamur acta, quia que-

 The Apology contains several verbatim quotations from Regino, Chron. ad a. 892, 139; cf. MacLean, History, 213–4.

693

[292]

The second book of the Chronicle of the Czechs ends. BOOK III Here begins the apology of the same aforementioned dean to the third book of the same work.693 Now with God’s grace, I have finished what I promised 694 All that I think I owe to you, my reader. Recounting a few of many past events and olden times, I have taken the history of my narrative up to the times of Duke Břetislav the Younger. But why I have found it worthwhile to leave off here, is pertinent, for it is better to be fully silent about men and times of our own age than to waste effort by speaking the truth, for truth always engenders hate.695 However, if we depart from the truth and write not what happened, when the events are known to almost everyone, we will no less incur the charge of flattery and deceit. The men of our times, bare of virtues, want only to be clad in applause and their folly is so great that they want to be adorned with praise, but they do nothing that is praiseworthy. It was quite different with the ancients who, while they well deserved praise, shunned the praise that people nowadays seek; what for them was shame is for these fame. If we were to recount with fluent pen their—not always godly—deeds, we could hardly avoid the displeasure of those

 Valerius Flaccus Argon. 7.518.

694

 Terence, Andria 68 (quoted by Cicero Lael. 24.89).

695

[293]

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dam non sunt cum Deo facta, procul dubio offensam non effugiemus quorundam, qui adhuc superstites sunt homines neophiti696 atque itaci, qui ad vocem ducis nihil aliud tam promptum in ore habent quam „Ita, domine,“ alius „Ita est, domine,“ tercius „Ita fac, domine.“ At non ita olim fuit. Illum enim dux maxime coluit, qui ratione iusticie ex adverso clipeum iniquitati opposuit, et qui malos consiliarios et a tramite deviantes equitatis uno compescuit verbo veritatis.697 Tales nunc aut nulli aut pauci sunt; et si sunt, dum tacent, quasi non sunt. Par namque est vicium atque iudicium seu tacuisse veritatem seu concessisse falsitatem. Unde videtur nobis multo tucius narrare somnium, cui nemo perhibet testimonium, quam presentium gesta scribere hominum. Quapropter posteris lacius explananda eorum relinquimus facta; sed tamen, ne ab aliquo culpemur preterisse intacta, summatim annotare curabimus pauca.

INCIPIT LIBER TERCIUS. Capitulum I. Ergo novus dux Bracizlaus iunior, sed maturus etate, sensu maturior, postquam huius terre secundum ritum debitis obsequiis digne sancti Wencezlai sui patroni in urbe Praga celebravit natalicium,698 et omnibus satrapis atque comitibus magnificum per tres dies exhibuit convivium, ubi pro novitate sui quantum valuit quedam ad utilitatem ecclesie decernens, quedam ob commoditatem huius terre instituens, sicut olim ab ipso sue etatis tyrocinio omnem spem habuit in solo Dei patrocinio, ita modo principatus sui in exordio christiane religionis zelo succensus nimio omnes magos, ariolos et sortilegos extrusit regni sui e medio, similiter et lucos sive arbores, quas in multis locis colebat vulgus ignobile, extirpavit et igne cremavit. Item et supersticiosas instituciones, quas villani, adhuc  Neophiti (lit. ‘newly converted’) has been understood as meaning foreigners, but it perhaps refers rather to men of lower origin raised to offices by Bořivoj; see Bretholz, Die Chronik, 185, n. 4. Further down Cosmas uses proseliti the same negative meaning (see n. 815).

696

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newcomers696 and yes-men still living, wet behind the ear, who give no other answer to the words of their duke but “Yes, Sir,” or “Right so, Sir,” or “Yes, do so, Sir.” This was not so before, as the duke preferred him, who by reason of justice held out his shield against iniquity and who restrained by a single word of truth the bad counselors and those who erred from the path of righteousness.697 Now there are none or few of these, and those that there are, for as long as they keep silent, may as well not be. For it is equally wrong and reprehensible to hide the truth and to condone falsehood. Thus it seems to us to be safer to relate a dream to which no one is witness than to write about the deeds of men today. Therefore, we leave it to posterity to explain their acts more broadly, but, lest we be accused by anyone of passing them by unmentioned, we note a few of them in brief.

The third book. Chapter 1 So the new duke, Břetislav the Younger, but mature in age and even more mature in understanding, observed the feast of Saint Wenceslas,698 his patron, as is the use of this country, in the city of Prague with suitable festivities and hosted a splendid three-day feast for all the officials and comites. As far as he as a novice was able, he issued measures judged to be of advantage to the church or to the benefit of the realm, and—as he had ever since he was a young warrior placed all hope in the protection of God—so at the beginning of his reign, zealous of the Christian faith, he utterly expelled all magicians, seers and soothsayers from his realm and had the groves and trees that were in many places venerated by the common folk cut down and burned. Then, lest these and other abominable and sacrilegious things persevere in the people of God, the good duke rooted out the superstitious practices that the still  Ammianus Marcellinus Hist. 22.10.2.

697

  28 September 1092.

698

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semipagani, in pentecosten tertia sive quarta feria observabant, offerentes libamina super fontes mactabant victimas et demonibus immolabant, item sepulturas, que fiebant in silvis et in campis, atque scenas, quas ex gentili ritu faciebant in biviis et in triviis quasi ob animarum pausationem, item et iocos profanos, quos super mortuos suos inanes cientes manes ac induti faciem larvis bachando exercebant,699 has abhominationes et alias sacrilegas adinventiones dux bonus, ne ultra fierent in populo Dei, exterminavit. Et quia semper solum Deum et verum puro corde coluit et eius zelum habuit, universis Dei amatoribus placuit. Erat enim princeps spectabilis, dux in castris acceptabilis, miles in armis inexpugnabilis. Hic quocienscumque Poloniam invasit, semper cum magno triumpho remeavit. Quam utique anno dominice incarnationis MXCIII, sui vero ducatus primo, ita crebris incursionibus demolitus est, ut ex ista parte fluminis Odre a  castro Recen700 usque ad urbem Glogov preter solum Nemci oppidum nullus habitaret hominum. Nec tamen cessavit ab eius vastatione, donec princeps Polonie Wladizlaus701 cum magna supplicatione preteriti et presentis anni tributum usque ad unum solveret obulum; cuius census hec summa fuit: mille marce argenti et LX auri. Qui etiam dux idcirco civitates, que pertinent ad provinciam Kladzko nomine dictam, tradens filio suo Bolezlao702 committit eum per manus traditionem et fidei sponsionem duci Bracizlao, quatenus obsequendo suo avunculo a patre sibi creditam cum pace possideret provinciam. Ipse autem dux Wladizlaus dat sacramentum, quod tributum olim duce Bracizlao constitutum,703 D marcas argenti et XXX auri annuatim sibi pro concessa pace solveret determinato tempore.704

 The spread of Christianity in Bohemia was a long process with regional differences. Wide strata of population were reached and pagan or syncretistic rites gradually eliminated only after the establishment of local parishes. This can be followed archaeologically through changes in burial customs and dated to the first half of the twelfth century, see Sommer, Třeštík and Žemlička, “Bohemia and Moravia,” 214–62, here 225–35.

699

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half-pagan peasants observed: on the Tuesday or Wednesday after Pentecost when, making libations at wells, they performed sacrifices and made offerings to demons; the burial of the dead in woods and fields; the mummeries held at crossroads in heathen manner for the rest of the souls; and the profane farces performed over the dead by invoking vain ghosts and dancing around in masks.699 And, as he venerated only the one and true God with pure heart and was zealous for Him, all friends of God liked him. He was an outstanding prince, a duke welcomed in camp, and an invincible knight in arms. Whenever he invaded Poland, he always returned with great triumph. In the year of the incarnation of the Lord 1093, the first year of his reign, he destroyed it by repeated raids so that not a soul remained on this side of the river Oder from Castle Ryczyn700 to the city of Glogów, only in Niemcza. He did not stop raiding until Prince Władisław701 of Poland paid the tribute for the past and the current year to the last penny with abject entreaties. The amount of this was a thousand marks of silver and sixty marks of gold. The same duke [Władisław] granted also the cities belonging to the province called Kłodzko to his son Bolesław702 and entrusted him to Duke Břetislav by placing of hands and an oath of fealty so that he might hold in peace the province granted him by his father by deferring to his uncle. The same Duke Władisław also swore that he would pay the tribute, set earlier by Duke Břetislav,703 of five hundred marks of silver and thirty marks of gold, annually at the set date for the peace granted to him.704

700

701

 A fortification in Upper Silesia on the Oder; in the eleventh to early thirteenth century center of a castellany.

 Władisław I Herman, duke of Poland (1079–1102).

702 703

 Bolesław III Wrymouth, duke of Poland (1102–1138).

 In 1054 . See above, 118.

704

 Several factors were behind Břetislav’s engagement in Polish affairs in the 1090s: Czech expansionist interests in Silesia; the collection of the tribute (see above, 296); the succession issues among the Piasts; and the de facto power vacuum in the Empire.

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Capitulum II. Anno dominice incarnationis MXCIIII. Adhuc imperatore tercio Heinrico705 ultra montes in Longobardia tractante imperialia negocia indicta est generalis synodus ab universis episcopis et principibus Romani imperii infra mediam quadragesimam in urbe Magoncia,706 ad quam dux Bracizlaus transmittit electos Cosmam et Andream episcopos committens eos et tradens per manus palatino comiti iam sepe dicto707 Rapothe rogans, ut eos offerat Magontino archiepiscopo ordinandos. Quo pro eis interveniente et coram archiepiscopo et universali synodo testimonium perhibente, quod olim per imperatorem in urbe Mantoua corroborata sit eorum electio,708 omnibus suffraganeis collaudantibus ordinati sunt Cosmas et Andreas episcopi IIII. id. Marcii ab archiepiscopo Magontino nomine Rotardo.709 Capitulum III. Eodem anno fuit mortalitas hominum, sed maxima in Teutonicis partibus;710 nam redeuntibus predictis episcopis de Magoncia, dum transirent per quandam villam nomine Amberk,711 parrochia[le]m ecclesiam quamvis satis amplam, que est sita extra villam, non potuerunt intrare, ut audirent missam, quia totum eius pavimentum usque ad unum punctum erat cadavere plenum. Similiter in urbe Kaker712 non fuit domus, ubi non essent tria aut quatuor cadavera hominum; quam pretereuntes non longe ab urbe in medio pernoctavimus campo.713 Eodem anno dux Bracizlaus in mense Septembri quandam matronam de Bawaria nomine Lukardam, Alberti comitis sororem,714 duxit in uxorem. Item eodem anno et eodem duce 705

 In fact Henry IV.

706 707 708 709

 This synod is mentioned only by Cosmas.

 See above, 228 nad 282.

 See above, 282–4.

 Ruthart was archbishop from 1088 to 1109.

 On this famine, see Curschmann, Hungersnöte, 123. The famine in Bohemia in the following year, noted ibid. 125–7, is not mentioned by Cosmas.

710

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Chapter 2 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1094. While Emperor Henry III705 was engaged in affairs of the empire beyond the mountains in Lombardy, the bishops and princes of the Empire called a general synod for mid-Lent at the city of Mainz706 to which Duke Břetislav sent the bishops-elect Cosmas and Andrew. He entrusted them to the oft-mentioned707 Palatine Rapoto with the request that he present them to the archbishop of Mainz for ordination. As he vouched for them and testified to the archbishop and the general synod that the emperor had approved their election in the city of Mantua,708 Cosmas and Andrew were ordained with the consent of all the suffragans on March 12 by the archbishop of Mainz, Rudhart.709 Chapter 3 In the same year many people died, especially in Germany710: so much so that when the aforementioned bishops, on their way home from Mainz, came to a village called Amberg,711 they could not enter the quite large parish church outside the village to hear Mass because its entire floor was covered to the last spot with corpses. Likewise, in the town of Kager,712 there was not a single house without three or four human bodies. Therefore, we avoided it and spent the night not far from the town in the open countryside.713 In the same year, in September, Duke Břetislav married a certain lady from Bavaria, called Liutgard, sister of Count Albert.714 Then, in the same 711

 Today the city of Amberg in Upper Pfalz, Bavaria, on the road from Nürnberg to Bohemia.  There is no agreement on the location of this town. Context suggests that Kager (originally Kaker or Kiker) was a  settlement between Amberg and the Bavarian confluence of the so-called Regensburger Steig; see Bretholz, Die Chronik, 163, n. 3.

712

 Note that this is one of the few passages where Cosmas uses the first person plural, which implies he was one of the travellers.

713

 Liutgard of Bogen, a sister of Count Albert I of Bogen (ca. 1075–?). Her death is recorded in Graus, “Necrologium Bohemicum,” 810 (31 December).

714

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iubente Cosmas episcopus V. kal. Octobris consecravit altare sanc­ ti Viti martiris, quia monasterium715 adhuc non erat perductum ad ultimam manum. Capitulum IV. Anno dominice incarnationis MXCV. Aquilonalis plaga per multas noctes in celo apparuit rubicunda. Anno dominice incarnationis MXCVI. XVIII. kal. Maii. iubente gloriosissimo duce Boemorum Bracizlao a venerabili epis­ copo Cosma consecratum est monasterium sanctorum martirum Viti, Wencezlai atque Adalberti. Eodem anno tanta fuit commotio, immo divina compunctio in populo Hierosolimam proficiscendi, ut perpauci in Teutonicis partibus et maxime in orientali Francia per urbes et villas remanerent coloni. Qui quoniam propter multitudinem exercitus una via simul ire non poterant, quidam ex eis per hanc nostram terram dum transirent, permittente Deo irruerunt super Iudeos et eos invitos baptizabant, contradicentes vero trucidabant.716 Videns autem Cosmas episcopus contra statuta canonum hec ita fieri,717 zelo iusticie ductus frustra temptavit prohibere, ne eos invitos baptizarent, quia non habuit, qui eum adiuvarent. Nam dux Bracizlaus eo tempore cum omni exercitu suo in Polonia super ripam fluminis nomine Nizam castro eorum destructo nomine Brido718 longe inferius eiusdem fluvii similiter edificabat firmissimum castrum super altum scopulum, unde nomen traxit Kamenec.719 715

 The monasterium mentioned here and in the next chapter refers to the cathedral church of Prague, where the canons lived a communal life.

716

 The reference is to a group of Crusaders led by a priest called Volkmar that crossed Prague in the spring of 1096; see the Chronicle of Ekkehard of Aura, MGH SS 6 (Hanover: Hahn 1844), 208. On the pogroms of the First Crusade, see now Thomas Ashbridge, The First Crusade: A New History (New York: Oxford University Press, 2004), 84–7; also Daniel Soukup, “Apostatrix gens: the First Crusade and Criticism of the Reversions of Jews in Cosmas’s Chronica Boemorum (Chronicle of the Bohemians),” in Juden in der mittelalterlichen Stadt: der städtische Raum im Mittelalter – Ort des Zusammenlebens und des Konflikts/Jews in the Medieval Town: Urban Space in the Middle Ages – A Place of Coexistence and Conflicts, ed. Eva Doležalová et al. (Prague: Filosofia, 2015), 9–25.

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year, ordered by the same duke, on September 27, Bishop Cosmas consecrated the altar of Saint Vitus, the martyr, as the monastery715 was not yet fully complete. Chapter 4 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1095. The northern region of the sky appeared ruddy for many nights. In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1096. On April 14, the venerable Bishop Cosmas, on the command of the most renowned Duke Břetislav, consecrated the monastery of the holy martyrs Vitus, Wenceslas and Adalbert. In that year, there was such great excitement, or rather divine inspiration, among the people to go to Jerusalem that few peasants remained in the villages and towns of the German lands, especially of Eastern Franconia. Since their army was so numerous that they could not altogether take one route, some of them, while crossing our country, attacked with God’s permission the Jews, forcibly baptized them, and slaughtered those who resisted.716 Bishop Cosmas, who saw that this was against canon law,717 moved by the zeal of justice, tried to prevent them being forcibly baptized, but in vain, for there was nobody to assist him. For Duke Břetislav was at that time with his entire army in Poland at the River Nysa where he, having destroyed their castle called Brdo,718 built further downstream a very strong fortress on the top of a high rock, whence it got its name, Kamienec.719 That, however, the Jews soon thereafter rejected the yoke of Christ, dis In particular the bull Sicut Iudeis (1120) of Calixtus II forbade the forcible baptism of Jews, although prohibitions of this type go back to Gregory the Great (540–604). See Kenneth Stow, “Conversion, Apostasy and Apprehensiveness: Emicho of Flonheim and the Fear of Jews in the Twelfth Century,” Speculum 76/4 (2001), 910–33 (here 919–20, 922–9); Frank Coppa, The Papacy, the Jews, and the Holocaust (Washington: Catholic University of America Press, 2006), 11–12.

717

718

 Today Bardo Śląskie, a city in Lower Silesia, on the border with the Kladzko region.

 Today Kamieniec Ząbkowicki in Lower Silesia. Kamien [in Czech: ‘kámen’] means ‘stone’ in Slavic. The author of the Gesta principum Polonorum (Knoll, GpP, 186) actually translated it as lapis.

719

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Quod autem Iudei non post multos dies reiecerunt a  se iugum Christi et spreverunt gratiam baptismi atque salutem fidei catholice et iterum submiserunt colla iugo legis Mosayce, episcopi et prelatorum ecclesie poterat hoc ascribi negligentie. Iamque condito predicto castro Kamenec, priusquam inde abiret dux Bracizlaus, Mutinam filium Bosa, suum collateralem et secretarium, apprehendens seorsum et multa exprobrans sibi, quibus sepe eum offenderat, dixit: „Ego si non Deum offendere metuerem, uti meritus es, profecto oculos tibi eruerem; sed nolo, quia grande nefas est corrumpere, quod Dei digitus operatus est in homine.“720 Et permittens secum duos milites tantum ab aspectu suo et latere amovit eum et mittens in Boemiam omnem eius iussit infiscari substantiam. Nec mora, dum rediret, misit dux manus, ut apprehenderent Bosey, filium Cac, cognatum Mutine; semper enim illam nationem Wrissovici721 habuit exosam, quia sciebat eam superbam esse valde et dolosam. Quem cum apprehendissent, statim, ut iussum fuerat, inpositus puppi cum uxore et duobus filiis relegatus est in Zribiam et exinde perrexit in Poloniam et ibi invenit fratrem suum Mutinam, quos dux Polonie satis recepit benigne. Capitulum V. Anno dominice incarnationis MXCVII. Dux Bracizlaus vocans ad se Odalricum filium Conradi iussit eum capere et misit in castrum Kladzko ad custodiendum.722 Anno dominice incarnationis MXCVIII. Delatum est duci Bracizlao, quod quidam ex Iudeis lapsi fuga, nonnulli furtim divitias suas subtraherent partim in Poloniam, partim in Pannoniam. Unde dux valde iratus misit camerarium suum cum aliquibus militibus, ut eos a vertice usque ad talos expoliarent. Qui veniens convocat ad se maiores natu Iudeos et sic orsus est ad eos:

 Cf. Isa. 17:8.

720

 On the Vršovci cf. n. 114, n. 296 above.

721

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regarded the grace of baptism together with the salvation of the Catholic faith and took again upon their shoulders the yoke of the law of Moses, has to be ascribed to the negligence of the bishop and the leading clergy. Once Castle Kamienec had been founded, Duke Břetislav, before he left, took hold of Mutina, son of Bosey, his companion and confidant, and reproached him for the many instances when he had offended him, saying: “If I feared not to offend God, I would gouge out your eyes, as you deserve, but I will not, for I regard it a great sin to destroy what God’s finger has created in man.”720 Then he removed him from his presence and company, allowing him to take only two warriors with him and sent [an order] to Bohemia that all his property be confiscated. When the duke returned, he sent without delay a troop to arrest Bosey, son of Čáč, a relative of Mutina, for he detested the entire kindred of the Vršovci721 as he knew how very haughty and cunning they were. When they captured him, he was, as ordered, immediately placed in a ship with his wife and two sons and exiled to Sorbia. From there, he went to Poland where he met his kinsman, Mutina, and they were generously received by the duke of Poland. Chapter 5 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1097. Duke Břetislav called to him Ulrich, son of Conrad, ordered his arrest, and sent him to be kept in Castle Kladzko.722 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1098. The duke was informed that some of the Jews had fled and some had taken their wealth with them in secret, some to Poland others to Hungary. The duke, very angry with this, sent his chamberlain with a  few warriors to despoil them from head to toe. The chamberlain went and called the elders of the Jews and spoke to them thus:  Ulrich/Udalrich (d. 1113) was older than Břetislav II’s younger brother Bořivoj and thus would have been, according to the principle of seniorate (as asserted by Břetislav), the oldest living Přemyslid eligible for the succession to the throne. It is not known when and how he regained his freedom, but by 1099 he was in Moravia, see below, 310.

722

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„O gens progenita manzeribus723 Ismahelita, Ut sibi dicatis, dux mandat, cur fugiatis Et partas gratis cur gazas attenuatis? Interea quecumque mea sunt, sunt mea cuncta. Nullas de Solimis res divitiasve tulistis. Uno pro nummo ter deni Vespasiano724 Cesare proscripti, sparsi sic estis in orbe. Macri venistis, macri quo vultis eatis. Quod baptizati sitis, Deus est mihi testis, Non me, sed Domino sunt ista iubente patrata. Quod autem iterum relapsi estis in Iudaismum, Cosmas episcopus videat, quid inde agere debeat.“ Dixerat hec ex parte ducis, et statim irrumpentes everterunt domos, acceperunt thesauros et quicquid suppellectilis optimum invenerunt. Nihil nisi, quod solum pertinet ad victum, granum frumenti eis reliquerunt. O quantum pecunie miseris Iudeis illa die est sublatum, nec ex succensa Troia tantum diviciarum in Euboyco littore725 fuit collatum. Capitulum VI. Eodem anno726 IIII. id. Decembris Cosmas episcopus migravit ad Christum. Fuit autem iste presul humilis, simplex, patiens et multum misericors et illatas a quovis homine iniurias equanimiter sus­ tinens, recognoscentibus suas culpas pius indultor, viduarum non surdus auditor, orphanorum non tardus adiutor, infirmantium sedulus visitator, ultime sortis non inmemor exequiarum promptus extitit executor.

 Cf. Deut. 23:2.

723

 This goes back to the apocryphal gospel Vindicta Salvatoris § 17, but Cosmas may have known it rather from Wipo, Gesta Chuonradi, cap. 33. See Die Werke Wipos, ed. Harry Breslau, MGH SS rer. Germ. 61 (Hanover: Hahn, 1915), 53. Thirty for one coin was ‘revenge’ for Jesus having been sold for thirty coins.

724

CHRONICLE OF THE CZECHS

305

“You sons of Ismahel, born as bastards,723 You have to tell the duke, he orders, why you flee And take away the treasures gotten for nothing. For all is mine, mine is here everything. You took nothing, no wealth from Jerusalem When sold by Vespasian, the caesar, thirty for a coin,724 And scattered you were all over the world; Poor you arrived and poor you may depart. God is my witness, baptized you were, and All this happened by the Lord’s will not mine. Bishop Cosmas shall see what he should do on account of your having again relapsed into Judaism.” He spoke these words in the name of the duke and right away they burst into the houses, ransacked them and took all treasures and all the better furnishings that they found there. Nothing else but a grain of wheat was left to them as food. Oh, how much money was taken on that day from the wretched Jews—not even from burning Troy were such riches gathered up on the shores of Euboea.725 Chapter 6 On December 10 of the same year,726 Bishop Cosmas departed to Christ. This bishop was humble, simple, patient and very merciful; bearing calmly the offenses done by any man, tenderly pardoning those who admitted their sins, not deaf to widows, quick to help orphans, attentive in visiting the sick, and, being mindful of last things, zealous in celebrating funeral rites.

 Cf. Vergil A. 11.290.

725

 10 December 1098; see also Graus, “Necrologium Bohemicum,” 809.

726

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Capitulum VII. Post cuius obitum dux Bracizlaus habens curam animarum et perpendens collatam sibi a Deo potestatem eligendi ecclesie sponsum cepit sollicitus et pervigil secum tacita mente suorum inspicere mores clericorum, vitam et conversationem discutere singulorum, quem ex eis potissimum proveheret ad summum sacerdotii gradum. Et quamvis ipse nosset, inter suos quid esset in quoquam clerico, tamen recolens illud Salomonis dictum: „Omnia, fili, fac cum consilio,“727 advocat Wigbertum, suum per sororem generum, virum sapientem et in talibus negociis eruditum valde et perspicacem, cui et ait: „Tu tempore patris mei regis Wratizlai semper in curia primus inter amicos fuisti, tu mores et vitam Boemorum perspexisti, tu non solum laicos, verum etiam clericos omnes intus et in cute nosti, tuo consilio nunc episcopum eligere volo.“ Ad hec heros in propria verba non inproprie respondit, „Olim,“ inquiens, „dum rex pater tuus viguit, meum consilium valuit; nunc horum vivunt homines morum, qui semetipsos putant aliquid esse, cum nihil sint, et quibus nullius nisi quod ipsi sapiunt placet consilium. Sed vos melius scitis, quod in tam sancto negocio, qui consulunt sancte ecclesie utilitati, vacuos decet esse ab ira et odio, a misericordia et amicitia, nam ubi ista officiunt animo, humana fallitur opinio;728 me autem nec alicuius amicicia obligat, nec misericordia supplantat, nec odium exagitat, nec ira inflammat, quo minus coram vobis eloquar, iusticie quod postulat ordo. Est patris tui et nunc tuus capellanus, quem vos melius nostis, nomine Hermannus. Hic semper fuit regis in servicio constans, in commisso fidelis, in legationibus agendis fidus executor, castus, sobrius, humilis et modestus, non violentus, non ambitiosus, non elatus et, que prima est in clerico virtus, adprime litteratus et, quantum spectat ad humanam opinionem, cernitur esse bonus vir et perfectus ad unguem,729 si solum non obsit, quod hospes sit.“ Tunc dux ammirans suam et eius unanimem voluntatem ait: „Haud aliter cor tuum atque 727

 Eccles. 32:24.  Cf. Sallust Cat. 51.1.2.

728

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Chapter 7 After his death, Duke Břetislav, having care of souls and mindful that God had given him the power to select a bridegroom for the church, quietly began to observe carefully and thoroughly the ways of his clergy and to examine the life and behavior of each of them: whom among them he could best raise to the highest order of priesthood. And although he knew what was in any of his clerics, he remembered the saying of Solomon, “Do all things with counsel, my son,”727 he called upon Wiprecht, the husband of his sister, a  wise man and experienced in such matters and shrewd, and spoke to him: “You have been in the times of my father, King Vratislav, the first among friends at court, you have got to know the ways and life of the Czechs, you know not only the laymen but also all the clergy in and out, I wish now to select a bishop with your counsel.” To this, the lord replied not improperly in his own words: “Formerly,” he said, “in the life of your royal father, my counsel was valued. Now there are people of such manners that think they are something when they are nothing and who are pleased only by their own counsel. But you know well that in such a holy matter those who give counsel concerning what is good for the holy church must be free of anger and hate, as well as of pity and partiality, for when these impede the mind, human judgment fails.728 I, however, am not bound by any partiality, nor misled by pity, stirred up by hatred or inflamed by anger such as might prevent me from telling you what justice demands. There is a chaplain of your father’s and now of yours, whom you know better, Hermann by name. He was always steady in the king’s service, faithful in his duties, in missions a  reliable executor of deeds, chaste, sober, humble and modest, peaceable, not ambitious or haughty and, what is most important in a cleric, eminently learned. He seems to be, as far as human judgment permits, a good man and perfect to the hilt,729 if only his being a foreigner is not against him.” Now the duke, marveling that his thoughts were the same as his own, 729

 Cf. Horace Ars poet. 294 (also Sat. 1.5.32).

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meum sapit. Et quia hospes est, plus ecclesie prodest; non eum parentela exhauriet, non liberorum cura aggravabit, non cognatorum turma despoliet, quicquid sibi undecumque veniet, totum sponsa eius et mater ecclesia habebit. Hic ergo faciam Pragensis episcopus ut sit.“ Nec mora, convocatis primatibus terre simul et prepositis ecclesie Bolezlau in urbe ad placitum ducis, collaudante clero cunc­ to populoque favente Hermannus promotione diaconus, prepositura Bolezlavensi sublimatus, sublimiorem invitus subrogatur ad episcopatus honorem. Facta est autem hec electio anno dominice incarnationis MXCVIIII, pridie kal. Marcii. Capitulum VIII. Et quia eodem anno imperator tercius Heinricus730 celebravit pas­ cha Ratispone, iussus est dux Bracizlaus cum electo suo illuc venire, qui celebrato pascha in urbe Wissegrad tercia die post octavam pasche731 venit Ratisponam. Qui quia ante festum caritativa premiserat donaria tam cesari quam eius satrapis, quotquot erant de eius amicis in curia, obviam ei veniunt ad tria fere miliaria et ita deducunt eum in civitatem cum magna honorificentia. Cuius ad primam peticionem cesar confirmat Boemorum electionem dans Hermanno anulum et virgam episcopalem. Item et hoc obtinuit precibus apud cesarem, ut eius fratri Borivoy vexillum daret732 et eum Boemis omnibus, qui cum eo venerant, assignaret, quo post obitum suum fratrem eius Borivoy sublimarent in solium.733

730

 In fact Emperor Henry IV.

 April 19.

731

732

 Conferring a flag as sign of rulership (often on a lance, ‘Fahnenlanze’) seems to have been an ancient custom. It is seen, for example, on the image of the emperor and kings in the Liuthar Gospel (ca. 1001), discussed in Johannes Fried, Otto III und Boleslaw Chrobry: das Widmungsbild des Aachener Evangeliars, der “Akt von Gnesen” und das frühe polnische und ungarische Königtum (Stuttgart: Steiner, 2001), 39–57 and 144–7.

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said “Your heart and mine are the same. And that he is a foreigner will benefit the church more as his family will not exhaust him, no concern for children will burden him, no crowd of relatives will impoverish him; so whatever comes to him will all go to his bride, mother church. So I will go ahead and make him bishop of Prague.” Right away, the great men of the land and the prelates of the church are called to [Stará] Boleslav to a ducal assembly in the city and with the consent of all the clergy and the favor of the people Hermann, promoted to deacon, then raised up to the provostship of Boleslav was unwillingly advanced to the higher honor of the prelacy. This election was done on February 28 in the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1099. Chapter 8 As the Emperor Henry III730 was celebrating Easter in Regensburg, Duke Břetislav was ordered to come there with his bishop-elect. Having spent Easter in Vyšehrad, he arrived on the third day after the Easter week731 in Regensburg. As he had already, before the holiday, sent presents to the emperor and his officeholders—to as many of his friends as there were at court—came out to meet him at the third milestone and escorted him with great honors to the city. To his first petition, the emperor confirmed the choice of the Czechs and granted Hermann the episcopal ring and staff. He also succeeded in his requests to the emperor that his brother Bořivoj be given the flag 732 and all the Czechs who came with him were enjoined that after his demise they should raise his brother Bořivoj to the throne.733

 By which token the rule of seniorate was set aside, as Ulrich (Břetislav’s nephew, but older than his son) was still alive; see above, 302, and below, 310.

733

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Capitulum IX. Eodem anno idem dux Bracizlaus veniens cum exercitu in Moraviam reedificat castrum Podiuin et reddit eum, sicut antea fuerat, in potestatem Hermanni episcopi atque ibidem in villa Sliunica pentecosten celebravit. Deinde occurrens Pannonico regi Colomanno734 in campo, qui dicitur Luczko,735 multa sunt in invicem concionati placitantes ad placitum utrarumque partium. Ac inter se inmensis mutuatim datis muneribus renovant antiqua amicicie et pacis federa et ea sacramentis confirmant. Ibi dux Bracizlaus suum electum Hermannum diaconum committit Seraphim archiepis­ copo736 ordinandum. Qui veniens ad sedem suam urbis Strigonie tempore, quo sacri ordines celebrantur,737 III. id. Iunii ordinat eum presbiterum et me, quamvis indignum, similiter ad eundem promovit gradum. Dux autem post habitum concilium rediens castra metatus est iuxta urbem Brynen; erat enim valde iratus filiis patrui sui Conradi, Odalrico et Lutoldo. Qui fugientes a facie eius738 oppilaverunt se in munitis oppidis et mittentes tradunt ei ceteras civitates, timentes, ne hostiliter devastaret terram. Interea dux Bracizlaus dispositis presidiis per civitates, quas sibi tradiderant, et eas fratri suo Borivoy committens reversus est in Boemiam; Ottonis autem filii Zuatopluk et Ottik cum matre sua Eufemia multum obedientes duci erant et fideles.739 Item eodem anno dux Bracizlaus in nativitate Domini Bolezlaum per sororem sibi propinquum740 invitat ad convivium, quod erat in urbe Satc dispositum, ubi in ipso festo consentientibus omnibus comitibus Boemie factus est Bolezlaus ensifer avunculi sui.741 Quem post festum dux remittens ad propria dono 734

 Coloman (Kálmán), king of Hungary from 1095 to 1116.

 The location is conjectured to have been in southern Moravia, between rivers Morava and Váh (probably between Uherský Brod and Ostra/Uherský Ostroh) and its name may have been preserved in the place name Hluk, near Uherské Hradiště, see Jiří Mitáček, “Campus Lucsco – proměny jedné otázky [Campus Lucsco – changes of one question],” in Východní Morava v 10. až 14. století [Eastern Moravia from 10th to the 14th c.], ed. Luděk Galuška, Pavel Kouřil, and Jiří Mitáček (Brno: Moravské zemské museum/Archeologický ústav AV ČR Brno, v. v. i., 2008), 155–69. On Lučsko see als, 384.

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Chapter 9 In the same year, Duke Břetislav entered Moravia in force, rebuilt castle Podivín, returned it, as it had been before, to Bishop Hermann, and celebrated Pentecost there in the village Slivnice. Then he met Coloman,734 the Hungarian king, at a field called Lučsko,735 where they discussed and treated upon many things together to the satisfaction of both parties. Having exchanged lavish gifts, they renewed the old agreement of peace and friendship and confirmed it by oath. There, Duke Břetislav presented his bishop-elect, deacon Hermann, to Archbishop Seraphim736 for ordination, who then went to his see in the city of Esztergom and at the time when holy orders were conferred,737 on June 11, consecrated him a priest, and promoted me, however unworthy, to the same order. After the meeting the duke returned and set camp near the city of Brno, for he was very angered by Ulrich and Lutold the sons of his uncle Conrad. They fled from before him,738 locked themselves up in fortified places, but handed over the other castles through emissaries, as they feared he would devastate the country. The duke, meanwhile, left garrisons in the castles that were handed over, entrusted these to his brother Bořivoj, and returned to Bohemia. The sons of Otto, Svatopluk and Otík, together with their mother Eufemia, were fully obedient and faithful to the duke.739 At Christmas of the same year, Duke Břetislav invited Bolesław, his nephew through his sister,740 to a banquet held in the city of Žatec and there, on the holiday, with the consent of all the comites of Bohemia, Bolesław was made sword bearer of his uncle.741 After the feast, he sent him 736

 Seraphim was archbishop of Esztergom (ca. 1095–1104).

 See above, 204. The date is questionable.

737

738

 Ps. 67:2.

 These two were similarly cousins of the duke. Eufemia was the daughter of King Béla I of Hungary (d. 2 April 1111).

739

 Queen Judith of Poland, Bolesław’s mother, was the duke’s sister.

740

 A sentence in Knoll, GpP, 147–8 about Bolesław’s “returning” to Wrocław may imply his having been in Bohemia before.

741

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dat sibi et constituit, quatenus ensifere dignitatis pro ministerio ex tributo, quod pater suus Wladizlaus solvebat, annuatim semper C marcas argenti et X auri talenta habeat. Capitulum X. Anno dominice incarnationis MC. Dux Bracizlaus quibusdam referentibus habens compertum pro certo, quod imperator in urbe Magoncia pascha celebrare vellet, optimum ratus fore, ut illuc electum suum Hermannum mitteret, qui et munera sua cesari deferret et quam expectabat a magistro suo benedictionem acciperet, et committens eum Wigberto, qui similiter debuit interesse cesaris palatio, rogat, ut in omni suo faveret negocio tempore oportuno. Sed quoniam archipresul Rothardus742 symoniaca heresi infamatus relicta Magoncia hisdem diebus morabatur in Saxonia, iubente imperatore et collaudantibus omnibus suffraganeis Magonti[n]e ecclesie a cardinali Roperto, Clementis pape apocrisario, qui forte ibi aderat, ordinatus est Hermannus episcopus in octavis pasche VI. id. Aprilis.743 Capitulum XI. Eodem anno ammirabile et seclis commemorabile quod divina gratia per merita sanctissime martiris Ludmile dignata est revelare miraculum, uti ipsi vidimus, vestre caritati pandimus. Nam domna abbatissa Windelmuth,744 famula Deo devota, ecclesiam sancti Pet­ ri apostoli sitam in territorio eiusdem monasterii,745 cui preerat, ex vetustate a fundamento dirutam usque ad perfectionem deducens reedificavit. Quam ut consecraret presul, cum impetrasset abbatis-

 Ruthard of Mainz (d. 1109) was abbot in Erfurt in 1080, archbishop of Mainz in 1089, and from 1098 to 1105 expelled from his archdiocese for his support of Henry V.

742

 Bishop Robert of Faenza (1086–1104), counselor of Pope Clement III.

743

 An abbess Vencilmunt is recorded in Graus, “Necrologium Bohemicum,” 808 (24 October).

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home granting to him and laying down that he should always receive for the office of sword bearer a hundred marks of silver and ten talents of gold from the tribute that his father Władisław paid annually. Chapter 10 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1100, when Duke Břetislav received reliable news from certain persons that the emperor was about to celebrate Easter in the city of Mainz, he deemed it best to send there his bishop-elect, Hermann, in order to present his gifts to the emperor and to receive the expected blessing from his master. He entrusted him to Wiprecht, who was also to attend the emperor’s court, and asked him that he support him in all his doings when the time came. However, since Archbishop Ruthart,742 disgraced for the heresy of simony, had left Mainz and was staying at that time in Saxony, Hermann was ordained bishop on the octave of Easter, April 8, at the emperor’s command and with the approval of all suffragans of the church of Mainz, by the apocrisiary of Pope Clement, Cardinal Robert, who happened to be there.743 Chapter 11 We wish to tell your grace, what a wondrous and abidingly memorable miracle was deigned by divine grace to be performed that same year through the merits of the holy martyr Ludmila, as we ourselves witnessed. The lady abbess Windelmuth,744 a  devoted servant of God, had entirely rebuilt the church of Saint Peter the Apostle, located on the land of her monastery,745 which had been thoroughly destroyed by old age. When the bishop, at the abbess’s request, consecrated it and placed, as is the custom, relics of saints in the pyx, the lady presented the bishop with, among other things, a cloth, the width of a palm, that she had taken from the veil of  The monastery is St. George’s convent in the castle of Prague; St Peter’s church was, however, not in the city but at some other nearby property of the monastery.

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sa, dum ex more reliquias sanctorum collocat in pixide, inter alia obtulit domna presuli pannum unius palme latum, quem acceperat de peplo sancte Ludmile, rogans, ut similiter inter reliquias sanctas ponat eum in pixide. Tunc presul quasi indignans ait: „Tace, domna, de eius sanctitate, dimitte anum quiescere in pace!“746 Ad hec abbatissa, „Noli,“ inquit, „domine, noli talia dicere; multa enim Deus per eius merita cotidie operatur magnalia.“ Mox iussu presulis sartago affertur magna prunis ardentibus plena, ubi invocato sancte trinitatis nomine presul iniecit pannum super flammivomos carbones. Mira res, fumiculus et flammicula circa pannum emicuit, sed minime nocuit. Et hoc etiam magni fuit in augmentum miraculi, quod propter nimium ardorem diu non potuit pannus de flammis eripi et tandem ereptus sic visus est integer et firmus, ac si eadem die foret textus. Quo tam evidenti presul et omnes nos perculsi miraculo lacrimas fundimus pre gaudio et gratias retulimus Christo. Dedicata est autem ecclesia in honore sancti Petri apostoli V. non. Octobris. Capitulum XII. Item eiusdem anni XV. kal. Novembris Borivoy, frater ducis Bracizlai, in urbe Znogem747 faciens permagnificum convivium duxit uxorem nomine Helbirk,748 orientalis marchionis Lupoldi sororem. Et quia hisdem diebus filius Conradi Lutoldus per concessum Gotfridi749 admissus in castrum Racouz multas Borivoy inferebat  The beginnings of the cult of St. Ludmila in Bohemia (from the end of the tenth or the end of the eleventh century) is a hotly discussed topic in Czech scholarship, especially concerning the evaluation of the legend of the so-called Christian (Život a umučení, 50–9). The latter describes in detail the translatio of her relics from Tetín to Prague by her grandson Wenceslas with the participation of bishop Tuto of Regensburg, suggesting she was venerated already in the tenth century. Cosmas’s report here—one of the microlegends in the chronicle—implies, however, that at the turn of the eleventh to twelfth century Ludmila’s cult was not generally recognized in Bohemia. See Petr Kubín, ‘Znovu o Kristiána’ [Christian again], in Od knížat ke králům: Sborník u příležitosti 60. narozenin Josefa Žemličky [From Dukes to Kings: Celebratory volume for the 60th birthday of J.Ž.], ed. Eva Doležalová and Robert Šimůnek (Prague: NLN, 2007), 63–72; Da­

746

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Saint Ludmila, requesting that it be placed in the pyx among the other holy relics. The bishop said, disapprovingly: “Let’s have no talk, lady, as to her saintliness and let the old woman rest in peace!”746 To this the abbess spoke: “Do not, sir, do not speak like this for great things are done daily by God through her merits.” Then, on the bishop’s command, a  huge frying pan was brought out full of glowing charcoal into which, upon the flaming coals, the bishop, having invoked the Holy Trinity, threw the cloth. Miraculously, some smoke and flames leapt around the cloth but hurt it not. And to enhance the great miracle, for a long time the cloth could not be snatched out of the fire because of the great heat, but when finally taken out it appeared so unharmed and strong as if it had been woven that very day. Seeing this, awestruck by the miracle, the bishop and all of us broke out in tears of joy and offered thanks to Christ. The church was then consecrated to the honor of Saint Peter the Apostle on October 3. Chapter 12 In the same year, on October 18, Bořivoj, the brother of Duke Břetislav married Helbirk,747 sister of the eastern margrave, Leopold, and held a most splendid banquet in the castle of Znojmo.748 And because in those days Lutold, son of Conrad, whom Gottfried749 had allowed to hold the castle of Raabs, caused much harm to Bořivoj by nightly raiding his villages and then taking refuge in vid Kalhous, “Znovu o Kristiána: Replika” [Christian again: Response], Časopis Matice moravské 126 (2007), 411–7 and Hrdina and Wihoda, Kosmas, 153, n. 70.  Usually called Gerberga; she was sister of margrave Leopold III of Babenberg (1073–1136).

747

 Znojmo was an early medieval fortification on the River Dyja/Thaya in southern Moravia. The castle was probably built under Břetislav I on the place of the older center (the castle mound of St. Hippolytus), and developed into a city in the thirteenth century.

748

 Gottfried of the kindred of the counts of Raabs. Bretholz, Die Chronik, 172, n. 3 identified the word Racouz as Castle Raabs [a. d. Thaya] in Lower Austria.

749

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iniurias singulis noctibus devastans eius villas et refugium habens in predictum castrum, unde dux Bracizlaus valde iratus iterum coadunato exercitu movit castra in Moraviam, volens ulcisci fratris iniuriam. Sed prius mittit ad Gotfridum obtestans eum per antique amicitie federa, quo sibi Lutoldum aut vinctum mittat sine mora aut de castello suo eum expellat eadem hora. Quod cum non lateret Lutoldum, castellanis per fraudem foras exclusis ipse cum suis militibus vi obtinuit castrum. Tunc Gotfridus cum legatis, qui ad eum missi fuerant, occurrit duci iuxta oppidum Wranou et coram omnibus clamat Lutoldum perfidum esse et rei publice inimicum, castrum vero sibi sub fide amicabiliter prestitum, iam hos­ tiliter ad expugnandum postulat ducis auxilium. Cuius petitioni dux non abnuens admovit exercitum urbis per circuitum, ubi per sex ebdomadas vi summa nocte et die conseritur pugna, donec fames, que firmas expugnat urbes, prevaluit in castro.750 Ea victus Lutoldus et bello fractus noctu clam elapsus vix solus aufugit omissis ibi suis militibus, qui facto mane semetipsos et castrum tradunt in manum ducis. Interea dum hec pugna geritur, Paulik,751 filius Marquardi,752 pedagogus Wladizlai,753 sagittatus moritur, item Dobes, filius Lztimir, dum per vicem suam servat vigilias noctis, occiditur. His duobus amissis et reddita urbe Gotfrido dux victor cum suis remeat in Boemiam. Capitulum XIII. 754 Iamque Christi nativitate appropinquante et propter venationem in villa Stbecna duce morante quadam die inter prandendum fertur dixisse dux ad quendam venatorem, qui non longe ab eo ad quartam sedebat mensam: „Heus Cucata, putas me nescire, quis

 Cf. Lucan Phars. 4.410.

750 751

 A diminutive of “Paul.”

752

 Probably the same as Marquard, the German sent to Mainz in 1068, see above, 219.

 That is the later King Vladislas I (1109–1125).

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the said castle, Duke Břetislav, most irate, again called up an army and moved into Moravia in order to avenge the wrong done to his brother. But first he sent to Gottfried and called upon him on the basis of their old treaties of friendship either to hand over Lutold in chains at once or else to chase him out of his castle right away. When Lutold found this out, he slyly expelled the garrison of the castle and occupied it by force with his own warriors. Thereupon Gottfried, together with the emissaries sent to him, came to the duke near the town of Vranov and declared in front of all that Lutold was a faithless man and a public enemy, and he asked the duke’s help to besiege and take by force the castle, which he [Gottfried] had handed over in friendship under oath. The duke did not refuse his request and besieged the fortress. They fought for six weeks, day and night, until hunger that conquers the strongest castles,750 prevailed in the castle. Conquered by it and subdued by arms, Lutold escaped in secret at night alone, deserting his men, who the next day gave themselves and the castle over to the duke. In the midst of this fighting, Pavlík751 son of Marquard,752 tutor of Vladislav,753 was shot by an arrow and slain; likewise, Dobeš son of Lstimír was killed when he took his turn at night watch. Having lost these two, the victorious duke, after giving back the castle to Gottfried, returned with his men to Bohemia. Chapter 13 754 When Christmas was approaching and the duke was staying in the village of Zbečno for the hunt, he is supposed to have one day said at lunchtime to one of the hunters who sat at the fourth table not far from him: “Well, Cucata, do you think I don’t know  The events described in this chapter are discussed in ironic tone by Josef Žemlička, “Poslední lov knížete Břetislava: K událostem ve Zbečně před Vánocemi 1100” [The last hunt of duke Břetislav: The events in Zbečno before Christmas 1100], in Ad vitam et honorem: Profesoru Jaroslavu Mezníkovi přátelé a žáci k  pětasedmdesátým narozeninám, ed. Tomáš Borovský, Libor Jan and Martin Wihoda (Brno: Matice Moravská, 2003), 231–46. It is impossible to reconstruct what really happened.

754

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sit inter vos, qui me querit interficere?“755 Et ille, sicut homo erat vehemens in verbis, clamat: „Procul Deus hoc avertat nec tuus oculus parcat,756 quin ipse cicius occidatur, qui talia machinatur.“ Ad hec dux: „Ah bone vir,“ ait, „nulli fas est evitare inevitabile fatum.“ Postera autem die, quia sancti Thome apostoli erat vigilia,757 mane audita missa it venatum, et cum in nocte iam rediret, occurrunt ei ante villam apparitores cum laternis et facibus.758 Moxque Lork, impius latro missus a diabolo, prosilit ex latibulo precinctus gladio et, ut fortius valuit, inter ipsa ilia ducem percussit venabulo. Non aliter dux cadit in medio luto, ac Si clarus Lucifer celo cecidisset ab alto. Advolat extimplo lugubris turma suorum,759 et extracta hasta seminecem levant ducem. Ille autem minister Satane, dum accelerat fugam per noctem opacam, precipitatur cum equo in cisternam, quam preceps torrens decurrens fecerat ymbre. Incertum est, utrum ipse manu sua an gladius lapsus de vagina ita eum precidit per mediam alvum, ut omnia sibi effluerent exta. Fit tumultus per villam, alii insiliunt equos, alii cum armis huc et illuc discurrunt investigantes tanti mali machinatorem. Mox quidam invenit eum semivivum et, quamvis satis ad mortem habuit vulnus, tamen amputat ense caput eius dicens: „Inferni furvas non insons ibis ad umbras, Et Cereris genero mea facta referre memento.“ 760 Dux autem, licet in tanto dolore sit positus et merore, illa nocte et insequenti die non relaxabat spiritum et ora a laude Dei nunc lacrimosam penitenciam offerendo, nunc sua peccata confitendo tam episcopo Hermanno quam aliis sacerdotibus Dei.761 Tribu755

 The story is clearly based on the narrative of the passion of Christ.  Deut. 13:8.

756

 December 20.

757

 John 18:3, describing the arrival of Judas; another reference to the betrayal of Jesus.

758

759

 Isa. 14:12. Note, however, that there Lucifer’s fall is connected to his superbia.  Cf. Vergil A. 2.547–549. The son-in-law of Ceres is Pluto, the king of the Underworld.

760

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which of you intends to kill me?”755 To this he, a  man of strong words, shouted: “God forbid it, neither shall thine eye pity him 756 but the one who devises such a thing must be killed anon.” To this, the duke replied: “My good man, no one can avoid his unavoidable fate.” The next day, he heard morning Mass as it was the vigil of the feast of Saint Thomas the apostle757 and went hunting. When he returned, servants met him with lanterns and torches758 outside the village, as it was already night time. Then suddenly Lork, evil bandit sent by the devil, jumped out of his hiding, girt with sword, and thrust his hunting spear as strongly as he could into the duke’s vitals. The duke fell into the mud, just as Should shining Lucifer fall down from heaven.759 The mournful crowd of friends rushed forthwith there, and then, having removed the spear, they raised the half-dead duke. But that minion of Satan, fleeing in haste through the dark of night, fell with his horse into a  cistern made by the flow of a  torrent of rain. It is unclear whether he cut himself deliberately through the entrails, disemboweling himself, or if his sword, falling out of its sheath, did so. The village was gripped by upheaval: some jumped on horseback; others ran around in arms looking for the perpetrator of this great crime. Soon someone found him half-alive and, even though he was mortally wounded, cut off his head with these words: “Most guilty, you go to the dark shadows of Hell, And remember to report my deed to the son-in-law of Ceres.” 760 The duke, however, although in great pain and agony, did not stop his breath and his lips that night and the following day from praising God, now tearfully offering penance, now confessing his sins to Bishop Hermann and the other priests of God.761 He ordered that the bishop distribute among the monasteries the tribute just  In contrast to other deathbed speeches in the Chronicle (see e.g. above, 106–10), this one seems to be based on historical reality. For its symbolic value see Petr Charvát, “Dejte mému synáčkovi loveckou trubku a  kopí: Co vlastně odkázal umírající Břetislav svému dědici” [Please, give my pipe and lance to my small son: What dying Břetislav bequeathed to his heir], Acta historica et museologica Universitatis Silesiane Opaviensis 5 (2000), 167–9.

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tum autem, quod eo tempore fuit de Polonia allatum et quicquid in sua invenit camera, per manus episcopi fecit dari per monasteria. Et cum disposuisset omnia, que erant disponenda pro anima: „Date,“ inquit, „filiolo meo lituum meum et iaculum, cetera non est meum sibi dare, que Deus posuit in sua potestate.“762 Et ita insequenti nocte post gallicinium inter manus sacerdotum XI. kal. Ianuarii, velut bonus Dei athleta utramque hominis substantiam in sua divisit exordia, quem procul dubio credimus aut iam accepisse aut accepturum celestia consortia. Cuius feretrum unus ex clero sequens usque ad sepulchrum huiusmodi planctum iterabat dicens: „Anima Bracizlai, Sabaoth Adonay, vivat expers thanaton, Bracizlaus yskiros.“763 Mira res, sic fletu suo clerum et populum ciebat ad fletum, ut, dum fleres, magis flere velles. Sepultus est autem cum maximo planctu suorum in poliandro sancti Wencezlai ­ecclesie forinsecus ante portam a sinistris, uti ipse disposuerat. Ubi soror eius Ludmila, Deo devota famula, supra testudines construxit arcuatam in honore sancti Thome apostoli capellam764 et constituit, ut cotidie ibi celebraretur missa pro defunctis. Et quoniam statim percrebruit fama in populo ducem esse interfectum Bosey et Mutine consilio,765 quos antea expulerat dux de regno suo, dubitari a quibusdam solet, utrum soncior sit, qui consilium dat, an, qui consentit, ut faciat; sed revera uterque reus, veruntamen soncior is est, qui homicidium consiliatur, quia et se ipsum et alium criminatur. Ergo vos Bracizlaum occidistis, qui, ut occideretur, consilium dedistis. Mittunt ilico presul et comites cum festinatione in Moraviam ad Borivoy legatum, quo acceleret olim sibi a cesare datum tocius Boemie accipere ducatum. Qui festinus veniens in ipsa die nativitatis Christi omnibus simul faventibus intronizatur. Tunc Cillenia766 de Acts 1:7.

762

 The peculiar mixture of Hebrew (‘Lord of the Hosts’) and Greek (‘Underworld/ death’ and ‘strong’) words in this lament has been attributed to contemporary fashion, being found in other prayer texts as well.

763

 This chapel was pulled down in the course of the building of the Gothic cathedral under Charles IV; the bones of Břetislav II were taken to the new church and reburied under a new gravestone.

764

 Cf. their expulsion in 1099, see above 102–4.

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delivered by the Poles and whatever else was in his chamber. Once he had arranged everything that had to be arranged for the soul, he said, “Give my trumpet and my javelin to my little son. It is not for me to give him anything else for all the rest God has put in His own power.”762 And so, in the night of December 22, after cockcrow, as a valiant champion of God, surrounded by priests, he divided the twofold substance of men into their original parts, and we firmly believe that he has joined or will soon join the company of the heavenly hosts. One of the priests, who followed his bier to the grave, sang repeatedly this lament: “The soul of Břetislav, Sabaoth Adonay, shall live free of Thanatos, Břetislav yskiros.”763 It was remarkable that by his wailing he moved clergy and people so to wailing that, however much you wailed, you wanted to wail more. The duke was interred with great lament of his people in the burial place of the church of Saint Wenceslas, to the left outside of the church door, as he had prescribed. There his sister Ludmila, a devout servant of God, had an arched chapel built above the vaulted roof in honor of Saint Thomas764 and arranged that masses be performed there daily for the dead. And since a rumor soon began to spread that the duke had been murdered upon the counsel of Bosey and Mutina,765 whom he had earlier expelled from the realm, some began to wonder whether he who counseled a deed wasn’t guiltier than the one who agreed to do it. In fact both are guilty, but truly the one who counsels murder is more so as he makes both himself and another wrongdoers. Thus you killed Duke Břetislav—you people, who counseled his murder. The bishop and the comites sent right away an emissary to Bořivoj in Moravia that he should hasten to assume the ducal office of the whole of Bohemia, granted him by the emperor. He arrived swiftly and was enthroned on Christmas Day with the approval of all. At that time, Cillennia766 destroyed  Referring to Astraea, the goddess of justice, whose by-name this was. She was the last of the gods to leave earth after the Golden Age (see e.g. Ovid Met. 1.150), when vice and wickedness had spread unchecked, and she was transformed into the constellation of Virgo. The implication is that justice, weak at the best of times in Bohemia, was set aside by the disregard for the rule of succession (as above, 192).

766

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let omnino sua vestigia, que vix inpressa reliquerat in Boemia, cum exosa terras peteret celestia. Iusticia enim erat Boemorum, ut semper inter principes eorum maior natu solio potiretur in principatu. Capitulum XIV. Anno dominice incarnationis MCI. Odalricus et Lutoldus, filii Conradi, expulsis presidiis de Moravia, que ibi Borivoy abiens reliquerat ob custodiam, rehabuerunt civitates suas, similiter Bosey et Mutina redeunt de Polonia, quibus duce Borivoy non ex corde, sed pro necessitate temporis concedente gratiam suam recipiunt civitates suas, quas antea habuerant, Bosey Satc et Mutina Lutomerice. Capitulum XV. Eodem anno Odalricus adit imperatorem in urbe Ratispona767 et eum per amicos sollicitat precibus et fatigat inmensis promissionibus, quo sibi restituat iniuste preereptum a fratre suo iuniore Borivoy Boemie ducatum. A quo cesar accepta pecunia dat sibi ducatus insignia et vexillum; sed in ducem eligendi obtentum ponit in arbitrio Boemorum.768 Tunc Odalricus mittens legatum valde disertum virum, Neusse nomine, filium Dobremil, arguit fratrem suum Borivoy, increpat comites et minatur eis, iactat se esse etate maiorem et secundum patrie morem debitum, sibi iniuste sublatum per fratrem iuniorem poscit principalis sedis honorem. Qui quamvis iustam causam habeat, tamen frustra caudam captas, cum cornua amittas.769 Sic Odalricus fratrem suum Borivoy iam confirmatum in solio tarde nititur pellere de regno. Postquam vero suo referente legato animadvertit Odalricus nec fratrem suum cedere solio nec  The date of this visit is problematic as the known itinerary of Henry IV for 1101 does not include Regensburg, nor is there any evidence where he was staying between Christmas 1100 and 28 March 1101. Thus the meeting may have taken place in early 1101 and the subsequent German attack, dated by Cosmas to August 1101 (see below), could have happened as reported here.

767

 Even though this enfeoffment by a flag was in contradiction to that of Bořivoj two years earlier (see above, 322), there is no need to doubt its authenticity. Such

768

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the few vestiges she had left in Bohemia, and, detesting the earth, made for heaven. For the law of the Czechs was that among the princes the oldest should always succeed as ruler. Chapter 14 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1101, Ulrich and Lutold, sons of Conrad, expelled the garrisons from Moravia, which Bořivoj had placed there for defense when he left, and reclaimed their cities. Similarly, Bosey and Mutina returned from Poland, whom Duke Bořivoj, not from his heart but by the necessity of the times took again in his grace, and they received the cities that they had held before: Bosey Žatec and Mutina Litomĕřice. Chapter 15 In the same year, Ulrich goes to the emperor in Regensburg767 and besieges him through friends with requests and wears him down with boundless promises to restore to him the duchy of Bohemia, unjustly snatched away from him by his younger kinsman, Bořivoj. The emperor, having received money from him, grants him the insignia of the duchy and the flag, but leaves it to the decision of the Czechs whether to elect him as duke.768 Now Ulrich, dispatches a very eloquent man, by the name of Neussa, son of Dobremil, to accuse his kinsman, Bořivoj, and to rebuke the comites, to threaten them and to claim for himself the honor of the ducal throne unjustly taken away from him by his younger kinsman, asserting that he was older and that by the custom of the land it was due to him. He may have had a just cause, but it is useless to grab the tail if you’ve already lost the horns.769 Thus Ulrich tried too late to remove from the realm his kinsman Bořivoj, already confirmed on inconsistencies were not exceptional in medieval political life. The twofold legitimization of rule in Bohemia—imperial grant and election by the local elite—is, however, worth noting.  This saying is recorded in the medieval Czech chronicle of the so-called Dalimil.

769

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comites acquiescere suo consilio, hoc solum obtinuit precibus, ut cesaris per licentiam liceat sibi debitam vi invadere provinciam; cuius mox associantur in contubernium viri in rebus bellicis strennui, Sigardus comes de oppido Sala et eius frater Frisensis episcopus, nomine Odalricus, atque suus per sororem gener nomine Fridericus.770 Quorum succenderat animum ad belli studium, promittens eis aureos montes et pollicitans suos esse fautores omnes Boemie natu maiores. Preterea undecumque potuit, non paucos sibi in auxilium acquirit Teutonicos, qui pro sui stulticia estimabant in Boemia auri et argenti pondera fore in plateis sparsa et exposita. Quibus insimul coadunatis Odalricus cum fratre Lutoldo Augus­ to mense intrant partes Boemie, sed sinistro omine. Nam Borivoy collecto exercitu occurrens eis castra metatus est supra duos colles iuxta oppidum Malin, paratus in crastinum cum eis committere bellum. Teutonici vero non longe ex altera parte rivuli Wyzplisa771 applicuerunt castra, ita ut uterque ab utrisque possit videri exercitus. Qui postquam animadverterunt unanimem esse cum duce Borivoy constantiam Boemorum, inquiunt Odalrico: „Ubi sunt illi Boemie natu maiores, quos dicebas tuos esse fautores? Recte mentitus es in caput tuum772 et nos decepisti atque in magnum de­dux­ is­ti periculum.“ Reverti volunt, sed nequeunt, quia eadem via post illos Zuatoplik cum fratre suo Ottone ducens secum duas scaras veniebat duci Borivoy in auxilium. Quid facerent? Magna undique coartati angustia per augustam viam et nimis artam semitam, qua itur trans silvam ad Gabr,773 turpem noctu maturaverunt fugam. 770

 According to Georg Grandaur, Chronik von Böhmen des Dekans Cosmas: nach der Ausgabe der Monumenta Germaniae Historica (Leipzig: Franz Duncker, 1885), 177, n. 1 Sighard was the son of the count of Burghausen, called “von Sala” from his castle of Schallaburg in Austria. His brother, Henry, was the bishop of Freising at that time (1098–1137). Sighard had a younger brother called Frederick; there is no record of a brother-in-law of theirs by this name. Cosmas’s error may be explained by his mixing up the said bishop with Ulrich, bishop of Passau, 1092–1121. Grandaur, however, identified the third person as Count Frederick of Pilstein (also in Austria), Sighard’s uncle (ibid.). Wolverton, Chronicle 198, n. 61 identifies the three as Count Sighard X of Tengling-Burghausen (d. 1104), his brother, Bishop Henry of Freising (1098–1137), and their brother, Count Frederick II of Tengling (d. ca. 1120). Cosmas has quite clearly muddled the names and

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the throne. Having been told by his emissary that neither would his kinsman give up the throne, nor the comites assent to his proposal, Ulrich managed only by his pleas to obtain imperial permission to invade the province due to him. Soon the experienced warriors, Sighard, count of Castle Schallaburg, his kinsman, the bishop of Freising, Ulrich by name, and his brother-in-law by his sister, Frederick770 joined him as comrades in arms. He had won them for this military campaign by promising mountains of gold and assuring them that all the great men of Bohemia were on his side. Moreover he won quite a  few Germans from wherever he could as auxiliaries who in their stupidity believed that in Bohemia masses of gold and silver were scattered and lying around in the streets. When all had assembled, Ulrich and his brother Lutold entered Bohemia, but under a bad star. For Bořivoj called up the army and moved against them, setting camp on two hills near the town of Malín, ready to offer battle the next day. The Germans set camp not far away on the other side of the creek Vyzplice771 so that the two armies could see each other. When they observed that the Czechs all held firm to Bořivoj, they said to Ulrich: “Where are those Czech magnates whom you said supported you? You have lied against your own head,772 misled us and brought us into great danger.” They wanted to return, but could not, for on the same route, behind them, Svatopluk and his brother Otto had marched up with two detachments to assist Duke Bořivoj. What to do? Surrounded on all sides by great obstacles, they hurried to shameful flight by night along a  narrow and very precarious path that led through the forest to Habry.773 There the bishop of Freising lost relationships of these three very powerful Bavarian noblemen. For genealogical chart, see Karl Brunner, 907–1156: Herzogtümer und Marken, vom Ungarnsturm bis ins 12. Jahrhundert (Vienna: Überreuter, 1994), 86.  Probably the rivulet Vrchlice is meant.

771

 Cf. Dan. 13:55.

772 773

 The forest and the road leading through it may have been located somewhere between the towns Kutná Hora/Kuttenberg and Jihlava/Iglau (both founded much later).

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Ibi episcopus Frisensis amisit capellam suam,774 ibi propter difficilem viam omnem exercitus cum rebus usualibus proiecit sarcinam. Mane autem facto advenientes Boemi hoste carentia diripiunt spolia. Erant autem illo tempore Borivoy et Zuatoplik concordes et ad invicem unanimes, sed unde orta sit inter eos discordia, parum superiora repetens exordia referam pauca. Capitulum XVI. Anno dominice incarnationis MCII. Wladizlaus dux Polonie habens duos filios, unum de concubina progenitum, nomine Izbig­ neu, alterum ex Iuditha Wratizlai regis filia editum, nomine Bolezlaum, hos inter suum regnum dividit per medium;775 sed quoniam iuxta vocem dominicam: „Omne regnum in se ipsum divisum desolabitur et domus supra domum cadet“776 et, sicut vulgo dicitur, duo catti uno sacco capti insimul esse non possunt,777 anno dominice incarnationis MCIII. Izbigneu post obitum patris778 mox contra fratrem suum sumit arma et promittens pecuniam associat ducem Borivoy sibi in auxilium. Qui statim misit post Zuatopluk in Moraviam, et convenientes simul castra metati sunt iuxta oppidum Recen. Quod audiens Bolezlaus mittit pedagogum suum Zkribimir779 et rogat ducem Borivoy, ut sit memor affinitatis; se sibi per Iuditham, eius sororem, dicit propinquiorem780 et insuper offert ei ad manum X marsupia mille marcis plena. O pecunia, tocius mali regina, fraudis amica, fidei hostis et inimica, tu iusticiam comprimis, recta iudicia subvertis! Te corrupti Grabissa et Protiuen, ducis Borivoy consiliarii, compellunt ipsum ducem, fidem Izbigneu promissam abnuere. Qui statim accepta pecunia reversus est ad propria et, quia nec unum obulum dedit Zuatopluk, indi By ‘chapel’ (capella) all the priestly equipment, apparel and vessels needed for the celebration of the Mass is meant.

774

 O  n the conflict of Bolesław and his half-brother Zbigniew, see Knoll, GpP, 123– 275, passim. The most recent analysis is Zbingniew Dalewski, Ritual and Politics: Writing the History of a Dynastic Conflict in Medieval Poland (Leiden: Brill, 2008) [henceforth: Ritual and Politics].

775

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his chapel774 and the entire army threw away its baggage with their belongings because of the difficulty of the road. At daybreak the Czechs arrived and while missing the army, they seized the abandoned spoils. At that time, Bořivoj and Svatopluk were in concord and on good terms; how then discord emerged between them, I will tell soon, going back a little to its origins. Chapter 16 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1102. Władisław, duke of Poland had two sons: one from a concubine, Zbigniew; another from Judith, the daughter of King Vratislav, called Bolesław; between them he divided his realm in half.775 But since, as the Lord said, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falleth”776—or, as is commonly said, one cannot keep two cats in one sack777—in the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1103, soon after the death of their father,778 Zbigniew took up arms against his brother and won the assistance of Duke Bořivoj by promising him money. He [in turn] right away sent for Svatopluk in Moravia and they together set camp by the town of Ryczyn. When Bolesław heard this, he sent his tutor Skarbimir779 and asked Duke Bořivoj to remember that they were relatives and said that by his sister Judith they were yet more closely related;780 besides, he sent him ten pouches full of a thousand marks. O money! You queen of all evil, friend of deceit, foe and enemy of faith! You stifle justice and subvert right judgment! Corrupted by you, Grabissa and Protiven, counselors of Duke Bořivoj, moved the duke to break his promise to Zbigniew. He right away accepted the money and returned home. Because he gave not a single penny to  Luke 11:17.

776

 A saying still heard in contemporary Czech.

777 778

 Duke Władisław died on 4 June 1102.  Skarbimir (d. 1132?) was count palatine of Poland.

779 780

 Bolesław’s mother, Judith, was Bořivoj’s stepsister.

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gnatus valde et succensus ira discedens fertur dixisse: „Incendium meum ruina extinguam.“781 Capitulum XVII. Anno dominice incarnationis MCIIII. Iohannes electus est in epis­ copum Moravie. Eodem anno Zuatoplik mittit in Boemiam indagatores nequitie, delatores iusticie, seminatores discordie et omnium malarum arcium inventores,782 qui possent unanimes armare in prelia fratres.783 Hi fere universas Boemie civitates circueuntes alios pecunia corrumpunt, alios muneribus, alios promissionibus obligant et, quos sciebant novarum rerum avidos784 aut dignitatibus privatos aut versatiles et animo inconstantes, omnibus versuciis asciscunt in partes Zuatoplik ducis. His ita patratis anno dominice incarnationis MCV. sole morante in decima parte Libre intrat785 Zuatoplik cum suo comitatu Boemiam, et occurrunt sibi perfidorum agmina; quidam vero ex eis expectant, ut eum aperta ianua urbis Prage recipiant infra menia. Sed prius eadem die dux Borivoy valde diluculo veniens preoccupat urbem et ponit in ea fortia presidia atque episcopo Hermanno eam committens se cum suis ad Wissegrad contulit. Et ecce Zuatoplik ordinatim pulchre instructis cum sex legionibus786 apparet in campo et, quia nullus obviam sibi venit ab urbe, incertus et dubius parum substitit, et mox transvadantes fluvium Wlitauam infra villam, que dicitur Bubni,787 applicuerunt urbi, sed inveniunt clausas portas et super muros fortiter resistentes milites. Ibi a quadam ancilla super muros astanti turpiter confusi788 eadem via repedantes figunt tentoria inter utrasque

781

 Sallust Cat. 31.9. The blaze is extinguished when the building itself collapses.

782 783

 2 Macc. 7:31.

 Vergil A. 7.335.

784

 A classical idiom meaning revolutionary change or overthrow, e.g. Sall. Iug. 19.1.

 The end of September or the beginning of October.

785

786

 The word legio is surely a classicism on the part of Cosmas. The size of the detachment cannot be determined.

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him, Svatopluk was much offended and angered, and is supposed to have said: “I shall extinguish my fire by destruction.”781 Chapter 17 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1104. John was elected bishop of Moravia. In the same year, Svatopluk sent to Bohemia pursuers of wickedness, denouncers of justice, sowers of discord and authors of all mischief,782 so that they might arm friendly brothers to battle.783 They went around almost all the cities of Bohemia, corrupting some by money, some by gifts, and some by promises; they brought with their full cunning to the side of Duke Svatopluk all whom they knew to seek new things784 or to be deprived of positions, or to be inconstant or fickle-minded. When all this was done, in the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1105, when the sun was in the tenth day of Libra,785 Svatopluk entered Bohemia with his retinue and the troops of the faithless flocked to meet him; others of them waited to open the gates of the city of Prague and receive him inside the walls. But before that could happen, Duke Bořivoj arrived at dawn that same day, took the castle and placed a strong garrison in it. Having entrusted it to Bishop Hermann, he went with his men to Vyšehrad. And lo! Svatopluk appeared in the field with six splendidly drawn up legions786 and, because nobody came to meet him from the city, he, uncertain and unsure, made a brief halt. Then, crossing the River Vltava at the village called Bubny,787 they approached the castle, but found its gates closed and warriors on the walls offering stout resistance. Shamed and disgraced by a servant girl standing on the wall,788 they returned whence they 787

788

 This is the first reference to a ford of the Vltava, an important part of Prague’s topography well into modern times, known as “Na Maninách.” It was located ca. 1 km up river from medieval Prague, see map on p. xiv.

 The hurling of verbal insults at the enemy was well-know feature of medieval “psychological warfare.” That here it was done by a woman of low class must have compounded the insult. See Matthew Strickland, War and Chivalry: The Conduct and Perception of War in England and Normandy, 1066–1217 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006), 160–2.

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urbes789 in loco, ubi sabbato fiunt mercimonia, estimantes, quod ex utraque urbe sui coniuratores illa nocte confluerent ad eos. Quod cum minime fecissent, mane facto cetu convocato Zuatoplik sic orsus est ad eos: „Quamvis non vacet modo, ut prolixo utar alloquio, pro re tamen pauca loquar,790 ne mortis occasionem timere alicui videar. Timidis enim et ignavis, quibus misera vita habetur suavis, aptissima mors est,791 forti autem viro mortem subire in prelio dulcius est nectare liquido. Nam ego olim mecum deliberavi aut potiri pane et honore potiori aut pugnando honeste succumbere morti. Sed vobis sola nunc est mors ista cavenda, ne quis vestrum captus et manibus post terga ligatus atque spectaculum hostibus factus, veluti bos ad victimam ductus, cadat securi peremptus. Victis enim una est victoria et digna laude memoria, ne incruenta hos­ tibus contingat victoria.“792 Dixerat et continuo cum suo comitatu vertens iter Moraviam sic fatur Wacek ad comitem: „O miserabilis fortune conditio, qua nunc cogor humi residere ut noctua, qui visus eram veluti agilis aquila ascendisse fere usque ad nubila.“ Cui Wacko: „Non te,“ inquit, „domine mi, frangat ista adversitas, quam cicius felicior sequetur prosperitas, quia et solis post aquosam nubem magis nitet claritas. Talis enim vicissitudo omnium rerum est in mundo.“ Quos abeuntes dux Borivoy cum suis prosequitur et, quamvis septies plus de militibus habeat, tamen non audet cum eis committere prelium, quia timuit suorum perfidiam, ne sua castra deserentes ad hostium se transferant miliciam. Prosecutus est autem eos a longe usque ad introitum silve. Capitulum XVIII. Anno dominice incarnationis MCVI. Inventore discordiarum diabolo seminante discordias per orbem terrarum quidam sui cooperatores extiterunt ex Teutonicis proceres,793 qui seducentes filium 789

 Probably at the location where Prague’s Old Town now lies, on the right bank of the Vltava.  Vergil A. 4.337.

790

 The transmitted reading, aptissima (‘suitable,’ ‘proper’) makes no sense; we adopt instead acerbissima, as proposed by Grandaur, Chronik, 178, n. 4.

791

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had come and set up camp between the two castles,789 where the Saturday market is held, expecting that their fellow conspirators from both castles would join them in the night. They did nothing of the sort; thus Svatopluk, having called a meeting in the morning, spoke to his men: “Although there is now no opportunity to deliver a lengthy speech, I want to say a few words,790 lest I be suspected by anyone of fearing death. Death is most bitter791 to the cowardly and faint-hearted who hold their miserable lives dear, but for the strong man to fall in battle is sweeter than nectar. For I have long pondered in my mind whether to acquire bread and high office or honestly to suffer death fighting. But now you should only shun the death that comes when you are captured, when, with hands tied behind your back, you are made a spectacle for the victors and killed by the knife, like cattle led to slaughter. For the defeated there is just one victory worth remembering, when the enemy is denied a bloodless victory.”792 When he had said this and was about to leave with his retinue for Moravia, he turned to comes Wacek: “O, miserable turn of fortune that now forces me to sit on the ground like an owl when I foresaw myself flying to the clouds as a  swift eagle.” To him Wacek spoke “My lord, this adversity should not dishearten you for soon better fortune will follow, just as the sun shines brighter after a rain cloud has passed. Everything changes in this world.” Duke Bořivoj pursued them in their retreat, but although he had seven times more warriors, he did not risk entering battle; for he feared the perfidy of his men and that they might leave his camp and go over to the enemy. Still, he pursued them all the way to the entrance of the forest. Chapter 18 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1106. As the devil, author of all discord, was sowing discord throughout the world, some of his accomplices, great men among the Germans,793 seduced the son of  This speech is much indebted to Sallust Cat. 58.

792

 Other main supporters of young Henry were a certain Hermann and Count Otto of Kastel-Habsberg.

793

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imperatoris, regem videlicet Heinricum quartum,794 persuaserunt, ut contra genitorem suum arma sumeret; qui filii sui a facie fugiens in urbe Ratispona cum paucis munivit se armis795 et mittit pro duce Borivoy, ut sibi in auxilium cum exercitu veniat. Nec mora, venientes Boemi non longe a Ratispona metati sunt castra iuxta fluvium Reznam; ex altera autem parte eiusdem fluminis erant castra filii imperatoris. Tunc qui videbantur esse fautores cesaris, primus Lupoldus marchio orientalis796 lapsus fuga noctu repatriat cum suis, Depoldus797 autem et Berengerus798 marchiones transferunt se ad castra regis Heinrici iunioris. Videntes autem Boemi se undique esse destitutos nihilominus celerius, ut potuerunt, simul noctu maturaverunt fugam. Quod videns imperator deserit Ratisponam et transiens per australem plagam via, qua itur ad Netolic, intrat Boemiam;799 quem dux Borivoy honorifice suscipiens, sicuti ipse cesar disponebat, versus Saxoniam dat sibi conductum per terram suam cesare dignum deducens eum usque ad generum suum Wigbertum. Inde per Saxoniam transiens et Renum perrexit Leodium, ubi non post multos dies cum vita amisit imperium VII. idus Augusti. Capitulum XIX. Eodem anno Zuatoplik convocans eos, qui secuti eum fuerant de Boemia, quid opus sit facto iam in incepto negocio, querit consilia. Tunc Budivoy, filius Hren, ceteris etate senior linguaque disercior, in adversis et prosperis vir equanimis et in talibus negotiis ab ineunte etate vir eruditus ac plenus versuciis, his usus est alloquiis: „Varius est eventus in prelio800 et nunc hii, nunc illi prevaluere bello. Nos autem, fratres, nondum usque ad sanguinem pugnavimus,801  In fact Henry V (1105–1125). All this happened, however, a year earlier.

794

 Actually, Emperor Henry first moved to Mainz while his son went to Regensburg to join his Bavarian allies in early 1005 and again in August. He left the city and encamped outside when his father approached.

795

 Leopold III of Babenberg (1073–1136), brother-in-law of Henry V.

796

 Dietpold III of the Vohburg (d. 1046), margrave of the Bavarian Nordgau.

797

 Berengar I (d. 1125), Count of Sulzbach.

798

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the emperor, namely Henry IV,794 and convinced him to take up arms against his father. [The emperor] fleeing from his son to the city of Regensburg, with the support of only a few men795 sent to Duke Bořivoj to come to his aid with an army. The Czechs came right away and set camp on the bank of River Regen; on the other riverbank was the camp of the emperor’s son. Among those who were assumed to be on the emperor’s side, first Lupold, margrave of the Ostmark,796 fled home in the night with his men, then the margraves Dietpold797 and Berengar798 went over to the camp of young King Henry. When the Czechs saw that they were abandoned on all sides, as soon as they could they too fled no less speedily into the night. When the emperor saw this, he left Regensburg and went to Bohemia along the southern road that leads to Netolice.799 Duke Bořivoj received him with honors and, as the emperor himself arranged, gave him conduct, suitable for an emperor, through his land and guided him to his brother-in-law, Wiprecht. Thence the emperor passed through Saxony, crossed the Rhine, and arrived in Liège, where a few days later, on August 8, he lost life and empire. Chapter 19 In the same year, Svatopluk called together all those who had followed him from Bohemia and asked their counsel as what should be done in the enterprise already begun. Then Budivoj, son of Chřen, older and more eloquent than the others, calm in good times and bad, in such matters experienced, and most cunning since his youth, made this speech: “The outcome of battle is varied:800 sometimes the one side, sometimes the other prevails in war. But we, kinsmen, have not yet resisted unto blood 801 and we have  The reference is most likely to the so-called ‘Golden Route’ (Goldener Steig) connecting Passau across the mountains with the area of Kašperské Hory, Vimperk and Prachatice. See František Kubů and Petr Zavřel, Der Goldene Steig: Historische und archäologische Erforschung eines bedeutenden Handelsweges, Band 1: Die Strecke Prachatitz – Staatsgrenze (Passau: Verein für Ostbairische Heimatforschung, 2001).

799

 2 Kings. 11:25.

800 801

 Heb. 12:4.

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nondum fecimus capitibus nostris pontem, quo itur ad solium, quem utique et facturi sumus, si sors facere compulerit. Sed quoniam non semper armis, sed sepius dolis ad ardua honoris venitur fastigia, nunc positis armis utamur dolis. Talibus est artibus Troya ab Argi[vi]s in decimo anno capta, et Prudentius refert in Psichomachia dicens: „Nil differt, armis contingat palma dolisve.“802 Nec mora, mittitur alter, ut ita dixerim, versipellis Sinon803 in Boemiam, multimodis instructus dolis, nepos Gapate, qui paratus in utramque fortunam casus non timuit mortis, cui apte sonat nomen virilis, quia viriliter egit.804 Nam sicut olim Sinon Argivos 805 armatos equo inclusos per sua mendacia traxit Troye in menia, ita per istius falsidica commenta duci Zuatoplik victa patuit Boemia.806 Hic ut pervenit ad ducem Borivoy, genibus provolutus fictis lacrimis rigat pedes ducis 807 et tandem surgere iussus talia fatur: „O me miserum vix delituisse fuga et vix evasisse scelestas manus impii Zuatoplik, qui si me cepisset, procul dubio hosce oculos mihi eruisset. In quo quoniam me aliter ulcisci nequeo, o Deus omnipotens, fas mihi sit eius secreta detegere, fas mihi sit omnes, qui sunt in hac terra eius familiares prodere.“808 Sicque miscens vera falsis multis criminatur Zuatoplik flagiciis et, ut sibi magis credatur, dicta sua confirmat sacramentis. Talibus artibus atque insidiis vir bonus et simplex dux Borivoy deceptus et multum mendaciis credulus ramos robustos,809 quibus et ipse innixus sedit et honor suus pependit, incaute precidit et ab alto culmine cecidit. Nam amicos suos fideles Bosey et Mutinam sepe capere et ut hos­tes rei publice punire voluit, sed quia consiliarios suos Grabissam et Protiuen plenos rimarum habuit, velle suum predictos comites non latuit. Qui statim transferunt se ad fratrem eius Wladizlaum et iam

802

 Prudentius Psych. 550.

 Sinon “the great liar” was supposed to mislead the Trojans about the wooden horse and light a beacon as a sign for attack; see Vergil A. 2.79, 195, 257, 329.

803

 Cf. Vergil A. 2.61. Unfortunately, Cosmas does not tell what the man’s name was, though he characterizes it as meaning virilis.

804

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not built with our heads the bridge that leads to the throne, but we certainly will, if fate forces us to do so. However, because the lofty summits of honor are not always reached by arms, but more frequently by cunning, let us now put arms aside and use cunning. It was by such ruses that Troy was won after ten years by the Greeks, and Prudentius in his Psychomachia wrote: ‘No matter whether arms or ruse helps you prevail.’ ” 802 Without delay, a second double-dealing Sinon,803 so to say, was sent to Bohemia, a relative of Hapata, a man versed in all tricks, prepared for either turn of fortune, not fearing death, whose name aptly means ‘manly,’ for he acted as a man.804 For just as Sinon by his lies conveyed the armed Argives,805 hidden in the horse, within the walls of Troy, so his mendacious schemes defeated Bohemia and opened it to Svatopluk.806 When he came to Duke Bořivoj, he fell at his knees and wet the feet of the duke with false tears.807 Asked to stand up at last, he spoke thus: “O miserable me, I have barely escaped by flight the accursed hands of evil Svatopluk, who would surely have gouged out my eyes if he had captured me. As I cannot avenge myself any other way, give me leave, o almighty God, to divulge his secrets and to betray all his adherents in this country.” 808 Thus mixing truth with lies, he accused Svatopluk of many shameful things and, so he might be the more trusted, confirmed by oath what he said. By such tricks and snares the goodhearted and guileless Duke Bořivoj was deceived and believed the many lies; he heedlessly severed the strong branches 809 on which his support rested and on which his honor depended—and fell down from the high peak. For he had often planned to arrest his faithful friends Bosey and Mutina and punish them as public enemies but since Grabissa and Protiven were his counselors and could keep nothing 805

 The name of the Argives, inhabitants of Argos and the Argolid, has been often used to design all Greeks.  Cf. Knoll, GpP, 249–51.

806

 Cf. Matt. 17:14 and Luke 7:38.

807 808

 Cf. Vergil A. 2.157 (Sinon’s speech to Priam).

 Dan. 4:11.

809

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frementi et sevienti addunt stimulos, ut magis seviat contra germanum suum Borivoy, cui iam abrenunciarat fidelitatem et fraternitatem suam et amiciciam, et palam miserat pro Zuatoplik in Moraviam Willehalmi fratrem, nomine Pulonem. Quem advenientem Wladizlaus et ceteri comites, heu insensati et quasi suimet hos­tes et patrie inimici, ad suam perniciem trahunt rabidum lupum in ovile ovium, qui non solum oves, verum etiam ipsos dilaniaret oppiliones. Ergo Borivoy mitis ut agnus regno privatur, et Zuatoplik sevior tigride, ferocior leone intronizatur anno dominice incarnationis MCVII. pridie id. Maii. Capitulum XX. Hoc novum nec prius in Boemia factum circa adiacentes mirantur gentes et peiora in futurum Boemis vane mentis per presagia auguriantur. Hinc filii Pannonie Cassandri810 letantur, inde Polonie nequam trapi811 incircumcisis labiis812 gratulantur, quia, dum isti principes semetipsos inquietant, illi quiete potiuntur. Multi autem ex comitibus, quos ipse Borivoy de proselitis813 fecerat comites, comitantur eum et secum in Poloniam proficiscuntur. Videns autem, que fiebant, Zobezlaus,814 tercius natu post Borivoy, iam bone indolis iuvenis, secutus est fratrem in Poloniam. Hisdem temporibus rex Heinricus quartus forte aderat in Saxonia,815 ad quem Borivoy accelerat et illatam sibi iniuriam applorat et, ut ei iniuste sublatum restituat Boemie ducatum, inmensa auri et argenti pondera promittit se daturum. Protinus rex mittens unum de satrapis sic mandat Zuatoplik paucis: „Per coronam capitis mei mando tibi et precipio, ut sine dilatione ad me venias, aut si venire tardaveris, procul dubio ego in iusticia et iudicio te et tuam Pragam celeriter visitabo.“ Qui mox coadunato exercitu veniens sub ipso introitu sil810

811

 Cassander was an ancient Macedonian king. Pannonian means, of course, Hungarians.

 Trapus is glossed by Köpke as ‘cheap cloth,’ thus meaning here something like ‘inferior people.’

812

 Ex. 6:12, where Moses uses this expression for his lack of eloquence.

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secret, this intention of his was not hidden from the said comites. They immediately went over to his brother, Vladislav, and goaded the already enraged and angered man to rage yet more against his brother, Bořivoj, to whom he had by now renounced his fealty and brotherly friendship and sent Pulo, brother of William, openly to Svatopluk in Moravia. Upon his arrival, Vladislav and the other comites—alas, mindless men and enemies to themselves and to the fatherland—led the rabid wolf into the sheepfold to their own ruin so that it might tear apart not only the sheep but even the shepherds themselves. Thus Bořivoj, meek as a lamb, is deprived of rule and Svatopluk, more savage than a tiger, fiercer than a lion, is enthroned on May 14 in the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1107. Chapter 20 The neighboring people were amazed by this event that had never occurred before in Bohemia, and foretold that worse things would happen to the empty-headed Czechs. The sons of the Pannonian Cassander810 rejoiced, those of Poland, worthless as rags,811made merry with uncircumcised lips,812 for as long as these princes wrestled each other, they could enjoy rest. Many newcomers,813 however, who had been made comites by Bořivoj, accompanied him and went with him to Poland. Having seen what was happening, Sobĕslav,814 the third-born after Bořivoj, already a fine young man, followed his brother to Poland. At this time, Henry IV happened to be in Saxony,815 and Bořivoj hastened to him and bewailed the injustice done to him. He promised immense amounts of gold and silver if the king restored him to the unjustly usurped duchy of Bohemia. The king immediately sent one of his officers to Svatopluk and gave him this short order: “By the crown on my head, I order and command you to come to me presently, but if you delay, be in 813 814 815

 Proseliti may be used here as neophiti above, see above, 294, n. 696.

 Soběslav I (ca. 1090–1140), duke of Bohemia from 1125.

 Henry V was in Goslar and in Merseburg in July 1107.

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ve iuxta oppidum Hlumec convocat proceres et satrapas et preponit eis fratrem suum Ottonem dicens: „Ego solus ibo et mei capitis periculo scrutabor ancipites animos 816 regis. Vos hic expectate dubios casus incerti eventus; de cetero Deus omnipotens vestros preveniat et subsequatur actus.“ 817 Et assumptis secum paucis it temere in apertum ruiturus laqueum. O stulta sapientia 818 viri, immo audax audacia ducis! Vadit haud ignarus, quid sibi facturus rex auro corruptus et avarus ut infernus. Quem advenientem sine omni audiencia rex iussit retrudi in custodiam et convocans eos, qui secum venerant, tradit eis 819 Borivoy ducem, ut reducentes eum in urbem Pragam iterum relevent in principalem cathedram. Qui remeantes cum eo tercia die metati sunt castra iuxta castellum Donin.820 Audiens hec Otto ait ad suos: „Quid expectamus hic? Iam quod timebamus evenit et quod verebamur accidit. Eamus et videamus novum ducem, si regis dextra eum nostra defendat ab asta.“ Et ordinans ex electis militibus VI legiones, noctu transcendens montes mane diluculo irruit in castra Borivoy. Sed ille prescius iam lapsus fuga delituerat, quia quidam profugus ex castris Ottonis causam sibi clam innotuerat. Capitulum XXI. Presul autem Hermannus, vir prudens et iustus, inter varios casus utriusque ducis quasi inter Scillam et Caribdim positus, ne videretur utramvis partem eorum incertam secutus, secessit ad amicum 816

 Grandaur, Chronik, 183 prefers the reading of Ms B, amicos for animos, which sounds convincing.

 Several Mss. have nostros … actus (‘our actions’), which perhaps makes better sense. Leaving his men, he commits them to God.

817

818

 1 Cor. 1:20.

 Grandaur, Chronik, 183 takes this as referring to Henry’s entourage and, based on the Annales S. Albani, suggests that Bořivoj was escorted back by his brotherin-law Wiprecht of Groitzsch. Bretholz, Die Chronik, 186, n. 7 denies this, but it is difficult to imagine Bořivoj would have been entrusted to the people who had accompanied his adversary, Svatopluk (‘came with him’), now out of grace.

819

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no doubt that I will swiftly come to you and your Prague in justice and judgment.” Svatopluk then marched with his army to the entrance of the forest at the town of Chlumec, called together the great men and office-holders and, having placed his brother Otto in command, spoke thus: “I am going to go alone and, at the peril of my head, will fathom the unpredictable mind 816 of the king. You should wait here for the uncertain outcome of this doubtful business. As to the rest, may almighty God direct and attend your deeds.” 817 And taking only a few men with him, he went rashly into the open trap and to his ruin. Oh, foolish wisdom 818 of the man, or rather the brazen audacity of the duke! He goes, well aware of what the king, corrupted by gold and greedy as Hell, will do to him. When he arrived, the king ordered him, without any hearing, to be thrust into jail, and, calling together those who came with him, he handed over Bořivoj to them 819 so that they might conduct him back to the city of Prague and restore him to the ducal throne. They returned with him and on the third day set camp near the castle of Donín.820 When Otto heard this, he spoke to his men: “What are we waiting for? What we have feared has happened and what we dreaded has transpired. Let us go and see the new duke, whether the king’s arm can protect him from our lances.” Deploying six legions of selected warriors, he crossed the mountains overnight and at daybreak fell upon Bořivoj’s encampment. He, however, had already taken refuge in flight, for a deserter from Otto’s camp had secretly informed him of the situation. Chapter 21 Bishop Hermann, however, a prudent and just man, who caught between the shifting fortunes of the two dukes as betwixt Scylla and Charybdis, withdrew to his friend Bishop Otto of Bam The distance from Goslar to Donín/Dohna being ca. 260 km, it is doubtful that Cosmas’s report on the troop’s having arrived there in three days can be taken at face value (Bretholz, Die Chronik, 186, n. 8).

820

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suum Ottonem Bamberiensis ecclesie episcopum.821 Borivoy autem, licet quod pecierat non obtinuit, tamen quam promiserat regi pecuniam persolvit. Quia vero omnes homines, ut res se habent, ita magni atque parvi sumus, ecce dux magni nominis 822 positus in cus­ todia cuiuslibet parvissimi hominis obtemperat iussis et a minus dignis laceratur obprobriis. Ah! secum quantas curas in pectore versat,823 quociens per primos palacii iram regis flectere temptat! Sed quoniam manu vacua frustra pulsatur regum ianua, manus vero uncta frangit adamanta, promittit regi decies mille marcas argenti. Ah! quid non dabit homo imminente cervicibus gladio? Quis in angustia constitutus non libenter daret pro se, quicquid haberet? Atqui si rex ab eo cencies mille talenta exigeret, nihilo stultius esset, si pro vita sua etiam montes aureos non promitteret? Huius gratia rei accipiens ab eo rex sacramentum fidei dimittit eum et mittit secum ex clientibus unum, qui acciperet censum denominatum. Qui cum venisset Pragam, continuo sacra spoliat delubra, ornamenta contrahit muliebria et, quicquid micabat auri et argenti in Boemia, corrasit et vix collegit VII marcarum milia; de cetero fratrem suum Ottonem dat regi obsidem. Similiter et presul Hermannus adveniens de dote sancte ecclesie prestitit duci LXX marcas obrizi auri; item eiusdem ecclesie V pallia cum limbis Ratis­ pone apud Iudeos sunt posita in vadimonio pro quingentis marcis argenti. Certe non abbas, non prepositus, non clericus, non laicus, non Iudeus, non mercator, non trapezita, non citharista fuit, qui non conferret invitus aliquid duci de sua apotheca. Post paucos vero dies Otto elapsus fuga reversus est ad fratrem suum de curte regia, quod valde regi displicuit.

 St. Otto (ca. 1060–1139), bishop of Bamberg from 1102.

821

 That is, Svatopluk.

822

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berg,821 so that he would not be seen to follow either of the wavering sides. Bořivoj, however, although he had not received what he had asked for, still paid the money he had promised to the king. And because we humans are, according to our circumstances, great or small, behold!, a duke of great name 822 was put in jail, subjected to the command of the very least of people and cruelly enduring the insults of men of low standing. Oh, what great troubles he bore in his heart! 823 How often he tried to assuage the king’s anger through the leading men of the palace! But because an empty hand knocks in vain on the doors of kings while a greased one breaks the hardest iron, he promised the king ten thousand marks of silver. Oh, what would a man not give when the sword is poised over his neck? Who in dire straits will not freely offer whatever he has for his life? Yet, even were the king to ask a hundred thousand talents of him, nothing could be more foolish than not to promise him mountains of gold in return for his life. Thanks to this, the king received his oath of fealty, released him, and sent one of his men with him to collect the ransom that had been agreed to. When he arrived in Prague, he right away plundered the holy shrines, laid hands on the jewels of the women, and raked together whatever gleamed of gold or silver in Bohemia. Thus, he amassed with difficulty barely seven thousand marks. For the rest he gave his brother, Otto, as security. After his return, Bishop Hermann gave the duke from the endowment of the holy church seventy marks of fine gold, and had five hemmed robes pawned with the Jews of Regensburg for five hundred marks silver. There was no abbot, provost, cleric, layman, Jew, merchant, money changer or musician who did not, albeit unwillingly, give something to the duke from his stores. However, a few days later, Otto fled from the royal court to his brother, which displeased the king very much.

 Cf. Vergil A. 5.702.

823

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Capitulum XXII. Anno dominice incarnationis MCVIII. Sicut sepe fit, ubi mas et femina uno lecto cubant duo, gignitur extimplo tercius ut sit homo, ita824 coniunx nobilis Zuatopluk ducis edidit et tenerum suspendit ad ubera natum.825 Pro quo rex Heinricus post quinque menses misit et de sacro fonte baptismatis eum levat atque nomine suo Heinricum vocat.826 Quem remittens ad patrem omne debitum, scilicet tria milia talentorum, compatri suo Zuatopluk dimisit et precepit, ut paratus sit secum in expeditionem contra seviciam Ungarorum; quia rogatu quorundam Teutonicorum illuc proposuerat ultum ire necem Hierosolimitanorum, quos illa gens ob crudelitatem suam alios gladio interemit, alios in servitutem redegit.827 Iamque mense Septembri, dum moratur Zuatopluk dux cum rege in Pannonia iuxta civitatem Possen,828 Borivoy cum Polonis hostiliter intrat Boemiam, Wackone et Mutina in fugam versis cum suis presidiis de municione, que fuit firmiter posita versus terminos Polonie;829 nam dux Zuatopluk abiens his duobus omnem curam suam commiserat et, ut essent in tutelam Boemie, cunctis eos prefecerat. Cumque Wacko socium Mutinam vidisset non acriter pugnare nec viriliter hostibus resistere super municionem, ex hac occasione ratus, quod consilio eius Borivoy Boemiam intraret, mox unum ex militibus clam misit, qui hec omnia duci Zuatopluk intimaret. Similiter alium militem instruxit dolis et misit in castra Borivoy ducis; qui paratus in utrumque et versare dolos simul aut succumbere morti,830 veniens ad predictum ducem Borivoy finxit se aufugisse de castris Zuatopluk ducis et nunciat iam de Ungaria  In a peculiar type of misreading the Annalista Saxo, 539 construed a wife named Ita from the Latin ita, ‘thus.’

824

 Sedulius Carm. pasch. 1.113.

825

 Nothing is known about this child. According to the sources, Svatopluk had another (?) son, Wenceslas, who became sub-duke of Moravia (Olomouc). Whether the two were identical, cannot be decided.

826

827

 The aim of the campaign may have been rather to support Duke Álmos, Coloman’s brother, who was persecuted (and later blinded, see below, 390, n. 928) by

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Chapter 22 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1108. As it often happens that when a man and a woman sleep together in the same bed, a third human is forthwith born, so824 the wife of the noble Duke Svatopluk delivered and held the newborn to her breast.825 Five months later, King Henry sent for him and lifted him from the holy font of baptism giving him his own name, Henry.826 Then he returned the child to his father and cancelled the debt of his godson’s father, Svatopluk, that is, three thousand talents. He ordered Svatopluk to get ready to join him on a campaign against the savagery of the Hungarians, because—at the request of some Germans—he intended to avenge the death of certain crusaders whom those people in their cruelty had partly killed by the sword, partly reduced to servitude.827 As early as September, while Duke Svatopluk was staying with the king near Pressburg near Pannonia,828 Bořivoj with the Poles entered Bohemia in force, wherefore Wacek and Mutina had fled with their garrisons from the castle that had been firmly placed on the border towards Poland.829 For at the time he left, Duke Svatopluk had entrusted all his affairs to these two and set them above all others as the guardians of Bohemia. When Wacek saw that his colleague, Mutina, was not actively fighting nor manfully resisting the enemy at the castle, he reckoned from this that Bořivoj had attacked Bohemia on his advice and forthwith sent one of him men secretly to Duke Svatopluk in order to tell him about all this. At the same time, he instructed another warrior, ready either to ply his crafty wiles or to suffer death,830 to play a trick and sent him into Duke Bořivoj’s camp. When he came to the said Duke Bořivoj, he the king and asked for help from the Empire. It ended in a failed siege of the castle of Pozsony, see below, 350.  In Hungarian, Pozsony; today Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia.

828 829

 The identity of this castle is debated, but was most likely Kamenec (see above, 300). Polish incursions into Bohemia are mentioned in Knoll, GpP, 251.  Vergil A. 2.61–2.

830

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eum redisse atque in crastinum cum eis pugnaturum confirmat per sue fidei sacramentum. His mendaciis illi perterriti eadem nocte in Poloniam sunt reversi. Quibus auditis rex Heinricus fertur dixisse compatri Zuatopluk: „Nisi tuas iniurias in Poloniis ulciscar, proiecta vilior alga 831 semper habear.“ Interea Zuatopluk inflammatus ira absens in absentem Mutinam dentibus stridet, oculis scintillat et alte suspirat. Vix diem expectat, quo in illum suam effundat iram; pro nihilo reputat, si unum Mutinam puniat, iam diris promissis cum iuramento se obligat, quod illam totam generationem ut lucernam gladio extinguat,832 et quia quosdam ex illis in obsequio suo pre oculis habet, corde dolet, vultu autem ad omnes se hylarem exhibet. Cui post advenienti sub ipso exitu silve iuxta oppidum Lutomisl Wacek cum Mutina occurrunt, nunciatumque est illa die ter ab amicis suis Mutine, quod, nisi aufugeret, procul dubio aut vitam aut oculos amitteret. Sed quia iam eum premebant sua fata, visa sunt sibi verba amicorum suorum quasi deliramenta.833 „Neque est,“ inquit, „vir fortis, fatum qui timet mortis.“ Capitulum XXIII. Ut autem intraverunt castrum Wratizlau,834 postera luce summo mane convocat omnes proceres in cetum; quibus congregatis in unum, sicut leo de sua emissus cavea in theatrum stat rugiens et erectis iubis expectat edulium,835 sic Zuatopluk intrans stubam sedit in medio super truncum fornacis plus succensus ira quam fornax, qui septies succenditur flamma, et circumspectis omnibus intuens torvis oculis Mutinam taliter indignantia solvit ora: „O gens invisa propagoque diis odiosa, o nequam filii Wrisowici, nostri generis familiares inimici! An umquam mihi excidet de memoria, quod super atavum meum Iaromir in monte Weliz vobis quidem  Cf. above, 122 and 238.

831

832

 The usually well-informed Annals of Pegau—Annales Pegavienses et Bosovienses, ed. Georg Heinrich Pertz, MGH SS 16 (Hanover: Hahn, 1859) [henceforth: Annales Pegavienses], 250—maintain that the vengeance against Mutina’s kin was suggested to the duke by King Henry.

 Luke 24:11.

833

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pretended to be a deserter from Svatopluk’s camp and said—confirming it by oath—that the duke had returned from Hungary and was ready for battle the next day. Frightened by these lies, they returned overnight to Poland. Upon hearing this, King Henry is said to have spoken to his godson’s father, Svatopluk: “Unless I have revenge on the Poles for the wrongs done to you, I should forever be regarded as worth less than cast up seaweed.”831 Meanwhile the absent Svatopluk, fired up by ire against the absent Mutina, is grinding his teeth, flashing his eyes and breathing heavily. He can barely wait for the day when he can vent his anger on him. Not satisfied with just punishing Mutina, he swears an oath with dreadful promises that he will extinguish his entire kindred by the sword, as one does a lamp.832 Because he sees some of them to be among his own retinue, he is pained in his heart but appears cheerful in aspect to all. Wacek and Mutina met him at the very exit of the forest near the town of Litomyšl. On the same day, Mutina was told three times by friends that if he did not flee, he would most certainly lose his life or his eyes. But because his fate was already weighing upon him, he regarded the words of his friends as idle tales 833 and said: “He who fears the fate of death is not a strong man.” Chapter 23 When they then entered the castle Vraclav,834 Svatopluk called all the great men to a  meeting for early next day. When all had assembled, Svatopluk entered the hall like a lion let out of its cage into the arena that stands roaring with erect mane,835 expecting food. He sat down in the middle, on the bench of the stove, burning more in his anger than a  stove heated by a  sevenfold flame. Having surveyed all around, staring with grim eyes at Mutina, he opened his mouth with these indignant words: “You hateful clan, you offspirng loathsome to the gods, you depraved sons of Vršovci,

 The castle of Vraclav, near Vysoké Mýto (the first known mention of which is in 1073; see CDB I, 370, n. 386.

834

 Cf. Rhet. Her. 4.39, 51; Ps. 21:14.

835

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ludicra, nobis autem fecistis sempiterna ludibria? 836 An inmemor ero, quod fratrem meum Bracizlaum, quasi eximium sydus in toto orbe ducum, tu et frater tuus Bosey fraude maligna necastis? 837 Quid autem meruit frater meus Borivoy, qui sub vestra potestate regnabat et per omnia vobis ut proprius empticius parebat? Atqui per innatam vobis superbiam ducis non sustinuistis modestiam et me, quantum, solitis versuciis inquietastis, donec vestris pravis acquiescens consiliis peccans in fratrem meum Borivoy valde peccavi, quia solio eum privavi. Et hoc est unum, mihi quod dolet atque dolebit in evum. Adhuc etiam atque etiam audite, o mei proceres, quid filius iniquitatis et caput tocius impietatis fecerit iste Mutina, quem ego nuper, cum vobiscum irem in expeditionem, post me secundum reliqui huius terre presidem et preceptorem. Ille autem bonus vir fingens se [ire] venatum, non pertimuit noctu ire in Poloniam Zvini 838 ad oppidum, ut cum suo patruo Nemoy ageret consilio, quo me pelleret de solio.“ Fit murmur confusum, et ardentem ira ducis animum magis magisque ut ardeat per suum succendunt assensum. Tunc dux astanti et conscio sui conatus lictori ex obliquo innuens exiit foras. Qui statim super Mutinam nihil tale metuentem irruit. O mira pacientia comitis! Ad duos ictus sedit inmobilis, ad tercium vero cum surgere conatur, capite plectitur. Eadem hora et in eadem stuba capti sunt Vnizlau, Domasa et duo filii Mutine. Unus autem Neussa, qui erat ex altera natione, valde tamen familiaris Mutine, videns que fiebant fugit; et aufugeret iam extra urbem fugiens per arbusta, si non eum notabilem redderet rubra tunica: qui ilico captus oculis et mentula est privatus. Et sicut sepe fit, cum irrumpit cruentus lupus in ovile ovium, sevit, mactat nec prius rabiem suam placat aut a cede cessat quam omnibus mactatis ovibus,839 ita Zuatopluk oblitus unius cede hominis exarsit in iram et iussit, ut omnis illa natio sine etatis discretione et  See above, 114.

836

 See above, 316–8.

837

 A castle in Lower Silesia, seat of the nobles of Schweinichen, mentioned by our sources here for the first time.

838

 Cf. above, 180.

839

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domestic enemies of our kindred! Could it ever escape my memory what you had done to my ancestor Jaromír on Mount Veliz for your amusement and to our everlasting shame? 836 Could I ever forget that you and your kinsman, Bosey, treacherously and viciously killed my kinsman Břetislav, shining as the brightest star over the whole world of dukes? 837 What did my brother, Bořivoj, who reigned under your power and obeyed you like a slave, deserve? Yet, because of your inborn haughtiness you could not stand the modesty of the duke; you harassed me with your usual cunning until I followed your evil counsel and sinned against my brother Bořivoj by a great sin, depriving him of the throne. And that is the one thing that pains me and will pain me forever. Listen, my lords, and listen again to what this Mutina, this son of iniquity, and chief of all ungodliness did when I recently—when I went together with you on campaign—left him as protector and governor of this country second after me. This good man, pretending to go hunting, dared to go by night to Poland, to the castle of Śviny 838 to take counsel with his uncle, Nemoj, how to remove me from the throne.” There was a  confused murmuring and with their nodding they so inflamed the mind of the duke, raging with anger, that it burned more and more. He left the hall, having given a secret sign to a headsman who was standing by and privy to his plan. He promptly attacked Mutina who was not prepared for this. Oh, the wonderful endurance of the comes! Having received two strikes, he sat unmoved, but the third cut off his head, while he was about to rise. In the same hour and the same hall Vnizlau, Domasa, and the two sons of Mutina were arrested. A  certain Neussa, who was from another kindred but a close companion of Mutina, fled, seeing what had happened, and would have escaped as he was already in flight in the bushes beyond the castle, had not his red tunic made him noticeable. He was immediately caught, and deprived of eyes and manhood. And, as often happens when a bloodthirsty wolf breaks into the sheepfold, it rages, slaughters and sates its fury or leaves off killing only when it has slaughtered all the sheep,839 so Svatopluk, tarnished by the murder of one man was consumed by ire and he ordered that the entire kindred be right away beheaded regardless of age. He spoke

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sine temporis dilatione plecteretur capite, et astante comitum agmine dixit: „Qui non aborret mea implere iussa, dabitur ei crassa auri massa. Qui autem Bosey et eius filium interficiet, centuplum accipiet et hereditatem illorum possidebit.“ Non ocius evolant venti, quando rex eorum Eolus perforat cuspide latera montis, sub quo inclusi tenentur,840 quam proceres Wacula, Hermannus, Kyrassa et alii quam plurimi insiliunt equos et volant prepeti cursu in fata Bosey et filii eius; ceteri per terram discurrunt et investigant, ut totam gentem illam de medio tollant. Capitulum XXIV. Interea Bosey in villa Lubic,841 heu ignarus fatorum, dum se locat cum filio et uxore ad prandium, astitit puer, qui diceret: „Ecce, domine, multi sine ordine accurrunt per campum festinando.“ At ille: „Veniunt,“ inquit, „de expeditione; veniant ad nos cum Dei benedictione.“ Dum hec loquitur, ecce truculentus Kyrassa aperit ostia et fulgurans evaginato gladio clamat: „Exi, sceleste, exi, male conciliate, qui meum cognatum Thomam occidisti sine causa in tempore quadragesime.“ Et surgens filius eius Boruth: „Quid,“ inquit, „fratres, agitis? Si iussi sumus, ut capiamur, sine armis et tumultu capi possumus,“ et excipit incautus gladium capulo tenus per mediam alvum. Nec mora, et adhuc nati sanguine madentem iugulo pater excipit ensem. At illi invasores, velut urbium expugnatores, inmensas diripiunt gazas, et, sicut ait Cato: „Labitur exiguo quod partum est tempore longo;“ 842 namque de tantis diviciis nec unus superfuit pannus, quo eorum tegeretur corpus, sed sine sarcophago et obsequio funebri Bosey et eius filius Boruth, velut iumenta, sunt nudi in fossam precipitati VI. kal. Novembris. Scire mihi non licuit, quot capita gente ex illa leto sunt dedita, quia nec in una die nec uno in loco sunt perempti. Alii namque in forum ducti ceu bruta

 Cf. Vergil A. 1.81–83.

840

 As the seat of the Slavnikids (see above, 92 and 98) Libice is referred to as urbs, what we translated as ‘castle,’ and here as villa village.

841

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to the assembled group of comites: “He who does not shrink back to execute my order will be given a heavy load of gold. But he who kills Bosey and his son will receive hundredfold and shall have their inheritance.” The winds do not speed forth faster when their king, Aeolus, opens with his spear the mountain in which they are enclosed 840 than the lords Wacula, Hermann, Krása, and many others jumped on their horses and flew in swiftest race to seal the fate of Bosey and his son. Others spread out over the land and sought out how to extinguish that entire kindred. Chapter 24 In the meantime, Bosey was about—oh, unaware of the fate!—to sit down to a meal with his wife and son in the village of Libice,841 when a boy, standing by, said: “Behold, my lord, many people are running across the field in disorder!” And he replied: “They come to us from the campaign and are welcome in God’s name.” He was still speaking when, behold, the ferocious Krása opens the door and flashing his drawn sword shouts: “Die, evildoer, die, you evilminded counselor, you who killed my kinsman, Thomas, without cause during Lent!” Bosey’s son, Bořut, standing up says: “What are you doing, brothers? If we are ordered to be arrested, we can be taken without weapons and fuss.” And, catching him off-guard, a sword pierces up to its hilt the middle of his stomach; and, without delay, the father’s throat is cut by the sword still dripping with the blood of the son. The intruders pillaged great treasures, as if plundering cities, and as Cato says: “Often vanishes quickly what has been gathered over the years.” 842 For of all their riches not a single cloth remained to cover their corpses, and Bosey and his son, Bořut, were thrown like cattle naked into a ditch without a coffin and funeral rites, on October 27. It was not given to me to learn how many heads of that kindred fell in death, for they were killed in different places and at different times. Some were dragged to the marketplace and slaughtered like brute animals, others beheaded  Disticha Catonis 2.17.

842

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animalia sunt mactati, alii in monte Petrin843 decollati, multi in tectis sive in plateis sunt trucidati.844 Quid autem referam de morte natorum Mutine, quorum mors visa est omni crudelior morte? Erant enim bone indolis pueruli, vultu spectabiles, visu amabiles, quales nec sagax artifex in albo ebore nec pictor in pariete valet exprimere. Vidimus enim eos miserabiliter in forum trahi et sepius clamantes „Mater mi! Mater mi!,“ cum cruentus carnifex ambos ceu porcellos sub ascella interficeret cultello. Diffugiunt omnes sua pectora percutientes, ne viderent carnificem tam crudele facinus operantem. Ceteri vero, qui superstites fuerunt ex gente illa, delituerunt fuga, alii in Poloniam, alii fugientes in Pannoniam, de quorum excidio simul et discidio licet amplam habeamus ad scribendum materiam, sed ne videamur velut hyrcino cantu845 explicuisse tragediam, redeamus, unde paulo digressi sumus, ad chronicam. Capitulum XXV. Factum est autem, postquam rex Heinricus reverteretur soluta obsidione a civitate Possen, Colomannus rex Ungarie non longo post tempore volens sibi illatas a Zuatopluk duce ulcisci iniurias intrat Moraviam et eam hostiliter devastare cepit. Nam cum rex Heinricus intentus bellicis armis ex omni parte cingeret obsidione urbem Possen, dux predictus cum suis Boemis, quicquid erat ex hac parte Wag fluminis, a Trencinopoli quoad usque predictus amnis influit Danubium,846 nihil reliquerat incombustum. Sepe etiam speculatores sive exploratores a rege Pannonico missos idem dux comprehensos naso privaverat et visu. Quadam similiter die plus quam mille viros ex electis militibus a predicto rege ad hoc directos, quatenus per insidias aut pabulantes scutarios caperent aut super incautos Teutonicos noctu irruerent, dux Zuatopluk preagno-

 Petřín (see above, 37, n. 92) was the execution place of Prague until the fourteenth century, when it was moved to the opposite hill Vítkov.

843

 Some annals (see Bretholz, Die Chronik, 192, n. 3) speak about “around three thousand,” which is surely an overstatement.

844

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on Mount Petřín,843 many others butchered in houses or streets.844 What should I say of the death of Mutina’s children, whose death seemed crueler than any other death? They were boys of good character, of noteworthy looks, lovable faces, such as no skilled craftsman could reproduce in white ivory or a painter on a wall. We saw them being dragged miserably to the marketplace, crying incessantly “Mother! Mother!” as a  bloodthirsty butcher killed them both in his embrace with a knife as if they were piglets. All ran away beating their breasts, so as not to have to see the butcher committing such a cruel atrocity. Those who survived of that kindred took refuge in flight, some to Poland, and some to Hungary. We have plenty of material with which to write of their downfall and annihilation, but lest we seem to be turning a  tragedy into tragic song,845 let us return to the chronicle from which we have departed a little. Chapter 25 It happened that a short time after King Henry had returned, having given up the siege of the castle of Pressburg, King Coloman of Hungary, intending to avenge the injuries inflicted on him by Duke Svatopluk, entered Moravia and began to devastate it by force. For while King Henry was campaigning and had surrounded the castle of Pressburg from all sides, the said duke with his Czechs left nothing unburned this side of the River Váh from Trenčín to where this river runs into the Danube.846 The same duke had frequently deprived of nose and sight any captured spies and reconnoiters sent out by the Hungarian king. Likewise, on one occasion, Duke Svatopluk found out where a  thousand specially selected warriors, whom the said king had sent in order either to capture by ambush guars gathering fodder or to attack the Germans by surprise, were hiding in the marshes, and, swiftly attacking, he  Hyrinus cantus, ‘goat song’ is the verbatim translation of the Greek tragoedia.

845

 That is, present-day northwestern Slovakia.

846

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scens, ubi inter paludes latitabant, repente irruens, omnes usque ad unum, velut pisces missa sagena captos, alios interfici, alios in eculeo suspendi iusserat, paucis vero accepta magna pecunia vitam concesserat. Talia ob facta et alia huiuscemodi, quibus Ungaros afflixerat, dux Zuatopluk ut audivit regem videlicet Colomannum invasisse Moraviam, confestim coadunavit utrumque exercitum Boemie atque Moravie; cumque festinasset in opaca nocte per silvam ardens latenter subire inimicum et cum eo in crastinum committere pugnam, inter tot milia militum secum festinantium—mira res—ipsius ducis in pupilla oculi male prominens precisus ramus tam fortiter fixus est, ut surculo vix eruto simul et oculo seminecem tollentes ducem reversus est exercitus ad propria mestus pridie id. Novembris. Capitulum XXVI. Anno dominice incarnationis MCVIIII. Decima luna mensis Februarii,847 quia grande inhorruerat frigus et omnes aque erant congelate valde, dux Zuatopluk iam eruti sanato vulnere oculi, continuo iterum coadunato exercitu tribus diebus et tribus noctibus continuis festinans intrat Ungariam et nemine eorum presciente ex inproviso applicuit cum exercitu ad urbem Nitram;848 et irrupisset in eam, si non vigiles, qui semper ibi sunt custodientes, clausissent portam. Depopulato igitur et succenso eius suburbio redeuntibus occurrunt eis agmina multorum in curribus et in equis fugientium ad predictam urbem. Quibus insimul quasi manipulis in agro collectis, villis eorum combustis, omni illa regione devastata maxima onustati iumentorum et ceterarum rerum copia hylares ad proprios reversi sunt lares.849

 February 14.

847

 Nitra (Neutra in German, Nyitra in Hungarian), 60 km north of Bratislava, castle and town, seat of a county and bishopric.

848

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caught them to the last man like fishes in a net. Some he ordered to be killed, others to be hung on a horse-shaped rack and a few he granted their life for a great sum of money. So, when Duke Svatopluk heard that King Coloman had attacked Moravia because of these and similar deeds which he had inflicted upon the Hungarians, he immediately united the two armies, the Czech and the Moravian. But when he was riding fast across the wood in the dark night, keen to approach the enemy undetected and offer battle on the following day he, among so many thousands of warriors accompanying him, was—what a singular thing—hit in the eye by an awkwardly protruding branch that stuck so deeply that it tore out his eyeball when they sought to extract it. The army returned distressed on November 12 with the half-dead duke. Chapter 26 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1109. In February, when the moon was 10 days old,847 Duke Svatopluk, who had recovered from the wound to his tornout eye, hastened with an army that had again been swiftly summoned, in forced marches for three days and three nights against Hungary, as a great cold had gripped the land and the rivers were all frozen over. Without being noticed by anyone, he appeared unexpectedly beneath the walls of Nitra,848 which he would have taken had not the guards, who were permanently stationed, closed the gate. Having pillaged and burnt the suburbs, he met up on his way back with crowds of people in carts and on horseback fleeing towards the said castle. Gathered up like sheaves in the field, their villages were burnt down and the whole area was devastated. The army returned home happily with rich booty of cattle and other things.849

 This campaign is recorded only by Cosmas.

849

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Capitulum XXVII. Eodem anno rex excellentissimus Heinricus, memor ire sue et indignationis contra ducem Polonie nomine Bolezlaum, memor pollicitacionis, quam pollicitus erat compatri suo Zuatoplik, iuxta urbem Possen, uti supra retulimus, iter agens per Saxoniam duxit secum Bawarios simul et Alamannos atque Francos orientales et eos, qui sunt circa Renum infra Agripinam Coloniam, usque ad occidentales sui imperii terminos; nec defuerunt Saxones saxis rigidiores850 cum longis hastis. Quibus etiam Boemiis adiunctis mense Septembri intrat Poloniam et circa primum eius oppidum Glogov disposita obsidione devastat eam ex utraque parte fluminis Odre a predicto oppido usque ad castrum Recen et iterum cum magna preda reversus est ad castra.851 Ibi cum iam disposuisset, uti in cras­ tinum ducem Zuatoplik et eius dimitteret exercitum, totam in regalibus negociis usque ad noctem deduxerunt diem. Affuit interim in castris quidam miles audacissimis audacior et, ut post a referentibus audivimus, missus a Iohanne filio Csta de gente Wrissovici, qui in utrumque paratus852 Aut partam magnis ausis acquirere famam Aut cum morte ducis simul hanc amittere vitam stetit sub patula fago853 iuxta viam, qua itur ad regalem curiam, observans reditum ducis, dum rediret de curte regis. Quem ut vidit primo iam noctis in crepusculo stipatum ingenti caterva militum obsequentium, insiluit equum et paulisper se inmiscuit agmen in medium et toto annisu virium inter scapulas ducis librans iaculum intima fatifero rupit precordia ferro. Qui cicius quam tangeret humum, exalavit spiritum, Scilicet undenis Octobri mense kalendis. Corpus et exanime sua non sine turma merore Sublevat et plorat, flens ad sua castra reportat, In castris multus per noctem fitque tumultus.  See above, 184.

850 851

 See Knoll, GpP, 231–5, where the story is told in greater detail.

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Chapter 27 In the same year, the most distinguished King Henry, recalling his anger and indignation at the duke of Poland, Bolesław by name, and recalling his promise made beside Pressburg to his godson’s father, Svatopluk, as mentioned before, marched through Saxony and took with him the Bavarians, Alemannians, Eastern Franks as well as those from the Rhineland below Cologne up to the western border of his empire. Nor were the Saxons, harder than stone,850 with their long lances missing. With these, also joined by the Czechs, he invaded Poland in the month of September and ordered the siege of its first city, Glogów, wasting Poland on both banks of the River Odra from the said town down to Ryczyn, returning to his camp with rich booty.851 Since he had decided to dismiss Svatopluk and his army on the next day, they spent the whole day, up until nightfall, on affairs of the kingdom. There was a warrior in the camp, bolder than the boldest, sent—as we later heard from witnesses—by John, son of Česta, of the Vršovci kindred. He was prepared for either:852 To acquire fame by great daring Or lose his life together with the duke’s. He stood under a  spreading beech tree853 near the road that led to the royal court, waiting for the duke to return from the king’s court. When he noticed him in the evening twilight in the press of a great number of accompanying warriors, he jumped on his horse, blended briefly into the troop and hurled his lance with all his might between the shoulders of the duke. The deadly iron pierced the innermost vitals. He gave up his soul ere he hit the ground. This happened on the twenty-first day of September, His body, lifeless now, was lifted with wailing and crying, Carried by his men to the camp of the rest of the army. And all night there was great upheaval among them. 852

 Vergil A. 2.61–62.

 Ibid.

853

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Nam huc et illuc palantes diffugiebant et iterum redibant, donec a rege missus Purchardus incertos motus plebis vix compes­ cuit. Mane autem facto venit rex, ut lugeret super compatre suo et astantibus universis Boemis concessit, ut quemcumque voluissent suorum ex filiis principum sibi in ducem eligerent. Tunc Wacko, sicut erat lugubris, rogat obortis lacrimis, ut fratrem interfecti principis Ottonem854 decernat eis ducem. Quem ilico rex collaudat, et populus insipiens per castra ter Kyrieleison clamat. Nec mora, paucis scientibus filius Busa nomine Detrisek currit curriculo atque quarta die summo diluculo adducit Pragam Ottonem, quem Wacek et universi, qui erant de Moravia, satagebant principalis sedis provehere ad fastigia. Quod quia sine consensu Boemorum et episcopi efficere conabantur, frustratur eorum temeritas, et sacramenta olim exhibita in medio concilio recitantur. Nam cum Zuatoplik ducem intronizarent, cuncti Boemi sacramentis confirmaverant, ut post eius obitum Wladizlaus, si superstes esset, proveheretur ad solium. Capitulum XXVIII. Hos inter tantos populi motus Hermannus presul et Fabianus comes, qui habuit in urbe Wissegrad prefecturam—hii quia ceteros sicut dignitate, ita et sapientia preminebant—consilio prevaluerunt et toto annisu effecerunt, ut et sacramenta fierent inviolata et Wladizlaus iura principatus iure adoptata omnibus assentientibus obtineret; elevatus est autem in solium sole morante in nona parte Libre.855 Cuius de virtutibus et gloria mihi videtur ut interim sileatur, dum in hac vita conversatur, ne aut adulationis notam incurramus aut dum minus de laudibus suis scribamus, derogationis offensam incidamus. Unde quidam admonet dicens: „Lauda virtutem ducis, sed post huius bravium lucis.“ Ut autem audivit Borivoy, quod frater eius iunior Wladizlaus post obitum Zuatoplik regni potiretur solio, continuo descendens a Polonia perrexit in Zribiam  Otto was at that time one of the diarchs of Moravia, being duke of Olomouc.

854 855

 The date is imprecise (see above, 219, n. 552); it could refer to any time between September 25 and October 2.

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They ran this way and that way, scattered and regrouped, until Burchard, sent by the king, just about put an end to the people’s pointless commotion. When morning arrived, the king came to mourn his godson’s father and permitted the Czechs standing around to elect as their duke any of the princes’ sons. Then Wacek, mournful and in tears, asked whether he might proclaim the brother of the murdered duke, Otto,854 as their duke. This the king straightaway sanctioned and the simple-minded people thrice cried Kyrie Eleison throughout the camp. Not losing time, with the knowledge of a  few, the son of Buza, called Dětříšek, rushed off swiftly in a carriage and at dawn on the fourth day brought Otto to Prague whom Wacek and all those from Moravia were anxious to raise to the dignity of the princely throne. But since they sought to do so without the consent of the Czechs and the bishop, their boldness came to naught and the oaths sworn earlier were read out in council. For when Duke Svatopluk had been enthroned, all Czechs had sworn on oath that after his demise, Vladislav—if he was still alive—should be raised to the throne. Chapter 28 Amidst the great unrest of the people, the counsel of Bishop Hermann and comes Fabian (who was in command of the castle of Vyšehrad) prevailed, for they were superior to all both in standing and in wisdom. They managed through their efforts to ensure that the oaths were not broken and that Vladislav assumed the right to rule lawfully with the consent of all. He was enthroned as the sun stood in the ninth day of Libra.855 While he is still living, it seems to me better to be silent for the time being as to his virtues and glory, so as to avoid the charge of flattery, or, should we not write enough of his praise, that of disparagement. That is why someone warns with these words: “The duke’s virtues may be praised, once to heaven he’s been raised.” But when Bořivoj heard that his younger brother Vladislav had acquired the throne after Svatopluk’s death, he immediately came down from Poland and went to Sorbia to Wiprecht, his brother-in-law by his sister. Trusting in his

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ad Wigbertum, suum per sororem generum. Cuius consilio fretus et auxilio nec non et quorundam perfidorum ex nostris promisso confisus amminiculo in vigilia nativitatis Domini mane diluculo nemine resistente urbem ingressus est Pragam, heu ad perniciem et exhauriendam multorum crumenam. Capitulum XXIX. Hoc inopino rerum eventu urbani valde turbati trepidant incerti, quas partes inter repentinos fortune casus sequi debeant. Multi, quorum sors fortunatior erat, Rebus in urbe suis cara cum prole relictis Aufugiunt nec scire queunt, que castra sequantur. Multi novarum rerum cupidi 856 gaudent et exultant fugientibusque insultant, quia bona eorum duce Borivoy permittente diripiebant. Presul autem Hermannus in suo palatio deprehensus, quasi hostibus septus, ita a suis pacificis servabatur obclusus; sciebant enim, quod libenter aufugeret, si aufugere quiret. Hos inter ancipites populi metus Fabianus, urbis Wissegrad prefectus, quo se vertat, incertus Maluit audire quam presto nefanda videre Et sibi commissa discedens urbe relicta De re communi, cure sibi que fuit uni, Plurima conquestus stans fatur talia mestus: „Ve tibi Boemia, que non adeo nimis ampla, Cum sis communis dominis subiectaque multis, Herili de stirpe sati sexuque virili Iam sunt bis deni, nisi fallor ego, dominelli.857 Unde poeta catus fertur dixisse Lucanus: Non sibi sed populo gravis est nimis aucta potestas.858 Nam quodcumque duces delirant, plectitur hoc plebs.“859 Dixerat et, ut supra dictum est, relicta Wissegrad civitate morabatur per villas in eius vicinitate fortune suspensus ambiguitate.  See above, 328, n. 784.

856 857

 For an analysis of this lament see Josef Žemlička, “Dvacet pánů země české” [Twenty lords of the Czech lands], Časopis Matice Moravské 117 (1998), 293–309.

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aid and counsel and confident in the promised support of some scoundrels among us, in the early hours of the vigil of Christmas he entered Prague without any resistance—alas, to the ruin of many whose purses were emptied. Chapter 29 The townspeople were very disturbed and frightened at this unexpected turn of events, uncertain as to which party to adhere in these sudden turns of fortune. Many of better fortune Leaving their things and their children in town They fled not knowing to which camp to join. Many, however, lovers of new things,856 were pleased and overjoyed. They taunted those escaping because they could pillage their properties with Duke Bořivoj’s permission. Bishop Hermann, however, was caught in his palace, kept under guard by his otherwise peaceful men as though imprisoned by enemies, for they knew that he would prefer to flee if he could. Among the wavering fears of the people Fabian, the castellan of Vyšehrad, was uncertain where to turn, Choosing to hear of, not to witness, ill, He fled the duties of the citadel. Moved by his country’s fate, as if his care alone, He stood and uttered many a mournful tone: “Alas, Bohemia! thou hast not space enough For more than one to rule thee from above. If I mistake not, twenty heirs, all male, Proclaim their right as princelings to prevail.857 The poet Lucan in his wisdom says: Excess of power on the people weighs.858 ‘The commoner for the leaders’ folly pays.’” 859 With these words he left, as said above, the castle of Vyšehrad and stayed in the surrounding villages, left hanging by the uncertainty of fortune.  A line from Lucan Phars. 3.152; rephrased for the purpose.

858 859

 Translated by the late Barbara Reynolds. Cf. Horace Ep. 1.2.14.

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Ocior interea ventis et fulmine fama Diversis omnes implet rumoribus urbes, In populo multus per terram fitque tumultus. Multi enim, quibus bone desunt artes, rerum novitate gaudentes, huc et illuc per villas palantes et eas devastantes expectabant ambiguos fortune casus; ast alii, quibus mens erat altior et fides purior, tendunt ad principalem sedem in urbem Pragam. Quid facerent? Haud inscii in apertam ruunt foveam et nolentes volentesque accedunt ducis Borivoy ad fatorum aleam. Quos ille benigne suscipiens obligat sacramentis et promissionibus multis et committens eos Grabisse comiti eadem die transfert se cum aliis ad tutiora urbis Wissegrad menia. Inde mane ad horam primam in ipso festo die regreditur Pragam et cum magna cleri processione suscipitur atque ibi audita missa iterum reversus est ad predictam urbem.860 Capitulum XXX. Eadem nocte Otto, frater Zuatoplik, et Wacek comes venientes de castro Gradec cum tribus scaris militum castra metati sunt circa Rokitnicam rivulum.861 Mane autem facto Wissegrad oppido applicuerunt et omnes vias circumquaque custodibus oppilaverunt, ita ut nec egredi posset nec ingredi quisquam in auxilium Borivoy. Disposuerat enim antea dux Wladizlaus, quod in predicta urbe Gradec ipse natale Domini 862 celebraret. Sed quia interim regis Heinrici vocatione debuit in octavis Domini interesse regali synodo Ratispone, preceperat Wacek comiti, ut, quam studiosius posset, Ottoni, quem invitarat ad festum, amministraret convivium. Ipse autem propter iussum regis accelerans in civitate Plizen cum ceteris comitibus festis diebus mansit duobus, tercia autem die, ut cognovit ea, que gerebantur in urbe Praga, distulit et postposuit regis iussa et in festo sancti Iohannis apostoli et euan-

 The Annales Pegavienses, 251 describe these events differently, although broadly agreeing with Cosmas; see Novotný, České dějiny 1–2, 477, n. 1.

860

 Cf. 168, and above, 278.

861

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Rumor, that outstrips wind or lightning, Filled all the towns with hearsay manifold, And through the land sowed uproar and dismay. Many, lacking all decency, rejoiced over the new state of affairs and roamed all around the villages, pillaging these, and waited for the uncertain outcome of fate. Others, however, of higher mind and stronger loyalty, hastened to the ducal throne in Prague. What should they do? Hardly unawares, they rushed into the open pit and willy-nilly joined the fate of Duke Bořivoj. He received them kindly, bound them by many promises and oaths, and, entrusting them to comes Grabissa, moved on the same day with some others behind the safer walls of the castle of Vyšehrad. From there, he returned to Prague in the early morning of that holiday, was received with a  great procession of the clergy and after having attended mass, returned to the said castle.860 Chapter 30 That same night, Otto, Svatopluk’s brother, and comes Wacek arrived from Castle Hradec [Králové] with three groups of warriors and encamped around the creek Rokytnice.861 In the morning, they marched to the town of Vyšehrad and closed off all the roads around it by guards, so that none could leave or enter to aid Bořivoj. Duke Vladislav had previously planned to celebrate the Lord’s Nativity in the said castle of Hradec [Králové]. But, since he had in the meantime received King Henry’s invitation to attend a royal assembly in Regensburg on the octave of Christmas,862 he commanded comes Wacek to arrange as best he could a banquet for Otto, whom he had invited to the festivity. He himself, hurrying to follow the king’s order, spent the two festive days with the other comites in the city of Plzeň. On the third day, when he became aware of what was going on in Prague, he delayed and put aside the 862

 The date of this meeting is given elsewhere as January 6; it may have been planned for earlier but postponed because of the king’s Bohemian campaign on January 1 (see below, 364).

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geliste 863 cum his, qui secum fuerant in curte, ad menia predicte urbis advolat, sed clausas invenit portas, Vidit et armatos secum pugnare paratos. Ad quos excelsa per propugnacula stantes sic orsus est dicens: „Pacificus ad vos venio, recognoscite me et aperite vestro ianuas domino.“ Ad hec verba ducis cum nullus res­ pondisset, valde iratus et multum eis minatus flectit iter trans torrentem Bruznicam et, ut ascendit supercilium montis, vidit a longe in campo longam seriem armorum, in quibus Wacezlau, filius Wigberti,864 veniebat in auxilium Borivoy. Et mittens unum de sat­ rapis explorat, utrum ex adverso an pacifici veniant. Ut autem per internuncium utrique recognoverunt se ad invicem, predictus iuvenis expavit et non aliter retorsit gradum, ac si durum in vepribus latentem calcaret ydrum, et convocans suos in unum manipulum dixit: „Nullus nobis patet locus fuge nec latet nos invitos subire aleam pugne. Hoc solum facite, ne hanc pugnam illi inpune ferant.“ Dixit, et expandunt vexillum atque clamant sanctam Mariam sibi in auxilium. Dux autem per innatam sibi probitatem semper exosus civilia bella clamorem eorum et ipsos parvi pendens volebat preterire eos. Capitulum XXXI. Tunc Detrisek, filius Busa, fomes mali, incentor sceleris: „Si te,“ inquit, „non mordet nec tangit tua iniuria a minus dignis tibi illata, saltem nobis ignoscas, ut cognoscas, utrum viva an mortua caro simus.“ Ad hec Wladizlaus dux: „Si,“ inquit, „non gratie, sed ignavie hoc ascribitur, hac hora videbis, illic quot vicibus meus hic iterabitur ensis.“ Et cicius dicto arrepto clypeo primus longe prosilit ex agmine, primus in adversa fulminat acie et, veluti setiger sus865 turba canum septus, ita dux inimicis circumventus hos proterit, illos pro863

 December 27.  This son of Wiprecht of Groitzsch is otherwise referred to as Wiprecht the Younger (d. ca. 1116); he had a younger brother, Henry.

864

865

 Cf. Vergil A. 7.17.

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royal command, and on the feast day of Saint John the Apostle and Evangelist,863 appeared together with those who were in his court at the walls of the said city, but he found the gates closed. When he saw on the ramparts men all lined up against him, Armed and ready to fight, he addressed them by saying: “I come in peace to you, acknowledge me and open the gates to your lord.” When no one replied to these words of the duke, he became mightily angry and, threatening them much, went to cross the River Brusnice. Arriving on the crest of the hill, he saw in the distance a long line of armed men approaching across the field, among them Wenceslas, son of Wiprecht,864 coming to the aid of Bořivoj. He sent one of his officers to find out whether they came as friends or enemies. When both recognized each other through an intermediary, the said young man was alarmed and recoiled as if he had stepped on a fierce snake hidden in a bush, and, calling his men together into a little group, he said: “We have no way of escape and although we are reluctant to risk battle, make at least sure that they do not leave this fight unpunished.” With these words they unfurled their banner and called upon the Virgin Mary for help. The duke, however, who, on account of his innate goodness was always intent to avoid civil war, sought to avoid them, disregarding them and their clamor. Chapter 31 Then Dětříšek, son of Buza, fomenter of evil and instigator of wickedness, spoke: “If you are not pained or stricken when lesser men insult you, at least let us show you whether we are made of dead or living flesh.” To this Duke Vladislav replied: “If this be regarded cowardice rather than compassion, then you shall see this hour how many times this sword will strike.” And faster than he spoke, he took his shield and rushed forward at the head of the column and broke as the first upon the enemy line. Like a  bristly boar865 surrounded by a pack of hounds, so the duke besieged by enemies trod down the one and laid the other low, until covered with human blood he returned, with only the loss of comes

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sternit, donec humano perfusus sanguine totus uno amisso comite Wacena victor venit in sua castra iam ad radicem urbis Wissegrad posita. Fit ingens clamor in castris pre gaudio, quia salvum ducem receperunt de prelio. Filius autem Wigberti, velut anguis, quem pas­ tor sua peda medium fregit, ille attollens caput amissa cauda vix serpit,866 ita predictus puer quibusdam amissis, quibusdam vero graviter vulneratis corde merens valde subit ardua menia Prage. Res similis prodigio, quotquot vulnerati fuerunt, omnes interierunt. Quid ammiramur, si propter unum scelus filiorum Pelonis sol suos occuluit et obumbravit radios super civitatem Argos,867 cum inter has contiguas urbes tot peiora sunt patrata scelera? Crudelius enim civili geritur bello, ubi filius patrem cimbello et pater filium provocat duello, alius cit suum germanum ad monomachiam, alius fratrem ceu hostem captum ligat et expoliat, alius cognatum suum obtruncat, alius amicum quasi inimicum trucidat, ubique feda res agitur et abhominabile scelus patratur. O Iesu, bone Domine, que pateris in homine, quam pacienter expectas, quominus habeas, quos pro merito punire debeas. Capitulum XXXII. Interea dux Wladizlaus iam dudum premiserat Hermannum et Zezeman comites ad regem Heinricum, qui forte in urbe Babenberk proximum celebrarat natale Domini, et promittens ei D marcas argenti 868 rogat supplex, quo dignaretur aut per se aut per suos nuncios a  fratre Borivoy instinctu Wigberti sublatum sibi restituere ducatum. Rex autem, licet eo tempore valde iratus esset Wigberto, magis tamen succensus amore denominati census continuo exercitu concitato inchoante anno dominice incarnationis MCX. in kal. Ianuarii ingressus est Boemiam. Et premittens duos marchiones Depoldum et Berengerum mandat, ut interposita pace Borivoy et frater eius Wladizlaus, simul Hermannus presul atque filius  Vergil A. 5.273–279.

866 867

 The reference is to Atreus, who made his brother, Thyestes, eat the flesh of his own children; see, e.g., Seneca Thyestes.

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Vacena victorious to the camp, now moved to the foot of the city of Vyšehrad. There was an enormous cry of joy in the camp as the duke returned unharmed from the fight. However, the aforesaid boy, the son of Wiprecht, deeply troubled in his heart, having lost some and seen others gravely wounded, retreated behind the lofty walls of Prague, like a snake cut in two by the shepherd’s staff and, having lost its tail can barely creep away with its head raised.866 It was as if a portent that all the wounded died. Nor should we be astonished at this. For the sun hid and concealed its rays over the city of Argos for the single crime done by the sons of Pelops,867 and now so many worse crimes are done within the two neighboring burgs. For it is more cruel than civil war: here the son challenges the father to combat and the father the son to a duel; the one calls his sibling to single combat, the other ties up a  kinsman as if he were a foe and robs him; another slays his relative; another slaugheters his friend as if an enemy—everywhere foul things happen and abominable crimes are committed. Oh, Jesus, good Lord, how much more can you bear of man? How patiently do you wait so as to have to punish fewer for their deserts? Chapter 32 Meanwhile, Duke Vladislav had sent the comites Hermann and Sezema long ago to King Henry, who happened to be nearby, having celebrated Christmas in the city of Bamberg, and pleaded with him, promising five hundred marks of silver,868 that he should deign to reinstall him—either personally or through his emissaries—into the duchy taken away by his brother Bořivoj at the instigation of Wiprecht. The king, although most angry with Wiprecht at that time, was more moved by desire for the promised sum. He called up an army right away and at the beginning of the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1110, on January 1, marched into Bohemia. He sent the margraves Diepold and Berengar ahead, with the com It has been argued that this sum constitutes the annual tribute of Bohemia to the Empire, established in Carolingian times; see Bretholz, Die Chronik, 202, n. 2.

868

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Wigberti ceterique Boemie maiores natu occurrant sibi ad curtem episcopi in villa Rokican. Quo cum secundum regis iussum advenissent, sine omni audientia Borivoy et filius Wigberti capitur, presulis autem causa869 probatur esse iusta manu regis auro uncta. Post hec omnes fautores Borivoy iubente duce Wladizlao alii visu privantur et censu, alii tantum rebus substancialibus expoliantur, ceteri, qui hanc cladem evadere valuerunt, ad Zobezlaum filium regis870 in Poloniam fugierunt. Inter quos Iohannes, filius Csta, de gente Wrisovic captus, de quo supra retulimus,871 iubente Wacek visu privatus est et naso. Priuitan quoque similiter in eadem comprehensus seditione, qui videbatur senior esse in urbe Praga,872 cuius super humeros alligato maximo cane scabioso et hesterno iure crapulato raptus per barbam ter circa forum ductus est cane reboante et suum demerdante baiulum et precone acclamante: „Talem honorem portat, qui Wladizlao duci promissam fidem derogat.“ Atque omni foro spectante precisa super tabulam eius barba relegatus est versus Poloniam in exilium.873 Capitulum XXXIII. Nec tamen idcirco defuerunt infideles et discordie seminatores, qui inter unanimes fratres, Wladizlaum scilicet et Ottonem, tantas ­discordiarum seminaverunt spinas, ut ad invicem mutuas perti­mes­ cerent insidias. Unde Otto invitatus a  fratre pertimuit venire ad ­festum pasche. Post pascha vero in kal. Maii ad terciam vocationem Otto suorum militum munitus presidiis venit ad fratrem suum Wladizlaum in condictam villam, que dicitur Tinec super monticulos.874 Ibi tota die de diversis causis concionati datis et acceptis inter  The implication is that Bishop Hermann supported Vladislav, which is not sure.

869 870

 That is, Vratislav II.

 See above, 354 where John is suspected of having been behind the murder of Duke Svatopluk.

871

 What Přivitan’s position was exactly is debated, depending on the scholarly interpretation of Prague’s urban constitution at that time; see Bretholz, Die Chronik, 203, n. 3.

872

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mand that a truce be observed and Bořivoj, his brother Vladislav, Bishop Hermann, the son of Wiprecht, and other elders from Bohemia come to him to the episcopal estate of Rokycany. When, at the king’s command, they arrived, Bořivoj and Wiprecht’s son were arrested without any hearing, but the bishop’s case869 was found just, because the king’s hand had been anointed with gold. Thereupon, the adherents of Bořivoj were, on Vladislav’s orders, either deprived of their eyes and wealth, or only of their property; the rest, who managed to escape such disaster, went to Soběslav, the king’s son,870 in Poland. John, son of Česta of the Vršovci clan, about whom we wrote earlier,871 was captured among others, and on the order of Wacek lost his eyes and nose. Přivitan, who was treated as the headman of the castle of Prague,872 was captured in the same upheaval. A  very big and mangy dog, crammed full of broth from the previous day, was bound to his shoulders and he was dragged three times around the marketplace by his beard, while the howling dog soiled its carrier. And a  crier proclaimed: “This is the kind of honor which those merit who break their faith to Duke Vladislav!” In the midst of all those watching, his beard was cut off on a table and he was exiled to Poland.873 Chapter 33 Nonetheless, there were faithless men, sowers of discord, who sowed so many thorns of discord between the hitherto harmonious kinsmen Vladislav and Otto, that each feared being trapped by the other. Thus Otto was afraid to come to the feast of Easter, as invited by his cousin. After Easter, however, at the third invitation, he came on May 1 to his cousin, accompanied by a troop of his warriors to the appointed village called Týnec on the Hills.874 There they discussed various matters for a whole day and having

873

 A very briefly described parallel for such a punishment is recorded in Widukind’s Sachsengeschichte, 72 (for 937).

 Today, Týnec nad Labem.

874

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se sacramentis, uti visum est, sunt reconciliati. Sed quoniam idem Otto nobis interdixerat forum in villa Zekircostel, quod pater suus et mater pro remedio animarum suarum Deo et sancto Wencezlao nobis famulantibus perpetuo habendum tradiderant, ego missus ex parte fratrum coram duce et eius comitibus conquestus sum super Ottone, quod lucernam parentum suorum, quam debuerat accendere, extinguebat.875 Et ille: „Ego,“ inquit, „lucernam genitorum meorum non extinguo, sed nolo, ut in potestate episcopi sit, quod vobis specialiter datum esse scio. Et nunc non episcopo, non alicui persone, sed Deo et sancto Wencezlao vobis famulantibus predictum forum restituo.“ 876 Et ita coram duce et eius comitibus restituto nobis foro post diem alteram Otto reversus est in Moraviam. Capitulum XXXIV. Item eiusdem anni III. id. Iulii indicta est generalis sinodus 877 cunc­ tis principibus terre Boemorum ad curtem Saczkam, que sita est in medio pratorum.878 Ad quam similiter Otto vocatus venit incaute cum paucis, confisus valde de nuper datis inter se et acceptis sacramentis; ubi tercia die iam definitis omnibus negociis mane surgens Otto in castris precipit questionariis, ut sint parati cum suis necessariis ad repetendam viam. Ipse vero ascendit in curiam accepturus a  fratre suo licentiam. Quid multis moror? Cur non cicius, quod sine mora factum est, eloquor? Ilico ceu ferocissimus leo capitur Otto velut a  mitissimo agno duce Wladizlao. Cui cum sui consiliarii instarent, ut eum lumine privaret: „Nequaquam,“ inquit, „assimilabor duci Poloniensi Bolezlao, qui fratrem suum Izbigneu sub fidei sacramentis advocavit dolis et eum tercia die privavit oculis.879  Cf. Job 21:17.

875

 I.e. to the cathedral chapter, which was represented by Cosmas.

876

877

878

 According to Hrdina and Wihoda, Kosmas, 175, n. 230, the term generalis sinodus implies that Vladislav I held a general, i.e. legislative assembly in Sadská.

 For the settlement history of Sadská see Tomáš Klír, Osídlení zemědělsky marginálních půd v mladším středověku a raném novověku [The settlement and agriculture of the margins in the later Middle Ages and early modern time] (Prague: Charles University, 2008), passim, but esp. 90–91. Cf. Klápště, Transformation, 29–41, 313.

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mutually sworn oaths, seemed to have made peace. However, because the same Otto had taken away from us the market right of the village Sekyř Kostel that his father and mother had granted in perpetuity for the salvation of their souls to us, servants of God and Saint Wenceslas, I was sent by the brothers to complain to the duke and his comites that Otto had extinguished the lamp875 of his parents that he should have nourished. To which he replied: “I do not extinguish the light of my forbears, but I  do not wish what I know to have been granted specifically to you to be in the hands of the bishop. I restore the said market not to the bishop or to anyone else but to you, the servants of God and Saint Wenceslas.” 876 Thus the market right was restored to us in the presence of the duke and his comites. On the next day Otto returned to Moravia. Chapter 34 Then in the same year, on July 13, a general assembly 877 of all magnates of Bohemia was held in the court of Sadská that lies in the middle of meadows.878 To this Otto was also called, and he incautiously arrived with only a few men, trusting much in the oaths that had been recently exchanged. On the third day, when all affairs had been concluded, he rose early and ordered the quartermasters to be ready with everything that was needed for the journey home. He then went up to the court to receive permission from his brother. Why do I linger around? Why not tell quickly what then swiftly happened? There Otto, the wildest lion, was captured by Vladislav, as if by the meekest lamb. When his counselors urged him to have him blinded, he replied: “I am not going to follow the example of Duke Bolesław of Poland, who summoned his brother Zbigniew with false oaths and blinded him on the third day.879 I do not want  See Knoll, GpP, 272–7. However, since the GpP does not spell out what exactly happened to Zbigniew and when, Cosmas’s version of the story could be of crucial value; unfortunately, however, he is not always reliable in his chronology. As the GpP makes clear that Zbigniew was very much alive and active during the Czech-Polish war of October 1110, Vladislav could not have referred to his capture and blinding in the summer of 1110.

879

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Ego autem nolo cum fratre meo perpetuas inire discordias, sed volo castigare eum, ut castigatus resipiscat et cognoscat atque sui pos­ teri discant, quod terra Moravia et eius dominatores semper Boemorum principis sint sub potestate, sicut avus noster pie memorie Bracizlaus ordinavit, qui eam primus dominio suo subiugavit.“ 880 Sed quid fortius forti viro? Ecce vir fortis inter armatas manus Otto tripudiat et vinculis mancipatus leta facie et iocundo vultu quasi ad epulas invitatus ibat, usque dum retruditur urbis Wissegrad in custodiam. Ibi fertur dixisse ad eos, qui erant eum observantes per vigilias milites: „Assimilantur api lingue mendacis amici, Cuius ab ore fluit mel, cauda sed ultima pungit; Me fore per talem deceptum credite fraudem, Sed casus varie fortune ferre necesse est. Nec facit ista meus frater mihi, sed vir iniquus Sic voluit Wacek, agitur sic iudice Roscthey. Quos ego! si vivam; me modo sed reprimam.“881 Post hec tempore non longo reedificato castro Krivoplat in silva iuxta fluvium Msam traditus est ibi Otto armatis militibus ad cus­ todiendum annis fere tribus.882 Capitulum XXXV. Eodem anno duce Wladizlao et universa plebe Boemorum cum iocunditate et leticia sui patroni Wencezlai celebrantibus natalicia883 nuncius affuit duci, qui talia retulit: „Vobis hic in tranquillitate et securitate convivantibus, sed fratre tuo Zobezlao et duce Poloniorum Bolezlao terram hanc depopulantibus et populum quasi viles messis acervos diripientibus ego vix solus aufugi, ut hec nunciarem tibi.884 Accelerate viam, iam claudite vestra promptuaria, linquite 880

881

 See above, 338, where Cosmas attributes the acquisition of Moravia to Duke Oldřich. On the complicated relationship of the rulers of Moravia and Bohemia see Wihoda, Morava, (esp. 116–27 and 251–5) and Wolverton, Hastening, 186–227.

 Vergil A. 1.135 (see also above, 218).

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endless conflict with my cousin; I just want to reprimand him so that, being reprimanded, he comes to his senses and recognizes, and that his successors also understand, that the land of Moravia and its rulers are always subject to the lordship of the prince of Bohemia, as our grandfather Břetislav of pious memory laid down, who first subjected it to his rule.” 880 But what is stronger than a strong man? The strong Otto exults among the armed troops and goes, put in chains, with joyful face as if to a banquet, until he was cast in the dungeon of the castle of Vyšehrad. There he is supposed to have said to the warriors who guarded him overnight: Firends with lying tongues are like a bee From whose mouth honey flows but from the rear he stings. Such was, trust me, the ruse that I was deceived by, But one has to bear the changing turns of fortune; It was not my kin that wanted to do such a thing, no. It was evil Wacek who willed it and it was done by Prostěj the judge, Whom, if I live, I …881 – but now I have to restrain myself. Not long thereafter, Otto was handed over to be guarded by armed warriors in the rebuilt castle of Křivoklát, in the wood beyond the River Mže, for about three years.882 Chapter 35 When Duke Vladislav and all the Czech people were with joy and happiness celebrating that year the birthday of their patron Wenceslas,883 a messenger approached the duke and reported thus: “While you feast here in peace and safety, your brother Soběslav and the duke of the Poles, Bolesław, are devastating your land and dragging away the people like mere sheaves at harvest. I alone am escaped to tell thee.884 Make haste and be on your way, close your  In fact, three and a half years, Otto being released in December 1113; see below, 380.

882

 28 September 1110.

883

884

 Job 1:16 and 19.

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convivia, Mars vocat vos ad prelia, cras aderunt hostium armata mille milia.“ Qui continuo surgentes de convivio et celeriter exercitu collecto occurrunt eis ex ista parte amnis Cidlina iuxta pagum, qui dicitur Lucica. Ast alia de parte eiusdem amnis sine rapinis et sine incendiis ibant incedentes Poloniorum phalange, quoad usque pervenientes iuxta oppidum Oldris885 applicuerunt ad undam Labe fluminis; inde mittunt ad ducem Wladizlaum dolo dicentes: „Non nos hostilia portamus hastilia nec venimus pugnare, sed te fratre cum tuo pacificare. Sin autem nostris monitis adquiescere non vis, cras transibimus flumen et cetera post hec. Amen.“ Ad hec dux Wladizlaus paucis respondit: „Non erit hoc anno puto pax sine sanguine magno, Ad fedus pacis quia nemo venit in armis. Transibis flumen, post cetera non erit amen; Flumen transibis, sed non inpune redibis. Cetera que dicis faciam, fac cetera, que vis.“ Et statim male credulus verbis hostium dolosis cum suis nocte illa transvadantes fluvium ante ortum solis ex adverso applicuerunt ripis eiusdem fluminis. Polonii autem ut viderunt dolos suos profecisse, fecerunt impetum super terram et eam devastantes incendiis et rapinis inmensa preda onerati iuxta pontes Criuci sunt castra metati. Nostrates autem, quia illa nocte nimis fatigati fuerant nec tam cito retransvadare poterant, stabant stupefacti.886 Capitulum XXXVI. Ut autem dux Wladizlaus se dolo deceptum intellexit et suorum quorundam desides animos ad pugnandum sensit, ira et indignatio et conscia virtus in duce exarsit, et quasi tuba vehemens, que ad bella milites concitat, ita eius oratio torpentes suorum mentes  There are remnants of a water-castle, extensively destroyed by the River Elbe, near Předhradí (ca. 55 km east of Prague) and never explored archaeologically, which may go back to the early eleventh century. Its mention here is the most important source for this east-Bohemian center.

885

 The description of this confrontation in Knoll, GpP, 251–69, equally detailed and similarly with extensive rhetorical embellishments, differs only in minor

886

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pantries and end the feasting! Mars calls you to fight; tomorrow thousands of armed foes will arrive.” They immediately rose from the banquet and went with an army that had been quickly assembled to meet the enemy in the region beyond the River Cidlina, by the village which is called Lučice. On the other side of the same river, the Polish host marched without pillaging or burning until they reached the waves of the Elbe at the castle of Oldříš.885 Hence they sent word as a ruse to Vladislav: “We do not carry our lances in enmity nor do we wish to fight, but to reconcile your brother to you. But if you do not wish to heed our advice, we will cross the river tomorrow and the rest will follow. Amen.” To this Duke Vladislav replied in few words: I doubt whether there be peace this year without bloodshed. For those who seek peace come not armed to the teeth; Cross if you wish but that won’t be the Amen. If you cross the river you will not return unscathed; I’ll do the rest of which you speak; the rest you do what you want. And right away, wrongly trusting the tricky words of the enemy, he crossed the river that very night with his men and before sunrise deployed on the opposite bank of the river. The Poles, however, seeing that their trick had worked out, attacked the land and wasting, burning and pillaging, encamped with enormous booty at the bridges of Křivci. Ours, exhausted during the night and unable to re-cross quickly, stood there dumb-struck.886 Chapter 36 When Duke Vladislav realized that he had been tricked and discerned that some of his men were not keen to fight, he was consumed by anger, indignation and sense of duty. Like a  mighty trumpet rousing the warriors to battle, his speech awoke the slugpoints from Cosmas’s. The opening exchange is, however, about the brothers of the two dukes, Vladislav replying that he would recall Soběslav if Bolesław were to share power with Zbigniew.

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excitat: „O Boemii,“ inquit, „olim fama terra marique incliti,887 virtutibus egregii, triumphis eximii, nunc vestri tributarii, quibus semper fuistis timori, vobis adhuc spirantibus insultant et terram vestram devastant. An vobis tilienses pendent in femore enses? An soli Polonienses habent ferreos enses? Quo nobis adhuc vivere? O sempiternum nobis et nostris posteris dedecus! Ecce Ceres vestra favillat, lares vestri usque ad nubila fumigant, Vulcanus tota terre in superficie furit et tamen adhuc corda vestra gelidiora glacie non urit? Aut si cor vestrum tabescit,888 saltem stomachus, qui iam fame languescit, cur zelo iusticie non exardescit? An non movet vos femineus planctus et ululatus, qui raucis clamoribus ardua sydera tangit? 889 Quis lactentium singultus aut pregnantis gemitus sive uxoris rapte a paganis non amaro corde percipit? 890 Quis temperet se a lac­ rimis, cum infantes suos ceu agnellos vagientes interfici aut matris ab ubere viderit abici? Atqui minus dolendum esset, si non a minus dignis illatus dolor iste fuisset. Certe si tria tantummodo scuta habeam, non intermittam hodie ancipitem fortunam belli intemptatam.“ Moxque ipse dux et totus simul exercitus, sicut unusquisque stabat in ripa, iam non querunt vada, sed sine ordine prosiliunt et transnatant aquam, optant mori pro patria.891 Vires dabat eis dolor et illata iniuria, festinant, quoquo modo possent, etiam vite sue per dispendium inimicorum letum disturbare triumphum. Sed dux sepe dictus Polonie postera die transiens rivulum Trutinam, quia his non ubique est pervius, iussit cum preda suos et quosque debiles precedere. Ipse vero in loco ad pugnam sibi apto cum expeditis equitibus pro defensione suorum stetit repugnare paratus. Hec ita fieri cernens Detrisek, filius Busa, cuius supra sepe mentionem fecimus,892 secedens in unum locum cum his qui suo lateri adherebant militibus, dixit ad eos: „Fratres mei et commilitones, quicumque 887

888

 The common classical formula terra marique (‘on land and sea’) is less fitting for the landlocked Czechs.

 Cf. Ezek. 21:7.

 Cf. Sedulius Carm. pasch. 4.56 etc.

889

 “Pagans” is surely a rhetorical overstatement for the Poles, Christianized at least a century earlier.

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gish spirits of his men: “O, you Czechs, once famous on land and sea,887 excellent in virtues, foremost in triumph, your tributaries, whose fear you have always been, are now insulting you and wasting your land, while you still breathe. Do you wear swords of linden on your sides? Or do only the Poles have swords of iron? Why do we yet live? Oh, what a disgrace for us and our descendants! Behold, your harvest is aflame, the smoke of your homes reaches the clouds. Vulcan rages over the face of the whole land. Does not he burn your hearts, colder than ice? Or if your heart softens,888 why does not your stomach at least, plagued by hunger, not burn with zeal for justice? Does not the wailing and keening of the women that reaches the high stars 889 with harsh cries move you? Who does not hear with bitter heart the sobbing of sucklings, the groans of pregnant women or of wives carried off by pagans? 890 Who can restrain his tears when he sees his infants being slaughtered like mewling lambs or torn from the breast of a  mother? One might bear all this the easier, were this pain not inflicted by lesser men. Surely, if I  have only three shields with me, I  would this day not fail to challenge the uncertain fortunes of war.” And right away, the duke and with him the entire army jumped in disorder into the water, each from whatever place he was on the riverbank, not looking for safe passage, and swam across, ready to die for the fatherland.891 Pain and the injury done to them gave them strength and they hastened, however they could, even at the expense of their lives, to spoil the enemy’s happy victory. But the oft-mentioned duke of the Poles crossing the creek Trotina on the next day, ordered that the men with the booty and the infirm go ahead, since it was not always fordable. He then remained at a place advantageous for battle with selected horsemen ordered for the defense of his men, ready to fight. When Dětříšek, son of Buza, whom we have often mentioned before,892 noticed this, he collected to one side the warriors under his command and spoke to them thus: “Brothers and comradesin-arms, whoever has a piece of timid flesh or fear of death in his  Horace Carm. 3.12.3 (above, 244).

891

  See above, 356 and 362

892

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pavidam aut mori timidam habet aliquam in suo carunculam, necesse est, ut eam prius aut abscidat aut nunc ab agmine nostro discedat. Nam vilior est alga maris, qui nescit, quam pulchrum sit mori in armis.“893 Quorum ut vidit animos ad pugnam alacres, erant enim fere centum milites, velut lupus, qui querit clam ex latibulo irrumpere gregem, ita ille de inproviso impetu cum magno ex nudo latere irruit in hostes. Ubi fere mille prostratis adversariis 894 fertur ut rabida tigris predictus miles in confertissimos hostium cuneos et eos a dextris et a sinistris obstantes quasi spicas tenere segetis acuto metit gladio, donec inmani vi telorum obrutus cecidit super ingentem occisorum struem. Boemi vero, qui in adversa fronte Martis pugnaverunt, heu insueta lapsi fuga terga dederunt. Zobezlau cum Polonis infausta, quia plus quam civili,895 potitus est victoria. Facta est autem hec strages VIII. id. Octobris, in qua Nozizlau et Drisicray fratres, filii Lubomir, et alii quam plurimi ceciderunt. Capitulum XXXVII. Anno dominice incarnationis MCXI. Regina Zuataua inter natos suos satagente et episcopo Hermanno mediante atque Wacek palatino comite, licet contra suam salutem, id favente dux Wladizlaus fratrem suum Zobezlaum revocavit de Polonia et dedit ei civitatem Satc cum omni ad eam pertinente provincia. Capitulum XXXVIII. Anno dominice incarnationis MCXII. Regum antiquorum iuxta statutum regis Heinrici quarti ad nutum dux Wladizlaus nepotem suum, Bracizlai filium et equivocum, cum armata CCC clypeis legione misit Romam.896 Sed quoniam iam rex longe antea precesse Cf. Vergil A. 2.317

893

 Cf. Sallust Cat. 60.7.

894

 Cf. Lucan Phars. 1.1.

895

 It is unclear from when the obligation of the duke of Bohemia to send troops for the imperial Romfahrt originated. Cosmas’s reference to “ancient kings” is sup-

896

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body must cut it out now or cut himself off at once from our midst. For he who does not know how beautiful it is to die in arms893 is worth less than seaweed.” When he saw that they—there were some hundred of them—were eager to fight, he rushed, unexpectedly and with great force upon the enemy across its unprotected flank, like a wolf who plans slyly to fall upon the flock from his hiding. When almost a thousand of them had been laid low, the said warrior charged into the densest wedges of the enemy 894 like a raging tiger, cutting down right and left those who stood in his way with his sharp sword, like ears of young corn, until, overwhelmed by the monstrous onslaught of shafts, he fell down dead upon a great heap of corpses. However, the Czechs in the opposing battle line, alas, turned around in unaccustomed flight. Thus Soběslav and the Poles achieved an unfortunate victory —for it was worse than a civil war.895 This defeat, in which the brothers Nožislav and Držikraj, sons of Lubomír, and many others fell, occurred on October 8. Chapter 37 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1111. Thanks to Queen Svatava’s diplomatic efforts among her sons and the mediation of Bishop Hermann, and with the approval of palatine Wacek (albeit to his peril), Duke Vladislav called back his brother Soběslav from Poland and granted him the castle of Žatec with the province appurtenant to it. Chapter 38 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1112. According to the decree of ancient kings, at the command of King Henry IV, Duke Vladislav sent his grandson, son of Břetislav of the same name, with an armed legion of three hundred shields to Rome.896 But ported by the so-called Golden Bull of Sicily of 1212. See Constitutiones et acta publica imperatorum et regum, ed. Ludwig Weilland, MGH Const. 2 (Hanover: Hahn, 1896), 54–5, n. 43, where the Czech contribution to the coronation is prescribed as 300 men (note that here shields refer to men and not, as elsewhere, to troops). It is mentioned for the first time in the Annales Pegavienses, 237.

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rat, predictus puer cum suis transiens Bawarie Alpes invenit regem in urbe Verona, ibique cum eo celebravit pentecosten.897 In Augus­ to autem mense intravit rex Romam cum ingenti multitudine diversarum nationum atque linguarum accepturus imperiales fasces iuxta morem regum. Et quia idem rex olim surrexerat in suum pat­ rem, idcirco Paschalis papa898 iudicans eum infamem nolebat eius implere voluntatem; quem rex ilico iussit capi et adacto ense iugulo cepit mortem minari. At ille timens mori consensit eius voluntati, atque tercia die ad invicem pacificati, tocius Romani populi et cleri favorabili acclamatione imperator et augustus vocatur et ordinatur. Altera autem die novus imperator tanta mittit apostolico donaria, ut pro sui magnitudine humane crederentur sufficere cupiditati. His ita peractis reversus est imperator in Bawariam, et nostrates ad suam incolomes rediere patriam. Capitulum XXXIX. Anno dominice incarnationis MCXIII. Quibusdam hominibus, qui vana et incerta libentius referunt, relatum est Zobezlao, quod frater suus, dux Wladizlaus, vellet eum capere, id suggerente et consiliante contra eum Wacek comite. Quibus ille respondit: „Aut ego moriar aut, qui talia molitur, prius morietur quam ego capiar.“ Et unde rem relatam magis opinaretur veram esse, eadem hora venit nuncius vocans eum fratris ad curiam. Qui accipiens fere trecentos milites adit fratris curtem cum paucis, ceteros non longius quam unius stadii spacio fecit stare cum armis. Ubi fratre salutato et prandio sumpto dux precessit precipiens fratri suo, ut eum sequeretur ad civitatem Wissegrad. Non enim longe, sed quasi X stadiis distabant ab urbe. Tunc Zobezlau mittens rogat Wacek comitem, quo per viam simul gradientes sermocinarentur ad invicem. Quo facto parum per viam sermone communicato ex utroque latere atque post tergum Wacek comiti incauto et innocenti  More likely, the Czech contingent met the emperor on his return from Rome. Henry was in Verona on 1111 May 1 and Pentecost was on May 19.

897

 Pope Paschal II (1099–1118).

898

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since the king had gone long before him, the said young man met him, having crossed the Bavarian Alps, in Verona, where he celebrated Pentecost with him.897 Then, in the month of August, the king entered Rome with a great number of people of different nations and tongues in order to accept the imperial insignia in the manner of kings. But because the same king had rebelled against his father, Pope Paschal898 regarded him as disgraced and refused to fulfill his wish. The king ordered him to be arrested right away and threatened him with death with a sword pointed at his neck. Fearing death, the pope submitted to his will, and on the third day they were both reconciled. He was named and ordained imperator and augustus with the propitious acclamation of the entire Roman people and clergy. The next day, the new emperor sent to the pope such great gifts that one might believe that they would satisfy all human avarice by their size. With these things done, the emperor returned to Bavaria and our men safely returned home. Chapter 39 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1113. Sobĕslav was told by certain people who liked to tell vain and dubious things that at the instigation and conspiring of comes Wacek against him his brother, Duke Vladislav wanted to capture him. To them he replied: “Either I die or he who contrives such things shall die before I am caught.” And, as if to confirm what he had been told, that same hour a  messenger came inviting him to the court of his brother. He left with some three hundred warriors, but went to the court of his brother with only with a few men leaving the rest no more than a  furlong behind in arms. After he had greeted his brother and dined with him, the duke went ahead and instructed his brother to follow him to the city of Vyšehrad, for they were quite close to it, just some ten furlongs. Now Soběslav sent for comes Wacek to accompany him so that they might talk with each other while on their way. This done, after a little more conversation, the unwary and innocent comes Wacek received from both sides and behind

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Rumpunt fatifero precordia vulnere terno Mense quater denas Quintili intrante kalendas.899 Statimque Zobezlau reversus ad suos tenuit viam volens per Zribiam transire in Poloniam, valde enim timuit fratris sui presentiam. Cumque transisset silvam, occurrit ei Erkembertus, prefectus de castro Donin,900 pellacis Zribie plenus versuciis, fingens multa amicabiliter pollicetur ei, quod cesaris per gratiam omnem suam obtineret iusticiam, si ad eius perveniret presenciam, atque supplex invitat eum dolis, quatenus cum paucis secum ad convescendum ascenderet in oppidum; erat enim ea tempestate predictum castrum cesaris sub potestate.901 Mox inter prandendum armata manu adhibita super hospitem clausit ostium, et post paucos dies vinculatum mittit versus Saxoniam in quoddam firmissimum cas­trum, nomine . . . . .902 tradens eum suo clerico, nomine Odalrico, ad custodiendum. Videntes autem milicie contubernales dominum suum fraude captum diffugiunt alii in Poloniam, alii reversi sunt in Boemiam. Post unum mensem sed Christi per pietatem Zobezlau ab eodem clerico noctu sic absolvitur. Superioris domus inter cancellos ad columnam fune ligata dimissus est per murum in sporta903 atque per eandem funem predictus clericus similiter dilapsus cum quodam milite Cunrado, filio Riuin, qui etiam et ipse conscius facti eadem nocte sub murum adhibuerat equos, et sicut avicula emissa de cavea fugit et repetit silvam, ita illi lapsi celeri fuga tendunt in Poloniam. Eodem anno mense Decembri dux Wladizlaus fratrem suum Ottonem solvit a vinculis et, quam olim post obitum fratris sui Zuatopluk habuerat, reddidit ei dimidiam tocius Moravie cum suis civitatibus provinciam.904

 18 June 1112 (but according to the “Necrologium Bohemicum,” 806 (20 June).

899

 Castle Dohna was located near today’s city of Dresden.

900 901

 Wiprecht of Groitzsch was forced to surrender Dohna to the emperor in 1112.

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Three fatal wounds that pierced his body, Fourteen days before the Kalends of July.899 Right away, Soběslav rejoined his men and started out, planning to reach Poland through Sorbia, for he greatly feared the proximity of his brother. When he crossed the forest, he encountered Erkembert, castellan of Dohna,900 full of the tricky ruses of Sorbia, who, pretending much, promised in friendly fashion that he would receive full justice by the emperor’s grace if he presented himself to him. He invited him humbly but treacherously to come with a few men for luncheon to the castle that was at that time under the power of the emperor.901 Soon, while having their meal, he had the doors closed upon the guest by armed men, and a few days later sent him in chains to Saxony to some well-fortified castle by the name of . . . . .902 handing him over to his clerk, called Ulrich, for guarding. When the warriors accompanying him saw their lord caught in a trap, they ran away, some to Poland, some back to Bohemia. A month later Soběslav was released through Christ’s mercy by the same cleric at night in this way: He was let down the wall in a basket by a rope bound to a column between the bars of the upper storey.903 The said cleric escaped by the same rope and with him a warrior Conrad, son of Řivin. He, being also aware of the matter, had that night brought horses beneath the walls, so they fled swiftly to Poland, as a  bird released from its cage flees and heads for the woods. In the same year, in December, Duke Vladislav released his cousin, Otto, from chains and returned to him what he had held after the death of his brother, Svatopluk: half of all Moravia with its cities.904

902

 Lacuna in all manuscripts.

 Acts 9:25 (cf. also 1 Cor. 11:33; Josh. 2:15).

903

 See above, 368–70.

904

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Capitulum XL. Anno dominice incarnationis MCXIIII. Mense Maio iubente domino Ottone Rosctey et eius gener,905 qui cognominabatur lenis Wacek, de quibus supra diximus,906 ambo privati sunt lumine. Eodem anno Zobezlau quibusdam Polonis secum assumptis veniens ad castrum Kladzko temptat precibus et promissionibus multis, quo sibi cives aperirent portas urbis. Quibus non consentientibus, sed viriliter resistentibus iuvenis predictus ira inflammatus succendit palacium, quod prope murum situm erat. Vento autem incumbente ex adverso inflammata sunt propugnacula in summitate turris, que forte in antemurali stabat propinqua muris. Unde urbani valde turbati, iam desperantes saluti rogant pacificam dari dextram pro vita tantummodo incolomi et singulari. Quibus concessa pace vix periculum mortis evadentibus combusta et funditus est eversa civitas tota. Capitulum XLI. Anno dominice incarnationis MCXV. Mense Ianuario dux Poloniorum Bolezlaus 907 avunculo suo Wladizlao 908 precarias mittit litteras scriptas in hec verba: „Si valuerint penes te preces mee et obtinuerint fratri tuo germano Zobezlao locum indulgentie, credo, quod firmum sit et stabile nostre pacis vinculum et amicicie. Nam si pro inimicis te exorarem, certe deberes facere, quanto non magis nunc liceat mihi intercedere, ut sitis concordes, quos mater sub uno corde portavit ventre? Et quidem sancto Petro sciscitanti, utrum fratri dimittat sepcies in die peccanti, dictum est a Domino: „Non usque sepcies, sed usque septuagies sepcies.“909 Ergo hoc exemplo imbuimur, ut fratribus nostris tociens indulgeamus, quot illi in nos non possint peccare vicibus.“ His exemplis et precibus dux 905

 Or brother-in-law (the word gener can mean either).  See above, 368–70. Otto had suspected these two men of plotting his arrest three years earlier.

906

 Bolesław III Wrymouth.

907

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Chapter 40 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1114. In May, Prostěj and his son-in-law,905 called Wacek the Mild, of whom we spoke earlier,906 were both blinded on the order of Lord Otto. In the same year, Soběslav, together with some Poles, came to the castle Kłodzko and tried to convince the townspeople by requests and many promises to open the gates of the town. As they did not agree but resisted manfully, the said young man was inflamed by anger and burned down the palace next to the wall. Because the wind came up from the other side, the ramparts on the top of the tower that stood on the escarpment, close to the wall, also caught fire. The townsfolk were very much frightened and, almost despairing of survival, asked for the hand of peace to be extended so that they might at least save their lives. Peace granted, they just about escaped death but the city was all burnt down and razed to the ground. Chapter 41 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1115. In January, Bolesław,907 the duke of the Poles, sent a  letter of petition to his uncle Vladislav 908 with the following words: “If my words have any worth in your eyes and might win a  place of pardon for your blood brother Soběslav, then I believe that the bond of peace and friendship will be firm and stable between us. Were I to petition on behalf of enemies, you would surely do so. How much more may I  beg that you reconcile yourself with the one whom your mother bore in her womb under one heart? When Saint Peter asked, whether he should pardon his brother who sinned against him seven times a day, the Lord replied: ‘Not till seven times; but till seventy times seven times.’ 909 This example teaches us that we  Actually to his brother-in-law, as Bolesław III had married Salome of Berg, sister of Vladislav’s wife, Richenza.

908

 Matt. 18:22.

909

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Wladizlaus compulsus, immo innata sibi super fratre suo commotus pietate mense Marcio iterum pristinam revocat eum in gratiam et dat ei civitatem Gradec et totam circa adiacentem cum quatuor castellis provinciam.910 Eiusdem anni mense Iulio dux Wladizlaus et fratres eius Otto et Zobezlau iuxta fluenta amnis Nizam cum duce Poloniorum Bolezlau indictum conveniunt ad placitum atque inter se datis et acceptis sacramentis confirmant federa pacis. Altera autem die inmensis muneribus mutuatim ad invicem oblatis hylares ad proprios remeant lares. Interea Odalrico, ducis Cunradi filio, inevitabili fato e medio sublato, fratre vero eius iuniore Lutoldo olim antea similiter ab hac luce subtracto, filiis autem illorum adhuc etate parvulis911 dux Wladizlaus germano suo Zobezlao dat totam illam cum suis civitatibus provinciam, quam quondam pater predictorum fratrum Cunradus habuerat.912 Capitulum XLII. Anno dominice incarnationis MCXVI. Ungara gens viribus ingens, opibus pollens, armis bellicis prepotens et cum quovis rege terrarum pugnare sufficiens, regis sui Colomanni post obitum913 principes eius mittunt ad ducem Wladizlaum, quatenus cum rege novello, nomine Stephano,914 renovaret et corroboraret antiquam pacem et amiciciam. Quorum dux voluntati acquiescens ea, que pacis sunt, se facturum spopondit. Ventum erat Olzavam ad rivulum, qui tam Pannonie quam Moravie dirimit regnum. Et iam Ungara gens innumerabilis, velut harena maris aut pluvie stille, in campo Luczko totam superficiem terre cooperuerant sicut locuste; dux autem alia ex parte predicti amnis metatus est castra. Sed sicut ait scriptura: „Ve terre, cuius est puer rex,“ 915 principes eius per in The identity of the four castles cannot be established with any certainty.

910

 Lutold died on 15 March 1113, Ulrich on March 27 either of the same year or two years later. The dates of birth of the two known children, Lutold’s son Conrad (see below, 398) and the son of Ulrich’s, are not known.

911

 Conrad held Southern Moravia (the future duchies of Brno and Znojmo) 1055– 1092 before he became briefly duke of Bohemia (see above, 384–6). The duchies were created after his death for his two sons.

912

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should pardon our brothers so often that they may not be able sin against us as often.” Swayed by these examples and entreaties and moved even more by his innate kindness towards his brother, Duke Vladislav received him again into his grace in March and granted him the city of Hradec [Králové] with its surrounding region and four castles.910 In July of the same year, Duke Vladislav and his brothers Otto and Soběslav came together for a meeting with Duke Bolesław beside the River Neisse and confirmed the treaty of peace with mutual oaths. The next day, they returned joyfully home having exchanged great gifts between themselves. In the meantime, Ulrich, son of Duke Conrad was carried away from our midst by inevitable fate. Since his brother, Lutold, had already left the light of this world some time before and their sons were still under age,911 Duke Vladislav granted the entire province with its cities to his brother Soběslav, as they had been formerly held by the said brothers’ father, Conrad.912 Chapter 42 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1116. After the death of their king, Coloman,913 the magnates of the Hungarian people—great in strength, abounding in riches, mighty in warlike arms and able to take on any king of the world—sent to Duke Vladislav to renew and confirm the old friendship and peace with the new king, called Stephen.914 The duke agreed to their wish and promised to do all for the sake of peace. They came to the River Olšava that separates the realms of Hungary and Moravia. The Hungarians, numerous as sand of the sea or drops of rain, had already covered the entire surface of the land in the field of Lučsko like locusts, when the duke encamped on the opposite side of the said river. But, as Scripture says, Woe to the land whose king is a  child 915; straying  Coloman died on 1116 February 3.

913

 Stephen II, king of Hungary 1116–1131.

914 915

 Eccles. 10:16. Stephen was thirteen years old when he inherited the throne.

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natam sibi superbiam aberrantes ad pacifica ducis verba remittunt responsa magis rixam provocantia quam pacis osculum ferentia; unde dux illa die ad placitum distulit ire.916 Illi autem hoc indigne ferentes et aliter fieri suspicantes tres armatas quas vocant hospitum 917 legiones iubent extra castra ire et pro defensione sua stare ex adversa parte amnis. Dux autem estimans eos ad pugnam prorumpere iussit suos arma capere et cicius dicto contra eos terminalem transiliunt amnem. Mox inopina et inprosperata nec precogitata atrox et cruenta conseritur pugna, in qua filius Stan,918 cuius supra meminimus, nomine Iurik, prefectus urbis Satc, miles acerrimus, cum aliis eiusdem civitatis proceribus acriter pugnando occubuit III. id. mense Maio. Ast aliis terga vertentibus etiam ipse dux est in fugam, compulsus. Otto autem et Zobezlau habentes robustas IIII phalanges919 et totidem de Boemiis fortes accipientes cohortes circuierunt monticulum, qui eos forte dirimebat, et repente irruerunt magno impetu super Ungarorum castra, ubi rex et sui proceres cum episcopis nihil scientes de pugna, que facta fuerat, sedebant et bibebant et epulabantur splendide. Quid multa? Nisi archiepis­ copus Laurentius 920 cum rege cicius aufugisset, nec ipse periculum mortis evasisset. Certe tot nobiles et ignobiles ibi interierunt Pannones, quot nec tempore sancti Odalrici iuxta fluvium Leh inter­ isse referuntur.921 Ille autem, quas prediximus hospitum legiones, que etiam contra nostrum ducem bello prevaluerant, revertentes a  cede, ut viderunt suos profugatos, alios coacervatim prostratos et hostes in castris tripudiantes, turpem inierunt fugam. Quos ut a  longe aspexere in castris regis—iam enim ultra pontem Belin posita erant castra in campis,—estimantes hostiles acies adhuc se  The Hungarian chronicle mentions an exiled Hungarian in the Czech camp, Solth (Zsolt), whose intrigues with both rulers led to the disaster; see “Chronici Hungarici compositio,” chapter 153, 434–436; also Chronica de gestis, 282–5.

916

 The term hospes was applied in medieval Hungary—as elsewhere in Central Europe—to foreign knights, borderguards, and settlers. According to the Hungarian narrative (as above), this troop consisted of Petcheneg and Székely auxiliaries. Kipchak-turkic Petchenegs (Hung.: ‘besenyő’), who had moved to Hungary in the late eleventh century, played important roles in the time of Stephen II. The Szé­ kely population, related to the Magyars, was at that time already settled as border guards in Transylvania.

917

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on account of their innate haughtiness, the magnates gave replies to the peaceful words of the duke that that led rather to stirring strife than bringing about the kiss of peace; therefore the duke declined to go to a meeting on that day.916 This they took as an offense, and suspecting more was afoot sent therefore three so-called legions of guests 917 out of the camp to the opposing riverbank for their defense. The duke took it that they were coming to do battle and ordered his men to take up arms against them, and faster than said they crossed the border-river. Right away, an unexpected, unfortunate, and unplanned battle, fierce and bloody, was joined, in which the son of the aforementioned Stan,918 called Jiřík, castellan of Žatec, a most brave warrior, together with other lords of that city fell while fighting valiantly on May 13. Soon the others turned their backs and finally even the duke himself was forced to take flight. Otto and Soběslav, however, with four strong detachments 919 and taking with them the same number of bold Czech troops, circled a hill that happened to separate them and suddenly attacked in great force the camp of the Hungarians. The king with his magnates and bishops were sitting there sumptuously drinking and eating, knowing nothing of the battle fought. What more? Had Archbishop Lawrence 920 not fled quickly with the king, not even he would have escaped the risk of death. Certainly more noble and ignoble Hungarians perished there as are reported to have perished in the time of Saint Ulrich at the River Lech.921 The troops of the guests, mentioned above, who had prevailed in battle over the duke, returning from the slaughter, saw their fellows either in flight or cut down in heaps, and the enemy exulting in the camp; thus they took to shameful flight. When they appeared in the distance, those in the royal camp—for the camp  See above, 246, where he is recorded as having fallen in the battle of Mailberg with Margrave Leopold in 1082.

918

 Clearly of Moravian troops.

919

920

 Lawrence was archbishop of Esztergom from 1105 until after 1116.

 The reference is to the famous defeat of a Hungarian raiding party near Augsburg at the “Lechfeld” in 955 that effectively ended Magyar incursions to the West.

921

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insequi, multo plures submersi sunt in flumine Wag pre timore fugientes. Nostrates autem potiti victoria in castris eorum nocte illa figunt tentoria, diripiunt milites Ungaricas gazas, scilicet ambiciosam in vasis aureis et argenteis habundantiam, inque suos vulgus bona cetera distrahit usus. Capitulum XLIII. Anno dominice incarnationis MCXVII. III. non. Ianuarii, quinta existente feria, hora iam vespertinali, terre motus factus est mag­ nus, sed multo maior in partibus Longobardie. Nam, uti fama referente percepimus, multa ibi edificia ceciderunt, multa castella sunt diruta, multa monasteria sive delubra corruerunt et multos homines oppresserunt.922 Eodem anno Rerum cunctarum comes indimota mearum, Bis Februi quinis obiit Bozeteha kalendis.923 Similiter eodem anno et semper regnante domino nostro Iesu Christo, cuius in manu corda sunt regum,924 quo etiam clementer inspirante dux Wladizlaus recordatus est fratris sui Borivoy, cuius humilitatem iam Dominus prospectans arcis de throno etherie, misertus erat afflictionis eius et miserie, et quia, cui Deus miseretur, homo non potest non misereri, statim predictus dux iam nutu instinctus divino et Hermanni episcopi faciens omnia consilio mittit et revocat mense Decembri fratrem suum Borivoy de exilio, et satis­faciens925 sibi ac semetipsum eius submittens dominio, iterum collocat eum in principali solio.926 O mira ducis benignitas, sed magis admiranda equanimitas, quem nec secularis delectat dignitas nec contristat posita honoris sublimitas! 922

923

 The date is correct, only January 3 was a Tuesday in 1117. The 1117 earthquake was one of the most severe to affect Italy in historic times. Its epicenter was in all likelihood in the region of Cremona and Verona, see Fabrizio Galadini et al., “Searching for the source of the 1117 earthquake in northern Italy: A multidisciplinary approach,” in The Use of Historical Data in Natural Hazard Assessments, ed. Thomas Glade et al. (Dordrecht: Kluwer, 2001), 3–27.

 This is all what we know about the wife of Cosmas, see above p. xxi.

924

 Cf. Matt. 18:33.

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had already been moved to fields on the other side of a bridge of Bela—thought that they were enemy troops even now in pursuit and many of them drowned in the River Váh, fleeing in fear from them. Our men, however, having carried the day, set up their tents that night in the enemy camp and the warriors looted the Hungarian treasures, namely the excessive amount of golden and silver vessels, and the common warriors took the rest for their own use. Chapter 43 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1117. On January 3, a Thursday, towards evening, a great earthquake occurred, which was even greater in Lombardy, for there, as we have learned by rumor, many buildings collapsed, many castles were destroyed, many monasteries and churches fell down and buried many people.922 In the same year on January 23 Božetěcha died, My unflinching companion through many a venture. Likewise in the same year of the everlasting reign of our Lord Jesus Christ in whose hands are the hearts of kings,923 upon His indulgent inspiration, Duke Vladislas remembered his brother Bořivoj. Having seen his humility from His heavenly throne, the Lord pitied him for his affliction and misery; and, since no man can withhold pity from him whom the Lord has pitied,924 the aforesaid duke, moved by the divine will and doing all with the counsel of Bishop Hermann, sent and recalled in the month of December his brother Bořivoj from exile, and, offering him satisfaction,925 and submitting to his rule, placed him again on the ducal throne.926 Oh, what wondrous goodness of the duke and even more his admirable equanimity, whom worldly dignity does not delight nor the loss of high honor sadden!  On the “technical” meaning of satisfactio in the context of conflict resolution, see Geoffrey Koziol, Begging Pardon and Favor: Ritual and Political Order in ­Early Medieval France (Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1992), 202–13; and Dalewski, Ritual and Politics, 41–84.

925

926

 The date of Bořivoj’s reinstatement is given in different annals as 1116 or 1118; see Bretholz, Die Chronik, 218, n. 4.

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Iuvit sumpta ducem, iuvit dimissa potestas.927 Talia quis umquam audivit, dic rogo, facta? Utinam hec audiret Colomannus rex Pannonicus, si viveret, qui metuens, ne germanus suus Almus post eum regnaret, ipsum et filium eius mentula privavit et lumine.928 Borivoy autem non inmemor accepti beneficii dat fratri suo dimidiam sui ducatus partem, que sita ultra fluvium Labe tendit ad aquilonem, eratque fratri suo licet iuniori in omnibus obediens et semper honore eum preveniens nihil sine suo consilio gessit. Capitulum XLIV. Anno dominice incarnationis MCXVIII. Mense Septembri tanta fuit inundatio aquarum, quantam non reor fuisse post diluvium in orbe terrarum. Nam noster iste fluvius Wlitaua repente preceps erumpens de alveo, ah quot villas, quot in hoc suburbio domus, casas et ecclesias suo impetu rapuit! Aliis namque temporibus tametsi hoc raro evenit, ut unda alluens vix tabulata pontis 929 tangeret, hec autem inundatio altius quam X ulnis super pontem excrevit. Capitulum XLV. Anno dominice incarnationis MCXVIIII. III. kal. Augusti, feria vero IIII, cum esset iam inclinata dies, ventus vehemens, immo ipse Satan in turbine ab australi plaga repente irruens super solarium ducis in urbe Wissegrad antiquum murum et eo firmissimum funditus subvertit; et inde—magis est admirandum—ex utraque parte, anteriori et posteriori, integra et inconcussa manente medietas 927

 Cf. Lucan 9.200.

928

 Duke Álmos and his son Béla—together with some of their supporters—were blinded around 1115. Nonetheless, Béla “the Blind” became king of Hungary, ruling from 1131 to 1141. He was not castrated, as the men charged to do this took pity on him and presented the king with the testicles of a dog (see Chronici hungarici, 199 and Chronica de gestis, 279); we know also he had four sons, three of whom—Géza II (1141–1162), Ladislas II (1162–1163) and Stephen IV (1163)—themselves became kings, and two daughters, one of whom was married to Mieszko III of Cracow.

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Enjoying the throne and enjoying its leaving:927 Whoever heard, tell me, of such a thing happening? Would that Coloman, the Hungarian king, might hear this, were he still alive! He who, fearing that his brother Álmos might reign after him, had him and his son blinded and castrated.928 Bořivoj, however, not forgetful of the good deed, handed over half of his duchy, the region north of the River Elbe, and remained obedient to his brother in all things even though he was younger, and always gave him the honor of never acting without his counsel. Chapter 44 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1118. In September, there was a deluge, such as had never occurred in the whole world, I believe, since the Flood. Our River Vltava suddenly burst headlong from its bed and, oh, how many villages, houses in the suburbs, cottages and churches it carried away by its force! Earlier it happened, though rarely, that the high waters almost reached the floor of the bridge 929; this time the flood rose ten ells above it. Chapter 45 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1119. On July 30, a Wednesday, at sunset, a strong wind, nay Satan himself, rising suddenly in a whirlwind from the south, struck all of a sudden like a whirlwind the duke’s terrace in the castle of Vyšehrad and completely destroyed the old and thus very strong wall. Miraculously, while the front and the back of the palace remained unharmed and undamaged, only the middle part collapsed and, faster than you can break

929

 Probably a wooden structure across the Vltava, between the settlement that came to be Malá Strana and Prague’s Old Town. Such a construct was mentioned already in the so-called Christian legend (Život a umučení, 86–89). Cf. Třeštík, Počátky, 131–6. The archaeological evidence is discussed in Klápště, Transformation, 383–4.

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palacii solo tenus est eruta, et cicius, quam tu festucam frangeres, trabes inferiores et superiores cum ipsa domo impetus venti fregit in frusta et dispersit. Fuit autem hec tempestas adeo valida, ut quacumque parte incubuit, huius terre silvas et arbores plantatas et cetera sibi obstantia suo impetu prostravit. Capitulum XLVI. Anno dominice incarnationis MCXX. Nunc, mea Musa, tuum digito compesce labellum. Si bene docta sapis, caveas ne vera loquaris, Ut mecum sapias, breviter solummodo dicas: Est Borivoy rursus regni de culmine pulsus. Augusti quarta post idus sunt ea facta.930 Capitulum XLVII. Anno dominice incarnationis MCXXI. Nimis attenuate sunt segetes propter nimiam siccitatem, que fuit per tres continuos menses, Marcium scilicet et Aprilem atque Maium. Eodem anno dux Wladizlaus reedificavit oppidum Donin, similiter et Podiuin castrum, quod est in Moravia situm infra fluvium Zuratka. Capitulum XLVIII. Eodem anno quidam ex Teutonicis infra terminos Boemorum in silva, ad quam itur per villam Bela, in prerupta rupe edificant cas­t­ rum.931 Quod audiens dux Wladizlaus acceptis tribus scaris ex electis militibus repente ex inproviso irruens obtinuit castrum, ubi in primo accessu missis de muro sagittis vulnerati sunt, non tamen ad mortem, duo milites ducis, Odalricus filius Wacemil et Olen filius Borsa. Illos autem Teutonicos, qui erant in castro capti, nisi comes

 In fact 16 August 1120. Thereafter Bořivoj II lived in exile in Hungary, where he died in 1124.

930

CHRONICLE OF THE CZECHS

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a straw, the fury of the wind broke in pieces and scattered both the lower and upper beams together with the building itself. This storm was so strong that wherever it passed, it destroyed by its force the woods, orchards, and whatever else of this land was in its way. Chapter 46 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1120. Now, my muse, hold your finger to your lips, Even if you know better, take care not to tell the truth. If you know as much as I, just say a few words now: Duke Bořivoj was again ejected from power, Which happened four days after the Ides of August.930 Chapter 47 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1121. The crops suffered seriously from a  drought that lasted a  full three months, namely March, April, and May. In the same year Duke Vladislav rebuilt the castle of Dohna and also the castle of Podivín, which is in Moravia at the River Svratka. Chapter 48 In the same year, some Germans built a castle within the borders of the Czechs, in the forest that one reaches through the village Bělá, on the precipice of a  cliff. 931 When Duke Vladislav heard this, he took with him three groups of selected warriors, attacking suddendly and unexpectedly, took the castle. At the first attack, two warriors of the duke, Ulrich, son of Vacemil, and Olen, son of Borša, were wounded by arrows shot from the walls, but not fa-

 The identity of this castle is debated. It may have been Přimda (as noted on the margin of Ms C2b); see Klápště, Transformation 126–9.

931

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Albertus932 superveniens multis precibus et innata sibi sagacitate liberasset, procul dubio iam dux in eadem silva omnes suspendi iusserat. Eiusdem anni fuit hiemps nimis ventosa et calida et aquarum inundatio magna. Capitulum XLIX. Anno dominice incarnationis MCXXII. VIIII. kal. Aprilis fuit eclipsis lune933 media nocte, qua Iudaicum erat phase. Eodem anno Vir sacer Hermannus, doctrine lumine clarus, Ter subiit quinis Octobris fata kalendis dominica iam illucescente die in festo sancti Lamberti episcopi et martiris,934 cuius dum vixit festum devotissime coluit, quia Tra­iec­ ten­si vico et ex eadem Lothrinia ortus fuit prosapia. Hic nonam vicem sedis pontificalis gerens rexit hanc ecclesiam annis XXII, mensibus VI, diebus XVII. Erat enim spectabilis, incognitis formidabilis, domesticis affabilis, morum qualitate incomparabilis, lucerna lucens in mundo et ardens nec sub modio, sed super candelabrum posita,935 illuminabat corda non credencium verbo doctrine et exemplo, de cuius et aliis probis actibus, licet plura relatu digna eniteant, tamen ea intacta relinquimus propter instantis temporis homines, qui nihil boni ipsi operantes aliorum benefacta credere audita renuunt. Veruntamen non videatur esse absurdum, si prepos­ tero ordine referamus, que antea referre debuimus. Nam predictus presul cum suam egritudinem invalescere sentiret et paucos familiares circa lectum astare videret, ingemuit et ait: „Secretum meum mihi, secretum meum mihi! “ 936 et obticuit. Illi autem stabant stupefacti et intuebantur vultus suos ad invicem taciti. Et paulo post iterum presul aperuit os suum et inquit: „Olim debueram, cum sanus fueram, hec fari stando in ambone, que nunc compellor fateri 932

 Probably identical with Count Albert (of Bogen), who may have been the brother of Duke Břetislav’s wife; see above, 298.

 There was a partial eclipse of the moon on 24 March 1122. See [accessed 26 June 2011].

933

  September 17. St. Lambert (martyred ca. 700) was bishop of Maastricht from 670.

934

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tally. The duke would have hanged all the Germans captured in the castle in the same wood had comes Albert932 not arrived and freed them by many entreaties and his innate wisdom. In the same year, the winter was very blustery and warm and brought great floods. Chapter 49 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1122. On March 24, at midnight, when the Jews held Passover, the moon was eclipsed.933 In the same year Hermann, the holy man, a shining light of all learning Suffered the fate of us all on the seventeenth day of September, early on Sunday, the feast of the holy bishop and martyr, Lambert,934 whose feast he always observed while alive, for he was from Utrecht and of the same Lotharingian family. He was the ninth in the line of bishops and presided over the church for twenty-two years, six months and seventeen days. He was an eminent man, fearsome to strangers, approachable to his own, incomparable in morals, a shining light to the world, burning not under a bushel but upon a candle-stick,935 who enlightened the hearts of the unbelieving by the words of doctrine and by example. Although there is much among his other good deeds worth recalling, we leave these unbroached because of the people of our times, who, doing nothing good themselves, refuse to believe the good deed they hear of others. However, it may not appear unreasonable for us to report out of sequence some things we should have reported earlier. When the said bishop felt his illness worsening and saw a few of his friends standing at his bed, he groaned and said: “My secret to myself, my secret to myself !”936 and fell silent. They however, stood dumbfounded and looked at each other in silence. After a while, the bishop again opened his mouth and spoke: “Earlier, while still in good health, I should have spoken from the ambo about what I am forced now  Matt. 5:15 and elsewhere.

935

 Isa. 24:16.

936

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iam spiritus mei in agone. Fateor enim, quia ego peccator compeccantes de peccato suo non redargui et potentes inique agentes et delinquentes non solum honoravi, verum etiam amavi, quos increpare et, si non obedirent, excommunicare debui. Postquam enim occubuit Bracizlaus iunior, quo nec fuit nec erit dux melior, hac in terra floruit iniquitas, germinavit superbia,937 pullulavit fraus, dolus et iniusticia, et ego semper dolens dolui, quod mihi cum bono duce non licuit mori. Ve mihi!938 quia silui, quia apostatricem gentem non revocavi nec in gladio anathematis pro Christo dimicavi: sed me ipsum et populum christianum passus sum per tactum manus cum gente non sancta pollui,939 sicut scriptum est: „Qui tangit inmundum, inmundus erit“ et: „Qui tetigerit picem, inquinabitur ab ea“ aut: „Que conventio Christi ad Belial?“940 Apostatricem gentem dico Iudeos, qui per nostram negligentiam post baptismum relapsi sunt in Iudaismum.941 Unde valde timeo, ne Christus mihi hoc obiciat et inferiorem me proiciat in orcum. Nam huius in tempestate noctis vox mihi audita est dicens: „Tu non ascendisti ex adverso nec obposuisti murum pro domo Israel, ut stares in prelio in die Domini;“942 et gregem dominicum non auro, non argento, verum Christi precioso sanguine redemptum per unam morbidam oviculam passus es contaminari et a celesti regno exterminari.“ Heu mihi misero, qualem me esse vellem, quam diversum ab illo, qualis olim eram, et nunc ipsemet mihi displiceo, quia parum boni me fecisse video.“ Dixerat, et statim, ut supra retulimus, Spiritus in vacuas fugiens evanuit auras. Post hunc Meynardus 943 fit presul in ordine denus.

 Ezek. 7:10.

937

 Isa. 24:16.

938

 Ps. 43:1.

939

 Lev. 22:5, Eccles. 13:1, 2 Cor. 6:15.

940

 See above, 300–2.

941

 Ezek. 13:5.

942

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to confess with my soul in agony. I confess that I, a sinner, did not rebuke like sinners for their sins and that I have not merely honored but indeed loved those in power who acted unjustly and did wrong, while I ought to have censored them, and if they did not obey, excommunicated them. For after the death of Břetislav the Younger, a duke who has not and never will be surpassed, sin flourished in this country, pride hath budded,937 and fraud, cunning and injustice ran wild—and I have always grieved with grief that I was not allowed to die with the good duke. Woe is me,938 for I kept silent, for I have not called back the apostate people nor did I strive for Christ with the sword of excommunication. I  allowed both myself and the Christian people to be polluted by contact of my hand with an unholy people939; as it is written, ‘who touches the unclean will be unclean,’ and ‘who touches pitch will be stained by it,’ and ‘what has Christ to do with Belial?’940 By apostate people, I mean the Jews who after baptism lapsed back to Judaism because of our carelessness.941 I am very much afraid that Christ will cast this upon me and hurl me to the deepest hell. For this night I heard a voice saying to me: ‘Ye have not gone up into the gaps, neither made up the hedge for the house of Israel to stand in the battle in the day of the Lord,942 and have suffered that the flock of the Lord, redeemed not by gold nor by silver but by the precious blood of Christ, be polluted by one black sheep and excluded from the kingdom of heaven.’ Woe is miserable me who would wish to be different to what I have been; I now dislike myself for I see that I have done little good.” He spoke and right away, as we said before, His soul vanished in flight to the empty air. Meinhard 943 followed him in line, as tenth bishop.

 The origins of Bishop Meinhard are not known; he may have had connections to the monastery of Zwiefalten in Swabia, where he is remembered for donations to the monastery. Zwiefalten was the mother cloister of the monastery in Kladruby founded in the given time. See Bertholdi libri de constructione monasterii Zwivildensis, ed. Otto Abel, MGH SS 10 (Hanover: Hahn, 1852), 104, 119. He was bishop of Prague 1122–1134.

943

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Capitulum L. Eodem anno mense Marcio comes Bznata de Hierosolimis simul et de Galacia944 rediit et eiusdem anni XVII. kal. Novembris obiit. Item in eodem anno mel et vindemia pleno cornu habundavit, et segetes satis creverant, sed in aristis granum non redundavit. Hunc annum secuta est hyemps calida, unde in sequenti estate caruimus custodita glacie. Capitulum LI. Anno dominice incarnationis MCXXIII. Mense Marcio comes Dlugomil et Gumpreht et Gilbertus et Heinricus, qui et Sdik,945 et cum eis alii Hierosolimam perrexerunt, ex quibus quidam mense Novembri redierunt, quidam ibi interierunt; nam comes Dlugomil iam in revertendo VIII. id. Iulii obiit. Similiter et Bertoldus, cliens Heinrici, filii mei,946 VIII. id. Augusti moritur. Impedior lacrimis 947 nec possum promere scriptis, Quis furor unanimes aut que discordia fratres Ceu geminos tauros in diram compulit iram. Nam dux Wladizlaus inmani motus ira contra fratrem suum Zobezlaum mense Marcio movit arma et eum cum suis omnibus expulit de Moravia et reddidit Conrado filio Lutoldi hereditatem suam. Partem autem quartam illius regni, quam habuit tetrarcha Odalricus, frater supradicti Lutoldi, addidit Ottoni, Zuatopluk ducis fratri. Zobezlau autem fugiens a facie sui germani adiit imperatorem in urbe Magoncia, sed parum sua profecerunt negocia, quia sine pecunia apud omnes reges vane sunt cuiuspiam preces et legum obmutescit iusticia. Tunc veluti lupus, qui inhians invadit gregem et frustra captans, cum nihil prehendit, submittens cau In Anatolia.

944

 The later bishop of Olomouc, 1126–1150, on whom see, e.g., Jan Bistřický, “Studien zum Urkunden-, Brief- und Handschriftenwesen des Bischofs Heinrich Zdík von Olmütz,” Archiv für Diplomatik, Schriftgeschichte, Siegel- und Wappenkunde 26 (1980), 135–258, and Wihoda, Morava, 173–205, esp. 173–5.

945

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Chapter 50 In the same year, in March, comes Wznata returned from Jerusalem and also from Galatia944 and died in the same year on October 16. In this year, there was an abundance of honey and grapes and the grain crop also grew well, but the ears had little corn in them. A warm winter followed that year on account of which we were short of ice that summer. Chapter 51 In the year of the Lord’s incantation 1123. In March, the comites Dlúhomil, Gumprecht, Gilbert and Henry (also called Zdík) 945 and others with them left for Jerusalem. Some of them returned in November, some died there; so comes Dlúhomil died on the way home on July 8, and Berthold, retainer of my son Henry,946 likewise on August 8. Tears obscure my view 947 and I am unable to write now. What ire and discord between once friendly brothers, Drove to fight like twin bulls in dreadful anger. For Duke Vladislav, moved by immense anger against his brother Soběslav, took up arms, expelled him and all his men from Moravia, and returned to Conrad, son of Lutold, his inheritance. That quarter of the realm that had belonged to the tetrarch Ulrich, brother of the said Lupold, he gave to Otto, brother of Duke Svatopluk. Soběslav, however, fled from his brother and turned to the emperor in Mainz for help. But his dealings prospered little for unless there is money pleas to kings are in vain and the justice of laws remains silent. Now Soběslav, having failed in his cause with the emperor, went to Wiprecht, like a wolf that with gaping chops rushes upon the flock but snatching in vain, when he has caught  It has been suggested that this Henry was identical with the aforementioned Bishop Henry Zdik. The hypothesis was rejected among others by Třeštík, Kosmas, 42–3.

946

 Sedulius Carm. pasch. 5.95; see also above, 266.

947

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dam repetit silvam,948 sic Zobezlaus apud cesarem infecta causa tendit ad Wicpertum et apud eum per septem menses conversatus est. Deinde mense Novembri transiit in Poloniam; quem dux Bolezlaus honeste in sua recepit, coniugem autem eius, Almuse ducis gnatam, Stephanus rex Pannonicus gratanter recepit recognoscens cognatam suam.949 Item in quadragesima fere per universum orbem aerie potestates quasi plurime stelle, etsi non ceciderunt, vise sunt tamen cecidisse in terram;950 huic simile Dominus dicit in evangelio: Videbam Satanan, quasi fulgur de celo cadentem.951 Capitulum LII. Eodem anno maxima fuit ubertas tam autumno quam vere seminatis in frugibus, nisi quod grando locis nocuit in pluribus; mel autem in campestribus fuit habunde, in silvestribus locis minime. Hiemps aspera fuit nimis et nivosa. Iamque eodem vergente anno marchionis Dedii extrema stirpe fato extirpata imperator quartus Heinricus 952 predicti Dedii marchionatam putans herede desolatum dederat Wicperti sub potenciam.953 Sed erat in Saxonia quidam nomine Conradus 954 ex tribu eiusdem Dedii natus, ad cuius manus iure pertinebat ille marchionatus; unde dux Lutera 955 et alii Saxones valde indignantes contra imperatorem susceperunt bellum adversus Wicpertum. Capitulum LIII. Hisdem diebus dux Wladizlaus et Otto, sicut preceperat eis imperator, tam Boemie quam Moravie coadunato exercitu transeuntes silvam metati sunt castra ultra oppidum Guozdec 956 ex adverso pre Cf. Vergil A. 11.810.

948

 Her name is recorded as Adelaide and, as Álmos’s daughter, she was Stephen’s cousin.

949

 Cf. Ovid Met. 2.321.

950 951

 Luke 10:18.

952

 In fact Henry V.

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nothing runs back to the wood with his tail down.948 He stayed with him for seven months; then, in November he went to Poland, where he was honorably received by Duke Bolesław. His wife, a daughter of Duke Álmos, was cordially received by the Hungarian king, Stephen, as he recognized her as a  relative.949 Then in Lent, all over the world, the powers of the air like so many stars seemed to fall—but did not in fact,950 as the Lord says in the Gospel: “I beheld Satan like lightning fall from heaven.” 951 Chapter 52 In the same year there was a rich harvest of both summer and autumn crops, only hail caused much harm in many places. Honey was plentiful in the fields but scarce in the woods. The winter was hard with much snow. As the year drove towards its end, Emperor Henry IV 952 granted the mark of Dedo to Wiprecht, because the last of the line of Margrave Dedo had passed away and the emperor assumed there was no heir.953 But there lived in Saxony a certain Conrad,954 who descended likewise from the kindred of Dedo and to whom the mark belonged by right. Therefore Duke Lothair 955 and other Saxons were most angry with the emperor and started a war against Wiprecht. Chapter 53 In these days, Duke Vladislav and Otto united the armies of Bohemia and Moravia, as the emperor commanded them, crossed the forest, and encamped near the castle Gvozdec 956 across from

 The last male member of the family of Dedi (d. 957) was believed to be Count Henry II of Eikenburg, who held Misnia and Lusatia.

953

 Count Conrad of Wettin, whose grandfather was a brother of the grandfather of Henry II.

954

955

 Lothair of Supplinburg, the later king and emperor (1125–1137).  See above, 262.

956

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dicti ducis;957 presul autem Magontinus et comes Wicpertus citra fluvium Mlidaua stabant gravi cum multitudine armata; Saxones autem positi . . .958 castra in medio dirimebant eos nec sinebant insimul coire adversarios suos. Tunc dux Boemie et Otto miserunt ad Saxones dicentes: „Non nos per superbiam contra vos sumpsimus arma, sed iussu imperatoris venimus in auxilium Magontino archipresuli et Wicperto comiti; sed quoniam hii non assunt, qui adesse et primam committere pugnam debuerant, vos tantummodo cedite nobis loco, ut habeamus occasionem revertendi, videlicet et vos cessisse et nos stetisse et expectasse eos in condicto loco.“ Ad hec Lutera dux respondit dicens: „Miror vos prudentes viros apertos non deprehendere animo dolos, quibus inducti frustra contra nos movistis arma innocuos. An ulla putatis carere dolis consilia Magontini archipresulis Adalberti? 959 An nondum eius Atticam960 prudentiam satis experti estis? Sic, sic notus est vobis Wicpertus, alter Ulixes,961 qui circa eiusdem presulis callipodium informatus est. Cur ipsi non veniunt, nos ut salutent, qui libenter eos resalutant? Sed tucius est a longe expectare quam manu committere bellum et alterius incommodo suum comparare commodum. Certe, qui[vis] lippis potest perspicere oculis, quid ipsi machinantur suis dolis. Sciunt enim et bene sapiunt, quia, si vos vincitis, quod non sine magno vestri dampno dabitur vincere Saxones; sin autem nos 962 potenter prevalere poterimus, Boemiam suis defensoribus viduatam facilius invadere quibunt. Hoc vult imperator, hoc presul Magontinus consiliatur. Sic semper vester gener Wigbertus Boemiis amicatur. Nam germanus tuus Zobezlau, quem nuper Wigbertus ob voluntatem tuam dolo abegit in Poloniam, nisi cito ad eundem Wigbertum revertatur, amplius mihi non credatur. Nos autem scia-

 That is, Lothair of Supplinburg.

957

 Lacuna in all Mss.

958 959

 Cf. Vergil A. 2.43–44 (an ulla putatis dona carere dolis Danaum? sic notus Ulixes?).  A  ttic stands here for Greek in general and particularly to the cunning Odysseus (below).

960

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the said duke.957 The archbishop of Mainz and Count Wiprecht stood on the other side of the River Mulda with a sizeable troop of warriors. The Saxons, however, encamped [...] 958 in the middle, so that their enemies were separated and could not join forces. Then the duke of Bohemia and Otto sent word to the Saxons: “We took up arms against you not out of haughtiness but came on the emperor’s command to the aid of the archbishop of Mainz and Count Wiprecht. But they, who should be here to open the battle, are not here; please pull back so that we have a chance to return, so it will seem that you backed down, while we stood and waited for them at the designated place.” To which Duke Lothair replied thus: “I am surprised that you, as prudent men, did not see through the tricks by which you were groundlessly moved to take up arms against us who are innocent. Did you not realize that the counsels of the archbishop of Mainz Adalbert were ruses? 959 Have you not learned enough of his Attic 960 cleverness? Do you not know Wipercht well, this second Odysseus 961 who was educated at the footstool of that bishop? Why did they not come to greet us for we would have freely returned the greeting? But it is safer to watch from the distance than to fight with one’s own hands and to acquire advantage from the disadvantage of others. Surely, even a bleary-eyed man can see through the tricks they are playing. They know full well that if you win, you will not defeat the Saxons without major losses, or if we 962 should prevail by force, then they can easily invade Bohemia since it will be bereft of its defenders. That is the wish of the emperor, that is the idea of the archbishop of Mainz, that is how your brother-in-law, Wiprecht, loves the Czechs. If your brother, Soběslav, whom Wiprecht has recently moved at your behest by a trick to Poland, does not return soon to the same Wiprecht, do not ever believe a word of mine! But be assured that we are readier to meet you in battle than to cede place to

 Vergil A. 2.44.

961

962

 The word vos (‘you’) in some of the Mss. makes little sense.

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tis magis paratos congredi prelio quam vobis cedere loco.“ His auditis male creduli verbis dolo compositis Boemii depopulata regione, que est circa urbem Misen, reversi sunt ad propria sole morante in XV. Sagittarii parte.963 Capitulum LIV. Anno dominice incarnationis MCXXIIII. II. id. Februarii Hermannus, frater Willehalmi, et Lutobor, filius Martini, perrexerunt Hierosolimam. Eodem anno Dux Borivoy nonis bis binis mense Plutonis,964 Exul in Ungaria carnis compage soluta, Ad Christum migrat, pura quem mente colebat, Cum quo nunc ampla celi letatur in aula. Huius post omnes vite mundique labores, Exul ter quinis quos degens pertulit annis, E quibus est passus sex annos carcere clausus, Bis sublimatus solio, cur bis reprobatus Non mihi scrutari fas est vel talia fari. Scit, qui cuncta creat Deus atque creata gubernat. Qui legit hec, dicat: „Borivoy dux nunc requiescat, Est ubi sanctarum pars et requies animarum.“ 965 Sepultus est autem in Praga metropoli anno tunc labenti bissextili pridie id. Marcii ad principalem ecclesiam sanctorum martirum Viti, Wencezlai atque Adalberti in cripta sancti Martini episcopi et confessoris. Capitulum LV. Item eiusdem anni in quadragesima, VIIII. Kal. Aprilis, presul Meinardus casu reperiens in sacrario ossa Podiuen condit humi in capella, que est sub turre, inter altare sancti Nicolai episcopi et

963

  24 November 1123.

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you.” When the Czechs heard this, they wrongly believed the cunning words, wasted the region around Meissen, and returned home when the sun stood in the fifteenth day of Sagittarius.963 Chapter 54 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1124. On February 12, Hermann, brother of William and Lutobor, son of Martin, went to Jerusalem. In the same year Upon the second day of February 964 Duke Bořivoj, exiled in Hungary, From mortal flesh set free, fled to his Lord, Whom with his purest heart he had adored, Next him to take delight in heaven’s space, After a world of labor and disgrace. Of fifteen years of exile, six he spent Within a dungeon’s deep imprisonment. Twice lifted to the throne and twice deposed: The reason why can never be disclosed. God who made all, knows all, and we may pray: “Peace to the Duke among the saints for aye.” 965 He was buried in the same leap year on March 14 in the metro­ po­lis of Prague, in the cathedral church of the holy martyrs Vitus, Wenceslas and Adalbert, in the crypt of Saint Martin, bishop and confessor. Chapter 55 Then, in the same year, during Lent, on March 24, Bishop Meinhard discovered by chance in the sacristy the bones of Podiven and buried them in the chapel below the tower, between the altar of

 In the Latin, ‘the month of Pluto.’

964 965

 Translated by the late Barbara Reynolds.

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confessoris et tumulum Gebehardi episcopi.966 Hic fuit cliens et individuus comes in labore et erumna sancti Wencezlai martiris, de cuius actibus in vita ipsius sancti satis declaratur scire volentibus.967 Tempore enim suo Severus sextus huius sedis episcopus ampliorem dilatans capellam, circa sacram predicti patroni tumbam ossa predicti clientis effodiens, quia aliter non poterat fundari murus, et collocans ea in sarcophago, posuerat in camera, ubi ecclesiastica servabantur xenia. Item VIII. id. Aprilis in die pasche cesar Heinricus quartus 968 mittens epistolas ad omnes reg­ ni sui principes et episcopos precepit, quatenus omni occasione postposita IIII. non. Maii in urbe Bamberk ad suam coadunarentur ­curiam. Capitulum LVI. Interea Zobezlau, nostri ducis frater, linquens Poloniam tenuit cum suis omnibus viam ad ducem Saxonie Luteram, sperans tanti viri consilio simul et auxilio potiri. A quo honorifice suscipitur hospicio et optato sue spei potitur solatio. Nam predictus dux, ut cognovit principem Boemie regali interesse curie, misit legatum cum hospite suo ad cesarem dicens: „Regie potestati et imperatorie dignitati congruit patientibus iniuriam clementer subvenire et eam facientibus iusticie rigore regaliter obviare. Cuius gratie experimentum et principalis censure nobis et cunctis gentibus dabitis documentum, si huic innocenti viro et iniuriam pacienti Zobezlao iusticiam faciens fratri suo eum reconcilies.“ Unde cesar valde in­ dig­natus respiciens ad omnem suum cetum dixit: „Satis pro imperio iste locutus est marchio; ipse nobis facit iniuriam et ulcisci poscit iniuriam. Nam si mihi congruit, uti ipse fatetur, alienas ul­cis­ci iniurias, cur non prius ulciscar meas? Aut quenam maior potest esse iniuria, quam quod ipse vocatus non venit ad nostra concilia? Ergo quemcumque zelus iusticie et hec mordet iniuria, spondeat

 Since Bishop Gebhard died in Hungary (see above, 266), his body must have been transferred at some point to Prague, but at what date is unknown.

966

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Saint Nicholas bishop and confessor and the grave of Bishop Gebhard.966 This Podiven was a  retainer and constant companion of the holy martyr Wenceslas in all his labors and tribulations, his deeds are described in the life of the saint for those who wish to know more.967 In his time, Severus, the sixth bishop of this see, expanded the chapel and had the bones of the retainer next to the grave of the said patron dug up, because the walls could not be otherwise founded. He then placed them in a sarcophagus in the room where the treasures of the church were kept. Then, on April  6, at Easter, Emperor Henry IV 968 sent letters to all the princes and bishops of his realm and ordered them to assemble, putting all else aside, on May 4 at his court in the city of Bamberg. Chapter 56 In the meanwhile, Sobĕslav, brother of our duke, left Poland and made his way with all his men to Lothair, duke of Saxony, hoping to obtain the aid and counsel of so great a man. He was honorably received as a guest and obtained what he had hoped. For the aforementioned duke, when he heard that the duke of Bohemia was to attend the king’s court, sent along with his guest an envoy to the emperor, saying: “It befits the royal power and imperial dignity to come graciously to the aid of those who suffer an injury and to oppose by the force of justice those who commit one. You would give proof and example to us and to all peoples of the practice of such grace and princely redress by granting justice to this innocent man Sobĕslav, who has suffered injury, and reconciling him with his brother.” The emperor was mightily indignant and, looking around said this to his whole assembly: “The margrave speaks quite imperially: he has committed injuries to us and now demands that injury be punished. If it befits me, as he says, to avenge the injuries done to others, why should I not first avenge the injuries done to me? And 967

 See the so-called Christian, Život a umučení, 92–7 (the only known source for this person).  In fact, Henry V.

968

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nunc fidem super sacra plenaria, quod sua tollat arma et sequatur me post festum sancti Iacobi apostoli in Saxoniam.“ 969 Assenciunt omnes et collaudant principes atque coniurant bellum adversus Saxones secundum edictum cesaris. Hisdem diebus moritur gener Wratizlai regis Wigbertus, de quo supra satis meminimus.970 Videns autem Zobezlau, quia fortuna et regis census magis iuvat fratrem suum maiorem natu, vertit iter ad Wigberti natum,971 quo consolaretur de obitu sui patris suum per sororem cognatum, et exinde misit ad Polonie principem Stephanum comitem; per hunc enim sua omnia disponebat consilia. Qui cum transiret silvam, que est inter Saxoniam et Poloniam, incidit in armatas latronum manus. Qui a longe stantes inquiunt ad eos: „Parcimus et misere­ s­cimus vobis atque concedimus vitam, ite vestram cum pace viam; equos autem et omnia, que portatis, linquite nobis, neque enim pauci multis resistere aut fugere quitis.“ Quibus Stephanus imperterritus: „Parvum,“ inquit, „date nobis spacium inire consilium.“ Illis autem concedentibus dixit comes: „O fratres et o socii ultime iam sortis, ne timeatis casum fortuite mortis. Quisnam nobis suum frangeret panem 972 versis in fugam turpem? Aut post continuatam turpiter vitam quis nobis tribuet necessaria vite? Et utrum hanc barbari nobis concedant, ignoramus. Heu frustra sero penitebit nos non occubuisse viriliter, cum diversis penis affectos, hunc naribus truncatum, alterum oculis privatum, dabunt nos in parabolam et fabulam 973 cunctis gentibus.“ At illi unanimiter inquiunt: „Moriamur, moriamur; sed videamus, ne inulti moriamur.“ 974 Quos ut viderunt pagani magis ad pugnam quam ad fugam aptarier arma, repente irruunt super eos. Fit monstruosa pugna inter quinque ancilia et quinquaginta fortium scuta. Presbiter autem ex eis, cui animas suas commendaverant, habens arcum et faretram fugit; quem

 July 25. Eventually, however, no such campaign was waged against Lothair who became king of Germany in the following year.

969

970

 22 May 1124.

 Henry. His older brother Wiprecht (see above, 362, where he is called Wenceslas) predeceased his father probably in January 1116.

971

CHRONICLE OF THE CZECHS

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what can be a greater insult than his not appearing at our meeting when called? Therefore, whoever is zealous for justice and is pained by this injury should now swear on the holy relics that he will take up arms and follow me to Saxony after the feast of Saint James the Apostle.” 969 All agreed and the princes applauded and swore to the war against the Saxons according to the emperor’s edict. In these days, Wiprecht, brother-in-law of King Wratislav, whom we mentioned many times before, died.970 Soběslav, seeing that luck and the king’s consideration favored his elder brother, went to the son of Wiprecht971 to console his nephew after the father’s death. From there he sent comes Stephen, through whom he arranged all his affairs, to the prince of Poland. He, however, fell into the hands of armed bandits while traveling through the forest between Saxony and Poland. They stood at a distance and said to them: “Let us have mercy upon you and grant you your lives and let you go in peace, but your horses and all that you carry you must leave to us, as you few cannot resist the many of us nor can you flee.” To them Stephen, unafraid, replied: “Give as short time for consultation.” This granted, the comes spoke: “Brothers and comrades now in final destiny, do not fear death which cannot be guessed. Who will break bread for us972 if we now dishonorably take flight? And if we preserve our lives in such a dishonorable way, who will give us the necessities of life? Moreover, we do not know whether these barbarians will let us go. Alas, we will regret it too late that we did not fall in manly fight, when we, variously maimed, one with his nose lopped off, the other deprived of his eyes, have become a reproach and a byword 973 to people.” They unanimously replied: “Let us die, we will die, but let us make sure not to die unavenged!” 974 When the pagans saw that they were preparing arms to fight rather than to flee, they suddenly attacked them. An ill-omened fight started between five bucklers and fifty strong men with shields.  Jer. 16:7.

972 973

 Cf. Jer. 24:9.

 Vergil A. 2.670 and 4.660.

974

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unus ex latronibus videns virum inermem insequitur fugientem. At ille non valens evadere misit retro sagittam et percussit equum in mediam frontem, ceciditque equus et ascensor eius retro. Sicque solus presbiter evasit et nunciavit in urbe Glogov, que facta fuerant. Prefectus autem illius urbis nomine Voyzlau cum multis accelerans illuc armatis invenit Stephanum semivivum in media aqua Bobr super frutices herentem; nam barbari, ut viderunt multos de suis interfectos et alios vulneratos, irati valde precipitaverunt eum in predictum fluvium. Quem prefatus prefectus suscipiens et eius socios adhuc semivivos tulit in castrum suum, ibique Stephanus in kal. Iunii dominica die moritur. Zobezlau autem hisdem temporibus apud Wigberti filium morabatur, quia post obitum patris sui predictus puer atrociter ab inimicis undique coartabatur. Eodem anno mense Iulio dux Wladizlaus natam suam primogenitam, nomine Zuatauam,975 cum magno muliebri cultu et nimio census apparatu dat nuptum cuidam inter Bavaricos primates famosissimo viro, nomine Friderico.976 Capitulum LVII. Eodem anno Christi Dei virtus et Dei sapientia cuncta suo nutu gubernans subsistencia hanc terrulam dignatus est sua eruere clemencia a  laqueo Satane et eius filii Iacobi Apelle.977 Cuius picea dextra quecumque tetigerit, inquinat, et oris anhelitus ceu basilisci fetidus, quos afflat, necat; de quo etiam plurimi testantur veridici homines, quod sepe visus sit Sathan in humana effigie eius lateri adherere atque sua obsequia exhibere. Unde eum in tantam suis artibus extulit audaciam, immo demenciam, ut excedens suum modum tam sceleratissimus homo post ducem vicedomini fungeretur officio; quod erat magnum chaos christiano populo. Hic idem post baptisma factus apostata altare, quod erat edificatum et consecratum in sinagoga978 eorum, in nocte destruxit et sumens sac­ Also referred to as Luitgard.

975

 Probably the count of Bogen.

976

 Horace Sat. 1.5.100, as above, 30.

977

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A priest among them, to whom they had commended their souls, fled having only bow and quiver; but one of the bandits noticed the defenseless man in flight and followed him. Not able to escape, he shot his arrow backwards; hit the horse between his eyes, and the horse fell backwards with its rider. Thus the priest alone survived and reported in the city of Glogów what had happened. The prefect of that city, called Vojslav, hastening there with numerous armed men, found the half-dead Stephen in the River Bóbr, caught in the reeds, because the barbarians, irate because many of them had been killed and others wounded, threw him into the said river. The prefect took him and those of his companions as were halfalive to the castle, where Stephen died on Sunday, June 1. Sobĕslav, however, stayed during this time with the son of Wiprecht, because, after his father’s death, the young man was direly hemmed in on all sides by enemies. In the same year, in July, Duke Vladislav gave his eldest daughter called Svatava,975 in  marriage to Frederick,976 a  most famous magnate among the Bavarians, with great quantity of female jewelry and a vast and rich wardrobe. Chapter 57 In the same year of Christ, the power and wisdom of God that governs all that exists by its nod deigned to rescue by its clemency this little country from the snares of Satan and his son, Jacob Apella.977 His pitch-black hand besmirches all that it touches and with the breath of his mouth, stinking like a basilisk’s, he slays whatever he blows upon. Many trustworthy men testify having seen Satan in human form walk by his side and do him a service. Satan therefore made him through his tricks so daring, or rather so demented, that this most villanous man rose above his station and served as the deputy of the duke; these were dark times for the Christian people. He apostatized after baptism and destroyed one night the altar set up and consecrated in their synagogue,978 took away the holy relics,

978

 This is the earliest reference to such a building in Prague. It was in Malá Strana, but burnt down in 1142.

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ras reliquias non est veritus eas in suam mittere cloacam. Hunc talem sacrilegum atque maleficum dux Deo plenus Wladizlaus zelum Christi zelans 979 XI. kal. Augusti tenuit atque sub arta iussit eum constringi custodia.980 Ah quantum de mammona iniquitatis981 ex domo eiusdem subplantatoris sublatum est et in fiscum ducis redactum! Preterea sui compares in scelere Iudei, ne predictus manzer capite plecteretur, tria milia argenti et centum auri libras composuerunt duci. Quod autem dux gratia Dei instinctus chris­ tiana mancipia ab omnibus Iudeis redemit et, ut nullus ultra chris­ tianus serviret eis, interdixit,982 „Amen, amen,“ inquam; quicquid umquam deliquit, totum in hoc laudabili facto delevit et nomen sibi eternum ascivit. O Christi famula pia Magdalena Maria, Semper devota tibi promit plebs sua vota, quoniam in tuo festo eruta est ab hoste infesto. Item eodem anno III. id. Augusti XI. hora diei solis eclypsis fuit,983 et secuta est maxima pestilentia boum, ovium atque suum; apes multe interierunt, penuria mellis fuit nimia. Segetes autumnales defuerunt simul et vernales preter solum milium et pisam.984 Eodem anno dux Wladizlaus, vir precluus 985 et venerandus, natale Domini et epiphaniam in villa Stbecna celebravit. Deinde, quoniam infirmabatur, transfert se in urbem Wissegrad ibique usque ad suum obitum mansit. Eiusdem hiemis intrante vere vehementissimi incubuerunt venti per totam lunationem mensis Marcii.  1 Macc. 2:54.

979

 On this see Samuel Steinherz, “Der Sturz des Vicedominus Jacob (1124),” Jahr­ bücher der Gesellschaft für die Geschichte der Juden in der Čechoslovakischen Re­ publik 2 (1930), 17–49.

980

981

 Luke 16:9.  The prohibition of Christians serving Jews is a recurrent item in medieval legislation and goes back to the Theodosian Codex (3.1.5.1.128), repeated in Justinian’s Codex (1.10.2.11.62). In neighboring Hungary, it was included in the laws of King Coloman (capp. 74–5), see Decreta Regni Mediaevalis Hungariae 1000– 1301/Laws of the Mediaeval Kingdom of Hungary 1000–1301, ed. János M. Bak, György Bónis, and James Sweeney (Idyllwild, CA: Schlacks, 19992), 30, and Col. Iud. 1, ibid., 66.

982

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and did not shrink from throwing them into his privy. Filled with the Lord, the duke, Vladislav—fervent for the zeal 979 of Christ—arrested this sacrilegious and evil-doing man on July 22 and ordered that he be kept in strict custody.980 Oh, how much mammon of unrighteousness 981 was taken from the house of this trickster and brought into the treasury of the duke! Besides, his Jewish companions in sin deposited three thousand pounds of silver and a hundred of gold to the duke to save this bastard from beheading. And the duke, moved by the grace of God, redeemed the Christian servants of all the Jews and prohibited all Christians from serving them in future 982—to which I say Amen, Amen. Whatever wrong he may have done, he has cancelled it entirely out by this laudable deed and secured himself a name forever. O Mary Magdalene, you servant of Christ, Ever devoted to you are the faithful in prayer, for it was on your feast day that they were rescued from the dangerous enemy. Then, in the same year, on August 11, in the eleventh hour of the day, there was an eclipse of the sun,983 followed by a great plague among the cattle, sheep and pigs. Many bees died and there was a great shortage of honey. Both autumn and summer crops failed with the exception of millet and peas.984 In the same year, Duke Vladislav, a  very famous 985 and venerable man, celebrated Christmas and Epiphany in the village of Zbečno. After, as he fell ill, he moved from there to the city of Vyšehrad where he stayed until his death. In the spring following that winter there arose very strong winds during all the lunar month of March.

 There was an eclipse of the sun on 11 August 1124 that reached its greatest extent at 12.28 PM. It has been noted that Cosmas uses the so-called hora aequinoctialis (counting the hours from midnight) for reckoning the time of day, which has been taken as indication of his higher education.

983

 Curschmann, Hungersnöte, 14.

984

 The word precluus is very probably a scribal mistake; correctly precluis.

985

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Capitulum LVIII. Anno dominice incarnationis MCXXV. Zobezlau audiens fratrem suum graviter infirmari inito consilio amicorum salubri, immo sic iam disponente Dei nutu cum omni suo comitatu de Saxonia rediit et IIII. non. Februarii prope urbem Pragam in silva, que est circa cenobium Brevnov, noctu applicuerat. Latet causa, quid ipse hac in re faciendum disposuerat; neque enim tante indolis heros tam temere hanc terram intrasset, si non aliqui ex comitibus extitissent, quorum consilio id, ut reor, egerat. Namque eadem nocte retro pedem torquens huc et illuc, nunc per silvas, modo per villas latenter circuibat terram, nemini vim inferens aliquam, sed semper fratris sui queritans gratiam. Omnes quidem Boemii primi et secundi ordinis 986 eum diligebant et eius parti favebant, sola autem ductrix et pauci cum ea adiuvabant Ottonem. Qui quoniam sororem eius sibi copularat,987 omnibus modis nitebatur, quo post virum suum Otto potiretur solio. Ducis autem magis magisque invalescens morbus nimis eius exhauriebat corpus. Inter hec primates terre conturbati, ceu pisces in turbida aqua, incerti, dum mente titubarent, consternati, regina Zuataua mater ducis premonita et instructa Zobezlau ab amicis venit, ut visitaret filium suum, et sic locuta est ad eum: „Mater ego tua cum sim et regina, supplex et timida ad tua venio genua et, quibus te tenerum excepi, pro fratre tuo coram te iam tremulis procumbo genibus. Nec enim ea, que iure possint negari peto, sed que sunt et Deo placita et hominibus accepta. Placet enim Deo, sicut ipse dixit: «Honora patrem tuum et matrem,»988 ut meas aniles placide suscipias preces, et hanc rugosam lacrimisque obor[tis obru]tam, precor, ne confundas faciem. Liceat mihi vetule matri apud filium suum impetrare, quod rogat et postulat prostratus laon989 universus Boemie, liceat mihi decrepite vos vi This notion of ‘first and second rank’ Czechs is nowhere else recorded. However, references to persons being ‘more noble,’ or ‘better’ (optimates) suggests a certain informal hierarchy among the elite; see Wolverton, Chronicle, 50–1.

986

 Otto married Sophie von Berg in 1114. See Ann. Gradicenses, ed. Georg Heinrich Pertz, MGH SS 17 (Hanover: Hahn, 1861), 649.

987

CHRONICLE OF THE CZECHS

415

Chapter 58 In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1125. Sobĕslav, hearing that his brother was seriously ill, returned on the wise counsel of his friends, or rather because of God’s will, with his entire entourage from Saxony and arrived in the night of February 2 in the wood which surrounds the monastery of Břevnov, in the vicinity of Prague. It is not known what he had intended to do in this matter, but certainly, such a gifted hero would not have risked entering this country had there not been some comites at whose suggestion, I believe, he acted. For in the same night, he turned on his heels and went secretly around the country, now in the woods, then in the villages, harming nobody, but always seeking the grace of his brother. All Czechs of the first and second rank986 favored him and stood on his side. Only the duchess and a few men around her supported Otto, because he was married to a sister of the duchess 987 and she strove all ways for him to obtain the throne after her husband’s demise. The duke’s illness became ever worse and exhausted his bodily strength. Under these circumstances, the leading men of the land were troubled, like fishes in muddy waters, uncertain and perplexed while their minds wandered. Queen Svatava, the duke’s mother, forewarned and instructed by friends of Sobĕslav, came to visit her son and spoke to him thus: “Even though I am your mother and a queen, I come to your feet begging and shy, bending my already trembling knees, on which I held you as a child, for your brother’s sake. I do not ask for anything that can be denied by right, only for what is pleasing to God and agreeable to men. It is pleasing to God that you listen calmly to my old-womanly entreaties, as He himself said: ‘Honor thy father and mother.’ 988 I beg you not to make blush this wrinkled face of mine, bathed in running tears. Your old mother should be allowed to beseech from her son what she and all the people989 of Bohemia, now prostrate before you, request and require. May  I,  Exod. 20:12.

988

 Curiously, Cosmas uses a form of the Greek word (laos) for ‘people.’

989

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dere pacatos, quos pari conditione ex meo utero generatos video gratia Dei bene educatos. Contingat mihi anicule cito moriture non prius mori, quam huic incomparabili meo Deus conferat solamen merori. Merito quidem mereor, quia fera Herinis hac in terra regnat et vos fratres olim unanimes nunc in prelia armat.990 Quis enim ignorat, quod camisia propior sit corpori quam tunica? 991 Natura quippe, que fecit propinquiorem genitura, facit, ut sit suis propicior et in omni rerum procurat[ur]a. Ille autem, ille, quem tibi fratrem facis, et cui modo tue sobolis et care coniugis curam iniungis et in tutelam committis, crede mihi matri, ipse primus erit eis in laqueum et in foveam et in scandalum. Iste autem, quem a te elongas et quasi alienum reputas, cum sit tuus germanus, multo clemencior in tuos erit quam tui patrui natus, cui post te decernis paterni solium ducatus.“ Dixerat et flebat natumque suo angebat ploratu. Quem ut vidit simul collacrimantem, hec adiecit dicens: „Non tua, fili mi, inevitanda homini deploro fata, verum fratris tui miserabiliorem morte vitam defleo, qui profugus, vagus 992 et exul mallet nunc feliciter mori quam infeliciter vivere.“ Cui natus perfusus faciem lacrimis: „Faciam,“ inquit, „mater mea, faciam, quod hortaris, nec sum adamante993 vel ex Caribdi genitus, ut non reminiscar uterini fratris.“ Interea rediens presul Bamberiensis ecclesie Otto, miles Christi indolis, victis et destructis Pomoranorum idolis visitat ducem994 iam viribus pre infirmitate deficientem. Cui dux cum sese et animam suam per sanctam confessionem commisisset, non prius posse dari aut consequi indulgentiam presul spopondit, quam fratri suo pacem veram et firmam promisisset gratiam. Moxque presul predictus curam anime eius et causam perficiende pacis Meginardo iniungens episcopo iuxta principalem munificentiam valde donis onustatus tenuit viam; festinabat enim, ut

990

 Cf. Vergil A. 7.335.

 Cf. the proverb tunica proprior pallio (Plautus Trin. v. 2.30).

991

992

 Gen. 4:12.

 Cf. Vergil A. 6.552; Statius Silv. 1.269.

993

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a feeble old woman, be allowed to see you two, whom I have borne equally in my womb, raised well by the grace of God and reconciled. May I, an old woman who will soon die, not die before God consoles me in this incomparable grief of mine. For I grieve for good reason, because wild Erynnis reigns in this land and now arms you, brothers, who earlier were in accord, to battle.990 Who does not know that the shirt is closer to one than the coat? 991 Nature that establishes proximity by birth causes that in all things one favors more and is more attentive to one’s own. He, however, the one whom you have made your brother and entrusted with the care and supervision of your children and dear wife, will—believe me, your mother—be the first to set a  snare, pit and stumbling block for them. But he, whom you now push away and regard as a stranger, although he is your brother, will be more merciful to your own than the son of your uncle whom you intend as your successor on the paternal throne of the duchy.” Thus she spoke and wept, and the son was anguished by her tears. And when she saw him also weeping, she added: “It is not your fate, inexorable to man, that I mourn, my son, but the life of your brother, more miserable than death, who as a fugitive, vagabond 992 and exile would happily prefer to die now than to live on unhappily.” The son, his face streaming with tears, replied to her: “I will do, mother, I will do what you urge me to; I am not of adamantine993 nor am I the son of Charybdis that I would not remember my very own brother.” In the meantime, Bishop Otto of Bamberg, the born warrior of Christ, who had defeated and destroyed the idols of the Pomeranians, on his way home visited the duke,994 already declining in strength by illness. The duke entrusted himself and his soul to him in holy confession, but the bishop replied that no absolution might be granted to or obtained by him until he had promised his brother true peace and enduring grace. Then, entrusting to Bishop Meinhard the care of the soul of the duke as well as the matter of making peace, the aforesaid bishop continued his journey, laden down with the gifts of princely largesse, for he was  The visit is also briefly mentioned in Ebbo, Vita Ottonis, ed. Rudolf Köpke, MGH SS 12 (Hanover: Hahn, 1856), 822–82, here 857.

994

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ante Domini cenam995 perveniret ad sedem suam. Mittitur ilico pro Zobezlao, iamque palam in populo agitatur, quod olim clanculo machinabatur. Talia ut sensit princeps Moravie Otto fieri, qui semper adherebat ducis lateri, timens, ne forsan caperetur, tristis revertitur in Moraviam. Pacificatus est autem Wladizlaus cum frat­ re IIII. feria maioris ebdomade. Post octavas autem pasche II. id. Aprilis, dominica die, que tunc fuit Misericordia Domini, pius et misericors dux Wladizlaus non sine magno suorum planctu migravit ad Christum et, quam semper pro nomine Christi in pauperes exhibuit, nimirum iam ab ipso misericordi Domino consecutus est misericordiam. Sepultus est autem in ecclesia sancte Marie virginis, quam ipse edificans Christo et eius matri omnibus ecclesiasticis xeniis sufficienter auxit, et satis honorificam monachorum ibidem constituit abbaciam; loci nomen est Cladorubi.996 Dux fuit hic quantus, rexit dum spiritus artus,997 Ex eius gestis iam scriptis scire potestis, Qua dignus laude sit quove colendus honore. Sit libri finis, nostri ducis est ubi finis. Capitulum LIX. Quoniam quidem primi in exordio libri memini me dixisse hanc chronicam sub temporibus Wladizlai ducis et Hermanni presulis editam esse, quibus iam ex hac convalle lacrimosa fato transvectis ad loca forsan deliciosa, sed adhuc gestarum rerum exuberante materia, utrum ibi figam littori anchoram an etiam nunc furentibus euris in altum carbasa tendam,998 consule formosa mea doctrix nunc mihi Musa. Tu enim, que numquam senescis, me senem ad iuvenilia studia inquietare non quiescis, haud ignoras, quod in uno quocumque sene, sicut in me, puerilis est sensus et debilis animus.  March 26.

995

 The monastic church, a three-naved Romanesque basilica, was completed only in 1233. The present building is a Baroque construction, erected on the foundations of the burnt-down medieval one.

996

997

 Vergil A. 4.336.

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in a hurry to reach his see before Maundy Thursday.995 So, Sobĕslav was immediately sent for and people now spoke openly about what they had been planning secretly. When the prince of Moravia, Otto, who had always been close to the duke, heard what was happening, he sadly returned to Moravia, as he feared to be perhaps arrested. Duke Vladislav was reconciled with his brother on the Wednesday of Holy Week. After the octave of Easter, on the Sunday of Misericordia Domini, on April 12, the devout and merciful duke departed to Christ amidst the great lamentation of his people, and has surely received from the merciful Lord the mercy that he in the name of Christ always showed towards the poor. He was buried in the church of the Holy Virgin Mary that he had built for Christ and His mother and supplied richly with all ecclesiastical gifts, where he had also founded a well-respected abbey for monks. The place is called Kladruby.996 How great a duke he was while breath governed his limbs,997 You can gauge from the deeds described about him, And how much praise he deserves and what great honor. The end of the book should be here where the end of our duke is. Chapter 59 Since I recall that at the beginning of the first book I said that this chronicle was written in the times of Duke Vladislav and Bishop Hermann, but both of them, carried away by fate, have now left this valley of tears for places likely to be pleasurable. But as there is still much material about deeds done, give me now counsel, O Muse, my lovely teacher, whether to cast anchor here by the shore or now spread my sail to the deep where the east winds roar.998 You, who never age, and do not stop goading me, an old man, to past times of my youth, must know that in every old man, just as in me, there is a boyish wit and a frail mind. Oh, would that God bring me, al Setting sail upon the sea as a metaphor for a literary project is one of the most widespread medieval topoi, see Curtius, European Literature, 128–30.

998

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O si mihi iam octogenario preteritos Deus referat annos,999 quibus olim Leodii sub Francone magistro1000 tum grammatice tum dialetice artis in virectis [et] pratis mecum lusisti satis! O nimium amabilis iuvenibus et suavis, semper pudica, sed numquam vetula, cur me repetis senem? Cur hebetem incitas mentem? Iam mihi annosa etas dorsum incurvat, iam rugosa cutis faciem deturpat, iam pectus velut sonipes fessus anhelat, iam vox rauca ceu anser sibilat, et morbida senectus meos enervat sensus. Certe plus me delectat mollis panis et tosta buccella quam tua sophismata, que quondam sub vestra molliter cubantes ascella, suaviter ex tua tenera suximus papilla. O sophistica cornupeta, ultro viris syllogisticis appetenda, nobis autem iam satis experta, sine senes, pete iuvenes tui similes, ingenio acutos et in arcium artibus argutos, qui nuper ad magnam mensam domine philosophie deliciosis pasti epulis et exhaustis tocius Francie thesauris novi philosophi redeunt!1001 Tales oratores inclita virtus ducis Zobezlai expectat, qui eius mirifica gesta stilo aureo mirifice deaurare queant; quibus et ego senex, quicquid inepte deliro, usque ad unguem elimandum supplex committo. Horum et omnium ista legencium cum licentia liceat mihi prefati ducis pluribus ex gestis aliquid contingere scriptis. Et qui me senem vituperas, ipse cum sis sapiens, thesaurum tue scientie in lucem proferas et hunc rudem textum pro materia habeas. Capitulum LX. Regnante domino nostro Iesu Christo, trino et uno omnipotente Deo, uti supra retulimus, duce Wladizlao ex hac luce subtracto frater eius Zobezlaus, etate quidem iunior, sed maturis sapiencia ma999

 Cf. Vergil A. 8.560.

 On the studies of Cosmas in Liège see above, pp. xx–xxiv and xxxvii–xli.; also Třeštík, Kosmas, 47. On Master Franco, see now David Luscombe, “Dialectic and Rhetoric in the Ninth and Twelfth Centuries: Continuity and Change,” in Dialektik und Rhetorik im früheren und hohen Mittelalter, ed. Johannes Fried (Munich: Oldenbourg, 1997), 1–20. Cf. also the hypothesis of Bujnoch, “Gallus Anonymus,” 123–51, that the so-called Gallus Anonymus was a fellow student of Cosmas at the school of St. Lawrence in Liège.

1000

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ready an octogenarian, back the years past999 in which in Liège, under Master Franco,1000 you played with me in the green pastures of the arts, of grammar and of dialectic! O, you, lovable and delightful for the young, always chaste but never aged, why do you seek me out, an old man? Why do you excite my dull wit? Old age already curves my back, wrinkled skin blemishes my face, my chest heaves like a tired steed’s, the voice sounds hoarse like a goose’s, and sickly old age weakens my senses. Surely, I am more pleased by soft bread and a toasted bun than by those sophistries of yours that we, lying in your embrace, once happily sucked from your tender nipples. O you, well known to us, who gore with the horns of sophistry, who attract without effort the syllogistically-minded, leave alone the old! Look for the young like yourself, those with sharp minds and trained in all the arts, who have just finished dining on an exquisite banquet at the wide table of Lady Philosophy and return, new philosophers, having plundered all the treasures of France!1001 The splendid virtue of Duke Sobĕslav waits upon such orators, who are able to gild marvelously his marvelous deeds with golden pen. I, an old man, humbly leave it to them to polish to perfection what I ineptly blabber. With their and all readers’ permission, permit me to put into writing a few of the many deeds of the said duke. And you who scold me, an old man, do you, being wise as you are, bring to the light the treasure of your knowledge and use this rough text as your material. Chapter 60 As we have told before, under the reign of our Lord Jesus Christ, triune and one omnipotent God, after Duke Vladislav was taken from this world, his brother Sobĕslav, younger in years but in wisdom more mature than the mature, generous, welcome to his patriots, beloved by people of all sexes and ages, was with the support

1001

 We owe thanks to David D’Avray for helping us disentangle Cosmas’s elegant but convoluted phrases.

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turior, manu largus, civibus acceptus, plebi utriusque sexus et etatis gratus omnibus Boemiis insimul faventibus, XVI. kal. Maii iure hereditario1002 in principatus solio elevatus est avito. O qui perpetua mundum ratione gubernas,1003 Quisnam speraret vel quisnam credere posset, Quod pax hoc anno fieret sine sanguine magno, presertim cum dominus Otto quorundam instinctus consilio tali se obligaverat sacramento, quod non prius ab urbe Wissegrad cederet, quam aut victus plecteretur capite aut victor potiretur principalis sedis culmine. Sed dominus noster Iesus Christus, qui dissipat et reprobat consilia principum,1004 sanctissimi martiris Wencezlai per meritum ita misericorditer disposuit, uti me supra referente satis caritas vestra novit. Quapropter iam bonus dux desinat super fratre suo simul et Ottone irasci et indignari, credat omnia ratione Dei gubernari et nihil sine ipso posse fieri. Sed quoniam Salomone tes­ tante ira in sinu stulti quiescit,1005 absit hoc a reverentissimo duce, ut per iram et indignationem suas virtutes eximias commaculet aut per inpacientiam probabiles suos contaminet actus. Quos revera si quis ob laudem sui singillatim exprimere satageret, prius diurna lux et pagina deficeret, quam inceptum opus perficeret.1006 Veruntamen nos unum et precipuum eius memoriale vestre caritati pandimus, in quo nimirum omnibus pene preferendus est actu, quod tante potestatis dux numquam mentis predone proluit sua labra medone. Certe non modica est virtus cuipiam potenti viro os suum refrenare et naturalis potus non amurcam, sed eius illecebras spernere.1007 Capitulum LXI. Eodem anno XIII. kal. Iunii, quarta existente feria, in ebdomada sacrosancta pentecosten,1008 magna nix in quibusdam silvestribus locis descendit, et sequentibus diebus grande frigus inhorruit  That is, according to the principle of seniority, see above, 190–2.

1002

 Boethius Consolatio 3m9.1.

1003

 Ps. 32:10.

1004

 Eccles 7:9 (10).

1005

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of all Czechs raised to the ancestral throne by right of heredity1002 on April 16. O you who reign over the world with eternal wisdom,1003 Who would have hoped and who can believe it, That in this year peace will be made and no blood shed; even more so, as Lord Otto, instigated by the counsel of some, had sworn by oath not to leave Vyšehrad unless he was either defeated and beheaded or had won and obtained the summit of the ducal throne. But our Lord Jesus Christ, who rejects and casts away the counsels of princes,1004 has for the merits of the holy martyr Wenceslas arranged everything so mercifully as your grace knows from what I have reported above. Therefore, the good duke should cease to be angry and indignant on account of his brother and Otto, but believe that all is governed by God’s reason and that nothing can happen without Him. As it is confirmed by Solomon that anger resteth in the bosom of fools,1005 may it be far from the most honorable duke to besmirch his fine virtues by anger and indignation or to debase by intolerance his pleasing deeds. For should one try to praise each and every one of these, the day and the page would run out before one could complete the task begun.1006 Nevertheless, we disclose to your grace one special matter to remember him by, which should be placed above all his deeds, that the lips of such a powerful duke never touched mead, the thief of the mind. It is certainly no small virtue when a powerful man restrains his mouth and spurns the drink not because it’s scummy but for its temptation.1007 Chapter 61 On May 20 of the same year, on the Wednesday of the holy week of Pentecost,1008 a great snow fell in some wooded areas and on the following days a strong frost gripped the land and did much harm  Cf. Vergil A. 1.372–374.

1006

 Duke Vladislav was indeed praised by Pope Eugene III for his temperance; see CDB 1, 149–50, n. 147.

1007

 In fact, May 20 that year was the Wednesday after Pentecost, that is, the week of Trinity Sunday.

1008

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atque omnigenis et maxime in autumno seminatis frugibus, simul et vineis, nec non et arboribus multum nocuit, ita ut in multis locis arbusta radicitus exaruissent et minores gelu rigescerent amnes. Eiusdem ebdomade in sabbato, X. kal. Iunii, imperator Heinricus quartus obiit, ibique eius et imperialis genealogia desiit partim sterilitate feminei sexus, partim ab ineunte etate omni virili stirpe regali fato conclusa exiciali. Capitulum LXII. Interea per Dei gratiam inclito duce Zobezlao in toto suo composita pace regno dum heroycis cessamus a  chronicis, referamus, qualiter presbiter quidam crudi per incendium holeris incentivas extinxerit flammas pectoris; ipse enim clam mihi narravit familiariter, et, ut nulli eum nomine proderem, per Christum me rogavit amicabiliter, cui ita ego uti mihi credo, quia vita eius laudabilis fidem prebet verbis. Aiebat enim, quod, postquam sibi presbiteram Dominus tulerat, devota mente Deo voverat, quod nullam ultra cognosceret feminam. Sed quoniam valde difficile est assueta funditus a mente evolvere, nescio quot post annos tanta eum temptacio carnis invaserat, ut pene voti oblitus, quod Deo voverat, victus libidine in laqueum diaboli fere ceciderat. Quid enim ageret? Aliquando legerat in dialogo, qualiter sanctus Benedictus per incendium urtice compescuit ardorem carnis inimice,1009 cum subito superna gratia respectus et ad semetipsum reversus,1010 querens ad simile opus et non inveniens secretum locum, furtim collegit de urticis manipulum, clam peciit cubiculum et super se clausit ostiolum atque omne suum usque ad unum filum abiecit vestimentum. Ah, si quis tum presbiterum sanum insanientem vidisset, etiamsi eadem die carum parentem sepelisset, vellet nollet, utique rideret. Certe non tantum sevus magister in discipulum aut dominus iratus in servum sevit, quantum presbiter in se et contra se inflammatus atque pre ira insensibilis factus per genitalia sua simul et posteriora  See Gregory the Great Dial. 2.2.2.

1009

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to all types of crop, especially the fall seeding as well as to the vines and trees, so that in many places the trees shriveled from the root upwards and the smaller rivers froze over. On the Saturday of the same week, May 23, Emperor Henry IV died and with him the imperial line became extinct, partly because of the sterility of its women, partly because fate always puts an end to the male line in all royal families. Chapter 62 Meanwhile, Duke Sobĕslav, by the grace of God, established peace in his entire realm. As we have no more heroic deeds to chronicle, let us therefore report how a priest by the sting of a simple herb extinguished the flames burning in his heart. He himself told me confidentially of this as a  friend and asked me in Christ not to reveal his name to anyone, but I  believe him, as I  would myself, for his conduct vouches for his words. He told me that when the Lord took away his wife, he vowed devotedly to God henceforth to have knowledge of no woman. But since it is most difficult to expel from one’s mind what one has become used to, after I don’t know how many years, he was overcome by such temptation of the flesh that he almost forgot what he had vowed to God and, defeated by lust, nearly fell into the devil’s trap. What should he do? Once he had read in the Dialogues how Saint Benedict had curbed the fire of hostile flesh by the burning sting of nettles.1009 When he was suddenly touched by heavenly grace and came to himself once more,1010 he looked for a secret place to do the same, but finding none, he furtively gathered a bundle of nettles, went into his bedroom, closed the door and threw off all his clothes to the last thread. Oh, if anyone had then seen the priest, sane but going crazy, he would have willy-nilly had to laugh even if he had buried his dearest parent on the same day. Surely, no master would be as violent to a pupil, nor an irate lord to a servant as the priest,  Cf. Luke 15:17.

1010

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urticis sevivit. Exinde redit ad cor 1011 et multo crudelius circa precordia seviens aiebat: „Tu me, tu, pessimum cor, semper crucias, ego te sic modo cruciabo. Ex te enim exeunt cogitaciones male, adulteria, fornicationes et libidines.“ Sicque satisfaciens suo furori presbiter furibundus tantis attrectatus doloribus per tres dies iacuit moribundus; nec satis se fecisse reputans anime remediis colligens fasciculum de urticis suspendit in sua camera, quatenus eas semper haberet pre oculis, quas quotienscumque seu pendentes seu succisas sive iuxta viam pollentes conspexit, cor eius intremuit mensque mala memor mali penitus evanuit. Nos autem huius presbiteri imitabilem seviciam vertamus ad virtutum custodiam et, quod ipse operatus est in corpore, nos operemur mente. Sunt enim eloquia Domini eloquia veridica, quibus ait: „Pater meus usque modo operatur, et ego operor.“1012 Ecce enim presbiter, dum foris penaliter arsit, quod illicite ardebat intus, per Dei gratiam extinxit, vicit peccatum, quia mutavit incendium.1013 * Noverint omnes in Christo fideles huius chronice compositorem, scilicet Cosmam reverentissimum Pragensis ecclesie decanum, XII. kal. Novembris 1014 obisse eodem anno, quo ducem Zobezlaum constat intronizatum fuisse.

1011

 Cf. Isa. 46:8.

1012 1013

 John 5:17

  Gregory the Great Dial., as above.

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enraged at and against himself, and having become desensitized by anger, raged against his groin and his posterior with the nettles. Finally, he returned to the heart1011 and raged even more against the breast, saying, “You most evil heart, you always crucify me, now I will torture you, because bad thoughts, adultery, fornication, and lust come from you!” Thus the priest, raging as he satisfied his rage, was beset by so great pains that for three days he was bedridden close to death. But since he thought that he had not done enough for the remedy of his soul, he gathered a bunch of nettles and hung them in his chamber so that he always had them before his eyes. Whenever he saw them hanging there or cut up or growing on the wayside, his heart began to tremble and, recalling the bad memory, all bad thoughts entirely vanished from his mind. We wish to apply the exemplary rigor of this priest to the preservation of virtues and what he has done to his body, we should do to the mind. For the sayings of the Lord are true sayings when He says, “My father worketh hitherto; and I work.” 1012 Behold, by the grace of God the priest when he punished himself by external fire, extinguished the fire of wickedness within; he defeated sin by changing the fire.1013 * May all faithful in Christ know that the author of this chronicle, the most reverent Cosmas, dean of the church of Prague, died on October 21,1014 in the same year in which it is known that Duke Sobĕslav was enthroned

 The date tallies with both the “Necrologium Bohemicum,” 808, and the “Nec­ro­ logium Olomucense,” see Dudík, “Necrologium Olomucense,” 565.

1014

APPENDIX Foundation of the Monastery of Sázava1

Bertold Bretholz added to his edition of the Chronicle of Cosmas an excerpt from its so-called Sázava redaction (the copy of the Chronicle written in the Benedictine Abbey of Sázava), concerning the origin of that abbey.2 We decided to follow this decision of his. Bretholz’s reason was most probably his interest in the history of the medieval church in Moravia and the respective additions to the Chronicle describing the existence of Slavonic liturgy in Bohemia. These questions received always much interest in the study of the history of medieval Bohemia and Moravia and are still on the agenda. Therefore, modern Czech editions of the Chronicle as well as its translations always accepted Bretholz’s choice.3 Other translations of the Chronicle do not contain these excerpts.4 Several editions of the Chronicle of Cosmas containing also the texts of his continuatores do not quite follow Bretholz insofar as the excerpts are edited as parts of the chronicle of a so-called Monk of Sázava.5 The text of Bretholz’s excerpt is based on the Vita maior (called

 This text was edited by Bretholz, Die Chronik, as Anhang I, 242–51. Bretholz added to the volume three more appendices about the foundation of other churches. A German translation by Georg Grandaur can be found in vol. 66 of the Ge­schicht­ schrei­ber der deutschen Vorzeit series, Die Fortsetzungen des Cosmas von Prag, ed. Wilhelm Wattenbach (Leipzig: Duncker, 1885 and many later editions), 51–63. 2  The manuscript tradition of this Appendix (and the Chronicle) is quite complicated, for this, see Bretholz, Die Chronik, XLV–LXXXV. 3  See recently on this Hrdina and Wihoda, Kosmas, 201–9. 4  Georg Grandaur, the German translator of the Chronicle, included it into a separate volume, see above, n. 1. 5  Monachi Sazaviensis continuatio, 148-63; Mnich sázavský [The monk of Sázava], ed. Josef Emler, FRB II (Prague: Nadání Františka Palackého, 1874), 238-69. 1

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also Vita antiqua) of the legendary founder of the abbey of Sázava, St. Procopius. It is probable that the so-called Monk of Sázava also wrote the Vita minor.6 In various manuscripts the text is inserted between the years 1009 (St. Procopius settles as a hermit in the Sázava valley) and 1038 (foundation of the abbey).7

 See Václav Chaloupecký and Bohumil Ryba, Středověké legendy prokopské [Medieval legends of St. Procopius] (Prague: Nakladatelství ČSAV, 1953), 83–91, and a new edition with English translation by Cristian Gaşpar in The Sanctity of the Leaders: Holy Kings, Princes, Bishops, and Abbots from Central Europe (11th–13th Centuries), ed. Gábor Klaniczay, CEMT 7 (Budapest/New York: CEU Press, forthcoming). 7  Bretholz believed that 1038 was chosen because this was “the year of the founder’s, Duke Ulrich’s, death,” but in fact, the duke died (or was killed) in 1034. The foundation itself is dated in various MSS to 1009, 1032, and 1033 (see Die Chronik, 242, n. 3). On the date of the foundation, see recently Sommer, Svatý Prokop. 6

FUNDATIO MONASTERII SAZAVIENSIS

•

FOUNDATION OF THE MONASTERY OF SÁZAVA

I. Hoc in loco congruum videtur non debere pretermitti, qualiter cenobium Zazavense divine dispositionis gratia exordium sumpserit, sub quibus principibus et qualiter ex tenui origine auctore Deo in tantam, ut hodie cernitur, amplitudinem excreverit, ut et in hoc, sicut in ceteris pietatis sue operibus, divine bonitatis magnificentia ab omnibus fidelibus laudetur. Tempore siquidem prefati ducis Odalrici,1 in divino cultu viri magnifici, fuit heremita Procopius2 nomine, natione Boemicus de villa Chotun,3 Sclavonicis litteris a sanctissimo Quirillo episcopo quondam inventis et statutis canonice admodum imbutus; in seculo presbyter eximius, honesta vite et casta mysteria celebrans, postmodum infula monastice parmatus professionis, solus cum solo Deo in fidei pignore inconvulsus deguit. Hic quippe pro amore Iesu Christi toto spiritus sui ardore fervens vanitatem nequam huius mundi contempsit et domum uxoremque, agros, cognatos atque amicos, immo semetipsum sibi abnegans versuciali seculo et pompis suis miserabilibus valedixit, a cuius tumultuoso turbine fugiens secreta solitudinis petiit, atque supercilio4 cuiusdam deserte spelunce, quam mille demonia, ut fertur, inhabitabant, celestibus armis loricatus consedit ibique, quibus se posset tueri obstaculis virtutum constructis contra canes viciorum et impetum spiritalium nequitiarum ac suggestionum sagittas, ad petram, que Christus est,5 orationibus, vigiliis, ieiuniis 6 allidens viriliter pugnare cepit. Dum igitur in dilecta sibi solitudine a naufragio secularis tumultus liber ac ab omnibus occultus per multum tempus Deo  Ulrich I/Oldřich I, duke of Bohemia from 1012 to 1033 and briefly in 1034.

1

 On his life, see Sommer, Svatý Prokop.

2

 Chotouň, village in eastern Bohemia, near the important Přemyslid castle Kouřim. St. Procopius was probably active in Kouřim, in the church of St. George.

3

[432]

I. Here it seems to me appropriate not to exclude how by the grace of divine providence the monastery of Sázava had its origin, under which princes and how it emerged with God’s help from small beginnings to the importance that it enjoys now, so that in this as in other works of His charity the splendor of divine goodness be praised by all believers. In the times of the said Duke Ulrich,1 a man eminent in divine worship, there was a hermit by the name of Prokop,2 a Czech by birth from the village of Chotouň,3 well trained canonically in the Slavonic letters previously invented and established by the most holy Cyril. Excellent as a secular priest, renowned for his honest conduct and the mysteries of chastity, he later took the shield of monastic habit and lived unshaken only by himself with the only God in the pledge of faith. Here, his entire soul inflamed with the love of Jesus Christ, scorning the opprobrious vanity of this world, rejecting house and wife, lands, relatives, friends, and even himself, he bade farewell to the fickle world and its empty display, and escaping the loud bustle of the age he sought out the refuges of solitude and settled, girt with heavenly armor, at the brow 4 of a certain deserted cave in which thousand devils were said to dwell, and there he began manfully to fight, inclining to the rock that is Christ 5 with prayers, vigils, and fasts,6 thus to protect himself with the defenses of virtues from the hounds of vice, the assault of evil spirits, and the arrows of evil suggestions. Then, while in his cherished solitude, free of the shipwreck of worldly tumult and hidden from all, he long and unwearied  Luke 4:29.

4

 1 Cor. 10:4.

5

 2 Cor. 6:5 and Jth 4:12.

6

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indefessus agonizaret, pia divinitatis dispositio civitatem in monte positam 7 latere et lucernam sub modio abscondi 8 minime voluit, sed ad laudem et gloriam nominis sui in propatulo exemplo multorum fidelium lucere. Celesti namque gratia dictante, dum idem dux consueto more illum locum, quem ad venandum speciatim elegerat, quodam tempore venandi gratia adisset, interim dum venationi daret operam, unum ex multitudine cervum ad secretiora nemoris profugientem insecutus usque in verticem predicte spelunce reperit exili tugurio Procopium virum monachili sub habitu heremiticam excolere vitam. Primo igitur rei novitatem principalis celsitudinis modificato tenore, mentis alacritate, dulci verborum affabilitate singula ex ordine percunctatur, quis et quibus ab oris venerit, vel qua de causa vir talis tamque rarus eas solitudines incolere voluerit. Cuius ad interrogata Procopius breviter ac humiliter respondens omnem, sicut res erat, veritatem seriatim exposuit et ad ultimum subiunxit se pro amore Dei et spe superne retributionis mundo funditus renunciasse et in eodem deserto, si Deo placeret, fine tenus velle persistere. Princeps igitur prudens in Domino ammirans viri tam arduum propositum et adtendens vultum sancte religionis gratia preditum utrasque manus celis tetendit, Deum lacrimis perfusus benedixit, deinde orationibus eius sese attentius commendat et in spiritalem patrem sibi adoptat et larga manu subsidium exhibens ad militum stationem regreditur gaudens. Exinde igitur celesti dictante gratia crescebat adeo longe lateque per cuncta compita fama virtutum illius multiplici sermone discurrens, ut ad eius opinionem catervatim provincie eiusdem homines xenia offerrent ipsiusque orationibus sese devote manciparent. Qui caritatis flagrantia plenus, hospitalitate pie preditus, prudentia sancta decenter ornatus, castimonia purus, humilitatis misericordia providus, temperantia clarus, habundantia zeli fidei plenus, qui sermone predicationis sancte pectora audientium, ut ymber temporaneus9 oportuno tempore infusus irrigabat10 ac doc Cf. Augustine, Enarrationes in Psalmos (to Ps. 48:2).

7

 Matt. 5:15 and elsewhere.

8

  Hosea 6:3.

9

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fought for God, the gracious disposition of heaven did not wish to conceal the city placed on the mountain7 and to hide the light under a bushel,8 but to illuminate [it] as a public example to many of the faithful, for the praise and glory of His name. When, by heavenly grace, the same duke went because of the hunt to that place which he chose particularly for hunting and pursued one of the many stags that had fled into the thickets of the forest to the top of the aforementioned cave, he found the man Prokop in a wretched hut living the life of a hermit in monastic habit. Diverted at first from the course of princely majesty by the strangeness of the matter, he asked on account of the speed of his wit and the extraordinary, sweet kindness of his words, who he was, from what shores he had come, and why so exceptional a person wished to dwell in this solitude. Replying briefly and humbly, Prokop bit by bit explained the truth as it was and finally added that for the love of God and in the hope of heavenly reward he utterly renounced the world and, if it pleased God, wished to stay in this desert till the end. The prince, wise in the Lord, admired the lofty purpose of the man, and perceiving his face enriched by the grace of holy religion, raised both hands to heaven and praised God in tears, and then he diligently recommended himself to his prayers, chose him as his spiritual father and, having granted him lavish support, returned happily to his warriors. Thereafter, through heavenly ordained grace, the fame of his [Prokop’s] virtues spread everywhere by manifold and conversation so that having heard of him, masses of the people of that region brought him presents and recommended themselves devotedly into his prayers. And he, full of the ardor of charity, gifted with pious hospitality, pleasingly endowed with sacred wisdom, pure in chastity, provident with the mercy of humility, famous for temperance, full to abundance with the zeal of faith, poured the words of holy sermon into the hearts of his flock like a timely rain,9 and then most beneficially transformed their minds by the ploughshare of his teaching.10 He received the poor with such largesse of pi Cf. Augustine Enarrationes in Psalmos (to Ps. 64:15).

10

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trine sue vomere mentes utillime reformabat. Pauperes denique tanta pietatis largicione sibi divinitus ingenita suscipiebat tamque prona et leta famulatus sollicitudine ministrabat, ac si manifestissime Christus adesset, ut omnis territorii eius industria mendici atque pifaudi pascerentur. Properabat equidem ad eum multitudo fidelium habentes in desiderio animi sui seculi lucris renunciare, secum fine tenus commanere, quos benigne amplectens fovebat, sicut gallina pullos suos sub alis.11 Brevi itaque temporis dilapso intersticio felix pater Procopius coadunatis quibus potuit sumptibus iecit fundamentum in nomine Domini et basilicam in honore sanctissime Dei genitricis Marie et sancti Iohannis baptiste construxit et aggregavit quosdam fratres vita et moribus religiosos, quibus spiritaliter concordantibus unanimi caritate monastica fieri moderamina et mysteria divina iuxta exemplar almifici patris Benedicti constituit, ipse vero minimus in minimis effectus. Cuius quantum prudens et efficax diligentia mentis industriaque ac sollicitudo et quam pia caritatis affluentia erga fratres extiterit, nullius facundia digne sufficit enarrare. Dux igitur predictus et primatus curialis patrem vocitare usui suo commendaverunt, quem etiam paterna veneratione diligere decenter affectabant. Unde idem dux magnanimiter cum satraparum12 suorum ingeniositate perspicaci prudentique consilio discretionis inito eum ad abbatie investituram debere promoveri decrevit, quedam cenobiali usui necessaria decenter coaptans, quedam pollicens, que tandem decenter complevit. Ille vero sese ceteris preferre pertimescens summo mansuetudinis humilitatisque emolumento omnino recusabat semet asserens imperitum hominem et indignum operam obedientie minime subiectis impendere valere, Deum, qui omnium occultorum solus cognitor est,13 intime sue inspectionis testem preponens. Interim pie memorie duce Odalrico ex hac luce subtracto Bracizlaus, filius eius, regni principatum obtinuit, vir per omnia divine religions cultum diligens, opus, quod pater suus imperfectum reliquerat, omni sagacitatis diligen Matt. 23:37.

11

 On the word satrapa, see above, 244.

12

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ety inborn to him by God and served them so eagerly, gladly and cheerfully as if Christ had really been there, so that the beggars and starving of the entire area were fed by his efforts. A great number of believers hastened to him desiring in their souls to renounce worldly profits and stay with him for good; he embraced them kindly as the hen gathers her chickens under her wings.11 After a short while the blessed father Prokop, having collected as much wealth as possible, lay the foundation in the Lord’s name and built a basilica in the honor of Mary the mother of God and St. John the Baptist, and he gathered some brethren, devout in life and conduct, and established for them, with their common inspiration and undivided love, the rule of monasticism and divine worship according to the example of the glorious father Benedict. Then he became the least among the least. No one can adequately describe how wise and productive the work of his mind, his diligence and concern, his abundant and holy love for the brethren. The said duke and the first men of his court commended themselves to him, calling him father, and were properly eager to honor and love him as a father. Therefore the said duke generously, after the judicious, wise and attentive counsel of his officeholders,12 decided that he be promoted and invested as an abbot and, as appropriate, granted for the monastery’s use certain necessities and promised others, which he later duly delivered. He, however, fearing to be exalted before others utterly declined [these things], in full gentleness and humility maintaining that he was an unlearned man and unworthy to have the power to impose discipline on others, calling upon God, who alone knows hidden things,13 as his witness. In the meantime, Duke Ulrich of blessed memory having been taken from this world, his son, Břetislav, a man who was in all things mindful of divine religion, obtained the government of the realm and decided to complete with keen diligence the work that his father had left unfinished. Once he heard the fame of the blessed holy man, he, together with his great men, rejoiced with  Dan. 13:24.

13

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tia ad perfectum consummare decrevit. Audiens namque beati viri sanc­tam opinionem immenso tripudio, ultra quam credi posset, cum optimatibus suis gavisus est, cuius sese gratulabundus commendans orationibus seorsum assumpsit et de suscipienda abbatie infula commonuit; deinde iterata vice in presentia omnis curialis dignitatis verbis persuasoriis aggreditur et, licet velit nolit, pastoralis cure moderamina suscipere deberet. Sed vir Dei in sibi solita perdurans pertinacia omnino sese asserens indignum nulla tenus ad consensum ducis flecti potuit. Sed divine ordinationi quis est, qui contradicat?14 Victus namque omni instantia precum omnique dilectionis ammonitione atque affabilitate optimatum violenter abbas ordinatur. Facta ergo celebri promotione dux Bracizlaus primo quidem donationem, quam pater suus eidem patri adhuc ante susceptionem abbatie fecerat, flumen videlicet subterfluens a Milobuz usque ad speluncam, que vulgo Zacolnica dicitur,15 cum pratis et silva circumiacente, principali corroboravit auctoritate. Deinde etiam hanc eandem donationem supervenientibus heredibus et eam suo iuri usurpative vendicare molientibus, nolens paterna cassare statuta semet opposuit, litem diremit et eidem patri Procopio omnem utilitatem in aqua et silva a predictis terminis redonavit, agros et prata ex utraque parte adiacentia sub testimonio et confirmatione filii sui Wratizlai et principum suorum sexcentorum denariorum precio redemit et abbati Procopio scriptis et legitimis testibus reconsignavit. Ad extremum quoque ex propria largitione terram, que circa est, usque ad silvam Strnounic nec non villam Zcramnik et unum stagnum et structuram lignorum ad piscandum centum denariis comparatam16 eidem abbati et suis successoribus pro remedio anime sue in perpetuum possidenda contradidit. Tam igitur felici processu iam factus abbas non se super se extulit, sed firmiori virtutum soliditate fundatus, humilitatis quoque ac caritatis constanti excellentia stabilitus tam hylaris et affec Job 11:10.

14

 Neither of these place names is known from elsewhere. The river mentioned is probably the Sázava.

15

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greater joy than one can imagine, and while he commended himself into his prayers with felicitations, he took him aside and impressed upon him to take up the abbot’s miter. Then once again, in the presence of all the court dignitaries he approached him with words of persuasion that he ought, willy-nilly, to take up the reins of pastoral care. The man of God remained, however, characteristically resolute, insisting that he was entirely unworthy, and he could not be moved to consent to the duke. But who shall contradict14 divine ordination? Defeated by all the insistent pleas, by all the affectionate admonition, and by the friendliness of the great men, he was ordained abbot by force. After the celebration of this investment, Duke Břetislav first confirmed with princely authority the donation that his father had granted him before his elevation to the abbacy, namely the river from Milobuz to the cave, commonly called Zakolnice,15 together with the surrounding fields and forest. He did not wish and refused to cancel his father’s order, frustrating the suit of those surviving heirs who tried to seize the donation as theirs by right, and renewed to Father Prokop the use of all water and woodland within the said borders; the plowlands and meadows surrounding it on both sides he purchased for six hundred pennies, witnessed and confirmed by his son Vratislav and his magnates, and reassigned them in writing with lawful witnesses to Abbot Prokop. Finally, for the remedy of soul, he granted in perpetuity from his own bountifulness to the same abbot and his successors the surrounding land as far as the wood Strnovník, the village Skramníky, and a pond and a wooden jetty for fishing that he had bought for a hundred denarii.16 After these happy events, the new abbot did not become haughty, but grounded in the firm foundation of the virtues, rooted in the steadfast merit of humility and also of love, he was full  On the properties of Sázava Abbey, see Josef Bubeník, “Siedlungsraum und Besiedlung der Sázaver Gegend,” in Der heilige Prokop, Böhmen und Mitteleuropa, ed. Petr Sommer, Colloquia Mediaevalia Pragensia 4 (Prague: Filosofia, 2005), 173–84.

16

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tione benivolentie continens extitit, ut a subiectis sibi plus amori haberetur quam timori, quibus tam publice quam singillatim salutaria ministrare monita multaque exemplis priscorum dogmata pigmentata non desistebat. In tempore siquidem suo omnium rerum opulentia non defuit, qui tamen exercitio laboris manuum suarum sustentabatur et pauperum inopiam refocillabat, atque in tristicia positorum curam supportans cunctorum, eos uti prudens medicus infirmos antidoto paterno et solatio recreabat. Qui dum tam beatam vitam et illustrem duxit, virtutum signis in templo Dei ceu sol17 usque ad consummationem vite refulsit, quin immo sancti pneumatis instinctu prophetie mysterio claruit presagus futurorum. Ante biduum siquidem sue terminationem resolutionis revelante divinitatis gratia prescivit, qui accersito bone qualitatis nepote Vito et filio suo pie indolis Emmerammo seriatim exposuit eis futura, sicuti et postea rei comprobavit successus, singultuose tali verbi nobilitate inquiens: „Karissimi mei filioli, quos utpote gallina pullos educavi, perpendite, quia tempus mee resolutionis18 adest; tercia certissime die Domino annuente de huius carnis tabernaculo19 migrabo vos commendans Deo, sed vestre circumspectioni innotesco, quod post discessum meum fluctivagarum detractionum varietate impetuosa quassabimini ac pestifero persecutionum tribulabimini naufragio atque extorres efficiemini sex annis in terra aliena et iste locus potestativa manu ducis tradetur possibilitati alienigenarum. Vos autem, dilectissimi filioli, idcirco nolite a fide naufragare;20 fratres vestros confirmate, Deum expedibiliter laudate, in prosperis benedicite, in adversis supplicate, in letis gratias agite, in tristibus querite eventibus, cuius pietatis magnificentia tandem consolabimini. Nam revolutis sex annis exilii vestri misertus tranquillitatis reparabit vobis statum ac detractoribus vestris talionem merito reddet vosque ad portum consolationis reducet. Defuncto namque presente principe pio Bracizlao succedet Zpitig­ neus, qui vos persequetur; quo mortuo Wratizlaus regimen princi Eccles. 50:7.

17

 2 Tim. 4:6.

18

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of such cheer and affection of goodwill that his subjects, to whom he did not tire to deliver advice to one and all and colorful lessons drawn from the ancients, loved more than feared him. In his time there was no shortage of anything, while he subsisted on the labor of his hands, relieved the needs of the poor, and cared for those in sorrow, whom he, like a wise physician his patients, revived with fatherly remedy and solace. While he led such a blessed and distinguished life, he shone like the sun in the temple of God17 to the end of his days; moreover, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he foresaw the future through the mystery of prophesy. By the revelation of divine grace, he foresaw his end two days in advance and sent for his splendid nephew Vitus and his son Emmeram, devoted to piety, and announced to them what would happen, as it was proven right later, uttering, while sobbing, these notable words: “My dearest sons, whom I raised as the hen does her young, consider that the time of my dissolution18 is near and I shall, God willing, certainly leave the dwelling place19 of this flesh in three days and I commend you to God. But I knowingly forewarn you that after my demise you will be battered by the assault of vicissitudinous waves of slander and you will suffer the foul shipwreck of persecution that will bring about six years of exile in foreign lands and this place will be handed over by the duke to the power of foreigners. You, however, my dearest sons, should not be made shipwreck concerning the faith;20 strengthen your brethren; praise God incessantly; bless Him in good times and beseech Him in bad; in happiness be thankful; in adversity call on Him, and you shall at last be consoled by the splendor of His grace. For after six years of exile He will take pity and will restore your state of tranquility and lead you to the port of comfort, meting out the deserved punishment to your slanderers. After the death of the present prince, the pious Břetislav, he will be succeeded by Spytihněv, who will persecute you; following his demise the governance of the duchy of Bohemia will  Ps. 51:7.

19

 1 Tim. 1:19.

20

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patus Boemie suscipiet, vir timoratus,21 benivolus. Hic reducet vos de exilio, et dabit vobis Iesus Christus dominus noster in loco isto pacem et securitatem22 omnibus diebus vite vestre.23 Amen.“ Iam vero decedente die sequente, dum finita canonice ves­ pertinali sinaxi et completorio resideret in lectulo, infirmitate vehementi correptus est, qui in articulo mortis positus, quamquam ultimum anhelitum traheret, tamen antiquum hostem orationis mucrone viriliter brachio extenso iaculari non cessabat. Adesse extimplo fratres iubet, quos in meroris afflictionem fletumque inconsolabilem conversos paterne informatione consolationis corroborat, commonensque eos de corpore suo de mundi huius naufragio migravit ad Dominum, de servitio ad regnum, de labore ad requiem, de morte ad vitam sempiternam prestante domino nostro Iesu Christo, qui in trinitate perfecta vivit et gloriatur Deus unus per infinita secula seculorum amen. Consummavit autem beatus abba Procopius cursum vite sue feliciter in Domino anno ab incarnatione Domini MLIII. et eiusdem anni VIII. kal. Aprilis presente Seuero, Pragensi episcopo, in ecclesia sancte Dei genitricis Marie, quam ipse construxit, honorifice est sepulture commendatus.

II. Post discessum igitur beatissimi patris Procopii consors societas propria voluntate de congregatione Vitum nepotem eius elegit, qui electus sine dolo, sine venalitate ordinatus est, vir in humanis et divinis rebus idoneus, seculi huius inimicus, inclite morigeratus, sapientia pervigil, reverendus in vultu, affabilis alloquio, lenitate placabilis. Quo in abbatia expedibiliter degente Bracizlaus dux ultimum mundo valedixit, cuius loco Zpitigneus monarchie gubernacula suscepit.24 Quo tempore sancti patris Procopii vaticinii ordo completur. Instigante namque zelo diaboli multi emuli ficticia ve Acts 8:2.

21

 1 Thess. 5:3.

22

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be taken up by Vratislav, a devout man21 and benevolent. He will recall you from exile and our lord Jesus Christ will grant you in this place peace and security22 for all the days of your life,23 Amen.” Then, when the next day was waning and after the canonical evening prayers and Compline, as he was resting on his bed, he was hit by a great weakness; yet he did not cease, although close to death and drawing his last breath, manfully to fight the ancient enemy, holding the sword of prayer with an outstretched arm. Right away he called the brethren whom he strengthened by paternal consolation in the suffering of their sorrow and inconsolable grief and while warning them, he departed to the Lord from his body, from the shipwreck of this world, from service to majesty, from labor to rest, from death to eternal life in our lord Jesus Christ who in the perfect Trinity as one God lives in glory through ages eternal. Amen. The blessed Abbot Prokop completed his life happily in the Lord in the year of the incarnation of the Lord 1053; on March 25 of that year he was buried in all honor in the presence of Bishop Severus of Prague in the church of Mary the holy mother of God, which he had built.

II. After the departure of the most holy Father Prokop, the brotherly company elected by free will from among their number, Vitus, his nephew, who was ordained without fraud or simony. He was a man equipped in matters human and divine, an enemy of this world, famous for meekness, watchful in wisdom, reverend in appearance, friendly in conversation, gentle and forgiving. While he performed his abbacy efficiently, Břetislav said final farewell to the world and in his place Spytihněv took up the government of the monarchy.24 In his time, the prophecy of the holy Father Prokop was fulfilled.  Deut. 17:19.

23

 10 January 1055.

24

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nenosa detractionum conspirantes laqueos cavillationum in curia ducis contra Vitum abbatem et fratres eius astruere ceperunt atque aures principis favorabiliter compositis mendaciis obfuscantes eos multiphariis vituperiis publicabant, scilicet dicentes per Sclavonicas litteras heresis secta ypochrisisque esse aperte irretitos ac ommino perversos; quam ob rem eiectis eis in loco eorum Latine auctoritatis abbatem et fratres constituere omnino esse honestum constanter affirmabant. O invidia, inextricabilis malicie zelus, o invidia detestanda, omnimoda malicia conglobata, ignis inextinguibilis.25 Sed revera sicut tinea vestimentum consumitur,26 sic is, qui illam zelatur; cui autem invidet, clariorem reddet. Vitus itaque abbas assumptis fratribus suis, quos unitas caritatis concordaverat, peregre profectus est27 in terram Hunorum.28 Nunc opere precium duximus unum ex multis beati viri miraculis compendio stili ac veridica relatione fidelium memorie caritative tradere, quod Domini nostri magnificentia per merita eius post mortem declarare dignata est. Memoratus namque dux Vito abbate cum nepote suo Emmerammo et fratribus, quos unitas caritatis concordaverat, in terram Hunorum peregre proficiscentibus, propria fautorum suorum consiliaria diffinitione utens in loco illo abbatem genere Teutonicum constituit, hominem turbida indignatione plenum. Ubi dum nocte prima adventus sui ex more ad matutinalem sinaxim pergens foribus ecclesie appropinquaret, apparuit vir sanctus Procopius infra ianuam oratorii appodians et dicens ei: „Unde tibi potestas hic degendi? Quid queris?“ At ille: „Potestativa,“ inquit, „ducis maiestas et eius primatum inconvulsa sublimitas mee possibilitatis regimini hoc cenobium usque ad finem vite mee tradidit.“ Cui sanctus pater: „Citissime,“ inquit, „sine confusionis verecundia discede, quod si non feceris, ultio divinitus veniet super te.“ Et hec dicens evanuit. At ille estimans esse delusionem Sathane omnino nichili pendebat. Qui dum sequenti  Matt. 3:12; Luke 3:17.

25

 Job 4:19, and cf. ibid. 13:28.

26

 The date of the expulsion of the monks from the monastery is not documented. Common opinion is that it happened early during Spytihněv’s reign, ca. 1056/7.

27

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Incited by the zeal of the devil, many foes at the court of the duke conspired together to heap up poisonous inventions and they began to set traps and snares for Abbot Vitus and his brethren, and, having the ear of the prince, they besmirched them with lies and put about multifarious accusations, saying, namely, that by the Slavonic letters they were clearly entangled in heresy and hypocrisies and were altogether evil. Therefore, they constantly insisted that it would be absolutely honorable to expel them and in their stead establish an abbot and brethren of the Latin observance. O envy, the entangling jealousy of ill will! O detestable envy, encompassing all sorts of ill will! You unquenchable fire!25 But in fact, just as cloth is consumed by moths,26 so is he who is moved by jealousy, but he who is envied becomes more splendent. Abbot Vitus then collected his brethren, bound together in the unity of love, and moved abroad27 to the land of the Huns.28 Here we regard it worth our while to record in a brief and truthful report, for the memory of the faithful, one of the many miracles of the holy man that the magnificence of our Lord, on account of his merits, deigned to reveal after his death. After Abbot Vitus and his cousin Emmeram, together with the brethren, bound together in love had moved abroad to the land of the Huns, the duke, relying for advice on the counsel of his supporters, placed a German as abbot of the place, a man full of ruthless arrogance. There, when the first night was past, he was, as is normal, going to morning service and, as he approached the entrance of the church, there appeared to him, leaning within the doorway of the oratory, Holy Prokop, who spoke to him: “Whence have you the right to dwell here? What are you looking for?” He replied: “The power of his majesty the duke and the unshakable grandeur of his great men has bequeathed to me the governance of this monastery till the end of my life.” To him the holy father said: “Withdraw from

 Here, Hungary is meant. The identification of Hungarians with Huns has a long history; see e.g. Jenő Szűcs, “Theoretical elements in Master Simon of Kéza’s Gesta Hungarorum, 1282–85,” in Simon of Kéza, Gesta, esp. XLIII–LXVI.

28

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et tercia nocte minacem parvi penderet, quarta nocte apparuit ei ad matutinum obsequium eunti sanctus vir dicens: „Cur meis monitis amicabilibus obtemperare recusasti? Filiis meis spiritalibus a Domino impetravi hunc locum, non tibi, qui supplantatim intrasti. Et si a domino tuo tibi duce hec actenus potestas fuit inhibita, a me sit amodo prohibita.“ Et hec dicens impetuose fortissimis ictibus cambutta, quam manu gestabat, illum ferire cepit, qui mox quasi Bellone percussus oestro29 sine dilatione locum mutavit et volatili cursu ad ducem terre pervenit ac omnem rei eventum illi patefecit. At ille attonitus vehementi ammiratione vacillare cepit et ambiguitatis laqueo irretitus usque ad finem vite sue permansit.

III. Defuncto igitur Zpitigneo30 duce divinitas fideli suo servo Wratizlao memorali titulo ducatus gubernaculum tradidit, qui cum divinum ecclesie diligeret unice cultum, etiam illum toto cordis affectu locum dilexit. Qui missis legatis Hunorum ad regem31 de exilio Vitum abbatem et fratres eius cum honore reduxit et in loco suo decenter restituit. Quibus per merita et orationes beati patroni Procopii omnipotentis Dei propicia consolatio affuit, que ipsum locum omnium rerum profectibus abundantem redundantemque in pristinum, immo in ampliorem honorem enceniavit. Felix igitur abba Vitus, vir ingentis industrie consiliique, consensu fratrum appropinquante vite sue termino arcisterii sui commisit ius regiminis abbatialis Emmerammo consanguineo suo, viro sanctitate conspicuo, in placito ducis satrapumque eius. Ipse denique postea brevi transacto dierum spacio diem clausit extremum cum Domino victurus in eternum. Cuius corpus iuxta fores in sinistra parte, in ingressu ecclesie sancte Dei genitricis Marie humatum est.  For Bellona, see above, 46; the quote is from Juvenal Sat. 4.123.

29

 28 January 1061.

30

  Solomon, king of Hungary 1063–1074.

31

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here speedily without shame; if you do not, divine vengeance will come upon you.” And having said this, he vanished. But he, thinking this to be a deception of Satan, paid no attention to it. He disregarded the threat on the second and third night as well, but the saint appeared him on the fourth night as he was going to Matins and spoke: “Why did you not follow my friendly warnings? I obtained this place from the Lord for my spiritual sons, not for you who have come as a usurper. If your lord, the duke, allowed you this right, it is herewith disallowed by me.” And with these words, he suddenly started to hit him with strong blows with the crozier which he held in his hand, whereupon he [the German] as if stung by a gad-fly of Bellona,29 right away left the place and rushed to the land of the duke and revealed to him all that happened. The duke, astonished and greatly shocked, began to vacillate, but he remained snared in indecision to the end of his life.

III. Once Duke Spytihněv had died,30 God transferred the governance of the duchy with the same title to its faithful servant, Vratislav, who, since he cared exceptionally for the divine growth of the church, loved that place [Sázava] with the passion of his whole heart. He sent emissaries to the king of the Huns,31 and brought back Abbot Vitus and his brethren from exile in honor and duly restored them to their place. Owing to the merits and prayers of their holy patron Prokop, that place, overabundant in all things, was raised by almighty God’s gracious comfort to its previous, nay higher, honor. When the end of his life approached, happy Abbot Vitus, a man of remarkable industry and wisdom, entrusted with the agreement of the brethren the office of abbot to his kinsman, Emmeram, a man famous for his sanctity, with the consent of the duke and his officeholders. He then in a short while ended his last day to live with the Lord in eternity. His body was interred to the left of the door, at the entrance of the church of the Holy Mother of God.

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IV. Post discessum igitur eius Emmerammus abba benignus, homo simplicitatis columbine,32 sancte vite meritis et virtutum gemmis effulsit; qui nequaquam serpentine prudentie animum admittens33 fidei catholice inconcussam, dum vixit, constantiam tenuit ac multorum dubia corda in fide Christi stabiliter solidavit, vir per omnia perspicue felicitatis in omnes et liberalitatis. Hic denique non aliter nisi malum nominabat pecuniam, quam ex toto nichili pendens nec manu tangere volebat, immo gressibus calcandam adiudicabat sanctorum apostolorum vestigia secutus, qui precia eorum, que vendebantur, sacris tangere dextris vitabant,34 sed pedibus gazam ut lutum calcandam fore nobis exempla reliquerunt. Igitur beatus abba cum iam monachilis militie ordine apud homines pater egregie perfectionis, sancte conversationis predicaretur et affectione iusti amoris peroptime polleret, quia secundum veritatem nec civitas in monte posita nec lucerna sub modio latere potest,35 misit divinitatis dispensatio infirmitatum castigationes in omnia membra eius, ne laudantium extolentiam ei ingereret adulatio, ne mens eius elationes per humanas laudationes incurreret, donec post periculum navigationis hoc mari magno et spacioso securus ad felicitatis portum perveniret. Is ergo longo tempore, sicut Dominus noster voluit, multis calamitatum passionibus usquequaque afflictus rebus humanis exemptus est, multis suis successoribus, quia discessit, flendus, sed quia ad regna celestia pervenit, omni gaudio prosequendus. Hunc equidem fratrum unanimitas dextra parte ingressus ianue supradicte ecclesie sepelivit.

 Cf. Matt. 10:16.

32

 Cf. ibid.

33

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IV. After his departure, the kindly Abbot Emmeram, a man simple as a dove,32 shone by his holy life and the jewels of virtue. He never yielded in his soul to the wisdom of serpents,33 he held fast to the Catholic faith as long as he lived, and firmly strengthened in Christ’s faith the wavering hearts of many; a man who manifestly rejoiced in all things and generous to all. He called money nothing else but evil; regarded it as naught and did not handle it, judging it instead to be trodden underfoot, following the example of the holy apostles, who avoided touching with their holy hands the price they received for what was sold,34 leaving us the example that treasure should be trodden upon like dirt. Thus the blessed abbot, since he was already in the soldierly order of monks, was highly praised by people as a father of exceptional perfection and saintly conduct, and thoroughly enjoyed the love he deserved, because— as in the words of truth, a city seated on a mountain cannot be hid, nor a candle hid under a bushel 35—on account of which divine providence sent the punishment of sickness into all his limbs, lest he be led to haughtiness by the flattery of his admirers, lest pride befall his mind on account of mortal praise, before he should land safely, after a dangerous sailing across this vast and huge sea, in the port of bliss. He suffered much pain for a long time as God has willed and then he was removed from this world; his successors should mourn him, but as he arrived in the Kingdom of heaven, he has to be remembered in overall joy. The community of the brethren buried him on the right side of the entrance door of the aforesaid church.

 Cf. Acts 4:34–5.

34

 Matt. 5:14–5.

35

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V. Hoc itaque tempore rex Wratizlaus, pie memorie commendandus, qui iam dicti claustri ecclesiam libenter ditabat, Boemiensis monarchie arcem regebat. Huius pia voluntate cum fratrum electione in loco patris Emmerammi Bozetechus abbatie nactus est dignitatem, homo nimium circa omnes communis, liberalis in cunctos. Hic pingere venustissime meminit, fingere vel sculpere ligno lapideque ac osse tornare peroptime novit, vir ingentis facundie et prompte memorie, sed glorie popularis avidus, presumptuosus, iracundus, aliquantulum viciis deditus. Ipse siquidem locum illum laudabiliter omni ornatu, sicuti hodierna die apparet, decoravit, ecclesiam longitudine, latitudine, altitudine venustissime ampliando fundavit, immo palliis, campanis, crucibus et omnibus monasticis rebus adornavit, cenobium totum omni ex parte edificiis et omni suppellectili renovavit.36 Huius siquidem studium ad omnia necessaria monastice utilitatis vigilabat, unde magnus discordiarum fomes diaboli invidia instigante et famulante inter fratres monas­terii contra eum oritur et lamentabilis ira scaturire cepit, scilicet per miseros fratres Demetrium et Cananum et Golissonem presbiteros, homines tunc ineptos et iniuriosos, et alios complices et fautores eorum, qui bachantes bachabantur,37 opere et sermone turpi contra eum truces existentes. Rex autem supradictus, homo christianissimus, unice diligebat eum, cuius gratia idem abbas in tantum sublimatus erat, ut fere omnes Boemienses abbates dignitate precellere videretur. Quam ob rem idem abbas presumptuose agens episcopo suo officium preripuit quadam summa festivitate. Nam regis supra nominati capiti coronam imposuit, quod presul suus Cosmas facere debuit.38 Igitur iratus est episcopus Cosmas ei furore inextinguibili, qua re sibi calumpniis illatis eum degradare conabatur, sed  On the monastery buildings, see Jan Royt, Petr Sommer, and Martin Stecker, Sázavský klášter [Sázava monastery] (Prague: Národní památkový ústav, 2013).

36

 The word Bacchor, bacchari has several meanings. It may mean “to roister” or “to rage”. Here ‘to rage’ was chosen as fitting into the sentence.

37

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V. In these times, King Vratislav of blessed memory reigned in the castle of the Bohemian monarchy, who richly endowed the church of the said monastery. With his consent and the election of the brethren, Božetěch received after Father Emmeram the office of abbot, a man courteous to all, altogether generous. He recalled how to paint most beautifully, knew very well how to carve or sculpt in stone or wood and to round off ivory, of tremendous eloquence and a good memory, but desirous of popular praise, presumptuous, irascible, and somewhat yielding to vices. He decorated that place in a praiseworthy manner with all adornments, as can be still seen, enlarged the church most beautifully in length, width, and height; embellished it with antependia, bells, crosses, and all kind of monkish things and renovated the monastery in all the buildings and furnishings.36 His activity was in fact directed at all that was of advantage to the monastery, whence, instigated and aided by the envy of the devil, a fire of discord emerged among the brethren against him and regrettable anger began to gush forth, specifically from the wretched brethren Demeter, Cananus, and Golisso, priests at that time but unfit and harmful people, and other accomplices and partisans of theirs, who raged in their raging37 and in deed and word were basely cruel to him. But the aforesaid king, a most Christian man, loved him especially and by his grace this abbot was so much elevated that he seemed to surpass almost all the Bohemian abbots in dignity. Because of this, the abbot, acting presumptuously, snatched away the task of the bishop at a major feast. He placed the crown on the head of the said king, which should have been done by Bishop Cosmas.38 The bishop therefore became angry with unquenchable rage and wanted to depose him for the insults done to him, but at the persistent requests of the

 There is no other evidence for this incident. The passage concerns the coronation of Vladislav II in 1086. Cf. 248.

38

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optimatum regalium precibus continuis resistere non valens vix debitori suo Bozetecho abbati debitum iracundie, licet non ex toto corde,39 dimisit, eo tamen tenore, uti respondit ei idem ad ultimum episcopus: „Sed quia tu, abba, bene nosti sculpere et tornare, per sancte obedientie nostre preceptum ob diluendam culpam tuam, quam ex contumacia tua presumptuose perpetrasti, tibi precipimus, quatinus tue longitudinis et latitudinis magnum mensuram crucifixum factum cum cruce in dorso tuo usque Romam deferas et in ecclesia metropolitana santi Petri apostoli ponas.“ Hec ipse abbas libenti animo cum cordis contritione perficere non tardavit et maiestati presulari satisfecit. Post aliquantum tempus quantum cenobii fratres, de quibus superius premisimus, contra eum zelotipie venenum velut mortiferi serpentes conspiravere, nullo more dicendum; nam unusquisque eorum accusationes querebat adversus eum, sed convenientia testimonia non inveniebantur. Nam idem fratres, membra Sathane, existimabant, si abbas iam nominatus quoquomodo expelleretur, sperabant aliquem ex eis, eorum errorum complicem, abbatie iura suscepturum. Rex autem Wratizlaus iam migraverat ad Dominum, cuius tunc successor Bracizlaus sublimitate ducatus Boemie pollebat. Huius aures cum supranotati fratres per se et per amicos multis ficticiis et innumeris vituperiis contra abbatem suum Bozetechum compositis obpulsando multiplicarent, idem dux nominatum abbatem de loco superius dicto extirpavit et fratres eiecit. Ibi impleta sunt verba veritatis: Percutiam pastorem, et dispergentur oves gregis.40 Abbate itaque eiecto eius fratres, qui prodicionis auctores contra eum extiterant, ex tunc erraverunt usquequaque per incerta loca girovagi, donec ad ultimum aliqui corde compuncti vix in loco proprio recepti, eidem loco inepti vitam finierunt et libri lingue eorum deleti omnino et disperditi nequaquam ulterius in eodem loco recitabuntur.41

 Mark 12:30 and elsewhere.

39

 Matt. 26:31

40

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great men at court he reluctantly forgave his debtor Božetěch the debt of anger due, though not from whole heart,39 but in such a way that eventually the same bishop said to him, “Since you, abbot, are good at sculpting and lathing, we order you by the command of holy obedience to make a great cross of the size of your height and width to expurgate your sin that you presumptuously committed out of your insolence, and carry it on your back to Rome and deposit it in the metropolitan church of St. Peter the Apostle. The abbot did not delay to do this gladly with contrite heart and thus satisfied the prelate’s majesty. It cannot be described in any way how some time later the brethren of the monastery, of whom we spoke above, conspired against him with the poison of jealousy like deadly serpents, for each of them presented accusations against him, but no matching evidence could be found. The brethren, limbs of Satan, thought that if the said abbot could be expelled they might hope that one of them, complicit in their misdeeds, would obtain the dignity of abbot. King Vratislav had already migrated to the Lord and his successor, Bratislav, held the majesty of the duchy of Bohemia. When the aforementioned brethren and their friends repeatedly assailed his ears with many fabrications and countless accusations against their Abbot Božetěch, the duke expelled the abbot from the above mentioned place and chased away the brethren. Thus were the words of truth filled, “I will strike the shepherd: and the sheep of the flock shall be dispersed.”40 Once the abbot was thus driven away, the brethren, who had been the instigators of the betrayal against him, wandered around like vagabonds till finally a few of them, moved by something in their heart, returned to the same place and died fruitlessly there, but their books in their language were entirely destroyed and thereafter nobody read from them at that place.41

 On the history of the so-called Slavonic Church in Bohemia, see Petr Sommer, ed., Der heilige Prokop, Böhmen und Mitteleuropa. Colloquia Mediaevalia Pragensia 4 (Prague: Filosofia, 2005).

41

BIBLIOGRAPHY

EDITIONS Partial edition: “Incipit Prologus in Chronicam Bohemorum.” In Rerum Bohemicarum Antiqui Scriptores aliquot insignes partim hactenus incogniti, qui gentis originem et progressum, variasque regni vices, et Regum aliquorum vitam resque, gestas peculiariter, Hussitarum denique sectae historiam et professionem litteris tradiderunt, ed. Freher, Marquard. Hanover: Marnius und Wechel, 1602, 1–14. First complete (Editio princeps): “Cosmae Pragensis decani prologus in Chronicam Bohemorum ad Severum praepositum.” In Cosmae Pragensis Ecclesiae Decani Chronicae Bohemorum Libri III. in quibus gentis origo et prisci Duces, usque ad Wratislaum primum Regem creatum sub Henrico III. Imp. et annum Christi MCXXVI. Item S. Adalberti Episcopi Vita et Martyrium ab eodem Cosma Decano descripta. Praefixa Ducum Regumque Bohemiae Elogia versibus decantata a Martino Cutheno et Caspare Cropacio, Poetis Bohemis, ed. Freher, Maquard. Hanover: Marnius und Wechel, 1607, 1–72 (reprinted in 1620). “Cosmae Pragensis ecclesiae decani Chronicae Bohemorum libri III in quibus gentis origo et prisci duces usque ad Wratislaum primum regem creatum sub Henrico III. Imp. et annum Christi MCXXVI. Opus ad exemplam Freherianum quod Hanoviae typis Wechelianis anno MDCXVII. [in fact 1607] prodiit, recusum et nunc a viro doctissimo novis notis illustratum.” In Scriptores Rerum Germanicarum praecipue Saxonicarum, in quibus scripta et monumenta illustria pleraque hactenus inedita tum ad historiam Germaniae generatim tum speciatim Saxoniae sup., Misniae, Thuringiae et Varisciae spectantia illustrantur I, ed. Mencken, Johann Burchard. Leipzig, 1728. Cosmae ecclesiae Pragensis decani Chronicon Bohemorum ad fidem codici ms. Bibliothecae capituli ecclesiae metropolitanae Pragensis recensitum cum aliis codicibus tam manuscriptis quam impressis collatum. Accedunt eiusdem Cosmae continuatores canonici Pragenses duo ex eodem codice metropolitan; tertius monachus Sazauiensis e codicibus Vindobonensi et Dresdensi. Adiecta lectionum varietate, ed. Pelcl, František Matěj/Dobrovský, Josef. Scriptores Rerum Bohemicarum I. Prague, 1783, 1–282. “Cosmae libri III. usque ad a. 1125.” In Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Scriptores in Folio 9, ed. Köpke, Rudolf. Hanover: Hahn, 1851, 31–132. [455]

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(reprinted as: “Cosmae Chronica Bohemorum,” ed. Köpke, Rudolf. In PL 166, ed. Migne, ­J.-P. Paris, 1854, 9–244.) Kosmův letopis Český [The Chronicle of Cosmas], ed. Emler, Josef, Fontes Rerum Bohemicarum II. Cosmae Chronicon Bohemorum cum continuatores, Prague: Nadání Františka Palackého, 1874, 1–198. Die Chronik der Böhmen des Cosmas von Prag, ed. Bretholz, Bertold unter Mitarbeit von Weinberg, W. Monumenta Germaniae Historica SS rer. Germ. Series Nova 2. Berlin: Weidmann, 1923.

TRANSLATIONS C zech :

Kosmův letopis český [The Chronicle of Cosmas], trans. Tomek, Václav Vladivoj, Fontes Rerum Bohemicarum II. Cosmae Chronicon Bohemorum cum continuatores, ed. Emler, Josef. Prague: Nadání Františka Palackého, 1874, 1–198. Kosmova kronika česká [The Chech Chronicle of Cosmas], trans. Hrdina, Karel. Prague: Melantrich, 1929 (1947, 1950, and several further reprints). [The translation by Karel Hrdina is the last original translation of the Chronicle into the Czech language. It served as a basis for all other reprints and updated versions (see below)]. Kosmova Kronika česká, trans. Hrdina, Karel/Bláhová, Marie, introduction by Fiala Zdeněk. Prague: Svoboda, 1972 (several reprints). Kosmova Kronika česká, trans. Hrdina, Karel/Bláhová, Marie, introduction by Třeštík, Dušan, commentary by Kopal, Petr. Prague/Litomyšl: Pase­ ka 2005. Kosmas, Kronika Čechů, trans. Hrdina, Karel/Bláhová, Marie/Mo­ra­vová, Magdalena, with an introduction and explanatory notes by Moravová, Magdalena/Wihoda, Martin. Prague: Argo, 2011. Kosmas, Kosmova Kronika česká, trans. Hrdina, Karel/Bláhová, Marie, with introduction and explanatory notes by Bláhová, Marie. Prague: Československý spisovatel, 2012. G erman :

Des Dekans Cosmas Chronik von Böhmen: nach der Ausgabe der Monumenta Germaniae Historica, trans. Grandaur, Georg. Geschichtsschreiber der deutschen Vorzeit, 12. Jahrh. 14. Leipzig: Franz Duncker, 1885 (several reprints).

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Cosmas von Prag, Die Chronik Böhmens, trans. Huf, Franz, Historiker des deutschen Altertums. Essen/Stuttgart: Phaidon, 1987 (a throroughly revised translation of Georg Grandaur’s). R ussian :

Koz’ma Pražskij, Češskaja khronika, trans. Sančuk, G. E. Moscow: Akademija nauk SSSR, 1962. P olish :

Kosmasa Kronika Czechów, przetłumaczyła, wstęp i komentarze opracowała, trans. Wojciechowska, Maria. Warsaw: Państ­wowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1968. E nglish :

Cosmas of Prague, The Chronicle of the Czechs, trans. Wolverton, Lisa. Washington: Catholic University of America Press, 2009.

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index of personal names

A Aaron, 32 Abel, 191 Acha, Archbishop of Esztergom, 266 Achilles, 137, 153 Adalbert I, Archbishop of Mainz, 403 Adalbert, Archbishop of Magdeburg, 90, 91 Adalbert, Bishop of Prague, XVIII, XXXV, XXXVI, LII, 5, 37, 45, 87, 89–104, 111, 135, 147, 159–61, 165–71, 203, 241–43, 251, 269, 279–81, 301, 405 Adelaide, wife of Duke Soběslav I, 400 Adelaide, wife of King Vratislav II, 199, 209 Adelaide, wife of Otto, I, 78 Adelmann of Chartres, Bishop of Brescia, XXIV Aeacideia, 5 Aeneas, 13 Aeolus, 349 Aeson, 25 Agapetus II, Pope, 77 Ahasuerus/Xerxes, 237 Albert I, Count of Bogen, 299 Albinus, chaplain of Bishop Gebhard, 255 Alexander II, Pope, 231

Alex/Aleš, 219, 259 Álmos, Duke of Hungary, 145, 342, 390–91, 400–01, Ancus Martius, mythical king of Rome, 40–41 Andrew I, King of Hungary, 197–203, 264, 282 Andrew/Ondřej, Bishop of Olomouc, XXV, 263, 283, 299 Andrew/Zoerard, 62 Arnulf, Duke of Bavaria, 75 Arnulf, Emperor, 42–43, 61–63 Asklepios, 18–19 Astraea, 321 Atreus, 364

B Bacchus, 15, 35, 450 Bardo, Archbishop of Mainz, 142 Barnbas, hermit, 127, 131 Bartholomew, Saint, 169, 171 Béla I, King of Hungary, 19, 202–03, 282, 311 Béla II the Blind, King of Hungary, 145, 390 Bělec, man of the entourage of Bishop Gebhard, 241 Bellona, 47–49, 183, 446–47 Bendict IX, Pope, 171 Bendict of Nursia, 81–83, 425, 437 Bendict, hermit, 127, 133, 62 Beneda, warrior, 261–63 [477]

478

Index of personal Names

Benedict VII, Pope, 251 Benno I, Bishop of Meissen, 261 Berengar I, Count of Sulzbach, 332–33, 365 Berengar II, Margrave of Ivrea, 78 Bernard, papal legate, 230 Berthold, Duke of Bavaria, 77 Berthold, retainer of Jindřich, son of Cosmas, 399 Biagota, wife of Duke Boleslav I, 66 Bobraslav, brother of Adalbert, 99 Boethius, XXXVII, 34 Bohemus/Czech/Čech, mythical forefather of the Czechs, XVI, 13, 14 Bohumil, pupil of Abbot Clement, XXX, 151 Boleslav I the Cruel, XXXV, XLIX, 44, 65–73, 78–79, 91, 106–07, 193 Boleslav II the Pious, Duke of Bohemia, XXXI, XXXV, 79–81, 85, 89–93, 98–99, 101, 105–07, 110–11, 117, 139 Boleslav III, Duke of Bohemia, 99, 106, 111–16, 143, 156 Bolesław I Chrobry, King of Poland, 111–12, 116–17, 129, 141, 156, 169 (See also Mieszko 112–13, 117, 121, 129, 143, 169) Bolesław II the Bold/the Generous, King of Poland, 60, 116, 208–09 Bolesłav/Bolesław III Wrymouth, Duke of Poland, son of Judith, married to Wladislaw I Herman, 248, 297, 311–12, 326–27, 355, 369–73, 382–85, 401 Bor, 207 Bořivoj I, Duke of Bohemia, XXXVIII, 7, 42–45, 61, 286

Bořivoj II, Duke of Bohemia, 119, 209, 294, 303, 309–11, 315–17, 321–47, 357, 361–64, 367, 389–93, 405 Borša, man of Duke Břetislav II, 273, 393 Borut, son of Bosey, 349 Bosey, member of the Vršovci family, 303, 321–23, 335, 347, 349 Božen, father of Smil, 217 Božena, concubine/wife of Duke Ulrich I, 7, 120–21, 189 Božetěch, Abbot of the monastery of Sázava 451–53 Božetěcha, wife of Cosmas, 22, 389 Braniš, man of the entourage of King Vratislav I, 261 Břetislav I, Duke of Bohemia, XXVI, XXIX, XXXI, 7, 120–21, 135–45, 151–56, 160, 185–95, 201, 210–11, 217, 315, 437–43 Břetislav II, Duke of Bohemia, XVIII, XXXVIII, 151, 209, 257, 271–83, 287, 293–303, 307–17, 320–21, 347, 371, 377, 397 Břetislav, son of Duke Břetislav II, 377 Bruno of Querfurt, XXXVII Budivoj, man of Duke Svatopluk I, 333–34 Burchard, man of King Henry V, 357

C Čáč, father of Božej, 303 Cain, 9, 67, 165, 191, 275–77 Calixtus II, Pope, 301

479

Index of personal Names

Cananus, priest at the monastery of Sázava, 451 Canaparius, 87, 168 Casimir the Restorer, Duke of Poland, 155, 208–09 Čáslav, brother of Adalbert, 99 Cassander, King of Macedonia, 336–37 Cato, 349 Ceres, 15, 18–19, 35, 102 Charles IV, Emperor, XLV, 28, 32, 320 Charlemagne, Emperor, 109, 176–77 Christian, the so-called, 65–67, 102 Cicero, XXXI, XXXIX, 193, 227 Cillennia (See Astraea) Circe of Aeaea, 25 Clement III, Pope, 255, 265, 289, 313 Clement, Abbot of Břenov, XVI, XXX, 150–51 Coloman/Kálmán, King of Hungary, XVIII, 310, 342, 351–53, 385, 391, 412 Conrad I of Brno, Duke of Bohemia, 154–55, 197, 205, 213, 217–19, 24347, 252–53, 269–71, 275, 279, 281, 285, 303, 311, 315, 323, 385 Conrad II, Emperor, 141 Conrad of Znojmo, son of Duke Lutold,384, 399 Conrad the Red, Duke of Lorraine, 77 Conrad, Bishop of Utrecht, 252–53 Conrad, Count of Wettin, 401 Conrad, son of Řivin, 381 Constantine I, Emperor, 63 Constantius, 289

Cosmas, Bishop of Prague, XXV, 280–81, 287, 301, 305, 451 Cosmas, Dean of Prague cathedral chapter, 3–5, 9, 298–99 Cosmas, St, 241 Cucata, man of King Vratislav I, 263, 317 Cybele, 25 Cyril, St, 433

D Damian, St, 241 Daniel, Bishop of Prague, XLIII Decius, Emperor, 72–73 Dedo, Margrave, 401 Demeter, priest at the monastery of Sázava, 451 Desiderius, Bishop of Cavaillon, 289 Dětříšek, son of Buza, 357, 363, 375 Dietpold III of Vohburg, Margrave of the Bavarian Nordgau, 332–33 Dietrich/Theodrich, Bishop of Verdon, 252–53 Diocletian, Emperor, 72 Diomedes, 153 Dlúhomil, comes, 399 Dobeš, man of Duke Vladislav II, 317 Dobrohost, man of the entourage of King Vratislav I, 247 Domaša, member of the Vršovci family, 347 Doubravka/Dąbrówka, daughter of Boleslav I, 91 Dovora, servant of Duke Jaromír, 115

480

Index of personal Names

Drahomíra, wife of Duke Vratislav I, 65 Držikraj, man of Duke Břetislav II, 273, 377 Držimír, comes, 273 Durynk, tutor of son of Duke Vlastislav I, 56–57, 61

Frederic I, Duke of Swabia, 252–53 Frederick II, Count of Tengling, 324 Frederick, Count of Bogen, 411 Frederick, Count of Pilstein, 324

E

Gallus Anonymus, so-called, XXIII, XXIX, 420 Gaudentius/Radim, Archbishop of St. Adalbert, 111, 167–69, 241 Gebhard/Jaromír, Bishop of Prague, 154, 221––35, 239, 249–51, 255, 265–67, 405 George the Martyr, St, 123–25 Gerlach/Jarloch, Abbot of Milevsko, XLIII Gerpirga, wife of King Louis IV, 76–77 Gervase/Gervasius, master, XVI, 3–5, 151 Géza II, King of Hungary, 390 Gideon, 153 Gilbert, comes, 399 Giles, St, 247–49 Gisalbert, Duke of Lorraine, 77 Golisso, priest at the monastery of Sázava, 451 Gottfried, Count of Raabs, 236, 315–17 Grabissa/Hrabiš, comes, 327, 335, 361 Gregory I the Great, Pope, 301 Gregory VII, Pope, 230–32, 235 Gregory, papal legate, 230 Guelf V/Welf II, Duke of Bavaria, 238–239 Gumpold of Mantua, 68

Eberhard, Duke of Bavaria, 75 Edith/Egdith, wife of Emperor Otto I, 70–71, 77 Egilbert, Bishop of Trier, 248–49, 252–55 Egino, count, 168 Ekkehard II, Margrave of Meissen, 179, 183–85 Ekkehard/Helicardus, Bishop of Prague, 134–35, 139–40 Emma, wife of Duke Boleslav II, 106–07, 133 Emmeram, St, 69, 441, 445–51 Epimetheus, 41 Erkembert, castellan of Dohna, 981 Erkenbald, Bishop of Strasbourg, 84 Eros/Cupid, 136 Erpo, Bishop of Münster, 284 Eufemia, wife of Duke Otto I of Olomouc, 311 Eugene III, Pope, 423 Everacles, Bishop of Liège, XXIV

F Fabian, comes, 32, 357–59 Fortuna/Fate, 35, 183, 359 Franco, master, XIX, XXIII–XXIV, 420–21

G

481

Index of personal Names

Gumpold, retainer of Bishop Gebhard, 229 Gumprecht, comes, 399 Gunther of Bohemia, monk, 188

H Hagen, cleric at Olomouc, 227 Hector, 261 Helbirk/Gerberga, wife of Duke Bořivoj II, 315 Helen, 137 Henry I the Fowler, King of East Francia, 71, 75, 83–85 Henry I, Duke of Bavaria, 77–78 Henry II, Count of Eikenburg, 401 Henry II, Emperor, 113, 116, 122–27, 141 Henry III, Emperor, 117, 176–77, 187, 201 Henry IV, Emperor, 9, 83, 217–19, 249–51, 255–57, 269, 283, 298–99, 308–09, 322 Henry V, Emperor, 8, 312, 332–33, 337–38, 343–45, 351, 355, 361, 365, 377–78, 400–01, 407, 425 Henry of Schweinfurt, Margrave, 134 Henry/Jindřich Zdík, Bishop of Olomouc, XXI, 399 Henry, Bishop of Freising, 324 Henry, son of Duke Svatopluk I of Olomouc, 343 Henry, son of Margrave Wiprecht II of Groitzsch, 362, 408 Hercules, 262–63 Heriger, magister at Lobbes, XXXIX–XL Herman, 331

Herman, comes, 349, 365, 405 Herman/Heřman, Bishop of Prague, XVII, XXV, 8–9, 307–13, 319, 329, 339–41, 357–59, 366–67, 377, 389, 395, 419 Herod, King of Palestine, 72–73 Homer, 153 Horace, XXXIX Hostivít/Gostivit, mythical ruler of Bohemia, 41–43 Hrdoň, man of the entourage of King Vratislav I, 247 Hubald, master, XXII Hugh the Great, Duke of Francia, 77 Hymen, 35 Hyperion, 25

I Isaac, son of Abraham, 107, 127, 133 Isaiah, XXXVI Isidore, 35 Isis, 40 Izzo/Hyzo, Bishop of Prague, 141–43

J Jacob the Jew, 411 James, St, 409 Janek, father of Hrdoň, 247 Jaromír, Duke of Bohemia, 106, 113–21, 143–47, 347 Jerome, St, 147 Jesus Christ, 24, 133, 289, 301, 389, 421–23, 433–43 Jindřich Řezbář, chronicler, XVIII

482

Index of personal Names

Jiřík, castellan of Žatec, 387 John the Baptist, St, XXXVIII, 59, 123, 219, 437 John the Deacon, 203 John the Apostle, St, 262–63 John XIII, Pope, 81 John XV, Pope, 100 John, hermit, 127, 133 John, son of Česta, 355, 366 John/Jan I, Bishop of Olomouc, 211, 225–31, 235, 249, John/Jan II, Bishop of Olomouc, 329 Joseph of Arimathea, 57 Joshua 154–55 Judas 57, 60, 318 Judith of Flanders, wife of Welf II, 236 Judith, wife of Duke Břetislav I, 134–35, 13–39, 155, 193, 200–01, 234 Judith, wife of Duke Władisław I Herman, 208, 246–47, 261, 311, 327 Judith, wife of King Solomon of Hungary, 201 Judith, wife of Margrave Wiprecht II of Groitzsch, 209 Julian, emperor, 207 Julius Caesar, 58 Jupiter, 49 Jurata, 261

K Karloman, son of Louis the German, 121 Kazi, daughter of Krok, 19 Kochan, leader of the Vršovci, 115, 147

Kojata, count palatine of Bohemia, 208–09, 215–19, Krak/Krakus/Gracus, mythical prince of the Lechites, 16 Krása, comes, 349 Křesomysl, mythical ruler of Bohemia, 41 Krok, father of Libuše, mythical ruler of Bohemia, 17

L Ladislas I, King of Hungary, 265, 282–83, 389 Ladislaus II, King of Hungary, 390 Lambert, St, 394–95 Lampert of Hersfeld, 202, 257 Lanz, Provost of Litoměřice, 213–17 Lawrence, Archbishop of Esztergom, 387 Lech, mythical founder of the Lechites, XVI Leopold III, 315, 332 Leo, papal legate, 94 Leopold II, Margrave of Austria, 242–43, 387 Leopold/Lupold III, Margrave of Austria, 333, 399 Libuše, daughter of Krok, XXXIII, XLI, XLVI, 21–26, 29–31, 37–38 Liemar, Archbishop of Hamburg­ ‑Bremen, 253 Liudolf, Duke of Alemannia 78–79 Liutgard of Bogen, wife of Duke Břetislav II, 299 Lork, murderer of Duke Břetislav II, 319

483

Index of personal Names

Lothair III of Supplinburg, Emperor, 269, 401–03, 407–08 Lothair, West Frankish king, 106 Louis IV d’Outremer, King of West Francia, 76–77 Louis the German, 80, 121 Lucan, XXXVII, XXXIX Lucifer, XXXVIII, 319 Ludmila, daughter of King Vratislav I, 209, 313–15, 321 Ludmila, daughter of Slavibor, XXIX, 7, 63 Lutold of Znojmo, Duke of Moravia, son of Conrad I of Brno, 252–53, 311, 315–17, 323–25, 384–85, 399 Lynceus, 6

M Mammon, 131 Mark, Provost of Prague cathedral chapter, 221 Marquard, the German, 219, 316–17 Mars, 45–49, 153, 245, 373 Mary Magdalene, St, 413 Mary, Virgin, 55, 123–25, 167, 188, 363, 437 Mathilda, Abbess of Essen Abbey, 78–79, 236–37 Matilda of Tuscany, 21 Matthew, hermit, 127, 133 Maurus, Bishop of Pécs, St, 62 Medea of Colchis, 19, 24–25 Meinhard, Bishop of Prague, 397, 405, 417

Menelaos, mythical king of Sparta, 137 Methodius, St, 7, 42–43 Michael, Bishop of Regensburg and Abbot of St. Emmeram’s Abbey, 68–70 Miesko III of Cracow, 390 Mieszko I, Duke of Poland, 91, 112 (See Boleslav 112–17, 121, 129, 143, 169) Mieszko II Lambert, King of Poland, 155–57 Mlada/Mary, Abbess of St. George’s Monastery, 81–83 Mnata, mythical ruler of Bohemia, 41 Mojmír II, son of King Svatopluk I, 63 Monk of Sázava, so-called, XLII, 429–30 Moses, 25, 303, 336 Mstiš, comes, 162, 199, 207 Mutina, member of the Vršovci family, 303, 321–23, 335, 343–47

N Nacarat, man of the entourage of King Vratislav I, 259 Neklan, mythical ruler of Bohemia, 41–43, 51 Nemoj, uncle of Mutina, 347 Nero, Emperor, 72–73 Neussa, companion of Mutina, 323, 347 Nezamysl, mythical ruler of Bohemia, 40–41 Nicholas, St, 405 Niuardus Gandensis, 34

484

Index of personal Names

Noah, XXXIV, 17, 107 Notker/Notharus, Bishop of Liège, XXIV, XXXIX, 100–01 Nožislav, man of Duke Břetislav II, 273, 377 Numa Pompilius, mythical king of Rome, 40–41

O Olen, man of the entourage of Duke Vladislav II, 273, 393 Osel/Asinus, 287 Otík/Otto II the Black, Duke of Olomouc and Brno, brother of Svatopluk, son of Otto, brother of Conrad, 243, 269, 311, 325, 339–41, 356–57, 361, 367–71, 381–87, 399, 403, 414–15, 419, 423 Otto I the Fair, Duke of Olomouc, 155, 197, 205, 213–19, 225, 245–47, 255, 269–71, 311 Otto I, Emperor, 71, 74–79, 85, 89, 250–51, 311 Otto II, Emperor, 83, 88–89, 94–95 Otto III, Emperor 89, 105, 111, 123, 127 Otto the White, Duke of Swabia, 134–35, 195 Otto, Bishop of Bamberg, 339–40, 417 Otto, Bishop of Regensburg, 253 Otto, Count of Kastel-Habsberg, 331 Otto, Count of Verdun and Duke of Lorraine, 76–77 Ovid, XXXVII

P Pabo/Poppo I, Count in the Grapfeld, 122–23 Pallas Athene, 24 Parcae, the, 18–19 Paris, 137 Paschal II, Pope, 378 Paul the Deacon, XXXIX Paul, St, 143 Pavlík/Paul, tutor of Duke Vladislav I, 317 Peter Orseolo, King of Hungary, 200–01 Peter, Bishop of Proto, 254 Peter, chaplain of Judith, wife of Duke Władisław I Herman, 247 Peter, Provost of St George’s church, 229 Peter, St, 83, 143, 207, 313–15, 383, 453 Piast, 29 Picus, mythical king of Latium, 25 Pippin, King of the Lobardy, 109, 176–79 Pluto, 40, 102, 318, 404 Pluto, son-in-law of Ceres, 40–41, 49, 102–03, 318–19 Podiven/Podiva the Jew, 65, 405 Pořej, brother of Adalbert, 99 Předa, comes, 229, 261 Přemysl the Ploughman, XXVI, XXXI, XLI, 28–32, 37, 41, 44 Priam, 335 Přibík Pulkava of Radenín, chronicler, XLV Přivitan, headman at Prague castle, 367

485

Index of personal Names

Prkoš, comes of Bílina, 162, 186, 187 Prokop/Prokopius, St, 132, 433–39, 443–47 Prometheus, 41, 224–25 Proserpina, 18 Prostěj, the judge, 371, 383 Proteus, 224 Protiven, comes, 327, 335 Prudentius, 335 Pulo, man of Duke Vladislav II, 337

R Radim, man of the entourage of King Vratislav I, 247 Rapoto I, Margrave of Cham, 228 Rapoto V (II), Count palatine of Bavaria, 228–29, 252–53, 283–85, 299 Rather of Verona, Bishop of Liège, XXIV, XXXIX Ratibor, man of the entourage of King Vratislav I, 261 Regino of Prüm, chronicler, XXIX, XXXIV, XXXIX Remus, 191 Richenza of Berg, wife of Duke Vladislav II, 383 Robert, Bishop of Faenza, 313 Robert, pseudo-bishop of Cavaillon, 287–89 Romulus, 191 Rudolf, papal legate, 230–31 Rupert of Deutz, XXIII Rus, mythical founder of the Rus’ People, XVI Ruthard, Archbishop of Mainz, 298–99, 312–13

S Sallust, XXXXVII Salome of Berg, wife of Bolesław III Wrymouth, 283 Salomon, King of Hungary, 60, 447 Samson, 153 Satan, 319, 390–91, 401, 411, 447 Saxo, chronicler, 87, 342 Sedulius Scottus, XXXVII Seraphim, Archbishop of Esztergom, XVII, XXV, 311 Severus, comes, 219 Severus, Provost of the church of Mĕlník, XVI, 3, 4 Severus/Šebíř, Bishop of Prague, 142–43, 159–65, 187–89, 199, 205–07, 210–13, 217, 407, 443 Sezema, comes, 365 Sibyl the Cumaean, 25 Siegfried, Archbishop of Mainz, 220, 232 Sighard X, Count of Tengling­ ‑Burghausen, 324 Sighard, Count of Schallaburg, 325 Sigwin, Archbishop of Cologne, 252–53 Sinon, 334–35 Skarbimir, Count palatine of Poland, 327 Sláva, man of the entourage of King Vratislav I, 261 Slavibor, Count of the Pšov castle, 63 Slavník, Duke of Bohemia 92–93, 111 Smil, castellan of Žatec, 216, 219 Soběbor (Soběslav), brother of Adalbert, 99

486

Index of personal Names

Soběslav I, Duke of Bohemia, 99, 162, 178, 209, 269, 337, 367, 371–73, 377–87, 399, 403, 407–15, 419–21, 425–27 Solomon, biblical king of Israel, 155, 201, 307, 423 Solth/Zsolt, 386 Sophie/Sophia of Berg, wife of Duke Otto II the Black, 414 Spytihněv I, Duke of Bohemia, 63–64 Spytihněv II, Duke of Bohemia, XXVI, 143, 154–55, 193, 196–205, 211, 217, 231, 441–43, 447 Spytimír, brother of Adalbert, 99 Stan, man of the entourage of King Vratislav I, 247, 387 Statius, XXXVII, 5 Stephen I, comes, 409 Stephen II, King of Hungary, 385–86, 401 Stephen IV, King of Hungary, 390 Stephen, St, 188 Strachkvas/Strachwas, son of Duke Boleslav I, XXXV–XXXVI, 67, 70, 96–99, 103 Střezislava, mother of Adalbert, 92, 95 Sulla, 182 Svatava/Luitgard, daughter of Duke Vladislav I, 410–11 Svatava/Świętoslawa, wife of King Vratislav I, 208–09, 257, 377 Svatopluk I of Olomouc, Duke of Bohemia, 118, 269, 311, 325–57, 366, 381, 399 Svatopluk II, son of King Svatopluk I, 63

Svatopluk, King of Moravia 42–43, 46, 60–63 Svatopluk/Zuendibold, son of Emperor Arnulf, 61

T Tarquinius, mythical king of Rome, 54 Taz, ancestor of Jurata, 261 Taz, comes, 259 Tetka, daughter of Krok, 19 Thegdag, Bishop of Prague, 102–05 Thomas, 349 Thomas, St, 319 Thyestes, 364 Tiethmar, Bishop of Prague, 83–89, 141 Tira, retainer of Boleslav I, 50 Tobias, 68 Trajan, Emperor, 203 Turnus, 261 Tuto, Bishop of Regensburg, 68, 314 Tydeus/Titides, 153 Tyro, warrior, 51–53

U Ulrich I/Oldřich, Duke of Bohemia, 7, 106, 113–21, 139, 143, 151, 432–33, 437 Ulrich I/Udalrich/Oldřich, Duke of Brno, son of Conrad I of Brno, 302–11, 323–25, 384–85, 399 Ulrich, Bishop of Augsburg, St, 387 Ulrich, Bishop of Freising, 311 Ulrich, Bishop of Passau, 324–25

487

Index of personal Names

Ulrich, cleric of Castellan Erkembert of Dohna, 381 Ulrich, son of Vacemil, 393 Ulrich/Udalrich, Bishop of Eichstätt, 252–53 Ulysses/Odysseus, 25, 137, 402

V Vacena, comes, 365 Václav Hájek of Libočany, chronicler, XLV Veclo, Bishop of Moravia, 264–65 Venus, 35, 41, 137 Vergil, XXXIX Vespasian, Emperor, 305 Viklin, messenger, 285 Vincentius, Canon of Vyšehrad, XLIII Vitus Seliboricz, chamberlain, 263 Vitus, Abbot of the Sázava monastery, 441–47 Vitus, St, 5, 68–71, 301, 405 Vladislav I, King of Bohemia, XVIII, 8–9, 118, 209, 317, 337, 357, 361–85, 393, 399–401, 411–13, 419–23 Vladislav II, King of Bohemia, XLIII, 144, 451 Vlastislav, son of Voyn, 45 Vnizlau, mythical ruler of Bohemia, 41 Vnizlau/Vnislav, member of the Vršovci family, 347 Vojslav, prefect of Glogów, 411 Vok, comes, 87 Volkmar, priest, 300 Voyn/Vojen, mythical ruler of Bohemia, 41 Vracen, Bishop of Moravia, 211

Vratislav I, King of Bohemia, XXVI, 151, 155, 197, 201, 205, 208–16, 219, 225–27, 231–32, 243–57, 261–65, 269, 283–85, 307, 327, 366, 439, 443, 447, 451–53 Vratislav I, Duke of Bohemia, 63–65 Vratislav, son of King Vratislav I, 209 Vulcan of Lemnos, 41, 275

W Wacek the Mild, comes, 383 Wacek 117–18, 331, 343–57, 361, 367, 371, 377–79 Wacula, comes, 349 Wenceslas, son of Duke Boleslav II, 106–07 Wenceslas, son of Duke Svatopluk I of Olomouc, 342 Wenceslas, son of Margrave Wiprecht II of Groitzsch (See Wiprecht Jr.) Wenceslas/Václav, St, XXIX, XXXIV, LII, 5, 37, 50, 63–71, 83, 119, 175, 193, 201–03, 269, 279–81, 295, 314, 321, 369–71, 407, 423 Wezilo, Archbishop of Mainz, 250–55 Widukind of Corvey, 44, 367 William, brother of Herman, 405 William, brother of Pula, 337 William, warrior, 221 Willigis, Archbishop of Mainz, 84, 90–91 Windelmuth/Vencilmunt, Abbess, 313

488

Index of personal Names

Wiprecht II of Groitzsch, Margrave of Meissen and the Saxon Ostmark, 209, 261, 307, 313, 333, 338, 357, 362, 380, 399–403, 411 Wiprecht Jr., 362–67, 408–09 (See also Wenceslas, son of Margrave Wiprecht II of Groitzsch) Wirpirk, wife of Duke Conrad I of Brno, 275–77 Władisław I Herman, Duke of Poland, 155, 208–09, 247, 297 313, 327

Wznata, man of the entourage of King Vratislav I, 259, 399

Z Zbigniew, son of Duke Władisław I Herman, 326–27, 369, 373 Zderad, officer of King Vratislav I, 270–71, 273 Zeus, 224 Zoerard/Andrew, St, 62

index of Geographical Names

B Bechyně, 19 Bethsaida, 127 Bílina, 45 Bílina, castle, 186–87, 207 Bílina, river, 29, 183, 185 Bohemia, 37–39, 45, 63–65, 81, 85, 89, 93, 97, 105, 117, 147, 157, 169–71, 179, 183, 189–93, 197, 201, 209–11, 231, 248–57, 269, 279, 213, 311, 317, 321–25, 329, 333–37, 341–43, 359, 365–71, 381, 401–03, 407, 415, 429, 441, 453 Břevnov, monastery, 151, 414–15 Březnice, 43 Brno, 271, 311 Brusnice, river, 37, 195, 363 Bulgaria, 83, 125 Burgundy, 233

C Černín, 159 Chýnov, 93 Cidlina, river, 93, 373 Constantinople, 123 Cracow, 111–13, 157, 241, 253

D Děvín, castle, 38–40 Don, river, 11

Doudleby, 93 Dragúš, castle, 54–55 Dřevíč, castle, 119

E Egypt, 25 Elbe/Labe, river, 73, 93, 175, 373, 391 Esztergom, 141, 267 Etna, volcano, 17 Europe, 11 France, 75, 421 Francia/Franconia, 123

G Germania, 11 Giecz/Hedeč, castle, 157 Gniezno, 111, 159 Great Moravia, 7, 62

H Hron, river, 63 Hungary, 63, 139, 163, 187, 191, 201, 265, 283, 287, 303, 345, 351–53, 385, 405 Hutná, river, 43

I Ingelheim, 77 Israel, 167, 305, 396–97 Italy, 75, 79 [489]

490

Index of Geographical Names

J Jerusalem, 123, 285–87, 301–05, 399, 405 Jordan, river, 123

K Kłodsko, castle, 93 Kulm/Chlumec, 179

L Levý Hradec, 45, 89 Libuše, 21–25, 31, 37 Litoměřice, 213, 323 Litomyšl, 93, 345 Lúka, 43 Lysá nad Labem, 143

M Mainz, 91, 101–05, 141, 221, 233, 249–55, 299, 313, 399, 403 Medvězí, hill, 45 Mělník, 3, 63 Moravia, 43, 61, 93, 139, 187, 197–201, 205, 211–13, 219, 225, 229–31, 243–45, 251–55, 271, 281, 285, 311, 317, 321–23, 327–37, 351–53, 357, 369–71, 381, 385, 393, 399–401, 419, 429 Mže, 19, 43, 93, 371

N Netolice, 93, 333 Nitra/Neutra/Nyitra, 353

North Pole, 11 Northern Sea, 11 Nysa, river, 93, 301

O Oder, river, 63, 297 Ogra/Ohře (See Eger) Ohře, river, 13, 55, 259 Olomouc, 197, 225, 269, 283 Osek, mountain, 19, 93

P Petřín, mountain, 37, 351 Poland, 91–93, 103, 113–15, 127, 139, 155–59, 171, 175–77, 191, 209, 213–15, 249, 257, 261, 297, 301–03, 323, 327, 337, 343–47, 351, 355–57, 367–69, 377, 381, 401–03, 407–09 Postoloprty, 55 Prague, 3, 9, 39, 59, 69–71, 81, 85, 89, 91, 95, 101, 105, 111, 115–21, 135, 139–43, 167–71, 187, 195, 201–03, 211–15, 219–21, 231, 241, 249–57, 269, 275, 281–87, 295, 309, 329, 339–41, 357–61, 365–67, 405, 415, 427, 443 Připek, hill, 45 Prussia, 103 Pšov, castle (See Mělník)

R Regen, river, 179, 333 Regensburg, 69, 97, 229, 245, 253, 309, 333, 341, 361 Říp, mountain, 12–13

Index of Geographical Names

Rokytnice/Rokytka, river, 168–69, 279, 361 Rome, 203

S Saxony, 85, 179, 187, 271, 289, 313, 333, 337, 355, 381, 401, 407–09, 415 Sázava, monastery of, XLII–L, 82, 142, 429–57 Schweinfurt, monastery of, 135 Sorbia, 57, 179, 257, 263, 303, 357, 381 Stadice, 29, 31 Stodor, 65 Surina, river, 93 Svitava, river, 93

T Tetín, 19 Troy, 5, 275, 305, 335

491

U Úzká, river, 43

V Veliz, 115, 347 Verona, 89, 285, 379 Vltava, river, 13, 37, 259, 329, 391 Vyšehrad/Chrasten, castle, 33, 39, 115–19, 275, 287, 309, 329, 357, 361, 365, 371, 379, 391, 413, 423

Z Zbečno, 17, 21, 117, 317, 413 Znojmo, 315

492

Index of Quotations

index of Quotations

A Ammianus Marcellinus, Historiae 22.10.2, 295 Augustine, Enarrationes in Psalmos  (to Psalm 48:2), 434 (to Psalm 64:15), 435 Augustine, De civitate Dei 18.23, 24

D Disticha Catonis, XXXVIII 2.17, 349 4.4, 108 4.46, 182 G Gregory the Great, Dialogi 2, 30 2.2.2, 424, 426

B Boethius, Consolatio philosophiae 1m4.1, 215 2m5.25, 15–16 3m5, 113 3m9.1, 422 3p8.10, 6

C Cicero, Laelius de amicitia 24.89, 293 —. De natura Deorum 3.81, 192, 237 Constantine, Oratio ad sanctorum coetum, 24

H Herodotus, Historiae 4.12, 170 Horace, Ars poetica 294, 5, 307 359, 7 —. Carmina 3.2.13, 245 2.10.19, 200 2.13.17, 50 2.16.27, 20 3.3.1, 118 3.12.3, 375 3.15.2, 8

[492]

493

Index of Quotations

—. Epistulae 1.2.14, 359 1.6.27, 40 1.6.37, 246 2.2.214, 40 2.2.4, 192 2.2.4, 88

L Livy, Ab urbe condita 1.54, 54 3.26, 30

—. Epodi 15.1, 40 —. Satirae / Sermones 1.4.63, 25 1.4.8, 18 1.5.100, 30, 410 1.5.32, 307 1.9.20, 238 2.2.243, 155

I Isidore, Origines 11.2.17, 35 12.7.61, 113

J Jerome, Contra Rufinum 2.25, 147 —. De viribus inlustribus 7, 168 Justin, Epitome 2.2.2, 16 Juvenal, Saturae 6.223, 74 10.22, 131 4.123, 446

Lucan, Pharsalia 1.1, 154, 182, 274, 279, 376 1.12, 187 1.208, 273 1.281, 47, 258 1.339, 56 3.152, 111, 359 4.410, 316 4.724–9, 259 5.313, 158 9.1031 sqq., 58 9.1031–2, 58 9, 198, 390

O Ovid, Metamorphoses 1.145, 191 1.150, 321 1.179.8, 125 1.384, 160 2.49, 22, 125 2.321, 400 3.154, 136 3.415, 40 7.159 sqq., 25 7.472, 5 10.253, 121 12.77, 260 13.796, 121 14.320 sqq., 25 15.535, 18

494

Index of Quotations

P Persius, Saturae Prol. 1, 152 Phaedrus, Fabulae 1.2, 27 1.31, 23, 33 Plato, Republic 10.10, 36 Plautus, Trinummus 2.30, 416 Pliny, Naturalis historia 3.5, 10 18.20, 30 Prudence, Psychomachia 550, 334

—. Jugurtha 102.11, 178 49.2, 240 8.2, 284 85.21–3, 34 Sedulius, Carmen paschale 1.113, 342 1.259, 20 1.276, 182 3.189, 264 4.56, 374 5.95, 399 Statius, Achilleis 1.183, 155 —. Silvae 1.269, 416 —. Thebais 10.42–3, 58

R Rhetorica ad Herennium 4.39.51, 345

S Sallust, Catilina 18.8, 280 2.2, 42 31.9, 328 33.4, 27 51.1.2, 306 58, 331 58.1, 51 58.17, 52 60.2, 260 60.7, 54, 376

T Terence, Heauton Timorumenos 342, 58 —. Andria 68, 293 —. Eunuchus 7.773, XLI —. Hecyra 406, 182

Index of Quotations

V Valerius Flaccus, Argonautica 7.518, 293 Vergil, Aeneis 1.135, 218, 370 1.149, 28 1.26, 195 1.372–4, 423 1.436, 202 1.498–9, 237 1.81, 348 2.157, 335 2.195, 334 2.257, 334 2.317, 376 2.329, 334 2.354, 48 2.43–4, 402 2.44, 403 2.547–9, 318 2.61, 334 2.61–2, 343, 355 2.670, 409 2.728, 120, 130, 258 2.79, 334 3.377, 222 3.436, 146, 418 4.337, 330 4.598, 13 4.660, 409 5.273–279, 364 5.538, 188 5.702, 341 5.770, 100 6.147, 190 6.179, 38 6.465, 8 6.552, 416 6.866, 190

7, 13 7.120, 15 7.17, 362 7.189, 25 7.335, 328, 16 8.560, 420 11.290, 305 11.810, 185, 400 11.910, 260 12.599, 187 —. Eclogae 7.42, 115, 238 10.69, 135 —. Georgica 4.387, 224 Biblical quotations 1 Chronicles 1, 9 1 Corinthians 1:20, 338 4:13, 73 5:2, 226 10:4, 433 11:33, 381 15:52, 156 2 Corinthians 6:5, 433 6:15, 396 1 John 2:15, 131 1 Kings 7:15, 226 10:5, 237

495

496 2 Kings 11:25, 333 3 Kings 2:2, 51 2:16, 227 4 Kings 2:11, 260 1 Maccabees 1:4, 45 2:54, 412 6:39, 180 2 Maccabees 7:31, 328 1 Peter 2:22, 127 3:14, 52 1 Samuel 2:7–8, 34 8:11–18, 28 11:7, 46, 156 1 Thessalonians 5:3, 442 1 Timothy 1:19, 441 5:8, 56 2 Timothy 4:6, 440 Acts 1:7, 320 4:26, 27 4:34–5, 449

Index of Quotations

8:2, 111, 442 9:25, 381 13:48, 108 20:29, 245 Daniel 4:11, 335 13:24, 427 13:55, 325 Deuteronomy 12:20, 110 13:8, 318 17:19, 443 23:2, 304 28:28, 159 32:9, 270 Ecclesiastes 10:16, 385 13:1, 396 32:1, 108 32:24, 306 50:7, 440 Ephesians 1:20, 277 Exodus 3:8, 13 6:12, 336 11:10, 25 14:13, 278 15:18, 29, 115 15:19, 166 20:12, 415 29:12, 90, 104 Ezekiel 3:26, 27 7:10, 396

Index of Quotations

8:3, 73 13:5, 396 21:7, 374 Galatians 5:24, 128 Genesis 10, 9 11:4–9, 9 18:3, 276 19:15, 96 25:8, 40 4:12, 9, 164, 416 4:7, 277 6:9, 17 Habakkuk 2:11, 120 Hebrews 11:14–16, 88 12:4, 333 4:12, 97 4:13, 144 Hosea 6:3, 434 Isaiah 14:12, 318 17:8, 302 24:16, 395–96 46:8, 426 65:20, 226 James 3:16, 127 4:4, 130 4:9, 199

Jeremiah 4:22, 6 11:20, 108 16:7, 409 24:9, 409 Job 1:16, 371 4:19, 444 11:10, 438 13:25, 188 21:17, 368 John 5:2, 127 5:17, 426 9:32, 414 10:11, 104 13:5, 267 18:3, XXXVIII, 318 19:17, 128 Joshua 9:25, 30 Judges 11:30, 67 Lamentations 4:7, 121 Leviticus 22:5, 396 Luke 1:78, 203 3:16, 258 3:17, 444 4:11, 3 6:44, 79

497

498 7:38, 335 10:1, 9 10:18, 400 10:30, 131 11:17, 191 11:26, 184 12:42, 139 13:27, 115 15:17, 425 16:9, 412 18:3, 203 22:41, 272 24:11, 159, 344 24:38, 167 Mark 12:30, 452 Matthew 3:12, 444 4:6, 3 5:14–5, 449 5:15, 395, 434 6:24, 130 7:11, 160 8:22, 98 10:16, 448 12:36, 173 12:39, 114 14:8, 59 17:2, 241 17:14, 335 18:22, 383 18:33, 388 23:37, 436 25:1–2, 127 27:3, 62, 160 27:5, 60 27:59, 57

Index of Quotations

Numbers 17:1–9, 32 20:11, 166 Proverbs 1:17, 180 3:7, 108 7:3, 108 10:29, 114 16:18, 45 Psalm 2:9, 22 4:9, 134 11:4, 218 17:6, 130 21:14, 345 32:10, 422 43:1, 396 43:14, 152 45:5, 206 51:7, 441 54:23, 198 57:11, 164 67:2, 311 68:23, 232 77:20, 166 83:7, 124 83:8, 134 93:6, 108 Revelation 11:14, 36 17:14, 118 Romans 2:13, 128 8:28, 82 11:33, 79 12:1, 247

Index of Quotations

13:1, 214 13:7, 23 16:16, 277 Sapientia (Wisdom) 4:15, 280 9:2, 107 10:17, 128

Tobit 1:7, 215

499

500

Index of Quotations

illustrations

[500]

Bí l i

na

Bohemia in the early Middle Ages Wrocław

Index of Quotations

[501]

501

[502] [1.] Boleslav III (* ca. 968–†before 1034)

Mlada-Mary († after 983), Abbess of St. George Monastery in Prague Castle

Vratislav II (* after 1031–†1092) [1.] unknown [2.] Adelaide (†1062) of Hungary, d. of Andrew I; [3.] Svatava (†1126) d. of Casimir I of Poland

Bolesław I Chrobry (* 965/7–†1025)

Doubravka (* before 953–† 977) Mieszko of Poland (* ca. 935–†992)

Boleslav I (* after 909–†972) [1.] unknown [2.] Biagota

Přibyslava

Otto I of Olomouc Jaromír-Gebhard (* after 1035–†1087) (* 1036/8–†1090) Eufemia, d. of Bishop of Prague Béla I of Hungary

Břetislav I (* ca. 1003 –† 1055) Judith, d. of mgv. in Nordgau Henry of Schweinfurt

[1.] Oldřich I (* ca. 975–† 1034) [1.] unknown [2.] Božena

Boleslav II (* ca. 942–† 999) [1.] unknown [2.] Emma († 1006), d. of Lothar of Italy a. widow of Lothar III/IV of West Francia

Conrad I of Brno (* after 1033–†1092) Wirpirk (unknown orig.)

[1.] Jaromír (* ca. 973–†1035)

Strachkvas (* 935–†after 996), Bishop-elect of Prague (?)

Vratislav I (* ca. 888–†921) Drahomíra († after 935)

Index of Quotations

[3.] Boleslav [3.] Bořivoj II [3.] Vladislav I [3.] Soběslav I Oldřich I of Brno Lutold I of Znojmo Svatopluk I Otto II "the Black" Svatobor-Frederick (†1086) [2.] Břetislav II Patriarch of Aquileia (* 1056/62–† 1100) (* ca. 1062–†1091) (* ca. 1064–†1124) (* a. 1066–†1125) (* a. 1068–†1140) (* b. 1077–†1113) (* b. 1077–†1112) (* a. 1078–† 1109) (* a. 1079–† 1126) Liutgard, d. of Aschwin Helbirg († 1142), Richenza († 1125), Adelaide († 1140), unknown, unknown, unknown Sophia of Berg of Windberg-Bogen d. of Leopold II d. of Henry of Berg d. of Álmos third d. of Magnus d. of Leopold II of of Babenberg of Hungary of Saxony (?) Babenberg

Spytihněv II (* 1031–† 1061) Hidda of Wettin, d. of mgv. Dietrich II

Zbraslav (bastard)

Václav/Wenceslas (* after 907–† 935) unknown

Spytihněv I (* ca. 875–†915)

Bořivoj († ca. 888) Ludmila (* ca. 860–†921)

Hostivít († before 872)

(compiled by David Kalhous)

SELECT GENEALOGY OF THE PŘEMYSLIDS TO 1126

502