Begins with the accession of Wenceslaus I, tells you how to pronounce
his name correctly in Czech, and informs you of his piety and general
saintliness. There is also mention of other saints as suitable company
for Wenceslaus, and a short account of how that prince qualified for a
halo himself. We note also the contrition of Brother Boleslav, who made
a martyr of Wenceslaus, how Boleslav did a good deal of fighting, most
successfully, and extended his dominions thereby. Also how Boleslav
learnt to be neighbourly and wise in his choice of a wife for his
neighbour who was promptly converted to Christianity. Of the son of
Boleslav I and Dubravka, wife of Duke Mieceslav I of Poland. How
Boleslav II, called "the Pious," earned that epithet and started Prague
with a bishop all to herself. Of churches and convents, and Milada, the
pious sister of Boleslav II. Of the growing importance of Prague and how
it was recognized and appreciated by Ibrahim Ibn Jacub and many of his
race.
With the accession of Wenceslaus, first P[vr]emysl prince of that name,
Bohemia passes out of legend into ordered history; its rulers are
henceforth properly labelled and dated. This is chiefly due to the
spread of Christianity; priests and monks take up the tale of kindly
Saga, and keep careful record of events. These chroniclers were not as a
rule unbiassed; I cannot see how they could have been otherwise, for not
only did they undertake the task of compiling history, they were
constantly making propaganda for their own ideals against the paganism
which still had a considerable hold on the sons of Czech. I doubt
whether any historian can be absolutely unbiassed; a warm-blooded
man--and you must be that if you would record the doings of your
fellow-men--is bound to feel sympathy with or dislike for one or other
actors in the far-off pageant of history. I frankly admit myself biassed
in favour of Brother Boleslav the hearty heathen, and somewhat bored by
that saintly lady Ludmilla. A night out with Boleslav would have been
more amusing, if less edifying, than a country walk with pious
Wenceslaus, who would be sure to waste a good deal of time at wayside
shrines; a picnic arranged by Dragomira and in that lady's company,
would have been at least a material improvement on any little outing
with Ludmilla, who would surely have discovered some reason for fasting
on that particular day. But then I can afford a bias; am only making
observations from "a Terrace in Prague."
Monkish chroniclers sang the praises of Prince Wenceslaus. My spelling
of this name is incorrect, but it is more familiar to English eyes than
any other, as our Christmas carol "puts it with a 'we.'" I do not
suggest that this St. Wenceslaus is identical with the "Good King
Wenceslaus" we sing about--in fact, I have discovered another ruler of
that name who fits the part much better; but of this more anon. The
correct version of this saintly prince's name is Vaclav, pronounced
Vatslav. It is as well to get a proper grip of this word, as the show
street in the town is named Vaclavske Nam[ve]sti, which being
interpreted meaneth Wenceslaus Place; the Germans call it Wenzel's
Platz, but this designation is not popular at the moment. It is
advisable to acquire the Czech version of the name, as the Vaclavske
Nam[ve]sti is in the business and amusement quarter of the town. As to
the pronunciation of Vaclavske Nam[ve]sti, it presents no particular
difficulties, despite the profusion of accents (the Czechs are very
liberal in this respect), they seem to make no noticeable difference
with exception of the inverted circumflex, which makes "ye" out of plain
"e." This is nothing to what the Czech language can do in the way of
tongue-twisters.
The Vaclavske Nam[ve]sti rises gently towards another hill of Prague,
Vinohrady. At the top of the rise, looking right down the broad avenue
over the old town and beyond it to the Hrad[vs]any, is an equestrian
statue of St. Wenceslaus. There are other likenesses of the Saint; a
number of them adorn his chapel in the Cathedral of St. Vitus, and
another statue stands near the castle entrance on the Hrad[vs]any, in
the latter Wenceslaus is shown looking out over the city, his hand
upraised in blessing, which is right and proper and quite what the city
expects of him. The equestrian statue is the most recent portrait of the
pious prince, and is really quite convincing. We know, or at least I am
about to tell you, that Wenceslaus was a man of peace, he is therefore
represented carrying a lance; the modern sense of propriety requires of
a non-combatant that he should sit for his portrait armed. He need not
introduce a bunch of bombs or a pot of poison gas into the composition,
a sword will do. Wenceslaus brought his lance much as the up-to-date
war-winner girds on a sword when he goes to be photographed. Swords may
also be worn at weddings, at funerals, also at christenings I believe;
anyway, on all filmable occasions.
As far as I can discover, St. Wenceslaus only had one fight in his life,
and then he got killed.
Now that we have arrived at the first of authentically dated rulers over
Bohemia, Wenceslaus I, 928-935, we may as well take a look round the
Europe of that time. We find first of all that the peoples were capable
of getting into just as bad a mess as they are in to-day, and that
without the aid of any new diplomacy, League of Nations and
International Conferences. England was, so to speak, nowhere in those
days; Englishmen did not wander about the Continent making observations
from terraces, did not even launch missions and commissions on harmless
and unsuspecting countries, in order to impress the inhabitants thereof
with our wealth and our good taste in getting rid of it. England was
very busy with the Scots, Welsh and Danes, who were also causing a deal
of trouble to the broken-up remnants of Charlemagne's Empire. The ideal
of the Holy Roman Empire still lived and inspired a host of adventurous
Counts of the Marches and other bearers of German culture to inroads
into territory inhabited by Slavonic races. The idea seemed to be that
as each Slavonic tribe, principality or kingdom adopted Christianity it
should come under German domination and be held in trust for Mother
Church by German princes as long as the Papacy conformed to their
conception of right and wrong. The Papacy itself seems to have had no
definite ideas of right and wrong at the time, or at least did not put
them into practice; had, in fact, become thoroughly corrupt and
ineffective for good. Christendom was in a parlous state, disunited and
assailed by hosts of barbarians, Danes, Saracens, Hungarians. The latter
had become especially dangerous to the Slavonic peoples. Before Arpad
arrived at Pressburg (now called Bratislava, please) in 829, the
territory inhabited by Slavonic tribes, mostly in principalities of
varying size and importance, had extended with fluctuating frontiers,
from Holstein south-eastward through Central Europe to the Adriatic and
the Balkan range. Arpad drove a wedge into this Slavonic mass and broke
it into two parts; Arpad's descendants still separate northern and
southern Slavs. We have seen how the Empire of Moravia went down before
the Magyars, and that the Bohemians, no longer able to count on support
from that side, were forced to turn to Germany. The intrusion of the
Magyars into Central Europe, by dividing the mass of Slavonic races,
also weakened the influence of the Eastern Church among the Bohemians
and forced those that were inclined towards Christianity into closer
communion with Rome via Germanism. German priests were beginning to gain
the ascendancy over those of the Eastern persuasion, they objected to
services in the Vulgate, and as they knew no language but their own and
only sufficient Latin for their clerical duties, their influence began
to threaten the Slavonic genius of the Bohemians with extinction. This
was undoubtedly their purpose, and it accounts for much of Bohemia's
sufferings during the thousand years following the imposition of a
German bishop on this country by the German King Arnulf to whom the
immediate predecessors of St. Wenceslaus, Spytihnev and Vratislav had
appealed for assistance.
Another social institution which was beginning to make its influence
felt at the time under discussion was the feudal system. Hitherto,
civilized Europe had depended for offensive and defensive operations on
large slow-moving armies of foot-folk; these were ineffective against
marauding barbarians, Vikings in their sharp-prowed ships, or the light
cavalry of Hungarian or Saracen. Moreover, the governmental system
organized by Charlemagne had fallen to pieces, and there was no central
power to order the movements of a large army. Luckily for the cause of
Christendom and western civilization such as it was, the subordinates of
Charles's successors hit upon the right tactics to employ against the
invaders. The nominal subordinates, Counts of the Marches, burgraves,
barons, took a very free hand in those days of decentralized authority
and bad lines of communication. Based on impregnable strongholds, they
met the swiftly moving hosts of marauders with equally mobile troops of
mailed horsemen, raised, trained and paid by themselves, and bound to
their feudal lords by the ties of discipline out of which grew the
tradition of military servitude. It was these feudal lords and their
mailed horsemen who saved Western Europe; they took their own reward out
of the lands they saved and out of the neighbours whom they insisted on
saving, till they eventually became an unmitigated nuisance from which
Bohemia suffered as much as any other country. But for the moment we are
concerned with the times of St. Wenceslaus and the first half of the
tenth century.
It is a pity that no one had thought of holding an International
Conference in the early days of the tenth century; there were a great
many things to discuss, and a Conference would have added to the gaiety
of nations. There was the question of those Northern Slavonic tribes who
had steadfastly refused the blessings of Christianity as purveyed by the
Teuton; of course, no one could foresee that the Western Church's
activities in those northern regions would eventually produce the modern
Prussian. Then the Conference would have to decide whether or no
Vikings, Hungarians and Saracens should be admitted to the comity of
nations, and if not, how to start doing business with those people all
the same. Then the place of the Conference would have to be decided;
there was quite a fair choice of suitable localities. Paris was becoming
popular, had already been discovered by people from over the seas--by
the Vikings, who, in quest of souvenirs, on one occasion sacked the
city, on another burnt it down. Aix-la-Chapelle had been popular for
some centuries before the Vikings discovered the attractions of Paris;
it had the waters to recommend it, and also memories of pious
Charlemagne, on which members of the Conference might reflect when not
engaged in feasting and providing the Press with fiction. Constantinople
would also have been well suited to an International Conference in the
tenth century. The Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus was rather a dull
dog, but he kept a glittering court, and none but the most refined
society is good enough for secretaries, bottlewashers and other numerous
hangers-on of conferences. Kings and rulers would probably have attended
the Conference in person, not being willing to afford the luxury of
allowing a Prime Minister to neglect home affairs. It would have been a
pretty gathering, Constantine Porphyrogenitus the bookworm probably as
president, AEthelstan of England, Charles the Simple of France or as much
as his neighbours allowed him, that doughty poacher Henry the Fowler,
German King, and Pope Leo not on speaking terms with him, St. Wenceslaus
of Bohemia trying to make peace with Henry, and a make-weight of German
counts and churchmen, possibly representatives of Vikings, Hungarians
and Saracens. The proceedings would have been marked by a "certain
liveliness," as we used to say at the front when the fur began to fly.
The Conference would have differed from those of the present day, by
leading to a definite result if only in the form of a handsome row of
corpses; Counts of the Marches, Vikings and others would have attended
to that. It would have been interesting to note how monkish reporters
would clothe, or rather veil, their account of proceedings in suitable
language.
On the accession of Wenceslaus I the relations between his house and
the German King were strained. This, we have seen, was due to
Dragomira's anti-German foreign policy. Wenceslaus, however, as we know,
had occasion to send his mother into exile; she cannot have gone very
far, as according to popular belief the earth swallowed her up before
she had had time to get clear of the Castle Hill. Later generations put
up a chapel over the spot where Dragomira vanished; I consider this
conduct lacking in tact.
Anyway, Wenceslaus had to face a guileful, determined and quite
unscrupulous adversary, who had even called at Prague with an army; so,
being a man of peace, he came to terms with King Henry for a slight
consideration, namely, an annual tribute of six hundred silver marks and
one hundred and twenty head of cattle. This warded off trouble from the
west, but there remained the danger of barbarian invasion from the east
and there was every reason for erecting strongholds in Bohemia as in
other countries of Europe. I have found no trace of any such work by
Wenceslaus. He surely must have done something towards strengthening the
Hrad[vs]any, Hrad S. Vaclav or something like that, as it seems to have
been called at the time. Wenceslaus had built a chapel here in which to
house the relic of St. Vitus; I cannot imagine him leaving such a
treasure quite unprotected. This precious relic, namely, the arm of St.
Vitus, had been presented to Wenceslaus by King Henry which was handsome
of him, as he only got a trifling annual contribution of money and
cattle out of Bohemia, whereas that country was started off with
something of sufficient value to account for that noble fane the
Cathedral of St. Vitus. Bohemia did very well in the way of saints and
sacred relics; some of her kings were enthusiastic collectors, and we
remember that Christianity among the Czechs started with a royal martyr,
the saintly Ludmilla, who was shortly to be joined by another, as you
will be told later on in this chapter.
We are still trying to find out what Wenceslaus did for his capital and
country besides collecting odds and ends of saints and building a
chapel here and there, and regretfully state that little record of
anything but his piety is handed down to us. Piety, it seems, was no
more compatible with statecraft in the early days of Christendom than it
is to-day, and as Wenceslaus took the pious line, he gave way too much
to the German menace, thus laying up a store of trouble for his
successors and the sons of Czech which lasted well up to the present and
does not appear to be exhausted yet. In the meantime Wenceslaus,
evidently well pleased with himself, continued to set his people a godly
ensample. I should like to know whether they appreciated him to the same
extent as did some members of his family, Boleslav for instance, who
helped Wenceslaus to a crown of celestial glory by the simple process of
hitting him over the head. I am rather inclined to think that the piety
of Wenceslaus interfered with some of the innocent amusements of his
people, among whom paganism was not quite dead yet, as subsequent events
show. There was an interesting burial ground lying on the route which
Wenceslaus would follow when going from the Hrad[vs]any to Vy[vs]ehrad,
which remained the seat of government for several generations of
P[vr]emysls after the pious prince's demise.... This burial ground, a
very extensive one, is now covered by the Church of Emaus and its
monastic buildings; you can see those twin towers, dark ochre in colour
and topped by characteristic steeple and pinnacles, rising from among
fruit-trees and red-tiled roofs. Na Morani was the name of this burial
ground, after Morana, the goddess of death. It was the correct thing in
pagan society to make pilgrimages to this place in spring: a pleasant
afternoon in a cemetery was a pastime as popular then as it appears to
be to-day. The _cachet_ of Na Morani had been rather spoilt by the
erection of a little church some time in the ninth century, perhaps by
Wenceslaus himself. Anyway, the pious prince found this church a
convenient half-way house between Vy[vs]ehrad and Hrad[vs]any, and he
was wont to put up a prayer or two here before going on to drop a tear
on the Hrad[vs]any relics. The little church was dedicated to Cosmas
(not the chronicler) and Damian, saints of the third and fourth
centuries. It is not known why these gentlemen clubbed together to have
a day to themselves, but this need not act as deterrent to anyone who
wishes to observe their day. Wherever pilgrims visit, there you will
find settlements growing up, beginning with booths and shanties of those
who sell appropriate commodities, candles, wreaths and such-like. The
traffic in these articles continues; it was only last Palm Sunday that I
was offered a variety of wreaths to choose from, small wreaths of
snowdrops and fir twigs, to be worn on the wrist, to be blessed by the
priest and then to be left lying about the sitting-room until fit for
the dustbin. I resisted all temptation to deck myself with snowdrops and
fir twigs; their subdued tones do not match my aura.
It seems to me that Wenceslaus did nothing in particular for his people;
he concentrated on his part as royal saint and martyr, and was already
posing for the statues of himself and the frescoes depicting his good
deeds, which later ages produced. There was little to show for all this
prince's good intentions. Pious, indeed, was Wenceslaus; he spent a
great part of the night in prayer when he should have been recuperating
for strenuous work on the following day: there was plenty to do for a
country threatened on the one hand by marauding Magyars, on the other by
insidious German influence. "He was in the habit of himself cutting off
the wheat and grapes that the priests required to prepare the holy
wafers and the wine for the sacrament"--I quote Count Luetzow, but his
conception of political economy allowed him to pay a large tribute in
exchange for German interference and the remains of a saint. He lavished
money on the Church, whereas strongholds were required in defence of
Christendom, and finally he adopted the tonsure. This struck home to the
family and made Boleslav's cup of bitterness o'erflow; he plotted more
persistently than ever against Wenceslaus. Another habit of the pious
Prince was that of attending Church dedication festivals and their
anniversaries, in every part of his dominion. The Church feast of
Cosmas and Damian, much patronized by Wenceslaus at a little town
called Boleslav, was due on September 28th. Wenceslaus was invited to
attend this function by Brother Boleslav, who resided there. Boleslav,
by this time very weary of his pious brother, sat up with a few friends
of his own way of thinking, waylaid Wenceslaus, and killed him. This
happened in 935, and the 28th of September is still kept sacred to the
memory of St. Wenceslaus by those who feel inclined that way.
My sympathy with Boleslav does not blind me to the fact that he did
wrong in killing his brother. I am glad to report that Boleslav showed
signs of contrition. The town of Boleslav henceforth became distasteful
to him, so he quitted it and raised another of the same name. Stara
(Old) Boleslav, where Wenceslaus gained his degree of martyrdom, is a
sedate little town near the banks of the Labe (known as Elbe in Germany)
dozing among orchards and lush meadows and o'ershadowed by tall
elm-trees. It is by no means a suitable setting for a sensational
fratricide; I have been to see the place for myself and consider that
the Wenceslaus-Boleslav, drama requires a different scenario. The newer
town, Young Boleslav (Jung Bunzlau in German) is much better suited to
the film; it stands up high on a rock and looks a likely habitation for
an expert in assassination such as was Boleslav, brother of Wenceslaus.
Despite all Boleslav's efforts, popular opinion has it that Wenceslaus
is not dead, but fast asleep inside a mountain, making up for nights
spent in prayer no doubt. I do not believe this report.
* * * * *
[Illustration: OLD BOLESLAV.]
Boleslav succeeded Wenceslaus as first Bohemian Prince of that name. His
was a long and eventful reign, from 936 to 967, long at least for those
days when rulers were apt to be removed abruptly. None knew this better
than Boleslav himself. Monkish chroniclers have little good to say of
Boleslav I--allegedly on account of that little affair at Stara
Boleslav and of Boleslav's persistent paganism; actually, I imagine, on
account of the anti-German attitude he adopted at the outset of his
reign. Boleslav ruled with a firm hand; he subdued a number of Bohemian
nobles who had allied themselves with the national enemy the German,
before he resumed the conflict with Henry the Fowler which his mother
had started. Henry, no doubt, was quite ready to quarrel, using the
murder of his ally as a pretext, but he died before he had had time to
settle down in the saddle, and left his son Otto to carry on. Now Otto,
first German Emperor of that name, was a strong man, and is called Great
on account of his success in reviving the Holy Roman Empire. Boleslav
was a strong man too: Palacky, the famous Bohemian historian, describes
him as "one of the most powerful monarchs that ever occupied the
Bohemian throne." He succeeded in defending his country from the armies
that Otto launched against it, and even the invasion of 950, led by the
Emperor himself, brought no decisive victory for the Germans. Boleslav
seems to have considered it futile to continue quarrelling with his
western neighbour, especially as the usual trouble continued in the
east, in which direction the Prince proposed to extend his dominions. By
955 we find Germans and Bohemians allied against the Magyars, who had
acquired a habit of ravaging Western Europe once a year. They met their
match on the Lechfeld, near Augsburg, and were utterly defeated in one
of the most sanguinary and decisive battles fought during the Middle
Ages. According to Count Luetzow it appears that a Bohemian contingent of
a thousand men formed part of the victorious army. Boleslav himself,
with the greater part of his troops, remained to guard the frontiers of
his country. The defeated Magyars suffered another defeat at the hands
of Boleslav on their retreat through Bohemia, and their leader, Lehel,
was taken prisoner. With peace and friendliness on his western front and
his eastern enemy thoroughly beaten, Boleslav was in a position to carry
out his ambitious plans. He freed Moravia from the Magyars and united it
to Bohemia, and he is said to have conquered a considerable part of the
country between the Carpathian Mountains and the Danube; probably
Slovakia of to-day. By his conquests Boleslav became a near neighbour of
Poland and managed to come to a good understanding with Duke Mieceslav
I, ruler of that country, by giving that prince his daughter Dubravka in
marriage, which would no doubt be considered a friendly act. Dubravka
succeeded in converting her husband and his yet heathen people to
Christianity. Mieceslav must have taken to it very strongly, for between
them he and Dubravka produced a pious son and heir who was to become
known as Boleslav the Brave.
Boleslav II of Bohemia, called "the Pious," enjoyed an even longer reign
than his father did, from 967 to 999, which is one of those easy dates
to remember. Monkish chroniclers seem to have ascribed a good deal of
the work done by Boleslav I to his son, probably on account of the
former's lack of piety in his early days and the latter's exuberance in
that line. Certain it is that Boleslav II was ruler over larger
dominions than had ever been held by any Prince or King of Bohemia.
Besides Bohemia itself the power of Boleslav II extended over Moravia,
present-day Slovakia, a great part of Silesia, including Breslau,
districts of Poland nearly up to the town of Lemberg, with a frontier
touching that of the Russian rulers of Kiev. The Bohemian nobles who had
troubled his father were entirely suppressed by Boleslav II, who
appointed burgraves called "z[vu]pans," over the various districts into
which his territories were divided, and the central authority became
absolute.
It is not certain whether Vy[vs]ehrad was still the actual seat of
government or whether the Hrad[vs]any had taken its place. Certain it is
that the Hrad[vs]any had grown in importance chiefly in the religious
life of the nation. The foundations laid by St. Wenceslaus were
extended. It appears that the Church of St. George on the Hrad[vs]any
dates back to this early period; you can see its two rather stunted
white steeples standing out over the complex of buildings near the
eastern point of the Castle Hill before it dips down towards the Vltava.
The earliest church on this point is attributed to Vratislav, uncle of
St. Wenceslaus, but this sounds rather doubtful. Boleslav II, however,
is known to have founded a convent here, probably the oldest in Bohemia,
and he installed his sister Milada as first abbess. St. Ludmilla was
also buried here, so the Hrad[vs]any was increasing in sanctity.
Boleslav II is also responsible for providing Prague with her first
bishop. We have seen that Henry the Fowler had incorporated Bohemia into
the bishopric of Ratisbon; this was before that country could be
considered as Christian, with right, as we have noticed the lapse after
the demise of St. Wenceslaus. Boleslav II, however, was in a position to
point to a much improved state of affairs, and so Otto I consented to
the formation of a separate bishopric of Prague. The Pope consented
likewise, under the express condition that the connection with the old
Moravian archbishopric should be broken, and that the Latin liturgy only
should be used. The German connection was further strengthened by
placing Bohemia under the supremacy of the Archbishop of Maintz;
Thietmar, a German, became the first Bishop of Prague. This worthy was
succeeded after a few years by a native of Bohemia, Adalbert, who
finally established Christianity in the country. He had a hard task, as
many heathen customs, such as polygamy, were difficult to extirpate;
there are even in this day very few churches dedicated to St. Anthony, a
saint who does not seem to interest or convince the Bohemians. Adalbert
carried his ideals farther afield, to the country of the heathen
Prussians, who killed him for trespassing on ground dedicated to one of
their deities. Adalbert became the third saint and martyr of Bohemian
origin, and was adopted by the Poles as patron saint.
Though there are no buildings other than those on the Hrad[vs]any
mentioned by the chroniclers, we may assume that a township was growing
up by the river at the feet of the Castle Hill. We have the testimony of
Ibrahim Ibn Jacub, who speaks of Prague as "a great commercial town of
stone-built houses." Ibrahim's visit must have taken place in the reign
of Boleslav II. I conclude that he was talking of a town on the left
bank of the Vltava, because others of his race who came here in that
Prince's day are said to have been allowed to found a school in the Mala
Strana quarter. Some fifty years later yet more Jews came to Prague
bringing presents for the ruler, Prince Vratislav, and Bishop Gebhard.
They were allowed to build twelve little houses on the outskirts of the
town, which would be somewhere about the Harrachove. These Jews promised
to be of good behaviour and to pay double taxes, but in three months
their numbers had increased to seven hundred, so half of them were
ordered to go out over the river to where the old town now stands;
another Jewish settlement was established there. The advent of these
visitors is proof positive that Prague was becoming not only habitable
but also a place of importance.