February 1, 2019 | David Kalhous | HI Research Blog |
Traditionally, authors of older national(istic) historiography often sought the origins of nations in medieval ethnic groups. In Czech historiography, the problem of the identity of the inhabitants of Bohemia before 1200 was neither questioned nor properly discussed, and the origins of a “Czech gens” were sought in the ninth or tenth century. There is, however, a distinct lack of evidence from within the contemporary Bohemia to support these arguments. We are completely reliant on external sources, the Annals of Fulda and other East Frankish records, which are probably responsible for the very notion of the ninth-century Bohemi. Indeed, it may well be that it was external pressure at the time that activated the processes that enabled the establishment of Přemyslid monarchy.
My new publication reflects the extensive research on early medieval identities and offers three perspectives from which the (self-)identification of the inhabitants of Bohemia can be studied. First, it focuses on the image of Bohemi in selected chronicles, annals and legends written in the East Frankish kingdom and in the Holy Roman Empire before 1200 and compares it with the image constructed for them by the Bohemian chroniclers, especially Cosmas of Prague (d. 1125). The imperial authors shared with Bohemian historiographers the idea of a clearly identifiable group that stood in a subordinate position to the Roman kings and emperors. Surprisingly, whereas the tribute paid by the Přemyslids ceased to be mentioned in the historiography from within the empire, it was for Cosmas of Prague an important link to imperial authority and a source of legitimacy for the Bohemi and their princes. The imperial authors also successfully used “othering” as a device, constructing and presenting the Bohemi as “wild barbarians”. This image became established during the ninth century and was still in use in the twelfth, and was often invoked by individual authors to help denigrate those who were in alliance with the Bohemi. Thus, the portrayal of the Bohemi can tell a lot about the particular allegiances of medieval historians.
Secondly, the new book discusses what the evidence of the cult of St Wenceslas tells us about the contacts between the Přemyslid principality and the Holy Roman Empire. This section begins with an analysis of the manuscript tradition of the hagiographical texts concerning Wenceslas, before discussing evidence for the dispersal of the saint's relics and other manifestations of his cult. Although St Wenceslas had become patron of the Přemyslid principality by the end of the tenth century at the latest and some of the legends were evidently written in Bohemia, most of the surviving manuscripts that include Lives of St Wenceslas were written and kept at Bavarian monasteries. His relics also seem to have formed a regular part of cathedral and monastic treasures within the empire from the end of the tenth century onwards. As is also clear from his inclusion in contemporary calendars and martyrologies, St Wenceslas came to be venerated well outside of the borders of Přemyslid principality. The strength of his cult probably helped to mediate knowledge of the Přemyslids and Bohemi and to establish cultural contacts with the outside world.
The final section of the book deals with the literary culture in the Přemyslid principality and its audience. In particular, it addresses the importance of selected narratives for the historical consciousness of Bohemian and Moravian elites. While accounts of the assembly at Gniezno in 1000 were of no (or very limited) importance in the Přemyslid principality and only gained weight thanks to modern historiography, stories about SS Cyril-Constantine and Methodius and of the Moravian prince Svatopluk I became a prominent feature of Bohemian medieval historiography and hagiography from the fourteenth century onwards – mainly thanks to the vernacular Chronicle of Dalimil and to Přibík Pulkava of Radenín, courtier of Charles IV. The importance of both these narratives was largely eclipsed by the hagiography concerning Wenceslas and the other sources pertaining to his cult. Being patron of the Přemyslid principality and soon also invoked as its eternal prince, he seems to have been omnipresent in the life of the inhabitants of that area – his image struck onto coins, his name mentioned by preachers, his story regularly reinterpreted in numerous legends – and an important focal point of their identity.
It is clear from all three approaches that the process of constructing the identity of Bohemi was closely connected to the establishment of the Přemyslid principality. That realm was in close contact with Bavaria and Saxony, through which knowledge about the Czech lands (and their holy patron) spread to other regions of contemporary Europe. Its inhabitants absorbed the image created for them by outsiders, identifying with some of its parts and simultaneously transforming it. The stories of their patron saint, Wenceslas, helped them to present themselves not only as loyal tributaries of the emperors but also as followers of this royal martyr. Naturally, the identification with the Bohemi was the most intense among the elites.
Every book leads to some conclusions, but also raises new questions: How was the cohesion of this Přemyslid realm cemented, and what was the role of the Church in this process? What part did the most important historiographical source written in Bohemia, Cosmas of Prague's Chronicle of the Bohemians, play during the Middle Ages? And how influential were legal and liturgical texts from the East Frankish and Holy Roman Empire in the Přemyslid principality? Answers to these new questions were found in the course of a project undertaken at the Institute for Medieval Research,Identity, Cohesion, Inclusion: Přemyslid regnum as a Part of the Post-Carolingian World, and will be published soon. To understand the wider context of Bohemian medieval historiography, it will be necessary to dig deeper – here, a new project, Re-membering the Past and creating “others” in Central Europe: A comparative perspective, will hopefully follow soon.