Božena of Bohemia

Oldřich and Božena in Dalimil's Chronicle , Latin translation, 14th century. The upper picture shows the laundry scene, in the lower the Duke Božena leads into his castle.

Oldřich and Božena - monumental painting by František Ženíšek

Božena of Bohemia († around 1052 ) was a farmer's daughter and the second wife of the Bohemian Duke Oldřich .

Life

Božena, a woman of peasant origin, became known through a legend recorded by the Bohemian chronicler Cosmas of Prague in his historical work, the Chronica Boemorum : The young Oldřich, who was first married, met the farmer's daughter Božena while hunting Did laundry. His first marriage had so far been childless. He broke off the hunt and returned with the girl to Prague , where she gave birth to his illegitimate son and later heir of Bretislaus around 1005 . The legendary and romantically transfigured encounter between the two found its way into cultural history and became a popular motif in literary, artistic and musical works.

Duke Oldřich married Božena without triggering the first marriage, and the difference in class due to their origin was considerable. Her son, who was a Bohemian duke from 1035, later married the noblewoman Judith von Schweinfurt .

reception

In the Czech minority town of Peruc there is the so-called "Oldřich's Oak", where Oldřich and Božena are said to have met. The pedunculate oak ( Quercus robur ) is around 1000 years old and has a circumference of over eight meters and a height of 30 meters. The tree is a destination.

• The Chronicle of Dalimil , 14th century
• Oldřich a Božena. - popular poem by Josef Jungmann , 1806 ( full text on Wikisource )
• Oldřich a Božena. - Opera by František Škroup , first performed in 1828.
• Oldřich a Božena. - Overture to a puppet play by Bedřich Smetana , 1863.
• Oldřich a Božena. - Monumental painting by František Ženíšek , 1884, which was also widely used as a color reproduction.
• Oldřich a Božena. - Film by Otakar Vávra , 1984.