Mlada (abbess)
Mlada was a Benedictine nun , abbess and founder of the first monastery in Bohemia . She undertook a diplomatic trip to Rome around 965 and was instrumental in establishing the diocese of Prague .
Life
Mlada was the youngest daughter of the Bohemian prince Boleslav I. The Chronica Boemorum describes her as an educated woman; she had learned Latin and was destined for a spiritual career. In the years 965 to 969 her father sent her to Rome to work with Pope John XIII. to ask permission to found an independent diocese for Bohemia and Moravia . The negotiations were tough. Bohemia belonged to the diocese of Regensburg and until his death on September 23, 972, Bishop Michael refused to forego the income from the Bohemian churches. Only his successor Wolfgang gave his approval . Mlada was able to leave Rome in the winter of 972 and return to Prague. Secular negotiations followed the ecclesiastical permission. After the imperial assembly in Quedlinburg in March 973 had decided to found a diocese, it took another three years before Thietmar was ordained the first Prague bishop in 976 .
As a second result of the diplomatic mission, Mlada received papal permission to found a monastery. During her stay in Rome she entered the Benedictine order , took the religious name Maria and was ordained abbess. So she was able to take over the management of the newly founded abbey at St. George's Church in Prague Castle , the first religious community in Bohemia. She held this office until her death.
Contemporary sources do not record the date of Mlada's birth or death. The often quoted statement that she died on February 9, 994, comes from the Jesuit Georgio Crugerio from 1669 and takes up the tradition of the monastery. The Benedictine Sisters of St. George did not achieve an official status as saint or blessed for the founder of the monastery, so she is called "venerable". Her grave is said to be in the Marienkapelle of the former Georgskloster. However, the archaeological investigation has so far not been able to prove beyond doubt the identity of the person buried there with Abbess Mlada.
Literature and Sources
- Cosmas of Prague: Chronica Boemorum . In the edition by Berthold Bretholz , Berlin 1923. MGH SS Rer. Germ. N. S
- Jiří Sláma: Výkladový heslář vybraných historických osob, míst a reálií . In: Rostislav Nový, Jiří Sláma, Jana Zachová: Slavníkovci ve středověkém písemnictví . Prague, Vyšehrad 1987
- Petr Sommer: Kaple Panny Marie v klášteře sv. Jiří na Pražském hradě a začátky české sakrální architektury . In: Přemyslovský stát kolem roku 1000: na pamět knížete Boleslava II (7. února 999) . Praha, Nakl. Lidové Noviny, 2000. ISBN 80-7106-272-3
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Mlada |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Maria |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | abbess |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 10th century |
| DATE OF DEATH | 10th century |