Přemysl the plowman
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Přemysl the Ploughman ( Czech : Přemysl Oráč , also Primislas , Primizl , Premizl , Przyemisl , Prziemysl , Przemysl , Primyal , Przimysl , Przymisl ) is the mythical progenitor of the Bohemian ruling family of the Přemyslids . The mythical material is documented in two medieval sources: the Christian legend from the end of the 10th century and the Chronica Boemorum des Cosmas from the beginning of the 12th century. The story by Přemysl is also known in the version of the "Old Bohemian Legends" by Alois Jirásek . This work, created in 1894, processed the material from the Cosmas Chronicle and its centuries-long development into literary sagas .
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In the oldest written version of the Christian legend, the tribe of Bohemia is struck by an epidemic . On the advice of a fortune teller , the people found a wise man named Přemysl, who was not engaged in anything other than plowing the fields. The wedding of the plowman and the fortune teller and the founding of the city of Prague redeemed the country from the plague, and from then on all the princes of Bohemia came from the Přemysl family.
Cosmas delivers a much more detailed version. He is the first to name the fortune-teller Libuše , who will become a judge and successor to her father Krok , and tells of a legal battle in the course of which Libuše's position is questioned by other tribal powers. Libuše prophesies that the people will forfeit their freedom and repent if a man takes office instead of a woman. Nevertheless, she agrees to marry and give up control. Their horse shows a delegation the way and finally finds Přemysl where Libuše predicted it: on the Bílina river in Stadice (near today's town of Ústí nad Labem ), where he plows his field with two piebald oxen . The animals disappear at his signal, Přemysl sticks his hazel rod into the ground and invites the delegation to a snack. As they eat, three shoots grow out of the rod, but two wither and only one grows larger and more powerful. Přemysl explains to the messenger that this is a sign that there will always be only one ruler from his family. Then he packs his bast shoes to remind him and his successors of their simple origins and accompanies the men to the Libuše castle, where the wedding takes place.
The popular version of Jirásek's saga largely follows the version of Cosmas. In addition, Jirásek makes Přemysl a "Lemuzen" - according to tradition, the Lemuzen are said to have been one of the 13 Slavic tribes that inhabited Bohemia alongside the Czechs in the early Middle Ages . Jirásek also elaborates on the motif of the plow: Then Libuše demands that “a man who is dining from an iron table” be brought to her. The delegation is entertained by Přemysl at the flock of the folded plow.
reception
In Stadice, a monument on the Königsfeld (Královské pole) commemorates the legend of Přemysl plowing.
literature
- Kosmova Kronika česká . Paseka, Praha-Litomyšl 2005, ISBN 80-7185-515-4 .
- Dušan Třeštík : Mýty kmene Čechů . Nakladatelství lidové noviny, 2003, ISBN 80-7106-646-X .
Web links
- Digitized version of the Latin original of the Chronica Boemorum
- On this page you can follow the route of the delegation.
- Full text of the Old Bohemian Sagas on Wikisource (Czech)
Individual evidence
- ^ Johann Karl August Musäus : Volksmährchen der Deutschen. 1782-1786 (Volume 3).
- ^ Cosmas (Pragensis) / Berthold Bretholz: The Chronicle of the Bohemians of Cosmas of Prague. Berlin, 1923, p. 15 ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
