Čech
Čech [ ˈtʃɛx ] ( Latin Boemus ) is the legendary progenitor of the Czechs , who , according to the legend Lech, Čech and Rus, led his people with his brothers Lech and Rus from the area between the upper Vistula and the middle Dnepr to new, fertile land looking for it, saw it from the mountain Bergíp in 644 and founded the state of Čechy there.
Origin and development of the legend
The figure of Čech found its way into written records in the 12th century through the Chronica Boemorum des Cosmas of Prague . According to this oldest and most concise version of the story, the leader named Boemus in the original Latin version came to the uninhabited land around Mount Říp as the elder of a group of immigrants of unknown origin in search of new homes . The land had been deserted since the flood and was extremely suitable for settlement; it is the land where milk and honey flow, alluding to the biblical Promised Land . The country was named Boemia after him out of gratitude .
In the following centuries, the material was taken up and developed by other authors. The Chronicle of Dalimil from the 14th century attributed six brothers to Čech. The story made him descend from the area of the White Croatians and leave his original homeland because of a murder. Also in the 14th century, Čech got a brother named Lech near Přibík Pulkava , who moved on from Bohemia to Poland and settled there.
According to the Kronyka Czeská (Prague 1541) by Václav Hájek z Libočan , Čech and his people arrived at the mountain Bergeíp in 644, where he persuaded his people in a speech to stay in the land that is promised to you, full of game and fowl , superfluous with honey and milk, and as you can see for yourself, very pleasant and comfortable to the apartment, the water without defects and very rich in fish . In the same people's assembly the country was named after the leader of the people: Since you are called the Czech, it is fair that it should be called the Czechen country . In 649 the Duke Čech would have cut down the woods under the mountain Říp , and had a not very high house built there, and gave it the name of his son, who was called Klen, Klence. The others, however, and especially the most distinguished ones, built houses and courtyards for them in the same house because of the favor they had with their prince, the Czecho. This is how the first Czech village in Bohemia is said to have originated.
According to Václav Hájek z Libočan, Čech was buried after 17 years at the head of his people in what is now the village of Ctiněves ( Okres Litoměřice ). After his death, "the Czechen are said to have lived for nine years without a ruler or master, whom the others would have obeyed."
Modern version
Based on the Chronicle of Cosmas, the poet Alois Jirásek recounted this tradition in his Old Czech sagas at the end of the 19th century , referring to the progenitor as Praotec Čech (forefather Čech).
According to this modern version of the legend, the family comes from the countries behind the Tatra Mountains (Slovak part of the Carpathian Mountains ). At that time, between the Vistula and the Dnieper, all Slavs still lived in one country and spoke one language. Although they were related to one another in customs and way of life, they all had their own dialect and fought each other because of their common land. After wars over and over again between the individual sexes for land and power, the brothers Čech and Lech decided with their families and friends to leave the country and look for a new home in the west. Only after crossing the Vltava did they find unpopulated areas. There, Čech is said to have set up a resting camp under a mountain protruding from the area. The dukes who traveled with him found the soil productive. In the morning Čech climbed the mountain (according to legend it is the Říp) and saw unpopulated land far and wide. Then on the third day he called his dukes and conferred with them, and they decided to stay. When asked how they should now name the country, everyone shouted. "After you, after you". The land was reclaimed, courtyards and fortresses were built, and the dukes ensured a peaceful and just life. Duke Lech then moved north after about thirty years. Čech died at the age of 86 and was burned after a death ritual. In Polish lore of the 14th century, Čech is also associated with the other two mythical kings Lech and Rus as a younger brother , a concept that was soon adopted in Bohemia.
etymology
As the origin of the name Čech , which translates as Bohemian or Czech, is today's word člověk (dt. Human). The " - ch " (pronounced as the voiceless velar fricative ) is an archaic suffix that denotes people. It is still used occasionally today, e.g. B. " staroch " for " Stařeč " (old man) or " broke " for bratr (brother).
See also
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Cosmas of Prague: Chronicle of Bohemia 1 . ed. by Alexander Heine 1978. p. 43
- ↑ Johannes Sandel (translator): Wenceslai Hagecii of Libotschan, Bohemian Chronicle, of the origin of the Bohemians, of their origins and the arrival of kings, counts and nobility, of knightly exercises and tournaments, of internal and foreign wars, of fortifications of the country and the Cities: Equal to the exercise of idolatry and conversion to Christianity, the establishment of ancient churches, bishops, donors, and the high school. As well as from mines and salt wells, from privileges and antiques, from good order, Müntz, Maas, weight, from strange clothing, from natural wonders, land punishments, and what else happened in spiritual and worldly dealings . Thomas Fritsch [en], Leipzig 1718, p. 1
- ↑ ibid. P. 2.
- ^ Johann Mehler (Fuerstlich Colloredo = Mansfeldischer Hofrath): Original, chronological history of Boehmen. First part. From the arrival of the Slavs in Bohemia in the year of Christ 480 to the reign of Emperor Charles the Fourth in 1346. Prague, published and available from Johann Diesbach. 1806. p. 10 .
- ↑ Roman Jakobson: The rhyming words Čech-Lech. In: Selected Writings: Word and Language. Walter de Gruyter, 1971.