Witiko of Prčice
Witiko von Prčice , (also Witiko I. von Prčice ; Veit von Prčitz ; first name also Witek; Witko, Witigo; Witego; predicate also from Purschitz ; von Prschitz ; Latin Witego de Purschitz ; Czech Vítek z Prčice ; Vítek I. z Prčice ; Vítek nejstarší ; * before 1120; † 1194 ) was a Bohemian nobleman who was in the service of the ruling Přemyslids . He is considered to be the progenitor of the Witigonen , who branched out into four family branches under his sons.
Life
Witiko's origin and date of birth are not known. Its predicate "von Prčice" ( from Purschitz ) is derived from Prčice bei Sedletz. He was first mentioned in 1134. For the year 1165 he is proven as cupbearer and from 1169 to 1175 as stewardess at the court of Duke Vladislav II . From this he was sent in the winter of 1172 together with the Prague Bishop Friedrich I with two diplomatic missions to Emperor Friedrich Barbarossa . In 1177 he was Burgrave of Glatz . In 1179 he is said to have participated in the Battle of Loděnice , which was fought between the dukes Vladislav II and Frederick . Since 1181, in addition to the name "Vítek", which was used until then, which is a deminutive of Vít ( Veit ), the German form of the name "Witigo" has also been passed down.
In 1184 he was appointed Burgrave of Prácheň ( Castellan de Prahen ). Presumably in this position he acquired extensive land in southern and central Bohemia. In 1185 he was present when the Weitra area, which at that time belonged to Bohemia, was awarded to the Kuenringer . When in 1189 on the court in Sadská by Duke Konrad III. the Bohemian land law was codified , he also appeared as a witness.
He bequeathed his extensive estates to his four sons, who each founded their own family branches:
- Witiko d. Ä. from Prčice ( Vítek starší z Prčice; Vítek II. ), documented 1213–1236; Founder of the Krumlov line , which died out in 1302.
- Witiko von Prčice and Blankenberg ( Vítek mladší z Prčice az Blankenberka; Vítek III. Z Prčice az Blankenberka ); founded the line of the Rosenbergs , to which in 1302 the possessions of the extinct Krumlov line passed. With Peter Wok von Rosenberg this line became extinct in 1611.
- Heinrich I. von Neuhaus ; Founder of the von Neuhaus family branch , which went out in 1604.
- Witiko von Klokot ( Vítek z Klokot; Vítek IV. ), Documented 1220–1234; Founder of the Landstein and Witingau line , which died out in 1381.
Fictional hero
In 1867, Adalbert Stifter, who was well versed in medieval Bohemian history and who himself came from South Bohemia, published the historical novel Witiko . The protagonist of the novel is Witiko von Prčice, whom he tries to portray as authentically as possible.
Legend
The descent of the Witigonen from the Roman family of the Italian Orsini is not documented and belongs to the area of legend. It came about because Ulrich II von Rosenberg constructed a fictitious genealogical descent from the Prince Orsini to increase the Rosenbergs' prestige . It was confirmed by three members of the Orsini family between 1469 and 1481 at the request of Ulrich's sons Johann and Jost . The legend was picked up after 1594 by the Rosenberg court chronicler and archivist Václav Březan in his "Monumenta Rosenbergica" and thus spread. In 1609, Březan also included them in the short and summary excerpt from the Rosenberg Chronicle . There the heading in Chapter I concerning Witiko reads misleadingly: "O knížeti vlaském Vítkovi, kterýž se nejprv do těchto krajin dostal" ( From the Italian Duke Witiko, who was the first to come to this country ).
literature
- Constantin von Wurzbach : Rosenberg, Vitek von . In: Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich . 27th part. Imperial and Royal Court and State Printing Office, Vienna 1874, p. 12 ( digitized version ).
- Matthäus Klimesch (ed.): Norbert Heermann 's Rosenberg'sche Chronik . Prague 1898.
- Vratislav Vaníček: The family policy of the Witigonen and the structural changes in the South Bohemian region in the state union of King Přemysl II Ottokar . In: Bohemian-Austrian Relations in the 13th Century . Prague 1998, ISBN 80-85899-42-6 , pp. 85-105.
- Anna Kubíková: Rožmberské kroniky. Krátky a summovní výtah od Václava Březana . České Budějovice 2005. ISBN 80-86829-10-3 .
Web links
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Witiko of Prčice |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Witego de Purschitz; Witiko I of Prčice; Vitus von Prčitz; Vítek z Prčice; Vítek I. z Prčice (Czech) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Bohemian nobleman in the service of the Přemyslids, ancestor of the Witigones |
| DATE OF BIRTH | before 1120 |
| DATE OF DEATH | 1194 |