Download PDF | (East Central and Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages, 450-1450, 13) Petr Charvát - The Emergence of the Bohemian State-Brill (2010).
267 Pages
FOREWORD
The emergence of state, and the earliest history of statehood, is a topic of research to which I have dedicated my entire professional life. The fact is, nonetheless, that my efforts have long been concentrated on a quite different aspect of the history of humankind - that of the emergence of cuneiform civilization in the ancient Orient, specifically southwestern Asia.
There is a Czech proverb which says that “blood is not water. My study of the beginnings of literate history led me to deliberate upon what was happening at this time in my own homeland, now the Czech Republic, comprising what was once the medieval duchy, and then kingdom, of Bohemia. The temptation to publicly state my views on the subject grew stronger and stronger as I heeded the famous words of Martin Buber: ‘Tf you have found out something, you should find the courage to say it aloud:
At this time, I was contacted by Messrs. Bretislav Danék and Filip Outrata, editors of the VySehrad publishing house in Prague, who asked me whether I would like to write a book about the emergence of the state of Bohemia. Having enjoyed working with them during the publication of my earlier book on Duke Boleslav II, I hesitated only briefly. The decision to put my long-held thoughts into writing was made.
After the publication of my book in the Czech language, I had the honor of meeting Florin Curta, of the University of North Florida, when he visited this country on a research tour in 2007. Although we had met before in the U.S. A. in 2005, it was during his visit to the Czech Republic that we had more time to discuss the problems involved in studying the early medieval history of this part of Europe. I was greatly impressed by his breadth of vision, his deep appreciation of historical problems, and especially by his profound understanding of the role of archeology in such undertakings.
It was Florin who suggested that the Brill publishing house be approached with regard to translating my book into English. There, the matter fell into the capable hands of Mr. Julian Deahl and Ms. Marcella Mulder, and so it was that this new edition of my earlier book, incorporating results of my work since 2007, came into being.
This is the product that I now present to my esteemed readers, and I sincerely hope that the time you spend perusing my work will be considered well-spent.
Works of this kind, evolving over decades of research and deliberation, make it rather difficult to ascribe the origin of particular ideas to definite moments in time, or even to people who might have inspired them. I will thus acknowledge here all the friends, colleagues and partners to whom I feel in any way indebted in the writing of this book.
I conducted most of my research in two Institutes of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences, and, since 1993, the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic - Archeological and Oriental. I owe my greatest debt of gratitude to my masters and tutors at the Archeological Institute who instilled in me the essentials of the discipline of archeology, and its relation to history - Messrs. Zdenék Smetanka and Miroslav Richter. I profited greatly from discussions with my learned friends and colleagues Martin Tomaések, Jan Frolik, Nad’a Profantova, Katerina Tomkova, Petra Marikova-Vlckova and Jan Marik.
At the Oriental Institute, I acknowledge my debt of gratitude to my learned friends and colleagues Jiri Prosecky, the late Blahoslav Hruska, and Jan Filipsky. For technical assistance with the preparation of the manuscript I am obliged to my learned friend and colleague, Lubica Obuchova.
The years that I spent at my alma mater, Charles University in Prague, are equally valued. I trained in its Philosophical Faculty, and have long been active in its Faculty of Education. I am grateful to my masters and tutors Jiti Slama, Miroslav Buchvaldek, Jan Filip, Lubor Matous, Vladimir Soucek and Frantisek Graus, the greatest influences of my student years. I greatly appreciate the continued help and inspiration of my learned friends and colleagues Katetina Charvatova, Jan Klap&té, Petr Corngj, Jana Kepartova, Alena Miskova, Lenka Bobkova, Jan Zdichynec, Martin Bazil and Petr Kubin.
I learned a lot from those who, like me, study Bohemian history, whether at the Historical Institute of our Academy of Sciences, or at the newly established Center for Medieval Studies (Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic and Charles University, Prague). I am grateful to Petr Sommer, Frantisek Smahel, the late Dugan TieStik, Josef Zemlicka, David Kalhous and Dana Dvorackova-Mala.
I have always profited greatly from my contacts, connections and interactions with the Masaryk University at Brno, Moravia.
I acknowledge my debt of gratitude to Vladimir Podborsky, Zdenék Méiinsky, Jifi Machaéek, Inna Mateiciucova and Simon Ungermann from that Institution.
I also acknowledge and appreciate the kindly help and cooperation of my learned friends and colleagues abroad. These include the above mentioned Florin Curta of the University of North Florida, and Touraj Daryayee of the University of California at Irvine, California, U. S. A. Other colleagues who assisted in various ways and should be thanked here are Patrick Périn of the National Museum of Antiquities at St.-Germain-en-Laye in France, Gabriel Martinez-Gros of the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales in Paris, France, and Sophie Makariou of the Musée du Louvre also in Paris, France.
A research undertaking of this type must necessarily depend on the generous support of sponsoring bodies both at home and abroad. In 2003-2004, I had the good fortune to be able to spend a year at the University Museum of Archeology and Anthropology of the University of Pennsylvania at Philadelphia, U. S. A., as a Fulbright grantee (John William Fulbright Foundation, Prague office, grant no. 2003-28-02). In the following year, I could return to this Institution (which, owing to the kindness and amiability of my colleagues there, I came to adopt as ‘mine’) thanks to a research grant from the American Philosophical Society at Philadelphia (2005 Franklin Grant). I also received assistance from the Grant Agency of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic at Prague (grant no. A8021401), and from the Grant Agency of the Czech Republic (grant 404/08/J013). I am most grateful to these Institutions for their support of my research.
In 2008, I could tackle a whole series of problems relating to the topics included in this book thanks to a sojourn at the Université de Paris Pantéon-Sorbonne (Paris IV), and also at the Section des Sciences Historiques et Philologiques of the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes in Paris, France. I am most grateful to my learned friend and colleague Ludvik Kalus of both the above mentioned Institutions for his kind assistance in all matters connected with my stay in Paris. The present work constitutes a research output of a grant project of the Grant Agency of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic in Prague No. IAA 8000 20804.
It goes without saying that in acknowledging my debts of gratitude to all those who have helped me, I wish to point out that all the errors and inconsistencies in this book are mine alone.
Those who probably paid the highest price for this book are members of my own family. I feel a great debt of gratitude towards Katerina Charvatova, my wife, lifelong companion and colleague, to my sons Jan and Ondiej, and to my daughters-in-law Lenka and Eva. Antonin (Anthony), our first grandson, has recalled for us the long forgotten joys of parenthood. To them all I give my heartfelt thanks, and beg their forgiveness if, absorbed too much with early medieval problems, I neglected any important message that they had for me.
Prague, June 2009
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
01: A gold ring found at Caslav-Hradek, Bohemia. Made in Italy or the Rhineland sometime between the end of the sixth and the end of the seventh-century, lost at Hradek in the early ninth-century (Charvat 1997a, 24 Fig. 1).
02: The Emperor Constantine rewarded those who had helped him to the throne by giving them rings with the inscription FIDEM CONSTANTINO (‘fidelity to Constantine’). Did the king of the Alamanni, Crocus, possibly Krok of the ancient sagas of Bohemia, also wear one? (Fuchs 1997, 119).
03: The sixth to seventh-century settlement site of Roztoky near Prague included this house, No. 926. A series of curving post-hole lines in the corner opposite the stone-built kiln may represent traces of an ancient sleeping platform (Kuna-Profantova et al. 2005, 409 Fig. 159).
04: A bone handle found in feature 449 at Roztoky (Kuna-Profantova et al. 2005, 469 Fig. 219: 8).
05: The compositional principle of the Roztoky bone handle decoration is the same as that of this gilt silver belt chape (strap-end mount), dating to around 530. It was discovered in the grave of an Alamannic lady of rank at the site of Schwenningen in southwestern Germany. In this manner, the earliest medieval culture of Bohemia shows signs of the influences to which it was exposed (Fuchs 1997, 299-300).
06: A bone comb from Roztoky (Kuna-Profantova et al. 2005, 484 Fig. 234: 7).
07: This map shows the diffusion of bone combs throughout sixth to seventh-century Bohemia. In their original homeland, Slavs did not use such items; they became familiar with them only after they had settled down in regions where bone combs were used. The map thus exposes the particular zone of contact between the newcomers and the resident population - in other words, it documents the region in which the earliest BOHEMI are to be sought (Kuna-Profantova et al. 2005, 195 Fig. 80).
08: Finds from a Migration-period grave at Roztoky (possibly sixthcentury). Point of a Frankish angon on the left (Pi¢ 1909, 38).
09: This carving of a horseman comes from a rock relief showing the enthronement of the Sasanian ruler Khusrau II Aparviz (590-628) at Taq-i Bostan by present-day Kermanshah, Iran. The dignitary wears a robe of luxury cloth, displaying medallions depicting animals, and a nomad-type waist-belt with hanging straps, set with their own chapes (strap-end mounts). This is how the Avar kaganate elite probably dressed.
10: This portrait of a Sasanian queen is probably representative of the appearance of the earliest medieval elites of Bohemia. The type of earrings worn by the queen have been discovered in Bohemia and Moravia: Méiinsky 2002, 525, middle of the lowest row (Lukonin 1979, 154 Fig. 28).
11: This portrayal of Samo, the Frankish merchant, by the Bohemian painter Mikolas Ales (1852-1913) owes much to nineteenth-century ideas about the national past. The dignitary wears a Balkan style of dress, with a pendant around his neck which has proved to be a Hallstatt-age brooch of the seventh and eighth centuries B.c. Samo’s staff of office has been modeled ona pendant found at the Byci-Skala cave in the Moravian Karst region, and dates from the sixth pre-Christian century. However Samo might have looked, this depiction is probably not particularly historically accurate (Sklenar 2003, 269).
12: This is what an eighth-century barrow cemetery may have looked like; the site is Kozli by Orlik (Lutovsky 1996a).
13: Two crematory urns, as excavated in a sixth to eighth-century cemetery at Pritluky by Breclav (Mérinsky 2002, 100).
14: Amphorae with ridges, probably originally brought into Bohemia by Frisian merchants as Rhenish wine containers from the end of the eighth to the tenth-century (Profantova 2000, 652 Fig. 4).
15: Exquisite gold Avar belt accessories, from a hoard find discovered at Vrap, Albania (Swoboda 1991, 598, Fig. 377).
16: Dolni-Dunajovice, Moravia, grave No. 7. This person was buried with a splendid nomad-type waist-belt; its position on the body, indicated by its metal accessories, was revealed by meticulous excavation procedure. (Mérinsky 2002, 349).
17: Hooked spurs from eighth-century layers at the site of Mikul¢ice, Moravia (Mérinsky 2002, 256).
18: These horse-harness decorations (phalerae) from eighth-century Mikul€ice, Moravia, clearly show the warrior ethos of the period, depicting lions, wolves and dogs baring their teeth in a menacing manner (Mérzinsky 2002, 458).
19: A sample of luxury gold tableware found at Sannicolau Mare (onetime Nagyszentmiklés), Romania, from the late eighth-century (BéhnerEllmers-Weidemann 1970, p. 173).
20: Meticulous excavation of this Polish cremation-rite funerary barrow revealed vestiges of the pyre on which the body was burned (ZollAdamikowa 1982, 89 Abb. 1).
21a: A large chape (strap-end mount) from Pohofelice, Moravia, most probably of eighth-century origin (Profantova 1992, Taf. 33 : B).
21b: A belt mount depicting fights between a dragon and a reptile, and with a pendant showing a human head emanating rays of light, most probably a likeness of the Iranian deity Mihr (Mithra) from the hill-fort of Kal, in the district of Ji¢in (Profantova-Kalferst 1999, 321, Fig. 4:5).
21c and d: Bohemian and Moravian iconography of the eighth and ninth-century finds parallels in seal impressions from the late Sasanian and post-Sasanian site of Qasr-i Abu Nasr. These include a depiction of a bird with Sasanian royal ribbons (pativa) around its neck (Frye 1973, No. 39), and also a composition of a plant motif flanked by two birds (Frye 1973, No. 328). Both motifs may be combined in the image borne by a chape from Mikulcice, shown in Figure 23 on page 91.
22: The image of Kal seems to have been inspired by icons of Mihr (Mithra), on his heavenly chariot and emanating rays of light, such as this one from the Akdepe site, Turkmenistan (Gubaev-Loginov-Nikitin 1996, Pl. XIV : 1.3).
23: An eighth-century chape (strap-end mount) from Mikul¢ice. Two birds, displaying the Sasanian royal ribbons (pativa), flank the central plant motif (Mérinsky 2002, 249).
24: This is one of the pages of a book listing several thousand ninthcentury benefactors of the Benedictine abbey of Reichenau, to whose memorythe monks dedicated their prayers and services (Zentralbibliothk Zurich, Ms. Rh. hist. 27). Among them, this is the only entry written in Greek script by a practiced hand and giving six personal names: Methodios, Leon, Ignatios, loakin, Symeon and perhaps the Slavic name of Dragais. Does the entry commemorate the sojourn of Methodius, archbishop of Sirmium and Moravia, who stayed in an unidentified imperial monastery in 870-873?
25: A waist-belt clasp and its chape (strap-end mount) from ninth to tenth-century graves at Koutim (Solle 1984, 151 Fig. 62).
26: A sample of objects found in an elite double interment at Kolinnad-Labem, dating from the second half of the ninth-century (Lutovsky 1996b).
27: Part of the funerary accouterments of a lady of rank buried under a funerary barrow at Zelénky near Duchcov, Bohemia (Blahova-FrolikProfantova 1999, 227).
28: This western Frankish coin, minted at Melle, Aquitania, between the years 845 and 850, turned up at the hill-fort of Praha-Sarka (Slama 1988, 59 Fig. 23).
29. A reconstruction of Prague Castle in the early tenth-century. Numbers denote Christian churches: 1 - Virgin Mary; 2 - St. Guy; 3 St. George. Saint George's nunnery bears the number 6. The elite residences shown are the bishops house (No. 4) and the ducal palace (No. 5). The Zizi hillock, where we presume offerings were made, was situated on the top of a rocky outcrop between the bishop's house (No. 4) and St. Guy’s church (No. 2). The ducal stone throne, the ancient columna mundi, is most probably to be sought close to the ducal palace (No. 5) (Frolik 2000).
30: An air view of the Kourim (Stara-Kourim) hill-fort (Kolinsko 17).
31: This is an early ninth-century loop-shaped sword-belt accessory from Caslav, which also depicts a fight between a dragon and a reptile as a symbol of the conflict between good and evil (Profantova 1991, 37 Fig. 1: 1).
32: Main types of female jewelery of ninth to tenth-century Bohemia (Solle 1984, 180 Fig. 85).
33: A number of early ninth-century belt mounts bear the motif of a ridge with dense parallel incisions, perpendicular to the longer axis of the mount. The examples shown here were found at Zinkovy, Bohemia, Pohansko by Bieclav, Moravia, and Libice-nad-Cidlinou, Bohemia (upper row, from left to right). Related examples have turned up at the Hungarian sites of Szegvar and Hajdudorog (lower row, also from left to right) (Charvat 2000, 136 Fig. 8a 9).
34: The motif of ridges with dense parallel incisions, perpendicular to the longer axis of the mount, have turned up among northern Iranian finds from sites referred to as ‘Amlash (Charvat 2000, 137 Fig. 10).
35: A bronze likeness of the crucified Christ from the church of the Virgin Mary at Prague Castle. Southern Germany or the Rhineland, late tenth-century (Kubkova 1997, 403 Fig. 1a).
36: A Bohemian lead coin (?) with the inscriptions VACLAV CNIZ and PRAGA CIVITA, found in a tenth-century context in the central part of a castle at Kazan(Staraya Kazan’) (Numismatické listy 1999/4, p. 107, Fig. 3).
37: Slave shackles from the vicinity of Verdun (Mourat 2001, 280).
38: Vojtéch or Adalbert, the second bishop of Prague, reproaches Duke Boleslav II for the sale of Christian slaves to non-Christians. Bronze door of the Gniezno cathedral, Poland, dating to the 1170s and possibly originating from a workshop in the Lower Rhineland.
39: A map of Bohemia before 930 by Jiti Slama. The original Premyslid realms in central Bohemia are indicated by crossed lines. Dark dots denote major fortifications in the rest of Bohemia (Slama 1988, 81 Fig. 29).
40: A map of early medieval Bohemia by Jiri Slama. Dark squares with toponyms show centers of Piemyslid castle administration, the establishment of which is assumed to have been initiated by Boleslav I (935972). Small, dark dots in their vicinity indicate earlier fortifications, which were presumably deserted when the new Premyslid centers were built (Slama 1988, 83 Fig. 30).
41: We know virtually nothing about the emergence of the Jewish community in Bohemia. Yet the inhabitants of Prague, and later on, of other major sites in Bohemia, must have come into contact with people like this gentleman, whose face was carved in stone by a Greek or Roman artist, possibly in the tenth-century (Beazley 2002, No. 97, p. 63 and Pl. 20).
42: The assumed route of Ibrahim ibn Yaqub’s voyage through Europe (Trestik 1992, 11).
43. A gold ring bearing an image of the Roman goddess Victory, and with an inscription in Hebrew characters (Moshe ben Shelomo). Eleventh to thirteenth-century. Excavated at Praha 1, Namésti-Republiky. Drawing by Véra Tydlitatova (after Zaviel-Zegklitz 2007, 7).
44: Dating from before 995, these vestiges of an inscription (or inscriptions) from Libice-nad-Cidlinou in Bohemia were originally interpreted as belonging to a tombstone. They are, however, more likely to represent the remains of a church inscription, perhaps of a dedicatory character (Turek 1982, 139, Figs. 46 and 47).
45: A coin struck by Emma, dowager queen, at Mélnik, Bohemia, before 1006 (Slama 1988, 44 Fig. 17).
46: The title page of the Latin manuscript of a St. Wenceslas legend written by Gumpold, bishop of Mantua. The saint, crowned by God, is revered by Emma, principissa Bohemie, who performs a deep bow (proskynesis) before him. Probably between 990 and 999. Wolfenbiittel (Germany), Herzog-August-Bibliothek, Cod. Guelf. 11.2., Aug., f. 18 v. (Polansky 2001, 43-44).
47: An engraved reproduction of the illustration to psalm 66 from the psalter that belonged to Emma, queen of France, originally deposited at the library of St. Remi, Rheims, France. Probably 979-986 (Crivello 2001, Fig. 15 between pp. 192 and 193).
48: An ivory carving depicting Christ crowning Emperor Otto II and his consort, Theophano. A tiny figure is shown in a deep proskynesis at the feet of the emperor. Probably 982-983, Musée National du Moyen Age et des Thermes de l’Hotel de Cluny, Paris, Cl. 392 (Little 1997, 500).
49: Eleventh to twelfth-century fortifications guarding the MoravianAustrian border along the Dyje (Thaya) river. The situation of these forts is striking. At least some of them date from the time of Bretislav I (10341055), possibly even from his Moravian governorate. They thus constitute an early example of deliberate strategical design to protect the frontiers of the duchy (Peska- Unger 1993, 145 Abb. 7).
LIST OF COLOR ILLUSTRATIONS
01: A page from the Notitia dignitatum, a late Roman list of army detachments, command offices and the supporting logistical apparatus of the imperial army. Early fifth-century A. D. The second emblem from the left in the uppermost row belongs to the Marcomanni (LOr des Princes Barbares p. 24, fol. 115).
02: A statue of a warrior dated to 550-577 a.p.. Hebei Regional Museum, China. An authentic depiction of a nomad warrior, evoking the appearance of the Avars as they came to eastern Europe (Hebei, Pl. 56).
03: The so-called Dagobert’s throne, a Roman seat of office (sella curullis) with ninth-century additions (Périn-Feffer 1985, 81, Pl. 2).
04: A saddle-cloth showing a pheasant with a Sasanian royal ribbon (pativa) around its neck. Central Asia, most probably Sogd, eighth or ninth-century. Eastern motifs probably came to Bohemia and Moravia by means of such carriers (Otavsky 1998, 16 Abb. 2).
05: A hind-shaped luxury vessel for hand-washing (aquamanile). Muslim Cordoba, tenth-century. Museo Arqueoldgico Nacional, Madrid Inv. No. 51856.
06: The title page of St. Matthew’s Gospel, most probably showing the four evangelists. Book of Deer, tenth to twelfth-century. Originally in the library of John Moore, bishop of Ely (+ 1714). Purchased and donated to Cambridge University by King George I. Cambridge University Library, MS. Ii.6.32, fol. lv. We must not forget that the exquisite medieval manuscripts being exhibited throughout Europe were by no means the only products of early medieval scribal art. It may be that many a newly converted European Christian took advice and counsel from books of this character.
07: A set of jewelery found in one of the richest interments at Libicenad-Cidlinou, Bohemia. Church cemetery, before 1050, probably tenthcentury. Spherical silver buttons (gombiky) with granulation crosses and a kaptorga locket decorated with horse figures, all with granulated patterns, are accompanied by amber and carnelian beads.
08: St. Helen's crypt in the Church of Holy Sepulcher, Jerusalem. After a 1839 lithography by David Roberts. From the tenth-century, the holy city of Jerusalem, where Jesus Christ lived and taught during his earthly life, was a center of pilgrimage for many European Christians, including Bohemians from at least the eleventh-century.
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