A History of Bohemian Literature. hrabe Francis Lützow
to Cosmas as well as to the chronicles of Prague, Breznov, Opatovic, and Vyšehrad. The preface ends thus: "Vain words I will as far as possible avoid—But yet set down my whole meaning clearly—That every one may thus learn more willingly—And have more regard for his nation.—Hearing my speech, the wise man will become yet wiser—The sad man will be freed from sadness.—I have written this down plainly—And I beg that a better man—May for the glory of our country—And because of the craft of our enemies—Improve my words by fair rhymes—And embellish the subject with brilliant speech—But he should not jeer at me—Saying, he meddles with what he does not understand—Of one thing I am full certain—That I have my nation much at heart—That has encouraged me in this work—That has aroused my energy."
The first part of the book narrates the well-known tales of the making of Bohemia; the appearance of Čech and his companions in the land; their settlement near the mountain Rip; the adventures of Krok, Premysl, and Libussa; and the deeds of the early Premyslide princes. All these semi-mythical tales are related in very much the same manner in which Cosmas had told them two centuries before, and Hayek was to tell them two centuries later.
Among the most interesting episodes in the Chronicle are the descriptions of the murder of Prince Venceslas by his treacherous younger brother Boleslav, and of the first meeting of Prince Ulrick and the peasant-maiden Bozena, whom he afterwards wedded. The peculiar national prejudice of many Bohemian nobles, founded not on pride of birth, but on intense racial antipathy, appears very clearly in Dalimil's account of Prince Ulrick's marriage. When the nobles reproached him for his unequal alliance, he answers: "We all descend from one father—And he ranks as a noble—Whose father had much silver—And as nobility and peasantry are thus intermingled—Bozena shall be my wife—Rather would I entrust myself to a Bohemian peasant-girl—Than that I should take a German queen as my wife—Every heart clings to its nation—Therefore a German woman would less favour my language;—A German woman will have German servants—German will she teach my children—Then there will be division of languages—And thereby certain ruin to the state."
Of interest also is the author's account of the reign of the great King Ottokar II. He writes as a violent enemy of that king, and attributes the disastrous close of his reign to the fact that he neglected his Slavonic countrymen and showed too great favour to the Germans.
The geographical position of Bohemia, which is the outpost of the Slavonic race that advances farthest westward, has been the cause why that country has always been the scene of racial feuds. National animosities were as violent at the beginning of the fourteenth as they unfortunately are at the end of the nineteenth century. Ottokar's part in this struggle belongs to the political history of Bohemia; but it may be incidentally remarked that, as regards the accusation of having unduly favoured the Germans to the detriment of his own countrymen, the greatest of Bohemia's kings has found an eloquent defender in Palacký, the greatest Bohemian historian. The so-called Dalimil thus describes the close of King Ottokar's reign: "Then the king began to heed no longer his own (countrymen)—Towns and villages he began to give to the Germans—The Germans appeared to surround him—Against the nobles he used violence—His officials he instigated against the lords of Vitkovic—Against other nobles also he began to use violence.—Therefore many nobles became angry—They appealed to Rudolph, king of the empire (i.e. of the Germans), against him—Saying, 'It is better that the land should be a desert—Rather than that by the king's order the Germans should hold it.'—Rudolph arrives in Austria—On the advice of the Germans the king goes to meet him—Then the king makes over all his lands to Rudolph—Rudolph, keeping the others, makes over Bohemia and Moravia to the king. … Alas for the noble king—That he did not remain true to his own nation—Thus would he have obtained great fame—And also great riches—With the help of which he could have made yet further conquests—And defeated all his foes.—But the king continued to revile his countrymen—To injure them whenever he could."
A lengthy account of the grievances of various great Bohemian nobles against King Ottokar follows. The writer closes the chapter dealing with that king by these words: "When, therefore, the king had need of the Bohemians—He did not receive willing aid from them—They left him when he required them.—When the king saw that he could not rely on them in the hour of need—As they would not forget their sufferings and the evil (which they had endured)—The king said: 'When I return from the wars—I will inflict much evil on the Bohemians—I will thus stain the Petrin[18] with their blood—That no Bohemian will any longer be seen on the bridge of Prague.—Truly he could no longer wish to live.'—When he spake such words publicly.—Few Bohemians did he take with him—He marched with Germans, made them his own—Zavis[19] and his brother were with Rudolph—This was very harmful to the Bohemian king—For he (Zavis) knew the strength of his forces—And had friends in his army—When at daybreak they were preparing for battle—Zavis sent a message to the king, saying—That if he were gracious to him—He would be willing to render him service.—The king would not hear of the proposal and advanced—Saying, 'Rather than that I did this, I would let myself be killed.'—Then the king with his Germans rushed into battle against Rudolph—And alas! he fell there—This misfortune occurred on the day of St. Rufus, a Friday—(That holy martyr's day is a great festival)—It was in the year since the birth of the Son of God—One Thousand Two Hundred and Seventy-eight." Dalimil's chronicle, as already noted, enjoyed great popularity in Bohemia for many years, in fact, up to the sixteenth century, when Hajek's chronicle took its place. In consequence of this popularity the chronicle found continuators, and several of the manuscripts contain additions that are obviously by a different writer. Shorter tales relating warlike events in a manner and metre similar to Dalimil also vouch for the popularity of the chronicle. Such are the tales of William of Zajic, Ottokar and Zavis, and The Death of King John, the most interesting one to English readers.
To the early literature of Bohemia a considerable amount of didactic and satirical poetry also belongs. The most important of the writers of such verses is Smil Flaška, lord of Pardubic, the earliest Bohemian writer whose name and personality are well known. He is the author of the Father's Advice to his Son, of the New Council, one of the many beast-epics of the Middle Ages, and of a collection of proverbs. Other satirical writings, such as the Contest of Water and Wine and the Groom and the Scholar, were formerly, though incorrectly, attributed to Smil. All these satirical and didactic poems have little poetical value, but are of great interest for the student of the social condition of Bohemia in the fourteenth century. They contain, however, a vast amount of allusions of a local or national character, which render it very difficult to give an account of them or quote from them without entering into disquisitions and explanations which would have little interest for English readers.
Smil Flaška, lord of Pardubic, played an important part in the history of his times. He was born about the middle of the fourteenth century. From his father, William, a brother of Ernest of Pardubic, the first Archbishop of Prague, he inherited very considerable estates in the districts of Bohemia that are near Pardubic. During the prolonged struggle between King Venceslas IV. and the Bohemian nobles, Smil was among those who opposed the king. He was killed (in 1403) in a skirmish near Kutna Hora (Kuttenberg) while leading the forces of the "League of the Lords" against the citizens of Kuttenberg, who were on the side of King Venceslas.
Smil's Advice of a Father to his Son is a work of great interest, as it clearly shows what were then considered to be the duties of a young Bohemian noble—what was required to make him a perfect gentleman, as a recent Bohemian writer on Smil has expressed it. Smil begins by telling his readers that an old nobleman, addressing his son, who has just attained maturity, and to whom he presents sword and lance, advises him as to his conduct in life. The various counsels are then enumerated. Piety is first mentioned. The father says: "This is my first advice, O son—Have God at every hour—In your heart with all your might—Humbly both by day and night—Remember, too, His dear Mother—Her sacred sufferings bear in your mind—This you should always have before your eyes—Remember this, my son."
Smil is by no means devoid