František Lützow

“ If one thing is less known than the history of Bohemia it is the life and the works of the historians who have recorded the annals of that country. The undoubted fact that many works of ancient Bohemian writers have been lost has led to the supposition that no native records of my country except those belonging to the last century are existent. ”

“ As I wrote some time ago, Březan’s biography of Lord Peter of Rosenberg is somewhat disappointing. Though the thought should be rejected as frivolous, one cannot help imagining what a biography of Peter of Rosenberg from the pen of an impressionist historian might have been.
Though a man of such exceptional talent and ability such as Lord Peter, can never be considered as typical, yet he is a good example of the peculiar character which the exceptional surrounding of a great Bohemian nobleman of the sixteenth and early seventeenth century produced. ”

“ Of these writers who belonged to the community of the Brethren, Brother Jan Blahoslav certainly enjoyed the greatest fame. His Historie Bratrská (History of the Brotherhood) , of which but scanty fragments have been preserved, was greatly praised by his contemporaries, not only for its erudition and profoundness it was based on the archives of the community but also for the pureness of its Bohemian style. It is one of the great merits of the Brethren that they bestowed great pains on the development of the national language. ”

“ When it was told to King John that the French were flying, and he was entreated himself also to seek in flight the safety of his life and that of his men, he said: “God forbid that a King of Bohemia should fly; rather lead me there where the battle is raging most fiercely. The Lord be with us; we fear nothing, but watch carefully over my son.” When he had been led to the battlefield King John, struck by many arrows, was killed, and many Bohemian nobles who were with him on August 26. ”

“ Addressing his successors, Charles writes: ‘When after me you will reign adorned with the diadem of kings, remember that I also reigned before you, and that I was then reduced to dust and the mire of worms. Thus will you also flit like a shadow and fall as the vanishing flowers of the field. What value has nobility and abundance of possessions, unless you have also a pure conscience with the true faith and the hope of a holy resurrection? Do not value your lives, as do the impious who think evilly ”

“ But as it is of much interest to know in what frame of mind a man leaves this world (be his death natural or violent) and whether he leaves it with contentment or with sorrow, and how he prepares for it—therefore will I give here, word by word, the last sayings of these men according to the accounts of three clergymen who were present during the last moments of the Bohemian prisoners, and prepared them for the violent and, in the eyes of the world, dishonourable death that awaited them.’ I can, of course, only quote a few lines from Skála. ”

“ Many untruthful tales concerning Bohemia that have since been incessantly repeated, are due to Aeneas Sylvius; among these is his report of the death of Žižka, whom he describes as dying blaspheming and ordering his skin to be used as a drum. It is difficult to read anything more repulsive than this account of the death of a man who, though not untouched by the cruelty of his time, was according to his own lights a fervent Christian and a true Bohemian patriot. ”

“ Previously to the meeting of the German parliament, the most prominent German statesmen met in conference. As the treaty of Vienna had though without the consent of the estates included Bohemia in the Germanic confederation, Palacký was invited to take part in this conference. His answer caused great sensation, and became a watchword to the Bohemians. Palacký wrote: ‘I am not a German, but a Bohemian. Whatever talent I possess is at the service of my own country. My nation is certainly a small one, but it has always maintained its historic individuality. ”

“ Though Ferdinand was, particularly at the beginning of his reign, somewhat tolerant and conciliatory toward his Bohemian subjects, it is certain that he always wished to be considered hereditary ruler and not elected King of Bohemia. These endeavours of the king to enlarge his power estranged the Bohemians, who have always valued their ancient constitution, and Ferdinand’s leaning to the Church of Rome caused great discontent. ”

“ The victory on Žižka’s Hill was the first successful fight for liberty in the Middle Ages. The success of these armed bands of citizens and peasants against half the nobility of Europe and their countless followers, found an echo in all countries and produced a democratic movement which has been little noticed, and to which it is of course not my purpose to refer here.
I will now quote part of Březov’s account of the siege of Prague by Sigismund in 1420, and of the subsequent Hussite victories in the two battles near Prague—that of the Žižkov and that of the Vyšehrad. ”

“ Thus, for instance, the Bohemian king had a considerable income that was not voted or controlled by the Estates, while the modern constitutional system renders all matters of finance dependent on the consent of the people. On the other hand, the modern constitutional system usually imposes no restrictions as regards the armed forces of the country. The sovereign is lord of war and peace, and can engage the country in war even against its will. The king, according to the Bohemian constitution, had not this full power. ”

“ The nobles in the royal army, seeing that the men of the Vyšehrad did not intend to help the king, and that the Praguers were strongly entrenched, advised him to desist from the attack on Prague; he would thus avert great damage from his army. But the king said: “Avaunt from me. I must assuredly fight with these peasants to-day.” Then Lord Henry of Plumlov [10] speaking affably said: “Know, lord king, that you will incur great loss to-day; for my part, I fear the fighting-flails of these peasants.” The king answered, “I know that you Moravians are cowardly and unfaithful to me.” ”

“ This passage is very important, as proving that Hus was at that time by no means considered by the Germans as an enemy of their nation; no one indeed was less a hater than Hus, who, when imprisoned in a cruel dungeon, repeatedly stated that he forgave all his enemies. The true instigators of the murder of Hus were enemies who were his own countrymen—an occurrence that unhappily has been frequent in Bohemian history. ”

“ The chronicle of Weitmil formerly enjoyed great fame, and the learned Jesuit Balbinus wrote in the seventeenth century that ‘nothing could be more famous, nothing more truthful, than this chronicle.’ Palacký, whose Würdigung der alten böhmischen Geschichtschreiber is still the standard work on the subject, has somewhat qualified this rather exaggerated praise. He writes that the art of Weitmil as a historian is not superior to that of Cosmas and his continuators, though he certainly wrote of more stirring events than his predecessors. ”

“ Remembering the founder of our faith, the Lord Jesus Christ, you will defend yourselves bravely against the wrongs which these Germans endeavour to inflict on you. You will thus follow the example of the ancient Bohemians, who valiantly using their lances, defended both God's cause and their own. ”

“ Though, as we have just seen, Charles I of Bohemia better known as the German emperor Charles IV was a valiant warrior, yet it is as a patron of art and literature that he is best known to his Bohemian countrymen. Charles particularly encouraged the study of history, not only by the patronage which he granted to historians. Of the historians of the time Beneš of Weitmil, of whom I have already spoken, was most in touch with the king, but we find that he afforded his protection also to many of the writers known as the continuators of Cosmas. ”

“ Now, my dear friends, may our Lord God bless you, may He grant you the consolations of the Holy Ghost, patience and courage, so that you may be able to prove now also in the moment of your death that you have heartily and bravely defended the honour of God. ”

“ Only a few years ago I should have mentioned as earliest Bohemian historian, Cosmas of Prague, ‘the father of Bohemian history,’ as he used to be called. Historical research, very active since the revival of the Bohemian language at the beginning of the last century, has rendered it at least doubtful whether Cosmas was the first of Bohemian historians. ”

“ AMONG the many greater and smaller misfortunes that have befallen the Bohemian nation the misuse of the national name is by no means the one that is of least account. A Bohemian requires a thorough knowledge of the English language to grasp what the word ‘Bohemian’ generally conveys to Englishmen. The ancient mistake which identified the Bohemians with the gipsies undoubtedly originated in France. As the great Bohemian historian Palacky has suggested, many gipsies arrived in France bearing passports signed by the Bohemian kings, and this was the original cause of the mistake. ”

“ To a man of scant private means as he was, the probably small number of readers, and the uncertainty caused by the caprices of the ‘censors’ as to when the different volumes could appear, rendered the publication of his great work a very difficult thing. Fortunately the Estates of Bohemia came to his aid. Animated by that tacit antagonism between Vienna and Prague that is one of the great features of Austrian history, they resolved in 1829 to confer on Palacký the title of historiographer of Bohemia, and to attach to it a modest salary. ”

“ Had not the genius of generals, such as Žižka and Prokop the Great, enabled the Bohemians to beat back the forces of all Europe in arms against the country, the establishment in Bohemia of a national Church which amid various vicissitudes lasted for nearly two centuries, would have been impossible. ”

“ The words of the great historian Palacký, spoken on the occasion of his last appearance in public which I have quoted at the end of my last lecture, have long impelled me to do what little is in my power to make my country known and refute those who have endeavoured to tarnish its fame. ”

“ After defining the historical method of Höfler and his school, Palacký writes: ‘Other historians, to whom I have the honour to belong, have stated that the Hussite war is the first war in the world’s history that was fought not for material interests but for intellectual ones, that is to say, for ideas. This ideal standpoint was so seriously and sincerely taken up by the Bohemians, that even when they were victors they never thought of substituting for it a more interested one. It is true that during the war they forced foreign communities to pay taxes and an annual tribute to them ”

“ The preface of this volume deserves quotation, for it indicates the spirit in which Palacký undertook his vast historical work. He writes: ‘As regards the principles and intentions which have guided me while working at this history, I have hardly a word to say. I know of no others, except those that proceed naturally from the supreme principle of regard for historical truth and faith. That I write from the standpoint of a Bohemian is a fact for which I could only be blamed, if it rendered me unjust either to the Bohemians or to their opponents. ”

“ Tomek always writes as a strong conservative—I had almost said an apologist of absolute rule. Yet in his account of Hus (who was so closely connected with Prague) he has spoken very freely, and his views are perhaps more hostile to the views of Rome than those of Palacký. As I mentioned, Tomek’s history of Prague is still unfinished, but all those who are friends of Bohemia will hope that time will be granted the veteran to finish his gigantic task, which will rank with Gregorovius’s Rome in the Middle Ages as one of the greatest town-histories of modern times. ”

“ It is at the present day, I hope, scarcely necessary to state that the Bohemians have no connexion whatever with the gipsies, and that their language, a Slavic one, forms part of the great Aryan family of speech. Next to Russia, which in literature as in politics is the most prominent of Slav countries, and Poland, Bohemia is the country in which Slavic literature has flourished most; and in Bohemian literature historians certainly hold a very high rank. ”

“ The history of Bohemia is perhaps one of the saddest in the world’s story. A country that for a time had been in the van of civilization became almost a desert, and suffered for centuries from political, national and ecclesiastical oppres- sion.
It is perhaps natural that those who belong to a small and little-known nation should consider it to a greater extent their duty to make their country known, than those who are citizens of a country that has world-wide fame. ”

“ Skála naturally gives a detailed account of the battle of the White Mountain, which was the death-bed of Bohemian independence. Conscientious and rather lengthy historian as he always is, he has incorporated several contemporary accounts in his narrative, but it is obvious that it required some effort to him to refer to the latest and least glorious battle fought by the Bohemians as an independent people.
Where we again find Skála at his best is when we reach the executions of Prague, which were one of the results of the catastrophe of the White Mountain. ”

“ Then, looking around him, he gazed at Mutina with fierce eyes, and then furiously addressed him thus: “Oh, hated race and brood that is detested by the gods, evil sons of Versovic, household-enemies of our race; will it ever escape my memory how you behaved to my ancestor Jaromir, a prince whom you indeed turned into ridicule, but whose fate is our eternal shame; or shall I forget that your brother Bosý by evil fraud murdered my brother Břetislav, that eminent star in the orbit of princes? ”

“ Their desire to further public education, to diminish the privileges of the omnipotent nobility and a luxurious and wealthy clergy, to assure at least a limited amount of equality before the law, and to grant some liberty to the press, cannot fail to be admired by all enlightened men. ”

“ It is not enough to say “I will.” Every one must co-operate, must work, must make what sacrifices he can for the common welfare, for the preservation of our nationality.
‘Bohemia has a glorious past. The time of Hus was glorious. The Bohemian nation was then intellectually in advance of all other European nations. For this it was indebted not only to Charles IV (who founded the University of Prague) , but also to its own will to extend the culture of the country. It is necessary that we also should do so. ”

“ The citizens of Domažlice [12] , a Bohemian town not far from the Bavarian frontier, were in consequence of their geographical situation very much exposed to German attacks. Obviously rather despondent, they applied to Žižka for aid. The following is Žižka’s reply: ‘May God grant that you may return to your former reliance and be the first to do worthy deeds, O dear brethren in God. I beg you, for the sake of the Lord God, to remain in the fear of God, as His most beloved sons, and not to complain if He chastises you. ”

“ Cosmas writes as a warm Bohemian patriot, and it is curious to meet in the works of a writer of the twelfth century with allusions to the ‘arrogance innate in the Teutons, who with incensed haughtiness despise the Slavs and their language.’ Cosmas also tells us that Libussa, the semi-mythical female ruler of Bohemia, stated that it was more likely that a fish should become warm under the ice, than that a Bohemian should agree with a German. ”

“ Pankrace or of the Vyšehrad, fought on November 2, which the men of Prague justly considered as their crowning mercy; for the defeat that they here inflicted on Sigismund freed the Bohemians from his rule for a considerable period, while the leading part that the citizens of Prague had taken in this campaign obtained for their town a temporary hegemony over almost all Bohemia. I can quote only a small portion of Březov’s account of this great victory. ”

“ This utterly false view has adherents up to the present day, and it is only a few years ago that a member of one of the greatest Bohemian families though not of one of those which dwelt in the country during the period of independence declared in the parliament of Prague that he and his adherents saw in the Hussites not noble heroes, but a gang of robbers and incendiaries, the communists of the fifteenth century. Hus, the speaker continued, must be considered the cause of a complete revolution. The Reformation was a misfortune for Europe. ”