Moravia

“ The centre of Bohemia, rich agricultural land, presents comparatively little which, apart from historical associations, would tempt the mere tourist, but Moravia, in the south-east, affords endless pleasing combinations of river, wood, and hill, and is not destitute of either gory battlefield or picturesque castle. ”

“ At this period there seemed a strong probability of the junction of the north-western and south-eastern Slavs, and the formation of a great Slavonic power to east of the German empire. This prospect, however, was dissipated by the invasions of the Magyar hordes in the 10th century, the brunt of which was borne by Moravia. The invaders were encouraged by the German monarchs and aided by the dissensions and mismanagement of the successors of Svatopluk, and in a short time completely subdued the eastern part of Great Moravia. ”

“ That kingdom, stretching to Sirmium, marched on the north-western dependencies of the Eastern Empire, while on the north it took in the Chrobatian land which was afterwards Little Poland. Such a power might have been dangerous to both Empires at once; but the invaders whom the two Emperors called in proved far more dangerous than Great Moravia could ever have been. The Magyars, Ogres, or Hungarians,{433} the Turks of the Imperial geographer, [48] were called in by his father Leo to check the Bulgarians, as they were called in by Arnulf in the West to check the new power of Moravia. ”

“ During the reign of Ulric, the most illustrious person in the country was the hermit Prokop.
It will be remembered that when Christianity was introduced into Moravia, the German priests did all in their power to substitute the Latin for the Slavic ritual. At first they were not successful; but when Moravia lost her independence, both that country and Bohemia finally succumbed to German influence, and Latin became the language of church service. This was a great loss to the people ”

“ Moors. From the Latin mauri, and Spanish moros, “black.” Elsewhere denominated “Saracens,” these Arab conquerors of the peninsula were called by the Spaniards “Moriscoes.”
Mop Fair. The name given to a fair held a few days after the periodical Statute Fair for the hiring of farm servants. The dregs of the Statute Fair are then mopped or swept up.
Moravia. From the Morava, which name expresses a marsh or boundary river.
Moravians. The followers of John Huss, driven out of Bohemia and Moravia by religious persecutions early in the eighteenth century. ”

“ It was from the east that Christianity completely and permanently penetrated into Moravia and Bohemia. In 862 the Moravian Prince Rostislav, who, though invested with sovereignty by the Germans had soon renewed the national feuds with them, sent a mission to the court of the Greek Emperor at Constantinople, asking him to send Christian teachers of the Slavonic race to Moravia.
The envoys thus addressed Michael, the then ruler of the Eastern empire: "Our people have rejected paganism and already observe Christian law. ”

“ The name of Czech, however, is usually reserved for the Bohemians, while the Slavs of Moravia and West Hungary are called Moravians and Slovaks. The Czechs have lost sight of their ancient tribal names, but the Moravians are still divided into numerous secondary groups (Hovaks, Hanaks, &c.) , differing slightly in costume and dialect. The peasants usually wear a national costume. In the south of Moravia are a few thousand Croats, still reserving their manners and language after three centuries separation from their kinsmen in Croatia; and in the north-east are numerous Poles. ”

“ His brother Vratislav set himself against this policy, and tried to make the province of Moravia a centre of opposition to the king. But Spitihnĕv invaded Moravia, forced Vratislav to fly to Hungary, and treated his wife with such cruelty that she died from the effects. In order to make his power yet more secure, the Duke persuaded his other brothers, Otto and Conrad, to abandon their claims to the special districts of Moravia, which their father had granted to them, and to come to the ducal court at Prague. ”

“ Bohemians and Moravians are alike Czech, and use that Slavonic tongue. The House of Hapsburg finds it convenient to govern Bohemia and Moravia as separate provinces, and decrees that the Reformed Church in each province shall meet in a separate Synod, but in no true sense do these Synods represent separate Churches. [1] Indeed we found that most of the pastors in Moravia were born Bohemians, while some of those in Bohemia were born Moravians. ”

“ But one of the greatest of the Bohemian artists, who found his inspiration in the soul of his people, is the Moravian Slovak, Jóža Úprka. Disgust with the artificiality of city life brought him back to the good Slovak peasantry. In a quiet retreat in southern Moravia, he lived simply with his beloved country-folk, depicting their soul and their daily life. His paintings are passionate songs of color, light, youth and strength and joy of life; they are passionate paeans of the hot southern Moravian sun and the healthy vigorous people of that wonderful land. His typical peasant figures ”

“ The early history of Bohemia is very mythological, and has been well treated, for the first time, in a philosophical spirit, by the historian Francis Palacky. During great part of the ninth century Moravia was the seat of government of a powerful kingdom, whose prince, Moymir, became a Christian. In 844 fourteen Bohemian Lechs, or lords, determined to embrace Christianity, betook themselves to King Louis the German at Ratisbon, and were solemnly baptized on the 1st of January, 845. ”

“ In the opening years of the 9th century, Moravia stretched from the Bavarian borders to the Hungarian river Drina, and from the banks of the Danube, beyond the Carpathian mountains, to the river Stryi in Southern Poland. Into this territory Christianity had been ushered as early as A. D. 801, by Charlemagne, who, as his custom was, enforced baptism at the point of the sword, at least as far as the king was concerned. Efforts were subsequently made by the archbishops of Salzburg and Passau to fan this first feeble flicker into something like a flame. ”

“ Up to this time the rulers of Bohemia had been called princes or dukes, as was also the case in regard to Moravia. Henry further rewarded Vratislav by making his brother Jaromir (Gebhart) chancellor of the realm, and provided that at the death of the Bishop of Moravia, the two bishoprics should be reunited. Finally he accepted four thousand pounds of silver as full payment for all the tribute that Bohemia should ever pay to the empire; but after that the king was to furnish three hundred men to accompany the emperor whenever he went to Rome for his coronation. ”

“ On the morrow, Monday, we travelled four long miles to Jindrichow Hradetz (Henry’s castle) : and here they told us, that His Royal Majesty was going to Brno (Brünn) , in Moravia.
On the morrow, Tuesday, we travelled four miles to Jihlava (Iglau) , and here we already heard, how one person was not expected to live, another was dead, another was ill.
On the morrow, Wednesday, Lord Albert went in the carriage with only three others to His Royal Majesty at Brünn, and sent his suite home to Litomysl. That day we only drove four miles to Meziritze in Moravia. ”

“ There was a time when Bohemians in Moravia were taught by Austrian officials to believe that they were Moravians, not Bohemians. The difference between Bohemian and Moravian is as great as the difference between Bronx English and Brooklyn English, yet this fact did not discourage the grammarians in Vienna from setting up boundaries where none existed. Croatia, as pointed out elsewhere, is peopled by a nation calling itself alternately Croatians and Serbs. ”

“ Moravia (2,277) , a crownland in the N. of Austria, lying between the Moravian and the Carpathian Mountains, with Silesia on the N., Hungary on the E., Lower Austria on the S., and Bohemia on the W.; is mountainous, with lofty plains in the S., and is watered by the March, a tributary of the Danube; the valleys and plains are fertile; grain, beetroot, flax, hemp, and vines are grown; cattle and poultry rearing and bee-keeping occupy the peasantry; sugar, textiles, and tobacco are the chief manufactures; there are coal and iron mines, graphite and meerschaum are found ”

“ Dress in the last case plays an important part. [154]
The northeastern section of Moravia is known as the Lassko country and is peopled by Lassi Moravians. This group occupies districts mainly around the towns of Moravska-Ostrava and Frydland. South of them a number of Slovak villages are found within the Moravian border. Their inhabitants, sometimes known as Moravian Slovaks, are emigrants from the Hungarian mountains [150] who reached the western Carpathians in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. Although they speak Bohemian, their customs differ considerably from Bohemian usages. ”

“ In 846 Louis "the German" sent a large army into Moravia, and appointed Mojmir's nephew, Rostislav, ruler of the land. Moravia having been forced to acknowledge German supremacy, the German army now attacked Bohemia. The Bohemians, however, were successful in their resistance, and defeated the invading army. From this time forth war raged between Germany and Bohemia for thirty years. The vague and contradictory reports of battles that have reached us are of no interest to English readers. ”

“ Sigismund had but just completed his armaments when the last German soldiers left the soil of Bohemia. His troops and those of his son-in-law entered Moravia early in October. The supreme command of the army, which consisted of about 23,000 men, was entrusted to the Italian condottiere Pipa of Ozora. Moravia was soon subdued, and the easy conquest of the sister-land was not without its effect on Bohemia. Many of the Bohemian lords, whom the excesses of fanatics, both at Prague and at Tabor, had alienated from the national cause, resumed allegiance to King Sigismund. ”

“ He was a great and able ruler. He enlarged his dominions, so that they extended into Hungary, Silesia, and even as far as the city of Magdeburg.
His administration of justice was so severe, that to this day, in Moravia, “To seek for Swatopluk,” means to seek for justice. He died in 894.
The reign of Swatopluk was important, not because he extended his boundaries—for after his death these labors came to naught—but because, in his time, Christianity took deep root, both in Bohemia and Moravia. The great missionary, Methodus, was made the Bishop of Moravia ”

“ The city of Brünn is the capital of Moravia, where the governor of the two provinces of Moravia and Silesia is accustomed to reside. Situated in a pleasant valley, it presents a rich and noble aspect. At one time it was a great manufactory of cloth, but its prosperous days were now passed, and its population did not exceed thirty thousand.
Contiguous to the walls on the western side rises a mount, and on this is placed the dreaded fortress of Spielberg, once the royal seat of the lords of Moravia, and now the most terrific prison under the Austrian monarchy. ”

“ In order to avoid any danger of creating trouble between the Governments, the Moravian colonists carefully said nothing in London regarding their difficulties in Saxony, or the persecutions in Bohemia and Moravia, and instead of proclaiming themselves exiles for the Faith as they might have done with perfect truth, they appeared simply as Count Zinzendorf’s servants, sent by him to cultivate the five hundred acres about to be given to him, and by his orders to preach to the Indians. ”

“ The noble landowners were glad to encourage their coming, for never had they been able to obtain labourers so satisfactory on their estates. Moravia was in that day, as in our own, one of the most fertile provinces of Austria, and it was experiencing a great access of prosperity in the growth of these Anabaptist communities. The testimony to the sober, law-abiding character of the people composing them is unbroken by any accusation of offence, even from their bitterest foes, save the form of religion that they professed and practised. ”

“ And by Morava’s crystal urn
⁠Will blossom fair and bright.
O then, Morava, let thy stream
⁠No more despairing go!
The sun on thee doth brightly beam,
⁠And thou must brightly flow.
⁂ The Morava is marked on ordinary English maps as the river March in Moravia.
↑ See note to p. xxiv of the Introductory Essay. ↑ The Countess Ludmilla Berchtold of Buchlow and Buchlowic, is descended lineally from St Ludmilla, and from the brother of St Vaclaw. ”

“ We visited all the provinces except that."
"Yes, it is true," replied his father, "but, you know, we lingered longer than we intended, and Teresa is due to arrive shortly. We shall have to reserve Moravia for another vacation-time. I think you will not find the customs there very different, however, from those of Bohemia. [1] But I should like to have you see Olmutz, the ancient capital of Moravia, where our emperor Franz-Joseph was proclaimed king."
FOOTNOTE:
[1] Our Little Bohemian Cousin. ”

“ The Estates of Moravia at their meetings at Brno in May 1619 decided that the country should, similarly to Bohemia, be governed provisionally by a body of thirty "Directors"; of these twelve were to be chosen by the nobles, twelve by the knights, and six by the representatives of the towns. The all-important question of the choice of a new sovereign was deferred to a "General Diet" of the lands of the Bohemian crown, which it was settled should shortly meet at Prague. The easy success of Thurn's expedition to Moravia induced the "Directors" at Prague to instruct him to advance into Austria. ”