The ''Chronica Boemorum'' (Chronicle of the Czechs, or Bohemians) is the first

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...

chronicle in which the

history of the Czech lands The history of the Czech lands – an area roughly corresponding to the present-day Czech Republic – starts approximately 800,000 years BCE. A simple chopper from that age was discovered at the Red Hill ( cz, Červený kopec) archeological si ...

has been consistently and relatively fully described. It was written in 1119–1125 by

Cosmas of Prague Cosmas of Prague ( cs, Kosmas Pražský; la, Cosmas Decanus; – October 21, 1125) was a priest, writer and historian. Life Between 1075 and 1081, he studied in Liège. After his return to Bohemia, he married Božetěcha, with whom he had a so ...

. The

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced ...

includes information about historical events in Czech land from ancient times to the first quarter of the 12th century. At the same time, the Chronicle is not limited to Czech national historiography, also revealing the relationship between various European states during the 10th–12th centuries. The author of the chronicle had been known as the dean of the chapter of St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague

. Being a valuable

historical source Historical source is an original source that contains important historical information. These sources are something that inform us about history at the most basic level, and are used as clues in order to study history. Historical sources can includ ...

, especially as it relates to events whose contemporary was Cosmas, the Czech Chronicle in many respects set the direction for the subsequent development of the Czech annals. The chronicler worked on the chronicle until his death in 1125. Despite of some inaccuracies and a vivid expression of the author’s own position, the scientific level is high for that era and the importance of the events described in it put Cosmas of Prague into one of the most significant chroniclers of

medieval Europe In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

. The ''Chronica'' was continued by various, collectively called Cosmas's continuators, down to 1300.

Literature

External links

''Chronica Boemorum''
{Dead link, date=November 2019 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes — the chronicle accessible on-line at ''

Monumenta Germaniae Historica The ''Monumenta Germaniae Historica'' (''MGH'') is a comprehensive series of carefully edited and published primary sources, both chronicle and archival, for the study of Northwestern and Central European history from the end of the Roman Empir ...

'' 12th-century books Latin-language literature Czech chronicles