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 son named Hermann or Zdic and remained in

minor orders Minor orders are ranks of church ministry. In the Catholic Church, the predominating Latin Church formerly distinguished between the major orders —priest (including bishop), deacon and subdeacon—and four minor orders—acolyte, exorcist, lec ...

. His son later became Bishop of

Olomouc Olomouc (, , ; german: Olmütz; pl, Ołomuniec ; la, Olomucium or ''Iuliomontium'') is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 99,000 inhabitants, and its larger urban zone has a population of about 384,000 inhabitants (2019). Located on t ...

. In 1094, he was ordained a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

, and in 1099, he was ordained a priest at

Esztergom Esztergom ( ; german: Gran; la, Solva or ; sk, Ostrihom, known by alternative names) is a city with county rights in northern Hungary, northwest of the capital Budapest. It lies in Komárom-Esztergom County, on the right bank of the river Dan ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

Works

His ''

magnum opus A masterpiece, ''magnum opus'' (), or ''chef-d’œuvre'' (; ; ) in modern use is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, ...

,'' written in

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 of the ...

, is called ''

Chronica Boemorum The ''Chronica Boemorum'' (Chronicle of the Czechs, or Bohemians) is the first Latin chronicle in which the history of the Czech lands has been consistently and relatively fully described. It was written in 1119–1125 by Cosmas of Prague. The ...

''. The ''Chronica'' is divided into three books: *The first book, completed in 1119, starts with the creation of the world and ends in the year 1038. It describes the legendary foundation of the Bohemian state by the oldest Bohemians around the year 600 (Duke

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

, Duke Krok and his three daughters), Duchess Libuše and the foundation of

Přemyslid dynasty The Přemyslid dynasty or House of Přemyslid ( cs, Přemyslovci, german: Premysliden, pl, Przemyślidzi) was a Bohemian royal dynasty that reigned in the Duchy of Bohemia and later Kingdom of Bohemia and Margraviate of Moravia (9th century–130 ...

by her marriage with

Přemysl is a Czech masculine given name. The Polish alternative is Przemysł or Przemysław. Famous bearers Czech royals * Přemysl the Ploughman – mythical founder of the Bohemian royal dynasty of Přemyslids * Přemysl I Otakar – king of Bohe ...

, old bloody wars, Duke Bořivoj and the introduction of Christianity in Bohemia,

Saint Wenceslaus Wenceslaus I ( cs, Václav ; c. 907 – 28 September 935 or 929), Wenceslas I or ''Václav the Good'' was the Duke ('' kníže'') of Bohemia from 921 until his death, probably in 935. According to the legend, he was assassinated by his younger ...

and his grandmother

Saint Ludmila Ludmila of Bohemia (c. 860 – 15 September 921) is a Czech saint and martyr venerated by the Orthodox and the Roman Catholics. She was born in Mělník as the daughter of the Sorbian prince Slavibor. Saint Ludmila was the grandmother ...

, reign of the three Boleslavs, the life of Saint Adalbert and bloody wars after year 1000. *The second book describes Bohemian history for the years 1038–1092. The book starts with the heroic deeds of Duke Břetislav, known as the "Bohemian

Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus ( grc-gre, Ἀχιλλεύς) was a hero of the Trojan War, the greatest of all the Greek warriors, and the central character of Homer's '' Iliad''. He was the son of the Nereid Thetis and Pele ...

", for example with his victory over

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

. The ''Chronica'' also describes the long and great reign of King Vratislav, who was known as a forceful ruler but a brave and good man. There is also a reflection on his wars in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

; this book ends with Vratislav's death. *The third book (1092–1125) starts with a description of the time of instability and bloody civil wars after Vratislav's death between years 1092 and 1109. The ''Chronica'' ends with the reign of

Vladislav Vladislav ( be, Уладзіслаў (', '); pl, Władysław, ; Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, sh-Cyrl, Владислав) is a male given name of Slavic origin. Variations include ''Volodislav'', ''Vlastislav'' and ''Vlaslav' ...

between 1109 and 1125. The same year, 1125, Cosmas died. In the later 12th and 13th centuries,

Cosmas's continuators Cosmas's continuators ( cz, pokračovatelé Kosmovi) were various Bohemian authors who wrote continuations in Latin of the '' Chronica Boemorum'' of Cosmas of Prague, which ends with Cosmas's death in 1125. They primarily wrote annals rather than t ...

brought his history down to 1283.

References

Literature

External links

* *
Chronica Boemorum
' — the chronicle accessible on-line at '' Monumenta Germaniae Historica''
Cosmas biography

English translation
of the chronicle () by Lisa Wolverton published by

Catholic University of America Press The Catholic University of America Press, also known as CUA Press, is the publishing division of The Catholic University of America. Founded on November 14, 1939, and incorporated on July 16, 1941,Roy J. Deferrari ''Memoirs of the Catholic Unive ...

{{Authority control 1040s births 1125 deaths Chroniclers 12th-century historians from the Holy Roman Empire Czech literature Bohemian literature Czech male writers 12th-century Latin writers Writers from Prague