Hostivít was the last of the seven

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

n mythical princes between the (also mythical) founder of the

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 ...

Přemysl the Ploughman Přemysl the Ploughman ( ''Přemysl Oráč''; English: Premysl, Przemysl or Primislaus) was the legendary husband of Libuše, and ancestor of the Přemyslid dynasty, containing the line of princes (dukes) and kings which ruled in the Lands of th ...

and the first historical prince Bořivoj. The names of the princes were first recorded in the ''Chronicle of

Cosmas Cosmas or Kosmas is a Greek language, Greek name ( grc-gre, Κοσμᾶς), from Ancient Greek Κοσμᾶς (Kosmâs), associated with the noun κόσμος (kósmos), meaning "Cosmos, universe", and the verb κοσμέω (to order, govern, ado ...

'' and then transmitted into historical books of the 19th century including

František Palacký František Palacký (; June 17, 1798 – May 26, 1876) was a Czech historian and politician, the most influential person of the Czech National Revival, called "Father of the Nation". Life František Palacký was born on June 17, 1798 at Hodslavi ...

's ''The History of the Czech Nation in Bohemia and Moravia''. According to tradition, he was the father of the non-legendary prince Bořivoj. Some historians suppose that when St. Ludmila was born, Hostivít (or

Svatopluk I Svatopluk I or Svätopluk I, also known as Svatopluk the Great (Latin: ''Zuentepulc'', ''Zuentibald'', ''Sventopulch'', ''Zvataplug''; Old Church Slavic: Свѧтопълкъ and transliterated ''Svętopъłkъ''; Polish: ''Świętopełk''; Greek ...

of Moravia) and Ludmila's father, Slavibor, contracted that Ludmilla would marry Bořivoj (which could refer to the wedding procession of an unknown bride mentioned in ''

Annales Fuldenses The ''Annales Fuldenses'' or ''Annals of Fulda'' are East Frankish chronicles that cover independently the period from the last years of Louis the Pious (died 840) to shortly after the end of effective Carolingian rule in East Francia with the ac ...

'' for 871_. According to the ''

Chronicle of Dalimil The ''Chronicle of Dalimil'' ( cs, Dalimilova kronika; Kronika tak řečeného Dalimila) is the first chronicle written in the Old Czech language. It was composed in Poetry, verse by an unknown author at the beginning of the 14th century. The Chr ...

'', Hostivít had a brother called Děpolt who inherited the land of

Kouřim Kouřim (; german: Kaurzim, Kaurzin, Kaurim) is a town in Kolín District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,900 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone. A ...

. One theory about the number of the princes is propped on the

fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...

es on the walls of the Rotunda in

Znojmo Znojmo (; german: Znaim) is a town in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 33,000 inhabitants. Znojmo is the historical and cultural centre of southwestern Moravia and the second most populated town in the South Moravian R ...

Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The me ...

but Anežka Merhautová claimed that the frescoes depict all the members of the Přemyslid dynasty including the Moravian junior princes.

Origin of the name

Hostivít's name is thought to be derived from the old Slavonic words meaning 'guests' and meaning 'to welcome'.

Záviš Kalandra Záviš Kalandra (10 November 1902 – 27 June 1950) was a Czechoslovak historian, theatre critic and theorist of literature. He was born in Frenštát pod Radhoštěm. He studied philosophy at the Charles University in Prague and then in Berlin ...

thought the names of the seven princes were cryptical names of ancient Slavonic days of the week – Hostivít being the seventh, i.e. Saturday, when the guests are welcome. Another theory says that the names were mistaken from a coherent and partly interrupted old Slavonic text.Vladimír Karbusický, ''Báje, mýty, dějiny: Nejstarší české pověsti v kontextu evropské kultury'', p. 237, Prague, 199

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Seven mythical princes after Přemysl

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hostivit Mythical Bohemian princes Přemyslid dynasty Fictional Czech people

Origin of the name

Seven mythical princes after Přemysl

See also

Notes