Peter Vok of Rosenberg ( cs, Petr Vok z Rožmberka) (1 October 1539,

Český Krumlov Český Krumlov (; german: Krumau, , or ''Böhmisch Krumau'') is a town in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. The historic centre with the Český Krumlov Castle complex is protected by law as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#M ...

– 6 November 1611, Třeboň) was a Czech nobleman of the

House of Rosenberg The House of Rosenberg ( cs, Rožmberkové, sg. ''z Rožmberka'') was a prominent Bohemian noble family that played an important role in Czech medieval history from the 13th century until 1611. Members of this family held posts at the Pragu ...

, descended from the

Vítkovci The Vítkovci ( la, Witikonides) were a Czech noble clan from southern 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 ...

. Rožmberk was a leading Protestant in the unsettled years before Battle of White Mountain.

Life

Peter Vok was born in

, the son of Jošt III of Rosenberg, then head of the house of Rožmberk, and his wife Anna of Rogendorf. Fourteen days after Peter's birth, his father died. Peter came under the guardianship of first his uncle Petr V of Rosenberg and later Albrecht of Gutnštejn, Oldřich Holický of Sternberg and Jeroným Schlick. He received his early education at home in the castle at Český Krumlov. Even as he reached adulthood, Peter lived in the shadow of his older brother

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

. While William was a life-long Catholic, Peter sympathised with Utraquism and eventually joined the

Unity of the Brethren Unity of the Brethren (Latin ''Unitas Fratrum'') may refer to: *Unity of the Brethren (Czech Republic), the province of the Moravian Church in the Czech Republic *Unity of the Brethren (Texas), a Protestant church formed in the 1800s by Czech immig ...

. William died in 1592, and Peter inherited the Rosenberg holdings. Aged forty, Peter married the much younger Kateřina of Ludanice. Initially an idyllic marriage, with the young Kateřina appreciating the attention paid her by her aging husband, the union began to break down, in part because of Kateřina's worsening mental illness. The couple had no children, and the Rosenberg line ended with Peter Vok. He died, aged 72, in 1611 and was buried in a Rosenberg tomb in the

Vyšší Brod Monastery Vyšší Brod Monastery (; cs, Vyšebrodský klášter) or Hohenfurth Abbey (german: Abtei Hohenfurth) is one of the most important historical landmarks of South Bohemia. It is recognized as a cultural monument by the Ministry of Culture. The ...

. Shortly after Peter's death, his nephew Jan Zrinský of Seryn also died, and as such the whole Rosenberg dominions passed to the Švamberk family.

In popular culture

After his death, Peter Vok became the subject of popular legends which characterized him as a generous benefactor and an exemplary Renaissance cavalier. In the modern imagination, he is thought of above all as a lovable rake. His romance with the miller-knight's daughter Zuzana Vojířová is the subject of several stories and the opera '' Zuzana Vojířová'' by Jiří Pauer.Czech & Slovak Republics Jane Simmonds - 2006 p141 "11 km (7 miles) to the west, is famous with Czech visitors for its 16th-century love story involving one of the most powerful Bohemian lords, Peter Vok of Rožmberk, and a miller's daughter Zuzana Vojířová."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vok, Petr 1539 births 1611 deaths Medieval Bohemian nobility People from Český Krumlov Peter