Vilém Slavata z Chlumu a Košumberka (; ) (1 December 1572 – 19 January 1652) was a Czech nobleman from old

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 family. As viceregent ''(místodržící)'' of Emperor Ferdinand II of Habsburg (from 1617) he became famous as co-victim, along with Jaroslav Borzita of Martinice, of the 1618

Defenestration of Prague The Defenestrations of Prague ( cs, Pražská defenestrace, german: Prager Fenstersturz, la, Defenestratio Pragensis) were three incidents in the history of Bohemia in which people were defenestrated (thrown out of a window). Though already ex ...

Life

Vilém was born at his family's estates in Čestín near

Kutná Hora Kutná Hora (; medieval Czech: ''Hory Kutné''; german: Kuttenberg) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 20,000 inhabitants. The centre of Kutná Hora, including the Sedlec Abbey and its ossuary, was designa ...

. His father Adam had been an administrator of Emperor

Rudolf II of Habsburg Rudolf II (18 July 1552 – 20 January 1612) was Holy Roman Emperor (1576–1612), King of Hungary and Croatia (as Rudolf I, 1572–1608), King of Bohemia (1575–1608/1611) and Archduke of Austria (1576–1608). He was a member of the Hou ...

, who in 1583 had taken up his residence at Prague Castle and had guaranteed freedom of religion to the Protestant Bohemian estates by his Letter of Majesty (''Rudolfův Majestát'') issued in 1609. Though he was raised in the spirit of 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 ...

, Slavata converted to Catholicism in 1597 and became a fierce advocate of the older faith. Like his father he took service with Rudolf II who appointed him burgrave at Karlštejn. Under Rudolf's successor

Matthias Matthias is a name derived from the Greek Ματθαίος, in origin similar to Matthew. People Notable people named Matthias include the following: In religion: * Saint Matthias, chosen as an apostle in Acts 1:21–26 to replace Judas Iscariot * ...

he became chamberlain of the Crown of Bohemia. Vilém supported the coronation of the devout Catholic Ferdinand of Inner Austria as Bohemian king against the resistance of the Protestant estates. In return Ferdinand vested him with the office of his representative at Prague, where he had to face the violent uprising of the nobles led by

Jindřich Matyáš Thurn Count Jindřich Matyáš of Thurn-Valsassina (german: Heinrich Matthias Graf von Thurn und Valsassina; it, Enrico Matteo Conte della Torre di Valsassina) (24 February 1567 – 26 January 1640), was one of the leaders of the Protestant Bohemi ...

on 23 May 1618. Together with J. Bořita of Martinice he was thrown out of a window of the castle by an enraged Protestant multitude. He was subsequently arrested by the assailants after surviving the defenestration albeit with severe injuries. One year later, he managed to escape to Saxony. However, Elector John George I, anxious for his neutral position, forced him to retire to

Passau Passau (; bar, label=Central Bavarian, Båssa) is a city in Lower Bavaria, Germany, also known as the Dreiflüssestadt ("City of Three Rivers") as the river Danube is joined by the Inn from the south and the Ilz from the north. Passau's popu ...

. After Ferdinand's victory at the Battle of White Mountain in 1621, Slavata returned to Bohemia. A leading figure in restoring Catholicism, he received the title of a ''

Reichsgraf Imperial Count (german: Reichsgraf) was a title in the Holy Roman Empire. In the medieval era, it was used exclusively to designate the holder of an imperial county, that is, a fief held directly ( immediately) from the emperor, rather than from ...

'' ("Count of the Empire") and in 1628 was appointed

High Chancellor of Bohemia The List of Bohemian High Chancellors gives an overview of the Habsburg High Chancellors in Bohemia (german: böhmischen Oberstkanzler; cs, Český Nejvyšší kancléř), between 1526 and 1749. Bohemian High Chancellor In 1526, the Kingdom of ...

. He died at Jindřichův Hradec.

Works

*''Historické spisování'' ("Historical writings"), 1637–1651 This monumental (14 large-scale books) reminiscence in which Vilém comprehensively describes the causes and initiation of the Bohemian Revolt and the first phase of the Thirty Years' War, has importance for understanding of that era. His great annals are focused especially on the events of the years 1608–1619 on the territory of the Czech lands. 1572 births 1652 deaths People from Kutná Hora District People from the Kingdom of Bohemia Bohemian nobility Converts to Roman Catholicism Autobiographers Czech non-fiction writers 16th-century Bohemian people 17th-century Bohemian people Execution survivors {{CzechRepublic-historian-stub