Hostivít was the last of the seven

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

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

Přemyslid dynasty The Přemyslid dynasty or House of Přemysl (, , ) was a Bohemian royal dynasty that reigned in the Duchy of Bohemia and later Kingdom of Bohemia and Margraviate of Moravia (9th century–1306), as well as in parts of Poland (including Silesia ...

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 t ...

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

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 ...

'' written by

Cosmas of Prague Cosmas of Prague (; ; – 21 October 1125) was a Czech 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 Jindřich Zdík, and remai ...

in the 12th century and then transmitted into historical books of the 19th century including

František Palacký František Palacký (; 14 June 1798 – 26 May 1876) was a Czech historian and politician. He was the most influential person of the Czech National Revival, called "Father of the Nation". Life František Palacký was born on 14 June 1798, at ...

'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, was a ruler of Great Moravia, which attained its maximum territorial expansion during his reign (870–871, 871–894). Svatopluk's career started in the 860s, when he govern ...

of Moravia) and Ludmila's father,

Slavibor Slavibor was a Sorbian prince, and father of the Czech saint Ludmila. References 9th-century Slavs 894 deaths Early Sorbian people Year of birth unknown 9th-century people from Bohemia {{Europe-noble-stub ...

, 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 Francia, 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 Fran ...

'' for 871. According to the '' Chronicle of Dalimil'', Hostivít had a brother called Děpolt who inherited the land of

Kouřim Kouřim (; ) is a town in Kolín District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an urban monument zone. Administrative division Kouřim ...

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

fresco Fresco ( 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 plaster, the painting become ...

es on the walls of the Rotunda in Znojmo,

Moravia Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The medieval and early ...

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 Czechoslovakia, 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 ...

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 suggests the names of the Přemysl ancestors arose from a mistaken interpretation by Cosmas. According to postulation by Vladimír Karbusický, Cosmas likely contrived them when trying to read a lost

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

transcription of an old-Slavonic message. When the ancestral names are combined and reassessed, they can roughly cohere an assumed text: "'' Krok‘ kazi tetha lubossa premisl nezamisl mna ta voj‘n ni zla kr‘z mis neklan gosti vit...''" In modern English, this may translate to: "''Halt your steps, Tetha, and rather think, I do not intend war or evil upon you, we do not bow to the cross, we welcome guests''..." The alleged message is speculated to be from the Czech princes to the

Franks file:Frankish arms.JPG, Aristocratic Frankish burial items from the Merovingian dynasty The Franks ( or ; ; ) were originally a group of Germanic peoples who lived near the Rhine river, Rhine-river military border of Germania Inferior, which wa ...

, perhaps in relation to the Battle of Zásek c. 849 described in the

Seven mythical princes after Přemysl

References

Mythical Bohemian princes Přemyslid dynasty Fictional Czech people {{Europe-royal-stub

Origin of the name

Seven mythical princes after Přemysl

See also

References