Jaroslav Lev of Rožmitál ( – 23 October 1486) was a Bohemian nobleman from the Lev of Rožmitál family. This family came of an ancient and noble Buzice stock. In addition to the family castle in Rožmitál they also held the Castles Blatná and Buzice.

Biography

Very little is known of Jaroslav's youth, but he was trained a soldier. He was probably a member of the Czech expedition, as a soldier of fortune in the invasion of Władysław III of Poland in Ottoman territory and took part in the Battle of Varna in 1444. His wife came from the family of the Bezdružický of Kolowrat. King of Bohemia

George of Poděbrady George of Kunštát and Poděbrady (23 April 1420 – 22 March 1471), also known as Poděbrad or Podiebrad (; ), was the sixteenth King of Bohemia, who ruled in 1458–1471. He was a leader of the Hussites, but moderate and tolerant toward the ...

was

Hussite file:Hussitenkriege.tif, upright=1.2, Battle between Hussites (left) and Crusades#Campaigns against heretics and schismatics, Catholic crusaders in the 15th century file:The Bohemian Realm during the Hussite Wars.png, upright=1.2, The Lands of the ...

and Lev was a devout Catholic and they were in opposing camps but when Lev's sister Johana of Rožmitál married George Poděbrad in 1450, Lev was loyal to his royal brother-in-law. The King was anxious to ease his quarrel with the Papacy and between 1465 and 1467 Lev undertook diplomatic travels on behalf of the King through Europe to the Cape Finisterre. Jaroslav was leader of a delegation of 40 nobles and knights with 52 horses. He made himself a name for

jousting Jousting is a medieval and renaissance martial game or hastilude between two combatants either on horse or on foot. The joust became an iconic characteristic of the knight in Romantic medievalism. The term is derived from Old French , ultim ...

, and also tried to purge the reputation of

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 ...

, which was damaged by the Hussite wars. The legacy toured Germany, Belgium, England, France, Spain, Portugal and met in Venice at the end. After the visit of the Emperor Frederick III, they returned to Bohemia. Jaroslav was the figurehead of the message of peace to the European countries. This is considered as the first step to the

European Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organisation created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...

. The main purpose of his trip was to build unity between the free Christian Princes under the leadership of

Louis XI of France Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called "Louis the Prudent" (), was King of France from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father, Charles VII. Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revolt known as the ...

and manage the resistance against the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. The furtive reasons for the trip can be discovered in Šašek's Memoirs, notably the rumour that the King Władysław III of Poland had survived the Battle of Varna in 1444. Upon his return, Jaroslav Lev of Rožmitál was appointed to the highest rank of Lord Steward of the Bohemian kingdom, from 1467 to 1469 he was also captain of the district of Písek. The delegation was also accompanied by Gabriel Tetzel of Nurenberg, who later described the trip in his chronicle. Memoirs were also left his fellow-traveler, the knight Václav Šašek z Bířkova. A translation into the Latin language was made by Stanislaw Pavlovsky in 1577. Jaroslav Lev of Rožmitál died in the 15th century, probably in 1486, and was buried in his castle in Blatná. The last effort to keep the power of the family was the marriage between the grandson of Queen

Joanna of Rožmitál Joanna of Rožmitál (; – 12 November 1475) was Queen of Bohemia as the second wife of George of Poděbrady. Life She was a daughter of John of Rožmitál and his wife Ludmila of Strakonice. Marriage Joanna married George of Poděbrady in 1 ...

– Adam I of Hradec with the grand daughter of Jaroslav Lev of Rožmitál – Anna of Rožmitál and Blatná. Gradually the family lost their power, moved to Moravia and finally became part of the stock that emigrated to Poland after the

Battle of White Mountain The Battle of White Mountain (; ) was an important battle in the early stages of the Thirty Years' War. It led to the defeat of the Bohemian Revolt and ensured Habsburg control for the next three hundred years. It was fought on 8 November 16 ...

and the events in 1626.

References

“The Travels of Leo of Rozmital through Germany, Flanders England, France Spain, Portugal and Italy” 1465-1467. Contributors: Malcolm Letts - author. Publisher: Published for the Hakluyt Society at the University Press. Place of Publication: Cambridge, England. Publication Year: 1957.“Gentlemen Errant” The Bohemian Ulysses, by Mrs. Henry Cust, London 1909.“Tractatus pacis generalis toti christianitati fiendae” Deutsche Übersetzung von Messler, G. In Das Weltfriedensmanifest König Georgs von Podiebrad. Kirnbach über Wolfach : Johannes Mathesius-Verlag, 1973, p. 37–49.“The Hunnic Languages of the Attila Clan” - Omeljan Pritsak - Cambridge study. Publication Year: 1982
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lev Of Rozmital, Jaroslav 1420s births 1486 deaths People from Rožmitál pod Třemšínem 15th-century nobility from Bohemia