"The Maidens' War" ( cs, Dívčí válka) is a tale in

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 tradition about an uprising of women against men. According to legend, it took place sometime in the

8th century The 8th century is the period from 701 ( DCCI) through 800 ( DCCC) in accordance with the Julian Calendar. The coast of North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula quickly came under Islamic Arab domination. The westward expansion of the Umayyad Empi ...

. It first appeared in the twelfth-century ''Chronica Boëmorum'' of

Cosmas of Prague Cosmas of Prague ( cs, Kosmas Pražský; la, Cosmas Decanus; – October 21, 1125) was a 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 s ...

, and later in the fourteenth-century ''

Dalimil's Chronicle 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 verse by an unknown author at the beginning of the 14th century. The Chronicle ...

''.

Tale

Following the death of

Libuše , Libussa, Libushe or, historically ''Lubossa'', is a legendary ancestor of the Přemyslid dynasty and the Czech people as a whole. According to legend, she was the youngest but wisest of three sisters, who became queen after their father died; s ...

, Vlasta led a band of women against the (male) forces of Libuše's widower

Přemysl is a Czech language, Czech masculine given name. The Polish language, Polish alternative is Przemysł (name), Przemysł or Przemysław. Famous bearers Czech royals * Přemysl the Ploughman – mythical founder of the Bohemian royal dynasty of P ...

and founded the castle Děvín. The men, however, despite the warnings of Duke Přemysl, laughed at their preparations. Vlasta then sent the most beautiful girls to enchant the men with their charms, and led an attack against the men who came to Děvín, which the women won. Šárka, Vlasta's lieutenant, entrapped a band of armed men led by Ctirad by tying herself to a tree, claiming that the rebel maidens had tied her there and put a horn and a jug of mead out of reach to mock her. Ctirad believed her story and untied her from the tree, whereupon she poured

mead Mead () is an alcoholic beverage made by fermenting honey mixed with water, and sometimes with added ingredients such as fruits, spices, grains, or hops. The alcoholic content ranges from about 3.5% ABV to more than 20%. The defining character ...

for the men to show her thanks. Little did the men know that Šárka and the maidens had put a sleeping

potion A potion () is a liquid "that contains medicine, poison, or something that is supposed to have magic powers.” It derives from the Latin word ''potus'' which referred to a drink or drinking. The term philtre is also used, often specifically ...

into the mead. When all the men had fallen asleep, Šárka blew the horn as a signal for the rebel maidens to come out of their hiding places and join her in slaughtering the men. Ctirad was captured and then tortured to death in Děvín. The valley where it happened is today called

Divoká Šárka Divoká Šárka (; Wild Šárka) is a nature reserve on the northwestern outskirts of Prague, the capital city of the Czech Republic. Around the 6th century the Slavs came to this area. In the 7th to 9th centuries above the Džbán gorge was a ...

(Wild Šárka). When the men at

Vyšehrad Vyšehrad (Czech for "upper castle") is a historic fort in Prague, Czech Republic, just over 3 km southeast of Prague Castle, on the east bank of the Vltava River. It was probably built in the 10th century. Inside the fort are the Basilica ...

learned of this, they became angry and began to beat and capture women on the road. Vlasta responded with an attack at Vyšehrad, but she was killed and her army defeated. Děvín Castle was burned, and the women's rule ended.

In popular culture

Bedřich Smetana Bedřich Smetana ( , ; 2 March 1824 – 12 May 1884) was a Czech composer who pioneered the development of a musical style that became closely identified with his people's aspirations to a cultural and political "revival." He has been regarded i ...

depicted the Maiden's War in ''Šárka'' (1875), which is also part of his collection of

symphonic poem A symphonic poem or tone poem is a piece of orchestral music, usually in a single continuous movement, which illustrates or evokes the content of a poem, short story, novel, painting, landscape, or other (non-musical) source. The German term ''T ...

s, ''

Má vlast ''Má vlast'' (), also known as ''My Fatherland'', is a set of six symphonic poems composed between 1874 and 1879 by the Czech composer Bedřich Smetana. The six pieces, conceived as individual works, are often presented and recorded as a single ...

''.Bedřich Smetana
", ''CulturalDistrict.org''. The legend is included in

Jiří Trnka Jiří Trnka (; 24 February 1912 – 30 December 1969) was a Czechs, Czech puppet-maker, illustrator, motion-picture animator and film director. In addition to his extensive career as an illustrator, especially of children's books, he is ...

animated film "

Old Czech Legends ''Old Czech Legends'' ( cz, Staré pověsti české) is a 1953 Czechoslovak stop motion puppet animation film directed by Jiří Trnka. It is based on the 1894 book ''Ancient Bohemian Legends'' by Alois Jirásek. Production After the completion ...

" (1953). The legend inspired the composition of multiple operas, including

Zdeněk Fibich Zdeněk Fibich (, 21 December 1850 in Loket (Benešov District), Všebořice – 15 October 1900 in Prague) was a List of Czech composers, Czech composer of european classical music, classical music. Among his compositions are chamber works (incl ...

's '' Šárka'' (1897) and

Leoš Janáček Leoš Janáček (, baptised Leo Eugen Janáček; 3 July 1854 – 12 August 1928) was a Czech composer, musical theorist, folklorist, publicist, and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian and other Slavic musics, including Eastern European fol ...

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

(1925) by the same name.

František Ringo Čech František Ringo Čech (born 9 July 1943) is a Czech musician, songwriter, painter, actor, comedian, publicist, politician, dramatist, screenwriter, and author. Life and career Early musical career: 1959–1965 František Čech was born in Prag ...

wrote a play entitled ''

Maidens' War "The Maidens' War" ( cs, Dívčí válka) is a tale in Bohemian tradition about an uprising of women against men. According to legend, it took place sometime in the 8th century. It first appeared in the twelfth-century ''Chronica Boëmorum'' o ...

'' in 1985. The story is also depicted in the 2009 film ''

The Pagan Queen ''The Pagan Queen'' is a 2009 fantasy drama film directed by German director Constantin Werner. The film combines realism with fantasy elements and is based on the legend of Libuše, the Czech tribal queen of 8th century Bohemia who envisioned ...

'' by

Constantin Werner Constantin Werner (born January 3, 1969, Erlangen) is a German artist, writer, director and producer of film, TV, theater and music videos. Constantin Werner's first feature film ''Dead Leaves'' had its premiere at the 1998 AFI International Fil ...

. ' (2013), a manga series by , is titled after the legend and the protagonist, a young girl who joins the

Hussite Wars The Hussite Wars, also called the Bohemian Wars or the Hussite Revolution, were a series of civil wars fought between the Hussites and the combined Catholic forces of Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, the Papacy, European monarchs loyal to the Cat ...

, is named Šárka as well.

References

External links

English translation of ''The Maidens' War'' (1894)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maidens' War Czech culture Czech mythology Women in medieval European warfare

Tale

In popular culture

See also

References

External links