Nezamysl was the first of the seven

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 mythical princes between the (also mythical) founder of the

Přemyslid dynasty The Přemyslid dynasty or House of Přemyslid ( cs, Přemyslovci, german: Premysliden, pl, Przemyślidzi) was a Bohemian royal dynasty that reigned in the Duchy of Bohemia and later Kingdom of Bohemia and Margraviate of Moravia (9th century–130 ...

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 th ...

and the first historical prince Bořivoj. The names of the princes were first recorded in Cosmas chronicle and then transmitted into most historical works up into the 19th century, including

František Palacký František Palacký (; June 17, 1798 – May 26, 1876) was a Czech historian and politician, the most influential person of the Czech National Revival, called "Father of the Nation". Life František Palacký was born on June 17, 1798 at Hodslavi ...

's ''The History of the Czech Nation in Bohemia and Moravia'' (1836). One theory connects the number of princes to the

frescoes Fresco (plural ''frescos'' 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 plaste ...

on the "Ducal Rotunda" of the Virgin Mary and St Catherine in

Znojmo Znojmo (; german: Znaim) is a town in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 33,000 inhabitants. Znojmo is the historical and cultural centre of southwestern Moravia and the second most populated town in the South Moravian R ...

Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The me ...

, which date back to the late 11th or early 12th century. However, Anežka Merhautová suggested that the frescoes depict all the members of the Přemyslid dynasty including the Moravian junior princes at the time when it was painted, rather than a Přemyslid pedigree.

Origin of the name

Nezamysl's name is thought to be derived from the opposite meaning to Přemysl - "not thinking", cf. Roman "Simplicius".

Záviš Kalandra Záviš Kalandra (10 November 1902 – 27 June 1950) was a 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 then in Berlin ...

thought the names of the seven princes were cryptical names of ancient Slavonic days of the week - Nezamysl being the first - Sunday when we do not think/intend to work. Another theory says that the names were mistaken from a coherent and partly interrupted old Slavonic text.Vladimír Karbusický: Báje, mýty, dějiny. Nejstarší české pověsti v kontextu evropské kultury, p.237, Praha 199

/ref>

Seven mythical princes after Přemysl

In popular culture

In the game

Crusader Kings II ''Crusader Kings II'' is a grand strategy video game developed by Paradox Development Studio and published by Paradox Interactive. Set in the Middle Ages, the game was released on February 14, 2012, as a sequel to 2004's '' Crusader Kings''. On ...

, Nezamysl is a playable as the king of Bohemia despite the dubiousness of his existence.

Notes

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