Přemysl the Ploughman ( ''Přemysl Oráč''; English: Premysl, Przemysl or Primislaus) was the legendary husband 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 ...

, and ancestor 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 ...

, containing the line of princes (dukes) and kings which ruled in the

Lands of the Bohemian Crown The Lands of the Bohemian Crown were a number of incorporated states in Central Europe during the medieval and early modern periods connected by feudal relations under the Bohemian kings. The crown lands primarily consisted of the Kingdom of B ...

from 873 or earlier until the murder of Wenceslaus III in 1306.

Legend

According to a legend, Přemysl was a free peasant of the village of Stadice who attracted the notice of

, daughter of a certain Krok, who ruled over a large part of

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 ...

. Libuše succeeded her father, and her councillors demanded that she marry, but because Přemysl was not a nobleman she recounted a vision in which they would follow a horse let loose at a junction, and follow it to find her future husband, making it appear as if it was the will of fate not her own wish. Two versions of the legend exist, one in where they are to find a man ploughing a field with one broken sandal, and another in which the man would be sitting in the shade of a single tree, eating from an iron table (his plough). They did so and found Přemysl exactly as foretold. Přemysl married Libuše, the traditional foundress of

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

, and became prince of the Bohemian

Czechs The Czechs ( cs, Češi, ; singular Czech, masculine: ''Čech'' , singular feminine: ''Češka'' ), or the Czech people (), are a West Slavic ethnic group and a nation native to the Czech Republic in Central Europe, who share a common ancestry, c ...

. However, according to the legends, because they found him before he had finished ploughing the field famine was anticipated for the land and did actually come about. He was also said to have planted his hazel-wood staff in the ground before he left, which then grew three sprouts, two of which died but the third continued to grow; this was an omen that his first two sons with Libuše, Radobyl and Lidomir, would die, but their third son, Nezamysl would live and continue the

. Legend has it that the staff continued to grow, and the inhabitants of the neighbouring town were given a grant exempting them from taxes, except for a pint of hazel nuts each year, a tradition which continued into the reign of

Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV ( cs, Karel IV.; german: Karl IV.; la, Carolus IV; 14 May 1316 – 29 November 1378''Karl IV''. In: (1960): ''Geschichte in Gestalten'' (''History in figures''), vol. 2: ''F–K''. 38, Frankfurt 1963, p. 294), also known as Charle ...

, from whom

Pope Pius II Pope Pius II ( la, Pius PP. II, it, Pio II), born Enea Silvio Bartolomeo Piccolomini ( la, Aeneas Silvius Bartholomeus, links=no; 18 October 1405 – 14 August 1464), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 August ...

claimed to have seen a charter renewing the exemption. He was also said to have removed his peasant's

bast shoes Bast shoes are shoes made primarily from bast — fiber taken from the bark of trees such as linden. They are a kind of basket, woven and fitted to the shape of a foot. Bast shoes are a traditional footwear of the forest areas of Northern E ...

before donning the royal robe when he was discovered, and ordered the councillors to bring the shoes with them and keep them as a reminder to the people that a peasant had risen to the highest rank, and to his successors to be humble, remember their origin, and defend the peasantry. The custom of exhibiting a pair of bast shoes at the coronation of the kings of Bohemia was said to have continued throughout the Přemyslid dynasty. The Přemyslid dynasty became extinct in the male line when Wenceslaus III died, but through females the title to Bohemia passed from the Přemyslids to the Luxembourgs and later to the houses of Jagiello,

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

and

Habsburg-Lorraine The House of Habsburg-Lorraine (german: Haus Habsburg-Lothringen) originated from the marriage in 1736 of Francis III, Duke of Lorraine and Bar, and Maria Theresa of Austria, later successively Queen of Bohemia, Queen of Hungary, Queen of Cr ...

Medieval literary traditions

The earliest work mentioning the story about Přemysl and Libuše could be the so-called ''Christian Legende'' (Latin title: ''Vita et passio sancti Vencaslai et sanctae Ludmilae aviae eius'') from the end of 10th century, though some historians consider this legend to be a

falsum The up tack or falsum (⊥, \bot in LaTeX, U+22A5 in Unicode) is a constant symbol used to represent: * The truth value 'false', or a logical constant denoting a proposition in logic that is always false (often called "falsum" or "absurdum"). * ...

from 12th or 13th century. The legend is further described in the ''

Cosmas Cosmas or Kosmas is a Greek language, Greek name ( grc-gre, Κοσμᾶς), from Ancient Greek Κοσμᾶς (Kosmâs), associated with the noun κόσμος (kósmos), meaning "Cosmos, universe", and the verb κοσμέω (to order, govern, ado ...

Chronicle'' (Latin title: ''Chronica Boemorum'') written between 1119 and 1125, ''Short writing about

Cyril and Methodius Cyril (born Constantine, 826–869) and Methodius (815–885) were two brothers and Byzantine Christian theologians and missionaries. For their work evangelizing the Slavs, they are known as the "Apostles to the Slavs". They are credited wit ...

'' (Latin title: ''Diffundente sole'') from the late 12th century and the ''

Chronicle of Dalimil 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 Poetry, verse by an unknown author at the beginning of the 14th century. The Chr ...

'' from the beginning of 14th century. Several times the legend was recorded during the reign of king and emperor Charles IV in the late 14th century. E.g., the so-called ''New Chronicle of Bohemiae'' by Přibík Pulkava and in the chronicle compiled by

Giovanni de' Marignolli Giovanni de' Marignolli ( la, Johannes Marignola;. ), variously anglicized as John of Marignolli or John of Florence, was a notable 14th-century Catholic European traveller to medieval China and India. Life Early life Giovanni was born, probab ...

Arts

In addition to appearing in works named for Libuše, Přemysl is also a subject of the writings of

Wenceslaus Hajek of Libočany Wenceslaus Hájek of Libočany ( cz, Václav Hájek z Libočan; german: Wenzeslaus Hagek von Libotschan; la, Wenceslaus Hagecius, Wenceslaus Hagek a Liboczan; died 18 March 1553) was a Bohemian chronicler, author of famous '' Czech Chronicle'' (15 ...

published in 1541, a 1779 ballad by

Johann Gottfried Herder Johann Gottfried von Herder ( , ; 25 August 174418 December 1803) was a German philosopher, theologian, poet, and literary critic. He is associated with the Enlightenment, ''Sturm und Drang'', and Weimar Classicism. Biography Born in Mohrun ...

, fairy tales by

Johann Karl August Musäus Johann Karl August Musäus (29 March 1735 – 28 October 1787) was a popular German author and one of the first collectors of German folk stories, most celebrated for his ''Volksmärchen der Deutschen'' (1782–1787), a collection of German fairy ...

, and

Clemens Brentano Clemens Wenzeslaus Brentano (also Klemens; pseudonym: Clemens Maria Brentano ; ; 9 September 1778 – 28 July 1842) was a German poet and novelist, and a major figure of German Romanticism. He was the uncle, via his brother Christian, of Franz a ...

's 1815 ''The Founding of Prague''.Peter Demetz. ''Prague in Black and Gold: Scenes from the Life of a European City''. Hill and Wang, 1997. pp. 22–24.

Notes

References

Bibliography

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 ...