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• W4290658683 abstract "Chronica Bohemorum is the oldest historical work of the history of Bohemia and the Czech lands in general. It belongs to a category known as origo gentis, which is not a literary genre of its own but, rather, a descriptive style that can be found in various medieval writings. This narrative style follows the memory of the Bohemians (an ethnonym that in modern times encompasses Czech identity) from mythic prehistory to 1125. Similar earlier chronicles were written by Gregory of Tours, Bede, Paulus Diaconus, and Widukind of Corvey. The chronicle is essential not only for the medieval history of Bohemia but also for the neighboring states located in East-Central Europe. Similar “state-national” chronicles contemporary with Cosmas’s are Gesta principum Polonorum, written in Poland in about 1115 by an anonymous author presumed to be a Frenchman, and the Gesta Hungarorum, compiled by the anonymous chancellery clerk who had formerly been in the service of King Béla III of Hungary (r. 1172–1196).Cosmas’s Chronicle has three books. There are no contemporary texts that have survived until today. However, the oldest copy is preserved in the so-called “Bautzen manuscript” from the late twelfth or early thirteenth century. The codex is currently kept in the Library of the National Museum in Prague (VIII F 69). Many copies were compiled between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries. Most of the historical research in the last century relies on the translation published by Bertold Bretholz in 1923,1 which is still regarded as the best critical edition. This is mainly due to the fact that Bretholz’s edition was based on a late medieval copy that was destroyed during the British–American aerial bombing of the city of Dresden in February 1945.The first English translation belongs to Lisa Wolverton,2 who used Bretholz’s Latin edition. The present book is the first bilingual Latin-English edition that also used Bretholz’s edition. It contains notes with details and reasoned explanations, a useful bibliography, an index of personal and geographical names, an index of quotations, two illustrations (the topography of the Prague basin and a map of Bohemia and Moravia in the Early Middle Ages, where the main fortified settlements are located), and a genealogy of the Přemyslid dynasty to 1126. In addition to the three books, the present edition contains an appendix on the foundation of the Monastery of Sázava. This is a manuscript written in the 1170s by an anonymous monk of the Benedictine abbey of Sázava, which combined a history of the abbey from its foundation with a continuation of Cosmas’s chronicle. An excerpt from it was first added to the Chronicle of Cosmas by Bretholz.In the introduction of the present edition, Janos M. Bak and Pavlína Rychterová present a rich biography of the author of the Chronica Bohemorum and briefly deal with the chronology of writing it as well as influences from other previous chronicles. The editors considered that Cosmas did not expect a wide audience for the narrative. In this sense, his chronicle seems to be the literary expression of the annals of the Prague chapter, which have been lost.What we can observe in this critical edition is that the translation is accurate in terms of toponymy. Unlike Wolverton, the editors translated the proper names according not to persons’ ethnicity but to modern usage. A historical village known in Latin as Ztibecne, Stbecnam, or Stbecna, located in the central Bohemian region, has been translated as Zbečno (pp. 17, 21, 117, 317), as it appears in modern Czech toponymy.3 Another example is Dohna, a Saxon burg located near today’s Dresden (in the vicinity of Elbe), which keeps its original name (pp. 380–381).4The introduction also contains some basic information about original manuscripts and later copies used as primary sources in the previous critical editions. The biographical data are placed in the political context of the time, worthy of being taken seriously. Details about the age of the author and his ecclesiastical activity are also mentioned (pp. xxiv–xv). Less is said about his ancestry and family ties. Yet the editors agree that Cosmas was married to a woman called Božetěcha (Bozeteha), who died in 1117, with whom he had a son, Jindřich. Furthermore, it is emphasized that during the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the Bohemian clerical elites maintained a social network based on family ties (p. xxi).The editors noticed that like many other High Medieval authors, Cosmas does not have a very good opinion about his contemporaries. Cosmas shares a dose of pessimism, which is related less to ecclesiastical matters than to political and social life. Somehow he seeks to reform the society. The golden age seems to belong to the past, whereas those from the same generation as the author lack morality. The moral virtues could come only from classical authors (especially Sallust), and the reformers of the society may be those who have access to their texts (e.g. the clergy). In this sense, the editors point out that Cosmas intends to make his readers moral. His contemporaries are depicted as being “vainglorious and servile,” in opposition to the ancient Bohemians, who were “upright and honest” (p. xix).In the introduction, it is stated that Cosmas was a canon and dean of the cathedral chapter in Prague. He was probably born around 1045 and studied in Liège for a while (pp. xxii–xxiii). He would have started writing the chronicle not earlier than 1118. The narrative stops in 1125, which is the first year of the reign of Duke Soběslav I (p. xxvi). The early reign of the duke (r. April 12, 1125–February 14, 1140) allowed peace in Bohemia, shaken by the wars between the members of the Přemyslid dynasty, who aspired to the ducal throne. In the same year, on October 21, 1125, Cosmas passed away (p. 427). This date is accepted as accurate by the editors, who mention both the Necrologium Bohemicum and the Necrologium Olomucense as sources of confirmation.The editors draw attention to the fact that in order to legitimize the rule of the Přemyslid dynasty, Cosmas placed the mythical chapters before other chapters written from contemporary sources that contain information about the past. It is more or less an attempt to minimize the degree of subordination of the Bohemian dukes to the emperor. Within Bohemia, the dukes would like to be regarded as the only legitimate rulers.The narrative begins with the legend of the flood and continues in the second chapter with a short lesson on the geography of Germany and the vassal territories, such as Bohemia. As in the case of the neighboring chronicles, Cosmas places great emphasis on the political legitimacy of the Přemyslids and the origin of their subjects. The central character of the prehistory is the “queen” Libuše (Lubossin), described as the legendary ancestress of the Bohemians and the founder of the Přemyslid dynasty (by marriage to the plowman Přemysl). She is well regarded not only for her prophetic gift but also for wisdom. Her first great achievement is the construction of the historical citadel that bears her name, Libušín (p. 21).Another major account in the first book is on the baptism of Bořivoj I (ca. 867–ca. 889), who is considered the first Christian Duke of Bohemia and was a member of the Přemyslid dynasty. The Slavic duke was baptized not by a German prelate from the Latin church but by “the venerable bishop Methodius” during his visits to Moravia (p. 43). Of course, the historical data are inaccurate, but the most important thing is the significance of the events. Bořivoj was not subjected to the Franks but to Prince Svatopluk I (r. 871–894), the Slavic ruler of Moravia. The German clergy opposed the missionary activity in Moravia conducted by the disciples of Methodius and rejected the liturgy in Old Church Slavonic.5 For Cosmas, Bořivoj’s rule was legitimate because he received the Holy Grace from a bishop independent from the Latin church, and therefore his successors, the Přemyslids, were the only natural masters of Bohemia.In conclusion, we can say that the translation is clear, and the English text is very readable. It is also updated with the latest literature on the history of Bohemia. The introduction is very rich in details. Cosmas’s biography is not presented descriptively but, rather, analytically, which involves considering sociopolitical aspects. Age, ecclesiastical career, and family ties are not ignored but carefully analyzed and placed in the historical context of the time. Readers can also find relevant details about the continuators of the chronicle of Cosmas from the twelfth century onward. Overall, the translation is a useful tool for Anglophone researchers working on medieval Bohemia." @default.
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• W4290658683 title "<i>Cosmas Pragensis Chronica Bohemorum</i>" @default.
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