Wappen der Grafen von Zierotin, Freiherren von Lilgenau 1740

The House of Žerotín or House of Zierotin was a Czech

noble family Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteris ...

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 ...

, one of the oldest and most illustrious noble families from Bohemia and

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 m ...

. The family was first mentioned around the year 1200 as ''Bludovici'' (

Blud of Bludov Blud of Bludov ( cs, Blud z Bludova) was the Moravian aristocrat who was ancestor of the House of Zierotin and the founder of the village of Bludov. His name appears in records around 1200 as a Grand Huntsman and from 1213 till 1215, as the burgrav ...

), later renamed ''Žerotínové'', and achieved the rank of

Imperial Count Imperial Count (german: Reichsgraf) was a title in the Holy Roman Empire. In the medieval era, it was used exclusively to designate the holder of an imperial county, that is, a fief held directly ( immediately) from the emperor, rather than from ...

s in the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...

. The male line of this family died out in 1985. Its estates, manor Bludov, were returned to their female descendants, the family Mornstein-Zierotin after fall of

Communist rule A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Cominte ...

in 1989.

History

According to romantic

legend A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess ...

, the Zierotins were the offspring of Prince

Oleg of Drelinia Oleg was a Rurikid ruler of the Drevlians from 969 to his death in 977. He was the second son of Sviatoslav I of Kiev. Date of birth is not known, but is probably before 957. Sviatoslav split up his domains, and gave the Drevlyan lands to Oleg. O ...

, brother of

Vladimir I of Kiev Vladimir I Sviatoslavich or Volodymyr I Sviatoslavych ( orv, Володимѣръ Свѧтославичь, ''Volodiměrъ Svętoslavičь'';, ''Uladzimir'', russian: Владимир, ''Vladimir'', uk, Володимир, ''Volodymyr''. Se ...

, and therefore the family uses in its

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

a royal crown (or more properly the crown of

Grand Prince Grand prince or great prince (feminine: grand princess or great princess) ( la, magnus princeps; Greek: ''megas archon''; russian: великий князь, velikiy knyaz) is a title of nobility ranked in honour below emperor, equal of king ...

) and princely

mantling In heraldry, mantling or "lambrequin" (its name in French) is drapery tied to the helmet above the shield. In paper heraldry it is a depiction of the protective cloth covering (often of linen) worn by knights from their helmets to stave off the ...

. The heraldic device is a blazon of arms in gules (red) with a lion sable (black), crowned, on three mountains argent (silver). The crest is the crowned lion rampant. Members of the family were judges, governors, patrons of art, and politicians. The most famous is Karel Older of Zierotin (1564–1636), head of the Moravian nobility during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...

, a friend of

Henry IV of France Henry IV (french: Henri IV; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry or Henry the Great, was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first monarch ...

and brother-in-law of

Albrecht of Wallenstein Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von Wallenstein () (24 September 1583 – 25 February 1634), also von Waldstein ( cs, Albrecht Václav Eusebius z Valdštejna), was a Bohemian military leader and statesman who fought on the Catholic side during the T ...

. Other interesting members were Johan Karl von Zierotin (1719–1776) directeur des spectacles of Frederick II of Prussia and friend of

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...

, Karel Emanuel of Zierotin (1850–1934), peer of the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence ...

and governor of Moravia (1900–1906), and

Ladislav Velen of Zierotin Ladislav is a Czech, Slovak and Croatian variant of the Slavic name Vladislav. The female form of this name is Ladislava. Folk etymology occasionally links ''Ladislav'' with the Slavic goddess Lada. Spellings and variations In Bulgarian ...

(1579–1638), head of the uprising against the Habsburgs. The male line of this family died out in 1985. Its estates, manor Bludov, were returned to their female descendants, the family Mornstein-Zierotin after fall of the

(1989).

Notes

References

History of Bludov (in Czech)
*Vincenc Brandl, Spisy Karla st. ze Žerotína, 3 vols, Brno 1870–1972
On line text
*Chlumecky, Peter Ritter von: Carl von Zierotin und seine Zeit: 1564–1615. Brünn 1862. *KALISTA, Zdeněk. Čechové, kteří tvořili dějiny světa. Praha : Garamond, 2009. 198 s. . *KNOZ, Tomáš. Državy Karla staršího ze Žerotína po Bílé hoře. Osoby, příběhy, struktury. Brno : Matice moravská ; Masarykova univerzita, 2001. 474 s. . *KNOZ, Tomáš. in Osobnosti moravských dějin (1) s.203-218. Brno : Matice moravská, 2006. 516 s. . *KNOZ, Tomáš. Karel starší ze Žerotína. Don Quijote v labyrintu světa. Praha : Vyšehrad, 2008. 365 p. . *ODLOŽILÍK, Otakar. Karel starší ze Žerotína. 1564–1636. Praha : Melantrich, 1936. 197 p. *HRUBÝ, František. Ladislav Velen ze Žerotína. Praha : .n. 1930.
Documentary about the House
{{Authority control Moravian noble families Bohemian noble families Austrian noble families