A supposed Battle at Chlumec between 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 ...

and the

Duchy of Bohemia The Duchy of Bohemia, also later referred to in English as the Czech Duchy, ( cs, České knížectví) was a monarchy and a principality of the Holy Roman Empire in Central Europe during the Early and High Middle Ages. It was formed around 870 b ...

is sometimes mentioned as having taken place near

Chlumec u Chabařovic Chlumec is the name of several places in the Czech Republic: * Chlumec (Český Krumlov District), a village in the South Bohemian Region * Chlumec (Ústí nad Labem District), a town in the Ústí nad Labem Region * Chlumec nad Cidlinou, a town in ...

in 1040, concluding the unsuccessful first campaign by

Henry III Henry III may refer to: * Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor (1017–1056) * King Henry III of Castile (1379–1406) * King Henry III of England (1207–1272) * King Henry III of France (1551–1589) * King Henry III of Navarre (1553–1610), also King ...

against

Břetislav I Bretislav I ( cs, Břetislav I.; 1002/1005 – 10 January 1055), known as the "Bohemian Achilles", of the Přemyslid dynasty, was Duke of Bohemia from 1034 until his death. Youth Bretislav was the son of Duke Oldřich and his low-born concubine ...

. This presumably refers to the encounter between the

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country ( Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the No ...

force led by

Eckard II, Margrave of Meissen Eckard II (german: Ekkehard; – 24 January 1046) was Margrave of Lusatia (as Eckard I) from 1034 and Margrave of Meissen from 1038 until his death. He was the last of his dynasty, with his death the line of Ekkeharding margraves descending from ...

and the Bohemian forces of Břetislav I, which met near the Bílina River (some 20 km south-west of Chlumec) in early September 1040, but according to Perlbach (1870:451f.), the commanders reached an agreement allowing the Saxons to withdraw without battle. The Saxon forces led by

and

Bardo In some schools of Buddhism, ''bardo'' ( xct, བར་དོ་ Wylie: ''bar do'') or ''antarābhava'' (Sanskrit, Chinese and Japanese: 中有, romanized in Chinese as ''zhōng yǒu'' and in Japanese as ''chū'u'') is an intermediate, transitio ...

, bishop of Mainz, assembled at

Dohna Dohna is a town in the Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge district, Saxony, Germany. It is located south of Heidenau, in the Müglitz (river), Müglitz valley and lies at the northeastern foot of the Eastern Ore Mountains. It is accessed by the P ...

, on the left bank of the Elbe, on 15 August. They were supposed to unite with Henry's forces before marching against Prague, but they remained in Dohna for ten days. During this time, Henry was ambushed in the

Upper Palatine Forest The Upper Palatine Forest (german: Oberpfälzer Wald or ''Böhmischer Wald'', cs, Český les) is a mountain range in Central Europe that is divided between Germany and the Czech Republic. It is part of the larger Bohemian Massif and the Germa ...

and suffered heavy losses. Eckard did not enter Bohemia immediately because he was opposed by Bohemian forces led by the count of

Bílina Bílina (; german: Bilin) is a town in Teplice District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 14,000 inhabitants. It is known for its spas and as a source of the strongly mineralized water, Bílinská kyselka. The tow ...

. Instead, he negotiated a bribe, and on 24 August, the count of Bílina allowed the Saxons to move south into Bohemia across the passes of the

Central Bohemian Uplands Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known a ...

, putting up only token resistance. Eckard passed Chlumec, and pillaged the Bohemian countryside for nine days, suffering only minor losses in a skirmish on 31 August. At Gnevin, Eckard was reached by messengers sent by Henry, led by

Gunther of Bohemia Gunther ( cs, Vintíř; german: Günther; hu, Günter; c. 955–1045) was a German (Bavarian) Catholic hermit and diplomat, who had quite important role in early history of Hungary and especially Bohemia, thanks to his good personal relation ...

, informing him of his defeat at Brůdek and ordering him to retreat. Meanwhile, Břetislav had moved up against the Saxon force. Gunther appears to have negotiated an agreement between Eckard and Břetislav allowing the Saxons to retreat without engagement, but Břetislav captured the treacherous count of Bílina, having him blinded and mutilated and thrown into a gully (Perlbach 1870:452, citing

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 so ...

). Henry started a second, successful campaign the following year, in August 1041, this time uniting with the forces of Eckard II near Prague, which forced Břetislav's surrender.

References

* M. Perlbach
''Die Kriege Heinrichs III. gegen Böhmen. 1039–1041''
(1870). {{coord missing, Czech Republic Chlumec Chlumec 1040 Chlumec Chlumec Ústí nad Labem District 1040 in Europe Bretislav I