Cosmas of Prague (; ; – 21 October 1125) was a Czech priest, writer and historian.

Life

Between 1075 and 1081, he studied in

Liège Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...

. After his return to Bohemia, he married Božetěcha with whom he had a son, named

Jindřich Zdík Jindřich Zdík (also anglicized as ''Henry Zdík''; – 1150 in Prague) was a Czech bishop and diplomat. He served as bishop of Olomouc from 1126 to 1150. He was a promoter of church reforms and is considered one of the most educated Czechs of ...

, and remained in minor orders. His son later became Bishop of

Olomouc Olomouc (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 103,000 inhabitants, making it the Statutory city (Czech Republic), sixth largest city in the country. It is the administrative centre of the Olomouc Region. Located on the Morava (rive ...

. In 1094, he was ordained a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

, and in 1099, he was ordained a priest at

Esztergom Esztergom (; ; or ; , known by Names of European cities in different languages: E–H#E, alternative names) is a city with county rights in northern Hungary, northwest of the capital Budapest. It lies in Komárom-Esztergom County, on the righ ...

, Hungary.

Works

His ''

magnum opus A masterpiece, , or ; ; ) is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, skill, profundity, or workmanship. Historically, ...

,'' written in

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

, is called '' Chronica Boemorum''. The ''Chronica'' is divided into three books: *The first book, completed in 1119, starts with the creation of the world and ends in the year 1038. It describes the legendary foundation of the Bohemian state by the oldest Bohemians around the year 600 (Duke

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

, Duke Krok and his three daughters), Duchess

Libuše , Libussa, Libushe or, historically ''Lubossa'', is a legendary ancestor of the Přemyslid dynasty and the Czechs, Czech people as a whole. According to legend, she was the youngest but wisest of three sisters, who became queen after their father ...

and the foundation of

Přemyslid dynasty The Přemyslid dynasty or House of Přemysl (, , ) was a Bohemian royal dynasty that reigned in the Duchy of Bohemia and later Kingdom of Bohemia and Margraviate of Moravia (9th century–1306), as well as in parts of Poland (including Silesia ...

by her marriage with Přemysl, old bloody wars, Duke Bořivoj and the introduction of Christianity in Bohemia, Saint Wenceslaus and his grandmother Saint Ludmila, reign of the three Boleslavs, the life of Saint Adalbert and bloody wars after year 1000. *The second book describes Bohemian history for the years 1038–1092. The book starts with the heroic deeds of Duke Břetislav, known as the "Bohemian

Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus () was a hero of the Trojan War who was known as being the greatest of all the Greek warriors. The central character in Homer's ''Iliad'', he was the son of the Nereids, Nereid Thetis and Peleus, ...

", for example with his victory over

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. The ''Chronica'' also describes the long and great reign of King Vratislav, who was known as a forceful ruler but a brave and good man. There is also a reflection on his wars in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

; this book ends with Vratislav's death. *The third book (1092–1125) starts with a description of the time of instability and bloody civil wars after Vratislav's death between years 1092 and 1109. The ''Chronica'' ends with the reign of

Vladislav Vladislav ( (', '); , ; Russian language, Russian, Ukrainian language, Ukrainian, Bulgarian language, Bulgarian, Macedonian language, Macedonian, sh-Cyrl, Владислав, ) is a male given names, given name of Slavs, Slavic origin. Variatio ...

between 1109 and 1125. The same year, 1125, Cosmas died. In the later 12th and 13th centuries, Cosmas's continuators brought his history down to 1283.

References

Literature

* *

External links

*
Chronica Boemorum
' — the chronicle accessible on-line at ''

Monumenta Germaniae Historica The (Latin for "Historical Monuments of Germany"), frequently abbreviated MGH, is a comprehensive series of carefully edited and published primary sources, both chronicle and archival, for the study of parts of Northwestern, Central and Souther ...

''
Cosmas biography

English translation
of the chronicle () by Lisa Wolverton published by

Catholic University of America Press The Catholic University of America Press, also known as CUA Press, is the publishing division of The Catholic University of America. Founded on November 14, 1939 and incorporated on July 16, 1941, the CUA Press is a long-time member of the Associ ...

{{Authority control 1040s births 1125 deaths Chroniclers from the Holy Roman Empire 12th-century historians from the Holy Roman Empire Writers from medieval Bohemia Czech male writers 12th-century writers in Latin Writers from Prague