Nezamysl was the first of the seven

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

n mythical princes between the (also mythical) founder of the

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 ...

Přemysl the Ploughman and the first historical prince Bořivoj. The names of the princes were first recorded in Cosmas chronicle and then transmitted into most historical works up into the 19th century, including

František Palacký František Palacký (; 14 June 1798 – 26 May 1876) was a Czech historian and politician. He was the most influential person of the Czech National Revival, called "Father of the Nation". Life František Palacký was born on 14 June 1798, at ...

's ''The History of the Czech Nation in Bohemia and Moravia'' (1836). One theory connects the number of princes to the

frescoes Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

on the "Ducal Rotunda" of the Virgin Mary and St Catherine in

Znojmo Znojmo (; ) is a town in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 34,000 inhabitants. Znojmo is the historical and cultural centre of southwestern Moravia and the second most populated town in the South Moravian Region. The hi ...

Moravia Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The medieval and early ...

, which date back to the late 11th or early 12th century. However, Anežka Merhautová suggested that the frescoes depict all the members of the Přemyslid dynasty including the Moravian junior princes at the time when it was painted, rather than a Přemyslid pedigree.

Origin of the name

Nezamysl's name is thought to be derived from the opposite meaning to Přemysl - "not thinking", cf. Roman "Simplicius".

Záviš Kalandra Záviš Kalandra (10 November 1902 – 27 June 1950) was a Czechoslovakia, Czechoslovak historian, theatre critic and theorist of literature. He was born in Frenštát pod Radhoštěm. He studied philosophy at the Charles University in Prague and ...

thought the names of the seven princes were cryptical names of ancient Slavonic days of the week - Nezamysl being the first - Sunday when we do not think/intend to work. Another theory suggests the names of the Přemysl ancestors arose from a mistaken interpretation by Cosmas. According to postulation by Vladimír Karbusický, Cosmas likely contrived them when trying to read a lost

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 ...

transcription of an old-Slavonic message. When the ancestral names are combined and reassessed, they can roughly cohere an assumed text: "'' Krok‘ kazi tetha lubossa premisl nezamisl mna ta voj‘n ni zla kr‘z mis neklan gosti vit...''" In modern English, this may translate to: "''Halt your steps, Tetha, and rather think, I do not intend war or evil upon you, we do not bow to the cross, we welcome guests''..." The alleged message is speculated to be from the Czech princes to the

Franks file:Frankish arms.JPG, Aristocratic Frankish burial items from the Merovingian dynasty The Franks ( or ; ; ) were originally a group of Germanic peoples who lived near the Rhine river, Rhine-river military border of Germania Inferior, which wa ...

, perhaps in relation to the Battle of Zásek c. 849 described in the

Annales Fuldenses The ''Annales Fuldenses'' or ''Annals of Fulda'' are East Francia, East Frankish chronicles that cover independently the period from the last years of Louis the Pious (died 840) to shortly after the end of effective Carolingian rule in East Fran ...

Seven mythical princes after Přemysl

In popular culture

In the game

Crusader Kings II ''Crusader Kings II'' is a grand strategy game developed by Paradox Development Studio and published by Paradox Interactive. Set in the Middle Ages, the game was released on February 14, 2012, as a sequel to 2004's '' Crusader Kings''. On Octob ...

, Nezamysl is a playable as the king of Bohemia despite the dubiousness of his existence.

Notes

Mythical Bohemian princes Přemyslid dynasty Fictional Czech people {{Europe-myth-stub