Radla (or ''Radula'', died after 1000) was a

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 ...

priest and tutor of

Saint Adalbert of Prague Adalbert of Prague (, , , , ; 95623 April 997), known in the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia by his birth name Vojtěch (), was a Czech missionary and Christian saint. He was the Bishop of Prague and a missionary to the Hungarians, Poles, ...

(). Only little is known about life of Radla and the available information is often contradictory. He could be the bastard son of

Slavník Slavník (died 981) was a Bohemian nobleman, and the founder of the Slavník dynasty. Biography Slavník rose to power during the reign of Boleslaus II of the Přemyslid dynasty. Slavník controlled significant estates within central Bohemia, a ...

, the founder of Slavník's dynasty and father of Adalbert. Radla was tutor and close friend of Adalbert (they both studied in

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; ) is the Capital city, capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is on the Elbe river. Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archbishopric of Mag ...

) and accompanied him on his pilgrimage to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. After Slavník's were slaughtered (995) Radla left for

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

where he stayed in the service of the wife of Duke Geza. Adalbert asked Radla to be his company on travel to Polish lands but Radla opted to stay in Hungary.

Bruno of Querfurt Bruno of Querfurt, O.S.B. Cam., (; 974 – 14 February or 9/14 March 1009), also known as Brun, was a Christian missionary bishop, Camaldolese monk and martyr, who was beheaded near the border of Kievan Rus and Lithuania for trying to spread C ...

, the creator of legend about St. Adalbert, met him there. Radla is sometimes identified with Anastasius, the first abbot of

Břevnov Monastery Břevnov Monastery (, ) is a Benedictine archabbey in the Břevnov district of Prague, Czech Republic. It was founded by Saint Adalbert, the second Bishop of Prague, in AD 993 with the support of Bohemian Duke Boleslaus II. The first Bened ...

(from 993) or with

Astrik Saint Astrik of Pannonhalma (also known as Anastasius, Astericus, Ascrick, Astrissicus) (died c. 1030/1040) is a saint of the 11th century. Life Radla was a Czech or Croat from Bohemia, who was a monk in Hungary. He probably received the habit at ...

(Anastasius), bishop of the

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an Ethnicity, ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common Culture of Hungary, culture, Hungarian language, language and History of Hungary, history. They also have a notable presence in former pa ...

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 ...

. Modern historians, however, are rather skeptical of these claims. Slovak village Radoľa could have been named after Radla (it lies in the

Kysuce Kysuce is a traditional informal name of a region in north-western Slovakia, situated around the Kysuca, Kysuca river and bordering the Orava region in the east, Poland in the north and the Czech Republic in the west. It consists of two districts: ...

area once owned by the Slavník's)
/sup>.

References

* Jiří Sláma, Rostislav Nový, Jana Zachová: "Slavníkovci ve středověkém písemnictví" (''Slavník's in medieval literature''), Prague, 1987

External links

Short biography of Radla

1000s deaths Czech Roman Catholic priests Year of birth unknown 11th-century Roman Catholic clergy {{CzechRepublic-academic-bio-stub