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The Luxembourg Dynasty...
Emperor & King Charles IV
Bust
of John of Luxembourg, father of Charles IV, from the triforium of St.
Vitus's
Cathedral: a work of Peter Parler's workshop, 14th century.
With the demise of Wenceslas III, the last of the Przemyslid rulers
of the Czech lands, the difficult question of who should rule next had
to be answered. And answered it was - by 14-year-old John of Luxembourg,
the first of the Luxembourgs to occupy the Czech throne (1310-1437).
John of Luxembourg gained this position with the support of the Czech
nobility by marrying 18-year-old Eliska (Elisabeth) Przemyslova, the
sister of the late Wenceslas III.
Under John of Luxembourg's rule, more territories - including the
regions of Cheb, Lusatia and Silesia - were joined to Bohemia. All of
these regions together, under the rule of John of Luxembourg, came to
be known as the "Lands of the Czech Crown". So you see, there
never was an easy "one-word" way (like 'Czechia') to describe
this part of the world, not even way back in the 14th century.
John of Luxembourg was a good king, but he had a fatal weakness for
chivalry, knighthood, honour - and especially, for battles. He loved
to fight. When there weren't any battles in his immediate neighborhood,
he went abroad to help his friends fight their battles. And so it happened
that he fell at the battle of Crecy in 1346, fighting on the side of
his French friend and distant relative Charles, against the Black Prince.
He was succeeded by his young son, Charles IV (born on 14 May, 1316
in Prague).
Portrait
of Charles IV (17th century, with Karlstejn Castle in the background)
Charles IV was just as noble
- but much more practical than his caravanting father had been, and
he took a keen interest in all aspects of rule over the Czech lands.
Charles IV was not really named Charles: he was named Wenceslas IV -
but he had been reared at the French court, where he studied free art
at the then Paris University. He also devoted his attention to learning
languages and eventually had a mastery of Latin, German, French and
Italian. When he was baptised he took the name of his godfather, the
French king Charles IV. (His son, who succeeded him on the Czech throne,
was also named Wenceslas IV, and this sometimes leads to some confusion.)
From 1331 to 1333 Charles
worked as the administrator of the
Luxembourg domains in northern Italy. In 1333 a part of the Czech aristocracy
persuaded John of Luxembourg to allow Charles to reign in Bohemia. And
so he returned to Bohemia after ten years. In 1346 John of Luxembourg
lost his life in the Battle of Crecy and one year later Charles was
crowned, being acknowleged by the Diet as the successor to the Czech
throne. He was crowned with the St. Wenceslas crown, which he had made
for the occasion and which was placed on his head by the Bishop of Prague,
Arnost of Pardubice. When Charles IV came to power, he was still very
young. Since he'd been raised in France, he didn't speak Czech. Wicked
advisors surrounded the young king, and attempted to usurp the real
rule of Bohemia while leaving young Charles IV in place as a figurehead.
Young Charles IV saw through
the transparent plans of the wicked
advisors who surrounded him. He quickly learned Czech, and took over
rule of his own land himself. Charles IV may have been young, but he
was no dummy. He not only spoke five languages fluently (at a time when
many crowned heads could not even read and write) - he was a masterful
diplomat too. He also had friends in high places - Pope Klement, who
was elected during Charles IV's reign, had been the Czech sovereign's
tutor at the court in Paris.
Charles IV was very clever, very devout, and very savvy. He was also
a lover of art and a collector of holy relics (which he kept under lock
and key all year long except for Easter, when he paraded them through
the country like a travelling circus).
Prague, A.D. 1493
Charles IV followed the
example of the Premyslid (Przemyslid)
heritage in practically all aspects. The first important thing he did
was to raise the Prague bishopric to an archbishopric in 1344. The most
significant year of his founding activity was 1348, this date marking,
apart from the founding of Karlstejn Castle, also a whole number of
important documents and the foundation of other institutions and buildings.
In this respect we can mention, for example, the founding of Prague
University, now Charles University, the New Town of Prague, Emmaus Monastery
in Prague with the Slavonic liturgy and others. Charles devoted great
attention to his town of residence. During his reign changes also came
about at Prague Castle, where he had the Royal Palace adapted and continued
in the building of St. Vitus's Cathedral. He had a new bridge erected
across the River Vltava (Moldau), which now bears his name. Above-lifesize
statues of Charles IV and his son Vaclav have been preserved on the
Old Town Bridge Tower.
In
1346 Charles was elected and crowned
Roman king. He was crowned Roman emperor in Rome on 5 April, 1355. From
this position, too, he devoted great attention to the Czech kingdom,
which he regarded as the core of his family heritage. In the Golden
Bull, the imperial code of 1356, Charles legalized the priority position
of the Czech king and the Czech state in the empire and specified the
number of profane and sacral electors and their mutual order. He was
an excellent diplomat, employing especially negotiations for the achievement
of his aims and a marriage policy for the widening of his domains. Charles
IV died on 29 November 1378 in Prague. His bodily remains were placed
in the royal tomb below St. Vitus Cathedral at Prague Castle, where
they have remained to the present. At Karlstejn Charles IV is commemorated
every year by a solemn mass held in the Church of Our Lady on the day
of the anniversary of his death.
The medieval Czech state
reached the zenith of its power and
importance under Charles IV. He was the King of Bohemia, later also
Holy Roman Emperor, and today he is known as the Father of the Czech
Nation. When speaking about the life of Charles IV it is necessary to
mention the fact that he is regarded as the most important medieval
ruler on the Czech throne.
Charles was a very good
king, and he paid attention to detail.
It was he who made sure that the status of the "Lands of the Czech
Crown" - the territories his father had gathered together under
his rule - was legally fixed (this task was made all the easier since
he was Holy Roman Emperor). He initiated a number of building projects
in his reign, especially in Prague. It was at his behest that Charles
Bridge and St. Vitus' Cathedral were built, and the "Hunger Wall"
that he commissioned (remnants of which still stand today on Petrin
Hill in Prague) is thought to be the first works-project in the world,
as he had it built to create employment for the poor and hungry masses
(hence the name). Charles IV personally planned Prague's "New Town"
district, where Charles Square - which is also named for him - lies.
Karlstejn Castle and Karlovy Vary (Carlsbad) are also named after Charles
IV.
Many of the building projects
initiated by Charles IV still stand,
and most are perfect examples of the Gothic style of architecture, which
is characterized by clean simple lines and solid structure - like the
Charles Bridge and its towers, the Carolinum, or the Old-New Synagogue.
Charles IV also founded Charles University, the first center of higher
education in all of Central Europe. During his reign, Prague was the
capital of the Holy Roman Empire (a gilded sign on the Old Town Hall
still proclaims "Praga Caput Regni" today), and he successfully
lobbied to have the Prague bishopric made an archbishopric (this task
was actually quite easy, as the privelege was granted him by his former
tutor, now the Pope.)
Apart from Karlstejn, Charles
IV founded other castles, some of
which also bear his name in their designation. As examples can be mentioned
Kasperk (Karlsberg) and Radyné (Karlskrone), which originated
as administrative centres, and Karsfried Castle, which was built for
the protection of duty on the provincial route. However, it was only
Karlstejn that acquired exceptional importance connected with Charles'
status as Emperor of the Roman Empire.
It was Charles IV, too, who brought the cultivation of the grape and
the wine industry to the beer-drinking Czech lands. That isn't to say
that he neglected the beer industry - under his reign, stiff prison
sentences were meted out to those caught exporting cuttings of prize
Czech hops - essential to the brewing of great Czech beer - abroad.
Charles IV had no fewer
than four wives, and any number of
progeny, both legitimate and illegitimate. Of these, his oldest legitimate
son, Vaclav IV, was naturally chosen as his successor.
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