Přemysl the Ploughman (Czech pronunciation:[ˈpr̝̊ɛmɪsl̩ˈoraːtʃ]ⓘPřemysl Oráč; English: Premysl, Przemysl or Primislaus[nb 1]) was the legendary husband ofLibuše, and ancestor of thePřemyslid dynasty, containing the line of princes (dukes) and kings which ruled in theLands of the Bohemian Crown from 873 or earlier until the murder ofWenceslaus III in 1306.[3]
According to a legend, Přemysl was a free peasant of the village ofStadice who attracted the notice ofLibuše, daughter of a certainKrok, who ruled over a large part ofBohemia.[3] Libuše succeeded her father, and her councillors demanded that she marry, but because Přemysl was not a nobleman she recounted a vision in which they would follow a horse let loose at a junction, and follow it to find her future husband, making it appear as if it was the will of fate not her own wish. Two versions of the legend exist, one in where they are to find a man ploughing a field with one broken sandal, and another in which the man would be sitting in the shade of a single tree, eating from an iron table (his plough). They did so and found Přemysl exactly as foretold.[2]
Přemysl married Libuše, the traditional foundress ofPrague, and became prince of the BohemianCzechs.[3] However, according to the legends, because they found him before he had finished ploughing the field famine was anticipated for the land and did actually come about. He was also said to have planted his hazel-wood staff in the ground before he left, which then grew three sprouts, two of which died but the third continued to grow; this was an omen that his first two sons with Libuše, Radobyl and Lidomir, would die, but their third son,Nezamysl would live and continue thePřemyslid dynasty. Legend has it that the staff continued to grow, and the inhabitants of the neighbouring town were given a grant exempting them from taxes, except for a pint of hazel nuts each year, a tradition which continued into the reign ofCharles IV, Holy Roman Emperor, from whomPope Pius II claimed to have seen a charter renewing the exemption.[2]
He was also said to have removed his peasant'sbast shoes before donning the royal robe when he was discovered, and ordered the councillors to bring the shoes with them and keep them as a reminder to the people that a peasant had risen to the highest rank, and to his successors to be humble, remember their origin, and defend the peasantry. The custom of exhibiting a pair of bast shoes at the coronation of the kings of Bohemia was said to have continued throughout the Přemyslid dynasty.[2]
The Přemyslid dynasty became extinct in the male line whenWenceslaus III died, but through women the title to Bohemia passed from the Přemyslids to theLuxembourgs and later to the houses ofJagiello,Habsburg andHabsburg-Lorraine.
The earliest work mentioning the story about Přemysl and Libuše could be the so-calledChristian Legende (Latin title:Vita et passio sancti Vencaslai et sanctae Ludmilae aviae eius) from the end of 10th century, though some historians consider this legend to be afalsum from 12th or 13th century. The legend is further described in theCosmas Chronicle (Latin title:Chronica Boemorum) written between 1119 and 1125,Short writing aboutCyril and Methodius (Latin title:Diffundente sole) from the late 12th century and theChronicle of Dalimil from the beginning of 14th century.
Several times the legend was recorded during the reign of king and emperorCharles IV in the late 14th century. E.g., the so-calledNew Chronicle of Bohemiae by Přibík Pulkava and in the chronicle compiled byGiovanni de' Marignolli.
One modern theory of origin suggests the names of the early Přemysl ancestors actually arose from a mistaken interpretation by Cosmas. According to postulation byVladimír Karbusický,[4] Cosmas likely contrived them when trying to read a lostLatin transcription of an old-Slavonic message.[5] When the ancestral names are combined and reassessed, they can roughly cohere an assumed text:
"Krok‘ kazi tethalubossapremislnezamislmna tavoj‘nni zlakr‘z misneklangosti 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 theFranks, perhaps in relation to theBattle of Zásek c. 849 described in theAnnales Fuldenses.[6]
This theory of Karbusický, as well as other similar theories (e.g. theory ofZáviš Kalandra that the names of legendary Přemyslid dukes are in fact translated Roman and Germannames of the days of the week; or theory of Jaroslav Zástěra that the legendary Přemyslid dukes were in fact dukes ofGreat Moravia) are not accepted by scholars.[7]
In addition to appearing inworks named for Libuše, Přemysl is also a subject of the writings ofWenceslaus Hajek of Libočany published in 1541, a 1779 ballad byJohann Gottfried Herder, fairy tales byJohann Karl August Musäus, andClemens Brentano's 1815The Founding of Prague.[8]
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