Vnislav was the fourth of the sevenBohemian mythical princes between the (also mythical) founder of thePřemyslid dynastyPřemysl the Ploughman and the first historical princeBořivoj. The names of the princes were first recorded inCosmas chronicle and then transmitted into the most of historical books of the 19th century includingFrantišek Palacký'sThe History of the Czech Nation in Bohemia and Moravia.
One theory about the number of the princes is propped on thefrescoes on the walls of theRotunda inZnojmo,Moravia butAnežka Merhautová claimed that the frescoes depict all the members of the Přemyslid dynasty including the Moravian junior princes.[1]
Vnislav's name is a typicalSlavonic name ending in -slav (such asWenceslas,Vladislav,Vítězslav etc.) but there is confusion about the first part.Záviš Kalandra thought the names of the seven princes were cryptical names of ancient Slavonic days of the week - Vnislav being the fourth - Wednesday, in Latindies Mercurii whereas Vnislav could refer to a Slavonic god of profit.[2]
Another theory suggests the names of the Přemysl ancestors arose from a mistaken interpretation by Cosmas. According to postulation byVladimír Karbusický,[3] Cosmas likely contrived them when trying to read a lostLatin transcription of an old-Slavonic message.[4] When the ancestral names are combined and reassessed, they can roughly cohere an assumed text:
