Chronica Boemorum Ep. 10 - Seek the Truth and Defend the Truth

It is a period of great changes, with Middle Ages giving way to the Modern Era. While explorers are establishing new maritime trade routes, the Czechs are struggling to combine their heritage of religious liberty with international acceptance.

The House of Jagello is not long for this world, and the kingdom will soon need to pick a new royal house for the third time in as many centuries. But will they be able to find a leader who will both respect the kingdom, and earn its respect in return?

Dramatis Personae

• Vladislav Jagelonský
• Maxmilián Habsburský
• Janos Szapolyai
• Jan Prostějovský
• Ludvík Jagelonský
• Zikmund the Old
• Ferdinand Habsburský
• Maxmilián (II.) Habsburský
• Rudolf (II.) Habsburský
• Bohuslav Felix Hasištejnský z Lobkovic

Dear listeners,

let us say we, Mr. & Mrs. Cosmas are very grateful for your continued loyalty and support. 2019 has been a truly historical year for us in more ways than one and we hope you have enjoyed it just as much as we did. We wish you peace, serenity, joy and enough time to listen to even more amazing history podcasts in the year to come.

At the same time we offer our deepest apologies, as the last episode of the year for Chronica Boemorum (Episode 14) got derailed by personal issues surrounding the festive season and will therefore instead become the first episode of 2020.

We hope you will join us, as we talk history and make history in the months ahead!

The Hussite Wars are over. Peace and freedom of confession were bought at the cost of a fratricidal battle, but both are still fragile as the king-emperor Zikmund died shortly after the Compacts of Basel were declared.

The Czechs have to figure out how to make the small island of tolerance in the heart of Europe last against the overwhelming might of the papacy, and to do that they need to get lucky with the choice of their new ruling dynasty. How far will they need to go to find one?

Dramatis personae

• Zikmund Lucemburský
• Albrecht Habsburský
• Hynek Ptáček z Pirkštejna
• Jiří z Poděbrad
• Jan Rokycana
• Ladislav Pohrobek
• Zdeněk ze Šternberka
• János Hunyadi
• Matyáš Hunyadi (Korvín)
• Petr Chelčický
• Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini
• Jaroslav Lev z Rožmitálu
• Vladislav Jagelonský

Due to unfortunate technical difficulties, we have been unable to record episode 13 as planned. We hope to resolve these soon and have the episode for you next week.

It is 1422. Thrice now the Czechs have beaten a Crusade called to subjugate them under the yoke of Zikmund of Luxemburg and the papacy he controls.

But what will they do with this victory? What *can* they do and how did this happen in the first place? Join us in this action-packed episode concluding the Hussite wars.

Václav IV., Czech and Roman King, is dead. A stroke killed him only weeks after the tensions between reformists and papal loyalists broke into open conflict.

His heir is his half-brother, Zikmund, King of Hungary and Croatia; but Zikmund had spent the past ten years reconsolidating the fractured Latin church under his own thumb and isn't going to just agree to reform.

In addition, many of the Czech nobles blame him for having Master Jan Hus, the unifying figure of the reform movement, killed in the process.

In the past, Zikmund has shown willingness to declare his opponents the enemies of God and wage Crusades against them; how far is he willing to go to secure the Crown of St. Václav?

The Golden Age of Czech Kingdom is coming to an end.

Between a disease epidemic, economic struggles, political machinations and religious schism, there is enough to weigh down the Luxemburgs' crowned heads. And it is obvious, none of Karel IV.'s sons took after their father. As they fumble through a situation that only seems to go from bad to worse, one of them turns to hunting and frivolity, while the other prefers abductions and intrigue - which earns them the respective nicknames of "the Drunkard and the Fox".

While the two rival brothers ponder which pope is the right one to get the imperial crown from and how much will it cost them, a reform movement decrying all of them sprouts under their noses.

And a single preacher gains an unprecedented following, by admonishing people to find the truth, return to it and stick with it, even in spite of the Church and her doctrines.

Join us, as we delve into one of the most tumultuous (and therefore interesting) times of the Czech history.

Every motherland needs its father - and in 14th century the Czech lands are about to get one of their very own.

Despite not being a Přemyslid in the male line, "the foreigner king's" son will embrace the heritage and legacy of his mother's house and build the declining kingdom back up. 

With the imperial political scene tangled and pulled every which way, the papacy "held hostage" in Avignon, the domestic royal coffers all but depleted and the Czech nobility as recalcitrant as ever, it will be no small feat to get everything back on track.

How long and successful will his reign really be? Will his reforms spark a Golden Age, or just another riot?

Join us as we scrutinize the life and time of Karel IV. - the Greatest Czech and Father of the country.

A seven-year-old king without a proper regent sounds like a recipe for disaster. But in the Czech kingdom of late 13th century one such young man - Václav II. - grows up into a surprisingly accomplished ruler, who is able to remedy the sins of the lawless years.

As the face of the central European politics once again changes, the crown of Poland and crown of Hungary just might land on Přemyslid heads as well... if they play the political cards right.

But what will happen to the kingdom, when Václav III. survives his father for little more than a year? Will any of his brothers in law be able to pick up the Přemyslid kingly mantle and make the Czech lands his own?

Join us to see how important princesses and queens become, when there are no more strong males left.

When the first hereditary Czech king - Přemysl I. Otakar - dies, the reigns of the realm are taken by his son Václav I. Will he be enough to fill his great late father's shoes and hold on to the royal crown?

The realm is facing foreign invasions from eastern nomads, southern newly minted dukes and south eastern rivals. When the dust settles on battlefields, there are still dynastic interests to protect and power hungry noblemen to corral and manage. And just as everything finally seems headed in the right direction, personal tragedy throws yet another wrench in the plans.

However, out of that tragedy rises one of the most acclaimed and famous ruler of the Přemyslid dynasty and Czech Middle-Ages in general - Přemysl II. Otakar. With him, the crown will rest upon a head full of chivalrous ideals. He will become hailed as the King of Iron and Gold, and his only fault will be his (almost) naïve faith in the omnipotence of knightly honor and martial glory.

 Join us, as we tell the tale of bravery, prowess in battle and political intrigue that is the second half of 13th century in the Czech lands.