The birth of the Czech state

We are rightly proud not only of our extraordinary history, but also of a land more lovely and varied than any other. But when did the foundations of the Czech state begin to take shape, that at first small principality, torn apart by selfish interests, which was destined to become a powerful, glorious, and wealthy kingdom?
Who were the men who imposed their will upon it? And how did they manage to rule a people renowned for their unruliness, fighting spirit, and – even then – their ability to adapt to a situation and get the most out of it, as well as their fondness for all manner of vices? What lay behind the “pious zeal” with which our first documented rulers eradicated everything pagan? Was it sincere faith, or merely political and foreign policy objectives? And how did something like slavery reconcile with Christianity – and in the case of Prince Wenceslas, even with sainthood? Surprisingly well, it seems, given the fabulous profits it generated…
Should we be ashamed that tenth-century Prague was a European centre for human trafficking and that the unification and subsequent rise of the Czech state was paid for by this wealth, when similar business was still being conducted in many places a thousand years later? Ashamed that the first true creator of our statehood was the supposed fratricide Boleslav I? Or perhaps for the widely cited tribute – unfairly attributed, as we learn here, to the aforementioned Wenceslas – paid by the Bohemian principality to the Empire?
That would not be appropriate. Instead, let us delve into the captivating lines with which the renowned history populariser Jan Bauer answers not only these questions but also transports us to the era in which our state was born. Painfully, bloodily, and quite differently from how the celebratory legends portray it – but unlike others, it has survived to this day. This is partly because its birth was attended by strong personalities, whom the author depicts vividly and with an understanding of their weaknesses – whether they were conquerors, slave traders, a bigamist nicknamed ‘the Pious’, or a truly holy man. And among many other interesting facts, you can also read about why in the Bohemian basin it doesn’t pay to take off your armour even when you are unbearably hot and the enemy seems miles away (as the unsuccessful conqueror Otto II found out), or how a sacrilegious woman can become beatified (as happened to Wenceslas’s sister, Přibyslava).