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7.
The golden age of Bohemia
This
period is associated with the name of King Karl IV, also known
as Charles IV of Luxemburg and Wenzel or Vaclav. He was the
son of a Bohemian princess and Duke John of Luxemburg, born in
Prague and raised at the court of Paris where he changed his
name from Wenzel to that of his royal godfather Karl. He spoke
German, Czech, French and Italian fluently, and as a matter of
course, he also read and spoke Latin. In France he learned to
appreciate the value of scientific studies. He mastered the
arts of diplomacy and court etiquette early in his life. Never
before had a German king and Roman kaiser possessed
"Hausmacht" (dynastic power) of this magnitude.
Immediately after his inauguration Karl began extensive
reforms of the legal system, the royal succession, on
colonization and commerce. He promoted all types of trade and
invited men of great knowledge and outstanding craftsmanship
to his homeland. Husbandry and forestry received his
particular attention. As a result, the Sudetenlands have had
government-regulated forestry maintenance since that time, and
in the Elbe valley German winegrowers began with the planting
of grapes. The character of Prague bears Karl's imprint. Peter
Parler, a famous Swabian architect and sculptor, was Karl's
leading advisor in city planning and huge building programs.
Along with Parler many German craftsmen came to Prague.
Together with Slavic workers they created this magnificent
city and Parler's work extended far beyond Prague. Another
deed of Karl IV and of particular importance was the founding
of a university in Prague, which was the first German
university. The students were entitled to the same rights and
privileges as granted to students in Paris and Bologna. The
Silesian Johann von Neumark, appointed by the kaiser as
director-in-office in Prague, laid the foundation there for
the New High German written language on the basis of Meissen
office usage. At the end of Karl IV's reign (1346-78) the
population of Bohemia and Moravia was half German and half
Czech. This is evident from parish records, lists of the
archbishopric of Prague, town chronicles and books of maxims
(Losungsbücher), which reveal linguistic borderlines since
the 14th century. Karl IV engaged himself with far-reaching
European policies, including marriage contracts. One of his
most consequential contracts was the one signed in 1363 at
Brünn with his son-in-law, Rudolf IV of Habsburg, Austria. It
was a reciprocal testamentary agreement and set the path for
intertwining the lands of the Danube-Moldau region.
Karl
was one of the most prominent rulers of the Middle Ages and
probably the greatest ever to bear the Bohemian crown. Idle is
the talk about his nationality. As king of Bohemia he was
Bohemian, which at that time meant German as well as Czech; by
his education he was French; as Roman-German emperor he could
have considered himself a Roman as well as a German. At that
time there was little or no awareness for divisive
characteristics in language or nationality; more attention was
given to common interests. The reign of Karl IV marked a peak
and a flourishing period in the history of the Sudetengermans.
A deep decline was to commence with his son and successor.
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