On the Mining Courts In the name of God and by the will of the king, we make it known that we establish the power of the court, that injustice may not occur. We further provide that every judge has justice in him, for it is he who judges who holds the scales and puts the weights on the bowls according to the law, as the parties to the dispute have testified or what he himself has learned of the dispute and procured by judgment. The judge is to judge according to reason and to hear the parties with caution, and to have all that he learns with the affiants written down by the scribe, before the trial is decided. The judge is to appoint one of the affiants for himself if the dispute concerns himself or any of his relatives. A judge is to be excluded even if he is in direct relation to the cause or person in dispute The duties of the ushers and oath-bearers include, in particular, the protection of the poor from the oppression of the proud, that just prices and measures may be observed and that the royal office may not be disgraced. A summons from the ushers, magistrates, or sworn officers belongs to the king alone, for there is no one more fit before God to whom such dignity can be bestowed.
On the Office of the Guards T he guards or hutmen are proposed by the miners, but they are to take their oath to the urburers. Anyone who has proposed a guard shall give a bond of 1/32nd of the mine, which shall be forfeited if the guard sins and neglects his duties, fails to heed the warning, and fails to appear for the hearing of the offence. On mines let a distinction be made between guards on the surface, guards underground, and guards of the forges. The former are to protect all that is extracted from the ground and to count the workers and the miners as they come and go on shift. They are also to search everyone when they leave to see if they are secretly taking ore from the mine, and if anyone is caught doing so, to report it to the perksmasters so that such things do not happen again. The guards inside the mine are to see that the miners are not late for their shifts and are conscientious about their work, so that if they are not, their pay will be deducted. Finally, the said guards are to ensure that the blacksmiths in the mines do not have their equipment taken away from their workshops, that the blacksmiths work properly, and to check the consumption of coal as well as the importation of coal for each week. All those appointed are then to see that no one works more than two shifts in the mine or in the forges, which would go immediately after each other in one day.
On the Courts of the Urburers The Urburers are to take their oath before the King’s Chamber, and in addition to their first duties, two laws are imposed upon them, namely, the law of the market and the law of the court. The former must be done in the municipal court, and the latter in the presence of at least two other sworn men, in order that the court may pronounce its judgments. By the will of the king, the urburers are to abstain from all avarice, violence, and the acceptance of gifts other than those due to them from the king. The urburer is to judge according to reason, without anger or wrath, and whenever he is called upon to do so. Should any such commit an injustice and demand an unreasonable usury, he must return all, and just as a fine to the king’s chamberlain. The urburer must choose his assistants carefully, because a man is judged good or bad according to his family.
On the Affiants Affiants are appointed by the monarch or royal chamberlain, who select them from among all the people so that they may be best suited to the office and most just. If it should happen that any one of ill repute should be appointed, or who should afterwards do anything to injure his reputation, the sovereign shall order the co-sworn or the royal chamberlain to remove such person from his office immediately. Among the powers of the Affiants are to issue findings and, if there is no appeal, to refer them to the judge for execution. In issuing findings they are to have regard only to God, and to condone nothing, for equality is to be preserved in the court. The Affiants are to issue their findings promptly and without unnecessary delay, so as to save the parties labor and expense. If serious doubts should arise, all the Affiants and the court scribe are to be called together and all opinions recorded, so that in future mistakes may not occur.
As far back as the memories recorded in our great chronicles do stretch, our land has been fertile and settled in great abundance and offered refuge to many and exceeded other countries in beauty and bounty. Before the waning of the first millennium, two empires did exist here side by side—the Great Moravian Empire and the disunited Duchy of Bohemia, in which the Přemylid dynasty did reign supreme and Saint Wenceslas, the patron saint of the land, did hail from this lineage, as did his brother Boleslaus I, who solidified power and unified the land. His son, Boleslaus II, did promote the parish of Prague into the Diocese of Prague, and thus the land did join the Holy Roman Empire, although no ruler of the Premyslid lineage had yet received the title of king. The first to do so was Vratislaus II, who in the year of our Lord 1086, for coming to the aid of the emperor during the attack on Milan, did earn himself the crown, but his progeny did not have such fortune until Ottokar defended his inherited right to the crown. It would have been natural for him to then occupy the neighbouring land of Moravia, but he did not, for he wisely and peacefully charged his son with administering this land and thus did make of Moravia a March, which later became not an imperial fiefdom but a royal fiefdom, belonging to the Bohemian Crown. But the Premyslides were not meant to rule for long, for a murderer’s hand did intervene and this great dynasty was slayed by the sword and the empty throne did then fall to the Luxembourgs, who did annex to this country other territories of great size, so that the Kingdom of Bohemia nearly stretched from sea to sea. The most famed of kings of Bohemia, and the King of the Romans in the same man, was Charles IV of Luxembourg, who did establish great wealth and bounty for the entire land and its fame did spread, for he did promote the diocese to an archdiocese and did command for a great University at Prague to be built and a New Town with a stone bridge to connect it to the Old. The University at Prague did become the home of many a learned man and Prague did become the Seat of the Empire. Charles’s firstborn son, Wenceslas IV, was bequeathed a land of great riches and prosperity by his father, but he did devote himself more to whores and drink than to wise rule. He did set his own bishops and Rome against him and his incompetence as a ruler was so great that his own brother, who had inherited the ways of a ruler from his father, had him taken prisoner and dethroned. A note: What has been written here about the good King Wenceslas is a blatant lie. Sigismund, that GingerFox, is the son of a whore and traitor to his land! King Wenceslas is the one true King!
An appointment decree of Knight Ambrose to the honourable role of the Seneschal of the Knights of the Teutonic Order with the seal of the Grand Master.
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Nos hic sumus, omnibus bonis in Christo fratribus, collegium duodecim Ordinis militaris Crucigerorum cum rubea stella, diligenti consideratione unanimiter et indubitanter consensimus, maiorem fratrem nostrum Ambros Pragae ex ex domus hospitalis sancti Francisci vocatus est magister senescali itaque vicarius magistri magni Ordinis nostri ad praestituto a Deo tempore.
Of the year of our Lord 1382, we make it known to all before God that Brother Ambrose of Prague has fulfilled his vows of order and mastery, and has attained considerable renown and skill in his work, as well as having attained due wisdom in his age. We hereby place in the hands of Brother Ambrose of Prague all the duties and dignity of the office of Seneschal of the Order and swear allegiance to him before God. Our Brother is further dispensed from the hospital service and is charged with the care of appointing honest correctors of the courts and confirming suitable preceptors of castles, hospitals and other residences of the Order. For his own use and that of his office, apart from the ordinary customs, our elder Brother Ambrose is given two good riding horses and one each for his knight and chaplain. He is also to have the service of one archer and two squires in armour, as well as two servants under saddle.
One of the copies of the oath book from the Kuttenberg town hall. It records the oaths of the councillors and town officials.
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Book of Oaths Volume III
This is the third volume of the oaths of the councilors of Kuttenberg, wherein are recorded the names of honorable men and noble lords of Kuttenberg, who sat lawfully in the city councils from December in the Year of Our Lord 1401. December A.D. 1401 Mayor: Hanman Alder Bailiff: Andreas Plumel Thomel Bravmbart Jerome Naaz Bernard Gruber Martin Oderin Franz Rosenthal Master Bertold Francis Draper Hensel Heckel Vaclav Bartosh August A.D. 1402 Mayor: Bernard Gruber Bailiff: Vaclav Bartosch Master Bertold Fridusch Kumel Hensel Heckel Jerome Naaz Franz Rosenthal Hensel mit dem Czop Andreas Polner Smil Flaschka February A.D. 1403 Magister Civium: Jerome Naaz Bailiff: Andreas Plumel Havel the Innkeeper Master Enderlin Armourer Nicholas Krondel Master Prokop Eldris Master Draper Tuchmacher Franz Rosenthal Andreas Polner Vaclav Vorsucher Jerome Naaz
Let us act in accordance with that saying of the Prophet; “I have said: I will keep my ways, that I offend not with my tongue. I have been watchful over my mouth: I held my peace and humbled myself, and was silent from speaking even good things. If, therefore, according to this saying of the Prophet we are at times to abstain, for silence sake, even from good talk, how much more ought we to refrain from evil words, on account of the guilt and penalty of sin! Therefore, because of the importance of silence, let leave to speak be seldom given, even to perfect disciples although their words be of good and holy matters, tending unto edification; because it is written: “In much speaking, thou shalt not escape sin.” And in another place: “ Death and life are in the hands of the tongue.“ For it behoveth a master to speak and teach; and it beseemeth a disciple to hold his peace and listen. If, therefore, anything must be asked of the Prior, let it be done with all humility, subjection, and reverence, that he who asks may not seem to speak more than is necessary. But as for buffoonery, idle words, or such as move to laughter, we utterly condemn and forbid them in all places, nor do we allow a disciple to open his mouth to give them utterance.
On Daily Manual Labour
Idleness is an enemy of the soul. Therefore, the Brethren ought to be employed at certain times in labouring with their hands, and at other fixed times, in holy reading. Wherefore we think that both these occasions may be well ordered thus: From Easter till the first of October, let them, on going forth from Prime, labour at whatever they are required till about the fourth hour. From the fourth, till close upon the sixth hour, let them be employed in reading. On rising from table after the sixth hour, let them rest on their beds with all silence, or if perchance any one shall desire to read, let him read in such a way as not to disturb anyone else. Let None be said seasonably, at about the middle of the eighth hour, and after that let them work at what they have to do till the evening. The abbot must assign tasks to sick or weaker brothers that are neither too demanding nor too easy. The tasks should be manageable and not cause them to slack off, sink under the weight of the effort, or shirk their responsibilities.
In the year of our Lord 1259 a new heretical sect did come to Bohemia and settled amongst the people. The Adamites, or naked worshippers, travelled through the land at that time. Exposing their backs, they did roll as pigs in mud and beat themselves with canes and then through the land did proceed with their nakedness and shame for all to see. They spake evil of our fatherly pastors and of the word of God when they proclaimed that “our devotion to God and our atonement be of greater worth than your praying”. And they did press for the Holy Mass to be done away with, for it was their belief that every soul could find its way towards the Heavenly Father without the Holy Church’s guidance.
And when the common people and lords alike did see this, for they were ignorant of the knowledge that it was the Devil’s hands that led the Adamites, they did join unto them and in great numbers their backs did beat. Even the women did avow themselves to these unclean deeds! Had they the desire to make their lives right with God and atonement therein receive, they should have turned to the priests. But lo! The naturists, guided by the devil Lucifer, did endeavour to replace the Holy Pope on his throne! When this news was heard in the holy city of Rome, an army was raised to smite these heretics by sword and by flame. For they were indeed nothing more than heretics.
Wilgefortis, or in the Bohemian tongue, Saint Starosta, was a girl and saint who lived in the land of Portugal at the very end of Rome’s greatness and witnessed great movements of the peoples and the great strife and unrest that the entire continent faced from the barbarian pagans, particularly from the Huns, Goths, and Avars. Starosta was a virtuous girl and did live in love of Christ, but her father, a nobleman, wished to married her to the chief of a pagan tribe in order to gain more land and to please the raiders. The wretched girl, wishing to avoid this unwanted union, began to pray and she prayed to God and to all the saints for so long that she grew a thick beard, the type which old men have, which thus prevented the wedding from occurring.
The barbarian chieftan, having seen his would-be bride and her beard, one that not even he would be ashamed of, withdrew from the marriage. But her father was infuriated that the wedding had been called off and he had his daughter crucified, for this all transpired in times when Christians were still persecuted. Starosta, also known as Wilgefortis from a corruption of the Latin “virgo” (that is, virgin) and “fortis” (that is, strong), who became the patron saint and protector of all that have been unjustly condemned, never achieved as much fame as other saints. But nonetheless, several statues and paintings that do portray this bearded virgin on a cross can be found.
The Cumans, or the Polovtsi, or the Kipchaks, are a nomadic people originally from the steppes above the Black Sea, whence the advancing Mongolian horde had driven them out, and a great abundance of them did settle in Hungary. But many had already settled there years before and had adopted the local tongue and the Christian faith, but many were of a wild sort and cruel nature and thus there was great suffering in Hungary until the Cumans did become civilized. Although mostly baptized, they still maintain some of their barbaric ways until today, and thus to seal an agreement, the Cumans must kill a dog and bury it in the place where talks were held.
The appearance of the Cuman is unmistakable: a shaved head, a thick plait hanging from the temple, pointy moustaches, and eyes and faces slanted, like the Mongols and Tatars, with whom they are often confused. They are small of stature, well-suited for riding horses, and often they are so skilled in the saddle that it seems as if that is where they were born. They are oft armed with a bow, which they can use to shoot with great skill from the back of a horse, or with a curved sword, the scimitar, and their armour is so light, made to accommodate rapid movement. Cuman warriors should not be underestimated, for from a young age they are trained in combat and they serve as mercenaries, as evidenced by the King of Hungary and the would-be usurper of the Bohemian Crown, Sigismund Luxembourg, who assembled an entire enormous army of Cumans and who did plunder towns and villages, because there were no other fighters in Hungary who would advance with him on Bohemia.
A book of short stories secretly written in Lady Rosa’s hand. The last part is our work together.
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Wedding Toast Unfortunately, I don’t know the bride, so I can’t congratulate her husband. And knowing the groom too well, I can’t congratulate the bride either.
On Innocence A young man tenderly embraces his lady and says, ‘Am I your first lover by any chance?’ ‘Could be,’ she replies, ‘I thought I’d seen you somewhere before.’
Thinking is Not Knowing A certain Kuttenberg Grandmaster once visited an old charlatan and wanted to know his fate. The charlatan examined his palm carefully and said to him, ‘I see you are the father of two children…’ ‘That’s what you think,’ he shook his head. ‘I am the father of three children!’ ‘That’s what you think…’ smiled the charlatan.
Repent, Adam’s Generation A. von Wallenstein and Raimund R. Hardt on men and women As many, and men in particular, will gladly testify, of the two generations, it is the female that is imperfect, prone to all manner of sins and faults. It is an old known truth that the testimony of many is a credible testimony, the truth of which cannot be doubted. But who hath appointed the woman her lot? God? Or man? Who has decreed that woman is incapable of thinking, acting and deciding without the guidance of man? By whom was it determined that women were too foolish and vice-ridden to participate in matters wholly male - politics, science, or the liberal arts? Is such a resolution supported by experience or evidence? After all, no one has ever given a woman the opportunity to demonstrate the necessary judgment and wit. We have only conveniently condemned it as inadequate, and have made this judgment an established truth which no one dares to question. We have witnessed many injuries to the daughters of Eve, and therefore may, or rather must, testify that the world is unjustly ordered in this respect. Men are fond of exalting themselves above women and attributing all sorts of wrongs to them, but only to cover their own faults! A man who accuses a woman of vice has squandered his own youth in licentiousness. In old age, these men recall with regret the sins of their past life without ever repenting of them. It is out of this bitterness that they denounce women, in order to humiliate and vilify them in the minds of all who are willing to listen to them. These corrupt old men are like incurable leprosy. But even more than women, men prefer to elevate themselves above other men. For example, they claim that husbands who listen to their wives’ advice are fools and deserve ridicule. But we say that a man who has a wife who is sensible and wise, and refuses to listen to her, is twice as foolish!
The Gravedigger’s Jest What do you call a woman who knows exactly where her husband is every night? A widow.
On the Wisdom of the Elders A father says to his son on his wedding day, ‘Remember, son, that a newlywed woman loves well and cooks badly. But wait a few years and it will be just the opposite.’
About an Eloquent Lady and a Bad Dancer It is known that anyone can point out someone’s shortcomings and bring shame upon them. But only few can point out someone’s faults in such a way that the unfortunate person notices them without causing public ridicule. I will tell you of a lady who mastered this art. She was not only clever and quick in speech, but also young and beautiful to look at. When she appeared in society, men flocked to her. The young men asked her to dance and offered their arms, the older ones asked for her hand in marriage and offered what little the old men could still give to the young lady. Suddenly a young man asked her to dance. He had a handsome face and fine manners, so the lady accepted his proposal. After a few steps, however, she realized that she had made a big mistake. The dancer seemed to have two left feet. He stumbled, tripped, almost fell several times, and despite his apologies, the lady found dancing with him a torture. The other dancers noticed this, and began to whisper and point in their direction. Any other would have embarrassed him with indiscriminate words. She might even have told the other ladies to watch out for such loser. Not the lady in my story. What does it matter if he’s a bad dancer? she said to herself. Others may dance with ease, but they also drink with it, indulge in dice and light girls. Better a bad dancer than a good drinker. So she smiled and said out loud for all to hear, “Young sir, how I would love to keep dancing with you. But I wore the wrong shoes today. They’re pushing me so hard that I can’t go on. Please escort me out into the fresh air.” Her dancer quickly understood what she meant by that remark and hurriedly walked with her to the door. Everyone present thought that perhaps she was going to give him a hard time at the door, or give him a well-deserved slap. The lady and her dancer, however, did not return to the entertainment that evening.
Records of movements, purchases and sales of goods at The Emperor Charles tavern.
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May 27th Fifteen measures of flour in sacks taken to the warehouse from the miller Hermann from the mill at Vrchlitz. The flour is not of good quality, but better than from Rabstein. Furthermore, two measures of semolina and also a larger quantity of oil for lighting, about 3 measures, at a very good price. Where the miller got it I do not want to guess.
June 2nd Ten dozen of wax candles ordered from the candle maker. Should be done in a week and need to check that they are indeed wax candles and that the candle maker didn’t inadvertently wander in with tallow candles like last time.
June 8th After a tour of the meat shops, a new deal is struck with Emmeram the butcher, whose meat is generally of the better quality, and since he knows me well, he will hopefully forgive the usual antics of his guild. There are six pigs and three cattle to be slaughtered next week. Besides this, he will supply one and a half piles of sausages and salamis, a sufficient supply of bacon and other sausages.
June 10th Today a foreman arrived from Prague. He brought two bags of salt, also pepper, cloves, cinnamon, all by the pound. Besides cloth for curtains for the guest-room, three volumes each of a patterned atlas, and also of gold brocade. Unfortunately, the crate for the monastery vineyard went with this foreman, which is sealed as usual, and also usually smells like a hundred devils. Unfortunately, the crate was near the fabrics and I will now have to ventilate them in the attic and hopefully the smell can be eradicated. I must tell Jerome that his stinking secret has to be carried by another foreman.
June 12th Borek the master carpenter came to inspect the attic and make repairs to the truss. The price he offered me was very good, but after a proper treat and a few glasses of wine he still agreed to another discount. I may have to persuade the councillors to give the carpenter the job of repairing the roof at the Town Hall, but someone has to do it. Borek may not be very handy, but he’s cheap enough. So I’m actually saving the city’s coffers.
You will need 2 masses of honey, 4 of water, a quarter mass of hops, a handful of sage and a handful of bread yeast
Heat the clean water such that you can put your hand in it without scalding it. Then mix well two masses of water and one of honey and strain the mixture through clean linen into a clean vessel. Boil it all for the time it takes you to cross a field thrice, and meanwhile remove the foam from the top with a perforated spoon or bowl. When it is boiled and without foam, pour it into a clean cask and cover it so no steam escapes, and let it cool until such time as you may stick your hand in it without pain. Then take a pot of half a mass in size and fill it up halfway with hops, add a handful of sage and boil it all together for as long as it would take you to walk one mile. Then add the fermented yeast and mix it in to start the fermentation and cover it such that the vapours may escape. Leave it thus one day and night.
Then strain the mead through a clean cloth and let it ferment again for three days and nights, adding more fermented yeast each evening. Let it rest for eight days, and afterwards pour it into resin-coated cask, then leave it for another eight weeks to stand and only afterwards drink it, for it is done and mead tastes best after eight weeks!
Hemlock I have tried to use this strange herb perhaps ten times, but always in vain. Drying, grinding, boiling, decanting, inhaling, oral, surface and rectal use,… In short, nothing works, and I have run out of subjects to test it on, due to many undesirable side effects, including death, and even the least attentive hired hand is wary, lest I put something in their food. In fact, the herb seems to induce the total opposite to the desired result, causing trembling of the hands, staggering, panting and nausea, instead of improving agility and stealth ability. Alas, I shall have to give up my experiments. In short, even the most dextrous of subjects shows no improvement in lock-picking skills - on the contrary, the herb actually causes…
Mercurialis Nevertheless, I have had promising results with this plant! Its effects are truly mercurial, causing the test subjects to run hither and thither at great speed, although they themselves foolishly reported that this was due to a sudden pressing urge to defecate and urinate. Running at speed is certainly a useful skill for messengers, although the tendency of the subjects to run away from people rather than towards them is admittedly a disadvantage.However, I do not despair. I still believe the addition of other ingredients, such as bittersweet nightshade, orchis mascula, or perhaps maybe calla and butterbur might reduce the side-effects and allow me to create true messengers of the gods.
Elderberry I believe my theory of the efficacy of this plant will one day be proven beyond a doubt, although, unfortunately, it may take many years before the results can be ascertained. Nonetheless, since I use this herb myself daily, I shall almost certainly live to see its beneficial effects on longevity as well as inducing the wisdom of the elders, to which I look forward.
Gratiole Also known as Grace of God. I tried some out on that grouch Kabat, but he shows not the slightest sign of gratitude nor grace!
Oregano The Greek origin of the name - “joy of the mountain” also provides a clue to the special properties of this herb. I see here an opportunity for a lucrative commercial enterprise, if I can come to an arrangement with some of the mine custodians. Unquestionably, those gentlemen would be very pleased and grateful if I could enhance the miners’ ability to find ore and thus increase their profits!
False Hellebores I hesitate to attempt using this plant, lest it conjure up demons, whether false or real!
The second part of the Luxembourg legend of the fairy Melusine.
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The Tale of Melusine Part Two
Knight Raymondin and Melusine lived happily and had many children together, all of whom were marked by the mark of the family, though all became brave knights and wise rulers. In time, though, Raymondin began to be consumed by curiosity as to what his wife was doing alone in her chambers on Saturdays and why only she could be there on that day. So one Saturday he hid and waited for his wife to come to her chambers. With his knife he cut a slit in the door through which he could see inside. And what he spied there horrified him. In the room was a big tub of water in which Melusine reclined, but from the waist down she had the body of a scaly creature – a serpent! Fright gripped his heart and he called out in surprise. At which Melusine realised that her husband had betrayed his promise to her. She was seized by terrible sadness, turned into a dragon and flew out the window. And from that moment Raymondin never saw his wife again…
Until, many, many years later, she appeared to him to tell him he would die in three days time. And so it came to pass, and Raymondin died. From that day forth cursed Melusine secretly guards the lives of all the descendants of her line, and appears to them three days before their death to foretell it.
As was foretold, many glorious princely families descended from the line of Raymondin and Melusine. Among the most renowned, respected and foremost of them is the Luxembourg family, including Wenceslas IV, King of Bohemia, and his brother Sigismund, King of Hungary. That is why the knights of this house often carry in tournaments an ornament in the form of a dragon, and because they themselves have a little dragon’s blood in them, it is not prudent to anger them or enter into conflict with them or disagree with them, because their lineage makes them quick-tempered, quarrelsome and hot-blooded.
The second part of the glorious deeds that the Czech wariors distinguished themselves with by Milan.
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On the Campaign to Lombardy
The King of Bohemia Vladislav killed the Milanese standard-bearer with his own hands. The Milanese, seeing that the fight against the Emperor and the Bohemians was futile, appealed to King Vladislav to intercede on their behalf with the Emperor and to help find a peaceful solution. This was done, and the Milanese succumbed to the Emperor, recognised his authority and paid a large ransom, for which the Emperor left them many rights and confirmed old ones. Then the Emperor again pronounced Vladislav king and the Czechs returned home crowned with much glory and wealth.
Many great Bohemian houses of ancient origin commemorate their ancestors who fought so bravely at Milan. One was granted a golden ladder in their coat of arms for scaling the walls and being the first to surmount them. Jezsche of Pardubice and his cavalry were said to have forced their way into the town and pillaged there. When they were going back, the defenders in an effort to stop them hurried to lower the iron portcullis. Jezsche managed to flee the town, but the falling portcullis killed his horse, cutting it in two and he had to get back to the siege encampment on foot with his loot, for which he was given in his coat of arms a halved silver horse, which to this day the Lords of Pardubice bear on their standards and shields.
The Bohemian nobility have long commemorated the glorious campaign as proof of the bravery and warfaring skill of all Bohemians.
Gold decorated book in red leather. Rosa Ruthard asked me to bring her this book from the Maleshov fortress.
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Book of Anecdotes slightly humorous
Wedding toast Unfortunately, I don’t know the bride, so I can’t congratulate her groom. And knowing the groom too well, neither can I congratulate the bride.
On Innocence A young man tenderly embraces his beloved and asks, ‘Am I your first lover by any chance?’ ‘Could be,’ she replies. ‘I thought I’d seen you somewhere before.’
Thinking is Not Knowing A certain Kuttenberg gentleman once visited an old charlatan and wanted to know his fate. The charlatan examined his palm carefully and said to him, ‘I see you are the father of two children…’ ‘You’re mistaken,’ he shook his head. ‘I am the father of three children!’ ‘It is you who are mistaken!’ smiled the charlatan.
Repent, Adam’s Gender A. von Wallenstein and Raimund R. Hardt on men and women As many, and men in particular, will gladly testify, of the two genders, it is the female that is imperfect, prone to all manner of sins and faults. It is an old known truth that the testimony of many is a credible testimony, the truth of which cannot be doubted. But who hath appointed the woman her lot? God? Or man? Who has decreed that woman is incapable of thinking, acting and deciding without the guidance of man? By whom was it determined that women were too foolish and vice-ridden to participate in matters wholly male - politics, science, or the liberal arts? Is such a resolution supported by experience or evidence? After all, no one has ever given a woman the opportunity to demonstrate the necessary judgement and wit. We have only conveniently condemned it as inadequate and have made this judgement an established truth which no one dares to question. We have witnessed many injuries to the daughters of Eve, and therefore may, or rather must, testify that the world is unjustly ordered in this respect. Men are fond of exalting themselves above women and attributing all sorts of wrongs to them, but only to cover their own faults! A man who accuses a woman of vice has squandered his own youth in licentiousness. In old age, these men recall with regret the sins of their past life without ever repenting of them. It is out of this bitterness that they denounce women, in order to humiliate and vilify them in the minds of all who are willing to listen to them. These corrupt old men are like incurable leprosy. But even more than women, men prefer to elevate themselves above other men. For example, they claim that husbands who listen to their wives’ advice are fools and deserve ridicule. But we say that a man who has a wife who is sensible and wise, and refuses to listen to her, is twice as foolish!
The Gravedigger’s Jest What do you call a woman who knows exactly where her husband is every night? A widow.
On the Wisdom of the Elders A father says to his son on his wedding day, ‘Remember, son, that a newlywed woman loves well and cooks badly. But wait a few years and it will be just the opposite.’
The first degree of humility is obedience without hesitation. This beseemeth those who, either through fear of Hell or for the glory of life everlasting, count nothing more dear to them than Christ. These, presently, as soon as any thing is commanded them by the Superior, make no delay in doing it, just as if the command had come from God. This obedience will then be acceptable to God and pleasing to men, if what is commanded be not done fearfully, slowly, coldly, or with murmuring, or an answer showing unwillingness; because the obedience which is given to superiors is given to God, who hath said: “ He that heareth you, heareth Me.“ Hence it ought to be done by the disciples with a good will, because God “ loveth a cheerful giver,“ It the disciple obey with ill-will, and murmur, not only in words, but also in heart, although if he fulfil what is commanded him, it will not be acceptable to God, Who considereth the heart of the murmurer. For such a work he shall not have any reward, but rather incurreth the penalty of murmurers, unless he amend and make satisfaction.
Abbot
When, therefore, anyone taketh upon himself the name of Abbot, he ought to govern his disciples with a twofold doctrine; that is, he ought first to show them all virtue and sanctity more by deeds than by words: hence, to such as are intelligent, he may declare the Commandments of God by words; but to the hard-hearted, and to those of the ruder sort, he must make these precepts manifest by his actions and by his life. Therefore the Abbot ought to teach, ordain or command nothing but what is conformable to the commands of our Lord; but let his commands and doctrine be mingled in the minds of his disciples with the leaven of divine justice. Let there be no distinction of persons in the Monastery. Let not one be loved or favoured more than another, except he be found to surpass the rest in good works and in obedience.
With the more virtuous and intelligent, let him for the first or second time use words of admonition; but the stubborn, the hard-hearted, the proud and the disobedient, even in the very beginning of their sin, let him chastise with stripes and bodily punishment, knowing that it is written: The fool is not corrected with words.“ And again: “Strike thy son with the rod, and thou shalt deliver his soul from death.”
One of the copies of the market book from the Kuttenberg Town Hall. It contains a list of markets and regulations for merchants.
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Book of Markets Volume II
This is the second volume with a list of Kuttenberg city markets and the regulations related to them. I: City Markets and Fairs The largest market in Kuttenberg is the Grain Market, followed by the Lower Market, also called Underlak. Here, meat from cattle and pigs is sold. The third in line is the Upper Market, which opens on the upper side to the wide Merchant Street. There, from the west, you can find smaller markets: the Charcoal Market, Beer Market, Pottery Market, Lead Market, and finally the Salt Market. Further along, there is the large Horse Market, known as Rossmarkt, located under the Gurein Gate. Lastly, in the Lower Town at Hoprink, there is a large charcoal and ore market where traders and miners have long negotiated the price of silver. II: City Weights Kuttenberg places great importance on upholding royal law and order. Therefore, anyone can freely verify that they have not been given short weight for the meat sold or mismeasured cloth. For this purpose, there are stamped weights and iron yardsticks in the hall on the ground floor of the town hall. If anyone finds negligence or malintent, they can immediately report the finding to an official, who will promptly rectify the situation in the market. III: City Gates and Customs During the reign of the Luxembourg kings, the Upper Town acquired stone walls, and subsequently, a ring of stone and lime also enclosed the Lower Town. Many additional gates were added to the original four main gates. First, to the west is the Gurein Gate, followed by the Tschlau Gate to the north, the Bohemian Gate, and the Klösterle Gate facing Sedletz. To the south is the solitary Hradek Gate and the newest, the grand eastern Kolin Gate. Each gate has its own guild-paid guard, which oversees order and the collection of customs. Under the penalty of losing their goods, merchants are prohibited from entering the city through other gates.
The Holy Roman Empire stretches from sea to sea and does occupy most of the European continent. Within it there are many countries and many kingdoms, which are united under one crown and which is called the Empire. It is ruled over by an Emperor, who judges the kings and dukes and who reigns supreme over all of the lands of the Empire.
It is an elected title, for when the old emperor dies a new emperor is selected by the prince-electors, of which there are seven and who are called in the German tongue Kurfuersten. Emperor Charles did establish this system in his Golden Bull and these seven electors are as follows: the Archbishop of Mainz as the imperial chancellor of the German lands, the Archbishop of Cologne as the archchancellor of the Italian lands, the Archbishop of Trier as the chancellor of Burgundy, Count Palatine of the Rhine as the arch-marshall, the Duke of Saxony as the arch-marshall, the King of Bohemia as the arch-cupbearer and finally, the Margrave of Brandenburg as the arch-chamberlain. All of these electors must agree upon an emperor and confirm his election, and then the emperor must accept the crown from the Pope, to confirm his title, which in current times is a complicated affair, for there are two who claim to be Pope and no one knows which is the true one.
In the year of our Lord 1401, in the summer after the prince-electors stripped King Wenceslas of the title of Holy Roman Emperor due to his inability and unwillingness to rule, the army of Jobst, Margrave of Moravia, and the League of Lords appeared before the gates of Prague, alongside the armies of William of Meissen with the support of Prokop, the cousin of the king, who was initially sent to William to discourage him from war, but in the end he joined with him. Together they laid siege to the town from two sides, from north and south, but their strength was not so great that they could take the town by storm or even fully encircle its walls. King Wenceslas did not want to come out of the safety of the town walls with his army, so all the armies remained in place and waited to see what would happen. And none of those laying siege wanted to send their army against Prague to destroy it, for they did not wish to cause any injury to the Kingdom of Bohemia, but only force Wenceslas to capitulate and relinquish the Crown of Bohemia.
Sigismund of Luxembourg, who had been vying for the throne, remained at that time in the captivity of his own subjects and thus he could not come to the aid of either side. It is said that if he had come to the aid of someone, he would have likely helped his brother Wenceslas, although he had warred with him at other times, because blood is blood and it would be preferable for the crown to stay in the family. The besiegers of Prague kept up their siege and the Praguers themselves even brought them food and supplies, so rowdy soldiers would not plunder the surrounding area and would spare the farms. Aware of this willingness, the besieging army had no desire whatsoever to resort to violent deeds.
Seventeen days did the armies lay siege, seventeen days did they negotiate and make schemes so complicated that many got lost in them and they began to conspire against each other. On the seventeenth day Jobst and the League of Lords came to an agreement with King Wenceslas that the former would not have to relinquish the crown, but decision-making and government should be left to the nobles from then on and that he should endeavor no more to rule. William, seeing that no fruits would be borne, retreated with his army back to Meissen.
The peculiar siege ended without loss of life or injury. The only one to suffer loss was Wenceslas, for the soldiers in the royal siege encampments had slaughtered all the game in the royal preserve to fill their bellies.
The first part of the glorious deeds that the Czech warriors distinguished themselves with at Milan.
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On the Campaign to Lombardy
The mighty Emperor Frederick, known as Barbarossa, decided to invade the country of Lombardy, for the elders and burghers there were ignoring the Imperial charter, dishonouring it and disregarding Imperial power. And also because the treacherous Lombards wanted to agree a pact with the Pope against the Emperor and to usurp his power.
Knowing well the courage and skill of the Bohemian warriors, the Emperor asked the Czech Prince Vladislav of the House of Premislide for the support of his troops in the campaign. In return for his aid, the Emperor let the Bohemian Prince be crowned and issue a royal edict, so that the Czechs would have a king of their own. So the Emperor did in January of the year MCLVIII.
In the year thereafter the Emperor and his forces marched on Lombardy to bring order to the country and especially to humble the rich and glorious City of Milan, where the greatest insurrection was underway. Here, too, the Czechs were of great help, bravely fighting the Lombards wherever they encountered them. They built a bridge across the River Adda where the Milanese had torn down the old bridge to halt the Emperor’s advance. The Czechs held off the Lombardian troops, so that the Emperor and his army could cross the river and besiege the town. And so it came about that in the month of August the city was besieged and the Czechs were given the task of guarding the Gate of St. Dionysius.
For a month the Imperial army laid siege, engaging more than once with the Milanese, and every time, the Czechs fought bravely and powerfully, for which they subsequently earned great recognition from both the Imperial soldiers and the Milanese. The Czechs thought up all manner of ruses and tricks to frighten the enemy, such as making life-size figurines of bread dough, which within sight of the battlements they roasted on a fire and ate, to spread fear among the Milanese that they ate children. Or blackening their faces with charcoal and fighting wildly, so the enemy would think it was not men, but devils who were attacking them. But it is also said that the Czechs shot poisoned arrows at the foe and all manner of other unrighteous deeds.
Florian’s copies of the verses of Margrave Prokop of Luxembourg from his captivity in Pressburg.
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My good friend, perhaps a few of my verses will please you as much as they pleased me when I wrote them with a poor quill and weak ink in captivity in Presburg, Hungary. Little tit, thou fearest nothing, that dread birds of prey pursue thee. Singing sweetly is your sole pleasure. I would guard thee, pretty bird, no cage I’d have, but freedom with thee. We’d fly beyond the Danube, over the northern forests, my heart would beat for you alone. He who has no freedom, neither can he give it, but only sing that once again, the earth shall turn green in the spring. To no one by debt and none by command, only to the smiles of girls does my heart confess.
About the miracles born from the remains of St. Wenceslas.
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Legend of Christianus
In the Frankish lands there lived a man whose legs were crippled. In his dreams there appeared to him a man attired in a white robe, who urged him thus: Get up and go to the City of Prague and the Cathedral of St. Vitus; there lies the body of the blessed martyr Wenceslas, and there your health shall be restored. When the man ignored this, the man in a white robe appeared to him again and said: Why have you not heeded me and gone, that you might walk again? And he, beside his wits did answer willingly: I will go, Sir. And leaning on his cane he went to some merchants, who were getting ready to go there and paid them and with their help came to the named place.
And there in the church of the two saints he threw himself on the flags before all and with long prayers and weeping begged Our Lord to have mercy on him for the sake of Saint Wenceslas. And no sooner did he stand up from prayer, than by divine grace his knees were firmed. And he gave thanks to God and to blessed Wenceslas, by whose intercession the Lord deigned to heal him.
When the glory and renown of this and other such miracles of the sacred martyr spread far and wide, there were those who were tempted to take the remains of the sacred body to keep for themselves or give to their loved ones. There were those who acted by good will, that the name of the martyr be spoken of in all the provinces, but when those of ill-will or out of covetousness tried to do so, they soon succumbed to vengeance. At that time, the saint’s own sister Pribyslava, as far as the human eye can judge, living beneath a sacred veil, did get embroiled in such things, her accomplice in the matter being the parish priest of St. Stephen’s Church. But by the church there was a pilgrim, who they took to be saintly and whose bad advice they heeded to do the deed.
To make a short tale of it, taking him with them on the appointed night they made him a party to their unholy deed: disinterring the sacred body, they began their desecration. For the priest’s son did disrespectfully handle the jaw of the saintly remains and pulled it out. This they wrapped in a cloth and covered the rest of the body again with earth. From the relic they took, they kept what share they wanted and distributed the rest among their friends. But soon the wrath of God descended on them all. However, since, as is known, this happened recently and is abundantly familiar, I regard it as superfluous to put it in this account. I only write down that sudden and unexpected deaths surprised them and they departed from this world.
Voi ch’ ascoltate in rime sparse il suono Di quei sospiri ond’ io nudriva il core In sul mio primo giovenile errore, Quand’ era in parte altr’ uom da quel ch’ i’ sono; Del vario stile, in ch’ io piango e ragiono Fra le vane speranze e’l van dolore, Ove sia chi per prova intenda amore, Spero trovar pietà, non che perdono. Ma ben veggi’ or, si come al popol tutto Favola fui gran tempo: onde sovente Di me medesmo meco mi vergogno: E del mio vaneggiar vergogna è ’l frutto, E ’l pentirsi, e ’l conoscer chiaramente Che quanto piace al mondo è breve sogno.
You, who hear in these sparse rhymes the sound, of the sighs that fed this heart of mine, When I did err within my youthful time, When I was not the man that I am now, For all the ways I spoke and wept aloud, Forgiveness and pity may you find, Twixt hope and sadness, both of them so vain, in those who understand love through its pain. Yet now as clear as all the world I see, How often and how long I was a fable, And now I have become ashamed of me. And shame the fruit of all my vanity, and remorse and being knowledgeable, of how the world’s delight’s a fleeting dream.
March 14th I stand alone on a hill with fallen knights lying around me. A storm is coming. The ravens are coming. One of them sits on my sword stuck in the ground. I try to get to it, but I can’t take a step. I fall to my knees. And then it’s dark.
March 17th I’m walking down a dark corridor. Somewhere in the distance ahead of me, something shimmers. I don’t know what it is, but I feel I must reach it. I’m getting closer. Closer and closer, until I can vaguely make out what I’m looking at… The St. Wenceslas’ Crown! It’s so beautiful. And so close… I could reach it… I’m not walking, I’m running. I reach out my hand. I can already feel the golden coolness of the crown with my fingertips. But suddenly a fox leaps in front of me, clutching a small bird in its mouth. A little kingfisher, trying in vain to get out! The fox sits down in front of the crown and refuses to let me near it.
May 5th I walk around Trosky while a great banquet is going on in the great hall. Dozens of nobles and noble ladies. Many of them are now dead, but in my dream they sit drinking wine and rejoicing with the living. Suddenly time stops. They all freeze like stone statues. The wine being poured stops in mid-air. The only thing that moves is me. I should be confused, maybe even scared, but I’m not. I feel like I can do anything. I walk among the nobles and noble ladies. I take whatever I want. I touch whatever I want… I know they’ll never come out of their stupor.
May 10th The dream with the crown comes back to me again. I haven’t dreamt anything else for three nights now. Nothing helps.
May 26th I’m standing in front of a huge mirror, looking at my wrinkles. I see how I’ve aged. Every redness of my skin. I feel every hair that falls out… But suddenly the reflection changes. The mirror ripples like the surface of water and I see myself in it young and vibrant again. I can’t believe it. I look around. I strip naked, trying to find something to destroy the illusion of youth, but it’s perfect. Not a wrinkle anywhere. I can’t stand the view. I’m filled with rage. I lunge for my reflection. My hands pass through the mirror and tighten around my young neck. I’m choking, but my young self doesn’t notice. Instead, I lose my own breath until I finally fall to the floor.
My love for you is heartfelt. You can tell from my unbuckled belt. My mind is troubled badly by one question above all: When will my lover fondly caress my left ball? “Love thy neighbour”, saith Our Lord. and I took it to heart. I started to fulfil His word, at least in their southern part. My heart is mourning dejectedly. Even my hand rejected me! By day and night I think of you, I shall love you always. My heart is faithful, loyal and true, Though my body sometimes strays. A knight in battle attire got into bed with his squire. Instead of conquering forts, They played with each other’s swords.
Once a fox was searching around, For any food that could be found. To an empty farmhouse she did roam, Wherein a beetle had made his home. She asked him, “Beetle, kindly tell me whose abandoned farmyard can this be?” To which the beetle did confess, “That I cannot even guess. I came here just a while ago Little I’ve seen, and less I know
The fox began to look around, To find anything she could hunt down; She sniffed around a bit and then To an iron stove she went; And as she turned and looked above She spied a pitcher on the stove. “Good day, jug!” she greeted it “I trust, sir, that you’re well and fit?” No reply came from the pitcher, So the fox picked it up and took it with her. She carried it outside panting hard Where she met the beetle in the yard. “Fox, what are you carrying?” asked he, “You can barely walk, I see.”
“It’s a pitcher that I found,” she answered, Which will surely please my master. At the top of a hill the jug weighed her down, So she dropped it on the ground. She said, “Good sir, now if you will, I’d like you to roll down the hill. Don’t take it ill, dear man of clay, But you’re too heavy to carry all day.”
Down the hill the pitcher charged, The fox ran after, panting hard: “Pitcher, must you run so fast? My heart will burst inside my chest! The jug reached the bottom and came to a halt. No more could he roll; it wasn’t his fault. “Come now, sir!” the fox did scold, Only halfway have you rolled!
It seems you don’t want to go with me, Well, like it or not, you will, you’ll see! Jug, you’ll stick with me forever; From now on we will not be severed!” So saying, she tied it to her tail: “Now, pitcher, come with me you shall! In your own juice you soon will stew, You’ll drown in sorrow, I promise you!” The devious fox ran with a yell And dragged the pitcher to a well.
She’d teach that jug a lesson cruel; Instead, she made herself the fool! “Pitcher, for your sins you’ll pray, No more you’ll wickedly delay!” And then forgetting in her pride That the pitcher to her tail was tied, The vixen scrambled up on the ledge, And dropped the pitcher over the edge. “If you still refuse to pray,” She said, “You’ll drown this very day!”
But the jug floated safe on the water, At which the fox angrily uttered: “Pitcher, you’ll learn soon enough, I’ll stop your wicked bluff! But I’ll forgive you nevertheless, If you’ll admit your wickedness.” But the pitcher he had nought to say, For no tongue had that man of clay. This made the vixen angrier still At the pitcher floating in the well: “I’ll humour you not one more whit, You’ve made your bed, now lie in it!” And at that she pushed the jug below; The water into it did flow And started to drag the vixen down. She pulled away in fear she’d drown. “Come now, jug,” she said, “Good sir, Stop this game, I do implore!”
But the water poured inside the jug, And slowly down the well it sunk. As she saw the surface draw near, The fox began to cry in fear: “Oh woe, what will become of me?! Oh, jug, forgive me please, kind sir, And in return I’ll give my word That I’ll not harm you anymore, If you’ll let me live, a sinner poor!”
These words she said with her last breath, And down she sank into the depths. Till the pitcher sat on the bottom at last, To the fox’s tail tied good and fast. With no chance to get out, thus bound, That was how the vixen drowned. Thus ends the tale of the fox so sly, Who for her slyness had to die, Outsmarted by an earthen jug, It was her own grave that she dug.
The famous myth of the voyage of the hero Jason and his retinue on the ship Argo to Colchis in search of the Golden Fleece and the tragic story of the love of Jason and the princess Medea, written by the poet Apollonius of Rhodes.
Beginning with you, Phoebe, I will recount the famous deeds of ancient men, who, at the command of King Pelius, sailed through the mouth of the Pontus with their ship Argo, to find the golden fleece and perform many heroic deeds. Once upon a time, there lived in the Greek sity of Iolcus a usurper Pelias, who seized power, dethroned the rightful heir and did not recognise the claims of his son Jason. When Jason came to him as the prophecy said, wearing only one sandal, Pelias recognised that he was the one who would kill him. Therefore, he set a condition for relinquishing his power, which was to obtain the golden ram’s fleece from Colchis across the eastern sea. Jason had a large, sturdy ship built for himself with fifty oars, such as had never been seen before, and he named it Argo. For his crew, he chose only the most excellent men, including the strongmen Heracles and Castor, the kings Meleager and Telamon, the legendary singer Orpheus, the ship’s doctor Asclepius, the seer Idmon, the helmsman Tiphys, and many other renowned heroes. On their long voyage, they encountered many dangers from gods, giants, and sea monsters, and fought many battles, where the heads of tyrants of barbarian realms from the dawn of time, when gods still walked among men, fell. When the ship anchored in Colchis, the local king Aeëtes promised Jason the golden fleece in exchange for a very difficult task. He had to plough a field with wild bulls with metal hooves, sow it with dragon’s teeth, and slay the undead soldiers that would arise from them by evening. With the help of his friends and the beautiful king’s daughter Medea, Jason accomplished all this. Aeëtes, however, was treacherous, so Jason had to steal the fleece and fled to the sea with Medea. The Colchians pursued him, but he managed to escape, though he lost many of his comrades in the process. Upon returning to Iolcus, Jason presented King Pelias with the golden fleece, but Pelias still refused to give up the throne. Then Jason hardened his heart and, with the sorceress Medea, poisoned his rival. However, this act did not pay off well for them. Medea lost her love for Jason, and he became an outcast on his ship Argó until the ship itself brought about his end.
May the Pope be called a simonist and seller of indulgences? It would seem that he may not, for he is, after all, the master of the whole world, whom it behoves to take what he will and how much and to act as he pleases, and that he is the Most Holy Father, who cannot be besmirched by sin. Let it be known that many Popes have been and are heretics and otherwise evildoers and should be dethroned; and much could be written thereof… And therefore do not doubt that the Pope may be a simonist! And he who would insist that the Pope may not be accused of simony or other mortal sins, he, it seems, would raise him up above Peter and the other Apostles. And what of that, that he is the master of this world who is immune to sin and may act as he pleases? The answer to that is that the only master of this world is God and it is only He who can do all things and only He who is without sin, and not the Pope.
Perhaps you will say: “Here on Earth the Pope is the Most Holy Father!” I tell you, if you can show me proof that he truly lives most holy and does so act, that he follows Christ in poverty, in humility, in meekness, temperance, moral cleanliness and labour, then I will believe you that he is the holiest of the holy. Only instead of that I see covetousness, pride and other sins that show he truly is not holy. And what of it, that I claim something other than the rest of the world, which allows the holiness of the Pope and regards him as infallible and without sin? Who then are you to believe? I tell you: even if everyone on Earth should call him holy, while in truth he has turned away from Christ, he shall not be holy only because he is called so. It is not words, but deeds, that matter before the court of God.
He is the ruler of the Lands of Bohemia and the former emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, although many evil of tongue do say he is no true king and side with his half-brother Sigismund. In the year of our Lord 1361 he was born unto Emperor Charles IV and his wife Anna of Schweidnitz, and through the right of primogeniture did inherit the throne from his father. At the young age of but two years old he was crowned King of Bohemia and at the age of but fifteen he sat upon the throne of the emperor, both actions that aroused outcry, for to crown a new king whilst an older one is still alive is neither ordinary nor common and, all the same, the young king cannot rule until he reaches adulthood.
When later King and Emperor Charles died and Wenceslas rightfully sat upon both thrones, he ruled well at first, but poor councillors and unwise rulers of the lands of Europe did vex him greatly, and thus the king, abandoning his initial enthusiasm, turned his attention instead to drinking and hunting. And thus in the empire did discontent with the new ruler grow, and Wenceslas, instead of reconciling conflicts, fled from them, for he did not need to resolve them. And thus it came to be that he did not go to receive his crown, for he desired not to enrage the French, who at that time had their own Pope in Avignon, and he did cause such indignation in the Margraviate of Moravia that Jobst of Moravia had him imprisoned, until the king resolved the troubles in his country. But in place of resolving conflicts Wenceslas’s disregard for proper rule persevered and he was freed by his brother John.
Discontent grew and many other noblemen did protest and a League of Lords was formed to remove Wenceslas from the throne and on it they would have preferred to see sit his second brother, Sigismund, who ruled in Hungary at the time. Wenceslas heeded neither warning nor threats of the Lords and continued to rule as he saw fit, or rather to devote himself to amusements, and when the Lords had no more patience for him and a rebellion against him broke out, he requested the assistance of his second brother, Sigismund, to whom he entrusted rule of the land. He, however, did not help his brother, but took his royal castles and imprisoned Wenceslas, for not just rule did Sigismund take, but the crown of Bohemia as well, which a certain fraction of the Lords did welcome, for they were glad to see order and law restored in the kingdom. In these days, King Wenceslas remains Sigismund’s captive, whilst Sigismund, the GingerFox, plunders Bohemia.
On the council of beasts, which advised the King how to rule well and for the good of all.
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The New Council by Smil Flashka of Pardubice
‘Twas in a time that’s now long gone, The King of all the beasts, the lion, Sent his envoys far and near For all the animals to hear. Every one, both great and small, Must answer to their monarch’s call.
This command the lion did say; Even Prince Eagle must obey And bring all birds upon the wing, To come and bow before their king. The king’s command by all was heard, They heeded well the royal word. Even the eagle’s princely domain Could not deny the lion’s reign. It too was subject to the king, Who in those days ruled everything.
And so the eagle, Prince of birds, Obeyed the lion’s royal words And brought his legions of the air. All creatures then assembled there In one great restless throng awaiting Anxious to oblige their great king. Attentively they craned their necks, To hear what orders would come next.
Looking down on all his court, The lion started to report Why they were all assembled here To hear his words with pricked-up ears: “Loyal subjects, dearest friends, Well I know that to the end You served my father faithfully, As all know well on land and sea, ‘Twas by your council and your aid, His kingdom of the world he made.
This loyalty shall you give me too, For I have placed my trust in you, Lords and ladies, princes, knights, Subjects of my realm by rights. I am a king of tender years, And so you all are gathered here, To advise me, each and every one, How my dominion should be run.”
Many centuries ere, it came to be that a Voivode Czech lived in the distant lands of the Croats. Bethinking the great lack of land for his people, he resolved to set forth from his native country. Therewith convening a large congress, he made offerings to the gods, parted ways with the beloved country of his birth, and set off towards the West in search of new lands. Women, children, the elderly - on foot and bz wagon, their livestock and property in tow - the entire nation followed its great leader. It was many weeks hence they reached a new country, one hitherto unknown. But lo! The people of this land spoke in a tongue that was not deaf to their ears. And they persevered, proceeding farther, until they reached a place where the inhabitants were dressed only in hides and of a hirsute appearance and blocked their path with arms in hand. And thus they continued onward, deep through dense, untamed forests, through swamp and brush, until they came to a mountain called Říp, which rose imposingly above the surrounding plain. The entire nation, being fatigued by the exertion of its great journey, dispersed and surrounded the mountain, for to regain their strength.
Therewith, Czech himself ascended the mountain, surveying the land from its heights. He beheld fertile lowlands and forests, a wealth of waters and green grazing land. On the morn, with him a great abundance of his people ascended the mountain, and upon beholding that which he too had seen, their hearts sang out. Thus spoke Voivode Czech: “Henceforth we shall not be in want, for we have found the land that we once sought! Behold! This is the Promised land, the land of milk and honey, fertile with beasts of the hunt. Here we shall find great abundance and here shall we find protection from our enemy. But it lacks a name. What say you? How shall we call this great place?” In response, all stood as one and let it heard out in a unison of voices, “May it share your name!” And to the ground they did fall, kissing the soil of their new country, which has henceforth borne the name of Czech.
Good poems about women, love and wine by pupils of the scoundrels.
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Carmina Burana songs of the pupils of the scoundrels
Veni, veni, venias, ne me mori facias, hyrca, hyrca, nazaza, trillirivos! Pulchra tibi facies, oculorum acies, capillorum series, o quam clara species! Rosa rubicundior, lilio candidior, omnibus formosior, semper in te glorior!
Come now, come now, come to me, leave me not to die, I pray. Hyrca, hyrca, nazaza, trillirivos! Beautiful your pretty face, Radiant your lovely gaze, Your hair in tresses all arranged, How your appearance does amaze! Rosier than theRose are you, whiter than the lily too, fairer than all other girls, for me forever glorious!
Sie puer cum puellula moraretur in cellula, felix coniunctio. Amore sucrescente, pariter e medio propulso procul tedio, fit ludus ineffabilis membris, lacertis, labiis.
If a boy and girl should happen to come together in a room, How happy is that couple! Then the glow ofAmor rises, rises double! When they lie in bed, by shame they are not troubled, ’Tis then a game begins ’twixt their lips, their arms, their limbs.
Plectrude, born a.d. 650, was the wife of Pepin II the Middle, Duke and Lord of the Frankish Empire.
As the wife of the majordomo, de facto ruler of the Frankish Empire (the monarch had no real power), Plectrude directly participated in state negotiations and was even a co-signatory on documents and papers issued by her husband. Plectrude had two sons from her marriage with Pepin, Drogon and Grimoald. However, neither of them inherited their father’s position.
Pepin also had a son, Charles, called Martel, who, though a bastard himself, claimed the inheritance. None of Plectrude’s sons later survived their father, so she tried to wrest the succession for her grandson, Grimoald’s son Theudoald. After Pepin’s death, she became regent of Neustria, which she intended to remain until Theudoald reached adulthood. Charles Martel spent the first years of her reign imprisoned in Cologne in what was then Austrasia.
The nobility soon began to speak out against this, according to whose view, on the contrary, Charles Martel was a legitimate successor, since he was descended from the union of Pepin and his second wife, Alpaida (polygamy was not considered an offence or sin at that time, and was practiced quite commonly by the nobility). Thanks to the help of the nobility, Charles was released from prison and proclaimed Lord of Austrasia.
The succession struggle later became even more heated and Plectrude was turned away from the Neustrian nobility, who, with the support of the Frisian duke Radbod, forced her to flee to Cologne with Theudoald. A final battle was fought near Cologne soon afterwards, after which Plectrude was forced to relinquish the royal treasury she was holding and abandon her claim to the position of majordomo for her grandson.
The last years of Plectrude’s life were spent in the Kolin monastery, which she herself founded and where she is still laid to eternal rest.
Leather cover, stamped corners. The mysterious book that the miller Kreyzl wants. The author is one Black Bertold.
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Among the qualities of a true master of fire are: The warrior’s godliness, for when he handles powder, he has his arch-enemy in his hands. He also maintains humility towards the world he walks day and night. He should, as a master, be able to read and write, otherwise the knowledge written in this book cannot be retained in the mind, whether it be distillation, separation or sublimation. Only a man of prudence, honesty, kindness in word and deed will become a master. In particular, he must avoid drunkenness at any hour.
If you don’t want to scrape the saltpetre out of the sties or search in the pits, do this. Make a pipe out of clay with some small holes in it. Take a pound of tartaric acid, half a pound of salt, three times as much lime and the urine of a wine-drinker. Make a mash from the materials and spread it inside the pipe. Leave it in the sun for three days and empty it on the fourth day. Then hang the pipe in the cellar and wait for the nitre to grow. Then boil the saltpetre in water, wine or better vinegar as you would a fish and strain it through a thick cloth. Let the crystals dry properly.
Materials must be sifted through a sieve or a linen bag. Melt a pound of sulphur in a crucible, and stir in two pounds of properly grounded saltpetre and a quarter of a pound of charcoal. Soak the sulphur wick in the molten mass and let it cool and harden. If the powder should spoil, add a drop of sublimate of mercury, camphor and arsenic during the brewing.
If you want to create powder that stays dry on the ground but catches fire in the rain, read on. It’s enough.
From the land of the Moors one travels to India by way of countries and mountains of various sizes. And the Indian lands are divided into three: the first is called the Greater, which has in it too much heat; the second the Middle, which is not so hot; the third is called the Lesser and is so cold that the water there turns to crystals and rock. And these are the crystals that the merchants bring here.
In India there are many different kingdoms, strange customs and passions, people and animals. It is called India after the River Indus, which flows through it, and the people who live beside this waterway are wise and ugly and they hunt eels in the river that are more than thirty feet long! There are as many as five thousand islands in the sea, on each of which different laws and customs prevail and each of them is a whole country with a king and his subjects and there are thousands of castles and towns and countless people, though they are unknown to us, for few people travel out of India, because wherever they should go, they would be homesick for their country, and also because on your travels you will encounter many cutthroats and also there live there many terrible beasts and poisonous worms and the oceans are so dangerous that one would hardly swim therein and in some places is the heat so great that in the daytime people are burned to death by the sun.
People here are sick, too, and from the heat the intestines come out of their bodies. And in this land no iron or other metal is allowed, for in the land are many magnetic rocks, and therefore if a ship should have such metals on it, it would be drawn onto the cliffs and everyone on board would die.
The first part of the Luxembourg legend of the fairy Melusine.
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The Tale of Melusine Part One
Knight Raymond was a good friend of the Count of Poitiers. Once they went together to hunt wild pigs, but the Count of Poitiers was attacked by a raging boar and knocked from his horse. Brave Raymond rushed to save his friend and tried to kill the enraged beast, but his blow glanced off its back and instead of taking down the creature, he killed his friend with one blow. Aghast at his deed, Raymond fled deep into the forest, where he grieved over the death of his friend, little knowing that he had acted according to an ancient prophesy, and through an evil heart.
Thirsty, he knelt down by a pool in the woods to take a drink and rest a while, whereupon he saw a most beautiful maiden sitting by the pool. She came to him at once and asked what a knight was seeking so deep in the woods and why he was so sad. Disarmed by her beauty, Raymond fell in love with the girl and told her the whole story of his misfortune. Then right away he asked her for her hand in marriage and the maiden, who was called Melusine, accepted his offer, but she warned him that her husband must never enter her chamber on a Saturday and must leave her alone all day.
From the moment that the knight returned from the forest with his bride, he met with only good fortune. He defeated all the old rivals of his family, put to rights all wrongs against them and got back many castles and estates that others had stolen from his glorious family, thereby exalting his own good name and that of his line. Raymond served his liege so bravely that the lord asked him what he would like to have for his services. Whereupon the knight replied that he wished to have in freehold as much land as would fit within the skin of one stag.
His liege lord laughed and gladly agreed, little knowing that Melusine had advised him to cut the skin of a stag into thin ribbons and weave a long rope from them. This she then made even longer by a magic spell, so that it would hold an even greater tract of land. Melusine made a spring rise up in the middle of this land to water the earth and ensure a good harvest every year. By other spells, Melusine erected the great Castle Lusignan, where she and Raymond made their home.
Krok, ruler of the Bohemian tribes, had been blessed with three daughters. Kazi, Teta, and Libusse. Kazi possessed vast knowledge of all matter of flora and herbs and was wise in the arts of healing, Teta above all others worshipped the gods and goddesses and made unto them all manner of sacrifices, and the last daughter enjoyed great favour and respect, for wisdom and reason did serve her well, and having been endowed with the power of soothsaying, oft did look into the future and make prophesies. When old Krok died, it was she who sat upon the throne and ruled wisely, for she could resolve conflict with her esteemed reasoning and bring peace to all aggrieved parties.
It was a time of abundance and equality between all; however, her rule went against the will of many men, for as is told “long of hair and short of reason, and shame be upon men who are ruled by a woman.” Libusse, suffering great pangs of sorrow, convened a great congress to which she did invite her sisters and the elder rulers from throughout the land. And she did say unto them, “You do not appreciate freedom and for you it is a great shame for a woman to rule over you. Thus, I shall give unto you a Voivode—a man—upon condition that you listen to my words and heed my advice.”
The joyous rulers from throughout the land did swear to heed her words, and she did order them to place saddle upon her steed and allow him to go whither he may roam. At this place shall they lay eyes upon their new Voivode, a ploughman, who shall be driving a team of oxen. And it did happen as she had foreseen, and the horse did truly lead them to the ploughman, who bore the name of Premysl. They said unto him, “Princess Libusse and all of the people of the great Czech hereby do entreat you to come with us and accept the rule that fate has bestowed upon you and your descendants.”
And in reply to the messengers Premysl did say, “It is regrettable that you have come this very morning. For if I could finish ploughing this one field, bread would be had in great abundance for all time. But alas, you have disturbed me in my task and this land shall oft know great hunger.” And then he said unto them, “I shall repeat the words that Libusse has said unto you. As you did not desire to heed a girl’s advice, now it shall be my lineage that rules over you with an iron rod.” Thereafter, he travelled with them to Libusse, whose fair hand he took in marriage, and for many years ruled wisely and well. After him his sons ruled in his stead, and thus was established the great and esteemed Premyslid Dynasty.
One will become two, two will become three, and the third will become one as the fourth.
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Mary the Jewess the mother of alchemy
Connect the masculine with the feminine and you’ll discover what you’re looking for.
Many scholars still regard Zosimos of Panopolis as the father of the alchemical doctrine, who in his twenty-eight volumes summarized all the knowledge that had been attained in this science in his time. Although scholars such as Hermes Trismegistus speak to us through his writings, the belief that Zosimos laid the foundations of alchemy as we know it today is shortsighted to say the least.
After Mary, the divine parent, Mary, who assumed the nickname of Prophetess or Jewess, became the proverbial mother of the alchemical art. Little is known of her life, but thanks to the writings of Zosimus, a detailed knowledge of her important creations and ideas has survived.
The device called tribikos is still used by novice and experienced alchemists under the more popular name alembic. Mary’s bath, or more generally the water bath, has established itself not only in the study of scholars but also in the kitchens of wealthy gentlemen, where it produces delicate sauces and creams. In contrast, the device called kerotakis has not yet found a proper use.
Blacksmiths, let ye pay good heed; And stoop not to dishonest deeds,
Which some do, caring not a jot,
As sinful you regard it not, Tools of wicked trade to make Unscrupulously for profit’s sake.
A thief comes creeping, out of sight, To your house in darkest night And says, ‘‘Master, rise and shine, I’ll reward you well with coin, If you’ll just forge secretly Certain implements for me. Forge for me a powerful saw That will cut even iron right through, That nothing can resist at all, Whether it be big or small; And also a dagger of sharpest steel That I can beneath my cloak conceal.
Forge me ten strong keys as well, Better than any in Heaven or Hell, Which will open any lock on Earth. Blacksmith, give me my money’s worth!” Thus with promise of reward He tempts the master with honeyed words.
This the blacksmith gladly hears;
The thief’s words music to his ears.
“All the tools that you may need,
I shall willingly forge indeed! All that you ask I’ll deliver, As long as you pay me in silver!”
“With Groschen we will fill your purse When you bring these things to us! Come to us in the deepest woods, Where our merry band will await your goods. God gifted you with golden hands, But riches you’ll get from a robbers’ band!”
The smith’s bargain with the thief is done; Honour and conscience he has none.
About the maiden Atalanta, the huntress and favourite of the Greek goddess Artemis.
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Atalanta maiden to men equal
King of the Boeotians, Schoineas, longed for a son to succeed him and inherit the throne. He rejected his first-born daughter, and ordered the child to be thrown in the forest. The child, however, was discovered by a she-bear, who let her drink her milk, and so saved the child from certain death. Later, hunters took the girl, named her Atalanta, and taught her their art. Soon she grew into a sturdy, strong woman who surpassed men in hunting, running and riding. Because of this, the virgin goddess of the hunt, Artemis, took a liking to her, and Atalanta took a vow of chastity after her example. She sailed with the Argonauts on their expeditions and was one of the hunters who set out to hunt the Calydonian boar. It was her arrow that first struck the creature. Meleagros, the son of the Calydonian king who eventually managed to kill the beast, gave Atalanta the boar’s hide in exchange for a promise of her love. He was killed, however, and the marriage never took place. Atalanta soon gained fame and glory that reached all the way back to her father. On their reunion, he demanded that his daughter marry despite her vows. She agreed, but set a condition - she would marry only such a man who would surpass her in running. Many men entered the race, and many took the ignominious loss. Only finally did Hippomenes appear, and he managed to defeat Atalanta (albeit by trickery). The story of Atalanta has two known endings. In one, she married Hippomenes and was his equal as hunter, wife and companion. In the other, she and Hippomenus were punished for desecrating the forest temple and turned into wild animals.
Upon the death of Bishop Dietmar, the first Bishop of the Kingdom of Bohemia, Voitek, known as Adalbert, of the Slavnik clan, took his place. It transpired in the year 982. Recalling to mind the words of his predecessor, that amongst the common people many injustices had spread, that polygamy amongst the nobility and blood feuds amongst the people did flourish, that no soul did honour neither Sabbath nor holy days and in their place they held markets, that Christians were sold into slavery, and that in the countryside pagan customs did flourish, he resolved to devote his life to fighting against such iniquity. For five years did he endeavour to eradicate these iniquities, but he failed, and disgusted, he travelled to Rome to beg the Holy Father for counsel. And he said unto him: “My son, if you are incapable of leading your people, then redraw and at least try to save yourself”.
And he wanted to journey to Jerusalem, but it was impossible to pass himself off as a common pilgrim, for his bishop’s vestments gave him away, but cast them aside he could not. And he gave his possessions to the poor and he did cast aside his vestments, and he secluded himself in a Benedictine monastery for several years. But here as well he did see how morality had been degraded and how the monks lived a nearly earthly life and in disgust he departed and returned to pastoring and the crosier.
To rectify at least some things, he founded Brevnov Monastery as well as several others and invited monks of great morals to them to live and devote themselves to God according to the strictest monastic laws. In the year of our Lord 995 a horrible catastrophe struck his family—every last man and child was murdered at the fortified town of Libice, whence only Adalbert escaped, perhaps because he was not there or because no soul dared lay a hand upon a bishop. People evil of tongue claim that it was the Premyslid clan that did commit this massacre to solidify its power in Bohemia. Others say that it was Adalbert himself who was responsible, for he offered an adulterous wife, who according to custom should have been killed, asylum in his church and thus the disgraced clan of the husband wanted vengeance, but not finding him at Libice, they killed his family instead.
Sorrowed and disgusted, Adalbert once again retired from his affairs and set off as a missionary to the north, to the land of the pagan Prussians. There he desired to spread the Christian faith and to fight against the pagans’ idolatry, but the local inhabitants did not wish to see him and greeted him with stones and sticks. Seeing such idolatry, he destroyed their idols and chopped down their sacred grove, for they did bow before trees and considered them to be holy. When the pagans saw this, they killed Adalbert and their trees did drink his blood and his body they left there. It was only Boleslaus the Brave who had the holy remains of this martyr taken to Prague.
The Breviary contains psalms, prayers and stories from the lives of the Saints and is therefore an invaluable aid for the salvation of the soul of every Christian who can read.
Every Christian is to turn to God in his life and in his prayer. He is to do so by praising Our Lord as often as possible and with sincere prayer, for in the beginning He created the world, man and all living things in His image. And it is he who receives the faithful and the righteous into his heavenly kingdom before the hour of judgment.
Follow the lives of the saints, read of their works, that you may direct your steps to your salvation and not to eternal damnation in the flames of hell. In the Psalms seek instruction about yourself, for know that he who turns to God turns thereby to himself. For there can be no sincere prayer without the soul, and no soul without the truth of God.
Now has winter come, Hear you, ragged ones! Evil times are on us And of clothing none! Evil winds blow, Evil is sown! Blasts of bitter weather, One upon another, Bringing nought but bother Heavy falls the snow, Foretelling great woe! Worn threadbare your cloak, Hose torn and shoes are broke. We sleep through summer Heedless in slumber Of next winter’s snows. How great our woes, How poor our clothes! Ye poor, be of good cheer, Joy is with us here! Clothes worn away, Heads turned to grey! Despair, poor ones, Shall guide us on, What can we endeavour? Our path forever To seek God’s favour. Caps from our heads torn, None is left to keep. What grief we have sown So shall we yet reap! Sheaves cut short And sad of heart. In Bohemia what to do, But to the tavern go, For relief from woe?
And at the alehouse then, They give us nought to drink, Oh, what misery to sup From a dry and empty cup! Pawn accursed, with empty purse. What can you endeavour? Seek relief from labour, And pray for God’s favour. On Friday here’s our fare: Soup from water prepared, Stew of grass and wood; An end to this bad food! Fish will there be, From Danube or sea? Of that there’s little fear, For even eels are dear, And loach are far from here. On Saturday we’ll sup, From grief’s bitter cup. And on Sunday morning, Empty bellies groaning. At table together, One poor as another, We’ll sit and take our share Of nothing else but air And let that be our fare.
The cooks for us will brew From mist and fog a stew, From darkness roasted game And venison in dreams, Stew a log of wood Or a club for food, To honour guests and treat them. Such food they serve to feed them Would better serve to beat them! Keep your food so rough. Black pudding with barley And cabbage we love, Buttermilk and whey, Mashed peas, Noodles with seeds Of poppy, smoked ham too, A pumpkin or two, And chickpea stew!
Ordinarium. The Prayer Breviary serves every good person for prayer, spiritual salvation, simple meditation, and as a calendar for the liturgical year. It is therefore divided into several parts, which must first be clearly stated and described here. It is best to do so by parables, for they are more than suitable for such purposes. Hasten, then, thou pilgrim, through the desolate land, to the green garden, where thou shalt slake thy thirst. Always turn thy steps to the Lord, and open thy heart to mercy and truth.
Calendarium. After the introductory teaching, you first enter the garden of time to find when and what feast is to be celebrated during the four seasons and what prayers proprium de tempore best belong to it.
Psalterium. From the blossoming orchard of days thou shalt then enter the antechamber of the temple of faith, where thou shalt find the choice psalms that will fortify thy soul with faith and hope, for that is what they are for.
Then a well is already opened to you, from which your heart and soul can drink endlessly to attain salvation and eternal life. Here you will find prayers to the patron saints of the Church, to whom you may at any time turn for intercession and thereby obtain considerable help.
In the works of Hermes, I have read much about the art of miracles and therefore will quote from it here. He divided the secret art into three types. The first is the art of talismans, primarily practiced by the Sabians and Nabataean slaves. This includes knowledge of the planets, to which sacrifices in the form of incense and magical symbols are offered. The next is the excellent art of astrology, in which the Greeks particularly excel. And finally, the last is the strange art of kalaph’thu R’yah, concerning the knowledge of spirits who are far away yet close and for whom our language has no name. This is the art of the Yemeni Sakasiks, Egyptian Copts and Indians, who are considered the greatest magicians because they can summon genies and demons from other spheres beyond this world, where their homes lie. Additionally, they know the special secret of how to impregnate a woman without copulation with a man, can create a potion against aging and, above all, know the secrets of the stars. It is among the stars that there are magical patterns not found on earth, whose power can perform many miracles. These patterns, used by magicians in their rituals or as talismans, take the form of rings connected by various lines. The rings represent planets, and the lines are like rays that flow from them through infinite space to Earth.
For planetary magic, we need to know how the stars are arranged in their constellations, which bear the names of the zodiac signs from the ancient Greeks, and then the properties of the seven main planets that are near the Earth. These seven nearby planets are Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, the Sun, Venus, Mercury and the Moon. Furthermore, we must be able to calculate the ascendant of each sign to determine their greatest strength. Regarding the magical patterns of constellations and their documented direct effects, I will provide several examples here and many more in the following chapters. Talisman for Repelling Mice The pattern involves the planets of the sign Leo. Draw this pattern in a red metal bowl during the first phase of the constellation of Leo. Then place the bowl where the mouse is, and it will flee and not return as long as the pattern is drawn there. The pattern is: Peculiar Talisman If you want a person you love to come to you soon, draw the following pattern on a new piece of cloth. Do this on the day and hour dedicated to Venus, when it is at the peak of its power and its ascendant is in the second phase of the sign Leo. Fold the cloth and place it where the person is supposed to come. The pattern is: Talisman for Enmity If you want to sow enmity between two people, draw this pattern in a black metal bowl along with a black dog’s fang. Do this on the day and hour dedicated to Saturn, when it is at the peak of its power and its ascendant is in the third phase of the sign Capricorn. Place the bowl where one of the people resides or at their meeting place, so they will part under the worst possible conditions. The pattern is: Talisman for Cursing a Place If you want to curse a place to be abandoned and afflicted with a curse, draw the following pattern in a metal bowl along with a boar’s tusk. Do this on the day and hour dedicated to Saturn, when it is at the peak of its power and its ascendant is in the second phase of the sign Capricorn. Place the bowl at the location to be afflicted by Saturn’s curse, so it will be unfit for use as long as this sign is present. The pattern is:
I and Pangur the white cat each of us at his special art: hunting mice is his pastime, mine in turn the art of rhyme. I love more than all renown Silence and words written down: Pangur the white cat envies me not, To play with mice is his happy lot. And if one should chance to pause, Pangur will seize it in his claws, Just as I, who hunt for lines, May pounce upon a word at times.
While Pangur’s sharp eye ever falls On any movement by the walls, Ceaselessly I fix my gaze On words and letters on the page. When he pounces with sharp claws, And seizes a mouse in his merciless jaws, Meanwhile his master too may exult, When he solves a line that is difficult.
Thus it goes, each to his art, With no distress on either part. Neither has an axe to grind, Kindred spirits with like minds. By day, by night, our work progresses: The less of mice, the more of verses. Day and night, Pangur hones his skill, As I hope by diligence I will.
One of the copies of the court book from the Kuttenberg Rathaus. It contains a list of municipal laws.
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Court Book Libri Iudicialis
This law has been long established and honoured since the times of the early Premyslid princes and kings. The townsfolk within their walls and a mile beyond may adjudicate both disputed and undisputed matters. This was granted to them by the king’s blessing, and no one should deprive them of this right unless it pleases the king himself. And whoever has a dispute and is dissatisfied with the judgment of the townsfolk may appeal to the royal land court.
The court should always be conducted with seriousness in a proper place. Anyone who disrupts the court should be expelled, even if it is the accused themselves. The court does not prove the law but finds it by assessing all known facts. The court should consist of several good men, but always at least three, who will decide in agreement under oath. If they cannot agree, the decision should be made by the chairman of the court, on whom they first agreed, whether it be the bailiff, burgmeister, magister legum, or a well-respected man in the community. To this end, he should be allocated up to two days if further witnesses need to be heard or a spiritual vigil performed.
If there are any witnesses, they should all be heard, provided they are good and reputable men, a maiden testifying to her honour, a foreigner vouched for by someone, or a serf speaking about their lord.
The accused must not be unnecessarily tormented or endangered to the point of requiring interrogation under torture. The accused may bring witnesses to speak in his favour, and if such exist, the court should summon them to appear.
If the accused is a cleric, their bishop, prior, or abbot should be summoned to consent to the trial or to bring the matter before divine law.
If the court rules in favour of the accused’s innocence, they are by royal authority freed before the people and cleared of the act.
Here are written all the known capital judgements and other punishments. Crimes of disputed law are divided into violent felonies, simple felonies and further into robbery, theft, taking or damaging another’s property, defamation and sinful fornication. Other crimes are known to the indisputable law and the law of the land and royal court.
I: Violent Felonies Murder or killing for vile reasons, where two good witnesses do not testify that it was done to prevent personal harm, will be punished according to the nature of the crime, both in life and body.
If this occurs outside the city walls but the victim is a townsman, the culprit will be pursued as if the crime had been committed within the city.
If the culprit sincerely regrets their deed, compensates the damages, has a mass said, or erects a penitent symbol, their punishment will be reduced.
If coercion in tortura was used to obtain a confession, this will count against the culprit.
If the culprit used an especially vile method, such as poisoning, mistreated the body, or otherwise dishonoured it, this will increase their punishment. Their dead body will be further quartered and buried in unconsecrated ground. II: Felonies of Robbery All robberies and poaching, if they did not cause harm to life, will be punished by fines, whipping and the pillory. Severe deeds will be punished by branding. Whoever continues to commit evil deeds with the brand shall be sentenced to death. III: Theft and Seizure of Property All thefts of property, serfs and domestic animals will be punished by fines, whipping and the pillory. Severe deeds will be punished by branding. Whoever continues to commit evil deeds with the brand shall be sentenced to death. IV: Fornication and False Testimony
Whoever sinned in fornication with another man’s wife or maiden shall be whipped and banished from the town, the woman then being displayed in the pillory. If both acted voluntarily, they shall be whipped, branded and banished from the town.
Whoever maliciously spread falsehoods about another or gave false testimony in court shall pay a fine or be whipped and displayed in the pillory. V: Other Offenses
Whoever’s beast injures another person shall be whipped unless they compensate for the harm and healing with a fine.
Whoever resists inspection by the town watch shall pay a fine or be displayed in the pillory.
Whoever endangers others with a weapon shall pay a fine or undergo whipping.
Whoever in the town or village does not carry a light from dusk till dawn shall pay a fine or be displayed in the pillory.
On the People in the Silver Mines All the people in the silver ore mining industry are divided into four groups according to their responsibilities. Among the primary persons we count the chief clerks, the “Urburers” (who oversee the royal share) and the mint masters, as well as the sworn burghers, judges and the Bergmeisters, who all have judicial powers. We may include the scribes of the appointed “Urbura” officials. Other people are the lower mining clerks, i.e. the stewards, surveyors, joiners and watchmen, who conduct supervision in the mines. And a third group, by which we mean the miners, namely, the primary miners, the secondary miners, and the “Lehenhauers” or “querks”, who are chiefly to bear the profit and loss in the extraction of silver. And lastly, the fourth group, which are all the other persons under the direction of the querks, of whom details are given elsewhere.
On the Urburers and Administrators The Urburers are appointed according to the Urbura they are in charge of. They are to act with reason, which is to be their virtue, for reason will guide them in the right way, so that they may not go astray. Urburers are to observe the customs and treat their inferiors neither too mildly nor too harshly, lest they diminish their authority or cause too much distress to their inferiorss. By the will of the king, his officials are to cling to the liberty which they are to preserve for the inferiors, since they themselves also demand it from the superiors. Lastly, the king commands that the inferiors should honour and obey their superiors, and not rebel against them, but always obey this law.
On the Post of the Climbers and Revisors The revisors or climbers have the duties of crawling through the mines day and night and, if necessary, repairing everything there. If they find new leasings or excavations anywhere, they are obliged to report them to the Bergmeisters or guards of the place in order to ensure that they are leased as quickly as possible. Should this fail to happen, the revisors may, with the consent of the Urburers, take lease of it themselves at the highest possible price and for the shortest possible time. Climbers or Revisors are appointed by the Urburers and it is to them that they make their oath. There are to be only two in the mine at any time, so that they may serve day and night, and only if the workings are extended in width or depth may they ask for two new good climbers to assist them in their work. This is meant by the good will of the King to be at the expense of the mine owners, who hire the revisors out of their share of the mining profits, and it is their responsibility to select them in view of the hardship and constant hard work they have to do in the mines.
On the Office of Surveyors The office of surveyors was introduced to end boundary disputes. All boundary disputes are to be heard by the Revisors except for cases to be heard by the Mine Surveyor. This is the case where a new vein of ore could be found by a stranger in the rising or lying side of some mountain, and there would be doubt whether it lay in the free field, that is, outside the mine already measured, or within the established mine measure. In such a case, the disputants are to unanimously elect three wise men and one urburer as the fourth. These four, after taking the oath, shall begin to measure. The actual measuring is done by means of a cord and, if necessary, a passage is dug between the two veins. Finally, they will render a verdict according to the truth ascertained or settle the dispute amicably. Either way, what they lay down must be observed. During the measurement, the mined ore is deposited with a third party, who then releases the ore to the victorious party after the dispute is settled.
On the Ore Distributors It is the duty of the ore distributors to divide the ore from one pile into specified portions, which they are then to deliver to the various parties. First they separate 1/8 as the share or royal portion, then 1/9 for the mine smiths, 1/16 for the leases, and divide the remainder into 4 parts, that is, according to the shifts that did the mining. In the case where they do not have to pay 1/16 for the leases, this remainder of the ore is divided equally between the shifts. The place and time of the division of the ore is to be such that no one can miss it. If any one should violate this law, he shall be immediately dismissed with disgrace, and another shall be put in his place who shall observe it.
The seat of the kings of Bohemia, a city of grandness, whose glory reaches to the heavens. Amongst the great cities of the world, it is the greatest, rich in commerce and strong in arms, and endowed with beauty, the towers of which rise above other towns. Founded by Princes Libusse and Premysl, her husband and the father of the Premyslid Dynasty, with a castle of stone at a place called Hradčany, to which later quarters were adjoined and during the reign of Emporer Charles the whole of the New Town was built on the opposite bank of the Vltava River, with the largest stone bridge the world had ever seen connecting it to the Old Town, made of much stone and mortar, to which, according to legend, thousands of eggs were added for greater strength.
The population is of a diverse nature. The Czechs dominate, but many a German can be found amongst merchants and tradesmen, who live in their own quarter, and even the Jews have been granted their own “town” within Prague, into which no Christian dare step foot. To celebrate the glory of God, the One and Only, monasteries were founded at Emmaus, Strahov, and Klarov, and churches of stone are so numerous that you could not count them on two hands. The greatest and most renowned of all, consecrated to Saints Vitus and Aldabert, shall soon stand, for it has been being constructed for nearly fifty years and soon shall be completed. Under Emperor Charles a University was founded as well, which provides learning in four arts, and from many distant lands do foreigners come to study. If one was to visit only one city in life, may one make haste to Prague, for there is no more beautiful city in the world.
If something has been written about the symbolism of numbers, we must distinguish between what is significant for algebra and therefore for mathematics and what is significant for astrology and gematria. We can only differentiate one from the other with the help of God and the judgment that God gives to those seek His assistance in studying the work of creation, and heed not the voices from the dark abyss from whence His fallen servants call to them with sweet tones.
The ancient Greek scholar Aristotle says that nature abhors a vacuum and therefore fills all empty spaces with ether. Nevertheless, we must account for empty space because its filling causes movement in all directions, such as the displacement of a stone in flight by other matter that fills the entire world around it. Therefore, emptiness exists only if it is being filled by something else at the same moment.
The beginning must always be sought in God, and God is unity, symbolised by the numeral One. This One alone unites, and all other numbers are merely its multiplication. The numeral One is the Creator in His completeness and perfection. Furthermore, there are two certainties. First, that every whole can always be divided into parts, which we call fractions, and second, that opposed to the work of creation is the emptiness from which everything emerged and which God’s work has been filling since the beginning. If numbers rise upwards from the Arabic 1 by multiplication, then the emptiness must necessarily be found on the opposite side. Thus, what is found here is Castrensis’s Zero, represented by the symbol of a dot, a circle, or two Babylonian oblique wedges, which he himself adopted from the Persian scholar Al-Khwarizmi, known as Algorithmus.
Zero itself can neutralise or absorb, but it can never amplify or divide. Neutralisation occurs by addition, where the initial value remains the same. Absorption occurs by multiplication. For amplification, zero is always irrelevant, as its emptiness inevitably results in only emptiness. If every whole can be divided infinitely, there must necessarily be a multitude of other numbers between Algorithmus’s empty zero and the number 1, which are the fractions of the whole according to the chosen system. All these numbers can then be equally well represented by the symbol 0 with a dot and an Arabic numeral, as by the symbol of a fraction. In this way, we can infinitely record smaller wholes and never reach emptiness, as we will always find the next half of the previous half. So, where does this zero lie? How is it that it is not present, yet we need it? Let us ask where it does not lie, and thus best describe its emptiness while preserving our sanity when gazing into the bottomless abyss of nothingness.
Book of NotesMarch 4 - Transfer of St. Wenceslas / Translatio sancti Wenceslai
Mr. Chamberlain Ulrich was here again, but this time he did not come to quarrel with me, but on the contrary came running with a plea. His stomach is bothering him. After a short examination I immediately knew that he was suffering from a stomach ulcer, but I had not forgotten the unprecedented humiliation he had caused me, so instead of a professional diagnosis, I muttered something about Galen and the body fluids, threw up my hands helplessly and escorted him out. Since he thinks I’m a dim-witted ignoramus, he probably expected nothing better from me and settled for my little lie.
April 14 - Feast of Saints Valerianus and Tiburcius / Tyburcii et Valeriani martyrum
I caught the maid, Katherine, rummaging through my things in my storeroom across from the lab. As I have a constant supply of decoctions, tinctures and medicines in my chest, the unprofessional use of which can be dangerous, she may be glad I only scolded her.
Although I have to admit, she’s got it in for me. In the middle of my lecture on the dangers of nightshade extract, I found myself staring at her plump cleavage. Let’s just say I let the rest of her transgressions go unnoticed. But I’ll be locking the chest carefully from now on, as well as the chest with raw materials I keep right next to my apparatus.
April 23 - Bishop St. Adalbert / Adalberti episcopi et martyrum
Chamberlain Ulrich was here again, this time quite unpleasant and threatening. He said that if I couldn’t deal with his problem, I have nothing to do at Trosky. I told him that his problem was quite rare (which obviously flattered him) and that I could only treat common ailments. His problem would need a real physician. And since I flattered him and made a fool of myself, he was satisfied with my explanation. But he demanded that I recommend someone. I sent him to Kolin to see Professor Joachim Bavorsky, who is known to be a rather eccentric astrologer. The meeting of these two figures will certainly be amusing, I almost wish I could see it. I cannot prolong the sufferings of this pompous snob indefinitely, however, as it might turn against me. Next time I’ll make him my digestive potion. Two handfuls of thistle, some nettle leaves and a little charcoal, which in small quantities is known to aid digestion, will do the trick.
April 30 - Octave of St. Adalbert / Octava sancti Adalberti
The scribe Erazim lay down with a fever, which probably came from an inflamed wound on his right hand. I have thus an occasion to try my new decoction against the fevers which accompany inflammations of various kinds. It’s a simple decoction made from ingredients that are quite readily available. The decoction is prepared from boiled wine, three parts of feverfew, two parts of grated ginger and one part of elderberry leaves.
I got the ginger in the castle kitchen, although it was a struggle because the chest with the precious spices is locked and has had a broken lock on it for years. But the cooks were unusually kind and gave me a good measure. The rest I kept well in storage, as the last of my supply had mysteriously disappeared.
Fortunately, the feverfew grows right in the forecourt, on the terrace on the path to the lower gate. I’m not a herbalist, so I had a bit of trouble finding it, as it looks almost identical to chamomile. As for the elderberry leaves, I visited the carpenter above the upper gate. I know well that they dye their cloth in secret right behind the workshop and then sell it around the village, so they have an abundance of elderberry leaves.
May 2 - Sigismund the Martyr / Sigismundi Regis et Martyris
Erazim the scribe was with me again. The fever had apparently subsided, but he demanded my tonic again. He said the fever keeps coming back at night, which is not unusual, but my tonicum should not be given lightly. I therefore gave him another dose, but warned him that it was the last. He made a rather strange face and then proceeded to question me rather clumsily about the composition of the tonic.
I didn’t tell him that, of course. So I gave him some talk about the domes of Mars and the phases of the moon, so that it was clear that without a scholar of my capacity he would not prepare any miraculous concoction. I wonder when he’ll come again.
The history of Troskowitz, written down by the famous Bailiff Brada.
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Troskovice Chronicle as laid down by Bailiff Brada
Zdena under the Root The summer of the year thirteen hundred and twenty-seven was eventful. Quam gravis aestas erat - it seems impossible to write it all down here. Fear then sank its claws especially into old Zdena, who has a cottage near the forest. Per unam noctem in mense Iulio - listen to all that has happened. Zdena went into the woods, but in the darkness she went astray, fell down the hill and remained wedged in the roots of a tree. Half the village went to look for the poor woman, but the root prisoner herself could not answer their call to Zdena. Timor illam vocem subripuit - it was not until the morning that the woman was freed.
About the Avenue of the Strange God has breathed many beautiful places into our region, to make it fit for human life. Deus dedit nobis terram perfectam - Of one place I will now tell you. On a hill near the pond of Vidlák, there is an avenue of strange trees, consisting of oaks, rowan trees and birches. Quercus, Sorbus, Betula - under one a battle was fought. Raubritter Albrecht and his band are said to have been defeated here a hundred years ago, and the tree adorns the site of his death. The other tree is of simpler origin and reminds us of the border between the lands of Tachov and Želejov. Optima ad finem - let us also speak of another tree. The third of the trees provides protection from the storm, for it attracts lightning from all around. There are hundreds of similar places in this region, but next time we will tell about them, so as not to shame other countries.
Spring in Troskovice Like every spring, the most gracious and wise swift man, who is invited by Brada, inspected the fields and the living creatures and made this record. Sicut lex iubet villico - let us begin with the cattle for milk. There are fewer cows but more oxen in Troskovice this year. We have nice and big goats and plenty of sows too. Thanks to the cottagers Tomáš and Šimek, we have the two biggest bulls in the whole region. Nunc de terra fama - let’s count the ground under our feet. The fields are still in the same management, even the land above the inn has not changed its lord, because the wedding of Anča and Vasek was ruined when the father of the bride, in his drunkenness, called Vasek a fool who had sex with sheep.
The tree that bled Troskovice witnessed terrible events when Brenek and Michal, two local shepherds, decided to cut down a tree in the meadow above Vidlak. Non fuit bona idea - half the village is angry with them now. The tree they chose to cut down is known for attracting lightning from far and wide to protect the good people, but it endangers the cattle in the pasture. Arbor inchoata cruentatur - Michael first struck the trunk with the axe. But no sooner had he raised the instrument to cut again, than red blood began to gush from the wound. The horrible phenomenon so frightened both men that they threw down their axes and fled home. The parish priest, who was summoned to the scene, did not declare the tree miraculous, but the locals know their own and believe that the tree will not allow evil things to happen to it or in its vicinity.
A great recounting of the soil The lord of the Troshechi gave orders to measure the soil in the spring, to increase the quantity of grain brought to him. Dominus noster justus est - he shall take six sacks of wheat. And after the fields had been measured, the young men were brought to the proper places where the manor’s grain was, that they might receive a good cutting, and so remember their place until death. Verberas magnus erat - let us know these boys. Janek from the inn, Karel from the pigs, Ales from the carpenter’s, Martin from Tachov, Simon from Hoňsobě, Petr the whistle, Matěj the curly-haired, and Olbram from Želejov, with whom, however, there is constant trouble, for he remembers his place badly even after repeated beatings!
Vashek Hanged Death has shrouded our land with a dark cloud, for Vashek, the shepherd, was found hanged. O mors est atrox et inutilis - all Troskovice mourned for him. Vashek, who had spent his life alone, and perhaps only loved Anca from the tavern, was buried outside the holy ground, for he had taken his own life. Today, the shepherds have returned to the fatal meadow, but the hanged man’s tree continues to be circumvented. We can only give thanks to Vashek for not choosing the tree commemorating the famous battle for his heinous act, although he committed it in its vicinity. He could not have harmed the reputation and weight of the precious tree in any way.
The Brothers of the Commonwealth Aleš and Míka, sons of the carpenter Marek, who had fallen down in age last winter, certainly did not take after their father. Ever since their uncle Josef came from Mladějov to take over their upbringing, both of them began to shun people, and various rumours began to circulate among the good people of Troskovice about how the brothers were always gloomy and did not like to stay alone with their uncle. Res etiam graviores malae factae sunt - then the brothers left their native land. But uncle Joseph forbade the brothers to look for them, and began to tell various stories about their idleness. Ambo fratres magna peccata habebant - they were said to have wanted to have devilish intercourse with their uncle. Joseph took the cottage as his own, but he still cannot manage the land formerly belonging to his brothers. For it was the younger Ales who had their borders in mind, for he had once been cut on them. This story should therefore be a warning to future generations that a new way of marking boundaries must be created.
Francek Bezočka The young rooter, who settled in Apolena, had to come again among the honest people, because Francek, who was herding cattle on a farm, got into a cross with a bull. Taurus eum invasit - the bull can break his ouds. When the animal, enraged, rushed at the poor man, he wanted to hide in the crown of the miraculous tree, so that the tree, which does not allow evil, would protect him from the beast. But Francek, in his confusion, mistook the trees, and climbed up the oak instead of the miraculous tree. Magnum clamorem audivimus - then the real abomination happened! The bull knocked Francek down from the oak with one blow, his body was torn to pieces, and even his eye was gouged out with his horn. Although the oak is certainly not a miraculous tree, it brought Francek good luck, for he did not lose his life and returned to work after eight Sundays.
Guests of the lord of Trosky The lord of Trosky often organizes great dances and invites important guests from all around. These events might not be of interest to our people if the Chamberlain of Trosecky did not take advantage of the situation. O tanta aviditas in corde suo - Conrad is the name of a bad servant. He often lures his master’s guests out of the castle to show them the surroundings, and on that occasion he extorts small gifts from the noble lords. Among other places, he leads the lords to a strange alley to show them the bloody tree and the tree of the hanged man and to amuse them with bloody stories. Conradus non est nostrum - only our rowan tree does not show the guests.
Margaret’s Lovers It is not for a decent man to judge another’s love, but the circle of Margaret’s lovers is already asking to be noticed. Illa femina multum viros amat - the brothers Martin and John had time to ask her. The woman, however, did not want to return the love of the brothers and chose another man for herself, thus causing immense grief to the brothers. Pax animae Johannis - John, in his distress, threw himself off the rock! The body of John, unrequited by love, lay under the rock between Troskovice and Tachov, and was buried outside the holy ground. Tristis erat frater eis - Martin then went to meet the world. The brother of the deceased left our country after a great mourning and is said to have become a member of a knightly order in foreign lands.
Our Unique Bailiff
A capite ad calcem – we celebrate Brada to the helm. Gloria in excelsis deo – for we esteem him so. Consumbstantialem Patri – He belongs with us, truly! In nomine domini – our bailiff one and only. Qui locutus est per Prophetas – he won’t leave us to the brigands’ grasp. Kyrie Eleison – he can handle all on his own! Et apostolicam Ecclesiam – he is always fair to us, this man. Dominus Deus Sabaoth – he is full of wisdom and growth. Benedicimus te – and how learned he can be! Et vitam venturi saeculi – he ensures we live happily.
And if people knew just one thing about him truly – Fecit ordinem in regione ope clavi ferrei
Old chronicle of the Knights of the Cross with a red star. The blank sheets of parchment at the end of the book reveal that its author never finished it.
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Chronicle of Crusaders
The history of the rise and fall of the noble and honourable order of the Knights of the Cross. Thank God and Christ that He has been pleased to guide my hand and bless me in the unworthy thing which I have, perhaps, only presumed to do out of insolent pride. I give attention to work where others cannot, to record what is not to be forgotten. Concordia res parva crescunt. Discordia res maxima dilabuntur.
About the founding of the Knights of the Cross There have always been many foreign religious orders in the Kingdom of Bohemia, but none of them have ever come from our roots. The blessed daughter of Premysl, Agnes of Bohemia, seeing the misery and suffering of her subjects, who, plagued by sickness and wounds, had nowhere to turn, founded in the year 1233, at her female monastery, the humble hospital brotherhood of St. Francis. By the grace of God, unity and devotion to helping their fellow men, the brothers soon achieved renown, so that after only two years the brotherhood moved to the church of St. Peter under the old town of Vyšehrad in Prague. Many clerics and priests now came with an interest in joining the Order, which was not even a real Order yet. In the year of the Lord 1237, through the intercession of the blessed Agnes of Bohemia, Pope Gregory IX himself took the Hospitallers under his protection, so that no foreign power could harm them and they would have to confess to him and to God alone. The Bull Omnipotens Deus established the brotherhood as the Knights of the Cross.
About Judith’s Bridge Blessed Daniel, the thirteenth Bishop of Prague, had the intention of building a stone bridge where for centuries only deep fords and sandy paths led across the Vltava River. The bishop also won his king Vladislav II Premyslide and his wife Judith, when they were in Italy on a campaign against the Milanese in the summer of 1158 and took a great wealth there.The bishop also enlisted excellent Italian craftsmen to build Prague’s oldest bridge, so that it was said to have been built in just three years, so that it was possible to cross between the Old Town on the eastern bank to the sub-castle of the old Premyslid kings’ seat on the west. Named Judith’s Bridge after the noble patroness of the building, it became the oldest in the Bohemian Kingdom and the third stone bridge north of the Alps before the terrible flood in the year of the Lord 1342 destroyed it.
About the founding of the hospital in the Old Town of Prague In the year of the Lord 1252, under the second Grand Master Conrad called Swabian, because he came from Swabia, the brothers moved to the foot of the Judith Bridge and founded a new large hospital there. In addition to caring for the wounded and sick, the Order was given the privilege by the gracious King Wenceslas I to collect customs duties on the bridge for its repairs. The new hospital with the Church of the Holy Spirit soon became the main seat of the Order, which flourished greatly in those blessed years thanks to the beneficence of the King and other Bohemian lords. They thought of their immortal souls by having other hospitals built in their towns for the greater glory of God.
About the death of Blessed Agnes of Premyslid After the severe winter in the year of the Lord 1282, under the administration of the fourth Grand Master, who was Otto of Saxony, died the venerable abbess, the Most Holy Agnes of the Premyslid family, called Bohemian, who founded the Order of the Knights of the Cross and contributed most to its flourishing. This woman, in her holy work, never married, although many princes aspired to her, and on the contrary she dedicated her life to God. Together with other noble maidens she founded the Convent of the Poor Virgins of St. Clare and became its first abbess. Here she cared for the poor and the sick and, as a daughter of the king, sought to right wrongs, always protecting the poor from the strong and powerful. Kyrie, eleison.
On the growth of the Order The Crusader Order stood faithfully by the Premyslid family for many years, and for this it received many benefits. But when King Wenceslas III was assassinated in Olomouc in the year of the Lord 1306, the country was in a terrible state of lawlessness for five years. Then the Order of the Cross fortified their commandery, but not their hearts. Many pilgrims continued to find relief from illness within the walls of the hospitals. Finally, the turmoil was ended by the coronation of the new King John of Luxembourg. The Order did well in his service, but it was his son, Emperor Charles IV, who brought the order to its true growth. Thanks to him, the order acquired a wealth of learned foreign books, holy relics and other mysteries. The Order’s commanderies abounded from Cheb to Vratislava in Silesia, and many villages, mills, ponds and castles fell under the sovereign power of the Grand Master Frederick.
On the Fire of the Order’s Commandery The death of the blessed Emperor Charles IV in the year of the Lord 1378 ignited a spark of sinful hatred. Only a few hours after the death of the illustrious emperor, a red rooster engulfed the entire Order’s commandery in the Old Town of Prague. The flames quickly consumed the entire church, the hospital and the Order’s library containing thousands of precious manuscripts and holy relics. Many of the sick and the brothers who had thrown themselves into the fire for them were burned. The terrible loss was all the greater because the land books and records also disappeared. It was very well contrived. For the new pope, Urban VI, did not look kindly on rich monasteries and rebellious orders, and gave his bishops free rein to intrigue. Much of the Order’s property was soon lost under strange circumstances. Old Grand Master Frederick died two years later and could no longer look on at the misdeeds of his brothers. His successor was elected Zdeněk, who, however, more than concerned with the reformation of things, was on the contrary more concerned with intrigue, and conspired with the Prague chapter against the archbishop, so that truth and unity came to a great detriment. God, what dark times have come for our order. We have fallen prey to the whore of Babylon and have been poisoned by the poison from her breast. For by courtesy small things grow, but by discord even the greatest things crumble to dust.
About the greatest ruler of the Kingdom of Bohemia, Charles IV, who excelled above all other kings and raised the country from the ashes.
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Charles IV. King of Bohemia and the Holy Roman Emperor
He was the greatest and most venerated of Czech rulers, whose legacy shall forever be indelibly etched into the hearts of the Bohemians and into their country, for no other ruler can come close to exceeding his deeds or his leadership. He was born in the year of our Lord 1316 as the firstborn son of John of Luxembourg and Elizabeth of Bohemia of the Premyslid dynasty, and thus through his veins flowed the blood of both of those famous families, but it was the Premyslid blood that later brought him, as emperor of the whole Holy Roman Empire, back to his country, where his seat he did establish. For when the old king died and left the kingdom to his son, it was desolate and impoverished, and young Charles, who made haste to receive the crown, could not yet properly speak the language of the Bohemians. Soon thereafter he learned to speak as fluently as any other Bohemian and could converse in four other tongues as well, for he was learned and he did begin to write a book of his own.
By his hand the kingdom was soon ameliorated and he rose it to great glory, whether through his skill at arranging marriages of state (he was wed four times, each time acquiring a new wife and a new piece of territory that he received as a dowry), or through building and education, which during his reign flourished greatly, or through the newly founded University at Prague, which achieved renown throughout all of Europe. The construction projects that he commenced include Prague’s New Town, which he founded on the opposite bank of the Vltava, a stone bridge that connected the Old Town and the New and has no match in Europe, and Karlstein Castle, which amongst fortifications is a building of most fine ornament and rich decoration. He rose up the Kingdom of Bohemia within the Holy Roman Empire, for by his decree the King of Bohemia became one of the prince-electors.
When, after a long reign, he died in 1378, the entire land was plunged into grief and thousands of people followed his coffin. In the eulogy given by the bishop at his funeral, he was called the “father of the nation” and may that epithet remain his for all time. His sons, Wenceslas and Sigismund, quarrel over the throne to this day, for Wenceslas as the rightful heir has failed as a king and favours hunting and amusement over ruling, and his brother Sigismund has invaded the country with a massive military force and has seized the power that once belonged to his father.
One of the copies of the execution book from the Kuttenberg Town Hall. It records the testimonies and statements of captured criminals.
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Book of Executions Volume IX.
This is a copy of the ninth volume of the confessions of captured wicked persons, who thus spoke under torture to the bailiff or during interrogation before the Kuttenberg city court. I: The Year Ninety-Eight Vashek, the shepherd from Sukov, son of Milota, carpenter from Grund, confessed under torture that he stole a skirt and a belt with a bag in Kuttenberg. He then confessed that he went stealing rye and geese with Petr Maly from Sedletz from a farmer in Pschitok. He stole a good coat, boots and a shirt from the farmer Petr Kuklik. He lost all of it gambling in Kuttenberg, and the local innkeeper paid him eight groschen for it, even though the neighbour Vanyek told her the coat was stolen. The innkeeper replied, “Stolen or not, that’s fine” II: The Confession of Jira the Thrice Wicked Jira, called Shourek, confessed that he killed a townsman from Brod on the road near Wysoka, taking from him three score of groschen, clothes and a good horse. He further confessed to killing a certain Nicholas on the Kolin road and also a German, who tried to harm him with his testimony. Then, along with three accomplices, Matthew from Krzesetitz, a certain Jakubek from Maleshov and Martin Dlouhy from Rabstein, they attacked the bailiff in Bylany because he discovered their theft of thirty horses. Finally, he confessed that they all frequented Rabstein and sent the miller under Cimburk to sell the goods. III: Anno et cet. XXIII fer. III post Invocavit Thomas, called Barak, confessed that when three from Raborsch went to Brod, he went with them and stole a fish weir from the fisherman Plavsky, eating all the fish at Klima’s in Horka. They would not let the host leave to report them. Then they beat a carter from Kosteletz and stole three ells of cloth from him, which they dyed, made into clothes and sold the rest to Nohejl in Aujezd. He also confessed that they went on raids to Brod and divided the spoils at Horka, where they all benefited and received their share from each raid. IV: Pavuchek from the Mill He admitted buying whatever came to him without asking about its origin and even picking locks on chests himself. In Suchdol, he took cushions, sheets and seven good pillows, removed the feathers, sold them, and handed over the fabrics in Kuttenberg as payment for a debt to the innkeeper Beikovetz. Dushko, the forester’s son, often visited him and sold him axes, wedges and ropes stolen from woodcutters in the forest. He led two maidservants from Mesoles to Devil’s Den, where he sold them, which they reportedly did willingly, but they had little benefit from it, so they complained about Pavuchek, and he beat them until they could not walk. V: In Mesoles Martin, the steward from Pernstein, confessed that he secretly captured people with his henchmen to prevent them from going to market in Kuttenberg. He did this under the commission of Sir Butzek, and they made six thousand groschen. He then divided this among his men who joined him on the raids. The steward also confessed that they frequently targeted the Miskowitz estate, from where they took horses and other livestock. In Mesoles, they stole a good horse, a sword and five cheeses from Knight Havel’s yard, beat him severely, and subsequently set the barn on fire to prevent his hands from pursuing them.
Though it may seem otherwise at times, our Lord is equally gracious to all men, and exalts none above another. The rich men of Kuttenberg were convinced of this truth when, in the second year of the reign of King Charles, they held sinful feasts in the town hall until God himself stopped them.
At that time a plague was raging in the city and in the surrounding area, which was mowing people down by the hundreds. But the rich, convinced that their earthly power would protect them from the punishment of God, made nothing of the disease, and spent their days and nights in drinking, during which they overfed, fornicated, and committed other sins in abundance. But the fact that they did not care about the death of everyone around them did not mean that death did not care about them.
No wonder, therefore, that at one of those unclean feasts a deadly contagion broke out, which would surely have swept the whole city, had not the zealous guards, who locked the drunken lords and ladies in the feast hall, protected the others. And in vain did the rich beat at the door, and begged for mercy with entreaties and threats. It took three weeks for the Lord to put an end to their suffering.
Their bodies, together with all the costly clothing and valuables they had brought to the feast, were taken to the cemetery in Sedletz. They were buried there in the northernmost corner in a mass grave. The place is still marked by a stone circle and a large cross with a wreath of flowers.
The story of the mythical Trojan War, describing the siege of the wealthy ancient city of Troy by the Greek army and its ruthless conquest by the Mycenaean king.
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Trojan Chronicle Guido de Columnis
Thus begins the story of the killing of the heroic Hector, the Trojan prince, which occurred in the tenth year of the war between the Achaeans and the defenders of the city of Troy. After thirty days of truce, both armies were once again preparing for battle. On the night before the battle, Andromache, Hector’s wife, had a terrible vision that her husband would not escape death the next day. In the dark of the night, she immediately revealed everything to her husband and begged him not to go into battle, but Hector harshly rebuked her, saying that it was not fitting for warriors to flee from the fight because of deceptive dreams. Andromache ran to the king and queen to implore them to forbid their son from going into battle, warning that they would surely be burying him if they did not. They all knelt before Hector, pleading with him in tears, but he ignored them and prepared for battle. He mounted his horse and rode out before the assembled Trojan army. Then began the terrible battle between the Achaeans and the Trojans, with countless men attacking each other so fiercely that a thousand died on the spot before the ranks even clashed. Amid the calls of horns and the sounds of pipes, the Greek king Menelaus struck hard at the Syrian allies, but the Trojans did not let them fall, and the battle raged fiercely where it had previously calmed. There fought Troilus, there his rival King Telamon, and elsewhere Achilles and his Myrmidons were pushing the Trojans back toward the city. So many heroic deeds were performed in such a short time. Achilles planned to capture the Trojan prince Margaretis, but killed him in the battle. When Prince Hector saw this, he immediately launched an attack with his men, killing many Greek nobles. Achilles quickly realised that fortune was turning against the Achaeans and would not allow them to triumph over the Trojans. But then Polices, the betrothed of Achilles’ sister, arrived on the battlefield with his men and attacked Hector, who killed him. Thus, the two princes finally faced each other in battle, seeking vengeance for their fallen comrades. Achilles first attacked Hector, but Hector wounded him in the thigh with a spear, forcing his enemy to withdraw from the fight to have his wound bandaged. Later, as Achilles was searching for his foe, he saw that Hector had captured a Greek lord and was therefore without a shield. He spurred his horse and struck Hector so hard in the chest that the prince fell dead on the spot. The loyal companion Odemon, seeing Hector’s death, immediately knocked Achilles from his horse with a spear, making everyone believe he was dead, and they carried him from the field. When the Trojans saw their greatest and bravest among them fall, they ended the battle and, with great weeping, lamentation, and grief that cannot be described or expressed, carried his dead body back to their city.
Heu michi misero, quia iratum adversus me constitui Redemptorem meum, et legem suam contumaciter neglexi. Iter rectum sponte deserui; et per invia longe lateque circumactus sum. Aspera quelibet et inaccessa penetravi; et ubique labor et angustie. Unus aut alter ex gregibus brutorum; et inter lustra ferarum habitatio mea. In anxietatibus cum voluptate versatus sum; et in sentibus cubile meum stravi. Et obdormivi in interitum; et speravi requiem in tormentis. Nunc igitur quid agam? Quo me in tantis periculis vertam? Spes adolescentie mee corruerunt omnes. Et factus sum naufrago simillimus, qui, mercibus amissis, nudus enatat, iactatus ventis et pelago. Elongatus ego sum a portu, et viam salutis non apprehendo, sed rapior sinistrorsum. Video tenuiter quidem; sed hinc michi gravius duellum, quia irascor michimet, et anime mee sum infestus. Irascor peccatis meis, sed ingenti miseriarum mole depressus sum; nec est respirandi locus. Sepe fugam retentavi, et vetustum iugum excutere meditatus sum; sed inheret ossibus. O si tandem excidat a collo meo! Excidet confestim, si tu iusseris, Altissime. O si michi sic irascar ut te diligam, vel sero! Sed multum timeo, quia libertas mea meis manibus labefacta est. Iuste crucior: consensi. Labore torqueor dignissimo. Quid michi procuravi demens? Cathenam meam ipse contexui, et incidi volens in insidias mortis. Retia michi disposuit hostis, quacumque ibam; et pedibus meis laqueos tetendit. Ego autem despexi, et incessi securus inter lubrica, et in peccatis michi blanditus sum. Credidi iuventutis decus non aberrare, et secutus sum qua me tulit impetus. Et dixi mecum: quid ante medium de extremis cogitas? Habet etas quelibet suos fines. Videt iste Deus, sed irridet; facillimus erit ad veniam. Converti poteris cum voles. Nunc consuetudo pessima suum vindicat mancipium, et vincit manus frustra reluctanti. Quo fugiam non habeo, nam et ego vinctus sum, et refugium meum longe est. Moriar in peccatis meis, nisi auxilium michi veniat ex alto. Non merui, fateor; sed tu, Domine, miserere, et extende manum tuam pereunti. Et, memor promissionum tuarum, eripe me de faucibus inferni! Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui sancto. Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in secula seculorum. Amen.
Or, The Book about the Heavens and the Earth is an important work by the French philosopher and astronomer Nicole Oresme. In the book he speculates, among other things, that the visible movement of the heavenly bodies from the earth may be only apparent and its real cause is the movement of the earth through the cosmos.
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On Heaven and Earth Nicole Oresmus
God be praised, here begins Aristotle’s treatise On Heaven and Earth, which I, Nicole Oresmus, dean of the church of Rouen, propose to translate and explain in French by order of the almighty and most illustrious Prince Charles, the fifth named, by the grace of God, king of France, seeker and lover of all noble wisdom. This work bears this title because it treats of the heavens and the elements of which the world is composed, the word world including the four elements contained in and under the heavens; for in this treatise the world is commonly interpreted otherwise to mean the whole mass of the heavens together with the four elements. Elsewhere world is used in several other senses not relevant to this treatise.This work contains four separate books. In the first of these, Aristotle considers the cosmos as a whole, as a unit in itself, and discusses its characteristic properties; in the second book he discusses the heavens; in the third book he examines the views of his predecessors on the elements; in the fourth book he expresses his own view of the elements. The first book contains thirty-six chapters.
In the first chapter, Aristotle proves that the world is perfect in both quantity and size.
In the second chapter, he explains how bodies in the world are capable of three simple movements.
In the third chapter, he applies his observations regarding local movements to several earthly bodies.
In the fourth chapter, he presents five reasons why, in addition to the four elements, it is necessary to assume another simple body.
In the fifth chapter, he shows that the heavens are neither heavy nor light.
In the sixth chapter, he suggests that the heavens could neither have been created, nor corrupted, nor increased, nor decreased, nor changed.
In the seventh chapter, he presents three proofs of what he has just stated.
In the eighth chapter, he shows that circular movement is not contradictory.
In the ninth chapter, he aims to determine whether there exists any infinite body.
In the tenth chapter, he shows that it is impossible for a body moving in a circle to be infinite.
In the eleventh chapter, he shows that no body capable of straight-line motion can be infinite.
In the twelfth chapter, he shows that neither heaviness nor lightness can be infinite.
In the thirteenth chapter, he broadly argues that no body can be infinite, basing his reasons on the rules governing local movement.
In the fourteenth chapter, he shows that no body can be infinite, using reasons based generally on all types of movements or actions.
In the fifteenth chapter, he presents other, more general and less obvious reasons to show that no body can be infinite.
In the sixteenth chapter, he proposes to determine whether there exist or can exist multiple worlds, and with two arguments proves that they cannot.
In the seventeenth chapter, he proves with another argument that there can only be one world.
In the eighteenth chapter, he proves that the elements move to certain specific places without the distance to them being infinite, which he had previously assumed.
In the nineteenth chapter, he refutes views contrary to what is stated in the previous chapter.
In the twentieth chapter, he again proves with two reasons that there can be only one world.
In the twenty-first chapter, he presents the reason why some believed that multiple worlds could exist.
In the twenty-second chapter, he finds an answer to the above argument, thereby confirming his view.
In the twenty-third chapter, he shows that no living body can exist outside this world, which he had previously assumed.
In the twenty-fourth chapter, he shows that there is nothing concerning a living body outside this world.
In the twenty-fifth chapter, he begins to question whether the world is eternal, and discusses the views of other ancient thinkers.
In the twenty-sixth chapter, he refutes Plato’s view.
In the twenty-seventh chapter, he refutes the views of Empedocles and Anaxagoras.
In the twenty-eighth chapter, he precisely explains various concepts that he will continue to use.
In the twenty-ninth chapter, he addresses the problem of the possible and the impossible with respect to a given force.
In the thirtieth chapter, he asserts and begins to prove that everything that had a beginning, and all things subject to change, will have an end, and also that everything that ends had or will have a beginning.
In the thirty-first chapter, he tries to prove as a universal law that what is not without a beginning is not without an end, and if it is not without an end, then it is not without a beginning; also, that what has no beginning is eternal, and if it is eternal, it is without a beginning.
In the thirty-second chapter, he shows how certain concepts used in this area of study are translatable.
In the thirty-third chapter, he again tries to prove that everything that had a beginning will necessarily have an end, and that everything that will have an end had a beginning.
In the thirty-fourth chapter, he further argues the same problem.
In the thirty-fifth chapter, he defends the idea that all perishable things will necessarily be destroyed, and further argues the previous question.
In the thirty-sixth chapter, he provides another more specific reason from natural science to support his claim.
The last will of Emperor Charles bound in covers, to be preserved for posterity.
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Testament Tangermünde, 13 October 1377 We, Charles, by the grace of God, Emperor of Rome, for ever expander of the Empire and King of Bohemia, confess publicly that on account of the health difficulties we are experiencing, we feel the need, with God’s help, to establish, in the name of peace, such an arrangement that our trust shall be proportionately divided among all the heirs. With deliberation and knowledge of the arrangements, as well as after hearing the voices of counsel, we hereby make our last will and testament, to be followed and observed.
Firstly the most noble Prince Wenceslas, King of the Romans, for ever the propagator of the Empire and King of Bohemia, shall receive all the estates which fall under the Bohemian Crown, including the territories in Poland and Silesia, Vratislav, Hlohov, Frankenstein in Schlesien, Stínava and Hory, as well as Budyšínsko and all other principalities, lands, landsmen and their subjects belonging thereto. In memory of our father, the most illustrious King John, he shall administer all the other territories and estates which the latter annexed to our Kingdom, as well as the land from Svídnice to Javor, the inheritance of his mother.
Furthermore the most noble Sigismund, Margrave of Brandenburg, Archduke and Elector of the Holy Roman Empire, our dear son, shall receive the Brandenburg Mark, the territory old and new, including the lands which fall under the administration of the Roman Crown, that is to say, the estates, fortresses and fields lying on the Oder as far as the town of Oderberg, with all the bridges of the Oder, and with it the inseparable right for life to rule over all the landsmen and their estates in that territory.
Furthermore the most noble John, Duke of Zhořelec, our son, shall acquire and hold the Duchy of Zhořelec with the town of Zhořelec, whose territory shall be extended for ever to the lands of Lusatia and Budyšín, and on towards Poland to the Margraviate of Brandenburg. Together with this, he and his successors will be entitled to the Brandenburg inheritance between the Oder and Würz rivers, with the right to incorporate these under the Duchy of Zhořelec.
The fourth book of the Roman poet Ovid, in which the hero Perseus tells how he beheaded the mythical Gorgon Medusa, who had poisonous snakes for hair and whose terrible gaze turned her opponents to stone.
Thus begins the tale of Medusa, daughter of the sea god Phorcys, who was transformed by the goddess Minerva for her pride. On the Ethiopian coast, where sharp rocks jut out and waves crash against the shore, the youth Perseus killed the terrible monster Ceto, which Poseidon had sent for Princess Andromeda, and turned her to stone. Near the city of Joppa, he first wounded her with his sword and then turned her to stone. For this brave deed, he immediately married the princess, and when a cow was sacrificed to Minerva, Hermes received a calf, and a bull was offered to Zeus. King Cepheus asked the brave young man how he had accomplished all this. After partaking of the exquisite dishes, Perseus finally spoke of his journey beyond the cold Ocean for the head of Medusa. He told of a safe place beyond the sea, where in the rocks the three Gorgons, daughters of Phorcys, dreadful witches, had their abode. Only Medusa among them was mortal, but her gaze was so terrifying that it turned anyone who looked at her to stone. Many such unfortunate souls stood there as stones along the hidden paths for eternity. And then, before the Ethiopian king, Perseus recalled how the goddess Pallas Athena had given him a magical sickle, a helmet, and wise advice to look at Medusa’s face only through its reflection on his shield to evade her dreadful curse. Moreover, wearing his magical helmet, he was invisible to the Gorgon, so she searched for him in vain, trying to kill him by sound alone. Perseus quickly beheaded her from an ambush, took her head, and escaped the remaining two immortal sisters on Hermes’ winged sandals. At the feast, a nobleman asked the young man why the monster had venomous snakes woven into her hair. To this, Perseus replied that he had heard that the Gorgon was originally a fair maiden with beautiful hair, but she shamefully sinned with the god Neptune in Minerva’s temple, and thus the scorned goddess turned her hair into snakes.
Scabies and growths of the skin of all manner, the same as insects and all low, crawling creatures, have been the bane of mankind since time immemorial. For he who wishes to protect his body, he must sleep less amongst cattle, at least once a fortnight wash himself in water or visit a bath, and expose his clothes to the sun. For water and sun drive away all ailments of the skin, whilst sickness does flourish where there is the filth and stench of the human body. Keep distance from vagrants and beggars, for it is they who are the greatest bearers of illness and they can easily infect you.
Fleas
Take a new pot and grease it well with goat’s lard, and it shall draw all fleas into it or they shall congregate around it. You may also pour a decoction of wormwood in your hearth room. It is also said that fleas shall die when in your hearth room you boil wolf’s dung or wormwood with rue. But there is nothing surer than oft sweeping the floors of debris with a broom and every morn hanging and drying your bedding in the sun. It is likewise advisable to take a warm bath, but if the bath is not warm, then cold will suffice as well, and to have your clothes laundered and dried in the sun. If you follow these instructions, you are sure to rid yourself of fleas..
Warts
Take young dandelions and apply a thick layer of their milk to warts and they shall die. Or take groundsel (Lat. Senico) and churn it and mix it with liquid vinegar and apply it to warts. Or rub them oft with but salt and warm vinegar. Or take a grey-spotted Amanita mushroom and rub it on a wart. In all of these manners can you rid yourself of warts. You should not cut them off with a knife, nor should you burn them with a hot iron, for then they shall quickly return, and often in greater abundance.
And the women in their warring oft employed deceit and ambuscade. Here under the guise of a lover one slit the throat of a young man; there another, feigning to be a respectable daughter, her own father in his own home did stab. One day Ctirad, who did in combat slay a great number of Vlasta’s she-warriors, set off with a company of his men and did with their own ears hear a mournful crying and did see with their own eyes a beautiful girl chained nearby a rock, a hunter’s horn hanging from her neck, who entreated them to show unto her mercy and to free her from her bonds.
Ctirad, having cast aside all caution, dismounted and did draw near to the girl to set her free. The girl gave thanks unto him and did relay to him that she was called Sharka and that the women of Děvín had pounced upon her and bound her for her unwillingness to wage war against the men, and to humiliate her had hung the horn upon her neck for her to call for help. And before her they set a vessel of mead, for her agony to stoke as she died of thirst. He comforted her and together the mead they did drink and they conversed, until the entire company was overcome by sleep, and Ctirad, emboldened by the mead and the delicate voice of Sharka, the horn did grasp and blow it with the full force of his lungs. Forthwith a storm did arise. A cry rang out and from all sides did ascend upon them bands of armed women, and having slayed all the men, put Ctirad into the restraints from which he had ere freed Sharka. She stood above him, laughing.
In the morn, for to mock the men, a great wheel was brought out in front of Děvín and in its spokes was woven the broken body of Ctirad… When the other man had received news of this happening, young and old from all corners of the land sprang forth to avenge his tortuous death. None had ever seen such an army as the one that then laid siege to Děvín and soon conquered it. Many girls fell upon that day, and many more fled, never to be seen again. Those that survived begged their brothers and fathers for forgiveness, yet spared they were not. When the men had slain the girl’s army in its entirety, then then took to destroying Děvín, until all that remained was dust. And thus was ended this time of strife.
A collection of interesting facts about wine, winemakers and wine culture in general. From the most famous wine connoisseur of the Bohemian land, Bushek of Velhartice, who as is known taught Emperor Charles that even Bohemian wine can be drunk if given enough time.
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On the importance of wine in Galen’s theory of humours
Many of us are certainly familiar with Galen’s theory of the four humours or four bodily fluids. According to this ancient theory, the balance of the four bodily fluids: blood, mucus, bile and black bile affect our body and health. Even a small imbalance can affect our physical and mental health. Classical medical science addresses the imbalance of these fluids and ways to bring the humours back into equilibrium. But beyond that, doctors are also looking at the effect of personal diet on these fluids. It can certainly be understood that apart from solid food, the fluids we take in affect the balance in the first place. Water, as is well known, is the only neutral fluid. But we will deal with wine. Red and full-bodied wines are associated with blood (Greek haima). Thus, red wines are warm and full of life. On the other hand, white wine is associated by most ancient physicians with mucus (Greek phlegma) and by some with black bile (Greek melaina chole), which are cold and dead fluids. Balance needs to be maintained especially in relation to age. In fact, our bodies are very rarely in balance. Young people have an excess of blood in them and should therefore drink white wine. This will enable them to calm down and not succumb to youthful passions. Old people, on the other hand, have more mucus and are cold, so they should drink red wine, which will give them vigour. In addition to age, the composition of the diet and especially the pairing of wine with particular dishes should be taken into account. Here again, there should be a balance between the liquid (wine) and solid (food) components. Determining which liquid predominates in the dishes is a rather more complicated problem. It is generally thought that anything that has been circulated by real blood can be associated with the blood of Galen. Even if the food contains no blood. It is therefore good to drink white wine with all meat, game, sausages or offal. Although many gourmets are convinced otherwise. The exceptions are aquatic animals, such as freshwater and marine fish, crabs, crayfish, mussels and other aquatic creatures. These are cold by definition. The situation is quite the opposite for plant foods such as vegetables, fruit, baked goods, various porridges and pulses. These are cold foods, and even then only if we associate their growth with heat (melons for example). We therefore drink red wine with these foods.
About rare and exclusive wines
As we know, wine can take on a wide range of qualities. From almost-tasteless and bitter wines, which are more suitable for cleaning metal objects or pickling vegetables, to rare, exclusive and even rarer wines. We do not need to mention the wines from the first group, as the reader is surely aware of a number of wine bars where they can torture their throats with poor-tasting wine. But of the wines of the second group the reader would certainly like to know more. As the saying goes, “Different region, different manners”, and this is of course true of the more highly regarded wines. In the whole Italian peninsula there is no more famous and valuable wine than Vin santo. This is a style of wine that is made from the Malvasia or Trebbiano grape. It is a so-called straw wine. The harvested grapes are dried on straw under a well-ventilated roof. The result of this process is a very sweet wine, which a certain parish priest in Tuscany is said to have used to perform miraculous cures on people infected with the plague. In France, which is considered by many to be the land of winemakers, there is no more famous vineyard than the Pope’s near Avignon. This French city is known to the readers for its canonical machinations with the papacy, but the vineyard here was established under Pope Clement the Fifth, long before the schism to which the Christian community is subjected today. Thus it may be said that any vin du pap, or papal wine, is highly prized. Particularly the Burgundy style wine, which has the longest tradition in the vineyard. In the nearby Germanic countries, one of the most valuable wines comes from the vineyard at Eberbach Abbey, which can astonish one with its gargantuan size - many say it is the largest vineyard in the world! One might say that large quantities and high quality do not go together, but the opposite is true. The Cistercian monks of Ebberbach are known for their strict adherence to procedures and their wines are among the best that the German lands have to offer.
About flavoured and spiced wines
Some say that a true connoisseur will most enjoy a wine that is virgin, not flavoured or spiced. It should be added that this is what the connoisseurs themselves claim, so that they can proudly exalt themselves above the common people, who are forced to drink watered-down, flavoured or spiced wines. However, this idea stems from the ingrained habit of using flavours and spices to mask the taste of wine that is spoiled, vinegary or otherwise bad-tasting. The truth is, however, that if adulterants are added to a good wine, the resulting drink will be enjoyed even by a wine connoisseur with a tongue accustomed to refined flavours. Such a spiced wine is called hippocras after the Greek physician Hippocrates because he is credited with the invention of the sieve by which coarse impurities can be removed from liquids. This is a necessary process in the case of hippocras, since many hard, spicy fruits are broken down into small impurities by maceration in wine. As I have written before, each region has its own manners and the same is true of the ingredients that are put into hippocras. In Bohemia, the most common are various aromatic spices, like cinnamon, ginger, cloves and of course honey to add sweetness. Spices that are pungent such as pepper or bitter such as cumin or aniseed are never added. In Bohemia, hippocras is called hippocras only for spiced white wine drinks while the same drink made from red wine is called claret, which may confuse foreigners because claret is also a wine style from the Bordeaux region.
An old Czech satirical poem about an argument between a scholar and a groom over who has it better in life.
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The Groom to the Scholar
I’m better off, I proudly say. My bed of straw is like Paradise, where at night I peacefully lie like a bird in a feathered nest of spruce. Though at times I lie in dung, God’s truth. - but still I suffer little pain, save when I am soaked by rain, I must wait till dawn and my clothing dries, And I wipe it clean as soon as I rise so the cloth is clean and bright next day. Mark my words, one thing I’ll say: the peasants fear me to a man! Wherever I may walk or stand, all bow their heads before me low: “Welcome, Master!”, they greet me so, Even the farmer steps aside and the chickens can hardly run and hide I’m glad of that, for if they will, let them hide in my bag until, I take them with me to a feast - plucked and cooked in their own grease! One thing I’ll say, since you entreat me: I have no fear my master will beat me.
Scholar, oh, you wretched fellow! How can you so boldly bellow? You, with no coin to your name gaunt and frghtened of the cane, Trudging through this world in squalor, Ever burdened by your labour. However you may toil and sweat, No better garments shall you get. To go in rags is a scholar’s lot, A bed to lie on you have not. Now you lie by the hearth at night, But in winter you will have to fight to warm your bones by the fireside near for they’ll drive you out without a care. You’d be blessed to sleep on the floor at least, Not left to lie on the earth like a beast. Shivering on the frozen ground, with chattering teeth and frost all round. And still you’ll have no end to chores, Lighting the stove and sweeping floors, Your work may never be forgot, although you cannot sleep a jot when on the cold hard ground you lay.
The Scholar to the Groom
You are but a rag from your master’s stable! How oft have you food upon your table? Slender you are as a pondside reed, no better than a peasant indeed, mucking out dung every day no good fortune will come your way. With a scholar you cannot compare - whose prospects are far better than fair. Unlike you, you rabble unlearned! God willing, one day I’ll have earned a bishop’s mitre and crosier, for I labour to make my life rosier. Unless fortune should prove contrary, I’ll go to the famed seminary, in pursuit of my true aspiration, to gain my first ordination. And what man would dare to spite me when I am then so high and mighty, in golden robes of fabric grand, a priest or prelate of the land?
While I am preaching from the pulpit, there you will stand like a guilty culprit in your stinking rags at prayer, shrinking underneath my glare. You wretched bearer of ill-will, put aside your conceit and be still, Save your quarrels and your curses - men’s worth is not in their purses! Be wise and heed my good advice: if you wish for a long happy life, abandon your stable and your rabble!
Tomyris was the queen of the Massagetae, a nomadic people who once inhabited the lands of present-day Persia. Although the Massagetae were predominantly pastoralists, there is no question of their being peaceful. They were fearsome archers mounted on their horses, and their infantry wielded axes and spears. They sacrificed horses to their sun god, and the writings of ancient historians show that they were not averse to eating human flesh.
The Massagetae waged war against the newly formed Persian Empire, which was united under the rule of Cyrus II the Great. However, the first forays against the Persian armies ended in failure, and the Persians did not even consider the small nomadic nation, led by a woman, as an equal opponent. On the next occasion, Cyrus managed not only to defeat, but also to disgrace Tomyris, thanks to the ruse of leaving behind a well-stocked camp full of food, and especially wine.
The Massagetae, who were not accustomed to the effects of alcohol, became drunk within moments and were unable to defend themselves against the surprise attack of the Persians. Most of them were slaughtered, with the exception of Spargapis, their commander and the son of Queen Tomyris. He, however, rather than suffer the ignominy of defeat and captivity, ended his life by his own hand.
When the queen learned from the messenger of the stratagem by which the Persians had succeeded in depriving her of her son, she replied to Cyrus II with the promise, “I will give you so much blood to drink that you will not be able to swallow it.” She then placed herself at the head of her army and in the ensuing battle slaughtered most of the Persian army. Cyrus II himself fell that day. The story goes that Tomyris sought out his body after the battle, cut off his head, and with the words “Drink plenty!” threw it into a wineskin filled with blood.
A discussion about the monk Procopius and how he founded the monastery.
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On Saint Procopius and a monastery of his name
Abbot Procopius, a good Czech of outstanding learning, was first an earthly priest, who led an honourable life in full devotion to God. Later, when much blood had been spilt in the Kingdom of Bohemia, he went into reclusion, far away from people, to be disturbed by no man and far from all that is earthly and impure and to find isolation and peace so that he could pray to God. With great passion in his heart, he denied his wife and his home, his worldly property, his relatives and friends, and lo, even his own self did he deny, subjecting himself to God’s will alone.
Fleeing from the tempest of human society and full of love for Christ, he left for the wilderness and there he settled, under the arches of an abandoned cave, whither armed with but the armour of his faith and the swords of the heavens did he drive forth the demons that had ere lived at that place. For many years did he dwell in the cave, his virtues shielding him from all temptation and impropriety. Prayer, fasting, and keeping vigil bound him fast to the firm rock that is Christ.
Through the mercy of the heavens did tales of the most holy Procopius’s virtues spread so that people from all corners of the Earth began to seek him out. This clean, pure, and prudent man did listen to their pleas and confessions and thus their hearts were turned to faith and their thoughts corrected. From the many gifts that were brought to him, he then built a monastery over his cave and for the greater glory of the Virgin Mary and Saint John the Baptist he called forth a gathering of several most pious brothers in Christ. Alongside his brethren, he pursued a pious life of strict morals and, using the rule of the good Father Benedict as a model, for them he did establish monastic rules for worshiping God.
Later, when Procopius had died and his soul had entered into heaven a saint and his body in his cave did lie, the monastery received his name and thereafter it has borne the title the Benedictine Monastery of Saint Procopius.
Diary entries of Conrad, a correctional officer of the Knights of the Cross.
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Novembris 1402 On my way from Cheb to Prague, I was caught by a message from the provost of Konigsberg about the terrible murder of two brothers of the order. The murder happened two days ago in the nearby Maria Kulm Commandery. The two unfortunates were found flogged in the sacristy of the church. The elder priest Waldemar died in horror, tied to the rump of a black goat with Brother Mark’s limb stuck deep in his mouth. Mark’s fingers had been broken and his head smashed to a pulp. The superstitious villagers consider this to be the work of the devil, but this is a simple premeditated murder of our brothers!
Decembris 1402 Younger Brother Mark was an able monastic apothecary in our Prague Commandery, but in the spring he is said to have become involved with the Inquisition. Other brothers later helped him escape from the city to the countryside …. Qui bono? Why did the Inquisition go after Mark? … what did the priest Waldemar have to do with it? I must question their relatives!
Februarius 1403 Omnia mentiunt, but now I know for certain that Mark was hiding from the Inquisition in Maria Kulm! I searched for relatives and found that, coincidentally, Waldemar’s nephew Kolda was released from the bishop’s prison a month later. Someone had put in a good word for him. … Why was Mark hiding? Is Kold’s release somehow connected to his murder? I must go to Litoměřice!
Februarius 1403 Brother Mark was in Litoměřice last April on his last visit to the archbishop’s court. A month later archbishop Olbram died of unknown causes, his heart reportedly stopped. … Is this related? Did the Inquisition pressure Mark to do their dirty work for them? In cauda venenum?
Aprilis 1403 Brother Mark was involved in a heinous murder! Last spring, the Inquisition forced him to poison the archbishop of Prague, Olbram! Afterwards, they wanted to get rid of Mark, but he disappeared in time. Little did he know that the old priest Waldemar would turn him in for the life of his nephew Kolda. The Inquisition eventually got rid of both brothers and made it look like a devilish rampage. … Who all is involved? The intrigue runs high! I have to tell my Grandmaster Zdenyek about everything!
Quintilis 1403 My God, how could you let this happen? Why did Satan come among us? Why can’t brother trust brother? The Inquisition has Grandmaster Zdenyek in its grasp! When he found out what I knew, he wanted to kill me… God forgive me, I killed my brothers! …The only one who can stop Zdenyek is my old friend Ambrose. He’s been living in seclusion for a long time, but he still has the rank of seneschal. Only he can convict Zdenyek and save our order.
Quintilis 1403 Ambrose is dead. Mors ultima linea rerum. I arrived at night at the Troskowitz rocks and found my friend sick to death. He no longer perceived me, but awoke in the morning and suddenly spoke clearly. I gave him absolution, and a little while later he let his soul out … God, you have already taken everything I had, at least grant me to fulfill his last wish. Give me the strength to find a way to save sinful souls. Ex nihilo nihil fit. … please Lord show me the way!
I buried my friend Ambrose on the edge of the meadow above his hut. I piled stones by two gnarled birches and then marked the grave with a broken sword. Let whoever passes by take it, it doesn’t matter anymore.
The son of Emperor Charles IV and his fourth wife Elizabeth of Pomerania may not have inherited the royal or imperial throne, as his brother Wenceslas did, but from his father his slyness, intelligence, and political talent he did inherit—qualities his brother, the future king, was desperately lacking. For the ginger hair he was born with and his slyness, which he did display many a time in his youth, he was given the sobriquet of The GingerFox, by which he was later called by his enemies especially. Sigismund is learned and popular, and his great indulgence is competing in tourneys, and seven languages of the world does he speak. Since 1387 he has been the King of Hungary, when he wed Mary of Hungary, who was at the time engaged to be married to the Duke of Orleans, and thus many of evil tongue do say he took her by force and unjustly. However it may have been though, he successfully defended his right to rule Hungary.
Later, seeing his brother Wenceslas’s inability to rule, he did collude with Jobst of Moravia and did commence to plot against Wenceslas, who ended up in his captivity with the great support of the Czech noblemen, who would rather see Sigismund sit upon the throne than an inept ruler who devotes his time and efforts more to drinking and hunting than to performing his royal duties. But Wenceslas was freed by his other brother, and thus Sigismund’s plan to seize power in Bohemia failed. In the year 1396 Sigismund planned a Crusade and took up arms against the Ottoman Turks, but to the misfortune of all Christians he was defeated at the Battle of Nicopolis, and thus he removed himself to Hungary.
Later, when his brother Wenceslas’s rule in Bohemia deteriorated to the point where his own nobility rose up against him, he called upon his brother for assistance. And he did truly set off to Bohemia with a powerful Hungarian army, but being knowledgeable of the local situation, instead of helping his brother he occupied his castles and towns and had his brother imprisoned, taking the crown for himself and finally bringing order to the land. Many do say he is a traitor, whilst others do praise his deeds. In all respects, however, he is indeed a much better ruler.
A legend about the origin of the noble coat of arms of the Ruthard family.
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About the Ruthard’s family coat of arms
During the reign of the good King Wenceslas II of the Premyslides, a fever for precious metals broke out in Kuttenberg. Many people came every day to Gang and Kukliek to seek their fortune on the surface and underground. There was so much pure silver flowing out of the furnaces that even the last miner could get rich if he had not drunk it all before or had not met with misfortune in the mine. And those who didn’t return were not few. But nothing could discourage the profit-hungry mine owners from opening new shafts. Along with the mine owners, rich merchants also came to Kuttenberg, who rented the mines from the king to extract white metal from them at their own expense and thus increase their wealth even more. Proving that they were successful in their work, the patricians began to build great houses and palaces, and soon a large town with several markets and a town hall was established. A little later, high walls were also erected to guard the peace and wealth of the upper town. One of the first to come to Kuttenberg to try their luck was the German Ruthard family, who established an estate on Kolmark above the river Vrchlitz, where silver in the fissures rose to the surface in abundance and had therefore been mined here for ages. Jan Kunzlin Ruthard was a well-known mine owner and erckaufier in Kuttenberg, so when King Wenceslas II himself visited Kuttenberg, he offered him hospitality in his house. The king, impressed by the selection of food and the wealth of Ruthard’s house, realised that Jan must be well versed in silver mining, since he was doing so well. Imagine the king’s astonishment when, after a good meal, Jan took him into the cellar, where the silver bars lay on top of each other like ears of silver wheat in a sheaf. Then the king asked Jan for the first time: ‘Whose silver is all this, Ruthard?’ And he answered him wisely: ‘Yours, King, if ever thou hast need of it from me.’ The king, pleased with these words, shook his head and told Jan that he had no need of it yet, but would remember it. Later Jan accompanied King Wenceslas to vespers in the monastery of Sedletz. On the way, the king asked his guide who owned the meadows they were passing through, and Jan told him: ‘You, gracious King! But I manage them, and I pay every year ten white groschen to the abbot of the monastery for their use. Please plead with him, so I pay less.’ The king promised to plead, and in good humour turned his horse to a willow tree that grew by the roadside. He broke off a branch from it and handed it to Jan, saying: ‘Let this sprig be a reminder to posterity of My Grace for the sincerity with which you have shared your treasures with me.’ Ruthard understood the king’s words, and while Wenceslas stayed in the monastery, he hastened to the city, where he had the royal arm and the sprig painted on his shield. When Wenceslas saw the new decoration on his shield, he confirmed the coat of arms and with it the dignity Ruthard had achieved for his family that day.
Dorothy, a lovely maid a pious life she always led. And this lovely Dorothy wore a wreath of gold, you see. And of a snow white lily, of the Virgin Mary. The king did fall in love with her and sent a letter with these words: Will you be mine, O Dorothy? The world shall honour you, you’ll see.
But I have another love, ’tis Jesus Christ, Our Lord above. The king, in anger, raged and frowned, and Dorothy in prison bound. Off to war, the king did ride, for seven years he fought with pride. In the eighth, he did return, and thought of Dorothy again. Tell me, servants, then he asked, if she has lived or she has passed?
She lives, my King, indeed she lives, though she neither eats nor sips. Dorothy was brought outside, and stood to face the king with pride. Will you be mine, O Dorothy? The world should have so fine a lady.
But I have another love, Jesus Christ, Our Lord above. The king grew angry at her rejection and and ordered them to heat an oven. But the longer she burned in the kiln, the brighter glowed her beauty still. Dorothy was brought outside, and stood to face the king with pride. Will you be mine, O Dorothy? The world should have so fine a lady.
But I have another love, Jesus Christ, Our Lord above..
The king then called for boiling oil, and put poor Dorothy there to boil. But the longer in the oil she stayed, the more beauty she displayed. And so they took her out again and set her down before the king. Will you be mine, O Dorothy? The world should have so fine a lady.
But I have another love, Jesus Christ, Our Lord above. Then the king had a wheel made, and on it, the maiden laid. Dorothy prayed to Christ, Her Saviour, from the breaking wheel to save her. God in His mercy heard her appeal, and sent a lightning bolt to smash the wheel. From the blue sky it did strike, none had ever seen the like.
A nice sharp sword will do the trick and sever your head from your body quick! Take her out, executioner, and cut her head off with your sword! She met Elijah on the way: Where are you going, Dorothy? To Christ’s garden, joyfully, where I shall gather fruit from trees. I’ll pick lilies white and fair, from the Virgin Mary’s care. When you pick them, I beg thee, would you send here some to me? The first time that the executioner struck, the sword it buckled on her neck. And when he tried to strike anew, the blade he wielded broke in two. Filled with anger and mortal dread, he struck once more and cut off her head.
The holy head is severed, the soul to heaven delivered. She stands among the angels bright, like a bright star in the night. From heaven comes a little child, a beautiful infant, meek and mild. Holding a basket in its hand, filled with fruits from a heavenly land. Elijah, faithful friend and true, here I bring these fruits to you, from the heavenly garden above, as my sister promised you with love, when she met you in this place, on her way to death’s embrace.
Upon the death of Princess Libusse, the maidens who had enjoyed her accompaniment found that they were no longer held in the great esteem they had once enjoyed. They recalled how their princess had ruled over the male part of their tribe and when the menfolk said unto them, “Hark! You have ruled over us, we have bowed before you, and now you seem as sheep that have gone astray”, their anger rose greatly. And the anger of the women and maidens having caught fire, the females of the tribe took up spears and swords and waged war against the men under the command of Vlasta, Libusse’s attendant of highest standing. On her command they built the castle at Děvín and then dispersed throughout the land to call into service all women to wage war against their husbands and brothers.
Yet hardly a soul took them seriously, and it was with great mirth that the men did observe these girls taking up arms and learning to saddle horses. However, Premysl, the wise ruler that he was, did not find merriment in these actions and warned his men to broker a peace. His warnings were not heeded, however, and they set out to Děvín in great merriment. But alas! The women did not flee! With Vlasta in the lead, they charged out of the gate, chainmail on their bodies, helmets on their heads, and spears aimed to kill. “If we allow ourselves to be vanquished,” called out Vlasta, “it will be then that the men shall laugh at us. We shall become their servants and slaves! For it is better to die than to give up! Strike at the men, at each and every one, be he brother or father.” And the furies then did set upon them, until three hundred men lay dead in their own blood and the rest had fled.
When news of this victory had spread throughout the land, other women did not falter and came straight forth to Děvín. And hence the men were greatly aggrieved at home, for they were alone. And they were aggrieved on the battlefield as well, for the women gave them no quarter, sparing neither brother nor father…
The Czechs have ceased to preserve their good name and sinfully devote themselves to hedonistic delights. The old of their ilk stuff themselves like pigs and merely idle about in their homes, whilst the young have taken to dog hunting. The noblemen have begun to do that which once behoved only servants. Where once each lord kept his house clean and orderly, now dogs lie there; where ere hunters hunted and lords would come to visit them as need be, today they have devoted themselves to this lowly art, as if they had forgotten about their own blood. Ere they would sit at a table and attend to the affairs of the land and see to the multiplication of its peace and wealth; today they are wont to share a roof with a dog of the hunt and consider conversation of dogs and hunting to be of the most honourable variety. And thus the wealth of their estates is deteriorating and the stench of their dogs shall soon kill them.
In days of yore when they set off to war, their own country they did not loot and took only from the enemy. Yet what of today? When they depart upon a military campaign, their first action is to plunder their own country. In times ere they dared not touch the property of the Holy Church and honoured it rightly. Today they have no shame in plundering churches and monasteries. Without honour they return from battle; having molested young maidens and drunk every drop of mead, they return home like drunken beasts and new injustices do perpetrate… Not a single crumb of honour is left in these once proud Czechs. And a time will come when they shall cry over their gains and then gladly return to the old ways and order.
Must be owned by anyone who has been struck by Cupid’s arrow.
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Selection of Love Poems
Gentle night, why linger on? I yearn thus for my love so long, Without her words to calm my breast, Who shall set my soul to rest? And now my heart in sorrow dwells, From melancholic pining swells. Since I, alas, was forced to part From the mistress of my heart. Ah Lord, let me not wait in vain, I yearn to see my love again! Oh gentle Sir, be of good cheer, I shall not cling to another, dear.
To love and be forlorn Is like night without a dawn. To be close with nought to say, Like winter frost in May. To have lips and yet kiss not, Is like leaving grain to rot, To love without consumating Is like unsown fields in the spring. I shall love you then, my dear As long as you lie with me here. If you’ll not give your all to me, No longer shall I bide with thee.
Under the sky’s great mass,
you crumble and fall apart,
your body falls to the grass,
silent and unheard.
Throughout the night you dance,
held in a mystical sway, till a strike to the chest from a lance
drives the curse away.
Upon your heart now burn, a thousand fleeting dreams,
materialised into one, the end of earthly schemes.
In memory it holds you, as heavenward you rise,
for you have stopped the blow, meant to bring your demise.
Tournaments, or tourneys, are a favourite entertainment of the court and sometimes are an amusement for the common people far and wide, who come to watch lords of most noble birth joust, as if in the world itself such combat was rare. However, in the tourney, unlike in true battle, causing injury is forbidden and thus weapons are blunted and arms modified as needed, but sometimes unfortunate deaths do occur. Mounted knights armed with lances may vie with one another in attempts to dismount their opponent, or knights on foot armed in diverse manner may try to strike their opponent to the ground, and the defeated must surrender his weapon, and can buy it back only in gold.
The melee is a special type of match, in which great teams of knights engage in combat that seems to resemble true battle, but the dealing of fatal blows is forbidden.
In the Kingdom of Bohemia, the tournament was widespread during the reign of King Wenceslas, when the hero Oger from the German lands did come to his court and bring with him this curious amusement, and alongside it great poverty to the whole land, for henceforth did lords travel in great numbers to compete in tourneys and spent great fortunes upon them and no money remained for other purposes. They took to adorning themselves and their steeds with coloured fabrics to pose before their opponents, and they did cross arms more in tournaments than in real combat. Today, elder men of noble birth do recall how the Czechs were once the greatest fighters in all of the Holy Roman Empire, but when the tournament arrived, their abilities they did squander, and today their displays on the true battlefield are of no merit. Forsooth, some fighters of particularly great renown are incapable of dealing a proper blow in real combat, so low have their combat skills sunk. Perhaps one day, knights will become true men again and turn away from colourful tourneys and head for the battlefield, for the merriment of the tournament is certainly even an affront to God Himself.
Impensio 4/4 Mai - 1/4 Jun 1403 Metallum: Gang metal. (Lishka) - 240 gr. Horschan metal. (Fett) - 240 gr. Kukliek metal. (Shourek) - 240 gr. Bird metal. (Forscht) - 240 gr. summa metal. - 960 gr. Proben: Hermann (Horschan) - 160 gr. Fühle (Gang, Bird) - 180 gr. Laube (Kukliek) - 140 gr. summa prob. - 480 gr. Fornax Gruntae: forn. Volkmar - 360 gr. forn. meist. B. - 840 gr. summa forn. - 1.200 gr. Moneta: imp. mon. - 160 gr. imp. ext. - 100 gr. summa mon. - 260 gr.
Lucri 4/4 Mai - 1/4 Jun 1403 Moneta: gros. 8.960 gr. rex. imp. summa -2.900 gr.
resid. summa 6.060 gr. Materies: Fornax Gruntae 630 gr. Kreyzl 260 gr. fr. Silesia 430 gr. imp. summa -300 gr.
resid. summa 1.020 gr. Corrump.: Kuttenberg 600 gr. Non-rex. Metal. 890 gr. Fornax. 450 gr. imp. summa -140 gr.
resid. summa 1.800 gr. SUMMA LUCRI 4/4 Mai - 1/4 Jun 8880 gr.
ARGENTUM ANNUM A.D. 1403 ULDARICUS VAVAK DE NOVO DOMO SUMMA LUCRI 1/4 Mar - 2/4 Mar - 6700 gr. 3/4 Mar - 4/4 Mar - 7200 gr. 1/4 Apr - 2/4 Apr - 7060 gr. 3/4 Apr - 1/4 May - 7600 gr. 2/4 May - 3/4 May - 8190 gr. 4/4 Mai - 1/4 Jun - 8880 gr. 2/4 Jun - Know that the future is not fixed or stable, but changes as cause brings forth effect. Look at the cause you bring into being and surely you will see that everything is an effect. HERMES TRISMEGISTOS
Two old prayers, Lord have Mercy on Us, and Saint Wenceslas
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Prayer to Saint Wenceslas
Saint Wenceslas, Ruler of Bohemia, Our Prince, Intercede for us with God, The Holy Spirit. Kyrie Eleison
Heavenly the beautiful kingdom, Blessed is he who cometh there. Life eternal, Fire bright Of the Holy Spirit. Kyrie Eleison.
We ask you for your help; Have mercy upon us, Console the sad, Drive away all evil, Saint Wenceslas. Kyrie Eleison.
Lord, have mercy on us, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us, Saviour of the whole world, have mercy on us and hear, O Lord, our voices; Lord, give to all of us life and peace in our land, Kyrie Eleison!
When Emperor Charles IV had taken his last breath, order in both the Bohemian lands and in the entire Holy Roman Empire began to deteriorate. The new emperor, Wenceslas IV, could not maintain unity and prosperity, and thus this union of states did begin to unravel and its rulers, without a strong hand to guide them, did begin to quarrel and conspire against each other. In the Lands of the Bohemian Crown, and particularly in the Margraviate of Moravia, it led to support for Sigismund of Hungary, the brother of Wenceslas IV, who was seen as a better ruler, who could resolve conflict and quell disorder.
Wars in Moravia began when King Wenceslas, represented by his cousin Prokop, after the death of the Bishop of Olomouc did occupy for himself all of his estates and did consider them to be his own, and the tide of resistance did rise as many of the Moravian nobles claimed these estates as their own according to inheritance rights. Jobst of Moravia stood at the head of the discontented lords and with support from most of the Moravian dukes, he began to openly rebel against the king and did ally himself with Sigismund of Hungary. This act of rebellion was not so much about the Bishop’s estates, but about who would rule Bohemia and Moravia - Wenceslas or Sigismund. For the time being, however, only inheritance rights are spoken about aloud, for no one has yet dared to make mention of dethroning the king.
Moravia has found itself in a whirlwind of fighting and anarchy, for the local nobility have plundered each other’s towns and conquered each other’s castles, depending on whose side they were on and to whom they believed the estates should belong to. How many villages were razed to the ground and how many innocent lives were taken in the name of this tug-of-war? Many knights, who had up to that point demonstrated behaviour and deeds fitting to their rank, now formed robber bands and on the highways attacked and murdered travellers and merchants alike, for there was no one to stop them. Later other Bohemian lords did side with the Moravian cause, with Jobst at the head, and the king was imprisoned and Sigismund was openly supported to become the new king of the land.
A book about Prince Wenceslas and how his brother had him killed.
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On Saint Wenceslas and his death
There was a prince in Bohemia named Vratislav and his wife was Drahomíra. A son was born to them and they named him Wenceslas. After the untimely death of his father, he was to sit on the throne, but he was still immature, so his mother administered the country and his grandmother Ludmila took care of Wenceslas’s upbringing. His brother Boleslav grew up with him, but they did not have much in common. By the grace of God, Wenceslaus learned to read and write, he was educated in books and firm in his faith, and he could wield a sword, but he loved peace and his country above all else. He did good to all the poor, clothed the naked and fed the hungry, protected the servants of God and built many churches. He was an example to his people and a ruler more pleasing than all; he always negotiated with his enemies in good terms, and they had to bow down before his piety. He glorified God with all his heart and did so many good deeds that it would be impossible to count them.
It is no wonder that the Devil sowed hatred in the hearts of many corrupt men and set them against Wenceslas. Like Judas, he stirred them up to rise against their lord, and they whispered to Boleslaus that his brother wanted his life. Boleslaus, believing these words, out of fear and malice devised a plan to deprive his brother Wenceslas of his throne and his life.
He knew that whenever the dedication of a temple was celebrated somewhere, Wenceslas himself would go to the temple to pray. So he entered the castle of Boleslaus on the Sunday of the Feast of Cosmas and Damian, and when he had heard the mass, he was going back to Prague. But his brother detained him and invited him to dine and drink, which Wenceslas did not refuse. Early in the morning Wenceslas rose and hurried to the morning service. When he met his brother at the gate of the church, he said to him, “Brother, you served us well yesterday.” Then Boleslaus, prompted by the devil, replied, “And now I will serve you even better,” and after saying this he struck Wenceslas on the head with his sword. And the dogs of Boleslaus rushed in, and together with their master they slew Wenceslas, and left his body cut in pieces before the church. Boleslaus then succeeded his brother on the throne.
Wenceslas has been canonized and made the patron saint of the entire Czech Lands. To him we cry out when things are worst and to him we pray, “Saint Wenceslas, patron of our country, intercede for us!”
The Holy Church is the home of all Christians on the Earth, and at its head stands its shepherd, that is, the Pope. The Pope is the leader of all Christianity and the successor to the seat of Saint Peter, which was established by our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. But it has transpired that not one, but two, holy fathers sit upon the papal seat, and good Christians can only argue over which is the true one and which one should be respected and which shall be eternally damned. It all began when Pope Boniface VIII refused to crown King Philip the Fair of France as emperor, to which the latter refused to acquiesce and in the year 1309 he had the Holy See removed to Avignon, where he could keep it under his watchful eye. Thus, for many years the Holy Father sat upon the papal throne not in Rome, but in France.
In 1377 Pope Gregory decided to leave Avignon and return the papacy to Rome, but after his untimely death, two conclaves met to elect a new pope, in both Rome and Avignon. And thus, it came to be that there was a Pope Urban in Rome and a Pope Clement in France, and both received great support from the rulers of Europe, who favoured one pope over the other as they saw fit. These two popes excommunicated each other and proclaimed each other to be an arch-heretic and the antipope, and thus, a great schism and decline within the Holy Church did arise, and now many do criticize it and demand remediation, for how can the Pope fulfil his duties as our shepherd when there are in fact two popes who claim to be the true representative of God and their rival to be a messenger of Satan? Whose words should a good Christian heed and whom should they entreat for intercession? Which Pope’s hand may anoint a king?
As long as there are two popes, hunger and pestilence shall plague the entire world and much strife and suffering does await us…
This book is full of many wonders, but it also hides many secrets. The name of the prince who sent it to me is Sameton, and the two wise men who brought it are named Kamazan and Zozont. The Latin name of the book comes from Angelus Magnus Secreti Creatoris, which in Hebrew means Cefar Raziel, the Great Angel, the secret creator. It was he who appeared to the first man Adam on God’s command, to teach him the knowledge of the power of thoughts, the soul, the laws of nature and life on Earth, including the secrets of the planets and stars. This is therefore Adam’s book, and it was written by King Solomon in Chaldean and translated into Hebrew. Whoever reads it should remember that it contains all the Semifores, the great names of God, supplemented by all their virtues and sacraments. Who sees and does not understand is blind and does not know colours, Who hears and does not understand is deaf. Who thinks and does not know thought is drunk. Who speaks and does not say a thought is dumb. Who reads books and does not understand them, wanders in dreams. I obtained this book divided into seven treatises, of which the first and the last are truly very dark, and the middle five are clearer, although in them I found many dark places and understood only as much as could be understood. The first treatise is called Clavis, the Key, for it explains astronomy and the stars, without which we can truly do nothing magical. The second is called Ala, the Wings, and in it, the virtues of individual stones, herbs and animals are gradually explained. The third is Tractatus Thymiamatum, the Treatise on Incense, where their classification, significance for suffumigation and methods of use are described. The fourth is Temporum Anni, the Treatise on the Seasons, Days and Nights, explaining when to do what according to this book. The fifth is Tractatus Munditia, the Treatise on Purity, for it explains the importance of abstinence. The sixth is called Samaim in Hebrew, the Heavens, for in this work all the heavenly spheres and the effects of their angels are named. The seventh is Liber Virtutum, the Book of Virtues, for it explains miracles, virtues, numbers and the properties of the magical ark.
Bane A particularly evil potion, which causes certain death even in small quantities. It is widespread especially in Bohemia and Austria, because the plants necessary for its preparation are everywhere plentiful. Do not expect much benefit from the knowledge of this poison, for it can be used for nothing but killing. When an unfortunate man who has swallowed this poison comes to you for advice, give glory to God, for it is a miracle that he is still alive. For a little while thou mayest observe in him the blackness of the eyes, the dryness of the body, or the looseness of the muscles, but then send for the priest at once. Even a few drops will cause certain death, and there is no guaranteed antidote in the whole wide world. If you have to cook this abomination, prepare yourself some wine, a handful of wormwood and twice as much belladonna. Then you shall finish the evil work with Fly agaric. Boil the mixture until you have a clear liquid, almost imperceptible in taste and smell.
Pitohui Bird Poison This is one of the rarest, for it is obtained only from the feathers and skin of the Pitohui. This creature, of a black and yellow colour, has its origin far beyond the land of the Indians, and the touch of it causes considerable trouble to man. The killers, therefore, have no need to prepare any decoctions, but only to make headdresses and necklaces of the feathers for their victims. Those who come into contact with the feathers of the Pitohui often feel a tingling and tension in their muscles. This condition can persist for days, giving the murderer the time he needs to escape. In such cases, it is enough to burn the feathers and the poisoning will pass. If, however, the unfortunate ingests the essence of the feathers prepared by a long boil, expect more serious consequences. The victim first stiffens and soon dies, unless a drink of sea-water and crushed stone from the mountains of Monti Pallidi, which thou shalt find in the Italian land, be prepared in time.
Dollmaker Potion This potion is especially useful because it soothes and relieves pain. It is therefore a favourite among the physicians. If you rub even a few drops on the skin of a wounded man, you can cut him without causing him suffering. Men who are hasty in their love rub their manhood with this potion too, so that it may become numb and they may manage to please their wives. A fool who tastes even a sip of the potion will experience total numbness, his intestines will become clogged, and he may lose his sight for a while. Fortunately, the stomach will eject this disgusting potion before it has time to have its pernicious effect, unless the body has already been weakened. If you need to replenish your supply of this decoction, prepare yourself a strong liquor, a handful of valerian and twice as much herb paris. Remember, however, not to boil the valerian in the liquor, but only to put the crushed valerian into the cold decoction!
Kiss of Death Although difficult to prepare, this potion is often used because its pleasant aroma can be confused with ordinary cooking. It is also said among the poor that this mixture can be used to turn metals into gold. The Kiss of Death will first cause a stomachache. It makes the skin red and blistered, the bowels painfully empty at both ends, the udders stiffen in spasm, and the nails break. And then thou shalt know that death is certain, but before that thou mayest relieve the poor man with a bezoar put under the tongue. In quick reaction, a mixture of hot milk, vinegar, and garlic can also be used to cause the poison to be thrown up. If you want to make this poison, take a new clay pot, put a handful of red copper, half a bottle of strong water, arsenic, oak bark, and rose water inside. Boil it all, and test it with an iron nail. When the muddy mixture has completely coated the iron, you will know that you have cooked enough.
Lullaby This poison will not bring quick death, but its effects may be even more terrible. It soothes a man in a reasonable quantity, and gives him rest, that his body may be speedily healed, but if it be given by a person of dishonest intentions, his victim falls into a sound sleep, in which he does not feels his body, and may be treated so unkindly and cruelly. If drank oftenly, the healthy spirit then leaves the body. A man intoxicated with the Lullaby concoction feels faint, his tongue is confused, his head is heavy, and he soon falls asleep. When more than in moderation, however, a man drinks suddenly, he vomits it up, and it loses all its effect. If you want to relieve people around you with Lullaby, prepare for yourself oil, thistle, herb paris and especially a handful of poppies, which give the decoction a vibrant odour and a sparkling color, and can overcome the disgust of herb paris.
