Charles IV Viewed by a Historian ****************************************************************************************** * Charles IV Viewed by a Historian ****************************************************************************************** Charles University, the city of Prague as well as the whole of the Czech Republic remember anniversary of the birth of the Bohemian King and Roman Emperor, Charles IV in the year 20 son of the last Bohemian princess of the domestic Přemyslid dynasty, Elisabeth of Bohemia, Luxembourg, the first of the Luxembourg line on the Bohemian throne, was the biggest ruler (or Bohemian) middle-ages, the founder of Charles University, the New Town of Prague, Char many castles around the country. We approached Professor Lenka Bobková from the Faculty of University, one of our leading experts on the period of Luxembourg Kings, to share her vie 1. How have the Czechs viewed Charles IV throughout history and what is their approach to Several years ago there was a television programme, a sort of competition, in the Czech Re to select the greatest Czech. This competition was won by Charles IV, which was in a way a even beat the first Czechoslovakian President, Tomáš Garrique Masaryk. In this competition that Charles is not only understood as a representative of a state that lived through a pe flourishment in the middle-ages, but that he was also a mighty European sovereign when Rom this competition, a discussion was started as to what it actually meant to be the greatest thinking of the 19th century was revived by people again thinking in national and ethnic c greatest Czech as a statesman and a person closely connected to the Bohemian Kingdom was C What people appreciate and what is resonating in this year’s 700th anniversary are the mon remained after the time of Charles IV, despite many of them only being completed in the ti Wenceslas IV. Greatly appreciated is the university founded by Charles IV. Recently more p historians, are starting to interest themselves in Charles’s private life. They are examin to his family, especially to his sons and wives.     2. Since we have already touched on the topic – how was Charles’s family life? He was a man at the head of a state, so for a family life in today’s sense of the word he time. Charles may have had many children, but several of them died in childhood. However a survive until adulthood, was born as late as 1361, so for many years the family missed an marriage that proved successful with children was the last one. What people most like to ask about are Charles’s wives. Charles IV had 4 wives; a fact com Czechs. The first wife, Blanche of Valois, was more of a friend, he met her during childho cannot be said that they would exactly grow up together, they were close in age and are sa a good relationship. She was actually the only wife who managed to keep Charles “at home.” his marriage to Blanche of Valois, Charles was for the most part still only the Margrave o he indeed spent much more time in Prague than he did in the later years when he stood at t Kingdom of Bohemia and the Empire. The second marriage was a political affair arranged by Charles, but it is hard to judge th as the marriage lasted only a very short time. A son (Charles’s first) was born out of thi he only reached 2 years of age and shortly after his mother, Anna of Palatinate, also died written about Anna of Palatinate in the chronicles was that she was beautiful. The third wife, Anna of Schweidnitz, was very young. She was only 13 years old when she ma She was a young girl, who Charles liked a lot and who also experienced the most glory with one to accompany Charles to Rome, the one who was crowned as the Roman Empress – and she w who finally, after many years, gave Charles a son. But also her life ended early, she was she died giving birth to her third child. The fourth wife, Elisabeth of Pommern, who was 16 years old when she married Charles, was young woman, who in the following years was a great support to Charles and, as I have alre also gave the most children to Charles. 3. How was Charles IV’s personality? Charles was without doubt a very capable sovereign, who soon had a clear idea about how to political concept. We need to be aware that he stepped onto the Bohemian throne at a time years old and even before his enthronement to the Bohemian Kingdom after the death of his Luxembourg, he was elected to be the Roman King. At the age of 30 he most likely had a cle more experience than John of Luxembourg who had arrived to Bohemia at the age of 14. Charl to surround himself with very competent advisors. He was probably very demanding when it c assistance, but he certainly knew how to award them too. Charles’s advisors were firstly p of the church stand, most notable was Ernest of Pardubitz (Arnošt z Pardubic), the Archbis but there were also other people, as well as representatives of the Bohemian nobility who Charles.    4. What was the significance about Prague for Charles IV? Prague as caput regni, the capital of the kingdom or head of the kingdom, stood in the cen activities. But the influence of Prague was visible also in other parts of the kingdom. Fo particular important as many people arrived to the Imperial court, a lot of them of politi but also writers, musicians, artists. Therefore Prague became a centre that could be attra and the presence of so many people brought gain to the city and in a way also to the whole 5. I take it this is one of the reasons why Charles IV is so very important for Czech peop his most important activities up? The inhabitants of Czech lands (Bohemian Kingdom) in the past and consequently also presen viewed Charles IV so important primary because he made Prague the capital of the Roman Emp enhanced the Bohemian Kingdom to the high European level; he founded a university in Pragu building the Stone Bridge (today’s Charles Bridge), he rebuilt the Royal Castle in Prague the activities that were very, very important for the Czechs. 6. How was Charles IV able to finance all of these activities? Was his main income from th mines of Kutná Hora, the second most important Czech medieval city and one of the richest Europe of that time, or was he using other financial sources? Charles IV was a very careful economist as he had to look after the financial affairs. It the income from the Kutná Hora silver mines and the coin production, but there were also o such as taxes, incomes from the royal towns and also other means of financial income. Alth supported towns as well as commercial roads on which duty was collected, we cannot say tha balance would have always been equal. Similarly to his father, John of Luxembourg, he also his budget with various pledges and loans, however it was an activity that was completely executed by all medieval rulers. At this time it might have even be more transparent than means that his politics was very complicated in respect of economics and he also had to le debts.  7. One of the important sources of income of rulers in middle-ages, be it national kings o were Jewish communities. How was Charles’s relation to Jews? This is a very difficult question and we view it mostly by today’s eyes and look at the po a little differently than people did in the middle-ages. The big plague epidemics of 1348 first opportunities to attack Jewish communities. Jews were accused of poisoning the wells causing the plague epidemics. The main reason behind all of these accusations was however people to get rid of their debts to the Jews. The king, both the Bohemian as well as the R protect the Jewish communities, seeing to the fact that they were an important part of the it was likely to have been difficult to oppose the wave of antagonism against the Jews and that followed it. In the case of Charles IV people most often mention the hardly excusable published a statement that if in Nuremberg the Jewish community should be destroyed, the s Jews had their houses should be given to the citizens of Nuremberg. It is therefore quite pogrom indeed took place. Thank you for the interview! Charlotte Scarr is studying at the Faculty of Arts at Charles University for a year. Charl great way to integrate herself into Czech culture and meet like minded people.