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The Czech Republic in Europe |
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The Czech Republic in Europe |
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Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia, Slavonic tribes and Czech Republic |
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Historians surmise that the present day Czech Republic was inhabited by Celts before the time of Christ. Slavonic ancestors inhabited these lands about the mid-5th century. It is not clear who were opposed by the Roman legions during the early centuries of our era. From this the 5th century on, and for most of the next 14 centuries, the Slavonic tribes were in conflict with the Avars from the east and especially the Germanic tribes from the west.
The historian Palacky described the dominating characteristics of the people: "The Bohemians cultivated the arts of peace; and when they resorted to arms at all, it was in self-defense. They cultivated the soil, reared cattle, and engaged in commerce with neighboring peoples. Their patient industry became proverbial. 'Social in their habits, they pressed hospitality to unlawful extremes, not hesitating to rob their neighbors in order to entertain their guests. Music and dancing constituted their pastimes. Family ties were held sacred. The shades which darkened their character were their frivolity, their quarrelsome disposition, and their vindictiveness."' The earliest reliable historic accounts stem from the introduction of Christianity into Bohemia by missionaries from the Greek empire in the east and conflicts with Charlemagne and the rulers of the Roman empire from the west in the ninth century.
Cyril and Methodius were sent by the emperor Michael of Constantinople to Moravia. They brought with them a Slavonic translation of the Bible which became the literary standard of the people. From Moravia, Christianity was taken westward over the border to the kingdom of Bohemia. The Slavic language used in religious services took its position with Latin and Greek as a liturgical language and, later, this was to be one of the causes of centuries of opposition and oppression from the Roman Popes.
While the Bohemians had fought off invasions from the Germanic tribes from its earliest history, domination became complete when it became part of the Hapsburg Empire, centered in Austria. The Slavic language was banned and replaced by German in the cities, schools, government and religious functions, and commerce. It was spoken only by the rural peoples for several centuries. It's return to the literate and educated only became permanent, though hardly universal, toward the end of the 18th century.
The foundation of the Society of the Bohemian National Museum in 1818 marked the beginning of an organized movement for the revival of the suppressed national institutions, though for many years it was limited to a literary movement. The early activities of the museum were directed to editing ancient Bohemian works which had been made rare by the counter-reformation and the wholesale destruction of books in the national language by the Jesuits during the two centuries that they were spiritual masters of the Bohemian kingdom. By the middle of the century the leaders of the Society included historians and jurists and, toward the end of the century, by "constructive statesmen and captains of industry." From its inception, the society was opposed by the powerful German and Jewish minorities in power.
One of the tragic episodes in the unequal struggle which Bohemia was waging is the career of Karel Havlicek (1821-1856), the patriot and statesmen, who fell a martyr to the cause of journalistic freedom. Another was created by the unpopular congress of representatives of the different Slavic races called to meet in Prague. At the conclusion of a religious service, some Austrian soldiers panicked and fired on the crowd. This resulted in chaos, rioting, and looting of the Bohemians' homes, instigated by the opposing Germans. Coupled with the rebellion in Vienna in 1848, clerical and military forces overturned the government, reinstalled German as the official and exclusive language, and brought about the concordat of 1855, which proclaimed the doctrine of a Christian state for the Hapsburg dominions.
Political chaos continued to reign throughout Europe between the Germans, French, the Hapsburg states, and the Papal states. Governments rose and fell in few short years. Not until 1882 was the native language again permitted to be used in the university in Prague. The Germans became more and more exasperated, as when the Czechs were permitted to use their language in lower courts. Finally, in 1893 all government officials were required to be bilingual--equating the German and Czech languages.Read a more complete Czech History
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