Charles IV Lore Books

Description

About the greatest ruler of the Kingdom of Bohemia, Charles IV, who excelled above all other kings and raised the country from the ashes.

Text

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.