The World of Cosmas. The Image of Political Nation in the Oldest Czech Chronicle

The world of Cosmas. The image of political nation in the oldest Czech chronicle This work focuses on the image of the political nation in the oldest Czech chronicle - Chronica Boemorum (The Chronicle of Czechs) by Cosmas, "the first Czech historian" [Robert Bartlett, University of St Andrews: "Bohemia made a spectacular debut in this respect with Cosmas of Prague, whose vivid prose style, gifts of powerful characterization and ability to convey action, and the occasional personal touches he allows (such as the yearning picture of his long-gone student days) make him not only a vital historical source for the Premyslid lands but also one of the great writers of the Middle Ages. He initiated a tradition which continued, with peaks and plateaux, throughout the Premyslid period, and this was important, for a native historical tradition was one of the marks of a Latin Christian society."] Cosmas' Chronicle (The Chronicle of Czechs) is part of the context of "national history". Cosmas wrote a scholarly, entertaining, but also politically committed work, presenting a "national program" of sorts. This was no Czech specialty - when we think of Europe in the 11th and 12th century, we see a garden of sprouting new nations, the medieval "spring of nations". The first national states, with clear territorial..