Cosmas of Prague was a Bohemia

Bohemia

Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...

n priest, writer and historian born in a noble family in Bohemia. Between 1075 and 1081, he studied in Liège. After his return to Bohemia, he became a priest and married Božetěcha, with whom he probably had a son. In 1086 Cosmas was appointed prebendary

Prebendary

A prebendary is a post connected to an Anglican or Catholic cathedral or collegiate church and is a type of canon. Prebendaries have a role in the administration of the cathedral...

 (canonicus) of Prague

Prague

Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...

, a prestigious position. As prebendary he also travelled through Europe on official matters.

His magnum opus

Masterpiece

Masterpiece in modern usage refers to a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or to a work of outstanding creativity, skill or workmanship....

, written in Latin, is called Chronica Boëmorum ("Chronicle of Bohemians"). The Chronica is divided into three books:

• The first book, completed in 1119, starts with the creation of the world and ends in the year 1038. It describes the legendary foundation of the Bohemian state by the oldest Bohemians around the year 600 (Duke Bohemus, Duke Krok and his three daughters), Duchess Libuše
  Libuše
  Libuše, Libussa or, historically Lubossa, is a legendary ancestor of the Přemyslid dynasty and the Czech people as whole. Libuše was the wisest of the three sisters and prophesied the foundation of Prague from her castle Libušín...
  
   and the foundation of Přemyslid dynasty
  Premyslid dynasty
  The Přemyslids , were a Czech royal dynasty which reigned in Bohemia and Moravia , and partly also in Hungary, Silesia, Austria and Poland.-Legendary rulers:...
  
   by her marriage with Přemysl
  Premysl
  Přemysl is a Czech Slavic name that can refer to:* Přemysl, the Ploughman – mythical founder of the Bohemian royal dynasty of Přemyslids* Přemysl I Otakar – king of Bohemia * Přemysl II Otakar – king of Bohemia...
  
  , old bloody wars, Duke Bořivoj
  Borivoj I of Bohemia
  Bořivoj I was the first historically documented Duke of Bohemia and founder of Přemyslid dynasty.As the head of the Přemyslids who dominated the environs of present-day Prague, around 870 Bořivoj declared himself kníže - in latin dux, which means sovereign prince...
  
   and the introduction of Christianity in Bohemia, Saint Wenceslaus
  Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia
  Wenceslaus I , or Wenceslas I, was the duke of Bohemia from 921 until his assassination in 935, purportedly in a plot by his own brother, Boleslav the Cruel....
  
   and his grandmother Saint Ludmila
  Saint Ludmila
  Saint Ludmila is a Czech saint and martyr venerated by the Orthodox and the Roman Catholics. She was born in Mělník as daughter of a Slavic prince Slavibor...
  
  , reign of the three Boleslavs, the life of Saint Adalbert
  Adalbert of Prague
  This article is about St Adalbert of Prague. For other uses, see Adalbert .Saint Adalbert, Czech: ; , , Czech Roman Catholic saint, a Bishop of Prague and a missionary, was martyred in his efforts to convert the Baltic Prussians. He evangelized Poles and Hungarians. St...
  
   and bloody wars after year 1000.

• The second book describes Bohemian history for the years 1038–1092. The book starts with the heroic deeds of Duke Břetislav
  Bretislaus I of Bohemia
  Bretislaus I , known as Bohemian Achilles, of the house of the Přemyslids, was the duke of Bohemia from 1035 till death.-Youth:...
  
  , known as the "Bohemian Achilles
  Achilles
  In Greek mythology, Achilles was a Greek hero of the Trojan War, the central character and the greatest warrior of Homer's Iliad.Plato named Achilles the handsomest of the heroes assembled against Troy....
  
  ", for example with his victory over Poland
  Poland
  Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
  
  . The Chronica also describes the long and great reign of King Vratislav
  Vratislaus II of Bohemia
  -Literature:*Vratislav Vaníček: Vratislav II. . První český král. Vyšehrad 2004, ISBN 80-7021-655-7*Hans Patze: Die Pegauer Annalen, die Königserhebung Wratislaws v. Böhmen und die Anfänge der Stadt Pegau. JGMODtl 12, 1963, 1-62...
  
  , who was a strong ruler but brave and good man. There is also a reflection on his wars in Italy
  Italy
  Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
  
  ; this book ends with Vratislav's death.

• The third book (1092–1125) starts with a description of the time of instability and bloody civil wars after Vratislav's death between years 1092 and 1109. The Chronica ends with the reign of Vladislav
  Vladislaus I of Bohemia
  Vladislaus I , duke of Bohemia from 1109 to 1117 and from 1120 to April 12, 1125.Vladislav I was a son of Duke, later King, Vratislav II of Bohemia by his second wife Swatawa, a daughter of Casimir I of Poland. Together with his cousin Svatopluk, Vladislav expelled his brother Bořivoj II from...
  
   between 1109 and 1125. In same year, 1125, Cosmas died.

External links

• Chronica Boëmorum — the chronicle accessible on-line at Monumenta Germaniae Historica
  Monumenta Germaniae Historica
  The Monumenta Germaniae Historica is a comprehensive series of carefully edited and published sources for the study of German history from the end of the Roman Empire to 1500.The society sponsoring the series was established by the Prussian reformer Heinrich Friedrich Karl Freiherr vom...
  
  
• Cosmas biography (in Czech)