Charles IV, the Pater Patriae

"I found Rome a city of bricks and left it a city of marble." -- attributed to Augustus, the first Emperor of Rome

“What Augustus did for Rome, Charles IV did for the Capital of Bohemia." -- Uberto Decembrio, 1399

Some political figures dominate their times but then fade, read about only in history class, largely forgotten by their nation. (For American readers, for example: what can you tell me about Millard Fillmore or James K. Polk? Yeah, me neither.) Others, however, seem to deliberately cultivate a legacy that will secure them a place in history. Even if most people aren't sure exactly what they did or stood for, they know who they are.

Charles IV, King of Bohemia, Holy Roman Emperor, definitely falls into the latter category. Now, I am not even qualified as an *amateur* historian of the Czech people, Bohemia, or the city of Prague--the long lists of rulers and domains still confuse me. However, Charles is such an outsized personage, especially here in Prague, that I wanted to spend at least a little time on him. Only a few other figures cut quite such a large figure in local history, and as Chuck here is the earliest, I figured I should talk about him first.

First thing to know: his beard game was STRONG.

Charles was actually born Vaclav (Wenceslaus for the Latin-inclined), but he took the name Charles when he was confirmed, in honor of his uncle, the King of France. He was the son of John, the King of Luxembourg, and Queen Elizabeth of Bohemia, whose brother ended up being the last ruler of the Přemyslid Dynasty. 

A brief detour about the Přemyslids, who ruled Prague, Bohemia, and large swaths of the surrounding countries for centuries, from about 900-1300: Arguably the most famous Přemyslid is Vaclav I, aka St. Wenceslaus, and it was during the Přemyslid era that Prague first grew to prominence. Indeed, the Přemyslid dynasty originated as local rulers of Prague and grew to be one of the most powerful in Europe.

The Přemyslid family crest, which I kinda think looks like a drunk raven. 

By 1300 or so, though, things were not good. Very, very not good. There had been numerous setbacks for Bohemia and her people, and Prague was racked by deprivations of every sort. Invasions and disease made people desperate. There's a story of a widow who, spying a well-dressed young boy on the street, lures him to her home with a green apple, only to kill him so she could steal his finery and sell it. There's probably not an ounce of truth to this story, but it gets across the idea that things were not good. The empire was still sizable, however, stretching through modern Poland to the Baltic Sea in the north and into modern Hungary in the southeast, so there was a lot worth fighting for.

The Middle Ages: when everything is a lot like Risk.

The solution, as was often the case in the Middle Ages, was marriage. After a good deal of infighting, Eliška Přemyslovna (soon to be Queen Elizabeth of Bohemia), the only unmarried princess in the Přemyslid family, married John of Luxembourg, son of the Holy Roman Emperor. The marriage was shortly followed by an invasion of Bohemia, where the happy couple secured the throne. Six years later, in 1316, the couple had their first son, Vaclav--who later took the name Charles. I wish I could say that things were happy from there, but it's a giant mess, especially for poor Elizabeth. However, now that Charles is here, let's talk about Charles.

Seriously, Elizabeth got a pretty raw deal.

First of all, there's the name question. His Czech name was Karel, and his Latin name was Carolus. In Bohemia, some historians argue that he likely went by Vaclav, to better show his true Bohemian character. However, it is very common, even for Czech people, to refer to him as Charles when speaking in English. So, Charles it is.

Secondly, while Charles' father didn't exactly lock his son in a dungeon, he certainly sent him away from Bohemia and Prague. Indeed, young Charles spent most of the first 20 or so years of his life in France, Luxembourg, and Italy. I have neither the skill nor the inclination to try to parse the exact domains of each ruler in this period, so, suffice it to say, after securing some Italian holdings for his father, Charles finally returned to his mother's city. It seems that Charles' long absence from his rightful home was due to his father's mistrust. King John was suspicious of his son, who had been a frequent focal point of resistance to John's rule in Bohemia. Indeed, Elizabeth had apparently been involved in plots during Charles' childood to place him on the throne, likely with her acting as regent--hence her removal from the scene. Anyway, Charles, for his part, seems to have kept his nose clean and eventually had a rapprochement with dear old dad. By the 1340s, with Charles in his late 20s, he is the heir apparent to the Bohemian throne, and he and his father supposedly laid the cornerstone to St. Vitus' Cathedral together.

Charles IV, shown wearing the crown of the Holy Roman Emperor. And what appears to be some curtains.

King John, known as John the Blind for reasons I bet you can imagine, died in battle in 1346, and Charles started on the long journey of securing for himself all the various titles that he now had claim to. After generations of diplomatic inter-marrying, there were a lot of them, and it took him a while, but eventually he claimed all of his father's land, and even more--he was eventually crowned Holy Roman Emperor (twice actually, but we won't dwell on that). The Holy Roman Empire, as famously said on Saturday Night Live, was neither Holy, nor Roman, nor an Empire. Rather, it was a confederation of various kingdoms and duchies, theoretically united by one Emperor, who claimed his legitimacy from the old Roman Emperors. Charles was special in that, not only was he elected Emperor by the various kings, but, by the time of his death, he personally was the king of each of the Empire's largest areas. According to those who understand these things, he was a pivotal figure in securing the stability and longevity of the Holy Roman Empire, setting in place the succession plan that would hold for over 400 years after his death.

A super-cool GIF from Wikipedia showing the rise and fall of the Holy Roman Empire.
1378 is the year of Charles's death, so he had a pretty massive territory.

This is all very well, but what makes Charles so important to Bohemia, and especially to Prague, was that he felt, for whatever reason, a strong connection to the lands of his mother and his mother's dynasty. Various Romans, including the famous poet Petrarch, hoped that Charles would return imperial power to Rome and have his court there, but Charles instead made Prague his permanent home and started putting his stamp on the city, investing huge amounts of money and time.

Charles had a major role in the creation, building, development, or redevelopment of Prague Castle, the New Town (Nové Město), Vyšehrad, and the stone bridge that, almost 500 years after it was built, would be called Charles Bridge (Karlův most) after the man who laid the first stone. A great medieval city needed a university, so Charles founded Charles University, the first outside of Western or Southern Europe, and still one of the very best in the world. Charles gave money and encouraged the building of monasteries (including Emmaus)  and convents, churches and civil buildings. He didn't ignore other parts of his vast territory, both in Bohemia and elsewhere, but he focused on Prague. His work and legacy is everywhere in his city, from St. Vitus' Cathedral, to the massive town square that bears his name--Karlovo náměstí. His hand is, quite literally, everywhere.

Karlštejn Castle, about 30 km outside of Prague, is just one of several magnificent castles Charles built.
Seriously, dude did a lot.

After roughly 30 years of peaceful, wise, and prosperous rule, Charles IV died in 1378, having turned over much of his empire to his sons and nephews. At his funeral, a great theologian and philosopher of the age borrowed the Ancient Roman title of pater patriae, the Father of the Country, and bestowed it on Charles, calling him the Father of the Bohemian nation. It may have just been the usual praise bestowed upon a dead monarch, or it may have been genuine. However, today, some 700 years later, Praguers and tourists alike still walk the streets of the city that Charles built.

Unfortunately, Prague's Golden Age ushered in by Charles didn't long survive his death. His son, Wenceslaus IV, was widely viewed as a weak king. Moreover, within 25 years of Charles' death, a young preacher named Jan Hus--educated and employed at Charles University, a student at Charles' Emmaus monastery, and preaching in Charles' thriving city--would preach for religious reform, triggering decades of religious wars, decades before Martin Luther was even born. So, look for the story of Jan Hus...soonish.