Přemysl, the Ploughman

This article is about an ancient Czech ruler. For other meanings, see Przemysl.

A sculpture of Přemysl and Libuše stands at Vyšehrad

The Czechs name Přemysl, the Ploughman (Premysl or Przemysl; in Czech Přemysl Oráč, Czech pronunciation: [pr̝ɛmɪsl oraːtʃ]) as the mythical ancestor of Přemyslid dynasty, containing the line of princes (dukes) and kings which ruled in the Czech lands from 873 or earlier until the murder of Wenceslaus III in 1306.

According to a legend, Přemysl was a peasant of the village of Stadice who attracted the notice of Libuše, daughter of a certain Krok, who ruled over a large part of Bohemia. Přemysl married Libuše, the traditional foundress of Prague, and became prince of the Bohemian Czechs. Přemysl and Libuše had three sons: Nezamysl (heir), Radobyl and Lidomir.

The Přemyslid dynasty became extinct in the male line when Wenceslaus III died, but through females the title to Bohemia passed from the Přemyslids to the Luxembourgs and later to the houses of Jagiełło, Habsburg and Habsburg-Lorraine.

See also

• List of Czech rulers

Bibliography

• František Palacký: Geschichte von Böhmen Band 1 (Prague, 1844).

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.