[By Chuck Almdale]
[NOTE: If maps, pictures and legends don’t display properly in your email, go to the blog. The interactive Google map within this posting works on the blogsite, if not in your email. There is a link at the bottom to the entire Mongol Empire & Rus’ series.]
Štramberk, whence come the ears, as seen from the castle on the hill, the town square in the foreground. Photo by Mikko Virtaperko July 2006.
Source: Wikipedia – Štramberk
The 1253 Hungarian/Cuman Invasion of Moravia
As with the previous installment, we continue to draw heavily upon the paper Forging the Past: Facts and Myths Behind the Mongol Invasion of Moravia in 1241 by Tomáš Somer for the details in this and the next installment.
A major confounding event occurred twelve years later when Hungarian troops, including their Cuman allies, invaded Moravia. In the summer of 1253, Hungarian King Béla IV defeated Moravian troops at the river ford in Přerov [Prerau], and on 25 June defeated another Moravian army attempting to break his siege of Olomouc. Meanwhile an army of Rus’ and Polish troops led by Danylo of Galicia stormed the walls of Opava, but failed to take it and went home. Danylo’s failure caused Béla to give up his siege and return to Hungary. Author Tomáš Somer summarizes these events:
What is important for our story is the fact that this invasion was described vividly by the chroniclers and other sources, as opposed to the Mongol invasion, which barely left a mark in medieval records of that time. That was one of the reasons why these two events were later often confused….Very influential in this respect was the Chronicle of the so-called Dalimil, a Czech rhymed chronicle from the beginning of the 14th century. In one of the chapters, it describes the Mongol invasion, but very often it supplies wrong information.
— Somer Tomáš, Forging the Past, pg. 242
Dalimil’s errors included (Somer Tomáš, Forging the Past, pg. 242):
- The invasion began in 1242 [it was actually 1241].
- The Mongols killed Henry the Bearded near Wrocław [it was Henry II the Pious at Legnica].
- Before the invasion Mongol spies known as Kartasi wandered through Europe as far as the Rhine in Germany.
- After winning the Battle of Legnica, the Mongols were stopped near Kłodzko [Glatz].
- The Mongols spent time around Olomouc and a Mongol prince was killed there [the Cumans attacked Olomouc in 1253, 12 years later].
- Following that, the Mongols invaded Poland [they had come from Poland and did not return].
- Mention of the 1253 Hungarian/Cuman invasion was entirely omitted, except for possibly two lines.
Olomouc panorama from the top of the Church of Saint Maurice.
Source: Wikipedia – Olomouc
The 14th Century Chronicle of Příbík Pulkava of Radenín
Following that particular litany of errors was the 14th century Latin chronicle of Příbík Pulkava of Radenín, issued and perhaps supervised by Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV. This chronicle appeared in several variants from 1364 to 1374, was translated into Czech and German and became quite popular, as manuscripts go. The first variant completely omits the 1241 Mongol invasion but includes an incorrectly dated Hungarian and Cuman invasion in 1254. Tomáš Somer briefly paraphrases this account as follows:
Tartars, who had been pillaging the Kingdom of Hungary for several years, attacked and devastated Moravia and caused a massacre near Olomouc, but from that city a noblemen from the house of Sternberg – the Captain of the city at the time – made a foray into enemy lines and mortally wounded the Tartar leader. The Tartars then retreated back to Hungary. That nobleman was then given some lands near Olomouc and founded a new castle there called Sternberg.
— Somer Tomáš, Forging the Past, pgs. 242-43
The final variant of this chronicle corrected the “Tartars” to Cumans and omitted any mention of the Sternberg nobleman.
Interactive Google MyMap. Important locations of Spring 1241 CE. Click on any marker or line for description. If map doesn’t display properly in your email, go to the blog.
Štramberk ears made of gingerbread; whipped cream and raspberries added. Source: Travel Potpourri – Ears from Stramberk
16th-17th Century Story Enhancements
All the above documents were manuscripts, limited in number with few readers. In the 16th century, after the invention of the printing press, new stories appeared with wider availability, most important of which was the Czech language Kronika česká (The Bohemian Chronicle) by Václav Hájek of Libočany, published in 1541. Hájek used many sources but made many mistakes and added his own ideas which thereafter “circulated as facts for centuries.” Among them (Somer Tomáš, Forging the Past, pg. 243):
- A 500,000-man Mongol force harassed Poland until 1243.
- King of Bohemia Wenceslas I came to aid Poland and drove the Mongols off.
- The Mongols moved quickly but heavily plundered through Moravia and entered Hungary.
- In 1253 Béla IV’s Cuman and Tartar army invaded Moravia, pillaged it except for the fortified places.
- King Béla tried to take Olomouc but was fended off by Captain of the City Jaroslav of Sternberg who counter-attacked and cut of the hand of Belzait, the leader of the attack.
- King Béla withdrew while Belzait died of his wounds.
- King Wenceslaus gave Jaroslav of Sternberg some land near Olomouc where he founded New Sternberg, but remained Captain of the whole of Moravia until he died.
In 1253 there really was a Zdeslav of Sternberg who really did have a son Jaroslav but who was unlikely to be old enough to lead any battles, and their ancestral line was Bohemian, not Moravian. Shortly after this book appeared, the real — and powerful — house of Sternberg adopted the fictitious Jaroslav as a heroic ancestor. By 1550 Jaroslav was widely perceived as a hero who saved Olomouc from Béla and the pagan Tartars. The story continues to thicken.
Horní Square – the largest square in Olomouc:
Right: Holy Trinity Column;
Left: Olomouc City Hall with its astronomical clock.
Source: Wikipedia – Olomouc
In 1552 Johannes Dubravius (Jan Skála z Doubravky), writer and Bishop of Olomouc, published his chronicle Historiae Regni Boiemiae which manages to reinterpret Jaroslav’s (purported) heroic defeat of the Cumans at Olomouc in 1253 as Jaroslav the hero defeating Mongols in 1241, thus further confusing these two events in the minds of all readers and most historians ever since.
In this chronicle Peta [alternate name for Baidar] is the leader of the Mongols and is defeated in front of the city of Olomouc by the unnamed Captain of the city, who was of the house of [the repeatedly mentioned] Sternberg. He receives land from the king for his deeds and becomes the Captain of all Moravia. Between Dubravius and Hájek, Jaroslav of Sternberg is now a solid historical hero of Moravia.
Tomáš Pešina of Čechorod (1629 – 1680), Catholic clergyman, theologian, historian, philosopher, Czech patriot, Vicar General and Capitular Dean of the Chapter of St Vitus in Prague.
Source: KomenskyMjakub – Tomas Pesina Of Cechorod
In 1677 Tomáš Pešina of Čechorod published his Latin Mars Moravicus about Moravian military conflicts. In this volume we find a tale of 8,000 brave knights, led by future national hero Jaroslav of Sternberg, attacking the Mongols during their 1241 siege of Olomouc. Jaroslav cuts off Peta’s arm and the Mongol army leaves. The actual and important noble house of Sternberg adopts this new myth as part of their family history and in the 18th century incorporate it into their coat of arms. They frequently commission paintings of their heroic and now-famous ancestor Jaroslav in action to hang in their homes.
In the next installment we look at the Moravian miracle tales that emerged in the 17th century, then circle back to what actually did and did not happen.
Entire Mongol Empire & Rus’ Series: Click Here
First Installment: Why didn’t the Mongols Conquer Europe in the 13th Century?
Previous Installment: Mongols Enter Moravia || Mongol Empire LXXXI
Next Installment: Moravia: 17th Century Miracles || Mongol Empire LXXXIII
This Installment: Moravian Events and Myths: 13th-17th Centuries || Mongol Empire LXXXII
Sources
Forging the Past: Facts and Myths Behind the Mongol Invasion of Moravia in 1241; Somer, Tomáš; Zolotoordynskoe obozrenie=Golden Horde Review. 2018, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 238–251. DOI: 10.22378/2313-6197.2018-6-2.238-251. tomas.somer@upol.cz of Palacký University Olomouc, Olomouc, Czech Republic. Link to free PDF file.
Reddit-AskHistorians – Did the Kingdom of Bohemia ever come under attack
ThoughtCo – Legnica, Battle of
Wikipedia – Bohemia & Moravia – Europe, Mongol Invasion of,
Wikipedia – Carpathian Mountains
Wikipedia – Europe, Mongol Invasion of
Wikipedia – Holy Roman Empire, Mongol Incursions into
Wikipedia – Hungary, First Mongol Invasion of
Wikipedia – Mongol Invasions and Conquests
Wikipedia – Moravian Gate
Wikipedia – Olomouc
Wikipedia – Poland, First Mongol Invasion Background
Wikipedia – Poland, First Mongol Invasion of
Wikipedia – Poland, First Mongol Invasion Route
Wikipedia – Wenceslaus I of Bohemia
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