Přemysl the Ploughman

Přemysl the Ploughman (Czech pronunciation: [ˈpr̝̊ɛmɪsl̩ ˈoraːtʃ] ⓘ Přemysl Oráč; English: Premysl, Przemysl or Primislaus[nb 1]) was the legendary husband of Libuše, and ancestor of the Přemyslid dynasty, containing the line of princes (dukes) and kings which ruled in the Lands of the Bohemian Crown from 873 or earlier until the murder of Wenceslaus III in 1306.

[3] According to a legend, Přemysl was a free 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.

Legend has it that the staff continued to grow, and the inhabitants of the neighbouring town were given a grant exempting them from taxes, except for a pint of hazel nuts each year, a tradition which continued into the reign of Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor, from whom Pope Pius II claimed to have seen a charter renewing the exemption.

A notable theory of origin suggests the names of the early Přemysl ancestors actually arose from a mistaken interpretation by Cosmas.

[5] When the ancestral names are combined and reassessed, they can roughly cohere an assumed text: "Krok‘ kazi tetha lubossa premisl nezamisl mna ta voj‘n ni zla kr‘z mis neklan gosti vit..." In modern English, this may translate to: "Halt your steps, Tetha, and rather think, I do not intend war or evil upon you, we do not bow to the cross, we welcome guests..." The alleged message is speculated to be from the Czech princes to the Franks, perhaps in relation to the Battle of Zásek c. 849 described in the Annales Fuldenses.