Charles IV was born in 14th of May 1316. He got the name Wenceslas
IV. Father of Charles was King John of Luxemburg known as well
as “Foreign King” because he was usually everywhere
else than in his homeland. King John loves battles and helped
his friends and alliances in neighbourhood to fight their battles.
He took just a little bit stands to local politics in Czech. In
the other hand he strength Czech position in Europe during the
Mother of Charles IV was Elisabeth Premysl, who was the daughter
of Wenceslas II, the previous King of Bohemia. The male bloodline
of Premysl royal family died out because there was no boy to inherit
the crown. That is why John of Luxemburg became a King of Bohemia.
Mother Elisabeth taught to Czech forebears to young Charles. Later
there was some break-up between John and Elisabeth and John took
his 3-year-old son from Elisabeth. John’s sister took care
of Charles after that.
When Charles was 7-years old he was sent to Paris according to
family tradition. Charles rose up and got his education in the
court of France. One of his teachers was abbot Peter Roger, who
would be a Pope Clement VI in the future. The Queen Mary of France
was a sister of John of Luxemburg and hers husband King Charles
IV became as godfather of young Charles when he was baptized in
1323. Godfather gave his own name to Charles in baptism. Unlike
usually Charles kept his confirmation name at the rest of his
In the court of France Charles got married in 1324 when he was
only 8 years old. His first wife Margaret/Blanche of Valois was
daughter of Charles of Valois, who was uncle of king Charles IV
of France. In 1328, when King Charles IV died without male heir,
his cousin and brother of Blanche Philip VI became to king of
Charles started to take part to politics
Charles lived also in Luxemburg and Northern Italy before he
came back to Bohemia. In eastern 1331 during his time in Luxemburg
someone tried to poison his retinue. Charles avoided poisoning
because he was going to Eastern mess and planned to take part
of communion. That is why he didn’t eat poisoned food. Many
men of his retinue died to poison. Later catch the poisoner who
confess his crime after tree day torture and tell also who was
behind the assassin. In Italy he took care of the administration
of his father's temporary acquisitions.
Charles came back to Bohemia at 1333. He was a clever boy who
spoke French, Italian, German and Latin fluently. He had forgotten
Czech language almost all, but learned it very quickly after his
arriving. He also called his wife Blanche to Prague from Luxemburg
and after on year his first daughter Margaret of Luxemburg was
born in 1335. Second daughter Catherine of Luxemburg was born
The kingdom was almost deserted and thing were quite badly in
Bohemia when Charles came there. There was for example no free
castle where Charles could live. Even Prague castle were so bad
condition that it was impossible to live. Charles needed to build
up a new palace. He also recovered castles of Krivoklát,
Týrov, Lichnice, Litice, Hradec Králove, Písek,
Nectiny, Zbiroh, Tachov, Trutnov, Lukov, Telc, Veveri, Olomouc,
Brno and Znojmo with high cost and great help of the people of
Bohemia. They also recovered and returned a lot of other property
to the crown.
Charles had good political and administrative skills, but deceitful
advisors told lies to King John about him and so Charles dismissed
in 1335. Even after reconciliation with his father Charles spend
a lot of time outside Bohemia. When his father was already blind
and Charles was escorting him he met an old friend from count
of France. Cardinal Peter Roger invited Charles to visit his home
and there they made famous foretell conversation. Cardinal said
to Charles ”You will yet be King of the Romans.” And
Charles responded to him, ”You will be pope before that.”
Both of these were filled quite soon and his friend became as
pope Clement VI.
Charles came again back to Bohemia with his father in early 1341.
King John transferred the administration of kingdom to his son
Charles IV but also set some conditions. Charles had to give 5000
marks to John and John would not come back to Bohemia during next
two years or demand any more money. When King John was gone, Charles
started to arrange things to better way in whole Bohemia. After
two years King John came back to Bohemia and took Charles again
to battles with him.
This way Charles took part to local and foreign politics even
before he became a real king. He for example made a really successful
campaign that finally leads for that pope Clement VI promoted
the bishopric of Prague to an archbishopric in 1344. That means
that Bohemian lands got an ecclesiastical autonomy. Related to
that Charles gave also order to reconstruct St. Vitus Church to
huge gothic cathedral and he also founded a new seat of bishopric
to Litomyšl in East Bohemia.
The King of Bohemia
According of prophetical discussion with Cardinal Peter Roger
later Pope Clement IV Charles was elected to King of Romans on
22 May 1346. Just after few months his father fights with French
army against English black prince and died at the battle of Crécy.
Charles became also the King of Bohemia and the new archbishop
in Prague crowned him in 1347. Soon after his coronation he made
a law concerning coronation and king’s position in the state.
He made Bohemia as a hereditary monarchy, which means that first-born
son and his line will inherit the crown. If there is no male heiress,
succession will devolve upon the daughters.
Contemporary people describe Charles as a medium-sized man. He
had a black hair and wide face. Charles didn’t like fighting
so he got a nickname “Popish King”. At the same time
Charles was Slav and Western so people liked him all over his
kingdom and outside of it. The French education gave him Western
manners but he also liked to emphasize his Slavonic roots. Later
he founded a monastery for monks who followed Slavonic liturgy.
In this and many other ways he spread information of Slavonic
Saints to the Western Europe.
Even that his wife Blanche died in 1348 was that year very remarkable
in a reign of Charles IV. In that year Charles gave a constitutional
charter where he legally and officially confirmed the creation
of the lands of Bohemian Crown. That includes Bohemia, Moravia,
Silesia and later also the whole Lusatia. The Crown of Bohemia
was in its strength until Thirty Years’ War.
Charles chooses Prague as his living place and so Prague became
as remarkable place and the capital of Bohemian kingdom. He was
a great town planner and enlarged city and use a lot of money
by building Prague New Town. Soon Prague was bigger town than
contemporary Paris or London. In 1348 he also founded university
that is nowadays called as Charles University (Universitas Carolina)
of Prague. Charles University was first university in Central
Europe and it was created at the same model that was University
of Sorbonne. He wanted to create a new educational centre in Prague
and also raise the importance of the Kingdom of Bohemia. First
lectures were kept in monasteries and churches but soon Charles
also initiated the building project of university main building
Carolinum. When other universities were founded in Central Europe
Charles University looses its status a little bit, but still in
nowadays it is very remarkable education centre in Czech and Slovak.
Charles initiated also numerous of other building projects in
Prague and Czech lands. He lived a time of gothic architecture
so he had a lot of fine gothic building built all over the Prague.
Clean simple lines and solid structure characterize gothic architecture.
He restored Prague Castle and Vyšehrad and many of churches.
He also builds a very famous stone bridge over Vltava River in
the same place where was earlier the Old Judith Bridge. At today
thousands of tourist like to walk over Charles Bridge. On the
right bank of Vltava Charles build the Old Town Bridge Tower to
guard important bridge.
For the safeguard of his crown jewels and other treasures he
founded Karlštejn Castle near Prague. Building project started
in 1348 and ended in 1357. Numerous artists made all decorations
inside castle. Then he had build the Prague’s “Hunger
Wall” that is said to be first project in the World which
meaning was create employment for poor and starving mob. Parts
of the “Hunger Wall” stood still in Petrin Hill.
During his reign time Charles expands his kingdom to east, where
his son Sigismund became as King of Hungary. He also expands to
west and put his first-born son Wenceslas to lead the Luxemburg.
Soon his kingdom was very massive and there were no competitors
of Luxemburgs anymore. Charles even called himself as the heir
of the Great Moravian Empire. Something could be imagined about
his power when he was asked to mediate negotiations between England
Charles was also the first Bohemian ruler who was at the same
time the King of Romans and the Holy Roman Emperor. He was crowned
in Rome in 1355. Because The Holy Roman Empire contains geographically
present-day Germany, Prussia, Hungary, Bohemia, Switzerland and
Italy was Charles leading the whole Western Christendom and it
made impact also his politics.
When he came back from Rome he gave an order known as the Golden
Bull. It was some kind of imperial constitution and orders about
elections of the German King. According to the Golden Bull, seven
officials formed a college of electors. Those seven officials
were the Archbishop of Mainz, the Archbishop of Triers, the Archbishop
of Cologne, the King of Bohemia, the Count Palatine of Rhine,
the Margrave of Brandenburg and the Duke of Saxony. What was interesting
that Pope wasn’t included to electoral. The Golden Bull
also effected so that electoral princes excluding archbishops
came more independent. The Golden Bull didn’t actually increase
autonomy, but it supports it and so princes got for example right
to mint coins and collect tolls. Non-electoral princes got these
same rights quite soon.
Family of Charles VI
Charles was married in four times. With his first wife Blanche
Charles had two daughters Margaret and Catherine but no male heiress.
After Blanche’s death Charles get married with Anne Wittelsbach
(born 1329), who died without kids in 1353. Anne was daughter
of Elector Palatine Rudolph II. Third wife of Charles was Anne
of Swidnica (born 1339). She gave birth for the first son of Charles
IV. Wenceslas IV was born in 1361 and year after that Anne died.
Charles’ fourth wife was Elizabeth of Pomerania (born 1345
or 1347). Elizabeth gave four more children to Charles. Anne of
Bohemia was born in 1366. She married later Richard II of England.
Two years later bore hers brother Sigismund. John, who was going
to be Duke of Görlitz, was born in 1370 and youngest child
was Margaret, who born in 1373. Elizabeth died in 1393.
Charles IV died in 29 December 1378 and he was buried to St.
Vitus’ Cathedral. During his reign Bohemia has became one
of most powerful state of Europe. The crown of Bohemia was inherited
by to his eldest son Wenceslas IV.
Autobiography of Emperor Charles IV and his Legend of St. Wenceslas
(2001) Edit. Nagy, B. & Schaer, F. Introd. Seibt, F. Cntral
European University Press, Hungary.
Cornej, P., Pokorný, J. (2000) A Brief History of the
Czech Lands to 2000. Práh Press, Prague.
Polišenský, J.V. (1991) History of Czechoslovakia
in Outline. Bohemia International, Prague.