Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of I Heart Radio and Grim and Mild from Aaron Manky. Listener discretion advised. There's a book by the nineteenth century check writer Aloise Harissak that any listeners who happen to grow up in a Zech school system might remember. Old Czech Legends is a collection of stories from a rich cultural history, some dating back to the days of Bohemia, one of the
earliest incarnations of a Czech state. One of the tales in the book details how the Czech people first found their way to their homeland, while other stories talk of brutal wars or feats of bravery. There is one legend that stands out from the rest, though, about a princess, about magic, prophecy, and eventually in uprising by women against men.
While there is no historical evidence to prove that any of these legends are anything more than just that legends, the story of LaBouche, the prophetic pagan princess who founded Prague, strongly persists in the Czech cultural imagination. I'm Dana Schwartz and this is Noble Blood. Like any legend, l Bushes differs based on who's telling it and when they're doing so here sex version of events is the most popular,
so it's the one that will default too. He was writing during the Czech National Revival in the nineteenth century, a cultural movement dedicated to the Czech language and national identity during a time of Germanization, spearheaded by the Habsburgs. The Kingdom of Bohemia, known today as the Czech Republic, was at the time under the rule of the Austrian Empire.
The Czech language had been essentially erased from the school system, so a number of works by here A Second his contemporaries were aimed specifically at students in collecting and retelling Czech legends first recorded by the eleventh century historian Cosmos of Prague. He was seeking to instill national pride back into the next generation. So the legend that goes like this, A tribe of Slavic people travel west in search of plentiful land. They're led by Forefather Czech, who they will
later be named after a top a mountain. Forefather Check sees their land in the distance, inhabited and lush with rivers full of fish and fertile soil. During his lifetime, the people and land prosper living and working together in harmony. After he passes his son, Kroc assumes tribal leadership in accordance with an assembly of elders. Kroc was also considered a wise leader. During his time, he founded a school to teach religion, hymns, prophecy, and magic. Magic was considered
the highest form of learning. Honoring the gods, Kroc would often go into seclusion to ask for the guidance of the gods, and prominent men of the tribe built him a castle, vi Shrad to do so. Tales of the structure, whose name means high castle, remained today. Cosmos. The eleventh century writer dates Vishrad's construction to six hundred and eighty three CE, but modern historians have concluded that in fact, the actual bill thing would have been built closer to
the tenth century. The disparity in the timeline calls into question the legitimacy of the story. It doesn't completely rule out Kroc's existence, but it certainly demonstrates a clear divide in what anthropologists think of Bohemia's origins and what legend tells us for reference. From this point on, these events are said to have taken place sometime in the eighth century. Kroc had no male heirs, but he did have three
beautiful daughters, each with unique gifts. Kazi, the eldest, healed the sick with her vast knowledge of herbs and use of magic incantations. Teta the middle, was a pagan priestess who guided the people in sacrifices and prayers. And labushe the youngest and wisest, as noted, also the most beautiful,
possessed the gift of foresight. Emphasis on the three sisters beauty with the added emphasis on Labush's particular beauty is a pattern we've seen repeated throughout stories of powerful women across cultural histories, and one that we've discussed before on this show. Why are most of our historical heroines described
as striking beauties? Whether it serves to soften these women with incredible power, reconcile their femininity with masculine constructs of power, or further canonize them in the mythological sphere, it's a trope that pop culture still hasn't quite escaped from. On a simple level, it might just be that society as a whole tends to only value women if they're also considered attractive, but onward. Labusha's great power came in the
form of prophecy. It said she was prone to fall into a trance and make predictions, which garnered some fear among the people. Due to her power and wisdom, the Assembly of elders appointed LaBouche, even she was the youngest, as the next ruler, and initially there was no dispute from the people. As tribe leader, Labusha's role was similar to that of a judge, and most of her work as ruler revolved around resolving disputes of all manners. After all, she was chosen for her wisdom and was known for
her fair judgments, aided by her prophecies. One day, she was presented with a bitter conflict between two men over the boundaries of their land. According to Hirisak, when she ruled in favor of the younger man, the older launched into a fit of rage, beginning a tirade against Labusha and women as a whole. Quote, what kind of justice can we expect from a woman long haired but short on brains? Let her sew in spin, but not be a ruler and judge. Where else does a woman rule
over men? Except here? We are the laughing stock among nations, and we can outstand for such a judge any longer her to die than bear such a rain end quote. Labusha considered her response thoughtfully and quietly, before rising and remarking, you are right. I am a woman, and I rule like a woman, not with a rod of iron, but with compassion, which you take for weakness. You need a stricter ruler, and your demand shall be fulfilled. Go now in peace. Let the people choose a duke to rule them,
and I shall marry whomever they choose. Lubusha spent the rest of the day in her secluded garden worshiping Perun, a wooden idol with a head of silver and a beard of gold. She called upon her sisters to join her, and their discussions continued throughout the night. The next morning, Labusha called for a gathering of the clan leaders, who had traveled from far and wide to hear who would
be chosen. As the duke, trumpets announced Labusha's arrival, who was accompanied on your side by her sisters, Lubusha made her speech, All of you know why I called you together. You did not appreciate the freedom I gave you, So the gods inspired me to tell you that I shall rule you no longer. You want a man, a duke, who will take away your children to serve him, who will choose the best of your cattle and horses for
taxes according to his whims. You want to serve a master, and to pay for it, as so far you have not had to do in return, you will not have to be ashamed of having a woman ruler. So be it. Go ahead and choose a duke, But do so wisely and carefully, because it is easy to put someone in power, but hard to get rid of him. However, if you wish,
I can advise you as to whom to choose. The leaders, having no candidate to follow through with enthusiastically excepted Lubusha's aid, Lubusha rose, her eyes grew dreamy as she and shared a prophetic trance. In a faraway voice, she advised, beyond the hills is a small stream called Billina, a hundred and twenty paces beyond, in a narrow valley, there is a field where you will find your future duke, a plowman.
Go take along the clothing fit for a duke, Give the man my message, and bring him back here to be your ruler and my husband. His name is Premissile, and our descendants will rule here forever. You will not have to ask the way my white horse will lead you. Just follow him. You will be certain it is he when you see him eating off an iron table. Just as Labusha had prophesied, her white horse led the men
straight to Schmistle. Upon their arrival, she Mustle stuck his staff into the ground and invited the men to join him for breakfast. The plowman turned over his iron plow and made it in to a table, just as the queen had prophesied. As the stunned men sat and ate the bread Shemissal offered them, they noticed that his staff that he had planted in the ground had sprouted three green buds. The next time they looked, two of the
three now leafy branches had triveled and died. They asked their future king what this meant, and he answered, quote here ye that many of my descendants will rule, but only one of them will remain a king and a ruler. Their next question was as to the meaning behind the iron table. I eat at an iron table, he replied, so that you may know that my lineage will rule with iron. Take iron seriously, flow with iron in times of peace, and in times of war, protect yourself with it.
As long as the Checks have such an iron table, they will always defeat their enemy. When foreigners one day take this table from them, Checks will lose their freedom. Their third question, as the group made their way back to the castle, was to ask their future king why he was bringing his leather purse and best sandals when
they had provided him with entirely new clothing. I give them to you to keep forever, so that my descendants may know where they came from, so that they may live in humility without pridefully oppressing the people entrusted to them, for we all are equal, he answered. As she promised, Labusha married Shemissle, who began to rule and judge as
Labusha had, but manlier. Some versions of the story believe he consulted Labusha in his rule, but no matter the circumstances, it remains that Labusha did not have the position that she once did. The couple had three children, as Shemissule's buds had predicted. The most renowned element of Labusha's story was still yet to come, as described in the book
Prague in Black and gold by Peter Demittz. Sometime later, on a mild summer night, Labusha, her husband, and the elders were standing on a cliff above the Voltava River. While looking across the water to the wooded hills, Labusha entered a trance, raised her hands towards the other shore, and uttered her prophecy, I see a great city whose fame will touch the stars. This is her most famous line, but Cosmos of Prague, the original writer, actually ripped it
off of virgils a Kneed. She guided her people to cross the river and to find a man there who was busy hewing the threshold in check pra of a house, and asked him to build a castle to be called Prah. Right on the spot. Just as princes and army commanders bow their heads when they enter a house, Labusha proclaimed, so will they bow their head to my city. It will be honored, noble and respected by all the world. This prophesied city would of course become Prague, and it's
with her vision of glory that Labusha's legend ends. But Labusha's legacy is the catalyst for one of the following stories. In Old Czech legends, Schmissul was the ruler check men wanted, but he was rejected by many of the land's women. Under Labusha's rule, men and women enjoyed equal rights and treatment, But just as Labusha had predicted, the Duke ushered in
an age of patriarchal rule. It said that he struckt women of their rights and implemented practices associated with patriarchal societies, such as feudalism and serfdom. There was particular unrest among Labusha's former maidens, who felt abandoned and quote angry when the men held them up to ridicule and called them
quote lost sheep end quote. The legend tells that a maiden named Vlassa, Labusha's favorite, was the one who first took up arms and gathered an army of tired, angry women across the land, beginning what became known as the Maiden's War against men. Last of strategically organized and trained the women who were leaving their husbands, brothers, and fathers
to join their fight. The strongest women were chosen to lead the attack, and the most beautiful were chosen to entice the men away from their battle groups so that they could be killed. She Missile's army openly mocked the female warriors, but the king warned them not to underestimate the women's strength. He was right to do so. The
bloody battles began and the women were winning. They fortified the castle Devine, utilizing it as a military base, and they warded off the men from even attempting a breach. Aiding Vlasta was another high ranking lieutenant and clever tactician, a woman named Charka. In her boldest plot, Charka staged a mock betrayal and feigned helplessness as she was quote tied to a tree and the left to die end quote.
She screamed and cursed the rebel forces to gain the attention and sympathy of a band of men patrolling the forest for women. This group of men on patrol included one of the men's best fighters, Citrod, who believed charka story and freed her from her restraints. The men set up camp for the night, and thanking them, Charca board mead for all the men, which she had, of course spiked with a potent sleeping powder. Once the men fell asleep,
the rebel forces emerged from the tree line. They slaughtered them all except Sir Trod, who was taken back to Devon and tortured to death. The men were so enraged that they abandoned the formalities of battle and began to attack all innocent women traveling on the roads. Vlosta, unable to bear the weight of the torment that the men were inflicting, ceded to their strategy and met the men in open combat. She was slain and the army disbanded
soon after their leader fell. For their victory, lap the men burned Divine or the Castle of Maidens to the ground. In his telling, Hirosek would like to side with the women, but the narrative turns against them because he says they had quote no heart, okay, whatever that means. It was as Labusha predicted, the men would get what they wanted of patriarch a master at the expense of the freedom she had once ruled by. As is always the case, the casualties of patriarchy are the women whose voices are
stripped away. Persistent as these legends are in Czech culture, there unfortunately is no real anthropological evidence supporting that they're anything more than well legends. Really, that applies to Labusha's entire existence too. The more likely founder of the stronghold of Praha was Duke Bogevois, whose rule began circa eight hundred and seventy. He was the first documented duke of
Bohemia and progenitor of the Shemissed dynasty. He was said to be the last son of the mythical Bohemian princes, and therefore a direct descendant of Laboushe and Shemissul. This lineage can of course not be confirmed by historians, and an opposing theory believes that he was instead related to a Slavic dynasty. The writer of the first Bohemian Chronicle, published about two hundred years after the Duke's death, believed that the distinction between myth and real history begins with
Bogevoy's rule. Bougevoy was also notably Bohemia's first Christian ruler, and he built Bohemia's first church, dedicated to Saint Clement's. Despite revolts from traditional rivals, Bougevoy continued on to build a second church, this one to worship the Virgin Mary. Later in his life, he decided to move his resident closer to the latter church, and the castle built was
called Praha or Prague Castle, which still stands today. The etymology of Praha is debated still to day among historians, with some believing its origin comes from the idea of napras, or a barren place on which the sun beat down mercilessly. It could also reference quote, the cleaning of the forest by fire or bracchiti. There are still, some, however, who find la Boush's idea of the threshold or pra most compelling. The idea the t wanted people to lower their heads
and enter a city as they would a home. As for the Maiden's War, there is even less of a connection to recorded history. Some historians argue that the story is based on tales of the Amazonian warriors, while others believe it could have roots in Bohemia's factual past. Speaking to Radio Prague International, Voslav Ladvinka, the director of Prague's City Archives, tells us quote, there are some historians who have,
in my opinion, a somewhat fertile imagination. They claim that there could have been a matriarchal society, that women had primacy and that they were overthrown by men. This could be true, but then the same could be said about the ancient Greeks, so it seems most likely that Cosmos took the basis for his tales from those ancient texts, and as we know, Cosmos did enjoy stealing from Roman epic X. That's the story or the legend of Labusha
of Bohemia. But keep listening after a brief sponsor break to hear a little bit about how the legend has been translated into modern culture. Labusha's story has inspired the works of many Czech and European artists, and perhaps the most famous is her namesake opera, containing music by Czech composer Bedrick's Mantana and written first in German by author
Joseph Lindzig. The opera was written in eighteen seventy one for the coronation of Franz Joseph as King of Bohemia, but Smitana ended up saving Labusha for the opening of the National Theater in Prague, which took place nine years later on June eleven. Act one of the opera depicts Labusha's ruling over the land dispute, but in a departure from the myth, Act two decides to develop the backgrounds of the men in the conflict and deepen all of
the characters. This involves a love triangle in which a classically conniving woman feigns interest in one of the men
to make the other jealous. All is eventually resolved, and Act three depicts a Midsummer Night's dream esque double wedding between all the lovers and Labusha and Schmissul, before Labusha has her prophecy of Prague, a reminder to all of the hopeful witches out there that, no matter how powerful you are, you may end up in only two thirds of your own opera in favor of some random men in a land dispute. Noble Blood is a production of I Heart Radio and Grim and Mild from Aaron Mankey.
Noble Blood is hosted by me Danis Shwartz. Additional writing and researching done by Hannah Johnston, hannah's Wick, Mira Hayward, Courtney Sunder, and Laurie Goodman. The show is produced by rema Il Kali, with supervising producer Josh Thane and executive producers Aaron Mankey, Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick. For more podcasts from I Heart Radio, visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows