1
00:00:00,760 --> 00:00:04,400
Speaker 1: Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of I Heart Radio

2
00:00:04,640 --> 00:00:08,480
Speaker 1: and Grim and Mild from Aaron Manky. Listener discretion advised.

3
00:00:21,040 --> 00:00:25,119
Speaker 1: There's a book by the nineteenth century check writer Aloise

4
00:00:25,200 --> 00:00:28,200
Speaker 1: Harissak that any listeners who happen to grow up in

5
00:00:28,240 --> 00:00:33,599
Speaker 1: a Zech school system might remember. Old Czech Legends is

6
00:00:33,640 --> 00:00:37,639
Speaker 1: a collection of stories from a rich cultural history, some

7
00:00:37,840 --> 00:00:40,640
Speaker 1: dating back to the days of Bohemia, one of the

8
00:00:40,720 --> 00:00:44,800
Speaker 1: earliest incarnations of a Czech state. One of the tales

9
00:00:44,840 --> 00:00:47,600
Speaker 1: in the book details how the Czech people first found

10
00:00:47,600 --> 00:00:50,920
Speaker 1: their way to their homeland, while other stories talk of

11
00:00:51,040 --> 00:00:55,240
Speaker 1: brutal wars or feats of bravery. There is one legend

12
00:00:55,400 --> 00:00:59,040
Speaker 1: that stands out from the rest, though, about a princess,

13
00:00:59,560 --> 00:01:05,480
Speaker 1: about magic, prophecy, and eventually in uprising by women against men.

14
00:01:06,200 --> 00:01:10,080
Speaker 1: While there is no historical evidence to prove that any

15
00:01:10,200 --> 00:01:14,440
Speaker 1: of these legends are anything more than just that legends,

16
00:01:15,040 --> 00:01:20,360
Speaker 1: the story of LaBouche, the prophetic pagan princess who founded Prague,

17
00:01:20,959 --> 00:01:28,200
Speaker 1: strongly persists in the Czech cultural imagination. I'm Dana Schwartz

18
00:01:28,680 --> 00:01:48,840
Speaker 1: and this is Noble Blood. Like any legend, l Bushes

19
00:01:49,000 --> 00:01:52,880
Speaker 1: differs based on who's telling it and when they're doing

20
00:01:52,920 --> 00:01:56,400
Speaker 1: so here sex version of events is the most popular,

21
00:01:56,520 --> 00:01:59,200
Speaker 1: so it's the one that will default too. He was

22
00:01:59,200 --> 00:02:03,560
Speaker 1: writing during the Czech National Revival in the nineteenth century,

23
00:02:03,600 --> 00:02:07,360
Speaker 1: a cultural movement dedicated to the Czech language and national

24
00:02:07,360 --> 00:02:11,840
Speaker 1: identity during a time of Germanization, spearheaded by the Habsburgs.

25
00:02:12,360 --> 00:02:15,960
Speaker 1: The Kingdom of Bohemia, known today as the Czech Republic,

26
00:02:16,400 --> 00:02:19,480
Speaker 1: was at the time under the rule of the Austrian Empire.

27
00:02:19,840 --> 00:02:23,880
Speaker 1: The Czech language had been essentially erased from the school system,

28
00:02:23,919 --> 00:02:26,040
Speaker 1: so a number of works by here A Second his

29
00:02:26,120 --> 00:02:31,840
Speaker 1: contemporaries were aimed specifically at students in collecting and retelling

30
00:02:31,880 --> 00:02:36,680
Speaker 1: Czech legends first recorded by the eleventh century historian Cosmos

31
00:02:36,680 --> 00:02:40,600
Speaker 1: of Prague. He was seeking to instill national pride back

32
00:02:40,680 --> 00:02:44,720
Speaker 1: into the next generation. So the legend that goes like this,

33
00:02:45,240 --> 00:02:48,920
Speaker 1: A tribe of Slavic people travel west in search of

34
00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:53,280
Speaker 1: plentiful land. They're led by Forefather Czech, who they will

35
00:02:53,400 --> 00:02:57,480
Speaker 1: later be named after a top a mountain. Forefather Check

36
00:02:57,600 --> 00:03:01,960
Speaker 1: sees their land in the distance, inhabited and lush with

37
00:03:02,160 --> 00:03:06,399
Speaker 1: rivers full of fish and fertile soil. During his lifetime,

38
00:03:06,520 --> 00:03:11,480
Speaker 1: the people and land prosper living and working together in harmony.

39
00:03:12,120 --> 00:03:16,200
Speaker 1: After he passes his son, Kroc assumes tribal leadership in

40
00:03:16,240 --> 00:03:20,440
Speaker 1: accordance with an assembly of elders. Kroc was also considered

41
00:03:20,480 --> 00:03:23,640
Speaker 1: a wise leader. During his time, he founded a school

42
00:03:23,720 --> 00:03:29,080
Speaker 1: to teach religion, hymns, prophecy, and magic. Magic was considered

43
00:03:29,120 --> 00:03:33,400
Speaker 1: the highest form of learning. Honoring the gods, Kroc would

44
00:03:33,440 --> 00:03:36,800
Speaker 1: often go into seclusion to ask for the guidance of

45
00:03:36,840 --> 00:03:40,200
Speaker 1: the gods, and prominent men of the tribe built him

46
00:03:40,240 --> 00:03:44,280
Speaker 1: a castle, vi Shrad to do so. Tales of the structure,

47
00:03:44,320 --> 00:03:49,520
Speaker 1: whose name means high castle, remained today. Cosmos. The eleventh

48
00:03:49,520 --> 00:03:54,000
Speaker 1: century writer dates Vishrad's construction to six hundred and eighty

49
00:03:54,000 --> 00:03:58,680
Speaker 1: three CE, but modern historians have concluded that in fact,

50
00:03:59,080 --> 00:04:01,400
Speaker 1: the actual bill thing would have been built closer to

51
00:04:01,480 --> 00:04:05,400
Speaker 1: the tenth century. The disparity in the timeline calls into

52
00:04:05,480 --> 00:04:09,880
Speaker 1: question the legitimacy of the story. It doesn't completely rule

53
00:04:09,920 --> 00:04:14,200
Speaker 1: out Kroc's existence, but it certainly demonstrates a clear divide

54
00:04:14,320 --> 00:04:18,839
Speaker 1: in what anthropologists think of Bohemia's origins and what legend

55
00:04:18,880 --> 00:04:23,120
Speaker 1: tells us for reference. From this point on, these events

56
00:04:23,160 --> 00:04:26,840
Speaker 1: are said to have taken place sometime in the eighth century.

57
00:04:27,240 --> 00:04:30,239
Speaker 1: Kroc had no male heirs, but he did have three

58
00:04:30,440 --> 00:04:36,159
Speaker 1: beautiful daughters, each with unique gifts. Kazi, the eldest, healed

59
00:04:36,279 --> 00:04:39,080
Speaker 1: the sick with her vast knowledge of herbs and use

60
00:04:39,160 --> 00:04:44,080
Speaker 1: of magic incantations. Teta the middle, was a pagan priestess

61
00:04:44,120 --> 00:04:48,640
Speaker 1: who guided the people in sacrifices and prayers. And labushe

62
00:04:48,800 --> 00:04:53,600
Speaker 1: the youngest and wisest, as noted, also the most beautiful,

63
00:04:54,160 --> 00:04:58,880
Speaker 1: possessed the gift of foresight. Emphasis on the three sisters

64
00:04:58,960 --> 00:05:04,120
Speaker 1: beauty with the added emphasis on Labush's particular beauty is

65
00:05:04,120 --> 00:05:07,719
Speaker 1: a pattern we've seen repeated throughout stories of powerful women

66
00:05:07,800 --> 00:05:11,560
Speaker 1: across cultural histories, and one that we've discussed before on

67
00:05:11,600 --> 00:05:15,800
Speaker 1: this show. Why are most of our historical heroines described

68
00:05:15,880 --> 00:05:20,000
Speaker 1: as striking beauties? Whether it serves to soften these women

69
00:05:20,040 --> 00:05:25,279
Speaker 1: with incredible power, reconcile their femininity with masculine constructs of power,

70
00:05:25,760 --> 00:05:29,800
Speaker 1: or further canonize them in the mythological sphere, it's a

71
00:05:29,839 --> 00:05:33,760
Speaker 1: trope that pop culture still hasn't quite escaped from. On

72
00:05:33,839 --> 00:05:37,080
Speaker 1: a simple level, it might just be that society as

73
00:05:37,120 --> 00:05:40,520
Speaker 1: a whole tends to only value women if they're also

74
00:05:40,600 --> 00:05:46,479
Speaker 1: considered attractive, but onward. Labusha's great power came in the

75
00:05:46,520 --> 00:05:49,719
Speaker 1: form of prophecy. It said she was prone to fall

76
00:05:49,839 --> 00:05:53,640
Speaker 1: into a trance and make predictions, which garnered some fear

77
00:05:53,720 --> 00:05:57,080
Speaker 1: among the people. Due to her power and wisdom, the

78
00:05:57,080 --> 00:06:00,960
Speaker 1: Assembly of elders appointed LaBouche, even she was the youngest,

79
00:06:01,240 --> 00:06:04,719
Speaker 1: as the next ruler, and initially there was no dispute

80
00:06:04,800 --> 00:06:08,919
Speaker 1: from the people. As tribe leader, Labusha's role was similar

81
00:06:08,960 --> 00:06:11,360
Speaker 1: to that of a judge, and most of her work

82
00:06:11,400 --> 00:06:16,680
Speaker 1: as ruler revolved around resolving disputes of all manners. After all,

83
00:06:16,760 --> 00:06:19,560
Speaker 1: she was chosen for her wisdom and was known for

84
00:06:19,680 --> 00:06:23,960
Speaker 1: her fair judgments, aided by her prophecies. One day, she

85
00:06:24,080 --> 00:06:27,600
Speaker 1: was presented with a bitter conflict between two men over

86
00:06:27,640 --> 00:06:31,400
Speaker 1: the boundaries of their land. According to Hirisak, when she

87
00:06:31,560 --> 00:06:35,000
Speaker 1: ruled in favor of the younger man, the older launched

88
00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:38,840
Speaker 1: into a fit of rage, beginning a tirade against Labusha

89
00:06:38,880 --> 00:06:42,320
Speaker 1: and women as a whole. Quote, what kind of justice

90
00:06:42,360 --> 00:06:45,480
Speaker 1: can we expect from a woman long haired but short

91
00:06:45,560 --> 00:06:48,520
Speaker 1: on brains? Let her sew in spin, but not be

92
00:06:48,600 --> 00:06:51,800
Speaker 1: a ruler and judge. Where else does a woman rule

93
00:06:51,880 --> 00:06:55,800
Speaker 1: over men? Except here? We are the laughing stock among nations,

94
00:06:55,839 --> 00:06:59,480
Speaker 1: and we can outstand for such a judge any longer

95
00:07:00,040 --> 00:07:03,080
Speaker 1: her to die than bear such a rain end quote.

96
00:07:03,800 --> 00:07:10,040
Speaker 1: Labusha considered her response thoughtfully and quietly, before rising and remarking,

97
00:07:10,760 --> 00:07:13,840
Speaker 1: you are right. I am a woman, and I rule

98
00:07:14,120 --> 00:07:16,760
Speaker 1: like a woman, not with a rod of iron, but

99
00:07:16,880 --> 00:07:20,960
Speaker 1: with compassion, which you take for weakness. You need a

100
00:07:21,000 --> 00:07:25,120
Speaker 1: stricter ruler, and your demand shall be fulfilled. Go now

101
00:07:25,160 --> 00:07:28,560
Speaker 1: in peace. Let the people choose a duke to rule them,

102
00:07:28,680 --> 00:07:32,640
Speaker 1: and I shall marry whomever they choose. Lubusha spent the

103
00:07:32,680 --> 00:07:36,360
Speaker 1: rest of the day in her secluded garden worshiping Perun,

104
00:07:36,480 --> 00:07:38,920
Speaker 1: a wooden idol with a head of silver and a

105
00:07:38,960 --> 00:07:42,360
Speaker 1: beard of gold. She called upon her sisters to join her,

106
00:07:42,680 --> 00:07:47,040
Speaker 1: and their discussions continued throughout the night. The next morning,

107
00:07:47,160 --> 00:07:50,520
Speaker 1: Labusha called for a gathering of the clan leaders, who

108
00:07:50,520 --> 00:07:53,720
Speaker 1: had traveled from far and wide to hear who would

109
00:07:53,760 --> 00:07:58,800
Speaker 1: be chosen. As the duke, trumpets announced Labusha's arrival, who

110
00:07:58,840 --> 00:08:02,800
Speaker 1: was accompanied on your side by her sisters, Lubusha made

111
00:08:02,800 --> 00:08:06,160
Speaker 1: her speech, All of you know why I called you together.

112
00:08:06,600 --> 00:08:09,720
Speaker 1: You did not appreciate the freedom I gave you, So

113
00:08:09,760 --> 00:08:12,280
Speaker 1: the gods inspired me to tell you that I shall

114
00:08:12,400 --> 00:08:16,000
Speaker 1: rule you no longer. You want a man, a duke,

115
00:08:16,080 --> 00:08:18,800
Speaker 1: who will take away your children to serve him, who

116
00:08:18,800 --> 00:08:21,520
Speaker 1: will choose the best of your cattle and horses for

117
00:08:21,600 --> 00:08:25,640
Speaker 1: taxes according to his whims. You want to serve a master,

118
00:08:26,080 --> 00:08:28,760
Speaker 1: and to pay for it, as so far you have

119
00:08:28,920 --> 00:08:32,120
Speaker 1: not had to do in return, you will not have

120
00:08:32,240 --> 00:08:35,280
Speaker 1: to be ashamed of having a woman ruler. So be it.

121
00:08:35,840 --> 00:08:39,080
Speaker 1: Go ahead and choose a duke, But do so wisely

122
00:08:39,160 --> 00:08:42,600
Speaker 1: and carefully, because it is easy to put someone in power,

123
00:08:43,000 --> 00:08:46,160
Speaker 1: but hard to get rid of him. However, if you wish,

124
00:08:46,240 --> 00:08:50,960
Speaker 1: I can advise you as to whom to choose. The leaders,

125
00:08:51,040 --> 00:08:56,080
Speaker 1: having no candidate to follow through with enthusiastically excepted Lubusha's aid,

126
00:08:56,679 --> 00:09:00,240
Speaker 1: Lubusha rose, her eyes grew dreamy as she and shared

127
00:09:00,360 --> 00:09:05,520
Speaker 1: a prophetic trance. In a faraway voice, she advised, beyond

128
00:09:05,640 --> 00:09:09,520
Speaker 1: the hills is a small stream called Billina, a hundred

129
00:09:09,520 --> 00:09:12,760
Speaker 1: and twenty paces beyond, in a narrow valley, there is

130
00:09:12,760 --> 00:09:16,479
Speaker 1: a field where you will find your future duke, a plowman.

131
00:09:17,040 --> 00:09:20,240
Speaker 1: Go take along the clothing fit for a duke, Give

132
00:09:20,320 --> 00:09:23,200
Speaker 1: the man my message, and bring him back here to

133
00:09:23,320 --> 00:09:27,280
Speaker 1: be your ruler and my husband. His name is Premissile,

134
00:09:27,400 --> 00:09:30,760
Speaker 1: and our descendants will rule here forever. You will not

135
00:09:31,000 --> 00:09:33,839
Speaker 1: have to ask the way my white horse will lead you.

136
00:09:34,000 --> 00:09:36,720
Speaker 1: Just follow him. You will be certain it is he

137
00:09:37,040 --> 00:09:42,000
Speaker 1: when you see him eating off an iron table. Just

138
00:09:42,280 --> 00:09:45,760
Speaker 1: as Labusha had prophesied, her white horse led the men

139
00:09:46,280 --> 00:09:50,920
Speaker 1: straight to Schmistle. Upon their arrival, she Mustle stuck his

140
00:09:51,000 --> 00:09:54,240
Speaker 1: staff into the ground and invited the men to join

141
00:09:54,360 --> 00:09:58,400
Speaker 1: him for breakfast. The plowman turned over his iron plow

142
00:09:59,040 --> 00:10:02,160
Speaker 1: and made it in to a table, just as the

143
00:10:02,240 --> 00:10:06,480
Speaker 1: queen had prophesied. As the stunned men sat and ate

144
00:10:06,520 --> 00:10:10,360
Speaker 1: the bread Shemissal offered them, they noticed that his staff

145
00:10:10,720 --> 00:10:14,200
Speaker 1: that he had planted in the ground had sprouted three

146
00:10:14,400 --> 00:10:18,560
Speaker 1: green buds. The next time they looked, two of the

147
00:10:18,640 --> 00:10:23,280
Speaker 1: three now leafy branches had triveled and died. They asked

148
00:10:23,440 --> 00:10:26,840
Speaker 1: their future king what this meant, and he answered, quote

149
00:10:27,400 --> 00:10:30,720
Speaker 1: here ye that many of my descendants will rule, but

150
00:10:30,800 --> 00:10:33,840
Speaker 1: only one of them will remain a king and a ruler.

151
00:10:34,720 --> 00:10:37,800
Speaker 1: Their next question was as to the meaning behind the

152
00:10:37,840 --> 00:10:41,760
Speaker 1: iron table. I eat at an iron table, he replied,

153
00:10:42,120 --> 00:10:44,800
Speaker 1: so that you may know that my lineage will rule

154
00:10:44,960 --> 00:10:49,440
Speaker 1: with iron. Take iron seriously, flow with iron in times

155
00:10:49,440 --> 00:10:52,319
Speaker 1: of peace, and in times of war, protect yourself with it.

156
00:10:52,600 --> 00:10:54,960
Speaker 1: As long as the Checks have such an iron table,

157
00:10:55,280 --> 00:10:58,760
Speaker 1: they will always defeat their enemy. When foreigners one day

158
00:10:58,800 --> 00:11:02,480
Speaker 1: take this table from them, Checks will lose their freedom.

159
00:11:02,600 --> 00:11:05,440
Speaker 1: Their third question, as the group made their way back

160
00:11:05,480 --> 00:11:08,640
Speaker 1: to the castle, was to ask their future king why

161
00:11:08,720 --> 00:11:12,880
Speaker 1: he was bringing his leather purse and best sandals when

162
00:11:12,920 --> 00:11:17,240
Speaker 1: they had provided him with entirely new clothing. I give

163
00:11:17,320 --> 00:11:20,480
Speaker 1: them to you to keep forever, so that my descendants

164
00:11:20,520 --> 00:11:22,880
Speaker 1: may know where they came from, so that they may

165
00:11:22,920 --> 00:11:27,560
Speaker 1: live in humility without pridefully oppressing the people entrusted to them,

166
00:11:27,960 --> 00:11:32,920
Speaker 1: for we all are equal, he answered. As she promised,

167
00:11:33,040 --> 00:11:36,640
Speaker 1: Labusha married Shemissle, who began to rule and judge as

168
00:11:36,720 --> 00:11:41,480
Speaker 1: Labusha had, but manlier. Some versions of the story believe

169
00:11:41,559 --> 00:11:45,640
Speaker 1: he consulted Labusha in his rule, but no matter the circumstances,

170
00:11:45,720 --> 00:11:49,320
Speaker 1: it remains that Labusha did not have the position that

171
00:11:49,440 --> 00:11:53,559
Speaker 1: she once did. The couple had three children, as Shemissule's

172
00:11:53,600 --> 00:11:58,240
Speaker 1: buds had predicted. The most renowned element of Labusha's story

173
00:11:58,440 --> 00:12:01,600
Speaker 1: was still yet to come, as described in the book

174
00:12:01,760 --> 00:12:05,480
Speaker 1: Prague in Black and gold by Peter Demittz. Sometime later,

175
00:12:05,600 --> 00:12:09,160
Speaker 1: on a mild summer night, Labusha, her husband, and the

176
00:12:09,200 --> 00:12:13,040
Speaker 1: elders were standing on a cliff above the Voltava River.

177
00:12:13,559 --> 00:12:17,199
Speaker 1: While looking across the water to the wooded hills, Labusha

178
00:12:17,320 --> 00:12:20,880
Speaker 1: entered a trance, raised her hands towards the other shore,

179
00:12:21,320 --> 00:12:25,559
Speaker 1: and uttered her prophecy, I see a great city whose

180
00:12:25,640 --> 00:12:30,240
Speaker 1: fame will touch the stars. This is her most famous line,

181
00:12:30,840 --> 00:12:34,360
Speaker 1: but Cosmos of Prague, the original writer, actually ripped it

182
00:12:34,400 --> 00:12:38,200
Speaker 1: off of virgils a Kneed. She guided her people to

183
00:12:38,280 --> 00:12:40,720
Speaker 1: cross the river and to find a man there who

184
00:12:40,800 --> 00:12:44,960
Speaker 1: was busy hewing the threshold in check pra of a house,

185
00:12:45,440 --> 00:12:49,400
Speaker 1: and asked him to build a castle to be called Prah.

186
00:12:50,040 --> 00:12:54,440
Speaker 1: Right on the spot. Just as princes and army commanders

187
00:12:54,480 --> 00:12:58,040
Speaker 1: bow their heads when they enter a house, Labusha proclaimed,

188
00:12:58,480 --> 00:13:01,560
Speaker 1: so will they bow their head to my city. It

189
00:13:01,640 --> 00:13:05,400
Speaker 1: will be honored, noble and respected by all the world.

190
00:13:06,160 --> 00:13:10,719
Speaker 1: This prophesied city would of course become Prague, and it's

191
00:13:10,760 --> 00:13:18,000
Speaker 1: with her vision of glory that Labusha's legend ends. But

192
00:13:18,160 --> 00:13:22,600
Speaker 1: Labusha's legacy is the catalyst for one of the following stories.

193
00:13:22,640 --> 00:13:27,280
Speaker 1: In Old Czech legends, Schmissul was the ruler check men wanted,

194
00:13:27,679 --> 00:13:30,640
Speaker 1: but he was rejected by many of the land's women.

195
00:13:31,040 --> 00:13:35,280
Speaker 1: Under Labusha's rule, men and women enjoyed equal rights and treatment,

196
00:13:35,640 --> 00:13:39,120
Speaker 1: But just as Labusha had predicted, the Duke ushered in

197
00:13:39,160 --> 00:13:43,079
Speaker 1: an age of patriarchal rule. It said that he struckt

198
00:13:43,120 --> 00:13:48,600
Speaker 1: women of their rights and implemented practices associated with patriarchal societies,

199
00:13:48,640 --> 00:13:53,600
Speaker 1: such as feudalism and serfdom. There was particular unrest among

200
00:13:53,679 --> 00:13:58,880
Speaker 1: Labusha's former maidens, who felt abandoned and quote angry when

201
00:13:58,880 --> 00:14:01,880
Speaker 1: the men held them up to ridicule and called them

202
00:14:02,000 --> 00:14:07,520
Speaker 1: quote lost sheep end quote. The legend tells that a

203
00:14:07,600 --> 00:14:12,200
Speaker 1: maiden named Vlassa, Labusha's favorite, was the one who first

204
00:14:12,360 --> 00:14:15,959
Speaker 1: took up arms and gathered an army of tired, angry

205
00:14:16,040 --> 00:14:20,000
Speaker 1: women across the land, beginning what became known as the

206
00:14:20,080 --> 00:14:25,160
Speaker 1: Maiden's War against men. Last of strategically organized and trained

207
00:14:25,200 --> 00:14:28,680
Speaker 1: the women who were leaving their husbands, brothers, and fathers

208
00:14:28,720 --> 00:14:32,080
Speaker 1: to join their fight. The strongest women were chosen to

209
00:14:32,200 --> 00:14:35,480
Speaker 1: lead the attack, and the most beautiful were chosen to

210
00:14:35,760 --> 00:14:38,640
Speaker 1: entice the men away from their battle groups so that

211
00:14:38,680 --> 00:14:42,320
Speaker 1: they could be killed. She Missile's army openly mocked the

212
00:14:42,400 --> 00:14:46,400
Speaker 1: female warriors, but the king warned them not to underestimate

213
00:14:46,440 --> 00:14:49,840
Speaker 1: the women's strength. He was right to do so. The

214
00:14:49,880 --> 00:14:54,320
Speaker 1: bloody battles began and the women were winning. They fortified

215
00:14:54,440 --> 00:14:58,000
Speaker 1: the castle Devine, utilizing it as a military base, and

216
00:14:58,040 --> 00:15:01,080
Speaker 1: they warded off the men from even attempting a breach.

217
00:15:02,080 --> 00:15:06,440
Speaker 1: Aiding Vlasta was another high ranking lieutenant and clever tactician,

218
00:15:06,720 --> 00:15:10,960
Speaker 1: a woman named Charka. In her boldest plot, Charka staged

219
00:15:11,000 --> 00:15:15,359
Speaker 1: a mock betrayal and feigned helplessness as she was quote

220
00:15:15,400 --> 00:15:18,840
Speaker 1: tied to a tree and the left to die end quote.

221
00:15:19,000 --> 00:15:21,840
Speaker 1: She screamed and cursed the rebel forces to gain the

222
00:15:21,880 --> 00:15:25,640
Speaker 1: attention and sympathy of a band of men patrolling the

223
00:15:25,720 --> 00:15:30,160
Speaker 1: forest for women. This group of men on patrol included

224
00:15:30,200 --> 00:15:34,160
Speaker 1: one of the men's best fighters, Citrod, who believed charka

225
00:15:34,280 --> 00:15:37,760
Speaker 1: story and freed her from her restraints. The men set

226
00:15:37,840 --> 00:15:41,080
Speaker 1: up camp for the night, and thanking them, Charca board

227
00:15:41,200 --> 00:15:44,200
Speaker 1: mead for all the men, which she had, of course

228
00:15:44,560 --> 00:15:49,240
Speaker 1: spiked with a potent sleeping powder. Once the men fell asleep,

229
00:15:49,440 --> 00:15:53,560
Speaker 1: the rebel forces emerged from the tree line. They slaughtered

230
00:15:53,600 --> 00:15:56,600
Speaker 1: them all except Sir Trod, who was taken back to

231
00:15:56,720 --> 00:16:01,120
Speaker 1: Devon and tortured to death. The men were so enraged

232
00:16:01,200 --> 00:16:04,400
Speaker 1: that they abandoned the formalities of battle and began to

233
00:16:04,440 --> 00:16:09,200
Speaker 1: attack all innocent women traveling on the roads. Vlosta, unable

234
00:16:09,240 --> 00:16:11,480
Speaker 1: to bear the weight of the torment that the men

235
00:16:11,560 --> 00:16:15,320
Speaker 1: were inflicting, ceded to their strategy and met the men

236
00:16:15,440 --> 00:16:19,720
Speaker 1: in open combat. She was slain and the army disbanded

237
00:16:19,760 --> 00:16:23,800
Speaker 1: soon after their leader fell. For their victory, lap the

238
00:16:23,840 --> 00:16:28,400
Speaker 1: men burned Divine or the Castle of Maidens to the ground.

239
00:16:29,120 --> 00:16:32,480
Speaker 1: In his telling, Hirosek would like to side with the women,

240
00:16:32,800 --> 00:16:36,120
Speaker 1: but the narrative turns against them because he says they

241
00:16:36,120 --> 00:16:41,800
Speaker 1: had quote no heart, okay, whatever that means. It was

242
00:16:42,000 --> 00:16:45,320
Speaker 1: as Labusha predicted, the men would get what they wanted

243
00:16:45,640 --> 00:16:49,320
Speaker 1: of patriarch a master at the expense of the freedom

244
00:16:49,520 --> 00:16:52,920
Speaker 1: she had once ruled by. As is always the case,

245
00:16:53,320 --> 00:16:56,920
Speaker 1: the casualties of patriarchy are the women whose voices are

246
00:16:56,960 --> 00:17:04,200
Speaker 1: stripped away. Persistent as these legends are in Czech culture,

247
00:17:04,400 --> 00:17:10,120
Speaker 1: there unfortunately is no real anthropological evidence supporting that they're

248
00:17:10,200 --> 00:17:15,520
Speaker 1: anything more than well legends. Really, that applies to Labusha's

249
00:17:15,640 --> 00:17:20,080
Speaker 1: entire existence too. The more likely founder of the stronghold

250
00:17:20,119 --> 00:17:24,480
Speaker 1: of Praha was Duke Bogevois, whose rule began circa eight

251
00:17:24,600 --> 00:17:28,480
Speaker 1: hundred and seventy. He was the first documented duke of

252
00:17:28,520 --> 00:17:33,119
Speaker 1: Bohemia and progenitor of the Shemissed dynasty. He was said

253
00:17:33,160 --> 00:17:36,639
Speaker 1: to be the last son of the mythical Bohemian princes,

254
00:17:36,800 --> 00:17:41,040
Speaker 1: and therefore a direct descendant of Laboushe and Shemissul. This

255
00:17:41,160 --> 00:17:44,800
Speaker 1: lineage can of course not be confirmed by historians, and

256
00:17:45,119 --> 00:17:48,320
Speaker 1: an opposing theory believes that he was instead related to

257
00:17:48,359 --> 00:17:52,480
Speaker 1: a Slavic dynasty. The writer of the first Bohemian Chronicle,

258
00:17:52,640 --> 00:17:56,359
Speaker 1: published about two hundred years after the Duke's death, believed

259
00:17:56,400 --> 00:18:01,040
Speaker 1: that the distinction between myth and real history begins with

260
00:18:01,119 --> 00:18:06,679
Speaker 1: Bogevoy's rule. Bougevoy was also notably Bohemia's first Christian ruler,

261
00:18:06,920 --> 00:18:11,520
Speaker 1: and he built Bohemia's first church, dedicated to Saint Clement's.

262
00:18:12,200 --> 00:18:17,159
Speaker 1: Despite revolts from traditional rivals, Bougevoy continued on to build

263
00:18:17,200 --> 00:18:20,639
Speaker 1: a second church, this one to worship the Virgin Mary.

264
00:18:21,359 --> 00:18:24,200
Speaker 1: Later in his life, he decided to move his resident

265
00:18:24,359 --> 00:18:27,840
Speaker 1: closer to the latter church, and the castle built was

266
00:18:27,920 --> 00:18:32,919
Speaker 1: called Praha or Prague Castle, which still stands today. The

267
00:18:33,000 --> 00:18:37,040
Speaker 1: etymology of Praha is debated still to day among historians,

268
00:18:37,480 --> 00:18:41,160
Speaker 1: with some believing its origin comes from the idea of napras,

269
00:18:41,400 --> 00:18:45,120
Speaker 1: or a barren place on which the sun beat down mercilessly.

270
00:18:45,680 --> 00:18:48,720
Speaker 1: It could also reference quote, the cleaning of the forest

271
00:18:48,840 --> 00:18:53,200
Speaker 1: by fire or bracchiti. There are still, some, however, who

272
00:18:53,280 --> 00:18:58,359
Speaker 1: find la Boush's idea of the threshold or pra most compelling.

273
00:18:58,920 --> 00:19:02,920
Speaker 1: The idea the t wanted people to lower their heads

274
00:19:02,960 --> 00:19:06,760
Speaker 1: and enter a city as they would a home. As

275
00:19:06,800 --> 00:19:09,159
Speaker 1: for the Maiden's War, there is even less of a

276
00:19:09,200 --> 00:19:13,480
Speaker 1: connection to recorded history. Some historians argue that the story

277
00:19:13,600 --> 00:19:17,280
Speaker 1: is based on tales of the Amazonian warriors, while others

278
00:19:17,280 --> 00:19:21,600
Speaker 1: believe it could have roots in Bohemia's factual past. Speaking

279
00:19:21,640 --> 00:19:26,320
Speaker 1: to Radio Prague International, Voslav Ladvinka, the director of Prague's

280
00:19:26,359 --> 00:19:30,560
Speaker 1: City Archives, tells us quote, there are some historians who have,

281
00:19:30,800 --> 00:19:35,800
Speaker 1: in my opinion, a somewhat fertile imagination. They claim that

282
00:19:36,080 --> 00:19:39,800
Speaker 1: there could have been a matriarchal society, that women had

283
00:19:39,840 --> 00:19:43,520
Speaker 1: primacy and that they were overthrown by men. This could

284
00:19:43,600 --> 00:19:46,320
Speaker 1: be true, but then the same could be said about

285
00:19:46,359 --> 00:19:50,679
Speaker 1: the ancient Greeks, so it seems most likely that Cosmos

286
00:19:50,720 --> 00:19:54,560
Speaker 1: took the basis for his tales from those ancient texts,

287
00:19:55,520 --> 00:19:59,639
Speaker 1: and as we know, Cosmos did enjoy stealing from Roman

288
00:19:59,640 --> 00:20:18,520
Speaker 1: epic X. That's the story or the legend of Labusha

289
00:20:18,520 --> 00:20:21,879
Speaker 1: of Bohemia. But keep listening after a brief sponsor break

290
00:20:21,960 --> 00:20:24,600
Speaker 1: to hear a little bit about how the legend has

291
00:20:24,640 --> 00:20:41,720
Speaker 1: been translated into modern culture. Labusha's story has inspired the

292
00:20:41,760 --> 00:20:45,480
Speaker 1: works of many Czech and European artists, and perhaps the

293
00:20:45,520 --> 00:20:50,359
Speaker 1: most famous is her namesake opera, containing music by Czech

294
00:20:50,440 --> 00:20:54,800
Speaker 1: composer Bedrick's Mantana and written first in German by author

295
00:20:54,880 --> 00:20:59,160
Speaker 1: Joseph Lindzig. The opera was written in eighteen seventy one

296
00:20:59,320 --> 00:21:02,879
Speaker 1: for the coronation of Franz Joseph as King of Bohemia,

297
00:21:03,200 --> 00:21:06,919
Speaker 1: but Smitana ended up saving Labusha for the opening of

298
00:21:06,960 --> 00:21:10,840
Speaker 1: the National Theater in Prague, which took place nine years

299
00:21:10,960 --> 00:21:16,760
Speaker 1: later on June eleven. Act one of the opera depicts

300
00:21:17,040 --> 00:21:20,840
Speaker 1: Labusha's ruling over the land dispute, but in a departure

301
00:21:20,920 --> 00:21:25,200
Speaker 1: from the myth, Act two decides to develop the backgrounds

302
00:21:25,240 --> 00:21:28,439
Speaker 1: of the men in the conflict and deepen all of

303
00:21:28,480 --> 00:21:32,800
Speaker 1: the characters. This involves a love triangle in which a

304
00:21:32,880 --> 00:21:36,600
Speaker 1: classically conniving woman feigns interest in one of the men

305
00:21:37,040 --> 00:21:41,280
Speaker 1: to make the other jealous. All is eventually resolved, and

306
00:21:41,400 --> 00:21:45,840
Speaker 1: Act three depicts a Midsummer Night's dream esque double wedding

307
00:21:46,119 --> 00:21:50,760
Speaker 1: between all the lovers and Labusha and Schmissul, before Labusha

308
00:21:50,840 --> 00:21:54,359
Speaker 1: has her prophecy of Prague, a reminder to all of

309
00:21:54,400 --> 00:21:58,040
Speaker 1: the hopeful witches out there that, no matter how powerful

310
00:21:58,119 --> 00:22:01,400
Speaker 1: you are, you may end up in only two thirds

311
00:22:01,480 --> 00:22:05,040
Speaker 1: of your own opera in favor of some random men

312
00:22:05,200 --> 00:22:24,760
Speaker 1: in a land dispute. Noble Blood is a production of

313
00:22:24,840 --> 00:22:28,000
Speaker 1: I Heart Radio and Grim and Mild from Aaron Mankey.

314
00:22:28,440 --> 00:22:32,560
Speaker 1: Noble Blood is hosted by me Danis Shwartz. Additional writing

315
00:22:32,600 --> 00:22:36,840
Speaker 1: and researching done by Hannah Johnston, hannah's Wick, Mira Hayward,

316
00:22:36,960 --> 00:22:40,639
Speaker 1: Courtney Sunder, and Laurie Goodman. The show is produced by

317
00:22:40,720 --> 00:22:45,719
Speaker 1: rema Il Kali, with supervising producer Josh Thane and executive

318
00:22:45,760 --> 00:22:50,000
Speaker 1: producers Aaron Mankey, Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick. For more

319
00:22:50,040 --> 00:22:53,800
Speaker 1: podcasts from I Heart Radio, visit the I Heart Radio app,

320
00:22:54,040 --> 00:22:57,159
Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows