PREFACE
If one thing is less known than the history of Bohemia it is the life and the works of the historians who have recorded the annals of that country. The undoubted fact that many works of ancient Bohemian writers have been lost has led to the supposition that no native records of my country except those belonging to the last century are existent. Bohemian history, as far as it has been written at all, has been mostly written on German lines; the hostility between the Slav and the Teuton, which has continued without interruption since the mythical Čechus and his Slav companions arrived in Bohemia, is a sufficient proof that records founded on the evidence of the adverse party could have little value. Palacký was the first to point out, early in the nineteenth century, that many writings of priceless value for the history of his country were still preserved in manuscript in the archives of certain Bohemian castles. It is thus that the writings of Březan Slavata and Skála ze
