Ottokar II.; medieval Bohemia; Crusading; High Middle Ages

In the Middle Ages, monarchs were expected to act as defenders of the true Christian faith and to engage in an active struggle against non-believers; indeed, these activities were considered to be core aspects of the medieval monarchic ideal.1 This study attempts to answer an apparently simple question: did King Ottokar II Premislas of Bohemia genuinely fulfil these requirements in his actual political deeds, or was his image as a defender of the Christian faith merely created as part of a propaganda machine run by intellectuals who were active in the king’s service and at the royal court? In the first part of the study, I trace the development of Ottokar II’s literary-historical image over the course of many centuries (reaching up to the present day). In the second part I characterise the role played by the rhetoric of the crusades and anti-paganism in the Lands of the Bohemian Crown under Ottokar, situating his reign within the broader context of the Přemyslids’ involvement in the crusades.