Vzestupy a pády Karla IV. – Bílek Jiří (2016)

Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Bohemia, whose birth will be celebrated in May with 700 years since, was one of the greatest rulers of medieval Europe. During his life and after his death, he acquired several titles: Father of the Empire, Father of the Homeland, and recently, the Greatest Czech. But what was he really like? The longed-for son, whom his father feared so much that he sent him to distant Paris, where he grew up and was raised without parental love, the prince 'staining the beds of virtuous women' and fighting as a condottiere in Italy, as well as the Margrave of Moravia striving for the prosperity of the Czech kingdom, attempting to limit his father's stay in Prague while simultaneously fulfilling his dream of securing the Roman throne for the Luxembourg family. The Czech king, a lover of knightly tournaments, husband to four women and father to several sons and daughters, representing primarily 'marriage capital' for his political goals, the Holy Roman Emperor, founder of Charles University, New Town, Karlštejn, the Stone Bridge, and other buildings, an art lover, collector of holy relics, author of his own autobiography. But also a vain ruler convinced of his chosenness and uniqueness, a commissioner of chronicles depicting him in the most brilliant colors, who failed to raise his successor and the wealthy Czech...