s were different when Christianity
approached them from Moravia, where its doctrine had been taught by
Cyrillus and Methodius--Greek monks from Thessalonica. About the year
873 the Bohemian prince Borivoj was baptized by Methodius, and the
Bohemians now rapidly adopted the Christian faith. Of the rulers of
Bohemia the most famous at this period was Wenceslas, surnamed the Holy,
who in 935 was murdered by his brother Boleslav, and who was afterwards
canonized by the Church of Rome. As Wenceslas had been an ally of
Germany, his murder resulted in a war with that country, in which, as
far as we can judge by the scanty records of the time. Boleslav, the
brother and successor of Wenceslas, was on the whole successful. During
the reigns of Boleslav and his son, Boleslav II., Bohemia extended its
frontiers in several directions. Boleslav II. indeed established his
rule not only over Bohemia and Moravia, but also over a large part of
Silesia, and over that part of Poland which is now the Austrian province
of Galicia. Like most Slavic states at this and even a later period, the
great Bohemian empire of Boleslav II. did not endure long. Boleslav
III., son of Boleslav II., lost all his foreign possessions to Boleslav
the Great, king of Poland. During his reign Bohemia was involved in
constant civil war, caused by the dissensions between Boleslav III. and
his brothers Jaromir and Ulrick. Though the prince succeeded in
expelling his brothers from the country, his cruelty induced the
Bohemians to dethrone him and to choose as their ruler the Polish prince
Vladivoj. Vladivoj, brother of Boleslav the Great, and son of the
Bohemian princess Dubravka (Dobrawa). Vladivoj attempted to strengthen
his hold over Bohemia by securing the aid of Germany. He consented not
only to continue to pay the tribute which the Germans had already
obtained from several previous rulers of Bohemia, but also to become a
vassal of the German empire and to receive the German title of duke.
This state continued when after the death of Vladivoj the Premyslide
dynasty was restored. The Premyslide prince Bretislav I (1037-1055)
restored the former power of Bohemia, and again added Moravia, Silesia
and a considerable part of Poland to the Bohemian dominions. To obviate
the incessant struggles which had endangered the land at every vacancy
of the throne, Bretislav, with the consent of the nobles, decreed that
the oldest member of the house of Premysl should be the ruler