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 I
would like to tell you two stories and with a little help you can find an
interesting inosculation in them. The first story is about the life of a man,
who I really respect and I think he is one of the most remarkable Czech
personality, who represents us perfectly abroad.
Miroslav Ondricek
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The first story
- He had worked with
the world’s elite in his branch. He talks about his work as about a craft and
he is really very skillful craftsman. If we want to be proud of someone, he is
definitely one of the best candidates. We should give the same amount of pride
to those, who had passed away long time ago, but they influenced the
development of our country over the centuries. That’s the second story – about
life and feats and a bit of genealogy of our monarchs. Sometimes eminently,
sometimes less eminently, sometimes worse sometimes better – each and everyone
in his own historical period “represented” our homeland.
- It’s true, that
the time when we had a monarch in the head of our state seems very far away
for us co- temporaries. But if we look at the float of time from the thousand
years old history of our state, we will find that the period without counts
and kings is much shorter.
- It is so in the
majority of other European states – they have been republics only for decades.
But in some countries, they didn’t change the system of government and they
still have a monarchy. The best known of them is definitely Great Britain.
This country is appealing thanks to its specific sense of humor, pleasant
keeping of their traditions, unwritten constitution and a royal family - that
interests us now the most.
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- The particular
outlines are getting visible at the film premiere Grandhotel by David
Ondříček. - in the Slovanský dům in Prague na Příkopech 11. october 2006 at
half past eight pm. It was my wife Alana’s birthday and I think she had
merited this pleasant experience from the film. We were invited for the film
premiere by cameraman Miroslav Ondříček, who is David’s father. When we met
after the projection, he told me: “So I really fly on 9. November, I hope I
have everything done, I will take it with me as I promised”
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- We haven´t seen
each other for three months, but Miroslav Ondříček went on with the talk
exactly at the point, where he had finished in the restaurant U vladaře at
the Maltézské square in June 2006. We had met there that day as a result of
our irregular meetings. We had been talking about the poster family tree of
Přemyslovci and their offspring on the Czech throne, which my colegue Pavel
Loužecký and I were preparing for ČNB and the Národní památkový ústav. It was
the 700th anniversary of extinction of the first royal dynasty Přemyslovci
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- I mentioned I had
a project in process which would show the not very well known fact – that also
the British queen is descendant of the Czech royal line … and of other Czech
noble families.
- Mr Ondříček tells
me after a while: Finish your work. I have an exhibition of my films in London
in November; I will take it with me.
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 I
called the poster:
The genealogical board of the British queen Elisabeth II. and her husband
Filip the Duke of Edinburgh in connection with their Czech ancestors.- The queen and her
husband celebrated their round jubilee and it’s propriety to give them a
little present. I remind you, that among her ancestors there is also the Czech
king Jiří z Poděbrad and his second wife Johana z Rožmitálu. Doesn’t it remind
you of anything? It does for me. The famous travel of the delegation of the
Czech king around the European royal courts had a purpose to look for the
support against the Turkish expansion and also to elevate the prestige of the
Czech kingdom. They went even “at the end of the world” – the term which
described Portugal at that time.
- The voyage visited
Germany, France, Holland, England, Spain, Portugal etc. in the years 1465 –
1467. In the head of the delegation dispatched from the court of the Blatenský
castle, there was the noble man and diplomat Lev z Rožmitálu brother-in-law of
the king Jiří and his wife Johana.
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 More
than 500 years ago it was the delegation of 40 czech noble man and knight in
England of the king Edward IV. York from the house of Plantagenet, today it
was the Czech cameraman in Great Britain of the queen Elisabeth II. from the
house of Windsor. To prevent the feeling of loneliness of Miroslav Ondříček,
he was accompanied at his trip by the recent “noble man and knights” who made
the photography trip. They are as well as the british queen and her husband
descendants of the first Czech prince and royal dynasty of Přemyslovci by
distaff.- They met in Prague
and at the castle Mělník to celebrate the 700th anniversary of extinction of
the dynasty , because 4.8.1306 the last Czech Přemyslovecký king Václav III.
died. Mělník used to be the seat of their the moust old grandmother saint
Ludmila Pšovská, wife of the first historically proven Czech prince Bořivoj I.
Přemyslovec.
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- In these days
there is no need to look for the support against any expansion, but for sure
it is important to seek for higher prestige of the Czech country. Miroslav
Ondříček succeeds because of the results of his work and the authority of his
personality. The prove of his public acceptance is the London film exhibition
yet mentioned. There are also British films he had cooperated on.
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- We can learn from
the original version of the family tree, which Miroslav Ondříček is taking
with him to Great Britain, for example that the mentioned English king Edward
IV. was descendent of the first historically proven Czech prince Bořivoj I.
Přemylsovec and his wife saint Ludmila Pšovská in 22. generation. And the
british queen Elisabeth II. is the descendant of Edward IV. in 18th
generation. The marriage of Elisabeth, daughter of the scotch and English king
JamesVI with the Czech “winter king” Friedrich Falcký was very important for
the family tree. The direct connection of the Czech and English royal
dynasties was very interesting – it was the marriage of Anna, daughter of the
emperor and the Czech king Karel IV. Lucemburský with English king Richard II.
Plantagenet. Unfortunately this happy relation was ended by an
early death of the Czech princess.
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- The family tree
shows graphically also the fact, that the ancestors of the British queen and
her husband were also the members of ancient Czech families Markvartici, the
noble men of Vartnberk and Lemberk, Bavors from Strakonice, Rožmberks and
noble men of Landštějn, Lichtenburk or Rožmitál. We are the descendents of
your ancestors – living families such as Sternbergs or Lobkowitzs could say
this sentence to the royal pair. Of course the living head of the Lobkovitz
family – prince Jaroslav Lobkowitz could say it too. He and Miroslav Ondříček
are the godfathers of this family tree.
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The preview
If they wanted to organize the week exhibition of Ondříček´s films let’s say
in Stockholm and he would willing to go on with his “quest”, he will take with
him the family tree of Přemyslovci and their offspring, who were related with
the Swedish king, or rather king of Spain, Norway, or Belgium, or the
descendants of former French kings and those from Portugal… - The life from the
time of the Czech king Jiří got much faster and the distances got shorter. You
don’t need carriages and horses, not even the three years plan to travel
across the Europe.
- The Delegations
that delivers the graphical genealogical proves of the relations in Europe
from the country in the “heart of Europe” might seem anachronistic in these
days.
- But the blood
relation is logically connected with the political, economical, cultural and
religious relations and the huge space of common European history spreads in
front of us. This relation is visible from north to south and from west to
east, but also from the ancient period to these days. And we should be
interested in the present in the close connection with the experience of
yesterday.
- If we agree with
the truth of the sentence, that the cultural level of the nation is based on
his own history, and the history is his memory, it must also be truth in the
global standards. The genealogical work might be just a start in this field.
The pursuit and development by other professions and ideas will depend on the
interest, effort, good-will for cooperation, money….I don’t know.
- Nobility has
always been appealing on the events in all parts of the Europe and the
offspring of ancient families still hold in themselves that hundred years old
experience inherited from one generation to the other.
- They tie in
themselves past and present symbolism, because of their ancestors, they carry
on their backs the responsibility for the European historical development. So
If they want to be heard, listen to them.
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- I believe that we
don’t do a shame to Miroslav Ondříček with our little contribution to Czech-
British relationships in the field of genealogy. When I say we, I mean Pavel
Loužecký and I , then the historian and genealogist and in this case also an
interpreter Dr. Milan Buben, MUDr. Emanuel Bechinie, who belong to the most
precise family tree experts (his family Bechiniové z Lažan is one of the
oldest in the Bohemia). I must not forget the expert in the field of heraldic
Pert Tybitancl, historian Jiří Janáče, the firm Fontes Europae s.r.o. and the
institution Národní památkový ústav.
Translation
© Jana Němcová,
14.11.2006
text © Jan Drocár, 4.11.2006
Foto: Libor Hajský, Jaromír Komárek, Pavel Loužecký, Alena Drocárová,
archiv Miroslava Ondříčka, archiv Aleny Sísové, archiv Jana Drocára.
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