establishing the rule of the dynasty of Přemysl over the whole of Bohemia.
To strengthen himself against Moravia, Spytihněv sought the alliance of Germany; and he and his brother Vratislav appeared at Regensburg, at the court of the German King Arnulph, imploring his aid. Taking into account the close connection then existing between political and ecclesiastical affairs, it seems certain that the Bohemians accepted the supremacy of the Bishop of Regensburg, and with it the Latin liturgy. The Slavonic liturgy, however, also continued side by side with the Latin one: and we find evidence even late in Bohemian history that the memory of the original Eastern origin of Christianity in the country remained unforgotten among the people.
Whilst Germans and Slavs were exhausting their forces in constantly-recurring struggles, the new Asiatic tribe, which the Germans had originally called in to their aid, had widely extended its power. The Germans and Slavs now made common cause against the Magyars; but in a great battle which took place at Presburg (907) they were totally defeated. The Magyars now ravaged Germany and the neighbouring Slavonic lands with impunity. About the time of this great battle—the exact date cannot be ascertained in the complete absence of contemporary evidence—the Magyars entirely conquered Moravia, which remained in their power for more than half a century; only a small western district fell to Bohemia.
"The invasion of the Magyars and their establishment in Hungary is one of the most important events in the history of Europe; it is the greatest misfortune that has befallen the Slavonic world during thousands of years. The Slavonic races in the ninth century extended from the frontiers of Holstein to the coast of the Peloponnesus, much divided and disconnected, varying in habits and circumstances, but everywhere able, diligent, and capable of instruction. In the middle of this extended line a centre had been formed by Rostislav and Svatopluk, round which, both by inner impulse and through the force of external circumstances, the other Slavonic tribes would have grouped themselves."[1]
In the complete absence of contemporary records it is impossible to ascertain how Bohemia escaped the fate that
- ↑ Palacký.
