BLESSED CESLAS ODROWAZ (1) Father Abraham Bzowski, O. P., who generally goes under the Latin name of Bzovius, a native of Poland and an erudite historian, assures us that Blessed Ceslas was a brother of Saint Hyacinth, a sketch of whose life immediately precedes this.(2) Although the bull of Hyacinth's canonization merely calls Blessed Ceslas his kinsman (consanguineus), many reliable writers make the same statement as Father Bzowski. Anyway, the word "consanguineus" in the papal bull may be a slip of the pen; or it may be intended simply to note a blood relationship, without specifying its degree. The more general opinion, indeed, seems to be that Ceslas was a brother of Hyacinth, and that he was the second child of Eustachius Odrowaz. If this opinion is true, as it likely is, 1186, or 1187, may be accepted as the date of his birth.(3)
Accordingly, for the sake of brevity, and for the avoidance of unnecessary repetition, the reader is referred to the beginning of the sketch of Saint Hyacinth. He and Blessed Ceslas certainly belonged to the same family. Thus to speak of the latter's social standing, genealogy, and the like were but largely to resay what has already been said of the former.
All who have written with any degree of care of Poland and Bohemia speak of Blessed Ceslas' virtues, zeal, work, and miracles in terms of the highest praise. However, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to give an exact, or anything like a full, account of the course of his life, labors, and missions in the northern lands, although they have made his name famous the world over. The sources of information are too few, meager, and incomplete. One of the main reasons for the lack of documentary literature about the holy man must be laid to narrow religious malice. We know, for instance, that an ancient manuscript, recording the career of our blessed in more or less detail, was kept in the Dominican convent at Breslau for three hundred years and more. Unfortunately, when the followers of Luther gained the upper hand in Silesia, this precious historical treasure, like many others of a Catholic character, was consigned to the flames.(4)
The innovators seemed to take a fiendish pleasure in the destruction of whatever was opposed to their tenets. Not infrequently they manifested a particularly strong desire to abolish all memory of Blessed Ceslas. No doubt the cause of this was that, as in life he had so effectively combatted sin and error by his zeal, holiness, and preaching, so after death the frequent miracles performed at his tomb opposed a powerful barrier to their novelties. Largely owing to this deplorable vandalism, we have practically no first-hand written sources from which to draw for a sketch of the great Friar Preacher.
Fortunately Polish historians of the sixteenth and the early seventeenth century, especially Father Bzowski (or Bzovius), salvaged what earlier writers had said, here and there, about the holy man and his work. They also ransacked Breslau, which resulted in the discovery of some fragmentary manuscripts that had escaped the eye of the enemy. Two other fountains from which these litterateurs drew the little concrete knowledge they were able to give us of Ceslas Odrowaz were inscriptions in the Dominican Church of Saint Adalbert, Breslau, and the tableaus on his tomb there, which represent the main events of his fife. We can but thank heaven that these artistic documents were not demolished in the work of destruction, incomplete and unsatisfactory though they are as historical records. Father Bzowski, or Bzovius, wrote a short outline of our blessed's life with the matter which he thus collected.(5)
Hyacinth and Ceslas, because true men of God, were even more intimately united by charity and love of things divine than by the bond of blood. They received their education at the same intellectual centers. From the start, both prepared for the clerical state, worked with the same application, and walked in the same path of virtue. As only the difference in their ages (which was little) separated them, doubtless they were together at times during their course of studies.
Nature seems to have been no less generous with the younger brother than with the elder in blessing him with a happy disposition, which was disposed to virtue. Like Hyacinth, he showed this blissful inclination almost from infancy. Naturally their parents made no distinction in the care with which they guarded the innocence of both. Indeed, the stories of the early lives of the two men are almost identical.
From the time he attained the use of reason, there were no uncertain indications of the designs God had in store for Ceslas. Thanks to the early training he received at home, and divine grace, he passed through his course of higher education at Prague and Bologna without taint to his soul or decrease in his high aspirations. At the latter institution he, too, obtained the degree of doctor in canon law and theology. He did not let these honors or the social standing of his family rob him of his humility. Nay, on his return from Italy, he showed himself as modest, as much given to prayer, and of as serious a mind, as he had been in boyhood.(6)
Because of these qualities, perhaps, rather than because of his learning, Blessed Vincent Kadlubek, then bishop of Cracow, stationed the young priest at the cathedral. A little later he was appointed one of the canons. His life gave great edification. All this, combined with his zeal, soon led to his promotion as provost or dean of the chapter of canons at Sandomir. There, for he was a most devout man, filled with the spirit of his divine calling, he continued the same manner of life, labored for the good of religion, and showed himself a veritable father to the poor. His position, together with his patrimony, enabled him to give much. But that his alms might be the greater, he retrenched his own expenses, and even deprived himself of many things which almost any one else would have considered indispensable. Other works of mercy also received great attention from him. In short, he was a model ecclesiastic.(7)
Although an austere man with himself, the young canon ever showed himself the soul of kindness towards others. In his unselfishness he was never known to take advantage of the position of his uncle, the Very Rev. Ivo Odrowaz, who was chancellor of Poland, for any personal benefit. If he made use of the influence which this connection gave him, it was always to protect innocence, to prevent injustice, to aid the Church, or in some way to promote the glory of God. Thus it is no cause for wonder that he was universally considered not only a splendid exemplar of the priesthood, but also a tower of strength for good. With an excellent judgment he combined rare prudence. All classes sought his advice.(8)
In the character and ability of the man, not in any spirit of nepotism, must we seek the reason for the selection of Ceslas as one of the episcopal retinue by the chancellor of Poland, Ivo Odrowaz, when that dignitary was elected bishop of Cracow, and determined to make a visit to Rome, as recorded in the sketch of Saint Hyacinth. The story of that pilgrimage has been told in the study of the elder brother. So we need not repeat it here. Suffice it then to say that the reader can hardly have forgotten how the new ordinary of Cracow, his suite, and the Right Rev. Andrew von Guttenstein, bishop of Prague, came in contact with Saint Dominic; how they witnessed his miracle of raising young Napoleon Orsini to life; how they were impressed with the founder of the Friars Preacher; how the two bishops begged for some of his disciples for their dioceses; and how it came to pass that Ceslas and his companions entered the Order which Dominic had lately established. It is a beautiful piece of history.(9)
Dominic, it will also be recalled, bad full power from Honorius III for shortening one's noviceship, and possessed a marvellous talent for the development of preachers. He used both in regard to Blessed Ceslas and his associates. They were admitted to their religious professions after a few months. Yet, with the grace of God, that brief time sufficed to make them almost unparalleled evangelists of Christ. It is possible that the subject of our sketch began this sort of work before he left the Eternal City. Certainly he engaged in it extensively on the northern journey, through which we have traced him, Hyacinth, and the others. By it he aided in the foundation of the house at Friesach, Carinthia, and that of the Holy Trinity, Cracow.(10)
Father Herman of Germany was left in charge at Friesach. Ceslas and Henry of Moravia remained with Hyacinth in Poland until the community of the Holy Trinity was placed on a firm footing. Then they left Cracow to establish their Order in Prague, that they might quicken the faith in Bohemia and fulfill the promise which Saint Dominic had made Bishop von Guttenstein at Rome a few years before. This was in 1222. Cardinal Gregory Crescenzi, legate to Bohemia and Poland, Prague's prelate, and King Ottokar L of the house of the Premysls, received the two Friars Preacher and their companions with open arms.(11)
Indeed, the royal potentate was so well pleased with the preaching and example of the new missionaries that he not only warmly fostered their efforts in behalf of religion, but also gave them a church in the suburbs of Prague, contiguous to which he had built, at his own expense, a convent large enough for a hundred religious. Recruits to the Order, won by the lives of Ceslas and Henry, began at once to fill the house. On Ceslas, as superior, fell the principal burden of preparing and training these for the ministry. How well he succeeded may be seen from the fact that the convent at Prague became the model, as it was their mother, after which all the others founded from it, whether in Bohemia or elsewhere, sought to pattern their lives and activities.(12)
Blessed Ceslas Odrowaz made no hesitation about receiving clerics or civilians, youths in their tender years or persons somewhat advanced in age, to the habit, provided he felt that the call was from God. Those who were in the priesthood, or almost ready for ordination, he soon associated with himself in the apostolic ministry of preaching. The work of saving souls went apace, while the number of confrères continued to grow. His efforts and their results in Prague and Bohemia were a counterpart of those of Hyacinth in Cracow and Poland. In five years the monastery in the suburbs of the town had become wholly too small for the accommodation of all who sought to place themselves under the standard of Saint Dominic and the guidance of Blessed Ceslas.
Ottokar I again generously came to the assistance of Ceslas. The king not merely granted him the Church of Saint Clement Martyr in the city, which had been built by Wladislaw (or Wratislaw), a former sovereign of Bohemia; he furthermore made over to the great Friar Preacher a much larger piece of land than that of his first conveyance outside the municipal limits. On this property stood the sacred edifice. On it also Ottokar erected a more ample and commodious priory than the earlier habitat of the fathers. Thither, in 1227, Blessed Ceslas transferred his community of one hundred and twenty-six men already in clerical orders. Wenceslas I, son and successor of Ottokar, seems to have been not less a friend than his father of Christ's ambassador and his confrères. Father Bzovius gives a beautiful description of the rich gifts of both kings and noblemen for the decoration of Saint Clement's, as well as tells how they provided everything necessary for divine service.(13)
Meanwhile, Bishop von Guttenstein, at whose instigation Saint Hyacinth sent Fathers Ceslas and Henry to Prague, had passed to his eternal reward -- July 30, 1224. His successor, whose name was Peregrinus, and who had been most generous in the foundation of the new house, was so taken with the life of our blessed and his community that, shortly after his consecration, he begged Honorius III to accept his resignation and permit him to become a Friar Preacher. A true friend of the Order, Honorius never refused anything that he felt would help it. With papal permission, therefore, Bishop Peregrinus donned the habit of Saint Dominic, which he wore with edification to all for fifteen years. A number of the cathedral chapter followed his example.(14)
Nor must we forget Father Adrian, who governed Saint Clement's, Prague, very efficiently for a while in the capacity of prior. Because of his zeal, purity of life, and eloquence, Blessed Ceslas (evidently either provincial, or Saint Hyacinth's vicar) sent him into Bosnia to establish the Order there. There is no portion of eastern Europe whose soil has not drunk copiously of Dominican blood. In Bosnia Father Adrian and twenty-six of his co-laborers received the crown of martyrdom from the bands of the Turks at the same time.(15)
We now come to another fact which shows how deeply the subject of this sketch imbibed the spirit and ideas of the founder of his Order. Saint Dominic, it will be remembered, really began the principal work of his life by the establishment of a sisterhood at Prouille, France. In Prague, many pious women wished to place themselves under the spiritual guidance of Blessed Ceslas. That he might the better satisfy their desires, he built a convent for them, and formed them into a community, which was long noted for the distinguished widows and other noble ladies who consecrated themselves to the service of God within its walls. It was also famed for the number and saintly lives of its inmates. There, but after the death of Ceslas, Margaret, daughter of Archduke Leopold of Austria, and widow of Henry, "king of the Romans," went to end her days. In her humility, she insisted on being received as a lay sister, instead of among the choir nuns.(16)
When the zealous Friar Preacher saw that he was no longer needed at Prague, he left the missionary work of that municipality and Bohemia to those whom he had trained in the apostolate, and returned to his native land. At Breslau, the capital of Silesia, the bishop, the Right Rev. Lawrence Doliveta, his clergy, and the magistrates of the city vied with the people in general in welcoming an ambassador of Christ, whose name was a household word for all that is good and holy. Nor was this all. The head of the diocese and his co-laborers in the Lord's vineyard set an example for the faithful by their assiduous attendance at his sermons.
That his church might continue to enjoy the fruits of such labors, Bishop Doliveta conferred Saint Adalbert's on Blessed Ceslas. Alongside it the people erected a convent, which was dedicated to the same martyr. Here the holy man, as he had done in Prague, began at once to gather subjects and to prepare them for the ministry of saving souls. Numbers hastened to place themselves under his guidance. He gave the day to the instruction of these and to sermons to the public. The night he spent largely in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. Saint Adalbert's, which all regarded as a home of the just, was a source of universal edification.(17)
During all his apostolic activity God had given our blessed the power of miracles, which he used for the spread of the divine glory, the good of religion, and the conversion of sinners and unbelievers. There were but few practical Catholics who did not have the utmost confidence in his prayers, for they believed that our Lord would do anything he asked. At Breslau he received the gift of prophecy. More than once he foretold chastisements sent by heaven in punishment for the crimes of men. In his sermons he often predicted the unspeakable calamity brought upon the duchy by the Tartars. He also frequently spoke to Duke Henry II of Silesia, son of Henry I and Saint Hedwige, of this approaching catastrophe. In this connection, we may add that the spiritual advice given to this exemplary princess by our Friar Preacher was of great aid to her in leading the life which resulted in her canonization.(18)
In accordance with his custom, Ceslas had no sooner trained his younger brethren sufficiently for the apostolate than he entrusted the work nearer home principally to them, while he extended his activities farther afield. Again and again he traversed Moravia, Saxony, Prussia, and Pomerania in all directions. Everywhere he preached with great effect to the throngs who flocked to hear him.(19) One of his principal difficulties was to milden the rough character of men who seemed to be made for war. Military affairs, which constituted the chief occupation of their lives, so engrossed their thoughts as either to hold them in ignorance of religion, or cause them to neglect its obligations. It also led to every kind of immorality. Our Friar Preacher taught them how, by keeping it within the just limits prescribed by Christianity, they could combine their profession with the practice of virtue.
It is doubtful whether, with all his conspicuous holiness, ardent zeal, and enrapturing eloquence, the messenger of Christ could have accomplished such salutary results, had not God given added authority to his words by miracles. In the history of the missioner referred to, Father Bzowski tells us that he healed all sorts of ailments, gave hearing to the dumb, restored sight to the blind, enabled the mute to talk, used his cloak as a boat to cross a torrential river, and resurrected more than one dead person to life. Among the wonders in the last category special mention is made of an only son who was accidentally drowned in the River Oder. The heart-broken mother's confidence in Ceslas' prayers led her to plead for his help, with the consequence that her son was brought back to life.(20)
Marvels like these, as was but natural, gave the faithful servant of God a great reputation far and near. Many unbelievers were brought into the Church by them. The noisy incredulity of others was silenced. Sinners were converted. In the pious was aroused that lively faith which is sometimes rewarded in the most extraordinary manner. It is fortunate that, in their fury, the so-called reformers failed to destroy the inscriptions and tableaus in Saint Adalbert's Church, Breslau; for they confirm the truth of all we have related.
As in the case of Saint Hyacinth, so in that of Blessed Ceslas the many conversions he made and the zeal for the salvation of souls, with which he inspired those whom he clothed with the habit in the convents he built, redounded more to the glory of God, and effected greater good, than his miracles. We have mentioned only the houses in Prague and Breslau, respectively the capitals of Bohemia and Silesia. But Father Bzowski assures us that he erected many others in different places; and that they were filled with ardent spiritual harvesters drawn from every station in life. These monasteries, together with those built by Hyacinth and his disciples, then formed but one province -- that of Poland. Hyacinth was certainly its first provincial. However, Ceslas also governed it for a time in the same capacity. That spirit of kindness, which inspires zeal to win souls to God and to spread His glory, was a marked trait of his provincialship; and it produced its effect. While extremely severe with himself he was the embodiment of kindness to those under his charge. He made it a golden rule never to command that in which he did not set the example.(21)
The period of the great Friar Preacher's sojourn in Silesia is that to which historians generally pay most attention. Possibly, from a human standpoint, it is the one most calculated to redound to his glory, as well as to perpetuate his memory. In whatever light we regard it, it seems providential; and his saving of the City of Breslau from total destruction was the crowning end of a well-spent life.
The Tartars had long contemplated a world-wide empire for their race. With this end in view, they amassed an enormous army. At the same time, some five hundred thousand of them started towards the west, intent on the devastation of Europe; while an equal number waged war in the orient, and conquered the Chinese Empire. These hordes crossed the Dnieper in 1240. They overran Russia, Bulgaria, Slavonia, Poland, Hungary, and other countries, everywhere defeated those who opposed them, and left the bleakest desolation in their wake. The story is one of the world's saddest chapters. In 1241, gallant Duke Henry 11, the son of Saint Hedwige, fell at Wahlstatt, after the brave Polish troops under his command had been cut to pieces.(22)
Then the Asiatic barbarians swept in a torrent over Silesia. One of their principles was to offer quarter to no one, whatever the sex or age. Their brutality was the greater in proportion to the resistance with which they met. Possibly the opposition shown by Henry and his Polonaise forces whetted this merciless spirit. At any rate, Silesia was laid waste; cities reduced to ashes or ruins; churches pillaged, desecrated, and burned; men, women, and children put to the sword without distinction. The duchy was a maelstrom of disorder, sorrow, suffering, and despair.
For perhaps fourteen years Ceslas bad foretold such a calamity. That the people might prepare to meet it, or ward it off by their Christian lives, he described it in detail.(23) Like Jeremiah's, in the case of Jerusalem, our blessed's warning to Breslau grew stronger and stronger as the danger drew nearer. Doubtless, at least when the storm reached the borders of their country, many made their peace with God; for fear often wields a greater influence for good than love.
In the general consternation caused by the approach of the cruel enemy, whom it was thought no human power could resist, the citizens of Breslau fled to the citadel. Thither also were taken their priceless treasures. Household goods, which could not be stored there, were thrown in piles and set on fire, lest they should fall into barbarian bands. The great wealth of Silesia's capital led the Tartars to anticipate rich booty. When, therefore, they rushed into the city and found only heaps of smoldering ashes, or flames that consumed what they had expected to seize, their rage knew no bounds. Everybody discovered outside the fortress was put to death without mercy or discrimination.
When they had plundered whatever could be found, the invaders turned their attention to the citadel, which they attacked with every means in their power. The onslaught, Tartar-like, was unremittent. There seemed to be no hope or chance of escape for the besieged Christians. Once their stronghold was taken, the best they could expect from an utterly merciless foe was death by the sword. In these straits, as a last resort, they sought protection through the prayers of our blessed, who was in their midst. Ceslas stormed heaven with supplications in behalf of his fellow-countrymen.
Surrounded by his confrères, the holy Friar Preacher said mass, in which he offered himself up as a sacrifice for the city. Then he appeared on the ramparts, just as the Mongols began to scale the walls. Suddenly a light, as if a ball of fire, came from above and hovered over his head. Thence it shot rays into the ranks of the enemy troops, causing the utmost fear and consternation. Many were consumed by it. The rest, although they had destroyed numberless thrones and trampled powerful armies underfoot, left the place in precipitous flight.(24)
Numbers of the fugitive Tartars were taken prisoners. The testimony they gave in regard to the above fact is still preserved in the records of Breslau. Martin Kromer, bishop of Heilsberg (or Ermland), John Dlugosz, or Longinus, archbishop of Lemberg -- both noted Polish historians, and other Catholic writers speak of this event as a palpable case of divine protection, and a striking proof of the holiness of Blessed Ceslas. Even Joachim Curaus, a Lutheran historian, convinced by its undeniable truth, mentions the fact in his Annals of Silesia (Annales Silesiae). Unfortunately, he let his prejudice lead him to omit the name of Ceslas, and to go to the extent of insinuating that the supernatural assistance was granted to the prayers of a few Lutherans who were among the besieged, although their sect did not come into existence for nearly three hundred years later. Preposterous in the extreme is Curaus' contention that Saint Hedwige was a Lutheran. She died two centuries and a half, minus just a decade, before Martin Luther was born. In these two matters Curaus is a plain case of misguided zeal run riot.(25)
In the annals of Saint Adalbert's, Breslau, we find another statement which is of the greatest interest to historians and readers of spiritual books. Not a few of the Mongolian Tartars who were taken prisoners in their flight from Breslau, influenced by the miracle wrought in answer to Ceslas' prayers, and of course impelled by divine grace, became splendid Catholics. Our blessed received a number of them into his Order. These afterwards, along with other Friars Preacher, labored heroically to bring their fellow-countrymen into the Church. However, the subject of our sketch did not live to witness the apostolic zeal of his converts from the wildest barbarism.(26)
The saintly ambassador of Christ surrendered his soul to God, in the convent at Breslau, on either July 15, or July 16, 1242. On the day before his death, which he knew through inspiration, he called the community of Breslau to his bedside, and told them that he would leave them on the morrow. With sentiments of joy and gratitude for the graces that had been given him, he spoke to them of their vocation, the duties and obligations it imposed on them, what they owed to our Lord for giving it to them, and the happiness it would bring them, if they persevered to the end. He bequeathed to them the spirit which he himself had received from Saint Dominic, and earnestly exhorted them religiously to continue their labor of saving souls, and to be zealous in preparing others to perpetuate the same apostolate.(27)
The debt of gratitude which the citizens of Breslau and Silesia owed our Friar Preacher was too great for them soon to forget him. Their confidence in his prayers remained the same. In sickness, in sorrow, in trials and troubles of every sort, they had recourse to his intercession before the throne of divine mercy. His picture was exposed for the veneration of the faithful. In Prague and Bohemia devotion to him was scarcely less. Thus miracles of various kinds were wrought by him, whether at his grave or elsewhere. Catholics, of course, were outspoken about the favors they received through him. Not a few non-Catholics also besought his assistance, and had their requests granted. This they admitted to their friends of the faith, but were afraid, or ashamed, to speak of it before those outside the true fold. Father Bzowski assures us that he himself was personally acquainted with a number of such cases. Why they were not converted must ever remain one of those inscrutable mysteries known only to God.(28)
Throughout Poland, but especially in Silesia, Blessed Ceslas was (and is still) held in the highest veneration. In 1330, the Right Rev. Nanker von Oxa, bishop of Breslau, had a magnificent chapel erected to his honor in Saint Adalbert's, the church of the Friars Preacher. His lordship then presided at a solemn translation of his relies, which was attended by throngs not from the capital city only, but from all Silesia as well. The event gave universal joy. Love for the saintly Friar Preacher exerted a strong influence against the introduction of the principles of the so-called reformation in Silesia. For this reason, the Lutherans left nothing untried in order to do away with the veneration in which he was held. It was for this purpose that they sought to abolish every memorial of him. Despite all their efforts, they could not even interrupt, much less destroy, the devotion in which he was held, or the prayers of the people for his intercession before the throne of heaven in their behalf.
The cause of the holy man's beatification was brought up at Rome more than once. Finally the Sacred Congregation of Rites, after the maturest examination of his heroic virtues and miracles, approved his cult. Possibly the extraordinary character of some of the marvels attributed to him was in part the cause of the delay. October 18, 1713, Clement II signed a decree declaring him a blessed. Later, July 18 was set apart for his feast day, which was extended to all the Diocese of Breslau, as well as to the Order of Preachers the world over. Various indulgences were granted to the faithful who should visit a Dominican church on this festival, and offer up some devout prayers for the intention of the Holy Father.(29) In the re-arrangement of the feasts of the Dominican Ordo, under Benedict XV, to make them correspond more nearly with those of the Roman calendar, July 17 has been assigned to Blessed Ceslas.
NOTES 1. Acta Sanctorum, XXXI (vol. IV for August), 182 ff; ALBERTI, fol. 175; BZOVIUS, Annales Ecclesiastici, XIII, col. 307 ff, and 497, and Vita Beati Ceslai; FLAVIGNY, Conitesse de, Saint Hyacinthe et Ses Compagnons; MALVENDA, 216, 410, 434, 647, and passim; MAMACHI, 580; MARCHESE, 95 ff; PIO, col. 43-44.
2. Silesiae Tutelaris, seu Vita Beati Ceslai Odrovantii, Sti. Hyacinthi Germani Fratris, Ordinis Praedicatorum. QUETIF-ECHARD, I, 491, gives the title of the work; and it is published in the Acta, as above, 189 ff. Father Touron follows this life all through his sketch of Blessed Ceslas. (Ed. note).
3. Father Touron, in his sketch of Saint Hyacinth, is quite positive in giving 1185 as the date of his birth. Some others place in 1183. The date of Blessed Ceslas' birth naturally depends on that of Hyacinth. (Ed. note).
4. BZOVIUS (Bzowski), Vita Beati Ceslai, in Acta Sanctorum, XXXI, 198, No. 55.
5. Ibid., 182, No. 2. See also note 2 above.
9. Ibid., 192, No. 18. See also sketch of Saint Hyacinth.
10. Ibid., Nos. 18 and 22. See also sketch of Saint Hyacinth. Father Touron says Ceslas left Rome in 1218. Others place it in 1219, or even in 122O. The last date seems too late. (Ed. note).
11. For other opinions on Herman and Henry see notes 13 and 17a in sketch of Saint Hyacinth. We give that of Touron. (Ed. note).
12. BZOVIUS (Bzowski), in Acta Sanctorum, XXXI, 192, Nos. 22-23. Father Touron calls the king of Bohemia Premislas, by which he evidently only means that he belonged to the house of the Premysls. Ottokar I was king from 1197 to 123O. Thus it was in his reign that the Dominicans went to Prague. (Ed. note).
13. Ibid., 193, No. 23. See preceding note.
14. Ibid., and No. 24. See Gams' Series Episcoporum, p. 203. We could not find Bishop Peregrinus' surname. The date of his resignation and that of Bishop von Guttenstein's death, as given by Gams, show that those who state that Ceslas and Henry went to Prague some years after the time given by Father Touron can hardly be correct. See also EUBEL, op. cit., I, 408. (Ed. note).
15. Ibid., No. 24. Father Touron thinks that Blessed Ceslas was head of the Province of Poland while he was at Prague. It seems certain that he held this office; but it might be hard to establish whether he held it at this time, or after he went to Breslau. (Ed. note).
16. Ibid., 187, No. 25. This Henry, "king of the Romans," was the eldest son of Emperor Frederic II. Like all the heirs apparent to the throne of Germany at that time, he was called king of the Romans. He governed Germany, for the emperor spent nearly all his time in Italy. In the absence of his father, the young prince tried to seize the crown of Germany for himself. Frederic then condemned him to life imprisonment, and he died in confinement. Leopold, archduke of Austria and father-in-law of the young prince, was one of those who espoused Henry's cause. The duke and Frederic were never friendly again. See BARRE, Joseph, Histoire Générale D'Allemange, V, 669 and passim. (Ed. note).
21. Ibid., 193, No. 29, and 194, No. 36. Father Touron thinks that Blessed Ceslas was provincial of the Province of Poland while he was in Bohemia, and that he resigned the position, when he went to Breslau. See note 15. But might it not have been the reverse? (Ed. note).
22. Father Touron does not give the date or place of Prince Henry's death. But both are given in the article on Saint Hedwige in the Catholic Encyclopedia, VII, 189. (Ed. note).
23. Acta Sanctorum (Bzovius), XXXI, 195, No. 39.
24. BZOVIUS, Vita Beati Ceslai; DLUGOSZ (Longinus), John, Historia Poloaica; KROMER (or Cromer), Martin, De Origine et Rebus Gestis Polonorum; MATHIAS of Miechow, Historia Poloniae, or Chronica Polonorum (?). See also Acta Sanctorum, XXXI, 195, Nos. 40-41. Father Touron does not give the titles of the works of these authors, or references to any definite places in them. However, we found the titles elsewhere, with the exception of the exact title of that of Mathias of Miechow, who was a canon at the cathedral of Cracow. (Ed. note).
25. The Catholic Encyclopedia, V, 69, and VIII, 702, gives articles on Dlugosz and Kromer respectively, which show their standing as historians. Curaus' work, as we also discovered, is entitled: Annales Silesiae ab Origine Gentis. But, not having the book itself, we could not give the exact reference. (Ed. note).
26. Acta Sanctorum, XXXI, 196, No. 43.
29. Ibid., 183, Nos. 6-8, and 198, No. 54.
INDEX