Page:Edvard Beneš – Bohemia's case for independence.pdf/19



Czechs originally came and established themselves in the lands they now hold towards the end of the sixth, or in the seventh century From the beginning they were obliged to defend themselves against the attacks of the Germanic tribes, and history tells us of their struggles against Charlemagne.

The first of our national heroes, St Venceslas, had to fight the Teutonic people and was forced to pay them tribute. All his successors without exception found themselves in more or less violent conflict with the Germans. The Bohemian lands were continually threatened, especially by the Emperors of the Holy Roman Empire. Our national kings (Boleslav, Soběslav, Přemysl, Ottakar) were obliged to wage continuous war against the Teutons.

Until the fourteenth century the history of Bohemia is the history of wars against the Germans, while the history of the Southern Slavs records their struggles against the Turks. With the 5