Abstract: For many reasons, Czech historiography in the 19th – 21st centuries established the main themes and trends in the research of Svätoplukian topics. This article presents the second part of a detailed analysis of the interpretive arc from the glorification of Svätopluk to the reduction of his significance as a ruler, which this Central European school of history underwent in the period under review. The article has been divided into several parts because of its large scope. In the second part I focus primarily on two giants of their time – Lubomír E. Havlík and Dušan Třeštík. Both of them created powerful lines of understanding of the Great Moravian period and the reign of Svätopluk I. Nevertheless, there is an abysmal difference between their approaches to examining the same issue. Havlík looks at it from a Moravian perspective, while Třeštík perceives the same topic from a Czech perspective. For Havlík, the Roman and papal dimensions of Svätopluk are important; for Třeštík, the emphasis is more imperial, although sometimes Central European. For Havlík, Svätopluk is clearly the king of the Moravians, whereas for Třeštík, the same ruler is rather a duke of the East Frankish Empire. It should also be noted that Havlik’s image of Svätopluk is complex, while Třeštík’sis rather selective. Paradoxically, however, contemporary Czech historiography tends to build on Třeštík rather than Havlík.

Author: Homza, Martin

DOI: 10.17846/CL.2025.18.2.119-133

Publication order reference: prof. Martin Homza, Dr.; Comenius University Bratislava, Faculty of Arts, Department of Slovak History, Gondova 2, 811 02 Bratislava, Slovakia; email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; ORCID ID: 0000-0002-9557-0908, WOS Researcher ID: GMW-7722-2022, SCOPUS Author ID: 56043614800

Source: Konštantínove listy, 2025, vol.: 18, issue: 2, pages: 119-133 (PDF file)

Keywords: SVÄTOPLUK I, BORIVOJ, ST. METHODIUS, COSMAS OF PRAGUE, (PSEUDO)CHRISTIAN, MORAVIAN TRADITION, LEGITIMISM, CENTRAL EUROPE, PAPACY, EMPIRE, REX SCLAVORUM

Language: ENGLISH

Recommended Citation:
Homza, Martin. 2025. Svätopluk in Czech and Czech-written Historiography. A Few Critical Remarks. Part two: from the 1960s to the 1990s. In Konštantínove listy [Constantine’s Letters] 18/2, 119-133.