Prester John 597SPAIN and PORTUGAL, the NETHERLANDS, Scandinavia,
POLAND,ITA LY,PALESTINE,GREECE, and CYPRUS.
Norbert was made archbishop of Magdeburg and
chancellor of the empire in 1126. In 1128 he entrusted
the abbey of Prémontré to a successor, Hugh de Fosses
(d. 1164). Hugh governed the order until his death in
- Under his leadership, it acquired a stable structure
and set of practices consisting of an annual general chap-
ter under the presidency of the abbot of Prémontré, a
liturgical unity, and a convent life inspired by the CISTER-
CIANcustoms of Cîteaux. It had great success because it
fulfilled the need for more pastoral care in the church,
which the well-educated members of this order were
equipped to provide.
LAY BROTHERS AND A FEMALE COMMUNITYThe order also included fratres conversi,or “lay brothers,”
who were by far the most numerous in the 12th century
but whose number declined thereafter. They were present
at a part of the divine OFFICEand dedicated their day to
manual labor, playing a decisive role in the economic
foundations of the abbeys. After Norbert settled at Pré-
montré, he welcomed women, whom he allowed a place
complementary to his ideal of the male apostolic life, that
is, nearby but in the background. The female community
lived in a building of the abbey, making it a double
monastery. The sisters spent their time in PRAYERand
domestic duties, under the prioress and the abbot. In
about 1140 the general chapter suppressed double
monasteries. This measure marked the disappearance of
all but a few of the Premonstratensian women’s monaster-
ies. A few survived in BOHEMIAand Poland. In the mid-
12th century, the LAITYwas allowed to participate in the
spiritual life of the order, which changed over the Middle
Ages into more withdrawn and contemplative life than
active in pastoral care.
Further reading:David N. Bell, ed., The Libraries of
the Cistercians, Gilbertines, and Premonstratensians(Lon-
don: British Library in Association with the British
Academy, 1992); James Bulloch, Adam of Dryburgh(Lon-
don: S.P.C.K., 1958); Howard Montagu Colvin, The White
Canons in England(Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1951); Cor-
nelius James Kirkfleet, History of Saint Norbert: Founder of
the Norbertine (Premonstratensian) Order, Apostle of the
Blessed Sacrament, Archbishop of Magdeburg(St. Louis: B.
Herder, 1916).
Premyslid dynasty (Pfemyslids, Przemsl) This dynasty
held power in BOHEMIAfrom its beginnings in about 870
until 1306. The family name is from a legendary farmer,
Premysl (Pfimizl). Libuscˇ, a mythical prophetess appeared
at an assembly for consultation on governance. She
ordered that Premysl become prince and marry her. He
then united the tribes of Bohemia, founded the first part
of the city of PRAGUE, and established a principality.
The first documented member of this family at the
end of the ninth century, was Bofivoj, who was baptized.
Bofivoj’s wife, Ludmilla, and his grandson, Prince
Wenceslas the Saint, who reigned in the years 921/922–
929, became the country’s patron saints. The reigns of
Boleslav I (r. 929–967) and Boleslav II (r. 967–999) con-
solidated the realm into the kingdom of Bohemia but
subordinated it to the HOLYROMANEMPIRE. In the 11th
and 12th centuries, Bohemia declined in importance,
though princes such as Bretislav I (r. 1034– 55) and
Vratislav II (r. 1061–92) succeeded in maintaining and
promoting the interests of the state.
In the 13th century, Premysl Ottokar I (r. 1197–
1230) unified the country and established the principle
of hereditary succession for the dynasty. He also received
recognition from the emperors as the prince of Bohemia.
His grandson, Premysl Ottokar II the Great (r. 1253–78),
journeyed to the shores of the Baltic, supporting troops of
the TEUTONICKNIGHTS. He occupied AUSTRIAand what
are now Slovenia, Carinthia, and Carniola. RUDOLF of
Habsburg was elected king of Germany in 1273 and
halted this Czech expansion southward. Ottokar II’s son,
Wenceslas II (r. 1278–1305), turned his attention north-
ward and obtained in 1300 the title of king of POLAND.
After the extinction of the ÁRPÁDdynasty in HUNGARYin
1301, Wenceslas II’s son, called Wenceslas III (r.
1305–06), was crowned as king of Hungary. For a short
time, in 1305–06, the Premyslids united three Central
European monarchies under their rule. The assassination
of Wenceslas III in 1305/06, however, put a dramatic end
to rule of the Premyslid dynasty.
See alsoPIAST DYNASTY.
Further reading:Francis Dvornik, The Slavs in Euro-
pean History and Civilization(New Brunswick, N.J.: Rut-
gers University Press, 1962); Francis Dvornik, The
Making of Central and Eastern Europe, 2d ed. (Gulf
Breeze, Fla.: Academic International Press, 1974);
Mikulás Teich, ed., Bohemia in History(Cambridge: Cam-
bridge University Press, 1998).Prester John (Presbyter John) Prester John was a leg-
endary wealthy ruler somewhere in the East. During the
CRUSADES, stories circulated about a priest-king from the
East, practicing a form of NESTORIANISM, who was
thought to have marched to help liberate JERUSALEMfrom
the Muslims. OTTOof Freising mentioned such a possi-
bility. In 1160/65 a famous letter from him supposedly
circulated among the rulers of Christendom. It described
the power of a sovereign who reigned over a fabulously
rich and exotic country earlier converted by the apostle
Saint Thomas, perhaps India. The letter also showed the
value of a realm where the church and the secular power
worked well together. Even Hebrew versions referred to
the lost tribes of Israel as living there. In 1177, Pope
ALEXANDERIII received a message from a certain “John,