Men are from Mars and women from Venus - the author of these words probably did not know the history of Czech female warriors from Děvín Castle. Although many of them undoubtedly benefited from the goddess of love, their Martian faces were remembered for a long time by men who had to fight in the eternal conflict for power over the world.
Libusza (Lubosza) turned out to be the source of this version of the male-female conflict. This semi-legendary founder of Czech Prague was to take over independent power after the death of her father Krok in AD 710. The Czech chronicler Cosmas, who first named her, did not hide his admiration for her qualities.
The narrative wrote about her that:
was a completely unique woman among women, prudent in council, swift in speech, pure in body, righteous manners, inferior to anyone in passing judgments in popular courts, nice to all, but worthy of love, decoration and glory of the female sex, decisive with foresight in matters owed to men.
In the following lines, however, as if oblivious to his delight, he quoted a story about a conflict between two nobles about the boundaries of their estates and about Libusza's judgment. When, as a result of her sentence, one of the men felt aggrieved, the historian bluntly described Libusza as a woman who allowed herself too much, because she was deprived of her husband's authority. And in the mouth of a citizen dissatisfied with the decision, he dared to put even such words:
Oh, unbearable harm to husbands! A leaky woman exercises male judgments with a treacherous mind!
Przemysł and Libusza
Whatever the motives of the chronicler's views, the fact was that the power of the woman was displeased by the powerful and insisted on her getting married quickly. Libusza herself also felt offended with an insulting speech and decided to change her marital status.
Women's military
However, out of spite of the mighty, she chose to be her husband - in accordance with her prophetic vision - a man from outside their state. It was probably around 715, plowman Przemko. The newly-baked wife did not intend to completely submit to her husband's will. It manifested its independence by creating armed units made up entirely of women.
The bravest of them, Vlasta, had direct command over these amazons. The men around the prince, now Przemysl, did not take the female warriors seriously, repeatedly pointing out that their long hair concealed a short mind. These in turn, not remaining in debt, did not deny themselves criticism of their long beards.
Przemysł and Libusza, Josef Václav Myslbek (1881), Vyšehrad
The prince consort did not stop at mockery and created his own guard - male, of course. At the same time, he tried to eliminate Vlasta's troops at all costs, but the Duchess's protection did its job and Przemysł had to do with taste.
War of the sexes
The situation changed with the death of Libusza in 735. The prince finally had a free hand and immediately disbanded his wife's troops. This did not please Vlasta, who did not want to submit to the prince's will. In addition, her supporters noticed that they were no longer as respected as in Libusza's lifetime and fondly recalled the rule of their beloved duchess. Further peaceful coexistence was therefore not an option and Vlasta and her subordinates built her own Děvín Castle (Dziwczyniec?). The chronicles also state that this fort was built during Libusza's lifetime.
There, Vlasta conducted intensive military training of girls and young women convened from all over the country. Her army grew before her eyes had grown to around 600 female warriors. At the same time, small troops of Vlasta launched attacks on lonely merchants, nobles and peasants. It also happened that husbands were murdered in their sleep by their wives, who then joined the ranks of amazons. In turn, the captured men were locked in dungeons or turned into slaves. In addition, many of the women who remained in the princely Visegrad reported to Vlasta about all the plans and actions of their masters.
Libusza was an independent and self-confident warrior. Vlasta continued her vision
Meanwhile, these, contrary to the prince's prophetic visions and warnings, completely disregarded the female rebellion. Confident in their strength and training, they set off to Děvín, hoping that the women would not fight back and would surrender at the mere sight of the male hosts. What their surprise must have been when a barrage of arrows rained down on them from a well-fortified fortress, and armed troops headed by Vlasta fell from the gate.
According to the chronicles, she herself was supposed to kill 7 men, and 300 Przemysl warriors were reportedly killed in the battle. The news of the male defeat spread quickly throughout the country. Encouraged by this, subsequent groups of women dissatisfied with men's rule began to flock to Děvín. Both sides switched to guerrilla warfare at the same time, getting ready for a general trial - which would have to come sooner or later.
Sneaky amazons
And it came around 743. Then the commander of the troops, Przemysl Ctirad, with his post office, encountered a tied up beautiful girl calling for help on a forest road. Of course, he immediately started to help you. The liberated, she confessed to him that her name was Šárka and that she was tied up by the warriors of Vlasty for not wanting to join them. Stunned by the beauty of the girl, Ctirad accepted a honey treat with his companions - as it turned out seasoned with sleeping herbs.
The armed men were powerless when, at Šárka's sign, the amazons fell out of the bushes, killing everyone except Ctirada. The unfortunate man in time realized that the beautiful girl was Vlasta's bait. The head of the Děvín women heard from her agents in Visegrád about the journey of the hated Ctirad, who had more than one of her subordinates on his conscience, and did not fail to take advantage of the opportunity for revenge. Ctirad was the only man to survive, but he was not allowed to survive his soldiers much longer. Subjected to excruciating torture, he died in captivity and his body was exposed to the public.
Final Showdown
Shocked by the cruel fate of his best commander, Przemysł mobilized all the forces at his disposal and set off for Děvín. Now it was Vlasta who disregarded the men and, hoping to win again, went out to meet them with her troops. A terrible battle took place in the fields between the castles, with the daughter against her father, sister against brother, and wife against husband. The fighters had no pity for each other, and whoever hesitated paid with his life for his holding back. This time the men withstood the onslaught of female troops. The most raging on the battlefield was Vlasta, who wanted to reach the walls of Vysehrad as quickly as possible, as if she were to get it herself.
Devín Castle
In the amok of battle, she broke away from her ranks and was cornered by several of the prince's warriors (the messages again speak of 7 daredevils, as if for the sake of balance for those she once killed). They had no doubts what to do - Vlasty's massacred body rested in a bloody field. More than 200 of her subordinates ended similarly, and the rest were driven as slaves to Visegrad.
A sad fate befell Šárka herself. Chronicles outdo each other in the descriptions of her fate. That is why we find out that she, in love with Ctirada, committed suicide after his death, or that she died at the hands of her ctirada son. But there is also a version that says that before the prince's soldiers captured Děvín, the unfortunate one had to wall herself up alive so as not to get into the hands of the torturers.
The victorious Industry also ordered the burning of Děvín, and the undivided rule of men was restored. For now…?