Czechia

   Czechia, or Bohemia, was a vassal of Moravia (q.v.), when Cyril and his brother Methodios (qq.v.) arrived in Moravia in 864. According to Czech tradition the first known Christian duke, Borivoj of Prague, was baptized by Methodios. Borivoj and his wife Ludmila, and their grandson Saint Wenceslas, continued with the liturgy and priesthood bequeathed to them by Byzantium (q.v.). For some two centuries, this tradition flourished in Czechia, centered at the Benedictine abbey of Sazava, near Prague. However, by the late 11th century this began to change when, in 1096, Church Slavonic (q.v.) was banned. Although 12th-century king Vladislav of Bohemia referred to himself as a vassal of Manuel I Komnenos (q.v.), his link with Byzantium was tenuous. Byzantium was too far away to compete with influences emanating from Germany and Hungary (qq.v.).