View source for Vilém Slavata of Chlum

{{Short description|Czech nobleman (1572–1652)}}
[[Image:Wilhelm Slawata.jpg|thumb|''Wilhelm Graff Schlabata, Kaysers Ferdinandi des andern geheimber Rath, Cammerer, und Groß Cantzler des Königreichs Behaimb''. A contemporary [[intaglio printing|copperplate]] by [[Wolfgang Kilian]]]]
'''Vilém Slavata z Chlumu a Košumberka''' ({{IPA|cs|ˈvɪlɛːm ˈslavata}}; {{Langx|de|Wilhelm Slawata von Chlum und Koschumberg}}) (1 December 1572 – 19 January 1652) was a [[Czech people|Czech]] nobleman from an old [[Bohemia]]n family. As viceregent ''(místodržící)'' of Emperor [[Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor|Ferdinand II of Habsburg]] (from 1617) he became famous as co-victim, along with [[Jaroslav Borzita of Martinice]], of the 1618 [[Defenestrations of Prague|Defenestration of Prague]].<ref name="luft"/><ref name="koristka"/>

==Life==
Vilém was born at his family's estates in [[Čestín]] near [[Kutná Hora]].<ref name="koristka"/> His father Adam had been an administrator of Emperor [[Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor|Rudolf II of Habsburg]], who in 1583 had taken up his residence at [[Prague Castle]] and had guaranteed [[freedom of religion]] to the [[Protestantism|Protestant]] Bohemian estates by his [[Letter of Majesty]] (''Rudolfův Majestát'') issued in 1609.{{cn|date=March 2025}} Though he was raised in the spirit of the [[Moravian Church|Unity of the Brethren]], Slavata converted to [[Catholicism]] in 1597 and became a fierce advocate of the older faith.<ref name="louthan"/>

Like his father he took service with Rudolf II who appointed him [[burgrave]] at [[Karlštejn]].<ref name="koristka"/> Under Rudolf's successor [[Matthias, Holy Roman Emperor|Matthias]] he became [[Chamberlain (office)|chamberlain]] of the [[Crown of Bohemia]]. Vilém supported the coronation of the devout Catholic [[Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor|Ferdinand of Inner Austria]] as Bohemian king against the resistance of the Protestant estates. In return Ferdinand vested him with the office of his representative at Prague, where he had to face the violent uprising of the nobles led by [[Jindřich Matyáš Thurn]] on 23 May 1618.{{cn|date=March 2025}} Together with J. Bořita of Martinice he was thrown out of a window of the castle by an enraged Protestant multitude. He was subsequently arrested by the assailants after surviving the defenestration albeit with severe injuries.<ref name="luft"/>

One year later, he managed to escape to [[Electorate of Saxony|Saxony]].  However, Elector [[John George I, Elector of Saxony|John George I]], anxious for his neutral position, forced him to retire to [[Passau]]. After Ferdinand's victory at the [[Battle of White Mountain]] in 1621, Slavata returned to Bohemia.<ref name="kamen"/> A leading figure in restoring Catholicism, he received the title of a ''[[Reichsgraf]]'' ("Count of the [[Holy Roman Empire|Empire]]") and in 1628 was appointed [[List of Bohemian High Chancellors|High Chancellor of Bohemia]].<ref name="luft"/> He died at [[Jindřichův Hradec]].<ref name="koristka"/>

==Works==
*''Historické spisování'' ("Historical writings"), 1637–1651
:This monumental (14 large-scale books) reminiscence in which Vilém comprehensively describes the causes and initiation of the Bohemian Revolt and the first phase of the [[Thirty Years' War]], has importance for understanding of that era. His great annals are focused especially on the events of the years 1608–1619 on the territory of the [[Czech lands]].

==References==
{{reflist|refs=
<ref name="koristka">{{cite book |editor1-last=Koristka |editor1-first=K. |title=Sitzungsberichte der Königl. Böhmischen Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften in Prag Jahrgang 1875|date=1876 |publisher=Verlag Königl. Böhmischen Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften |pages=164-178 |language=de}}</ref>
<ref name="luft">{{cite NDB online | last=Luft | first=Robert | date= 2010 | article=Slawata (Slavata), Wilhelm (Vilém) Graf (bis 1621 Freiherr, seit 1621 Reichsgraf) von Chlum und Koschumberg (z Chlumu a Košumberka) | gnd=1018376615 | access-date=3 March 2025}}</ref>
<ref name="louthan">{{cite book |last1=Louthan |first1=Howard |title=Converting Bohemia: Force and Persuasion in the Catholic Reformation |date=12 February 2009 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=978-0-521-88929-2 |pages=50-56 |language=en}}</ref>
<ref name="kamen">{{cite book |last1=Kamen |first1=Henry |title=Who's Who in Europe 1450-1750 |date=2 September 2003 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-1-134-75547-9 |language=en |chapter=Slavata of Chlum, Vilem|page=276}}</ref>
}}

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[[Category:1572 births]]
[[Category:1652 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Kutná Hora District]]
[[Category:Habsburg Bohemian nobility]]
[[Category:Converts to Roman Catholicism]]
[[Category:Autobiographers]]
[[Category:Czech non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:16th-century nobility from Bohemia]]
[[Category:17th-century nobility from Bohemia]]
[[Category:Execution survivors]]

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