Born in Prague 710 years ago as a scion of the Luxemburg dynasty, Wenceslaus was destined to make history as Emperor Charles IV. Among other things, he is famous for publishing the Golden Bull of 1356, a collection of legal texts regulating the election of the king of the Holy Roman Empire that remained in force throughout the Late Middle Ages and the Modern Age until 1806. At the Berlin-Brandenburgische Academie der Wissenschaften (BBAdW), the Berlin branch of the MGH is at work preparing critical editions of over 10 000 selected documents issued by Charles IV and other rulers during the period of his reign, making them thus accessible for broader research.
For the podcast series „Zeitzeichen“, Maren Gottschalk of the Westdeutsche Rundfunk (WDR) spoke with MGH scholar professor Dr Olaf B. Rader on the occasion of the 710th birthday of Charles IV. Besides his work for the edition project, Olaf Rader has recently published a biography of the emperor. The 15-minute broadcast offers a brief but pithy portrait of the ruler and is very worthwhile hearing.
>>> WDR-Zeitzeichen „Warum Karl IV. nicht der Friedenskaiser des Mittelalters war“ (Why Charles IV was not held to be the medieval „Friedenskaiser“)
Already published volumes of the Constitutiones of Charles IV >>> Constitutiones et acta publica imperatorum et regum Bände 9 bis 15
>>> The MGH Berlin edition project at the BBAdW
Photo of the scull of Charles IV with traces of a wound to the nose suffered at the battle of Crécy from: Emanuel Vlček, Aussehen, gesundheitlicher Zustand und Todesursache Karls IV., in: Hémecht 32 (1980) S. 433-437.