Father of the homeland and father of the national historiography. Jean Bertholet about John the Blind of Bohemia
Abstract
The present study observes different roles played by John the Blind in the Czech and Luxembourgian national imagination and searches for the roots of the Luxembourgian portrait of king John. The research starts with king's 19th century characterization and focuses on the elements qualifying the king as the Luxembourgian "père de la patrie".
The gist consists of an analysis of the chapters of Jean Bertholet's Histoire ecclésiastique et civile du duché de Luxembourg et comté de Chiny t.VI, which are based on the Dubravius' chapters dealing with John's reign. The conclusion finds that the portrait of John as Luxembourgian father of fatherland was strongly influenced by Bohemian historiography, especially by Dubravius, and that the Bertholet's work seems to have played an important role into such an extent that the author can be considered as a father of the Luxembourgian national historiography.