Hostivít was the last of the seven Bohemia

Bohemia

Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...

n mythical princes between the (also mythical) founder of the Přemyslid dynasty

Premyslid dynasty

The Přemyslids , were a Czech royal dynasty which reigned in Bohemia and Moravia , and partly also in Hungary, Silesia, Austria and Poland.-Legendary rulers:...

 Přemysl the Ploughman

Premysl, the Ploughman

The Czechs name Přemysl, the Ploughman, as the mythical ancestor of the Přemyslid dynasty, containing the line of princes and kings which ruled in the Lands of the Bohemian Crown from 873 or earlier until the murder of Wenceslaus III in 1306.-Story:According to a legend, Přemysl was a peasant of...

 and the first historical prince Bořivoj. The names of the princes were first recorded in Cosmas chronicle

Cosmas of Prague

Cosmas of Prague was a Bohemian priest, writer and historian born in a noble family in Bohemia. Between 1075 and 1081, he studied in Liège. After his return to Bohemia, he became a priest and married Božetěcha, with whom he probably had a son. In 1086 Cosmas was appointed prebendary of Prague, a...

 and then transmitted into the most of historical books of the 19th century including František Palacký

František Palacký

František Palacký was a Czech historian and politician.-Biography:...

's The History of the Czech Nation in Bohemia and Moravia. According to tradition, he was the father of the non-legendary prince Bořivoj. Some historians suppose that when St. Ludmila was born, Hostivít (or Svatopluk I

Svatopluk I

Svatopluk I or Zwentibald I was the greatest ruler of Moravia that attained its maximum territorial expansion in his reign . His career had already started in the 860s, when he governed a principality, the location of which is still a matter of debate among historians, within Moravia under the...

 of Moravia) and Ludmila's father, Slavibor, contracted that Bořivoj and Ludmilla would get married (that can refer to the wedding procession of an unknown bride mentioned in Annales Fuldenses

Annales Fuldenses

The Annales Fuldenses or Annals of Fulda are East Frankish chronicles that cover independently the period from the last years of Louis the Pious to shortly after the end of effective Carolingian rule in East Francia with the accession of the child-king, Louis III, in 900...

 for 871

871

Year 871 was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar.- Europe :* Nine battles are fought between the Danes and Wessex...

. According to So-called Dalimil

Chronicle of Dalimil

The Chronicle of Dalimil or Chronicle of so-called Dalimil is the first chronicle or story written in Czech language. It was created in verses by an unknown author at the beginning of the 14th century. The Chronicle compiles information of older Czech chronicles written in Latin and also the...

 Hostivít had a brother called Děpolt who inherited the land of Kouřim

Kourim

Kouřim is a small town in the Central Bohemian Region, Czech Republic. It is located 45 km east of Prague and has a population of 1,769 ....

.

One theory about the number of the princes is propped on the fresco

Fresco

Fresco is any of several related mural painting types, executed on plaster on walls or ceilings. The word fresco comes from the Greek word affresca which derives from the Latin word for "fresh". Frescoes first developed in the ancient world and continued to be popular through the Renaissance...

es on the walls of the Rotunda in Znojmo

Znojmo

Znojmo is a city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic, near the border with Lower Austria, connected to Vienna by railway and road . The royal city of Znojmo was founded shortly before 1226 by King Ottokar I on the plains in front of Znojmo Castle...

, Moravia

Moravia

Moravia is a historical region in Central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic, and one of the former Czech lands, together with Bohemia and Silesia. It takes its name from the Morava River which rises in the northwest of the region...

 but Anežka Merhautová claimed that the frescoes depict all the members of the Přemyslid dynasty including the Moravian junior princes.

Origin of the name

Hostivít's name is thought to be derived from the old Slavonic

Old Church Slavonic

Old Church Slavonic or Old Church Slavic was the first literary Slavic language, first developed by the 9th century Byzantine Greek missionaries Saints Cyril and Methodius who were credited with standardizing the language and using it for translating the Bible and other Ancient Greek...

 words "hosti" meaning guests and "vítat" meaning to welcome. Záviš Kalandra

Záviš Kalandra

Záviš Kalandra was a Czechoslovak historian and theorist of literature executed by Communists on charges of conspiracy and treason....

 thought the names of the seven princes were cryptical names of ancient Slavonic days of the week - Hostivít being the seventh - Saturday when the guests are welcome. Another theory says that the names were mistaken from a coherent and partly interrupted old Slavonic text.

Seven mythical princes after Přemysl

Mythical Princes of Bohemia
Nezamysl Nezamysl Nezamysl was the first of the seven Bohemian mythical princes between the founder of the Přemyslid dynasty Přemysl the Ploughman and the first historical prince Bořivoj...
Mnata Mnata Mnata was the second of the seven Bohemian mythical princes between the founder of the Přemyslid dynasty Přemysl, the Ploughman and the first historical prince Bořivoj...
Vojen Vojen Vojen was the third of the seven Bohemian mythical princes between the founder of the Přemyslid dynasty Přemysl the Ploughman and the first historical prince Bořivoj...
Vnislav Vnislav Vnislav was the fourth of the seven Bohemian mythical princes between the founder of the Přemyslid dynasty Přemysl the Ploughman and the first historical prince Bořivoj...
Křesomysl Kresomysl Křesomysl was the fifth of the seven Bohemian mythical princes between the founder of the Přemyslid dynasty Přemysl the Ploughman and the first historical prince Bořivoj...
Neklan Neklan Neklan was the sixth of the seven Bohemian mythical princes between the founder of the Přemyslid dynasty Přemysl the Ploughman and the first historical prince Bořivoj...
Hostivít