History of the Imperial-Royal Order of Tusini (Czech: Točenice)

 

On the occasion of his second engagement, on the eve of his second marriage, the King of Bohemia and Holy Roman Emperor Wenceslas IV founded the Order of the Czech King, called Točenice (Tusini), in honor of the deceased first royal wife, Queen Johanna of Bavaria, who died under unclear, tragic circumstances, and out of respect for his future wife, Sophie of Bavaria. This happened in Cheb on Saturday, May 1, 1389. The motto of the order: Toho bzde toho (So be it forever).

 

Thus, a relatively loose knightly brotherhood of Točenice was created, consisting of the king's most loyal nobles, which was apparently inspired by the Order of the Garter in England. Insignia and membership in this order were also awarded to important persons and as a reward, as an expression of appreciation for the state and the king.

The Czech delegation met the Knights of the Garter and the Order of the Bath during their negotiations with King Richard II. at the ceremony held on the occasion of the royal marriage of the Bohemian Princess Anne to King Richard II.

 

The symbol of the order was the točenice, a strip of cloth, spirally twisted and shaped into a circle with a knot and loose ends. It was probably the veil of St. Veronica with the image of the face of Christ, part of which was acquired by his father, Emperor Charles IV. for his collection of relics.

This symbol was initially adopted by King Wenceslas IV as his personal sign and subsequently used for his royal order of the Točenice.

 

A mural in the Chapel of St. Wenceslas in the Prague Cathedral (west wall), under the emblems of the electors, depicts a group of aristocrats, two of whom are dressed in red and have a točenice tied on their right leg, just below the knee (just as knights in England wear a garter, but on their left leg). Below these figures are visible coats of arms, e.g. of Matouš Děpolt of Lobkowicz, the Czech Grand Prior of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, and his parents.

 

After the death of the Czech and Roman King Wenceslas IV on 16 August 1419, the Order of the Czech King of the Točenice fell under the new sovereign, the Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia and Hungary, Sigismund of Luxembourg.

 

The Order of Točenice survived the Hussite storm without any major problems and after Sigismund's death (9.12.1437) the next Grand Master was the Holy Roman, Bohemian and Hungarian King Albrecht Habsburg (died 27.10.1439), after whom the Order was taken over by the new King of Bohemia and Hungary Ladislav Pohrobek Habsburg (died 23.11.1457).

 

The newly elected Czech King George of Poděbrady also exercised his sovereign rights in the Order of Točenice. This is evidenced by the painting by Jan Vilímek, which he created based on a model from 1504, here we see a portrait of King George of Poděbrady, who has the order's chain of Grand Master Točenice around his neck (the portrait is kept in Vienna).

The Order of the Bohemian Kings of Točenice moved from an exclusively Czech environment to an international field during the 15th century as a result of its fight against the Turks under the Czech and Hungarian king Matthias Corvinus. He was the son-in-law and for many years also a political opponent of George of Poděbrady (died 22.3.1471). Matthias Corvinus (from the Hunyadi family) took over the Order of Točenice and included it in the components of his transnational "Black" army. In the battles against the Turks, he secured international fame for the valiant knights of Točenice under the Latin name Tusini (Latin ruled Europe at that time, similarly to how English rules it today).

 

The Order of Tusini was very famous in Germany for its victories over the Turks. The Tusini riders wore a red cloak with a green flat cross.

 

After the death of King Matthias Corvinus (April 6, 1490), the Polish, Hungarian and Bohemian King Vladislav II Jagiellon took over the famous Black Army and the Order of Točenice from the hands of the advisor and commander-in-chief of the Corvinic armies, Jan Haugwitz of Biskupitz.

An interesting monument to the Order of Točenice is still a plaque on the tower of the New Town Hall, which, in addition to the točenice, also shows three coats of arms — the imperial coat of arms (of Frederick III), on the left the Polish eagle, on the right the Bohemian lion, both of these coats of arms identifying King Vladislav II Jagiellon. The Order of Točenice had its commanderies in Bohemia, Germany and Hungary (Hungary) during this period.

 

The chronology of the Grand Masters of the Order of the Bohemian King Točenice includes either the monarchs themselves or persons authorized by them, starting with King Wenceslas IV.

Among the important members of the Royal Order of the Točenice were: William the Rabbit of Házmburk, the highest master of the royal kitchen (on the seal he used since 1400, he circled his shield with a točenice. Nicholas of Gary was admitted to the order on August 19, 1401 for his services in freeing the younger brother of King Sigismund, Francesco Gonzaga, Margrave of Mantua (admitted 1395), Gian Galeazzo Visconti received the title of Duke of Milan from King Wenceslas IV and this honor was also connected with the awarding of the Točenice Order (admitted 1395), Duke of Burgundy John the Bold and his son Philip the Good, Emperor Sigismund's daughter Elizabeth of Luxembourg and her husband Albrecht of Habsburg (from 1464), Archduke Ernst of Austria, called the Iron, Diego de Valera (the order was awarded by King Albrecht of Habsburg in 1438), Pedro Tafur (order granted by King Albrecht of Habsburg in 1438).

The Milanese library Bibioteca Trivulziana houses the manuscript Codex No. 1390, the second panel of which depicts the coats of arms and orders belonging to members of the Visconti and Sforza families, represents a red shield with a silver swirl and is identified as the imperial jewel (Imperialis diuixia), which was acquired by the Visconti Duke of Milan Filippo Maria (1447).

 

Each secular knightly order had to have its own spiritual administrator, who took care of the religious affairs of individual members and led the spiritual part of the ceremony at the annual meetings of the order's chapter. In the Order of the Garter, the prelate of the order, the bishop of Winchester, is entrusted with the spiritual administration, who has other clergy at his disposal, and the same principle of bishops was also in Točenice (for example, the manuscript stored in Stams has the symbol of the točenice in the border of the first folio and belonged to the bishop of Litomyšl, Jan Železný, a member of the royal council. Another, spiritual, order was the king's close friend, Václav Králík of Buřenice, the supreme chancellor, provost of Vyšehrad and later bishop of Olomouc, who attached his seal to the document given on April 1, 1382 in the monastery at Zderaz.

 

The order chapel of Točenice was founded in Vyšehrad.

 

An interesting feature is the seal modeled after the Knights of the Order of the Garter in England. At the end of 1480, the vassal town of Český Krumlov obtained confirmation of the use of the coat of arms, where the Rosenberg rose is wrapped in the shield silver spinner. The book of copies of privileges from 1593 documents the Rosenbergs' affiliation to the order, and this honor was incorporated into the coat of arms of their seat city. At this time, the order is no longer referred to as the community of knights of the Bohemian king, but as the community of knights of the Holy Roman Emperor.

Branches were newly established in Austria at that time.

 

The Vatican had been interested in the Order of Točenice for a long time (due to its fame in the battles with the Turks), and so the order began to adhere to the rule of St. Basil, which it accepted in 1562 when it was recognized by the church. From that time on, the knights took a vow of chastity in marriage and obedience to the Holy Roman Church. In Europe, the knights were known exclusively under the name Tusíni and the order continued to participate in battles against the Turks many times, as an elite unit of the emperor. The highest Tusín was the Holy Roman Emperor himself, so the list of grand masters of the order is therefore completely clear.

 

The original meaning of the purely Czech Royal Order of Točenice thus changed fundamentally, the order was no longer just a Czech affair, no longer just a hereditary order of Czech kings, but operated internationally

on the territory of the entire Holy Roman Empire and under the protection of the emperor and the church itself.

 

After the huge religious-military-political conflict in Europe - the Thirty Years' War, the important Royal Order of Točenice in Bohemia did not decline, although its ranks in Bohemia were significantly thinned. The commanderies in Austria, Germany and Hungary remained more numerous. At that time, out of the original three million inhabitants, only eight hundred thousand people remained in Bohemia. From the available information, we know that 215 castles, 80 towns, 813 villages were burned in Bohemia, 63 castles, 22 towns and 332 villages in Moravia. According to written records, "not a living soul remained" on some estates. For religious reasons, approximately two hundred and twenty thousand of the survivors went into exile.

 

The decline in the number of members of the order in Bohemia led to the fact that, according to preserved information, the order continued to function only under its Latin name Tusini and is mentioned as such in a number of foreign publications in the 17th to 19th centuries, including references to the observance of the Rule of St. Basil.

 

The Royal Order of Točenice remained a hereditary order of the Czech kings in the 19th and 20th centuries, but its awarding was significantly limited during the reign of Emperor Franz Joseph.

 

The year 1918 and subsequent developments in Bohemia clearly demonstrated that the absence of the Czech Provincial Assembly (dissolved by the Annen Patents) and the weakening of the Royal Order of Točenice (as guardians of the Czech king) enabled the illegitimate rise of a political system that exists to this day, but which has never been able to officially abolish the Kingdom of Bohemia.

 

The knights continued to meet only in secret, maintaining their traditions and passing them on primarily within their families to their descendants, who became the protectors of the tradition of the Royal Order of Točenice and only in 2015 did they establish in the Czech Republic, under the patronage of the Sovereign of Macedonia, His Royal Highness Don Andrés Omar Ayala ďValva, Prince of Pinda and Grand Duke of Macedonia (he is in the direct line of the successor of the Diamandi family and all its sovereign rights), the Association of the Knights of the Order of Točenice, which is the bearer of the legacy and traditions for the purpose of maintaining the noble traditions of the Tusini Knights and its knightly virtues, which are completely missing in our society today.

 

Today, the Order of Točenice operates internationally again, is registered with the European Commission, and its branches in individual European countries operate in a modern way, but with strict adherence to most historical rules.

 

In its original place of origin, i.e. in Bohemia, it operates today as the "Society of the Knights of Točenice", which honors its history and in the modern world helps to solve issues that are of fundamental importance to humanity (Medicine, human rights, poverty, security, freedom).

 

Addendum:

Unfortunately, the mission of the order and its history are completely unknown to contemporary historians, despite the fact that there are historical publications that provide many details about the order (e.g. the publication Catalogo degli ordini Equestri e Militari esposto in imagini, e con breve racconto, Rome 1711, Filippo Bonanni).