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Krystof Harant of Polzice and Bezdruzice and Pecka: 1564-21st June 1621.

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Krystof Harant of Polzice and Bezdruzice and Pecka (1564-21st June 1621) remains to this day one of the best-known figures of the Bohemian Renaissance. A Czech aristocrat, he become famous in his own time for many actions that expressed his restless soul, but also for his many-sided gifts, pre-eminent among them his talent as a composer.

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His abilities were much encouraged and cultivated in the years 1576-1584, which he spent at the court of the Archduke Ferdinand of the Tyrol in Innsbruck. The art-loving atmosphere of the court awoke in his an interest in painting, jousting, travel and also music. During his period at the chateau of Ambrass he also gained an excellent education, including a knowledge of languages.

At the beginning of the 1590s he served in the imperial army in the Hungarian Lands. After returning from the battlefield he made the arduous journey to the Holy Land, which he carefully described in a travelogue that was printed ten years later. In the summer of 1599 he made the personal acquaintance of the Emperor Rudolf, with whom he had many common interests and who made him a court chamberlain. On the emperot's recommendation Krystof Harant was raised to the nobility in 1607. After the emperor's death, which grieved him greatly, Harant remained formally in the service of the ruling dynasty. He even undertook a diplomatic mission to Spain, although no written record of his travel experiences has survived in this case.

In 1618 Harant took an active part in the anti-Habsburg Revolt of the Bohemian Estates as the President of the Bohemian Chamber and Commander of the Estates Artillery. At the same time he converted from Catholicism to Utraquism. As commander of the artillery he advanced as far...

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