Filip Fabricius

Filip Fabricius, later of Rosenfeld and Hohenfall (ca 1570 – 1632) was a Bohemian Catholic officer best known for being thrown out of the Prague Castle window during the Third Defenestration of Prague with two Catholic noblemen, Count Jaroslav Bořita of Martinice and Count Vilém Slavata of Chlum and Košumberk.

Prague Defenestration in 1618

Early life

Filip Fabricius was born in Mikulov, Moravia (Zikmund Winter incorrectly suggested Mohelnice).[1] In later records Georg Fabricius, a German poet and humanist, was considered his grandfather.[1] He studied at Prague Jesuit Academy (first mentioned there in 1586 as a rhetoric student) and became a Bachelor in 1588 and Master a year later. [1] He wrote ceremonial speeches and interpreted.[1] In 1598 he got profitably married to Judita Podmanická, the only living descendant to a rich Prague trader.[1] He became a citizen of the Old Town and there is a later record that he might have been a secretary to Adam of Šternberk. Supported by Zdeněk Vojtěch Popel, Prince of Lobkowicz he became the second (1605) and then the first (1611) secretary of the German expedition (office) of the Bohemian Court Chancery, the highest office in Bohemia.[1] In 1608 he got the predicate of Rosenfeld from Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor.[1]

Defenestration

On 23 May 1618 Filip Fabricius was present in the offices of the Bohemian Court Chancery on Prague Castle together with Catholic Lords Regent Jaroslav Bořita of Martinice, Vilém Slavata of Chlum and Košumberk, Adam of Šternberk and Děpolt of Lobkowicz when armed Protestant Lords arrived and required confessions of guilt for the anti-Protestant policies of the king.[2] Slavata and Martinice were found guilty and thrown out of the windows.[2] Since the hated royal secretary Pavel Michna was not present the Protestant Lords decided to punish the other secretary – Filip Fabricius.[2] Only Slavata was seriously wounded by the 70-foot fall, Martinice and Fabricius escaped with light injuries.[2] Fabricius left Prague immediately and went to Vienna.[2]

Later life

Fabricius was one of the first people who informed the Vienna royal court of the Protestant rebellion in Prague.[3] He stayed in Vienna and supported the Catholic side as an officer. After the battle of White Mountain he was appointed a chamber councillor, vice-chamberlain of the dowry cities, sheriff of Mladá Boleslav region, and a member of some other important councils.[3] He was also given several new estates in Prague and Mělník region.[3] His noble epithet was extended with of Hohenfall (literally of high fall).[3] He died in 1632 and is buried in St James Church in the Old Town of Prague.

References

Jan Kilián, Filip Fabricius z Rosenfeldu a Hohenfallu, Život, rod a dílo defenestrovaného sekretáře, Bohumír Němec – Veduta, České Budějovice 2005, ISBN 80-86829-09-X (in Czech)
Arnošt Denis, Konec samostatnosti české, Prague 1932 (in Czech)
Jan Kilián, Podkomoří a zámecký hejtman na cestách. Komparace pracovních a jiných výjezdů Filipa Fabricia a Martina Pruška z Prušova v letech 1611 – 1632, in: Kubeš Jiří (ed.), Šlechtic na cestách v 16.-18. století, Univerzita Pardubice 2007, ISBN 978-80-7194-928-2 (in Czech)

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[Kilián-1] Jan Kilián, Filip Fabricius z Rosenfeldu a Hohenfallu, Život, rod a dílo defenestrovaného sekretáře, Bohumír Němec – Veduta, České Budějovice 2005, ISBN 80-86829-09-X (in Czech)

[Denis-2] Arnošt Denis, Konec samostatnosti české, Prague 1932 (in Czech)

[Kilián_2-3] Jan Kilián, Podkomoří a zámecký hejtman na cestách. Komparace pracovních a jiných výjezdů Filipa Fabricia a Martina Pruška z Prušova v letech 1611 – 1632, in: Kubeš Jiří (ed.), Šlechtic na cestách v 16.-18. století, Univerzita Pardubice 2007, ISBN 978-80-7194-928-2 (in Czech)