Vratislaus II of Bohemia

Vratislaus II of Bohemia
Duke and King of Bohemia
Reign	1061–1092
Coronation	1085, Prague
Predecessor	Spytihněv II of Bohemia
Successor	Conrad I of Bohemia
Born	? Bohemia
Died	14 January 1092 Bohemia
Burial	Vyšehrad
Wives	Maria N Adelaide of Hungary Świętosława of Poland
Issue	Bretislaus II of Bohemia Borivoj II of Bohemia Vladislaus I of Bohemia Soběslav I of Bohemia
House	Přemyslid dynasty
Father	Bretislaus I of Bohemia
Mother	Judith of Schweinfurt

Vratislaus (or Wratislaus) II (Czech: Vratislav II.) (d. 14 January 1092), the son of Bretislaus I and Judith of Schweinfurt, was the first King of Bohemia as of 15 June 1085. The royal title was merely a lifetime grant from Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV, however, and was not hereditary. Before being raised to the royal dignity, he had ruled Bohemia as duke since 1061.

On his father's death in 1055, Vratislaus became duke of Olomouc. He fell out with his brother Spytihněv II and was exiled to Hungary. Vratislaus regained his Moravian ducal throne with Hungarian assistance and eventually reconciled with his brother and succeeded him as duke of Bohemia.

Campaigns of Henry IV

Vratislaus was an ally of the Emperor Henry IV. He supported Henry in both the Investiture Controversy against the popes and the rebellions in Saxony that dominated his long reign. Pope Gregory VII, having already gained the support of Bolesław II of Poland, was keen on roping in the duke of Bohemia to surround the emperor with adversaries fighting for the church. The pope confirmed Vratislaus in the privilege of wearing the mitre and tunic which his predecessors had. The pope also expressed gratitude for the regular payment of tribute to the Holy See.

Vratislaus was often at odds with his brother Jaromír, the bishop of Prague, and he wore his religious vestments around the bishop to irritate him. Jaromír, for his part, ignored the creation of a new Moravian diocese by Vratislaus in 1063. Jaromir even went so far as to take by arms the relics removed from Prague to Moravia. Despite the pope's support for Vratislaus' new see, the Bohemian duke was unswayed in his loyalty to the emperor.

The Saxons revolted under Duke Magnus of Saxony and Otto of Nordheim, Duke of Bavaria, in 1070 and Boleslaus of Poland attacked Bohemia in 1071. In August 1073, Henry responded with an invasion of Poland, but a new Saxon revolt drew him back in 1075. Vratislaus joined him, and they defeated the rebels on 9 June at the First Battle of Langensalza. The Bohemian troops showed conspicuous bravery. Henry then took Jaromír to Germany to be his chancellor under the name of Gebhard and Vratislaus was greatly relieved.

Vratislaus also took part in the wars against the anti-kings who opposed Henry's rule and were elected by a faction of the nobility to replace him. At the Battle of Flarchheim, only through the aid of Vratislaus' contingent was the imperial army capable of overcoming the rebels of the papally-approved claimant Rudolf of Rheinfelden, Duke of Swabia. Vratislaus even succeeded in seizing Rudolf's golden sword. The golden sword was then carried in front of Vratislaus on state occasions.

Relations with the papacy

Vratislaus raised an army to serve in Henry's Italian campaign of 1081. In 1083, Vratislaus and his Bohemians were with Henry when they entered Rome itself.

Despite his serving an excommunicated emperor, Vratislaus maintained good relations with the papacy. Nonetheless, Gregory refused to grant Vratislaus permission to use the Slavonic liturgy. Never, however, did Vratislaus link his fate with that of Henry's antipope, Clement III.

Expansionism

Denar of Vratislaus II.

Vratislaus coveted the largely Slavic marches of Meissen and Lusatia, but, in spite of Henry's promises and Bohemian successes against the rebellious margraves, he never received them. He held Lower Lusatia between 1075 and 1086, but in 1088, with the insurrection of Egbert II of Meissen, Henry granted the region to Henry of Ostmark. Vratislaus was thereafter cool to Henry's military adventures. He never wavered in his loyalty, but he abstained from giving the emperor martial aid.

Internal affairs

It was a Přemyslid tradition that Moravia would be entrusted to the younger brothers of the ruling prince. In Vratislaus' case, his two younger brothers Conrad and Otto inherited Brno and Olomouc and the youngest, Jaromír, entered the church. However, enmity grew between the brothers. It was then that Vratislaus founded the diocese of Olmütz (diocese of Olomouc), under the Archbishopric of Mainz, to counter Otto's authority within his province. Both pope and emperor took a hand in mediating the conflict, which was partially fixed with Henry's appointment of Jaromír as chancellor in 1077. In April 1085, a reichstag convened in Mainz suppressed the Moravian see, but Vratislaus later re-founded see. Jaromír protested in Rome to Pope Urban II, but died in 1090 before a pope ruled on the matter.

Sadly for Vratislaus, his last years were occupied by dynastic quarrelling. When his brother Otto died in 1086, he gave Olomouc to his son Boleslaus, which was seen to be an act against the interests of Conrad. Vratislaus raised an army against Conrad and sent it out under his other son Bretislaus. This son turned on him. Vratislaus, in keeping with Bohemian custom, designated an heir: Conrad. Thus reconciled, the two attacked Bretislaus, who fled to Hungary.

Vratislaus died of a hunting wound on 14 January 1092 after a reign of thirty years. He was buried in St. Peter and Paul′s Church, Vyšehrad.

Legacy

By (re)creation of the Bishopric of Olomouc (1063) and creation of the Vyšehrad Chapter (1070 - richly endowed, independent from the Prague bishop, subjected directly to the Holy See) and also by his obstinacy in conflict with the Prague bishop Jaromír, Vratislaus ultimately little depressed importance of bishop of Prague in domestic Bohemian politics, enabling thus more unified rule over the country for all following dukes and kings. Vratislaus's policy towards the Holy Roman Empire set an example to follow for the next (12th) century, leading ultimately to permanent elevation of Bohemia to kingdom in the beginning of 13th century. His marriage policy not only shows the rising position of Premyslids among European dynasties (Vratislaus's father Bretislaus had to abduct his wife Judith of Schweinfurt in 1019), but also set direction for his followers (as to dynastic bonds to pursue towards Poland and Hungary).

Family

Vratislaus was married three times. His first wife Maria died during premature childbirth. He married the second time in 1057 to Adelaide, daughter of Andrew I of Hungary, who died in 1061. They had four children:

• Vratislaus (-1061)
• Judith (1056/58-1086), married to Ladislaus I Herman, son of Casimir I of Poland
• Ludmila (-after 1100)
• Bretislaus II of Bohemia (c. 1060–December 22, 1100), Duke of Bohemia

In 1062, Vratislaus married a third time to Swatawa of Poland, a daughter of Casimir I of Poland. They had five children:

• Boleslaus (-1091)
• Bořivoj II of Bohemia (c. 1064-February 2, 1124), Duke of Bohemia
• Vladislaus I of Bohemia (-April 12, 1125), Duke of Bohemia
• Soběslav I of Bohemia (-February 14, 1140), Duke of Bohemia
• Judith (c. 1066-9 December 1108), married to Wiprecht II of Groitzsch

Ancestry

Family of Vratislaus II of Bohemia

16. Boleslaus I of Bohemia               8. Boleslaus II of Bohemia                       17. Biagota (?)               4. Oldřich of Bohemia                             9. Emma of Mělník                       2. Bretislaus I of Bohemia                                   10. Křesina                       5. Božena                             1. Vratislaus II of Bohemia                                         12. Berthold of Schweinfurt                       6. Henry of Schweinfurt                             13. Eilika of Walbeck                       3. Judith of Schweinfurt                                   14. Otto II of Henneberg                       7. Gerberga of Henneberg

Literature

• Vratislav Vaníček: Vratislav II. (I.). První český král. Vyšehrad 2004, ISBN 80-7021-655-7
• Hans Patze: Die Pegauer Annalen, die Königserhebung Wratislaws v. Böhmen und die Anfänge der Stadt Pegau. JGMODtl 12, 1963, 1-62
• Percy Ernst Schramm: Böhmen und das Regnum: Die Verleihung der Königswürde an die Herzöge von Böhmen (1085/86,1158,1198/1203) (Adel und Kirche. G. Tellenbach z. 65. Geb. Hrsg. J. Fleckenstein-K. Schmid, 1968), 346-364.

External links

Regnal titles
Preceded by Spytihněv II	Duke of Bohemia 1061–1085	Vacant Title next held by Conrad I
New title	King of Bohemia 1085–1092	Vacant Title next held by Vladislaus II