All Topics  
Ottokar I of Bohemia

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Ottokar I of Bohemia
 
 
  Topics Ottokar I of Bohemia Topic Home

Ottokar I (; c. 1155 – 15 December 1230), king of Bohemia
Bohemia

History...
 (1198 – 1230), was a younger son of King Vladislav II and a member of the Premyslid dynasty
Premyslid dynasty

The Premyslids , were a Czech royal dynasty which reigned in Bohemia and in Poland ....
.

early years were passed amid the anarchy which prevailed everywhere in the country, after several struggles, in which he took part, he was recognized as ruler of Bohemia by the emperor Henry VI
Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor

Henry VI was King of Germany from 1190 to 1197, Holy Roman Emperor from 1191 to 1197 and King of Sicily from 1194 to 1197....
 in 1192. He was, however, soon overthrown for joining a conspiracy of German princes to bring down the Hohenstaufen monarchy.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Ottokar I of Bohemia'
Start a new discussion about 'Ottokar I of Bohemia'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


Ottokar I (; c. 1155 – 15 December 1230), king of Bohemia
Bohemia

History...
 (1198 – 1230), was a younger son of King Vladislav II and a member of the Premyslid dynasty
Premyslid dynasty

The Premyslids , were a Czech royal dynasty which reigned in Bohemia and in Poland ....
.

Early years

His early years were passed amid the anarchy which prevailed everywhere in the country, after several struggles, in which he took part, he was recognized as ruler of Bohemia by the emperor Henry VI
Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor

Henry VI was King of Germany from 1190 to 1197, Holy Roman Emperor from 1191 to 1197 and King of Sicily from 1194 to 1197....
 in 1192. He was, however, soon overthrown for joining a conspiracy of German princes to bring down the Hohenstaufen monarchy. In 1197 Otakar forced his brother, duke Vladislav Jindrich, to abandon Bohemia to him and to content himself with Moravia
Moravia

Moravia is a Historical regions of Central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic, one of the former Czech lands. It takes its name from the Morava River, Central Europe which rises in the northwest of the region....
.

Taking advantage of the German civil war between the Hohenstaufen claimant Philip of Swabia
Philip of Swabia

Philip of Swabia was king of Germany and duke of Swabia, the rival of the emperor Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor....
 and the Welf candidate Otto IV
Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor

Otto IV of Brunswick was one of two rival kings of the Holy Roman Empire from 1198 on, sole king from 1208 on, and emperor from 1209 on. The only king of the Welf dynasty, he was deposed in 1215....
, Ottokar declared himself King of Bohemia. This title was supported by Philip of Swabia
Philip of Swabia

Philip of Swabia was king of Germany and duke of Swabia, the rival of the emperor Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor....
 who needed Czech military support against Otto (1198).

In 1199 he divorced his wife, Adelheid of Meissen
Adelheid of Meissen

Adelheid of Meissen was the first Queen consort of Ottokar I of Bohemia....
, a member of the Wettin dynasty
Wettin (dynasty)

The House of Wettin was a dynasty of Germany counts, dukes, Prince Elector and monarchs that ruled the area of today's German states of Saxony, the Saxon part of Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia for more than 800 years as well as holding at times the kingship of Poland....
 for a marriage with Constance of Hungary
Constance of Hungary

Constance of Hungary was the second Queen consort of Ottokar I of Bohemia. ...
, the young daughter of the Hungarian King Bela III
Béla III of Hungary

B?la III , , King of Hungary . He was educated in the court of the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Komnenos who was planning to ensure his succession in the Byzantine Empire till the birth of his own son....
.

In 1200 - with Otto IV in the ascendancy, Otakar abandoned his pact with Philip and declared for the Welf faction. Both Otto and Pope Innocent III
Pope Innocent III

Pope Innocent III was born in either 1160 or 1161, and died on July 16, 1216 at Perugia. He was born with the name Lotario de Conti, and he was pope from January 8, 1198 until his death....
 subsequently accepted Otakar as hereditary King of Bohemia.

Golden Bull of Sicily

Philip's consequent invasion of Bohemia was successful. Otakar, having been compelled to pay a fine, again ranged himself among Philip's partisans and still later was among the supporters of the young king, Frederick II
Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor

Frederick II , of the House of Hohenstaufen dynasty, was an Kingdom of Italy pretender to the title of King of the Romans from 1212 and unopposed holder of that monarchy from 1215....
. In 1212 Frederick granted the Golden Bull of Sicily
Golden Bull of Sicily

The so-called Golden Bull of Sicily was a decree issued by the Holy Roman Empire king and emperor Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor in Basel on 26 September 1212 that certified hereditary royal title for Otakar I of Bohemia and his successors and determined the rights and the duties of the Bohemian monarchs ....
 to Bohemia. This document recognised Otakar and his heirs as Kings of Bohemia. The King was no longer subject to appointment by the Emperor, and was only required to attend Diets
Diet (assembly)

In politics, a diet is a formal deliberative assembly. The term is derived from Medieval Latin dietas, and ultimately comes from the Latin dies, "day"....
 close to the Bohemian border. Although a subject of the Holy Roman Empire, the Bohemian King was to be the leading electoral prince of the empire and to furnish all subsequent Emperors with a bodyguard of 300 knights when they went to Rome for their coronation.

Otakar's reign was also notable for the start of German immigration into Bohemia and the growth of towns in what had until that point been forest lands. In 1226 Otakar went to war against Frederick II of Austria after the latter wrecked a deal which would have seen Otakar's daughter (Saint Agnes of Bohemia) married to Emperor Frederick II's son, Henry II of Sicily. Otakar then planned for the same daughter to marry Henry III of England
Henry III of England

Henry III was the son and successor of John of England as King of England, reigning for fifty-six years from 1216 to his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester....
, but this was vetoed by the Emperor who knew Henry to be an opponent of the Hohenstaufen
Hohenstaufen

The House of Hohenstaufen was a dynasty of List of German Kings and Emperors , many of whom were also crowned Holy Roman Emperor and Duke of Swabia....
 dynasty. Then widowed Emperor himself wanted to marry Agnes, but by then she didn't want to play a role in an arranged marriage anymore. With the help of the pope, Agnes entered the convent.

Family


Ottokar was married first in 1178 to Adelheid of Meissen
Adelheid of Meissen

Adelheid of Meissen was the first Queen consort of Ottokar I of Bohemia....
 (after 1160 - February 2 1211), who gave birth to the following children:
  • Vratislav (before 1181 - after 1225)
  • Dagmar
    Margarethe of Bohemia

    Margarethe of Bohemia was Queen consort of King Valdemar II of Denmark, daughter of king Ottokar I of Bohemia and his first wife, Adelheid of Meissen....
     (Markéta) (ca 1186 - May 24 1213), married to Valdemar II of Denmark
    Valdemar II of Denmark

    Valdemar II , called Valdemar the Conqueror or Valdemar the Victorious , was the King of Denmark from November 12, 1202 until his death in 1241....
    , King of Denmark
  • Božislava
  • Hedvika


In 1199, he married Constance of Hungary
Constance of Hungary

Constance of Hungary was the second Queen consort of Ottokar I of Bohemia. ...
 (1181 – December 6 1240), who gave birth to the following children:
  • Vratislav (ca 1200 – ?)
  • Judith (- June 2 1230), married to Bernhard von Spanheim
    Bernhard von Spanheim

    Bernhard von Spanheim was the duke of Duchy of Carinthia from 1202 until his death....
    , Duke of Carinthia
    Duchy of Carinthia

    The Duchy of Carinthia was a duchy located in southern Austria and parts of northern Slovenia. It was part of the Holy Roman Empire from 976 until the dissolution of the Empire in 1806, and a crownland of Austria-Hungary until its dissolution in 1918....
  • Anne
    Anna of Bohemia

    Anna of Bohemia was the Duchess consort of Silesia , she was the daughter of Ottokar I of Bohemia, King of Bohemia and his second wife Constance of Hungary....
     (Anna Lehnická) (1204 - June 23 1265), married to Henry II the Pious
    Henry II the Pious

    Henry II the Pious , was a Silesian Piasts Duke of Silesia , Krakow and Southern Greater Poland from 1238 until his death. During 1238 - 1239 he served as a regent of two Piast Duchies: Sandomierz and Opole-Raciborz....
    , Duke of Wroclaw
  • Anežka
  • Wenceslaus I of Bohemia (ca 1205 - September 23 1253), King of Bohemia
  • Vladislaus (Vratislav) (1207 - February 18 1227), Margrave of Moravia
  • Premyslid (Premysl) (1209 - October 16 1239), Margrave of Moravia, married to Margaret of Meran
  • Wilhelmina of Bohemia (Vilemína Ceská, Guglielmina Boema) (1210 - October 24 1281)
  • Saint Agnes of Bohemia
    Agnes of Bohemia

    Saint Agnes of Bohemia , or Agnes of Prague , was a medieval Bohemian princess who opted for a life of charity and piety over a life of luxury and comfort....
     (January 20 1211 – March 6 1282)


External links