Oldřich, Duke of Bohemia

"Oldrich" redirects here. For the 1,000-year-old oak tree, see Oldřich Oak.

Oldřich, Duke of Bohemia
Oldřich, Duke of Bohemia
Spouse(s)	unidentified noblewoman Božena (morganatic)
Noble family	Přemyslid dynasty
Father	Boleslaus II of Bohemia
Mother	Emma of Mělník
Born	c. 975
Died	11 November 1034(1034-11-11)

Oldřich (c. 975 – 11 November 1034) was the Duke of Bohemia from 1012 to 1033 and briefly in 1034. He was a son of Boleslaus II and brother of Boleslaus III and Jaromír.

Life

Oldřich deposed Jaromír on 12 April 1012 and recognised the suzerainty of the Holy Roman Emperor. According to legend, Oldřich married a woman known as Božena, daughter of Křesina, after discarding his first wife on the grounds that they were childless.

Oldřich and his son Bretislaus sought to win back Moravia from the Poles and in 1029 Bretislaus drove the Poles out of the eastern lands. Bretislaus' efforts in today Slovakia against Hungary failed in 1030 due to the jealousy of the Emperor Conrad II. In the following year, Czech forces refused to take the field for the emperor.

In 1032, Oldřich was invited to the Diet of Merseburg and did not appear. His absence raised the ire of the emperor and Conrad, busy with events in Burgundy, charged his son Henry VI, Duke of Bavaria, with punishing the recalcitrant Bohemian. Oldřich was deposed and sent to Bavaria. He was replaced by Jaromír, but he in turn was captured, blinded, and deposed by Oldřich, who seized power again and drove out Jaromír's son from Moravia. Oldřich died abruptly on 9 November 1034 and later examination of his skeleton reveal his skull to have suffered a fatal blow. Jaromír then renounced the throne in favour of Bretislaus.

Ancestry

Family of Oldřich, Duke of Bohemia

16. Bořivoj I of Bohemia               8. Vratislaus I of Bohemia                       17. Ludmila of Bohemia               4. Boleslaus I of Bohemia                             9. Drahomíra of the Havolans                       2. Boleslaus II of Bohemia                                   5. Biagota (?)                             1. Oldřich, Duke of Bohemia                                         3. Emma of Mělník

Oldřich, Duke of Bohemia Přemyslid dynasty Born: c. 975 Died: 11 November 1034
Regnal titles
Preceded by Jaromír	Duke of Bohemia 1012–1033	Succeeded by Jaromír
	Duke of Bohemia 1034	Succeeded by Bretislaus I