Vladislaus III, Duke of Bohemia

Vladislaus III
Seal of Margrave Vladislaus Henry
Duke of Bohemia
Reign	1197
Predecessor	Bretislaus III
Successor	Ottokar I
Born	c. 1160
Died	Znojmo, Moravia
Burial	Velehrad Abbey
Spouse	Heilwida
House	Přemyslid dynasty
Father	Vladislaus II, Duke of Bohemia
Mother	Judith of Thuringia
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Vladislaus Henry (Czech: Vladislav Jindřich; c. 1160 – 12 August 1222), a member of the Přemyslid dynasty, was elected Duke of Bohemia (as Vladislaus III) in 1197 and Margrave of Moravia from 1197 until his death. He was the 25th and last duke, before his brother Ottokar I finally achieved the elevation of the Duchy of Bohemia to a kingdom.

Life

Vladislaus Henry was the second son of Duke Vladislaus II from his second marriage with Judith of Thuringia, thereby the younger brother of Ottokar I. During the late 12th century struggles within the Přemyslid dynasty, he supported his older brother Ottokar when he seized the Bohemian duchy in 1192. In turn, Ottokar appointed Vladislaus, Prince of Brno and Znojmo since 1991, a Margrave of Moravia with the consent of Emperor Henry VI. However, the two never paid the demanded sum and so were again deposed in June 1193 by a decision of the Imperial Diet at Worms, which appointed their cousin, the Prague bishop Henry Bretislaus, as duke. Vladislaus was summoned to Prague Castle, where he had to spend the following years suspiciousley eyed by Duke Bretislaus.

Reconciliation of the brothers, 19th century painting

After the death of Emperor Henry VI and Bretislaus in 1197, Vladislaus was released and elected duke on 22 June 1197, with his brother in attendance. Faced with an uprising in favour of Ottokar, Vladislaus abdicated a few months later, on 6 December. The brothers then very nearly came to war, but, their armies encamped facing each other, the two met and negotiated a solution whereby Ottokar took the Bohemian throne–though without imperial approval–and compensated Vladislaus with the hereditary margravial title of near-autonomous Moravia. By his repudiation of the throne, Vladislaus helped to bring an end to the destructive dynastic wars of the Přemyslids, which had lasted for over twenty-five years from the death of his father. His status as a Prince of the Holy Roman Empire was acknowledged in the 1212 Golden Bull of Sicily.

Vladislaus held Moravia until his death twenty five years thence, in close co-operation with his brother. He reinforced his rule, when he had the rivalling claimant Prince Spytihněv III of Brno blinded and installed his own confessor, Daniel Milík, as Bishop of Prague, the first investiture by a reigning prince in Bohemia. Daniel played a vital role in the reconciliation between Vladislaus and Ottokar; despite several protests to the Roman Curia, he held the see until 1214 without receiving imperial nomination. In 1205, Vladislaus founded the Cistercian abbey of Velehrad as a family monastery and burial ground of the Moravian margraves.

Vladislaus was married with one Heilwida (Hedwig), of unknown origin. He died without issue at his court in Znojmo, whereafter the Moravian margraviate fell back to King Ottokar I, who enfeoffed it to his younger son Vladislaus II. Vladislaus was buried at Velehrad Abbey.

Ancestry

Family of Vladislaus III, Duke of Bohemia

16. Bretislaus I of Bohemia               8. Vratislaus II of Bohemia                       17. Judith of Schweinfurt               4. Vladislaus I of Bohemia                             18. Casimir I of Poland               9. Świętosława of Poland                       19. Maria Dobroniega of Kiev               2. Vladislaus II of Bohemia                                   20. Poppo of Berg-Schelklingen               10. Henry I of Berg-Schelklingen                       21. Sophia of Hungary               5. Richeza of Berg                             22. Diepold II, Margrave of Vohburg               11. Adelheid of Mochental                       23. Luitgard of Carinthia               1. Vladislaus III, Duke of Bohemia                                         24. Ludwig the Bearded               12. Louis the Springer                       25. Cäcilie von Sangerhausen               6. Louis I, Landgrave of Thuringia                             26. (?)               13. Adelheid von Stade                       27. (?)               3. Judith of Thuringia                                   28. Giso II or Giso III of Hesse               14. Giso IV, Count of Gudensberg                       29. Mathilde of Hesse               7. Hedwig of Gudensberg                             30. Rugger II of Bilstein               15. Kunigunde von Bilstein                       31. (?)

Vladislaus III, Duke of Bohemia Přemyslid dynasty Born: c. 1136 Died: 9 September 1191
Preceded by Bretislaus III	Duke of Bohemia 1197	Succeeded by Ottokar I
Preceded by Conrad II (until 1191)	Margrave of Moravia 1197–1222	Succeeded by Vladislaus II