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Birth:          ABT 1035 of Praha, Bohemia
Death:          14 Jan 1092 

Notes
m 1055/56/68
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vratislaus_II_of_Bohemia
Vratislaus (or Wratislaus) II (Czech: Vratislav II.) (d. 14 January 1092), the son of 
Bretislaus I[1] and Judith of Schweinfurt, was the first King of Bohemia as of 15 June 
1085,[1] his royal title granted as a lifetime honorific from Holy Roman Emperor Henry 
IV that did not establish a hereditary monarchy.[1] Before his elevation to the royal 
dignity, Vratislaus had ruled Bohemia as duke since 1061.

On his father's death in 1055, Vratislaus became duke of Olomouc, whereas his older 
brother became Duke of Bohemia as Spytihnev II. He fell out with his brother and was 
exiled to Hungary. Vratislaus regained the ducal throne of Olomouc with Hungarian 
assistance and eventually reconciled with his brother, then succeeded him as duke of 
Bohemia when he died in 1061.
Campaigns of Henry IV[edit]

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 Boleslaw II of 
Poland, was keen on gaining the support of 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[edit]

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[edit]
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[edit]

It was a Premyslid 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.[2]

Legacy[edit]

Vratislaus frequently found himself in conflict with Bishop Jaromír of Prague and 
sought means to diminish the importance of the Bishop of Prague in domestic 
Bohemian politics. Among the actions he took were the re-establishment of the 
Bishopric of Olomouc in 1063 and the creation of the Vyšehrad Chapter in 1070. The 
latter was richly endowed independently of the Prague bishop, subject instead to the 
Holy See directly. His success in curbing the power of the Prague bishop helped to 
strengthen the Bohemian crown and enable later rulers to govern a more unified state. 
His policy towards the Holy Roman Empire set an example that would be followed in 
the twelfth century and would ultimately lead to the permanent elevation of Bohemia to 
the status of a kingdom at the beginning of the thirteenth century. The marriage 
alliances he was able to conclude with notable foreign princesses reflected the rising 
position of the Premyslids among European dynasties. In contrast, Vratislaus's father 
Bretislaus in 1019 had to abduct his wife, the minor noblewoman Judith of 
Schweinfurt, to secure any suitable consort at all. His successor continued to 
cultivate dynastic bonds with notable courts in central and eastern Europe.

Family[edit]

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

Parents
____ Bretislaw (Bretislav) I "the Warrier" (ABT 1005 - 10 Jan 1055)
VON SCHWEINFORT Judith (ABT 1007 - 2 Aug 1058)

Siblings
____ Wratislaw (Vratislav) II (ABT 1035 - 14 Jan 1092)

Marriage To ____ Adelaide (Adelaida) (ABT 1040 - 27 Jan 1062)
    m. ABT 1057 

Notes
His 2d

Parents
ARPAD Andrew (Andras) I (ABT 1015 - AFT 6 Jul 1060)
YAROSLAVNA Anastasiya Agmunda (1022 - AFT 1074)

Children by ____ Adelaide (Adelaida) ABT 1040 - 27 Jan 1062
OF BOHEMIA Judith (Judita) I (ABT 1058 - 25 Dec 1086)

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