Vladislaus I, Duke of Bohemia

Vladislaus I of Bohemia
Duke of Bohemia
Duke of Bohemia
Reign 1109 1117
Predecessor Svatopluk
Successor Bořivoj II
Reign 1120 1125
Predecessor Bořivoj II
Successor Sobeslav I of Bohemia
Spouse Richeza of Berg
Issue Svatava
Vladislav II of Bohemia
Děpold I of Jamnitz
Jindřich
House Přemyslid dynasty
Father Vratislaus II of Bohemia
Mother Świętosława of Poland
Born c. 1065
Died 12 April 1125 (aged 59–60)
Religion Roman Catholicism

Vladislaus I (Czech: Vladislav) (c. 1065 – 12 April 1125), duke of Bohemia from 1109 to 1117 and from 1120 until his death.

Vladislav I was a son of Duke, later King, Vratislaus II of Bohemia by his second wife Svatava, a daughter of Casimir I of Poland. Together with his cousin Svatopluk, Vladislav expelled his brother Bořivoj II from Bohemia in 1107. In 1109 Svatopluk died, and Vladislav I succeeded as Duke of Bohemia. Bořivoj II returned from exile with the support of Prince Bolesław III Wrymouth of Poland, but was defeated and imprisoned by Vladislav in 1110. He exiled him into the custody of his ally, Holy Roman Emperor Henry V.

In spite of his victory, Vladislav I remained under Polish pressure and was forced to recognize a younger brother, Soběslav, as subordinate ruler of Moravia in Znojmo (Znaim) from 1111. In 1117 Vladislav I formally abdicated in favor of Bořivoj II, but retained much of the actual power. In 1120 Bořivoj was deposed again and endowed with Znojmo, while Vladislav resumed the throne, which he held until his death in 1125.

Vladislav I ruled in a difficult time with considerable success. Although he continued to acknowledge the suzerainty of the Holy Roman Empire, he weathered the interventions of Poland into Bohemian affairs, conflicts with his kinsmen in Moravia, and undertook offensive campaigns against both Poland and Austria. In 11101111 Vladislav accompanied Emperor Henry V on his Italian expedition, and he encouraged continued German settlement into Bohemia's border regions.

Family

By his wife Richeza of Berg (died 27 September 1125), daughter of Count Henry I of Berg, Vladislav I had four children:

Ancestry

Vladislaus I, Duke of Bohemia
Born: 1065 Died: 12 April 1125
Preceded by
Svatopluk
Duke of Bohemia
11091117
Succeeded by
Bořivoj II
Preceded by
Bořivoj II
Duke of Bohemia
11201125
Succeeded by
Soběslav I

References