Wenceslaus, King of the Romans

Wenceslaus, King of the Romans

Wenceslaus (also "Wenceslas", _de. Wenzel, _cs. Václav, _it. Venceslao; February 26, 1361August 16 1419), called the Drunkard, was, by election, German King (formally King of the Romans) from 1376 and, by inheritance, King of Bohemia (as "Wenceslaus IV") from 1378. He was the third Bohemian and second German monarch of the House of Luxembourg. He was deposed in 1400 as German King, but continued to rule as King of Bohemia.

In 1373, Wenceslaus' father, Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor, obtained for him the Electoral Margraviate of Brandenburg. In 1376, he also obtained Wenceslaus's election as King of the Romans by the six prince-electors.

In order to secure the election of his son Wenceslas, Charles IV revoked the privileges of many Imperial Cities that he had earlier granted, and mortgaged them to various nobles. The cities, however, were not powerless, and as executors of the public peace, they had developed into a potent military force. Moreover, as Charles IV had organised the cities into leagues, he had made it possible for them to cooperate in large scale endeavors. Indeed, on July 4, 1376, two days after Wenceslas' election, fourteen Swabian cities bound together into an independent league to defend their rights against the newly elected King. The Swabian League soon attracted other members and until 1389 acted as an independent state within the Empire.

On Charles's death in 1378, Wenceslaus inherited Bohemia. In the cathedral of Monza there is conserved a series of reliefs depicting the coronations of the kings of Italy with the Iron Crown of Lombardy. The seventh of these depicts Wenceslaus being crowned in the presence of six electors, he himself being the seventh. The depiction is probably not accurate and was likely made solely to reinforce the claims of the cathedral on the custody of the Iron Crown.

Wenceslaus was married twice, first to Johanna of Bavaria on 29 September 1370. Following her death on 31 December 1386, he married her first cousin once removed, Sofia of Bavaria on 2 May 1389. He had no children by either wife.

A quarrel between the duke of Bavaria and the archbishop of Salzburg gave the signal for a general war in Swabia, in which the cities, weakened by their isolation, mutual jealousies and internal conflicts, were defeated by Count Eberhard II. at Doffingen (Aug. 24, 1388), and were severally taken and devastated. Most of them quietly acquiesced when King Wenceslaus proclaimed an arrangement at Eger in 1389 which prohibited all leagues between cities, whilst confirming the political autonomy of the cities. This arrangement provided a modicum of stability for the next several decades.

As King Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia sought to protect the religious reformer Jan Hus and his followers against the demands of the Roman Catholic Church for their suppression as heretics. This caused many Germans to leave the University of Prague, and set up their own University at Leipzig. Hus was executed in Konstanz in 1415, and the rest of Wenceslaus's reign in Bohemia featured precursors of the Hussite Wars that would follow his death.

During his long reign Wenceslaus grip on power in both Germany and Bohemia was tenous at best, as he came into repeated conflicts with the Bohemian nobility. On two occasions he was even imprisoned for lengthy spells by rebellious nobles.

Wenceslas' greatest liability proved to be his own family. Charles IV had divided his holdings among his sons and other relatives. Although Wenceslas retained Bohemia, his brothers Sigismund and John received Brandenburg and Lusatia. Moravia was divided between his cousins Jobst and Procopius, and his uncle Wenceslas was made Duke of Luxemburg. Hence the young king was left without the resources his father had enjoyed. In 1386, Sigismund became king of Hungary, and became involved in affairs further east. Wenceslas also faced serious opposition from the Bohemian nobles and from Jan z Jenštejna, Archbishop of Prague.

The torture and murder of the Vicar General of Prague, John of Nepomuk, by royal officials in 1393 sparked a noble rebellion. In 1394 his cousin Jobst of Moravia was named regent and Wenceslas was imprisoned. Sigismund of Hungary arranged a truce in 1396, and for his efforts was recognized as Wencslas' heir.

Because of the troubles in Bohemia, Wenceslaus had not been to Germany in ten years. Consequently, he faced anger at the Diets of Nuremberg (1397) and Frankfurt (1398). The Rhenish electors accused him failing to maintain the public peace or to resolve the Schism. The electors demanded that Wenceslas appear before them to answer to the charges in June 1400. Wenceslas demurred, in large part because of renewed hostilities in Bohemia. When he failed to appear, the electors declared Wenceslas deposed in August 1400 on account of drunkenness and incompetence, and chose the Palatine Elector, Ruprecht III, as their king, though Wenceslaus refused to acknowledge this successor's decade-long reign.

In 1402 Wenceslaus was again imprisoned and temporarily deposedFact|date=January 2008, this time by his younger brother Sigismund, with the support of the Czech nobility. Lord John of Liechtenstein, with his retinue of knights, successfully freed Wenceslas from his Vienna prison in autumn of 1403, and accorded him refuge in his Moravian castle. John of Liechtenstein was at the time the Lord of the Mikulov demesne. This rescue is still celebrated annually to this day in Mikulov, in the three-day long Pálava vintage festival that takes place each September.

Among the charges that Ruprecht III had used as the basis for his predecessor's deposition was the Great Schism. Ruprecht called the council of Pisa in 1409, attended by defectors from both papal parties. They elected a third pope, only worsening the situation, and from 1409 to 1417, there were three popes.

After the death of Ruprecht in 1410, his succession at first proved difficult, as both Wenceslas' cousin Jobst of Moravia and Wenceslas' brother Sigismund of Hungary were elected King of Germany. Wenceslas himself had never recognized his deposition and hence still claimed the Kingship. Jobst died in 1411, and Wenceslas agreed to give up the crown, so long as he could keep Bohemia. This settled the issue, and after 1411, Sigismund reigned as king and later also became Emperor.

The bishops and secular leaders, tired of the Great Schism, supported Sigismund when he called the Council of Constance in 1414. The goal of the council was to reform the church in head and members. What made it work was the translation of supreme authority from the popes to the council. In 1417, the council deposed all three popes and elected a new one, maintaining all the while that the council, and not the pope, was the supreme head of the church. By resolving the schism, Sigismund restored the honour of the imperial title and made himself the most influential monarch in the west.

Wenceslaus died in 1419 of a heart attack during a hunt in the woods surrounding his castle Nový Hrádek near Kunratice (today a part of Prague), leaving the country in a deep political crisis.The death of Wenceslaus is followed by almost two decades of extreme violence in the Hussite wars - resulting from the reforming ideas of John Huss and from the outrage provoked by his death.

Ancestors

Notes

ee also

*Kings of Germany family tree. He was related to every other king of Germany.

References

* Lindner, Thomas. "Deutsche Geschichte unter den Habsburgern und Luxemburgern". Vol. II. Stuttgart, 1893.
###@@@KEY@@@###
-
-

BD|1361|1419|


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • King of the Romans — (Latin: Rex Romanorum ) was the title used by the elected ruler of the Holy Roman Empire, the Imperator futurus ( Emperor to be mdash; and in today s terminology Emperor elect ) prior to his imperial coronation performed by the Pope, (usually,… …   Wikipedia

  • Wenceslaus — Wenceslaus, Wenceslas, Venceslas, or Wenzeslaus may refer to: * Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia (907–935 or 929) * Wenceslaus II, Duke of Bohemia (died 1192) * Wenceslaus I of Bohemia, King of Bohemia (1230–1253) * Wenceslaus II of Bohemia, King of …   Wikipedia

  • List of people on stamps of the Czech Republic — This is a list of people on the postage stamps of the Czech Republic, along with the dates of their stamp appearance. The list is complete 1993 2000 and 2005 2006.* Georgius Agricola (1994) * Arcimboldo (1997) * Joachim Barrande (1999) * Edvard… …   Wikipedia

  • List of monarchs who lost their thrones in the 15th century — This is a List of monarchs who lost their thrones in the 15th century .Artois* Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, Count of Artois 1477 1482, forced to cede Artois to Joanna of Castile.Brabant* Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, Duke of Brabant 1477 …   Wikipedia

  • Family tree of the German monarchs — The following image is a family tree of every king, monarch, confederation president and emperor of Germany, from Charlemagne in 800 over Louis the German in 843 through to William II in 1918. It shows how every single ruler of Germany was… …   Wikipedia

  • Lands of the Bohemian Crown — Hugo Gerhard Ströhl: coat of arms of the Bohemian crown lands (until 1635), clockwise from left above: (checked) Eagle of Moravia, Piast Eagle of Silesia, Ox of Lower Lusatia, Eagle of Upper Silesia, Wall of Upper Lusatia, en surtout Bohemian… …   Wikipedia

  • History of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown (Middle Ages) — Czech history This article is part of a series Samo s Realm …   Wikipedia

  • Mieszko III the Old — 19th century portrait by Jan Matejko High Duke of Poland Tenure 1173–1177 1191 1198–1199 1201 Predecessor Bolesław IV the Curly …   Wikipedia

  • Henry the Mild, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg — Henry (Latin Henricus, died 3 December 1416), Duke of Brunswick Lüneburg, called Henry the Mild, was prince of Lüneburg from 1388 to 1409 jointly with his brother Bernard I, Duke of Brunswick Lüneburg, from 1400 to 1409 also of Wolfenbüttel, and… …   Wikipedia

  • List of monarchs who lost their thrones before the 13th century — This is a list of monarchs who lost their thrones before the 13th century. NOTOC =A=Abkhazia* Adarnase of Abkhazia, King of the Abkhazians between 880 and 887/888, deposed and executed by Bagrat I. * Bagrat I of Abkhazia King of the Abkhazians… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”