The history of the Czech lands in the High Middle Ages encompasses the period from the rule of Vladislav II (c.1110–1174 AD) to that of Henry of Bohemia (c.1265–1335). The High Middle Ages includes the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries (c. 1000–1299). It was preceded by the Early Middle Ages (the fifth to the tenth centuries) and followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended about 1500. The High Middle Ages produced a number of intellectual, spiritual and artistic works and saw the rise of ethnocentrism, which evolved into nationalism. The rediscovery of the works of Aristotle led Thomas Aquinas and other thinkers of the period to develop the instructional method of scholasticism. In architecture, many notable Gothic cathedrals were built or completed during this era.
History Hereditary law After the death of Vladislav II in 1174, wrangling for the Prague throne began among members of the Přemyslid Dynasty, indicating that the order of succession begun by Bretislav I was obsolete. Disputes within the ruling dynasty were exploited by Holy Roman Emperor Friedrich I Barbarossa, who established the Margraviate of Moravia as an imperial princedom whose prince was subordinate to the Holy Roman sovereign, and did the same with the Prague bishopric in 1187. Friedrich I died three years later and the confusion was addressed by the German parts of the Empire, so the Přemyslids gained time. The Margraviate of Moravia kept its name for a half-century, with its ruler known as the margrave, but it fell under the sovereignty of the Bohemian monarch, who kept the office or entrusted it to close relatives.Vaníček Vratislav, Velké dějiny Zemí koruny českéI., II. Praha 1999
Ottokar I of Bohemia emerged as the successor at the end of the 12th century, ruling from 1197. As a result of political agreements with both Roman Emperors (Philip of Swabia and Otto IV of Brunswick), he was able to renew the royal peerage for Bohemian kings, confirmed by Pope Innocent III in 1204. The new Roman Emperor and the King of Sicilia Friedrich II then confirmed the Přemyslids all competences and powers in the instrument – the famous Golden Bull of Sicily, issued in Basel on 26 September 1212. The instrument proclaimed the inheritance of the Bohemian royal dignity, renewed the scope of the Bohemian dominion in its original borders and stated conditions for Czech rulers' participation in Imperial Diets.
Pope Innocent III, who approved Přemysl's royal title, considered the Church to be the primary Christian institution and believed in the primacy of spiritual power over secular power, a view also enforced by his papal successors. Unlike in Western Europe, secular power, especially the king, was still dominant in Bohemia. The Bohemians did not consider it strange, as gifts from rulers and noblemen contributed to the growing prosperity of the Church.
The Prague Bishop Andrew therefore began to fight for the independence of the Church. However, this movement did not attract sufficient support in Bohemia, and Ottokar I agreed in 1221 and 1222 that the Church exercised ownership rights over land as well as tributaries at its townships. In addition, churchmen should fall under the authority of canonical (ecclesiastical) law, and could not be summoned before secular courts. In practice, the concordat (the agreement between the Church and the ruler or state) was never fully implemented.
In the 13th century the Church finished establishing its organisational structure in the Bohemian territory. The highest administrative unit was the bishopric, with subordinated Senior Deacon's Offices; the lower grade was formed by deaneries and basic parish units. In Latin, the Czech state was called Bohemia, however in Czech and other Slavic languages the territory was called "Čechy". The origin of the word "Czech" is unclear. The Czechs thus formed a unified tribe slowly developing into a medieval nation. However, the inhabitants of Moravia also spoke Czech.
The Mixed Era
In 1273, German princes elected Count Rudolf of Habsburg as king, opposed by Ottokar II of Bohemia. Weakened, Ottokar was forced to resign from the Alpine countries, and war was declared against him. On 26 August 1278, in the Battle on the Marchfeld, Ottokar II was defeated and killed.DUBY, Georges. Umění a společnost ve středověku. Praha; Litomyšl : Paseka, 2002. 102 s.|pages=68-75| .
Rudolf of Habsburg attempted to use the death of the powerful ruler to weaken the Czech state. Circumstances were in his favour because Wenceslaus II, son of Ottokar II and his second wife Kunigunda of Halych and heir to the throne, was still a minor. Otto of Brandenburg was appointed his guardian and took over the administration of Bohemia, while Rudolf took control of Moravia. However, the Brandenburg garrisons treated the Bohemian territory as a conquered one and looted substantially, which contributed to rapid legal as well as economic decline, exacerbated by crop failure and consequent famine in 1281 and 1282.
In this difficult situation, Bohemian nobles attempted to calm the situation at negotiations in Prague in 1281, declaring a fight against criminality and the introduction of strict order in the country. This was the first meeting where important status was given to the representatives of the Old Town of Prague and the Church. Provincial assemblies then became important forums of noble politicians and it became customary to invite representatives of the Old Town and the Church to key meetings. Throughout the second half of the 13th and the 14th century the provincial court became increasingly important for the activities of noblemen in the Kingdom of Bohemia. The provincial court sat in Prague and ruled on matters of penal and proprietary law. It also kept official books, known as provincial books. Provincial books for Moravia were kept in Brno and Olomouc from 1348.
The king, Wenceslaus II, under the supervision of his guardian in Brandenburg, was not yet twelve when he returned to his homeland in 1283. Therefore, he submitted to the influence of his mother Kunigunda and her lover Záviš of Falkenstein (husband from 1285), a member of the Krumlov branch of Vítkovci.
However, Wenceslaus II later freed himself from their influence and grew in confidence. Wenceslaus II displayed the wealth of the Bohemian state and its rise to a Great Power at his ceremonial coronation in 1297. As the Governor of Bohemia could not expand his state southwards, where Habsburgs dominated, so he looked to the north and the east. In 1291 he conquered Kraków and in 1300 he gained the Polish royal crown in Gniezno. He strengthened his position after the death of Guta of Habsburg by marrying Elizabeth Richeza, the young princess of the House of Piast. In 1301, after the end of the Hungarian Arpad Dynasty, he accepted the offer of the Hungarian crown, which he obtained for his son Wenceslaus, who was crowned Wenceslaus III in Hungary.
At this point the Přemyslids were at the peak of their power. The strong international position of the Bohemian state in the 13th and at the beginning of the 14th century was closely related to the economic boom. However, without substantial reserves of precious minerals, the last Přemyslids did not achieve significant successes.Literature : Dušan Třeštík: "Počátky Přemyslovců. Vstup Čechů do dějin (530–935)" [The beginnings of Přemyslids. The entrance of the Czechs in the History (530–935)], 1997, . The Bohemian provinces were famous for their silver, and a silver mining boom started just before the middle of the 13th century after the discovery of rich deposits near Jihlava. Silver mining brought many people to the area, and many temporary huts and pubs were built by and for the people who went there hoping to find their fortune. As late as 1270 Jihlava was awarded a building order by Ottokar II in order to expand the town according to its needs. A set of legal regulations, the first of such regulations for a mining town in Central Europe, were drawn up in relation to silver mining in the Jihlava and Havlíčkův Brod regions, and miners from German-speaking Saxony, Harz, and Tirol settled in Jihlava (German: Iglau) and Havlíčkův Brod (German: Deutsch-Brod). The inflow of skilled German labourers allowed the subsequent expansion of power for the Czech kings.
Another bigger silver boom began in the last decade of the 13th century, after the discovery of silver deposits at farms of an old Cistercian cloister in Sedlec. A new town, Kutná Hora, was quickly built nearby, the second biggest town in the country after Prague. The development of mining in Kutná Hora led to a coinage reform in 1300. An expert from Italy, Gozzo of Orvieto, contributed to the Mining Code at that time (Ius regale montanorum), among the most important documents of its kind in medieval Europe. As gold had a much higher price, the value of the Prague groschen significantly lagged behind gold coins from Florence and Venice and the Hungarian Körmöcbánya.
Downfall of the Přemyslid Dynasty
The growing wealth and power of the Czech governor and return to power of the Přemyslids angered the Habsburgs. An attempt in 1304 by the Roman King Albert I to seize the Kutná Hora mines in a military expedition failed.
Wenceslaus II retained his position, which made the Czech governor the most important figure in the Holy Roman Empire behind the emperor. The King of Bohemia had been one of seven prince electors authorized to elect the Roman emperor since the middle of the 13th century. In addition, he held an honourable function as the main waiter at ceremonial occasions. However, the Přemyslid Dynasty was not universally successful; it suffered a diplomatic defeat in Hungary in 1304, which Wenceslaus-Ladislaus had to leave in secret, and soon after he relinquished the Hungarian crown.MUNDY, John Hine. Evropa vrcholného středověku 1150–1300. Prague: Vyšehrad, 2008. 446 s.|pages=143-152| .
When Wenceslaus II died of tuberculosis in 1305, the Bohemian state was still very powerful. However, a single assassination the following year changed the dynasty's fortunes completely. On 4 August 1306 an unknown assassin killed 16-year-old Wenceslaus III in Olomouc, meaning the male bloodline of the Přemyslid Dynasty died out.
The Duke Henry of Bohemia, husband of Anna of the Přemyslids, a sister of Wenceslaus III, expressed an interest in the vacant throne. However, after a brief period of uncertainty, Rudolf of Habsburg, who supported his claims by marrying the widow queen Elizabeth Richeza, won the struggle for the Czech crown. Rudolf himself died unexpectedly in 1307 and the crown passed to Henry of Bohemia. Elizabeth Richeza struck up a relationship with Jindrich of Lipá, the most powerful Czech lord, who became a dominant political figure during Henry's reign.DRŠKA, Václav; PICKOVÁ, Dana. Dějiny středověké Evropy. Prague: Aleš Skřivan ml., 2004.|pages=85-92| .
Henry's weak reign did not bring prosperity to Bohemia, but a solution to the threat of social collapse was found by abbots Konrad of Zbraslav and Heidenreich of Sedlec, representatives of important Cistercian cloisters. Supported by some Czech noblemen, they contacted the Roman Emperor Henry VII of Luxemburg to suggest a marriage of his son John and the 18-year-old Elisabeth of the Přemyslids, still unmarried daughter of Wenceslaus II. However, John had to take control of Bohemia by force.
The era of John of Luxemburg
On 7 February 1311 the coronation of John of Luxembourg and Elisabeth of Přemyslids took place in the Roman basilica of St. Vitus Cathedral, ending with a feast. However, the beginning of John's reign met with numerous complications.