John of Bohemia
John the Blind | |
---|---|
Emperor Charles IV | |
Born | 10 August 1296 Luxembourg[citation needed] |
Died | 26 August 1346 Crécy-en-Ponthieu | (aged 50)
Burial | |
Spouse | |
Issue |
|
House | Luxembourg |
Father | Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor |
Mother | Margaret of Brabant |
John the Blind or John of Luxembourg (
Early life
John was the eldest son of Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor and Margaret of Brabant, who was the daughter of John I, Duke of Brabant and Margaret of Flanders. Born in Luxembourg and raised in Paris, John was French by education but deeply involved in the politics of Germany.
In 1310, his father arranged the marriage of 14-year-old John to
Problems with nobility
Like his predecessor Henry, he was disliked by much of the Czech nobility. John was considered an "alien king" and gave up the administration of Bohemia after a while and embarked on a life of travel. He parted ways with his wife and left the Czech country to be ruled by the barons while spending time in Luxembourg and the French court.[6]
John's travels took him to
John's first steps as king were re-establishing authority and securing peace within the country. In 1311, he reached an agreement with the Bohemian and Moravian aristocracy, referred to as the "inaugural diplomas", with which John restricted the relations of both the ruler and aristocracy. The aristocracy was, however, allowed to hold the right to elect the king, to decide the matter of extraordinary taxation, the right to their property, and the right to choose freely whether or not to offer military support to the king in foreign wars. However, the aristocracy was encouraged to raise armies when peace within the country was threatened. On the other hand, the king's right to appoint a foreign official to office was abolished. John structured these agreements to provide a basis for consolidating the ruler's power within the Bohemian kingdom. The agreements weren't as successful as John intended. The aristocracy did not intend to surrender its property and the influence it gained after Wenceslas II died.
The growing tensions within the aristocracy and the lack of communication due to John's consistent absence in Bohemia led to a competition between two factions of the Czech nobility. One party, led by
By 1318, John had reconciled with the nobility and recognised their rights, further establishing dualism of the Estates and a government division between the king and the nobles.
International politics
Foreign politics, rather than Czech, appealed to John, as he was gifted at it. With the help of his father, Henry, John was able to pressure the
The international spectrum was further broadened for John when his father named him
In attempts not to support Fredrick, John voted for Louis at the diet of electors. In return for his support, Louis, as the new emperor, promised the support in territorial claims of the Czech state in Silesia and Meissen as well as the region of Cheb and the Upper Palatinate. Later, in 1319, after the Brandenburg House of Ascania died out, John regained control over the Bautzen region and then the Görlitz region in 1329.[9]
In 1322/23, King John became unsettled by Louis's growing power and allied with France and Austria against him. The dispute would escalate with his son Charles claiming the Imperial crown in opposition to Louis.[10]
Death
...for all that he was nigh blind, when he understood the order of the battle, he said to them about him: 'Where is the lord Charles my son?' His men said: 'Sir, we cannot tell; we think he be fighting.' Then he said: 'Sirs, ye are my men, my companions and friends in this journey: I require you bring me so far forward, that I may strike one stroke with my sword.' They said they would do his commandment, and to the intent that they should not lose him in the press, they tied all their reins of their bridles each to other and set the king before to accomplish his desire, and so they went on their enemies. The lord Charles of Bohemia his son, who wrote himself king of Almaine and bare the arms, he came in good order to the battle; but when he saw that the matter went awry on their party, he departed, I cannot tell you which way. The king his father was so far forward that he strake a stroke with his sword, yea and more than four, and fought valiantly and so did his company; and they adventured themselves so forward, that they were there all slain, and the next day they were found in the place about the king, and all their horses tied each to other.
According to the Cronica ecclesiae Pragensis Benesii Krabice de Weitmile,[12] when told by his aides that the battle against the English at Crécy was lost and he better should flee to save his own life, John the Blind replied: "Absit, ut rex Boemie fugeret, sed illuc me ducite, ubi maior strepitus certaminis vigeret, Dominus sit nobiscum, nil timeamus, tantum filium meum diligenter custodite. ("Far be it that the King of Bohemia should run away. Instead, take me to the place where the noise of the battle is the loudest. The Lord will be with us. Nothing to fear. Just take good care of my son.")[13][14]
John was succeeded as King of Bohemia by his eldest son, Charles. In Luxembourg, he was succeeded by Wenceslaus, his son by his second wife.
Burial
The body of John the Blind was moved to
His son Jean-François Boch met with the future King Frederick William IV of Prussia on his voyage through the Rhineland in 1833, offering the remains as a gift. As Frederick William counted John the Blind among his ancestors, he ordered Karl Friedrich Schinkel to construct a funeral chapel. The chapel was built in 1834 and 1835 near Kastel-Staadt on a rock above the town. In 1838, on the anniversary of his death, John the Blind was laid in a black marble sarcophagus in a public ceremony.
In 1945, the Luxembourg government took the chance to obtain possession of the bones. In a cloak and dagger operation, the remains were moved to the crypt of the Notre-Dame Cathedral, Luxembourg. The inscription on the tomb reads: "D.O.M. Hoc Sub Altari Servatur Ioannes, Rex Bohemiæ, Comes Luxemburgensis, Henrici vii Imperatoris Filius, Caroli iv Imperatoris Pater Wenceslai, Et Sigismundi Imperatorum Avus, Princeps Animo Maximus, obiit mcccxl 30 au."[15]
Family and children
John was married twice:
First, to
- Margaret of Luxembourg, Duchess of Bavaria (8 July 1313 – 11 July 1341, Prague), married in Straubing 12 August 1328 to Henry XIV, Duke of Bavaria[17]
- Bonne of Luxembourg, Duchess of Normandy (21 May 1315 – 11 September 1349, Maubuisson, born "Judith"), married in Melun 6 August 1332 to John, Duke of Normandy,[17]who later became King John II of France after her death.
- Charles IV of Luxembourg (14 May 1316 – 29 November 1378), who succeeded him as King of Bohemia and later became Holy Roman Emperor[17]
- Ottokar ("Otto") (22 November 1318 – 20 April 1320), Prince of Bohemia[17]
- John Henry of Luxembourg (Jan Jindřich) (12 February 1322, Mělník – 12 November 1375), Margrave of Moravia[17]
- Anna of Luxembourg, Duchess of Austria (1323 – 3 September 1338), twin of Elizabeth, married 16 February 1335 to Otto, Duke of Austria[17]
- Elizabeth (1323–1324)[17]
Second (December 1334), to
- Duke of Luxembourg and later Brabant through his marriage to the heiress Joanna, Duchess of Brabant.[17]
His illegitimate son
References
- ^ "The Royal Route". Královská cesta. Archived from the original on 24 September 2019. Retrieved 11 July 2013.
- ^ "The Grand Ducal Family of Luxembourg" (PDF). Service information et presse. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 July 2018. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
- ^ "[Luxemburgensia] Jean l'aveugle". le Quotidien (in French). 19 January 2017.
- ^ Holladay 2019, p. 82.
- ^ a b Agnew 2004, p. 30.
- ^ Teich 1998, p. 53-55.
- ^ Middleton 2015, p. 154.
- ^ Lepore, Vittorino. "Origini del Cognome Lepore in Boemia e Moravia (Cechia e Slovacchia)" [Origins of the Surname Lepore in Bohemia and Moravia (Czechia and Slovakia)]. Genealogia di Tutti I Lepore: Nati a Gemona del Friuli dal 1300 ad Oggi (in Italian).
- ISBN 978-8-024616452.
- ^ "Louis IV Holy Roman emperor". Encyclopedia Britannica.
- ISBN 978-0-415071499.
- Cistercian monk who wrote the Chronicon Ecclesiae Pragensis.Scriptores rerum Bohemicarum. Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Cumque fuisset regi Iohanni, quia Francigene fugissent, relatum et ipse, [ut] presidio fuge suam et suorum vitam conservaret, exhortatus, respondit: Absit, ut rex Boemie fugeret, sed illuc me ducite, ubi maior strepitus certaminis vigeret, Dominus sit nobiscum, nil timeamus, tantum filium meum diligenter custodite. Cumque fuisset ductus in locum pugne, ecce rex Iohannes pluribus telis sagittatus mortem subiit, et multi nobiles regni Boemie cum eodem, in vigilia beati Rufi martiris, XXVI die Augusti." Source: CRONICA ECCLESIAE PRAGENSIS BENESSII KRABICE DE WEITMILE, clavmon.cz
- ^ The same quote on page 341 of the Prague edition from 1784: Benessii De Weitmil Chronicon Ecclesiae Pragensis.
- ^ Translation: To God, most good, most great. Under this altar is preserved John, King of Bohemia, Count of Luxembourg, son of Emperor Henry VII, father of Emperor Charles IV, grandfather of Emperors Wenceslas and Sigismund, a leader very great in spirit. Died August 30, 1340 [sic].
- ^ Lodge 1924, p. 275.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Boehm & Fajt 2005, p. xvi.
Sources
- Agnew, Hugh L. (2004). The Czechs and the Lands of the Bohemian Crown. Hoover Institution Press.
- Boehm, Barbara Drake; Fajt, Jiri, eds. (2005). Prague: The Crown of Bohemia, 1347-1437. Yale University Press.
- Holladay, Joan A. (2019). Genealogy and the Politics of Representation in the High and Late Middle Ages. Cambridge University Press.
- Lodge, Eleanor Constance (1924). The End of the Middle Age, 1273-1453. Methuen & Company Limited.
- "The Chronicles of Froissart (translated by Lord Berners, edited by G.C. Macaulay. The Harvard Classics". www.bartleby.com. 26 August 2022.
- "CRONICA ECCLESIAE PRAGENSIS BENESSII KRABICE DE WEITMILE". www.clavmon.cz.
- Teich, Mikuláš (1998). Bohemia in History. Cambridge University Press.
- Middleton, John (2015). "Casimir III". World Monarchies and Dynasties. Taylor & Francis.
Further reading
- Neillands, Robin. The Hundred Years' War. London: Routledge, 1990.
- Teich, Mikuláš. Bohemia in History. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1998. 53–55. Print.
- Pánek, Jaroslav, and Oldřich Tůma. A History Of The Czech Lands. Prague: Karolinum Press, 2009. 121–25. Print.
External links
- Quotations related to John of Bohemia at Wikiquote
- Media related to John of Bohemia at Wikimedia Commons
- History of some of John's four resting places as of 1913, when this book was written. He is now in a fifth.
- Brief history of Czech lands
- Social History in Bohemia during the 13th into the 14th century