Heinrich Břetislav III.

Heinrich Břetislav III. (according to the list of bishops of Prague: Heinrich (Břetislav) , Czech Jindřich Břetislav ; † June 15, 1197 in Eger ) was 1182–1197 Bishop of Prague and 1193–1197 Duke of Bohemia .

Life

Heinrich's date of birth is not known. His father Heinrich was a brother of the Bohemian King Vladislav II ; his mother's name was Margarethe. After studying in Paris, Heinrich returned to Bohemia, was ordained a priest and appointed provost of Vyšehrad . On March 25, 1182, the Prague Cathedral Chapter elected him to succeed the late Bishop Valentin Wolist . The episcopal ordination took place on May 23 of that year in Mainz.

A point of contention between ecclesiastical and secular power in Bohemia was the power of disposal over ecclesiastical goods. In 1187, Bishop Heinrich Břetislav submitted a corresponding complaint about Duke Friedrich to the Emperor Friedrich Barbarossa . Thereupon the emperor appointed the Prague bishop as imperial prince and determined that in future he would only be subject to the emperor. This also led to a separation between the church and the Bohemian state, as the episcopal property no longer belonged to the domain of the Bohemian dukes. However, the status of the Prague bishop as imperial prince did not outlast Heinrich Břetislav's tenure. His successor Daniel II (Milík) was reinstated by the Bohemian Duke.

After the death of Konrad III. Otto In 1191 Wenceslaus II was elected Duke. However, his reign lasted only three months. The next Duke, Ottokar I Přemysl , could only rule for a short time (1192–1193) in his first term of office. He was by Heinrich VI. deposed and replaced by Heinrich Břetislav. Through his dual office as duke and bishop Heinrich Břetislav was the last Bohemian ruler who ruled over Bohemia and Moravia as well as over ecclesiastical goods. Ottokar I fled, but also threatened his successor in the following years.

In 1194 Heinrich Břetislav sent Bohemian soldiers to Meissen , who devastated this region. As a penance, he promised the emperor to participate in the crusade of Henry VI. Since this had to be relocated and did not take place until 1197, Heinrich Břetislav could no longer take part due to illness. In the same year, Peter von Capua, the first papal legate after more than a century, visited Prague and found that Heinrich Břetislav represented the interests of the church very poorly.

After Ottokar I attacked Prague, his army could be repulsed. Nevertheless, the sick Heinrich Břetislav was brought to Eger. He died there a short time later. His body was buried in the church of the Doksany monastery next to his mother Margarethe.

literature

• Petr Sommer, Dušan Třeštík, Josef Žemlička and others: Přemyslovci. Budování českého státu . Praha: Nakladatelství Lidové noviny, 2009. ISBN 978-80-7106-352-0 , v. a. Pp. 208-209.

Web links

• www.e-stredovek.cz

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Pavel Soukup, Třetí Křížová výprava dle kronikáře Ansberta. Knihovna Jana Drdy v Příbrami, Příbram 2003, ISBN 80-86240-67-3 , p. 125
2. ^ Václav Novotný, České dějiny I./III., Čechy královské za Přemysla I. a Václava I. Jan Laichter, Praha 1928, pp. 77-78

predecessor	Office	successor
Ottokar I. Přemysl	Duke of Bohemia 1193–1197	Vladislav Heinrich
Valentine	Bishop of Prague 1182–1197	Daniel II (Milík)