Spitihnĕv’s reign, he could not hope at once to suppress that fierce
spirit of national hatred which he had called into prominence;
especially since it had entwined itself, in many cases, with personal
ambitions and jealousies. When, then, Vratislav succeeded to his
brother’s dukedom, he found himself in an exceptionally difficult
position. The persecution which he had suffered from his brother
naturally inclined him to a reversal of Spitihnĕv’s policy; but he
found that the rest of his family by no means shared his desire for
such a change. The most turbulent and ambitious of his brothers was
named Jaromír. He had been early persuaded to enter deacon’s orders,
in the hope of ultimately succeeding to the bishopric of Prague. Soon,
however, he wearied of a life for which he had no natural inclination;
he therefore fled to Poland, and entered the Polish army. When, then,
the Bishop of Prague died, Vratislav naturally felt that any claim
which Jaromír might have founded on former promises, was cancelled by
his desertion of his profession; and this seemed a good opportunity for
introducing the new policy of conciliation of the Germans. Vratislav,
therefore, offered the bishopric to a Saxon chaplain named Lanczo.
Though Saxon birth might have special recommendations to those who
remembered St. Adalbert’s training at Magdeburg, yet, on the other
hand, the share which the Saxons had taken in the invasions of Henry
III. had produced a deep feeling of resentment in many Bohemians.
Conrad and Otto resolved to give expression to these discontents, by
persuading Jaromír to renew his tonsure; and they resolved to support
his claim to the bishopric.
Vratislav hoped to solve the difficulty by an appeal to a General
Assembly. The Assembly met, and Vratislav in their presence presented
Lanczo with the episcopal ring and staff. For a few moments dead
silence followed this act; then, after some mutterings amongst
themselves, several nobles sprang up, and announced their intention to
support the claims of Jaromír by force of arms. The opposition was so
fierce that Vratislav yielded, and Jaromír was made Bishop of Prague.
But the ambition of the new bishop was not yet satisfied. It had been
found necessary, in a previous reign, to divide the diocese into two
parts, one Bohemian and one Moravian; and the Bishop of Olomouci
(Olmütz) was then made practically independent of the Bishop of Prague.
Jaromír now demanded that the Bishop of Olmütz should be deposed, and
his diocese absorbed in the diocese of Prague. This proposal was, of
course, opposed by Vratislav; whereupon Jaromír went secretly to
Olmütz and assaulted his rival bishop, injuring him severely. Vratislav
now felt that the time had come to appeal to the Pope against his
unruly brother. Alexander II. sent a legate to Bohemia to try the case;
but, though the Duke and the nobles received him with great honour,
Jaromír denied the authority of the Papal emissary, and refused to
resign the see at his bidding.
This, however, was not a time when the Pope could be bearded with
impunity. In 1073 Alexander died, and Hildebrand was chosen Pope, with
the title of Gregory VII. He summoned Jaromír to Rome; and, after a
short attempt at resistance, the turbulent prince submitted to that
powerful will. But even Gregory had allies with whom he could not
dispense; and Matilda of Tuscany, who was connected with the Bohemian
ducal family, chose to interest herself on Jaromír’s behalf, made
up a temporary reconciliation between the brothers, and persuaded
the Pope to restore Jaromír to the bishopric of Prague, after he had
performed some kind of penance, and had given a promise to abstain from
interference with the Bishop of Olmütz. Jaromír, therefore, returned to
Bohemia, and continued to be a thorn in the side of his brother, and of
all his order-loving countrymen.
It is obvious that neither the conduct of Jaromír nor of Gregory can
have tended to sweeten Vratislav’s feelings towards the anti-German
party; and his personal resentment and the desire for greater security
for his throne, doubtless mingled with larger considerations, to
recommend to him an important change in Bohemian policy, which was
vitally to affect the future of the country.
Ever since the death of Henry II., the Bohemian Dukes had had a new
chance for playing a part in the affairs of the German Empire. The six
German princes, to whom the Saxon Emperors had wished to limit the
right of election to the Empire, had found it impossible, or at least,
extremely difficult, to come to a satisfactory decision on occasions
when the champions of rival candidates were equally divided. So they
were forced to add the Duke of Bohemia as a seventh Elector, to secure
a better chance of a satisfactory decision, and in 1024 Duke Oldr̆ich
had actually taken part in an Imperial Election. At that time, no
doubt, the Emperors were still strong enough to dispense with allies
who were not directly and naturally connected with the Empire; but when
the struggle with the Popes began, the need for fresh support became
more evident, and the friendship of the new Elector of the Empire
became more valuable.
When, then, in 1075, Vratislav offered his help to the Emperor in the
struggle which was then becoming desperate, his alliance was gladly
welcomed. Henry IV. had just then been excommunicated by Gregory for
his opposition to the Papal claims over the German bishoprics; and he
was threatened with rebellion by some of his most powerful subjects.
Vratislav’s opportunity was therefore well chosen; and throughout the
many changes of fortune in his stormy career, Henry found his new ally
both faithful and helpful. Many victories were gained by the help
of the Bohemian soldiers; and perhaps the most noteworthy battle, as
affecting the future Bohemian history, was that at Mailberg in 1082,
when Vratislav, with the help of the Bavarians, defeated Leopold,
Margrave of Austria, who had just revolted against Henry. The Emperor
would gladly have presented the Mark of Austria to the victorious Duke;
but Vratislav wisely shrank from this extension of his dominions. Other
offers of territory by Henry were either declined by the Duke or found
incapable of execution; and at last, in 1086, the Emperor, finding no
other reward acceptable to his ally, publicly recognised Vratislav as
King of Bohemia, and released him from tribute to the Empire.
Thus Bohemia passed for the moment from a position of dependence to one
of equal alliance with the German Emperor. It might seem, indeed, when
one considers the later developments of Bohemian history, as if the
country would have been happier had it held aloof from the quarrels of
Emperors and Popes, and developed itself on narrower and more peaceful
lines. But, by the statesmen of that time, the matter must have been
seen in a very different light. The perpetual interference by Emperors,
Popes, and Kings of Poland in the internal affairs of Bohemia seemed to
have become an unavoidable evil; and the only apparent remedy was to
seize the moment when the Emperor was in difficulty, and to show him
that his despised dependant might become a necessary ally.
But the general character of Vratislav’s policy justifies us in
attributing to him higher motives than those above mentioned. He seems
to have really desired to encourage a wider development of thought
and culture in Bohemia. Both Germans and Jews were granted special
privileges to induce them to settle in Prague; and it may well be
believed that he hoped to extend this connection between Bohemia and
the European world, by concerning himself with the politics of the
Empire.
Nor did he fail to do honour to native excellence. One man in
particular stands out amongst his favourites, as a proof of Vratislav’s
sympathy with artistic power. This was Boz̆etĕch, who was distinguished
both as painter, sculptor, and architect. Such a variety of excellence
so attracted the Duke that he appointed Boz̆etĕch as Abbot of Sázava;
and by his help he once more brought back into use the often-disputed
Slavonic ritual. Pope Gregory, indeed, indignantly demanded its
suppression; but Vratislav, strong in the support of the Emperor and of
the general feeling of Bohemia, stood firm on behalf of this symbol of
national life. Unfortunately, rulers who choose their favourites for
merit rather than for birth, naturally rouse the hostility of those
courtiers, who have only the latter claim to distinction; and while
Boz̆etĕch was sternly rebuked for presumption by the Bishop of Prague,
another favourite of Vratislav’s gave offence to the heir to the
throne, and was murdered by the young prince and his followers.
This act of violence is one proof among many that Vratislav’s policy
was too vigorous for the leaders of Bohemian opinion. His successors
could not maintain Bohemia in the position in which he would have
placed her; and even the royal title fell into disuse, in consequence,
partly, of the disputes about the succession. Indeed, the chief
evidence of the progress, which Bohemia had made under Vratislav, is
to be found in the fact that the internal quarrels which followed
his reign were not able to drag the country down to the condition
into which she had previously fallen. Poland was not able to recover
her hold over Bohemia; and Henry IV. was so conscious of his debt to
Vratislav that he refused to interfere in a contest between members of
the ducal family, on the ground that such questions should be left to
the free choice of the Bohemians themselves.
In spite, then, of Vratislav’s partial success, the divisions which
followed his death could not fail to weaken Bohemia; and at last one
of the Dukes resolved upon a terrible method for suppressing internal
disorder. This duke bore the name of Svatopluk; and his career was
not wholly unlike that of his namesake in the old Moravian times. By
the help of Mutina and Boz̆ej, two of the leaders of the Vrs̆ovici,
he had deposed Duke Bor̆ivoj, and placed himself upon the throne of
Bohemia. Bor̆ivoj appealed to Polish support for the recovery of his
kingdom; and, during Svatopluk’s absence, he invaded Bohemia at the
head of a Polish army. Mutina, who had been left as one of Svatopluk’s
chief representatives, offered little resistance to the invaders, and
he was, in consequence, denounced to the Duke as having intrigued with
Bor̆ivoj. Thereupon Svatopluk resolved to destroy the whole race of
the Vrs̆ovici. He summoned all the nobles to a banquet in Breslau;
and among them came Mutina, not suspecting what was to follow. At
the close of the banquet Svatopluk suddenly turned upon Mutina, and
accused him and his family of being the authors of all the treasons
in Bohemia for many years past. Then he made a sign to an officer,
who rushed upon Mutina and cut off his head as he was trying to rise
from his seat. His sons were then seized and their eyes put out.
Then messengers were despatched all over the country, who hunted out
every member of the family of the Vrs̆ovici, and killed all whom they
could seize--men, women, and children. Some of them fled, to Poland,
and others to Hungary; and for a long time the family was unknown in
Bohemia. But this savage act of vengeance did not produce the general
results at which its author had aimed. Svatopluk himself was murdered
during an invasion of Poland by one of the exiled Vrs̆ovici; and the
succeeding reign was as much disturbed by family quarrels as any which
had preceded it.
But the real stability of Bohemia, and the substantial unity which
under-lay its divisions, were to be proved very soon, by a most
searching test. In 1125 the line of the Franconian sovereigns of
Germany ended; and Lothar, Duke of Saxony, was chosen Emperor. It will
be remembered that the Saxons had now for some time been recognised
as the most dangerous rivals of Bohemia; and, at the time of Lothar’s
accession, an opportunity seemed to offer itself for using the Imperial
power to crush out Bohemian independence. Sobeslav, the next Duke of
Bohemia, had just obtained the throne by the influence of his mother
Svatava, who had persuaded the Bohemian nobles to ignore the claims of
her eldest son, Otto. Otto at once appealed to Lothar, who asserted his
right, as Emperor, to decide the succession to the Dukedom of Bohemia.
Such a claim would have been resented at any time; but Otto had
specially offended Bohemian feeling, by consenting to hold the province
of Moravia as a fief from the Emperor, instead of a dependency of the
Duke of Bohemia. All the national feeling of independence at once burst
into flame; Sobeslav answered Lothar “that he trusted in the mercy of
God, and in the merits of the holy martyrs of Christ, St. Wenceslaus,
and St. Adalbert, that our country would not be delivered into the
hands of foreigners.” Then he went round to the monasteries imploring
Divine help; and when he finally set out on his march, the spear of
St. Wenceslaus and the banner of St. Adalbert were carried at the head
of the army. At the same time Sobeslav despatched a message to the
Emperor, reminding him that the Bohemian nobles were the sole electors
of their duke, and that the Emperor had only the right of confirming
their choice. But Otto had filled the leaders of the Saxon army with
the belief that the nobles of Bohemia were on their side; so the
Emperor and his friends declared that Sobeslav’s speech was mere raving.
Following Otto’s guidance, the Saxon army now marched through a thick
wood till they came to the pass of Chlum. Here they found themselves
wedged in between two mountains, and so blocked by the snow that they
had to dismount from their horses. While the invaders were thus cut
off from any hope of retreat, Sobeslav’s army broke in upon them from
three different sides. Surprised and unable to defend themselves, the
Saxons were cut to pieces; while many of the Bohemians were encouraged
by visions of St. Wenceslaus and St. Adalbert. So great was the victory
that, in the words of one chronicler, “there was rejoicing through all
the family of St. Wenceslaus.” Lothar admitted that he had been misled
by Otto, recognised the “judgment of God,” and presented Sobeslav with
the ducal standard.
Sobeslav, like all the wiser rulers of Bohemia, while determined to
maintain the independence of his country, was unwilling to provoke any
needless quarrel with Germany. Even with Lothar he soon entered into
friendly relations; and, after the death of the Saxon Emperor, he used
his vote as Elector of the Empire on behalf of Conrad of Hohenstauffen.
Once more the connection between Bohemia and the Empire became one
of close friendship; and Sobeslav appealed to Conrad to confirm his
nomination of his son Vladislav as successor to the throne. Evidently
fearing the divisions which might follow his death, Sobeslav further
strengthened Vladislav’s position by securing a special promise from
the nobles and knights that they would accept this prince as their
duke. The correctness of Sobeslav’s fears was soon proved by the events
which followed his death. When in 1140 the duke was known to be dying,
the nobles of Bohemia met at the Vys̆ehrad, where they consulted long
about the succession to the throne; and, though they finally decided
to accept Vladislav as their duke, he soon found that his tenure of
authority was a frail and uncertain one.
His difficulties, indeed, were much increased by the reforming zeal
of one of the most important of the statesmen on whom he had to
rely. Zdík, Bishop of Olmütz, had just returned from a pilgrimage
to Palestine, full of eager enthusiasm for establishing a new order
of things. By this “new order” he understood a revival of clerical
discipline, an increase of monasteries, and a stricter enforcement of
general purity of life. Vladislav sympathised with the bishop’s zeal;
and he had also enthusiasms of his own, which were equally difficult of
realisation. He removed corrupt magistrates, and he insisted that his
subjects should have the right to appeal to him against the decisions
of those subordinate courts which often represented rather the will of
the lords than the intentions of the law.
Such reforms, however welcome to the peasants, the townsfolk, and the
stricter clergy, were bitterly opposed by the nobles, whose power
they weakened, and whose oppressions they redressed. Therefore, in
1142, the nobles again met, to depose Vratislav from the throne, and
to choose a successor in his place. After some discussion, they fixed
upon Conrad, the Margrave of Moravia, and placed him at the head of the
insurgent forces. Vladislav soon heard of their intrigues; and, while
he entrusted the Bishop of Olmütz with the organisation of the ducal
troops, he himself sent messengers to the conspirators, reminding
them of their oaths of allegiance; and he specially appealed to his
cousin Otto, the son of the prince who had headed the Saxon invasion,
reproaching him with the fact that he had just restored him to his
father’s lands. But all these appeals were in vain; the insurgent army
advanced to “Vizoca,” where they were encountered by Vladislav. The
fight was a fierce one, and many of the leading nobles were killed;
but at last, by pretending a panic, they decoyed the ducal army into a
dangerous position, and there turned on them and routed them. Vladislav
retreated to Prague; and then, leaving his brother Theobald to defend
the city, he went to the Emperor to ask his assistance. The Emperor
remembered his debt to Sobeslav, and willingly interceded for his son;
and Conrad of Moravia was soon compelled to fly before the forces of
his Imperial namesake. Great part of the next four years was wasted in
compelling the insurgents to return to their allegiance; but at last
the Emperor succeeded in making peace between the contending parties,
and Conrad was restored to the government of Moravia.
Vladislav now became eager to resume his interrupted career of reform;
and, as a first step, he began to rebuild the monasteries which the
rebels had destroyed. Like Vratislav, however, he now felt himself
forced by the opposition which he had encountered at home to rely
more than ever on the German Emperor; and he was thus dragged into
expeditions which had little concern for Bohemia. At first, indeed,
the wars in which he engaged were not of a kind to offend the feelings
of his countrymen. The crusade, for instance, in which he followed
Conrad in 1147, was too much in accordance with the ideas of the time
to provoke any open opposition from the nobles; while his invasion of
Poland in 1149 was, doubtless, only too popular in Bohemia. But an
expedition of a far more important character, and far more closely
bound up with the Imperial power, was, a few years later, to occupy the
thoughts of Vladislav and his countrymen.
In the year 1154 the Emperor Conrad died, and the Electors of the
Empire met to choose his successor. The influence of the Duke of
Bohemia in these elections had now been completely recovered; and
Vladislav played a considerable part in securing the success of his
candidate, the son of Conrad, the celebrated Barbarossa.
But Vladislav’s enemies were on the watch to break a connection
so important to his power. Vladislav, for some reason not easy to
ascertain, refused to attend Barbarossa’s first Council at Merseburg.
This absence was at once seized upon by his rival and kinsman Oldr̆ich
to draw the Emperor’s favour away from the new duke. Fortunately,
Vladislav, though absent, was well represented by his shrewd adviser,
Daniel, Bishop of Prague; and by the bishop’s influence Oldr̆ich was
quieted for a time. Vladislav took note of this intrigue; and to
prevent its recurrence he drew closer his ties with the Emperor, and
consented to support the Emperor in a new invasion of Poland.
This connection gave Barbarossa the opportunity to interest Vladislav
in his important projects for recovering and making firmer his
position as Holy Roman Emperor. The rising of Arnold of Brescia had
drawn the Pope and the Emperor for a time into an alliance; and the
appeal of Lodi against the tyrannies of the greater Lombard towns had
given the Emperor a new excuse for establishing his rule in Italy. So
he became anxious to secure sufficient support from the princes of the
Empire; and he was ready to grant favours to those most likely to be
of service to him. In 1156 he raised the Margravate of Austria into an
independent dukedom; and in the following year he proposed to restore
to Vladislav that royal title which had gradually fallen into disuse
in Bohemia, on condition that the new King should bring his forces to
assist him in the siege of Milan.
This was the third occasion on which a royal crown had been offered to
the Dukes of Bohemia; and it was in some ways the most significant of
the three. The first offer had been made to St. Wenceslaus, and had
been based entirely on the ground of his personal qualities. The saint
had refused it as inconsistent with his character. The offer made to
Vratislav had been of a wholly different kind from the first proposal;
but the way in which the title speedily fell into disuse has led some
to doubt if Henry IV. had intended the crown to be hereditary. In the
case of Vladislav, however, there was no doubt as to the intentions
of Barbarossa. Indeed, he clearly showed that he considered the grant
of this dignity as the revival of the old Moravian kingship; and, in
order to emphasise the importance and independence of the new dignity,
he accompanied it by the grant of territory which the Bohemians had
previously claimed, but over which their rights had hitherto been
disputed. Although, therefore, the continual contests for the throne of
Bohemia, which followed the death of Vladislav, made it impossible for
the rival pretenders to make good their claim to the royal title, there
was, nevertheless, no doubt that, from this time forth, any lawfully
elected ruler of Bohemia had the right to call himself king. Yet,
splendid as this proposal was, Vladislav felt it necessary to consult
his chief adviser, Bishop Daniel of Prague, before he would give the
promise which could alone secure him the new dignity. Daniel had no
doubts in his own mind; indeed, he seems throughout to have been more
zealous for the Imperial alliance than Vladislav himself, and even to
have taken a warm interest in the details of the Italian campaign. He,
therefore, readily used his influence in favour of the proposal; and
the bargain between the Emperor and the King was accordingly struck.
Few wise and well-meaning rulers have ever done greater mischief
to their country than Vladislav accomplished by that hastily made
bargain; but nothing could be honester than his way of carrying out
the compact; and he clearly showed that he believed himself to be
acting for the good of his country. He hastened back to Bohemia, and
called a General Council of the nobles, to whom he announced the
whole transaction. Immediately fierce protests broke forth. The Duke,
without any consultation with his lawful advisers, had raised himself
to a new dignity, and had dragged the country into a foreign war. The
adviser of such unlawful acts deserved to be crucified. This threat
was obviously aimed at Bishop Daniel, but Vladislav hastened to take
the whole responsibility upon himself. “I have made this promise,” he
said, “to the Emperor, by no man’s advice, but of my own free will. I
give this answer to the honours which he has granted to me. Whosoever
intends to help me in this business, him I will provide with fitting
honour and with the money necessary for this work; but he who cares
not for it let him sit at home content with the games and the ease of
women, and secure of the peace which I will guarantee to him.”