Spytihněv II, Duke of Bohemia

Spytihněv II (also Spitignew, Spitihnew or Spytihnev; Latin: Spitigneus;[1] 1031 – 28 January 1061), a member of the Přemyslid dynasty, was Duke of Bohemia from 1055 until his death.

Spytihněv II
Duke Spytihněv with mitre and lance, contemporary depiction in the Svatovítská apokalypsa (Apocalypse of Saint Vitus) manuscript
Duke of Bohemia
Reign	January 1055 – 28 January 1061
Predecessor	Bretislav I
Successor	Vratislaus II
Born	1031
Died	28 January 1061 (aged 30)
Spouse	Ida of Wettin
Issue	not known
Dynasty	Přemyslid
Father	Bretislav I
Mother	Judith of Schweinfurt

Life

He was the eldest son of Duke Bretislav I (d. 1055) and his consort Judith of Schweinfurt.[2] While his father entered into conflict with the Salian king Henry III, young Spytihněv from 1039 onwards spent several years as a hostage at the German court.

When he succeeded his father as duke, his coronation was celebrated with the first known rendition of Hospodine pomiluj ny, the earliest known song in the Czech language. After his accession to the throne, he went at once to Regensburg to receive imperial confirmation. According to the contemporary chronicler Cosmas of Prague, this loyalty to the Holy Roman Empire did not prevent him from expelling all Germans from his lands, including his mother Judith, and the new anti-German policy continued to his death.

In 1056, Spytihněv had all the monks driven out of Sazava Abbey,[3] yet despite this, Pope Nicholas II sought the alliance of the Bohemian duke in 1059.[4] Thus, Rome granted Spytihněv the right to wear the mitre and tunic of a bishop for the annual sum of 100 marks.[4][5]

His brothers having inherited Moravia, Spytihněv tried to reduce their authority by arresting 300 Moravian magnates and stripping his brothers of their rights in the province. Thus, Vratislaus of Olomouc fled to Hungary in 1058.

Spytihněv was succeeded by Vratislaus, who in turn entrusted Moravia to his brother Conrad.

Marriage

About 1054 Spytihněv was married to Ida of Wettin (Hidda),[6] a daughter of Margrave Theodoric II of Lusatia. They had:

• Svatobor (Friedrich), Patriarch of Aquileia in 1084. Shortly afterwards, on 23 Feb 1086, he was murdered.[7]

Notes

1. In his imperial chronicle the Annalista Saxo mentions "Spitigneus dux de Boemia" in the year 1058: "Iuditha, soror Ottonis ducis de Suinvorde, uxor Bracilai, ductrix Boemiorum, obiit 4. Non. Augusti. Quam quia filius suus Spitigneus dux de Boemia eiecerat, cum non posset aliter iniuriam ulcisci in filio, ad contumeliam eius et omnium Boemorum nupserat Petro regi Ungariorum. Hec postea a filio suo Wratizlao duce inde translata est et Prage sepulta iuxta virum suum Brazilaum in ecclesia." Annalista Saxo, dmgh.de, p.692
2. Berend, Urbanczyk & Wiszewski 2013, p. 166.
3. Curta 2017, p. 489.
4. Berend, Urbanczyk & Wiszewski 2013, p. 384.
5. Bažant 2003, p. 41.
6. Thompson 1926, p. 621.
7. Gresser 2006, p. 256.

References

• Bažant, Jan (2003). The Classical Tradition in Czech Medieval Art. Peter Lang.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Berend, Nora; Urbanczyk, Przemyslaw; Wiszewski, Przemyslaw (2013). Central Europe in the High Middle Ages:Bohemia, Hungary and Poland, c.900-c.1300. Cambridge University Press.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Curta, Florin (2017). "Foundation of Sazava Abbey". In Curta, Florin; Holt, Andrew (eds.). Great Events in Religion: An Encyclopedia of Pivotal Events in Religious History. Vol. I. ABC-CLIO.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Gresser, Georg (2006). Die Synoden und Konzilien in der Zeit des Reformpapsttums in Deutschland und Italien von Leo IX bis Calixt II, 1049-1123. Ferdinand Schoningh.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Thompson, James Westfall (1926). "Medieval German Expansion in Bohemia". The Slavonic Review. 4 (12).CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)