Bohemia, from the earliest times to the fall of national independence in 1620: With a short summary of later eventsMaurice, C. Edmund (Charles Edmund)
History
Bohemia, from the earliest times to the fall of national independence in 1620: With a short summary of later events
Maurice, C. Edmund (Charles Edmund)
Bohemia (Czech Republic) -- History -- 1526-1618; Bohemia (Czech Republic) -- History -- To 1526
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.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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