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____ Boleslaw (Boleslav) II "the Pious"
Birth: ABT 935 of Praha, Bohemia
Death: 7 Feb 999
Notes
founded the bishopric of Prague in 976
captured Crakow from the Poles
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boleslaus_II,_Duke_of_Bohemia
Boleslaus II the Pious (Czech: Boleslav II. Pobožný; c.?930 - 7 February 999), a
member of the Premyslid dynasty,[1] was Duke of Bohemia from 972 until his death
Life and reign[edit]
Boleslaus was an elder son of Duke Boleslaus I the Cruel and brother of the three
other children of his father who survived to adulthood: Strachkvas, Dobrawa (the wife
of Duke Mieszko I of Poland) and the abbess Mlada.[2] His mother may have been
Biagota, a mysterious figure known only from her coins. According to some historians,
she was the wife of Boleslaus I.[3]
Alliances[edit]
Boleslaus II took over the rule of the Duchy of Bohemia as kníže (a title that may be
translated either as duke or prince) on his father's death in 972. Like his father,
Boleslaus II initially quarrelled with the Ottonian kings of Germany. In 974 he and
Duke Mieszko I of Poland supported the rebellious Duke Henry II of Bavaria in his
civil war against the rule of Emperor Otto II. In 976, Henry was defeated and fled to
Boleslaus' court at Prague Castle, whereafter Otto's forces campaigned the Bohemian
lands. Finally in 978, Boleslaus solemnly pledged allegiance to the emperor at the
Easter festivities in Quedlinburg.
In turn, the relations with Poland deteriorated from about 980 onwards. When Emperor
Otto II died in 983 and was succeeded by his minor son Otto III, the alliance was
overturned, as Boleslaus again allied with the insurgent Bavarian Duke Henry, while
Mieszko I took the side of the young king. Moreover, when Boleslaus occupied the
Saxon Margravate of Meissen, he thwarted the plans of Mieszko's son Boleslaw, who
had married a daughter of Margrave Ricdag. In 987 Boleslav had to retire from
Meissen; from about 990, he sparked a long-lasting conflict with Poland around the
lands of Silesia and Lesser Poland. In 992 he approached King Otto III and
participated in an unsuccessful campaign against the Lutici tribes in the wake of the
983 Great Slav Rising.
Unification of the Bohemian lands[edit]
Boleslaus's reign is most notable for the foundation of the Diocese of Prague in 973,
[4] earning him the epithet "The Pious" by the medieval chronicler Cosmas of Prague.
Nevertheless, the Bohemian diocese was placed at that time within the jurisdiction of
the Archbishop of Mainz and Emperor Otto II enforced the appointment of the Saxon
monk Thietmar (Detmar) as first bishop.
Meanwhile, the struggle with the rivalling Slavník dynasty flared up again from 981
onwards, when Prince Sobeslav striving for independence began to forge alliances
with the Polish and Saxon rulers. Upon Bishop Detmar's death in 982, Sobeslav's
brother Adalbert (later known as Saint Adalbert of Prague) was appointed his
successor until he abandoned his primacy to lead a mission to the Old Prussians in
994. On 28 September 995, Boleslaus' forces and the confederate Vršovci clan
stormed Libice Castle in southern Bohemia and massacred the members of the Slavník
dynasty that were found there.[5] Boleslaus's brutal triumph ensured the unity of
Bohemia under a single ruler.
Marriages and issue[edit]
Boleslaus's first wife Adiva may have been a daughter of the English king Edward the
Elder (Ćlfgifu who married "a prince near the Alps"), though the evidence for this is
weak. His second wife was Emma of Melník. It is certain the Boleslaus's oldest son
was born by Adiva, but the mother of the others cannot be established with certainty:
Boleslaus III (c. 965 – 1037), his eldest son and successor
Wenceslaus, died as an infant
Jaromír (c. 975 - 1035), became Duke of Bohemia in 1003
Oldrich (c.? 975 – 1034), became Duke of Bohemia in 1012
Soon after his father's death, Boleslaus III entered into conflict with his brothers and
was deposed in 1002. The internal struggles of the Premyslid dynasty shook the
Bohemian duchy, until Duke Oldrich's efforts stabilised the country.
Parents
____ Boleslaw (Boleslav) I "the Cruel" (ABT 915 - 15 Jul 972)
OF STOCKOW Biagota (ABT 901 - )
Siblings
____ Daubravka (ABT 931 - 977)
____ Boleslaw (Boleslav) II "the Pious" (ABT 935 - 7 Feb 999)
Marriage To OF MELNIK Emma (Hemma) (ABT 930 - 1005)
m.
Notes
Children by OF MELNIK Emma (Hemma) ABT 930 - 1005
____ Udalrich (Oldrich) (ABT 975 - 9 Nov 1034)
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