Jobst of Moravia ( cs, Jošt Moravský or ''Jošt Lucemburský''; german: Jo(b)st or ''Jodokus von Mähren''; c. 1354 – 18 January 1411), a member of the

House of Luxembourg The House of Luxembourg ( lb, D'Lëtzebuerger Haus; french: Maison de Luxembourg; german: Haus Luxemburg) or Luxembourg dynasty was a royal family of the Holy Roman Empire in the Late Middle Ages, whose members between 1308 and 1437 ruled as kin ...

, was

Margrave of Moravia The Margraviate of Moravia ( cs, Markrabství moravské; german: Markgrafschaft Mähren) was one of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown within the Holy Roman Empire existing from 1182 to 1918. It was officially administrated by a margrave in cooperat ...

from 1375, Duke of Luxembourg and Elector of Brandenburg from 1388 as well as elected

King of Germany This is a list of monarchs who ruled over East Francia, and the Kingdom of Germany (''Regnum Teutonicum''), from the division of the Frankish Empire in 843 and the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806 until the collapse of the German Emp ...

( King of the Romans) from 1410 until his death. Jobst was an ambitious and versatile ruler, who in the early 15th century dominated the ongoing struggles within the Luxembourg dynasty and around the German throne.

Life

Jobst was presumably born in 1354 in the

Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The m ...

n residence of Brno, the eldest legitimate son of Margrave John Henry, younger brother of Emperor Charles IV. Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia and his half-brother

Sigismund Sigismund (variants: Sigmund, Siegmund) is a German proper name, meaning "protection through victory", from Old High German ''sigu'' "victory" + ''munt'' "hand, protection". Tacitus latinises it '' Segimundus''. There appears to be an older form of ...

were both Jobst's cousins. Designated heir upon his father's death in 1375, he ruled the

Margraviate of Moravia The Margraviate of Moravia ( cs, Markrabství moravské; german: Markgrafschaft Mähren) was one of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown within the Holy Roman Empire existing from 1182 to 1918. It was officially administrated by a margrave in cooper ...

, often quarreling with his younger brother

Prokop Prokop may mean either of two Hussite generals, both of whom died in the 1434 battle of Lipan: * Prokop the Great * Prokop the Lesser Other people who bore the name Prokop: * Procopius, 6c historian * Saint Prokop, or Procopius of Sázava (died 1 ...

and the

Bishops of Olomouc A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or offic ...

. In 1388, Jobst received the Duchy of Luxembourg, given in pawn by his cousin King

Wenceslaus Wenceslaus, Wenceslas, Wenzeslaus and Wenzslaus (and other similar names) are Latinized forms of the Czech name Václav. The other language versions of the name are german: Wenzel, pl, Wacław, Więcesław, Wieńczysław, es, Wenceslao, russian ...

, son of the late Emperor Charles IV. The same year, Jobst also became

Prince-elector The prince-electors (german: Kurfürst pl. , cz, Kurfiřt, la, Princeps Elector), or electors for short, were the members of the electoral college that elected the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. From the 13th century onwards, the prin ...

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 sq ...

, pawned by Sigismund, who focused on his rule over the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...

. In 1394, Jobst joined the League of Lords, a rebellion of Bohemian nobles around

Boček II of Poděbrady Boček II of Poděbrady (also: ''Boček II of Kunštát and Poděbrady''; german: Boček II. von Kunstadt und Podiebrad or german: italic=yes, Botschek von Podiebrad or german: italic=yes, Botschek der Ältere von Podiebrad; cs, Boček II. z Pod� ...

against Wenceslaus. He had Wenceslaus arrested at

Prague Castle Prague Castle ( cs, Pražský hrad; ) is a castle complex in Prague 1 Municipality within Prague, Czech Republic, built in the 9th century. It is the official office of the President of the Czech Republic. The castle was a seat of power for king ...

and later taken into custody by the Austrian

Starhemberg The House of Starhemberg is the name of an old and distinguished Austrian noble family originating from Upper Austria, specifically Steyr and Steinbach. Members of the family played important political role within the Holy Roman Empire and ...

dynasty at Wildberg. Peace was made at the instigation of Wenceslaus' brothers Sigismund and John of Görlitz; however, once released, the king had Jobst expelled from

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

. Sigismund and Jobst signed a mutual inheritance treaty in 1401, but later again fell out with each other. After the death of King

Rupert of Germany Rupert of the Palatinate (german: Ruprecht von der Pfalz; 5 May 1352 – 18 May 1410), sometimes known as Robert of the Palatinate, a member of the House of Wittelsbach, was Elector Palatine from 1398 (as Rupert III) and King of Germany from ...

in 1410, Jobst was elected successor by four of the seven prince-electors on 1 October, opposing his cousin Sigismund who had already been elected by three electors on 10 September. The deciding vote came from his cousin Wenceslaus in his capacity as

King of Bohemia The Duchy of Bohemia was established in 870 and raised to the Kingdom of Bohemia in 1198. Several Bohemian monarchs ruled as non-hereditary kings beforehand, first gaining the title in 1085. From 1004 to 1806, Bohemia was part of the Holy Roman E ...

. Though Jobst had the greater support among the electors, he died on 18 January 1411, possibly having been poisoned, which cleared the way for Sigismund's election as King of the Romans and his later coronation as Holy Roman Emperor.

Marriage and issue

Jobst married twice, without issue: * Elisabeth of Opole (1360–1374), daughter of Duke

Władysław Opolczyk Vladislaus II of Opole ( pl, Władysław Opolczyk, german: Wladislaus von Oppeln, hu, Oppelni László, uk, Владислав Опольчик; ca. 1332 – 18 May 1401), nicknamed Naderspan, was Duke of Opole from 1356, Count palatine of Hu ...

, in 1372. * Agnes of Opole (d. 1409), daughter of Duke Bolesław (Bolko) II of Opole and sister of Duke Władysław, in 1374.

Titles

* King of the Romans *

, Lusatia and Brandenburg * Elector of Brandenburg * Duke of Luxembourg *

Vicarius ''Vicarius'' is a Latin word, meaning ''substitute'' or ''deputy''. It is the root of the English word "vicar". History Originally, in ancient Rome, this office was equivalent to the later English " vice-" (as in "deputy"), used as part of th ...

of Italy * Vicarius of the Holy Roman Empire

In popular culture

A fictionalized Jobst appears in the 2018 video game '' Kingdom Come: Deliverance''. In the game, he is shown with Divish of Talmberg, Hans Capon, Hanush of Leipa, John II of Liechtenstein, and Radzig Kobyla planning on how to defeat Sigismund and free Wenceslaus from captivity.

References

External links