Spytihněv II (also ''Spitignew'', ''Spitihnew'' or ''Spytihnev''; la, Spitigneus;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 1031 – 28 January 1061), a member of the

Přemyslid dynasty The Přemyslid dynasty or House of Přemyslid ( cs, Přemyslovci, german: Premysliden, pl, Przemyślidzi) was a Bohemian royal dynasty that reigned in the Duchy of Bohemia and later Kingdom of Bohemia and Margraviate of Moravia (9th century–130 ...

, was

Duke 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 ...

from 1055 until his death.

Life

He was the eldest son of Duke

Bretislav I Bretislav I ( cs, Břetislav I.; 1002/1005 – 10 January 1055), known as the "Bohemian Achilles", of the Přemyslid dynasty, was Duke of Bohemia from 1034 until his death. Youth Bretislav was the son of Duke Oldřich and his low-born concubin ...

(d. 1055) and his consort

Judith of Schweinfurt Judith of Schweinfurt ( cs, Jitka ze Schweinfurtu / in old Czech: Jitka ze Svinibrodu; before 1003 – 2 August 1058) was Duchess consort of Bohemia from 1034 until 1055, by her marriage with the Přemyslid duke Bretislav I.Herwig Wolfram, ''Co ...

. While his father entered into conflict with the

Salian The Salian dynasty or Salic dynasty (german: Salier) was a dynasty in the High Middle Ages. The dynasty provided four kings of Germany (1024–1125), all of whom went on to be crowned Holy Roman emperors (1027–1125). After the death of the l ...

king Henry III, young Spytihněv from 1039 onwards spent several years as a hostage at the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

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

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

. After his accession to the throne, he went at once to Regensburg to receive imperial confirmation. According to the contemporary chronicler

Cosmas of Prague Cosmas of Prague ( cs, Kosmas Pražský; la, Cosmas Decanus; – October 21, 1125) was a priest, writer and historian. Life Between 1075 and 1081, he studied in Liège. After his return to Bohemia, he married Božetěcha, with whom he had a so ...

, this loyalty to the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...

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, yet despite this, Pope Nicholas II sought the alliance of the Bohemian duke in 1059. Thus, Rome granted Spytihněv the right to wear the mitre and tunic of a bishop for the annual sum of 100 marks. His brothers having inherited

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 ...

, 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 Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

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 Ida of Wettin ( cs, Ida Wettinská, german: Ida von Wettin, also ''Hidda von Eilenburg''; born c. 1031; died after 1061), a member of the Saxon House of Wettin, was Duchess consort of Bohemia from 1055 until 1061 by her marriage with Duke Spytihn ...

(''Hidda''), a daughter of Margrave Theodoric II of Lusatia. They had: *Svatobor (''Friedrich''),

Patriarch of Aquileia The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in certain ...

in 1084. Shortly afterwards, on 23 Feb 1086, he was murdered.

Notes

References

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Spytihnev Ii, Duke of Bohemia Roman Catholic monarchs Dukes of Bohemia 1031 births 1061 deaths Burials at St. Vitus Cathedral