Vladislaus III, also called Vladislaus Henry III ( – 3 January 1247), was the

margrave of Moravia The Margraviate of Moravia (; ) was one of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown within the Holy Roman Empire and then Austria-Hungary, existing from 1182 to 1918. It was officially administered by a margrave in cooperation with a provincial diet. I ...

and

duke of Austria From 976 until 1246, the Margraviate of Austria and its successor, the Duchy of Austria, was ruled by the House of Babenberg. At that time, those states were part of the Holy Roman Empire. From 1246 until 1918, the duchy and its successor, the A ...

from 1246 until 1247.Jeremi K. Ochab, Jan Škvrňák and Michael Škvrňák, "Detecting Ottokar II's 1248–1249 Uprising and Its Instigators in Co-witnessing Networks," ''Historical Methods: A Journal of Quantitative and Interdisciplinary History'' 55, 4 (2022): 189–208, at 191. Vladislaus was born around 1227. A member of the

Přemyslid dynasty The Přemyslid dynasty or House of Přemysl (, , ) was a Bohemian royal dynasty that reigned in the Duchy of Bohemia and later Kingdom of Bohemia and Margraviate of Moravia (9th century–1306), as well as in parts of Poland (including Silesia ...

, he was the eldest son and heir of Wenceslaus I,

King of Bohemia The Duchy of Bohemia was established in 870 and raised to the Kingdom of Bohemia in Golden Bull of Sicily, 1198. Several Bohemian monarchs ruled as non-hereditary kings and first gained the title in 1085. From 1004 to 1806, Bohemia was part of th ...

, and his wife Kunigunde, daughter of

Philip of Swabia Philip of Swabia (February/March 1177 – 21 June 1208), styled Philip II in his charters, was a member of the House of Hohenstaufen and King of Germany from 1198 until his assassination. The death of Philip's older brother Henry VI, Holy Roman E ...

King of Germany This is a list of monarchs who ruled over East Francia, and the Kingdom of Germany (), from Treaty of Verdun, the division of the Francia, Frankish Empire in 843 and Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire in ...

. His younger brother was the latter King Ottokar II. He was named after his uncle and great uncle, who were also margraves of Moravia. When his other uncle, Přemysl, died in 1239, Wenceslaus took control of Moravia. In 1246, he appointed Vladislaus margrave.

Pope Innocent IV Pope Innocent IV (; – 7 December 1254), born Sinibaldo Fieschi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 June 1243 to his death in 1254. Fieschi was born in Genoa and studied at the universities of Parma and Bolo ...

wrote a letter to Vladislaus on 24 November 1246 concerning the activity of the papal collector Gotfryd. As Duke Frederick II of Austria was without a male heir, Wenceslaus sought to acquire the

Duchy of Austria The Duchy of Austria (; ) was a medieval principality of the Holy Roman Empire, established in 1156 by the '' Privilegium Minus'', when the Margraviate of Austria ('' Ostarrîchi'') was detached from Bavaria and elevated to a duchy in its own ri ...

by arranging the marriage of Vladislaus with the late duke's niece Gertrude, daughter of Duke Henry II of Mödling, second son of Duke

Leopold VI of Austria Leopold may refer to: People * Leopold (given name), including a list of people named Leopold or Léopold * Leopold (surname) Fictional characters * Leopold (The Simpsons), Leopold (''The Simpsons''), Superintendent Chalmers' assistant on ''The ...

. Frederick was forced to consent to this arrangement under duress. In 1246, however, Frederick reneged, alleging that the couple was related within the prohibited degree. Wenceslaus obtained a dispensation from the pope.Robert H. Vickers, ''History of Bohemia'' (Charles H. Sergel, 1894), pp. 223–224. The wedding took place after Frederick's death later that year.Wihoda (2015), p. 274.Robert Antonín, "The Foreign Policy of the Last Premyslids: A First Attempt at Unifying Central Europe?", in Paul Srodecki, Norbert Kersken and Rimvydas Petrauskas (eds.), ''Unions and Divisions. New Forms of Rule in Medieval and Renaissance Europe'' (Routledge, 2022), pp. 143–157, at 143–144. He was recognized as duke and is so titled in contemporary Austrian sources.Kamil Krofta, "Bohemia to the Extinction of the Premyslids", in ''The Cambridge Medieval History'', Vol. 6: Victory of the Papacy (Cambridge University Press, 1957), pp. 422–446, at 437–438. He received the homage of the Austrian nobility, but died suddenly on 3 January 1247, before he could take possession of the duchy. His death was most likely natural. He had no children in his short marriage. According to the '' Anonymous Austrian Chronicle'': The '' Annals of Prague'' give substantially the same account: Vladislaus was succeeded in Moravia by his younger brother, who soon rebelled against their father.Nora Berend, Przemysław Urbańczyk and Przemysław Wiszewski, ''Central Europe in the High Middle Ages: Bohemia, Hungary and Poland, c.900–c.1300'' (Cambridge University Press, 2013), p. 411. After his death, she married Prince Roman Danylovych. As a result, central Europe was plunged into the War of the Babenberg Succession.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vladislaus 03 of Moravia 1220s births 1247 deaths 13th-century dukes of Austria Přemyslid dynasty Bohemian princes Margraves of Moravia Sons of kings Heirs apparent who never acceded