John II, Duke of Troppau (also known as ''John "the Pious" of Leobschütz'', ''John of Głubczyce'', cz, Jan III Opavský or ; – ) was a Duke of Silesia from the Opava branch 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 ...

. He was co-ruler of the

Duchy of Opava The Principality of Opava ( cs, Opavské knížectví; pl, Księstwo Opawskie) or Duchy of Troppau (german: Herzogtum Troppau) was a historic territory split off from the Margraviate of Moravia before 1269 by King Ottokar II of Bohemia to prov ...

from 1445/1457 to 1464 and of the

Duchy of Głubczyce Duchy of Głubczyce ( cs, Hlubčické knížectví, german: Herzogtum Leobschütz, pl, Księstwo Głubczyckie) was one of the duchies of Silesia. Its capital was Głubczyce in Upper Silesia Upper Silesia ( pl, Górny Śląsk; szl, Gůrny Ślůns ...

from 1445/1457 until his death.

Life

His parents were Duke

Wenceslas II Wenceslaus II Přemyslid ( cs, Václav II.; pl, Wacław II Czeski; 27 SeptemberK. Charvátová, ''Václav II. Král český a polský'', Prague 2007, p. 18. 1271 – 21 June 1305) was King of Bohemia (1278–1305), Duke of Cracow (1291–13 ...

of Opava and Głubczyce and his wife Elizabeth of Kravař. His father died around 1445-1447 and John II inherited a third of the Duchy of Opava and, jointly with his elder brother

John I John I may refer to: People * John I (bishop of Jerusalem) * John Chrysostom (349 – c. 407), Patriarch of Constantinople * John of Antioch (died 441) * Pope John I, Pope from 523 to 526 * John I (exarch) (died 615), Exarch of Ravenna * John I o ...

, the Duchy of Głubczyce. John I died in 1464 and John II inherited his title of Lord of

Fulnek Fulnek () is a town in Nový Jičín District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 5,500 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone. Administrative par ...

. The other two thirds of Opava were held by his paternal uncles

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

and

Ernest Ernest is a given name derived from Germanic languages, Germanic word ''ernst'', meaning "serious". Notable people and fictional characters with the name include: People *Archduke Ernest of Austria (1553–1595), son of Maximilian II, Holy Roman ...

. In 1451, William transferred his claim on the Duchy of Münsterberg to Ernest and received Ernest's third of Opava in return. Thus, William owned a two-thirds share of Opava.Pavel Sedláček: ''Vztahy mezi Kladskem a Frankenšteijnskem ve 14. a 15. stoleti'', in: ''Kladský Sborník'', vol. 2, 1998, p. 119 However, William died the following year and Ernest, acting as guardian for William's underage sons, sold this share to Duke Bolko V of Opole. Bolko V died in 1460, and his share of Opava fell to King

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...

of Bohemia as a completed

fief A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an Lord, overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a for ...

. In 1464, John II sold his one-third share to George, who thereby came into full possession of Opava, thus considerably expanding his sphere of influence. In the armed conflict about George's succession, John II initially supported Vladislaus II. After

Matthias Corvinus Matthias Corvinus, also called Matthias I ( hu, Hunyadi Mátyás, ro, Matia/Matei Corvin, hr, Matija/Matijaš Korvin, sk, Matej Korvín, cz, Matyáš Korvín; ), was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1458 to 1490. After conducting several mi ...

conquered

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

in 1479, John II paid him homage. In 1480, he founded a

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

monastery in Głubczyce. John II was married to a Catherine of unknown descent. She died without issue in 1485. His nickname "the Pious" allegedly refers to the fact that he didn't remarry after her death. John II died . With his death the main Opava line of the Přemyslid dynasty died out, although the Opava-Ratibor line continued to exist until 1521. The Duchy of Głubczyce fell to King Matthias as a completed fief. Matthias gave it to his son

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

References

* Ludwig Petry et al.: ''Geschichte Schlesiens'', vol. 1, Sigmaringen 1988, , p. 191 and 212 * Hugo Weczerka: ''Handbuch der historischen Stätten — Schlesien'', Stuttgart, 1977, , genealogical tables on p. 600/601 * Rudolf Žáček: ''Dějiny Slezska v datech'', Prague, 2004, , p. 438

External links

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:John 02 of Opava Moravian nobility Medieval Bohemian nobility Opavian Přemyslids 1420s births 1480s deaths 15th-century Bohemian people