John IV, Duke of Krnov (also known as ''John IV of Opava-Racibórz'' or ''John the Elder''; ; or ; –1483 in

Wodzisław Śląski Wodzisław Śląski (; , , , , ) is a city in Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland with 47,992 inhabitants (2019). It is the seat of Wodzisław County. It was previously in Katowice Voivodeship (1975–1998); close to the border with the Czech ...

) was a member of the Opavian branch of the Bohemian

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 Duke of

Krnov Krnov (; , or ''Krnów'') is a town in Bruntál District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 23,000 inhabitants. Administrative division Krnov consists of three municipal parts (in brackets population according to ...

from 1452 to 1474 and Duke of

from 1464 until his death.

Life

John IV was the elder son of Duke

Nicholas V Pope Nicholas V (; ; 15 November 1397 – 24 March 1455), born Tommaso Parentucelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 March 1447 until his death in March 1455. Pope Eugene IV made him a cardinal in 1446 afte ...

of Krnov and his wife, Margaret Clemm of Ellguth. John IV and his younger brother Wenceslaus III were still minors when their father died in 1452. Their step-mother, Barbara Rockemberg and their uncle

Wenceslaus II Wenceslaus II Přemyslid (; ; 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 (1291–1305), and King of Poland (1296–1305 ...

(d. 1456) took up the regency. Afterh the brother came of age, they initially ruled their inheritance jointly. However, in 1464, the inheritance was divided. John IV received

Bruntál Bruntál (; ) is a town in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 15,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument zones, urban monument zon ...

, and

; Wenceslaus III received

Rybnik Rybnik (Polish pronunciation: ; ) is a city in southern Poland, in the Silesian Voivodeship, around 38 km (24 mi) southwest of Katowice, the region's capital, and around 19 km (11 mi) from the Czech Republic, Czech border. It i ...

Żory Żory (; , , ) is a town and city powiat, county in the Silesian Voivodeship, located in southern Poland with 62,848 inhabitants (2021). It is located in the historic Upper Silesia region about southwest of Katowice. Location Żory is located in ...

and

Pszczyna Pszczyna (, ) is a town in Silesia Province in Poland, with a population of 25,823 (2019), and is the seat of a local gmina (commune) and district. It was previously part of Katowice Province from 1975 until 1998 administrative reforms. Etymo ...

. During the war between Bohemia and Hungary for supremacy in Bohemia, John IV supported the Bohemian King,

George of Poděbrady George of Kunštát and Poděbrady (23 April 1420 – 22 March 1471), also known as Poděbrad or Podiebrad (; ), was the sixteenth King of Bohemia, who ruled in 1458–1471. He was a leader of the Hussites, but moderate and tolerant toward the ...

, in 1469, and after George's death, his successor Vladislaus II. Because of this, King

Matthias Corvinus Matthias Corvinus (; ; ; ; ; ) was King of Hungary and King of Croatia, Croatia from 1458 to 1490, as Matthias I. He is often given the epithet "the Just". After conducting several military campaigns, he was elected King of Bohemia in 1469 and ...

of Hungary took John IV prisoner in 1474 and forced him to cede Krnov. john IV retained Wodzisław Śląski, where he died in 1483. John's sister Barbara (d. 1510), who had married Duke

Jan IV of Oświęcim Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to: Acronyms * Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN * Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code * Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group * Japanese Article Nu ...

in 1475, objected to Matthias Corvinus against the shameful treatment of her brothers and the theft of her father's inheritance. This was probably the reason why he styled John's widow as ''Lady of Wodzisław Śląski, Rybnik and Żory'' After Matthis Corvinus died in 1490, Barbara styled herself as ''Lady of Krnov''.

Notes

Citations

References

* Ludwig Petry and Josef Joachim Menzel (eds.): ''Geschichte Schlesiens'', vol. 1: ''Von der Urzeit bis zum Jahre 1526'', 5th corrected ed., Thorbecke, Stuttgart, 1988, , pp. 191, 218 and 227. These authors call him ''Johann(es) III, Duke of Troppau-Ratibor''. * Hugo Weczerka (ed.): ''Handbuch der historischen Stätten — Schlesien'', in the series ''Kröners Taschenausgabe'', vol. 316, Kröner, Stuttgart, 1977, , genealogical tables on p. 500 and 601 * Rudolf Žáček: ''Dějiny Slezska v datech'', Libri, Prague, 2004, , p. 438 ff {{DEFAULTSORT:John 04 Krnov Opavian Přemyslids 1440s births 1483 deaths 15th-century nobility from Bohemia