John IV, Duke of Krnov (also known as ''John IV of Opava-Racibórz'' or ''John the Elder''; cz, Jan IV. Krnovský; german: Johann IV. von Jägerndorf or ; –1483 in

Wodzisław Śląski Wodzisław Śląski (; german: Loslau, cs, Vladislav, la, Vladislavia, yi, וואידסלוב, Voydislav, szl, Władźisłůw) is a city in Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland with 47,992 inhabitants (2019). It is the seat of Wodzisław Cou ...

) was a member of the Opavian branch of the Bohemian

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 Duke of

Krnov Krnov (; german: Jägerndorf, pl, Karniów or ''Krnów'') is a town in Bruntál District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 23,000 inhabitants. Administrative parts The town is made up of town parts of Pod Bezru� ...

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 ( la, Nicholaus V; it, Niccolò V; 13 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 made ...

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 ( 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 (1291–1 ...

(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 (; german: Freudenthal) is a town in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 16,000 inhabitants. It is located in the historical region of Czech Silesia. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected ...

, and

; Wenceslaus III received

Rybnik Rybnik (Polish pronunciation: ; szl, Rybńik) 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 miles) from the Czech border. It is on ...

Żory Żory (; german: Sohrau, szl, Żory) is a town and city county in Silesian Voivodeship, Poland with 62,462 inhabitants (2019). Previously it was in Katowice Voivodeship (1975–1998). It is located in the historic Upper Silesia region about sout ...

and

Pszczyna Pszczyna (german: Pleß, cs, Pština) is a town in southern Poland with 25,823 inhabitants (2019), and a seat of a local gmina (commune). It is situated in the Silesian Voivodeship, and was a part of the Katowice Voivodeship from 1975 until adm ...

. 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 ( cs, Jiří z Poděbrad; german: Georg von Podiebrad), was the sixteenth King of Bohemia, who ruled in 1458–1471. He was a leader of the ...

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

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 ...

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 IV of Oświęcim ( pl, Jan IV oświęcimski; 1426/1430 – by 21 February 1497), was a Duke of Oświęcim during 1434–1456 (until 1445 with his brothers as co-rulers) and Duke of Gliwice from 1465 to 1482. He was the third son of Duke Casim ...

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 1440 births 1483 deaths 15th-century Bohemian people Year of birth uncertain