Nicholas II of Opava (also: ''Nicholas II of Troppau'', ''Nicholas II of Ratibór''; ; 1288 – 8 December 1365) was

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

Opava Opava (; , ) is a city in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 55,000 inhabitants. It lies on the Opava (river), Opava River. Opava is one of the historical centres of Silesia and was a historical capital of Czech Sile ...

() from 1318 to 1365 and Duke of Ratibór from 1337 to 1365 and Burgrave of Kladsko () from 1350 to 1365 and also chamberlain of the

Kingdom of Bohemia The Kingdom of Bohemia (), sometimes referenced in English literature as the Czech Kingdom, was a History of the Czech lands in the High Middle Ages, medieval and History of the Czech lands, early modern monarchy in Central Europe. It was the pr ...

Life

Nicholas II of Opava was a member of the Opava branch of the Bohemian noble Přemyslovci family. His parents were Duke Nicholas I of Opava, who had held Opava since 1269, and Adelheid of

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

, a niece of King Rudolf I. He was a supporter of King John of Luxembourg of Bohemia, who gave him Opava as a

fief A fief (; ) 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 overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...

in 1318 and at the same time raised it to an independent duchy. He moved the ducal residence from Hradec nad Moravicí () to

(). Also in 1318, he married with Anna, the only sister of Duke

Leszek Leszek () is a Slavic Polish male given name, originally ''Lestko'', ''Leszko'' or ''Lestek'', related to ''Lech'', ''Lechosław'' and Czech ''Lstimir''. Individuals named Leszek celebrate their name day on June 3. Notable people bearing the ...

of Ratibór. Since Leszek left no offspring, the Duchy of Ratibór reverted to the

Bohemian Crown The Lands of the Bohemian Crown were the states in Central Europe during the medieval and early modern periods with feudal obligations to the Bohemian kings. The crown lands primarily consisted of the Kingdom of Bohemia, an electorate of the Hol ...

after Leszek death in 1336. King John gave it to his loyal

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...

Nicholas II in 1337. With his dual power base in Opava and Ratibór, Nicholas became one of the most powerful princes in the upper

Oder The Oder ( ; Czech and ) is a river in Central Europe. It is Poland's second-longest river and third-longest within its borders after the Vistula and its largest tributary the Warta. The Oder rises in the Czech Republic and flows through wes ...

area. With the acquisition by Nicholas, Ratibór came under a foreign ruler and due to the personal union, Opava became more oriented towards

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

. In 1337, the princes of

Opole Opole (; ; ; ) is a city located in southern Poland on the Oder River and the historical capital of Upper Silesia. With a population of approximately 127,387 as of the 2021 census, it is the capital of Opole Voivodeship (province) and the seat of ...

also claimed Ratibór; King John sold them the Moravian town of

Prudnik Prudnik (, , , ) is a town in southern Poland, located in the southern part of Opole Voivodeship near the border with the Czech Republic. It is the administrative seat of Prudnik County and Gmina Prudnik. Its population numbers 21,368 inhabitant ...

() instead. In a document dated 1350, Nicholas II is mentioned as Burgrave of

Kłodzko Kłodzko (; ; ; ) is a historic town in south-western Poland, in the region of Lower Silesia. It is situated in the centre of the Kłodzko Valley, on the Eastern Neisse (Nysa Kłodzka) river. Kłodzko is the seat of Kłodzko County (and of the ru ...

. In 1355 he had to give up Koźle and

Gliwice Gliwice (; , ) is a city in Upper Silesia, in southern Poland. The city is located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Kłodnica river (a tributary of the Oder River, Oder). It lies approximately 25 km west from Katowice, the regional capital ...

, which had been transferred to Duke Leszek.

Marriage and issue

Nicholas was married three times. Around 1318 he married Anna of Racibórz (died around 1340), a daughter of Duke

Przemysław of Racibórz Przemysław of Racibórz () (between 21 October 1258 and 12 June 1268 – 7 May 1306) was a Duke of Racibórz since 1282 until his death (until 1290 with his brother as co-ruler). He was the fourth son of Władysław, Duke of Opole- Racibórz, ...

. Several children resulted from this marriage: *

John I John I may refer to: People Religious figures * John I (bishop of Jerusalem) * John Chrysostom (349 – c. 407), Patriarch of Constantinople * John I of Antioch (died 441) * Pope John I of Alexandria, Coptic Pope from 496 to 505 * Pope John I, P ...

(died: between 1380 and 1382), : married in 1361 Anna, a daughter of the Duke Henry V of Głogów-Żagań (died 1369). He established the Opava-Ratibór line of the Přemyslovci family. * Euphemia (died 1352) : married in 1335 Duke Siemowit III of

Mazovia Mazovia or Masovia ( ) is a historical region in mid-north-eastern Poland. It spans the North European Plain, roughly between Łódź and Białystok, with Warsaw being the largest city and Płock being the capital of the region . Throughout the ...

(died 1381) * Elisabeth (died 1386), a nun in Ratibór * Agnes (died 1404), a nun in Ratibór * Anna (died 1361) : married in 1346 Count Burchard of Hardegg and Retz, Burgrave of

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; ) is the Capital city, capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is on the Elbe river. Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archbishopric of Mag ...

(died 1360 or 1361) *

Margaret Margaret is a feminine given name, which means "pearl". It is of Latin origin, via Ancient Greek and ultimately from Iranian languages, Old Iranian. It has been an English language, English name since the 11th century, and remained popular thro ...

(died 1363) :married in 1349 the Margrave John Henry of Moravia (died 1375). After Anna's death, Nicholas married in May 1342 to Hedwig (died 1359), a daughter of Duke Konrad I of Oleśnica (died 1366). From this marriage, he had a son * Nicholas III (died 1394), Duke of

Głubczyce Głubczyce ( or sparsely ''Glubčice'', or ''Gubczycy'', ) is a town in Opole Voivodeship in south-western Poland, near the border with the Czech Republic. It is the administrative seat of Głubczyce County and Gmina Głubczyce. Geography Głu ...

1377–1394 In 1360, Nicholas married his third wife, Jutta (died after 1378), a daughter of the Duke Boleslaw II of Opole-Falkenberg. This marriage produced three more children: * Anna (died 1398) : married in 1379 Peter Holický of Šternberk (died 1397) * Wenceslaus I (died 1381), Duke of Opava 1377–1381 * Przemko I (; died 1433), Duke of Opava 1365-1433 and Duke of

1394-1433

References

* Ludwig Petry et al.: ''Geschichte Schlesiens'', vol. 1, Sigmaringen, 1988, , p. 146, 159, 165, 167, 169, 171, 184. * Hugo Weczerka (ed.): ''Handbuch der historischen Stätten: Schlesien'', Stuttgart, 1977, , p. XVI, XLVI and genealogical tables on pages 600/601.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nicholas Ii, Duke Of Opava Opavian Přemyslids 1365 deaths 1288 births