Otto II the Black ( cs, Ota II. Černý; – 18 February 1126), a member 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 ...

, ruled as a

Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The me ...

n prince in

Olomouc Olomouc (, , ; german: Olmütz; pl, Ołomuniec ; la, Olomucium or ''Iuliomontium'') is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 99,000 inhabitants, and its larger urban zone has a population of about 384,000 inhabitants (2019). Located on th ...

from 1107 and in

Brno Brno ( , ; german: Brünn ) is a city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers, Brno has about 380,000 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in the Czech Republic ...

from 1123 until his death.

Life

He was a younger son of Prince

Otto I of Olomouc Otto I (1045 – 9 June 1087), known as Otto the Fair ( cs, Ota Sličný), a member of the Přemyslid dynasty, was Prince of Olomouc in Moravia from 1061 until his death. He was the youngest son of the Bohemian duke Bretislav I and his wife J ...

and his wife

Euphemia Euphemia ( el, Εὐφημία; "well-spoken f), known as the All-praised in the Eastern Orthodox Church, was a virgin, who was martyred for her faith at Chalcedon in 303 AD. According to tradition, Euphemia was arrested for refusing to offer ...

, a daughter of the

Árpád Árpád (; 845 – 907) was the head of the confederation of the Magyar tribes at the turn of the 9th and 10th centuries. He might have been either the sacred ruler or ''kende'' of the Hungarians, or their military leader or '' gy ...

king

Béla I of Hungary Béla I the Boxer or the Wisent ( hu, I. Bajnok or Bölény Béla, sk, Belo I.; – 11 September 1063) was King of Hungary from 1060 until his death. He descended from a younger branch of the Árpád dynasty. Béla's baptismal name was A ...

. He thereby was the grandson of the

Bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...

duke

Bretislav I Bretislav I ( cs, Břetislav I.; 1002/1005 – 10 January 1055), known as the "Bohemian Achilles", of the Přemyslid dynasty, was Duke of Bohemia from 1034 until his death. Youth Bretislav was the son of Duke Oldřich and his low-born concubin ...

. His father ruled in

since about 1055, troubled by the centralist efforts of his elder brothers Spytihněv II and

Vratislav II Vratislaus II (or Wratislaus II) ( cs, Vratislav II.) (c. 1032 – 14 January 1092), the son of Bretislaus I of Bohemia, Bretislaus I and Judith of Schweinfurt, was the first King of Bohemia as of 15 June 1085, his royal title granted as a lifeti ...

ruling as Bohemian dukes. When he died in 1087, Otto II and his elder brother Svatopluk were expelled from Olomouc. While the dynastical struggles within the Přemyslid family continued, Otto II and Svatopluk were able to return to Moravia in 1091. Svatopluk finally ascended the throne in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

in 1107, having deposed his cousin Bořivoj II. Otto temporarily acted as a Bohemian regent; in 1108/09 he and Savatopluk were taken hostage by King

Henry V of Germany Henry V (german: Heinrich V.; probably 11 August 1081 or 1086 – 23 May 1125, in Utrecht) was King of Germany (from 1099 to 1125) and Holy Roman Emperor (from 1111 to 1125), as the fourth and last ruler of the Salian dynasty. He was made co-r ...

. When Svatopluk was killed in September 1109, his brother Otto, though with considerable support by the Bohemian nobility, was not able to assert his claims to the Prague throne, which was taken by Otto's cousin Vladislav I. Around 1113 Otto married the Swabian countess Sophia, daughter of Count Henry I of Berg. Sophia's sister

Richeza of Berg Richeza of Berg ( cs, Richenza z Bergu; – 27 September 1125) was Duchess of Bohemia from 1111 to 1117 and again from 1120 until 1125, by her marriage with the Přemyslid duke Vladislav I. She was the daughter of Swabian, Henry I, Count of B ...

had married Duke Vladislav I about 1111. Otto's marriage produced three children: Euphemia, Otto III of Olomouc (1122–1160), and Dětleb,

Bishop of Olomouc The following is a list of diocesan bishops and archbishops of Olomouc. Not much is known about the beginnings of the Diocese of Olomouc. It was reestablished in 1063 and in 1777 it was elevated to an archdiocese. Bishops of Olomouc *''89 ...

. Otto found himself in constant conflict with Duke Vladislav. Nevertheless, in 1123 he was able to succeed Vladislav's younger brother

Soběslav Soběslav (; german: Sobieslau) is a town in Tábor District in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 6,800 inhabitants. The historical town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone. Admi ...

as Prince of Brno. When Duke Vladislav died in 1125, Otto again claimed the Bohemian throne according to the principle of

agnatic seniority Agnatic seniority is a patrilineal principle of inheritance where the order of succession to the throne prefers the monarch's younger brother over the monarch's own sons. A monarch's children (the next generation) succeed only after the males o ...

. When Vladislav's brother Soběslav succeeded, Otto turned to King

Lothair II Lothair II (835 – 8 August 869) was the king of Lotharingia from 855 until his death. He was the second son of Emperor Lothair I and Ermengarde of Tours. He was married to Teutberga (died 875), daughter of Boso the Elder. Reign For political ...

who marched against Bohemia with a German army. Both sides met in the

Battle of Chlumec :''See Battle at Chlumec (1040) for a possible earlier battle, and Battle of Kulm for the Napoleonic battle.'' The Battle of Chlumec was the culmination of a 12th-century war of succession in the Duchy of Bohemia. It occurred on 18 February ...

on 18 February 1126: Lothair's forces were decisively defeated and Otto was killed in action. After the battle, Soběslav approached King Lothair and received the Bohemian duchy as an

Imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Imperial, Texa ...

fief. Otto's widow Sophia returned to Swabia and probably retired to

Zwiefalten Abbey Zwiefalten Abbey (german: Kloster Zwiefalten, Abtei Zwiefalten or after 1750, ) is a former Benedictine monastery situated at Zwiefalten near Reutlingen in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. History The monastery was founded in 1089 at the time of ...

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Otto 02 the Black Přemyslid dynasty 1080s births 1126 deaths Year of birth uncertain

Life

See also

References