John I of Opava-Ratibor ( cz, Jan I. Ratibořský; german: Johann I. von Troppau-Ratibor; – ) was the founder the Opava 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 ...
, which lasted until 1521. In 1365, he became the sole heir of the
Duchy of Racibórz
Duchy of Racibórz (german: Herzogtum Ratibor, cs, Ratibořské knížectví) was one of the duchies of Silesia. Its capital was Racibórz in Upper Silesia.
History
After Bolesław I the Tall and his younger brother Mieszko I Tanglefoot backed ...
. From 1367 to 1377 he ruled the Duchy of Opava (german: Troppau) jointly with his brothers, Nicholas III, Wenceslaus I and Przemko I. From 1377 until his death, he was also 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 Bezr ...
His parents were Nicholas II of Opava and Anna of Racibórz, a sister of
Leszek of Racibórz
Leszek of Racibórz ( 1292 – 1336) was a Duke of Racibórz since 1306 and Duke of Koźle from 1334 until his death.
He was the eldest child and only son of Duke Przemysław of Racibórz by his wife Anna, daughter of Duke Konrad II of Masovia. ...
, the last Duke of Racibórz from the
Silesian Piast
The Silesian Piasts were the elder of four lines of the Polish Piast dynasty beginning with Władysław II the Exile (1105–1159), eldest son of Duke Bolesław III of Poland. By Bolesław's testament, Władysław was granted Silesia as his her ...
family. Leszek died in 1336 without heirs, causing Ratiboř to revert to the Crown. King John of Bohemia then
enfeoffed
In the Middle Ages, especially under the European feudal system, feoffment or enfeoffment was the deed by which a person was given land in exchange for a pledge of service. This mechanism was later used to avoid restrictions on the passage of ti ...
Leszek's brother-in-law, Nicholas II, who was John I's father. Since John I was the only son of Nicholas II from his first marriage with Anna, John I was the sole heir of Racibórz. At the same time, he and his younger half-brother Nicholas III became guardians of Nicholas III's younger brothers Wenceslaus I and Přemysl. After disputes about the inheritance, Opava was divided in 1367 among the four brothers. In 1377, a new division was made, in which John I kept Racibórz, but also received the duchies 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 Bezr ...
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 ...
was split off for Nicholas III; Wenceslaus I and Přemysl received the rest of Opava. When Wenceslaus died in 1381, Přemysl inherited Wenceslaus's share. When Nicholas III died in 1394, Přemysl inherited Głubczyce as well.
John I gave
Magdeburg rights
Magdeburg rights (german: Magdeburger Recht; also called Magdeburg Law) were a set of town privileges first developed by Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (936–973) and based on the Flemish Law, which regulated the degree of internal autonomy within ...
to the city of
Opava
Opava (; german: Troppau, pl, Opawa) is a city in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 55,000 inhabitants. It lies on the river Opava. Opava is one of the historical centres of Silesia. It was a historical capital of ...
in 1372. Because of financial difficulties, he sold
Mikołów
Mikołów (german: Nikolai, szl, Mikołōw) is a town in Silesia, in southern Poland, near the city of Katowice. It borders the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union, a metropolis with a population of over 2 million, and is within a greater Silesia ...
John II John II may refer to:
People
* John Cicero, Elector of Brandenburg (1455–1499)
* John II Casimir Vasa of Poland (1609–1672)
* John II Comyn, Lord of Badenoch (died 1302)
* John II Doukas of Thessaly (1303–1318)
* John II Komnenos (1087–1 ...
later managed to buy both these possession back.
Marriage and issue
In 1361 John I married to Anna, daughter of Henry V of Głogów and Żagań (d. 1369). They had three children
* John II "the Iron" (d. 1424), Duke of Opava-Ratibor
* Nicholas IV (died circa 1406), Duke of Bruntál
* Margareta (born: 1380 – died: before 7 September 1407),
: married in Duke Boleslaus I of Cieszyn (d. 1431), no issue