Ernest of Opava (; ; – 1464) was a member of the Opava branch of the

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

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 1433 to 1461 and Duke of Münsterberg () from 1452 to 1456.

Life

His parents were Duke Przemko I of Opava and Catherine, the sister of

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

, who was the last

Piast The House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I (–992). The Piasts' royal rule in Poland ended in 1370 with the death of King Casimir III the Great. Branches of ...

Duke of Münsterberg. When his father died in 1433, Ernest inherited jointly with his four brothers. Although his father had asked in his will that they rule jointly, the brothers divided their inheritance among themselves in 1434 or 1435. In 1451, his elder brother

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

gave him the

Duchy of Münsterberg The Duchy of Münsterberg () or Duchy of Ziębice (, ) was one of the Duchies of Silesia, with a capital in Ziębice, Münsterberg (Ziębice). Existing from 1321/1322 to 1742, it was located in what came to be referred to as Lower Silesia. Its ter ...

in exchange for his one third share of the

Duchy of Opava The Principality of Opava (; ) or Duchy of Troppau () was a historic territory split off from the Margraviate of Moravia before 1269 by King Ottokar II of Bohemia to provide for his natural son, Nicholas I, Duke of Troppau, Nicholas I. The Opav ...

. This meant William possessed a 2/3 share of Opava. After William's death in 1452, the Duchy of Münsterberg fell to Ernest, according to the agreement of 1451. Ernest also took up the guardianship of William's children. As their guardian, he sold William's 2/3 share of the Opava to Duke Bolko V of Opole, after 1454. On 8 March 1456, he sold the Duchy of Münsterberg to the provincial administrator and future King of Bohemia,

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 ...

. Bolko V died in 1460 and his heir Nicholas I sold the 2/3 share of Opava to George of Poděbrady. In 1464, George purchased the remaining third from

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 (1087–114 ...

, thereby significantly increasing his political and economic influence in

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, ...

. Ernest died in 1464, unmarried and without issue.

References

* Ludwig Petry ''et al.'': ''Geschichte Schlesiens'', vol. 1, Sigmaringen, 1988, , pp. 191, 208, 212. * Pavel Sedláček: ''Vztahy mezi Kladskem a Frankenšteijnskem ve 14. a 15. stoleti'', in: ''Kladký Sborník'', vol. 2, 1998, pp. 117–123 Year of birth uncertain 1464 deaths Opavian Přemyslids 15th-century nobility from Bohemia {{Germany-hist-stub