John II, Duke of Troppau (also known as ''John "the Pious" of Leobschütz'', ''John of Głubczyce'', or ; – ) was a Duke of Silesia from 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 co-ruler 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 ...

from 1445/1457 to 1464 and of the

Duchy of Głubczyce Duchy of Głubczyce (, , ) was one of the duchies of Silesia. Its capital was Głubczyce in Upper Silesia Upper Silesia ( ; ; ; ; Silesian German: ; ) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, located t ...

from 1445/1457 until his death.

Life

His parents were Duke Wenceslas II of Opava and Głubczyce and his wife Elizabeth of Kravař. His father died around 1445-1447 and John II inherited a third of the Duchy of Opava and, jointly with his elder brother

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 ...

, the Duchy of Głubczyce. John I died in 1464 and John II inherited his title of Lord of

Fulnek Fulnek () is a town in Nový Jičín District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 5,500 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument zone ...

. The other two thirds of Opava were held by his paternal uncles

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 ...

and

Ernest Ernest is a given name derived from the Germanic languages, Germanic word ''ernst'', meaning "serious", often shortened to Ernie. Notable people and fictional characters with the name include: People *Archduke Ernest of Austria (1553–1595), ...

. In 1451, William transferred his claim on the Duchy of Münsterberg to Ernest and received Ernest's third of Opava in return. Thus, William owned a two-thirds share of Opava.Pavel Sedláček: ''Vztahy mezi Kladskem a Frankenšteijnskem ve 14. a 15. stoleti'', in: ''Kladský Sborník'', vol. 2, 1998, p. 119 However, William died the following year and Ernest, acting as guardian for William's underage sons, sold this share to Duke Bolko V of Opole. Bolko V died in 1460, and his share of Opava fell to King

George George may refer to: Names * George (given name) * George (surname) People * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Gior ...

of Bohemia as a completed

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 1464, John II sold his one-third share to George, who thereby came into full possession of Opava, thus considerably expanding his sphere of influence. In the armed conflict about George's succession, John II initially supported Vladislaus II. After

Matthias Corvinus Matthias Corvinus (; ; ; ; ; ) was King of Hungary and King of Croatia, Croatia from 1458 to 1490, as Matthias I. He is often given the epithet "the Just". After conducting several military campaigns, he was elected King of Bohemia in 1469 and ...

conquered

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 1479, John II paid him homage. In 1480, he founded a

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

monastery in Głubczyce. John II was married to a Catherine of unknown descent. She died without issue in 1485. His nickname "the Pious" allegedly refers to the fact that he didn't remarry after her death. John II died . With his death the main Opava line of the Přemyslid dynasty died out, although the Opava-Ratibor line continued to exist until 1521. The Duchy of Głubczyce fell to King Matthias as a completed fief. Matthias gave it to 1490 Petr Haugwitz de Biskupitz.

References

* Ludwig Petry et al.: ''Geschichte Schlesiens'', vol. 1, Sigmaringen 1988, , p. 191 and 212 * Hugo Weczerka: ''Handbuch der historischen Stätten — Schlesien'', Stuttgart, 1977, , genealogical tables on p. 600/601 * Rudolf Žáček: ''Dějiny Slezska v datech'', Prague, 2004, , p. 438

External links

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:John 02 of Opava Moravian nobility Opavian Přemyslids 1420s births 1480s deaths 15th-century nobility from Bohemia