Spytihněv II (also ''Spitignew'', ''Spitihnew'' or ''Spytihnev''; ;In his imperial chronicle the

Annalista Saxo The Annalista Saxo ("Saxon annalist") is the anonymous author of an important imperial chronicle, believed to have originated in the mid-12th century at Nienburg Abbey in the Duchy of Saxony. General The chronicle of the "Annalista Saxo" is a ...

mentions "Spitigneus dux de Boemia" in the year 1058: "''Iuditha, soror Ottonis ducis de Suinvorde, uxor Bracilai, ductrix Boemiorum, obiit 4. Non. Augusti. Quam quia filius suus Spitigneus dux de Boemia eiecerat, cum non posset aliter iniuriam ulcisci in filio, ad contumeliam eius et omnium Boemorum nupserat Petro regi Ungariorum. Hec postea a filio suo Wratizlao duce inde translata est et Prage sepulta iuxta virum suum Brazilaum in ecclesia.''
Annalista Saxo
dmgh.de, p. 692 1031 – 28 January 1061), a member 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 ...

, was

Duke of Bohemia The Duchy of Bohemia was established in 870 and raised to the Kingdom of Bohemia in Golden Bull of Sicily, 1198. Several Bohemian monarchs ruled as non-hereditary kings and first gained the title in 1085. From 1004 to 1806, Bohemia was part of th ...

from 1055 until his death in 1061.

Life

He was the eldest son of Duke

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

(d. 1055) and his consort

Judith of Schweinfurt Judith of Schweinfurt (; before 1003 – 2 August 1058) was List of Bohemian consorts, Duchess consort of Bohemia from 1034 until 1055, by her marriage with the Přemyslid dynasty, Přemyslid duke Bretislav I.Herwig Wolfram, ''Conrad II, 990-1039 ...

. While his father entered into conflict with the

Salian The Salian dynasty or Salic dynasty () was a dynasty in the High Middle Ages. The dynasty provided four kings of Germany (1024–1125), all of whom went on to be crowned Holy Roman emperors (1027–1125). After the death of the last Ottonian ...

king Henry III, young Spytihněv from 1039 onwards spent several years as a hostage at the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

court. When he succeeded his father as duke, his coronation was celebrated with the first known rendition of '' Hospodine pomiluj ny'', the earliest known song in

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

. After his accession to the throne, he went at once to

Regensburg Regensburg (historically known in English as Ratisbon) is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the rivers Danube, Naab and Regen (river), Regen, Danube's northernmost point. It is the capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the ...

to receive imperial confirmation. According to the contemporary chronicler

Cosmas of Prague Cosmas of Prague (; ; – 21 October 1125) was a Czech priest, writer and historian. Life Between 1075 and 1081, he studied in Liège. After his return to Bohemia, he married Božetěcha with whom he had a son, named Jindřich Zdík, and remai ...

, this loyalty to the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

did not prevent him from expelling all Germans from his lands, including his mother Judith, and the new anti-German policy continued to his death. In 1056, Spytihněv had all the monks driven out of Sazava Abbey, yet despite this,

Pope Nicholas II Pope Nicholas II (; c. 990/995 – 27 July 1061), otherwise known as Gerard of Burgundy, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 January 1059 until his death in 27 July 1061. At the time of his election, he was bish ...

sought the alliance of the Bohemian duke in 1059. Thus, Rome granted Spytihněv the right to wear the mitre and tunic of a bishop for the annual sum of 100 marks. His brothers having inherited

Moravia Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The medieval and early ...

, Spytihněv tried to reduce their authority by arresting 300 Moravian magnates and stripping his brothers of their rights in the province. Thus, Vratislaus of Olomouc fled to

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

in 1058. Spytihněv was succeeded by Vratislaus, who in turn entrusted Moravia to his brother Conrad.

Marriage

About 1054 Spytihněv was married to

Ida of Wettin Ida of Wettin (, , also ''Hidda von Eilenburg''; born c. 1031; died after 1061), a member of the Saxon House of Wettin, was Duchess consort of Bohemia from 1055 until 1061 by her marriage with Duke Spytihněv II. Life She was the younger daugh ...

(''Hidda''), a daughter of Margrave Theodoric II of Lusatia. They had: *Svatobor (''Friedrich''),

Patriarch of Aquileia This is a list of bishops and patriarchs of Aquileia in northeastern Italy. For the ecclesiastical history of the diocese, see Patriarchate of Aquileia. From 553 until 698 the archbishops renounced Papal authority as part of the Schism of the T ...

in 1084. Shortly afterwards, on 23 Feb 1086, he was murdered.

Notes

References

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Spytihnev Ii, Duke of Bohemia 1031 births 1061 deaths 11th-century monarchs of Bohemia Roman Catholic monarchs Dukes of Bohemia Burials at St. Vitus Cathedral