Nicholas I (Czech:Mikuláš I. Opavský) (c. 1255 – 25 July 1318) was the natural son ofBohemian kingOttokar II Přemysl^[1] and hismistressAgnes of Kuenring. In 1269 he becameDuke of Opava (at modern dayOpava, Czech Republic) and thereby the progenitor of theSilesian cadet branch of thePřemyslid dynasty that lasted until 1521.

He was legitimated by his father with the consent ofPope Alexander IV and raised at thePrague court. As his half-brotherWenceslaus II was designated to succeed his father on the Bohemian throne, Nicholas in compensation received Troppau, then a part of theMoravian march. He supported his father in the 1278Battle on the Marchfeld, was captured byHungarian forces, but regained his duchy from the victorious German kingRudolf of Habsburg. His rule was however challenged by Ottokar's widowKunigunda of Halych, who had retired toHradec nad Moravicí.

In 1283 Nicholas married King Rudolf's nieceAdelheid. They had three sons:

• Nicholas II, Duke of Troppau
• Wenceslaus of Opava
• Johann (died 1325).

Nicholas retained the Duchy of Opava after the last Přemyslid ruler of Bohemia, KingWenceslaus III was killed in 1306. TheBohemian Crown however passed to DukeHenry of Carinthia and Nicholas had to accept the pledge of his duchy in favour of theSilesian Piast dukeBolesław III the Generous ofLegnica, the husband of King Wenceslaus' III sisterMargaret. King Henry's successorJohn of Bohemia however redeemed the pawn and in 1318 re-installed Nicholas's son Nicholas II as duke.

• Veszpremy, Laszlo; Schaer, Frank, eds. (1999).Deeds of the Hungarians. Central European University Press.
• Patrick J. Geary:Readings in Medieval History, 4th Edition, University of Toronto Press, 2010[1]
• Patrick J. Geary:Readings in Medieval History, Volume II: The Later Middle Ages,[2]
• In Czech:
  • KOUŘIL, Pavel; PRIX, Dalibor; WIHODA, Martin. Hrady českého Slezska. Brno : Archeologický ústav AV ČR, 2000. 645 p.ISBN 80-86023-22-2.
  • STŘEŠTÍKOVÁ, Markéta. Králův syn. Dětství a jinošství Mikuláše I. Opavského. In Opava. Sborník k dějinám města 3. Opava : Matice slezská; Zemský archiv v Opavě, 2003.ISBN 80-903055-6-3. pp. 12–16.
  • WIHODA, Martin. Facta est autem distraction regni Bohemiae. Opavsko v čase interregna 1278–1283. In Acta historica et museologica Universitatis Silesianae Opaviensis. Řada C. Opava : Slezská univerzita, Filozoficko-přírodovědecká fakulta, Ústav historie a muzeologie, 2000.ISBN 80-7248-110-X. pp. 170–180.
  • WIHODA, Martin. Mikuláš I. Opavský mezi Přemyslovci a Habsburky. Český časopis historický, 2001, pp. 209–230. ISSN 0862-6111.

• Dukes of Opava
• Opavian Přemyslids
• 1250s births
• 1318 deaths
• Sons of kings

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