| John the Blind | |
|---|---|
%2c_Count_of_Luxembourg%2c_King_of_Bohemia%2c_St_Vitus_Cathedral%2c_Prague.jpg) 14th-century bust of John of Bohemia,St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague with the coat of arms of Bohemia and Luxembourg | |
| King of Bohemia | |
| Reign | 31 August 1310 –26 August 1346 |
| Coronation | 7 February 1311,Prague[1] |
| Predecessor | Henry |
| Successor | Emperor Charles IV |
| Count of Luxembourg,Arlon andDurbuy | |
| Reign | 24 August 1313 –26 August 1346 |
| Predecessor | Emperor Henry VII |
| Successor | Emperor Charles IV |
| Born | 10 August 1296 Luxembourg[citation needed] |
| Died | 26 August 1346(1346-08-26) (aged 50) Crécy-en-Ponthieu |
| Burial | |
| Spouses | |
| Issue | |
| House | Luxembourg |
| Father | Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor |
| Mother | Margaret of Brabant |
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John of Bohemia, also calledthe Blind orof Luxembourg (Luxembourgish:Jang de Blannen;German:Johann der Blinde;Czech:Jan Lucemburský; 10 August 1296 – 26 August 1346), was theCount of Luxembourg from 1313 andKing of Bohemia from 1310 and titularKing of Poland.[2] He is well known for having died while fighting in theBattle of Crécy at age 50, after having been blind for a decade. In his home country ofLuxembourg, he is considered anational hero.[3] Comparatively, in theCzech Republic (anciently theKingdom of Bohemia), Jan Lucemburský is often recognized for his role as the father ofCharles IV, Holy Roman Emperor, one of the more significantKings of Bohemia and one of the leading Holy Roman Emperors.
John was the eldest son ofHenry VII, Holy Roman Emperor andMargaret of Brabant, who was the daughter ofJohn I, Duke of Brabant andMargaret of Flanders. Born inLuxembourg and raised inParis, John was French by education but deeply involved in the politics ofGermany.
In 1310, his father arranged the marriage of 14-year-old John toElizabeth of Bohemia.[4] The wedding took place in Speyer, after which the newlyweds made their way toPrague accompanied by a group led by the experienced diplomat and expert on Czech issues,Peter of Aspelt, Archbishop of Mainz. Because the emperor had imperial Czech regiments accompany and protect the couple fromNuremberg to Prague, John was thus forced to invadeBohemia on behalf of his wife Elizabeth.[5] The Czech forces were able to gain control of Prague anddepose the reigning king,Henry of Gorizia, King of Bohemia, on 3 December 1310. The deposed King Henry fled with his wifeAnne of Bohemia (the sister of John's wife) to his duchy (theDuchy of Carinthia). Thecoronation of John and Elizabeth to the Bohemian throne took place on 7 February 1311, making them King and Queen of Bohemia.[5] The castle at Prague was uninhabitable, so John made residence in one of the houses on the Old Town Square, and with the help of his advisors, he stabilized affairs in the Czech state. He thereby became one of the sevenprince-electors of theHoly Roman Empire and – in succession of his brother-in-law Wenceslaus III of Bohemia – claimant to thePolish andHungarian throne. His attempts to follow his father asKing of the Romans failed with the election ofLouis IV of Bavaria in 1314. Nevertheless, John later would support Louis IV in his rivalry withFrederick the Fair, King of Germany, culminating in the 1322Battle of Mühldorf in which, in return, he received the Czech region ofEgerland as a reward.[citation needed]
Like his predecessor Henry, he was disliked by much of theCzech nobility. John was considered an "alien king" and gave up the administration of Bohemia after a while and embarked on a life of travel. He parted ways with his wife and left the Czech country to be ruled by the barons while spending time in Luxembourg and the French court.[6]
John's travels took him toSilesia,Poland,Lithuania,Tyrol,Northern Italy andPapal Avignon. A rival of KingWładysław I the Elbow-high to the Polish crown, John supported theTeutonic Knights in thePolish–Teutonic War from 1326 to 1332. He also made severalSilesian dukes swear an oath of allegiance to him. In 1335 inCongress of Visegrád, Władysław's successor KingCasimir III the Great of Poland paid a significant amount of money in exchange for John's giving up his claim to the Polish throne.[7]
John's first steps as king were re-establishing authority and securing peace within the country. In 1311, he reached an agreement with the Bohemian and Moravian aristocracy, referred to as the "inaugural diplomas", with which John restricted the relations of both the ruler and aristocracy. The aristocracy was, however, allowed to hold the right to elect the king, to decide the matter of extraordinary taxation, the right to their property, and the right to choose freely whether or not to offer military support to the king in foreign wars. However, the aristocracy was encouraged to raise armies when peace within the country was threatened. On the other hand, the king's right to appoint a foreign official to office was abolished. John structured these agreements to provide a basis for consolidating the ruler's power within the Bohemian kingdom. The agreements weren't as successful as John intended. The aristocracy did not intend to surrender its property and the influence it gained after Wenceslas II died.
The growing tensions within the aristocracy and the lack of communication due to John's consistent absence in Bohemia led to a competition between two factions of the Czech nobility. One party, led byJindřich of Lipá, gained the trust of John. The other party, led by Vilém Zajíc of Valdek (Latin:Wilhelmus Lepus de Waldek;[8] German:Wilhelm Hase von Waldeck), convinced the Queen that Lord Lipá intended to overthrow John. Consequently, in 1315, John had Jindřich imprisoned.
By 1318, John had reconciled with the nobility and recognised their rights, further establishing dualism of the Estates and a government division between the king and the nobles.
Foreign politics, rather than Czech, appealed to John, as he was gifted at it. With the help of his father, Henry, John was able to pressure theHabsburgs into reaching an agreement overMoravia. He was also able to pressure theHouse of Wettin, princes ofSaxony, to give over the territory lying to the northern border of the Czech state. John also decided to improve relations with the Silesian principalities close to Bohemia and Moravia in economic and political standings.
The international spectrum was further broadened for John when his father named himImperial Vicar, his deputy for the governance of the Empire. This allowed John to reach further, and he contributed to the imperial coronation along with helping with the conclusion of the Italian territorial wars. In 1313, Henry died suddenly, ending this collaboration between him and John. However, through Henry's death, a spot for the imperial crown opened up, making John a possible candidate, the other two candidates beingFredrick of Habsburg andLouis of Bavaria.
In attempts not to support Fredrick, John voted for Louis at the diet of electors. In return for his support, Louis, as the new emperor, promised the support in territorial claims of the Czech state inSilesia andMeissen as well as the region ofCheb and theUpper Palatinate. Later, in 1319, after the BrandenburgHouse of Ascania died out, John regained control over the Bautzen region and then the Görlitz region in 1329.[9]
In 1322/23, King John became unsettled by Louis's growing power and allied with France and Austria against him. The dispute would escalate with his son Charles claiming the Imperial crown in opposition to Louis.[10]
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John lost his eyesight at age 39 or 40 fromophthalmia in 1336, while crusading in Lithuania. A treatment by the famous physicianGuy de Chauliac had no positive effects. At the outbreak of theHundred Years' War in 1337, he allied with KingPhilip VI of France and was even appointed governor ofLanguedoc from 30 November 1338 to November 1340. At theBattle of Crécy in 1346 John controlled Phillip's advanced guard along with managing the large contingents ofCharles II of Alençon andLouis I, Count of Flanders.[11] John was killed at age 50 while fighting against theEnglish during the battle. The medieval chroniclerJean Froissart left the following account of John's last actions:
...for all that he was nigh blind, when he understood the order of the battle, he said to them about him: 'Where is the lord Charles my son?' His men said: 'Sir, we cannot tell; we think he be fighting.' Then he said: 'Sirs, ye are my men, my companions and friends in this journey: I require you bring me so far forward, that I may strike one stroke with my sword.' They said they would do his commandment, and to the intent that they should not lose him in the press, they tied all their reins of their bridles each to other and set the king before to accomplish his desire, and so they went on their enemies. The lord Charles of Bohemia his son, who wrote himself king of Almaine and bare the arms, he came in good order to the battle; but when he saw that the matter went awry on their party, he departed, I cannot tell you which way. The king his father was so far forward that he strake a stroke with his sword, yea and more than four, and fought valiantly and so did his company; and they adventured themselves so forward, that they were there all slain, and the next day they were found in the place about the king, and all their horses tied each to other.
According to theCronica ecclesiae Pragensis Benesii Krabice de Weitmile,[12] when told by his aides that the battle against the English at Crécy was lost and he should flee to save his own life, John the Blind replied: "Absit, ut rex Boemie fugeret, sed illuc me ducite, ubi maior strepitus certaminis vigeret, Dominus sit nobiscum, nil timeamus, tantum filium meum diligenter custodite. ("Far be it that the King of Bohemia should run away. Instead, take me to the place where the noise of the battle is the loudest. The Lord will be with us. Nothing to fear. Just take good care of my son.")[13][14]
John was succeeded as King ofBohemia by his eldest son,Charles. InLuxembourg, he was succeeded byWenceslaus, his son by his second wife.
The body of John the Blind was moved toKloster Altmünster ("Old-Minster Abbey") in Luxembourg. When the abbey was destroyed in 1543, the corpse was moved toKloster Neumünster ("New-Minster Abbey") in Luxembourg. During the confusion of theFrench Revolution, the mortal remains were salvaged by the Boch industrialist family (founders ofVilleroy & Boch, ennobled in 1892) and hidden in an attic room inMettlach on theSaar River. The legend is that the abbey monks asked Pierre-Joseph Boch for this favour.
His son Jean-François Boch met with the future KingFrederick William IV of Prussia on his voyage through theRhineland in 1833, offering the remains as a gift. As Frederick William counted John the Blind among his ancestors, he orderedKarl Friedrich Schinkel to construct a funeral chapel. The chapel was built in 1834 and 1835 nearKastel-Staadt on a rock above the town. In 1838, on the anniversary of his death, John the Blind was laid in a black marblesarcophagus in a public ceremony.
In 1945, the Luxembourg government took the chance to obtain possession of the bones. In acloak and dagger operation, the remains were moved to the crypt of theNotre-Dame Cathedral, Luxembourg. The inscription on the tomb reads: "D.O.M. Hoc Sub Altari Servatur Ioannes, Rex Bohemiæ, Comes Luxemburgensis, Henrici vii Imperatoris Filius, Caroli iv Imperatoris Pater Wenceslai, Et Sigismundi Imperatorum Avus, Princeps Animo Maximus, obiit mcccxl 30 au."[15]
_as_King_of_Bohemia_and_Count_of_Luxembourg.svg)
John was married twice:
First, toElisabeth of Bohemia, the daughter of KingWenceslaus II of Bohemia.[16] In this marriage he had the following children:
Second (December 1334), toBeatrice of Bourbon,[17] daughter ofLouis I, Duke of Bourbon. This marriage produced one son:
His illegitimate sonNicolaus wasPatriarch of Aquileia from 1350 to 1358.
Quotations related toJohn of Bohemia at Wikiquote
Media related toJohn of Bohemia at Wikimedia CommonsJohn of Bohemia Born: 10 August 1296 Died: 26 August 1346 | ||
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| Preceded by | King of Bohemia 1310–1346 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Count of Luxembourg 1313–1346 | |
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