Świętosława I of Bohemia

[
Jan Matejko, 1886.] Świętosława I of Bohemia or Świętosława of Poland ( _cz. Svatava Polská (c. 1046-1048 - 1 September 1126)) was the third wife of Duke and later King Vratislaus II of Bohemia and since 1085 the first Queen of Bohemia.

Origin

Świętosława was the daughter of Casimir I of Poland and his wife Maria Dobroniega of Kiev. Thanks to her great-grandmother Dobrawa she was related to the House of Přemysl, family of her future husband. Her brothers were rulers of Poland Boleslaus II the Bold and Vladislaus I Herman.

Marriage to Vratislaus

Vratislaus married Świętosława in 1062, one year after the death of previous Duchess, Vratislaus second wife Adelaide Arpad [KAREŠOVÁ, Z.; PRAŽÁK, J. "Královny a kněžny české". Prague : X-Egem, 1996.] . His first unknown wife died during stillbirth of their child. According to German historians, Świętosława was 15 years old bride, according to Oswald Balzer from 19 to 22.

By this marriage, neutrality of Bohemia was ensured in Polish-German conflict. In addition, Vratislaus demonstrated friendly relationships with Duke and later King of Poland Boleslaus II the Bold, but some time after he had dispute with Boleslaus about Czech-Polish borders.

The first Queen

New duchess gave birth to four children, while Vratislaus had four another ones already. The youngest son, Soběslav, was born probably in 1075. Świętosława was relatively old mother of a baby. That is why she has a little different feelings for Soběslav than for her other offspring. Her sons Vladislaus and Soběslav became dukes in the unquiet years after the death of their father, daughter Judith was married to ally and friend of her father, Wiprecht.

Although there are only a few messages about Vratislaus wife, for sure she was crowned together with him in 1085 by archbishop Egilbert. They were King and Queen for the next seven years.

Widow

In 1092 Świętosława was left a widow and saw a struggle for the throne of Bohemia among Přemyslids. In 1111 she helped by negotiation between Vladislaus I and Bolesław III Wrymouth. After Vratislaus death she softened clashes between their youngest sons Vladislaus and Soběslav.

In 1125 dying Vladislaus I confirmed his relative Otto II the Black as his succesor, which was also the wish of Vladislaus wife Richeza of Berg. Only the intervention of his mother changed his opinion. Not to like, Vladislaus reconciled with his brother Soběslav. [KAREŠOVÁ, Z.; PRAŽÁK, J. "Královny a kněžny české". Prague : X-Egem, 1996.]

Świętosława, which was a widow for thirty years, lived to see the victory of her son in Battle of Chlumec and died in September 1126.

Children

*Boleslaus (-1091)
*Borivoj II of Bohemia (c. 1064-2 February 1124), Duke of Bohemia
*Vladislaus I of Bohemia (-12 April 1125), Duke of Bohemia
*Sobeslav I of Bohemia (-14 February 1140), Duke of Bohemia
*Judith (c. 1066-9 December 1108), married to Wiprecht de Groitzsch

Literature

*VANÍČEK, V. "Vratislav II. (I.) První český král". Prague : Vyšehrad, 2004.
*KAREŠOVÁ, Z.; PRAŽÁK, J. "Královny a kněžny české". Prague : X-Egem, 1996.

References

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