Vladivoj, Duke of Bohemia

Vladivoj (c.981 – January 1003) was Duke of Bohemia from 1002 until his death.

Vladivoj
Duke of Bohemia
ReignMay 1002 – January 1003
PredecessorBoleslaus III
SuccessorBolesław the Brave
Bornc. 981
DiedJanuary 1003 (aged c. 22)
Spousenot known
Issuenot known
DynastyPiast
FatherMieszko I of Poland (possibly)
MotherDoubravka (possibly)

Life

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Valdivoy's family is unknown; he is speculated by some historians to be a son of Mieszko I and Doubravka of Bohemia, based on very lose statement of Thietmar of Merseburg that he came to Bohemia from Poland and he was somehow 'related' to Bohemian royal family.[1]

When Duke Boleslaus III was dethroned during a revolt by the Czech Vršovci clan, the Bohemian nobles declared Vladivoj, the Duke in 1002.[2] The Czech historian Dušan Třeštík writes that Vladivoj assumed the Bohemian throne with the support of the Polish duke Bolesław I the Brave.[3] In November, he also obtained the support by the German king Henry II who enfeoffed him with the Bohemian duchy.

After Vladivoj died in 1003, Bolesław the Brave invaded Bohemia and restored Boleslaus III who had many Bohemian noblemen murdered.[4][2] It is said that Vladivoj was an alcoholic, and drinking was a possible contributor to his death.[5] A massacre of the Vršovci clan at Vyšehrad ordered by Boleslaus III led to his deposition and the succession of his younger brother Jaromír.

References

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  1. "Władiwoj: Piast na tronie czeskim?". POCZET.COM (in Polish). Retrieved 11 May 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. 1 2 Manteuffel 1982, p. 65.
  3. Třeštík 2011, p. 78.
  4. Berend, Urbańczyk & Wiszewski 2013, p. 142.
  5. "Kdo byl záhadný kníže Vladivoj? Upil se k smrti a jedním rozhodnutím navždy změnil směr českého národa – G.cz". G.cz (in Czech). 2020-08-14. Retrieved 2025-09-15.

Bibliography

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  • Berend, Nora; Urbańczyk, Przemysław; Wiszewski, Przemysław (2013). Central Europe in the High Middle Ages: Bohemia, Hungary and Poland, c. 900-c. 1300. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-78156-5.
  • Manteuffel, Tadeusz (1982). The Formation of the Polish State: The Period of Ducal Rule, 963–1194 (Translated and with an Introduction by Andrew Gorski). Wayne State University Press. ISBN 0-8143-1682-4.
  • Třeštík, Dušan (2011). "Great Moravia and the beginnings of the stte (9th and 10th centuries)". In Pánek, Jaroslav; Tůma, Oldřich (eds.). A History of the Czech Lands. Charles University in Prague. pp. 65–79. ISBN 978-80-246-1645-2.