BOHEMIA

[BOHEMIA]. OTTOKAR II PREMYZL, the Great. King of Bohemia [1253-1278] and possessor of the duchy of Austria; greatly extended the Bohemian dominion [1260-1269]; one the election of Rudolf I [1273] as Holy Roman Emperor, ceded Austria, Styria, and other territories to him; revolted and was defeated at Marchfield and slain. Document issued in Ottokar's name, 11 3/4 inches wide by 15 1/2 inches high, on vellum, July 2, 1263. With ornately embellished initials. To the monastery of Plasy, near Prague, and to its retainers. A grant of immunity from secular judges who have been proved corrupt and from certain payments of money, issued by the King.

Ottokar II Premyzl, probably the most powerful and influential monarch of Bohemia during the Middle Ages, was born around 1230 and was elected Margrave of Moravia in 1247. Four years later, he led an army into Austria, subdued a considerable portion of the country adn was elected Duke of Austria. Politically acute, he consolidated his position by marrying the widow of the German King Henry VII at a time when he was 21 and she was more than 50. With his father's death in 1253 and his succession to the throne of Bohemia, his strength seemed unassailable, but shortly afterwards the Hungarian King Bela IV invaded his lands and began a conflict which lasted until Ottokar defeated the Hungarians at Kroissenbrunn in 1260. At this point, Ottokar began to add to his lands by conquest, and during the decade of the 60's when this document was written, he was without question the most powerful ruler in his part of the world. His kingdome now included Bohemia, Moravia, Austria, Styria, Carinthia, Carniola and several small possessions on the Adriatic. His dominions stretched from the mountains in northern Bohemia to the Adriatic Sea and was a forerunner of the later Hapsburg empire.

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