Vladislaus I, Duke of Bohemia

Who was Vladislaus I, Duke of Bohemia?

Vladislaus I, duke of Bohemia from 1109 to 1117 and from 1120 until his death.

Vladislav I was a son of Duke, later King, Vratislaus II of Bohemia by his second wife Svatava, a daughter of Casimir I of Poland. Together with his cousin Svatopluk, Vladislav expelled his brother Bořivoj II from Bohemia in 1107. In 1109 Svatopluk died, and Vladislav I succeeded as Duke of Bohemia. Bořivoj II returned from exile with the support of Prince Bolesław III Wrymouth of Poland, but was defeated and imprisoned by Vladislav in 1110. He exiled him into the custody of his ally, Holy Roman Emperor Henry V.

In spite of his victory, Vladislav I remained under Polish pressure and was forced to recognize a younger brother, Soběslav, as subordinate ruler of Moravia in Znojmo from 1111. In 1117 Vladislav I formally abdicated in favor of Bořivoj II, but retained much of the actual power. In 1120 Bořivoj was deposed again and endowed with Znojmo, while Vladislav resumed the throne, which he held until his death in 1125.

Vladislav I ruled in a difficult time with considerable success. Although he continued to acknowledge the suzerainty of the Holy Roman Empire, he weathered the interventions of Poland into Bohemian affairs, conflicts with his kinsmen in Moravia, and undertook offensive campaigns against both Poland and Austria. In 1110–1111 Vladislav accompanied Emperor Henry V on his Italian expedition, and he encouraged continued German settlement into Bohemia's border regions.