decreed that the oldest member of the house of Přemysl was alone to be sovereign ruler of Bohemia, which was always to remain undivided. The younger princes of the reigning family were to receive lands in Moravia, which they were to rule under the supremacy of the head of the Přemyslide dynasty.
Břetislav I died in 1055, and left five sons, the eldest of whom, Spytihněv, who had been ruler of Moravia during his father's lifetime, succeeded him. Spytihněv only reigned six years, and was succeeded by his eldest brother Vratislav (1061);[1] whilst the government of Moravia was—under the supremacy of Vratislav—divided between two of the younger brothers, Conrad and Otho; the former of whom was to reside at Brunn, the latter at Olmütz.
Bohemia having long been to a certain though limited extent dependent on the powerful German Empire, it was inevitable that the country should become involved in the internal troubles which at that time broke out in Germany. A great number of German princes had taken the part of Gregory VII in that struggle with Henry IV—who had in the meantime succeeded his father—which is known in history as the "struggle for investitures." Vratislav sided with the Emperor, and successfully availed himself of the opportunity which the dissensions in Germany afforded for the purpose of strengthening the independence and increasing the power of Bohemia. The Bohemian troops took part as allies of the German Emperor in the many battles that he fought against the Saxons and other supporters of the Pope; and we are specially told that Henry IV's great victory at Hohenburg on the Unstrutt (1075) was largely due to his Bohemian allies. We also read that three hundred Bohemian warriors formed part of the Emperor's army which attacked Rome (1081), and that their leader, Wiprecht of Groitsch, was one of the first to scale the walls of the Leonine city. The chroniclers also tell us that the bravery of the Bohemians was so great, that only nine of the three hundred returned to their native land.
It was only natural that the German Emperor should reward the Bohemian prince who had proved his friend when the greater part of Germany had deserted him. Henry awarded to Vratislav the lands of the Margrave of Austria, who had sided with the Pope; but though Vratislav
- ↑ II as prince, I as king of Bohemia.
