Wenceslaus III of Bohemia

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox royalty Wenceslaus III (Czech: Václav III, Hungarian: Vencel, Polish: Wacław, Croatian: Vjenceslav, Slovak: Václav; 6 October 1289 – 4 August 1306) was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1301 to 1305, and King of Bohemia and Poland from 1305. He was the son of Wenceslaus II, King of Bohemia (later also crowned King of Poland), and Judith of Habsburg.

While still a child, Wenceslaus was betrothed to Elizabeth, the only daughter of Andrew III of Hungary. After Andrew's death in early 1301, most Hungarian lords and prelates elected Wenceslaus as king, although Pope Boniface VIII supported a rival claimant, Charles Robert of the royal House of Anjou (Kingdom of Naples).

Wenceslaus was crowned king of Hungary on 27 August 1301. He signed his charters under the name Ladislaus in Hungary. His rule was only nominal because a dozen powerful lords held sway over large territories in the kingdom. His father realized that Wenceslaus's position could not be strengthened and took him back from Hungary to Bohemia in August 1304. Wenceslaus succeeded his father in Bohemia and Poland on 21 June 1305. He abandoned his claim to Hungary in favour of Otto III, Duke of Bavaria on 9 October.

Wenceslaus granted large parcels of the royal domains to his young friends in Bohemia. A local claimant to the Polish throne, Władysław the Elbow-high, who had started conquering Polish territories during the rule of Wenceslaus's father, captured Kraków in early 1306. Wenceslaus decided to invade his rival's territories in Poland, but he was murdered before starting his campaign. He was the last of the male Přemyslid rulers of Bohemia.

Childhood (1289–1301)

He was the second son of Wenceslaus II, King of Bohemia and Wenceslaus II's wife, Judith of Habsburg.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn He was born in Prague on 6 October 1289.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn His elder brother died before his birth and he was the only son of his parents to survive infancy.Template:Sfn

Wenceslaus was still a child when his mother, Judith, died on 18 June 1297.Template:Sfn He was betrothed to Elizabeth of Hungary on 12 February 1298.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn She was the only child of Andrew III of Hungary.Template:Sfn Andrew III was the last male member of the House of Árpád, the native royal dynasty of Hungary, but the legitimacy of his rule had not been unanimously acknowledged.Template:Sfn

Wenceslaus's father occupied Greater Poland, Kujavia and other regions of Poland in early 1300.Template:Sfn After his main opponent, Władysław the Elbow-high, was forced to leave the kingdom, Wenceslaus II was crowned king of Poland in Gniezno in late September 1300.Template:Sfn However, Pope Boniface VIII refused to confirm Wenceslaus II's position in Poland.Template:Sfn

King of Hungary and Croatia (1301–1305)

File:Thuróczy krónika - Vencel király.jpg

Wenceslaus, King of Hungary as depicted in the Chronica Hungarorum

File:Map of bohemia 1301.png

Přemyslid claims and territory in 1301

A dozen provinces depicted in a map

The provinces ruled by the "oligarchs" (powerful lords) in the early 14th century

Andrew III of Hungary died on 14 January 1301, leaving no male heirs.Template:Sfn The late king's rival, Charles of Anjou, who was Béla IV of Hungary's great-great-grandson, had regarded himself as the lawful king of Hungary for years.Template:Sfn On hearing Andrew III's death, Charles of Anjou hurried to Esztergom where Gregory Bicskei, Archbishop-elect of Esztergom, crowned him king.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Being Pope Boniface VIII's candidate for the Hungarian throne, Charles had always been unpopular, because the Hungarian lords feared that they would "lose their freedom by accepting a king appointed by the Church",<ref>The Hungarian Illuminated Chronicle: (ch. 188.133), p. 143.</ref> according to the Illuminated Chronicle.Template:Sfn Charles's coronation was not performed with the Holy Crown of Hungary in Székesfehérvár, as it was required by customary law, but with a provisional crown in Esztergom.Template:Sfn Accordingly, the Diet of Hungary declared Charles's coronation invalid on 13 May 1301.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Two crowned men, each riding a horse

Wenceslaus leaves Hungary (from the Illuminated Chronicle).

Jan Muskata, Bishop of Kraków, who was Wenceslaus II of Bohemia's advisor, was the first to propose that Wenceslaus II's son and namesake should be elected king of Hungary.Template:Sfn The younger Wenceslaus was not only Béla IV of Hungary's great-great-grandson, but also the fiancé of the late Andrew III of Hungary's daughter.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Bribed by Wenceslaus II's agents, the majority of the Hungarian lords and prelates decided to offer the crown to the young Wenceslaus and sent a delegation to his father to Bohemia.Template:Sfn Wenceslaus II met the Hungarian envoys in Hodonín in August and accepted their offer in his eleven-year-old son's name.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Wenceslaus II accompanied his son to Székesfehérvár where John Hont-Pázmány, Archbishop of Kalocsa, crowned the young Wenceslaus king with the Holy Crown on 27 August.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn Wenceslaus who assumed the name Ladislaus signed all his charters under that name in Hungary.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

After Wenceslaus II returned to Bohemia, Jan Muskata became the young king's principal advisor in Hungary.Template:Sfn Most lords and prelates accepted the rule of Wenceslaus-Ladislaus.Template:Sfn In contrast with their Hungarian peers, the Croatian lords did not acknowledge Wenceslaus-Ladislaus as a lawful king and remained faithful to Charles of Anjou.Template:Sfn The latter withdrew to the southern territories of Hungary after Ivan Kőszegi, who was a partisan of Wenceslaus-Ladislaus, captured Esztergom in late August 1301.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn However, both kings' authority remained nominal because Hungary had meanwhile disintegrated into a dozen provinces, each headed by a powerful lord, or "oligarch".Template:Sfn The Illuminated Chronicle writes that the Hungarian lords did not "grant a castle, or might and power, or royal authority"<ref>The Hungarian Illuminated Chronicle: (ch. 189.133-134), p. 143.</ref> either to Wenceslaus-Ladislaus or to Charles of Anjou.Template:Sfn

In his letters to Wenceslaus II of Bohemia and Archbishop John of Kalocsa, Pope Boniface VIII emphasized that Wenceslaus-Ladislaus had been crowned without the authorization of the Holy See.Template:Sfn The papal legate, Niccolo Boccasini, who came to Hungary in September, started negotiations with the Hungarian prelates to convince them to abandon Wenceslaus-Ladislaus and support Charles of Anjou's case.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn In an attempt to buy the most powerful lords off, Wenceslaus-Ladislaus granted large estates and high offices to them.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Matthew Csák received Nyitra and Trencsén Counties, along with the royal castles and the estates attached to them, in February 1302.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Ivan Kőszegi was made Palatine of Hungary before 25 April 1302.Template:Sfn In the first half of that year, many prelates (including Stephen, the new Archbishop of Kalocsa) abandoned Wenceslaus-Ladislaus; even Jan Muskata left Hungary.Template:Sfn

Taking advantage of the weakened position of his rival, Charles of Anjou attempted to capture Buda, the capital of Wenceslaus-Ladislaus, in September 1302.Template:Sfn After laying siege to Buda, Charles of Anjou called upon the burghers to extradite Wenceslaus-Ladislaus.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The mainly German citizenry and their major, Werner, remained faithful to the young king and Ivan Kőszegi relieved the city in the same month.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn After Charles of Anjou withdrew from Buda, the papal legate placed the town under interdict.Template:Sfn In response, a local priest excommunicated the pope and all Hungarian prelates.Template:Sfn On 31 May 1303, Pope Boniface VIII declared Charles of Anjou the lawful king of Hungary, stating that Wenceslaus-Ladislaus's election had been invalid.Template:Sfn Thereafter Albert I of Germany, who was the maternal uncle of both Wenceslaus-Ladislaus and Charles of Anjou, called on Wenceslaus-Ladislaus to withdraw from Hungary.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn

To strengthen his son's position, Wenceslaus II of Bohemia came to Hungary at the head of a large army in May 1304.Template:Sfn He captured Esztergom, but his negotiations with the local lords convinced him that his son's position in Hungary had dramatically weakened.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Accordingly, he decided to take Wenceslaus-Ladislaus back to Bohemia.Template:Sfn Wenceslaus-Ladislaus did not renounce Hungary and made Ivan Kőszegi governor before leaving for Bohemia in August.Template:Sfn He even took the Holy Crown of Hungary with himself to Prague.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Charles of Anjou and Rudolf III of Austria invaded Moravia in September, but did not defeat Wenceslaus II's army.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn In the same months, a member of the Piast dynasty, Władysław the Elbow-high, who had claimed Poland against Wenceslaus II, returned to Poland at the head of Hungarian troops.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Before long, he captured many important forts and towns, including Pełczyska, Wiślica, Sandomierz and Sieradz.Template:Sfn

King of Bohemia and Poland (1305–1306) and death

File:Wenceslaus III of Bohemia seal.jpg

Reproduction of Wenceslaus' seal in Olomouc

Wenceslaus II of Bohemia and Poland died on 21 June 1305.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Wenceslaus III succeeded his father in both kingdoms, but his position in Poland was precarious because Władysław the Elbow-high continued his fight for the Polish throne.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Wenceslaus realized that he could not preserve his three kingdoms and decided to renounce Hungary.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn However, instead of acknowledging Charles of Anjou as the lawful king of Hungary, Wenceslaus abandoned his claim to the Hungarian throne in favour of Otto III of Bavaria, who was Béla IV of Hungary's grandson.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Wenceslaus handed the Holy Crown of Hungary over to Otto in Brno on 9 October 1305.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn In the same months, Wenceslaus, who had meanwhile broken his engagement to Elizabeth of Hungary, married Viola of Teschen upon the Bohemian lords' advice.Template:Sfn

The sixteen-year-old Wenceslaus led a dissolute life.Template:Sfn He was surrounded by a group of young Czech noblemen, to whom he made large land grants.Template:Sfn His position in Poland further weakened after Władysław the Elbow-high captured Kraków in early 1306.Template:Sfn To forge an alliance against his rival, Wenceslaus granted Gdańsk and Pomorze to Waldemar, Margrave of Brandenburg-Stendal and Herman, Margrave of Brandenburg-Salzwedel as fiefs in July 1306.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn After deciding to invade Poland, Wenceslaus dismissed his young favourites and made his brother-in-law, Henry of Carinthia, governor.Template:Sfn However, before Wenceslaus could invade, he was stabbed in Olomouc on 4 August 1306.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn His assassin was never identified.Template:Sfn Wenceslaus was the last king of Bohemia from the native Přemyslid dynasty.Template:Sfn

See also

• History of Poland during the Piast dynasty
• List of unsolved murders (before 1900)

Sources

Primary sources

• The Hungarian Illuminated Chronicle: Chronica de Gestis Hungarorum (Edited by Dezső Dercsényi) (1970). Corvina, Taplinger Publishing. Template:ISBN.

Secondary sources

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• Template:The Late Medieval Balkans
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