Oldrich Vévoda český

• Preferred Name: Oldrich Vévoda český^[1]
  
• Gender: M
  
• FSID: M3N1-KXL
  
• Nickname:
  
• Birth: ABT 976 in Prague, Bohemia, Holy Roman Empire at LATI: N0.0868 LONG: E4.4206
  
• Burial: in Prague, Bohemia, Holy Roman Empire at LATI: N0.0868 LONG: E4.4206
  
• Death: 9 NOV 1034
  
• http://familysearch.org/v1/TitleOfNobility: Duke of the BohemiansBET 1012 AND 1033
  
• Notes:

  === Life Sketch ===
  Oldrich (Latin: Odalricus, Udalrichus, German: Odalric, Udalrich; c.?975-9 November 1034), a member of the Premyslid dynasty, was Duke of Bohemia from 1012 to 1033 and briefly again in 1034. His accession to the Bohemian throne marked the start of a phase of stability after a long period of internal dynastic struggles. Under his rule, the Moravian lands were reconquered from Polish occupation.
  
  «b»Life«/b»
  Oldrich was the third son of Duke Boleslaus II of Bohemia (d. 999) and one of his father's two wives: Adiva or Emma of Melník. Upon the death of his father, his eldest brother Boleslaus III succeeded as duke, however, he soon entered into a fierce conflict with his younger brothers Oldrich and Jaromír. In 1001, both had to flee to the Bavarian court at Regensburg. When Boleslaus III was deposed by the rival Vršovci dynasty the next year and the Polish ruler Boleslaw I the Brave invaded Bohemia, King Henry II of Germany intervened. As a part of Henry's expedition to Prague, Boleslaus's brothers were able to return to Bohemia, and Jaromír was installed as Bohemian duke in 1004.
  
  In the German Polish War of 1002-18, Duke Jaromír remained a loyal supporter of the German king. Nevertheless, Henry did not take action when he was deposed and blinded by his brother Oldrich on 12 April 1012. While Jaromír fled to Poland, Oldrich recognised the suzerainty of the German king. He secured his rule by suppressing the Vršovci insurgents.
  
  Oldrich and his son Bretislaus sought to win back Moravia, once conquered from the Poles by Oldrich's grandfather Duke Boleslaus I. Bretislaus and his wife Judith of Schweinfurt took up residence in Olomouc. In 1029, the Bohemian forces, backed by Holy Roman Emperor Conrad II, finally drove the Poles out of the eastern lands. However, Bretislaus's efforts to occupy adjacent territories in what is today Slovakia by marching against the forces of the Kingdom of Hungary failed in 1030 due to the jealousy of the emperor, who reached an agreement with King Stephen I. In the following year, Bohemian forces refused to take the field for the emperor.
  
  In 1032, Duke Oldrich was invited to the Hoftag diet at Merseburg, but did not appear. His absence raised the ire of the emperor and Conrad, busy with events in Burgundy, charged his son Henry III with punishing the recalcitrant Bohemian. Oldrich was arrested, deposed and sent to Bavaria. He was again replaced by his brother Jaromír. However, when Oldrich was pardoned the next year, he returned to Bohemia and had Jaromír captured, blinded, and deposed. He seized power again and drove out Jaromír's son from Moravia.
  
  Oldrich died abruptly on 9 November 1034 and later examination of his skeleton reveal his skull to have suffered a fatal blow. Jaromír then renounced the throne in favour of his nephew Bretislaus.
  
  «b»Marriage and children«/b»
  According to legend rendered by the medieval chronicler Cosmas of Prague, Duke Oldrich about 1002 married a peasant girl known as Božena, daughter of Kresina, after discarding his first wife on the grounds that they were childless. Together they had a son:
  
  1.) Bretislaus I (1002/1005-1055), Duke of Bohemia from 1035 until his death
  
  Though his parents were married, Bretislaus remained an illegitimate heir. He nevertheless was able to succeed to the Bohemian throne as sole descendant of his grandfather Duke Boleslaus II.

• m. ABT 1002

1. Brzetislaus I Brzetislaus, b. JAN 1005 in Prague, Bohemia, Holy Roman Empire     d. 10 JAN 1055 in Chrudim, Pardubice, Czechia

1. Title: Oldrich of Bohemia, "Find A Grave Index"
   Author: "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q23T-SC6D : 12 May 2022), Oldrich of Bohemia, ; Burial, Prague, Okres Praha, Prague Capital City, Czech Republic, Bazilika Svatého Jiří; citing record ID 162722801, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.
   Publication: Name: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q23T-SC6D;