King of Bohemia (r. 1458?71)
George of Kun?tat and Pod?brady
(23 April 1420 ? 22 March 1471), also known as
Pod?brad
or
Podiebrad
(
Czech
:
Ji?i z Pod?brad
;
German
:
Georg von Podiebrad
), was the sixteenth
King of Bohemia
, who ruled in 1458?1471. He was a leader of the
Hussites
, but moderate and tolerant toward the
Catholic faith
. His rule was marked by great efforts to preserve peace and tolerance between the Hussites and Catholics in the religiously divided
Crown of Bohemia
? hence his contemporary nicknames: "King of two peoples" (
Czech
:
kral dvojiho lidu
) and "Friend of peace" (
p?itel miru
).
During the 19th century, in period of the so-called
Czech National Revival
, he began to be praised (even somewhat idealized) as the last
Czech
national monarch (in terms of ethnic awareness), a great diplomat and a courageous fighter against the domination of the Catholic Church. In modern times he is remembered mainly for his idea and attempt to establish common European Christian institutions, which is now seen as an early historical vision of European unity.
Early life
[
edit
]
George was the son of
Victor of Kun?tat and Pod?brady
, a Bohemian nobleman whose ancestors were of
Moravian
origin, one of the leaders of more moderate faction (called
Utraquists
) of the
Hussites
during the
Hussite Wars
. George's mother is not known by name and it is likely that George was born out of wedlock; during his life he repeatedly heard ridicule from his enemies about his origin.
At the age of fourteen, George himself took part in the
Battle of Lipany
(1434), which marked the downfall of more radical Hussite factions (
Taborites
and
Orebites
) and the end of revolutionary phase of the Hussite movement. By that time he was already orphaned, as his father had died in 1427.
Early in life, as one of the leaders of the Hussite party, he defeated Austrian troops of King
Albert II
, who had succeeded King
Sigismund
as King of Bohemia,
Germany
and
Hungary
. George soon became a prominent member of the Hussite party after the death of
Hynce Pta?ek of Pirkstein
, its leader.
[2]
[3]
King Albert was succeeded by his posthumously born son
Ladislaus
, during whose reign Bohemia sharply divided into two parties: the party faithful to Rome, led by powerful "viceroy"
Old?ich II of Rosenberg
, and the Hussite party, led by George.
[2]
After various attempts at reconciliation, George sought a military decision. He gradually raised an armed force in north-eastern Bohemia, where the Hussites were strong and where his ancestral
Litice Castle
was situated. In 1448, he marched this army, about 9000 strong, from
Kutna Hora
to
Prague
, and obtained possession of the capital almost without resistance.
[3]
Civil war broke out, but George succeeded in defeating the nobles who remained faithful to Rome. In 1451 the Emperor
Frederick III
, as guardian of the young king Ladislaus, entrusted Pod?brad with the administration of Bohemia. In the same year a
diet
assembled at Prague also confirmed the regency on George.
[3]
Ruler of Bohemia
[
edit
]
The struggle of the Hussites against the papal party continued uninterruptedly, and the position of George became a very difficult one when the young king Ladislaus, who was crowned in 1453, expressed his pro-Roman sympathies, though he had recognized the compacts and the ancient privileges of Bohemia. In 1457 King Ladislaus died suddenly and some voices accused George of having poisoned him.
[3]
However, research in 1985 proved
acute leukemia
as the cause of death.
[
citation needed
]
On 2 March 1458 the
estates
of Bohemia unanimously chose George as king. Even the adherents of the papal party voted for him, some in honour of his moderate policies, some out of deference to popular feeling, which opposed the election of a foreign ruler.
[2]
[3]
George attempted to rule in a moderate manner based on the
Compacta of Prague
. He won the loyalty of some Catholics, but had to contend with the opposition of
Pope Pius II
, which proved one of the most serious obstacles to his rule. Pius declared the Compacta null and void in 1462 and wished George to consent to this. George rejected this demand but endeavoured to curry favour with the Papal See by punishing the more extreme Hussites (
Taborites
) or members of then newly founded
Unitas Fratrum
church.
Message of peace
[
edit
]
George attempted to secure peace with Rome by a radical suggestion, which some consider to have been a proposal before its time of a European Union.
[4]
[5]
He proposed a treaty among all Christian powers, with
Hungary
,
Poland
, Bohemia,
Bavaria
,
Brandenburg
,
Saxony
,
France
,
Burgundy
and
Italian states
and its princes the founding members, but others, especially the Hispanic powers, joining later. The member states would pledge to settle all differences by exclusively peaceful means. There was to be a common parliament and other common institutions. George couched the proposal in Christian terms ("Europe" is not explicitly mentioned) as a way to stop the "abominable
Turk
", who had
conquered Constantinople
in 1453.
He sent his brother-in-law
Jaroslav Lev of Ro?mital
on a tour of European courts with a draft treaty of
the message of peace
to promote the idea. George hoped that the treaty would come into effect in 1464. It is seen as one of historical visions of European unity foreshadowing the
European Union
.
[6]
That did not happen. All George's endeavours to establish peace with Rome proved ineffectual, but Pius II's plan of a crusade against Bohemia remained unexecuted. After Pius' death in 1464, George attempted to negotiate with the new pope,
Paul II
,
[3]
who proved to be an equally determined opponent.
Struggle with internal opposition and antiking
[
edit
]
George made enemies among the nobles of the papal party, who assembled at Zelena Hora (Gruneberg) on 28 November 1465 to voice their grievances and conclude an alliance against the king. The alliance was from the outset supported by Paul II, who, on 23 December 1466, excommunicated George and pronounced his deposition as king of Bohemia, which released all subjects of the Bohemian crown from their oaths of allegiance to George. Emperor Frederick III and Hungarian King
Matthias Corvinus
, George's former ally, joined the insurgent Bohemian nobles, starting the
Bohemian War
. Matthias conquered a large part of
Moravia
, and was crowned by the papal party in the Moravian ecclesiastical metropolis
Olomouc
as king of Bohemia on 3 May 1469.
[3]
George was successful against Matthias but, contrary to the wishes of his followers, came to an agreement with the Hungarian king in 1470.
His followers chose
Vladislaus II
, the son of the Polish king, as his successor to continue the fight against Matthias.
Legacy
[
edit
]
The large
Ji?iho z Pod?brad Square
in
Prague 3
with the nearby
eponymous metro station
are named after him. Other squares named after him are in
Ostrava
,
Ho?ice
,
Tou?im
,
?evnice
,
Kun?tat
or
Novy Knin
.
In 1896, an equestrian statue of King George, sculpted by
Bohuslav Schnirch
was erected in
Pod?brady
.
During
World War I
, early in 1917, the 2nd Czechoslovak Rifle Regiment of the
Czechoslovak Legions
was formed in Russia and named after King George.
[7]
Marriages and children
[
edit
]
In 1440 he married
Kunigunde of Sternberg
; they had the following children:
- Bo?ek
(15 July 1442 ? 28 September 1496)
- Victor
(29 May 1443 ? 30 August 1500), Imperial prince, Duke of
Munsterberg
and
Opava
and
Count of Kladsko
. Married to 1. Margaret Pta?ek; 2. Sophie of
Silesian Piasts
; 3. Helen Margaret Palaiologina, daughter of
John IV, Marquess of Montferrat
.
- Barbara (1446?1469), married firstly to Henry of Lipa, and secondly to John of Ronov
- Henry the Elder
(1448?1498), married
Ursula of Brandenburg
, daughter of
Albert III, Margrave of Brandenburg
- Katharina
(11 November 1449 ? 8 March 1464), twin of Sidonie, married
Matthias Corvinus of Hungary
, however died young
- Sidonie
(11 November 1449 ? 1 February 1510), twin of Katharina, called Zde?ka, married
Albert III, Duke of Saxony
After Kunigunde died in 1449, he married
Johanna of Ro?mital
in 1450, they had the following children:
- Henry the Younger
(18 May 1452 ? 1 July 1492) married Catherine, daughter of
William III, Duke of Saxony
- Frederick (1453?1458)
- Agnes?, believed to have married in Wallachia
- Ludmila
(16 October 1456 ? 20 January 1503), married
Frederick I of Liegnitz
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"The Royal Route"
.
Kralovska cesta
. Archived from
the original
on 24 September 2019
. Retrieved
11 July
2013
.
- ^
a
b
c
Odlo?ilik, Otakar (1941).
"Problems of the Reign of George of Pod?brady"
.
The Slavonic Year-Book
.
1
: 206?222.
doi
:
10.2307/3020260
.
JSTOR
3020260
– via JSTOR.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the
public domain
:
Lutzow, Franti?ek
(1911). "
Pod?brad, George of
". In
Chisholm, Hugh
(ed.).
Encyclopædia Britannica
. Vol. 21 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 873?874.
- ^
Colette Beaune:
Chretiente et Europe: le projet de Georges de Podiebrad au xve siecle
, in:
Chretiens et societes
, vol. 1 | 1994,
uploaded 8 July 2008
(in French)
- ^
Jacques Le Goff:
The Birth of Europe,
Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2005
- ^
Anthony D. Smith. "National Identity and the Idea of European Unity" International Affairs, Vol. 68, No. 1 (Jan. 1992), pp. 55?76
- ^
Preclik, Vratislav (2019).
Masaryk a legie
(in Czech). Paris Karvina in association with Masaryk democratic movement in Prague.
ISBN
978-80-87173-47-3
.
Further reading
[
edit
]
- Claus Bernet (2003). "Podiebrad, Georg von". In Bautz, Traugott (ed.).
Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL)
(in German). Vol. 21. Nordhausen: Bautz. cols. 1183?1203.
ISBN
3-88309-110-3
.
- Colette Beaune:
Chretiente et Europe : le projet de Georges de Podiebrad au xve siecle
, in:
Chretiens et societes
, vol. 1, 1994,
uploaded 8 July 2008
(in French).
- Frederik Dhondt, “Treaty on the Establishment of Peace Throughout Christendom (1464)”. In: Helene Ruiz Fabri (ed.), Max Planck Encyclopedia of International Procedural Law (Oxford: OUP, 2021),
https://opil.ouplaw.com/view/10.1093/law-mpeipro/e3721.013.3721/law-mpeipro-e3721
- Frederick G. Heymann.
George of Bohemia. King of Heretics.
Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1965.
- Otakar Odlo?ilik.
The Hussite King. Bohemia in European Affairs 1440?1471.
New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 1965.
- Anthony D. Smith. "National Identity and the Idea of European Unity" International Affairs, Vol. 68, No. 1 (Jan. 1992), pp. 55?76
- Macek, Josef
(1967).
Ji?i z Pod?brad
[
George of Podiebrad
] (in Czech). Prague: Svobodne slovo.
George of Pod?brady
Cadet branch of the
Lords of Kun?tat
Born:
23 April 1420
Died:
22 March 1471
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1458?1471
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