The Crowning of Vratislav II

JAN 01 1085 · 12:00

Vratislav II crowned, in the Znojmo rotunda Přemyslid cycle (1134), the first king of Bohemia ad personam. Place: Cathedral of Mainz; coronation repeated at Prague Figures: Vratislav II, duke and now king of Bohemia · Emperor Henry IV · Egilbert, archbishop of Trier (who crowns him) · Jaromír-Gebhard, his brother and bishop of Prague (who does not approve) Vratislav II has been the most useful ally Henry IV has had during the Investiture Controversy. He has lent troops, lent siege engines, lent the formidable Bohemian crossbow contingent. He has fought for the emperor in Saxony and ridden with him to Rome to install the antipope Clement III. The reward, agreed at the diet of Mainz at Easter 1085, is a royal title: Vratislav, hitherto duke, is to be king. Not hereditary king. Personal king, for his life only. The diet of Mainz so decrees and the emperor crowns him there on 15 June 1085. He is crowned again, with greater ceremony, on returning to Prague. His brother Jaromír, bishop of Prague, refuses to officiate. The brothers have feuded for two decades. Archbishop Egilbert of Trier travels east to do the honors.