The acts of any historical figure can be interpreted in different ways. This also applies to Charles IV, King of Bohemia. The “golden age” of this country, which he loved above all, is associated with this monarch. However, if many today call him “the greatest of the Czechs,” then the brilliant poet of the Italian Renaissance, Francesco Petrarca, dedicated lines to him in which he bitterly reproaches Charles for behaving only like the “King of Bohemia,” although he should have understood that is the "emperor of the Romans". This article is devoted to the biography of this historical figure.
Parents
Charles IV of Luxembourg was born in 1346 in Prague.
Initially, the child was named Wenceslas in honor of his maternal grandfather, King of the Czech Republic and Poland Wenceslas II. He became the first-born in the family of John of Luxembourg, whom the Czech gentry had elected to the royal throne a few years earlier. The boy's father mostly spoke French andGerman. He was a brave warrior and adventurer, mindlessly draining the treasury, and he absolutely did not care about the welfare of the country.
In contrast to Jan, his wife Elza (Elishka), who came from the Pshemyslid dynasty, loved her homeland and often quarreled with her husband because of his rash actions that threatened the security and well-being of the state. Over time, the couple stopped living together and even became political opponents in some way.
Imprisonment
Already a mother of three children, Elishka gathered an army against the powerful gentry Jindrich from Lipa. The latter became close to her husband King Jan and convinced him that his wife was going to overthrow him in order to pass the crown to her son Wenceslas.
Then the king laid siege to the castle of Loket, where Elishka was, and took away her children.
Suspicious Yang ordered to imprison his innocent young son. The poor boy had to spend several years in semi-prison conditions. This influenced the formation of the character of King Charles IV, who remained closed until the end of his life and preferred to spend time in cramped, semi-dark rooms.
In France
Yan later reconciled with his son. He always had a Western European orientation and decided that it would be better for raising an heir if the teenager lived in Paris, at the court of the French king Charles, who was the husband of his sister.
In France, Vaclav learned to speak and write in 5 languages, including Italian and Latin.
At the rite of confirmationthe boy, on the advice of his teachers, chose the name Charles, thereby showing respect for his French uncle, the king.
Return home
In 1331, King Yang summoned his son from Paris and invited him to take part in a campaign in Italy. During this campaign, the 15-year-old prince was able to gain diplomatic and military experience, which greatly helped him in the future. In addition, he got the opportunity to communicate with representatives of the Renaissance, which contributed to the formation of humanistic views in the future emperor.
At the end of the campaign, the future Charles IV was appointed ruler of the Margraviate of Moravia. Later, in the absence of his father, who, due to his restless nature, never sat at home, the young man became the de facto manager of all Czech lands. Although the young man at that time was only 20 years old, he showed himself to be a wise and talented ruler. However, he did not have a normal relationship with his eccentric father, who by that time had begun to lose his sight.
Although the prince did everything to help King Yang, he became even more irritated against Charles and even thought about choosing another heir to the throne.
Ascension to the Throne
In 1346, King John of Luxembourg, who entered the Hundred Years' War with England as an ally of France, died on the battlefield at the Battle of Crecy.
Charles IV took the throne. He immediately decided that he would pursue a completely different policy than his father. His goal was to “rejoice not about external brilliance, but about the essence of the matter.”
Karl's Proclamation"Roman king" took place on July 26, 1346. This title meant that the German Electors, who had the right to elect the head of the Holy Roman Empire, voted for him. This state formation at that time united most of the territories of Central Europe, as well as the northern regions of Italy.
However, the election of the emperor was not entirely smooth. Some electors preferred to see Ludwig from the Bavarian dynasty on the throne. They were opposed by followers of the Pope, who wanted the title to go to the pious Charles.
As often happens, His Majesty chance intervened. Carl's rival died of a heart attack, leaving him unopposed.
The solemn coronation took place in Aachen - the capital of the empire of Charlemagne. The ceremony was later held a second time in Rome.
Acts
The Czech Republic flourished during the reign of Charles IV. Although this monarch was also the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, he focused on his beloved Bohemia, as the Czech Republic was then called. In 1348, the king made 2 important decisions that concerned Prague. In particular, he founded the first university in Central Europe, which today bears his name, and founded Nove Mesto, thereby significantly expanding the boundaries of the Czech capital.
Thanks to the wise domestic policy of Charles IV of the Czech Republic, other cities of the country also grew and developed rapidly. He encouraged artisans and merchants by providing them with tax breaks, which contributed to the flourishing of the economy.
Under Charles IV, the Czech Republic became the center of a vast empire and one of the most prosperous states in Europe.
In addition, under this monarch, a new state formation was formed, known as the Lands of the Crown of St. Wenceslas, which included Moravia, Bohemia and Silesia, and for some time Brandenburg.
Karl's success should also include the use of the Church as a political force, on which he relied in the fight against the eternally dissatisfied gentry.
Coronation Rules
Shortly before his coronation, Charles ordered a new crown to be made. It has survived to this day and is known as the crown of St. Wenceslas. In addition, he later instituted a new coronation ceremony. It was supposed to start in Visegrad. Then the procession of nobles moved across the Charles Bridge to Prague Castle. There, with a large gathering of people, a religious ceremony of the coronation of the Czech monarch was held.
Succession Law
One of the main merits of King Charles was the strengthening of royal power in Bohemia. In 1348, he issued a law on a new order of succession to the throne. According to this act, the throne must always be inherited by the eldest son of the king. Women can become the head of state only if there are no men in the family. If there were no representatives of the family alive, the Sejm elected the king. Thus, attempts to take the throne as a result of political games were legally suppressed.
“Golden bull”
Charles IV created a document that became the main document in the Holy Roman Empire untilcompletion of its existence in 1806. First of all, he determined the procedure for electing the emperor. The city of Frankfurt was chosen as the venue for this ceremony. Moreover, a punishment was even provided for the electors if they could not come to an agreement for a long time on the issue of electing a king. In particular, if they did not elect an emperor within 30 days, they were to be isolated and given only bread and water until a permanent or temporary overlord was elected. The Golden Bull was issued by Charles IV in 1356. It got its name because it was certified with a gold imperial seal.
Hiking in Italy
The Emperor was different from his namesake Charles IV, King of Spain, who in 1803 got involved in a difficult war with France. He tried to refrain from waging wars. However, he still had to make trips to Italy twice. Moreover, the second time the campaign was carried out in the interests of the pope, the goal was the fight against the Milanese Visconti clan.
King Charles IV's family
The Emperor was not such a womanizer as his father. However, he was married 4 times. The first wife of Charles was the French princess Blanca from the Valois dynasty. Their parents entered into a marriage when both "spouses" were 7 years old.
Blanca died at the age of 25. However, she managed to give birth to Charles IV of three children - a son who died in infancy, as well as daughters Margarita (future Queen of Hungary) and Catherine (future Duchess of Bavaria).
Karl did not remain a widower for long. A year later, Anna of the Palatinate became his wife. This marriage was even more fleeting than the first, and, again,ended with the death of his wife.
Anna Svidnitskaya became Karl's third wife. It was she who bore him an heir - the future King Wenceslas IV, as well as a daughter, Elizabeth, who in the future became the Duchess of Austria. Anna died in childbirth in 1362.
Elizabeth of Pomeranian
By 1663 Charles IV's family was already quite large. Of the children at this time, three were still alive. At the same time, one of the daughters was already married. However, the emperor was not going to be without a wife for a long time. His last wife was Elizaveta Pomeranskaya, with whom he lived for 15 years, until his death. The girl was 30 years younger than her husband. She was distinguished by great physical strength and amazed her contemporaries with the ability to bend keys with her bare hands. In this marriage, Charles had six more children, including Sigismund, nicknamed the Red Fox. It was this prince who in the future began to wear the crowns of the Czech and Hungarian kings, as well as the German emperor.
Death
Carl's he alth gradually deteriorated. The emperor suffered from gout and severe attacks of suffocation. Death came on November 29, 1378, when Charles was 62 years old. The most authoritative Czech theologian of that time, Vojtech Ranek, spoke at the funeral, calling the emperor "the father of the fatherland." He predicted disaster for a state "deprived of such a glorious helmsman."
Dying, Charles bequeathed to divide his personal possessions between his three sons as follows: the Czech Republic and Silesia went to the elder Wenceslas, Brandenburg he wrote to Sigismund, and the Lusatian lands ordered to be given to John.
Heir
Vaclav IV, son of Charles IV, took the throne of the Holy Roman Empire during his father's lifetime, in 1376. 5 people voted for him. Moreover, two votes belonged to Karl and Vaclav himself.
2 days before his coronation, 14 Swabian cities created the Swabian League, which became an independent subject of the empire.
After the death of his father, Wenceslas also became the king of the Czech Republic.
In 1394, he was captured by the rebellious nobility, who sent the king to prison in Austria. He was released by his brother Sigismund, who, in gratitude for this act, was proclaimed heir to the Czech throne.
Now you know what deeds were committed by the most famous king of the Czech Republic, Charles VI, who glorified his name for centuries and left a good memory in the hearts of his subjects.
