PŘEMYSL

pərzhĕmˈĭsəl, earliest dynasty of Bohemia. Its semilegendary founder was the peasant Přemysl, whom the Bohemian Princess (sometimes called Queen) Libussa chose as her husband at some time in the 8th cent. Their successors united Bohemia into a single duchy and completed its Christianization. Outstanding among the early Přemyslid dukes were St. Wenceslaus ("Good King Wenceslaus"); Boleslav I (reigned 929–67), who extended his kingdom to Moravia and parts of Silesia; Bratislav I (reigned 1034–55), who temporarily occupied Poland and Silesia; and Vratislav II (reigned 1061–92), who in 1086 received from Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV the nonhereditary title of king of Bohemia. The royal title became permanent and hereditary only with Ottocar I (reigned 1198–1230). He was succeeded by Wenceslaus I, Ottocar II, Wenceslaus II (who was also king of Poland), and Wenceslaus III, with whom the dynasty died out in 1306. Wenceslaus III's sister married John of Luxembourg, elected king of Bohemia in 1310.

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