Excursus 1 John of Moravia and John Sobieslaw This excursus will focus on the complicated issue of identifying Margrave John Henry’s two frequently confused sons: John of Moravia and John Sobieslaw.1 As mentioned in the overview of the literature presented in the opening chapter (“From John Sobieslaw to John of Moravia”), the research to date has concluded that John Sobieslaw became bishop of Litomyšl (1380–1387) and later patriarch of Aquileia (1387–1394). By contrast, I shall attempt to demonstrate that it was actually his illegitimate half-brother John who made a successful ecclesiastical career for himself. Naturally, we are left with no choice but to seek an answer directly in the sources. However, these generally do not provide us with an un- ambiguous answer. The situation is particularly complicated because of the identical names: whenever John is spoken of as bishop of Litomyšl, or as patri- arch of Aquileia, the sources always describe him—if at all—only as Johannes, or as the son of John Henry, or as brother to Jobst and Prokop, but this can apply to both Johns. A large degree of circumspection is therefore required. First, let us briefly outline what we actually know about John Sobieslaw,2 focusing in detail only on the period which is important for us (the second half of the 1370s) and on sources which can potentially shed light on his conduct during this period. John Sobieslaw was born as the second son3 of Margrave John Henry, probably between 1355 and 1357,4 with 1357 appearing to be the most likely possibility.5 The second name “Sobieslaw,” which was quite unusual at the time, might have been a nickname designed to distinguish him from his older illegitimate half-brother John. He was the only one of the margrave’s sons to be brought up at the imperial court in Prague, because of his planned 1 This chapter is a revised and extended version of my article Schmidt, “Jan z Moravy.” 2 The following short account of John Sobieslaw as margrave of Moravia is based on Mezník, Lucemburská Morava; Štěpán, Moravský markrabě Jošt; Elbel, “Jan Soběslav.” 3 John Sobieslaw is often mentioned as the youngest son by the historical literature; however, the sources explicitly refer to him as the second-born. See CDM IX, 324, no. 420: “… Johanni, dicto Sobezlao, secundogenito nostro …” (24th March 1366). This is pointed out by Elbel, “Jan Soběslav,” 710. 4 The dating is based on records of gifts donated by the Brno city council to the Margravine Margaret of Opava for successful parturitions between 1353 and 1358. See Knihy počtů města Brna z let 1343–1365, ed. Bedřich Mendl, Knihy městských počtů z doby předhusitské 1 (Brno: Československý státní ústav historický, 1935), ad indicem. The individual records were ana- lysed in detail by Mezník, Lucemburská Morava, 168. 5 See Štěpán, Moravský markrabě Jošt, 19, on the basis of Knihy počtů města Brna, 249. © Ondřej Schmidt, 2019 | doi:10.1163/9789004407893_009 Ondřej Schmidt - 9789004407893 Downloaded from Brill.com09/27/2021 03:47:15AM via free access 214 Excursus 1 marriage to the daughter of Charles IV, which was necessitated by the lack of a proper heir to the throne. That changed with the birth of Wenceslas in 1361, which meant that the original plan lost its meaning. Despite that, however, John Sobieslaw remained at the Prague court, accompanied the emperor on his trips throughout the Empire and took part in Charles’s second Roman ex- pedition in the years 1368–1369.6 Meanwhile, his older brother Jobst and younger brother Prokop grew up in Moravia. John Henry divided the government of Moravia between these three sons in three testaments, with the first-born Jobst becoming its ruler, while John Sobieslaw and Prokop had to content themselves with the title of mar- grave and a number of scattered towns, castles and villages. After the death of his father, John Henry († 1375), John Sobieslaw took possession of his inher- itance in Moravia, where he immediately got into a dispute with his brother Jobst, which he settled by handing over part of his property to him in exchange for 2,000 shocks groschen and a weekly remuneration.7 This agreement was perhaps only intended to ensure him a much-needed regular income. Shortly after that, in February 1377, a new contract was concluded with Jobst, which evidently cancelled out the previous agreement from the year before and according to which John Sobieslaw received estates that John Henry had be- queathed to him in a testament.8 Financial motives might also explain John Sobieslaw’s attacks on the estates of the Olomouc bishopric, which Bishop John of Neumarkt complains about in his letters.9 Nevertheless, from what the sources tell us, it is clear that John Sobieslaw took up his duties as margrave and entered into public life: in 1376, he took part in a meeting of the provincial court in Brno,10 and a year later, like his brother Jobst, he confirmed an earlier 6 During Charles’s second descent into Italy, Margrave John Sobieslaw is often cited as a witness on the charters issued by the emperor. References in RI VIII, and Acta Karoli IV. Imperatoris were collected by Veldtrup, “Johann Propst von Vyšehrad,” 71, note 129; Obůrková, “Druhá římská jízda Karla IV.” 7 See the arbitration sentence in CDM XI, 17–18, no. 16 (12th January 1376); John Sobieslaw’s ratification ibid., 18–19, no. 17 (13th January 1376). 8 CDM XI, 60–61, no. 69 (17th February 1377); Wenceslas IV’s confirmation ibid., 62, no. 70 (22nd February 1377). For an interpretation of both agreements between Jobst and John Sobieslaw, see Mezník, Lucemburská Morava, 216–219. 9 Briefe Johanns von Neumarkt, 305–306, no. 222; 310–311, no. 226; 314, no. 230; 315, no. 231; “Cancellaria Johannis Noviforensis episcopi Olomucensis (1364–1380). Briefe und Urkunden des olmützer Bischoffs Johanns von Neumarkt,” ed. Ferdinand Tadra, AfÖG 68 (1886), 91–92, no. 104. 10 Die Landtafel des Markgrafthumes Mähren (1344–1466). Brünner Cuda, ed. Josef Chytil et al. (Brno: Nitsch & Grosse, 1856), lib. 6, 113, no. 223 (19th January 1376). Ondřej Schmidt - 9789004407893 Downloaded from Brill.com09/27/2021 03:47:15AM via free access John of Moravia and John Sobieslaw 215 charter by King Wenceslas II for the Premonstratensians of Želiv,11 issued a privilege for the burghers of Olomouc12 and in 1378 donated some kind of courtyard in Ivančice.13 According to research to date, the last mention of John Sobieslaw as Moravian margrave is a charter for Olomouc from the summer of 1377.14 However, there is another charter, dated early May 1379—and unknown to historiography—in which there is a reference to “Zdeněk de Krzyzenicz, marshal of the Moravian margrave Sobieslaw.”15 Among other things, this charter convincingly demon- strates that in the spring of 1379 John Sobieslaw had still not embarked on a spiritual career. John Sobieslaw appears for the last time in a text concerning the settlement of a dispute between Jobst and John of Neumarkt, Bishop of Olomouc, probably from the summer of 1380, one article of which refers to Jobst’s “brothers Sobieslaw and Prokop and other inhabitants of Moravia” alongside one another.16 If there were to be any violation of the treaty on their part, John of Neumarkt was to complain to King Wenceslas. It is obvious that John Sobieslaw was still Moravian margrave at that time. Now let us move on to the illegitimate John, of whom we know for sure that he was the son of Margrave John Henry and later became provost of Vyšehrad.17 For the moment, we will focus only on his time in office as provost of Vyšehrad (1368/1369–1380)18 and, more specifically, on a dispute between the Vyšehrad chapter and the Cistercians of Zlatá Koruna in the years 1377–1396 over twenty-two villages in the district of Prachatice (in South Bohemia), in which 11 NA, Premonstráti Strahov, no. 60 (1st April 1377); no. 61 (21st September 1377). 12 CDM XI, 73–74, no. 84 (4th July 1377). 13 Jobst’s agreement with the transaction is preserved in NA, Archiv České koruny, no. 1215 (10th July 1378). 14 CDM XI, 73–74, no. 84 (4th July 1377). It was probably this document which led Štěpán, Moravský markrabě Jošt, 128 to the conclusion that John Sobieslaw entered upon an eccle- siastical career in the second half of 1377. 15 APH, AMK, sign. 390-XII/31, XV/32: “… Sdenco miles de Krzyzenicz marssalcus illustris principis march[i]onis Morawie Sobesslai …” Cf. Archiv pražské metropolitní kapituly, vol. 1, 129–130, no. 460; RBMV I/1, ed. Věra Jenšovská (Prague: Academia, 1967), 46, no. 134 (1st [?] May 1379). I have not been able to find more information about this figure in the sources. 16 CDM XI, 169, no. 187: “… fratri sui Sobie.[slaus] et Procopius vel alii inhabitatores prin- cipatus Moravie …” The document is undated; terminus post quem is 10th May 1380. According to Mezník, Lucemburská Morava, 221–222, it is possible to date the charter to the summer of 1380. 17 Chronicon Benesii de Weitmil, FRB IV, 491: “Interim eciam [John Henry] ex quadam libera genuit filium, postea prepositum Wissegradensem factum, cui nomen Iohannes …” 18 The fact that John was provost of Vyšehrad between 1368 and 1380 has already been demonstrated convincingly by Veldtrup, “Johann Propst von Vyšehrad,” 71–73. Ondřej Schmidt - 9789004407893 Downloaded from Brill.com09/27/2021 03:47:15AM via free access 216 Excursus 1 John played a certain role.19 A fairly extensive collection of documents has been preserved in connection with the case, which was brought before the papal court, and by analysing them we are able to shed new light on the “rela- tionship” between the two Johns.20 From the whole corpus of extant documents there is one in particular which is important for us at this point.