Page:Bohemia An Historical Sketch.djvu/49

 Dubravka. Boleslav III was obliged to fly from Bohemia, and after wandering through Germany at last sought refuge with his former enemy, Boleslav the Brave of Poland. In the meantime Vladivoj, finding that the dynasty of Přemysl, whose claims in consequence of the crimes of Boleslav III now reverted to his brothers Jaromir and Ulrich, had still many adherents, endeavoured to strengthen his hold on Bohemia by German aid.

He therefore appeared at the court of the German King Henry II at Regensburg, and not only consented to the payment of the tribute which had already been extorted from several Bohemian princes, but also became a vassal of the German monarch under the (German) title of duke. Wladivoj only ruled Bohemia a few months, and died in the year 1003. The Bohemians now recalled Jaromir and his brother, and chose the former for their prince; but his reign also was only of a few months' duration. His brother, Boleslav III, who had fled to Poland, now returned to Bohemia, under the protection of the Polish Prince Boleslav the Brave. Boleslav III had hardly reassumed the government of the country when he attempted to revenge himself on those who had formerly caused his downfall. By his order many of the nobles were murdered at a banquet, and the Bohemians again revolted against the tyrant.

Called in by the Bohemians themselves, Boleslav the Brave again entered their country, and after having caused his brother-in-law to be blinded and imprisoned in Poland, he himself assumed the government of Bohemia. We are told that he meditated making Prague the capital of his vast dominions, and that he preferred Bohemia to his more eastern possessions.

The great power of Boleslav the Brave soon became obnoxious to the Germans, who always considered the existence of a strong Slav power on their frontier as a danger. The German King Henry II sent envoys to Boleslav the Brave, requiring him to acknowledge himself a vassal of the German Empire in respect of the newly-conquered Bohemia. Boleslav refused this proposal, and war with Germany broke out (1004). The princes of the house of Přemysl, Jaromir and Ulrich, entered Bohemia as allies of the Germans, and with the aid of sympathizers in the town succeeded in capturing Prague by surprise, and expelling the Poles from it, even before the Germans had B 2