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the time when Přemysl Ottokar I became undisputed ruler of Bohemia, the internal condition of Germany was favourable to the interests of the Bohemian princes, for whom the only possible policy consisted in maintaining their country's independence from Germany, as far as the political situation enabled them to do so. At this period Bohemia's connection with Germany, formerly so burdensome, suddenly became the source of many advantages. During the internal struggles in Germany the Bohemian king, as the most powerful and the most independent of the princes of the Empire, was able to obtain preponderance for whichever of the claimants to the German crown he favoured.

The German Emperor Henry IV died in the year of Přemysl Ottokar's accession to the throne (1197). The Electors did not agree as to the choice of his successor; while some wished to elect Philip, Duke of Swabia, guardian of Henry VFs minor son, as king, others wished to exclude the house of Hohenstaufen, and to raise Otho, Duke of Brunswick, to the throne.

Ottokar at first sided with Philip, though not before he had obtained some important concessions. Philip renounced all claims to the nomination of the rulers of Bohemia, and contented himself with a nominal right of confirmation. He also renounced all claims to the appointment of the bishops of Prague, and lastly conferred the hereditary title of king on the Bohemian sovereigns for all time. Ottokar was crowned king of Bohemia (1198) at Maintz at the same time as Philip received the German crown. The Bohemian king now became Philip's ally in the civil war that broke out between him and Duke Otho, but the alliance did not continue long.

Philip continued the struggle with the Pope, then Innocent III, which had embittered the reigns of the former emperors of the house of Hohenstaufen. The Pope, in consequence, summoned the German princes to recognize Philip's rival, Otho, as their sovereign. Ottokar was obedient