of
Bohemia. Bretislav was therefore succeeded first by his eldest son
Spitihnev, and then by his second son Vratislav.

Vratislav becomes "king".

In 1088 Vratislav obtained the title of king from the emperor Henry IV.,
whom he had assisted in the struggle with the papal see which is known
as the contest about investitures. Though the title of king was only
conferred on Vratislav personally, the German king, Conrad III.,
conferred on the Bohemian prince Sobeslav (1125-1140) the title of
hereditary cupbearer of the Empire, thus granting a certain influence on
the election of the emperors to Bohemia, which hitherto had only
obligations towards the Empire but no part in its government. In 1156
the emperor Frederick I. Barbarossa ceded Upper Lusatia to the Bohemian
prince Vladislav II., and conferred on him the title of king on
condition of his taking part in Frederick's Italian campaigns. It was
intended that that title should henceforth be hereditary, but it again
fell into abeyance during the struggles between the Premyslide princes
which followed the abdication of Vladislav in 1173.

Ottakar II.

The consequences of these constant internal struggles were twofold; the
German influence became stronger, and the power of the sovereign
declined, as the nobility on whose support the competitors for the crown
were obliged to rely constantly obtained new privileges. In 1197 Premysl
Ottakar became undisputed ruler of Bohemia, and he was crowned as king
in the following year. The royal title of the Bohemian sovereigns was
continued uninterruptedly from that date. Wenceslas I. (1230-1253)
succeeded his father as king of Bohemia without opposition. The last
years of his reign were troubled by internal discord. Wenceslas's son,
Premysl Ottakar II., who under the sovereignty of his father ruled
Moravia, became for a time the chief leader of the malcontents. A
reconciliation between son and father, however, took place before the
latter's death. Premysl Ottakar II. was one of the greatest of Bohemia's
kings. He had during the lifetime of his father obtained possession of
the archduchies of Austria, and, about the time of his accession to the
Bohemian throne, the nobility of Styria also recognized him as their
ruler. These extensions of his dominions involved Premysl Ottakar II. in
repeated wars with Hungary. In 1260 he decisively defeated Bela, king of
Hungary, in the great battle of Kressenbrunn. After this victory
Ottak