Získání Braniborska Karlem IV. — koupě, nebo dobytí?

Abstract

The article deals in detail with two military campaigns of Roman Emperor Charles IV. in 1371–1373 that led to the acquisition of the Margraviate of Brandenburg for the Luxembourg dynasty. First, the author overviews the roots of the conflict between Charles IV and the Brandenburg margrave Otto V. of Bavaria as it led to the war over Brandenburg. Since the political and diplomatic background of the conflict has been analysed in depth, here, the author focuses on the military aspects of the conflict. He uses narrative sources as well as documents originating in the Lands of the Crown of Bohemia side by side with documents from the Holy Roman Empire to review and refine the findings of previous research. Chronologically, he describes both military campaigns, trying to find out as much as possible about the movements and activities of each of the armies and the main adversaries (Charles IV and Otto of Bavaria). It stands out that margrave Otto had little chance at success, as he was completely driven back by the Emperor, both diplomatically and by military force. In the end, the article deals with the perception of the Brandenburg conflict by its contemporaries. The final financial compensation offered to Otto by Charles, and his acceptance of the financial solution, are seen as a result of a successful military campaign led by the Emperor.