ABSTRACT
In the eleventh and twelfth centuries the Czech Lands (today’s Czech Republic) consisted of two territories, Bohemia and Moravia, ruled by a single duke from a dynasty known as the Přemyslids. He governed Bohemia directly while delegating power in Moravia to three subordinate dukes, invariably his relatives, whose territories were centered on Olomouc in the north, Brno in the south, and Znojmo, further south, on the border with the Bavarian Ostmark (i.e., Austria). Bohemia and Moravia each comprised a Catholic diocese, centered at Prague and Olomouc respectively. The bishopric of Prague was founded circa 973, whereas the see of Olomouc was only established (or re-established, perhaps) a century later, circa 1065. Both bishops were subject to the Archbishop of Mainz in Germany, and ultimately answered to the Pope in Rome.
