Golden Bull of Sicily
Philip's consequent invasion of Bohemia was successful. Ottokar, having been compelled to pay a fine, again ranged himself among Philip's partisans and still later was among the supporters of the young king, Frederick II. In 1212 Frederick granted the Golden Bull of Sicily to Bohemia. This document recognised Ottokar and his heirs as Kings of Bohemia. The king was no longer subject to appointment by the Emperor and was only required to attend Diets close to the Bohemian border. Although a subject of the Holy Roman Empire, the Bohemian King was to be the leading electoral prince of the empire and to furnish all subsequent Emperors with a bodyguard of 300 knights when they went to Rome for their coronation.
Ottokar's reign was also notable for the start of German immigration into Bohemia and the growth of towns in what had until that point been forest lands. In 1226 Ottokar went to war against Frederick II of Austria after the latter wrecked a deal that would have seen Ottokar's daughter (Saint Agnes of Bohemia) married to Emperor Frederick II's son, Henry II of Sicily. Ottokar then planned for the same daughter to marry Henry III of England, but this was vetoed by the Emperor, who knew Henry to be an opponent of the Hohenstaufen dynasty. The widowed Emperor himself wanted to marry Agnes, but by then she did not want to play a role in an arranged marriage. With the help of the pope, Agnes entered a convent.
Read more about this topic: Ottokar I Of Bohemia
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