Bretislaus III, Duke of Bohemia

Henry Bretislaus
Duke of Bohemia
17th century depiction
Reign	1193–1197
Predecessor	Ottokar I
Successor	Vladislaus Henry
Noble family	Přemyslid dynasty
Died	15 June 1197 Eger
Buried	Doksany Abbey

Henry Bretislaus (Czech: Jindřich Břetislav; died 15 or 19 June 1197), a member of the Přemyslid dynasty, was Bishop of Prague from 1182, then Duke of Bohemia as "Bretislaus III" from 1193 to his death.

He was a son of Jindřich (d. after 1169), a younger brother of Duke Vladislaus II of Bohemia, and his wife Margaret. After brilliant studies at the University of Paris, he returned to Bohemia and was named provost at the Basilica of St. Peter and St. Paul in Vyšehrad. In 1182, he accepted the diaconate from the hands of his Přemyslid cousin Archbishop Adalbert III of Salzburg. Henry Bretislaus was elected on March 25 of the same year as successor of the late Prague bishop Valentin, and went to Mainz to receive affirmation by Metropolitan Christian I. He was ordained a priest on 22 May and crowned bishop the following day.

Bretislaus soon came into conflict with Duke Frederick of Bohemia, who had regained the Bohemian throne in 1178 and ursurped discreationary power over ecclesiastical properties. In 1187, the bishop officially addressed Emperor Frederick Barbarossa to complain about the duke's infringements. In turn, the emperor elevated Henry Bretislaus to a Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, providing that the Prague bishop was only subject to the Holy Roman Emperor. However, this immediate status did not outlast Bretislaus's tenure.