September 26, 1212 was the day when the Golden Bull of Sicily was issued and the royal title of King of Bohemia became hereditary.
Zlatá bula sicilská is the Czech name for the Golden Bull of Sicily, probably the most important document of the Kingdom of Bohemia of its time. It was awarded by Emperor Frederick II in Basel. The name refers to the main document as well as a series of three decrees, the so called privileges, that made the title of King of Bohemia, obtained by Ottokar I from the Přemyslid dynasty in 1198, hereditary. It was a reward for Ottokar’s support of Frederick’s elections as the Roman Emperor.
The Golden Bull secured an exceptional status of Bohemia within the Holy Roman Empire. Although Vratislaus II, Ottokar’s ancestor, was already elevated to king, his title wasn’t hereditary (according to some, it was in theory but even if it was, Ottokar still had to fight for it again). Making this title hereditary not only signified a privileged status of the Přemyslid dynasty but also more stability to the kingdom, since the succession was clearly established.
Among some of the privileges of the Golden Bull was that the king of Bohemia was only required to attend the Imperial diets close to the Bohemian border, besides those, was no longer subject to appointment by the emperor.
During the Czech National Revival in the 19th century, the document was used as legal evidence of the historical right of the Czech nation to its own statehood. Although there we also other important documents that would support this claim, like king title awarded by Philip of Swabia and the Holy Roman Emperor Otto IV, the Golden Bull was seen as the most significant to the claim because Charles IV, King of Bohemia and Holy Roman Emperor gave it a special importance in his attempt to continue the tradition of the Přemyslid dynasty.
The original document is archived in the National Archive in Prague.
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