Jan Lucemburský a rakouské země. Diplomatické postupy a cíle českého krále
John of Bohemia and Austrian lands. Diplomatic methods and goals of King of Bohemia

Summary/Abstract: The paper is focused on diplomatic methods and goals of the King of Bohemia John the Blind (1310–1346) in the framework of his foreign policy towards rulers of Austrian Lands. Since a paper dealing with relations of John of Bohemia to dukes of Tyrol and Carinthia from the House of Menhard (represented especially by Henry of Carinthia) has already been published, this study concentrates on the John’s relation to the House of Habsburg. Before the actual diplomatic techniques and foreign policy goals of the King of Bohemia were analysed, it was necessary, at first, to outline the development of mutual relations of the respective rulers and their interactions. This summary was divided into five stages, each was characterised by power position of both sides and defined by some turning moment. Based on analysis of these stages, it was observed that, despite the tumultuous development and various changes, the relation between King John of Bohemia and the Dukes of Austria evolved, almost during all the reign of the Bohemian king, merely at the background of other important political intrigues (e. g. the struggle for the Imperial Crown), mostly as their secondary consequence. When analysing the diplomatic goals of the Bohemian king towards Austrian dukes, a clear line of alliance or animosity that could be linked to a definite foreign policy goal is hard to find, unlike in other foreign policies. The Bohemian-Austrian foreign relations under the rule of John of Bohemia can be, therefore, characterised as volatile, dependent on an ad hoc context of political situation in the Holy Roman Empire. The paper is amended with a list of charters connected to King John of Bohemia that are housed in the Austrian archives today

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