Survival of King Ottokar II's Empire

Ottokar II took advantage of the election of the weak Richard of Cornwall as Holy Roman Emperor, and through war and diplomacy gained all of Austria, Carinthia, and Carniola. He was one of the best kings of Bohemia, so really wanking his leadership characteristics has already been done. But his rule did have problems that would lead to its downfall.

The Aristocracy resented his rise to power but he was loved by the towns. So perhaps it would be possible for him to find a better way of controlling aristocracy. Some monarchs used the church to counter the aristocracy, by building their power but I wonder if he could have signed a Magna Carta like document.

It seems like introducing a House of Lords could eliminate the later plagues of noble rebellion.

Also would better noble relations be enough if later the King of Hungary and the Holy Roman Empire eventually teamed up.

And of course the disastrous battle of Morava Field, could be a POD since that actually killed him off. I don't really know if the Noble revolts had subsided by that time.
 
Ottokar using the church to weaken the nobility would be more likely. You have to remember that John Lackland only signed the Magna Carta because of a revolt of the nobility and threat from a French invasion. If you want Ottokar to keep his empire together, it is necessary to weaken the nobility and not cause more revolts leading to open opposition of the reigning monarch. An English-style "House of Lords" is unlikely for many reasons, the least of which is that even in England this had not really developed yet.
 
Top