The history of the Czech lands in the High Middle Ages encompasses the period from the rule of Vladislav II (c.1110–1174 AD) to that of Henry of Bohemia (c.1265–1335).

The High Middle Ages produced a number of intellectual, spiritual and artistic works and saw the rise of ethnocentrism, which evolved into nationalism.

After the death of Vladislav II in 1174, wrangling for the Prague throne began among members of the Premyslid Dynasty, indicating that the order of succession begun by Bretislav I was obsolete.

[3] As a result of political agreements with both Roman Emperors (Philip of Swabia and Otto IV of Brunswick), he was able to renew the royal peerage for Bohemian kings, confirmed by Pope Innocent III in 1204.

The new Roman Emperor and the King of Sicilia Friedrich II then confirmed the Premyslids all competences and powers in the instrument – the famous Golden Bull of Sicily, issued in Basel on 26 September 1212.

However, this movement did not attract sufficient support in Bohemia, and Ottokar I agreed in 1221 and 1222 that the Church exercised ownership rights over land as well as tributaries at its townships.

However, the Brandenburg garrisons treated the Bohemian territory as a conquered one and looted substantially, which contributed to rapid legal as well as economic decline, exacerbated by crop failure and consequent famine in 1281 and 1282.

An expert from Italy, Gozzo of Orvieto, contributed to the Mining Code at that time (Ius regale montanorum), among the most important documents of its kind in medieval Europe.

Wenceslas II retained his position, which made the Czech governor the most important figure in the Holy Roman Empire behind the emperor.

However, the Premyslid Dynasty was not universally successful; it suffered a diplomatic defeat in Hungary in 1304, which Wenceslas-Ladislaus had to leave in secret, and soon after he relinquished the Hungarian crown.

On 4 August 1306 an unknown assassin killed 16-year-old Wenceslas III in Olomouc, meaning the male bloodline of the Premyslid Dynasty died out.

The Duke Henry of Bohemia, husband of Anna of the Premyslids, a sister of Wenceslas III, expressed an interest in the vacant throne.

However, after a brief period of uncertainty, Rudolf of Habsburg, who supported his claims by marrying the widow queen Elizabeth Richeza, won the struggle for the Czech crown.

Elizabeth Richeza struck up a relationship with Jindrich of Lipá, the most powerful Czech lord, who became a dominant political figure during Henry's reign.

[9] Henry's weak reign did not bring prosperity to Bohemia, but a solution to the threat of social collapse was found by abbots Konrad of Zbraslav and Heidenreich of Sedlec, representatives of important Cistercian cloisters.

Supported by some Czech noblemen, they contacted the Roman Emperor Henry VII of Luxemburg to suggest a marriage of his son John and the 18-year-old Elisabeth of the Premyslids, still unmarried daughter of Wenceslas II.

The powerful Bohemian lords were concerned about the influence of foreign advisers sent to John, an inexperienced leader in an unknown country, by his father Henry VII.

However, after Henry died during an Italian expedition in 1313, pressure from Bohemian lords to dismiss the foreign advisers began to grow, as described in the Chronicle of Dalimil.

The Bohemian lords soon broke into open rebellion against John, and at Easter 1318 the new Roman King Louis IV of Bavaria, of the Wittelsbach Dynasty, had to suppress the uprising.

[10] However, after this period John, charismatic and a favourite of the European royal court, significantly increased Bohemia's prestige internationally and greatly extended its territory.

Together with the king, this small group administered the state and dominion, defended the land against enemies, spread the Christian faith, and governed the lives of the rest of the country.

Not everyone was accepted as part of the social structure; whoever did not belong to one of the three main groups was viewed with suspicion and disgust and lived on the margins of society.

In the High Middle Ages, it was not possible to become a knight, even through being part of a royal bloodline; knighthood had to be earned through actions, especially courage, chivalry and bravery in battle.

Despite many advances, such agriculture did not fully prevent the risk of crop failure and resulting famine, which would remain an issue for Czechs into the 18th century, with the spread of potato cultivation.

However, in the 13th century the Czech lands began to develop a network of cities, emerging from some of the older craft markets and administrative centres as well as newly planned towns in undeveloped areas.

[citation needed] Significant Czech and Moravian cities were established by the monarch, who gave oral or written agreement to their founding and awarded them the appropriate rights.

During the reign of the last Premyslids, especially in the era of Wenceslas I, a new artistic style began to arrive in the provinces of Bohemia, which had originated in France and would become known as Gothic.

At first, Czech society did not have sufficient resources to build extensive Gothic cathedrals like those in the seats of bishoprics and archbishoprics in Western Europe.