Ducatus, nebo Terra? (Na okraj 700. výročí vzniku Opavského vévodství)

In the year 1318, the Duchy of Opava was created and became one of principalities, belonging to the Bohemian Crown as a fief. During the next two centuries, under the rule of the collateral branch of the Přemyslid dynasty, it was repeatedly divided between its male members. The aim of the study is to collect all the contemporary documents and references about these divisions and particularly to evaluate minutely the legal status of individual separated parts of the land. Especially the division in 1377 was crucial and originated three domains, to a large extent independent. However, while the territory of Krnov transformed into the principality sui iuris during the 15th century, the existence of the Duchy of Hlubčice was only fleeting.