John the Blind, Count of Luxembourg 1309-1346, King of Bohemia and Poland 1310-1346

John the Blind (10 August 1296 - 26 August 1346) was the Count of Luxembourg from 1309, King of Bohemia, and titular King of Poland from 1310. He was the eldest son of the Holy Roman Emperor Henry VII and his wife Margaret of Brabant. John was French by education, but deeply involved in the politics of Germany. In 1310, John married Elisabeth, heiress of Wenceslaus III of Bohemia, and thereby became King of Bohemia and so one of the seven prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire. The object of the hostility of the Czech nobility, however, he gave up the administration of Bohemia and embarked on a life of travel, spending time in Luxembourg and the French court. His travels took him to Silesia, Poland, Lithuania, Tyrol, Northern Italy, Papal Avignon, and Languedoc, where he was governor from 30 November 1338 to November 1340. He lost his eyesight from ophthalmia, while crusading in Lithuania with the Teutonic order.

He retained his crown even after Elisabeth's death in 1330. His second wife was Beatrice, daughter of Louis I, Duke of Bourbon.

He was killed whilst fighting alongside the French against the English at the Battle of Crécy, part of the Hundred Years' War. The chronicler Froissart left the following account of John's last actions:

...for all that he was nigh blind, when he understood the order of the battle, he said to them about him: 'Where is the lord Charles my son?' His men said: 'Sir, we cannot tell; we think he be fighting.' Then he said: 'Sirs, ye are my men, my companions and friends in this journey: I require you bring me so far forward, that I may strike one stroke with my sword.' They said they would do his commandment, and to the intent that they should not lose him in the press, they tied all their reins of their bridles each to other and set the king before to accomplish his desire, and so they went on their enemies. The lord Charles of Bohemia his son, who wrote himself king of Almaine and bare the arms, he came in good order to the battle; but when he saw that the matter went awry on their party, he departed, I cannot tell you which way. The king his father was so far forward that he strake a stroke with his sword, yea and more than four, and fought valiantly and so did his company; and they adventured themselves so forward, that they were there all slain, and the next day they were found in the place about the king, and all their horses tied each to other.

After the battle, legend states that John's personal crest (a pair of black wings) and motto Ich dien ("I Serve") were adopted in slightly modified form by Edward, the Black Prince, and since then they have been part of the badge of the Prince of Wales.

John was succeeded as King of Bohemia by his eldest son Charles (later Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor). In Luxembourg, he was succeeded by his son by his second wife, Wenceslaus.

From Wikipedia