Jaromir I (9 March 1472 - 20 October 1549) was Holy Roman Emperor and King of Bohemia from 1522, succeeding his father Ottokar I, and King of France along with his wife, Joan. His reign saw the union of Bohemia and France, propelling the Přemyslid Dynasty to the forefront of European politics and power.
Jaromir was born in Prague in the Kingdom of Bohemia to Ottokar I and Henriette of Thuringia, a daughter of the Thin White Duke. In 1522 he succeeded he inherited his father's titles and was elected Holy Roman Emperor, also inheriting the ongoing struggle of his father to preserve the Catholic Empire in the wake of the Protestant Reformation. The deterioration of Bohemia's relationship with Thuringia continued, and Jaromir would fight numerous wars against newly formed Rätian Union for supremacy over Bayreuth and Franconia. Although successful in combatting Jungism in Bohemia, in 1524 Jaromir legalized the religion within the Empire through the Peace of Passau. This was done in an effort to promte peace within the empire, but delayed a major conflict until later in the century.
Following the Lenzburg-Premyslid War of the late 15th-century, the diplomatically isolated Kingdom of France was pushed into an alliance with the Holy Roman Empire; Ottokar would pursue a formal alliance with William II by marrying Jaromir to William's cousin Joan, however, the extinction of the male line of Capets made Joan William's heir after 1500. Jaromir would spend considerable effort to ensure the succession of Joan and himself as king, creating a personal union between France and Bohemia after 1522. To this end, numerous wars would be fought with the French nobility, most notably against pretender Charles the Affable of La Marche in 1518. Jaromir's presence as an often absent foreigner king elevated the powers of the French assemblies and its council of ministers. Despite his initial hardline approach to promoting Catholicism in the Empire, he could not extend his efforts to France, where the Gallican Church had taken root.
As ruler of France and the Holy Roman Empire, Jaromir dedicated his later life toward defending the integrity of the Empire and revitalizing the concept of a universal monarchy. With no fixed capital city, he spent a quarter of his reign on the road, traveling across his various possessions. He used the vast wealth of his domains to finance numerous wars of religion, the extensive Italian Wars, and as a patron of the arts and European colonization. After Jaromir's death, the kingdoms of France and Bohemia separated but remained ruled by the Přemyslid Dynasty. Bohemia passed to his son Henry X and France to his son Charles IV, beginning a tumultuous, sometimes belligerent relationship between the various branches of the family.
