military skill, he succeeded in wedging in Václav’s army so that there was no hope left but defeat or starvation. A treaty of peace was made. Ottokar was declared the rightful ruler, Václav being assigned several fortresses. The Pope, however, declared this treaty null and void, since it had been made under compulsion. It was finally decided that the two kings should rule conjointly. This, however, did not satisfy Václav, and at the earliest opportunity he broke his oath, and attacked Ottokar so that he fled for his life. The king then took possession of Prague, and gave a grand church festival to celebrate the victory. To crown all, messengers were sent to the fugitive son, asking him and his friends to return to the city, as the king was ready to pronounce a general anmesty. They were received with great honor. The king embraced, not only his son, but also the other lords that had been in rebellion against him, giving them the kiss of peace.
This magnanimity on the part of King Václav proved to be but the impulse of the moment. Shortly after, he had some of the lords arrested and cast into prison. One of them was beheaded, and another broken upon the wheel. Premysl Ottokar was also imprisoned, but only for a short time. He was finally reinstated in his possessions of Moravia, where he remained till his father’s death in 1253.
STATE INSTITUTIONS.
Till about the middle of the thirteenth century the State policy, judicial methods, manners and customs in public and private life, were strictly Slavonic.
The country was divided into districts called zu-
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