well informed with regard to the state of affairs in Bohemia. He employed secret agents in Prague, from whom he received lengthy reports.[1] He must have known through these men how large a part of the Bohemian people was then opposed to all monarchical rule, and what great difficulties even Korybutovič, a Slavic prince who had accepted the articles of Prague, encountered when he attempted to obtain the Bohemian crown. Frederick must also have known through his agents how strong the anti-German feeling then was in Bohemia; nor could he be ignorant of the fact that no assistance could be expected from the nobles “sub una,” whose dynastic affection for Sigismund was as great as their devotion to Rome. It should also be noted that the extreme adherents, both of the Roman Church and of Hussitism, have in their writings a tendency to accuse of treachery all moderate men who desired a peaceful agreement and were not carried away by unreasoning fanaticism.
About this time the career of Prince Korybutovič came to an end in Bohemia—at least for a time. It is evident that the Lithuanian prince, who had certainly succeeded in re-establishing order in Bohemia to a certain extent, and who had been imprisoned on the strength of very doubtful accusations, still had many adherents in Bohemia, not only among the Utraquist nobles, but also among the citizens of Prague. One of the most prominent adherents of Korybutovič, Lord Hynek of Kolštýn, planned an attack on Prague. He hoped in this fashion to force the city magistrates to reveal the spot in which they had imprisoned the Lithuanian prince, and to liberate him. The Utraquist nobles, no doubt, intended also to expel the magistrates and to appoint new ones who were favourable to Korybutovič. Kolin, a city which, after the imprisonment of Korybutovič, had thrown off its allegiance to Prague, became the centre of the Utraquist nobles who had
- ↑ Some of these reports are printed in Bezold, König Sigmund und die Reichskriege gegen die Hussiten.
