“De malis, que post mortem regis Przsemysl acciderunt” The impact of the kidnapping of King Wenceslas II (1278-1283) on political life in Bohemia

In 1378, the King of Bohemia Přemysl Ottokar II died in the war between him and the Roman king Rudolf I of Habsburg. His son Wenceslas succeeded him, but he was immediately kidnapped by his regent, Otto V of Brandenburg. For four years, there was no King in Bohemia. Behind the facade of unfailing cohesion to ensure the King’s return, Bohemian political society faced power struggles and a reconfiguration that heralded the triumph of the nobility in the 14th century.