Rudolph's great parsimony, which contrasted with the splendour of the former Přemysl dynasty, rendered him very unpopular, and many of the nobles refused to do homage to him. While besieging Horazdovic, the castle of one of the opposing nobles, Rudolph suddenly fell ill and died (1307), having reigned less than a year over Bohemia.
One of the first consequences of the extinction of the line of Přemysl had been the ending of Bohemia's domination over Poland. The Bohemian governors of Cracow and Gnesen left the country as soon as they ascertained that, in consequence of the disturbed state of Bohemia, they had no hopes of obtaining aid from their country.
In consequence of the early death of Rudolph, the Bohemian nobles had for the second time in one year to decide on the succession to the throne of their country. Whilst one party wished to maintain the hereditary rights of the house of Habsburg, which had been recognized only a year before, a larger number of the nobles now desired to choose Henry of Carinthia as their sovereign, and declared the claims of the house of Austria invalid.[1]
The Diet which had assembled at Prague in 1307 was a very stormy one. The leader of the Austrian party, Tobias of Bechyn, being called on by his opponents not to favour the claims of foreigners and enemies to rule over his countrymen, answered, "If you wish at any price to obtain a native prince, go to Stadic,[2] among the peasants there you will perhaps find a relation of the extinct royal family; bring him here and seat him on the throne of your country."[3] Infuriated by this insult against the old dynasty, Ulrich, Lord of Lichtenburg, rushed across the council-room and stabbed Bechyn to death. Several other nobles were also murdered before the eyes of the widowed Queen Elizabeth, who was present at the council. These stormy discussions were ended by the election of Henry of Carinthia, who, accompanied by his wife, arrived in Prague in the same year (1307), where they were received with great enthusiasm by the people.
- ↑ The reason, or rather pretext, was that after Rudolph's election Albert had formally appointed his son King of Bohemia; thus throwing doubt on the validity of his previous election by the nobles of the country, and reaffirming the claim of the German kings to appoint the sovereign of Bohemia, a claim that the Bohemians always contested.
- ↑ See Chapter II.
- ↑ Palacký.
