On leaving Avignon, King John and his son first went to Prague to be present at the installation of the new archbishop. They then started for a new crusade against the heathen Lithuanians, which they probably undertook at the request of the Pope.
Whilst King John was occupied in the far north, the German King Louis induced the kings of Hungary and Poland, the dukes of Austria and several of the Silesian princes, to join him in an alliance against Bohemia. With almost incredible rapidity King John marched into Poland, defeated the Poles and Hungarians, and besieged Cracow.[1] King Casimir demanded a truce, which through the mediation of the Pope soon became a treaty of peace, in which Casimir's allies, with the exception of the King of the Germans, were included.
Against the latter the Bohemian princes, aided by the Pope, now struck the heaviest blow possible. At the Pope's bidding five German Electors, among whom was King John, assembled at Rhense (1346), and elected King John's son. Margrave Charles, as German king. This rendered further war in Germany inevitable; but the attention of the kings of Bohemia and Germany was now attracted by events further west.
War had for some time been carried on between King Edward III of England and Philip of Valois, King of France, with whom John of Bohemia was on the same terms of friendship as with his predecessor. On the day following Charles's election as German king (July 12, 1346), King Edward and his son the Black Prince landed on the French coast, and marching rapidly through Normandy, advanced nearly up to the gates of Paris.
King John with his usual impetuosity immediately decided to come to the aid of the King of France. Apart from his connection with the royal family, he had always felt strong sympathy for France, and specially for Paris; he was even reported to have said that he cared to live there only, as it was the most chivalrous city in the world.
Not stopping to assemble an army—though he would
- ↑ During the siege of Cracow, King Casimir of Poland is said to have provoked the King of Bohemia to single combat, as a means of ending the war. King John answered that he was quite willing to accept the challenge on condition of Casimir's consenting to have both his eyes put out, thus rendering their chances equal.
