8 May 1394 The nobles imprisoned King Wenceslas IV.

The enemies of Wenceslas IV captured the king twice. The first time was in May 1394, when he was taken to Wildberg Castle near Linz. The feuding parties eventually struck a deal. The second time they imprisoned the monarch was in Vienna in 1402.

Charles IV wanted to ensure the continuity of the Luxemburgs on the imperial throne, so in 1376 he had his son Wenceslaus IV, only fifteen years old, elected and crowned king of the empire. The Electors of the Empire submitted to the request of the sixty-year-old Emperor. Either they did not want to displease the monarch or they were paid for their consent with silver from Kutná Hora. When Wenceslas took over the government from his father at the age of seventeen, he was already disgusted by his upbringing. He therefore sought an escape in hunting parties and boisterous drinking parties with noble cronies or in the company of harlots and lazabines.

At the same time, he was very fond of surrounding himself with members of the lower nobility or bourgeoisie. These were mostly cronies from hunts and drinking parties, such as Jíra of Roztoky, Jan Čůch of Zásada or Zikmund Huler, to whom Wenceslas entrusted important provincial offices. "They took their new position as a means to get rich quickly and were completely indifferent to the fate of the country," writes Jan Bauer in his book How the King Dies.

Václav's decision to put his acquaintances in influential positions had consequences. The nobility he had stripped of power began to rebel. They joined with critics in Wenceslaus's family, including the king's half-brother King Sigismund of Hungary and his cousin Margrave Jošt of Moravia. "And so, in May 1394, the Bohemian lords, led by Henry of Rožmberk, Ota ofBergova and William of Landštejn even captured the king and imprisoned him," Bauer adds.

Wenceslas IV was captured on 8 May 1394 in the King's Court near Beroun. From there the monarch was taken to Prague Castle. At the moment when the army of the monarch's half-brother and Duke Jan Zhořelecký and Margrave Prokop was approaching Prague, they moved the king to the Rožmberk castle of Příběnice, then to Austria to the Wildberg castle near Linz. But the soldiers of Zhořelecký were joined by further help from the Empire led by Ruprecht III. Falck.

The release of Wenceslas IV from captivity was not agreed with the adversary until 30 July 1394. However, the capture and imprisonment of the ruler severely damaged the prestige of the royal majesty. The consequence was the share of the nobility in the exercise of power and the limitation of the sovereign position of the monarch. Nor was the situation calmed, and in 1397 four of Wenceslas' allies were even murdered at Karlštejn.

Wenceslas IV was imprisoned a second time in 1402. He found himself in the captivity of his libelous brother Sigismund, supported by part of the Bohemian nobility, and was interned with the Austrian Duke Albrecht in Vienna, who was Sigismund's ally. "From there the Czech monarch managed to escape in November 1403 and return to Prague via Moravia. It is possible that Sigismund Huler, to whom he had proved his loyalty to the king, was behind the king's escape.Huler's loyalty in his power struggle," notes Vladimír Liška in his book Václav IV. - Mysteries and Mysteries.

Jan Bauer: How a King Dies, Václav Liška: Václav IV - Mysteries and Mysteries, www.ktf.cuni.cz