sentatives then rescinded the decree of excommunication against the Bohemians, declared them to be faithful sons of the Church, and proclaimed peace between Bohemia and the other nations.
Immediately afterwards Sigismund issued a decree confirming all the ancient rights of Bohemia. The regent Aleš of Riesenburg resigned his office, and Sigismund was recognized as King of Bohemia by all the Estates of the country. Sigismund, now undisputed sovereign of the land, made his entry into Prague on August 23, 1436. He was enthusiastically received by the people, who now at last hoped for more peaceful times.
King Sigismund was already sixty-eight years old when he at last secured the possession of the kingdom. He was only to reign over Bohemia for a few months.
This period of comparative tranquillity, after so many eventful years, may be passed over with very slight notice. Sigismund's policy, though as reactionary as circumstances permitted, was rendered cautious by his experiences. When the necessary redistribution of the principal offices of State and court took place, Sigismund attempted to exclude all who were not either Romanists, or belonged to that part of the utraquist party which was nearest to Rome. His views with regard to heretics probably differed little from those he had expressed at Constance many years before, but he was thoroughly aware of the importance of avoiding a new outbreak of hostilities. The towns of Tabor and Kralové Hradec, still held by the advanced party, were pacified by treaties which guaranteed to them a certain amount of autonomy. Of the few opponents of the new king, John Roháč, Lord of Duba, was especially remarkable. Even after the submission of the town of Kralové Hradec he continued a guerilla warfare, the centre of which was the castle of "Sion"—a name which, like Tabor, Oreb, and so many others, shows how great was the effect of the recently acquired right of studying the Scriptures. After a lengthy siege, Roháč of Duba was obliged to capitulate unconditionally. He and his followers were afterwards publicly executed on the market-place of the old town (Staroměstské Naměstí) at Prague. This injudicious severity caused great indignation in Bohemia, and was probably the principal cause of the renewed troubles during the last months of Sigismund's life. Among others, John Kolda,
