Lord of Žampach, one of the few nobles who still adhered to the party of Tabor, again took up arms and forcibly obtained possession of the town of Nachod.
More important than these local disturbances was the difficulty with regard to the appointment of an Archbishop of Prague. As already mentioned, John of Rokycan had been elected by the Estates, but neither the Pope nor the Council had confirmed his election. Philibert, Bishop of Coutances, also resided in Prague, in an undefined capacity, but with the secret approval of King Sigismund. The king's attitude in this matter was not free from the accusation of double-dealing. "Publicly Sigismund wrote to the Council recommending it to confirm Rokycan's nomination as archbishop; secretly, he advised the contrary."[1]
Though no settlement of this difficult question was arrived at, the long-expected sanction of the "Compacts" by the Council of Basel at last reached Prague (Feb. 1437). By order of Sigismund a decree was read out in the Bohemian, Latin, Hungarian, and German languages, in the "Corpus Christi" Chapel at Prague, declaring "that the Bohemians and Moravians who received the flesh and blood of God in both kinds were true Christians, and genuine sons of the Church." Two inscriptions on stone were placed in the chapel to commemorate this important event.[2]
Towards the end of the year (1437) Sigismund became seriously ill, and perhaps feeling that his end was near, decided to return to Hungary. He had already expressed the wish to be interred in that country, at Grosswardin, in a vault which had been specially prepared. His one remaining anxiety was to secure the succession to the Bohemian throne to his son-in-law Albert of Austria. The claim of Albert was founded on the treaty concluded by the Emperor Charles, according to which the houses of Luxemburg and Habsburg had reciprocally recognized each other as heirs, should one or the other line become extinct. Sigismund hoped to realize his object more surely if he could establish Albert as ruler of Bohemia during his lifetime. This appeared to him all the more necessary in consequence of the intrigues of his consort, the Empress Barbara. During
