The momentary settlement obtained through the Letter of Majesty and the Agreement signed on the same day, which afterwards received the king's approval, did not long ensure peace to Bohemia. Its provisions have consequently always been subjected to very hostile comment, specially by writers of strong papal bias. To those who examine the numerous contemporary records with impartiality, it will perhaps be apparent that under more favourable circumstances these charters might have secured to Bohemia a much-required respite from theological strife. It is certain that from this date the attitude of the Protestants ceased to be an aggressive, and henceforth became a distinctly defensive, one.[1]
Neither the provisions of the Letter of Majesty nor the conduct of the Protestants suffice to explain the fact that troubles so soon recommenced in Bohemia. These troubles are rather to be attributed to the circumstance (the causes of which are beyond the scope of this book) that the policy of the Spanish court became more active and aggressive about the beginning of the seventeenth century. We must also take into account the success with which the Archduke Ferdinand (whose accession to the throne of Bohemia appeared more and more probable) had carried out the "Catholic Reformation" in Styria, a success which raised the hopes and increased the energy of the Jesuits and other enthusiasts for the Roman cause in Bohemia.
The last years of the reign of Rudolph are of little interest, compared with the momentous events of 1608 and 1609. The king's only concern seems to have been his desire for revenge on his brother Matthew, who had de-
- ↑ The Protestants of Bohemia, even after they had risen in arms against King Matthew (in 1618), maintained that the stipulations of the Letter of Majesty and the Agreement, if faithfully carried out, would have completely satisfied them. In the letter addressed to King James I of England by the "Directors" (dated Prague, Nov. 3 (New Style), 1618), they stated that "post multa certamina singulari Dei providentia a Rudolpho Secundo Imperatore, et Rege Nostro beatae memoriae non modo libertas religionis nobis evangelicis concessa sed etiam diplomate Caesareo stabilita et a moderno etiam Caesare domino nostro clementissimo solemniter confirmata, sanctaque pax et libertas religionis inter nos Evangelicos sub Utrâque et Pontificios sub Unâ vulgo nominatos erecta fuit" (from the copy of the letter preserved in the Stale Archives, Venice).
undeniable. The Protestant citizens of Hrob and Broumov had the law on their side.
