king, residing out of the country, was equivalent to no king at all, and this state of affairs brought its train of evils.
The first grievous evil was the increase of robbers. All trade and commerce with other nations were ruined; for now no highway was safe for travel. Most of these robbers were noblemen, who, when pursued, found a safe retreat in their strong fortresses.
Another great evil was a sort of war between the nobles and the cities. When cities were first established, they were given certain rights and privileges; and now the nobles constantly tried to usurp these rights. One of these was the exclusive right to brew beer. The noblemen also brewed beer, and forbade their subjects from buying it elsewhere. The cities regarded this as a great wrong, and retaliated in various ways, often bringing the country into great trouble. A good illustration of this is the case of John Kopidlansky.
In 1506 the Knight Kopidlansky got into a quarrel with a certain yeoman in the Old Town of Prague, and killed him. He was tried by the aldermen, condemned, and beheaded, without even being allowed to have a priest to prepare him for death. This so enraged the brother of the knight that he declared war against the city of Prague. His hordes of ruffians were posted upon all the highways leading to Prague, and many inoffensive citizens were taken, horribly mutilated, and left to perish. Kopidlansky was sustained in this by other noblemen, who delighted in all things that tormented the cities.
In this state of anarchy, many messengers were sent to King Vladislav, imploring him to come to the
