Radzig Kobyla Characters
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? - 1416
Radzig Kobyla was a Bohemian yeoman, the Royal Hetman of Wenceslas IV and, between 1410 and 1415, Burgrave of Vyšehrad. In 1403 he was the hetman in Silver Skalitz, where he oversaw silver mining. The king was known for his favour towards lower nobility, to whom he awarded high positions in return for their loyalty. Radzig was probably one of these and likely a friend of the king.
In 1403 Skalitz was besieged and burned to the ground by King Sigismund and his Cuman army. For his service and loyalty, King Wenceslas IV permitted Radzig to build his own castle at Veselí nad Sázavou (Sasau).
He was killed in 1416 in a tavern in Kuttenberg by a mob of miners, incited by priests. “They seized them in the inn where they were staying, cut their bodies into pieces and threw them into the street, where the mob vigorously stomped on their remains and, singing joyful songs, went to the priests’ house to be praised for the act they had been encouraged to commit.”
This occured when he was there to collect taxes for the king. Interstingly, six years earlier he had likely been a robber knight. It is unclear from the sources, how he returned to the king’s service.
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