The Abduction of Margrave Prokop Events

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At the turn of the 14th and 15th centuries Moravia was plagued by wars between the brothers Prokop and Jobst of Luxembourg. At issue was the legacy and power of a dynasty that had aspired to the Polish and Hungarian Crowns. After the death of Charles IV, both brothers supported the policies of Hungarian King Sigismund, but when he imprisoned King Wenceslas IV in 1394, Prokop sided with the Bohemian King. In return he was granted the right to occupy episcopal castles which led to his excommunication by the Pope and his subsequent capture by Sigismund.

In 1402, Sigismund again imprisoned Wenceslas IV and tricked Prokop into captivity in Pressburg (Bratislava). That same year, Jobst switched sides from Sigismund to support Albrecht of Austria in Hungary, where an anti-royalist uprising had just begun, aiming for the release of his brother and the Czech king. Prokop gained his freedom through a peace agreement brokered between Sigismund and Jobst, after more than two years of imprisonment.
The fraternal conflict between Jobst and Prokop led to anarchy in Moravia, which was exploited by a whole host of robber-barons, who set about attacking castles and villages.

After Prokop’s death, Jobst became the sole ruler of Moravia, and gradually dealt with his cousins. In 1411 Jobst died childless, just as Prokop had done, and the title of Margrave of Moravia reverted to Wenceslas IV.

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