The Murder of Wenceslas III

JAN 01 1306 · 12:00

Wenceslas III departing Hungary, miniature from the Chronicon Pictum (c. 1358); within months he would be dead in Olomouc. Place: Deanery house, Olomouc Figures: Wenceslas III, last male Přemyslid · an unknown assassin Wenceslas III is seventeen. He wears the crown of Bohemia by birth, the crown of Hungary by inheritance (briefly), and the crown of Poland by his father's last conquest. He has come to Olomouc in the summer of 1306 to muster an army; the Poles are restive, and Władysław the Elbow-High will not stay defeated. On the afternoon of August 4, the king is resting in the deanery. The day is hot. He has loosened his armor.