In the morning (November 1) Sigismund rode to the summit of a little
hill beyond the village of Pankrac, and in view of the Vysehrad, and
waved his sword as a signal to the garrison to attack the rear of the
enemy's army. 'But, as according to God's will,' the chronicler writes,
'the hour had already passed, the garrison did not stir.' A few German
soldiers who formed part of the garrison, indeed attempted to come to
Sigismund's aid, but were held back by their Bohemian comrades. Seeing
that no sortie from the Vysehrad was intended, several of the Moravian
nobles rode up to the King and advised him not to attack the Praguers,
otherwise both he and his people would suffer much evil. The King
answered, 'I must war with these peasants to-day.' Then Henry of
Plumlov, Captain of Moravia, said, 'Be certain that this day will have
an evil end; I dread the fighting-clubs[19] of the peasants.' The King
answered, 'I know that you Moravians are cowards and faithless to me.'
Then Lord Henry and the other Moravian lords mounted their horses and
cried, 'We will obey your order and we shall be there, where you will
not be.' The nobles attacked the strong position of the Praguers with
great vigour, and for a moment the citizens wavered. Then Krusina
hurried to the spot where they stood, and exclaimed with a loud voice,
'Dear brethren! turn back again and be to-day brave knights in Christ's
battle, for it is God's, not our fight, that we are fighting to-day. You
will see for sure that God will deliver all His and our enemies into our
hands.' Hardly had he ceased speaking when the cry, 'The enemy is
flying,' was heard. The citizens speedily rallied, and, assuming the
offensive, drove the Moravian nobles back into the marshy ground that
extended from the Vysehrad to the village of Pankrac. A great massacre
of the nobles, whose heavy armour impeded their movements, took place,
and flight soon became general. Sigismund himself, who, regardless of
the taunts of the Moravian nobles had again remained with the rear of
his army, did not halt till he had reached the town of Cesky Brod. A
very large number of Moravian nobles fell in this battle, and many also
died of their wounds at the village of Pankrac, after receiving
communion in the two kinds, as the pious chronicler states. It is
touching to note that the Praguers sorrowed over the death of the
Moravian nobles, who, though they had fought against the city, yet
belonged to the same race as the citizens. The citadel of Vysehrad
surrendered on the day of the battle, and on June 7, 1421, the garrison
of the Hradcany--which had unsuccessfully attempted a diversion during
the battle of the Vysehrad--also capitulated.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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