The Dry Devil's Family: His Brothers
In Raborsch, we encounter Botschek of Podiebrad, and later we learn about Jitka — they are indeed related to the Dry Devil. However, the connection is rather distant, as they belong to other branches of the Kunstadt family. So I thought perhaps someone might be interested in learning about the Dry Devil's closer relatives?
Jaispitz branch. Miroslav Plaček, Peter Futák: Páni z Kunštátu. Rod erbu vrchních pruhů na cestě k trůnu. Praha: Nakladatelství Lidové noviny, 2006. Dates indicate the first and last appearance in sources, not lifespans.
This post will focus on his brother and one of his cousins.
Although the Kunstadts were a noble family, the Jaispitz branch was not in the best financial situation during the lifetime of the Dry Devil and his brothers, which led some of them down the path of banditry during the chaos of the Margrave Wars. It is assumed that one of the main reasons was that almost exclusively sons were born into the family. Upon reaching adulthood, they married and had children of their own, while the family's holdings did not expand — which ultimately led to the impoverishment of this branch. By the beginning of the 15th century, as many as six families had to live side by side in Jaispitz Castle, and in terms of bad temper, the relatives were no better than Hynek.
Henry Zajímač. The Dry Devil's Older Brother
As mentioned in the previous post, Henry abducted people and held them for ransom, a fairly common source of illegal income during the Margrave Wars. He inherited his nickname from Jitka's grandfather, Smil Zajímač. He most likely kept his captives in Holoubek Castle.
The castle was seized from the royal mintmaster Martin of Radotice (apparently not without the help of Hynek). Because of his position, Martin was far away from the castle and could do little against such audacity.
Its name comes from the Czech word for "pigeon." According to one version, this was due to the coat of arms of the castle's previous owners. According to another, less likely version, the name comes from the enormous number of pigeons nesting there.
Henry and his band of robbers lived in the castle for fourteen years, and throughout those years Martin kept taking him to court, demanding that the castle be returned. Henry, of course, had no intention of returning it. In the end, all Martin could do was hope that the pigeons would at least ruin Zajímač's clothes.
Reconstruction of Holoubek Castle by M. Plaček. Artist: Jan Heřman. https://www.hrady-zriceniny.cz
Around 1406, Henry handed the castle over to his right-hand man, Přech of Kojetic. Unfortunately, the castle has not survived to the present day. By decision of the Diet, it was demolished in the 1440s due to the constant presence of robber bands that plagued the surrounding region.
It is unknown which military campaigns Henry took part in alongside his brother. However, his name appears in the excommunication list drawn up by the abbot of the Benedictine monastery in Vienna (Schottenstift).
It is worth noting that all supporters of Margrave Prokop were excommunicated, but Henry managed to stand out even here by appearing on the list twice (or perhaps his excommunication lasted until 1403, when the Papal Curia lifted it).
The explanation is simple: Henry enjoyed robbing churches in Austrian territory.
The Dry Devil, as a supporter of Prokop, also appeared on this list, which adds a certain comedy to the whole dreadful situation: the Devil was banned from the Church.
Henry was happily married to Anna of Konice. For Anna, this was her second marriage, and it came rather soon after the death of her first husband.
From her first marriage, Anna already had three children (possibly more). She bore Zajímač another six children (possibly more as well).
In the end, Anna of Konice outlived them all.
By the age of eighty, Anna still appears in the sources, energetic and busy looking after her army of grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Fragment of the Zajímač genealogy. Miroslav Plaček, Peter Futák: Páni z Kunštátu. Rod erbu vrchních pruhů na cestě k trůnu. Praha: Nakladatelství Lidové noviny, 2006.
Henry's execution is full of uncertainties and remains a subject of debate to this day.
Some believe that Jobst himself was behind it, having failed to tighten the noose around the Dry Devil's neck but perhaps succeeding in doing so to his brother instead.
Others doubt that the execution took place at all and believe Henry most likely died during his imprisonment. The Kunstadts' lack of reaction seems suspicious: when Albert V executed Heralt of Kunstadt (of the Lysice branch), the Kunstadts made quite a fuss, remembering that they were all related.
Then again, this may have been due to other political factors. After all, Botschek of Podiebrad's love of warm family gatherings didn't stop him from locking one of his relatives in a tower and starving him to death after an unfortunate disagreement. (This happened in 1425, so it is not the Botschek you are probably thinking of.)
Historians generally favor the version that Henry was indeed executed in 1409.
Henry and his three companions were seized and arrested in Znojmo under rather strange circumstances, allegedly for robbing two townsmen from Jihlava. What business brought him to Znojmo remains unknown. There he was recognized by a local archer who, quite conveniently, happened to know Henry by sight.
Although a robbery of this kind was very much in the spirit of a man like Zajímač, imprisonment — let alone a noble court — was a highly unusual outcome. Such matters were normally settled by a simple judicial summons, and the only punishment Henry would have faced was paying damages.
It is possible that other crimes were later attributed to him on the basis of testimony extracted from his squire under torture.
Interestingly, the fate of the Dry Devil's squire, a fellow named Václav, was quite similar. The only difference was that Václav needed only a single glance at the torture chamber to assess his rather grim prospects and quickly revealed everything he knew about the historical Devil's Pack.
It was dangerous to be a squire to men like these...
Before being transported to Brno for trial, Henry was imprisoned in one of the houses in Znojmo. The account books reveal the problem with the cold he faced almost immediately: Henry requested a small amount of coal to keep himself warm.
After the winter journey to Brno and the opening of the noble court on 24 January, Henry's trail disappears.
In the Book of Executions of the Lords of Rosenberg, one can find testimony against Henry dated Anno dni etc. CCCCIX ante festum sanctae Trinitatis (1409, before the Feast of the Holy Trinity). However, this interrogation concerned another case, and it is unknown whether the man who mentioned Henry knew anything about his fate at the time he spoke to the executioner.
Popravčí kniha pánův z Rožmberka, p. 21. Testimony of Matthew the Leader (Matěj Vůdce)
Red: "Zajímač at Jaispitz harbors robbers, enemies of the realm." Yellow: confirmation that Vilém Sudlice had already seized Rabstein — with him, Zizka. Remember this detail.
It is also possible that Henry's trial was a lengthy one and continued until May. By 22 November 1409, however, he was certainly dead — his debts were now being claimed in court from his son, Henry the Younger.
One can occasionally read that Henry Zajímač was quartered; others write that he was hanged like a commoner. Some claim that he was beheaded and ascended the scaffold alongside his cousin, another robber, Peter of Jaispitz. Others believe that he died from illness and the cold.
There are no reliable sources to confirm any of these versions, and we will probably never know how this twice-excommunicated robber knight, murderer, and generally unpleasant man ended his earthly journey.
Peter of Jaispitz had no nickname of his own. However, his son and later descendants would inherit Hynek's nickname, "Dry Devil."
Like Henry, Peter was also excommunicated. This was probably due to the same fondness for Church property that his cousin displayed.
Peter's wife was Eliška of Meziřiči, and some interesting records survive about this gentle lady, the mother of the future Jan Dry Devil: in 1415, a court summons was issued against her for stealing wine from other people's vineyards over many years.
The three of them — Peter, Hynek, and Henry — often appear together in legal documents. They acted as guarantors for one another's payments, but they also sued each other over debts and unfulfilled obligations.
Henry sues Hynek over unpaid debts, claiming 500 groschen in damages. LCS II, No. 349, p. 88.
The greatest debtor among them was, of course, Hynek, who was very reluctant to pay what he owed. Sometimes this was because, as his KCD2 counterpart puts it, "I sure as fuck haven't got the coin," and sometimes because of some personal dislike of the creditor.
So at the first dry cough from the Devil, the cousins probably exchanged nervous glances, realizing that after Hynek's death his debts would become their problem — which is exactly what happened.
Besides the debts, Henry was to inherit all the property of his deceased younger brother that had not yet been confiscated by angry creditors: the villages of Dukovany and Rouchovany, as well as Rabstein Castle.
But Zajímač was in for a very unpleasant surprise: almost as soon as he entered into his inheritance, Peter of Jaispitz seized everything listed above.
Soon afterward, Peter paid dearly for his greed.
Reconstruction of Rabstein Castle by M. Plaček and P. Šimeček. Artist: Jan Heřman. https://www.hrady-zriceniny.cz
The Dry Devil was made lord of Rabstein by Margrave Prokop. It was his favourite residence, and it was probably here that he quietly passed away in early 1408.
By an irony of fate, death caught up with Peter and Henry in the same year — 1409. Because of this, historians long connected these two events: the cousins' conflict ended with both of them ascending the scaffold.
Unlike Henry, however, nothing is known about Peter's arrest or trial.
By 24 May, Peter already appears in the sources as deceased, and his death may have been connected not with the supposed execution in Brno but with the second seizure of Rabstein, which took place in March of the same year.
The castle was seized by Vilém Sudlice — a well-known robber, particularly notorious for his cruelty, a supporter of Margrave Prokop, and an associate of Jan Sokol of Lamberk.
Thus, one can imagine the scene: years earlier, Hynek may have shaken hands with the future killer of his own cousin.
Brandl, Vincentius, ed. Libri citationum et sententiarum seu Knihy půhonné a nálezové. Vol. 2, Quo continentur: I. Půhony Břenešské (1406–1415). II. Půhony Olomúcké (1412–1420). Brunae: Sumptibus Deputationis March. Mor. – Typis Friderici Winiker, 1873.
Futák, Peter. "Páni z Kunštátu jako organizátoři bojových družin a pozdější husité." In Z počátků husitské revoluce: k výročí svěcení husitských kněží na Lipnici v roce 1417. Brno: Matice moravská, 2019.
Hoffmann, František. "Bojové družiny na Moravě a v Čechách před husitskou revolucí a za revoluce." Táborský archiv 6, 1994.
Plaček, Miroslav. "Ves a dvůr Holoubek. K otázce vztahu dvora a panského sídla ve středověku." Archaeologia historica, 1987.
Plaček, Miroslav, and Peter Futák. Páni z Kunštátu: Rod erbu vrchních pruhů na cestě k trůnu. Praha: Nakladatelství Lidové noviny, 2006.
Popravčí kniha pánův z Rožmberka. Praha: Královská společnost nauk, 1878.
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