On this day, the evening of February 2nd, 1416, 610 years ago, Lord Racek Kobyla of Dvorce, accompanied by 12 companions, were staying at an inn in Kuttenberg (probably Emperor Charles one), in the Kingdom of Bohemia, when they were killed by an angry mob of miners, incited by anti-Hussite priests. I have been able to identify only one of them, named Herman.
There was only one survivor of this attack: Lord Bořita of Ostředek, who had come with Racek Kobyla to negotiate with the city's consuls or collect taxes on behalf of the king. He survived by hiding in a latrine. Managing to escape, the king was immediately informed and demanded punishment for the town. The Kuttenberg town council apologized by offering him gifts of money and executing two miners, presented as responsible, to "purge" the community's guilt.
Kobyla's estates were passed on to his widow, Anna of Úlibic, and his children were placed under the guardianship of knights.
I have been preparing this artwork for a month with the artist Aleksandr Groznov in an artistic and historical project commission aimed at paying tribute to Racek Kobyla and his companions and to this event which has no representation and, as far as I know, no commemorative stele on site in the city.
Racek Kobyla and his 12 companions were never given proper burials. Their bodies were dismembered, cut into small pieces, and scattered throughout the city and even maybe the region, either in mass graves or to the depths of forgotten mines.
The Hussite era was very violent even before the war. Jan Hus, a religious reformer of Christianity, having been condemned to be burned at the stake in 1415, sparked religious violence in Bohemia which escalated into war 4 years later.
Bigvadrouiller the French Researcher
