WENCESLAUS (1361-1419), German king, was the eldest son of the emperor Charles IV., of the house of Luxemburg. He was born in 1361, and when three years of age was crowned as his father’s successor in Bohemia. In 1376 he was elected king of the Romans, and in 1378, on the death of Charles IV., he mounted the Bohemian and German thrones. He repeatedly thought of going to Rome to receive the imperial crown, but this intention was never fulfilled. During his reign there was great confusion both in church and state, and he was wholly powerless to cope with the forces of disorder. Although not without a rude sense of justice, he was of a rough and violent temper, and too fond of pleasure to devote much attention to serious duty. The cities of Germany, in which were some of the best elements of the national life, had been gradually learning how to defend themselves by combining with one another against princes and robber knights; and a wise king or emperor might with their aid have succeeded in re-establishing the authority of the crown. Wenceslaus, however, never understood the importance of the cities, and missed every opportunity of winning their friendship. At a diet in Nuremberg in 1383 an attempt was made to secure the public peace, but the cities, knowing that their liberties were threatened, gave no heed to the measures adopted by the diet. In 1381 the Rhenish cities had formed a confederation, and notwithstanding the threats of Wenceslaus had united with the Swabian League, which was regarded with fear and hatred by most of the southern princes. The battle of Sempach, in which the Swiss confederates gained a decisive victory over the house of Hapsburg, greatly encouraged the cities, but in 1388 a powerful coalition was formed against them, and at the battle of ...