Whatever its cause, his death removed the last restraint from the mob.
On the following day every church and monastery in Prague was assailed
and plundered, their pictures were destroyed, and the robes of the
priests were converted into flags and dresses. Many of these buildings
are said to have been splendidly decorated, and the royal palace, which
was also destroyed, had been adorned by Wenceslas and his father with
the richest treasures of art. We are told that on the walls of a garden
belonging to the palace the whole of the Bible was written. While the
work of destruction went on, a priest formed an altar in the street of
three tubs, covered by a broad table-top, from which all day long he
dispensed the sacrament in both forms.
The excesses of this outbreak soon frightened the wealthier citizens,
who dreaded an assault upon their wealth, and, in company with Sophia,
the widow of Wenceslas, they sent a deputation to the emperor, asking
him to make peace. He replied by swearing to take a fearful revenge on
the insurgents. The insurrection continued, despite this action of the
nobles and the threats of the emperor.
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