eastern european eagle

Chapter 116 Prague

After untold hardships, Peter finally arrived in Prague.

At the end of the 9th century, Czech Duke Božvoy moved his residence from Levi Hradec to Prague Castle.Gradually, craftsmen and merchants came to the place below the castle.Thus, cities were born.By the beginning of the 12th century, Prague developed into a prosperous city.

In 1348, Charles IV ordered the establishment of Prague New Town on the vast area between Visjo Castle and the Old Town.As a result, the area was gradually filled with citizens' houses, markets, gardens, churches and monasteries.In terms of size and sophistication, Prague was comparable to Rome, Florence, Paris, Cologne and other most famous cities of the time.Although Prague is one of the largest cities in Europe and the third largest city in the Holy Roman Empire by area, Prague has a smaller population than Rome, Venice, Genoa, Florence, Milan, Constantinople, and Paris.

This is a more prosperous city than Buda and Brno, Peter naturally wants to take a look.

"Your Highness, after the expansion of the previous king, Prague is already one of the largest cities in the empire. It is also the permanent residence of the current emperor."

By this time Peter was already on the bridge, seduced by the charm of the old town.And he couldn't help but want to see the city.

There might be something wrong with Peter's timing, though.At this time, the cholera plague spread to Bohemia, resulting in a sharp decrease in the Czech population and barren land. Coupled with the impoverishment of the nobles and the lack of interest in politics, the son of Charles IV, Wenceslas IV, the international status of Bohemia declined. The political situation is tense.

"Let's go to the university first!"

Charles University is a university built during Charles IV, the first university in Central Europe and a cultural gathering place in Bohemia.

Peter came here not only to enjoy the scenery, but also to see the figure who would cause the biggest war in the history of Bohemia in the future. At this time, he should be developing in the university.

And when he walked near the church, a man with a big belly and a bishop's costume was chattering and holding a piece of paper in his hand.

"What is he doing?"

"I don't know, it seems to be selling something."

Looking at this man, Peter felt that he must have paid for the bishop's seat.And it will intensify the search for money.

The fact is true, these people, like tax contractors, will intensify their efforts to obtain more money, the most important thing is tithes, followed by various donations.Of course, if indulgences can be issued, there will be more.

The sale of indulgences by Christian clergy was a unique phenomenon in the Middle Ages in Western Europe.Pope Urban II launched the first Crusade in 1095. In order to strengthen the religious beliefs of the Crusaders, the Pope announced that all those who joined the army could receive reduced punishment and issued indulgences for each Crusader. .The theoretical basis for the church’s ability to reduce punishment for crimes is that the church has a “merit bank” in which to store the infinite grace of Christ and the good deeds of the martyrs, which can be allocated to believers to offset the punishment they deserve for their crimes.

Catholic theology believes that after sinners are forgiven by confessing to God, the church can exempt them from the temporal punishment for their sins, that is, "exoneration".The Catholic Church believes that Christ was crucified with immeasurable merits. The Virgin Mary and the saints also accumulated many "good deeds". When the good deeds done are not enough to fully compensate for the crime, some merits can be obtained from the merit treasury to pay off the debt of punishment.The bishop has the right to absolve part of the punishment, and the pope has the right to absolve all punishment. In 1313, the Catholic Church began to sell this coupon in Europe, and the Pope declared that believers could be pardoned "sin" after buying this coupon.

After the great split of the Catholic Church, Avignon and Rome began to issue indulgences in order to obtain more funds. Among them, Shinra was the most serious. The money extracted from this country every year can be compared with the trade volume of Venice. Therefore, Shinra was Called the pope's cow.

As part of Shinra, Bohemia naturally suffered the most.And this indulgences promotion is a microcosm.

"As long as you have this, you have atoned for your sins and your soul can ascend to heaven."

The bishop advertised the indulgences with great fanfare, and as soon as the people in the audience heard that they could go to heaven, they put their little money into the other party's wallet, just in exchange for this torn piece of paper.

Seeing that they were selling well, Peter spent a few gold coins to buy a few.

"Is this what they call indulgences?"

Peter looked at this piece of paper, looking horizontally or vertically, but he couldn't see where salvation was.He didn't see anything but cannibalism.

"A few ducats are exchanged for such a torn piece of paper. What's the picture?"

Peter complained about the so-called indulgences to the people next to him, and he became more and more angry. He almost wanted to bury the bishop alive. Anyway, no one reported missing in this era.

In order not to make trouble, Peter left here and went to the hotel. He wanted to take a good rest and think about how to commit crimes.And after they left, another person also came here.

This man was about 20 years old, had a beard, and was dressed in priestly attire. He was very distressed when he saw the crowd robbing indulgences like crazy.

"John, what are you doing here?"

"Nothing, just walk."

----split line----

At night, there was a cart loading something at the back door of the church. During the day, the bishop was telling the groom to transport these things to his manor, the sooner the better.

Naturally, the groom didn't dare to slack off, but it was getting late, so he decided to transport them out of the city at dawn the next day.He rested in an inn and kept a close eye on the van.

At this moment, a man planned to play a game of dice with him, and the loser would drink a glass of wine by himself. Naturally, the groom would fight to the end, because he liked it the most.

The two of them drank one cup and one cup. I don't know how much time passed. The groom was dizzy and planned to surrender, but he was dissuaded by the enthusiastic opponent, and he added a bet - two ducats.

The groom also persevered, but it was already at the end of his strength.It didn't take long to fall asleep on the table, and the truck he was staring at was naturally tampered with by others.

When the groom woke up the next day, he saw the two gold coins beside him. He thought he had gotten a free one, so he didn't think much about it, and happily pulled the carriage away.

"My lord, they have already been replaced, and he will never find out."

"That's good"

Peter watched the other party's carriage go farther and farther, and couldn't bear the joy in his heart.This time I made a fortune.

(End of this chapter)