Hynce Ptáček of Pirkstein (1404 – 27 August 1444) was a Czech

nobleman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteristi ...

, the highest Hofmeister and

Münzmeister In medieval and early modern Germany, the ''Münzmeister'' ("mint master", the Latin term is ''monetarius'') was the head or manager of a mint, a moneyer with responsibility for the minting of coins, or specie. His duties were defined differently a ...

of the

Kingdom of Bohemia The Kingdom of Bohemia ( cs, České království),; la, link=no, Regnum Bohemiae sometimes in English literature referred to as the Czech Kingdom, was a medieval and early modern monarchy in Central Europe, the predecessor of the modern Czec ...

and

regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

of Bohemia's

royal cities The term royal city denotes a privilege that some cities in Bohemia and Moravia enjoyed during the Middle Ages. It meant the city was an inalienable part of the royal estate; the king could not sell or pledge the city. At the beginning of the 16th ...

Life

Hynce Ptáček of Pirkstein came from a side line of the noble . He was the son of

Jan Ptáček of Pirkstein {{Infobox noble, type , name = Jan Ptáček of Pirkstein , title = Lord of Rataje nad SázavouLord of Polná , image = , caption = , alt = , CoA = , more ...

and Jitka of Kunštát. From 1420 he was in possession of

Rataje nad Sázavou Rataje nad Sázavou (german: Rattay, Ratais an der Sasau) is a market town in Kutná Hora District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 500 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by la ...

and he soon rose to the highest court master and mint master of the

and the acting regent of the royal cities. As a moderate representative of the

Hussites The Hussites ( cs, Husité or ''Kališníci''; "Chalice People") were a Czech proto-Protestant Christian movement that followed the teachings of reformer Jan Hus, who became the best known representative of the Bohemian Reformation. The Hussit ...

he fought in 1434 in the Battle of Lipan on the side of Prague. After Sigismund's death in 1437 he and

George of Poděbrady George of Kunštát and Poděbrady (23 April 1420 – 22 March 1471), also known as Poděbrad or Podiebrad ( cs, Jiří z Poděbrad; german: Georg von Podiebrad), was the sixteenth King of Bohemia, who ruled in 1458–1471. He was a leader of the ...

, his protégé and future provincial administrator and King of Bohemia, joined the influential group of nobles who boycotted the election of Sigismund's son-in-law Albert II to King of Bohemia. They tried to elect the Polish king Władysław III as the new king of Bohemia. They then nominated Władysław's brother

Casimir IV Jagiello Casimir IV (in full Casimir IV Andrew Jagiellon; pl, Kazimierz IV Andrzej Jagiellończyk ; Lithuanian: ; 30 November 1427 – 7 June 1492) was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1440 and King of Poland from 1447, until his death. He was one of the ...

, who was only eleven years old at the time. Casimir was elected by the opposition group, but could not prevail against Albert II. Albert II died in 1439 without male heirs, leaving the throne empty. In 1440, Hynce Ptáček of Pirkstein along with other nobles founded the regional

Landfrieden Under the law of the Holy Roman Empire, a ''Landfrieden'' or ''Landfriede'' (Latin: ''constitutio pacis'', ''pax instituta'' or ''pax jurata'', variously translated as "land peace", or "public peace") was a contractual waiver of the use of legiti ...

alliance, to maintain the peace. As leader of the alliance, Hynce Ptáček of Pirkstein convened a meeting at

Čáslav Čáslav (; german: Tschaslau) is a town in Kutná Hora District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 10,000 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone. Administ ...

in 1441, where the alliance decided to take action against the robber baron , who had illegally occupied several possessions in East Bohemia. Hynce Ptáček of Pirkstein died in 1444 and was buried in the St. Matthew's Church in Rataje nad Sázavou.

Marriage and issue

Hynce Ptáček of Pirkstein married Anne of Neuhaus (d. 1452), daughter of Chief Mint Master . With Anna, he had a daughter, Margaret of Pirkstein, who married in 1463

Victor, Duke of Münsterberg Victor, Duke of Münsterberg also: ''Victor, Duke of Münsterberg and Opava''; cz, Viktorin z Minsterberka; (29 May 1443 in Cieszyn – 30 August 1500 in Cieszyn) was an Imperial Count from 1459 and Count of Kladsko. From 1462 until his death, h ...

, the second son of

Notes

References

;Citations ;Further reading * Jan Urban: ''Lichtenburkové'', , S. 8 * Jörg K. Hoensch: ''Geschichte Böhmens''. Beck, München 1997, , p. 154–156 * Lydia Baštecká, Ivana Ebelová: ''Náchod''. Náchod 2004, , p. 51–52

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pirkstein, Hynek Ptacek Of Medieval Bohemian nobility 1404 births 1444 deaths 15th-century Bohemian people People of the Hussite Wars