Kingdom Come: Deliverance depicts Czechs largely wanting Wenceslas IV as King despite his blatant failures as a ruler, is this an accurate historical depiction?

by Cookielolz

I'm not too far in to the game yet but I've yet to hear anything positive about Wenceslas the Idle and nothing really negative about Sigismund. Is this blind nationalism a common feature of the time or something?

lcmiracle

I cannot provide an answer, but I will try to provide some context for this question using my experience with the game.

The game's intro set up Wenceslaus IV as "the idle", who squandered all that which his father, Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV (who had a long and success reign, I might add) had provided him, and instead spent his time on "frivolous pursues". Sigsmund, King of Hungary, took advantage of the situation. and with the help of a group discontent Bohemian nobles, kidnapped and imprisoned Wenceslaus IV while Sigsmund ravaged Bohemia.

The prologue of the games shows the life in Skalitz in 1402, one scene in particular shows a local man whom others call the "Deustche", in support of Sigsmund while the rest of the town showed clear repulsion towards him. The game's protangonist was compelled by some of his friends to throw manure at Deustche's freshly washed home. Shortly after Sigsmund and his army of Cuman mercenaries assaulted without warning and razing the town of Silver Skalice/Skalitz and chased the town's survivors. The protangonist's parents were among the many slaughtered during the assault.

And pretty much after than, whenever noblemen shown in the game talks about Sigsmund, they all agree on that Wenscelaus IV was not a good king, Sigsmund was only trying to bring the situation under control. The following points were repeated multiple times by different characters at different points of the storyline: that Sigsmund looted Skalitz (and Kudenburg before it) because both had plunder with which he desperately needed to pay for his army. That Wenscelaus IV indulged in deliacies and women, neglecting his duty as King of Bohemia and the Holy Roman Emperor.

At the end of the game, Jobst, the Magrave of Moravia, states that Sigsmund was invited to Bohemia by Wensceslaus IV as the latter did not wish to work for being the Emperor, and offered Sigsmund to rule while he continues his interests. It was went later Wensceslaus withdraw his offer that Sigsmund took matter into his own hands, and he kidnapped Wensceslaus and send him to be coronated. In the end, Jobst shifted his alligiance to Sigsmund, in favor of returning Wenscelaus to Bohemia as her King, in order to end the chaos.