The Zoul Family of Ostředek
The Zoul Family of Ostředek is a characters codex entry in Kingdom Come: Deliverance.
Codex entry
The story of the Zoul yeoman family aptly illustrates the conditions that existed in Bohemia at the turn of the century. Even before the King's abduction, Bohemia was crawling with all sorts of bandit fellowships and fraternities, often led by the lower nobility. Execution records mention the Zoul family name as of 1389, when Jan Zoul and his father Mikuláš Zoul are mentioned as leaders of a band of brigands that perpetrated pillaging raids from their base in Ostředek. The were sometimes joined by Jan's uncle Hagen from the nearby fortress of Křesice. Their territory of operation consisted mostly of the trade routes between Prague, Kutná Hora (Kuttenberg) and Benešov, as well as solitary mills. In fairness, it must be added that the testimonies of individual captured bandits or their associates implicated many millers and innkeepers from the surrounding villages of receiving stolen goods from bandits or assisting them in other ways. These stolen goods were indeed varied in character: we learn from the execution books that the Zouls stole horses, cattle and farm equipment, as well as merchandise such as cloth and barrels full of herring. Of course, money was also highly desirable loot.
Around the turn of the century, the Zoul's band seized Čejchanov Castle and extended their hunting ground. At the same time, they also fought with Prokop of Luxembourg's in his campaign against Sigismund, which nicely illustrates the attitude of the day to the criminality of the nobility. There was indeed a thin line between mercenary and bandit, very often depending on allegiances. It may have been on account of Prokop that the Zouls plundered especially the lands of Sigismund's allies from the Rosenberg family. Little wonder then, that most of the records we have about the Zouls come from the Rosenbergs' execution books, which depict them in an unflattering light. In 1401 they abducted the parish priest from a Rosenberg village, probably in the expectation of a fat ransom and later they further expanded their property by seizing Dubá Castle, which belonged to their former allies.
The Zouls pillaging raids were only brought to an end by a punitive expedition by the Prague Bishop Zbyněk Zajíc (Hare) of Házmburk (Hasenburg — "Hare Castle"), who conquered both Dubá and Čejchanov. He then brought Mikuláš Zoul and about fifty of his companions in captivity to Prague. Jan, the youngest of the Zouls, was captured and executed a year later. The Bishop divided the Zouls numerous properties, which included villages, woods and farms among his allies and left the family's descendants quite destitute. Čejchanov Castle was reduced to ruins during the punitive raid. It passed through the hands of several courtiers before becoming the property of Racek Kobyla in 1411. Kobyla built a new seat there called Komorní Hrádek.
The fate of Mikuláš Zoul after his captivity is also interesting, because he was escorted to the gallows by none less than Jan Hus and hanged along with his comrades. According to chronicles of the time, the only concession accorded to his noble status was that he was hanged higher than the other outlaws. His body was then displayed hanging on a hook. The chronicles mention that seven years later, a madman with a compulsion for burying executed convicts was wandering around Prague. Because he was unable to remove Zoul 's remains from the hook, he took at least one leg and left it with a female grocer, who later saw to a proper burial and the body of Mikuláš Zoul (albeit not in one piece) was finally laid to eternal rest behind the Church of St. Stephen in Rybníček, where it was customary at the time to inter executed individuals.
