“It won’t be a short siege.” Prokop the Shaven interrupted the silence. “We’ve been camped outside Kolín since the Exaltation of the Cross, and I’ll consider it a success if the town surrenders before Advent. You might end up finding me still here after your return from Poland, Brother Wyszek. When are you setting off?”

“Tomorrow at daybreak. Across the Odra, then via Cieszyn and Zator.”

“Aren’t you afraid to go? Now in Poland not only Oleśnicki but any old starosta might lock you up in a dungeon, according to the laws Jogaila has enacted. Caused by his bellyache, no doubt.”

Everybody, including Reynevan, knew what he meant. After April 1424, the Edict of Wieluń—forced on Jogaila by Bishop Oleśnicki, Sigismund and the papal legates—was in force in the Kingdom of Poland. The edict—although neither the name “Huss” nor the word “Hussite” were cited—still talked expressis verbis about Bohemia as a region “infected by heresy.” It forbade Poles from trading with Czechs and travelling to Bohemia at all, and ordered any Poles there to return immediately. The disobedient could expect infamia and the confiscation of their estates. Furthermore, regarding heretics, the edict fundamentally changed heresy from an offence punishable in Poland by ecclesiastical courts into a crime against kingdom and king, a crimen laesae maiestatis and high treason.

This categorisation set in motion the entire state apparatus in pursuing and punishing heresy, and anyone found guilty would be put to death.

The matter naturally infuriated the Czechs—they considered Poland a kindred and amicable country, and now instead of a common front against the Germanic world suddenly came an insult; instead of a front—an affront. However, most people understood Jogaila’s reasons and the rules of the complicated game he had to play. It soon became apparent that the edict was only dangerous on paper—and there it remained. So when a Czech mentioned the “Edict of Wieluń,” he usually winked knowingly or added a sneer. As Prokop did that time.

“Never mind, as soon as the Teutonic Knights cross the Drwęca, Jogaila will forget about his high-sounding edict. For he knows that if he has to search around for help against the Germans, it won’t be found in Rome.”