Editing Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia (section)

===Dethronement===
[[File:HRR 1400.png|thumb|250px|Map of the Holy Roman Empire in 1400]]
In view of his troubles in Bohemia, Wenceslaus did not seek a coronation ceremony as [[Holy Roman Emperor]]. Consequently, he faced anger at the ''[[Reichstag (Holy Roman Empire)|Reichstag]]'' diets of Nuremberg (1397) and Frankfurt (1398). The four [[Rhineland|Rhenish]] electors, [[List of Counts Palatine of the Rhine|Count Palatine]] [[Rupert, King of the Romans|Rupert III]] and the archbishops of [[Archbishopric of Mainz|Mainz]], [[Electorate of Cologne|Cologne]] and [[Electorate of Trier|Trier]], accused him of failing to maintain the public peace or to resolve the Schism.  They demanded that Wenceslaus appear before them to answer to the charges in June 1400. Wenceslaus demurred, in large part because of renewed hostilities in Bohemia. When he failed to appear, the electors meeting at [[Lahneck Castle]] declared him deposed on 20 August 1400 on account of "futility, idleness, negligence and ignobility". The next day they chose Rupert as their king at [[Rhens]]. Although Wenceslaus refused to acknowledge this successor's decade-long reign, he made no move against Rupert.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=517}}

On 29 June 1402, Wenceslaus was captured by [[Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor|Sigismund]], who at first intended to escort him to Rome to have him crowned emperor, but Rupert heard of this plan and tried to prevent the passage to Italy, so Sigismund had Wenceslaus imprisoned, at first in [[County of Schaunberg|Schaumberg]] and from 16 August in Vienna, in the charge of [[William, Duke of Austria]].<ref>Joseph Aschbach, ''Geschichte Kaiser Sigmund's'' vol. 1 (1838), [https://books.google.com/books?id=qgFQAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA175 p. 175]–177.</ref>
On 20 November, Wenceslaus was forced to sign his renunciation of all his powers to Sigismund and the Dukes of Austria. In exchange, the conditions of his imprisonment were relaxed.<ref>Joseph Aschbach, ''Geschichte Kaiser Sigmund's'' vol. 1 (1838), [https://books.google.com/books?id=qgFQAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA183 p. 183].</ref>
In early 1403, Rupert made diplomatic overtures to Sigismund, attempting to get him to forgo his attempt to secure the imperial crown, but Sigismund invaded Bohemia with Hungarian forces, looting, imposing heavy taxes, and persecuting the supporters of Wenceslaus. He also plundered the royal treasury to pay for his military campaigns against the supporters of Rupert and of [[Jobst of Moravia]]. An armistice between Sigismund and Jobst was agreed to be in effect from 14 April until 20 May. This gave Sigismund's opponents time to prepare, and after the end of the armistice, Sigismund could make no further gains and retreated from Bohemia, reaching [[Bratislava]] on 24 July.<ref>Joseph Aschbach, ''Geschichte Kaiser Sigmund's'' vol. 1 (1838), [https://books.google.com/books?id=qgFQAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA186 p. 186]–188.</ref>
On 1 October 1403, [[Pope Boniface IX]] finally acknowledged the deposition of Wenceslaus and the election of Rupert as King of the Romans. As a coronation of Wenceslaus was now no longer a possibility, and while he was nominally still prisoner in Vienna, he was no longer under strict guard, and he managed to escape on 11 November.
He crossed the Danube and was escorted by [[John II of Liechtenstein]]<!--this is presumably John II., d. 1417--> via [[Mikulov]] back to Bohemia, meeting his supporters in [[Kutná Hora]] before moving on Prague, which he entered on Christmas.<ref>Joseph Aschbach, ''Geschichte Kaiser Sigmund's'' vol. 1 (1838), [https://books.google.com/books?id=qgFQAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA191 p. 191]–193.</ref>

Among the charges raised by Rupert as the basis for his predecessor's deposition was the Papal Schism. King Rupert called the [[Council of Pisa]] in 1409, attended by defectors from both papal parties. They elected [[Antipope Alexander V]], worsening the situation because he was not acknowledged by his two rivals, and from 1409 to 1417 there were three popes.

After the death of Rupert in 1410, his succession at first proved difficult since both Wenceslaus's cousin [[Jobst of Moravia]] and Wenceslaus's brother Sigismund of Hungary were elected King of the Romans. Wenceslaus himself had never recognized his deposition and hence still claimed the kingship. Jobst died in&nbsp;1411, and Wenceslaus agreed to give up the crown, so long as he could keep Bohemia. This settled the issue, and after&nbsp;1411, Sigismund reigned as king and later also became Holy Roman Emperor.

The bishops and secular leaders, tired of the Great Schism, supported Sigismund when he called the [[Council of Constance]] in&nbsp;1414. The goal of the council was to reform the church in head and members. In&nbsp;1417, the council deposed all three popes and elected a new one. By resolving the schism, Sigismund restored the honour of the imperial title and made himself the most influential monarch in the West.