Jan Zoul of Ostředek
{{Short description|Czech robber and nobleman}}
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| name = Jan Zoul of Ostředek
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| father = {{ill|Mikeš Zoul of Ostředek|cs|Mikeš Zoul z Ostředka}}
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| death_date = 13 July 1404
| death_place = Prague, Kingdom of Bohemia
| burial_date = 1411
| burial_place = St. Stephen's Church, Prague
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}}Jan Zoul of Ostředek (died 13 July 1404) was a nobleman and robber knight of the {{ill|Posázaví|cs}} region in the 14th-century.
Biography
Jan Zoul was formerly in the service of Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia, before joining the retinue of Prokop of Moravia. At the end of the 14th-century, the nobility rebelled and a coalition of lords was formed against Wenceslaus. Jan and his father, Mikeš Zoul of Ostředek, took advantage of the disorder and seized the castle {{ill|Čejchanov|cs}} near Chocerady. From there, they set out on raids throughout the Benešov region, acting with other robber knights such as Hynek the Dry Devil.{{cite magazine |last=Sládek |first=Luděk |title=Kterak Mikeše lapali a sťali |journal=KAM po Česku červenec |date=21 June 2024 |volume=July–August 2024 |url=https://www.kampocesku.cz/clanek/33787/kterak-mikese-lapali-a-stali |access-date=23 February 2025}}
Jan fell out of favor with King Wenceslaus. He was briefly imprisoned by his royally-allied neighbor, Wenceslaus of Dubá, at Karlštejn. However, Jan was pardoned. The neighbors continued to war. In 1403, Jan seized Wenceslaus' castle {{ill|Stará Dubá|cs}}. In doing so, he was declared a land pest and was targeted by royal forces.{{cite book |last=Fišera |first=Zdeněk |title=Loupeživí rytíři a zemští šku°dci Království českého a jejich sídla |date=2013 |publisher=Agentura Pankrác |location=Prague |isbn=978-80-86781-20-4 |page=79 |edition=1st|chapter=Za Janem Zoulem z Ostredka Na Hradek Zvany Cejchanuv a Na Hrad Dubou}}
In 1404, King Wenceslaus sent a retaliatory army against Jan lead by Archbishop Zbyněk Zajíc of Hazmburk, who recaptured Čejchanov as well as Stará Dubá. Jan, his father, and 50 members of their gang were executed by hanging in Prague on 13 July 1404. His body remained in the gallows for seven years before he was buried at St. Stephen's Church, Prague.{{cite web |last1=Drahota |first1=Leoš |title=Naše šibenice 4 - Viselci |url=http://www.moskyt.net/nase-sibenice-4-viselci |website=Moskyt |language=cs |date=4 April 2008}}{{cite web |title=Vítejte v turistickém regionu kolem řeky Sázavy |url=http://tourist.posazavi.com/cz/video.asp?video_id=13&category_id=3 |website=tourist.posazavi.com |access-date=22 February 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304130619/http://tourist.posazavi.com/cz/video.asp?video_id=13&category_id=3|archive-date=4 March 2016}}
After his death, King Wenceslaus confiscated Jan's properties and redistributed them amongst his supporters.{{Cite book |url=http://www.mocr.army.cz/assets/multimedia-a-knihovna/publikace/utvary-zarizeni/08-historie-a-soucasnost-komorniho-hradku---ce.pdf |title=Historie a současnost Komorního Hrádku |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240713044542/https://mocr.army.cz/assets/multimedia-a-knihovna/publikace/utvary-zarizeni/08-historie-a-soucasnost-komorniho-hradku---ce.pdf|archive-date=13 July 2024|publisher=MO ČR |isbn=978-80-7278-477-6|pages=5–7 |language=cs}}
References
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Category:People executed by hanging
Category:14th-century nobility