Insurrection 137the regents and in particular their long-standing arch-Catholic enemies
Slavata and Martinitz. That the emperor’s letter had been transmitted to
them not directly but via the regents added to this suspicion, which in
turn enabled the defensors to proceed towards a confrontation on the
classic historical basis that they were opposing not the monarch but his
evil advisers.
The defenestration
The parallel with Emperor Rudolf II’s prohibition of the unauthorised
assembly of the Estates in Prague New Town city hall in May 1609,
which eventually led to the Letter of Majesty, was evident, and given
that many of the same leading individuals were involved it is not sur-
prising that the meeting called by the defensors likewise went ahead
on 21 May 1618. Shortly beforehand the regents produced a new letter
from the emperor, in which Khlesl, doubtless acting on local advice, had
softened the tone considerably, but unfortunately this gesture was off-
set by the fact that the missive still ordered the Protestants to abandon
their planned assembly, leaving the substantive issues to be considered
at some later time. This was put to those defensors who were in Prague,
but they declined to act upon it, claiming that to do so was both outside
their authority and also impractical, as the representatives were already
on their way.
Even so Imperial pressure had its effect, and once again many stayed
away from the assembly, especially those holding official positions
and the representatives of the royal towns, who had been specifically
instructed by the emperor not to attend. Nevertheless there was a large
gathering, perhaps approaching a hundred in number and dominated
by members of the nobility, but initially the majority seem to have
been more nervous than confrontational. One of the leading partici-
pants, the Prague lawyer Martin Fruewein, later testified that he had
personally begged Slavata that he and the other regents should ‘deal
with the situation in such a way that it could be resolved amicably, the
most important thing being that the prisoners from Braunau should be
released from arrest’. The assembly itself adopted a resolution drafted by
Fruewein, which sought to explain the reasons for their conduct, in sup-
port of which they also decided ‘to appeal to the principal royal officers
to intercede with the emperor on their behalf’.^4
The mood on the opening day was influenced as much by the
emperor’s letters as by the original grievances, as the delegates felt them-
selves fully entitled to meet in accordance with the rights legally granted