Vienna to meet the foe.

Rapidly traversing the southern banks of the Danube to Hamburg, he
crossed the river and advanced to Marcheck, on the banks of the Morava.
He was joined by some troops from Styria and Carinthia, and by a strong
force led by the King of Hungary. Emboldened by these accessions, though
still far inferior in strength to Ottocar, he pressed on till the two
armies faced each other on the plains of Murchfield. It was the 26th of
August, 1278.

At this moment some traitors deserting the camp of Ottocar, repaired to
the camp of Rhodolph and proposed to assassinate the Bohemian king.
Rhodolph spurned the infamous offer, and embraced the opportunity of
seeking terms of reconciliation by apprising Ottocar of his danger. But
the king, confident in his own strength, and despising the weakness of
Rhodolph, deemed the story a fabrication and refused to listen to any
overtures. Without delay he drew up his army in the form of a crescent,
so as almost to envelop the feeble band before him, and made a
simultaneous attack upon the center and upon both flanks. A terrific
battle ensued, in which one party fought, animated by undoubting
confidence, and the other impelled by despair. The strife was long and
bloody. The tide of victory repeatedly ebbed and flowed. Ottocar had
offered a large reward to any of his followers who would bring to him
Rhodolph, dead or alive.

A number of knights of great strength and bravery, confederated to
achieve this feat. It was a point of honor to be effected at every
hazard. Disregarding all the other perils of the battle, they watched
their opportunity, and then in a united swoop, on their steel-clad
chargers, fell upon the emperor. His feeble guard was instantly cut
down. Rhodolph was a man of herculean power, and he fought like a lion
at bay. One after another of his assailants he struck from his horse,
when a Thuringian knight, of almost fabulous stature and strength,
thrust his spear through the horse of the emperor, and both steed and
rider fell to the ground. Rhodolph, encumbered by his heavy coat of
mail, and entangled in the housings of his saddle, was unable to rise.
He crouched upon the ground, holding his helmet over him, while saber
strokes and pike thrusts rang upon cuirass and buckler like blows upon
an anvil. A corps of reserve spurred to his aid, and the emperor was
rescued, and the bold assailants who had penetrated the very center of
his army were slain.

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