discipline among the clergy. As the Bohemian Brotherhood had never
recognized the consistory, that body now lost whatever influence it had
still possessed. It became, indeed, subservient to the Romanist
archbishopric of Prague, which had been re-established by Ferdinand I.
Its members henceforth were men who on almost all points agreed with
Rome, and sometimes even men who had joined the Roman church, but
continued by order of their superiors to remain members of the
consistory, where it was thought that their influence might be useful to
their new creed.

Rudolph.

The results of the diet of 1575 were on the whole favourable to the
estates, and they seem to have taken this view, for almost immediately
afterwards they recognized Maximilian's eldest son Rudolph as his
successor and consented to his being crowned king of Bohemia. Maximilian
died in the following year, and Rudolph succeeded him without any
opposition. The events of the last years of the reign of Rudolph have
the greatest importance for Bohemian history, but the earlier part of
his reign requires little notice. As Rudolph had been educated in Spain
it was at first thought that he would treat the Bohemian church
reformers with great severity. The new sovereign, however, showed with
regard to the unceasing religious controversy the same apathy and
indifference with which he also met matters of state. He had been from
his early youth subject to fits of melancholia, and during several short
periods was actually insane. Rudolph was a great patron of the arts, and
he greatly contributed to the embellishment of Prague, which, as it was
his favourite residence, became the centre of the vast Habsburg
dominions. In 1600 the mental condition of Rudolph became so seriously
impaired that the princes of the house of Habsburg thought it necessary
to consider the future of the state, particularly as Rudolph had no
legitimate descendants. Matthias, the eldest of his brothers, came to
Prague and pointed out to Rudolph the necessity of appointing a
coadjutor, should he be incapacitated from fulfilling his royal duties,
and also of making arrangements concerning the succession to the throne.
These suggestions were indignantly repelled by Rudolph, whose anger was
greatly increased by a letter of Pope Clement VIII. The pope in a
forcible though formally courteous manner pointed out to him the evil
results which his neglect of his royal duties would entail on his
subjects,