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 from the interference in her affairs by the German emperors, it was of great moment to Charles to have undisputed possession of the imperial throne. He therefore attempted, by various diplomatic measures, to win over the opposing electors. His wife Blanche having died, he married Anna, the daughter of the Elector of Palatinate upon the Rhine, and gave his own daughter in marriage to Rudolph, the Duke of Austria. By these measures he succeeded in obtaining undisputed possession of the imperial throne.

The political events in the reign of Charles IV are not of much significance. Although he had obtained an excellent military training under his warlike father, and had carried himself valiantly in the few battles that he had engaged in, nevertheless he had no love for war, and avoided it at all costs. He devoted his whole time to the improvement of his kingdom, so that the history of his reign is more a record of the reforms he introduced than any account of political events.

Even before the death of his father, Charles had succeeded in inducing the Pope to change the bishopric of Prague to an archbishopric. This was an event of the greatest importance. As a bishopric, Bohemia was under the jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Mayence; and in those days, when Church and State were inseparable, this often caused a great deal of inconvenience, if not hardship, to the government. The negotiations for this change afford a curious illustration of the geographical knowledge of those times. Charles was required to take an oath that Mayence was a distance of twelve days’ journey from Prague, and that, to reach it, the Bohemians were obliged to cross foreign territory; and further,