Most prolific Czech murderers

Story & Setting
#1

As it happens, the two Czech most prolific murderers lived about a century after the game takes place. Clearly, it would not be historically accurate to have these very people in the game, however the team may use them as inspiration.

Martin Roháč

Martin Roháč was a soldier who took part in the war with Turkey in 1566-68. After being dismissed from service, he and a couple of other soldiers started robbing and murdering people in the Czech lands. Most of their victims were defenseless merchants.

Roháč’s gang brutality was increasing. Among their final deeds was murder of three pregnant women (at three different locations). They cut out 4 fetuses out of the women, then fetuses’ hearts, lungs and liver, cooked them and ate them. The brutality was increasing to the point that the other gangmembers were gradually leaving, until Roháč was left to do his deeds alone.

Roháč was apprehended in 1571 and found guilty of murdering 57 people. He was sentenced to death by the following procedure:

First, Roháč’s fingers were being cut/torn off slowly, segment by segment. Then the executioner used a pair of pliers and started slowly tearing off pieces of Roháč’s body [in a way preventing fast death, probably with the pliers being hot in order to prevent blood loss]. Subsequently, Roháč was put on a wheel and they broke most of his bones. After this, he was left in the wheel to die.

The execution was demanding to the point that the executioner needed help of 6 assistants to be able to carry it out correctly.

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Kateřina z Komárova

Kateřina z Komárova was a noblewoman that was left home alone while her husband was tending to his duties at the royal court. While he was away, mostly at Karlštej Castle, she was taking care of their properties at and around Pičín. [Píča means cunt and Pičín may be translated as a cunt-hole]

Kateřina became notorious for killing young pretty female subjects. She would beat them, cut their skin with iron and tear the skin down alive. She was found guilty of 14 murders, while she most probably killed at least 30 people. She was sentenced to death by hunger in 1534.

I’d say that having quests that would deal with similar people could be nice, what do you think?

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#2

I find it interesting how especially nobility could quite easily abuse their power back in the old days. If you happened to have characteristics of criminal insanity there was very little anyone could do about it unless you went completely over the top. On the contrary, especially in the medieval period violent, murderous and brutal nature could very well be what made you a “good” knight.

This is no often understood by people who today admire “noble blood” and knighthood. In reality those early nobles were probably horrible bastards who would be the very scum of society nowadays. :smile:

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#3

that’s a stretch, nobility, knighthood are just inherited title. it can’t make someone more prone to violent psychopathy if they don’t have the psychological profile to begin with.

the nobility in this game should be represented true to human nature. some knaves, some good, some apathetic, etc, etc

so the popular idea of a bunch of conniving caricatures hopefully doesn’t make its way over from game of thrones.

#4

Nobility were the CEOs of middle ages. Moreover, nobles used to inbreed to the point that most of their offsprings were either mental or physical cripples.

Just in case you didn’t know it, there are more psychopaths among high ranking CEOs than among prison inmates on death row.

#5

you sure knighthood can be inherited?

#6

Nobility has always included military service in its essence. And back in the old times especially wars were very nasty. You were supposed to meet the enemy face to face and hack him down with cold steel. And that’s the easy part since mostly wars were about raiding and living of the land, which in practice meant killing, raping, burning and blundering defenceless men, women and children.

Even in peace time nobility were extracting their living from peasants, with brute force if necessary.

So basically you had to be a sociopath that was ready to ruthlessly exploit common people with force of arms and commit and command unspeakable atrocities during times of war. And rarely noble families were in good terms even with other noble families, on the contrary they struggled to exploit each others weaknesses to gain titles and favours.

So it was a dog eat dog world and to stay on top there was not much room for any softness or mercy.

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#7

sociopathy is 1-2 percent of the human population. so it’s overrepresented in most media about the medieval age. it’s almost a silly as the medieval times were all dark and gritty and ignorant and dirty misconception.

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#8

You are confusing sociopathy and psychopathy.

Since sociopathy is the result of environmental factors during upbringing, and taking into account how violent and socially rigid those times were, the proportion of what would today be considered sociopaths was bound to be larger.

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#9

Atleast nobility has a responsibility to (protect) their subjects and not just to their share holders. When feuding nobles raid each others villages, it’s importaint to remember they are doing so also because they are responsible for there own subjets and being unable to protect them reflects negativly on them. That doesn’t make it less problematic. I just wanted to point out that in some twisted sense nobility generally did care about there own subjects.

When I think of this I think of european high nobility intermarriing after the middle ages. I wouldn’t be so sure incest was a relevent problem for the grater part of local nobility.

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