I, Helene Kottaner,
Was There Too…
An Account of a 15th-Century Theft of the Holy Crown

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Then when the time truly came for God to perform his miracle, He sent us a man who undertook to fetch the Holy Crown. He was Hungarian and he went about his business loyally, cleverly, in a manly way. We had everything prepared that we needed, we obtained a number of locks and two files. He who was prepared to risk his life together with me, wore a black velvet dressing-gown and a pair of felt slippers hiding a file in each, concealing the locks under his dressing gown. I carried my mistress’s small seal and also the keys to the very first door, there were three of those, there was a chain and a clamp at the hinge, to which we had attached a lock before we had left, preempting anyone else with like ideas. When we were ready my mistress sent a messenger ahead to Visegrád telling Franz Pöker, the Castle Constable, and László Vajdafi, who were looking after the maids of honour, asking them to be ready when the cart came to fetch them, to take them to Her Majesty in Komorn (Komárom) since she intended to go on to Pressburg (Pozsony) and the whole of the Court had been informed of this. When the cart to be sent for the maids of honour was ready, and the sleigh on which I was to travel, and my helpmate was anxious, then two Hungarian noblemen were detailed to accompany me on horseback to fetch the maids of honour. We were off. That is when the news reached the Constable that I was going to fetch the maids of honour. He and others at Court were astonished that I was given leave to travel so far from my young mistress who did not really like me to leave her. They all knew that. The Constable was poorly but he nevertheless intended to lie down in front of the door which led to the Holy Crown. That is when, according to God’s will, his illness got worse but he could not ask any of the manservants to sleep there since it was all inside the ladies’ bower. That is why he covered the lock which we had placed near the hinge with a linen cloth, sealing it. When we arrived at Visegrád Castle (Plintenburg) the maidens were happy to travel to my mistress and got ready, getting a chest made for their dresses. There was much fuss, and they hammered right up to the eighth hour. The one with me also came into the ladies’ bower and had his sport with the maidens. There was a little firewood in front of the stove which kept them warm and that is where he hid the files. But the manservants who looked after the maidens noticed and began to whisper. I heard them and told him immediately. He was really afrightened, he went pale, took the files and concealed them somewhere else. He said to me: "Woman, see to it that we have enough light." I asked an old woman for a few candles, I had many prayers to say, since it was Saturday night, the Saturday after the first Sunday in Lent. I took the candles and hid them on the way, within reach. Once the maidens and everyone else was asleep, then I stayed in the small room alone with the old woman who had come with me, who knew not a word of German and knew nothing about the whole thing, nor was she familiar with the house. She just lay there in a deep sleep. When the time came he who had come with me came anxiously through the chapel to the door and knocked. I opened it for him, and locked it again after him. He brought his servant with him, of his own Christian name, whom he had sworn in. I then went to fetch the candles for him, but they were gone. I was so afrightened, I knew not what to do, and the whole thing was almost abandoned because of the light. Then I had second thoughts and went and secretly roused the woman who had given me the candles and I told her the candles were lost and I still had much praying to do. So she gave me others. I was very glad and gave them to him and gave him the locks too which had to be put on afterwards, and also gave him my mistress’s small seal, for the renewing of the seals, and I also gave him the three keys to the first door. Then he took the cloth with the seal off the lock, which the Constable had placed there, he opened the door and went in together with his servant, working hard on all the locks, so that the hammering and the sound of the files was too loud. The guards and the Constable’s men were wide awake that night because of the great anxiety with which they were burdened, but it would seem that Almighty God stopped up their ears, and none of them heard a thing, because I clearly heard everything and I watched all the time in great fear and anxiety. I knelt most devoutly and begged God and Our Lady to stand by me and my helpmates. I was more anxious for my soul than for my life and I prayed to God, that if this were contrary to God’s will, and I would be damned for it, or else if great misfortune would ensue for it for the country or the people, then let God have mercy on my soul, and let me die on the spot. As I was praying there was a great noise and clattering as if many men in armour were at the door through which I had let in my helpmate and it seemed to me that they pushed in the door, I was very frightened and I rose to warn them to cease working. Then I thought I ought to go to the door, and that is what I did. By the time I reached the door the clattering had finished and I heard noone. It occurred to me then that it was a ghost and I went back to my prayers, and I promised Our Lady to make a barefoot pilgrimage to Maria Zell, and until I would go on that pilgrimage I would not be featherbedded Saturdays and I would say special prayers to Our Lady Saturdays, as long as I lived, to thank her for the grace which she bestowed on me and I asked her to thank her son, our dear Lord Jesus Christ for the great grace which, in His mercy He had so visibly granted us. While I was still at my prayers it seemed to me once again that there was a great clattering of armour at the door, which was the true entrance to the ladies’ bower. I thought it was not a ghost after all, that while I had stood at the door to the chapel they had circumambulated so I knew not what to do. I watched and listened if I could hear the maidens. But I heard nobody. Then I slowly went down the stairs, through the maiden’s chamber, to the proper entrance to the ladies’ bower. When I came to the door, I heard nobody. I was happy then, and thanked God and went back to my prayers, and I thought to myself that it was the devil who would have gladly aborted the whole business.

Having finished my prayers I wanted to get up and go into the vaults to see what they were about. He came towards me, I could calm down, everything had gone well. They had got the locks off the door by filing but the locks were so firmly attached to the chest that the files proved of no use and they had to be burnt off which created a great stench, making me anxious that someone might enquire about the smell, but God guarded us against that. When the Holy Crown was completely free we closed the door everywhere and attached other locks instead of those that were broken and we reimpressed my mistress’s seal, and we locked the outer door again and placed the small piece of cloth with a seal back on as we found it, just as the Constable had placed it. And I threw the files into the commode in the ladies’ bower, there they will find them, when it is broken open, to serve as a sign.

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