Hussites

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Battle between Hussites (left) and Catholic crusaders in the 15th century
The Lands of the Bohemian Crown during the Hussite Wars. The movement began in Prague and quickly spread south and then through the rest of the Kingdom of Bohemia. Eventually, it expanded into the remaining domains of the Bohemian Crown as well.

The Hussites (

Christian movement that followed the teachings of reformer Jan Hus (fl. 1401–1415), a part of the Bohemian Reformation
.

After the execution of Hus at the

Utraquist side came out victorious from conflict with the Taborites
and became the dominant Hussite group in Bohemia.

Catholics and Utraquists were given legal equality in Bohemia after the

Roman Catholicism was reimposed by the Holy Roman Emperor following the 1620 Battle of White Mountain during the Thirty Years' War
.

The Hussite tradition continues in the Moravian Church, Unity of the Brethren and the refounded Czechoslovak Hussite churches.[2]

History

The Hussite movement began in the

Orphans
.

Major Hussite theologians included

Protestant Reformation. This predominantly religious movement was propelled by social issues and strengthened Czech
national awareness.

Hus's death

Main articles: Jan Hus and Bohemian Reformation
Execution of Jan Hus (1415) that sparked outrage in the Kingdom of Bohemia

The Council of Constance lured Jan Hus in with a letter of indemnity, then tried him for heresy and put him to death at the stake on 6 July 1415.[1]

The arrest of Hus in 1414 caused considerable resentment in Czech lands. The authorities of both countries appealed urgently and repeatedly to King Sigismund to release Jan Hus.

When news of his death at the Council of Constance arrived, disturbances broke out, directed primarily against the clergy and especially against the monks. Even the Archbishop narrowly escaped from the effects of this popular anger. The treatment of Hus was felt to be a disgrace inflicted upon the whole country and his death was seen as a criminal act. King Wenceslaus IV., prompted by his grudge against Sigismund, at first gave free vent to his indignation at the course of events in Constance. His wife openly favoured the friends of Hus. Avowed Hussites stood at the head of the government.

A league was formed by certain lords,[

Catholic Church
, and the council. The prospect of a civil war began to emerge.

Prior to becoming pope,

heretics in Bohemia found further protection.[citation needed] Hussite statesmen and army leaders had to leave the country and Roman Catholic priests were reinstated. These measures caused a general commotion which hastened the death of King Wenceslaus by a paralytic stroke in 1419.[citation needed
] His heir was Sigismund.

Hussite Wars (1419–1434)

Main article: Hussite Wars
Painting of battle between mounted knights
The Battle of Kratzau between Hussites and Catholic forces led by Hans von Polenz
The Hussite Wagenburg
Recreation of Hussite pavise from an original in the Museum of Prague

The news of the death of King Wenceslaus in 1419 produced a great commotion among the people of Prague. A revolution swept over the country: churches and monasteries were destroyed, and church property was seized by the Hussite nobility. It was then, and remained till much later, in question whether Bohemia was a hereditary or an elective monarchy, especially as the line through which Sigismund claimed the throne had accepted that the Kingdom of Bohemia was an elective monarchy elected by the nobles, and thus the regent of the kingdom (Čeněk of Wartenberg) also explicitly stated that Sigismund had not been elected as reason for Sigismund's claim to not be accepted. Sigismund could get possession of "his" kingdom only by force of arms. Pope Martin V called upon Catholics of the West to take up arms against the Hussites, declaring a crusade, and twelve years of warfare followed.

The Hussites initially campaigned defensively, but after 1427 they assumed the offensive. Apart from their religious aims, they fought for the national interests of the Czechs. The moderate and radical parties were united, and they not only repelled the attacks of the army of

crusaders but crossed the borders into neighboring countries. On March 23, 1430, Joan of Arc dictated a letter[8]
that threatened to lead a crusading army against the Hussites unless they returned to the Catholic faith, but her capture by English and Burgundian troops two months later would keep her from carrying out this threat.

Council of Basel and Compacta of Prague

Main articles:
Basel Compacts

Eventually, the opponents of the Hussites found themselves forced to consider an amicable settlement. The Hussites were sent an invitation to attend the

Council of Basel on October 15, 1431.[9] The discussions began on 10 January 1432, focusing chiefly on the four articles of Prague. No agreement emerged. After repeated negotiations between the Basel Council and Bohemia, a Bohemian–Moravian state assembly in Prague accepted the "Compactata" of Prague on 30 November 1433. The agreement granted communion in both kinds to all who desired it, but with the understanding that Christ was entirely present in each kind, though on the condition that the rest of the Hussite reforms would no longer be emphasised.[9]
Free preaching was granted conditionally: the Church hierarchy had to approve and place priests, and the power of the bishop must be considered. The article which prohibited the secular power of the clergy was almost reversed.

The Taborites refused to conform. The Calixtines united with the Roman Catholics and destroyed the Taborites at the

Latin: "Unitas Fratrum") (see history of the Moravian Church
).

Hussite Bohemia, Luther and the Reformation (1434–1618)

See also: Martin Luther and Reformation
Habsburgs
.

In 1462,

Unitas Fratrum
" already in 1457.

Bohemian Revolt and harsh persecution under the Habsburgs (1618–1918)

Main articles:
Battle of the White Mountain, Thirty Years' War, Counter-Reformation, Anti-Protestantism, and History of the Moravian Church

Under Emperor

Roman Catholic Faith was re-established with vigour, which fundamentally changed the religious conditions of the Czech lands
.

Leaders and members of

Jan Amos Comenius, fled to western Europe, mainly the Low Countries. A settlement of Hussites in Herrnhut, Saxony, now Germany, in 1722 caused the emergence of the Moravian Church
.

Post-Habsburg era and modern times (1918–present)

The modern Hussite flag
Main articles: Moravian Church, Czechoslovak Hussite Church, and Unity of the Brethren (Texas)

In 1918, as a result of World War I, the Czech lands regained independence from Austria-Hungary controlled by the Habsburg monarchy as Czechoslovakia (due to Masaryk and Czechoslovak legions with Hussite tradition, in the name of the troops).[11]

Today, the Hussite tradition is represented in the Moravian Church, Unity of the Brethren, and Czechoslovak Hussite Church.[2][12]

Factions

See also: Utraquism, Taborites, and Moravian Church § Jan Hus and the Bohemian Reformation
Radical Hussites
Hussite theologians dispute in the presence of King Władysław II Jagiełło
of Poland

Hussitism organised itself during the years 1415–1419. Hussites were not a unitary movement, but a diverse one with multiple factions that held different views and opposed each other in the

Unitas Fratrum
. Hussites can be divided into:

Moderates

The more conservative Hussites (the moderate party, or

Ultraquists), who followed Hus more closely, sought to conduct reform while leaving the whole hierarchical and liturgical order of the Church untouched.[13]

Their programme is contained in the Four Articles of Prague, which were written by Jacob of Mies and agreed upon in July 1420, promulgated in the Latin, Czech, and German languages.[14] The full text is about two pages long, but they are often summarized as:[14]

  • Freedom to preach the word of God
  • Celebration of the communion under both kinds (bread and wine to priests and laity alike)
  • Poverty of the clergy and expropriation of church property;
  • Punishment for
    mortal sins
    regardless of stature.

The views of the moderate Hussites were widely represented at the university and among the citizens of Prague; they were therefore called the Prague Party, but also Calixtines (Latin calix chalice) or

Utraquists
(Latin utraque both), because they emphasized the second article of Prague, and the chalice became their emblem.

Radicals

The more radical parties, the

Ultraquists
.

The radicals preached the "sufficientia legis Christi"—the divine law (i.e. the

Anointing of the Sick
, and chose their own priests.

The radicals had their gathering-places all around the country. Their first armed assault fell on the small town of Ústí, on the river Lužnice, south of Prague (today's

Taborites
). They comprised the essential force of the radical Hussites.

Their aim was to destroy the enemies of the law of God, and to defend his kingdom (which had been expected to come in a short time) by the sword. Their end-of-world visions did not come true. In order to preserve their settlement and spread their ideology, they waged bloody wars; in the beginning they observed a strict regime, inflicting the severest punishment equally for murder, as for less severe faults as adultery, perjury and usury, and also tried to apply rigid Biblical standards to the social order of the time. The Taborites usually had the support of the Orebites (later called Orphans), an eastern Bohemian sect of Hussitism based in Hradec Králové.

See also

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 978-0-19-280290-3
    ), article "Constance, Council of"
  2. ^
    ISBN 0-87169-651-7
  3. ^ Spiesz et al. 2006, p. 52.
  4. ^ Bartl 2002, p. 45.
  5. ^ Kirschbaum 2005, p. 48.
  6. ^ Spiesz et al. 2006, p. 53.
  7. ^ John Klassen, "The Nobility and the Making of the Hussite Revolution" (East European Quarterly/Columbia University Press, 1978)
  8. ^ "Joan of Arc's Letter to the Hussites (March 23, 1430)". archive.joan-of-arc.org.
  9. ^
    ISBN 978-1-85928-372-1
    .
  10. ^
    ISBN 978-0-631-17431-8
    .
  11. ISBN 978-80-87173-47-3
    , pp. 17–25, 33–45, 70–76, 159–184, 187–199
  12. ^ Sheldon, Addison Erwin; Sellers, James Lee; Olson, James C. (1993). Nebraska History, Volume 74. Nebraska State Historical Society. p. 151.
  13. Roman rite…(was) an intentional symbol of Utraquism’s self-understanding as a continuing part of the Western Catholic Church." Holeton, David R.; Vlhová-Wörner, Hana; Bílková, Milena (2007). "The Trope Gregorius presul meritis in Bohemian Tradition: Its Origins, Development, Liturgical Function and Illustration"
    (PDF). Bohemian Reformation and Religious Practice. 6: 215–246. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
  14. ^ a b Four Articles of Prague at global.britannica.com
  15. JSTOR 3164390
    .
  16. ^ Profous, Antonín (1957). Místní jména v Čechách: Jejich vznik, původní význam a změny; part 4, S-Ž. Prague, Czechoslovakia: Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences.

Bibliography

External links

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