Hussite
The
Hussites comprised a
Christian movement following the teachings of the reformer
Jan Hus (circa
1369â€"
1415), who was influenced by
John Wyclif and became one of the forerunners of the
Protestant Reformation. This predominantly religious movement was also propelled by social issues and strengthened the
Czech national self-awareness. Among present-day Christians its traditions are represented in churches which call themselves
Moravian or
Unity of the Brethren churches, and in the refounded
Czechoslovak Hussite Church.
The arrest of Hus in
1414 had excited considerable resentment in
Bohemia and
Moravia. In both countries the estates appealed repeatedly and urgently to
Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor to release Hus.
On the arrival of the news of his death at the
Council of Constance in
1415, disturbances broke out which were directed at first against the
clergy, especially against the monks. Even the archbishop saved himself withdifficulty from the rage of the populace. In the country conditions were not much better.
Everywhere the treatment of Hus was felt as a disgrace inflicted upon the whole country, and his death was looked upon as a criminal act. King
Wenceslaus, prompted by his grudge against Sigismund, at first gave free vent to his indignation at the course of events in Constance; and his wife openly favored the friends of Hus. Pronounced Hussites stood at the head of the government. A league was formed by certain lords who pledged themselves to protect the free preaching of the Gospel upon all their possessions and estates, and to obey the power of the bishops only in case their orders accorded with the injunctions of the
Bible.
In disputed points the decision of the university should be resorted to. The entire Hussite nobilityjoined the league, and if the king had entered it,its resolutions would have received the sanction ofthe law; but he refused, and approached the RomanCatholic League of lords, which was now formed, the members pledging themselves to cling to the king, the
Roman Church, and the Council. Signs of the outbreak of a civil war began to show.
Pope Martin V, who, while still Cardinal Otto of
Colonna, had attacked Hus with relentless severity, energetically resumed the battle against Hus's teaching after the enactments of the Council of Constance. He intended to eradicate completely the doctrine of Hus. For this purpose the co-operation of King Wenceslaus had to be obtained. In1418 Sigismund succeeded in winning his brotherover to the standpoint of the council by pointingout the inevitability of a religious war if theheretics in Bohemia found further protection.Hussite statesmen and army leaders had to leavethe country, and Roman priests were reinstituted.These measures caused a general commotion whichhastened the death of Wenceslaus by a paralyticstroke in 1419. His heir was Sigismund.
Hussism had organized itself during the years1415-1419. From the beginning two parties werefound: the closer adherents of Hus clung to his standpoint, leaving the whole hierarchical and liturgical order of the Church untouched; the radicalparty identified itself more boldly withthe doctrines of
John Wyclif, shared his passionate hatred of the
monastic clergy, and, like him, attempted to lead the Church back to its supposed condition during the time of the apostles, which necessitated the removal of the existing hierarchy and the secularization of ecclesiastical possessions. The radicals among the Hussites sought to translate their theories intoreality; they preached the
sufficientia legis Christi-- that only the divine law (i.e., the Bible) is the rule andcanon for man, and that not only in ecclesiasticalmatters, but also in political and civil matters.They rejected therefore, as early as 1416, everythingthat they believed had no basis in the Bible, such as the veneration ofsaints and images,
fasts, superfluous holidays, theoath, intercession for the dead, auricular confession,
indulgences, the sacraments of
Confirmation andthe
Anointing of the Sick; they admitted laymen and women tothe preacher's office, and chose their own priests. Butbefore everything they clung to Wyclif's doctrineof the
Lord's Supper, denying
transubstantiation,and this is the principal point by which they aredistinguished from the moderate party.
The program of the more conservative Hussitesis contained in the four articles of
Prague, whichwere agreed upon in July, 1420, andpromulgated in the Latin, Czech, andGerman languages:
#Freedom to preach the Word of God.#Celebration of the Lord's Supper in both kinds (bread and wine to priests and laity alike).#No profane power for the clergy.#The same law for laity and priests.(Please note that this is only a widely accepted abbreviation - the full text of the four articles is about two pages long.)
The views of the moderate Hussites wererepresented at the university and among the citizens ofPrague; therefore they were calledthe Prague party; they were alsocalled Calixtines or
Utraquists, becausethey emphasized the second article,and the chalice became their emblem.The radicals had their gathering-placein the small town of Usti, on the river Luznice,south of Prague. But as the place was notdefensible, they founded a city upon a neighboring hill,which they named
Tábor (after the traditional name of the mountain on which Jesus was expected to return; see Mark 13); hence they were called
Taborites. They comprised the essential force ofHussism. Their aim was to destroy the enemiesof the law of God, and to extend his kingdom bythe sword. For the latter purpose they wagedbloody wars, for the former purpose they establisheda strict jurisdiction, inflicting the severestpunishment not only upon heinous crimes like murder andadultery, but also upon faults like perjury and
usury, and tried to apply the conditions requiredin the law of God to the social relations of the world.
The news of the death of King Wenceslaus produced the greatest commotion among the people of Prague. A revolution swept over the country; churches and monasteries were destroyed, and the ecclesiastical possessions were seized by the Hussite nobility. Sigismund could get possession of his kingdom only by force of arms. Pope Martin V called upon all Christians of the Occident to take up arms against the Hussites, and there followed twelve years of
warfare. The Hussites initially campaigned defensively, but after 1427 they assumed the offensive. Apart from their religious aims, they fought for the national interestsof the Czechs. The moderate and radical parties were united and they not only repelled the attacks of the army of
crusaders, but entered the neighboringcountries. Though the Hussites had many successes, their movement in Bohemia was ended at the
Battle of Lipany in
1434 where the moderate Hussite faction, the
Utraquists, defeated the more radical faction, the
Taborites. However, the Hussite movement would continue in
Poland for another five years until the Royalist forces of Poland defeated the Polish Hussites at the
Battle of Grotniki.
In 1430,
Joan of Arc dictated a
letter on March 23 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.
Eventually the opponents of the Hussites found themselves forced to consider an amicable settlement. They invited a Bohemian embassy to appear at the
Council of Basel. Thediscussions began on
January 10,
1432, centering chieflyin 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
Compacta of Prague on
November 30,
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. 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, and the Calixtines united with the Roman Catholics and destroyed the Taborites in a
battle near Lipany (
May 30,
1434). From that time the Taborites lost their importance. The state assembly of Jihlava in
1436 confirmed the
Compactata and gave them the sanction of law. This accomplished the reconciliation of Bohemia with Rome and the Western Church, and now Sigismund first obtained possession of the Bohemian crown. His reactionary measures caused a ferment in the whole country, but he died in
1437. The state assembly in Prague rejected Wyclif's doctrine of the Lord's Supper, which was obnoxious to the
Utraquists, as heresy in
1444. Most of the Taborites now went over to the party of the Utraquists; the rest joined the "Brothers of the Law of Christ" (
Unitas Fratrum in the Latin)(see
Unity of the Brethren; also
Bohemian Brethren and
Moravians).
The Utraquists had retained hardly anything ofthe doctrines of Hus except communion in bothkinds. In
1462 Pope Pius II declared the
Compactata null and void, prohibitedcommunion in both kinds, and acknowledged
George of Podebrady asking under the condition that he wouldpromise an unconditional harmonywith the Roman Church. This he refused, but hissuccessor, King
Vladislaus II, favored the RomanCatholics and proceeded against some zealousclergymen of the Calixtines. The troubles of theUtraquists increased from year to year. In 1485, at the
diet of Kutná Hora, an agreement between theRoman Catholics and Utraquists was obtainedwhich lasted for thirty-one years. But it wasconsiderably later, at the diet of 1512, that the equalrights of both religions were permanentlyestablished. Luther's appearance was hailed by theUtraquist clergy, and
Martin Luther himself was astonished to find so many points of agreement between thedoctrines of Hus and his own. But not all Utraquistsapproved of the German
Reformation; a schismarose among them, and many returned to theRoman doctrine, while other elements had longbefore joined the
Unitas Fratrum. Under
Maximilian II, the Bohemian state assembly establishedthe
Confessio Bohemica, upon which Lutherans,Reformed, and Bohemian Brethren agreed. Fromthat time Hussism began to die out; but it was - for a time - completely eradicated only after the
battle of the White Mountain (
November 8,
1620) and the Roman Catholic reaction which fundamentally changed the ecclesiastical conditions of Bohemia and Moravia.
Today the
Czechoslovak Hussite Church claims to be the modern successors of the Hussite tradition.
*
Hussites - the gods' warriors, in Czech
*
Notes on the Hussite movement and links to primary sources, from Kenyon college*
The Hussite Era, from Radio Prague's History Online feature*
Article on the Hussites from the Catholic Encyclopedia (1917 edition)*
Hussite War-wagons, presenting detailed information about the Hussites' most characteristic tactic, by Matthew Haywood*
Letter to the Hussites dictated by Joan of Arc on 23 March 1430, translated by Allen Williamson.
*
Short article on the Hussites, from the University of Calgary's 'The End of Europe's Middle Ages'*
Article on the Tactics of the Hussites
