The End of Europe's Middle Ages
The Hussites
The Hussite movement was inspired by the gifted Bohemian preacher Jan Hus
(1369-1415) whose own ideas were based on the teachings of John Wyckliffe.
The writings of the latter were translated and brought to the University of
Prague, where controversy over them began between Czech and German
professors. The new religious ideas called for reforms within the Church and
reinforced Czech nationalism. Jan Hus, and even more his radical disciples,
spoke out against simony, the purchase of indulgences, the external rites of
the Church, and the abuses of the clergy. They also thought all believers,
not just the clergy, should receive communion in both kinds. These beliefs
caused the excommunication of Jan Hus, first by the archbishop of Prague and
later by Pope John XXIII. In 1415, he was found guilty of heresy by the
Council of Constance and burned at the stake. Hus became a martyr and
his death led to armed rebellion in Bohemia.
The Church launched five crusades (1420-34) against the Hussites, all of
which were unsuccessful. During that time, Jan Zizka emerged as a great
military leader. In 1420, the 'Four Articles of Prague', which later served
as a basis for negotiation, were drawn up. They included freedom to preach,
communion of bread and wine, punishment of mortal sins, and a return to
poverty of the clergy. The Hussites split into two groups, the Utraquists
(or Calixtines), a conservative group consisting largely of nobility and
wealthy townsmen, and the Taborites, a radical group composed mainly of
peasants. The Utraquists defeated the Taborites at Lipan in 1434 and entered
into negotiations with the Church. In 1437, the representatives of the
Council of Florence accepted and ratified a less radical form of the
Four Articles of Prague. Radical Hussitism was continued by the Bohemian
Brethren until the sixteenth century, when they merged with the Lutherans.
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