Bohemia, Hus, and the Husite Reformation

Bohemia, Hus, and the Husite Reformation

I. Introduction

the heart of Central Europe, the Kingdom of Bohemia: Prosperous, natural resources, protective mountains.
13th century economy based on cultivation of wheat, fish, beer, wool. Further expansion in 14th century with silver mining, crafts.

Czechs--ethnic group ruled by the Premyslid Dynasty
10th cent. Christianity from German missionaries:Latin church (Byzantine mission to Moravia in Slavic language failed earlier)

BohemianKingdom part of the Holy Roman Empire: close association with the WesternChurch, HRE, and with Germans—long-lasting. Pluses & minuses:

+mid-13th century Bohemia acquired the duchies of Austria, Styria, Carinthia, Carniola (what is today Austria and Slovenia), and failed bid to become the Emperor (HRE). But this shows power and prestige
– Czechs’ struggle to maintain independence from Catholic Church, Germany (and its predecessor, HRE), and Austria/Habsburg Monarchy

church reformer Jan Hus and his followers as example

II. Bohemia: Rural & Urban Society

divided intoestates:clergy, nobles, townsmen, and peasants.

Clergy was very well endowed, owned 1/3 of the land

Nobles: Magnates & lower nobility

Privileges, collected taxes, held public offices
dominated parliaments(Diets)
During the early 14th century these rights expanded due to dynastic crisis
Sheep husbandry & wool industry cut into peasant lands
Nobility's grain trade increasingly bypassed town middlemen

Towns--royal towns--sent representatives to the diet

served as a counterweight to nobles
but royal towns outnumbered by private towns, subject to individual nobles. These added to the power of the nobility
towns' prerogative to brew beer for sale (but later nobles acquire that)

Peasants worked land for which they made payments to landlords (knights, lords, clergy)

By 13th century most of the payments were cash
In addition they provide labor for lords' estates
not represented in the diet

German colonists invited to clear land and farm

also founded cities craftsmen, an important part of the urban economy.

Growing commercial agricultural economy and urban life

Germans important in urban life

Town notables mostly German

King vs. nobility. King allied with peasants, Germans, towns. Nobility, clergy, towns represented in the Diet.

Charles IV of Luxemburg (1346-1378): King of Bohemia Holy Roman Emperor

In 14th century Bohemia most urbanized, commercial, most “western” part of E.C.E., area with densest population. Prague—largest city east of RhineRiver. Prague was imperial capital, great center of learning.

Golden Age: Great construction projects, palaces, bridges
Charles’s former tutor Pope, and Praguemade an archbishopric
Charles elected Holy Roman Emperor: Prague the capital of HRE
promoted development & reforms in culture, education, the economy, etc.
1348 CharlesUniversity founded in Prague—first in HRE & Central Europe (earlier onesin Paris, Oxford, Italy). Cosmopolitan. Languages: Czech, Polish, Latin, German, Italian.7000 students in town of 40,000. Many Germans came and began dominating the university.
Charles attempted to reign in the magnates

The Church & Its Troubles

Though under Germanjurisdiction, Slavonic liturgyin use for a while: vernacular religious tradition was there.
12th century completely westernized. Slavonic liturgy replaced by Latin. But early Slavonic influence left imprint.

end 14th century, whilecultural flowering also movement for church reform

testimony to the Westernization of Bohemia: Prague as center for debates going on in other parts of Europe—Oxford, Paris

But also return to early “Eastern” tradition: 1391 Charles IV gets permission to reintroduce the Slavonic liturgy in Bethlehem Chapel.

The Hussite Movement

Pre-conditions

the crisis of the Catholic church in the 14th century
moral crisis. Sale of indulgences; paiment for ecclesiastical appointments
institutional crisis - the Western schism (1378-1417)
response: ideas about how to reform the Church (John Wyclif). But others in Paris where some Czech reformers attended lectures
the development of the PragueUniversity large body of priests, teachers, students (including burghers) discussing theological issues
attempts of king-emperor Vaclav (1378-1419) to take over church properties

Jan Hus (1369-1415)

1402 installed preacher in Bethlehem Chapel
theology professor at University; enrolled in Ph.D. program; rector
of a generation involved in debates about reform
acquainted with writings of the Oxfordtheologian John Wycliffe (1320-1384) who advocated moral reform of church: attacked sale of indulgences, etc.
Hussites wanted Church to be poor, abandon the wealth and power; clergy should enjoy no special privileges and should live on alms
priests and prelates should be elected by the Christian community (laymen included)
lex Christi embodied in the Scripture whose authority exceeds that of the church, pope & church councils
anticipated Reformation in demanding freedom of conscience and expression; and the right of laymen to preach & get both kinds of communion like clergy (Utraquism)
Hus invoked a national sense—preaching in Slavic rather than Latin
During debates the non-Bohemian nationes (student associations) left in protest. The remaining Bohemian students more in agreement with Hus & reformers.

1409 - king Vaclav, supported by Hussites, sides with pope elected by the Pisa council, while archbishop of Prague and the Germans in the University side with pope in Rome; University is reformed in favor of Czechs. German professors and students leave Prague
1411 Hus excommunicatedand banished, living in thecountryside under noble protection. Hus preaches further. King and the nobles take over church estates
Hus appealed to Christ against his excommunication
1414 - the council of Constance; Hus is summoned to defend himself; goes with the emperor's safe-conduct, but is imprisoned and burnt at the stake (1415)

The Hussite Wars (1419-1434)

In the aftermath of Hus's execution, the reform movement continued and became radicalized.

September 1415, 452 Czech noblemen protest against the condemnation and execution of Hus, and form Hussite league; they begin to receive the communion sub utraque species (Utraquism)
1419 - king forbids Utraquism and tries to re-Catholicize the church
Hussites begin to attend hilltop religious service (Taborite congregations), and take control of a large part of Bohemia, including Prague
1419 Vaclav dies; new king is emperor Sigismund of Luxemburg
Hussites adopt the Four Articles of Prague:

unimpeded preaching of the Gospel by/to everyone
communion 'under both species' for all Christians
the clergy to be divested of all worldly power and wealth
public punishment of mortal sins

among the Hussites, the authority divided between military commanders of the Taborite armies, the Bohemian Diet (controlled by nobles) and the HussiteChurch (governed by a consistory of priests and university teachers)
Basel Council came to terms with the Hussites: the Compactata of 1433 accepted communion sub utraque species (only for Bohemia, as an exception) and a diluted version of the Four Articles

Radical Taborites organized Community of Bohemian Brethren: communal living, simple manual labor

Significance and consequences of the Hussite Movement

Hussite movement very advanced: anticipated Christian Reformation by 100 years. Hus failed to reform church as a whole, but his ideas would be used later

Constitutionally it legitimized resistance to authority on the basis of religious faith

100 years later Luther explicitly referred to "the Bohemian cause" making clear the kinship bet. the Reformation he was leading and the Hussite movement.

BUTit isolated Bohemiafrom mainstream Catholic Europe

turn to vernacular language, anti-German ordinances, turn away from cosmopolitanism

Political, social, ideological consequences:

Refusing to accept King Sigismund in 1419 Bohemia became a de facto republic, or noble oligarchy—butalso a land wracked by anarchy—for next 17 years.Lacking a king, the diet became that much more important.

Royal fortresses fell to nobles and to Hussite armies. Chaos and fragmentation. Nobles and towns battled each other.Private towns and powerful nobles grabbed royal towns and possessions.Rival parties attempted to dictate to a weak monarch.

clergy lost much landed wealth to the nobles & their place in the diet

Many Germans fled: native burghers became stronger without the Germans

peasants lost out as they were defenseless in face of anarchy and noble ascendancy

religious compromise made the next monarch of Bohemia, King George Podebrady, declare himself to be the monarch of both Catholics and Utraquists. This gave Bohemia a political identity not tied to a particular church

Habsburg designs on Bohemia came to fruition by means of Counterreformation as a result of this religious situation