Editing Hussites (section)

== History ==

The Hussite movement began in the [[Kingdom of Bohemia]] and quickly spread throughout the remaining [[Lands of the Bohemian Crown]], including [[Moravia]] and [[Silesia]]. It also made inroads into the northern parts of the [[Kingdom of Hungary]] (now [[Slovakia]]), but was rejected and gained infamy for the plundering behaviour of the Hussite soldiers.<ref name='Spiesz 52'>Spiesz ''et al.'' 2006, p. 52.</ref><ref>Bartl 2002, p. 45.</ref><ref name='Kirschbaum 2005 48'>Kirschbaum 2005, p. 48.</ref><ref>Spiesz ''et al.'' 2006, p. 53.</ref> There were also very small temporary communities in [[Polish–Lithuanian union|Poland-Lithuania]] and [[Transylvania]] which moved to Bohemia after being confronted with religious intolerance. It was a regional movement that failed to expand farther. Hussites emerged as a majority [[Utraquist]] movement with a significant [[Taborite]] faction, and smaller regional ones that included [[Adamites]], [[Orebites]] and [[Sirotci|Orphans]].

Major Hussite theologians included [[Petr Chelčický]] and [[Jerome of Prague]]. A number of Czech national heroes were Hussite, including [[Jan Žižka]], who led a fierce resistance to five consecutive crusades proclaimed on Hussite Bohemia by the [[Papacy]]. Hussites were one of the most important forerunners of the [[Protestant Reformation]]. This predominantly religious movement was propelled by social issues and strengthened [[Czechs|Czech]] national awareness.

=== Hus's death === 
{{main|Jan Hus|Bohemian Reformation}}
[[File:Muttich, Kamil Vladislav - Mistr Jan Hus na hranici v Kostnici 1415.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.9|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.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

The arrest of Hus in 1414 caused considerable resentment in [[Czech lands]]. The authorities of both countries appealed urgently and repeatedly to [[Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor|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 of Bohemia|Wenceslaus IV.]], prompted by his grudge against Sigismund, at first gave free vent to his indignation at the course of events in [[Konstanz|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,{{Who|date=April 2011}} 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 where their orders accorded with the injunctions of the [[Bible]]. The university would arbitrate any disputed points. The entire Hussite nobility joined the league. Other than verbal protest of the council's treatment of Hus, there was little evidence of any actions taken by the nobility until 1417. At that point several of the lesser nobility and some barons, signatories of the 1415 protest letter, removed Catholic priests from their parishes, replacing them with priests willing to give communion in both wine and bread. The chalice of wine became the central identifying symbol of the Hussite movement.<ref>John Klassen, "The Nobility and the Making of the Hussite Revolution" (''East European Quarterly''/Columbia University Press, 1978)</ref> If the king had joined, its resolutions would have received the sanction of the law; but he refused, and approached the newly formed Roman Catholic League of lords, whose members pledged themselves to support the king, the [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholic Church]], and the council. The prospect of a civil war began to emerge.

Prior to becoming pope, [[Martin V]], then known as Cardinal Otto of [[Colonna, Lazio|Colonna]] had attacked Hus with relentless severity. He energetically resumed the battle against Hus's teaching after the enactments of the [[Council of Constance]]. He wished to eradicate completely the doctrine of Hus, for which purpose the co-operation of King Wenceslaus had to be obtained.{{Citation needed|date=April 2011}} In 1418, Sigismund succeeded in winning his brother over to the standpoint of the council by pointing out the inevitability of a religious war if the [[Christian heresy|heretics]] in Bohemia found further protection.{{Citation needed|date=April 2011}} 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|date=April 2011}} His heir was Sigismund.

=== Hussite Wars (1419–1434) ===
{{Main article|Hussite Wars}}
[[File:Buch-kaiser-sigismund-L09740-26-lr-8.png|thumb|left|upright=0.9|alt=Painting of battle between mounted knights|The [[Battle of Kratzau]] between Hussites and Catholic forces led by Hans von Polenz]]
[[File:Wagenburg.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|right|The Hussite Wagenburg]]
[[File:Ussita pavese shield Prag Museum 1429.jpg|right|thumb|upright=0.7|Recreation of Hussite [[pavise]] from an original in the [[National Museum (Prague)|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 [[Hussite Wars|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 [[crusade]]rs but crossed the borders into neighboring countries. On March 23, 1430, [[Joan of Arc]] dictated a letter<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://archive.joan-of-arc.org/joanofarc_letter_march_23_1430.html|title=Joan of Arc's Letter to the Hussites (March 23, 1430)|website=archive.joan-of-arc.org}}</ref> 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|Council of Basel|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 [[Ecumenical council|ecumenical]] [[Council of Basel]] on October 15, 1431.<ref name="Fudge 1998">{{Cite book |last=Fudge |first=Thomas A. |url=http://archive.org/details/magnificentridef0000fudg |title=The magnificent ride : the first reformation in Hussite Bohemia |date=1998 |publisher=Aldershot, Hants ; Brookfield, Vt. : Ashgate |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-1-85928-372-1}}</ref> 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 ''"[[Compacts of Basel|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.<ref name="Fudge 1998"/> 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 [[Battle of Lipany]] on 30 May 1434.<ref name="Malcolm Lambert 1992">{{Cite book |last=Malcolm Lambert |url=http://archive.org/details/medievalheresypo00lamb |title=Medieval heresy |date=1992 |publisher=B. Blackwell |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-631-17431-8}}</ref> From that time, the Taborites lost their importance, though 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]]. 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 at last Sigismund obtained possession of the Bohemian crown.<ref name="Malcolm Lambert 1992"/> 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" ({{langx|la|"Unitas Fratrum"}}) (see [[history of the Moravian Church]]).

=== Hussite Bohemia, Luther and the Reformation (1434–1618) ===
{{see also|Martin Luther|Reformation}}
[[File:Stevens P. Maria Vítězná.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|Painting celebrating the Catholic victory at the [[Battle of White Mountain]] (1620). In the coming years, [[Kingdom of Bohemia|Bohemia]] and [[Margraviate of Moravia|Moravia]] were [[Counter-Reformation|converted]] from [[Hussitism]] to [[Roman Catholicism]] by the [[Habsburgs]].]]

In 1462, [[Pope Pius II]] declared the ''"Compacta"'' null and void, prohibited communion in both kinds, and acknowledged King [[George of Podebrady]] as king on condition that he would promise an unconditional harmony with the Roman Church. This he refused, leading to the [[Bohemian–Hungarian War (1468–1478)]]. His successor, King [[Ladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary|Vladislaus II]], favored the Roman Catholics and proceeded against some zealous clergymen of the Calixtines. The troubles of the Utraquists increased from year to year. In 1485, at the [[Religious peace of Kutná Hora|Diet of Kutná Hora]], an agreement was made between the Roman Catholics and Utraquists that lasted for thirty-one years. It was only later, at the Diet of 1512, that the equal rights of both religions were permanently established. The appearance of [[Martin Luther]] was hailed by the Utraquist clergy, and Luther himself was astonished to find so many points of agreement between the doctrines of Hus and his own. But not all Utraquists approved of the German [[Protestant Reformation|Reformation]]; a schism arose among them, and many returned to the Roman doctrine, while other elements had organised the ''"[[Unitas Fratrum]]"'' already in 1457.

=== Bohemian Revolt and harsh persecution under the Habsburgs (1618–1918) ===
{{main|Bohemian Revolt|Battle of the White Mountain|Thirty Years' War|Counter-Reformation|Anti-Protestantism|History of the Moravian Church}}

Under Emperor [[Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor|Maximilian II]], the Bohemian state assembly established the [[Confessio Bohemica]], upon which [[Lutheranism|Lutherans]], Reformed, and Bohemian Brethren agreed. From that time forward Hussitism began to die out. After the [[Battle of the White Mountain|Battle of White Mountain]] on 8 November 1620 the [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholic Faith]] was re-established with vigour, which fundamentally changed the religious conditions of the [[Czech lands]].

Leaders and members of [[Unitas Fratrum]] were forced to choose to either leave the many and varied southeastern principalities of what was the [[Holy Roman Empire]] (mainly [[Austria]], [[Hungary]], [[Bohemia]], [[Moravia]] and parts of Germany and its many states), or to practice their beliefs secretly. As a result, members were forced underground and dispersed across northwestern Europe. The largest remaining communities of the Brethren were located in Lissa ([[Leszno]]) in Poland, which had historically strong ties with the Czechs, and in small, isolated groups in Moravia. Some, among them [[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) ===
[[file:Hussite flag.svg|thumb|upright=0.7|left|The modern Hussite flag]]
{{main|Moravian Church|Czechoslovak Hussite Church|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).<ref>PRECLÍK, Vratislav. Masaryk a legie (Masaryk and legions), váz. kniha, 219 str., vydalo nakladatelství Paris Karviná, Žižkova 2379 (734 01 Karviná) ve spolupráci s Masarykovým demokratickým hnutím (Masaryk Democratic Movement), 2019, {{ISBN|978-80-87173-47-3}}, pp. 17–25, 33–45, 70–76, 159–184, 187–199</ref>

Today, the Hussite tradition is represented in the [[Moravian Church]], [[Unity of the Brethren (Texas)|Unity of the Brethren]], and [[Czechoslovak Hussite Church]].<ref name="Nĕmec"/><ref>{{cite book |last1=Sheldon |first1=Addison Erwin |last2=Sellers |first2=James Lee |last3=Olson |first3=James C. |title=Nebraska History, Volume 74 |date=1993 |publisher=Nebraska State Historical Society |page=151 |language=en}}</ref>