Editing Sorbs (section)

===Early modern period===
[[File:Wendische kirche senftenberg 2018-04-07 (2).jpg|thumb|Sorbian church in [[Senftenberg]] (Zły Komorow)]]
From 1376 to 1469 and from 1490 to 1635 Lusatia was part of the [[Lands of the Bohemian Crown]] under the rule of the houses of [[House of Luxembourg|Luxembourg]], [[Jagiellonian dynasty|Jagiellon]] and [[House of Habsburg|Habsburg]] and other kings, whereas from 1469 to 1490 it was ruled by King [[Matthias Corvinus]] of Hungary. Under Bohemian (Czech) rule, Sorbs were allowed to return to cities, offices and crafts, Germanisation significantly reduced and the Sorbian language could be used in public.{{sfn|Golecka|2003|p=58}} From the beginning of the 16th century the whole Sorbian-inhabited area, with the exception of Bohemian-ruled Lusatia, underwent [[Germanization]].

During the [[Thirty Years' War]], in 1635, Lusatia became a [[fiefdom]] of [[Electorate of Saxony|Saxon electors]], but it retained a considerable autonomy and largely its own legal system (see [[Lusatian League]]). The Thirty Years' War and the [[second plague pandemic|plague of the 17th century]] caused terrible devastation in Lusatia. This led to further German colonization and Germanization.

In 1667 the Prince of [[Brandenburg]], Frederick Wilhelm, ordered the immediate destruction of all Sorbian printed materials and banned saying masses in this language. At the same time the [[Evangelical Church in Germany|Evangelical Church]] supported printing Sorbian religious literature as a means of fighting the [[Counterreformation]]. With the formation of the Polish-Saxon union in 1697, Polish-Sorbian contacts resumed, and Poles influenced the Sorbs' national and cultural activities (see ''Relationship with Poland'' below). With the [[Age of Enlightenment]], the Sorbian national revival began and resistance to Germanization emerged.{{sfn|Matyniak|1968|p=241}} In 1706 the Sorbian Seminary, the main centre for the education of Sorbian [[Catholic]] priests, was founded in [[Prague]].{{sfn|Matyniak|1968|p=241}} Sorbian preaching societies were founded by [[Evangelism|Evangelical]] students in [[Leipzig]] and [[Wittenberg]] in 1716 and 1749, respectively.{{sfn|Matyniak|1968|p=241}}