The Political and Social Doctrines of the Unity of Czech Brethren in the 15th and Early 16th Centuries

S L A V I S T I S C H E

D R U K K E N

E N

UITGEGEVEN C.

H.

V A N

H E R D R U K K E N

DOOR

S C H O O N E V E L D

HOOGLERAAR

TE L E I D E N

X I

THE POLITICAL A N D SOCIAL DOCTRINES OF

THE

U N I T Y OF CZECH B R E T H R E N IN FIFTEENTH

AND

THE EARLY

SIXTEENTH

CENTURIES

B Y

PETER

BROCK

LONDON

M O U T O N

S L A V I S T I C

& C O • 1957 •

P R I N T I N G S EDITED

C O R N E L I S

H. V A N

L E I D E N

' S - G R A V E N H A G E

A N D

R E P R I N T I N G S

BY S C H O O N E V E L D

UNIVERSITY XI

CONTENTS

I n t r o d u c t i o n : The Hussite Century I . Petr ChelCicky, Forerunner o f the U n i t y

11 .

.

.

.

25

I I . T h e O l d Brethren

70

I I I . T h e Genesis o f the Schism

103

I V . T h e Beginnings o f the M i n o r Party

133

V . The Schism V I . The Brethren, the C i v i l Power, and the O a t h

153 .

.182

V I I . The N e w U n i t y

206

V I I I . T h e Decline o f the O l d Doctrines

241

Conclusions

274

A p p e n d i x : The O l d Doctrines i n U n i t y H i s t o r i o g r a p h y

.

.

.277

N o t e o n Sources

285

Bibliography

293

Index

299

A B B R E V I A T I O N S

A. J .B.

—

A k t a Jednoty Bratrske

C. C. M.

—

Casopis

C. C. H.

—

Cesky

Ceskeho Casopis

Musea Historicky

INTRODUCTION

THE HUSSITE

CENTURY

The Czech R e f o r m a t i o n preceded the G e r m a n and Swiss

Reformation

by over a century. I n the history o f the Czech lands the h u n d r e d years and m o r e t h a t elapsed between the death o f H u s at Constance i n 1415 a n d the c o m p o s i t i o n by L u t h e r i n 1517 o f his ninety-five theses against the sale o f papal indulgences m a y w e l l be called the Hussite century. I n the 1520s the spread o f L u t h e r a n doctrines a n d the accession o f the H a b s b u r g dynasty marked the end o f an epoch i n the country's history. I t was this period, too, that saw the active life o f the rustic philosopher, Petr Chelöicky, and the a d o p t i o n o f his radical p o l i t i c a l a n d

social

doctrines by the m e n w h o founded the U n i t y o f Brethren. B u t , after less t h a n a century, these doctrines had already been rejected b y a later generation o f Brethren. W i t h i n a h u n d r e d years o f Hus's death they were o n the way t o being forgotten, kept alive o n l y b y a t i n y a n d e x p i r i n g g r o u p o f obscure artisans. B y the time L u t h e r and Z w i n g l i h a d appeared o n the scene the U n i t y o f Brethren had already made its peace w i t h the existing social order, j u s t as the larger and more conservative Hussite body, the official U t r a q u i s t c h u r c h , had done very m u c h earlier. The

Hussite

century

had been, indeed,

a time o f

revolutionary

upheavals and o f p r o f o u n d changes i n a l l spheres o f life, religious a n d c u l t u r a l , economic, social and p o l i t i c a l .

I n the fourteenth

century

Bohemia under Charles I V was the administrative centre o f the H o l y R o m a n E m p i r e and the seat o f the i m p e r i a l c o u r t . Its university, founded i n Prague i n 1348, had made that c i t y the intellectual centre o f C e n t r a l Europe. B u t b o t h the deposition o f Charles's successor, Vâclav, f r o m the i m p e r i a l throne i n 1400 and the decree o f Kutnâ H o r a o f 1409, w h i c h , by g r a n t i n g the Czechs a c o n t r o l l i n g m a j o r i t y i n the a d m i n i s t r a t i o n o f the university, led t o the m i g r a t i o n o f its G e r m a n scholars a n d the transf o r m a t i o n o f the university f r o m a p r e d o m i n a n t l y G e r m a n i n t o an almost entirely Czech i n s t i t u t i o n , signified a shift i n the i n t e r n a t i o n a l p o s i t i o n o f the Czech lands. T h i s process o f change culminated after 1415 i n the

12

INTRODUCTION

revolution carried o u t by Hus's party, whose leaders came m a i n l y f r o m the ranks o f former students o f the University o f Prague. achieved

i n the religious, p o l i t i c a l a n d c u l t u r a l spheres

The changes completely

transformed the Czech lands a n d , f o r m o r e than a century, m a r k e d t h e m off f r o m the rest o f Europe. The m o r a l revolt w h i c h H u s and his followers raised against the abuses o f the medieval c h u r c h h a d sprung f r o m the theological arguments of the Englishman W y c l i f , as w e l l as f r o m a native source i n the teachings o f Hus's predecessors i n the Czech r e f o r m movement. I t was the chalice for the layman, c o m m u n i o n i n t w o kinds, approved by H u s shortly before his death at the stake, that became the standard under w h i c h every religious reformer i n the Czech lands fought o u t the battle against Rome. This above a l l , combined as i t was w i t h the veneration o f Hus's memory, united a l l wings o f the Hussite movement a n d gave i t its name of Utraquism. I n 1415 H u s h a d been supported b y a p o w e r f u l section o f the Czech nobility and gentry as w e l l as by the townsmen a n d university o f Prague. T w o years later the Hussite programme was first f o r m u l a t e d t h a t i n 1420 was given definitive f o r m i n the F o u r Articles o f Prague. These called for the free preaching o f the W o r d o f G o d , c o m m u n i o n i n t w o kinds, the confiscation o f the secular possessions o f m o n k s and priests a n d for the punishment o f p u b l i c sin. B u t the same five years that saw the attempt to formulate the basic c o m m o n principles o f the movement were marked, t o o , by its break u p i n t o several conflicting groups differing b o t h as to theology a n d social o u t l o o k . O n the extreme r i g h t were the conservative Utraquists under their leader, Jan o f P r i b r a m , whose disagreement w i t h R o m e extended to l i t t l e beyond the demand f o r c o m m u n i o n i n t w o kinds. H e and his followers rejected

Wyclif's

views

on the sacraments a n d consistently sought

recognition f r o m R o m e for their special standpoint. Occupying a central position between the t w o wings o f the movement, a n d themselves p r o b a b l y the closest i n spirit t o H u s himself, there came next the p a r t y led first by Jakoubek o f Stfibro a n d then, after his death i n 1429, by Jan Rokycana. Their programme was represented i n large measure by the F o u r Articles o f Prague. O n the left were the Taborites sprung f r o m the chiliast enthusiasts w h o , inspired by an immediate expectation o f the second c o m i n g o f Christ a n d the establishment o f the K i n g d o m o f G o d o n earth, h a d gathered i n the years immediately after Hus's death i n the south-east districts o f Bohemia, where they founded the t o w n o f T a b o r f r o m w h i c h they were to derive

13

T H E HUSSITE C E N T U R Y

their name.

L i k e W y c l i f they rejected p u r g a t o r y a n d maintained the

d o c t r i n e o f consubstantation; they simplified the c h u r c h r i t u a l a n d d i d away w i t h clerical vestments as inconsistent w i t h the practice o f apostolic t i m e s ; f r o m a m o n g the seven C a t h o l i c sacraments they recognized o n l y baptism a n d c o m m u n i o n . I n 1420 they t o o k the epoch-making step o f b r e a k i n g w i t h the t r a d i t i o n o f apostolic succession b y electing their o w n bishop, w h o acted indeed o n l y as primus

inter pares.

I n social matters

they stood f o r a far-going radicalism, even after the disappearance i n the early 1420s o f the U t o p i a n c o m m u n i s m o f their first phase.

Largely

c o m p o s e d o f peasants a n d lesser gentry, the Taborites h a d their equivalent i n Prague i n the p a r t y o f the poorer t o w n s m e n led, u n t i l his e x e c u t i o n i n 1422, b y the r e v o l u t i o n a r y U t r a q u i s t priest, J a n Zelivsky.

O n the

extreme left came the so-called Adamites, a small g r o u p w i t h rationalistic and even pantheistic tendencies, w h i c h regarded the c o m m u n i o n as a purely commemorative act a n d completely denied the doctrine o f the real presence.

I n 1421, however, they were savagely suppressed b y the

T a b o r i t e leader, Jan Zi£ ka. The

appearance

o f divisions w i t h i n

the Hussite movement

was

accompanied b y increasing danger o f intervention f r o m w i t h o u t . D u r i n g 1418 K i n g Vâclav, w h o p a r t l y under the influence o f his wife Zofie h a d previously been favourably inclined t o w a r d s the new movement, n o w began t o take sterner measures against the Hussites. F o r this new p o l i c y his brother, the E m p e r o r Sigismund, w h o h a d set himself u p as t h e c h a m p i o n o f the C h u r c h , was largely responsible. Vaclav's death i n the summer o f 1419, shortly after the riots w h i c h b r o k e o u t i n Prague under 2elivsky's leadership a n d i n w h i c h the C a t h o l i c m u n i c i p a l c o u n c i l o f the N e w T o w n were murdered, meant the opening o f the succession question. T h e Hussites were o n l y ready t o recognize Sigismund as k i n g i f he w o u l d accept the Hussite p r o g r a m m e . T h i s he was clearly unprepared t o d o . I n the spring o f 1420, therefore, a crusade was p r o c l a i m e d against the heretical Czechs; a n d i n June Sigismund i n v a d e d the c o u n t r y w i t h a large a r m y a n d l a i d siege t o Prague.

H e was successful i n c a p t u r i n g the

r o y a l castle where he was crowned k i n g i n the C a t h e d r a l o f St. V i t . The danger f r o m w i t h o u t , however, succeeded i n t e m p o r a r i l y healing a l l the divisions a m o n g the Hussites. T h e Taborites under their leader, J a n

2izka, rallied t o Prague's rescue; Sigismund was defeated at the battle o f V i t k o v Heights a n d compelled t o w i t h d r a w . R e t u r n i n g i n the a u t u m n o f the same year at the head o f a new crusade he was once again defeated by 2iika at the battle o f Vysehrad. These t w o disasters, due largely t o the m i l i t a r y genius o f

2izka, c o m b i n e d w i t h the repulse o f a second

14

INTRODUCTION

crusade i n 1421, stiffened the Hussites' d e t e r m i n a t i o n n o t t o compromise on their faith and spelled the end o f Sigismund's chances o f acceptance as king by the Hussite m a j o r i t y i n Bohemia for more t h a n a decade. I n the summer o f 1421 the Bohemian diet meeting at Caslav f o r m a l l y accepted the F o u r Articles o f Prague a n d rejected Sigismund's c l a i m t o the t h r o n e . W i t h the disappearance o f the danger o f invasion f r o m w i t h o u t , differences rapidly sprang u p again a m o n g the Hussites. Negotiations h a d been opened w i t h the Polish k i n g , Wladyslaw Jagiello, w h o agreed t o send his nephew, Z y g m u n t K o r y b u t o w i c z , t o take possession o f the vacant throne. B u t K o r y b u t o w i c z was o n l y acknowledged as k i n g b y the more moderate Hussites. H i s obvious desire t o reconcile B o h e m i a w i t h Rome made h i m u n p o p u l a r w i t h the T a b o r i t e s ; a n d i n 1427 he was finally forced to leave the c o u n t r y . Meanwhile, even w i t h i n the T a b o r i t e camp unity h a d n o t been m a i n t a i n e d . I n 1423 Z i i k a h a d quarrelled o n doctrinal matters w i t h the T a b o r i t e priests and founded his o w n u n i o n o f towns i n east Bohemia. A f t e r his death i n the f o l l o w i n g year his followers took on the name o f the Orphans, remaining, however, i n close alliance with the Taborites o f south Bohemia. Despite internal dissension d u r i n g the 1420s, the Hussites were s t r o n g enough d u r i n g this decade n o t merely t o repel a l l attempts t o b r i n g t h e m back into the R o m a n C h u r c h , b u t to carry their o w n creed b y force i n t o neighbouring lands. The expeditions i n t o G e r m a n y a n d Poland made b y an alliance o f Taborites a n d Orphans under the leadership o f Zizka's successor, P r o k o p H o l y , a n d the propaganda w h i c h c u l m i n a t e d i n the Hussite manifestos o f 1430 a n d 1431, carried the offensive beyond the boundaries o f Czech-speaking t e r r i t o r y . The defeat o f attempted invasions o f Bohemia i n 1427 a n d again i n 1431, when the crusaders were r o u t e d a t the battle o f Domazlice, showed clearly that the Hussites c o u l d n o t be crushed by force. A t the same t i m e , w i t h the d e m o r a l i z a t i o n caused b y continual warfare a n d the w a t e r i n g d o w n o f the o r i g i n a l idealism by the increasing desire for the acquisition o f wealth a n d plunder, the m o r a l e o f the Hussites began t o decline. W h i l e the successful repulsion o f foreign intervention gave t h e m sufficient strength to compel even the papal see t o consider opening u p negotiations w i t h acknowledged heretics, b y the early 1430s a considerable p a r t y a m o n g the Hussites themselves were n o w anxious to find some modus vivendi w i t h R o m e a n d the rest o f E u r o p e , which w o u l d n o t at the same t i m e sacrifice their h a r d - w o n religious principles. After D o m a i l i c e , therefore, negotiations were started between Hussite Bohemia and the C o u n c i l o f Basel, w h i c h had begun its sessions i n 1431.

T H E HUSSITE C E N T U R Y

15

T h e Czechs were i n v i t e d t o the C o u n c i l o n a n equal f o o t i n g w i t h the other delegates t o argue their case before the assembled leaders o f the church.

I n M a y o f the f o l l o w i n g year emissaries o f the C o u n c i l a n d

representatives o f the Hussites met together at Cheb, agreeing there, by the so-called Soud chebsky,

t o recognize as their 'judge' i n matters i n

dispute the Scriptures a n d the practice o f Christ and H i s apostles and o f the p r i m i t i v e c h u r c h , as w e l l as the councils and fathers o f the c h u r c h i n so far as they were based o n these. T h o u g h n o compromise was reached d u r i n g the visit o f the Czech delegation t o the C o u n c i l o f Basel i n the early spring o f 1433, the representatives sent by the C o u n c i l soon after t o negotiate direct w i t h the B o h e m i a n diet were successful i n finding a n agreed f o r m u l a i n the shape o f the Compáctala, w h i c h were signed i n N o v e m b e r o f the same year. This proved i n effect a t r i u m p h f o r conciliar d i p l o m a c y , since i n practice little m o r e o f the o r i g i n a l Hussite p r o g r a m m e was granted t h a n the exercise o f c o m m u n i o n i n t w o k i n d s . T h e Taborites and Orphans n o w u n i t e d t o oppose the agreement

as a betrayal o f the principles o f the Hussite

movement a n d , as a result, the moderate U t r a q u i s t nobles j o i n e d w i t h their C a t h o l i c fellow citizens t o defeat the radicals at the battle o f L i p a n y i n M a y 1434. D u r i n g the fighting the Taborite leader, P r o k o p H o l y , fell w i t h m a n y other leading members o f his party. The T a b o r i t e defeat made i t easier f o r the moderate Hussites t o push f o r w a r d further negotiations w i t h the C o u n c i l as w e l l as w i t h the E m p e r o r Sigismund, w h o had never ceased t o strive for the recovery o f his hered i t a r y k i n g d o m . T h o u g h the Czechs were w i l l i n g t o abandon their c l a i m t h a t the cup for the l a y m a n should be made obligatory t h r o u g h o u t Bohemia, they remained adamant i n their demand t h a t the new a r c h bishop and his t w o subordinate bishops, w h o were t o take charge o f c h u r c h affairs i n the c o u n t r y , should be elected b y the diet i n c o n j u n c t i o n w i t h the U t r a q u i s t clergy.

T o this Sigismund finally consented; a n d , after the

election i n 1435 o f Rokycana and his t w o coadjutors, he promished t o d o his u t m o s t t o o b t a i n the church's c o n f i r m a t i o n o f the elections. I n July o f the f o l l o w i n g year, therefore, a meeting t o o k place at Jihlava between the Czechs, o n one h a n d , and Sigismund and the delegates o f the C o u n c i l , o n the other. The Compactata, recognized.

as d r a w n u p i n 1433, were t h e n f o r m a l l y

The way was n o w open f o r Sigismund t o r e t u r n t o Prague

as K i n g o f Bohemia, recognized by b o t h R o m a n Catholics a n d moderate Utraquists alike. W i t h his entry i n t o Prague i n A u g u s t 1436 the interregnum, w h i c h had lasted exactly seventeen years, was finally at a n end. Religious dissension a n d c i v i l strife, however, were by n o means ended

16

INTRODUCTION

by the settlement, w h i c h m a r k e d o n l y the conclusion o f the first stage i n the Hussite r e v o l u t i o n , i n the struggle o f U t r a q u i s t Bohemia against the Catholic w o r l d . The church had n o t i n fact abandoned hope o f b r i n g i n g about the complete reconversion o f the Hussites, n o r i n t u r n had the latter reconciled themselves to the legal existence o f supporters o f c o m m u n i o n i n one k i n d alongside the U t r a q u i s t m a j o r i t y .

The

Taborites

continued i n their negative attitude t o even a temporary truce w i t h the enemies o f the chalice ; while, o n the other h a n d , outside Bohemia - i n M o r a v i a and i n the other peripheral lands o f the B o h e m i a n C r o w n : the t w o Lusatias and Silesia - Catholicism still remained the d o m i n a n t faith. Efforts to o b t a i n the church's a p p r o v a l o f Rokycana's election as archbishop were to prove unavailing. W i t h Sigismund's r e t u r n t o Prague, and the transference o f the a d m i n i stration o f the c h u r c h i n Bohemia t o legates appointed by the C o u n c i l , a period o f reaction set i n . I n Prague o n l y the conservative w i n g o f the Hussite movement was granted a l i m i t e d t o l e r a t i o n . Rokycana, t u r n e d out o f his T y n C h u r c h , fled to Hradec Krâlové i n east Bohemia, where the Utraquists, under the leadership o f a p o w e r f u l nobleman, H y n c e Ptâcek o f PirkStejn, were extremely s t r o n g ; and here he was t o remain for the next eleven years. The death o f Sigismund i n December 1437 once again reopened the question o f the succession.

Neither the claims o f A l b e r t o f A u s t r i a ,

Sigismund's son-in-law, w h o died i n October 1439, n o r later those o f the former's posthumous son, Ladislav, received general

acknowledgement

t h r o u g h o u t B o h e m i a ; a n d , although a general peace was established i n 1440 between the supporters o f Ladislav, m a i n l y Catholics and conservative Utraquists, a n d the more radical Hussites under Hynce Ptâôek, this second i n t e r r e g n u m was t o last u n t i l 1452. The 1440s saw the consolidation i n east Bohemia o f the p a r t y led by Rokycana i n the religious sphere a n d , after Hynce Ptâôek's death i n 1444, by a y o u n g U t r a q u i s t nobleman, George o f Podëbrady, i n p o l i t i c a l affairs.

The Podëbrady U n i o n o f eastern counties, w h i c h the latter

succeeded i n b u i l d i n g up, formed a base f r o m w h i c h i n 1448 he was able t o set f o r t h t o regain Prague, where attempts t o reintroduce o l d c h u r c h practices had aroused m u c h discontent.

Rokycana, w i t h whose p a r t y

the conservative w i n g o f the Hussite movement, led by P r i b r a m , had by now merged, was once more reinstalled i n his T y n C h u r c h as the acknowledged head o f the U t r a q u i s t c h u r c h , a l t h o u g h a l l efforts t o gain papal confirmation o f his office were t o fail. A f t e r George o f Podëbrady's entry i n t o Prague only the Taborites still

17

T H E HUSSITE C E N T U R Y

remained i n open o p p o s i t i o n . Their theological innovations, as well as their l i t u r g i c a l practices, had been condemned by the diet held at Prague i n 1444, which had decided

against them i n their controversy

with

Rokycana's party, a n d ordered them to c o n f o r m accordingly. I n the summer o f 1452, four years after his t r i u m p h a l entry i n t o Prague and v i r t u a l t a k i n g over o f the reins o f government i n the l a n d , Pod6brady was strong enough t o force T a b o r t o surrender w i t h o u t a struggle.

Several o f the

Taborite leaders, i n c l u d i n g their bishop, M i k u l a S o f P e l h f i m , were p u t i n t o prison, where they were kept u n t i l death. I n the f o l l o w i n g year the town's defences were d i s m a n t l e d ; and this m a r k e d the final defeat o f the Taborites and the v i r t u a l suppression, i n the name o f religious o r t h o doxy and n a t i o n a l u n i t y , o f the radical w i n g o f the Hussite

move-

ment. I n 1451 negotiations h a d been opened u p w i t h Frederick o f A u s t r i a , the boy Ladislav's guardian. T w o years later Ladislav, w h o was at the time i n the hands o f the A u s t r i a n Estates, was b r o u g h t to Prague where i n October

1453 he was crowned k i n g . A l t h o u g h , t h r o u g h PodSbrady's

influence, he ascended the throne n o t by virtue o f his hereditary r i g h t b u t t h r o u g h election by the Bohemian diet, the other provinces o f the c r o w n continued t o support the y o u n g king's hereditary claims. however, agreed t o recognize the confirmation

for

the

Compactata

archbishop-elect

and

Rokycana.

to

Ladislav,

seek

papal

Podgbrady,

too,

carried o n as governor o f the realm i n actual charge o f the affairs o f state d u r i n g Ladislav's m i n o r i t y . A t this period b o t h PodSbrady and Rokycana were anxious t o effect a lasting reconciliation w i t h Rome. W i t h their belief i n the v a l i d i t y o f h o l y orders only i f handed d o w n as a result o f apostolic succession,

the

Utraquists were faced w i t h a difficult d i l e m m a after the death i n 1431 o f the A r c h b i s h o p o f Prague, K o n r a d o f Vechta, w h o h a d gone over t o the Hussites. I n order t o be certain o f a regular supply o f priests they had either to become reconciled w i t h Rome, even at the cost o f u n c o n d i t i o n a l submission, or t o find some other church i n the true line o f the apostolic succession: a p r o b l e m w h i c h proved insoluble and was to haunt their church t h r o u g h o u t the greater p a r t o f its existence.

A n attempt i n 1452

t o establish contact w i t h the Greek O r t h o d o x C h u r c h was b r o k e n off prematurely by the fall o f Constantinople i n M a y o f the f o l l o w i n g year. PodSbrady's subsequent efforts t o effect a reconciliation w i t h the R o m a n C h u r c h were likewise c u t short by the death o f the y o u n g k i n g i n N o v e m ber 1457. H i s brief reign had been m a r k e d b y the increasingly menacing attitude taken u p by the Catholic party towards the Utraquists, an a t t i t u d e

INTRODUCTION

10

w h i c h helped t o give a very radical c o l o u r i n g t o Rokycana's public utterances o f this period. The throne once again left vacant by Ladislav's death was filled i n M a r c h 1458 by the election o f George o f Podébrady himself. W i t h i n a couple o f years he had compelled recognition o f his kingship t h r o u g h o u t the lands o f the Bohemian C r o w n ; and his r e p u t a t i o n at this t i m e stood so h i g h i n Central Europe that plans were set o n f o o t t o make h i m K i n g o f the Romans and co-partner w i t h the E m p e r o r i n the government

of

Germany. T h o u g h these schemes never actually materialized, they witness t o the h i g h esteem i n w h i c h George was held by his fellow princes. However, i n order t o o b t a i n his c o r o n a t i o n by p r o p e r l y

consecrated

bishops, lent o n this occasion by K i n g M a t t h i a s C o r v i n u s o f H u n g a r y , George had been forced to take a secret and somewhat ambiguously worded o a t h o n the day before his c o r o n a t i o n : a n o a t h w h i c h c o u l d w e l l be considered a renunciation o f the Compactata,

t h o u g h n o t regarded as

such by George himself. But neither compromise o n this occasion, n o r George's attempts t o p r o v e ' h i s abhorrence o f heresy b y the sterner measures taken i n the early 1460s against the g r o w i n g U n i t y o f Brethren, founded a b o u t the time o f his accession, were successful i n persuading the p a p a l see, occupied at that period by the humanist Pius I I (Aeneas Sylvius), t o accept the Compactata.

Indeed, i n 1462, the Pope went so far

as to condemn c o m m u n i o n i n t w o kinds and to make his recognition o f George's election as k i n g c o n d i t i o n a l u p o n his renunciation o f the pactata.

Com-

Three years later hostilities b r o k e o u t between George and the

discontented Catholic n o b i l i t y , w h o had combined against h i m i n the League o f Zelená H o r a . A t the end o f the f o l l o w i n g year, i n December 1466, the Pope finally declared George an avowed heretic and deposed h i m f r o m the throne, relieving his subjects o f their d u t y o f obedience. I n the spring o f 1468 K i n g M a t t h i a s o f H u n g a r y , whose f o r m e r l y friendly relations w i t h George had gradually cooled over the years, n o w intervened i n Bohemian affairs as executor o f the p a p a l sentence o f deposition and protector o f the Catholic rebel noblemen.

These proceeded to elect

Matthias k i n g i n place o f George; as a result w a r ensued between the t w o kings, w h i c h was still undecided when i n 1471 George died at the age o f seventy-one. The only Czech t o occupy the Bohemian t h r o n e after the e x t i n c t i o n o f the Pfemyslid dynasty i n 1306, George went far t o restore inside the lands o f the Bohemian C r o w n the prestige o f the monarchy, w h i c h h a d been lost d u r i n g the l o n g years o f the interregnum, and t o regain the position w h i c h Bohemia had occupied i n the European c o m m u n i t y o f

19

THE HUSSITE C E N T U R Y

nations before the o u t b r e a k o f the Hussite wars. H e once again established peace and order t h r o u g h o u t the t e r r i t o r y under his c o n t r o l a n d , t h o u g h he lacked the b u r n i n g sense o f mission w h i c h inspired the first generation after Hus's death, he was able t o secure the heritage o f U t r a quism against attacks f r o m w i t h o u t a n d w i t h i n . H e was succeeded o n the t h r o n e b y the fifteen year o l d Vladislav I I , eldest son o f the Polish K i n g K a z i m i e r z I V o f the Jagieflonian dynasty. A f t e r Matthias's i n t e r v e n t i o n George h a d wisely abandoned his earlier desire to o b t a i n the throne f o r his o w n f a m i l y . T h o u g h a devout Catholic, K i n g K a z i m i e r z had been ready t o give George practical support against M a t t h i a s i n r e t u r n for a promise o f the c r o w n for his eldest son after George's death. The fact that a p a r t y o f M a g y a r nobles opposed

to

Matthias had also offered the H u n g a r i a n c r o w n to the Jagiellons proved a further i m p o r t a n t factor influencing Kazimierz's decision to come t o George's a i d . The struggle f o r the B o h e m i a n t h r o n e between M a t t h i a s a n d the Jagiellons d i d n o t end conclusively u n t i l 1478, when a compromise settlement was agreed to at the Peace o f O l o m o u c .

M o r a v i a , Silesia, a n d the

t w o Lusatias were retained by M a t t h i a s , while Vladislav was left w i t h only Bohemia proper. The title o f K i n g o f Bohemia was granted t o b o t h contestants. T h o u g h p r o v i s i o n was made f o r the eventual r e u n i t i n g o f a l l the lands o f the B o h e m i a n C r o w n , there was n o w great danger t h a t the peripheral lands w o u l d i n actual fact become detached f r o m the m a i n centre o f Czech culture i n Bohemia. However, the death o f M a t t h i a s i n 1490 w i t h o u t a legitimate heir, a n d the election o f Vladislav t o the vacant H u n g a r i a n throne, removed the danger o f disintegration. T h o u g h Vladislav, like his predecessor, had promised at his accession to respect the Compactata

a n d t o strive t o o b t a i n papal recognition for

the Utraquists' demands, after the conclusion o f peace w i t h M a t t h i a s i n 1478 there was a marked increase i n the activities o f the Catholic p a r t y i n Bohemia, a n d o f the monastic orders i n particular. The C a t h o l i c U p p e r Consistory i n charge o f the interests o f the adherents o f the o l d r e l i g i o n , which had been forced to flee f r o m Prague to Plzen i n 1467, n o w returned to the capital. A s a result o f the rising tension between the supporters o f c o m m u n i o n i n one k i n d and the protagonists o f the chalice for the l a y m a n , serious r i o t i n g broke o u t i n Prague i n 1483. Fear o f the renewal o f c i v i l war and foreign intervention led t o the conclusion i n 1485 o f the famous Treaty o f K u t n a H o r a , by w h i c h religious peace i n the l a n d was guaranteed for a period o f t h i r t y - t w o years, a p e r i o d w h i c h was successively prolonged until the final suppression o f U t r a q u i s m i n 1627. By the T r e a t y the

INTRODUCTION

Compactata

were reconfirmed and f u l l equality was t o be m a i n t a i n e d

between R o m a n Catholics a n d Utraquists, w h o were b o t h to continue t o have the r i g h t to receive c o m m u n i o n according t o their o w n rite. Each party agreed to refrain f r o m any attempt t o persecute the o t h e r ; a n d the number o f churches i n the possession o f each was to remain as at the time o f Vladislav's accession. The remainder o f Vladislav's l o n g reign was m a r k e d b y the absence o f open religious strife, even t h o u g h the g r o w i n g U n i t y o f Brethren was n o t covered by the provisions o f the Treaty o f K u t n a H o r a , a n d by the freedom o f the c o u n t r y f r o m entanglement i n foreign w a r and f r o m invasion f r o m without.

Vladislav's m i l d and somewhat ineffective

character, while

favourable t o the maintenance o f religious t o l e r a t i o n , signified, o n the other h a n d , a relaxation o f the efforts made by George o f PodSbrady t o curb the increasing power o f the n o b i l i t y . The accession i n 1516 o f Vladislav's ten-year-old son, L u d v i k , to his t w o k i n g d o m s o f Bohemia and H u n g a r y , and the fact t h a t for the former the boy k i n g was an absentee for the greater p a r t o f his reign, strengthened even further the d o m i n a t i o n o f the c o u n t r y by the n o b i l i t y headed by the great magnates. B u t the rule o f the Jagiellonian dynasty i n Bohemia was a b r u p t l y ended i n A u g u s t 1526 by the defeat and death o f the y o u n g K i n g L u d v i k at the battle o f Mohacs i n an attempt t o drive back the o n c o m i n g T u r k i s h invasion. T h e election o f a H a b s b u r g to the vacant throne i n the same year and the gradual i n f i l t r a t i o n i n t o the Czech lands d u r i n g the 1520s o f L u t h e r a n ideas, which were supported w i t h i n the official U t r a q u i s t chuch by the so-called neo-Utraquist party, b r o u g h t the Hussite century t o a conclusion. D u r i n g this whole period neither the c i v i l strife between

moderate

Utraquist and radical T a b o r i t e d u r i n g the first h a l f o f the century, n o r the secession f r o m the m a i n body, i n the second, o f some o f the most s p i r i tually alive to f o r m a separate U n i t y o f Brethren, n o r even the spiritual deadness w h i c h gradually set i n w i t h i n the U t r a q u i s t church itself, was able to lessen the greatness o f the religious inheritance left by the Hussite revolution. I n the p o l i t i c a l and c u l t u r a l fields the permanent gains were less obvious. The republicanism o f the Taborite w i n g had been suppressed; and the revolutionary p o l i t i c a l t h o u g h t , w h i c h the upheavals o f the time had generated, died away seemingly w i t h o u t an echo. The n a t i o n t h a t had defied its anointed m o n a r c h and carried o n its affairs for nearly t w o decades w i t h o u t a k i n g was finally induced, under certain conditions, t o accept h i m back again.

Later, the native Bohemian Hussite k i n g was

succeeded by the foreign Catholic dynasties o f Jagiello and Habsburg.

21

T H E HUSSITE C E N T U R Y

Nevertheless, the independence and integrity o f the Czech lands remained intact for almost the whole period u n t i l the disastrous battle o f the W h i t e M o u n t a i n i n 1620. The Hussite r e v o l u t i o n , t o o , gave a p o w e r f u l impetus t o the feeling o f Czech nationality, i f i t d i d n o t actually i n i t i a t e the n a t i o n a l movement. This was shown above a l l i n the c u l t u r a l sphere. The use o f Czech came to predominate i n a l l branches o f government, central and l o c a l : i n the executive, the legislature and i n j u d i c i a l matters, as well as i n the c h u r c h and i n private life. T h r o u g h the efforts o f the Taborites, and later o f the Czech Brethren, w i t h their desire t o make the Bible accessible t o their simple followers, the rudiments o f education were extended t o the masses o f the p o p u l a t i o n . Even hostile witnesses testified to the h i g h level o f literacy a m o n g b o t h Taborites and Brethren. A t the same t i m e there arose a rich literature i n the vernacular, w h i c h indeed had its origins i n the previous century and even earlier. N u m e r o u s i m p o r t a n t theological and moralistic w o r k s , such as the w r i t i n g s o f H u s himself o r

ChelCiky,

popular songs, hymns a n d p o l i t i c a l satires, chronicles and histories, as well as w o r k s o f pure literature i n prose and verse, were n o w w r i t t e n i n their authors' native Czech. I t was n o t o n l y c u l t u r e t h a t was i m b u e d w i t h the n a t i o n a l spirit. A s a result o f the Hussite r e v o l u t i o n and the wars t h a t followed, i n Bohemia at least, the native Czech elements gained c o n t r o l i n the towns t h r o u g h the e x p r o p r i a t i o n o f the largely G e r m a n patriciate, w h i c h favoured C a t h o l i cism. The creation o f a strong Czech burgher class was itself a p o w e r f u l support for Czech culture a n d Czech n a t i o n a l feeling as w e l l as f o r the Hussite movement generally. The cities — the capital, Prague, and T a b o r i n south Bohemia i n p a r t i c u l a r — influenced events t o a

remarkable

degree, especially d u r i n g the war years; and burghers were n o w a d m i t t e d to the diet. But n o t a l l was gain. T h e destruction o f the war years, religious fanaticism i n b o t h camps, the breaking o f c u l t u r a l and economic ties w i t h the rest o f Europe, led t o a n a r r o w i n g o f c u l t u r a l interests, w h i c h expressed itself, for instance, i n a decline i n the intellectual level o f the U n i v e r s i t y o f Prague.

Towards

the end o f the

fifteenth

century, t o o , a

tendency

appeared — as i n n e i g h b o u r i n g Poland — for the n o b i l i t y to t r y t o exclude the towns, w h i c h ranked at the t h i r d estate i n the B o h e m i a n diet, f r o m any i m p o r t a n t share i n the w o r k o f government.

I n 1485, for instance,

K i n g Vladislav decreed t h a t the burgesses m i g h t vote i n the diets only o n matters directly concerning their estate.

T h e struggle between burgher

and noble was to be a l o n g one, b u t the seeds were already sown.

I

INTRODUCTION ]

The results o f the economic and social forces at w o r k i n the Hussite revolution were as usual less clearly visible, b u t i n their final results certainly as far-reaching as i n other spheres o f life. The conditions i n w h i c h the peasantry lived d u r i n g the fourteenth century were certainly n o t worse than i n the centuries succeeding the Hussite r e v o l u t i o n . T h e m a n y abuses w h i c h existed i n practice, however, were denounced i n f o r t h r i g h t terms by a l o n g series o f moralists; and a c u l t o f the simple m a n , the peasant, had g r o w n up as a result o f the w r i t i n g s and preaching o f Hus's predecessors. A n extensive literature existed i n the period j u s t before the Hussite revolution, inveighing against the oppression o f the peasantry i n all its forms and postulating the theoretical equality o f a l l m e n i n the sight o f G o d .

The peasantry i n m a n y places, and especially i n South

Bohemia where the conditions were p a r t i c u l a r l y ripe for change, became /

the most enthusiastic supporters o f the new religious movement. They were j o i n e d by the lower strata o f the t o w n p o p u l a t i o n , anxious t o oust the G e r m a n patriciate, and b y m a n y o f the n o b i l i t y - and even some o f the magnates - eager t o take the o p p o r t u n i t y t o seize the wealth o f the Catholic C h u r c h , w h i c h at the beginning o f the fifteenth century was i n possession o f at least a t h i r d o f the t o t a l area o f the c o u n t r y . O n the social side, indeed, despite the existence o f m a n y purely selfish motives, the Hussite movement at its best expressed the desire for a juster social order. Earlier radical p o l i t i c a l thinkers had usually been content to leave their radicalism i n the realm o f theory or to l i m i t its a p p l i c a t i o n to those w h o consciously renounced the w o r l d . T h e Czechs p u t theory i n t o practice. They broadened the medieval concept o f freedom as a personal privilege to be acquired by r a n k or service o r money i n t o a u n i versal m o r a l principle, founded o n the gospel L a w o f L o v e . T h e y sought, however haltingly, to b r i n g society i n t o line w i t h the teachings o f the New Testament, as they understood them, and w i t h their conception o f the life o f the early c h u r c h . The social ideology o f Stitny and Hus's other predecessors, (

o f H u s himself, o f the c o m m u n i s t i c chiliasts a n d the

republican Taborites, o f Chelcicky a n d , later, o f Rokycana i n his m o r e radical moments and the early Czech Brethren, reflected i n v a r y i n g degree the hopes and fears o f the oppressed. The Hussite r e v o l u t i o n , however, failed t o achieve a radical and lasting change i n the existing structure o f society. A shift i n the centre o f power was the sole outcome. T h e c h u r c h lost the greater p a r t o f its secular possessions and its p o l i t i c a l power; and the nobles successfully extended their estates by swallowing u p the c h u r c h lands. T h e central a u t h o r i t y , the power o f the k i n g , was weakened for over a c e n t u r y ; and this accrued

T H E HUSSITE CENTURY

I

i

m a i n l y t o the advantage o f the n o b i l i t y and the magnates.

!

displaced Germans as the r u l i n g element i n the towns.

23

Czechs had The

religious

freedom o f the official U t r a q u i s t c h u r c h , w h i c h c o n t r o l l e d the University o f Prague and the educational system o f the c o u n t r y , was to remain i n t a c t u n t i l the victory o f the C o u n t e r - R e f o r m a t i o n i n the first h a l f o f the seventeenth century. A

flourishing

indigenous culture h a d g r o w n u p , t h o u g h

this naturally was enjoyed m a i n l y by the educated classes. B u t the status o f the peasantry, the class w h i c h had most t o gain f r o m the r e v o l u t i o n , which supported i t w i t h most enthusiasm and sacrificed most o n its behalf, deteriorated steadily d u r i n g the course o f the succeeding centuries. The aftermath o f the Hussite wars had left, on the one h a n d , vast wealth and power concentrated i n the hands o f the n o b i l i t y a n d , o n the other, a dearth o f labour o w i n g to the destruction o f the war years. F o r the peasant this resulted i n an increase i n labour services, money dues, and the obligation for m i l i t a r y service; the spread o f pisciculture — the

flooding

o f land by nobles and gentry i n order to create fish ponds, a profitable source o f income that called for little l a b o u r — w a s often at the same t i m e detrimental t o the peasants' interests. fifteenth

D u r i n g the second h a l f o f the

century there was a gradual b u t steady loss o f the

personal liberty. F r e e d o m o f movement was restricted; every

peasants' peasant

was legally required t o have a l o r d ; a n d peasants were n o w allowed t o leave their villages o n l y w i t h the permission o f their l o r d , w h o obtained the r i g h t t o reclaim those w h o h a d migrated to the t o w n or another estate. I t was made an offence, t o o , punishable by fine o r i m p r i s o n m e n t , t o hide o r i n any way w i t t i n g l y to help such a fugitive. The weakness o f the central government also placed the a d m i n i s t r a t i o n o f justice, so far as i t affected the peasant, i n the hands o f the landowners, w h o i n this way came t o possess absolute power over their tenants. T h u s , by the end o f the century the peasants, together w i t h a l l their family, had become adscripti

glebae,

serfs tied to the l a n d they cultivated. T h e i r unfree status was n o w enshrined in the great c o m p i l a t i o n o f the laws o f the l a n d issued i n 1500 under the name o f the L a n d Ordnance (Zflzeni

zemske).

The worsening o f the peasants' c o n d i t i o n was, i t is t r u e , c o m m o n n o t only to the Czech lands, b u t also t o neighbouring countries l i k e Poland and Hungary, w h i c h had been v i r t u a l l y untouched by the Hussite movement. Its causes, therefore, cannot be a t t r i b u t e d solely t o the results o f this movement.

Nevertheless, the l o n g war years i n particular proved a

powerful stimulus to tendencies, w h i c h were already present i n the social system.

The b r i g h t hopes w h i c h the early T a b o r i t e chiliasts had enter-

tained o f a radical a m e l i o r a t i o n o f the peasants' l o t were to be entirely

INTRODUCTION

shattered by the course w h i c h events t o o k over the next h u n d r e d years. I t is only, indeed, i n the l i g h t o f disappointed hopes f o r

social

betterment, o f disillusionment after l o n g years o f sacrifice and struggle f o r an ideal w h i c h appeared to recede ever further as the years passed by, that the history o f the p o l i t i c a l a n d social doctrines, first p r o p o u n d e d by Petr Chelcicky and t h e n taken over b y the Brethren o f the early U n i t y , can be properly understood. These doctrines were, t o a large extent, the outcome o f their background, p o l i t i c a l , economic and social, as w e l l as religious and c u l t u r a l . m o u l d the development

I n their t u r n they were themselves to help to o f t h o u g h t a n d the pattern o f future events.

I

PETR

CHELCICKY,

FORERUNNER

OF

THE

UNITY The Czech n a t i o n has contributed several outstanding figures to E u r o p e a n history. T h e achievements o f H u s a n d K o m e n s k y , Z i z k a a n d George o f PodSbrady, Palacky a n d M a s a r y k are w e l l - k n o w n at least t o a l l historians. The name o f Petr Chelcick^, however, the t h i n k e r whose chief w o r k Tolstoy, f o r instance, has described as 'a most remarkable p r o d u c t i o n o f human t h o u g h t , b o t h f r o m the p r o f u n d i t y o f its contents a n d the wonderful force a n d beauty o f its p o p u l a r language,' has scarcely been heard o f 1

outside the frontiers o f his native c o u n t r y . C h e l & c k y , says T o l s t o y , 1 'occupies w i t h i n Christianity the same p o s i t i o n as Christianity itself w i t h i n the whole h u m a n c o m m u n i t y ; ' a n d a great Slav scholar has claimed t h a t J 2

' i f Chelcicky h a d been b o r n a G e r m a n , a F r e n c h m a n o r an Englishman he w o u l d u n d o u b t e d l y have exercised a n i m p o r t a n t influence o n the history o f law a n d social theory i n E u r o p e . '

F o r most historians his w o r k s are a ,

3

closed b o o k o n account o f the barrier o f language. Since his rediscovery, however, a century ago by Palacky a n d Safarik, after over three centuries o f o b l i v i o n , Czechs o f a l l schools o f t h o u g h t have at least agreed i n assigning to ChelSicky an outstanding role i n the history a n d literature o f their n a t i o n , a n d a g r o w i n g n u m b e r o f foreign scholars have come too t o realize his significance as a p o l i t i c a l t h i n k e r . 1

T o l s t o y , The Kingdom

of God is Within

s i m i l a r i t y o f t h e i r ideas, w h o

4

You, p. 2 6 . I t w a s M a s a r y k , s t r u c k b y t h e

first b r o u g h t

C h e l 5 i c k ^ to T o l s t o y ' s a t t e n t i o n .

A . P a w l o w , ' L . N . T o l s t o j u n d T . G . M a s a r y k , ' Wiener

Slavistisches

Jalirbuch,

See 1955,

pp. 6 6 - 7 0 , 7 9 , 80. *

T o l s t o y , Krug

'

J a g i c i n h i s I n t r o . Sochineniya

Chteniya,

I I I , p. 2 6 1 . Petra

Khekhitskago,

" B o h e m i a i n the F i f t e e n t h C e n t u r y , ' Cambridge

Medieval

p. X X V . History,

Cf. K a m i l Krofta, V I I I , p. 8 7 : ' H i s

writings, indeed, a r e a m o n g the few m e d i e v a l l i t e r a r y w o r k s w h i c h c a n e v e n t o - d a y c a p t i v a t e o u r interest.' '

A p a r t f r o m C z e c h the o n l y l a n g u a g e s i n w h i c h a r t i c l e s o r b o o k s o n C h e l C i c k y h a v e

a p p e a r e d a r e G e r m a n a n d R u s s i a n , t h o u g h these a r e n o t i n d e e d n u m e r o u s . renderings o f s e v e r a l o f h i s w o r k s h a v e a l s o been p u b l i s h e d i n these t w o F u r t h e r details a r e given i n t h e b i b l i o g r a p h y . in E n g l i s h .

Free

languages.

N o t h i n g o f a n y v a l u e h a s s o far a p p e a r e d

PETR C H E L i l C K Y

C a r r y i n g the principles o f the Hussite r e v o l u t i o n to their logical conclusion, ChelSicky at the same t i m e p r o v i d e d the theoretical f o u n d a t i o n on w h i c h was b u i l t up a new religious c o m m u n i t y , the U n i t y o f Brethren (Jednota bratrskd),

w h i c h was i n its t u r n to m a r k a fresh stage i n

the nation's p o l i t i c a l a n d religious development.

The p o l i t i c a l and social

doctrines o f this body, therefore, cannot be understood w i t h o u t first considering the theories o f their ' s p i r i t u a l father,' ChelSicky.

5

I Scarcely any i n f o r m a t i o n has come d o w n to us about Chelcicky's life o r character. W h a t little is k n o w n is usually open to d o u b t , consists largely o f hypotheses more o r less plausible. Precise dates are almost entirely absent; while i t is quite impossible to gain any impression o f his personali t y apart f r o m the i n t e r n a l evidence o f his o w n w r i t i n g s , w h i c h u n f o r t u n ately contain comparatively few references to himself. Indeed, his w o r k s are almost the sole source o f our knowledge o f his life, since external documentary evidence does n o t exist. The o r i g i n a l i t y and depth o f his thought, the audacity o f his theory and the obviously outstanding character of his intellect, make this ignorance the more tantalizing. The date o f Chel&cky's b i r t h - as o f all the other events o f his life - is, therefore, uncertain. H e was probably b o r n , however, about 1390 i n the south Bohemian village o f Chel&ce near the s m a l l c o u n t r y t o w n o f Vodfiany.

H e appears to have acquired his surname m a n y years later

f r o m the founder o f the U n i t y , B r o t h e r R e h o f .

6

T h e name t h o u g h does

not necessarily indicate the place o f his b i r t h , signifying only the spot where he spent most o f his l i f t . B u t the social conditions o f the p e r i o d make i t probable that he was b o r n and reared at least i n the immediate neighbourhood.

7

N o t h i n g is k n o w n for certain o f his parents o r f a m i l y

nor o f his c h i l d h o o d a n d schooling: the sources give n o i n d i c a t i o n whether he ever m a r r i e d . Even the social class t o w h i c h he belonged a n d the calling he pursued d u r i n g his life-time are matters o f debate. Some earlier hypotheses - for instance, t h a t he was a cobbler, a tailor, a discharged soldier, a priest, or a Waldensian preacher - have been discarded. B u t he may have been a member o f the squirearchy (zeman) a yeoman (svobodnik),

or

independent o f any feudal l o r d and o w n i n g his o w n

land, or even an unfree peasant (sedldk).

The supposition that he was a

yeoman appears very possible. I t w o u l d have given h i m the means t o 5

P a l a c k y , Dijlny

*

S i m e k , ' O zivote a dile P e t r a C h e l c i c k e h o , ' Sit' viry ( M o d e r n C z e c h e d i t i o n ) , p. 3 1 3 .

ndrodu

7

V o g l , Peter

Cheltschizki,

ceskeho, p. 13.

V , p. 2 1 8 .

27

FORERUNNER OF T H E UNITY

acquire some measure o f education, sufficient leisure t o pursue his l i t e r a r y activities, and an independence

o f attitude, w h i c h membership o f the

semi-serf peasantry w o u l d have made very difficult, at the same time a l l o w i n g h i m to preserve t h a t sympathy w i t h his unfree fellow peasants and passionate advocacy o f their rights w h i c h appear i n a l l his writings. I t may thus have been o n l y later i n life t h a t he adopted the labourer's status as part o f a p r o g r a m m e o f v o l u n t a r y p o v e r t y .

8

Since the last w a r , however, Professor Bartos, the leading contem­ porary a u t h o r i t y o n the period, has p u t f o r w a r d another t h e o r y : t h a t o f Chelöick^'s identity w i t h a certain Petr Zâhorka, a well-to-do squire f r o m near-by Zâhoröi, w h o was b o r n a b o u t 1379-81. Zâhorka's name d i s - / appears f r o m the records after 1424; i n Bartos's view, because he was later k n o w n under the name o f Chelöicky. T h i s theory, also, w o u l d explain the latter's education, astonishing at this t i m e i n a simple c o u n t r y ­ man, as well as his independent spirit and freedom f r o m outside inter­ ference. T h o u g h Bartos has expressed his belief i n the v a l i d i t y o f his theory, i t must be stressed that i t remains a hypothesis, even i f a n extremely plausible one; n o positive p r o o f o f the identity o f the t w o m e n has as yet been b r o u g h t f o r w a r d .

9

A t any rate, ChelĞicky appears to have

been for most o f his life a w o r k i n g farmer, whatever his origins o r his exact legal status. I t was not u n t i l 1419, f o u r years after Hus's death, t h a t Chelcicky made his first appearance o n the stage o f history. Towards the end o f this year, roused by the fanatical o r a t o r y o f demagogic priest prophesying the overthrow o f the existing social order and the i m m i n e n t second c o m i n g o f Christ i n his glory, when only five holy cities - K l a t o v , L o u n y , Plzefi, Slane and Zatec - w o u l d be spared f r o m the divine w r a t h , masses o f peasants, especially f r o m south Bohemia, crowded t o the capital city o f Prague.

A m o n g thousands o f others came Chelcicky, then quite u n ­

k n o w n . A t that time, indeed, he was almost certainly at one i n most o f his opinions w i t h the masses o f his fellow pilgrims, w h o h a d been flocking i n thousands to participate i n the religious ceremonies o n M o u n t T a b o r . *

C h e l c i c k y , O trojim

lidu, p p . 6, 7 ; C h a l o u p e c k y ,

' S t i t n y a C h e l i i c k y , ' Ğ. M.

1914, pp. 7 3 - 7 6 ; U r b â n e k , Vik Podibradsky,

I I I , p p . 8 8 6 - 8 9 ; K r o f t a , Listy

k )(h

Chelöicky a Jednota

Jijin

Ceskych,

V o g l . op. cil., pp. •

pp. 2 0 5 - 0 6 ; G o l l - K r o f t a ,

M.,

z

nâboiens-

stoleli,

p p . 4, 5 ;

13-15.

B - i n o S . Jihofesky

Chaloupecky,

v XV

10

sbornik

C. C. H.,

historicky,

1946, p p .

1-8;

1947,

pp.

1-9.

But

cf. V .

X L V I I I / X L I X (1949), pp. 4 8 1 - 8 3 .

G o l l - K r o f t a , op. cil., p. 6 ; K r o f t a , op. cit., p. 2 0 8 ; Y a s t r e b o v , ' K h e l c h i t s k y i G u s , ' S'i'vyy

ibornik

izd. uchenikami

Lamanskago,

46. 6-69; M a c c k , Tâbor v husitskem

p. 4 7 2 ; Ktoz

revolucnim

hnuti,

i sû boti I I , chap.

C h c l c i c k / s a r r i v a l i n P r a g u e i n the late s p r i n g o f 1420. - J. S. H.,

bojovnici, I I . Bartos

1947, p. 3.

pp.

37,

places

28

PETR C H E L C l C K Y

F o r C h e l i i c k y was a true son o f the south Bohemia w h i c h played such a significant role i n the Hussite movement. He may already have come to Prague as a convinced adherent o f at least some o f the tenets o f the Waldensian heresy, w h i c h was widespread i n that area.

11

The Waldenses date back to the second h a l f o f the t w e l f t h

century. They were founded by a wealthy Lyons merchant, Pierre V a l d o ( d . circa 1217), w h o i n the mid-1170s, i n a desire t o return to the pure Christianity o f the early church, h a d renounced his p r o p e r t y a n d left his home to lead a life o f poverty and asceticism. Soon a group o f l i k e m i n d e d persons gathered a r o u n d h i m ; a n d they became k n o w n as the ' P o o r M e n o f Lyons.'

They attacked the abuses o f the time, urged the virtues o f

poverty, and called u p o n their fellow citizens to model their lives o n the example o f the apostles. Because o f their continued preaching w i t h o u t the permission o f the ecclesiastical authorities, they early came i n t o conflict w i t h the church. I n 1184, at the C o u n c i l o f Verona; Pope Lucius I I I p u t them under the ban o f the c h u r c h ; a n d soon after V a l d o and his ' P o o r M e n ' were expelled f r o m Lyons. The papal c o n d e m n a t i o n initiated a l o n g period o f intermittent, b u t often fierce, persecution lasting several centuries, w h i c h drove the Waldenses to break away f r o m the C a t h o l i c c h u r c h t r a n s f o r m i n g t h e m at the same t i m e i n t o an outlawed a n d heretical sect. M e a n w h i l e , however, the influence o f V a l d o a n d his followers h a d begun t o spread outside the frontiers o f the province, southwards i n t o Spain a n d also i n t o central a n d n o r t h e r n Europe. A t the beginning o f the 1180s a b r a n c h h a d been founded i n n o r t h I t a l y as a result o f fusion w i t h a section o f the L o m b a r d HumiliatU

a g r o u p w i t h i n the C a t h o l i c

c h u r c h organized o n ascetic a n d semi-monastic principles. E a r l y i n the thirteenth century, however, a split occurred between the m o r e radical L o m b a r d branch a n d the French Waldenses. I t h a d not, indeed, been Valdo's o r i g i n a l i n t e n t i o n t o break away f r o m the church, since the emphasis o f his teaching was n o t o n doctrine b u t o n practice. He advocated, above a l l , a r e t u r n to the p r i m i t i v e simplicity o f the first Christians; the renunciation o f property a n d the secular power being demanded for those accepted i n t o f u l l c o m m u n i t y . They were also forbidden t o take oaths or t o shed b l o o d . M o s t o f the sects' members, especially as persecution grew, were f r o m the poorer classes, peasants and small craftsmen. I n the course o f t i m e the Waldenses b o t h i n France and i n I t a l y set u p their o w n ecclesiastical hierarchy w i t h the equivalent o f 1 1

G o l l - K r o f t a , op. cit., p. 4 0 ; H r u b y , Ceske

postilly,

pp. 6 1 - 6 5 ; K r o f t a , op. cit.,

p.

206; Palacky, ' O stycich a pomeru sekty Waldenske k nekdejSim sektam v C e c h a c h , C. C. M.,

1868, pp. 315, 316.

29

FORERUNNER OF T H E UNITY

bishops, priests, and deacons, t h o u g h some were ready to accept the Eucharist f r o m 'good priests' o f the Catholic c h u r c h . The Waldenses spread their doctrines, i n particular, by means o f lay preaching i n the vernacular tongue. The missionaries w h o b r o u g h t the sect's teaching eastwards i n t o G e r m a n y and later i n t o Poland, H u n g a r y , and Bohemia belonged to the L o m b a r d branch, w h i c h tended, possibly under Cathar influences, to make a more clear-cut break w i t h the official church, regarding R o m e as the seat o f rejecting its services.

A n t i c h r i s t and

completely

By the fourteenth century the G e r m a n Waldenses

had become v i r t u a l l y independent o f their fellow sectaries i n I t a l y , t h o u g h they continued i n friendly relations w i t h each o t h e r .

18

By this time, too,

the existence o f Waldenses i n the Czech lands is authenticated. A t

first

the sect was confined to the foreign i m m i g r a n t s , t h o u g h later i t w o n numerous adherents a m o n g the Czech p o p u l a t i o n . T h r o u g h o u t the fourteenth century the i n q u i s i t i o n was active i n its attempts t o r o o t o u t this heresy f r o m B o h e m i a ; and a l t h o u g h o u r i n f o r m a t i o n is derived exclusively f r o m the records o f the sect's opponents and the exact nature o f the heresy under examination is never completely clear, they leave no d o u b t o f its comparative strength i n the c o u n t r y . They show, too, that the m a i n centre o f its activities was i n south Bohemia, i n the area f r o m w h i c h the Taborites sprang, the l a n d o f Chelöikcy's birth.

13

The p r o b l e m o f Chelcicky's relationship t o the Waldenses is, indeed, only part o f the larger question o f the relationship o f the Taborites a n d o f the whole Hussite movement t o this most i m p o r t a n t o f the medieval sects. T h o u g h no m e n t i o n o f any connection is made by Chelcicky i n his writings, the s i m i l a r i t y o f his doctrines w i t h Waldensian teachings, as w i l l be seen i n the second p a r t o f this chapter, is striking. B u t the Taborites too d u r i n g their first p e r i o d , circa 1415-19, had held similar views, w h i c h their sudden change d u r i n g the momentous year o f 1420 has tended to obscure. "

14

Those earnest p o p u l a r preachers w h o gathered together masses

F o r the W a l d e n s e s generally, see the articles b y W . F . A d e n e y , Encyclopaedia

Religion

and Ethics,

protestantische

X I I , pp.

Theologie

663-68, and by

und Kirche,

H.

Böhmer, Realencycklopädie

of für

X X , pp. 7 9 9 - 8 3 4 . T h e r e is, however, n o c o m -

prehensive s u r v e y o f the W a l d e n s e s d u r i n g the M i d d l e A g e s , w h i c h is b o t h s c h o l a r l y a n d up-to-date.

See also Bibliografía

Valdese,

ed. A . A . H u g o n a n d G . Gönnet ( T o r r e

I V U i c c , 1953), esp. p p . 7 2 - 1 0 2 . "

H a r r i s o n T h o m s o n , ' P r e - H u s s i t e H e r e s y i n B o h e m i a , ' E. H.

H o l i n k a , Sektáfství v Cecháchpred revohici husitskou,passim;

R.,

1933, p p . 2 3 - 4 2 ;

C h a l o u p e c k y , ' K déjinám

V a l d c n s k y c h v Cechách p r e d hnutím h u s i t s k y m , ' C. Ö. H., p p .

369-82;

Goll-Krofta,

op. cit., pp. 277 ff. "

C f . P r c g e r ' s thesis i n Über aas Verhältnis der Taboriten

zu den

Waldesiern

des

14.

30

PETR CHELÖICKY

o f adherents a m o n g the peasants and small craftsmen o f south Bohemia d u r i n g the f o u r years after Hus's death likewise rejected all violence and advocated a state o f apostolic poverty w i t h all things held i n c o m m o n , i n w h i c h every C h r i s t i a n m a n and w o m a n was t o be regarded as a beloved brother or sister. Typically Waldensian doctrines, such as the rejection o f oaths and the death penalty and a l l other forms o f violence, are t o be f o u n d among their articles o f faith. T a b o r i t i s m (vnikajici

Tabor),'

B u t this first p e r i o d o f ' p r i m i t i v e

as Pekaf has aptly called i t , gave way

towards the end o f 1419 to a p o w e r f u l movement o f mass hysteria, when many o f the more fanatical extremists a m o n g the priesthood proclaimed the second c o m i n g o f Christ, w h i c h was t o occur between 10-14 February 1420. The inauguration o f his k i n g d o m , w h i c h was t o last a thousand years, was to be accompanied by the e x t i r p a t i o n o f the wicked a n d the division o f their goods among the righteous. Dues a n d l a b o u r services, indeed all property rights, were t o be abolished, and sovereignty was t o rest w i t h the c o m m o n people. The failure t o realize the chiliasts' prophesies by peaceful means, after a few brief months o f enthusiasm, and the menace o f the approaching a n t i Hussite crusade commanded b y the E m p e r o r Sigismund w i t h the support o f the rest o f Christendom, led o n t o the t h i r d period i n the evolution o f the Taborite movement, w h i c h m a r k e d a w i t h d r a w a l f r o m the social radicalism o f the chiliasts and their predecessors and a rejection o f the earlier non-violence.

' N o n n e prius predicastis contra occisionem [protest-

ed the moderate Prague master, Jakoubek o f S t r i b r o ] et q u o m o d o i a m res sit versa i n oppositam q u a l i t a t e m . '

15

T h e humble disciples o f the peaceful

and communistic sectaries were n o w transformed i n t o the armed ' w a r r i o r s

Jahrhunderts,

p. I l l , t h a t the T a b o r i t e s

e s p e c i a l l y a s regards t h e i r s o c i a l d o c t r i n e s , op. cit., p p . 1 5 2 - 6 5 ;

were 'die F o r t s e t z u n g d e r böhmischen W a l d e s i e r . ' , S e e H o l i n k a Martinü, Die Dgjiny

Waldesier

husitskeho

Poslüchajte, suffering,

und die husitische

zpevu,

znamenajte,

Reformation

pp. 90-120. Nejedty,

I I , pp. 609, 610, 8 2 6 , 8 2 7 , p r i n t s a v e r y e a r l y H u s s i t e s o n g , w h i c h v i v i d l y expresses the W a l d e n s i a n

sentiments w h i c h are n o t u s u a l l y f o u n d

B a r t o S , Husitstvi

in Böhmen

gospel

of

i n later p r o d u c t i o n s .

passive

However

a cizina, p p . 114, 1 2 1 - 2 3 , d e n i e s t h a t the W a l d e n s i a n s e x e r c i s e d a n y

significant influence o n the beginnings o f t h e T a b o r i t e m o v e m e n t .

H e maintains that

W a l d e n s i a n s o c i a l tenets, s u c h a s the rejection o f the o a t h a n d the death penalty, a s well as a c o m m o n disbelief i n p u r g a t o r y ,

came through Nicholas of Dresden,

h a d reached s u c h conclusions independently. 1 6

G ö l l , Quellen

und Untersuchungen

who

S e e ibid., p p . 1 3 6 - 3 8 , 140, 1 4 2 - 4 6 .

zur Geschickte

der Böhmischen Brüder, I I , p. 6 0 .

T h e s e r e m a r k s were a d d r e s s e d to the p r o m i n e n t T a b o r i t e priest, J a n o f Jiöin, a u t h o r o f a n o n - e x t a n t treatise w h i c h h i s o p p o n e n t , J a n o f P r i b r a m , d e s c r i b e d a s ' t r a c t a t u l u s . . . in mundo,

plenus

perfidia et m e n d o s i t a t e et t y r a n n i d e a s a e c u l o s i m i l i n o n a u d i t a ' ( q u o t e d b y

de bellis et effusione

s a n g u i n i s et o c c i s i o n e o m n i u m

malorum

Krofta,

' N . V . J a s t r e b o v a , S t u d i e o P e t r a C h e l c i c k e m a j e h o d o b e , ' C.

C. H.,

1909, p. 6 7 ) .

j 31

FORERUNNER OF THE UNITY

1

o f G o d , ' defending their religion b y the sword, whose name - and especially that o f their leader, Jan 2 i z k a - was to be a t e r r o r to the rest o f Catholic Europe for centuries to come. U n d e r ZiZka's leadership, and o w i n g t o the exigencies o f w a r conditions, the m i n o r gentry came t o play an increasingly i m p o r t a n t role i n the movement's direction u n t i l finally a l l traces o f its social r e v o l u t i o n a r y beginnings had disappeared.

Among

16

the many thousands w h o were attracted by this religious and social renaissance only Chelöicky and the small group w h i c h he was to gather a r o u n d h i m d u r i n g the c o m i n g years were to remain faithful to the p r i n ciples o f those early 'Taborites before T a b o r . '

17

Little is k n o w n o f Chelcicky's stay i n Prague. Since i t is probable that he had no more t h a n a smattering o f L a t i n , the doors o f the U n i v e r s i t y w o u l d therefore have been closed t o h i m .

1 8

H e was able, however, to

read many o f the w o r k s o f the leading theologians i n translations made for h i m by his friends, and above a l l he was able t o make use o f one o r other o f the existing vernacular translations o f the Bible i n t o his native Czech.

"

19

P e k a f , liika

a jeho

C h a l o u p e c k y , op. Fontes

Kerum

cit.,

doba, pp.

Bohemicarum,

I , p p . 14, 1 6 9 - 9 8 ; K r o f t a , op. cit., p p . 118, 131, 1 7 0 ;

376-79, 382; 'Vavfince

z Bfezove

V , pp. 4 0 0 ff., 4 5 4 ff; Ktoijsü

6 6 - 6 9 . ( F o r 2 i i k a , see e s p e c i a l l y F r e d e r i c k G . H e y m a n n , John Revolution,

kronika

bozt bojovnici, iilka

husitska,'

p p . 36, 5 9 - 6 1 , and the

Hussite

P r i n c e t o n , N . J . , 1955, w h i c h u n f o r t u n a t e l y w a s o n l y a v a i l a b l e to m e after

c o m p l e t i o n o f the present b o o k . ) "

T ä b o r , w h i c h g a v e its n a m e to the m o v e m e n t , w a s f o u n d e d i n the first q u a r t e r o f

1420 n e a r the s m a l l s o u t h B o h e m i a n t o w n o f Üsti. I n O boji duchovnim,

pp. 27, 28,

C h e l i i c k y expressed i n s t r o n g t e r m s h i s disagreement w i t h ' o u r b r o t h e r s , ' the c h i l i a s t preachers o f 1420, i n w h o s e d o c t r i n e s , ' c l o t h e d i n the p r o p h e t s a n d the O l d T e s t a m e n t , ' he detected the devil's h a n d i n spite o f t h e i r a d v o c a c y o f v o l u n t a r y p o v e r t y . H o c h , "Husite a V ä l k a , ' Ceskä mysl, "

See also

1907, pp. 2 0 0 - 0 4 , 2 9 0 .

T h e a n o n y m o u s i n t r o d u c t i o n to h i s Sit'

viry

(ed. Smetänka, p. 2 ) , w h i c h

was

written i n 1521, says t h a t h e w a s ' u n l e a r n e d i n L a t i n , ' a n d this t r a d i t i o n h a s u s u a l l y b e e n accepted by m o d e r n s c h o l a r s a s i n line w i t h t h e i n t e r n a l e v i d e n c e c o n t a i n e d i n h i s writings. B u t cf. B a r t o s ' s h y p o t h e s i s m e n t i o n e d a b o v e , J. S. H., '*

1946, pp. 6, 7.

T o w a r d s the e n d o f the f o u r t e e n t h c e n t u r y the w h o l e B i b l e h a d b e e n t r a n s l a t e d

into C z e c h , t h o u g h the w o r k h a d n o t b e e n c a r r i e d t h r o u g h

in

any

systematic

since the different s e c t i o n s w e r e c o m p l e t e d by v a r i o u s p e o p l e w o r k i n g o f e a c h other.

way,

independently

D u r i n g the e a r l y y e a r s o f the next c e n t u r y - a n d e s p e c i a l l y w i t h the

g r o w t h o f the reform m o v e m e n t - a large n u m b e r o f C z e c h B i b l e s w e r e p r o d u c e d i n revised f o r m , t h o u g h the d e s t r u c t i o n o f the w a r y e a r s , a s w e l l as the c o n s t a n t u s e to w h i c h they were put, h a s m e a n t t h a t few c o p i e s h a v e s u r v i v e d . T h e o r i g i n a l i n s p i r a t i o n for the task h a d been d e r i v e d i n p a r t f r o m M a t e j o f J a n o v ' s e m p h a s i s o n the p r i m a c y o f s c r i p t u r e ; a n d H u s h i m s e l f h a d a h a n d i n l a t e r r e v i s i o n . See J a k u b e c , Dijiny trske,

I, pp. 4 0 4 - 1 2 , 3 7 4 ; P e s c h k e , Die

t'ruhzeit,

I , p. 108. A m o n g

Theologie

der

Böhmischen

Brüder

kfest'anstvi

in

ihrer

o t h e r s , J a k o u b e k ' s c h a p l a i n a t the B e t h l e h e m C h a p e l ,

M a r t i n o f Volynä, t r a n s l a t e d o r c o p i e d m a n y m a n u s c r i p t s f o r C h e l c i c k y . Dfjiny

literatury

v Ceskoslovensku,

I I , p. 3 1 4 .

Hrejsa

32

PETR C H E L C l C K Y

A characteristic incident, however, occurred d u r i n g this p e r i o d : his t w o recorded interviews w i t h the leading U t r a q u i s t theologian, Jakoubek o f S t f i b r o (circa 1370-1429).

20

The first occurred i n the spring o f 1420

i n Jakoubek's r o o m at the Bethlehem Chapel at a t i m e when, w i t h the p r o c l a m a t i o n by Pope M a r t i n V o n 1 M a r c h o f a crusade against Hussite Bohemia, the crusading armies were converging o n Prague. The second interview t o o k place after Zizka's victory at the battle o f Vysehrad (1 November

1420) had removed the menace, w h i c h h a d threatened n o t

o n l y Prague b u t the a n n i h i l a t i o n o f the whole Hussite movement. These meetings testify to the contacts w h i c h Chelcicky h a d w i t h the leading m e n o f the day, as w e l l as t o the respect w h i c h he must have enjoyed among them.

2 1

The subject o f discussion o n b o t h occasions centred o n the b u r n i n g question whether a C h r i s t i a n was ever justified i n resorting t o force, whether his personal p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n war was consistent w i t h f o l l o w i n g i n Christ's footsteps. The p r o b l e m , as w i l l be seen later, was being widely discussed o n all sides and f r o m all angles, a n d the w a r situation h a d removed i t f r o m the sphere o f pure theory i n t o the field o f current politics. W h a t sanction have y o u i n the Scriptures for warfare a m o n g Christians? asked ChelCicky at the outset. Jakoubek was forced t o a d m i t t h a t he h a d only the injunctions o f ' t h e saints o f o l d ' f o r his interpretation. B u t he d i d n o t hesitate t o accuse Chelcicky o f heresy f o r his o p p o s i t i o n to the war effort. Later, writes ChelSicky going o n to describe their second meeting: A f t e r m a n y people h a d been k i l l e d o n b o t h sides, Jakoubek excused those w h o h a d done the k i l l i n g , saying that [he] c o u l d n o t tax their consciences w i t h such things, since otherwise the whole estate o f k n i g h t h o o d (stav rytirsky) w o u l d stand c o n d e m n e d . . . H o w y o u r master w o u l d have flown o u t against anyone w h o dared eat p o r k o n a F r i d a y [adds ChelSicky w i t h typically b i t i n g i r o n y ] a n d yet n o w he cannot make the shedding o f men's b l o o d a matter o f conscience, this m a n whose o w n conscience has been filched f r o m h i m by those saints o f o l d . Whatever o u r estimate o f the practical value o f such a p o i n t o f view, the independence o f m i n d o f this y o u n g c o u n t r y m a n standing o u t alone against the universally accepted o p i n i o n even o n his o w n side, speaking u p against the revered leader o f the whole Hussite movement at this supreme m o m e n t o f crisis, as well as his m o r a l courage, must be acknowledged. "

22

F o r J a k o u b e k , seeBartoS'sessayinSv£/cia/cac/rj, p p . 8 2 - 1 0 5 . F o r h i s c o n d i t i o n a l

justification o f C h r i s t i a n p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n w a r f a r e i n h i s M S . tract De

bellis,

see H o c h ,

op. cit., pp. 2 9 6 , 2 9 7 . 2 1

"

U r b a n e k , op. cit., p p . 898, 899. C h e l c i c k y , ' R e p l i k a p r o t i R o k y c a n o v i , ' Listy

filologicke,

1898, p p . 3 9 4 , 3 9 5 . B u t

33

FORERUNNER OF THE UNITY

Soon after the relief o f Prague ChelCicky left the capital t o r e t u r n t o his native south Bohemia. T h i s h a d been the o n l y period w h i c h he is k n o w n to have spent away f r o m the n e i g h b o u r h o o d o f his b i r t h . H e was by n o w at least t h i r t y : a m a n whose o u t l o o k o n life h a d already become f o r m e d . The influences shaping his opinions h a d already played their p a r t i n the creation o f his social a n d religious philosophy. A b o v e a l l there was the Bible, especially the N e w Testament, whose pages spoke directly t o Chel&cky as a clear revelation o f the w i l l o f G o d to m a n . F u n d a m e n t a l l y Chelcicky remained a T a b o r i t e o f the ' p r i m i t i v e ' period, strongly i m b u e d w i t h the spirit o f the Waldensian heresy. B u t other influences, too, o f a more intellectual character left their m a r k o n his w r i t i n g s : H u s a n d his predecessors i n Bohemia a n d the E n g l i s h m a n , J o h n W y c l i f . ChelCicky's social teachings d o n o t , indeed, appear so unexpected a n d novel i f the social ideas w h i c h h a d developed i n Bohemia over the previous fifty years - p a r t l y o w i n g to outside influences - are taken i n t o a c c o u n t .

23

A succession o f writers a n d preachers h a d already established a t r a d i t i o n o f m o r a l protest against social injustice, o f fellow-feeling f o r the oppressed, o f exaltation o f the h u m b l e a n d meek against the p r o u d a n d rulers o f the w o r l d . T h e cult o f the l i t t l e m a n , o f the peasant {dobry ndS sedldcek) was connected i n the t h o u g h t o f Hus's predecessors w i t h the a t t e m p t to renew the practice o f C h r i s t i a n m o r a l principles. They were p r i m a r i l y moral reformers, concerned w i t h p o l i t i c a l questions o n l y i n c i d e n t a l l y ; and their p o l i t i c a l t h i n k i n g is, therefore, neither systematic n o r p a r t i c u l a r l y profound.

24

K o n r a d Waldhauser (c. 1326-1369), inveighing against those lords w h o oppressed their tenants, h a d proclaimed the m o r a l superiority o f the simple peasant. ' M o r e deceit a n d disbelief arises f r o m the towns t h a n the village,' he wrote i n words reminiscent o f Chelcicky's later advocacy o f country life. M a t e j o f Janov (c. 1350-1394), l i k e his master M i l i S o f KromSriz (d. 1374), carried o n this t r a d i t i o n , adding a new note w i t h his wholly negative attitude to the role o f the state w i t h i n a C h r i s t i a n society. He pointed t o the early C h r i s t i a n church, w i t h its c o m m u n i t y o f goods and rule by love alone, as a m o d e l for his contemporaries to f o l l o w .

25

these disagreements d o n o t a p p e a r t o h a v e spoilt the friendly r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n the two m e n . "

K u l b a k i n , ' P e t r K h e l c h i t s k y , ' Vestnik

1947, pp. 3 3 - 3 8 , a n d C h a l o u p e c k ^ , Selski

Evropy,

N o v . 1909, p. 5 1 . B a r t o S , /. S.

otdzka v husitstvi,

H.,

p. 4 1 , a m o n g others, h a v e

stressed the influence o f the n a t i v e B o h e m i a n r e l i g i o u s r e f o r m e r s o n C h e l i i c k y i n c o n t r a s t to the W a l d e n s i a n e l e m e n t . "

B e t t s , ' S o m e P o l i t i c a l I d e a s o f the E a r l y C z e c h R e f o r m e r s , ' Slavonic

European "

Review,

and

East

D e c . 1952, p. 2 0 .

F o r M a t e j ' s influence i n f o r m i n g C h e l c i c k y ' s v i e w s o n the u n c h r i s t i a n c h a r a c t e r o f

Later Tomás o f Stitny (c. 1331-c. 1401), while adhering i n principle to the medieval theory o f class relationships, constantly reminded his fellownoblemen that the o n l y justification o f their privileged p o s i t i o n lay i n their o b l i g a t i o n to serve thereby the rest o f the c o m m u n i t y . H i s m a x i m 'the l o r d is made i n order to serve the people (Pan pro lid obecny ustavenY

-

was capable o f revolutionary consequences.

26

Even

jest the

theologically a n d p o l i t i c a l l y o r t h o d o x Jan o f Jenstejn, A r c h b i s h o p o f Prague (1350-1400), t o o k effective practical steps o n his archiépiscopal estates against the grosser forms o f social oppression, especially against the right o f reversion (pdumri)

a l l o w i n g the l o r d o f the m a n o r to c l a i m the

property o f those a m o n g his peasants w h o m i g h t die w i t h o u t leaving a n heir legally entitled t o inherit, such as, f o r instance, a direct male descendant l i v i n g o n the h o l d i n g . O n the eve o f the Hussite r e v o l u t i o n , therefore, a very extensive literature o f protest against social abuses had sprung u p , emphasizing at least the theoretical equality o f m a n , remarkably m o d e r n i n spirit i n spite o f its medieval f r a m e w o r k . H u s , too, defended the peasants' rights and stressed - like Stitny - the obligations o f lords towards their tenants, while at the same time eschewing any h i n t o f incitement to rebellion. F o r Chelôicky, however, i t was W y c l i f perhaps w h o proved the strongest direct influence, i n spite o f disagreement o n many points, especially i n the social field. H e was later to w r i t e o f W y c l i f : N o n e o f the first doctors d i d so zealously speak o r w r i t e against the poison p o u r e d i n t o the H o l y C h u r c h , o u t o f w h i c h the greatest A n t i c h r i s t has been b o r n w i t h a l l the loathsomeness w i t h w h i c h he has oppressed Jesus C h r i s t and His L a w . W y c l i f has r o u t e d the hosts o f A n t i c h r i s t as well as those doctors w h o i n t r o d u c e d c u n n i n g rules i n the place o f the L a w o f Christ. I n this he pleases me above a l l o t h e r s . 27

Chelcicky sometimes quotes f r o m W y c l i f under the somewhat ambiguous name o f Mistr Protiva.

H e certainly knew at least three o f his w o r k s f r o m

Czech translations: the Dialogus dominio?*

a n d Triaiogus

as w e l l as his De

civili

I t was, indeed, f r o m W y c l i f ' s insistance o n the Bible as the

the state, p r o b a b l y e x e r c i s e d i n d i r e c t l y t h r o u g h the m e d i u m o f the latter's friends f r o m among

t h e r a d i c a l H u s s i t e p r i e s t h o o d , see B a r t o s , ' C h e l c i c k y a R o k y c a n a , '

filologické, 1922, pp. 119, 120, 1 2 7 - 3 0 , a n d h i s Husitstvi "

Listy

a cizina, p p . 37, 157.

F o r a n interesting d i s c u s s i o n o f S t i t n y ' s influence o n C h e l f i i c k y , e s p e c i a l l y i n h i s

views o n s o c i a l q u e s t i o n s , a n d o f the n u m e r o u s

p a r a l l e l s i n the life a n d w r i t i n g s o f

the t w o m e n , see C h a l o u p e c k y , ' S t i t n y a C h e l c i c k y , ' C. M. M.,

1914, pp. 7 3 , 7 6 - 8 1 . O f

H u s ' s p r e d e c e s s o r s S t i t n y w a s the o n l y o n e w h o w r o t e m a i n l y i n C z e c h . "

C h e l c i c k y , op. cit., p. 2 6 4 ; O d l o z i l i k , Wyclif

and Bohemia,

pp. 4 9 , 5 0 ; B e t t s , op. cit.,

pp. 2 0 - 3 5 . "

H r u b y , op. cit., p p . 5 4 - 6 0 ; Misira

Jakoubka

ze Stfíbm

pfeklad

Viklefova

dialoga

35

FORERUNNER OF THE UNITY

only f o u n t o f i n s p i r a t i o n for real Christians and his call t o a life modelled on the example o f Christ and his apostles that Chel5icky, like all his contemporaries i n the Hussite movement, was to derive the m o t i v a t i o n for his whole p o l i t i c a l and social superstructure.

29

M o s t o f Chelcicky's ideas can, therefore, be f o u n d i n the teachings o f Hus and the earlier B o h e m i a n reformers, o f W y c l i f o r o f the Waldenses and the early Taborites.

B u t w i t h his r e t u r n home Chelcicky was t o

devote himself to their elaboration, t o d r a w i n g f r o m t h e m the consequences f r o m w h i c h almost a l l his predecessors and contemporaries h a d shrunk.

30

Chelcicky's exact movements follow.

after leaving Prague are n o t easy t o

H e appears t o have resided f o r a short time at Pisek, a largish

t o w n n o t far f r o m T a b o r . Here he t o o k p a r t i n a conference o f T a b o r i t e theologians, defending his v i e w p o i n t o n the i n c o m p a t i b i l i t y o f war w i t h Christianity against his former comrades.

31

B u t he was soon t o settle i n

his native village o f Chelcice, where he appears t o have remained f o r the rest o f his life, possibly m a k i n g short journeys f r o m time t o t i m e t o nearby Vodfiany or to the more distant Pisek or even T a b o r .

34

H e began t o

(ed. M i l a n S v o b o d a ) , p p . X X I I I - X X X I V , X X X V I I I . I t w a s K r o f t a , ' K n e z J a n P r o t i v a z N o v e V s i a C h e l c i c k e h o ' M i s t r P r o t i v a ' , ' C. C. M.,

1900, esp. p p . 2 0 9 - 2 0 , w h o first

p r o v e d definitely t h a t the p a s s a g e s c i t e d b y C h e l c i c k y a s f r o m Mistr

Protiva

w e r e i n fact

taken from W y c l i f ' s w o r k s a n d were not connected, as h a d previously been thought, w i t h the c o n t e m p o r a r y priest, P r o t i v a , a t first a n e n t h u s i a s t for c h u r c h r e f o r m a n d the first p r e a c h e r at the B e t h l e h e m C h a p e l , b u t later H u s ' s bitter o p p o n e n t . ' M i s t r P r o t i v a u C h e l c i c k e h o , * Listy filologicke,

F r . Rysanek,

1915 ( q u o t e d i n J a k u b e c , op. cit.,

4 9 9 , 5 0 0 ) w a s l a t e r a b l e to e x p l a i n w h y C h e l c i c k y used this s e e m i n g l y o p p r o b r i o u s

pp.

name

for the m a s t e r he s o m u c h r e v e r e d despite d i s a g r e e m e n t o n c e r t a i n t o p i c s . I t m e r e l y signified one w h o

set h i m s e l f a g a i n s t the c o r r u p t i o n o f the C h r i s t i a n c h u r c h , the

opponent (protivnik)

of Antichrist, a name devoid of any bad connotation. C h e l c i c k y

p r o b a b l y r e t u r n e d f r o m h i s v i s i t to P r a g u e w i t h t r a n s l a t i o n s o f t h e t h r e e w o r k s

of

W y c l i f m e n t i o n e d a b o v e , w h i c h m a y a l l h a v e b e e n m a d e w i t h at least J a k o u b e k ' s p a r t i c i p a t i o n ; b u t the C z e c h v e r s i o n o f the Dialogus survive.

is the o n l y m a j o r t r a n s l a t i o n to

I t is k n o w n , t o o , f r o m P o p e M a r t i n V ' s bull o f 1418 that H u s a l s o t r a n s l a t e d

Wyclir. ** F o r the s i m i l a r s t a n d p o i n t o f the e a r l y T a b o r i t e s , see Ktoz jsu bozi bojovrtici, 39. 6 3 . "

C h a l o u p e c k y , Selskd

otdzka

v husitstvi,

p p . 2 1 - 4 2 ; O trojim

J a k u b e c , op. cit., p p . 4 9 3 , 4 9 4 ; K r o f t a , Dijiny

selskeho

stavu,

pp. 38,

lidu, p p . 7, 8 , 1 7 - 2 1 ; pp. 8 8 - y 3 ;

Urbanek,



o d e r w e n n sie i n d e n B e s i t z e i n e r k a t o l i s c h e n H e r r s c h a f t

G o l l - K r o f t a , ibid.; H o l i n k a , Sektafstvi

Ceski

sekty ve stoleti XIVa

XV,

gelangten.'

v Cechäch, pp. 2 3 , 163, 1 7 8 , 1 8 2 ; N e u m a n n ,

p p . 39, 55, 5 9 , 7 5 . Bartoä, J. S. H.,

e l s e w h e r e denies the influence o f W a l d e n s i a n

1947, p. 3 5 , h e r e a s

d o c t r i n e o n C h e l c i c k y a n d the e a r l y

Taborites. "

Müller, ' M a g i s t e r N i k o l a u s v o n D r e s d e n , ' Zeitschrift

für

Brüdergeschichte,

1915,

p. 1 0 2 ; H r e s j a , op. cit., I I , p p . 51, 80, 9 2 ; P e k a f , op. cit., p p . 13, 14, 127, 2 0 6 , 122, 2 5 1 . J . S e d l a k , Hlidka,

1914, p. 625 ( q u o t e d by P e k a f , p. 2 0 6 ) , s a y s o f the s e r m o n s N i c h o l a s

p r e a c h e d i n P r a g u e i n the s u m m e r o f 1415 to a n a u d i e n c e o f p r i e s t s a n d s t u d e n t s :

54

PETR C H E L C 1 C K Y

Biskupec, d u r i n g his defence o f the punishment o f public sin, also attacked the use o f the death penalty i n no uncertain terms. Neither O l d Testament practice o n w h i c h his opponent largely based his arguments, n o r any other h u m a n law was to be the touchstone o f C h r i s t i a n action i n this matter: 'sed lex specialiter evangelica

et praxis ecclesie p r i m i t i v e i n

punicione reorum est attendenda.' The r e f o r m o f the c r i m i n a l was t o be the aim o f punishment. Judges were to act as fathers rather t h a n as tyrants. 'Fateor [he says i n explanation] ex q u o n o n possum restituere vitam occiso, n o n gaudebo i n talibus occisionibus nec faciliter a d m o r t e m alicuius consenciam.'

92

The m o r e moderate Hussites, however, e.g. H u s

himself, his successor Jakoubek o f Stfibro, and the conservative P r i b r a m , justified the use o f capital punishment i n certain cases, p r o v i d e d i t was carried out by the p r o p e r l y constituted a u t h o r i t i e s .

93

T h e severity o f the

prevailing penal laws, when death or the a m p u t a t i o n o f . limbs were frequent for m i n o r offences a n d theft was always punished by the death penalty, was largely responsible for this widespread movement t o r e f o r m legal practice.

94

Reaction against the I n q u i s i t i o n ' s methods a n d against

the universal custom o f executing convicted heretics was also a p o w e r f u l factor i n the attack against capital p u n i s h m e n t .

95

The words o f Christ, writes ChelCicky, forbade the execution o f the death penalty o n sinners, their m u r d e r i n a state o f sin w i t h o u t repentance, thereby helping t h e m along to hell o n account o f their crimes; and even the O l d Testament d i d n o t a l l o w the Jews to p u n i s h theft w i t h death. 'The doctors and servants o f the H o l y C h u r c h [he writes] have said that we ' N o o n e c a n r e a c h the t r u t h a b o u t the beginnings o f the T a b o r i t e m o v e m e n t , Chelfiicky' a n d the C z e c h B r e t h r e n , w i t h o u t t a k i n g these s e r m o n s i n t o c o n s i d e r a t i o n , ' N i c h o l a s w a s burnt at M e i s s e n i n 1416. See also B a r t o s , Husiistvi •

2

Orationes

collectio

(ed. B a r t o s ) , pp. 5, 53, 5 4 ; Sacrorum

a cizina, pp. 1 2 5 - 5 3 .

conciliorum

nova

et

amplissima

(ed. M a n s i ) , X X X , p. 3 5 7 ; Y a s t r e b o v , op. cit., pp. 8 6 - 8 9 . B o t h B i s k u p e c ' s

speeches at the C o u n c i l a r e r e p r i n t e d i n Orationes,

w h i l e o n l y h i s r e p l y to h i s o p p o n e n t ,

G i l l e s C h a r l i e r , a s w e l l a s the latter's t w o rejoinders a r e given i n M a n s i , X X I X , X X X . F o r the C z e c h s ' p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n the C o u n c i l , see J a c o b , op. cit., p p . 8 1 - 1 2 3 . C f . the W a l d e n s i a n s t a n d p o i n t : ' s i c u t n o s n o n p o s s e vivificare, s i c n e c debere o c c i d e r e ' ( q u o t e d i n N e u m a n n , op. cit., p. 7 5 ) , w h i c h is v e r y s i m i l a r to that o f B i s k u p e c . O n l y G o d h a s the p o w e r t o g i v e a n d take life, l i k e w i s e argues C h e l i i c k y i n h i s ' R e p l i k a p r o t i R o k y c a n o v i ' , p. 392, a n d it is i m p o s s i b l e , a s s o m e d o c t o r s h a v e a r g u e d , t o k i l l w i t h l o v e i n o n e ' s h e a r t . **

H r e j s a , op. cit., I I , p p . 9 0 - 9 2 , 138, 2 0 3 . A s u c c e s s i o n o f a r t i c l e s o n the s u b j e c t

issued by b o t h the P r a g u e m a s t e r s a n d the T a b o r i t e clergy i n 1419, 1422, a n d 1424 expressly a l l o w e d c a p i t a l p u n i s h m e n t for i n c o r r i g i b l e c r i m i n a l s . "

C h a l o u p e c k y , op. cit., p. 17. F o r the T a b o r i t e s ' p r a c t i c a l efforts i n t h i s d i r e c t i o n ,

see Orationes,

p. 34. C f . J . H u i z i n g a , The

Waning

of the Middle

Ages

( L o n d o n , 1955

edition), p. 2 3 , w h e r e the late M i d d l e A g e s are d e s c r i b e d as 'the s p e c i a l p e r i o d judicial cruelty.' "

B a r t o s , /. S. H.,

1947, p. 3 5 .

of

55

FORERUNNER OF T H E UNITY

should never lose hope i n any m a n so l o n g as the patience o f G o d may lead h i m to repentance.'

96

I n other words, n o t punishment but the r e f o r m

o f the c r i m i n a l was the proper a i m o f penal m e t h o d . L i k e Nicholas o f Dresden, Chelcicky confirms his argument by reference to the parable o f wheat a n d the tares. C a p i t a l punishment, above a l l , was t o t a l l y i n c o m patible w i t h Christ's i n j u n c t i o n t o love one's enemies. 'The executioner w h o kills is as m u c h a wrong-doer as the c r i m i n a l w h o is k i l l e d . '

9 7

In

a d d i t i o n , i t was o n l y sins against the material well-being o f the state a n d n o t the more serious offences against the L a w o f Christ that were punished by the authorities. B u t Chelcicky held a testimony n o t merely against the death penalty for any k i n d o f crime, b u t against a l l the cruel punishments o f his day. Here he was m o r e radical t h a n the Taborites themselves, whose theoretical cond e m n a t i o n at their synods d u r i n g the early twenties o f the death penalty and other forms o f physical punishments, as well as o f k i l l i n g i n war, was hedged r o u n d w i t h such numerous l i m i t a t i o n s that they largely deprived their protest o f any practical effect.

98

The O r p h a n leader, U l r i c h o f

Z n o j m o , speaking at the C o u n c i l o f Basel, for instance, claimed t h a t i n Hussite Bohemia a priest f o u n d sinning w i t h a w o m a n w o u l d be castrated, a n d the legal codes o f a l l countries were for l o n g to retain almost every variation o f barbarity.

99

B u t ChelCicky condemned as u n c h r i s t i a n a l l

'cruel punishments . . . t o r t u r e , b l i n d i n g , cutting-off o f hands, confiscation o f estates, d e p o r t a t i o n f r o m towns.' H e should, therefore, be reckoned as one o f the earliest a n d most u n c o m p r o m i s i n g advocates o f m o d e r n penal reform.

1 0 0

"

Postilla,

I I , p. 131 ; Sit' vlry, p p . 3 1 , 1 4 1 .

"

Postilla,

I , p p . 1 8 1 - 8 3 ; P e k a f , op. cit., p. 2 0 6 . C h e l c i c k y ' c h a r a c t e r i s t i c a l l y a d d s t h e

r a t h e r strange a r g u m e n t t h a t t h r o u g h the e x e c u t i o n o f c r i m i n a l s G o d is d e p r i v e d o p p o r t u n i t i e s o f testing the r i g h t e o u s t h r o u g h the f o r m e r ' s 9 9

9 9

100

of

evildoings.

Y a s t r e b o v , op. cit., p p . 6 7 - 7 2 . J a c o b , op. cit., p. 107, q u o t i n g Orationes, Postilla,

p. 132.

I I , p p . 1 3 1 , 1 3 2 . F o r C h e l c i c k y ' s a n s w e r t o the a r g u m e n t s i n defense o f the

d e a t h p e n a l y p u t f o r w a r d b y C a r l i e r at B a s l e , see Sit' viry, pp. 1 6 9 - 7 5 , 1 8 1 - 8 7 . k o v a n d P a t e r a , ' O novë nalezeném r u k o p i s e spisù P e t r a Chel£ického,' C

Annen-