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writers, who have even asserted that he became unfaithful to the Calixtine cause. This is certainly untrue. Like Hus himself, Pribram did not wish the nation to separate entirely from the universal church, but he hoped to establish in Bohemia an autonomous national church which would preserve the Calixtine rites, particularly with regard to communion, which would have at its head a pious, virtuous clergy not burdened with worldly riches, and which would employ the national language in its religious services. If Pribram attacked rather the Taborites than the partisans of Rome, it was because he knew that in Bohemia, where the memory of Hus was still venerated, the Roman church had for the time lost all hold on the people, while he feared that the communism and anarchy preached by some of the extreme Taborites would alienate all pious and orderly men from the cause of church-reform. Though Pribram has undoubtedly been very unjustly attacked, it is impossible to overlook his many faults. In his frequent controversies with archbishop Rokycan, a much sterner opponent of the Church of Rome, Pribram appears rather as an ambitious politician than as a preacher of God's word. Hus was not destined to find a successor. Nor Pribram nor any other Hussite divine possessed the truly apostolic character, the indomitable fortitude, the intense compassion, the spirit of absolute self-sacrifice which have rendered Hus immortal.

To avoid repetitions I have here endeavoured to give a brief outline of the teaching and organisation of the two great Hussite parties. It is hardly necessary to say that not only the Calixtine or utraquist church, which with various vicissitudes existed up to the year 1620, when all religious freedom in Bohemia perished, but also the Taborite community, whose downfall occurred in 1452, underwent several changes. To give a detailed account of these changes would be entirely beyond the purpose of this work, which endeavours only to note briefly the development of Hus's teaching. In 1420, after the great victories of the Zizkov and Vysehrad, it was hoped that a union between the contending Hussites might be obtained. A meeting for this purpose took place

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in Prague immediately after the battle of the Vysehrad "in the house of Peter Zmrzlik, a citizen of Prague, who lived in the old town near the Church of St. Jacob.' Peter Mladenovic acted as spokesman for the University of Prague, and bishop Nicholas of Pelhrimov for the Taborites. The conference proved resultless.

After the departure of Sigismund from Bohemia, in the autumn of 1420, the country was almost entirely subdued by the armies of the Praguers and the Taborites, who sometimes acted jointly, but more often waged war separately. Even the towns of Plzen and Kutna Hora, strongholds of the Romanist or German party, were obliged to submit. The Bohemians now endeavoured to establish an orderly government. Representatives of all Bohemian parties met at Caslav in 1421, and as was customary in Bohemia at that period, both ecclesiastical and political matters were discussed. It was agreed almost unanimously to reaffirm the articles of Prague and to pronounce the deposition of Sigismund as King of Bohemia. A provisional government, including members of all parties, was formed, and it was decided-though not without some opposition-to offer the Bohemian crown to a Polish prince. Shortly afterwards Bohemia was again attacked by Sigismund and so-called crusaders. Zizka's great victory at Nebovid between Kutna Hora and Kolin on January 6, 1422, again freed Bohemia from all foreign invaders. Early in the same year Prince Korybut of Lithuania arrived in Bohemia as representative of his uncle duke Witold of Lithuania, whom the Bohemians had chosen as king. He left the country, however, before the end of the year, recalled by the Polish court through the influence of King Sigismund. About this time Zizka, who had recently acted in union with the Calixtine party, rejoined the extreme Taborites. He appears to have believed that after the departure of Korybut some of the utraquist nobles wished to recall Sigismund to Bohemia. Zizka, on whom, as on most Bohemians of his time, the Old Testament had great influence, appears to have considered himself as

1 Palacky in his History of Bohemia (vol. iii.) gives an interesting account of this conference.

an instrument chosen by providence to avenge on Sigismund the murder of master John Hus, and he always pursued the King of Hungary with relentless hatred. Having the greatest general of the time at their head, the Taborites no longer hesitated to wage open warfare against the moderate or Calixtine party. What I have written has, I hope, made it clear how great was the antagonism between the Hussite parties, and at a warlike period, and among a warlike people, such differences could only be settled by "blood and iron." Zizka defeated the Calixtines, led by Cenek of Wartenberg, in a great battle at Horic (April 27, 1423). Rumours of a threatened new invasion caused the Bohemians to reunite, as indeed they at this period always did when attacked by foreign enemies. A truce was concluded at Konopist, which, reserving for future decision all questions of dogma and ecclesiastical government, limited itself to declaring that the questions concerning vestments and the decoration of churches should be entrusted to the authorities of the church, and did not depend on the law of God. So insufficient a settlement could not prove definite, and civil war again broke out as soon as the danger of foreign invasion disappeared for a time. Zizka, victorious as ever, defeated the Calixtines at Kralove Hradec and Malesov.

In the last year of Zizka's life, peace was re-established between the contending Hussite parties, mainly through the mediation of Prince Korybut, who had returned to Bohemia. A great meeting took place on the "Spitalske pole" (spital field) on the spot where the Prague suburb Karlin1 now stands. Zizka, whose usual moderation always abandoned him when King Sigismund was in question, had sworn entirely to destroy the city of Prague, which, as he believed, still harboured some adherents of the King of Hungary. The eloquence of the young priest John of Rokycan, afterwards archbishop of Prague-pacified him. Rokycan strongly and successfully appealed to his feelings as a Slav and a Bohemian. It was thus as a leader of the whole united Hussite army that Zizka started on his last campaign. All the Taborite leaders, the 1 In German, Karolinenthal.

Praguers under Prince Korybut and the Calixtine nobles joined Zizka's colours. It was indeed a fateful moment in the history of Bohemia. The allies were determined to establish the rule of the chalice in the sister-land Moravia. The scanty and often-defeated Austrian troops of Sigismund's son-in-law Albert, who held the country for the Germans, could have offered little resistance. Prince Korybut had frankly and sincerely accepted the articles of Prague, and the formerly suspicious Bohemians had begun to trust his loyalty. Had Moravia been conquered, the estates of that country would undoubtedly, jointly with those of Bohemia, have elected Korybut as king. Republican rule over an extensive country being in the fifteenth century practically an impossibility, this was certainly the one moment when the foundation of a Slavic and utraquist state in Bohemia and Moravia was possible. Fate, never favourable to Bohemia, willed it otherwise. Before crossing the Moravian frontier, the Hussites laid siege to the castle of Pribislav near that frontier. During the siege Zizka was attacked by the plague and died 1 on October 11, 1424. His death put a stop to the campaign in Moravia. The moderate Taborites adopted the name of Orphans, thus indicating that it would be impossible to them to replace their dead leader.

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It is a proof of the military spirit that was general among the Hussites that, deeply as they felt the loss of their leader, they did not hesitate for a moment in continuing their resistance to the ever-returning German invaders. In Prokop the Great and Prokop the Less they found leaders who were no unworthy successors of Zizka. The Bohemians now no longer contented themselves with repulsing the invaders, but they successfully attacked the Germans and Austrians in their own countries, though they never attempted permanently to establish their rule in foreign lands. It now appearing evident that Bohemia could not be subdued, both Sigismund and the Roman church determined to enter into negotiations with the Hussites. The negotiations were prolonged and encountered

'An account of Zizka's death-founded on the narrative of a contemporary chronicler—will be found in my History of Bohemian Literature, p. 152.

many obstacles. After hesitating for a considerable time, Pope Martin consented to the meeting of a general council of the church at Basel. New difficulties, however, arose as the Bohemians demanded that all Christian churches, that is the members of the Greek and Armenian churches as well as those who belonged to the Roman church, should be invited. The Hussites also demanded special guarantees for the safety of their envoys, who might otherwise meet with the fate of Hus. A new and decisive defeat of the Romanists at Domazlice1 on August 14, 1531, accelerated the negotiations. The Bohemians, who were assured of the safety of their envoys, and who themselves wished for peace, determined to send envoys to Basel, where the council had already assembled. Their numerous embassy, at the head of which were Prokop the Great and John of Rokycan, arrived at Basel on January 4, 1433. Very lengthy discussions at the council now began. The papal representatives, now aware that some concessions would have to be made to the Bohemians, wished to limit as much as possible these concessions. The Hussites, on the other hand, after an uninterrupted series of victories that had lasted twelve years, saw no reason to assume a conciliatory attitude. After a time, though negotiations were not entirely broken off, the Bohemian envoys left Basel. They were, however, accompanied by representatives of the council who hoped to continue the negotiations in Bohemia. In July a new embassy of the Bohemians formulated their demands in four articles, which were finally accepted in a slightly modified form by the council and constituted the famed compacts, which continued to be, up to 1567, a fundamental law of the kingdom. The compacts declared that:

I. The Holy Sacrament is to be given freely in both kinds to all Christians in Bohemia and Moravia and to those elsewhere who adhere to the faith of the two countries.

II. All mortal sins shall be punished and extirpated by those whose office it is to do so.

1 In German, Tauss.

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