Hussites

The Hussites (Czech: Husité or Kališníci; "Chalice People"

Latin: Hussitae or Calixtinism) were a Czech proto-
Protestant Christian movement that followed the teachings of
reformer Jan Hus (fl. 1401-1415), who became the best
known representative of the Bohemian Reformation.

After the execution of Hus at the Council of Constance,[1] a

series of crusades, civil wars, victories and compromises
between various factions with different theological agendas
broke out. At the end of the Hussite Wars (1420–1434), the
now Catholic-supported Utraquist side came out victorious
from conflict with the Taborites and became the dominant
Hussite group in Bohemia.

Catholics and Utraquists were given legal equality in

Bohemia after the religious peace of Kutná Hora in 1485.
Bohemia and Moravia, or what is now the territory of the
Czech Republic, remained majority Hussite for two centuries
until Roman Catholicism was reimposed by the Holy Roman
Emperor after the 1620 Battle of White Mountain during the
Battle between Hussites (left) and Catholic
Thirty Years' War.
crusaders in the 15th century
The Hussite tradition continues in the Moravian Church,
Unity of the Brethren and the refounded Czechoslovak
Hussite churches.[2]

History
The Hussite movement began in the Kingdom of Bohemia
and quickly spread throughout the remaining Lands of the
Bohemian Crown, including Moravia and Silesia. It also
made inroads into the northern parts of the Kingdom of
Hungary (now Slovakia), but was rejected and gained
infamy for the plundering behaviour of the Hussite
The Lands of the Bohemian Crown during
soldiers.[3][4][5][6] There were also very small temporary
the Hussite Wars. The movement began in
communities in Poland-Lithuania and Transylvania which Prague and quickly spread south and then
moved to Bohemia after being confronted with religious through the rest of the Kingdom of
intolerance. It was a regional movement that failed to expand Bohemia. Eventually, it expanded into the
anywhere farther. Hussites emerged as a majority Utraquist remaining domains of the Bohemian Crown
movement with a significant Taborite faction, and smaller as well.
regional ones that included Adamites, Orebites and Orphans.

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

Hus's death

The Council of Constance lured Jan Hus in with a letter of indemnity,

then tried him for heresy and put him to death at the stake on 6 July
1415.[7]

The arrest of Hus in 1414 caused considerable resentment in Czech

lands. The authorities of both countries appealed urgently and
repeatedly to King Sigismund to release Jan Hus.

When news of his death at the Council of Constance arrived,

disturbances broke out, directed primarily against the clergy and
especially against the monks. Even the Archbishop narrowly escaped
from the effects of this popular anger. The treatment of Hus was felt to
be a disgrace inflicted upon the whole country and his death was seen
as a criminal act. King Wenceslaus IV., prompted by his grudge
against Sigismund, at first gave free vent to his indignation at the
Execution of Jan Hus (1415) that course of events in Constance. His wife openly favoured the friends of
sparked outrage in the Kingdom Hus. Avowed Hussites stood at the head of the government.
of Bohemia
A league was formed by certain lords, who pledged themselves to
protect the free preaching of the Gospel upon all their possessions and
estates and to obey the power of the Bishops only where their orders accorded with the injunctions of the
Bible. The university would arbitrate any disputed points. The entire Hussite nobility joined the league.
Other than verbal protest of the council's treatment of Hus, there was little evidence of any actions taken by
the nobility until 1417. At that point several of the lesser nobility and some barons, signatories of the 1415
protest letter, removed Catholic priests from their parishes, replacing them with priests willing to give
communion in both wine and bread. The chalice of wine became the central identifying symbol of the
Hussite movement.[8] If the king had joined, its resolutions would have received the sanction of the law;
but he refused, and approached the newly formed Roman Catholic League of lords, whose members
pledged themselves to support the king, the Catholic Church, and the council. The prospect of a civil war
began to emerge.

Prior to becoming pope, Martin V, then known as Cardinal Otto of Colonna had attacked Hus with
relentless severity. He energetically resumed the battle against Hus's teaching after the enactments of the
Council of Constance. He wished to eradicate completely the doctrine of Hus, for which purpose the co-
operation of King Wenceslaus had to be obtained. In 1418, Sigismund succeeded in winning his brother
over to the standpoint of the council by pointing out the inevitability of a religious war if the heretics in
Bohemia found further protection. Hussite statesmen and army leaders had to leave the country and Roman
Catholic priests were reinstated. These measures caused a general commotion which hastened the death of
King Wenceslaus by a paralytic stroke in 1419. His heir was Sigismund.

Hussite Wars (1419–1434)

The news of the death of King Wenceslaus in 1419 produced a great commotion among the people of
Prague. A revolution swept over the country: churches and monasteries were destroyed, and church
property was seized by the Hussite nobility. It was then, and remained till much later, in question whether
Bohemia was a hereditary or an elective monarchy, especially as the line through which Sigismund claimed
 the throne had accepted that
the Kingdom of Bohemia was
an elective monarchy elected
by the nobles, and thus the
regent of the kingdom (Čeněk
of Wartenberg) also explicitly
stated that Sigismund had not
been elected as reason for
Sigismund's claim to not be The Hussite Wagenburg
accepted. Sigismund could get
possession of "his" kingdom
only by force of arms. Pope Martin V
called upon Catholics of the West to take
up arms against the Hussites, declaring a
The Battle of Kratzau between crusade, and there followed twelve years
Hussites and Catholic forces led of warfare.
by Hans von Polenz
The Hussites initially campaigned
defensively, but after 1427 they assumed
the offensive. Apart from their religious aims, they fought for the national
interests of the Czechs. The moderate and radical parties were united, and they
not only repelled the attacks of the army of crusaders but crossed the borders
Recreation of Hussite
into neighboring countries. On March 23, 1430, Joan of Arc dictated a letter[9]
pavise from an original in
that threatened to lead a crusading army against the Hussites unless they
the Museum of Prague
returned to the Catholic faith, but her capture by English and Burgundian
troops two months later would keep her from carrying out this threat.

Council of Basel and Compacta of Prague

Eventually, the opponents of the Hussites found themselves forced to consider an amicable settlement. The
Hussites were sent an invitation to attend the ecumenical Council of Basel on October 15, 1431.[10] The
discussions began on 10 January 1432, focusing chiefly on the four articles of Prague. No agreement
emerged. After repeated negotiations between the Basel Council and Bohemia, a Bohemian–Moravian state
assembly in Prague accepted the "Compactata" of Prague on 30 November 1433. The agreement granted
communion in both kinds to all who desired it, but with the understanding that Christ was entirely present
in each kind, though on the condition that the rest of the Hussite reforms would no longer be
emphasised.[10] Free preaching was granted conditionally: the Church hierarchy had to approve and place
priests, and the power of the bishop must be considered. The article which prohibited the secular power of
the clergy was almost reversed.

The Taborites refused to conform. The Calixtines united with the Roman Catholics and destroyed the
Taborites at the Battle of Lipany on 30 May 1434.[11] From that time, the Taborites lost their importance,
though the Hussite movement would continue in Poland for another five years, until the Royalist forces of
Poland defeated the Polish Hussites at the Battle of Grotniki. The state assembly of Jihlava in 1436
confirmed the "Compactata" and gave them the sanction of law. This accomplished the reconciliation of
Bohemia with Rome and the Western Church, and at last Sigismund obtained possession of the Bohemian
crown.[11] His reactionary measures caused a ferment in the whole country, but he died in 1437. The state
assembly in Prague rejected Wyclif's doctrine of the Lord's Supper, which was obnoxious to the Utraquists,
as heresy in 1444. Most of the Taborites now went over to the party of the Utraquists; the rest joined the
"Brothers of the Law of Christ" (Latin: "Unitas Fratrum") (see history of the Moravian Church).

Hussite Bohemia, Luther and the Reformation (1434–1618)

In 1462, Pope Pius II declared the "Compacta" null and void,

prohibited communion in both kinds, and acknowledged King George
of Podebrady as king on condition that he would promise an
unconditional harmony with the Roman Church. This he refused,
leading to the Bohemian–Hungarian War (1468–1478). His successor,
King Vladislaus II, favored the Roman Catholics and proceeded
against some zealous clergymen of the Calixtines. The troubles of the
Utraquists increased from year to year. In 1485, at the Diet of Kutná
Hora, an agreement was made between the Roman Catholics and
Utraquists that lasted for thirty-one years. It was only later, at the Diet
of 1512, that the equal rights of both religions were permanently
established. The appearance of Martin Luther was hailed by the
Utraquist clergy, and Luther himself was astonished to find so many
points of agreement between the doctrines of Hus and his own. But
not all Utraquists approved of the German Reformation; a schism
arose among them, and many returned to the Roman doctrine, while
other elements had organised the "Unitas Fratrum" already in 1457. Painting celebrating the Catholic
victory at the Battle of White
Mountain (1620). In the coming
Bohemian Revolt and harsh persecution under years, Bohemia and Moravia
the Habsburgs (1618–1918) were converted from Hussitism to
Roman Catholicism by the
Under Emperor Maximilian II, the Bohemian state assembly Habsburgs.
established the "Confessio Bohemica", upon which Lutherans,
Reformed, and Bohemian Brethren agreed. From that time forward
Hussitism began to die out. After the Battle of White Mountain on 8 November 1620 the Roman Catholic
Faith was re-established with vigour, which fundamentally changed the religious conditions of the Czech
lands.

Leaders and members of Unitas Fratrum were forced to choose to either leave the many and varied
southeastern principalities of what was the Holy Roman Empire (mainly Austria, Hungary, Bohemia,
Moravia and parts of Germany and its many states), or to practice their beliefs secretly. As a result,
members were forced underground and dispersed across northwestern Europe. The largest remaining
communities of the Brethren were located in Lissa (Leszno) in Poland, which had historically strong ties
with the Czechs, and in small, isolated groups in Moravia. Some, among them Jan Amos Comenius, fled to
western Europe, mainly the Low Countries. A settlement of Hussites in Herrnhut, Saxony, now Germany,
in 1722 caused the emergence of the Moravian Church.

Post-Habsburg era and modern times (1918–present)

In 1918, as a result of World War I, the Czech lands regained independence from Austria-Hungary
controlled by the Habsburg monarchy as Czechoslovakia (due to Masaryk and Czechoslovak legions with
Hussite tradition, in the name of the troops).[12]
 Today, the Hussite tradition is represented in the Moravian Church, Unity of
the Brethren, and Czechoslovak Hussite Church.[2][13]

Factions
The modern Hussite flag Hussitism organised itself during the years 1415–1419. Hussites were not a
unitary movement, but a diverse one with multiple factions that held different

views
and
opposed
each
other in
the
Hussite
Wars.
From
the

Luther and Hus serving communion
under both kinds together, an
imaginary woodcut from 16th century
Saxony demonstrating the affinity of
Lutherans and Moderate Hussites
Jan Žižka leading troops of Hussite theologians dispute in
Radical Hussites the presence of King
Władysław II Jagiełło of
Poland

beginning, there formed two parties, with a smaller number of people withdrawing from both parties
around the pacifist Petr Chelčický, whose teachings would form the foundation of the Unitas Fratrum.
Hussites can be divided into:

Moderate Hussites
Prague Hussites
Bohemian Hussite nobility
Hussites of Žatec and Louny
Other Utraquists/Calixtines
Radical Hussites
Taborites
Orebites
Adamites
Orphans
Other Radical Hussites

Moderates
The more conservative Hussites (the moderate party, or Ultraquists), who followed Hus more closely,
sought to conduct reform while leaving the whole hierarchical and liturgical order of the Church
untouched.[14]

Their programme is contained in the Four Articles of Prague, which were written by Jacob of Mies and
agreed upon in July 1420, promulgated in the Latin, Czech, and German languages.[15] The full text is
about two pages long, but they are often summarized as:[15]

Freedom to preach the word of God

Celebration of the communion under both kinds (bread and wine to priests and laity alike)
Poverty of the clergy and expropriation of church property;
Punishment for mortal sins regardless of stature.

The views of the moderate Hussites were widely represented at the university and among the citizens of
Prague; they were therefore called the Prague Party, but also Calixtines (Latin calix chalice) or Utraquists
(Latin utraque both), because they emphasized the second article of Prague, and the chalice became their
emblem.

Radicals

The more radical parties, the Taborites, Orebites and Orphans, identified itself more boldly with the
doctrines of John Wycliffe, sharing his passionate hatred of the monastic clergy, and his desire to return the
Church to its supposed condition during the time of the apostles. This required the removal of the existing
hierarchy and the secularisation of ecclesiastical possessions. Above all they clung to Wycliffe's doctrine of
the Lord's Supper, denying transubstantiation,[16] and this is the principal point by which they are
distinguished from the moderate party, the Ultraquists.

The radicals preached the "sufficientia legis Christi"—the divine law (i.e. the Bible) is the sole rule and
canon for human society, not only in the church, but also in political and civil matters. They rejected
therefore, as early as 1416, everything that they believed had no basis in the Bible, such as the veneration
of saints and images, fasts, superfluous holidays, the oath, intercession for the dead, auricular Confession,
indulgences, the sacraments of Confirmation and the Anointing of the Sick, and chose their own priests.

The radicals had their gathering-places all around the country. Their first armed assault fell on the small
town of Ústí, on the river Lužnice, south of Prague (today's Sezimovo Ústí). However, as the place did not
prove to be defensible, they settled in the remains of an older town upon a hill not far away and founded a
new town, which they named Tábor (a play on words, as "Tábor" not only meant "camp" or
"encampment" in Czech,[17] but is also the traditional name of the mountain on which Jesus was expected
to return; see Mark 13); hence they were called Táborité (Taborites). They comprised the essential force of
the radical Hussites.

Their aim was to destroy the enemies of the law of God, and to defend his kingdom (which had been
expected to come in a short time) by the sword. Their end-of-world visions did not come true. In order to
preserve their settlement and spread their ideology, they waged bloody wars; in the beginning they
observed a strict regime, inflicting the severest punishment equally for murder, as for less severe faults as
adultery, perjury and usury, and also tried to apply rigid Biblical standards to the social order of the time.
The Taborites usually had the support of the Orebites (later called Orphans), an eastern Bohemian sect of
Hussitism based in Hradec Králové.

See also
Christianity portal

History portal
Czech Republic
portal

Arnoldists
Hussite Bible
Lollards
Pavel Kravař
Restorationism
Jistebnice hymn book
Waldensians
War wagon

References
1. Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (Oxford University Press 2005 ISBN 978-0-19-
280290-3), article "Constance, Council of"
2. Nĕmec, Ludvík "The Czechoslovak heresy and schism: the emergence of a national
Czechoslovak church," American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia, 1975, ISBN 0-87169-
651-7
3. Spiesz et al. 2006, p. 52.
4. Bartl 2002, p. 45.
5. Kirschbaum 2005, p. 48.
6. Spiesz et al. 2006, p. 53.
7. Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (Oxford University Press 2005 ISBN 978-0-19-
280290-3), article "Constance, Council of"
8. John Klassen, "The Nobility and the Making of the Hussite Revolution" (East European
Quarterly/Columbia University Press, 1978)
9. "Joan of Arc's Letter to the Hussites (March 23, 1430)" (http://archive.joan-of-arc.org/joanofar
c_letter_march_23_1430.html). archive.joan-of-arc.org.
10. Fudge, Thomas A. (1998). The magnificent ride : the first reformation in Hussite Bohemia (htt
p://archive.org/details/magnificentridef0000fudg). Internet Archive. Aldershot, Hants ;
Brookfield, Vt. : Ashgate. ISBN 978-1-85928-372-1.
11. Malcolm Lambert (1992). Medieval heresy (http://archive.org/details/medievalheresypo00la
mb). Internet Archive. B. Blackwell. ISBN 978-0-631-17431-8.
12. PRECLÍK, Vratislav. Masaryk a legie (Masaryk and legions), váz. kniha, 219 str., vydalo
nakladatelství Paris Karviná, Žižkova 2379 (734 01 Karviná) ve spolupráci s Masarykovým
demokratickým hnutím (Masaryk Democratic Movement), 2019, ISBN 978-80-87173-47-3,
pp. 17–25, 33–45, 70–76, 159–184, 187–199
13. Sheldon, Addison Erwin; Sellers, James Lee; Olson, James C. (1993). Nebraska History,
Volume 74. Nebraska State Historical Society. p. 151.
14. "Utraquism’s faithfulness to the Prague Use of the Roman rite…(was) an intentional symbol
of Utraquism’s self-understanding as a continuing part of the Western Catholic Church."
Holeton, David R.; Vlhová-Wörner, Hana; Bílková, Milena (2007). "The Trope Gregorius
presul meritis in Bohemian Tradition: Its Origins, Development, Liturgical Function and
Illustration" (http://www.brrp.org/proceedings/brrp6/holeton_et_al.pdf) (PDF). Bohemian
Reformation and Religious Practice. 6: 215–246. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
15. Four Articles of Prague (http://global.britannica.com/topic/Four-Articles-of-Prague) at
global.britannica.com
16. Cook, William R. (1973). "John Wyclif and Hussite Theology 1415-1436" (https://www.jstor.o
rg/stable/3164390). Church History. 42 (3): 335–349. doi:10.2307/3164390 (https://doi.org/1
0.2307%2F3164390). ISSN 0009-6407 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0009-6407).
17. Profous, Antonín (1957). Místní jména v Čechách: Jejich vznik, původní význam a změny;
part 4, S-Ž. Prague, Czechoslovakia: Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences.

Bibliography
Michael Van Dussen and Pavel Soukup (eds.). 2020. A Companion to the Hussites (https://b
rill.com/view/title/26694). Brill.
Kaminsky, H. (1967) A History of the Hussite Revolution University of California Press: Los
Angeles.
Fudge, Thomas A. (1998) The Magnificent Ride: The First Reformation in Hussite Bohemia,
Ashgate.
Fudge, Thomas A. (2002) The Crusade against Heretics in Bohemia, Ashgate.
Ondřej, Brodu, "Traktát mistra Ondřeje z Brodu o původu husitů" (Latin: "Visiones Ioannis,
archiepiscopi Pragensis, et earundem explicaciones, alias Tractatus de origine
Hussitarum"), Muzem husitského revolučního hnutí, Tábor, 1980, OCLC 28333729 (https://w
ww.worldcat.org/oclc/28333729) in (in Latin) with introduction in (in Czech)
Mathies, Christiane, "Kurfürstenbund und Königtum in der Zeit der Hussitenkriege: die
kurfürstliche Reichspolitik gegen Sigmund im Kraftzentrum Mittelrhein," Selbstverlag der
Gesellschaft für Mittelrheinische Kirchengeschichte, Mainz, 1978, OCLC 05410832 (https://
www.worldcat.org/oclc/05410832) in (in German)
Bezold, Friedrich von, "König Sigmund und die Reichskriege gegen die Husiten," G. Olms,
Hildesheim, 1978, ISBN 3-487-05967-3 in (in German)
Denis, Ernest, "Huss et la Guerre des Hussites," AMS Press, New York, 1978, ISBN 0-404-
16126-X in (in French)
Klassen, John (1998) "Hus, the Hussites, and Bohemia" in New Cambridge Medieval
History Cambridge University Press: Cambridge.
Macek, Josef, "Jean Huss et les Traditions Hussites: XVe–XIXe siècles," Plon, Paris, 1973,
OCLC 905875 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/905875) in (in French)

External links
Hussite Museum, Tabor (https://web.archive.org/web/20070913000446/http://www.husmuze
um.cz/ger/default.htm)

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