The Hussite movement began in the
Kingdom of Bohemia and quickly spread throughout the remaining
Lands of the Bohemian Crown, including
Moravia and
Silesia. It also made inroads into the northern parts of the
Kingdom of Hungary (now
Slovakia), but was rejected and gained infamy for the plundering behaviour of the Hussite soldiers. There were also small temporary communities in
Poland-Lithuania and
Transylvania which moved to Bohemia after being confronted with religious intolerance. It was a regional movement that failed to expand farther. Hussites emerged as a majority
Utraquist movement with a significant
Taborite faction, and smaller regional ones that included
Adamites,
Orebites and
Orphans. Major Hussite theologians included
Petr Chelčický and
Jerome of Prague. A number of Czech national heroes were Hussite, including
Jan Žižka, who led a fierce resistance to five consecutive crusades proclaimed on Hussite Bohemia by the
Papacy. Hussites were one of the most important forerunners of the
Protestant Reformation. This predominantly religious movement was propelled by social issues and strengthened
Czech national awareness.
Background In the 9th century, the
Byzantine Greek missionaries
Saints Cyril and Methodius introduced the
Byzantine Rite in the
Old Church Slavonic liturgical language into the
Czech lands, as well as the Byzantine tradition of
Communion under both kinds administered by the
holy spoon. A few decades later, however, German-speaking bishops from
East Francia, beginning with
Wiching, imposed the
Ecclesiastical Latin Roman Rite upon the
Czech people, a rite in which only the clergy (and not the laity) receives Communion under both kinds. The Czech people at this time still spoke a late form of
Common Slavic, which was mutually intelligible with Old Church Slavonic, so they understood the Byzantine liturgy but could not understand the new Latin liturgy. Wiching convinced
Pope Stephen V to issue a
papal bull,
Quia te zelo fidei, in which he banned the use of the Byzantine Slavonic liturgy in the Roman church. This is the historical reason why there was no native-language Czech liturgy nor Communion under both kinds in the Czech lands when Jan Hus proposed these reforms in the 14th century.
Hus's death (1415) that sparked outrage in the
Kingdom of Bohemia The
Council of Constance lured Jan Hus in with a letter of indemnity, then tried him for heresy and put him to death at the stake on 6 July 1415. 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) between Hussites and Catholic forces led by Hans von Polenz from an original in the
Museum of Prague The news of the death of King Wenceslaus in 1419 produced a great commotion among the people of Prague. A revolution swept over the country: churches and monasteries were destroyed, and church property was seized by the Hussite nobility. It was then, and remained till much later, in question whether Bohemia was a hereditary or an elective monarchy, especially as the line through which Sigismund claimed the throne had accepted that the Kingdom of Bohemia was an elective monarchy elected by the nobles, and thus the regent of the kingdom (
Čeněk of Wartenberg) also explicitly stated that Sigismund had not been elected as reason for Sigismund's claim to not be accepted. Sigismund could get possession of "his" kingdom only by force of arms. Pope Martin V called upon Catholics of the West to take up arms against the Hussites, declaring a crusade, and
twelve years of warfare followed. The Hussites initially campaigned defensively, but after 1427 they assumed the offensive. Apart from their religious aims, they fought for the national interests of the Czechs. The moderate and radical parties were united, and they not only repelled the attacks of the army of
crusaders but crossed the borders into neighboring countries. On March 23, 1430,
Joan of Arc dictated a letter that threatened to lead a crusading army against the Hussites unless they returned to the Catholic faith, but her capture by English and Burgundian troops two months later would keep her from carrying out this threat.
Council of Basel and Compacta of Prague 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. 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. 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. Today, the Hussite tradition is represented in the
Moravian Church,
Unity of the Brethren, and
Czechoslovak Hussite Church. == Factions ==