St wtT pit-&!. vr.":^ j^ ^ ex CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY BX8565 .044" ""'™""' "'""' "'*1lfinfiiifiliiilii?i™i*i!i'l!IFi'' '•"Own as the Unita olin 3 1924 029 473 224 |l| Cornell University 'sj Library The original of tiiis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924029473224 JOHN HUSS. 1373 14 . 1591-1593. 421 XLI. — Further History of the Brethren's Church in Bohemia and Moravia.— A. D. 1594-1607. 432 XLJI.— The Polish Branch of the Church to the General Synod of Thorn.— A. D. 1581-1595. 442 XLIII. — Negotiations with the Greek Church and further History of the Polish Branch of the Unity. — A. D. 1595-1607. 449 XLIV.— The Bohemian Charter.— A. D. 1608-1609. 457 XLV. — The Unitas Fratrum as a legally recognized Church in Bohemia. Its further History in Poland. — A.D. 1610-1620. 467 XL VI.— The Bohemian Kevolution.— A. D. 1617-1620. 481 PERIOD VIIL The Unitas Fratrum as a Church in Exile and a Hidden Seed.— A. D. 1621-1722. 503-646 chapter. XLVII.— The Day of. Blood at Prague.— A. D. 1621. 503 XLVIII. — The Anti-Reformation in Bohemia and Moravia. — A. D. 1621-1628. 532 XLIX. — The Overthrow of the Unitas Fratrum in Bohemia and Moravia.— A. D. 1621-1628. 548 L. — The Bohemian and Moravian Branches of the Unitas Fratrum reorganized, with Lissa as a new Centre.— A. D. 1628-1636. 559 LI. — The Labors of Amos Comenius and the History of the Unitas Fratrum from the Synod of 1 636 to the Peace of Westphalia.— A. D. 1628-1648. 574 LII.— The Unitas Fratrum from the Peace of Westphalia to the Destruction of Lissa. — A. D. 1648-1656. 587 LIII. — The Resuscitation of the Church in Poland. Further Labors of Comenius. — A. D. 1657-1662! 597 CONTENTS. XXV CHAPTER. LIV. — Perpetuation of the Episcopacy. Deatli of Come- nius. The Hidden Seed in Bohemia and Moravia. page. —A. D. 1662-1670. 607 LV. — The Polish, Hungarian and Silesian Eemnant in the Half Century prior to the Kenewal of the Unitas Fratrum.— A. D. 1671-1722. 621 LVI. — The Bohemian and Moravian Hidden Seed which developed into the Eenewed Unitas Fratrum. — A. D. 1671-1722. 635 APPENDIX. A. — ^The Work of the Renewed Unitas Fratrum in Bohemia. _ 647 B. — The Confessions of the Unitas Fratrum 648 C. — The Bishops of the Unitas Fratrum to the Transfer of the Episcopacy to the Renewed Church. — A. D. 1467-1735. 654 Index. ' 659 ILLUSTRATIOITS. John Hus, ..... Frontispiece. John Eokycana, .... To face page 90 John Hobn, . . . . • " " 265 John Atjgdsta, . . . . " "371 WeNZEL von BuDOViTA, . . ■ " " 517 Charles von Zerotin, ... -. » 573 John Amos Comenius, . . . " "619 THE HISTORY THE UNITAS FR ATRUM. PART I. THE HISTOEY OF BOHEMIA AND MORAVIA PREPARATORY TO THE HISTORY OF THE UNITAS FRATRUM. A.D. 451-1457. PERIOD 1. THE HISTOEY OF BOHEMIA AND MORAVIA PRIOR TO THE TIME OF HUS. A.D. 451-1369. CHAPTEE I. The Inirodudion of Christianity and its earliest Developments. ^.D. 451-885: Bohemia and Moravia.— Coming of the Czechs.— Their Manners, Customs, Government and Religion.— First Introduction of Christianity through the Latin Church. — Christianity as introduced by the Greek Church. — Cyrill and Methodius.— Their Labors in Moravia.— They are cited to Rome.— Death of Cyrill and Consecration of Methodius as Archbishop of Pannonia. — Spread of Christianity in Bohemia. — Methodius again cited to Rome. — His Death. Bohemia is the original home of the Brethren's Church. It is a country that lies in the heart of Europe, like a natural fortress, with four mountain-chains for its ramparts and its rocky bastions directed to the four points of the compass. The Erzgebirge and Riesengebirge defend its northern sides ; the Bohmerwald and Saarer ranges form its bulwarks on the South. Although- but a small kingdom of the Atistrian Empire, comprising only twenty thousand square miles, it is a land of plenty. Its meadows are rich and its fields fruitful. Mineral sjHings abound. Numerous rivers bring the tribute of their waters to the Elbe, which makes its way toward the ■German Ocean through a rugged gorge on the Saxon frontier. To the southeast of Bohemia is Moravia, a still smaller margraviate of the same Empire, embracing about eighty-five hundred square miles. There the Brethren found adherents at so early a day that it may be said to constitute the twin land of their birth. In former ages it embraced a larger extent of territory than at present, stretching into Silesia and Hungary. Bohemia and Moravia have substantially the (5) 6 THE HISTORY OP same history. One in their joys and in their sorrows, they look back upon a joint ancestry of Eeformers before the Reformation and upon a common but most disastrous Anti- Eeformation. About the time that Attila had left the Catalaunian plains. reeking with the blood of his followers and retreated to Hungary by way of Bohemia and Moravia (451),' there migrated into these two countries a body of Slavonians led Dy Czech. Tradition says that they came from Chrowatia, in the northern regions of the Carpathian Mountains. The remnant of the Boji and Marcomanni, which had survived the devastations of the Huns, passively submitted to their sway. By way of distinction they adopted the name of their leader and called themselves Czechs. During the first five centuries of their history they were devoted to the pursuits of peace; whenever they took up arms, it was in self-defence.^ They tilled the ground, raised cattle, and opened an extensive traffic with neighboring nations in grain and horses. Patient industry distinguished them, and a tenaciousness which has become proverbial. Social im their habits, they pressed hospitality to unlawful extremes, not hesitating to rob their neighbors in order to entertain their guests. Music and dancing, but especially singing, for which they are still celebrated, constituted their pastimes. Family ties were held sacred.' The shades which darkened their character were their frivolity and dogmatical ways, their quarrelsome disposition, their vindictiveness. In the court of the castle at Wyssehrad,* under the open heavens, stood a block of hewn stone, called the Fwrstmstuhl. ' Palacky, I. p. 70. Great uncertainty exists with regard to the time in vhich the Czechs took possession of Bohemia and Moravia. ' Palacky, I. p. 185. ' ' " The chastity and faithfulness of the Slavonian women seemed to the Greek writers to be superhuman, and filled them with astonishment. Palacky, I. p. 60. * An ancient castle, on the right bank of the Moldau, at the southern extremity of Prague, the earliest seat of the Dukes, inclosed, in the four- teenth century, by Charles the Fourth, within the city walls. THE mo:Savian church. 7 In this rude throne inhered the limited sovereignty of the Duke. If the stone was taken from him, his reign came to an end. A senate of twelve Kunely, or Elders, constituted his advisers. Upon important occasions a diet was convened^ embracing, besides the Kmdy, the Led, who were owners of large estates, and the Wladyha, who constituted the heads of the clans into which the freeholders were divided. Prior to the ninth century serfdom was unknown, although some of the peasantry rendered service to the Led. The country was laid out in circuits, or counties, each governed by its own magistrate, with a fortified castle for its capital. Within the fortifications were temples, built of wood and enshrining the images of the gods to which they were dedicated. None but priests were allowed to enter the inner sanctuary, and they held their breath when approaching an idol. Sacred groves surrounded the temples. The principal temple stood within the Wyssehrad. The mythology of the Czechs is obscure.' Although the Slavonians were originally monotheists, a polytheism, rivaling that of Greece and Rome, had grown up among them and extended to Bohemia and Moravia. Perwn was their Jupiter, ^he thunderer, the god of gods. Around him were grouped Swakmii, the god of war, Madihost, the god of industry,. Weles, the god of cattle-breeding, Lada, the goddess of love, ^wa, the goddess of corn, Dewana, the goddess of forests and the chase, Mwana, the goddess of death, and many other divinities ; but the relation in which they stood to him, and the forms under which they were represented, are unknown.. The forces of nature and the affections of the human heart were set forth as nymphs and demons; while each family had its own household idols, to which visitors invariably bowed on entering or leaving a dwelling. Even formal wor- ship was not restricted to temples. The country was full of sacred hills and fountains and rivers, where the Czech brought his offering in the twilight hour, smiting upon his forehead and singing a hymn of praise. • Palacky, I. p. 178. ~ 8 THE HISTORY OF Into the darkness of such superstition shone the light of Christianity, in the first half of the ninth centuiy. It dawned in Morayia and came from the Latin Church, through the agency of the Franks. Everything else touching its intro- duction remains unknown. Prince Mojmir, whose seat was at Welehrad,* on an island of the March, embraced the new faith, and three churches were dedicated, at Neitra^ (836), Olmutz.^ and Briinn. Nor did the night of paganism continue unbroken in Bohemia. On New Year's Day, of 845, fourteen of its nobles, while visiting Louis the German, were baptized at Eegensburg. In both countries, however, the new light shone feebly. It did not shed its beams upon the nation. A few spots only were illumined. It was in the East, above the horizon of ihe Greek Church, that the Sun of Righteousness appeared to the Czechs as a people. In 846, ihe German Emperor deposed Mojmir, and invested Rastislaw, his nephew, with the ducal dignity. Rastislaw shook off the Frankish yoke. In order to be entirely inde- pendent of German influences, but moved also by higher motives, he sent to Constantinople for Christian teachers. His ambassadors found two distinguished Missionaries, Con- stantine, or Cyrill, and Methodius, at the court of thg Emperor Michael. Their early history is obscure.' They were brothers, the sons of Leo, and born at Thessalonica. Both displayed extra- ordinary talents and were known for their singular piety. Cyrill was honored with the title of "The Philosopher;" Methodius saw the highest political distinctions within his reach. But both turned their backs upon worldly prospects, however flattering, and entered a monastery, where ^ey lived in seclusion until a call for Missionaries to the heathen reached their ears. Then they came forth full of zeal and courage. Cyrill took his way to the Khazares, a Hunnic-Tartaric tribe, ' Now Hradist. ^ Now in Hungary, twelve miles from Presburg, on the river Neitra. ' Palacky, I. Bk. 2, Chap. 5 ; Bily's Cyrill u. Method, p. 1. Bily gives a number of legends concerning their early years. THE MORAVIAN CHURCH. 9 -whose country extended from the Volga and Caspian Sea across the Caucasian Isthmus and the Peninsula of Taurida as far as Moldavia and Walachia, and converted the Khan, together with the greater part of his people. Methodius brought the Bulgarians to a knowledge of the Gospel, and made a penitent of their proud king Boris, by painting for him a startling picture of the last judgment. The success of these Missions gave to the two brothers a name which was in all the churches of the East. They had won to the side of Christianity nations that had long been its wild and formidable foes. Accordingly, in response to Eastislaw's application, Michael sent them to Moravia. They arrived in 863, and made Welehrad the centre of itinerancies that extended throughout the country. Wherever they came, they preached repentance and remission of sins. The principles which guided them in such work were calculated to open a way for the Gospel into the hearts of the people. They trained young Czechs as native priests. They finished that Slavonian version of the Bible which Cyrill had previously begun, and for which he had invented an alphabet known as the OyrUitza} They rendered the liturgy into the same tongue, and introduced it into every parish. They caused the reading of the Scriptures, public worship, and preaching to be conducted in the vernacular. They built up a national Church, in which the Czechs felt at home. Cyrill and Methodius, therefore, deserve their title of "Apostles of ' The CyrUitxa was invented by Cyrill in 855. It consisted of 46 letters, and was based on the Greek alphabet. According to the latest researches the Old or Church Slavonian language, into which Cyrill and Methodius translated the Bible, was not, as writers formerly supposed, the mother of all the living Slavonian dialects, but a dialect like these, only developed at an earlier time. It is no longer a living tongue, but the sacred language of the Slavonian nations, whose cpmmon property it has long since become. Cyrill translated the Gospel lessons, the Epistles, the Psalms, and the Old Testament lessons ; Methodius the rest of the Bible. That, as some writers assert, the Cyriliiza was a mere modification of the so-called Glagolitic letters, whose origin is obscure, cannot be substantiated. Even if such letters existed in Cyrill's time, it is very doubtful whether he waa acquainted with them. 10 THE HISTOEY OF the Slavonians." Both in its character and results, their work resembled the Missionary activity of the primitive Christians, and stood out in bright contrast to the system which Eome introduced wherever she gained a foothold. Her priests who had been sent to Bohemia and Moravia from Germany, used the Latin language in public worship,, impressed upon the minds of the heathens the importance of tithes far more earnestly than the necessity of a conversion tO' God, and set forth doctrines which, even in that early age,, constituted a wide departure from the standard of the Bible, Cyrill and Methodius, on the contrary, drew their inspiration from the Greek Church, which taught purer doctrines and unfolded the Gospel, not as a succession of unintelligible chants and lessons, but, in the vernacular, as "the power of God unto salvation to every one that beKeveth." Both the countries in which they labored were, however^ claimed by Rome upon the strength of the original introduc- tion of Christianity through the Franks. This claim was urged the more persistently, because the controversy, which eventuated in their total separation, had begun between the Latin and Greek Churches. Nicholas the First, with the triple crown upon his head^ and the forged Isidorian decretals in his hand, asserted his supremacy over Photius, the Patriarch of Constantinople, and maintained that Rome must be the final court of appeal in all important questions. So bitter did this feud grow, in 867, that Nicholas deposed Photius, and Photius excommunicated Nicholas. Informed, by envious German bishops, of what was trans- piring in Moravia, the Roman pontiff cited CyriU and Meth- odius before his tribunal. They obeyed the summons (868),. but Nicholas died before they reached Rome. His successor, Adrian the Second, received them with great distinction, not only because they brought with them the reputed bones of St. Clement,^ discovered by Cyrill in Cherson, but also because ^ Nicholas the First was the first pope who was crowned (858). * It is said that St. Clement, who was an illustrious contemporary of the Apostles, suffered martyrdom about the year 102. THE MORAVIAN CHURCH. 11 he hoped that the two brothers would aid him in resuscitatiag^ the ancient diocese of Pannonia, which had fallen into decay amidst the Hunnic wars. This was a favorite project at Eome. The resuscitated diocese was to be independent both of the Greek Patriarch and of the German bishops, and to embrace, along with Moravia and Bohemia, the eastern part of the archduchies of Austria, the duchies of Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola, all of Hungary between the Danube and the Save, Slavonia, and a section of Croatia and Bosnia. In this way Moravia and Bohemia would remain under papal jurisdiction; their peculiar privileges were to be recognized merely until an opportunity would offer to withdraw them. With such a purpose hidden in his heart, Adrian sanctioned the Slavonian Bible and liturgy, allowed the Greek system of theology to be taught, and appointed Cyrill and Methodius Bishops of the new diocese. But Cyrill, whose health was failing, declined the honor. He preferred the vows of a monk and the solitude of a cloister, that' he might prepare for death. In a few weeks, on the sixteenth of February, 868, death came and brought his illus- trious career to a close.* After his decease, Methodius, satis- fied with the concessions of the Pope, promised him obedience and was consecrated Archbishop of Pannonia. He returned to Moravia in 869. A few years later, probably in 871, Boriwoj, Duke of Bohemia, together with his wife, Ludmila, while visiting Swatopluk, who had wrested Moravia from Rastislaw and married a Bohemian princess, received baptism, at Olmutz, at the hands of Methodius. Christianity now spread rapidly throughout Bohemia. Whether Methodius himself labored in that country is not known. But his fatherly eye directed the work, and his pious heart gave to it the same tendency as in Moravia. A National Church was biiilt lip, with the Slavonian Bible for its light, and the promises of the Gospel, ' It was as a monk at Borne that he assumed the name of Cyrill, bj- which he is now uniyersally known. 12 THE HISTOEY OF proclaimed in the Czechish mother-tongue, for its joy. The first Christian sanctuary which was erected stood on the left bank of the Moldau, about seven miles from Prague, near the Castle of Lewy Hradec. These new victories over heathenism but intensified the jealousy of the Grerman bishops, especially those of Salzburg and Passau, who filled all Eome with their lugubrious com- plaints. Methodius was cited a second time before the papal throne. He appeared and triumphantly vindicated his course. John the Eighth renewed the concessions of Adrian, but adroitly interwove with them the following stipulations : The Gospels were to be publicly read first in Latin and then in Slavonian ; should the Duke desire it, mass was to be cele- brated in Latin also ; a German suffragan was to be appointed. Harmless conditions they seemed to be ! And yet they pre- pared the way on which Bohemia and Moravia were led into the arms of Eome. The influence of Methodius began, at once, to wane, while Wiching, the German sufiragan, grew in importance and power. Many bitter experiences saddened the declining years of the last of the two Apostles of the Slavonians. He died, according to tradition, on the sixth of April, 885, and was buried at Welehrad, in the church of St. Mary. THE MORAVIAN CHUKCH. 13 CHAPTEE n. The further History of Christianity in Bohemia and Moravia. A. D. 885-1347. The GJerman faction in the ascendency. — Persecutions on the part of the heathen. — Murder of Ludmila and Wenzel.— Suppression of Heathen- ism. — Increasing influence of the Roman Catholic Church and spread of her principles.— Gregory the Seventh forbids the Slavonian ritual. — Final supremacy of the Bomish system. The German party now gained the ascendency. Gorasd, -whom Methodius had appointed as his successor, was set aside and Wiching became archbishop. Under his administration the native priests were persecuted. Many of them fled to Bulgaria, where they introduced the Slavonian Bible and liturgy, both of which, in a later period, passed into the keeping of the Russians. But the German faction did not constitute the only power which interfered with the progress of Christianity. Heathen- ism, too, assumed a hostile attitude, and did not hesitate to dye its hands in blood. Ludmila, who had received the surname of The Holy, on account of her many pious works, was peacefully spending the days of her widowhood in the castle of Tetin. Thither Drahomira, her pagan daughter-in- law, sent a body of armed men who surrounded the castle, while two of their officers burst into her apartment. They found her in the act of prayer and strangled her with her own veil (927). The next victim was the Duke himself, Wenzel, Drahomira's older son, illustrious as a promoter of the Gospel and distinguished by a life of faith and charity. His brother Boleslaw, surnamed The Cruel, supported by other conspira- 14 THE HISTORY OF tors, fell upon and killed him as he was about to enter the church at Altbunzlau, where he had been the assassin's guest (936). But the fratricide could not murder Wenzel's fame. It lived from generation to generation. Bohemia crowned him as a martyr and chose him for her patron saint. Boleslaw seized the government and maintained his antagonism to the Christian religion until he was forced by the Emperor Otho tiie First to re-establish its rights.^ More than a century elapsed, however, before heathenism was finally suppressed. In 1092, Bretislaw the Second banished the remnant of its priests and soothsayers, and set on fire the last of its sacred groves. Important events in the history of the national ritual pre- ceded this forcible triumph of Christianity. Boleslaw the Cruel was followed by Boleslaw the Pious. He deserved this surname. A wise ruler and an earnest Christian, he made the growth of religion to keep pace with the extension of his realm. While Moravia, Upper and Middle Silesia, and the southern half of Poland fell to him, numerous churches arose through his munificence, widows and orphans found in him a protector, and justice stretched out a firm but gentle hand. ■Cosmas, the oldest .chronicler of Bohemia, contrasting him with his father, calls him a rose blooming on a thom-bush, a lamb begotten of a wolf.* He was, however, devoted to tihe Roman Catholic Church. The great service which Otho had rendered Bohemia in the preceding reign, and the alarming progress of the Magyars, had brought about a close fellowship with Germany, which formed one of the strongholds of the Hierarchy. Hence, when a bishopric was established at Prague (973), as a part of the archbishopric of Mayence, the ' Palacky represents the murders set forth above as the result of jealousies in the ducal family and says nothing of their having been instigated by hostility to the Christian religion. We follow the Hist. Perseoutionum, ■even if we do not accept all the details of its narrative. (See Chap. III.) Sehlesinger says, p. 31 : "Aber einer Partei im Lande war nichts verhasBter ais das Christenthum und der Deutsche Einfluss." 2 Cosmae Chronicou. Scriptores Bernm Boh., I. p. 46. THE MORAVIAN CHURCH. 15 Emperor persuaded Boleslaw to disregard the wishes of his subjects and to accept the conditions which the Pope had fixed. The Latin language, the Komish ritual, the papal system of doctrines, was introduced, and Dietmar, a German, received the episcopal office. About the same period, monas- teries were, for the first time, founded in Bohemia. In this way Romanism began a defiant march through the country, favored by the court, the nobility, and such of the inhabitants as traded with Germany, but bitterly opposed by the common people, who clung to their ancient usages with all the tenacity of their national character, and conceived a hatred of the Germans which has never died out. Impor- tunate calls were heard for a native bishop and the re-intro- duction of the vernacular in public worship. At last, both the Pope and the Emperor promised to fulfill these demands. On the death of Dietmar (982), Adalbert, a Bohemian by birth and the scion of a noble house, was actually appointed to the vacant see. But when he attempted to carry out the wishes of the people, the Emperor as well as the Archbishop called him to an account. Baffled and perplexed, he twice relinquished and twice returned to his diocese. On leaving it a third time, he found a martyr's grave among the Prussians (997). Romanism now spread unhindered for many years ; while the Czechish language and Greek ritual fell into disuse more and more. The accession of Wratislaw the Second to the throne, in 106 1 , brought about a change. This prince enjoyed the love of his people in an extraordinary degree, and fostered the national feeling imtil it burst into new life. His reign occurred in eventful times. Henry the Fourth was Emperor, Gregory the Seventh, Pope. The one passionate and fickle ; the other calm, cold and determined, striving for a universal theocracy and the elevation of the pontificate to supreme power upon earth as the one unchanging object of his life. The result was a protracted conflict between these two heads of Latin Christendom. In the midst of this struggle, Wratislaw, who had formed an alliance with Henry IQ THE HISTOEY OP in 1075,1 sent ^ deputation to Gregory and begged him to sanction the Slavonian ritual (1079). Such a petition could not have been presented at a less auspicious tune and addressed to a more unyielding pontiff. A chief means by which ■ Gregory endeavored to render the papacy supreme was a common ritual for the Christian world. Hence his reply assumed the form of a bull, dated January the second, 1080, and directed to the Duke, but without the usual greeting and benediction. " Your Highness," wrote the haughty Pope, "has asked us that we should allow your people to make use of the Slavoniaii tongue in divine worship. We can in no wise sanction this petition, in as much as a frequent study of the Holy Scriptures has convinced us, that it has pleased Almighty God, and not without reason, to allow certain parts of them to remam hidden, lest, if they were clearly open to all, they might, perhaps, become of trifling value and be subjected to contempt, and being incorrectly understood by minds of mediocre capacity, might lead men into error. Nor does the fact that certain holy men formerly bore with patience what the people asked for in simplicity, or let it pass uncorrected, serve as a precedent. The primitive Church took no notice of many points which were afterward corrected by the holy fathers, in consequence of more accurate investigations, when Christianity had been established and religion had increased. Hence that which your people imprudently ask for may not be done. We forbid it, by the authority of the blessed Saint Peter, and command you to resist such foolish rashness with all your strength, to the honor of Almighty God."^ ' As a reward for the services which Wratislaw rendered in consequence of this alliance, he was constituted the first king of Bohemia, in 1086. " The above letter differs materially from that given by Plitt, Holmes, Croeger, and others, including even Czerwenka, who have all taken their version from the Hist. Persecutionum, which got it from Hagek's old but notoriously unreliable chronicle. Our version is translated from the original Latin letter as found in Palacky, I. p. 338, Note 143, who took it from the correspondence of Gregory the Seventh, published in Vol. VI. of the Acta Conciliorum. Compare also Dobrowsky, pp. 48 and 49. The THE MORAVIAN CHURCH. 17 This edict was a death-blow to the newly awakened hopes. Wratislaw, indeed, in spite of the Pope, continued to favor the convent on the Sazawa, where the ancient ritual had its prin- cipal seat; but his successor, Bretislaw the Second, expelled the Slavonian brethren, owing chiefly to their own unceasing disputes, and transferred the monastery to Latin monks (1096). There followed other measures which gave Eome the victory at last. The vernacular in public worship was prohibited, the clergy were forbidden to marry, the cup in the Lord's Supper was withdrawn from the laity. Yet even now the Bohemians did not wholly yield the ground on which their fathers had stood. Families and single churches, here and there, could still be seen maintaining the national worship, and priests administering the cup. Married priests were found as late as the reign of Charles the Fourth. For the next two cen- turies and a half religious liberty slumbered but was not dead. It only needed a bold hand to break its sleep. Some writers assert that a national Christianity was not merely kept up but even purified in doctrine and life, through the agency of the Waldenses.^ Numerous churches arose, it is said, representing a union of the old Slavonian and Wal- densian elements, and flourished greatly to the glory of God. This view was first promulgated by Paul Stransky,^ and adopted by Plitt.^ Modern researches, however, especially those instituted by Palacky,* show that however convenient it is wholly without foundation. If the Waldenses appeared in Bohemia at the close of the thirteenth century, which is barely possible, they were few in number, exercised no influence, and cannot, from any point of view, be recognized as a power in its religious development. Hist. Persecutionum, moreover, as also Plitt, Holmes, Croeger, and Czer- wenka, gives a wrong date and prefixes the apostolic salutation, which was intentionally omitted in order to show the Pope's displeasure with the alli- ance between Wratislaw and the Emperor. • Cranz, p. 5 ; Croeger, I. p. 9 ; Holmes, I. p. 14. 2 Stransky, p. 256. ' Plitt, Chap. I. Sec. 5. * Palacky's Waldenser, p. 18 ; Compare also Krummel, p. 51. 2 THE HISTOEY OF CHAPTEK ni. The Forerunners of John Hus. A. D. 1347-1369. Gradual breaking up of the medieval Church-System. — Decline of Scho- lastic Theology.— The reign of Charles the Fourth, the Golden Age of Bohemia. — The Archbishopric, the Convent of Emmaas, and the University of Prague. — The three Forerunners of Hus. — Conrad of Waldhausen. — Milic of Kremsier. — Matthias von Janow. About the middle of the foui-teenth century signs began to appear that the medieval church-system was breaking up. It had held the human mind bound in its icy fetters for ages, but it could not bind the Spirit whom God had sent. Under His divine influences a reaction set in and slowly gained strength, sometimes iu silence and again amidst the noise of storms, until at last it burst forth as an overwhelming flood. Such a result was rendered inevitable by the abuses of the papacy and its perversions of the fundamental principles of the Gospel. A decline of scholastic theology constituted the beginning of this movement. Men began to think for themselves, and not as the Church commanded. An issue was madp which still separates Protestantism from Romanism. The authoritj' of the Bible as the only source and norm of belief was set up against the pretensions bf the Church to promulgate doctrines of its own creation. It is true that such an issue did not become prevalent, but it constrained single reformers to unsheath the sword of the Spirit, and prepared the way for a general reformation. Nor did the revival of classical litera- ture, about the beginning of the fifteenth century, fail to send the human mind forward on its new course of thought and liberty. THE MORAVIAK CHURCH. 19 John "Wycliffe was the first leading representative of- such reformatory movements, and England the realm where they gained temporary strength ; but they were fully developed in Bohemia and Moravia. These twin countries had always • given religious liberty a home ; now they furnished its battle ground. For two centuries, until the opening of the Thirty Years' War, the conflict was kept up. Then Eome tri- umphed again, and the land of the Czechs, a second time, lay helpless at her proud feet. In 1347 Charles the First, of the house of Luxemburg into which the Bohemian crown had passed by marriage, ascended the throne, and eight years later, in 1355, became Emperor of Germany, assuming the title of Charles the Fourth, by which he is generally known. However unequal he may have been to the duties of this position, and however little he may have understood the times in which he lived, Bohemia was the object of his love and the end of his ambition. Under his guidance it entered a golden age. Its bounds were extended ; its agricultural and commercial pros- perity was furthered ; and its capital enlarged to a metropolis which rivaled Paris.^ Three of 4liis undertakings were particularly important. In 1344, while he was still Margrave, he emancipated the Bohemian Church from the control of the archbishopric of Mayence by the creation of the archbishopric of Prague ; in 1347, he organized, in the same city, the Slavonian Monastery of Emmaus ; and, in 1348, founded the University of Prague, which soon became one of the most illustrious in Europe. ^ The origin of Prague is unknown. It is ascribed to Libusa, a distin- guished princess of the mythical period of Bohemian History. The city is situated on both banks of the Moldau, in a basin-shaped valley, on whose slopes the buildings rise in tiers, giving to the town something of oriental splendor. That part of it which stands on the right bank is called the AUstadt (Old Town) and the Neustadt (New Town); the part on the left bank the Kleinseite (Small Side). A massive stone bridge and a chain bridge connect the two parts. Charles the Fourth built the Neustadt and the stone bridge, enlarged the Kleinseite, began the palace of the Hradschin, which etands on that side, and erected a number of churches. 20 THE HISTORY OF These enterprises were meant to advance Romanism, but God overruled them for the spread of the Gospel of His Son. The archbishopric re-invested the Church with a national character. Ernst of Pardubitz, its iirst incumbent, a man of apostolic ways, originated diocesan synods, which caused the Christian life of Bohemia to revive.' The Convent of Em- maus, where the Slavonian ritual, although in a Eomish form, and the Czech vernacular had been re-introduced, gave to such life something of an evangelical tendency. This tendency- grew to be a power in the University, which sent forth John Hus, ordained to wake religious liberty from its sleep. Three illustrious forerunners prepared the way for his coming. Between the years 1340 and 1360 there flourished, at Vienna and other places in Austria, a distinguished preacher named Conrad of Waldhausen.^ The jubilee proclaimed by Clement the Sixth, in 1350, brought him to Rome. There his eyes were opened. He saw the danger of such pilgrimages and the evil of selling indulgences. Multitudes, from every part of Europe, came swarming into the city, paid the price of absolution without a thought of repentance, and imme- diately, amidst the abominations of the papal capital, fell into deeper sin. On his return to Austria he set forth the scrip- tural conditions of forgiveness with words of power and an earnest heart. Charles the Fourth invited him to Bohemia, whither he was drawing other celebrities, Waldhausen accepted the invitation, settled at Leitmeritz, either in 1 360 or 1362, and labored with great success. After a time he > Leohler, II. p. 114. ' Palacky's Vorlaufer, p. 1, &c.; Neander, VI. p. 240, &c.; Krummel, p. 57, &c. Since the publication of Cochlaeus' Hist, of the Hussites, in 1549, Conrad in all works that treat of him, down to recent times, has received the family name of Stekna. This is an error. John von Stekna was a Cistercian monk and priest, who flourished at Prague, after Conrad's death as incumbent of the Bethlehem Chapel, and in other capacities. The error originated in the omission, by Cochlaeus, of a comma between Conrad's and Stekna's name, as Palacky has shown. Waldhausen was the name of the village in which Conrad was born. THE MORAVIAN CHURCH. 21 tegan occasionally to preach at Prague. There his congrega- tions grew so large that no building could hold them, and they were forced to assemble in a market place. In 1364 he -was appointed incumbent of the Thein Church, the most important in the capital.^ He preached in German. His bearing was calm, his thoughts were set forth with great ■clearness, his language was plain but forcible and eloquent. With a boldness that came from God and feared neither man nor devil, he exposed the vices of the times and called sinners to repentance. The result was wonderful. Women who had been leaders of extravagant and immodest fashions laid aside their costly robes, glittering with gold and pearls, and devoted themselves to works of charity ; U3urers, fattening on unrigh1> ■eous gains, made restitution ; notorious libertines set an ■example of holy living. Such success excited the jealousy of the mendicant friars, ■whose churches were almost deserted. But when Conrad, to Tise his own figure, drew the bow of God's Word against these monks themselves, their envy was turned into hate bitter as gall. And yet his arrows told, for they came with the force of truth. He directed them against the hypocrisy, simony and degenerate ways of the various orders. He said that if their founders were to come back to earth in order to resus- citate first principles, they would be stoned ; that the monks, instead of assuming voluntary poverty and humbly walking in love, manifested insatiable avarice, inordinate pride, and selfishness in its worst forms ; that their appeals for alms -were morally wrong, because alms ought to -be given to the poor; that the idolatry which they practised with relics was a,bominable ; that holiness deserved more reverence than the saints. ^ Smarting under sharp truths such as these, the Dominicans, Franciscans, Augustines and others, forgot their own inces- sant quarrels, and made common cause against Waldhausen. ' The Thein Church stands in the Altstadt, on the Grosser Ring, opposite *he Council House. It is famous in the history of the Hussites and the Brethren. 22 THE HISTORY OF But his popularity was so great that they did not venture- to attack him openly until the Yicar General of the Domini- cans had arrived at Prague. His presence gave them courage to lay twenty-four articles of accusation before the Arch- bishop (1364). These charges Conrad triumphantly refuted, in the presence of many witnesses, and prepared a written defence of his course for Duke Eudolph, who urgently re- quested that he should come back to Vienna. But he pre- ferred Bohemia, and continued his victorious career until 1369, when he died, on the eighth of December, beloved by the people and blessed of God. Although he did not directly attack the dogmas of the- Eomish Church, he taught the necessity of a living Chris- tianity, of a renewal of the heart, and of saving faith in Christ. In view of such principles he deserves to be counted as the first forerunner of Hus. The second was Milic, of Kremsier, in Moravia.^ His- early life is shrouded in obscurity. He took orders about 1350, and subsequently became an arch-deacon and a canon of St. Vitus.^ At the same time he filled a responsible post in the imperial chancellor's office, and owned an estate which brought him a considerable income, in addition to his many emoluments. But neither honors nor wealth could satisfy him. He longed to serve the Lord in poverty and lowliness.. Hence, in 1363, he resigned all his lucrative and high posi- tions. The Archbishop reasoned with him. "In what better work could you engage," he said, " than helping your poor Archbishop to feed the flock which has been committed to his- care ?" But Milic remained firm, and retired to Bischof Teinitz, where he began to labor as a preacher of the people. ' Neander, VI. pp. 228, &c.; Palacky's Vorliiufer, pp. 18, &c.; Czerwenka,. I. Chap. III.; Krummel, pp. 62, &c. There is no authority for the name John, which is commonly given him. ^ This cathedral was begun in 1344 and stands within the enclosure of the Hradschin, the celebrated palace of the Bohemian kings, built by- Charles the Fourth, in 1353, rebuilt by Ferdinand the First in 1541, but not completed until 1756. THE MORAVIAN CHURCH. 23 His stay in this village was short. The incumbent had a pleasant garden which, Milic feared, might tempt him to idleness. Hastening back to Prague, he gained access to various pulpits. At first his congregations were small and his Moravian dialect excited ridicule. But he persevered, until he found acceptance. In course of time he became as famous an orator as Waldhausen. His style, however, was wholly different. It was mystical, excited the imagination j and glowed with figures borrowed from the Apocalypse. The biblical studies in which Milio diligently engaged, led him to the conclusion that Antichrist would appear between the years 1365 and 1367, and that, therefore, the end of the world was at hand. This view he set forth in his work Z)e Antichristo, and urged from the pulpit, pointing, in the way of proof, to the degeneracy of the age. His denunciations were bold and terrific. He spared no one, from the Arch- bishop to the lowest monk, from the Emperor to the meanest peasant. On one occasion he publicly reproved the Emperor by name. But Charles recognized his motives and honored his zeal. Nor could his enemies, although their number increased, prevail against him. It is true that they induced the new Archbishop to order his arrest; but he was soon set at liberty. Milic himself, however, grew discouraged, es- pecially in view of *the unwillingness of the Bohemians to accept his apocalyptical theory, relinquished his work, and went to Eome to consult the Pope. Urban the Fifth filled the papal chair and was about to transfer his court from Avignon, where his predecessors had lived for more than half a century,' to its proper s^at (1367). While awaiting his arrival, Milic was, as he says, moved by the Spirit to announce, through a poster affixed to the door of St. Peter's, that he would preach on the coming of Antichrist. For this bold act he was cast into prison. But Urban, as soon as he had reached the city, set him free and punished his persecutors. The consultations in which he now engaged with the Pope and various ecclesiastics led him to recognize the propriety of giving less prominence to his prophetical 24 THE HISTORY OF views, but encouraged him to return to Prague and resume his activity in other respects. On the death of Waldhausen, he was appointed his suc- cessor in the Thein Church. In order to reach the German population he began to study their language, and persevered until he could preach in it with liiuency. He delivered daily sermons, besides attending to his pastoral duties, visiting the poor, and instructing students in theology. The most notable instance of his success in reforming the morals of Prague was the breaking up of a whole block of brothels, which had long been infamously known as " Little Venice." More than one hundred of their inmates repented in a body. The houses were torn down, and a chapel and home erected, in which the penitents found an asylum. Their number increased by accessions from the country. There were often as many as three hundred women in this retreat, which received the name of " Jerusalem." Near by stood a house that Milic had converted into a Seminary for his students, who assisted him in his work. His growing fame and widespread influence incited his enemies to renewed activity. The mendicant friars, in par- ticular, opposed him. Twelve articles of accusation were sent to Gregory the Eleventh, which aroused his utmost displeasure. He wrote to the Emperor, to the Archbishop, and to several Bishops in Moravia, Silesia and Poland, condemning the entire course which Milic was pursuing. Milic hastened to Avignon, where the papal court had again been established, in order to defend himself, and succeeded in refuting the charges that had been brought against him. "While waiting for the final decision of the Pope, he fell ill and died, on the twenty-ninth of June, 1374. His solemn protest against the vices of the age, his earnest call for the convocation of a General Council that the Church might be reformed, his eloquent plea for the preaching of the pure Gospel that the spiritual kingdom of Christ might spread, constituted him the second forerunner of John Hus. "In Milic that religious thought and feeling which have THE MORAVIAN CHURCH. 25 always distinguished the Bohemians, found its embodiment," says Palacky in substance. " He stirred the spirit of the people to its depths, and first caused it to rise in those waves .which, at a later time and with the co-operation of new elements, grew to be the billows of a great storm.'" The last precursor of Hus was Matthias von Janow,^ the son of a Bohemian Knight, and an enthusiastic pupil of Milic. In 1381, he was appointed a prebendary of the Cathedral at Prague and a father confessor. Distinguished for his learning which he acquired at the Universities of Prague and Paris — whence his title of "Parisian Master" — converted, while searching the Scriptures, from a vicious life to the service of God, he used both his knowledge and his experience in bravely promoting the Truth. He was a writer and not a preacher. The collection of his works, composed between the years 1388 and 1392 and entitled De regulis Veteris et Novi Testamerdi, exercised an unprecedented influence in its day.^ His position is bold and evangelical. He bewails the worldliness of the clergy and their neglect of the Bible, rebukes their pride and hierarchical pretensions, and disap- proves of monastic orders as well as of that wide distinction between the ministry and the laity which conflicts with the scriptural idea of a universal priesthood. He protests against the worship of pictures, the invocation of saints, and the idolatry practiced with relics. He urges that the Gospel shall be preached in the vernacular, that Christians shall receive the Lord's Supper daily, and that the cup shall be given to the laity, although he does not consider this absolutely essential. He asserts that Antichrist is already in the world, in the form of the hierarchy which has become 1 Palacky, IV. p. 173. ^ Neander, VI. p. 252, &c.; Palacky's Vorlaufer, p. 47, &c.; Krummel, Chap. V. ^ This collection was divided into five books, each book containing a number of treatises. It exists in manuscript only and is very rare, except- ing one treatise, on The Abominaiion in the Holy Place, which essay was printed along with the works of Hus to whom it was incorrectly ascribed. 26 THE HISTOEY OF wholly secularized; predicts the renewal of the Church In its primitive purity and dignity; defines it to be a living organism whose members ought all to work together, including the Pope, who must direct the bishops in the proper discharge of their duties, but not exalt himself above them and seek his own ends through the agency of princes and kings ; and finds a chief cause of its corruption in its many decretals, which usurp the place of the Scriptures. Finally, he sets forth the immediate relation of the soul to Christ, the necessity of faith, and the insufficiency of works when separated from faiths' Some of these views Janow was forced to recant, at the Diocesan Synod of 1389.^ But this seems to have been a mere form, for we find them still more fully developed in his later writings. He died in the prime of manhood, on the thirtieth of November, 1394. But the truths which he promulgated were a trumpet-blast that announced the coming Eeformer and the dawn of a new epoch. Indeed, if we may trust tradition, he appears to have looked even beyond the days of Hus and to have foretold the rise of the Brethren's Church. " We find it also recorded," says the History of the Bohemian Persecution, "that this Parisian, his death approaching, amongst others gave this comfort to his friends; The rage of the enemies of truth hath now prevailed against us ; but this shall not be always ; for an ignoble people shall arise without sword or power, over whom they shall not be able to prevail.' "3 ^ Czerwenka, I. p. 50. ' Documenta Hus, pp. 699 and 700, where the retraction is given in fall and the penance set forth, namely, suspension, for half a year, from min- isterial functions outside of his own church. ' BQstory of the Bohemian Persecution, London, 1650, Chap. VII. 5, p. 19, the quaint English version of the Hist. Persecutionum. THE MOEAVIAN CHURCH. 27 PERIOD II. THE LIFE AND TIMES OP JOHN HUS, THE PRE- CURSOR OP THE BRETHREN'S CHURCH. A. D. 1369-1415. CHAPTEE lY. The Beginning of the Bohemian Reformation as .inaugurated by Hus. A. D. 1369-1411. Birth and Education of Hus. — His moral Character. — A Professor in the University of Prague. — Magnitude of the University. — State of Latin Christendom. — The Philosophical and Theological tendencies of Hus, —His Friends and Coadjutors. — Incumbent of the Bethlehem Chapel. — Hus as a Pastor and Preacher. — Appointed Synodical Preacher. — Condemnation of Wycliffe's articles in the University. — Beginning of the Eeformation. — The miracle at Wilsnak. — The Eeformatory Labors of Hus and the Opposition they evoked. — The Eeformation strengthent d by the State of the Country and Empire. — Exodus of the Germans- from the University. — The Eeformation about to die a natural Death. FouK years after the death of the last of his forerunners- John Hus himself appeared on the stage of history. Through his instrumentality the new. ideas, to which his age was giving birth, were developed into a national reformation that proved to be the harbinger of the General Reformation. In bringing this about he opened the way, on the one hand, for the coming^ of the Unitas Fratrum which was founded by his followers and inherited his principles, and, on the other, led Bohemia and Moravia out of the darkness of the Middle Ages a century before it began to disappear from other countries. In the southern part of Bohemia on the Planitz, not far from the Bavarian frontier, stands a small market-town called 28 THE HISTOBY OF Hosinec. It constituted, originally, one of twenty-four vil- lages which belonged jointly to the royal exchequer and the Castle of Hus, built, in 1341, by the Barons of Janowic. In that town John Hus was born on the sixth of July, 1369.i He took his name from the Castle.^ His family name is not known. Although his parents ranked no higher than peasants, they were in good circumstances. His early years are shrouded in obscurity.^ He studied at the University of Prague and took his first degree in 1393. In 1396 he was constituted a Master of Arts. His talents were not brilliant but his diligence never flagged. He devoted himself to his books with the patience of a student and the tenacity of a Czech. Such perseverance had its reward. He became a man of comprehensive learning, and slowly but surely made his way to the side of the greatest celebrities of his age.* His moral character was blameless. It was never aspersed even by his bitterest enemies. They were constrained to recognize the purity of his heart and the holiness of his life. In other respects, however, he is stig- matized by some modern writers of the Romish school, who call him " a vain declaimer, a plotter, a proud Czech, a fanatic, a revolutionist, an ignorant fellow, as rude and bold as a peasant."^ While such denunciations recoil upon their authors, there may be some truth in the charges of Palacky. He asserts that Hus was rash, obstinate, greedy of popularity and am- bitious to win a martyr's crown.^ Tradition has it, that on ' Gillett, Croeger and other Moravian writers, give the year 1373, but 1369 is adopted by all the best modern authorities. ^ Not Huss, but Hus, is therefore the correct way of spelling his name. It has been adopted by German and ought to be adopted by English writers. ' The details given by Becker, Die Bohm. Eeform, u. Mart. J. Hus u. H. V. Prag, 1858, and found in Croeger, I. p. 18, &c., are without historic foundation. * Berger, p. 79, Note 2, asserts that the learning of Hus was not extra- ordinary, but merely such as was common among all scholars of his day. In what estimation Berger's testimony is to be held, will appear later. ' Helfert, Hofler and Friedrich. ^ Palacky, IV. p. 215. In Note 218, he adds ; " That Hus, at an early period of his life, dwelt upon the possibility of his suffering martyrdom, is THE MORAVIAN CHURCH. 29 reading an account of the cruel execution of St. Lawrence, who was roasted alive in an iron chair, he thrust his own hand into the fire in order to test his ability to endure such torments. Greatness and faults are inseparable. We must not expect the record of Hus to be spotless. In his inter- course with others he was modest and kind. A spirit of melancholy gave tone to his whole bearing. It seemed as though he could not forget the degeneracy of the Church and the evil of the times in which he lived. He was a tall man, with a thin, pale, sad face. Two years after he received the Master's degree, he was called to a professorship in the University (1398.) This school, next to that of Paris, after which it was modeled, constituted the most distinguished seat of learning on the Continent of Europe. It formed a state within the state. It enjoyed peculiar privileges and extraordinary im- munities. It grew to be a Bohemian republic of letters with an authority second only to that of the king. It was pervaded by a literary spirit^ active, keen, thorough, delighting in disputations on the grandest scale. It embraced four faculties, one for theology, one for law, one for medicine, and one for philosophy; and was divided into four nations, the Bohemian, the Bavarian, the Polish, and the Saxon. Its teachers and students far outnumbered those of modern universities how- ever large.' A school such as this inspired Hus with enthusiasm. He became one of its lights. In 1401 he was elected Dean of the Philosophical Faculty, and in 1402 Rector of the University. evident from various passages of his Bohemian works which bring out his individuality in sharper lines than his Latin writings." ' Some authorities give fabulous figures. It is said that, about 1408, there were 200 Doctors and Masters, 500 Bachelors, and more than 30,000 students. Others assert that there were never more than 4000 students, and only 2,500, about 1408. (Lechler, II. p. 153.) But this estimate is incorrect ; for we have data which show that in that year, there were 64 Doctors and Masters and 150 Bachelors belonging to the Bohemian nation alone. Palacky thinks there must have been more than 7,000 students. (Palacky, lY. p. 183.) 30 THE HISTORY OF Dire confusion reigned throughout Latin Christendom. For more than twenty years the Church had been rent by a dis- graceful schism. Two popes, each claiming to be Christ's vicar upon earth, the one at Eome, the other at Avignon, were hurling anathemas at each other.' This was a gross scandal that called forth protests from the University of Paris, than which no literary seat exercised a higher authority. Peter D'Ailly, John of Gerson, Nicholas of Clemanges and others, scrutinously investigated the claims set up by the popes, asserted the supremacy of a General Council, and, in ringing tones, proclaimed the necessity of reform. Nor did the University of Oxford remain silent. Wycliffe was dead, but his writings were exercising a widely spread influence.^ They found their -way to Bohemia through Bohemian students who studied at Oxford, and soon began to play an important part in the theological history of that country.' Charles the Fourth died in 1378, and was succeeded by Wenzel, his oldest son. He was an incompetent ruler. The sceptre fell from his weak grasp into the hands of unworthy favorites who governed in his name. Although not without good qualities, he acted, for the most part, in the words of Palacky, like a spoiled child, offending his nobles, maltreating the clergy, quarreling with his brother Sigismund, and giving- ' The schism began in 1 378 by the election of Urban the Fifth and Clement the Seventh. " John de Wycliffe, written also Wickliffe, Wyclif, or Wiclif, was bom near Richmond, England, in 1324. A controversy with the Mendicants led to his illustrious career as a Reformer before the Reformation. He attacked some of the most cherished dogmas of Rome, such as plenary indulgence and transubstantiation ; drew a sharp line between Biblical Christianity and Romish ecclesiasticism ; translated the Bible into English from the Vulgate ; and labored by his writings, sermons, and lectures at Oxford for the spread of the pure Gospel. Protected by the Duke of Lancaster, he withstood every persecution, and died, as parish priest at Lutterworth, December the thirty-first, 1384. His followers were the English Lollards. The newest and best work on Wycliffe is Lechler's Wiclif und die "Vorge- schichte der Reformation. 2 Vols. Leipzig and London, 1873. ' In 1382, Anne, a daughter of Charles the Fourth, married Richard the Second. This brought about a close connection between Bohemia and England. THE MORAVIAN CHURCH. 31 occasion for the appearance of a rival Emperor in the person of Ruprecht, who disputed the crown for ten years. It was in such a period of European history, when no honest mind could fail to recognize the necessity of reforming the Church, that Hus began his public career. His earliest lectures ■were mostly philosophical. He was a decided adherent of the realistic school.' His theology received its tendency from Matthias of Janow and Wycliffe. The theological writings of the latter were brought to Bohemia in 1398, by Jerome of Prague. When Hus had overcome the prejudice which he entertained against them and be^an to study them, he was attracted by their reformatory spirit and the supreme authority -which they ascribed to the Bible. The longer he searched this sacred volume the more he became convinced of the cor- ruptness of the Church and the necessity of a reformation. But he did not set out with the intention of inaugurating such a work. Nor did he take a position antagonistic to Rome in 1 Bealism and Nominalism constituted the two conflicting doctrines of scholastic philosophy. The former taught, that general notions; such as tlie notion of a tree, have an ohjective existence and reality; in other words, " that genus and species are real things, existing independently of our con- ceptions and expressions" (Fleming's Vocah. of Phil., p. 422). The latter, "that general notions, such as the notion of a tree, have no realities corresponding to them, and no existence but as names or words" (lb. p. 346). Applied to theology, realism set up the reality, that is, the absolute truth of the dogmas of the Church, which were binding upon all and might not be questioned by any. J^ominalism, on the other hand, subjected such dogmas to critical investigation, and asserted the right of research as a necessary consequence of that capacity to investigate which has been given to every man. From this point of view the realism of Hus is surprising. Indeed, Czerwenka (I. p. 59), denies its existence. But while Hus, in many of his theological views, was practically a nominalist, because he recognized ijhe authority of the Bible as supreme, yet in his philosophical views, which had an influence upon his theology also, he was technically, without question, a realist. For he took his philosophical views from Wyclifie whose work on the "Eeality of General Ideas" was, for years, a text-book in the University of Prague. His national feelings, moreover, had much to do with this position. He would not uphold a system to which the German Doctors, who were mostly nominalists, adhered, and which, in itself con- sidered, did not satisfy his aspirations. 32 THE HISTORY OF obedience to an inward development. Every forward step was induced by outward circumstances. His doctrinal system was circumscribed in the same way. He searched for truth, and the truth as found in the Bible constituted the foundation on which he built. But as long as he did not recognize any discrepancy between the Scriptures and a dogma of the Church, he upheld the latter even if it was not explicitly taught in the former. On the other hand, whenever such a disagreement became plain, he rejected the dogma and followed the Scriptures. " From the very be- ginning of my studies," he writes, " I have made it a rule, whenever I meet with a sounder opinion, to joyfully and humbly give up the one I previously entertained. For I am well assured, as Themistius says, that what we know is far less than what we do not know."^ The Bohemian Doctors were not slow to acknowledge the commanding position which Hus occupied. A distinguished circle gathered around him. His most intimate friend and active coadjutor was Jerome of Prague, a highly gifted man, an acute reasoner and eloquent speaker, but of a restless dis- position and fiery temperament.^ He had studied at Prague, Oxford, Cologne, Heidelberg and Paris, was honored with two degrees, and had visited many countries, including Palestine. Other associates of Hus were Stanislaus of Znaim, one of his teachers, Peter of Znaim, Stephen of Palec, Christian of Prachatic, John of Jesenic and Jacobellus of Mies, a disciple of Janow and the illustrious advocate of the cup in the Lord's Supper.^ They were accustomed to meet at the house of John Protzwa, the incumbent of St. Michael's. The bond of fellowship between them was not only a common philosophical tendency but also a strong national feeling. They were pro- nounced Czechs and looked upon German Bohemians with no ' De Trinitate Sancta, Hist, et Mon., I. p. 131. ^ Jerome of Prague, incorrectly surnamed Faulfisch, which name belonged to an entirely different person, was a native of Prague, and descended from a noble family. He was several years younger than Hus. ' Jacob of Mies, called Jacobellus on account of his small stature, was born at Misa and graduated at the University of Prague. THE MORAVIAN CHURCH 33 favor. Hus himself was an intense patriot. He never ceased to labor for the development of the Czech element.* The mission of Hus was not circumscribed by his academical labors. On the fourth of March, 1402, after having been ordained to the priesthood, he was installed as the incumbent of the Bethlehem Chapel at Prague.^ This historic edifice had been erected at his own expense, in 1391, by John de Milheim, an enthusiastic pupil of Milic and Janow. He called it Bethlehem, because, in the language of the deed of gift, it was to be "a house of bread for the common people in which they were to be refreshed with holy preaching in the vernacular." Such an undertaking became possible only because Milheim stood high in the favor of the King. It constituted one of the signs of the times. No other church of the capital afforded the same opportunity for teaching the Word of God. While the reading of mass was left to the discretion of the incumbent, he was bound to preach twice, on every Sunday and feast-day, and only in Bohemian. Hus entered upon the duties of his office with zeal. It opened a wide field from which he garnered plentiful harvests. It brought him into personal contact with the wants of the human soul. It led him to search the Scriptures, not in order to enrich scholastic theology, but in order to find words of eternal life. It carried him forward directly in the way of a reformation. It proved the means whereby he found that truth which renewed and sanctified his own heart.^ ' The German Doctors of the University devised the following genea- logical travesty : " Stanislaus of Znaim begat Peter of Znaim, Peter begat Palec, Palec begat Hus." " The Bethlehem Chapel stood next to the College of Lazarus, on the street leading from the bridge to the King of the Altstadt. It could seat 3,000 hearers. The pulpit was four-cornered, with a staircase at the side of it leading to the dwelling-room of Hus. Zach. Theobald, p. 37. This Chapel was eventually given to the Bohemian Brethren. In the Anti- Eeformation it passed into the hands of the Jesuits. It was closed in 1786, and subsequently torn down. Since 1868 a marble tablet marks its site. ' Hus has nowhere recorded the time or the particulars of his conversion. He merely says that the study of the Scriptures and especially the life of the Saviour led him to a knowledge of the truth. 3 34 THE HISTORY OF As a pastor he distinguished himself by self-denying faith- fuhiess and an earnest desire to benefit his fellow-men. It is said of him : " He was untiring in the confessional, unwearied in his efforts to convert sinners, assiduous in bringing comfort to the afflicted. He sacrificed everything, he sacrificed himself, in order to save souls.'" His own favorite saying was borrowed from St. Ambrose : " Prayer and tears are the weapons of a priest." Laboring in such a spirit he won esteem and con- fidence. Queen Sophia chose him for her confessor ; he was welcomed to the houses of the nobility ; the common people loved him as a friend. His success in the pulpit was extraordinary. Vast congre- gations thronged to hear him representing every class of society, except the clergy of rank, the German Masters and the monks. Nobles, Bohemian Masters, students, merchants, mechanics and peasants, all hung upon his words. The Queen was one of his most faithful hearers. And yet, according to the standard of our day, his sermons were not eloquent. They either con- sisted of expositions of the appointed Gospels and Epistles interwoven with practical applications and passages from the church-fathers, or treated of doctrinal points, or brought out some subject relating to the history of the times. An occa- sional anecdote occurred, but rhetorical ornaments were wanting. Their biblical character and the evidences with which they abounded that they were the outflow of personal conviction and living faith, gave them power ; while the pure Bohemian which gushed from his lips, the idiomatic phrases which he used, and the transparent simplicity of his style rendered them exceedingly attractive.^ ^ Sermo habitus in Bethlehem a, quodam Pio, in Memoriam novorum Martyrum M. Joan. Hus et M. Hieronymi. Hist, et Mon., II. p. 537. ' The Brethren who founded Herrnhut brought from Moravia the Postil of Hus containing his Bohemian sermons. A series taken from this work has been translated into German by Dr. John Nowotny. It was published at Gorlitz, in 1854 and 1855,in four Parts: Johannes Hus Predigten. The late lamented Dr. Gillett wrote a review of these sermons in "The New Englander," for October, 1864. THE MORAVIAN CHURCH. 35 One year after his installation he received another important appointment. The first Archbishop of Prague had introduced not only diocesan synods but also tlje preaching of synodical sermons. Both these institutions were kept up by his suc- ■cessors. In 1403 Zbynek Zajic von Hasenburg was elevated io the see. He knew more of the weapons of carnal warfare than of the sword of the spirit, and was better versed in military affairs than in the things appertaining to the kingdom of God. But his intentions were good. He meant to purify his diocese and elevate the moral standard of his clergy. Hence he appointed Hus synodical preacher and commissioned him to report any abuses which might fall under his notice. The synodical sermons of Hus differed from his popular discourses. They were delivered in Latin, showed the scholar and the theologian, were more systematically and logically arranged, contained occasional bursts of eloquence and keen satire, and sparkled with gems from the church-fathers. Their chief charabteristic, however, was the moral heroism which they displayed, the merciless method in which they set forth, and the terrific maner in which they condemned, the sins of the clergy.' The first intimation which the public had that the University was divided into two factions and that there existed a deep- rooted theological difference between them, was given on the twenty-eighth of May, 1403. Walter Harasser, who had succeeded Hus in the rectorship, called an academical meeting and presented for its examination forty-five articles extracted from the writings of Wycliffe. A stormy debate followed. The articles were condemned and the members of the University forbidden to teach them. This act, combined with the two-fold commission which Hus had received from the Archbishop, may be said to have constituted the beginning of the Bohemian Reformation. Its first development was the correction of a scandalous abuse. At Wilsnak, on the Elbe, amidst the ruins of an old church, three communion wafers ' In Hist, et Mon., II. pp. 35-84, vre find eight so-called synodical sermons, some of which, however, were delivered before the people. 36 THE HISTORY OF were found impregnated with what seemed to be blood. The priests having spread the report that it was the blood of Christ and could cure all manner of diseases, pilgrims came streamings to the spot from Bohemia and Moravia, from Hungary and Poland, and even from Sweden, Norway and Denmark. At the instance of Hus, the Archbishop appointed a commission to investigate the reported miracles. They proved to be a fraud and the pilgrimages were forbidden. This was a hard blow at the superstition of the age. It opened the eyes of many to the priestcraft by which they were beguiled, and caused an intense sensation among the clergy. Hus followed it up by efforts to purify both the doctrine and life of the Church. In the University, where the condemna^ tion of Wycliffe's writings had remained practically a dead letter, he devoted special attention to exegetical lectures and imbued the minds of the students, and through them, the popular mind, with such a love for the Holy Scriptures as had never been known before. In the Bethlehem Chapel he discussed the essential doctrines of the Christian religion,, setting forth the difference between their biblical form and that in which they were ordinarily presented, pointing out the evils to which such perversions had led, and calling, with the authority of a prophet, the people to repentance and faith. In his synodical discourses he probed and laid bare the moral sores of the clergy to the very bone, gave to every sin its right name, burst in upon it with a tempest of indignation, and blew an alarm that startled the hardest heart. And thus the work went bravely on. Anti-scriptural usages, however time- honored, were recognized in their real character. New ideas sprang into life. The true light began to shine. Men's re- sponsibilities to God outweighed their duties to the "Hierarchy. The people of Prague and of all Bohemia were profoundly moved. On the eighteenth of October, 1407, Hus delivered a sermon before the clergy^ which was so full of stinging invectives that ^ This sermon, on Ephesians vi, 14 and 16, is found in Hist, et Mod., IL p. 47, &e. THE MORAVIAN CHUECH. 37 it led to his deposition from the office of synodical preacher. This was but one instance of the hostility which his course evoked. Enemies met him at every step. The clergy of rank, the foreign Doctors and the monks, formed an unbroken phalanx against him. They were joined by the Archbishop iimself. Instigated by John the Iron, Bishop of Leitomischl, the leader of the conservative party, he forgot the favor with which he had originally looked upon Hus, denounced him as a disobedient son of the Church, forbade him to preach, put him under the ban, laid an interdict on the city of Prague, and made himself notorious throughout Europe by committing to the flames, amidst the tolling of bells and the singing of the Te Deum, more than two hundred volumes of Wycliffe's writings, beautifully engrossed and splendidly bound, (July the sixteenth, 1410). Appeals and counter-appeals to the Pope followed. Commissioners were appointed at Rome to try Hus; advocates were sent from Prague to defend him. Papal bulls against him were met by royal edicts in his favor. Amidst such experiences he stood firm as a rock and his work went on. This would have been impossible if dire confusion liad not continued in church and state. Popes and anti-popes still hurled anathemas at each other. The Council of Pisa accomplished nothing (1409). At one time there were three Popes and three Emperors. Old landmarks disappeared. The foundations of government and of society were shaken. In such a period of history the Bohemian Reformation grew rapidly ; in any other, it would have been nipped in the bud. It was, moreover, upheld to a certain extent by Wenzel him- self, although he understood neither its character nor object. One of his acts, in particular, gave a new impetus to the movement. Contrary to the intentions of its founder, the Oerman nations in the University had gradually secured three votes while the Bohemian had but one. This caused great dissatisfaction among the native Doctors. At their instigation, Nicholas von Lobkowic, the favorite adviser of the King, induced him to issue a decree, on the eighteenth of January, 1409, which reversed the academic status. Three 38 THE HISTORY OF votes were given to the Bohemian nation and one to the foreign: nations. Thereupon a large number of German Professors,, the majority of whom belonged to the ultra wing of the con- servative faction, and several thousand German students, left Prague in indignation.^ The liberal party gained strength in consequence of this exodus. At the same time it intensified the animosity of the Germans toward the Bohemians, and made Hus, who had been active in bringing about the change,, notorious throughout Germany. • While the Bohemian Reformation outlived every attempt- to bring it to a violent end, it nearly died a natural death.. In July, 1411, the Archbishop was reconciled both to Hus and the King. The ban and interdict were to be annulled, all suits to be quashed, all appeals to be withdrawn, all disputes, to cease. Hus consented to cleanse himself from the suspicion of heresy by a public confession of his faith, and Zybnek promised to report to the Pope the complete pacification of the. Church. It is true that the Archbishop, persuaded by John the Iron, eventually refused to carry out his part of the compact. But he died while on his way to claim the protection of Sigismund, the King of Hungary,^ and his successor, Albicus- von Unicow, was too intent upon hoarding money to find time for the theological questions of the day. The storm of the past years seemed to have spent its strength. And yet this was merely a lull in the tempest. ^ These Professors and students subsequently met at Leipzig, and founded the celebrated University of that city. ' After protracted disputes and conflicts between Wenzel and Sigismund, these two brothers entered into a compact (June, 1411), according to which Wenzel was to be Emperor and Sigismund Roman King. After Wenzel's death Sigismund was to occupy both the Imperial and Bohemian thrones. Previous to this compact the latter had been chosen Boman King by some of the Electors, now he was unanimously re-elected (July twenty-first, 1411). He was not crowned Emperor until 1436 ; Wenzel was never crowned. THE MOEAVIAN CHURCH. 39 CHAPTER Y. Hus and the Papal Indulgences. A. D. 1412. Election of Alexander the Fifth. — Accession of John the Twenty-third. — Driven from Eome by Ladislaus of Naples. — Crusade proclaimed against him. — Papal Indulgences. — Hus opposes their sale. — Sermons in the Bethlehem Chapel and Disputation in the University. — Speech of Jerome. — The Students bum the papal Bull. — Execution of three young Mechanics. — Hus extols them as Martyrs. — A Crisis in the Keformation. — Hus excommunicated. — Interdict at Prague. — Appeals to Jesus Christ. — Retires from the City. — Futile eflforts of Wenzel to bring about a pacification. The Council of Pisa elected Alexander the Fifth to the Papal chair, after having deposed both Gregory the Twelfth and Benedict the Thirteenth (1409). Although neither of them would submit, the new pontiff was acknowl- edged by the larger part of Latin Christendom. But he died the next year (1410), and was succeeded by Balthasar Cossa, ah atrocious character, who assumed the title of John the Twenty-third. In the early part of his reign he was driven from Eome by Ladislaus of Naples, who was not only an adherent of Gregory but had also conceived the project of consolidating all Italy under his own sway. The most for- midable anathemas were immediately fulminated. Ladislaus was put under the ban and branded as " a perjurer, schismatic, reviler, heretic, traitor and conspirator;" a general crusade was proclaimed against him, and those same indulgences for sin which a campaign against the Turks conferred, were offered to all who would engage in this holy war, or furnish troops or money toward its prosecution. 40 THE HISTORY OF The sale of such indulgences was intrasted to commissioners. Two of them, Wenzel Tiem and Pace de Bononia, reached Prague in the Spring of 1412, and began their work with unblushing effi-ontery. The papal bull was read in the churches. Drummers appeared in the public streets, followed by preachers of the crusade who indiscriminately sold certifi- cates of pardon. Three large chests were set out for the safe- keeping of the receipts. In the country the indulgences were disposed of wholesale, for single parishes or entire districts, to the highest bidder who retailed them at a profit. It was the most scandaloxis abuse which Bohemia had ever seen. In all his past efforts at reform Hus had avoided a personal conflict with the Pope. He recognized him as the head of the Church, appealed to him, addressed him in respectful language, and showed him due reverence. Such a position was no longer possible. His soul revolted at the sale of the indulgences ; and his duty to Christ and the Church required that he should express this abhorrence. He knew the risk. He knew that he was staking his life on the venture. He knew that some of his friends would desert him. He knew that, even thojtigh the papacy had lost much of its prestige, to rouse it was to rouse a dragon breathing out fire and smoke. But he knew also that he was right and that the Lord God Omnipotent was on his side. Hence he protested, from his pulpit and cathedra, against the sale of the indulgences. His sermons on the subject were bold and evangelical. In one of them he says: "From all this it appears, dear Christian, that a man can receive the pardon of his sins only through the power of God and by the merits of Christ. Let who will proclaim the contrary, let the Pope, or a bishop, or a priest say: 'I forgive thee thy sins, I absolve thee from their pen- alty, I free thee from the pains of hell' — ^it is all vain and helps thee nothing. God alone, I repeat, can forgive sins through Christ, and He pardons the penitent only.'" His ^ Sermon preached on Sunday Quasimodogeniti. Hus Predigten Part III. pp 25 and 39. ' THE MORAVIAN CHURCH. 41 address in the University, at a public disputation held on the seventh of June, 1412, was " a model of acute and striking argumentation,"^ and proved conclusively that the papal bull ran counter to the Holy Scriptures and was an outrage upon Christianity. On both these occasions, however, Hus avoided everything calculated to excite his hearers. A diiferent com-se was adopted by Jerome of Prague. At the disputation he de- livered a speech which roused the feelings of the students to the highest pitch. The Rector could scarcely maintain order. When the meeting had adjourned, they accompanied Jerome in a triumphal procession to his lodgings. A few days later they grew still bolder. The bulls in the hands of the com- missioners were seized and fastened to the breast of a student disguised as a courtesan. Seated in an open wagon, sur- rounded by armed men and followed by a large body of students, he passed through the city, sometimes making las- civious gestures and again pretending to impart the papal benediction, while, from time to time, his guards proclaimed: "We are carrying the writings of a heretic to the stake!" Arrived at the pillory the bulls were committed to the flames. [N'ear by stood an iron chest which the students filled with dirt and other foul things, as their contribution to the crusade. Hus took no part in these proceedings. On Sunday, July the tenth, while the priests of the city were preaching on the indulgences and encouraging the people to buy them, three young mechanics, each in a different church and, no doubt, according to previous agreement, publicly pro- tested against what was said, exclaiming: "Priest, thou liest! We have heard better things from Master Hus; the indulgences are a fraud !" The offenders were instantly seized and beaten, hurried to the Council House and stretched on the rack, brought before the magistrates and condemned to death. When Hus heard of this occurrence he presented ^ This is the testimony of a Eoman Catholic, Berger, p. 77. The address of Hus is found in Hist, et Mon., I. pp. 215-235. 42 THE HISTORY OF himself, at the head of two thousand studente, before their judges and begged that the lives of the young men might be spared. He said, that he did not approve of their course, but that it was the outgrowth of his teachings and that he alone must bear the blame. Meantime the whole city became profoundly agitated. A mob gathered around the Council House, so that the magistrates were alarmed and begged Hus to pacify the people, promising to grant his request. But scarcely had he induced the multitude to disperse when they ordered the immediate execution of the culprits. They were led to death under a strong guard. When the people dis- covered this breach of faith they again rushed together from every, side, blocking the way and rendering an advance im- possible. Thereupon the offenders were summarily beheaded in the street. A great cry of rage burst from the multitude. Many pressed forward exclaiming: " AVe are ready to do and suffer what these have done and suffered !" Women dipped their handkerchiefs in the blood of the slain. A company of students- headed by a Master arrived, seized their bodies and reverently bore them to the Bethlehem Chapel, where Hus buried them the next day, with all the rites of the Church. In his funeral discourse he extolled the young men as martyrs. The stand which he took against the papal indulgences was a turning point in the history of the Bohemian Reforma- tion. A number of his friends deserted him, as he had anticipated, and some of them, notably Stanislaus of Znaim and Palee, became his most embittered enemies. But among the nobility and the lower classes he gained new supporters. Wenzel himself, although the three young men had been executed in consequence of his own edict, was indignant that it had been so literally understood, and allowed Hus to pursue hie way unhindered. Stanislaus and Palec, together with six other Doctors of the University, made two attempts to subdue him, but failed. He was too completely armed with the weapons of truth and used them with too much skill. Then the clergy of Prague THE MOBAVIAN CHURCH. 43 came to their aid. Through the instrumentality of Michael of Deutechbrod, later known as Michael de Causis/ who had defrauded the King, fled to Rome and there become a fit associate and tool of John the Twenty-third, they once more appealed to this Pope, denounced Hus as a "son of iniquity," and pitifully called for protection from the fierce wolves that had invaded the flock.'' , John the Twenty-third hastened to the rescue. Hus was again excommunicated, and in the severest form known to the papacy. No man was to associate with him j no man was to give him food or drink ; no man was to grant him a place where he might rest his head; wherever he staid, religious services were to cease ; in case of his death, he was not to receive Christian burial.^ At the same time, the interdict at Prague was renewed. Subsequent decrees commanded the faithful to seize his person and lay the Bethlehem Chapel even with the ground. An attempt to take him was actually made, on the second of October, 1412, while he was preaching, by a large body of armed men, mostly Germans, but the firm atti- tude of the congregation prevented this outrage. Nor would the Bohemian portion of the citizens permit the razing of the Chapel, proposed by the Germans. Over against such ex- periences Hus prepared an appeal from the papal tribunal to Jesus Christ, the righteous Judge, which document he read from the pulpit and publicly posted.^ Meantime the interdict was so strictly observed at Prague, that Wenzel begged him ' John the Twenty-third appointed him Procurator de causis fidei, hence this name. * Supplicatio cleri facta papae contra M. J. Hus, Palacky's Documenta, p. 460. 5 Petri Cardinalis S. Angeli mandata de M. J. Hus excommunicatione, Palacky's Documenta, pp. 461-464. « Hist, et Mon., I. p. 22, etc. Palacky's Documenta, pp. 464-466. Ac- cording to the sermon which Hus preached on the second Sunday after Easter, it would appear that he left Prague for a short time immediately after the attempt to seize him, prepared his appeal while absent, and read it after his return. (Hus Predigten, Part I. p. 56.) Krummel is the only authority that notices this point. It seems to be obscure. 44 THE HISTOEY OF to retire from the city for a time, promising to use every effort to bring about a speedy pacification. Hus obeyed and left Prague in December. The King kept his word. First he consulted the College of Twelve Elders, the highest body of advisers in the realm, and at their suggestion a Provincial Synod was convened in February, 1413, which, however, failed to restore peace. Next he appointed a commission which was as unsuccessful, owing chiefly to the intractableness of Palec and Stanislaus. Thereupon, in great wrath, he banished both these leaders, together with two other prominent Professors of theology. This measure put an end to the disputes but not to the two parties. Both at the Synod and before the commission Hus was represented by John of Jesenic. THE MOEAVIAN CHURCH. 46 CHAPTEE VI. Bus in Volwrdary Exile devotes himself to Literary Labors. A. D. 1412-1414. Hus at Kozi Hradek and Krakowec. — His Literary Labors in the Bohemian tongue. — His Latin Works. — His Views on the Bible. — Summary of his Doctrines. — Natural State of Man. — Predestination. — Faith and Justification. — The Church. — Its Head and the Power of the Keys. — The Papacy.— Eights of the Laity.— The Word and Sacraments.— The Virgin Mary and the Saints. — Purgatory. — Obedience. Hus spent a year and seven months in voluntary exile. His first retreat was Kozi Hradek, the castle of Baron John von Austi, on the Luznik, near Austi;* his second, after Baron von Austi's death, Krakowec, the seat of Baron Henry von Lazan. He devoted himself, in part, to preaching in villages, forests and fields, whither the peasantry streamed from all sides to hear him, but chiefly to literary labors. The majority of his Bohemian and Latin works were produced in this period. Of the former he wrote fifteen, several of which have never been translated.^ The most important are his Postil and a Treatise on Simony. His merits as a Bohemian writer can not be overestimated. What Luther did for the German language, and Calvin for the French, Hus accomplished for the Czech. Each was the father of his native tongue in ^ This castle was situated in the immediate neighborhood of the town of Tabor, the celebrated centre of the Taborites. Anna von Mochow, Baron Austi's widow, became one of the most ardent supporters of the Hussite cause. ' The Bohemian works of Hus, entitled Mistra Jana Husi Spisy Ceske, &a., were published for the first time by K. J. Erben, Prague, 1865-1868. 46 THE HISTORY OF its modern form. Hus purified the Czech, fixed etymological and syntactical rules, and invented a new system of orthogra- phy distinguished for its precision and simplicity. This system was adopted by the Bohemian Brethren, who brought it into general use in the sixteenth century, since which time it has remained the acknowledged standard. He also revised the Bohemian Bible translated by an unknown hand, in the fourteenth century, and composed many hymns which mostly appeared in the Hymnals of the Brethren.' His Latin works comprise theological treatises, academical discourses and polemical writings.* The most celebrated of them is the Treatise on the Church, with its two supplements, the one a reply to Palec, the other a refutation of Stanislaus.' Nearly one-half of these works are reformatory in their character, and afford a clear insight into the doctrinal system of Hus. His views with regard to the Holy Scriptures are of primary importance. In all questions of Christian faith and life — so he teaches — the Bible is the only infallible norm. Hence there is but one proof which can be acknowledged as sufficient in the case of such doctrines as are essential to salvation: namely, "Thus say the Holy. Scriptures, either directly or indirectly."^ This position, however, does not require us to ' The German Hymn Book of the Renewed Church (edition of 1778) contains two hjmns, Nos. 857 and 1124, ascribed to Hus. The latter, found ulso in the new edition of 1875 (No. 809), is called a translation, by Luther, of the Latin hymn given in Hist, et Mon., IL p. 520. But it is not a translation ; scarcely a paraphrase. In the same way the so-called English version (Liturgy and Hymns, Am. ed., 1877, No. 637) difiFers greatly both from the Latin and the German. Hus composed the hymn in prison, on receiving his last communion. , * Many of them are found in Hist, et Mon.; Krammel, p. 304, Ac, counts Tip seventeen; Palacky in his Hofler, p. 38, says, that not nearly all the Latin writings of Hus are contained in that collection, and that a number which are ascribed to him belong to Matthias von Janow. Hofler in his second vol. adduces several that had not previously been published. ^ Tractatus de Eoclesia, His. et Mon., I. pp. 243-365. ° " Hoc dicit Scriptura Sacra explicite vel implicite." Hist et Mon 1. p. 364. THE MORAVIAN CHURCH. 47 reject the doctrmal" explanations of the fathers, or the decrees of Councils, or the laws of the Church, provided that such explanations, decrees and laws agree with the Word of God, or are deduced from the same either explicitly or by implica- tion. For even that which is merely implied may be accepted, if it be not contrary to the explicit instructions of the sacred volume. Hence what the fathers, the Councils and the Church teach, constitutes, as long as it is in harmony with the Scriptures, merely the old truth in a new dress.'' At the same time, however, the Bible remains the only source of truth. This is the fundamental position of Hus to which he always returns and from which he investigates the doctrines of the Church.* Those relating to God and His attributes, to the creation, preservation and government of the world, to the Trinity, to the person and work of Christ, and to the Holy Ghost and His operations, he accepts in their authorized form. With regard to others he diifers, more or less decidedly, from the views of the Church. Krummel says, that the reformatory tenets of Hus led him back to the side of Augustine from -whose position the Church of the Middle Ages had lapsed;' Lechler, that, like an ellipse, these tenets contained two foci, the one of which was the law of Christ, that is, God's Word, the other, the true Church.^" A brief summary of the views of Hus will serve to prepare the way for a correct understanding of the doctrines of the Brethren who, in many instances, followed him closely." ' Krummel, pp. 360-368. * His views with regard to the authority of the Scriptures are set forth fully in De sufflcientia Legis Christi, Hist, et Mon., I. p. 55, &c., which treatise he prepared as a part of his defence before the Council of Constance. » Krummel, p. 376. >» Lechler, II. p. 233. " Authorities for this summary are the Tractatus de Eeclesia and other theological writings of Hus in the Hist, et Mon.; Lechler, II. pp. 233-270 ; Czerwenka, I. pp. 89-92; Schwabe's Eeformat. Theologie des J. Hus; Friedrich's Lehre des J. H.; and especially Krummel's excellent review ia Jbis 15th, 16th and 17th chapters. 48 THE HISTORY OF We begin with the natural state of man. "Man, on account of sin is blind, impotent, full of error and exceedingly poor. He is blind, because he does not properly recognize God ; impotent, because he is unable to accomplish anything in the way of his own salvation ; full of error, because he does not walk in the holy laws of God, which are the way of God ; and poor, because he has lost everything which he possessed.'"^ He cannot fulfill the divine laws without pre- venient grace.'^ In consequence of the fall, "Adam lost his dominion over nature, met death and subjected all his pos- terity, even the new Adam, to death."" There is a difference between original and actual sin. No personal guilt attaches to the former, nevertheless in as much as all men fall into actual sin, the human family is, by nature, lost, ruined ' and depraved.'' The natural man can accomplish nothing really good and virtuous. Proceeding to the doctrines involving salvation, we find, in the first place, that there are sayings of Hus which imply predestination in its gross form;'^ but on coniparing them with others relating to the same subject, his position becomes milder and more scriptural. Thus he teaches that the grace of God is universal ; that it is God's will that all men should be saved ; that He does what He can, consistently with their free will, to bring about their salvation; that the lost are condemned in consequence of their unbelief which makes them unwilling to accept salvation, and that, hence, the fault is " Hus Predigten, tl. p. 30. " "Nisi praeveniens ejus adjuvet charitas." Com. Ps. 118, Hist, et Mon , II. p. 433. " De Decimis, Hist, et Mon., I. p. 162. '* Com. Chap, iv of 1 Cor., Hist, et Mou., II. p. 148. Hus uses the expres- sive term, borrowed from Augustine, " massa perdita," or " massa perdi- tionis." '* For instance : " Christ loves His Church, which is His spouse, always and will love her after the day of judgment, and in the same way He hates every one who has been foreknown as lost (quemcunque praescitum), and will hate him always after the day of judgment," De Ecclesia, Hist. et Mon., I. p. 250. THE MORAVIAN CHURCH. 49 altogether their own. He never speaks of a decree of repro- bation, and unites predestination with the foreknowledge of God.i' His views on faith and justification bring us, in the next place, to a position which is evangelical in a surprising degree.'* True faith works by love and endures to the end ; there is a dead faith which even the devils have and tremble. ' The former alone saves." Faith "is a state of mind in which eternal life begins in us and induces our understanding to assent to the unseen but irrefutable truths which the inspired Scriptures reveal in a divine way."^ " It is the foundation of the other virtues with which the Church of Christ is in fellowship."^' Such faith alone justifies. " Through the law no one is justi- fied, but through faith in Christ, because He removes from us the way of iniquity through the law of grace."^^ " Jesus Christ is the Mediator of our salvation,"^ "the ground of all merit in the members of His Church."^ Krummel adds : " The mode in which Hus represents the theory of justifica- tion is, however, very different from that of the later Re- formers. He does not conceive justification to be a merely objective occurrence, a judicial act of God, but, being con- nected with faith, he looks upon it also as a subjective occur- rence in man. Thus he says: 'If there is no time to do good works, faith alone is sufficient, as is shown by the case of the malefactor on the cross. But if there is time, then not faith alone, and not works alone, but both together are neces- " Ibid. '' It is interesting to note, that while Krummel, following Schwabe, asserts the position of Hus on the subject of justification to be " wholly Protestant," Lechler, following Friedrich (a Catholic), maintains that it is wholly Boman Catholic ! " De Ecclesia, Hist, et Mon., I, p. 259. ="> Com. on Chap. I. of St. James, Hist, et Mon., II. p. 182. '1 De Ecclesia, Hist, et Mon., I. p. 259. "^ " Per legem nemo justificatur, sed per fidem Christi, quia amovet viam iniquitatis, et de lege gratiae." Com. Ps. xviii (xix), Hist, et Mon., II. p. 144. "^ Com. Chap, i, of 1 Corinthians, Hist, et Mon., II, p. 132. " Sermo, lb., p. 79. 4 50 THE HISTORY OF sary for salvation and justification.' Justification and sancti- fication, faith and love, he conceives to be one. Gra<5e which produces faith, produces also in man a religious moral regeneration, in the strength of which he loves God and man with all his heart and, of necessity, performs good works."^ In regard to the Church Hus expresses his views at great length.^^ The representation given in the twenty-fifth chapter of St. Matthew shows,^ that the Church is the communion of all men under Christ as their King. Hence it consists both of sheep and of goats. The holy catholic or universal Church, on the contrary, comprises those only who have been predestinated unto everlasting life by the omniscient God. It includes such as live on earth, such as are dead, and such as are yet to be born ; all these are the sheep. Distinct from them are the wicked who live in impenitence, whether they are outwardly in fellowship with the true members or not ; these are the goats. The holy catholic Church is composed of three parts : the militant, or the predestinated on earth ; the sleeping, or the predestinated in purgatory ; and the triumphant, or the saints in their eternal rest. This is the only true Church, and ho human agency, but God alone, can make a man a member of it. For there is a great difference between being of the Church and in the Church. The predestinated are its mem- bers, and Christ is its only head. He, too, constitutes its sole foundation; not Peter, nor the Popes. Christ is the rock on which the Church is built; Peter is the Church, which has received the keys of the kingdom of heaven. The power of the keys is general and particular. In virtue of the former, every Christian has the right to engage in spiritual work, such as teaching, advising, warning and comforting; in virtue ^^ Krummel pp. 389 and 390. This was essentially the position of the Brethren in the time of Bishop Lukfc of Prague. ■'° Tractatus de Ecclesia, in 23 chapters. " "And before Him shall be gathered all nations ; and He shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats." Matt. XXV, 32. THE MORAVIAN CHURCH. , 51 of the latter, the clergy preach the word and administer the sacraments. The whole system of the Eomish papacy is radically wrong. It rests upon the false assumption that Christ made Peter pope. Christ never transferred His ■authority to one apostle; Peter never claimed the primacy. A single man, mortal and fallible, cannot possibly govern the Church scattered over the whole earth. This tendency to centralization is dangerous. There ought to be national chiirches, not one ecclesiastical government in the heart of Italy. The laity have rights and privileges in the Church as well :as the clergy and the civil rulers. It is the duty of civil rulers to help the laity to secure these rights, so that their voice, too, may be heard in the management of ecclesiastical affairs. Remembering the age in which he lived, this position of Hus is very remarkable. Among the means of grace which have been appointed in the Church, the Word and the Sacraments attract his special attention. As regards the former, its divine origin, power and suffi- ciency, and the fact that it has been given for the salvation of man, captivate his whole heart. He urges that it must be absolutely free; that neither the Pope nor a Bishop, nor any other man, has the right to prevent humble ministers from preaching ; that papal or episcopal permission to proclaim the Crospel need not be given to a Presbyter or Deacon; that such priests as renounce this duty through fear of excommu- nication, or such laymen as, constrained by the same fear, -desist from hearing the Word, betray Christ ; that an excom- municated minister is not bound to relinquish preaching until it has been fully established that there are sufficient grounds for his excommunication.^ This last point Hus consistently •carried out in his own case. ^ Defensio quorundam Art. J. Wicliff. In primo Actu. Determinatio ■3. H., de Praedicatione et Auditione Verbi Dei, Hist, et Mon., I. pp. 139-146. As this title shows, the most of the above points were either articles of Wycliffe defended by Hus, or deductions from such articles. 62 THE HISTOKY OF His conviction of the inestimable price of the Word and of the transcendent importance of proclaiming it is further shown by the interesting fact, which Lechler has pointed out,^ that the earliest letter extant from his hand urges upon the Archbishop of Prague the necessity of providing for the preaching of the Gospel, and that his last letterj written a week before his death, closes with the solemn admonition, addressed to Hawlik, his pupil, in charge of the Bethlehem Chapel: "Preach the Word of God." » As concerns the sacraments, Hus recognizes seven of them, namely, Baptism, the Lord's Supper, Penance, Confirmation, Ordination, Marriage and Extreme Unction, and defines them in the authorized way;^ but he protests against ascribing efficacy to them as an opus operaiwm, and teaches that God, not the priest, gives them efficacy, of which faith on the part of the recipient is an absolute condition. Hence, in the case of the Lord's Supper, while he accepts the doctrine of tran- substantiation, he sets forth the believer as the only worthy partaker of this sacrament, who alone receives the essence of it, that is, the grace of being united with the Lord Jesus Christ f^ ajad, in the case of penance, ascribes the real power to forgive iniquities exclusively to God, and looks upon genuine contrition of heart and a sincere confession of sin as essential.*^ The views of Hus on the Virgin Mary and the saints axe undecided. Sometimes he teaches the Romish doctrine and =» Lechler, II. p. 234. *° The Boholastic divinity of the age in which Hus lived accepted seven sacraments; they were not sanctioned by the Church until 1439, at the Council of Florence. Lechler, U. pp. 248 and 249. " "Kern sacramenti, quae est gratia, qua unitur Domino Jesu Christo." De Sacramento corporis et sanguinis Domini, Hist, et Mon., I. p. 51. Also, De Corpore Christi in Sacramento Altaris," Hist, et Mon., II., pp. 511-512. After Hus had gone to Constance, Jacobellus of Mies began to advocate the giving of the cup to the laity, and Hus approved of this position, in several letters and in a treatise entitled : De Sapguine Christ! sub specie vini a Laicis sumendo. Hist, et Mon., I. pp. 52-54. " De Ecclesia, lb. I. p. 267. THE MORAVIAN CHUECH. 53 then again seems to reject it ; at all times, however, he warns against the abuses to which the invocation of the Virgin and the saints may lead, and, in particular, against the idolatry practiced with pictures and relics. Adoration, in the true sense, is never to be given to a creature.^ He believes also in the existence of purgatory and does not condemn prayers for souls that are there undergoing purification. The Bible, he says, gives no warrant for such intercessions, but they naturally grow out of the communion of saints. In this case too, however, he protests against the €vils which the usage produces, and denounces the sale of masses for the dead and the avariciousness of the priests in encouraging this practice. Nor does he fail to teach that salvation can be gained on earth alone and that the surest way to eternal life is to follow, in this life, the instructions of •Christ and the Apostles.^* " But who knows of a single soul that has been freed from purgatory by thirty masses ?"^ Finally we find that Hus treats, with much force, of •obedience and brings it into connection with the papacy.^" "Nothing," he says, "constitutes a more essential part of religion than the obedience which men owe to God."^ But there is a difference between true and false obedience. True ■obedience is, to do the will of God ; false obedience, to do what is contrary to the will of God. True obedience consists in refusing to fulfill any command which is injurious to the •Church, or interferes with the worship of the Lord, or stands in the way of one's own salvation. Even the Pope and -his ■college of Cardinals may err; he may be deceived by avarice, ■or mistaken through ignorance. To resist the Pope, when he errs, is to obey the Lord Jesus Christ. " De Adoratione, Hist, et Mon., II. pp. 512-515. "Vera adoratio oullo modo debemus in aliquam oreaturam dirigere," pp. 513 and 514. ** Sermo de exequiis sen suflfragio Mortuorum, Hist, et Mon., II. pp. 76-84. '6 Ibid, p. 81. " De Ecclesia, Cap. xvii, &c., Hist, et Mon., I. p. 287, &o. ^' Ibid, p. 302. 54 THE HISTORY OF Such is a brief review of the doctrinal system of Hus. Ife is imperfect, but contains all the elements of a body of pure, divinity and develops some of them to evangelical complete- ness. Had his days been prolonged, he would have attained to a still clearer insight into the truth, and might, perhaps^ have anticipated the position and even the work of Martin Luther. THE MORAVIAN CHUKCH, 65 CHAPTER VII. Hus and the Council of Constanoe. A. B. 1414-1415. Alarming State of the Church.— A General Council called at Constance.— Hus invited by Sigismund to appear before this Body.— The royal Promise. — Preparations for the journey. — Arrival at Constance. — The Safe-Conduct.— Arrest and Imprisonment of Hus.- Confined in the Dominican Monastery.— Arrival of Sigismund.- Persuaded by the Cardinals to leave Hus in their Hands.— His Sufferings in the Castle of Gottlieben. — His Trial and its three Hearings. The state of the Church was continually growing worse. Not only did the schism remain a disgraceful source of con- fusion, but the general corruption of the clergy and the wickedness which showed itself among the laity were also bringing about the most alarming results. Iniquity in many shapes, each more hideous than the other, stalked abroad unchecked and deiiant.' Under such circumstances the better classes of Latin Christendom were unanimous in urging the convocation of a General Council. They found a warm supporter in Sigismund, who both in virtue of his office as Roman King and from personal conviction took energetic ' As evidence we adduce the testimony of Pileus of Genoa, a E. C. Archbishop, who writes: "The Eoman Catholic Church has become a step- mother. The vices which show themselves openly are these: tyranny among the clergy, confusion in the churches, quarrels, lawsuits, suppression of the liberty of the Church, a despising of all virtue and morals^ neglect of learning, ridiculing justice, oppressing the people, endless wars between the princes, sacrilege, profanation of that which is holy, adultery, murder, theft, simony, in a word, everything that can be called infamous." Von der Hardt, II. p. 70. Schwabe, pp. 170-186, gives an appalling array of testimony gathered from many writers and showing the corruption of the clergy m particular. 56 THE HISTORY OP measures to bring about the desired end. The negotiations were protracted and delicate, especially with Pope John the Twenty-third, who, in view of his own character and course, had reason to hesitate; but they proved successful at last. On the thirtieth of October, 1413, a call was issued convening a Council on the first of November, 1414, at Constance. Before this Council Sigismund invited Hus to plead his cause. He promised him a safe-conduct, a fair hearing, and a free return to Bohemia even in the event of his not sub- mitting to the decision of the Fathers. Barons Henry Lefl von Lazan and Mikes von Jemnist were the bearers of this message.^ In spite of the warnings of some of his friends and of one of the King's own messengers,' Hus unhesitatingly accepted the invitation. The prospect of meeting, in the presence of the representatives of the entire Western Church, the charges which had been brought against him and of explaining his views, filled him with joy. There was nothing which he ' Palacky, IV. p. 306 ; Krummel, p. 429. The above promise of Sigismund is set forth by Hus himself in a letter to his friends in Bohemia sent from Constance, subsequent to the eighth of June, 1415 Speaking of Sigismund he writes : " Had he at least said, ' Behold I have given him a safe-conduct ; if he therefore does not wish to submit to the decision of the Council I will send him to the King of Bohemia with our sentence and the testimony, and he and his clergy may judge him !' For he (Sigismund) made known to me by Henry Lefl and others, that he intended to secure for me a sufficient hearing, and that, if I would not submit to the judgment pronounced, he intended to send me back in safety," (vellet me dirigere salvum vice versa). Documenta Hus, Ep. No. 70, p. 114: Hist, et Mon., I. pp. 87 and 88. Berger, pp. 92-94, the object of whose entire work is to screen Sigismund, asserts that the King could not have given such a promise, and that Baron Lazan either said more than he was authorized to say, or that the memory of Hus failed him when he wrote the above letter 1 Both of these suppositions are, in the highest degree, unlikely. Would the messenger of Sigismund, in a case of such importance, venture to deliver anything but the exact message? Is it credible that Hus would forget the exact tenor of a promise on which his life depended ? • Mikes von Jemnist, who said to him: " Know of a certainty. Master, that thou wilt be condemned." "I think he knew the intention of the King," Hus remarked when a prisoner at Constance. Documenta Hus p. 114. THE MORAVIAN CHURCH. 57 desired more : nay, might he not, when the object of his work in Bohemia came to be understood, be permitted to co-operate with the Fathers in reforming the Church ? Conrad von Vechta, the new Archbishop of Prague, who had succeeded Albicus on the retirement of the latter, having convened a Diocesan Synod (August, 1414,) Hus, who had meantime returned to the city, asked permission, through his advocate Jesenic, to appear before this body in order to give an account of his faith. Although this request was declined the Archbishop verbally bore testimony to his orthodoxy, and the Papal Inquisitor, Nicholas, Bishop of Nazareth, gave him a written testimonial to the same effect. Having posted a placard which called upon all who charged him with heresy to meet him at the Council and sent a letter to Sigismund expressive of his gratitude for the promised hearing, he went back to Krakowec* There he composed a refutation of the articles drawn up by his enemies, as soon as his intention of going to Constance had become known ; addressed a touching letter to his pupil Martin, which was to be opened only in case of his death and which set forth several small legacies f and wi'ote a farewell epistle to the Bohemians full of apostolic unction, instinct with the spirit of godliness, and earnest in its requests for their prayers, that God would give him strength to glorify the Gospel, if it need be, even by his death.' The nearer the time of his departure from Bohemia approached, the more he realized the risk which he was assuming, and the less he expected a favorable reception on the part of the Council. The expenses of his journey were assumed by his friends; in order to cover the cost of the prosecution, those of the clergy of Bohemia and Moravia who were opposed to -him * The letter is found in Documenta Hus, pp. 69-71. That Berger, p. 94, bases upon this letter, which says nothing of the King's promise of personal safety but expresses the willingness of Hus to die for the truth, a new argument to show that such a promise was never made, is another instance of the illogical deductions with which his work abounds. ^ Documenta Hus, No 38, p. 47. e Ibid, No. 37, pp. 71-73. 58 THE HISTORY OF eagerly contributed a large amount. Sigismund and Wenzel conjointly furnished an escort, consisting of Barons John von Chlum, Wenzel von Duba and Henry von ChlumJ John von Chlum was accompanied by his secretary, Peter of Mladenowic;* and Kardinalis of Reinstein, a priest and friend of Hus, together with several other Bohemians, joined the party. On the eleventh of October they left Prague with more than thirty horsemen and three wagons, in one of which Hus rode in his priestly robe. Their route lay through Bernau, Sulz- bach, Hersbruck, Lauf and Nuremberg. To his surprise the inhabitants of these towns, Germans though they were, gave him a friendly reception. He had frequent discussions on theological questions with the clergy and caused posters to be affixed to the church doors, inviting such as had charges against him to present them to the Council. From Nurem- berg, where the streets were crowded with people eager to see him, Baron Duba traveled to the Rhine to get the safe-conduct from Sigismund, while the rest of the party went directly to Constance. They arrived on the third of November, and entered the city amidst a great concourse. Hus took lodgings with a pious widow, named Fida, on St. Paul Street.' ' Henry von Chlum, called Lazembock, did not join the escort until after its arrival at Constance. ' Peter of Mladenowic, a Bachelor of the University of Prague, wrote a full account of all that happened to Hus at Constance : Selatio de J. Hus causa in Constantiensi Concilio acta, found, in its original form, in Documenta Hus, pp. 237-324. It has also been given by Hofler, I. pp. 1] 1-320, who has, however, fallen into a multitude of errors, as Palacky has abundantly shown (Palacky's Hofler, pp. 22-37.) The narrative contained in Hist, et Mon , I. pp. 1-37, as also in the second part of Epistolae Hus, edited by Luther, is a free rendering, with interpolations and omissions, of the author's work and belongs to the sixteenth century. ' Hus gave an account of his journey in letters to his friends in Bohemia. Documenta Hus, pp. 66-83 ; Hist, et Mon., pp. 72 etc.; Bonnechose, pp. 86-88. The house in which he lodged is still standing, No 328, St. Paul Street. It is three stories high, with an attic, and has two wings. On the outside wall is a picture of Hus and the following inscription : "Herberge des Bohmischen Reformators Mag. Joh. Hus, im Jahr 1414;" to the left of the picture is a bust of Hus, put up toward the end of the last century, with another inscription in German ; to the right a Bohemian inscription. THE MORAVIAN CHURCH. 59 The grandest ecclesiastical pageant which the Middle Ages saw was the Council of Constance. It continued for nearly four years, and brought together the Roman King, the Pope, thirty Cardinals, four Patriarchs, thirty-three Archbishops, one hundred and fifty Bishops, several hundred Doctors of Theology and inferior clergy, four Electors, twenty-four Princes and Dukes, seventy-eight Counts and six hundred and seventy-six Barons, together with a multitude of retainers, merchants, artizans and visitors, so that the number of strangers was never less than fifty thousand.'" Booths were erected outside of the walls for the accommodation of those who could not find room in the city itself. Constance is beautifully situated on the Swiss bank of the Rhine and occupies a projecting angle of ground at the western extremity of the JBodensee. At the time of the Council it was a free imperial town, with fifty thousand in- habitants; now it belongs to Baden, and its population, as though the curse of God had lighted upon the place, has dwindled to ten thousand. Barons Chlum and Lazembock notified the Pope of the arrival of Hus and asked that he might be protected. " Not if he had killed my own brother," was the answer of John the Twenty-third, "would I, in any wise, wish to molest him, or permit him to be molested. He must be safe while he is at Constance."" On the following day, November the fifth, which saw the bpening of the Council, Duba reached the city and brought the safe-conduct. This document has given rise to a protracted controversy.** Did it, or did it not, guarantee personal safety under all circumstances ? The latest and most astute champion on the Romish side of this question is Dr. William Berger, in his Johannes Hus und Konig Sigismund. He tries to prove, and " Palacky, IV. p. 307, Note 420. " Mladenowic E,elatio, Doc. Hus, p. 246. " The safe-conduct was written in Latin. Its original text is given in full in Hist, et Mon., I. p. 2; Documenta Hus, pp. 237 and 238; and Berger, pp. 178 and 179. Krummel, p 452, furnishes a German version. ,gO THE HISTORY OF in SO far as its mere wording is concerned, successfully, we think, that the paper furnished by Sigismund was a passport, drawn up in the style of other passports, protecting Hus from illegal interference and violence, but not from the consequences of a legal sentence pronounced by competent authbrity ; and shows further, that "judicial safe-conducts,"" which absolutely guaranteed personal safety for a limited period, were written in a different form. Yet, even if we concede these points, which are not new but have in substance been urged by earlier writers, Sigismund remains branded with disgrace and the •Council guilty of infamy. For the passports issued in view of its convocation, by the Roman King, as the head of the Empire, declaring their bearers to be under its " protection and tutelage," had, in every instance, a wider significance than ■ordinary documents of this kind ; in the case of Hus, however, who had been formally assured of personal safety by two royal deputies, the paper set a seal to this promise and assumed the force of a judicial safe-conduct. That Sigismund himself took this view of the case, is evident from the indignation -which he manifested on finding that the instrument had not been respected ; that Hus supposed himself to be under the aegis of a royal pledge^ his letter proves which we have cited in another connection ; that his countrymen at home interpreted the document in the same way, .becomes clear from the solemn protest against his breach of faith, forwarded to the King, by two hundred and fifty Bohemian noblemen, and their unanimous demand that Hus should be set at liberty, have a public hearing, and then be sent back to Bohemia ;^* that even the Council practically conceded the point at issue, is shown by its resolutions exonerating Sigismund. Moreover, the very argument which Dr. Berger urges, recoils upon himself. Hus, he says, held a passport which was to defend him from illegal interference and violence. What could have been more illegal than his arrest and imprisonment, and cruel sufferings, " " Das gerichtliche Geleite." p. 105. " Letter in full, in original Bohemian, translated into Latin by Palacky, , 'dated May 12, 1415, given in Documenta Hus, pp. 550-553. THE MORAVIAN CHXJECH. 61 ■without a hearing, without a trial, without a sentence, before the Council had even taken up his case? To attempt a. justification of the treatment which the Bohemian Eeformer received at Constance, is an intellectual feat that can be performed only by the pliant mind of a Koman Catholic reasoner. Hus was relieved from his sentence of excommunication and permitted to go about the city; but he preferred to remain in his lodgings, where he prepared for his defence before the Council, Meanwhile his personal enemies, and among them especially Michael de Causis and Wenzel Tiem, bestirred themselves. About the middle of November, they were joined by Stephen Palec, John the Iron and others, who arrived from Bohemia with his latest writings. These men posted placards denouncing him as a most obstinate and dangerous heretic ; they spread false reports, that he intended to preach against the clergy and that he had tried to escape from the city in a covered wagon; they hurried from bishop to cardinal,, and from cardinal to bishop, urging his immediate arrest. On the twenty-eighth of November he was cited to an interview with the Cardinals. Baron Chlum, who happened to be with him when their messenger^ arrived, vehemently protested against his going but Hus declared his willingness to obey the summons. His hostess, in great anxiety, met him in the hall and wept as he gave her his blessing. On leaving^ the house he found the street full of soldiers, who immediately surrounded him and conveyed him to the episcopal palace, where the Cardinals awaited his coming. They interchanged a few words with him and then retired, leaving him in the hands of a guard. Chlum staid at his side. The afternoon passed in a painful suspense. Toward evening a papal officer appeared and dismissed the Baron ; Hus, he said, must renaain in the palace. Shameful perfidy ! He was a prisoner, in spite of the safe-conduct, in spite of the King's pledge and the Pope's promise. When this breach of faith had been determined on, at a meeting of the Cardinals held at four o'clock in the afternoon, Palec, Michael and other enemies of g2 THE HISTOEY OF Hus, who were present, danced round the apartment exclaim- ing: " Ha, ha, now we have him ! He shall not escape until he has paid the uttermost farthing !"" Chlum, burning with indignation, hastened to the Pope, whose lodgings were in the palace, reminded him of his promise, threatened him with the displeasure of the King, and said that he would proclaim to all the world how grossly the safe-conduct had been violated. But John the Twenty-third cast the responsibility upon " his brethren," as he called the Cardinals, and privately assured him that his own relations to them were of such an uncertain character as to render any interference on his part impossible. " But he deceived him," pithily remarks the chronicler.^' At nine o'clock in the evening Hus was taken to the house of the precentor of the cathedral, where he remained a week, closely guarded. On the sixth of December he was removed to the Dominican monastery, on the shore of the lake. From the windows of this building the eyes of the monks could range far over the placid waters and see, in the distance, the snow-clad peaks of the Appenzell Alps glittering in the sun, or covering their sheen with a soft and transparent veil of mist. But the harassed soul of Hus was not to be cheered with such manifestations of God's glory. A few feet from the water's edge rose a rqjmd tower, containiug a dark and gloomy dungeon.^^ Into this he was mercilessly cast. The drain of the convent passed close by, poisoning the air with its exhalations ; he fell ill and was brought to the brink of the grave. At the instance of the physicians whom the Pope sent — that a natural death might be prevented — ^he was con- fined in a more healthful cell (January the eighth, 1415), and treated with less rigor, being allowed to read and write and '* Mladenowic Relatio, Documenta Hu8, p. 250. '* Documenta Hus, p. 252. John the Twenty-third hoped to win the favor of the Cardinals by imprisoning Hus. In a letter which he wrote to the University of Paris, after his deposition, he boasted of what he had done. " " Opacum vel tenebrosum carcerem." Documenta Hus, p. 252. THE MORAVIAN CHURCH. 63 receive visitors. In this convent he remained for two months and a half.'* The Council appointed a commission of three prelates to investigate the charges against him. Weak and helpless though he still was, they began to worry him with questions and brought witnesses — on one day not less than fifteen — who were sworn in his presence, as the canonical law required. His request that he might be allowed the services of an advocate was, at first, granted but subsequently refused. A man accused of heresy, said the commissioners, had no right to expect the protection of the law. " Then let the Lord Jesus be my advocate," replied Hus, " He will soon judge you. To Him I have committed myself, as He committed Himself to God the Father.'"' While the representatives of the Council were dealing thus unjustly with him, his friends continued to urge his liberation. John von Chlum was particularly active. He wrote to the King, importuned the Pope, tried to rouse all Constance ; but his efforts were fruitless. Sigismund, indeed, sent a message requiring the immediate release of Hus, and when he arrived in person, on the Eve of Christmas, and found that his order had not been obeyed, repeatedly and vehemently demanded of the Cardinals that they should respect his safe-conduct, threatening to leave the city, if they would not yield. He actually did withdraw for a short time. But they remained inflexible. Faith, they asserted, need not be kept with a heretic ; the Council could free hhn from his obligations ; he had no right, without its consent, to give Hus a safe-conduct; if he left Constance, they would instantly break up the ■' The Dominican Monastery at Constance is now tlie Insel Hotel, but retains some vestiges of its ancient character. The long cloisters, surround- ing an open court, remain intact, and the old refectory, with scarcely any changes, is used as a restaurant whose doors open upon a narrow terrace extending to the water's edge. On this terrace, around the very tower in vhich Hus languished, refreshments are served in summer. The Gothic chapel of the convent is the dining saloon, the walls of which are hung with tapestry that can be removed, displaying the original frescoes underneath. 19 Hist, et Mon., I. p. 92, Ep. xlix ; Hofler, I. p. 141. 64 THE HISTOEY OF Council. The King allowed himself to be persuaded, and on New Year's day, 1415, formally withdrew his protest, declaring that, in all matters of faith, the Fathers should be free to act as they might think best. He sacrificed Hus for the sake of the Council.^ This body, however, did not at once take up his case. It was the schism which first engaged its attention ; and the idea gained ground that all the three Popes should be set aside. In the case of John the Twenty-third other considerations also came into play. Latin Christendom, as with one voice, had brought charges against him. His deposition was im- minent. In order to avoid this he resigned his crown, March the second, but subsequently fled to Schaffausen. Thereupon the keepers of Hus, who were John's servants, delivered the keys of the cell to Sigismund and followed their master. This was the King's opportunity ; he could now redeem his word and wipe a foul blot from his escutcheon. Chlum, Duba and others, besought him to do so ; and their entreaties were supported by the most urgent letters which he had previously received from Bohemia, Moravia and even Poland. But influenced again by the Cardinals, he declined, and sanctioned their decision to commit Hus into the keeping of the Bishop of Constance. About four miles from the city this prelate had a castle, on the Rhine, called Gottlieben, with two quadrangular towers nearly two hundred feet high. In the night of Palm Sunday, the twenty-second of March, Hus, heavily fettered, was taken, in a boat, to this castle and made to ascend its western tower to the very top, his chains clanking dismally as, with weary steps, he mounted the long stairs. Immediately beneath the roof was a small wooden structure, or cage, divided into two compartments. Into one of these he was thrust; his feet were chained to a block ; at night his right arm was pinioned to the wall. In this miserable plight he remained for more ^ This Sigismund himself practically confessed in a letter, dated Paris, March the twenty-first, 1416, written to the Bohemian nobles. Documenta Hus, p. 612. THE MORAVIAN CHURCH. 65 than two months, cruelly suffering from hunger and cold and painful attacks of hemorrhage, neuralgia and stone, brought on by the damp spring-winds which swept through the windows of the tower.^^ For a time his friends knew not what had become of him ; when they discovered the place of his imprisonment, they bribed his keepers and tried to alleviate his sufferings. Nor did they fail to protest against the cruel treatment he was enduring. At several formal interviews, in the latter half of May, with representatives of the Council, they demanded that he should be set free, offering bail to any amount and in any form, and that he should have a public trial. Such a trial was promised and fixed for the fifth of June ; as regarded his liberation, however, it was, the Fathers said, not to be thought of, even if bail were given " a thousand times." Nevertheless he was removed from Gottlieben, about the beginning of June, brought back to the city, and confined, with far less rigor, in the Franciscan Monastery. '' Dr. Berger — impartial historian !— describes the cruelties which Has Buffered in this tower as follows: "Dort wurde Hus in einem luftigen Gemache und viel scharfer bewacht als zuvor." (Berger, p. 143.) The present Castle of Gottlieben is comparatively a modern building and fronts the Rhine, but the two ancient towers, which flank the rear and are covered with ivy, remain unchanged. In the western, first a wooden stairway, then a circular one of stone, and next two more wooden stair-cases, lead to the prison of Hus which is still to be seen, each of its two compartments being in the form of a parallelogram. Gottlieben is the property of Count Larrasch, of .Vienna. In the museum of the Bosen-Garten, at Constance, interesting relics are preserved; the block of stone to which Hus was chained, which is about one foot thick and two feet square ; the wooden door of his dungeon, with its massive lock, huge bolt and staple for a padlock, having a smaller door in the middle, twelve inches long and four inches wide, according to our own measurement, with a clasp for another padlock, through which smaller door his food was handed him ; the bricks with which his prison was paved and on which he traced words that are now illegible; and a large stone, three feet long, containing a narrow opening eighteen inches in length, crossed by two iron bars, which opening constituted his only window. This last relic evidently belonged to the dungeon in the Dominican Monastery, as did, in all probability, the bricks also, and perhaps the door. 5 '66 THE HISTORY OF A new commission of four prelates had meantime been named, under whose direction the trial began on the day appointed. The first sitting was disgraceful. No sooner did lie attempt a defence than " immediately, with one voice, many cried out against him."^^ " They all screamed above measure," he himself writes,^ besetting him on every side, so that he was obliged to turn continually and meet the vociferations uttered on his right hand and on his left, behind his back and before his face. He attempted to show that the articles ■drawn from his writings had been misrepresented — "Stop your sophistry, answer yes, or no \" was the cry. He cited the church-fathers—^" That does not belong here," ealled out some. He was silent — " Now you are silent," exclaimed ■others, " that shows that you really entertain the errors laid 'to your charge !"" Amidst all this wild confusion Hus main- tained a dignified bearing and showed a manly self-possession. As soon as order had, to some extent, been restored, he remarked in a loud voice that rang through the apartment : " I supposed, that in a Council like this there would be'more ■dignity, order and piety." " What do you say ?" answered the President, the Cardinal Bishop of Ostia, "you spoke more humbly in the Castle." "Because, in the Castle, no one screamed at me," replied Hus, " but here you all scream at once."^ This rebuke told. The Council deemed an imme- diate adjournment to be the only way of escape from its disgraceful position. Two more hearings took place, on the seventh and eighth of June, at both of which Sigismund was present and better order observed. On the last occasion, however, a tumult again broke out and grew so stormy that Hus, who had suffered all night long from neuralgia, nearly fainted.^' " Documenta Hus, p. 275. " Hus Briefe, p. 6. " The above is reproduced almost literally from the Mladenowic Eelatio, Documenta Hus, p. 275. '^ Hist., et Mon., I. pp. 77 and 78. Ep. xii. " Hist, et Mon., I. p. 31. THE MORAVIAN CHURCH. 67 *" They pressed upon me, with threats and deceitful words, to induce me to recant," he wrote to his friends in Bohemia.^ Although it cannot be denied that an opportunity was given liim, at these two hearings, to defend his views, yet there was a total lack of equity. His explanations, however biblical, were disregarded ; doctrines were brought forward which he had never taught; an absolute recantation was demanded, without the least regard to the authority or genuineness of the articles ; and — most shameful of all ! — their condemnation as heretical had been agreed upon and actually committed to writing before the trial began.^ "We do not recognize a single trace of impartiality or real justice," writes Lechler.^' -A century later, Erasmus of Rotterdam forcibly said : " John Hus was burned, not convicted."^ The trial closed with a solemn asseveration on the part of Hus, that he could not retract articles which he had never taught, but that he would recant such as were his own, provided they were shown to be false. On being led out, John von Chlum warmly pressed his hand ; Sigismund, on the contrary, not perceiving that the Bohemian Barons were still present, urged that Hus, unless he recanted, should be burned alive, and that, even in the event of a recantation, he should be •deprived of his priestly office and forbidden to return to Bohemia.'' " Ibid, p. 78. ™ Krummel, p. 509 ; Lechler, II. p. 216. " Lechler Ibid. '"' "J. Hus exustua non convictus." ^' Documenta Hus, pp. 314 and 315. THE HISTOEY OF CHAPTER Yin. The Condemnation and Martyrdom of Hus. A. D. 1415. Injustice of the Council. — Eeasons why Hus was condemned. — Sentence delayed. — The Letters of Hus as an Evidence of his Faith and Courage. — His written Prayer. — Attempts to induce him to recant. — The fifteenth General Session of the Council in the Cathedral. — Hus brought before this Meeting. — The Sermon. — Beading of the Articles reputed as heretical. — Comments of Hus. — The Blush of Sigismund. — The Sentence. — Hus degraded. — Delivered to the secular Authorities. — On the way to Execution. — His last Words and Death. — His Ashes cast into the Ehine.— Martyrdom of Jerome of Prague. — Beflections. The eyes of John Hus were now opened. He saw the great gathering of the heads of the Latin Church, the repre- sentatives of its learning and piety, from whom he had expected at least an impartial hearing, swayed by the grossest injustice, practically rejecting the Bible as the norm of faith, clinging to traditional dogmas of human invention, stooping to the despicable trick of foisting on his system articles which he had never taught, and treating him as a common criminal. And yet the purpose for which this Council was convoked and the end which he had in view, were identical. Both desired to bring about a reformation of the Church ; and he had not gone farther, or been bolder, in denouncing its sins than some of the Fathers who sat in judgment upon him. Why was it that he was rejected and that they were honored ? The premises from which the Council and Hus severally proceeded were discrepant and irreconcilable. The one upheld the traditional authority of the Church to which authority the individual must unconditionally submit in matters of doctrine and faith ; the other maintained the right of private THE MORAVIAN CHURCH. 69 aresearoh and criticism. The one wished to reform the Church organically out of itself and through itself; the other contended for a reformation according to the image of primitive Chris- tianity as set forth in the New Testament.' Hence the re- peated protestations of Hus, that he was willing to be "instructed,"^ meant nothing less than a refutation of his doctrinal articles from the Holy Scriptures. But even this view of the case does not offer a sufficient explanation; there were other forces at work also. The inveterate animosity of the Bohemian clergy whose sins he had mercilessly uncovered, the unceasing machinations of his personal foes,' the bitter antagonism of the realistic and nominalistic schools of philosophy, the national prejudices of the Germans against the Bohemians, intensified by the Oerman exodus from the University of Prague, for which occurrence Hus was held mainly responsible — all these things had much to do with his condemnation. Its formal sentence was delayed for an entire month, Hus remaining a prisoner in the Franciscan Monastery. He knew that death, in a cruel form, was approaching, and prepared for it with the fortitude of the early martyrs. Sometimes a faint hope that God might yet see fit to deliver him, came into his mind, but it was like a dim ray of sunlight struggling through the clouds. He wrote to his friends and bade them farewell. These letters as well as others, sent from the Dominican Monastery, bring out his character in beautiful features and his faith in all its manly strength.^ The patience which he exercises amidst his sufferings is ' Palacky, IV. pp. 308 and 309. ' The word which Hus invariably used was informari. ' Four of these letters are found in Luther's German publication (Hus Briefe); a number of them in his Latin Collection (Epistolae Hus); the ■most of them in Hist, et Mon., pp.- 72-108; and all of them, as far as they are known to exist, in Documenta Hus, pp. 83-150, where they are given in their only correct form. In the other works the translation of the Bohemian letters is often faulty. The title which Luther assigns to his Latin collection is characteristic: Epistolae quaedam, etc., J. H., quae :8olae satis declarant Papistarum pietates, esse Satahae furias. 70 THE HISTORY OF wonderful. "They are," he says, "a deserved punishment on account of my sins, and a sign of God's love."* He forgives his personal enemies and moves Palec to tears by begging his pardon for the sharp words with which he has addressed him. The smallest favors excite his deepest gratitude. He can never forget the grasp of Baron Chlum's hand at the Council ; he loves to tell of the kindness of his keepers, especially of one Robert, at whose request he com- poses, while the theologians of the Church are denouncing his writings as full of pernicious errors, short religious treatises, which instruct this unlettered man and fill his heart with joy. The ordeal that is drawing ever nearer leads him to Christ. He does not rely upon himself, but upon divine grace and strength. "O holy Lord Christ!" he writes, two weeks before his death, in closing a letter to his friends at Constance, "draw us after Thee. We are weak, and if Thou dost not draw us, we cannot follow Thee. Give us a strong and willing spirit, and when the weakness of the flesh appears, let Thy grace go on before us, accompany and follow us. For without Thee we can do nothing, least of all suffer a cruel death for Thy sake. Grant a willing spirit,. a fearless heart, true faith, steadfast hope, perfect love, that for Thy sake we may, with patience and joy, surrender our life. Amen."° It was the hope entertained both by the Council and Sigismund that Hus would, in the end, recant, which delayed the formal sentence. A recantation would give the victor}' to the Fathers ; the intelligence of the growing excitement in Bohemia and Moravia could not but impress the King. Frequent attempts were made, by individual members of the Council, to induce Hus to yield to its decision ; and, on the first of July, a number of prelates and eminent divines officially urged him to take this step. His answer was a written declination. Four days later, July the fifth, Sigis- mund sent deputies in his own name to make a last attempt.. * Hist, et Mon., I. p. 88. Ep. xxxvii. ' Documenta Hus, p. 131. Ep. 82. THE MORAVIAN CHURCH. 71 Hus referred them to the paper with which he had furnished' the first deputation; that paper, he said, contained his final reply. The next day, Saturday, July the sixth, was his forty- sixth birthday; he celebrated it at the stake, sealing his^ testimony with his blood. The Council met in the Cathedral,^ and held its fifteenth general session with extraordinary pomp. A strong guard brought Hus to the portal, where he was obliged to wait until the service of mass had been concluded, so that the holy mysteries might not be profaned by his presence. On entering- he found, in the middle of the church, a small platform erected,, with a table and wooden rack on which hung the vestments of a priest. He was assigned a place in front of this platform,, and immediately knelt in silent prayer.' That prayer was heard. Hus was not only about to enter the noble army of martyrs, but also showed that he deserves to be counted' among those heroes of faith "of whom the world was not worthy," "who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought ;'ighteousness, obtained promises." In that cathedral an ordeal awaited him which was calculated to torment his mind as severely as the fire would torment his body. He looked around and saw an august and imposing assembly. There was the King on an elevated throne, surrounded by the magnates of the Empire — the Elector Palatine Louis with the imperial globe, the Count of Nuremberg with the sceptre, the Duke of Bavaria with the crown, a Hungarian prince^ with the sword, and many other nobles in splendid armor and nodding plumes. There were the President of the Council, the Cardinal Bishop of Ostia, the other Cardinals and many prelates, robed in rich vestments and wearing * The Cathedral of Constance, begun in 1048, is a large Gothic but othei> wise unsightly building, which has been greatly changed since the time of the Council, both internally and externally, presenting therefore a, very diferent appearance now from what it did then. ' Krummel, p. 537, says that Hus was made to ascend the platform as soon as he entered the church, and that he remained there until his degra- dation. Mladenowic, who is our principal authority, particularly says,. Doc. Hus, p. 317, that he took his stand in front of the platform. 72 THE HISTORY OF scarlet hats or jeweled mitres. There was an array of learned doctors of theology, of abbots and priests and monks, from almost every part of the Christian world. There, finally, appeared a throng of citizens and visitors all eager to see and hear, and filling the church to its utmost capacity. In the presence of this assembly Hus was to be sentenced and degraded. Every eye was upon him, but he flinched not ; and, as occasion offered, uttered words so telling, so full of trust, so mighty in their power, that they have inspired the good and the true in all the centuries since. For it was not he that spoke, but the Spirit of his Father spoke in him.* The proceedings began with a sermon, preached by the Bishop of Lodi, on the words of St. Paul, " that the body of sin might be destroyed,'" which words he applied to Hus as the heretic who was to be destroyed and to Sigismund as God's agent in so glorious a work, which would bring him " perpetual praise." Thereupon a report of the past proceed- inggj was communicated, including the articles extracted as heretical from the writings of Hus. As soon as the first of these articles had been read, he protested that it did not correctly set forth his views, but was ordered to remain silent ; and although he begged, for God's sake, to be allowed to speak, this request was refused and the vergers were told to silence him by force, if necessary. When he heard this, he fell upon his knees and lifted up his folded hands in mute appeal to heaven. The reading continued, but so flagrantly untrue were some of the accusations, that he made another effort to be heard and succeeded in interposing several com- ments, adding, in a loud voice, while his eyes were fixed full upon Sigismund, that in reliance on the safe-conduct granted lim by the King, which was to protect him from violence, he had come to Constance of his own free will, in order to give an account of his faith. As he uttered these words a deep ' Matt. X, 20. ' Rom. vi, 6. The sermon is given in full in Hist, et Men., I. pp. 33 and 34. THE MORAVIAN CHURCH. 73 blusk overspread the royal countenance.'" Additional formal- ities having been gone through with according to canonical law, Antonius, Bishop of Concordia, an aged prelate of vener- able aspect, ascended the pulpit and published the formal sentence : The writings of Hus were to be publicly committed to the flames; he was to be -degraded from the priesthood and to be punished as a heretic." " Lord Jesus," hie said as soon as this sentence had been read, " forgive mine enemies ! Thou knowest that they have borne false witness against me. For- give them for Thy great mercy's sake!" At this prayer the eyes of many j^relates flamed with indignation and a mocking laugh burst from their lips. The ceremony of degradation had been committed to six Bishops, who now commanded Hus to ascend the platform and array himself in the priestly vestments which were hang- ing there. "When fully robed they once more exhorted him to recant and abjure his errors. Facing the vast assembly he spoke touching words, in a voice almost choked with emotion. " Behold, these Bishops demand of me that I shall recant and abjure. I fear to do this. For, if I complied, I would be false in the eyes of God and sin against my own conscience and divine truth ; seeing that I have never taught what has been falsely charged against me, and that I have rather written and preached the contrary. There is ^^ Lechler, Berger and others omit the incident of the blush ; Alzog, in his Eoman Catholic Manual of Universal Church History, Cincinnati, 1876, Vol. II. p. 964, denies it and pronounces it to be an invention of the Bohemians, basing this assertion upon the fact that Mladenowic says nothing of it in his JRelaMo. Mladenowic, however, does report the inci- dent, not in his Relatio, but in his brief Bohemian chronicle which, as Palacky, IV. p. 364, Note 470, tells us, is found in a Latin version in Hist, et Mon., II. pp. 515-520 (Vide p. 518). Von der Hardt, IV. p. 393, also relates the occurrence, but has evidently taken it from the Latin version of Mladenowic's chronicle, for he uses the very words there found. Of modem authorities, besides Palacky, Krummel, p. 541, Gillett, II. p. 55, Czerwenka, I. p. 105, and Neander, IV. p. 488, all accept the incident as historic. " The sentence which was very lengthy, the first part relating to the writings of Hus and the second to himself, is given in full in Hist, et Mon., I. pp. 35 and 36. 74 THE HISTOEY OF another reason why I cannot recant. I would thereby offend not only the many souls to whom I have proclaimed the Gospel, but others also who are preaching it in all faithful- ness."'^ "Now we see," exclaimed the Bishops, "how hardened he is in his wickedness and obstinate in his heresy!" Ordering him to descend, they pressed around him and snatched from his hand the chalice, saying : " We take from thee, thou cursed Judas, who hast forsaken the council of peace and become one with the Jews, this cup of salvation I" " But I," he answered, " confide in the Lord God Almighty, for whose name I patiently bear this blasphemy, and who will not take from me the cup of salvation, but will permit me, I am firmly persuaded, to drink it, this day, in His kingdom." Then they tore from his person the priestly vestments, piece by piece, each with a more fearful malediction, Hus replying with words of faith and hope. When the tonsure was to be effaced, a most unseemly wrangle occurred as to the manner in which this should be done, and whether a razor or shears should be used; at last it was cut in four directions with shears, and thus the last symbol of his priestly office dis- appeared. A paper cap, a yard high, in the shape of a pyramid, displaying the hideous picture of three devils struggling with one another for his soul, and the words Hie est haeresiarcha,^^ was then put upon his head, the Bishops saying : " Thus we deliver your soul to the devil !" Clasping his hands and lifting his eyes to heaven Hus replied : " But I commit it to my most gracious Lord Jesus Christ ! For my sake He bore, though innocent, a much harder and heavier crown of thorns ; why should I poor sinner not wear this lighter though blasphemous one for His name's and truth's sake?" A formal announcement followed, that the degradation was completed and that Hus no longer had part in the Church, but was delivered to the secular arm for punishment. Sigis- '^ Mladenowic Relatio, Doc. Hus, p. 320. Other sources give the address in a somewhat different form. " "This is the Arch-heretic." THE MORAVIAN CHURCH. 75 raund charged the Elector Palatine with its execution ; the Elector told the burgher-master of Constance to issue the necessary orders ; the burgher-master commanded his bailiiFs and the executioners, who were in waiting, to convey Hus to the stake and forthwith burn him alive. When these directions had been severally given, the Council continued its session. He was led first to the square in front of the Cathedral, that he might witness the burning of his writings. This spectacle provoked but a smile ; for he well knew that how- ever many copies might be destroyed at Constance, there were far more at Prague and throughout Bohemia. Then, walking between two servants of the Elector, guarded by more thaa one thousand armed men, and followed by a great multitude, he went forth to die. His step was firm, his bearing manly, his countenance full of joy. " He proceeded to his punish- ment as to a feast. Not a word escaped him which gave indication of Ijie least weakness."" About eleven o'clock the procession reached the fatal spot. It was a meadow, known as the Bruhl, outside of the city walls, to the left of the road to Gottlieben. As soon as he came near to the stake he knelt and prayed the thirty-first and fifty-first Psalms, with great fervency of heart, so that the people standing by were deeply moved. While thus engaged the paper cap fell from his head ; one of the bailiffs replaced it with ^ brutal jest. The executioners now ordered him to rise. He obeyed, saying : " Lord Jesus Christ, this cruel and terrible punish- ment I will cheerfully and humbly bear for the sake of Thy holy Gospel and of the pr-eaching of Thy blessed Word!" His wish to address the people was refused by the Elector, who commanded him to be burned without further delay, ^* This is the testimony of that elegant Boman Catholic writer Aeneas Sylvius, afterward Pope Pius the Second. He speaks both of Hus and Jerome of Prague, and adds : " In the midst of the flames they sang hymns uninterruptedly to their last breath. No philosopher ever suffered death with such constancy as they endured the flames." Aen. Syl. Cap. xxxvi, p. 33. 76 THE HISTORY OF granting him time merely to bid farewell to his keepers. He was bound to the stake with seven moistened thongs and a heavy chain, which was wound round his neck. " Willingly," he said, " do I suffer myself to be bound with this chain for the sake of the holy name of my Lord Jesus Christ, who, for my sake, was far more cruelly bound." Some of the bystanders remarking that his face was turned to the East — a thing unseemly in the case of a heretic — his position was changed so that he looked to the West. Fagots of dry wood and straw saturated with pitch were now piled about him up to his chin. Everything was ready for the torch. In that supreme moment Count Oppenheim, the Marshal of the Empire, accompanied by the Elector, rode up to the stake and offered him his life, if he would recant. " What shall I recant," was his answer, in a voice clear and loud, "not being conscious of any errors ? I call God to witness that I iave neither taught nor preached what has been falsely laid to my charge, but that the end of all my ^preaching and writings was to induce my fellow-men to forsake sin. In the truth which I have proclaimed, according to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the expositions of holy teachers, I will, this day, joyfully die." At these words both the nobles clapped their hands and rode off. It was the signal for the execution. The torch was applied. As soon as Hus saw the smoke rising ie began to sing : Christe, fill Dei vivi, miserere nobis 1 Christe, fili Dei vivi, miserere met I Qui natus es ex Maria virgine — " here the wind drove the flames ijito his face. His lips con- tinued to move, but his last words had been spoken. The agony was short, and then " Hus, the victim of perfidious foes, To heaven upon a fiery chariot rose." '* " Christ, Thou Son of the living God, have mercy upon us !. Christ, Thou Son of the living God, have naercy upon me I Thou who wast born of the Virgin Mary — " — Mladenowic Eelatio, Documents Hus, p. 323. THE MORAVIAN CHURCH. 77 When the fire had spent its strength, there appeared a charred post and hanging to it a ghastly corpse. Both were torn down by the executioners. They crushed the bones, cleft the skull, heaped up fresh fuel, and reduced these remains and the stake to ashes. The heart they stuck on a spear and held it «in the flames until it was consumed. Every article of the martyr's dress and the paper cap, which the wind had blown away, were burned -^^ and, at last, the ashes were gathered and, together with the ground into which the stake had been driven, cast into the Rhine. There remained not the smallest memento of the Bohemian Reformer ; but his countrymen came, dug out, on the place where the stake had stood, a quantity of earth and carried it as a sacred relic to their native land.''^ Nearly a year later, on the thirtieth of May, 1416, Jerome of Prague suffered martyrdom on the same spot.^^ It is marked by a boulder on which are graven simply the names of the two friends and the dates of their death. Ivy and flowering creepers twine about the stone. Near by stands a Protestant church.^' " There is a discrepancy in the chronicles with regard to the clothing, some saying that Hus was burned in his clothes, others that they were stripped off before the execution and afterward burned. , " Aen. Syl., Cap. xxxvi, p. 33. " True to the chivalry of his nature and the loyalty of his friendship Jerome came to Constance t(f aid Hus and plead his cause before the Council, but was advised, by hia friends, to return to Bohemia as quickly as possible. On the way he was arrested, delivered to the. Council, and cruelly imprisoned. Weakened by sickness and the protracted sufferings of his dungeon he was induced to recant, but soon retracted his recantation and died with the same fortitude as Hus. " The incident given by Croeger, I. p. 35, of an old peasant woman dragging a faggot to the stake and eliciting from Hus the exclamation, "Sancta simplicitas !"— as also his reputed prophecy respecting the coming of Luther, are legends without historic foundation. An important source for the history of Hus while at Constance is " Ulrich Eichtental's Bericht iiber J. Hus," a manuscript diary written in quaint old German. The substance of this diary was twice printed, in 1536 and 1575 ; recently the oldest manuscript, that of Aulendorf, profusely illustrated with pen and ink sketches by the author, has been photographed. The Malin Library at Bethlehem contains a copy of this work. 78 THE HISTORY OF Thus perished John Hus, in the prime of manhood, in the midst of his work, a noble man, a valiant confessor, the illus- trious forerunner of the Unitas Fratrum. The full account which we have given of his life and labors belongs to its history. This Church would never have arisen if he had not promulgated principles which led to its Jairth. What he taught, the Brethren reproduced in their confessions and catechisms. What he preached, served their preachers as a model or was communicated to their congregations by lay- readers. The hymns which he composed, they sang with deep devotion. Even the new forms in which he clothed his native tongue became chiefly their heritage. The Reformation which he began, they, and not the Hussites, developed to its legitimate end. The martyr spirit which he manifested, they upheld. His weapons were theirs — not carnal, but the two- edged sword of the Word and the whole armor of God. Well, therefore, may the Brethren's Church still commemorate the day of his death and sing, in the course of its memorial office, with special reference to Hus and those of its fathers who, like him, sealed their testimony with their blood : " For all Thy saints, O Lord, Who strove in Thee to live, Who followed Thee, obeyed, adored, Our grateful hymn receive. For all Thy saints, O Lord, Accept our thankful cry, Who counted Thee their great reivaid, And strove in Thee to die." THE MORAVIAN CHUECH. 79 PERIOD III. THE HISTORY OF THE HUSSITES. A. D. 1415-1457. CHAPTER IX. The Hussite Wars and Factions. A. D. 1415-1434. Disturbances in Bohemia. — Letter of the Diet to the Council. — The Hussite League. — Adjournment of the Council. — Gathering of Hussites on Mt. Tabor. — Councilors killed at Prague. — Death of Wenzel.— First Crusade against the Hussites.— Zizka.— Victory at the Witkowberg.— The Articles of Prague. — The Diet renounces allegiance to Sigismund. — The Utraquists.— The Taborites. — The Orphans.— Further Crusades against the Hussites and Victory at Tauss. — The Council of Basle opens Negotiations with them. — The Compactata of Basle.— Defeat of the Taborites at Lipan. The fire of the stake at which John Hus suffered, kindled a conflagration that raged for years with insatiable fury.^ As soon as the news that he had been executed reached Bohemia, all classes were profoundly moved. Many who had been undecided in their views, or timid in expressing them, openly joined his followers ; the Roman Catholic priests were quickly «xpelled from their parishes which were given to Hussites; the houses of his personal enemies among the clergy at Prague were plundered, and siege was laid to the palace of ' Sources for this and the next chapters are : Palacky, Vols. IV. V. and VI.; Krummel's Ut. u. Tab.; Bezold Husitentum ; Czerwenka, I.; Hofler's three Vols.; Palacky's Hofler; Lechler, II, Chap. VI. We present, in outlines, the history of the Hussites merely in so far as it is preparatory to the history of the Unitas Fratrum. 80 THE HISTORY OF the Archbishop, who fled in dismay. The efforts of the Council to restore order increased the commotion. Letters which it issued justifying the execution of Hus, warning against his doctrines, and threatening his adherents with the severest discipline of the Church, called forth a defiant answer from the Diet (September the second, 1415,) signed by four hundred and twenty five barons and knights, full of reproaches and counter-menaces. Three days later, a Hussite League was formed, whose members pledged themselves to act in unison, to allow free preaching of the Gospel on their estates, to obey episcopal mandates in so far only as they were in harmony with the Holy Scriptures, to resist all unjust bans, and to ujDhold the decisions of the University of Prague.^ Although the Fathers were encouraged, by the speedy organization of a Catholic League, to persevere in their denunciations and to enforce them with the ban, the Hussites were not overawed. Nearly three years passed by without effecting a change ; so tjiat when the Council finally adjourned, on the twenty-second of April, 1418, Bohemia and Moravia were still fired with excitement which was ready, at any moment, to burst into flames. Nor had anything been accomplished at Constance in the way of reform. The new Pope, Martin the Fifth, elected on the eleventh of November, 1417, disregarding the hopes of all Christendom, postponed this work to the next Council. Impotent end of the august convocation that had, for nearly four years, deliberated on ways and means to purify the Church ! A peculiar feature of the Hussite movement was the preaching of itinerant evangelists, in private houses or open fields. They attracted large congregations ; and when Wenzel, in 1419, ordered the restoration of the catholic priests to the parishes from which they had been expelled, such congregations began to undertake pilgrimages to neigh- boring or more distant churches, where they could enjoy the Holy Communion under both kinds. A hill, in the vicinity ' Krummel's Ut. u. Tab., p. 8 ; Palacky, IV, p. 376. THE MORAVIAN CHURCH. 81 of Austi, constituted a favorite gathering place and received the name of Mt. Tabor.^ It was dotted with the tents of the Hussite clergy who had been driven from Austi, but continued to minister to the people that came to them in crowds. On that hill, at the instance of Nicholas von Pistna,'' an extraordinary meeting was held on the twenty-second of July, In the early hours of the morning there began to arrive, from all parts of Bohemia and Moravia, solemn processions carrying banners and the emblems of the Holy Sacrament, until a multitude of not less than forty-two thousand people was assembled. They gave each other a jubilant welcome as brethren and sisters in the Lord. To worship Him, under the open canopy of His own heaven, was their common object. Accordingly they divided, each sex by itself, into numerous congregations of which the priests took charge. Some preached, while others heard confessions, or adminis- tered the Lord's Supper under both kinds. At noon the entire assembly partook of a simple meal ; the rest of the day was spent in religious conversation and social fellowship. The utmost decorum prevailed ; no levity or worldly amuse- ments were allowed. It was a primitive camp-meeting on a grand scale. Toward evening the pilgrims bade each other farewell, with mutual pledges to uphold the holy cause of the Cup and of free preaching; then each company, again in ' According to the latest researches of Palacky, Mt. Tabor was not that hill which subsequently constituted the site of the town of Tabor, but was situated somewhere in the region between this town and Bechin and Bernartic (Benarditz). Palacky, V. p. 85, and Note 64. * Nicholas von Pistna, also called von Has, or von Husinec, in view of his appointment as royal burggrave of the Castle of Hus, was attached to the court of Wenzel, who employed him in various affairs of state. In 1419 he fell under the displeasure of the King, because he asked that more churches might be granted to the Hussites, and was banished from Prague. Thereupon he became one of their leaders and an agitator among the peasantry in particular, working in unison with Zizka. He took part in the first Hussite campaign against the imperial crusaders, and died at Prague, on the twenty-fourth of December, 1420. He was not the heredi- tary lord of the Castle of Hus, and John Hus was not his vassal, as some writers maintain. Palacky, IV. p. 416, Note 525. 7 g2 THE HISTOEY OF procession, took its way homeward and made the long summer-twilight vocal with sacred song. The owners of the fields, where the gathering had taken place, were liberally indemnified for the losses which it had occasioned. Similar meetings were subsequently held at the same place,' An event of a different and most alarming character occurred, at Prague. On Sunday, the thirtieth of July, a Hussite procession, led by John of Selau,* the priest of the church of Maria-Schnee, while passing the Council House of the Nemtadt, was insulted by some of the councilors and their servants. A fearful tumult ensued ; men ■ rushed together from all sides with arms m their hands ; the Council House was stormed and whoever attempted to oppose the mob was cut down without mercy ; eleven councilors escaped, but seven others were hurled from an upper window and impaled on the spears and lances of the multitude below. Amidst peals of alarm the riot spread throughout the Neustadt, which was seized by the populace. Wenzel, who was at the castle of Wenzelstein, when informed of what had happened gave way to so terrible a burst of anger that a slight attack of apoplexy ensued ; on the sixteenth of August he had a second and severe attack, in consequence of which he died in a few hours. According to the compact of 1411, Sigismund was to be his successor. Blind to his own interests and obstinate in his resolution to crush the disturbances in Bohemia by force, te did not come to claim the kingdom; but appointed Queen ^ There are two original and very valuable sources giving an account of the meeting on Mt. Tabor and of many other events in the history of the Hussites. The one is Brezowa's Diarium Belli Hussitici, and the other the Chronica of Pilgram, the Taborite Bishop. Both are frequently quoted by Palacky. ' John was a monk who had escaped from the Premonstrant Monastery of Selau. He became prominent during the hegemony of Prague, and for two years, 1420 to 1422, practically ruled Bohemia. In the latter year a party was formed against him, and he was secretly executed. Although originally a demagogue and fanatic, he showed, when in power, great moderation both in his measures and theology, and labored hard to unite the two great parties among the Hussites. THE MORAVIAN CHURCH. 83 Sophia his regent and persuaded the Pope to inaugurate a crusade against the Hussites. Thus began one of the most remarkable, and at the same time terrific, wars the world has seen. For sixteen years Bohemia single handed defied all Europe. The truth which history sets forth, more or less clearly, in every age, that when a nation is passing through a crisis it produces the man for the crisis, was anew established at the opening of this war. A greater general, a mightier man of valor, a more invincible leader than John Zizka von Troconow, never drew sword. He created armies. He originated the most novel and successful tactics. He never lost a battle. Through his indomitable energy, peasants and mechanics, armed with lances and slings, iron-pointed flails and clubs, were trained to beat down the mail-clad knights of Europe like straw and to scatter them like chaff. His barricades of "wagons, now motionless as a rampart, and again circling over the field of battle in bewildering evolutions, were a notable instance of his military genius ; and the battle hymn, " Ye who the Lord God's warriors are," etc., which he is said to have composed and which his men were accustomed to sing when advancing to the fight, shows that he made religion the ;source of their irresistible courage. Intolerant, fanatical and cruel, he was nevertheless a true patriot, disinterested and humble, striving to lead a godly and righteous life. Deeming himself an avenger of the divine law, he mercilessly destroyed .all whom he believed to be its foes, and in the spirit of Israel's stern leader, " hewed in pieces before the Lord."^ ' 1 Sam. XV, 33. Zizka was born, probably about 1354, at Trocnow, now included in Forbes, about ten miles South East of Budweis, and was the owner of several small estates. He belonged to the lower order of nobility, is supposed to have, at one time, served under the king of Poland, and subsequently found a place at the court of Wenzel with whom he stood in high favor. He left the court and espoused the cause of the Hussites. At .an earlier time he lost one of his eyes, in what way is not known ; at the Miege of Eaby, in 1422, the other was destroyed by an arrow. Totally blind though he now was, he continued in command of the army ; in time of battle he mounted a wagon and stood under the folds of his banner 84 THE HISTORY OP The first crusade against the Hussites laid the foundation of his fame. On the fourteenth of July, 1420, at the Witkowberg, now known as the Zizka Hill, half a mile to the East of Prague, he totally defeated, with a far less numerous force, the imperialist army of more than one hundred thousand men. Sigismund fled in dismay from Bohemia, while the Archbishop of Prague went over to the Hussites. About the same time they issued the celebrated Four Articles which set forth the principles for which they were contending. These articles were the following : I. The Word of God is to be preached, in a proper way, by priests of the Lord, without let or hinderance, throughout the Kingdom of Bohemia. II. The sacrament of the Holy Eucharist is to be admin- istered, under each kind, of bread and wine, according to the institution of the Saviour, to all believers not disqualified to receive it by reason of mortal sin. III. The secular dominion exercised by the clergy over worldly goods and possessions, to the prejudice of their spiritual office and the damage of civil authority, is to be taken away from them, and the clergy are to be brought back to the evangelical rule and apostolic practice of Christ and His disciples. IV. All mortal sins, especially such as are public, as also all other irregularities contrary to the divine law, in whatever estate they may appear, are to be punished by those to whom it pertains.' These four Articles of Prague, as they are commonly called, supported by many citations from Scripture and references to whose device was the cup. He died, October the eleventh, 1424, while besieging the Castle of Pribislau, and was buried first at Koniggratz and then at Caslau. Malin's Zizka, pp. 133-134; Millauer's Diplomatisch- hist. Aufsatze uber J. Z., Prag, 1824; Palacky, IV. pp. 414-415, and V. pp. 358-371 ; Krummel's Ut. u. Tab., pp. 11,. 69 and 70. ' Hofler, I. pp. 380-384, in Brezina de Gestis et variis accidentibus regni B., and 11. p. 480, etc., in Pelhrizimow's Chronicon ; Palacky, V. pp. 136- 138 ; Krummel, Ut. u. Tab , pp. 34-38 ; Gillett, II. pp. 442-444. THE MORAVIAN CHUECH. 85 the early Fathers of the Church, were drawn up in Latin, Bohemian and German, and sent to all parts of Europe. In June, of 1421, they were formally adopted by the Diet of Caslau, which body at the same time renounced allegiance to Sigismund and appointed twenty Regents to administer the government. But there was no harmony among the Hussites. At an €arly day two principal parties arose, the Calixtines, or Utra- quists, and the Taborites.^ The former received their tendency from the University of Prague. They were conservative and aristocratic, and as they