sides; but again new considerations delayed the final outburst. The
Emperor Frederick had just been engaged in a war with his brother
Albert about some claims in the Archduchy of Austria. Albert succeeded
in defeating the Emperor, and imprisoning him at Vienna; but George
hastened to Vienna, rescued the Emperor, and restored him to the
throne. Frederick was full of gratitude; and, while confirming all
the liberties of Bohemia, he persuaded the Pope to abstain from
excommunicating George. Pius, still bent on the Turkish war, and
knowing probably that Frederick would find some sympathy for an
anti-Papal policy, consented to a curious compromise. He would not
issue a formal Bull of anathema against George; but he sent messengers
to the citizens of Breslau, releasing them from the treaty which they
had recently made, and encouraging them to rebel. At the same time he
tried to stir up discontent among the nobles. Many of these had already
become alarmed at the growing power of their king. Although he had
strictly recognised the Constitutional rights of the Assembly, yet the
expedition to Vienna had given an opportunity for reasserting one of
the privileges about which the Bohemian nobles were most sensitive;
namely, the power of refusing to follow the King when he made war
outside the country. The opposition to this expedition was speedily
followed by fiercer attacks; and the lords now accused George of
illegal taxation, of interference with the coinage, and of manipulating
the land register, so as to reduce to feudal submission those who were
legally independent. With regard to most of the nobles, however, there
seemed an unwillingness at first to push things to an extremity; but a
Moravian named Hynek of Lichtenberg, who had long cherished a personal
jealousy against the king, broke out into open insurrection, and set on
fire some of the towns in Moravia. Hoping to secure the Pope’s sympathy
in this rebellion, Hynek sent to Rome for advice as to the course that
he should pursue; but, before Pius could commit himself to a distinct
answer to this question, he was taken ill, and died in August, 1464.
George was well pleased to hear that a Venetian Cardinal had been
elected Pope. But Paul II., though at first apparently friendly to
George, was irritated at some delay in the formal congratulation on his
accession which was due to him from the King of Bohemia. Hynek soon
succeeded in getting a ready hearing from those Cardinals who were most
opposed to George; and, in spite of the protest of the Bishop of Olmütz
and of many leading people in Moravia, Paul was induced to command
George to withdraw his forces from the siege of Hynek’s castle. George
remonstrated with the Pope; but the previous irritation was revived
by the rumour that George had refused to send ambassadors for fear of
their being ill-treated at Rome. The continued attempts on Hynek’s
castle, and the renewal of the siege of Breslau, were treated as acts
of contumacy; and at last, on August 6, 1465, Paul issued a Bull
deposing George from the throne, and authorising the legate to punish
all who should still adhere to him.
In the meantime the growing bitterness of the Catholic nobles had
been increased by a personal quarrel between George and Zdenek of
Sternberg. Although George had been forced to rely upon this nobleman
in his attempts to conciliate the Catholics, he soon found that
Zdenek’s character was not deserving of confidence; and he was forced
to refuse him a wardship, for which he applied, on the ground that he
had abused his trust on a former occasion. This reproach roused Zdenek
to still further opposition; and he induced the lords to found a League
in defence of the Pope. The immediate object of Paul and the rebel
lords was to find a king for Bohemia; and they fixed on Matthias of
Hungary, who, though he owed much friendship and help to George, was
easily attracted by the hope of a new kingdom. Many of the important
towns of Bohemia fell away from the King, and joined the lords against
him. The four great towns of Moravia formed a special League for the
defence of the Catholic faith. Pilsen and Budweis, always inclined
to the Catholic cause, speedily joined this League; and the town of
Görlitz, the centre of a special district in Silesia, was hard pressed,
on account of its loyalty to the king. George was so eager for peace
that he consented to a meeting with the rebels at Prague, at which he
defended himself from the various charges brought against him by the
nobles; and he produced some of the charters from Carlstein to prove
the legality of his actions. Sternberg refused to believe George’s
assertion that he had shown them all the charters which concerned their
rights; and he demanded that Carlstein and its contents should be
handed over to himself and his friends, and that the charters should be
submitted to the Emperor for confirmation. George indignantly refused
these proposals, which apparently went beyond the wishes of many of
the lords; but the Pope frightened the rebels into new opposition, by
another Bull which placed Bohemia under an interdict.
George now appealed from the Pope to a new Council, and called on
Casimir of Poland to intercede between him and Paul. Casimir willingly
undertook this negotiation, to which some victories of George seemed to
give a hope of success; but the attempt at compromise completely broke
down; and the Poles joined the anti-Utraquist alliance. Rosenberg,
who had stood by the King for some time, now went over to Sternberg;
and, when George advanced to besiege Olmütz, his own soldiers deserted
his banner. George was now compelled to retreat to Prague in April,
1469; and the Legate supposed him to be so completely crushed that he
offered him the following terms of peace. He was to return, with all
his servants, to the Catholic faith; to give up all Articles which the
Church condemned; to restore all ecclesiastical property; to recognise
Matthias as his son and successor, and allow him to appoint the
Archbishop and the heads of all the churches in Prague; and, finally,
to give up to the Legate the _arch-heretic_ Rokycana.
Not many even of George’s enemies could have expected him to accept
these terms; and the consequence of their proposal was an exchange of
fierce defiances between the two parties, ending in a formal election
of Matthias as king of Bohemia, by the rebel nobles. But the heretic
King was not so easily to be beaten. On January 1, 1470, he sent a
letter to the princes of the German Empire, which reads more like the
manifesto of a conqueror than the appeal of a defeated and deposed
king. He set forth in bitter language the treatment which he had
received from the Pope; and he warned the princes that unless they
would support him in this crisis, he would break off all connection
between Bohemia and the Empire, and stand alone.
In the meantime his enemies had begun to be divided among themselves.
The six towns, of which Görlitz was the centre, had been forced to
yield for a time to the Catholic League and had been placed under the
rule of Sternberg’s son. They had soon found him so oppressive that
they revolted against him and drove him out; and when Zdenek appealed
to Matthias, Matthias treated his complaints with contempt. Rosenberg
and Gutenstein returned to their allegiance to George; and many of the
towns of Silesia and Moravia began to cry out against the government of
the League. Seizing this opportunity, George once more invaded Moravia,
and gained victory after victory over Matthias.
The King of Hungary tried to redeem his cause by making an inroad
into Bohemia; but the cruelties of the Hungarian soldiers led the
common people to rise against Matthias’s army; and the Poles seemed
once more friendlily disposed to their old allies. The Bohemian lords
gradually drifted back to George; and the complaints of the Interdict
were so loud in the country that the Cardinals began to consider the
advisability of suspending it. But, before the victory of the Bohemians
could be secured, the struggle was cut short by the death of King
George, preceded, only a few weeks earlier, by the death of his friend
and supporter, Archbishop Rokycana.
XIII.
FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE BOHEMIAN BROTHERHOOD TO THE ACCESSION OF
FERDINAND I. TO THE THROWN OF BOHEMIA.
(1419-1526.)
Reference has already been made in the previous chapters to a possible
historical parallel between the Bohemian struggle of the fifteenth
century and the English revolution of the seventeenth; but the most
startling point of that parallel has still to be mentioned. Whatever
likenesses or differences there may be between the Calixtines and the
Presbyterians, the Taborites and the Independents, or between George
of Podĕbrad and Oliver Cromwell, there can, at least, be no doubt that
George Fox and his followers found their prototypes in Bohemia in the
fifteenth century; and that the treatment which the Bohemian Quakers
received from the Utraquists, exactly foreshadowed the persecution of
the English Society of Friends by their Puritan countrymen.
Yet even here we must note, by anticipation, an important difference
between the Bohemian and the English story. It is perfectly possible
to give an intelligent and connected account of the English history of
the seventeenth century, without making more than a casual reference to
the Quaker movement. For, important as the life of George Fox would be
in a general sketch of European philanthropy, it can scarcely be said
to form a necessary link between any two periods of English history.
On the other hand, it is impossible to give a clear impression of the
Bohemian history of the sixteenth century without calling considerable
attention to the work and influence of the Bohemian Brotherhood.
One reason for this difference is that the movement for peace, and all
the ideas that gather round such a movement, were more in harmony with
the traditions of Bohemia than with those of England. This statement
may sound startling and paradoxical, when it follows so closely on the
account of the Utraquist wars. They, more than any other event, have
brought Bohemia into prominence in European history; and it was chiefly
as fighters that the Bohemians were known to the surrounding nations at
the beginning of the sixteenth century. Nevertheless, early traditions,
whether legendary or historical, never entirely lose their influence on
the character of a nation.
The gentle figure of Libus̆a presiding over a peaceable community is a
marked contrast to the figures of King Arthur and his Knights of the
Round Table; and the essentially combative character of St. George
suggests directly opposite ideas of saintship to those represented by
St. Wenceslaus and St. Adalbert. Nor, when the stream of religious
tradition divides into the two branches of Catholic and Protestant,
does the contrast cease between the English and Bohemian models. The
legendary picture of St. John Nepomuc is more gentle and suffering
than even the historical facts would justify, and it offers a strange
contrast to all the traditions that gather round the name of Becket;
while the loving and hesitating character of Jan Hus is almost equally
unlike the sternly defiant figure of Wyclif.
There is, however, another reason for the difference exercised on their
respective countries by the Bohemian and the English Society. While the
stern idealism of the Quakers hindered them from directly influencing
the ordinary course of public life, the more accommodating character
of the Bohemian Brothers enabled them to affect the general policy
of their country by sacrificing something of their perfection as a
Christian community. This point of difference will become more clearly
evident as the story proceeds; it will now be sufficient to have called
attention to the fact that, on both these grounds, the followers
of Peter of Chelc̆ic are more closely connected with the course of
Bohemian history than the followers of George Fox with the history of
England.
Peter of Chelc̆ic, like George Fox, was a shoemaker by trade; but he
educated himself carefully, both in the Latin language and in the
history of his country. He does not seem ever to have wandered far from
the little village of Chelc̆ic, in the Prachin district; though the
narrowness of his geographical outlook did not hinder him from plunging
tolerably early into the important controversies with which his life
was concerned. It was he who in 1419 propounded to the Masters of the
Prague University his doubts on the lawfulness of religious wars. He
was not satisfied with the answer which he received; and the weakness
which he detected in Jakaubek’s arguments doubtless strengthened him in
his previous convictions.
He gradually adopted all those doctrines which we specially associate
with the name of George Fox. He rejected all rank and property for
Christians; declared that the conversion of Constantine was the ruin of
the Church; condemned oaths in law courts, and advocated the passive
endurance of injuries.
He soon began to attract attention; and when Peter Payne was driven
out of Prague, after the restoration of Sigismund, he took refuge at
Chelc̆ic with his namesake. Apparently a dislike of the new teaching
began, a little later, to show itself amongst the Utraquists; for
in 1443 we find that Peter was summoned before an Assembly at Kutna
Hora to answer for his doctrines. Nothing seems to have come of this
examination, for Peter was soon after allowed to publish his first
book; and others speedily followed, in which he attacked the Pope and
the clergy.
Just at this time Rokycana was engaged in a controversy with the
Franciscan Capistran; and, as he had completely triumphed over the
Taborites, he felt ready to sympathise with a new ally against Rome. He
even recommended the writings of Peter to many of his hearers in the
Teyn Church; and Peter was suffered to found a community which took
the name of the Chelc̆ic Brothers. Many of those who were desiring to
lead a purer and more self-denying life drew near to the Brotherhood;
and the protection and encouragement of Rokycana gave the Society for a
time the means of easy development.
But after the coronation of George of Podĕbrad, Rokycana’s feeling
towards the Brothers underwent a rapid change. His increase of power
made him more determined to assert that power at all hazards. Had the
Brothers, indeed, been contented to settle under the priests whom
the Archbishop chose for them, Rokycana might still have suffered
them to remain unmolested; but he was irritated by their desire to
form a separate community of their own, independent of all other
ecclesiastical organisations. While this controversy was still in its
early stage, Peter died, and his nephew Gregory succeeded to the chief
position in the society. The new movement had now begun to include men
of all classes, although the nobles were expected to give up their rank
if they actually joined the Brotherhood.
But a more trying time was coming. In 1461, Gregory came to Prague and
held a meeting of his friends in the New Town. This was the time when
Fantinus de Valle was beginning to excite the suspicions of the Pope
against the Bohemian heresies; and, urged on doubtless by Rokycana,
the King ordered the arrest of the organisers of this meeting on the
charge of being engaged in a conspiracy. The attempts to convict
them of political intrigue entirely broke down; and they were then
denounced as heretics, because of their denial of the doctrine of
Transubstantiation. Under pressure of torture, some of them recanted,
but Gregory remained firm. He reminded Rokycana of his recommendation
of the works of Peter of Chelc̆ic, and he complained of the
Archbishop’s inconsistency in now denouncing them. Rokycana, however,
persisted in the course on which he had entered, and he refused to
allow the Brothers any of the sacraments of the Church. The Brothers
now fled to the hills of Reichenau, and resolved to form a stronger
organisation for carrying on their work.
With the curious inconsistency which naturally attaches to such
movements, they showed a great desire to connect themselves, in
tradition if not in organisation, with the older churches; and they
chose as their chief president a regularly ordained priest, named
Michael. They elected a small council to support him in his management
of the Brotherhood; and then they chose their priests by lot, and
requested them to rebaptise all the Brotherhood. Although, too, they
rejected Episcopacy as a separate dignity, they practically entrusted
to Michael the special duties of a bishop. They now became known as
“Jednota Bratrska,” or the Unity of Brothers; and they speedily began
to attract attention from those who were out of sympathy with the
existing churches. These were not confined to pure-minded and earnest
men like themselves, but included wild sects like the Adamites, whom
the Brotherhood were obliged to repel from their body.
In the meantime Rokycana’s fury increased. He stirred up both King
and People against the Brotherhood, and persuaded the Assembly to
pass a decree ordering the suppression or compulsory conversion of
the Brothers. Again Gregory protested, and Rokycana now answered that
no new Church could be founded without a special revelation from
Heaven. But when the Brothers offered to explain the nature of their
revelation, they were answered by imprisonment, torture, and in some
cases by burning. They were now compelled to meet in woods, ditches,
and clefts of the rock to carry on their religious services; yet they
still stood firm, and Gregory and a woman named Katerina succeeded in
keeping up methods of communication between them in various parts of
Bohemia and Moravia.
The deaths of King George and of Rokycana released them for a time from
persecution. The new King showed himself more kindly towards them. This
King was Ladislaus, the son of the King of Poland. He had been chosen
King of Bohemia, in spite of the resistance of Matthias. He was only
sixteen years old when he began to reign, and he seems to have speedily
left on people around him the impression of a youth of mild and weak
temperament. He released the Brothers who were still in prison, and
they renewed their propaganda.
But their troubles were not yet at an end. Joanna, the widow of King
George, fiercely demanded their suppression; and when they asked for
a free discussion on the points at issue, the Masters of the Prague
University informed them that they might come to Prague to state their
doctrines, and then submit to be convinced of their errors by the
Masters. This was precisely what the Council of Basel had proposed
to the Utraquists themselves, a proposal which they had scornfully
rejected; and the inconsistent character of the claim made by the
Utraquist leaders seems forcibly to have impressed, not only their
Catholic enemies, but even some of their supporters.
Therefore, under the pressure of public opinion, the Masters of
the Prague University consented, in 1473, to a discussion with the
Brothers. Strangely enough, the points which the Masters proposed for
discussion did not refer to the distinctive doctrines of Peter of
Chelc̆ic, but were rather concerned with the meaning of the sacrament
of the Lord’s Supper, and the right means of obtaining salvation. The
Brotherhood denied the doctrine of the Real Presence, and maintained
that salvation was only to be found in a virtuous life; they were
consequently denounced by the Masters of Prague, and very little real
discussion took place. The Masters soon after issued a letter, in which
they declared that the Brothers were the chief enemies of the Church;
and they further complained of them for choosing workmen for the office
of priests.
It was during this phase of the controversy that Gregory died. He had
combined remarkable courage with an unselfish devotion to the cause of
the Brotherhood. He had willingly resigned the first place in favour
of the priest Michael; but he had, none the less, stamped his special
convictions on the minds of certain members of the Brotherhood; and,
for a time, on the constitution of the whole society. He warned the
Brothers very strongly against the dangerous influence of learned
scholars, declaring that such people were given to subtle intrigues,
inconsistent with simplicity of life. At the same time he gave
enormous power into the hands of the Bishop of the Church. He was to
have the right of changing at will the members of the Council who acted
with him; and no Brother was to be allowed to publish any book without
the sanction of the Bishop and this Council of his nominees. More
general questions of faith and doctrine were to be decided by synods of
the Brotherhood.
Though Gregory’s immediate successor in the Brotherhood was a man
of like feelings with himself, neither he nor any one else could
ultimately maintain so strict an organisation in its original form. It
has, indeed, already been hinted that the Bohemian Brotherhood, unlike
their English successors, came, after a short time, into friendly
contact with the outer world; and they suffered in simplicity, while
they gained in influence.
They had now spread over a hundred and eighty square miles of
territory; and though they still for a time maintained the exclusion
of worldly rank and worldly power from their body, they did not object
to accept the protection of friendly nobles, who remained outside
their body. Of these the most prominent and sympathetic was Kostka of
Postupic, whose father had endeavoured to protect the Brothers against
King George, and whose great-grandfather had fought for Z̆iz̆ka.
Through his influence many nobles were induced to modify that attitude
of hostility which the democratic tendencies of the Brotherhood
had naturally produced in them. But this connection could not fail
in time to produce a corresponding change in the feelings of the
Brothers themselves; and some of them began, before long, to propose a
modification of the stern principles which Gregory had enforced. Might
not oaths be used on certain occasions? Say, for instance, to free
a Brother from unjust charges in a law-court? And might not worldly
offices be held, if they were administered in a right spirit? These
questions of practice, together with others of pure doctrine, began
gradually to excite divisions in the Brotherhood; and, though it was
some time before the more moderate creed could gain much ground, it
soon found a powerful and eloquent supporter, who knew how to make it
acceptable.
About the year 1480, Lukas of Prague, a young and learned theologian,
was admitted into the Brotherhood. He had studied the old classics
and the Fathers of the Church; and he was strongly in favour of a
relaxation of those stern simplicities on which Gregory had insisted.
He also desired to give greater prominence to the doctrine of
Justification by Faith, as distinguished from that exclusive advocacy
of good life which had hitherto been the mark of the Brotherhood. Under
the influence of Lukas, it was resolved in 1490 that the heads of the
congregations should be allowed to relax the severity of the rules, on
certain occasions, in regard both to questions of luxury and to the
appeals to the secular power.
Amos of S̆tekna strongly denounced this compromise, and declared that
the devil of worldliness had entered as thoroughly into the Brotherhood
as he had entered into the Church in the time of Constantine and
Sylvester. Mathias of Kunvald, the successor of Gregory in the
leadership of the Brotherhood, sympathised with the sterner party; and,
by his influence, the relaxing decrees were repealed.