The impossibility of conquering Bohemia had now become obvious, and it
was resolved that a council should meet at Basel (q.v.) to examine the
demands of the Hussites. The Germans, however, influenced by Sigismund,
determined to make a last attempt to subdue Bohemia by armed force. The
Bohemians, as usual united in the moment of peril, defeated the Germans
at Domazlice (Taus) on the 1st of August 1431, after a very short fight.
In the course of the same year negotiations began at Basel, the Hussites
being represented by a numerous embassy under the leadership of Prokop
the Great. The negotiations proceeded very slowly, and in 1433 the
Bohemians returned to their own country, accompanied, however, by envoys
of the council. Dissensions had meanwhile again broken out in Bohemia,
and they were now of a political rather than a religious nature. The
more aristocratic Hussites raised an armed force which was known as "the
army of the nobles." The Taborites also collected their men, who formed
"the army of the towns." The two armies met at Lipan, near Kolin, on the
30th of May 1434. The Taborites were defeated, and the two Prokops and
most of their other leaders perished on the battlefield. The victory of
the moderate party paved the way to a reconciliation with Sigismund and
the Church of Rome. The Bohemians recognized Sigismund as their
sovereign, but obtained considerable concessions with regard to
religious matters. These concessions, which were formulated in the
so-called Compacts, granted to the Bohemians the right of communion in
both kinds, and of preaching the gospel freely, and also to a certain
extent limited the power of the clergy to acquire worldly goods.
After the Compacts had been formally recognized at Iglau in Moravia,
Sigismund proceeded to Prague and was accepted as king. He died in the
following year (1437) and was succeeded by his son-in-law, Albert of
Austria, whom the estates chose as their king. Albert died after he had
reigned over Bohemia less than two years. Though it was known that
Albert's widow Elizabeth would shortly give birth to a child, the
question as to the succession to the throne again arose; for it was
only in 1627 that the question whether the Bohemian crown was elective
or hereditary was decided for ever. The nobles formed two parties, one
of which, the national one, had George of Podebrad (q.v.) as its leader.
Ulrich of Rosenberg was the leader of the Roman or Austrian division of
the nobility. The two parties finally came to an agreement known as the
"Letter of Peace" (_list mirny_). Those who signed it pledged themselves
to recognise the Compacts, and to support as archbishop of Prague, John
of Rokycan, who had been chosen by the estates in accordance with an
agreement made simultaneously with the Compacts, but whom the Church of
Rome refused to recognize. On the other hand, the national party
abandoned the candidature to the throne of Prince Casimir of Poland,
thus paving the way to the eventual succession of Albert's heir. On the
22nd of February 1440 Queen Elizabeth gave birth to a son, who received
the name of Ladislas. The Bohemians formally acknowledged him as their
king, though only after their crown had been declined by Albert, duke of
Bavaria. Ladislas remained in Austria under the guardianship of his
uncle Frederick, duke of Styria, afterwards the emperor Frederick III.,
and Bohemia, still without regular government, continued to be the scene
of constant conflicts between the rival parties of the nobility. In 1446
a general meeting of the estates of Bohemia together with those of
Moravia, Silesia and Lusatia--and so-called "lands of the Bohemian
crown"--took place. This meeting has exceptional importance for the
constitutional history of Bohemia. It was decreed that at the meeting of
the estates their members should be divided into three bodies--known as
_curiae_--representing the nobles, the knights and the towns. These
_curiae_ were to deliberate separately and only to meet for a final
decision. An attempt made at this meeting to appoint a regent was
unsuccessful. The negotiations with the papal see continued meanwhile,
but led to no result, as the members of the Roman party used their
influence at the papal court for the purpose of dissuading it from
granting any concessions to their countrymen. Shortly after the
termination of the diet of 1446 George of Podebrad therefore determined
to appeal to the fortune of war. He assembled a considerable army at
Kutna Hora and marched on Prague (1448). He occupied the town almost
without resistance and assumed the regency over the kingdom. The diet in
1451 recognized his title, which was also sanctioned by the emperor
Frederick III., guardian of the young king. Podebrad was none the less
opposed, almost from the first, by the Romanists, who even concluded an
alliance against him with their extreme opponents, Kolda of Zampach and
the other remaining Taborites. In October 1453 Ladislas arrived in
Bohemia and was crowned king at Prague; but he died somewhat suddenly on
the 23rd of November 1457. George of Podebrad has from the first
frequently been accused of having poisoned him, but historical research
has proved that this accusation is entirely unfounded. The Bohemian
throne was now again vacant, for, when electing Ladislas the estates had
reaffirmed the elective character of the monarchy. Though there were
several foreign candidates, the estates unanimously elected George of
Podebrad, who had now for some time administered the country. Though the
Romanist lords, whom Podebrad had for a time won over, also voted for
him, the election was considered a great victory of the national party
and was welcomed with enthusiasm by the citizens of Prague.
During the earlier and more prosperous part of his reign the policy of
King George was founded on a firm alliance with Matthias Corvinus, king
of Hungary, through whose influence he was crowned by the Romanist
bishop of Waitzen. The reign of King George, whose principal supporters
were the men of the smaller nobility and of the towns, was at first very
prosperous. After a certain time, however, some of the Romanist nobles
became hostile to the king, and, partly through their influence, he
became involved in a protracted struggle with the papal see. It was in
consequence of this struggle that some of George's far-reaching
plans--he endeavoured for a time to obtain the supremacy over
Germany--failed. After the negotiations with Rome had proved
unsuccessful George assembled the estates at Prague in 1452 and declared
that he would to his death remain true to the communion in both kinds,
and that he was ready to risk his life and his crown in the defence of
his faith. The Romanist party in Bohemia became yet more embittered
against the king, and at a meeting at Zelena Hora (Grunberg) in 1465
many nobles of the Roman religion joined in a confederacy against him.
In the following year Pope Paul II. granted his moral support to the
confederates by pronouncing sentence of excommunication against George
of Podebrad and by releasing all Bohemians from their oath of allegiance
to him. It was also through papal influence that King Matthias of
Hungary, deserting his former ally, supported the lords of the league of
Zelena Hora. Desultory warfare broke out between the two parties, in
which George was at first successful; but fortune changed when the king
of Hungary invaded Moravia and obtained possession of Brunn, the capital
of the country. At a meeting of the Catholic nobles of Bohemia and
Moravia at Olmutz in Moravia, Matthias was proclaimed king of Bohemia
(May 3, 1469). In the following year George obtained some successes over
his rival, but his death in 1471 for a time put a stop to the war.
George of Podebrad, the only Hussite king of Bohemia, has always, with
Charles IV., been the ruler of Bohemia whose memory has most endeared
itself to his countrymen.
Vladislav of Poland.
George of Podebrad had undoubtedly during the more prosperous part of
his reign intended to found a national dynasty. In later years, however,
hope of obtaining aid from Poland in his struggle against King Matthias
induced him to offer the succession to the Bohemian throne to Vladislav
(Wladislaus, Ladislaus), son of Casimir, king of Poland. No formal
agreement was made, and at the death of George many Bohemian nobles
supported the claim of Matthias of Hungary, who had already been
proclaimed king of Bohemia. Protracted negotiations ensued, but they
ended by the election of Prince Vladislav of Poland at Kutna Hora, the
27th of May 1471. This election was a victory of the national party, and
may be considered as evidence of the strong anti-clerical feeling which
then prevailed in Bohemia; for Matthias was an unconditional adherent of
Rome, while the Polish envoys who represented Vladislav promised that he
would maintain the Compacts. At the beginning of his reign the new king
was involved in a struggle with Matthias of Hungary, who maintained his
claim to the Bohemian throne. Prolonged desultory warfare continued up
to 1478, when a treaty concluded at Olmutz secured Bohemia to Vladislav;
Matthias was to retain the so-called "lands of the Bohemian
crown"--Moravia, Silesia and Lusatia--during his lifetime, and they were
to be restored to Bohemia after his death. Though Vladislav was faithful
to his promise of maintaining the Compacts, and did not attempt to
prevent the Bohemians from receiving the communion in both kinds, yet
his policy was on the whole a reactionary one, both as regards matters
of state and the religious controversies. The king appointed as
government officials at Prague men of that section of the Utraquist
party that was nearest to Rome, while a severe persecution of the
extreme Hussites known as the Bohemian Brethren took place (see
HUSSITES). Serious riots took place at Prague, and the more advanced
Hussites stormed the three town halls of the city. The nobles of the
same faith also formed a league to guard themselves against the menaced
reaction. A meeting of all the estates at Kutna Hora in 1485, however,
for a time restored peace. Both parties agreed to respect the religious
views of their opponents and to abstain from all violence, and the
Compacts were again confirmed.
As regards matters of state the reign of Vladislav is marked by a
decrease of the royal prerogative, while the power of the nobility
attained an unprecedented height, at the expense, not only of the royal
power, but also of the rights of the townsmen and peasants. A decree of
1487 practically established serfdom in Bohemia, where it had hitherto
been almost unknown. It is impossible to exaggerate the importance of
this measure for the future of Bohemia. The rulers of the country were
henceforth unable to rely on that numerous sturdy and independent
peasantry of which the armies of Zizka and the Prokops had mainly
consisted. Various enactments belonging to this reign also curtailed the
rights of the Bohemian townsmen. A decree known as the "regulations of
King Vladislav" codified these changes. It enumerated all the rights of
the nobles and knights, but entirely ignored those of the towns. It was
tacitly assumed that the townsmen had no inherent rights, but only such
privileges as might be granted them by their sovereign with the consent
of the nobles and knights. Civil discord was the inevitable consequence
of these enactments. Several meeting? of the diet took place at which
the towns were not represented. The latter in 1513 formed a confederacy
to defend their rights, and chose Prince Bartholomew of Munsterberg--a
grandson of King George--as their leader.
Louis.
Vladislav was elected king of Hungary in 1490 and many of the events of
his later life belong to the history of Hungary. He married in 1502 Anna
de Candale, who was connected with the royal family of France. He had
two children by her, Anna, who afterwards married the archduke Ferdinand
of Austria, and Louis. Vladislav died in Hungary in 1516. His successor
was his son Louis, who had already been crowned as king of Bohemia at
the age of three. According to the instructions of Vladislav, Sigismund,
king of Poland, and the emperor Maximilian I. were to act as guardians
of the young king. The Bohemian estates recognized this decision, but
they refused to allow the guardians any right of interference in the
affairs of Bohemia. The great Bohemian nobles, and in particular the
supreme burgrave, Zdenek Leo, lord of Rozmital, ruled the country almost
without control. The beginning of the nominal reign of King Louis is
marked by an event which had great importance for the constitutional
development of Bohemia. At a meeting of the estates in 1517 known as the
diet of St Wenceslas--as the members first assembled on the 28th of
September, the anniversary of that saint--they came to terms and settled
the questions which had been the causes of discord. The citizens
renounced certain privileges which they had hitherto claimed, while the
two other estates recognized their municipal autonomy and tacitly
sanctioned their presence at the meetings of the diet, to which they had
already been informally readmitted since 1508. At the first sitting of
this diet, on the 24th of October, it was declared that the three
estates had agreed henceforth "to live together in friendly intercourse,
as became men belonging to the same country and race." In 1522 Louis
arrived in Bohemia from Hungary, of which country he had also been
elected king. On his arrival at Prague he dismissed all the Bohemian
state officials, including the powerful Leo of Rozmital. He appointed
Charles of Munsterberg, a cousin of Prince Bartholomew and also a
grandson of King George, as regent of Bohemia during his absences, and
John of Wartenberg as burgrave. The new officials appear to have
supported the more advanced Hussite party, while Rozmital and the
members of the town council of Prague who had acted in concert with him
had been the allies of the Romanists and those Utraquists who were
nearest to the Church of Rome. The new officials thus incurred the
displeasure of King Louis, who was at that moment seeking the aid of the
pope in his warfare with Turkey. The king therefore reinstated Leo of
Rozmital in his offices in 1525. Shortly afterwards Rozmital became
involved in a feud with the lords of Rosenberg; the feud became a civil
war, in which most of the nobles and cities of Bohemia took sides.
Meanwhile Louis, who had returned to Hungary, opened his campaign
against the Turks. He requested aid from his Bohemian subjects, and this
was granted, by the Rosenberg faction, while Rozmital and his party
purposely delayed sending any forces to Hungary. There were, therefore,
but few Bohemian troops at the battle of Mohacs (August 29, 1526) at
which Louis was decisively defeated and perished.
Origin of the Habsburg dynasty.
Ferdinand.
The death of Louis found Bohemia in a state of great disorder, almost of
anarchy. The two last kings had mainly resided in Hungary, and in spite
of the temporary agreement obtained at the diet of St Wenceslas, the
Bohemians had not succeeded in establishing a strong indigenous
government which might have taken the place of the absentee monarchs.
Archduke Ferdinand of Austria--afterwards the emperor Ferdinand I.--laid
claim to the Bohemian throne as husband of Anna, daughter of King
Vladislav. King Sigismund of Poland, the dukes Louis and William of
Bavaria, several other German princes, as well as several Bohemian
noblemen, of whom Leo of Rozmital was the most important, were also
candidates. The diet resolved to entrust the election to twenty-four of
their members, chosen in equal number from the three estates. These
electors, on the 23rd of October (1526), chose Ferdinand of Habsburg as
their king. This date is memorable, as it marks the permanent accession
of the Habsburg dynasty to the Bohemian throne, though the Austrian
archdukes Rudolph and Albert had previously been rulers of Bohemia for
short periods. Though Ferdinand fully shared that devotion to Rome which
is traditional in the Habsburg dynasty, he showed great moderation in
religious matters, particularly at the beginning of his reign. His
principal object was to establish the hereditary right of his dynasty to
the Bohemian throne, and this object he pursued with characteristic
obstinacy. When a great fire broke out at Prague in 1541, which
destroyed all the state documents, Ferdinand obtained the consent of the
estates to the substitution of a charter stating that he had been
recognized as king in consequence of the hereditary rights of his wife
Anna, in the place of the former one, which had stated that he had
become king by election. This caused great dissatisfaction and was one
of the principal causes of the troubles that broke out shortly
afterwards. Ferdinand had in 1531, mainly through the influence of his
brother the emperor Charles V., been elected king of the Romans and heir
to the Empire. He henceforth took a large part in the politics of
Germany, particularly after he had in 1547 concluded a treaty of peace
with Turkey, which assured the safety of the eastern frontiers of his
dominions. Charles V. about the same time concluded his war with France,
and the brothers determined to adopt a firmer policy towards the
Protestants of Germany, whose power had recently greatly increased. The
latter had, about the time of the recognition of Ferdinand as king of
the Romans, and partly in consequence of that event, formed at
Schmalkalden a league, of which John Frederick, elector of Saxony, and
Philip, landgrave of Hesse, were the leaders. War broke out in Germany
in the summer of 1546, and Charles relied on the aid of his brother,
while the German Protestants on the other hand appealed to their
Bohemian co-religionists for aid.
Struggles in the war against German Protestantism.
Since the beginning of the Reformation in Germany the views of the
Bohemian reformers had undergone a considerable change. Some of the more
advanced Utraquists differed but little from the German Lutherans, while
the Bohemian Brethren, who at this moment greatly increased in influence
through the accession of several powerful nobles, strongly sympathized
with the Protestants of Germany. Ferdinand's task of raising a Bohemian
army in support of his brother was therefore a difficult one. He again
employed his usual tortuous policy. He persuaded the estates to vote a
general levy of the forces of the country under the somewhat
disingenuous pretext that Bohemia was menaced by the Turks; for at that
period no armed force could be raised in Bohemia without the consent of
the estates of the realm. Ferdinand fixed the town of Kaaden on the
Saxon frontier as the spot where the troops were to meet, but on his
arrival there he found that many cities and nobles--particularly those
who belonged to the community of the Bohemian Brethren--had sent no men.
Of the soldiers who arrived many were Protestants who sympathized with
their German co-religionists. The Bohemian army refused to cross the
Saxon frontier, and towards the end of the year 1546 Ferdinand was
obliged to disband his Bohemian forces. Early in the following year he
again called on his Bohemian subjects to furnish an army in aid of his
brother. Only a few of the Romanists and more retrograde Utraquists
obeyed his order. The large majority of Bohemians, on the other hand,
considered the moment opportune for recovering the ancient liberties of
Bohemia, on which Ferdinand had encroached in various ways by claiming
hereditary right to the crown and by curtailing the old privileges of
the land. The estates met at Prague in March 1547, without awaiting a
royal summons,--undoubtedly an unconstitutional proceeding. The
assembly, in which the influence of the representatives of the town of
Prague and of the knights and nobles who belonged to the Bohemian
Brotherhood was predominant, had a very revolutionary character. This
became yet more marked when the news of the elector of Saxony's victory
at Rochlitz reached Prague. The estates demanded the re-establishment of
the elective character of the Bohemian kingdom, the recognition of
religious liberty for all, and various enactments limiting the royal
prerogative. It was decided to entrust the management of state affairs
to a committee of twelve members chosen in equal number from the three
estates. Of the members of the committee chosen by the knights and
nobles four belonged to the Bohemian Brotherhood. The committee decided
to equip an armed force, the command of which was conferred on Kaspar
Pflug of Rabenstein (d. 1576). According to his instructions he was
merely to march to the Saxon frontier, and there await further orders
from the estates; there seems, however, little doubt that he was
secretly instructed to afford aid to the German Protestants. Pflug
marched to Joachimsthal on the frontier, but refused to enter Saxon
territory without a special command of the estates.
Meanwhile the great victory of the imperialists at Muhlberg had for a
time crushed German Protestantism. The Bohemians were in a very
difficult position. They had seriously offended their sovereign and yet
afforded no aid to the German Protestants. The army of Pflug hastily
dispersed, and the estates still assembled at Prague endeavoured to
propitiate Ferdinand. They sent envoys to the camp of the king who, with
his brother Charles, was then besieging Wittenberg. Ferdinand received
the envoys better than they had perhaps expected. He indeed always
maintained his plan of making Bohemia a hereditary kingdom under
Habsburg rule, and of curtailing as far as possible its ancient
constitution, but he did not wish to drive to despair a still warlike
people. Ferdinand demanded that the Bohemians should renounce all
alliances with the German Protestants, and declared that he would make
his will known after his arrival in Prague. He arrived there on the 20th
of July, with a large force of Spanish and Walloon mercenaries, and
occupied the city almost without resistance. Ferdinand treated the
nobles and knights with great forbearance, and contented himself with
the confiscation of the estates of some of those who had been most
compromised. On the other hand he dealt very severely with the
towns--Prague in particular. He declared that their ancient privileges
should be revised--a measure that practically signified a broad
confiscation of lands that belonged to the municipalities. Ferdinand
also forced the townsmen to accept the control of state officials who
were to be called town-judges and in Prague town-captains. These royal
representatives were given almost unlimited control over municipal
affairs. The Bohemian Brethren were also severely persecuted, and their
bishop Augusta was imprisoned for many years.
Ferdinand's policy here was as able as it always was. The peasantry had
ceased to be dangerous since the establishment of serfdom; the power of
the cities was now thoroughly undermined. Ferdinand had only to deal
with the nobles and knights, and he hoped that the influence of his
court, and yet more that of the Jesuits, whom he established in Bohemia
about this time, would gradually render them amenable to the royal will.
If we consider the customs of his time Ferdinand cannot be considered as
having acted with cruelty in the moment of his success. Only four of the
principal leaders of the revolt--two knights, and two citizens of
Prague--were sentenced to death. They were decapitated on the square
outside the Hradcany palace where the estates met on that day (August
22). This diet therefore became known as the "Krvavy'sneem" (bloody
diet). In one of the last years of his life (1562) Ferdinand succeeded
in obtaining the coronation of his eldest son Maximilian as king of
Bohemia, thus ensuring to him the succession to the Bohemian throne. As
Ferdinand I. acceded to the Hungarian throne at the same time as to
that of Bohemia, and as he also became king of the Romans and after the
death of Charles V. emperor, many events of his life do not belong to
the history of Bohemia. He died in 1564.
Maximilian.