S L A V I S T I S C H E D R U K K E N E N H E R D R U K K E N

U I T G E G E V E N D O O R

C . H . V A N S C H O O N E V E L D

H O O G L E R A A R T E L E I D E N

X I

THE POLITICAL A N D

SOCIAL DOCTRINES

UNITY OF CZECH BRETHREN I N T H E

F I F T E E N T H A N D E A R L Y S I X T E E N T H

C E N T U R I E S

M O U T O N & C O 1 9 5 7 ' S - G R A V E N H A G E

S L A V I S T I C P R I N T I N G S A N D R E P R I N T I N G S

E D I T E D B Y

C O R N E L I S H . V A N S C H O O N E V E L D

L E I D E N U N I V E R S I T Y

X I

O F T H E

B Y

P E T E R B R O C K L O N D O N

C O N T E N T S

In t r oduc t i on : The Hussite Century 11

I . Petr ChelCicky, Forerunner o f the Un i ty . . . . 25

I I . The O ld Brethren 70

I I I . The Genesis o f the Schism 103

I V . The Beginnings o f the M i n o r Party 133

V. The Schism 153

V I . The Brethren, the C iv i l Power, and the Oath . . 1 8 2

V I I . The New U n i t y 206

V I I I . The Decline o f the O ld Doctrines 241

Conclusions 274

Appendix : The O ld Doctrines i n U n i t y Histor iography . . . 2 7 7

Note on Sources 285

Bibl iography 293

Index 299

A B B R E V I A T I O N S

A . J . B . A k t a Jednoty Brat rske C. C. M. Casopis Ceskeho Musea C. C. H. Cesky Casopis Historicky

I N T R O D U C T I O N

T H E H U S S I T E C E N T U R Y

The Czech Reformation preceded the German and Swiss Reformat ion by over a century. I n the history o f the Czech lands the hundred years and more that elapsed between the death o f Hus at Constance i n 1415 and the composit ion by Luther i n 1517 o f his ninety-five theses against the sale o f papal indulgences may wel l be called the Hussite century. I n the 1520s the spread o f Lutheran doctrines and the accession o f the Habsburg dynasty marked the end o f an epoch i n the country 's history.

I t was this period, too, that saw the active life o f the rustic philosopher, Petr Chelicky, and the adopt ion o f his radical po l i t ica l and social doctrines by the men who founded the U n i t y o f Brethren. But , after less than a century, these doctrines had already been rejected by a later generation o f Brethren. W i t h i n a hundred years o f Hus's death they were on the way to being forgotten, kept alive only by a t iny and expir ing group o f obscure artisans. By the t ime Luther and Zw ing l i had appeared on the scene the U n i t y o f Brethren had already made its peace w i t h the existing social order, just as the larger and more conservative Hussite body, the official Utraquist church, had done very much earlier.

The Hussite century had been, indeed, a t ime o f revolutionary upheavals and o f pro found changes i n a l l spheres o f life, religious and cul tura l , economic, social and pol i t ical . I n the fourteenth century Bohemia under Charles I V was the administrative centre o f the H o l y Roman Empire and the seat o f the imperia l court . Its university, founded i n Prague i n 1348, had made that c i ty the intel lectual centre o f Centra l Europe. But both the deposition o f Charles's successor, Vclav, f r om the imper ia l throne i n 1400 and the decree o f Kutn Hora o f 1409, wh ich , by granting the Czechs a contro l l ing major i ty in the administrat ion o f the university, led to the migrat ion o f its German scholars and the trans-format ion o f the university f r om a predominant ly German in to an almost entirely Czech inst i tut ion, signified a shift i n the internat ional posi t ion o f the Czech lands. This process o f change culminated after 1415 i n the

12 INTRODUCTION

revolution carried out by Hus's party, whose leaders came mainly f r om the ranks o f former students o f the University o f Prague. The changes achieved i n the religious, pol i t ical and cu l tura l spheres completely transformed the Czech lands and, for more than a century, marked them off f rom the rest o f Europe.

The mora l revolt which Hus and his followers raised against the abuses o f the medieval church had sprung f r om the theological arguments of the Englishman Wycl i f , as wel l as f r om a native source i n the teachings o f Hus's predecessors i n the Czech reform movement. I t was the chalice for the layman, communion i n two kinds, approved by Hus shortly before his death at the stake, that became the standard under which every religious reformer i n the Czech lands fought out the battle against Rome. This above a l l , combined as i t was w i t h the veneration o f Hus's memory, united a l l wings o f the Hussite movement and gave i t its name of Utraquism.

I n 1415 Hus had been supported by a powerful section o f the Czech nobil i ty and gentry as wel l as by the townsmen and university o f Prague. Two years later the Hussite programme was first formulated that i n 1420 was given definitive f o rm i n the Four Articles o f Prague. These called for the free preaching o f the W o r d o f God , communion i n two kinds, the confiscation o f the secular possessions o f monks and priests and for the punishment o f publ ic sin. But the same five years that saw the attempt to formulate the basic common principles o f the movement were marked, too, by its break up in to several confl ict ing groups differing bo th as to theology and social out look.

On the extreme r ight were the conservative Utraquists under their leader, Jan o f Pr ibram, whose disagreement w i th Rome extended to l i t t l e beyond the demand for communion i n two kinds. He and his followers rejected Wycl i f 's views on the sacraments and consistently sought recognition f rom Rome for their special standpoint. Occupying a central position between the two wings o f the movement, and themselves probably the closest i n spirit to Hus himself, there came next the party led first by Jakoubek o f Stf ibro and then, after his death i n 1429, by Jan Rokycana. Their programme was represented i n large measure by the Four Articles o f Prague.

On the left were the Taborites sprung f rom the chiliast enthusiasts who, inspired by an immediate expectation o f the second coming o f Christ and the establishment o f the K ingdom o f God on earth, had gathered i n the years immediately after Hus's death i n the south-east districts o f Bohemia, where they founded the t own o f Tabor f r om which they were to derive

THE HUSSITE CENTURY 13

their name. L ike Wyc l i f they rejected purgatory and maintained the doctr ine o f consubstantation; they simplified the church r i tua l and d id away w i th clerical vestments as inconsistent w i t h the practice o f apostolic t imes; f r om among the seven Cathol ic sacraments they recognized only baptism and communion . I n 1420 they took the epoch-making step o f breaking w i t h the t rad i t i on o f apostolic succession by electing their own bishop, who acted indeed only as primus inter pares. I n social matters they stood for a far-going radicalism, even after the disappearance i n the early 1420s o f the Utopian communism o f their first phase. Largely composed o f peasants and lesser gentry, the Taborites had their equiva-lent i n Prague i n the party o f the poorer t ownsmen led, u n t i l his execution i n 1422, by the revolutionary Utraquist priest, Jan Zelivsky. O n the extreme left came the so-called Adamites, a small group w i t h rationalistic and even pantheistic tendencies, which regarded the communion as a purely commemorative act and completely denied the doctrine o f the real presence. I n 1421, however, they were savagely suppressed by the Taborite leader, Jan Zi ka.

The appearance o f divisions w i th in the Hussite movement was accompanied by increasing danger o f intervention f r om wi thout . D u r i n g 1418 K i n g Vclav, who part ly under the influence o f his wife Zofie had previously been favourably inclined towards the new movement, now began to take sterner measures against the Hussites. For this new pol icy his brother, the Emperor Sigismund, who had set himself up as the champion o f the Church, was largely responsible. Vaclav's death i n the summer o f 1419, shortly after the riots which broke out i n Prague under 2elivsky's leadership and i n which the Cathol ic munic ipa l counci l o f the New T o w n were murdered, meant the opening o f the succession question. The Hussites were only ready to recognize Sigismund as k ing i f he wou ld accept the Hussite programme. This he was clearly unprepared to do. I n the spring o f 1420, therefore, a crusade was proclaimed against the heretical Czechs; and i n June Sigismund invaded the country w i t h a large army and la id siege to Prague. He was successful i n capturing the roya l castle where he was crowned k ing i n the Cathedral o f St. V i t . The danger f r o m wi thout , however, succeeded i n temporar i ly healing a l l the divisions among the Hussites. The Taborites under their leader, Jan 2izka, rall ied to Prague's rescue; Sigismund was defeated at the battle o f V i t kov Heights and compelled to wi thdraw. Return ing i n the au tumn o f the same year at the head o f a new crusade he was once again defeated by 2iika at the battle o f Vysehrad. These two disasters, due largely to the mi l i tary genius o f 2izka, combined w i t h the repulse o f a second

14 INTRODUCTION

crusade i n 1421, stiffened the Hussites' determination not to compromise on their fai th and spelled the end o f Sigismund's chances o f acceptance as king by the Hussite major i ty i n Bohemia for more than a decade. I n the summer o f 1421 the Bohemian diet meeting at Caslav formal ly accepted the Four Articles o f Prague and rejected Sigismund's c la im to the throne.

W i t h the disappearance o f the danger o f invasion f r o m wi thout , differ-ences rapidly sprang up again among the Hussites. Negotiations had been opened w i th the Polish k ing , Wladyslaw Jagiello, who agreed t o send his nephew, Zygmunt Korybutowicz , to take possession o f the vacant throne. But Korybutowicz was only acknowledged as k ing by the more moderate Hussites. H is obvious desire to reconcile Bohemia wi th Rome made h i m unpopular w i th the Taborites; and i n 1427 he was finally forced to leave the country. Meanwhile, even w i th in the Tabori te camp unity had not been maintained. I n 1423 Z i i k a had quarrelled on doctrinal matters w i t h the Taborite priests and founded his own un ion o f towns in east Bohemia. Af ter his death i n the fo l lowing year his followers took on the name o f the Orphans, remaining, however, i n close alliance with the Taborites o f south Bohemia.

Despite internal dissension dur ing the 1420s, the Hussites were strong enough dur ing this decade not merely to repel a l l attempts to br ing them back into the Roman Church, but to carry their own creed by force in to neighbouring lands. The expeditions in to Germany and Poland made by an alliance o f Taborites and Orphans under the leadership o f Zizka's successor, Prokop Ho ly , and the propaganda which culminated i n the Hussite manifestos o f 1430 and 1431, carried the offensive beyond the boundaries o f Czech-speaking terr i tory. The defeat o f attempted invasions of Bohemia i n 1427 and again i n 1431, when the crusaders were routed at the battle o f Domazlice, showed clearly that the Hussites could not be crushed by force. A t the same t ime, w i t h the demoral izat ion caused by continual warfare and the watering down o f the or ig inal idealism by the increasing desire for the acquisit ion o f wealth and plunder, the morale of the Hussites began to decline. Whi le the successful repulsion o f foreign intervention gave them sufficient strength to compel even the papal see to consider opening up negotiations w i th acknowledged heretics, by the early 1430s a considerable party among the Hussites themselves were now anxious to f ind some modus vivendi w i th Rome and the rest o f Europe, which would not at the same t ime sacrifice their hard-won religious principles.

After Domai l ice , therefore, negotiations were started between Hussite Bohemia and the Counci l o f Basel, which had begun its sessions i n 1431.

THE HUSSITE CENTURY 15

The Czechs were invited to the Counc i l on an equal foot ing w i t h the other delegates to argue their case before the assembled leaders o f the church. I n May o f the fo l lowing year emissaries o f the Counci l and representatives o f the Hussites met together at Cheb, agreeing there, by the so-called Soud chebsky, to recognize as their ' judge' i n matters i n dispute the Scriptures and the practice o f Christ and His apostles and o f the pr imit ive church, as wel l as the councils and fathers o f the church i n so far as they were based on these.

Though no compromise was reached dur ing the visit o f the Czech delegation to the Counci l o f Basel i n the early spring o f 1433, the represen-tatives sent by the Counci l soon after to negotiate direct w i t h the Bohemian diet were successful i n finding an agreed formula i n the shape o f the Compctala, which were signed i n November o f the same year. This proved i n effect a t r i umph for concil iar diplomacy, since i n practice l i t t le more o f the or ig inal Hussite programme was granted than the exercise o f communion i n two kinds. The Taborites and Orphans now united to oppose the agreement as a betrayal o f the principles o f the Hussite movement and, as a result, the moderate Utraquist nobles jo ined w i t h their Cathol ic fellow citizens to defeat the radicals at the battle o f L ipany i n May 1434. D u r i n g the fighting the Taborite leader, Prokop Ho ly , fel l w i t h many other leading members o f his party.

The Tabori te defeat made i t easier for the moderate Hussites to push forward further negotiations w i t h the Counci l as wel l as w i t h the Emperor Sigismund, who had never ceased to strive for the recovery o f his here-ditary k ingdom. Though the Czechs were w i l l ing to abandon their c la im that the cup for the layman should be made obl igatory throughout Bohemia, they remained adamant i n their demand that the new arch-bishop and his two subordinate bishops, who were to take charge o f church affairs i n the country, should be elected by the diet i n conjunct ion w i t h the Utraquist clergy. To this Sigismund finally consented; and, after the election i n 1435 o f Rokycana and his two coadjutors, he promished to do his utmost to obtain the church's conf i rmat ion o f the elections. I n July o f the fo l lowing year, therefore, a meeting t ook place at Jihlava between the Czechs, on one hand, and Sigismund and the delegates o f the Counci l , on the other. The Compactata, as drawn up i n 1433, were then formal ly recognized. The way was now open for Sigismund to return to Prague as K ing o f Bohemia, recognized by bo th Roman Catholics and moderate Utraquists alike. W i t h his entry in to Prague i n August 1436 the inter-regnum, which had lasted exactly seventeen years, was finally at an end.

Religious dissension and c iv i l strife, however, were by no means ended

16 INTRODUCTION

by the settlement, which marked only the conclusion o f the first stage i n the Hussite revolut ion, in the struggle o f Utraquist Bohemia against the Catholic wor ld . The church had not in fact abandoned hope o f br inging about the complete reconversion o f the Hussites, nor i n t u r n had the latter reconciled themselves to the legal existence o f supporters o f c ommu-n ion i n one k ind alongside the Utraquist major i ty . The Taborites continued i n their negative attitude to even a temporary truce w i t h the enemies o f the chalice ; while, on the other hand, outside Bohemia - i n Morav ia and i n the other peripheral lands o f the Bohemian C r o w n : the two Lusatias and Silesia - Catholicism st i l l remained the dominant fa i th. Efforts to obta in the church's approval o f Rokycana's election as arch-bishop were to prove unavail ing.

W i t h Sigismund's re turn to Prague, and the transference o f the admin i -stration o f the church i n Bohemia to legates appointed by the Counci l , a period o f reaction set i n . I n Prague only the conservative w ing o f the Hussite movement was granted a l imited tolerat ion. Rokycana, turned out o f his T y n Church , fled to Hradec Krlov i n east Bohemia, where the Utraquists, under the leadership o f a powerful nobleman, Hynce Ptcek o f PirkStejn, were extremely strong; and here he was to remain for the next eleven years.

The death o f Sigismund i n December 1437 once again reopened the question o f the succession. Neither the claims o f A lber t o f Austr ia , Sigismund's son-in-law, who died i n October 1439, nor later those o f the former's posthumous son, Ladislav, received general acknowledgement throughout Bohemia; and, although a general peace was established i n 1440 between the supporters o f Ladislav, mainly Catholics and conserva-tive Utraquists, and the more radical Hussites under Hynce Ptek, this second interregnum was to last un t i l 1452.

The 1440s saw the consolidation i n east Bohemia o f the party led by Rokycana i n the religious sphere and, after Hynce Ptek's death i n 1444, by a young Utraquis t nobleman, George o f Podbrady, i n pol i t ica l affairs. The Podbrady Un ion o f eastern counties, which the latter succeeded i n bui ld ing up, formed a base f rom which in 1448 he was able to set for th to regain Prague, where attempts to reintroduce o ld church practices had aroused much discontent. Rokycana, w i t h whose party the conservative w ing o f the Hussite movement, led by Pr ibram, had by now merged, was once more reinstalled i n his T y n Church as the ack-nowledged head o f the Utraquist church, a l though a l l efforts to gain papal confirmation o f his office were to fa i l .

After George o f Podbrady's entry into Prague only the Taborites st i l l

THE HUSSITE CENTURY 17

remained i n open opposit ion. Their theological innovations, as wel l as their l i turgical practices, had been condemned by the diet held at Prague in 1444, which had decided against them i n their controversy w i th Rokycana's party, and ordered them to conform accordingly. I n the sum-mer o f 1452, four years after his t r iumpha l entry in to Prague and v i r tua l taking over o f the reins o f government i n the land, Pod6brady was strong enough to force Tabor to surrender w i thout a struggle. Several o f the Taborite leaders, inc luding their bishop, MikulaS o f Pelhf im, were put into prison, where they were kept un t i l death. I n the fo l lowing year the town's defences were dismantled; and this marked the final defeat o f the Taborites and the v i r tua l suppression, i n the name o f religious or tho-doxy and national uni ty , o f the radical w ing o f the Hussite move-ment.

I n 1451 negotiations had been opened up w i t h Frederick o f Austr ia , the boy Ladislav's guardian. Two years later Ladislav, who was at the t ime in the hands o f the Austr ian Estates, was brought to Prague where i n October 1453 he was crowned k ing. A l though , through PodSbrady's influence, he ascended the throne not by virtue o f his hereditary r ight but through election by the Bohemian diet, the other provinces o f the crown continued to support the young king's hereditary claims. Ladislav, however, agreed to recognize the Compactata and to seek papal conf irmation for the archbishop-elect Rokycana. Podgbrady, too, carried on as governor o f the realm i n actual charge o f the affairs o f state dur ing Ladislav's minor i ty .

A t this period bo th PodSbrady and Rokycana were anxious to effect a lasting reconcil iation w i t h Rome. W i t h their belief i n the val id i ty o f holy orders only i f handed down as a result o f apostolic succession, the Utraquists were faced w i t h a diff icult di lemma after the death i n 1431 o f the Archbishop o f Prague, K o n r a d o f Vechta, who had gone over to the Hussites. I n order to be certain o f a regular supply o f priests they had either to become reconciled w i th Rome, even at the cost o f uncondit ional submission, or to find some other church in the true line o f the apostolic succession: a problem which proved insoluble and was to haunt their church throughout the greater part o f its existence. A n attempt i n 1452 to establish contact w i t h the Greek Orthodox Church was broken off prematurely by the fa l l o f Constantinople in May o f the fo l lowing year. PodSbrady's subsequent efforts to effect a reconcil iat ion w i t h the Roman Church were likewise cut short by the death o f the young k ing i n Novem-ber 1457. His brief reign had been marked by the increasingly menacing attitude taken up by the Catholic party towards the Utraquists, an att i tude

10 INTRODUCTION

which helped to give a very radical co lour ing to Rokycana's public utterances o f this period.

The throne once again left vacant by Ladislav's death was filled i n March 1458 by the election o f George o f Podbrady himself. W i t h i n a couple o f years he had compelled recognition o f his kingship throughout the lands o f the Bohemian C r o w n ; and his reputat ion at this t ime stood so high i n Central Europe that plans were set on foot to make h i m K i n g o f the Romans and co-partner w i th the Emperor i n the government o f Germany. Though these schemes never actually materialized, they witness to the high esteem i n which George was held by his fellow princes. However, i n order to obtain his coronation by properly consecrated bishops, lent on this occasion by K i n g Matthias Corvinus o f Hungary, George had been forced to take a secret and somewhat ambiguously worded oath on the day before his coronat ion: an oath which could wel l be considered a renunciation o f the Compactata, though not regarded as such by George himself. But neither compromise on this occasion, nor George's attempts to prove 'h is abhorrence o f heresy by the sterner measures taken in the early 1460s against the growing U n i t y o f Brethren, founded about the time o f his accession, were successful i n persuading the papal see, occupied at that period by the humanist Pius I I (Aeneas Sylvius), to accept the Compactata. Indeed, i n 1462, the Pope went so far as to condemn communion i n two kinds and to make his recognition o f George's election as k ing condit ional upon his renunciation o f the Com-pactata. Three years later hostilities broke out between George and the discontented Catholic nobi l i ty , who had combined against h im i n the League o f Zelen Hora . A t the end o f the fo l lowing year, i n December 1466, the Pope finally declared George an avowed heretic and deposed h im f r om the throne, relieving his subjects o f their duty o f obedience. I n the spring o f 1468 K i n g Matthias o f Hungary, whose formerly fr iendly relations w i th George had gradually cooled over the years, now intervened in Bohemian affairs as executor o f the papal sentence o f deposition and protector o f the Catholic rebel noblemen. These proceeded to elect Matthias k ing i n place o f George; as a result war ensued between the two kings, which was st i l l undecided when i n 1471 George died at the age o f seventy-one.

The only Czech to occupy the Bohemian throne after the ext inct ion o f the Pfemyslid dynasty i n 1306, George went far to restore inside the lands o f the Bohemian Crown the prestige o f the monarchy, which had been lost dur ing the long years o f the interregnum, and to regain the position which Bohemia had occupied i n the European communi ty o f

THE HUSSITE CENTURY 19

nations before the outbreak o f the Hussite wars. He once again estab-lished peace and order throughout the terr i tory under his contro l and, though he lacked the burn ing sense o f mission which inspired the first generation after Hus's death, he was able to secure the heritage o f U t r a -quism against attacks f r om wi thout and w i th in .

He was succeeded on the throne by the fifteen year o ld Vladislav I I , eldest son o f the Polish K i n g Kazimierz I V o f the Jagieflonian dynasty. After Matthias's intervention George had wisely abandoned his earlier desire to obta in the throne for his own family. Though a devout Catholic, K i n g Kazimierz had been ready to give George practical support against Matthias in return for a promise o f the c rown for his eldest son after George's death. The fact that a party o f Magyar nobles opposed to Matthias had also offered the Hungar ian crown to the Jagiellons proved a further impor tant factor influencing Kazimierz 's decision to come to George's a id.

The struggle for the Bohemian throne between Matthias and the Jagiellons d id not end conclusively u n t i l 1478, when a compromise settle-ment was agreed to at the Peace o f Olomouc. Morav ia , Silesia, and the two Lusatias were retained by Matthias , while Vladislav was left w i t h only Bohemia proper. The t i t le o f K i n g o f Bohemia was granted to bo th contestants. Though provis ion was made for the eventual reunit ing o f a l l the lands o f the Bohemian Crown, there was now great danger that the peripheral lands wou ld i n actual fact become detached f r om the ma in centre o f Czech culture i n Bohemia. However, the death o f Matthias i n 1490 wi thout a legitimate heir, and the election o f Vladislav to the vacant Hungarian throne, removed the danger o f disintegration.

Though Vladislav, l ike his predecessor, had promised at his accession to respect the Compactata and to strive to obtain papal recognition for the Utraquists ' demands, after the conclusion of peace w i t h Matthias i n 1478 there was a marked increase i n the activities o f the Catholic party i n Bohemia, and o f the monastic orders i n particular. The Cathol ic Upper Consistory i n charge o f the interests o f the adherents o f the o ld re l ig ion, which had been forced to flee f r o m Prague to Plzen i n 1467, now returned to the capital. As a result o f the rising tension between the supporters o f communion in one k ind and the protagonists o f the chalice for the layman, serious r iot ing broke out i n Prague i n 1483. Fear o f the renewal o f c i v i l war and foreign intervention led to the conclusion i n 1485 o f the famous Treaty o f Kutna Hora , by which religious peace i n the land was guaranteed for a period o f th ir ty- two years, a period which was successively prolonged unti l the final suppression o f Ut raqu ism i n 1627. By the Treaty the

INTRODUCTION

Compactata were reconfirmed and fu l l equality was to be maintained between Roman Catholics and Utraquists, who were bo th to continue to have the r ight to receive communion according to their own r i te . Each party agreed to refrain f r om any attempt to persecute the other; and the number o f churches i n the possession o f each was to remain as at the time o f Vladislav's accession.

The remainder o f Vladislav's l ong reign was marked by the absence o f open religious strife, even though the growing Un i t y o f Brethren was not covered by the provisions o f the Treaty o f Ku tna Hora , and by the freedom o f the country f rom entanglement i n foreign war and f r om invasion f r om wi thout . Vladislav's m i l d and somewhat ineffective character, while favourable to the maintenance o f religious tolerat ion, signified, on the other hand, a relaxation o f the efforts made by George o f PodSbrady to curb the increasing power o f the nobi l i ty . The accession i n 1516 o f Vladis-lav's ten-year-old son, Ludv ik , to his two kingdoms o f Bohemia and Hungary, and the fact that for the former the boy k ing was an absentee for the greater part o f his reign, strengthened even further the dominat ion o f the country by the nobi l i ty headed by the great magnates. But the rule o f the Jagiellonian dynasty in Bohemia was abrupt ly ended i n August 1526 by the defeat and death o f the young K i n g L u d v i k at the battle o f Mohacs i n an attempt to drive back the oncoming Turk i sh invasion.

The election o f a Habsburg to the vacant throne in the same year and the gradual in f i l t rat ion in to the Czech lands dur ing the 1520s o f Lutheran ideas, which were supported w i th in the official Utraquist chuch by the so-called neo-Utraquist party, brought the Hussite century to a conclu-sion. Dur ing this whole period neither the c iv i l strife between moderate Utraquist and radical Tabori te dur ing the first ha l f o f the century, nor the secession f rom the main body, i n the second, o f some o f the most sp i r i -tually alive to f o rm a separate Un i t y o f Brethren, nor even the spir i tual deadness which gradually set i n w i th in the Utraquist church itself, was able to lessen the greatness o f the religious inheritance left by the Hussite revolution.

I n the pol i t ical and cul tura l fields the permanent gains were less obvious. The republicanism of the Taborite w ing had been suppressed; and the revolutionary pol i t ical thought, which the upheavals o f the t ime had generated, died away seemingly w i thout an echo. The nat ion that had defied its anointed monarch and carried on its affairs for nearly two decades wi thout a k ing was finally induced, under certain conditions, to accept h im back again. Later, the native Bohemian Hussite k ing was succeeded by the foreign Catholic dynasties o f Jagiello and Habsburg.

THE HUSSITE CENTURY 21

Nevertheless, the independence and integrity o f the Czech lands remained intact for almost the whole period u n t i l the disastrous battle o f the Wh i t e Mounta in in 1620.

The Hussite revolut ion, too, gave a powerful impetus to the feeling o f Czech national ity, i f i t d id not actually init iate the nat ional movement. This was shown above a l l i n the cul tura l sphere. The use o f Czech came to predominate i n a l l branches o f government, central and loca l : i n the executive, the legislature and i n jud ic ia l matters, as wel l as i n the church and i n private li fe. Through the efforts o f the Taborites, and later o f the Czech Brethren, w i t h their desire to make the Bible accessible to their simple followers, the rudiments o f education were extended to the masses o f the populat ion. Even hostile witnesses testified to the high level o f literacy among both Taborites and Brethren. A t the same t ime there arose a r ich l iterature i n the vernacular, which indeed had its origins i n the previous century and even earlier. Numerous impor tant theological and moralistic works, such as the writ ings o f Hus himself or ChelCiky, popular songs, hymns and pol i t ica l satires, chronicles and histories, as well as works o f pure l i terature i n prose and verse, were now wri t ten i n their authors' native Czech.

I t was not only culture that was imbued w i th the nat ional spir i t . As a result o f the Hussite revolut ion and the wars that fol lowed, i n Bohemia at least, the native Czech elements gained cont ro l i n the towns through the expropriat ion o f the largely German patriciate, wh ich favoured Catho l i -cism. The creation o f a strong Czech burgher class was itself a powerful support for Czech culture and Czech nat ional feeling as wel l as for the Hussite movement generally. The cities the capital , Prague, and Tabor in south Bohemia i n part icular influenced events to a remarkable degree, especially dur ing the war years; and burghers were now admitted to the diet.

But not a l l was gain. The destruction o f the war years, religious fana-ticism in both camps, the breaking o f cul tura l and economic ties w i t h the rest o f Europe, led to a narrowing o f cu l tura l interests, wh ich expressed itself, for instance, i n a decline i n the intellectual level o f the University o f Prague. Towards the end o f the fifteenth century, too, a tendency appeared as in neighbouring Poland for the nobi l i ty to t ry to exclude the towns, which ranked at the th i rd estate i n the Bohemian diet, f r om any important share i n the w o r k o f government. I n 1485, for instance, K ing Vladislav decreed that the burgesses might vote i n the diets only on matters directly concerning their estate. The struggle between burgher and noble was to be a long one, but the seeds were already sown.

INTRODUCTION I

]

The results o f the economic and social forces at wo rk i n the Hussite revolution were as usual less clearly visible, but i n their final results cer-tainly as far-reaching as in other spheres o f life. The conditions i n wh ich the peasantry l ived during the fourteenth century were certainly not worse than i n the centuries succeeding the Hussite revolut ion. The many abuses which existed i n practice, however, were denounced i n for thr ight terms by a long series o f moralists; and a cult o f the simple man, the peasant, had grown up as a result o f the writ ings and preaching o f Hus's prede-cessors. A n extensive literature existed i n the period just before the Hussite revolution, inveighing against the oppression o f the peasantry i n a l l its forms and postulating the theoretical equality o f a l l men i n the sight o f God. The peasantry in many places, and especially i n South Bohemia where the conditions were part icularly ripe for change, became

/ the most enthusiastic supporters o f the new religious movement.

They were jo ined by the lower strata o f the t own populat ion, anxious t o oust the German patriciate, and by many o f the nob i l i ty - and even some o f the magnates - eager to take the oppor tun i ty to seize the wealth o f the Catholic Church, which at the beginning o f the fifteenth century was i n possession o f at least a t h i r d of the to ta l area o f the country.

On the social side, indeed, despite the existence o f many purely selfish motives, the Hussite movement at its best expressed the desire for a juster social order. Earlier radical pol i t ical thinkers had usually been content to leave their radicalism i n the realm o f theory or to l im i t its appl icat ion to those who consciously renounced the wor ld . The Czechs put theory into practice. They broadened the medieval concept o f freedom as a personal privilege to be acquired by rank or service or money into a un i -versal mora l principle, founded on the gospel Law o f Love. They sought, however haltingly, to br ing society into line w i t h the teachings o f the New Testament, as they understood them, and w i th their conception o f the life o f the early church. The social ideology o f Stitny and Hus's other predecessors, o f Hus himself, o f the communist ic chiliasts and the

( republican Taborites, o f Chelcicky and, later, o f Rokycana i n his more

radical moments and the early Czech Brethren, reflected i n varying degree the hopes and fears o f the oppressed.

The Hussite revolut ion, however, failed to achieve a radical and lasting change in the existing structure o f society. A shift i n the centre o f power was the sole outcome. The church lost the greater part o f its secular possessions and its pol i t ical power; and the nobles successfully extended their estates by swallowing up the church lands. The central author i ty , the power o f the k ing, was weakened for over a century; and this accrued

I THE HUSSITE CENTURY 23

i mainly to the advantage o f the nob i l i ty and the magnates. Czechs had ! displaced Germans as the ru l ing element i n the towns. The religious

freedom o f the official Utraquis t church, which control led the University o f Prague and the educational system o f the country, was to remain intact unt i l the victory o f the Counter-Reformation i n the first ha l f o f the seven-teenth century. A flourishing indigenous culture had g rown up, though this natural ly was enjoyed main ly by the educated classes. But the status o f the peasantry, the class which had most to gain f r om the revolut ion, which supported i t w i t h most enthusiasm and sacrificed most on its behalf, deteriorated steadily dur ing the course o f the succeeding centuries.

The aftermath o f the Hussite wars had left, on the one hand, vast wealth and power concentrated i n the hands o f the nobi l i ty and, on the other, a dearth o f labour owing to the destruction o f the war years. For the peasant this resulted in an increase i n labour services, money dues, and the obl igation for mi l i tary service; the spread o f pisciculture the flooding o f land by nobles and gentry i n order to create fish ponds, a profitable source o f income that called for l i t t le l a b o u r w a s often at the same t ime detrimental to the peasants' interests. D u r i n g the second ha l f o f the fifteenth century there was a gradual but steady loss o f the peasants' personal l iberty. Freedom o f movement was restricted; every peasant was legally required to have a l o r d ; and peasants were now al lowed to leave their villages only w i th the permission o f their l o rd , who obtained the r ight to reclaim those who had migrated to the t own or another estate. I t was made an offence, too, punishable by fine or imprisonment, to hide or in any way wi t t ing ly to help such a fugitive. The weakness o f the central government also placed the administrat ion o f justice, so far as i t affected the peasant, i n the hands o f the landowners, who i n this way came to possess absolute power over their tenants. Thus, by the end o f the century the peasants, together w i th a l l their family, had become adscripti glebae, serfs tied to the land they cult ivated. Their unfree status was now enshrined in the great compi lat ion o f the laws o f the land issued i n 1500 under the name o f the Land Ordnance (Zflzeni zemske).

The worsening o f the peasants' condi t ion was, i t is true, c ommon not only to the Czech lands, but also to neighbouring countries l ike Poland and Hungary, which had been v i r tua l ly untouched by the Hussite move-ment. Its causes, therefore, cannot be attr ibuted solely to the results o f this movement. Nevertheless, the long war years i n part icular proved a powerful stimulus to tendencies, which were already present i n the social system. The bright hopes which the early Tabor i te chiliasts had enter-tained o f a radical amel iorat ion o f the peasants' lot were to be entirely

INTRODUCTION

shattered by the course which events took over the next hundred years. I t is only, indeed, i n the l ight o f disappointed hopes for social

betterment, o f disil lusionment after long years o f sacrifice and struggle for an ideal which appeared to recede ever further as the years passed by, that the history o f the pol i t ica l and social doctrines, first propounded by Petr Chelcicky and then taken over by the Brethren o f the early Un i t y , can be properly understood. These doctrines were, to a large extent, the outcome o f their background, pol i t ica l , economic and social, as wel l as religious and cul tura l . I n their t u r n they were themselves to help to mou ld the development o f thought and the pattern o f future events.

I

P E T R C H E L C I C K Y , F O R E R U N N E R O F T H E

U N I T Y

The Czech nat ion has contr ibuted several outstanding figures to European history. The achievements o f Hus and Komensky, Z izka and George o f PodSbrady, Palacky and Masaryk are wel l -known at least to a l l historians. The name o f Petr Chelcick^, however, the th inker whose chief w o r k Tolstoy, for instance, has described as 'a most remarkable product ion o f human thought, bo th f r o m the pro fundi ty o f its contents and the wonder-ful force and beauty o f its popular language,' 1 has scarcely been heard o f outside the frontiers o f his native country. Chel&cky, says Tolstoy, 1 'occupies w i th in Christ ianity the same posit ion as Christ ianity itself w i th in the whole human commun i t y ; ' 2 and a great Slav scholar has claimed that J ' i f Chelcicky had been born a German, a Frenchman or an Englishman he would undoubtedly have exercised an impor tant influence on the history o f law and social theory i n Europe. ' 3 For most historians his works are a , closed book on account o f the barrier o f language. Since his rediscovery, however, a century ago by Palacky and Safarik, after over three centuries o f obl iv ion, Czechs o f a l l schools o f thought have at least agreed i n assigning to ChelSicky an outstanding role i n the history and literature o f their nat ion, and a growing number o f foreign scholars have come too to realize his significance as a po l i t ica l th inker . 4

1 To l s toy , The Kingdom of God is Within You, p. 26. I t was M a s a r y k , s t ruck by the similarity o f their ideas, w h o first brought Che l5 i ck^ to To l s t oy ' s attention. See A . Pawlow, ' L . N . To ls to j u n d T . G . M a s a r y k , ' Wiener Slavistisches Jalirbuch, 1955, pp. 66 -70 , 79, 80. * To ls toy , Krug Chteniya, I I I , p. 261. ' Jagic in his Int ro . Sochineniya Petra Khekhitskago, p. X X V . C f . K a m i l K r o f t a , "Bohemia in the Fi f teenth Century , ' Cambridge Medieval History, V I I I , p. 8 7 : ' H i s writings, indeed, a re among the few medieval l iterary works wh i ch c an even to-day captivate our interest. ' ' Apa r t from C z e c h the only languages in wh i ch art ic les o r books o n Che lC icky have appeared are G e r m a n and R u s s i a n , though these are not indeed numerous . F r e e renderings of several of his w o r k s have a lso been publ ished i n these two languages. Fu r the r details are given in the bibl iography. No th ing o f any value has so far appeared in Eng l i sh .

PETR C H E L i l C K Y

Carrying the principles o f the Hussite revolut ion to their logical conclusion, ChelSicky at the same t ime provided the theoretical found-at ion on which was bui l t up a new religious communi ty , the U n i t y o f Brethren (Jednota bratrskd), which was i n its t u r n to mark a fresh stage i n the nation's pol i t ical and religious development. The pol i t ica l and social doctrines o f this body, therefore, cannot be understood w i thout first considering the theories o f their ' sp ir i tual father,' ChelSicky. 5

I

Scarcely any in format ion has come down to us about Chelcicky's life or character. What l i t t le is known is usually open to doubt , consists largely o f hypotheses more or less plausible. Precise dates are almost entirely absent; while i t is quite impossible to gain any impression o f his personal-i ty apart f r o m the internal evidence o f his own writ ings, which unfor tun-ately contain comparatively few references to himself. Indeed, his works are almost the sole source of our knowledge o f his life, since external documentary evidence does not exist. The or ig inal i ty and depth o f his thought, the audacity o f his theory and the obviously outstanding character of his intellect, make this ignorance the more tantal iz ing.

The date o f Chel&cky's b i r th - as o f al l the other events o f his life - is, therefore, uncertain. He was probably born , however, about 1390 i n the south Bohemian village o f Chel&ce near the small country t own o f Vodfiany. He appears to have acquired his surname many years later f rom the founder o f the Un i t y , Brother Rehof . 6 The name though does not necessarily indicate the place o f his b i r t h , signifying only the spot where he spent most o f his l i f t . But the social conditions o f the period make i t probable that he was born and reared at least i n the immediate neighbourhood. 7 No th ing is known for certain o f his parents or fami ly nor o f his chi ldhood and schooling: the sources give no indicat ion whether he ever married. Even the social class to which he belonged and the calling he pursued dur ing his life-time are matters o f debate.

Some earlier hypotheses - for instance, that he was a cobbler, a tai lor, a discharged soldier, a priest, or a Waldensian preacher - have been discarded. But he may have been a member o f the squirearchy (zeman) or a yeoman (svobodnik), independent o f any feudal l o rd and owning his own land, or even an unfree peasant (sedldk). The supposition that he was a yeoman appears very possible. I t wou ld have given h im the means to

5 Pa lacky, Dijlny ndrodu ceskeho, V , p. 218. * Simek, ' O zivote a dile Pet ra Che lc ickeho , ' Sit' viry (Mode rn C z e c h edition), p. 313. 7 Vogl , Peter Cheltschizki, p. 13.

FORERUNNER OF THE UNITY 27

acquire some measure o f education, sufficient leisure to pursue his l i terary activities, and an independence o f att i tude, wh ich membership o f the semi-serf peasantry wou ld have made very diff icult, at the same time al lowing h i m to preserve that sympathy w i t h his unfree fellow peasants and passionate advocacy o f their rights which appear i n a l l his writ ings. I t may thus have been only later i n life that he adopted the labourer's status as part o f a programme o f vo luntary poverty. 8

Since the last war, however, Professor Bartos, the leading contemporary author i ty on the period, has put forward another theory: that o f Chelick^'s identity w i t h a certain Petr Zhorka, a well-to-do squire f r om near-by Zhori, who was born about 1379-81. Zhorka's name dis-/ appears f r om the records after 1424; i n Bartos's view, because he was later known under the name o f Chelicky. This theory, also, wou ld explain the latter's education, astonishing at this t ime i n a simple countryman, as well as his independent spir i t and freedom f r o m outside interference. Though Bartos has expressed his belief i n the val id i ty o f his theory, i t must be stressed that i t remains a hypothesis, even i f an extremely plausible one; no positive proo f o f the identity o f the two men has as yet been brought f o rward . 9 A t any rate, Chelicky appears to have been for most o f his life a work ing farmer, whatever his origins or his exact legal status.

I t was not un t i l 1419, four years after Hus's death, that Chelcicky made his first appearance on the stage o f history. Towards the end o f this year, roused by the fanatical oratory o f demagogic priest prophesying the overthrow o f the existing social order and the imminent second coming o f Christ i n his glory, when only five holy cities - K la tov , Louny , Plzefi, Slane and Zatec - wou ld be spared f r om the divine wrath , masses o f peasants, especially f r om south Bohemia, crowded to the capital city o f Prague. Among thousands o f others came Chelcicky, then quite u n known. A t that time, indeed, he was almost certainly at one i n most o f his opinions w i th the masses o f his fel low pi lgrims, who had been f locking i n thousands to participate i n the religious ceremonies on M o u n t Tabor . 1 0

* Che lc i cky , O trojim lidu, pp. 6, 7 ; Cha loupecky , 'St i tny a C h e l i i c k y , ' . M. M., 1914, pp. 7 3 - 7 6 ; Urbnek, Vik Podibradsky, I I I , pp. 8 8 6 - 8 9 ; K r o f t a , Listy z nboiens-k )(h Jijin Ceskych, pp. 2 0 5 - 0 6 ; G o l l - K r o f t a , Chelicky a Jednota v XV stoleli, pp. 4, 5 ; Vogl . op. cil., pp. 13-15. B-inoS. Jihofesky sbornik historicky, 1946, pp. 1-8; 1947, pp. 1-9. B u t cf. V . Cha loupecky , C. C. H., X L V I I I / X L I X (1949), pp. 481 -83 .

G o l l - K r o f t a , op. cil., p. 6 ; K ro f t a , op. cit., p. 208 ; Yas t rebov , ' K h e l c h i t s k y i G u s , ' S'i'vyy ibornik izd. uchenikami Lamanskago, p. 4 7 2 ; Ktoz i s boti bojovnici, pp. 37, 46. 6-69; Macck , Tbor v husitskem revolucnim hnuti, I I , chap . I I . Bar tos places C h c l c i c k / s arr ival in Prague in the late spr ing o f 1420. - J. S. H., 1947, p. 3.

28 PETR CHELClCKY

For Chel i icky was a true son o f the south Bohemia which played such a significant role in the Hussite movement.

He may already have come to Prague as a convinced adherent o f at least some of the tenets of the Waldensian heresy, which was widespread i n that area. 1 1 The Waldenses date back to the second hal f o f the twel f th century. They were founded by a wealthy Lyons merchant, Pierre Valdo (d. circa 1217), who in the mid-1170s, i n a desire to return to the pure Christ ianity o f the early church, had renounced his property and left his home to lead a life o f poverty and asceticism. Soon a group o f l ikeminded persons gathered around h i m ; and they became known as the 'Poor M e n o f Lyons.' They attacked the abuses o f the time, urged the virtues o f poverty, and called upon their fellow citizens to model their lives on the example o f the apostles. Because o f their continued preaching w i thout the permission o f the ecclesiastical authorities, they early came into conflict wi th the church. I n 1184, at the Counci l o f Verona; Pope Lucius I I I put them under the ban o f the church; and soon after Valdo and his 'Poor M e n ' were expelled f r om Lyons. The papal condemnation init iated a long period o f intermittent, but often fierce, persecution lasting several cen-turies, which drove the Waldenses to break away f r om the Cathol ic church transforming them at the same t ime in to an outlawed and heretical sect.

Meanwhile, however, the influence o f Valdo and his followers had begun to spread outside the frontiers o f the province, southwards into Spain and also into central and northern Europe. A t the beginning o f the 1180s a branch had been founded i n no r th I ta ly as a result o f fusion w i t h a section o f the Lombard HumiliatU a group w i th in the Cathol ic church organized on ascetic and semi-monastic principles. Early i n the thirteenth century, however, a split occurred between the more radical Lombard branch and the French Waldenses.

I t had not, indeed, been Valdo's or ig inal intent ion to break away f r om the church, since the emphasis o f his teaching was not on doctrine but on practice. He advocated, above a l l , a return to the pr imit ive simplicity o f the first Christians; the renunciation o f property and the secular power being demanded for those accepted into fu l l community . They were also forbidden to take oaths or to shed blood. Most o f the sects' members, especially as persecution grew, were f r om the poorer classes, peasants and small craftsmen. I n the course o f t ime the Waldenses both in France and i n I taly set up their own ecclesiastical hierarchy w i t h the equivalent o f

1 1 G o l l - K r o f t a , op. cit., p. 4 0 ; H r u b y , Ceske postilly, pp. 6 1 - 6 5 ; K r o f t a , op. cit., p. 206 ; Pa lacky , ' O stycich a pomeru sekty Wa ldenske k nekdejSim sektam v C e c h a c h , C. C. M., 1868, pp. 315, 316.

FORERUNNER OF THE UNITY 29

bishops, priests, and deacons, though some were ready to accept the Eucharist f r om 'good priests' o f the Catholic church.

The Waldenses spread their doctrines, in part icular, by means o f lay preaching in the vernacular tongue. The missionaries who brought the sect's teaching eastwards into Germany and later into Poland, Hungary, and Bohemia belonged to the Lombard branch, which tended, possibly under Cathar influences, to make a more clear-cut break w i t h the official church, regarding Rome as the seat o f Ant ichr is t and completely rejecting its services. By the fourteenth century the German Waldenses had become v ir tual ly independent o f their fellow sectaries i n I ta ly , though they continued i n friendly relations w i th each other . 1 8 By this time, too, the existence o f Waldenses i n the Czech lands is authenticated. A t first the sect was confined to the foreign immigrants, though later i t won numerous adherents among the Czech populat ion.

Throughout the fourteenth century the inquis i t ion was active i n its attempts to root out this heresy f r om Bohemia; and al though our informat ion is derived exclusively f r om the records o f the sect's opponents and the exact nature o f the heresy under examination is never completely clear, they leave no doubt o f its comparative strength i n the country. They show, too, that the main centre o f its activities was in south Bohe-mia, in the area f r om which the Taborites sprang, the land o f Chelikcy's b i r t h . 1 3

The problem o f Chelcicky's relationship to the Waldenses is, indeed, only part o f the larger question o f the relationship o f the Taborites and o f the whole Hussite movement to this most impor tant o f the medieval sects. Though no mention o f any connection is made by Chelcicky i n his writings, the s imi lar i ty o f his doctrines w i t h Waldensian teachings, as w i l l be seen in the second part o f this chapter, is str ik ing. But the Taborites too dur ing their first period, circa 1415-19, had held similar views, which their sudden change dur ing the momentous year o f 1420 has tended to obscure. 1 4 Those earnest popular preachers who gathered together masses

" F o r the Waldenses generally, see the articles by W. F . Adeney, Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics, X I I , pp. 663 -68 , and by H . Bhmer, Realencycklopdie fr protestantische Theologie und Kirche, X X , pp. 799 -834 . T h e r e is, however, no c o m -prehensive survey of the Waldenses dur ing the Midd le Ages, wh i ch is both scho lar ly and up-to-date. See also Bibliografa Valdese, ed. A . A . H u g o n a n d G . Gnnet ( To r r e IVUicc, 1953), esp. pp. 7 2 - 1 0 2 . " Har r i son T h o m s o n , ' P re -Huss i te Heresy in B o h e m i a , ' E. H. R., 1933, pp. 2 3 - 4 2 ; Ho l inka , Sektfstv v Cechchpred revohici husitskou,passim; Cha loupecky , ' K djinm V a ldcnskych v Cechch pred hnutm hus i t skym, ' C. . H., pp. 3 6 9 - 8 2 ; G o l l - K r o f t a , op. cit., pp. 277 ff. " C f . Prcger 's thesis i n ber aas Verhltnis der Taboriten zu den Waldesiern des 14.

30 PETR CHELICKY

o f adherents among the peasants and small craftsmen o f south Bohemia dur ing the four years after Hus's death likewise rejected al l violence and advocated a state of apostolic poverty w i th al l things held i n common, i n which every Christ ian man and woman was to be regarded as a beloved brother or sister. Typically Waldensian doctrines, such as the rejection o f oaths and the death penalty and a l l other forms o f violence, are to be found among their articles o f fa i th. But this first per iod o f 'pr imi t ive Tabor i t ism (vnikajici Tabor),' as Pekaf has aptly called i t , gave way towards the end of 1419 to a powerful movement o f mass hysteria, when many o f the more fanatical extremists among the priesthood proclaimed the second coming o f Christ, which was to occur between 10-14 February 1420. The inauguration o f his k ingdom, which was to last a thousand years, was to be accompanied by the ext irpat ion o f the wicked and the division o f their goods among the righteous. Dues and labour services, indeed al l property rights, were to be abolished, and sovereignty was to rest w i th the common people.

The failure to realize the chiliasts' prophesies by peaceful means, after a few brief months o f enthusiasm, and the menace o f the approaching ant i -Hussite crusade commanded by the Emperor Sigismund w i t h the support o f the rest o f Christendom, led on to the t h i r d period i n the evolution o f the Taborite movement, which marked a wi thdrawal f r om the social radicalism o f the chiliasts and their predecessors and a rejection o f the earlier non-violence. 'Nonne prius predicastis contra occisionem [protest-ed the moderate Prague master, Jakoubek of Str ibro] et quomodo iam res sit versa i n oppositam qual i tatem. ' 1 5 The humble disciples o f the peaceful and communistic sectaries were now transformed into the armed 'warr iors

Jahrhunderts, p. I l l , that the Tabor ites especial ly as regards their socia l doctrines, were 'die For tse tzung der bhmischen Waldesier. ' , See H o l i n k a op. cit., pp. 1 5 2 - 6 5 ; Martin, Die Waldesier und die husitische Reformation in Bhmen pp . 90 -120 . Nejedty, Dgjiny husitskeho zpevu, I I , pp. 609, 610, 826, 827, prints a very early Hussite song, Poslchajte, znamenajte, wh i ch vividly expresses the Wa ldens ian gospel o f passive suffering, sentiments which are not usual ly found in later productions. Howeve r BartoS, Husitstvi a cizina, pp. 114, 121-23, denies that the Waldensians exercised any significant influence o n the beginnings of the Tabor i t e movement. H e mainta ins that Waldens ian social tenets, such as the rejection o f the oath and the death penalty, as well as a c o m m o n disbelief in purgatory, c ame through N i cho l a s o f Dresden , w h o had reached such conc lus ions independently. See ibid., pp. 136 -38 , 140, 142-46. 1 6 Gll, Quellen und Untersuchungen zur Geschickte der Bhmischen Brder, I I , p. 60. These remarks were addressed to the prominent Tabor i te priest, J a n of Jiin, author o f a non-extant treatise wh ich his opponent, J a n o f P r i b r am, described as ' t r ac ta tu lus . . . de bellis et effusione sanguinis et occis ione o m n i u m m a l o r u m in mundo , p lenus perfidia et mendositate et tyrannide a saeculo s imil i n o n audi ta ' (quoted by K r o f t a , ' N . V . Jastrebova, Studie o Petra Che l c i ckem a j eho dobe, ' C. C. H., 1909, p. 67) .

j 1 FORERUNNER OF THE UNITY 31

o f God , ' defending their rel igion by the sword, whose name - and especial-ly that o f their leader, Jan 2 i zka - was to be a terror to the rest o f Catholic Europe for centuries to come. Under ZiZka's leadership, and owing to the exigencies o f war condit ions, the minor gentry came to play an increasingly important role i n the movement's direct ion u n t i l f inally a l l traces o f its social revolut ionary beginnings had disappeared. 1 6 A m o n g the many thousands who were attracted by this religious and social renaissance only Chelicky and the small group which he was to gather around h i m dur ing the coming years were to remain fa i thful to the p r in -ciples o f those early 'Taborites before Tabor . ' 1 7

Litt le is known o f Chelcicky's stay i n Prague. Since i t is probable that he had no more than a smattering o f La t in , the doors o f the University wou ld therefore have been closed to h i m . 1 8 He was able, however, to read many o f the works o f the leading theologians i n translations made for h i m by his friends, and above a l l he was able to make use o f one or other o f the existing vernacular translations o f the Bible in to his native Czech. 1 9

" Pekaf, liika a jeho doba, I , pp . 14, 169 -98 ; K r o f t a , op. cit., pp. 118, 131, 170; Cha loupecky , op. cit., pp. 376 -79 , 382 ; 'Vav f ince z Bfezove k r o n i k a hus i t ska , ' Fontes Kerum Bohemicarum, V , pp. 400 ff., 454 ff; Ktoijs bozt bojovnici, pp. 36, 5 9 - 6 1 , 66 -69 . ( F o r 2 i i k a , see especial ly F r e d e r i c k G . H e y m a n n , John iilka and the Hussite Revolution, Pr inceton, N . J . , 1955, w h i c h unfortunately was on ly avai lable to me after complet ion of the present book. ) " Tbor, wh i ch gave its name to the movement , was founded i n the first quarter o f 1420 near the smal l south B o h e m i a n town o f sti. I n O boji duchovnim, pp . 27, 28, C h e l i i c k y expressed i n strong terms his disagreement w i th ' ou r brothers, ' the chi l iast preachers of 1420, in whose doctrines, 'c lothed in the prophets a n d the O l d Tes tament , ' he detected the devil 's hand i n spite o f their advocacy o f vo luntary poverty. See a lso Hoch , "Husite a Vlka,' Cesk mysl, 1907, pp. 200 -04 , 290. " T h e anonymous introduct ion to his Sit' viry (ed. Smetnka, p. 2) , wh i ch was written in 1521, says that he was 'unlearned i n L a t i n , ' a n d this tradit ion has usual ly been accepted by modern scholars as in line w i th the internal evidence conta ined in his writings. But cf. Bartos ' s hypothesis mentioned above, J. S. H., 1946, pp. 6, 7. '* Towards the end o f the fourteenth century the whole B ib le h a d been translated into C z e c h , though the wo rk h a d not been carr ied through i n any systematic way , since the different sections were completed by var ious people work ing independently of each other. D u r i n g the ear ly years o f the next century - a n d especial ly wi th the growth of the reform movement - a large number o f C z e c h Bib les were produced in revised form, though the destruct ion of the wa r years, as wel l as the constant use to which they were put, has meant that few copies have survived. T h e original inspi rat ion for the task had been derived in part f rom Matej o f J anov ' s emphasis o n the p r i m a c y o f scripture; and H u s himsel f h a d a h a n d in later revis ion. See Jakubec , Dijiny literatury trske, I, pp. 404 -12 , 374; Peschke , Die Theologie der Bhmischen Brder in ihrer t'ruhzeit, I , p. 108. A m o n g others, J akoubek ' s chap la in at the Beth lehem C h a p e l , Mart in o f Volyn, translated or copied m a n y manuscr ipts for Che l c i cky . - H re j s a Dfjiny kfest'anstvi v Ceskoslovensku, I I , p. 314.

32 PETR CHELClCKY

A characteristic incident, however, occurred dur ing this per iod : his two recorded interviews w i th the leading Utraquist theologian, Jakoubek o f Stf ibro (circa 1370-1429). 2 0 The first occurred i n the spring o f 1420 i n Jakoubek's room at the Bethlehem Chapel at a t ime when, w i th the proclamation by Pope M a r t i n V on 1 M a r c h o f a crusade against Hussite Bohemia, the crusading armies were converging on Prague. The second interview took place after Zizka's victory at the battle o f Vysehrad (1 November 1420) had removed the menace, which had threatened not only Prague but the annihi lat ion o f the whole Hussite movement. These meetings testify to the contacts which Chelcicky had w i t h the leading men o f the day, as wel l as to the respect which he must have enjoyed among t h e m . 2 1

The subject o f discussion on bo th occasions centred on the burn ing question whether a Christ ian was ever justi f ied i n resorting t o force, whether his personal part ic ipat ion in war was consistent w i t h fo l lowing i n Christ's footsteps. The problem, as w i l l be seen later, was being widely discussed on al l sides and f r om al l angles, and the war situation had removed i t f r om the sphere o f pure theory in to the field o f current polit ics. What sanction have you i n the Scriptures for warfare among Christians? -asked ChelCicky at the outset. Jakoubek was forced to admit that he had only the injunctions o f ' t h e saints o f o ld ' for his interpretat ion. But he d id not hesitate to accuse Chelcicky o f heresy for his opposit ion to the war effort. Later, writes ChelSicky going on to describe their second meeting:

After many people had been k i l led on bo th sides, Jakoubek excused those who had done the k i l l ing , saying that [he] could not tax their consciences w i t h such things, since otherwise the whole estate o f kn ighthood (stav rytirsky) would stand condemned . . . H o w your master wou ld have flown out against anyone who dared eat pork on a Friday [adds ChelSicky w i t h typically b i t ing i rony] and yet now he cannot make the shedding o f men's b lood a matter o f conscience, this man whose own conscience has been filched f rom h i m by those saints o f o ld .

Whatever our estimate o f the practical value o f such a point o f view, the independence o f m ind o f this young countryman standing out alone against the universally accepted opin ion even on his own side, speaking up against the revered leader o f the whole Hussite movement at this supreme moment o f crisis, as well as his mora l courage, must be acknowledged. 2 2

" F o r Jakoubek , seeBartoS'sessayinSv/cia/cac/rj, pp. 82 -105 . F o r his condit iona l justification o f Chr i s t i an participation in warfare in his M S . tract De bellis, see H o c h , op. cit., pp. 296, 297. 2 1 U r banek , op. cit., pp. 898, 899. " Che l c i cky , ' R e p l i k a proti R o k y c a n o v i , ' Listy filologicke, 1898, pp. 394, 395. B u t

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Soon after the relief o f Prague ChelCicky left the capital to re turn to his native south Bohemia. This had been the only period which he is known to have spent away f r om the neighbourhood o f his b i r th . He was by now at least t h i r t y : a man whose out look on life had already become formed. The influences shaping his opinions had already played their par t i n the creation o f his social and religious philosophy. Above a l l there was the Bible, especially the New Testament, whose pages spoke directly to Chel&cky as a clear revelation o f the w i l l o f G o d to man. Fundamental ly Chelcicky remained a Taborite o f the 'p r imi t i ve ' period, strongly imbued w i th the spirit o f the Waldensian heresy. But other influences, too, o f a more intellectual character left their mark on his wr i t ings : Hus and his predecessors i n Bohemia and the Engl ishman, John Wycl i f .

ChelCicky's social teachings do not , indeed, appear so unexpected and novel i f the social ideas which had developed i n Bohemia over the previous fifty years - part ly owing to outside influences - are taken into account. 2 3

A succession o f writers and preachers had already established a t rad i t i on o f mora l protest against social injustice, o f fellow-feeling for the oppress-ed, o f exaltation o f the humble and meek against the p roud and rulers o f the wor ld . The cult o f the l i t t le man, o f the peasant {dobry ndS sedldcek) was connected i n the thought o f Hus's predecessors w i t h the attempt to renew the practice o f Christ ian mora l principles. They were pr imar i ly moral reformers, concerned w i th po l i t ica l questions only incidental ly ; and their po l i t ica l th ink ing is, therefore, neither systematic nor part icular ly pro found. 2 4

Konrad Waldhauser (c. 1326-1369), inveighing against those lords who oppressed their tenants, had proclaimed the mora l superiority o f the simple peasant. 'More deceit and disbelief arises f r om the towns than the village,' he wrote i n words reminiscent o f Chelcicky's later advocacy o f country life. Matej o f Janov (c. 1350-1394), l ike his master Mi l iS o f KromSriz (d. 1374), carried on this t rad i t ion , adding a new note w i th his wholly negative attitude to the role o f the state w i th in a Christ ian society. He pointed to the early Christ ian church, w i t h its community o f goods and rule by love alone, as a model for his contemporaries to f o l l ow . 2 5

these disagreements do not appear to have spoilt the friendly relationship between the two men. " K u l b a k i n , 'Pet r Khe l ch i t sky , ' Vestnik Evropy, N o v . 1909, p. 51. BartoS, /. S. H., 1947, pp. 33 -38 , and Cha loupeck^ , Selski otdzka v husitstvi, p. 41, among others, have stressed the influence o f the native B o h e m i a n religious reformers o n C h e l i i c k y i n contrast to the Wa ldens ian element. " Betts, ' Some Pol i t ica l Ideas o f the E a r l y C z e c h Reformers , ' Slavonic and East European Review, D e c . 1952, p. 20. " F o r Matej ' s influence i n forming C h e l c i c k y ' s views on the unchr ist ian character o f

Later Toms o f Stitny (c. 1331-c. 1401), while adhering i n principle to the medieval theory o f class relationships, constantly reminded his fellow-noblemen that the only justi f ication o f their privileged posit ion lay i n their obl igat ion to serve thereby the rest o f the community . His max im -'the l o rd is made in order to serve the people (Pan pro lid obecny jest ustavenY - was capable o f revolutionary consequences. 2 6 Even the theologically and pol it ical ly orthodox Jan o f Jenstejn, Archbishop o f Prague (1350-1400), t ook effective practical steps on his archipiscopal estates against the grosser forms o f social oppression, especially against the right o f reversion (pdumri) a l lowing the l o rd o f the manor to claim the property o f those among his peasants who might die w i thout leaving an heir legally entitled to inherit , such as, for instance, a direct male des-cendant l i v ing on the holding.

On the eve o f the Hussite revolut ion, therefore, a very extensive l i tera-ture o f protest against social abuses had sprung up , emphasizing at least the theoretical equality o f man, remarkably modern i n spirit i n spite o f its medieval framework. Hus, too, defended the peasants' rights and stressed - l ike Stitny - the obligations o f lords towards their tenants, while at the same time eschewing any hint o f incitement to rebell ion. For Chelicky, however, i t was Wyc l i f perhaps who proved the strongest direct influence, i n spite o f disagreement on many points, especially i n the social field. He was later to write o f Wycl i f :

None of the first doctors d id so zealously speak or write against the poison poured in to the Ho l y Church, out o f which the greatest Ant ichr is t has been born w i th a l l the loathsomeness w i th which he has oppressed Jesus Christ and His Law. Wyc l i f has routed the hosts o f Ant ichr ist as well as those doctors who introduced cunning rules i n the place o f the Law o f Christ. I n this he pleases me above a l l others. 2 7

Chelcicky sometimes quotes f rom Wyc l i f under the somewhat ambiguous name o f Mistr Protiva. He certainly knew at least three o f his works f r o m Czech translations: the Dialogus and Triaiogus as wel l as his De civili dominio?* I t was, indeed, f r om Wycl i f ' s insistance on the Bible as the

the state, probably exercised indirectly through the m e d i u m o f the latter's friends f rom among the radica l Hussite priesthood, see Bar tos , ' Che l c i cky a R o k y c a n a , ' Listy filologick, 1922, pp. 119, 120, 127-30, and his Husitstvi a cizina, pp. 37, 157. " F o r an interesting discussion o f St i tny ' s influence o n Chelfi icky, especially i n h i s views on socia l questions, and o f the numerous parallels in the life and writ ings o f the two men , see Cha loupecky , 'S t i tny a C h e l c i c k y , ' C. M. M., 1914, pp. 7 3 , 7 6 - 8 1 . O f H u s ' s predecessors Stitny was the only one who wrote main ly in Czech . " Che l c i cky , op. cit., p. 264; Odloz i l ik , Wyclif and Bohemia, pp. 49 , 50 ; Betts, op. cit., pp. 20 -35 . " H r u b y , op. cit., pp. 5 4 - 6 0 ; Misira Jakoubka ze Stfbm pfeklad Viklefova dialoga

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only fount o f inspirat ion for real Christians and his call to a life modelled on the example o f Christ and his apostles that Chel5icky, l ike al l his contemporaries i n the Hussite movement, was to derive the mot ivat ion for his whole pol i t ical and social superstructure. 2 9

Most o f Chelcicky's ideas can, therefore, be found i n the teachings o f Hus and the earlier Bohemian reformers, o f Wyc l i f or o f the Waldenses and the early Taborites. But w i t h his re turn home Chelcicky was to devote himself to their elaboration, to drawing f r om them the conse-quences f r om which almost a l l his predecessors and contemporaries had shrunk . 3 0

Chelcicky's exact movements after leaving Prague are not easy to fol low. He appears to have resided for a short t ime at Pisek, a largish town not far f r om Tabor. Here he took part i n a conference o f Tabori te theologians, defending his v iewpoint on the incompat ib i l i ty o f war w i t h Christ ianity against his former comrades. 3 1 Bu t he was soon to settle i n his native village o f Chelcice, where he appears to have remained for the rest o f his life, possibly making short journeys f r o m time to t ime to near-by Vodfiany or to the more distant Pisek or even Tabor . 3 4 He began to

(ed. M i l a n Svoboda ) , pp. X X I I I - X X X I V , X X X V I I I . I t was K r o f t a , ' K n e z J a n P ro t i va z Nove Vs i a Che l c i ckeho ' M i s t r P r o t i v a ' , ' C. C. M., 1900, esp. pp. 2 0 9 - 2 0 , w h o first proved definitely that the passages cited by C h e l c i c k y as f rom Mistr Protiva were in fact taken f rom Wyc l i f ' s wo rks a n d were not connected, as h a d previously been thought, with the contemporary priest, Prot iva , at first a n enthusiast for c h u r c h re form a n d the first preacher at the Beth lehem Chape l , but later H u s ' s bitter opponent. F r . Ry sanek , 'M is t r Prot iva u Che lc ickeho, * Listy filologicke, 1915 (quoted in Jakubec , op. cit., pp . 499,500) was later able to expla in why C h e l c i c k y used this seemingly opprobr ious name for the master he so m u c h revered despite disagreement o n certa in topics. I t merely signified one who set h imse l f against the corrupt ion o f the C h r i s t i a n church , the opponent (protivnik) o f Ant ichr i s t , a name devoid of any bad connotat ion. C h e l c i c k y probably returned f rom h is visit to Prague w i th translat ions o f the three w o r k s o f Wyc l i f mentioned above, w h i c h may al l have been made with at least J akoubek ' s participation; but the C z e c h vers ion o f the Dialogus is the on ly major translat ion to survive. I t is known , too, f rom Pope M a r t i n V ' s bull o f 1418 that H u s a lso translated Wyclir.

** F o r the s imi lar standpoint of the ea r ly Tabor i tes , see Ktoz jsu bozi bojovrtici, pp . 38, 39. 63. " Cha loupecky , Selskd otdzka v husitstvi, pp. 2 1 - 4 2 ; O trojim lidu, pp. 7, 8 , 1 7 - 2 1 ; Jakubec, op. cit., pp. 493, 494 ; K r o f t a , Dijiny selskeho stavu, pp. 8 8 - y 3 ; U r b a n e k ,

36 PETR CHELC lCKY

gather around h i m a group o f disciples, though the genesis o f these so-called 'Chelcicky Brethren' is obscure. I t may have been the execution in his absence o f the village priest, Vojtech, and the failure o f the church authorities to supply a successor owing to the general dearth o f clergy, which motivated his future activities. I t is at least certain, however, that he never attempted to break away f r om the official Utraquist church by fo rming his own separate organization.

D u r i n g these years he was to produce a series o f books which, inf luential dur ing his own life-time, were to be o f epoch-making significance for Czech history, not least by the inspirat ion they gave for the foundat ion o f the Un i t y o f Brethren. The range o f his friendships dur ing this period, too, gives some h int o f the respect which the village philosopher enjoyed among the leading men o f the Hussite movement. He had already come into contact w i t h Master Jan Hus himself dur ing the latter's sojourn i n south Bohemia i n 1413, probably attending his sermons given at Ko z i Hradec. Later Jakoubek o f Stf ibro, Miku las o f Pelhrim (Biskupec), Vaclav Koranda the elder, and the Taborite left-wing leaders such as Mar t inek Huska-Loquis, Peter Payne - the wandering Lo l l a rd scholar, who stayed a year w i t h h i m after his expulsion f r o m Prague i n 1437 - and Rokycana himself were a l l , i n spite o f disagreement on important matters, to value Chelcicky's opinions highly enough to cultivate his acquaintance. Some o f them even visited h i m or recommended their friends to seek his advice on weighty theological problems. 3 3

The chronology o f ChelSicky's works has baffled the most assiduous scholars. I n no instance do we know the precise dates o f their composi-t ion . I n many cases expert opinion differs widely i n its judgements, for once again - as w i th the events o f his life - the internal evidence o f his own writ ings is almost our only guide. 3 4 His first or ig inal work , however, was probably wr i t ten i n the first hal f o f 1421. O boji duchovnim, the spir itual fight against the powers o f darkness which takes the place o f material warfare for the Christ ian, was i n effect a pamphlet directed against his Taborite friends, who had deserted their former standpoint o f

kraje, 1926, p. 150, who otherwise found it inexplicable h o w Che lS i cky cou ld have survived the w a r years i n an open village, that h i s permanent place o f residence was Vodriany. Perhaps he took refuge there in emergencies. A n y h o w Bartos", pp. 2, 7, thinks C h e l i i c k y (alias Zdho rka ) had his o w n castle a n d that his views on the use o f force were at first merely o f a theoretical nature. 3 3 Bartos , J. S. H., 1947, p. 3 ; G o l l - K r o f t a , op. cit., p. 12; U rbanek , op. tit., pp. 9 0 0 - 0 6 ; Jagi6, In t ro , op. cit., p. V I I I ; Yas t rebov , 'Khe l ch i t sky i G u s , ' pp. 471, 472. 3 4 F o r a cr i t ica l survey of the findings o f previous scholarship o n the subject, see Ced lova , 'Ndbozenske nazory Pet ra Che lC ickeho a bratra Reho fe i j e j i ch vzajemny pomer, ' C. C. M., 1932, pp. 6 3 - 7 8 ; U rbanek , op. cit., pp. 910 ff.

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non-resistance to evil to take up the sword i n defence o f rel igion. I t is significant for Chelicky's intellectual development that almost a l l the ideas which he was later to develop i n greater detail appear here i n embryo. 3 5 Even the short tract, O cirkvi svate, which was probably written dur ing the next few years, contains i n a few thousand words the essence o f his protest against the state as an unchrist ian i n s t i t u t i o n . 3 6 His second major work , O trojim Hdu, is usually assigned to 1424. I t is wr i t ten in the f o rm o f a reply to a Tabori te priest, probably M a r k o l d o f Zbra-slavice, who was to fal l at the battle o f L ipany (1434), refuting the current medieval conception o f the division o f a Christ ian society in to three estates. 3 7

The predominance o f social problems i n Chelicky's th ink ing can be seen f r om the ma in themes o f his first three works. But the religious basis of his philosophy is everywhere apparent; and, though as a layman he avoided entanglement i n theological disputes, he could scarcely escape part icipation i n the controversy which centred around the Eucharist. Denying the Catholic doctrine o f transubstantiation to which bo th Hus and the Prague Masters sti l l adhered, Chelicky accepted Wyc l i f ' s theory c f remanence, and thus came to occupy a centre posit ion among the conflicting views on this subject which existed w i th in the Hussite movement. His disagreement w i t h the prevai l ing op in ion among the Taborite theologians, which appeared to h i m too radical i n its tota l denial o f the real presence i n the sacraments, was to lead to his complete estrangement from the party f r om which he had orig inal ly issued, w i t h those 'brother priests [as he calls them] w i t h w h o m [he] had for long enjoyed friendship and unity on many matters o f f a i t h . ' 3 8 Their disagreement on the r ight use o f force was now matched by pro found theological differences.

" O boji duchovnim, pp. I X - X I I , X X I I I , 27 , 2 8 ; Pekaf , op. cit., p. 155. Urbnek, op. cit., p. 910, l inks it up with the debates at P isek. See also Macek , op. cit., I I , pp . 170,171, who dates the tract slightly earl ier than Kro f t a .

" Yastrebov , Etyudy, p. 151, w h o first established Che l c i cky ' s authorship, p laced the date of its composi t ion between O boji duchovnim and O trojim Udu. O n the other h a n d Ho l inka (O trojim Hdu, pp . 105, 106, 109), w h o first publ ished the tract in 1940, puts forward two possibil ities: either that it forms part of a larger wo rk of u n k n o w n date no longer extant o r that it represents a very ear ly l iterary work , probably written even before O boji duchovnim. W i thout commit t ing h imsel f H o l i n k a incl ines towards the ccond hypothesis.

' O trojim Udu (ed. Ho l inka ) , pp. 95 , 104; Urbnek, op. cit., p. 916 ; O boji duchovnim ( c J . Krof ta ) , pp. X X I V , 142. H o l i n k a th inks the tract was written soon after Augus t 14:4 . uh i l e Urbnek and K r o f t a assign it to the fol lowing year. BartoS, ' K poctkm l ' c t r a C h c l i i c k e h o , ' . . M., 1914, pp. 304 -07 , o n the other hand , believes that it was aJ i i rcv icd to Biskupec c i rca 1422-25 . " Chc l c i cky , Replika proti Biskupcovi, p. 426.

38 PETR CHEL&CKY

Sometime dur ing the twenties the Taborite leader, Biskupec, 3 9 visit ing Vodnany w i th another Taborite priest called Lukas, summoned Chel-cicky to a meeting in order to sound his op in ion on the eucharistic con-troversy. 'S i t t ing on the dyke by the fish-pond,' the Tabori te bishop asked ChelSicky what he thought o f their doctrines on this subject. I t appeared at the t ime as i f they were both i n agreement. Rather later a second equally amicable interview took place at Pisek, and there may also have been other meetings. But i t seems that ChelCicky had not at first understood the fu l l significance o f the Taborite doctrine, for on obtaining some o f their books he began to retract his previously favourable op in ion. Biskupec appears to have considered that ChelSicky' obtained these under false pretences and an acrimonious correspondence, o f which the first stages are no longer extant, led up to the composit ion o f ChelSicky's lengthy refutation o f the Tabor i te posit ion in his Replika proti Biskupcovi, i n which he accuses the bishop o f the dire heresy o f the 'Picards.' Though no attempt was made to persecute h i m for his divergent views, the break w i t h Tabor was now complete. 4 0

/ Once again Chelcicky disappears f r om view. He l ived on some th i r t y more years i n his l i t t le village. But scarcely any personal details have come down f r om this period. The first half, however, proved most f ru i t fu l i n l iterary productions, and his two main works and a number o f lesser ones are the results o f this retirement f r om the wor ld . The middle years o f the thirties saw the composit ion o f his lengthy Postilla. W i t h Hus as his model, even taking whole passages f r om the master, Chelcicky preserves his independence both as to f o rm and content. Whi le Hus and the other theologians o f al l parties wrote as scholastics, filling out their works w i t h copious quotations f rom past and present church authorities, Chelcicky relies mainly on the Bible and the weight o f his own thought and argu-ment, using a few church fathers and several o f his most revered predeces-sors, such as Hus himself or Wycli f , to i l lustrate some o f his points. The work contains a homi ly for each Sunday o f the year, no attempt being made at systematic treatment o f any theme, though almost a l l his social

** F o r B i skupec , see Bartos ' s essay in Svetci a kaciri, pp. 175-96. 4 0 C h e l c i c k y , op. c//.,chap. l l , p . 4 1 2 ; B a r t o s , C. C.M. 1914, pp. 155 -60 ; G o l l - K r o f t a , op. tit., pp. 13 -17 ; Kro f t a , Petr Chelcicky, pp. 2 6 - 2 9 ; U rbanek , op. cit., pp. 9 2 0 - 3 1 ; Yas t rebov , op. tit., p. 194. Once again the dat ing of the controversy is uncertain. G o l l , Jagic , and U r b a n e k place it in the first ha l f of the 1420s, while Yast rebov dates its beginning to about 1428 and the actual compos i t ion of Che l c i cky ' s Replika to 1431/32. T h e second ha l f o f the 1420s would appear the most probable supposit ion. - T h e 'P ica rds ' (sometimes known as Adamites o r Mikuldsenci), among other distinctive doctrines, held rationalistic views concerning the sacraments, denying altogether the real presence.

FORERUNNER OF THE UNITY 39

and pol it ical doctrines are touched on and often developed at some length . 4 1

The thirties brought peace - at the price o f the destruction o f the military power o f the Taborites and the Compactata, the attempt at compromise between the moderate Utraquists and Rome. Chelcicky's attitude to pol i t ica l and social questions had remained unchanged through peace and war. Only the radicalism o f his youth became somewhat softened i n expression. The protest is more subdued; the virtue o f resignation is more strongly emphasized. This may be seen f rom a com-parison o f the tone in which O trojim lidu is wr i t ten w i th that o f his master-piece, Slf prave viry, which deals main ly w i th the same theme o f the relationship o f Christ ianity to the state. 4 2 Sit' viry is a product o f the early forties. 4 3 The theme o f the first and longer ha l f o f the book is an elabo-rat ion, a systematization, o f his often repeated thesis that the association o f church and state meant the fal l o f Christ ianity, that the state and a l l its works can have no place i n a t ru ly Christ ian community . His phi losoph-ical anarchism here reaches fullest expression. I n the second part Chel-cicky surveys the various classes which represent the ru l ing elements o f contemporary society: the nobi l i ty , the townsmen, the monks and friars and priests and learned theologians. A l l are found want ing when weighed in the scales o f pure Christ ianity. For 'the net o f true fa i th , ' the Christ ian church and community , founded on the W o r d o f Christ , is rent wide open by the two great whales - the Emperor or state power and the Pope - who have forced their way i n ; and thereby a l l the heathen customs o f the pagan world have found acceptance among outwardly Christ ian nations. Tak ing the story o f the miraculous draught o f fishes (Luke, V , 1-11) as his text, Chelcicky goes on to interpret i t i n his own way, to give i t the ' sp i r i tua l ' meaning so beloved o f medieval thought. W i t h i n this loose framework he proceeds to erect one o f the most powerful indictments o f the state as an inst i tut ion, as well as o f the abuses o f contemporary society, that has over been penned.

Perhaps at the same t ime as he was wr i t ing Sit' viry Chelcicky first

' Hruby, op. cit., pp. 4 8 - 6 6 . Most authorities date this work within the years ^ 4 37. See Ced lova , op. cit., pp. 69, 70 ; Bartos , ' C h e l c i c k y a R o c k y c a n a , ' Listy : Lxiike, 1922, pp. 3 0 - 3 5 ; K r o f t a , op. cit., pp. 29, 3 0 ; G o l l , Quellen und Untersu-

II, p. 65 ; Urbanek, op. cit., pp. 946 -49 , 953. ' ' Yastrcbov, op. cit., pp. 148, 149. F o r echoes o f Stitny in Sit' viry, see Cha l oupecky , v tr.. a Che lc i cky , ' C. M. M., 1914, pp. 79, 80.

I -niicr writers, e.g. Safaf ik, J irecek, Schu lz , erroneously assigned this work to the o\ the 1450s, while Bartos ' s dating (op. cit., pp. 122 -24 ) in the late 1430s has not

J general acceptance. G o l f s assignment of it to the interregnum dur ing the ear ly U . ; , e s . irci 1440-43, still holds (op. cit., p. 66). See C e d l o v a , op. cit., p. 7 2 ; U rbanek , .,- . i f . p. V5>>.

40 PETR C H E L i l C K Y

came into into personal contact w i t h the Hussite archbishop-elect, Jan Rokycana. I n 1437 Rokycana had had to leave Prague owing to the increasing tide o f reaction which set i n w i th the return o f K i n g Sigismund to the capital , and had found refuge i n the areas held by the Utraquist nob i l i ty . The personal meetings between the two men and an extended correspondence can probably be assigned to the eleven years o f Roky-cana's semi-exile. 4 4 I n spite o f their disagreements on such widely removed subjects as the functions o f the state and the l i turgy o f the church, the relations between the two men remained friendly. Indeed Rokycana a l -ready had such a high opin ion o f Chel&cky's writ ings, at least o f those dealing w i th theological questions, that i n his Tractatus de existentia corporis Christi in sacramento eucharistiae, wr i t ten i n the early forties to refute Taborite eucharistic doctrines, he borrowed whole passages f r om the Replika proti Biskupcovi.i& He was later, however, to be less pleased w i th the influence o f Chelcicky's social and pol i t ical doctrines on his own disciples. But i t should be observed that Chelcicky always considered himself a loyal son o f the Utraquist church, while Rokycana was able on occasion to play the radical when this d id not conflict w i th the exigencies of practical politics. Only one fragment o f their correspondence has survived i n the f o rm o f Chelcicky's Replika proti Rokycanovi, which he appears neither to have completed nor dispatched. Anyhow their renewed contact i n the fifties, when Rokycana was to show the respect i n which he held Chelcicky's opinions by recommending his own disciples to h i m , shows that disagreement d id not, as w i th Biskupec, lead to a complete rup tu r e . 4 6

D u r i n g the last years o f his life ChelSicky appears to have wri t ten no works o f major importance . 4 7 But at an unspecified date i n the fifties the founder o f the Un i t y , Brother Rehof, visited the ageing ChelSicky