František Lützow

“ Infuriated against the ohemians, he, after having slightly recovered, wrote to his brother Sigismund, begging him to march to his aid with an army to exterminate all heretics. Only a few days later a second apoplectic fit, on August 16, ended his life. Though the democratic tendencies of King Venceslas and the favour he showed to his Slavic and, for a time also, to his Hussite subjects have caused him often to be judged more severely than he deserves, he was certainly quite unfit to rule a turbulent country, such as Bohemia then was, at one of the most critical moments of its history. ”

“ I will slay him, he shall die!
From the dense smoke-laden clouds
Shall the eye of God grow dim,
That they could commit such crime
In the very sight of Him!
Quenchless, Hus; within my breast
Burns a spark from thy death-pyre ”

“ Some Bohemians of the advanced party, and Prokop in particular, relying on the phenomenal military successes of their countrymen, had genuinely believed that Bohemia was strong enough to impose on Europe a reformed Church similar to that of the early Christian period. The more intimate intercourse with men of Germany, France, Spain, Italy, and other countries, who all unreservedly recognised the authority of the Church of Rome, necessarily convinced the Bohemians that their plans were impracticable and utopian. ”

“ The powerful Bohemian nobles who at this moment appear as the leaders of the people had, during the reign of the weak King Venceslas, obtained an almost independent position, and they bitterly resented the interference of foreigners in the affairs of their country. Bohemia was at that moment intellectually more advanced than Germany, and many of its nobles, though they were brave warriors, felt a genuine interest in religious questions, and had anxiously hoped for the very necessary reform of the Church. ”

“ It is impossible when studying the events connected with the life of Hus not to devote great attention to the lengthy wars in Bohemia and the neighbouring countries that were the inevitable result of his unjust condemnation, and not to realise how great the influence of these wars on the development of Europe was. It is certainly due to the military genius of Žižka and the other Hussite leaders that Hussite teaching and Hussite thought long prevailed in Bohemia and largely influenced the neighbouring countries. ”

“ Acute statesman as he was, he well knew that only the incredible apathy of the German princes and the failure of King Ladislas to induce his subjects to take part in a crusade against the kindred Bohemian nation had, both in 1423 and 1424, prevented the complete subjection of Bohemia. It is certain that at the time of the battles of Králové Hradec, Hořice, and Malešov Bohemia would not have been able to resist a determined invasion. Žižka undoubtedly thought that he could defeat the foreign enemies more easily alone than in the company of unreliable allies. ”

“ Remembering the Founder of our faith, our Lord Jesus Christ, you will defend yourselves bravely against the wrongs which these Germans endeavour to inflict on you. You will thus follow the example of the ancient Bohemians, who valiantly using their lances, defended both God’s cause and their own. ”

“ It is at any rate certain that none of the Bohemian leaders, not even Prokop, whose Táborites had contributed so largely to the crowning victory of Domážlice, entertained such plans. Their claims were, as before, limited to the recognition of the independence of their country and to the demands contained in the articles of Prague. Even the Táborites energetically protested against the accusation of heresy, and maintained that the Bohemians formed part of the universal Church. Still greater was the desire for peace among the Utraquist nobles and the more conservative citizens of Prague. ”

“ The wagons or carts were not, indeed, entirely Žižka’s invention, but he first used them as an important feature in warfare. They were generally covered with steel or iron (ironclad, to use a modern expression) , and carried a few small field-pieces. On the march not only the warriors, but also the women, children and priests, found room in these movable forts. Through the genius of Žižka these wagons played so great a part in the Hussite war that towards the end of that war the German enemies, though not very successfully, began to adopt the system. ”

“ In no country has the habit of using the events of the past as examples or arguments applicable to the political dissensions of the present day prevailed so extensively as in Bohemia. Nothing is to my mind more unscientific, and, indeed, more reprehensible. I have exercised special care in avoiding any remark which might have even the appearance of an allusion to the religious or political controversies in Bohemia at the present time. ”

“ The diet demanded firstly that this assembly of the whole Christian world should include the Greeks, the Armenians, and the Patriarch of Constantinople, who all, like the Bohemians, received Communion in the two kinds; secondly, that the council should be held according to the law of God, and not according to rules established by the Pope, and that not only the Pope, but all Christianity should be permitted to express its views freely. Should such a council assemble, the Bohemians were ready to send to it wise, prudent and pious men, both priests and laymen, and to grant them full powers. ”

“ Rokycan, who always studiously maintained the attitude of a prelate, answered in a conciliatory manner, but Lord Kostka of Postupic, a Utraquist noble and famed Hussite general, not unnaturally considered the threats of the Burgundian as an insult. He replied: “As to your threats, let your duke come to Bohemia; we will not fly from him, but will, with God’s grace, resist him, as we resisted our other invaders.” An interview which the Bohemians had shortly afterwards with the members of the embassy sent by the Duke of Savoy to the Council had a more cordial character. ”

“ The Táborites further stated that they could not condemn wars forced on them by necessity, and that such a necessity still existed. They were ready immediately to abandon warfare if the enemies would tread the path of truth and justice, and they had always preferred to employ spiritual warfare, that is, prayer and mild persuasion, for the purpose of leading the enemy to concord and agreement. They could not prevent many who had evil intentions from joining their armies, but they deeply regretted it, and had issued severe regulations to maintain order in their camps. ”

“ Žižka answered, “How can I be gay, when our trusted leaders and the faithful preachers of the law of the Lord are, by order of infidel priests, undeservedly and unjustly condemned to the flames?” The King answered, “What can we do? If you know any way to do so, righten it yourself; we shall be pleased.” Žižka now considered himself authorised to defend his country against its enemies.
The defenestration at the town-hall of the new city of Prague first gave the Hussite movement a revolutionary and, indeed, anti-dynastic character. ”

“ The democratic spirit of the Hussites was also beginning to attract attention. Men could not but wonder that a citizen of Prague of modest birth and fortune should negotiate with princes and great territorial nobles. The German rulers began to fear that even ancient racial hatred might not be sufficient to prevent the Germans from joining the Bohemian fighters for freedom. Great agitation spread among the people. They said that they had been misled by the priests and abandoned by the princes and nobles, who had been unable to oppose the Slavic enthusiasts. ”

“ The Bohemians were in a more difficult position. They were, of course, unaware of the fact that the Council had roughly settled to what extent it was prepared to make concessions; they therefore endeavoured to enforce their demands as far as was possible without risking a renewal of hostilities; for, with the exception of a few fanatics, all the inhabitants of Bohemia, which was exhausted by long and uninterrupted warfare, longed for peace. It is unnecessary to give a detailed account of the prolonged debates which turned on the interpretation of the articles of Prague. ”

“ It is certain that men began only very gradually to realise the complete change in the methods of warfare which was a necessary consequence of the use of fire-arms. The Bohemian and Polish army, which appears to have been very considerable, occupied all the hills which surrounded the Karlštýn, and as was then the custom, erected block-houses or small forts, surrounded by ditches, which were to secure the besiegers against sorties. The Hussite army brought a considerable amount of artillery, according to the ideas of the time, and among them four large pieces of ordnance. ”

“ The crusaders undoubtedly aimed at the complete extermination of the Czech population of Bohemia, whom they wrongly believed to be all Utraquists. They therefore murdered all, without distinction of age or sex. “They were determined to let no heretic live,” as a contemporary chronicler writes. The Hussites almost always spared children and women, and those who suffered most from their cruelty were priests and monks, whom they considered responsible for the murder of Hus, as they termed it. It is, of course, impossible to deny that Žižka was cruel; no Hussite general could be otherwise ”

“ In April of the same year another Bohemian army invaded Hungary. This army consisted of the soldiers of the Orphans and the levies of the New Town of Prague. Commanded by Velek Koudelnik and the priest Prokupek (Prokop the Lesser) , they marched on the city of Tyrnau, where Sigismund was then residing. He was on the point of starting for Germany, intent on holding another of his numerous imperial diets. The King was obliged to send a messenger to Nürnberg, where the German princes were to meet, informing them that he was detained in Hungary by the attack of the Orphans. ”

“ The answer of the Táborites to Rokycan’s rather unfair accusation of favouring bloodshed and warfare was appropriate and dignified. They declared that originally none of those whom the teaching of Master John Hus had converted had any intention to fight. “But,” they continued, “when our opponents began to use violent means against us, then our whole nation, which did not wish to abandon the good cause and turn away from the Catholic Church, [39] out of necessity began to go to war, and all the priests and masters of Prague unanimously agreed to this.” ”