The Hussite movement united peasants, townspeople and lords of the Czech Republic. It made it possible to resist German dominance and made it possible for a long time to develop independently of other states. How did it start? On what terms was it completed? What did the landowners get from him and what did the peasants get? You can learn about this from the article.
Exacerbation of social contradictions
In the middle of the fifteenth century there was a political upsurge in the Czech Republic. It was associated with economic success. The Czechs were famous for their silver mines, cloth making, linen industry, viticulture, cultivation of flax, hops and other crops. The country was considered one of the richest in Europe.
In the fifteenth century, international trade developed in the Czech Republic. The commodity-money economy even captured the village. All this led to the disintegration of established feudal forms of economy. Social contradictions emerged in Czech society.
The situation of the peasants became very difficult. They suffered from serfdom, usury, bonded tenancy, and landlessness. Controversies also intensified in the cities. The Germans took over the leading industries, trade and self-government. The Hussite movement was supposed to change the situation.
Aggravation in the religious sphere
The Catholic Church also exploited and oppressed members of the populace. During the Hundred Years' War, the papacy increased exactions in Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland.
The Czech state had to pay all kinds of taxes to the church. The country was flooded with indulgences - documents that absolved the sins of their customers.
The reasons for the Hussite movement in the Czech Republic are related to economic, national and religious oppression. Peasants, townspeople, and part of the knighthood directed their anger at the feudal lords, the Germans, and the Catholic Church.
Gus' performances
National and religious reformist sentiments in Czech society were expressed by Jan Hus. He was not only a priest, but also a university professor.
It is known that he came from a peasant family, being born in 1369 in the town of Gusinets. The thinker was a graduate of the University of Prague, where he later became a professor and rector.
The history of the Hussite movement is connected with the views of Hus, which were formed under the influence of his contemporary, the English reformer Wickfel. The Czech priest opposed the existence of indulgences, increasing fees for rituals, and the large amount of land owned by clergy. The laxity of morals among representatives of the highest Catholic clergy was alien to him.
Hus insisted that services be held in Czech. In his opinion, church lands should have been transferred to state needs. The clergy should not become a privileged class, so the reformer advocated that everyone should partake of bread and wine.
“The truth will win!”
Hus's beliefs also concerned the social sphere. He did not call for the destruction of the feudal system, but demanded that the lords soften the order. For example, he was against landowners taking the property of a deceased peasant.
The priest's sermons were understandable to all ordinary people, not only because they were conducted in Czech. They consisted of many examples from the ordinary life of the population. The reformer’s favorite words were: “The truth will win!”
Burning of Hus
The activity of the priest could not be ignored by other churchmen. First, the Archbishop of Prague turned against Hus, and then the papacy. Hus was banned from holding services. He was also deprived of the opportunity to teach at the university, and in 1412 he had to leave Prague. The disgraced priest withdrew from public life, settling in the village.
In 1414, Hus was summoned to the Council of Constance. The court accused him of heresy. Ruler Sigismund endowed the reformer with a special charter, which was supposed to provide its owner with immunity. Hus planned to defend the correctness of his own teaching before the council.
When the priest appeared in Constanta, he was arrested. He was unable to speak before the cathedral. The bishops immediately sentenced him to be burned as a heretic. Sigismund refused to provide the promised protection.
In 1415 the sentence was carried out. On July 6, Hus was burned at the stake in Constanta Square. This began the mass Hussite movement in the Czech Republic. Townspeople and peasants considered the burnt man a sufferer and martyr. Even the Moravian lords filed a written protest against the execution of the priest.
Hussite movement in Prague
Throughout the Czech Republic, a massive shift away from Catholicism began. So-called “heretical communities” were created, which called for the implementation of Hus’s ideas. They insisted on reforming the church and society.
Government repressions began against the Hussite movement in the Czech Republic. They led to the Prague uprising of 1419.
The city masses were led by priest Jan Želivski. As a result of the uprising, King Wenceslas lost his power. The ruler fled the capital and died a few months later. Emperor Sigismund was supposed to ascend the throne, but everyone remembered his unworthy behavior in the matter with Huss. All segments of the population opposed him.
In the village, mass protests began against church and German landowners. In history they are called the Hussite wars. They were varied in their requirements. Two most striking currents stand out.
Chashniki
One of the participants in the Hussite movement were the so-called Chashniki. They included representatives of the lordship, townspeople and major knighthood. Their positions can be classified as moderate, and the party got its name from one of the slogans - communion with bread and wine. At that time, the Catholic Church divided parishioners into those who were given bread and wine during the sacrament and those who received bread and water. Most people did not like such inequality in the temple of God.
The Chashniki did not seek to destroy the monarchy; they demanded the creation of their own church in the country. Worship there was to be conducted in the native language, and not in Latin. They also wanted to secularize church property.
They chose Prince Sigismund as their ruler, and later the wealthy Sir Yuri. Fearing that an opposition movement was growing in Prague, they tricked Jan Želivski, who led the plebeians, into the town hall in 1422. There he was arrested, immediately sentenced to death and carried out his decision.
Taborites
The Taborite party was more radical. It included ruined knights, peasants, and poor artisans. The name comes from the military camp of protesters - Tabora. For them, the goals of the Hussite movement boiled down to broader demands:
- communion with bread and wine;
- creation of free church communities;
- complete freedom of preaching;
- the creation of a republic, in their words “a state without a king”;
- abolition of serfdom.
To achieve their goals, the Taborites were forced to enter into open conflict not only with Emperor Sigismund, the German feudal lords, and the Catholic Church, but also with the largest pantry.
The Taborites were led by Jan Zizka. When he died in 1424 due to a pestilence, Prokop the Great took over the powers together with his assistant Prokop the Small.
Extreme Taborites
The most radically minded were the Picards, who came from the Taborites. They advocated the destruction of the state and the achievement of complete equality. Their teaching about God boiled down to the fact that he lives inside a person, like reason and conscience.
The Picards were led by Martin Guska. Zizka did not support such ideas and in 1421 parted with the extreme Taborites.
Main stages of the struggle
At first, the Chashniki and Taborites fought together against the German feudal lords and their emperor. Jan Žižka created a standing army, which consisted of peasants (infantry) and a small number of knights.
The people's army was distinguished by high discipline, mobility, and could quickly create a fortified camp around itself. The enemy cavalry was unable to attack Tabor.
The Hussites inflicted several crushing blows on the German knights. Emperor Sigismund, together with the pope, undertook five crusades against the apostates. All of them were unsuccessful. The Czech Diet in 1421 deprived the German ruler of the Czech throne.
The most successful victories of the Hussites:
- the battle of Vitkova Gora - took place in 1420, the crusaders were defeated by Zizka's troops, and so a memorable place of the Hussite movement appeared - Zizkova Gora;
- the battle of the German Ford - took place in 1422, concerned the second crusade;
- the battle of Mount Malisov - took place in 1424, Zizka was already blind, but coped well with the last battle, the Hussites captured the center of German colonization in the country - Mount Kutenberg;
- the battle of Ust-Laba Mountain - took place in 1426, the army was led by Prokop the Great, the Hussites destroyed about fifteen thousand German knights;
- the event near Mount Techov - occurred in 1427, the crusaders fled even before meeting the Hussites.
The German knights were afraid even of the knocking of the Taborite military carts. The Hussite army invaded Saxony in 1430. But dad and Sigismund came up with a new plan. They decided to undertake the fifth crusade. Only now it consisted not in a frontal attack, but in splitting the Hussites. The Germans decided to come to an agreement with the Chashniki, who also did not want the revolution to spread.
Chashniks were offered to carry out partial secularization of church lands and carry out religious and ritual transformations. The lords and Prague townspeople agreed.
Prague compactata
A compromise solution was drawn up between the chashniki and the German emperor and pope in 1433. It was called the Prague Compactata. According to the agreement, the Chashniki stopped fighting against the German feudal lords and directed their forces to suppress the Taborites.
In 1434, a battle took place near Lipani. The joint troops of the Chashniki and German knights defeated the Hussites. However, the Taborites fought for several more decades. Their city of Tabor existed until 1452, when it was taken and destroyed by the Chashniks.
The Czechs recognized the German Sigismund as their king. However, he died in 1437, and the new young ruler was not interested in the affairs of the province. The lords had power. The Czech Republic was independent from Germany for about a hundred years. The situation changed as a result of the Thirty Years' War. But this is already the history of the seventeenth century.
What were the results of the Hussite movement?
Meaning
The Hussites were defeated, but their movement was of great importance in the development of the Czech Republic. It intertwined the largest peasant movement, the national uprising against German rule and the early church reformation.
Significance of the Hussite movement:
- the dominance of the Germans in the country was resisted;
- there was a rise in Czech culture;
- all kinds of pamphlets, satirical works, and military-revolutionary anthems were created;
- historical chronicles were compiled;
- a movement called the “Czech Brothers” began to engage in education among the people.
Jan Hus created Czech grammar and spelling of his native language. It is still used today in the Czech Republic.
The end of the Hussite movement had a negative impact on the situation of the peasants. The Czech lords not only did not abolish the feudal-serf system. On the contrary, they passed laws through the Sejm that prohibited peasants from leaving the estate without the permission of the master. The most severe punishments awaited the fugitives for disobedience.
The townspeople also suffered from the lords' decision. According to the decision of the Sejm of 1497, the highest government positions in the country were to be given only to representatives of the noble class.
We analyzed the Hussite movement and its influence on the political and religious life of medieval Bohemia.
The successes of the economic development of the Czech Republic in the 14th century and the growth of its international trade relations significantly strengthened the political position of the Czech state in Central Europe, especially against the background of the collapse of the “Holy Roman Empire of the German nation”, which was determined at that time, within which the Czech Republic occupied from the middle of the 14th century. paramount position. XV century in the history of the Czech Republic was characterized by a powerful rise in the anti-feudal struggle of the masses and the action of the Czech people against foreign domination, against the oppression of the papal curia.
1. The Great Peasant War of the 15th century. in the Czech Republic (Hussite wars).
Socio-economic development in the 14th century. and class struggle
In the XIV century. The Czech Republic was experiencing a significant economic boom, which was determined in the previous century. The country's mining industry has achieved new successes. The extraction of iron and copper has increased. Methods for smelting iron, which took place in furnaces where air was supplied by bellows driven by water energy, improved. Mechanical hammers appeared, the use of which was a major achievement in the field of medieval metallurgy. Gained great importance in the 14th century. new development of silver ore deposits in the Kutna Hora region. The exploitation of the Kutnogorsk, Jihlava and other silver mines facilitated, in particular, the development of coinage. The Prague groschen became the main monetary unit of circulation and also became widespread in Germany, Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Gold was also mined in quite significant quantities in the Czech Republic.
Commodity-money relations penetrated deeper and deeper into all spheres of the feudal economy; The capacity of the domestic market has increased and foreign trade has expanded. Economic development of the Czech lands in the 14th century. especially clearly manifested in the growth of Prague and other cities. In Prague, the New Town and Lesser Town grew up next to the old town. By the second half of the 14th century. Brno had 8 thousand inhabitants, Pilsen and Hradec-Královy - 5 thousand each, etc. The guild system was finally established in the city crafts. In some cities there were over 50 workshops (Prague, Pilsen), which indicated the growth of specialization of crafts and great successes in craft production. The number of handicraft products produced increased, their quality improved, and the range expanded. Czech glass gained pan-European fame, and the fame of “Bohemian crystal” grew.
However, agriculture continued to be the basis of the economy, which also developed noticeably. This was expressed in the increasingly frequent use of fertilizers, in grass sowing and in the improvement of tools. The number of mills, both water and windmills, grew everywhere. Flax and hemp crops expanded; Sheep and pig breeding developed intensively; the number of new vineyards has increased significantly; Fish cages have appeared in many places in the country.
The development of commodity-money relations led to increased demand for agricultural products. The desire to increase their income prompted feudal lords to expand their holdings. The Archbishopric of Prague, for example, owned in the second half of the 14th century. more than 900 villages, towns, fortresses and cities. Huge possessions were also concentrated in the hands of the largest secular feudal lords. At the same time, the middle nobility gradually lost its former position, and the small gentry - zemans - were often deprived of both land and independence.
Feudal exploitation of the peasantry in the 14th century. was extremely difficult. The predominant type of feudal rent at this time was cash rent, but in the center and north of the country the role of corvee became increasingly stronger. It reached here in some places up to three, four, five and even six days a week. Sources of that time also record unlimited corvée at the will of the master. At the same time, feudal lords in the north and center of the country sought to increase the master's arable land by annexing peasant plots. In the south, the center of gravity of feudal exploitation lay on peasant plots. A characteristic feature of the South Bohemian estate was the rather significant, in comparison with other regions of the country, use of “hired labor” of feudally dependent peasants. In conditions of scarcity of land in the south of the Czech Republic, dependent peasants were forced to systematically give their labor to the feudal lords under enslaving conditions.
The increase in the marketability of agricultural production intensified and aggravated the process of property differentiation of the peasantry, the identification of a small wealthy elite, the deterioration of the position of its bulk and, at the same time, an increase in the number of landless and land-poor peasants. The stratification of the peasantry was most profound in the southern regions of the country, where money rent crowded out all other types of feudal rent. Nevertheless, the main figure of the Czech village continued to be the sedlyaks - owners of half and quarter, less often three-quarter plots.
The resistance of the Czech peasants to the growing feudal oppression was expressed in the increased flight of peasants from feudal estates, in the refusal to fulfill the newly introduced duties and to pay increased taxes. There were also more active forms of struggle - the burning of the master's grain and estates, theft of livestock, etc. The struggle of peasants, as well as artisans and the plebs of Czech cities against feudal oppression also took the form of popular heretical movements. In the XIV century. These movements were so frequent, especially in southern Bohemia, that the Archbishop of Prague established a special tribunal to deal with heretics.
Social contradictions in Czech cities were complex. On the one hand, inside the workshops there was a struggle between the privileged layer of Czech craftsmen and the mass of Czech poor apprentices and apprentices. On the other hand, Czech masters participated in a common struggle with apprentices against the urban patriciate, which was predominantly German, enjoyed special privileges and managed the city economy and finances in its own interests.
Strengthening the Czech state in the middle of the 14th century.
In 1347, the Czech king Charles I (1346-1378) - a representative of the Luxembourg dynasty - became emperor of the “Holy Roman Empire” under the name Charles IV. Charles's policy was aimed at expanding the possessions of the Luxembourg dynasty, and general imperial interests were systematically sacrificed to this. Since the core of the possessions of the Luxembourg dynasty was the Czech Republic, Charles tried to promote the development of crafts there and provided patronage to Czech cities, while at the same time helping to strengthen the German patriciate in many of them. In an effort to provide the Czech Republic with predominant political influence in the empire, Charles promulgated in 1348 at the Sejm in Prague charters in which the succession to the Czech throne was secured, and Moravia, Silesia and Lusatia were declared fiefs of the Czech crown. In 1373, Charles annexed Brandenburg to the lands of the Czech crown. According to the Golden Bull, published by Charles as head of the German Empire in 1356, the Czech king became the first of seven electors who were given the right to elect German emperors.
Despite the fact that Charles was both the Czech king and the emperor, he still failed to completely break the resistance of the Czech lords to the policy of state centralization. Thus, in 1355, Charles proposed for approval by the Czech Sejm a draft code that protected the class interests of the feudal lords, but at the same time strengthened royal power by introducing the same norms of feudal law for the entire state. This attempt by Charles met with sharp resistance from the Sejm. The lords even saw in bringing into the system of feudal legislation an undesirable strengthening of the king and a serious infringement of their power. The Sejm refused to approve Charles's code as a whole, and only some articles beneficial to the lords were adopted as separate laws.
Wanting to strengthen the political role of the Czech Republic in the empire, Charles I established the Archbishopric of Prague, thereby freeing the Czech Republic from ecclesiastical dependence on the German clergy. But in general, with his church policy, Charles I contributed greatly to strengthening the position of the Catholic clergy in the Czech Republic, which was a stronghold of foreign dominance. Seeing in the Catholic clergy the most important support of the feudal system, Charles contributed to the growth of its influence and the increase of its land holdings, brutally suppressing popular heretical movements.
Development of Czech culture. Foundation of the University of Prague
In the centuries-old struggle of the Czech people for independent development, their culture grew and developed. Relating to the XIII-XIV centuries. translations into Czech of individual parts of the Bible, as well as those written in the 14th century. works - the poetic chronicle of Dalimil and the chronicle of Peter, Abbot of Zbraslav, testify to the significant development of the Czech literary language. Major writers of the 14th century. were Smil Flaszka from Pardubice and Tomasz Sztitny. From the end of the XIV - beginning of the XV century. An increasing number of works appeared in Czech.
Architecture and fine arts have reached a high level of development in the Czech Republic. Based on the traditions of the Czech people, its masters at the same time creatively assimilated the achievements of the best architects of neighboring countries. The most significant monuments of Czech architecture of the 14th century. are the bridge in Prague over the Vltava, the Cathedral of St. Witta, Karlštejn Castle and Old Town Hall in Prague.
One of the largest events in the cultural life of the Czech Republic was the founding of the University of Prague in 1348, which was the first university in Central Europe. The University of Prague had 4 faculties - theology, law, medicine and the faculty of "liberal arts", and all university students were distributed among four communities (or "nations") - Czech, Bavarian, Polish and Saxon. By the beginning of the 15th century. The University of Prague has become one of the largest centers of medieval education not only in the Czech Republic, but throughout Europe. In Prague at that time there were about 300 teachers - masters and bachelors and more than 2 thousand students. Since an equal number of persons from each “nation” were nominated to the governing bodies of the university, the management of the university ended up in the hands of Germans and other foreigners. Therefore, acute internal contradictions arose at the university. Czech masters, relying on the support of students, fought against foreign domination in the academic environment. The struggle within the university was an integral part of the Czechs' struggle for their national culture.
Exacerbation of social and national contradictions. Beginning of the reform movement
After the death of Charles I, the Czech Republic, together with Silesia and Upper Lusatia, went to his son Wenceslas IV (1378 - 1419), who was also the German emperor until 1400. Another son of Charles I, Sigismund, who received Brandenburg, became the Hungarian king in 1386, and in 1411 he was elected German emperor. It was these heirs of Charles I who had to face the revolutionary movement of the Czech people - the Great Peasants' War.
The main force of the popular movement was the peasantry, which was subjected to cruel feudal-serf exploitation in the Czech Republic. At the same time, the rise in activity of the Czech burghers, outraged by the arbitrariness of the patrician German city rulers and the behavior of the Germanized Czech lords who supported the encroachments of the German emperor on the independence of the Czech Republic, was of great importance in the general struggle of various layers of the people. The middle and small nobility joined the burghers in their dissatisfaction with the large feudal lords, who robbed them and treated them unceremoniously. A feature of the brewing social and national conflict was that the class struggle was complicated by the anti-church struggle, in which at first all classes of the feudal Czech Republic took part. The banner of the anti-feudal struggle and the national liberation struggle that unfolded alongside it in the Czech Republic became the Reformation - a broad movement for the liquidation of church wealth and against the political influence of the Catholic Church, the main support of German oppression and feudal reaction in the country.
The preaching of reformation ideas enjoyed great success among the Czech burghers already in the second half of the 14th century. In the 60s, Augustinian monk Konrad Waldhauser criticized the clergy in Prague. Around the same time, Jan Milich spoke out, denouncing the vices of the prelates and condemning the clergy for their wealth and luxury. After the death of Jan Milich, Matvey from Yanov continued preaching reformation ideas ( Matvey from Yanov graduated from the University of Paris and lived in Paris and Prague; therefore it is known under the name of both Paris and Prague.). Matthew called for a return to the simplicity of the morals of original Christianity. He demanded the liquidation of all monasteries and declared that the estates of the church should belong to the poor. Matvey considered the estates of feudal society to be the invention of the devil. In his opinion, universal equality should have been established in the world.
One of Matthew’s followers and disciples put forward a demand to introduce communion for all laity, and not just for clergy, “under both types,” i.e., communion for all believers with bread and wine. This demand was directed against one of the dogmas of the Catholic Church, which asserted that only the clergy could receive communion “under both types”; secular people should receive communion only with bread, and not with wine (i.e., eat, as the church taught, only the “body of Christ,” but not his “blood”). The significance of this dogma was that it served as a “justification” for the privileged position of the clergy and its separation from the laity. The demand for communion “under both types” and for the laity was essentially a denial of the privileged position of the Catholic clergy. The intense struggle that unfolded at the University of Prague between Czech and German masters was immediately connected with the first speeches of Czech reformers. Along with their ideas, the teachings of the English reformer John Wyclef, close to them, began to spread at the University of Prague. Czech masters and students, reflecting the sentiments and ideology of wide circles of the Czech burghers, were attracted to the criticism of the Catholic clergy and the denial of their rights to wealth and land ownership in the theological and philosophical writings of Viklef. The most prominent leader of the Czech Reformation was the master of the University of Prague, Jan Hus.
Jan Hus and his struggle with the Catholic Church
Jan Hus was born in 1371 in the town of Husince (Southern Bohemia) into a poor family. He received his initial education at a parish school. In 1394, Hus graduated from the University of Prague with a bachelor's degree, and in 1396 he was awarded a master's degree in liberal arts. In 1398, Hus began teaching at the university and in the same year spoke at a public debate in defense of the teachings of Wyclef. In 1403, Jan Hus became rector of the University of Prague. By this time he also had the rank of priest and was the preacher of the Bethlehem chapel.
Having become rector of the university, Hus tried to ensure that Czech scientists played a leading role in it. In 1409, King Wenceslas IV was forced to give the Czechs 3 votes in the management of the university, and the Germans only one. Having lost their dominant position in the university, the Germans left it and created their own university in Leipzig. The name Husa gained popularity in the widest circles of Czech society. At first, Hus's preaching met with the approval of not only the burghers and zemans, but also large secular feudal lords and even King Wenceslas IV himself, who willingly supported the idea that the church should return to “evangelical simplicity” and abandon its huge land holdings.
The Catholic clergy, led by the Archbishop of Prague, opposed Hus, accusing him of undermining church authority and power and spreading heretical teachings. Hus and his supporters were excommunicated. But Hus continued to give sermons in the Bethlehem chapel. The ranks of his supporters grew, increasingly filled with townspeople and serfs of the Czech Republic. Finally, the archbishop imposed an interdict on Prague. However, this measure only caused a new wave of indignation throughout the Czech Republic and an even greater rise in the reform movement.
The expansion of the reform movement, the severity of the conflict between Hus and the Catholic Church, and especially the appearance in Hus’s sermon of anti-feudal ideas and, above all, the idea that one should not obey “unjust authorities,” frightened the king and large feudal lords, and they moved from the previous policy of neutrality to repression. In 1412, Hus opposed the public sale of indulgences in the Czech state announced by Pope John XXIII. Hieronymus of Prague, a close friend of Huss, appealed to the people to organize a protest demonstration. A procession took place, the participants of which burned the papal bulls. This open speech by Hus's supporters immediately provoked punitive measures from the authorities: they ordered the execution of three participants in the anti-papal protest. Hus himself was forced by order of the king to leave Prague and settle near the Goat Castle, not far from the place where the city of Tabor later arose.
Formulated in a number of treatises, Hus's teachings went much further in the denial of Catholic dogmas than the reformation teachings of his predecessors. Hus not only declared the Catholic Church “unChristian”, not only rejected everything that was not confirmed in the “holy scripture,” but also recognized the right of every believer to be guided in matters of faith by his own interpretation of this scripture. By the nature of the demands, Hus's preaching was burgher, but as the class struggle intensified in the country, Hus criticized the Catholic Church more and more sharply and irreconcilably.
In its most general form, his teaching included both the demands of the plebeians and the demands of the peasants. As the interests of the exploited moved further and further away from the moderate aspirations of the burghers, Hus himself moved closer and closer to the masses. At the same time as Hus, there were also preachers in Prague who directly expressed the interests of the plebs. Thus, Nicholas and Peter from Dresden demanded that church lands be immediately confiscated and distributed to the poor. Revolutionary propaganda was also carried out by unknown preachers of popular heretical sects, whose activities were never interrupted.
Cathedral in Constanta. Massacre of Gus
The reformation movement in the Czech Republic caused alarm among the clergy and secular feudal lords of other European countries. The Catholic clergy and rulers feared that the blow struck in the Czech Republic would shake the foundations of the Church and undermine its authority in other countries as well. The successes of the Czech Reformation caused especially great concern among the German princes and the German emperor, for whom the Catholic Church was an instrument of enslavement of neighboring Slavic peoples. “The Czech Question” acquired great international significance. Emperor Sigismund invited Hus to come to the imperial city of Constance for a church council convened there at the end of 1414, and Hus received a safe conduct from the emperor, which guaranteed him complete safety. One of the main issues raised at the council was the issue of the “Hussite heresy.” Confident that he was right, Hus accepted the invitation and went to Constance. Along the way, Hus was greeted by the population of not only Czech, but also many German villages and cities. Hus's reformation teaching, directed against the wealth and privileged position of the Catholic clergy, was understandable and close to the masses of Germany.
Upon Hus's arrival at the council, he was charged with heresy, and after this he was treacherously captured and thrown into prison, shackled. The council demanded that Hus renounce his views. However, Hus remained adamant. On July 6, 1415, the council decided to burn all the works of Huss, and he himself, as an unrepentant and irreconcilable heretic, was handed over to the secular authorities for “punishment.” That same day, Hus bravely accepted death at the stake. On May 30, 1416, Jerome of Prague, who went to Constance to help his friend, was also burned.
The beginning of the Hussite wars. Formation of two camps in the Hussite movement
The burning of Hus caused a storm of indignation and protest in all layers of Czech society, with the exception of the top layer of Czech lords. 452 Czech and Moravian nobles addressed the Council of Constance with a letter of accusation, in which they stated that they considered the burning of Hus as an insult to the entire Czech people. Together with the masters of the University of Prague and the Czech burghers, the middle and small feudal lords of the Czech Republic also declared themselves supporters of Jan Hus and Hieronymus of Prague. All of them later formed a moderate camp and began to be called “chalice makers”, since one of their demands was “A cup for the laity!”, which meant the requirement for the laity to receive communion not only with bread, but also with wine from the cup.
The protest movement of the grassroots - the peasant masses, poor artisans and urban plebs - took on an incomparably greater scope. In 1415-1419. The main center of revolutionary uprisings was the south of the Czech Republic. Major uprisings took place in Pisek, Klatovy, Pilsen, Sezimov Ustje and other cities. During the events, a large number of popular preachers emerged. One of the most prominent figures of this period was the priest Vaclav Koranda from Pilsen, who preached the secularization of church properties and rejected church rituals. Many thousands of people flocked to the speeches of the people's preachers, who called on their listeners to “gird themselves with the sword” and speak out against their oppressors. One of the favorite places for public meetings was Mount Tabor in Southern Bohemia. The same name was given to the city, founded by the rebel people a little later, in March - April 1420. All participants in the peasant-plebeian camp received the name Taborites. Meetings of peasants and plebeians, as well as the knights who joined them, became especially frequent towards the end of the spring of 1419. This time can be considered the beginning of the Great Peasant War in the Czech Republic.
At the same time, the revolutionary activity of the urban lower classes of Prague also grew. A fiery preacher of revolutionary ideas in Prague was the former monk Jan Zhedivsky, who called on the working masses to revolt. He himself participated in the Hussite religious processions through the streets of Prague, holding a high-raised cup in his hands, which was a common symbol of the Hussite movement. The uprising in Prague broke out on July 30, 1419. The people took possession of the town hall and threw the burgomaster and his advisers out of it. After this, a hasty and massive flight of monks and rich foreigners from the city began. The popular uprising in Prague reached its greatest extent in August and September 1419, after the sudden death of Wenceslas IV. His heir was the worst enemy of the Czech people, the executioner of Hus - Emperor Sigismund. The Hussites declared Sigismund deprived of the Czech throne. The immediate anger of the people fell on the monasteries and patrician houses, which were destroyed and burned by the rebels. Their armed forces, reinforced by peasant detachments arriving in Prague from other places in the Czech Republic, stormed the fortified Vysehrad castle. The main leaders of the rebels during this period were the outstanding political figures and talented military leaders Mikulas from Husi and Jan Žižka, who emerged from the Hussite revolutionary movement.
Frightened by the successes of the people, the Prague burghers concluded a truce with the royal army on November 13, 1419, pledging to return Vysehrad to it. The rebels were forced to withdraw their troops from Prague. The Chashniki took advantage of the results of the popular Prague uprising and captured Prague and other cities of the Czech Republic. However, due to the irreconcilable position taken by Sigismund, the Chashniki were forced to act together with the Taborites. In the spring of 1420, the pope declared a “crusade” against the Hussites. Sigismund, at the head of a 100,000-strong German army, which included feudal crusaders from other countries who had gathered at the call of the pope, invaded the Czech Republic. On July 14, 1420, Sigismund and his crusader army were defeated near Prague by the Taborites under the command of Jan Zizka. On November 1, 1420, after another defeat of Sigismund, Vysehrad capitulated. This victory further raised the morale of the Czech people and strengthened the position of the Taborites, who put forward their own program, different from the Chashniki program.
Chashnik and Taborite programs
The program of the Chashniks - the Czech burghers and knights, who sought to weaken the power of the Catholic Church, eliminate the dominance of the clergy and expand secular land ownership at the expense of the church, essentially boiled down to the demand for a “cheap church”. The Chashniki did not want changes in the social system of the Czech Republic. They sought the adoption of the so-called four Prague articles, namely: the secularization of church lands, freedom of preaching in the spirit of Husism, the elimination of the exclusive position of the Catholic clergy by introducing communion “under both types” and the punishment of persons guilty of the so-called “deadly sins”. The Chashniki program was anti-Catholic; it was also directed against foreign domination.
The four Prague articles were acceptable to both the Chashniks and the Taborites, who expressed the interests of the peasant masses and the urban lower classes. However, the Taborites understood the four articles differently than the Chashniks. The Taborites demanded complete and unconditional freedom of preaching. From the demand for equality, the symbol of which was the cup, the masses derived the negation of feudal estates and the abolition of property differences. If the gentry and burghers, having seized church lands, thought only about how to retain their acquisitions, then the masses demanded the division of the lands taken from the clergy. The starting point of the Taborite program was their understanding of the beginning of a world revolution, which should end with the victory of good people over evil. The Taborites imagined the coup as an act of violent elimination of “sinners and opponents of God’s law,” by which they thought of the feudal lords, the highest church clergy and officials of the feudal state. The Taborites viewed the coup as “the work of God,” but argued that it should be started by the hands of the “faithful,” by the hands of “zealots of God’s cause,” by which they understood people belonging to the working people. Each of the "faithful" was called upon to "personally shed the blood of those who oppose the law of Christ" and to "wash their hands in the blood of his enemies."
In a region cleared of enemies, the Taborites wanted to destroy all feudal orders and return communal lands to the peasantry. They forbade “peasants and all subjects” to pay any kind of cess or tithe to the feudal lords and intended to establish in their region the “kingdom of God”, under which “every ruler would disappear, tribute and every secular state would cease.” The Taborites envisaged a complete revolution in the affairs of the church. The existing church and all its orders were to be completely destroyed, and the property of the church was given to the working people. In their plans for the new church, the Taborites went much further than Hus, declaring that there was no need for the Gospel itself, for the new “law of Christ will be written in the heart of everyone.” The veneration of “saints” was also abolished, as well as the effect of all church decrees and instructions of the “holy fathers”. The Taborites called on the masses to introduce a new order in the region they occupied and maintain this order by force of the sword until a general world revolution, which, according to their expectations, would be the work of “Christ himself.” Consequently, the Taborite program was primarily anti-feudal. In order to better organize the masses to fight the feudal lords, the Taborites introduced strict order and discipline in their camp, and the common use of all food supplies and other consumer goods. Any luxury was strictly prohibited.
Chiliasts (Picartes) of Tabora
Even in the autumn and winter of 1420, some differences became noticeable in the Taborite camp. Wealthy elements began to put increasing pressure on the extreme left revolutionary sects of the so-called chiliasts,( Chiliasts (from the Greek word “chilioi” - “thousand”) believed in the onset of the thousand-year earthly reign of Christ, which supposedly would come before the “end of the world.” In the Czech Republic, chiliasts were called picarts.) or the Picards, who expressed the vague and vague aspirations of the urban and rural poor and, speaking with a program of primitive communism, denied all property. Dressing social demands in a fantastic religious form, they argued that the time had already come for the “thousand-year kingdom of God” and “heavenly life” on earth. Picard ideologists Martin Guska, Piotr Kanisz, Jan Bydlinski, Jan Capek and others, consistently defending chiliastic views, preached that there is neither God nor the devil as the church teaches, but that the first of them lives in the hearts of the good and righteous people, and the second - in the hearts of evil. The Picards called themselves immortal and equal to Christ, whom they considered a simple man.
The views of the Picards frightened many peasants, especially wealthy ones, and seemed to them blasphemy and godlessness. Therefore, although the social side of the teachings of the Picards attracted the sympathy of the urban and rural poor, the Picards still remained relatively few in number and at the decisive moment did not receive the support of the broad masses. Nevertheless, despite the fantastic nature of the preaching of the Picards for that time, their performance did not pass without a trace: they inspired the masses to fight the feudal lords.
By the spring of 1421, a critical moment had arrived in the development of the Hussite revolutionary movement. Ideologists of moderate Taborites addressed the Prague magistrates with a letter in which they indicated that Martin Guska and 400 other Picards did not want to honor the “holy altar”, poured “the blood of Christ” on the ground, broke and sold “sacred cups”. As a result, the Picards were expelled from Tabor. Then they fortified themselves near Přibenice. However, the fortification created by the Picards was besieged and then taken by storm. The Picards defended themselves desperately, and most of them died in battle. No more than 40 people fell into the hands of the winners alive. The captured Picards rejected all offers to “repent” and fearlessly went to the fire in Klokoty in front of all the inhabitants of Tabor. In August 1421, after painful torture, Martin Huska, a remarkable preacher and brave thinker, was burned at the stake in Rudnice. The reprisal against the Chiliasts dealt an irreparable blow to the Hussite revolutionary movement, ultimately strengthening the position of the gentry and burghers.
Major victories of the revolutionary army and their international significance
At the Hussite Diet in Caslav in 1421, a provisional government of 20 directors was appointed, among whom were only two representatives of the Taborites. This government, which was entirely under the control of the Chashniki, was afraid of the victories of the revolutionary army. However, the Chashniki were still forced to remain in the same camp with the Taborites due to the fact that the enemies of the Hussites were preparing a second “crusade” against them. Only the revolutionary forces united in the Taborite camp could repel this onslaught. At the same time, the Chashniki began negotiations with the Polish king Vladislav II Jagiello and the Grand Duke of Lithuania Vytautas, offering one of them to take the Czech throne. This proposal was dictated not only by the desire to strengthen the strength of the Hussites in the fight against Emperor Sigismund, but also by fear of the growing revolutionary Taborite camp. In 1422, Polish-Lithuanian troops arrived in the Czech Republic under the command of Sigismund Koributovich (Jagailo's nephew). However, soon, under pressure from the papacy, the Polish-Lithuanian feudal lords moved to the anti-Hussite camp.
Under the leadership of Jan Zizka, the Taborites turned the troops of German bishops and secular feudal lords into panic flight. Sigismund's troops, who tried to encircle the Taborites, were also defeated. Jan Žižka continued to command the people's army, despite the fact that in 1421, during an attack on a castle, he lost his other eye and became completely blind. After the defeat of the second “crusade” against the Hussites by the Taborite army, the Chashniki began to actively strive to strengthen their positions. In March 1422, the Prague cup workers treacherously killed the leader of the working masses of the capital, Jan Želivsky, and attempted to eliminate his supporters from the city government. The masses of Prague then managed to defend their rights, but the murder of Zhelivsky showed that the chashniki had already embarked on the path of betraying the people's interests. After the Taborites successfully repelled the third campaign of the “crusaders,” the Chashniki entered into direct negotiations with the enemies on joint actions against the revolutionary people.
During the armed struggle against numerous enemies in the Czech Republic, a people's army was created and a cadre of experienced military leaders was forged. Jan Žižka and other commanders developed new tactics based on the massive use of infantry and war wagons, the use of light artillery and flexibility of maneuver, as well as fast and hidden movements. The Taborite leaders were guided by well-thought-out plans and, coordinating the actions of individual detachments, combined the interaction of various types of weapons and skillfully determined the direction of the main attacks. The Taborite tactics were feasible not only because of the outstanding abilities of Zizka and other commanders. The main reason for the victories of the peasant detachments was that they were popular troops, radically different in character from both knightly militias and mercenary detachments. In October 1424, the great Czech commander died. The leadership of the military forces of the Taborites passed to Prokop the Great, who was assisted by another military leader, Prokop the Small. Both Prokop showed great activity and initiative in military operations. They were not limited to defensive tactics. Having repulsed the fourth “crusade” in 1427, the revolutionary Taborite army launched a decisive offensive and invaded Silesia, Bavaria, Austria, Franconia and Saxony. After the failure of the four “crusades,” the Taborite forces and their influence in the Czech Republic itself and in Europe increased significantly.
The battle between the Hussites and the Crusaders. Miniature from a German manuscript of 1450
In the fall of 1429, the Taborites, who sought to expand their influence in Europe, resumed offensive campaigns in Germany. The revolutionary Czech army also entered Hungary. The Hussites also assisted Poland in its struggle against the Teutonic Order. In 1433, their detachments operated near Gdansk on the shores of the Baltic Sea. The international significance of the Hussite wars was evidenced by the responses to them in Slovakia, Hungary, Germany, Poland and Russian lands. Foreigners who passed through Germany in 1431 and observed the peasant unrest that was taking place there expressed the assumption that soon “all German peasants would take the side of the Czechs.” At the church council that opened in 1431 in Basel, representatives of the Catholic clergy spoke with horror about the responses to the Hussite wars, about mass uprisings of peasants in the Rhinelands of Germany, about the alarming mood in German cities and about the threat of anti-feudal uprisings in France and Italy.
At the same time, the fifth “crusade” of European reaction against the Hussites was organized, in which, as in previous campaigns, the main role was assigned to the troops of the German feudal lords. The preacher of the fifth “crusade” against the Hussites was one of the organizers of the Basel Council, the papal legate, Cardinal Julian Cesarini, who demanded that the “crusaders” betray the Czech Republic to looting, fires and complete devastation. However, this campaign also ended in a terrible defeat for the “crusaders” in August 1431 at Domazlice. Then the leaders of the European reaction, convinced of the indestructibility of the rebellious people, decided to achieve a split of the Hussites through diplomatic maneuvers and concessions to the Chashniki in religious matters. At the suggestion of Cardinal Cesarini, the commissioners of the Council of Basel entered into negotiations with the Hussites.
Betrayal of the Chashniks and defeat of the Taborites. Historical significance of the Hussite wars.
Negotiations between the delegates of the Council of Basel and the Hussites, which began in May 1432, ended on November 30, 1433 with the adoption of four points, later called the “Prague Compactata,” which recognized communion “under both types”; freedom of church sermons was established, the jurisdiction of the church in criminal matters was abolished, the clergy, if they would lead an “apostolic life,” was given the right to own church property. The agreement met the interests of the moderate Hussite camp, which consisted of the Czech nobility, as well as wealthy citizens. Therefore, the Chashniks opposed the Taborites who were dissatisfied with the agreement. On May 30, 1434, the Taborites were defeated in a battle near Lipani. Both Taborite leaders fell in the battle - Prokop the Great and Prokop the Small. The Taborites continued to fight after this defeat, but their strength was broken. The reason for this was that the peasants, who made up the bulk of the Taborites, were unable to wage an organized struggle to overthrow feudal oppression. In 1437, one of the leaders of the last Taborite detachments, Jan Rogach, was captured and executed.
As a result of the defeat of the Taborites, a genuine feudal reaction occurred in the country. Using the results of the heroic struggle of the Czech people, the Chashniki feudal lords took possession of vast church estates, strengthened their position and went on the offensive against the peasantry. The peasants had to return to their former masters or become dependent on others. Without the permission of the feudal lord, the peasants could no longer leave his domain. Peasants who lived in cities and worked there were obliged to return to their masters, otherwise they were considered runaways. Restoring their farms, the feudal lords increasingly increased peasant duties, especially corvee.
After the defeat of the Taborites, the Catholic reaction also came out against the Chashniks. The Pope declared the Prague Compacts invalid. The Catholics abandoned all the concessions they had previously made to the Chashniki. A “confederation” of all the reactionary forces from the lords and the city elite, who attracted the Hungarian king Matthew (Matthias) Corvinus, was organized against the cup owner Yuri Poděbrad, who became king in 1458. Poděbrad died in 1471, in the midst of the struggle, which ended only in 1485 with a compromise between Catholics and Cupniks. At the Sejm in Kutna Hora, freedom of religion was proclaimed for Catholics and Chashniki.
The Hussite Wars were of great importance in the history of the Czech people. Although the rebel people were defeated, their heroic struggle contributed to the progressive development of the country. The historical significance of the Hussite wars lies primarily in the fact that the masses of the Czech Republic openly rebelled against feudal exploitation, Catholic obscurantism and national oppression. The Hussite wars were also of great importance for the development of Czech national culture. The Czech language has gained predominance in all areas of life in the Czech Republic. Being the culmination of the liberation struggle of the Czech people in the Middle Ages, the Hussite wars also constituted an important stage in the centuries-long struggle of all Slavic peoples against foreign aggression.
The Hussite Wars shocked European reaction, putting forward the ideas of democracy and social justice. A number of large peasant uprisings (the uprising in 1437 in Transylvania, in 1440-1442 in Moldova, etc.) are associated with the traditions of the Hussite wars. The leaders of the Great Peasant War in Germany at the beginning of the 16th century, especially Thomas Münzer, treated the memory of Jan Hus and his followers with great respect and love, and considered themselves continuers of their work. The Hussite Wars shook the foundations of the Catholic Church throughout Europe and dealt a heavy blow to the papacy. Czech Reformation of the 15th century. had great international significance, being a necessary preparatory step in the maturation of the pan-European Reformation.
2. Creation of a unified Polish state
The development of productive forces both in agriculture and crafts, the strengthening of economic ties between individual regions of the country, the growth of cities and market relations in the second half of the 13th century. gradually prepared the economic prerequisites for the unification of Polish lands into a single state.
Establishment of the state unity of Poland in the 14th century.
The process of reunification of the Polish lands was significantly accelerated by the need to combat a formidable external danger - the aggression of the German feudal lords, carried out by the Teutonic Order and Brandenburg. In the fight against large feudal lords - the rulers who defended the order of feudal fragmentation, the central government could rely on the support of small and medium-sized feudal lords - the knighthood (gentry). The Polish clergy, pushed aside by the German clergy, fearing for their income and political influence, was also ready to support the central government in its unification policy. The broad masses were also interested in ending feudal strife, which was extremely painful for the people, and in strengthening central power.
The centralization of the Polish state was hampered by the position of the patriciate of the largest Polish cities. The influential German patriciate of Krakow, Wroclaw, Poznan and other cities, associated not with internal but with transit trade, was a force that actively fought against the creation of a single centralized state in Poland. This led to the fact that in Poland cities did not play the role in the struggle for the creation of a single national state that belonged to them in the history of a number of European countries. Under such conditions, as well as due to the aggressive policy of the Polish feudal lords in the east, which distracted the forces of the state from the fight against the Teutonic Order, Brandenburg and the Luxembourg monarchy that seized the Polish western lands, the Polish state did not include Silesia and Pomerania, a separate principality in the 14th-15th centuries. Mazovia also remained. Within the state, large feudal lords - magnates-monk owners - retained great influence.
In the internal political struggle in Poland, starting from the second half of the 13th century, a significant role was played by the question of which group of feudal lords - Lesser Poland or Greater Poland - would lead the unification of Polish lands. Initially, the leading role in the struggle for the unification of the country belonged to the Greater Poland feudal lords, for it was in Greater Poland that the need for a decisive struggle against German feudal aggression was most acutely felt. At the end of the 13th century. Prince Przemyslaw II became the head of the Greater Poland feudal lords in their struggle for the unification of the country, extending his power to the entire Greater Poland and annexing the Krakow land and Eastern Pomerania to his possessions. In 1295, Przemyslaw II became the Polish king, but his position was complicated by the struggle with the Margrave of Brandenburg and the Czech king Wenceslas II, to whom he was forced to cede the Krakow land. In 1296, Przemyslaw II was treacherously killed by agents sent from Brandenburg. Subsequently, the energetic struggle for the unification of the Polish lands was continued by the Brest-Kujaw prince Wladyslaw Loketek, who, having suppressed the uprising of the German patriciate of Krakow and breaking the resistance of the patriciate of a number of Greater Poland cities led by Poznan, by 1314 took possession of all of Greater Poland and annexed it to Lesser Poland. In 1320, Władysław Loketek was crowned king of a unified Polish state.
The difficult struggle of Poland with the Teutonic Order, which captured at the beginning of the 14th century. Eastern Pomerania, and the Luxembourgs, who ruled the Czech Republic, took place with varying degrees of success. Under Władysław Loketek's successor, Casimir III (1333-1370), in 1335, through the mediation of Hungary, an agreement was concluded with the Luxembourgs in Vysehgrod. Having renounced their claims to the Polish throne, Luxembourg retained Silesia in their hands. In 1343, an agreement was concluded with the order, which was forced to make some territorial concessions to Poland. The refusal of feudal Poland to resolutely fight the order for the return of the Polish lands it had seized was a consequence of the aggressive policy of some Polish feudal lords in the east. In 1349-1352 Polish feudal lords, after a difficult struggle with the local population, captured Galician Rus, while Volhynia was captured by Lithuania. A long struggle began between Lithuania and Poland for the Galician-Volyn lands, which was waged by Polish feudal lords under Casimir III in alliance with Hungarian feudal lords.
Development of cash rent. Anti-feudal struggle of peasants
The political unification of the country contributed to the further economic development of Polish lands. In the XIV-XV centuries. Intensive settlement of forest areas and clearing of new land areas for arable land continued. The internal colonization of the country was carried out primarily by the forces of the Polish peasantry, who sought refuge from feudal exploitation in flight. However, even in new places, newly settled peasants fell into feudal dependence on large landowners, although initially it was easier. In the XIV century. free peasants in Poland almost completely disappeared. The feudal lords transferred the peasants to a uniform quitrent - chinsh, contributed in kind and money. First half of the 15th century was the time of the widest distribution of cash rent in medieval Poland. In Silesia it was the predominant type of rent. Mazovia was the most backward in its socio-economic development.
However, along with the precisely established and regularly collected cess, the feudal lords tried in every possible way to preserve the ancient levies from the peasants in a modified form. For example, in the 14th century. under the guise of the so-called “offerings” collected in kind, mainly from livestock, there was cutting and opole, and under the name of breakfasts there was the ancient duty of the camp. Along with chinsh, corvée was also practiced in some places, but on a small scale. In addition to duties in favor of the feudal landowners, peasants had to pay tithes to the church. In Greater Poland, tithes were paid mainly in cash, and in small ones in kind.
The most common form of peasant resistance to feudal oppression at this time was escape. The so-called Wislica Statute, issued under Casimir III for Lesser Poland, directly stated that due to the departure of peasants without any legal reason, the estates of their masters were often empty and left uncultivated. The peasantry waged an energetic struggle against the extremely unprofitable for them natural service, the so-called “sheaf tithe”, in favor of the church, seeking its replacement with monetary contributions.
Anti-feudal protests by the peasantry and urban poor often took the form of heresies. At the beginning of the 14th century. The heresy of the Waldenses, who called for the establishment of property equality and sharply attacked the wealth and depraved life of the Catholic clergy, became widespread in Poland. To combat heresies, the Inquisition was introduced in Poland. In 1315, several hundred Waldensians were burned at the stake in Silesia. However, these brutal repressions could not stop the further spread of heresies. In the middle of the 14th century. The heretical movement of the “scourges,” who preached an ascetic way of life, became widespread among the Polish peasantry, especially in Lesser Poland.
It received a wide response among the Polish peasantry and urban lower classes in the 15th century. Hussite movement. It won especially many supporters in Silesia, as well as in the cities and towns of Lesser and Greater Poland, among the peasantry of Kuyavia and the Dobrzyn region. In Silesia, the anti-feudal struggle of the peasantry and urban poor was close in nature to the events in the rebellious Czech Republic. The masses of the people who rose up in armed struggle destroyed monasteries and churches. The popular movement was led by fiery preachers, the so-called “poor priests.” Many Polish peasants and urban poor took an active part in the peasant war in the Czech Republic itself. “Inferior”, “plebeians” and “kmets”, as stated in Polish sources, created detachments that went to the aid of the struggling Czech Republic. Only with the help of bloody terror did the Polish spiritual and secular feudal lords manage to suppress the peasant war that was beginning in the country.
Growth of crafts and trade
In the XIV-XV centuries. There was further progress in craft production. At this time, Silesia (especially the city of Wroclaw) was famous for its weavers. Krakow was a major center for cloth production. The documents contain references to artisans of various specialties: weavers, clothmakers, foundries, glaziers, carvers, painters, carpenters and shoemakers. Guild organizations that arose in the Polish city in the previous period grew significantly, and in the XIV-XV centuries. There was already a very clear social stratification within the workshops. All management of the workshops was concentrated in the hands of the craftsmen, who elected elders who stood at the head of the workshop. Journeymen and especially apprentices were in a position dependent on the masters.
The foreign trade of Wormwood expanded significantly at this time. Transit trade with the countries of Eastern and Western Europe continued to play a primary role. Of particular importance in the 14th century. acquired trade with the Genoese colonies on the Black Sea coast and primarily with Kafa (Feodosia). Silks and spices, alum and other valuable goods were exported from Kafa to Polish markets. Poland's trade with Russian cities was very lively. Strong trade relations have been established between Poland, Hungary and Slovakia. Lead, salt and cloth were exported from Poland to Hungary and Slovakia. Copper, iron, wine and wax were imported from Hungary and Slovakia. Trade with Flanders was intense, from which valuable cloth, wine and other goods were exported. The Polish Pomeranian cities of Szczecin, Kolobrzy, Gdansk and others, separated from the Polish state during this period, took an active part in trade along the Baltic Sea, establishing close trade ties with Novgorod, Flanders, England and Scandinavia. Many Polish cities, such as Krakow, Wroclaw, Szczecin and Kolobrzy, were part of the Hanseatic League of Cities.
Internal trade also developed rapidly. Economic ties between the city and its agricultural region were strengthened and expanded. Of great importance for strengthening economic ties between Polish lands in the XIV-XV centuries. purchased fairs. The merchant class played a significant role in the life of Polish cities. In large cities - Krakow, Wroclaw, Poznan, Torun and Gdansk, associations of wealthy merchants - guilds - arose.
A number of large urban centers in the XIV-XV centuries. was able to achieve self-government. During this period, in addition to Krakow, Wroclaw, Poznan, Lublin, Tarnow, Bydgoszcz, Warsaw and some other cities received city rights. The struggle of the townspeople with the henchmen of the princes - the voits in the 14th century. in most cases it ended in victory for the former.
Fierce social struggle took place in Polish cities. Representatives of the elite of the city's artisans sought participation in city governance, sometimes receiving support from the royal authorities. So, for example, Casimir III in 1368 ordered that the city council of Krakow should include, along with representatives of the patriciate, representatives of the guilds. The social struggle in Polish cities was closely intertwined with the struggle against the German patriciate. The Polish trade and craft population of cities demanded that jurors (lawniks) be elected not only from Germans, but also from Poles, and that the Polish language be used in city institutions. On the other hand, in the fight against the arbitrariness of the masters, who were often Germans, journeymen and students, usually Poles, sometimes resorted to a kind of “strike.” In 1392, by a special resolution of the Krakow City Administration, apprentices who refused to work in protest against oppression by masters were expelled from the city.
The growth of gentry privileges at the end of the XIV-XV centuries.
The development of the Polish state urgently required developed legislation. However, instead of uniform legislation for the entire Polish state, under Casimir III around 1347, separate sets of laws were developed for Lesser Poland - the Wislica Statute and for Greater Poland - the Piotrkow Statute. These statutes, based on the customary law that previously existed in Poland, at the same time reflected the important socio-economic changes that had taken place in the country. The statutes covered various issues of civil and criminal law, relations between classes, issues of court and legal proceedings. The legislation had a pronounced feudal character. The situation of the peasants with the introduction of the Wislica-Petrkiv statutes, which made it difficult for peasants to leave the lands of the feudal lords, worsened.
Secular and religious magnates were not interested in strengthening royal power and took every opportunity to limit it in their favor. This opportunity presented itself when royal power in Poland passed to Casimir III's nephew, Louis of Anjou (1370-1382), King of Hungary. Lacking a strong position in Poland, Louis was forced to make a number of concessions to the Polish feudal lords. In 1374, he published the so-called Koshitsky Privilege, according to which feudal lords (magnates and gentry) were exempted from all duties except military service and a small tax of 2 groschen per lan ( In Poland, two lans were used as a land measure - Flemish, which was about 17 hectares, and Franconian - about 24.5 hectares.) land. Large feudal lords took advantage of the Kosice privilege in order to further strengthen their political influence in the country and weaken royal power. And, although the political dominance of the magnates caused discontent among the gentry, they did not seek to strengthen royal power, seeing in their growing class organization a sufficient weapon to suppress the resistance of the enslaved peasantry.
An important success for the gentry was the Nieszava Statutes of 1454. Further limiting royal power, the Nieszava Statutes gave the gentry the right to create their own elected zemstvo courts. It was prohibited to unite in one hand the most important positions: the royal governor - the headman and the governor, who was at the head of the local administration. The king promised that without the consent of the gentry, assembled at a general zemstvo congress, the central government would not issue new laws or declare war. Zemstvo (voivodship) and general (nationwide) congresses of feudal lords by the end of the 15th - beginning of the 16th centuries. turned into the most important bodies of Polish feudal statehood - sejmiks and diets. The statutes of 1454 marked an important stage in the process of forming a feudal monarchy with class representation in Poland. A feature of the “estate monarchy” in Poland was the exclusion of cities from participation in representative bodies of government.
Polish-Lithuanian Union
After the death of King Louis of Anjou, Polish magnates called his daughter Jadwiga to the Polish throne in 1384. On their initiative, Jadwiga married the Grand Duke of Lithuania Jagiello, who became the Polish king under the name of Vladislav II (1386-1434). In 1385, the Polish-Lithuanian union was concluded in Kreva. The Krevo Union was not an agreement of equal parties. Polish magnates achieved the inclusion of Lithuania into the Polish state and the forced introduction of Catholicism in Lithuania. The Polish-Lithuanian union was directed against the strengthening Teutonic Order, which threatened the very national existence of Poland and Lithuania. At the same time, the Polish feudal lords, the organizers of the union, cherished plans for the enslavement and exploitation of the rich Russian lands previously seized by Lithuania. This negative side of the Krevo Union clearly manifested itself soon after its conclusion. In 1387, Polish feudal lords captured Galician Rus', which for some time, under King Louis, was under the rule of the Hungarian king. The seizure of Galician Rus and other Russian lands was one of the important stages in the transformation of Poland into a multinational state based on the oppression of the Ukrainian and Belarusian peoples by Polish feudal lords.
The liquidation of the Lithuanian state, proclaimed by the Union of Krevo, met with stubborn resistance from the feudal lords of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The forced introduction of Catholicism in Lithuania encountered fierce resistance from the masses. The opposition of the feudal lords of the Grand Duchy was led by Jagiello's cousin, Vytautas, who led the fight to preserve the state independence of Lithuania. In 1398, Vytautas was proclaimed King of Lithuania. The Polish-Lithuanian union was broken. The conflict between Poland and Lithuania was used by the Teutonic Order, which obtained the concession of Samogitia from Lithuania in exchange for assistance to Vytautas. In 1401, the Polish-Lithuanian union was established. This time the Polish feudal lords actually had to recognize the state independence of Lithuania, although they did not think of abandoning plans to incorporate it into Poland.
Battle of Grunwald 1410 Poland and the Hussite Wars
The end of the 14th - beginning of the 15th century was the heyday of the military power of the Teutonic Order, which received great support from Western European feudal lords and sought to seize more and more lands. The forces of the Polish, Russian and Lithuanian peoples united in the fight against this terrible danger. In 1409, a war broke out again between the Teutonic Order, on the one hand, and Poland and Lithuania, on the other, which became known as the Great War. The decisive battle between the army of the Teutonic Order and the Polish-Lithuanian-Russian troops took place on July 15, 1410 near Grunwald. The strongest and best armed part of the allied army was the Polish knighthood. A significant part of the troops deployed by Lithuania consisted of Russian regiments. Czech soldiers also took part in the Battle of Grunwald. Among the Czech warriors, as one can assume, the future leader of the Taborites, Jan Žižka, fought.
Battle of Grunwald July 15, 1410 Engraving from the Chronicle of Marcin Bielski. 1597
In preparation for war, the Teutonic Order, with the support of 22 feudal sovereigns of Western Europe, assembled a large, well-armed army, which took part in the battle. However, the Battle of Grunwald ended in the complete defeat of the order. The Russian Smolensk regiments that took part in the battle gained unfading glory. Being in the center of the battle, they withstood the terrible onslaught of the knightly cavalry. Under Grunwald, the flower of the order's army, led by Grand Master Ulrich von Jungingen, was destroyed.
The historical significance of the Battle of Grunwald was very great. The “onslaught on the East” of the German feudal lords was stopped for a long time, and the power of the predatory Teutonic Order was thoroughly undermined. At the same time, the victory at Grunwald contributed to the growth of the international importance of the Polish state. It also prepared the success of Poland's struggle for access to the Baltic Sea.
During the Hussite Wars, the Chashniki turned to the Polish king Władysław II Jagiello with a proposal to take the Czech throne for a joint struggle against the German Empire. Sympathy for the Czech Republic, which fought against German feudal aggression, was very strong at that time among small and medium-sized knights and townspeople. With the help of the Czech Republic, Poland could greatly facilitate its struggle for the reunification of all Polish lands, especially Silesia, which was languishing under the yoke of the Luxembourgs, who were pursuing a policy of Germanization. However, the rise of the anti-feudal movement of the masses in Poland itself extremely frightened the Polish magnates and the Catholic clergy. The bulk of Polish feudal lords rallied around the Catholic Church. Bishop Zbigniew Olesnicki became the head of the anti-Hussite party of Polish spiritual and secular feudal lords. The plan for a Czech-Polish union was thwarted by them, and Hussite supporters were subjected to severe persecution in Poland.
Poland's participation in the fight against the aggression of Turkish feudal lords
In the XIV century. The peoples of South-Eastern and Central Europe had a new dangerous enemy - the Ottoman Turks. Poland did not remain aloof from pan-European events and took part in the fight against the armies of the Turkish sultans. In the face of this danger, a Polish-Hungarian personal union was concluded in 1440. The Polish king - the son of Władysław II Jagiello - Władysław III (1434-1444) was proclaimed king of Hungary. Together with the Hungarian army under the command of the famous Hungarian commander Janos Hunyadi (Gunyadi), Polish troops took part in battles in 1443 and early 1444, which led to heavy defeats for the Turkish troops. However, on November 10, 1444, in the battle of Varna, Vladislav III was killed, and his troops were completely defeated by a huge Turkish army. This defeat had fatal consequences, making it easier for Turkey to completely conquer the Balkan Peninsula and capture Constantinople.
After the Battle of Varna, the Polish-Hungarian union was abolished. By electing the brother of Władysław III, Grand Duke of Lithuania Casimir Jagiellonczyk (who became the Polish king under the name of Kazimir IV, 1447-1492), to the Polish throne, the Polish feudal lords achieved the restoration of the personal Polish-Lithuanian union that had ceased under Władysław III. In 1454, a new war between Poland and the Teutonic Order began, ending in the victory of Poland. According to the Peace of Torun in 1466, Poland regained Eastern Pomerania with Gdansk, the Chelmin land and part of Prussia. Thus, access to the Baltic Sea was again opened for Poland; The Teutonic Order recognized itself as a vassal of Poland.
Despite the Polish-Lithuanian union, Lithuania did not participate in the war with the order. Polish magnates and gentry sought to use the union with Lithuania only to carry out broad eastern expansion. Meanwhile, in 1471, a Polish-Czech dynastic union was established, and in 1490, the Hungarian throne passed to the Czech king Vladislav, the son of Casimir Jagiellonczyk. At the end of the 15th century. Poland became one of the most powerful states in Europe.
Polish culture in the XIV-XV centuries.
The creation of a unified Polish state, the strengthening of economic, political and cultural ties between Polish lands contributed to the flourishing of Polish culture. In the struggle against German feudal aggression, the self-awareness of the Polish people developed, and the idea of the unity of the Polish land grew and became stronger.
In the XIV-XV centuries. There have been major changes in the education system in Poland. In 1364, a university was opened in Krakow, which later became a major center of culture and science in Eastern Europe. At the beginning of the 15th century. Progressive Hussite ideas became widespread in Poland. The preacher of the teachings of Jan Hus in Poland was Hus's student and colleague Hieronymus of Prague. The teachings of Hus and the radical anti-feudal views of the Taborites found a wide response in various social strata of the population - among Polish townspeople, the oppressed peasantry and even some of the magnates. A follower of Hus's ideas was a professor at the University of Krakow, Andrzej (Andrei) Galka from Dobczyn, who denounced the Catholic clergy.
In the 15th century Humanistic ideas began to spread in Poland. They first appeared in the works of Grzegorz (Gregory) of Sanok and Jan Ostrorog. Grzegorz of Sanok called for the study of natural sciences. He highly valued the ideas of the ancient Greek materialist philosopher Epicurus. Jan Ostrorog penned the outstanding journalistic work “Memorial on the structure of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.” It was a political treatise that advocated the creation of a strong, centralized Polish state and the strengthening of royal power independent of the Catholic Church. Secular genres developed more and more in literature, polemical and journalistic works appeared, and secular poetry arose. The first lyrical poems were created among student youth. Patriotic motifs became widespread in poetry - songs appeared in which the Grunwald victory was glorified, the defeat at Varna was mourned, and the disastrous raids of Tatar troops were described. The Polish language gained an increasingly prominent place in the literary world, although the Latin language continued to remain predominant.
One of the outstanding historical works of this time was Jan Dlugosz’s extensive work “The History of Poland,” which described the events of Polish history and the history of neighboring countries from ancient times to 1480. The author made extensive use of various sources, including Russian chronicles. A distinctive feature of Dlugosz's work was the author's critical approach to the sources he used. This gave the History of Poland special value. Significant development in the XIV - XV centuries. natural sciences, mathematics and astronomy have been achieved. In the field of astronomy, the teacher of Copernicus, Wojciech of Brudzew, became especially famous at this time for his works.
The architecture was dominated by the Gothic style. A special Krakow school of architecture developed, the outstanding monuments of which are the Wawel Church and St. Mary's Church in Krakow. The sculptural works of that time, and above all the sculptures decorating the tombs of the Polish kings in Krakow, are distinguished by great artistic skill. Polish sculpture reached its peak in the remarkable works of the greatest master of the 15th century. Wit Stwosz, the creator of one of the outstanding monuments of medieval sculpture - the wooden carved altar of St. Mary's Church in Krakow. The figures of the central stage of this altar, more than two meters high, are made of wood with virtuoso skill. Polish painting also received significant development. The frescoes preserved from the 14th-15th centuries are distinguished by great realism. Thus, the frescoes of one of the Lublin monasteries depict the triumphal entry of Jagiello into Lublin after the Battle of Grunwald. The frescoes made by Russian masters who arrived in Poland after Jagiello's accession to the Polish throne have been preserved.
Hussite movement, main directions, programs.
Uprising of 1419 in Prague. Formation of two camps in the Hussite movement On July 30, 1419, an uprising began in Prague. The indignant people, led by Jan Želivski, threw members of the city magistrate out of the town hall window, seized power and elected their own government. The Hussite movement entered a period of armed struggle, during which the demarcation of social forces within the Hussites was completed. Most of the small nobles and burghers who joined the movement formed the camp of the so-called Chashniks or Utraquists, and the urban plebs and peasantry formed a revolutionary wing, which, after the name of its main fortified center - Mount Tabor - was called Taborites.
If Taborites strived for radical social transformation based on freedom and fraternity , That cup makers put forward in first place demands for the secularization of church property and the creation of a “cheap” church . The difference in goals made it inevitable that the contradictions between them would worsen.
Hussite wars. IN In 1420, an external danger loomed over the Czech Republic. The Pope and German Emperor Sigismund of Luxembourg, who laid claim to the Czech crown after the death of King Wenceslas IV, declared a crusade against the Czech Republic. Five Crusades - in 1420, 1421, 1426, 1427, 1431. - were not successful. Under the leadership of talented commanders Jan Žižka and Prokop the Great, the Hussites repelled the Crusaders' invasions. Despite military successes, the forces of the rebel Czech Republic were weakening. Long-term wars, constant invasions of enemies and associated devastation undermined the country's economy. A significant part of the participants began to move away from the Hussite movement. The Chashniki, having achieved concessions in their favor at the Basel Cathedral, openly united with the forces of the feudal-Catholic camp and on May 30, 1434, in the battle of Lipany, inflicted a crushing defeat on the Taborite army.
The Battle of Lipany was the end of the Taborites, despite the fact that individual Taborite communities continued to fight Sigismund. Until 1437, the troops of Jan Rohac continued to fight, strengthening themselves in the fortress of Sione. Until 1452, Tabor existed and retained its independence, and yet the Taborite movement was unable to recover from the defeat at Lipan.
On June 5, 1436, a solemn “reconciliation” between the moderate Hussites and the Catholic Church took place in the city square in Ihlava. An agreement with the Catholic Church was reached under the terms of the articles of the Basel Compacts.
For the first time in history, the Catholic Church was forced to recognize the right of heretics to profess their faith. The ideological hegemony of the church was broken. On August 23, 1436, Sigismund of Luxembourg took the Czech royal throne, but died in December 1437.
Historical significance of the Hussite wars. Despite the defeat, the Hussite movement dealt a blow to the Catholic Church: it was deprived of its former political power, was forced to compromise with heretics, agree to communion under both types and worship in the national (Czech) language. This accelerated the process of formation of national churches in Europe and gave impetus to the development of the pan-European Reformation.
Church property was secularized, the collection of tithes ceased; the townspeople were also freed from church taxes, became an independent class and received representation in the Sejm . It was no longer possible to restore the previous property status of the Czech Church. The Hussite movement put an end to the dominance of the German patriciate and clergy in the country and contributed to the flourishing of the Czech language.
"Community of Czech Brothers." After the fall of Tabor, peasants and plebs founded the Community of Czech Brothers in 1453, the ideologist of which was Peter Helcicki, a famous Czech thinker. Later, the community included wealthy townspeople, as well as representatives of the lord and knightly classes. The “brothers” were supposed to live according to the example of the early Christians, strictly observe the rules of morality, not occupy any high positions, and preach non-resistance to evil through violence. From the end of the 15th century. they concentrated their educational activities- founded schools and printing houses. Many famous Czech scientists came from among the “Czech brothers” - Jan Blagoslav, J. A. Komensky and others. The “Czech brothers” were constantly persecuted.
The Battle of Lipan and the Basel Compactata marked the transition to a new phase of the Hussite revolution, which became a struggle to consolidate the gains and for their recognition by feudal Europe. The short stay on the throne of Sigismund, the short-term reign of Albrecht II (1437-1439), and then the minor Ladislaus did not contribute to the strengthening of state power. Power actually passed into the hands of hetmans, who were elected in individual regions. Two parties fought for power in the country: the Catholic, led by Oldřik from Rožemberk, and the Hussite, led by Jan from Rokycany. In 1440, the 24-year-old cup maker Jiří from Poděbrady was elected the highest hetman, elected by the four eastern “regions”. In 1448, the Roman Curia refused to recognize John of Rokycany as Archbishop of the Czech Republic. Then, having concentrated troops loyal to him in the Kutna Hora region, Jiri from Poděbrady unexpectedly took Prague by storm in September 1448, appointed new consels from among the Chashniki and began a merciless fight against the civil strife of the lords, robberies and riots that interfered with the normal economic and political life of the country . Fight between Jiri from Poděbrady and Mr. Oldřik from Rožemberk lasted until 1450. Using the support of the small and middle gentry and townspeople, Jiri from Poděbrady became the de facto ruler of the country and soon the Czech Sejm awarded him the title of “zemstvo governor”. He remained in this rank during the nominal reign of the minor Ladislaus Pogrob (1453-1457) from the Austrian Habsburg dynasty. The council of 12 persons established in the Czech Republic, headed by the zemstvo governor, was equal in powers to royal power. In 1457, Ladislav Pogrobok suddenly died and Jiri from Poděbrady (1458-1471) was elected king, who led the fight to strengthen and centralize the state.
Historical situation in the Czech Republic at the endXIVAndXVcenturies gave rise to one of the greatest events in the medieval history of the Czechs - the Hussite movement. The main prerequisites for the movement were numerous contradictions in society, which were layered on top of each other, among which we can highlight economic, social, political, and, of course, religious. Discontent among various sectors of Czech societyXIVV. The internal situation in the country coincided with the indignation against the Catholic Church that swept across Europe. The religious contradictions that resulted in the demand for church reform were rooted in social contradictions. The economic lag of Czech production contributed to the fall in the income of Czech feudal lords, who, in turn, sought to compensate for this by increasing corvée and in-kind duties. This in turn increased the ruin of the peasants. In addition, economic stagnation hit the average urban population - artisans and merchants - mostly of Czech origin. The urban patriciate was of German origin and supported by a wealthy church. Among the townspeople there is a demand for the creation of a “cheap” church.
Nbsp; The ideologist of the Czech reform movement was Master of the University of Prague Jan Hus. He was born in 1371 into a family of poor peasants from Southern Bohemia. In 1401 he was elected dean of one of the faculties, and in 1409 rector of the University of Prague. From the university pulpit, he sharply spoke out against church wealth, for the subordination of the church to secular power, and called for depriving the church of property in order to contribute to its correction. The master was forced to leave Prague in 1412 and continue his preaching work in Southern and Western Bohemia. It was here that he wrote his main works. From the moment Hus left Prague, the reform movement went beyond the boundaries of the university and church and became popular. Although Hus called for obedience to the authorities, if they did not violate Christian laws, and denounced only the excessive abuses of the feudal lords and the church, mired in wealth and moral sins, nevertheless, the church saw the most dangerous heresy in the teachings of Hus. In 1414 he was summoned to a church council in Constanta. Hus went there, confident that he could defend his views, but the higher clergy were not going to debate with him. He was accused of heresy and burned at the stake on July 6, 1415.
The execution of Jan Hus caused an explosion of indignation in the Czech lands. A congress of representatives of the Czech nobility gathered in Prague and sent their protest to the cathedral in Constance. At the same time, he spoke out for freedom of preaching and proclaimed the University of Prague to be the highest authority in church matters. That part of the lower clergy that supported the teachings of Huss began to give communion to the laity “under both types,” that is, not only with bread, as the church demanded, but also with wine from the cup, which had previously been the privilege of the clergy. The bowl became a symbol of a broad social movement, which later became known as the Hussite movement. A significant part of the gentry and burghers, university masters also recognized the cup, spoke out for the alienation of church wealth and the weakening of the church’s influence on secular affairs. The burghers sought to turn the new church into an institution for protecting their interests. Both the gentry and the burghers constituted the right wing in the Hussite movement. The broad masses went much further in their demands; they strived for equality. In the spring of 1419, mass campaigns of supporters of Hus's teachings, mainly the rural and urban poor, began in the mountains, where radical preachers spoke to them. The radical part of the Hussites created a fortified camp on Mount Tabor in Southern Bohemia, which became the center of the revolutionary movement. Thus, two main directions took shape in the Hussite movement, moderate and radical.
Each of the directions has developed its own program, and although in many ways cup makers And Taborites converged in their views, however, there were significant differences in their program documents.
Moderate wing the Hussite movement is cup makers. Their program was called " Four Prague Articles " It was first developed by the masters of the University of Prague on July 3, 1420. and was approved at the Časlavsky Sejm in 1421.The Chashniki, who were the right wing of the Hussite movement, got their name due to the fact that one of their demands was the equality of the laity and the clergy in the rite of communion, the requirement that the laity commune not only with bread, but also with wine from the cup (From the Latin “calix” also comes the name of this wing is Calixtina. It should be borne in mind that the cup was the emblem of all Hussites - not only the burghers, but also the broad masses), while the latter was the exclusive privilege of the clergy. A single rite of communion “under both types” symbolized the idea of social equality and met the aspirations burghers destroy the class privileges of the Catholic clergy, and at the same time deprive the church of its economic and political power. This desire was also shared petty feudal lords- the lowest Czech gentry - and partly representatives of the gentry.
The contents of this document were as follows: 1. Freedom to preach the “word of God,” that is, freedom of religious preaching directed against the domination of the Catholic Church. 2. Unity of the religious rite of communion (communion of the laity from the chalice). 3. Depriving the church of the right to own property (secularization of church property), returning it to evangelical simplicity and poverty. 4. The eradication of “deadly sins” not only among the laity, but also among the clergy, severe punishment for such sins as charging for services, selling indulgences, selling church positions, etc.
Thus, the First Prague Article essentially confirms the monopoly of the clergy on the preaching of Christian teaching. "So that the word of God in the kingdom of Bohemia may be preached by the priests of the Lord...” L.I. Ozolin says that The Usites meant only those priests, that part of the clergy that shared their ideas joined them. Despite all the limited demands of the moderate Hussites, the Hussite clergy still took progressive positions compared to the Catholic clergy. It stood for a national church. Even its moderate representatives sought significant changes in the then church, simplification of rituals, etc.
The second Prague article required communion under both types for all faithful Christians not burdened with sin. Two significant meanings follow from this seemingly religious requirement. The moderate Hussites sought to eliminate this monopoly of the clergy, especially since in the early Christian church communion was not the privilege of only the clergy, they took it over much later. In addition, of interest is the clause that communion should be performed on those who are not burdened with mortal sin. Those who are burdened with mortal sin meant both secular and clergy. That is, the Hussites sought not only to be equal with the clergy in performing the most important rituals, but also to emphasize that a priest who is in sin is lower than an ordinary layman who is not burdened by sin. That is, a person in sin loses his rights and privileges, regardless of his class and position.
L.I. Ozolin indicates that although the main content of the third of the four PragueThe articles expressed the demand for a cheap church, the idea of secularization of its wealth, and at the same time a desire was expressed to take away from it secular law, secular power in its possessions. The church, like the secular feudal lords, independently disposed of its property and depended on most of the peasantry - the holders of church lands. Along with the secularization of the wealth of the church, the moderate Hussites intended to take away its secular rights in relation to the peasantry.
Radical wing the Hussite movement represented Taborites. The program of radical Hussites, Taborites - “ Twelve articles ", was written on August 5, 1421.
The Twelve Articles generally included the Prague Articles, but the Taborites understood them somewhat differently and of course, they greatly expanded their requirements. So, not a single sinner should have been left without punishment, regardless of his class, drinking any kind of drinks in taverns was not allowed under pain of established punishments, the taborites forbade wearing and did not allow others to wear luxurious clothes, too much against the Lord God of precious , such as: purple, embroidered, woven with silver or embossed and carved, silver belts, clasps and all kinds of ornaments and jewelry conducive to pride, all administration, court and all orders were made in accordance with divine right. Priests who are to serve as examples must observe the order established by God and imitate the apostles and prophets. All payments to the priests were to be used for the common good and that usurious transactions on houses, shops and anything else, wherever it might be, were abolished, and that all greedy records were abolished and that the priests were maintained according to the zeal of the believers.
The Taborites demanded that they expel from themselves all opponents of the truth of God and did not accept fugitives and exiles, because just as they themselves were not faithful either to themselves or to God, so they should not be trusted by any mercy.
They also demanded that all heretical monasteries, unnecessary churches and altars, icons preserved openly and secretly, precious jewelry and gold and silver bowls, and all antichrist plantings, idolatry and simonic errors that do not come from the Lord, be abolished and destroyed. The Taborites sought to win over the Prague community to their side, and this could not but affect the wording of the articles and led to a certain moderation.
Already the first part of the Twelve Articles shows that their task, first of all, was to strengthen the alliance with the Prague population. It was well known that the Prague rich and university masters were secretly plotting treason against their popular allies. Therefore, one of the first demands of the Taborites was full compliance with these articles by both sides.
Although the chashniki program did not contradict the interests of the poor, it was not sufficient for them. In their program, the Taborites went much further than the Chashniks in relation to the common people. The most important was the seventh article of the Taborite program. It read literally the following: “So that pagan and German law, which is contrary to God’s law, would be abolished, so that they would rule, judge and do everything according to God’s law.” Pagan and German law undoubtedly meant city law and legal regulations not based on the Bible, which meant that the Taborites demanded the complete abolition of feudal law and all urban jurisdiction .
Macek emphasizes that with the consistent implementation of the seventh article, a community of brothers and sisters guided by the Bible must be created in Prague. As a result of the implementation of this article - although this was not specifically stated anywhere - life based on the community of property was to be established in Prague. It was not only about problems of an economic and property-legal nature. The article directly states that the place of existing law should be taken by the Bible, God's law; management, legal proceedings and in general All activities must be carried out according to the Bible.
The teaching of the Taborites had a pronounced chiliastic character. Chiliasm - a doctrine inherited from medieval popular heresies, states that the second coming of Christ will come, after which a thousand-year reign of happiness and justice will be established on earth. Rubtsov says that, according to the Taborites, a world built on exploitation will not last forever, when the reign of happiness and justice is established, “there will be no kings, rulers, or subjects, all taxes and payments will stop, violence will disappear and people will live, like brothers and sisters, there will be no personal property either, and therefore even now everyone who has property falls into mortal sin.”
Thus, both the Chashniks and the Taborites demanded that the priests return to the apostolic state.Also common was the demand for punishment for serious sins. Macek points out that this requirement appeared in the Chashnik program under the influence of the Taborites.So, we see that while having much in common, the programs of the two main Hussite movements also had significant differences, which were a consequence of the different social support of this or that movement.
New phase of the Hussite movement. Strengthening the Czech Kingdom during the reign of Jiří of Poděbrady The Battle of Lipan and the Basel Compactata marked the transition to a new phase of the Hussite revolution, which became a struggle to consolidate the gains and for their recognition by feudal Europe. The short stay on the throne of Sigismund, the short-term reign of Albrecht II (1437-1439), and then the minor Ladislaus did not contribute to the strengthening of state power. Power actually passed into the hands of hetmans, who were elected in individual regions. Two parties fought for power in the country: the Catholic, led by Oldřik from Rožemberk, and the Hussite, led by Jan from Rokycany. In 1440, the 24-year-old cup maker Jiří from Poděbrady was elected the highest hetman, elected by the four eastern “regions”. In 1448, the Roman Curia refused to recognize John of Rokycany as Archbishop of the Czech Republic. Then, having concentrated troops loyal to him in the Kutna Hora region, Jiri from Poděbrady unexpectedly took Prague by storm in September 1448, appointed new consels from among the Chashniki and began a merciless fight against the civil strife of the lords, robberies and riots that interfered with the normal economic and political life of the country . The struggle between Jiri from Poděbrady and Sir Oldřík from Rožemberk continued until 1450. Using the support of the small and medium gentry and townspeople, Jiri from Poděbrady became the de facto ruler of the country and soon the Czech Sejm awarded him the title of “zemstvo governor”. He remained in this rank during the nominal reign of the minor Ladislaus Pogrob (1453-1457) from the Austrian Habsburg dynasty. The council of 12 persons established in the Czech Republic, headed by the zemstvo governor, was equal in powers to royal power. In 1457, Ladislav Pogrobok suddenly died and Jiri from Poděbrady (1458-1471) was elected king, who led the fight to strengthen and centralize the state.
Economic policy of Jiri from Poděbrady Relying on the small and middle nobility and the top burghers, he carried out reforms with the aim of developing cities and trade. In terms of agricultural production technology, the Czech Republic was at the level of advanced European countries. In agriculture, specialization deepened in the development of horticulture, viticulture, and truck farming, which made these branches of production especially effective. Large incomes were generated by breeding fish in artificial ponds. Czech feudal lords more often resorted to hiring rather than corvée, and gave their lands for short-term lease to peasants. Industry developed at a high rate, especially mining and metallurgy. Silver and copper smelting, paper and glass production, and printing made the Czech Republic one of the most economically developed regions of Central Europe.
Foreign policy situation of the Czech Republic. In 1462, the pope demanded complete obedience from the Czechs in religious matters and abolished the Basel Compacts. At the same time, he stated that he would recognize Jiri as king only on the condition of eradicating sects and teachings that disagree with the official Catholic Church. The Czech king declared his determination to fight for the compacts. In 1465, part of the Czech lords, with the active help of the papal curia, created the Zelenogorsk Union of Catholic Lords, led by Zdenek of Sternberg. Soon, the rebel lords refused to obey George of Poděbrady and elected Kazimir Jagiellonczyk as the Czech king with the right to transfer the throne to one of his sons. The struggle of the Zelenogorsk Confederation and the Pope against Jiri from Poděbrady took on increasingly acute forms. In 1468, Czech magnates managed to drag the Hungarian king Matthias Hunyadi (Matthew Corvinus) into the struggle, who occupied all of Moravia and in 1469 in Olomouc was proclaimed the Czech king by his supporters. Soon Matvey Corvinus also occupied Silesia.
The situation was extremely difficult. Jiri from Poděbrady decided to direct all efforts to defeat Matvey and his supporters. In the name of this, he renounced the rights of his heirs to the Czech throne and recognized these rights for the Polish royal dynasty. In 1469, the Czech Sejm elected the Polish prince Vladislav Jagiellon as heir to the Czech throne. On March 22, 1471, Jiří from Poděbrady died. With the coming to power of Vladislav Jagiellon, the Hussite period of Czech history ended.
FOUR PRAGUE ARTICLES
During the Hussite revolutionary movement, all its participants were divided into two camps - the revolutionary, anti-feudal camp of the Taborites, consisting of the peasantry and urban poor, and the moderate camp of the Chashniks, representing the interests of burgher-noble circles. The Chashniki, who were the right wing of the Hussite movement, got their name due to the fact that one of their demands was the equality of the laity and the clergy in the rite of communion, the requirement that the laity receive communion not only with bread, but also with wine from the cup ( The name of this wing, calixtina, also comes from the Latin “calix”. It should be borne in mind that the bowl was the emblem of all Hussites - not only the burghers, but also the broad masses), while the latter was the exclusive privilege of the clergy. A single rite of communion “under both types” ( This is where the name “sub utraque” comes from.) symbolized the idea of social equality and responded to the aspirations of the burghers to destroy the class privileges of the Catholic clergy, and at the same time deprive the church of its economic and political power. This desire was also shared by small feudal lords - the lowest Czech gentry - and partly by representatives of the gentry.
The main requirements of the cup program were formulated in the so-called “Four Articles of Prague”, compiled by the masters of the University of Prague and presented to Sigismund in November 1419. The contents of this document were as follows:
1. Freedom to preach the “word of God,” that is, freedom of religious preaching directed against the domination of the Catholic Church.
2. Unity of the religious rite of communion (communion of the laity from the chalice).
3. Deprivation of the church's right to own property (secularization of church property), returning it to evangelical simplicity and poverty.
4. The eradication of “deadly sins” not only among the laity, but also among the clergy, severe punishment for such sins as charging fees for services, selling indulgences, selling church positions, etc.
The “Four Articles of Prague” were the common program of all Hussites, both Chashniki and Taborites, but at the same time, each of these directions put a different meaning into the program, in accordance with the interests of those and other social circles.
While the chashniki limited themselves to the demand to reform the church, limit its influence, deprive it of its wealth and thereby strengthen their own economic position, the peasant-plebeian masses, represented by the Taborites, considered these articles as the beginning of a great struggle for the realization of the age-old aspirations of the people. The Taborites, relying on the Gospel texts and the Prague articles, demanded, in essence, the liquidation of the entire system of the Catholic Church, with its feudal hierarchy, the right to own land and people, and countless monetary exactions.
The translation of the “Four Articles of Prague” was made from the text of this document, available in the edition “Archiv Cesky”, vol. III, Praha, 1844, pp. 213-216.
The text is reproduced from the publication: Reader on the memory of the feudal state and the law of European countries. M. State ed. legal lit. 1961.researchers and supporters of the teachings of Jan Hus, participants in a broad social and national movement in the Czech Republic in the first half. XV century for the reform of the Catholic Church (later called the Hussites). They first made themselves known in the spring of 1419, when their campaigns in the mountains began, as well as during the uprising raised in Prague by Jan Zhelivsky (1419). They were divided into two camps: moderate - Chashniki (mainly Prague residents) and irreconcilable - Taborites. Since the division of Czech society in the Hussite period was carried out not according to the principle of “lower classes against upper classes”, but according to religious doctrine, among the Hussites (as well as among Catholics) there were representatives of all strata of Czech society. The main social forces of the Hussites - the nobility, townspeople, spiritual and secular intellectuals, peasants - opposed the Catholic Church and the German patriciate of the cities.
The name “chashniki” comes from the Hussites’ demands to establish a single rite of communion for clergy and laity - both bread and wine (before that, the laity received communion only with bread). The Hussites demanded “a thicket for everyone.” Their symbol was the cup - a vessel for church wine. The followers of Hus began to give communion to the common people with wine from the chalice. Therefore, the Hussites are called “likenesses” or “utracquists” (from Czech and Latin words meaning communion under two types).
The demands of the chashniks were set out in the so-called. "Four Prague Articles":
- free preaching of the word of God in the spirit of Husism in Czech. language;
- the right of the laity to receive communion under both types;
- secularization of church lands, the clergy must return to the gospel rules and the apostolic life that Christ led. This actually established a “cheap” church;
- the eradication of “mortal sins” that are contrary to the law of God. Among the chashniks there were many feudal lords, wealthy burghers, and knights.
The Taborites - supporters of radical action - got their name from their meeting place on Mount Tabor, where they then founded a city (Tabor). Tabor arose as a community of “war communism”; everyone who came to Tabor gave all their property to a common fund and joined a “community of equals”, in which basic necessities were distributed equally. Recognizing the program provisions of the Chashniks, the Taborites interpreted them more broadly and radically: the destruction of feudal classes, property differences, the division of secularized lands, complete freedom of preaching, the destruction of feudal lords and their property. The Taborites elected their own priests, their main goal was armed struggle, and it was not for nothing that they called themselves “God’s warriors.” The Taborites were led by Jan Zizka. Taborite “communism” did not last long: over time, the “Warriors of God,” who ravaged monasteries, temples, and castles, began to apply the principle of dividing the loot, a significant part of which their commanders kept for themselves. Tabor imposed duties on the surrounding peasantry, thus becoming, as it were, a collective feudal lord. The Taborites ravaged only the estates of Catholic gentlemen. The Hussite nobles continued to exploit their peasants as before. Among the Taborites there were more representatives of the peasantry and urban plebs, but there were also knights, burghers, etc. The extreme left stood out - the chiliasts (waiting for the second coming of Christ and the onset of the 1000-year reign of God on earth), as well as a group of extremists - the picarts. The actions of the Taborite troops were particularly cruel even for the Middle Ages.