The uprising of Jan Hus and the subsequent wars are one of the brightest events in Czech history. The Hussite wars were the result of the burning in 1415 of Jan Hus, a master who taught at the University of Prague. The reason for the burning was the criticism of Hus by the Catholic clergy.
Jan Hus and the Causes of the Hussite Wars
Hus was born in 1371 into a peasant family in the town of Gusinets. In addition to teaching, Jan served as rector of the Bethlehem Chapel in Prague. The rector's sermons were wildly popular and gathered thousands of listeners. Jan Hus conducted his first sermons criticizing the Catholic Church in 1402. One of the supporters of such ideas on initial stage there was even Wenceslas the Fourth, King of Bohemia. However, he did not accept the protests of Hus against the sale of indulgences. According to bibliographers, in this way Hus only demanded the observance of the Law of God. And the reason for the persecution was the personal hostility towards him of the top of the church. After such statements, the preacher was anathematized for expressing heretical theses.
To conduct a court hearing in 1414, Dr. Hus came to the church council, which was held in the Romanian city of Constanta. Despite the fact that he had a safe conduct issued by Sigismund, Hus was recognized as a heretic and sentenced to be burned. Ignoring the immunity guaranteed by the emperor was explained by an incorrect interpretation of the text of the document. Despite numerous protests from the inhabitants of Prague, Jan Hus was burned at the stake in 1415. This fact was the reason why the uprising against Sigismund began.
First uprisings
Hussite wars in Bohemia raged from 1419, starting with the first uprising against the representative of the Habsburg dynasty, Sigismund. In July 1419, the followers of Hus's ideas, led by Jan Zheliski (Jan Zizka), captured the town hall of Novo Miasto and killed several advisers. The crowd supported such actions, and the king's troops could not resist it. Two months later, the city became the base of the Hussite movement. Here a new government was elected, with which Wenceslas the Fourth agreed.
The movement quickly spread throughout the Czech Republic. The turning point in the struggle for Prague was the death of Wenceslas the Fourth. On this day, Prague was agitated by significant protests against the heads of the Catholic Church.
The Hussite wars divided the population of the Czech Republic into three camps:
The first campaign of Sigismund
It was to support the supporters of Sigismund that the first campaign of the crusaders against the Czechs was sent. It was announced on March 1, 1420. The emperor assembled a significant international army, consisting of Germans, Poles, Hungarians, with the support of Italian mercenaries.
In the second half of May, Sigismund occupied Kutna Hora with his army and demanded an end to the siege of Prague Castle. However, the Hussites refused. On May 20, reinforcements arrived at Prague Castle, consisting of 9,000 Taborites under the command of Zizka. Two attempts by Sigismund to approach the center of Prague failed. The decisive battle between the Crusaders and the Hussites took place on July 14, 1420. The place of the battle was Vitkova Gora, not far from Prague. Competent tactical actions of the Hussites first threw the crusaders to the foot of the mountain, and then, thanks to an attack from the side, they forced them to retreat. At the same time, Sigismund's army suffered more tactical than physical defeat. Finally, the Czech Republic came under the control of the Hussites after the defeat of the crusaders at Vysehrad in the fall of 1421.
Second crusade
Almost immediately after the victory, problems began in relations between the Chashniks and the Taborites. The unified Hussite army disintegrated. Sigismund decided to take advantage of these contradictions again. Thus, the second crusade against the Czech lands was declared. The first victim of the second invasion was the city of Žatec, the siege of which began in September 1421. The attempts of the Taborites to return this city were limited to only a single breakthrough with a food convoy. After unsuccessful attempts, Zizka's army took up positions on Mount Vladar, within the city of Zlutec. The Crusaders' siege of Vladar's defensive positions failed soon after due to supply problems.
The events of the Hussite wars developed in such a way that by 1423 the Taborite army, as a result of successful hostilities, invaded Moravia and Hungary. The Hungarians were able to repulse the Hussites only by mid-October on the banks of the Danube, near Esztergom. The Hungarians drove the Hussites into the territory of the Czech Republic. The tragedy happened on October 11, 1424, when the leader of the Taborite movement, Zizka, suddenly died of the plague. In general, the plague epidemic mowed down the Hussite army, and they temporarily abandoned the expansion of their lands.
Zizka's successor was Prokop the Great, who successfully repelled the initial attacks of the third crusade. This campaign began in 1425 under the command of Archduke Albrecht. Under the leadership of Prokop the Great, a 25,000-strong army gathered. In 1426, the Hussites laid siege to Aussig and defeated a 15,000-strong Austrian army. Losses amounted to 4,000 people.
Fourth and fifth campaigns of the crusaders
The fourth campaign against the Hussites was led by the head of Brandenburg - Friedrich. He tried to resist the Taborite army, which during the years 1428-1430 repeatedly carried out raids into Selesia and Saxony, and also invaded Austria. True, the invasions always ended in failure and were short-term in time.
The last, fifth crusade, was proclaimed by the imperial diet of the city of Nuremberg. Through the efforts of 8,000 mounted knights, the Hussite artillery was defeated in August.
Defeat of the Taborite movement
In 1433, Sigismund managed to conclude an agreement with the Chashniki, and in return for the promised preferences, they opposed the Taborites in 1434. In this battle, the leaders of the Hussites were killed. Thus ended the Hussite wars that tore apart the country from 1420 to 1434.
The results of these wars did not bring tangible preferences to any of the parties to the conflict. The emergence of a new king, Vladislav Luxembourg, and the devastation of Central Europe - such is the sad consequence of the Hussite wars.
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Hussite wars in the Czech Republic Grade 6 UMK any Prepared by the teacher of history and social studies FKGOU secondary school No. 4 MORF Latypova O.Sh.
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1. Show the causes of occurrence in the Czech Republic popular movement against the Catholic Church. 2. Show the historical role of the personality of Jan Hus. 3. Compare the differences in the composition and goals of the two main currents - the moderate and the Taborites in the Hussite movement. 4. Reveal the historical significance of the Hussite movement. 5. Continue the formation of the ability to analyze, establish links between causes and effects, compare. Goals:
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Problem Lesson Plan Why did the struggle for independence in the Czech Republic turn into a struggle against the Catholic Church? Bohemia in the 14th century Life and death of Jan Hus Beginning of the Hussite wars Crusades against the Hussites People's war End of the Hussite wars Historical meaning Hussite Wars Pinning Tests
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Under the Czech king Charles the First, who was elected emperor of the Holy Roman Empire under the name of Charles the Fourth, the Czech Republic became the most powerful state and experienced an economic boom. Bohemia in the 14th century Charles the Fourth Charles Bridge
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In terms of silver mining, she was in first place. There were more than 200 crafts in the cities. including production of cloth and glassware. In Prague, 2 times a year, large fairs were held, merchants from Poland, Germany and Italy came to them. Only in Prague alone lived 40 thousand people. Bohemia in 14th century St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague
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In the Czech Republic, the peasants were in personal dependence on the feudal lords. They carried duties - dues, corvee, paid royal taxes and carried a number of duties to the treasury of the state. Peasants completely Bohemia in the 14th century Threshing (from a manuscript of the beginning of the 14th century) depended on the pans. Pan could transfer a personally dependent peasant to the worst allotment or leave him without land at all. Each castle had its own court, prison, executioner. Peasants were forbidden to complain about their masters
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The Catholic Church in the Czech Republic was the largest landowner - 1/3 of the best land; she owned 14 cities and 900 villages; the monasteries were especially rich and independent. payment for touching "holy relics", the sale of church positions. Czech Republic in the 14th century Basilica of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and Saints Cyril and Methodius, Basilica of St. George
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The struggle of the Czech people against the Catholic Church was led by Jan Hus (1369-1415). From 1398 Hus taught theology at the University of Prague, in 1401 - 1402 he was the dean of the Faculty of Liberal Arts, in 1402 - 1403 and Jan Hus. Life and death of Jan Hus in 1409 - 1410 - rector of the university. Since 1402, Jan Hus began to preach in a specially built Bethlehem chapel (Prague), which turned into a center for the dissemination of reformist ideas.
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The life and death of Jan Hus In his sermons, he denounced the clergy for apostasy from the poverty proclaimed in the Gospel, accused them of greed and venality. He put forward a demand for the reorganization of the church. He called for the taking away of lands and wealth from the church and monasteries and organizing his own church in the Czech Republic, subordinate only to the king of the Czech Republic. He demanded the abolition of fees for ceremonies, the conduct of divine services in the Czech language, and the transfer of all leading church positions into the hands of the Czechs. Hus condemned the luxury, the wealth of the pans. Jan Hus. Unknown artist of the 16th century
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The patriotic speeches of Hus caused discontent among the priests. He was banned from preaching and excommunicated from the church. Hus went south and continued his struggle there. The Pope summoned him to the cathedral in Constance, promising him safety. Gus went, but wrote a will. The life and death of Jan Hus Jan Hus speaks before the church court in Konstanz on July 6, 1415. Hood. Vaclav Brozyk, 1883
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In Constanta, Hus was arrested and kept in prison for six months. Then the trial took place. Hus was declared a heretic and demanded to renounce his views. But he replied, "I can't change my conscience." In 1415, Jan Hus was burnt at the stake by the verdict of the cathedral. The life and death of Jan Hus Jan Hus at the stake. Medieval engravings
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The execution of Jan Hus caused public indignation in the Czech Republic and did not stop the spread of his ideas. Supporters of Hus began to be called Hussites. Throughout the country, the Hussites sacked monasteries, killed church ministers and wealthy people. Ghibli cultural values - books, statues, icons Life and death of Jan Hus Monument to Jan Hus in Prague
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- the liberation struggle of the Czech people against foreign dominance and the Catholic Church, as well as the feudal system. In 1419 there was an uprising in Prague. The townspeople broke into the town hall, threw the hated rulers out of the windows. German rich people also began to be expelled from other cities. The beginning of the Hussite wars. The uprising of 1419 in Prague.
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The beginning of the Hussite wars Among the rebels there were two currents: the moderates and the Taborites. The name Taborites comes from Mount Tabor, where new town Taborites Moderate Participants Peasants, urban poor, ruined knights. Czech feudal lords, rich craftsmen and merchants. Goals of the struggle Equality in rights and opportunities, against private property, feudal taxes and duties. Secularization of church lands, the weakening of the power of the Catholic Church, participation in self-government.
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The Pope organized a crusade against the Hussites. The army was led by the German emperor Sigismund. In 1420, a 100,000-strong army invaded the Czech Republic. But the fierce struggle ended with the victory of the Taborites. The next four campaigns of the crusaders also ended in defeat for them Crusades against the Hussites Crusaders against heretics
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Jan Zizka is the leader of the Taborites. Jan Zizka, the leader of the Taborites, introduced a new military organization and new tactics of battle, in which an important role belonged to the Hussite war carts, which turned into a real fortress with lightning speed. People's War Almost all of their army did not consist of knights, but of ordinary people, but the morale of the Hussites, convinced of the rightness of their cause, was extremely high.
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People's War The reasons for the victories of the Hussites: high morale - patriotism; new tactics of struggle (fortresses from wagons, their use in battle); iron discipline (for violation of military duty - the death penalty, robbery is a serious crime); the military talent of Jan Zizka; The army was completed on the principle of universal military service. Taborite war wagons Taborite camp
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The Czech Republic was tired of years of wars, was ruined internal war and enemy invasions. The pope and the emperor in 1433 entered into an alliance with the moderates. The Czech pans concluded a military alliance against the Taborites. An army was formed to fight the Taborites, it was maintained by the pope and the emperor End of the Hussite wars Taborites
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In 1434, the battle near the city of Lipana decided the outcome of the struggle between the moderates and the Taborites. The Taborites were defeated. All the people's preachers were physically destroyed - burned at the stake. Pans became masters in the Czech Republic. End of the Hussite Wars Battle of Lipan
The death of a professor at the University of Prague caused outrage throughout the Czech Republic. Indignant letters from all over the country went to the address of the church court. Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund added fuel to the fire. He promised to drown all Czechs in blood if they did not moderate their ardor. All this became the cause of a bloody many years of slaughter, which went down in history as.
It all started at the University of Prague in 1419. The Czech students demanded that the Bavarians, Saxons and Poles, who also studied within the walls educational institution, had all together only half of the votes. And the other half, regardless of the number of people, should belong to the Czechs, because the university is Czech. During the controversy, Czech students beat the Germans. Clashes continued outside the walls of the university.
Supporters of Emperor Sigismund were walking down the street, they were attacked, beaten to death. A crowd of Czechs burst into the town hall and threw all the deputies - German officials - out of the windows. And this is certain death, as it is high up there. After that, the inhabitants of Prague told the Germans: “Your dad is the Antichrist, and we have the true faith. And we know the true rites. Among the Russians and Greeks, both laity and priests receive communion from the cup. only priests drink. This is not good and wrong."
Emperor Sigismund, the Pope and all the Germans said that all this is a terrible heresy, and the Czechs should be punished. And off we go. From 1419 to 1434 there were Hussite wars. They were endless raids. Little Czech Republic fought against the entire German Empire and even entered into a confrontation with Poland. Although the Poles tried to remain neutral. The banner of the Czechs depicted a cup from which they wanted to receive communion in the form of wine and bread. And on the banner of the Catholics was depicted a Latin cross.
By the way, in the same Poland lived the Orthodox, who used the cup during communion. There were also Catholics. They had their own Latin cross. And at the same time, different faiths peacefully coexisted with each other. So apparently not religious slogans were the reason for the incredible brutal war. But it claimed more than half of the population of the Czech Republic.
However, disagreements with the Czechs were presented precisely as religious. After all, it is necessary to think of it so that both the laity and the priests drink from the same cup. Therefore, raids on a small country were called crusades. And their initiator was not the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, but the Pope.
Jan Zizka and the Hussites
The first crusade began in March 1420. These were military operations against the heretic Hussites. So, at least, they were called by the Catholic Church. The Czechs had their own commander, who is considered a national hero of the Czech people. This Jan Zizka(1360-1424). It was he who led the Hussite troops and with a small force of 4 thousand people defeated the crusader army of 30 thousand people. Thus, he defended Prague from the invaders. Subsequently, Zizka lost his sight, but, becoming blind, continued to lead the troops. He died in 1424 from the plague. Enemies gave him the nickname "Terrible Blind Man".
Thanks to Jan Zizka, a new military tactic was introduced. It's a cart ride. It was involved through the Hungarian Cumans from the Mongols. A method of protection from carts was practiced, military camps were also built from carts. Thanks to this tactic, the Hussites invaded Bavaria, Saxony, Brandenburg and reached the Baltic Sea. And the knightly cavalry against the carts turned out to be completely powerless.
The first crusade ended badly for the crusaders. By the autumn of 1421, they were completely defeated, and the whole of Bohemia was in the hands of the Hussites. But there were divisions within their ranks. Parties were formed that adhered to various ideological guidelines.
There were three main parties:
Taborites who did not want to recognize either the church or the priesthood at all.
Supporters of Jan Zizka. After his death, they began to call themselves " orphans They recognized the church, but denied all clergy and compromises with the Germans.
Utraquists or bowlers. These fought for Orthodoxy, which was in the east in Byzantium and Russia. Chashniki sought to find a compromise, but such as to exist without the Germans. They included the population of Prague.
There were also smaller parties. For example, the Adamites. They went naked like Adam. They robbed travelers and generally did not recognize anything but carnal pleasures. They were all hanged on the orders of Jan Zizka, because they opposed themselves to both the church and public morality.
After the First Crusade, the contradictions between the parties escalated. The Czech troops disintegrated, which provoked Second crusade. Almost the whole of Europe fell on the small Czech Republic. Only the British and French did not participate in the Hussite wars. They waged war with each other, burned Joan of Arc at the stake, so they simply had no time. And all the other nations succumbed to the call of the Pope. But the Czechs not only defended, but also advanced. They invaded Hungary, but this campaign ended unsuccessfully for them.
Fighting with external enemies, the Czechs managed to lead civil war inside the country. In the summer of 1424, the Taborites entered into battle with the Chashniki. The second suffered a crushing defeat, and Jan Zizka managed to unite the Czech troops under his rule for a short time. But he soon died of the plague, and confusion and throwing began again. Although the successor of the "Terrible Blind Man" Prokop Bolshoy tried to restore order.
He more or less succeeded, since in 1425, when Third crusade, the Czechs defeated the Austrian army, and themselves invaded enemy territory. At the same time, the crusaders lost a large number of their people.
The Hussites used carts in their military tactics
Military operations were accompanied by incredible cruelty. So the German miners from Kutenberg threw the captured Hussites into deep mines. People fell, broke their arms and legs, and then died in agony from hunger and thirst. And when Zizka took the Germans prisoner, they were on their knees, asking for mercy. But "The Terrible Blind Man" spared no one. In relation to the enemies, he was merciless.
In 1427 it was the turn fourth crusade, and in 1431 was organized Fifth Crusade. And again, numerous troops of the crusaders could not defeat the Czechs.
It is not known how long this whole bacchanalia would have continued. But the Czechs, in the end, lowered their level of aggression. It happened at the Battle of Lipany at the end of May 1434. In this battle, again, the warring parties opposed each other. On the one hand, the "orphans" and the Taborites spoke, and on the other hand, the cup-bearers. Chashniki won a complete victory. But it was given to them very hard, and the Czechs realized that they were exhausted. And indeed, how much you could fight and kill your own and enemies.
It is officially considered that The Hussite Wars ended in 1434. Separate skirmishes, of course, took place later, but there were no more major hostilities. The Czech Republic was devastated, the population decreased by half.
In 1436 there was a general peace. The Hussites finally found a common language with Sigismund, although they could have done it 15 years earlier and saved a huge number human lives. However, it was the calm before the storm. No wonder Jan Hus, when he went to the fire, said: "I'm a goose, and a swan will come for me." And this swan came after 100 years. His name was Martin Luther. He was a simple preacher and advocated the improvement of certain norms of religion. However, all this resulted in such a bloody massacre that, in comparison with it, the Hussite wars seem like child's play.
“In the name of all Czechs, I swear that the Czechs will take terrible revenge on the temples in the event of the death of Hus. All this lawlessness will be paid handsomely. The peace before God and men is broken, and in the blood of papists the Czech goose will wash its wings. He who has ears, let him hear."
(Pan from Khlum - speech at the Cathedral in Constance)
It must be said that the attempt of the Roman popes to solve European problems by organizing crusades to the East not only did not solve some of the old problems, but also created new ones that also had to be somehow solved, and these problems were very, very serious. For example, immediately after the start of agitation for the first crusade in a number of regions of Europe, relations between Jews and Christians deteriorated significantly. If in Spain, Christians, fighting for Christ, began to kill Jews long before the Reconquista and the expulsion of Muslims began there in 1063, then in Central Europe, where the crusader troops gathered for the first crusade, the persecution of the Jews began already in the spring of 1096. They took place in Speyer, Worms, Trier and Metz, and then continued in Cologne, Neuss and Xanten. At the same time, not only the crusaders who went to the Holy Land attacked the Jewish communities, but also the robber gangs of knights who joined them, who did not gather so far, but went along with the "pilgrims". So, in Worms, about eight hundred people were killed, and in Mainz more than a thousand died. According to the most conservative estimates, the number of those killed could be four to five thousand people. In Regensburg, the crusaders forced local Jews to be baptized, although according to church regulations, this was strictly forbidden.
Jan Zizka with his warriors, 1423. Fig. Angus McBride.
It is clear that there was a very deep gulf between Christians and Jews. However, the crusade against the infidels only exacerbated this situation. Now it was enough, for example, during Holy Week to shout to someone that it was the Jews who stood up for the crucifixion of Christ, as Christians immediately rushed to beat local Jews, which caused bloody clashes in the cities. At the same time, some Christians, and especially the crusaders, captured so much of all kinds of good that they did not go any further, believing that God had given them everything they needed, they no longer wanted to participate in the campaign, but tried to quickly return to their home along with the stolen property.
Burning of Jan Hus. Medieval miniature.
Another problem is the problem of finance, which has been acute at all times. After all, such a large-scale thing as the organization of military expeditions to the East required huge financial resources that had to be obtained somewhere. So, already during the preparation of the first campaign, its participants were advised to take more money with them, since there would be no one to support them on the campaign. In the future, the crusaders were asked to stock up on money for two years. And many knights, going to the Holy Land, sold all their property or borrowed money from usurers, hoping to never give it back!
A popular weapon of the Hussites and Crusader knights who fought in the Czech Republic is a battle scourge. Weight 963.9 Germany. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
The kings, accordingly, raised taxes on their subjects (in particular, this is exactly what the King of England Henry II did), and even spiritual knightly and monastic orders were not exempted from taxes imposed by the popes, and only the Cistercians evaded their payment until 1200 of the year.
However, the popes also received income through the widespread sale of indulgences, which made it possible to obtain, well, just any absolution with their help. So, when the English King Henry II ordered the assassination of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket, he was given a large fine, which the church received, and this money also went to the next crusade. It was the lack of cash receipts from Aquitaine in the south of France that first of all became the reason for the crusades against the Cathars, who, if they continued to pay church taxes in sufficient amounts, most likely could have avoided the "God's punishment" that fell upon them.
Bascinet 1375 - 1425 Weight 2268 France. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Moreover, the tax burden during the time of the Crusades became so heavy that it gave rise to all sorts of jokes directed against the pope. “Confess openly,” Minnesinger Walter von der Vogelweide asked back in 1213, who, in the language of modernity, apparently already simply “got” all these papal extortions for the crusades, which only on his own life it took as many as three - is it not then that you were sent by the pope to bring him wealth, and to plunge us Germans into poverty and give as a pledge?
Minnesinger Walther von der Vogelweide. Miniature from the Codex Manes. Heidelberg University Library.
Such an attitude towards believers on the part of the church naturally alienated a lot of parishioners from it and led to the emergence of many different heretical teachings. Neither the "Avignon captivity of the popes", which took place in 1307 - 1377, nor the "Great Schism" - or the split of the Catholic Church in 1378 - 1417, when two, and then three popes at once, were at the head of the church at the head of the church !
The crusading movement itself began to degenerate. First, this degeneration manifested itself in the crusade of French and German children in 1212, fully convinced by the words that adult crusaders are greedy and bad people, because of which God does not give them victory, and only they, pure children, can, without any weapons to retake Jerusalem. Then they were followed by two "crusades", the so-called "shepherds" of 1251 and 1320, during which the poor of the Southern Netherlands and Northern France went on what seemed to be a crusade, while they themselves began to once again attack the Jews and destroy everything in its path. As a result, Pope John XXII came out against the shepherds with a sermon, and the King of France, Philip V, sent troops against them, who dealt with them as with the most ordinary rebels.
Knight of 1420 fighting the Hussites. Rice. Angus McBride.
Therefore, it is hardly surprising that, for example, in the same Czech Republic at that time, under the influence of the reformist ideas of Jan Hus, a departure from the traditional Catholic teaching also began, and the movement of the "Hussites" - that is, his followers, eventually turned into a real people's war for the independence of the Czech lands. The Pope, of course, could not afford to lose the Czech Republic, because the state was economically developed and brought a lot of money to the papal treasury, so on March 1, 1420 he declared the Hussites heretics and called for a crusade against them. But the main organizer of the campaign was by no means the then Pope Martin V, he was his ideological inspirer, and the king of the Czech Republic, Hungary and Germany, as well as the future Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, who also needed the Czech Republic. So he immediately began to gather crusader troops in Silesia from German, Hungarian and Polish knights, from the infantry that the Silesian cities supplied him, and also from Italian mercenaries.
The "war hat" is a popular Hussite helmet. Weight 1264 Fribourg. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
However, already the first clashes between the crusaders and the Hussite army showed that the time of the knightly army proper, the main striking force of which was the heavily armed knightly cavalry, in general, had already passed. The first campaign was followed by four more, organized respectively in 1421, 1425, 1427, 1431, but never brought the crusaders special success. In turn, the Hussites undertook several campaigns in the lands of neighboring states and even besieged Vienna, although they failed to take it.
War cart of the Hussites. Reconstruction.
Combat cart on the go.
Fight from a war cart. Angus McBride.
The Hussites skillfully defended themselves from the attacks of the knightly cavalry, building mobile field fortifications from special combat carts, shooting riders from crossbows and the first samples of handguns, which received the name “pishtala” in the Czech Republic, and directly in hand-to-hand combat they used a threshing flail, which, being poked with sharp nails, thus turning into a battle morning star.
Crossbow of Matthias Corvinus, King of Hungary (reigned 1458 - 1490). Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
A talented organizer of the Hussite army was a poor knight and experienced warrior Jan Zizka. Being wounded in the head, he went blind, but continued to command his troops, and did it so professionally that he did not suffer a single defeat in battles with the crusaders. Especially skillfully Jan Zizka used mobile fortifications, which were assembled from ordinary peasant carts, with which his army was fenced against their cavalry. True, the Hussites altered them a little: they supplied them with thick walls made of boards with loopholes and chains in order to firmly connect them. Each wagon had a kind of “crew”: a thresher with a flail, a halberdier with a halberd and a hook, crossbowmen and arrows from the simplest firearms. These mobile fortresses have never been crushed. In addition, it was the Hussites who were the first to install small cannons on carts and shoot them at the knights when they tried to attack their fortifications. As a result, it came to the point that the knights, it happened, began to retreat, as soon as they heard the battle songs of the Hussites and the creak of their wagons!
Hussites - plastic figurines.
The results of the Crusaders' campaigns against the Hussites turned out to be so deplorable that the Pope and King Sigismund were forced to use the Czechs themselves in the fight against them, only from a more moderate wing. As was usually done and is done in such cases, they were attracted by promises, as a result of which a fierce internecine struggle began on the territory of the Czech Republic, which ultimately led to the defeat of the Hussite movement.
Barbute 1460 Weight 3285 Germany. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Nevertheless, the Catholic Church in the Czech Republic was never able to regain all the lost lands and restore the monasteries destroyed by the Hussites, and therefore regain its former influence. As a result, the compromise of the moderate part of the Hussites with the empire and the Catholic Church influenced the outcome of the war. This brought it to an end, and it, in fact, did not bring any great benefits to any of the parties participating in it, but it thoroughly devastated Central Europe and showed the ability to successfully crush the knights with the forces of the peasant infantry, armed with spiked flails and firearms.
Another illustration by Angus McBride depicting the Hussites.
It is interesting that the legendary Joan of Arc, who on March 23, 1430, dictated a letter in which she called on the crusading army to oppose the Hussites and fight with them until they returned to the Catholic faith. Two months later, the Burgundians and the British captured her, otherwise, you see, she would have gone to fight also in the Czech Republic and would have joined the ranks of the crusaders there!
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Hussite wars (from 1419 to 1434) - wars of adherents of the Czech church reformer Jan Hus against the German emperor and the Catholic Church.
Causes
Dr. Hus, who was excommunicated for heretical views, was summoned in 1414 to a church council in Constance. Emperor Sigismund gave him a safe conduct. At the council, Hus was recognized as a heretic, and the reformer himself was arrested. Hus asked the emperor what to do with the safe-conduct. Sigismund replied: "I guaranteed you free passage to Constanta, but not return from it." 1415 - Jan Hus was burned at the stake, which caused outrage among his many followers in the Czech Republic.
Revolt in the Czech Republic
1419 - an uprising against the emperor Sigismund of Habsburg, who also wore the Czech crown, began here. At the head of the Hussite army stood the knight Jan Zizka, who had previously successfully fought with a detachment of Czech mercenaries against the Teutonic Order at the Battle of Grunwald and without much success against the British at the Battle of Agincourt. But from the very beginning, two wings stood out in the Hussite movement - moderate Chashniki and radical Taborites (named after the mountain and the city of Tabor in South Bohemia).
Chashnikov was supported by the nobility and burghers of northern Bohemia. The poorer South Bohemian burghers and nobility formed the backbone of the Taborites, whom the peasantry sympathized with. The Taborites created communities, following the example of the early Christians. They had common property and preached Christian asceticism. The Taborites had a new formidable weapon - a heavy iron-bound flail, a “thresher”, one blow of which could knock a knight in armor off his horse. The same purpose was served by long spears with hooks, borrowed from the Flemish militias. The Hussites also had firearms - bombards and arquebuses. The lowest tactical unit was the "wagen" (wagon). It included ten people who rode in one wagon: four threshers, one rider and five pikemen, archers, crossbowmen or arquebusiers.
Sigismund and Jan Zizka. First crusade
A few supporters of the Habsburgs and the Catholic Church in the Czech Republic camped in Kusha Gora. In order to support them, the Pope announced on March 1, 1420 a crusade against the heretic Hussites. Emperor Sigismund gathered in Silesia an army of German, Polish and Hungarian knights, as well as infantry, which consisted of the militia of the Silesian cities and Italian mercenaries. At the end of April, his army invaded the Czech Republic and moved to join the defenders of Kutná Hora. At that time, on the southern border of the Czech Republic, the Austrian and Bavarian detachments were just beginning to prepare for the offensive, and troops from Brandenburg, the Palatinate, Trier, Cologne and Mainz were concentrated on the northwestern border.
At the end of May, Sigismund entered Kutna Hora and began to demand that the inhabitants of Prague lift the siege of the city's citadel, where the royal soldiers settled. The citizens of Prague sent messengers to Tabor for help. 9,000 Taborites under the command of Zizka arrived near Prague. The knights tried to attack them on the way, but were repulsed by the fire of the bombards and the archers and arquebusiers defending the makeshift Wagenburg. On May 20, Zizka entered Prague and took command of the entire Hussite army. Sigismund approached Prague from the east, but did not dare to attack the enemy and retreated on May 25.
Then Zizka decided to take the Prague fortress. But its defenders were able to destroy the siege engines and bombards of the Hussites with fire from bombards. The entrance choked. Soon, Sigismund approached Prague, this time from the west. He was able to lead a large wagon train with food to the fortress and bring out several hundred horses from there, for which the besieged did not have fodder.
At the end of June, a detachment of German knights and infantry laid siege to Tabor. From the south, the army of the Austrian duke approached Tabor. But a detachment sent by Zizka from Prague unexpectedly attacked the enemy from the rear, and the Tabor garrison made a sortie. The detachment that besieged the city was defeated.
After that, Sigismund ordered the Austrians to go to Prague. There, on Vitkova Hill, on July 14, 1420, the decisive battle of the Hussites and the Crusaders took place. If Sigismund's army had been able to capture this mountain, Prague would have been blockaded. But the knights could not overcome the ditch dug on the side of the mountain, and the counterattack of the infantry, led by Zizka, threw them back to the foot.
Meanwhile, the Prague militia hit the flank of Sigismund's troops. The crusader army retreated. Although she did not suffer a major defeat, but only a small tactical setback, strife began between the leaders of the crusaders. Therefore, on July 30, 1421, Sigismund was forced to lift the siege of Prague. In November, his army was defeated at Vysehrad, and all of Bohemia and Moravia fell into the hands of the Hussites.
Second Crusade in Bohemia
1421, autumn - the contradictions between the Taborites and the Chashniki escalated. The unified Hussite army actually disintegrated. Taking advantage of this, Sigismund launched a second crusade to Bohemia. 1421, September - the crusaders besieged the city of Zhatec (Zaats) near the Hungarian border.
Zizka was able to break through the siege ring with a detachment of Taborites and lead a convoy with food to the city. But the counterattack of the Polish and Hungarian knights forced the Taborites to retreat to Prague.
Zizka took up a defensive position on Mount Vladar near the town of Zlutec. The Taborites built a wagenburg in which bombards were installed. For 3 days, the Polish and Hungarian knights attacked the Taborites, but were repelled by artillery fire and threshers. After that, Zizka's army broke into Zlutec. Soon, the crusaders, who were experiencing supply difficulties, left the Czech Republic.
Continuation of the Hussite Wars
At the end of the year, they again invaded the country and reached Kutná Hora. There, the army of Sigismund met with the army of the Taborites. By this time, Zizka had lost his second eye in one of the battles and was completely blind, which, however, did not prevent him from commanding. Sigismund managed to capture Kutna Hora, but on January 8, 1422, he was defeated at Gabr. The Taborites overthrew the knights and pursued them to the city of German Brod.
While crossing the Sazava River, some of the knights fell through the ice and drowned. A convoy abandoned on the shore fell into the hands of the Taborites. After 2 days they captured the German Ford. A few months later, a detachment from among the Orthodox subjects of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, who fought against the Catholicization of their country, arrived to help the Hussites. For eight years, together with the Taborites, they fought against the Polish, German and Hungarian troops.
1423 - a large army of Taborites invaded Moravia and Hungary. In mid-October it reached the Danube between Komarno and Esztergom. There the Hussites met with a large Hungarian army. Zizka did not dare to engage her in battle and gave the order to retreat. The Hungarians pursued the Czechs, firing bombards at the enemy. The Taborites suffered losses, but the bulk of the troops managed to retreat to the Czech Republic.
Death of Jan Zizka
The failure of the Hungarian campaign contributed to the aggravation of the contradictions between the Taborites and the Chashniki. 1424, June 7 - two factions of the Hussites met in battle near the city of Matesov. Chashniki were defeated due to an unexpected counterattack by the Taborite cavalry. In addition, the Taborites sent wagons down the slope of the mountain, crashing into the rows of bowlers and causing a sweep there. So, Zizka again managed to unite the entire Hussite army under his command. But on October 11, 1424, he died of the plague. The epidemic weakened the Czech army, and it was forced to abandon new campaigns in neighboring lands for a while.
Third crusade against the Hussites
1425 - the third crusade to Bohemia began. The main role was played by the Austrian army, led by Archduke Albrecht. In Moravia, it was defeated by Zizka's successor Prokop the Great, who became hetman of the Taborites, and retreated to Austria. The following year, the Czech army laid siege to Usti nad Lab (Aussig), which was captured by Saxon troops. Prokop the Great, whose army consisted of detachments of the Taborites and the Prague militia, had 25,000 people.
To unblock Aussig, the army of the Saxon, Meissen and Thuringian principalities, numbering 15-20,000 people, moved. The Germans attacked the Czech Wagenburg, which consisted of 500 wagons, and broke into it in one place. But the Taborite cavalry made a sortie and overturned the enemy. The Germans retreated, losing up to 4,000 men.
Fourth and Fifth Crusades against Bohemia
The fourth crusade against the Hussites in 1427 was led by Frederick, Elector of Brandenburg. Prokop the Great and the second Hussite hetman Prokop the Lesser, in turn, invaded Austria, defeating the army of the Austrian Archduke near Tachov. Then, in 1428-1430, they repeatedly invaded Saxony and Silesia and even laid siege to Vienna, but without success.
1431 - the Imperial Diet in Nuremberg decided to organize the fifth crusade in Bohemia. The German principalities fielded 8,200 mounted knights and a significant number of infantry, reinforced by 150 bombers. In August, near the Czech border, the crusader army under the leadership of Frederick of Brandenburg was unexpectedly attacked by the Hussites in the camp at Domazlice and fled, leaving the baggage train and artillery.
Battle of Lipany. final rout
In 1432-1433, the Czech army undertook a large campaign against Brandenburg and reached the Baltic port of Kustrin. However, in the meantime, Sigismund was able to negotiate with the teapots. In exchange for the confirmation of their former rights and privileges and the promise of religious tolerance, they were ready to recognize the authority of the emperor. 1434 - Chashniki defeated the main forces of the Taborites at the Battle of Lipany. Hetmans Prokop Big and Prokop Small died in this battle. 1436 - The Czech Republic received the Catholic king Vladislav of Luxembourg.
Significance of the Hussite Wars
The successes of the Hussites were explained by their unity in the face of the fragmented forces of their opponents - Poland, Hungary, the Austrian duchy and the German principalities, only nominally united under the leadership of the German emperor. But the forces of the Czech Republic were not enough to conquer and hold the territories of neighboring states and completely defeat the crusader armies. In the end, the moderate part of the Hussites compromised with the empire and the church, which led to the end of the war, which, in essence, did not bring any significant results to either side, but thoroughly devastated Central Europe.
B. Sokolov
The reason that provoked the popular uprising of the Czechs was the execution of a professor at the University of Prague, a preacher, philosopher and religious reformer - Jan Hus. These events will go down in history forever. The name of Jan Hus and the "Hussite Wars" became not only the banner of the military events of those years, but also a symbol of the national liberation struggle Czech people. The preacher himself was recognized as one of the main folk heroes Czech Republic. A brief biography of Jan Hus will be told to the reader in the article.
Biography
As evidenced by short biography, Jan Hus was born presumably in 1369 in the South of the Czech Republic, in the town of Gusinec (from where he got his last name) into a poor peasant family. Hus's parents wanted to provide their children with a decent existence, and in those days, only a career in the clergy gave the peasants such an opportunity. Little Yan was sent to a school in the town of Prokhatitsy, an hour's walk from Gusinets, where he studied grammar, rhetoric, dialectics, and some natural sciences. At the age of 18, Jan went with his mother to Prague and entered the Faculty of Liberal Arts at the University of Prague (the Faculty of Theology was much more expensive).
In 1396, Hus received a master's degree and remained in the teaching position. main theme for his teaching activity, he chooses the works of John Wycliffe, an English theologian and forefather of the Lollard movement and Protestantism, accused by the Roman Church of heresy. The teachings of Jan Hus are critical of the wealth of the Church and the absolute power of the Pope. The work of Wycliffe, discussed at the seminars, had a key influence on the mind of Huss, reorienting his view towards reformism and criticism of the vices of church leadership and clerics. In 1402, Hus became rector of the University of Prague and dean of the Faculty of Arts under King Wenceslas IV.
Beginning of preaching
As a brief biography tells, Jan Hus in 1401 got the opportunity to preach in the famous chapel - the Bethlehem chapel in Prague, which could accommodate up to three thousand people. There he began to deliver his rather scathing sermons critical of the church, which drew the attention of both crowds of sympathetic parishioners and leaders of church institutions, who saw him as an increasingly dangerous opponent.
Jan Hus, being a deeply religious person, never renounced the bosom of the Catholic Church, considered himself a member and devoted servant, but also considered it his duty to criticize the clergy for departing from the true teachings of Christ - for lies, debauchery, privilege, splendor and distance from common people, calling the only source only Holy Scripture is the truth, thus creating a division between God and the institution of the church, which is not protected from the vices of its ministers. He denounced the adultery that was happening in the highest hierarchal circles, questioned the authenticity of the relics that were the backbone of the influence of the church. So, he made a bold statement that "if you collect all the tibia bones of St. Brigid, it turns out that she was a centipede." Following the example of Wycliffe, Hus criticized the idea of transsubstance, a rite of communion in which the bread and wine consumed by the parishioners were turned into the flesh and blood of Christ.
Gus Ideas
Jan Hus was a bright and charismatic preacher, able to fill the entire Bethlehem chapel with listeners and penetrate into the minds of every person to such an extent that some threw off their jewelry from the shame of wealth. He considered indulgences - documents sold by the church on the absolution of sins - a vice of simony and a clear evidence of the greed of the clergy (although he himself, in his student years, acquired an indulgence with his last money, which indicates a deep subsequent transformation of beliefs).
Also, Jan Hus (a brief biography confirming this) fought against the dominance German language, science and theology, advocating the prevalence of Czech culture and preaching in the Czech language, thereby supporting the national identity of the Czechs and anticipating the idea of independence from the German aristocracy.
The tragic outcome of the activities of Hus
Thus, the ideas of Hus about the church’s lack of the role of the sole representative of the will of God on earth, about the depravity and greed of the clergy, mired in luxury and not letting the people near them, including through the language and mystery of the mysteries incomprehensible to people, about depravity and falsity a number of spiritual practices and relics and the cultural oppression of the Czech people made him one of the main enemies of the Vatican in the entire history of the existence of the Roman Catholic Church and, despite the loyal attitude of King Wenceslas towards him, led to a tragic outcome.
The pursuit
Beginning in 1408, a number of punitive measures were taken against Hus by the Archbishop of Prague, supported by Pope Alexander V: several of Hus's friends were arrested for heresy, his sermons were banned, books were burned (including a decree was issued to burn the books of John Wycliffe). However, they stood up for Gus simple people, who asked again to allow his sermons, and even part of the aristocracy of Bohemia (South Bohemia), who sent requests to the Pope to allow him to continue to remain a preacher. However, these attempts were not successful. For two years he had to wander around the Czech Republic, where he continued to defend the ideas of the reformation of the church and wrote his famous work "On the Church", in which he criticized the absolute power of the Pope and the tendency of the Church to accumulate wealth.
Trial of Jan Hus
The treatise was the last straw in the patience of the clergy, and he was summoned to the church court in the German city of Konstanz. But, even with a safe-conduct, he could not get to court and was imprisoned in the Gottlieben dungeon, from where he was released only after two and a half months. At the end of 1414, Jan Hus appeared before the court, where he did not retract his words, even despite the requests of Emperor Sigismund I and the threat of the death penalty.
Hero's execution
On July 6, 1415, the sentence was carried out. Jan Hus was burned as a heretic at the stake in Constance Square along with the Bible, which he translated into Czech. In front of the crowd gathered in the square, he sang “Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me,” and answered the attempts of the guards to stop him: “I am a Goose, and after me the Swan will come” (thus predicting the arrival of Martin Luther). Later, the relics of John Wycliffe were also burned.
Consequences
The death of the national hero sparked numerous protests against the Catholic Church throughout the Czech Republic. People gathered for the sermons of the followers of Hus and the number of their supporters grew everywhere. In 1419, an uprising of the Hussites broke out in Prague: they sacked monasteries and killed priests, and the city fell into their hands. Uprisings broke out in all the cities of the Czech Republic, which was the beginning of the Hussite wars. The center of the rebels was the city of Tabor, founded near the mountain of the same name, where the Hussites held their sermons.
Against the heretics of the Hussites, the Church declared a crusade. In 1420, the first crusade against Prague was defeated by the Taborite army, led by an experienced warrior and commander, the national hero of the Czech people - Jan Zizka, and the whole of the Czech Republic fell into the hands of the Hussites. However, a split began among them into several parties - the Taborites, who did not recognize the church at all; orphans (followers of Zizka), who recognized the church, but denied any compromises with the Germans, and chashniki, who fought for Orthodoxy.
In total, five crusades were sent against the Hussites, which were unsuccessful. However, countless wars against the forces of all Europe (with the exception of England and France) and "inter-party" clashes exhausted the Czech Republic, and in 1436 it accepted a peace agreement on the terms of Emperor Sigismund. The Hussite wars are over.
Memory and legacy
Jan Hus went down in history as the man under whose banner the little inconspicuous Czech Republic entered the central Europe, opposing all the forces of the Catholic establishment, and Hus himself became one of the key figures preceding the church reformation.
To this day, he is honored in the Czech Republic as one of the main national heroes who contributed to the struggle for the rights and identity of the Czech people against German oppression. Museums and streets are named after him. And on July 6, 1915, on the Old Town Square in Prague, a monument was erected to him, dedicated to the 500th anniversary of the execution. In addition, since 1918, the "Czechoslovak Hussite Church" has been operating in the Czech Republic, which today has about 100,000 adherents. The day of the burning of Jan Hus is declared a public holiday in the Czech Republic as a day of memory of the master.
In 1999, Pope John Paul II expressed deep regret over the execution of Hus, but refused to canonize him, as he adhered to the views of the heretic Wycliffe.
In addition to the political, religious and ideological heritage, his name is honored in philological circles for his contribution to the development of the Czech national literary language, in particular, for the authorship of the work "Czech Orthography".
