Hussite Movement: causes, participants, outcomes, meaning

The Czech Hussite movement appeared at the beginning of the 15th century. Its members wanted to reform the Christian church. The main inspiration for the changes was the Czech theologian Jan Hus, whose tragic fate led to an insurrection and a two-decade long war.

The Doctrine of Jan Hus

Jan Hus was born in the south of the Czech Republic in 1369. He graduated and became a professor at Prague University. He also accepted the priesthood and became rector of the Bethlehem chapel in the capital of the Czech Republic. Jan Hus very quickly became a popular preacher among his fellow citizens. This was due to the fact that he communicated with people in Czech, while the entire Roman Catholic church used Latin, which the common people did not know.

The Hussite movement was formed around the theses put forward by Jan Hus, arguing with the papal throne about what is proper for a Christian priest. The Czech reformer believed that one can not sell for money positions and indulgences. Another controversial statement of the preacher was his idea that the Church is not infallible and should be criticized if there are vices in it. For those times these were very bold words, because no Christian could argue with the pope and the priests. Such people were automatically recognized as heretics.

Nevertheless, Gus for some time happily avoided reprisals because of his popularity among the people. The church reformer was also an educator. He proposed to make changes to the Czech alphabet in order to facilitate the process of teaching people to read and write.

Death of the Huss

In 1414, Jan Hus was summoned to the Constanza Cathedral, which was held in a German city on the shore of Lake Constance. Formally, the purpose of this meeting was to discuss the crisis in the Catholic Church, in which the Great Western schism took place. Already for almost forty years there were just two dads. One was in Rome, the other in France. At the same time, half of the Catholic countries supported one, and the other half - the second.

Hus already had a conflict with the Church, he was tried to be isolated from the flock, forbade activities, but thanks to the intercession of the Czech secular authorities, the popular priest continued his sermon. Going to Constance, he demanded guarantees that he would not be touched. Promises were given. But when Gus was at the cathedral, he was arrested.

The Pope was motivated by the fact that he personally did not give any promises (and only the emperor Sigismund gave them). Gus was demanded that he renounce his views. He refused. While he was being held in custody, the Czech nobility sent dispatches to Germany and demands to release his national hero. These exhortations had no effect. July 6, 1415, Jan Hus was burned as a heretic. This was the main reason for the outbreak of war in the Czech Republic.

The beginning of the uprising in the Czech Republic

The reformed Hussite movement swept the whole country. Nobles (gentry), inhabitants of cities and knights did not like the violence of the Catholic Church over their national identity. There were discrepancies in adherence to certain Christian rites.

After Hus's execution, the goals of the Hussite movement were finally formed: to rid the Czech Republic of Catholics and Germans. For some time the conflict was of a local nature. However, the Pope, unwilling to yield to heretics, declared a crusade to Moravia. Such military campaigns were the norm for that time. The first crusades were organized in order to win the Palestinians from the Muslims and protect it. When the Middle East was lost to Europeans, the eyes of the church turned in the direction of regions where various heretics or pagans were active. The most successful was the campaign in the Baltics, where two military-monastic orders with their territory were created. Now it was the turn of the Czech Republic to survive the invasion of knights with a cross on banners.

Sigismund and Jan Zizka

At the first stage of the war, the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire Sigismund became the commander-in-chief of the army of the Crusaders. He had already compromised himself in the eyes of the Czechs by not protecting Gus when he was tried at the Konstanz Cathedral. Now the emperor became even more hated by the Slavic inhabitants.

The Hussite movement also received its military leader. They became Jan Zizka. It was a Czech nobleman, who was already over 60 years old. Despite this, he was full of energy. This knight was known for his brilliant career at the courts of different kings. In 1410, as a volunteer, he joined the Polish-Lithuanian army, which defeated the German crusaders of the Teutonic Order in the Battle of Grunwald. In the battle, he lost his left eye.

Already in the Czech Republic, during the war against Sigismund, Zizka went completely blind, but remained the leader of the Hussites. He inflicted terror on his enemies with his appearance and cruelty. In 1420, the commander, along with the 8,000-strong army, came to the aid of the inhabitants of Prague, driving out the crusaders, among whom there was a split. After this event for a while the whole of the Czech Republic was under the rule of the Hussites.

Radicals and Moderate

However, soon there was another split, which already divided the Hussite movement. The reasons for the movement were the rejection of Catholicism and German rule over the Czech Republic. Soon a radical wing emerged, headed by Zizka. His supporters plundered Catholic monasteries, cracked down on disagreeable priests. These people organized their own camp on Mount Tabor, because of what they were soon called Taborites.

At the same time, there was a moderate movement among the Hussites. Its members were ready to compromise with the Catholic Church in exchange for some concessions. Due to disagreement between the insurgents, soon unified power in the Czech Republic ceased to exist. This was tried to use the emperor Sigismund, who began to organize a second Crusade against heretics.

Crusade against the Hussites

In 1421, the imperial army, which also included detachments of Hungarian and Polish knights, returned to the Czech Republic. Sigismund's goal was the city of Zatec, which was located not far from the German province of Saxony. To the aid of the besieged fortress the Taborites army, led by Jan Zizka, came. The city managed to defend and since that day the war has been with varying success for both sides.

Soon the participants of the Hussite movement received support from an unexpected ally in the person of an Orthodox army, who came from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In this country there was an intense internal struggle for the preservation of the old faith and the rejection of the Catholic influence that came from Poland. For several years the Lithuanians, as well as their Russian citizens, assisted the Hussites in their war against the emperor.

In 1423, the short-lived success of Žižka allowed him, together with the army, to completely clear his country and even begin an intervention in neighboring Hungary. Hussites reached the banks of the Danube, where they were waiting for the local royal army. Zizka did not dare to engage in battle and turned to his homeland.

The failure in Hungary led to the fact that the contradictions that split the Hussite movement again became acute. The reasons for the movement were forgotten, and the Taborites began a war against the moderate (also called the Chashniki or Utraquists). Radicals managed to win an important victory in June 1424, after which the unity was briefly restored. However, already in the fall Jan Zizka died from the plague. The journey through the memorable sites of the Hussite movement must necessarily include the city of Pribislav, where the famous leader of the Hussites passed away. Today Zizka is a national hero of the Czechs. He installed a large number of monuments.

The continuation of the war

The place of Zizka as the leader of the Taborites was occupied by Prokop Naked. He was a priest and came from an influential Prague family. At first Prokop was a cupper, but eventually got closer to the radicals. In addition, he turned out to be a good general.

In 1426 Prokop led an army, consisting of Taborites and Prague militia, to the walls of the city of Usti nad Labem, which was captured by the Saxon invaders. The Hussite leader led 25,000 people, which was an extremely serious force.

The strategy and tactics of the insurgents

In the battle of Usti nad Labem, Prokop successfully used tactics, which appeared in the days of Jan Žižka. The beginning of the Hussite movement was distinguished by the fact that the new militia units from the militia were untrained and unfit for fighting with the emperor's professional army. Over time, this shortcoming was corrected by the influx of knights to the protesting Czechs.

An important innovation of the Hussites was the Wagenburg. The so-called fortification, which was built from carts to defend a strategically important place on the battlefield. It was in the Czech war in Europe that firearms began to be used, but it was still in a rather primitive state and could not significantly affect the outcome of the battle. The key role was played by the cavalry, for which the wagenburgs proved to be a serious obstacle.

On such a return were installed guns, which shot the enemy and prevented him from breaking through the fortifications. Wagenburgh were built in a rectangular shape. Often there were cases when a moat was pulled out around the carts, which became an additional advantage for the Hussites. In one wagenburg could fit up to 20 people, half of which were arrows, hitting the approaching cavalry in the distance.

Thanks to tactical tricks, the army of Prokop Goloy once again expelled the Germans. After the battle of Usti nad Labem, the Czech militia for several years invaded Austria and Saxony several times and even besieged Vienna and Nuremberg, though unsuccessfully.

It is interesting that at this time the Hussites were actively supported by representatives of the Polish nobility, as well as knights from this country, in spite of their authorities. These relationships can be found a simple explanation. The Poles, like the Czechs, being Slavs, were afraid of strengthening German influence on their land. Therefore, the Hussite movement, briefly, was not only religious, but also received a national color.

Negotiations with Catholics

In 1431, Pope Martin V convened the Basle Cathedral (named in the place of the meeting), designed to resolve the conflict with the Czechs through diplomacy. This proposal was used by the participants and leaders of the Hussite movement. A delegation was set up, which went to Basel. It was headed by Prokop Naked. Negotiations, which he held with the Catholics, ended in failure. The conflicting parties could not reach a compromise. The Embassy of the Hussites returned to their homeland.

The failure of the delegation led to another split among the rebels. Most of the Czech nobility decided again to try to negotiate with the Catholics, but no longer paying attention to the interests of the Taborites. This was the last and fateful break that destroyed the Hussite movement. The table shows the main events connected with the Czech uprising, at the head of which stood the chasniki and the Taborites.

The final split of the Hussites

When the Taborites became aware that the moderate Hussites are again trying to find a compromise with the Catholics, they went to Pilsen, where they defeated the Catholic quarter. This episode was the last straw for most Czech pans who finally came to an agreement with the Pope. Aristocrats are tired of the war, which has been going on for fifteen years. The Czech Republic lay in ruins, and its economy, on which the well-being of the pans depended, could not be restored until peace came.

As a rule, each feudal lord had his own small army, consisting of a detachment of knights. When the Union of the Pani united their forces, which were also joined by Catholics, as well as the militia of Prague, there were 13,000 well-armed professionals in the new army. At the head of the Utruvist army was feudal lord Divisz Borzek. Also, the future Czech king Jiří of Poděbrady joined the army.

The Battle of Lipan

Taborites supported 16 Czech cities, including Tabor himself, as well as Zatec, Nymburk, etc. The radicals' army was still headed by Prokop Goliy, whose right-hand man was another commander, Prokop Maly. Taborites on the eve of the battle with the enemy managed to occupy a comfortable position for defense on the mountain slope. Prokop hoped for the success of his classic tactics, which included the use of wagenburg, as well as exhausting the enemy and decisive counterattack.

On May 30, 1434, two enemy armies collided in the last battle near Lipan. Prokop's plan was implemented successfully until the episode with a counterattack, when the Taborites realized that the Utraquists had begun a feigned retreat in order to withdraw them from convenient positions.

On the eve of the battle, the Panels left in reserve a heavily armed cavalry reserve. This cavalry was waiting for a signal of a surprise attack until the Taborites were in a defenseless position. Finally, fresh and full strength of the knights struck at the enemy, and the radicals rushed back to their original camp. Soon the wagenburgs also fell. With the defense of these fortifications, the leaders of the Taborites were killed - Prokop Goliy and Prokop Maly. The Utraquists won a decisive victory, which put an end to the Hussite wars.

The meaning of the Hussite doctrine

After the defeat at the battle of Lipan, the radical wing was finally defeated. Taborites still remained, but after 1434 they never could organize an uprising, in scale similar to the previous war. In the Czech Republic there was a compromise coexistence of Catholics and Chashniki. Utraquists were distinguished by small changes in the rituals during worship, and also by respectful memory of Jan Hus.

By and large, Czech society has returned to the status that took place before the uprising. Therefore, the Hussite wars did not lead to any radical changes in the life of the country. At the same time, the Crusades against heretics caused enormous damage to the Czech economy. Central Europe has healed the wounds of the war for several decades.

Further results of the Hussite movement became clear much later, when already in the 16th century throughout Europe the process of the Reformation began. Lutheranism and Calvinism appeared. After the Thirty Years' War in 1618-1648. Most of Europe came to freedom of religion. In achieving this success, the importance of the Hussite movement, which was the prelude to the Reformation, was also included.

In the Czech Republic, the uprising is considered one of the symbols of national pride. Throughout the country you can get on excursions that will allow tourists to visit the memorable places of the Hussite movement. In the Czech Republic, the memory of him and his heroes is carefully preserved.