The Story of Prague

The Mediæval
Town Series

VERONA.*
By Alethea Wiel.
CHARTRES.†
By Cecil Headlam.
CAIRO.†
By Stanley Lane-Poole.
BRUGES.†
By Ernest Gilliat-Smith.
ROME.† [2nd Edition.
By Norwood Young.
FLORENCE.† [3rd Edition.
By Edmund G. Gardner.
ASSISI.* [2nd Edition.
By Lina Duff Gordon.
CONSTANTINOPLE.*
By William H. Hutton.
MOSCOW.*
By Wirt Gerrare.
ROUEN.† [2nd Edition.
By Theodore A. Cook.
NUREMBERG.* [3rd Edition.
By Cecil Headlam.
PERUGIA.* [4th Edition.
By Margaret Symonds and Lina Duff Gordon.
TOLEDO.*
By Hannah Lynch.

The volumes marked (*) are 3s. 6d. net in cloth, 4s. 6d. net in leather; those marked (†) are 4s. 6d. net in cloth, 5s. 6d. net in leather.

The Story of PRAGUE
by Count Lützow
Illustrated by Nelly Erichsen

London: J. M. Dent & Co.
Aldine House, 29 and 30 Bedford Street
Covent Garden W.C.

1902

All rights reserved

To
Professor MORFILL, M.A.
Corresponding Member of the Royal Scientific Society
of Bohemia, who has so largely contributed
to making Bohemia known to England

CONTENTS

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

INTRODUCTION

FEW cities in the world have a more striking and feverish historical record than Prague, the ancient capital of Bohemia and of the lands of the Bohemian crown. It is a very ancient saying at Prague that when throwing a stone through a window you throw with it a morsel of history. The story of Prague is to a great extent the history of Bohemia, and all Bohemians have always shown a devoted affection for the ‘hundred-towered, golden Prague,’ as they fondly call it. As Mr. Arthur Symons has well said, Prague is to a Bohemian ‘still the epitome of the history of his country; he sees it, as a man sees the woman he loves, with her first beauty, and he loves it as a man loves a woman, more for what she has suffered.’ Foreigners, however, have not been backward in admiring the beauties of Prague. The words of Humboldt, who declared that Prague was the most beautiful inland town of Europe, have often been quoted, and it is certain that a traveller who looks at the town from the bridge, or the Strahov Monastery or the Belvedere, will share this opinion.

Yet Prague is, I think, very little known to Englishmen, and I received with great pleasure Mr. Dent’s suggestion that I should write a short sketch of the history of the capital of my country. It has, indeed, to me been a labour of love. The geographical situation of Prague is to some extent a clue to its historical importance. Bohemia, the Slavic land that lies furthest west, has always been the battlefield of the Slavic and Teutonic races, and its capital, Prague, has for more than a thousand years been an outlying bastion of the Slav people, which, sometimes captured, has always been recovered. Within the time of men now living Prague had the appearance of a German city, while it has now a thoroughly Slav character. The town has therefore an intense interest for the student of history, and, indeed, of politics. For more than two centuries a religious conflict, interwoven with the racial struggle in a manner that cannot be defined in few words, attracted the attention of Europe to Bohemia, and particularly to Prague; for the battles of the Zizkov and the Vysehrad were fought within the precincts of the present city. But it is not only in the annals of war that Prague plays a pre-eminent part. The foundation of the University for a time made Prague one of the centres of European thought. Thanks to the enthusiasm and eloquence of Hus, the endeavour to reform the Church, which had failed in England, was for a time successful in Bohemia. Though he was not born at Prague, and died in a foreign country, the life of Hus belongs to Prague. The traveller cannot pass the Bethlehem Chapel or the Carolinum without thinking of the great reformer. Though the iconoclastic fury of the extreme Hussites and the rage of incessant civil warfare have deprived Prague of many of its ancient monuments, it is by no means so devoid of architectural beauty as has been stated by those who, perhaps, know the town only by hearsay. The three ancient round chapels, dating from the beginning of the tenth century, still remain as examples of the earliest ecclesiastical architecture of Prague. The Church of St. George, on the Hradcany Hill, which is now being carefully restored, is a very fine specimen of early romanesque architecture. The four towers at the outskirts of the Hradcany, which date from the thirteenth century, are an interesting relic of the ancient fortifications of Prague. The principal churches of the town, St. Vitus’s Cathedral and the Tyn Church, frequently enlarged and altered, recall the vicissitudes of Bohemian history, in which they played such a prominent part. Ferdinand the First’s Belvedere villa is one of the finest Renaissance buildings in Northern Europe.

I have found no lack of materials while writing this short note on the story of Prague. I have of course mainly relied on the old chronicles, most of which are written in the national language. These almost unknown chroniclers are little inferior to those of Italy. Their fierce religious and racial animosities sometimes inspire them, and even carry away the reader, whatever his own views may be. Want of space has unfortunately obliged me to quote but sparingly from these ancient chronicles. Of modern historical works on Prague, Dr. Tomek’s Dejepis Mesta Prahy (History of the town of Prague) is vastly superior to all previous works of the present age. This book, written in the little-known Bohemian language, deserves to rank with Gregorovius’s Mediæval Rome as one of the greatest town-histories of the nineteenth century. The twelve volumes of Dr. Tomek’s work that have appeared up to now only bring the history of the city down to the year 1608. As the smallest of these volumes is more than double the size of this little book, it is unnecessary to say that I have not been able to avail myself of the contents of Dr. Tomek’s book to a large extent. I have mentioned, in an Appendix to this book, a few of the other works that I have consulted.

After giving an account of the story of Prague, I have in Chapters IV. and V. briefly referred to the most prominent objects of interest in the town. With the exception of the bridge—which every traveller will cross, however short his stay may be—the town hall and the neighbouring Jewish churchyard, an account of these will be found in these two chapters. A somewhat fuller notice of the town will be found in Chapters VI., VII. and VIII., though here, too, it has been impossible to mention every subject of interest for the student of history, architecture and archæology. The history of Prague is to so great an extent that of Bohemia that I have at the end of this volume given a list of the rulers—princes, afterwards kings—of Bohemia, which the reader will, I think, find useful.

I have often been told by English friends that Prague is a very distant and ‘out-of-the-way’ place. I am, I think, entitled to dispute the correctness of this statement. Dresden, one of the towns most visited by English travellers, is only four hours from Prague. The train leaving Dresden at 11.18 reaches Prague at 3.11. Prague is also not distant from the Bohemian watering-places, Karlsbad, Marienbad and Franzensbad, and the distance would appear yet smaller were it not for the slowness of all Austrian, even express, trains. I may add a word on the hotels of Prague. Of the best of these hotels, three—the Hotel de Saxe, the ‘Blue Star,’ and the ‘Black Horse’—are situated close to the State Railway Station and the powder tower, while a fourth, the ‘Victoria,’ is in the Jungmann Street. In all these hotels the English traveller will often regret the absence of a reading or public sitting-room. Even when such a room is provided, it is often closed or used for private card parties. In late years I have during my many visits to Prague always stayed at the Hotel de Saxe, and I can conscientiously recommend it. To those who, for the purpose of study or for other reasons, intend making a somewhat lengthy stay at Prague, The Pension Finger (corner of the Vaclavské Námesti and the town park) can be recommended.

It remains to me to thank those who have kindly assisted me while I was preparing this little book. As on previous occasions, I have again had the privilege of frequently consulting Mr. Adolphus Patera, head librarian of the Bohemian Museum. Dr. Matejka, guardian of the print room of that museum, has most kindly permitted the reproduction of some of the treasures contained in that collection. Dr. Jaromir Celakovsky, archivist of the town of Prague, kindly granted permission that the interesting old town seals of Prague should be reproduced here. Monsignor Lehner kindly furnished me with some fresh information on the subject of early Bohemian ecclesiastical architecture, on which he is so great an authority. Dr. Zahradnik, canon and librarian of the Strahov Monastery, has given me much valuable information concerning his ancient monastery, and particularly concerning the library that he so ably and skilfully directs. I have also had the privilege of receiving advice from Professors Kalousek and Mourek.

LÜTZOW.

Prague, November 28, 1901.

The Story of Prague

CHAPTER I
Prague at the Earliest Period

THE earliest tales of the foundation of Prague are as those of most very ancient cities—entirely mythical. Here, as elsewhere, very ancient legends and traditions take the place of genuine history. Yet a notice of such ancient towns that ignored these legends would be valueless. It is almost certain that the earliest inhabited spot within the precincts of the present city of Prague was the hill on the right bank of the Vltava or Moldau, known as the Vysehrad (‘higher castle’ or Acropolis). It is also probable that the ‘higher castle’ was from a very early date the residence of a prince who ruled over part of Bohemia, and the very ancient legend that refers to the Vysehrad as the residence of Krok or Crocus, the earliest Sovereign of Bohemia, is no doubt founded on this fact. Krok is said to have left no son, but three daughters, Kázi, Teta and Libussa. Libussa, though the youngest, succeeded her father as ruler of Bohemia. Libussa is described by the ancient chronicler, Cosmas of Prague, as ‘a wonderful woman among women, chaste in body, righteous in her morals, second to none as judge over the people, affable to all and even amiable, the pride and glory of the female sex, doing wise and manly deeds; but, as nobody is perfect, this so praiseworthy woman was, alas, a soothsayer.’ The last words, no doubt, refer to Libussa’s prophecy of the future greatness of Prague, which will be mentioned presently.

The great merits of Libussa do not, however, appear to have reconciled the Bohemians to the rule of a woman. When Libussa had been sitting in judgment on a dispute between two nobles—brothers who both claimed the paternal inheritance—the one to whom the princess’s decision was unfavourable insulted her by exclaiming that it was a shame for a country to be ruled by a woman. Libussa then declared that she would no longer rule so ferocious a people. She bade the people disperse and reassemble on the following day, when she would accept as husband whomsoever they might select. The Bohemians, however, declared that they would leave the choice to her and accept as their ruler the man whom she would choose. Libussa, who here is represented as a visionary or soothsayer, then said, pointing to the distant hills, ‘Behind these hills is a small river called Belina and on its bank a farm named Stadic. Near that farm is a field and in that field your future ruler is ploughing with two oxen marked with various spots. His name is Premysl and his descendant will rule over you for ever. Take my horse and follow him; he will lead you to the spot.’

Guided by Libussa’s horse, the Bohemian envoys immediately set forth and found the peasant Premysl ploughing his field. They immediately saluted him as their ruler. Premysl mounted the horse and, followed by the Bohemian envoys, proceeded to the Vysehrad, where he was immediately betrothed to Libussa. The chroniclers tell us that when he arrived at the Vysehrad he still wore the dress of the Bohemian peasant, and that his rough shoes were preserved in the Vysehrad castle as late as the twelfth century. Premysl became the founder of a line that ruled in Bohemia up to 1306; and the present King of Bohemia, Francis Joseph, is his successor in the female line.

To Libussa is ascribed the second foundation of a city on the site of the present town of Prague. It is said to have taken place on the left bank of the Vltava, on the Hradcany Hill. The spot then, and even far later, was covered by a dense forest; the ancient Slavs, it may be noted, generally chose secluded spots surrounded by forests as their dwelling-places. The oldest account, and therefore the most valuable, is that of the chronicler, Cosmas of Prague (about 1045 to 1125), whom I shall again quote. He tells us that Libussa, ‘standing on a high rock on the Vysehrad in presence of her husband Premysl, and the elders of the people incited by the spirit of prophecy uttered this prediction: I see a town the glory of which will reach the stars. There is a spot in the forest, thirty stades from this village, which the River Vltava encircles, and which to the north the stream Brusnice secures by its deep valley; and to the south a rocky hill, which from its rocks takes the name of Petrin,[1] towers above it.... When you have reached this spot you will find a man in the midst of the forest who is working at a door-sill for a house.[2] And as even mighty lords bend before a low door, so from this event you shall call the town which you will build “Praha.”... They proceed immediately to the ancient forest, and having found the sign which had been given them they build on this site a town, Prague, the mistress of all Bohemia.’

This is the most ancient record of the foundation of Prague on which all subsequent ones are based. The older castle on the Vysehrad, separated from the newer foundation by the vast extent of land now occupied by the Staré Mesto (old town) and the Nové Mesto (new town) continued to be the frequent residence of the Bohemian princes.

The date of the foundation of Prague by Libussa is as uncertain as everything concerning that semi-mythical princess. Hajek of Libocan, a chronicler of the sixteenth century, gives the year 752 as the date of the foundation of the castle on the Hradcany Hill. It was at first of a very simple character, consisting probably but of wooden buildings. During the reign of Libussa’s successors—of whom little but their names is known[3]—we have scant information as regards the growth of Prague. After the introduction of Christianity one of the earliest Christian churches is stated to have been erected on the Hradcany at Prague. The new settlement rapidly extended itself, and from an early date we read of the ‘suburbium Pragense,’ which extended on both banks of the river and included the present Malá Strana (small quarter) at the foot of the Hradcany Hill, as well as that part of the Staré Mesto that is nearest to the Vltava. Though there is but little trustworthy information concerning this early period, it is certain that the city gradually spread out on both banks of the river. They were from the earliest historical period united by a bridge that stood near the site of the present far-famed bridge.

Buildings not connected with either the Vysehrad or the Hradcany settlements sprang up at a very early period. According to Professor Tomek, as early as the year 993 some houses stood on the site of the present Poric Street (close to the State Railway Station).

Immediately after the introduction of Christianity, but particularly during the reign of the pious Wenceslas (920-935), many churches were erected at Prague, though the earliest building devoted to Christian worship was at Levy Hradec.[4] According to some accounts a church on the Hradcany was dedicated to the Virgin by Borivoj, the first Christian ruler of Bohemia. It was in this church that St. Wenceslas received the tonsure. The earliest church on the Vysehrad probably dates from nearly the same time. Prince Wenceslas—afterwards sainted—built several churches, and also laid the foundations of the first buildings on the spot where St. Vitus’s Cathedral now stands. Wenceslas was induced to build this church by the gift of an arm of St. Vitus, a precious relic that he received from the German King, Henry I. The first church of St. Vitus, like all the earliest religious buildings in Bohemia, was in the Romanesque style. In 939 the remains of St. Wenceslas were conveyed here from Stará Boleslav, where he had (in 935) been murdered by his treacherous younger brother, Boleslav.[5]

The successor of St. Wenceslas, Boleslav I., whom Palacky calls ‘one of the most powerful monarchs that ever occupied the Bohemian throne,’ greatly extended the frontiers of his country, a fact that necessarily largely increased the importance of his capital; but of yet greater importance for the development of Prague was—in accordance with the ideas of the time—the foundation of the bishopric in 973. It took place during the reign of Boleslav II., the son and successor of Boleslav I. Bohemia had formerly belonged to the diocese of Regensburg or Ratisbon. At the time of the foundation the Bohemian princes ruled not only over Bohemia and its sister lands (Moravia and Silesia), but also over Southern Poland, Galicia and a large part of Northern Hungary. All these countries formed parts of the new bishopric of Prague. Palacky justly regrets that an archbishopric was not founded for so vast an extent of land. It is only several centuries later that Prague became an archbishopric. The first bishop, Thietmar, was, after a short time, succeeded by Vojtech or Adalbert, a Bohemian who was afterwards sainted and is still one of the patrons of the country. After the death of Boleslav II., in 999, civil war broke out in Bohemia, and the development of Prague was necessarily retarded.

The population of Prague—originally entirely Slavic—was at an early period increased by German immigrants. They first arrived at Prague as permanent residents during the reign of King Vratislav (1061-1092). They settled on the right bank of the Vltava, and, favoured by the Bohemian Sovereigns, increased rapidly. They were granted special privileges by Sobeslav, and these privileges were afterwards extended by King Wenceslas I. Thus the old town in distinction from the new town, afterwards founded by Charles IV., long had a somewhat German character, and indeed only entirely lost it during the Hussite Wars. The old document stating that ‘no German or Jew shall be burgomaster of the old town of Prague,’ which is still shown in the town hall, only dates from this period.

The old town, however, always contained a strong Bohemian-Slavic element, and the fusion of the two nationalities undoubtedly became closer when, during the reign of King Wenceslas I., the old town was—probably about the year 1235—enclosed with walls. These walls starting from the Vltava, near the present bridge of Francis Joseph, followed the line of the Elizabeth Street and the Josefské Námesti till they reached the Prikopy or Graben. Thence they proceeded along the present Prikopy, Ovocná ulice and Ferdinandova ulice till they rejoined the river, near the spot where the national theatre now stands. The Graben, now the principal thoroughfare of Prague by its name, which signifies ditch or trench, still recalls its original destination. The Prasná Brana (powder tower or gate) marks the spot where one of the gates of the old town stood. According to Dr. Tomek the fortifications consisted of a double wall and double ditch, which was filled with water derived from the Vltava. With the exception of the Vysehrad and a few straggling buildings near the present Poric Street, the new walls contained all that part of Prague that was situated on the right bank of the river.

Premysl Ottokar II., the son and successor of Wenceslas I., was one of Bohemia’s greatest kings. Both by successful warfare and by skilful diplomacy he so greatly enlarged his dominions, that his rule at one time extended from the Adriatic in the South to the Baltic in the North. Though his many campaigns left him little leisure to reside in his capital, Ottokar enlarged both the town and the fortifications of Prague.

In 1257 he greatly added to the fortifications that no doubt already existed on the Hradcany Hill. He caused the whole Hradcany Hill to be surrounded by a strong wall and the various towers to be connected by covered passages. Ten knights and 300 armed men were to keep constant watch and ward over the fortifications. The still existent towers—Daliborka, Mikulka, and the white and the black towers—formed part of these fortifications. Somewhat later the King also enclosed with walls the Malá Strana (small quarter)—that is to say, the buildings that extended from the foot of the Hradcany to the river. Here fortifications were necessary in three directions only, as in the direction of the Hradcany that fortress protected the newly enclosed settlement.

It appears probable that when the old town had been fortified a tête-de-pont had been built on the left bank of the Vltava, which, together with a similar building on the right bank, was to secure the bridge of Prague. The fortified gate on the left bank was now included in the new fortifications. It may here be remarked that when the old town had been fortified the Jewish quarter (vicus Judæorum) had been included in these fortifications; gates, however, separated the Jewish quarter from the rest of the old town.

The Jewish colony of Prague is of very ancient origin. According to Mr Foges,[6] who was himself a member of that community, Jews went there immediately after the destruction of Jerusalem, if not even before that event. Popular tradition, always given to exaggeration, indeed affirms that Jews first settled at

Prague, or rather at Buiarnum, which stood on the spot where Libussa afterwards founded Prague, before the beginning of the Christian era, and being therefore guiltless of all participation in the Crucifixion they had fared better in Prague in mediæval times than in most other cities. It is true that Jew-baiting was not unknown in Prague. Mr Foges quotes from the original Hebrew a graphic account of the great persecution of the Jews in 1389. Yet, on the whole, we find at Prague fewer traces of the intense hatred of the Jews which is general elsewhere, and individual Jews often were in favour with the rulers of Bohemia. Thus the Rabbi Löwi Bezalel, who died in 1609, and is buried in the old Jewish cemetery, enjoyed the favour of Rudolph II. Bezalel, who was a student of astronomy and astrology, then intimately connected with it, was a friend of Tycho Brahe, who attracted Rudolph’s attention to the learned Jew. Bezalel was summoned to the royal palace, on the Hradcany, and a very lengthy interview between him and Rudolph took place. It is stated that Bezalel, during his whole lifetime, refused to give any account of this mysterious interview. He was probably a cabalist, and many quaint legends have centred round his name.

According to Dr. Tomek the period between the circumvallation of the old town and the foundation of the new town was that in which the preponderance of the German element at Prague attained its height. The Sovereigns favoured the German immigrants, wishing to use them as a counterpoise to the overwhelming power of the masterful Bohemian nobles. The old chronicler Dalimil, when describing Ottokar II.’s departure on his last fatal campaign against Rudolph of Hapsburg, refers to the apathy of the Bohemians, many of whom considered themselves as neglected in favour of the Germans, and to the King’s resentment. He is made to say: ‘When I return from the wars I will inflict much evil on the Bohemians. I will thus stain the Petrin[7] with their blood, that no Bohemian will any longer be seen on the bridge of Prague.’ The passage is interesting also, as showing how early the bridge of Prague became famous.[8]

The feelings expressed by Dalimil, who always writes as the champion of the Bohemian aristocracy, were, however, by no means universal among the Bohemians, many of whom were warmly attached to their Sovereign. We read that when, on June 27th, 1278, Ottokar left Prague for the last time ‘he took leave of all those whom he loved and who were faithful to him; the clergy and the whole people followed him to the city-gates with prayers and many tears.’ They seem to have foreseen the fatal defeat on the Marchfeld where Ottokar lost his life. When the news of his death reached Prague, lamentation was general from the royal palace to the lowliest hovel. Though Ottokar was under sentence of excommunication, the Bohemians, never very heedful of the Papal authority, thronged to the altars to pray for the eternal salvation of their beloved Sovereign, while the bells of all the churches of Prague, nearly a hundred in number, tolled. During the short reigns of his successors, the last Premyslide princes, Bohemia was involved in almost incessant war.

Soon after the extinction of the Premyslide dynasty

(1306), John of Luxemburg, son of the German Emperor Henry VII., became King of Bohemia (in 1310). His adventurous reign concerns the annals of Prague but very little. A Sovereign who declared that ‘Paris was the most chivalrous town in the world, and that he only wished to live there,’ naturally neglected his Bohemian capital. The Bohemians complained that his short visits to Prague were only made for the purpose of obtaining financial aid from the Estates of Bohemia. His incessant campaigns, that extended from Lithuania and Hungary to Italy and France, indeed involved him in constant financial difficulties. It is characteristic of the knight-errant King that he seriously contemplated re-establishing at Prague the round-table of King Arthur. He invited all the most famous knights in Europe to that city in 1319; nobody, however, appears to have responded to his call.

After King John’s death on the battlefield of Crécy, his son Charles IV. (or I. as King of Bohemia) became his successor. Differing in most respects from his father, he was a devoted lover of Prague, and may almost be considered a second founder of the city. The districts of Prague, the Malá Strana and the Staré Mesto, that were already enclosed by walls, had become insufficient to shelter the ever-increasing population. Charles therefore decided on building a new city on the right bank of the Vltava. The old chronicler, Benes of Weitmil, tells us that ‘in the year of the Lord MCCCXLVIII., on the day of St. Marc, our Lord Charles, King of the Romans and of Bohemia, laid the first stone, and founded the new city of Prague, building a very strong wall with ramparts and high towers extending from the Castle of Vysehrad to Poric. The Vysehrad Hill also he surrounded with a wall and very strong towers, and the whole work was carried out within two years. And he also ordered that gardens and vineyards should be planted around the city of Prague.’ It is interesting to note in connection with this statement of the old chronicler that Dr. Tomek also tells us that during the reign of Charles many citizens bought land outside the town and established vineyards there.

The new town received great privileges from Charles, and the foundation of the University, which contributed largely to increasing the population of the town, also had a very favourable effect on the new community. The ‘new town,’ the limits of which were soon extended, enjoyed the rank of a royal town, a name given to those cities only that had been awarded special privileges by the Bohemian Kings.

Charles had, while temporary ruler of Bohemia during the absence of his father, succeeded in persuading the Papal See to raise the bishopric of Prague to an archbishopric. It was through his influence also that his friend Ernest of Pardubic, a member of one of the oldest noble families of Bohemia, was chosen as first Archbishop of Prague.

It was on Ernest also that Charles conferred the dignity of being the first Chancellor of the newly-founded University of Prague. That foundation is, as regards the annals of the world, the most important event in the history of Prague. That a movement in favour of Church reform should originate here at a time when Geneva and Wittenberg were unknown as centres of theological strife was only rendered possible by the fact that Prague had become the site of one of the then very scanty universities.

At the meeting of the Estates at Prague in 1348 Charles made the following statement: ‘One of our greatest endeavours is that Bohemia our kingdom, for which we feel greater affection than for any of our other lands, should, through our action, be adorned by a great number of learned men; thus will the faithful inhabitants of that kingdom, who incessantly thirst for the fruits of learning, be no longer obliged to beg for foreign alms, rather will they find a table prepared for them in their own kingdom; thus will the natural sagacity of their minds move them to become cultured by the possession of knowledge.’ Charles concluded by informing the assembly that he had resolved to found the University of Prague.

Faithful to his predilection for France, Charles modelled his regulations for the new University entirely on those of the University of Paris. The students were divided into ‘nations’ according to their nationality. In Prague we find the Bohemian, Polish, Bavarian and Saxon ‘nations’; each of these separately elected members to the general council of the University.

The new foundation seems to have been very successful from the first. Benes of Weitmil writes: ‘The University’ (studium) ‘became so great that nothing equal to it existed in all Germany; and students came there from all parts—from England, France, Lombardy, Poland, and all the surrounding countries, sons of nobles and princes, and prelates of the Church from all parts of the world.’

No special building seems at first to have been erected for the University. Many professors delivered their lectures at their own apartments, while of the five professors of the theological faculty one lectured in St. Vitus’s Cathedral, the other four, all monks, in the monasteries to which they belonged. The lectures were at first always delivered in Latin, and it is, therefore, equally incorrect to maintain that the Prague University was at its beginning a genuinely German one as to say that it had, from the origin, a really Bohemian—national—character.

In the last years of his life Charles caused several colleges to be built for the benefit of the students. The first of these colleges was founded when Charles bought the ‘house of the Jew Lazarus in the old town,’ which afforded a dwelling-place for twelve professors. Charles also gave a library to the newly-founded college. During the reign of his son this, the most important of these foundations, was transferred to the building known as the ‘Carolinum,’ which henceforth became the centre of the University.

Everything connected with the University was to Charles of the greatest interest, and the Sovereign was often present at the ‘disputations’ which, according to the mediæval custom, took place there.

Charles was also the founder of a confraternity or guild of artists, of which painters, sculptors, wood-carvers and goldsmiths were members, and which, as Palacky says, took the place of a modern academy of arts.

Charles—who, as his very curious Latin memoirs prove—was a very devout Christian, was a great church builder. He rebuilt and enlarged St. Vitus’s Cathedral, and among his many ecclesiastical constructions the Karlov and the Church and Monastery of Emaus may be mentioned.

The great prosperity that Bohemia and Prague in particular enjoyed during the reign of Charles produced a tendency to luxury, and had a somewhat harmful influence on the morality of the people and of the wealthy clergy in particular. Thence arose a strong and general demand for Church reform which

afterwards culminated in Hus. It would be very tempting to refer here to the forerunners of Hus who lived during the reign of Charles, but here, as everywhere, the need of compression confronts me. Yet a short mention should be made of Conrad Waldhauser and Milic of Kromerize. The former, an Austrian by birth, was called to Prague in 1358 by Charles, and preached at several churches there, but principally at the Tyn Church, where he became rector about the year 1360. Though he generally preached in German, his sermons, containing eloquent denunciations of the immorality and luxury of the times, greatly impressed the Praguers, even the vast Tyn Church occasionally became insufficient to contain his audience, and he sometimes preached in the streets and market-places. He strongly inveighed against the immorality and extravagance of the citizens of Prague, and the result of his preaching was very striking. We read that the women of Prague discarded the jewelry to which they were accustomed, their precious veils, their dresses trimmed with gold and pearls, and adopted simple clothing; usury ceased, and many who had formerly committed that sin declared themselves ready to compensate their former victims. Many citizens who had led an immoral life did public penance, and henceforth gave a good example to others.

As was perhaps inevitable, the great success obtained by Waldhauser was resented by other preachers at Prague. This feeling became more intense when Waldhauser attacked the mendicant friars. In 1364 the Dominican monks accused him of heresy, and brought two points in which, they said, his teaching was contrary to the Church, before Archbishop Ernest. Waldhauser lost no time in presenting his defence, and when the Archbishop appointed day and hour, when anyone who had any grievance against Conrad might appear before the Archiepiscopal Court, no accuser came forth.

This success seems to have encouraged Waldhauser to continue his denunciations of the corruption of the clergy. He was again accused, both by the Dominican and Augustine friars. The latter especially accused him of apostasy. Waldhauser defended himself in a Latin Apologia, which has been preserved. Its tone allows us to infer that his attacks against the immorality of the monks must have been very violent. It is a proof of the liberal mind of Charles, who has by German writers often been accused of undue subservience to the Church of Rome, that Waldhauser none the less retained his office as rector of the Tyn Church up to his death.

Yet greater was the fervour of Milic, who, in 1369, succeeded Waldhauser as rector of the Tyn Church. Milic had early in life held important offices at the Court of Charles. A canon of the Cathedral of Prague, he had also been appointed Vice-Chancellor of the Court, and had for some time in that capacity accompanied Charles during his travels. The desire for Church reform and a return to the primitive Church, then so prevalent in Bohemia, induced Milic to renounce all his honours and to seek refuge in poverty. After having acted as curate for some time in a poor village, Milic returned to Prague, where his sermons, preached in the Church of St. Nicholas in the Malá Strana, soon attracted general attention. Following in the steps of Waldhauser, he eloquently denounced the corruption of his times; but he seems to have strayed further from the doctrine of Rome than Waldhauser had done. Incessant study of the Apocalypse, and the horror which the evil ways of his day inspired in him, appear to have ripened in his mind the idea that the end of the world was approaching. He gave expression to his views not only in his sermons, but also in a written work, entitled, Libellus de Antechristo. The monks of Prague, his enemies, as they had been those of Waldhauser, denounced him to the Papal See, and Milic started for Rome, where, in the absence of Pope Urban, he was imprisoned. After the Pontiff’s arrival an interview between him and Milic took place, when Urban, recognising the purity of his motives, caused him to be liberated, and allowed him to return to Prague. Through the favour of Charles he here obtained the rectorship of the Tyn Church, as already mentioned. Coming from a thoroughly Slavic part of Moravia, Milic was well acquainted with the national language, and, indeed, only learnt German late in life. His sermons, therefore, attracted yet more attention than those of his predecessor. Milic did not limit himself to invectives against vice, but endeavoured by his own activity to reform the people of Prague. Through his influence the ill-famed buildings known as Benatky (Venice) were destroyed and a building erected on the spot to which the name of ‘Jerusalem’ was given, the first instance of the adoption of biblical names, that afterwards became so frequent in Bohemia. The fallen women who had formerly dwelt at Benatky now lived as penitents at ‘Jerusalem,’ and were the object of Milic’s particular care.

At the end of his life Milic again incurred the hostility of the ecclesiastical authorities. He repaired to the Papal Court at Avignon in 1374, but died (there) before the ecclesiastical court before which his case was brought and had pronounced judgment. His memory was long held in reverence by the Bohemians.[9]

The reign of Charles I. marks so important a step in the development of Prague that it may be interesting to note here the various divisions of the city such as they existed during his reign, and after he had so greatly enlarged the city. Prague then consisted of three ‘royal’ cities, that is to say, communities that had received special privileges from the Sovereign. They were the old town (Staré Mesto), new town (Nové Mesto), both on the right bank of the Vltava, and the Malá Strana (small quarter), on the left bank of the river. Besides these the community of Hradcany was under the rule of the burgrave of the Prague castle, and that of Vysehrad under that of the abbot of the monastery of that name. All these and some minor communities enjoyed special privileges, greater in some, smaller in other cases. Charles, however, in the last year of his life, united for a time the two royal cities on the right bank of the river.

CHAPTER II
From the Reign of Charles IV. to the Executions at Prague in 1621

CHARLES died in 1378 and was succeeded by his son Wenceslas, who, at least in his earlier years, certainly does not deserve the exaggerated censure of German historians. These historical judgments are, to a great extent, founded on the opinions unfavourable to Wenceslas that were expressed by strongly Romanist chroniclers, who were influenced by the favour that the King, and yet more his consort, Princess Sophia of Bavaria, for a time showed to Hus and the movement in favour of Church reform. Wenceslas, who was only seventeen when he ascended the throne, maintained all the trusty councillors of his father in their official positions, and Palacky is no doubt right in stating that, during the first years of Wenceslas’s reign, Bohemia was as prosperous as it had been during that of his father. It was said that such perfect security prevailed in the country that one carrying a bag of gold on his head could have traversed Bohemia from end to end without incurring any risk.

Unfortunately for Wenceslas the old councillors of Charles soon followed their master to the grave, while the difficulties caused by the Papal schism (which will be mentioned later in connection with the Church reform movement) from the first confronted the young King. In this case, as indeed in his foreign policy generally, Wenceslas did not follow the example of his father, who had been a firm friend of France. He concluded an alliance with England, which was strengthened by the marriage of Wenceslas’s sister Anne to King Richard II. of England.

Wenceslas followed his father’s example in mainly residing at Prague, and he soon became very popular with the citizens. It was said he visited the shops of bakers and butchers and inquired the prices of their goods. If these proved higher than was authorised by the regulations, Wenceslas ordered the goods to be given away to the poor and the vendors to be severely punished. Less praiseworthy than these mediæval methods of enforcing justice were the King’s nocturnal excursions through the streets of Prague, on which he was accompanied by boon companions not generally chosen from the higher ranks of the nobility. The King thus became estranged from the proud Bohemian aristocracy, and civil war eventually broke out. It was, as Dr Tomek has shown, in consequence of his desire to mix more freely with the citizens that Wenceslas abandoned the royal residence on the Hradcany and took up his abode in a building close to the Celetná ulice and the powder tower. The young King is said to have greatly enjoyed his comparative privacy, and even to have arranged public festivities on the neighbouring Staromestské Námesti.

The animosity of the Bohemian nobles against their Sovereign, as already mentioned, eventually led to civil war. In 1393 most of the prominent Bohemian nobles formed a confederacy against Wenceslas, which is known in history as the ‘league of the lords.’ The King’s own cousin, Jodocuo of Moravia, as well as Albert III., Duke of Austria, and William, Margrave of Meissen, joined the confederacy. On Wenceslas refusing to grant the demands of the confederates, who wished to limit his power, and especially his right to choose his councillors, he was seized by the lords at his castle near Beroun and conveyed as a prisoner to Prague. The citizens of Prague, however, with whom Wenceslas was still popular, took the part of their King and besieged the castle of the Hradcany, where he was confined. In June 1394 an army, led by Duke John of Görlitz, a brother of Wenceslas, arrived before Prague to attempt to liberate the imprisoned Sovereign. The citizens of the new town joyfully received the Duke of Görlitz and joined his forces, while those of the old town, who—intimidated by the league of lords—at first attempted some resistance, were soon forced to capitulate. The lords, no longer believing their prisoner safe at Prague, conveyed him first to Kruman, a castle of the lords of Rosenberg, one of the leaders of the league, and afterwards to Wildberg. A temporary compromise was concluded soon afterwards, and, after granting most of the demands of the confederates, Wenceslas regained his liberty.

Discord soon again broke out between the King and the nobles, who were encouraged by Rupert, Elector Palatine, whom the Germans had chosen as King after deposing Wenceslas. In 1401 an army led by the Margrave of Meissen, an ally of the Elector Palatine, entered Bohemia, and, after devastating a large part of the country, besieged Prague. The city that had not seen a foreign enemy at its gates for more than a hundred years was terrified, while the horrible cruelties committed by the Germans excited the indignation of the people. The young preacher Hus here for the first time gave expression to the feelings of his countrymen when, in one of his first sermons in the Bethlehem Chapel, he declared that the Bohemians ‘were more wretched than dogs or snakes, for a dog defends the couch on which he lies, and, if another dog tries to drive him away, he fights with him, and a snake does the same; but us the Germans oppress without resistance.’

Prague was, however, not captured by the Margrave of Meissen, and another of the many temporary agreements between the King and the Bohemian nobles, which were so frequent in the reign of Wenceslas, was concluded.

In the following year Wenceslas again became a prisoner. By order of his brother Sigismund, King of Hungary, whom he had foolishly invited to Prague, Wenceslas was seized in the royal residence, near the powder tower, and conveyed first to the Hradcany castle and afterwards to Vienna, where Sigismund entrusted him to the custody of his ally the Duke of Austria. In the following year, however, Wenceslas succeeded in making his escape from Vienna. He returned to Bohemia, where he was now joyfully received by the people, who had suffered greatly during the time that the rapacious Sigismund had illegally ruled over Bohemia.

King Wenceslas’s nature seems to have deteriorated with increasing years; his tendency to drink became stronger; his capacity for work decreased; he became more and more incapable of controlling his always violent temper. A proof of this is the King’s well-known conflict with John of Pomuk or Nepomuk. The size of this book—perhaps fortunately for the writer—precludes entering into controversial matters. I will therefore only remark that recent historians have thrown some doubts on the tale of John of Nepomuk. Palacky declared that St. John Nepomucene belongs solely to legend, in no wise to Bohemian history. Recently even some Roman Catholic writers have agreed with him. I will now give the legend in its earliest form, as it appears in Hajek’s chronicle. Hajek writes under the date of 1383 that ‘King

Wenceslas gave himself over to much disorder, frequenting various games, plays and dances. His wife, a very noble and honourable lady, blamed him....’

In consequence of such reproof the King was incensed against his wife, and conceived great hatred for her, so that he sought for some cause enabling him to deprive her of her life. The day after the feast of the Holy Sigismund he summoned before him the priest, John of Nepomuk, a master of the University of Prague, canon of the Prague Church, and confessor of the Queen. He requested him to tell him what sins the Queen had confessed to him before God. The priest answered, ‘O King, my lord, I have assuredly not retained this in my memory, and if I had, it would not be beseeming for me to do this, neither is it beseeming for you to make such inquiries.’ The King was incensed, and caused him to be thrown into a grievous subterranean dungeon; then, being unable to obtain anything from him, he sent for the executioner, and ordered that he should be cruelly tortured; but being unable even then to obtain any information from him, he ordered that he should be brought at night to the bridge of Prague, fettered, and thrown into the waters to drown. After this had been done, on that night and on the following one many lights could be seen over the body that was floating on the stream. The King, hearing of this miracle, left for his Castle of Zebrák, and the prelates of the cathedral took the body out of the water and carried it solemnly to the Monastery of the Holy Cross on the citadel of Prague’ (i.e., the Hradcany), ‘then they buried it in St. Vitus’s Cathedral ... afterwards many and manifold wonders took place there, and therefore many declared that he was one of God’s martyrs and a saint.’

The principal event of the later years of the reign of Wenceslas was the Hussite movement, of which Prague was the centre. As has already been mentioned, a strong feeling hostile to the corruption of the Church of Rome had existed during the reign of Charles. Subsequent events had not unnaturally strengthened this feeling. Two, afterwards three, rival candidates claimed the Pontificate, and employed the terrible threats usual among mediæval theologians against the adherents of their rivals. It was inevitable that the authority of the Church of Rome should suffer from this discord, particularly in Bohemia, where Waldhauser and Milic had left many successors. Of these, by far the greatest was Hus, whose career is so closely connected with Prague that I shall briefly allude to it here.

John Hus, or of Husinec, was born at the village of that name about the year 1369. The 6th of July was traditionally believed to be the day of his birth, and as it was also the day of his death, the day was always celebrated in the Bohemian Church up to the time when the battle of the White Mountain re-established the Church of Rome in Bohemia. He arrived at Prague at a very early age, and in September 1393 took the degree of Bachelor of Arts at the University there. In the following year he became a Bachelor of Divinity, and in 1396 Master of Arts. His reputation for great learning spread very rapidly at the University. In 1401 he became Dean of the Faculty of Arts, and in the following year, at an unusually early age, for the first time Rector of the University. But it was only from the time that he began preaching in the Bethlehem Chapel that his name became widely known to those also who were not connected with the University.

The Bethlehem Chapel, situated in what is still known as the Bethlehem Place—‘Betlemské Námesti’—was founded in 1391 by John of Milheim, one of King Wenceslas’s courtiers, together with ‘Kriz the Shopkeeper,’ as he is called in the contemporary records, a wealthy tradesman of Prague.

Following the example of Milic, whose foundation had been called ‘Jerusalem,’ Milheim and Kriz also gave a Biblical name to the new chapel. Both founders were favourable to Church reform and partisans of the national movement. Sermons were always preached in Bohemian at Bethlehem, and the brilliant eloquence of Hus, of which we can still judge, as some of his sermons have been preserved, attracted the general attention of the people of Prague. It is noteworthy that during the first years of his priesthood—he was consecrated as a priest about the year 1400—Hus was on good terms with his ecclesiastical superiors. Even after the first disputes concerning Wycliffe’s teaching had arisen, Hus was, as he himself mentions, requested by the newly appointed Archbishop of Prague ‘to bring all irregularities contrary to the rules of the Church’ to the Archbishop’s notice. It should here already be mentioned that the teaching of Hus differed from that of Rome far less than was the case with most Church Reformers. As Dr. Harnack has written,[10] Hus, like Wycliffe, ‘only denied the alleged right of the clergy to represent the Church and administer its sacraments even when they did not fulfil God’s commandments. How—he declared—can the functions of priests be valid if the presupposition of all they do in the Church and for the Church, namely, obedience to the law of God, is absent. The quintessence of that law is the Sermon of the Mount and the example of the humble life of Jesus; yet the whole of Scripture is the law of God.’

The first disputes between Hus and his ecclesiastical superiors broke out in 1403. On May 28th of that year a full meeting of the members of the University, memorable as the beginning of the Hussite struggle, took place at the Carolinum. It was finally decided that forty-five so-called ‘articles’ culled from the writings of Wycliffe, twenty-four of which had already been condemned by the Council of Blackfriars, should be declared heretical, and that all members of the University should be forbidden to circulate them. Hus and his friends, who were accused of spreading the heretical opinions of Wycliffe in Bohemia, protested against this sentence and maintained that the ‘articles’ contained many statements that were not to be found in Wycliffe’s writings.

Shortly after this first debate, Zbynek Zajic of Hasenburg became Archbishop of Prague, and it seemed for a time that religious peace had returned to the country. But in 1408 the clergy of Prague and of the whole archbishopric of Prague brought forward a protest against Hus’s preaching at the Bethlehem Chapel,

stating that he had, ‘in opposition to the decisions of the Holy Church and to the opinions of the Holy Fathers, and to the injury, shame, detriment and scandal of the whole clergy and the people generally,’ declared heretics the priests who took payment for ecclesiastical functions, and blamed the ecclesiastics who held numerous benefices. Hus, indeed, defended himself eloquently, but he was none the less deprived of the office of preacher before the Synod, which the archbishop had conferred on him some time before.

Relations between the archbishop and Hus became yet more embittered when the latter addressed to his ecclesiastical superior a letter of remonstrance which Dr. Lechler, a Protestant divine, describes as ‘reaching the extreme limit of what is permissible to a priest when writing to his ecclesiastical superiors.’ In this letter, written on behalf of Velenovic, a priest of Prague, who was accused of favouring Wycliffe’s views, Hus admonished the archbishop ‘to love the good, not to be influenced by flattery, to be a friend of the humble and not to hinder those who work steadfastly at the harvest of the Lord.’

At this period the racial and the religious struggle in Bohemia proceeded simultaneously; those who favoured the movement for Church reform were also warm friends of the Bohemian nationality. It was therefore a great triumph for this party, of which Hus was now the leader, when King Wenceslas, in January 1409, issued the ‘Decrees of Kutna Hora,’ which secured the permanent supremacy of the Bohemian nation at the University of Prague. The result was the departure of the German masters and students from Prague. They left the University probably in the number of five thousand, though some Bohemian writers give a much higher figure. After Archbishop Zbynek had recognised Alexander as the legitimate Pope, the proceedings against Hus had a much more rapid development. On July 15, 1410, Wycliffe’s writings were solemnly burnt in the courtyard of the archiepiscopal palace that was then situated in the Malá Strana, near the bridge.

The burning of Wycliffe’s works met with almost universal disapproval at Prague. A contemporary chronicler writes: ‘Instantly a great sedition and discord began. Some said that many other books besides those of Wycliffe had been burnt; therefore the people began to riot, the courtiers of the King were incensed against the canons and priests; many opprobrious songs against the archbishop were sung in the streets.’

Hus, at a meeting of the University, energetically defended Wycliffe’s teaching; he also, contrary to the positive orders of the archbishop, continued his sermons in the Bethlehem Chapel. On March 15, 1411, the sentence of excommunication which had been pronounced against Hus some time previously was published in the churches of Prague, while the town itself was placed under interdict. Endeavours to effect a settlement indeed still continued.

In May 1412, however, the difficulties caused by the Papal schism brought the reform movement in Bohemia to a crisis. King Ladislas of Naples, who still recognised Gregory the Twelfth as Pope, had thus incurred the enmity of John XXIII., who had succeeded Alexander V. as Roman Pope. John, therefore, resolved to go to war with the King of Naples, and—a proceeding which it must be added was not exceptional in those days—to obtain the necessary funds by the granting of indulgences. It was declared that all those who either took part in the campaign against Naples, or assisted the enterprise by grants of money, should receive the same remission of sins which had formerly been promised to the Crusaders who had liberated the sepulchre of Christ. The Bohemians, who were not long after to suffer from a ‘crusade’ similar to that now proclaimed against Naples, received the news of the Papal decision with great displeasure. When Wenceslas Tiem, Dean of Passau, arrived at Prague, with the purpose of collecting, by the sale of indulgences, funds for the Papal See, public excitement was naturally yet greater. Boxes to receive the donations of the faithful were placed before the Cathedral Church of St. Vitus, the Tyn Church, and on the Vysehrad. These proceedings caused particular indignation at the University, where the party favourable to Church reform now had entirely the upper hand. Hus summoned the members of the University to a disputatio, according to the mediæval custom. It took place in the large hall of the Carolinum, and the subject of the disputatio was formulated in the question ‘whether according to the law of Jesus Christ it was permissible and befitting for the honour of God, the salvation of the Christian people and the welfare of the kingdom, that the faithful of Christ should approve of the Papal bulls which proclaimed a crusade against Ladislas, King of Apulia, and his accomplices?’ Both Hus and Jerome of Prague violently attacked the use of indulgences for the purpose of supplying the Roman See with funds for temporal purposes. The theological faculty soon after again condemned the forty-five ‘articles’ from Wycliffe’s writings, and added six more that were attributed to Hus and said to contain the views on indulgences which he had expressed at the recent disputatio. Pope John also took action against Hus, and decreed the ‘aggravation’ of the sentence of excommunication that had already been pronounced against him. The movement had thus taken a distinctly revolutionary character, and Hus fled from Prague in November 1412, after having published an ‘Appeal from the Sentence of the Roman Pontiff to the Supreme Judge, Jesus Christ.’ He first retired to Kozi Hradek, a castle belonging to one of his adherents, John of Usti.

Shortly after his departure from Prague an attempt was made there to assuage the religious discord. A diocesan synod met there in the archiepiscopal palace. Hus was not present, but was represented by Magister John of Jesenic. Little is known of the deliberations of this assembly, though the documents in which both the Hussite and the Romanist divines formulated their views have been preserved. This conference proved abortive, as did also a subsequent attempt of King Wenceslas to bring the disputed questions before a committee, which was to consist of four members and over which Albik, then Archbishop of Prague, was to preside. When it was decided to affirm that both parties were in accordance with the Church with regard to the doctrine of the Sacrament of the Altar, the Romanist divines immediately protested, declaring that they were not a ‘party,’ and demanding that the word ‘Church’ should be defined as the Holy Roman Church, of which Pope John XXIII. is the head, and of which the cardinals are the members. The negotiations thus failed from the first, to the great indignation of King Wenceslas, who, indeed, exiled from Prague some of the German Romanist divines. The racial struggle, as so frequently in Bohemia, continued simultaneously with the religious one, and about this time, through the influence of the King, the majority of the town council of the old town, which had been German, became Bohemian, and, therefore, favourable to the cause of Hus.

Hus, who appears to have several times visited Prague secretly at this time, had meanwhile left the castle of Usti, and was, on the invitation of Lord

Henry of Lazan, one of the King’s courtiers, residing at the castle of Krakovec, situated considerably nearer to Prague. Contrary to the Papal commands he frequently visited the neighbouring towns and villages, preaching in favour of Church reform.

All attempts to settle the religious differences in Bohemia having failed, the questions raised by Hus were finally brought before a wider forum. On the suggestion of Sigismund, King of Hungary, and afterwards German Emperor, Hus proceeded to the council that met at Constance in November 1414. He had previously, according to the momentous words of Professor Tomek, received from Sigismund a safe-conduct, according to which he was ‘to come unmolested to Constance, there have free audience, and return unharmed, should he not submit to the authority of the council.’

None the less Hus was imprisoned shortly after his arrival at Constance, and was—as will be known to most readers—burnt alive on July 6, 1415.

The death of Hus caused general indignation in Prague. Almost all the parish priests who ventured to praise, or even to excuse the execution of Hus, were driven from their homes. The Bohemian nobles who met at Prague in September (1415), and who were joined by many Moravian nobles, also expressed their indignation strongly. They addressed to the council a letter known as the ‘Protestatio Bohemorum,’ accusing it of having ‘condemned the venerable magister (i.e., Hus) without having convicted him of any error, merely on the strength of evil statements of treacherous enemies and traitors, and of having deprived him of his life in the most cruel fashion, to the eternal shame and offence of Bohemia and Moravia.’ They further declared ‘before the council and the whole world that Magister John Hus was a man of pure life and irreproachable fame, who taught the law of Scripture according to the doctrine of the fathers and of the Church, who loathed all errors and heresies, who, by word, writing and deed, admonished us and all the faithful to desire peace and to love our neighbours, and by his own quiet and edifying life guided us in the path of godliness.’

A few days after sending to Constance this declaration that caused great indignation there, the knights and nobles united in a solemn covenant for mutual defence. They pledged themselves to defend the liberty of preaching the word of God, to obey the Pope and the bishops of Bohemia as long as their commands were not contrary to Scripture, and meanwhile to recognise the University of Prague as the supreme authority in all matters of doctrine. The University thus first acquired the important position of arbiter in matters of doctrine which it held during the Hussite wars, and, indeed, only entirely lost after the battle of the White Mountain. The fact that the King and Queen were known to favour the national movement alone prevented an immediate general outbreak. Matters became yet more serious when—following the advice of his treacherous younger brother, Sigismund—Wenceslas endeavoured to stem the current.

In 1419 the King issued a decree ordaining that all priests who had been deprived of their livings because of their disapproval of communion in the two kinds, should be reinstated. Only in three churches were the Utraquists, as the adherents of the new doctrine were called, to continue to hold their religious services. The Utraquists, to show their strength, instituted processions through the streets of Prague, during which the sacrament was carried before the faithful. One of the most zealous Utraquists was the priest, John of Zelivo, a former Præmonstrate monk. On July 30, 1419, he headed a procession which, after violently interrupting a religious service which was being held in the Church of St. Stephen, according to the Roman rites, marched to the town hall of the Nové Mesto, situated in the Karlovo Námesti. The release of some adherents of the new faith who had been imprisoned there was demanded, but refused by the burgomaster, who was a Romanist. The Utraquists then, ‘as an affront, called him a German and a hater of the chalice.’[11] Meanwhile the town councillors had barricaded their hall and threw stones on the crowd below, one of which struck the monstrance that Zelivo was carrying. The crowd—led, it is said, by Zizka, afterwards famous as a Hussite leader—stormed the town hall and threw the town councillors into the market-place below, where they were killed by the people.

This ‘defenestration,’ as it was called in Bohemia, marks the beginning of the great religious struggle in Bohemia, as the defenestration from the Hradcany windows in 1618 marks its end; for only two years after the last-named event the battle of the White Mountain established religious uniformity in Bohemia.

The defenestration was followed almost immediately by the death of Wenceslas, who succumbed to repeated apoplectic fits on August 16, 1419. His death was the signal of yet more serious riots, during which many churches and monasteries were destroyed and many valuable relics of Bohemian art perished. The Puritan character of the movement is proved by the fact that no plundering took place and that many houses of evil fame were destroyed. Temporary quiet was established when it became known that Queen Sophia, who was favourable to the national movement, had assumed the Regency. Yet the interval of peace was but short. Armed meetings of Hussites were held in all parts of Bohemia, and it became known that such a meeting had been planned at Prague also for November 10. The Queen and her councillors therefore considered it necessary to take precautions. The Hradcany Castle, the Strahov Monastery and the archbishop’s palace received strong garrisons of German mercenaries. The defence of the Vysehrad was entrusted to the former bodyguard of King Wenceslas. This fortress was carried by assault by the Hussites on October 25; the soldiers of Wenceslas, who probably sympathised with the national cause, offering but very slight resistance. The Praguers, reinforced by allies from the surrounding country, now attacked the Malá Strana. They stormed the bridge (November 4) and occupied the buildings immediately beyond it; and it seemed for a time possible that they should even obtain possession of the Hradcany Castle, from which Queen Sophia fled hastily. Nightfall for a time put a stop to the fighting, but all foresaw that the battle would continue. As an ancient chronicler writes: ‘This night was a dreadful and anxious one for all Prague; during all night the large bells rang, summoning the citizens to remain under arms for the continued battle in the Malá Strana; only long after midnight there was quiet for a short time.’

Fighting was resumed on the following day, and the Royal troops, commanded by Cenek of Wartenberg, who had replaced Queen Sophia as Regent, also received reinforcements. The Royal troops destroyed the town hall of the Malá Strana, and also burnt down the monastery of St. Nicholas in the same part of the town, while the Praguers entirely destroyed the archiepiscopal palace that is said to have contained

many art treasures. Zizka, the great leader of the Taborites—as the more advanced Hussites were called, from the name of the town that was their centre—here first showed his great military ability. The citizens now became desirous for peace, while the Utraquist nobles who had remained faithful to the Royal cause were yet reluctant to continue warfare against those whose creed they shared. A truce was concluded on November 13, according to which the Praguers were to give up the Vysehrad to the Royal troops, while the Utraquist nobles promised to aid their countrymen in defending the Hussite creed. Zizka and the more advanced Church reformers, distrusting the compromise, left Prague for the time, proceeding to Plzen, and afterwards to Tabor.

Meanwhile King Sigismund arrived in the Bohemian lands, of which he claimed the succession as heir of his brother. He first proceeded to Brünn (or Brno), the capital of Moravia. Many Bohemian nobles and officials appeared at his court, and a deputation of the citizens of Prague also appeared before him on December 29. The Praguers assured the King of their loyalty, begging only ‘to be allowed to remain faithful to that which they had learnt from the Holy Writ.’ Sigismund received the envoys most ungraciously, obliged them to continue kneeling longer than was customary, and overwhelmed them with reproaches and insults. He finally dismissed them with the solemn command that they should, as a proof of their obedience, cause the chains that had been placed at the corners of the Prague streets for purpose of defence to be instantly removed, and the fortifications which the citizens had constructed opposite the Hradcany Hill to be destroyed. He also enjoined them to inflict no further injury on the monks.

The magistrates of Prague did not dare to disobey the Royal commands. On January 4, 1420, the chains that had been placed in the streets were deposited in the town hall of the Staré Mesto, and the fortifications that had been erected on the approaches of the Hradcany were destroyed. Many monks, priests and Germans who had left Prague during the recent disturbances returned, believing that the hour of their triumph had come. A contemporary chronicler[12] tells us that ‘the Germans laughed and joyfully clapped their hands, saying, “now these heretical Hussites and Wycliffites will perish, and there will be an end of them.” ’ The Bohemian and Hussite citizens, on the other hand, not unnaturally looked forward to the future with great apprehension.

Sigismund did not, as was expected, immediately proceed to Prague. He for a time took up his residence at Breslau, the capital of Silesia, where he collected a large armed force. Through his influence Pope Martin V. issued a bull in which he called the whole Christian world to arms against ‘the Wycleffites, Hussites, and other heretics, their furtherers, harbourers and defenders.’

It is not perhaps easy for a modern reader to conceive the effect such a declaration of war produced on the Bohemians, for a crusade had hitherto almost always only been preached against heathens, infidels and Turks. The whole nation rose in arms against Sigismund. The indignation was particularly great at Prague, where the news was received that, by orders of Sigismund, John Krasa, one of the leading citizens, had been dragged through the streets of Breslau by horses and then burnt at the stake. John of Zelivo, in his sermons, denounced Sigismund violently in language drawn from the Apocalypse. The audience, inflamed by his eloquence, swore to sacrifice life and fortune for the cause of the chalice. Those hostile to Church reform not unnaturally dreaded the outbreak of hostilities, and we read that seven hundred families from the old, and seven hundred families from the new town, either sought refuge in the castles of Hradcany and Vysehrad, that were held by Sigismund’s troops, or left Prague altogether. The citizens in no way hindered their departure, which, indeed, in view of the coming siege, was advantageous to the Hussite cause. Those who remained were yet more determined to resist Sigismund to the utmost. On the suggestion of John of Zelivo the citizens who remained in the town, the Hussite preachers, and the members of the University, met on April 3 (1420) at the town hall of the Staré Mesto. All present swore to defend, to the last drop of blood, the right of receiving communion according to the Utraquist faith, and to resist all, and particularly the so-called ‘Crusaders,’ who might endeavour to harm the Utraquists. As leaders in the defence of the menaced capital they elected eight captains—four from the old and four from the new—to whom the keys of the town gates and those of the town hall were entrusted. The assembly addressed a manifesto to all the towns of Bohemia, begging them to send envoys to Prague to concert on the common defence. This manifesto attacked the Church of Rome in the most violent manner. It was stated that the Roman Church ‘was not their mother, but their stepmother; that she had poured out her poison like the most furious serpent, and had raised up the cross, the emblem of love and peace, for the purpose of inciting to hatred and murder; that she had, by false promises of absolution, incited the Germans, born enemies of Bohemia and of the Slav race, to begin the war of extermination which they had always contemplated.’

Even the Regent, Cenek of Wartenberg, for a time sided with his countrymen. Together with other great noblemen he summoned ‘all Bohemians and Moravians who were zealous for the Word of God and the welfare of the Bohemian nation to join him in opposing the Hungarian and Roman King Sigismund.’ Continuation of warfare was thus a certainty, and the Hussites unfortunately again began to destroy the churches and monasteries belonging to adherents of Rome.

Cenek of Wartenberg and the other Bohemian nobles were naturally indignant at the conduct of their new allies. They therefore lent a willing ear to the envoys of Sigismund. Wartenberg, abandoning the national cause, concluded a private treaty with the King, that at first remained secret. On the condition that he, his family, and the tenants on his estates, should be allowed to worship according to the Utraquist creed, he consented to admit the Royal troops into the castle on the Hradcany. The citizens, exasperated by Wartenberg’s treachery, endeavoured to recover possession of the castle, but their desperate attack was repulsed by the Royal troops. Simultaneously, fighting also began in the new town, the Royal troops that held the Vysehrad making a successful sortie and defeating the citizens of the new town.

The Praguers now wished to negotiate with the King, while the Royal troops had also suffered severe losses. An armistice of six days was concluded, and the citizens sent another deputation to the King. Sigismund, who was then at Kutna Hora, received the envoys even more ungraciously than before. As the Praguers afterwards wrote to the Venetians: ‘The King became harder than steel; as one stung by fury, he began to agitate his limbs as a madman.’ He declared that it was his duty to destroy all heresy by fire and sword, even should he have to extirpate the whole population of Bohemia and colonise the country with foreign immigrants.

On the return of the envoys another meeting of the citizens took place in the town hall of the Staré Mesto, where great enthusiasm prevailed. It was again decided that all should risk their lives and fortunes for the cause of religious freedom, and fight to the last. An Utraquist nobleman, Hynek Krusina of Lichtenberg, was chosen as commander-in-chief. A message was also sent to Zizka and the other Taborite leaders, stating that ‘if they wished verily to obey God’s law they should march to their aid without delay, and with as many men as they could muster.’ After some skirmishing with the Royal troops, Zizka and his men arrived at Prague (May 20, 1420), where they were joyfully received by the citizens. From other parts of Bohemia also many nationalists hurried to the defence of the menaced capital.

Hearing that the Praguers had received reinforcements, Sigismund did not march straight on Prague, but proceeded to Melnik, where he halted for some time. By his orders and those of the Papal Legate, Ferdinand, Bishop of Lucca, horrible cruelties were committed against the population of the neighbouring country, and particularly the citizens of Slané and Litomerice.[13] In a period of intense religious passion such cruelties inevitably led to reprisals. We read that the Hussites who were besieging the Hradcany burnt alive nine Romanist monks in view of the Royal garrison.

Sigismund, whose army had been reinforced by numerous ‘Crusaders,’ now decided to march on Prague. Almost all countries of Europe contributed to this vast army. According to a contemporary writer there were numbered among the Crusaders ‘Hungarians, Croatians, Dalmatians, Bulgarians, Sicilians, Wallachians, Cumanians, Jazyges, Ruthenians, Racians, Slovacks, Carniolians, Styrians, Austrians, Bavarians, Francs, Swabians, Switzers, Frenchmen, Arragonians or Spaniards, Englishmen, men of Brabant, Dutchmen, Westphalians, men of Saxony, Thuringia, the Voigtland, Meissen, Lusatia, and the march of Brandenburg, Silesians, Poles, Moravians and “renégate” Bohemians.’ A letter written by the Praguers merely states that innumerable men from more than thirty kingdoms and provinces arrived before their city, while Monstrelet, a contemporary, writes that ‘Il arriva tant de gens qu à peine se pouvaient ils nombrer.’ Most of the princes who ruled these countless countries had accompanied their troops. We read that all the German Electors, except the Elector of Saxony, Albert Duke of Austria, forty-three men of princely rank, Brunorius della Scala of Verona, the Patriarch of Aquileja, many counts of the empire, knights and nobles, were with the crusading army.

Sigismund and his forces first entered the Vysehrad fortress, and then, crossing the river, provisioned the Hradcany Castle, the siege of which the Hussites were obliged to abandon. The vast army—according to the chroniclers it consisted of 100,000 or 150,000 men, but the latter figure is probably nearer to truth—now encircled Prague in every direction. The German soldiers, who were encamped on the left bank of the Vltava, opposite the Staré Mesto, insulted their enemies by incessant cries of ‘Ha, ha! Hus! Hus! Ketzer![14] Ketzer!’

The Praguers and their scanty allies meanwhile fearlessly and confidently prepared to encounter the world in arms against them. With them, as afterwards

with the Puritans, absolute confidence in Scripture rendered despondency impossible; for, to borrow the words of Mr. John Morley, ‘No criticism had then impaired the position of the Bible as the direct Word of God, a single book one and whole, one page as inspired as another.’ A thorough knowledge of the Old Testament is evident in all the contemporary records of those stirring times. No man or woman of Prague doubted that the Lord, who had once struck down the forces of Sennacherib, would now strike down those of Sigismund.

The 14th of July was fixed by Sigismund for the general attack. It was decided that the Royal forces that were quartered in the Hradcany Castle should attack the adjoining Malá Strana and the bridge tower on the left bank of the Vltava, while the forces on the Vysehrad would endeavour to storm the new town, which was at the foot of that fortress. A third army was to attack the old town from the so-called Spitalské Pole (hospital field), which was situated on the spot where the suburb of Karlin, or Karolinenthal, now stands. An attack was also to be made on the hill then known as the Vitkov, but which has, after the victorious Taborite leader, since that day been called the Zizkov, or Zizka’s Hill. This hill was the key of the position of the defenders, who depended on its possession for maintaining their communications with the country. The Zizkov was held by Zizka and his Taborites, who had thrown up slight fortifications. The Germans attacked the hill with a strong force, and, in spite of the heroism of Zizka, who fought in the front rank, for a time drove the Bohemians back. One of the small earthworks was held for a long time by only twenty-six men, two women and one girl, against several hundred Germans. When the Taborites were for a time forced to retreat, one of these women refused to leave her post, saying that a true Christian must never give way to Antichrist. She was immediately cut down by the Germans. This incident is very characteristic of the indomitable religious enthusiasm that for a time rendered the Bohemians invincible. The clanging of all the church bells hastily summoned the citizens, who, led by a priest carrying the monstrance, hurried to the aid of their allies. The Germans were completely routed; many were killed during their flight from the hill—then much steeper than at the present day—and many perished in the Vltava. As soon as victory seemed certain, the Taborites and Praguers knelt down on the battlefield and intoned the ‘Te Deum Laudamus,’ while the whole town was filled with unspeakable joy.

The other attacks on the city were also unsuccessful. Sigismund had remained in the rear with part of his army, and returned to his camp as soon as he saw the defeat of his troops. According to the Austrian chronicler, Ebendorf of Haselbach, the King ‘smiled—it is said—over the fate of the brave Christians who had succumbed to the heretics, who had triumphed over them.’

On Monday, July 15—the battle had been fought on a Sunday—solemn processions through the streets of Prague, led by the Hussite clergy, took place in celebration of the great victory. Zizka, however, who believed a new attack probable, hastily collected a large crowd of men and women, who, under his direction, strengthened and enlarged the fortifications on the Vitkov, the scene of the victory of the day before.

The supposition of the Taborite leader, however, proved erroneous, for the victory on Zizka’s Hill practically ended the siege of Prague. It is as impossible to explain this as it is to account for the fact that the by no means decisive defeat of Marathon should have induced the Persians to abandon for a time their intention of conquering Greece. It is certain that dissensions broke out in the vast camps of the Crusaders. The foreign allies of Sigismund distrusted all Bohemians, even those who were on the side of the King, while the latter, who had, as Palacky writes, learnt that ‘even the largest force is insufficient to subdue a strong and resolute people,’ now felt more disposed to listen to the words of those Bohemian nobles who, indeed, sided with their Sovereign, but did not share the German desire to extirpate the whole Bohemian nation. These men suggested negotiations between the King and his Hussite subjects. Such negotiations were facilitated by the fact that the united Hussites had, meanwhile, drawn up a summary of their demands, which is known as ‘The Articles of Prague.’[15] It will here be sufficient to state that the Bohemians demanded freedom of preaching, the use of the chalice at communion, obligatory poverty of the clergy and severe regulations against mortal sins. It was decided that a conference should take place in the open air among the ruins of the Malá Strana, at which the magisters of the University, with the chiefs of the Praguers and Taborites, were to meet some German nobles, envoys of King Sigismund, and the Patriarch of Aquilya, and Simon, Bishop of Trace, who acted as representatives of the Papal See. The meeting led to no result, as the representatives of the Roman Church declared that no decision of the Church could be contested or discussed. The magisters of the Prague University expressed surprise that the Papal envoys attributed greater authority to the ‘fallible Church than to the infallible words of Christ.’

The failure of these negotiations no doubt confirmed Sigismund in his resolution of leaving the neighbourhood of Prague. The dissensions in his army became more and more envenomed; serious epidemics broke out among the troops; a great fire destroyed large parts of the encampments. Before abandoning the siege, however, Sigismund caused himself to be crowned King of Bohemia in St. Vitus’s Cathedral.

The writers hostile to Sigismund lay stress on the absence of many nobles whose Court dignities rendered their presence at coronations necessary. They also mention that no representatives of the Bohemian cities, none in particular of Prague, ‘the mother of all Bohemian cities,’ assisted at the ceremony.

Two days afterwards Sigismund broke up his camp and retired to Kutna Hora, thus giving the signal of departure to the Crusaders, who hurriedly returned to their countries. Royal troops, however, continued to hold the castles of Vysehrad and Hradcany.

The citizens now immediately began the siege of the Vysehrad. After a time the defenders, who were suffering from hunger, were compelled to conclude a truce for three days, according to which they would capitulate if they had received no aid by the morning of November 1. Sigismund meanwhile had returned to the neighbourhood of Prague with an army consisting mainly of Moravians, and containing many Utraquist nobles from that country. On the other hand many of the Bohemian nobles, such as Hynek Krusina of Lichtenberg, who was first in command, Victor of Podebrad (father of the future King), and many others openly joined the national cause.

The Vysehrad Castle was now surrounded in every direction. Zavis Bradaty, with the citizens of Zatec and Loun, and a large force of armed peasants, were encamped between the Karlov[16] and the Botic stream. Next to them were the troops of the Utraquist nobles and of the Orebite[17] community, while the citizens of Prague held the post of honour nearest to the village of Pankrac, whence the attack of the relieving army was expected. At the last moment forty Taborite horsemen, led by Nicholas of Hus,[18] joined the Praguers.

The King arrived at the village of Pankrac on October 31, and sent a message to the commander of his troops on the Hradcany telling him that he would attack the citizens on the following morning, and ordering him also to attack the bridge from the Malá Strana. ‘But’—as a contemporary chronicler writes—‘God, who is ever an enemy of the haughty and a friend of the humble, caused this message to fall into the hands of the Praguers.’ The citizens and their allies therefore spent the whole night in preparing for battle. The former trenches had, of course, been constructed for besieging the Vysehrad; but the Praguers, who held the most important position, hastily threw up earthworks on a spot where the fish ponds, still frequent in that neighbourhood, rendered the attack more difficult.

In the morning (November 1) Sigismund rode to the summit of a little hill beyond the village of Pankrac, and in view of the Vysehrad, and waved his sword as a signal to the garrison to attack the rear of the enemy’s army. ‘But, as according to God’s will,’ the chronicler writes, ‘the hour had already passed, the garrison did not stir.’ A few German soldiers who formed part of the garrison, indeed attempted to come to Sigismund’s aid, but were held back by their Bohemian comrades. Seeing that no sortie from the Vysehrad was intended, several of the Moravian nobles rode up to the King and advised him not to attack the Praguers, otherwise both he and his people would suffer much evil. The King answered, ‘I must war with these peasants to-day.’ Then Henry of Plumlov, Captain of Moravia, said, ‘Be certain that this day will have an evil end; I dread the fighting-clubs[19] of the peasants.’ The King answered, ‘I know that you Moravians are cowards and faithless to me.’ Then Lord Henry and the other Moravian lords mounted their horses and cried, ‘We will obey your order and we shall be there, where you will not be.’ The nobles attacked the strong position of the Praguers with great vigour, and for a moment the citizens wavered. Then Krusina hurried to the spot where they stood, and exclaimed with a loud voice, ‘Dear brethren! turn back again and be to-day brave knights in Christ’s battle, for it is God’s, not our fight, that we are fighting to-day. You will see for sure that God will deliver all His and our enemies into our hands.’ Hardly had he ceased speaking when the cry, ‘The enemy is flying,’ was heard. The citizens speedily rallied, and, assuming the offensive, drove the Moravian nobles back into the marshy ground that extended from the Vysehrad to the village of Pankrac. A great massacre of the nobles, whose heavy armour impeded their movements, took place, and flight soon became general. Sigismund himself, who, regardless of the taunts of the Moravian nobles had again remained with the rear of his army, did not halt till he had reached the town of Cesky Brod. A very large number of Moravian nobles fell in this battle, and many also died of their wounds at the village of Pankrac, after receiving communion in the two kinds, as the pious chronicler states. It is touching to note that the Praguers sorrowed over the death of the Moravian nobles, who, though they had fought against the city, yet belonged to the same race as the citizens. The citadel of Vysehrad surrendered on the day of the battle, and on June 7, 1421, the garrison of the Hradcany—which had unsuccessfully attempted a diversion during the battle of the Vysehrad—also capitulated.

One of the most important results of the battles of the Zizkov and of the Vysehrad was the temporary hegemony over Bohemia, or at least the greatest part of the country, which the city of Prague obtained. The ‘mother and head of the Bohemian cities,’ which had gloriously and successfully defended the religious and political liberty of the country, not unfairly claimed the leadership. The once powerful Bohemian nobility had been weakened by dissension. Some of its members still, though reluctantly, remained faithful to Sigismund. Others, perhaps also reluctantly, recognised the city of Prague as their over-lord, though they never—as was the case in some Italian cities—became merged in the mass of the citizens. The Taborites, who had taken but little part in the ‘crowning mercy’ of the Vysehrad, had not yet attained the height of their power.

The strong attitude assumed by the predominant city appears very clearly in the manifesto[20] which the Praguers, in union with some of their allies among the nobles, issued a few days after the victory of the Vysehrad. This document is a stirring appeal to the national feeling, and such an appeal has rarely remained unheeded in Bohemia.

After violent denunciations of Sigismund, who, it was stated, had preferred to the Bohemians ‘the Germans and Hungarians, the cruellest enemies of our nation,’ and who was ready to sacrifice a kingdom, were there but no Bohemians in Bohemia, the citizens declared that they would consider all who favoured such a King as men who desired the ruin of the country. They would, therefore, consider such men as open enemies of God and of the nation.

It is interesting to give a brief outline of the

constitution of Prague at the moment of her greatest power. This constitution may be defined as that of a theocratic republic, though attempts to obtain a new Sovereign in succession to Sigismund always continued. The principal legislative authority was at this period concentrated in the ‘great assembly’ (Veliká Obec), of which almost all citizens formed part, and which met in the open air in the market-places. The executive power was in the hands of the burgomaster and of the town councillors, who were elected by the great assembly. Though the separation between the old town and the new town continued, it seems at this period to have been an almost nominal one.

Less easy to define, but perhaps yet greater, was the influence of the preachers, mainly founded on the almost exclusive interest in theological controversy that was then general in Bohemia. John of Zelivo, who has already been mentioned, for a time acquired boundless popularity among the citizens. His influence largely contributed to securing to Prague the hegemony over Bohemia, and after his downfall and death, to which I shall presently refer, Prague soon lost its predominant position.

Warfare with Sigismund continued in spite of his great defeat, and the citizens of Prague played a prominent part in it. Their party, to accentuate the hegemony of the city, is generally called ‘the Praguers’ by the old chroniclers, in distinction both from the Romanists and the Taborites. The scene of the subsequent Hussite warfare was, however, generally distant from Prague, and therefore requires no notice here. It is only occasionally that Prague again becomes the centre of events.

Such was the case when, on April 21, 1421, ‘to the surprise and horror of all Christendom,’ the Archbishop of Prague, Conrad of Vechta, declared that he accepted ‘The Articles of Prague,’ thus joining the national Church. The news was joyfully received by the citizens of Prague. The Te Deum Laudamus was sung and the bells of all the churches were rung. All swore to obey the archbishop and to defend him. Only a few of the preachers who were favourable to Tabor looked with displeasure on the ‘healing of the anti-Christian monster.’ On the other hand, Conrad was not unnaturally overwhelmed with abuse by the Romanists. Dr. Tomek writes: ‘Archbishop Conrad was neither better nor worse than the majority of the Bohemian ecclesiastics of high rank at that period.’ To the student of the times a certain amount of scepticism may, in an exalted Bohemian ecclesiastic of the period, appear, though unpardonable, hardly inexplicable. Shortly afterwards, in accordance with a decision of a meeting of the Estates at Caslav, a synod of the Bohemian clergy assembled at the Carolinum in Prague.

Archbishop Conrad was indeed not present, but he had delegated as his representatives several Hussite clergymen, of whom Magisters Pribram and Jacobellus were the most eminent. The synod resulted in a failure, mainly in consequence of the obstinacy of the delegates of Tabor.

Internal discord broke out in Prague not long after the failure of the synod. Under the leadership of John of Zelivo, the democratic party in the city acquired ever-increasing strength, and opposed the provisional government of comparatively moderate views, which had been established at the assembly of Caslav. The more moderate party firmly believed in the possibility of securing an agreement with Rome, if the Bohemians but limited their demands to ‘The Articles of Prague,’ and eschewed ultra-revolutionary tendencies both in Church and State. That the views of the moderate Hussites were to a certain extent justified is proved by the fact that a settlement on the lines they contemplated was eventually obtained at the Council of Basel. But compromises are as distasteful to religious as to political fanatics, and Zelivo’s influence rendered all attempts at conciliation illusory. Zelivo’s undefined power became more and more pronounced, and it is undoubtedly through his influence—though evidence is not quite conclusive—that an Utraquist noble of moderate views, John of Sadlo,[21] who had come to Prague to justify himself against probably untrue accusations, was, when he appeared in the town hall, immediately arrested and decapitated without trial or judgment.

Reaction against the ultra-democratic, or rather anarchist, party soon increased among the citizens, and the influence of their aristocratic allies was also used to the detriment of Zelivo. An eye-witness of his fall and death has left us a detailed account of the events. John was enticed to the town hall of the Staré Mesto, under the pretext of seeking his advice concerning a new campaign against Sigismund. He was at first kindly received, but the magistrates suddenly called in their officials, who seized Zelivo. He attempted to remonstrate, but the burgomaster of the old town said, ‘It cannot be otherwise, priest John!’ Zelivo was allowed time for confession, and then decapitated. Rioting almost immediately ensued, particularly after a priest had shown John’s head to the people. Many houses in the old town, particularly in the Jewish quarter, were pillaged. The people insisted on the election of new town councillors, and several men, who were principally instrumental in plotting Zelivo’s death, were decapitated. His death none the less greatly diminished the power of the democratic party, particularly in the old town, as no demagogue of equal ability succeeded Zelivo.

Order was to a certain extent re-established in Prague during the short rule of Prince Sigismund Korybut of Lithuania, a nephew of the King of Poland, whom the Utraquist nobles wished to substitute to Sigismund of Hungary as their ruler. Korybut arrived at Prague in May 1422, and remained there to the end of that year. He unsuccessfully attempted the siege of the Karlstyn that was still held by the Royal troops. This failure, as well as the influence of the King of Poland, induced Korybut to leave Prague, though, as events proved, only temporarily.

Shortly afterwards dissensions, ending in civil war, arose between the Praguers and the Taborites. The internal dissensions were not, however, of long duration, as the news of a new ‘crusade’ reunited all Bohemia, and the Treaty of Konopist (1423) for a time restored internal tranquillity. Unfortunately the truce lasted but for a short time. The new crusade proved a yet greater failure than those that had preceded it. The Germans and other crusaders speedily recrossed the frontier without even having encountered the Hussites on the field of battle, and we find the Praguers and Taborites again at war in 1424. Through the intervention of Korybut, who had meanwhile returned to Prague, another conference took place on the so-called Spitalské Pole (hospital field). Mainly through the eloquence of a young preacher at the Tyn Church, Rokycan, afterwards famous as Utraquist Archbishop of Prague, an agreement was obtained. It is a curious proof of the mutual distrust that prevailed that an agreement had been previously made, according to which the party that violated the truce should be fined a considerable sum, and that a large heap of stones should be placed in the Spitalské Pole for the purpose of stoning immediately all disturbers of the peace.

After the meetings at Konopist and on the Spitalské Pole, many others took place, in all of which the minutiæ of theology were discussed with that intense interest in religious controversy that was characteristic of the Bohemians of that time; of such meetings we may mention that held in the Hradcany in 1424, and the somewhat later one at the Carolinum.

Religious dissensions also caused the downfall of Korybut in 1427. The clergy of Prague were then divided into two parties: the more moderate one led by Magister Pribram, which Korybut favoured, and the advanced one, which was more in sympathy with the Taborites, and which had as leaders Rokycan, Jacobellus, and Peter Payne, who, in consequence of his English origin, was known as ‘Magister Englis.’ He played a considerable part in the contest, as a contemporary song tells us that—

‘The devil sent us Englis;
He walks stealthily through Prague,
Spreading doctrines from England
That are not wholesome for the Bohemians.’[22]

In consequence of Korybut’s support of the moderate party the advanced Hussites resolved to depose him. On April 17, 1427, he was surprised, captured without bloodshed, and conveyed to the Castle of Waldstein, near Boleslav. In September some of the nobles of his party attempted to obtain possession of Prague with the aid of Korybut’s partisans in the city. They succeeded in entering the town, and penetrated as far as the Staromestské Námesti. Desperate fighting ensued, but the advanced Hussites were finally victorious, and almost all the invaders were killed or made prisoners. Shortly afterwards Korybut was released and allowed to return to his own country.

It is only quite at the end of the Hussite Wars that the capital again becomes the scene of strife. After the great defeat of the troops of the last crusade at Tauss (or Domazlice), the Church of Rome had for a time abandoned the idea of subduing Bohemia by force of arms. A Council assembled at Basel, and after prolonged negotiations the Bohemians consented to be represented there. Their envoys, among whom were Rokycan, afterwards Archbishop of Prague; Prokop the Great, leader of the Taborites; Nicholas of Pelhrimov, surnamed Biskupec; Peter Payne, the ‘English Hussite,’ and many others arrived at Basel on January 4, 1433. The negotiations began there, and afterwards continued at Prague, where the Council sent envoys, and where the Estates met in the Carolinum on June 12. Though these negotiations with the Council as yet proved unsuccessful, the delegates of the Council, before leaving Prague in January 1434, urgently exhorted the Utraquist nobles to take a more active part in the politics of their country, and to use their influence in favour of an agreement with Rome.

These words made a great impression on the Bohemian nobility, which viewed with great displeasure the almost complete extinction of its formerly overwhelming power. The struggle in Bohemia now became rather one between aristocracy and democracy than between contending religious parties. In direct connection with this new phase of the Bohemian struggle are the troubles that broke out at Prague. Ever since 1429 great antagonism, founded partly on local, partly on political differences, existed between the old and the new town. The former gradually became an ally of the Utraquist, and even of the Romanist nobles, while the men of the new town drew nearer and nearer to the Taborites. In 1434 Ales of Riesenburg was elected Regent of Bohemia, and a league ‘for the restoration of peace and order in the country’ was formed. It was joined by almost the entire nobility of Bohemia and by the citizens of Plzen, Melnik, and the Staré Mesto of Prague. The citizens of the Nové Mesto refused to join the confederacy; guided by the Taborite general, Prokop the Great, they began to prepare for war, and barricaded their streets that were nearest to the old town. Called in by the citizens of the old town, the nobles marched to their aid. Unable to arrive there directly, they crossed the Vltava to the Malá Strana, that was then under the rule of the old town. Joining the citizens here they together attacked the new town, which was subdued after some fighting. The men of the new town, who defended their town hall, resisted for some time, but capitulated after receiving permission to leave the city. A large part of the new town was pillaged by the army of the nobles, and their allies, the victorious citizens of the Staré Mesto, henceforth claimed supremacy over the new town.

Prokop hurriedly left Prague and wrote to Prokupek, the commander of the Taborite forces before Plzen, that ‘by God’s permission the false barons with the citizens of the old town have attacked our dear brethren, the citizens of the new town; they killed some and conquered the town.’ A few months later the great battle of Lipan resulted in the victory of the aristocratic party, and the ‘fall of Tabor,’ to use the words of the great Bohemian historian Palacky.

The defeat of the democratic party paved the way to the recognition of Sigismund as King. After prolonged negotiations at the Council of Basel and meetings of the Estates at Brno and Jihlava,[23] the Bohemians recognised Sigismund as their King, while he promised to obtain for them certain religious concessions, of which the permission to receive communion in the two kinds was the most important. A document known as the ‘Compacts’ enumerated these concessions.

On August 23, 1436, Sigismund arrived at the gates of Prague, where he was met by the magistrates of the three cities.[24] Amidst great rejoicings of the people, he proceeded to the Tyn Church, where Mass was celebrated by Archbishop Rokycan according to the Utraquist rites.

On the following Sunday, August 26, the magistrates of the three towns, in the market-place of the old town, appeared before Sigismund, who was sitting on a throne in his imperial robes, but wearing the Bohemian crown. They brought to him the keys of the town gates, which Sigismund immediately returned to them in proof of his entire reliance on their fidelity. He also confirmed all the ancient privileges of Prague, and again granted the men of the Nové Mesto independence from the old town.

The short period during which Sigismund was destined to reign over Bohemia was yet sufficiently prolonged to witness the destruction of the short-lived friendship between the King and his Bohemian subjects. Sigismund, who was during his whole life a fervent adherent of the Church of Rome, had accepted the Compacts as reluctantly as they had been granted

by the Church of Rome. He had also promised to use his influence with the Papal See to obtain the recognition of Rokycan as Archbishop of Prague. The Estates had elected him to that office at a meeting which they held in September 1435, but Rome now, and indeed always, refused to recognise him as Archbishop of Prague. The attitude of Sigismund in this matter was undoubtedly propitious. As Dr Tomek writes: ‘Publicly Sigismund wrote to the Council recommending it to confirm Rokycan’s nomination as Archbishop; secretly he advised the contrary.’ Bishop Philibert of Contances, who had taken part in the previous negotiations between the Council of Basel and the Bohemians, had accompanied Sigismund to Prague. Though without any recognised position in the country, Philibert endeavoured to exercise archiepiscopal functions at Prague, thus encroaching on the rights of Rokycan. Discord between the two ecclesiastics very soon began, and Philibert, who had assisted at a religious service held by Rokycan in the Tyn Church, noted with great displeasure that the sermon was preached in Bohemian, and that several hymns were also sung in that language.

While Sigismund in these disputes favoured the Roman Church, to the great displeasure of the Bohemians, other causes also contributed to his increasing unpopularity. Sigismund had awarded all the State offices either to Romanists or to such Utraquists as were nearest to Rome, thus excluding the enormous majority of the Bohemians. The King’s cruelty to the Taborite lord, John Rohác of Duba, was also viewed with great displeasure by the people. Rohác had remained in arms even after the general pacification. His castle, to which he had given the biblical name of Zion, long resisted the Royal arms. He was finally obliged to capitulate, and was by Sigismund’s orders executed on the Staromestské Námesti at Prague. This caused renewed warfare, as John Kolda, lord of Zampach, who with Rohác was one of the few nobles who was to the last faithful to Tabor, rose in arms against Sigismund.

Though there was thus no real concord, the short reign of Sigismund was marked by a ceremony that formally concluded the Hussite Wars. Papal legates brought the sanction of the Compacts to Prague. On April 13, 1437, a decree was read out in Corpus Christi Chapel, in the presence of Sigismund, his Consort and the Papal legates, stating ‘that no one should revile the Bohemians and Moravians for receiving communion in the two kinds, or for availing themselves of the other right granted by the Compacts, but that they should be considered true and faithful sons of the Church.’ Tablets containing this statement were placed in the Corpus Christi Chapel.[25]

This ceremony hardly even for a time interrupted the religious struggle. The animosity of the Papal legate and the more veiled hostility of Sigismund induced Rokycan, who had been deprived of his living at the Tyn Church, to leave Prague and seek refuge at the castle of one of the Utraquist nobles. Partly in consequence of incessant political and ecclesiastical troubles, Sigismund’s already weak health now became seriously impaired. He resolved to return to Hungary, but died on the journey at Znaym (December 9, 1437).

Though most of Sigismund’s undertakings proved failures, he was successful in his principal dynastic ambition, which was to secure the succession to the Bohemian throne—Sigismund had no male heirs—to his son-in-law Albert, Archduke of Austria. The

Bohemian Estates, though somewhat reluctantly, elected Albert as their Sovereign, and he was crowned King of Bohemia at Prague on July 29, 1438.

During his short reign Albert obtained but little popularity in Bohemia. A thorough German and a fervent Roman Catholic, his views, both as regards racial and religious matters, were in opposition to those of the majority of his new subjects. Though he had governed Moravia as representative of his father-in-law, Sigismund, for a considerable period, he had always declined to learn the Bohemian language, a point on which the Bohemians have, perhaps not unnaturally, been very susceptible at all times. Albert, who was also King of Hungary, was soon obliged to return to that country. Sultan Murad the Second had invaded Servia and the adjoining districts of Southern Hungary. During the campaign against the Turks Albert was seized with sickness, and died (October 27, 1439) after having only reigned two years over Bohemia.

A very tumultuous, almost anarchical, period in Bohemia followed the death of Albert. The national or Utraquist party, headed by Ptacek, and afterwards by George of Podebrad, was in constant conflict with the Austrian or Romanist nobles, whose leader was Ulrich of Rosenberg. On February 22, 1440, Albert’s widow gave birth to a son, known in history as Ladislas Posthumus; but as the question whether the Bohemian crown was hereditary or elective then was still in dispute, this did not contribute as largely to the stability of the common-wealth as might otherwise have been the case. Religious strife also continued. In 1448 a new Papal envoy, Cardinal John of Carvajal, arrived at Prague, and was at first joyfully received by the people. Public opinion, however, soon changed. Carvajal declared that the Pope would never recognise Rokycan as archbishop, and expressed great disapproval when informed that in a convent he visited communion was administered in the two kinds. His conduct generally did not tend to give the Puritan Praguers a favourable opinion of the dignitaries of the Roman Church. When negotiating with George of Podebrad, the head of the national party, who referred to the Compacts, the cardinal denied all knowledge of them. Podebrad therefore sent him the original of that valuable document. Shortly afterwards, Carvajal, frightened by the hostility of the citizens who threatened him with the fate of Hus, precipitately left Prague. It was immediately discovered that the Compacts had disappeared. Rokycan and Magister Pribram appealed to the magistrates, and the cardinal was pursued by armed forces. When arrested he was unable to deny the theft, but he begged to be allowed, to avoid public disgrace, only to open his luggage on his arrival at Benesov. This was granted to him, and he was escorted to that town. Here the Compacts were found hidden away among his luggage, and were brought back to Prague.

The mission of the cardinal thus proved an entire failure, and, indeed, only envenomed the religious struggle. Civil war was inevitable; it was only doubtful which party would begin hostilities.

It is probable that George of Podebrad and the other national leaders had arrived at the conclusion that the differences between their party and the Austrian one could only be settled by the force of arms, ever since the failure of the negotiations which had taken place at the great meetings of the Estates at Prague in 1446. Podebrad appears to have had evidence proving that the attempts at a reconciliation which the Bohemians had made through frequent embassies to Rome had been frustrated by the secret machinations of Rosenberg, the leader of the Austrian and Romanist party. Still no warlike steps were taken till after the failure of Carvajal’s mission to Prague. But immediately afterwards Podebrad assembled an army of about 9000 men near Kutna Hora and marched on Prague.

Municipal authority in the city was then in the hands of those Utraquists whose views were nearest to those of Rome, but the large majority of the citizens of Prague favoured the national party. To pacify the people the magistrates had, immediately after Carvajal’s departure, assembled the masters and priests at the Carolinum, and enjoined on all present not to speak in a derogatory manner of the Utraquist communion and the Articles of Prague. This decision was made known to the citizens from the town hall, but it did not lessen the distrust of the nationalists. After a vain attempt at negotiations, and after having declared feud to the town, Podebrad obtained possession of the Vysehrad by surprise and almost without loss of life (September 3). Continuing their march before daybreak, Podebrad’s troops then took possession of the adjoining Nové Mesto, and afterwards of the old town. Here also Podebrad’s men met with little opposition. Their war cry, ‘Kunstat Hr,’[26] terrified their enemies, while it rejoiced the large majority of the citizens who sympathised with Podebrad. The march of the national army from the new town to the town hall of the old city, where Podebrad and his principal generals took up their residence, became a triumphal procession. The town-captain, Hanus of Kolowrat, and several of the town councillors succeeded in making their escapes, but the burgrave, Menhard of Hradec, was captured and imprisoned by order of Podebrad.

The capture of Prague by Podebrad caused great internal changes in the capital. Rokycan returned to Prague, and was reinstated in all his former dignities. On the other hand, the Romanist canons of St. Vitus’s Cathedral mostly fled to Plzen. Podebrad’s rule did not however remain uncontested. The lords and cities that were opposed to him formed a league against him, which, from the town where his opponents met, was called ‘the confederacy of Strakonic.’ A record of the desultory warfare that ensued, in which Podebrad and the national party were generally victorious, is beyond the purpose of this little book. Podebrad continued to rule the country, and up to the time that Ladislas was able to exercise, at least nominally, the royal power, he governed Prague under the title of ‘Gubernator et rector civitatum Pragensium,’ the same designation that Korybut had formerly assumed.

In 1452 the Estates of Bohemia met at Prague and recognised Ladislas as their King, and in the following year he was, on October 28, crowned as King of Bohemia in St. Vitus’s Cathedral. The ceremony was performed by the Bishop of Olmütz, as King Ladislas, then only fourteen years old, yet refused to be crowned by Rokycan, the Utraquist Archbishop of Prague. In consequence of the youth of the King, Podebrad continued to rule Bohemia, not without much difficulty, as the young King’s open sympathy with Rome and marked hostility to Rokycan embittered the enormous Utraquist majority of the Bohemian population.

Ladislas, who had proceeded to Hungary in 1456, returned in the following year to Prague. Shortly after his return the young King, who was on the point of being betrothed to Magdalen, daughter of Charles VII., King of France, was attacked by a mysterious illness that was similar to the Asiatic plague, if not identical with it. That terrible illness had, since the Turkish invasion, spread widely in Hungary, from which country Ladislas had just returned. The King summoned Podebrad to his bedside, took leave of him in touching words, and then died on the third day of his illness (November 23, 1457).

The body of Ladislas was conveyed to St. Vitus’s Cathedral on November 25. The Romanist chronicler, Eschenloer, who was then at Prague, writes: ‘The sorrow and wailing of the people was very great. Rokycan walked nearest to the bier with his sacrilegious clergy, carrying the sacrament and lighted candles. Then the good’ (i.e., Romanist) ‘clergy in small number followed.’

The premature death of Ladislas again brought the difficult question of the succession to the throne before the nobles and citizens of Bohemia. Foreign candidates, such as William, Duke of Saxony, Charles VII. of France, who endeavoured to obtain the crown for his son Charles, and Casimir, King of Poland, were represented by envoys when the Estates met in the town hall of the Staré Mesto on March 1.

The Utraquist members of the assembly had, indeed, from the first decided to choose one of their number, Podebrad, whom they considered most worthy of the crown, but the votes of the Romanist envoys were uncertain. Prolonged debates took place, which on the following day were continued ‘with great seriousness and conscientiousness.’ Finally the high burgrave, Sternberg, declared for Podebrad, and kneeling before his old friend, exclaimed: ‘Long live George, our gracious King and Lord.’ All the other nobles and knights followed his example, and the unanimous election[27] was enthusiastically received by the crowd that had assembled outside the town hall. George was then conducted to the neighbouring Tyn Church, where he was received by Archbishop Rokycan.

Though George had been chosen unanimously, difficulties arose almost immediately with regard to his coronation, a ceremony to which the Bohemians have always attached the utmost importance. Finally, through the intervention of King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary, two Hungarian bishops undertook to crown the King, and the ceremony was performed with much splendour in St. Vitus’s Cathedral on May 7, 1458. The chroniclers state that when the crown was placed on the King’s head one of the largest jewels fell to the ground. This was afterwards interpreted as signifying that Breslau, which as capital of Silesia was one of the greatest towns in the lands of the Bohemian crown, would never be in Podebrad’s power. During his

eventful reign (1458-1471) King George was engaged in constant warfare with the rebellious Catholic nobles and with King Matthias of Hungary. That prince had indeed been an ally of George at the beginning of his reign, but his views changed when it became certain that an agreement between the Papal See and Podebrad was impossible. The King of Hungary now declared war against Bohemia, and attempted to supplant George as ruler of that country.

In 1452 the King assembled the Estates at Prague; the Bohemian envoys, who had just returned from Rome, the Papal legate and the Romanist bishops of Breslau and Olmütz were also present. The King presided, sitting under a baldachin with his consort, Queen Johanna, at his right and his sons at his left. Podebrad spoke strongly of the treachery of the Roman Court, and ended by declaring ‘that the Pope should know that he would not sell his faith for a kingdom, that he, his wife and his children were ready to risk their kingdom and their lives for the blessed blood’ (i.e., communion in the two kinds). This speech greatly affected all present, few of whom could refrain from tears.

The campaigns that occupied the last years of Podebrad hardly belong to a history of Prague.

On February 22, 1471, Archbishop Rokycan died, only a few weeks before his old ally King George, who died of dropsy on March 22 of the same year.

It had, no doubt, originally been a favourite design of Podebrad to found a national dynasty in Bohemia, but the necessities of his frequent wars had obliged him to favour the succession of Prince Vladislav of Poland, thus securing the valuable help of Poland for his country. It had indeed been tacitly settled during George’s lifetime, but the Estates maintained their traditional right of choosing their King, and met for that purpose at Kutna Hora. Besides Vladislav, several other candidates strove to obtain the Bohemian crown. The most important were Albert, Duke of Saxony, and King Matthias of Hungary. The whole influence of Rome was used in favour of the last-named candidate. The letter which the Papal legate, Rudolph, Bishop of Breslau, addressed to the Bohemians, and Praguers in particular, is interesting as formulating the argument against Hussitism, founded on the decline of Prague, that has been, before and since that time, constantly repeated. After stating that Christ on leaving the world had appointed St. Peter his representative, and that the Roman bishops, whom all faithful Christians should obey, were his successors, the legate admonishes the Praguers to remember the former glory of their city, which, while it was faithful to Rome, had surpassed all other towns, even Nuremberg, Cöln and Vienna, in wealth, power and wisdom; even Florence, Venice and Rome had scarcely equalled her.[28] The citizens should therefore abandon their Hussite errors and recognise Matthias as their King. This appeal does not appear to have impressed the Praguers or the other Bohemians much, for Vladislav was elected King with but little opposition. He arrived at Prague on August 19, 1471, and was met outside the town by the clergy and the people, who conducted him to the Royal residence. He was there presented with a Bible by the magisters of the University, ‘that reading it he might learn to rule both himself and his people according to the will of God.’

Vladislav, as Palacky has noted, was the first Bohemian Sovereign who was almost constantly absent from the country, while his consort, Anna de Foix, was the only Queen of Bohemia who never set her foot on the national soil. Vladislav, as was inevitable in consequence of his education, favoured the Romanists as far as it was in his power to do so. Through his influence the principal municipal offices at Prague were entrusted to men who, though nominally Utraquists, favoured the cause of Rome in every way. During the absence of the King riots broke out at Prague in 1483. The more ardent Hussite preachers violently attacked the government both of the King and of the town magistrates. The magistrates of Prague therefore resolved to seize these preachers, and it was rumoured that they had, in union with the magistrates of the Malá Strana and some Romanist lords, resolved a general massacre of the Utraquists in the city. One of the magistrates of the old town, Tomasek, surnamed ‘of the Golden Star,’ was reported to have told a neighbour, a fervent Hussite, that on the Sunday before St. Wenceslas (September 28) ‘they would give the Utraquists bloody cakes to eat.’ The menace was of course understood. Both parties began arming, and on September 24 civic warfare began. The great bells of the Tyn Church were rung, and the people stormed the neighbouring town hall. The burgomaster was, according to what may almost be called a national custom, thrown from the windows of the town hall, and several of the councillors were wounded or imprisoned. Far more sanguinary were the events in the new town. Here, also, the town hall was stormed, many of the town councillors were killed, and a general massacre of Romanists, particularly priests and monks, ensued. Finally, in the new and in the old town, as well as in the Malá Strana—where the revolution appears to have been far less violent—new magistrates were elected, and the magistrates of the three towns concluded an alliance for mutual defence. King Vladislav, who had approved of the plans of the former magistrates—it is impossible to state to what extent—was powerless.

The citizens of Prague, indeed, for a time obtained almost complete autonomy, which they preserved up to the reign of Ferdinand I., and to a certain extent up to 1547.

Vladislav died in Hungary in 1516, and was succeeded by his son Louis, who had already been crowned as King of Bohemia when a child of three years. Louis, like his father, was King of Hungary also, and spent a great part of his life in that country.

As his representative in Bohemia, he appointed Leo of Rozmital, but afterwards replaced him by Duke Charles of Münsterberg, a grandson of King George, who assumed the title of Regent. Though the latter attempted somewhat to curb the turbulent citizens, yet Prague enjoyed almost complete independence, and feuds not dissimilar from those of ancient Italian cities broke out. Personal ambitions and animosities masqueraded in the garb of religious differences. We possess a precious contemporary account of these struggles in the chronicles of Bartos, surnamed ‘The Writer.’ Two demagogues, Pasek and Hlavsa,[29] contended for the supremacy over the citizens of Prague; both belonged to the Utraquist Church, but while the views of Hlavsa, who was largely influenced by Gallus Cahera, rector of the Tyn Church and a personal friend of Luther, were more advanced, Pasek belonged to that shade of Utraquism that was nearest to Rome. Bartos has eloquently described the conflicts that arose. I can here only allude briefly to the coup d’état of 1524, by which the reactionary party for a time obtained the upper hand. On August 9 a crowd of Pasek’s partisans invaded the town hall of the Staré Mesto and arrested all councillors who were of the Lutheran creed. Pasek henceforth ruled over Prague as a dictator, and issued severe decrees against all who ‘favoured foreign heresies.’

King Louis, who was then residing in Hungary, received the news of the success of the reactionary party with great joy, but the ever-increasing danger from Turkey did not admit of his interfering actively in the affairs of Bohemia.

Two years later King Louis perished at the Battle of Mohác, in Hungary, and the Bohemian throne was again vacant.

The death of King Louis found the lands of the Bohemian crown in a state of almost complete anarchy, as both Vladislav and Louis had given their attention mainly to the other countries over which they ruled. Yet the question as to the hereditary character of the throne still being undecided, as soon as the news of the death of the King reached Prague, September 9, 1526, it was rumoured that many princes, undeterred by the precarious condition of the country, aspired to the Bohemian throne. These were, besides Archduke Ferdinand of Austria, brother-in-law of the late King, two Bavarian and two Saxon princes, Sigismund, King of Poland, and two great Bohemian nobles, Leo of Rozmital and Charles of Münsterberg. The Estates met at Prague on October 8, and the deliberations were somewhat prolonged. It was finally decided that each Estate should choose four electors from their number. The twelve electors met on October 23 in the Wenceslas Chapel of St. Vitus’s Cathedral. When they had finished their deliberations, they stated that they had chosen a King, but that the choice would only be made public on the following day. On October 24 Leo of Rozmital announced to the Estates assembled in the Hradcany Castle that Archduke Ferdinand of Austria had been elected King. All present then sang the national song ‘Svaty Václave.’ On February 24 of the following year Ferdinand was crowned in St. Vitus’s Cathedral. The following days were spent in great rejoicings, tournaments and balls in the Hradcany Castle. It was noted that—the Queen only excepted—the new King danced with no lady but the wife of Leo of Rozmital, whose exertions had largely aided him in obtaining the Bohemian crown.

The life of Ferdinand, who was also King of Hungary, frequently ruler of Germany, and Roman Emperor during the last years of his life, has only occasional connection with Prague. The fact that he caused the beautiful Renaissance building known as the Belvedere to be erected at Prague proves, however, that he was not devoid of interest in his Bohemian capital. Ferdinand strenuously endeavoured to strengthen the Royal power in Bohemia. He rescinded the decree of the demagogue Pasek, which had united the old and the new town in one community; and Pasek, though he vainly attempted to curry favour with the King, was struck off the list of the magistrates.

Gallus Cahera, preacher of the Tyn Church, who had now joined the reactionary party, was exiled from all the Habsburg dominions, and in 1530 Pasek himself was for a short time expelled from Prague. On the other hand, Hlavsa and some of his Lutheran partisans, who had been exiled by Pasek, were permitted to return to the Bohemian capital.

Though Ferdinand, as these facts prove, showed more moderation—at least at the beginning of his reign—than the Bohemians had expected, he was yet unable to establish religious tranquillity in the country. He was more successful in his endeavours to strengthen the Royal prerogative and limit the power of the Estates. That power was to a great extent founded on their right of electing the Sovereign. It was, therefore, a great success for the Royalist cause when the King, skilfully using the circumstance that a great fire in Prague (1541) destroyed all the ancient State documents, succeeded in persuading the Estates to recognise a new charter, which declared that Ferdinand had been accepted as King in consequence of the hereditary rights of his wife, Queen Anna, who was a sister of King Louis. It must, however, be mentioned that this curtailing of the privileges of the Bohemian Estates contributed to the revolutionary movement of 1547.

In that year troubles broke out in Bohemia in connection with the war that Charles V. and his brother Ferdinand were waging against the leaders of the German Protestants, John Frederick, Elector of Saxony, and Philip, Landgrave of Hessé. Ferdinand claimed military aid from his Bohemian subjects, which the then almost entirely Protestant population of the country was not unnaturally unwilling to grant. Sixt of Ottersdorf, who, as clerk, and afterwards chancellor of the old town, played a considerable part in these events, has left us an interesting account of these troubles.[30] In 1546 Ferdinand assembled the Estates and urged them to equip an armed force against the Turks. They consented, but when it appeared that their levies were to attack, not the Turks, but Saxony, the largest part of the Bohemian army refused to cross the Saxon frontier. On January 1, 1547, Sixt of Ottersdorf presented to King Ferdinand—who, during the then customary interruption of hostilities in winter, had returned to Prague—the usual new-year gifts on the part of the citizens, ‘expressing in a Latin speech hopes that the coming year would end all disturbances and wars in the Christian world; for they were caused only by some unquiet men.’ In reply to this ambiguous speech the King stated that he accepted their gifts and good wishes, and that he hoped that with the aid of the Praguers and his other subjects he would shortly be able to restore peace to the empire. On the following day the King ordered the citizens of the old and new towns to equip 300 armed men each. This, as the contemporary writers state, caused great displeasure, as the citizens had no doubt that they were ordered to arm against the men of their own faith.

A few days later he decreed a general arming of the people, reminding the Bohemians of an ancient decree, according to which those who did not give their aid when Bohemia was in danger should lose their lives and their estates. He therefore summoned all to join him in arms at Litomerice, but a few Romanist lords alone obeyed the Royal command. The feeling was general that the Diet’s sanction was necessary for such a general armament. The Praguers took the lead in the opposition to Ferdinand, and the movement in their city had a strongly democratic character.[31] Mistrusting the energy of their magistrates, the citizens, both of the old and of the new town, at a general meeting on January 23, 1547, resolved that in future all matters of great importance should be decided at general meetings of the citizens, who were to be called together by the town bells. They further declared that a general arming of the people, without the consent of the Diet, was contrary to the law of the land. Many Bohemian towns, such as Kolin, Kourim, Caslav, Cesky Brod, made common cause with Prague, which they recognised as the ‘head of the Estate of the citizens.’ Many knights and nobles, particularly those who belonged to the ‘unity’ of the Bohemian brethren, were in sympathy with the towns, and, indeed, agreed to their suggestion that a meeting of the Estates should take place. This was distinctly unconstitutional, as the King alone had the right of summoning the Estates. On February 13 a private meeting of the nobles took place at the house of Lord Bohus Kostka, in the Celetná Ulice. All present agreed to act in accord with the citizens, and after a prolonged conference ‘proceeded to the Staromestské Námesti singing “True Christians, let us strongly hope”; they then lifted their hats, berets and caps when passing the Tyn Church, and retired to their abodes.’

A more formal meeting of the Estates took place in the following month. King Ferdinand had, indeed, written from Dresden to the high officials of Prague, ordering them to do everything in their power to prevent this meeting of the Estates, who had not been summoned by their King. They, none the less, met on March 18 at the Carolinum, where 800 nobles, knights and representatives of the Bohemian towns (except Plzen and Budejovice) were present. They formed a confederacy and formulated their demands in forty-five articles, which mainly tended to curtailing the Royal prerogative, securing religious freedom, and affirming the elective character of the Bohemian throne. It was resolved to bring these demands before King Ferdinand by a deputation chosen from among the members of the Diet, and the Estates also entered into negotiations with the Protestant princes of Germany, and resolved to equip an army.

Shortly afterwards the news of the great Protestant defeat at Mühlberg (April 24, 1547) reached Prague. The citizens at first discredited the truth of the reports, but when the evil news was confirmed they, as well as the other Bohemians, found themselves obliged to confront the difficult position to which a policy, which was at once venturesome and timid, had led them; for they had acted in a manner that would necessarily irritate their Sovereign, while they had done little or nothing to aid the Protestant cause. It was finally decided to disband their army—this was one of Ferdinand’s principal demands—to congratulate Ferdinand on his victory, to alter the instructions that had been given to the envoys who were to bring their claims before the King, while still maintaining the grievances of the Bohemians. The envoys—among them was Sixt, the historian—joined the King, with whom was his brother, Charles V., in the camp before Wittenberg, which they were then besieging. They were received both by the Emperor and by Ferdinand, who told them that they would later signify their pleasure with regard to Bohemia. The Estates should meanwhile renounce all alliances that were hostile to their King.

Ferdinand had already decided to avail himself of the momentary position for the purpose of strengthening the Royal power. Acute politician as he was, he clearly saw that nothing would so greatly further his purpose as causing dissension among the Bohemian Estates. He resolved to deal more severely with the towns than with the knights and nobles. He marched to Litomerice with a large force, and here issued a proclamation, stating that he would receive graciously