- Date:
- c. 1400 - c. 1620
- Areas Of Involvement:
- Christianity
- Roman Catholicism
- Related People:
- Jan Hus
- Jan Rokycana
- Jan, Count Žižka
- George
- Peter Payne
Hussite
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Who were the Hussites?
The Hussites were followers of the Bohemian religious reformer Jan Hus, who was burned at the stake in 1415 for heresy. After his death, many knights and nobles protested and offered protection to those persecuted for their faith.
The Hussites broke with Rome by using a Czech liturgy and administering Holy Communion to the laity with both bread and wine. This doctrine was called Utraquism, and the more moderate Hussites were known as Utraquists. The Czechoslovak Hussite Church was established in 1920 by dissident Roman Catholic priests who celebrated mass in the Czech language.
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Where and when did the Hussite movement begin?
The Hussite movement, named for Jan Hus, a Bohemian religious reformer, began in Bohemia (modern-day Czech Republic) in the early 15th century. Hus was influenced by the writings of John Wycliffe, and his calls for church reform resonated with many Czechs who resented the wealth and corruption of the clergy. After Hus was condemned and burned at the stake in 1415, his followers, known as Hussites, grew rapidly and initiated a period of bitter struggles that lasted more than 10 years. They protested against the Council of Constance, King Sigismund, and the conservative clergy. The Hussites broke with Rome by using a Czech liturgy and administering Holy Communion to the laity with both bread and wine.
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Who was Jan Hus, and why was he important to this movement?
Jan Hus (c. 1370–1415) was a key Czech religious reformer of the 15th century, bridging the medieval period and the Reformation and anticipating Lutheran reforms by a century.
Hus's advocacy for biblical authority over the Catholic Church and his criticism of the ecclesiastical hierarchy significantly influenced the Hussite movement. His followers adopted the name Hussites and, following his execution for heresy, coalesced with rising Czech nationalism to demand reforms, including administering Holy Communion to the laity with both bread and wine. Hus's teachings and martyrdom spurred the Hussite movement, which evolved into independent churches and influenced later Protestant reformers.
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What were some main beliefs or ideas of the Hussites?
The Hussites, followers of Czech reformer Jan Hus, advocated several key beliefs. After Hus was burned at the stake in 1415, his followers protested and offered protection to those persecuted for their faith. They broke with Rome by using a Czech liturgy and administering Holy Communion to laypeople with both bread and wine, a doctrine known as Utraquism.
The Four Articles of Prague summarized key Hussite beliefs:
1. Freedom of preaching
2. Communion in both kinds (bread and wine)
3. Poverty of the clergy and expropriation of church property
4. Punishment of notorious sinnersThe Hussites were later split between moderate Utraquists and radical Taborites. After the Utraquists made peace with the Roman Catholic Church, they joined forces to defeat the Taborites in 1434, ending the Taborites' influence.
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What were the Hussite Wars, and why did they happen?
The Hussite Wars were a series of religious conflicts in Bohemia (now the Czech Republic) in the 15th century, involving followers of the religious reformer Jan Hus.
Root Causes:
* Religious reform Hus's execution in 1415 for heresy sparked outrage and led to the rise of the Hussite movement, which called for reforms to the Catholic Church, including freedom of preaching, communion in both kinds (bread and wine) for all believers, poverty of the clergy, and punishment of public sinners.
* Nationalism The Hussite movement became intertwined with Czech nationalism, as many Czechs resented German domination of Bohemia.
* Political crisis The death of Bohemian King Wenceslas IV in 1419 and the succession of Sigismund, a bitter enemy of the Hussites, further fueled the conflict.4 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How did the Hussite movement affect religion and society in Europe?
The Hussite movement, initiated by Bohemian religious reformer Jan Hus, significantly impacted religion and society in Europe. Hus's execution in 1415 spurred his followers to protest and defend their faith.
The Hussites broke with Rome by using a Czech liturgy and administering Holy Communion to the laity with both bread and wine. They also called for the expropriation of church property and the punishment of notorious sinners. This movement grew, fueled by rising Czech nationalism against German domination.
The Hussite movement split into moderate Utraquists and radical Taborites. Despite internal divisions, the Hussites repelled multiple crusades launched against them. The Hussite wars led to the Compacts of Basel in 1436, ensuring key gains such as communion in both kinds and an independent Bohemian Catholic church. Although the Hussite church faced schisms and persecutions, it survived until around 1620, influencing later reformers like Martin Luther.
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Hussite, any of the followers of the Bohemian religious reformer Jan Hus, who was condemned by the Council of Constance (1414–18) and burned at the stake. After his death in 1415 many Bohemian knights and nobles published a formal protest and offered protection to those who were persecuted for their faith. The movement’s chief supporters were Jakoubek of Stříbro (died 1429), Hus’s successor as preacher at the Bethlehem chapel in Prague; Václav Koranda, leader of the Taborites (extreme Hussites named for Tábor, their stronghold, south of Prague); and Jan Želivský, who organized the extreme reform party in Prague.
The Hussites broke with Rome in using a Czech liturgy and in administering Holy Communion to the laity under the forms of both bread and wine. (The doctrine supporting this was called Utraquism and the more moderate Hussites were called Utraquists.)
Under King Wenceslas (Václav) IV of Bohemia, the movement spread widely. In 1419, however, he died and was succeeded by a bitter enemy of the Hussites, his half brother Sigismund, king of the Romans and of Hungary. The Hussites would have acknowledged Sigismund had he accepted the Four Articles of Prague that Jakoubek had formulated: (1) freedom of preaching; (2) communion in both kinds; (3) poverty of the clergy and expropriation of church property; (4) punishment of notorious sinners. In 1420, however, Sigismund, who had failed to get possession of Prague, published a bull of Pope Martin V proclaiming a crusade against the Hussites. The Hussite union, which included the municipalities of Prague and other cities and the chief military power of Bohemia, deposed Sigismund and repelled two crusading attacks against Prague. Various crusades and battles against the Hussites failed for the next several years. In 1427 the Hussites, led by Prokop Holý, began a more revolutionary, rather than defensive, political program. Pope Martin V organized another crusade against them but did not live to see it decisively beaten by the Hussites in 1431.
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Peace negotiations began in 1431, when the Council of Basel of the Roman Catholic Church agreed to negotiate with the Hussites on an equal basis, which Pope Martin V had refused to do. A Hussite delegation spent three months in Basel in 1433 discussing the Four Articles of Prague. The Council then sent a mission to Prague, which granted communion in both kinds to the Hussites. This grant split the Hussites, since the Utraquists were willing to make peace on these terms, but the Taborites were not. Utraquists and Catholics then joined forces to defeat the Taborites in a battle at Lipany in 1434, which ended the Taborites’ influence.
The Utraquist Hussites then resumed peace negotiations, and in July 1436 they obtained a peace treaty (the Compact of Iglau) that ensured all the principal gains of the war: communion in both kinds, the expropriation of church lands (which broke the economic power of the Roman Catholic Church in Bohemia), and an independent Bohemian Catholic church under Jan Rokycana as its elected archbishop. Although association with the Roman Catholic Church continued, the church of the Utraquist Hussites survived schisms and periodic persecutions until c. 1620, when it was finally absorbed by the Roman Catholics.
In the mid-15th century the Unitas Fratrum (Unity of Brethren) movement began in Bohemia among some of the Hussites, and it established its own independent organization in 1467. During the Reformation, the Unitas Fratrum was in contact with Lutheran and Reformed Protestants. Eventually, however, Bohemian and Moravian Protestantism was suppressed, and the Roman Catholic Counter-Reformation was victorious after 1620, when the Protestant barons were defeated at the Battle of the White Mountain during the Thirty Years’ War.
Remnants of the Unitas Fratrum remained, however, and in 1722 a group of them fled Moravia and settled on the estate of Count Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf in Saxony. A number of exiles from Moravia and Bohemia followed, and they formed the community of Herrnhut, where they were organized as the Moravian Church. There is also some continuity with 20th-century Czech Protestantism.
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