The birth of the Czech nation Jan Hus, the Hussite wars. Hussite Wars: causes, course, results and consequences Creation of a unified Polish state

Hussite movement, main directions, programs.

Uprising of 1419 in Prague. Formation of two camps in the Hussite movement On July 30, 1419, an uprising began in Prague. The indignant people, led by Jan Želivski, threw members of the city magistrate out of the town hall window, seized power and elected their own government. The Hussite movement entered a period of armed struggle, during which the demarcation of social forces within the Hussites was completed. Most of the small nobles and burghers who joined the movement formed the camp of the so-called Chashniks or Utraquists, and the urban plebs and peasantry formed a revolutionary wing, which, after the name of its main fortified center - Mount Tabor - was called Taborites.

If Taborites strived for radical social transformation based on freedom and fraternity , That cup makers put forward in first place demands for the secularization of church property and the creation of a “cheap” church . The difference in goals made it inevitable that the contradictions between them would worsen.

Hussite wars. IN In 1420, an external danger loomed over the Czech Republic. The Pope and German Emperor Sigismund of Luxembourg, who laid claim to the Czech crown after the death of King Wenceslas IV, declared a crusade against the Czech Republic. Five Crusades - in 1420, 1421, 1426, 1427, 1431. - were not successful. Under the leadership of talented commanders Jan Žižka and Prokop the Great, the Hussites repelled the Crusaders' invasions. Despite military successes, the forces of the rebel Czech Republic were weakening. Long-term wars, constant invasions of enemies and associated devastation undermined the country's economy. A significant part of the participants began to move away from the Hussite movement. The Chashniki, having achieved concessions in their favor at the Basel Cathedral, openly united with the forces of the feudal-Catholic camp and on May 30, 1434, in the battle of Lipany, inflicted a crushing defeat on the Taborite army.

The Battle of Lipani was the end of the Taborites, despite the fact that individual Taborite communities continued to fight Sigismund. Until 1437, Jan Rogac's troops continued to fight, strengthening themselves in the fortress of Sione. Until 1452, Tabor existed and retained its independence, and yet the Taborite movement was unable to recover from the defeat at Lipan.

On June 5, 1436, a solemn “reconciliation” between the moderate Hussites and the Catholic Church took place in the city square in Ihlava. An agreement with the Catholic Church was reached under the terms of the articles of the Basel Compacts.

For the first time in history, the Catholic Church was forced to recognize the right of heretics to profess their faith. The ideological hegemony of the church was broken. On August 23, 1436, Sigismund of Luxembourg took the Czech royal throne, but died in December 1437.

Historical significance of the Hussite wars. Despite the defeat, the Hussite movement dealt a blow to the Catholic Church: it was deprived of its former political power, was forced to compromise with heretics, agree to communion under both types and worship in the national (Czech) language. This accelerated the process of formation of national churches in Europe and gave impetus to the development of the pan-European Reformation.

Church property was secularized, the collection of tithes ceased; the townspeople were also freed from church taxes, became an independent class and received representation in the Sejm . It was no longer possible to restore the previous property status of the Czech Church. The Hussite movement put an end to the dominance of the German patriciate and clergy in the country and contributed to the flourishing of the Czech language.

"Community of Czech Brothers." After the fall of Tabor, peasants and plebs founded the Community of Czech Brothers in 1453, the ideologist of which was Peter Helcicki, a famous Czech thinker. Later, the community included wealthy townspeople, as well as representatives of the lord and knightly classes. The “brothers” were supposed to live according to the example of the early Christians, strictly observe the rules of morality, not occupy any high positions, and preach non-resistance to evil through violence. From the end of the 15th century. they concentrated their educational activities- founded schools and printing houses. Many famous Czech scientists came from among the “Czech brothers” - Jan Blagoslav, J. A. Komensky and others. The “Czech brothers” were constantly persecuted.

The Battle of Lipan and the Basel Compacts marked the transition to a new phase of the Hussite revolution, which became a struggle to consolidate the gains and for their recognition feudal Europe. The short stay on the throne of Sigismund, the short-term reign of Albrecht II (1437-1439), and then the young Ladislaus did not contribute to the strengthening state power. Power actually passed into the hands of hetmans, who were elected in individual regions. Two parties fought for power in the country: the Catholic, led by Oldřik from Rožemberk, and the Hussite, led by Jan from Rokycany. In 1440, the 24-year-old cup maker Jiří from Poděbrady was elected the highest hetman, elected by the four eastern “regions”. In 1448, the Roman Curia refused to recognize John of Rokycany as Archbishop of the Czech Republic. Then, having concentrated troops loyal to him in the Kutna Hora region, Jiri from Poděbrady unexpectedly took Prague by storm in September 1448, appointed new consels from among the Chashniki and began a merciless fight against the civil strife of the lords, robberies and riots that interfered with the normal economic and political life of the country . Fight between Jiri from Poděbrady and Mr. Oldřik from Rožemberk lasted until 1450. Using the support of the small and middle gentry and townspeople, Jiri from Poděbrady became the de facto ruler of the country and soon the Czech Sejm awarded him the title of “zemstvo governor”. He remained in this rank during the nominal reign of the minor Ladislaus Pogrob (1453-1457) from the Austrian Habsburg dynasty. The council of 12 persons established in the Czech Republic, headed by the zemstvo governor, was equal in powers to royal power. In 1457, Ladislav Pogrobok suddenly died and Jiri from Poděbrady (1458-1471) was elected king, who led the fight to strengthen and centralize the state.

Historical situation in the Czech Republic at the endXIVAndXVcenturies gave birth to one of greatest events in the medieval history of the Czechs - the Hussite movement. The main prerequisites for the movement were numerous contradictions in society, which were layered on top of each other, among which we can highlight economic, social, political, and, of course, religious. Discontent among various sectors of Czech societyXIVV. The internal situation in the country coincided with the indignation against the Catholic Church that swept across Europe. The religious contradictions that resulted in the demand for church reform were rooted in social contradictions. The economic lag of Czech production contributed to the fall in the income of Czech feudal lords, who, in turn, sought to compensate for this by increasing corvée and in-kind duties. This in turn increased the ruin of the peasants. In addition, economic stagnation hit the average urban population - artisans and merchants - mostly of Czech origin. The urban patriciate was of German origin and supported by a wealthy church. Among the townspeople there is a demand for the creation of a “cheap” church.

Nbsp; The ideologist of the Czech reform movement was Master of the University of Prague Jan Hus. He was born in 1371 into a family of poor peasants from Southern Bohemia. In 1401 he was elected dean of one of the faculties, and in 1409 rector of the University of Prague. From the university pulpit, he sharply spoke out against church wealth, for the subordination of the church to secular power, and called for depriving the church of property in order to contribute to its correction. The master was forced to leave Prague in 1412 and continue his preaching work in Southern and Western Bohemia. It was here that he wrote his main works. From the moment Hus left Prague, the reform movement went beyond the boundaries of the university and church and became popular. Although Hus called for obedience to the authorities, if they did not violate Christian laws, and denounced only the excessive abuses of the feudal lords and the church, mired in wealth and moral sins, nevertheless, the church saw the most dangerous heresy in the teachings of Hus. In 1414 he was summoned to a church council in Constanta. Hus went there, confident that he could defend his views, but the higher clergy were not going to debate with him. He was accused of heresy and burned at the stake on July 6, 1415.

The execution of Jan Hus caused an explosion of indignation in the Czech lands. A congress of representatives of the Czech nobility gathered in Prague and sent their protest to the cathedral in Constance. At the same time, he spoke out for freedom of preaching and proclaimed the University of Prague to be the highest authority in church matters. That part of the lower clergy that supported the teachings of Huss began to give communion to the laity “under both types,” that is, not only with bread, as the church demanded, but also with wine from the cup, which had previously been the privilege of the clergy. The bowl became a symbol of a broad social movement, which later became known as the Hussite movement. A significant part of the gentry and burghers, university masters also recognized the cup, spoke out for the alienation of church wealth and the weakening of the church’s influence on secular affairs. The burghers sought to turn the new church into an institution for protecting their interests. Both the gentry and the burghers constituted the right wing in the Hussite movement. The broad masses went much further in their demands; they strived for equality. In the spring of 1419, mass campaigns of supporters of Hus's teachings, mainly the rural and urban poor, began in the mountains, where radical preachers spoke to them. The radical part of the Hussites created a fortified camp on Mount Tabor in Southern Bohemia, which became the center of the revolutionary movement. Thus, two main directions took shape in the Hussite movement, moderate and radical.

Each of the directions has developed its own program, and although in many ways cup makers And Taborites converged in their views, however, there were significant differences in their program documents.

Moderate wing the Hussite movement is cup makers. Their program was called " Four Prague Articles " It was first developed by the masters of the University of Prague on July 3, 1420. and was approved at the Časlavsky Sejm in 1421.The Chashniki, who were the right wing of the Hussite movement, got their name due to the fact that one of their demands was the equality of the laity and the clergy in the rite of communion, the requirement that the laity commune not only with bread, but also with wine from the cup (From the Latin “calix” also comes the name of this wing is calixtina. It should be borne in mind that the cup was the emblem of all Hussites - not only the burghers, but also the wider masses), while the latter was the exclusive privilege of the clergy. A single rite of communion “under both types” symbolized the idea of ​​social equality and met the aspirations burghers destroy the class privileges of the Catholic clergy, and at the same time deprive the church of its economic and political power. This desire was also shared petty feudal lords- the lowest Czech gentry - and partly representatives of the gentry.

The contents of this document were as follows: 1. Freedom to preach the “word of God,” that is, freedom of religious preaching directed against the domination of the Catholic Church. 2. Unity of the religious rite of communion (communion of the laity from the chalice). 3. Depriving the church of the right to own property (secularization of church property), returning it to evangelical simplicity and poverty. 4. The eradication of “deadly sins” not only among the laity, but also among the clergy, severe punishment for such sins as charging for services, selling indulgences, selling church positions, etc.

Thus, the First Prague Article essentially confirms the monopoly of the clergy on the preaching of Christian teaching. "So that the word of God in the kingdom of Bohemia may be preached by the priests of the Lord...” L.I. Ozolin says that The Usites meant only those priests, that part of the clergy that shared their ideas joined them. Despite all the limited demands of the moderate Hussites, the Hussite clergy still took progressive positions compared to the Catholic clergy. It stood for a national church. Even its moderate representatives sought significant changes in the then church, simplification of rituals, etc.

The second Prague article required communion under both types for all faithful Christians not burdened with sin. Two significant meanings follow from this seemingly religious requirement. The moderate Hussites sought to eliminate this monopoly of the clergy, especially since in the early Christian church communion was not the privilege of only the clergy, they took it over much later. In addition, of interest is the clause that communion should be performed on those who are not burdened with mortal sin. Those who are burdened with mortal sin meant both secular and clergy. That is, the Hussites sought not only to be equal with the clergy in performing the most important rituals, but also to emphasize that a priest who is in sin is lower than an ordinary layman who is not burdened by sin. That is, a person in sin loses his rights and privileges, regardless of his class and position.

L.I. Ozolin indicates that although the main content of the third of the four PragueThe articles expressed the demand for a cheap church, the idea of ​​the secularization of its wealth, and at the same time a desire was expressed to take away from it secular law, secular power in its possessions. The church, like the secular feudal lords, independently disposed of its property and depended on most of the peasantry - the holders of church lands. Along with the secularization of the wealth of the church, the moderate Hussites intended to take away its secular rights in relation to the peasantry.

Radical wing the Hussite movement represented Taborites. The program of radical Hussites, Taborites - “ Twelve articles ", was written on August 5, 1421.

The Twelve Articles generally included the Prague Articles, but the Taborites understood them somewhat differently and of course, they greatly expanded their requirements. So, not a single sinner should have been left without punishment, regardless of his class, drinking any kind of drinks in taverns was not allowed under pain of established punishments, the taborites forbade wearing and did not allow others to wear luxurious clothes, too much against the Lord God of precious , such as: purple, embroidered, woven with silver or embossed and carved, silver belts, clasps and all kinds of ornaments and jewelry conducive to pride, all administration, court and all orders were made in accordance with divine right. Priests who are to serve as examples must observe the order established by God and imitate the apostles and prophets. All payments to the priests were to be used for the common good and that usurious transactions on houses, shops and anything else, wherever it might be, were abolished, and that all greedy records were abolished and that the priests were maintained according to the zeal of the believers.

The Taborites demanded that they expel from themselves all opponents of the truth of God and did not accept fugitives and exiles, because just as they themselves were not faithful either to themselves or to God, so they should not be trusted by any mercy.

They also demanded that all heretical monasteries, unnecessary churches and altars, icons preserved openly and secretly, precious jewelry and gold and silver bowls, and all antichrist plantings, idolatry and simonic errors that do not come from the Lord, be abolished and destroyed. The Taborites sought to win over the Prague community to their side, and this could not but affect the wording of the articles and led to a certain moderation.

Already the first part of the Twelve Articles shows that their task, first of all, was to strengthen the alliance with the Prague population. It was well known that the Prague rich and university masters were secretly plotting treason against their popular allies. Therefore, one of the first demands of the Taborites was full compliance with these articles by both sides.

Although the chashniki program did not contradict the interests of the poor, it was not sufficient for them. In their program, the Taborites went much further than the Chashniks in relation to the common people. The most important was the seventh article of the Taborite program. It read literally the following: “So that pagan and German law, which is contrary to God’s law, would be abolished, so that they would rule, judge and do everything according to God’s law.” Pagan and German law undoubtedly meant city law and legal regulations not based on the Bible, which meant that the Taborites demanded the complete abolition of feudal law and all urban jurisdiction .

Macek emphasizes that with the consistent implementation of the seventh article, a community of brothers and sisters guided by the Bible must be created in Prague. As a result of the implementation of this article - although this was not specifically stated anywhere - life based on the community of property was to be established in Prague. It was not only about problems of an economic and property-legal nature. The article directly states that the place of existing law should be taken by the Bible, God's law; management, legal proceedings and in general All activities must be carried out according to the Bible.

The teaching of the Taborites had a pronounced chiliastic character. Chiliasm - a doctrine inherited from medieval popular heresies, states that the second coming of Christ will come, after which a thousand-year reign of happiness and justice will be established on earth. Rubtsov says that, according to the Taborites, a world built on exploitation will not last forever, when the kingdom of happiness and justice is established, “there will be no kings, rulers, or subjects, all taxes and payments will stop, violence will disappear and people will live, like brothers and sisters, there will be no personal property either, and therefore even now everyone who has property falls into mortal sin.”

Thus, both the Chashniks and the Taborites demanded that the priests return to the apostolic state.Also common was the demand for punishment for serious sins. Macek points out that this requirement appeared in the Chashnik program under the influence of the Taborites.So, we see that while having much in common, the programs of the two main Hussite movements also had significant differences, which were a consequence of the different social support of this or that movement.

New phase of the Hussite movement. Strengthening the Czech Kingdom during the reign of Jiří of Poděbrady The Battle of Lipan and the Basel Compactata marked the transition to a new phase of the Hussite revolution, which became a struggle to consolidate the gains and for their recognition by feudal Europe. The short stay on the throne of Sigismund, the short-term reign of Albrecht II (1437-1439), and then the minor Ladislaus did not contribute to the strengthening of state power. Power actually passed into the hands of hetmans, who were elected in individual regions. Two parties fought for power in the country: the Catholic, led by Oldřik from Rožemberk, and the Hussite, led by Jan from Rokycany. In 1440, the 24-year-old cup maker Jiří from Poděbrady was elected the highest hetman, elected by the four eastern “regions”. In 1448, the Roman Curia refused to recognize John of Rokycany as Archbishop of the Czech Republic. Then, having concentrated troops loyal to him in the Kutna Hora region, Jiri from Poděbrady unexpectedly took Prague by storm in September 1448, appointed new consels from among the Chashniki and began a merciless fight against the civil strife of the lords, robberies and riots that interfered with the normal economic and political life of the country . The struggle between Jiri from Poděbrady and Sir Oldřík from Rožemberk continued until 1450. Using the support of the small and medium gentry and townspeople, Jiri from Poděbrady became the de facto ruler of the country and soon the Czech Sejm awarded him the title of “zemstvo governor”. He remained in this rank during the nominal reign of the minor Ladislaus Pogrob (1453-1457) from the Austrian Habsburg dynasty. The council of 12 persons established in the Czech Republic, headed by the zemstvo governor, was equal in powers to royal power. In 1457, Ladislav Pogrobok suddenly died and Jiri from Poděbrady (1458-1471) was elected king, who led the fight to strengthen and centralize the state.

Economic policy of Jiri from Poděbrady Relying on the small and middle nobility and the top burghers, he carried out reforms with the aim of developing cities and trade. In terms of agricultural production technology, the Czech Republic was at the level of advanced European countries. In agriculture, specialization deepened in the development of horticulture, viticulture, and truck farming, which made these branches of production especially effective. Large incomes were generated by breeding fish in artificial ponds. Czech feudal lords more often resorted to hiring rather than corvée, and gave their lands for short-term lease to peasants. At a high pace Industry developed, especially mining and metallurgy. Silver and copper smelting, paper and glass production, and printing made the Czech Republic one of the most economically developed regions of Central Europe.

Foreign policy situation of the Czech Republic. In 1462, the pope demanded complete obedience from the Czechs in religious matters and abolished the Basel Compacts. At the same time, he stated that he would recognize Jiri as king only on the condition of eradicating sects and teachings that disagree with the official Catholic Church. The Czech king declared his determination to fight for the compacts. In 1465, part of the Czech lords, with the active help of the papal curia, created the Zelenogorsk Union of Catholic Lords, led by Zdenek of Sternberg. Soon, the rebel lords refused to obey George of Poděbrady and elected Kazimir Jagiellonczyk as the Czech king with the right to transfer the throne to one of his sons. The struggle of the Zelenogorsk Confederation and the Pope against Jiri from Poděbrady took on increasingly acute forms. In 1468, Czech magnates managed to drag the Hungarian king Matthias Hunyadi (Matthew Corvinus) into the struggle, who occupied all of Moravia and in 1469 in Olomouc was proclaimed the Czech king by his supporters. Soon Matvey Corvinus also occupied Silesia.

The situation was extremely difficult. Jiri from Poděbrady decided to direct all efforts to defeat Matvey and his supporters. In the name of this, he renounced the rights of his heirs to the Czech throne and recognized these rights for the Polish royal dynasty. In 1469, the Czech Sejm elected the Polish prince Vladislav Jagiellon as heir to the Czech throne. On March 22, 1471, Jiří from Poděbrady died. With the coming to power of Vladislav Jagiellon, the Hussite period of Czech history ended.

The program of the Chashniki - the Czech burghers and knighthood, which sought to weaken the power of the Catholic Church, eliminate the dominance of the clergy and expand secular land ownership at the expense of the church, essentially boiled down to the demand for a “cheap church.” The Chashniki did not want changes in the social system of the Czech Republic.

They sought the adoption of the so-called four Prague articles, namely: the secularization of church lands, freedom of preaching in the spirit of Husism, the elimination of the exclusive position of the Catholic clergy by introducing communion “under both types” and the punishment of persons guilty of the so-called “deadly sins”.

The Chashniki program was anti-Catholic; it was also directed against foreign domination.

The four Prague articles were acceptable to both the Chashniks and the Taborites, who expressed the interests of the peasant masses and the urban lower classes. However, the Taborites understood the four articles differently than the Chashniks. The Taborites demanded complete and unconditional freedom of preaching.

From the demand for equality, the symbol of which was the cup, the masses derived the negation of feudal estates and the abolition of property differences. If the gentry and burghers, having seized church lands, thought only about how to retain their acquisitions, then the masses demanded the division of the lands taken from the clergy.

The starting point of the Taborite program was their doctrine of the beginning of a world revolution, which should end with the victory of good people over evil. The Taborites imagined the coup as an act of violent elimination of “sinners and opponents of God’s law,” by which they thought of the feudal lords, the highest church clergy and officials of the feudal state.

The Taborites viewed the revolution as “the work of God,” but argued that it should be started by the hands of the “faithful,” by the hands of “zealots of God’s cause,” under which they harassed people belonging to the working people. Each of the "faithful" was called upon to "personally shed the blood of those who oppose the law of Christ" and to "wash their hands in the blood of his enemies."

In a region cleared of enemies, the Taborites wanted to destroy all feudal orders and return communal lands to the peasantry.

They forbade “peasants and all subjects” to pay any kind of cess or tithe to the feudal lords and intended to establish in their region the “kingdom of God”, in which “every ruler would disappear, tribute and every secular state would cease.”

The Taborites envisaged a complete revolution in the affairs of the church. The existing church and all its orders were to be completely destroyed, and the property of the church was given to the working people.

In their plans for the new church, the Taborites went much further than Hus, declaring that there was no need for the Gospel itself, for the new “law of Christ will be written in the heart of everyone.” The veneration of “saints” was also abolished, as well as the effect of all church decrees and instructions of the “holy fathers”.

The Taborites called on the masses to introduce new order in the region they occupied and maintain this order by force of the sword until the general world revolution, which, according to their expectations, will be the work of “Christ himself.”

Consequently, the Taborite program was primarily anti-feudal.

In order to better organize the masses to fight the feudal lords, the Taborites introduced strict order and discipline in their camp, and the common use of all food supplies and other consumer goods.

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

The teachings of Jan Hus

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

The Hussite movement was formed around the theses that Jan Hus put forward when arguing with the papal throne about what was appropriate for a Christian priest. The Czech reformer believed that positions and indulgences should not be sold for money. Another controversial statement by the preacher was his idea that the Church is not infallible and should be criticized if vices are hidden within it. At that time, these were very bold words, because not a single Christian could argue with the pope and priests. Such people were automatically recognized as heretics.

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

Death of Huss

In 1414, Jan Hus was summoned to the Council of Constance, which took place in the German city on the shores of Lake Constance. Formally, the purpose of this meeting was to discuss the crisis in the Catholic Church, in which the Great Western Schism had occurred. For almost forty years there have been two popes at once. One was in Rome, the other was in France. Moreover, half of the Catholic countries supported one, and the other half supported the second.

Jan Hus already had a conflict with the Church; they tried to isolate him from his flock and banned his activities, but thanks to the intercession of the Czech secular authorities, the popular priest continued his preaching. Going to Constance, he demanded guarantees that he would not be touched. Promises were made. But when Hus was at the cathedral, he was arrested.

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

Beginning of the uprising in the Czech Republic

The Hussite reform movement swept the entire country. , city residents and knights did not like the violence of the Catholic Church over their national identity. There were also differences in adherence to some Christian rituals.

After the execution of Hus, the goals of the Hussite movement were finally formed: to rid the Czech Republic of Catholics and Germans. For some time the conflict was local character. However, the Pope, not wanting to give in to the heretics, declared a crusade in Moravia. Such military campaigns were the norm for the time. The first were organized in order to win Palestine from the Muslims and defend it. When the Middle East was lost to the Europeans, the church's gaze turned towards regions where various heretics or pagans were active. The most successful campaign was in the Baltic states, where two were created with their own territory. Now it is the Czech Republic's turn to survive the invasion of knights with a cross on their banners.

Sigismund and Jan Zizka

At the first stage of the war, the Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund became the commander-in-chief of the crusader army. He had already compromised himself in the eyes of the Czechs by not defending Hus when he was tried at the Council of Constance. Now the emperor became even more hated by the Slavic inhabitants.

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

Already in the Czech Republic, during the war against Sigismund, Zizka became completely blind, but remained the leader of the Hussites. He struck terror into his enemies with his appearance and cruelty. In 1420, the commander, along with an 8,000-strong army, came to the aid of the residents of Prague, driving out the crusaders, among whom a split occurred. After this event, for some time the entire Czech Republic was under the rule of the Hussites.

Radicals and moderates

However, another split soon occurred, which had already divided the Hussite movement. The reasons for the movement were the rejection of Catholicism and German rule over the Czech Republic. Soon a radical wing emerged, headed by Zizka. His supporters plundered Catholic monasteries and dealt with unwanted priests. These people organized their own camp on Mount Tabor, which is why they were soon called Taborites.

At the same time, there was a moderate movement among the Hussites. Its members were ready to compromise with the Catholic Church in exchange for some concessions. Due to disagreement between the rebels, the unified government in the Czech Republic soon ceased to exist. Emperor Sigismund tried to take advantage of this and began organizing the second Crusade against heretics.

Crusade against the Hussites

In 1421, the imperial army, which also included detachments of Hungarian and Polish knights, returned to the Czech Republic. Sigismund's goal was the city of Zatec, which was located near the German province of Saxony. An army of Taborites, led by Jan Zizka, came to the aid of the besieged fortress. The city was defended and from that day on the war continued with varying success for both sides.

Soon, participants in the Hussite movement received support from an unexpected ally in the form of an Orthodox army that came from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In this country there was an intense internal struggle to preserve the old faith and reject the Catholic influence that came from Poland. For several years, the Lithuanians, as well as their Russian subjects, helped the Hussites in their war against the emperor.

In 1423, Zizka's short-term success allowed him and his army to completely cleanse his country and even begin an intervention in neighboring Hungary. The Hussites reached the banks of the Danube, where the local royal army was waiting for them. Zizka did not dare to join the battle and turned back to his homeland.

The failure in Hungary led to the fact that the contradictions that split the Hussite movement again intensified. The reasons for the movement were forgotten, and the Taborites began a war against the moderates (who were also called Chashniks or Utraquists). The Radicals managed to win an important victory in June 1424, after which unity was briefly restored. However, already that autumn, Jan Zizka died of the plague. A trip to the memorial sites of the Hussite movement must include the city of Příbislav, where the famous Hussite leader died. Today Zizka is a national hero of the Czechs. A large number of monuments have been erected to him.

Continuation of the war

Zizka's place as leader of the Taborites was taken by Prokop Goly. He was a priest and came from an influential Prague family. At first Prokop was a cup drinker, but over time he became close to the radicals. In addition, he turned out to be a good commander.

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

The strategy and tactics of the rebels

In the battle of Ústí nad Labem, Prokop successfully used tactics that had appeared in the time of Jan Žižka. The beginning of the Hussite movement was distinguished by the fact that the new fighting units of the militia were untrained and unsuitable for combat with the professional army of the emperor. Over time, this deficiency was corrected due to the influx of knights to the protesting Czechs.

An important innovation of the Hussites was the Wagenburg. This was the name of the fortification, which was built from carts in order to defend a strategically important place on the battlefield. It was during the Czech War that firearms began to be used in Europe, but they were still in a rather primitive state and could not greatly influence the outcome of the battle. The key role was played by the cavalry, for which the Wagenburgs proved to be a difficult obstacle.

Guns were installed on such a cart, which shot the enemy and did not allow him to break through the fortifications. Wagenburgs were built in a rectangular shape. There were often cases when a ditch was dug around the carts, which became an additional advantage for the Hussites. One Wagenburg could accommodate up to 20 people, half of whom were riflemen who hit the approaching cavalry from a distance.

Thanks to tactical tricks, the army of Prokop the Naked once again expelled the Germans. After the Battle of Ústí nad Labem, Czech militias invaded Austria and Saxony several times over the course of three years and even besieged Vienna and Nuremberg, although unsuccessfully.

It is interesting that at this time the Hussites began to be actively supported by representatives of the Polish nobility, as well as knights from this country, despite their authorities. There is a simple explanation for these relationships. The Poles, like the Czechs, being Slavs, were afraid of increasing German influence on their land. Therefore, the Hussite movement, in short, was not only religious, but also acquired a national coloring.

Negotiations with Catholics

In 1431, Pope Martin V convened the Council of Basel (named after the meeting place), designed to resolve the conflict with the Czechs through diplomacy. Participants and leaders of the Hussite movement took advantage of this offer. A delegation was created and went to Basel. It was headed by Prokop Golyi. The negotiations he held with the Catholics ended in failure. The parties to the conflict were unable to reach a compromise. The Hussite embassy returned to their homeland.

The failure of the delegation led to another split among the rebels. Most of the Czech nobility decided to try again to come to an agreement with the Catholics, but no longer paying attention to the interests of the Taborites. This was the last and fateful break that destroyed the Hussite movement. The table shows the main events associated with the Czech uprising, led by the Chashniki and Taborites.

The final split of the Hussites

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

As a rule, each feudal lord had his own small army, consisting of a detachment of knights. When the alliance of lords united their forces, which were also joined by Catholics, as well as the Prague militia, the new army included 13 thousand well-armed professionals. The feudal lord Divish Borzek stood at the head of the Utraquist army. The future Czech king George of Poděbrady also joined the army.

Battle of Lipan

The Taborites were supported by 16 Czech cities, including Tabor itself, as well as Žatec, Nymburk, etc. The army of radicals was still led by Prokop Goly, whose right hand was another commander, Prokop Maly. On the eve of the battle with the enemy, the Taborites managed to take a convenient defensive position on a mountain slope. Prokop hoped for the success of his classical tactics, which included the use of Wagenburgs, as well as wearing down the enemy and a decisive counterattack.

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

Even on the eve of the battle, the lords left reserve heavily armed cavalry in the rear. This cavalry waited for the signal for a surprise attack until the Taborites found themselves in a defenseless position. Finally, fresh and full of strength, the knights struck the enemy, and the radicals rushed back to their original camp. Soon the Wagenburgs also fell. During the defense of these fortifications, the leaders of the Taborites, Prokop Goly and Prokop Maly, died. The Utraquists won a decisive victory that ended the Hussite wars.

The meaning of Hussite teachings

After the defeat at the Battle of Lipan, the radical wing was completely defeated. The Taborites still remained, but after 1434 they were never able to organize an uprising on a scale similar to the previous war. In the Czech Republic, a compromise coexistence of Catholics and Chasniks was established. The Utraquists were distinguished by slight changes in rituals during worship, as well as respectful memory of Jan Hus.

By and large, Czech society returned to the status it had before the uprising. Therefore, they did not lead to any radical changes in the life of the country. At the same time, the Crusades against heretics caused enormous damage; Central Europe still spent several decades healing the wounds inflicted by the war.

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

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

Chashniki and taborites. In 1419, two trends emerged in the Hussite camp - moderate and revolutionary. The moderates - the chashniki (one of their main demands was communion from the cup for everyone, and not just the clergy, which symbolized the abolition of the privileges of the clergy) united a significant part of the gentry, lords and the patrician elite of the cities. The program of the chashniki was set out in the “Four Articles of Prague” and boiled down to the following: worship should be performed in the Czech language; communion for laity and clergy should be the same - bread and wine; the clergy is deprived of all privileges; Church ceremonies are performed free of charge. These demands were also supported by the Taborites, giving them, however, a broader and more radical interpretation.

The revolutionary masses of the Hussites were called Taborites - from the name of Mount Tabor, on which the people gathered at the beginning of the movement; in 1420, the city of Tabor was founded in Southern Bohemia, which became the main military camp of the revolutionary Hussites. The Tabarites united the peasants, part of the burghers and the urban plebs; Some impoverished nobles also joined them. The Taborite program was not limited to church reform, but demanded the restructuring of all social and political life. However, resolutely rejecting the existing feudal system, the Taborites had a very vague idea of ​​the future, seeing in it a certain kingdom of equality in the spirit of biblical stories about paradise life. In this new society, in their opinion, there should not be poor and rich, oppressed and oppressors, people should live freely, like brothers and sisters. Rejecting exploitation, the Taborites in practice sought to rid the population of feudal oppression; they forbade peasants to pay quitrents and perform feudal duties.

In the context of ongoing wars, when masses of people gathered in Tabor and other Taborite cities who needed to be sheltered, fed, clothed and armed, the Taborite leaders made some radical changes.

All those who came to the Taborite communities had to pour their money into public kadis in order to spend it on general needs. This measure, naturally, was temporary.

The Taborites demanded a free interpretation of the Holy Scriptures, the destruction of all objects of Catholic worship, the destruction of churches and monasteries and the secularization of church and monastic property in favor of the people. They did not recognize the cult of saints and relics, the magnificent vestments of clergy. According to their teaching, the rite of worship could be performed by all people who knew the Scriptures, including women, without special vestments, in ordinary clothes.

Since the composition of the Taborites was very heterogeneous in their social character, moderate and radical-chiliastic movements appeared among them. The Chiliasts taught that in the near future the thousand-year reign of God would come on earth and complete equality between people would be established. They denied not only property, but also family. In 1421, the Chiliasts were expelled from Tabor by moderate Taborites led by Jan Žižka. The leaders of the Chiliasts, Martin Guska and others, were burned at the stake. This not only dealt a blow to chiliasm, but also generally undermined the revolutionary Hussite movement.

There was a constant ideological struggle between the Chashniki and the Taborites, and armed clashes broke out from time to time. Only in the face of a common threat from the crusaders did they unite to fight together. The Chashniki, who sought a compromise with the Catholics, tried to defeat the revolutionary wing of the Hussite movement, which led the struggle of the oppressed masses of the countryside and city against feudal exploitation. The Prague Chashniki managed to deprive the plebeian masses of Prague of their leadership by killing Jan Želivski in 1422. But their attempt to organize the murder of Jan Zizka ended in failure. Zizka brutally dealt with the traitors.

26.Chashniki and Taborites in the Hussite movement.

Two parties rose up to fight the dominant church. 1) Chashniki (ultraquists) they were more moderate. These included the lords and townspeople of the city of Prague, headed by the university. They talked about communion under both types. They spoke out for the alienation of church property and weakening the influence of the Church on secular affairs.

The Taborites (from the village of Tabor), a more radical party, consisted of inhabitants of small towns and villages. They they denied purgatory, prayers for the dead, veneration of relics, crosses, icons, consecration of water, salt, oil, palm trees, fasting, going on pilgrimages to holy places, etc. The Taborite movements began to spread throughout the villages. Preachers spoke about liberation from quitrents and corvee in favor of the clergy, who owned three-quarters of all the land in the state. These taxes and corvées seemed to them to be the same deviations from the word of God. Therefore, people flocked to Tabor in the hope of improving their financial situation. The movement also included the master's peasants, who also abandoned their farms.

27. The essence of the Hussite movement, its main results.

the name of the Czech reform religious movement, named after Jan Hus and which took revolutionary forms in 1419. Radical Hussites denied the authority of the Church and recognized only Holy Scripture as the only basis of faith. Moderate Hussites called for reform of the Church, perceived the sacraments mainly in the Catholic spirit, but demanded to simplify the liturgy and introduce worship in the Czech language.

The Utraquists, tired of the struggle, decided in 1431. At the Council in Basel, to reach an agreement with the Catholics, the following were concluded: compacts: 1) communion under both types is given to Czechs and Moravians upon reaching adulthood, both under the form of bread and under the form of wine meaning the body and blood of Christ; 2) mortal sins, if they concern canon law, are punished by the clergy, and if civil law, then by the state; 3) the word of God can be freely preached with the blessing of church authorities; 4) priests can own hereditary estates and manage church estates. The Taborites did not recognize this agreement and took up arms to defend their cause, but were defeated.

The internal struggle in the Czech Republic stopped only after the leader of the Utraquists, Yuri Poděbradsky, was declared regent of the state and took Tabor (1452). Most of the Taborites then united with the Utraquists and accepted their rituals and dogmas; a minority united around Peter Chelchitsky and formed a community of the so-called Czech brethren.

28. Features of the relationship between the monarch and the gentry in Poland. Union in Polish history.

Nobles - privileged class in the Kingdom of Poland. The peculiarity of the political development of Poland was that the class monarchy did not become a step towards the establishment of absolutism. Neither the magnates nor the gentry were interested in centralizing the feudal state and strengthening royal power. A conflict was brewing between the magnates and the gentry. The gentry supported King Sigismund I (1506-1548), who demanded the reduction (return) of crown estates, most of which were in the possession of large feudal lords. The resistance of the magnates did not produce results. At the same time, the gentry sought to subordinate royal power to their control. She stubbornly refused the king money to form a standing army. The struggle between magnates, gentry and spiritual feudal lords that took place within the ruling class ended in a compromise, which later turned out to be more beneficial to the large feudal lords. The compromise that took shape in 1569-1573 had a compromise character. constitution of the Polish state.

One of the basic principles of the gentry's constitution was the principle of the election of kings by the entire gentry. When the last king of the Jagiellonian dynasty, Sigismund II Augustus, died in 1572, the gentry achieved the right to participate in the election of a new king and acted as a decisive force during the election struggle. The French prince Henry of Valois (1573-1574), who was elected king of Poland, adopted the so-called Henry's Articles - the most important component of the gentry's constitution, which confirmed the principle of free election (election) of kings by the entire gentry. Without the consent of the Senate, the king could not declare war and make peace, and without the consent of the Sejm, convene a pospolitan destruction (a general feudal militia). The Senate Rada (council) was to sit under the king. The king's refusal to fulfill these obligations freed the magnates and gentry from obedience to him. According to the rules established later, the Sejm made decisions only if there was unanimity of its “ambassadors”. Frequent disruptions of the Sejms due to lack of unanimity over time led to the fact that real power in certain parts of the state was assigned to the local Sejmiks, where there were magnates. In addition to the usual diets, in the 16th-17th centuries. congresses of the armed gentry - a confederation - were convened, where the principle of unanimity was not applied. Often confederations were formed against the king. Such performances were called rokosh.

Union: Polish feudal lords sought to strengthen the Polish-Lithuanian union and to include the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in Poland. The Lithuanian gentry also sought to strengthen the union, hoping to acquire the privileges that the Polish gentry had. Opponents of incorporation (merger, literally “incorporation”) were Lithuanian magnates who wanted to maintain only a dynastic union with Poland.

Taking advantage of the difficult situation of Lithuania during the Livonian War, the Polish gentry at the Sejm in Lublin in 1569 imposed an agreement on the Lithuanian lords (the Union of Lublin), according to which Poland and Lithuania united into one state - the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth with a common central body - the Val Sejm. The head of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was simultaneously the King of Poland and the Grand Duke of Lithuania and was subject to election at the General Sejm. Each of the united states - Lithuania (principality) and Poland (crown) - retained its internal autonomy, separate administration, court, budget and army. Even before the conclusion of the Union of Lublin in the same 1569, Polish feudal lords included the Ukrainian lands of Lithuania in the crown. The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, formed in 1569, pursued an aggressive policy in the east.

29. Features of the representative system in Poland. Sejmiks and Valny Sejm. In old Poland, the Sejm was the name given to an estate-representative institution that enjoyed legislative power. Before the Sejm common to all of Poland arose, there already existed sejmiks, i.e., general meetings of the gentry, in which some see a continuation of the old veches. At the beginning of the 14th century, Poland, divided into appanages, was united into one whole, and each appanage retained its own peculiarity in the form of a voivodeship, and each voivodeship had its own sejmik. Unlike other medieval Sejms, the Pedagogical Sejm acquired the character of representing one gentry. The highest clergy were part of the royal council; the lower classes had no special representation at the Diet. The clergy did not appear at the sejmiks as representatives of the chapter or monastery, that is, they had no political weight. Cities were likewise excluded from representation.

From the middle of the 15th century. The main role at the congresses belonged to the lords and officials, but then the leading role begins to pass to the entire gentry. At the Val Diet, each ambassador represented his own land, and not the entire people; It was not the ambassadors who voted at the Sejms, so to speak, but the Sejmiks. The sejmiks met not only to elect ambassadors to the general sejm, but also to resolve issues about taxes, military service and the needs of the state in general.

Over time, cases of transferring issues from the Sejm to the Sejmiks are gradually becoming more frequent. Sejmiks even seize executive power into their own hands: little by little they acquire the right to appoint heads of voivodeship squads, castellans, elders, and tribunal judges. At the same time, they begin to gather more often, that is, more than once a year. Frequent disruptions of the Sejms due to lack of unanimity over time led to the fact that real power in certain parts of the state was assigned to the local Sejmiks, where there were magnates.

30. Cluny movement in the church. Strengthening the power of the pope.

The Cluny movement is a movement for the reform of monastic life in the Western Church in the 10th-11th centuries, the center of which was the Cluny Abbey.

It arose as a protest against the decline in the morality of monasticism and the clergy, against the interference of secular authorities in church life. The main requirement of the Cluny movement for the life of monks is strict adherence to the Rule of Benedict of Nursia; special attention was paid to the long and solemn celebration of the liturgy and strict adherence to the prayer routine. The leaders of the Cluny movement condemned simony, demanded strict adherence to celibacy by the clergy, and in practice sought to liberate monasteries from the power of secular lords and bishops. The Cluny reform contributed to the creation of libraries and scriptoria in monasteries and an increase in the intellectual level of monks. The reform was started by the second abbot of Cluny - St. Odon of Cluny.

During the Cluny movement, the Cluny congregation of monasteries was formed. It was strictly centralized and headed by the Abbot of Cluny, who was directly subordinate to the pope and did not depend on local church authorities. Monasteries that accepted the reform were removed from the authority of the local episcopate. Cluny was considered the abbot of all the monasteries of the congregation, and to manage daily affairs, the Abbot of Cluny himself appointed abbots to the monasteries, who received the title of prior. If at the beginning of the 11th century there were about thirty Cluny monasteries, then in the first half of the 12th century. - already more than a thousand. Strictly centralized, with virtually monarchical governance, the Cluny congregation, independent of secular and local spiritual authorities, was a powerful tool in the hands of the papacy both in strengthening its power in the church and in the struggle for independence from secular power.

Basic requirements of Clunians:

reformation of monasteries,

1 the introduction of a strict rule in them, based on the principles of strict asceticism and 2 obedience,

3 strict control over compliance with celibacy,

5 proclamation of complete independence of the reformed monasteries from any secular authority and from bishops, their direct subordination to the pope.

The result of the reform was the formation of a powerful congregation of hundreds of monasteries in the territory Western Europe under the leadership of Cluny, the strengthening of papal power and the Catholic Church. The Cluny reform became the foundation for the Gregorian reform (a movement in the Catholic Church at the end of the 11th century - the beginning of XII century. Requirements: get rid of simony (buying positions), celibacy and the struggle for investiture (the struggle between secular power and the papacy), since the appointment of bishops at that time was in the hands of secular authorities.)