Protestant Reformation- part 2



Jan Hus

Jan Hus grew up very poor in the Czech Republic. His last name Hus actually comes from the small town he grew up, Hussine. In Czech it means, GooseTown. So in a way his name was Jan the Goose.

In 1410, he became a pastor and philosophy professor and got hold of a copy of John Wycliffe's work while in college. He agreed strongly with Wycliffe and openly told people so. It was at this time also, that 3 people claimed to be Pope. Due to political allegiances, one lived in Avignon, one in Rome and the other in Pisa. These rival claims to the papal throne damaged the prestige of the office.

After word got to the Vatican of the beliefs of Jan Hus, he was soon in trouble. He was asked to attend a meeting to defend his opinions and promised safe passage. However, when Jan Hus arrived he was instantly arrested. The Pope selected 3 high ranking bishops to judge Jan Hus. They told Jan Hus that if he took back his opinions and agreed with them they wouldn't kill him. Jan Hus refused and told them to prove that he was wrong using the bible. He also admitted that he believed John Wycliffe was a saint. The catholic church were not happy with this and sentenced him to death for heresy.

Jan Hus fell to his knees and asked God to forgive his enemies. The church leaders gave him once last chance to take it back. He refused.

They chained Jan Hus to a wooden post by the neck. They piled the wood high up his chest and piled on copies of Wycliffe's book. They lit it and Jan Hus was burned alive. They then took his body and threw it in the river.


Not satisfied, the catholic church went and dug up the 20 year old dead body of John Wycliffe, burned it and threw it in the river just as they had to Hus.

https://youtu.be/MzN3z9zPK4s
10:45-17:15, 23-26

The Hussite Wars

The execution of Jan Hus angered many. Soon he had quite a following and they were critical of how Jan Hus was treated and agreed with his teachings.

In response, the catholic church banned them from any religious services. They banned funerals, marriages, baptisms or christenings. They expected this to turn everyday people against the Hussites but it only achieved winning people to their cause.

The Holy Roman Empire who ruled the lands tried to squash his growing number of his posthumous followers.

However, this just angered many. The angry mob of Hussites protested outside the old town. Allegedly a stone was thrown out of a window at the crowd. This angered the mob and they broke into the tower and captured the emperors men. What shall we do with them? Let's throw them out the window! This became known as the first defenestration of Prague. The other three would come within 400 years after and keep a long tradition of the Czech people throwing other people out of windows.


Jan Zizka

Zizka was a wellborn Czech mercenary. He lost an eye while fighting for the kingdom of Poland against the Teutonic Knights. He was nicknamed One-Eyed Zizka. The Teutonic Knights were sent to wage war and christanize the Pagan Polish.

When the Hussites angered the Catholic church, they were the target of another crusade. Jan Zizka joined their cause to again oppose the catholic church and the Pope.

The Emperor and the Pope had more numerous and professional soldiers and weapons. Whereas, most of the Hussite troops were farmers and peasants. Zizka had to think outside the box.

Hundreds of tall sided wagons.
Pitchforks
Scythes
Ploughs
Women
Dung = gunpowder

Hand cannons and wagonforts. Fire lance.

Tactically choose when to create a fort on the field.


Battle of Vitkov Hill outside Prague

The Czechs resented their emperor who they saw as trying to rule them through the use of foreign troops. 33 nations were represented in his army. 8,000 knights took the field with only 200.

They were tempted to surrender but understood that would not end well for them and, following Žižka's commands, positioned themselves and their wagons in a swampy area. The Crusaders had to dismount to engage, placing them on equal footing with the Hussites, who unleashed a barrage of fire and projectiles from behind their wagons and so won the Battle of Sudoměř.

Captured a castle in south bohemia. Lost his other eye. Totally blind he still led his men in battle and won.

Zizka died of plague in October 1424, as some have claimed, having never lost a single battle.

https://youtu.be/FD0WNwr5AGg

https://youtu.be/DXMPPSuChaE


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