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THE HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH, from the birth of Christ to the 18th Century: including the very interesting account of the Waldenses and Albigenses
By William Jones

First Edition 1812
Fourth Edition 1819
Fifth Edition 1826
London: Printed for the Author by W. Myers, 7, Took’s Court, Castle Street, Holborn

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[Table of Contents for "A History of the Christian Church" by William Jones]

CHAPTER FIVE -- SECTION 8

A VIEW OF THE STATE OF RELIGION IN ENGLAND AND BOHEMIA DURING THE THIRTEENTH AND FOURTEENTH CENTURIES, WITH SKETCHES OF THE HISTORY OF WICKLIFF, THE LOLLARDS, JOHN HUSS, AND JEROME OF PRAGUE; INCLUDING A CONCISE ACCOUNT OF THE "UNITAS FRATRUM," OR UNITED BOHEMIAN BRETHREN, TILL THE TIMES OF LUTHER.

An attentive reader of the preceding pages will have observed that when the governments of France and Spain lent their aid to second the views of the court of Rome, in expelling the Waldenses and Albigenses from their respective countries, the persecuted followers of Jesus Christ found an asylum in Bohemia, where their principles took deep root, and their numbers multiplied exceedingly. [See page 13,37, and 38 of this volume and the note from Thuanus, page 158.] As it is intended in this section to notice a little more particularly the progress of these principles, both in that kingdom and in our own country, at this interesting period, I must trespass upon the reader’s patience by laying before him a short extract from the impartial Thuanus, which, while it serves to refresh his memory by a recapitulation of what has already been related, will also furnish an introduction to what is to follow.

"PETER WALDO, a rich citizen of Lyons, about the year of Christ 1170, gave name to the Vaudois or Waldenses. This man (as has been recorded by Guy de Perpignan, bishop of Elna, who exercised the office of inquisitor against the Waldenses) leaving his house and estate, had entirely devoted himself to the profession of the gospel, and had procured the writings of the prophets and apostles to be translated into the language of the country, together with several testimonies from the primitive fathers; all which having well fixed in his mind, and trusting to his natural parts, he took up the office of preaching, and interpreted the gospel to the common people in the streets. And when in a short time, he had got about him a good number of followers, he sent them out into all parts, as disciples, to propagate the gospel. They, as being generally unlearned, having easily fallen into various errors, were cited by the archbishop of Lyons; and though they were, as he reports, convicted, yet they fortified themselves with mere obstinacy, saying, that in religious affairs, God, and not man, was to be obeyed. Being for this cut off from the church, and appealing to the pope, they were, in the council immediately preceding that of Lateran, condemned as altogether pertinacious and schismatical: from whence, becoming hated and execrated by all men, they wandered about without a home, and spread themselves up and down in Languedoc, Lombardy, and especially amongst the Alps, where they lay concealed and secure for many years. They were charged with these tenets--that the church of Rome, because it renounced the true faith of Christ was the whore of Babylon, and that barren tree which Christ himself cursed, and commanded to be plucked up--that consequently no obedience was to be paid to the pope, or to the bishops, who maintain her errors--that a monastic life was the sink and dungeon of the church; the vows of which were vain, and served only to promote the vile love of boys--that the orders of the priesthood were marks of the great beast mentioned in the Revelation--that the fire of purgatory, the solemn mass, the consecration-days of churches, the worship of saints, and propitiations for the dead, were the devices of Satan. Besides these principal and authentic heads of their doctrine, others were pretended, relating to marriage, the resurrection, the state of the soul after death, and to meats. Peter Waldo, therefore, their leader, quitting his country, came into the Netherlands, and having gained many followers in that province, which is now called Picardy, he removed from thence into Germany; and after a long abode amongst the Vandal cities, settled at last in Bohemia, where, even at this day, the professors of that doctrine are from thence called Picards. Waldo had a companion named Arnold, who by a different rout fell into Languedoc, and fixed himself at Alby, formerly called Alba of the Helvians, from whence came the Albigenses, who in a little time spread themselves amongst the people of Toulouse, Rovergue, Le Quercy, and Agen. Arnold was succeeded by Esperon and Joseph, and from these Gregory IX denominated them Arnoldists, Esperonites, and Josephists, and also Gazars, as all heretics at this day are called throughout Germany and the northern countries; which name is supposed to be taken from the emperor Leo III named Gazar, whom the Roman pontiffs accused beyond all other men of sacrilege and erroneous principles; though in other books they are styled the Pure, (Puritans) which name is also given to such as pretend to a purer doctrine in England. The same people are also called Leonines, from that Leo, who is nevertheless represented as a just and prudent prince, by Zonaras himself, who yet charges him with heretical pravity. He, at the persuasion of Theodotus a monk, had removed out of the churches all pictures and statues, which he considered as the fuel of impiety, and as traps to catch the ignorant multitude, by which God was offended; for which reason he was called the enemy of images. Though others imagine them to be rather called Leonines from one Leo, a Frenchman, of that sect, because Leo the emperor was too far distant from those times and places. Thus, however, they were nicknamed, either from their authors or favorers. From the place they were also styled Poor Men of Lyons, Albigenses, and in different quarters, for different causes, Tramontanes, Paterines, Lollards, Turlupins, and lastly Chaignards. As they carried divers faces, though their tails were tied together, (as pope Gregory IX expresses it, because they inveighed too vehemently against the wealth, pride, and vices of the popes, and alienated the people by degrees from their obedience to them) Innocent III used at first the spiritual sword against them, sending to the Albigenses twelve abbots of the Cistercian order, and after them Diego, bishop of Oxford, who carried with him that Dominic who afterwards founded the Dominican order. But when he found little success that way, laying aside the spiritual sword he drew the iron one, and made Leopold the sixth, Duke of Austria, for Germany, and Simon of Montfort, for France, commanders in the holy war, to whom many others joined themselves. Though from that time they were persecuted from place to place, yet at intervals there appeared some who frequently revived their doctrine; as John Wickliff, in England, John Huss, and Jerome of Prague, in Bohemia. And in our age, since the general reception of Luther’s doctrine, their scattered remains began to re-unite, and with the increase of Luther’s name to gather strength and authority, especially in the regions of the Alps and the adjacent provinces" [Thuanus’s History of his own Times, book 6]. Thus far Thuanus: we now proceed.

The usurpations of the court of Rome had reached their highest pitch about the thirteenth or fourteenth century. That astonishing system of spiritual tyranny had drawn within its vortex almost the whole government of England. The pope’s haughty legate, spurning at all law and equity, made even the ministers of justice to tremble at his tribunal; parliaments were overawed, and sovereigns obliged to temporize, while the lawless ecclesiastic, entrenched behind the authority of councils and decrees, set at naught the civil power, and opened an asylum to any, even the most profligate, disturbers of society. In the mean time, the taxes collected under various pretexts, by the agents of the See of Rome, amounted to five times as much as the taxes paid to the king! The insatiable avarice and insupportable tyranny of the court of Rome, had given such universal disgust, that a bold attack made about this time on the authority of that court, and the doctrines of that church, was, at first, more successful than could have been expected, in that dark and superstitious age. This attack was made by the famous JOHN WICKLIFF, who was one of the best and most learned men of the age in which he flourished. His reputation for learning, piety, and virtue, was so great, that Archbishop Islep appointed him the first warden of Canterbury college, Oxford, in 1365. His lectures in divinity which he read in that university, were much admired, though in these lectures he treated the clergy, and particularly the mendicant friars, with no little freedom and severity. A discourse which he published against the pope’s demand of homage and tribute from Edward III for the kingdom of England, recommended him so much to that prince, that the latter bestowed upon him several benefices, and employed him in several embassies. In one of these embassies to the court of Rome, in 1374, he discovered so many of the corruptions of that court, and of the errors of that church, that he became more bold and more severe in his censures of those errors and corruptions. He even proceeded so far as to call the pope antichrist, to deny his supremacy, and to expose his intolerable tyranny and extortions in the strongest colors. This, as might naturally have been expected, drew upon him the indignation of his holiness, and involved him in various troubles. POPE GREGORY XI published several thundering bulls against him, in 1377, commanding him to be seized, imprisoned, and brought to trial for his damnable heresies. The affection of the people, and the favor of the court, protected him from imprisonment; but he found it necessary to appear before Simon Sudbury, archbishop of Canterbury, and William Courthey, bishop of London, who had been appointed his judges by the pope. At this appearance he had the honor to be accompanied by two of the greatest men in the kingdom, John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster, and Lord Henry Percy, marshal of England. These two lords demanded a chair for Wickliff; which being denied by the bishop of London, some very angry words passed between that prelate and the Duke of Lancaster; which excited so violent a tumult in the court, that it broke up in great confusion, without doing any business. Wickliff made a second appearance before the papal commissioners at Lambeth, where he was attended by so great a body of the citizens of London, that his judges were deterred from pronouncing any sentence against him; and their commission soon after terminated by the death of the pope, March 27, 1378.

It is very difficult to discover, with certainty and precision, what were the real sentiments, in some particulars, of this illustrious champion of truth and liberty, against the errors and tyranny of the church of Rome; because he seems, in some things, to have changed his mind; and because certain tenets were imputed to him by his adversaries which he did not hold. It very plainly appears from his writings, that the doctrines which he taught were very nearly the same with those which were propagated by our more successful reformers in the sixteenth century.

The prosecution against Wickliff was suspended for some time, by the schism in the papacy which succeeded the death of Gregory XI and by the insurrection of the Commons in England, which threw all things into confusion. In this tumult, archbishop Sudbury, one of his most zealous adversaries, was beheaded by the insurgents on Tower-hill, June 14, 1381. William Courtney, bishop of London, was promoted to the primacy by a bull of pope Urban VI (who had been acknowledged in England to be the lawful pope,) dated the 8th of September in the same year. As soon as the insurrection of the Commons was quelled, and the public tranquillity restored, the new primate applied with great zeal to the suppression of the heretical opinions, as he esteemed them, which were propagated by Wickliff and his followers. With this view, he assembled a council of the bishops of his province, and many doctors of divinity, and of the civil and canon law, in the priory of the preaching friars, London, May 17, 1382.

Before this council he submitted twenty-four opinions, extracted from the writings of Wickliff, for their examination; and the council unanimously declared ten of these opinions heretical, and fourteen of them erroneous. Several suspected persons were then brought before the council, particularly Nicholas Hereford and Philip Rapyngdon, doctors in divinity, and John Ayshton, A.M. and commanded to declare their sentiments of these opinions. Their declarations appearing to the council evasive and unsatisfactory, they were pronounced to be convicted of heresy. The ancient historian Henry Knyghton relates, that Wickliff was brought before this council, and that he made a kind of recantation of his heretical opinions. But as nothing of this appears in the record, it is probably a mistake, if not a calumny. On the day after the conclusion of this council, there was a solemn procession in London; after which Dr. Kinyghan, a Carmelite friar, preached to the people, and published the doctrines which had been condemned; declaring, that all persons who taught, favored, or believed any of these doctrines, were excommunicated heretics. To give the greater weight to the decrees of this council, the clergy prevailed upon the king to publish a proclamation, July 12, authorizing and commanding the bishops to seize and imprison all persons who were suspected of holding any of the doctrines which had been condemned.

The doctrines of Wickliff had for some years made a mighty noise in the university of Oxford, where they were first published, and where they had many violent opposers, and many zealous advocates. Dr. Berton, who was chancellor of the University in 1381, and Dr. Stokes, were at the head of the former, and Dr. Hereford and Dr. Rapyngdon at the head of the latter. The Archbishop of Canterbury sent the decrees of his late council to Oxford, commanding Dr. Stokes to publish them at St. Frideswyde’s church, on Corpus-Christi day; and Dr. Rigge, the chancellor of the University, to assist and protect him in performing that office. Dr. Philip Rapyngdon had been appointed to preach at that church on that day, and he declaimed with great vehemence against the corruptions of the church, and in defense of the doctrines of Wickliff; and his sermon was heard with approbation. But when Dr. Stokes attempted to publish the decrees of the council of London, he was interrupted with clamors and reproaches, which obliged him to desist, without having received any countenance or protection from the chancellor or proctors, who were secret favorers of the new opinions. For this negligence they were summoned to appear before Archbishop Courtney, who treated them very roughly, and by threats prevailed upon them to return to Oxford, and to publish the decrees of the council of London, both in Latin and English, first in St. Mary’s church, and afterwards in the schools.

While the doctrines of Wickliff were propagated and opposed with so much zeal, at Oxford and other places, he, being in a declining state of health, resided, during the two last years of his life, at his living of Lutterworth, in Leicestershire, employed in finishing his translation of the Bible, and other works. Being seized with a stroke of the palsy, which deprived him of his speech, December 28, 1384, he expired on the last day of that year.* As the clergy had hated and persecuted him with great violence during his life, they exulted with indecent joy at his disease and death, ascribing them to the immediate vengeance of Heaven for his heresy. "On the day of St. Thomas the Martyr, Archbishop of Canterbury, says Walsingham, a contemporary historian, that limb of the devil, enemy of the church, deceiver of the people, idol of heretics, mirror of hypocrites, author of schisms, sower of hatred, and inventor of lies, John Wickliff, was, by the immediate judgment of God, suddenly struck with a palsy, which seized all the members of his body, when he was ready, as they say, to vomit forth his blasphemies against the blessed St. Thomas, in a sermon which he had prepared to preach that day." But these reproaches do honor to his memory, as they were brought upon him by his vigorous efforts to deliver his countrymen from the errors, superstitions, and extortions of the Church of Rome.

[* It appears that before the death of Wickliff, his principles had extended into Bohemia, and that John Huss had begun to sow the seeds of reform in that country also. The following letter, written by our great English reformer, in the last year of his life, is too valuable to be omitted. LETTER FROM WICKLIFF TO HUSS -- "Health and Salvation; and if anything can be devised or expressed more loving and dear in the bowels of Jesus Christ. Dear brethren in the Lord, whom I love in the truth, and not I only, but all those who know the truth; I say that the truth, which dwelleth in us by the grace of God, shall be with us for ever. I rejoiced greatly at the brethren, coming to us from you, bearing testimony of you in the truth, and that ye walk in truth. I have heard how antichrist troubleth you, causing many and various tribulations to the faithful in Christ. And no wonder that such things should be done among you, since the law of Christ suffereth oppression from its adversaries over all the world; and from that red dragon with many heads, which John speaks of in the Revelation, that cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that she might be carried away of it. But the Lord, who is faithful, will certainly rescue his dearly beloved spouse. Let us be strengthened and comforted in the Lord our God, and in his infinite goodness, and be firmly persuaded that he will not permit his beloved to fail of his proposed reward for them, if we only love him (as we ought) with our whole heart. For adversity shall not prevail over us, if iniquity do not prevail. Therefore let no affliction, pressure, or torment, for the sake of Christ, cast us down, or cause us to despair; since we know, that whomsoever the Lord accounteth as sons, he chasteneth. For the Father of Mercy exerciseth us in adversity in this present life, that he may afterwards spare us; as that gold which a skillful workman chooseth is tried in the fire by him, that afterwards he may put it into his pure, eternal, treasure. We know that this present life is but short and transitory: but that life which we expect, and which is to come, is happy and eternal. Let us labor, while we have time, that we may be found worthy to enter into that rest. Let me entreat you to consider, that we see nothing else in this life, but grief, anguish, and sorrow; and what ought to trouble the faithful most of all, a contempt and trampling down of the divine laws. Let us endeavor, as much as lies in our power, to lay hold of those good things, which shall always endure and be eternal; denying our transient and frail senses. Let us look back upon and consider the behavior of our ancestors in former ages. Let us call to mind the saints of both the Old and New Testament; how they bore tossings, tempests, and adversities, in this sea of trouble, -- imprisonments, and bonds. They were stoned; they were sawn asunder; they were slain by the sword. They wandered about in sheep and in goat skins, and other such like things; as the Epistle to the Hebrews recounteth at large; all walking in, and following the footsteps of Christ, in that narrow path, who said, ‘Where I am, there shall my servant be also.’ Since we have such a cloud of witnesses of the saints in former times placed before us, let us lay aside every offense and weight, yea, sin, which besets us, and run with patience the race that is set before us; looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith; who cheerfully endured the cross, despising all contempt and shame. Let us consider how he bore such contradiction against himself from sinners, and let us not be weary with desponding minds: but let us beg assistance from the Lord, with all our heart, and fight manfully against his adversary, antichrist. Let us love his laws with all our heart, and be not fraudulent and deceitful laborers; but act boldly in all things, as far as the Lord permits us; and let us be valiant in the cause of God, and in hope of an eternal reward. Do thou, therefore, O Huss! a brother greatly beloved in Christ, unknown to me indeed in person, but not in faith and love; (for, what part of the world can tear asunder, and separate those whom the love of Christ unites?) be comforted and strengthened in the grace which is given thee. As a good soldier of Jesus Christ, war in word and in deed; and recall into the way of truth as many as thou art able: because neither by erroneous and deceitful decrees, nor by the false opinions and doctrines of antichrist, is the truth of the Gospel to be kept in silence and in secret. Rather comfort and strengthen the members of Christ, by weakening the wiles and deceit of Satan: because antichrist shall come to an end in a short time; it is the will of the Lord! It is a great joy to me, that not only in your kingdom, but elsewhere, God hath so strengthened the hearts of some, that they suffer with pleasure, imprisonments, banishments, and even death itself, for the word of God. I have nothing more to write, beloved brethren, only that I willingly confess I would strengthen you and all the lovers of Christ’s laws, in the law of the love of God. Therefore I salute them from the bowels of my heart; particularly your companion [probably Jerome of Prague]; entreating that you would pray for me and the whole church. And the God of peace, who raised from the dead that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, our Lord Jesus Christ, fit you for every good work; that ye may do what is acceptable to him, through Jesus Christ our Lord: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen."]

Though the joy of the clergy at the death of Wickliff was very great, it was not of long duration. They soon found, that his doctrines had not died with him, but were propagated with great zeal, and no little success, by his followers, who were commonly called LOLLARDS.** Many of those who were preachers traveled up and down the country on foot, in a very plain dress, declaiming with great vehemence against the corruptions of the church, and the vices of the clergy. These preachers were not only admired and followed by the common people, but were favored and protected by several persons of high rank and great power, particularly by the Duke of Lancaster, the lords Percy, Latimer, Clifford, Hilton, and others. By the zeal, activity, and eloquence of the preachers, under the protection of these great men, the new doctrines, as they were called, gained ground so fast, that, as a contemporary historian of the best credit affirms, "more than one half of the people of England, in a few years, became Lollards." The same historian, who was a clergyman, and a most inveterate enemy to the Lollards, acknowledges, that as Wickliff excelled all the learned men of his age in disputation, so some of his followers, in a very little time, became very eloquent preachers and very powerful disputants; which he ascribes to the assistance of the devil, who, he says, took possession of them as soon as they became Lollards.

[** Even to the present day, the derivation of the term LOLLARD remains a point of doubt and uncertainty. Clark in his Martyrology, p. 111, says, "About this time, A.D. 1210, the English, who now possessed Guienne which bordered upon the Earldom of Toulouse, began to help the Albigenses, being stirred up thereto by Raynard Lollard, a godly and learned man, who by his powerful preaching converted many to the truth, and defended the faith of the Alblgenses." He further adds, that "John le Meyer much commends this Lollard, who foretold many things by divine revelation, which, saith he, came to pass in my time, and therefore he putteth him into the rank of holy prophets. And as for his learning, it is evident by his Comment upon the Revelation, where he setteth forth many things that are spoken of the Roman antichrist. This worthy man was afterwards apprehended in Germany, and being delivered to the secular power, was burnt at Cologne." A few pages afterwards we find the following short paragraph in the same volume. "Anno Christi 1322, Lollard Walterus, from whom our English professors were called Lollards, was taken at Cologne, where he had privately preached, and through God’s blessing, drawn many from ignorance and error to embrace the truth, and persisting constantly in his opinions, he was condemned and burnt alive," p. 124. The discrepancies in these two accounts are so many and palpable, that they are not easily reconciled. I find no evidence that there were two persons of the name of Lollard, at the distance of more than a century from each other, both preachers of the Gospel, and burnt at Cologne for heresy. It is observable too, that even the latter account fixes the martyrdom of Lollard two years before the birth of Wickliff, who, therefore, though he may have read some of his writings, could not possibly have seen him nor been instructed by him.]

The clergy, alarmed and enraged at this rapid progress of the new opinions, attempted to put a stop to it by violence and persecution, which have been often employed by power against truth. They procured, or at least promulgated, a statute, which still appears in our statute-book, (though the Commons, it is said, never gave their assent to it,) empowering and commanding all sheriffs to seize and imprison all preachers of heresy. They also prevailed upon the king, in 1387, to grant a commission to certain persons to seize all the books and writings of John Wickliff, Nicholas Hereford, John Ayshton, and other heretical writers, and to imprison all who transcribed, sold, bought, or concealed such books. By these methods the clergy hoped to interrupt the preaching and writing of the reforming teachers, by which they chiefly propagated their opinions. But the contemporary historian Knyghton observes, with regret, "that these laws and edicts were but slowly and faintly executed, because the time of correction was not yet come."

Though the violent factions amongst the nobility, and the general animosity of the laity against the clergy, on account of their excessive power and riches, prevented for a time a rigorous execution of the penal statutes against heretics; several persons were apprehended and tried upon these statutes. Some of them, as particularly Hereford, Ayshton, and Rapyngdon, who had been the most zealous propagators of Wickliff’s doctrines, were, by threats and promises, prevailed upon to make a kind of recantation, and to desist from preaching these doctrines. Others escaped with slight censures, by giving artful, evasive explanations of their tenets. In general it may be observed, that the followers of Wickliff were not very ambitious of the crown of martyrdom; and none of them were capitally punished in the reign of Richard II.

In spite of all the laws that had been made in England against the tyrannical usurpations of the court of Rome, they still continued, or rather increased. When a clerk had obtained a sentence in favor of his presentation to a church in the king’s court, and the bishop of the diocese had inducted him in consequence of that sentence, it was usual for the pope, on the complaint of the losing party, to excommunicate the bishop. When an English bishop had by any means offended his holiness, he sometimes punished him, by translating him to a foreign see, without his own consent, or that of the king. Upon a complaint of these papal usurpations by the Commons, in a parliament at Winchester, in 1392, a very severe law was made for the punishment of those who solicited, or brought into the kingdom, any papal bulls of excommunication, translation, or other thing against the rights and dignity of the crown. These contests between the king and parliament of England and the court of Rome, encouraged the Lollards to make a bold and direct attack on the established church. Accordingly, they presented to a parliament, which was held by the Duke of York, the king being in Ireland, at Westminster, in 1394, a remonstrance containing twelve articles of complaint against the church and clergy; praying for redress and reformation. In this remonstrance, they complain chiefly of the exorbitant power, excessive wealth, and profligate lives of the clergy, which last they ascribe chiefly to their vows of celibacy;--of transubstantiation and the superstitious practices which the belief of it produced;--of prayers for the dead;--of the worship of images;--of pilgrimages;--of auricular confession, and its consequences;--and of several other particulars in which the present Protestant churches differ from the church of Rome. What reception this remonstrance met with from the parliament, we are not informed. About the same time the Lollards published several satirical papers, painting the deceitful arts, abominable vices, and absurd opinions of the clergy in very strong colors; which excited both the contempt and hatred of the people against them. Some of these papers, written with much asperity, and no little wit, were pasted up on the most public places in London and Westminster.

The clergy were so much alarmed at these bold attacks, that they dispatched the archbishop of York, the bishop of London, and several other commissioners, to the king then in Ireland, to entreat him to return immediately into England, to protect the church, which was in danger of destruction. "As soon," says a contemporary historian, "as the king heard the representation of the commissioners, being inspired with the Divine Spirit, he hastened into England, thinking it more necessary to defend the church than to conquer kingdoms." On his arrival, he called before him the lords Clifford, Latimer, Montague, and other great men who favored the Lollards, and threatened them with immediate death, if they gave any further encouragement to heretical preachers. Intimidated by these threats, they complied with the king’s desire, and withdrew their protection. Several of the Lollard preachers, discouraged by this defection of their patrons, soon after recanted their opinions, and returned into the bosom of the church. Thomas Arundel, archbishop of York, who was a most violent enemy to the Lollards, obliged those in his province who recanted, to take the following curious oath, which is given in the original language and spelling:

"I -----, before you, worshipful fader and lord archbishop of Yhork, and your clergy, with my free will and full avysed, swere to God and all his seyntes, upon this holy gospel, that fro this day forthword, I shall worship images, with praying and offering unto them, in the worship of the saints, that they may be made after; and also, I shall never more despise pylgremage, ne states of holy chyrche, in no degre. And also I shall be buxum to the laws of holy chyrche, and to yhowe as to myn archbishop, and myn other ordinaries and curates, and keep the laws up my power and meyntein them. And also, I shall never more meyntein, ne techen, ne defenden, errors, conclusions, ne techeng of the Lollards, ne swych conclusions and techengs that men clopeth Lollards doctrine; ne shall her books, ne swych books, ne hem or ony suspect or diffamed of Lollardary, receyve or company with aft, willingly, or defend in tho matters: and if I know any swych, I shall, with all the hast that I may, do yhowe, or els your nex officers, to wyten, and of ther bokes, etc." [Collier’s Ecclesiastical History, volume 1, p. 598-9; Wood’s History of Oxon, 190-192; Lewis’s Life of Wickliff, Anglia Sacra, tom. 2, p. 121 Walsingham, page 201-205. Biographia Britannica, Art. Wickliff Spelman’s Council. tom. 2, p. 629-636; Henry’s Great Britain, volume 7, 8vo. book 4, chapter 2, sect. 2].

The kingdom of BOHEMIA, is, in point of territorial surface, the most elevated ground, the most mountainous, and by nature the strongest in Germany. Its inhabitants too have ever been distinguished by the loftiness of their spirit, and the rigor and success of their struggles for civil and religious liberty. The country is almost surrounded by the mountains of the famous Hyrcanian forest, whose sides, broken into many sloping ridges, intersect this lofty and spacious amphitheater, and form a landscape bold, various, and of great beauty. The metropolis of the country is Prague, a city of great extent, stretching along the banks, and on either side of the river Mulda, adorned with many sumptuous edifices, and particularly two strong castles, one of which was the residence of the ancient Bohemian kings. The ancient inhabitants are represented by contemporary historians, as a people of a ruddy complexion, and of enormous stature and muscular strength; in their dispositions intrepid, fierce, proud, quick in resenting injuries, of a haughty deportment, lovers of a rude magnificence and pomp, and naturally addicted to revels and intemperance. The native language of Bohemia is the Sclavonic, which also appears to have been the mother tongue of the Tartars, and their offspring the Turks, and of all the nations inhabiting those regions which extend from the northern parts of Russia to Turkey in Europe. [Namely, Russia, Poland, Lithuania, Hungary, Transylvania, Sclavona, Croatia, Istria, Wallachia, etc., etc. See Dr. Watson’s History of Philip III, King of Spain, book 6.]

The authority of the church of Rome was never so great and general as entirely to banish from the nations of Europe a spirit of inquiry, or the love of knowledge. During the thickest darkness of the middle ages, a star appeared here and there in the firmament, which reflected the light of ancient times, and formed a presage, that although the sun of science was set, it would return to enlighten bewildered nations. We have seen that so early as the eighth century, Claude of Turin sowed the seeds of reformation in the valleys of Piedmont, whence they were gradually transplanted into other countries. In the thirteenth century, the Waldenses or Albigenses, names almost indiscriminately applied to the disciples of Claude, were multiplied throughout France to an astonishing degree; and when scattered by the persecuting power of Rome, they were driven into Bohemia, Livonia, and Poland, in the former of which places we learn that there were no less than eighty thousand of them at the commencement of the fourteenth century.

We are informed by Sleidan, that the Bohemians were divided, on the article of religion, into three classes, or sects. The first were such as acknowledged the pope of Rome to be head of the church, and vicar of Jesus Christ; the second were those that received the eucharist in both kinds, and in celebrating mass, read some things in the vulgar tongue, but in all other matters differ nothing from the church of Rome; the third were those who went by the name of Picards or Beghardi--these called the pope of Rome and all his party antichrist, and the whore that is described in the Revelation (chapter 17). They admitted, says he, of nothing but the Bible, as the ground of their doctrine; they chose their own priests and bishops, denied marriages to no man, performed no offices for the dead, and had but very few holidays and ceremonies. [Sleidan’s History of the Reformation, book 3, p. 53.] It is obvious, therefore, that the latter class alone were the genuine Waldenses, and that the second were a species of dissenting-conformists, differing but little from our English episcopalians. It is proper the reader should keep this distinction clearly in view; he will otherwise fall into a mistake which is very prevalent, respecting the principles of John Huss and Jerome of Prague, who are generally supposed to have belonged to the sect of the Waldenses, though, in fact, they ranked with the second class mentioned by Sleidan, and never gave up the communion of the church of Rome. They were in Bohemia what Wickliff was in England, members of the established church, dissatisfied with its corruptions, and strenuous advocates for a reform both in its doctrine and discipline, like many of the evangelical clergy in our day, but without the virtue of dissenting from its communion, and of bearing a public and decided testimony to its antichristian spirit and constitution. The whole of the history of these Reformers, which is so circumstantially given by L’Enfant, in his history of the council of Constance, and with such demonstrable impartiality, affords unquestionable proof of the truth of this observation. [History of the Council of Constance, volume 1, passim.]

When or by whom the gospel was first preached in Bohemia, is a very doubtful point. That Paul preached the Gospel in Illyricum, and that Titus visited Dalmatia, are things capable of proof from Romans 15:19; 2 Timothy 4:10. And hence the Bohemians infer, that it was preached in all the countries of Sclavonia in the first ages of Christianity. [Crantz’s History of the Bohemian Brethren, p. 13.] They say that St. Jerome, a native of Illyricum, translated the Scriptures into his native tongue, and that all the nations of Sclavonian extraction use that translation to this day, just as the Latin church use the Vulgate; and further, that their bishops and martyrs are mentioned in the early ages of the church. But whatever of truth there may be in this, it is certain that Bohemia partook of the general corruption, and was immersed in darkness and superstition, when Waldo and his friends sought an asylum in that kingdom, and in the year 1176 formed a colony at Saltz and Laun, on the river Eger. These Waldenses found the Bohemians tenacious of the rites and ceremonies of the Greek church, which are scarcely less superstitious than those of the church of Rome; but they endeavored to convince them of their defects of the religious exercises, and introduced among them the knowledge of the Christian faith in its purity, according to the word of God. [Paul Stransky, de Repub. Bohem. p. 272.] Popery was not fully established in Bohemia till the fourteenth century, and then not by the consent of the Bohemians, but by the power and artifice of the Emperor Charles IV. Two of his chaplains endeavored to persuade his Majesty to curb the pope and reform the church, but they were both banished for their officious zeal. One of them, whose name was Janovius, and had studied at Paris, being a person of piety and erudition, was a very hearty friend to reform, and both preached and published against the antichristian hypocrisy of the times: but as he knew the world, and, by residing at court, thoroughly understood the motives and views of great men, he comforted his friends with these remarkable words just before he expired. "The fury of the enemies of truth now prevails against us, but it will not always be so: a mean people will arise without sword or power, and against them they will never be able to prevail." A saying full of wisdom, and confirmed by the experience of ages; for reformation of abuses rarely proceeds from those that are in possession of power. By the banishment of these two eminent men, the voice of reform was silenced. Ignorance, profligacy, and vice, prevailed amongst all orders of men in the national church: the Inquisition was introduced for the purpose of enforcing despotism in the civil government, and uniformity of opinion in matters of religion. The consequence was, that multitudes withdrew themselves from the public places of worship, and followed the dictates of their own consciences by worshipping God in private houses, woods, and caves. Here they were persecuted, dragooned, drowned, and killed; and thus matters went on till the appearance of John Huss, and Jerome of Prague. [Crantz’s History, p. 1. sect. 4. and Robinson’s Ecclesiastes Researches, p, 480; SYNOPSIS Hist. Persecut. Ecclesiastes Bohem. cap. 7.]

It was in the latter part of the life of Wickliff, that king Richard II of England married Ann, the sister of Winceslaus, king of Bohemia; and in consequence of this family alliance, a free intercourse was opened between the two kingdoms. About the same time JOHN HUSS, who had been a student in the University of Prague, where he had taken his degrees, became a zealous disciple of Wickliff. He was born in the village of Hussinetz, in 1378, of parents not in affluent circumstances; at the age of twenty he was raised to the dignity of professor in the University of Prague, and in 1400 appointed preacher in one of the largest churches of that city. He was a person of eminent abilities, and of still more eminent zeal; his talents were popular, his life irreproachable, and his manners the most affable and engaging. He was the idol of the populace; but in proportion as he attracted their esteem and regard, he drew upon himself the execration of the priests.

Peter Payne, principal of Edmund Hall, in the University of Oxford, a man equally distinguished for his talents and his inflexible opposition to the friars, appears to have been the instrument of first conveying into Bohemia the writings of our countryman Wickliff, of which he was a great admirer. Payne is said to have been a good disputant, and to have signalized himself in a controversy with Walden, the Carmelite, on the subjects of pilgrimage, the eucharist, images, and relicts, etc., etc. -- in consequence of which he became so obnoxious to the clergy, that he was obliged to quit the University and flee into Bohemia, where he carried with him a number of Wickliff’s tracts, which were highly esteemed by Huss, Jerome, and the greater part of the University of Prague. The introduction of Wickliff’s writings, however, into that University, gave great offense to the Archbishop of Prague, who issued his orders that every person that was in possession of them should bring the books to him, in order that such as contained any thing heretical might be burnt! And we are accordingly told that two hundred volumes of them, finely written, and adorned with costly covers and gold borders, probably belonging to some of the nobility, were committed to the flames, by Archbishop Sbynko; a conduct which excited great disgust in the minds of the students of the University of Prague, and of Huss in particular, who took every opportunity to persuade the members of the University that the conduct of the archbishop was an infringement on the rights, liberties, and privileges of their Seminary, whose members had a right to read all sorts of books without molestation. Huss and his friends consequently appealed from the mandate of the archbishop to Gregory XII who was then acknowledged pope in Germany; and the latter cited the archbishop to Rome. The prelate, however, informed his holiness how deeply the writings of Wickliff had taken root in Bohemia, on which he obtained a bull authorizing him to prevent the propagation of Wickliff’s doctrine in his diocese; at the same time condemning them in the most pointed manner as heretical, and issuing processes against four eminent doctors of the university, who had refused to deliver up the writings of Wickliff which were in their possession, and prohibiting them, notwithstanding their ecclesiastical dignities, from preaching in any congregation. Huss, and the members of the university, entered a protest against these proceedings, and on the 25th of June, 1410, appealed from the sentence of the archbishop to the court of Rome. The affair was carried before POPE JOHN XXIII who granted a commission to Cardinal Colonna, to cite Huss to appear personally before him at Rome, and there answer to the accusations laid against him of preaching both errors and heresies. Huss desired to be excused a personal appearance, and so greatly was he favored in Bohemia, that king Winceslaus, his queen, the nobility, and the University at large, joined in a request to the pope, that he would dispense with such an appearance; and moreover, that he would not suffer thy kingdom of Bohemia to be subject to the imputation of heresy, but permit them to preach the gospel with freedom in their places of worship; and that he would send legates to Prague to correct any presumed abuses, the expense of which should be defrayed by the Bohemians. [Dupin’s Ecclesiastes Hist. 15th century; Lewis’s Life of Wickliff; Rolt’s Lives of the Reformers, p. 13.]

Three proctors were dispatched to Rome to tender Huss’s apology to his holiness; but the excuses alleged were deemed insufficient, and Huss being declared contumacious, was accordingly excommunicated. This excommunication extended also to his disciples and friends; he himself was declared a promoter of heresy, and an interdict was pronounced against him! From these proceedings he appealed to a future council; and notwithstanding the decision of the court of Rome, he retired to Hussinetz, the place of his nativity, where he boldly continued to propagate his sentiments both from the pulpit and by means of his pen. The letters which he at this time wrote, are very numerous; he also drew up a Treatise defending the character and writings of Wickliff, and justifying his own conduct in reading his works.

The extraordinary state of affairs at this juncture, in reference to the chair of St. Peter, tended for awhile to screen Huss from the vengeance of his adversaries, by diverting their attention from him. In the year 1378, Pope Gregory XI died, and was succeeded by the archbishop of Barri, a Neapolitan, who assumed the name of Urban VI. This pontiff, a man of a haughty temper, began his reign in so arbitrary a manner, that he alienated from him the affections of his subjects; and his own cardinals so highly resented his behavior that they set aside his election, and chose Clement VII in his room. The consequence was, that Urban refusing to vacate his office, there were TWO POPES, laying an equal claim to St. Peter’s chair, each strenuously exerting himself to strengthen his party; their quarrel immediately became, in the opinion of their deluded votaries, the cause of God; each found adherents in every part of Europe, and much human blood was spilt in the contest. During a period of more than twenty years were these ambitious prelates roaming up and down Europe, like wolves or beasts of prey, until at length, to put a termination to this disgraceful schism, Alexander V was elected to the popedom, in hopes that by this event the other two popes would relinquish their claims. But restless ambition intervened: neither of them would give up his power, and from this time the church was governed, if such a state of anarchy may be called government, by THREE POPES at a time--their names now were John, Gregory, and Benedict. With a view to heal this fatal schism, and repair the disorders that had sprung up during its continuance as well as to bring about a reformation of the clergy, which was now loudly and generally called for, in the year 1414, the Emperor Sigismund convened the council of Constance. Hither, from all parts of Europe, princes and prelates, clergy, laity, regulars and seculars flocked together. Fox, the martyrologist, has given us a humorous catalogue of this grotesque assembly. "There were," says he, "archbishops and bishops 846; abbots and doctors 564; princes, dukes, earls, knights, and squires 16,000; prostitutes 450; barbers 600; musicians, cooks, and jesters 820."

The council of Constance was assembled November 16, 1414, to determine the dispute between the three contending factions for the papacy, and thither Huss was cited to appear, in order to justify his conduct and writings. The Emperor Sigismund, brother and successor of Winceslaus, encouraged Huss to obey the summons, and as an inducement to his compliance, sent him a passport with assurance of safe conduct, permitting him to come freely to the council, and pledging himself for his safe return. Huss consented, and in all the cities through which he passed he caused placards to be issued, stating that he was going to the council to answer all the accusations that were made against him, inviting his adversaries to meet him there.

No sooner had Huss arrived within the pope’s jurisdiction, than, regardless of the emperor’s passport, he was arrested and committed close prisoner to a chamber in the palace. This violation of common law and justice was noticed by the friends of Huss, who had, out of the respect they bore his character, accompanied him to Constance. They urged the imperial safe-conduct; but the pope replied, that he never granted any safe-conduct, nor was he bound by that of the emperor. [As the affair of the safe-conduct, on which the aggravation of the injuries done to Huss so greatly depends, is placed in different lights by Protestant and Popish writers, it may not be improper to inquire into the merits of it, and to lay before the reader the principal topics of the argument on both sides of the question. In answer to the Protestants’ exclamations against so notorious a breach of faith, the Papist thus apologizes: "We allow," says Maimburgh, that "Huss obtained a safe-conduct from the emperor: but for what end did he obtain it? Why, to defend his doctrine, if his doctrine was indefensible, his pass was invalid." "It was alway," says Rosweide, a Jesuit, "supposed, in the safe-conduct that justice should have its course." "Besides," cry a number of apologizers, "the emperor plainly exceeded his powers. By the canon-law he could not grant a pass to a heretic; and by the decretals the council might annul any imperial act." "Nay, farther," say Morery, "if we examine the pass, we shall find it, at best, a promise of security only till his arrival at Constance; or, indeed, rather a more recommendation of him to the cities through which he passed: so that, in fact, it was righteously fulfilled." To all this the Protestant thus replies: "Be it granted, (which is, in truth, granting too much) that the safe-conduct implied a liberty only of defending his doctrine; yet it was violated, we find, before that liberty was given--before that doctrine was condemned, or even examined. And though the emperor might exceed his power in granting a pass to a heretic, yet Huss was, at this time, only suspected of heresy. Nor was the imperial act annulled by the council till after the pass was violated. Huss was condemned in the fifteenth session, and the safe-conduct decreed invalid in the nineteenth. With regard to the deficiency of the safe-conduct, which is Morery’s apology, it doth not appear that it was ever an apology of ancient date. Huss, it is certain, considered the safe conduct as a sufficient security for his return home; and, indeed, so much is implied in the very nature of a safe-conduct. What title would that general deserve, who should invite his enemy into his quarters by a pass, and then seize him? Reasoning, however, apart, let us call in fact: Omni prorsus impedimento remoto, transire, stare morari et REDIRE libere permittatis sibiqne et suis, are the very words of the safe-conduct." In conclusion, therefore, we cannot but judge the emperor to have been guilty of a most notorious breach of faith. The blame, however, is generally laid, and with some reason, upon the council, who directed his conscience. What true son of the church would dare to oppose his private opinion against the unanimous voice of a general council?]

JEROME OF PRAGUE was the intimate friend and companion of Huss; inferior to him in age, experience, and authority, but his superior in all liberal endowments. He was born at Prague and educated in that university. Having finished his studies, he traveled into many countries of Europe, where he acquired great esteem for his talents and virtues, particularly for his graceful elocution, which gave him great advantages in the public seminaries. The universities of Prague, of Paris, of Cologne, and of Heidelberg, conferred upon him the degree of master of arts: and having made the tour of the continent, he visited England, where he obtained access to the writings of Wickliff, which he copied out, and returned with them to Prague. [Dupin’s Eccles. History, p. 121.]

As Jerome had distinguished himself by an active cooperation with Huss in all his opposition to the abominations of the times, he was cited before the council of Constance on the 17th April, 1415, at the time his friend Huss was confined in a castle near that city. Arriving shortly afterwards in Constance, or the neighborhood, he learnt how his friend had been treated, and what he himself had to expect; on which he prudently retired to Iberlingen, an imperial city, from whence he wrote to the emperor and council, requesting a safe-conduct, but not obtaining one to his satisfaction, he was preparing to return into Bohemia, when he was arrested at Hirschaw and conveyed to Constance. Every one knows the fate of these two eminent men. They were both condemned by the council to be burnt alive, and the sentence was carried into effect. Huss was executed on the 7th July, 1415; and Jerome on the 20th May, 1416. The former sustained his fate with the most heroic fortitude, praying for his merciless persecutors. Previous to his execution he wrote letters to his friends in Bohemia, which afford a gratifying representation of the frame of his mind. The following is an extract from one of them.

"My dear friends, Let me take this last opportunity of exhorting you to trust in nothing here, but give yourselves up entirely to the service of God. Well am I authorized to warn you not to trust in princes, nor in any of the children of men; for there is no help in them. God alone remaineth steadfast: whatever he promises he will undoubtedly perform. For myself, on his gracious promise I trust. Having labored as his faithful servant, I am not afraid of being deserted by him. ‘Where I am, says the gracious Redeemer, there shall my servant be.’ May the God of heaven preserve you! This is probably the last letter I shall be enabled to write, having reason to think I shall tomorrow be called upon to answer with my life. Sigismund [the emperor] hath in all things acted deceitfully. I pray God to forgive him! You have heard in what severe terms he hath spoken of me."

If we may credit the catholic writers, Jerome at first displayed less magnanimity than his friend Huss. The dread of suffering intimidated him, and he showed a disposition to concede his opinions to his catholic interrogators, who, perceiving symptoms of this compliant temper about him, craftily availed themselves of it, and by procrastinating his trial from month to month, they hoped ultimately to recover him from his heresy. In this however, they were disappointed. His mind gradually resumed all its wonted rigor; and instead of yielding his principles to his persecutors, he avowed them in the boldest manner, and supported them with increasing confidence to the last. Poggio Bracciolini, the Florentine secretary, who attended the council, and was a spectator of all he relates, gave a pretty circumstantial account of the whole of this tragical affair, in a letter to his friend Aretin, the pope’s secretary, and it is too interesting to be omitted.

LETTER FROM POGGIO OF FLORENCE TO LEONARD ARETIN

"In the midst of a short excursion into the country, I wrote to our common friend; from whom, I doubt not, you have had an account of me.

"Since my return to Constance, my attention has been wholly engaged by Jerome, the Bohemian heretic, as he is called. The eloquence and learning which this person has employed in his own defense, are so extraordinary, that I cannot forbear giving you a short account of him.

"To confess the truth, I never knew the art of speaking carried so near the model of ancient eloquence. It was, indeed, amazing to hear with what force of expression, with what fluency of language, and with what excellent reasoning, he answered his adversaries: nor was I less struck with the gracefulness of his manner, the dignity of his action, and the firmness and constancy of his whole behavior. It grieved me to think so great a man was laboring under so atrocious an accusation. Whether this accusation be a just one, God knows: for myself, I inquire not into the merits of it; resting satisfied with the decision of my superiors. But I will just give you a summary of his trial.

"After many articles had been proved against him, leave was at length given him to answer each in its order. But Jerome long refused, strenuous, contending that he had many things to say previously in his defense; and that he ought first to be heard in general, before he descended to particulars. When this was over-ruled, ‘Here,’ said he, standing in the midst of the assembly, ‘here is justice--here is equity. Beset by my enemies, I am already pronounced a heretic; I am condemned before I am examined. Were you gods omniscient, instead of an assembly of fallible men, you could not act with more sufficiency. Error is the lot of mortals; and you, exalted as you are, are subject to it. But consider, that the higher you are exalted, of the more dangerous consequence are your errors. As for me, I know I am a wretch below your notice; but at least consider, that an unjust action, in such an assembly, will be of dangerous example.’

"This, and much more, he spoke with great elegance of language, in the midst of a very unruly and indecent assembly: and thus far, at least, he prevailed; the council ordered, that he should first answer objections, and promised that he should then have liberty to speak. Accordingly all the articles alleged against him were publicly read, and then proved; after which he was asked, whether he had ought to object? It is incredible with what acuteness he answered; and with what amazing dexterity he warded off every stroke of his adversaries. Nothing escaped him: his whole behavior was truly great and pious. If he were, indeed, the man his defense spoke him, he was so far from meriting death, that, in my judgment, he was not in any degree culpable. In a word; he endeavored to prove, that the greater part of the charges were purely the invention of his adversaries. Among other things, being accused of hating and defaming the holy see, the pope, the cardinals, the prelates, and the whole estate of the clergy, he stretched out his hands, and said, in a most moving accent, ‘On which side, reverend fathers, shall I turn me for redress? whom shall I implore? whose assistance can I expect? which of you hath not this malicious charge entirely alienated from me? which of you hath it not changed from a judge into an inveterate enemy? It was artfully alleged indeed! Though other parts of their charge were of less moment, my accusers might well imagine, that if this were fastened on me, it could not fail of drawing upon me the united indignation of my judges.’

"On the third day of this memorable trial, what had passed was recapitulated: when Jerome, having obtained leave, though with some difficulty, to speak, began his oration with a prayer to God; whose assistance he pathetically implored. He then observed, that many excellent men, in the annals of history, had been oppressed by false witnesses, and condemned by unjust judges. Beginning with profane history, he instanced the death of Socrates, the captivity of Plato, the banishment of Anaxagoras, and the unjust sufferings of many others: he then instanced the many worthies of the Old Testament, in the same circumstances -- Moses, Joshua, Daniel, and almost all the prophets; and lastly those of the New--John the Baptist, St. Stephen, and others, who were condemned as seditious, profane, or immoral men. An unjust judgment, he said, proceeding from a layic was bad; from a priest, worse; still worse from a college of priests; and from a general council, superlatively bad. These things he spoke with such force and emphasis, as kept every one’s attention awake.

"On one point he dwelt largely. As the merits of the cause rested entirely upon the credit of witnesses, he took great pains to show, that very little was due to those produced against him. He had many objections to them, particularly their avowed hatred to him; the sources of which he so palpably laid open, that he made a strong impression upon the minds of his hearers, and not a little shook the credit of the witnesses. The whole council was moved, and greatly inclined to pity, if not to favor him. He added, that he came uncompelled to the council; and that neither his life nor doctrine had been such, as gave him great reason to dread an appearance before them. Difference of opinion, he said, in matters of faith, had ever arisen among learned men, and was always esteemed productive of truth, rather than of error, where bigotry was laid aside. Such, he said, was the difference between Austin and Jerome: and though their opinions were not only different, but contradictory, yet the imputation of heresy was never fixed on either.

"Every one expected, that he would now either retract his errors, or at least apologize for them; but nothing of the kind was heard from him: he declared plainly, that he had nothing to retract. He launched out into a high encomium of Huss, calling him a holy man, and lamenting his cruel and unjust death. He had armed himself, he said, with a full resolution to follow the steps of that blessed martyr, and to suffer with constancy whatever the malice of his enemies could inflict. ‘The perjured witnesses,’ said he, ‘who have appeared against me, have won their cause: but let them remember, they have their evidence once more to give, before a tribunal where falsehood can be no disguise.’

"It was impossible to hear this pathetic speaker without emotion. Every ear was captivated, and every heart touched. But wishes in his favor were vain; he threw himself beyond a possibility of mercy. Braving death, he even provoked the vengeance which was hanging over him. ‘If that holy martyr,’ said he, speaking of Huss, ‘used the clergy with disrespect, his censures were not leveled at them as priests, but as wicked men. He saw with indignation those revenues, which had been designed for charitable ends, expended upon pageantry and riot.’

"Through this whole oration he showed a most amazing strength of memory. He had been confined almost a year in a dungeon: the severity of which usage he complained of, but in the language of a great and good man. In this horrid place he was deprived of books and paper. Yet, notwithstanding this, and the constant anxiety which must have hung over him, he was at no more loss for proper authorities and quotations, than if he had spent the intermediate time at leisure in his study.

"His voice was sweet, distinct, and full: his action every way the most proper, either to express indignation or to raise pity; though he made no affected application to the passions of his audience. Firm and intrepid, he stood before the council, collected in himself; and not only contemning, but seeming even desirous of death. The greatest character in ancient story could not possibly go beyond him. If there is any justice in history, this man will be admired by all posterity. I speak not of his errors: let these rest with him. What I admired was his learning, his eloquence, and amazing acuteness. God knows whether these things were not the groundwork of his ruin.

"Two days were allowed him for reflection; during which time many persons of consequence, and particularly my lord cardinal of Florence, endeavored to bring him to a better mind. But persisting obstinately in his errors, he was condemned as a heretic.

"With a cheerful countenance, and more than stoical constancy, he met his fate; fearing neither death itself, nor the horrible form in which it appeared. When be came to the place, he pulled off his upper garment, and made a short prayer at the stake; to which he was soon after bound, with wet cords and an iron chain, and enclosed as high as his breast in faggots.

"Observing the executioner about to set fire to the wood behind his back, he cried out, ‘Bring thy torch hither. Perform thy office before my face. Had I feared death, I might have avoided it.’ As the wood began to blaze, he sang a hymn, which the violence of the flame scarce interrupted.

"Thus died this prodigious man. The epithet is not extravagant. I was myself an eyewitness of his whole behavior. Whatever his life may have been, his death, without doubt, is a noble lesson of philosophy.

"But it is time to finish this long epistle. You will say I have had some leisure upon my hands; and to say the truth, I have not much to do here. This will, I hope, convince you, that greatness is not wholly confined to antiquity. You will think me, perhaps, tedious; but I could have been more prolix on a subject so copious. -- Farewell, my dear Leonard." Constance, May 20.

The news of these barbarous executions quickly reached Bohemia, where it threw the whole kingdom into confusion, and a civil war was kindled from the ashes of the martyrs. As to Winceslaus, the king, he was seldom sober, and paid no regard to the condition of his subjects. The nobility were divided into factions; some zealous to resent the insults that had been offered to the nation by the proceedings at Constance, and to repel the forces that had been introduced into the kingdom by the authority of the pope, with a view to the suppression of heresy in Bohemia, and to, compel that fierce nation to establish uniformity in religion. Sigismund, the emperor, had many respectable qualities; but he had lent himself wholly to the papacy at the council, and in consequence of the disgust which his conduct had excited, the Bohemians revolted, and under the banners of a very intrepid leader, JOHN ZISKA, defended their opinions not only with arguments but with arms also. At first the populace were only a harmless inquisitive staring multitude; but as the catholic priests proceeded to publish in the churches, bulls from the pope, exhorting all kings, princes, dukes, lords, citizens, and others, to take up arms against heresy, conjuring them by the wounds of Christ to extirpate heretics, and promising the forgiveness of all sins to any person who should kill a Bohemian heretic, the people seceded in great multitudes, retired to the distance of about five miles from Prague, where they held meetings for public worship, elected their own teachers, and had the Lord’s supper administered to them at three hundred tables, formed by laying boards upon casks, the number of communicants amounting to forty thousand.

Their leader, John Ziska, was of a noble family, brought up at court, and in high reputation for wisdom, courage, the love of his country, and the fear of God. Fugitives daily resorted to him from all parts, and put themselves under his protections. At one time four hundred poor men, who had lived in the mountains for the sake of enjoying religious liberty, came down to Prague, with their wives and children, and ranged themselves under the banners of Ziska. It is highly probable that these were Waldenses, the descendants of those who had settled in remote parts of the kingdom more than two hundred and fifty years before. Freedom from the Austrian yoke, deliverance from the tyranny of Rome, and the full enjoyment of civil and religious liberty, were the objects for which Ziska avowedly contended, and his army presently consisted of forty thousand men.

Aeneas Sylvius, who afterwards ascended the pontifical chair under the title of Pius II had traveled over the whole empire; and by him we are informed that the churches and religious houses in Bohemia, were more numerous, more spacious, more elegant and sumptuous, than in any other part of Europe; and that the images in public places, and the habits of the priests, were covered with jewels and precious stones. Ziska commenced his work of reform with attacking these. He demolished the images, discharged the monks, who he said, were only fattening like swine in sties, converted cloisters into barracks, conquered several towns and garrisoned Cuthna, defeated the armies of the emperor in several battles, and gave law to the kingdom of Bohemia till the time of his death, which happened in 1424. He encamped his followers on a rocky mountain about ten miles from Prague, which he soon after fortified with a wall, and within that the people built houses. This mountain he called Tabor (after Mount Tabor in the Holy Land) and thence his followers obtained the name of Taborites. When Ziska found himself dying he gave orders that a drum should be made of his skin; and what is equally extraordinary, his orders were faithfully obeyed. Ziska’s skin, after undergoing the necessary preparations, was converted into a drum, which was long the symbol of victory to his followers. PROCOPIUS, a catholic priest, converted by the writings of one of the disciples of Huss, revived the spirits of the Bohemian brethren, many of whom after the death of Ziska, had retreated to caves and mountains. Uniting the military with the sacerdotal character, this champion supported the cause of his party with great courage and bravery, but fell in a battle with the Catholics. Yet so terrible had the name of the Hussites become to the emperor Sigismund, that, despairing to reduce them by the power of his arms, he entered into a compromise, allowing them the use of the cup in the eucharist, the deprivation of which had been a principal source of complaint; together with a general amnesty, and a confirmation of their privileges. But verbal and even written promises are easily retracted, where there exists no power of enforcing their accomplishment; and a right avails nothing without a remedy. The dispersed brethren ceased to be formidable. Sigismund renewed his tyranny. His immediate successors on the imperial throne were, like himself, zealous Catholics, and the friends and followers of Huss continued to be the subjects of frequent persecutions till the times of Luther.

Crantz, in his history of the Bohemian brethren informs us, that after the death of Ziska, his followers divided themselves again, according to the diversity of their opinions and views, into Calixtines, Taborites, and Orphans; while, such as, with a distinguished zeal urged an entire reformation, were termed Zealots. In times of distress, however, they all united against their common enemy; and the latter, unable to carry the point against them, granted to their deputies, at the council of Basil, in 1433, the terms contained in the following four articles, which goes by the name of THE BOHEMIAN COMPACTATA, or terms of agreement.

1. That the word of God shall be freely preached by able ministers, according to the Holy Scriptures, without any human invention.

2. That the Lord’s supper shall be administered unto all in both kinds, and divine worship performed in the mother-tongue.

3. That open sins shall be openly punished, according to the law of God, without respect of persons.

4. That the clergy should exercise no worldly dominion, but confine themselves to preaching the gospel. [Crantz’s History, p. 19.]

But notwithstanding these concessions, it appears evident that matters remained in a very unsettled state among the Bohemians about the middle of the century. The leading person in ecclesiastical affairs was Rokyzan, archbishop of Prague, a man of no principle whatever. The contentions of parties ran high; and this metropolitan wearied with perpetual applications for reformation, which he found it quite impracticable to carry into effect, at length advised such as were dissatisfied with the existing order of things to retire to the lordship of Lititz, between Silesia and Moravia, about twenty miles from Prague;--a place which had been laid waste by the ravages of war, where they might establish their own regulations respecting divine worship, choose their own ministers, and introduce their own discipline and order, according to their own conscience and judgment. Numbers adopted his suggestion, and in 1457, they formed themselves into a society bearing the name of the UNITAS FRATRUM, or UNITED BRETHREN, binding themselves at the same time to a rigorous church discipline, and resolving to suffer all things for conscience sake; and instead of defending themselves, as the Taborites had done, by force of arms, their only weapons were to be prayer and reasonable remonstrance against the rage of their enemies. [Crantz’s History, part 2, p. 23.]

It is highly probable that when the archbishop offered them this indulgence, he had little expectation that they would be able to carry the project into effect; it was merely an alternative which relieved him from a momentary embarrassment, and probably that was all he was concerned about; but if so, he found himself disappointed. Three years had not elapsed ere their numbers were considerable; pious persons flocked to them, not only from different parts of Bohemia, but even from every distant quarter of the whole empire; and churches were gathered everywhere throughout Bohemia and Moravia. Many of the ancient Waldenses, who had been lurking about in dens and caves of the earth, as well as upon the tops of mountains, now came forward with alacrity, and joining themselves to the "United Brethren," became eminently serviceable to the newly-formed societies, in consequence of their more advanced state of religious knowledge and experience. Many of the new converts renounced the baptism of infants, and were baptized by the pastors before they received them into church communion. [COMENI Synopsis Hist. Persecutionum Ecclesiastes Bohem. cap 18. and CAMERARIUS de ecclesiis fratrum narratio, p. 87. "Isthaec rebaptisatio, jam dictis tot causis usurpata et introducta a nos-tris, duravit in ecclesia nostra ad haec usque tempora." Apologia verae doctrinae eorum qui vulgo appellantur Waldenses et Picardi. D.G.M. Brandebar, Anno 1532. Par. 4, de Baptismo. "Initio erescente in caetu multitudinum hominum, et ex diversarum religionum professionibus accedente, si quis forte de vetirate baptismi christiani dubitarent, et animo suo angerentur, et conscientiam haberent malam, eos expetantes hoc curarunt denuo baptizandos, exigendo et sincerae fidaei confessionem et promissionem de observatione disciplinae et vitae sanctitate. Quem confitendi promittendique morem prisca ecclesia religiosissime tenuit. CAMERARIUS, ubi supra."]

The archbishop had not foreseen the consequences of settling these people on the crown lands. The multiplication of their numbers, and their growing influence, soon drew upon them the attention, and excited the rancor of the catholic party. A clamor against him ensued; and the Waldenses, Picards, and other opprobrious names, by which they were stigmatized, became too numerous and too scandalous for an archbishop to patronize; he therefore found it necessary to treat them with indifference and keep them at a distance. Scarcely had three years transpired from the establishment of the society of "The United Brethren," than a terrible persecution arose against them in Bohemia and Moravia, and they were called to prove "what manner of spirit they were of." They were declared by the state unworthy of the common rights of subjects; and, in the depth of winter, expelled from their houses in towns and villages, with the forfeiture of all their goods. Even the sick were cast into the open fields, where numbers perished through cold and hunger. They threw them into prisons, with a view to extort from them, by means of the severity of their sufferings, a confession of seditious designs, and an impeachment of their accomplices: and when nothing could be extorted from them, they were maimed in their hands and feet, inhumanely dragged at the tails of horses and carts, and quartered or burnt alive. During this persecution, those who had it in their power to do so, retired into woods, fortresses, and caves of the earth, where they held their religious assemblies, elected their own teachers, and endeavored to strengthen and edify one another. The parent society at Lititz, being less molested than those in other places, did not cease to send messengers and letters to their persecuted brethren, with the view of strengthening their faith and exhorting them to patience. In process of time the storm subsided, though not until nearly every society of the Brethren in Bohemia was scattered or dispersed, and both the king and archbishop were removed from the stage of life. [Robinson’s Eccles, Researches, p. 501.]

Uladislaus, prince of Poland, was now elected to the crown of Bohemia, and being a mild and tolerant prince, little inclined to persecution, the exiled brethren returned to their own homes, and resumed their occupations. Under this amiable monarch they cultivated their lands, applied themselves to literature, and for some years enjoyed prosperity as well as peace. According to the testimony of one of their bitter enemies, "They took such deep root, and extended their branches so far and wide, that it was impossible to extirpate them." In the year 1500, there were two hundred congregations of the United Brethren in Bohemia and Moravia. Many counts, barons, and noblemen joined their churches, who built them meeting houses in their cities and villages. They got the Bible translated into the Bohemian tongue, and printed at Venice; when that edition was disposed of, they got two more printed at Nuremberg, and finding the demand for the Holy Scriptures continuing to increase, they established a printing office at Prague, another at Bunzlau in Bohemia, and a third a Kralitz in Moravia, where at first they printed nothing but Bohemian bibles.

Although the king of Bohemia was extremely anxious to preserve peace and harmony among his subjects, whether Catholics, Calixtines, or the United Brethren, he found it no easy task to accomplish his wishes in that respect. "Every morning when he rose," says a late writer, "and every evening when he retired to rest, he put up this petition to God, ‘Give peace in my time O Lord!’ A prayer worthy of a king, but Uladislaus did not know that to attain the object of his prayer he ought to discharge his chaplains." The clergy were perpetually teasing him for an edict against heretics, and poisoning his mind with false representations of their sentiments and conduct; and they, at length, succeeded in obtaining a severe edict against them. The Brethren immediately drew up an apology, which they presented to the king; and he, with his usual lenity, ordered his clergy to converse with the Picards, and endeavor to reclaim them by reason; but by all means to maintain peace among themselves. An order was consequently issued, requiring the principal ministers of the Brethren in Prague to hold a conference, on an appointed day, with some of the catholic clergy; but early on the morning of that day, Martin Poczatecius, the principal enemy of the Brethren, died suddenly, and the conference was postponed.

As the king was understood to be tolerant in his principles, the Brethren thought that a confession of their faith might probably produce some good, and they accordingly drew one up and sent it to his majesty, who was then in Hungary. It did not, however, answer the end at court; for the catholic bishops had recourse to a stratagem, which unhappily succeeded to their wishes. The king was passionately fond of his queen, who was at this time in an advanced state of pregnancy; and the bishops and prelates having a great ascendancy over the queen, they, therefore, most humbly and earnestly entreated her to obtain from the king an edict to suppress the Picards, for they assured themselves that, at such a time, he would not deny her majesty any request, or occasion her a moment’s pain. The king one day entering her apartment, the queen mildly asked the favor. The monarch looked sad and sorrowful, but remained silent. Bossack, an Hungarian bishop, began instantly to write in the king’s presence; and the edict was soon prepared and signed. The moment, however, that the humane monarch had put his name to the instrument, he quitted the room, retired to his closet, fell on his knees, burst into tears, and besought the Almighty to forgive him, and to frustrate the sanguinary purposes of these bishops against innocent men. At first the States would not allow this edict the force of law, so jealous were the Bohemians of their liberties; and it took four years to bring them to consent to a statute which prohibited the "United Brethren" from holding any religious assemblies, public or private; commanded that their meeting-houses should all be shut up: that they should not be allowed either to preach or print; and that within a given time they should all hold religious communion with either the Calixtines or the Catholics.

Although the catholic party had so far succeeded as to obtain this persecuting edict, they did not immediately reap from it all the happy fruits that they expected. The Bohemians were a bold and intrepid race of men, and not easily daunted. The king and wiser part of the magistrates, did not go heartily into the clerical measures of depopulation and destruction; and though the dominant party were so strong that the king durst not openly protect the Brethren, he was obliged to wink at the cruel use that was made of this persecuting statute by some bigoted magistrates; but, upon the whole, the pacific inclination of the court was generally understood, and people acted accordingly. Some emigrated; others retired and worshipped God as formerly, in remote places and in small companies; some ran all risks, and many fell into the hands of their enemies and were punished. A Bohemian nobleman caught six poor men at their devotions, in a small village: he accordingly had them taken up, and brought before the parish-priest to be examined. The latter asked but one question, namely, whether they would submit to him as a shepherd of souls? they answered to this, that "Christ was the shepherd of their souls"--upon which they were convicted on the statute against heresy, made in the twentieth year of their sovereign lord the king, and instantly committed to the flames. This is a fair specimen of their proceedings, and it is needless to enlarge or multiply instances.

In this manner the affairs of the Brethren proceeded, until Luther began the Reformation in Germany; at which time it would appear, that a continued series of persecutions had wasted the churches, and nearly exhausted the survivors of their fortitude and patience; insomuch that the Brethren appear to have been meditating a compromise with the catholic church, under certain modifications; and actually wrote to Luther for his advice on the subject, in the year 1522. Sleidan has furnished us with the substance of the letter which Luther returned in reply, and it is of sufficient interest to merit insertion.

He informs them that the name of Bohemians had been some time very odious unto him, so long as he had been ignorant that the pope was Antichrist: but that now, since God had restored the light of the gospel to the world, he was of a far different opinion, and had declared as much in his books; so that at present the pope and his party were more incensed against him than against them; that his adversaries had many times given it out that he had removed into Bohemia, which he oftentimes wished to have done; but that lest they should have aspersed his progress, and called it a flight, he had altered his resolution. That as matters now stood, there were great hopes that the Germans and Bohemians might profess the doctrine of the gospel, and the same religion; that it was not without reason that many were grieved to see them so divided into sects among themselves; but that if they should again make defection to popery, sects would not only not be removed, but even be increased and more diffused, for that sects abounded no where more than among the Romanists; and that the Franciscans alone were an instance of this, who in many things differed among themselves, and yet all lived under the patronage and protection of the church of Rome. That his kingdom was, in some manner, maintained and supported by the dissensions of men; which was the reason also that made him set princes together by the ears, and afford continual matter of quarreling and contention; that, therefore, they should have special care, lest whilst they endeavor to crush those smaller sects, they fell not into far greater, such as the popish, which were altogether incurable, and from which Germany had been lately delivered. That there was no better way of removing inconveniences, than for the pastors of the churches to preach the pure word of God in sincerity. That if they could not retain the weak and giddy people in their duty, and hinder their desertion, they should at least endeavor to make them steadfast in receiving the Lord’s supper in both kinds, and in preserving a veneration for the memory of John Huss, and Jerome of Prague; for that the pope would labor chiefly to deprive them of these two things; wherefore if any of them should relent, and give up both to the tyrant, it would be in done of them. But that though all Bohemia should apostatize, yet he would celebrate and commend the doctrine of Huss to all posterity. That, therefore, he prayed and exhorted them to persevere in that way which they had hitherto defended with the loss of much blood, and with the highest resolution, and not cast a reproach upon the flourishing gospel by their defection. That although all things were not established among them, as they ought to be, yet God would not be wanting, in time, to raise up some faithful servants of his, who would reform what was amiss, provided they continued constant, and utterly rejected the uncleanness and impiety of the Romish papacy. [Sleidan’s History of the Reformation, p. 658.]

Mr. Robinson thus recapitulates the history of the Bohemian brethren. "Authentic records in France assure us, that a people of a certain description were driven from thence in the twelfth century. Bohemian records of equal authenticity inform us, that some of the same description arrived in Bohemia at the same time and settled near a hundred miles from Prague, at Saltz and Laun, on the river Eger, just on the borders of the kingdom. Almost two hundred years after, another undoubted record of the same country mentions a people of the same description, some as burnt at Prague, and others as inhabiting the borders of the kingdom; and a hundred and fifty years after that, we find a people of the same description settled by connivance in the metropolis, and in several other parts of the kingdom. About one hundred and twenty years lower, we find a people in the same country living under the protection of law on the estate of Prince Lichetenstein exactly like all the former, and about thirty or forty thousand in number. The religious character of this people is so very different from that of all others, that the likeness is not easily mistaken. They had no priests, but taught one another. They had no private property, for they held all things jointly. They executed no offices, and neither exacted nor took oaths. They bore no arms, and rather chose to suffer than resist wrong, They held every thing called religion in the church of Rome in abhorrence, and worshipped God only by adoring his perfections, and endeavoring to imitate his goodness. They thought Christianity wanted no comment; and they professed the belief of that by being baptized, and their love to Christ and one another by receiving the Lord’s supper. They aspired at neither wealth nor power, and their plan was industry. We are shown how highly probable it is that Bohemia afforded them work, wages, and a secure asylum, which were all they wanted. If these be facts, they are facts that do honor to human nature; they exhibit in the great picture of the world a few small figures in a background, unstained with the blood, and unruffled with the disputes of their fellow creatures." [Ecclesiastical Researches, p. 527.]