Chapter XXXVIII: Front Matter (38)

"The fate of Huss and Jerome created an instant and fierce
excitement among the Bohemians. An address, defending them
against the charge of heresy and protesting against the
injustice and barbarity of the Council, was signed by 400 or
500 nobles and forwarded to Constance. The only result was
that the Council decreed that no safe-conduct could be allowed
to protect a heretic, that the University of Prague must be
reorganized, and the strongest measures applied to suppress
the Hussite doctrines in Bohemia. This was a defiance which
the Bohemians courageously accepted. Men of all classes united
in proclaiming that the doctrines of Huss should be freely
taught, and that no Interdict of the Church should be
enforced: the University, and even Wenzel's queen, Sophia,
favored this movement, which soon became so powerful that all
priests who refused to administer the sacrament 'in both
forms' were driven from the churches. ... When the Council of
Constance was dissolved [1418], Sigismund [the Emperor]
hastened to Hungary to carry on a new war with the Turks, who
were already extending their conquests along the Danube. The
Hussites in Bohemia employed this opportunity to organize
themselves for resistance; 40,000 of them, in July, 1419,
assembled on a mountain to which they gave the name of Tabor,
and chose as their leader a nobleman who was surnamed Ziska,
'the one-eyed.' The excitement soon rose to such a pitch that
several monasteries were stormed and plundered. King Wenzel
arrested some of the ringleaders, but this only inflamed the
spirit of the people. They formed a procession in Prague,
marched through the city, carrying the sacramental cup at
their head, and took forcible possession of several churches.
When they halted before the city-hall, to demand the release
of their imprisoned brethren, stones were thrown at them from
the windows, whereupon they broke into the building and hurled
the Burgomaster and six other officials upon the upheld spears
of those below. ... The Hussites were already divided into two
parties, one moderate in its demands, called the Calixtines,
from the Latin 'calix,' a chalice, which was their symbol
[referring to their demand for the administration of the
eucharistic cup to the laity, or communion 'sub utraque
specie'--whence they were also called 'Utraquists']; the other
radical and fanatic, called the 'Taborites,' who proclaimed
their separation from the Church of Rome and a new system of
brotherly equality through which they expected to establish
the Millenium upon earth. The exigencies of their situation
obliged these two parties to unite in common defence against
the forces of the Church and the Empire, during the sixteen
years of war which followed; but they always remained
separated in their religious views, and mutually intolerant.
Ziska, who called himself 'John Ziska of the Chalice,
commander in the hope of God of the Taborites,' had been a
friend and was an ardent follower of Huss. He was an old man,
bald-headed, short, broad-shouldered, with a deep furrow
across his brow, an enormous aquiline nose, and a short red
moustache. In his genius for military operations, he ranks
among the great commanders of the world; his quickness, energy
and inventive talent were marvellous, but at the same time he
knew neither tolerance nor mercy. . . . Sigismund does not
seem to have been aware of the formidable character of the
movement, until the end of his war with the Turks, some months
afterwards, and he then persuaded the Pope to summon all
Christendom to a crusade against Bohemia. During the year 1420
a force of 100,000 soldiers was collected, and Sigismund
marched at their head to Prague. The Hussites met him with the
demand for the acceptance of the following articles: 1.--The
word of God to be freely preached; 2.--The sacrament to be
administered in both forms; 3.---The clergy to possess no
property or temporal authority; 4.--All sins to be punished by
the proper authorities. Sigismund was ready to accept these
articles as the price of their submission, but the Papal
Legate forbade the agreement, and war followed. On the 1st of
November, 1420, the Crusaders were totally defeated by Ziska,
and all Bohemia was soon relieved of their presence. The
dispute between the moderates and the radicals broke out
again; the idea of a community of property began to prevail
among the Taborites, and most of the Bohemian nobles refused
to act with them. Ziska left Prague with his troops and for a
time devoted himself to the task of suppressing all opposition
through the country, with fire and sword. He burned no less
than 550 convents and monasteries, slaying the priests and
monks who refused to accept the new doctrines. ... While
besieging the town of Raby, an arrow destroyed his remaining
eye, yet he continued to plan battles and sieges as before.
The very name of the blind warrior became a terror throughout
Germany. In September, 1421, a second Crusade of 200,000 men,
commanded by five German Electors, entered Bohemia from the
west. ... But the blind Ziska, nothing daunted, led his
wagons, his flail-men, and mace-wielders against the Electors,
whose troops began to fly before them. No battle was fought;
the 200,000 Crusaders were scattered in all directions, and
lost heavily during their retreat. Then Ziska wheeled about
and marched against Sigismund, who was late in making his
appearance. The two armies met on the 8th of January, 1422 [at
Deutschbrod], and the Hussite victory was so complete that the
Emperor narrowly escaped falling into their hands. ... A third
Crusade was arranged and Frederick of Brandenburg (the
Hohenzollern) selected to command it, but the plan failed from
lack of support.
{289}
The dissensions among the Hussites became fiercer
than ever; Ziska was at one time on the point of attacking
Prague, but the leaders of the moderate party succeeded in
coming to an understanding with him, and he entered the city
in triumph. In October, 1424, while marching against Duke
Albert of Austria, who had invaded Moravia, he fell a victim
to the plague. Even after death he continued to terrify the
German soldiers, who believed that his skin had been made into
a drum, and still called the Hussites to battle. A majority of
the Taborites elected a priest, called Procopius the Great, as
their commander in Ziska's stead; the others who thenceforth
styled themselves 'Orphans,' united under another priest,
Procopius the Little. The approach of another Imperial army,
in 1426, compelled them to forget their differences, and the
result was a splendid victory over their enemies. Procopius
the Great then invaded Austria and Silesia, which he laid
waste without mercy. The Pope called a fourth Crusade, which
met the same fate as the former ones: the united armies of the
Archbishop of Treves, the Elector Frederick of Brandenburg and
the Duke of Saxony, 200,000 strong, were utterly defeated, and
fled in disorder, leaving an enormous quantity of stores and
munitions of war in the hands of the Bohemians. Procopius, who
was almost the equal of Ziska as a military leader, made
several unsuccessful attempts to unite the Hussites in one
religious body. In order to prevent their dissensions from
becoming dangerous to the common cause, he kept the soldiers
of all sects under his command, and undertook fierce invasions
into Bavaria, Saxony and Brandenburg, which made the Hussite
name a terror to all Germany. During these expeditions one
hundred towns were destroyed, more than 1,500 villages burned,
tens of thousands of the inhabitants slain, and such
quantities of plunder collected that it was impossible to
transport the whole of it to Bohemia. Frederick of Brandenburg
and several other princes were compelled to pay heavy tributes to
the Hussites: the Empire was thoroughly humiliated, the people
weary of slaughter, yet the Pope refused even to call a
Council for the discussion of the difficulty. ... The German
princes made a last and desperate effort: an army of 130,000
men, 40,000 of whom were cavalry, was brought together, under
the command of Frederick of Brandenburg, while Albert of
Austria was to support it by invading Bohemia from the south.
Procopius and his dauntless Hussites met the Crusaders on the
14th of August, 1431, at a place called Thauss, and won
another of their marvellous victories. The Imperial army was
literally cut to pieces, 8,000 wagons, filled with provisions
and munitions of war, and 150 cannons, were left upon the
field. The Hussites marched northward to the Baltic, and
eastward into Hungary, burning, slaying, and plundering as
they went. Even the Pope now yielded, and the Hussites were
invited to attend the Council at Basel, with the most solemn
stipulations in regard to personal safety and a fair
discussion of their demands. ... In 1433, finally 300
Hussites, headed by Procopius, appeared in Basel. They
demanded nothing more than the acceptance of the four articles
upon which they had united in 1420; but after seven weeks of
talk, during which the Council agreed upon nothing and
promised nothing, they marched away, after stating that any
further negotiation must be carried on in Prague. This course
compelled the Council to act; an embassy was appointed, which
proceeded to Prague, and on the 30th of November, the same
year, concluded a treaty with the Hussites. The four demands
were granted, but each with a condition attached which gave
the Church a chance to regain its lost power. For this reason,
the Taborites and 'Orphans' refused to accept the compact; the
moderate party united with the nobles and undertook to
suppress the former by force. A fierce internal war followed,
but it was of short duration. In 1434, the Taborites were
defeated [at Lipan, May 30], their fortified mountain taken,
Procopius the Great and the Little were both slain, and the
members of the sect dispersed. The Bohemian Reformation was
never again dangerous to the Church of Rome."

_B. Taylor, History of Germany, chapter 22._

ALSO IN:
_C. A. Peschek, Reformation and Anti-Reformation in
Bohemia, introductory chapter._

_E. H. Gillett, Life and Times of John Hus,
volume 2, chapter 13-18._

_E. de Schweinitz, History of the Church known as the Unitas
Fratrum, chapter 9._

BOHEMIA: A. D. 1434-1457.
Organization of the Utraquist National Church.
Minority of Ladislaus Posthumus.
Regency of George Podiebrad.
Origin of the Unitas Fratrum.

"The battle of Lipan was a turning point in the history of the
Hussites. It put Bohemia and Moravia into the hands of the
Utraquists, and enabled them to carry out their plans
unhindered. The man who was foremost in shaping events and who
became more and more prominent, until he exercised a
commanding influence, was John of Rokycana. ... At the diet of
1435 he was unanimously elected archbishop. ... Meantime
Sigismund endeavored to regain his kingdom. The Diet made
demands which were stringent and humiliating; but he pledged
himself to fulfill them, and on the 5th of July, 1436, at a
meeting held with great pomp and solemnity, in the
market-place of Iglau, was formally acknowledged as King of
Bohemia. On the same occasion, the Compactata were anew
ratified and the Bohemians readmitted to the fellowship of the
mother church. But scarcely had Sigismund reached his capital
when he began so serious a reaction in favor of Rome that
Rokycana secretly left the city and retired to a castle near
Pardubic (1437). The king's treachery was, however, cut short
by the hand of death, on the 9th of December, of the same
year, at Znaim, while on his way to Hungary; and his successor
and son-in-law, Albert of Austria, followed him to the grave
in 1439, in the midst of a campaign against the Turks. Bohemia
was left without a ruler, for Albert had no children except a
posthumous son [Ladislaus Posthumus.]"

See HUNGARY: A. D. 1301-1442, and 1442-1458.

"A time of anarchy began and various leagues arose, the most
powerful of which stood under Baron Ptacek. ... He ... called
an ecclesiastical convention at Kuttenberg (October 4th). This
convention brought about far-reaching results. ... Rokycana
was acknowledged as Archbishop elect, the supreme direction of
ecclesiastical affairs was committed into his hands, the
priests promised him obedience, and 24 doctrinal and
constitutional articles were adopted which laid the foundation
of the Utraquist Church as the National Church of Bohemia.
{290}
But the Taborites stood aloof. ... At last a disputation was
agreed upon," as the result of which the Taborites were
condemned by the Diet. "They lost all prestige; their towns,
with the exception of Tabor, passed out of their hands; their
membership was scattered and a large part of it joined the
National Church. In the following summer Ptacek died and
George Podiebrad succeeded him as the head of the league.
Although a young man of only 24 years, he displayed the
sagacity of an experienced statesman and was distinguished by
the virtues of a patriot. In 1448 a bold stroke made him
master of Prague and constituted him practically Regent of all
Bohemia; four years later his regency was formally
acknowledged. He was a warm friend of Rokycana, whose
consecration he endeavored to bring about." When it was found
that Rome could not be reconciled, there were thoughts of
cutting loose altogether from the Roman Catholic and uniting
with the Greek Church. "Negotiations were actually begun in
1452, but came to an abrupt close in the following year, in
consequence of the fall of Constantinople. About the same time
Ladislaus Posthumus, Albert's son, assumed the crown,
Podiebrad remaining Regent. The latter continued the friend of
Rokycana; the former, who was a Catholic, conceived a strong
dislike to him. As soon as Rokycana had given up the hope of
conciliating Rome, he began to preach, with great power and
eloquence, against its corruptions." It was at this time that
a movement arose among certain of his followers which resulted
in the formation of the remarkable religious body which called
itself Unitas Fratrum. The leading spirit in this movement was
Rokycana's nephew, commonly called Gregory the Patriarch. The
teaching and influence which shaped it was that of Peter
Chelcicky. Gregory and his companions, wishing to dwell
together, in the Christian unity of which they had formed an
ideal in their minds, found a retreat at the secluded village
of Kunwald, on the estate of George Podiebrad. "The name which
they chose was 'Brethren of the Law of Christ'--'Fratres
Legis Christi'; inasmuch, however, as this name gave rise to
the idea that they were a new order of Monks, they changed it
simply into 'Brethren.' When the organization of their Church
had been completed, they assumed the additional title of
'Jednota Bratrska,' or Unitas Fratrum, that is, the Unity of
the Brethren, which has remained the official and significant
appellation of the Church to the present day. .... It was
often abbreviated into 'The Unity.' Another name by which the
Church called itself was 'The Bohemian Brethren.' It related
to all the Brethren, whether they belonged to Bohemia,
Moravia, Prussia or Poland. To call them The Bohemian-Moravian
Brethren, or the Moravian Brethren, is historically incorrect.
The name Moravian arose in the time of the Renewed Brethren's
Church, because the men by whom it was renewed came from
Moravia. ... The organization of the Unitas Fratrum took place
in the year 1457."

_E. De Schweinitz, History of the Church known as Unitas
Fratrum, chapter 10-12._

BOHEMIA: A. D. 1458.
Election of George Podiebrad to the throne.

See HUNGARY: A. D. 1442-1458.

BOHEMIA: A. D. 1458-1471.
Papal excommunication and deposition of the king, George
Podiebrad.
A crusade.
War with the Emperor and Matthias of Hungary.
Death of Podiebrad and election of Ladislaus of Poland.

"George Podiebrad had scarcely ascended the throne before the
Catholics, at the instigation of the pope, required him to
fulfil his coronation oath, by expelling all heretics from
the kingdom. He complied with their request, banished the
Taborites, Picards, Adamites, and all other religious sects
who did not profess the Catholic doctrines, and issued a
decree that all his subjects should become members of the
Catholic church, as communicants under one or both kinds. The
Catholics, however, were not satisfied; considering the
Calixtins as heretics, they entreated him to annul the
compacts, or to obtain a new ratification of them from the new
pope: To gratify their wishes he sent an embassy to Rome,
requesting a confirmation of the compacts; but Pius, under the
pretence that the compacts gave occasion to heresy, refused
his ratification, and sent Fantino della Valle, as legate, to
Prague, for the purpose of persuading the king to prohibit the
administration of the communion under both kinds. In
consequence of this legation the king called a diet, at which
the legate and the bishops of Olmutz and Breslau were present.
The ill success of the embassy to Rome having been announced,
he said, 'I am astonished, and cannot divine the intentions of
the pope. The compacts were the only means of terminating the
dreadful commotions in Bohemia, and if they are annulled, the
kingdom will again relapse into the former disorders. The
council of Basle, which was composed of the most learned men
in Europe, approved and granted them to the Bohemians, and
pope Eugenius confirmed them. They contain no heresy, and are
in all respects conformable to the doctrines of the holy
church. I and my wife have followed them from our childhood,
and I am determined to maintain them till my death.' ...
Fantino replying in a long and virulent invective, the king
ordered him to quit the assembly, and imprisoned him in the
castle of Podiebrad, allowing him no other sustenance except
bread and water. The pope, irritated by this insult, annulled
the compacts, in 1463, and fulminated a sentence of
excommunication against the king, unless he appeared at Rome
within a certain time to justify his conduct. This bull
occasioned a great ferment among the Catholics; Podiebrad was
induced to liberate the legate, and made an apology to the
offended pontiff; while Frederic, grateful for the assistance
which he had recently received from the king of Bohemia, when
besieged by his brother Albert, interposed his mediation with
the pope, and procured the suspension of the sentence of
excommunication. Pius dying on the 14th of August, 1464, the
new pope, Paul II., persecuted the king of Bohemia with
increasing acrimony. He sent his legate to Breslau to excite
commotions among the Catholics, endeavoured without effect to
gain Casimir, king of Poland, by the offer of the Bohemian
crown, and applied with the same ill success to the states of
Germany. He at length overcame the gratitude of the emperor by
threats and promises, and at the diet of Nuremberg in 1467,
the proposal of his legate Fantino, to form a crusade against the
heretic king of Bohemia, was supported by the imperial ambassadors.
{291}
Although this proposal was rejected by the diet,
the pope published a sentence of deposition against Podiebrad,
and his emissaries were allowed to preach the crusade
throughout Germany, and in every part of the Austrian
territories. The conduct of Frederic drew from the king of
Bohemia, in 1468, a violent invective against his ingratitude,
and a formal declaration of war; he followed this declaration
by an irruption into Austria, spreading devastation as far as
the Danube. Frederic in vain applied to the princes of the
empire for assistance: and at length excited Matthias king of
Hungary against his father-in-law, by offering to invest him
with the kingdom of Bohemia. Matthias, forgetting his
obligations to Podiebrad, to whom he owed his life and crown,
was dazzled by the offer, and being assisted by bodies of
German marauders, who had assumed the cross, invaded Bohemia.
At the same time the intrigues of the pope exciting the
Catholics to insurrection, the country again became a prey to
the dreadful evils of a civil and religious war. The vigour
and activity of George Podiebrad suppressed the internal
commotions, and repelled the invasion of the Hungarians; an
armistice was concluded, and the two kings, on the 4th of
April, 1469, held an amicable conference at Sternberg, in
Moravia, where they entered into a treaty of peace. But
Matthias, influenced by the perfidious maxim, that no compact
should be kept with heretics, was persuaded by the papal
legate to resume hostilities. After overrunning Moravia and
Silesia, he held a mock diet at Olmutz with some of the
Catholic party, where he was chosen king of Bohemia, and
solemnly crowned by the legate. ... Podiebrad, in order to
baffle the designs both of the emperor and Matthias, summoned
a diet at Prague, and proposed to the states as his successor,
Ladislaus, eldest son of Casimir, king of Poland, by
Elizabeth, second daughter of the emperor Albert. The proposal
was warmly approved by the nation, ... as the Catholics were
desirous of living under a prince of their own communion, and
the Calixtins anxious to prevent the accession of Frederic or
Matthias, both of whom were hostile to their doctrines. The
states accordingly assented without hesitation, and Ladislaus
was unanimously nominated successor to the throne. The
indignation of Matthias was inflamed by his disappointment,
and hostilities were continued with increasing fury. The two
armies, conducted by their respective sovereigns, the ablest
generals of the age, for some time kept each other in check;
till at length both parties, wearied by the devastation of
their respective countries, concluded a kind of armistice, on
the 22nd of July, 1470, which put a period to hostilities. On
the death of Podiebrad, in the ensuing year, Frederic again
presenting himself as a candidate, was supported by still
fewer adherents than on the former occasion; a more numerous
party espoused the interests of Matthias; but the majority
declaring for Ladislaus, he was re-elected, and proclaimed
king. Frederic supported Ladislaus in preference to Matthias,
and by fomenting the troubles in Hungary, as well as by his
intrigues with the king of Poland, endeavoured not only to
disappoint Matthias of the throne of Bohemia, but even to
drive him from that of Hungary."

_W. Coxe. History of the House of Austria,
chapter 18 (volume 1)._

BOHEMIA: A. D. 1471-1479.
War with Matthias of Hungary.
Surrender of Moravia and Silesia.

See HUNGARY: A. D. 1471-1487.

BOHEMIA: A. D. 1490.
King Ladislaus elected to the throne of Hungary.

See Hungary: A. D. 1487-1526.

BOHEMIA: A. D. 1516-1576.
Accession of the House of Austria.
The Reformation and its strength.
Alternating toleration and persecution.

In 1489 Vladislav "was elected to the throne of Hungary after
the death of Mathias Corvinus. He died in 1516, and was
succeeded on the throne of Bohemia and Hungary by his minor
son, Louis, who perished in 1526 at the battle of Mohacz
against the Turks [see HUNGARY: A. D. 1487-1526]. An equality
of rights was maintained between the Hussites and the Roman
Catholics during these two reigns. Louis left no children, and
was succeeded on the throne of Hungary and Bohemia by
Ferdinand of Austria [see, also, AUSTRIA: A. D. 1406-1526],
brother of the Emperor Charles V., and married to the sister
of Louis, a prince of a bigoted and despotic character. The
doctrines of Luther had already found a speedy echo amongst
the Calixtines under the preceding reign; and Protestantism
gained so much ground under that of Ferdinand, that the
Bohemians refused to take part in the war against the
Protestant league of Smalkalden, and formed a union for the
defence of the national and religious liberties, which were
menaced by Ferdinand. The defeat of the Protestants at the
battle of Muhlberg, in 1547, by Charles V., which laid
prostrate their cause in Germany, produced a severe reaction
in Bohemia. Several leaders of the union were executed, others
imprisoned or banished; the property of many nobles was
confiscated, the towns were heavily fined, deprived of several
privileges, and subjected to new taxes. These measures were
carried into execution with the assistance of German, Spanish,
and Hungarian soldiers, and legalized by an assembly known
under the name of the Bloody Diet. ... The Jesuits were also
introduced during that reign into Bohemia. The privileges of
the Calixtine, or, as it was officially called, the Utraquist
Church, were not abolished; and Ferdinand, who had succeeded
to the imperial crown after the abdication of his brother
Charles V., softened, during the latter years of his reign,
his harsh and despotic character. ... He died in 1564,
sincerely regretting, it is said, the acts of oppression which
he had committed against his Bohemian subjects. He was
succeeded by his son, the Emperor Maximilian II., a man of
noble character and tolerant disposition, which led to the
belief that he himself inclined towards the doctrines of the
Reformation. He died in 1576, leaving a name venerated by all
parties. ... Maximilian's son, the Emperor Rudolph, was
educated at the court of his cousin, Philip II. of Spain, and
could not be but adverse to Protestantism, which had, however,
become too strong, not only in Bohemia, but also in Austria
proper, to be easily suppressed; but several indirect means
were adopted, in order gradually to effect this object."

_V. Krasinski, Lectures on the Religious History of the
Slavonic Nations, lecture 2._

BOHEMIA: A. D. 1576-1604.
Persecution of Protestants by Rudolph.

See HUNGARY: A. D. 1567-1604.

{292}

BOHEMIA: A. D. 1611-1618.
The Letter of Majesty, or Royal Charter, and Matthias's
violation of it.
Ferdinand of Styria forced upon the nation as king by
hereditary right.
The throwing of the Royal Counsellors from the window.
Beginning of the Thirty Years War.

In 1611 the Emperor Rodolph was forced to surrender the crown
of Bohemia to his brother Matthias. The next year he died,
and Matthias succeeded him as Emperor also. "The tranquillity
which Rodolph II.'s Letter of Majesty [see GERMANY: A. D.
1608-1618] had established in Bohemia lasted for some time,
under the administration of Matthias, till the nomination of a
new heir to this kingdom in the person of Ferdinand of Gratz
[Styria]. This prince, whom we shall afterwards become better
acquainted with under the title of Ferdinand II., Emperor of
Germany, had, by the violent extirpation of the Protestant
religion within his hereditary dominions, announced himself as
an inexorable zealot for popery, and was consequently looked
upon by the Catholic part of Bohemia as the future pillar of
their church. The declining health of the Emperor brought on
this hour rapidly; and, relying on so powerful a supporter,
the Bohemian Papists began to treat the Protestants with
little moderation. The Protestant vassals of Roman Catholic
nobles, in particular, experienced the harshest treatment. At
length several of the former were incautious enough to speak
somewhat loudly of their hopes, and by threatening hints to
awaken among the Protestants a suspicion of their future
sovereign. But this mistrust would never have broken out into
actual violence, had the Roman Catholics confined themselves
to general expressions, and not by attacks on individuals
furnished the discontent of the people with enterprising
leaders. Henry Matthias, Count Thurn, not a native of Bohemia,
but proprietor of some estates in that kingdom, had, by his
zeal for the Protestant cause, and an enthusiastic attachment
to his newly adopted country, gained the entire confidence of
the Utraquists, which opened him the way to the most important
posts. ... Of a hot and impetuous disposition, which loved
tumult because his talents shone in it--rash and thoughtless
enough to undertake things which cold prudence and a calmer
temper would not have ventured upon--unscrupulous enough,
where the gratification of his passions was concerned, to
sport with the fate of thousands, and at the same time politic
enough to hold in leading-strings such a people as the
Bohemians then were. He had already taken an active part in
the troubles under Rodolph's administration; and the Letter of
Majesty which the States had extorted from that Emperor, was
chiefly to be laid to his merit. The court had intrusted to
him, as burgrave or castellan of Calstein, the custody of the
Bohemian crown, and of the national charter. But the nation
had placed in his hands something far more important--itself
--with the office of defender or protector of the faith. The
aristocracy by which the Emperor was ruled, imprudently
deprived him of this harmless guardianship of the dead, to
leave him his full influence over the living. They took from
him his office of burgrave, or constable of the castle, which
had rendered him dependent on the court, thereby opening his
eyes to the importance of the other which remained, and
wounded his vanity, which yet was the thing that made his
ambition harmless. From this moment he was actuated solely by
a desire of revenge; and the opportunity of gratifying it was
not long wanting. In the Royal Letter which the Bohemians had
extorted from Rodolph II., as well as in the German religious
treaty, one material article remained undetermined. All the
privileges granted by the latter to the Protestants, were
conceived in favour of the Estates or governing bodies, not of
the subjects; for only to those of ecclesiastical states had a
toleration, and that precarious, been conceded. The Bohemian
Letter of Majesty, in the same manner, spoke only of the
Estates and the imperial towns, the magistrates of which had
contrived to obtain equal privileges with the former. These
alone were free to erect churches and schools, and openly to
celebrate their Protestant worship: in all other towns, it was
left entirely to the government to which they belonged, to
determine the religion of the inhabitants. The Estates of the
Empire had availed themselves of this privilege in its fullest
extent; the secular indeed without opposition; while the
ecclesiastical, in whose case the declaration of Ferdinand had
limited this privilege, disputed, not without reason, the
validity of that limitation. What was a disputed point in the
religious treaty, was left still more doubtful in the Letter
of Majesty. ... In the little town of Klostergrab, subject to
the Archbishop of Prague; and in Braunau, which belonged to
the abbot of that monastery, churches were founded by the
Protestants, and completed notwithstanding the opposition of
their superiors, and the disapprobation of the Emperor. ... By
the Emperor's orders, the church at Klostergrab was pulled
down; that at Braunau forcibly shut up, and the most turbulent
of the citizens thrown into prison. A general commotion among
the Protestants was the consequence of this measure; a loud
outcry was everywhere raised at this violation of the Letter
of Majesty; and Count Thurn animated by revenge, and
particularly called upon by his office of defender, showed
himself not a little busy in inflaming the minds of the
people. At his instigation deputies were summoned to Prague
from every circle in the empire, to concert the necessary
measures against the common danger. It was resolved to
petition the Emperor to press for the liberation of the
prisoners. The answer of the Emperor, already offensive to the
states, from its being addressed, not to them, but to his
viceroy, denounced their conduct as illegal and rebellious,
justified what had been done at Klostergrab and Braunau as the
result of an imperial mandate, and contained some passages
that might be construed into threats. Count Thurn did not fail
to augment the unfavourable impression which this imperial
edict made upon the assembled Estates. ... He held it ...
advisable first to direct their indignation against the
Emperor's counsellors; and for that purpose circulated a
report, that the imperial proclamation had been drawn up by
the government at Prague and only signed in Vienna. Among the
imperial delegates, the chief objects of the popular hatred,
were the President of the Chamber, Slawata, and Baron
Martinitz, who had been elected in place of Count Thurn,
Burgrave of Calstein. ... Against two characters so unpopular
the public indignation was easily excited, and they were
marked out for a sacrifice to the general indignation.
{293}
On the 23rd of May, 1618, the deputies appeared armed, and in
great numbers, at the royal palace, and forced their way into
the hall where the Commissioners Sternberg, Martinitz,
Lobkowitz, and Slawata were assembled. In a threatening tone
they demanded to know from each of them, whether he had taken
any part, or had consented to, the imperial proclamation.
Sternberg received them with composure, Martinitz and Slawata
with defiance. This decided their fate; Sternberg and
Lobkowitz, less hated, and more feared, were led by the arm
out of the room; Martinitz and Slawata were seized, dragged to
a window, and precipitated from a height of 80 feet, into the
castle trench. Their creature, the secretary Fabricius, was
thrown after them. This singular mode of execution naturally
excited the surprise of civilized nations. The Bohemians
justified it as a national custom, and saw nothing remarkable
in the whole affair, excepting that anyone should have got up
again safe and sound after such a fall. A dunghill, on which
the imperial commissioners chanced to be deposited, had saved
them from injury. [The incident of the flinging of the
obnoxious ministers from the window is often referred to as
'the defenestration at Prague.'] ... By this brutal act of
self-redress, no room was left for irresolution or repentance,
and it seemed as if a single crime could be absolved only by a
series of violences. As the deed itself could not be undone,
nothing was left but to disarm the hand of punishment. Thirty
directors were appointed to organize a regular insurrection.
They seized upon all the offices of state, and all the
imperial revenues, took into their own service the royal
functionaries and the soldiers, and summoned the whole
Bohemian nation to avenge the common cause."

_F. Schiller, History of the Thirty Years' War, book 1,
pages 51-55._

ALSO IN:
_S. R. Gardiner, The Thirty Years' War, chapter 2._

_A. Gindely, History of the Thirty Years' War, chapter 1._

_F. Kohlrausch, History of Germany, chapter 22._

BOHEMIA: A. D. 1618-1620.
Conciliatory measures defeated by Ferdinand.
His election to the Imperial throne, and his deposition in
Bohemia.
Acceptance of the crown by Frederick the Palatine Elector.
His unsupported situation.

See GERMANY: A. D. 1618-1620.

BOHEMIA: A. D. 1620.
Disappointment in the newly elected King.
His aggressive Calvinism.
Battle of the White Mountain before Prague.
Frederick's flight.
Annulling of the Royal charter.
Loss of Bohemian Liberties.

See GERMANY: A. D. 1620,
and HUNGARY: A. D. 1606-1660.

BOHEMIA: A. D. 1621-1648.
The Reign of Terror.
Death, banishment, confiscation, dragoonades.
The country a desert.
Protestantism crushed, but not slain.

"In June, 1621, a fearful reign of terror began in Bohemia,
with the execution of 27 of the most distinguished heretics.
For years the unhappy people bled under it; thousands were
banished, and yet Protestantism was not fully exterminated.
The charter was cut into shreds by the Emperor himself; there
could be no forbearance towards 'such acknowledged rebels.' As
a matter of course, the Lutheran preaching was forbidden under
the heaviest penalties; heretical works, Bibles especially,
were taken away in heaps. Jesuit colleges, churches, and
schools came into power; but this was not all. A large number
of distinguished Protestant families were deprived of their
property, and, as if that were not enough, it was decreed that
no non-Catholic could be a citizen, nor carry on a trade,
enter into a marriage, nor make a will; anyone who harboured a
Protestant preacher forfeited his property; whoever permitted
Protestant instruction to be given was to be fined, and
whipped out of town; the Protestant poor who were not
converted were to be driven out of the hospitals, and to be
replaced by Catholic poor; he who gave free expression to his
opinions about religion was to be executed. In 1624 an order
was issued to all preachers and teachers to leave the country
within eight days under pain of death; and finally, it was
ordained that whoever had not become Catholic by Easter, 1626,
must emigrate. ... But the real conversions were few;
thousands quietly remained true to the faith; other thousands
wandered as beggars into foreign lands, more than 30,000
Bohemian families, and among them 500 belonging to the
aristocracy, went into banishment. Exiled Bohemians were to be
found in every country of Europe, and were not wanting in any
of the armies that fought against Austria. Those who could not
or would not emigrate, held to their faith in secret. Against
them dragoonades were employed. Detachments of soldiers were
sent into the various districts to torment the heretics till
they were converted. The 'Converters' (Seligmacher) went thus
throughout all Bohemia, plundering and murdering. ... No
succour reached the unfortunate people; but neither did the
victors attain their end. Protestantism and the Hussite
memories could not be slain, and only outward submission was
extorted. ... A respectable Protestant party exists to this
day in Bohemia and Moravia. But a desert was created; the land
was crushed for a generation. Before the war Bohemia had
4,000,000 inhabitants, and in 1648 there were but 700,000 or
800,000. These figures appear preposterous, but they are
certified by Bohemian historians. In some parts of the country
the population has not attained the standard of 1620 to this
day."

_L. Häusser, The Period of the Reformation, chapter 32._

ALSO IN:
_C. A. Peschek, Reformation and Anti-Reformation in
Bohemia, volume 2._

_E. de Schweinitz, History of the Church known as the
Unitas Fratrum, chapter 47-51._

BOHEMIA: A. D. 1631-1632.
Temporary occupation by the Saxons.
Their expulsion by Wallenstein.

See GERMANY: A. D. 1631-1632.

BOHEMIA: A. D. 1640-1645.
Campaigns of Baner and Torstenson.

See GERMANY: A. D. 1640-1645.

BOHEMIA: A. D. 1646-1648.
Last campaigns of the Thirty Years War.
Surprise and capture of part of Prague by the Swedes.
Siege of the old city.
Peace.

See GERMANY: A. D. 1646-1648.

BOHEMIA: A. D. 1740.
The question of the Austrian Succession.
The Pragmatic Sanction.

See AUSTRIA: A. D. 1718-1738, and 1740.

BOHEMIA: A. D. 1741.
See AUSTRIA: A. D. 1741 (AUGUST-NOVEMBER), and (OCTOBER).

BOHEMIA: A. D. 1742 (JANUARY-MAY).
Prussian invasion.
Battle of Chotusitz.

See AUSTRIA: A. D. 1742 (JANUARY-MAY).

{294}

BOHEMIA: A. D. 1742 (JUNE-DECEMBER).
Expulsion of the French.
Belleisle's retreat.
Maria Theresa crowned at Prague.

See AUSTRIA: A. D. 1742 (JUNE-DECEMBER).

BOHEMIA: A. D. 1757.
The Seven Years War.
Frederick's invasion and defeat.
Battles of Prague and Kolin.

See GERMANY: A. D. 1757 (APRIL-JUNE).

----------BOHEMIA: End----------

BOHEMIAN BRETHREN, The.

See BOHEMIA: A. D. 1434-1457,
and GERMANY: A. D. 1620.

BOHEMIANS (Gypsies).

See GYPSIES.

BOIANS, OR BOII.

Some passages in the earlier history and movements of the
powerful Gallic tribe known as the Boii will be found touched
upon under ROME: B. C. 390-347, and B. C. 295-191, in accounts
given of the destruction of Rome by the Gauls, and of the
subsequent wars of the Romans with the Cisalpine Gauls. After
the final conquest of the Boians in Gallia Cisalpina, early in
the second century, B. C., the Romans seem to have expelled
them, wholly or partly, from that country, forcing them to
cross the Alps. They afterwards occupied a region embraced in
modern Bavaria and Bohemia, both of which countries are
thought to have derived their names from these Boian people.
Some part of the nation, however, associated itself with the
Helvetii and joined in the migration which Cæsar arrested. He
settled these Boians in Gaul, within the Æduan territory,
between the Loire and the Allier. Their capital city was
Gergovia, which was also the name of a city of the Arverni.
The Gergovia of the Boians is conjectured to have been modern
Moulius. Their territory was the modern Bourbonnais, which
probably derived its name from them. Three important names,
therefore, in European geography and history, viz.--Bourbon,
Bavaria and Bohemia, are traced to the Gallic nation of the
Boii.

_Tacitus, Germany, translated by a Church and Brodribb,
notes._

ALSO IN:
_C. Merivale, History of the Romans, chapter 12, note._

BOIS-LE-DUC.
Siege and capture by the Dutch (1629).

See NETHERLANDS: A. D. 1621-1633.

BOKHARA (Ancient Transoxania).

"Taken literally, the name [Transoxania] is a translation of
the Arabic Mavera-un-nehr (that which lies beyond or across
the river), and it might therefore be supposed that
Transoxania meant the country lying beyond or on the right
shore of the Oxus. But this is not strictly speaking the case.
... From the period of the Samanides down to modern times, the
districts of Talkan, Tokharistan and Zem, although lying
partly or entirely on the left bank of the Oxus, have been
looked on as integral portions of Bokhara. Our historical
researches seem to prove that this arrangement dates from the
Samanides, who were themselves originally natives of that part
of Khorassan. ... It is almost impossible in dealing
geographically with Transoxania to assign definitely an
accurate frontier. We can and will therefore comprehend in our
definition of Transoxania solely Bokhara, or the khanate of
Bokhara; for although it has only been known by the latter
name since the time of Sheïbani and of the Ozbegs [A. D.
1500], the shores of the Zerefshan and the tract of country
stretching southwards to the Oxus and northwards to the desert
of Kizil Kum, represent the only parts of the territory which
have remained uninterruptedly portions of the original
undivided state of Transoxania from the earliest historical
times. ... Bokhara, the capital from the time of the
Samanides, and at the date of the very earliest geographical
reports concerning Transoxania, is said, during its
prosperity, to have been the largest city of the Islamite
world. ... Bokhara was not, however, merely a luxurious city,
distinguished by great natural advantages; it was also the
principal emporium for the trade between China and Western
Asia; in addition to the vast warehouses for silks, brocades,
and cotton stuffs, for the finest carpets, and all kinds of
gold and silversmiths' work, it boasted of a great
money-market, being in fact the Exchange of all the population
of Eastern and Western Asia. ... Sogd ... comprised the
mountainous part of Transoxania (which may be described as the
extreme western spurs of the Thien-Shan). ... The capital was
Samarkand, undoubtedly the Maracanda of the Greeks, which they
specify as the capital of Sogdia. The city has, throughout the
history of Transoxania been the rival of Bokhara. Before the
time of the Samanides, Samarkand was the largest city beyond
the Oxus, and only began to decline from its former importance
when Ismail chose Bokhara for his own residence. Under the
Khahrezmians it is said to have raised itself again, and
become much larger than its rival, and under Timour to have
reached the culminating point of its prosperity."

_A. Vambery, History of Bokhara, introduction._

ALSO IN: _J. Hutton, Central Asia, chapter 2-3._

BOKHARA: B. C. 329-327.
Conquest by Alexander the Great.

See MACEDONIA: B. C. 330-323.

BOKHARA: 6th Century.
Conquest from the White Huns by the Turks.

See TURKS: 6TH CENTURY.

BOKHARA: A. D. 710.
The Moslem Conquest.

See. MAHOMETAN CONQUEST: A. D. 710.

BOKHARA: A. D. 991-998.
Under the Samanides.

See SAMANIDES.

BOKHARA: A. D. 1004-1193.
The Seldjuk Turks.

See TURKS (THE SELDJUKS): A. D. 1004-1063, and after.

BOKHARA: A. D. 1209-1220.
Under the Khuarezmians.

See KHUAREZM: 12TH CENTURY.

BOKHARA: A. D. 1219.
Destruction of the city by Jingis Khan.

Bokhara was taken by Jingis Khan in the summer of 1219. "It
was then a very large and magnificent city. Its name,
according to the historian Alai-ud-din, is derived from
Bokhar, which in the Magian language means the Centre of
Science." The city surrendered after a siege of a few days.
Jingis Khan, on entering the town, saw the great mosque and
asked if it was the Sultan's palace. "Being told it was the
house of God, he dismounted, climbed the steps, and said in a
loud voice to his followers, 'The hay is cut, give your horses
fodder.' They easily understood this cynical invitation to
plunder. ... The inhabitants were ordered to leave the town in
a body, with only their clothes, so that it might be more
easily pillaged, after which the spoil was divided among the
victors. 'It was a fearful day,' says Ibn al Ithir; 'one only
heard the sobs and weeping of men, women and children, who
were separated forever; women were ravished, while men died
rather than survive the dishonour of their wives and
daughters.' The Mongols ended by setting fire to all the
wooden portion of the town, and only the great mosque and
certain palaces which were built of brick remained standing."

_H. H. Howorth, History of the Mongols, volume 1, chapter 3._

{295}

"The flourishing city on the Zerefshan had become a heap of
rubbish, but the garrison in the citadel, commanded by Kok
Khan, continued to hold out with a bravery which deserves our
admiration. The Mongols used every imaginable effort to reduce
this last refuge of the enemy; the Bokhariots themselves were
forced on to the scaling-ladders: but all in vain, and it was
not until the moat had been literally choked with corpses of
men and animals that the stronghold was taken and its brave
defenders put to death. The peaceable portion of the
population was also made to suffer for this heroic resistance.
More than 30,000 men were executed, and the remainder were,
with the exception of the very old people among them, reduced
to slavery, without any distinction of rank whatever; and thus
the inhabitants of Bokhara, lately so celebrated for their
learning, their love of art, and their general refinement,
were brought down to a dead level of misery and degradation
and scattered to all quarters."

_A. Vambery, History of Bokhara, chapter 8._

See MONGOLS: A. D. 1153-1227.

BOKHARA: A. D. 1868.
Subjection to Russia.

See RUSSIA: A. D. 1859-1876.

----------BOKHARA: End----------

BOLERIUM.

See BELERION.

BOLESLAUS I., King of Poland, A. D. 1000-1025.
Boleslaus II., King of Poland, A. D. 1058-1083.
Boleslaus III., Duke of Poland, A. D. 1102-1138.
Boleslaus IV., Duke of Poland, A. D. 1146-1173.
Boleslaus V., King of Poland, A. D. 1227-1279.

BOLEYN, Anne.
Marriage, trial and execution.

See ENGLAND: A. D. 1527-1534; and, 1536-1543.

BOLGARI.

See BULGARIA: ORIGIN OF.

BOLIVAR'S LIBERATION OF THE SOUTH AMERICAN STATES.

See COLOMBIAN STATES: A. D. 1810-1819, 1819-1830;
and PERU: A. D. 1820-1826, 1825-1826, and 1826-1876.

BOLIVIA:
The aboriginal inhabitants.

"With the Toromonos tribe, who occupied, as Orbigny tells us,
a district of from 11° to 13° of South latitude, it was an
established rule for every man to build his house, with his
own hands alone, and if he did otherwise he lost the title of
man, as well as became the laughing-stock of his fellow
citizens. The only clothing worn by these people was a turban
on the head, composed of feathers, the rest of the body being
perfectly naked; whilst the women used a garment, manufactured
out of cotton, that only partially covered their persons. ...
The ornament in which the soft sex took most pride was a
necklace made of the teeth of enemies, killed by their
husbands in battle. Amongst the Moxos polygamy was tolerated,
and woman's infidelity severely punished. ... The Moxos
cultivated the land with ploughs, and other implements of
agriculture, made of wood. They fabricated canoes, fought and
fished with bows and arrows. In the province of the Moxos
lived also a tribe called Itonomos, who, besides these last
named instruments of war, used two edged wooden scimitars. The
immorality of these Itonomos was something like that of the
Mormons of our time. ... The Canichanas, who lived near
Machupo, between 13° and 14° South latitude and 67° to 68° West
longitude, are reputed by M. d'Orbigny as the bravest of the
Bolivian Indians. They are accredited to have been cannibals.
...Where Jujuy--the most northern province· of the Argentine
Republic--joins Bolivia, we have in the present day the
Mataguaya and Cambas Indians. The latter are represented to me
by Dr. Matienzo, of Rosario, as intelligent and devoted to
agricultural labor. They have fixed tolderias [villages], the
houses of which are clean and neat. Each town is commanded by
a capitan, whose sovereignty is hereditary to his male
descendants only."

_T. J. Hutchinson, The Parana, chapter 4._

See, also, AMERICAN ABORIGINES: ANDESIANS, and TUPI.

In the Empire of the Incas.

See PERU: THE EMPIRE OF THE INCAS.

BOLIVIA: A. D. 1559.
Establishment of the Audiencia of Charcas.

See AUDIENCIAS.

BOLIVIA: A. D. 1825-1826.
The independent Republic founded and named in Upper Peru.
The Bolivian Constitution.

"Upper Peru [or Las Charcas, as it was more specifically
known] ... had been detached [in 1776--see ARGENTINE REPUBLIC:
A. D. 1580-1777] from the government of Lima ... to form part
of the newly constituted Viceroyalty of Buenos Ayres. The
fifteen years' struggle for independence was here a sanguinary
one indeed. There is scarcely a town, village, or noticeable
place in this vast region where blood is not recorded to have
been shed in this terrible struggle. ... The Spanish army
afterwards succumbed to that of the independents of Peru; and
thus Upper Peru gained, not indeed liberty, but independence
under the rule of a republican army. This vast province was
incapable of governing itself. The Argentines laid claim to it
as a province of the confederation; but they already exercised
too great a preponderance in the South American system, and
the Colombian generals obtained the relinquishment of these
pretensions. Sucre [Bolivar's Chief of Staff] assumed the
government until a congress could be assembled: and under the
influence of the Colombian soldiery Upper Peru was erected
into an independent state by the name of the Republic of
Bolivar, or Bolivia."--

_E. J. Payne, History of European Colonies, page 290._

For an account of the Peruvian war of liberation--the results
of which embraced Upper Peru--and the adoption of the Bolivian
constitution by the latter,

See PERU: A. D. 1820-1826, and 1825-1826.

BOLIVIA: A. D. 1834-1839.
Confederation with Peru.
War with Chile.

See PERU: A. D. 1826-1876.

BOLIVIA: A. D. 1879-1884.
The war with Chile.

See CHILE: A. D. 1833-1884.

----------BOLIVIA: End----------

BOLIVIAN CONSTITUTION, or Code Bolivar.

See PERU: A. D. 1825-1826, and 1826-1876.

BOLOGNA: Origin of the city.

On the final conquest of the Boian Gauls in North Italy, a new
Roman colony and frontier fortress were established, B. C.
189, called first Felsina and then Bononia, which is the
Bologna of modern Italy.

_H. G. Liddell, History of Rome, book 5, chapter 41._

BOLOGNA:
Origin of the name.

See BOIANS.

{296}

BOLOGNA: B. C. 43.
Conference of the Triumvirs.

See ROME: B. C. 44-42.

BOLOGNA: 11th Century.
School of Law.
The Glossators.

"Just at this time [end of the 11th century] we find a famous
school of law established in Bologna, and frequented by
multitudes of pupils, not only from all parts of Italy, but
from Germany, France, and other countries. The basis of all
its instructions was the Corpus Juris Civilis. Its teachers,
who constitute a series of distinguished jurists extending
over a century and a half, devoted themselves to the work of
expounding the text and elucidating the principles of the
Corpus Juris, and especially the Digest. From the form in
which they recorded and handed down the results of their
studies, they have obtained the name of glossators. On their
copies of the Corpus Juris they were accustomed to write
glosses, i. e., brief marginal explanations and remarks. These
glosses came at length to be an immense literature."

_J. Hadley, Introduction to Roman Law, lecture 2._

BOLOGNA: 11th-12th Centuries.
Rise and Acquisition of Republican Independence.

See ITALY: A. D. 1056-1152.

BOLOGNA: A. D. 1275.
Sovereignty of the Pope confirmed by Rodolph of Hapsburg.

See GERMANY: A. D. 1273-1308.

BOLOGNA: A. D. 1350-1447.
Under the tyranny of the Visconti.

See MILAN: A. D. 1277-1447;
and FLORENCE: A. D. 1390-1402.

BOLOGNA: A. D. 1512.
Acquisition by Pope Julius II.

See ITALY: A. D. 1510-1513.

BOLOGNA: A. D. 1796-1797.
Joined to the Cispadane Republic.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1796 (APRIL-OCTOBER);
1796-1797 (OCTOBER-APRIL).

BOLOGNA: A. D. 1831.
Revolt suppressed by Austrian troops.

See ITALY: A. D. 1830-1832.

----------BOLOGNA: End----------

BOMBAY.
Cession to England (1661).

See INDIA: A. D. 1600-1702.

BON HOMME RICHARD AND THE SERAPIS.--Sea-fight.

See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1779 (SEPTEMBER).

BONAPARTE, Jerome, and his Kingdom of Westphalia.

See GERMANY: A. D. 1807 (JUNE-JULY);
1813 (SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER), and (OCTOBER--DECEMBER).

BONAPARTE, Joseph,
King of Naples, King of Spain.

See
FRANCE: A. D. 1805-1806 (DECEMBER-SEPTEMBER);
SPAIN: A. D. 1808 (MAY-SEPTEMBER), to 1812-1814.

BONAPARTE, Louis, and the Kingdom of Holland.

See NETHERLANDS: A. D. 1806-1810.

BONAPARTE, Louis Napoleon.

See NAPOLEON III.

BONAPARTE, NAPOLEON,
The career of.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1793 (JULY-DECEMBER),
and 1795 (OCTOBER-DECEMBER), to 1815.

BONAPARTE FAMILY,
The origin of the.