The Hussite Wars from 1419 to 1435 tore apart the medieval world. This revolution created a new way to think about the world and about faith that had not been seen before, nor had anyone seen Jan Zizka’s deadly military inventions.
This podcast is part of the broader History of the Germans podcast that aims to track the history of the German people from the Early Middle Ages to Reunification in 1991. If you enjoy this show, check out any of the other seasons or follow the main show.
So far I have the following seasons:
The Ottonians (919 AD-1024 AD)
Salian Emperors and Investiture Controversy (1024 AD-1125 AD)
Fredrick Barbarossa and Early Hohenstaufen (1125-1190)
Frederick II Stupor Mundi (1190-1268)
Saxony and Eastward Expansion
The Hanseatic League
The Teutonic Knights
The Holy Roman Empire (1250 AD -1356 AD)
The Reformation before the Reformation (1356AD -1439 AD)
The Empire in the 15th Century
The Fall and Rise of the Habsburgs (1439AD -1519 AD)
On 31st of October 1517 a hitherto unknown professor at the smallish university of Wittenberg published 95 theses. And by doing so, he unleashed a sequence of events that would fundamentally change the face of Europe and still defines communities and nations.
The interesting question about the 95 theses is not why Luther rote them, but why they had any impact at all. Martin Luther stands at the end of a mile long queue of learned and sometimes less learned men who railed against the decadence of the church, called for a return to the actual text of the bible and demanded that the clergy lives like the apostles. But somehow the message on that fateful day in 1517 gained traction across the Christian world in a way no previous attempt had.
Why? That is a question I believe will be the guiding line through the coming seasons. Something about the social, political, cultural, religious and economic landscape of early modern Germany must have provided the cinder on which protestant ideas could catch fire.
You will now ask, why is Dirk talking about the Reformation. The last season ended on the 14th century, a good 150 years before “the day that changed western Christianity”. Aren’t we supposed to go through this chronologically.
Oh yes we are. But as we are moving forward at our accustomed pace we will hit the Hussite revolt that started in 1415. This religious uprising has so many common threads with Luther’s reformation, it may be seen as a dress rehearsal for the actual Reformation. Luther himself declared in 1519 “Ich bin ein Hussite” I am a Hussite.
Spoiler alert, the Hussite revolt did not lead to the fraction of the catholic church, but that makes it even more interesting. What were the circumstances that led the people of Bohemia and many other parts of the empire to take up arms to defend their convictions, how come they were successful and by what means could a reconciliation be achieved? Knowing that will help us understand why a 150 years later such a settlement failed to materialize, dividing Europe into Protestants and Catholics and spurning some of the bloodiest civil wars in history.
To explore the causes and impact of this reformation before the reformation we will take a look at the decline of the house of Luxemburg, the emergence of the Ottoman empire, the creation of Burgundy as a political entity separate from France, the defeat of the Teutonic Knights and the great western schism with its resolution at the Council of Constance where amongst other things Jan Hus was convicted and burned at the stake. We will dive into Jan Hus’ and his predecessor’s thoughts and convictions as well as the military innovations of Jan Zizka and probably a lot more things I have not yet thought about.
The music for the show is Flute Sonata in E-flat major, H.545 by Carl Phillip Emmanuel Bach (or some claim it as BWV 1031 Johann Sebastian Bach) performed and arranged by Michel Rondeau under Common Creative Licence 3.0.
As always:
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To make it easier for you to share the podcast, I have created separate playlists for some of the seasons that are set up as individual podcasts. they have the exact same episodes as in the History of the Germans, but they may be a helpful device for those who want to concentrate on only one season.
So far I have:
Salian Emperors and Investiture Controversy
Fredrick Barbarossa and Early Hohenstaufen
The music for the show is Flute Sonata in E-flat major, H.545 by Carl Phillip Emmanuel Bach (or some claim it as BWV 1031 Johann Sebastian Bach) performed and arranged by Michel Rondeau under Common Creative Licence 3.0.
Overview
The period from 1378 to 1437 was dominated by three deeply connected events – the Great Western Schism that left Europe first with 2 and then with 3 competing popes, the Council of Constance that was convened to resolve this issue but did so much more to change the way church and empire interacted and finally, the Hussite Revolt that was triggered by the execution of Jan Hus at the Council of Constance.
#164 – Season Opener
Council of Constance and Hussite Revolt (1378-1437)
A 10,000 feet view of where we are in 1378, on the cusp of a transition from the Middle Ages to the early Modern Period
Wenceslaus the Lazy (1378-1400)
The Prince Electors of Cologne, Mainz, Trier and the Palatinate decided on August 20th 1400 that King Wenceslaus IV, son of the great emperor Karl IV, king of Bohemia and duke of Luxemburg was to be deposed for his “evil deeds and afflictions [that are] are so clearly manifest and well known throughout the land that they can neither be justified nor concealed”
How could that happen. Last time we looked at the house of Luxemburg, they directly held almost a quarter of the German lands, controlled two of the seven electoral votes, had manoeuvred themselves into pole position to gain the Hungarian and the Polish crown, with even a long-term option on Austria, Styria, Carinthia and Tyrol . But now, a mere 22 years later, the great second Carolingian empire lies in tatters.
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#165 Wenceslaus the Lazy and Ruprecht of the Empty Pocket
The Decline of the House of Luxemburg
When Wenceslaus father, the emperor Karl IV died in 1378, everything looked incredibly promising. But 22 years later his reign lay in ashes. How did that happen?
The Great Western Schism (1378-1418)
Why did the exact self-same cardinals elect one pope in April 1378 and another one 4 months later? Who was taking the lead in attempts to resolve the crisis and why did all these attempts fail for 40 years? How far did they go in forcing the various papal contenders to come to the negotiation table. How ridiculous were the popes’ attempts to wiggle out of that…
#166/167 The Great Western Schism – Parts 1 and 2
The Political Fight for the Papacy
The Great Western Schism produced first two and then three competing popes. But how did it actually come about?
Sigismund (1400-1437)
The late 14th and early 15th century was an age that called for larger-than-life characters: Joan of Arc, fierce and holy; Henry Bolingbroke, seizing a throne; Jadwiga and Jogaila, uniting kingdoms; the audacious Gian Galeazzo Visconti and fiery Cola di Rienzo; the ever-scheming John the Fearless and Jacob van Artevelde; the tragic Ines de Castro and the unflinching Jan Žižka.
Into this glittering and turbulent lineup steps a man whose reputation has not exactly been polished by time. Despised in his kingdoms of Hungary and Bohemia and even Constance, the city that owes him so much, decided to remember him as a fat naked crowned guy with skinny arms and legs, worn-out face, forked beard and disproportionate genitalia balancing on the hand of a nine-meter-tall sex worker. No, I am not making this up.
#168 From Osman to Nicopolis
The Rise of the Ottoman Empire
For over 400 years, ever since the battle on the Lechfeld in 955, Western Europeans did not have to fear an enemy on their eastern flank. That is about to change…
#169 Sigismund, not yet Emperor
The Chaotic Succession to Louis the Great of Hungary and Poland
Sigismund of Luxembourg emerges as a pivotal figure in the late Middle Ages, grappling with the dual crises of the Schism and the Ottoman threat…
The Council of Constance (1414-1418)
In November 1414, 30,000 academics and aristocrats, bishops, blacksmiths and bakers, cardinals, counts and chefs, doctors, dancers and diplomats, princes, prelates and public girls descended on a town in Southern Germany built to house 6 to 8,000 people. They planned to stay a few weeks, 2-3 months max. But 3 and a half years later most of them were still there.
What did they get up to? They deposed popes, debated the reform of the church, partied and burned heretics…it was the greatest gathering in all of medieval European history…
#170 Jan Hus, Reformer and Rebel?
Jan Hus and the Seeds of Reformation: A Tale of Faith and Revolt
Explore the life of Jan Hus, a pivotal Czech reformer, as he challenges church corruption, advocates for Czech preaching, and inspires a revolt.
#171 Cleaning House
Council of Constance Part 1
The Council of Constance gets rid of surplus popes making it a pivotal moment in the history of the Catholic Church and of Europe in general.
#172 A World Event
The Council of Constance Part 2
The Council of Constance was more than burning of Hus or the papacy; book hunting, prostitution, political violence and human rights all played a role
#173 Ending the Schism
The Council of Constance – Part 3
The Council of Constance could have been the moment that turned the papacy into a constitutional monarchy and implemented much needed reform, but…
#174 The Trial of Jan Hus
The Council of Constance – Part 4
Jan Hus was burned at the stake on Jul 6th, 1415, the only one of the great reformers to do so. Why did he die? was he set up?
The Hussite Wars (1419-1437)
The Hussite Wars from 1419 to 1435 tore apart the medieval world. This revolution created a new way to think about the world and about faith that had not been seen before, nor had anyone seen Jan Zizka’s deadly military inventions.
There are not only so many parallels between the Hussite Revolt and the actual Reformation that Martin Luther called out “I am a Hussite”, even though the revolt itself never went beyond Bohemia.
#175 Death and Defenestration
The Hussite Revolution Begins
The burning of Jan Hus and the ban on Utraquist communion makes the Bohemian’s blood boil – and 13 royal councillors fall out of windows
#176 A Great Idiot of History?
How Emperor Sigismund Pours Oil into the Fire of the Hussite Revolt
Every revolution needs a Storm of the Bastille and a Louis XVI. We had a Defenestration, but do we have a “Great Idiot of History”?
#177 The Day after the End of Days
Jan Zizka Appears Out of Nowhere to Save the Revolution
Calling the end of world for a particular day is always problematic, choosing one only 3 months away is foolish….
#178 No Hill to Die On
The Battle for Prague
Two important Hills in medieval Czech history – Tabor and Vitkov, one the birthplace of a new society, the other a place of national destiny
#179 Meanwhile in the Empire
The Beginnings of Imperial Reform
The German Lands are in dire straits, the emperor goes from defeat to defeat, it is high time to kick off Imperial reform
#180 Nude Dissenters and Blind Innovators
The Adamites and the Battle of Kutna Hora
We will hear about an accelerating spiral of brutality and attempts at reconciliation, about austere dress and debauched dancing in the woods. This is another one of these episodes that has it all, and some.
#181 Zizka’s Drum
The Revolution Devours it’s Children
We talk about the military genius of Jan Zizka, his victories in the Hussite Wars, and the internal conflicts that divided the Hussites.
#182 The Return of the King
Reconciliation Between Hussites and the Catholic Church
The war between Hussites and Catholics raged for 15 years. The ideological gap seemed unbridgeable until the ageing king Sigismund sees the way out…
#183 The Aftermath of a Revolution
The Consequences of the Hussite Wars 1419-1434
What happens after a revolution that killed 10% of the population has ended. Who wins, who loses? What lives on?
#184 A German Messalina? Barbara of Celje
A story of slander
Barbara of Celje, second wife of emperor Sigismund was called a German Messalina, a Black Queen of Croatia and even a lesbian vampire. Find out the truth whilst listening to some papal erotic literature….