May 1432 – July 1433
The Cheb Judge and Basel, 1432–1433
After the crusaders’ flight at Domažlice in August 1431, the Council of Basel invites the Hussites to argue their cause before it. In May 1432 envoys of the council and of the Hussites meet at Cheb, and on 18 May they agree on the Cheb Judge: the dispute is to be judged by the law of God, the practice of Christ, the apostles and the early Church, and the councils and teachers founded on them. A Hussite diet at Kutná Hora then chooses an embassy.
Prokop the Great and Jan Rokycana at the head of the Hussite embassy to Basel, drawing by Mikoláš AlešWikimedia Commons, Mikoláš Aleš, Public domain (Prokop Holý a Jan Rokycana.gif)
The embassy leaves Prague in December with about 300 horsemen and goes down the Rhine by ship from Schaffhausen, reaching Basel on 4 January 1433. Prokop the Great and the lord Vilém Kostka of Postupice lead it, with Jan Rokycana, the Taborite bishop Mikuláš of Pelhřimov, Oldřich of Znojmo and the English Wycliffite Peter Payne. From 16 January to 13 April the four Hussite speakers argue the Four Articles of Prague against four theologians of the council, one article each.
The Hussite embassy before the Council of Basel in 1433, illustration by Věnceslav ČernýWikimedia Commons, Věnceslav Černý, Public domain (České poselstvo v Basileji.jpg)
After three months neither side has given way, and the embassy is short of money. It leaves Basel in April with envoys of the council, who reach Prague on 8 May 1433 and meet the diet from 12 June. The envoys win over moderate Hussites, among them the lord Menhart of Hradec and masters of the university. They leave Prague on 11 July, as the field armies march on Plzeň.
Sources
- František Šmahel, Die Hussitische Revolution (2002), vol. 3.
- Thomas A. Fudge, The Crusade against Heretics in Bohemia, 1418–1437 (2002).
- Petr Čornej, Velké dějiny zemí Koruny české V (2000).
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