A History of Germany from the Earliest Times to the Present Day

by Bayard Taylor

Such a Council, in fact, was then demanded by all Christendom. The intelligent classes in all countries felt that the demoralization caused by the corruption of the clergy and the scandalous quarrels of three rival Popes could no longer be endured. The Council at Pisa, in 1409, had only made matters worse by adding another Pope to the two at Rome and Avignon; for, although it claimed the highest spiritual authority on earth, it was not obeyed. The Chancellor of the University of Paris called upon the Emperor Sigismund to move in favor of a new Council; all the Christian powers of Europe promised their support, and finally one of the Popes, John XXIII., being driven from Rome, was persuaded to agree, so that a grand Œcumenical Council, with authority over the Papacy, was summoned to meet in the city of Constance, in the autumn of the year 1414.

1414. THE COUNCIL OF CONSTANCE.

It was one of the most imposing assemblies ever held in Europe. Pope John XXIII. personally appeared, accompanied by 600 Italians; the other two Popes sent ambassadors to represent their interests. The patriarchs of Jerusalem, Constantinople and Aquileia, the Grand-Masters of the knightly Orders, thirty-three Cardinals, twenty Archbishops, two hundred Bishops and many thousand priests and monks, were present. Then came the Emperor Sigismund, the representatives of all Christian powers, including the Byzantine Emperor, and even an envoy from the Turkish Sultan, with sixteen hundred princes and their followers. The entire concourse of strangers at Constance was computed at 150,000, and thirty different languages were heard at the same time. A writer of the day thus describes the characteristics of the four principal races: "The Germans are impetuous, but have much endurance, the French are boastful and arrogant, the English prompt and sagacious, and the Italians subtle and intriguing." Gamblers, mountebanks and dramatic performers were also on hand; great tournaments, races and banquets were constantly held; yet, although the Council lasted four years, there was no disturbance of the public order, no increase in the cost of living, and no epidemic diseases in the crowded camps.

The professed objects of the Council were: a reformation of the Church, its reorganization under a single head, and the suppression of heresy. The members were divided into four "Nations"—the German, including the Bohemians, Hungarians, Poles, Russians and Greeks; the French, including Normans, Spaniards and Portuguese; the English, including Irish, Scotch, Danes, Norwegians and Swedes; and the Italian, embracing all the different States from the Alps to Sicily. Each of these nations held its own separate convention, and cast a single vote, so that no measure could be carried, unless three of the four nations were in favor of it. Germany and England advocated the reformation of the Church, as the first and most important question; France and Italy cared only to have the quarrel of the Popes settled, and finally persuaded England to join them. Thus the reformation was postponed, and that was practically the end of it.

1415.

As soon as it became evident that all three of the Popes would be deposed by the Council, John XXIII. fled from Constance in disguise, with the assistance of the Hapsburg Duke, Frederick of Austria. Both were captured; the Pope, whose immorality had already made him infamous, was imprisoned at Heidelberg, and Frederick was declared to have forfeited his lands. Although Austria was afterwards restored to him, all the Hapsburg territory lying between Zurich, the Rhine and the Lake of Constance was given to Switzerland, and has remained Swiss ever since. A second Pope, Gregory XII., now voluntarily abdicated, but the third, Benedict XIII., refused to follow the example, and maintained a sort of Papal authority in Spain until his death. The Council elected a member of the family of Colonna, in Rome, who took the name of Martin V. He was no sooner chosen and installed in his office than, without awaiting the decrees of the Council, he began to conclude separate "Concordats" (agreements) with the princes. Thus the chief object of the Council was already thwarted, and the four nations took up the question of suppressing heresy.

Huss, to whom the Emperor had sent a safe-conduct for the journey to and from Constance, and who was escorted by three Bohemian knights, was favorably received by the people, on the way. He reached Constance in November, 1414, and was soon afterwards—before any examination—arrested and thrown into a dungeon so foul that he became seriously ill. Sigismund insisted that he should be released, but the cardinals and bishops were so embittered against him that they defied the Emperor's authority. All that the latter could (or did) do for him, was to procure for him a trial, which began on the 7th of June, 1415. But instead of a trial, it was a savage farce. He was accused of the absurdest doctrines, among others of asserting that there were four Gods, and every time he attempted to speak in his own defence, his voice was drowned by the outcries of the bishops and priests. He offered to renounce any doctrine he had taught, if it were proved contrary to the Gospel of Christ; but this proposition was received with derision. He was simply offered the choice between instantly denying all that he held as truth or being burned at the stake as a heretic.

1415. HUSS AND JEROME BURNED.

On the 6th of July, the Council assembled in the Cathedral of Constance. After mass had been celebrated, Huss, who had steadfastly refused to recant, was led before the congregation of priests and princes, and clothed as a priest, to make his condemnation more solemn. A bishop read the charges against him, but every attempt he made to speak was forcibly silenced. Once, however, he raised his voice and demanded the fair hearing which had been promised, and to obtain which he had accepted the Emperor's protection,—fixing his eyes sternly upon Sigismund, who could not help blushing with shame. The sacramental cup was then placed in Huss's hands, and immediately snatched from him with the words: "Thou accursed Judas! we take from thee this cup, wherein the blood of Christ is offered up for the forgiveness of sins!" to which Huss replied: "I trust that to-day I shall drink of this cup in the Kingdom of God." Each article of his priestly dress was stripped from him with a new curse, and when, finally, all had been removed, his soul was solemnly commended to the Devil; whereupon he exclaimed: "And I commend it to my Lord Jesus Christ."

Huss was publicly burned to death the same day. On arriving at the stake he knelt and prayed so fervently, that the common people began to doubt whether he really was a heretic. Being again offered a chance to retract, he declared in a loud voice that he would seal by his death the truth of all he had taught. After the torch had been applied to the pile, he was heard to cry out, three times, from the midst of the flames: "Jesus Christ, son of the Living God, have mercy upon me!" Then his voice failed, and in a short time nothing was left of the body of the immortal martyr, except a handful of ashes which were thrown into the Rhine.