Doubtless encouraged by this success, Sigismund marched to Kutna Hora at the head of an army of about eight thousand men. Z̆iz̆ka advanced to the relief of the town, and the townsmen themselves made a gallant defence; but some traitor opened one of the gates to the Imperial soldiers, and the massacre which followed on their entry made so deep an impression on the imagination of the Bohemians, that in later ages it was compared to the Massacre of St. Bartholomew. Z̆iz̆ka’s forces were now completely surrounded; and, on the 22nd of December, 1421, he found himself at the mercy of his opponents in a bitter winter and without any possibility of obtaining food. Sigismund now thought his victory secure; but he little knew with whom he had to deal. In spite of cold and hunger, Z̆iz̆ka kept his troops firm and patient till midnight. Then, having observed the weakest point in the royal army, he made a sudden and unexpected dash, broke through the Royalist lines, and was soon raising new forces and new provisions in the country. The Hungarians now scattered themselves about, plundering and ravishing in the neighbouring villages, when, suddenly, in January, 1422, a party of the plunderers were startled in an outlying village by the appearance of Z̆iz̆ka at the head of a new army. Sigismund was once more panic-struck. He ordered the town of Kutna Hora to be set on fire; fastened the councillors to his carriage, and fled as fast as he could go to the town of Deutschbrod (Nemecky Brod). Z̆iz̆ka, in spite of the hard frost, followed with all his horses and baggage-waggons; and he so completely routed Sigismund that twelve thousand of the Hungarian army were killed, and the King never again entered Bohemia during Z̆iz̆ka’s life.
But, in the meantime, the divisions in Prague were reaching their height. John the Priest (as John of Z̆elív was now called) had, on October 19th, struck a popular coup d’état. He had persuaded the people to depose the nobles from office, and to choose one man as captain of the city, with four others for each division of the town. The new Councillors, who were appointed under this arrangement, proceeded to summon to Prague a certain John Sadlo, who had been a zealous Utraquist, but who happened to have incurred the suspicion of the new rulers of the town. He was promised a safe-conduct; but, on arriving in Prague, he was seized and summarily executed. The moderate men of Prague now felt that a stand must be made; and they called a meeting at which Jakaubek of Kladrau and Peter Payne drew up certain Articles for the government of the clergy. Four directors were to be chosen to regulate the appointment to every church in Prague, and to prevent the introduction of novelties in ritual, unless publicly justified from Scripture. John was urged by his followers to resist this proposal; but he seems to have felt it better to give way, and to accept the three colleagues, who were combined with him in the administration.
But, however much such an arrangement might satisfy the champions of Utraquist orthodoxy, it could not restore the sense of order and stability which had been shaken by John’s overbearing proceedings, and especially by the murder of Sadlo. C̆enĕk of Wartenberg and other nobles again fled to Sigismund; and, although the citizens of Prague and the Masters of the University were far from being disposed to that course, they felt that the security to be obtained by the presence of a King would be their best guarantee against the encroachments of the extreme party. The King of Poland had rejected the offer of the crown; but the Duke of Lithuania seemed more ready to listen to the advances of the Bohemians. Apparently, however, his sympathies arose rather from a general Slavonic feeling, and a personal dislike of Sigismund, than from any doctrinal sympathies with the Utraquists. He had been a comparatively recent convert to Christianity; and he had all the consequent zeal for orthodoxy. The Calixtines assured him that they had no desire for separation from the Romish Church, and that they did not admit the charge of heresy. In the hope, therefore, of defeating Sigismund, and of bringing back the Bohemians to the Catholic Church, Witold of Lithuania consented that his nephew, Sigismund Korybut, should be sent to represent him in Bohemia.
Prince Korybut, however, insisted that, before he would enter Prague, Priest John should be deposed from his power. Those nobles who had remained faithful to the national cause were specially eager to carry out this understanding. They deposed all the Councillors both in the Old and New Town; and they arranged that each quarter should choose new Councillors for a year, of whom none should be priests or Masters of Arts. At the same time Has̆ek of Waldstein was chosen chief captain of the town. But the terror which John had excited among the nobles and richer citizens could not be removed by these arrangements. So on March 8th two councillors were sent to John, to ask him to come to the Town Council to consult with them. When he came, they asked his advice about the plan of campaign, and seemed to listen respectfully. Then they went on to urge him to make peace between the rival parties, before they went to battle. John answered that, if they desired peace, they must not take away houses from those to whom the Community had given them, nor must they depose faithful servants such as the late Captain of the town. Then, whilst they were still speaking, the burgomaster gave a sign; and the soldiers rushed in and seized Priest John and several of his friends, took them into an outer hall, and executed them. As soon as the people of the town heard the news, they rose in fury, broke into the Council House, seized and beheaded the leading Councillors, and compelled Has̆ek of Waldstein to fly for his life.
But it seemed as if the death of John had really deprived the extreme party in Prague of their chances of final success; for, when in May, 1422, Korybut arrived in Prague, he was able, with apparently little trouble, to remove the Councillors of the extreme party, and to restore the Calixtines.
For a time Korybut seemed to give new strength and coherence to the Utraquist movement; but his reign was not of long duration. Martin V. had been extremely alarmed at the sympathies shown in Poland and Lithuania for the Utraquist cause; and by his orders the Polish clergy persuaded King Ladislaus to organise a new expedition against the Utraquists, while they induced Witold of Lithuania to recall Prince Korybut. But, though the summons for a third crusade was sent out to Poles, Lithuanians, Swedes, and Norwegians, yet the Pope soon found that it was easier to cajole kings than to convert peoples. Not only did the Poles and Ruthenians refuse to serve in the crusade; but, in spite of Ladislaus’s rebukes, they hastened to take up arms for the Bohemians; and so the third crusade collapsed even more ignominiously than the former ones.
OLD PICTURE OF Z̆IZ̆KA IN HEAVEN.
(From Dr. Toman’s pamphlet.)