FOX'S BOOK OF MARTYRS CHAPTER VIII An Account of the Persecutions in Bohemia Under the Papacy
FOX'S BOOK OF MARTYRS
CHAPTER VIII
An Account of the Persecutions in Bohemia Under the Papacy
The Roman pontiffs having usurped a power over several
churches were particularly severe on the Bohemians, which occasioned them to
send two ministers and four lay-brothers to Rome, in the year 977, to obtain
redress of the pope. After some delay, their request was granted, and their
grievances redressed. Two things in particular they were permitted to do, viz.,
to have divine service performed in their own language, and to give the cup to
the
laity in the Sacrament.
The disputes, however, soon broke out again, the succeeding popes exerting
their whole power to impose on the minds of the Bohemians; and the latter, with
great spirit, aiming to preserve their religious liberties.
In A.D. 1375, some zealous friends of the Gospel applied to Charles, king of
Bohemia, to call an ecumenical Council, for an inquiry into the abuses that had
crept into the Church, and to make a full and thorough reformation. The king,
not knowing how to proceed, sent to the pope for directions how to act; but the
pontiff was so incensed at this affair that his only reply was, "Severely
punish those rash and profane heretics." The monarch, accordingly banished
every one who had been concerned in the application, and, to oblige the pope,
laid a great number of additional restraints upon the religious liberties of
the people.
The victims of persecution, however, were not so numerous in Bohemia, until after the burning of John Huss and Jerome of Prague. These two eminent reformers were condemned and executed at the instigation of the pope and his emissaries, as the reader will perceive by the following short sketches of their lives.
Persecution of John Huss
John Huss was born at Hussenitz, a village in Bohemia, about
the year 1380. His parents gave him the best education their circumstances would
admit; and having acquired a tolerable knowledge of the classics at a private
school, he was removed to the university of Prague, where he soon gave strong
proofs of his mental powers, and was remarkable for his diligence and
application to study.
In 1398, Huss commenced bachelor of divinity, and was after successively chosen
pastor of the Church of Bethlehem, in Prague, and dean and rector of the
university. In these stations he discharged his duties with great fidelity; and
became, at length, so conspicuous for his preaching, which was in conformity
with the doctrines of Wickliffe, that it was not likely he could long escape
the notice of the pope and his adherents, against whom he inveighed with no
small degree of asperity.
The English reformist, Wickliffe, had so kindled the light of reformation, that
it began to illumine the darkest corners of popery and ignorance. His doctrines
spread into Bohemia, and were well received by great numbers of people, but by
none so particularly as John Huss, and his zealous friend and fellow martyr,
Jerome of Prague.
The archbishop of Prague, finding the reformists daily increasing, issued a
decree to suppress the further spreading of Wickliffe's writings: but this had
an effect quite different to what he expected, for it stimulated the friends of
those doctrines to greater zeal, and almost the whole university united to
propagate them.
Being strongly attached to the doctrines of Wickliffe, Huss opposed the decree
of the archbishop, who, however, at length, obtained a bull from the pope,
giving him commission to prevent the publishing of Wickliffe's doctrines in his
province. By virtue of this bull, the archbishop condemned the writings of
Wickliffe: he also proceeded against four doctors, who had not delivered up the
copies of that divine, and prohibited them, notwithstanding their privileges,
to preach to any congregation. Dr. Huss, with some other members of the
university, protested against these proceedings, and entered an appeal from the
sentence of the archbishop.
The affair being made known to the pope, he granted a commission to Cardinal
Colonna, to cite John Huss to appear personally at the court of Rome, to answer
the accusations laid against him, of preaching both errors and heresies. Dr.
Huss desired to be excused from a personal appearance, and was so greatly
favored in Bohemia, that King Winceslaus, the queen, the nobility, and the
university, desired the pope to dispense with such an appearance; as also that
he would not suffer the kingdom of Bohemia to lie under the accusation of
heresy, but permit them to preach the Gospel with freedom in their places of
worship.
Three proctors appeared for Dr. Huss before Cardinal Colonna. They endeavored
to excuse his absence, and said they were ready to answer in his behalf. But
the cardinal declared Huss contumacious, and excommunicated him accordingly.
The proctors appealed to the pope, and appointed four cardinals to examine the
process: these commissioners confirmed the former sentence, and extended the
excommunication not only to Huss but to all his friends and followers.
From this unjust sentence Huss appealed to a future Council, but without
success; and, notwithstanding so severe a decree, and an expulsion in
consequence from his church in Prague, he retired to Hussenitz, his native
place, where he continued to promulgate his new doctrine, both from the pulpit
and with the pen.
The letters which he wrote at this time were very numerous; and he compiled a
treatise in which he maintained, that reading the books of Protestants could
not be absolutely forbidden. He wrote in defence of Wickliffe's book on the
Trinity; and boldly declared against the vices of the pope, the cardinals, and
clergy, of those corrupt times. He wrote also many other books, all of which
were penned with a strength of argument that greatly facilitated the spreading
of his doctrines.
In the month of November, 1414, a general Council was assembled at Constance,
in Germany, in order, as was pretended, for the sole purpose of determining a
dispute then pending between three persons who contended for the papacy; but
the real motive was to crush the progress of the Reformation.
John Huss was summoned to appear at this Council; and, to encourage him, the
emperor sent him a safe-conduct: the civilities, and even reverence, which Huss
met with on his journey were beyond imagination. The streets, and sometimes the
very roads, were lined with people, whom respect, rather than curiosity, had
brought together.
He was ushered into the town with great acclamations, and it may be said that
he passed through Germany in a kind of triumph. He could not help expressing
his surprise at the treatment he received: "I thought (said he) I had been
an outcast. I now see my worst friends are in Bohemia."
As soon as Huss arrived at Constance, he immediately took logdings in a remote
part of the city. A short time after his arrival, came one Stephen Paletz, who
was employed by the clergy at Prague to manage the intended prosecution against
him. Paletz was afterwards joined by Michael de Cassis, on the part of the
court of Rome. These two declared themselves his accusers, and drew up a set of
articles against him, which they presented to the pope and the prelates of the
Council.
When it was known that he was in the city he was immediately arrested, and
committed prisoner to a chamber in the palace. This violation of common law and
justice was particularly noticed by one of Huss's friends, who urged the
imperial safe-conduct; but the pope replied he never granted any safe-conduct,
nor was he bound by that of the emperor.
While Huss was in confinement, the Council acted the part of inquisitors.
They condemned the doctrines of Wickliffe, and even ordered his remains to be
dug up and burned to ashes; which orders were strictly complied with. In the
meantime, the nobility of Bohemia and Poland strongly interceded for Huss; and
so far prevailed as to prevent his being condemned unheard, which had been
resolved on by the commissioners appointed to try him.
When he was brought before the Council, the articles exhibited against him were
read: they were upwards of forty in number, and chiefly extracted from his
writings.
John Huss's answer was this: "I did appeal unto the pope; who being dead,
and the cause of my matter remaining undetermined, I appealed likewise unto his
successor John XXIII: before whom when, by the space of two years, I could not
be admitted by my advocates to defend my cause, I appealed unto the high judge
Christ."
When John Huss had spoken these words, it was demanded of him whether he had
received absolution of the pope or no? He answered, "No." Then again,
whether it was lawful for him to appeal unto Christ or no? Whereunto John Huss
answered: "Verily I do affirm here before you all, that there is no more just
or effectual appeal, than that appeal which is made unto Christ, forasmuch as
the law doth determine, that to appeal is no other thing than in a cause of
grief or wrong done by an inferior judge, to implore and require aid at a
higher Judge's hand. Who is then a higher Judge than Christ? Who, I say, can
know or judge the matter more justly, or with more equity? when in Him there is
found no deceit, neither can He be deceived; or, who can better help the
miserable and oppressed than He?" While John Huss, with a devout and sober
countenance, was speaking and pronouncing those words, he was derided and
mocked by all the whole Council.
These excellent sentences were esteemed as so many expressions of treason, and
tended to inflame his adversaries. Accordingly, the bishops appointed by the
Council stripped him of his priestly garments, degraded him, put a paper miter
on his head, on which was painted devils, with this inscription, "A
ringleader of heretics." Which when he saw, he said: "My Lord Jesus
Christ, for my sake, did wear a crown of thorns; why should not I then, for His
sake, again wear this light crown, be it ever so ignominious? Truly I will do
it, and that willingly." When it was set upon his head, the bishop said:
"Now we commit thy soul unto the devil." "But I," said John
Huss, lifting his eyes towards the heaven, "do commend into Thy hands, O
Lord Jesus Christ! my spirit which Thou has redeemed."
When the chain was put about him at the stake, he said, with a smiling
countenance, "My Lord Jesus Christ was bound with a harder chain than this
for my sake, and why then should I be ashamed of this rusty one?"
When the fagots were piled up to his very neck, the duke of Bavaria was so
officious as to desire him to abjure. "No, (said Huss;) I never preached
any doctrine of an evil tendency; and what I taught with my lips I now seal
with my blood." He then said to the executioner, "You are now going
to burn a goose, (Huss signifying goose in the Bohemian language:) but in a
century you will have a swan which you can neither roast nor boil." If he
were prophetic, he must have meant Martin Luther, who shone about a hundred
years after, and who had a swan for his arms.
The flames were now applied to the fagots, when our martyr sung a hymn with so
loud and cheerful a voice that he was heard through all the cracklings of the
combustibles, and the noise of the multitude. At length his voice was
interrupted by the severity of the flames, which soon closed his existence.
Then, with great diligence, gathering the ashes together, they cast them into
the river Rhine, that the least remnant of that man should not be left upon the
earth, whose memory, notwithstanding, cannot be abolished out of the minds of
the godly, neither by fire, neither by water, neither by any kind oof torment.
Persecution of Jerome of Prague
This reformer, who was the companion of Dr. Huss, and may be
said to be a co-martyr with him, was born at Prague, and educated in that
university, where he particularly distinguished himself for his great abilities
and learning. He likewise visited several other learned seminaries in Europe,
particularly the universities of Paris, Heidelburg, Cologne and Oxford. At the
latter place he became acquainted with the works of Wickliffe, and being a
person of uncommon application, he translated many of them into his native
language, having, with great pains, made himself master of the English tongue.
On his return to Prague, he professed himself an open favorer of Wickliffe, and
finding that his doctrines had made considerable progress in Bohemia, and that
Huss was the principal promoter of them, he became an assistant to him in the
great work of reformation.
On the fourth of April, 1415, Jerome arrived at Constance, about three months
before the death of Huss. He entered the town privately, and consulting with
some of the leaders of his party, whom he found there, was easily convinced he
could not be of any service to his friends.
Finding that his arrival in Constance was publicly known, and that the Council
intended to seize him, he thought it most prudent to retire. Accordingly, the
next day he went to Iberling, an imperial town, about a mile from Constance.
From this place he wrote to the emperor, and proposed his readiness to appear
before the Council, if he would give him a safe-conduct; but this was refused.
He then applied to the Council, but met with an answer no less unfavorable than
that from the emperor.
After this, he set out on his return to Bohemia. He had the precaution to take
with him a certificate, signed by several of the Bohemian nobility, then at
Constance, testifying that he had used all prudent means in his power to
procure a hearing.
Jerome, however, did not thus escape. He was seized at Hirsaw by an officer
belonging to the duke of Sultsbach, who, though unauthorized so to act, made
little doubt of obtaining thanks from the Council for so acceptable a service.
The duke of Sultsbach, having Jerome now in his power, wrote to the Council for
directions how to proceed. The Council, after expressing their obligations to
the duke, desired him to send the prisoner immediately to Constance. The
elector palatine met him on the way, and conducted him into the city, himself
riding on horseback, with a numerous retinue, who led Jerome in fetters by a
long chain; and immediately on his arrival he was committed to a loathsome
dungeon.
Jerome was treated nearly in the same manner as Huss had been, only that he was
much longer confined, and shifted from one prison to another. At length, being
brought before the Council, he desired that he might plead his own cause, and
exculpate himself: which being refused him, he broke out into the following
exclamation:
"What barbarity is this! For three hundred and forty days have I been
confined in a variety of prisons. There is not a misery, there is not a want,
that I have not experienced. To my enemies you have allowed the fullest scope
of accusation: to me you deny the least opportunity of defence. Not an hour
will you now indulge me in preparing for my trial. You have swallowed the
blackest calumnies against me. You have represented me as a heretic, without
knowing my doctrine; as an enemy of the faith, before you knew what faith I
professed: as a persecutor of priests before you could have an opportunity of
understanding my sentiments on that head. You are a General Council: in you
center all this world can communicate of gravity, wisdom, and sanctity: but
still you are men, and men are seducible by appearances. The higher your
character is for wisdom, the greater ought your care to be not to deviate into
folly. The cause I now plead is not my own cause: it is the cause of men, it is
the cause of Christians; it is a cause which is to affect the rights of
posterity, however the experiment is to be made in my person."
This speech had not the least effect; Jerome was obliged to hear the charge
read, which was reduced under the following heads: 1. That he was a derider of
the papal dignity. 2. An opposer of the pope. 3. An enemy to the cardinals. 4.
A persecutor of the prelates. 5. A hater of the Christian religion.
The trial of Jerome was brought on the third day after his accusation and
witnesses were examined in support of the charge. The prisoner was prepared for
his defence, which appears almost incredible, when we consider he had been
three hundred and forty days shut up in loathsome prisons, deprived of
daylight, and almost starved for want of common necessaries. But his spirit
soared above these disadvantages, under which a man less animated would have
sunk; nor was he more at a loss of quotations from the fathers and ancient
authors than if he had been furnished with the finest library.
The most bigoted of the assembly were unwilling he should be heard, knowing
what effect eloquence is apt to have on the minds of the most prejudiced. At
length, however, it was carried by the majority that he should have liberty to
proceed in his defence, which he began in such an exalted strain of moving
elocution that the heart of obdurate zeal was seen to melt, and the mind of
superstition seemed to admit a ray of conviction. He made an admirable
distinction between evidence as resting upon facts, and as supported by malice
and calumny. He laid before the assembly the whole tenor of his life and
conduct. He observed that the greatest and most holy men had been known to
differ in points of speculation, with a view to distinguish truth, not to keep
it concealed. He expressed a noble contempt of all his enemies, who would have
induced him to retract the cause of virtue and truth. He entered upon a high
encomium of Huss; and declared he was ready to follow him in the glorious task
of martyrdom. He then touched upon the most defensible doctrines of Wickliffe;
and concluded with observing that it was far from his intention to advance
anything against the state of the Church of God; that it was only against the
abuse of the clergy he complained; and that he could not help saying, it was
certainly impious that the patrimony of the Church, which was originally
intended for the purpose of charity and universal benevolence, should be
prostituted to the pride of the eye, in feasts, foppish vestments, and other
reproaches to the name and profession of Christianity.
The trial being over, Jerome received the same sentence that had been passed
upon his martyred countryman. In consequence of this, he was, in the usual
style of popish affectation, delivered over to the civil power: but as he was a
layman, he had not to undergo the ceremony of degradation. They had prepared a
cap of paper painted with red devils, which being put upon his head, he said,
"Our Lord Jesus Christ, when He suffered death for me a most miserable
sinner, did wear a crown of thorns upon His head, and for His sake will I wear
this cap."
Two days were allowed him in hopes that he would recant; in which time the cardinal
of Florence used his utmost endeavors to bring him over. But they all proved
ineffectual. Jerome was resolved to seal the doctrine with his blood; and he
suffered death with the most distinguished magnanimity.
In going to the place of execution he sang several hymns, and when he came to
the spot, which was the same where Huss had been burnt, he knelt down, and
prayed fervently. He embraced the stake with great cheerfulness, and when they
went behind him to set fire to the fagots, he said, "Come here, and kindle
it before my eyes; for if I had been afraid of it, I had not come to this
place." The fire being kindled, he sang a hymn, but was soon interrupted
by the flames; and the last words he was heard to say these, "This soul in
flames I offer Christ, to Thee."
The elegant Pogge, a learned gentleman of Florence, secretary to two popes, and
a zealous but liberal Catholic, in a letter to Leonard Arotin, bore ample
testimony of the extraordinary powers and virtues of Jerome whom he
emphatically styles, A prodigious man!
Persecution of Zisca
The real name of this zealous servant of Christ was John de
Trocznow, that of Zisca is a Bohemian word, signifying one-eyed, as he had lost
an eye. He was a native of Bohemia, of a good family and left the court of Winceslaus,
to enter into the service of the king of Poland against the Teutonic knights.
Having obtained a badge of honor and a purse of ducats for his gallantry, at
the close of the war, he returned to the court of Winceslaus, to whom he boldly
avowed the deep interest he took in the bloody affront offered to his majesty's
subjects at Constance in the affair of Huss. Winceslaus lamented it was not in
his power to revenge it; and from this moment Zisca is said to have formed the
idea of asserting the religious liberties of his country. In the year 1418, the
Council was dissolved, having done more mischief than good, and in the summer
of that year a general meeting was held of the friends of religious
reformation, at the castle of Wisgrade, who, conducted by Zisca, repaired to
the emperor with arms in their hands, and offered to defend him against his
enemies. The king bid them use their arms properly, and this stroke of policy
first insured to Zisca the confidence of his party.
Winceslaus was succeeded by Sigismond, his brother, who rendered himself odious
to the reformers; and removed all such as were obnoxious to his government.
Zisca and his friends, upon this, immediately flew to arms, declared war
against the emperor and the pope, and laid siege to Pilsen with 40,000 men.
They soon became masters of the fortress, and in a short time all the southwest
part of Bohemia submitted, which greatly increased the army of the reformers.
The latter having taken the pass of Muldaw, after a severe conflict of five
days and nights, the emperor became alarmed, and withdrew his troops from the
confines of Turkey, to march them into Bohemia. At Berne in Moravia, he halted,
and sent despatches to treat of peace, as a preliminary to which Zisca gave up
Pilsen and all the fortresses he had taken. Sigismond proceeding in a manner
that clearly manifested he acted on the Roman doctrine, that no faith was to be
kept with heretics, and treating some of the authors of the late disturbances
with severity, the alarm-bell of revolt was sounded from one end of Bohemia to
the other. Zisca took the castle of Prague by the power of money, and on August
19, 1420, defeated the small army the emperor had hastily got together to
oppose him. He next took Ausea by assault, and destroyed the town with a
barbarity that disgraced the cause in which he fought.
Winter approaching, Zisca fortified his camp on a strong hill about forty miles
from Prague, which he called Mount Tabor, whence he surprised a body of horse
at midnight, and made a thousand men prisoners. Shortly after, the emperor
obtained possession of the strong fortress of Prague, by the same means Zisca
had before done: it was blockaded by the latter, and want began to threaten the
emperor, who saw the necessity of a retreat.
Determined to make a desperate effort, Sigismond attacked the fortified camp of
Zisca on Mount Tabor, and carried it with great slaughter. Many other
fortresses also fell, and Zisca withdrew to a craggy hill, which he strongly
fortified, and whence he so annoyed the emperor in his approaches against the
town of Prague, that he found he must either abandon the siege or defeat his
enemy. The marquis of Misnia was deputed to effect this with a large body of
troops, but the event was fatal to the imperialists; they were defeated, and
the emperor having lost nearly one third of his army, retreated from the siege
of Prague, harassed in his rear by the enemy.
In the spring of 1421, Zisca commenced the campaign, as before, by destroying
all the monasteries in his way. He laid siege to the castle of Wisgrade, and
the emperor coming to relieve it, fell into a snare, was defeated with dreadful
slaughter, and this important fortress was taken. Our general had now leisure
to attend to the work of reformation, but he was much disgusted with the gross
ignorance and superstition of the Bohemian clergy, who rendered themselves
contemptible in the eyes of the whole army. When he saw any symptoms of
uneasiness in the camp, he would spread alarm in order to divert them, and draw
his men into action. In one of these expeditions, he encamped before the town
of Rubi, and while pointing out the place for an assault, an arrow shot from
the wall struck him in the eye. At Prague it was extracted, but, being barbed,
it tore the eye out with it. A fever succeeded, and his life was with
difficulty preserved. He was now totally blind, but still desirous of attending
the army. The emperor, having summoned the states of the empire to assist him,
resolved, with their assistance, to attack Zisca in the winter, when many of
his troops departed until the return of spring.
The confederate princes undertook the siege of Soisin, but at the approach
merely of the Bohemian general, they retreated. Sigismond nevertheless advanced
with his formidable army, consisting of 15,000 Hungarian horse and 25,000
infantry, well equipped for a winter campaign. This army spread terror through
all the east of Bohemia. Wherever Sigismond marched, the magistrates laid their
keys at his feet, and were treated with severity or favor, according to their
merits in his cause. Zisca, however, with speedy marches, approached, and the
emperor resolved to try his fortune once more with that invincible chief. On
the thirteenth of January, 1422, the two armies met on a spacious plain near
Kremnitz. Zisca appeared in the center of his front line, guarded, or rather
conducted, by a horseman on each side, armed with a pole-axe. His troops having
sung a hymn, with a determined coolness drew their swords, and waited for a
signal. When his officers had informed him that the ranks were all well closed,
he waved his sabre round his head, which was the sign of battle.
This battle is described as a most awful sight. The extent of the plain was one
continued scene of disorder. The imperial army fled towards the confines of
Moravia, the Taborites, without intermission, galling their rear. The river
Igla, then frozen opposed their flight. The enemy pressing furiously, many of
the infantry and in a manner the whole body of the cavalry, attempted the
river. The ice gave way, and not fewer than two thousand were swallowed up in
the water. Zisca now returned to Tabor, laden with all the spoils and trophies
which the most complete victory could give.
Zisca now began again to pay attention to the Reformation; he forbid all the
prayers for the dead, images, sacerdotal vestments, fasts, and festivals.
Priests were to be preferred according to their merits, and no one to be
persecuted for religious opinions. In everything Zisca consulted the liberal
minded, and did nothing without general concurrence. An alarming disagreement
now arose at Prague between the magistrates who were Calixtans, or receivers of
the Sacraments in both kinds, and the Taborites, nine of the chiefs of whom
were privately arraigned, and put to death. The populace, enraged, sacrificed
the magistrates, and the affair terminated without any particular consequence.
The Calixtans having sunk into contempt, Zisca was solicited to assume the
crown of Bohemia; but this he nobly refused, and prepared for the next campaign,
in which Sigismond resolved to make his last effort. While the marquis of
Misnia penetrated into Upper Saxony, the emperor proposed to enter Moravia, on
the side of Hungary. Before the marquis had taken the field, Zisca sat down
before the strong town of Aussig, situated on the Elbe. The marquis flew to its
relief with a superior army, and, after an obstinate engagement, was totally
defeated and Aussig capitulated. Zisca then went to the assistance of Procop, a
young general whom he had appointed to keep Sigismond in check, and whom he
compelled to abandon the siege of Pernitz, after laying eight weeks before it.
Zisca, willing to give his troops some respite from fatigue, now entered
Prague, hoping his presence would quell any uneasiness that might remain after
the late disturbance: but he was suddenly attacked by the people; and he and
his troop having beaten off the citizens, effected a retreat to his army, whom
he acquainted with the treacherous conduct of the Calixtans. Every effort of
address was necessary to appease their vengeful animosity, and at night, in a
private interview between Roquesan, an ecclesiastic of great eminence in
Prague, and Zisca, the latter became reconciled, and the intended hostilities
were done away.
Mutually tired of the war, Sigismond sent to Zisca, requesting him to sheath
his sword, and name his conditions. A place of congress being appointed, Zisca,
with his chief officers, set out to meet the emperor. Compelled to pass through
a part of the country where the plague raged, he was seized with it at the
castle of Briscaw, and departed this life, October 6, 1424. Like Moses, he died
in view of the completion of his labors, and was buried in the great Church of
Czaslow, in Bohemia, where a monument is erected to his memory, with this
inscription on it-"Here lies John Zisca, who, having defended his country
against the encroachments of papal tyranny, rests in this hallowed place, in
despite of the pope."
After the death of Zisca, Procop was defeated, and fell with the liberties of
his country.
After the death of Huss and Jerome, the pope, in conjunction with the Council
of Constance, ordered the Roman clergy everywhere to excommunicate such as
adopted their opinions, or commiserated their fate.
These orders occasioned great contentions between the papists and reformed
Bohemians, which was the cause of a violent persecution against the latter. At
Prague, the persecution was extremely severe, until, at length, the reformed
being driven to desperation, armed themselves, attacked the senate-house, and
threw twelve senators, with the speaker, out of the senate-house windows, whose
bodies fell upon spears, which were held up by others of the reformed in the
street, to receive them.
Being informed of these proceedings, the pope came to Florence, and publicly
excommunicated the reformed Bohemians, exciting the emperor of Germany, and all
kings, princes, dukes, etc., to take up arms, in order to extirpate the whole
race; and promising, by way of encouragement, full remission of all sins whatever,
to the most wicked person, if he did but kill one Bohemian Protestant.
This occasioned a bloody war; for several popish princes undertook the
extirpation, or at least expulsion, of the proscribed people; and the
Bohemians, arming themselves, prepared to repel force by force, in the most
vigorous and effectual manner. The popish army prevailing against the
Protestant forces at the battle of Cuttenburgh, the prisoners of the reformed
were taken to three deep mines near that town, and several hundreds were
cruelly thrown into each, where they miserably perished.
A merchant of Prague, going to Breslau, in Silesia, happened to lodge in the
same inn with several priests. Entering into conversation upon the subject of
religious controversy, he passed many encomiums upon the martyred John Huss,
and his doctrines. The priests taking umbrage at this, laid an information
against him the next morning, and he was committed to prison as a heretic. Many
endeavors were used to persuade him to embrace the Roman Catholic faith, but he
remained steadfast to the pure doctrines of the reformed Church. Soon after his
imprisonment, a student of the university was committed to the same jail; when,
being permitted to converse with the merchant, they mutually comforted each other.
On the day appointed for execution, when the jailer began to fasten ropes to
their feet, by which they were to be dragged through the streets, the student
appeared quite terrified, and offered to abjure his faith, and turn Roman
Catholic if he might be saved. The offer was accepted, his abjuration was taken
by a priest, and he was set at liberty. A priest applying to the merchant to
follow the example of the student, he nobly said, "Lose no time in hopes
of my recantation, your expectations will be vain; I sincerely pity that poor
wretch, who has miserably sacrificed his soul for a few more uncertain years of
a troublesome life; and, so far from having the least idea of following his
example, I glory in the very thoughts of dying for the sake of Christ." On
hearing these words, the priest ordered the executioner to proceed, and the
merchant being drawn through the city was brought to the place of execution,
and there burnt.
Pichel, a bigoted popish magistrate, apprehended twenty-four Protestants, among
whom was his daughter's husband. As they all owned they were of the reformed
religion, he indiscriminately condemned them to be drowned in the river Abbis.
On the day appointed for the execution, a great concourse of people attended,
among whom was Pichel's daughter. This worthy wife threw herself at her
father's feet, bedewed them with tears, and in the most pathetic manner,
implored him to commisserate her sorrow, and pardon her husband. The obdurate
magistrate sternly replied, "Intercede not for him, child, he is a
heretic, a vile heretic." To which she nobly answered, "Whatever his
faults may be, or however his opinions may differ from yours, he is still my
husband, a name which, at a time like this, should alone employ my whole
consideration." Pichel flew into a violent passion and said, "You are
mad! cannot you, after the death of this, have a much worthier husband?"
"No, sir, (replied she) my affections are fixed upon this, and death
itself shall not dissolve my marriage vow." Pichel, however, continued
inflexible, and ordered the prisoners to be tied with their hands and feet
behind them, and in that manner be thrown into the river. As soon as this was
put into execution, the young lady watched her opportunity, leaped into the
waves, and embracing the body of her husband, both sank together into one
watery grave. An uncommon instance of conjugal love in a wife, and of an
inviolable attachment to, and personal affection for, her husband.
The emperor Ferdinand, whose hatred to the Bohemian Protestants was without
bounds, not thinking he had sufficiently oppressed them, instituted a high
court of reformers, upon the plan of the Inquisition, with this difference,
that the reformers were to remove from place to place, and always to be
attended by a body of troops.
These reformers consisted chiefly of Jesuits, and from their decision, there
was no appeal, by which it may be easily conjectured, that it was a dreadful
tribunal indeed.
This bloody court, attended by a body of troops, made the tour of Bohemia, in
which they seldom examined or saw a prisoner, suffering the soldiers to murder
the Protestants as they pleased, and then to make a report of the matter to
them afterward.
The first victim of their cruelty was an aged minister, whom they killed as he
lay sick in his bed; the next day they robbed and murdered another, and soon
after shot a third, as he was preaching in his pulpit.
A nobleman and clergyman, who resided in a Protestant village, hearing of the
approach of the high court of reformers and the troops, fled from the place,
and secreted themselves. The soldiers, however, on their arrival, seized upon a
schoolmaster, asked him where the lord of that place and the minister were
concealed, and where they had hidden their treasures. The schoolmaster replied
that he could not answer either of the questions. They then stripped him naked,
bound him with cords, and beat him most unmercifully with cudgels. This cruelty
not extorting any confession from him, they scorched him in various parts of
his body; when, to gain a respite from his torments, he promised to show them
where the treasures were hid. The soldiers gave ear to this with pleasure, and
the schoolmaster led them to a ditch full of stones, saying, "Beneath
these stones are the treasures ye seek for." Eager after money, they went
to work, and soon removed those stones, but not finding what they sought after,
they beat the schoolmaster to death, buried him in the ditch, and covered him
with the very stones he had made them remove.
Some of the soldiers ravished the daughters of a worthy Protestant before his
face, and then tortured him to death. A minister and his wife they tied back to
back and burnt. Another minister they hung upon a cross beam, and making a fire
under him, broiled him to death. A gentleman they hacked into small pieces, and
they filled a young man's mouth with gunpowder, and setting fire to it, blew
his head to pieces.
As their principal rage was directed against the clergy, they took a pious
Protestant minister, and tormenting him daily for a month together, in the
following manner, making their cruelty regular, systematic, and progressive.
They placed him amidst them, and made him the subject of their derision and
mockery, during a whole day's entertainment, trying to exhaust his patience,
but in vain, for he bore the whole with true Christian fortitude. They spit in
his face, pulled his nose, and pinched him in most parts of his body. He was
hunted like a wild beast, until ready to expire with fatigue. They made him run
the gauntlet between two ranks of them, each striking him with a twig. He was
beat with their fists. He was beat with ropes. They scourged him with wires. He
was beat with cudgels. They tied him up by the heels with his head downwards,
until the blood started out of his nose, mouth, etc. They hung him by the right
arm until it was dislocated, and then had it set again. The same was repeated
with his left arm. Burning papers dipped in oil were placed between his fingers
and toes. His flesh was torn with red-hot pincers. He was put to the rack. They
pulled off the nails of his right hand. The same repeated with his left hand.
He was bastinadoed on his feet. A slit was made in his right ear. The same
repeated on his left ear. His nose was slit. They whipped him through the town upon
an ass. They made several incisions in his flesh. They pulled off the toe nails
of his right foot. The same they repeated with his left foot. He was tied up by
the loins, and suspended for a considerable time. The teeth of his upper jaw
were pulled out. The same was repeated with his lower jaw. Boiling lead was
poured upon his fingers. The same was repeated with his toes. A knotted cord
was twisted about his forehead in such a manner as to force out his eyes.
During the whole of these horrid cruelties, particular care was taken that his
wounds should not mortify, and not to injure him mortally until the last day,
when the forcing out of his eyes proved his death.
Innumerable were the other murders and depredations committed by those
unfeeling brutes, and shocking to humanity were the cruelties which they
inflicted on the poor Bohemian Protestants. The winter being far advanced,
however, the high court of reformers, with their infernal band of military
ruffians, thought proper to return to Prague; but on their way, meeting with a
Protestant pastor, they could not resist the temptation of feasting their
barbarous eyes with a new kind of cruelty, which had just suggested itself to
the diabolical imagination of one of the soldiers. This was to strip the minister
naked, and alternately to cover him with ice and burning coals. This novel mode
of tormenting a fellow creature was immediately put into practice, and the
unhappy victim expired beneath the torments, which seemed to delight his
inhuman persecutors.
A secret order was soon after issued by the emperor, for apprehending all
noblemen and gentlemen, who had been principally concerned in supporting the
Protestant cause, and in nominating Frederic elector Palatine of the Rhine, to
be king of Bohemia. These, to the number of fifty, were apprehended in one
night, and at one hour, and brought from the places where they were taken, to
the castle of Prague, and the estates of those who were absent from the kingdom
were confiscated, themselves were made outlaws, and their names fixed upon a
gallows, as marks of public ignominy.
The high court of reformers then proceeded to try the fifty, who had been
apprehended, and two apostate Protestants were appointed to examine them. These
examinants asked a great number of unnecessary and impertinent questions, which
so exasperated one of the noblemen, who was naturally of a warm temper, that he
exclaimed, opening his breast at the same time, "Cut here, search my
heart, you shall find nothing but the love of religion and liberty; those were
the motives for which I drew my sword, and for those I am willing to suffer
death."
As none of the prisoners would change their religion, or acknowledge they had
been in error, they were all pronounced guilty; but the sentence was referred
to the emperor. When that monarch had read their names, and an account of the
respective accusations against them, he passed judgment on all, but in a
different manner, as his sentences were of four kinds, viz. death, banishment,
imprisonment for life, and imprisonment during pleasure.
Twenty being ordered for execution, were informed they might send for Jesuits,
monks, or friars, to prepare for the awful change they were to undergo; but
that no Protestants should be permitted to come near them. This proposal they
rejected, and strove all they could to comfort and cheer each other upon the
solemn occasion.
On the morning of the day appointed for the execution, a cannon was fired as a
signal to bring the prisoners from the castle to the principal market place, in
which scaffolds were erected, and a body of troops were drawn up to attend the
tragic scene.
The prisoners left the castle with as much cheerfulness as if they had been
going to an agreeable entertainment, instead of a violent death.
Exclusive of soldiers, Jesuits, priests, executioners, attendants, etc., a
prodigious concourse of people attended, to see the exit of these devoted
martyrs, who were executed in the following order.
Lord Schilik was about fifty years of age, and was possessed of great natural
and acquired abilities. When he was told he was to be quartered, and his parts
scattered in different places, he smiled with great serenity, saying, "The
loss of a sepulchre is but a trifling consideration." A gentleman who
stood by, crying, "Courage, my lord!" he replied, "I have God's
favor, which is sufficient to inspire any one with courage: the fear of death
does not trouble me; formerly I have faced him in fields of battle to oppose
Antichrist; and now dare face him on a scaffold, for the sake of Christ."
Having said a short prayer, he told the executioner he was ready. He cut off
his right hand and his head, and then quartered him. His hand and his head were
placed upon the high tower of Prague, and his quarters distributed in different
parts of the city.
Lord Viscount Winceslaus, who had attained the age of seventy years, was
equally respectable for learning, piety, and hospitality. His temper was so
remarkably patient that when his house was broken open, his property seized,
and his estates confiscated, he only said, with great composure, "The Lord
hath given, and the Lord hath taken away." Being asked why he could engage
in so dangerous a cause as that of attempting to support the elector Palatine
Frederic against the power of the emperor, he replied, "I acted strictly
according to the dictates of my conscience, and, to this day, deem him my king.
I am now full of years, and wish to lay down life, that I may not be a witness
of the further evils which are to attend my country. You have long thirsted for
my blood, take it, for God will be my avenger." Then approaching the
block, he stroked his long, grey beard, and said, "Venerable hairs, the
greater honor now attends ye, a crown of martyrdom is your portion." Then
laying down his head, it was severed from his body at one stroke, and placed
upon a pole in a conspicuous part of the city.
Lord Harant was a man of good sense, great piety, and much experience gained by
travel, as he had visited the principal places in Europe, Asia, and Africa.
Hence he was free from national prejudices and had collected much knowledge.
The accusations against this nobleman, were, his being a Protestant, and having
taken an oath of allegiance to Frederic, elector Palatine of the Rhine, as king
of Bohemia. When he came upon the scaffold he said, "I have travelled
through many countries, and traversed various barbarous nations, yet never
found so much cruelty as at home. I have escaped innumerable perils both by sea
and land, and surmounted inconceivable difficulties, to suffer innocently in my
native place. My blood is likewise sought by those for whom I, and my
forefathers, have hazarded our estates; but, Almighty God! forgive them, for
they know not what they do." He then went to the block, kneeled down, and
exclaimed with great energy, "Into Thy hands, O Lord! I commend my spirit;
in Thee have I always trusted; receive me, therefore, my blessed
Redeemer." The fatal stroke was then given, and a period put to the
temporary pains of this life.
Lord Frederic de Bile suffered as a Protestant, and a promoter of the late war;
he met his fate with serenity, and only said he wished well to the friends whom
he left behind, forgave the enemies who caused his death, denied the authority
of the emperor in that country, acknowledged Frederic to be the only true king
of Bohemia, and hoped for salvation in the merits of his blessed Redeemer.
Lord Henry Otto, when he first came upon the scaffold, seemed greatly
confounded, and said, with some asperity, as if addressing himself to the
emperor, "Thou tyrant Ferdinand, your throne is established in blood; but
if you will kill my body, and disperse my members, they shall still rise up in
judgment against you." He then was silent, and having walked about for
some time, seemed to recover his fortitude, and growing calm, said to a
gentleman who stood near, "I was, a few minutes since, greatly
discomposed, but now I feel my spirits revive; God be praised for affording me
such comfort; death no longer appears as the king of terrors, but seems to invite
me to participate of some unknown joys." Kneeling before the block, he
said, "Almighty God! to Thee I commend my soul, receive it for the sake of
Christ, and admit it to the glory of Thy presence." The executioner put
this nobleman to considerable pain, by making several strokes before he severed
the head from the body.
The earl of Rugenia was distinguished for his superior abilities, and
unaffected piety. On the scaffold he said, "We who drew our swords fought
only to preserve the liberties of the people, and to keep our consciences
sacred: as we were overcome, I am better pleased at the sentence of death, than
if the emperor had given me life; for I find that it pleases God to have his
truth defended, not by our swords, but by our blood." He then went boldly
to the block, saying, "I shall now be speedily with Christ," and
received the crown of martyrdom with great courage.
Sir Gaspar Kaplitz was eighty-six years of age. When he came to the place of
execution, he addressed the principal officer thus: "Behold a miserable
ancient man, who hath often entreated God to take him out of this wicked world,
but could not until now obtain his desire, for God reserved me until these
years to be a spectacle to the world, and a sacrifice to himself; therefore
God's will be done." One of the officers told him, in consideration of his
great age, that if he would only ask pardon, he would immediately receive it.
"Ask pardon, (exclaimed he) I will ask pardon of God, whom I have
frequently offended; but not of the emperor, to whom I never gave any offence;
should I sue for pardon, it might be justly suspected I had committed some
crime for which I deserved this condemnation. No, no, as I die innocent, and
with a clear conscience, I would not be separated from this noble company of
martyrs:" so saying, he cheerfully resigned his neck to the block.
Procopius Dorzecki on the scaffold said, "We are now under the emperor's
judgment; but in time he shall be judged, and we shall appear as witnesses
against him." Then taking a gold medal from his neck, which was struck
when the elector Frederic was crowned king of Bohemia, he presented it to one
of the officers, at the same time uttering these words, "As a dying man, I
request, if ever King Frederic is restored to the throne of Bohemia, that you
will give him this medal. Tell him, for his sake, I wore it until death, and
that now I willingly lay down my life for God and my king." He then
cheerfully laid down his head and submitted to the fatal blow.
Dionysius Servius was brought up a Roman Catholic, but had embraced the
reformed religion for some years. When upon the scaffold the Jesuits used their
utmost endeavors to make him recant, and return to his former faith, but he
paid not the least attention to their exhortations. Kneeling down he said,
"They may destroy my body, but cannot injure my soul, that I commend to my
Redeemer"; and then patiently submitted to martyrdom, being at that time
fifty-six years of age.
Valentine Cockan, was a person of considerable fortune and eminence, perfectly pious
and honest, but of trifling abilities; yet his imagination seemed to grow
bright, and his faculties to improve on death's approach, as if the impending
danger refined the understanding. Just before he was beheaded, he expressed
himself with such eloquence, energy, and precision as greatly amazed those who
knew his former deficiency in point of capacity.
Tobias Steffick was remarkable for his affability and serenity of temper.
He was perfectly resigned to his fate, and a few minutes before his death spoke
in this singular manner, "I have received, during the whole course of my
life, many favors from God; ought I not therefore cheerfully to take one bitter
cup, when He thinks proper to present it? Or rather, ought I not to rejoice
that it is his will I should give up a corrupted life for that of
immortality!"
Dr. Jessenius, an able student of physic, was accused of having spoken
disrespectful words of the emperor, of treason in swearing allegiance to the
elector Frederic, and of heresy in being a Protestant. For the first accusation
he had his tongue cut out; for the second he was beheaded; and for the third,
and last, he was quartered, and the respective parts exposed on poles.
Christopher Chober, as soon as he stepped upon the scaffold said, "I come
in the name of God, to die for His glory; I have fought the good fight, and
finished my course; so, executioner, do your office." The executioner
obeyed, and he instantly received the crown of martyrdom.
No person ever lived more respected or died more lamented than John Shultis.
The only words he spoke, before receiving the fatal stroke, were, "The
righteous seem to die in the eyes of fools, but they only go to rest. Lord
Jesus! Thou hast promised that those who come to Thee shall not be cast off.
Behold, I am come; look on me, pity me, pardon my sins, and receive my
soul."
Maximilian Hostialick was famed for his learning, piety, and humanity.
When he first came on the scaffold, he seemed exceedingly terrified at the
approach of death. The officer taking notice of his agitation, Hostialick said,
"Ah! sir, now the sins of my youth crowd upon my mind, but I hope God will
enlighten me, lest I sleep the sleep of death and lest mine enemies say we have
prevailed." Soon after he said, "I hope my repentance is sincere, and
will be accepted, in which case the blood of Christ will wash me from my
crimes." He then told the officer he should repeat the Song of Simeon; at
the conclusion of which the executioner might do his duty. He accordingly,
said, "Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, according to
Thy word: For mine eyes have seen Thy salvation;" at which words his head
was struck off at one blow.
When John Kutnaur came to the place of execution, a Jesuit said to him,
"Embrace the Roman Catholic faith, which alone can save and arm you
against the terrors of death." To which he replied, "Your
superstitious faith I abhor, it leads to perdition, and I wish for no other
arms against the terrors of death than a good conscience." The Jesuit
turned away, saying, sarcastically, "The Protestants are impenetrable
rocks." "You are mistaken," said Kutnaur, "it is Christ
that is the Rock, and we are firmly fixed upon Him."
This person not being born independent, but having acquired a fortune by a
mechanical employment, was ordered to be hanged. Just before he was turned off,
he said, "I die, not for having committed any crime, but for following the
dictates of my own conscience, and defending my country and religion."
Simeon Sussickey was father-in-law to Kutnaur, and like him, was ordered to be
executed on a gallows. He went cheerfully to death, and appeared impatient to
be executed, saying, "Every moment delays me from entering into the
Kingdom of Christ."
Nathaniel Wodnianskey was hanged for having supported the Protestant cause, and
the election of Frederic to the crown of Bohemia. At the gallows, the Jesuits
did all in their power to induce him to renounce his faith. Finding their
endeavors ineffectual, one of them said, "If you will not adjure your
heresy, at least repent of your rebellion?" To which Wodnianskey replied,
"You take away our lives under a pretended charge of rebellion; and, not
content with that, seek to destroy our souls; glut yourselves with blood, and
be satisfied; but tamper not with our consciences."
Wodnianskey's own son then approached the gallows, and said to his father,
"Sir, if life should be offered to you on condition of apostasy, I entreat
you to remember Christ, and reject such pernicious overtures." To this the
father replied, "It is very acceptable, my son, to be exhorted to
constancy by you; but suspect me not; rather endeavor to confirm in their faith
your brothers, sisters, and children, and teach them to imitate that constancy
of which I shall leave them an example." He had so sooner concluded these
words than he was turned off, receiving the crown of martyrdom with great
fortitude.
Winceslaus Gisbitzkey, during his whole confinement, had great hopes of life
given him, which made his friends fear for the safety of his soul. He, however,
continued steadfast in his faith, prayed fervently at the gallows, and met his
fate with singular resignation.
Martin Foster was an ancient cripple; the accusations against whom were, being
charitable to heretics, and lending money to the elector Frederic. His great
wealth, however, seemed to have been his principal crime; and that he might be
plundered of his treasures was the occasion of his being ranked in this
illustrious list of martyrs.
Back to Index of this Book
Back to the Books page or Home
page at CRTA....
No comments:
Post a Comment