Page:John Huss, his life, teachings and death, after five hundred years.pdf/354

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JOHN HUSS

own lodgings. The deliberations resulted in the so-called Compactata, four articles, whose chief stipulation was the right of the Bohemians to distribute the cup to the laity. These compacts were afterward set aside by Pius II, 1462, the same pontiff who set aside the decree of Constance declaring the authority of general councils final.

Archbishop Konrad, who had identified himself with the Calixtines, died in 1431. He was followed by Rokyzan, who administered the archdiocese of Prague until his death, 1471, although he was never recognized by Rome. Sigismund, who died 1437, was followed by his son-in-law, Albert of Austria. In 1458 the crown went to George Podiebrad, a Bohemian nobleman who had acted for several years as regent under Ladislaus Postumus. Podiebrad was the leader of the Calixtine party, and under him and Rokyzan that party retained its strength in the city. The king had to contend against Matthias Corvinus of Hungary, to whom the apostolic see had transferred the Bohemian crown. In the meantime the Calixtines had defeated the Taborites at Lipan, 1434, when Procopius and 13,000 of his followers fell. Tabor was taken by Podiebrad, 1452. The king died in his wars with Matthias, 1471. The throne then passed to the house of Hapsburg. By various agreements the Calixtines were confirmed in their rights. Not only Bohemia and Moravia but also adjoining lands were largely under the influence of the law of religious liberty.

A third party grew up in Bohemia from the Hussite stock, known as the Bohemian Brethren. Its exact origin is a matter of dispute. It appears distinctly 1457 and seems to have had some connection with the Austrian Waldenses. One of the earliest of the Waldensian leaders was Peter Chelcicky, a marked religious personage, of whom we would like to know a great deal more than we do. By 1500 these dissenters had increased to 200,000, grouped in three hundred or more congregations. They had their own confession,