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Bratislava (Pressburg) [Posonium]

Slovakia

Capital of Slovakia

Coordinates: 48° 8' 41" N, 17° 6' 46" E

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Meissen

Misena Misnia) [Misna], Saxony, Germany

Coordinates: 51° 9' 49" N, 13° 28' 39" E

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Retz [Rhetium]

Lower Austria

Coordinates: 48° 45' 0" N, 15° 57' 0" E

thēselues, MarginaliaThe popes church poysoned with idlenes and belly cheare.and they eate the bread therof in idlenes, because when other men watch and labour to mayntaine themselues and their little ones, thē are they with their lemmons or els they walke in some Cittie, carying hawkes on their fistes, or els they sit at the good wyne w^t their Concubines. and there they sing and play the Lucians, & eat of the best and therfore al that willingly bring and geue to them, shal be made partners of that curse whiche is geuen them of God, because they eate their bread vniustly, whereof Paul writeth in the 2. to the Thess. the 3. chapter: He that laboureth not, let him not eate.

The 11. article is, MarginaliaThe Popes church infamous with notorious lies.that they are notorious liers, because to the end that they may please men, they tel many tales & lies, which in the holy Scripture haue no foundation nor proofe. Of such wryteth Iohn in the Apoca. 21.

The 12. article is, MarginaliaThe Popes church erreth in diminishing one part of the Sacrament.that they doe not rightly giue or minister to the people the body of our Lord Iesus Christ, and they geue it not as God hath instituted it and commanded. This is a great & a deuilish sinne and to great malapertnesse. Heerein we woulde ouercome them, wyth the testimonies of the Euangelistes: I say we woulde ouercome the Pope, and all his Priestes, with the authorityes of Marke, Luke and Paule. Rom. 13. and we woulde suffer, that Kinges, Princes, Lordes and all that are willing to heare, should heare it.

The 13. Article is, MarginaliaThe Popes church charged with partialitie.that they sit in spiritual iudgement, and then many times they iudge according to fauour, and not according to the righteousnesse of God, and they take bribes giuing sentence for hym, which in Gods sight hath the wrongfull cause. Wo be to such sentēces, as it is wrytten in Isay 5. Wo be to ye that. &c.

The 14. Article is, that they sit hearing cōfessions, and when there come to them vsurers, raueners, and theeues, they take bribes of them of their ill gotten goodes, to spare them: and they willingly suffer them in cities and towns. And likewise of adulterers, and other notorious whoremongers and whores, and they neuer let or stay them in their great sinnes, to the end that the scripture may be fulfilled in them, which sayeth: Giftes and the loue of money do draw to hell, and do blinde the eyes of iudges.

The 15. Article is, MarginaliaHe meaneth of claiming tithes by mere necessitie of the olde lawe: and not by the positiue law of princes.that they receiue tithes of men, and will of right haue them, and preache and say that men are bound to giue them tithes, and therin they say falsly: For they can not proue by the new Testament, that our Lorde Iesus Christ commanded it, and his disciples warned no man to do so, neither did themselues receiue them. But although in the old Testament, it were commanded to geue tithes, yet it can not thereby be prooued, that christian men are bound thereto: For this precept of the olde Testament had an end in the first yeare of our Lord Iesus Christ, like as the precept of Circūcision. Wherfore welbeloued, consider and see, how your bishops seduce you and shut youre eyes with things that haue no proofe. Christ sayeth in the 11. of Luke. Geue almes of those thinges that remaine, but he said not, geue the tenth of the goodes, which yee possesse, but geue almes. But when they heare the word, they may say as the lawyer said to Christ: Maister when thou sayest so, thou geuest offence. Luke 11.

The 16. Article is, MarginaliaThe Popes church charged with vsury.that they in many places lende money or goodes to haue treasure or vsurie, and they haue in cities and townes, yearely paiments and perpetual reuenues, as great Princes and Lordes. Wherein they doe against the Gospel, which sayth, do not ye possesse gold nor siluer. And wheras they lend for gaine and vsury, againste that speaketh the Lord, Deu. 24. Lend not to vsury to thy brother. &c. Ye honest discrete and well beloued Lords, all the foresaide Articles we wil prooue against the Pope, and all his priests, with many testimonies of the holy Scripture, which for breuities sake, we haue not here mētioned. But note ye chiefly these 4. Articles, for which wee striue, and desire to defend them to the death.

The first Article is, that all publicke, and customably mortall sinnes ought to be forbidden and prohibited to all Priests and lay men, according to the commaundement of the holy Scripture.

The seconde Article is, that richesse MarginaliaHe meaneth the immoderate riches & tēporall possessions.ought to be taken from the Pope and all hys Priestes, from the hyghest to the lowest, and they ought to bee made poore, as the Disciples of our Lord Iesus Christ were: who had nothyng of their own, neither possessiōs in this world, neither worldly power.

The third Article is, MarginaliaMē appointed to preach may preach though the Pope forbid them.that the word of God ought to be free for euery mā appointed and ordained therto, to preach and read in al places, whether they shal come, without resistance of any man or without any inhibitiō of either spirituall or earthly power openly or manifestly.

The fourth article is, that the body of our Lord IesusChrist ought to be deliuered to euery christian as our lord hath ordained it, and as the holy Euangelists haue wrytten. We haue also vnderstood that there shalbe a Councell in Basile: MarginaliaWhen the Pope holdeth his councell, let mē looke to their wiues & daughters where the councell is kept.Wherfore let no mā be exalted, but let them diligētly kepe their wiues, their daughters and their virgins from Byshops, Priests, and Monkes. And do not thinke þ^t there is made any holy assembly of Bishops and Priests for the common commodity and profit of Christendom, but onely to thys end that they may hide their secret vices and heresies, with the cloke of hypocrisye, and let and hinder þ^e righteousnesse of God, which is muche contrary to them: and for this cause consider ye diligently, that they will not make an holy assembly, but the congregation of Sathan. And take ye heede that it be not done as some did at Constance, who tooke money of Bishops and Prelates, & suffered them to sleepe with their wiues. Yet welbeloued and honest Lordes, if ye finde any thing in these aforesaide Articles or wordes wrytten somewhat sharply, we did it not to offend to contemne you, but to the ende that ye shoulde diligently consider and deuise howe Christendome is so ill kept and led by the Priests of this present age. Our Lorde Iesu Christ keepe you both in body and soule. Amen. In the yeare of our Lord. 1430.

MarginaliaEx vetustissimo codice manu scripto.Preropus, Smahors, Conradus, Samssmolich, Capitaines
of Bohemia.

Nowe to prosecute the warres of the Bohemians againe, MarginaliaGreat lamētatiō for Zisca.after Zisca was dead, wherof we did intreat before, there was great feare, sorrow, and lamentaton in the army, the soldiers accusing fortune which gaue ouer such an inuincible captaine to be ouercome with death. Immediatly there was a diuision in the host, the one parte chusing Procopius Magnus to be their captaine, the other parte saying, that there was none could be found worthy to succede Zisca: whereuppon they chusing out certaine to serue the warres, named themselues Orphanes.

Thus the Thaborites being deuided into two armies,MarginaliaThe army of Zisca deuided. the one part retained their olde and accustomed name, and the other by meanes of the death of their captayne, named themselues Orphanes. And all be it, that oftentimes there was dissension betwene them, yet when soeuer any forein power came towards them, they ioyned their powers together in one campe, and defended themselues. They seldome went vnto any fensed townes except it were to buy necessaries, but liued with their wiues and childrē in theyr campe & tents. They had amongst them many cartes, the which they vsed as a Bulwarke: For when so euer they went vnto battell, they made two wings of them, whyche closed in the footemen. The winges of the horsemen were on the out side, and when as they sawe their time for to ioyne battell, the wagon men which led the wings, going forth vnto the Emperors standered, and compassing in such part of their enemies as they woulde, did close themselues in together, whereby the ennemies being inclosed, so that they could not be rescued, they were partly by the footemē, & partly by the men that were in the carres w^t their dartes slane. The horsemen fought without the fortification: and if it happened that they were oppressed or put to flight, by and by the carres opening themselues, receiued them as it were into a fensed Citie:MarginaliaThe order and policie that the armie of Zisca vsed in warre after his decease. and by this meanes they got many victories, for so much as their enemies were ignorant of their pollicies.

These 2. armies went foorth, the one into Slesia, and the other into Morauia, and returned againe wyth great pray, before their enemies knewe of their comming. After this they besieged þ^e towne of Swetley in Austrich, where as the Thaborites and the Orphanes, two nightes continually assaulted the walles wythout ceasing, but Albert Duke of Austrich comming with his hoste to aide the Citizens, they fought by the space almost of foure houres, the valiauntest warriers being slaine on both partes. At the length the battaile was broken of, and the Thaborits lost their carres, and Albert was put out of his camp & tents. Within a while after, Procopius MagnusMarginaliaProcopius Magnus. came agayne and inclosed the citie of Rhetium in Austria w^t a notable siege. They of Prage were in his army, and Boslaus Cygneus, of whome we spake before, was slaine there with a dart, & the city of Rhetium was taken by force, sacked and burnt. The Burgraue of Malderburge Lord of the towne, was also taken and caried vnto Prage, where also hee dyed in prison.

These thinges thus done, the Emperour sent for the nobles of Boheme, which went vnto him vnto a town of Hungary, called Posonium in the borders of Austria, vpō the bāks of the riuer of Danubius: but they wold not enter into the towne, but remained w^tout the towne in their tents, whether as the Emperoure going out vnto them,