Warfare with Sigismund continued in spite of his great defeat, and the
citizens of Prague played a prominent part in it. Their party, to
accentuate the hegemony of the city, is generally called 'the Praguers'
by the old chroniclers, in distinction both from the Romanists and the
Taborites. The scene of the subsequent Hussite warfare was, however,
generally distant from Prague, and therefore requires no notice here. It
is only occasionally that Prague again becomes the centre of events.
Such was the case when, on April 21, 1421, 'to the surprise and horror
of all Christendom,' the Archbishop of Prague, Conrad of Vechta,
declared that he accepted 'The Articles of Prague,' thus joining the
national Church. The news was joyfully received by the citizens of
Prague. The _Te Deum Laudamus_ was sung and the bells of all the
churches were rung. All swore to obey the archbishop and to defend him.
Only a few of the preachers who were favourable to Tabor looked with
displeasure on the 'healing of the anti-Christian monster.' On the other
hand, Conrad was not unnaturally overwhelmed with abuse by the
Romanists. Dr. Tomek writes: 'Archbishop Conrad was neither better nor
worse than the majority of the Bohemian ecclesiastics of high rank at
that period.' To the student of the times a certain amount of scepticism
may, in an exalted Bohemian ecclesiastic of the period, appear, though
unpardonable, hardly inexplicable. Shortly afterwards, in accordance
with a decision of a meeting of the Estates at Caslav, a synod of the
Bohemian clergy assembled at the Carolinum in Prague.
Archbishop Conrad was indeed not present, but he had delegated as his
representatives several Hussite clergymen, of whom Magisters Pribram and
Jacobellus were the most eminent. The synod resulted in a failure,
mainly in consequence of the obstinacy of the delegates of Tabor.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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