/ ^ FROM THE LIBRARY OF REV. LOUIS FITZGERALD BENSON. D. D. BEQUEATHED BY HIM TO THE LIBRARY OF PRINCETON THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY section /^ / 5 2) HANS HOLBEIN DEL. ; R P-jcs scuLP:r JOHN HUSS. 1373 1415 £7)tu> AHn tO 01 SAC in tvicp oiie9h <5t«)l^t%^ &RnfltmeA a:)(vaifH^ TM mt THE A ■^''f™^^ A ■■■•!") O Tv"»0 0 '*' HISTORY '■^%!:ii^i:";-^ OF THE CHURCH KNOAVN AS The Unitas Fratrum THE UNITY OF THE BRETHREN, FOUNDED BY THE FOLLOWERS OF JOHN HUS, THE BOHEMIAN REFORMER AND MARTYR. BY EDMUND DE SCHWEINITZ, S.T.D. Bishop of the Unitas Fratrum. SECOND EDITION THE MORAVIAN PUBLICATION CONCERN, BETHLEHEM, PA. 1901. UOPYEIGHT, i8a5, By EDMUND De SCHWEINITZ. PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. HE history of the Church founded in the fifteenth century by followers of John Hus has excited, in recent times, no little interest among Bohemian scholars. This is owing, on the one hand, to the spirit of inquiry roused by the abrogation of the Austrian censorship of the press, and on the other, to the discovery of new and important sources, especially the Lissa Folios. Such sources have been examined by Dr. Franz Palacky, the late Histori- ographer of Bohemia, by Professors Anton Gindely and Jaroslav Goll, of the University of Prague, and by other writers, all of whom have produced, in the German and Bohemian languages, valuable works on the subject. The majority of these historians are Roman Catholics, which circumstance renders their labors the more remarkable. No less important are the researches of Bernhard Czer- wenka, a Protestant clergyman of the Austrian Duchy of Steiermark, who has written a German History of the Evangelical Church in Bohemia. Of writers connected with the Moravian Church, Bishops Ernst William Croeger and Henry Levin Reichel have used the newer sources ; but their works are likewise in German. In order to find an English History of the Bohemian Brethren, the reader was IV PREFACE. obliged to fall back upon the brief and antiquated narratives of Cranz, Bost and Holmes, written prior to the discovery of the newest sources. In the pages which follow I have attempted to supply the existing want and to set forth, in an English History based upon those sources, the faith, works and sufferings of the Bohemian Brethren, as Reformers before the Reformation and as the fathers of the Moravian Church. My preparations for this History have been lectures which, for nearly twenty years, I have been delivering in the Theo- logical Seminary, at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Throughout this period I have been studying the subject. I have en- deavored to produce an authentic History in strict accord- ance with the sources at my command. At the same time I have not hesitated to express my own opinions, and to correct what ajipeared to me to be wrong views, or unwarranted de- ductions, on the part of other writers, especially of those who are Roman Catholics. The object which I have in view is, not only to make the members of the Moravian Church familiar with the history of their fathers and to set before the general reader a narra- tive that will, I trust, be found interesting and profitable ; but also to furnish a work of reference for scholars who may wish to consult the authorities upon which the facts are based. Hence I have furnished abundant references in the foot-notes and a complete table of the literature relating to the subject. The various names that the sources give to the Church of which I treat, I have used indiscriminately. All these names — that is, The Unitas Fratrum, The Unity, The Bohemian Brethren, The Brethren, and The Brethren's Church — were recognized and acknowledged by that Church. The title by PREFACE. V which it is commonly known at the present day is, The Moravian Church. The orthography of the Bohemian and Polish proper names varies greatly, according as they are used by d liferent writers. It is owing to this circumstance that the same name will occasionally be found, in the following pages, spelled in different ways. When these discrepancies were discovered it was too late to correct them. As the chapters of my work were originally published in the columns of the official journal of the American Mo- ravian Church, it may be well to add, that before being made up in book form they were thoroughly revised and corrected, and that consequently the only History of the Unitas Fratrum which I acknowledge as from my pen, is the one contained in the volume herewith published. The "Mai in Library of Moravian Literature," recently presented to the Moravian Church by Mr. William Gunn Malin, of Philadelphia, has afforded me such constant and valuable aid that I can not forbear an expression of deep gratitude for this magnificent gift. It is owing to the gen- erosity of the same gentleman, that this volume is adorned with so beautiful a frontispiece. This engraving is a reduced copy of one by Wolff from the picture of Holbein, and the fac-siraile which it exhibits of the handwriting of John Hus, is taken from an official entry made by him in the year 1401, as Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy, in the records of the University of Prague. My sincere acknowledgments are due to Professor Severin Einger, U. J. D., of the Lehigh University, at Bethlehem, for the valuable aid which he gave me in trans- lating important parts of the original Polish History of the Brethren by Lukaszewicz, not found in the German version. VI PREFACE. To the memoiy of mv late friend, Professor Theodore Wolle, of the Moravian Seminary for Young Ladies, at Bethlehem, I reverently bring an affectionate tribute, for his kindness in reading the proofs, the last of them when he was already near to the shadow of the dark valley. I send forth this History with the humble prayer, that it may serve to promote the glory of Jesus Christ the Divine Head of the Church Universal, which He has founded upon Himself as the Rock of Ages and against which the gates of hell shall not prevail. If my life is spared, I propose, in the course of the next few years, to issue, as a supplementary volume, the History of the Renewed Unitas Fratrura, or Moravian Church. Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, April 17, 1885. PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. The wish and the purpose expressed iu the closing para- graph of the preface to the first edition of this History were destined not to be fulfilled, for the distinguished author was called to his eternal reward on December 18, 1887. But his successor as Lecturer on Moravian Church History iu the Moravian Theological Seminary at Bethlehem, Pa., the Rev. J. Taylor Hamilton, has in efiect fulfilled this design by publishing in 1900 an exhaustive History of the Moravian Church during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. This publication has accentuated the desirability of publishing a new edition of the History of the Moravian Church during the fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth centuries by the late Bishop Edmund de Schweiuitz, S. T. D., the more so as the first edition has been totally exhausted. Ever since its original publication, sixteen years ago, it has been used as a text-book in the Moravian Theological Semi- nary at Bethlehem, Pa. Although thus subjected to con- stant scrutiny, now that opportunity for revision is offered, it is found that no essential changes are desirable. The work is generally recognized as the standard on the subject, and is, in fact, the only one in the English language. It has been felt, therefore, that it would be an historical blunder, and almost a literary crime, to tamper in any way PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. with the finished and scholarly work of the deceased author. Consequently, the present publication is a reprint, rather than a new edition. Only a few typographical errors have been corrected. A cordial expression of thanks is due Prof. J. Taylor Hamilton for his careful examination of the work in view of its possible revision, and for his assistance in preparing it for, and seeing it through, the press. This second edition is published by the son of the author, Dr. George E. de Schweinitz, of Philadelphia, Pa., at the suffffestion of the constituted authorities of the Moravian Church in America, and the valuable service thus rendered the Church is herewith most gratefully acknowledged. In sending forth this second edition, the pious wish expressed by the author in the preface to the first edition may well be repeated. May this History promote the glory of the great Head of the Church Universal, Jesus the Christ, our adorable Saviour, and may it inspire all readers with a spirit of unquestioning devotion, even unto death, to Him, Who has redeemed them, even as so many, of whom this History tells, laid down their lives because of their fidelity to their Lord. P. DE S. Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, March 20, 1901. literature relating to the u:n"itas fratrum. To adduce all the manuscripts and printed works relating, directly or indirectly, to the Unitas Fratrum, would require a separate volume. Those here presented, comprise the most im- portant sources and upon them is based, as the foot-notes show, the History which follows. In order to avoid, in these foot-notes, the repetition of the titles in full, abbreviations have been used which, in the subjoined list, appear in brackets. I. CHRONICLES AND GENERAL HISTORIES OF BOHEMIA AND MORAVIA. 1. [Scriptores Rerum Boh..] Scriptores Rerum Bohemicarum. Tom.I- Pragse, 1783; Tom. II. 1784; Tom. III. 1829. The first and second volumes contain the Jjatin Chronicle of Cosmas, the father of Bohemian history ; the continuation of this Chronicle ; the Chronicle of Franciscus ; and the Chronicle of Benessius de Weitmil. The third volume com- prises Annals in Bohemian. 2. [.^n. Syl.] ^Enese Sylvii De Bohemorum, et ex his Imperatorum aliquot Origine ac Gestis. Basilea, Anno M.D. LXXV. 3. [Stransky.] Respublica Bohemise a M. Paulo Stranskii Descripta. Lugd. Batavorum, Anno 1634. The same work in German, corrected from a Romish point of view, by Ignaz Cornova, Professor in the University of Prague, and entitled : " Paul Stransky's Staat von Bohmen. Uebersetzt, berichtigt und erganzt." Prag. 1792-1803. Paul Stransky was a learned Professor of the University of Prague ; according to Cornova, a member of the Church of the Bohemian Brethren and "showing in this his religion a zeal that degenerated into intolerance." In the Anti-Reformation he was banished and wrote his work in exile. See pp. 468 and 469 of our History. vii vm LITERATURE RELATING TO 4. [Balbin.] Epitome Historica Rerum Boheinicarum. Authore Bo- huslao Balbino 5 Societate Jesu. Pragae. Anno 1677. 5. [Palacky.] Geschichte von Bohmen. Grosstentheils nach Urkun- den unci Handschriften. Von Franz Palacky. Erster Band ; Zweiter Band, zwei Abtheilungen ; Dritter Band, drei Abtheilungen; vierter Band, zwei Abtheilungen ; fiinfter Band, zwei Abtheilungen. Prag. 1844-1867. The Abtheilungen are published as volumes ; hence there are ten volumes, and we cite accordingly, not according to the Ab- theilungen. Palacky was a Protestant, a direct descendant of the Bohemian Brethren, a pronounced Czech, and Bohemia's most distinguished historiographer. His work must be regarded as the highest authority on that part of Bohemian history of which it treats, from about B. C. 388 to A. D. 1526. 6. [Schlesinger.] Geschichte Bohmens, von Dr. Ludwig Schlesinger. Herausgegeben vom Vereine fiir Geschichte der Deutschen in Boh- men. Prag. 1870. Written from an ultra German point of view, as an offset to Palacky's work. 7. [Pal. Boehm Geschicht.] Wiirdigung der alten Bohmischen Ge- schichtschreiber, von Franz Palacky. Prag. 1869. 8. [Pelzel.] Franz Martin Pelzel's Geschichte von Bohmen, von den altesten bis auf die neuesten Zeiten. Vierte fortgesetzte Auflage. 2 Bde. Prag. 1817. 9. [Illust. Chronik.] lUustriste Chronik von Bohmen. Ein geschicht- liches Nationalwerk. Herausgegeben von einem Vereine vater- liindischer Gelerheteu und Kiinstler. 2 Bde. Prag. 1852-1854. II. PARTICULAR PERIODS IN THE HISTORY OF BOHEMIA AND MORAVIA. 10. [Gindely's30-jaehr. Krieg.] Geschichte des dreissigiiihrigen Krieges von Anton Gindely. Prag. 1869-1880. Four volumes have been published which bring the history of the Thirty Years' War to 1623. An abbreviated popular edition in three volumes has appeared, and been translated into English by Andrew Ten Brooks. New York, G. P. Putnam's Sons. ' 11. [Gindely's Rudolf.] Eudolf II. und seine Zeit. 1600-1612. Von Anton Gindely. 2 Bde. in one. Prag. 1868. 12. [Gindely's Majestaetsbrief.] Geschichte der Ertheilung des Bo- heraischen Majestatsbriefes von 1609. Von Dr. Anton Gindely. Prag. 1868. This is substantially a reprint of the Fourth Book of his " Geschichte der Bohmischen Briider." THE UXITAS FRATRUM. IX 13. [Borott Majestaesbrief.] Der von Kaiser Rudolph ertheilte Majes- tiitsbrief vom Jahre 1609. Aus einer Bohmischen Urkunde iiber- setzt mit Anmerkungen, von Johann Borott. Gorliz. 1803. 14. [Bucholtz.] Geschichte der Regierung Ferdinand des Ersten. Von F. B. von Bucholtz. 9 Bde. Wien. 1831-1838. 15. [Apologia.] Apologia, oder Entschuldigungs Schrifft, aus was fiir unvermeidlichen Ursachen, alle drei Stende des loblichen Konig- reichs Bohaimb, sub utraq. ; ein Defension Werck anstellen miissen. Prag. M. DC. XVIII. 16. [Andere Apologia.] Die Grosse oder Andere Apologia der Stiinde dess Konigreichs Boheimb,so den Leib u. das Blut unsers Herrn und Heylands J. C. unter Beyder Gestalt empfahen. Sampt den darzu gehorigen Beylagen. s. 1. M. DC. XIX. 17. [Deductio.] Deductio, Das ist JSTothwendige Ausfuhrung, Bericht u. Erzehlung, deren Ursachen u. Motiven : darumb Kayser Ferdi- nandus der Ander, des Regiments im Konigreich Boheimb und demselben Incorporirten Lander, verlustigt : und wodurch die Liin- der zu der Befugten und Rechtmiissigen Wahl jtzt Regierender K. Majestiit in Boheimb, vermoge ihrer Freyheiten, zu schreitten be- wogen u. getrungen worden. Im Jahr M. DC. XX. s. 1. 18. [Pescheck.] Geschichte der Gegenreformation in Bohmen. Von Mag. Chr. A. Peschek. 2 Bde. Leipzig. 1850. 2te Ausgabe. The first edition has been translated into English : " The Reforma- tion and Anti-Reformation in Bohemia." London, 1845. As a general thing we cite this English edition. It is, how- ever, faulty, omits entire paragraphs, and nearly all the impor- tant notes. 19. [Pescheck's Exulanten.] Die Bohmischen Exulanten in Sachsen. Von Christian Adolph Pescheck, Theol. Dr. u. Archidiaconus zu Zittau. Leipzig. 1857. 20. [Daum.] Die Verfolgungen der Evangelischen in Bohmen. Eine ernste Warnung fur alle Evangelische. Von Hermann Daum. Darmstadt. 1800. III. LOCAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY. 21. [Schottky's Prag.] Prag wie es war u. wie es ist. Von Julius Max Schottky, Professor. 2 Bde. Prag. s. a. 22. [Burg Puerglitz.] Das Piirglitzer Thai u. die Burg Purglitz. Von J. Nitsche. Wien, 1876. 23. Lissaer Geschichte.] Das Wichtigste u. Merkwiirdigste aus der Geschichte der Stadt Lissa. Von Pflug, Lissa. X LITERATURE RELATING TO 24. [Lissaer Gymnasium.] Zur dreihimdertjiihrigen Jubelfeier des Gymnasiums der Eeformirten Briider Unittitjetzigen Koniglichen Gymn