Page:Bohemia An Historical Sketch.djvu/179

 and it did not seem impossible that, should the Hussites continue their invasions, even the old racial hatred between Slavs and Teutons might be insufficient to prevent the people from fraternizing with the invaders.

On the other hand, the Bohemians, and especially the utraquist nobles and the burghers of Prague, were also desirous of peace. A ten years' struggle against almost all Europe had not unnaturally exhausted the country. It was impossible, without incurring the risk of starvation, to keep the whole able-bodied male population constantly under arms. The Bohemian leaders had, therefore, been obliged to strengthen their armies by enlisting foreign mercenaries. The great booty the Bohemian armies obtained rendered this course easy. Large numbers of Poles and Ruthenians—attracted not only by the hope of plunder but also by affinity of race, and in the case of the Ruthenians also of religion—flocked to the Bohemian standards. Many Germans, even, were now found in the Hussite armies. This change in the composition of the utraquist forces, who were no longer Žižka's "warriors of God," contributed to further the desire for peace among the more moderate Bohemians, particularly among the then very powerful utraquist priesthood.

As it was certain that unconditional subjection to the Pope's authority could be enforced on the Bohemians only at the point of the sword, it was consistent with the ideas of the age that a General Council of the Church was the only available expedient. The Hussites had all along considered the accusation of heresy as the greatest of insults; and they strenuously maintained that they formed a part of the universal Church, and therefore could not and did not directly dispute the authority of a General Council. They maintained, however, as has already been noted, that no Council could be considered as a general one in which the Eastern Church was unrepresented. They also wished it to be stipulated that the decision on all disputed questions should lie with the Council and not the Pope.