Page:Gregor The story of Bohemia.pdf/402

 The peasants had their own local government. They held two courts annually, the judges being composed partly of peasants and partly of citizens. These courts were opened with great honor and formality. It must be admitted that these courts had jurisdiction only in unimportant cases, the more important ones coming under the authority of the nobility, or lords of the estates upon which the peasants lived.

Among the various sects the Brethren were more respected than the others, on account of their consistent lives and the integrity of their character. The other sects constantly quarreled among themselves because of difference in belief; but the Brethren avoided empty discussions, their chief aim being to cultivate brotherly love, peace, and mutual helpfulness.

In regard to the question of marriage, there did not seem to be any uniformity of practice. In some parishes the people insisted that their ministers marry, while in others they were forbidden to do so.

The Protestant sects, however, agreed in one thing; there was no promotion among the clergy; all were equal, and had an equal voice in determining questions arising in the Church government.

It has been estimated that, during the reign of Rudolph, about nineteen-twentieths of the population was Protestant and the rest Catholics.

The Bohemians, in accepting the government of Matthias in place of that of his brother, expected to improye their condition, but in this they were greatly disappointed. They soon found to their sorrow that