Page:The letters of John Hus.djvu/77

 burning, a very old man—too old, in fact, to have been, as Hus assumes, the actual companion of Wyclif.

We resume our narrative of the events at Prague from the burning of the books of Wyclif to the close of the struggle of Hus and Archbishop Zbinek. As the letter which Hus wrote to Wyche shows, the reformer had found powerful adherents at court. He soon needed their help. On August 25, 1410, Oddo Colonna, the future Martin V., to whom John had handed over the appeal of Hus, decided against him and urged the Archbishop to proceed against the Wyclifists with all severity, ‘calling in, if need be, the help of the secular arm.’ A vigorous protest was at once made by Wenzel (September 12) and Queen Sophie (September 16), by certain barons of the realm, and by the magistrates of Prague, whose rights in the Bethlehem Chapel were at stake. These protests Wenzel despatched to the Pope by Antonio of Monte Catino, whom John had sent to Prague to notify his accession to the Papacy. Zbinek showed his contempt by at once making the process against Hus absolute (September 24), while on October 1 Colonna cited Hus to Bologna, where the Curia was then resident. Hearing of this intended step, Wenzel and Sophie once more protested. The envoys of Wenzel, John Cardinalis of Reinstein and Dr. Naas, were instructed to obtain from John the release of Hus, ‘our faithful and beloved chaplain,’ from the personal citation, ‘on account of the perils of the road and the danger from Hus’s enemies.’ The case, they pleaded, should be tried before the University of Prague. At the same time Wenzel gave orders that ‘Master Hus, our faithful, devout, and beloved chaplain,’ should ‘be allowed to preach the word of God in peace.’ At Rome the royal interference proved useless; the influence, or rather the gifts, of Zbinek prevailed. Hus had neglected to repair to Bologna in person, sending there instead his proctors, John of Jesenicz and two other theologians. These John flung into prison, while in February 1411 Colonna placed Hus under excommunication. On March 15 this was read in all the churches of Prague, with two exceptions. One of these was the Church of St. Michael’s, the vicar of which was Christian Prachaticz. But Hus met the excommunication with defiance.