Section 1131

of the stronger rival in the papac}-, and appealed to Al- exander V for his decision in the conflict with the Bo- hemians. A papal bull was secured condemning the articles of Wickliffe, forbidding preaching in private chapels, and authorizing the archbishop to appoint a commission to enforce the measures adopted b.v him for the extirjiation of the spreading heresy. In addition to a renewal of his former decrees, the archbishop now condemned not only the writings of Wickliffe, but also those of Huss and Jerome, as Avell as those of their pre- decessors Jlilicz and Janow, and caused them to be publicly bm-ned. "The deed was done. The books were burned. The ban of the Church rested on those who liad dared to oliject. Doubtless the archbishop felt that he had secured a triumph. lie had executed the jiapal sentence, and proved himself an able instru- ment of the Church party who liad instigated him to the bold deed. But it provoked more than it overawed. The king, the court, and a large proportion of tlie citi- zens of Prague were enraged and embittered by it. A cry of indignation ran throughout Bohemia" (Gillett, l/iiss, i, 157). Acts of violence followed, and, as is too apt to be the case, excesses were committed by maraud- ers, and the crime charged to the reformers. The king and the people siding with the Hussites, it remained for the papal party to adopt severer measures ; these were soon found in the proclamation of an interdict on the city of Prague, and the excommunication of the leaders. Huss left the city to avoid an open conflict between his countrymen, and Jerome also soon quitted the place, and went to Ol'en (1410). But Zybneck was unwilling to see his opponent abroad proclaiming everywhere the doc- trines of Wickliffe, and denouncing even popery. Je- rome dared to propose even such (juestions as these: "Whether the pope possessed more power than another priest, and whether the bread in the Eucharist or the body of Christ possessed more virtue in the mass of the Eoman pontiff than in that of any other officiating ec- clesiastic. Nay, one day, while in an open square, sur- rounded by several of his friends and adherents, he ex- posed two sketches, in one of which Christ's disciples, on one side, follov.-ing, Avith naked feet, their Master mounted on an ass ; while on the other the pope and the cardinals were represented in great state on superb liorscs, and preceded, as usual, with drums and trumpets. Zybneck caused the arrest of Jerome by the archbishop of (irau, who, recognising the superior abilities and great influence of Jerome, dismissed liim five days after. I\Iore veliement and serious became Jerome's opposition to the pnpal party in 1412, after the publication of the papal Indl granting plenary indulgence (q. v.) to all who should engage in " holy warfare" against king Ladis- laus (q. V.) of Naples. Huss, who had returned to Prague, and who now was excommunicated, simply preached with all his power against this bull, but Je- rome, urged on by his impulsive nature, was carried far beyond the limits of prudencG and of decency. He caused (if he did not head the movement lie undoubt- edly inspired it) the bull to be carried about the streets by two lewd women, heading a long procession of stu- dents, and, after displaying it in this manner for some time, it was publicly burnt, with some indulgence briefs, at the ]iillory of the new town. " That similar scenes not unfrequently occurred is most probable. Among the charges brought against Jerome at the Council of Constance are some Avhich imply that his conduct in this respect had been far from unexceptionable. Some of these are denied : but the evidence is strong, if not decisive, in regard to his course on the reception of the papal bulls for the Crusade. On another occasion he is said to have thrown a priest into the Moldau, who, but for timely aid, would have been drowned. But such violence was bitterly provoked. The biu-ning of the books by Sbynco (Zybneck), the execution of three men for asserting the falsehood of the indulgences, the ex- communication of Huss, to say nothing of the course pursued by his assailants, had excited a strong feeling