The political side of Hussitism: Late medieval law in Bohemia and the Holy Roman Empire

In fifteenth-century Bohemia religious and political needs intersected in a revolution that affected the Church, the Empire, and all of Europe. The religious reformation started by Jan Hus became a political revolution in 1419 when many Czech nobles decided to deny the Bohemian throne to Sigismund, Emperor-elect, King of Hungary, and half-brother to the dead Czech king, Wenceslas IV. The question I seek to answer is, how did Hussite Czech nobles justify their disapproval of Sigismund without repudiating the law? In medieval political thought, particularly in Bohemia, the law was regarded as above every person and to transgress it would be to transgress a fundamental conception of behavior and authority. Answering this question entails an examination of broader topics such as authority, kingship, law, and the periodization of late medieval Bohemia. Also essential to the study is the relationship of Bohemia to the Holy Roman Empire in these topics.;A book on the land law written c. 1395--1411 by Lord Ondřej z Dubé, the highest land judge for half of the fourteenth century, partially answers this question. He wrote his explanation of the function and purpose of the land court during a time of strife between nobles and king. The Hussite Revolution also saw strife between nobles and king, thus making Ondřej's book particularly relevant. Sigismund fought for his hereditary right to the Bohemian throne and launched a crusade against the Hussites, who resisted him successfully and published virulent manifestos against him that justified their political choices. These manifestos, along with proclamations from Land Diets in 1419 and 1421, provide the other part of the answer to my question. Lord Ondřej z Dubé's interpretation of the land law and the Hussite propaganda demonstrate that the Hussite nobles' political action represented a defense of the common good of the land and a confluence of existing legal beliefs and Hussite religious thought.