362 al-Husayn ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib
of the Oxford theologian John WYCLIFFE. He demanded
radical reform to end the Great SCHISM. In a reorganiza-
tion of the institutions of self-government of the Univer-
sity of Prague, Hus favored Czech national interests in
January 1409. In response the ecclesiastical and some
of the university authorities intensified their attacks
against Hus. From 1412 he openly opposed King
Wenceslas IV (r. 1363–1419) about the lucrative sale of
plenary INDULGENCES.
During this period Hus produced his major works, in
particular the treatise On the Churchin 1413, in which he,
agreeing with his Oxford master, demanded the radical
reform of the present divided and schismatic church even
with the cooperation of secular powers. Not expecting a
new social order to evolve, he sought merely the
improvement of existing social circumstances through
better relations between the rich and the poor and
between the lords and the peasants. He also proposed the
suppression of the CLERGY. Trusting in the protection of
the Bohemian Crown and the promise of the council
fathers, Hus agreed in autumn 1414 to attend the Council
of CONSTANCE. Shortly after his arrival and in the face of
a safe conduct, he was condemned for HERESY. His death
by burning at the stake on July 6, 1415, sparked a vehe-
ment wave of protest in BOHEMIAand the rapid propaga-
tion of his reform ideas. Its rallying sign became a
demand for the communion of the laity to include both
bread and wine or UTRAQUISM.
THE HUSSITESSupported by a resolute and sympathetic Bohemian
nobility, the teaching of the university reformers spread
out into the countryside. The growing opposition of the
university authorities to these ideas only strengthened
the movement, especially in southern Bohemia, where
the influential community of the TABORITESwas founded
in spring 1420. The declaration of a mostly German cru-
sade launched against them led the nationalistic Hussites
to unite for a “holy war” to defend their independence
and the ideas that became the “Four Articles of Prague.”
Those involved the freedom to confess and express the
divine word, the ability of the laity to take wine at com-
munion, the secularization of significant amounts of
church property, and the punishment of those who were
guilty of mortal sins.
After 14 years of wars, crusades, and Hussite military
expeditions outside Bohemia and into the neighboring
countries, those four articles served as the basis for a peace
accord that was concluded by the delegates of the Hussite
federations with Emperor SIGISMUNDof Luxembourg and
representatives from the Council of BASEL. This produced a
degree of religious toleration, essentially unique for the
time. On the other hand, much of the seized and secular-
ized goods of the clergy went to enrich the pockets of the
nobility. The late-15th-century Bohemian monarchy then
had to deal with two new estates, one based on the greater,
and the other on the lesser nobility. At the same time,
the royal towns formed another autonomous or third
estate. A religious and political compromise in March 1485
effectively ended the Hussite period and inaugurated a
monarchy based on a system of estates.
See alsoBOHEMIANBRETHREN;ZˇIZˇKA,JAN.
Further reading:John Hus, The Letters of John Hus,
trans. Matthew Spinka (Manchester: Manchester Univer-
sity Press, 1972); Matthew Spinka, John Hus: A Biography
(Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1968); Fran-
tisek Michálek Bartosˇ, The Hussite Revolution, 1424–1437,
trans. John M. Klassen (New York: Columbia University
Press, 1986); Howard Kaminsky, A History of the Hussite
Revolution (Berkeley: University of California Press,
1967); Josef Macek, The Hussite Movement in Bohemia
(New York: AMS Press, 1980).al-Husayn ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib (the Prince of
Martyrs)(626–680)third Shiite imam
Born in MEDINAin 626, al-Husayn was one of the grand-
sons of the Prophet MUHAMMADand the son of the fourth
CALIPH,ALI IBNABITALIB, and Fatima (d. 632/633), the
Prophet’s daughter. After the death of caliph Muawiya ibn
Ali Sufyan (r. 661–680), al-Husayn moved against the
UMAYYADSand headed for the town of al-Kufa. He was
brutally massacred with a few faithful companions at the
Battle of KARBALAin 680, an event that Shiites consider
fundamental and a traditional cause of lamentation. Al-
Husayn was greatly revered by both the SUNNAbranch of
ISLAMand the Shiites.
See alsoAL-HASAN IBNALIABITALIB.
Further reading:Syed Husain M. Jafri, The Origins
and Early Development of Shi’a Islam (Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 2000); Wilferd Madelung, The Succes-
sion to Muhammad: A Study of the Early Caliphate(Cam-
bridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997); Laura Veccia
Vaglieri, “(al)-Husayn b. ‘Alı ̄ b. Abı ̄ Ta ̄lib,” Encyclopedia of
Islam3.607–615.Hussites SeeHUS,JOHN.hymns, hymnals, and hymnology From the Latin
word hymnus,a hymn in the Middle Ages was a lyrical
chant or song, in metrical or rhythmical verses. They
were intended to enrich the spirituality and experience of
the OFFICESand of the liturgical idea of the day in poetic
terms, while doubling as a solemn expression and profes-
sion of faith. They could take place at the beginning of
the office or after a reading on whose lessons the hymn
was supposed to promote reflection. There evolved an
alternation of hymns with the recitation of psalms linking
them to an hour of the day. Some of the great figures
of early Christianity, such as Hilary of Poitiers (ca. 315–
ca. 367) or AMBROSEof Milan, produced hymns.