Jan Milí č of Kroměř íž and Emperor Charles IV: Preaching, Power, and the Church of Prague Eleanor Janega UCL Thesis Submitted for the degree of PhD in History 1 I, Eleanor Janega, confirm that the work presented in this thesis is my own. Where information has been derived from other sources, I confirm that this has been indicated in my thesis. 2 Abstract During the second half of the fourteenth century Jan Milí č of Krom ěř íž became an active and popular preacher in Prague. The sermons which he delivered focused primarily on themes of reform, and called for a renewal within the church. Despite a sustained popularity with the lay populace of Prague, Milí č faced opposition to his practice from many individual members of the city’s clergy. Eventually he was the subject of twelve articles of accusation sent to the papal court of Avignon. Because of the hostility which Milí č faced, historians have most often written of him as a precursor to the Hussites. As a result he has been identified as an anti-establishment rabble-rouser and it has been assumed that he conducted his career in opposition to the court of the Emperor Charles IV. This thesis, over four body chapters, examines the careers of both Milí č and Charles and argues that instead of being enemies, the two men shared an amicable relationship. The first chapter examines Milí č’s career and will prove that he was well-connected to Charles and several members of his court. It will also examine the most common reasons given to argue that Charles and Milí č were at odds, and disprove them. The second chapter focuses on Milí č’s work in the city of Prague and shows that the preacher was of assistance to the emperor in his quest to remake the city as a new spiritual capital of the Holy Roman Empire. The third chapter examines the concept of the ‘Church of Prague’ championed by both Milí č and Charles, and the efforts of both men to promote it throughout the Empire. The fourth chapter discusses Milí č’s ability to assist Charles in the acquisition of power in Bohemia, the Empire, and away from the church. 3 Acknowledgements I would like to thank CEELBAS for its generous provision of travel grants, which helped make the research for this thesis possible. I would also like to thank the University College London Postgraduate School for assistance with travel grants for research and conferences, which proved invaluable. Thanks are due to my supervisor, the peerless Professor Martyn Rady, whose advice, seemingly endless knowledge on a number of obscure subjects, and willingness to meet me at the Tav, were pivotal. Richard Butterwick-Pawlikowski and Sergei Bogatyrev provided much-needed insight during my upgrade, for which I am very grateful. I would like to thank David d'Avray for kitkats, coffee, and chat about the investiture controversy. Marigold Norbey squinted at and gave opinions on bad screen shots of manuscripts, and struggled through medieval Czech names to give her expert paleographical advice, which is very much appreciated. Zoë Opa čić gave encouragement, inspiration, locations of her own work, and a PDF of one book chapter when my broken foot kept me house bound, all of which I am very grateful for. I would like to thank Barbara Rosenwein, and Theresa Gross-Diaz, who interested me in medieval history in the first place, encouraged me afterwards, and in Theresa's case provided me with espresso and my first paleography instruction. David C. Mengel gave invaluable advice, and writes inspiring works of history, for which I am very grateful. Paul Freedman went to the library for me and scanned documents when I could not find them, although he’d never met me, which was extremely kind. Terezie Holmerova is the best Czech teacher I ever had the pleasure of working with and put up with me doing innumerable presentations on the court of Charles IV and Milí č in a class I was only auditing. I would also like to thank Tavi Kladivo-Kosák for valuable input during the entire process. Chris Nicholson, Clare Griffin, Victoria Whitton, and Antonia Fitzpatrick read many more things than they had to, gave advice, put up with me for some reason, and are generally the best. Philipp Köker and Bartley Rock provided sanity-restoring cat pictures and tea breaks at SSEES. Jo Edge looked up things in the British Library for me when I could not leave the house, started broken foot 4 writing club, and brought moules, which is above and beyond anything I could have hoped for. Philipp Müller let me sleep at his flat while in Cologne, and bought me Kolsch, which are just another few things that I will always love him for. Ann and Eric Davidson always let me sleep at their flat on either side of Kalamazoo, and that is both a life-saver and a reason for living. Many thanks as well to everyone at History Lab, who helped to keep Thursdays edifying, if also dangerous. Lastly I would like to thank my family for their on-going love and support throughout this entire process. My parents Maureen and Thomas in particular put up with a lot of hang-wringing and Skype conversations which revolved around academia, and gave up their three-day weekend to help with proof- reading. Without their nurturing, and rightly-placed focus on education, none of this would have been possible. Alex didn't exactly let me steal his Czech dictionary, but he let me keep it when he found out, but his Czech is better than mine anyway. Emily and Chris put up with me being broke and come to visit when I can't afford to come home. Nate feels me on the postgraduate ennui which makes me feel less crazy. Tristan skypes me to talk about the cat, Mummins, and double-decker busses, which is a constant delight. My Grandma Janega practiced Czech with me, and started the whole Prague thing. My Aunts Mary and Kathy encouraged it and helped me get there physically. My Uncle Jeff proved that academia can be a legitimate career, and gave me all the practical advice about writing that someone really ought to. The McLennans somehow understood the move to England, and are always lovely and supportive. Cabbage is an excellent co-editor and distraction. Blair gets the last thanks because he put up with the most, including, (but not limited to): moving continents, my huge reduction in annual salary, my continuous self- doubt, indignation at the mis-identification of the Czech Republic as Eastern Europe, and endless rants about Milí č. On both a practical and emotional level none of this would have been possible without him, and the word grateful does not being to cover it. 5 Contents Abstract …….…………………………………………………………………………...3 Acknowledgements ….………………………………………………………………..4 Abbreviations …………………………………………………………………….........7 Introduction ...…………………………………………………………………………..8 Chapter 1 Milí č and Charles: Rivalry or Collaboration? ............................27 Chapter 2 The City ...……………………………………………………………...64 Chapter 3 The Church of Prague ...…………………………………………...113 Chapter 4 Power ..………………………………………………………….........147 Conclusions ..………………………………………………………………….........195 Table 1 ...……………………………………………………………………………...212 Map 1 .........................................................................................................213 Bibliography ...………..……………………………………………………………..214 6 Abbreviations A Jan Milí č of Krom ěř íž, Abortivus . FRB Fontes Rerum Bohemicarum . G Jan Milí č of Krom ěř íž, Gratia Dei . MGH Monumenta Germaniae Historica. RVNT Matěj of Janov, Regulae Veteris et Novi Testamenti , ed. Vlastimil Kybal, 4 vols. (Innsbruck, 1908–1913). 7 Introduction The Life of Milí č The popular preacher, Jan Milí č of Krom ěř íž, known throughout medieval Europe as Milicius, died in Avignon in 1374. He had travelled to the papal city earlier in the year from his home in Prague in order to defend himself against accusations of heresy. Meanwhile in his home city, his followers were subjected to interrogations at the hand of inquisitors, and Jerusalem, his community for preachers and repentant prostitutes, was disbanded and the houses given over to the Cistercian order. In this way, in a few short months an ignoble end was brought to over a decade’s worth of concentrated effort and widespread support. In contrast to this, his death under a cloud of controversy, Milí č’s life began in comfortable circumstances. The preacher was most likely born around the year 1320 in the small Moravian town of Te čovice near modern day Zlín, to noble parents Bohunko and Rychka of Te čovice. 1 Unlike his two brothers who were wed by around the year 1350, Milí č took up religious orders with great zeal. By the spring of 1358 he had left behind his native Moravia for life in Prague, where he joined the imperial chancery and began a steady climb through its ranks. Up to this point, his life and career were very much what one would expect for a man of the cloth born of nobility. By Christmas 1363, however, something had changed. Milí č announced his resignation from the chancery, and withdrew to the small town of Horšovský Týn in the Šumava Mountains. When he reappeared in the capital in the autumn of the next year his career had little in common with his old life at the chancery. The Milíč who returned was an outspoken and ascetic preacher, dedicated to addressing what he saw as a moral crisis within the church. The best method that he saw to deal with what he considered to be the overwhelming spiritual decay of the church was preaching. Accordingly, Milí č soon found audiences throughout Prague, and could be found preaching at various locations in the city up to five times a day in Latin, Czech, and German.