Crime, Punishment and Pacifism in the Thought of Bishop Mikuláš of Pelhřimov, 1420-1452

Abstract

The Hussite Revolution and the Táborite version of the Bohemian Reformation demonstrated conclusively that ecclesiastical power and privilege could not be abolished, only transferred. For all its revolutionary rhetoric, the priests of Tábor continued to exemplify many of the aspects of the medieval priesthood of the Roman church. If the social gains of the revolutionary vision in Bohemia succeeded only partially or temporarily, they succeeded nonetheless. The power and influence of religion, however, remained. As for the house of authority it is sufficient to state that while secular power de facto passed into the hands of Jan Žižka, Tábor was ruled ecclesiastically by Mikuláš of Pelhřimov "Biskupec" [the little bishop].