"An Ass with a Crown": Heresy, Nationalism and Emperor Sigismund

Abstract

If an opinion poll had been taken in Bohemia in practically any year between 1415 and 1437 assessing the most popular governmental official it is doubtful that Sigismund would have come close to winning in any one of those years. The Hussites loved to hate Sigismund and persistent opposition to their legitimate king became a consistent feature in Czech politics and social opinion for over two decades. Held responsible for the death of Jan Hus in 1415, Sigismund initially attempted to ignore the surge of public opinion against him. When his half-brother Vaclav IV died suddenly in the summer of 1419 without a child, Sigismund was next in line to inherit the crown of the Kingdom of Bohemia. The clandestine coronation of the king in Prague Castle in July 1420 did nothing to alter the stream of animosity directed at Sigismund. A common view of the coronation is summed up somewhat admirably in the disdainful sentence, 'an ass remains an ass even if he is anointed and crowned with a crown.' The concept of nationalism in the Hussite movement has been considered at length already and there is no value in rehearsing those findings. This essay is limited in its focus being concerned specifically and exclusively with the relation between nationalism and heresy and to what extent each facilitated the other, especially in relation to Emperor Sigismund.