Ambrož Hradecký ( cz, Ambrož Hradecký or ; died 16 October 1439, in

Kolín Kolín (; german: Kolin, Neu Kolin, Collin) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 32,000 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument reservation. Administra ...

) was a Czech

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

preacher A preacher is a person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach components such as ...

and

political leader A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

from the

Kingdom of Bohemia The Kingdom of Bohemia ( cs, České království),; la, link=no, Regnum Bohemiae sometimes in English literature referred to as the Czech Kingdom, was a medieval and early modern monarchy in Central Europe, the predecessor of the modern Czec ...

in the era of the

Hussite Wars The Hussite Wars, also called the Bohemian Wars or the Hussite Revolution, were a series of civil wars fought between the Hussites and the combined Catholic forces of Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, the Papacy, European monarchs loyal to the Cat ...

Life

Ambrož is first mentioned in 1419 as pastor of the Holy Spirit Cathedral in the East Bohemian town of

Hradec Králové Hradec Králové (; german: Königgrätz) is a city of the Czech Republic. It has about 91,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Hradec Králové Region. The historic centre of Hradec Králové is well preserved and is protected by law as an ...

(german: Königgrätz). Queen

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and h ...

and her burgrave had him driven out of town, because he supported the

Hussite The Hussites ( cs, Husité or ''Kališníci''; "Chalice People") were a Czech proto-Protestant Christian movement that followed the teachings of reformer Jan Hus, who became the best known representative of the Bohemian Reformation. The Huss ...

cause. In the spring of 1420, Ambrož and Diviš Bořek of Miletínka mobilized a crowd on mount Oreb and lead the crowd to Prague, which was threatened by King

Sigismund Sigismund (variants: Sigmund, Siegmund) is a German proper name, meaning "protection through victory", from Old High German ''sigu'' "victory" + ''munt'' "hand, protection". Tacitus latinises it '' Segimundus''. There appears to be an older form of ...

, scorching and burning the area they travelled through, and destroying the monastery of Münchengrätz, ostensibly in support of the rebels. In June the

Orebites The Orebites ( cz, Orebité) or Hradecti were followers of the Hussites in Eastern Bohemia. The founders took part in the procession on Mount Oreb, near Třebechovice pod Orebem and Hradec. Later, most noble supporters belonged to the East Bohem ...

, as they called themselves, conquered Hradec Králové and Ambrož was reinstated in his parish. Under his leadership, the city turned into a center of the Hussite movement. Even Jan Zizka, the leader of the Hussites, came to Ambrož for advice about his conflicts with the

Tábor Tábor (; german: Tabor) is a town in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 33,000 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument reservation. Administrative parts The followi ...

. After Žižka's death, his remains were transferred to Hradec Králové and buried in the parish church. In 1433 Ambrož was appointed Archdeacon and Captain of Hradec Králové. As ambassador, he participated in the negotiations and participated in the negotiations in

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...

that lead to the Compact of Prague. After Sigismund had been elected King of Bohemia, Ambrož continued to oppose him. In 1436, Sigismund deposed Ambrož as captain and attempted to replace him with someone more loyal, sending a new captain with forces to drive the insurgents out of Hradec Králové. However, Ambrož refused to relinquish his position, and he suffered heavy losses. He refused an offer to negotiate a surrender, and continued to fight the losing battle. In 1437, with his forces depleted, Ambrož was forced to flee. He was wounded and captured, but was released after only a brief captivity. He then travelled to

, where he died two years later in 1439. Ambrož was a representative of the more moderate Hussites, who called themselves ''

Orphans An orphan (from the el, ορφανός, orphanós) is a child whose parents have died. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents due to death is called an orphan. When referring to animals, only the mother's condition is usuall ...

''. He tolerated University Professors and he granted asylum after 1427, and protected the so-called

Picards The Taborites ( cs, Táborité, cs, singular Táborita), known by their enemies as the Picards, were a faction within the Hussite movement in the medieval Lands of the Bohemian Crown. Although most of the Taborites were of rural origin, they ...

, whom he rescued from the stake. Adherence to the Catholic faith, however, he held to be a crime that should be punished by beheading.

References

* Vavřinec z Březové: Husitská kronika, Prague 1979 * Ze starých letopisů českých, Prague 1980 {{DEFAULTSORT:Hradecky, Ambroz Hussite people People of the Hussite Wars 1439 deaths Year of birth unknown