Ambrož Hradecký ( or ; died 16 October 1439, in

Kolín Kolín (; ) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 33,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument reservations, urban monume ...

) 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 deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

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

and political leader from the

Kingdom of Bohemia The Kingdom of Bohemia (), sometimes referenced in English literature as the Czech Kingdom, was a History of the Czech lands in the High Middle Ages, medieval and History of the Czech lands, early modern monarchy in Central Europe. It was the pr ...

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 Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, the Papacy, a ...

Life

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

Hradec Králové Hradec Králové (; ) is a city of the Czech Republic. It has about 94,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Hradec Králové Region. The historic centre of Hradec Králové is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech R ...

(). Queen

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

Hussite file:Hussitenkriege.tif, upright=1.2, Battle between Hussites (left) and Crusades#Campaigns against heretics and schismatics, Catholic crusaders in the 15th century file:The Bohemian Realm during the Hussite Wars.png, upright=1.2, The Lands of the ...

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 (), also called Lesser Taborites and later known as Sirotci ("Orphans"; ), officially Orphans' Union (), were followers of a radical wing of the Hussites in Bohemia. The founders took part in the procession on Mount Oreb, near T ...

, 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 (; ) is a town in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 34,000 inhabitants, making it the second most populated town in the region. The town was founded by the Hussites in 1420. The historic town centre is well pres ...

. After Žižka's death, his remains were transferred to Hradec Králové and buried in the parish church. In 1433 Ambrož was appointed

Archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denomina ...

and Captain of Hradec Králové. As ambassador, he participated in the negotiations and participated in the negotiations in

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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 is a child whose parents have died, are unknown, or have permanently abandoned them. It can also refer to a child who has lost only one parent, as the Hebrew translation, for example, is "fatherless". In some languages, such as Swedis ...

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