Brothers (Czech: bratříci, Slovak: bratríci, Polish: bracia[1]) – independent units composed of former Hussite fighters operating in the years 1445–1467 in the territory of present-day Slovakia, Moravia, northern Austria and southern Poland.[2]
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The Brothers were an anti-feudal group (according to some sources, they can be considered the progenitors of the anarchist movement[3]) brought to the territory of present-day Slovakia from Czechia by John Jiskra of Brandýs.[4] Their core was made up of Czech Hussite fighters (mainly Taborites), but their ranks also included Slovak peasants, the urban poor, representatives of the lower clergy, and even some impoverished feudal lords.[5] The formation's greatest development occurred after 1453, when it was commanded by Peter Aksamit of Liderovice, and his troops numbered about 15-20 thousand soldiers.[6] At that time, they plundered many settlements and monasteries – Camaldolese in Červený Kláštor and Premonstratensian in Jasov,[7] and in the years 1447-1451 they also regularly attacked trade caravans heading to Poland.[4] In 1451, the Brothers fought a victorious Battle at Lučenac against the Hungarian troops of Ladislaus Hunyadi, who were more than twice as numerous. However, the fighting with the Hungarians continued and, as a result of the lost Battle of Trebišov in November 1454, their activity was paralysed in the Zemplín region. In 1455 they managed to defend Kežmarok in Spiš against the troops of John Jiskra, who was then in Hungarian service, while the growing involvement of cities (especially Levoča and Bardejov) in combating it became an increasing threat to the movement.[8] By 1458, Aksamit's troops already controlled eastern and partly central Slovakia. In the territories governed by the Brothers, there were about 35 field camps and castles, where radical Hussite piety was practiced, and the official language was Czech. In 1458, after the defeat in the Battle of Blatný Potok (Sárospatak), during which many members of the movement were killed and taken prisoner, the formation gradually declined, which ended in 1467 with the capture of the camp at Veľké Kostoľany in western Slovakia by Matthias Corvinus' troops. Many Brothers then went over to the king's side and became members of the elite Matthias Guard (the so-called Black Rota).[6]
References
edit- ^ Goliński, Mateusz (2023). "Wprowadzenie" [Introduction]. In Smęda, Zofia (ed.). Żebracy – XV-wieczne bractwo żołnierskie i jego historiograficzne kreacje [Beggars – a 15th-century soldier brotherhood and its historiographic creations] (in Polish). Cracow: Wydawnictwo Księgarnia Akademicka. pp. 7–13. doi:10.12797/9788381389303. ISBN 978-83-8138-930-3.
...in today's historiographic description of events from the following years, in which the Polonized spelling "bratrzycy" or "bratrzykowie" or, in Polonized form, "bratczycy" or "bratczykowie" still appear, it is this term, along with "bracia", that is used, following Czech and Slovak literature, as the basic one to define the entire phenomenon of the aforementioned soldier brotherhoods.
- ^ "Bratříci". Bibliografie Dějin Českých Zemí (in Czech). Prague. 2017-05-31. Retrieved 2024-12-07.
- ^ Nacher, Anna; Styczyński, Marek; Cisowski, Bartłomiej (2004). Spisz: od Pienin po Raj (in Polish). Cracow: Wydawnictwo Bezdroża. p. 90. ISBN 978-83-89676-02-3. OCLC 69594905.
- ^ a b Motyčka, Jiří (2006-01-12). "Bratřické hnutí – Konec bratříků na Slovensku". husitstvi.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 2024-12-07.
- ^ Bazhan, Mykola; Antonov, Oleg, eds. (1974–1985). "Братиків Рух" [The Brothers Movement]. Українська Радянська Енциклопедія [Ukrainian Soviet Encyclopedia] (in Ukrainian) (2 ed.). Kyiv: Main Editorial Office of Ukrainian Soviet Encyclopedia.
- ^ a b "Bratříci". husitstvi.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 2024-12-07.
- ^ Ondrej, Jakub (2021-08-27). "Osobnosť z dávnej histórie Zamaguria – Peter Aksamit". Severný Spiš Pieniny (in Slovak). Retrieved 2024-12-07.
- ^ Motyčka, Jiří; Zelena, Marek (2018-05-01). "Husitství a reformace česká (V. díl – Věk poděbradský)" [Hussites and the Czech Reformation (Part V – The Poděbrady Age)]. husitstvi.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 2024-12-07.