HUS IN EXILE

107

his person might be made a pretext for disorders that induced Hus willingly to accept King Wenceslas' suggestion that he should leave Prague for a short time. The king promised, during his absence, to endeavour to reconcile him with the ecclesiastical authorities. After " publishing an Appeal from the sentence of the Roman pontiff to the supreme judge Jesus Christ," ^ Hus left Prague at the end of the year 141 2. He first retired to Kozi Hrddek, a castle belonging to one of his adherents, John of Austi, situated near the spot where the town of Tabor was soon to arise. Afterwards Hus spent some time at the castle of Krakovec, which belonged to Lord Henry of La2an, one of the courtiers of King Wenceslas, and a zealous adherent of Hus. In contradiction to the papal prohibition, Hus continued to preach, and large crowds assembled to listen to his sermons, which he often preached in the fields. He also remained in constant communication with his congregation at Prague, to whom he paid two short visits during his He addressed to them several letters, which, exile. next to those written while in prison at Constance, are the most valuable of all the letters of Hus that have been He did not limit his literary activity to these preserved. Some of his most important works indeed now letters. His most important Latin appeared in rapid succession. work, the treatise De Ecclesia, the principal cause of his condemnation at Constance, was written about this Of his Bohemian works the Vj/klad (Expositions) time. had been finished in November 141 2, before he left Prague ; but other important Bohemian works, such as the one entitled The Daughter {Dcerka), or of the Knowledge of True Salvation, and the treatise on "the ' Printed in Palack^, Documenta,