2i6

A HISTORY OF BOHEMIAN

form to the other doctrines

LITERATURE

of Chelcicky

mentioned

above.

In the last years of the fifteenth century men of higher rank, townsmen and nobles, of whom Kostka of Postupic was the first, began to join the community. It now became more difficult to maintain the early regulations in their entire severity. Some of the brethren complained that they incurred persecution on the part of their fellow-citizens because they had refused to hold municipal offices or to appear as witnesses in the lawcourts. Two parties soon formed themselves in the Unity. One, known as the " large party," was in favour of somewhat relaxing the rigour of the original regulations ; this was evidently necessary if the community was to expand and to acquire the protection of some of the nobles, without which it pould hardly have continued to exist long in Bohemia. The other party, known as " the small party," adhered strictly to the original regulations. Many attempts at a reconciliation were made, and frequent meetings of the elders of the Unity took place for this purpose, generally at Reichenau on the A last effort Kngzna, or at Brandeis on the Orlice. of reconciHation was made in 1496, when numerous members of both parties met at Chlumec. Here, as at the previous conferences, both parties maintained their previous views, and the discussion only proved that the standpoints were entirely different and an agreement impossible. Though even after this attempts at mediation were made, the " small party," led by Brother Amos, now seceded from the main body of the community, The " large and after a few years it entirely disappears. party," on the other hand, freed from the original exaggerated regulations, obtained great and deserved fame in