people are mostly devout Roman Catholics, though a small and new Lutheran church stands on the outskirts. No relics remain of the short-lived reformation here, and the name of Hübmaier has completely faded from recollection. The historian of the town, an antiquarian of some repute, had never heard the name.
We know as yet from original sources too little about the religious history of Moravia prior to 1526; but that the influence of Hus had been deeply felt there is certain. There was a strong evangelical party in the province before the arrival of Hübmaier, which had gained many adherents among prelates, clergy, and noblemen, as well as among the people at large. The Unitas Fratrum, though originating in Bohemia, could almost claim Moravia as the twin land of their birth, and later they became so identified with it as to bear, to this day, the name Moravians. The political circumstances were such as to favour an evangelical revival. Since the twelfth century Moravia—a small territory of only 8,500 square miles, a little larger than the State of Massachusetts—had been a Margravate held by the younger sons of the kings of Bohemia,
