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The Story of Bohemia.

This agreement, entered into between the two parties, was to continue thirty-one years,

It is not to be supposed that the above resolutions settled all religious difficulties; it had merely the effect of quieting them to a considerable extent. Rome would not confirm the Compactata, and when Bishop Augustin died (1493), the Calixtine priests again were obliged to go to Italy for their ordination. In 1405, Philip de Novavilla, the Bishop of Sidon, came to Bohemia for the same purpose that Bishop Augustin had done; but being well advanced in years, his labors were of short duration.

Owing to the difficulty of securing priests, the Calixtines were obliged to take such as they could get, and thus their Church suffered a moral deterioration, losing in respect and dignity. For this reason, the more earnest people sought to find elsewhere what they missed in their own Church. This was found among the Moravian Brethren, who continued to increase in number notwithstanding all the edicts passed against them. At the close of the fifteenth century, they had some four hundred churches in the various cities of Bohemia. The chief seat of the Brethren was at Mlada Boleslav, where dwelt Brother Lukas, who, on account of his zeal, piety, and learning, was accepted as the leader after the death of Gregory.

Contrary to all expectations, King Vladislav II proved to be one of the weakest rulers that ever sat upon the throne of Bohemia. When he assumed the government, the country was in a good condition; but it was a time when the nobility struggled to re-establish their ancient powers, and a strong hand was needed to keep their growing ambition within reasonable limits.