The 15th century Polish version of the inquisition was very much in tune with the anti-Hussite times. The below was a sentence issued by Zbigniew Oleśnicki the Bishop of Cracow (later cardinal) and John the Dominican inquisitor against the alleged Hussite Henry of either Brieg/Brzeg or, perhaps, of Prague. This sentence was pronounced circa 1429. The interesting passage is as follows:
“…ad suffragia demonum cum suis certis complicibus pro inveniendis thesauris aliquociens habuit refugium, credens id licere nec esse peccatum, ipsum constabat esse relapsum iudicio sapientum et ob hoc curie seculari tradendum. Verum quia, an invocare demones pro inveniendis thesauris sit manifesta heresis, licet procul dubio heresim sapiat manifeste, cum non esset de hoc lucida determinacio, poterat dubitasse…”
Here Henry is accused of “calling upon demons and certain accomplices” in order to help find treasure, an indication of a “clear heresy.” He is also apparent a repeat offender.
The source of this is a codex (610.40) owned by the prelate of Włocławek Stanisław Ksawery Chodyński which was printed in Volume 2 of the so-called Codex Epistolaris (number 176).
However, as pointed out by Aleksander Birkenmajer (in “The Matter of Henry the Czech” or Sprawa Henryka Czecha), apparently the same case is also discussed in a number of pieces in BJ 2513.
So who was Henry? He seems to have been a professor at Cracow University who was a popular scholar and even assisted during (or at least was present at) the birth of three sons of Wladyslaw Jagiello: Wladyslaw of Varna, a Kazimierz who died after a few months and of Kazimierz Jagiellonczyk. Henry, also called the “Astrologer”, fell afoul of Church authorities and was accused of Hussitic sympathies, of opposing the excessive veneration of the Holy Mary and, as shown above, of seeking out treasure by means of diabolical powers. The fact that he was a Czech we learn from Jan Dlugosz (genere Bohemus) but also from Stanislaw of Skalbmierz.
You can read more about this (if you know Latin) here in Birkenmajer’s article.
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