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The Reformation before the Reformation

The Reformation before the Reformation

By: History of the Germans
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The Hussite Wars from 1419 to 1435 tore apart the medieval world. This revolution created a new way to think about the world and about faith that had not been seen before, nor had anyone seen Jan Zizka's deadly military inventions. This podcast is part of the broader History of the Germans podcast that aims to track the history of the German people from the Early Middle Ages to Reunification in 1991. If you enjoy this show, check out any of the other seasons or follow the main show. So far I have the following seasons: The Ottonians (919 AD-1024 AD) Salian Emperors and Investiture Controversy (1024 AD-1125 AD) Fredrick Barbarossa and Early Hohenstaufen (1125-1190) Frederick II Stupor Mundi (1190-1268) Saxony and Eastward Expansion The Hanseatic League The Teutonic Knights The Holy Roman Empire (1250 AD -1356 AD) The Reformation before the Reformation (1356AD -1439 AD) The Empire in the 15th Century The Fall and Rise of the Habsburgs (1439AD -1519 AD)Copyright 2026 History of the Germans Spirituality World
Episodes
  • Ep. 22 (184) – A German Messalina? Barbara of Celje

    Ep. 22 (184) – A German Messalina? Barbara of Celje
    Aug 13 2025
    Barbara ist geil und ruchlos is the title of a 17th century description of emperor Sigismund’s second wife, Barbara of Celje and it goes on as follows:“Barbara, was a German Messalina, a woman of insatiable lust; so nefarious / that she had no god / nor angel nor devil / nor heaven nor hell/that she believed in.When her handmaidens fasted and prayed / she scolded them / that they tortured their bodies / to worship a fictitious god.Instead she admonished them / in her good Sardanapalian way / that they should in every way enjoy the pleasures of this life / because after this there is no other to be hoped for.This godless harlot / sought paradise on this foul earth in doglike lust / although she was already close to 60 years of age.” End quote.But this is not where it ends. The Irish writer Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu described her end, in an abandoned church in Styria thus:“The features, though a hundred and fifty years had passed since her funeral, were tinted with the warmth of life. Her eyes were open; no cadaverous smell exhaled from the coffin. The two medical men, one officially present, the other on the part of the promoter of the inquiry, attested the marvelous fact, that there was a faint but appreciable respiration, and a corresponding action of the heart. The limbs were perfectly flexible, the flesh elastic; and the leaden coffin floated with blood, in which to a depth of seven inches, the body lay immersed. Here then were all the admitted signs and proofs of vampirism. The body, therefore, in accordance with the ancient practice, was raised, and a sharp stake driven through the heart of the vampire, who uttered a piercing shriek at the moment, in all respects as might escape from a living person in the last agony. Then the head was struck off, and a torrent of blood flowed from the severed neck. The body and head were next placed on a pile of wood, and reduced to ashes, which were thrown upon the river and borne away, and that territory has never since been plagued by the visits of a vampire.“Excellent – HotGPod has its first sexually charged lesbian vampire…I suggest we take a bite at the reality of that story.The music for the show is Flute Sonata in E-flat major, H.545 by Carl Phillip Emmanuel Bach (or some claim it as BWV 1031 Johann Sebastian Bach) performed and arranged by Michel Rondeau under Common Creative Licence 3.0.As always:Homepage with maps, photos, transcripts and blog: www.historyofthegermans.comIf you wish to support the show go to: Support • History of the Germans PodcastFacebook: @HOTGPod Threads: @history_of_the_germans_podcastBluesky: @hotgpod.bsky.socialInstagram: history_of_the_germansTwitter: @germanshistoryTo make it easier for you to share the podcast, I have created separate playlists for some of the seasons that are set up as individual podcasts. they have the exact same episodes as in the History of the Germans, but they may be a helpful device for those who want to concentrate on only one season. So far I have:The Ottonians Salian Emperors and Investiture ControversyFredrick Barbarossa and Early HohenstaufenFrederick II Stupor MundiSaxony and Eastward ExpansionThe Hanseatic LeagueThe Teutonic KnightsThe Holy Roman Empire 1250-1356The Reformation before the Reformation
    Show More Show Less
    32 mins
  • Ep. 21 (183) – The Aftermath of a Revolution - The consequences of the Hussite Wars 1419-1434

    Ep. 21 (183) – The Aftermath of a Revolution - The consequences of the Hussite Wars 1419-1434
    Aug 6 2025

    This week we bring the series about the reformation before the reformation to an end. It is time to take stock. What changes did 20 years of opposition to the established church and 15 years of war bring to Bohemia? How did Jan Hus, Jan Želivský, Wenceslas Koranda and Petr Chelčický influence Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, Müntzer and von Hutten? How did Zizka’s reform impact the Swiss mercenaries and the German Landsknechte?

    The music for the show is Flute Sonata in E-flat major, H.545 by Carl Phillip Emmanuel Bach (or some claim it as BWV 1031 Johann Sebastian Bach) performed and arranged by Michel Rondeau under Common Creative Licence 3.0.

    As always:

    Homepage with maps, photos, transcripts and blog: www.historyofthegermans.com

    If you wish to support the show go to: Support • History of the Germans Podcast

    Facebook: @HOTGPod

    Threads: @history_of_the_germans_podcast

    Bluesky: @hotgpod.bsky.social

    Instagram: history_of_the_germans

    Twitter: @germanshistory

    To make it easier for you to share the podcast, I have created separate playlists for some of the seasons that are set up as individual podcasts. they have the exact same episodes as in the History of the Germans, but they may be a helpful device for those who want to concentrate on only one season.

    So far I have:

    The Ottonians

    Salian Emperors and Investiture Controversy

    Fredrick Barbarossa and Early Hohenstaufen

    Frederick II Stupor Mundi

    Saxony and Eastward Expansion

    The Hanseatic League

    The Teutonic Knights

    The Holy Roman Empire 1250-1356

    The Reformation before the Reformation
    Show More Show Less
    30 mins
  • Ep. 20 (182) – The Return of the King

    Ep. 20 (182) – The Return of the King
    Jul 30 2025

    We have a tendency to overlook the history of the smaller European nations even though they do quite often provide the laboratory where one could have seen the sign of things to come or calamities that could be avoided. One of these nations is Czechia, where events took place that could, should or did impact the History of the Germans, in 1989, in 1968, in 1938, in 1618 and in 1419-1437. Today we will talk about the very last one on this list, the moment when a complete confessional split was prevented, something Martin Luther, emperor Charles V and pope Leo X so disastrously failed to manage a hundred years later.

    The music for the show is Flute Sonata in E-flat major, H.545 by Carl Phillip Emmanuel Bach (or some claim it as BWV 1031 Johann Sebastian Bach) performed and arranged by Michel Rondeau under Common Creative Licence 3.0.

    As always:

    Homepage with maps, photos, transcripts and blog: www.historyofthegermans.com

    If you wish to support the show go to: Support • History of the Germans Podcast

    Facebook: @HOTGPod

    Threads: @history_of_the_germans_podcast

    Bluesky: @hotgpod.bsky.social

    Instagram: history_of_the_germans

    Twitter: @germanshistory

    To make it easier for you to share the podcast, I have created separate playlists for some of the seasons that are set up as individual podcasts. they have the exact same episodes as in the History of the Germans, but they may be a helpful device for those who want to concentrate on only one season.

    So far I have:

    The Ottonians

    Salian Emperors and Investiture Controversy

    Fredrick Barbarossa and Early Hohenstaufen

    Frederick II Stupor Mundi

    Saxony and Eastward Expansion

    The Hanseatic League

    The Teutonic Knights

    The Holy Roman Empire 1250-1356

    The Reformation before the Reformation
    Show More Show Less
    37 mins
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