Multiconfessional Coexistence in Moravia before the Battle of White Mountain
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| Year of publication | 2023 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
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| Description | The multi-confessional environment of the pre-White Mountain Moravia was characterized by unclear religious conditions and the dynamics of individual confessions. Throughout the entire pre-White Mountain period, the confessional situation was not static, but it often and quickly changed. The nobility was the guarantor of the coexistence of many confessions which from the position of the authority determined the conditions of the existence of individual confessions at their demesnes and from the position of the provincial estates defended the freedom of religion as part of the provincial freedoms. Using the example of the Moravian nobility's attitude towards the Anabaptists, this study explains what motives could lead the nobility to the acceptance of the socially and religiously excluded Anabaptists, who as a persecuted group significantly complemented the religious atmosphere of the pre-White Mountain Moravia. Although the religious tolerance, which was often associated with the Moravian nobility's unique confessional detached point of view, played a significant role, just as important was the motivation to defend the confident provincial policy, which felt threatened by anti-Anabaptist mandates, as well as the autonomy of individual authorities in the matter of conditions at their demesnes. Finally, economic reasons also played a very important role as the nobility saw the economic potential in Anabaptists which they wanted to use to launch a new economic policy at their demesnes. |
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