Neither side would yield. In
the end, the Bohemians, weary of the protracted and fruitless debate,
took to their horses again, and set out homewards. This brought their
enemies to terms. An embassy was hastily sent after them, and all their
demands were conceded, though with certain reservations that might prove
perilous in the future. They went home triumphant, having won freedom of
religious worship according to their ideas of right and truth.
They had not long reached home when dissensions again broke out. The
emperor took advantage of them, accepted the crown of Bohemia, entered
Prague, and at once reinstated the Catholic religion. The fanatics flew
to arms, but after a desperate struggle were annihilated. The Bohemian
struggle was at an end. In the following year the emperor Sigismund
died, having lived just long enough to win success in his long conflict.
The martyrdom of Huss, the valor and zeal of Ziska, appeared to have
been in vain. Yet they were not so, for the seeds they had sown bore
fruit in the following century in a great sectarian revolt which
affected all Christendom and permanently divided the Church.
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