The Hussite Reformation in 15th century Bohemia, addressed larger class struggles through the reform of religious practices. The movement, almost entirely composed of peasants and members of the lower classes, was written off as heresy by many. Joan of Arc herself offered criticism toward the actions of the Hussites, declaring their actions both heretical and barbaric.[1] From an outside perspective, like that depicted by Piccolomini in Excerpts from The Crusade against the Heretics in Bohemia, the Hussites were seen as lesser people.[2] He also describes their conditions very critically with negative descriptions of their health. They were looked down on both for their supposedly heretical beliefs, as well as for their low socioeconomic statuses.
Hussitism is also sometimes looked at with a Marxist lens due to its inherently populist nature. One Czech historian even referred to certain offshoots of Hussitism as precursors to proletarian movements that would be yet to come in Europe.[3] This emphasizes that the core of the Hussite reformation was not religious values, but a desire to correct the deep inequalities and class divides that had been present in Bohemia.
As a whole, the Hussite Reformation left a legacy far greater than merely an impact on social inequalities. It set a precedent of religious tolerance in Bohemia that extended until the occupation of the region by the Catholic Habsburgs. It also marked the formation of a Czech identity in a grander more nationalist sense. To this day in the Czech Republic there is a holiday honoring Jan Hus on the day he was burned at the stake by the Catholic authorities.
[1] Bažant, J., Bažantová, N., & Starn, F. (2011). Letter to the Hussites: Joan of Arc (Ca. 1412-1431). In The Czech reader: History, culture, politics (pp. 58–66). essay, Duke University Press.
[2] Fudge, T. A. (2021). Survivors of the crusades. In The crusade against heretics in Bohemia, 1418-1437: Sources and documents for the hussite crusades (pp. 398–401). essay, Routledge.
[3] PECH, S. Z. (1959). A Marxist Interpretation of the Hussite Movement [Review of Československý Časopis Historický]. Canadian Slavonic Papers / Revue Canadienne Des Slavistes, 4, 199–212. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40866076