“Washing their Hands in the Blood of Sinners:” Salvation by Murder in Medieval Bohemia

Crusade and religious war convulsed early fifteenth-century Bohemia resulting in appalling violence and loss of life. Both sides – heretical Czech Hussites and crusaders loyal to Church and empire – seemed to relish bloodshed and both believed there were salvific qualities in shed blood. This article examines this motif and discovers curious texts wherein washing in the blood of one’s enemies provided a pathway to holiness and salvation. Theological and biblical support are also evident in these texts. The question of violence was controversial in the Hussite period but appears less compelling than notions that unholy blood – whether crusader or heretic – could take on characteristics of holiness. Beyond this, the Hussite concentration on the Eucharist, especially the essentiality of the lay chalice, provides an important dimension to the preoccupation with blood. Visual depictions of blood and the wounds of Christ also frame the discussion. I suggest that the obsession with blood lies at the core of medieval theology generally and Hussite thought specifically.