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The organizers of the Hussite cxhibition endcavouicd abovc all to includc in their collections as much materia! as possibic in order to prcscnt concrete documcn-tation on the historical development of the movement, while ensuring always that the materiał exhibits occupied a morę important place than the explanatory texts and diagrams, howcver indispensable the latter might be.

The National Museum, whose Hussite collections are among the most yaluable of their kind, was not, however, content to rely on them alone. In the course of two years’ scientific preparation it madę a detailed study of the collections of museums throughout the country, particularly in areas which had played a vital part in the history of the movemcnt. In this way, it succeeded in collecting directly from the scene of the movement a largc body of materiał relating to the main events which in many cases had previously been unknown or neglected. Certain authentic articles of equipment were also discovered: such as fragments of weapons, of which the T5th century miniatures give us only a rough idea, and fragments of the armoured wagons so characteristic of Hussite military science. In addition, there were objects discovercd during excavations undertaken by the National Museum, from 1952 to 1953, on the site of the Hussite camp at Kunratice, near Prague.

This research work thus provided a broad documentary basis for an exhibition following the new conception of historical display. When preparing the explanatory texts, and particularly when putting them into finał shape at the time of installing the exhibition, the museologist took constant care to maintain a proper balance between the texts and the materiał exhibits to which they referred. It was found necessary to modify that balance according to the exigencies of the periods concerned and current standards of historical appreciation; for although it was possible to collect morę than cnough materiał objects relating to sccondary cvents, it was somctimcs impossible, despite all efforts, to obtain original materials illustrative of historical events and facts of fundamental importance, such as the activity of the preacher and revolutionary leader Jan Żelivsky, or the progressive social organi-zation of the town of Tabor, the most famous centre of the Hussite Movement. In such cases, the volume of text had to be modified and the materiał objects that were lacking replaced by documentation of an indirect naturę, illustrations and explana-tory matter, although in such a way as not to prejudice the essential character of the exhibition as a museographic display of materiał objects.

While the balanced view required by historical science regarding indiyidual evcnts and periods can obviously be respected in a book on the subject, there are difficulties in this respect when it comes to organizing an historical exhibition: there are technical conditions to be taken into consideration, particularly as regards the varia-tions in size and shape of the ayailable rooms. In the present case, owing to the clash between theoretical requirements and practical conditions, we had to work in constant co-operation with the architect in charge of the technical side of the project, Z. Rossmann, in order to find an acccptable compromise solution.

The exhibition was presented in threc rooms of yarying size and shape. The first was devoted to the historical origins of the Hussite movcment—not only its national and religious roots but also, morę especially, its cconomic and social roots, which had to be studicd from the time of the foundation of the Czech State in the ioth century. As this interval covered a period of four centuries, we adopted a method similar to that which G. H. Riyiere called the “cyclical method”, i.e., we diyided our study of the economic, social and ideological relationships between the diflerent sections of urban and rural society in the Middle Ages into two parts. The first covered the period from the ioth to the i2th century; and the sccond, which was morę detailed but which followed the same method, from the ijth to the i4th century (fig. ^/, $2, jj). The second room presented the life and work of Jan Hus and cxplained the naturę of his tcaching and his influence in initiating the Hussite move-ment. It described the moycmenCs first ycars, particularly the founding of Tabor and the remarkablc attempt by its population to build a classless society. The third room cvoked the Hussites’ heroic 15 years’ struggle against the numerical superiority of the armies of Central Europę and showed the great influence of the Hussite tradition on the history of Bohemia (fig. ^4, ^/).

It is thus elear that the cxhibition faithfully observed the principle of systematically and logically presenting the movement’s historical deyelopment with the illustrative

jj. NA rodn! Museum v Praze. Exposition Le rnourcment riio/utionuaire hussite. Troisićmc salle: luttes des hussites contrę les croisćs. Au premier plan, on peut voir une bombarde, copie d’un original du dćbut du xv® siecle actueile-ment a Vicnnc. Matćriaux provenant des lieux ou furent livrćcs divcrses bataillcs des guerres hussites. Sur les panncaux, cartcs stratćgiqucs et autres documcnts.

34. Exhibition Hussite Rcrolntionary More/uent. The third room: Struggles of the Hussites against the Crusadcrs. In the foreground is a bombard, a copy of an original, now in Vicnna, dating from the beginning of th e 15th century. Materiał from the places whcrc the various battles took place. On the pan cis, strategie maps and other explanatory materiał.

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