Literary Reaction to Conversion. The Case of Jiří Sovka of Chrudim

Religious conversions were nothing extraordinary in the Bohemian lands of the Jagellonian era. Th e most common were shift s from Utraquism to Catholicism, including some important cases of powerful lords.1 Because the Estates codifi ed Compactata in the land law and series of electoral capitulations, even conversions of important members of high nobility have not caused much commotion; it was considered a private thing of each nobleman and part of the political life. Th e conversion only rarely meant a radical change of lifestyle, thinking and social networks of the nobles.2 For example, Vilém of Pernštejn famously converted from tolerant Utraquism to Catholicism, yet not much changed on his large estates and he was even still supporting Brethren.3 But Compactata has never been sanctioned by the Papacy, so it was complicated to remain in international social networks for Utraquists. It is therefore not surprising that many conversions to Catholicism had their roots in stays abroad.4 Th e situation was quite diff erent for clergymen. Th e doctrinal issues played a much greater role in the life of priests than laymen. Th e priestly conversions were a matter of public concern and could cause serious political and religious disturbances. Th e converts oft en became bitter enemies of Utraquism and leading polemicists against their former faith.5 Th e most prominent ex-


Introduction
Religious conversions were nothing extraordinary in the Bohemian lands of the Jagellonian era. Th e most common were shift s from Utraquism to Catholicism, including some important cases of powerful lords. 1 Because the Estates codifi ed Compactata in the land law and series of electoral capitulations, even conversions of important members of high nobility have not caused much commotion; it was considered a private thing of each nobleman and part of the political life. Th e conversion only rarely meant a radical change of lifestyle, thinking and social networks of the nobles. 2 For example, Vilém of Pernštejn famously converted from tolerant Utraquism to Catholicism, yet not much changed on his large estates and he was even still supporting Brethren. 3 But Compactata has never been sanctioned by the Papacy, so it was complicated to remain in international social networks for Utraquists. It is therefore not surprising that many conversions to Catholicism had their roots in stays abroad. 4 Th e situation was quite diff erent for clergymen. Th e doctrinal issues played a much greater role in the life of priests than laymen. Th e priestly conversions were a matter of public concern and could cause serious political and religious disturbances. Th e converts oft en became bitter enemies of Utraquism and leading polemicists against their former faith. 5 Th e most prominent ex-amples of such converts from 15the century are Hilarius of Litoměřice and Václav Křižanovský. Another important but much less known convert from the beginning of the 16th century is Jiří Sovka of Chrudim. 6 In this article, I am not going to speculate much about the conversion itself. Th e conversion of a well-known and politically active priest such as Sovka was a very sensitive matter on both confessional and political levels, so the accounts of his conversion are relatively plentiful but polemically biased. Th erefore, the conversion narratives presented here can tell us a lot more about community standards of belief than about the individual experience of conversion. 7 Instead of focusing on the usual questions such as the character of conversion, its sincerity and motivation, I am going to focus on the perception of Sovka and the construction of the image of his conversion in various kinds of texts addressing the conversion or reacting to it.

Jiří Sovka of Chrudim on the way to conversion
Jiří Sovka was born in Chrudim, a dowry city that was not very big or important, but it was almost entirely Czech and confessionally Utraquist, because the German patriciate had been exiled at the beginning of the Hussite revolution. 8 Th e one thing worth considering about the city is its good school which has produced many talented students, many of them reached the education (and many even the most important offi ces) at Prague University. 9 Although we know very little about Sovka's before his entrance to the university, one thing is almost certain -he was Utraquist since his baptism.
Th e career of Jiří Sovka of Chrudim started with his studies at Prague University -he earned a bachelor degree in 1497 and master degree in 1499. 10 Later he held various university offi ces and his university career culminated 29 Literary Reaction to Conversion. The Case of Jiří Sovka of Chrudim in 1502 when Sovka was the dean of the artistic faculty. 11 In the Liber decanorum we can also fi nd fi rst traces of Sovka's interest in political activity, amongst other things, he wrote an extensive text criticising so-called Rendl's laws (Vladislav Land Ordinance / Vladislavské zemské zřízení), aimed against the political position of the royal towns. 12 Sovka's ambitions were not limited to the University and his interest in politics soon transformed into political activity. It is therefore not surprising that Sovka became closely associated with Italian bishop Fillip de Nova Villa who was invited to Bohemia to consecrate Utraquists. We can fi nd Sovka in the bishop's entourage soon aft er his arrival. According to the bishop's diarium, Sovka oft en assisted the bishop during ceremonies from August 1504 at least until September 1505. Sovka became one of the bishop's closest associates, he is even called archdeacon in the diarium. 13 Soon, a confl ict between the bishop and the Lower (Utraquist) consistory led by Pavel of Žatec emerged. Th e bishop's theologically conservative thinking caused friction with some of the more radical members of the Lower consistory; there were also administrative issues and criticism of the bishop's secular life. 14 Sovka remained loyal to the bishop during this confl ict and became part of the bishop's own consistory in Kutná Hora. 15 Th is suggests that Sovka's theological orientation was probably conservative in dogmatic matters and inclining to reunion with Rome.
Another important part of his life Sovka spent as the abbot of the Slovany (later called Emmaus) monastery. Th e monastery was founded by Charles IV. and since the beginning it adhered to Slavonic liturgy. 16 Th e history of the monastery in the 15th century is not very well documented. 17 19 Th e situation in Prague was even more complicated because there were several attempts to exile all monks from the city (on the basis of the privileges granted by Sigismund of Luxemburg). Despite that, the Slovany monastery continued without any interruption. 20 Another unusual thing is the close connection of the Slovany monastery to Prague's city council and Prague university; many professors and deans from the university became abbots and vice versa. 21 It seems that the Slovany monastery was a prestigious institution. 22 However the economic situation of the monastery was declining during the 15th century -by the end of the century the monastery was poor and able to sustain only a couple of monks. 23 Sovka became abbot at Slovany on 30th July 1507. Th e way he got the offi ce is interesting -Th e Old Czech Annales describe his election as "fast and unexpected" and king Vladislaus Jagiello intervened on his behalf. 24 It seems that conservatively oriented Sovka was a defender of the king's interests in Prague -as the abbot of the monastery he strictly rejected the idea of the unifi cation of Prague cities because "it is the matter of the king. " 25 It was also 18

Image of Sovka's conversion in historical memory
Th e Old Czech Annales provide many details about Sovka's life and conversion. Nevertheless, it is important to remember Th e Old Czech Annales are not an impartial narrative they have been written from the viewpoint of staunch Utraquism. It is possible to say that chronicles reconstructed, rather than described, Sovka's conversion. Th e accounts of Sovka's actions are built on the knowledge that he would eventually convert. Th erefore, Sovka's actions are presented as preparation for his conversion; it is doubtful whether they really toho počátek, že nevole a bouřky; pak kdyby se dokonala, co by potom bylo; i co vy jednáte; však vám to státi nebude moci, neb to jest věc královská; by pak i král svolil, spomeňte na císaře Karla, kterýž toto město zvelebil, kdybyšte to učinili, pykali byšte toho po létech i vaši budoucí. " SLČ, p. 239. 26 Vědecká knihovna Olomouc (now on VKOL), sign. M II 46, Annales seu protocollorum, pars secunda, p. 4, dates his election aft er the death of Jan Štávka of Hodenice, but wrongly to 1507, because Jan Štávka died in 1510 which is also the year of Sovka's conversion and arrival to Olomouc. 27 His election to the offi ce of provost was against the statuta and privileges of the monastery. Th e statuta have whole chapters devoted to accepting monks from other orders. Th ey should spend a couple of years in the cloister and prove their character -which Sovka clearly did not. Moreover, he was very quickly elected as the provost of the monastery. Tomek, V. V.: Dějepis, p. 306. On 10th March 1510 king Vladislaus granted protection to the monastery of All Saints in Olomouc and confi rmed their resettlement from Lanškroun; the king also confi rmed its lands and property and allowed a free election of the provost and granted the monastery same liberties as other Moravian monasteries. Moravský zemský archiv, fond Augustiniáni Olomouc, sign E 3. A 8. It is possible that the confi rmation was a part of the deal with the king and should confi rm that accepting Sovka as provost should not be taken as precedent and that older privileges are still valid. happened exactly in the described way. Nevertheless, the Old Czech Annales present an interesting narrative of Sovka's conversion. I have already briefl y mentioned two aff airs connected to Sovka covered in the Old Czech Annales -his election as abbot of the Slovany monastery and his preaching against the unifi cation of Prague Old and New City. His next preaching described in Th e Old Czech Annales was an uncontroversial denunciation of Picards. 30 Even though it went against tacit tolerance of the Brethren, it was entirely in accordance with the politics of king Vladislaus (who approved persecution of Brethren in the St. Jacob mandate). Sovka's emphasis on the veneration of the eucharist as Picard's greatest heresy was in line with the traditional Utraquist critique of the Brethren. Even the Old Annalist doesn't seem to be bothered by this sermon, nor is he trying to explain it in the light of Sovka's later conversion. Th e same applies to Sovka's preaching from 23rd January 1508. In this sermon, Sovka criticised tolerant ideas of Albrecht Rendl and controversial Christological opinions of Sigismund of Kamenice. 31 More interesting for our purpose is Sovka's preaching from the 26th August 1509: "Th e master Jiří Sovka, the abbot of Slovany monastery, said during his preaching that communion under both species is good, and communion under one is also good. Th e people on the way from his sermon were cursing, angry and reluctant to his words. Nothing good will come out of it!" 32 Th ere is no doubt that Annalist is describing the event with Sovka's later conversion in mind, as we can see from the prophetical sentence in the end of the report. Th e Annalist is convinced (to be more precise, is trying to convince his reader) that Sovka was already halfway in his apostasy. Nevertheless, if the "worst" thing that Sovka said was that communion sub una is also good, Sovka might have been still quite far from fully converting. Th e long period between the preaching "under one is also good" (26th August 1509) and the announcement of conversion (17th February 1510) puts the veracity of this account into doubt. If Sovka was already halfway into his conversion, we have to ask why 30  he waited so long to announce it and why he was allowed to remain the abbot of the Slovany monastery. Another question is how controversial the statement was for the citizens of Prague. Th e Utraquists were overall quite willing to accept the teaching of the Roman church that Christ is present under both species. It is even possible to condemn Sovka's conversion and have no problem with the Roman rite. 33 Th e laymen were generally much less interested in religious polemics and theological disputes than clergy and intellectuals; they were usually more tolerant or indiff erent to these issues. 34 On the other hand, Prague was in some ways more radical and proud of its Utraquist identity and had privileges that excluded Prague from religious modus vivendi applied elsewhere. 35 Nevertheless, such a strong reaction seems to be an overstatement. What Annalist presents as a reaction to a theological issue also might be a reaction to a diff erent topic mentioned in the preaching -Sovka oft en commented the political situation, and his opinions oft en were controversial. Whether true or not, the description of the Annalist is quite clear -on the one side, he presents Sovka's shady character, and on the other, there are honest and faithful citizens of Prague who disagree with him. Th e narrative presented in the Old Czech Annales could serve to cleanse Prague from the shameful conversion. By portraying the citizens of Prague as opposed to Sovka's preaching and stressing the king's infl uence on his election, Annalist is trying to reduce the shame of supporting Sovka before his conversion. Th at was important because Sovka was a prominent fi gure of the Prague University and Slovany monastery -institutions closely connected to Prague cities.
Th e last relation about Sovka in the Old Czech Annales deals directly with the announcement of the conversion. Th e act itself was deliberately staged as a public political proclamation -Sovka announced his conversion during his preaching on one of the important holidays -the Fast Sunday: "On the same Sunday [17th February 1510 -J. Č.], master Sovka preached in the Slovany monastery that he did not want to be with the side of both kinds, but that he wanted to obey the Pope because only there is salvation and nowhere else. He elected Martin of Vlašim from St. Stephan in his stead and personally introduced him; the burgomaster of New city of Prague, Martin Šturm, other lords and several prelates from the Castle were present. Th us, Sovka made a tumble and rejected what he had commended previously. And thus the owl [an allusion to the name Sovka -J. Č.] fl ew out of the cloister and the eagle-owl fl ew into the cloister. On Monday aft er the second Fast Sunday, master Sovka left Prague by the Vyšehrad gate. " 36 Th e act of the conversion had to be prepared in advance. Otherwise, it would be impossible to explain why the Catholic prelates from the Castle were present. Also, the presence of other important fi gures such as city councillors was part of the dramatic act of conversion. 37 Th e transfer of the Sovka's offi ce to Martin of Vlašim, a man very close to Sovka both personally and politically, in the presence of the burgomaster and councillors of the New Prague town suggests that the city council approved the transfer of the offi ce, or at least knew of the act in advance. Th e timing of the conversion is also interesting because it occurred soon aft er the departure of king Vladislaus, and it is possible that the king was engaged in the conversion. Sovka left the city aft er a week of packing and settling his possessions, and the reason for his departure seems to be to get his new offi ce in Olomouc rather than fl y away from Utraquist rage.
Th is is not the only historical account of the event. I will present two more reports from the chronicles that might serve as proof of the importance of the Sovka's conversion for historical memory. Th e example of presenting Sovka as an archetypical convert (proving that Sovka had already held an important place in the historical memory of Utraquists) is the treatment of the event in the chronicle by Bartoš the Scribe. Bartoš used Sovka as a precursor of the great convert of his times -Havel Cahera, who played a pivotal role during the religious upheaval of the 1520s. Bartoš looks back and reminds his readers of other famous converts: "Before XV years it was master Jíra Sovka of Chrudim, 36  former abbot of Slovany monastery in the New city of Prague; he was a great teacher and preacher and he had withheld the truth of the communion of Christ body and blood; later he started longing for the secular glory and went to Olomouc in Moravia amongst the Romans where he betrayed and denied all he had said before and taught against it. God pitied this wrongdoing and sent a quick and inglorious death to him. And, around this Havel, the wind is already blowing, as you will read later. What is in the future, only God knows, but various punishments are waiting for this kind of apostates. " 38 Th e polemical intention of the author is clear; Bartoš uses Sovka's story as a convenient polemical tool. For Bartoš the Scribe, Sovka is part of the line of great converts from the Utraquist faith: "Please, look to your ancestors: Hilarius, Křižanovský, Sovka and many others who wished the same things as you do. And what they have got from it and how have they ended, everybody knows very well. And you are going to end the same way, remember this well because you have risen against God and his truth as well as his faithful and chosen men. " 39 In Bartoš's chronicle, we can fi nd two prominent motives of the description of converts. First is the motivation for conversion -it is not because of arguments or change of heart, but for temporal glory, money or some other secular benefi ts. 40 Second is the quick, sudden and dishonest death of the convert that followed soon aft er the conversion and which is presented as 38  God's punishment for the act. Th us, the convert's death was conventionally described as an inversion of the good death. 41 Th e third account that I would like to mention is from the chronicle of Václav Hájek of Libočany. Hájek off ers us an entirely diff erent perspective because he himself converted from Utraquism to Catholicism. Secondly, he was writing quite a long time aft er the Sovka's conversion (his chronicle was published in 1541 by Jan Severin Jr.). It shows that the story of Sovka's conversion could retain its signifi cance even for the next generation. Hájek's account is unsurprisingly full of praise of Sovka's character, but it also refl ects his own experience with the bitter life of a convert: "On Monday aft er the second Fast Sunday, an honest man and preacher master Jiřík Sovka, who was learned above others, have departed from Prague to Olomouc and there, from the will of the king, he took the offi ce of provost of the monastery of All Saints in Olomouc suburb and became a rare preacher. Aft er his departure from Prague, many, who had listened to him and had praised him before, started to curse him because he joined the Christian ranks. " 42 However, the most interesting facts come to light when we compare all three accounts. Both Sovka's enemies and his defenders tend to agree on two interesting features of the story. Firstly, Sovka was an eloquent preacher who could raise a strong emotional response from the audience of his sermons. 43 Secondly, both his enemies and allies acknowledged that Sovka was a very learned man. It might seem self-evident since he was a leading fi gure at the Prague University, but it is important to remember that attacking the learning of opponents was one of the basic strategies in polemical discourse, so it is usually silently passed by or actively belittled. 44 41

Th e image of Sovka's conversion in the popular culture
A typical response to a conversion intended for the common people would be either part of the oral tradition or some kind of temporary print, so we have very limited options for surveying the image of the convert in the popular culture. Luckily the anonymous Song about Sovka (Píseň o Sovkovi) was written down and preserved to the present times. Due to the character of the text, it is not surprising that we do not know its author, but it is evident that it was composed by a learned Utraquist (probably a member of the Prague University). Th e versed song was intended for the common people and meant to transfer orally, but fortunately for us it was written down later on. 45 Th e main intention of the song is polemical and satirical; it tries to undermine any credibility that Sovka might have had before his conversion. Th erefore, the text is a very good example of various literary tropes used in religious polemics and depicting converts in popular culture.
Th e Song about Sovka begins with the presentation of his wicked family background. According to the Song, Sovka was a dishonest bastard from a disreputable family and his brother was criminal hanged for his crimes. 46 As we have already seen, the desire for temporal glory, offi ces and property is one of the most common strategies of describing the motivation of converts; it is not surprising that Sovka's portrayal in the song is constructed similarly: "For a lamb's skin piece, he rejected Christ's chalice. " 47 "He loves the prebend more then the truth of Christ's lore. Th ese are archetypical motives, but the Song about Sovka goes deeper and off ers a psychological explanation of Sovka's personality. According to the song, it was his family background that caused Sovka's desire for an improvement of his social status. 49 Th at is quite unusual for satirical texts. Usually, the desire for money is considered a self-evident trait of the convert and is simply assumed without need for any explanation.
Th e author of the song also oft en uses various wordplays with the name Sovka. It might seem like childish quibbling, but in polemical treatises every possibility to off end, discredit or ridicule the opponent is good enough for presenting the superiority of the position of the author. 50 Moreover, the motif of birds had been part of the polemical tradition in Bohemia since the times of Jan Hus. 51 Th e various wordplays with bird names were also accommodated in the well-known debate between Hilarious of Litoměřice and Václav Koranda jr. 52 Th e Song about Sovka accommodated it too, not only because the name Sovka was an easy target, but also to subsume Sovka's case to the line of the great Utraquist apostates. A nice metaphor is made by connecting the inclination of owls to nighttime with renouncing the light of the Utraquist truth. 53 Finally, the motive of the owl is used in one other way -the author turns upside down the motive of the owl as a symbol of wisdom. 54 49 "Sva pak, jsúc tak ponížená, / chtěla býti vždy vyzdvižena. " FRB VI, p. 371. 50  Th e inversion of values is not restricted to the symbol of the owl. Sovka is also depicted as the inverted image of a good priest. 55 Furthermore, we cannot omit the important motive of the seven deadly sins. 56 Th e explicitly mentioned are pride, 57 avarice, 58 drunkenness 59 and indecency. 60 Sovka is also compared to various shameful characters -Judas is the most obvious role model for traitors and apostates. 61 He is also compared to pagans and heretics (specifically Manicheist). 62 And Song about Sovka also hints that his departure from Prague was dishonest and secret: "Th erefore from Prague he fl ight in the middle of the night, in Germany found his nest, in Olomouc he took a rest. " 63 Th ese verses also address the nationalistic sentiment of the listeners, also quite common strategy in the polemical engagements in Bohemia. Another typical motive of God's punishment for apostasy is also present. In Sovka's case, the author does not speak about his death, so it seems possible that at the time of the composition of the song, Sovka was still alive. 64 Nevertheless, the author hints that Sovka's fate will not be diff erent from the fate of other converts, so Sovka should look forward to a quick and dishonest way of dying.
Even in the Song about Sovka, it is possible to fi nd a couple of motives that are not typical parts of the portrayal of converts. Firstly, the song's author is unwilling to fully denounce Sovka's learning. Instead, the author is trying to relativize it through formulations implying that he is not as wise as he thinks or that he is not even so learned as his predecessors. 65 Sovka is not ignorant, but he is using his knowledge wrongly and his learning is presented as a source of pride that led him to the conversion. Secondly, there is a presentation of a positive program besides expected polemical and satirical motives. Th e Song about Sovka reminds its readers (or rather listeners) of the main points of Utraquism. It presents references to popular authorities supporting communion sub utraque 66 or reminds them of ideological foundations of Utraquism such as the law of God 67 and the Basel Compactata. 68 It is proof that Utraquists have been using songs to propagate and communicate their ideas to the common people. Th e method that had proved useful during the Hussite revolution was still employed at the beginning of the 16th century. 69

Socratic dialogue as an antidote for apostasy
A letter with the so-called Bolognian dispute by Václav Písecký provides us with a unique opportunity to survey the impact of the conversion on the personal relationships of the convert. At fi rst glance, the Bolognian dispute does not look like a reaction to the Sovka conversion at all. Th e dialogue defends communion sub utraque and takes place in Bologna, a city without any connection to Sovka. However, the dialogue is only a part of the letter to Michal of Stráž and the clearly stated purpose of the letter is to drive away Michal doubts aroused by Sovka's actions. 70 Písecký's correspondence shows that Michal of Stráž was deeply troubled by Sovka's apostasy -Th e letter with the Bolognian dispute, written on 25th September 1510, was not the fi rst to address the problem. Václav Písecký had written an older letter with the same purpose, but the fi rst attempt was unsuccessful as he himself admits. 71 So he invested time, eff ort and valuable paper to rid Michal of Stráž of all his doubts once and for all: "In order to, so to speak, put a crown to the previous letter, even though that is far away from the things I am doing now. " 72 Th e reasons why this correspondence is available to us are fortuitousit was not so much the content of Písecký's letters that interested the next generations, but their formal outlook, especially his high humanist style of writing that was quite rare in Bohemia of that time. An important role in the preservation of the Písecký's writings was played by his mentor and friend Řehoř Hrubý of Jelení who translated the dialogue into Czech and inserted it into his manuscript anthology. 73 Hrubý also off ers a few interesting remarks about the context of the Bolognian dispute and Sovka's conversion. According to Hrubý, there was a rumour that Michal of Stráž was thinking about following Sovka's example and entering a monastery. 74 Hrubý also refers to a discussion he recently had with "one excellent and learned apostate. " 75 If this discussion really had happened, the mentioned apostate was almost certainly Sovka -both the description and time frame fi t. Moreover, the discussion is mentioned in one of Hrubý's paratextual comments to the Bolognian dispute. 76 In his writing, Václav Písecký presents a carefully constructed account of a dispute he had over Apologia Fratrum with one learned Dominican theologian during his studies in Bologna. Th e dialogue is clearly inspired by the form and method of Socratic dialogue, 77 which is interesting because Socratic dialogues were rarely used. 78 A possible explanation why Písecký used this unusual literary form could be an attempt to show that humanism might be used to defend Utraquism effi ciently. At least Písecký considered the dialogue the best way to drive away Michal's doubts caused by Sovka's conversion. And the same goes for Hrubý, who considers the Bolognian dispute the best apology of Utraquism he has ever read. 79 I have surveyed the arguments and formal aspects of the Bolognian dispute elsewhere; 80 here, it will suffi ce to mention the details that might have some connection to Sovka. It is important to note that the account of the dispute held in Bologna was, at least partially, artifi cially constructed. Even Hrubý emphasized that readers "should not think that the Monk was using exactly the same words as they were written down by our Master, he used his own words everywhere and his own ideas. Because that is the way how learned and wise men compose dialogues." 81 Nevertheless, more important is that Písecký is trying hard to present the disputation as a real event -for example, he devoted much space to describe the journey of Apologia Fratrum to Italy, including the names of all messengers from Bohemia and Písecký's strenuous eff ort to fi nd a way how to dispute about sub utraque without danger of being accused of heresy. Despite this detailed account, the name of the most important character is missing. Even Řehoř Hrubý, the translator of the letter, did not know the identity of the opponent and had to call him simply the Monk. It seems plausible that he did so as a reference to Sovka, who was also a monk and learned man. Another reference to Sovka might be Písecký's defi nition of the heretic. He is quoting Augustine's defi nition of heretic as someone who invents new things for his temporal benefi t. 82 Th at this is a reference to Sovka is highlighted by Řehoř Hrubý of Jelení, who added a simple marginal note to this passage: "Sovka thus and from these reasons have done. " 83 As we have already seen, the desire for temporal goods is one of the strongest motives used in the description of conversion.
Th e last question is why Michal was so disturbed and why Písecký devoted so much eff ort in refuting Sovka's case. Th e answer can be found in their shared intellectual background, the Prague University. Michal of Stráž was working very closely with Sovka. Aft er his election to the offi ce of dean in 1500, Michal of Stráž wrote the praising speech on Sovka in Liber decanorum. 84 We can fi nd many instances of both Sovka and Michal of Stráž holding various offi ces during their time at the University. For example, Michal served as a collector when Sovka was the dean, 85 Michal of Stráž was a collector and Sovka dispensator under Matthias of Pelhřimov in 1504. 86 Th eir relationship was much closer than just two alumni from the same university, and it seems plausible that they became friends during their time as colleagues. Moreover, their relationship did not end right aft er Sovka's conversion because both Písecký's letter and Hrubý's comments prove that Sovka was still in contact with Michal. Písecký was also close to Sovka; Sovka was dean when Václav Písecký get his bachelor's degree. 87 However, he does not seem to be aff ected by Sovka whatsoever -he clearly rejected Sovka's apostasy immediately aft er he had found out about the conversion. 88 6 An uncommon reaction to common conversion?
As a fi nal thought, I would like to off er some possible answers to the question why Sovka aroused such response while many other converts were silently passed by. Several factors make Sovka's position unique. Firstly, it is his role as the abbot of Slovany monastery, a place with historical signifi cance to Utraquism and closely connected to both Prague cities and the University. Th e second factor might be various political engagements of Sovka -his support of the Italian bishop and critique of the unifi cation of Prague cities made him an exponent of the king's infl uence in Prague. Sovka can be viewed as an internal enemy on both theological (his conservative views and support of the Italian bishop) and political (his sermons against Rendl and unifi cation of Prague cities) levels. Sovka's case might also be infl uenced by the intensifi cation of the negotiations with the Papacy about the Basel Compactata; if prominent fi gures such as Sovka could convert to Rome, it might cause doubts about the usefulness of the Basel Compactata and the whole religious modus vivendi in Bohemian lands. 89 Th irdly, the reaction might be amplifi ed by his skill as a preacher; we know that his sermons were controversial and oft en aroused emotional responses. Th erefore it is not surprising that the reaction to his apostasy was also very loud.
Th e last factor, and according to my opinion the most important one, is his close affi liation with Prague University. Th e university was the main source of utraquist ideology and the only place of education for Utraquists (if we omit a few exceptions that could study abroad and conceal their religious identity as Václav Písecký). Th e fact that the heart of Utraquism was corrupted by apostasy was a great blow for utraquist intelligence. It caused various personal responses -it could cause doubts (Michal of Stráž) or trigger eff orts of individual scholars close to Sovka to clear their name (Písecký and Hrubý). Also, the institution of Prague university itself needed to clear its reputation. 90 And since the university scholars were trained in various polemical engagements, they were more than able to provide various kinds of denunciations of Sovka's actions. Obviously, many factors were at play, each with diff erent importance for diff erent people.
Sovka's case also off ers a unique insight into the impact that conversion of a prominent church fi gure could have on both societal and personal level. Nevertheless, the image of his conversion was quite conventional. Sovka's motives were downplayed as a mere desire for money and glory; his character was subjected to various kinds of polemical attacks, most of them part of the topical image of the convert. Even though the image of the conversion was quite common, what makes this particular case special is its endurance and variety of reactions to it. Sovka's conversion aroused vivid and long-term responses; 89 For context of the negotiationes see Halama, Ota: Utrakvistická konfese z roku 1513. Studia historica Brunensia, 62, 2015, n. 1, pp. 373-387. 90 I can present one interesting instance of exactly this type of cleansing of the historical memoryit is a note inserted in the Liber decanorum I/2, p. 191 to the period of the Sovka's offi ce as the dean, a later hand has written down a note to his name saying "impious Sovka, post apostate".
we are able to survey only small traces preserved in various sources. One thing is clear, the case of Jiří Sovka of Chrudim served as a pivotal example of conversion in Bohemia at the beginning of the 16th century.

Resumé
Literary Reaction to Conversion.

The Case of Jiří Sovka of Chrudim
Th e religious conversions were nothing extraordinary in the Bohemia of the Jagellonian era, but conversions of priests could cause a serious religious disturbance. An important but little-known case from the beginning of the 16th century is that of Jiří Sovka of Chrudim. His case was a sensitive matter for Utraquists, so the descriptions of his conversion are plentiful but biased. In the article, I am trying to survey the construction of the image of Sovka's conversion and its use in various kinds of texts. Th e conversion narratives presented here can tell us more about community standards of belief than about the individual conversion experience. Sovka was perceived as a part of the line of the great converts from Utraquism and was used as a warning example for Utraquists. Th e chronicles used Sovka as an example of the convert, the Song about Sovka tried to destroy Sovka's credibility amongst the common people and Písecký tried to repudiate personal doubts about faith caused by Sovka with Socratic dialogue. Th e image of Sovka's conversion was quite conventional. His motives were downplayed as a mere desire for money and glory and his character was subjected to polemical attacks, most of them part of the topical image of conversion. However, Sovka's image diff ered in two important aspects -to a certain level, all texts acknowledge Sovka's learning and/or his skills as a preacher, probably due to his close connection to Prague university.