Hereze v listech rané Jednoty bratrské

The study depicts heresy as a type of social deviance in letters of Akty Jednoty bratrské, published in a two-volume collection by Jaroslav Bidlo in the first half of the 20th century. As a popular tool to discredit an opponent, heresy plays a vital role in religious polemics in the 15th century. The brethren – members of a new "sect" – face this aspersion in countless texts. Authors of the chosen letters carefully build and adapt their image in front of their adversaries as well as the society as a whole. They have to defend themselves against verbal attacks and accusations and, first of all, to justify their radical religious approach. Except for texts by the Unity of the Brethren, the study also deals with letters by their Utraquist opponents, such as Prague university masters or the archbishop Jan Rokycana. Hand in hand with the literary analysis, the approaches of sociolinguistics and pragmatics reveal the basic communication strategies of the brethren; using the Scripture, the authors try to back up their approach to faith, while they are forced to reflect the plain reality, attempting to ensure their own safe existence without persecution. As a result, the approach demonstrates an interesting (yet understandable) duality, mingling theological issues with the prosaic reality of the very end of the Czech Middle Ages.