These conflicts were mostly political in nature, however, and as a rule, the position of the Catholic Church was unchallenged in the Empire until the end of the Middle Ages. The emergence of first the [[Hussite movement]] in [[Bohemia]] the beginning of the 15th century and especially the [[Protestantism|Protestant]] reformers a century later, however, challenged the religious unity of the Empire and gave rise to serious conflicts such as the Thirty Years' War. | These conflicts were mostly political in nature, however, and as a rule, the position of the Catholic Church was unchallenged in the Empire until the end of the Middle Ages. The emergence of first the [[Hussite movement]] in [[Bohemia]] the beginning of the 15th century and especially the [[Protestantism|Protestant]] reformers a century later, however, challenged the religious unity of the Empire and gave rise to serious conflicts such as the Thirty Years' War. |