Jan Hus

Jan Hus (1369 Husinec, Southern Bohemia – July 6, 1415 Constance) was a religious thinker and reformer. He initiated a religious movement based on the ideas of John Wyclif. His followers became known as Hussites. The Catholic Church did not condone such uprisings, and Hus was excommunicated in 1411, condemned by the Council of Constance, and burned at the stake.

Influence of Wyclif in Bohemia

Following the marriage of King Wenceslaus' sister, Anne, to Richard II of England in 1382, the philosophical writings of Wyclif became known in Bohemia. As a student, Hus had been greatly attracted by them, particularly by his philosophical realism. His inclination toward ecclesiastical reforms was awakened only by the acquaintance with Wyclif's theological writings. The so-called Hussism in the first decades of the fifteenth century was nothing but Wyclifism transplanted into Bohemian soil. As such, it maintained itself

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until the death of Hus, then turned into Utraquism, and was followed by Taboritism.

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The theological writings of Wyclif spread widely in Bohemia. They had been brought over, as is said, in 1401 or 1402 by Jerome of Prague, and Hus was greatly moved by them. The university arose against the spread of the new doctrines, and in 1403 prohibited a disputation on forty-five theses taken in part from Wyclif. Under Archbishop Zbyn?k Zajíc (from 1403), Hus initially enjoyed a great reputation. In 1405 he was active as a synodical preacher, but the bishop was compelled to depose him on account of his severe attacks upon the clergy.

Related Topics:
1401 - 1402 - Jerome of Prague - University - Doctrine - 1403 - Archbishop - Zbyn?k Zajíc - 1405 - Clergy

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