Jan Hus was born in the early 1370s in Husinec, Bohemia. Much of his early life and family is generally unknown. At the age of 10, he was sent to a monastery and then moved to Prague, where he was later admitted to study at the University of Prague. After receiving his degree in 1393, Hus began teaching at the University of Prague in 1398. In 1400 he became a Catholic priest and in 1402 he was made rector of the University of Prague.

Jan Hus preaching, illumination from a Czech manuscript, 1490s

Many of Hus’s views on the Catholic church were anti-clerical, which were influenced by the works of John Wycliffe, whom he defended the propositions of in 1399. Hus’s criticisms of the church centered around its corruption. He saw the churchmen as greedy, participating in simony and the purchase of church offices. Hus wished to return to a time of communal equality among the laymen and the clergy, something he believed was showcased in the New Testament. He maintained that the Bible itself should be the authority, not the church leaders. Hus also believed in concepts such as predetermination and grace, ideas that John Wycliffe also supported, and which undermined the papacy's authority. Furthermore, Hus wanted the clergy and laymen to participate in both the body and blood of Christ in communion, as historically only the clergy were allowed to drink the wine during mass. Despite all his criticisms and dislike for the church hierarchy, Hus did not wish to break from the Catholic Church but instead hoped to reform it from within. However, the church saw his beliefs and actions as borderline, if not, heretical.

In 1408, a religious debacle known as the Western Schism was underway, in which Gregory XII and Benedict XIII each claimed to be pope. This chaotic period of church power struggle led to the Council of Pisa in 1409 in an attempt to end the conflict by electing Alexander V as pope. However, the other two popes refused to back down, resulting in three popes. Wenceslaus IV, who was then King of Bohemia and King of the Romans, sided with Alexander V. In doing so, Alexander V, who did not like Wycliffe’s teachings, issued a papal bull to burn all of the books related to Wycliffe and consequently got Jan Hus and his adherent excommunicated. Hus continued to preach his beliefs and messages of reform, as well as speak out against the church’s actions, such as Pope John XXIII, Alexander V’s successor, using indulgences to fund a crusade against King Ladislaus of Naples, who was protecting Pope Gregory XII. Excommunicated again in 1412, Hus went into exile in the countryside under the protection of the reforming Bohemian nobles. During this time he wrote many books, such as the De Ecclesia in 1413. Those who followed Hus’s teachings rallied behind him and religious reformation was on the move in the Czech lands.

Eventually, everything would come to a head. In 1414, Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund called for the Council of Constance to put an end to the Western Schism. As a part of this Council, Sigismund also intended to finally resolve the case of the Czech heresy and Hus, whom he invited to the Council under a guarantee of safe conduct. Unfortunately for Hus, whether he was aware or not, his arrival at the Council of Constance would plant the seeds that would change the history of both Catholicism and the Holy Roman Empire.

Written by James Travis

Sources:

Monroe, Will S. Bohemia and the Cechs: The History, People, Institutions, and the Geography of the Kingdom, Together with Accounts of Moravia and Silesia. Boston, MA: L. C. Page and Company, 1910 (Reprint by Forgotten Books, 2012).

Mortimer, Geoff. The Origins of the Thirty Years War and the Revolt in Bohemia, 1618. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015.

Panek, Jaroslav and Oldrich Tuma. A History of Czech Lands. 2 ed. Prague, Czech Republic: Charles University Karolinum Press, 2023.

Randy, Martin. The Middle Kingdoms: A New History of Central Europe. New York, NY: Basic Books, 2023.