John Hus, the martyr of Bohemia : a study of the dawn of Protestantism

Foreword

MANY volumes have been written on the life and times of John Hus. They deal with various phases of the activity of the Bohemian Reformer and the conditions of his day. Not a few of them are exhaustive treatises that have brought to light a mass of valuable detail found in a variety of documentary sources. They give more clear and distinct outline to the person of John Hus and make possible a more just estimate of his activity. All Hus literature is invested with new interest, in view of the five hundredth anniversary of the martyr death of this reformer on July 6, 1415. Arrangements are being very generally made to signalize that occasion with worthy observance. Hence, the call for a book that, written concisely and in popular style, will give the general reader or the member of study class or group a clear conception of the life and ministry of Hus and the great issues with which his life-work was bound up.

In these pages the attempt is made to sketch briefly the life, character and work of the Martyr of Bohemia, as these appear to be related to the significant ideas and tendencies of his day. I have endeavoured to write with historical accuracy, yet without suppressing judgment of the facts presented concerning the careers and proceedings of the characters and councils that are passed in review. In working out the narrative on this plan, I have consulted all the best known authorities on the subject as well as various volumes dealing with conditions and events connected with the subject. Most useful among

6 FOREWORD

the authorities studied have been the following; *'Gesehichte von Bohmen,'' F. Palacky ; ^^ The Life and Times of John Hus," E. H. Gillett ; *^The Life and Times of Master John Hus," Count Liitzow ; " Bohemia," Count Liitzow ; *'The Letters of John Hus," Herbert E. Workman and A. Martin Pope; '' Heroes of Bohemia," John W. Mears ; " History of the XJnitas Fratrum," Edmund de Schweinitz j '* A History of the Moravian Church," J. E. Hutton.

I am indebted to the Rev. A. D. Thaeler, of Bethlehem, Penna., for collecting and arranging the illustrations, to the Rev. John S. Romig, of Philadelphia, for furnishing several of the photographs used, and to both gentlemen for helpful suggestions. The task of preparing this volume has been a labour of love. If to the view of readers the figure of Hus shall appear more distinctly in the perspective of history, if the moral wealth of the Church of all ages shall be better appreciated and the debt of later workers to an earlier labourer on the rising temple of God more fairly recognized, the effort will be amply rewarded.

W. N. SCHWAEZE.

Bethlehem^ Pa,

Contents

I. The Home and Times of John Hus . . 1 1

II. The Youth and Early Work of Hus . 27

III. The Period of Strife : Hus and the