Jan Hus Characters

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c. 1370 - 6 July 1415
Jan Hus was a priest, thinker and one of the most important Czech and European religious reformers and preachers. His works, inspired by the theological writings of John Wycliffe, was key to understanding the essence of the Church Reformation

As of 1398 he taught and spread his views at Prague University and from 1402 he preached at the Bethlehem Chapel in Prague. From there he initiated discussion among the broad classes of burghers on current religious and secular issues. For his strong, but very popular, criticism of conditions in the Church, he was eventually excommunicated by the Pope in 1412 and had to take refuge in the countryside.

At the Council of Constance, where he was invited by Emperor Sigismund to defend his views, he was condemned and burned as a heretic. His legacy, however, sparked a strong uprising in the Czech lands against the existing order. This began a period known as the Husitte Wars (1420-1434).

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