View source for Lollard

The '''Lollards''' were the English followers of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wyclif John Wyclif].  They were a partially [[religious]] and partially [[nationalist]] pre-1517 [[reformation]] movement.  They are very closely related to the [[Hussite]]s of [[Bohemia]] and [[Moravia]] -- [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Hus Jan Hus] was heavily influenced by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wyclif John Wyclif].

Although [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wyclif John Wyclif] was one of the very early pre-1517 [[protestant]]s, I don't rate the '''Lollard''' movement as significant as the [[Hussite]] one -- in essence the '''Lollards''', after receiving initial support from noblemen such as [[John of Gaunt]] became isolated within their own country, whereas the [[Hussite]]s genuinely wreaked havoc to the point where they pretty much gained control of the entire of [[Bohemia]].

Many '''Lollards''' were [[burned at the stake]] as [[heretic]]s including [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Badby John Badby] in 1410 and Thomas Harding as late as 1532.

== References ==

* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lollard Lollardy at wikipedia]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wyclif John Wyclif]

== Your [[SCA]] [[Persona]] is a Lollard ==

* You live in [[England]], most probably during the early [[15th century]] or possibly later in the [[15th century]] or early [[16th century]].  By the mid [[16th century]] you had switched to more "orthodox" forms of [[protestant]]ism.
* You are probably very [[religious]].  You are familiar with the [[Bible]] but may not know a great deal about other [[religious]] writings such as the works of the [[scholastics]].
* You probably live in the countryside, rather than the city.
* You were most probably a commoner.  Although there were some nobles who spoke favourably of the '''Lollard''' movement in its early days, it became far too critical of the upper nobility as well as the clergy to gain universal class support.
* You are a [[nationalist]] and believe that [[England]] should have its own [[Church]] and not be governed from [[Rome]].  You want your [[clergy]] to speak [[English]] and not [[Latin]] so you can understand them (you may or may not speak [[Latin]]).
* You may or may not be well educated.  The leaders of the movement were probably well educated.  The common folk amongst the movement were not.
* You eschew the trappings of wealth, especially amongst the [[clergy]].  You probably dress modestly and expect those around you to do the same.
* You may or may not be [[literate]].
* You have some good friends in [[Bohemia]] who came to visit last summer but were dreadfully hard to understand as you didn't speak their [[language]].  They did leave you several large pots of sauerkraut however, which you're still wondering what to do with, and brought with them an enormous supply of [[beer]].