Hussite

Jan Hus being burned at the stake

A Hussite is a follower of the Bohemian preacher Jan Hus. Jan Hus was in turn a follower of the English professor John Wyclif.

The Hussites were an extreme (for their time) religious sect. They rejected papal authority and appointed their own priests and bishops. They rejected standards of the Catholic Church such as celibacy of priests, etc. They agreed with the Lollards (and Wyclif) about using only the Bible as a source for their doctrine.

The Hussites were probably the most important pre-1517 reformation movement, from a European point of view.

The Hussites were denounced as Heretics by the Catholic Church, however by 1420 (the first defenestration of Prague) there were too many of them for them all to be burned at the stake. Various wars were fought against the Hussites between 1420 and 1620 in attempts to eradicate them or convert them back to Catholicism.

Your SCA Persona is a Hussite

• You live in Bohemia or Moravia, most probably during the early 15th century or possibly later in the 15th century or 16th century.
• 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 could be from any social class. Although the bulk of the Hussite army was formed of peasants and it was often referred to as a peasant movement, there were leaders of the upper and middle social classes in the movement as well. The movement, like the lollards was partly religious and partly nationalist.
• 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 prefer your marshmallows raw rather than toasted, and have an aversion to open flames. See above.

External Links

References

• Hussites at wikipedia
• Jan Hus
• John Wyclif
• Lollard
• This picture inset at top right, from a period source, shows Jan Hus being burned at the stake.