A Companion to Jan Hus includes eleven substantial essays covering the central aspects of the life, thought and commemoration of Jan Hus († 1415), Czech theologian, reformer and martyr. Besides older experienced specialists in the Hussite studies, also younger researchers who enter the scientific discourse with new approaches participated in the volume. Experts and students alike will profit from this guide to Jan Hus, who was well known as follower of John Wyclif and forerunner of Martin Luther. Burning of Jan Hus at the stake at the Council of Constance gave rise in Bohemia to religious and social revolt that ushered the European reformations of the 16th century.

This volume offers an account of the life, work, thought and commeration of Jan Hus, an important Czech theologian, reformer and martyr.

Jan Hus was a late medieval Czech university master and popular preacher who was condemned at the Council of Constance and burned at the stake as a heretic in 1415. Thanks to his contemporary influence and his posthumous fame in the Hussite movement and beyond, Hus has become one of the best known figures of the Czech past and one of the most prominent reformers of medieval Europe as a whole. This definitive biography now available in English opposes the view of Hus that saw his importance primarily as a martyr, subsequently invoked by a variety of religious, national, and political groups eager to appropriate his legacy. Looking for Hus’s significance in his own time, this treatment tells a story of a late medieval intellectual who—through his dedicated pursuit of what he understood as his mission—generated conflict and eventually brought execution upon himself. By investigating the life and death of Jan Hus, one learns not only about the man, but about the church, state, and society in late medieval Europe. The story told in this book is original in structure and purpose. Each chapter takes a major event in Hus’s life as a starting point for a broader discussion of crucial problems connected to his career and the controversies he generated. How did these specific events contribute to Hus’s own convictions? By suggesting parallels to and departures from other late medieval figures and events in Europe, the book liberates Hus from a narrow and nationalist Czech historiography and places him squarely in a broader European context, showing a significance that transcended Czech borders. From a number of different vantage points, it raises a central question critical to understanding the later Middle Ages: why was a sincere ecclesiastical reformer condemned by a church council committed to reform itself?

This study is a reconsideration of Jan Hus, a late medieval Bohemian priest who was burned at the stake six hundred years ago. His death sparked a social revolution. This book considers his role as a priest and reformer in Prague, his martyrdom in Germany, and his legacy. It attempts to provide an evaluation of Hus in the context of the medieval world, especially by engaging in alternative perspectives of his life and work. The core themes and arguments are revisionist. These include seeing Hus properly as a heretic, exploring Hus as a medieval man interested in more than preaching, religious practice, and reform. The book sets out to challenge traditional assumptions and seeks less to contribute to monument-building than to challenge the prevailing views about Hus and the interpretation of his life and thought. A conscious effort has been undertaken to explore the historical relevancy of Hus and to assess his contemporary significance. The book also places Hus into a comparative context with the Reformation of the sixteenth century.

The European Reformation of the sixteenth century was one of the most formative periods in the history of Christian thought and remains one of the most fascinating events in Western history. The Cambridge Companion to Reformation Theology provides a comprehensive guide to the theology and theologians of the Reformation period. Each of the eighteen chapters is written by a leading authority in the field and provides an up-to-date account and analysis of the thought associated with a particular figure or movement. There are chapters focusing on lesser reformers such as Martin Bucer, and on the Catholic and Radical Reformations, as well as the major Protestant reformers. A detailed bibliography and comprehensive index allows comparison of the treatment of specific themes by different figures. This authoritative and accessible guide will appeal to students of history and literature as well as specialist theologians.