Letters of John Huss Written During His Exile and Imprisonment

The correspondence of the Czech theologian John Hus shed light into the religious and political upheavals of his time, as Bohemian church reformers and traditionalists vied for influence.

Hus sought to change the church’s principles, opposing a number of Catholic opinions on topics such as the Eucharist and ecclesiology. A gifted and eloquent philosopher, his explanations roused the spirits of both nobles and the larger population alike. Those in favor of Hus’s ideas were termed Hussites; this group believed in their reforms, which they considered to better reflect Christian values for the Bohemians. Yet the Catholic Church rejected the ideas, setting the stage for lengthy, protracted and violent conflict between Rome and the Bohemian authorities.

The letters herein reveal Hus’s thinking in detail. We learn how he arrived at his conclusions for theology, through his explanatory writing to church officials both locally in Bohemia and abroad. Hus encouraged his followers, asking them to preach under the influence of God’s divine will, rather than that of the existing church hierarchy. Some letters address villages or towns who were either curious toward, supportive or opposed to the reforms Hus espoused. Notes appended to each letter clarify references, that the history and complexities of the time be understood.