John Huss Jan Hus Czech Protestant Reformer PC Bohemia Luther Council Constance

Description: This post card shows an appeal by those sympathetic to Hus's views and assertions. The look on the Cardinal's face says it all - Hus would meet his maker and the church would attempt to crush his ideas as well. Titled: The last way of M. J. Huss. This is a post card from a valuable historical series, illustrating the trial and execution of Jan Hus, one of the earliest reformers of the Catholic Church. One hundred years before Luther, Jan Hus began preaching against the excesses of the church and for the supremacy of the written word. Among many issues, he asserted the right of the common people to partaking in wine during communion and that everyone should be able to read the word in their language. The promise of safe conduct to a council of the church was broken by the Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund (Brother of then Bohemian King Wenceslas) and Hus was branded a heretic and burned at the stake in Constance in 1415. His ideas however could not be extinguished. Events eventually boiled over and resulted within a decade in war between the Hussites and the Catholic forces of Europe led by Sigismund. The Hussites under the leadership of a minor noble Jan Zizka defeated all the armies that amassed against them only to succumb to internal strife. They did however get what they wanted and the Basel Compacts gave Bohemia a level of religious freedom and tolerance not seen anywhere in Europe. This relative independence was eventually crushed by Catholic forces at the Battle of White Mountain in 1620 from which Bohemia never recovered. The Hussite Reformation gave impetus to the German Reformation where Luther himself stated that 'we are all Hussites.' Today, you can go to the city of Konstanz and see the council building where much of this took place as well as the Huss House where Hus spent much of his time while in the city. You can also visit the stone in town that marks the approximate spot where Hus was burned at the stake. It is surrounded by large apartment buildings and parking spaces. There are a few for sale - most of the cards have some corner rubbing and some have a small ding to the upper left corner. I will pick out the best ones that I have. This post card is original and is from the early 1900's, most likely from before WWII. It is unused and in excellent condition. The reverse has a logo and "Minerva Prague" written on the back. This is one post card from a series that shows the key scenes from Hus' months in Constance, where he was mostly in prison and suffering a variety of indignities. At the time of this writing, the other post cards from the series are available in my eBay store.

Price: 9.99 USD

Location: Tigerville, South Carolina

End Time: 2024-12-12T13:31:40.000Z

Shipping Cost: 2.99 USD