Biographies
An Index of Notable Authors
John Huss
c. 1369-1415a.k.a. Jan Hus, was a Czechoslavakian religious thinker, philosopher, reformer, and master at Charles University in Prague. His followers became known as Hussites. The Roman Catholic Church regarded his teachings heretical, and Hus was excommunicated in 1411, condemned by the Council of Constance, and burned at the stake. Hus was a key contributor to the Protestant movement whose teachings had a strong influence on the states of Europe and on Martin Luther himself. The Hussite Wars resulted in the Basel Compacts which allowed for a reformed church in the Kingdom of Bohemia - almost a century before such developments would take place in the Lutheran Reformation. Hus' extensive writings earn him a prominent place in Czech literary history. He is also responsible for introducing the use of diacritics (especially the hek) into Czech spelling in order to represent each sound by a single symbol. Today, a statue of Jan Hus can be seen at the Prague Old Town Square. Jan Hus Day on July 6, the anniversary of the execution of Jan Hus, is one of the public holidays in the Czech Republic.
