Jan Hus

About Jan Hus

Overview

Jan Hus is a 1954 Czechoslovak film about Jan Hus, an early Christian reformer. It is the first part of the "Hussite Revolutionary Trilogy", one of the most famous works of Otakar Vávra, completed with Jan Žižka (1955) and ''Against All (1956). Plot The opening part is set in 1412. It portrays the suffering of the poor working on the Týn Temple in Prague. It shows their struggles with rich townspeople and stingy church dignitaries collecting indulgences. Publicly criticizing the Catholic Church, Jan Hus opposes the sale of indulgences in his sermons in the Bethlehem Chapel. In addition to crowds of poor Praguers, his services are attended by Queen Žofia, who defends Hus before King Wenceslas. The ailing king, who is being pressured by the Pope and his brother Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund because of Hus's sermons, prefers to have fun rather than politics and worries. The bull of Pope John XXIII. arrives in Prague. It is about further collection of indulgences. Spontaneous looting of churches and expulsion of Catholic priests occurs among the poor as a result. The city council has the soldiers intervene against the poor and puts three of their leaders, among whom is the stonemason Martin, in jail. Jan Hus intercedes for these three young men, who are condemned to death by the councilors, and even negotiates their release. However, the councilors do not honor this agreement and all three captives are executed. The Betrayed Hus marks them as the first martyrs of the coming storm. Pope John XXIII. places curse on Hus afterwards. Hus therefore leaves Prague and goes to the countryside, where he continues to stir up the poor subjects against their lord. After further pressure from the Pope and the Emperor, when both even threatened to declare a crusade, Jan Hus finally acceded to their call and went to Constance, where a church council was convened. Hus, accompanied on the way by Jan from Chlum and Václav from Dubá, arrives in the city on the shores of Lake Constance without any problems. Upon arrival, however, he is immediately arrested under the pretext of a conversation with the cardinals, which arouses the indignation of the Czech people and nobility, who send a letter of complaint to King Sigismund. He guarantees the arrested master a hearing before the council.

From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Notable quotes

“God is my witness that I have never taught or preached that which false witnesses have testified against me. He knows that the great object of all my preaching and writing was to convert men from sin. In the truth of that gospel which hitherto I have written, taught and preached, I now joyfully die.”
— Jan Hus (1415); quoted in: Encyclopaedia Britannica: A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and General Literature, Volume 12, 1891, p. 401
“Melius est bene mori, quam male vivere (...) qui mortem metuit, amittit gaudia vitae; super omnia vincit veritas, vincit, qui occiditur, quia nulla ei nocet adversitas, si nulla ei dominatur iniquitas.”
— It is better to die well, than to live wrongly (...) who is afraid of death loses the joy of life; truth prevails all, prevails who is killed, because no adversity can harm him, who is not dominated by injustice.
“The people from Prague and other Czechs should be whipped who speak half Czech and half German (...) And who could enumerate how the Czech language has already been corrupted, so that the true Czech hears they speak, but he does not understand them. And from that arises envy, anger, conflict, strife and Czech humiliation.”
— pp. 190-191.
“Even a most evil man is better than the devil!”
— pp. 201-202; Jan Hus in Booklet against the Cook-priest in response to the rival priest who swore that Hus is worse than any devil.
“If I knew a foreigner from anywhere in his virtue who would love God and would be interested in the good more than my own brother, he would be dearer to me than my brother. And hence I prefer good English priests over timid Czech priests and good German over an evil brother.”
— p. 225.
“The only law that a Christian should listen to and read is the law of God's Commandments. And it is not right to comply with, implement or observe any other law.”
— p. 231.

Quotes via Wikiquote (CC BY-SA), each with its original source.