Jan Hus, sometimes anglicized as John Hus or John Huss, and referred to in historical texts as Iohannes Hus or Johannes Huss, was a Czech theologian and philosopher who became a Church reformer and the inspiration of Hussitism, a key predecessor to Protestantism, and a seminal figure in the Bohemian Reformation. Hus is considered to be the first Church reformer, even though some designate the theorist John Wycliffe. His teachings had a strong influence, most immediately in the approval of a reformed Bohemian religious denomination and, over a century later, on Martin Luther.
Woodcut of Jan Hus, c. 1587
German or Austrian 16th Century. John Huss Centenary Medal [reverse] . Silver, 4.33 cm. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Samuel H. Kress Collection
Jan Hus preaching, illumination from a Czech manuscript, 1490s
Jan Hus at the Council of Constance. 19th-century painting by Karl Friedrich Lessing
The Czechs, or the Czech people, are a West Slavic ethnic group and a nation native to the Czech Republic in Central Europe, who share a common ancestry, culture, history, and the Czech language.
Czech traditional costumes
Bedřich Smetana Among his Friends, 1865; oil painting by František Dvořák
The Slav Epic by Alfons Mucha
St. John of Nepomuk (Jan Nepomucký)