Middle Ages · Question
What reform-minded movement in Bohemia is linked to Jan Hus?
Answer
Hussites
The story behind the answer
Jan Hus’s followers in Bohemia organized a reform movement calling for vernacular preaching, moral reform of the clergy, and—crucially—Communion in both kinds (bread and wine) for the laity (Utraquism). Their cause ignited the Hussite Wars (1419–1434) and pressured the Council of Basel into negotiating the Compacts of Basel, an early concession to reform ideas.
By contrast, the Lollards were English followers of John Wycliffe; the Waldensians stemmed from Peter Waldo in the 12th century; and the Bohemian Brethren formed later out of moderate Utraquist circles (the Unitas Fratrum), eventually influencing the Moravian Church.