taken away all her ornaments and priuilegies from hym. Now there resteth nothing else, but that he be deliuered ouer vnto the secular power. But before they did that, there yet remained another knacke of reproch. For they caused to be made a certaine crowne of paper, almost a cubite deepe, in the which were painted three deuils of wonderfull ougly shape, and this title set ouer their heads, Heresiarcha. The which when he saw, he sayde: MarginaliaThe marueilous constancie and courage of the blessed martyr.My Lord Iesus Christ for my sake did weare a crowne of thorne: why should not I then for his sake againe weare thys light crowne, be it neuer so ignominious? Truly I will do it, and that willingly. When it was set vpon his head,MarginaliaThe paper with the inscription set vpon Husses head. the Bishops saide: now we commit thy soule vnto the deuill. But I, sayde Iohn Husse (lifting his eies vp towardes the heauens) doo commit my spirite into thy handes: O Lord Iesu Christ, vnto thee I commend my spirit which thou hast redeemed. These contumelious opprobries thus ended, the Bishops turning themselues towards the Emperour, said: This most sacred Synode of Constance, leaueth now Iohn Husse, which hath no more any office, or to do in the Church of God, vnto the ciuill iudgement and power. Then the Emperour commaunded Lodouicus Duke of Bauaria, which stoode before him in his robes, holding the golden apple with the crosse in his hande, that he should receiue Iohn Husse of the Byshops, and deliuer him vnto them which should do the execution. By whome, as hee was led to the place of execution, before the Church doores hee sawe his bookes burning, whereat hee smiled and laughed. And all men that he passed by, he exhorted, MarginaliaThe protestation of Iohn Hus as he was ledde to the place of execution.not to thinke that he should dye for any errour or heresie, but only for the hatred and ill will of his aduersaries, which had charged him wyth most false and vniust crime. All the whole Citie in a maner being in armour, followed him.

The place appointed for the execution, was before the gate Gotlebian, betweene the gardens and the gates of the suburbs. When as Iohn Husse was come thether, kneeling downe vpon his knees, and lifting his eies vp vnto heauen, he praied, and saide certaine Psalmes, and specially the 50. and 31. Psalmes. And they which stoodeby, heard him oftentimes in his praier, with a merrie and chearefull countenance repeate this verse: Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit, &c. Which thing when the lay people beheld which stood next vnto him, they said: what he hath done afore, wee knowe not, but now wee see and heare that hee doth speake and pray very deuoutely and godly.MarginaliaThe prayers of I. Hus well liked of the people. Othersome wished that he had a Confessor. There was a certaine Priest by, sitting on horsebacke in a greene gowne drawne about with red silke, which said, he ought not to be heard, because he is an hereticke. Yet notwithstanding whilest he was in prison, he was both confessed, and also absolued by a certaine Doctour, a Monke, MarginaliaEx epist. Ioan. Hus. 31.as Hus himselfe doth witnes in a certaine Epistle which he wrote vnto his frendes out of prison. Thus Christ raigneth vnknowne vnto the world, euen in þ^e middest of his enimies. In the meane time whilest he praied, as he bowed his necke backward to looke vpward vnto heauen, the crowne of paper fell off from his head vpon the grounde.Marginalia

The paper with the deuils fell from his head.

At the praier of Hus the paper with deuils fell downe.

When as by the commandement of the tormentours, he was risen vp frō the place of his praier, with a loud voice he saide: Lord Iesu Christ assist and help me, that with a constant and pacient mind, by thy most gracious helpe, I may beare & suffer this cruel & ignominious death, wherunto I am condemned for the preaching of thy most holie Gospel and word. Then as before, he declared the cause of his death vnto the people. In þ^e meane season the hangmā stripped him of his garments, and turning his hands behinde his backe, MarginaliaIohn Hus fastened to the stake.tied him fast vnto the stake with ropes that were made wet. And where as by chance he was turned towards the East, certain cried out that he should not looke towards the East, for he was an heretick: MarginaliaIohn Hus turned towarde the West.so he was turned towards the West. Then was his necke tied with a chaine vnto the stake, the which chaine when he beheld, smiling he said, that he woulde willingly receiue the same chaine for Iesu Christes sake, whom he knew was bound with a farre worse chaine. Vnder his feete they set two fagots, admixing straw withall, and so likewise frō the feete

Commentary on the Woodcuts     Close

This is one of the five large woodcuts illustrating the period from Wyclif to Luther. The iconography of the famous Bohemian martyrs who died at the Council of Constance was well-established by the time the illustrators of Foxe's 'Book of Martyrs' went to work. Already in the fifteenth century features of the two heretics at the stake depicted in copies of Ulrich Richental's German chronicle included characteristics that carried over into later printed works, Foxe's included. Hus was delineated with short bunched hair sticking out of his humiliating martyr's hat, painted with devilish figures (or labelled 'heresiarcha'). These features carried over into the woodcut in Flacius Illyricus's work on the two martyrs which Foxe used extensively. The neat bundles of wood (asparagus-like in their appearance) that are already catching fire round the two chained men, might seem echoed in the bound bunches of fuel, still unlit, in the prepared fires in Foxe's work. More obvious suggestions of probable borrowing are the chain round Hus's neck and the square stake, the fetter on his left ankle (all distinctive details in Flacius), and the helmeted officials -- all specific to these illustrations. Continental influences seem clear. Hus and Jerome of Prague were singled out for pictorial attention from the first edition onwards, and their woodcuts seem significant reflections of these European sources. Both this, and the following large woodcut of Jerome of Prague, spread acrosss the whole page of the 1563 edition into the margins beyond the columns of text. CUL copy: This image is an example of unnecessary embellishment of details. The figures on Hus's 'crown of paper', the bridles of the horses, and the belts and hands of the men encouraging the flames are all detailed with black ink. The paint has not obscured these details so they look stark and somewhat distracting. Hus is dressed in white. His 'crown of paper' is white with black details. WREN copy: note that the black detailing added to this copy is poorly executed, particularly on the bridles on the horses on the left.

vp to the chin, he was inclosed rounde aboute with wood. MarginaliaPardon offered againe to I. Hus.But before the wood was set on fire, Lodouicus Duke of Bauaria, with another Gentleman with hym, whiche was the sonne of Clement, came and exhorted Iohn Hus, that he would yet be mindfull of his safegard,and renounce his errours. To whome he saide, what errour should I renounce, when as I knowe my selfe giltie of none? For, as for those things which are falsly alledged agaynst mee, I knowe that I neuer did so much as once thinke them, much lesse preach them. For thys