Jan Želivský (1380 in
Humpolec
Humpolec (; german: Humpoletz) is a town in Pelhřimov District in the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 11,000 inhabitants.
Administrative parts
Villages of Brunka, Hněvkovice, Kletečná, Krasoňov, Lhotka, Petrovice, Plačk ...
– 9 March 1422 in
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
) was a prominent Czech priest during the
Hussite
The Hussites ( cs, Husité or ''Kališníci''; "Chalice People") were a Czech proto-Protestant Christian movement that followed the teachings of reformer Jan Hus, who became the best known representative of the Bohemian Reformation.
The Hussit ...
Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
.
Life
Želivský preached at Church of Saint Mary Major. He was one of a few
Utraquist
Utraquism (from the Latin ''sub utraque specie'', meaning "under both kinds") or Calixtinism (from chalice; Latin: ''calix'', mug, borrowed from Greek ''kalyx'', shell, husk; Czech: kališníci) was a belief amongst Hussites, a reformist Christia ...
priests in Prague at the time and he was strongly influential, owing to his sermons which were noted both for their eloquence and their apocalyptic descriptions.
On 30 July 1419, Želivský led the Hussite procession through the streets of Prague, and past the New Town Hall.
"The priest and his followers were, however, received with derision by the town-councillors, who appears at the windows, and stones were thrown at the procession. One of the stones struck Priest John
elivský.. and the infuriated people immediately attempted to storm the town hall."
This event ended in the
First Defenestration of Prague, which was one of the major triggering events for the Hussite Wars.
After his defeat in the
Battle of Brüx
The Battle of Brüx was fought on 5 August 1421 in North Bohemia during the Hussite Wars. The Hussite troops, led by Jan Želivský, were defeated by the Catholic Imperial forces of Frederick I of Saxony.
Battle
On 16 March 1421, the Hussite t ...
in 1421, Želivský was removed from command. On 9 March 1422, during the civil wars between the various Hussite factions, he was arrested by the town council of Prague and decapitated.
Legacy
Many streets in the Czech Republic are named after Jan Želivský, including a long street in Prague. The nearby
Želivského metro station is named after him as well.
References
1380 births
1422 deaths
People from Humpolec
Hussite martyrs
People of the Hussite Wars
{{christian-clergy-stub