Pavel Kravař (c. 1391 – 23 July 1433), or Paul Crawar, Paul Craw, was a

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 Huss ...

emissary from Bohemia who was burned at the stake for heresy at St Andrews in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

on 23 July 1433. He was the first of a succession of religious reformers who were martyred in the town during the course of the subsequent

Protestant 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 ...

. (The others being: Patrick Hamilton in 1528, Henry Forest in 1533,

George Wishart George Wishart (also Wisehart; c. 15131 March 1546) was a Scottish Protestant Reformer and one of the early Protestant martyrs burned at the stake as a heretic. George Wishart was the son of James and brother of Sir John of Pitarrow, ...

in 1546, and Walter Myln in 1558).

Life

Pavel Kravař was probably a native of

Kravaře Kravaře (; german: Deutsch Krawarn) is a town in Opava District the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 6,600 inhabitants. It is part of the historic Hlučín Region. Administrative parts Town parts of Dvořisko and Ko ...

Opava District Opava District ( cs, okres Opava) is a district (''okres'') within Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is the city of Opava. Complete list of municipalities Bělá - Bohuslavice - Bolatice - Branka u Opavy - Bratř ...

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

(then

Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The m ...

), now part of the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

. After studying medicine at the

University of Montpellier The University of Montpellier (french: Université de Montpellier) is a public research university located in Montpellier, in south-east of France. Established in 1220, the University of Montpellier is one of the oldest universities in the wor ...

, he graduated as Master of Arts from the

University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

in 1415. The following year, he entered the Faculty of Arts at the University of Prague, then a hotbed of Hussite activity. Around 1421, with the university now in decline, Pavel Kravař left

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

to become a physician in the service of the Polish King,

Władysław II Jagiełło Jogaila (; 1 June 1434), later Władysław II Jagiełło ()He is known under a number of names: lt, Jogaila Algirdaitis; pl, Władysław II Jagiełło; be, Jahajła (Ягайла). See also: Names and titles of Władysław II Jagiełło. ...

. He probably returned to the Bohemian capital in 1432 prior to undertaking his ill-fated mission to Scotland. His journey to St Andrews, at the time the ecclesiastical centre of Scotland and the location of its only

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

, was most likely made in a vain attempt to gain allies, hopefully amongst

Lollard Lollardy, also known as Lollardism or the Lollard movement, was a proto-Protestant Christian religious movement that existed from the mid-14th century until the 16th-century English Reformation. It was initially led by John Wycliffe, a Catho ...

sympathisers, for the Hussite cause at the

Council of Basel The Council of Florence is the seventeenth ecumenical council recognized by the Catholic Church, held between 1431 and 1449. It was convoked as the Council of Basel by Pope Martin V shortly before his death in February 1431 and took place in ...

, at which reconciliation was sought between the Hussites and the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. Pavel Kravař's activities in St Andrews evidently met with the displeasure of the authorities there, particularly Henry Wardlaw, Bishop of St Andrews, who accused him of spreading the heretical ideas of

Jan Hus Jan Hus (; ; 1370 – 6 July 1415), 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 insp ...

and John Wyclif. At his trial he defended himself with skill and courage, but was nevertheless condemned and died, according to John Knox, with a brass ball stuffed in his mouth to prevent him addressing the people. Pavel Kravař's execution is believed to have taken place at the centre of the market square in St Andrews, close to the former location of the Mercat Cross which is now marked with a cross of red stones set into the cobbled surface of the roadway. A memorial plaque, with an inscription in English and Czech languages, is located on a building nearby.

References

* Vyšný, Paul, "A Hussite in Scotland: The Mission of Pavel Kravař to St Andrews in 1433", ''The Scottish Historical Review'', vol. lxxxii, April 2003, pp. 1–19.

External links

St Andrews and Central and Eastern EuropeCzech Ambassador's Tribute to Fellow Countryman
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kravar, Pavel 1391 births 1433 deaths People from Kravaře Hussite martyrs People executed for heresy Executed Czech people People executed by Stuart Scotland People executed by the Kingdom of Scotland by burning Protestant martyrs of Scotland 14th-century Bohemian people 15th-century Bohemian people 14th-century Protestants Czech evangelicals

Life

See also

References

Further reading

External links