Jan z Holešova or Jan of Holešov (1366 in Holešov – 1436 in

Rajhrad Rajhrad (german: Groß Raigern) is a town in Brno-Country District in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 4,000 inhabitants. Geography Rajhrad is located about south of Brno. It lies in the Dyje–Svratka Valley. It is ...

) was a Czech writer,

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

, musicologist,

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

, and one of the first ethnographers and a founder of modern

comparative linguistics Comparative linguistics, or comparative-historical linguistics (formerly comparative philology) is a branch of historical linguistics that is concerned with comparing languages to establish their historical relatedness. Genetic relatedness ...

Biography

Jan from Holešov was born the son of the administrator of the bishop's property in Holešov. After a brief (and historically uncertain) period spent acting as a priest in

Slušovice Slušovice () (german: Sluschowitz) is a town in Zlín District in the Zlín Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,900 inhabitants. It is known throughout the former Czechoslovakia due to having been the site of an unusually successful and ...

, he went to study in the Sorbonne, and after his return he joined the

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

monastery in

Břevnov Břevnov () is a district in the west of Prague, located in Prague 6. The district is home to the Břevnov Monastery (Czech: ''Břevnovský klášter''). On the territory of Břevnov stems Brusnice brook. Břevnov was first mentioned in the 10th c ...

in P