Master Jan Hus is one of the most outstanding and important figures in Czech history. He was born around 1371 in Husinec in Southern Bohemia, attended school in Prachatice, and then studied in Prague, where he was awarded a bachelor’s degree in 1393 and a MA in 1396. He lived during the reign of Wenceslaus IV, but was greatly influenced by the enormous advances made in all areas of life during the reign of Wenceslaus's father, the Bohemian King and Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV (1346-1378). Under Charles, Prague became the centre of the Empire, Prague’s New Town was built, the bishopric of Prague was elevated to an archbishopric, and in 1348 a university was founded there.

The church of those times had become secularized and in many respects decadent (as could be seen from the prevailing corruption); the power and authority of the popes had declined, and there were two rival popes, one in Rome and one in Avignon. Various reforming tendencies emerged in all parts of Europe. The conciliar movement denied papal authority and wanted to transfer it to an ecumenical council. Other ideas to be expressed were that authority in spiritual and temporal matters belongs to the temporal authorities (Marsilius of Padua) and that those who are in mortal sin cannot exercise any spiritual or temporal office, because they are not morally entitled to do so (John Wyclif). The period also witnessed attempts to renew devotion and to renew canon law. The powerful movement ”Devotio moderna“ (the new devotion), inspired by the Dutchman Geert de Groote (1340-1384), proclaimed the rebirth of man in Christ and spread into the Czech lands.

Charles IV was a devoted Christian and genuinely wished to see a reform of the church. He personally permitted reforming preachers to preach, or at least gave them moral support; these included, for example, Conrad Waldhauser (died 1369) and Milíč of Kroměříž (died 1374). Milíč even founded a community called “Jerusalem” for repentant fallen women, where the renewal expressed in his sermons found practical expression. Another important figure, and a contemporary of Hus, was Matthias of Janov (died 1394), who recommended frequent communion.

With Hus himself and in all aspects of the Czech Reformation, the practical implementation of these attempts at reform in the spirit of Holy Scripture and the tradition of the church became one of the main objectives; this connection between life and faith is the main characteristic of the Czech Reformation.

In 1397-1398 Wenceslaus IV and his court went on a journey to France, and Jan Hus went with them. After his return he started to lecture at the university, and in 1400 he was ordained priest. In the winter semester of 1401-1402 he was Dean of the Faculty of Arts. Starting in March 1402, he was active for more than ten years as preacher at the Bethlehem Chapel, which had been established in 1391 with the express stipulation that the word of God should be proclaimed in the Czech language.

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