Jan Hus in Shakespeare's Bohemia?
"Bohemia and English literature? Everybody who sees this title will instantly think if Shakespeare's Winter's Tale and the sea-coast of Bohemia..." - RENÉ WELLEK [1]
If Shakespeare critics mention one thing about Bohemia, it's that Shakespeare got the geography wrong: You can't get there by boat.
For example, Susan Halstead writes,
"This glaring geographical error – attributing a sea-shore to the landlocked territory of Bohemia – has frequently been cited as an instance of Shakespeare’s ignorance of Central European topography..." [2]
But what if the thing we read and heard most often was that Bohemia was the land of Jan Hus, who advocated communion under both kinds (bread and wine), something very common today even in Roman Catholic parishes. Yet Jan Hus was burned at the stake for it.
What if we heard that the ideas of Jan Hus influenced the "Confesio Bohemica" (Czech Confession), "the first ecumenical confession," and as such, one of tolerance - so that for Shakespeare to mention Bohemia in his England, which sometimes lacked religious tolerance, this was significant?
Perhaps some Shakespeare critics fail to connect Shakespeare's Bohemia with Jan Hus because they retain a Protestant, anti-Catholic, or secular bias, one that often assumes England had plenty of religious toleration?
Here's a preview of an article from Christianity Today on the topic of Jan Hus:
Comenius and the Unity of the Brethren
The Reformation started by John Hus (1369–1415) in Bohemia did not die when he was burned at the stake. A number of small communities spun off from the Hussites, each rebelling against Rome in its own ways. The first “Brethren” moved to a remote village called Kunvald in 1457 to live together as the early church did, and follow the law of Christ.
From the start, the Unity of the Brethren, as they became known, had contacts with the Waldensians, a communal group that preserved the teachings of Peter Waldo from the twelfth century, promoting equality of believers and opposing ecclesiastical hierarchy. Significant also for the Unity’s founding was the thought of Peter Chelcicky, who condemned the use of force in matters of faith and the participation of Christians in political power struggles, especially in war. Chelcicky dared to call the Pope and the emperor “whales who have torn the net of true faith,” since they had established the Church as the head of a secular empire.
These ideas, denial of material aspirations and refusal of secular power, as adopted by the Unity, did not sit well with the authorities. The Unity was outlawed and persecuted by secular and religious powers alike, but its numbers grew, new communities were formed, and its influence went far beyond its ranks.
Despite their commitment to Christlike poverty, the Brethren presented the Czech nation with a wealth of spiritual resources. They translated the Scriptures into Czech; they composed hymns that are still sung in Czech churches today; they published a confession of faith praised by Luther, and left an unmistakable mark on the Confessio Bohemica (Czech Confession)—the first ecumenical confession the world had seen. [3]
If Shakespeare mentioned Bohemia, he probably knew of the religious rumbings there.
Susan Halstead concludes,
"Shakespeare’s ‘Bohemia’ may not exist on any map, but in a broader sense it does not have a sea-coast because it is also without boundaries and frontiers. It is a single part of a limitless world which claims as its citizens all those who prize the power of words to inspire, to portray the human predicament and to bring together people of every language and nation." [4]
~~~~~~~
NOTES:
[1] "BOHEMIA IN EARLY ENGLISH LITERATURE" - by RENÉ WELLEK
The Slavonic and East European Review
Vol. 21, No. 56 (March, 1943), pp. 114-146 (33 pages)
https://www.jstor.org/stable/45113436
[2] https://blogs.bl.uk/european/2016/05/the-bard-the-bear-and-bohemia.html
[3] https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/issues/issue-13/between-hus-and-herrnhut.html
[4] https://blogs.bl.uk/european/2016/05/the-bard-the-bear-and-bohemia.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Disclaimer: If and when I quote or paraphrase bible passages or mention religion in many of my blog posts, I do not intend to promote any religion over another, nor am I attempting to promote religious belief in general; only to explore how the Bible and religion influenced Shakespeare, his plays, and his age.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks for reading!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My current project is a book tentatively titled Hamlet’s Bible, about biblical allusions and plot echoes in Hamlet.
Below is a link to a list of some of my top posts (“greatest hits”), including a description of my book project (last item on the list):
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2019/12/top-20-hamlet-bible-posts.html
I post every week, so please visit as often as you like and consider subscribing.
To find the subscribe button, see the = drop-down menu with three lines in the upper left.
If Shakespeare critics mention one thing about Bohemia, it's that Shakespeare got the geography wrong: You can't get there by boat.
For example, Susan Halstead writes,
"This glaring geographical error – attributing a sea-shore to the landlocked territory of Bohemia – has frequently been cited as an instance of Shakespeare’s ignorance of Central European topography..." [2]
But what if the thing we read and heard most often was that Bohemia was the land of Jan Hus, who advocated communion under both kinds (bread and wine), something very common today even in Roman Catholic parishes. Yet Jan Hus was burned at the stake for it.
What if we heard that the ideas of Jan Hus influenced the "Confesio Bohemica" (Czech Confession), "the first ecumenical confession," and as such, one of tolerance - so that for Shakespeare to mention Bohemia in his England, which sometimes lacked religious tolerance, this was significant?
Here's a preview of an article from Christianity Today on the topic of Jan Hus:
Comenius and the Unity of the Brethren
The Reformation started by John Hus (1369–1415) in Bohemia did not die when he was burned at the stake. A number of small communities spun off from the Hussites, each rebelling against Rome in its own ways. The first “Brethren” moved to a remote village called Kunvald in 1457 to live together as the early church did, and follow the law of Christ.
From the start, the Unity of the Brethren, as they became known, had contacts with the Waldensians, a communal group that preserved the teachings of Peter Waldo from the twelfth century, promoting equality of believers and opposing ecclesiastical hierarchy. Significant also for the Unity’s founding was the thought of Peter Chelcicky, who condemned the use of force in matters of faith and the participation of Christians in political power struggles, especially in war. Chelcicky dared to call the Pope and the emperor “whales who have torn the net of true faith,” since they had established the Church as the head of a secular empire.
These ideas, denial of material aspirations and refusal of secular power, as adopted by the Unity, did not sit well with the authorities. The Unity was outlawed and persecuted by secular and religious powers alike, but its numbers grew, new communities were formed, and its influence went far beyond its ranks.
Despite their commitment to Christlike poverty, the Brethren presented the Czech nation with a wealth of spiritual resources. They translated the Scriptures into Czech; they composed hymns that are still sung in Czech churches today; they published a confession of faith praised by Luther, and left an unmistakable mark on the Confessio Bohemica (Czech Confession)—the first ecumenical confession the world had seen. [3]
If Shakespeare mentioned Bohemia, he probably knew of the religious rumbings there.
Susan Halstead concludes,
"Shakespeare’s ‘Bohemia’ may not exist on any map, but in a broader sense it does not have a sea-coast because it is also without boundaries and frontiers. It is a single part of a limitless world which claims as its citizens all those who prize the power of words to inspire, to portray the human predicament and to bring together people of every language and nation." [4]
~~~~~~~
NOTES:
[1] "BOHEMIA IN EARLY ENGLISH LITERATURE" - by RENÉ WELLEK
The Slavonic and East European Review
Vol. 21, No. 56 (March, 1943), pp. 114-146 (33 pages)
https://www.jstor.org/stable/45113436
[2] https://blogs.bl.uk/european/2016/05/the-bard-the-bear-and-bohemia.html
[3] https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/issues/issue-13/between-hus-and-herrnhut.html
[4] https://blogs.bl.uk/european/2016/05/the-bard-the-bear-and-bohemia.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Disclaimer: If and when I quote or paraphrase bible passages or mention religion in many of my blog posts, I do not intend to promote any religion over another, nor am I attempting to promote religious belief in general; only to explore how the Bible and religion influenced Shakespeare, his plays, and his age.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks for reading!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My current project is a book tentatively titled Hamlet’s Bible, about biblical allusions and plot echoes in Hamlet.
Below is a link to a list of some of my top posts (“greatest hits”), including a description of my book project (last item on the list):
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2019/12/top-20-hamlet-bible-posts.html
I post every week, so please visit as often as you like and consider subscribing.
To find the subscribe button, see the = drop-down menu with three lines in the upper left.
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