I will give a short extract from Mladenovič’s account of the stay of Hus and his companions at Nuremberg, the city to which they first proceeded after crossing the frontier of their country. Mladenovič writes: ‘When he (Hus) arrived at Nuremberg, on the sixth day after St. Gallus[1] with the lords whom I have mentioned, and they were dining, one Albertus, who was, I think, parish priest of St. Sebaldus, came saying that he wished to discourse amicably with them. When Hus consented, several masters came, one of whom was a doctor of divinity, as well as many town councillors of the city of Nuremberg. They discussed for four hours with the master (i.e. Hus) on all current affairs with regard to which the name of the master had been mentioned. When they had conferred on all these matters, they said: “Truly, master, that which we have heard is Catholic doctrine; we have for many years held and taught these same things, and we still hold them and believe in them; if there is nothing else against you, you will come away from the council and return with all honour.” And then with a favourable opinion they all left together.’
This passage is very important, as proving that Hus was at that time by no means considered by the Germans as an enemy of their nation; no one indeed was less a hater than Hus, who, when imprisoned in a cruel dungeon, repeatedly stated that he forgave all his enemies. The true instigators of the murder of Hus were enemies who were his own countrymen—an occurrence that unhappily has been frequent in Bohemian history. Hus’s doctrine of the poverty of the clergy was naturally most obnoxious to the wealthy
- ↑ The nineteenth of October.
