Words to Die By
Tuesday, October 13, 2009 at 10:47PM 
A couple of years ago I posted a short biographical sketch of the martyr Jan Hus. While researching that piece, I became a little confused about the last words of Hus. Here’s the deal: Different sources list very different quotes as his last spoken words before he was burned at the stake. There are two stories with small variations of each found among the accounts of the last day of Jan Hus.
The most impressive version is this—and I quote my own old post:
Before he was martyred, Jan Hus supposedly said this:
“You, this day, burn a goose, but a hundred years hence a swan will arise, whom you will not be able to roast or boil.”
It’s a play on words, since Hus meant goose in Hus’s language. I’m not completely certain this quote is authentic, since the historical sources I consider most trustworthy don’t mention it.
This version of the story makes the last words of Hus an accurate prophesy of future events, because it was almost exactly a century later that Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses, and the rest, of course, is reformation history. It’s makes a perfect ending to the story of the life of Hus—the kind of perfect ending that makes my inauthenticity radar start beeping.
It’s this last words quote found in the story of the martyrdom of Jan Hus in Foxe’s Book of Martyrs—known, I’ve been told, for occasionally including legend as fact—and many other sites and blogs.1
The second version of the story is the one found in the accounts of the reputable church historians and church history sites.2 Here’s Philip Schaff in History of the Christian Church, Volume 6:
The straw and wood were heaped up around Huss’ body to the chin, and rosin sprinkled upon them. The offer of life was renewed if he would recant. He refused and said, “I shall die with joy to-day in the faith of the gospel which I have preached.” When Richental, who was standing by, suggested a confessor, he replied, “There is no need of one. I have no mortal sin.” At the call of bystanders, they turned his face away from the East, and as the flames arose, he sang twice, Christ, thou Son of the living God, have mercy upon me. The wind blew the fire into the martyr’s face, and his voice was hushed. He died, praying and singing.
Which rings true to you?
I have to admit that this discrepancy has bothered me ever since I posted that piece two years ago. I wasn’t pleased that I recounted something I doubted was right, even though I mentioned that I doubted its authenticity. But it’s such a traditional part of the Hus life story that I chose to include the alleged quote anyway.
Today I decided to look into things a little more. There are now, you know, many more church history resources online than there were two years ago. In a footnote in The Life and Times of Master John Hus by Frances Lutzow I found this:
The tale that Hus had said that they would indeed burn the goose (“hus” signifies goose in Bohemian), but that afterwards a swan would come, whom they would not burn, is founded on the totally erroneous supposition that “Luther” signifies “swan” in Bohemian.
Does that settle it? I’m not sure. It does make me doubt the goose and swan story even more than I did two years ago. If I were writing the piece on Hus today, I wouldn’t include those famous last words, even with a caveat.
Come to think of it, I prefer the last words of Hus in the second story anyway: “I shall die with joy to-day in the faith of the gospel which I have preached,” and “Christ, thou Son of the living God, have mercy upon me.” Faith in the gospel and trust in Christ. Are there better words to die by?
1Like these, for example: Awesome Stories, Wikipedia, Higher Praise.
2Including John Hus by Wratislaw, History of the Moravian Church by Hutton, Christian History Institute and more.
Reader Comments (4)
That was really interesting. I'm just about to start reading about Hus.
You'll have to let me know what it says about his last words in your reading.
I think the second account holds more hope,
eternal rather than temporal.
Julana,
I agree completely. There is so much hope in those words.