The Secret Life of a Heretic's Coat: Jan Hus and the Modern Pilgrimage of a "Medieval Relic"

Abstract

This is a tale of strange truths, false witnesses, hoaxers, opportunists, and a modern witness of a medieval relic possibly related to a Bohemian priest who had the misfortune of being burned alive at the stake during the largest and most magnificent assembly of the entire Middle Ages. On October 1, 1414, Pope John XXIII set out from Bologna bound for the Council of Constance convened in southern Germany. As he crossed over the Alps at the Arlberg Pass (1800 meters/5900 feet in western Austria, southeast of the Bodensee) he had an unfortunate mishap which caused his carriage to turn over and the pontiff was hurled into the snow. As his attendants made haste to determine if more than the papal dignity had suffered injury in the tumult, John was heard to exclaim, "Here I lie in the name of the Devil." As it turned out, John came to Constance as pope but left a prisoner. The Council of Constance which sat from 1414 to 1418 was not only the largest and most magnificent convocation of the entire Middle Ages, as already noted, one might argue it was also the most significant ecclesiastical gathering during the medieval era. One of the dramatic chapters of its history was the culmination of the trial of Jan Hus, a priest from Prague who came to Germany with an imperial safe conduct but was burned at the stake.