hostility of the Roman Church. He was particularly blamed for associating with Ruthenians, who were members of the Eastern Church. When the Bishop of Vilna expressed his disapproval Jerome declared that the schismatics and Ruthenians were good Christians, and he continued to assist at the services of the Greek Church.[1] During his stay in Northern Europe, Jerome received the news that Hus had been summoned to appear before the council at Constance He wrote to him advising him to do so, and added that he would himself proceed to Constance to assist Hus. A man of a vain and rather theatrical nature such as was Jerome felt tempted to appear before the council, where he would meet all the highest ecclesiastical dignitaries, and representatives of all the temporal sovereigns and universities of Europe. Hus vainly endeavoured to dissuade Jerome from coming to Constance; he none the less arrived there on April 14, 1415. Hus was at that time imprisoned at Gottlieben, but the Bohemian nobles who had accompanied him warned Jerome of the great danger which he encountered by remaining in the city. Jerome immediately decided to escape secretly from Constance,[2] and to return to Bohemia. He had already arrived at Hirschau, only twenty-five miles from the Bohemian frontier, when he was arrested by the Count Palatine John, who, acting under the orders of the Emperor Sigismund, conveyed him in fetters to Constance. He arrived there on May 23, and was immediately imprisoned. Hus appears to have been informed of these events, and though, speaking generally, he did not often allude to Jerome, he mentioned him several
- ↑ Great stress was laid on this accusation at Jerome’s trial at Constance. In the act of accusation—printed by Von der Hardt, T. iv. p. 679—it is stated: (Jerome) “dixit expresse quod praedicti schismatici et Rutheni essent boni Christiani. Quodque idem Dominus Episcopus eidem Hieronymo in faciem suam tunc restitit dicens: Quod non diceret eos esse bonos Christianos. Ipse vero Hieronymus in eisdem suis erroribus permansit eosdem Ruthenos et fidem ipsorum perversam approbando.”
- ↑ It is this secret escape of Jerome from Constance which undoubtedly supplied Richenthal with a foundation for his totally untrue tale that Hus had attempted to escape from Constance in disguise.
