Matěj of Janov: Corpus Mysticum, Communionem, and the Lost Treatise of His Regulae

Abstract

The Bohemian theologian Matěj of Janov (d.1393) is little known outside of Czech Hussite scholarship, yet his Regulae Veteris et Novi Testamentum is arguably as important an influence on the genesis and development of Hussitism, as is the thought of John Wyclif. The chief Hussite theologian Jakoubek of Střibro relied on his works, and his emphasis on the need for daily Eucharist for all Christians seems to have been central to the utraquist ideal central to Hussitism. This article describes the structure and content of Matěj’s Regulae, a carefully constructed sustained argument of the threat of Antichrist facing the church, and the nature of the reforms needed to respond to them. The editions of Kybal (1908–1926) and Nechutová (1993) present the extant books of the Regulae, but Book Two treatise 2 appears to have been lost. Based on my argument for the overall structure of the Regulae, I attempt to reconstruct the contents of this book, which I will argue is directly related to Matěj’s very high regard for his predecessor, the preacher Jan Milič of Kromeřiž.