676:(Václav Hájek z Libočan), the "Bohemian Livy". He suggested that two Jan di Nepomuks may have existed and have both been killed by King Wenceslaus. The first one is the queen's confessor, who died in 1383; the other the vicar of the archbishop, who disagreed with the king on the election of the abbot of Kladruby and was drowned in 1393. As Hajek's annals enjoyed a wide success, they influenced all subsequent historians for two centuries, up to the Latin edition, critically annotated by the translator, which considerably reduced Hajek's credit as a reliable historian.
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spreading reports of John's courage, saying that as confessor to the Queen he had refused to reveal her secrets, and that was why he had been murdered. Belief in John's supernatural powers culminated with the discovery of his supposed tongue when three centuries later his tomb was opened and a piece of reddened tissue fell out of his skull.
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Much additional biographical information comes from
Bohemian annalists who wrote 60 or more years after the events they recount. Although they may have taken advantage of sources not available today, their contribution is considered legendary by many historians, particularly by the Protestant ones.
838:
A coincidental drought in the region a year later helped the legend along; the church convinced the peasants that the drought represented God's punishment for the killing of Jan
Nepomucký. Building on that success, they attempted to paint the king as even blacker, with certain clerical circles
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written a few years later miracles are already recorded, by which the drowned man was discovered. About the middle of the 15th century the statement appears for the first time that the refusal to violate the seal of confession was the cause of John's death. Two decades later (1471), the dean of
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Although the theory of Hajek of
Liboczan has no credit today, some historians believe the vicar's refusal to betray the seal of the confessional might have been the secret reason why Wenceslaus took vengeance on John of Nepomuk as soon as a credible excuse provided the opportunity.
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Worldwide, statues of John of
Nepomuk number in tens of thousands, making John of Nepomuk the most represented Czech person in visual art. In Czechia alone, there are around 6000 statues. Similar numbers are in Austria and Germany, and smaller numbers in other parts of the former
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In 1483 John of
Krumlov, dean of St. Vitus cathedral, states that John died in 1383 (one decade earlier than the recognized date, perhaps due to a transcription error). As the first wife of Wenceslaus died in 1386, this change of date also causes uncertainty about the name of the
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family. Statues of St. John of
Nepomuk, churches consecrated to him and settlements bearing his name can be found not only in Central Europe (where there are most common), but also in many other European countries and further beyond in the Americas and in India.
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Most of those statues are located on bridges (due to John of
Nepomuk being a patron saint of bridges and against drowning) and are modelled according to the famous John of Nepomuk statue on the Charles Bridge in Prague. He is usually portrayed with a
656:, King Wenceslaus ordered him to reveal the name of the lover, but to no avail. Therefore, the king ordered John to be drowned. Note that in these chronicles neither the date of the events nor the name of the queen is mentioned.
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metropolitan chapter did not accept the biography dedicated to it, "as being frequently destitute of historical foundation and erroneous, a bungling work of mythological rhetoric", Balbinus stuck to it. In 1683 the
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in 1683, on the supposed 300th anniversary of the saint's death, which was until the mid-18th century presumed to have happened in 1383. It was the basis for a number of statues of the saint all across the
338:. Later accounts state that he was the confessor of the queen of Bohemia and refused to divulge the secrets of the confessional. On the basis of this account, John of Nepomuk is considered the first
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The cult of St. John of
Nepomuk grew in the 17th century and spread during 17th and 18th centuries from Bohemia into many Catholic countries, especially to those ruled by or having ties to the
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Prague, Paul Zidek, makes John the queen's confessor. The chronicler
Wenceslaus Hajek speaks in 1541 (perhaps due to an incorrect reading of his sources) of
1098:, first printed in Bohemian, Prague 1541; then translated in German and after two centuries also in Latin by Gelasius Dobner (6 volumes, Prague, 1761–1783).
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who was burned in 1415. The resemblances are certainly striking, extending to the manner of celebrating their commemorations. But when the
Jesuits came to
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If in 1369 John of Pomuk was a notary public, he must have been more than twenty years old. Thus he was probably born sometime between 1340 and 1350 .
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with five stars, alluding to the legend about stars that hovered over his dead body when it was found on the bank of the Vltava river. His tomb, a
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A few years later, Abbott Ladolf of Sagan listed John of Nepomuk in the catalog of Sagan abbots, completed in 1398, as well as in the treatise "
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Thus, the priest put to death for defending the laws and autonomy of the Catholic Church became revered as a saint directly after his death.
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In the above accusation, Jan of Jenštejn already calls John of Nepomuk a "holy martyr". The biography of the bishop (written by his
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regard him as a Czech martyr to imperial interference. Most historians present him as a victim of a late version of the inveterate
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was adorned with a statue of the saint, which has had numerous successors; in 1708 the first church was dedicated to him at
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is part of the transformation of a historical figure into a legend, which can be traced through successive stages. The
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on 23 April 1393, by Archbishop Jan of Jenštejn, who immediately went to Rome together with the new Abbot of Kladruby.
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860:. Individual statues or other monuments can be found in almost every country with a significant Catholic tradition.
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Further and less reliable details about John of Nepomuk come from the annalists of the 17th and 18th centuries.
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This account is based on four contemporary documents. The first is the accusation of the king, presented to
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645:. This is the first source to mention this refusal as a motivation of the condemnation of John of Nepomuk.
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This provides a Protestant point of view. It was also the source of the initial version of this article.
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whose resources would be crucial to Wenceslaus in his struggles with nobles. Wenceslaus was backing the
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Meanwhile, in spite of the objection of the Jesuits, the process was inaugurated which ended with his
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Johns of Nepomuk being drowned; the first as confessor, the second for his confirmation of the abbot.
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halo with five stars, cross, bridge, angel indicating silence by a finger over the lips, priest's
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Bernard L. Fontana, A Gift of Angels: The Art of Mission San Xavier Del Bac (Tucson 2010), p.298.
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while his mother is unknown. His father's name was probably derived from the German name
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According to some Protestant sources, the figure of John Nepomuk is a legend due to
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The references used may be made clearer with a different or consistent style of
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The legend is especially indebted for its growth to the Jesuit historiographer
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of the one who was drowned in 1383 as a martyr of the sacrament of penance.
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l'ed. Stenzel in "Scrittura. il rerum Silesiacarum", I, 1835, pp. 213 sqq.
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The place on the bridge parapet where John of Nepomuk was thrown into the
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Christian Classics Ethereal Library at Calvin College: "John of Nepomuk"
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Catholics see John of Nepomuk as a martyr to the cause of defending the
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monument cast in silver and silver-gilt that was designed by
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Archiv für österreichische Geschichte, LX, 1880, pp. 418 sq.
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and, because of the manner of his death, a protector from
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Sanctus Johannes Nepomucenus Christi Heiliger Blut-Zeug
1052:"Scriptores rerum Prussicarum", III, Leipzig 1860–, 87
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The Dead Body of John of Nepomuk on the banks of the
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Pages displaying wikidata descriptions as a fallback
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575:The prototypical statue of John of Nepomuk at
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1190:(11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
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933:Pilgrimage Church of Saint John of Nepomuk
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1136:Jan Jiří Urbanský český sochař ve Slezsku
811:and that its historical kernel is really
389:Born in the 1340s, his father was called
76:Learn how and when to remove this message
943:Chapel of St. John of Nepomuk, Zawiercie
412:from 1383 to 1387. In 1393, he was made
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1113:, Praga, 1670; It was reprinted in the
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1163:This provides a Catholic point of view
1153:The "official" page of John of Nepomuk
1110:Vita beati Joannis Nepomuceni martyris
768:Vita beati Joannis Nepomuceni martyris
686:Vita beati Joannis Nepomuceni martyris
470:At issue was the appointment of a new
1064:Zeitschrift für katholische Theologie
705:1732 monument on Cathedral Island in
481:in 1393; its abbot was a territorial
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1328:Beatifications by Pope Innocent XIII
948:San Juan Nepomuceno (disambiguation)
1323:Canonizations by Pope Benedict XIII
1308:14th-century Roman Catholic martyrs
938:Statue of John of Nepomuk, Vyšehrad
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905:Johannes Nepomuk Messe in G major
730:inviolability of the confessional
362:Jan z Pomuku came from the small
1333:People from Plzeň-South District
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556:) describes John of Nepomuk as "
516:by order of King Wenceslaus IV.
404:, then furthered his studies in
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27:Czech priest and saint (d. 1393)
874:Josef Emanuel Fischer of Erlach
382:, which belonged to the nearby
1303:Burials at St. Vitus Cathedral
887:St. John of Nepomuk's Tomb in
358:Basic biographical information
1:
1298:14th-century Christian saints
1161:(1910): "St. John Nepomucene"
689:gives the most rich account.
436:Martyrdom of St. John Nepomuk
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766:the "Bohemian Pliny", whose
674:Wenceslaus Hajek of Liboczan
334:river at the behest of King
318:1345 – 20 March 1393) was a
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1288:Czech Roman Catholic saints
539:Chronik des Landes Preussen
533:A further document is the "
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474:for the rich and powerful
1318:Priest–penitent privilege
1293:Charles University alumni
650:Instructions for the King
535:Chronik des Deutschordens
400:Jan first studied at the
330:) who was drowned in the
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1200:St. John Nepomuk, Martyr
1181:"Nepomuk, John of"
999:. SJN.cz. Archived from
715:Seal of the Confessional
631:Chronica regum Romanorum
344:Seal of the Confessional
336:Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia
1187:Encyclopædia Britannica
997:"Saint John of Nepomuk"
928:List of Catholic saints
723:investiture controversy
608:St. John of Nepomuk in
180:19 March 1729, Rome by
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530:", lib. VII, c. xix.
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152:Roman Catholic Church
1133:Adam Więcek (1964).
1076:The first queen was
995:Krčmář, Mgr. Luděk.
953:Nepomuceno (surname)
589:Matthias Rauchmiller
549:, who died in 1405.
528:De longævo schismate
426:Archbishop of Prague
402:University of Prague
271:Spanish Navy Marines
1107:Bohuslav Balbinus.
955: – family name
833:Counter-Reformation
618:Johann Georg Pinsel
410:University of Padua
346:, a patron against
312:Ioannes Nepomucenus
18:St. John of Nepomuk
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668:Annales Bohemorum
629:In his chronicle
479:Abbey of Kladruby
464:Franz Xaver Palko
440:Szymon Czechowicz
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1283:1393 deaths
1278:1345 births
1238:Catholicism
1139:(in Czech).
1115:Bollandists
912: [
585:Jan Brokoff
502:Boniface IX
490:Clement VII
476:Benedictine
462:c. 1760 by
364:market town
245:, Malibay,
1272:Categories
880:, Prague.
843:Veneration
734:archbishop
616:. Made by
384:Cistercian
219:confessors
201:Attributes
66:April 2016
58:footnoting
1226:Biography
1195:Zdarns.cz
827:, but to
635:confessor
508:from the
406:canon law
348:calumnies
296:‹See Tfd›
214:Patronage
176:Canonized
159:Beatified
1206:web site
922:See also
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849:Habsburg
825:Hussites
554:chaplain
395:Wolfgang
391:Velflín,
255:Moalboal
227:raftsmen
223:mariners
54:citation
1212:Portals
1202:at the
870:Baroque
813:Jan Hus
809:Jesuits
707:Wrocław
648:In his
614:Ukraine
610:Buchach
592:Europe.
483:magnate
408:at the
386:abbey.
376:Bohemia
372:Nepomuk
342:of the
324:Bohemia
239:Bohemia
235:sievers
231:millers
207:biretta
126:Nepomuk
1250:Saints
821:Prague
772:Prague
756:Vltava
660:queen.
581:Prague
514:Prague
506:Vltava
460:Vltava
448:Warsaw
352:floods
340:martyr
332:Vltava
300:German
267:Cabiao
194:16 May
142:Prague
123:c.1345
114:Martyr
963:Notes
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899:Music
472:abbot
374:) in
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320:saint
308:Latin
287:Czech
247:Pasay
189:Feast
93:Saint
866:halo
801:cult
739:vita
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494:Pope
281:(or
259:Cebu
165:Rome
132:Died
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