Swan Song for the Goose Quote

Back in October I posted a piece on the doubtful authenticity of the oft-quoted last words of Jan Hus.

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.

These words, some say, were a prophesy of the coming of Martin Luther roughly one hundred years after Hus was martyred. I looked at things from the Hus side of history and came to the conclusion that the quote was probably not genuine.

James Swan has posted a bit from an article by Robert Scribner that traces the quote back to a fusing of two quotes—one from Hus and one from  Jerome of Prague—perhaps by Luther himself.

The upshot is that this goose quote is dead.

Comments

[Emily Behind the Bookcase]

Interesting tidbit of Reformed history...and a really funny photo. Thanks for the smile!