Hello everyone and welcome to not the history of the Germans.

As you may have noticed, this is not Dirk.

Instead, I'm sorry to say that you have me, David Crowther of the History of England podcast.

Dirk has been kind enough to submit you all to my care this week.

Apparently, though probably mistakenly, Dirk feels I would be the best person to give you all to my care this week. Apparently, though probably mistakenly,

Dirk feels I would be the best person to give you some background about John Wycliffe

to help give you a bit of context to the burning of Jan Hus,

which I understand has just happened for you.

I am sorry to hear that news.

This episode then was written back in 2013, which makes me feel extremely

aged. I hope you enjoy it though, and I would like to thank Dirk for this opportunity, not just to

speak to you, because that, of course, is every podcaster's dream, but also to revisit the happy days of the medieval world.

At the moment on the history of England, we've been talking about the British Revolutionary

Period and people have been dying all over the place, like flies, and it's really, really

complicated. Before I hand you over to the 49-year-old me, I should just preface the episode by giving a bit of context.

So up to the late 14th century and the Lollard movement that Wycliffe inspired,

England had been a standout daughter of the Catholic Church.

Real goody two shoes up there at the front of class, hand in the air first, please sir, please sir, me sir, please sir, that sort of vibe.

Which is ironic given later history.

So, the rot starts here in a way, and indeed later generations call him the morning star of the Reformation,

although it's difficult to trace a line from

Whitcliffe to the Reformation as it happens, but it does at least mean that the idea of the

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