His Goose is Cooked

One of the charges Pope Leo X made against Martin Luther was he was a Hussite. At first, this accusation of being a follower of Jan Hus bothered Luther. Later he wore it proudly. Luther had found a book of Hus’s sermons in the monastery library. Luther would write, after reading this volume, he was astonished that the church would burn such a great man.

Jan Hus was born in 1369 in what is now the Czech Republic. Hus means “goose, ” and he enjoyed making puns using his name. Although a Catholic priest, the writings of John Wycliffe influenced him. He picked up Wycliffe’s interest in the Scriptures. Like Wycliffe, Hus was a pre-reformation reformer. His preaching from the Bible resulted in the Roman Catholic Church condemning him as a heretic. He was burned at the stake in 1415. When speaking of Hus, Luther would say, “the goose was cooked” for denying the pope. Maybe you’ve heard that. Now you know where it came from.

One other goose pun comes from Hus himself. Hus reportedly said while facing his martyrdom that they might kill the goose but a swan would arise to take his place. One hundred years later, Luther fulfilled that prediction. Because of this, Luther is often called “the swan of the Reformation, ” and a swan often appears in Reformation art.

Published September 30, 2017By Greg WilsonEditHis Goose is Cooked