Tomas Stitny was important to the early Czech reformation. He was born approximately 1333 in Pelhrimov town and passed away somewhere between 1401 and 1409 in Prague. He was a Czech noble, writer, preacher, translator, philosopher, and the antecedent of Jan Hus.  

Tomas was a member of lower peers and lived in a natural refuge in Stitna village near Zirovnice city. He was from the Benesovic bloodline and may be connected to the Bechyne noble tribe. This idea is supported by the fact that Tomas shared the same coat of arms with them (silver “odrivous” with red background). He had three sisters – Dorota, Peltrata, and perhaps Anna, who may have been a sister of Tomas´s wife.  

He used to study the faculty of arts at Charles University and knew Professor Vojtech from Jezova village. Vojtech was a doctor of theology and a master of liberal arts. Tomas started his literary and translational career under the influence of the Prague reform preachers. The most crucial preacher that influenced Tomas was Milic from Kromeriz town. He was the biggest and the most important one from the 14th century.  

Around 1450, Tomas got married and returned to his farmhouse in Stitna. He had five children, but three of them passed away young. Only his daughter Anezka and son Jan made it to adulthood. However, Tomas did not stay for too long at his farmhouse, and when his wife passed away, he moved to Prague. He rented his homestead to Zbynek from the village of Kamenice, and from that money, he was able to live in Prague.  

Tomas used to write about religious questions in the Czech language. In his work, he refers to lower peers that should influence the people. In his work Code Klementinsky, Tomas questions himself if he has the right to write about religious things when he is only a simple human. He translated from Latina, but his translations are more like his own adaptations. He is famous in the Czech Republic for founding the science of ethics. There is a statue of Tomas in Stitna village where his refuge used to stand. 

Tomas Stitny