For many, the beliefs and realizations they hold are often shaped by their early years. Experiences impact and model the way many look at the world. John Wycliffe and John Huss are no different and the early lives of these men give insight into their later teachings.
Little is known of John Wycliffe’s early life. He was born sometime between 1320 and 1328, most likely in the Yorkshire town of Wycliff-on-Tees, to a family of lesser nobility and educated at Queen’s College, Oxford, in the 1340s. He received a bachelor’s in the Faculty of Arts in 1356, a bachelor’s of Theology in 1369, and a doctorate in late 1372. There is no doubt that his exposure and witness of the 1349 Black Death and the Hundred Years’ War affected him, but the years