The Medieval Church · c. 1440–1443
The Net of Faith
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Petr Chelčický · c. 1390–c. 1460
What it is
The church as a net torn by two great whales — pope and emperor — and an argument that a Christian may not swear oaths, hold office, own another's labour, or take up arms at all.
Why it lasted
The most radical social criticism of the Middle Ages. Tolstoy read it and called its author greater than anyone in Europe at the time.
Where to read it
This work is in the public domain and can be read in full, free, at the archives below. The Library catalogues it; it does not host the text.
These open a search on each archive rather than a direct link, which is the honest way to point at an edition nobody here has checked line by line.
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