Page:Edvard Beneš – Bohemia's case for independence.pdf/113

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page has been validated.
ENGLAND AND BOHEMIA
99

Holbein, Paolo Veronese, Titian, Teniers, Breughel, and others. Hollar came to England with the English Ambassador in Germany, Thomas Howard, Earl of Arundel, who made his acquaintance in Germany, and with whom he often travelled. Hollar became Master of Designs to King Charles II. in 1640. Although resident in England for a long time, he never ceased to sign himself "Bohemus," always remaining attached to his native country. His engravings, portraits, and illustrations are very numerous, and were much thought of by the English critics.

There is yet another historical tie between England and Bohemia. Among the religious sects of England there is one of some importance, related to the Methodists, and called the Moravian Church. They devote themselves mostly to Christian missions, and are considered descendants of the famous Bohemian or Moravian Brethren, founded by Peter Chelčický. Thus again the Czech religious reform has influenced the religious life of England. One of the Bishops of the Moravian Brethren was the Czech paedagogue John Amos Comenius, who, like Hollar, was an exile. Samuel Hartlib, a merchant of London, took great interest in his educational and religious works. Desiring to reform English education, he invited Comenius to London. Comenius accepted the invitation and arrived in London in