A Character Sketch on Queen Anne of Bohemia

This Sunday my sister Emily did a Character Sketch on Queen Anne of Bohemia. We were all very amazed how she was an instrument that God used to protect the reformers in England, I think God can use us all to keep spreading His kingdom as we tell others the Gospel of Christ. Hope y'all enjoy!

 Anne of Bohemia was the eldest daughter of Emperor Charles IV. Her brother was King Wenceslaus of Bohemia and Germany. 

Her mother  was the fourth wife of Charles IV, the daughter of Beleslaus, Duke of Pomerania; and the granddaughter of Cassimir the Great, King of Poland, Anne was born in Prague, Bohemia, around the year 1366.

Anne was taught the truths of the Scripture from her youth. There were a number of faithful Gospel preachers in Bohemia at that time including Conrad Strichna, Johan Melice and Matthias Janovius. Anne asked many probing questions concerning Scriptural truth.

Anne was described as a Godly, intelligent young girl with an inquiring mind. She was renowned for her love of reading and for her possession of the Scriptures in three languages, which was Latin, Bohemian and English. Her favorite books of the Bible were the four Gospels, which she constantly studied.

Anne came to recognize the many errors prevailing in the Roman church and she persisted in praying for a return to Biblical faithfulness to the Doctrine of the Apostles and to the purity of the early Church.

She married Richard II, who was the son of Edward Prince of Wales. He was born in Bourdeaux France, Richard's father died in 1376  and his grandfather died the following year so Richard became king at the young age of 10. When he was 13 he heard about Anne of Bohemia and thought she was a good wife for him.

Reportedly Anne had been persuaded to accept the proposal of marriage  because the Bohemians came into alliance with the English , although she  had never met Richard, Anne had heard that the writings of John Wycliffe  had begun a revival in England, so that encouraged her to go there to marry king Richard . She was 16 years old and Richard was 15.

As a queen, she tried to help the poor, orphans and widows, it is reported that as many as 6,000 people ate at the royal table every day, most of them were poor; she thought about how Jesus had compassion on the crowds and fed them, Anne wanted to be like her master, so that is why she wanted to help the poor

The Archbishop of York, Arundel, one of the worst enemies of Wycliffe’s Reformation work, was horrified to hear that the Queen owned copies of the Gospels, which she studied often. But since she was the Queen of England, he could say nothing.

Professor John Wycliffe was delighted to learn of Anne’s love for the Scriptures, and he publically compared her to the Biblical Mary who sat at Jesus feet listening to what the Master had to say.

For her part, Queen Anne protected Wycliffe from his many enemies and intervened on numerous occasions to protect him from prosecution and to save his life, since he had many enemies. She would go to her husband and gently plead with him on Wycliffe's behalf. She would read passages of scripture to him, such as Matthew 23:34-35 " Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: that upon you may come all the righteous blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar." 

  

At the encouragement of Queen Anne, Bohemian students came to Oxford to study under John Wycliffe. Many of these students carried back the Reformation writings and teachings of Wycliffe to Prague, Bohemia and throughout central Europe.

Tragically, this bright and shining light was cut short on the 7 June 1394 as Anne died at age 27 from the plague. Her husband, King Richard II, was devastated and the people of England deeply mourned her.

The Lord had His divine purpose in Queen Anne's life as well as in her death. After the queen's death, many of her Christian friends and servants returned to Bohemia with the translations of the Gospels and writings of John Wycliffe that had been so highly treasured by Queen Anne. These led to the conversion of Professor Jan Hus of Bohemia, the Hussite movement and later the Moravians. From them missionaries went out, literally, to the ends of the earth. Some of her friends remained in England to attend Oxford University, telling others what they had learned from Queen Anne. The friends who returned to Bohemia told the people there about their beloved queen, and what she had taught them from scripture. So the seeds of the reformation were spread throughout Bohemia and England with the blessing of the Lord. This was also the beginning of the cruel persecution of the infant reformed church.