A memorial plaque to a man described as St Andrews’ “missing martyr” has been dedicated by the Ambassador of the Czech Republic.
Libor Sečka unveiled the tribute to Pavel Kravař, better known in Scotland as Paul Craw, close the spot in Market Street where he was executed in the summer of 1433.
Kravař, a Hussite emissary from Bohemia, was the first of a succession of religious reformers who were martyred in the town during the Protestant Reformation and was burned at the stake for heresy.
History suggests that Kravař’s activities in the Fife town upset the authorities, particularly Henry Wardlaw, Bishop of St Andrews, who accused him of spreading heretical ideas.
Kravař was therefore sentenced to death and killed near the former Mercat Cross on July 23 1433, reportedly with a brass ball stuffed in his mouth to prevent him addressing the people.
Speaking at the unveiling ceremony, Mr Sečka said: “Up to now there has been no actual memorial to him in St Andrews – unlike four others who died in similar circumstances during the Protestant reformation and are commemorated on the Martyrs’ Monument elsewhere in the town.
“Indeed, Pavel Kravař has sometimes been known as the ‘missing martyr’.
“That is no longer the case.
“Thanks to the generosity of the Czech community in the United Kingdom and to the help of the St Andrews Preservation Trust, his life is now commemorated here.”
The plaque features the shape of a chalice, the symbol of the Hussite movement and an inscription in English and Czech – the language of the Hussites.
Professor Verity Brown, vice-principal (enterprise and engagement) at the University of St Andrews, said: “The University of St Andrews, both now and then, is a community of scholars from all over the world.
“In the present day our staff and students have travelled form more than 120 countries and all religions, and none, are represented amongst us.
“We no remember and reject the intolerances of the past.
“The character of today’s University is to turn differences into diversity.
“We celebrate the challenges that the perspective of others brings to our learning.”
The ceremony in St Andrews was also attended by St Andrews University principal Professor Sally Mapstone and Paul Vyšný, a retired lecturer in history who researched the history of Pavel Kravař.
