Walter Brit facts for kids

Walter Brit (also known as Brit, Brytte, or Brithus) was an important scholar who was active around the year 1390. He was a fellow (a senior member) at Merton College, Oxford, a famous university.

Walter Brit is believed to have written several books about interesting subjects like astronomy (the study of stars and planets) and mathematics. He also wrote a book about surgery. Some people think he was a supporter of John Wycliffe, who was a well-known religious reformer. Brit is also thought to have written a book that discussed the wealth and property of the church.

Was Walter Brit a Lollard?

For a long time, people have wondered if Walter Brit was the same person as another man named Walter Brut. In the 1600s, a historian named Anthony Wood believed they were the same.

Walter Brut was a regular person from the Hereford area. In 1391, he was questioned by Bishop Thomas Trevenant of Hereford because his beliefs were different from the official church teachings. This event was written about by John Foxe. Today, experts are still not sure if Walter Brit and Walter Brut were the same person.

Walter Brut's Story

According to John Foxe, Walter Brut was accused of having beliefs that went against the church. Foxe wrote about the specific accusations against Brut and also included the speech Brut gave to defend himself. In the end, Brut agreed to let the church decide if his opinions were correct.

After this, 37 specific points about Brut's beliefs were written down. These points were sent to the University of Cambridge for scholars there to argue against them. However, it seems that Walter Brut was not bothered further after this event.