Warrior of God: Jan Zizka and the Hussite Revolution [Hardcover]

This is an excellent introductory book on the Great Czech/Bohemian hero Jan Zizka and the Hussite Revolution. Although I would not describe this work as scholarly, the Hussite movement and its place as the first successful Protestant rebellion in the Reformation is extremely important in European and religious History. The military leader that made this possible was Jan Zizka, who was able to forge an army out of peasants, devise new or improved military arms (such as flails and war wagons), develop new tactics, and defeat superior forces through discipline, training, effective tactics and leadership time and time again. This is all the more remarkable as Zizka possessed only one eye before becoming completely blind for his last three years of campaigning, during which time he achieved some of his most remarkable victories. I can name no other commander in history who was even marginally effective after becoming blind, let alone extremely successful and repeatedly victorious.

There is much to learn in this book in regards to religious and national revolutions. The Hussite movement splintered multiple times into almost irreconcilable religious factions, and rabble rousers and charismatic leaders were the order of the day. Almost without exception they were dogmatic in their beliefs, and their actions would have doomed Bohemia to utter destruction had not Zizka been able to help patch over differences to fight common enemies. Nonetheless, eventually the Hussites were their own worst enemies due to their internal politics, willingness to give opponents the benefit of the doubt in accepting their word, and allowing minor theological points to divide them.

The Hussite's Roman Catholic enemies, kings, nobles, clergy and the Pope, resorted to any and all tactics, fair and foul to suppress them. Time and again pledges were broken by Catholics following the reasoning that a pledge make to a heretic was not valid or enforceable. Gee, I wonder where Europeans got the idea they could do the same to the Indians of America. Repeatedly the same individuals broke their promises and either burned their captives to death or threw them down mine shafts. In fact, burning at the stake or jamming prisoners in churches or other buildings and setting them on fire were common methods of execution. And in the face of all this, the Hussites repeatedly accepted promises by Catholic prisoners, particularly nobles, and set them free to fight again and kill more Hussites. If there were ever examples that mercy in war is counterproductive, the Hussite wars fill the bill.

This is a book that can be read in a few hours, and the footnotes are mostly explanatory descriptions. Reference footnotes or endnotes are absent. There are relatively few references, and the author points out that primary sources are very scarce. After the Battle of White Mountain in 1620 during the Thirty Years War, Protestant Bohemia was re-Catholicised, and Catholic forces and clergy, most notably the Jesuits, destroyed everything could find concerning Bohemian history and the Hussites. As usual, the world is poorer for such book-burnings in the name of religion. Today, 56% of the citizenry of the Czech Republic claim to be atheists. The flock has flown. Jan Hus and Jerome of Prague, of course, were lured to councils with false promises and burned at the stake by Roman Catholic authorities.

There is much to learn here, and I highly recommend this book to all. The only reason I downgraded it from 5 to 4 stars is the lack of references that would allow readers like me to check on various points and conduct further research.

When I was first offered a review copy of this book I was somewhat surprised, because the publisher specialises in military rather than religious history. Having read the book I would have to say that it would be a great shame if this meant that those interested in medieval and reformation history overlooked it because of its publisher.

The book covers the life of Jan Zizka, a man instrumental in the survival and the success of the Hussite revolution in Bohemia following the martyrdom of Jan Hus. The introductory chapter places the story of the Hussites in the larger context of the political and religious turmoil of the 14th Century, while chapter one introduces Zizka and explains the significance of his military innovations. Zizka proved to be a genius at utilising whatever was at hand in warfare. At this time the significant role in battle was conducted by opposing knights. These engaged one another on horseback as they saw fit and the peasant infantry served mainly to be mowed down by the cavalry.

Faced with a situation where his forces consisted almost entirely of peasant infantry Zizka equipped them by converting their wagons into mobile fortresses and (literally) turned their pruning hooks into swords and a variety of vicious clubs and other weapons. Faced with Zizka's battle wagons drawn up in formation strategically utilising the terrain, cavalry charges proved useless and knights were forced to dismount and attack on more equal terms with their opponents. In such circumstances the knights were invariably routed.

Chapter 2 describes the career of Jan Hus and includes this significant passage which is worth quoting in full:

"Before being burned at the stake, Hus declared `You are now going to burn a goose [the meaning of his surname] , but in a century you will have a swan which you can neither roast or boil.' Copies of Wyclif's writings were used to kindle the fire. One hundred and two years later, Luther posted his theses, and today the swan is a symbol of many Lutheran churches. The seeming prescience of Hus's remark, served to heighten his saintly stature with subsequent generations of Bohemians, and Protestant iconography commonly connects Wyclif, Hus, and Luther. Has Hus lived longer,he would have presided over difficult times for his followers, and his memory might be less revered. Some feel that Hus left the historical stage at the proper time and in the proper manner to ensure everlasting fame respect. A living Hus would have been a valuable voice for the movement, but the dead Hus embodied a spirit of pride and resistance, inspiring the Hussites and steeling them for the coming doctrinal a military assault upon their beliefs." [p.36]

These military assaults came from without, in the form of the five anti-Hussite Crusades, and from within as divisions in the Hussite cause led to discord and civil war. The brutality of these wars - on all sides - was incredible and one has to remind oneself that the Hussites were literally fighting for their lives as their "heresy" was a capital offence. Through Zizka's leadership the Hussite armies finally subjugated almost all of of Bohemia and after his death invaded Moravia and Austria.

Victor Verney does a splendid job of translating the incredible complex events of this period into an engaging account that is a delight to read. He describes the origins of the various Hussites sects, the Orebites (Orphans), Taborites, Pichards, Adamites, etc. in such as way that one is able to understand clearly the historical and religious context of each.

Towards the end of his book Verney sums up the significance of the Hussite revolution in these words, which again are worth quoting in full:

"Continual Hussite victories also sowed widespread religious doubt, ultimately more subversive to Rome than their military incursions. Many could not understand why, if they were fighting for God as the Pope, the Emperor, and their nobles and clerics kept assuring them, they kept losing. If the Hussites were indeed sacriligious heretics, why was God permitting them to enjoy such success? These widespread misgivings about the Vatican's omnipotence and righteousness prepared Central Europe for Martin Luther a century later. The Hussites, particularly Tabor, exploited this by distributing thousands of pamphlets throughout Western Europe, explaining themselves and making their case - a remarkable exercise in mass media four decades before Gutenberg's printing press." [p,222]

In summary, I would like to highly commend this book to anyone interested in medieval and reformation history and hope that it becomes required reading on all courses dealing with these subjects.

A fantastic book about the leader of the Hussite wars - named as such for the martyring of Jan Hus by the Roman Catholic leaders in Bohemia in the 1400s. Zizka was a military genius who was appointed to his post after the King's death, a few years after Hus' martyrdom. He led mostly peasants and lower middle class people to victory over and over again against the corrupt Roman Catholics of Bohemia, Hungary, and Germany, and other areas as they attempted to invade and squash these pre-reformation people (they cried out against the corruption in the Roman Catholic church 100 years before Martin Luther). In fact, Zizka never lost a single battle even though he was almost always outnumbered by 3, 5 or even 7 to 1. He developed weapons that farmers and peasants could use including a mobile "tank-like" vehicle made from wooden wagons. The Hussites developed an aura of invincibility that was so dominant that even after Zizka died and 200,000 German soldiers showed up to invade Bohemia, the Hussite army of only 15 to 20 thousand scared them away as they approached. Zizka was a one-eyed general who lost his remaining good eye late in his life (by a stray arrow during a battle). However, he continued to lead his men to many more victories as a blind general. This is an wonderful story for military and religious history aficionados.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 4 reviews  4.8 out of 5 stars