Hussite Wars

The Hussite Wars involved the military actions against and amongst the followers of Jan Hus in Bohemia in the period 1420 to circa 1434. The Hussite Wars were arguably the first European war in which hand-held gunpowder weapons such as muskets made a decisive contribution. Light cannons were also used, especially by the Hussites who used them masterfully in defensive positions.

The Outbreak of Fighting

The death of the king resulted in renewed troubles in Prague and in almost all parts of Bohemia. Many Romanists, mostly Germans — for they had almost all remained faithful to the papal cause — suffered expulsion from the Bohemian cities. In Prague, in November 1419, severe fighting took place between the Hussites and the mercenaries whom Queen Sophia (widow of Wenceslaus and regent after the death of her husband) had hurriedly collected. After a considerable part of the city had been destroyed, the parties declared a truce on 13 November. The nobles, who though favourable to the Hussite cause yet supported the regent, promised to act as mediators with Sigismund; while the citizens of Prague consented to restore to the royal forces the castle of Vysehrad, which had fallen into their hands. Zizka, who disapproved of this compromise, left Prague and retired to Plzen. Unable to maintain himself there he marched to southern Bohemia, and after defeating the Romanists at the battle of Sudomer (25 March 1420) in the first pitched battle of the Hussite wars, he arrived at Usti, one of the earliest meeting-places of the Hussites. Not considering its situation sufficiently strong, he moved to the neighbouring new settlement of the Hussites, called by the biblical name of Tábor.

Related Topics:
13 November - Vysehrad - Plzen - Battle of Sudomer - 25 March - 1420 - Tábor

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Tabor soon became the centre of the advanced Hussites, who differed from the Utraquists by recognizing only two sacraments - Baptism and Communion - and by rejecting most of the ceremony of the Roman Church. The ecclesiastical organization of Tabor had a somewhat puritanical character, and the government was established on a thoroughly democratic basis. Four captains of the people (hejtmane) were elected, one of whom was Zizka; and a very strictly military discipline was instituted.

Related Topics:
Baptism - Communion

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