Hussite Wars

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"Bohemian Wars" redirects here. For the later war over Bohemia, see Bohemian War (1468-1478).
Hussite Wars
Jan Žižka with a priest looking over Prague after the Battle of Vítkov Hill
Date July 30, 1419 – May 30, 1434
Location Central Europe, mostly in the Crown of Bohemia

Husitská korouhev.svg Hussites(1419-1423)

Husitská korouhev.svg Radical Hussites

Bohemia Arms.svg Bohemian Hussite Nobility
Pohonia.svg Grand Duchy of Lithuania

Supported by:
Coat of Arms of the Polish Crown.svg Kingdom of Poland

Holy Roman Empire Arms-double head.svg Holy Roman Empire

CoA Pontifical States 02.svg Papal States
Blason ville fr Valcanville (Manche).svg Order of Malta
Blason ordre teutonique 2.svg Teutonic Order
Royal Arms of England (1470-1471).svg Kingdom of England Despot of Serbia.png Serbian Despotate

Husitská korouhev.svg Moderate Hussites (Utraquists)(1423-1434)
Commanders and leaders

The Hussite Wars, also called the Bohemian Wars or the Hussite Revolution, were fought between the Hussites (the followers of Bohemian priest and reformer Jan Hus) and various monarchs who sought to enforce the authority of the Roman Catholic Church against the Hussites, and also between Hussite factions. These wars lasted from 1419 to circa 1434.

The Hussite community included most of the Czech population of the Kingdom of Bohemia, and formed a major military power. They defeated five crusades proclaimed against them by the Pope (1420, 1421, 1422, 1427 and in 1431), and intervened in the wars of neighboring countries. The Hussite Wars were notable for the extensive use of early hand-held firearms such as hand cannons.

The fighting ended after 1434, when the moderate Utraquist faction of the Hussites defeated the radical Taborite faction. The Hussites agreed to submit to the authority of the King of Bohemia and the Church, and were allowed to practice their somewhat variant rite.


Burning of Jan Hus at the Council of Constance

Starting around 1402, priest and scholar Jan Hus denounced what he judged as the corruption of the Church and the Papacy, and he promoted the reformist ideas of English theologian John Wycliffe. His preaching was widely heeded in Bohemia, and provoked suppression by the Church, which had declared Wycliffe a heretic. In 1411, in the course of the Western Schism, "Antipope" John XXIII proclaimed a "crusade" against King Ladislaus of Naples, the protector of rival Pope Gregory XII. To raise money for this, he proclaimed indulgences in Bohemia. Hus bitterly denounced this and explicitly quoted Wycliffe against it, provoking further complaints of heresy but winning much support in Bohemia.

In 1414, Sigismund of Hungary convened the Council of Constance to end the Schism and resolve other religious controversies. Hus went to the Council, under a safe-conduct from Sigismund, but was imprisoned, tried, and executed on 6 July 1415. The knights and nobles of Bohemia and Moravia, who were in favour of church reform, sent the protestatio Bohemorum to the Council of Constance on 2 September 1415, which condemned the execution of Hus in the strongest language. This angered Sigismund, who was "King of the Romans" (head of the Holy Roman Empire, though not yet Emperor), and brother of King Wenceslaus of Bohemia. He had been persuaded by the Council that Hus was a heretic. He sent threatening letters to Bohemia declaring that he would shortly drown all Wycliffites and Hussites, greatly incensing the people.


Under the influence of Sigismund, Wenceslaus endeavoured to stem the Hussite movement. A number of Hussites led by Mikuláš of Hus — no relation of Jan Hus — left Prague. They held meetings in various parts of Bohemia, particularly at Sezimovo Ústí (not to be confused with Ústí nad Labem), near the spot where the town of Tábor was founded soon afterwards. At these meetings they violently denounced Sigismund, and the people everywhere prepared for war.

In spite of the departure of many prominent Hussites, the troubles at Prague continued. On 30 July 1419 Hussite procession headed by the priest Jan Želivský attacked New Town Hall in Prague and threw the king's representatives, the burgomaster, and some town councillors from the windows into the street (the first "Defenestration of Prague"), where several were killed by the fall.[1] It has been suggested that Wenceslaus was so stunned by the defenestration that it caused his death on 16 August 1419.[1] (Alternatively, it is possible that he may have just died of natural causes.)[citation needed]

The outbreak of fighting[edit]



Wagenburg tactics[edit]

Main article: Wagenburg
The Hussite Wagenburg




As soon as the enemy's morale was lowered, the second stage, an offensive counterattack, began. The infantry and the cavalry burst out from behind the carts striking violently at the enemy - mostly from the flanks. While fighting on the flanks and being shot at from the carts the enemy was not able to put up much resistance. They were forced to withdraw, leaving behind dismounted knights in heavy armor who were unable to escape the battlefield. The enemy armies suffered heavy losses and the Hussites soon had the reputation of not taking captives.

The first anti-Hussite crusade[edit]

After the death of his childless brother Wenceslaus, Sigismund inherited a claim on the Bohemian crown, though it was then, and remained till much later, in question whether Bohemia was an hereditary or an elective monarchy. A firm adherent of the Church of Rome, Sigismund was aided by Pope Martin V, who issued a bull on 17 March 1420 proclaiming a crusade “for the destruction of the Wycliffites, Hussites and all other heretics in Bohemia". Sigismund and many German princes arrived before Prague on 30 June at the head of a vast army of crusaders from all parts of Europe, largely consisting of adventurers attracted by the hope of pillage. They immediately began a siege of the city, which had, however, soon to be abandoned. Negotiations took place for a settlement of the religious differences.

The united Hussites formulated their demands in a statement known as the “Four Articles of Prague". This document, the most important of the Hussite period, ran, in the wording of the contemporary chronicler, Laurence of Brezova, as follows:

2. The sacrament of the most Holy Eucharist shall be freely administered in the two kinds, that is bread and wine, to all the faithful in Christ who are not precluded by mortal sin - according to the word and disposition of Our Saviour.

These articles, which contain the essence of the Hussite doctrine, were rejected by King Sigismund, mainly through the influence of the papal legates, who considered them prejudicial to the authority of the Pope. Hostilities therefore continued. However Sigismund was defeated at the Battle of Vítkov Hill on July 1420.


The second anti-Hussite crusade[edit]

Escape of the King Sigismund from Kutná Hora


Civil war[edit]

Bohemia was for a time free from foreign intervention, but internal discord again broke out, caused partly by theological strife and partly by the ambition of agitators. On 9 March 1422, Jan Želivský was arrested by the town council of Prague and beheaded. There were troubles at Tábor also, where a more radical party opposed Žižka's authority.

Polish and Lithuanian involvement[edit]



His authority was recognized by the Utraquist nobles, the citizens of Prague, and the more moderate of the Taborites, but he failed to bring the Hussites back into the Church. On a few occasions, he even fought against both the Taborites and the Orebites to try to force them into reuniting. After Władysław II and Vytautas signed the Treaty of Melno with Sigismund of Hungary in 1423, they recalled Sigismund Korybut to Lithuania, under pressure from Sigismund of Hungary and the Pope.

On his departure, civil war broke out, the Taborites opposing in arms the more moderate Utraquists, who at this period are also called by the chroniclers the "Praguers", as Prague was their principal stronghold. On 27 April 1423, Žižka now again leading, the Taborites defeated the Utraquist army under Čeněk of Wartenberg at the Battle of Hořice; shortly afterwards an armistice was concluded at Konopilt.

The third anti-Hussite crusade[edit]

Papal influence had meanwhile succeeded in calling forth a new crusade against Bohemia, but it resulted in complete failure. In spite of the endeavours of their rulers, Poles and Lithuanians did not wish to attack the kindred Czechs; the Germans were prevented by internal discord from taking joint action against the Hussites; and the King of Denmark, who had landed in Germany with a large force intending to take part in the crusade, soon returned to his own country. Free for a time from foreign threat, the Hussites invaded Moravia, where a large part of the population favored their creed; but, paralysed again by dissensions, they soon returned to Bohemia.


Sigismund Korybut, who had returned to Bohemia in 1424 with 1,500 troops, helped broker this peace. After Žižka's death in October 1424, Prokop the Great took command of the Taborites. Korybut, who had come in defiance of Władysław II and Vytautas, also became a Hussite leader.

Campaigns of 1426 and 1427 (fourth anti-Hussite Crusade)[edit]

In 1426 the Hussites were again attacked by foreign enemies. In June 1426 Hussite forces, led by Prokop and Sigismund Korybut, signally defeated the invaders in the Battle of Aussig.


The Hussites subsequently invaded parts of Germany several times, though they made no attempt to occupy permanently any part of the country.



Beautiful rides (Chevauchée)[edit]


During a war between Poland and the Teutonic Order, some Hussite troops helped the Poles. In 1433, a Hussite army of 7,000 men marched through Neumark into Prussia and captured Dirschau on the Vistula River. They eventually reached the mouth of the Vistula where it enters the Baltic Sea near Danzig. There, they performed a great victory celebration to show that nothing but the ocean could stop the Hussites. The Prussian historian Heinrich von Treitschke later wrote that they had "greeted the sea with a wild Czech song about God's warriors, and filled their water bottles with brine in token that the Baltic once more obeyed the Slavs."[2]

Peace talks[edit]


The fifth anti-Hussite crusade[edit]

Battle of Domažlice, 15th century Jena Codex


New negotiations and the defeat of radical Hussites[edit]

On 15 October 1431, the Council of Basel issued a formal invitation to the Hussites to take part in its deliberations. Prolonged negotiations ensued, but finally a Hussite embassy, led by Prokop and including John of Rokycan, the Taborite bishop Nicolas of Pelhřimov, the ‘English Hussite’ Peter Payne and many others, arrived at Basel on 4 January 1433. No agreement could be reached, but negotiations were not broken off, and a change in the political situation of Bohemia finally resulted in a settlement.

Battle of Lipany, romantic painting



Peace agreement[edit]

The moderate party thus obtained the upper hand; and wanted to find a compromise between the council and the Hussites. It formulated its demands in a document which was finally accepted by the Church of Rome in a slightly modified form, and which is known as ‘the compacts.’ The compacts, mainly founded on the articles of Prague, declare that:


On 5 July 1436 the compacts were formally accepted and signed at Jihlava (Iglau), in Moravia, by King Sigismund, by the Hussite delegates, and by the representatives of the Roman Catholic Church. The last-named, however, refused to recognize as archbishop of Prague John of Rokycan, who had been elected to that dignity by the estates of Bohemia.


Further information: Religious peace of Kutná Hora




See also[edit]


  1. ^ a b Catholic Encyclopedia
  2. ^ Von Treitschke, Heinrich (2013). Treitschke's Origins of Prussianism (Routledge Revivals) : the Teutonic Knights. (ebook ed.). Hoboken : Taylor and Francis. p. 128. ISBN 9781134582211. 
  3. ^ Frederick Engels, "The Peasant War in Germany" contained in the Collected Works of Karl Marx and Frederick Engels: Volume 10 (International Publishers: New York, 1978) p. 428.

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]