Hussite Wars
The Hussite Wars were a series of conflicts in the early 15th century in Bohemia, sparked by the execution of religious reformer Jan Hus in 1415. Hus’s teachings gained significant traction among the peasantry and lesser nobility, leading to widespread resentment against the established authority, particularly King Sigismund of Hungary, who was seen as a betrayer. Following Hus's death, tensions escalated as Sigismund sought to assert control over Bohemia amidst a backdrop of political instability after the death of King Wenceslas IV.
The conflict began in earnest in 1420 when Sigismund launched a crusade against the Hussites, marked by significant battles such as the siege of Prague and multiple offensives by Hussite forces. Despite initial setbacks for the Hussites, including internal strife and civil war among their factions, they managed to achieve notable victories and formed alliances, making Bohemia difficult to conquer. However, the war ultimately led to the decline of the Hussite movement, particularly after the decisive Battle of Lipany in 1434, which weakened their united front.
By 1436, the Hussites were forced to recognize Sigismund's rule through the Compactata, marking the end of the conflict and the eventual reestablishment of his authority over Bohemia. The legacy of the Hussite Wars would continue, influencing religious and political developments in the region for years to come, culminating in the eventual decline of Hussitism by the end of the 15th century.
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Hussite Wars
At issue: Religious and temporal control over Bohemia
Date: July 30, 1419-July 5, 1436
Location: Bohemia and Moravia (Czech Republic) and Hungary
Combatants: Bohemian lower classes (Hussites) vs. Bohemian high nobility, Hungarians, and Germans
Principal commanders:Hussite, Jan Žižka (c. 1360–1424), Prokop the Great (1380?-1434); Hungarian/German, King/Emperor Sigismund (1367–1437)
Principal battles: Prague, Vítkov Hill, česky Brod, Kutná Hora, Německý Brod, Aussig, Lipany
Result: Temporary religious and temporal independence for the people of Bohemia
Background
On July 6, 1415, Czech religious reformer Jan Hus was burned at the stake as a heretic, following a betrayal of promised safe conduct from the Council of Constance. By the time of his death, Hus’s teachings had a large following in Bohemia, especially among the peasantry and lesser nobility. Hungary’s King Sigismund was implicated in the betrayal, and the public was further antagonized when he tried to claim the throne after his brother, Bohemian king Wenceslas IV (Holy Roman emperor and king of Germany), died on August 16, 1419. With authority over Bohemia hanging in the balance, Sigismund was driven by moral imperatives and the promise of Bohemia’s wealth to rid that domain from the Hussite scourge. The Hussites and the lower classes, driven by their religious fanaticism and the belief that Sigismund was treachery personified, justified themselves in defense of their homeland. The stage was set for hostilities.
Action
Sigismund opened 1420 with a crusade from Silesia directed against Prague. On June 30, some 80,000 Germans and Hungarians opened a siege, and Czechs who fell into their hands were burned as heretics. On July 14, Sigismund launched an assault on Vítkov Hill to the east of the city, seeking to cut supplies. However, the failure of this attack, money problems, and conflicts between Sigismund’s German and Bohemian supporters soon compelled the besiegers to withdraw. In September, the Four Articles of Prague appeared, summarizing the Hussites’ demands, all of which were of a religious nature.
The year 1421 opened with Hussite offensives, notably the bloody storming of Cesky Brod and the rapid subjugation of the lower Elbe basin. With the capture of čáslav and Kolín, Kutná Hora was compelled to surrender in late April, and Hussite forces crossed into Moravia by early May. The Hussites then headed north to the Silesian border before calling the Diet of čáslav in June. Hussite war leader Jan Žižka returned south and was blinded besieging Rabi castle.
The second crusade opened in August but left by early October, repulsed by the 6,000-man garrison of Žatec before the arrival of Hussite reinforcements from Prague. As the northern crusade faltered, however, Sigismund led an attack from the south supported by the Pilsen Landfrieden to the west. The latter suffered defeat at Vladař in mid-November, and Žižka’s Kutná Hora campaign utterly crushed Sigismund’s crusade in late December, 1421, with a climactic coup de grace at Nemecký Brod in January, 1422.
Within six months, the Hussites concluded an alliance with Duke Witold of Lithuania, making Bohemia unassailable from the outside. However, Hussite sects soon raised swords against each other, and most of late 1422 and 1423 were spent in civil war. The radical Taborites eventually subdued the more moderate Utraquists just enough to launch an abortive invasion of Hungary in 1423 and begin attacks on Moravia in 1424. Žižka died en route, and hostilities largely subsided until 1426.
Two years after Žižka’s death, Sigismund launched one more attack into Bohemia, decisively defeated by Prokop the Great at Aussig (1426). But internal strife led to the downfall of the Hussites, most notably with the Battle of Lipany in 1434. On July 5, 1436, the Hussites were compelled to sign the Compactata, finally giving Sigismund the rule over Bohemia that had eluded him for seventeen years.
Aftermath
As the Hussite radicals could no longer sway their more moderate brothers in arms, the movement faltered, and Bohemia finally recognized Sigismund as its sovereign in 1437. It would be another forty-four years, however, before Hussitism evaporated completely, as a second wave appeared under George Poděbrady. Only after his death in 1471 was Bohemia once again completely in the European fold.
Bibliography
Bartos, F. M. The Hussite Revolution 1424–1437. New York: Columbia University Press, 1986.
Heymann, Frederick. John Zizka and the Hussite Revolution. Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press, 1955.
Kaminsky, Howard. A History of the Hussite Revolution. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1967.
Kejr, Jiri. The Hussite Revolution. Prague: Orbis Press Agency, 1988.