Jan Žižka
Renowned Czech military leader and national hero
Central Europe during the high middle ages was a brutal and ruthless place, and at its heart was the Holy Roman Empire. In 2018 a light was shone on this period and specifically medieval Bohemia (modern day Czech Republic) - at the time a Kingdom within the vast Holy Roman Empire - in the form of the single-player, RPG video game, Kingdom Come: Deliverance created by Czech studio Warhorse. Set in the silver mining town of Skalitz in 1403, when Bohemia was the subject of war and violence between the factions of Sigismund of Luxembourg and Wenceslaus IV - Sigismund’s forces won and he gained the kingdom of Bohemia. Then in 2022, the film Medieval set in a similar period was released, that was inspired by the story of military leader Jan Žižka - a man who never lost a battle.
Beginnings
Jan Žižka z Trocnova a Kalicha (translated into English is John Zizka of Trocnov and the Chalice) is a fascinating figure and stands tall amongst the greats of Central Europe’s history. He was military leader, a contemporary and follower of Jan Hus, and a prominent Radical Hussite who led the Taborite faction during the Hussite Wars (30 July 1419 – 30 May 1434). Nicknamed "One-eyed Žižka" after losing one eye - it’s not clear how he lost it - and then eventually becoming completely blind, Jan lead Bohemian Hussite forces in battles against three anti-Hussite crusades and remained undefeated throughout his entire military career. A true master of strategy and warfare.
Born in the village of Trocnov - modern day Borovany, České Budějovice District - in 1360, and local legend states that he was “born in the forest under an oak growing just next to the fields and little ponds”. Not much is known about his family or childhood other than his family belonged to the lower Czech nobility that didn’t have much land. However, Jan appeared in historical documents from 1378 (which is a marriage record) up to 1384 stating land ownership. After this, Jan disappears from the record for 20 years and is believed to have become a mercenary.
Žižka the Outlaw
At the turn of the 14th- and 15th-Centuries, south Bohemian nobility led by Henry III of Rosenberg took part in various revolts against king Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia which brought violence and turmoil to the Kingdom of Bohemia. While Žižka is not recorded as participating in these conflicts as he was believed to have already taken over his family’s property. However, the family may have run into financial issues on account of the revolts. Some sources state that his father became the royal gamekeeper before he died in 1407 near Plzeň.
However, beginning in 1406, Žižka starts appearing in the black book (acta negra maleficorum) of the Rosenberg estate as an accused bandit. While it isn’t know why his status changed, it is recorded that Žižka declared open hostility to Henry of Rosenberg and also to the city of Budějovice and their allies - alongside Matěj Vůdce who was seeking only financial profit from the endeavour. This would suggest that he was trying to fight some injustice against his house and to enforce some of his rights in this way. Czech historian František Šmahel suggests that “the boom of south-Bohemian banditry in that time to the continual growth of the estates of the rich house of Rosenberg (and of the church estates) and simultaneous indebtedness and pauperization of the lower gentry together with the thirst for land among their subjects, which resulted in social tension in the area.”
When violence broke out Žižka tried to harm his enemies on any possible occasion using as his allies. This ruthless streak would stay with him into his military leadership. Žižka took part in various raids and at least one murder - a man belonging to the court of Henry of Rosenberg - whilst moving about the Bohemian countryside including a farm in the village of Sedlo (part of Číměř in today’s landscape) and a mill not far from Lomnice nad Lužnicí. Žižka and the bandits were also in touch with some more powerful enemies of Henry of Rosenberg. One example comes in 1408, when Žižka took part in preparations for the conquest of the castle Hus near Prachatice (the burgrave* of the castle was Mikuláš of Hus, a man who later became one of first commandants in Žižka's army in the beginning of the Hussite Wars). However, Žižka's companions would eventually be captured, tortured, and executed, including Matěj Vůdce. Yet there was a twist in Žižka’s tale, as he was pardoned by Wenceslaus IV in 1409, calling him "faithful and beloved" in a special letter. From there he would revert back to being a mercenary.
The Battle of Grunwald & Living in Prague
In 1410, the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War in which the Polish-Lithuanian alliance fought against the Teutonic Order** was at its pique. Polish chronicler Jan Długosz, Žižka served as a mercenary during the battle of Grunwald***. Assumed to be on the winning Polish-Lithuanian side, the battle of Grunwald was one of the biggest battles in Medieval Europe. This was the first victory of Žižka’s military career.
After this, Žižka’s activity between the years 1411–1419 isn’t certain, however it is believed that he entered the service of Sophia of Bavaria, the wife of Wenceslas IV, as her chamberlain. One of his responsibilities was to accompany Sophia to witness the preachings of Jan Hus (1370 – 6 July 1415) - who was a Czech theologian and philosopher who became a Church reformer. He is the inspiration of Hussitism, a key predecessor to Protestantism, and a seminal figure in the Bohemian Reformation. Hus would be deemed a heretic, condemned, trialled and executed by the Catholic church and his burning in 1415 was the spark that would ignite passion within the Hussites to gain recognition in the Hussite Wars.
Nothing is said about how Žižka converted to Hus’s ideas but given his proximity he would have had plenty of food for though. Even so, Žižka hand an exceptional position amongst the servants of the Bohemian king’s household and 1414 was able to buy a house in Na Příkopě street in Prague - which he late sold for a smaller house in Old Town.
Rise to Prominence
Žižka’s first significant impact on Czech history would be on 30th July 1419 in Prague, when he joined a Hussite procession led by the priest Jan Želivský. The procession was in aid of getting the council of Prague to release Hussite prisoners. These demands were, of course, rejected by the council. As a result, the crowd stormed the town hall and threw the councillors out of the windows. This became known as the First Defenestration of Prague, it is regarded as the beginning of the Hussite revolution - Wenceslaus IV died 17 days after hearing about these events. The Hussites seized the city and expelled all their opponents.
On 13th November 1419, it fell to the partisans of King Sigismund† to come to a temporary armistice with the citizens of Prague. Žižka disapproved of this compromise and left Prague for Plzeň with his followers. On 25th March 1420, the Hussite Wars would begin proper. Žižka defeated the partisans of Sigismund at Sudoměř in pitched battle - there was a series of raids before this known as the Battle of Nekmíř - though outnumbered and comparatively ill-equipped in comparison to the Catholic forces and facing heavily armoured knights, the Hussites had ingeniously fortified their surroundings. Their flank was protected by war wagons - something Žižka would become famous for - loaded with guns, alongside a brilliant use or marshy areas that surrounded the Hussite infantry - ground which the Royalist cavalry could not hope to cross.
Žižka is credited with helping to develop the tactics of using wagon forts, called vozová hradbain Czech or Wagenburg by the Germans, as mobile fortifications. These were mainly used when the Hussite army faced a numerically superior opponent, in which they prepared carts for the battle by forming them into squares or circles. Alongside this the carts were joined wheel to wheel by chains and in a slanted position, with their corners attached to each other. In front of this barricade would be a ditch as an extra layer of protection. Through this the Hussites used defensive and counter offensive tactics to break enemy morale and inflict heavy casualties on their opponents.
The Hussite Crusades & Civil War
The Hussite Wars were fought for the recognition of Hussitism and were primarily propelled by social issues within the Holy Roman Empire and strengthened by a newly found Czech national awareness. The Catholic Church deemed Hus's teachings heretical, and after the First Defenestration of Prague, the Hussite Crusades enabled Žižka to earn his fame. At the end of 1421, Žižka lost the use of his other eye and would lead his forces blind but still with all the guile, intelligence and prowess as he had when he was just one-eyed. By the end of these crusades, almost all Bohemia fell into the hands of the Hussites. A resounding victory for the religious movement of Hussitism, the Bohemian realm and for Žižka himself.
In 1423 internal dissent within the Hussite ranks lead to civil war, with the formerly united movement dissolving into factions the Taborites, the Adamites, the Orebites, the Sirotci ("Orphans"), the Utraquists and the Praguers. Yet, despite their squabbles they briefly put aside differences - an armistice was called at Konopiště on 24 June - as a new Crusade on the Hussites was being prepared. As soon as the threat disappeared they fell into internal dissent again. According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica entry and Hugh Chisholm, the following events unfolded after this:
“During his temporary rule over Bohemia, Prince Sigismund Korybut of Lithuania had appointed Bořek, the lord of Miletínek, governor of the city of Hradec Králové. Bořek belonged to a moderate Hussite faction, the Utraquist party. After the departure of Sigismund Korybut, the city of Hradec Králové refused to recognize Bořek as its ruler, due to the democratic party gaining the upper hand. They called Žižka to its aid. He acceded to the demand and defeated the Utraquists under Bořek at the farm of Strachov (in the area of today's Kukleny within Hradec Králové) on 4 August 1423.”
Žižka now attempted to invade Hungary, which was under the rule of his old enemy King Sigismund. Chisholm states;
“Though this Hungarian campaign was unsuccessful owing to the great superiority of the Hungarians, it ranks among the greatest military exploits of Žižka, on account of the skill he displayed in retreat. In 1424, civil war having again broken out in Bohemia, Žižka decisively defeated the "Praguers" and Utraquist nobles at the battle of Skalice on 6 January, and at the battle of Malešov on 7 June. In September, he marched on Prague. On the 14th of that month, peace was concluded between the Hussite parties through the influence of John of Rokycany, afterwards Utraquist archbishop of Prague. It was agreed that the now reunited Hussites should attack Moravia, part of which was still held by Sigismund's partisans, and that Žižka should be the leader in this campaign”
Unfortunately, Žižka died on the Moravian frontier near Přibyslav, during the siege of the castle in Přibyslav in what is today Žižkovo Pole, on 11 October 1424. Some speculate that it was plague, however the purulent disease carbuncle is considered the most likely cause of death. He died undefeated in battle and is a real star of Central European medieval history.
While I have summarised a lot of the history of these Crusades and civil war as it is complicated and for the sake of clarity and conciseness, Žižka and his Hussite forces would fight seven significant battles against the Catholic forces of King Sigismund. These battles were:
Battle of Vítkov Hill
Battle of Vyšehrad
Battle of Kutná Hora
Battle of Nebovidy
Battle of Německý Brod
Battle of Hořice
Battle of Malešov
Not largely known in Western Europe, I would never have learned about this man if it wasn’t for my curiosity to look at the historical sources for Kingdom Come: Deliverance and Medieval bringing his story to light he would have continued to fly under my radar. After recently visiting Prague I knew I had to write something about Jan and because of him I’m venturing further down a Central Medieval Europe rabbit hole!
Notes
*Burgrave: a military governor i a German city between the 12th- and 13th-Centuries.
**Teutonic Order - a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society c. 1190 in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem.
**Battle of Grunwald - fought on 15 July 1410, and the alliance of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, led respectively by King of Poland Jogaila (Władysław II Jagiełło) and Grand Duke Vytautas (Witold), decisively defeated the Teutonic Knights, led by Grand Master Ulrich von Jungingen.
†Sigismund of Luxembourg - (15 February 1368 – 9 December 1437) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1433 until his death in 1437. He was elected King of Germany (King of the Romans) in 1410, and was also King of Bohemia from 1419, as well as prince-elector of Brandenburg (1378–1388 and 1411–1415).
Bibliography
Urbánek, R., Jopson N. B., (December 1924), Jan Žižka, the Hussite (On His Quincentenary), The Slavonic Review, Vol. 3, No. 8, pp. 272-284 (13 pages), Modern Humanities Research Association
Górski, S., Wilczynska, E., (2012), Jan Žižka’s Wagons of War, Medieval Warfare, Vol. 2, No. 3, pp. 27-34 (8 pages), Karwansaray BV
Šmahel, F., (1969), Jan Žižka z Trocnova, Církev československá husitská
Wilkes, J., (30th October 2022), Jan Žižka: one of history's greatest military leaders, who was blind but undefeated, HistoryExtra, BBC
Janega, Dr. E., Lewis, M., (5th November 2022), Czech Braveheart: Jan Žižka, Gone Medieval Podcast, HistoryHit
Nick Carey, (23rd February 2000), Jan Zizka, Radio Prague International, Czech Radio
Encyclopedia Britannica, (2025), Jan, Count Žižka, sections: Military Leaders, World History
Chisholm, H., (2025), Jan Hus, sections: Religious Personages & Scholars, Philosophy & Religion, Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica, (2025), Hussite, sections: Religious Movements & Organisations, Philosophy & Religion