Jan Žižka
Jan Žižka | |
---|---|
Sofia of Bavaria | |
Battles/wars | Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War |
Awards | A castle near Litoměřice. He gave the biblical name of Chalice (Kalich in Czech) to this new possession |
Jan Žižka z Trocnova a Kalicha (English: John Zizka of Trocnov and the Chalice; c. 1360 – 11 October 1424) was a
He was born in the small village of
Žižka's tactics were unorthodox and innovative. In addition to training and equipping his army according to their abilities, he used armored wagons fitted with small cannons and muskets, anticipating the tank of five hundred years later. He exploited geographic features to the full and maintained good discipline in his armies. He had to train peasants quickly to face highly-trained and -armored opponents repeatedly, who usually outnumbered his own troops. For those reasons, he is often regarded as one of the greatest military commanders of all time.
A monument was erected on the Vítkov Hill in Prague to honor Jan Žižka and his victory on this hill in 1420. It is the third-largest bronze equestrian statue in the world.[2]
Early life
Jan Žižka was born in one of two Meierhofs of the village Trocnov (nowadays part of Borovany). An old legend says that he was born in the forest under an oak growing just next to the fields and little ponds belonging to the Meierhof.[3] Žižka's family belonged to the lower Czech gentry (zemané) but did not own much estate. Little is known of the rest of the family. Jan Žižka had several siblings but the only names known to historians are brother Jaroslav and sister Anežka. The family had a crayfish in their coat of arms.[3]
The date of Žižka's birth is not known. A document dated 3 April 1378 mentions Johannes dictus Zizka de Trocnov (Jan called Zizka of Trocnov) as a witness on a marriage contract. On the basis of this document, it is assumed that Žižka must have been of legal age at this time and was born around 1360. Nevertheless, there is no direct evidence whether Jan Žižka listed on this document was identical with the Hussite general. For example, Czech historian Tomek and his followers supposed it could have been the military leader's father. They argued that if Žižka were adult in 1378, he would be too old to become such an able commander after 1419.[3][4] Others, such as Šmahel, admitted that even such an age might not have prevented him from successful leadership.[4] Furthermore, historian Petr Čornej notes that "Žižka" was not a family name but a specific nickname that is not attested in any other member of Žižka's family.
In the years 1378–1384, Žižka's name appears on several property documents, which indicate that he was struggling with long-term financial problems.[5] In 1381, Žižka is attested in Prague, in connection with the settlement of the inheritance on the Trocnov estate. It is unclear how to connect this stay with Piccolomini's later report[6] that young Žížka received an education at the Prague royal court. A 1384 document also mentions some Kateřina, a wife of Johannes dictus Zizka.[3] This document states that Žižka sold the field he had once acquired from Kateřina as a dowry. After this date, Žižka's name disappears from historical documents for 20 years and it is generally assumed that he became a mercenary soldier.
Žižka as an outlaw
Although some of the south Bohemian nobility led by Henry III of Rosenberg took part in various revolts against king Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia at the turn of the 14th and 15th century (the king was even held captive in the Rosenberg castles of Příběnice and Český Krumlov for a short time), there is no evidence of Žižka's participation in these conflicts. It is supposed that in the early years of the 15th century Jan Žižka already controlled his family property.[7] However, the family probably got into financial problems and started selling parts of their estate. Some sources suggest that Žižka's father took the place of the royal gamekeeper before he died in 1407 near Plzeň and Žižka himself might have been taken into the royal service, too, but the evidence is not clear enough.[3]
However, beginning in 1406, Žižka starts appearing in the black book (acta negra maleficorum) of the Rosenberg estate as an accused bandit.[8] Unfortunately the reasons of this charge are not known, but the fact that he declared open hostility to Henry of Rosenberg and also to the city of Budějovice and their allies[9] suggests that he was trying to fight some injustice against his house and to enforce some of his rights in this way. Šmahel assigns 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.[10] These circumstances may have eventually forced Žižka to leave his residence in Trocnov. Historian Tomek also speculated that he might have been forcibly deprived of his small hereditary property, which was not uncommon in that time. As a result, he started leading the life of an outlaw, partly supported by the local nobleman Valkoun.
In any case, violence broke out and Žižka tried to harm his enemies on any possible occasion using as his allies, also local bandits, led by
Some of Žižka's companions were eventually captured, tortured, and executed, including Matěj Vůdce.[13] Žižka's situation changed on 25 of April 1409 when king Wenceslas agreed that his conflict with the city of Budějovice should be finished and on 27 June he pardoned him (calling him "faithful and beloved") by a special letter. At the same time he ordered the city council of Budějovice to do so too.[14] This suggests that the king admitted that Žižka was at least partly justified in the conflict.[13]
Grunwald (1410)
According to the Polish chronicler Jan Długosz,
A stay in Prague
The place of Žižka's activity in the years 1411–1419 is not entirely certain. According to a later report by Lukáš Pražský (from 1527), Žižka entered the service of Sophia of Bavaria, the wife of Wenceslas IV, as her chamberlain, and he accompanied her when she was attending the preachings of Jan Hus. Given that Hus went to the South Bohemian exile in 1413, this report must relate to the years 1411–1412.[18] According to the Hussite historian Vavřinec z Březové (Vavřinec of Březová),[19] who knew Žižka personally and referred to the events of 1419, the future Hussite leader then served as a familiaris regis Bohemiae (literally "a family member of the Bohemian king", i.e. a king's courtier). This is confirmed by later chronicles from the 16th century, which specifically highlight the exceptional position that Žižka had among the servants of Wenceslas IV. It is possible that Žižka took part in the unsuccessful war of the Polish king against the Teutonic Knights in 1414, but concrete evidence is lacking. However, it is interesting that just one month after the end of this war campaign, on 7 November 1414, a house in Na Příkopě street in Prague was bought by the one-eyed royal "doorman" Janek (Janek portulanus regius). Czech historiography generally accepts that this "doorman" was identical with Žižka. On 27 May 1416, the "doorman" Janek sells this house and buys another, smaller one in the Old Town.
Rise to prominence
Jan Žižka made his first significant mark in history on 30 July 1419 in Prague, when he joined a Hussite procession led by the priest Jan Želivský.
On 13 November 1419 a temporary
Wagenburg tactics
Žižka helped develop tactics of using wagon forts, called vozová hradba in Czech or Wagenburg by the Germans, as mobile
(the flail was the Hussite "national weapon"), 2 shield carriers and 2 drivers.The Hussites' battle consisted of two stages, the first defensive, the second an offensive counterattack. In the first stage the army placed the carts near the enemy army and by means of artillery fire provoked the enemy into battle. The artillery would usually inflict heavy casualties at close range.
In order to avoid more losses, the enemy knights finally attacked. Then the infantry hidden behind the carts used firearms and crossbows to ward off the attack, weakening the enemy. The shooters aimed first at the horses, depriving the cavalry of its main advantage. Many of the knights died as their horses were shot and they fell.
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 shelled 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.
Gunpowder weapons
The Hussite wars also marked the earliest successful use of
Hussite Crusades
The
The first anti-Hussite crusade
King
Menaced by Sigismund, the citizens of Prague entreated the Taborites for assistance. Led by Žižka and their other captains, the Taborites set out to take part in the defence of the capital. At Prague, Žižka and his men took up a strong position on the hill just outside the city known as the Vítkov, now in Žižkov, a district of Prague named after the battle in his honour. On 14 July the armies of Sigismund made a general attack. A strong German Crusader-led force assaulted the position on the Vítkov, the stronghold that secured the Hussite communications with the open country. Thanks to Žižka's personal leadership, the attack was thrown back and the forces of Sigismund abandoned the siege. On August 22 the Taborites left Prague and returned to Tábor.[1] Though Sigismund had retired from Prague, the castles of Vyšehrad and Hradčany remained in possession of his troops. The citizens of Prague laid siege to the Vyšehrad (see Battle of Vyšehrad), and towards the end of October the garrison was on the point of capitulating through famine. Sigismund attempted to relieve the fortress, but was decisively defeated by the Hussites on November 1 near the village of Pankrác. The castles of Vyšehrad and Hradčany now capitulated, and shortly afterwards almost all Bohemia fell into the hands of the Hussites.
Žižka now engaged in constant warfare with the partisans of Sigismund, particularly with the powerful Romanist,
Žižka summarily suppressed some disturbances on the part of a fanatical sect called the Adamites. He then continued his campaigns against the Romanists and the adherents of Sigismund, and having captured and rebuilt a small castle near Litoměřice (Leitmeritz), he retained possession of it, the only reward for his great services that he ever received or claimed. According to the Hussite custom he gave the Biblical name of Chalice (Kalich in Czech) to this new possession, and henceforth adopted the signature of Žižka of the Chalice.[1] Jan Žižka did not capture any more properties for himself during the Hussite Wars. This fact was unusual for the time and distinguished Žižka from his contemporaries.
Later that year he was severely wounded while besieging the Rabí Castle, and lost the use of his remaining eye. Though now totally blind, he continued to command the armies of Tábor.[1]
The second anti-Hussite crusade
At the end of 1421, Sigismund again attempted to subdue Bohemia and gained possession of the important town of Kutná Hora. The mainly German citizens of the city killed a few of the Hussites in the town and closed the city to Žižka, whose armies were camped outside the city walls. Sigismund's armies arrived and surrounded the Hussites. Žižka was at the head of the united armies of Tábor and Prague and though trapped managed to execute what some historians call the first mobile artillery manoeuver in history. Žižka broke through the enemy lines and retreated to Kolín, but having received reinforcements he attacked and defeated Sigismund's unsuspecting army at the village of Nebovidy between Kolín and Kutná Hora on 6 January 1422. Sigismund lost 12,000 men and only escaped himself by rapid flight. Sigismund's forces made a last stand at Battle of Německý Brod on 10 January, but the city was stormed by the Czechs, and contrary to Žižka's orders, its defenders were put to the sword.[1]
Civil war
Early in 1423, internal dissent among the Hussites led to civil war. Žižka, as leader of the Taborites, defeated the men of Prague and the
Žižka now attempted to invade
However, 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. Traditionally, it was said that he died of the plague; however, modern knowledge of historians excludes this theory. Even the theory of arsenic poisoning was ruled out after examining the skeletal remains. According to historians, the purulent disease carbuncle is considered the most likely cause of death.[22]
According to chronicler
He was interred in the church of Saints Peter & Paul in Caslau, but in 1623 his remains were removed and his grave destroyed by order of the Emperor Ferdinand II.
He was succeeded by Prokop the Great.
In popular culture
Literature
Žižka appears as one of the main characters in the Armed Garden graphic novella (The Armed Garden and Other Stories) by David B.[23] He is the hero of a novel by George Sand, of a German epic by Meissner, and of a Bohemian tragedy by Alois Jirásek.[1]
Films
Jan Žižka is a central figure of the "
The 2013 animated film The Hussites is set during the Hussite wars. The protagonist of the film, Záboj serves as thr film's version of Žižka.[27]
A film Jan Žižka (English title Medieval) by director Petr Jákl was released in 2022. It follows Jan Žižka during his youth. It is the most expensive Czech film ever made. Žižka was portrayed by Ben Foster.[28][29] It was released on Netflix in 2022.
Games
In the game Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition - Dawn of the Dukes, there is a single player campaign during which player takes role of Jan Žižka.[30]
Age of Empires III features Hussite wagons as a unit used by Germans. Unit infobox directly mentions Žižka with the anglicized version of his name: John Zizka.
Žižka appears in Europa Universalis II as a default general for the Bohemia faction.
Field of Glory II: Medieval features Hussite campaign during which player takes role of Jan Žižka.[31]
Žižka is the main protagonist of the upcoming independent 3D
Jan Žižka is one of the legendary cavalry commanders in the mobile game ROK (Rise of Kingdoms).
Hrot includes a power-up called Calvaria of Čáslav which is a nod to the Calva of Caslav, the top part of a human skull found in Čáslav which is attributed to Jan Žižka.
Jan Žižka is a [Age I] leader in the expansion New Leaders and Wonders released in 2020 to the board game Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization.
Žižka appears in a DLC for 1428: Shadows over Silesia called Tourney at the Bear Rock which is set in 1409.[34]
Other
Early in 1917, the 3rd Czechoslovak Rifle Regiment of the Czechoslovak legions in Russia was named after "Jan Žižka z Trocnova".[35]
During
Jan Žižka is one of the main characters in the manga series Dívčí Válka (2013) by Kouichi Ohnishi .
Citations
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j public domain: Count Lützow (1911). "Žižka, John". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 28 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 992. This also cites:
- Count Lützow, Bohemia: An Historical Sketch (London, 1896)
- Louis Léger, Jean Žižka in "Nouvelles études Slaves," deuxième série (Paris, 1886), the best account of Žižka's career for those unacquainted with the Bohemian language
- Tomek, Jan Žižka, and Dějepis Mesta Prahy
- Palacký, History of Bohemia.
- ^ [1] Archived 24 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine About Zizka's and other bronze horse statues (In Czech)
- ^ ISBN 978-80-7390-108-0.
- ^ a b Šmahel, František (1969). Jan Žižka z Trocnova (in Czech). Prague: Melantrich. pp. 22–25.
- ISBN 978-80-7432-990-6.
- ^ Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini. Historia Bohemica. Band I: Historisch-kritische Ausgabe des lateinischen Testes, ed. Josef Hejnic, deutsche Übersetzung Eugen Udolph. Koln-Weimar-Wien 2005, p. 268.
- ^ Tomek, p. 12
- ^ Šmahel, p. 26
- ^ a b Tomek, pp. 12–13
- ^ a b Šmahel, p. 28
- ^ Tomek, pp. 15–16
- ^ Tomek, pp. 14–15
- ^ a b Tomek, p. 6
- ^ Šmahel, pp. 33–32
- ^ Joannis Dlugossii Annales seu Cronicae incliti Regni Poloniae. Liber decimus et undecimus. 1406–1412, ed. Danuta Turkowska, Cristophorus Baczkowski, Franciscus Sikora, Varsaviae 1997, p. 57.
- ^ Richter, Jan (16 July 2010). "Jan Žižka at Grunwald: from mercenary to Czech national hero". Czech Radio. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
- ^ "Kto jest kim na obrazie Jana Matejki? Cz. 2". Gazeta.pl. 14 July 2010. Retrieved 16 August 2012.
- ISBN 978-80-7432-990-6.
- ^ Vavřinec z Březové. Historia hussitica [Hussite Chronicle].
- ISBN 978-80-7432-990-6.
- ISBN 0-295-97290-4
- ^ "Před 595 lety zemřel u Přibyslavi Jan Žižka, padouch i oslavovaný hrdina" (in Czech). iDnes. 11 October 2019. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
- ^ The Armed Garden and Other Stories, Amazon Reference.
- ^ "Josef Kemr" (in Czech). Czecho-Slovak Film Database. Archived from the original on 29 August 2010. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
- ^ Vondruška, Vlastimil. "Jan Žižka – z lapky husitským válečníkem". filmavideo.cz (in Czech). Archived from the original on 5 March 2017. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
- ^ "Film Jan Žižka má být nejdražším v historii. Přípravy na natáčení vrcholí". Lidovky.cz (in Czech). 3 January 2017. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
- ^ "Husiti (2013)". Filmový přehled (in Czech). Retrieved 12 September 2022.
- ^ "Jákl začíná točit Jana Žižku, bude to nejdražší český film všech dob". ExtraStory (in Czech). Archived from the original on 5 March 2017. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
- ^ Spáčilová, Mirka (28 June 2016). "Zahraniční herec v roli Jana Žižky? Režisér Petr Jákl to nevylučuje". iDNES.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 7 July 2016.
- ^ "Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition adds the Poles and Bohemians in a new DLC". pcgamesn.com. 11 August 2021.
- ^ "Husité berou ztečí další hru. Jaké je rozšíření Field of Glory II: Medieval s Janem Žižkou?". games.tiscali.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 5 October 2022.
- ^ "Písně z Kalicha". visiongame.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 11 January 2023.
- ^ Bigas, Jiří. "Zahrajte si demo husitského "Warcraftu" s českým dabingem » Vortex". www.vortex.cz. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
- ^ Zach, Ondřej (23 February 2024). "Českou husitskou hru 1428: Shadows over Silesia rozšíří rytířské turnaje". iDNES.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 5 April 2024.
- ISBN 978-80-87173-47-3
General and cited sources
- Bílek, Jiří (2007), Hádanky naší minulosti 7. Čtyři Janové a bratr Prokop, Euromedia Group Praha. pp. 172–173. ISBN 978-80-242-1952-3. Count Lützow, The Hussite Wars, J. M. Dent & Sons London, E. P. Dutton & Co. New York (1909).
- Čornej, Petr (2019), Jan Žižka. Nakladatelství Paseka. ISBN 978-80-7432-990-6
- Fudge, Thomas A., The Crusade Against Heretics in Bohemia, 1418–1437: Sources and Documents for the Hussite Crusades (Crusade Texts in Translation). Höfler, Konstantin, Geschichtsquellen Böhmens.
- Heymann, Frederick G. (1969), John Zizka & the Hussite Revolution, Russell & Russell New York (1955).
- Šmahel, František, Die Hussitische Revolution I–III, MGH-Schriften. 43/I–III, Hannover (2002).
- Turnbull, Stephen, The Hussite Wars (1419–36), Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-84176-665-8.
- Turnbull, Stephen, The Hussite Wars (1419–36), Osprey Publishing.
- Verney, Victor (2009), Warrior of God: Jan Žižka and the Hussite Revolution, Frontline Books London. ISBN 978-1-84832-516-6.
External links
- Media related to Jan Žižka at Wikimedia Commons
- Works by or about Jan Žižka at Wikisource