Historical Figures Codexery

Jan Žižka

The undefeated Hussite commander who pioneered wagon-fort tactics and guerrilla warfare.

Jan Žižka

User:Miaow Miaow · via Wikipedia: Jan Žižka · Public domain

He is known for his innovative use of gunpowder weapons and wagon fort tactics during the Hussite Wars.[1] Jan Žižka, a military leader, was born into lower Czech nobility in the village of Trocnov, Kingdom of Bohemia, with his birth estimated around 1360 based on a 1378 document mentioning him as a witness.[2][3] A bronze equestrian statue on Vítkov Hill in Prague commemorates his victory there in 1420; it is the third-largest bronze equestrian statue in the world.[4]

Quick Facts

Nickname
John the One-eyed; Žižka of the Chalice
Born
c. 1360
Birthplace
Trocnov, Bohemia
Died
11 October 1424
Place of death
Žižkovo Pole near Přibyslav, Bohemia
Burial place
Cathedral of the Holy Spirit
Allegiance
Taborites (1419–1423); Orebites (1423–1424)
Service years
c. 1378–1424

Facts from the source article.

Life and work

Žižka's birth date is unknown, but a 1378 document mentions a "Johannes dictus Zizka de Trocnov" as a witness, suggesting he was born around 1360.[3] On 30 July 1419, Žižka joined a Hussite procession in Prague that demanded the release of imprisoned Hussites.[5] He later suppressed the Adamites and continued campaigns against Romanists and Sigismund's supporters. Žižka captured a small castle near Litoměřice, renamed it Kalich, and adopted the signature "Žižka of the Chalice"[6] At the Battle of Grunwald on 15 July 1410, Žižka fought for the Polish-Lithuanian alliance against the Teutonic Knights.[2][7]

A 1527 report by Lukáš Pražský states that Žižka served as chamberlain to Sophia of Bavaria, wife of Wenceslas IV, and accompanied her to Jan Hus's preachings, which must have occurred in 1411–1412 since Hus went into exile in 1413.[8]

What the cited sources add

A 1384 document mentions a wife named Kateřina, from whom Žižka acquired a field as dowry.[9] The Hussite historian Vavřinec z Březové, who knew Žižka personally, reported that he served as a king's courtier around 1419.[8] Šmahel's work assigns the boom of south-Bohemian banditry to the growth of Rosenberg estates and the pauperization of lower gentry.[10]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Jan Žižka" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Sedlar, Jean W. (1994), A history of East Central Europe: East Central Europe in the Middle Ages, University of Washington Press. p. 234. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Jan Žižka" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: This also cites: * Count Lützow, Bohemia: An Historical Sketch (London, 1896) * Louis Léger, Jean Žižka in "Nouvelles études Slaves," deuxième série (Paris, 188; This also cites: * Count Lützow, Bohemia: An Historical Sketch (London, 1896) * Louis Léger, Jean Žižka in "Nouvelles études Slaves," deuxième série (Paris, 188 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Jan Žižka" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Tomek, "Jan Žižka z Trocnova", Dobrovský, 2014, p. 9; Šmahel, "Jan Žižka z Trocnova", Melantrich, 1969, p. 22–25; Šmahel, "Jan Žižka z Trocnova", Melantrich, 1969, p. 22–25 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Jan Žižka" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: About Zizka's and other bronze horse statues (In Czech) (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Jan Žižka" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Čornej, "Jan Žižka", Paseka, 2019, p. 150–162 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Jan Žižka" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: This also cites: * Count Lützow, Bohemia: An Historical Sketch (London, 1896) * Louis Léger, Jean Žižka in "Nouvelles études Slaves," deuxième série (Paris, 188 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Jan Žižka" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Richter, "Jan Žižka at Grunwald: from mercenary to Czech national hero", Czech Radio, 16 July 2010; "Kto jest kim na obrazie Jana Matejki? Cz. 2", Gazeta.pl, 14 July 2010 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Jan Žižka" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Čornej, "Jan Žižka", Paseka, 2019, p. 90–100; Vavřinec z Březové. Historia hussitica [Hussite Chronicle]. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "Jan Žižka" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Tomek, "Jan Žižka z Trocnova", Dobrovský, 2014, p. 9 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  10. Wikipedia, "Jan Žižka" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Šmahel, p. 26; Tomek, pp. 12–13; Šmahel, p. 28 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Jan Žižka (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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