The world: historical and actual . g lit-tle, apparently, aboutthe Hussites. But theywere terribly in ear-nest. They organizedunder the leadershipof John Ziska, a nobleof rare military geniusand heroism. Havingfound the jjledges ofprinces and prelatesuntrustworthy, theytook matters into theirown hands, resolvedto protect themselvesand command respectfor their rights of con-science. Many of themwere wild fanatics whoanticipated the speedysecond coming ofChrist, but others were cool, brave champions ofduty. Ziska introduced among his soldiers thethunder-guns, small field-pieces which had firstbe
The world: historical and actual . g lit-tle, apparently, aboutthe Hussites. But theywere terribly in ear-nest. They organizedunder the leadershipof John Ziska, a nobleof rare military geniusand heroism. Havingfound the jjledges ofprinces and prelatesuntrustworthy, theytook matters into theirown hands, resolvedto protect themselvesand command respectfor their rights of con-science. Many of themwere wild fanatics whoanticipated the speedysecond coming ofChrist, but others were cool, brave champions ofduty. Ziska introduced among his soldiers thethunder-guns, small field-pieces which had firstbeen used at the battle of Agincourt, betweenthe English and the French, three years also introduced the use of iron-plated flails withwhich to crack the helmets of the knights. Be-tween the guns and the flails the peasants (for suchthe most of them were) of Ziska were an over-match for the trained and disciplined regulars whorallied from far and near, at the call of the popeand the Catholic princes, to crush the John Hues Lecturing in the University of Prague. The papal authorities cared far more for therebellion in Bohemia than for the Moslem inva-sion on the Danube. The secular princes wouldhave given up the contest in 1420, but the legate ofthe pope forbade any compromise with the several years the conflict raged. In 1426 aCatholic army 200,000 strong was utterly routedby the Protestants, variously called Hussites, Orphans, and Taborites. Ziskadied of a plague,but his followers ral-lied under anotherleader and brave-ly demanded theirrights. Unfortunate-ly they were not al-ways united, and theenemy was swift totake advantage ofany dissension. In1434 the Catholicforces so far suc-ceeded in crushingthe Taborites thatfrom that date theBohemian Reforma-tion ceased to bedangerous to Rome,except as it hadsowed the seed ofProtestantism, andprepared the way forit. The next yearEmperor Sigismunddied, and with hisdeath expired thebegan with Rhodolph, Lu
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectworldhistory, bookyea
