John Zizka of Trocnov and the Chalice

Jan Zizka is considered a national hero in Czechia. An astonishing equestrian statue of him rests on Vitkov Hill in Prague and Trocnov. As a great general in the Hussite cause, he never lost a battle. Considering, he fought in more than 10 battles and was completely blind during the final one, this is quite record.

He was born in the village of Trocnov in the year 1360. His family was part of the aristocracy. However, they slowly lost most of their power and wealth. The early years of Zizka are unknown. However, in the 1406 a mention of him living a life of a bandit is recorded. Jan Zizka was trying to exact revenge on the house of Rosenberg and the church estates, which were partially responsible for his family, losing their wealth. This bandit life lasted until King Wenceslas pardoned him in 1409.

In 1410 Jan Zizka fought in his first battle, in the battle of Grunwald. This battle was crucial, in shifting the power in eastern Europe. Zizka rose to be one of the four leaders of the Hussites during the Hussites Wars. Hussites followed the teaching of Jan Hus, a famous heretic priest teaching at Charles University. His first battle as a leader of Hussites was the battle of Sudomer, where he fought Sigismund’s partisans.

Throughout the battles, Zizka became famous for being a great tactician, a skilled leader often fighting against better-equipped armies with bigger numbers. He weaponized wagons, putting people with muskets and even artillery on them. The use of artillery was also one of the reasons, why Zizka won all the battles. He used a howitzer against slow clustered enemies, which caused panic and havoc in the opposing armies. He was also adept at using the surrounding landscape to his full advantage when preparing ambushes.

One of his biggest achievements was turning peasants into soldiers faster than anyone could have anticipated and making weapons out of ordinary tools, which proved very efficient against enemy armies. These weapons were specifically designed against heavy infantry with very strong armor.

Zizka spent the rest of his years going from battle to battle, he died of the plague at Pribyslav on 11 October 1424.