‘Warrior of God’
Jan Žižka and the Hussite Revolution (London: Frontline Books, 2009)
…an up-to-date, modern history with many new insights into [Zizka's] many abilities, military genius, and contemporaries.”
… a splendid job of translating the incredible complex events of this period into an engaging account that is a delight to read. … I would like to highly commend this book to anyone interested in medieval and reformation history.”
–Robert Bradshaw, Medieval Church.org [full review]
… detailed yet concise, academic yet easy-to-understand, a book meant for the academic or student or enthusiast. … descriptions of the military engagements are vivid …”
–Steven Till [full review & interview]
Verney’s passion for the subject is beyond question and he writes with a style that tempts the reader and maintains interest. Descriptions of significant events are invested with colour and texture so that the reader begins to develop an appreciation for how life may have been in 15th Century Bohemia. … fascinating and thoroughly well researched….”
–Ian Payne [full review]
After having articles about the military experiences of Lord Byron and Leo Tolstoy published by Military History magazine, I was casting about for a subject a bit less “literary,” one that might appeal to a broader readership in that area. My friend David Muhlena, library director of the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, suggested an article about Jan Žižka, a remarkable but little-known Czech general who lived during the late Middle Ages.
Although there has been a recent documentary film made about Žižka, Blind Courage: The Unique Genius of Jan Žižka (Cartesian Coordinates, 2005), virtually nothing has been written about Žižka (in English, that is) in over fifty years, beyond an April ’07 article in “Military History” magazine and a 48-page paperback published in ’04. The more I looked at Zizka’s story, the more I became convinced that it merited a full-length book. After shopping this idea around for a while, Pen & Sword, a British publishing firm specializing in military history, contracted with me to write it! My publisher was to be Michael Leventhal of Frontline Books, a new P&S imprint; he and his editor-in-chief Kate Baker graciously offered to add it to their catalog.
I then spent year and a half researching and writing it, capped by a visit to the Czech Republic in February ’08. Along with attending a couple performances in Prague by my favorite musican/composer, Emil Viklický, the highlight of the trip which was a very productive visit to the Hussite Museum in Tábor, the staff of which did all they could to assist me. I would also like to acknowledge Matt Haywood and his website www.warfareeast.co.uk for assistance on military aspects of the book.
After submitting my final draft in mid-November ’08, I spent another four months with revisions, selection of graphics and map-making (ably performed by Paul Davis, a noted historian and educator at TMI-The Episcopal School of Texas in San Antonio. On April 1, Warrior of God: Jan Žižka and the Hussite Revolution, was released in the UK by Frontline Books, a P&S imprint. It is a rather handsome (I think) 256-page hardcover with five maps and sixteen pages of black & white illustrations (ISBN 978-1-84832-516-6).
At the turn of the 15th century, the twin pillars of medieval society — feudalism and the Catholic Church — were teetering. As the Plague swept across Europe, a new economy based on cash and international trade was creating what came to be known as the “middle class.” Three different men in three different cities were claiming to be the One True Pope. The peasantry were becoming increasingly restive over the vast difference between their hardship-filled lives of toil and the easeful lives of luxury led by their political and religious masters. In the Czech lands, where the wealthy merchants and pampered clergy were overwhelmingly German interlopers, this socio-economic discontent was fuelled by another factor — Slavic nationalism.
A growing call for social and religious reform in Prague and throughout Bohemia was fanned by a number of charismatic preachers espousing Bibles and religious ceremonies in the Czech language, as well as a return to the spiritual simplicity and purity of the early Christians. Most notable among these firebrand Czech priest was Jan Hus. Seen as a religious and political subversive by the Vatican and the Holy Roman Empire, Hus was tried for heresy at the Council of Constance and burned at the stake in 1415, sparking a major revolution.
Increasingly heavy-handed attempts by the Church and the Empire to suppress them notwithstanding, Hus’s Bohemian followers (who became known as the “Hussites”) were not ready to accept defeat. Žižka (1360-1424), emerged to lead them. Acknowledged as a forward-thinking military genius, he took a handful of peasants, outfitted them with farm implements, and defeated more than 100,000 of the finest knights in the world.
Žižka revived military techniques not used since the Romans and developed a forerunner of the modern tank — despite the fact that for much of his later career he was completely blind. Žižka personifies Medievalism’s first encounter with modernity — particularly in the military sense — and his Hussite movement was arguably the beginning of the end of that era. He was a key figure in the birth of a distinct Czech cultural identity and ultimately a nation-state. Employing numerous innovations taken for granted today (a uniform code of military justice and night maneuvers, to name just two) this hyper-zealous theocratic general cleared a path for Martin Luther a century later. This is surely one of the most incredible — and woefully neglected — episodes of European history, one with profound religious and political effects we’re still feeling today.
At about the same time as the book’s UK release, I was contacted by Steven Stastny of the Omaha Czech Cultural Club. He had learned of my book and graciously offered me a table at the OCCC’s annual spring festival to publicize it. My first promotional event turned out to be a great experience: I met some very interesting people, ate well (homemade kolache!) and talked myself hoarse discussing Žižka, the Hussites and Czech history.
Although I did not have any books to sell, since they had not yet arrived Stateside, a local Barnes & Noble took orders from those wishing to purchase a copy. I was told by my publicist, Tara Lichterman of Casemate Publishing (which is handling U.S. distribution) that it would start hitting shelves sometime around mid-July. In the meantime (and afterward, as well) Warrior of God can be purchased online –with a nice discount — from Casemate, as well as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Borders.
Just as audio-visual presentations (e.g. lectures, documentary films) are limited by time, so too are textual presentations limited by space. My book was, of necessity, focused on military history, to the exclusion of a great deal of religious and political elements surrounding the Hussite Wars. Even so, there still was not room in my book for much of the textual and graphic material I’d amassed pertaining to the military aspects of Žižka and his army. This material included an Appendix I’d envisioned with the text of four key documents, which may be viewed by clicking on their titles:
¶ “The Four Articles of Prague“: the defining manifesto of the Hussite Revolution, a declaration of core principles underlying the movement.
¶ “The Statutes and Military Ordinance of Žižka’s New Brotherhood“: the first formal code of military conduct and discipline, revolutionary in that its harsh dictates applied equally to nobility and peasantry alike — until then an unheard-of concept.
¶ “The Very Pretty Chronicle of Jan Žižka“: This anonymous narrative (ca. 1434-6) is the first written historical account about Žižka. While subsequent contemporary accounts were more sophisticated or detailed, none attempted to place the blind Hussite general in a larger historical context as did this one.
¶ “Warriors of God“: The Hussite battle song, from which I drew my book’s title. This hymn functioned as a march chant — a steady, compelling reminder of what was expected of each soldier. It also served as a very effective mechanism for what we today call “psychological operations”: the Imperial enemy, often hearing the somber cadences of this song before the Hussites came into view, were frequently so unnerved by it that they turned and ran before the two sides even engaged! When viewing this link, you will hear this song, which has been used as a theme by latter-day classical Czech composers such as Bedrich Smetana, as played by preminent keyboardist Emil Viklický (a.k.a “The Patriarch of Czech Jazz”).
One interesting collection of images for which there was not room in the book were 20 details of a large, three-dimensional diorama at the Hussite Museum depicting a castle seige as typically carried out by Žižka’s troops (click on image at right to view). This exhibit serves to underline the fact that although the most strikingly original element of Žižka’s generalship centered on his battlewagon/infantry tactics, it is often overlooked that he carried out numerous seiges as well, many of them successful.
In fact, it was during the seige of a castle at Rabí that Žižka’s one good eye was shot out by an arrow, nearly killing him and rendering him totally blind — which did not stop him from continuing to exercise masterful command of his devoted army: he never lost a single battle or skirmish! When he was finally defeated, it was not by his archenemy Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund and his tens of thousands of German and Hungarian knights, but by the bubonic plague.
I officially celebrated my book’s release on May 29 at Beaverdale Books, Des Moines’ premier independent bookstore. I signed copies, read a passage, and chatted about things Bohemian with a small but attentive gathering of friends and acquaintances, including Dave Muhlena.
Alice Meyer, the store’s owner, is strongly committed to supporting local authors, and I’m very appreciative of all her efforts on my behalf. This included arranging an interview on radio station KFMG 99.1 FM earlier in the week.
I hob-nobbed for about a half-hour with John Busbee, whose show “The Culture Buzz” (Wednesday from 11 am-1 pm) covers and promotes the fine arts in the Des Moines area, featuring guests such as myself discussing their works, projects and organizations. John tells me that he is creating a Web-based archive of his show; when that goes on-line sometime in the near future, I will put in a link to my interview here.
In early August, David Muhlena graciously invited me to accompany him to the 84th Annual Czech Festival in Wilber, Nebraska, a singular event that must be experienced to be fully appreciated. Wilber, self-declared “Czech Capitol of the U.S.A.,” plays host to Czech and Slovak Americans from Alaska to Florida. Main Street is closed off for an entire weekend of parades, cultural events, beer-drinking, polka-playing and kolache-eating, capped by the crowning of Miss Czech-Slovak U.S. I met some fascinating people, traded noted on the Hussites and the modern-day Czech Republic, and even managed to sell some copies of my book. A good time was had by all.
I was flattered to be invited to the 2009 Iowa Author Fair held at the Des Moines Public Libraryon October 21, sponsored by the Iowa Center for the Book and the Iowa Library Association . I shared the spotlight with forty other writers from around the state across the full gamut of literary genres. It was a very pleasant evening, and I enjoyed meeting some of my fellow Iowa writers and, of course, the reading public in my hometown.
It was good to see a large hall full of bibliophiles, including my favorite bookseller, Alice Meyer of Beaverdale Books, and my favorite radio announcer, John Busbee of KFMG 99.1 FM (seen at left perusing my exhibit). I even sold a few copies, which always makes these promotional events even more enjoyable. I’d be remiss if I didn’t express my appreciation to Jan Kaiser, all the good folks at the Des Moines Public Library, the ICB and ILA, and those who support them and made this event possible.
Two other events later that fall rounded out my promotional activities in 2009. As a result of a suggestion by a friend’s daughter who attends Des Moines’ Central Academy, I was invited to discuss Žižka and the Hussite Revolution with Ms. Canada Snyder’s AP World History class at that institution in late November. It was fun to be in front of a classroom of bright, inquisitive students after a long absence from teaching, and I was gratified by their attentiveness and thoughtful questions.
In early December, I was invited by Judy Lyon of the Cedar Rapids Barnes & Noble to display my wares along with several other Iowa authors; I was joined at this event once again by my cohort Dave Muhlena, who wrote the Foreword for WoG and was responsible for first suggesting to me the idea of writing about Žižka.
In February of 2010, my WoG-related activities took me further afield. I was very honored to give a presentation of WoG to two of the most appropriate — and prestigious — venues in the entire country for such an event: the Czech Center of New York and the Czech Consulate of Chicago .
Yet again, I’m indebted to Dave Muhlena for this. In the Fall/Winter ’09 issue of Most, the NCSML’s tri-annual newsletter, Dave wrote a nice little blurb about the book. This publication has a world-wide readership, including all the Czech-related institutions here in the U.S. including the CCNY. Its acting director, Marcel Sauer, saw the blurb and made inquiries to Dave, who directed him to me. As as result, I gave a presentation of my book there on Feb. 17. Dave’s write-up also brought my book to the attention of the Chicago Consulate, leading Consul General Marek Skolil to tender a similar offer, which I was honored to accept: I presented my book there on Feb. 26.
Obviously, these were huge honors for me, and I would be remiss if I failed to acknowledge that. I’m extremely grateful to Messrs. Sauer and Skolil, and the staff of both institutions including Deputy Consul Frantisek Gal and Consul Ivana Klanova, for making them possible.
