A monumental new biography of the most famous Czech Hussite military leader, Jan Žižka of Trocnov

Biography

The acclaimed historian Petr Čornej has written a ground-breaking biography of one of the emblematic figures of Czech history. The book is being published to mark the 600th anniversary of the start of the Hussite revolution and is the culmination of the author’s lifelong professional interest in Hussitism. The biography of Žižka represents the undefeated captain in an unconventional way: against the background of a colourful historical panorama, which helps us to understand Žižka’s inner world and the motivation for his actions. It points out his strategic and leadership abilities and the flexibility and dedication of his warriors. In several thematic blocks, it explains the activities of Jan Hus, the situation in Hussite Prague, the personality of the Czech king Jiří of Poděbrady, the historiography of the 15th and 16th centuries and how Hussitism is reflected in modern Czech society.

Petr Čornej (1951) is an eminent Czech historian. He specializes in the history of the Late Middle Ages, especially Hussitism, the history of historiography and research into historical memory. Before 1989 he worked at the Institute for Czech and World Literature at the Czech Academy of Sciences, and afterwards he lectured at Charles University’s Faculty of Arts, headed the department of history and history didactics at the university’s Faculty of Education and taught at the Literary Academy. Since 2013 he has worked at the Czech Academy of Sciences. He is the author or co-author of many books, including two volumes of Velké dějiny zemí Koruny české (Great History of the Lands of the Czech Crown).