9.9 JAN ZIZKA AND THE COMMUNITY AT TABOR

Question 1

Pope Martin V’s blunt weapon of crusade

Answer 1

The Pope declared a crusade to fight ‘Wycliffites, Hussites, and other heretics’. Crusaders, motivated by the prospect of pillages, gathered outside the city of Prague.

Question 2

Establishment of new radical Hussite center

Answer 2

In the south, another ‘Tabor’ was established at Pilsen which was heroically defended by Zizka’s men. It had walls, a complex arrangement of religious and social orders, and was overseen by an authority.

Question 3

What were the two important developments in relation to Jan Zizka and the community at Tabor?

Answer 3

The establishment of a new radical Hussite center in the South called “Tabor” at Pilsen, which was defended heroically by Zizka’s men, and the blunt weapon of crusade deployed by Pope Martin V to fight “Wycliffites, Hussites, and other heretics”.

Question 4

What happened when the crusaders gathered outside the city of Prague?

Answer 4

They were met by Zizka’s army and were stunningly defeated on what is now Ztikov hill.

Question 5

Why did Sigismund withdraw from Prague and leave Bohemia entirely?

Answer 5

Low morale in his army and German soldiers’ departure home drove his own withdrawal from Prague, before leaving Bohemia entirely.