Hussite Epic II

The multi-part saga recounts the events of the glorious and turbulent 15th century in the Czech Kingdom

Perhaps no other historical epoch in our history is as controversial in the general perception as Hussitism. That time is all the more difficult for the historical narrative because both sides, the Catholic and the Calixtinite, were right in their own way, but both committed injustice at the same time.

Perhaps for the first time in our literature there is a work that takes place in both hostile camps without favouring one over the other. It tries to capture the reasons why the poor stood against the rich, the simple against the educated, the Czechs against the Germans, and how the clash between the reasonable and the fanatics turned out. The historically faithfully described events form the backdrop of a readable and suspenseful story of the extended Prokop family, whose members are pitted against each other by an unrelenting fate.

The second part takes place between 1416 and 1425. The Prokop family is growing and each member is looking for happiness elsewhere; we find ourselves in Tábor, among the moderate Pragueers, on the side of the Rosenbergs and in the ranks of the persecuted monks. The book describes the growth of revolutionary sentiment in the country, the building of Tábor, the first crusades into the country, the struggle for the Four Articles of Prague and the death of Jan Žižka.

***

"As a historian, Vondruška draws on available facts and tries to portray the period as faithfully as possible, including morals, food habits, fashion, the status of women and family relations. Team, that the action takes place in a variety of environments, from the royal court to the monasteries, University, from the town hall to the craftsmen's workshops, an impressive fresco is created - and naturally faith plays a major role in it. The author lets familiar events deflate before us. Prague defenestration. The death of King Wenceslas, including the shameful moment when the Caliphs, after conquering the Zbraslav monastery, threw away his remains, which were only accidentally saved by a fisherman. The Battle of Sudomera, the Battle of Vitkov. Burning monasteries and murdering "heretics". The contradictions between the various Caliph factions. Waiting for the millennial kingdom of God, which is already to come - but will not come. Instead there are fights, brutality, death. As a historian, Vondruška does not judge, does not show sympathy for one side or the other. "
MF Today rating: 78 %