Zizka, John

(d. 1424)

   Sect Founder.

   Zizka was the leader of the Taborites, the most radical of the followers of Jan hus. The group was based in South Bohemia and they were fundamentalist in their interpretation of the Bible. Not only did they reject transubstantiation and the sacramental priesthood, they were convinced that Jesus would soon return and they agitated for social and economic reform. Zizka himself was a brilliant soldier and his army defeated the Imperial troops. However, the group disintegrated after his death; the less radical rejoined the Roman Catholic Church while the remainder were crushed in battle in 1434.

   F.C. Heymann, John Zizka and the Hussite Revolution (1955);

   J. Macek, The Hussite Movement in Bohemia (1965).