Drawing Update: Hussite Weapons

Art by TL Jeffcoat

Art by TL Jeffcoat

I've been working on the War Wagon for the post on the Hussite Hand Cannon off and on for a few weeks and I've finally completed it. I’m putting up both at the same time, and then I’ll see if I can get some of the simpler weapons drawn up. I’m hoping to knock out 3 more this month. One of these days, I’ll have a drawing of every weapon in the Weapons & Warriors series and then I’ll work on wrapping it up and converting it all into a free download. I’ll have to spend some time editing all the posts, too. I’m thinking the formats will probably be Nook, Kindle, and PDF. Not sure if there is need to do any others.


Check out the post on the Hand Cannon of the Hussites to learn more about both of these weapons.

Weapons & Warriors: The Hand-Cannon of the Hussites

Art by TL Jeffcoat

I’m going to discuss a couple things about the Hussites today. The main focus is the Hand-Cannon, but I want to start with the War Wagon, also known as a Wagenburg. These things are pretty straight forward and are the primary reason the Hand Cannons were so successful. It’s a wagon with a big wooden box on it. Holes are cut out so the crossbowmen and gunners could poke their weapons out and shoot the charging enemies. The Hussites would ride these wagons close to the where the enemy was setting up camp or marching and then would form circles or squares with several wagons. They tied the wheels together with chains and then placed shields and pikemen behind the chains to keep anyone from trying to charge through. If anyone was foolish enough to barge through these openings, they would probably have their head caved in by the flail wielding farmers waiting to begin the counter attack.

Counterattack? Yes, the Hussites weren’t the typical army of the 1400’s. They weren’t trained soldiers and they weren’t led into battle by a king. They did have an amazing general, who used tactics he possibly learned while fighting with the Tartars. It didn’t hurt to also have some of the best gunsmiths in Europe as part of the movement. Once their enemies attempted to flee, the Hussites would charge out into the field using cavalry to flank the fleeing soldiers and the men with flails and pikes to kill everyone trapped. The Hussites weren’t known for taking prisoners. This is pretty much how the first Crusade against them ended.

Weapons & Warriors: The Flail of the Hussites

There are many different variations of the Flail, but one of the most vicious and deadly was one of the earliest versions. The Flail’s original design was based from an agricultural tool of the same name. One of the earliest people to turn the tool into a devastating weapon were the Hussites in the early 1400’s. This group of people was not actually made up of warriors, but was driven into a civil war over religious beliefs.

Hussite Flail Art by TL Jeffcoat

The Hussites were one of the earliest groups to turn against the Roman Catholic Church in an attempt to return to a strictly bible based religious culture. This meant they did not accept several doctrines they felt were not originating from the bible that the Roman Catholic Church practiced. In a way, the Hussites were the harbingers of what Martin Luther eventually founded as the Lutheran Church, although there were several similarities, the Hussites were not early Lutherans. I’m not going to go into detail on the religious differences of these three churches, but anyone who knows history, knows the old Roman Catholic Church had a tendency to be influential in creating armies to fight religious wars (I.E. The Crusades).

After the execution of the Hussites religious leader Jan Hus, and then the death of King Wenceslaus a few years later, the Hussites claimed the lands they occupied for their own and did not acknowledge their late king's brother and the Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, as their emperor. A war erupted and Sigismund, backed by the Pope, sent Crusaders to quell the uprising. The Hussites united through their religious beliefs and national pride and fought defensively for a dozen years. After defeating and tossing out the Crusaders multiple times, they had begun to attack their Catholic neighbors.