It was a particularly restless time. After the year 1400, the European continent was torn apart by insecurity. For over half a century, the war between France and England continued; in the Apennine region, the current of the Renaissance developed as a reaction to the horrifying and recurring plagues, while the Ottoman Turks were at the gates.

Europe, instead of unifying to resist Islamic expansionism as a single body, was torn apart by discord and inertia. By 1409, Western Europe had three popes and by 1410, three emperors of the Holy Roman Empire. How could the people find their way and whom should they trust? Which of the three popes was the true representative of Christ?

The emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, Sigismund, convinced Pope John XXIII to convene a general council on November 1, 1414, in the city of Constance for the purpose of religious unity. Europe applauded the decisions made, but was stunned when in 1415, the moderate Czech theologian and reformer Jan Hus was executed.

The storm broke out on Sunday, July 30, 1419. Angry Hussites from Prague arrived armed at the town hall of New Town Prague. The city councilors refused to release some imprisoned fellow believers. Then, the crowd, led by Jan Žižka, a member of the royal guard, stormed the town hall and threw fourteen councilors out of the window.

The Hussite upheaval quickly escalated into a cataclysmic event steeped in blood. Petr Čornej recounts the groundbreaking Hussite Revolution that shook Central Europe. He focuses on the violent clashes, the ideological and political processes, and the key figures of a revolution that swept through the political and religious establishment of the time like a storm.

He sheds light on the morals of the time, the religious relationships, the military strategy of the Hussites and their enemies, as well as the importance of Hussitism for Czech history. A book that brings to the forefront one of the most shocking periods of Czech and European history.