John Huss and the Hussite Wars - James Aitken Wylie

found themselves at a disadvantage; for their armor
scarce enabled them to contend on equal terms
with the uncouth but formidable weapons of their
adversaries. The Bohemians were armed with long
iron flails, which they swung with prodigious
force. They seldom failed to hit, and when they did
so, the flail crashed through brazen helmet, skull
and all. Moreover, they carried long spears which
had hooks attached, and with which, clutching the
German horseman, they speedily brought him to
the ground and dispatched him. The invaders found
that they had penetrated the double rampart of their
foes only to be dragged from their horses and
helplessly slaughtered. Besides numerous
skirmishes and many sieges, Ziska fought sixteen
pitched battles, from all of which he returned a
conqueror.
The career of this remarkable man terminated
suddenly. He did not fall by the sword, nor did he
breathe his last on the field of battle; he was
attacked by the plague while occupied in the siege
of Prysbislav, and died on October 11th, 1424.
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