Encyclopædia Historia Sauromatica

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Encyclopædia Historia Sauromatica ​

The collection of historical surveys, essays, archaeological records, primary source texts- and in some cases depending upon edition (more specifically, the current political regime), philosophy, political science and theology- known as the Encyclopædia Historia Sauromatica is one of the most illustrious and revered national works of Greater Sarmatia.

The history of the Encyclopedia of Sarmatian History dates back to the twilight of the Golden Age of Międzymorze, when the Reverend Deacon, Doctor Hieronim Sobieski (b. Listopad (November) 3rd, 1719; d. Grudzień (December) 28th 1808 ), illegitimate- but acknowledged son of Książę Mieszko Sobieski, the Marshal of the Royal Army of the Kingdom of Międzymorze (c. 1727-1759).

Hieronim Sobieski had originally been intended to serve as a foreign economic factor for his father, but his conduct and achievements in the Royal Gymnasium attracted the attention of the Royal Primate, Kajetan I Stary (Kajetan the First, Kajetan the Old). With a bit of convincing, Mieszko gave his ascent to allow Hieronim to become a Pasterz of the Royal Sarmatian Episcopal Reformed Church. He very quickly gained his doctorate, in Church History (with a second, and a third doctorate in Sarmatian History, and Central European History respectively) and was given a position in the faculty of History at the Royal University of Stary Hrodino in 1764.

Hieronim continued in this vein for four years, eventually marrying the daughter of a wealthy merchant from the north. His lectures and brief pamphlets on the "most significant moments in the histories of the Sarmatian, Khazar, and Łendic peoples" gained him fame and respect throughout the Kingdom. At the suggestion of the Chancellor of the University, Hieronim began to compile his work(s)- and the documents that he had worked from- into cohesive volumes that echoe the style of the other great encyclopedias of the time.

By the early winter months of 1768, the first edition of the Encyclopædia Historia Sauromatica went to the printing presses, with editions available in Sarmatian, Tyskerdeutch, Latin, Français and later English. It was immediately hailed as one of the seminal works of Sarmatian literature from that period, and actually overtook The Sarmatian Bible in terms of the volume of material printed, with the totality of the Encyclopædia Historia Sauromatica divided into 12 individually massive volumes.

The next edition of the Encyclopedia went into print in 1798, in the ignorant years before the First Great Oriental War, which would, by virtue of the absolutely destructive nature of Lan Yu's campaign in and through Stary Hrodino in 1806 be the last edition released until 1829, by the reinstituted School of History of the Royal University.

Subsequent editions have followed, with relatively few modifications- as a policy of simply maintaining outdated, obsolete, or completely incorrect material, with notations indicating the false nature of the information, as well as including any new, and verifiable information was instituted in 1925. The most recent volume of the Encyclopædia Historia Sauromatica is being completed- with the first nineteen volumes already in print, and the twentieth and twenty-first volumes- covering the last years of the Most Serene Commonwealth of Both Nations, the Mniszech Revolution, and the Dawn of the Imperial Era are to be released in 2011.

 

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The Sarmatian Reformation, Part One: The Twilight of Catholicism- Corruption, Excess and the "Footholds of Heresy" (1539-1584)

The Kingdom Between the Seas, the Królestwo Międzymorze had been born into the world with centuries of Sarmatian, and later Khazar, martial tradition to secure its place in the world, and was, at least for a few decades- and perhaps as much as a century and a half, arguably the greatest Christian power in the world.

The last years of the Sixteenth Century saw glory and grandeur undreamt of descend upon the newly mighty city of Hrodino, the seat of power for the Sons of Krzysztof I Sarmatyszky (the first Christian King of the Sarmatians) and the magnificent Central-European Empire that he and his scions had forged.

It had been more than a quarter of a century since the final defeat and annexation of the ancient and still quite formidable Khazar Khaganate (in 1539, at the four-month Siege and subsequent Battle of Itil), when the Druzhina and Streltsy of the Grand-Principality of the Novgorodian Rus' marched to war with the Huszars and Petyhorcy of the Sarmatian Kingdom overwhelmed and slaughtered the dreaded ranks of pike-men and famed mounted-archers of the Khagan and divided his dwindling homeland between them, ending the days when Khazars were the masters of their own destinies.

Like every institution in the proud Kingdom of Międzymorze, the Dominican Catholic Church greatly benefited from the rivers of gold, silver, and exotic gems that poured into the land from the East and Southeast. Some of the finest examples of Early Modern Sarmato-Catholic Architecture were directly funded by spoils taken when the Khazar capital, Itil had fallen to- and been sacked by- vengeful Rus' and Sarmatian foot-soldiers (which some experts say would equate to several hundred billions of złoty with inflation taken into account).

As such, it was only a matter of time before the Cardinal-Princes, Arch-Bishops and Bishops of the Kingdom to be overcome by the enormous temporal power- and unlimited wealth that was bestowed upon them the King's Majesty. Many of the clerical excesses that had long been present amongst the Occidental Catholic Clergy began to stain the clothe of the once largely monastic, universally stoic- and quite often warlike Sarmatian Priesthood. With the official support of the King, whom they were very careful to flatter and defer to, the Clergy grew ever more powerful, and ever more wealthy, owning nearly as much land as the King himself by 1560.

It is also worthy to note that by this year, conditions for serfs on the vast estates of the Dominican Church were considered the poorest of any in this yet barbarous time- and keeping serfs on these estates became such a problem that many Princes of the Church had to keep large, fully-armed contingents of man-trackers and overseers more often than not at enormous expense. With this, and other economic factors conspiring in their favor, various Cardinal-Princes in the Królewski (Royal) Sejm began to wield inordinate amounts of power- holding tighter to the ear of the King than nearly any of the szlachta numbers.

This led, as it had in so many hundreds of other courts throughout history, to a rapid escalation in the courtly infighting, increasingly vocal dissatisfaction with the Dominican Church, and lastly- far more frequent exercises of "the Golden Liberty," the right of the Magnaci (Magnates, the most powerful, and landed nobles) class to "rise" against the King for a short time, in order to take "compensation" from nearby Royal holdings, or lesser szlachta, who were often held "responsible" for the King's excesses.

Cardinal-Prince Andrzej X, Primate of Międzymorze and Kanclerz (Chancellor) and virtual puppeteer of the alarmingly corpulent and increasingly aged and senile Król (King) Bolesław V Okrągły (the Rotund) was growing evermore desperate to forestall not only a Civil War, but the expansion of the Occidental Heresies- or the resurgence of the archaic and polluted Orthodoxy of the years before the Sarmatians sat on the Throne of the Steppes.

As such, Andrzej was able to extract an officially sanctioned declaration from Dominici (though almost entirely authored by his own hand) stating that:

"The act of insurrection, whether intellectual, martial or spiritual against The Rex Intermarum's Majesty, or that of his duly-appointed intermediaries and envoys is henceforth paramount to heresy, to be likened unto an expression of those most vile blasphemies espoused by the wayward children of our Holy Mother Church in Germania and Scania. Likewise, the act of insurrection, whether intellectual, martial, or spiritual against the Princes of our Holy Mother Church, the envoys of the very Vicar of Christ, the Vice-Regent of the Word Made Flesh in the World, is nothing less than heresy- as has always been the case, from the establishment of the See of Dominici until the ending of time. As heresy is not only amongst the most dreadful sins against Our Blessed Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, it is now also to be considered a sinful affront against the King's Majesty- and as the wages of sin are death- the crime of heresy is now to carry with it the promise of the purifying fires of the stake."​

As one might well expect, these szlachta were not so far removed from the harsh pragmatism of the (largely tribal) Krzyżowiec-Rycerzy (Crusader-Knights) that had carried the banners of Krzysztof I Sarmatyszky, the Order-Militant of Saint Ignatius, and the gilded and gleaming crucifixes of the Holy Dominican Catholic Church across the vastness of the steppes- where pistoliers and lancers harried starving Khazars and Turkmen day and night...the endless, misty quagmire of the Pripyat Marshes where pistol and blunderbuss ambushes decimated dozens upon dozens everyday...the shadow and snow-bound madness of the Forest of Zebulon, that Krzysztof and scorched and salted- where the souls of two armies had died- fighting saber and jatagan, pistol and harquebus, pike and bardiche, tooth and nail to exterminate the Jewish-Foe...and finally- the hunger and plague of the camp-city outside of the titanic, cyclopean walls of Itil- and that last, murderous rush over the walls, shattered by massive cannon-shot.

Not a single man whether he was Łend, Sarmatian, Sasniemiec (Saxon), Polovtsi, Rus', or Zrvatskij had come through that evening with his humanity intact.

It was this breed that had sired the szlachta of the Kingdom, this breed that had forged "the Golden Liberty," whilst standing shoulder to shoulder with a righteous- and deadly Warrior-King. It was a generation of lean, hungry wolves- raised by half-mad fathers, men that had "seen the elephant" (as an anonymous Sarmatian soldier would say of the final War of Two Emperors (Międzymorze and Tsarist Kyiv from 1905-1909) and had largely lost their faith in the fairy-tail "hocus pocus" that the Papists spouted. Men that had smelt the fat of hundreds of women and children cooking in a fire that would have done Hell proud...It was the spawn of those savages that were confronted with opposition from the two institutions that maintained the system that allowed for the existence of their "Golden Liberties," which extended to far more than martial rights, but to land-rights, and suzerainty over serfs, tolls and taxes...

There was still a large enough faction of the szlachta that retained the old sensitivity to attempts to diminish their freedoms- which really were some of the broadest in the world at that time and their virtual martial independence- in their recently, and as they contended illegal- abolished ability, and legal right to raise and maintain armies on and of their own, though expressly for the purpose of "defending the King's Majesty."

Many of the more prosperous and well-educated szlachta proved to be more than willing to accept a profitable compromise with the King, and the Church- with many still retaining their rights to raise "royal regiments." But they were now entirely beholden to the will of Bolesław and Andrzej, with their once extensive land rights subverted to mere "entrustment in perpetuity, by grace of the King's Majesty."

There were some szlachta, and many lesser Rycerzy and freemen Petyhorcy that were quite unsure of the ability of a collection of feeble, hypocritical, old, unfit eunuchs, and a childless, obese Princeling that was rumored to be a homosexual-pedophile (which was in fact, historically accurate) to damn them to hell for conducting themselves according to the actual word of God- as opposed to the words of the aforementioned weaklings.

These mostly rural "rebellious sorts," from the High-Country along the border with Wiese, from the far-southwest, and in and near to what would one day be Životinje had been in contact with Protestants, mostly Lutherans from Franken and Eiffelland since the inception of that mostly Germanic heresy- and had taken some of its more "political" ideas to heart, while disregarding the better part of the theology as just as soft as the Dominican or Oriental Orthodox Creeds. It was this reported willingness to even have truck with these "mute heretics" that provided the kernel for the charges of heresy that were placed on nine out of every ten szlachta in the southwestern third of Międzymorze.

The first battles were already being fought, the first fires of what history would call "The Second Great Sarmatian War of Religion" (with the First being fought between Dominican Catholics, so-called Oriental Orthodox, and Oltremaren-style Unitarians- with the Dominicans eradicating all other contenders) were already raging when one of the single most important men in Sarmatian history emerged upon the scene- the father of "Modern Sarmatian Christianity," Jan Husz.

 

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The Sarmatian Reformation, Part Two: ( The First Part of an Extended, "Working" Biography of: Jan Husz and "the Huszites," and the First Phase of Sarmatian Wars of Religion c. 1559-1585)​

Jan Husz was born into a highly-respected family of the średnia szlachta (or middle nobility, "nominally" owning one or more villages or small towns- including the land, livestock, people, produce, and taxes of everyone contained therein; this is another part of the traditional "Golden Liberty" granted to the szlachta), in the riverside town of Dąbrowa Górnicza in the modern Województwo Szęstochowskie (Szęstochowan Voivodeship/Principality/Province)- in the far western frontier-marches of the Kingdom, where there were nearly as many Saxons and Rom as there were Łends and Sarmatians. His family was rich in glory, lands, and silver and copper mines- and his father, Hynryk's voice was heard clearly in all quarters of the Sejm. His family largely reflected the craggy, hilly, foreboding nature of their demesnes, but were more than generous in dealing with their serfs and contracted wolni (freemen).

Though the Husz name, and nobility had been gained on the battlefield, it had been forged into the stuff of folk-lore by the prudence and wisdom of its patriarchs- of whom there were eleven, including Hynyrk Husz.

Jan was born in the second-eldest of his father's sons, and- according to legend, his most beloved child (out of nine) on Aprile 19th, 1559. When young Jan was taken with an inexplicable wanderlust, Hynryk had encouraged him, and had hired tutors to teach him what he would need on the road into the exotic and soft- and treacherous Occident, with hopes that the self-confident young man would establish lucrative trading opportunities with the renowned Angielszczyzna, Francuski, and Księżna markets, which as of yet closed to most of Międzymorze's ever more adventuresome mercantile class.

The rumors of the limitless wealth of the lands on the western-edge of the world were more than great enough to justify Hynryk spending the considerable gold that he did on educating his son in virtually all the "gentlemanly arts" of the time- and fostering him in Antique Tibur, where Husz would have his first interactions with the so-called "Occidental Heresies."

As a young man, Jan Husz was known for his unyielding devotion and obedience to the will of his parents, as well as his chivalrously romantic courtship of the daughter of the Oltremaren Count/Baron that he had fostered with- Maria-Sofia Giovanna d'Arada. He was likewise known to be a man of letter and tongues, with a natural talent for soaking up the distinct vagaries of even neighborhood dialects.

This gift had been nurtured first by his Ignatian tutors (Dominican Catholic soldier-monks of almost universally Sarmatian origin, noted in Part One), who were- in conjunction with the King and Primate of Międzymorze attempting to shock-modernize the rather "rustic" nobility, while at the same time establishing the regularization and uniformity to their earliest martial education and experiences.

Whatever the case, (Jan) Husz was completely fluent, and literate, in his native Sarmatian- and its "Łendic dialect," Khazar, Italian, German (Saxon, Swabian and Tysker varieties), French, and even rudimentary Terrastian (Castilian).

During the latter portion of his stay in Oltremare, Husz served his father as a broker for a number of extremely lucrative deals- but he was also beginning to drift into the exciting and mysterious world that many "intellectual, or mystical" nobles- both young and old- in Oltremare (and Western and Central Europe as a whole) had already slipped fully into.

The Lutheran Heresy was already long-present in both Oltremare, and Międzymorze (which at this time included Zivotinje and parts of Kyiv and the League of Free States), and as has been noted- was gaining some foothold amongst the more restless szlachta of the hinterlands of the Kingdom. For the young Husz, many of the ideas expressed by this youthfully exuberant creed were fairly attractive- but yet seemed to fall short on a number of issues, whether because its leaders were only willing to fight so many battles at once, or because they genuinely saw no issue. He also saw an alarming trend towards "popular radicalism" amongst many so-called Lutherans, mostly likely early Anabaptists, and would carry this very dogmatic assessment with him for the rest of his life.

It is unclear exactly where in his travels Husz came across the enigmatic figure known as Arminian- a harsh Terrastanian Hidalgo (and second son, which naturally relegated him to the clergy) who had became disenfranchised with the institutionalized corruption of the Dominican Church in both his homeland, and the Francophone nations. The details of the twenty-some years between his official "break" with the Dominican Fold, and his arrival in Oltremare are impossible to discern, but it is clear that he came into contact with some Proto-Reformed (OOC: Proto-Calvinist) theologian, likely in Batavië, or perhaps Cornavia and had wholeheartedly adopted that set of beliefs.

The cornerstone of Arminian's teachings focused on rather radical reinterpretations of Saint Augustine of Hippo's works, which were amongst the great cornerstones of "Occidental" Christian thought. His reevaluation of Augustine's thoughts on Predestination, and Predetermination and his proposed doctrine of "unconditional election" had an enormous impact on Husz- and his future wife, (Countess) Maria-Sofia d'Arado.

Husz, who by age 21- in 1580, was already a very wealthy iron and copper-monger, as well as a successful distributor of Far-Eastern "china," set-gems and ivory, fur, silk, spice and most interestingly- Middle Eastern hashish and poppy "extracts." His factors sold his (and his father's, and elder brother's) wares in opulent Danzig and Trier, and in Imperial Augsburg, and Erfurt- and even dambled a bit in Nürnberg and Vlaandderen; Arado and Monteferatto and Novara in Oltremare; in Dąbrowa Górnicza, Misłika, Stary Hrodino- and perhaps even as far as Balanjar in Międzymorze. He imported technical oddities, including ornately carved matchlock muskets and wheel-lock pistols, a half-dozen printing presses, clocks- and more tellingly, volume upon volume of "Occidental Heretical treatises on forbidden theological matters" from Batavië and Tyskreich, which seemed of particular interest to the younger Husz.

In May of 1582, Husz and his betrothed were formally married- by Arminian (who very few people in either Międzymorze or Oltremare understood to be a heretic, and "warlock") and was further gifted with ownership of three towns of his own- two in his patrimony:

Będzin- which was known for its prolific copper and tin mines and the foundries and smithies that sprung up in the wake of such an industry, and for its distilleries, where it is reported that the first true " Będziny" (Bourbon) whiskey was quite accidentally born in 1788. In the first decades of the Early Modern Era however, it was known as a "city of bronze," where many bells and cannons were cast (especially after Husz- and later his patron Waldemar- imported many Germanic cannon-makers), and where some of the finest bronze-work in the region was done.

The population here was predominately Sarmatian- the old sort, which had not yet come to include those that would have been called Łends a mere generation before. They were, surprisingly, growing ever more inclined to give some thought to the ideas of the itinerant Anabaptist, Bogomil, "Calvinist," Lutheran, and Unitarian-Congregationalist missionary-preachers that passed through their town, which had one of the better collection of inns and taverns in the region. Będzin was also notable for its relative isolation- nestled amidst the craggy foothills of the Karpati Mountains.

The second, and far larger- and more historically significant- town, really more a small-city, that he was granted, Sosnowiec, was at that time a bustling center of the Łendo-Sarmatian military-wares and textiles industries, due to the close proximity to one of the largest iron mines in western Sarmatia- which Husz also owned, and the free-power provided by the rapids of the Brynica River. It would be Sosnowiec that would serve as the first home of the Huszite Movement (up until its confirmation as the official state religion some decades later), as it was in Sosnowiec that Husz settled and raised his family of eleven children with Maria-Sofia.

Though historically known for the quality of its iron, and the even higher quality of the sword-smithing, and high-quality armor production in the town, and by 1582 it was not only a mining town, but one with a Royal Armory, where a great many thousand suits of armor passed through for Royal Halberdiers and Hussars- with the iron converted into steel, and forged into armor all within ten square miles around Sosnowiec.

A singular feature sets Sosnowiec out from the other cities and regions that Husz would use as the bases- and "breadbaskets" of his later "movement" was its utterly cosmopolitan nature, where the transition from very clear divisions between (Slavo-Turkic) Sarmatians and (Balto-Slavic) Łends to their amalgamation into "modern" Sarmatians was already underway.

The city that Husz was granted in the County of Arado, as a part of his really quite generous dowry was called Càorle, and was a center of gunpowder production in that region of Oltremare. Nearby marshes and lagoons allowed for the production of saltpeter and sulfur, which were vital ingredients in gunpowder of the time. It was the most populous of the cities that fell under the suzerainty of the young Husz, and easily the wealthiest and oldest- and the governance of this city was such a daunting task to the recently married nobleman that he despised speaking of it, even when it was to discuss the significant profits it brought to him. He would retain ownership of the city, despite his distaste for it, until 1603- when it fell under the purview of the King of Oltremare himself.

Prosperity and increasing influence within the Sejm- as well as an increasing loathing for the sycophantic-conspiracies of the Dominican Clergy in Stary Hrodino- and Katowice- were the reigning orders of the day for the young
Jan Husz, who by the age of 26 (in 1585) was already the father of four.

Husz had continued his discourses with Arminian, whom he'd hired on as a "family chaplain," and was increasingly, and finally totally convinced of the rightness of the "Reformed" interpretation of the Holy Bible. This total conversion was a revelatory moment in Husz's life- and in the History of the Sarmatian People, and it affected an immediate change in Husz's demeanor and lifestyle. His study of the Gospels and his diaries- which are now reckoned to be some of the finest- and most personal discourses on Reformed theology in the world- from this period reflect his inner-turmoil over his- and humanity's basically sinful nature, and how he was to reconcile this newfound, and adamant faith with his familial responsibilities.

Already inclined to support the Reformed faction within the Sejm, Husz firmly aligned himself with them- and with their enigmatic leader, Książę (which in this context is roughly equivalent to Duke, or even Grand-Duke- the holder of several voivodeships) Waldemar Tyszkiewicz. Tyszkiewicz was related to the King, Bolesław through his mother, who came from a long and illustrious line of Łendic nobles. On the other hand, his father was rumored to have been descended from a famous, and quite deadly Tysker "landsknecht" that had married into lesser nobility somewhere along the modern border between Životinje and Greater Sarmatia.

Tyszkiewicz retained all of the martial virtues that had made his great-grandfather famous, and even expanded upon them- towering above most of his compatriots by at least a full-head's height, and was almost impossibly broad across the shoulders. He was often likened to a bear, or a walrus, or a wisent- which was the most common comparison.

Waldemar Tyszkiewicz was also cruelly cunning, and was possessed of an ambition that knew absolutely no bounds. Though generally good-natured, he had been raised with the belief that he was far more worthy to sit upon the throne of Międzymorze than his boy-loving cousin Bołeslaw, and had begun to believe this, with every fiber of his being, well before manhood. By the time that he and Jan Husz encountered each other in the still quite volatile Sejm in late 1584, the open threat of Civil War already existed between Tyszkiewicz's mostly "heretical" faction, and the Loyalists.
Husz and Tyszkiewicz had been vaguely aware of each other for most of their lives (they were roughly of an age), and made fast friends upon their first meetings in the Sejm- and the most iconic, and absolute political alliance in the history of the Sarmatian nation was founded.

The future King was quick to realize that Husz was not only a true friend, but a valuable friend- who was more than willing to lend his service to Tyszkiewicz's cause. Though Husz did not yet realize his own oratory talents- and figured himself mostly a successful accountant, and moderately gifted swordsman and pistolier, his peers were already viewing him with a sense of awe, as this hard-bitten, hard-working, honest, and humble Saint walked freely amongst them. He was the perfect complement to Książę Waldemar's frenetic tirades, and ham-fisted braggadocio.

Though Husz had yet to begin his career as a Pasterz (Shepherd/Pastor), he was universally acclaimed as a Presbyter, or Elder- and was often asked to lead the prayers of the Sejm- and certainly of all the "heretical factions' meetings." It was at one such meeting- which was actually more a prayer meeting than a political gather, where Husz was delivering an address on the complicated nature of man's dominion over the world- that the Great Sarmatian Wars of Religion began.

On a cool autumn evening, on Październik (October) 10th, 1585 a group of about thirty heavily-armored- and expensively armed Dominican partisans burst into the dockside warehouse that Husz, Tyszkiewicz and about a hundred other Reformed Nobles were meeting. As has been noted, this was more of a prayer meeting- but the Crown interpreted it as one of the final meetings leading up to a general coup. This massacre, known to history as "The Dockside Massacre," or "The Battle of the Left-Eye" claimed the lives of forty-seven Reformed noblemen, and likewise claimed Husz's left eye.

For the next week, there was a general mêlée in Stary Hrodino, with the entirety of the Reformed population- along with nearly all the Lutherans, Anabaptists and Oltremaren Dualists fighting their way out of the city, and laying large swaths of it to waste- setting fires that burned for weeks in some cases. Książę Waldemar declared the King a catamount, a pawn, a Satanist, and an inept tyrant; and of the Primate, Cardinal-Prince Andrzej X he said, to any and all that would listen- that the sycophantic, cockless, sadistic, superstitious Papal-Bumboy was the real ruler in Międzymorze in these days, and that it would only be a short time before a Sarmatian Inquisition was instituted, to pluck the eyes and tongues from righteous men and women.

The only righteous alternative would be to remove the over-ripe monarch, and replace his with a strong and virile King, that could ensure the continued growth of the mighty Kingdom of Międzymorze. And with him, the Papists should be thrown out as well, sent packing back to their western dens of iniquity- or planted in forests of stakes, to feed the carrion-crows.

With formal declarations of war issued from all quarters, the winter of 1585 would be one of the bloodiest seasons that the Kingdom had yet seen. The Inquisition that Waldemar predicted was in fact established, and the Order of Saint Ignatius "mobilized;" in response Książę Waldemar raised an army of woodmen and zealots- with Jan Husz at its head, and the heavy snows that the heavens offered that year were more often than not stained bright red with the blood of martyrs of all creeds.

 

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The Battle of Hrubieszów, Grudzień (December) 17th, 1585​

Though most of the combat of those early months was found in ambushes and chance-encounters amidst the frost-covered forests and bluffs of the western reaches of the Kingdom- there was one pitched engagement of substantial size fought on the southwestern rim of the vastness of the steppe- near the blockhouse-village of Hrubieszów. A Royal Army, comprised mostly of Sarmatian lancers, and pike-and-shot formations, under the command of the brilliant young tactician and cavalryman, Mikolaj Mircze. It is quite likely that Mircze would have been regarded as the brightest general of his generation, had it not been for the fact that he faced one Jan Husz across the field- who was, would be, and still is regarded as the one, true master warlord of this era.

Though Husz devoted most of his time to theological studies, and to linguistics- he had also picked up a bit of military history, and a limited understanding of broader military tactics through his intimate understanding of the wares that he sold so heavily. It was a natural understanding of warfare that manifested itself in Husz on that day, in the fallow barley-fields of Hrubieszów.

Having the advantage of defending the position, Husz directed his artillery- which was limited to two hourifices and three light mortars- to lie silent while his contingent of hardened Batavieren-Tysker-Frankisch-Reformed "volunteer" force (largely Reformed [but not universally] and highly skilled mercenaries of several varieties from a number of Germanic nations) and Łendic, Sarmatian and Živ "Zealots" formed a great- and irresistible tercio formation in the center of the barren fields just west of the city's largest (i.e. most fortified) wall.

Husz had ordered his cavalry off the field- and obscured for several days, with only enough men on horses to account for a small reconnaissance force in view of the Royalist foe- and he intended to keep them hidden until the absolute last possible moment. His entire plan revolved around obfuscating the fact that he had a relatively large, and very-well armed force of veterans under his command- and presenting what appeared to be a force of harried fanatics, the remainder of a quickly-gathered, and quickly-dispersed rabble that had determined to fight to the death.

His lieutenants knew that the casualties his footmen- mostly Frankisch, Łendic, Tysker and Živ "billmen", halberdiers, harquebusiers, and some few grenadiers- would suffer would be atrocious, no matter how effectively his trap unfolded. They were all hard men, most already well into their middle years, and well accustomed to the horrors that the past few decades of innovation had borne onto the battlefield. They understood both cold, unforgiving steel- and hot, uncaring lead...and they understood how easily, and merrily both would end the life of even the best men. All of them were well paid, but many of them had come to view this as a new sort of Crusade, to see a singularly Reformed Kingdom fashioned- and this but the first infantile stumbling before the great race.

The Reformed Sarmatians Husaria and Živ Petyhorcy, the sons and grandsons of the great Krzyżowiec-Rycerzy of yesteryear waited, as impatient as their mounts, which had been cooped inside houses, sheds, and barns for several days- watched as the Royalist Forces- their great crimson banners fluttering proudly in the unforgiving arctic wind that scourged the whole of Central Europe that year- advanced upon the glittering pike-heads of the "Zealots."

The carnage that reigned there, in the low-cut stalks of that barley field was as bloody and inhumane as any before or since, with lead, steel and stone rending flesh and bone- choking the frozen soil with the scalding blood of a thousand Saints. Husz's beloved cousin and lieutenant, Tadeusz Kökenhausen fell in this mêlée, his throat torn out by a lucky Royalist's musket-ball.

As ordered, one of Husz's mortars fired one shot, heated to burst upon striking the frozen ground- and the great block of hacking, slashing, and wrestling soldiers began to break off- and make for the walls of Hrubieszów- where the massive gates were still open, and the guard-houses apparently only half-manned.

General Mircze too had retained his Królewski Husaria (Royal Hussars) in reserve, though in the open to exploit just such an opportunity- as that presented by a routing foe- and an open city-gate. Having no reason to respect the martial genius of any of his Reformed-foes, Mircze devoted the vast majority of his hussars to a mad-dash for the gatehouse.

The thundering mass of at least three hundred cavalrymen (a full Hussar "Banner") roared ever closer to the walls of Hrubieszów, directly into the line of fire of Husz's remaining two mortars, and one of his hourifices. He'd pulled a hundred crack-shots from the main body of men that had fought in the fields to the wall- and in concealed pits before the battle had commenced- and they also took their aim now, their minds set upon the vengeance of their murdered coreligionists.

As that thundering mass of Royal Hussars broached the last leg of the approach to the gates, those hundred heavy hand-cannons and three artillery pieces opened up, completely unexpectedly. This single volley- which was all that fate and the technology of the day would afford Husz was enough to rock the Royal Hussars back on their heels- and shock Mircze into a momentary stupor. Though the advance continued- and even partially collided with the mass of now reforming Reformed pikemen, the largest portion of its force had been spent under the weight of the fire taken on the drive to the gates.

The gatehouses, which had appeared sparsely defended now bristled with arrow-points as hundreds of defenders exposed themselves to heap ruin upon the Hussars. Within ten minutes, there were less than twenty of the three hundred that made that charge left, and all of them gravely wounded. It was at the conclusion of this leg of the battle, when Mircze began to realize the fullness of his defeat, that Husz's own Husaria made its presence known, boiling up over the northern horizon at a full gallop- and angling in to encircle Mircze's own position.

The Royalist general was forced to quit the field, leaving his entire force of infantry (which continued to fight for another hour and a half, even after being abandoned), and half of his cavalry to "the Heretics."