Ktož Jsú Boží Bojovníci
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"Ye Who Are Warriors of God", the English translation of "Ktož jsú Boží bojovníci" from
Old Czech The Czech language developed at the close of the 1st millennium from common West Slavic languages, West Slavic. Until the early 20th century, it was known as ''Bohemian''. Early West Slavic Among the innovations in common West Slavic languag ...
, is a 15th-century
Hussite file:Hussitenkriege.tif, upright=1.2, Battle between Hussites (left) and Crusades#Campaigns against heretics and schismatics, Catholic crusaders in the 15th century file:The Bohemian Realm during the Hussite Wars.png, upright=1.2, The Lands of the ...
war song. Alternate modern Czech spellings of the title are: "Kdož jsou Boží bojovníci" and "Kdo jsou Boží bojovníci". It was first recorded in the
Jistebnice hymn book The Jistebnice hymn book () is a Czech hand-written hymnbook from around 1430 and the earliest witness to a concentrated effort to translate the liturgy of the Western Church into the vernacular. Content The Jistebnice hymn book is the largest ...
.


History and use

The song was sung with such intensity during the
Hussite Wars The Hussite Wars, also called the Bohemian Wars or the Hussite Revolution, were a series of civil wars fought between the Hussites and the combined Catholic forces of Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, the Papacy, a ...
that it instilled fear throughout some enemy armies, making it a weapon in itself. One of the Imperial Crusades is believed to have fled the battlefield before the battle itself after hearing the Hussites singing their hymn.John William Mears. "Heroes of Bohemia: Huss, Jerome and Zisca." (1879) The hymn would be led by a Hussite priest, carrying a ceremonial axe. At the start of the 1433 war between the
Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...
and the
Teutonic Knights The Teutonic Order is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem was formed to aid Christians on their pilgrimages to t ...
of
Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
, the Hussites signed an alliance against the Germans in July 1433. In the course of the war, they marched all the way to the Baltic sea at the town of Danzig. The Prussian 19th-century historian,
Heinrich von Treitschke Heinrich Gotthard von Treitschke (; 15 September 1834 – 28 April 1896) was a German historian, political writer and National Liberal member of the Reichstag during the time of the German Empire. He was an extreme nationalist, who favored Ger ...
, makes a clearly indignant reference to the Hussite taking of land near the
Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...
and to "Kdož jsou Boží bojovníci" with these words: "greeted the sea with a wild Czech song about God's warriors and filled their water bottles with brine in token that the Baltic once more obeyed the
Slavs The Slavs or Slavic people are groups of people who speak Slavic languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout the northern parts of Eurasia; they predominantly inhabit Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe, and ...
." The song was used by
Bedřich Smetana Bedřich Smetana ( ; ; 2 March 1824 – 12 May 1884) was a Czech composer who pioneered the development of a musical style that became closely identified with his people's aspirations to a cultural and political "revival". He has been regarded ...
in his tone poems ''
Tábor Tábor (; ) is a town in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 34,000 inhabitants, making it the second most populated town in the region. The town was founded by the Hussites in 1420. The historic town centre is well pres ...
'' and "Blaník," and in a Czech march entitled "Slava chodsku" (Hail to the Chod Country!"). It was also combined with a Catholic carol sung during the time of
King Wenceslaus IV Wenceslaus IV (also ''Wenceslas''; ; , nicknamed "the Idle"; 26 February 136116 August 1419), also known as Wenceslaus of Luxembourg, was King of Bohemia from 1378 until his death and King of Germany from 1376 until he was deposed in 1400. As he ...
by
Antonín Dvořák Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8September 18411May 1904) was a Czech composer. He frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia, following the Romantic-era nationalist example of his predec ...
in his work ''Husitská ouvertura'' (Hussite Overture). Composer
Pavel Haas Pavel Haas (21 June 189917 October 1944) was a Czech composer who was murdered during the Holocaust. He was an exponent of Leoš Janáček's school of composition, and also utilized elements of folk music and jazz. Although his output was not l ...
used it as material in his ''Suite for Oboe and Piano'' op. 12 (1939).
Karel Husa Karel Husa (August 7, 1921 – December 14, 2016) was a Czech-born classical composer and conductor, winner of the 1969 Pulitzer Prize for Music and 1993 University of Louisville Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition. In 1954, he emigrated to ...
also incorporated the tune in his ''
Music for Prague 1968 ''Music for Prague 1968'' is a programmatic work written by Czech-born composer Karel Husa for symphonic band and later transcribed for full orchestra, written shortly after the Soviet Union crushed the Prague Spring reform movement in Czechoslo ...
'', as did
Karl Amadeus Hartmann Karl Amadeus Hartmann (2 August 1905 – 5 December 1963) was a German composer. A major figure of the musical life of post-war Germany, he has been described as the greatest German symphonist of the 20th century. Life Born in Munich, the son ...
in the ''
Concerto funebre ''Concerto funebre'' (''Funereal Concerto'') is a musical composition for violin soloist and string orchestra by the German composer Karl Amadeus Hartmann. Written in 1939 and substantially revised in 1959, it is by far Hartmann's best known work, ...
'' (1939, rev. 1959).


Lyrics (English translation)

:''Ye who are God's warriors and of his law,'' :''Pray to God for help and have faith in Him;'' :''That always with Him you will be victorious.'' :''Christ is worth all your sacrifices, He will pay you back an hundredfold.'' :''If you give up your life for Him you will receive eternal life.'' :''Happy is he who dies fighting for the truth.'' :''The Lord commandeth you not to fear those who harm the body,'' :''And commandeth you to even put your life down for the love of your brothers.'' :''Therefore, archers, crossbowmen, halberdiers of knightly rank,'' :''Scythemen and macebearers from all walks of life,'' :''Remember always the Lord benevolent.'' :''Do not fear your enemies, nor gaze upon their number,'' :''Keep the Lord in your hearts; for Him fight on,'' :''And before enemies you need not flee.'' :''Since ages past Czechs have said and had proverbs which state,'' :''That if the leader is good, so too is the journey.'' :''Remember all of you the password which was given out.'' :''Obey your captains and guard one another.'' :''Stay sharp and everyone keep formation.'' :''You beggars and wrongdoers, remember your soul!'' :''For greed and theft don't lose your life.'' :''And pay no heed to the spoils of war.'' :''And with this happily cry out – saying, "At thee! Have at thee!"'' :''Grasp the weapon in your hands and shout, "God is our Lord!"''


Notes


References

* "The Hussite Wars (1419–36)", Stephen Turnbull, Osprey Publishing () * Špalíček, (Book of Czech Folksongs), published 1948 by Melantrich, Prague.


External links


MP3 Kdož jsú boží bojovníci
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ktoz jsu bozi bojovnici Hussite Wars 15th-century songs Psychological warfare