Battle for Christendom: The Council of Constance, the East-west Conflict, and the Dawn of Modern Europe Hardcover – 4 Sept. 2008

This was a comprehensive summary of the events of the Western Schism which lead to the eventual Hussite wars. The main focus of the book is of course the Council of Constance itself and this event is quite evocatively described. The descriptions of hundreds of people descending on the town and the effects on the people and businesses of Constance were a nice touch and the political drama of decisions being made during the council was compelling. The burning of Jan Hus was the unintentional climax of the council and the effects of this act were well described in the book.There are a lot of names associated with the events of the Western Schism which can become confusing and some of the linked people and events are only briefly touched upon. This is necessary in or to keep the book concise but is challenging unless making notes. It would be worth doing some brief research on the main players of this series of events before diving in to avoid confusion. I got a strong impression of some of the main players’ personalities, such as Sigismund, Vaclav and Hus, through the well-selected quotes and descriptions of their character traits.Overall this was an enjoyable read, especially the descriptions of the actual council event and the Bohemian wars that followed, though it is a little dense and hard-going.