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Medieval History of Hungary – 896-1526 Today’s Relevance. Dr Jozsef Szakos, CBS, PolyU at The Chinese University of Hong Kong 08.03.2010. Questions. Where do we come from? Why did we settle in the Carpathian Basin? What were the religious and social factors surrounding our nation-building?
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Medieval History of Hungary –896-1526Today’s Relevance Dr Jozsef Szakos, CBS, PolyU at The Chinese University of Hong Kong 08.03.2010
Questions • Where do we come from? • Why did we settle in the Carpathian Basin? • What were the religious and social factors surrounding our nation-building? • How did Hungary shape the Europe of Middle Ages in art, politics, power? • Why is the study of medieval Hungary relevant for approaching Europe?
Where do we come from? • Geographically: From Central Asia to Pannonia • Ethnically • Linguistically • Religious roots: Shamanism, natural religions • Lifestyle: hunting, nomadic
What awaited us: Decline of Roman Empire, Province of Pannonia
Events timeline 1. • 896 Crossing the Carpathian mountains, taking the country • 955 Defeated after yearly campaigns over Western parts of Europe (by Otto I of the Holy Roman Empire, at Lechfeld near Augsburg) • 970 Last campaigns against the Byzantine Empire • 970s – 1301 Arpad dynasty: Stephen, Ladislaus as examples
Events 2. • Golden Era: 1308-1490 • Charles I 1308-1342 • Louis the Great 1342-1382 • Sigismund of Luxemburg 1386-1437 • Janos Hunyady era 1446-1456 • Matthias Corvinus 1458-1490 • Jagiellon Dynasty and Decline of Hungary 1490-1526
Stephen I of Hungary Born 967 in Esztergom, Grand Prince of the Hungarians, crowned King 1000, + 1038, Canonized by Pope Gregory VII together with his son Emeric on 20 August 1083. Saint Stephen was born "Vajk" in the town of Esztergom. His father was Grand PrinceGéza of Hungary; his mother was Sarolt, daughter of Gyula of Transylvania a Hungarian nobleman who had been baptized in Greece. Though Sarolt was baptized into the Orthodox Christian faith at her father's court in Transylvania by the Greek bishop Hierotheos,she did not persist in the religion. According to his legends, Vajk was baptized a Christian by Saint Adalbert of Prague. He was given the baptismal name Stephen (István) in honour of the original early Christian Saint Stephen. The baptised name was possibly chosen on purpose, as it doesn't mean only "crown" as mentioned, but also, and "norm, standard" in Hebrew. So the mission of St. Stephen was to grant a norm to Hungary through the Holy Crown (also called the Doctrine of the Holy Crown). However, another reason could be thought of: that Stephen, as fiancé of a woman from the diocese of Passau, simply wanted to do honour to the then-major saint of Passau, Saint Stephen, after whom the Passau Cathedral is named up to today.
Internal politics • Stephen I founded several dioceses, ie, the dioceses of Veszprém, Győr, Kalocsa, Vác, Bihar. He also established the Archdiocese of Esztergom, thus he set up an ecclesiastical organisation independent of the German archbishops. He also began to organize a territory-based administration by founding several counties (comitatus, megye) in his kingdom. • Stephen discouraged pagan customs and strengthened Christianity with various laws. In his first decree, issued in the beginning of his rule, he ordered that each ten villages would be obliged to build a church. He invited foreign priests to Hungary to evangelize his kingdom; Saint Astricus served as his adviser, and Stephen also employed Saint Gerard Sagredo as the tutor for his son Emeric (also rendered as Imre). • Around 1003, Stephen invaded and occupied Transylvania, a territory ruled by his maternal uncle, Gyula, a semi-independent chieftain; and after this victory, Stephen organized the Diocese of Transylvania. In the next few years he also occupied the lands of the Black Magyars in the Southern part of Transdanubia, and there organized the Diocese of Pécs. Shortly afterwards, it is believed that he made an agreement with Samuel Aba, the chieftain of the Kabar tribes settled in the Mátra region, who married Stephen's sister; in his brother-in-law's domains, Stephen founded the . • Finally, Stephen occupied the domains of Ajtony, a semi-pagan chieftain who had been ruling over the territories of the later Banat. Here Stephen set up the Diocese of Csanád.
External politics • Stephen I allied himself with his brother-in-law, the Emperor Henry II against Prince Boleslaw I of Poland, who had extended his rule over the territories between the Morava and Váh Rivers. Stephen sent troops to the Emperor's army, and in the Peace of Bautzen, in 1018, the Polish prince had to hand over the occupied territories to Stephen. • Shortly afterwards, Stephen sent troops to help Boleslaw I in his campaign against the Kievan Rus'. In 1018, Stephen lead his armies against Bulgaria, in alliance with the Byzantine EmperorBasil II, and collected several relics during his campaign. • After the death of Henry II ( 3 July 1024), Stephen broke with the German alliance, because the new Holy Roman Emperor, Conrad II claimed the supremacy over the Kingdom of Hungary, while Stephen demanded the Duchy of Bavaria for his son Emeric who was the nearest relative of the deceased Emperor Henry II (who himself had been the last male descendant of the old dukes of Bavaria). In 1027, Stephen had Bishop , the envoy sent by Conrad II to the Byzantine Empire, arrested at the frontier. In 1030, the Emperor lead his armies against Hungary, but Stephen's troops enforced their retreat. Stephen and the Emperor Conrad II concluded peace negotiations in 1031, and the territories between the Leitha (Hungarian: (Lajta)) and Fischa Rivers were ceded to Hungary.
Stephen mourned for a very long time over the loss of his son, which took a great toll on his health. He eventually recovered, but never regained his original vitality. Having no children left, he could not find anyone among his remaining relatives who was able to rule the country competently and willing to maintain the Christian faith of the nation. He did not want to entrust his kingdom to his cousin, Duke Vazul whom he suspected to be following pagan customs. The disregarded duke took part in conspiracy aimed at the murder of Stephen I, but the assassination attempt failed and Vazul had his eyes gouged out and molten lead poured in his ears. Unable to choose an heir, King Stephen died on the Feast of the Assumption (15 August) in the year 1038 at Esztergom-Szentkirály or Székesfehérvár, where he was buried Last years and Legacy
Original Documents by St Stephen: Laws, Foundation of Pannonhalma
Saint Ladislaus I (Hungarian: I. (Szent) László, (in Medieval English texts: Saint Lancelot[2][3]), Croatian: Ladislav I., Slovak: Svätý Ladislav I, Polish: Władysław I Święty; c. 1040 – 29 July 1095) was King of Hungary from 1077 until his death, "who greatly expanded the boundaries of the kingdom and consolidated it internally; no other Hungarian king was so generally beloved by the people".Before his ascension to the throne, he was the main advisor of his brother, Géza I of Hungary, who was fighting against their cousin, King Solomon of Hungary. When his brother died, his followers proclaimed Ladislaus king according to the Hungarian tradition that gave precedence to the eldest member of the royal family to the deceased king's sons. Following a long period of civil wars, he strengthened the royal power in his kingdom by introducing severe legislation. He also could expand his rule over Croatia. After his canonisation, Ladislaus became the model of the chivalrous king in Hungary King St Ladislaus
When Ladislaus was crowned, the Counties of Moson and Pozsony, were still under the rule of King Salamon, who could count of the assistance of his brother-in-law, King Henry IV of Germany. Therefore, Ladislaus sought the alliance of the German king's rivals, and in 1078, he married Adelaide, the daughter of Duke Rudolf I of Swabia, who had been proclaimed King of Germany by the emperor's opponents. In 1079, Ladislaus took the fortress of Moson from King Solomon, but he was not able to occupy Pozsony. Afterwards, he began negotiations with his rival, who finally abdicated in his favour in 1081 in exchange for extensive landholdings. Although, the deposed king tried to plot against his cousin, but Ladislaus overcome the conspiracy and had Salamon imprisoned. Upon Ladislaus' initiative, Pope Gregory VII ordered the canonization of the first king of Hungary, Stephen I and his son, Emeric (Imre). On the occasion of the celebrations, on the feast of the Assumption (August 15), 1083, Ladislaus allowed Salamon to go free. Salamon subsequently fled to the Pechenegs. In 1085, the Pechenegs invaded the Eastern territory of the kingdom, but Ladislaus defeated them. Following upon his victory, no-one disputed Ladislaus' right to rule. The continuous struggles for the throne following the death of Saint Stephen I in 1038, had resulted in a confused internal situation when Ladislaus ascended the throne. Therefore, Ladislaus issued extremely severe decrees against criminal offenders that made provision for penalties such as mutilation, enslavement or execution for minor crimes against property or the Christian Faith. King Ladislaus took an active part in the reorganization of the Roman Catholic Church in Hungary, by the setting up a new bishopric in Zagreb in 1087, the founding of the Archbishopric of Bacs by its separation from Kalocsa,[6] and transferral of the See of Bihar to Nagyvárad, which was not entirely in line with the normative practice of the Church. Similarly, the synod of Hungarian prelates at Szabolcs in the year 1092 recognized the legitimacy of the first marriage of the members of the clegry, which was contrary to canon law. The collapse of the German emperor in his struggle with the pope left Ladislaus free to extend his dominions towards the south, and east toward the Eastern Carpathians. In 1087, he sent his envoys to the court of Herman of Salm, who had been proclaimed King of Germany by the opponents of Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor following the death of Ladislaus' father-in-law, but after he received information of Salamon's death, he did not intervene in the internal struggles in Germany. In 1092, Ladislaus lead his armies against Prince , who had allied himself with the Cumans, and won a victory over him. In 1093, Ladislaus supported Duke Zbigniew's revolt against his father, Duke Władysław I Herman of Poland. Struggles inside, to West and East
No other Hungarian king was held in such high esteem. The whole nation mourned for him for three years, and regarded him as a saint long before his canonization. A whole cycle of legends is associated with his name. He was canonized on June 27, 1192. A number of miracles are attributed to him. On the occasion of some pestilence in the country, he is said to have prayed for the cure before shooting an arrow into the air at random; the arrow then hit the herb which would cure the illness. At another time, he was pursuing a Pecheneg force raiding the realm. According to the story, the king was catching up to the raiders, who decided to scatter the money they had looted before the pursuing Hungarians. The ruse worked as the soldiers stopped to gather the money. The king is then reputed to have turned all the gold to stone through a prayer, allowing him to put his army on the march again, defeat the raiders and free their captives. C.A. Macartney, in his Hungary: A Short History, eulogizes Ladislaus thus: "Ladislas I, who, like Stephen and his son, Imre, was canonised after his death, was the outstanding personality among them: a true paladin and gentle knight, a protector of his faith and his people, and of the poor and defenceless." Ladislaus the saint
Mongol Invasions 1241-1242 • The Mongols invaded Central Europe with three armies. One army defeated an alliance which included forces from the fragmented Poland and members of various Christian military orders, led by Henry II the Pious, Duke of Silesia in the battle of Legnica. A second army crossed the Carpathian mountains and a third followed the Danube. The armies re-grouped and crushed Hungary in 1241, defeating the Hungarian army at the Battle of Mohi on April 11, 1241. The devastating Mongol invasion killed half of Hungary's population. The armies swept the plains of Hungary over the summer and in the spring of 1242, regained impetus and extended their control into Austria and Dalmatia and Moravia. The Great Khan had, however, died in December, 1241, and on hearing the news, all the "Princes of the Blood“ went back to Mongolia to elect the new Khan. • After sacking Kiev,Batu khan sent a smaller group of Mongols to Poland, destroying Lublin and defeating an inferior Polish army. Other elements—not the main Mongol force—saw difficulty near the Polish-Galich border. The Invasion of Poland and Hungary were not reconnaissance operations, but, rather, retaliations for the killing of Mongol envoys[citation needed] (also related to the issue of escaping Cumans), and an occasion to plunder. The Mongols suffered significant casualties at Olmutz in Moravia, in a fight with a numerically superior pan-European army in terrain disadvantageous for the use of cavalry. As for Poland, the Mongols were just passing through and the efforts of king Wenceslas amounted to little in Mongol strategic considerations. • The Tatars then reached Polaniec on the River Czarna, where they set up camp. There, the Voivode attacked them with the remaining Cracovian knights, which were few in number, but determined to conquer or die. Surprise gave the Poles an initial advantage and they managed to kill many Mongol soldiers. When the Mongols realized the actual numerical strength of the Poles, they regrouped, broke through the Polish ranks and defeated them. During the fighting, many Polish prisoners of war found ways to escape and hide in the nearby woods. In part, the Polish defeat was due to the fact that following their initial success the Polish knights were distracted in searching for loot. The attack on Europe was planned and carried out by Subutai, who achieved, perhaps, his most lasting fame with his victories there. Having devastated the various Russian Principalities, he sent spies into Poland, Hungary, and as far as Austria, in preparation for an attack into the heartland of Europe. Having a clear picture of the European kingdoms, he prepared an attack nominally commanded by Batu Khan and two other princes of the blood. Batu Khan, son of Jochi, was the overall leader, but Subutai was the strategist and commander in the field, and as such was present in both the northern and southern campaigns against Russian Principalities. He also commanded the central column that moved against Hungary. While Kadan's northern force won the Battle of Legnica and Güyük's army triumphed in Transylvania, Subutai was waiting for them on the Hungarian plain. The newly reunited army then withdrew to the Sajo River where they inflicted a decisive defeat on King Béla IV of Hungary at the Battle of Mohi. Again, Subutai masterminded the operation, and it would prove to be one of his greatest victories.
Invasion of Hungary • Around 1241, Kingdom of Hungary looked much like any other feudal kingdom of Europe. Although the throne was still inherited by the successors of Árpád, the authority and power of the king was greatly curtailed. The rich magnates cared less about the national security of the whole kingdom than about petty feudal quarrels with their fellow landlords. The Golden Bull of 1222 authorized the magnates to rebel against the king in some circumstances, and made the king only 'primus inter pares'—first among equals. Bela IV tried to restore the king's former authority and power without much success. Thus, Hungary lived in a state of feudal anarchy when the Mongols began to expand toward Europe. • The Hungarians had first learned about the Mongol threat in 1229, when King Andrew granted asylum to some fleeing Russian boyars. Magyars, left behind during the main migration to the Pannonian basin, still lived on the banks of the upper Volga; in 1237, a Dominicanfriar, Julianus, set off on an expedition to lead them back, and was sent back to King Béla with a letter from Batu Khan. In this letter, Batu Khan called upon the Hungarian king to surrender his kingdom unconditionally to the Tatar forces or face complete destruction. Béla did not reply. Two more Mongol messages were brought to Hungary: the first, in 1239, by the defeated Cuman tribes, who asked for and received asylum in Hungary, and the second, in February, 1241, by the defeated Polish princes. • Only then did King Béla call his magnates to join his army in defense of the country. He also asked the papacy and the Western European rulers for help. Foreign help came in the form of a small knight-detachment under the leadership of Frederick, Prince of Austria, but it was too small to influence the outcome of the campaign. The majority of the Hungarian magnates did not realize the seriousness of the Mongol danger. Some may have hoped that a defeat of the royal army would force Béla to discontinue his centralization efforts and thus strengthen their power. • Although the Mongol danger was serious and real, Hungary was not prepared to deal with it, as in the minds of the people (who had lived free from nomadic invasions for the last few hundred years) a new invasion seemed impossible. The population was no longer a soldier population. Only the rich nobles were trained as heavy-armored cavalry. The Hungarians had long since forgotten the light-cavalry strategy and tactics of their ancestors, which were similar to those now used by the Mongols.
Lessons learned 1. • Arriving at the Hornádriver without having been challenged to a fight by the Mongols, the Hungarian army encamped on April 10, 1241. The Mongols began their attack the next night. Soon, it was clear that the Hungarians were losing the battle. The king escaped with the help of his bodyguard, but the rest of the army was either killed without mercy by the Mongols or drowned in the rivers while attempting an escape. The Mongols now systematically occupied the Great Hungarian Plains, the slopes of the northern Carpathian Mountains, and Transylvania. Where they found local resistance, they mercilessly killed the population. Where the people did not offer any resistance, they forced the men into servitude in the Mongol army. Still, tens of thousands avoided Mongol domination by taking refuge behind the walls of the few fortresses or by hiding in the forests or the large marshes alongside the rivers. The Mongols, instead of leaving already defenseless and helpless peoples behind and continuing their campaign through Pannonia to Western Europe, spent the entire summer and fall securing and pacifying the occupied territories. Then, during the winter, contrary to the traditional strategy of the nomadic armies which started campaigns only in spring-time, they crossed the Danube and continued their systematic occupation including Pannonia. They eventually reached the Austrian borders and the Adriatic shores in Dalmatia. At this time Croatia was part of Hungary, since it was conquered by the Kingdom of Hungary in 1091.[
Lessons 2. • At least 20%-40% of the population died, if not in slaughter then in epidemic. However the Mongols took control of Hungary they couldn't occupy any fortressed cities like Fehérvár, Esztergom, Veszprém, Tihany, Győr, Pannonhalma, Moson, Sopron, Vasvár, Újhely, Zala, Léka, Pozsony -(today Bratislava Slovakia), Nitra, Komárom, Fülek and Abaújvár. Learning from this lesson, the fortresses came to play a significant role in Hungary. • King Béla IV rebuilt the country and invested in fortifications. With a shortage of money, he settled down Jewish families, investors and tradesmen giving them rights. The King settled tens of thousands of Kun (Cumans) who had fled the country before the invasion. This is called the second foundation of Hungary. • During the spring of 1242, Ögedei Khan had died at the age of fifty-six after a binge of drinking during a hunting trip. Batu Khan, who was one of the contenders to the imperial throne, returned at once with his armies to Asia (before withdrawal, Batu Khan ordered wholesale execution of prisoners), leaving the whole of Eastern Europe depopulated and in ruins. Because of his death, the Western Europe escaped unscathed. • Some Hungarian historians claim that Hungary's long resistance against the Mongols actually saved Western Europe. Many Western European historians reject this interpretation • . They point out that the Mongols evacuated Hungary of their own free will, and that Western Europe was saved by the sudden death of Ögedei Khan, not by the struggle of the Hungarians. Other European and American historians have questioned whether the Mongols would have been able to, or even wished to, continue their invasion into Europe west of the Hungarian plain at all, given the logistical situation in Europe and their need to keep large number of horses in the field to retain their strategic mobility. • The Mongolian invasion taught the Magyars a simple lesson: although the Mongols had destroyed the countryside, the forts and fortified cities had survived.
King Bela IV • Béla IV (Hungarian: IV. Béla), (29 November 1206 – 3 May 1270), King of Hungary[1] (1235-1270) and of Croatia (as part of the Hungarian Kingdom) (1235-1270), duke of Styria between 1254-1258. One of the most famous kings of Hungary, distinguished himself through his policy of strenghtening of the royal power following the example of his grand father Bela III, and by the rebuilding Hungary after the catastrophy of the Mongolian invasion in 1241. For this reason was called by the Hungarians "the second founder of our country". • 21 September 1235, Béla ascended the throne without any opposition and crowned him on 14 October in Székesfehérvár. Shortly afterwards, he accused his young stepmother and his father's main advisor, of adultery and ordered their arrest. • Béla's main purpose was to restore the royal power that had weakened during his father's rule; e.g., he ordered the burning of his advisors' seats, because he wanted to force them to stand in the presence of the king. As he also wanted to strengthen the position of the towns, he confirmed the charter of Székesfehérvár and granted new privileges to several key towns in the kingdom (Pest, Nagyszombat, Selmecbánya, Korpona, Zólyom, Bars, and Esztergom). • He sent Friar Julian to find the Magyar tribes who had remained in their eastern homeland. Friar Julian, after meeting with the eastern Magyars returned to Hungary in 1239 and informed Béla of the planned Mongol invasion of Europe. Béla wanted to take precautions against the Mongols; therefore he granted asylum, in Hungary, to the Cumans who had been defeated by the Mongols.
Extern expansion – struggles w son • in 1242, he could lead his troops against Duke Frederick II of Austria. During his campaign, he managed to reoccupy Sopron and Kőszeg and he compelled the duke to renounce the three counties he had occupied during the Mongol invasion. • On 30 June 1244, Béla made a peace with the Republic of Venice and he surrendered his supremacy over Zadar (then called Zara) but he retained the 1/3 of the Dalmatian city's revenues of customs. In 1245, Béla provided military assistance to his son-in-law, Prince Rostislav against Prince Danylo of Halych, but the latter forced back the pretender's attacks. • Upon his request, Pope Gregory IX absolved Béla of his oath he had taken to the Holy Roman Emperor during the Mongol invasion on 21 August 1245. Shortly afterwards, Duke Frederick II of Austria, who did not give up his claims to the western counties of the Kingdom of Hungary, launched an attack against Hungary. Although, he could defeat the Hungarian troops in a battle by the Leitha River, but he died in the battle. With his death, the male line of the House of Babenberg became extinct, and a struggle commenced for the rule over Austria and Styria. • Béla granted the Banat of Szörény to the Knights Hospitaller in 1249, when a rumour was spreading that the Mongols were preparing a new campaign against Europe. In the same year, he assisted again his son-in-law against Halych, but Prince Danylo defeated his troops by the San River. Finally, Béla decided to make an agreement with the Prince of Halych and they had a meeting in Zólyom in 1250 where Béla promised that he would not assist his son-in-law against Prince Danylo. • Béla decided to intervene in the struggle for the inheritance of the House of Babenberg and arranged a marriage between Gertrude of Austria, the niece of the deceased Duke Frederick II of Austria, and Roman Danylovich, a son of Prince Danylo of Halych. In 1252, he led his armies against Austria and occupied the Vienna Basin. • Béla had had his eldest son, Stephen crowned junior king already in 1246, but he did not want to share the royal power with his son. However, Stephen recruited an army against his father and persuaded Béla to cede him the government of Transylvania in 1258. • Béla lost his favourite son in the summer of 1269. Afterwards, his favourite daughter, Anna exercised more and more influence over him. In his last will, Béla entrusted his daughter and his followers to her son-in-law, King Otakar II of Bohemia, because he did not trust his son.
Prosperity under foreign kings: Charles I (1308-1342) • After the destructive period of interregnum (1301–1308), the first Angevin king, Charles I of Hungary (King: 1308–1342) -An Árpád descendant in the female line- successfully restored the royal power, who defeated oligarch rivals, the so called "little kings". Charles I was crowned as a child and raised in Hungary. His new fiscal, customs and monetary policies proved successful under his reign. Charles Robert also introduced tax reforms and a stable currency. One of the primary sources of his power was the wealth derived from the gold mines of east and northern Hungary. Eventually production reached the remarkable figure of 3,000 lb. of gold annually—one third of the total production of the world as then known, and five times as much as that of any other European state.He reestablished the crown's authority by ousting disloyal magnates and distributing their estates to his supporters. Charles Robert then ordered the magnates to recruit and equip small private armies called banderia. Charles Robert ruled by decree and convened the Diet only to announce his decisions. Dynastic marriages linked his family with the ruling families of Naples and Poland and heightened Hungary's standing abroad. • Hungary was the first non-Italian country, where the renaissance appeared in Europe. • The Renaissance style came directly from Italy during the Quattrocento to Hungary foremost in the Central European region. The development of the early Hungarian-Italian relationships was a reason of this infiltration, which weren't manifested only in dynastic connections, but in cultural, humanistic and commercial relations. This effect was getting stronger from the 1300s. In the first half of the 14th century, the statues of ladies, knights, court musicians, servants and guardsmen mark not only the turn of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, but also the beginning of a new age.
Louis the Great (1342-1382) • Charles Robert's son and successor Louis I of Hungary (1342-82) maintained the strong central authority Charles I had amassed. In 1351 Louis issued a decree that reconfirmed the Golden Bull, erased all legal distinctions between the lesser nobles and the magnates, standardized the serfs' obligations, and barred the serfs from leaving the lesser nobles' farms to seek better opportunities on the magnates' estates. The decree also established the entail system. Hungary's economy continued to flourish during Louis's reign. Gold and other precious metals poured from the country's mines and enriched the royal treasury, foreign trade increased, new towns and villages arose, and craftsmen formed guilds. The prosperity fueled a surge in cultural activity, and Louis promoted the illumination of manuscripts and in 1367 founded Hungary's first university. Louis extended his rule over territories to the Adriatic Sea, and occupied the Kingdom of Naples several times. Under his reign lived the most famous epic hero of Hungarian literature and warfare, the king's Champion: Nicolas Toldi. Louis had become popular in Poland due to his successful campaigns against the Tatars and pagan Lithuanians. Two successful wars (1357–1358, 1378–1381) against Venice annexed Dalmatia and Ragusa and more territories at Adriatic Sea. Venice also had to raise the Angevin flag on St. Mark's Square on holy days. Louis I established a university in Pécs in 1367 (by papal accordance). The Ottoman Turks confronted the country ever more often. In 1366 and 1377, Louis led successful champaigns against the Ottomans (Batlle at Nicapoli in 1366), therefore Balkanian states became his vassals. From 1370, the death of Casimir III of Poland, Louis became king of Poland in 1370 and ruled the two countries for twelve years. Until his death, he retained his strong potency in political life of Italian Peninsula. While Louis was engaged in these activates, the Ottomans made their initial inroads into the Balkans.
Sigismund of Luxemburg (1386-1437) • Louis's son-in-law, won a bitter struggle for the throne after Louis died in 1382. Under Sigismund, Hungary's fortunes began to decline. Many Hungarian nobles despised Sigismund for his cruelty during the succession struggle, his long absences, and his costly foreign wars. In 1401 disgruntled nobles temporarily imprisoned the king. In 1403 another group crowned an anti-king, who failed to solidify his power but succeeded in selling Dalmatia to Venice. Sigismund failed to reclaim the territory. Sigismund became king of Bohemia in 1419. In 1404 Sigismund introduced the Placetum Regium. According to this decree, Papal bulls and messages could not be pronounced in Hungary without the consent of the king. Sigismund congregated Council of Constance (1414–1418) to abolish the Papal Schism of Catholic church, which was solved by the election of a new pope. In 1433 he even became Holy Roman Emperor. In response, Sigismund created the office of palatine to rule the country in his stead. • Like earlier Hungarian kings, Sigismund elevated his supporters to magnate status and sold off crown lands to meet burgeoning expenses. Although Hungary's economy continued to flourish, Sigismund's expenses outstripped his income. He bolstered royal revenues by increasing the serfs' taxes and requiring cash payment. Social turmoil erupted late in Sigismund's reign as a result of the heavier taxes and renewed magnate pressure on the lesser nobles. Hungary's first peasant revolt erupted when a Transylvanianbishop ordered peasants to pay tithes in coin rather than in kind. Also, Husite teachings spread among the population making the bishop more unpopular. The revolt was quickly checked, but it prompted Transylvania's Szekel, Magyar, and German orders to form the Union of Three Nations, which was an effort to defend their privileges against any power except that of the king. During his long reign Royal castle of Buda became probably the largest Gothic palace of the late Middle Ages. The first Hungarian Bible translation completed in 1439, but Hungarian Bible was illegal in its age. Hungary was the first non-Italian country, where the renaissance appeared in Europe.[13] • Additional turmoil erupted when the Ottomans expanded their empire into the Balkans.
Count John Hunyadi's era • After Władysław III, Hungary's nobles chose an infant king, Ladislaus V the Posthumous, and a regent, John Hunyadi, to rule the country until the former came of age. The son of a lesser nobleman of the Vlach ( though some historians suggest a Cumanic) descent, who had won distinction in the wars against the Ottomans. Hunyadi rose to become a general, Transylvania's military governor, one of Hungary's largest landowners, and a war hero. He used his personal wealth and the support of the lesser nobles to win the regency and overcome the opposition of the magnates. Hunyadi then established a mercenary army funded by the first tax ever imposed on Hungary's nobles. He defeated the Ottoman forces in Transylvania in 1442 and broke their hold on Serbia in 1443, only to be routed at the Battle of Varna (where Władysław I (of Hungary) himself perished) a year later. In 1446, the parliament elected the great general János Hunyadi as governor (1446–1453) and then as regent (1453–1456) of the kingdom. In 1448 Hunyadi tried to expel the Turks from Europe, but because of the treachery of Serbs and Vlachs he was outnumbered and routed in the 3 days battle of Kosovo Polje. • One of his greatest victories being the Siege of Belgrade in 1456. Hunyadi defended the city against the onslaught of the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II. During the siege, Pope Callixtus III ordered the bells of every church to be rung every day at noon, as a call for believers to pray for the defenders of the city. However, in many countries (like England and Spanish kingdoms), news of the victory arrived before the order, and the ringing of the church bells at noon thus transformed into a commemoration of the victory. The Popes didn't withdraw the order, and Catholic churches still ring the noon bell to this day. • Hunyadi died of the plague soon after.
Matthias Corvinus • Some magnates resented Hunyadi for his popularity as well as for the taxes he imposed, and they feared that his sons might seize the throne from Ladislaus. They coaxed the sons to return to Laszlo's court, where Hunyadi's elder son was beheaded. His younger son, Matthias Corvinus of Hungary, was imprisoned in Bohemia. However, lesser nobles loyal to Mátyás soon expelled László. After Ladislaus's death abroad, they paid ransom for Mátyás, met him on the frozen Danube River, and proclaimed him king. Corvinus (1458-90) was, with one possible exception (John Zápolya), the last Hungarian king to rule the country. • This was the first time in the medieval Hungarian kingdom that a member of the nobility, without dynastic ancestry and relationship, mounted the royal throne. A true Renaissance prince, a successful military leader and administrator, an outstanding linguist, a learned astrologer, and an enlightened patron of the arts and learning.András Hess set up a printing press in Buda in 1472. • Although Matthias regularly convened the Diet and expanded the lesser nobles' powers in the counties, he exercised absolute rule over Hungary by means of a secularbureaucracy. Matthias enlisted 30,000 foreign and Hungarian mercenaries in his standing army and built a network of fortresses along Hungary's southern frontier, but he did not pursue his father's aggressive anti-Turkish policy. Instead, Mátyás launched unpopular attacks on Bohemia, Poland, and Austria, pursuing an ambition to become Holy Roman Emperor and arguing that he was trying to forge a unified Western or Central European alliance strong enough to expel the Ottoman Turks from Europe. He eliminated tax exemptions and raised the serfs' obligations to the crown to fund his court and the military. The magnates complained that these measures reduced their incomes, but despite the stiffer obligations, the serfs considered Matthias a just ruler because he protected them from excessive demands and other abuses by the magnates. He also reformed Hungary's legal system and promoted the growth of Hungary's towns. • Matthias was a true Renaissance man and made his court a center of humanist culture; under his rule, Hungary's first books were printed and its second university was established. His library, the Corvina, was famous throughout Europe. It was Europe's greatest collection of historical chronicles, philosophic and scientific works in the 15th century, and second only in size to the Vatican Library
Matthias • 20 January 1458, Matthias was elected king by the Diet. This was the first time in the medieval Hungarian kingdom that a member of the nobility, without dynastic ancestry and relationship, mounted the royal throne. Such an election upset the usual course of dynastic succession in the age. In the Czech and Hungarian states they heralded a new judiciary era in Europe, characterized by the absolute supremacy of the Parliament, (dietal system) and a tendency to centralization. At this time Matthias was still a hostage of George of Poděbrady, who released him under the condition of marrying his daughter Kunhuta (later known as Catherine). On 24 January 1458, 40,000 Hungarian noblemen, assembled on the ice of the frozen Danube, unanimously elected Matthias Hunyadi king of Hungary, and on 14 February the new king made his state entry into Buda. • Matthias was 15 when he was elected King of Hungary: at this time the realm was environed by perils. The Ottomans and the Venetians threatened it from the south, the emperor Frederick III from the west, and Casimir IV of Poland from the north, both Frederick and Casimir claiming the throne.
Culture under Matthias • Matthias was educated in Italian, and his fascination with the achievements of the Italian Renaissance led to the promotion of Mediterranean cultural influences in Hungary. Buda, Esztergom, Székesfehérvár and Visegrád were amongst the towns in Hungary that benefited from the establishment of public health and education and a new legal system under Matthias' rule. In 1465 he founded a university in Pressburg (present-day Bratislava, Slovakia), the Universitas Istropolitana. His 1476 marriage to Beatrice, the daughter of the King of Naples, only intensified the influence of the Renaissance. • An indefatigable reader and lover of culture, he proved an extremely generous patron, as artists from the Italian city-states and Western Europe were present in large numbers at his court. The most important humanists living in Matthias' court were Antonio Bonfini and the famous Hungarian poet Janus Pannonius. • Like many of his acculturated contemporaries, he trusted in astrology and other semi-scientific beliefs; however, he also supported true scientists and engaged frequently in discussions with philosophers and scholars. • He spoke Hungarian, Croatian, Latin, and later also German, Czech. • Matthias Corvinus's library, the Bibliotheca Corviniana, was Europe's greatest collections of secular books: historical chronicles, philosophic and scientific works in the fifteenth century. His library was second in size only to the Vatican Library. (However, the Vatican Library mainly contained Bibles and religious materials.)[11] In 1489, Bartolomeo della Fonte of Florence wrote that Lorenzo de Medici founded his own Greek-Latin library encouraged by the example of the Hungarian king. Corvinus's library is part of UNESCO World Heritage
Jagiellon Dynasty and Decline of Hungary (1490—1526) • The magnates, who did not want another heavy-handed king, procured the accession of Vladislaus II, king of Bohemia (Ulászló II in Hungarian history), precisely because of his notorious weakness: he was known as King Dobže, or Dobzse (meaning “Good” or, loosely, “OK”), from his habit of accepting with that word every paper laid before him.[16] Under his reign the central power began to experience severe financial difficulties, largely due to the enlargement of feudal lands at his expense. • Matthias' reforms did not survive the turbulent decades that followed his reign. An oligarchy of quarrelsome magnates gained control of Hungary. They crowned a docile king, Vladislaus II (the Jagiellonian king of Bohemia, who was known in Hungary as Ulaszlo II, 1490-1516) the son of King Casimir IV of Poland, only on condition that he abolish the taxes that had supported Matthias' mercenary army. As a result, the king's army dispersed just as the Turks were threatening Hungary. • When Vladislaus II died in 1516, his ten-year-old son Louis II (1516-26) became king, but a royal council appointed by the Diet ruled the country. Hungary was in a state of near anarchy under the magnates' rule. The king's finances were a shambles; he borrowed to meet his household expenses despite the fact that they totaled about one-third of the national income . • In 1521 Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent recognized Hungary's weakness and seized Belgrade in preparation for an attack on Hungary. After that, Louis II and his wife, Maria von Habsburg tried to manage an anti-magnate putsch, but they were not successful. In August 1526, he marched nearly 100,000 troops into Hungary's heartland. Hungary's forces were just gathering, when the 26,000 strong Hungarian army met the Turks with bad luck in the battle of Mohacs. Hungarians had well-equipped and well-trained troops, and awaited more reinforcements from Czechia and Transylvania, but lacked a good military leader. They suffered bloody defeat leaving 20,000 dead on the field. Louis himself died, thrown from a horse into a bog.
Ottoman–Hungarian Wars • The Ottoman-Hungarian War refers to a series of battles between the Ottoman Empire and the medieval Kingdom of Hungary. Following the Byzantine civil war, the Ottoman capture of Gallipoli and the decisive Battle of Kosovo, the Ottoman Empire seemed poised to conquer the whole of the Balkans. However, the Ottoman invasion of Serbia drove Hungary to war against the Ottomans, with the former having interests in the Balkans and competing for the vassalship of the Balkan states of Serbia, Bulgaria, Wallachia, and Moldavia. • Initial Hungarian success culminated in the Crusade of Varna, though without significant outside support the Hungarians were defeated. Nonetheless the Ottomans suffered more defeats at Belgrade, even after the conquest of Constantinople. In particular was the infamous Vlad the Impaler who with limited Hungarian help resisted Ottoman rule until the Ottomans were able to place his brother, a man less feared and less hated by the populace on the throne of Wallachia. Ottoman success was once again halted at Moldavia due to Hungarian intervention but the Turks emerged triumphant at last when Moldavia and then Belgrade fell to Bayezid II and Suleiman the Magnificent respectively. In 1526 the Ottomans crushed the Hungarian army at Mohács with King Louis II of Hungary perishing along with 14,000 of his foot soldiers. Following this defeat, the eastern region of the Kingdom of Hungary (mainly Transylvania) ceased as an independent power and served as an Ottoman tributary state, constantly engaged in civil war with Royal Hungary. The war continued with the Habsburgs now asserting primacy in the conflict with the Suleiman and his successors. The northern and western parts of Hungary managed to remain free from Ottoman rule, but the Kingdom of Hungary, the most powerful state east of Vienna under Matthias I, was now divided and at constant war with the Turks.
