Matthias Corvinus, also called Matthias I ( hu, Hunyadi Mátyás, ro, Matia/Matei Corvin, hr, Matija/Matijaš Korvin, sk, Matej Korvín, cz, Matyáš Korvín; ), was
King of Hungary
The King of Hungary ( hu, magyar király) was the ruling head of state of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1000 (or 1001) to 1918. The style of title "Apostolic King of Hungary" (''Apostoli Magyar Király'') was endorsed by Pope Clement XIII in 1758 ...
and
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
from 1458 to 1490. After conducting several military campaigns, he was elected
King of Bohemia
The Duchy of Bohemia was established in 870 and raised to the Kingdom of Bohemia in 1198. Several Bohemian monarchs ruled as non-hereditary kings beforehand, first gaining the title in 1085. From 1004 to 1806, Bohemia was part of the Holy Roman ...
in 1469 and adopted the title
Duke of Austria
This is a list of people who have ruled either the Margraviate of Austria, the Duchy of Austria or the Archduchy of Austria. From 976 until 1246, the margraviate and its successor, the duchy, was ruled by the House of Babenberg. At that time, t ...
in 1487. He was the son of
John Hunyadi
John Hunyadi (, , , ; 1406 – 11 August 1456) was a leading Hungarian military and political figure in Central and Southeastern Europe during the 15th century. According to most contemporary sources, he was the member of a noble family of ...
,
Regent of Hungary
The Regent of Hungary was a position established in 1446 and renewed in 1920. It was held by Admiral Miklós Horthy until 1944. Under Hungary's Constitution there were two regents, one a regent of the ruling house, called the Nádor, and another ...
, who died in 1456. In 1457, Matthias was imprisoned along with his older brother,
Ladislaus Hunyadi
László Hunyadi or Ladislaus Hunyadi ( Slovak: ''Ladislav Huňady''; 1431Bánhegyi 2008, p. 17. – 16 March 1457) was a Hungarian nobleman.
Ladislaus Hunyadi was the elder of the two sons of John Hunyadi, voivode of Transylvania and later rege ...
, on the orders of King
Ladislaus the Posthumous
Ladislaus the Posthumous( hu, Utószülött László; hr, Ladislav Posmrtni; cs, Ladislav Pohrobek; german: link=no, Ladislaus Postumus; 22 February 144023 November 1457) was Duke of Austria and King of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia. He was the ...
. Ladislaus Hunyadi was executed, causing a rebellion that forced King Ladislaus to flee Hungary. After the King died unexpectedly, Matthias's uncle
Michael Szilágyi
Michael Szilágyi de Horogszeg ( hu, horogszegi Szilágyi Mihály; c. 1400 – 1460) was a Hungarian general, Regent of Hungary, Count of Beszterce and Head of Szilágyi–Hunyadi Liga.
Family
He was born in the early 15th century as vice ...
persuaded the
Estates to unanimously proclaim the 14-year-old Matthias as king on 24 January 1458. He began his rule under his uncle's guardianship, but he took effective control of government within two weeks.
As king, Matthias waged wars against the Czech
mercenaries
A mercenary, sometimes also known as a soldier of fortune or hired gun, is a private individual, particularly a soldier, that joins a military conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any o ...
who dominated
Upper Hungary
Upper Hungary is the usual English translation of ''Felvidék'' (literally: "Upland"), the Hungarian term for the area that was historically the northern part of the Kingdom of Hungary, now mostly present-day Slovakia. The region has also been ...
(today parts of
Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
and
Northern Hungary
Northern Hungary ( hu, Észak-Magyarország) is a region in Hungary. As a statistical region it includes the counties Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén, Heves and Nógrád, but in colloquial speech it usually also refers to Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county. ...
) and against
Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick III (German: ''Friedrich III,'' 21 September 1415 – 19 August 1493) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1452 until his death. He was the fourth king and first emperor of the House of Habsburg. He was the penultimate emperor to be crown ...
, who claimed Hungary for himself. In this period, the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
conquered
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
and
Bosnia
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and He ...
, terminating the zone of
buffer state
A buffer state is a country geographically lying between two rival or potentially hostile great powers. Its existence can sometimes be thought to prevent conflict between them. A buffer state is sometimes a mutually agreed upon area lying between t ...
s along the southern frontiers of the
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...
. Matthias signed a peace treaty with Frederick III in 1463, acknowledging the Emperor's right to style himself King of Hungary. The Emperor returned the
Holy Crown of Hungary
The Holy Crown of Hungary ( hu, Szent Korona; sh, Kruna svetoga Stjepana; la, Sacra Corona; sk, Svätoštefanská koruna , la, Sacra Corona), also known as the Crown of Saint Stephen, named in honour of Saint Stephen I of Hungary, was the c ...
with which Matthias was crowned on 29 April 1464. In this year, Matthias invaded the territories that had recently been occupied by the Ottomans and seized fortresses in Bosnia. He soon realized he could expect no substantial aid from the Christian powers and gave up his anti-Ottoman policy.
Matthias introduced new taxes and regularly set taxation at extraordinary levels. These measures caused a rebellion in
Transylvania
Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...
in 1467, but he subdued the rebels. The next year, Matthias declared war on
George of Poděbrady
George of Kunštát and Poděbrady (23 April 1420 – 22 March 1471), also known as Poděbrad or Podiebrad ( cs, Jiří z Poděbrad; german: Georg von Podiebrad), was the sixteenth King of Bohemia, who ruled in 1458–1471. He was a leader of the ...
, the
Hussite
The Hussites ( cs, Husité or ''Kališníci''; "Chalice People") were a Czech proto-Protestant Christian movement that followed the teachings of reformer Jan Hus, who became the best known representative of the Bohemian Reformation.
The Hussit ...
King of Bohemia, and conquered
Moravia
Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia.
The me ...
,
Silesia
Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...
, and
Lausitz
Lusatia (german: Lausitz, pl, Łużyce, hsb, Łužica, dsb, Łužyca, cs, Lužice, la, Lusatia, rarely also referred to as Sorbia) is a historical region in Central Europe, split between Germany and Poland. Lusatia stretches from the Bóbr ...
, but he could not occupy
Bohemia
Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...
proper. The Catholic Estates proclaimed him King of Bohemia on 3 May 1469, but the Hussite lords refused to yield to him even after the death of their leader George of Poděbrady in 1471. Instead, they elected
Vladislaus Jagiellon, the eldest son of
Casimir IV of Poland
Casimir is classically an English, French and Latin form of the Polish name Kazimierz. Feminine forms are Casimira and Kazimiera. It means "proclaimer (from ''kazać'' to preach) of peace (''mir'')."
List of variations
*Belarusian: Казі ...
. A group of Hungarian prelates and lords offered the throne to Vladislaus's younger brother
Casimir
Casimir is classically an English, French and Latin form of the Polish name Kazimierz. Feminine forms are Casimira and Kazimiera. It means "proclaimer (from ''kazać'' to preach) of peace (''mir'')."
List of variations
*Belarusian: Казі ...
, but Matthias overcame their rebellion. Having routed the united troops of Casimir IV and Vladislaus at
Breslau in
Silesia
Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...
(now Wrocław in Poland) in late 1474, Matthias turned against the Ottomans, who had devastated the eastern parts of Hungary. He sent reinforcements to
Stephen the Great
Stephen III of Moldavia, most commonly known as Stephen the Great ( ro, Ștefan cel Mare; ; died on 2 July 1504), was Voivode (or Prince) of Moldavia from 1457 to 1504. He was the son of and co-ruler with Bogdan II, who was murdered in 1451 ...
,
Prince of Moldavia
This is a list of rulers of Moldavia, from the first mention of the medieval polity east of the Carpathians and until its disestablishment in 1862, when it united with Wallachia, the other Danubian Principality, to form the modern-day state of Ro ...
, enabling Stephen to repel a series of Ottoman invasions in the late 1470s. In 1476, Matthias besieged and seized
Šabac
Šabac (Serbian Cyrillic: Шабац, ) is a city and the administrative centre of the Mačva District in western Serbia. The traditional centre of the fertile Mačva region, Šabac is located on the right banks of the river Sava. , the city p ...
, an important Ottoman border fort. He concluded a peace treaty with Vladislaus Jagiellon in 1478, confirming the division of the
Lands of the Bohemian Crown
The Lands of the Bohemian Crown were a number of incorporated states in Central Europe during the medieval and early modern periods connected by feudal relations under the Bohemian kings. The crown lands primarily consisted of the Kingdom of B ...
between them. Matthias waged a war against Emperor Frederick and occupied
Lower Austria
Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Since 1986, the capital of Lower Austria has been Sankt P ...
between 1482 and 1487.
Matthias established one of the earliest professional standing armies of medieval Europe (the
Black Army of Hungary
The Black Army ( hu, Fekete sereg, pronounced , Latin: Legio Nigra), also called the Black Legion/Regiment – possibly after their black armor panoply – is a common name given to the military forces serving under the reign of King Matthias Co ...
), reformed the administration of justice, reduced the power of the barons, and promoted the careers of talented individuals chosen for their abilities rather than their social statuses. Matthias patronized art and science; his royal library, the ''
Bibliotheca Corviniana
Bibliotheca Corviniana was one of the most renowned libraries of the Renaissance world, established by Matthias Corvinus, King of Hungary, in Buda Castle between 1458 and 1490. The books were transferred to Istanbul after the Hungarian defeat by th ...
'', was one of the largest collections of books in Europe. With his patronage, Hungary became the first country to embrace the
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
from Italy. As Matthias the Just, the monarch who wandered among his subjects in disguise, he remains a popular hero of Hungarian and Slovak folk tales.
Early life
Childhood (1443–1457)
Matthias was born in Kolozsvár (now
Cluj-Napoca
; hu, kincses város)
, official_name=Cluj-Napoca
, native_name=
, image_skyline=
, subdivision_type1 = Counties of Romania, County
, subdivision_name1 = Cluj County
, subdivision_type2 = Subdivisions of Romania, Status
, subdivision_name2 ...
in Romania) on 23 February 1443. He was the second son of
John Hunyadi
John Hunyadi (, , , ; 1406 – 11 August 1456) was a leading Hungarian military and political figure in Central and Southeastern Europe during the 15th century. According to most contemporary sources, he was the member of a noble family of ...
and his wife,
Elizabeth Szilágyi
Erzsébet Szilágyi ( hu, Szilágyi Erzsébet, c. 1410–1483) was a Hungarian noblewoman, wife of John Hunyadi and mother of Matthias Corvinus, King of Hungary.
Elizabeth was the daughter of the Ladislaus Szilágyi and Catherine Bellyéni ...
. Matthias' education was managed by his mother due to his father's absence. Many of the most learned men of Central Europeincluding
Gregory of Sanok
Gregory of Sanok ( pl, Grzegorz z Sanoka; Sanok, 1403 or 1407 – 29 January 1477, Rohatyn) was a Polish bishop, a professor at the Kraków Academy, metropolitan archbishop of Lwów, scholar, philosopher and a major figure of Polish humanism.
L ...
and
John Vitézfrequented John Hunyadi's court when Matthias was a child. Gregory of Sanok, a former tutor of King
Vladislaus III of Poland
Vladislav ( be, Уладзіслаў (', '); pl, Władysław, ; Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, sh-Cyrl, Владислав) is a male given name of Slavic origin. Variations include ''Volodislav'', ''Vlastislav'' and ''Vlaslav' ...
, was Matthias's only teacher whose name is known. Under these scholars' influences, Matthias became an enthusiastic supporter of
Renaissance humanism
Renaissance humanism was a revival in the study of classical antiquity, at first in Italy and then spreading across Western Europe in the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries. During the period, the term ''humanist'' ( it, umanista) referred to teache ...
.
As a child, Matthias learnt many languages and read
classical literature
Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...
, especially military treatises. According to
Antonio Bonfini, Matthias "was versed in all the tongues of Europe", with the exceptions of
Turkish and
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
. Although this was an exaggeration, it is without doubt that Matthias spoke
Hungarian,
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
,
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
,
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
,
Czech
Czech may refer to:
* Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe
** Czech language
** Czechs, the people of the area
** Czech culture
** Czech cuisine
* One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus'
Places
* Czech, ...
, and
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
. Bonfini also wrote that he needed an interpreter to speak with a
POW
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold prisoners of war ...
during his
Moldavian campaign. On the other hand, the late 16th-century Polish historian Krzystoff Warszewiecki wrote that Matthias had been able to understand the
Romanian language
Romanian (obsolete spellings: Rumanian or Roumanian; autonym: ''limba română'' , or ''românește'', ) is the official and main language of Romania and the Moldova, Republic of Moldova. As a minority language it is spoken by stable communi ...
of the envoys of
Stephen the Great
Stephen III of Moldavia, most commonly known as Stephen the Great ( ro, Ștefan cel Mare; ; died on 2 July 1504), was Voivode (or Prince) of Moldavia from 1457 to 1504. He was the son of and co-ruler with Bogdan II, who was murdered in 1451 ...
,
Prince of Moldavia
This is a list of rulers of Moldavia, from the first mention of the medieval polity east of the Carpathians and until its disestablishment in 1862, when it united with Wallachia, the other Danubian Principality, to form the modern-day state of Ro ...
.
According to a treaty between John Hunyadi and
Đurađ Branković
Đurađ Branković (; sr-cyr, Ђурађ Бранковић; hu, Brankovics György; 1377 – 24 December 1456) was the Serbian Despot from 1427 to 1456. He was one of the last Serbian medieval rulers. He was a participant in the battle of Anka ...
,
Despot of Serbia, Matthias and the Despot's granddaughter
Elizabeth of Celje were engaged on 7 August 1451. Elizabeth was the daughter of
Ulrich II, Count of Celje Ulrich (), is a German given name, derived from Old High German ''Uodalrich'', ''Odalric''. It is composed of the elements '' uodal-'' meaning "(noble) heritage" and ''-rich'' meaning "rich, powerful". Attested from the 8th century as the name of A ...
, who was related to King
Ladislaus the Posthumous
Ladislaus the Posthumous( hu, Utószülött László; hr, Ladislav Posmrtni; cs, Ladislav Pohrobek; german: link=no, Ladislaus Postumus; 22 February 144023 November 1457) was Duke of Austria and King of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia. He was the ...
and an opponent of Matthias's father. Because of new conflicts between Hunyadi and Ulrich of Celje, the marriage of their children only took place in 1455. Elizabeth settled in the
Hunyadis' estates but Matthias was soon sent to the royal court, implying that their marriage was a hidden exchange of hostages between their families. Elizabeth died before the end of 1455.
John Hunyadi died on 11 August 1456, less than three weeks after
his greatest victory over the
Ottomans
The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922).
Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...
in
Belgrade
Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
. John's elder sonMatthias's brother
Ladislaus became the head of the family. Ladislaus's conflict with Ulrich of Celje ended with Ulrich's capture and assassination on 9 November. Under duress, the King promised he would never take his revenge against the Hunyadis for Ulrich's killing. However, the murder turned most baronsincluding
Palatine
A palatine or palatinus (in Latin; plural ''palatini''; cf. derivative spellings below) is a high-level official attached to imperial or royal courts in Europe since Roman times. Ladislaus Garai,
Judge royal
The judge royal, also justiciar,Rady 2000, p. 49. chief justiceSegeš 2002, p. 202. or Lord Chief JusticeFallenbüchl 1988, p. 145. (german: Oberster Landesrichter,Fallenbüchl 1988, p. 72. hu, országbíró,Zsoldos 2011, p. 26. sk, krajinsk ...
Ladislaus Pálóci, and
Nicholas Újlaki
Nicholas of Ilok ( Hungarian: ''Újlaki Miklós'', Bosnian and Croatian: ''Nikola Iločki'', ; 1410–1477) was a Hungarian nobleman, Ban of Croatia, Slavonia, Dalmatia and Macsó, Voivode of Transylvania and titular King of Bosnia from 147 ...
,
Voivode of Transylvania
The Voivode of Transylvania (german: Vojwode von Siebenbürgen;Fallenbüchl 1988, p. 77. hu, erdélyi vajda;Zsoldos 2011, p. 36. la, voivoda Transsylvaniae; ro, voievodul Transilvaniei) was the highest-ranking official in Transylvania wit ...
against Ladislaus Hunyadi. Taking advantage of their resentment, the King had the Hunyadi brothers imprisoned in Buda on 14 March 1457. The royal council condemned them to death for high treason and Ladislaus Hunyadi was beheaded on 16 March.
Matthias was held in captivity in a small house in Buda. His mother and her brother
Michael Szilágyi
Michael Szilágyi de Horogszeg ( hu, horogszegi Szilágyi Mihály; c. 1400 – 1460) was a Hungarian general, Regent of Hungary, Count of Beszterce and Head of Szilágyi–Hunyadi Liga.
Family
He was born in the early 15th century as vice ...
staged a rebellion against the King and occupied large territories in the regions to the east of the river
Tisza
The Tisza, Tysa or Tisa, is one of the major rivers of Central and Eastern Europe. Once, it was called "the most Hungarian river" because it flowed entirely within the Kingdom of Hungary. Today, it crosses several national borders.
The Tisza be ...
. King Ladislaus fled to
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
in mid-1457, and from Vienna to
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
in September, taking Matthias with him. The civil war between the rebels and the barons loyal to the monarch continued until the sudden death of the young King on 23 November 1457. Thereafter the
Hussite
The Hussites ( cs, Husité or ''Kališníci''; "Chalice People") were a Czech proto-Protestant Christian movement that followed the teachings of reformer Jan Hus, who became the best known representative of the Bohemian Reformation.
The Hussit ...
Regent of Bohemia
George of Poděbrady
George of Kunštát and Poděbrady (23 April 1420 – 22 March 1471), also known as Poděbrad or Podiebrad ( cs, Jiří z Poděbrad; german: Georg von Podiebrad), was the sixteenth King of Bohemia, who ruled in 1458–1471. He was a leader of the ...
held Matthias captive.
Election as king (1457–1458)
King Ladislaus died childless in 1457. His elder sister,
Anna
Anna may refer to:
People Surname and given name
* Anna (name)
Mononym
* Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke
* Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773)
* Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th century)
* Anna (Anisia) (fl. 1218 to 12 ...
, and her husband,
William III, Landgrave of Thuringia
William III (30 April 1425 – 17 September 1482), called the Brave (in German ''Wilhelm der Tapfere''), was landgrave of Thuringia (from 1445) and claimant duke of Luxemburg (from 1457). He is actually the second William to rule Thuringia, an ...
, laid claim to his inheritance but received no support from the
Estates. The
Diet of Hungary
The Diet of Hungary or originally: Parlamentum Publicum / Parlamentum Generale ( hu, Országgyűlés) became the supreme legislative institution in the medieval kingdom of Hungary from the 1290s, and in its successor states, Royal Hungary and ...
was convoked to Pest to elect a new king in January 1458.
Pope Calixtus III
Pope Callixtus III ( it, Callisto III, va, Calixt III, es, Calixto III; 31 December 1378 – 6 August 1458), born Alfonso de Borgia ( va, Alfons de Borja), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 April 1455 to his ...
's
legate
Legate may refer to:
*Legatus, a higher ranking general officer of the Roman army drawn from among the senatorial class
:*Legatus Augusti pro praetore, a provincial governor in the Roman Imperial period
*A member of a legation
*A representative, ...
Cardinal
Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to:
Animals
* Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds
**''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae
**''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...
Juan Carvajal, who had been John Hunyadi's admirer, began openly campaigning for Matthias.
The election of Matthias as king was the only way of avoiding a protracted civil war. Ladislaus Garai was the first baron to yield. At a meeting with Matthias's mother and uncle, he promised that he and his allies would promote Matthias's election, and Michael Szilágyi promised that his nephew would never seek vengeance for Ladislaus Hunyadi's execution. They also agreed that Matthias would marry the Palatine's daughter Annahis executed brother's bride.
Michael Szilágyi arrived at the Diet with 15,000 troops, intimidating the barons who assembled in Buda. Stirred up by Szilágyi, the noblemen gathered on the frozen River Danube and unanimously proclaimed the 14-year-old Matthias king on 24 January. At the same time, the Diet elected his uncle as regent.
Reign
Early rule and consolidation (1458–1464)
![Jiří of Poděbrady and Matthias Corvinus by Mikoláš Aleš](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/69/Ji%C5%99%C3%AD_of_Pod%C4%9Bbrady_and_Matthias_Corvinus_by_Mikol%C3%A1%C5%A1_Ale%C5%A1.jpg)
Matthias's election was the first time that a member of the nobility mounted the royal throne in Hungary. Michael Szilágyi sent John Vitéz to Prague to discuss the terms of Matthias's release with George of Poděbrady. Poděbradywhose daughter
Kunigunda Matthias promised to marryagreed to release his future son-in-law for a ransom of 60,000 gold
florin
The Florentine florin was a gold coin struck from 1252 to 1533 with no significant change in its design or metal content standard during that time. It had 54 grains (3.499 grams, 0.113 troy ounce) of nominally pure or 'fine' gold with a purcha ...
s. Matthias was surrendered to the Hungarian delegates in
Strážnice on 9 February. With Poděbrady's mediation, he was reconciled with
John Jiskra of Brandýs
John Jiskra of Brandýs ( cs, Jan Jiskra z Brandýsa; german: Johann Giskra von Brandeis; hu, Jiskra János; c. 1400 – c. 1469), in English sometimes referred as John Giskra, was a Czech strategist and mercenary soldier.
John Jiskra came from ...
, the commander of the Czech mercenaries who dominated most of
Upper Hungary
Upper Hungary is the usual English translation of ''Felvidék'' (literally: "Upland"), the Hungarian term for the area that was historically the northern part of the Kingdom of Hungary, now mostly present-day Slovakia. The region has also been ...
.
Matthias made his state entry into Buda five days later. He ceremoniously sat on the throne in the Church of Our Lady, but was not crowned, because the
Holy Crown of Hungary
The Holy Crown of Hungary ( hu, Szent Korona; sh, Kruna svetoga Stjepana; la, Sacra Corona; sk, Svätoštefanská koruna , la, Sacra Corona), also known as the Crown of Saint Stephen, named in honour of Saint Stephen I of Hungary, was the c ...
had been in the possession of
Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick III (German: ''Friedrich III,'' 21 September 1415 – 19 August 1493) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1452 until his death. He was the fourth king and first emperor of the House of Habsburg. He was the penultimate emperor to be crown ...
for almost two decades. The 14-year-old monarch administered state affairs independently from the outset, although he reaffirmed his uncle's position as Regent. For instance, Matthias instructed the citizens of Nagyszeben (now
Sibiu
Sibiu ( , , german: link=no, Hermannstadt , la, Cibinium, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Härmeschtat'', hu, Nagyszeben ) is a city in Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania. Located some north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles the Ci ...
in Romania) to reconcile their differences with
Vlad Dracula
Vlad III, commonly known as Vlad the Impaler ( ro, Vlad Țepeș ) or Vlad Dracula (; ro, Vlad Drăculea ; 1428/311476/77), was Voivode of Wallachia three times between 1448 and his death in 1476/77. He is often considered one of the most imp ...
,
Prince of Wallachia
This is a list of rulers of Wallachia, from the first mention of a medieval polity situated between the Southern Carpathians and the Danube until the union with Moldavia in 1859, which led to the creation of Romania.
Notes
Dynastic rule is hard t ...
on 3 March.
Jiskra was the first baron who turned against Matthias. He offered the throne to
Casimir IV of Poland
Casimir is classically an English, French and Latin form of the Polish name Kazimierz. Feminine forms are Casimira and Kazimiera. It means "proclaimer (from ''kazać'' to preach) of peace (''mir'')."
List of variations
*Belarusian: Казі ...
the husband of King Ladislaus V's younger sister
Elisabethin late March but the
General sejm
A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED O ...
of Poland rejected his offer. Matthias's commander Sebastian Rozgonyi defeated Jiskra's soldiers at
Sárospatak
Sárospatak (german: Potok am Bodroch; la, Potamopolis; sk, Šarišský Potok or ; ) is a town in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County, northern Hungary. It lies northeast from Miskolc, in the Bodrog river valley. The town, often called simply ''Pat ...
but the Ottomans' invasion of
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
in April forced Matthias to conclude an armistice with the Czechs. They were allowed to keep Sáros Castle (now
Šariš Castle
Šariš Castle (Slovak language, Slovak: ''Šarišský hrad'', Hungarian language, Hungarian: ''Sáros vára'') is a ruined Gothic_architecture, Gothic and Renaissance_architecture_in_Central_Europe, Renaissance era stone castle above the town of V ...
, Slovakia) and other fortified places in Upper Hungary. Matthias sent two prelatesAugust Salánki,
Bishop of Győr
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
, and Vincent Szilasi,
Bishop of Vác
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
to Prague to crown George of Poděbrady king. Upon their demand, the "heretic" Poděbrady swore loyalty to the
Holy See
The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...
.
![Matthias Corvinus florint 755272](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/57/Matthias_Corvinus_florint_755272.jpg)
Matthias's first Diet assembled in Pest in May 1458. The Estates passed almost fifty decrees that were ratified by Matthiasinstead of the Regenton 8 June. One decree prescribed that the King "must call and hold, and order to be held, a diet of all the gentlemen of the realm in person" every year on
Whitsun
Whitsun (also Whitsunday or Whit Sunday) is the name used in Britain, and other countries among Anglicans and Methodists, for the Christian High Holy Day of Pentecost. It is the seventh Sunday after Easter, which commemorates the descent of the Ho ...
day. Matthias held more than 25 Diets during his reign and convoked the Estates more frequently than his predecessors, especially between 1458 and 1476. The Diets were controlled by the barons, whom Matthias appointed and dismissed at will. For instance, he dismissed Palatine Ladislaus Garai and persuaded Michael Szilágyi to resign from the Regency after they entered into a league in the summer of 1458. The King appointed
Michael Ország
Michael Ország de Gút ( hu, gúti Ország Mihály) was Palatine of the Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principa ...
, who had been his father's close supporter, as the new Palatine. Most of Matthias's barons were descended from old aristocratic families but he also promoted the careers of members of the lesser nobility, or even of skilful commoners. For instance, the noble
Zápolya brothers
Emeric
Emerich, Emeric, Emerick and Emerik are given names and surnames. They may refer to:
Given name Pre-modern era
* Saint Emeric of Hungary (c. 1007–1031), son of King Stephen I of Hungary
* Emeric, King of Hungary (1174–1204)
* Emeric Kökénye ...
and
Stephen
Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; ...
owed their fortunes to Matthias's favour.
Matthias's ordinary revenues amounted around 250,000 golden florins per year when his reign began. A decree passed at the Diet of 1458 explicitly prohibited the imposition of extraordinary taxes. However, an extraordinary tax
one golden florin per each ''porta'' or peasant householdwas levied late that year. The Ottomans occupied the fort of
Golubac
Golubac ( sr-cyr, Голубац, ; ro, Golubăț) is a village and municipality located in the Braničevo District of eastern Serbia. Situated on the right side of the Danube river, it is bordered by Romania to the east, Veliko Gradište to t ...
in Serbia in August 1458; Matthias ordered the mobilization of all noblemen. He made a raid into Ottoman territory and defeated the enemy forces in minor skirmishes. King
Stephen Thomas of Bosnia accepted Matthias's suzerainty. Matthias authorized his new
vassal
A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain. W ...
's son
Stephen Tomašević to take possession of the parts of Serbia that had not been occupied by the Ottomans.
At the turn of 1458 and 1459, Matthias held a Diet at
Szeged
Szeged ( , ; see also #Etymology, other alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county seat ...
to prepare for a war against the Ottoman Empire. However, gossip about a conspiracy compelled him to return to Buda. The rumours proved to be true because at least 30 baronsincluding Ladislaus Garai, Nicholas Újlaki, and
Ladislaus Kanizsaimet in Németújvár (now
Güssing
Güssing (; hu, Németújvár, Német-Újvár, hr, Novi Grad) is a town in Burgenland, Austria. It is located at , with a population of 3,578 (2022), and is the administrative center of the Güssing district. For centuries the town occupied an i ...
in Austria) and offered the throne to Emperor Frederick III on 17 February 1459. Even George of Poděbrady turned against Matthias when Frederick promised him to make him governor of the Holy Roman Empire. Although the joint troops of the Emperor and the rebellious lords defeated a royal army at
Körmend
Körmend ( sl, Kermendin, Prekmurje Slovene: ''Karmadén,'' ger, Kirment) is a town in Vas county , Western Hungary.
Places of interest
The town is especially well known for its castle which used to belong to the Batthyány family, one of the mo ...
on 27 March, Garai had by that time died, Újlaki and Sigismund Szentgyörgyvölgyi soon entered into negotiations with Matthias' envoys.Újlaki became indifferent, Szentgyörgyvölgyi joined to Matthias. Skirmishes along the western borderlands lasted for several months, preventing Matthias from providing military assistance to Tomašević against the Ottomans. The latter took
Smederevo
Smederevo ( sr-Cyrl, Смедерево, ) is a city and the administrative center of the Podunavlje District in eastern Serbia. It is situated on the right bank of the Danube, about downstream of the Serbian capital, Belgrade.
According to ...
on 29 June, completing the conquest of Serbia.
![Mikoláš Aleš - Jan Jiskra z Brandýsa 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/Mikol%C3%A1%C5%A1_Ale%C5%A1_-_Jan_Jiskra_z_Brand%C3%BDsa_2.jpg)
Jiskra swore an oath of loyalty to Emperor Frederick on 10 March 1460.
Pope Pius II
Pope Pius II ( la, Pius PP. II, it, Pio II), born Enea Silvio Bartolomeo Piccolomini ( la, Aeneas Silvius Bartholomeus, links=no; 18 October 1405 – 14 August 1464), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 August ...
offered to mediate a peace treaty between the Emperor and Matthias. Podedébrandy also realised he need to support Matthias or at least had to be indifferent. He sent his daughter to Buda also offered his assistance. The representatives of the Emperor and Matthias signed a truce in Olomouc in April 1460. The Pope soon offered financial support for an anti-Ottoman campaign. However, John Jiskra returned from Poland, renewing the armed conflicts with Czech mercenaries in early 1460. Matthias seized a newly erected fort from the Czechs but he could not force them to obey him. The costs of his five-month-long campaign in Upper Hungary were paid for by an extraordinary tax. Matthias entered into an alliance with the Emperor's rebellious brother
Albert VI, Archduke of Austria
Albert VIKonstantin Moritz A. Langmaier: Erzherzog Albrecht VI. von Österreich (1418–1463). Ein Fürst im Spannungsfeld von Dynastie, Regionen und Reich (= Forschungen zur Kaiser- und Papstgeschichte des Mittelalters. Bd. 38). Böhlau, Köln ...
. George of Poděbrady sided with the Emperor, although the marriage of his daughterwho became known as Catherine in Hungaryto Matthias was celebrated on 1 May 1461(married 1461 to 1464). Relations between Matthias and his father-in-law deteriorated because of the Czech mercenaries' continued presence in Upper Hungary. Matthias launched a new campaign against them after the Diet authorized him to collect an extraordinary tax in mid-1461. However, he did not defeat Jiskra, who even captured
Késmárk (now Kežmarok, Slovakia).
The envoys of Matthias and Emperor Frederick agreed the terms of peace treaty on 3 April 1462. According to the agreement, the Emperor was to return the Holy Crown of Hungary for 80,000 golden florins, but his right to use the title King of Hungary along with Matthias was confirmed. In accordance with the treaty, the Emperor adopted Matthias, which granted him the right to succeed his "son" if Matthias died without a legitimate heir. Within a month, Jiskra yielded to Matthias. He surrendered all the forts he held in Upper Hungary to the King's representatives; as compensation he received a large domain near the Tisza and Arad and 25,000 golden florins.
t happened before peace treaty with Frederick To pay the large amounts stipulated in his treaties with the Emperor and Jiskra, Matthias collected an extraordinary tax with the consent of the Royal Council. The Diet, which assembled in mid-1462, confirmed this decision but only after 9 prelates and 19 barons promised that no extraordinary taxes would be introduced thereafter. Through hiring mercenaries among Jiskra's companions, Matthias began organizing a professional army, which became known as the "
Black Army" in following decades. The peace treaty made in Wiener-Neustadt 19 July 1463.
The
Ottoman Sultan
The sultans of the Ottoman Empire ( tr, Osmanlı padişahları), who were all members of the Ottoman dynasty (House of Osman), ruled over the transcontinental empire from its perceived inception in 1299 to its dissolution in 1922. At its hei ...
Mehmed II
Mehmed II ( ota, محمد ثانى, translit=Meḥmed-i s̱ānī; tr, II. Mehmed, ; 30 March 14323 May 1481), commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror ( ota, ابو الفتح, Ebū'l-fetḥ, lit=the Father of Conquest, links=no; tr, Fâtih Su ...
invaded
Wallachia
Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and so ...
in early 1462. He did not conquer the country but the
Wallachian boyars
The boyars of Moldavia and Wallachia were the nobility of the Danubian Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia. The title was either inherited or granted by the Hospodar, often together with an administrative function.Djuvara, p.131 The boyars he ...
dethroned the anti-Ottoman Vlad Dracula, replacing him with the Sultan's favorite,
Radu the Fair
Radu III of Wallachia, commonly called Radu the Handsome or Radu the Fair ( ro, Radu cel Frumos; tr, Radu Bey; 1437/1439 — January 1475), was the younger brother of Vlad III and Prince of the principality of Wallachia. They were both sons of ...
. The new Prince was willing to grant concessions to the
Transylvanian Saxon
The Transylvanian Saxons (german: Siebenbürger Sachsen; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjer Såksen''; ro, Sași ardeleni, sași transilvăneni/transilvani; hu, Erdélyi szászok) are a people of German ethnicity who settled in Transylvania ...
merchants, who had come into bitter conflict with Vlad Dracula. The latter sought assistance from Matthias and they met in Brassó (now
Brașov
Brașov (, , ; german: Kronstadt; hu, Brassó; la, Corona; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Kruhnen'') is a city in Transylvania, Romania and the administrative centre of Brașov County.
According to the latest Romanian census (2011), Brașov has a popu ...
, Romania) in November. However, the Saxons presented Matthias with a letter allegedly written by Vlad Dracula to Sultan Mehmed, in which the Prince offered his support to the Ottomans. Convinced of Vlad Dracula's treachery, Matthias had him imprisoned.
In preparation for a war against the Ottomans, Matthias held a Diet at
Tolna in March 1463. Although the Estates authorized him to levy a one-florin extraordinary tax, he did not intervene when Mehmed II invaded Bosnia in June. In a month, the Ottomans murdered King Stephen Tomašević and conquered the whole country. Matthias only adopted an offensive foreign policy after the terms of his peace with Emperor Frederick were ratified in
Wiener Neustadt
Wiener Neustadt (; ; Central Bavarian: ''Weana Neistod'') is a city located south of Vienna, in the state of Lower Austria, in northeast Austria. It is a self-governed city and the seat of the district administration of Wiener Neustadt-Land Distr ...
on 19 July 1463. He led his troops to Bosnia and
conquered Jajce
Jajce (Јајце) is a town and municipality located in the Central Bosnia Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to the 2013 census, the town has a population of 7,172 inhabitants, with ...
and other forts in its northern parts. The conquered regions were organized into new defensive provinces, the banates of
Jajce
Jajce (Јајце) is a town and municipality located in the Central Bosnia Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to the 2013 census, the town has a population of 7,172 inhabitants, with ...
and
Srebrenik
Srebrenik ( sr-cyrl, Сребреник) is a city located in Tuzla Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located in northeastern Bosnia and Herzegovina, near Tuzla. As of 2013, it has a population of 39,678 inhabitants. The t ...
. Matthias was assisted by
Stjepan Vukčić Kosača
Stjepan Vukčić Kosača ( sr-Cyrl, Стјепан Вукчић Косача; 1404–1466) was the most powerful Bosnian nobleman whose active political career spanned the last three decades of medieval Bosnian history, from 1435 to 1465. D ...
,
Grand Duke of Bosnia
Grand Duke of Bosnia ( sh, veliki vojvoda rusaga bosanskog, la, Bosne supremus voivoda / Sicut supremus voivoda regni Bosniae), was a court title in the Kingdom of Bosnia, bestowed by the monarch to highest military commanders, usually reserved f ...
, who controlled the area of
modern
Modern may refer to:
History
* Modern history
** Early Modern period
** Late Modern period
*** 18th century
*** 19th century
*** 20th century
** Contemporary history
* Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century
Phil ...
and
Old Hercegovina
Old Herzegovina ( sr, Стара Херцеговина, Stara Hercegovina) is a historical region, covering the eastern parts of historical Herzegovina, outside the scope of modern Herzegovina. A large section of ''Old Herzegovina'' belongs t ...
. A former vassal to the Bosnian kings, Stjepan accepted Matthias's suzerainty.
Queen Catherine died in early 1464 during preparations for her husband's coronation with the Holy Crown, which had been returned by Emperor Frederick. The ceremony was carried out in full accordance with the
customary law
A legal custom is the established pattern of behavior that can be objectively verified within a particular social setting. A claim can be carried out in defense of "what has always been done and accepted by law".
Customary law (also, consuetudina ...
of Hungary on 29 March 1464;
Archbishop of Esztergom Dénes Szécsi
Dénes Szécsi de Felsőlendva (or ''Széchy; ''c. 1410 – 1 February 1465) was a Hungarian prelate and cardinal, who served as Archbishop of Esztergom from 1440 to 1465. He was the first Primate of Hungary since 1452 when donated the title a ...
ceremoniously put the Holy Crown on Matthias's head in
Székesfehérvár
Székesfehérvár (; german: Stuhlweißenburg ), known colloquially as Fehérvár ("white castle"), is a city in central Hungary, and the country's ninth-largest city. It is the regional capital of Central Transdanubia, and the centre of Fejér ...
. At the Diet assembled on this occasion, the newly crowned King confirmed the liberties of the nobility. Hereafter the legality of Matthias's reign could not be questioned.
First reforms and internal conflicts (1464–1467)
Political reforms
Matthias dismissed his Chief Chancellor Archbishop Szécsi, replacing him with
Stephen Várdai
Stephen Várdai ( hu, Várdai István; died 22 February 1471) was a Hungarian Roman Catholic bishop and cardinal.
Biography
Stephen Várdai was born in Szabolcs County, Kingdom of Hungary, ca. 1425, the son of nobleman Pelbartus Várdai. He st ...
,
Archbishop of Kalocsa
In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdioc ...
, and John Vitéz. Both prelates bore the title of Chief and Secret Chancellor, but Várdai was the actual leader of the
Royal Chancery. Around the same time, Matthias united the superior courts of justicethe
Court of Royal Special Presence
A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to Adjudication, adjudicate legal disputes between Party (law), parties and carry out the administration of justice in Civil law (common law), civil, C ...
and the
Court of Personal Presence
A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordanc ...
into one supreme court. The new supreme court diminished the authority of the traditional courts presided over by the barons and contributed to the professionalization of the administration of justice. He appointed
Albert Hangácsi,
Bishop of Csanád
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
as the first
Chief Justice.
Sultan Mehmed II returned to Bosnia and laid
siege to Jajce in July 1464. Matthias began assembling his troops along the river
Sava
The Sava (; , ; sr-cyr, Сава, hu, Száva) is a river in Central and Southeast Europe, a right-bank and the longest tributary of the Danube. It flows through Slovenia, Croatia and along its border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and finally th ...
, forcing the Sultan to raise the siege on 24 August. Matthias and his army crossed the river and seized
Srebrnica
Srebrnica () is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Koronowo, within Bydgoszcz County, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, in north-central Poland.
References
Villages in Bydgoszcz County
{{Bydgoszcz-geo-stub ...
. He also besieged
Zvornik
Zvornik ( sr-cyrl, Зворник, ) is a city in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located in Republika Srpska, on the left bank of the Drina river. In 2013, it had a population of 58,856 inhabitants.
The town of Mali Zvornik ("Little Zvornik") lies ...
but the arrival of a large Ottoman army forced him to withdraw to Hungary. The following year, Matthias forced Stefan Vukčić, who had transferred Makarska Krajina to the
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...
, to establish Hungarian garrisons in his forts along the river
Neretva
The Neretva ( sr-cyrl, Неретва, ), also known as Narenta, is one of the largest rivers of the eastern part of the Adriatic basin. Four HE power-plants with large dams (higher than 150,5 metres) provide flood protection, power and water s ...
.
Dénes Szécsi died in 1465 and John Vitéz became the new Archbishop of Esztergom. Matthias replaced the two Voivodes of TransylvaniaNicholas Újlaki and John Pongrác of Dengelegwith Counts
Sigismund Sigismund (variants: Sigmund, Siegmund) is a German proper name, meaning "protection through victory", from Old High German ''sigu'' "victory" + ''munt'' "hand, protection". Tacitus latinises it '' Segimundus''. There appears to be an older form of ...
and John Szentgyörgyi, and
Bertold Ellerbach. Although Újlaki preserved his office of
Ban of Macsó
Ban, or BAN, may refer to:
Law
* Ban (law), a decree that prohibits something, sometimes a form of censorship, being denied from entering or using the place/item
** Imperial ban (''Reichsacht''), a form of outlawry in the medieval Holy Roman ...
, the King appointed Peter Szokoli to administer the province together with the old Ban.
Matthias convoked the Diet to make preparations for an anti-Ottoman campaign in 1466. For the same purpose, he received subsidies from
Pope Paul II
Pope Paul II ( la, Paulus II; it, Paolo II; 23 February 1417 – 26 July 1471), born Pietro Barbo, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States
from 30 August 1464 to his death in July 1471. When his maternal uncle Eugene IV ...
. However, Matthias had realized that no substantial aid could be expected from the Christian powers and tacitly gave up his anti-Ottoman foreign policy. He did not invade Ottoman territory and the Ottomans did not make major incursions into Hungary, implying that he signed a peace treaty with Mehmed II's envoy who arrived in Hungary in 1465.
Matthias visited
Slavonia
Slavonia (; hr, Slavonija) is, with Dalmatia, Croatia proper, and Istria, one of the four historical regions of Croatia. Taking up the east of the country, it roughly corresponds with five Croatian counties: Brod-Posavina, Osijek-Baranja ...
and dismissed the two
Bans Nicholas Újlaki and Emeric Zápolya, replacing them with Jan Vitovec and John Tuz in 1466. Early the following year, he mounted a campaign in Upper Hungary against a band of Czech mercenaries who were under the command of Ján Švehla and had seized Kosztolány (now
Veľké Kostoľany in Slovakia). Matthias routed them and had Švehla and his 150 comrades hanged.
Economic reforms
At the Diet of March 1467, two traditional taxes were renamed; the
chamber's profit was thereafter collected as
tax of the royal treasury and the
thirtieth as the
Crown's customs. Because of this change, all previous tax exemptions became void, increasing state revenues. Matthias set about centralizing the administration of royal revenues. He entrusted the administration of the Crown's customs to
John Ernuszt, a converted Jewish merchant. Within two years, Ernuszt was responsible for the collection of all ordinary and extraordinary taxes, and the management of the salt mines.
Matthias's tax reform caused a revolt in Transylvania. The representatives of the "
Three Nations" of the provincethe noblemen, the Saxons and the
Székelys
The Székelys (, Székely runes: 𐳥𐳋𐳓𐳉𐳗), also referred to as Szeklers,; ro, secui; german: Szekler; la, Siculi; sr, Секељи, Sekelji; sk, Sikuli are a Hungarian subgroup living mostly in the Székely Land in Romania. ...
formed an alliance against the King in Kolozsmonostor (now
Mănăștur
Mănăștur ( hu, Kolozsmonostor; german: Abtsdorf) is a district of the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca, which has been a part of the city since 1895.
Its population as of 2007 was of approximately 126,600.
History Middle Ages
Mănăștur is h ...
district in Cluj-Napoca, Romania) on 18 August, stating that they were willing to fight for the freedom of Hungary. Matthias assembled his troops immediately and hastened to the province. The rebels surrendered without resistance but Matthias severely punished their leaders, many of whom were impaled, beheaded, or mercilessly tortured upon his orders. Suspecting that Stephen the Great had supported the rebellion, Matthias invaded
Moldavia
Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centr ...
. However, Stephen's forces routed Matthias's at the
Battle of Baia
The Battle of Baia ( ro, Bătălia de la Baia; hu, moldvabányai csata) was fought on December 15, 1467, between Moldavian prince Stephen the Great and the Hungarian king, Matthias Corvinus. The battle was the last Hungarian attempt to subdue ...
on 15 December 1467. Matthias suffered severe injuries, forcing him to return to Hungary.
War for the Lands of the Bohemian Crown (1468–1479)
![Portrait of Matthias Corvinus, King of Hungary](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/Portrait_of_Matthias_Corvinus%2C_King_of_Hungary.jpg)
Matthias's former brother-in-law
Victor of Poděbrady
The name Victor or Viktor may refer to:
* Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname
Arts and entertainment
Film
* ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film
* ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...
invaded Austria in early 1468. Emperor Frederick appealed to Matthias for support, hinting at the possibility of Matthias's election as
King of the Romans
King of the Romans ( la, Rex Romanorum; german: König der Römer) was the title used by the king of Germany following his election by the princes from the reign of Henry II (1002–1024) onward.
The title originally referred to any German k ...
first step towards the imperial throne. Matthias declared war on Victor's father King George of Bohemia on 31 March. He said he also wanted to help the Czech Catholic lords against their "heretic monarch" whom the Pope had
excommunicated
Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...
. Matthias expelled the Czech troops from Austria and invaded Moravia and
Silesia
Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...
. He took an active part in the fighting; he was injured during the siege of
Třebíč
Třebíč (; german: Trebitsch; yi, טרייביטש Treybitsh) is a town in the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 34,000 inhabitants.
The beginnings of the town's history are connected with the establishment of a Benedictine ...
in May 1468 and was captured at
Chrudim
Chrudim () is a town in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 23,000 inhabitants. It is the second largest town of the region. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone.
Admi ...
while spying out the enemy camp in disguise in February 1469. On the latter occasion, he was released because he made his custodians believe he was a local Czech groom.
The Diet of 1468 authorized Matthias to levy an extraordinary tax to finance the new war, but only after 8 prelates and 13 secular lords pledged on the King's behalf that he would not demand such charges in the future. Matthias also exercised
royal prerogative
The royal prerogative is a body of customary authority, privilege and immunity, recognized in common law and, sometimes, in civil law jurisdictions possessing a monarchy, as belonging to the sovereign and which have become widely vested in th ...
s to increase his revenues. For instance, he ordered a Palatine's
eyre in a county, the cost of which were to be covered by the local inhabitants but soon authorized the county to redeem the cancellation of this irksome duty.
The Czech Catholics, who were led by
Zdeněk of Šternberk
Zdeněk of Sternberg (or Zdeněk of Šternberk, cs, Zdeněk Konopišťský ze Šternberka, 1410 – 4 December 1476 in Wiener Neustadt
Wiener Neustadt (; ; Central Bavarian: ''Weana Neistod'') is a city located south of Vienna, in the state ...
, joined forces with Matthias in February 1469. Their united troops were encircled at
Vilémov by George of Poděbrady's army. In fear of being captured, Matthias opened negotiations with his former father-in-law. They met in a nearby hovel, where Matthias persuaded George of Poděbrady to sign an armistice promising that he would mediate a reconciliation between the
moderate Hussites and the Holy See. Their next meeting took place in Olomouc in April. Here the papal legates came forward with demands including the appointment of a Catholic Archbishop to the
See of Prague, which could not be accepted by George of Poděbrady. The Czech Catholic Estates elected Matthias King of Bohemia in Olomouc on 3 May but he was never crowned. Moravia, Silesia and
Lusatia
Lusatia (german: Lausitz, pl, Łużyce, hsb, Łužica, dsb, Łužyca, cs, Lužice, la, Lusatia, rarely also referred to as Sorbia) is a historical region in Central Europe, split between Germany and Poland. Lusatia stretches from the Bóbr ...
soon accepted his rule but Bohemia proper remained faithful to George of Poděbrady. The Estates of Bohemia even acknowledged the right of
Vladislaus Jagiello, the eldest son of Casimir IV of Poland, to succeed king George of Poděbrady.
![The wars of Matthias Corvinus of Hungary (1458-1490)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/The_wars_of_Matthias_Corvinus_of_Hungary_%281458-1490%29.png)
Matthias's relations with Frederick III had in the meantime deteriorated because the Emperor accused Matthias of allowing the Ottomans to march through Slavonia when raiding the Emperor's realms. The
Frangepan
The House of Frankopan ( hr, Frankopani, Frankapani, it, Frangipani, hu, Frangepán, la, Frangepanus, Francopanus), was a Croatian noble family, whose members were among the great landowner magnates and high officers of the Kingdom of Croati ...
family, whose domains in Croatia were exposed to Ottoman raids, entered into negotiations with the Emperor and the Republic of Venice. In 1469, Matthias sent an army to Croatia to prevent the Venetians from seizing the Adriatic coastal town
Senj
Senj (; it, Segna, la, Senia, Hungarian and german: Zengg) is a town on the upper Adriatic coast in Croatia, in the foothills of the Mala Kapela and Velebit mountains.
The symbol of the town is the Nehaj Fortress ( hr, Tvrđava Nehaj) whic ...
.
Matthias expelled George of Poděbrady's troops from Silesia. Matthias's army was encircled and routed at
Uherský Brod
Uherský Brod (; german: Ungarisch Brod) is a town in Uherské Hradiště District in the Zlín Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 16,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument ...
on 2 November, forcing him to withdraw to Hungary. Matthias soon ordered the collection of an extraordinary tax without holding a Diet, raising widespread discontent among the Hungarian Estates. He visited Emperor Frederick in Vienna on 11 February 1470, hoping the Emperor would contribute to the costs of the war against Poděbrady. Although the negotiations lasted for a month, no compromise was worked out. The Emperor also refused to commit himself to promoting Matthias's election as King of the Romans. After a month, Matthias left Vienna without taking formal leave of Frederick III.
Having realised the Hungarian Estates' growing dissatisfaction, Matthias held a Diet in November. The Diet again authorized him to levy an extraordinary tax, stipulating that the sum of all taxes payable per ''porta'' could not exceed one florin. The Estates also made it clear that they opposed the war in Bohemia. George of Poděbrady died on 22 March 1471. The Diet of Bohemia proper elected Vladislaus Jagiello king on 27 May. The papal legate Lorenzo Roverella soon declared Vladislaus's election void and confirmed Matthias's position as King of Bohemia, but the
Imperial Diet refused Matthias's claim.
Matthias was staying in Moravia when he was informed that a group of Hungarian prelates and barons had offered the throne to
Casimir
Casimir is classically an English, French and Latin form of the Polish name Kazimierz. Feminine forms are Casimira and Kazimiera. It means "proclaimer (from ''kazać'' to preach) of peace (''mir'')."
List of variations
*Belarusian: Казі ...
, a younger son of King Casimir IV of Poland. The conspiracy was initiated by Archbishop John Vitéz and his nephew
Janus Pannonius
Janus Pannonius ( la, Ioannes Pannonius, hr, Ivan Česmički, hu, Csezmiczei János or ; 29 August 1434 – 27 March 1472) was a Croatian- Hungarian Latinist, poet, diplomat and Bishop of Pécs. He was the most significant poet of the Re ...
,
Bishop of Pécs
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or offic ...
, who opposed war against the Catholic Vladislaus Jagiellon. Initially, their plan was supported by the majority of the Estates, but nobody dared to rebel against Matthias, enabling him to return to Hungary without resistance. Matthias held a Diet and promised to refrain from levying taxes without the consent of the Estates and to convoke the Diet in each year. His promises remedied most of the Estates' grievances and almost 50 barons and prelates confirmed their loyalty to him on 21 September. Casimir Jagiellon invaded on 2 October 1471. With Bishop Janus Pannonius's support, he seized Nyitra (now
Nitra
Nitra (; also known by other alternative names) is a city in western Slovakia, situated at the foot of Zobor Mountain in the valley of the river Nitra. It is located 95 km east of Bratislava. With a population of about 78,353, it is the fifth la ...
in Slovakia), but only two barons,
John Rozgonyi
John Rozgonyi ( hu, Rozgonyi János; ? – 1471) was voivode of Transylvania in 1441–1458 and in 1459–1461 (for the second time), also ispán of Sopron and Vas Counties (1449–1454), count of the Székelys (1457–1458), Judge Royal of the ...
and Nicholas Perényi, joined him. Within five months Prince Casimir withdrew from Hungary, Bishop Janus Pannonius died while fleeing, and Archbishop John Vitéz was forbidden to leave his see. Matthias appointed the Silesian
Johann Beckensloer Coat of Arms.Johann Beckenschlager, also known as Johann Beckensloer, Johann Pflueger or Johann Peckensloer, ( hu, Beckensloer János; c. 1435 in Breslau – 15 December 1489 in Salzburg) was Archbishop of Gran and as John III Archbi ...
to administer the
Archdiocese of Esztergom
In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associat ...
. Vitéz died and Beckensloer succeeded him in a year.
The Ottomans had meanwhile seized the Hungarian forts along the river Nertva. Matthias nominated the wealthy baron Nicholas Újlaki as King of Bosnia in 1471, entrusting the defence of the province to him.
Uzun Hassan
Uzun Hasan or Uzun Hassan ( اوزون حسن; fa, اوزون حسن; 1423 – January 6, 1478; where ''uzun'' means "tall" in Oghuz Turkic) was a ruler of the Turkoman Aq Qoyunlu state and is generally considered to be its strongest ruler. H ...
, head of the
Aq Qoyunlu
The Aq Qoyunlu ( az, Ağqoyunlular , ) was a culturally Persianate,Kaushik Roy, ''Military Transition in Early Modern Asia, 1400–1750'', (Bloomsbury, 2014), 38; "Post-Mongol Persia and Iraq were ruled by two tribal confederations: Akkoyunlu (Wh ...
Turkmens
Turkmens ( tk, , , , ; historically "the Turkmen"), sometimes referred to as Turkmen Turks ( tk, , ), are a Turkic ethnic group native to Central Asia, living mainly in Turkmenistan, northern and northeastern regions of Iran and north-weste ...
, proposed an anti-Ottoman alliance to Matthias but he refrained from attacking the Ottoman Empire. Matthias supported the Austrian noblemen who rebelled against Emperor Frederick in 1472. The following year, Matthias, Casimir IV and Vladislaus entered into negotiations on the terms of a peace treaty, but the discussions lasted for months. Matthias tried to unify the government of Silesia, which consisted of
dozens of smaller duchies, through appointing a captain-general. However, the Estates refused to elect his candidate Duke
Frederick I of Liegnitz.
Ali Bey Mihaloğlu
ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam. ...
,
Bey of Smederevo, pillaged eastern parts of Hungary, destroyed Várad, and took 16,000 prisoners with him in January 1474. The next month, the envoys of Matthias and Casimir IV signed a peace treaty and a three-year truce between Matthias and Vladislaus Jagiellon was also declared. Within a month, however, Vladislaus entered into an alliance with Emperor Frederick and Casimir IV joined them. Casimir IV and Vladislaus invaded Silesia and laid siege to Matthias in Breslau (now
Wrocław
Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...
in Poland) in October. He prevented the besiegers from accumulating provisions, forcing them to raise the siege. Thereafter the Silesian Estates willingly elected Matthias's new candidate Stephen Zápolya as captain-general. The Moravian Estates elected Ctibor Tovačovský as captain-general. Matthias confirmed this decision, although Tovačovský had been Vladislaus Jagiellon's partisan.
The Ottomans invaded Wallachia and Moldavia at the end of 1474. Matthias sent reinforcements under the command of
Blaise Magyar
Blaise Magyar ( hu, Magyar Balázs), also Blaž the Magyar, was a military commander and officer of state in the Kingdom of Hungary in the 15th century. His military career started under the command of John Hunyadi. In the reign of John Hunyadi's s ...
to Stephen the Great. Their united forces routed the invaders in the
Battle of Vaslui
The Battle of Vaslui (also referred to as the Battle of Podul Înalt or the Battle of Racova) was fought on 10 January 1475, between Stephen III of Moldavia and the Ottoman governor of Rumelia, Hadım Suleiman Pasha. The battle took place at P ...
on 10 January 1475. Fearing a new Ottoman invasion, the Prince of Moldavia swore fealty to Matthias on 15 August. Sultan Mehmed II proposed peace but Matthias refused him. Instead, he stormed into Ottoman territory and captured
Šabac
Šabac (Serbian Cyrillic: Шабац, ) is a city and the administrative centre of the Mačva District in western Serbia. The traditional centre of the fertile Mačva region, Šabac is located on the right banks of the river Sava. , the city p ...
, an important fort on the river Száva, on 15 February 1476. During the siege, Matthias barely escaped capture while he was watching the fortress from a boat.
For unknown reasons, Archbishop Johann Beckensloer left Hungary, taking the treasury of the Esztergom See with him in early 1476. He fled to Vienna and offered his funds to the Emperor. Matthias accused the Emperor of having incited the Archbishop against him.
Mehmed II launched a campaign against Moldavia in the summer of 1476. Although he won the
Battle of Valea Albă
The Battle of Valea Albă, also known as the Battle of Războieni or the Battle of Akdere, was an important event in the medieval history of Moldavia. It took place at Războieni, also known as ''Valea Albă'', on July 26, 1476, between the Mold ...
on 26 July, the lack of provisions forced him to retreat. Matthias sent auxiliary troops to Moldavia under the command of Vlad Draculawhom he had releasedand
Stephen Báthory
Stephen Báthory ( hu, Báthory István; pl, Stefan Batory; ; 27 September 1533 – 12 December 1586) was Voivode of Transylvania (1571–1576), Prince of Transylvania (1576–1586), King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania (1576–1586) ...
The allied forces defeated an Ottoman army at the
Siret River
The Siret or Sireth ( uk, Сірет or Серет, ro, Siret , hu, Szeret, russian: Сирет) is a river that rises from the Carpathians in the Northern Bukovina region of Ukraine, and flows southward into Romania before it joins the Danube. ...
in August. With Hungarian and Moldavian support, Vlad Dracula was reinstalled as Prince of Wallachia but he was killed fighting against his opponent
Basarab Laiotă.
Matthias's bride
Beatrice of Naples
Beatrice of Naples (16 November 1457 – 23 September 1508), also known as Beatrice of Aragon ( hu, Aragóniai Beatrix; it, Beatrice d'Aragona), was twice Queen of Hungary and of Bohemia by marriage to Matthias Corvinus and Vladislaus II. S ...
arrived in Hungary in late 1476. Matthias married her in Buda on 22 December that year. The Queen soon established a rigid etiquette, making direct contacts between the King and his subjects more difficult. According to Bonfini, Matthias also "improved his board and manner of life, introduced sumptuous banquets, disdaining humility at home and beautified the dining rooms" after his marriage. According to a contemporaneous record, around that time Matthias's revenues amounted about 500,000 florins, half of which derived from the tax of the royal treasury and the extraordinary tax.
Matthias concluded an alliance with the
Teutonic Knights
The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians on ...
and the
Bishopric of Ermland
The Prince-Bishopric of Warmia ( pl, Biskupie Księstwo Warmińskie; german: Fürstbistum Ermland) was a semi-independent ecclesiastical state, ruled by the incumbent ordinary of the Warmia see and comprising one third of the then diocesan area ...
against Poland in March 1477. However, instead of Poland, he declared war on Emperor Frederick after he learnt that the Emperor had confirmed Vladislaus Jagiellon's position as King of Bohemia and
Prince-elector
The prince-electors (german: Kurfürst pl. , cz, Kurfiřt, la, Princeps Elector), or electors for short, were the members of the electoral college that elected the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.
From the 13th century onwards, the prince ...
. Matthias invaded
Lower Austria
Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Since 1986, the capital of Lower Austria has been Sankt P ...
and imposed a blockade on Vienna. Vladislaus Jagiellon denied to support the Emperor, forcing him to seek reconciliation with Matthias. With the mediation of
Pope Sixtus IV
Pope Sixtus IV ( it, Sisto IV: 21 July 1414 – 12 August 1484), born Francesco della Rovere, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 August 1471 to his death in August 1484. His accomplishments as pope include ...
, Venice, and
Ferdinand I of Naples
Ferdinando Trastámara d'Aragona, of the Naples branch, universally known as Ferrante and also called by his contemporaries Don Ferrando and Don Ferrante (2 June 1424, in Valencia – 25 January 1494, in Kingdom of Naples, Naples), was the only so ...
, Matthias concluded a peace treaty with Frederick III, which was signed on 1 December. The Emperor promised to confirm Matthias as the lawful ruler of Bohemia and to pay him an indemnity of 100,000 florins. They met in
Korneuburg
Korneuburg () is a town in Austria. It is located in the state Lower Austria and is the administrative center of the district of Korneuburg. Korneuburg is situated on the left bank of the Danube, opposite the city of Klosterneuburg, and is 12&nbs ...
where Frederick III installed Matthias as King of Bohemia and Matthias swore loyalty to the Emperor.
Negotiations between the envoys of Matthias and Vladislaus Jagiellon accelerated during the next few months. The first draft of a treaty was agreed upon on 28 March 1478, and the text was completed by the end of 1477. The treaty authorized both monarchs to use the title of King of Bohemiaalthough Vladislaus could omit to style Matthias as such in their correspondenceand the
Lands of the Bohemian Crown
The Lands of the Bohemian Crown were a number of incorporated states in Central Europe during the medieval and early modern periods connected by feudal relations under the Bohemian kings. The crown lands primarily consisted of the Kingdom of B ...
were divided between them; Vladislaus ruled in Bohemia proper and Matthias in Moravia, Silesia and Lusatia. They solemnly ratified the peace treaty at their meeting in Olomouc on 21 July.
War for Austria (1479–1487)
![Rabenwappen](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/Rabenwappen.JPG)
Emperor Frederick only paid off half of the indemnity due to Matthias according to their treaty of 1477. Matthias concluded a treaty with the
Swiss Confederacy
The Old Swiss Confederacy or Swiss Confederacy ( Modern German: ; historically , after the Reformation also , "Confederation of the Swiss") was a loose confederation of independent small states (, German or In the charters of the 14th century ...
on 26 March 1479, hindering the recruitment of Swiss mercenaries by the Emperor. He also entered into an alliance with
Archbishop of Salzburg
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Salzburg ( la, Archidioecesis Salisburgensis) is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in Austria. The archdiocese is one of two Austrian archdioceses, serving alongside the Archdiocese of ...
Bernhard II of Rohr, who allowed him to take possession of the fortresses of the Archbishopric in
Carinthia
Carinthia (german: Kärnten ; sl, Koroška ) is the southernmost States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The main language is German language, German. Its regional dialects belong to t ...
,
Carniola
Carniola ( sl, Kranjska; , german: Krain; it, Carniola; hu, Krajna) is a historical region that comprised parts of present-day Slovenia. Although as a whole it does not exist anymore, Slovenes living within the former borders of the region sti ...
and
Styria
Styria (german: Steiermark ; Serbo-Croatian and sl, ; hu, Stájerország) is a state (''Bundesland'') in the southeast of Austria. With an area of , Styria is the second largest state of Austria, after Lower Austria. Styria is bordered to ...
.
An Ottoman army supported by
Basarab Țepeluș of Wallachia invaded Transylvania and set fire to Szászváros (now
Orăștie
Orăștie (; german: link=no, Broos, hu, Szászváros, la, Saxopolis) is a city in Hunedoara County, south-western Transylvania, central Romania.
History
7th–9th century – On the site of an old swamp was a human settlement, now ...
in Romania) in late 1479. Stephen Báthory and
Paul Kinizsi annihilated the marauders in the
Battle of Breadfield
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
on 13 October. Matthias united the command of all forts along the Danube to the west of Belgrade in the hand of Paul Kinizsi to improve the defence of the southern frontier. Matthias sent reinforcements to Stephen the Great, who invaded pro-Ottoman Wallachia in early 1480; Matthias launched a campaign as far as
Sarajevo
Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its a ...
in Bosnia in November. He set up five defensive provinces, or banates, centred around the forts of
Szörényvár (now Drobeta-Turnu Severin in Romania),
Belgrade
Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
,
Šabac
Šabac (Serbian Cyrillic: Шабац, ) is a city and the administrative centre of the Mačva District in western Serbia. The traditional centre of the fertile Mačva region, Šabac is located on the right banks of the river Sava. , the city p ...
,
Srebrenik
Srebrenik ( sr-cyrl, Сребреник) is a city located in Tuzla Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located in northeastern Bosnia and Herzegovina, near Tuzla. As of 2013, it has a population of 39,678 inhabitants. The t ...
and
Jajce
Jajce (Јајце) is a town and municipality located in the Central Bosnia Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to the 2013 census, the town has a population of 7,172 inhabitants, with ...
. The next year, Matthias initiated a criminal case against the Frankapans, the
Zrinski
Zrinski () was a Croatian- Hungarian noble family, a cadet branch of the Croatian noble tribe of Šubić, influential during the period in history marked by the Ottoman wars in Europe in the Kingdom of Croatia's union with the Kingdom of Hungar ...
s and other leading Croatian and Slavonian magnates for their alleged participation in the 1471 conspiracy. Most barons were pardoned as soon as they consented to the introduction of a new land tax. In 1481, for a loan of 100,000 florins, Matthias seized the town of
Mautern in Styria and
Sankt Pölten
Sankt Pölten (; Central Bavarian: ''St. Pödn''), mostly abbreviated to the official name St. Pölten, is the capital and largest city of the State of Lower Austria in northeast Austria, with 55,538 inhabitants as of 1 January 2020. St. Pölten ...
in Lower Austria from
Friedrich Mauerkircher, one of the two candidates to the
Bishopric of Passau.
Sultan Mehmed II died on 3 May 1481. A civil war ensued in the Ottoman Empire between his sons
Bayezid II
Bayezid II ( ota, بايزيد ثانى, Bāyezīd-i s̱ānī, 3 December 1447 – 26 May 1512, Turkish: ''II. Bayezid'') was the eldest son and successor of Mehmed II, ruling as Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1481 to 1512. During his reign, ...
and
Cem
Cem Sultan (also spelled Djem or Jem) or Sultan Cem or Şehzade Cem (December 22, 1459 – February 25, 1495, ; ota, جم سلطان, Cem sulṭān; tr, Cem Sultan; french: Zizim), was a claimant to the Ottoman throne in the 15th century.
Ce ...
. Defeated, Cem fled to
Rhodes
Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the So ...
, where the
Knights Hospitaller
The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic Church, Catholic Military ord ...
kept him in custody. Matthias claimed Cem's custody in the hope of using him to gain concessions from Bayezid, but Venice and
Pope Innocent VIII
Pope Innocent VIII ( la, Innocentius VIII; it, Innocenzo VIII; 1432 – 25 July 1492), born Giovanni Battista Cybo (or Cibo), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 August 1484 to his death in July 1492. Son of th ...
strongly opposed this plan. In late 1481, Hungarian auxiliary troops supported Matthias's father-in-law Ferdinand I of Naples to reoccupy
Otranto
Otranto (, , ; scn, label= Salentino, Oṭṛàntu; el, label=Griko, Δερεντό, Derentò; grc, Ὑδροῦς, translit=Hudroûs; la, Hydruntum) is a coastal town, port and ''comune'' in the province of Lecce (Apulia, Italy), in a fertil ...
, which had been lost to the Ottomans the year before.
Although the "Black Army" had already laid siege to
Hainburg an der Donau
Hainburg an der Donau (also referred to simply as Hainburg) is a town located in the Bruck an der Leitha district in the state of Lower Austria of eastern Austria. In 2021 it had a population of about 7,000.
Geography
Hainburg is located on the ri ...
in January 1482, Matthias officially declared a new war on Emperor Frederick three months later. He directed the siege in person from the end of June and the town fell to him in October. In the next three months, Matthias also captured
Sankt Veit an der Glan,
Enzersdorf an der Fischa
Enzersdorf an der Fischa is a town in the district of Bruck an der Leitha in Lower Austria in Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Ea ...
, and
Kőszeg
Kőszeg (german: Güns, ; Slovak: ''Kysak'', sl, Kiseg, hr, Kiseg) is a town in Vas County, Hungary. The town is famous for its historical character.
History
The origins of the only free royal town in the historical garrison county of Vas ...
. The papal legate, Bartolomeo Maraschi tried to mediate a peace treaty between Matthias and the Emperor, but Matthias refused. Instead, he signed a five-year truce with Sultan Bayezid.
Matthias's marriage to Beatrice of Naples did not produce sons; he tried to strengthen the position of his illegitimate son
John Corvinus
John Corvinus ( Hungarian: ''Corvin János'', Croatian: ''Ivaniš Korvin'', Romanian: ''Ioan Corvin''; 2 April 1473 – 12 October 1504) was the illegitimate son of Matthias Corvinus, King of Hungary, and his mistress, Barbara Edelpöck.
Biog ...
. The child received Sáros Castle and inherited the extensive domains of his grandmother Elizabeth Szilágyi with his father's consent. Matthias also forced Victor of Poděbrady to renounce the
Duchy of Troppau
The Principality of Opava ( cs, Opavské knížectví; pl, Księstwo Opawskie) or Duchy of Troppau (german: Herzogtum Troppau) was a historic territory split off from the Margraviate of Moravia before 1269 by King Ottokar II of Bohemia to prov ...
in Silesia in favour of John Corvinus in 1485. Queen Beatrice opposed Matthias's favouritism towards his son. Even so, Matthias nominated her eight-year-old nephew
Ippolito d'Este
Ippolito (I) d'Este ( hu, Estei Hippolit; 20 March 1479 – 3 September 1520) was an Italian Roman Catholic cardinal, and Archbishop of Esztergom. He was a member of the ducal House of Este of Ferrara, and was usually referred to as the C ...
Archbishop of Esztergom. The Pope refused to confirm the child's appointment for years. The "Black Army" encircled Vienna in January 1485. The siege lasted for five months and ended with the triumphal entry of Matthias, at the head of 8,000 veterans, into Vienna on 1 June. The King soon moved the royal court to the newly conquered town. He summoned the Estates of Lower Austria to Vienna and forced them to swear loyalty to him.
Upon the monarch's initiative, the Diet of 1485 passed the so-called ''Decretum maius'', a systematic law-code which replaced many previous contradictory decrees. The law-code introduced substantial reforms in the administration of justice; the Palatine's eyre and the extraordinary county assemblies were abolished, which strengthened the position of the county courts. Matthias also decreed that in cases of the monarch's absence or minority, the Palatine was authorized to rule as Regent.
Emperor Frederick persuaded six of the seven Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire to proclaim his son
Maximilian
Maximilian, Maximillian or Maximiliaan (Maximilien in French) is a male given name.
The name " Max" is considered a shortening of "Maximilian" as well as of several other names.
List of people
Monarchs
*Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (1459 ...
King of the Romans on 16 February 1486. The Emperor, however, had failed to invite the King of Bohemiaeither Matthias or Vladislaus Jagiellonto the assembly. In an attempt to prevail on Vladislaus to protest, Matthias invited him to a personal meeting. Although they formed an alliance in
Jihlava
Jihlava (; german: Iglau) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 50,000 inhabitants. Jihlava is the capital of the Vysočina Region, situated on the Jihlava River on the historical border between Moravia and Bohemia.
Historically, Jihlava i ...
in September, the Estates of Bohemia refused to confirm it and Vladislaus recognized Maximilian's election.
In the meantime Matthias continued his war against the Emperor. The "Black Army" seized several towns in Lower Austria, including
Laa an der Thaya
Laa an der Thaya is a town in the Mistelbach District of Lower Austria in Austria, near the Czech border. The population in 2016 was 6224.
Geography
The town is located in the northern Weinviertel region, near the Thaya river, directly at th ...
, and
Stein
Stein is a German, Yiddish and Norwegian word meaning "stone" and "pip" or "kernel". It stems from the same Germanic root as the English word stone. It may refer to:
Places In Austria
* Stein, a neighbourhood of Krems an der Donau, Lower Aust ...
in 1485 and 1486. He set up his chancery for Lower Austria in 1486 but he never introduced a separate seal for this realm. Matthias assumed the title of Duke of Austria at the Diet of the Lower Austrian Estates in
Ebenfurth
Ebenfurth ( hu, Ebenfurt) is a municipality in the district of Wiener Neustadt-Land in the Austrian state of Lower Austria. In 2010, Serbian folk singer Dragana Mirković and her husband Toni Bijelić bought Ebenfurth castle
Neighbouring munici ...
in 1487. He appointed Stephen Zápolya captain-general,
Urban Nagylucsei administrator of the
Archdiocese of Vienna
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vienna ( la, Archidioecesis Viennensis) is an archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Austria. It was erected as the Diocese of Vienna on 18 January 1469 out of the Diocese of Passau, and elevated to an archdio ...
, and entrusted the defence of the occupied towns and forts to Hungarian and Bohemian captains, but otherwise continued to employ Emperor Frederick's officials who accepted his rule. Wiener Neustadt, the last town resisting Matthias in Lower Austria, fell to him on 17 August 1487. He started negotiations with Duke Albert III of Saxony, who arrived at the head of the imperial army to fight for Emperor Frederick III. They signed a six-month armistice in Sankt Pölten on 16 December, which ended the war. Matthias offered Emperor Frederick and his son prince Maximilian, the return of Austrian provinces and Vienna, if they would renounce the treaty of 1463 and accept Matthias as Frederic's designated heir and probable the inheritor of the title of Holy Roman Emperor. Before this was settled though, Matthias died in Vienna in 1490.
Last years (1487–1490)
According to the contemporaneous
Philippe de Commines
Philippe de Commines (or de Commynes or "Philippe de Comines"; Latin: ''Philippus Cominaeus''; 1447 – 18 October 1511) was a writer and diplomat in the courts of Burgundy and France. He has been called "the first truly modern writer" ( Charle ...
, Matthias's subjects feared their King in the last years of his life because he rarely showed mercy towards those he suspected of treachery. He had Archbishop Peter Váradi imprisoned in 1484 and ordered the execution of his Chancellor of Bohemia Jaroslav Boskovic in 1485. He also imprisoned Nicholas Bánfi, a member of a magnate family, in 1487, although he had earlier avoided punishing the old aristocracy. Bánfi's imprisonment seems to have been connected to his marriage to a daughter of
John the Mad,
Duke of Glogau
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are rank ...
because Matthias tried to seize this duchy for John Corvinus. John the Mad entered into an alliance with the
Duke of Münsterberg
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...
Henry of Poděbrady, and declared a war on Matthias on 9 May. Six month later, the Black Army invaded and occupied his duchy.
In the meantime, the citizens of
Ancona
Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic S ...
, a town in the
Papal States
The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...
, hoisted Matthias's flag in the hope he would protect them against Venice. Pope Innocent VIII soon protested, but Matthias refused to reject the overture, stating that the link between him and the town would never harm the interests of the Holy See. He also sent an auxiliary troop to his father-in-law, who was waging a war against the Holy See and Venice. The 1482 truce between Hungary and the Ottoman Empire was prolonged for two years in 1488. On this occasion, it was stipulated that the Ottomans were to refrain from invading Wallachia and Moldavia. The following year, Matthias granted two domains to Stephen the Great of Moldavia in Transylvania.
Matthias, who suffered from
gout
Gout ( ) is a form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by recurrent attacks of a red, tender, hot and swollen joint, caused by deposition of monosodium urate monohydrate crystals. Pain typically comes on rapidly, reaching maximal intensit ...
, could not walk and was carried in a
litter
Litter consists of waste products that have been discarded incorrectly, without consent, at an unsuitable location. Litter can also be used as a verb; to litter means to drop and leave objects, often man-made, such as aluminum cans, paper cups, ...
after March 1489. Hereafter, his succession caused bitter conflicts between Queen Beatrice and John Corvinus. Matthias asked Beatrice's brother
Alfonso
Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic kingdom in the Iberian peninsula. ...
,
Duke of Calabria
Duke of Calabria was the traditional title of the heir apparent of the Kingdom of Naples after the accession of Robert of Naples. It was also adopted by the heads of certain Houses that had once claimed the Kingdom of Naples in lieu of the royal ...
, to persuade her not to strive for the Crown, stating that the "Hungarian people are capable of killing up unto the last man rather than submit to the government of a woman". To strengthen his illegitimate son's position, Matthias even proposed withdrawing from Austria and to confirm Emperor Frederick's right to succeed him, provided the Emperor was willing to grant Croatia and Bosnia to John Corvinus with the title of king.
Matthias participated in the lengthy
Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday is a Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in each of the four canonical Gospels. Palm Sunday marks the first day of Holy ...
ceremony in Vienna in 1490, although he had felt so ill that morning that he could not eat breakfast. Around noon, he tasted a fig that proved to be rotten and he became very agitated and suddenly felt faint. The next day he was unable to speak. After two days of suffering, Matthias died in the morning of 6 April. According to Professor
Frigyes Korányi, Matthias died of a stroke; Dr. Herwig Egert does not exclude the possibility of poisoning. Matthias's funeral was held in
St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna
St. Stephen's Cathedral (german: Stephansdom) is the Mother Church#Cathedral, mother church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vienna and the seat of the Archbishop of Vienna, Christoph Schönborn, Christoph Cardinal Schönborn, Ordo Praedicato ...
and he was buried in
Székesfehérvár Cathedral on 24 or 25 April 1490.
Patronage
Renaissance king
![Philostratus kódex Corvin János](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/Philostratus_k%C3%B3dex_Corvin_J%C3%A1nos.jpg)
Matthias was the first non-Italian monarch promoting the spread of Renaissance style in his realm. His marriage to Beatrice of Naples strengthened the influence of contemporaneous Italian art and scholarship, and it was under his reign that Hungary became the first land outside Italy to embrace the Renaissance. The earliest appearance of Renaissance style buildings and works outside Italy were in Hungary. The Italian scholar
Marsilio Ficino
Marsilio Ficino (; Latin name: ; 19 October 1433 – 1 October 1499) was an Italian scholar and Catholic priest who was one of the most influential humanist philosophers of the early Italian Renaissance. He was an astrologer, a reviver of ...
introduced Matthias to
Plato
Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...
's ideas of a
philosopher-king uniting wisdom and strength in himself, which fascinated Matthias. Matthias is the main character in
Aurelio Lippo Brandolini
Aurelio Lippo Brandolini (1454? in Florence – 1497 in Rome) was an Italian humanist and political theorist who briefly flourished in the court of the Hungarian king, Matthias Corvinus. He is the author of the treatise '' Republics and Kingdo ...
's ''Republics and Kingdoms Compared'', a dialogue on the comparison of the two forms of government. According to Brandolini, Matthias said a monarch "is at the head of the law and rules over it" when summing up his own concepts of state.
Matthias also cultivated traditional art. Hungarian
epic poem
An epic poem, or simply an epic, is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants.
...
s and lyric songs were often sung at his court. He was proud of his role as the defender of Roman Catholicism against the Ottomans and the Hussites. He initiated theological debates, for instance on the doctrine of the
Immaculate Conception
The Immaculate Conception is the belief that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception.
It is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church, meaning that it is held to be a divinely revealed truth w ...
, and surpassed both the Pope and his legate "with regard to religious observance", according to the latter. Matthias issued coins in the 1460s bearing an image of the
Virgin Mary
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...
, demonstrating his special devotion to her cult.
Upon Matthias's initiative, Archbishop John Vitéz and Bishop Janus Pannonius persuaded Pope Paul II to authorize them to set up a university in
Pressburg
Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approximately 140% of ...
(now
Bratislava
Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approxim ...
in Slovakia) on 29 May 1465. The ''
Academia Istropolitana'' was closed shortly after the Archbishop's death. Matthias was contemplating establishing a new university in Buda but this plan was not accomplished.
Building projects and arts
Matthias started at least two major building projects. The works in Buda and
Visegrád
Visegrád (; german: Plintenburg; la, Pone Navata or ; sk, Vyšehrad) is a castle town in Pest County, Hungary. It is north of Budapest on the right bank of the Danube in the Danube Bend. It had a population of 1,864 in 2010. The town is the s ...
began in about 1479. Two new wings and a
hanging garden
A hanging garden is a sustainable landscape architecture, an artistic garden or a small urban farm, attached to or built on a wall. They are mainly found in areas where land is scarce or where the farmer is mobile or not permanent.
History
The m ...
were built at the royal castle of Buda, and the palace at Visegrád was rebuilt in Renaissance style. Matthias appointed the Italian
Chimenti Camicia Chimenti Camicia was an Italian renaissance architect who was born in Florence in 1431. He had his own workshop by 1464. In 1479 he went to work for King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary for whom Camicia designed palaces, gardens, fountains, churches, ...
and the Dalmatian
Giovanni Dalmata
Giovanni Dalmata ( hr, Ivan Duknović; c. 1440 – c. 1514), born Ioannes Stephani Duknovich de Tragurio, also known as Giovanni Duknovich di Traù in Italy and Ivan Stjepanov Duknović in Croatia, was a sculptor from Trogir, Dalmatia, who was mai ...
to direct these projects.
Matthias commissioned the leading Italian artists of his age to embellish his palaces: for instance, the sculptor
Benedetto da Majano
Benedetto da Maiano (1442 – May 24, 1497) was an Italian Early Renaissance sculptor.
Biography
Born in the village of Maiano (now part of Fiesole), he started his career as companion of his brother, the architect Giuliano da Maiano. When he ...
and the painters
Filippino Lippi
Filippino Lippi (April 1457 – 18 April 1504) was an Italian painter working in Florence, Italy during the later years of the Early Renaissance and first few years of the High Renaissance.
Biography
Filippino Lippi was born in Prato, Tusc ...
and
Andrea Mantegna
Andrea Mantegna (, , ; September 13, 1506) was an Italian painter, a student of Roman archeology, and son-in-law of Jacopo Bellini.
Like other artists of the time, Mantegna experimented with perspective, e.g. by lowering the horizon in order ...
worked for him. A copy of Mantegna's portrait of Matthias survived. In the spring of 1485, Matthias decided to commission
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially res ...
to paint a
Madonna
Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...
to him. Matthias also hired the Italian military engineer
Aristotele Fioravanti
Ridolfo "Aristotele" Fioravanti (c. 1415 or 1420 in Bologna – c. 1486 in Tsardom of Russia) was an Italian Renaissance architect and engineer, active in Muscovy from 1475, where he designed the Dormition Cathedral, Moscow during 1475–1479.
Hi ...
to direct the rebuilding of the forts along the southern frontier. He had new monasteries built in
Late Gothic style for the
Franciscans
, image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg
, image_size = 200px
, caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans
, abbreviation = OFM
, predecessor =
, ...
in Kolozsvár,
Szeged
Szeged ( , ; see also #Etymology, other alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county seat ...
and Hunyad, and for the
Paulines in Fejéregyháza.
The court of Matthias had a musical establishment of high quality. The master of the
Papal Chapel
The papal household or pontifical household (usually not capitalized in the media and other nonofficial use, ), called until 1968 the Papal Court (''Aula Pontificia''), consists of dignitaries who assist the pope in carrying out particular ceremoni ...
Bartolomeo Maraschi described Matthias's chapel choir as the best he had ever heard. Composers such as
Josquin Dor and
Johannes de Stokem spent time in Matthias's court, and numerous Italian musicians visited it. A late remark by , Archbishop of Esztergom, implies that the influential composer
Josquin des Prez
Josquin Lebloitte dit des Prez ( – 27 August 1521) was a composer of High Renaissance music, who is variously described as French or Franco-Flemish. Considered one of the greatest composers of the Renaissance, he was a central figure of the ...
was active in Matthias' court for years in the 1480s, but Várdai may have mistaken him for someone else, and there no documentary evidence that places him there.
Royal library
![Visegrad 1480 korul](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d7/Visegrad_1480_korul.jpg)
Matthias started the systematic collection of books after the arrival of his first librarian,
Galeotto Marzio, a friend of Janus Pannonius from
Ferrara
Ferrara (, ; egl, Fràra ) is a city and ''comune'' in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital of the Province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream ...
in around 1465. The exchange of letters between
Taddeo Ugoleto Taddeo is a masculine given name which may refer to:
* Taddeo Alderotti (between 1206 and 1215-1295), Italian doctor and professor of medicine
* Taddeo Altini O.S.A. (1609-1685), Roman Catholic Bishop of Civita Castellana e Orte, and Titular Bishop ...
, who succeeded Marzio in 1471, and Francesco Bandini contributed to the development of the royal library because the latter regularly informed his friend of new manuscripts. Matthias also employed scriptors, illuminators, and book-binders. Although the exact number of his books is unknown, his ''
Bibliotheca Corviniana
Bibliotheca Corviniana was one of the most renowned libraries of the Renaissance world, established by Matthias Corvinus, King of Hungary, in Buda Castle between 1458 and 1490. The books were transferred to Istanbul after the Hungarian defeat by th ...
'' was one of Europe's largest collections of books when he died.
According to Marcus Tanne, the surviving 216 volumes of the King's library "show that Matthias had the literary tastes of a classic 'alpha male, who preferred secular books to devotional works. For instance, a Latin translation of
Xenophon
Xenophon of Athens (; grc, wikt:Ξενοφῶν, Ξενοφῶν ; – probably 355 or 354 BC) was a Greek military leader, philosopher, and historian, born in Athens. At the age of 30, Xenophon was elected commander of one of the biggest Anci ...
's
biography of Cyrus the Great,
Quintus Curtius Rufus
Quintus Curtius Rufus () was a Roman historian, probably of the 1st century, author of his only known and only surviving work, ''Historiae Alexandri Magni'', "Histories of Alexander the Great", or more fully ''Historiarum Alexandri Magni Macedon ...
's book of
Alexander the Great
Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, wikt:Ἀλέξανδρος, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Maced ...
, and a military treatise by the contemporaneous
Roberto Valturio survived. Matthias enjoyed reading, as demonstrated by a letter in which he thanked the Italian scholar
Pomponio Leto
Julius Pomponius Laetus (1428 – 9 June 1498), also known as Giulio Pomponio Leto, was an Italian humanist.
Background
Laetus was born at Teggiano, near Salerno, the illegitimate scion of the princely house of Sanseverino, the German historian ...
who had sent him
Silius Italicus
Tiberius Catius Asconius Silius Italicus (, c. 26 – c. 101 AD) was a Roman senator, orator and Epic poetry, epic poet of the Silver Age of Latin literature. His only surviving work is the 17-book ''Punica (poem), Punica'', an epic poem about th ...
's
work of the Second Punic War.
Patron of scholars
Matthias enjoyed the company of Humanists and had lively discussions on various topics with them. The fame of his magnanimity encouraged many scholarsmostly Italianto settle in Buda. Antonio Bonfini,
Pietro Ranzano
Pietro Ranzano (Palermo, 1428–Lucera, 1492) was an Italian Dominican friar, bishop, historian, humanist and scholar who is best known for his work, '' De primordiis et progressu felicis Urbis Panormi'', a history of the city of Palermo from it ...
,
Bartolomeo Fonzio Bartolomeo or Bartolommeo is a masculine Italian given name, the Italian equivalent of Bartholomew. Its diminutive form is Baccio. Notable people with the name include:
* Abramo Bartolommeo Massalongo (1824–1860), Italian paleobotanist and liche ...
, and
Francesco Bandini
Francesco Bandini Piccolomini (1505–1588) was a Roman Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Siena (1529–1588). ''(in Latin)''[Neoplatonism
Neoplatonism is a strand of Platonism, Platonic philosophy that emerged in the 3rd century AD against the background of Hellenistic philosophy and Hellenistic religion, religion. The term does not encapsulate a set of ideas as much as a chain of ...]
to Hungary.
Like all intellectuals of his age, Matthias was convinced that the movements and combinations of the stars and planets exercised influence on individuals' life and on the history of nations. Galeotto Marzio described him as "king and astrologer", and Antonio Bonfini said Matthias "never did anything without consulting the stars". Upon his request, the famous astronomers of the age,
Johannes Regiomontanus
Johannes Müller von Königsberg (6 June 1436 – 6 July 1476), better known as Regiomontanus (), was a mathematician, astrologer and astronomer of the German Renaissance, active in Vienna, Buda and Nuremberg. His contributions were instrumen ...
and
Marcin Bylica
__NOTOC__
Marcin Bylica (c.1433 in Olkusz – 1493 in Buda), also known as Martin Bylica and Marcin z Olkusza, was a Polish astrologer, astronomer, and physician at the court of Matthias Corvinus, King of Hungary.
Biography
Son of burgher Jan, ...
, set up an observatory in Buda and installed it with
astrolabe
An astrolabe ( grc, ἀστρολάβος ; ar, ٱلأَسْطُرلاب ; persian, ستارهیاب ) is an ancient astronomical instrument that was a handheld model of the universe. Its various functions also make it an elaborate inclin ...
s and
celestial globe
Celestial globes show the apparent positions of the stars in the sky. They omit the Sun, Moon, and planets because the positions of these bodies vary relative to those of the stars, but the ecliptic, along which the Sun moves, is indicated.
Th ...
s. Regiomontanus dedicated his book on navigation that was used by
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus
* lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo
* es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón
* pt, Cristóvão Colombo
* ca, Cristòfor (or )
* la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...
to Matthias. The King appointed Bylica as his advisor in 1468. According to Scott E. Hendrix, "establishing a prominent astrologer as his political advisor provided an anxiety-reduction mechanism that boosted morale for the political elites within his realm while strengthening his sense of control in the face of the multiple adversities the Hungarians faced" in his reign.
Family
When Matthias was 12, his family arranged for him to marry
Elizabeth of Celje who was also a child when their marriage took place in 1455. She died in September before the marriage was consummated. His second wife
Catherine of Poděbrady
Catherine of Poděbrady (11 November 1449 – 8 March 1464) was Queen of Hungary as the second wife of King Matthias Corvinus.
Biography
Catherine and her twin sister Sidonie were born at Poděbrady, to the Bohemian king George of Poděbrady an ...
was born in 1449. She died in childbirth in January or February 1464. The child did not survive.
Matthias approached Emperor Frederick to suggest a new bride for him among Frederick's relatives.
Frederick II, Elector of Brandenburg
Frederick II of Brandenburg () (19 November 1413 – 10 February 1471), nicknamed "the Iron" (''der Eiserne'') and sometimes "Irontooth" (''Eisenzahn''), was a Prince-elector of the Margraviate of Brandenburg from 1440 until his abdication in 14 ...
proposed one of his daughters to Matthias but the Hungarian Estates opposed this plan. In an attempt to enter into an alliance with King Casimir IV of Poland, Matthias proposed to the King's daughter
Hedvig but he was refused. During the 1470 meeting of Emperor Frederick and Matthias, a marriage between Matthias and the Emperor's five-year-old daughter
Kunigunde of Austria
Kunigunde of Austria (16 March 1465 – 6 August 1520), a member of the House of Habsburg, was Duchess of Bavaria from 1487 to 1508, by her marriage to the Wittelsbach duke Albert IV.
Biography Early life
Kunigunde was born in Wiener Neustadt, ...
was also discussed, but the Emperor was not willing to commit himself to the marriage.
Matthias's third wife Beatrice of Naples was born in 1457. Their engagement was announced in Breslau on 30 October 1474, during the siege of the town by Casimir IV and Vladislaus Jagiellon. Her dowry amounted to 200,000 gold pieces. Beatrice survived her husband and returned to Naples where she died in 1508.
Matthias's only known child John Corvinus was born out of wedlock in 1473. His mother
Barbara Edelpöck Barbara Edelpöck ( hu, Eedelpöck Borbála; died 1495) was the mistress of Matthias Corvinus, King of Hungary. She gave birth to the King's only, although illegitimate, child, John Corvinus.
Life
Barbara Edelpöck was a daughter of a citizen of St ...
the daughter of a citizen of Stein in Lower Austriamet the King in early 1470. John Corvinus died on 12 October 1504.
Legacy
![Oameni si lalele - Cluj-Napoca, Piata Unirii](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/41/Oameni_si_lalele_-_Cluj-Napoca%2C_Piata_Unirii._Statuia_lui_Matei_Corvin.jpg)
According to Marcus Tanner, Matthias ruled "a European superpower" at the end of his reign. His conquests, however, were lost within months of his death. The burghers of Breslau soon murdered his captain Heinz Dompnig. The Emperor's rule in Vienna and Wiener Neustadt was restored without resistance.
Stephen Zápolya said the King's death relieved "Hungary of the trouble and oppression from which it had suffered so far". Royal authority quickly diminished because various claimantsJohn Corvinus, Maximilian of the Romans, Vladislaus Jagiellon, and the latter's younger brother,
John Albertwere fighting for the crown. Vladislaus Jagiellon triumphed because the barons regarded him as a weak ruler and he gained the support of Matthias's wealthy widow by promising to marry her. Vladislaus was elected king after he promised he would abolish all "harmful innovations" introduced by Matthias, especially the extraordinary tax. Vladislaus could not finance the maintenance of the Black Army and the unpaid mercenaries began plundering the countryside. A royal force led by Paul Kinizsi eliminated them on the river Száva in 1492.
The burden of Matthias's wars and splendid royal court mainly fell on the peasants, who paid at least 85% of the taxes. The ''Chronicle of Dubnic'', written in eastern Hungary in 1479, says "widows and orphans" cursed the King for the high taxes. However, stories about "Matthias the Just", who wandered in disguise throughout his realm to deliver justice to his subjects, seem to have spread during Matthias's reign. The saying "Dead is Matthias, lost is justice" became popular soon after his death, reflecting that commoners were more likely to have received a fair trial in Matthias's reign than under his successors. Matthias is also the subject of popular folk tales in Croatia, Hungary, Serbia, and Slovenia. For instance,
King Matjaž
King Matjaž/Mátyás/Matijaš ( sl, Kralj Matjaž, hu, Mátyás király, hr, Kralj Matijaš) is a legendary king in Slovenia, Hungary, Croatia and in some other countries, based on pre-Christian traditions of Carantania and in course of centu ...
is one of the
sleeping kings of Slovenian folklore.
In popular culture
* Matthias Corvinus leads the Hungarian civilization in the
''Gathering Storm'' expansion of the
4X video game ''
Civilization VI
''Sid Meier's Civilization VI'' is a turn-based strategy 4X video game developed by Firaxis Games, published by 2K Games, and distributed by Take-Two Interactive. The mobile port was published by Aspyr Media. The latest entry into the ''Civiliz ...
''.
Gallery
File:Matthias I (Chronica Hungarorum).jpg, Matthias I (Chronica Hungarorum)
File:Matei Corvin Johannes de Thurocz f137.jpg, alt=Matthias Corvinus, Matthias Corvinus depicted in Johannes de Thurocz
("judge")
, honorific_suffix =
, image = Thuroczy elso lap.jpg
, image_size =
, alt =
, caption = The first page of Thuroczy's chronicle
, pseudonym =
, birth_name =
, birth_date =
, birth_place =
, death_date = 1488 or 148 ...
's ''Chronica Hungarorum
''Chronica Hungarorum'' (Chronicle of the Hungarians) is the title of several works treating the early History of Hungary, Hungarian history.
Buda Chronicle
A popular chronicle partly based on the ''Chronicon Pictum'' (entitled just ''Chronica ...
''
File:Mátyás Király arcmása.jpg, alt=Matthias as a young King, Matthias as young monarch (after a contemporary miniature from the '' Corviniana'' collection of the British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
)
File:Matthias contemporary Sculpture.jpg, The roughly 50-year-old Matthias in the style of Constantine the Great (contemporary sculpture from Buda Castle
Buda Castle ( hu, Budavári Palota, german: link=no, Burgpalast) is the historical castle and palace complex of the Hungarian Kings in Budapest. It was first completed in 1265, although the massive Baroque palace today occupying most of the si ...
)
File:Matthias Corvinus from a Corvina Codex.jpg, Matthias Corvinus from a Corvina Codex
File:Benczúr Gyula – A diadalmas Mátyás.jpg, alt=Matthias Corvinus, Hungary, King, The triumphant Matthias (painting by Gyula Benczúr
Gyula Benczúr (28 January 1844, Nyíregyháza – 16 July 1920, Szécsény) was a Hungarian painter and art teacher. He specialized in portraits and historical scenes.
Biography
His family moved to Kassa when he was still very young and he di ...
in 1919, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest)
File:Benczúr Gyula Mátyás király fogadja a pápai követeket.jpg, alt=Matthias Corvinus, Hungary, King, King Matthias receives the Papal Legates (painting by Gyula Benczúr
Gyula Benczúr (28 January 1844, Nyíregyháza – 16 July 1920, Szécsény) was a Hungarian painter and art teacher. He specialized in portraits and historical scenes.
Biography
His family moved to Kassa when he was still very young and he di ...
in 1915)
File:This stove tile depicts King Matthias from Buda castle 1480.jpg, alt=This stove tile depicts King Matthias from Buda castle 1480, This stove tile depicts King Matthias (from Buda Castle
Buda Castle ( hu, Budavári Palota, german: link=no, Burgpalast) is the historical castle and palace complex of the Hungarian Kings in Budapest. It was first completed in 1265, although the massive Baroque palace today occupying most of the si ...
, 1480)
File:Görlitz - Brüderstraße - Altes Rathaus - Corvinuswappen 02 ies.jpg, Coat of arms of Corvinus on the old Townhall of Görlitz
Görlitz (; pl, Zgorzelec, hsb, Zhorjelc, cz, Zhořelec, :de:Ostlausitzer Mundart, East Lusatian dialect: ''Gerlz'', ''Gerltz'', ''Gerltsch'') is a town in the Germany, German state of Saxony. It is located on the Lusatian Neisse River, and ...
as a sign that Görlitz
Görlitz (; pl, Zgorzelec, hsb, Zhorjelc, cz, Zhořelec, :de:Ostlausitzer Mundart, East Lusatian dialect: ''Gerlz'', ''Gerltz'', ''Gerltsch'') is a town in the Germany, German state of Saxony. It is located on the Lusatian Neisse River, and ...
belonged to the Hungarian crown under King Matthias (1488)
References
Sources
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*Kisfaludy, Katalin: Matthias rex. Budapest 1983. Gondolat.
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Further reading
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*ANTONIUS DE BONFINIS:DE REGE MATHIA RERUM UNGARICARUM DECADES A LIBRO IX. DECADIS III.USQUE AD LIBRUM VIII. DECADIS IV. In: Rerum Ungaricum decades. https://vmek.oszk.hu/mobil/konyvoldal.phtml?id=20375#_home
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*Marzio, Galeotto: De egregie, sapienter, iocose dictis ac factis regis Mathiae ad ducem lohannem eius filium liber
/ Galeottus Narniensis Martius ; ed Ladislaus Juhász Lipsiae : Teubner, 1934. https://vmek.oszk.hu/mobil/konyvoldal.phtml?id=20034#_home
External links
''The Squash and the Colt'' a folk tale reflecting Matthias' wisdom and sense of justice
''Bibliotheca Corviniana Digitalis'' – National Széchényi Library, Hungary*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Matthias Corvinus Of Hungary
1443 births
1490 deaths
15th-century dukes of Austria
Military personnel from Cluj-Napoca
Kings of Hungary
Kings of Croatia
Medieval child rulers
Hungarian Roman Catholics
Hunyadi family
History of Cluj-Napoca
Pretenders to the Bohemian throne
15th-century Hungarian nobility
15th-century monarchs in Europe
Burials at the Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Hungarian book and manuscript collectors
Anti-kings