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The Hunyadi family was one of the most powerful
noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Great B ...
families in 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 ...
during the 15th century. A member of the family,
Matthias Corvinus 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 and Croatia from 1458 to 1490. After conducting several mi ...
, 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 ...
from 1458 until 1490,
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 ...
(ruling in
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 ...
,
Lower Lusatia Lower Lusatia (; ; ; szl, Dolnŏ Łużyca; ; ) is a historical region in Central Europe, stretching from the southeast of the German state of Brandenburg to the southwest of Lubusz Voivodeship in Poland. Like adjacent Upper Lusatia in the sou ...
,
Upper Lusatia Upper Lusatia (german: Oberlausitz ; hsb, Hornja Łužica ; dsb, Górna Łužyca; szl, Gōrnŏ Łużyca; pl, Łużyce Górne or ''Milsko''; cz, Horní Lužice) is a historical region in Germany and Poland. Along with Lower Lusatia to the ...
, 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 ...
) from 1469 until 1490, and
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 ...
from 1487 until 1490. His
illegitimate Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce. Conversely, ''illegitimacy'', also known as ''b ...
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. Biograp ...
, ruled 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 ...
from 1485 until 1501, and five further
Silesian duchies The Duchies of Silesia were the more than twenty divisions of the region of Silesia formed between the 12th and 14th centuries by the breakup of the Duchy of Silesia, then part of the Kingdom of Poland. In 1335, the duchies were ceded to the King ...
, including
Bytom Bytom (Polish pronunciation: ; Silesian: ''Bytōm, Bytōń'', german: Beuthen O.S.) is a city in Upper Silesia, in southern Poland. Located in the Silesian Voivodeship of Poland, the city is 7 km northwest of Katowice, the regional capital ...
,
Głubczyce Głubczyce ( cs, Hlubčice or sparsely ''Glubčice'', german: Leobschütz, Silesian German: ''Lischwitz'') is a town in Opole Voivodeship in southern Poland, near the border with the Czech Republic. It is the administrative seat of Głubczyce Co ...
, Loslau,
Racibórz Racibórz (german: Ratibor, cz, Ratiboř, szl, Racibōrz) is a city in Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland. It is the administrative seat of Racibórz County. With Opole, Racibórz is one of the historic capitals of Upper Silesia, being t ...
, and Tost, from 1485 until 1490. The Hunyadi
coat-of-arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its w ...
depicted a
raven A raven is any of several larger-bodied bird species of the genus ''Corvus''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between "crows" and "ravens", common names which are assigned t ...
with a golden ring in its beak. The founder of the family,
Voyk The Hunyadi family was one of the most powerful noble families in the Kingdom of Hungary during the 15th century. A member of the family, Matthias Corvinus, was King of Hungary from 1458 until 1490, King of Bohemia (ruling in Moravia, Lower ...
, received the eponymous
Hunyad Castle Corvin Castle, also known as Hunyadi Castle or Hunedoara Castle (Romanian: ''Castelul Huniazilor'' or ''Castelul Corvinilor;'' Hungarian: ''Vajdahunyadi vár''), is a Gothic-Renaissance castle in Hunedoara, Romania. It is one of the largest c ...
(in present-day
Hunedoara Hunedoara (; german: Eisenmarkt; hu, Vajdahunyad ) is a municipiu, city in Hunedoara County, Transylvania, Romania. It is located in southwestern Transylvania near the Poiana Ruscă Mountains, and administers five villages: Boș (''Bós''), Groș ...
,
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
) from
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 ...
,
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 ...
, in 1409. His ethnicity is the subject of scholarly debate. Some modern historians describe him as a
Vlach "Vlach" ( or ), also "Wallachian" (and many other variants), is a historical term and exonym used from the Middle Ages until the Modern Era to designate mainly Romanians but also Aromanians, Megleno-Romanians, Istro-Romanians and other Eastern ...
, or
Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...
, knez or
boyar A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the Feudalism, feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Kievan Rus', Bulgarian Empire, Bulgaria, Russian nobility, Russia, Boyars of Moldavia and Wallachia, Wallachia and ...
, from either
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 ...
or
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 ...
. Others describe him as a
Cuman The Cumans (or Kumans), also known as Polovtsians or Polovtsy (plural only, from the Russian language, Russian Exonym and endonym, exonym ), were a Turkic people, Turkic nomadic people comprising the western branch of the Cuman–Kipchak confede ...
or
Slav Slavs are the largest European ethnolinguistic group. They speak the various Slavic languages, belonging to the larger Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout northern Eurasia, main ...
nobleman. According to the 15th-century historian,
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 ...
, Voyk moved from Wallachia to Transylvania. Voyk's oldest son,
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 ...
, was often mentioned as a "Vlach" by his contemporaries. John Hunyadi, a military commander, became the first member of the family to acquire the status of "true baron of the realm". He was appointed
Ban of Severin The Banate of Severin or Banate of Szörény ( hu, Szörényi bánság; ro, Banatul Severinului; la, Banatus Zewrinensis; bg, Северинско банство, ; sr, Северинска бановина, ) was a Hungarian political, mili ...
in 1439, and
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 ...
in 1441. He was also granted the title Perpetual Count of Beszterce in 1452, thus receiving the first hereditary title created in the Kingdom of Hungary. At his death, John Hunyadi held many lands throughout the Kingdom. John Hunyadi's fame and fortune led the election of his son,
Matthias Corvinus 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 and Croatia from 1458 to 1490. After conducting several mi ...
, as King of Hungary in 1458. He attempted to secure hereditary line of succession for his 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. Biograp ...
. This did not happen, however, and John was only able to retain the Duchy of Glogau, along with some other family domains in Hungary, after Matthias died in 1490. John's only son,
Christopher Corvinus Christopher Corvinus or Christopher Hunyadi (8 August 1499 in Bihać – 17 March, 1505) Prince of Hungary and the last male member of the Hungarian Royal House of Hunyadi. Life His father was John Corvinus, an illegitimate son of King Matthias ...
, was the last male member of the family. He died at the age of six in 1505. His sister Elisabeth died during childhood.


Origins

The family was given its land by
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 ...
,
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 ...
, on 18 October 1409. On that day, Sigismund granted
Hunyad Castle Corvin Castle, also known as Hunyadi Castle or Hunedoara Castle (Romanian: ''Castelul Huniazilor'' or ''Castelul Corvinilor;'' Hungarian: ''Vajdahunyadi vár''), is a Gothic-Renaissance castle in Hunedoara, Romania. It is one of the largest c ...
and its
demesne A demesne ( ) or domain was all the land retained and managed by a lord of the manor under the feudal system for his own use, occupation, or support. This distinguished it from land sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants. The concept or ...
to Voyk and four of his kinsmen. In addition to Voyk, the grant lists his two brothers, Magas and Radol, their cousin or uncle also named Radol, and Voyk's son,
John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...
, the future
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 c ...
. Magas means "tall", and is evidently a Hungarian name. The grant mentioned that Voyk's father was named "Serbe", but did not say anything further about the origins of the family.
Turkologist Turkology (or Turcology or Turkic studies) is a complex of humanities sciences studying languages, history, literature, folklore, culture, and ethnology of people speaking Turkic languages and Turkic peoples in chronological and comparative conte ...
László Rásonyi László () is a Hungarian male given name and surname after the King-Knight Saint Ladislaus I of Hungary (1077–1095). It derives from Ladislav, a variant of Vladislav. Other versions are Lessl or Laszly. The name has a history of being freque ...
, in his analysis of the family names and heraldry, says that Serbe's name is of
Cuman The Cumans (or Kumans), also known as Polovtsians or Polovtsy (plural only, from the Russian language, Russian Exonym and endonym, exonym ), were a Turkic people, Turkic nomadic people comprising the western branch of the Cuman–Kipchak confede ...
origin and is related to the
Kyrgyz Kyrgyz, Kirghiz or Kyrgyzstani may refer to: * Someone or something related to Kyrgyzstan *Kyrgyz people *Kyrgyz national games *Kyrgyz language *Kyrgyz culture *Kyrgyz cuisine *Yenisei Kirghiz *The Fuyü Gïrgïs language in Northeastern China ...
and Kazakh word for unlucky (). He adds that the Turkic origin of Serbe's name explains that Voyk's name also comes from the Turkic , meaning meaning "prince" or "lord". Voyk's son, John Hunyadi, bore the nickname "Olah", meaning "
Vlach "Vlach" ( or ), also "Wallachian" (and many other variants), is a historical term and exonym used from the Middle Ages until the Modern Era to designate mainly Romanians but also Aromanians, Megleno-Romanians, Istro-Romanians and other Eastern ...
", in his youth, which implied that he was of
Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...
stock. The court historian of Voyk's grandson King
Matthias Corvinus 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 and Croatia from 1458 to 1490. After conducting several mi ...
, Antonio Bonfini, explicitly stated that John had been "born to a Vlach father". Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III likewise knew that King Matthias had been "born to a Vlach father", and a Venetian man, Sebastiano Baduario, referred to the Romanians as King Matthias's people. Historians of the 15th and 16th centuries, with perspectives that were either against or in favour of the family, wrote differing reports of the family's status before King Sigismund's grant.
Jan Długosz Jan Długosz (; 1 December 1415 – 19 May 1480), also known in Latin as Johannes Longinus, was a Polish priest, chronicler, diplomat, soldier, and secretary to Bishop Zbigniew Oleśnicki of Kraków. He is considered Poland's first histor ...
described John Hunyadi as "a man of unknown origin",''The Annals of Jan Długosz'' (A.D. 1440), p. 484. and he is likewise mentioned as "a Vlach by birth, not highly born"''Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini: Europe'' (ch. 1.7.), p. 59. by
Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini 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 ...
. On the other hand,
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 ...
said that John Hunyadi "was descended from a noble and renowned race of
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 ...
".''Thuróczy János: Magyar krónika'' (ch. 30), p. 42. John Hunyadi's rapid advance, which astonished his contemporaries, and gave rise to legends about his origins. According to one of these stories, recorded in detail by the 16th-century historian
Gáspár Heltai Gáspár Heltai (born as Kaspar Helth) (''c''. 1490–1574) was a Transylvanian Saxon writer and printer. His name possibly derives from the village Heltau ( hu, Nagydisznód, today Cisnădie, Romania). Despite being a German native speaker ...
, John Hunyadi was the illegitimate son of King Sigismund with a woman named Elizabeth, who was the daughter of a "rich boyar" from
Morzsina Margina ( hu, Marzsina; german: Marschina) is a commune in Timiș County, Romania. It is composed of nine villages: Breazova, Bulza, Coșevița, Coșteiu de Sus, Groși, Margina (commune seat), Nemeșești, Sintești and Zorani. Geography Margin ...
in
Hunyad County Hunyad (today mainly Hunedoara) was an administrative county (comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary, of the Eastern Hungarian Kingdom and of the Principality of Transylvania. Its territory is now in Romania in Transylvania. The capital of the co ...
. Antonio Bonfini, on the other hand, wrote that John Hunyadi's mother was an unnamed
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 ...
woman who was related to the
Byzantine Emperors This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as le ...
. Further legends emerged about the purported Roman origin of the family. Antonio Bonfini wrote that John Hunyadi "traced his kin to the
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
family of the Corvini". This story is connected to the Hunyadis' coat-of-arms, which depicts a
raven A raven is any of several larger-bodied bird species of the genus ''Corvus''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between "crows" and "ravens", common names which are assigned t ...
, ''corvus'' in
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 ...
, with a golden ring in its beak. Coins minted for Prince
Vladislav I of Wallachia Vladislav I or Vladimareïo/ Vila·Dumas of the Basarab dynasty, also known as Vlaicu or Vlaicu-Vodă, was the Voivode of Wallachia between 1364 and 1377. He was the son of Nicholas Alexander of Wallachia and Clara Dobokai. In February 136 ...
in 1365 depict a raven-like bird. Based on this similarity, Zsuzsa Teke and some other historians did not exclude the possibility that the Hunyadis were related to the Basarabs, the ruling dynasty of Wallachia. Another historian, Péter E. Kovács, wrote that that theory needed further verification. Johannes de Thurocz also wrote that King Sigismund, fascinated by Voyk's fame, "took him away from
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 ...
to his own realm and settled him there", suggesting that Voyk moved from his Wallachian homeland to 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 ...
. The late 15th-century historian
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" (Charles ...
referred to Voyk's son John as the "White Knight of
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 accordance with these sources, Pál Engel, András Kubinyi, and other contemporary historians have written that the Hunyadi family descended from Wallachian
boyars A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Kievan Rus', Bulgaria, Russia, Wallachia and Moldavia, and later Romania, Lithuania and among Baltic Germans. Boyars were sec ...
(noblemen). According to another view on the family's origins, which is championed by historians Camil Mureșanu and Ion-Aurel Pop, Voyk did not migrate from Wallachia, but was born in a family of
Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...
noble knezes from the region of Hátszeg, or
Hunyad Hunyad (today mainly Hunedoara) was an administrative county (comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary, of the Eastern Hungarian Kingdom and of the Principality of Transylvania. Its territory is now in Romania in Transylvania. The capital of the ...
. They say that Voyk's grandfather could have been a man named "Costea", mentioned in a royal charter from 1360, and who fathered a son named Serbe (the name of Voyk's father). According to the charter, Costea and Serbe together established two villages in the region of Hátszeg. Historian Dezső Dümmerth offers a third view of the Hunyadis' ancestry. He said that Voyk was of
Cuman The Cumans (or Kumans), also known as Polovtsians or Polovtsy (plural only, from the Russian language, Russian Exonym and endonym, exonym ), were a Turkic people, Turkic nomadic people comprising the western branch of the Cuman–Kipchak confede ...
stock, one of the Wallachian boyars. Turkologist
László Rásonyi László () is a Hungarian male given name and surname after the King-Knight Saint Ladislaus I of Hungary (1077–1095). It derives from Ladislav, a variant of Vladislav. Other versions are Lessl or Laszly. The name has a history of being freque ...
concludes: "the names of János Hunyadi's father and grandfather and the use of raven in the coat-of-arms of the family clearly point to the Tatar-Cuman origin of the later Hunyadi family". Miklós Molnár, accepts the Wallachian origin of the family, but also represents a fourth perspective on the origins of the family. He said that they may well have been of Slavic descent. Neither Paul Lendvai nor András Boros-Kazai excluded the possibility of the Hunyadis being of Slavic origin. Bone samples were collected in the Corvinus grave from the remains of
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. Biograp ...
and
Christopher Corvinus Christopher Corvinus or Christopher Hunyadi (8 August 1499 in Bihać – 17 March, 1505) Prince of Hungary and the last male member of the Hungarian Royal House of Hunyadi. Life His father was John Corvinus, an illegitimate son of King Matthias ...
in the church of the Blessed Virgin Mary in
Lepoglava Lepoglava is a town in Varaždin County, northern Croatia, located southwest of Varaždin, west of Ivanec, and northeast of Krapina. Demographics A total of 8,283 residents in the municipality (2011 census) live in the following settlements: * ...
by the Institute of Hungarian Research in 2021 to define their genetic composition. This information will be crucial for possible identification of the remains of King Matthias Corvinus from among the bones stored in the ossuary at
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 ...
. John and Christopher carried the Y-chromosome haplogroup is E1b1b1a1b1a6a1c ∼, which is widespread in Eurasia. The father-son relationship was also verified. Archaeogenomic analysis indicated that John and Christopher had an ancient European genome composition.


Notable members


Voyk Hunyadi

Voyk was born in Wallachia, according to the nearly contemporaneous historians Johannes de Thurocz and Gáspár Heltai. Voyk had been serving as a "court knight" in the royal court when he received the demesne of Hunyad from King Sigismund, suggesting that he was descended from a prominent Wallachian family. Modern historian Kubinyi wrote that Voyk most probably joined Sigismund in 1395. In this year, Sigismund invaded Wallachia and restored his vassal,
Mircea the Elder Mircea the Elder ( ro, Mircea cel Bătrân, ; c. 1355 – 31 January 1418) was the Voivode of Wallachia from 1386 until his death in 1418. He was the son of Radu I of Wallachia and brother of Dan I of Wallachia, after whose death he inherited t ...
, to the princely throne. He was last mentioned in a royal charter in 1414. Voyk died before 12 February 1419. On this day, a charter confirming the grant of 1409 was issued for Voyk's brother, Radol, and for Voyk's three sons: John the Elder, John the Younger, and Voyk.


John Hunyadi, Sr.

Voyk's oldest son John Hunyadi was born between about 1405 and 1407. In his youth, he served in the court of George Csáky,
Filippo Scolari }, bg, Филип Маджарин). Annotations ). References Sources * * * External links {{Authority control 1369 births 1426 deaths Nobility from Florence 14th-century Hungarian people 15th-century Hungarian people 14th-centur ...
, and King Sigismund's other warlike barons. He married
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 ...
around 1429. Her father owned properties in
Bodrog County The Bodrog is a river in eastern Slovakia and north-eastern Hungary. It is a tributary to the river Tisza. The Bodrog is formed by the confluence of the rivers Ondava and Latorica near Zemplín in eastern Slovakia. It crosses the Slovak–H ...
. John Hunyadi developed his military skills during his journeys in
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
and
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 ...
in Sigismund's entourage in the early 1430s. He and his younger brother (who was his namesake) were jointly appointed Ban of Szörény (present-day Drobeta-Turnu Severin, Romania) in 1439 by Sigismund's successor, King Albert. With this appointment, they acquired the status of "true barons". The senior John Hunyadi became
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 ...
and
Count of the Székelys The Count of the Székelys ( hu, székelyispán, la, comes Sicolorum) was the leader of the Hungarian-speaking Székelys in Transylvania, in the medieval Kingdom of Hungary. First mentioned in royal charters of the 13th century, the counts wer ...
in 1441, with responsibility for the defense of the southern borders of Hungary against Ottoman raids. He defeated the Ottomans in several battles during his "
long campaign The Crusade of Varna was an unsuccessful military campaign mounted by several European leaders to check the expansion of the Ottoman Empire into Central Europe, specifically the Balkans between 1443 and 1444. It was called by Pope Eugene IV on ...
" in the
Balkan Peninsula The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
in 1443. The
Estates of the realm The estates of the realm, or three estates, were the broad orders of social hierarchy used in Christendom (Christian Europe) from the Middle Ages to early modern Europe. Different systems for dividing society members into estates developed and ...
elected him governor for the period of King Ladislaus V of Hungary's minority in 1446. King Ladislaus bestowed the title of Perpetual Count of Beszterce (present-day Bistrița, Romania) upon John Hunyadi after he resigned the governorship in 1452. This was the first example of a grant of a hereditary title in the Kingdom of Hungary. John Hunyadi had by that time become the richest landowner in the Kingdom of Hungary, holding about 25 fortresses, 30 towns, and more than 1,000 villages. He died on 11 August 1456, shortly after his greatest victory over the Ottomans at the Siege of Belgrade.


John Hunyadi, Jr.

John the Younger was the younger of Voyk's two sons that shared the name John, and was first mentioned in a charter issued to four members of his family on 12 February 1419. King Albert of Hungary appointed him Ban of Szörény together with his brother, John the Elder, in 1439. He died fighting against the Ottomans in 1441. His brother wrote of him as "the valiant of the valiant", showing that John the Younger was regarded a brave soldier.


Ladislaus Hunyadi

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 ...
was the older of the two sons of John Hunyadi the elder by Elizabeth Szilágyi. He was born around 1432. At the age of 20, he was appointed ''
ispán The ispánRady 2000, p. 19.''Stephen Werbőczy: The Customary Law of the Renowned Kingdom of Hungary in Three Parts (1517)'', p. 450. or countEngel 2001, p. 40.Curta 2006, p. 355. ( hu, ispán, la, comes or comes parochialis, and sk, župan)Kirs ...
'', or count, of
Pozsony County Pozsony county was an administrative county ( comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is now mostly part of Slovakia, while a small area belongs to Hungary. In 1969, the three villages that remained in Hungary were combined to form Du ...
, which made him a "true baron". He became
Ban of Croatia Ban of Croatia ( hr, Hrvatski ban) was the title of local rulers or office holders and after 1102, viceroys of Croatia. From the earliest periods of the Croatian state, some provinces were ruled by bans as a ruler's representative (viceroy) an ...
in 1453 and
master of the horse Master of the Horse is an official position in several European nations. It was more common when most countries in Europe were monarchies, and is of varying prominence today. (Ancient Rome) The original Master of the Horse ( la, Magister Equitu ...
in 1456. With his father's death, Ladislaus inherited an enormous domain in 1456. The ambitious Ladislaus had his father's main opponent,
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 Al ...
, captured and murdered on 9 November. The King, who promised amnesty to Ladislaus under duress, had him arrested in next year. Ladislaus was sentenced to death for high treason. He was executed on 16 March 1457.


Matthias Corvinus

Matthias Matthias is a name derived from the Greek Ματθαίος, in origin similar to Matthew. People Notable people named Matthias include the following: In religion: * Saint Matthias, chosen as an apostle in Acts 1:21–26 to replace Judas Iscariot * ...
, the younger son of John Hunyadi the elder and Elizabeth Szilágyi, was born on 23 February 1443. He was arrested upon the orders of King Ladislaus V of Hungary on 14 March 1457, together with his elder brother Ladislaus. Matthias's brother was executed two days after having been arrested. Fearing a revolt, the King fled 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 ...
and took Matthias with him. The childless Ladislaus V died on 23 November 1457. A
Diet Diet may refer to: Food * Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group * Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake ** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...
was convened to elect the new monarch. Matthias' maternal 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 ...
, arrived with more than 10,000 armed noblemen under his command, and the Diet proclaimed Matthias king on 24 January 1458. Matthias returned from Prague, but was only crowned with 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 ...
on 29 March 1464, because he had spent the previous years with fighting against his opponents. Urged by
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 ...
, Matthias led a
crusade The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were i ...
against the Czech
Hussites 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 ...
and occupied great parts of
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 ...
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 ...
in 1468. The Catholic Estates of Moravia proclaimed him
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 ...
on 3 May 1469. Matthias' reign was also recognized in
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 ...
and Silesia, but Bohemia proper remained under the rule of his opponents, Kings
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 ...
(till 1471) and Vladislaus II Jagiellon. Through a series of wars, Matthias 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 ...
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 ...
between 1480 and 1487. He officially adopted the title of
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. Matthias married his first 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 ...
, in 1461. She died in childbirth in 1464. His second wife,
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 ...
, whom he married in 1476, was
infertile Infertility is the inability of a person, animal or plant to reproduce by natural means. It is usually not the natural state of a healthy adult, except notably among certain eusocial species (mostly haplodiploid insects). It is the normal state ...
. In the last decade of his life, Matthias tried to ensure the succession 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. Biograp ...
, to the throne of Hungary. Matthias died on 6 April 1490.


John Corvinus

John Corvinus was the illegitimate son of King Matthias and his mistress,
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 ...
. John Corvinus was born on 2 April 1473. Matthias recognized in public that John is his son and granted him the title of Duke of Liptó (present-day Liptov,
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 ...
) in 1481. John Corvinus received a number of land grants from his father in the subsequent years. King Matthias granted him 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 ...
and five further
Silesian duchies The Duchies of Silesia were the more than twenty divisions of the region of Silesia formed between the 12th and 14th centuries by the breakup of the Duchy of Silesia, then part of the Kingdom of Poland. In 1335, the duchies were ceded to the King ...
Beuthen Bytom (Polish pronunciation: ; Silesian: ''Bytōm, Bytōń'', german: Beuthen O.S.) is a city in Upper Silesia, in southern Poland. Located in the Silesian Voivodeship of Poland, the city is 7 km northwest of Katowice, the regional capita ...
, Leobschütz, Loslau, Ratibor, and Tostin 1485. King Matthias' all attempts to secure his son's succession to the throne proved to be useless shortly after his death. The prelates and the barons elected Vladislaus II Jagiellon king on 15 July 1490. He retained his domains and the Duchy of Troppau. The new monarch bestowed the title of
Duke of Slavonia The Duke of Slavonia ( hr, slavonski herceg; la, dux Slavoniae), also Duke of Dalmatia and Croatia ( hr, herceg Hrvatske i Dalmacije; la, dux Dalmatiae et Croatiae) and sometimes Duke of "Whole Slavonia", Dalmatia and Croatia ( hr, herceg cijele S ...
upon him, but he renounced of it in 1495. He also renounced of the Duchy of Troppau in 1501. John Corvinus married
Beatrice de Frangepan Beatrice de Frangepan ( Croatian: Beatrica Frankopan, Hungarian: Frangepán Beatrix), (1480 – c. 27 March 1510) was a Croatian noblewoman, a member of the House of Frankopan that lived in the Kingdom of Croatia in personal union with Hunga ...
in 1496. She gave birth to two children,
Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...
and
Christopher Christopher is the English language, English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek language, Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or ''Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Jesus ...
. John Corvinus died on 12 October 1504. His son died at the age of six, his daughter at the age of twelve.


Family tree

The following family tree depicts the known members of the Hunyadi family: (''*'' = born; ''†'' = died; ''∞'' = wife or husband; ''b.'' = before; ''c.'' = in about; ''m.'' = mentioned)


See also

*
List of titled noble families in the Kingdom of Hungary Dukes and princes Marquesses Counts Barons References Sources * * * * * * * * * * * * {{Refend Croatian nobility Hungarian nobility Jewish-Hungarian families ...


Notes


References


Sources


Primary sources

*''Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini: Europe (c. 1400–1458)'' (Translated by Robert Brown, introduced and commented by Nancy Bisaha) (2013). The Catholic University of America Press. . *''The Annals of Jan Długosz'' (An English abridgement by Maurice Michael, with commentary by Paul Smith) (1997). IM Publications. . *''Thuróczy János: Magyar krónika'
(Fordította Geréb László, a szöveget átnézte Kardos Tibor, a fordítást ellenőrizte Mezey László)
ános Thuróczy: Chronicle of the Hungarians (Translated by László Geréb, the text revised by Tibor Kardos, and the translation is supervised by László Mezey)(1957). Magyar Helikon.


Secondary sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hunyadi Family