Bloody Sabor of Križevci or Bloody Parliament Session or Križevci Bloody Assembly ( hr, Krvavi Sabor u Križevcima, Krvavi sabor križevački; hu, kőrösi országgyűlés) was an organised killing of the former Croatian ban Stephen II Lackfi and his followers by King

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 ...

, in Križevci, Croatia on 27 February 1397.Križevci Bloody Assembly
krizevci.eu
European Kingdoms The episode was part of a quarter century long fight over the Hungarian-Croatian crown after the death of

Louis I of Hungary Louis I, also Louis the Great ( hu, Nagy Lajos; hr, Ludovik Veliki; sk, Ľudovít Veľký) or Louis the Hungarian ( pl, Ludwik Węgierski; 5 March 132610 September 1382), was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1342 and King of Poland from 1370 ...

. In this prolonged struggle, Croatia was a stronghold of the

Anjou-Durazzo The Capetian House of Anjou or House of Anjou-Sicily, was a royal house and cadet branch of the direct French House of Capet, part of the Capetian dynasty. It is one of three separate royal houses referred to as ''Angevin'', meaning "from Anjou" ...

party fighting against king Sigismund.

Prelude

After the disastrous Battle of Nicopolis, King Sigismund called for the

Sabor The Croatian Parliament ( hr, Hrvatski sabor) or the Sabor is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of Croatia. Under the terms of the Croatian Constitution, the Sabor represents the people and is vested with legislative power. The Sabo ...

in city of Križevci and issued a written guarantee (saluus conductus) stating he would not attempt personal revenge on the opponents or harm them in any way. But, he organised the killing of the Croatian Ban Stephen Lackfi (Stjepan Lacković) and his followers for supporting the opponent king candidate

Ladislaus of Naples Ladislaus the Magnanimous ( it, Ladislao, hu, László; 15 February 1377 – 6 August 1414) was King of Naples from 1386 until his death and an unsuccessful claimant to the kingdoms of Hungary and Croatia. Ladislaus was a skilled political and m ...

. The Croatian law dictated that no one could enter the Sabor with arms, so Ban Lackfi and his supporters left their arms in front of the church. Lackfi's supporting troops also remained outside the town. The king's supporters, on the other hand, were already in the church, fully armed. In the turbulent debate that followed, the king's supporters accused Lackfi for treason in the Battle of Nicopolis. Harsh words were used, fight started, and the king's vassals pulled their swords in front of the king, gutted Ban Lackfi, his nephew Stephen III Lackfi, who formerly served as

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 ...

, and the supporting nobility.

Aftermath

On the news of the Ban's death, the Croatian army rushed to Križevci and the battle with Sigismund supporters. In an unequal struggle thirty Croats fell, before they retreated. Enraged Croatian nobility, led by Stjepan Prodavić, once again tried to take revenge for Lackfi's murder on the king, but they were suppressed, and Sigismund used the opportunity with his subjects on March 2 crossed

Drava The Drava or Drave''Utrata Fachwörterbuch ...

river and fled to Hungary. Two days later he issued in Žakanj the famous charter by which city

Čakovec Čakovec (; hu, Csáktornya; la, Aquama; german: Tschakathurn) is a city in northern Croatia, located around north of Zagreb, the Croatian capital. Čakovec is both the county seat and the largest city of Međimurje County, the northernmost, s ...

(Csáktornya), Međimurje and other estates of Stephen Lackfi were donated to his loyal subjects, among the first

Hermann II, Count of Celje Hermann II ( sl, Herman; early 1360s – 13 October 1435), Count of Celje, was a Styrian prince and magnate, most notable as the faithful supporter and father-in-law of the Hungarian king and Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund of Luxembourg. Hermann's ...

. Bloody Sabor resulted in Sigismund's fear of the revenge of Lackfi's men, new rebellions of the nobles in

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 ...

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 ...

, the death of 170 Bosnian nobles who were killed by Sigismund, and selling off

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

for 100,000

ducats The ducat () coin was used as a trade coin in Europe from the later Middle Ages from the 13th to 19th centuries. Its most familiar version, the gold ducat or sequin containing around of 98.6% fine gold, originated in Venice in 1284 and gained wi ...

by Ladislaus of Naples. Finally, after 25 years of fighting, Sigismund succeeded in seizing power and was recognized as a king by means of giving privileges to the Croatian nobility.

Prelude

Aftermath

References

Further reading