Johannes de Thurocz (; or ''Ján de Turocz'', , variant contemporary spelling: ''de Thwrocz'') ( – 1488 or 1489), was a
Hungarian historian
and the author of the
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
''
Chronica Hungarorum
''Chronica Hungarorum'' (Latin for "Chronicle of the Hungarians") (), also known as the Thuróczy Chronicle, is the title of a 15th-century Latin-language Hungarian chronicle written by Johannes de Thurocz, Johannes Thuróczy by compiling seve ...
'' ("Chronicle of the Hungarians"), the most extensive 15th-century work on Hungary, and the first chronicle of Hungary written by a layman.
Life
Thurocz's parents came from
Turóc County
Turóc (Hungarian language, Hungarian, historically also spelled ''Túrócz''), , /''comitatus Thurociensis'', ) was an administrative county (Comitatus (Kingdom of Hungary), comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is now in north-we ...
(formerly also spelled as Thurocz),
Upper Hungary
Upper Hungary (, "Upland"), is the area that was historically the northern part of the Kingdom of Hungary, now mostly present-day Slovakia. The region has also been called ''Felső-Magyarország'' ( literally: "Upper Hungary"; ).
During the ...
(now
Turiec
Turiec is a region in central Slovakia, one of the 21 official tourism regions. The region is not an administrative division today, but between the late 11th century and 1920 it was the Turóc County in the Kingdom of Hungary.
Etymology
The re ...
region, Slovakia) where they were members of a yeoman family recorded since the first half of the 13th century (the village of
Nádasér now
Nedožery-Brezany
Nedožery-Brezany () is a village and municipality in Prievidza District in the Trenčín Region of western Slovakia.
History
The town was founded in 1964 following the unification of two existing municipalities Nedožery and Brezany. In histori ...
). Johannes' uncle Andreas received a property at
Pýr as a donation from King
Sigismund of Luxembourg
Sigismund of Luxembourg (15 February 1368 – 9 December 1437) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1433 until his death in 1437. He was elected King of Germany (King of the Romans) in 1410, and was also King of Bohemia from 1419, as well as prince-elec ...
, and Johannes' father Peter inherited this estate.
Thurocz was educated in a
Premonstratensian
The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré (), also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines and, in Britain and Ireland, as the White Canons (from the colour of their habit), is a religious order of canons regular in the Catholic Chur ...
monastery in
Ipolyság (now
Šahy
Šahy (, rarely ) is a town in southern Slovakia, The town has an ethnic Hungarian majority and its population is 7,238 people (2018), with an average age of 42.5.
Geography
It is located at the eastern reaches of the Danubian Lowland on the riv ...
, Slovakia), where he studied
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
and law. In 1465 he appeared in
Buda
Buda (, ) is the part of Budapest, the capital city of Hungary, that lies on the western bank of the Danube. Historically, “Buda” referred only to the royal walled city on Castle Hill (), which was constructed by Béla IV between 1247 and ...
, as a prosecutor of the Premonstratensian monastery of Ipolyság. From 1467 to 1475 he served as a notary of the
judge royal
The judge royal, also justiciar,Rady 2000, p. 49. chief justiceSegeš 2002, p. 202. or Lord Chief JusticeFallenbüchl 1988, p. 145. (,Fallenbüchl 1988, p. 72. ,Zsoldos 2011, p. 26. , ), was the second-highest judge, preceded only by the Palati ...
Ladislaus Pálóci, from 1476 to 1486 as the main notary of the judge royal
Stephen Báthory
Stephen Báthory (; ; ; 27 September 1533 – 12 December 1586) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania (1576–1586) as well as Prince of Transylvania, earlier Voivode of Transylvania (1571–1576).
The son of Stephen VIII Báthory ...
at the royal court, and from 1486 to 1488 as a head notary and judge of the royal personnel clerk
Thomas Drági. No evidence of any university studies has been preserved, and it is possible that the title in front of his name was merely a polite title for an official or civil servant.
Chronicle

Thurocz's chronicle was written in three main parts:
* The first part is Thurocz's interpretation of a poem by
Lorenzo de Monacis
Lorenzo de Monacis was a diplomat serving the Republic of Venice. He was also an influential historian whose chronicles were relied upon by Flavio Biondo and Marcantonio Sabellico.
Diplomatic career
In 1386 Lorenzo de Monacis accompanied Venet ...
of
Venice
Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
. It deals with the rule of King
Charles II of Hungary, and was probably written on the initiative of Thurocz's superior Stephen of Haserhag (the general notary of the Royal court), or perhaps that of the country judge Thomas Drági. Physically, this part is attached to part c) below.
*Thurocz wrote the second part was written in 1486 and describes the deeds of
Hungarian kings up to
Louis the Great
Louis I, also Louis the Great (; ; ) or Louis the Hungarian (; 5 March 132610 September 1382), was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1342 and King of Poland from 1370. He was the first child of Charles I of Hungary and his wife, Elizabeth of P ...
. This part in turn consists of three sub-sections:
:# the so-called Hunnish chronicle based on old Hungarian chronicles (
Chronicon Pictum
The ''Chronicon Pictum'' or ''Illuminated Chronicle'' (, , , also referred to as the ''Illustrated Chronicle'', ''Chronica Hungarorum'', ''Chronicon Hungarie Pictum'', ''Chronica Picta'' or ''Chronica de Gestis Hungarorum'') is a medieval illust ...
,
Buda Chronicle
The Buda Chronicle () is a 15th-century chronicle treating the early and medieval History of Hungary, Hungarian history. While its original name is ''Chronica Hungarorum'' (Latin for "Chronicle of the Hungarians"; ), the chronicle is better kno ...
) and preserved manuscripts, in which Thurocz attempts to correct the errors of his predecessors;
:# an interpretation of the history of the Hungarian Kingdom from 895 (arrival of the Magyars) until the rule of King
Charles I of Hungary
Charles I, also known as Charles Robert (; ; ; 128816 July 1342), was King of Hungary and Croatia in the union with Hungary, Croatia from 1308 to his death. He was a member of the Capetian House of Anjou and the only son of Charles Martel of A ...
(1307 – 42);
:# a history of part of the reign of
Louis I of Hungary
Louis I, also Louis the Great (; ; ) or Louis the Hungarian (; 5 March 132610 September 1382), was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1342 and King of Poland from 1370. He was the first child of Charles I of Hungary and his wife, Elizabeth of ...
(reigned 1342 – 82), which arose through incorporation of a chronicle written by
John of Küküllő
John of Küküllő (, , ; 1320–1393) was a Hungarian clergyman, royal official and historian.
Family
Born as John Apród of Tótsolymos, John was the son of Miklós Apród, a nobleman who received Tótsolymos (now Šarišské Sokolovce in Sl ...
.
*The third part describes events from the death of King Charles II the Small (died 1386) until the conquest of
Vienna
Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
and
Wiener Neustadt
Wiener Neustadt (; Lower_Austria.html" ;"title=".e. Lower Austria">.e. Lower Austria , ) 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 administr ...
by King
Matthias Corvinus
Matthias Corvinus (; ; ; ; ; ) was King of Hungary and King of Croatia, Croatia from 1458 to 1490, as Matthias I. He is often given the epithet "the Just". After conducting several military campaigns, he was elected King of Bohemia in 1469 and ...
in August 1487; this can be considered Thurocz's own original work, and was mostly written in early 1487. It was inspired by the famous historico-geographical lexicon ''Cosmographia'' by
Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini and was based largely on existing diplomatic documents and letters. However, information from the ''Cosmographia'' was selected somewhat one-sidedly and haphazardly.
According to his own words in the work's dedication, Thurocz had no ambitions as an historian. In fact, his chronicle contains many errors and omits a number of significant events. Besides more reliable sources, the work relies extensively on oral tradition, folk songs and anecdotes, and contains many references to "miraculous" events and wonders.
Destiny and fortune play a significant role in history as seen by Thurocz. Like many of his contemporaries he was convinced of the close relationship between human fortune, historical events and the motion of celestial bodies.
Thurocz sought an explanation of a number of events in the
moral imperative
A moral imperative is a strongly-felt principle that compels a person "in question" to act. It is a kind of categorical imperative, as defined by Immanuel Kant. Kant took the imperative to be a dictate of pure reason, in its practical aspect. Not ...
. He gave much attention to describing the inner feelings of historical characters, but had an evident tendency to idealize the Hungarian heroes
Attila
Attila ( or ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in early 453. He was also the leader of an empire consisting of Huns, Ostrogoths, Alans, and Gepids, among others, in Central Europe, C ...
and
Matthias Corvinus
Matthias Corvinus (; ; ; ; ; ) was King of Hungary and King of Croatia, Croatia from 1458 to 1490, as Matthias I. He is often given the epithet "the Just". After conducting several military campaigns, he was elected King of Bohemia in 1469 and ...
, while downplaying the significance of Hungary's queens.
Early editions

The first editions of Chronica Hungarorum were published in 1488 in
Brno
Brno ( , ; ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 403,000 inhabitants, making ...
, (
Moravia
Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia.
The medieval and early ...
) and
Augsburg
Augsburg ( , ; ; ) is a city in the Bavaria, Bavarian part of Swabia, Germany, around west of the Bavarian capital Munich. It is a College town, university town and the regional seat of the Swabia (administrative region), Swabia with a well ...
. Further editions followed over the following centuries in
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
,
Vienna
Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
,
Nagyszombat
Trnava (, , ; , also known by other alternative names) is a city in western Slovakia, to the northeast of Bratislava, on the Trnávka river. It is the capital of the Trnava Region and the Trnava District. It is the seat of a Roman Catholic a ...
and
Buda
Buda (, ) is the part of Budapest, the capital city of Hungary, that lies on the western bank of the Danube. Historically, “Buda” referred only to the royal walled city on Castle Hill (), which was constructed by Béla IV between 1247 and ...
.
Extant early editions include:
* Illuminations the hand coloured woodcut illustrations (55), the initial letters Inc C 75, accession number F 1450/76 Slovak National Library at Matica slovenská in
Martin, Slovakia
Martin (; until 1951 ''Turčiansky Svätý Martin'', , German: ''Turz-Sankt Martin'', Latin: ''Sanctus Martinus / Martinopolis'') is a city in northern Slovakia, situated on the Turiec river, between the Malá Fatra and Veľká Fatra mountains ...
, the second edition, Augsburgian, 2. version (variant)
*
Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...
,
National Library of Romania
The National Library of Romania () is the national library of Romania, located at 22 Unirii Boulevard in central Bucharest. It is intended to be the repository of all that is published in Romania. The construction cost was €110 million.
Histor ...
, Inc. I 41 Datare sigura: 03/07/1488 III Non. Jun. 1488
* The
Brno
Brno ( , ; ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 403,000 inhabitants, making ...
edition, published 20 March 1488, printed by Couradus Stahel and Matthias Preinlein. One copy is preserved at the Biblioteca Mănăstirii Brâncoveanu in Romania; a second at
Graz
Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...
University Library, Austria; and a third in
Braşov, Romania (Parohia evanghelică C. A.
Biserica Neagră
The Black Church (, , ), stands in the city of Brașov in south-eastern Transylvania, Romania. It was built by the local Transylvanian Saxon (German) community of the city during medieval times and represents the main Gothic-style monument in ...
1251/2).
* The
Augsburg
Augsburg ( , ; ; ) is a city in the Bavaria, Bavarian part of Swabia, Germany, around west of the Bavarian capital Munich. It is a College town, university town and the regional seat of the Swabia (administrative region), Swabia with a well ...
edition, dated 3 June 1488. Publisher Erhard Ratdolt for Theobald Feger, a citizen of Buda.
* German 1490 manuscript: one copy at Heidelberg (Cod. Pal. germ. 156); another at
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...
, Houghton Library, (Ms. Ger. 43
ormerly Nikolsburg, Fürstl. Dietrichsteinsche Bibl., Cod. II 138.
See also
*
Sources of early Hungarian history
*
Chronica Hungarorum
''Chronica Hungarorum'' (Latin for "Chronicle of the Hungarians") (), also known as the Thuróczy Chronicle, is the title of a 15th-century Latin-language Hungarian chronicle written by Johannes de Thurocz, Johannes Thuróczy by compiling seve ...
References
External links
The German illuminated manuscript and the German-language text
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thurocz, Johannes De
1430s births
1489 deaths
People from Krupina District
15th-century Hungarian historians
15th-century Hungarian nobility
Hungarian chroniclers
Incunabula
15th-century books