Matthias Corvinus of Hungary
Matthias Corvinus (
Matthias the Just) (
February 23 1443 (?) –
April 6 1490) was
King of
Hungary, ruling between
1458 and
1490. He was also crowned
King of Bohemia in
1469 and ruled
Moravia,
Silesia, and
Lusatia.
Matthias was born in Kolozsvár (present-day
Cluj-Napoca) in
Transylvania, the second son of
John Hunyadi, a successful Hungarian military leader of
Vlach ancestry, who had risen through the ranks of the
nobility to become
regent of Hungary. The later epithet
Corvinus was coined by Matthias' biographer, the
Italian Antonio Bonfini, who claimed that the
Hunyadi family (whose
coat of arms depicts a
raven—
corvus in
Latin) descended from the
ancient Roman gens of the
Corvini.
|
Corvinus heraldry as depicted in Johannes de Thurocz's German manuscript (1490) |
After the death of Matthias's father, there was a two-year struggle between Hungary's various barons and its
Habsburg king,
Ladislaus Posthumus (also king of Bohemia), with treachery from all sides; Matthias's older brother
László Hunyadi was one party attempting to gain control. In
1457, László was captured with a trick and beheaded, while the king died (possibly of poisoning) in November that year. The lower aristocrats and the people of
Pest came out in support of electing Matthias as king, while most
barons, thinking the young scholar would be a weak ruler, also agreed to support his election.
Early rule and Renaissance inspiration
Thus, on
January 20,
1458, Matthias was elected king by the
Diet. At this time Matthias was a hostage of the new
Hussite king of Bohemia,
George of Podebrady, who released him under the condition of marrying his daughter. The opposing party initially fought some battles against Matthias, but these came to a close in
1463, when the other contender,
Emperor Frederick III, officially accepted Matthias as the rightful king of Hungary and gave back the
Holy Crown. Matthias was finaly crowned
March 29,
1464.
Matthias was 15 when he was elected King of Hungary. Matthias was educated in
Italian, and his fascination with the achievements of the
Italian Renaissance led to the promotion of
Mediterranean cultural influences in Hungary.
Buda,
Esztergom,
Székesfehérvár and
Visegrád were amongst the towns in Hungary that benefited from the establishment of
public health and education and a new legal system under Matthias' rule.
He proved an extremely generous
patron, as artists from the
Italian city-states (such as
Galeotto Marzio) and
Western Europe were present in large numbers at his Court. His library, the
Bibliotheca Corviniana, was Europe's greatest collection of historical chronicles and philosophic and scientific works in the 15th century, and second only in size to the
Vatican Library. He spoke
Hungarian,
Romanian,
Croatian,
Latin, and later also
German,
Czech,
Slovak, and other
Slavic languages.
Conflicts in Central Europe
Matthias gained independence of and power over the barons by dividing them, and by raising a large royal army (
fekete sereg or
Black Army) of
mercenaries, whose main force included the remnants of the
Hussites in the
Czech lands. At this time Hungary reached its greatest territorial extent of the epoch (present-day southeastern
Germany in the west,
Dalmatia in the south,
Bulgaria in the east, and
Poland in the north).
He was victorious against the
Ottoman Empire, both in beating back attacks and starting smaller campaigns of retaliation:
1463-
64 in
Bosnia,
1475 in Southern Hungary,
1479-
83 in
Transylvania,
Wallachia,
Serbia, and Bosnia; and in
1481 he send a contingent to help in the retaking of the
Tarentine port
Otranto. Like his father, Matthias desired to strengthen the
Kingdom of Hungary to the point where it became the foremost regional power and
overlord, strong enough to push back the Ottomans; toward that end he deemed necessary the conquering of large parts of the
Holy Roman Empire. Until his death in 1490, Matthias Corvinus gained control of
Moravia,
Silesia,
Lusatia (these in
1468/
1469/
1479-
1490), and half of present-day
Austria (
1477/
1483-
1491); he even ruled from
Vienna after
1485.
Policies in Wallachia and Moldavia
At times Matthias had
Vlad III Dracula, the
Prince of
Wallachia, as his vassal. Although Vlad had much success against the Ottoman armies, the two
Christian rulers disagreed in
1462, leading to Matthias invading Wallachia and imprisoning Vlad in
Buda. However, wide-ranging support from many Western leaders for Vlad III prompted Matthias to gradually grant privileged status to his controversial prisoner. As the Ottoman Empire appeared to be increasingly threatening as Dracula had warned, he was sent to reconquer Wallachia with Hungarian support in 1476. Despite the earlier disagreements between the two leaders, it was ultimately a major blow to Hungary's status in the
Danubian Principalities when Vlad was killed in battle with the Ottomans that same year.
Also in 1467, a conflict erupted between Matthias and the
Moldavian
Prince Stephen III, after the latter became weary of Hungarian policies in Wallachia and their presence at
Kilia; added to this was the fact that Matthias had already taken taken sides in the Moldavian conflicts preceding Stephen's rule, as he had backed
Alexăndrel (and, possibly, the ruler referred to as
Ciubăr Vodă), deposing
Petru Aron. Stephen occupied Kilia, sparking Hungarian retaliation, that ended in Matthias' defeat in the
Battle of Baia in December (the King himself is said to have been wounded).
Matthias's empire collapsed after his death, since he had no children except for an illegitimate son,
John Corvin, whom the noblemen of the country did not accept as their king. The weak king of Bohemia,
Ladislaus II of the
Polish/Lithuanian Jagiellon line, followed him – Ladislaus nominally ruled the areas Matthias conquered except Austria – but real power was in the hand of the nobles. In
1514, two years before Ladislaus's death, the nobility crushed the peasant rebellion of
György Dózsa with ruthless methods. As central rule degenerated, the stage was set for a defeat at the hands of the
Ottoman Empire. In
1521,
Belgrade fell, and, in
1526, the Hungarian army was destroyed in the
Battle at Mohács.
High
taxes to sustain his lavish lifestyle and the
Black Army (cumulated with the fact that the latter went on marauding across the Kingdom after being disbanded upon Matthias's death) could imply that he wasn't very popular with his contemporaries. But the fact that he was elected king in a small anti-
Habsburg popular revolution, that he kept the barons in check, persistent rumours about him sounding public opinion by mingling among commoners
incognito, and harsh period known witnessed by Hungary later ensured that Matthias' reign is considered one of the most glorious chapters of Hungarian history. Songs and tales converted him into
Matthias the Just (
Mátyás az igazságos in Hungarian), a ruler of justice and great wisdom, as arguably the most popular hero of Hungarian folklore. He is also one of the
sleeping kings.
This popularity is partially mirrored in modern
Romania: 1800s
Romantic nationalism invested in Matthias and his fathers' Vlach origins, their Christian warrior stances, and their cultural achievements, while ignoring their fluctuating relationships with rulers in Wallachia and Moldavia; in one notable example, Matthias (cited as
Corvin) is mentioned in the poem that became the
national anthem of Romania,
Deşteaptă-te, române! (next to
Michael the Brave and Stephen III).
*
Hungarian:
Hunyadi Mátyás or
Corvin Mátyás,
Romanian:
Matei (or, seldom,
Mateiaş)
Corvin,
Slovak:
Matej Korvín,
Czech:
Matyáš Korvín,
Croatian,
Slovene:
Matija Korvin,
Polish:
Maciej Korwin,
Serbian:
Матија Корвин.
*In English, his first name is occasionally given as
Matthew, while
Corvinus may be rendered as
Corwin or
Corvin.
*
The Squash and the Colt, a folk tale reflecting Matthias' wisdom and sense of justice
*
His picture on the Hungarian 1000 forint banknote*
Bibliotheca Corviniana Digitalis - National Széchényi Library, Hungary
