Middle Ages .28895.E2.80.931526.29 History of Hungary

1 middle ages (895–1526)

1.1 patrimonial kingdom
1.2 mongol attacks
1.3 age of elected kings
1.4 age of absolutism
1.5 decline (1490–1526)

middle ages (895–1526)



hungarian raids across europe in 10th century.

Árpád leader unified magyar tribes via covenant of blood (hungarian: vérszerződés), forging thereafter known hungarian nation. led new nation carpathian basin in 9th century. between 895 , 902 whole area of carpathian basin conquered hungarians.

first hungarian coin. coined duke géza circa end of 970s.

an hungarian state formed in territory in 895. military power of nation allowed hungarians conduct successful fierce campaigns , raids far territories of modern spain. defeat @ battle of lechfeld in 955 signaled end raids on western territories, although continued lands controlled byzantine empire until 970, , links between tribes weakened. prince (fejedelem) géza of Árpád dynasty, ruled part of united territory, nominal overlord of 7 magyar tribes. aimed integrate hungary christian western europe rebuilding state according western political , social models.

géza established dynasty naming son vajk (later king stephen of hungary) successor. decision contrary dominant tradition of time have eldest surviving member of ruling family succeed incumbent. (see:agnatic seniority) ancestral right, prince koppány, oldest member of dynasty, should have claimed throne, géza chose first-born son successor instead. koppány did not relinquish ancestral rights without fight. after géza s death in 997, koppány took arms, , many subjects in transdanubia joined him. rebels claimed represent old political order, ancient human rights, tribal independence , pagan belief. did not prevail. stephen won decisive victory on uncle koppány , had him executed.

king stephen of hungary, patron saint of kings (from chronicon hungariae pictum).


the patrimonial kingdom

the kingdom of hungary in 1090s.

hungary recognized catholic apostolic kingdom under saint stephen i. stephen son of géza , descendant of Árpád.

stephen crowned holy crown of hungary in first day of 1000 ad (jan 1.) in capital city of esztergom. pope sylvester ii conferred on him right have cross carried before him, full administrative authority on bishoprics , churches. 1006, stephen had solidified power eliminating rivals either wanted follow old pagan traditions or wanted alliance eastern christian byzantine empire. initiated sweeping reforms convert hungary western feudal state, complete forced christianization. stephen established network of 10 episcopal , 2 archiepiscopal sees, , ordered buildup of monasteries churches , cathedrals. in earliest times, hungarian language written in runic-like script. country switched latin alphabet under stephen, , latin official language of country between 1000 , 1844. stephen followed frankish administrative model. whole of land divided counties (megyék), each under royal official called ispán (equivalent title count, latin: comes), later főispán (latin: supremus comes). official represented king s authority, administered subjects, , collected taxes formed national revenue. each ispán maintained armed force of freemen @ fortified headquarters ( castrum or vár ).

after death of croatian king zvonimir (and upon request of dowager queen helena of croatia), king ladislaus decided intervene in conflicts emerging among competing factions of croatian noblemen. informed abbot oderizius of monte cassino of conquest of sclavonia in letter of 1091. kingship on of croatia not achieved until reign of successor coloman. coronation of king coloman king of croatia , dalmatia in biograd in 1102, kingdoms of hungary , croatia united under 1 crown. nature of relationship varied through time; croatia retained large degree of internal autonomy overall, while real power rested in hands of local nobility. modern croatian , hungarian historiographies view relations between kingdom of croatia , kingdom of hungary 1102 form of personal union presided on common king.

after great schism between western roman catholic , eastern orthodox christianity formalized in 1054, hungary viewed easternmost bastion of western civilisation, judgment affirmed in fifteenth century pope pius ii, expressed himself holy roman emperor frederick iii in these terms: hungary shield of christianity , protector of western civilization .

the Árpád dynasty produced monarchs throughout 12th , 13th centuries. king béla iii (r. 1172–1192) wealthiest , powerful member of dynasty, annual equivalent of 23,000 kg of pure silver @ disposal. exceeded resources of french king (estimated @ 17,000 kilograms) , double amount available english crown. in 1195, béla expanded hungarian kingdom southward , westward bosnia , dalmatia , extended suzerainty on serbia, process helped break byzantine empire , diminish influence in balkan region.

golden bull of 1222.

the 13th century in hungary distinguished reign of king andrew ii, acceded throne in 1205 , died in 1235. in 1211, granted burzenland (in transylvania) teutonic knights, in 1225 expelled them transylvania, hence teutonic order had transfer baltic sea. andrew set largest royal army in history of crusades (20,000 knights , 12,000 castle-garrisons) when led fifth crusade holy land in 1217. in 1224, issued diploma andreanum, unified , ensured special privileges of transylvanian saxons. considered first autonomy law in world.

the golden bull of 1222 first constitution in continental europe. hungarian equivalent of england s magna carta — every hungarian king thereafter had swear – golden bull had twofold purpose limited royal power. on 1 hand, reaffirmed rights of smaller nobles of old , new classes of royal servants (servientes regis) against both crown , magnates. on other hand, defended rights of whole nation against crown restricting powers of latter in fields , making refusal obey unlawful/unconstitutional commands (the ius resistendi) legal. lesser nobles began present andrew grievances, practice evolved institution of parliament, or diet. hungary became first country in parliament had supremacy on kingship. important legal ideology doctrine of holy crown. important principle of doctrine belief sovereignty belonged noble nation (as represented holy crown). members of holy crown citizens of crown s lands, , no citizen attain absolute power on others. nation share political power ruler.

mongol attacks


kingdom of hungary around 1250.

in 1241–1242, kingdom of hungary suffered major blow in wake of mongol invasion of europe. after hungary invaded mongols in 1241, hungarian army defeated disastrously @ battle of mohi. king béla iv first fled battlefield, , country after mongols pursued him borders. before mongols retreated, large part of population died; indeed, historians estimate losses between 20 , 50 percent. in plains, between 50 , 80% of settlements destroyed. castles, fortified cities , abbeys withstand assault, mongols had no time long sieges – goal move west possible. siege engines , chinese , persian engineers operated them mongols had been left in russia. devastation caused mongol invasions later led invitation of settlers other parts of europe, germany.

during mongols russian campaign, 40,000 cumans, members of nomadic tribe of pagan kipchaks, driven west of carpathian mountains. there, cumans appealed king béla iv of hungary protection. iranian jassic people came hungary cumans after defeated mongols. cumans constituted perhaps 7–8% of population of hungary in second half of 13th century. on centuries assimilated hungarian population, , language disappeared, preserved identity , regional autonomy until 1876.

as consequence of mongol invasions, king béla ordered construction of hundreds of stone castles , fortifications defend against possible second mongol invasion. mongols did indeed return hungary in 1286, newly built stone-castle systems , new military tactics involving higher proportion of heavily armed knights stopped them. invading mongol force defeated near pest royal army of king ladislaus iv. later invasions repelled handily.

the castles built béla iv proved useful @ later time in long struggle against ottoman empire. however, cost of building them indebted hungarian king major feudal landlords, royal power reclaimed béla iv after father andrew ii weakened once again dispersed among lesser nobility.

age of elected kings

a map of lands ruled louis

after destructive period of interregnum (1301–1308), first angevin king of hungary, charles ( charles great ) restored royal power , defeated oligarchic rivals known little kings . descendant of Árpád dynasty in female line, reigned between 1308 , 1342. new fiscal, customs , monetary policies proved successful.

king charles s last battle against oligarchy, rozgony (1312).

one of primary sources of new king s power wealth derived gold mines of eastern , northern hungary. production reached remarkable figure of 3,000 lb. (1350 kg) of gold annually – one-third of total production of world known, , 5 times as of other european state. charles sealed alliance polish king casimir great. after italy, hungary first european country in renaissance appeared. 1 sign of progressiveness establishment of printing press in buda in 1472 andrás hess, 1 of earliest outside of german lands.

the second hungarian king of angevin line, louis great (r. 1342–1382) extended rule far adriatic sea , occupied kingdom of naples several times. in 1351, golden bull of 1222 completed law of entail. stipulated nobles hereditary lands not taken away , must remain in possession of families. became king of poland (r. 1370–1382). epic hero of hungarian literature , warfare, king s champion miklós toldi, lived during reign. louis had become popular in poland because of campaign against tatars , pagan lithuanians. in 2 successful wars against venice (1357–1358 , 1378–1381), able annex dalmatia, ragusa , further territories on adriatic sea. venice required raise angevin flag in st. mark s square on holy days. retained strong influence in political life of italian peninsula rest of life.

some balkan states (such wallachia, moldova, serbia, , bosnia) became vassals while ottoman turks confronted them ever more often. in 1366 , 1377, louis led successful campaigns against ottomans (such battle of nicapoli in 1366). time of death of casimir great in 1370, king of poland. in cultural affairs, notable establishing university in pécs in 1367.

king louis died without male heir, , after years of anarchy, future holy roman emperor sigismund (r. 1387–1437), prince of luxembourg line, succeeded throne marrying daughter of louis great, mary of hungary. not entirely selfless reasons 1 of leagues of barons helped him power: sigismund had pay support of lords transferring sizeable part of royal properties. years, baron s council governed country in name of holy crown; king imprisoned short time. restoration of authority of central administration took decades.

in 1404, sigismund introduced placetum regnum. according decree, papal bulls , messages not pronounced in hungary without consent of king. sigismund summoned council of constance met between 1414 , 1418 abolish avignon papacy , end western schism of catholic church, resolved election of pope martin v. during long reign, royal castle of buda became largest gothic palace of late middle ages.

after death of sigismund in 1437, son-in-law, albert ii of germany, assumed title king of hungary. died, however, in 1439. first hungarian bible translation completed in 1439 before. half year in 1437, there anti-feudal , anti-clerical peasant revolt in transylvania influenced hussite ideas. (see: budai nagy antal revolt)

from small noble family in transylvania, john hunyadi grew become 1 of country s powerful lords, outstanding capabilities mercenary commander. in 1446, parliament elected him governor (1446–1453), regent (1453–1456). successful crusader against ottoman turks, 1 of greatest victories siege of belgrade in 1456. hunyadi defended city against onslaught of ottoman sultan mehmed ii. during siege, pope callixtus iii ordered bells of every european church rung every day @ noon call believers pray defenders of city. however, in many countries (such england , spanish kingdoms), news of victory arrived before order, , ringing of church bells @ noon transformed commemoration of victory. popes did not withdraw order, , catholic (and older protestant) churches still ring noon bell in christian world day.

john hunyadi – 1 of greatest generals , later regent of hungary


age of absolutism

western conquests of matthias corvinus.

the last strong hungarian king matthias corvinus (r. 1458–90), son of john hunyadi. accession represented first time in history of medieval hungarian kingdom member of nobility without dynastic ancestry mounted royal throne. although prominent in governing of kingdom of hungary, matthias s father john hunyadi never crowned king or contracted dynastic marriage. matthias true renaissance prince: successful military leader , administrator, outstanding linguist, learned astrologer, , enlightened patron of arts , learning. although regularly convened diet , expanded lesser nobles powers in counties, exercised absolute rule on hungary means of huge secular bureaucracy.

matthias set out build realm expand south , northwest, while implemented internal reforms. serfs considered matthias ruler, because protected them excessive demands , other abuses magnates. father, matthias desired strengthen kingdom of hungary point become foremost regional power, indeed strong enough push ottoman empire; towards end deemed necessary conquer large parts of holy roman empire. matthias s standing mercenary army called black army of hungary (hungarian: fekete sereg). unusually large army time, , secured series of victories in austrian-hungarian war (1477-1488) capturing parts of austria (including vienna) in 1485, parts of bohemia in bohemian war of 1477–88. in 1467, mathias , black army fought against moldavia. in case, attempt expand hungarian territories unsuccessful when matthias lost battle of baia. in 1479, however, hungarian army destroyed ottoman , wallachian troops @ battle of breadfield under leadership of general pál kinizsi. matthias s library, bibliotheca corviniana, europe s greatest collection of historical chronicles , works of philosophy , science in 15th century, , second in size vatican library in rome, contained religious materials. library unesco world heritage site.

mattias died without legal successor, circumstance engendered serious political crisis in hungarian kingdom.

decline (1490–1526)

events of 1490–1526 period in hungarian history created conditions lead loss of independence unforeseen contemporary observers , policy makers. besides internal conflicts, hungarian state gravely threatened expanding ottoman empire. 16th century, ottoman empire – directly south of hungary – had become second populous political state in world, facilitated raising of largest armies of era. however, hungarians policy makers @ time not conscious of threat should have been.

louis ii of hungary , bohemia – young king, died @ battle of mohács, painted titian.

instead of preparing defence of country against foreign powers, hungarian magnates more focused on threat privileges strong royal power. not wanting assertive king after death of childless matthias corvinus, magnates arranged accession of king vladislaus ii of bohemia precisely because of notorious weakness; in fact, known king dobže, or dobzse (meaning or, loosely, ok ) habit of accepting word every paper laid before him. during reign (1490–1516), central power began experience severe financial difficulties, largely due enlargement of feudal lands @ expense. magnates dismantled administrative systems in country had worked matthias. country s defenses declined border guards , castle garrisons went unpaid, fortresses fell disrepair, , initiatives increase taxes reinforce defenses stifled. hungary s international role neutralized, political stability shaken, , social progress deadlocked.

in 1514, weakened , aging vladislaus faced major peasant rebellion led györgy dózsa. ruthlessly crushed hungarian nobles led jános szapolyai. resulting degradation of order paved way ottoman ambitions acquire hungarian territory. in 1521, strongest hungarian fortress in south, nándorfehérvár (modern belgrade), fell turks, , in 1526, hungarian army crushed @ battle of mohács. young king louis ii of hungary , bohemia died in battle along leader of hungarian army, pál tomori. appearance of protestantism further worsened internal unity in anarchical country.