Matthias Corvinus

Having routed the united troops of Casimir IV and Vladislaus at Breslau in Silesia (now Wrocław in Poland) in late 1474, Matthias turned against the Ottomans, who had devastated the eastern parts of Hungary.

[11] On the other hand, the late 16th-century Polish historian Krzystoff Warszewiecki wrote that Matthias had been able to understand the Romanian language of the envoys of Stephen the Great, Prince of Moldavia.

[67] Although the joint troops of the Emperor and the rebellious lords defeated a royal army at Körmend on 27 March, Garai had by that time died, Újlaki and Sigismund Szentgyörgyvölgyi soon entered into negotiations with Matthias' envoys.

[77] He surrendered all the forts he held in Upper Hungary to the King's representatives; as compensation, he received a large domain near the Tisza and Arad and 25,000 golden florins.

[105] The following year, Matthias forced Stefan Vukčić, who had transferred Makarska Krajina to the Republic of Venice, to establish Hungarian garrisons in his forts along the river Neretva.

[109] Early the following year, he mounted a campaign in Upper Hungary against a band of Czech mercenaries who were under the command of Ján Švehla and had seized Kosztolány (now Veľké Kostoľany in Slovakia).

[120][96] The representatives of the "Three Nations" of the province (the noblemen, the Saxons and the Székelys) formed an alliance against the King in Kolozsmonostor (now Mănăștur district in Cluj-Napoca, Romania) on 18 August, stating that they were willing to fight for the freedom of Hungary.

[128] The Diet of 1468 authorized Matthias to levy an extraordinary tax to finance the new war but only after 8 prelates and 13 secular lords pledged on the King's behalf that he would not demand such charges in the future.

[131] They met in a nearby hovel in which Matthias persuaded George of Poděbrady to sign an armistice promising that he would mediate a reconciliation between the moderate Hussites and the Holy See.

[146] The conspiracy was initiated by Archbishop John Vitéz and his nephew Janus Pannonius, Bishop of Pécs, who opposed war against the Catholic Vladislaus Jagiellon.

[150][151][152] Within five months Prince Casimir withdrew from Hungary, Bishop Janus Pannonius died while fleeing, and Archbishop John Vitéz was forbidden to leave his see.

[169] Matthias sent auxiliary troops to Moldavia under the command of Vlad Dracula, whom he had released, and Stephen Báthory [165][170] The allied forces defeated an Ottoman army at the Siret River in August.

[175] According to Bonfini, Matthias also "improved his board and manner of life, introduced sumptuous banquets, disdaining humility at home and beautified the dining rooms" after his marriage.

[179] With the mediation of Pope Sixtus IV, Venice, and Ferdinand I of Naples, Matthias concluded a peace treaty with Frederick III, which was signed on 1 December.

[115] The treaty authorized both monarchs to use the title of King of Bohemia although Vladislaus could omit to style Matthias as such in their correspondence, and the Lands of the Bohemian Crown were divided between them.

[182] He also entered into an alliance with Archbishop of Salzburg Bernhard II of Rohr, who allowed him to take possession of the fortresses of the Archbishopric in Carinthia, Carniola and Styria.

[138] In 1481, for a loan of 100,000 florins, Matthias seized the town of Mautern in Styria and Sankt Pölten in Lower Austria from Friedrich Mauerkircher, one of the two candidates to the Bishopric of Passau.

[192] Although the "Black Army" had already laid siege to Hainburg an der Donau in January 1482, Matthias officially declared a new war on Emperor Frederick three months later.

[199] Matthias, by the grace of God, king of Hungary, Bohemia, Dalmatia, Croatia, Rama, Serbia, Galicia, Lodomeria, Cumania, and Bulgaria, Duke of Silesia and Luxemburg and Margrave of Moravia and Lusatia, for the everlasting memory of the matter.

It is fitting that kings and princes who by heavenly decree are placed at the summit of the highest office, be adorned not only by arms but also by laws and that the people subjected to them, as well as the reins of authority, are restrained by the strength of good and stable institutions rather than by the harshness of absolute power and reprehensible abuse.

[206] He appointed Stephen Zápolya captain-general, Urban Nagylucsei administrator of the Archdiocese of Vienna, and entrusted the defence of the occupied towns and forts to Hungarian and Bohemian captains, but otherwise continued to employ Emperor Frederick's officials who accepted his rule.

[210] The Chronica Hungarorum by Johannes Thuróczy published in 1488, set the goal of glorifying Attila, which was undeservedly neglected, moreover, he introduced the famous "Scourge of God" characterization to the later Hungarian writers, because the earlier chronicles remained hidden for a long time.

[211] According to the contemporaneous Philippe de Commines, Matthias's subjects feared their king in the last years of his life because he rarely showed mercy towards those he suspected of treachery.

[222] Matthias asked Beatrice's brother Alfonso, Duke of Calabria, to persuade her not to strive for the Crown and stated that the "Hungarian people are capable of killing up unto the last man rather than submit to the government of a woman".

[240] Upon Matthias's initiative, Archbishop John Vitéz and Bishop Janus Pannonius persuaded Pope Paul II to authorize them to set up a university in Pressburg (now Bratislava in Slovakia) on 29 May 1465.

[245] Matthias commissioned the leading Italian artists of his age to embellish his palaces: for instance, the sculptor Benedetto da Majano and the painters Filippino Lippi and Andrea Mantegna worked for him.

[255][256] The exchange of letters between Taddeo Ugoleto, who succeeded Marzio in 1471, and Francesco Bandini contributed to the development of the royal library because the latter regularly informed his friend of new manuscripts.

[258] According to Marcus Tanner, the surviving 216 volumes of the King's library "show that Matthias had the literary tastes of a classic 'alpha male'", who preferred secular books to devotional works.

Matthias enjoyed reading, as demonstrated by a letter in which he thanked the Italian scholar Pomponio Leto who had sent him Silius Italicus's work of the Second Punic War.

[265] Upon his request, the famous astronomers of the age, Johannes Regiomontanus and Marcin Bylica, set up an observatory in Buda and installed it with astrolabes and celestial globes.

The house where Matthias Corvinus was born in Kolozsvár (present-day Cluj-Napoca , Romania)
Matthias Corvinus as a young monarch. Museum of Sforza Castle , Milan, Italy.
King Matthias' arrival in Buda – a painting by Henrik Weber
George of Poděbrady and Matthias Corvinus
George of Poděbrady and Matthias Corvinus , a painting by Mikoláš Aleš
Matthias's golden florin
Matthias's golden florin depicting Madonna and Child , and King Saint Ladislaus
John Jiskra of Brandýs
John Jiskra of Brandýs , a picture by Mikoláš Aleš
Matthias's signature and royal stamp
Matthias's signature and royal seal
Matthias's golden florin
Matthias's golden florin depicting King Saint Ladislaus and Matthias's coat-of-arms
Portrait, Matthias Corvinus, King of Hungary, Hunyadi, relief
Renaissance portrait of Matthias Corvinus, King of Hungary, (marble relief by Giovanni Dalmata (attributed to), Benedetto da Maiano (previous attribution) 1476)
Map of Matthias's conquests
Conquests of Matthias Corvinus in Central Europe
Matthias's great coat-of-arms
Matthias's great coat-of-arms. In the middle are personal coat of arms of Matthias Corvinus ( Quartered : 1. Hungary 's two-barred cross , 2. Árpád dynasty , 3. Bohemia , and 4. Hunyadi family ) and that of his wife Beatrice of Naples ( Quartered : 1. and 4. Arpad dynasty – France ancient – Jerusalem Impaled ; 2. and 3. Aragon), above them a royal crown. On the outer edge there are coat of arms of various lands, beginning from the top clockwise they are: Bohemia, Luxemburg, Lower Lusatia, Moravia, Austria, Galicia–Volhynia, Silesia, Dalmatia-Croatia, Beszterce county
Coat of arms of Matthias Corvinus, guarded by Black Army heavy infantry. Matthias Church , Budapest. The damaged art relic was renovated in 1893.
Europe at the end of the reign of King Matthias
John Corvinus triumphen in Vienna
Matthias's illegitimate son, John Corvinus triumphed in Vienna in 1485
The Royal Palace in Buda , engraving from the 1480s
The Renaissance palaces of the summer residence at Visegrád , engraving from the 1480s