Lords, knights, kings and emperors...

[Gorgoroth]

Post here any short infos/interesting things about historical persons from the medieval era!

I will start with one of the greatest Hungarian kings.

Saint-King Stephen "the Great" of Hungary



""Saint-King Stephen "the Great" (Szent István király, in Hungarian) ( about 975 - August 15, 1038 ), was the first king of Hungary. His father was the Magyar chieftain Géza: his mother was named Sarolt, and Stephen was given the name Vajk (meaning hero) at birth. Born a pagan in the village of Esztergom, Vajk was baptized, as a precondition of accepting the crown from Rome, at age 10 by Saint Adalbert of Prague, and given the baptismal name Stephen (in honor of the original early Christian Saint Stephen), protector of the church at Passau).

He was married in 995 to Gisela (Giselle, Gizella in Hungarian) of Bavaria, the daughter of Henry II the Wrangler, Duke of Bavaria, and his wife Gisela of Burgundy. Stephen and Gisela had many children, we know the names of the sons Imre

(Henry), Ottó (Otto) and Bernát (Bernard), and the daughters Ágota (Agatha) and Hedvig (Hedwig). Hedwig's daughter was canonized as Saint Cunigunda of Luxemburg. Saint Astricus served as Stephen's advisor, and Stephen also had Saint Gerard Sagredo as the tutor for his son Saint Emeric (Imre).

After battling and defeating the pagan nobles who opposed him (including his uncle, a powerful warlord named Koppány), Stephen successfully united all the Magyar clans in the Carpathian Basin territory under his rule in the year 997. According to Hungarian tradition, Pope Silvester II sent a magnificent jeweled gold crown to Stephen along with an apostolic cross and a letter of blessing in the beginning of January, 1001 to officially recognize him as a Christian king of Europe.

Stephen divided Hungary up into 50 counties, and continued the work of his father Geza by applying the decimal organizational system of his ancestors and setting up ten dioceses in Hungary, ordering every ten villages to erect one church and maintain a priest. He founded the cathedrals of Szekesfehervar and Esztergom, the Nunnery of Veszprem, the Benedictine Abbey of Pannonhalma, and the Monastery of Saint Peter and Paul in Obuda. Inside the abbeys and monasteries, schools were established and they became important centers of culture. Stephen discouraged pagan customs and strengthened Christianity with various laws, including ending the use of the old Hun-Magyar runic alphabet and making Latin the official language of the royal court. Stephen gave generously to the churches, personally visited them often, and supervised their construction. He often disguised himself as a peasant whenever he traveled, and freely gave money to any poor people he met (in one account, Stephen was beaten and robbed by a group of beggars he was giving alms to, but he forgave them and spared their lives).
He intended to retire to a life of holy contemplation and hand the kingdom over to his only son Emeric (Imre), but in 1031 Emeric was wounded in an unfortunate hunting accident and died. In Stephen's words of mourning:

"By God's secret decision death took him, so that wickedness would not change his soul and false imaginations would not deceive his mind — as the Book of Wisdom (The Bible) teaches about early death."
Stephen mourned a very long time over the loss of his favorite son, which took a great toll on his health. He eventually recovered, but he never regained his original vitality. Most of Stephen's other children also died young, and he could not find anyone among his remaining relatives who was able to rule the country competently and willing to maintain the Christian faith of the nation. Unable to choose an heir, King Stephen died at Székesfehérvár (a city he built in central Hungary) on the Feast of the Assumption, and was buried there. Both his nobles and his subjects were said to have mourned for 3 straight years afterwards.
Shortly after his death, healing miracles were known to have occurred at his tomb. Stephen was canonized by the Vatican as Saint Stephen of Hungary in 1083. Catholics venerate him as the patron saint of: Hungary, kings, the death of children, masons, stonecutters, and bricklayers. His feast is on September 2, but in Hungary his chief festival is observed on August 20, the day on which his sacred relics were transferred to the city of Buda. His crown is currently enshrined in the National Museum of Budapest.

Excerpt from Saint Stephen's admonitions to his son Emeric:

My beloved son, delight of my heart, hope of your posterity, I pray, I command, that at every time and in everything, strengthened by your devotion to me, you may show favor not only to relations and kin, or to the most eminent, be they leaders or rich men or neighbors or fellow countrymen, but also to foreigners and to all who come to you. By fulfilling your duty in this way you will reach the highest state of happiness. Be merciful to all who are suffering violence, keeping always in your heart the example of the Lord who said, "I desire mercy and not sacrifice." Be patient with everyone, not only with the powerful, but also with the weak.
Finally be strong lest prosperity lift you up too much or adversity cast you down. Be humble in this life, that God may raise you up in the next. Be truly moderate and do not punish or condemn anyone immoderately. Be gentle so that you may never oppose justice. Be honorable so that you may never voluntarily bring disgrace upon anyone. Be chaste so that you may avoid all the foulness of lust like the pangs of death.

All these virtues I have noted above make up the royal crown, and without them no one is fit to rule here on earth or attain to the heavenly kingdom........""


The Holy Crown of Saint Stephen

http://historicaltextarchive.com/hungary/hungcr1.gif

http://historicaltextarchive.com/hungary/hungcr4.gif

Monument of Saint Stephen I.

http://www.hungary.com/corvinus/lib/timeless/images/p36.jpg

[Jerome]

nice crown; i'll take that thank you...:D

:angel:

[Arjenvs]

Interesting!!!!

:cheers:

Keep going....!!! :D

[Gorgoroth]

Hehe. :)
Guys don't forget! feel free to add any records about your local heroes!
Ok I will continue with another Hungarian ruler. He is one of my favourite persons.

István [Stephen] Báthory

Pol. Stefan [Stephen or István] Báthory, 1533-86, king of Poland (1575-86), prince of Transylvania (1571-75), son of Stephen Báthory (1477-1534). He was elected to succeed John II as prince of Transylvania. In Poland, he was elected by a majority to succeed Henry of Valois, who had left Poland in 1574 to rule France as Henry III. A minority voted for Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II, who died before he could make good his claim. As had been stipulated by the Polish diet, Stephen married Anna, daughter of Sigismund II, the last Jagiello king of Poland. To his brother, Christopher Báthory, he gave Transylvania. With his chancellor, Jan Zamojski, Stephen fought several successful campaigns against Ivan IV of Russia in the lengthy war for the succession to Livonia. Peace was made in 1582 through papal mediation, and Poland retained Polotsk and its part of Livonia. Toward the end of his reign Stephen Báthory planned a Christian alliance against the Ottomans. He also schemed to make Russia a vassal state of Poland—a project that he considered a necessary step for his anti-Ottoman crusade. He supported the Society of Jesus (see Jesus, Society of in Poland in an attempt to foster the Catholic Reform, and he effected useful judiciary reforms. After his death Sigismund III, a Swedish nephew of Sigismund II, was elected king.


The Báthorys were a prominent Hungarian family who played a significant role in east central European history. Stemming from the Gutkeled clan, they emerged to relative prominence in the 13th century, when they assumed the name of one of their estates (Bator means "valiant"). They reached the climax of their power in the 16th century, only to die out in 1658.

The most prominent family member was Stephen Bathory, b. Sept. 27, 1533, d. Dec. 12, 1586, who succeeded (1571) John II (John Sigismund Zapolya) as prince of Transylvania and was elected (1575) king of Poland. Other Bathory princes of Transylvania included Christopher (r. 1576-81), Christopher's son Sigismund (r. 1581-98, 1601-02), Christopher's nephew Andrew (r. 1599), and Andrew's nephew Gabriel (r. 1608-13).

Many other Bathorys also held high civil, judicial, and ecclesiastical posts in Hungary. Thus, Istvan, d. 1493, became the country's chief justice (1471-93) and the governor (vajda or voivod) of Transylvania (1479-93). Miklos, d. Feb. 24, 1506, the Bishop of Vac, was a noted humanist scholar.

[Gorgoroth]

László [Ladislaus] I. the Saint (King of Hungary from 1077-1095 )


If Hungary owed the establishment of its monarchy and the organization of its church to St Stephen I, it was almost equally indebted to another sainted king of the same house of Arpad. For Ladislaus extended its borders, kept its enemies at bay, and made it politically a great state. But it is not for such activities that men are canonized (if, indeed, Ladislaus ever was formally canonized, which appears to be doubtful); and it is for his private life and work for Christianity that reverence is due to his memory.
After a childhood and youth whose background was political intrigue and dynastic violence, Ladislaus (Laszlo) came to the Hungarian throne in 1077; but his rights were contested by his kinsman Solomon, whom eventually he defeated in battle. The young prince was said to be the embodiment of the outward graces and inner virtues of the ideal knight of chivalry. Towering head and shoulders above the crowd, he had the strength and courage of a lion, combined with a courteous affability that endeared him to all. His piety, which was as fervent as it was well balanced, expressed itself in his zeal for the faith, in the punctilious fulfillment of his religious obligations, in the strictness of his morals, and in the austerity of his life. Entirely devoid of personal ambition, he accepted the dignity thrust upon him from a sense of duty. In pursuance of a policy dictated alike by his religious and his patriotic instincts, Ladislaus allied himself closely with Pope Gregory VII and the other opponents of the German emperor, Henry IV. He espoused the cause of Henry's rival, Rupert of Swabia, and married Adelaide, the daughter of Rupert's chief supporter, Duke Welf of Bavaria. Within the boundaries of Hungary itself he had to face repeated invasions from the Kumans and others, but he successfully repulsed them all and did his best to win barbarian tribes to Christianity and civilization; at the same time he allowed civil and religious liberty to the jews and the Ishmaelites, i.e. Mohammedans. It was at his solicitation that King Stephen I, his son Emeric, and the martyred bishop Gerard were recognized by the Holy See as worthy of veneration as saints.

Ladislaus governed with a firm hand in both civil and ecclesiastical affairs, as was seen at the diet of Szabolcs and when, in 1091, his sister Helen, the widowed queen of Croatia, appealed to him for help against the murderers of her husband. He marched in, restored some sort of order, and established the see of Zagreb. But when Helen died childless he annexed Croatia and Dalmatia, in the face of remonstrances from the emperor at Constantinople, the republic of Venice and the Holy See. Nevertheless Bd Urban II looked for his help in organizing the First Crusade, and it was Ladislaus who was chosen by the kings of France, Spain and England to be the commander-in-chief of that expedition. However he was not destined to march with the rest, for he died rather suddenly at Nitra in Bohemia in 1095. He was fifty-five years old.

The body of St Ladislaus was taken for burial to Nagy Varad (Oradea Mare in Transylvania) -- to the city and the cathedral which he had founded. From the moment of his death he was honoured as a saint and a national hero, and his deeds have formed the theme of many popular Magyar ballads and tales. His relics were solemnly enshrined in 1192.


SH after an early painting about László I.

http://www.hungary.com/corvinus/lib/timeless/images/p39.jpg

[Gorgoroth]

Matthias Corvinus "the Just" ("Igazságos"), (February 23, 1443 - April 26, 1495) (Hungarian: Hunyadi Mátyás, Slovak: Matej Korvín, Czech: Matìj Korvín, Romanian: Matei Corvin) was one of the greatest Kings of Hungary, ruling between 1458 and 1495.

Mathias was born in Kolozsvár (in Transylvania, today Cluj-Napoca in Romania) in 1443 as the first son of János Hunyadi, a famous Hungarian warlord who led a number of successful military campaigns against the Ottoman Empire in his lifetime, leaving a secure, stabile kingdom to his son.

Mathias was 15 when he was crowned king and he soon learned the finesses of power from his mentor, the Italian Bonfini, regent of Hungary until his adulthood. Mathias was educated in Italian and his fascination with the achievements of the Renaissance led to the promotion of Mediterranean cultural influences in Hungary. Buda, Esztergom, Székesfehérvár and Visegrád were amongst the townships in Hungary that benefited from the establishment of public health and education and a new legal system under Mathias' rule. He has proven a most generous patron and artist from Italy (e.g., Galeotto Marcio) and Western Europe flocked to his courts. His library, the Bibliotheca Corviniana, was Europe's greatest collection of historical chronicles and philosophic and scientific works in the 15th century. His reign is considered one of the most glorious chapters of Hungarian history, also marked by victorious military campaigns of his feared Fekete Sereg ("Dark Troops"), means which Hungary reached its greatest ever territorial expansions (Southeast-Germany to Dalmatia in the west, Poland to today's Bulgaria in the East). Matthias annexed to Hungary Moravia, Silesia, Lusacia (all three 1468/1469/1479-1490) and Lower Austria (1477/1485-1491). He spoke Hungarian, Croatian, Latin and later also German, Czech, Slovak and other Slav languages. King Matthias is still remembered today, his character as a ruler of justice and great wisdom plays a vital part in many stories and songs of Hungarian folklore.

[Gorgoroth]

Attila the Scourge of God, King of the Huns

Atilla the Hun (circa 406-53), king of the Huns (circa 433-53) One of the most feared and notorious barbarians
of all time, Attila is believed to be ofdistant Mongol stock, he ravaged much of the European continent during
the 5th century AD. Apparently Attila was as great a menace to the Teutonic tribespeople as he was to the
Romans.

There is a story that he claimed to own the actual sword of Mars, and that other Barbarian chiefs could not look
the King of the Huns directly in the eyes without flinching. Attila was a striking figure, and Edward Gibbon in
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire offered a famousdescription of the personality
and appearance of the Hun, based on an ancient account:

His features, according to the observation of a Gothic historian, bore the stamp of his national origin . . .
a large head, a swarthy complexion, small, deep-seated eyes, a flat nose, a few hairs in the place of a beard,
broad shoulders, and a short square body, of a nervous strength, though of a disproportioned form. The
haughty step and demeanour of the king of the Huns expressed the consciousness of his superiority
above the rest of mankind; and he had a custom of fiercely rolling his eyes, as if he wished to enjoy the
terror which he inspired....He delighted in war; but, after he had ascended the throne in a mature age,
his head, rather than his hand, achieved the conquest of the North; and the fame of an adventurous soldier was
usefully exchanged for that of a prudent and successful general.

In his own day he and his Huns were known as the "Scourge of God," and the devastation they caused in Gaul
before the great Battle of Châlons in 451 AD became a part of medieval folklore and tradition.

The rumors of his cannibalistic practices are not unfounded; he is supposed to have eaten two of his sons.
The circumstances of this act, however, may be more accurately depicted in the Edda poems where his
revengeful wife serves him the meat of his sons under the guise that it was the meat of a young animal.

From the year 433 Attila shared the throne with his brother Bleda, but killed him in 445. At the outset of his
reign, Attila demanded more money, and the Eastern Emperor, Theodosius II, obligingly doubled the annual
subsidy. For various reasons, however, the new king began in the late 440's to look to the West as the main
area of opportunity for the Huns. For the next decade and a half after his accession Attila was the most powerful
foreign potentate in the affairs of the Western Roman Empire. His Huns had become a sedentary nation and
were no longer the horse nomads of the earlier days. The Great Hungarian Plain did not offer as much room as
the steppes of Asia for grazing horses, and the Huns were forced to develop an infantry to supplement their now
much smaller cavalry. As one leading authority has recently said, "When the Huns first appeared on the steppe
north of the Black Sea, they were nomads and most of them may have been mounted warriors. In Europe, however,
they could graze only a fraction of their former horse power, and their chiefs soon fielded armies which resembled
the sedentary forces of Rome." By the time of Attila the army of the Huns had become like that of most Barbarian
nations in Europe. It was, however, very large, as we shall see, and capable of conducting siege
operations, which most other Barbarian armies could not do effectively.

In any event the Hunnic invasion of Gaul was a huge undertaking. The Huns had a reputation for cruelty that
was not undeserved. In the 440's one of Attila's attacks against the East in the Balkans aimed at a city in the
Danubian provinces, Naissus (441-42). It was located about a hundred miles south of the Danube on the
Nischava River. The Huns so devastated the place that when Roman ambassadors passed through to meet with
Attila several years later, they had to camp outside the city on the river. The river banks were covered with human
bones, and the stench of death was so great that no one could enter the city.
Many cities of Gaul would soon suffer the same fate.

After securing a strong position on the Roman side of the Danube the Huns were checked by the famous
Eastern Roman general, Aspar, as they raided Thrace (442).

By 447 he advanced through Illyria and devastated the whole region between the Black and the Mediterranean
seas. Those of the conquered who were not destroyed were compelled to serve in his armies. He defeated the
Byzantine emperor Theodosius II; Constantinople was saved only because the Hunnish army, primarily a cavalry
force, lacked the technique of besieging a great city. The Huns marched as far as Thermopylae and
stopped only when the Eastern Emperor, Thodosius II, begged for terms.

Attila accepted payment of all tribute in arrears and a new annual tribute of 2,100 pounds of gold. The Huns
were also given considerable territory south of the Danube. One source says of this campaign, "There was so
much killing and bloodletting that no one could number the dead. The Huns pillaged the churches and monasteries,
and slew the monks and virgins . . . They so devastated Thrace that it will never rise again and be as it was
before." This strong victory in the East left Attila free to plan the attack on the West that culminated in
the invasion of Gaul.

Theodosius, however, was compelled to cede a portion of territory south of the Danube River and to pay a tribute
and annual subsidy. Two other considerations proved especially important.One was the death of the Eastern
Emperor Theodosius II, who fell from his horse and died in 450. His successor, Marcian (450-7), took a hard line
on Barbarian encroachment in the Balkans and refused to pay Attila the usual subsidy. The fury of the
Hun was monstrous, but he decided to take out his wrath on the West, because it was weaker than the East,and
because one of history's most peculiar scandals gave Attila a justification for war with the Western Emperor.
Honoria, Emperor Valentinian's sister, had been discovered in 449 in an affair with her steward. The unfortunate
lover was executed, and Honoria, who was probably pregnant, was kept in seclusion. In a rage she smuggled
a ring and a message to the King of the Huns and asked Attila to become her champion. He treated this as a
marriage proposal and asked for half of the Western Empire as her dowry. So when he crossed the Rhine,
he could claim that he merely sought by force what was his by right of betrothal to Honoria.

After massive preparations Attila invaded the Rhine with a large army of Huns and allied Barbarian tribes.
In his force was a sizable body of Ostrogoths and other Germanic warriors, including Burgundians and Alans
who lived on the Barbarian side of the frontier. The Franks were split between pro- and anti-Roman factions.
As early as April Attila took Metz, and fear swept through Gaul. Ancient accounts give figures that range
between 300,000 and 700,000 for the army of the Huns.

Whatever the size, it was clearly enormous for the fifth century AD. Some of the greatest cities of Europe
were sacked and put to the torch: Rheims,Mainz, Strasbourg, Cologne, Worms and Trier. Paris fortunately
had the advantage of having a saint in the city and was spared because of the ministrations of St. Genvieve.

Attila died an appropriately barbarian death. He took a new, young, beau- tiful bride, a damsel named Ildico,
though he already had a coterie of wives. The wedding day was spent in heavy drinking and partying, and the
King of the Huns took his new bride to bed that night in drunken lust. The next morning it was dis- covered that
he had died--drowned in his drunkenness in his own nosebleed. The new bride was found quivering in fear in the
great man's bedquarters. The empire of the Huns dissi- pated nearly as quickly as its most famous leader. In
454 the Ostrogoths and other Germanic tribes revolted against the Huns, and the sons of Attila, who had quarreled
among them- selves, could not deal with the crisis.

[Gorgoroth]

King Richard I - The Lionheart


A King Is Born
While Richard Plantagenet is revered as one of the great warrior kings of England, he is perhaps best known as "the absent king." This is due to the fact that during his reign from 1189-1199, he spent a total of six months in England. This aside Richard I was well known for his bravery which earned him the nickname "The Lionheart". A name that has reached epic and mythological proportions, best seen in literary works such as Robin Hood and Sir Walter Scott's novel Ivanhoe.

Richard Plantagenet came into the world September 8th in the year 1157 AD Although born in Oxfordshire England, Richard was a child of Aquitaine a part of Southern France. His native language was not English and throughout his life he spoke little of it.

He had four brothers and three sisters, the first of which died at a young age. Of the remainder; Henry was named heir to the English throne, Richard was to succeed his mother's Aquitaine and Geoffrey was to inherit Brittany. John was the poorest to fair out receiving nothing from his father. It is this action that gave him the name John Lackland.

At a young age of twelve, Richard pledged homage to the king of France for lands of his. At the age of fourteen, Richard was named the Duke of Aquitane in the church of St. Hillaire at Poitiers which was one of the lands made homage to the French King. Henry's sons, who had been given lands but no real power revolted against their King father aided by their mother. In retaliation King Henry had Eleanor jailed. She remained there for many years.

Off To The Crusades
In 1183 the younger Henry died leaving Richard as the heir to the English throne. Another family dispute occurred when Richard received the lands of his brother. Henry was expected to give his Aquitaine to his brother John. Richard refused to give up the homeland of his mother. While this dispute over family land raged on, Richard learned of the tragic loss at Hattin, where the Crusaders had lost Jerusalem to the Saracen leader Saladin. Richard soon took up the cross of the crusades, much against his father's approval.

In 1189, upon the death of Henry II, Richard was crowned king of England in Westminster Abbey London. One of his first actions was to free his mother from prison. His second was to begin to raise funds for his crusade known to history as the Third Crusade. He imposed a tax on the English people called a Saladin tithe as a means of aiding his war effort.

A King Imprisoned
After the Third Crusade, Richard began his homeward journey to England. Put ashore by bad weather he found himself in Austria home of Leopold, whom Richard had angered by actions during the crusade. Leopold captured King Richard and imprisoned him in his castle. Eager for a piece of the action the Emperor of Germany offered Leopold 75,000 marks for Richard taking him into custody in Germany.

Rumors ran rampant throughout England over the missing king. There is a legend that the troubadour Blondel heard his king singing in a castle and responded with a song that the both of them were sure to know. Whether true or not the fact remains that two Abbots were soon dispatched to journey for him through the network of the church. Even Eleanor, Richard's mother wrote to the Pope for assistance in the matter. Richard was found and soon a ransom was set for his return to England. The sum was 150,000 marks an amount equal to three years of annual income and weighing at three tons in silver.

Return Of The King
Richard returned to England receiving a hero's welcome. He forgave his brother John, by saying he was manipulated by cunning people and vowed to punish them and not his brother. Unfortunately for the King he returned to a land in financial troubles. The cost of the Crusade and his large ransom had tapped out the finances of the land. This monetary trouble was to plague him for his remaining five-year reign. He created a new great seal as a means to raise funds and made void all documents signed with the old.

Death Of A King
For such a brave and noble man, King Richard's death came about in a rather strange way. In Chalus, Aquitaine, a peasant plowing his fields came upon a treasure. This treasure consisted of some gold statues and coins. The feudal lord claimed the treasure from his vassal, Richard in turn claimed the treasure from the lord, who refused. This prompted Richard to siege the village.

During the siege Richard was riding close to the castle without the protection of full armor. He spotted an archer with bow in hand on the wall aiming a shot at him. It is said Richard paused to applaud the Bowman. He was struck in the shoulder with the arrow and refused treatment for his wound. Infection set in and Richard the Lionheart died on April the 6th 1199. He was buried in the Fontvraud Abbey in Anjou France.

[Gorgoroth]

Suleiman the Magnificent


Suleyman I, also called Süleyman I and nicknamed the Lawmaker or the Magnificent, was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1520 to 1566 and successor to Selim I. He was born on November 6, 1494 at Trabzon, Turkey.

The Ottoman Empire reached its zenith and became a world power during his reign. Although the empire continued to expand one century after his death, this period was followed by a very long decline.

At the age of seven he was sent to study science, history, literature, theology, and military techniques in Istanbul. His early experience of government was to be as governor of several provinces.


Achievements
After succeeding his father on his death, Süleyman began a series of military conquests, starting with the captured of Belgrade in 1521. In 1522 he captured Rhodes after a siege, allowing the Knights of St. John to evacuate to Malta.
On August 29, 1526 Süleyman defeated Louis II of Hungary at the battle of Mohacs, occupying most of Hungary before giving it to John Zápolya, prince of Transylvania to govern. Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and his brother Ferdinand Archduke of Austria retook Hungary, in response to which Süleyman twice tried to re-invade, twice being beaten by the weather after reaching Vienna in 1529 and 1532. In 1533 a treaty was signed with Ferdinand, splitting Hungary between the Hapsburgs and Zapolya. On Zapolya's death, Ferdinand was left the Hungarian territories, prompting Süleyman to annex Hungary, resulting in several struggles and peace treaties restoring the status-quo.

In the following two decades, huge territories of North Africa west to Morocco and all Middle East north to Persia were annexed. This quick expansion was associated with naval dominance for a short period in the Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea and Persian Gulf. In 1562 he conquered Transylvania.

While he may have been seen as dangerous to the outside world, he was known as a fair ruler within the empire, fought corruption, and was a great patron of artists and philosophers. He was also noted as one of the greatest Islamic poets, and an accomplished goldsmith. He earned his nickname the Lawmaker from his complete reconstruction of the Ottoman law system. The laws that he gathered covered almost every aspect of life at the time.

Süleyman died in 1566, the night before victory at the battle of Szigetvar, in Hungary. He is buried in a mausoleum with his wife Khourrem at the Süleymaniye Mosque.

At the time of his death, the major Muslim cities (Mecca, Medina, Jerusalem, Damascus, and Baghdad), many Balkan provinces up to today’s Austria, and most of North Africa were under the control of the empire.

[Cork2]

Gorgoroth why did you post so many times when you could have put all 6 of those into one post?

[Elewyn]

Originally posted by Cork2
Gorgoroth why did you post so many times when you could have put all 6 of those into one post?
Because there would be one MEGA-too-long post instead of 6 normal too-long posts:D
One note to Matthias Corvinus: In czech he's Matyáš Korvín, not Matìj :) Sorry, but I'm unable to read it all, the only thing I can say is that it's great that you give us these info, but it's sometimes toomuch. One more to Corvinus: I don't like him-he was the only leader of crusade against my "heretic" country when he had much bigger problem on south-east with Turks :(

[Gorgoroth]

1 great historic person in 1 reply! I prefer that :)
Anyways guys, as I've said, feel free to add any great leaders!

Elewyn, I can understand that you don't like Matthias Corvinus.
More infos about Matthias Corvinus:


"In the house of his father he received along with his brother Ladislaus, a careful education under the supervision of Gregor Sanocki, who taught him the humanities. Johann Vitez, Bishop of Grosswardein from 1445, the friend of Matthias's father when a boy, and himself an enthusiastic patron and promoter of classical studies, had a decided influence on his education. The checkered career of his father likewise left its imprint on the life of Matthias. On political grounds he was betrothed in 1455 to Elizabeth, the daughter of Count Ulric Czilley, his father's deadly enemy, with the aim of effecting the reconciliation of the two families. The early death of Elizabeth interfered with this plan, and after the death of Janos Hunyady, Czilley's emnity was directed against the sons. At the instigation of Czilley and his accomplices, who accused Ladislaus and Matthias Hunyadi of a conspiracy against King Ladislaus V, both were arrested, Ladislaus being executed, and Matthias being taken to Vienna to the court of the king. Later he followed the king to Prague. After the death of King Ladislaus at Prague, Matthias settled down at the court of the Bohemian king, George Podiebrad, who betrothed him to his daughter Catharine. On 23 Jan., 1458, Matthias was proclaimed King of Hungary at Buda, his uncle Michael Szilagyi at the same time being appointed governor for five years. Matthias soon freed himself, however, from the regency of Szilagyi, and took the reins of government into his own hands. At the very beginning of his reign he had to contend with a movement among discontented Hungarians, who offered the crown to the Emperor Frederick III, who had assumed the title of King of Hungary. The quarrel with Frederick lasted till 1462, when an agreement was made by which, among other things, it was settled that if Matthias should die without leaving an heir, Frederick would be authorized to bear the title of King of Hungary as long as he lived. At the same time, Frederick adopted Matthias as his son, and pledged himself to deliver up the Hungarian crown which he had in his possession. The treaty was confirmed by the Hungarian Reichstag and Matthias was crowned king in 1463. Not long before he had married Catharine, the daughter of the Bohemian king Podiebrad, who, however, died at the beginning of 1464. Relations with the Emperor Frederick again became strained; political conditions and, in particular, the question of the Bohemian crown, affected them considerably. The friction between the Holy See and King Podiebrad led to the deposition of the latter, and Matthias was now called upon by the pope to take up arms against the deposed king. In 1468 came the Bohemian expedition of Matthias, elected king by the Catholics of Bohemia. The war continued till the death of Podiebrad in 1471, when the Bohemians, defeating Matthias, chose Wladislaw, son of Casimir, King of Poland, as king. The years up to 1474 were marked by indecisive battles with the Bohemian king and with the Emperor Frederick. An armistice caused a brief cessation of hostilities, but from 1476 relations with the Emperor Frederick grew continually more strained. In 1477 Matthias, invading Austria, besieged Vienna. Peace was effected between Matthias and Frederick by the intervention of the papal legate in 1477, but war soon broke out again, and in 1485 Matthias took Vienna. In the war with the Emperor Frederick, Matthias had in view the Roman crown. In this connexion he was led not merely by the aim of securing for Hungary a leading position in the West of Europe, but also by the design to unite the powers of Europe in a crusade against the Turks. He was obliged, however, to abandon this scheme. Equally fruitless was the plan of a crusade against the Turks; nevertheless he managed to fix a limit to the advance of the Turks, and to strengthen the supremacy of Hungary over Bosnia. In 1463 Bosnia fell again into the hands of the Turks. The victory of Matthias over the Turks in Servia, Bosnia, and Transylvania resulted in 1483 in a truce with the Sultan Bajazet. Matthias's relations with the Catholic church were good till the year 1471; but the second part of his reign was marked by a series of most serious blunders and acts of violence. In spite of legal enactments, he gave bishoprics to foreigners, and rewarded political services with gifts of church property, which he dealt with as though it were the property of the state. His relations with the Holy See were at first decidedly cordial, but later there was danger of a rupture, which was happily avoided. Under Matthias the humanities made their entry into Hungary. His library in Buda, the Bibliotheca Corviniana, wins just admiration even to-day by virtue of the remnants of it scattered over Europe. During his reign the first printing press in Hungary was established, that at Buda, the first known production of which is the "Chronicle of Buda", printed in 1473. The arts too, found in Matthias a generous Maecenas. Matthias introduced reforms in the army, in finance, and in the administration of the courts and the law. The reorganization of military affairs was based on the principle of a standing army. With this body, the so-called black troops, he defeated the Turks and the Hussite troops of Giskra, which were laying waste Upper Hungary. In financial affairs, a reform in the mode of taxation was introduced, while his enactments in judicial affairs earned for him among the people the title of "The Just". In 1476 he married Beatrice, the daughter of the King of Naples, but the union was childless. His exertions to secure the throne for his illegitimate son, Johann Corvinus, were rendered futile by the opposition of Hungary and the plotting of Beatrice. Matthias was buried at Szekes-Fehervar (Stuhlweissenburg)."

Now everyone will understand that why you don't like him. :)

[Gorgoroth]

Charlemagne

Charlemagne (April 2, 742 - January 28, 814; or Charles the Great, in German: Karl der Große, in Latin: Carolus Magnus, and hence the adjective form 'Carolingian'), was king of the Franks from 771 to 814, nominally King of the Lombards, and Roman Emperor.

Arguably the founder of a Frankish Empire in Western Europe, Charlemagne was the elder son of Pippin the Short ( 751-768 ), the first Carolingian king. Pippin the Short indulged in the monopoly of the coining of money, deciding on the opening and closure of minting shops, the weight, title and the subjects represented.

European coinage began with Pippin the Short who revived the system put in place by the ancient Greeks and Romans and kept going by the Eastern Roman Empire (1 libra = 20 solidi = 240 denarii).

On the death of Pippin the kingdom was divided between Charlemagne and his brother Carloman (Carloman ruled Austrasia). Carloman died on December 5, 771, leaving Charlemagne with a reunified Frankish kingdom. In 800, at Mass on Christmas day in Rome, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne emperor, a title that had been out of use in the West since the abdication of Romulus Augustulus in 476.

Pursuing his father's reforms, Charlemagne did away with the monetary system based on the gold sou. Both he and king Offa of Mercia took up the system set in place by Pippin. He set up a new standard, the livre (pound -- both monetary and unit of weight) which was worth 20 sous (as per the solidus, and later the shilling) or 240 deniers (as per the denari, and eventually the penny). During this period, the livre and the sou were counting units, only the denier was a coin of the realm.

Charlemagne applied the system to much of the European Continent, and Offa's standard was voluntarily adopted by much of England.

When Charlemagne died in 814, he was buried in his own Cathedral at Aachen. He was succeeded by his only son to survive him, Louis the Pious, after whose reign the empire was divided between his three surviving sons according to Frankish tradition. These three kingdoms would be the foundations of later France and the Holy Roman Empire.

After Charlemagne's death, continental coinage degraded and most of Europe resorted to using the continued high quality English coin until about AD 1100.

It is difficult to understand Charlemagne's attitude toward his daughters. None of them contracted a sacramental marriage. This may have been an attempt to control the number of potential alliances. After his death the surviving daughters entered or were forced to enter monasteries. At least one of them, Bertha, had a recognized relationship, if not a marriage, with Angilbert, a member of Charlemagne's court circle.


Cultural significance

Autograph of Charlemagne Charlemagne's reign is often referred to as the Carolingian Renaissance because of the flowering of scholarship, literature, art and architecture. Most of the surviving works of classical Latin were copied and preserved by Carolingian scholars. The pan-European nature of Charlemagne's influence is indicated by the origins of many of the men who worked for him: Alcuin, an Anglo-Saxon; Theodulf, a Visigoth; Paul the Deacon, a Lombard; and Angilbert and Einhard, Franks.

Charlemagne enjoyed an important afterlife in European culture. One of the great medieval literature cycles, the Charlemagne cycle or Matter of France, centers around the deeds of Charlemagne's historical commander of the Breton border, Roland, and the paladins who served as a counterpart to the knights of the Round Table; their tales were first told in the chansons de geste. Charlemagne himself was accorded sainthood inside the Holy Roman Empire after the 12th Century. He was a model knight as one of the Nine Worthies

It is frequently claimed by genealogists that all people with European ancestry alive today are probably descended from Charlemagne. However, only a small percentage can prove descent from him. Charlemagne's marriage and relationship politics and ethics did, however, result in a fairly large number of descendants, all of whom had far better life expectancies than is usually the case for children in that time period. They were married into houses of nobility and as a result of intermarriages many people of noble descent can indeed trace their ancestry back to Charlemagne.

[Elewyn]

Originally posted by Gorgoroth
Return Of The King

For the short time i thought you're moving such further than from Germany to England/France:D to the MiddleEarth:cheers:

[Gorgoroth]

Originally posted by Elewyn
For the short time i thought you're moving such further than from Germany to England/France:D to the MiddleEarth:cheers:


Haha! ;) :cheers:

[Arjenvs]

Wallace, Sir William (c. 1272-1305),

Scottish national hero. The only source of information concerning Wallace's early life is a 15th-century biographical poem by the Scottish poet Henry the Minstrel, who was known as Blind Harry. According to this work Wallace was outlawed by the English because of a quarrel that resulted in the death of an Englishman. He subsequently burned an English garrison and led an attack upon the English justiciar, an officer for the king, at Scone, Scotland. In 1297 his name appeared in a treaty of submission to England that was signed by the Scottish nobles who took part in his rebellion. Wallace captured many English fortresses north of the Forth, and on September 11, 1297, in the Battle of Stirling Bridge, he severely defeated English forces attempting to cross the Forth. He was then elected to the office of guardian of the kingdom. In 1298 Scotland was invaded by a large English force led by the English king Edward I. On July 22, 1298, Edward defeated Wallace's army in the Battle of Falkirk, and Wallace was forced into hiding. He lived in France for a time but returned and was captured near Glasgow by the Scottish knight Sir John de Menteith (died after 1329). He was brought to London, tried for treason, and executed.

[Arjenvs]

Bonaparte, Napoleon (1769-1821),

First Consul of the French Republic (1799-1804), and as Napoleon I, Emperor of the French (1804-1814; March-June 1815). The single most dominant figure in modern European history before Adolf Hitler, his life has become a modern epic. Napoleon emerged from relative obscurity to lead France and enacted seminal institutional reforms. He then won a series of spectacular campaigns between 1805 and 1807, making France and himself the virtual masters of Europe and securing his almost mythical status as a soldier. He was decisively defeated in Russia in 1812, abdicating in 1814, only to return in 1815 for the “Hundred Days”, and was finally defeated at Waterloo. Napoleon dictated memoirs in exile that forged his own legend. His administrative reforms outlived his military exploits and still mark Europe today.

[Arjenvs]

Jeanne d'Arc (1412-1431),

Called the Maid of Orléans, national heroine and patron saint of France, who united the nation at a critical hour and decisively turned the Hundred Years' War in France's favour.

Joan was born of peasant parentage in Domrémy (now Domrémy-la-Pucelle). When she was 13 years old, she believed she heard celestial voices. As they continued, sometimes accompanied by visions, she became convinced that they belonged to St Michael and to the early martyrs St Catherine of Alexandria and St Margaret. Early in 1429, during the Hundred Years' War, when the English were about to capture Orléans, the “voices” exhorted her to help the Dauphin, later Charles VII, King of France. Charles, because of both internal strife and the English claim to the throne of France, had not yet been crowned king. Joan succeeded in convincing him that she had a divine mission to save France. A board of theologians approved her claims, and she was given troops to command. Dressed in armour and carrying a white banner that represented God blessing the French royal emblem, the fleur-de-lis, she led the French to a decisive victory over the English. At the subsequent coronation of the Dauphin in the cathedral at Reims, she was given the place of honour beside the king.

Although Joan had united the French behind Charles and had put an end to English dreams of hegemony over France, Charles opposed any further campaigns against the English. Therefore, it was without royal support that Joan conducted (1430) a military operation against the English at Compiègne, near Paris. She was captured by Burgundian soldiers, who sold her to their English allies. The English then turned her over to an ecclesiastical court at Rouen to be tried for heresy and sorcery. After 14 months of interrogation, she was accused of wrongdoing for wearing masculine dress and of heresy for believing she was directly responsible to God rather than to the Roman Catholic Church. The court condemned her to death, but she penitently confessed her errors, and the sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. Because she resumed masculine dress after returning to prison, she was condemned again—this time by a secular court—and, on May 30, 1431, Joan was burned at the stake in the Old Market Square at Rouen as a relapsed heretic.

Twenty-five years after her death, the Church retried her case, and she was pronounced innocent. In 1920 she was canonized by Pope Benedict XV; her traditional feast day is May 30, the day of her execution.

[Arjenvs]

William I (of Orange), (1533-1584),

Also called The Silent, Prince of Orange who led the fight for Dutch freedom.

William was born in Dillenburg, Germany, on April 24, 1533, the son of William, Count of Nassau. He was raised as a Lutheran until the age of 11, when he inherited considerable territory, including the French principality of Orange. The Holy Roman emperor Charles V then insisted that he be educated at the imperial court as a Roman Catholic. In 1555 Philip II, son and successor of Charles as king of Spain, made William stadtholder of the Dutch provinces of Holland, Zeeland, and Utrecht. The same year William succeeded his father as Count of Nassau.

Under Philip, Spanish imperial rule in the Netherlands was harsh and intolerant, especially towards Protestants, who were persecuted by the Inquisition. William and other members of the Dutch nobility organized a strong movement against Spanish oppression, with the result that in 1564 Philip was forced to recall the hated Netherlands prime minister, Cardinal Antoine Perrenot de Granvelle. Three years later, however, Philip, alarmed by a widespread Dutch rebellion, sent Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, Duke of Alva, and an army to the Netherlands with instructions to stamp out all civil and religious dissent. William was forced to flee to Germany. Alva ordered William to appear before the inquisitorial council and, when William ignored the order, seized his Dutch properties. William assembled an invasion army and in 1568 he entered the Netherlands, where he was soon defeated because the Dutch failed to support him. The rebellion gradually grew stronger, however, and in 1572 the northern Dutch provinces of Holland and Zeeland revolted successfully against the Spanish and elected William, who had become a Calvinist, as their stadtholder. After several more years of bitter fighting, 16 of the 17 provinces united against Spain under the terms of the so-called Pacification of Ghent, signed on November 8, 1576. Powerful imperial forces soon reconquered the five southern provinces that constitute present-day Belgium, but in 1579 the northern provinces, with William as leader, formed the Union of Utrecht. Five years later, on July 10, 1584, William was killed by an assassin. He was succeeded as stadtholder by his son Maurice of Nassau.

William was one of the great patriots of Dutch history. He gave his fortune and his life to the cause of Dutch independence and religious freedom. Although he was unable to unite the Netherlands provinces, the Union of Utrecht became the nucleus of the present Dutch nation.

[Gorgoroth]

King Lajos [Louis] I. the Great. (1342-1382)



"Lajos (Louis) is the only king in Hungarian history upon whom the adjective "The Great" (Nagy) was bestowed by posterity. This does not imply that he was the greatest king of all (King Mátyás would certainly get the majority vote on this account), but rather that during Lajos' reign, the King of Hungary ruled over a veritable empire.

But Lajos qualifies as a great king on other accounts as well. He was an admirer of King Saint László and emulated him as a Christian ruler. After his coronation, he promptly undertook a pilgrimage to the tomb of Saint László at Nagyvárad, and there made a vow to model his conduct on that of his idol.

It was a role difficult to fulfill. In physical appearance, he was a far cry from his model: while Saint László was a giant of a man, Lajos was uneven-shouldered and lacking the physical attributes of the ideal knight. But in Christian piety, humanity and courage he was, among the kings of Hungary, the most worthy of being Saint László's successor.

'There was no other known to be as kind and noble, moral and lofty-spirited, friendly and straightforward as he," noted a contemporary writer.


A Peaceful King at War


Although he was a peaceful man by nature, circumstances compelled him to fight many wars. His longest war was fought against Venice to recapture Dalmatia, the possession of which meant an outlet to the sea for Hungary. Since the reign of Kálmán the Booklover, Dalmatia had been the object of seesawing warfare between the two powers until 1381, when Venice finally surrendered to Lajos and pledged to pay Hungary an annual tribute.

His campaigns in the Balkans were aimed not so much at conquest and subjugation as at drawing the Serbs, Bosnians, Wallachians and Bulgarians into the fold of the Roman Catholic faith and at forming a united front against the looming Turkish menace. It was relatively easy to subdue them by arms, but to convert them was a different matter. Despite Lajos' efforts, the peoples of the Balkans remained faithful to the Eastern Orthodox Church and their attitude toward Hungary remained ambiguous. They regarded powerful Hungary as a potential menace to their national identity. For this reason, Hungary could never regard the Serbs and Wallachians as reliable allies in her subsequent wars against the Turks. However Lajos defeated the Turks when Hungarian and Turkish troops clashed for the first time in history at Nicapoli in 1366. The Hungarian Chapel in the Cathedral at Aachen was built to commemorate this victory.

In the North Lajos assisted his ally, King Casimir, in his wars against the pagan Lithuanians and Tartars, and against Bohemia. After Casimir's death in 1370, the Poles elected Lajos King of Poland in compliance with the agreement made in Visegrád during his father's reign. Being the ruler of Poland, however, was not an unqualified pleasure. The Poles hated to pay taxes and loved to quarrel among themselves and with the Court, especially with the domineering dowager Queen Elizabeth.

Louis had named Elizabeth Regent of Poland to conveniently eliminate her from his Court. Still, Queen Elizabeth had some justification for taking part in the affairs and quarrels of Poland: she had been a Polish princess before marrying Róbert Károly. Elizabeth's regency turned out to be a failure, her background notwithstanding. In 1375, the Poles killed 160 of her Hungarian soldiers and the dowager Queen escaped to Hungary lest she, too, be killed by her compatriots.

As an excellent commander and a gallant fighter Lajos resembled his exemplar, Saint László. He shared the privations and hardships of camp life with his soldiers. Although few legends were woven around his name, one incident casts light on his courage. When one of his soldiers who had been ordered to explore a ford was carried away by the current, the King plunged into the torrent without hesitation and saved the man from drowning.

When fatigued or exhausted from fighting, Lajos would retire into solitude and seek recreation in pious contemplation and religious exercises.
Italian Intermezzo and Intrigue


Religious motives permeated Lajos' action in peace and in most of his wars, with the singular exception of his campaign against the Neapolitan Kingdom.

The trouble in Italy started with the marriage of his younger brother Endre to Princess Johanna of Naples, whose father had promised to make the Hungarian prince his heir. This royal match soon turned into a king-size mismatch. The matchmaker King Róbert Károly, had underestimated Italian resistance to a foreigner on the Neapolitan throne. So did his wife, the domineering Queen Elizabeth, who dipped deeply into the state's treasury to promote their son's candidacy. To no avail. The opposition to Endre's candidacy included - of all people - his own wife. Johanna, who had persuaded her father to make her the successor to the throne. Endre, to whom she had been married for several years, was forced to be satisfied with a minor duchy. He was, in fact, treated so harshly that he began to fear for his life.

Learning of Endre's predicament, King Lajos sent Queen Elizabeth to intervene on her son's behalf. She undertook a long and costly journey to Italy, accompanied by a large entourage that included the Palatine, several bishops and other dignitaries to impress the Neapolitans. Johanna and her Court received Queen Elizabeth amidst great pomp, and feigned kindness and good will so successfully that she managed to pacify her powerful and angry mother-in-law. The Queen returned to Hungary reassured, but not before she had persuaded the Pope, by means of a donation of 40,000 gold forints, to side with her son. The Pontiff obediently decreed that Endre was to be crowned King of Naples.

This news hit Endre's enemies hard. Afraid that Endre, once crowned, would wreak vengeance on them, they decided to take preventive action. When the Royal Court was hunting in the vicinity of Aversa, Endre's enemies plotted to be present in the hunting party. After the royal couple retired to a castle for the night, the conspirators sneaked in under cover of darkness. In the small hours of the morning, Endre was induced by a pretext to leave his chamber As there was a superstitious belief that the ring Endre wore would protect him from iron and poison, they strangled him and flung his corpse into the castle garden.

The murder did not go as smoothly as expected, however, because Endre put up a desperate fight and shouted for help. The one person who could have stopped the attack with a word, stood at a window, silently watching Endre's agony: his wife Johanna, one of the conspirators herself. Johanna later attempted to exonerate herself by alleging to have been under the influence of a spell which made her powerless to prevent the crime.

The news of Prince Endre's murder created great consternation throughout Europe and especially in Hungary. Since the Pope had failed to bring the guilty to justice, King Lajos declared war on Naples and personally led his troops into Italy. When Johanna escaped to France, Naples surrendered. However, after the Hungarian army withdrew leaving several garrisons behind - Johanna returned and incited the population against Lajos and Hungary. As a result, the strongholds were retaken.

A second campaign convinced Lajos that victories in Italy would have only ephemeral value, unless he was willing to keep strong forces there on a permanent basis. He did not do so for more than one reason. One single reason, however, was powerful enough to hasten his return from Italy in 1348 - an outbreak of the Black Plague, which was to devastate Europe more efficiently than any invasion could have done.


The Black Plague Strikes


The Black Plague was one of the greatest pestilences in recorded history. It struck the Mediterranean countries first, since it was brought to Genoa by ship from the Crimea in 1347. In Italy, la mortifera pestilenza of 1348 emptied the city of Florence and overturned the authority of all law, while in Parma Patriarch lamented its losses with these words:


When will posterity believe that there was a time when without combustion of heaven or earth, without war or other visible calamity, not just this country hut almost the whole earth was left uninhabited... Empty houses, deserted cities, unkempt fields, the ground crowded with corpses, everywhere a vast and dreadful silence...


From Italy the plague was soon carried across the Alps and throughout Europe. At its worst the Black Death raged for three years and lingered in the soil of Europe until 1400. In some places it killed half the population, though in general its toll was one third.

Hungary was not immune. The plague first broke out in Transylvania and then in Transdanubia, killing one third of the population. Lajos' wife fell victim to it and even the king became gravely ill, but recovered. Under such circumstances, Lajos' second Italian campaign in 1450, which incurred enormous costs for Hungary, was a halfhearted affair and when the Papal See promised that justice would be done, he withdrew his troops. Actually, the two Neapolitan campaigns had been undertaken more in the interests of the royal family than in the interest of the nation, with the dowager Queen Elizabeth agitating most vehemently of all for punishing the Italians.

During these campaigns Lajos distinguished himself as a regal knight and warrior.


Some to Fight, Some to Toil


Nagy Lajos (Louis the Great) was more successful at home, where his domestic achievements rivalled, if not surpassed, his military successes in significance. In those times, the peasants throughout Europe were serfs. In Hungary, the serfs were not obliged to serve in the army since the defense of the country lay in the nobility's hands. The one class had to fight, the other toiled. A tax was imposed on the farms of the serfs, who had to pay one-ninth of their income to support the expenses of defense. The nobles were exempt from taxation.

In 1351, Lajos codified the military obligations of the nobility in the so-called Law of Entail (siség). In the past the nobility mustered soldiers according to the size of their holdings. With the passage of time, however, many of these estates had been sold or split up, causing diminishing returns and a reduction of military obligations. This was harmful to the country's military strength.

The Law of Entail held that ancestral estates could neither be divided or given away, but must forever remain the property of the same families. Should a family die out, the entailed land reverted to the Crown. This highly important law, which ensured the integrity of ancestral property, remained in force until 1848 and was to a great extent instrumental in keeping Hungary in Hungarian hands.


Cultural Dividends from the "Italian Connection"


Lajos' campaigns in Italy, frustrating as they had been, produced big dividends in the development of Western civilization in Hungary. While his father had modelled Hungary's monetary system on that of Italy (Florence), Lajos emulated Italy's cultural achievements. During his campaigns in the sunny land, Nagy Lajos came under the spell of the Italian version of European civilization. He saw that virtually every Italian town boasted magnificent buildings adorned with exquisite works of art by painters and sculptors, with artists, poets and scientists enjoying great prestige in Italian society.

In his cultural endeavors, Lajos encouraged the building of towns with grants and privileges, promoted the development of handicrafts and trade and initiated the construction of roads. In 1367, he founded the first Hungarian university in Pécs, and he built beautiful castles for his Court in Buda, Visegrád and Diósgyr. The magnificent Gothic church in Kassa, Upper Hungary, was also built on his initiative.

Lajos was also a great patron of historians and the beautifully illustrated chronicle by Marc Káldi, written in Latin, was produced in his Court. The most famous epic hero of Hungarian literature, Miklós Toldi, accompanied the king to Italy as captain of his army. His legendary exploits were to become the subject of the most popular Hungarian epic, written by János Arany in the 19th century.

Under the reign of Nagy Lajos, law and order prevailed, while booming international trade and improving conditions accelerated Hungary's development as a great power of the era. According to estimates based on contemporary documents, there were more than 21,000 villages, over 500 towns (mezvárosok) and 49 cities in the country at the end of the 14th century - home to some 3,000,000 people despite the huge mid-century losses caused by the Black Plague. These figures do not include the statistical data of the neighboring countries and principalities that were under Hungarian rule at the time.


Peace for Hungary in a Turbulent Europe


A contemporary historian, János Küküllei, writing about "The Calm and Peace of King Lajos' Days," says that Lajos, a true Christian, was neither autocratic nor passionate in his rule. He was custos justitiae, the guardian of justice: "He left the liberties and customs of his country and subject peoples intact, governing them within their own laws and heroically defending them against their enemies."

John de Cardailhac, patriarch of Alexandria and envoy of the Vatican, wrote: "1 call God as my witness that I have never seen a monarch more majestic and more powerful... or one who desires peace and calm as much as he."

Although he waged campaigns outside Hungary, Lajos did keep peace within Hungary itself. In an era when Spain was harassed by the Arabs, France targeted by the British, Germany tormented by the rivalries of its princes, Italy the scene of bloody conflicts among its city-states, Poland and Russia the objects of Lithuanian and Tartar attacks, and Byzantium and the Balkan states subject to Turkish raids and expansion, Hungary flourished as an island of peace.

Unfortunately, like most of Hungary's great kings (Saint István, Saint László and Matthias) Lajos died without a male heir.

In death as in life, Lajos expressed his wish to lie eternally by his idol's side. Accordingly, he was laid to rest in Nagyvárad beside the tomb of Saint László.

He could not have found a more eloquent and worthy resting place."