Matthias I
"The Just", a Renaissance monarch who created the Black Army and captured Vienna.
Life
Son of Hunyadi
Matthias was the son of John Hunyadi, the famed general who fought the Ottomans. In 1458 the nobles elected him king when he was only fifteen.
Black Army
He created the "Black Army", one of the earliest standing mercenary armies in Europe, to hold off the Ottomans, and fought the Habsburgs and Bohemia; in 1485 he captured Vienna and set up his court there.
Bibliotheca Corviniana
He loved Renaissance culture, invited scholars and artists from Italy, and built the "Bibliotheca Corviniana", one of the largest libraries in Europe at the time. He died in Vienna in 1490 without a legitimate son, and Hungary began to decline.
Legacy
Matthias I is the most beloved king in Hungarian folklore and is known as "Matthias the Just."
Did you know? Hungarian folklore has many stories of him traveling in disguise among his people and punishing corrupt officials, much like China's legends of rulers traveling incognito.
Key dates
- 1458Elected king
- 1476Married Princess Beatrice of Naples
- 1485Captured Vienna
- 1490Died