OBVERSE AND REVERSE OF A KING: THE PORTRAIT OF MATTHIAS CORVINUS IN THE HISTORIOGRAPHICAL WORK OF AN ITALIAN HUMANIST

Abstract

The paper examines the portrait of king Matthias Corvinus from the point of view of an Italian humanist Antonio Bonfini. The first eight books of the fourth decade of his work Rerum Ungaricarum decades are dedicated to the aforementioned Hungarian ruler. Chronologically, the paper covers the period from Matthias’ coronation in 1464 until his death in 1490. Bonfini’s testimony is compared to other relevant historical sources dealing with the same topic. Many scholars have, on numerous occasions, underlined Bonfini’s alleged lack of objectivity in portraying the Hungarian king. However a detailed scrutiny of his work suggests different conclusions: the truth is that the author, while undoubtedly praising Matthias’ virtues, at the same time doesn’t hesitate to portray his weaknesses and vices as well. The king was indeed a great warrior, successful in numerous war campaigns. The examples of his heroic acts mentioned in Bonfini’s work are easy to prove by comparing the author’s claims to other historical sources. According to Rerum Ungaricarum decades, the king was very open-minded and generous, always striving for honor and glory. Versatilly educated, he supported the cultural movement of Humanism & Renaissance in Hungary. Although a very pious Christian, Matthias was also superstitious to the extent that he never started a war campaign before consulting astrologists and soothsayers. The king was rather generous and gallant towards his military commanders and friends. Despot Vuk Grgurević, the Jakšić brothers, Pavle Kinjiži, Stefan Batori were all granted with possessions for their war merits. On the other hand, the king was rather cruel to his enemies. In 1465, he took a horrible vengeance on Švehla and the Czech Brotherhood. He also showed little mercy to his tutor and close friend, archbishop Ivan of Sredna, after the old man betrayed him in 1471. Matthias’ army is remembered to be pretty ferocious on many occasions, especially during the campaign against Austria in 1477. The king loved his wife Beatrice of Aragon very much, but her arrival brought many radical changes to his lifestyle and made him less accessible to ordinary people. Although he aspired to leave the crown to his illegitimate son Ivaniš Korvin, the king didn’t dare to carry out this idea due to his wife’s objections. According to Bonfini, “when Matthias died, the pride & glory of Hungary were forever lost”. The events that followed justify his claim.