Chronica Hungarorum

For the first printed book in Hungary also known as Chronica Hungarorum, see Buda Chronicle.
Chronica Hungarorum – Thuróczy Chronicle
The first page of one version of the Augsburg edition of the Chronica Hungarorum by Johannes Thuróczy from 1488, also known as the "Thuróczy Chronicle". For the first time in history, gold paint was used for this print. This edition is stored in the National Széchény Library in Budapest in Hungary.
AuthorJohannes Thuróczy
Original titleChronica Hungarorum
LanguageLatin
SubjectsHistory of the Hungarians
GenreChronicle
Published1488
Publication placeKingdom of Hungary
Media typePrint

Chronica Hungarorum (Latin for "Chronicle of the Hungarians") (Hungarian: A magyarok krónikája), also known as the Thuróczy Chronicle, is the title of a 15th-century Latin-language Hungarian chronicle written by Johannes Thuróczy by compiling several earlier works in 1488. It served as the primary source for the history of medieval Hungary for centuries.[1]

History

Johannes Thuróczy followed a career typical of contemporary legal scholars and, in the final years of his life, served as judge of the Court of the King's Personal Presence. Between the late 1480s and early 1490s, three Hungarian histories were written at the court of the Hungarian king, Matthias Corvinus: the Chronica Hungarorum by Johannes Thuróczy, the Epitome rerum Hungarorum by Pietro Ranzano and the Rerum Hungaricarum decades by Antonio Bonfini. The Thuróczy Chronicle was rooted in the tradition of the previous medieval Hungarian chronicle writing and it was the final work of its genre.[1]

The chronicle recounts the history of the Hungarians from their origins up to the capture of Wiener Neustadt by King Matthias in 1487.[1] The historical knowledge of future generations of people was based on the Thuróczy Chronicle, because it was the most complete medieval Hungarian history at that time. The chronicle itself was the result of a historiographical construction based on the predecessor Hungarian chronicles spanning previous centuries, beginning with the Ancient Gesta. According to Thuróczy, he worked from contemporary works of the time of King Charles I (1301–1342) and King Louis I (1342–1382), which also based on older chronicles. The basic premise of the Hungarian medieval chronicle tradition that the Huns, i.e. the Hungarians coming out twice from Scythia, the guiding principle was the Hun-Hungarian continuity.[2]

No one doubts that the mother of the Huns, namely the Hungarians, was Scythia: Even at the beginning of their exodus from Scythia, the famous fighting virtue glowed in them, and now, in our day, their swords are flashing over the head of the enemy.

— Johannes Thuróczy: Chronica Hungarorum[3]

King Matthias of Hungary was happy to be described as "the second Attila".[4] In the prologue of his chronicle, Thuróczy 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. Thuróczy worked hard to endear Attila, the Hun king with an effort far surpassing his predecessor chroniclers. He made Attila a model for his victorious ruler, King Matthias of Hungary (1458–1490) who had Attila's abilities, with this he almost brought "the hammer of the world" to life.[2]

The chronicle was published in print twice in 1488, in Brno and in Augsburg. The Augsburg edition was published in two versions, the one dedicated to the German audience omitted the description of the Austrian campaign of King Matthias. Two ornate copies made for King Matthias of Hungary have been preserved. Both were printed on parchment, and the editor's preface was adorned with gilded letters. The Augsburg edition of the Chronica Hungarorum from 1488 is the first known print made with gold paint. The engravings in both volumes were hand-painted at the Hungarian royal court.[1] The chronicle contains hand-colored woodcuts depicting 41 Hungarian kings and leaders.

The images are listed alongside the chapter titles in the same order as they appear in one version of the Augsburg edition of the Chronica Hungarorum.

Illustration Description


The Great Coats of Arms of King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary


Saint Ladislaus Chases the Cuman Warrior Who Kidnapped a Girl
  • Two scene in one picture. Saint Ladislaus is chasing and fighting a duel with a Cuman warrior. The legends related to Saint Ladislaus of Hungary, the events of the Battle of Kerlés in 1068 described in the chronicle and the scene of the girl kidnapping had a deep impact on posterity. The scene of the fight of the Christian king symbolizes the victory of Christianity over paganism.

The Prologue of Master Johannes Thuróczy to the First Book of the Chronicle of the Hungarians


 Preface

It seemed they are almost silent that even about the glory of the deeds by the great King Attila, because a weak pen wrote it down, although his deeds are no less worthy of praise. But we should not accuse the old Hungarians of the sin of allowing the memory of their past to sink into the deep sea of forgetfulness. The generation of men who lived at the time of these events were more occupied with the sound of guns than with the science of casting letters. Because even in our time, a part of the same nation, which lives in the region of Transylvania, knows how to carve some kind of letters in wood, and using this rune, they live with it in the manner of casting letters. I think it was only the hatred of foreign peoples deprived King Attila from the glorifying pen that would have been worthy of his victories, and this robbed King Attila from the glory of the imperial title as well. That is why we find that nothing was written in praise of the deeds he accomplished, only the misery he caused was recorded in lamentable songs... Therefore, in order to describe in more detail the region of Scythia and the era worthy of immortality due to the great deeds of King Attila, and at the same time to review the history of the Hungarian kings who came after him, which had been written in the past, and to correct any mistakes in them due to the carelessness of their writers: encouraged by your encouragement, I gathered courage, to begin a task beyond my strength.

— Johannes Thuróczy: Chronica Hungarorum[5]

The Arrival of the Huns Into Pannonia and the Battle of Tárnok Valley


 Battle of Tárnok Valley
  • The Battle of Tárnok Valley was a legendary battle in the medieval Hungarian chronicles between the Huns and Romans in Pannonia. Captain Keve fell during the battle.

According to the old history of the Hungarians, Captain Keve and 125,000 men of the Huns fell in this battle, and 210,000 men of the army of Detre and Macrinus fell, not counting those who were destroyed in their tents by the night battle...According to Scythian custom, Captain Keve's body was buried with due respect in a grave worthy of him, beside the highway, and a statue, that is a stone pillar was erected there with great ceremony as an eternal memory of this great event.

— Johannes Thuróczy: Chronica Hungarorum[5]

The Battle Near a Place Named Zeiselmauer


 Battle of Zeiselmauer
  • The Battle of Zeiselmauer was a legendary battle in the medieval Hungarian chronicles between the Huns and Romans in Pannonia.

After the Huns, namely the Hungarians experienced the bravery of the Romans and the way of their warefare, they reorganized their army, rushed the Transdanubian regions of Pannonia, took possession of them and they moved the people of their house here, then they moved towards the city of Tulln, where their opponents were assembled. Detre, Macrinus, and all the available forces of the Roman army marched against them on the field of Zeiselmauer. Both opponents attacked the opposing teams with equal fierceness. And the Huns wanted to die rather than retreat in the battle, according to Scythian custom they made a terrifying noise, they beat their drums and used every weapon against the enemy, but most of all their innumerable number of arrows. This caused the Roman troops to be confused, and so the Huns made a great slaughter among them. The morning began, and in a fierce battle which lasted until nine o'clock, the Roman army was defeated and put to flight with enormous loss.

— Johannes Thuróczy: Chronica Hungarorum[5]

Election of King Attila, His Morals and Weapons He Used Against the Enemy


 King Attila

King Attila himself was feared by his own subjects because of his innate strictness and gloomy look, but he behaved with a noble spirit towards the peoples subject to him. As a military insignia, a crowned falcon was painted on both his shield and his flag. This military badge was worn by the Huns, namely the Hungarians, until the time of the son of Prince Taksony, Prince Géza. His title was like this: Attila son of Bendegúz, grandson of the great Nimrod who was raised in Engaddi, by the grace of God, King of the Huns, Medes, Goths and Danes, the Fear of the World, the Scourge of God.

— Johannes Thuróczy: Chronica Hungarorum[5]

The Famous and Great Battle of King Attila Which Was Fought on the Catalaunum Plain


 Battle of the Catalaunian Plains

About the First Captain, the White Horse, the Golden Saddle and the Golden Brake


 Árpád, the First Captain
  • Árpád, Grand Prince of the Hungarians.

And since Captain Árpád held a certain special dignity in Scythia, and it was the legal and approved Scythian custom of his tribe that when going on a campaign, one had to go first, and on retreat one had to stay behind – as a result, Árpád allegedly preceded the other captains in the entry into Pannonia.

— Johannes Thuróczy: Chronica Hungarorum[5]

About the First Captain, the White Horse, the Golden Saddle and the Golden Brake


 The Hungarians Defeat Svatopluk

Meanwhile, Árpád entered Pannonia with the Seven Leaders – not as a guest, but as one who owns this land by right of inheritance... Upon hearing this, the leader [Svatopluk] suddenly gathered an army because he was afraid of the Hungarians. He asked his friends for help, and they all marched together against the Hungarians. In the meantime, they arrived at the Danube, and in the early dawn, they went into battle in a beautiful field. The help of the Lord was with the Hungarians, and before their sight the aforementioned leader retreated and ran. The Hungarians pursued him all the way to the Danube, and here he threw himself into the Danube in fear, and drowned in the fast-flowing water. The Lord returned Pannonia to the Hungarians, just as He gave the land of Sihon, the king of the Amorites, and the entire kingdom of Canaan to the children of Israel in the time of Moses.

— Johannes Thuróczy: Chronica Hungarorum[5]

The Second Captain


 Szabolcs, the Second Captain

The Third Captain


 Gyula, the Third Captain

The Fourth Captain


 Kund, the Fourth Captain

The Fifth Captain


 Lehel, the Fifth Captain

The Sixth Captain


 Vérbulcsú, the Sixth Captain

The Seventh Captain


 Örs, the Seventh Captain

The Hungarians Are Destroying Bulgaria


 Hungarian Campaign Against Bulgaria

The Birth and Reign of Saint Stephen, the First King of the Hungarians


 King Saint Stephen and Prince Saint Emeric

Battle of King Saint Stephen Against Koppány, Duke of Somogy


 Battle of King Saint Stephen Against Koppány

The Death of King Saint Stephen and the Election of King Peter


 King Peter

Expulsion of Peter and Election of Aba as King


 King Samuel Aba

The Coronation of King Andrew Who Was Called Endre the First


 King Andrew I

The Coronation and Engagement of King Solomon


 King Solomon

The Coronation, Life and Reign of King Béla the First


 King Béla I

The King’s Fraud, the Two Campaigns of the Princes and Their Victory


 The Battle of King Solomon and Prince Géza Against the Greeks

How Géza the First Was Crowned As King After the Defeat and Running Away of King Solomon


 King Géza I

The Coronation and Campaigns of Saint Ladislaus the First, Brother of Géza and Son of King Béla the First


 King Saint Ladislaus

The Coronation of Coloman, Son of King Géza the First, Grandson of King Béla the First


 King Coloman

After the Death of King Coloman, His Son, Stephen the Second Was Crowned As King


 King Stephen II

The Reign of Béla the Second the Blind, He Is the Son of Prince Álmos, Grandson of Lampert, Great-Grandson of King Béla the First


 King Béla the Blind

The Coronation and the Deeds of King Géza the Second, the First-Born Son of King Béla the Blind


 King Géza II

The Coronation and the Deeds of King Géza the Second, the First-Born Son of King Béla the Blind


 The Battle of the Fischa

The Coronation of King Stephen the Third, Who Was the Son of Géza the Second and the Grandson of King Béla The Blind. Prince Ladislaus, the Second Son of King Béla the Blind Usurs the Crown


 King Stephen III

The Coronation of King Béla the Third, Who Was the Brother of Stephen the Third and the Son of Géza the Second


 King Béla III

The Coronation of King Emeric, Who Was the Son of King Béla the Third


 King Emeric

The Coronation of King Ladislaus the Third, Who Was the Son of King Emeric


 King Ladislaus III

The Coronation of King Andrew the Second, Father of Saint Elizabeth, He Was the Son of King Béla the Third and Was Also Called Andrew of Jerusalem


 King Andrew II

The Coronation of King Béla the Fourth, He Was the Son of King Andrew the Second. Also the First Arrival of the Tatars and the Terrible Destruction of Hungary


 King Béla IV

The War of King Béla With Ottokar, King of Bohemia


 The Battle of Kressenbrunn

The Coronation of King Stephen the Fifth, Son of King Béla the Fourth


 King Stephen V

The Coronation of King Ladislaus the Fourth, Son of King Stephen the Fifth, Who Is Called Ladislaus the Cuman


 King Ladislaus the Cuman

The Coronation of King Andrew the Third, the Grandson of King Andrew the Second, He Was Also Called Andrew the Venetian


 King Andrew III

Ladislaus, that is King Wenceslaus Leaves Hungary and Returns to Bohemia


 King Wenceslaus

Bringing Otto, Prince of Bavaria to Hungary, His Coronation, Captivity and Expulsion, All This Is the Work of Some Barons Against Charles the Child


King Otto
  • King Otto of Hungary.

The Arrival of Friar Cardinal Gentilis to Hungary and the Crowning of Charles as King


 King Charles I

The Unfortunate Campaign of King Charles Against Voivode Basarab of Wallachia


 The Battle of Posada

The Coronation, Life and Campaigns of King Louis


 King Louis I

The Campaign Against the Croatians


 The Campaign of King Louis I Against the Croatians
  • The campaign of King Louis I of Hungary against the rebellious Croatian nobles. King Louis I marched to Croatia in June 1345 and besieged Knin.

The Battle of Voivode Stephen Against the Army of Louis, Husband of Joanna Around Naples


 The Battle of Stephen Lackfi Against Louis of Taranto Around Naples

The Coronation of Queen Mary and This Following Hate


 Queen Mary
  • Queen Mary of Hungary.

The Coronation of King Charles


 King Charles II

The Coronation of King Sigismund


 King Sigismund

Punishment of Ban John Horvati


 Campaign of King Sigismund Against the Rebel Lords
  • Campaign of King Sigismund of Hungary against the rebellious House of Horvat in 1387.

King Sigismund’s Wars Against the Hussites and the Burning of John Hus


 The Wars of King Sigismund Against the Hussites

The Campaign of the Hungarians in the Region of Bosnia


 The Campaign of Hungarians Against Bosnia
  • The campaign of Hungarians against Bosnia during the reign of King Sigismund of Hungary.

The Coronation of King Albert and the Plundering in the City of Buda


 King Albert

The Birth and Crowning of Ladislaus the Child, and Taking of the Crown


 King Ladislaus V

The Coronation of King Vladislaus, and the Internal Strife That Followed


 King Vladislaus I

The Battle of Lord Voivode John Around Belgrade


 The Battle of John Hunyadi Around Belgrade

The Transylvanian Campaign and Battle of Lord Voivode John


 The Battle of Szeben

The Battle of Lord Voivode John Which He Fought at the Iron Gate


 The Battle of John Hunyadi at the Iron Gate

Lord Voivode John Avenges the Grief on the Turks, Six Lucky Battles


 The Long Campaign of John Hunyadi

The Campaign and Destruction of King Vladislaus in the Area of Rumelia, Around the City of Varna, Close to the Sea


 The Battle of Varna

Election of Lord Voivode John as Governor and His Revenge Against Voivode Dracul


 John Hunyadi

The Battle of Lord Governor at the Blackbird's Field


 The Battle of Kosovo

The Emperor of the Turks Is Sieging Nándorfehérvár


 The Siege of Belgrade
  • After the Fall of Constantinople in 1453, the Siege of Belgrade in 1456 was a major issue for the entire Europe, the fall of Belgrade would have opened the gates of Europe to the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror mobilized his armies in an attempt to crush the Kingdom of Hungary, his immediate objective was the border fortress of Belgrade. John Hunyadi, who had fought many battles against the Turks in the previous two decades, prepared the defenses of the fortress. The siege escalated into a major battle, during which Hunyadi led a sudden counterattack that overran the Ottoman camp, ultimately compelling the wounded Mehmed II to lift the siege and retreat. The battle had significant consequences, as it stabilized the southern frontiers of the Kingdom of Hungary for more than half a century and thus considerably delayed the Ottoman advance in Europe.
  • Pope Callixtus III ordered the bells of every European church to be rung every day at noon, as a call for believers to pray for the defenders of the city. The news of victory arrived before the Pope’s order in many European countries. Therefore, the ringing of the church bells was believed to be in celebration of the victory. As a result, the church bells ringing is now the commemoration of the victory of John Hunyadi against the Ottomans.

The Election of Lord Count Matthias as King


 King Matthias Corvinus

Appendix at the end of the chronicle from Master Roger: A mournful song about the destruction of the Tatars in Hungary.

Illustration Description

The Arrival of Tatars in Hungary During the Time of King Béla the Fourth


 First Mongol Invasion of Hungary

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Johannes Thuróczy: Chronica Hungarorum". Bibliotheca Corvina Virtualis – National Széchényi Library, Budapest, Hungary.
  2. ^ a b Dr. Szabados, György (1998). "A krónikáktól a Gestáig – Az előidő-szemlélet hangsúlyváltásai a 15–18. században" [From the chronicles to the Gesta - Shifts in emphasis of the pre-time perspective in the 15th–18th centuries]. Irodalomtörténeti Közlemények, 102 (5-6) (PDF) (in Hungarian). MTA Irodalomtudományi Intézet (Institute for Literary Studies of Hungarian Academy of Sciences). pp. 615–641. ISSN 0021-1486.
  3. ^ Thuróczy, János. A magyarok krónikája [Chronicle of the Hungarians] (in Hungarian). Translated by Horváth, János. Magyar Helikon.
  4. ^ Malcolm, Noel (2019). Useful Enemies: Islam and The Ottoman Empire in Western Political Thought, 1450-1750. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0198830139. In Hungary, King Matthias Corvinus (r.1458–90) was happy to be described as 'the second Attila', and the tradition of identifying the Hungarians with 'Scythian' Huns, already present in the writings of earlier Hungarian chroniclers but greatly strengthened in his reign, would continue for hundreds of years.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Johannes Thuróczy: Chronica Hungarorum http://thuroczykronika.atw.hu/pdf/Thuroczy.pdf

Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chronica Hungarorum.
  • Thuróczy, Johannes (1488). Chronica Hungarorum (PDF) (in Latin). Augsburg.
  • "Johannes Thuróczy: Chronica Hungarorum". Bibliotheca Corvina Virtualis – National Széchényi Library, Budapest, Hungary. Augsburg: Erhard Ratdolt, at the expense of Theobald Feger (Buda). 1488. Miklós Jankovich purchased it on March 24, 1823. It made its way to the Hungarian national library with the Jankovich collection in the 1830s.
  • "Johannes Thuróczy: Chronica Hungarorum". Bibliotheca Corvina Virtualis – National Széchényi Library, Budapest, Hungary. Augsburg: Erhard Ratdolt, at the expense of Theobald Feger (Buda). 1488. Joseph, Palatine of Hungary purchased it at an auction in Vienna in February 1845, and then he donated it to National Széchényi Library on March 14, 1845.
  • Thuróczy, Johannes (1490). Chronica Hungarorum (in German). Bavaria.
  • Thuróczy, János (1918). A magyarok krónikája [Chronicle of the Hungarians] (in Hungarian). Translated by Horváth, János. Magyar Helikon.
  • Thuróczy, János (1957). Magyar krónika (Thuróczy krónika 4. és 5. könyve, 1382–1487-ig tartó időszak) [Hungarians Chronicle (Book 4 and 5 from the Thuróczy Chronicle, Period of 1382–1487)] (PDF) (in Hungarian). Translated by Geréb, László. Magyar Helikon.
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