Matthias I

Matthias I (born Feb. 24, 1443, Kolozsvár, Transylvania [now Cluj, Romania]—died April 6, 1490, Vienna) was the king of Hungary (1458–90), who attempted to reconstruct the Hungarian state after decades of feudal anarchy, chiefly by means of financial, military, judiciary, and administrative reforms. His nickname, Corvinus, derived from the raven (Latin corvus) on his escutcheon.

Election as king

Matthias was the second son of a military leader, János Hunyadi (q.v.). After the death of his father and elder brother, Matthias became heir to a vast landed property and to a great name glorified by the chroniclers of the war against Turkish conquerors. After the death of King Ladislas Posthumus of Austria (Habsburg), and despite dynastic claims of his uncle, the Holy Roman emperor Frederick III, and other pretenders to the throne, a general Diet held in Buda and Pest in January 1458 elected Matthias king. This was the first time in the medieval Hungarian kingdom that a member of the nobility, without dynastic ancestry and relationship, mounted the royal throne, although it happened contemporaneously in the neighbouring Bohemian kingdom. Such elections upset the usual course of dynastic succession. Crossing the plans of the Habsburg dynasty (and partly those of the Jagiełłos of Poland), they caused a long series of controversies in that part of Europe. In the Czech and Hungarian states they heralded a new era, characterized by the supremacy of the “estates and orders,” a dietal system, and a tendency to centralization.

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After struggles to stabilize his reign against repeated attacks, mostly from baronial opposition and the foreign dynastic pretenders, Matthias held back Turkish invaders, who had annexed the Serbian and Bosnian territories on his southern frontiers. He reorganized a defensive system against the Turks, taking his lack of forces into consideration.

He did everything he could to increase state incomes and to improve the modern elements of his army and his warfare. One of his first steps was a reform of finances and taxes (1467), ending special exemptions to large proprietors. A few years later the treasury was developed into a well-organized office, collecting regularly the “extraordinary” taxes (originally intended in case of urgent necessity, mostly under the pressure of the Turkish peril). As a result the state income reached a considerable sum. The high taxation burdened mostly the peasants.

The financial reforms were not easily accepted. Revolts endangered the government, occasionally even the reign of Matthias. The opposition, stimulated by foreign forces, won over some old counsellors of the King. But Matthias always succeeded, by force and diplomacy, in calming the opposition and in reestablishing, even reinforcing, the political and social conditions of his sovereignty. Some historians have characterized him as an early representative of modern absolutism, but this was far beyond his possibilities. He increased the influence of the lower nobility against the barons; he tried to repress or at least to moderate feudal anarchy; he protected merchants and small proprietors and even peasants, not against their own lords but against other troubles; and he tried to improve the system of central government (without disturbing local autonomies), mainly by increasing the governmental role of the chancellors, the royal secretaries, and other offices. His jurists began a great work of codification; a royal decree of 1486 was intended to summarize the main principles of law “for all times.” This meant, together with the further development of the standing army, a certain degree of centralization, within the limits of an essentially lordly state.

Foreign successes

Successes in foreign politics, diplomacy, and warfare contributed to the stabilization of his own authority and his country’s position. His diplomacy grew more active during the second and third decades of his reign. He maintained constant diplomatic relations with the papacy, with Venice, Naples, and other Italian states and repeatedly exchanged ambassadors with France, Burgundy, Switzerland, and many German territories; later he tried to establish regular contacts with Russia and, occasionally, with Persia and Egypt. His main purpose may have been the creation of a system of alliances against actual or possible rivals and enemies. His diplomatic activity varied with the varying aims of his foreign policy. After gaining suzerainty over Bosnia (1463), Matthias tried to occupy the Bohemian kingdom. This was a grave error; the Jagiełło dynasty intervened, and a 10-year struggle was followed by a peace that left the Bohemian crown to Vladislav II, while Matthias retained the Moravian and Silesian territories with the royal title.

An almost continuous rivalry with the emperor Frederick III ran through Matthias’ reign. He tried repeatedly, but without success, to induce (or coerce) the Emperor to renounce his claims to the Hungarian throne. Following the Polish-Bohemian war, Matthias tried to annihilate the main base of Frederick’s dynastic power. After a long series of military successes, aided by the Emperor’s German and Austrian adversaries, he occupied Vienna and a considerable part of the Habsburg family possessions. But he could not diminish the Habsburg influence in the German Empire or in central and western Europe. Indeed, Habsburg power began to increase as a result of events in Burgundy. Until his death (1490) Matthias remained in possession of his conquests; thereafter, all of them were lost.

Legacy

Matthias’ political relations with the papacy and the Italian states were connected with the interests in Turkish wars. But they were connected also with the special rights of Hungarian kings concerning the distribution of ecclesiastical dignities in their country. This complicated the relations between church and kingdom. After the second marriage of Matthias (1476), to Beatrice of Aragon, princess of Naples, the King’s diplomacy became a factor in Italian state affairs. His connections with Florence, Milan, and other Italian states and cultural centres reflected his interest in Italian art and humanistic culture.

Matthias deserved his reputation, mentioned by contemporaries, for being “a friend of the Muses.” The knowledge of many languages, classic latinity, modern humanistic ideas, and ancient books and the support of new art and science were all familiar to him since childhood. His education took place partly on battlefields, partly under the control of prominent humanists. He never ceased to read and to learn. Supporting all kinds of art, he founded a considerable library—the famous Corvina. He trusted, like the majority of his contemporaries, in astrology and other similar beliefs of his age, but he supported many real scientists and participated eagerly in the discussions of philosophers invited to his court.

Matthias possessed high personal qualities, as reported by friends and enemies alike. He tried to strengthen his state, not without success. His name became later—during centuries of Turkish occupation and Habsburg oppression—a symbol of strength and independence. His memory was glorified by statesmen and military leaders as well as by students of cultural progress. And, despite the heavy taxes, it was also glorified by the people, who were reported, a few years after the King’s death, as being willing to pay still more, “if only he could rise again.” This could be explained by the general decline of the country after Matthias’ death but also by a popular saying: “Matthias is dead—justice is lost.”