The Marrow of Ecclesiastical History Part 2, Book 1 · Biography 8
M. CORVINVS etc.
The Life of Matthias Corvinus King of Hungary, who dyed Anno Christi. 1490.
HƲniades being dead, the young King Ladislaus and Ʋlricus Earle of Cicilia thought they might the more boldly come into Hungary, and thereupon they presently began their journey: Ladislaus the eldest sonne of Huniades, who was now at the City of Alba, hearing of the Kings approach, obediently opened to him the gates, but foure thousand of his Armed souldiers he debarred from entring into the City: whilst the King was there, hee with the Earle Ʋlricus sat often in Councell with some other nobles also: at Trechery.last, they required Ladislaus to resort unto them, he at first was in suspense what to doe, but afterwards, putting on a privie coate of male, he came to them; Whilst they were in debate, Ʋlricus picked a quarrell with him, and called him traitour for shutting the gates against the Kings souldiers, and withall, taking his sword from his page, let fly at his head. To breake the blow, some putting up their hands, had their fingers cut off: the Hungarians without, hearing the tumult, brake into the chamber, where they presently slew this false Earle Vlrick, and cut him almost all to piees: the King was much discontented hereat in his minde, yet seeing there was no other remedy, he dissembled his griefe for the present, and making faire weather to Ladislaus, he tooke him along with him towards Buda: By the way, passing by the Towne where Huniades wife was, Hypocrisie.mourning for the death of her husband, the King went to her and seemed with many faire words to comfort her, there he rested, and refreshed himselfe: and so departed with much dissembled louelove, and fained favour, and tooke along with him the two sonnes of Huniades, Ladislaus and Matthias, who where now without suspition, and therefore the more ready to waite upon him: But when he came to Buda, he caused them both to be suddenly apprehended; and immediately after the elder [Ladislaus] was brought forth to the place of execution: at which time, a cryer proclaimed, Thus are they to be chastened that are rebels against their Lord. After the A miracle of mercyhangman had three blowes at his neck, Ladislaus having his hands bound behind him, rose up right upon his feet after the third stroake, and looking up to heaven, called upon the Lord, and protesting his innocency, meekly laid downe his head againe, and so at the fourth blow had it stricken off: then did this bloody Tyrant take Matthias, and carried him captive with him into Austria. Shortly after this young King was to marrie the French Kings daughter: Popish malice and cruelty.great preparation was made against the wedding, which was to be celebrated at Prague in Bohemia: many Princes and Potentates were invited to the solemnity, at which time this wicked King had intended to make an end of all the Hussites in Bohemia: thither therefore he went, taking his prisoner Matthias along with him to Prague: where he also imprisoned him, but in the middest of all his great preparations, anno 1461, this great adversary of Gods people, Ladislaus King of Bohemia and Hungary, and Archduke Gods judgment on a bloody persecuter.of Austria, was by the revenging hand of God smitten with a pestilent sore in his groine, whereof he dyed within the space of six and thirty houres: After whose death, the Kingdome of Bohemia fell to Geo. Pogiebracius, a friend & favorer of the Hussites, whom afterwards Pope Innocent the eighth did excommunicate, Gods goodnesse.and depose for his religion. But the Nobles of Hungary, hearing of the death of Ladislaus, met together, and for the louelove they bare to the remembrance of Huniades, they chose Matthias, surnamed Corvinus, now a prisoner at Prague, to be their King, and withall dispatched away Ambassadors to Pogiebracius, to desire him to send this their King elect to them: Pogiebracius having heard their message at supper time, he immediatly sent for Matthias out of Prison, and placed him at the upper end of the Table; young Matthias being but about eighteene yeares old, was much abashed at it, and began to craue pardon: But the King would needs have it so, and when he was set, to quiet his minde, he willed him to be of good cheere, for that he had good A strange providence.newes to tell him: Good newes (said Matthias) if it would please your Majesty to grant me my liberty. Yea that (said the King) & more too, and then saluting him by the name of the K. of Hungary he brake unto him the whole matter: and within few daies after, he married to him his daughter, furnished him with all things fit for his state, and roially accompanied him into Hungary, where he was with great joy and triumph received by his people, and over whom he gloriously raigned for the space of eight and thirty yeares, in which time he notably enlarged the Kingdome of Hungary, & proving the thundring sonne of a lightening father, he became a farr greater terrour to the Turks, then ever was his father Huniades. Presently Warrs betwixt Matthias and the Emperour.after the Emperour Frederick, having the Crowne of Hungary remaining in his hands, which Elizabeth the mother of Ladislaus had carried to him, laid claime to the Kingdom, whereupon warrs ensued betweene Matthias and him; but at last by the mediation of the Princes of Germany, a peace was concluded betwixt them, and Matthias ransomed the He ransoms his CrowneCrown from Frederick for eight thousand Florences. At this time there were great warrs betewene the Venetians and the great Turk; but the Venetians going by the worse, sent Ambassadours to King Matthias, soliciting him to joyne in league with them, and to take up Armes against the common Enemy, offering presently to furnish him with a great summe He enters into league with the Venetians.of money, besides a large yearly pension, towards the maintenance of those warres. For the which he should to his power by land, defend all those Territories of theirs, which lay between the Rhetian Alps, and the Adriatick Sea, against the invasion of the Turk.
Matthias having well considered of this their request, answered, That they had many times before in the like case, refused to give aid to the Hungarian Kings his predecessors; yea, and judged it a thing unreasonable, that any such thing should be requested at their hands: So that the Hungarian Kings had many times received great losse for want of their assistance: Yet he was willing to forget all such unkindnesse, and to take their Territories into his protection, according to their request; promising withall, the next Spring to invade the Turkes Dominions. And according to his promise hee honorably performed it: For in the beginning of the Spring he passed over the Danubius at Belgrade, with a puissant His wars against the Turkes.Army, and razed the Forts which the Turkes had built thereabouts, and so entring into Servia, laid all the Countrey wast before him; and afterwards laden with spoyle, returned home again, carrying away with him twenty thousand captives. And with the like prosperous successe he maintained warres against Mahomet the Great, and against his sonne Bajazet, almost alwayes going away with the victory; so that there was no Christian King or Chieftaine, that did ever more often with successe fight against the Turkes, or had of them greater victories.
Then did he (according to his promise made to the Venetians) enter into the Kingdome of Bosna; where, by force, he overthrew the strong Forts which the Turk had built for the defence of the Frontiers, and valiantly drave them all out before him, till he came to Jaitze, the chiefe Citie of Bosna, unto which he Bosna won from the Turks.laid siege and took it: and so Garrisoning it, he followed the course of his victories, scarcely suffering the Turkes to breath, untill he had by force wrested all that Kingdome out of their hands.
This so vexed the proud Mahomet, that in great fury he came with a mighty Army into Bosna, and laid hard siege unto Jaitze, which was by the Christians worthily defended, till Matthias came to the reliefe thereof, who so troubled the Turks Camp with continuall skirmishes on the one side; and they within Mahomet shamefully beaten.the Town, with desperate sallies on the other, that at length the proud Turk was driven to such extremity, that he was forced secretly to steale away in the night with all his Army, into Servia; and for hast, left behinde him all his Tents, and his great Ordnance.
Matthias having thus valiantly relieved the City, followed the Turkes Army into Servia, and tooke part of that Countrey also; which, together with Part of Servia taken.Bosna, he annexed to the Kingdome of Hungary: So that now the name of Matthias was unto the Turks, no lesse dreadfull, then was sometimes the name of his valiant Father Huniades.
Anno 1475. Mahomet the Great, having ended his warres with the Persians, resolves to convert all his power against the Venetians; and for that end sent Solyman Bassa with an Army of fourscore thousand brave men, to besiege Scodra, or Scutari, within the confines of Albania: many were the desperate assaults which the Turkes gave to the Citie, and yet they were still as valiantly repulsed by the Christians within.
In the mean time Matthias raised an Army, and with it marched into the Turkes Dominions, where He wasteth the Turks dominions.he made such havock and spoil of all before him, that Mahomet was glad to call back the great Bassa from the siege of Scodra (after he had lien there three moneths with his great Army, and lost fourteen thousand of his men) to defend his own Countrey.
With this dishonour Mahomet was so discontented, that he gave one a yearly pension daily to put him in Malice.minde of the siege of Scodra.
Anno 1480. the Turk sent a mighty Army, consisting of an hundred thousand men, under some of his chiefest and most expert Commanders, into Transylvania, which brought such a generall feare upon the Countrey, that Steven Batore, the Vayvod, was glad with all speed to flye unto Matthias, King of Hungary, He relieved Transylvaniadeclaring to him the danger of his Countrey, and craving his aid. Matthias at this time lay sick of the gout, yet he sent an Army under his expert Captains, which not farre from Alba Julia, met with the Turks, and there in a great and bloody battell defeated them, slue Isa, one of their chief Captains, and thirty thousand The Turks beaten.Turkes besides. By which great victory Transylvania was delivered from that present danger.
The Noble acts of Matthias against these enemies to the name of Christ, were so many, and so great, that through Gods goodnesse, he was a great shelter not onelyonly to Hungary, but almost to all Christian Kingdomes, in repelling and beating back the proud swelling waves of the Turkish Empire, which were like to have over-flown all: yea, he so defended the confines of Illyria from the power of the Turks, that both Mahomet, and Bajazet his son, were enforced to seek to him for peace. But the Devill in the mean time, envying his prosperous success in defence Satans malice. Popish malice.of the Christians, stirred up the Pope to cast in the ball of contention between Pogiebracius and him; whereby not onelyonly his course of victory against the Turkes was stopped, but also great warre and bloodshed followed amongst Christians: In which warres Matthias tooke from Pogiebracius, Moravia, and a great part of Silesia, and joyned them to his Kingdome of Hungary. Also by the Popes meanes, a new quarrell sprang up between the Emperour Frederick His second wars with the Emperour.and him: In which warres Frederick had utterly gone to ruine, had not Albert, Duke of Saxony, rescued the Emperour, and repressed the vehemency of Matthias. Also, after the death of Pogiebracius, the Emperour conferred the Kingdome of Bohemia upon Ʋladislaus, the King of Polands sonne: Whereupon Matthias made warre upon him, and also proclaimed open wars against Frederick: But it pleased God in the midst of these great undertakings & preparations to take him away by sicknesse, Anno Christi 1490. and His deathof his age 56 after he had reigned with renown 38. yeares
Besides his noble acts of Chivalry, he was religious according to those times, learned, and a great lover His Character.of Learning and learned men, whom he with great stipends procured to come to him out of other Countries; by which means he much civilized and reduced into good order, the barbarous rudenesse of those Kingdomes which he governed, and made thereof a most flourishing Common-wealth.
Moreover, he erected a great and stately Library, which he furnished with all sorts of Bookes, both for A grea. Library.Languages, Arts, and History; many of which hee caused to be translated out of Greek into Latine: So that the like Library was not to be found in all Europe besides, except the Vatican at Rome. Out of which Library we have received divers parts of Diodorus Siculus, and Polybius, which were not extant before.
Collected out of the Book of Martyrs, and the Turkish History.