826 



HUNGARY. 



officers and the bishops formed the senate of tlie king- 

 dom, with whose concurrence king Stephen granted 

 a constitution, the principal features of wliich are still 

 preserved. The unsettled state of the succession to 

 the crown, and the consequent interference of neigh- 

 bouring princes, and of the Roman court, in the 

 domestic concerns of Hungary, tlie inveterate hatred 

 of tlie Magyars against the foreigners, who were 

 favoured by Peter, the successor of Stephen, the 

 secret struggle of paganism with Christianity, and 

 particularly the arrogance of the clergy and nobility, 

 long retarded the prosperity of tlie country. The 

 religious zeal and bravery of St Ladislaus, and the 

 energy and prudence of Colomann, shine amidst the 

 darkness of this period. These two monarchs ex- 

 tended tlie boundaries of tlie empire, the former 

 by the conquest of Croatia and Sclavonia (1089), the 

 latter by the conquest of Dalmatia (1102). They 

 asserted, with firmness, the dignity of the Hungarian 

 crown, and tlie independence of the nation, against 

 all foreign attacks, and restored order and tranquillity 

 at home by wise laws and prudent regulations. 



The introduction of German colonists, from Flan- 

 ders and Alsace, into Zips and Transylvania, by 

 Geysa II. (1148), had an important influence on 

 those districts ; and the connexion of Hungary with 

 Constantinople during the reign of Bela HI., who had 

 l>eeii educated in that city, had a favourable effect on 

 the country in general. The Magyars, who had 

 previously passed the greater part of the year in 

 tents, became more accustomed to living in towns, 

 and to civil institutions. Several court officers and 

 a royal chancellor were created on the model of the 

 Greek court. On the other hand, Hungary became 

 connected with France by the second marriage of 

 Bela (L186) with Margaret, sister to Henry, king of 

 France, and widow of Henry, king of England. She 

 introduced French elegance at the Hungarian court, 

 and at this time we find the first mention of Hun- 

 garians studying at Paris ; but these improvements 

 were soon checked. The rich nobility and the 

 clergy availed themselves of the weakness of Andrew 



II. to extend their influence and power. The former 

 extorted a confirmation and extension of their privi- 

 leges by the golden bull in 1222, the latter a favour- 

 able concordate. The reforms of Bela IV. were 

 interrupted by the invasions of the Mongols (1241), 

 and the kingdom was in a most deplorable condition. 

 After the retreat of these wild hordes, Bela endea- 

 voured to heal the wounds of his country. He induced 

 Germans to settle in the depopulated country, and 

 elevated the condition of the citizeus by increasing 

 the number of royal free cities ; but the coronation 

 of lus son, as co-regent, gave rise to many disputes 

 between them, which weakened the royal authority, 

 and hastened the decline of the state. With Andrew 



III. the male line of the Arpad dynasty became 

 extinct (1301), 



Under the princes of the house of Anjou, Hungary 

 attained the summit of its power. These princes 

 Considered the prelates and the nobles as the supports 

 of their thrones, yet they imposed certain obligations 

 in return for the privileges granted them, such as that 

 of maintaining troops. Charles I. improved the cur- 

 rency, introduced a new system of taxation, which 

 extended also to the peasants of the nobility and 

 c ' (Jr Ry> and substituted regular judicial proceedings 

 for trials by ordeal, which were then practised. Louis 

 I. added Poland, Red Russia, Moldavia, and a part of 

 Servia, to his kingdom. His expeditions and cam- 

 paigns made the nation acquainted with foreign civili- 

 zation. He founded a high school (1367) at Fnnfkir- 

 chen, delivered commerce from exorbitant duties, and 

 banished the Jews from the country. The reign of 

 Sigismund is interesting from his disputes with the 



oligarchs, who even kept him in prison for several 

 months, the invasion of Hungary by the Turks, 

 (1391), and the war with the Hussites. Although lie 

 was much engaged, as Roman emperor, with the 

 aflairs of Germany and the Catholic church, lie intro- 

 duced equality of weights and measures and the first 

 military regulation into Hungary, raised the royal 

 free cities to the privilege of an estate (1405), and 

 founded an academy at Buda. From their first ap- 

 pearance, the Turks constantly disturbed the tran- 

 quillity of Hungary, which served as a bulwark to 

 the rest of Europe. The death of Ladislaus I., in 

 the unfortunate battle of Varna (1444), is the more 

 to be regretted, as the plan of the hero John II un- 

 niades, for driving the Turks from Europe, failed 

 through the coldness of the Christian courts and the 

 intrigues of his enemies. 



Matthias Corvinus, son of Hunniades, held the 

 reins of government with a firm hand. Combining 

 the talents of a diplomatist and a general, he silenced 

 or defeated all his enemies at home or abroad, secured 

 the public tranquillity, which had been but too often 

 disturbed, by his judicial organization of the coun- 

 ties, and gained the love and confidence of the nation, 

 notwithstanding the severe measures which he was 

 often compelled to adopt. It is still a proverbial ex- 

 pression with the lower classes in Hungary, " King 

 Matthias is dead, and justice with him." He showed 

 his love of learning by the foundation of a new uni- 

 versity at Presburg (Istropolis), 1467, by inviting 

 learned men from foreign countries, particularly from 

 Italy, and by his excellent library, in the royal castle 

 of Buda, the treasures of which were scattered soon 

 after his death. 



During the reigns of Ladislaus II. and Louis II., 

 the ambition and rapacity of the optimates, headed 

 by Stephen Zapolya, and afterwards by his son John, 

 excited domestic troubles, and caused an insurrection 

 of the peasants, which was only suppressed by the 

 severest measures (1514), while they destroyed the 

 foreign influence of Uie kingdom. The battle of 

 Mohacs (1526), in which Louis II. lost his life, and 

 which, for 160 years, made a great part of Hungary 

 a Turkish province, was the natural consequence of 

 this state of things. The rest of the country was in 

 dispute between the rivals Ferdinand of Austria and 

 John Zapolya. The contest was decided by the Pro- 

 testants, who, fearing the persecution of Zapolya, 

 declared for Ferdinand. Their adherence gave him 

 the superiority, and Zapolya was compelled to rest 

 satisfied with the possession of Transylvania and some 

 counties of Upper Hungary; but this division of the 

 kingdom caused continual disputes with the descend- 

 ants of Zapolya, instigated by the Turks and the 

 French, and, together with the persecutions of the 

 Protestants (particularly after the admission of the 

 Jesuits, 1561), gave rise to civil commotions, which 

 were quieted by the treaties of Vienna, with Stephen 

 Botskay (1606), of Nikelsburg, with Gabriel Beth- 

 len (1622), and of Lintz, with George Rakoczy (1645). 

 These circumstances delayed the expulsion of the 

 Turks, in which Leopold I. finally succeeded so far 

 that he took Buda (1686), and, by the peace of Car- 

 lowitz (1699), recovered the rest of Hungary, (except 

 the Bannat) and Transylvania. This treaty, however, 

 and the establishment of the commissio neoacquistica, 

 to decide all claims on the countries recovered from 

 the Turks, gave rise to new troubles, which were not 

 quieted until the peace of Szathmar in 1711. 



The congress of Passarowitz (1718) restored the 

 Bannat to Hungary, f.nd the peace of Belgrade, 

 (1739) terminated hostilities with the Porte for a long 

 time. Charles VI., by the pragmatic sanction, se- 

 cured the inheritance of the Hungarian crown to the 

 female descendants of the house of Hfpsburg, and 



