The last strong king of medieval Hungary was the Renaissance king Matthias Corvinus . He ruled from 1458 until his death. After conducting several military campaigns he also became King of Bohemia, and Duke of Austria. He was born in Kolozsvár, in th
e Kingdom of Hungary.He was the second son of John Hunyadi, a successful general. His mother was Erzsébet Szilágyi, from a Hungarian noble family. His education took place partly on battlefields, partly under the control of prominent humanists. He learned a lot of European languages and Latin, classic Greek and Roman history, philosophy and antique literature together with the so-called "modern" (Italian) culture. Matthias was not considered good looking in his time. He was small, but muscular. His distinctive nose, pouted lips and shiny brown eyes defined his looks. His hair was shoulder-lenght, his commanding personality would not tolerate any opposition. His harsh temper stroke fear among many, yet he could be kind and gentle. Allegedly, he had his way with the common people. Matthias gained independence of and power over the barons by dividing them, and by raising a large royal army of mercenaries, the King's Black Army, whose main force included the remnants of the Hussites from Bohemia. He led many campaigns to Austria and Bohemia, and won many battles against the Ottoman Empire. At this time Hungary reached its greatest territorial extent of the epoch. Matthias loved Italian art and humanistic culture. He rebuilt the palace of Buda in early renaissance style. He invited Italian and German scholars, astronomers, painters and musici
ans to the Castle of Buda. His library, the Bibliotheca Corviniana, with 2000-2500 books, was Europe's greatest collection of secular books: historical chronicles, philosophic and scientific works. He was not very popular, because the high taxes. So, he died very suddenly in 1490, maybe by poisoning. He had only an illegitime son, but he had no time to secure the succession to the throne for him. His reign is considered to be one of the most glorious chapters of Hungarian history. Songs and tales refer to him as Matthias the Just, a ruler of justice and great wisdom, and he is undoubtedly the most popular hero of Hungarian folklore.
e Kingdom of Hungary.He was the second son of John Hunyadi, a successful general. His mother was Erzsébet Szilágyi, from a Hungarian noble family. His education took place partly on battlefields, partly under the control of prominent humanists. He learned a lot of European languages and Latin, classic Greek and Roman history, philosophy and antique literature together with the so-called "modern" (Italian) culture. Matthias was not considered good looking in his time. He was small, but muscular. His distinctive nose, pouted lips and shiny brown eyes defined his looks. His hair was shoulder-lenght, his commanding personality would not tolerate any opposition. His harsh temper stroke fear among many, yet he could be kind and gentle. Allegedly, he had his way with the common people. Matthias gained independence of and power over the barons by dividing them, and by raising a large royal army of mercenaries, the King's Black Army, whose main force included the remnants of the Hussites from Bohemia. He led many campaigns to Austria and Bohemia, and won many battles against the Ottoman Empire. At this time Hungary reached its greatest territorial extent of the epoch. Matthias loved Italian art and humanistic culture. He rebuilt the palace of Buda in early renaissance style. He invited Italian and German scholars, astronomers, painters and musici
ans to the Castle of Buda. His library, the Bibliotheca Corviniana, with 2000-2500 books, was Europe's greatest collection of secular books: historical chronicles, philosophic and scientific works. He was not very popular, because the high taxes. So, he died very suddenly in 1490, maybe by poisoning. He had only an illegitime son, but he had no time to secure the succession to the throne for him. His reign is considered to be one of the most glorious chapters of Hungarian history. Songs and tales refer to him as Matthias the Just, a ruler of justice and great wisdom, and he is undoubtedly the most popular hero of Hungarian folklore. 
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