Chronica Hungarorum

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.

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.

The chronicle recounts the history of the Hungarians from their origins up to the capture of Wiener Neustadt by King Matthias in 1487. 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.

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

King Matthias of Hungary was happy to be described as "the second Attila". 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.

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. 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.

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

See also

• List of Hungarian chronicles
• Gesta Hungarorum
• Gesta Hunnorum et Hungarorum
• Chronicon Pictum
• Chronica Hungarorum – Buda Chronicle
• Epitome rerum Hungarorum
• Nádasdy Mausoleum

Further reading

• Dr. Szabados, György (1998). [From the chronicles to the Gesta - Shifts in emphasis of the pre-time perspective in the 15th–18th centuries]. (PDF) (in Hungarian). MTA Irodalomtudományi Intézet (Institute for Literary Studies of Hungarian Academy of Sciences). pp. 615–641. ISSN .

External links

• Thuróczy, Johannes (1488). (PDF) (in Latin). Augsburg.
• . Bibliotheca Corvina Virtualis – National Széchényi Library, Budapest, Hungary (in Latin). 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.
• . Bibliotheca Corvina Virtualis – National Széchényi Library, Budapest, Hungary (in Latin). 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, János (1488). (PDF) (in Latin). Augsburg: E. Ratdolt.
• Thuróczy, János (1488). (in Latin). Brno.
• Johannes de Thurocz (1490). (in German). Bavaria.
• (PDF) (in Latin). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó (published 1985). 1488.
• Thuróczy, János (1918). [Chronicle of the Hungarians] (in Hungarian). Translated by Horváth, János. Magyar Helikon.
• Thuróczy, János (1957). [Hungarians Chronicle (Book 4 and 5 from the Thuróczy Chronicle, Period of 1382–1487)] (PDF) (in Hungarian). Translated by Geréb, László. Magyar Helikon.