Today in Hungarian history:
14 March 1457 King László V. (r. 1453-1457) ordered the capture of Hunyadi László, the eldest son of Hunyadi János, the victor of the Battle of Nándorfehérvár (Belgrad).
The feud between Hunyadi László, the young head of the country’s most powerful noble family, and the young king’s circle had dragged on since the death of the great general, Hunyadi János (1456).
King Habsburg László V was the king of Austria, Hungary, and Bohemia, also he was the younger brother of Emperor Frederick. His short and weak rule in Hungary certainly didn’t improve the political reconciliation between the two countries.
The young ruler, King László V, and especially his baronial patrons (e.g. Cillei Ulrik, Garai Miklós), looked with concern and envy on the Hunyadi fortune, which had grown enormously over the decades, and repeatedly demanded the surrender of certain castles, especially the retained Nándorfehérvár.
The king's demand to cede Nándorfehérvár was all the more unnerving because the monarch had not helped Hunyadi János against the Ottomans.
Hunyadi László refused to obey, and in a dispute with his supporters, he murdered Cillei Ulrik, who had come to Nándorfehérvár (Belgrad) to enforce the king’s demands.
The civil war between the Hunyadi party and the court came within arm’s length, although László sought reconciliation and the king promised forgiveness.
The eldest son of Hunyadi, therefore, traveled to Buda, but the court council meeting there sentenced him to forfeiture of property and land, and together with his brother Matthias and his supporters (e.g. Bishop Vitéz János of Várad), he was thrown into prison on 14 March 1457.
Hunyadi László was executed after two days; according to legend, the executioner struck him three times without success because of his thick hair – at which point he should have been pardoned – and only cut off his head for the fourth time.
Thus, the king cowardly executed Hunyadi László who trusted the safe conduct promised by the monarch. When King László V passed in 1457, Matthias became the next king of Hungary.
Szilágyi Erzsébet, Matthias’ mother was said to have threatened the Germans at the coronation of her son, Matthias, saying that “one year will not be spent and we are going to shed the blood of many Germans, our horses will wade in German blood up to their knees.”
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I have improved my article on King Matthias' reign with the historical detail of his brother's execution. To see it in a wider context, visit my page and read the full article:
https://www.hungarianottomanwars.com/essays/the-beginning-of-king-matthias-reign/
