Matthias Corvinus

King of Hungary and Bohemia, Duke of Austria (1443-1490)

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Lived 1443–1490, aged 47

Wikipedia
65 languages
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Era
1443–1490
Aged 47

Summary

Updated 2026-06-08

A medieval king who built one of Europe's first standing armies, crushed barons, and gathered a library rivaled only by the Vatican's — then died without an heir, leaving the whole project to collapse. Hungarian folklore still tells stories of "Matthias the Just" walking his kingdom in disguise, listening to the complaints of peasants.

Biography

About

Matthias was fourteen when his uncle rallied the Hungarian Estates to crown him in January 1458, two years after his father — the powerful regent John Hunyadi — had died and one year after his brother was executed on a king's orders. Within two weeks he'd seized real control. He spent the next three decades at war: first against Czech mercenaries and a Holy Roman Emperor who claimed Hungary for himself, then against the Hussite King of Bohemia, carving out Moravia, Silesia, and Lusatia while Catholic lords proclaimed him their king in 1469. The Hussites wouldn't bend, so the crown of Bohemia s…

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