Kubinyi András: Matthias Rex (Budapest, 2008)
One. The Family and Relatives of Matthias Hunyadi
and king of Bohemia.) In this way Hunyadi wrested the young king from the “protective sphere” of Emperor Frederick III. A compromise solution was reached, whereby in late 1452 Hunyadi resigned as regent, transferring his power to the king. The latter then appointed Hunyadi as captain-general of Hungary and trustee of the royal revenues, also making him the first hereditary count of Beszterce. It was the first time this form of aristocratic title had been used in Hungary, and it added to the status of the former regent. (Some families on the western margins of the country, as well as the old Croatian aristocratic families, had been using the title of count—for example, the counts of Szentgyörgy, Bazin and Frankopan—but they had done so under foreign influence and their titles gave them no privileges in Hungary. The title of count of Beszterce was different.) As captain-general and the trustee of the royal revenues, János Hunyadi retained almost all his former power. In 1456, the former regent defeated Sultan Mehmed II, ending the siege of Nándorfehérvár. This victory added to Hunyadi’s reputation abroad and sent an important message to the Turks: Hungary would be no easy prey for the Ottoman troops. Several weeks after this victory, however, János Hunyadi died and a new political situation arose. János Hunyadi appears to have married around 1428-1430. His wife, Erzsébet Szilágyi, came from an illustrious noble family: she was the daughter of László Szilágyi and Katalin Bellyéni (or Bellyei). László Szilágyi was first mentioned in 1403 as the familiaris of János Maróti, ban of Macsó. Since he and his master supported Sigismund against the antiking, Ladislaus of Naples, he was awarded estates in Bodrog County. Hunyadi welcomed his five brothers and a cousin to these estates. Although some of these relatives were subsequently referred to in documents, no mention is to be found of their descendents. With the other Maróti familiares, László Szilágyi moved permanently to the south of the country with a land donation. The only known fact about László Szilágyi’s family is that it came from the Szilágyság region. From 1405-1408, László Szilágyi served with Miklós (Vojk) Garázda de Keresztúr as the captain of Srebrenik. Together the two men were awarded donations of land by the king; for instance, in the Transylvanian counties of Doboka and Fehér in 1407. In 1408, Sigismund—in part exchange for land in the counties of Heves and Nógrád—granted them the estate in Horogszeg in Temes County and 15