Kubinyi András: Matthias Rex (Budapest, 2008)
Two. From Childhood to Election as King
tion as governor, however, László also began to receive a political role. Indeed, in 1452, when he was little more than twenty years old, he was made count of Pozsony—which placed him among the barons. In 1453, he became ban of Croatia and then, in 1456, he was appointed as marshal (agasonum regalium magister) and made count of Temes and count of Trencsén. László offered important political support to his father. Moreover János Hunyadi saw in both his sons the opportunity to enhance the family’s power through political marriage. When, after the second Battle of Kosovo in 1448, he was captured by the Serbian despot Durad Brankovic, he had to leave his son László as a hostage in order to go free himself. It was then that the idea of a marriage between László and either Ulrich of Celje’s daughter (the granddaughter of Brankovic) or the daughter of László Garai (cousin of Ulrich) arose. László was freed almost two years later, but the marriage plan, which was dependent upon changing political relations, was retained. László was betrothed to Anna Garai, who was still a child, in 1451 or possibly in 1455. Matthias was also drawn into this policy of marriage. In 1451, a contract of marriage was drawn up between the younger Hunyadi boy and Ulrich of Celje’s daughter Erzsébet; both were still children. A difference of opinion between the parents resulted in the delay of the marriage until the summer of 1455, when Ulrich of Celje handed over his daughter to János Hunyadi. Meanwhile Matthias was taken into the court of Ladislaus V as the king’s chamberlain, since the king’s mother, who was also the daughter of King Sigismund, was the first cousin of Ulrich of Celje. Thus, in a sense, the child marriage resembled a reciprocal hostagetaking. The consummation of the marriage had to wait until the children were adults, but Erzsébet died shortly afterwards, probably in the Castle of Hunyad. The marriage would have been politically useful to the Hunyadi family, since Ulrich of Celje was not just a Hungarian aristocrat but also a prince of the Holy Roman Empire. Moreover, since Ulrich of Celje lacked a male heir, Matthias might have inherited the family’s estate and established kinship ties with the Serbian royal family. After the death of János Hunyadi, who succumbed to the plague within weeks of his victory at the Battle of Nándorfehérvár (Belgrade) (1456), his son László inherited the Hunyadi estates and property and became master to a great number of familiaris. László was a man of ambition; he now had the power to satisfy such ambition. He wished to follow in 25