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  • A Humanist Diplomat in Early 16th Century Hungary: Hieronymus Balbus
    11-48
    Views:
    154

    The article investigates new sources, Western European, mainly English diplomatic reports – several being so far unknown for Hungarian scholarship, or, if known, not examined in this regard – e.g. held at the British Library Manuscript Collection to shed light on Hungarian-Ottoman relations at the eve of the fall of the “shield of Christendom”, Belgrade in 1521. The article follows the mission of Hieronymus Balbus, an Italian at the diplomatic personnel of Jagiellonian Hungary, in 1521 to the Habsburg, Tudor and Valois courts. Balbus’s diplomatic workings – through the embassy to the Emperor (Charles V in Worms and Brussels), a peace conference at Calais and Cardinal Wolsey and Henry VIII, King of England – has not been adequately seen in Hungarian historiography, and some of his letters and political activity ranging from Bruges, Worms, Calais, London and Cologne has not so far been mapped, yet new insights can be given for the understanding of Louis II’s diplomatic efforts during the stress of the siege and loss of Belgrade in 1521. The investigation is largely based on Balbus’s dispatches – which has not survived in Hungarian archival material but were preserved in the reports of English envoys of his activity, to the maker of Tudor policy, Chancellor Wolsey. The correspondence of Balbus provides valuable information on the administration of Louis II, about its relationship with the Turks and the Emperor. The leaders of Hungarian diplomacy did not lack astuteness and “had a clear picture” about the international power relations. The government experimented with alternatives, provided they did not receive any aid from the Habsburgs: they were willing to go as far as making an alliance with not only the English, but even with the Emperor’s enemies, the Valois. In 1521, despite the powerful Habsburg dominance, Hungarian foreign politics did have some room to manoeuvre.

  • „De Stefanuskroon niet Habsburgsch”: Alternatieven voor de oplossing van de Hongaarse ‘koningskwestie’ en de Nederlandse pers, 1919–1921
    77-107
    Views:
    71

    Following the election of Miklós Horthy as Regent and the dethronement of Charles IV, a special public law situation developed in Hungary, during which the state form of the country remained, in fact, but no one had become authorized to occupy the Hungarian royal throne. The fact that a kingdom existed without a monarch in the heart of contemporary Europe served as an almost constant topic for the political and gossip columns of the domestic and international press, and also earned itself a prominent place among the conversation topics in the rather extensive network of European aristocracy. The importance of the Hungarian problem in the post-‘Great War’ period was also indicated by the lively interest taken by the diplomatic corps of some countries of the continent. Of course, many organizations and individuals tried to win their own ideas in the chaotic situation after the Trianon Treaty and get the Hungarian crown for their candidate or for themselves. This study attempts to introduce the Dutch press narratives in connection with the Hungarian ‘royal question’ between 1919 and 1921. During these years because of the fragile post-war Hungarian internal political situation this problem was at its most acute, and when most of the „candidates” and self-candidates for the Hungarian throne emerged. The paper also looks at the background to some of the motivations behind the candidates and how the news was spread in the international press of the time. The issue raised is of particular interest for the Hungarian-Dutch relations for two reasons. On one hand, there was a fundamental mutual sympathy between the two countries during this period. On the other hand, both countries were monarchies at the time, the public perception of a monarchical state about the predicament of another country with a similar form of government can tell us a lot about the public opinion of the time.