Hungarian Heritage Review, 1988 (17. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1988-11-01 / 11. szám
THE RAVEN AND THE RING THE LIFE AND TIMES OF JOHN HUNYADI — BY — PAUL PULITZER Chapter V: ... FOR THE CROWN King Vladislav of Poland, from the moment of his arrival in Buda, put forth the greatest efforts in his attempts to establish Royal authority and to put down the disorders caused by Queen Elizabeth and her followers. He summoned a meeting of the Magyar Diet to witness his coronation, to aid him in finding means to restore peace in the realm, and to suggest some way to force Queen Elizabeth to honor her pledge to marry him. He also tried to enlist the aid of the Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick III. Under the spell of Count Cilii, however, Queen Elizabeth was induced to take steps which would undermine all of the efforts of Vladyslav to establish his good faith and to perform in the best interests of Hungary. One action of Queen Elizabeth outraged the people beyond all others. With the help of Cilii, Elizabeth stole the sacred Crown of St. Stephen from Visegrad, in which stronghold this symbol of Royal authority was kept secure. Using the Crown, she tried to inspire the free towns into open rebellion; she attempted to kindle revolt in the towns of Transylvania populated largely by Germanic settlers. Then, with the open support of Frederick, she appealed to Bohemia for troops. With them she invaded her own land. The actions of the Queen were so blatant and so arrogant that even some of her own supporters defected and joined the ranks of the followers of Vladyslav. The coronation of Vladyslav as King of Hungary could not take place with Elizabeth, Cilii and their forces posing a threat. So Hunyadi drove against the rebel headquarters, isolated the city, and captured Cilii. Instead of executing Cilii — which would have been better for himself and for Hungary — Hunyadi delivered the Count into the custody of the King who held him hostage. Since the way was now clear for the coronation of Vladyslav, a delegation of nobles was sent to Visegrad to secure the sacred Crown. Discovering the theft of the Crown, the members of the delegation were so infuriated that they almost killed the Bishop of Esztergom for his complicity in the arrogant plot. The loss of the Crown posed a considerable dilemma, since without this symbol of authority no one could rule as King of Hungary. A compromise was reached through the use of another diadem found among the remains of St. Stephen. But this action provoked the outbreak of further civil strife, because many felt that Vladyslav’s coronation was still illegal. Queen Elizabeth now turned to Frederick III to continued next page NOVEMBER 1988 HUNGARIAN HERITAGE REVIEW 19
