Brodarics-emlékkönyv. Egy különleges pártváltás a mohácsi csata után (Budapest, 2011)
Summary / Zusammenfassung
A peculiar switch of allegiance after the Battle of Mohács Chapter II portrays — again in five subsections — the author of this special source. Firstly, the reader can get acquainted with István Brodarics as a man of historiography (II/1.), whose description of the Battle of Mohács printed in Cracow in Latin in April, 1527 is one of die most important texts of Central European humanist historiography and the most reliable source on the fight, as well. The farewell letter is the first to produce factual and decisive proof that the above mentioned work was committed to paper during February—March, 1527 in reply to a speech written in Latin at the very end of 1526 by a notable humanist of Vienna, Johannes Cuspinianus (1473-1529). (The Hungarian translations of both sources are available in the publication [chapters III/5—6] along with several other documents on the antecedents of the defection and the responses to it as well [III/7].) The two most spacious subsections of the volume (II/2—3) trace the politician-prelate’s doctrinal, moral, pragmatical and personal reasons for switcliing his allegiance. The sincere sense of responsibility for the peaceful survival of Hungary, the self-justification explaining his decision with the use of tools of political propaganda and the sensation of having been ignored in the Pozsony (today Bratislava, Slovakia) court of Mary of Habsburg equally occur as deciding factors. This move of Brodarics, who emerged from die modest rank of middle noblemen among the prelates and leading officials of the country, can be considered unique also for the fact that he changed parties only once in the chaotic period following 1526 and as a diplomat of John Szapo- lyai, between the spring of 1527 and his death at the end of 1539, he did his utmost to settle the two kings’ military struggle and to restore peace in the divided country (as it is depicted in detail in chapter II/4). Moreover, the noteworthy Peace Treaty of Várad of 24'1' February, 1538 concluded between the two Hungarian kings can be regarded as the humanist prelate’s political oeuvre. On the whole, István Brodarics’ carrier proves that it is possible for the ones engaged in politics to act honourably even in a highly contradictory period (II/5). His example was outstanding not only for the way he announced, undertook and explained his determination regarding switching his allegiance, but also for the fact that momentarily he is the only person we know trom the era who subsequently felt the need of soul-searching over his acts... The humanist Bishop’s correspondence of several hundred items — among which the farewell letter is considered one of the most precious ones — is also presented in this publication (chapter III/1) along with the extensive list of the most important historical sources and secondary literature written on the era, on the Battle of Mohács and on the life of István Brodarics (IV/1—2). Finally, we have to emphasize that the farewell letter carries outstanding importance not solely to the Hungarian historiography. It is a fundamental source for the Austrian historiography in view of some of its essential data pertaining to Ferdinand of Habsburg’s claim to the Hungarian throne; for the Croatian one because of Brodarics’ ancestry, who was born in the 15lh century-Slavonia populated mainly by Croatians; for the Polish one partly because of the humanist historian’s close Polish relations and partly because of Cracow, the place of publication of Brodarics’ description of the Battle of Mohács and also for the Slovakian historiography, regarding the place the letter was written from: on the whole, tor the historiography of a number of countries in Central Europe. 147
