H. Kolba Judit szerk.: Historical Exhibition of the Hungarian National Museum Guide 2 - From the Foundation of the State until the Expulsion of the Ottomans - The history of Hungary in the 11th to 17th centuries (Budapest, 2005)

ROOM 3 - The Age of Sigismund of Luxembourg and János Hunyadi (first half of the 15th century) (Etele Kiss - Ágnes Ritoók)

21. Reverse side of a chasuble (detail), Kassa (Kosice), c. 1400 ARMS AND ARMOUR As result of the defeat suffered at the hands of the Turks by the Hungarians at the Battle of Nikápoly (Nikopol) in 1396, the militia portalis came into being. This compelled the nobles to equip, after a certain number of units of land held in villeinage, a mounted soldier. The equipment of the soldier consisted of a bow with arrows, a long, double-edged stiletto and a sword. As protective equipment he could use a shirt of mail at best. The main weapons of the militia portalis were, most likely, not swords but sabres. In the first half of the 15th century, the light cavalry and a part of the infantry used Oriental sabre-blades of increased weight and size joined onto Western-type sword-hilts: so-called sabres with an S-shaped crosspiece. From the mid-15th century onwards, the heavy cavalry, which wore full armour, used heavy and strong swords. Of these, a type of sword 80 to 90 cm long, rhombus-shaped in cross-section and ending in a point was a new development. RELIGIOUS ORDERS IN HUNGARY Of the religious orders operating in the first half of the 15th century, the Franciscans deserve first mention. The Observants, a strict branch of the Franciscan order, developed in the 1430s. With the support of the landowners, the Observants in Hungary founded several new monasteries or took over old ones, primarily in the estate-centres or in market-towns. Through their cure of souls among the peasantry and the town burghers the Franciscans played a great role in shaping religiosity among the people and in the spread of the cult of the Blessed Virgin Mary. John of Capistrano, who had enjoyed an important role in the victory of Nándorfehérvár (Beograd) and who was canonized in 1690, belonged to