Johannes de Thurocz

Latin: magister ("judge")
Johannes de Thurocz

The first page of Thuroczy's chronicle
Native name Thuróczy János
Born c. 1435
Died 1488 or 1489
Occupation Historian
Language Latin
Nationality Hungarian
Alma mater Premonstratensian monastery in Ipolyság
Notable works Chronica Hungarorum
Years active 1486  1488

Johannes de Thurocz (Hungarian: Thuróczy János; Slovak: Ján z Turca or Ján de Turocz, German: Johannes de Thurocz, variant contemporary spelling: de Thwrocz) (c. 1435  1488 or 1489), was a Hungarian historian[1][2] and the author of the Latin Chronica Hungarorum ("Chronicle of the Hungarians"), the most extensive 15th-century work on Hungary, and the first chronicle of Hungary written by a layman.

Life

Thurocz's parents came from Turóc County (formerly also spelled as Thurocz), Upper Hungary (now Turiec region, Slovakia) where they were members of a yeoman family recorded since the first half of the 13th century (the village of Nádasér). Johannes' uncle Andreas received a property at Pýr as a donation from King Sigismund of Luxembourg, and Johannes' father Peter inherited this estate.

Thurocz was educated in a Premonstratensian monastery in Ipolyság (now Šahy, Slovakia), where he studied Latin and law. In 1465 he appeared in Buda, as a prosecutor of the Premonstratensian monastery of Ipolyság. From 1467 to 1475 he served as a notary of the judge royal Ladislaus Pálóci, from 1476 to 1486 as the main notary of the judge royal Stephen Báthory at the royal court, and from 1486 to 1488 as a head notary and judge of the royal personnel clerk Thomas Drági. No evidence of any university studies has been preserved, and it is possible that the title Latin: "magister" in front of his name was merely a polite title for an official or civil servant.

Chronicle

Matthias Corvinus as depicted in Chronica Hungarorum by Johannes de Thurocz

Thurocz's chronicle was written in three main parts:

  1. the so-called Hunnish chronicle based on old Hungarian chronicles (Chronicon Pictum, Buda Chronicle) and preserved manuscripts, in which Thurocz attempts to correct the errors of his predecessors;
  2. an interpretation of the history of the Hungarian Kingdom from 895 (arrival of the Magyars) until the rule of King Charles I of Hungary (1307  42);
  3. a history of part of the reign of Louis I of Hungary (reigned 1342  82), which arose through incorporation of a chronicle written by John of Küküllő.

According to his own words in the work's dedication, Thurocz had no ambitions as an historian. In fact, his chronicle contains many errors and omits a number of significant events. Besides more reliable sources, the work relies extensively on oral tradition, folk songs and anecdotes, and contains many references to "miraculous" events and wonders.

Destiny and fortune play a significant role in history as seen by Thurocz. Like many of his contemporaries he was convinced of the close relationship between human fortune, historical events and the motion of celestial bodies.

Thurocz sought an explanation of a number of events in the moral imperative. He gave much attention to describing the inner feelings of historical characters, but had an evident tendency to idealize the Hungarian heroes Attila and Matthias Corvinus, while downplaying the significance of Hungary's queens.

Early editions

Heraldry of Corvinus as depicted in the 1490 German manuscript

The first editions of Chronica Hungarorum were published in 1488 in Brno, (Moravia) and Augsburg. Further editions followed over the following centuries in Frankfurt, Vienna, Nagyszombat and Buda.

Extant early editions include:

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Johannes de Thurocz.

References

  1. Meyer Setton, Kenneth (1978). The Papacy and the Levant. Diane. p. 182. ISBN 9780871691279. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  2. Boia, Lucian, ed. (1989). Great historians from antiquity to 1800: an international dictionary. 1. Greenwood Press. p. 207. ISBN 9780313245176. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
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