János Vitéz (archbishop)

János Vitéz (archbishop)

János Vitéz (in Croatian Ivan Vitez od Sredne; 1405 or 1408 – 1472) was the archbishop of Esztergom and a prominent humanist, diplomat, Latinist, mathematician, astrologist and astronomer.

Vitéz was born in Sredna near Križevci, in a Croatian family which was already influential at the Hungarian court. His father was the secretary of the regent John Hunyadi, "The White Knight", from 1446 to 1452. Vitéz became a prothonotary in his government.

János studied in Vienna, where he graduated law and became knowledgeable in physics, astronomy and alchemy due to frequent contacts with other humanists. In the chancery of King Sigismund, he probably met the excellent Italian humanist Pier Paolo Vergerio. For a while (around 1437) he was the canon in Zagreb. In that period, he helped strengthen the relations between the Croatian capital and the thriving Italian cultural and scientific centers. Then he left for Hungary, where he was to play a major role in the development of cultural and scientific institutions.

He was one of the educators of Hunyadi's son Matthias, who would become the king Matthias Corvinus of Hungary. He became the bishop of Oradea in 1445 and turned it into a humanist centre, where he invited a number of Polish and German humanists. He built an excellent library there. Both his court and the library moved from Oradea to Esztergom in 1465, when he became the primate of Hungary, or the archbishop of Esztergom - one of the two bishoprics in Hungary.

In the government of Matthias Corvinus, he fulfilled many positions. First of all, due to his earlier practice, he was an excellent diplomat to the king. In 1458 he was sent to Prague to George of Poděbrady to redeem the king and then he (according to Bonfini) welcomed the king when he entered the kingdom. He served the king in a few diplomatic missions, especially to the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III. After 1464 he became active in the highest and secret chancellor (together with Stephen Várdai), but did not take many actions in the position. During the late 1460s he became estranged to the king and in 1471 he led a plot against the ruler.

Vitéz, who spoke and wrote in excellent Latin, had a major role in the international circle of humanists at Corvin's court, some of whom were prominent scientists, such as Regiomontanus, Bylica, Peuerbach, Dorn. He was especially interested in natural sciences and promoted their study. He founded the academy and library in Oradea (moved to Esztergom) and the Universitas Istropolitana in today's Bratislava. He promoted astrologic and astronomic research, had astronomic instruments of his own, and founded the observatory in Esztergom. He is sometimes referred to as the Father of Hungarian Humanism.

As the initiator of a rebellion against the king (1471-1472), he lost his privileges and estates. Soon after, he fell ill and died in Esztergom.

His nephew was the great Latin humanist Janus Pannonius.

References

In Croatian:
* [http://public.carnet.hr/zuh/do1874/srv/srv_10.htm#1 Ivan Vitez od Sredne] in "Prominent Scientists and Works in the Middle Ages"


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Archdiocese of Esztergom — The St. Adalbert s Basilica in Esztergom built between 1822 1869 The archbishopric of Esztergom (or archbishopric of Gran) was a historical diocese created in 1000 under Stephen I of Hungary largely on the territory of Upper Hungary. After the… …   Wikipedia

  • Esztergom — Infobox City official name=Esztergom nickname=Hungarian Rome, Hungarian Sion, City of St. Stephen image map caption=Location of Esztergom in Hungary subdivision type = Country subdivision type1 = County subdivision name = Hungary subdivision… …   Wikipedia

  • Croatian Latin literature — Marko Marulić, one of the most important Croatian Latinists, known as the father of Croatian literature Croatian Latinism or Croatian Latin literature is a term that refers to the literary works written in the Latin language, which evolved on… …   Wikipedia

  • Matthias Corvinus of Hungary — Matthias Corvinus [In English, his first name is occasionally given as Matthew , while Corvinus may be rendered as Corwin or Corvin . Hungarian: Hunyadi Mátyás or Corvin Mátyás ; Romanian: Matei (or, seldom, Mateiaş ) Corvin ; Slovak: Matej… …   Wikipedia

  • Matthias Corvinus — King of Hungary and Croatia Reign 20 January 1458 6 April 1490 ( 1000000000000003200000032 years, 1000000000000007600000076 da …   Wikipedia

  • Tekovská Breznica — Geobox | Settlement name = Tekovská Breznica other name = category = Village image caption = symbol = etymology = official name = motto = nickname = country = Slovakia country state = region = Banská Bystrica district = Žarnovica commune =… …   Wikipedia

  • Sandro Botticelli — Botticelli redirects here. For the game, see Botticelli (game). Sandro Botticelli Probable self portrait of Botticelli, in his Adoration of the Magi (1475). Birth name Alessandro di Ma …   Wikipedia

  • Regiomontanus — /ree jee oh mon tay neuhs, tah , rej ee /; Ger. /rdday gee oh mohn tah noos/, n. See Müller, Johann. * * * ▪ German mathematician Latin name of  Johannes Müller von Königsberg  born June 6, 1436, Königsberg, archbishopric of Mainz [Germany] died… …   Universalium

  • Hungary — /hung geuh ree/, n. a republic in central Europe. 9,935,774; 35,926 sq. mi. (93,050 sq. km). Cap.: Budapest. Hungarian, Magyarország. * * * Hungary Introduction Hungary Background: Hungary was part of the polyglot Austro Hungarian Empire, which… …   Universalium

  • Hungary — • History of the country Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Hungary     Hungary     † Cathol …   Catholic encyclopedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”