Index – Science – A brutally murdered Hungarian prince – Intrigue, lust and revenge

In the well-known Bëlga ensemble hit, Kings in the House, mentioned in the person of the Hungarian Knight King of Anjou, who is only referred to as the “pioneer” Nagy Lajos, we rightly recall one of Hungary’s most glorious times . candidate when he could act like a true superpower and had the strength to do so. But what led to the groundbreaking? Well, this is a much more scandalous story.

Intrigue, lust and blood enmity: these three words could describe in the most concise way the world that surrounded the existence of Prince Endre of Calabria, the brother of King Louis, who lived just eighteen years ago. His life and death were a shining example of how someone fell victim to the immorality of great politics during the Middle Ages without himself having a substantial influence on his own destiny.

Prince Endre was born on November 30, 1327, that is, today he would be exactly 693 years old. He spent the early years of his childhood with his family in Visegrád, but was only six years old in the city of Naples for a dynastic engagement to Johanna, the heir to the Kingdom of Naples (officially the Kingdom of Sicily) in southern Italy.

The situation was really complicated by the death of Robert’s heir, Prince Charles of Calabria, in 1328. In addition to the duel, the ruler of Naples found himself in a very difficult political situation,

thus, other branches of the populous family, such as relatives named Tarantos and Durazzo, immediately had the intention of seizing the throne of Naples. However, Róbert did not look favorably on the history of any of them, so he contacted the Hungarian court. King Charles, of course, had the opportunity, and his efforts were massively supported by the papacy, so in the end

The desire for revenge was doomed

Needless to say, this engagement was not to the liking of many, such as the aforementioned Taranto and Durazzo family branches, so it became enveloping that Prince Endre, who was only six years old, was moved from a safe home to unscrupulous chess players.

For the Taranto branch of family II. (Valois) Catherine, Latin honorary empress of Constantinople, also VI. The sister of King Philip of France pulled the strings, with the stated intention of obtaining Johanna’s hand for a son, Robert or Louis. From the Durazzó branch, a widow, Countess Ágnes Périgord, and her son, Prince Charles, “shuffled the cards”, so that the throne of Naples came to depend essentially on the contest of these two “parties” in addition to the Hungarian interests.

The Hungarian educators of Endre, against his will, but unfortunately even helped in this process, as they tried to separate the prince from the customs of Naples that they considered free and immoral, and the young man himself became more and more reluctant. He also avoided parties at court and was happy to participate in fights and knight hunts.

At the same time, Johanna’s Italian educators despised them and considered the Hungarians barbarians compared to Naples, which carries the germs and easy lifestyle of Renaissance art (famous Renaissance poets such as Francesco Petrarca and Giovanni Boccaccio also spent a lot of time here ).

Robert, although he was supposed to treat Prince Endre with kindness, and with great splendor arranged the wedding of the newlyweds in 1342, in 1343, before his death, still gave a huge kick to the royal family, when for reasons almost confusing almost at the last minute.

His hostile environment with Johanna Endre has now become much easier than before. On the one hand, with the help of court ladies loyal to the Tarantos, Johanna was used to an increasingly immoral and unfaithful lifestyle, a line of lovers was organized for her (several of them are known by name) , while she was consciously harassed against her husband. Meanwhile, Prince Károly Durazzói also did not sit idly by, who, sensing the deterioration of his chances, kidnapped and married the queen’s sister, Maria.

Johanna was notoriously and regularly sleeping with other men, while in the absence of a royal title, her husband did not receive the slightest respect, he was despised, ridiculed. The Hungarian entourage of Endre naturally sensed the trouble, and they ensured that sinister events reached their brother, the young King Louis, as soon as possible.

However, this would have meant a diplomatic scandal for the world (in addition, Johanna’s marriage would not have been invalidated by this), so in Naples they tried to convince her that the negative rumors were unfounded. In parallel, the ambassadors also went to Avignon VI. To Pope Clement, who, at the cost of a lengthy sentence (and many thousands of gold marks), agreed to arrange for the Hungarian prince to be crowned honorary king of Naples.

Elizabeth thus returned to Hungary alone, confident of the success of her efforts, and left Endre in Naples despite her concerns.

Upon learning of the success of the Hungarian diplomatic success, Prince Endre made a very serious mistake: he trusted that after his coronation he could take revenge on his accumulated enemies, and as a sign he embroidered a bard and handcuffs on his new flag next to his coat of arms. Of course, in light of his prolonged humiliation of all these temperaments, he could hardly be surprised, but the punctured symbol naturally carried an unmistakable message that reinforced in his malice his determination to kill the young prince before he was crowned.

The murderer

Katalin Valois was also at the forefront of the conspiracy this time, as Endre’s coronation would have meant that the Tarantos’ careers took more than a negative turn anyway. Planning the assassination is probably an integral part of him and his confidants, who knew exactly who could be recruited for a widespread conspiracy, from the Endre-hating court ladies to the queen’s lovers and simple political figures of interest. .

not even despite his morals.

After lengthy negotiations, the city of Aversa was established as the site of the murder. On September 18, 1345, after a long hunt, they stayed in a monastery outside the city walls. In the evening, Endre was summoned by the conspirators along with his wife with important news from Naples.

A long fight started. According to sources, the prince fought hard for his life, but the assassins dragged him until he finally strangled the young man, who was not even eighteen years old. His body was thrown into the monastery garden and they hastily left the crime scene.

Blood revenge

Endre’s murder turned out to be the starting point for a perennial bloodbath. Due to the global scandal, the main perpetrators tried to silence the direct perpetrators as soon as possible, but Johanna’s opponents also began to work abundantly to roll up the case.

Most of the murderers died in brutal circumstances within a year: some were found dead during torture, others were poisoned or simply set on fire. Even in the fall of 1346, for reasons unclear, Katalin Valois also left the ranks of the living.

while VI. Pope Clement, as lord of the king’s fidelity, could not allow Juana to be overthrown from the throne of Naples, thus allowing the Hungarian power to gain ground, despite the fact that Pope Clement himself had previously called for the search and punishment of the sinners.

Juana reached old age, when in 1382 Prince Charles of Durazzo was imprisoned in the castle of Muro, sent by Louis to Naples, and then strangled the queen.

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