(The Beginnings of the Pro-Anjou Attitude of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem in the Hungarian Kingdom in the Light of the Hospitallers’ Communication)

Abstract: The history of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem in the medieval Kingdom of Hungary is known in the nowadays Slovak public especially thanks to its participation in the well-known battle of Rozhanovce in 1312 alongside Charles I of Hungary (better known as Charles Robert). With this crucial help to the first Angevin Hungarian king, the Hospitallers most significantly proved their allegiance to the Anjou dynasty. This study focuses on tracing the beginnings of cooperation between the Hungarian Hospitallers and the Anjou dynasty before the battle of Rozhanovce, based on manifestations of the pro-Anjou attitude in the light of the Hospitallers’ forms of communication. Firstly, the paper examines the period of the reign of the last Arpadian king, Andrew III, when the Anjou dynasty was already trying to establish itself in the Kingdom of Hungary. The information on whether the Hospitallers stood on the side of Angevines or they did not, cannot be acquired from the extant written sources from the last decade of the 13th century. On the other hand, it can be stated that they cooperated with Andrew III, at least regarding property and legal matters. Furthermore, the study deals with the period of consolidation of the royal power in the Hungarian kingdom until the Battle of Rozhanovce. Based on several written sources, it can be stated that in the first decade of the 14th century, the Order of St. John in the Hungarian kingdom unequivocally joined the side of Charles I at latest in August 1303. Moreover, the presented sources are unique examples of symbolic, visual, written, but also personal manners of communication of the Hungarian Hospitallers at the turn of the 13th and 14th century.

Authors: Filo, Jozef

DOI: 10.17846/CL.2022.15.1.24-39

Publication order reference: Mgr. Jozef Filo; Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra, Faculty of Arts, Department of History, Hodžova 1, 949 74 Nitra, Slovakia; email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Source: Konštatínove listy, 2022, vol.: 15, issue: 1, pages: 24-39 (PDF file)

Keywords: HOSPITALLERS, ORDER OF ST. JOHN OF JERUSALEM, MILITARY-RELIGIOUS ORDERS, MIDDLE AGES, HUNGARIAN KINGDOM, MEDIEVAL CHURCH HISTORY, COMMUNICATION

Language: SLOVAK