Johannes de Thurocz (Hungarian: Thuróczi 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 LatinChronica Hungarorum ("Chronicle of the Hungarians"), the most extensive 15th-century work on Hungary, and the first chronicle of Hungary written by a layman.
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 now Nedožery-Brezany). 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.
Thurocz's chronicle was written in three main parts:
The first part is Thurocz's interpretation of a poem by Lorenzo de Monacis of Venice. It deals with the rule of King Charles II of Hungary, and was probably written on the initiative of Thurocz's superior Stephen of Haserhag (the general notary of the Royal court), or perhaps that of the country judge Thomas Drági. Physically, this part is attached to part c) below.
Thurocz wrote the second part was written in 1486 and describes the deeds of Hungarian kings up to Louis the Great. This part in turn consists of three sub-sections:
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;
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);
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.
The third part describes events from the death of King Charles II the Small (died 1386) until the conquest of Vienna and Wiener Neustadt by King Matthias Corvinus in August 1487; this can be considered Thurocz's own original work, and was mostly written in early 1487. It was inspired by the famous historico-geographical lexicon Cosmographia by Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini and was based largely on existing diplomatic documents and letters. However, information from the Cosmographia was selected somewhat one-sidedly and haphazardly.
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:
Illuminations the hand coloured woodcut illustrations (55), the initial letters Inc C 75, accession number F 1450/76 Slovak National Library at Matica slovenská in Martin, Slovakia, the second edition, Augsburgian, 2. version (variant)
The Brno edition, published 20 March 1488, printed by Couradus Stahel and Matthias Preinlein. One copy is preserved at the Biblioteca Mănăstirii Brâncoveanu in Romania; a second at Graz University Library, Austria; and a third in Braşov, Romania (Parohia evanghelică C. A. Biserica Neagră 1251/2).
The AugsburgAugusta Vindelicorum edition, dated 3 June 1488. Publisher Erhard Ratdolt for Theobald Feger, a citizen of Buda.
German 1490 manuscript: one copy at Heidelberg (Cod. Pal. germ. 156); another at Cambridge, Massachusetts, Houghton Library, (Ms. Ger. 43 [formerly Nikolsburg, Fürstl. Dietrichsteinsche Bibl., Cod. II 138]).
See also
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Johannes de Thurocz.
^Boia, Lucian, ed. (1989). Great historians from antiquity to 1800: an international dictionary. Vol. 1. Greenwood Press. p. 207. ISBN9780313245176. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
External links
The German illuminated manuscript and the German-language text
The original Latin text of the chronicle
January 31, 2023
johannes, thurocz, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, addi. This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Johannes de Thurocz news newspapers books scholar JSTOR November 2012 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article possibly contains original research Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations Statements consisting only of original research should be removed November 2012 Learn how and when to remove this template message Learn how and when to remove this template message Johannes de Thurocz Hungarian Thuroczi Janos Slovak Jan z Turca or Jan 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 Latin magister judge Johannes de ThuroczThe first page of Thuroczy s chronicleBornc 1435Died1488 or 1489OccupationHistorianLanguageLatinNationalityHungarianAlma materPremonstratensian monastery in IpolysagYears active1486 1488Notable worksChronica Hungarorum Contents 1 Life 2 Chronicle 3 Early editions 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksLife EditThurocz s parents came from Turoc 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 Nadaser now Nedozery Brezany Johannes uncle Andreas received a property at Pyr as a donation from King Sigismund of Luxembourg and Johannes father Peter inherited this estate Thurocz was educated in a Premonstratensian monastery in Ipolysag now Sahy Slovakia where he studied Latin and law In 1465 he appeared in Buda as a prosecutor of the Premonstratensian monastery of Ipolysag From 1467 to 1475 he served as a notary of the judge royal Ladislaus Paloci from 1476 to 1486 as the main notary of the judge royal Stephen Bathory at the royal court and from 1486 to 1488 as a head notary and judge of the royal personnel clerk Thomas Dragi 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 Edit Matthias Corvinus as depicted in Chronica Hungarorum by Johannes de Thurocz Thurocz s chronicle was written in three main parts The first part is Thurocz s interpretation of a poem by Lorenzo de Monacis of Venice It deals with the rule of King Charles II of Hungary and was probably written on the initiative of Thurocz s superior Stephen of Haserhag the general notary of the Royal court or perhaps that of the country judge Thomas Dragi Physically this part is attached to part c below Thurocz wrote the second part was written in 1486 and describes the deeds of Hungarian kings up to Louis the Great This part in turn consists of three sub sections 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 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 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 Kukullo The third part describes events from the death of King Charles II the Small died 1386 until the conquest of Vienna and Wiener Neustadt by King Matthias Corvinus in August 1487 this can be considered Thurocz s own original work and was mostly written in early 1487 It was inspired by the famous historico geographical lexicon Cosmographia by Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini and was based largely on existing diplomatic documents and letters However information from the Cosmographia was selected somewhat one sidedly and haphazardly 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 Edit 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 Illuminations the hand coloured woodcut illustrations 55 the initial letters Inc C 75 accession number F 1450 76 Slovak National Library at Matica slovenska in Martin Slovakia the second edition Augsburgian 2 version variant Bucharest National Library of Romania Inc I 41 Datare sigura 03 07 1488 III Non Jun 1488 The Brno edition published 20 March 1488 printed by Couradus Stahel and Matthias Preinlein One copy is preserved at the Biblioteca Mănăstirii Brancoveanu in Romania a second at Graz University Library Austria and a third in Brasov Romania Parohia evanghelică C A Biserica Neagră 1251 2 The Augsburg Augusta Vindelicorum edition dated 3 June 1488 Publisher Erhard Ratdolt for Theobald Feger a citizen of Buda German 1490 manuscript one copy at Heidelberg Cod Pal germ 156 another at Cambridge Massachusetts Houghton Library Ms Ger 43 formerly Nikolsburg Furstl Dietrichsteinsche Bibl Cod II 138 See also Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Johannes de Thurocz Sources of early Hungarian history Chronica HungarorumReferences Edit Setton Kenneth Meyer 1978 The Papacy and the Levant Diane p 182 ISBN 9780871691279 Retrieved 31 December 2014 Boia Lucian ed 1989 Great historians from antiquity to 1800 an international dictionary Vol 1 Greenwood Press p 207 ISBN 9780313245176 Retrieved 31 December 2014 External links EditThe German illuminated manuscript and the German language text The original Latin text of the chronicle Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Johannes de Thurocz amp oldid 1120400710, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
