Return to the Eyrie is a personal story with fictional main characters but is set against the complex historical background of the late 15th century Kingdom of Hungary. Medieval Hungary was a powerful multi-ethnic and multi-lingual kingdom, which covered a large part of Central Europe.
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15th-century Europe map copied from
https://www.gifex.com/detail-en/2009-09-17-811/Europe-during-the-15th-Century.html |
During most of the 15th century, the main danger for Hungary came from the Ottoman Empire, which was rapidly expanding towards the west and north. Smaller kingdoms and principalities, such as Serbia, Bulgaria or Wallachia, had already become vassals of the Ottomans while Constantinople fell to them in 1453. All this meant that Hungary was now the last frontier holding back the Sultan’s advance towards Central Europe.
The years between 1458 and 1490 were dominated by the figure of Mátyás (Matthias) Hunyadi, who became king aged fifteen in January 1458. Although his family’s origins are a little obscure and subject to many theories, it seems that Mátyás was the first king of Hungary who was elected despite not being of royal blood. Therefore, this caused problems to his rule right from the start. Powerful barons and prelates within Hungary as well as the Holy Roman Emperor and the King of Poland disputed his legitimacy. So, Mátyás had to secure his throne first and foremost before dealing with the Ottoman threat. In fact, he spent more time at war with his Christian neighbours than fighting the Ottomans. He also spent much effort trying to influence politics in Bosnia, Wallachia and Moldavia, by supporting his favourite candidates as rulers there. The most famous example was Vlad Dracul III (also known as Vlad the Impaler) whom Mátyás initially supported, then arrested and imprisoned for many years until he finally released him in 1475 and sent him back to Wallachia to reclaim his throne. However, Vlad’s rule was short-lived as he was killed at the end of 1476. Similarly, Mátyás fought against the Moldavian Prince, Stefan III (later known as Stefan the Great), during the early years of his rule; however, he later supported Stefan in his efforts to repel the Ottoman attacks on Moldavia.
Some historians believe that Mátyás probably realised that the only way for him to be successful against the Sultan’s armies was to unite the neighbouring countries under his rule and thus increase his military strength. Others believe that he was more interested in becoming the Holy Roman Emperor himself.
But apart from his political and military achievements, Mátyás was also well-known for bringing the Italian Renaissance and Humanism to Hungary, becoming the patron of many scholars and artists and establishing the famous Corvina Library in his Buda palace.
All these elements of the historical background of the time are woven through the storyline of Return to the Eyrie. The main characters participate in the King’s military campaigns, while they also witness the devastation of the Ottoman attacks on the border areas of Hungary. The different battle tactics—from cannons, siege machines and gunboats to armoured cavalry and mounted archers—are depicted in the novel, showing the size and variety of the military forces Mátyás had at his disposal. As the characters travel across the kingdom, they meet people of different ethnic origins who speak a variety of languages, accentuating the multi-cultural nature of medieval Hungary. In addition, the splendour of the royal palace and the King’s legendary fair judgement (which became the subject of popular folk tales after his death) are also demonstrated when he deals with the heroine of the novel.
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| Bust of King Mátyás Hunyadi at the Royal Palace in Visegrád (author photograph) |
By Katerina Dunne
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Thank you very much for hosting Katerina Dunne today, with such an interesting post.
ReplyDeleteTake care,
Cathie xx
The Coffee Pot Book Club