The realm of St. Stephen : a history of medieval Hungary, 895-1526

Now recognised as the standard work on the subject, Realm of St Stephen is a comprehensive history of medieval Eastern and Central Europe. Pál Engel traces the establishment of the medieval kingdom of Hungary from its conquest by the Magyar tribes in 895 until defeat by the Ottomans at the Battle of Mohacs in 1526. He shows the development of the dominant Magyars who, upon inheriting an almost empty land, absorbed the remaining Slavic peoples into their culture after the original communities had largely disappeared. Engel's book is an accessible and highly readable history. 'This is now the standard English language treatment of medieval Hungary - its internal history as well as its regional and European significance.' --- P W Knoll, University of Southern Carolina (From 'Choice') 'A lively and highly readable narrative ' --- Albrecht Classen, University of Arizona (From 'Mediaevistik') Contents 6 Foreword 8 Preface 12 Introduction 14 Chapter 1 The Carpathian Basin before the Hungarians 22 Chapter 2 The Pagan Hungarians 29 Chapter 3 The First Century of the Christian Kingdom 46 Chapter 4 The Twelfth Century 70 Chapter 5 Early Hungarian Society 87 Chapter 6 The Age of the Golden Bulls 104 Chapter 7 The Last Árpádians 122 Chapter 8 Charles I of Anjou (1301–1342) 145 Chapter 9 The New Monarchy 161 Chapter 10 Louis the Great (1342–1382) 178 Chapter 11 The Monarchy of Louis the Great 195 Chapter 12 The Years of Crises (1382–1403) 216 Chapter 13 Sigismund’s Consolidation 230 Chapter 14 Sigismund’s Foreign Policy (1403–1437) 250 Chapter 15 Trade and Towns 265 Chapter 16 The Rural Landscape 288 Chapter 17 The Age of John Hunyadi (1437–1457) 299 Chapter 18 King Matthias Corvinus (1458–1490) 319 Chapter 19 Hungary at the End of the Middle Ages 344 Chapter 20 The Age of the Jagiellonian Kings (1490–1526) 366 Maps 393 Genealogical Tables 401 Abbreviations 406 Endnotes 408 Bibliography 417 Index 452