When the Hungarian king Andrew III died without an heir in 1301, the network of intermarriages that defined medieval European politics all but guaranteed a struggle for succession among several royal houses. Through his Hungarian grandmother, the eleven-year-old Caroberto of Naples exerted his claim to the throne and was crowned Charles I of Hungary, establishing a new dynasty. During Charles I's reign and that of his son, Louis the Great, Hungary established a centralized, wealthy state whose power extended into Croatia, Poland, and the Mediterranean, with leadership of Hungary and Poland questioned once again when Louis's daughters, Mary and Hedvig, were placed in the direct line of succession. The Angevins in Hungary 1301-1395 presents not only the history of the Capetian House of Anjou's reign in the Kingdom of Hungary, but also the family's ruling framework in Naples and Italy and the changing relationship between its Italian and Hungarian branches. It also explores the Hungarian branch's rule in Poland and central Europe, its connections to the Hungarian House of Arpad, and its interactions with the Ottoman Empire and the Mongols. Drawing on sources ranging from traditional records to newly digitized international archives, author Eniko Csukovits brings unprecedented clarity to the history of medieval Hungary, revealing not only how the House of Anjou shaped Hungarian history but also how its demise redrew Europe's dynastic map. Restoring medieval Hungary's prominence within medieval Europe's international landscape of politics and court culture, The Angevins in Hungary 1301-1395 tells the story of the rise and fall of Hungary's kings and queens at a time of historical transition.
Eniko Csukovits is a scientific advisor at the Research Centre for the Humanities, Institute of History in Budapest. She is author of Hungary and the Hungarians: Western Europe's View in the Middle Ages.
Introduction Part I: The Arrival of the New Dynasty 1. A Country Between East and West 2. The Dynasty of the Holy Kings 3. The Angevin Dynasty and the Claim to the Throne of Hungary 4. The Ascent of Charles "of Hungary" to the Throne 5. The Fight for Power Part II: Charles Consolidates His Power 6. The Government of Hungary 7. Charles' Treasury 8. A Dynasty's Ambitions 9. What Was Charles I Like? Part III: The Rule of Louis the Great of Hungary 10. The Young Knightly King 11. The Neapolitan Campaigns 12. The Law of 1351 13. Gaining Control Over the Territory of Dalmatia 14. Rivals and Allies, Enemies and Vassals 15. The Polish-Hungarian Personal Union Part IV: "On the peace of the King Louis era" 16. In the Court of Louis the Great 17. The Forms Taken by Official Court Functions 18. A Portrait of Louis the Great Part V: Princesses on the Throne 19. Mother and Daughters 20. Bloody Intermezzo: The Rule of Charles the Short in Hungary 21. The End of the Angevin Era in Hungary Conclusion List of Abbreviations Select Bibliography Index
"The Angevin dynasty has received considerable attention in works written in Italian, French, Hungarian, or Slovak, but English-speaking scholarship has not fully explored the multifaceted history of this important medieval dynasty. . . . This book is a welcomed addition to the international discourse on the Angevin history in the 14th century, filling the gap between the older, mostly Hungarian, works published in previous decades and the current augmented interest in the history of the Angevin dynasty."-Dusan Zupka, author of Ritual and Symbolic Communication in Medieval Hungary under the Arpad Dynasty (1000 - 1301)
