A nándorfehérvári győzelem és Itália = The victory of Nándorfehérvár and Italy

E. Kovács, Péter (2007) A nándorfehérvári győzelem és Itália = The victory of Nándorfehérvár and Italy. TÖRTÉNELMI SZEMLE, 49 (3). pp. 315-325. ISSN 0040-9634

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Abstract

Generally in Catholic world, thus in Italy as well, the practice of ringing the bells refers to a battle in which the Christian army defeated the Ottoman troops according to Hungarian historical tradition. The contemporaries supposed that three remarkable people gained the victory: Cardinal Carvajal, the Fransiscan friar János Kapesztránói from Abruzzo, and János Hunyadi who repelled the attack and who was regarded as the wealthiest Hungarian aristocrat. Italian sources attach great importance to the siege of 1456; therefore this study is intended to reconstruct the route through which the news about the triumph reached the peninsula. The victory of Nándorfehérvár proved a momentous occasion, because Mehmed II, sultan of the Ottoman Empire, made it obvious by occupying Byzantium that Europe had to reckon with an active expansionism. The Christian world could not get over the shock of 1453, and in spite of the several bright plans, the concentration of the Christian rulers’ forces turned out to be a forlorn undertaking. Arranging the crusade seemed hopeless, because – apart from Pope Callixtus III – only those were concerned about the crusade who were directly in danger. This explains why the reports on the victory of Nándorfehérvár were sent out so urgently after the siege: the supporters of the crusade (i.e. Carvajal, Kapesztránó and Hunyadi) knew that the success would make the forces into a whole against the Ottoman Empire, but the necessary steps should be taken immediately. From the point of view of Italy, the triumph at Nándorfehérvár did not mean the continuation of the crusade but the relief, because at that time it was quite possible the Ottoman army would overrun Europe. Nowadays we know that it was not probable, but the loss of Byzantium, the getting more active expansionism of Mehmed II in Europe and the threat of the unknown enemy exaggerated the power of the Ottoman Empire.

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