SERBIAN NOBLES IN THE POLITICAL AND MILITARY EVENTS SURROUNDING THE ELECTION OF VLADISLAV II AS KING OF HUNGARY

Abstract

From the mid-1560s throughout Southern Hungary, numerous members of the Serbian feudal nobility began to cross the border and take up residence. Having received titles and lands, figures such as despot Vuk Grgurević, Miloš Belmužević, the brothers Jakšić, and later Đorđe and Jovan Branković all served faithfully under King Matthias Corvinus. After the king’s death on 6 April 1490, the question of electing the new ruler arose. Hungary was divided into five factions. As with other Hungarian nobles, the Serbs of Southern Hungary would frequently change sides and find themselves in opposing camps. At the Battle of Sárvíz, Serbs could be found in the troops of both the king’s minor son Ivaniš and his opponent. The Branković family of Srem first joined the ranks of the dead king’s son, then switched their support to Maximilian, until finally rallying behind Vladislaus II in the spring of 1491. In the days following the death of King Matthias, nobleman Miloš Belmužević supported Vladislaus II and remained a faithful retainer to the end of his life. Among numerous other sources, this work takes as its principal source the account of Antonio Bonfini regarding the events as found in the final three books of his work Rerum Ungaricarum Decades, tomus IV