The Angevins in Hungary 1301–1395: (Studies in Hungarian History)

From the thirteenth to the fifteenth century, the House of Anjou was one of Europe's most significant ruling dynasties, with dominions extending across the continent from the French province that gave them their name to the kingdoms of Hungary and Poland. The House of Anjou was the tie that bound these countries with their varying levels of development, their divergent institutions, and their far-flung geography. The Angevins in Hungary 1301-1395 traces the lives and reigns of three generations of this dynasty: the founder of the dynasty, Charles I, his son Louis I – who also won the Polish throne and occupied that of Naples – and Louis' daughters, Mary, Queen of Hungary and Hedwig, Queen of Poland. Author Enikő Csukovits does more than just present the Angevin dynasty's activities in Hungary, however, depicting the Angevin's reign over Hungary within several important contexts: the family's control of Naples and the entire Kingdom of Sicily, as well as several other Italian city-states and communes; the changing relationships between the Italian and Hungarian branches of the dynasty; the Hungarian Angevins' sovereignty over Poland; and the role Angevin Hungary played as a regional power in the 14th century. Examining the Anjou countries together with the Kingdom of Hungary in the center, The Angevins in Hungary 1301-1395 provides a new understanding of how these territories were managed, the networks of connections that determined their fate, the character of the relationships between these countries and provinces, and the similarities and differences between these entities' institutions.

Table of Contents:
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

About the Author :
Enikő 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.

Review :
"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."—Dušan Zupka, author of Ritual and Symbolic Communication in Medieval Hungary under the Árpád Dynasty (1000 - 1301)