John Vitéz

His Eminence

John Vitéz
His Eminence; John Vitéz
Cardinal Archbishop of Esztergom; Primate of Hungary
Archdiocese	Esztergom
Installed	15 May 1465
Term ended	8 August 1472
Predecessor	Dénes Szécsi
Successor	Johann Beckenschlager
Orders
Created cardinal	1471
Rank	Archbishop of Esztergom
Personal details
Born	c. 1408; Zredna, Kingdom of Hungary
Died	8 August 1472; Esztergom, Kingdom of Hungary
Nationality	Hungarian, Croatian
Denomination	Catholic
Previous post(s)	Bishop of Várad (1445–1465);
Coat of arms

John Vitéz de Zredna (

Archbishop of Esztergom

from 1465 until his death.

Early life

Vitéz was born in Sredna near

Bosnia, genus is named after Goražde). On his father's side he derived from Pilis county (his father's surname was originally Csévi).^[2] His father was the secretary of the regent John Hunyadi, from 1446 to 1452. Vitéz became a prothonotary

in his government.

Vitéz studied in

canon in Zagreb. In that period, he helped strengthen the relations between the Croatian capital and the thriving Italian cultural and scientific centers. Then he left for Hungary

, where he was to play a major role in the development of cultural and scientific institutions.

Career

Vitéz was one of the educators of

archbishop of Esztergom

– one of the two bishoprics in Hungary.

In the government of Matthias Corvinus, he fulfilled many positions. First of all, due to his earlier practice, he was an excellent diplomat to the king. In 1458 he was sent to Prague to George of Poděbrady to redeem the king and then he (according to Bonfini) welcomed the king when he entered the kingdom. He served the king in a few diplomatic missions, especially to the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III. After 1464 he became active in the highest and secret chancellor (together with Stephen Várdai), but did not take many actions in the position. During the late 1460s he became estranged to the king and in 1471 he led a plot against the ruler.

Vitéz, who spoke and wrote in excellent

Latin, had a major role in the international circle of humanists at Corvin's court, some of whom were prominent scientists, such as Regiomontanus, Bylica, Peuerbach, Hans Dorn. He was especially interested in natural sciences and promoted their study. He founded the academy and library in Oradea (moved to Esztergom) and the Universitas Istropolitana in Pozsony (currently Bratislava). He promoted astrologic and astronomic

research, had astronomic instruments of his own, and founded the observatory in Esztergom. He is sometimes referred to as the Father of Hungarian Humanism.

As the initiator of a rebellion against the king (1471–1472), he lost his privileges and estates. Soon after, he fell ill and died in Esztergom.

His nephew was the great Latin humanist Janus Pannonius.

References

^ Igor Fisković; (1989) Renaissance Art in Dalmatia and Hungary p. 92; Balcánica XX, Belgrade [1]
^ Vince Bunyitay, A VÁRADI PÜSPÖKSÉG TÖRTÉNETE ALAPÍTÁSÁTÓL A JELENKORIG, Nagyvárad, 1883
^ ^a ^b "Books 1–5 of History. Ethiopian Story. Book 8: From the Departure of the Divine Marcus". World Digital Library. Retrieved 7 March 2013.

In Croatian:

Ivan Vitez od Sredne in Prominent Scientists and Works in the Middle Ages

Catholic Church titles
Preceded by John de Dominis	Bishop of Várad 1445–1465	Succeeded by Johann Beckenschlager
Preceded by Dénes Szécsi	Archbishop of Esztergom 1465-1472	Succeeded by Johann Beckenschlager

[1] Igor Fisković; (1989) Renaissance Art in Dalmatia and Hungary p. 92; Balcánica XX, Belgrade [1]

[2] Vince Bunyitay, A VÁRADI PÜSPÖKSÉG TÖRTÉNETE ALAPÍTÁSÁTÓL A JELENKORIG, Nagyvárad, 1883

[WDL1-3] "Books 1–5 of History. Ethiopian Story. Book 8: From the Departure of the Divine Marcus". World Digital Library. Retrieved 7 March 2013.

[2]

Authority control databases
International	FAST ISNI VIAF WorldCat
National	France BnF data Germany Italy Israel United States Czech Republic Croatia Netherlands Vatican
Artists	ULAN
People	Deutsche Biographie
Other	IdRef

Early life

Career

See also

References