CORVINO, MATTIA. — Born perhaps in 1440 at Cluj to Giovanni Hunyadi, Hungarian regent; the premature death of his father (1456) opened the way to dynastic and family struggles, but through the wealth of his house he was eventually able to overcome the oligarchic opposition; and on 24 January 1458 he was elected king. Once he felt secure at home, he turned his attention to the war against the Turks in the name of the interests of the whole of European Christendom, but obtained only limited aid from Pope Pio II and Venice; thus in the end he found himself exhausted by the effort, and the nobles raised their heads against their king.
M. C. also considered taking the imperial crown in order to lead the anti-Muslim crusade with greater prestige; this led him to intervene in German affairs, to fight against the Habsburgs (he also occupied Vienna and Lower Austria, advancing as far as Trieste), and to make enemies of the prince-electors. When he died, 6 April 1490, nothing remained of his work, because it had been too bold and improvised, nor was the illegitimate son who succeeded him worthy of him. An undeniable merit of M. C. was the introduction of the Renaissance into Hungary: he summoned Italian writers and artists, collected manuscripts, established printing presses, etc.; the royal palaces of Buda and Visegrad were sanctuaries of art. His legislation, inspired by principles of justice against the nobles’ abuses of the poor, was likewise highly important. He married an Italian princess: Beatrice, daughter of Ferdinando d'Aragona, king of Naples.