LOUIS I, the Great, King of Hungary. - B. in 1326, d. September 10, 1382. Chivalrous, religious, cultured, a wise statesman. He reigned from 1342, and from 1370 was also King of Poland. From his father, Charles I of Anjou, King of Hungary, he inherited a strong, well-organized and consolidated kingdom, which he brought to great power. His authority was almost absolute, but it never became tyrannical; on the contrary, he created a just social and political balance.

For Dalmatia he had long wars with Venice, but only the Peace of Turin (1381) secured the Adriatic for him. His attempt to conquer the Kingdom of Naples failed, but he victoriously fought the first battles against Hungary's new fatal enemy, the Turk. He was a fervent propagator of religion: he favored the Franciscan missions in the Balkans, founded 12 convents in Bosnia for Italian Franciscans, reorganized the bishopric of Milko in Moldavia, and gave aid to the Pope to defend the integrity of the Papal States. St. Catherine of Siena also asked him for help on behalf of Urban VI. Political, cultural and economic relations between Italy and Hungary were extremely intense: the first Hungarian university, which he founded at Pécs (Cinquechiese), also bears witness to this.

Bibliography2 works

BIBL.: B. Homan, Gli Angioini di Napoli in Ungheria (1290-1403), Rome 1938, pp. 289-90, 312-441; D. Dercsényi, Nagy Lajos hora (Epoca di L. il Gr.), Budapest s. d.

Lajos Pásztor

@incollection{ec7_luigi_i_il_grande_re_d_ungheri, author = {Pasztor, Lajos}, title = {Luigi I, il grande, re d'ungheria}, booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica}, volume = {VII}, pages = {1670}, note = {Cited by column}, publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico}, address = {Città del Vaticano}, year = {1951}, url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/luigi-i-il-grande-re-d-ungheria} }

One of some 20,000 entries brought back from the twelve printed volumes (1948–54). Spotted something? Help us improve it.

Louis I, the Great, King of Hungary

About this entry