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30 Louis II to István Brodarics Buda, 8 March 1524 Manuscript used: [Original is lost]1 Published: Georgius Pray, Epistolae procerum regni Hungariae I., Posonii,1806, 177–182. 1. The fall of Ostrovica raised concerns in Rome. It is serious loss indeed, but more will follow, because the country’s resources are not sufficient to contain the ever strengthening Turks. – 2. 32,000 forints per year are spent on the borderland in Croatia only, even in peace time, and upholding Temesvár, Pétervárad, Szörény, and Titel, not to mention Jajca, costs enormous sums. So loosing Ostrovica is not due to negligence but to poverty. – 3. He is happy to hear that the Pope launched an investigation into the abuses around grain sent to Croatia, something that King Louis also called for. – 4. More favourable news about the situation in Hungary would probably boost the Pope’s good will, but this is possible only if His Holiness and Christian rulers help the country with deeds instead of lip service. – 5. He is pleased to hear that Legate Campeggio has arrive. He will hopefully be successful in combating Lutheran heresy and in stimulating German reigning princes to fight the Turks. He instructed his envoys to negotiate with Campeggio as well as Ferdinand. – 6. He is sorry to hear that the Emperor and the French King are still at war with each other. Archduke Ferdinand is trying to mediate through Andreas da Burgo; Louis supports him in this. – 7. Louis has been informed about the peace agreement between Turkey and Persia and about the Sultan’s plans for attack. Brodarics should therefore do all he can for the papal aid together with Marsupino and da Burgo. – 8. Even though the Sultan and the Shah signed peace, if the Pope agrees, it might still be useful to send Hannibal of Cyprus on a mission to Shah Sophi. – 9. He thanks the Pope for the money, weapons, and food sent to the Klissa castle with the help of Bishop of Scardona. – 10. Brodarics is forbidden to return home because of his tight financial situation since the Fuggers have been instructed to provide him with the needed money. Reverende Fidelis nobis Dilecte.

[1.] Scribis gratulationem nostram Sanctissimo Domino Nostro fuisse iucundam, quae accidisset multo iucundior, nisi eodem tempore pervenisset Osthrowyczae a Turcis captae fama in Urbem, 2 quae tam ipsius Sanctissimi Domini Nostri, quam patrum animos magnopere commoverit, cum intellexerit eam arcem omni iudicio secundas partes a Clissio 3 obtinuisse. Iactura est, fatemur, gravis ac ceteris calamitatibus nostris merito adnumeranda, quam tamen veremur, ne longe maiores, sicuti 3 O[s]throwyczae correxi ex: Othrowyczo 4 capite del. BAV. Ottob., in marg. captae alia manu 5 cum: quam BAV Ottob. 1  The only known manuscript of the text survives in a codex in the Ottoboniana collection of the Vatican Library (BAV, Ottob. Lat. N. 2746. 44–46.), so it is, too, a replica, and is certainly not identical with the one György Pray, who was first to publish the letter, used. The manuscript in the Vatican is severely damaged, and the defects often make it senseless, so the basis for the present publication is the text published by Pray. In spite of this, I indicate all the differences from the manuscript in the Ottoboniana collection. 2  The castle of Ostrovica (Croatia) was overtaken by the Turks in September 1523. 3  The Turkish army kept Klissa, the important fortress in Dalmatia under siege from early February 1524. Finally they did not succeed in capturing it, because the rescue army of Constable of Zengg Péter Krusics defeated them in April.

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Venetum oratorem Sanctitati eius narras praedixisse, propediem subsequantur. Id tamen nulla profecto nostra vel incuria vel negligentia accedere poterit, sed quoniam haec exigua unius Hungariae vectigalia tuendis amplissimis finibus sufficere nullatenus poterunt. Non parvi reditus ex Bosnia proveniebant, magnum ex Croatia et Dalmatia tributum quotannis in fiscum regium paulo ante hanc aetatem vel ipsius Matthiae regis temporibus deferebatur. Integrae erant, et fructuosae Themesiensis, Sirmiensis, Posega, Walko, et inferiores civitatum partes, hostium vero opes, numerus, potentia dimidio, quam sint hodie, minores erant. At nunc ea, quae commemoravimus, loca assiduis Turcarum incursionibus pene in solitudinem sunt redacta, adeo, ut tenues reliquias et paucas, quae adhuc in illis regnis supersunt, arces, maxima parte redituum nostrorum tueri nequeamus.

[2.] Nam, ne quid amplius de illis regnorum nostrorum finibus dicamus, ad Croatiam pacatis etiam temporibus in banorum stipendium et tenenda locis necessariis praesidia triginta duo milia florenorum singulis annis facile absumuntur. Jaycza, quae in mediis hostibus sita est, et quo non, nisi iusto et firmo exercitu importari commeatus solent, non multo minorem exhaurit pecuniam. Arx item Themesiensis et Severinum et hoc triennio Varadinum Petri ac Titulium 4 maximo et incredibili sumptu retinentur. Quae omnia, si quis rerum nostrarum non iniquus aestimator diligentius velit considerare, agnoscet, non minima quidem nostra negligentia Ozthrowyczam, et alias arces antea fuisse amissas, sed inopiam et vectigalium nostrorum tenuitatem (de qua tam diu apud Sedem Apostolicam querimur) et superioribus et impendentibus etiam malis causam attulisse.

[3.] Gratum est nobis mandasse Sanctissimum Dominum Nostrum legato suo, qui apud Venetos agit, ut de frumento in Croatiam misso, in quos abierit usus, 5 percontetur. Nam nos quoque homini nostro fido ac diligenti dedimus provinciam loca illa perlustrandi ac ad nos fideliter referendi, quomodo sit illud frumentum distributum. Dabimusque operam, ne in hac quoque parte aliquid nostrae negligentiae possit imputari.

[4.] Quod autem iudicas propensam erga nos voluntatem Sanctissimi Domini Nostri multo propensiorem futuram, si quae meliora hinc de statu regnorum nostrorum 19 nulla profecto: profecto nulla BAV Ottob. 19 incuria: iniuria BAV Ottob. 10 nullatenus: nullo modo BAV Ottob. 11 reditus: reddita BAV Ottob. 11 Bosnia: Bozna BAV Ottob. 11 proveniebat: praeveniebat BAV Ottob. 12 regnum: regium BAV Ottob. in marg. alia manu: regium 13 deferebatur correxi ex: deferebantur. BAV Ottob.: deferebatur 14 civitatum: civitates BAV Ottob. 4  After 16 solitudinem: solitudines BAV Ottob. 19 amplius: impius BAV Ottob. 22 post et ms. BAV Ottob. ex add. 22 importari om. BAV Ottob. 22 commeatus: conatus BAV Ottob. 25 velit: volet BAV Ottob. 30 est nobis: nobis est BAV Ottob. 31 percontetur: percontatur BAV Ottob. 36 post hinc ms. BAV Ottob. ad eum add. 36  regnorum nostrorum: rerum nostrarum BAV Ottob. the loss of Nándorfehérvár in 1521, Temesvár, Szörény, Pétervárad and Titel became the key elements in the system of border fortresses on the South. 5  Finally Burgio returned to Hungary and took measures regarding embezzlement of the corn shipments. He ordered an inquiry in Zengg in April 1524. Compare: Magyarországi pápai követek jelentései 1524–1526. Budapest, 2001, XCVIII.

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afferentur, utinam nullum nisi felicem ac faustum ex his regnis nostris nuntium deinceps Sua Sanctitas accipiat. Nos tamen rerum nostrarum conscii vehementer timemus, ne tristiorem et minus iucundum in dies sit acceptura, nisi re ipsa, et non verborum tantum liberalitate, cum eius Sanctitas, tum principes Christiani opem nobis ferre maturaverint.

[5.] Reverendissimum dominum cardinalem Campegium 6 in Germania legatum tanta virtute atque auctoritate praeditum venire, qui de rebus quoque nostris agendi mandatum habeat, gaudemus non mediocriter, optamusque eiusdem adventum utilem rei publicae Christianae ac salutarem fore, ut pariter illam tabem et morbum pestilentissimum Lutheranae haeresis, qua laborat Germania, tollere ac sanare, et illos principes ad arma in Turcos sumenda acrius et vehementius posset inflammare. Dedimus, ut mones, nostris oratoribus 7 mandatum, cum ipso domino legato et archiduce Ferdinando ceterisque principibus nostro nomine de rebus necessariis consultandi atque etiam decernendi.

[6.] Vix aliquid molestius hoc tempore audire possemus, quam pertinax et acerrimum adhuc bellum inter caesaream maiestatem et Christianissimum Gallorum regem durare et ad Mediolanum geri. Missus est per serenissimum fratrem nostrum archiducem dominus Andreas Burgo, 8 vir prudens et ingeniosus multarumque rerum peritissimus, ut caesari suadeat concordiam, per quem nos quoque agemus diligentissime, si quo modo ad pacem amplectendam posset adduci.

[7.] Quod baro Siculus 9 ad nos revertitur, libenter audimus, delectant enim nos eius viri humanitas, virtus et eruditio non vulgaris. De Turcorum conatibus deque pactis cum Sophi indutiis nos eadem intelleximus, quae tu ex Constantinopoli et Dalmatia in Urbem allata scribis esse, 10 id quod ex binis litteris nostris Posonii datis iam pridem te agnovisse arbitramur. Vide igitur, quid tu cum tuo collega 11 et oratore principis Ferdinandi possitis impetrare subsidii, pro quo studiose et enixe contendatis.

[8.] Quamvis autem opinione omnium inter Turcos et Sophi confectae existimentur indutiae, si tamen Sanctissimo Domino Nostro videatur, nobis profecto non displicet, 39 iucundum: iucundam BAV Ottob. 40 tum: cum BAV Ottob. 44 eiusdem: eius BAV Ottob. 47 Turcos: Turcas BAV Ottob. 47 inflammare: inflammari BAV Ottob. 51 acerrimum: acerrime BAV Ottob. 52 Christianissimum: Christianorum BAV Ottob. 56 amplectendam: amplectere BAV Ottob. 57 revertitur: convertitur BAV Ottob. 63 Turcos: Turcas BAV Ottob. 63 existimentur: existimantur BAV Ottob. 64 displicet: displicat BAV Ottob. 16  Clement VII sent Cardinal Lorenzo Campeggio (1474–1539) to the Nuremberg imperial assembly as his legate. His mandate included Hungarian matters. 17 Leaders of the Hungarian delegation to the imperial assembly in Nuremberg were János Gosztonyi and Ambrus Sárkány. 18  Andreas da Burgo 19  Pope Clement VII. appointed Baron Burgio Nuncio in Hungary on 22 January 1524. The Baron returned to Hungary from Rome. Compare: Magyarországi pápai követek jelentései 1524–1526. Budapest, 2001, XCV. 10  See the previous letter to Ferdinand. 11  Francesco Marsupino

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ut Hannibal Cyprius 12 legationem suam exsequatur. Proderit enim fortasse nunc vel inposterum, si ille princeps de nostra voluntate fuerit factus certior. Poterit insuper omnia ad nos ex illis partibus explorata reportare, quod magno usui nobis ac toti Christianitati est futurum.

[9.] Agas Sanctissimo Domino Nostro gratias, quod dominum Scardonensem 13 cum pecuniis, pulvere et commeatu ad succurrendum arci Clissiensi miserit, 14 supplicabisque eius Sanctitati, ne gravetur deinceps quoque illi praesertim loco providere, nam quod nos potuimus praestare, praestitimus et praestabimus omnia vel supra vires et facultates nostras.

[10.] Significas te propediem venturum ac coram tuas expositurum necessitates, quod hoc tempore citra magnum rerum nostrarum incommodum fieri non poterit. Nolumus itaque, ut ex Urbe antequam ab illa legatione absolutus et per nos revocatus fueris, revertaris. Nam quod ad tuos, et tui collegae sumptus attinet, thesaurario nostro mandavimus, ut mora omni posthabita per Fuccaros, quemadmodum Posonii nuper constitueramus, provideat.

Ludovicum Horreram, 15 uti reverendissimum dominum cardinalem Sanctorum Quattuor Coronatorum 16 optare significas, nos libenter et aequo animo dimisimus. Litteras vero in commendationem penitentiarii et alias, quas optasti, una cum praesentibus accipies. 17

Datum Budae 8. die Martii 1524. 69 quod: qui BAV Ottob. 70 post arci ms. BAV Ottob. nostrae add. 72 quod: quae BAV Ottob. 80 Ludovicum ...accipies in editione Gerorgii Pray om. 12  Hannibal of Cyprus. Ambassador of King Louis II in the Turkish court in 1523, commander of the papal mercenaries in the Battle of Mohács, captain of the Italian guards of Szapolyai in the early 1530s. See Bethlen Farkas, Erdély története I., Budapest, 2000, 23. 13  Thomas Crnić (Negri), Bishop of Scardona. Concerning him, see the relevant note for the letter dated 15 December 1523. 14  Concerning Klissa, see the previous letter. 15 Ludovicus Horrera (?). No data has been found about him. Perhaps the form of the name is incorrect. 16 Lorenzo Pucci. 17  The enclosures mentioned did not survive.