silence, unwilling to approve, and unable to oppose, the consent of
the king and people. But the diet was not dissolved before Julian was
fortified by the welcome intelligence, that Anatolia was invaded by the
Caramanian, and Thrace by the Greek emperor; that the fleets of Genoa,
Venice, and Burgundy, were masters of the Hellespont; and that the
allies, informed of the victory, and ignorant of the treaty, of
Ladislaus, impatiently waited for the return of his victorious army.
"And is it thus," exclaimed the cardinal, [24] "that you will desert
their expectations and your own fortune? It is to them, to your God, and
your fellow-Christians, that you have pledged your faith; and that prior
obligation annihilates a rash and sacrilegious oath to the enemies of
Christ. His vicar on earth is the Roman pontiff; without whose sanction
you can neither promise nor perform. In his name I absolve your perjury
and sanctify your arms: follow my footsteps in the paths of glory
and salvation; and if still ye have scruples, devolve on my head the
punishment and the sin." This mischievous casuistry was seconded by his
respectable character, and the levity of popular assemblies: war was
resolved, on the same spot where peace had so lately been sworn; and, in
the execution of the treaty, the Turks were assaulted by the Christians;
to whom, with some reason, they might apply the epithet of Infidels.
The falsehood of Ladislaus to his word and oath was palliated by the
religion of the times: the most perfect, or at least the most popular,
excuse would have been the success of his arms and the deliverance of
the Eastern church. But the same treaty which should have bound his
conscience had diminished his strength. On the proclamation of the
peace, the French and German volunteers departed with indignant murmurs:
the Poles were exhausted by distant warfare, and perhaps disgusted with
foreign command; and their palatines accepted the first license, and
hastily retired to their provinces and castles. Even Hungary was divided
by faction, or restrained by a laudable scruple; and the relics of
the crusade that marched in the second expedition were reduced to an
inadequate force of twenty thousand men. A Walachian chief, who joined
the royal standard with his vassals, presumed to remark that their
numbers did not exceed the hunting retinue that sometimes attended the
sultan; and the gift of two horses of matchless speed might admonish
Ladislaus of his secret foresight of the event. But the despot of
Servia, after the restoration of his country and children, was tempted
by the promise of new realms; and the inexperience of the king, the
enthusiasm of the legate, and the martial presumption of Huniades
himself, were persuaded that every obstacle must yield to the invincible
virtue of the sword and the cross. After the passage of the Danube, two
roads might lead to Constantinople and the Hellespont: the one direct,
abrupt, and difficult through the mountains of HÊmus; the other more
tedious and secure, over a level country, and along the shores of the
Euxine; in which their flanks, according to the Scythian discipline,
might always be covered by a movable fortification of wagons. The latter
was judiciously preferred: the Catholics marched through the plains of
Bulgaria, burning, with wanton cruelty, the churches and villages of
the Christian natives; and their last station was at Warna, near the
sea-shore; on which the defeat and death of Ladislaus have bestowed a
memorable name. [25]
[Footnote 24: I do not pretend to warrant the literal accuracy of
Julian's speech, which is variously worded by Callimachus, (l. iii.
p. 505--507,) Bonfinius, (dec. iii. l. vi. p. 457, 458,) and other
historians, who might indulge their own eloquence, while they represent
one of the orators of the age. But they all agree in the advice and
arguments for perjury, which in the field of controversy are fiercely
attacked by the Protestants, and feebly defended by the Catholics. The
latter are discouraged by the misfortune of Warna.]
[Footnote 25: Warna, under the Grecian name of Odessus, was a colony of
the Milesians, which they denominated from the hero Ulysses, (Cellarius,
tom. i. p. 374. D'Anville, tom. i. p. 312.) According to Arrian's
Periplus of the Euxine, (p. 24, 25, in the first volume of Hudson's
Geographers,) it was situate 1740 stadia, or furlongs, from the mouth
of the Danube, 2140 from Byzantium, and 360 to the north of a ridge of
promontory of Mount HÊmus, which advances into the sea.]
Chapter LXVII: Schism Of The Greeks And Latins.--Part II.
It was on this fatal spot, that, instead of finding a confederate fleet
to second their operations, they were alarmed by the approach of Amurath
himself, who had issued from his Magnesian solitude, and transported the
forces of Asia to the defence of Europe. According to some writers, the
Greek emperor had been awed, or seduced, to grant the passage of the
Bosphorus; and an indelible stain of corruption is fixed on the Genoese,
or the pope's nephew, the Catholic admiral, whose mercenary connivance
betrayed the guard of the Hellespont. From Adrianople, the sultan
advanced by hasty marches, at the head of sixty thousand men; and when
the cardinal, and Huniades, had taken a nearer survey of the numbers
and order of the Turks, these ardent warriors proposed the tardy and
impracticable measure of a retreat. The king alone was resolved to
conquer or die; and his resolution had almost been crowned with a
glorious and salutary victory. The princes were opposite to each other
in the centre; and the Beglerbegs, or generals of Anatolia and Romania,
commanded on the right and left, against the adverse divisions of the
despot and Huniades. The Turkish wings were broken on the first onset:
but the advantage was fatal; and the rash victors, in the heat of the
pursuit, were carried away far from the annoyance of the enemy, or
the support of their friends. When Amurath beheld the flight of his
squadrons, he despaired of his fortune and that of the empire: a veteran
Janizary seized his horse's bridle; and he had magnanimity to pardon
and reward the soldier who dared to perceive the terror, and arrest
the flight, of his sovereign. A copy of the treaty, the monument of
Christian perfidy, had been displayed in the front of battle; and it is
said, that the sultan in his distress, lifting his eyes and his hands to
heaven, implored the protection of the God of truth; and called on the
prophet Jesus himself to avenge the impious mockery of his name and
religion. [26] With inferior numbers and disordered ranks, the king of
Hungary rushed forward in the confidence of victory, till his career was
stopped by the impenetrable phalanx of the Janizaries. If we may credit
the Ottoman annals, his horse was pierced by the javelin of Amurath;
[27] he fell among the spears of the infantry; and a Turkish soldier
proclaimed with a loud voice, "Hungarians, behold the head of your
king!" The death of Ladislaus was the signal of their defeat. On his
return from an intemperate pursuit, Huniades deplored his error, and the
public loss; he strove to rescue the royal body, till he was overwhelmed
by the tumultuous crowd of the victors and vanquished; and the last
efforts of his courage and conduct were exerted to save the remnant
of his Walachian cavalry. Ten thousand Christians were slain in the
disastrous battle of Warna: the loss of the Turks, more considerable
in numbers, bore a smaller proportion to their total strength; yet the
philosophic sultan was not ashamed to confess, that his ruin must be the
consequence of a second and similar victory. [271] At his command a column
was erected on the spot where Ladislaus had fallen; but the modest
inscription, instead of accusing the rashness, recorded the valor, and
bewailed the misfortune, of the Hungarian youth. [28]
[Footnote 26: Some Christian writers affirm, that he drew from his bosom
the host or wafer on which the treaty had _not_ been sworn. The Moslems
suppose, with more simplicity, an appeal to God and his prophet Jesus,
which is likewise insinuated by Callimachus, (l. iii. p. 516. Spondan.
A.D. 1444, No. 8.)]
[Footnote 27: A critic will always distrust these _spolia opima_ of
a victorious general, so difficult for valor to obtain, so easy for
flattery to invent, (Cantemir, p. 90, 91.) Callimachus (l. iii. p. 517)
more simply and probably affirms, supervenitibus Janizaris, telorum
multitudine, non jam confossus est, quam obrutus.]
[Footnote 271: Compare Von Hammer, p. 463.--M.]
[Footnote 28: Besides some valuable hints from ∆neas Sylvius, which
are diligently collected by Spondanus, our best authorities are three
historians of the xvth century, Philippus Callimachus, (de Rebus a
Vladislao Polonorum atque Hungarorum Rege gestis, libri iii. in Bel.
Script. Rerum Hungaricarum, tom. i. p. 433--518,) Bonfinius, (decad.
iii. l. v. p. 460--467,) and Chalcondyles, (l. vii. p. 165--179.) The
two first were Italians, but they passed their lives in Poland and
Hungary, (Fabric. Bibliot. Latin. Med. et InfimÊ ∆tatis, tom. i. p.
324. Vossius, de Hist. Latin. l. iii. c. 8, 11. Bayle, Dictionnaire,
Bonfinius.) A small tract of FÊlix Petancius, chancellor of Segnia, (ad
calcem Cuspinian. de CÊsaribus, p. 716--722,) represents the theatre of
the war in the xvth century.]
Before I lose sight of the field of Warna, I am tempted to pause on the
character and story of two principal actors, the cardinal Julian and
John Huniades. Julian [29] CÊsarini was born of a noble family of Rome:
his studies had embraced both the Latin and Greek learning, both the
sciences of divinity and law; and his versatile genius was equally
adapted to the schools, the camp, and the court. No sooner had he been
invested with the Roman purple, than he was sent into Germany to arm
the empire against the rebels and heretics of Bohemia. The spirit of
persecution is unworthy of a Christian; the military profession ill
becomes a priest; but the former is excused by the times; and the latter
was ennobled by the courage of Julian, who stood dauntless and alone
in the disgraceful flight of the German host. As the pope's legate, he
opened the council of Basil; but the president soon appeared the most
strenuous champion of ecclesiastical freedom; and an opposition of
seven years was conducted by his ability and zeal. After promoting the
strongest measures against the authority and person of Eugenius, some
secret motive of interest or conscience engaged him to desert on a
sudden the popular party. The cardinal withdrew himself from Basil to
Ferrara; and, in the debates of the Greeks and Latins, the two nations
admired the dexterity of his arguments and the depth of his theological
erudition. [30] In his Hungarian embassy, we have already seen the
mischievous effects of his sophistry and eloquence, of which Julian
himself was the first victim. The cardinal, who performed the duties
of a priest and a soldier, was lost in the defeat of Warna. The
circumstances of his death are variously related; but it is believed,
that a weighty encumbrance of gold impeded his flight, and tempted the
cruel avarice of some Christian fugitives.
[Footnote 29: M. Lenfant has described the origin (Hist. du Concile
de Basle, tom. i. p. 247, &c.) and Bohemian campaign (p. 315, &c.) of
Cardinal Julian. His services at Basil and Ferrara, and his unfortunate
end, are occasionally related by Spondanus, and the continuator of
Fleury.]
[Footnote 30: Syropulus honorably praises the talent of an enemy, (p.
117:) toiauta tina eipen o IoulianoV peplatusmenwV agan kai logikwV, kai
met episthmhV kai deinothtoV 'RhtprikhV.]
From an humble, or at least a doubtful origin, the merit of John
Huniades promoted him to the command of the Hungarian armies. His father
was a Walachian, his mother a Greek: her unknown race might possibly
ascend to the emperors of Constantinople; and the claims of the
Walachians, with the surname of Corvinus, from the place of his
nativity, might suggest a thin pretence for mingling his blood with the
patricians of ancient Rome. [31] In his youth he served in the wars of
Italy, and was retained, with twelve horsemen, by the bishop of Zagrab:
the valor of the _white knight_ [32] was soon conspicuous; he increased
his fortunes by a noble and wealthy marriage; and in the defence of
the Hungarian borders he won in the same year three battles against
the Turks. By his influence, Ladislaus of Poland obtained the crown of
Hungary; and the important service was rewarded by the title and office
of Waivod of Transylvania. The first of Julian's crusades added two
Turkish laurels on his brow; and in the public distress the fatal errors
of Warna were forgotten. During the absence and minority of Ladislaus
of Austria, the titular king, Huniades was elected supreme captain and
governor of Hungary; and if envy at first was silenced by terror, a
reign of twelve years supposes the arts of policy as well as of war. Yet
the idea of a consummate general is not delineated in his campaigns; the
white knight fought with the hand rather than the head, as the chief of
desultory Barbarians, who attack without fear and fly without shame; and
his military life is composed of a romantic alternative of victories and
escapes. By the Turks, who employed his name to frighten their perverse
children, he was corruptly denominated _Jancus Lain_, or the Wicked:
their hatred is the proof of their esteem; the kingdom which he guarded
was inaccessible to their arms; and they felt him most daring and
formidable, when they fondly believed the captain and his country
irrecoverably lost. Instead of confining himself to a defensive war,
four years after the defeat of Warna he again penetrated into the heart
of Bulgaria, and in the plain of Cossova, sustained, till the third day,
the shock of the Ottoman army, four times more numerous than his own. As
he fled alone through the woods of Walachia, the hero was surprised by
two robbers; but while they disputed a gold chain that hung at his neck,
he recovered his sword, slew the one, terrified the other, and, after
new perils of captivity or death, consoled by his presence an afflicted
kingdom. But the last and most glorious action of his life was the
defence of Belgrade against the powers of Mahomet the Second in person.
After a siege of forty days, the Turks, who had already entered the
town, were compelled to retreat; and the joyful nations celebrated
Huniades and Belgrade as the bulwarks of Christendom. [33] About a
month after this great deliverance, the champion expired; and his most
splendid epitaph is the regret of the Ottoman prince, who sighed that he
could no longer hope for revenge against the single antagonist who had
triumphed over his arms. On the first vacancy of the throne, Matthias
Corvinus, a youth of eighteen years of age, was elected and crowned by
the grateful Hungarians. His reign was prosperous and long: Matthias
aspired to the glory of a conqueror and a saint: but his purest merit is
the encouragement of learning; and the Latin orators and historians,
who were invited from Italy by the son, have shed the lustre of their
eloquence on the father's character. [34]
[Footnote 31: See Bonfinius, decad. iii. l. iv. p. 423. Could the
Italian historian pronounce, or the king of Hungary hear, without a
blush, the absurd flattery which confounded the name of a Walachian
village with the casual, though glorious, epithet of a single branch of
the Valerian family at Rome?]
[Footnote 32: Philip de Comines, (MÈmoires, l. vi. c. 13,) from the
tradition of the times, mentions him with high encomiums, but under the
whimsical name of the Chevalier Blanc de Valaigne, (Valachia.) The Greek
Chalcondyles, and the Turkish annals of Leunclavius, presume to accuse
his fidelity or valor.]
[Footnote 33: See Bonfinius (decad. iii. l. viii. p. 492) and Spondanus,
(A.D. 456, No. 1--7.) Huniades shared the glory of the defence of
Belgrade with Capistran, a Franciscan friar; and in their respective
narratives, neither the saint nor the hero condescend to take notice of
his rival's merit.]
[Footnote 34: See Bonfinius, decad. iii. l. viii.--decad. iv. l. viii.
The observations of Spondanus on the life and character of Matthias
Corvinus are curious and critical, (A.D. 1464, No. 1, 1475, No. 6, 1476,
No. 14--16, 1490, No. 4, 5.) Italian fame was the object of his vanity.
His actions are celebrated in the Epitome Rerum Hungaricarum (p.
322--412) of Peter Ranzanus, a Sicilian. His wise and facetious sayings
are registered by Galestus Martius of Narni, (528--568,) and we have a
particular narrative of his wedding and coronation. These three
tracts are all contained in the first vol. of Bel's Scriptores Rerum
Hungaricarum.]