(1388-1456)
[Footnote 16: Copyright, 1894, by Selmar Hess.]
[Illustration: John Huniades. [TN]]
Of his grandfather we do not know even the name; his father was a
Wallach, a common soldier; yet he himself was the greatest of
Hungarian heroes, the Grand Marshal, and later on the "Governor" or
Regent of Hungary; and his son king of that country. At the present
day, in the age of democracy, such rapid elevation is no such rare
phenomenon, but in the aristocratic middle ages it was really a
miracle, one that points to exceptional circumstances and an
exceptional man.
In Europe at that time the circumstances were indeed exceptional. A
new power pulsating with youthful life had arrived from somewhere in
the interior of Asia with the intention of conquering the world. This
power was the Turk--not merely a single nation, but a whole group of
peoples clustered round a nation, inspired by one single idea which
urged them ever forward. "There is no God but God, and Mohammed is the
Apostle of God."
The Mohammedan flood already beat upon the bounds of Catholic
Christendom, in the forefront of which stood Hungary. Hungary's king,
Sigismund, was able for a moment in 1396 to unite the nations of
Europe against the common danger, but the proud array of mail-clad
knights were swept away like chaff before the steady ranks of the
janissaries.
And herewith began the long series of desolating inroads into Hungary,
for the Turk was wont to suck the blood of the nation he had marked
down as his prey. He took the country by surprise, secretly, suddenly,
like a summer storm, appearing in overwhelming numbers, burning,
murdering, robbing, especially, men in the hopes of a rich ransom, or
children whom they might bring up as Mohammedans and janissaries. This
body, the flower of the Turkish armies, owed its origin for the most
part to the Christian children thus stolen from their parents and
their country. This infantry of the janissaries was the first standing
army in Europe. Living constantly together under a common discipline,
like the inmates of a cloister, they rushed blindly forward to the cry
of "God and his Prophet" like some splendid, powerful wild beast,
eager for prey. The Turkish sultans published the proud order:
"Forward, let us conquer the whole world, wheresoever we tie up our
horses' heads that land is our own."
To resist such a nation, that would not listen to negotiation, but
only thirsted for war and conquest, seemed already an impossibility.
Europe trembled with fear at the reports of the formidable attacks
designed against her, and listened anxiously for news from distant
Hungary which lay, so to say, in the lion's very mouth.
Against such an enemy a soldier of the modern type was useless, one
who slays only in defence of his own life and at the word of command,
whose force consists in the high development of the military art and
the murderous instruments of modern technical science. What was wanted
was an heroic soul, inspired by a burning faith like to that which
impelled the Mohammedan soldier.
This heroic soul, this burning faith, united to the tenacious energy
of youth, were all found united in the greatest Hungarian hero, John
Huniades, accompanied withal by a singular talent for leadership in
war. He could not rely for support upon the haughty magnates who could
trace their descent back for centuries and despised the parvenu with a
shorter pedigree and a smaller estate. He was consequently obliged to
cast in his lot with the mass of the lesser nobility, individually
weaker, it is true, but not deficient in spirit and a consciousness of
their own worth. Of this class he soon became the idolized leader.
Around him gathered the hitherto latent forces of Hungarian society,
especially from Transylvania and South Hungary and the Great Hungarian
Plain (_Alfoeld_), which suffered most from the incursions of the Turks
and were therefore most impressed with the necessity of organizing a
system of defence. It was these who were the first to be inspired by
Huniades' heroic spirit.
Before commencing his career as independent commander he, following
his father's example, attached himself to the court of Sigismund, the
Emperor-king, in whose train he visited the countries of Western
Europe, Germany, England, and Italy, till he at length returned home,
his mind enriched by experience but with the fervor of his first faith
unchilled.
He had thus passed the flower of his age when nearly sixty years old,
he repaired at his sovereign's command to the south of Hungary to
organize the resistance to the Turks. At first he was appointed Ban of
Severin, and as such had the chief command of the fortified places
built by the Hungarians for the defence of the Lower Danube. After
that he became Voyvode of Transylvania, the civil and military
governor of the southeastern corner of the Hungarian kingdom.
Before, however, he had reached these dignities he had fought a
succession of battles and skirmishes with such success that for the
fanatical Turkish soldiery his form, nay, his very name was an object
of terror. It was Huniades alone whom they sought to slay on the field
of battle, well persuaded that he once slain they would easily deal
with the rest of Hungary. Thus in 1442 a Turkish leader, named Mezid
Bey, burst into Transylvania at the head of 80,000 men in pursuance of
the sultan's commands, with no other aim than to take Huniades dead or
alive.
Nor indeed did Huniades keep them waiting for him. He hurried at the
head of his troops to attack the Turkish leader who was laying siege
to Hermannstadt. Upon this Mezid Bey, calling his bravest soldiers
around him, described to them once more Huniades' appearance, his
arms, his dress, his stature, and his horse, that they might certainly
recognize him. "Slay him only," he exclaimed; "and we shall easily
deal with the rest of them; we shall drive them like a flock of sheep
into the presence of our august master."
On that occasion was seen with what self-sacrificing enthusiasm his
soldiers loved their heroic leader. When they learned from their spies
the purpose of the Turks, they took all possible measures to secure
his precious life. One of their number, Simon Kemeny, who bore a
striking resemblance to Huniades, determined to sacrifice himself for
his leader. He announced that he would put on Huniades' clothes and
armor. The Turks would then attack him under the belief that he was
the celebrated chief, and while they were thus engaged the real
Huniades would fall upon them unexpectedly and put them to flight. At
first Huniades would by no means consent to this plan, as he did not
wish to expose Kemeny to such mortal danger; but at last seeing the
great military advantages likely to accrue from it he consented.
And so indeed it fell out. As soon as the battle began, the Turks,
perceiving Simon Kemeny in the garb of Huniades, directed all their
force against him. Kemeny, after a stout defence, fell together with a
great number of his followers, and the Turks, seeing him fall, set up
a general cry of triumph and exultation. Just at this critical moment
they were hotly attacked in the flank by the genuine Huniades. Thus
attacked in the very moment when they imagined that they had already
gained the day, the Turks were thrown into confusion and took wildly
to flight. Twenty thousand corpses were left on the battle-field;
among them were Mezid Bey himself, together with his sons.
Fearful was the rage of the Turkish sultan when he heard of the defeat
and death of Mezid Bey, and he at once despatched another army against
Huniades, which like the first numbered 80,000 men. This time,
however, Huniades did not let them enter Transylvania, but waited for
them at the pass, known as the Iron Gate, among the high mountains on
the southern boundary of Hungary.
The Hungarian army was not more than 15,000 men, so that the Turks
were at least five times as strong. But the military genius of
Huniades made up for the small number of his followers. He posted them
in a strong position in the rough pass, and attacked the enemy in
places where it was impossible for him to make use of his strength.
Thus more than half the Turkish army perished miserably in the battle.
Again their commander-in-chief fell on the field together with six
subordinate commanders, while two hundred horse-tail standards fell
into Huniades' hands as trophies of his victory.
These two splendid victories filled all Europe with joy and
admiration. Christendom again breathed freely; for she felt that a
champion, sent by a special Providence, had appeared, who had both the
courage and the ability to meet and to repel the haughty and
formidable foe. But Huniades was not content with doing so much. He
thought that by this time he might carry the war into the enemy's
country. The plan of operations was exceptionally daring, yet Huniades
had not resolved on it without careful consideration. In the meantime
through Huniades' exertions, Vladislaus, the young King of Poland, had
been elected King of Hungary. Huniades gained the new king over to his
plans, and by this means secured the co-operation of the higher
aristocracy and the armed bands which they were bound to lead into the
field at the king's summons. Huniades counted besides on the
assistance of Europe; in the first place on the Popes, who were
zealous advocates of the war against the Mohammedans; next on Venice,
which as the first commercial city and state at that time had suffered
severe losses owing to the spread of Turkish dominions; on the gallant
Poles whose king now wore the Hungarian crown; and lastly upon the
peoples of Christendom in general, whose enthusiasm for a war against
the infidels had been quickened by the report of Huniades' victories.
And indeed at his request the Pope sent some small sums of money, the
Poles furnished an auxiliary force, while numerous volunteers from the
rest of Europe flocked to serve under his banner. Although the
assistance thus furnished was comparatively unimportant, it
nevertheless served to increase his zeal for the daring undertaking.
He and his heroic companions were not only proud of defending their
own native country, but felt that they were the champions of all
Christendom against Ottoman aggression, and their religious enthusiasm
kept pace with their patriotism. If they did not get regiments sent to
their aid, they felt that the eyes of all Europe were upon them, ready
to grieve at their possible ill success, while their victories would
be celebrated by _Te deums_ in the cathedrals of every capital in
Europe.
The aggressive campaign was commenced without delay; Huniades'
resolves were at once translated into fact; he would not allow the
beaten foe time to recover breath. His plan was to cross the Danube,
and penetrate through the passes of the Balkan to Philippopolis, at
that time the capital of the sultan's dominions, where he kept the
main body of his army. About Christmas, a season in which the Turk
does not like to fight, amid heavy snow and severe cold, the Hungarian
army of about thirty thousand men pressed forward. Huniades marched in
advance with the vanguard of 12,000 picked men; after him the king and
the Pope's legate, with the rest of the army. The sultan, however,
with a large body of men had occupied the passes of the Balkans and
prevented their farther advance. This impediment, coupled with the
cold and severe weather, depressed the spirits of the troops, worn out
with fatigue. Huniades, however, raised their spirits by gaining a
victory; lighting one night upon a body of the enemy, 20,000 in
number, he attacked them at once and after a few hours' struggle
succeeded in dispersing them. Later on he took two large towns with
their citadels; and in three engagements triumphed over three separate
divisions of the enemy. Learning that a still larger body of Turks was
attempting to cut off his communications with the king's army he
attacked that also and put it to flight. After that he joined his
corps with the main army under the king; and indeed none too soon.
Sultan Murad suddenly arrived with the main body of his forces, which
he strongly intrenched in the narrowest passes of the Balkans.
Huniades saw that these intrenchments could not be forced, and did all
he could to entice his enemy down into the plain. This he succeeded in
doing. In the battle that ensued the king too played a conspicuous
part and received a wound. In the end, however, the Hungarians gained
the victory, and the younger brother of the Grand Vizier was taken
prisoner. So much success was sufficient for Huniades for the time,
especially as the natural obstacles had proved insurmountable. The
Hungarian army returned home in good order, and the young king made a
triumphal entry into his capital, preceded by a crowd of Turkish
prisoners and captured Turkish ensigns. These last trophies of victory
were deposited in the Coronation Church in the fortress of Buda.
And now something happened which had hitherto been deemed incredible;
the Sultan sued for peace, a true believer and a sovereign, from an
unbelieving giaour. The peace was concluded, and Hungary again became
possessed of those dependent (South Slavonic) provinces, which lay
between the territories of the Sultan and the kingdom of Hungary in
the narrower sense of the word. In three short years Huniades had
undone the work of years on the part of the Turks. The Sultan,
however, soon repented of what he had done, and continually delayed
the fulfilment of his promise to evacuate certain frontier fortresses.
For this cause the young king, especially incited thereto by the Pope,
determined to renew the war. Huniades at first opposed the king's
resolution, and wished to wait; later on he was gained over to the
king's view, and took up the matter with his whole soul. The
opportunity was inviting, for the Sultan with his main army was
engaged somewhere in Asia, and the Venetians promised to prevent with
their fleet his return to Europe across the narrow seas in the
neighborhood of Constantinople.
The Hungarian army indeed set out (1444) on its expedition, and
continually expecting the arrival of the troops of their allies--the
Emperor of Constantinople and the Princes of Albania--penetrated ever
farther and farther into the hostile territory. They were to be joined
by their allies at the town of Varna on the shores of the Black Sea.
When, however, the Hungarians had arrived at that town, they found no
trace of their expected allies, but on the contrary learned with
certainty that the Sultan had succeeded in eluding the vigilance of
the Venetians, had brought his army in small boats over into Europe,
and was now following fast on their track.
Thus all hope of aid from allies was at an end, the brave general and
his small Hungarian force had to rely on their own resources,
separated as they were by some weeks' journey from their own country,
while the enemy would be soon upon them in numbers five times their
own. Yet even so Huniades' faith and courage did not desert him. The
proverb says: "If thy sword be short, lengthen it by a step forward."
And Huniades boldly, but yet with the caution that behoved a careful
general, took up his position before the Sultan's army. Both he and
his Hungarians fought with dauntless courage, availing themselves of
every advantage and beating back every assault. Already victory seemed
to be assured. A few hours after the battle had begun both the
Turkish wings had been broken, and even the Sultan and the brave
janissaries were thinking of flight, when the young king, the Pole
Vladislaus, whom Huniades had adjured by God to remain in a place of
safety, until the combat should be decided, was persuaded by his
Polish suite to fling himself with the small band in immediate
attendance upon him right on the centre of the janissaries, so that he
too might have a share in the victory and not leave it all to
Huniades. The janissaries wavered for a moment under this new and
unexpected attack, but soon perceiving that they had to do with the
King of Hungary they closed round his band which had penetrated far
into their ranks. The king's horse was first hamstrung, and, as it
fell, the king's head was severed from his body, stuck upon the point
of a spear and exposed to the view of both armies. The Hungarians,
shocked at the unexpected sight, wavered and, feeling themselves lost,
began to fly. All the entreaties and exhortations of Huniades were in
vain. Such was the confusion that he could be neither seen nor heard,
and in a few minutes the whole Hungarian army was in confused flight.
Huniades, left to himself, had too to seek safety in flight. Alone,
deserted by all, he had to make his way from one place of concealment
to another till after some weeks' wandering he arrived in Hungary. The
bad news had preceded him; and in consequence everything was in
confusion. Again arose that difficult question: Who should be the new
king under such difficult circumstances? The Sultan's army had,
however, suffered so much in the battle of Varna that for the time he
left the Hungarians unmolested.
The nation was disposed to choose for its king the child, Ladislaus,
son of King Albert, the predecessor of Vladislaus. The child, however,
was in the power of the neighboring prince, Frederick, the Archduke of
Austria, who was not disposed to let him go out of his hands without a
heavy ransom. Under these circumstances the more powerful nobles in
Hungary took advantage of the confusion to strengthen each his own
position at the expense of the nation. At first the government of the
country was entrusted to a number of captains, but this proved so
evidently disastrous that the better sort of people succeeded in
having them abolished and Huniades established as sole governor. For
all that, however, Huniades had a good deal of trouble with the chief
aristocrats, Garay, Czillei, Ujlaki, who, envying the parvenu his
sudden promotion and despising his obscure origin, took up arms to
resist his authority. Thus Huniades, instead of blunting the edge of
his sword upon foreign foes, had to bridle the insubordination of his
own countrymen. Luckily it did not take long to force the discontented
to own the weight of his arm and his superiority as a military leader.
Order being thus to some extent re-established at home, Huniades was
again able to turn his attention to the Turks. He felt that he had in
fact gained the battle of Varna, which was only lost through the
jealous humor of a youthful king; that it behoved him not to stop half
way; that it was his duty to continue offensive operations. But in so
doing he had to rely upon his own proper forces. It is true that he
was governor of the country, but for the purpose of offensive warfare
beyond the frontier he could not gain the consent of the great nobles.
Luckily his private property had enormously increased by this time.
The Hungarian Constitution ordered the king to bestow the estates of
such noblemen, as died without male heirs or had been condemned for
any offence, on such noblemen as had approved themselves valiant
defenders of the country. Now where could be found a more worthy
recipient of such estates than Huniades, to whom the public treasury
was besides a debtor on account of the sums he disbursed for the
constant warfare he maintained against the Turks? Especially in the
south of Hungary a whole series of lordly estates, many of them
belonging to the crown, had come into Huniades' hands, either as
pledges for the repayment of the money he had paid his soldiers, or as
his own private property.
The yearly revenue arising from these vast estates was employed by
Huniades not in personal expenditure but in the defence of his
country. He himself lived as simply as anyone of his soldiers, and
recognized no other use of money than as a weapon to be used for the
defence of Christendom against Islam. In the early morn while all his
suite still slept he passed hours in prayer before the altar in the
dimly lighted church, imploring the help of the Almighty for the
attainment of his sole object in life--the destruction of the Turkish
power. At last (1448) he set out against the Sultan with a picked army
of 24,000 of his most trusty soldiers.
This time it was on the frontier of Servia, on the so-called Field of
Blackbirds, that Huniades encountered Sultan Murad, as before with an
army of 150,000 men--more than five times the number of the
Christians. Huniades at first withdrew himself into his intrenched
camp, but in a few days felt himself strong enough to engage with the
enemy on the open field. The battle lasted without interruption for
two days and a night. Huniades himself was several times in deadly
peril. Once his horse was shot under him. He was to be found wherever
assistance, support, encouragement were needed. At last on the morning
of the third day as the Turks who had received reinforcements were
about to renew the attack, the Voyvode of Wallachia passed over to the
side of the Turks. The voyvode belonged to the Orthodox Eastern
Church. He had joined Huniades on the way, and his desertion
transferred 6,000 men from one side to the other, and decided the
battle in favor of the Turks. The Hungarians, worn out by fatigue,
fell into a discouragement, while Huniades had no fresh troops to
bring up to their support. The battle came to a sudden end. Seventeen
thousand Hungarian corpses strewed the field, but the loss of the
Turks was more than 30,000 men.
Huniades again left to himself had again to make his escape. At first
he only dismissed his military suite; afterwards he separated from his
faithful servant in the hope that separately they might more easily
baffle their pursuers. Next he had to turn his horse adrift, as the
poor animal was incapable of continuing his journey. Thus he made his
way alone and on foot toward the frontiers of his native land. After a
while looking down from the top of a piece of elevated ground he
perceived a large body of Turks from whom he hid himself in a
neighboring lake. He thus escaped this danger, but only to encounter
another. At a turn of the road he came so suddenly upon a party of
Turkish plunderers as to be unable to escape from them, and thus
became their prisoner. But the Turks did not recognize him, and
leaving him in the hands of two of their number the rest went on in
search of more prey. His two guards soon came to blows with one
another about a heavy gold cross which they had found on the person of
their captive, and, while they were thus quarrelling, Huniades
suddenly wrenched his sword out of the hand of one of the two Turks
and cut off his head, upon which the other took to flight, and
Huniades was again free.
In the meantime, however, George, the Prince of Servia, who took part
with the aristocratic malcontents, and out of pure hatred to Huniades
had, in spite of his being a Christian, gone over to the side of the
Turks, had given strict orders that all Hungarian stragglers were to
be apprehended and brought before him. In this way Huniades fell into
the hands of some Servian peasants who delivered him to their prince.
Nor did he regain his liberty without the payment of a heavy ransom,
leaving his son, Ladislaus, as hostage in his stead.
He thus returned home amid a thousand perils and with the painful
experience that Europe left him to his own resources to fight as he
best could against the ever-advancing Turks. The dependencies of the
Hungarian crown, Servia and Wallachia, on whose recovery he had spent
so much blood and treasure, instead of supporting him as might be
expected of Christian countries threw themselves in a suicidal manner
into the arms of the Turks. They hoped by their ready submission to
find favor in the eyes of the irresistible conquerors, by whom,
however, they were a little later on devoured.
After these events Huniades continued to act as Governor or Regent of
Hungary for five years more, by which time the young Ladislaus, son of
King Albert, attained his majority. In 1453 he finally laid down his
dignity as governor, and gave over the power into the hands of the
young king, Ladislaus V., whom Huniades had first to liberate by force
of arms from his uncle, Frederick of Austria, before he could set him
on the throne of Hungary. The young king, of German origin had,
however, hardly become emancipated from his guardian, when he fell
under the influence of his other uncle, Ulric Czillei. This Czillei
was a great nobleman of Styria, but was withal possessed of large
estates in Hungary. As a foreigner and as a relative of King
Sigismund, he had long viewed with an evil eye Huniades' elevation. On
one occasion Huniades had to inflict punishment on him. He
consequently now did everything he could to induce the young king, his
nephew, to hate the great captain as he himself did. He sought to
infuse jealousy into his mind and to lead him to believe that Huniades
aimed at the crown. His slanders found the readier credence in the
mind of the youthful sovereign as he was completely stupefied by an
uninterrupted course of debauchery. At last the king was brought to
agree to a plan for ensnaring the great man who so often jeoparded his
life and his substance in the defence of his country and religion.
They summoned him in the king's name to Vienna, where Ladislaus as an
Austrian prince was then staying, with the intention of waylaying and
murdering him. But Huniades got wind of the whole plot, and, when he
arrived at the place of ambush, it was at the head of 2,000 picked
Hungarian warriors. Thus it was Czillei who fell into the snare.
"Wretched creature!" exclaimed Huniades; "thou hast fallen into the
pit thou diggedst for me; were it not that I regard the dignity of the
king and my own humanity, thou shouldst suffer a punishment
proportioned to thy crime. As it is, I let thee off this time, but
come no more into my sight or thou shalt pay for it with thy life."
Such magnanimity, however, did not disarm the hostility of those who
surrounded the king. On the pretence of treason against the king
Huniades was deprived of all his offices and all his estates. The
document is still to be seen in the Hungarian State Archives, in which
the king, led astray by the jealousies that prevailed among his
councillors, represents every virtue of the hero as a crime, and
condemns him to exile.
Fortunately Czillei himself soon fell into disfavor; the Germans
themselves overthrew him; and the king, now better informed, replaced
Huniades in the post of Captain-General of the Kingdom.
Huniades, who had been living meanwhile retired in one of his castles,
now complied with the king's wish without difficulty or hesitation,
and again assumed the highest military command. Instead of seeking how
to revenge himself after the manner of ordinary men, he only thought
of the great enemy of his country, the Turk. And indeed, as it was,
threatening clouds hung over the horizon in the southeast.
A new sultan had come to the throne, Mohammed II., one of the greatest
sovereigns of the house of Othman. He began his reign with the
occupation of Constantinople (1453), and thus destroyed the last
refuge of the Byzantine Empire. At the news of this event all Europe
burst into a chorus of lamentation. The whole importance of the
Eastern Question at once presented itself before the nations of
Christendom. It was at once understood that the new conqueror would
not remain idle within the crumbling walls of Constantinople. And
indeed in no long time was published the proud _mot d'ordre_ "As there
is but one God in heaven, so there shall be but one master upon
earth."
Huniades looked toward Constantinople with heavy heart. He foresaw the
outburst of the storm which would in the first place fall upon his own
country, threatening it with utter ruin. Huniades, so it seemed, was
again left alone in the defence of Christendom.
The approaching danger was delayed for a few years, but in 1456
Mohammed, having finally established himself in Constantinople, set
out with the intention of striking a fatal blow against Hungary. On
the borders of that country, on the bank of the Danube, on what was,
properly speaking Servian territory, stood the fortress of Belgrade.
When the danger from the Turks became imminent, the kings of Hungary
purchased the place from the despots of Servia, giving them in
exchange several extensive estates in Hungary, and had at great
expense turned it into a vast fortress, at that time supposed to be
impregnable. Mohammed determined to take the place, and to this end
made the most extensive preparations. He led to the walls of Belgrade
an army of not less than 150,000 men. The approach of this immense
host so terrified the young king that he left Hungary and took refuge
in Vienna along with his uncle and counsellor, Czillei.
Huniades alone remained at his post, resolute like a lion attacked.
The energy of the old leader--he was now sixty-eight years old--was
only steeled by the greatness of the danger; his forethought and his
mental resources were but increased. As he saw that it would be
impossible to do anything with a small army, he sent his friend, John
Capistran, an Italian Franciscan, a man animated by a burning zeal
akin to his own, to preach a crusade against the enemies of
Christendom through the towns and villages of the Great Hungarian
Plain. This the friar did to such effect that in a few weeks he had
collected 60,000 men, ready to fight in defence of the Cross. This
army of Crusaders--the last in the history of the nations--had for its
gathering cry the bells of the churches, for its arms, scythes and
axes, Christ for its leader, and John Huniades and John Capistran for
his lieutenants.
The two greatest leaders in war of that day contended for the
possession of Belgrade. The same army now surrounded that fortress
which a few years before had stormed Constantinople reputed
impregnable. The same hero defended it who had so often in the course
of a single decennium defeated the Turkish foe in an offensive war,
who now, regardless of danger, with a small but faithful band of
followers, was prepared to do all that courage, resolution, and
prudence might effect.
Many hundred large cannon began to break down the stone ramparts; many
hundred boats forming a river flotilla covered the Danube, so as to
cut off all communication between the fortress and Hungary. During
this time Huniades' son Ladislaus, and his brother-in-law Michael
Szilagyi, were in command in the fortress. Huniades' first daring plan
was to force his way through the blockading flotilla, and enter
Belgrade before the eyes of the whole Turkish army, taking with him
his own soldiers and Capistran's crusaders. The plan completely
succeeded. With his own flotilla of boats he broke through that of the
Turks and made his entrance into the fortress in triumph. After this
the struggle was continued with equal resolution and ability on both
sides; such advantage as the Christians derived from the protection
afforded by the fortifications being fully compensated by the enormous
superiority in numbers both of men and cannon on the part of the
Turks. Without example in the history of the storming of fortresses
was the stratagem practised by Huniades when he permitted the picked
troops of the enemy, the janissaries, to penetrate within the
fortification and there destroyed them in the place they thought they
had taken. Ten thousand janissaries had already swarmed into the town
and were preparing to attack the bridges and gates of the citadel,
when Huniades ordered fagots soaked in pitch and sulphur and other
combustibles to be flung from the ramparts into the midst of the
crowded ranks of the janissaries. The fire seized on their loose
garments, and in a short time the whole body was a sea of fire. Every
one sought to fly. Then it was that Huniades sallied out with his
picked band, while Capistran with a tall cross in his hand and the cry
of "Jesus" on his lips followed with his crowd of fanatics, the cannon
of the fortress played upon the Turkish camp, the Sultan himself was
wounded and swept along by the stream of fugitives. Forty thousand
Turks were left dead upon the field, four thousand were taken
prisoners and three thousand cannon were captured.
According to the opinion of Huniades himself the Turks had never
suffered such a severe defeat. Its value as far as the Hungarians were
concerned was heightened by the fact that the ambitious Sultan was
personally humiliated. There was now great joy in Europe. At the news
of the brilliant victory _Te deum_ was sung in all the more important
cities throughout Europe, and the Pope wished to compliment Huniades
with a crown.
Alas! a crown of another character awaited him--that of his Redeemer,
in whose name he lived, fought, and fell. The exhalations from the
vast number of unburied or imperfectly buried bodies, festering in the
heat of summer, gave rise to an epidemic in the Christian camp, and to
this the great leader fell a victim. Huniades died August 11, 1456, in
the sixty-eighth year of his age. He died amid the intoxication of his
greatest victory, idolized by his followers, having once more
preserved his country from imminent ruin. Could he have desired a more
glorious death?
He went to his last rest with the consciousness that he had fulfilled
his mission, having designed great things and having accomplished
them.
And the result of his lifelong efforts survived him. His great enemy
the Turk for half a century after his death could only harass the
frontier of his native land; and his country, a few years after his
death placed on the royal throne his son Matthias.
[Signature of the author.]