15th/16th-century Hungarian archbishop and statesman
Tamas Bakocz (memorial coin)
Tamas Bakocz
(
b.
1442
,
Erd?d
–
d.
1521
,
Esztergom
) was a
Hungarian
archbishop,
cardinal
and statesman. He was a serious candidate in the
1513 papal conclave
.
Life
[
edit
]
Born in
Szatmar County
, Bakocz was the son of a wagoner and was adopted by his uncle, who trained him for the priesthood and whom he succeeded as rector of
Tetel
(1480). Through the generosity of his same brother Valentine, he was able to pursue a thorough course of studies first in the town of
Szatmar-Nemeti
, then in
Cracow
, Poland, and finally in the Italian cities of
Ferrara
and
Padua
.
[1]
>
He returned to his native country about the year 1470, with the doctor's degree. Bakocz was introduced to the king about the year 1474. Shortly afterwards he became one of the secretaries of
King
Matthias Corvinus
, who made him bishop of
Gy?r
and a member of the royal council (1490). Under
Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary
(1490–1516) he became successively bishop of
Eger
, the richest of the Hungarian sees, archbishop of
Esztergom
(1497), cardinal (1500), and titular
Latin Patriarch of Constantinople
(1510).
[2]
The coat of arms of Tamas Bakocz
From 1490 to his death in 1521 he was the leading statesman of Hungary and mainly responsible for foreign policy. It was solely through his efforts that Hungary did not accede to the
league of Cambrai
, was consistently friendly with
Venice
, and formed a family compact with the
Habsburgs
. He was also the only
Magyar
prelate who seriously aspired to the papal throne. In 1513, on the death of
Julius II
, he went to
Rome
for the express purpose of bringing about his own election as pope. He was received with more than princely pomp, and all but succeeded in his design, thanks to his extraordinary adroitness and the command of an almost unlimited bribing-fund. But Venice and the emperor played him false, and he failed.
[2]
Signature of Tamas Bakocz
He returned to
Hungary
as
papal legate
, bringing with him the
bull
of
Leo X
proclaiming a fresh
crusade
against the
Turks
. But the crusade degenerated into a
jacquerie
which ravaged the whole kingdom, and much discredited Bakocz. He lost some of his influence at first after the death of Wladislaus, but continued to be the guiding spirit at court, till age and infirmity confined him almost entirely to his house in the last three years of his life. He left a fortune of many millions.
[2]
He and his family are buried in a separate chapel of the
Esztergom Basilica
, the most precious artwork of the Hungarian Renaissance.
References
[
edit
]
Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913).
"Thomas Bakocz"
.
Catholic Encyclopedia
. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
Sources
[
edit
]
- Fraknoi, Vilmos (1889).
Tamas Bakocz
(in Hungarian). Budapest.
{{
cite book
}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link
)
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