The Minorite Chronicle of Buda () is the historiographical name of a continuation of the ancient Hungarian chronicle. It was written around 1334 during the reign of Charles I. It was the last contribution to the text before the so-called 14th-century chronicle composition and its content can only be reconstructed based on these variants. The text was written by one or more Franciscan friars, covering the period from 1272 to 1333 (chapters 181–211). In addition to historical records from the last third of the 13th century, the author(s) preserved the Hunnic story created by Simon of Kéza and magister Ákos' interpolations within the older texts containing old myths and legends from the Hungarian prehistory. Among the later redactions, the text of the Minorite Chronicle of Buda (the last stage before the large-scale compilation) was most faithfully preserved in the 15th-century Sambucus Codex.
Background
The first version of the Hungarian chronicle (called Urgesta or Gesta Ungarorum) was completed in the second half of the 11th century or in the early 12th century. Its text was expanded and rewritten several times in the 12th–13th centuries. Ákos, the chronicler during the reign of Stephen V (r. 1270–1272) expanded significantly the chronicle text (its last redaction occurred during the reign of Andrew II (r. 1205–1235)) focusing on the Hungarian prehistory (called Gesta Stephani V), but he only added brief records in the style of annals regarding his contemporary history, listing short biographic elements of the Hungarian monarchs. Simon of Kéza, a court cleric of Ladislaus IV (r. 1272–1290), inserted the history of the Huns before the main chronicle text (his main work, the Gesta Hunnorum et Hungarorum is an extraction of the national chronicle). Historian György Györffy argued that Simon's work and book collection went to the Franciscans of Óbuda after his death.
19th-century scholar Henrik Marczali was the first historian, who assumed an intermediate chronicle between the 13th-century edits and the mid-14th-century compilation. He called this work as the Minorite Chronicle of Buda, since its text refers to the order and its monastery in the Hungarian capital in many cases. His thesis was accepted by Bálint Hóman, János Horváth, Jr and György Györffy. Marczali assumed a continuation of the Hungarian chronicle text under Andrew III (r. 1290–1301). He argued the Minorite Chronicle covered the history of Hungary from the reign of Andrew III until around 1330. In contrast, Sándor Domanovszky proved that the chapters on Ladislaus IV can also be attributed to the work of a Franciscan author (i.e. the period from 1272), instead of Simon of Kéza or a continuator from the age of Andrew III, who glorified the reign of Ladislaus, which was unacceptable for the later ages, thus Simon's contribution regarding the 1270–1280s were completely omitted in the chronicle text. Gyula Kristó established that the text of the Minorite Chronicle of Buda lasted until 1333 (211th chapter), when Charles I visited his uncle, Robert, in Naples.
Authorship Single author Henrik Marczali considered that a single author wrote the whole text of the Minorite Chronicle of Buda, which were preserved in the 14th-century chronicle composition (chapters 181–211). János Karácsonyi identified this person with John, who served as provincial general of the Franciscan Order in Hungary from 1323 to 1331.
Accepting this identification, Elemér Mályusz argued the author was loyal to the Capetian House of Anjou, the new royal dynasty in Hungary. For this purpose, John completely left out the passage of the reign of Ladislaus IV written by Simon of Kéza. Instead, he wrote another one, where although he refers to the victorious battles of the king (e.g. Battle of Lake Hód), he details the misery of the country during his reign much more emphatically. John retrospectively evaluated the events according to whether they contributed to Charles' accession to the Hungarian throne. Mályusz argued the Franciscan author narrates the true nature of Felician Záh's assassination attempt by expanding and modifying the story of the assassination of Gertrude of Merania (in 1213). Since the author did not want to hide the facts, he projected the events back to the circumstances of a murder 100 years ago. However, Bánk's revenge version already appears in the Austrian Rhyming Chronicle, compiled around 1270.
Mályusz emphasized John's religious nature of his education compared to earlier chroniclers. He publishes a lot of local news about the Franciscan Order (for instance, Charles founded a Franciscan monastery in Lippa (today Lipova, Romania) dedicated to Louis of Toulouse. The author was also critical of the activity of papal legate Niccolò Boccasini (future Pope Benedict XI, a Dominican), while praised the work of papal legate Gentile Portino da Montefiore (a Franciscan), both were sent to Hungary to represent papal interests and to secure Charles' ascension to the throne during the Interregnum. Despite the chronicler supported Charles' aspirations, he did not serve his propaganda in every aspect, for instance, John considered Charles's first two coronations (1301 and 1309) are invalid, against the practice of the royal chancellery, which proves the author's independence despite his loyalty to the king. The chronicler, declaring the archiepiscopal see as vacant, even refused to acknowledge Gregory Bicskei as the legitimate Archbishop of Esztergom, despite that he was one of the few pro-Angevin prelates after the extinction of the Árpád dynasty (1301). Mályusz argued the end of the text (the Wallachian campaign) is related to John's diplomatic mission to Avignon in 1331, where he intended to downplay the significance of the defeat. According to Mályusz, John, similarly to other Franciscan historians, did not get his information from charters and earlier chronicles, but used the information network within the Franciscan Order to obtain his own information via oral reports and meetings.
Alongside Mályusz, philologist János Horváth, Jr., who analyzed the rhyming and rhythmic prose text of the 14th-century chronicle composition in detail, also argued in favor of a single author. He considered that the chapters 181–211 were written in rhythmic prose. Horváth argued that from the end of the 13th century, due to the spread of the teaching of ars dictaminis, the use of prose rhythm became common especially in chancellery practice, the uniform rhythmic prose does not yet automatically prove that the chronicle part is the work of one author, but – primarily by using the arguments of previous research about the content – he assumed a single chronicler behind the text. Horváth argued that the author was particularly interested in church affairs. He separately mentions the papal legations of Philip of Fermo, Niccolò Boccasini and Gentile Portino da Montefiore. In addition, the author details the story when the clergymen of Buda excommunicated the pope. He also interpolated a chapter (179th) about the movement of Flagellant and the Franciscans' long-lasting fights over the corpse of Béla IV (r. 1235–1270).
Multiple authors Austrian scholar Raimund Friedrich Kaindl was the first historian, who considered that the so-called Minorite Chronicle of Buda is a compilation of historical records whose first entries may have been made around 1300, and the last around 1342, and whose writing can be attributed to several authors. Kálmán Dékáni and initially Tibor Klaniczay accepted this argument. Dékáni argued the Fransciscan friars expanded the text of the Gesta Stephani V over decades until around 1342 within the walls of their Buda monastery.
Sándor Domanovszky also argued in favor of two authors. Accordingly, the first monk closed his work at the year 1312, while another chronicler continued the text with the detailed stories of Charles' assassination attempt by Felician Záh and the king's campaign against Basarab I of Wallachia, which resulted a defeat at the Battle of Posada (both events occurred in 1330). Domanovszky considered the first author recorded the events with short summaries retroactively from the reign of Ladislaus IV (1272) until the Battle of Rozgony between Charles I and Matthew Csák (1312). The second author, as Domanovszky claimed, contributes only with short annalistic records after 1317 and primarily deals with the family affairs of Charles I. This text was expanded by another (third) author with details regarding the aforementioned assassination attempt and the failed royal campaign.
Kristó Gyula's theory In his 1967 study, Gyula Kristó outlined four authors, whose style and ideology can be separated from each other within the thirty chapters.
Anti-Angevin chronicler (1272–1308; ch. 181–191)
According to Kristó, this chronicler was already adult during the reign of Ladislaus IV. His entire narrative regarding his rule is permeated by his personal anger and hatred. He completely ignored the writing of his contemporary Simon of Kéza, who glorified Ladislaus. He describes the misery of the country with plastic pictures. He is also the first author of the 14th-century chronicle composition, who uses the phrase "barones" (i.e. powerful lords). Kristó considered the chronicler perhaps had some connection with the Borsa clan; he highlights the merits of only one person, Roland Borsa, when describing the Battle of Lake Hód. By mentioning the Cuman assassins of Ladislaus IV, he also tries to divert suspicion from James Borsa. Regarding Andrew III, the chronicler does not hide his high-born origin. While several historians considered that the attitude against Ladislaus proves the author's pro-Angevin position, Kristó argued in favor of his anti-Angevin standpoint, because the Angevins emphasized Andrew's illegitimate origin. The author also claims that Pope Boniface VIII sent papal legates to Hungary in order to support the Angevin, already during the lifetime of Andrew III. He completed his work, when Charles was already considered the only remaining serious claimant to the throne (1308). The chronicler emphasizes the legitimacy of Andrew III against the claim of the Capetian House of Anjou (Charles Martel, then his son Charles [Robert]). When he first mentions the latter, he refers disparagingly to the future king as a "certain boy of eleven years, named Charles". He frequently reminds of Charles' age of minority too. He even fails to mention the child's rapid coronation in 1301. The chronicler also lists the failures of the papal legates who were sent to Hungary in order to support Charles' claim. After 1304 or 1305, when Charles increasingly overcame his rivals, the author keeps quiet about his successes.
In contrast, he refers to those barons and prelates, who invited Wenceslaus to the Hungarian throne in 1301, as "men of great eminence", because "lest the free men of the kingdom should lose their freedom by accepting a king appointed by the Church [i.e. Charles]", which also proves the author's anti-papal sentiment. The chronicler felt sympathy for Wenceslaus. He mentions that John Hont-Pázmány, the Archbishop of Kalocsa crowned the Bohemian prince, because the archiepiscopal see of Esztergom was vacant, refusing the legitimacy of the pro-Angevin archbishop-elect Gregory Bicskei. According to Kristó, when the Minorite friar refers to the Buda heresy, the author deliberately does not mention the reason for the pope's excommunication, despite the fact that he lived locally. As a result of the radicalization of the events, the author already subordinates his political stance to his monastic status, and separates himself from the heretical churchmen.