Date of Birth: 1288
Royal House: Capet-Anjou-Hungary
Spouse: (1) Maria, daughter of Casimir of Byton and Helena, then (2) Beatrix, daughter of Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor, and Margaret of Brabant, then (3) Elisabeth, daughter of Wladyslaw I, king of Poland, and Hedwig of Kalisz
Royal House: Capet-Anjou-Hungary
Spouse: (1) Maria, daughter of Casimir of Byton and Helena, then (2) Beatrix, daughter of Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor, and Margaret of Brabant, then (3) Elisabeth, daughter of Wladyslaw I, king of Poland, and Hedwig of Kalisz
Predecessor: Béla V
Reign: 1312 – 1342
Summary: As circumstances go, Charles' claim to the Hungarian crown in 1312 was strong, but distant. His grandmother was the sister of Ladislaus IV. When he died, she claimed the crown but a distant cousin, Andrew III, was given it instead. Fearing that Hungary was not ready to crown a female its monarch, Mary designated her son, Charles Martel, her heir in 1292. He was also the heir to Naples. He died in 1295 and Charles inherited the rights to Hungary. Meanwhile, King Charles II of Naples appointed his younger son, rather than his elder grandson, Charles, his heir, thereby dividing the Anjou inheritance before they could ever be combined. Charles trucked around Central Europe for most of his life. In 1300, a Hungarian magnate invited him to Hungary to take the crown since no king had been universally recognized since the death of Ladislaus IV in 1290. When the rival king, Andrew III, died the next year, Charles was crowned king of Hungary, but the majority of the magnates chose Wenceslaus instead. Despite King Wenceslaus fleeing Hungary in 1305, the magnates would still not support Charles' rule. Wenceslaus abdicated in favor of Otto III, duke of Bavaria, and Otto was crowned in December. Meanwhile, Charles began aggressively conquering Hungary, seeing no other option left to them. Otto eventually fled to abandoning Hungary to the House of Anjou, yet still the magnates would not give up the Holy Crown. Eventually Pope Clement V had to force some of the major magnates to support him, and even had a replacement crown made since the prince of Transylvania would not release the official crown. Charles was crowned for a third time in 1310. By 1312, he was recognized by much of the kingdom, though some segments of society still rebelled against his authority. In 1316 he had to face a rival claim but they were put down by the next year. When Máté Csák died in 1321, Charles could finally go about the business of running his kingdoms.
Once secure in power, Charles began by restoring certain royal prerogatives to avoid future problems with the aristocracy. He created an honor system of rewards to faithful servants that could be withdrawn if he became displeased. Charles controlled inflation by creating new and creative taxes and minting some coins. By the 1330s, Hungary was minting more gold coins than any country in Europe. He worked with Poland and Bohemia to establish a mutual defense agreement against Habsburg aggression. The Congress of Visegrád where the final details were established was also one of the first joint congresses of European monarchs. He also worked with Poland and the Papacy to ensure that one of his sons inherited Poland while another inherited Naples once the current monarchs died. He attempted to secure his borders by pushing into Wallachia, Bulgaria, Serbia, and Bosnia, and then converting its residents to Catholicism from Greek Orthodoxy. This backfired in the long run, though, as Wallachia went into open rebellion and the other three states had smaller disputes. Charles moves in the Balkans helped the Ottoman Empire capture much of the region fifty years later because Charles decentralized and divided the people. Charles died in 1342 and his son, Louis, succeeded him.
Reign: 1312 – 1342
Summary: As circumstances go, Charles' claim to the Hungarian crown in 1312 was strong, but distant. His grandmother was the sister of Ladislaus IV. When he died, she claimed the crown but a distant cousin, Andrew III, was given it instead. Fearing that Hungary was not ready to crown a female its monarch, Mary designated her son, Charles Martel, her heir in 1292. He was also the heir to Naples. He died in 1295 and Charles inherited the rights to Hungary. Meanwhile, King Charles II of Naples appointed his younger son, rather than his elder grandson, Charles, his heir, thereby dividing the Anjou inheritance before they could ever be combined. Charles trucked around Central Europe for most of his life. In 1300, a Hungarian magnate invited him to Hungary to take the crown since no king had been universally recognized since the death of Ladislaus IV in 1290. When the rival king, Andrew III, died the next year, Charles was crowned king of Hungary, but the majority of the magnates chose Wenceslaus instead. Despite King Wenceslaus fleeing Hungary in 1305, the magnates would still not support Charles' rule. Wenceslaus abdicated in favor of Otto III, duke of Bavaria, and Otto was crowned in December. Meanwhile, Charles began aggressively conquering Hungary, seeing no other option left to them. Otto eventually fled to abandoning Hungary to the House of Anjou, yet still the magnates would not give up the Holy Crown. Eventually Pope Clement V had to force some of the major magnates to support him, and even had a replacement crown made since the prince of Transylvania would not release the official crown. Charles was crowned for a third time in 1310. By 1312, he was recognized by much of the kingdom, though some segments of society still rebelled against his authority. In 1316 he had to face a rival claim but they were put down by the next year. When Máté Csák died in 1321, Charles could finally go about the business of running his kingdoms.
Once secure in power, Charles began by restoring certain royal prerogatives to avoid future problems with the aristocracy. He created an honor system of rewards to faithful servants that could be withdrawn if he became displeased. Charles controlled inflation by creating new and creative taxes and minting some coins. By the 1330s, Hungary was minting more gold coins than any country in Europe. He worked with Poland and Bohemia to establish a mutual defense agreement against Habsburg aggression. The Congress of Visegrád where the final details were established was also one of the first joint congresses of European monarchs. He also worked with Poland and the Papacy to ensure that one of his sons inherited Poland while another inherited Naples once the current monarchs died. He attempted to secure his borders by pushing into Wallachia, Bulgaria, Serbia, and Bosnia, and then converting its residents to Catholicism from Greek Orthodoxy. This backfired in the long run, though, as Wallachia went into open rebellion and the other three states had smaller disputes. Charles moves in the Balkans helped the Ottoman Empire capture much of the region fifty years later because Charles decentralized and divided the people. Charles died in 1342 and his son, Louis, succeeded him.
Date of Death: 16 July 1342
Successor: Louis I
Other Monarchs Who Died Today:
Successor: Louis I
Other Monarchs Who Died Today:
- Inoocent III, pope of Rome (1216)
- Go-Uda, emperor of Japan (1324)
- Yu Gu, pretender to Korea (2005)
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