Matthias Corvinus family Hunyadi family
Election as king (1457–1458)
King Ladislaus died childless in 1457. His elder sister, Anna, and her husband, William III, Landgrave of Thuringia, laid claim to his inheritance but received no support from the Estates. The Diet of Hungary was convoked to Pest to elect a new king in January 1458. Pope Calixtus III's legate Cardinal Juan Carvajal, who had been John Hunyadi's admirer, began openly campaigning for Matthias.The election of Matthias as king was the only way of avoiding a protracted civil war. Ladislaus Garai was the first baron to yield. At a meeting with Matthias's mother and uncle, he promised that he and his allies would promote Matthias's election, and Michael Szilágyi promised that his nephew would never seek vengeance for Ladislaus Hunyadi's execution. They also agreed that Matthias would marry the Palatine's daughter Anna—his executed brother's bride.Michael Szilágyi arrived at the Diet with 15,000 troops, intimidating the barons who assembled in Buda. Stirred up by Szilágyi, the noblemen gathered on the frozen River Danube and unanimously proclaimed the 14-year-old Matthias king on 24 January. At the same time, the Diet elected his uncle as regent.
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