Corvinus, Matthias 199J. A. C. Thomas, trans., The Institutes of Justinian: Text,
Translation and Commentary(Amsterdam: North-Holland,
1975); Manlio Bellomo, The Common Legal Past of Europe,
1000–1800, 2d ed., trans. Lydia G. Cochrane (1991;
reprint, Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of Amer-
ica Press, 1995); Walter Ullmann, Law and Politics in the
Middle Ages: An Introduction to the Sources of Medieval
Political Ideas (Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press,
1975), 51–116.
Corsica Corsica is an island in the Mediterranean Sea,
north of SARDINIAand west of Italy. Once a province of
the Roman Empire, Corsica was taken in 430 by the VAN-
DALS. In 552 it was conquered by the BYZANTINES. In the
eighth century, Corsica became part of the Lombard king-
dom of Italy. PÉPINIII THESHORTlater gave the island to
the pope. Papal protection was ineffective and the island
became a base for Muslim attacks on the surrounding
coasts in the ninth and 10th centuries.
In the 11th century control of Corsica was contested
by GENOAand PISA. In 1077, Pope GREGORYVII gave it to
the archbishop of Pisa. Despite the religious authority of
the Pisans, Corsica was divided in 1133 between Genoa
and Pisa. The Genoese victory at the Battle of Melloria in
1284 gave Genoa sole rule of the island. While towns and
peasants remained faithful to Genoa, the rural nobility
sought the intervention of King James II (r. 1291–1327)
of ARAGON. In 1296 with the consent of Pope BONIFACE
VIII, he conquered the island. Corsica was soon divided
between the Genoese and Aragonese. In 1420 a new war
broke out, in which the Aragonese initially won control.
However, in 1434 the Genoese expelled the Aragonese
army. In 1453, the Genoese gave their bank, the Bank of
Saint George, control of the island. This created stability
and some prosperity.
Further reading:Marco Tangheroni, “Sardinia and
Corsica from the Mid-Twelfth to the Early Fourteenth
Century,” in The New Cambridge Medieval History,Vol. 1,
C. 1198–c. 1300,ed. David Abulafia (Cambridge: Cam-
bridge University Press, 1999), 447–457.
Cortes A parliamentary assembly that arose out of the
extraordinary curia regisor the court of the king. The
Cortes originated in 1188 at LEÓN, where the representa-
tives of towns were called to sit and consult the monarch
with noble and ecclesiastical counselors. The Cortes of
the kingdoms of CASTILEand León was called together
from 1302, always on a royal call to convocation. It was
called to approve taxes and swear an oath to the acknowl-
edged heir to the throne. One hundred towns initially
sent delegates to present grievances in the early 14th cen-
tury. Elsewhere, a Cortes of PORTUGALwas periodically
convened from the mid-13th century. In the Crown of
ARAGON, each Cortes of Aragon, CATALONIA,VALENCIA,
and the BALEARICIslands met separately. For these there
were four constituents, those representing an upper
nobility, a middle nobility, the clergy, and the towns. The
Cortes of Aragon managed to impose more control on the
king than that of León. Their power and influence varied
according to the ability and circumstances of the crown.
Further reading: Marie Regina Madden, Political
Theory and Law in Medieval Spain(New York: Fordham
University Press, 1930); Evelyn S. Procter, Curia and
Cortes in León and Castile, 1072–1295(New York: Cam-
bridge University Press, 1980).Corvinus, Matthias (Mátyás Hunyadi)(1443–1490)
king of Hungary
Born on February 24, 1443, in TRANSYLVANIAMatthias
was the younger son of John HUNYADI. Corvinus was a
humanist nickname. He received a humanist education
and showed an excellent gift for languages and frequently
functioned as his father’s interpreter. He competed for
the Hungarian throne with the emperor Frederick III
(r. 1440–93) and was finally crowned on March 29, 1464.
He was proclaimed king of BOHEMIA in 1469, but he
ultimately failed to hold the crown. During a later war
with Frederick, Matthias captured VIENNAin 1485 and
held it until his death.CULTURAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS
He enhanced this military and political fame with his
image as a learned king and enlightened patron of the
arts, especially of Italian humanism. Matthias’s court, in
BUDA, was a prominent center for humanists from all over
Europe.
His beautification of the capital, PRAGUE,was
remarked upon by the foreigners visiting his court. His
cultural landmark was his library, the Corviniana, a collec-
tion of more than 2,000 books and five hundred illumi-
nated manuscripts, which contributed to the preservation,
transcription, and translation from Greek into LATIN of
classical literature and science for all of central Europe.POLITICS
Matthias’s rule has been divided into three periods. Until
the 1460s, he successfully worked with the lesser nobility
and secured geographical unity and independence for
Hungary. Then Matthias reformed the army, the institu-
tions of government, taxation, and the courts of law. After
his marriage to Beatrix of Naples and Aragon in 1476, the
third period of rule was dominated by wars of expansion
in the Balkans and dynastic ambition. The mixed success
and failure of the projects led to an unsuccessful coup in
1472 to replace him with Casimir IV (r. 1446–92) of
POLAND. He died without a legitimate heir on April 6,
1490, in Vienna, with the question of succession left
unsettled.
Further reading:Ilona Berkovits, Illuminated Manu-
scripts from the Library of Matthias Corvinus,trans. Susan