Mary of Hungary

Budapest, Archaeolingua, 2005
Puhakötés | Paper book 
308 oldal, színes és fekete-fehér illusztrációkkal | 308 pages with colored and grayscale images

ISBN 978 963 9340 50 2
Ez a könyv magyarul is elérhető | This book is also available in Hungarian: http://www.archaeolingua.hu/book/habsburg-maria-mohacs-ozvegye

Table of Contents // Tartalomjegyzék

Around the turn of the millenium, special attention was paid to the most illustrious Habsburg rulers in several European musea. The Budapest History Museum (Hungary) and the Slovak National Gallery (Slovakia) organised an international exhibition to commemorate the 500^th anniversary of the birth of Mary of Hungary (1505–1558), queen consort to the Hungarian-Bohemian King Louis II. Queen Mary is a controversial personality in Hungarian historiography. It is however undisputable that from 1523 she resolutely aimed to strengthen the royal power in Hungary, and after the defeat at Mohács in 1523 she became regent of the Low Countries between 1531 and 1556. Industry and commerce intensively developed under her rule, ensuring high taxes and the prospering of the country. Her personality and exceptional fate as a woman and as a queen as well as the role she played in a decisive, dramatic period of the history of the Hungarian Kingdom can count on the interest of the audience both in Hungary and abroad.

The main subjects touched upon in the exhibition include themes of royal residence, artists active at the court, court humanism, the queen’s relationship with Martin Luther, or the music of the early 16^th century. In the first part of the volume renown historians discuss the role of Mary of Hungary and her court and the historical context, while in the second part the detailed exhibition catalogue is included.