The second Battle of Kosovo (1448) according to Antonio Bonfini
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.62609/ks.vi50.7916Abstract
This study offers a new perspective on the Second Battle of Kosovo by presenting the first complete Albanian translation of the original Latin report by Antonio Bonfini from Rerum Hungaricarum Decades. Bonfini’s contemporary narrative, completed in 1498, is a valuable source of the period for this key event in European history. Through a careful analysis of Bonfini’s text, the author challenges existing interpretations of the battle. While many historians have blamed Skanderbeg for the Hungarian defeat, Bonfini places the responsibility directly on John Hunyadi, who prematurely initiated the confrontation with the Ottoman forces, thereby altering the previously agreed-upon plan with Skanderbeg. Furthermore, Bonfini identifies George Branković as the principal traitor, who not only undermined Hunyadi’s campaign by refusing to commit his military forces to the battle, but also provided the Ottomans with secret intelligence. The study not only presents a new translation but also offers a critical analysis of Bonfini’s work, providing context and shedding light on the biases and perspectives of a contemporary chronicler. Through a detailed examination of the Second Battle of Kosovo, viewed through the prism of Bonfini’s narrative, this study makes a significant contribution to our understanding of this complex historical event and to the broader context of fifteenth-century Balkan politics.Keywords:
Huniadi, Skënderbeu, Brakoviqi, Sulltan Murati II, Antonio Bonfini, Beteja e Dytë e Kosovës, Lufta antiosmane.Downloads
References
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Bonfinius A. A. (Antonio Bonfini), Rerum Ungaricarum decades tres, nunc demum industria Martini Brenneri Bistriciensis Transsylvani in lucem aeditae, ante hac nunquam excusae; quibus accesserunt Chronologia Pannonum a Noah usque haec tempora et Coronis Historiae Ungaricae diversorum auctorum, Basileae: Ex Roberti Vvinter Officina, 1543.
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Bughetti B., “Documenta inedita de S. Bernardino Senensi, O.F.M. (1430–1445)”, Archivium Franciscanum Historicum XXIX, Grottaferrata, 1936: 478–500.
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Fogel I., Iványi B., Juhász L. (eds.), Antonius de Bonfinis, Rerum ungaricarum decades, Bibliotheca Scriptorum Medii Recentisque Aevorum, saec. XV, Leipzig: B. G. Teubner, 1936.
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Gelcich J., Thallóczy L., Ragusa és Magyarország összeköttetéseinek oklevéltára / Diplomatarium relationum reipublicae Ragusinae cum regno Hungariae, Budapest: Magyar Tudományos Akadémia Történeti Bizottsága, 1887.
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Parrino I., Acta Albaniae Vaticana: Res Albaniae saeculorum XIV et XV atque cruciatam spectantia, Tomus I, Studi e Testi 266, Città del Vaticano, 1971.
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Schwandtner I. G., Scriptores rerum Hungaricarum veteres ac genuini, Tomus II, Vindobonae: Imprensis Ioannis Pauli Kraus, 1746.
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Valentini S. J. G., Sciambra M., Parrino I., Il “Liber Brevium” di Calisto III: la Crociata, l’Albania e Skanderbeg, Palermo: Scuola Grafica Salesiana, 1968.
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Valentini S. J. J., Acta Albania Veneta saeculorum XIV et XV, Pars Tertia, Tomus XX, periodum Skanderbegianam complectens, München–Roma, 1974.
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Antoche E. C., “Hunyadi’s Campaign of 1448 and the Second Battle of Kosovo Polje (October 17–20)”, in Reconfiguring the Fifteenth-Century Crusade, ed. Norman Housley, Palgrave Macmillan, 2017: 245–284.
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Berisha G., “Gjergj Kastrioti-Skënderbeu dhe qëndrimi modus vivendi i Republikës së Raguzës”, in Gjergj Kastrioti-Skënderbeu në 550-vjetorin e vdekjes, Prishtinë: Instituti i Historisë “Ali Hadri”, 2019: 15–41.
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Capelli A., Cronologia, cronografia e calendario perpetuo dal principio dell’era christiana ai nostri giorni, 6th rev. ed., Milano: Ulrico Hoepli, 1988.
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Ducellier A., “La façade maritime de la principauté de Kastriote de la fin du XIVe siècle à la mort de Scanderbeg”, Studia Albanica VI, Tiranë, 1968: 119–136.
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Jovanović V. S., “Sredovjekovni grad Zvečan (Fortesse médiévale de Zvečan)”, Starinar, Nova serija XIII–XIV (1962–1963), Beograd: Arheološki institut, 1965: 137–150.
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Kostić M., “Opis vojske Jovana Hunijadija pri polaska u boj na Kosovo”, Glasnik Skopskog naučnog društva I/1–2, Skopje, 1926: 79–91.
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Lajçi L., “Skënderbeu dhe lufta e dytë e Kosovës (17–19 tetor 1448)”, Studime historike 1, Prishtinë: Instituti Albanologjik i Prishtinës, 2006: 15–52.
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Matković P., “Putovanja po balkanskom poluotoku XVI. vijeka”, Rad JAZU XLIX, Zagreb: Tisak Dioničke Tiskare, 1879: 1–92.
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Pall F., “I rapporti italo-albanesi intorno alla metà del secolo XV”, Archivio Storico per le Province Napoletane, ser. III, vol. LXXXIII, Napoli: Società Napoletana di Storia Patria, 1966: 123–226.
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Pandžić B., “I francescani a servizio dell’Albania nell’epoka di Scanderbeg”, in V Convegno internazionale di studi albanesi, Palermo: Scuola Grafica Salesiana, 1969: 177–202.
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Plasari A., Arbni historik, gjeografik, kishtar dhe politik, 2nd ed., Tiranë: Onufri, 2020.
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Plasari A., Skënderbeu: Një histori politike, Tiranë: Instituti i Studimeve Shqiptare “Gjergj Fishta”, 2010.
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Radonić J., Đurađ Kastriot Skenderbeg i Arbanija u XV veku, Spomenik XCV, knj. 74, Beograd: Srpska Kraljevska Akademija, 1942: 16–18.
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Setton K., The Papacy and the Levant, 1204–1571, vol. II, Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1978.
References
Bonfinius A. A. (Antonio Bonfini), Rerum Ungaricarum decades tres, nunc demum industria Martini Brenneri Bistriciensis Transsylvani in lucem aeditae, ante hac nunquam excusae; quibus accesserunt Chronologia Pannonum a Noah usque haec tempora et Coronis Historiae Ungaricae diversorum auctorum, Basileae: Ex Roberti Vvinter Officina, 1543.
Bughetti B., “Documenta inedita de S. Bernardino Senensi, O.F.M. (1430–1445)”, Archivium Franciscanum Historicum XXIX, Grottaferrata, 1936: 478–500.
Fogel I., Iványi B., Juhász L. (eds.), Antonius de Bonfinis, Rerum ungaricarum decades, Bibliotheca Scriptorum Medii Recentisque Aevorum, saec. XV, Leipzig: B. G. Teubner, 1936.
Gelcich J., Thallóczy L., Ragusa és Magyarország összeköttetéseinek oklevéltára / Diplomatarium relationum reipublicae Ragusinae cum regno Hungariae, Budapest: Magyar Tudományos Akadémia Történeti Bizottsága, 1887.
Parrino I., Acta Albaniae Vaticana: Res Albaniae saeculorum XIV et XV atque cruciatam spectantia, Tomus I, Studi e Testi 266, Città del Vaticano, 1971.
Schwandtner I. G., Scriptores rerum Hungaricarum veteres ac genuini, Tomus II, Vindobonae: Imprensis Ioannis Pauli Kraus, 1746.
Valentini S. J. G., Sciambra M., Parrino I., Il “Liber Brevium” di Calisto III: la Crociata, l’Albania e Skanderbeg, Palermo: Scuola Grafica Salesiana, 1968.
Valentini S. J. J., Acta Albania Veneta saeculorum XIV et XV, Pars Tertia, Tomus XX, periodum Skanderbegianam complectens, München–Roma, 1974.
Antoche E. C., “Hunyadi’s Campaign of 1448 and the Second Battle of Kosovo Polje (October 17–20)”, in Reconfiguring the Fifteenth-Century Crusade, ed. Norman Housley, Palgrave Macmillan, 2017: 245–284.
Berisha G., “Gjergj Kastrioti-Skënderbeu dhe qëndrimi modus vivendi i Republikës së Raguzës”, in Gjergj Kastrioti-Skënderbeu në 550-vjetorin e vdekjes, Prishtinë: Instituti i Historisë “Ali Hadri”, 2019: 15–41.
Capelli A., Cronologia, cronografia e calendario perpetuo dal principio dell’era christiana ai nostri giorni, 6th rev. ed., Milano: Ulrico Hoepli, 1988.
Ducellier A., “La façade maritime de la principauté de Kastriote de la fin du XIVe siècle à la mort de Scanderbeg”, Studia Albanica VI, Tiranë, 1968: 119–136.
Jovanović V. S., “Sredovjekovni grad Zvečan (Fortesse médiévale de Zvečan)”, Starinar, Nova serija XIII–XIV (1962–1963), Beograd: Arheološki institut, 1965: 137–150.
Kostić M., “Opis vojske Jovana Hunijadija pri polaska u boj na Kosovo”, Glasnik Skopskog naučnog društva I/1–2, Skopje, 1926: 79–91.
Lajçi L., “Skënderbeu dhe lufta e dytë e Kosovës (17–19 tetor 1448)”, Studime historike 1, Prishtinë: Instituti Albanologjik i Prishtinës, 2006: 15–52.
Matković P., “Putovanja po balkanskom poluotoku XVI. vijeka”, Rad JAZU XLIX, Zagreb: Tisak Dioničke Tiskare, 1879: 1–92.
Pall F., “I rapporti italo-albanesi intorno alla metà del secolo XV”, Archivio Storico per le Province Napoletane, ser. III, vol. LXXXIII, Napoli: Società Napoletana di Storia Patria, 1966: 123–226.
Pandžić B., “I francescani a servizio dell’Albania nell’epoka di Scanderbeg”, in V Convegno internazionale di studi albanesi, Palermo: Scuola Grafica Salesiana, 1969: 177–202.
Plasari A., Arbni historik, gjeografik, kishtar dhe politik, 2nd ed., Tiranë: Onufri, 2020.
Plasari A., Skënderbeu: Një histori politike, Tiranë: Instituti i Studimeve Shqiptare “Gjergj Fishta”, 2010.
Radonić J., Đurađ Kastriot Skenderbeg i Arbanija u XV veku, Spomenik XCV, knj. 74, Beograd: Srpska Kraljevska Akademija, 1942: 16–18.
Setton K., The Papacy and the Levant, 1204–1571, vol. II, Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1978.
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