Hungary: Modern and Medieval

MODERN HUNGARY (a lot on jewish history tbh)
Vago, Bela. 1975. The shadow of the Swastika: The rise of fascism and anti-Semitism in the Danube basin, 1936–1939. London: Institute of Jewish Affairs, Saxon House. Vago writes a comparative history of fascism and anti-Semitism in Czechoslovakia, Romania, and Hungary in the period leading up to World War II. His insights regarding the growing fascist movements and anti-Semitism in Romania are based on documents from the British Public Records Office.
Cornwall, Mark. The Undermining of Austria-Hungary: The Battle for Hearts and Minds. New York: St. Martin’s, 2000. Comprehensive and persuasive account of both Allied efforts to use nationalist propaganda against the Hapsburg military and attempts by the government in Vienna to counter that threat.
Herwig, Holger H. The First World War: Germany and Austria-Hungary, 1914–1918. Modern Wars. London and New York: Arnold, 1997. Useful and clearly written study of the military partnership between these two empires. Herwig offers a coherent and readable argument for the failure of that alliance and its impact on subsequent developments in Central Europe.
Dreisziger, Nandor F., ed. Hungary and the Second World War. Hungarian Studies Review 10. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1983. This book consists of essays by a number of specialists on the entrance of Hungary into the war and the attempt to leave it.
Fenyo, Mario D. Hitler, Horthy, and Hungary: German-Hungarian Relations, 1941–1944. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1972. In spite of the title, this book examines primarily the Hungarian side of the issues in the relationship. Based heavily on publications in Magyar.
Juhász, Gyula. Hungarian Foreign Policy 1919–1945. Translated by Sándor Simon; translation revised by Mária Kovács. Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1979. Although published under Communist auspices, this book remains useful for students in the early 21st century.
Macartney, Carlile A. October Fifteenth: A History of Modern Hungary 1929–1945. 2 vols. Edinburgh: University Press, 1956–1957. This remains the most informative and balanced account even though no archival materials were available at the time. Foreign relations are covered along with much detail on internal developments.
Szinai, Miklós, and László Szücs, eds. The Confidential Papers of Admiral Horthy. Budapest: Corvina, 1965. A collection of documents from 1920 to 1944. Contains a helpful introduction and a complete list of Horthy’s papers.
Williamson, Samuel R., Jr. Austria-Hungary and the Origins of the First World War. New York: St. Martin’s, 1991. This archival-based and well-reasoned overview establishes Austria-Hungary’s role as an independent actor in 1914. Excellent for beginners in a complex area of study.
Remak, Joachim. “The Healthy Invalid: How Doomed Was the Habsburg Empire?” Journal of Modern History 41 (1969): 127–141. Makes a brief and effective case for Austria’s viability even on the eve of war. DOI: 10.1086/240371
Sondhaus, Lawrence. Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf: Architect of the Apocalypse. Boston: Humanities Press, 2000. Best-balanced analysis in any language of the role of Austria-Hungary’s long-time chief of staff in establishing the matrix for the empire’s downfall.
Stone, Norman. “Moltke-Conrad: Relations between the Austro-Hungarian and German General Staffs, 1909–1914.” Historical Journal 9 (1966): 201–228. Path-breaking study of Austro-German military relations immediately prior to 1914. Critical of Austrian misjudgments, it remains a first-rate work. DOI: 10.1017/S0018246X00026534
Deák, István. Beyond Nationalism: A Social and Political History of the Habsburg Officer Corps, 1848–1918. New York: Oxford University Press, 1990. An empathetic analysis of the institution that arguably did more than any other to hold Austria-Hungary together, stressing the synergies of dynastic loyalty and professionalism. By default, the best English-language overview of the Common Army.
Tunstall, Graydon A. “The Schlieffen Plan: The Diplomacy and Military Strategy of the Central Powers in the East, 1905–1914.” PhD diss., Rutgers University, 1975. Still unsurpassed as an analysis of Austria-Hungary’s plans for the eastern front; far superior to the truncated published version.
Bridge, F. R. The Habsburg Monarchy among the Great Powers, 1815–1918. New York: Berg, 1990. This book, intended for the general reader, traces Habsburg foreign policy until 1918. The author emphasizes allied distrust and rivalry, stressing that the dual monarchy did not possess the means to realize its Great Power pretensions.
Galántai, József. Hungary in the First World War. Revised by Mark Goodman. Translated by Éva Grusz and Judit Pokoly. Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1989. English translation of Die österreichisch-ungarische Monarchie und der Weltkrieg (Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1979.) Originally published in Hungarian and translated into German and English, this work provides a review of World War I events from the Hungarian viewpoint. Primarily for students and the general public with some knowledge of the dual monarchy’s history.
Shanafelt, Gary W. The Secret Enemy: Austria-Hungary and the German Alliance, 1914–1918. East European Monographs 187. New York: Columbia University Press, 1985. Excellent interpretation of the relationship between the two allies during the war, including diplomatic factors. Worth reading for specialists and general readers because of the noteworthy synthesis of vast amounts of information.
Herwig, Holger H. The First World War: Germany and Austria-Hungary, 1914–1918. Modern Wars. New York: Arnold, 1997. The author, utilizing multiple archival materials, presents allied Austro-Hungarian–German relations, including their shortcomings. Traces the decline of Habsburg power and the necessity of German assistance throughout the war. For the scholar and general historian, this is an excellent synthesis of information.
Cornwall, Mark, ed. The Last Years of Austria-Hungary: Essays in Political and Military History, 1908–1918. Exeter Studies in History 27. Exeter, UK: University of Exeter Press, 1990. The essays provide enlightening material relative to the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy in 1918. They include Habsburg foreign policy and domestic and political conditions prior to the war as well as during the conflict.
Hamilton, Richard F., and Holger H. Herwig, eds. The Origins of World War I. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2003. Valuable for Holger Herwig’s “Germany” (pp. 150–187), David Rich’s “Russia” (pp. 188–226), and Graydon Tunstall’s “Austria-Hungary” (pp. 112–149). The authors portray the key individuals who proved most influential in the July crisis, and why. DOI: 10.1017/CBO9780511550171
DiNardo, Richard L. Breakthrough: The Gorlice-Tarnów Campaign, 1915. War, Technology, and History. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger, 2010. Presents the German side of the Gorlice-Tarnov Offensive, including material on Austro-Hungarian participation in the battle. The author utilized documents from the Vienna and Freiburg war archives, as well as important secondary sources.
Dowling, Timothy C. The Brusilov Offensive. Twentieth-Century Battles. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2008. Utilizing Vienna War Archives sources, Dowling describes the Austro-Hungarian and Russian armies during the offensive. Russian sources consist of secondary material. Of particular interest are Conrad-Falkenhayn relations and Brusilov’s planning for his offensive and subsequent battle, in detail.
Falkenhayn, Erich von. General Headquarters, 1914–1916, and Its Critical Decisions. London: Hutchinson, 1919. English translation of Die oberste Heeresleitung, 1914–1916: In ihren wichtigsten Entschliessungen (Berlin: E. S. Mittler & Sohn, 1920). Emphasizes Germany’s necessity to conserve its soldier material. Cites the multiple problems encountered between German and Austro-Hungarian headquarters. A memoir worth reading, albeit with care.
Lucas, James S. Austro-Hungarian Infantry, 1914–1918. London: Almark, 1973. A basic book on the Habsburg army, describing in detail its various army branches, weapons, and uniforms. Readers will find the photographs, as well as descriptions of infantry, artillery, and Jäger troops, interesting.
Rothenberg, Gunther E. The Army of Francis Joseph. West Lafayette, IN: Purdue University Press, 1976. Although this book traces the history of the Habsburg army to its origins, the chapters on the Balkan Wars, July crisis, and World War I present an excellent, but short, overview of the events for the novice. The author utilized vast Vienna War Archive documentation in his research.
Stone, Norman. The Eastern Front, 1914–1917. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1975. Long-time standard work on the eastern front, but since its publication, much more has been written on the subject. Several of the author’s assumptions have been challenged. Russian archives were not accessible when Stone wrote, but it is still worth reading, particularly regarding the tsarist economy and Habsburg-Romanov military history.
Tunstall, Graydon A., Jr. Planning for War Against Russia and Serbia: Austro-Hungarian and German Military Strategies, 1871–1914. War and Society in East Central Europe 31. New York: Columbia University Press, 1993. Provides separate chapters on diplomacy and military planning from 1905 through 1914, particularly relating to the Bosnian crisis, Balkan Wars, and July crisis. Additional chapters describe the Habsburg mobilization and deployment and the army’s opening campaign.
Rachamimov, Alon. POWs and the Great War: Captivity on the Eastern Front. Legacy of the Great War. New York: Berg, 2002. The author concentrates on Austro-Hungarian prisoners of war in Russia, contrasting the differences between those held in Russia, Germany, and Austria. Thorough research including documents from all three pertinent archives.
Grosz, Peter M., George Haddow, and Peter Schiemer. Austro-Hungarian Army Aircraft of World War One. 2d ed. Boulder, CO: Flying Machines, 2002. Offers great detail on Habsburg aircraft; contains many interesting photographs. Originally published in 1993.
Bartlett, David. The Political Economy of Dual Transformations: Market Reform and Democratization in Hungary. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1997. Shows how democratization facilitated adoption of economic reforms. Refutes those who argued that “dual transitions” would be impossible. Better for graduate students.
Braun, Aurel, and Zoltan Barany, eds. Dilemmas of Transition: The Hungarian Experience. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 1999. Edited volume that serves as a review of various issues in Hungary in the 1990s, including the role of civil society, parties, international factors, and economic reform. Best one-stop book-length source for information in this critical time period when Hungaryestablished democratic institutions.
Bunce, Valerie, and Mária Casanádi. “Uncertainty in the Transition: Post-Communism in Hungary.” East European Politics and Societies 7.2 (1993): 240–275. Discussion of initial dilemmas facing reformers in post-communist Hungary, focusing on the importance of elite choices in shaping new institutions. DOI: 10.1177/0888325493007002003
Lendvai, Paul. Hungary: Between Democracy and Authoritarianism. New York: Columbia University Press, 2012. A Hungarian-born journalist describes how nationalism, entrenched corruption, and political reforms under Prime Minister Viktor Orban pose fundamental threats to Hungary’s democratic system. This is the first book-length account in English of these developments.
Schiemann, John. The Politics of Pact-Making: Hungary’s Negotiated Transition to Democracy in Comparative Perspective. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005. Analyzes the negotiations and eventual pact between communists and the opposition in Hungary as an example of a successful democratic transition. Focuses on how actors managed and accepted risk. Compares the Hungarian case to Poland, South Africa, and China. DOI: 10.1057/9781403978578
Seleny, Anna. “Old Political Rationalities and New Democracies: Compromise and Confrontation in Hungary and Poland.” World Politics 51.4 (1999): 484–519. Invokes an “historical institutionalist” approach to argue that the effort by the communist Hungarian government to promote limited reform and create social peace helps to explain why the post-communist transition in Hungary has been based more on compromise and has seen less protest than in Poland. Dated, but useful for explaining why and how outcomes in post-communist countries differ based upon their communist past and how outcomes in the category of “successful” cases can differ. DOI: 10.1017/S0043887100009230
Wittenberg, Jason. Crucibles of Political Loyalty: Church Institutions and Electoral Continuity in Hungary. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2006. This book shows how political loyalties can persist in periods of social transformation and upheaval by examining, through detailed archival research and analysis of elections, how religious institutions transmitted loyalties to the parties of the Right in both the pre- and post-communist period. The work is widely praised as a work showing how post-communist countries are shaped by their past; it is better suited for advanced students. DOI: 10.1017/CBO9780511510465
Seleny, Anna. “Old Political Rationalities and New Democracies: Compromise and Confrontation in Hungary and Poland.” World Politics 51.4 (1999): 484–519. Invokes an “historical institutionalist” approach to argue that the nature of state–society relations in communist Poland, particularly on issues leading to labor protest, shaped post-communist politics. Recommended for advanced students in demonstrating how the legacies of the past can carry over into the post-communist period. DOI: 10.1017/S0043887100009230
Vanhuysse, Pieter. Divide and Pacify: Strategic Social Policies and Political Protests in Post-Communist Democracies. Budapest: Central European University Press, 2006. Interdisciplinary work drawing on political science, sociology, and economics that examines how the governments in Poland, the Czech Republic, and Hungary were able to use welfare policies to prevent mass strikes and protests over acute economic difficulties. Provides an elegant and well-supported explanation as to why the region saw few protests despite chronic economic problems during the post-communist transition.
Tworzecki, Hubert. Learning to Choose: Electoral Politics in East Central Europe. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2003. Assesses how voters in Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic identify with political parties. Examines the programs of various parties, mass attitudes, turnout, and voting behavior. Optimistic in concluding that party systems are responsive to voters and that voters are adapting and making more informed choices. Useful for students interested in broad questions about democratic transitions in the region.
Pridham, Geoffrey, and Attila Ágh, eds. Prospects for Democratic Consolidation in East-Central Europe. New York: Palgrave, 2001. Edited volume that analyzes common factors affecting democratization in the region (e.g., political culture, party development, civil society) and contains country-specific studies on Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia. Written ten years into the post-communist period, this provides an accessible, solid review of developments.
Elster, Jon, Klaus Offe, and Ulrich Preuss. Institutional Design in Post-Communist Societies. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1998. Examination of how the choice of particular political institutions in the initial post-communist period affected the movement to democracy in Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Bulgaria. Makes a strong argument for the importance of institutional choice in overcoming past legacies. DOI: 10.1017/CBO9780511628351
Grzymala-Busse, Anna. Redeeming the Communist Past: The Regeneration of Communist Parties in East Central Europe. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2002. Examines how former Communist parties in Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia have both transformed themselves to accept democratic principles and, particularly in Poland and Hungary, enjoyed electoral success. Addresses a major issue about how actors from an authoritarian system can adjust to function under a new, democratic regime. DOI: 10.1017/CBO9780511613388
Holmes, Leslie. Rotten States? Corruption, Post-Communism and Neoliberalism. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2006. Examines causes of, and responses to, corruption, particularly in Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Russia. Argues that both communist legacies and neoliberal reforms that have reduced the role of the state have contributed to corruption. Rich in data, this provocative examination of an important topic is better suited for advanced students. DOI: 10.1215/9780822387732
Sugar, Peter F., ed. 1995. Eastern European nationalism in the twentieth century. Lanham, MD: American Univ. Press. This is an important comparative study of 20th-century nationalism in eastern Europe that builds upon myths that are nourished by political defeats and shifting geographic boundaries, as Sugar states in his conclusion. Tibor Frank writes the chapter on Hungarian fascism and nationalism.
Sugar, Peter F., Péter Hanák, and Tibor Frank, eds. 1990. A history of Hungary. Bloomington: Indiana Univ. Press. An edited volume of essays on Hungary’s history. Provides important background for understanding the rise of anti-Semitism and the variety of fascist groups in the interwar period and World War II, which is covered in the chapters by Mária Ormos and Loránd Tilkovszky.
ogger, Hans, and Eugen Weber, eds. 1965. The European right: A historical profile. Berkeleyand Los Angeles: Univ. of California Press. Edited volume of essays on the right in Austria, Belgium, Britain, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Romania, Russia, and Spain, 1870–1940. Chapters vary in structure, some are theoretical while others are empirical, and they tend to focus on the extreme or radical right.
Feldman, Matthew, Marius Turda, and Tutor Georgescu, eds. 2008. Clerical fascism in interwar Europe. New York and London: Routledge. An edited volume of essays on clerical fascism, which examines how Christian elites and institutions responded to fascism in interwar Austria, Belgium, Britain, Croatia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Sweden, and Ukraine. Originally published as a special issue of Totalitarian Movements and Political Religions (see also Journals).
Sugar, Peter F., ed. 1995. Eastern European nationalism in the twentieth century. Lanham, MD: American Univ. Press. This is an important comparative study of 20th-century nationalism in eastern Europe that builds upon myths that are nourished by political defeats and shifting geographic boundaries, as Sugar states in his conclusion. Tibor Frank writes the chapter on Hungarian fascism and nationalism.
Hanebrink, Paul A. In Defense of Christian Hungary: Religion, Nationalism, and Antisemitism, 1890–1944. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2006. Although not focused on Hungarian fascism per se, useful for understanding the place of Ferenc Szálaszi and his fascist Arrow Cross Party in the complex cross-currents on the Hungarian right by the 1930s and on into the culminating wartime phase, leading to Hungary’s participation in the Holocaust in 1944. Although the Arrow Cross claimed to defend and revive Christian Hungary, it worried many church leaders, who feared it would politicize religion.
Iordachi, Constantin. “Fascism in Inter-war East Central and Southeast Europe: Toward a New Transnational Research Agenda.” East Central Europe 37 (2010): 161–213. An invaluable introduction to a special issue of the journal on this topic, concluding with a useful roundtable discussion among diverse scholars. The introduction’s overview covers the Baltic states, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Yugoslavia, and Bulgaria, with much attention to historiographical traditions. In that context, considers why fascism in these regions has often been marginalized in mainstream fascist studies, but also how it has been treated from within the national traditions in these regions. DOI: 10.1163/187633010X541786
Nagy-Talavera, Nicholas M. The Green Shirts and the Others: A History of Fascism in Hungary and Romania. 2d ed. Iaşa, Romania: Center for Romanian Studies, 2001. First published by the Hoover Institution Press in 1970. Highly sensitive not only to the distinctiveness and sensitivities of the region, but also to the differences between Hungary and Romania, with their disparate histories and religious traditions. Includes differences in the place of Jews in the two countries. Argues that, despite such differences, fascism in each case was not merely reactionary but revolutionary, reflecting strains in the modernization process, though it was romantic, irrational, and deeply unrealistic overall.
Sugar, Peter F., ed. Native Fascism in the Successor States, 1918–1945. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-Clio, 1971. Includes two new essays each on Austria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Yugoslavia—the states that resulted from, or were transformed by, the breakup of the Austro-Hungarian (Habsburg) Empire in 1918. Stresses the homegrown quality of fascism in the region as opposed to the imitation of Italy or Germany. This volume was influential when published and, though written during the Cold War period when access to sources was often problematic, still provides many insights.
Braham, Randolph L. The Politics of Genocide: The Holocaust in Hungary. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 2000. A conveniently condensed version of the author’s massive, two-volume standard treatment of the Holocaust in Hungary, first published in 1981, then published in an expanded edition in 1994. This condensed edition, too, is detailed and comprehensive, treating the several steps that led to the rapid destruction of much of the Hungarian Jewish community in 1944. Stresses that even as it had become clear that the war was lost, the Nazi genocide found many willing Hungarian collaborators.
Braham, Randolph L., and Brewster S. Chamberlin, eds. The Holocaust in Hungary: Sixty Years Later. New York: Rosenthal Institute for Holocaust Studies, Graduate Center of the City University of New York, 2006. An outgrowth of a conference of international scholars held in Washington, DC, in 2004, collects twenty-one new essays on a wide variety of aspects of the Holocaust in Hungary, including many on its legacies and on efforts to come to terms with it during the post-1945 period. Braham has also edited or co-edited comparable volumes on the Holocaust in Hungary forty and fifty years after the fact, as well as three annotated bibliographies on the topic covering the years through 2007.
Cornelius, Deborah S. Hungary in World War II: Caught in the Cauldron. New York: Fordham University Press, 2011. Provides a balanced and well-informed view of Hungary’s involvement, stressing the difficult position in which the Budapest government found itself.
DiNardo, Richard. Germany and the Axis Powers: From Coalition to Collapse. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2005. Traces the important role of the smaller allies that sent forces to the Russian front: Italy, Finland, Romania, and Hungary.
Ungváry, Krisztián. Battle for Budapest: 100 Days in World War II. London: I. B. Tauris, 2003.
 First full account from the Hungarian perspective, using German and Hungarian sources. Hitler mounted his last major counteroffensive in Hungary.
Katz, Jacob. “The Uniqueness of Hungarian Jewry.” Forum on the Jewish People, Zionism, and Israel 27 (1977): 45–53. Hungarian-born historian sketches the major features of Hungarian Jewry in the 19th century, including its conditional embrace of liberal Hungarian nationalism, its religious polarization (culminating in the schism between Neology and Orthodoxy), and its ostensible integration into Hungarian society. Traces these features into the Holocaust period.
Patai, Raphael. The Jews of Hungary: History, Culture, Psychology. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1996. Comprehensive survey of Hungarian Jewish history from Roman times to the fall of communism, with an emphasis on the 18th and 19th centuries. The author, a Hungarian-born anthropologist, incorporates many of his own recollections and draws on materials published by his father, József Patai (1882–1953), a noted publicist and Cultural Zionist. Published posthumously, without footnotes.
Silber, Michael K. “Hungary.” In The YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe. Edited by Gershon David Hundert. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2008. Comprehensive, chronological survey of Jewish history in the Hungarian lands from 1700 to the early 21st century, with a focus on demographic, religious, cultural, and political trends.
Janos, Andrew. The Politics of Backwardness in Hungary, 1825–1945. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1982. Nuanced study of the economic, social, and political history of Hungary between 1825 and 1945, exploring why the liberal institutions that were transplanted from the West did not produce a market economy and a robust democracy. One of the few works on Hungary to incorporate Jews into the larger narrative of political and economic development.
Handler, Andrew. An Early Blueprint for Zionism: Győző Istóczy’s Political Anti-Semitism. Boulder, CO: East European Monographs, 1989. Biography of Istóczy (1842–1915), the founder of Hungarian political anti-Semitism, who in 1878 called on the Jews of Hungary to move to Palestine.
McCagg, William. Jewish Nobles and Geniuses in Modern Hungary. Boulder, CO: East European Monographs, 1972. Noticing the remarkable number of Hungarian Jews (and Hungarians of Jewish origin) who rose to the top of the Hungarian commercial and financial elite in the 19th century and were subsequently ennobled, the author samples the 346 Jewish families that acquired Hungarian nobility before 1918 to paint a prosopographical portrait of the Hungarian Jewish upper bourgeoisie.
Miller, Michael L. “Going Native: Moritz Jellinek and the Modernization of the Hungarian Economy.” In The Economy in Jewish History: New Perspectives on the Interrelationship between Ethnicity and Economic Life. Edited by Gideon Reuveni and Sarah Wobick-Segev, 157–172. New York: Berghahn, 2011. Study of Moritz Jellinek (1824–1883), young brother of the celebrated Viennese rabbi, Adolf, and the revolutionary martyr, Hermann. Through an examination of Moritz’s life and career, the author illustrates the role of Jews in the economic modernization of Hungary, showing how Moritz’s activities, including the development of a public transportation system in Budapest, were seen as an integral part of the Hungarian nation-building project.
Silber, Michael, ed. Jews in the Hungarian Economy, 1760–1945. Studies Dedicated to Moshe Carmilly-Weinberger on His Eightieth Birthday. Jerusalem: Magnes, 1992. Collection of essays by leading economic and social historians of Austria-Hungary, with a particular focus on Jewish commercial, industrial, entrepreneurial, and banking activity in Hungary’s backward, yet modernizing economy. Also includes essays on occupational and socioeconomic stratification, urbanization, and the standard of living of Jews.
Don, Yehuda, and George Magos. “The Demographic Development of Hungarian Jewry.” Jewish Social Studies 45.3–4 (1983): 189–216. Examines the demographic growth of Hungarian Jewry between 1720 and 1910 and the subsequent demographic decline after World War I. In trying to explain the decline, the authors examine various factors: aging, conversion, mixed marriage, and emigration.
Fuchs, Abraham. Hungarian Yeshivot from Grandeur to Holocaust. 2 vols. Jerusalem: Abraham Fuchs, 1978. While many memorial volumes commemorate the Jewish communities destroyed in the Holocaust, this two-volume work celebrates and commemorates the Hungarian yeshivas that thrived prior to the Holocaust. In Hebrew.
Katz, Jacob. A House Divided: Orthodoxy and Schism in Nineteenth-Century Central European Jewry. Hanover, NH: Brandeis University Press, 1998. A comprehensive narrative and analysis of the trends leading to the Hungarian Jewish Congress of 1868 and the resulting schism of Hungarian Jewry into Orthodox, Neolog, and status quo ante communities. The Hungarian-born Israeli social historian examines the role of Samson Raphael Hirsch, in particular, focusing on the impact of his secessionist ideology on Hungarian Jewry.
Prepuk, Anikó. “Religious Equality and Jewish Emancipation: The Acceptance of the Jewish Denomination in Hungary in the 1890s.” In Tolerance and Intolerance in Historical Perspective. Edited by Csaba Lévai and Vasile Vese, 13–23. Pisa, Italy: Pisa University Press, 2003. Examines debates in parliament and the public sphere in 1895 about the recognition of Judaism as a “received” religious denomination in Hungary.
Barany, George. “‘Magyar Jew or Jewish Magyar?’ Reflections on the Question of Assimilation.” In Jews and Non-Jews in Eastern Europe, 1918–1945. Edited by Bela Vago and George L. Mosse. New York: Wiley, 1974. Beginning with debates about Jewish emancipation in the 1840s, this classic essay explores the contours and limits of Jewish assimilation in Hungary, examining the equivocal support of assimilation on the part of Hungarian Liberals in the 19th century, and the ardent rejection of assimilation on the part of the Hungarian Right, especially after the First World War.
Konrad, Miklós. “Jews and Politics in Hungary in the Dualist Era, 1867–1914.” East European Jewish Affairs 39.2 (2009): 167–186. In this period, which witnessed the unprecedented economic, social, and even political ascendency of newly emancipated Hungarian Jewry, representatives of the various Jewish groups were reluctant to pursue specifically “Jewish” interests. No organization was even established to fight against anti-Semitism.
Ranki, Vera. The Politics of Inclusion and Exclusion: Jews and Nationalism in Hungary. New York and London: Holmes & Meier, 1999. Argues that anti-Semitism is endemic to Hungary. The book’s controversial thesis contends that the Holocaust became inevitable in Hungary as inclusionary liberalism (1867–1918) gave way to exclusionary, antimodern conservatism (1920–1945) following World War I.
Handler, Andrew. Blood Libel at Tiszaeszlár. Boulder, CO: East European Monographs, 1980. Detailed narrative of the trial surrounding the ritual murder accusation in Tiszaeszlár, Hungary, in 1882–1883.

Gerevich, László, ed. Towns in Medieval Hungary. Boulder, CO: Social Science Monographs. Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1990. A collection of studies dedicated to a wide range of aspects of urban history of medieval Hungary.
Rady, Martyn C. Medieval Buda: A Study of Municipal Government and Jurisdiction in the Kingdom of Hungary. East European Monographs 182. Boulder, CO: East European Monographs, 1985. On the administration of Buda in the Late Middle Ages.
Szabó, Péter. Woodland and Forests in Medieval Hungary. British Archaeological Reports S1348. Oxford: Archaeopress, 2005. A detailed analysis of various types of source material on forests in medieval Hungary.
Veszprémy, László, and Béla K. Király, eds. A Millennium of Hungarian Military History. Boulder, CO: East European Monographs, 2002. Contains essays on warfare in medieval Hungary.
Várdy, Steven Béla. Historical Dictionary of Hungary. Lanham, MD, and London: Scarecrow, 1997. Explanations of specific terms related to the history of Hungary.
Zsoldos, Attila. The Legacy of Saint Stephen. Translated by Judit Barna. Budapest: Lucidus, 2004. A general overview of the history of medieval Hungary—primarily from the perspective of political and social history.
Klaniczay, Gábor. Holy Rulers and Blessed Princesses: Dynastic Cults in Medieval Central Europe. Past and Present Publications. Cambridge, UK, and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2002. A detailed monograph on central European hagiography but covering much more—with special reference to medieval Hungary.
Fügedi, Erik. Kings, Bishops, Nobles, and Burghers in Medieval Hungary. Variorum Reprints CS229. London: Variorum, 1986. A collection of studies dedicated to a wide range of aspects of the history of medieval Hungary—with special reference to social history but covering much more.
Engel, Pál The Realm of St Stephen: A History of Medieval Hungary 895–1526. London: Tauris, 2001. A critically acclaimed recent overview of the history of medieval Hungary.
Bardoly, István, ed. The Coronation Mantle of the Hungarian Kings. Budapest: Hungarian National Museum, 2005. A description of the coronation mantle, another important piece of the coronation regalia.
Endrey, Anthony. The Holy Crown of Hungary. Melbourne, Australia: Hungarian Institute, 1977. The crown and its national significance.
Kelleher, Patrick J. The Holy Crown of Hungary. Rome: American Academy in Rome, 1951. A short description of the crown and its history.
Mátéffy, Balázs. The Holy Crown of Hungary. Budapest: Corvinus, 2003. A popular description of the crown and its history.
Tóth, Endre. The Holy Crown of Hungary: Kings and Coronations. Budapest: Hungarian National Museum, 1996. On the history of the crown and its functions, including the rituals of coronations, in Hungarian history.
Kósa, László, ed. A Cultural History of Hungary. 2 vols. Budapest: Corvina and Osiris, 1999. Summary studies on the cultural history of Hungary, including the Middle Ages.
Mikó, Árpád. The Corvinas of King Matthias in the National Széchényi Library. Budapest: Kossuth, 2008. An overview of the library of King Matthias Corvinus, as reflected in the codices kept in the National Széchényi Library.
Wieczorek, Alfried, and Hans-Martin Hinz, eds. Europe’s Centre around AD 1000. 2 vols. Stuttgart, Germany: Theiss, 2000. An overview of a wide range of historical monuments and documents related to the history of central Europe around the turn of the first millennium, on the occasion of an exhibition at various museums between 2000 and 2002.
Simon of Kéza. The Deeds of the Hungarians. Edited by Jeno Szucs and László Veszprémy. Budapest: Central European University Press, 1999. A bilingual Latin-English edition of the Gesta Hungarorum of Simon of Kéza with an introduction, notes, and a bibliography.
Moravcsik, Gyula. Byzantium and the Magyars. Translated by Samuel R. Rosenbaum and Mihály Szegedy-Maszák. Amsterdam: Hakkert, 1970. Studies of the Byzantine relations with the early Hungarians.
Kosztolnyik, Zoltán J. Hungary under the Early Árpáds 890s to 1063. Boulder, CO: East European Monographs, 2002. An overview of the early stages of the Árpád dynasty.
Berend, Nora. At the Gate of Christendom: Jews, Muslims, and “Pagans” in Medieval Hungary, c 1000–c 1300. Cambridge Studies in Medieval Life and Thought 4.50. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2001. A monograph on ethnic diversity in medieval Hungary from the 11th century onward, with special reference to recent trends in relevant scholarship in Hungary and beyond.
Kosztolnyik, Zoltán J. Five Eleventh Century Hungarian Kings: Their Policies and Their Relations with Rome. Eastern European Monographs 79. Boulder, CO: East European Monographs, 1981. Offers an analysis of the sources relevant to the foreign affairs of 11th-century Hungary, with special reference to papal relations.
Berend, Nora. “How Many Medieval Europes? The ‘Pagans’ of Hungary and Regional Diversity in Christendom.” In The Medieval World. Edited by Peter Linehan and Janet L. Nelson, 77–92. London: Routledge, 2001. On paganism and Christianity in medieval Hungary, with special reference to recent trends in relevant scholarship in Hungary and beyond.
Katona, Tamás, and György Györffy. King Saint Stephen of Hungary. Translated by Peter Doherty. Boulder, CO: Social Science Monographs, 1994. Evaluation of the sources and previous scholarship on the life and times of King Saint Stephen.
Zsoldos, Attila, ed. Saint Stephen and His Country—A Newborn Kingdom in Central Europe: Hungary—Essays on Saint Stephen and His Age. Budapest: Lucidus, 2001. A collection of essays on various aspects of the life and times of King Saint Stephen.
Kosztolnyik, Zoltán J. From Coloman the Learned to Béla III 1095–1196: Hungarian Domestic Policies and Their Impact upon Foreign Affairs. East European Monographs 220. Boulder, CO: East European Monographs, 1987. An overview of Hungarian history in the 12th century, with special emphasis on foreign relations.
Kosztolnyik, Zoltán J. The Dynastic Policy of the Árpáds, Géza I to Emery (1074–1204). East European Monographs 687. Boulder, CO: East European Monographs, 2006. Analysis of the sources relevant to the foreign affairs of 12th-century Hungary.
Tuzson, John. István II (1116–1131): A Chapter in Medieval Hungarian History. East European Monographs 602. Boulder, CO: East European Monographs, 2002. An overview of the sources and scholarship on the life and times of King Stephen II.
Font, Márta. Koloman the Learned, King of Hungary. Szeged, Hungary: Szegedi Középkorász Muhely, 2001. A detailed critical evaluation of the sources and previous scholarship on the life and times of King Coloman.
Kosztolnyik, Zoltán J. Hungary in the Thirteenth Century. East European Monographs 439. Boulder, CO: East European Monographs, 1996. Analysis of sources relevant to the history of Hungary in the 13th century.
Garam, Éva, ed. Genghis Khan and His Heirs: The Mongol Empire. Budapest: Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum, 2007. An overview of the Mongol empire, including the Mongol invasion of Hungary in 1241–1242, on the occasion of an exhibition at the Hungarian National Museum in Budapest in 2007.
Vásáry, István. Cumans and Tatars: Oriental Military in the Pre-Ottoman Balkans 1185–1365. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2005. A monograph on oriental impacts on eastern Europe, with special reference to Hungary in the 13th century.
Andric, Stanko. The Miracles of St. John Capistran. Budapest: Central European University Press, 2000. A meticulous philological study on the canonization process of Saint John Capistran.
Fügedi, Erik. The Elefánthy: The Hungarian Nobleman and His Kindred. Budapest: Central European University Press, 1998. A case study in microhistory that examines the family structures of Hungarian nobility.
Rady, Martyn C., and János M. Bak, eds. Custom and Law in Central Europe. Occasional Paper, Centre for European Legal Studies 6. Cambridge, UK: University of Cambridge, 2003. A collection of essays on legal sources in late medieval central Europe, including 15th-century Hungary.
Bárány, Attila, and Attila Györkös, eds. Matthias and His Legacy: Cultural and Political Encounters between East and West. Speculum historiae Debreceniense 1. Debrecen, Hungary: University of Debrecen, 2009. Essays related to various aspects of the reign of King Matthias Corvinus.
Farbaky, Péter, and András Végh, eds. Matthias Corvinus, the King: Tradition and Renewal in the Hungarian Court, 1458–1490. Budapest: Budapest History Museum, 2008. An overview of the reign of King Matthias Corvinus on the occasion of an exhibition at the Budapest History Museum in 2008.
Laszlovszky, József, ed. Medieval Visegrád: Royal Castle, Palace, Town, and Franciscan Friary. Translated by Magdaléna Seleanu. Dissertationes Pannonicae ex Instituto Archaeologico Universitatis de Rolando Eötvös Nominatae Budapestinensis Provenientes 3.4. Budapest: Eötvös Loránd University, 1995. A collection of studies on the archeology of medieval Visegrád, one of the most important royal seats of King Matthias Corvinus.
Tanner, Marcus. The Raven King: Matthias Corvinus and the Fate of His Lost Library. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2008. A popular overview of the career of King Matthias Corvinus and the history of his library.
Perjés, Géza. The Fall of the Medieval Kingdom of Hungary: Mohács 1526–Buda 1541. East European Monographs 255. Boulder, CO: East European Monographs, 1989. On the aftermaths of the battle of Mohács, with special reference to military history.
Bak, János M., and Béla K. Király, eds. From Hunyadi to Rákóczi: War and Society in Late Medieval and Early Modern Hungary. Boulder, CO: Social Science Monographs, 1982. The most widespread collection of studies on this topic, most of them still worthyof reading.
Bárány, Attila. “Attempts for Expansion: Hungary, 1000–1500.” In The Expansion of Central Europe in the Middle Ages. Edited by Nora Berend, 330–380. Farnham, UK: Ashgate, 2012. A very clear overview of Hungarian campaigns and military-diplomatic activit
Várkonyi, Ágnes R. “Ad Pacem Universalem: The International Antecedents of the Peace of Szatmár.” Études Historiques Hongroises 20 (1991): 305–338. Rákóczi’s unavailing efforts to have the Habsburg-Hungarian settlement included in the general European peace treaty. For additional information, see Preliminaries.
Sugar, Peter F., Péter Hanák, and Tibor Frank, eds. 1990. A history of Hungary. Bloomington: Indiana Univ. Press. An edited volume of essays on Hungary’s history. Provides important background for understanding the rise of anti-Semitism and the variety of fascist groups in the interwar period and World War II, which is covered in the chapters by Mária Ormos and Loránd Tilkovszky.
Hermann, Róbert, ed. Illustrated Military History of Hungary. Budapest: Zrínyi, 2012. A short, but useful summery of Hungarian military history.
Rogers, Clifford J., ed. Medieval Warfare and Military Technology: An Encyclopedia. 3 vols. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010. A basic reference work with an unexpectedly high number of Hungarian or Hungary-related entries.
Kovács, Tibor. “The Development of Hungarian Arms and Armor during the Baroque Period.” In Baroque Splendor. The Art of the Hungarian Goldsmith. Edited by Susan Weber Soros, 66–79. New York: Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts, 1994. A short overview of 16th–17th century development of Hungarian armory, written by the present curator of the armory at the Hungarian National Museum.
Szabó, János B. “The Pavise, Infantry Shield of Matthias Corvinus’ Army.” In Matthias Corvinus the King: Tradition and Renewal in the Hungarian Royal Court, 1458–1490. Exhibition catalogue. Edited by Péter Farbaky, and András Végh, 298–311. Budapest: BTM, 2008. The author focuses on the shields surviving in the collection of the city museum of Vienna.
Fügedi, Erik. Castle and Society in Medieval Hungary. Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1986. King Béla IV and his successors recognized the importance of stone castles, as 150 new castles were built in the 13th century, most of them on private estates. From now on the castles were seen not only as monuments, but also as centers of political and economical power.
Laszlovszky, József, ed. Medieval Visegrád: Royal Castle, Palace, Town and Franciscan Friary. Budapest: ELTE, 1995. This book represents a series of new archaeological overviews of medieval castles, like the royal castle of Visegrád on the Danube, not far from Budapest, capital of the country, at the beginning of the 14th century.
Kovács, Klára P. “Fortress-Building in 16th-Century Transylvania: The Recruitment of Labour Force.” Transylvanian Review 21 (2012): 163−181. An important study on the construction of modern Transylvanian fortresses.
Hunyadi, Zsolt. “Military-Religious Orders in the Medieval Kingdom of Hungary: A Historiographical Overview.” Chronica 3 (2003): 50–57. A very informative overview of the state of research on this topic.
Hunyadi, Zsolt. “The Military Activity of the Hospitallers in the Medieval Kingdom of Hungary (Thirteenth to Fourteenth Centuries).” In The Hospitallers, the Mediterranean and Europe. Festschrift for Anthony Luttrell. Edited by Karl Borchardt, Nikolas Jaspert, and Helen J. Nicholson, 193–203. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate, 2007. The paper confronts the economic and military aspects of the Hospitallers’ activity, and explains the reasons for their limited military role in the country.
Hunyadi, Zsolt. The Hospitallers in the Medieval Kingdom of Hungary, c.1150–1387. Budapest: METEM, CEU, 2010. The first comprehensive book on the activity of the Hospitallers in Hungary based on new source material from Malta, with a useful appendix of issued charters in Hungarywith a catalogue of seals.
Sweeney, James Ross. “Hungary in the Crusades, 1169–1218.” International History Review 3 (1981): 467–481. The history of crusading activity in Hungary discussed in an international context. DOI: 10.1080/07075332.1981.9640258
Veszprémy, László. “The Crusade of Andrew II, King of Hungary, 1217–1218.” Jacobus 13–14 (2002): 87–110. A history of the only Hungarian crusade as part of the Fifth Crusade.
Berend, Nora. At the Gate of Christendom: Jews, Muslims and “Pagans” in Medieval Hungary, c. 1000–c. 1300. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2001. A thoroughly researched study of the complex social, judicial, and economic situation of non-Christians in medieval Hungary. DOI: 10.1017/CBO9780511523106
Fügedi, Erik. The Elefánthy. The Hungarian Nobleman and His Kindred. Budapest: CEU, 1992. Fügedi covers the history of the Elefanthy kindred of the Nyitra County (Nitra, in present-day Slovakia), first of all the process of turning “noble” warriors into landowners and familares.
Pálóczi Horváth, András. Pechenegs, Cumans, Iasians: Steppe Peoples in Medieval Hungary. Budapest: Corvina, 1989. A standard popular summary of these immigrant ethnic groups, based on archaeological research. Also in German.
Rady, Martyn. Nobility, Land and Service in Medieval Hungary. London: Palgrave, 2000. A basic account of medieval noble society in Hungary, focusing on the legal background of relationships between king and the nobles, and within the noble society, referring to direct parallels between medieval Hungary and its better-known Western neighbors DOI: 10.1057/9780333985342
Bachrach, Bernard S. “Magyar-Ottonian Warfare: À propos a New Minimalist Interpretation.” Francia 27.1 (2000): 211–230. The author reflects on the debate about the damages caused by the Hungarians, and in a broader view about the dimension of the Hungarian “raids” to Western Europe. Bowlus, Charles R. The Battle of Lechfeld and Its Aftermath, August 955: The End of the Age of Migrations in the Latin West. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate, 2006. For the reconstruction of the phases of the 955 campaign Scherff 1985 is still useful, but the standard comprehensive monograph is this one (In German: Ostfildern: Thorbecke, 2012).
Németh, Péter. “The Archeology of the Conquest Period: A History of Research.” In The Ancient Hungarians: Exhibition Catalogue: Budapest, Hungarian National Museum, 16 March–31 December 1996. Edited by István Fodor, 19–26. Budapest: Hungarian National Museum, 1996. A useful historiographical overview of archaeological research on the topic in a historical and ideological context. The whole catalogue is interesting for military historians.
Györffy, György. King Saint Stephen of Hungary. Atlantic Studies on Society in Change 71. Boulder, CO: Social Science Monographs, 1994. An abridged version without footnotes of the standard monograph of the author on King Stephen the First, the longer version originally published in Hungarian, 1977, later also in Polish (Król Stefan i jego dzieło. Warsaw: Rytm, 2005). (The shorter version also in German, König Stephan der Heilige. Budapest: Corvina, 1988.)
Bárány, Attila. “The Communion of English and Hungarian Mercenaries in Italy.” In The First Millennium of Hungary in Europe. Edited by János Barta and Klára Papp, 126–141. Debrecen, Hungary: Debrecen University Press, 2002. The story of the famous Alba Societas in Italy, with a strong Hungarian participation.
Engel, Pál. “‘Honor, castrum, comitatus’: Studies in the Government System of the Angevin.” Questiones Medii Aevi Nova 1 (1989): 91–100. A basic paper to understand the military reforms of the Angevin dynasty in Hungary.
Housley, Norman. “King Louis the Great of Hungary and the Crusades, 1342–1382.” In Crusading and Warfare in Medieval and Renaissance Europe. Edited by Norman Housley, 192–208. Aldershot, UK: Variorum, 2001. The Hungarian participation in the later crusades reached its peak between 1342 and 1490. After several long-lasting campaigns the Angevins’ efforts to get Naples failed. After 1353 the Hungarian auxiliary troops became the most important foreign allies of the Popes in Avignon, as Hungarians were mentioned as mercenaries in the troops of the Cypriote king Peter I.
Imber, Colin: The Ottoman Empire 1300–1481. Istanbul: Isis, 1990. A standard monograph that is still necessary to put the events of the Hungarian-Ottoman front into an international context.
Papp, Sándor. “Hungary and the Ottoman Empire (From the Beginnings to 1540).” In Fight against the Turk in Central-Europe in the First Half of the Sixteenth Century. Edited by István Zombori, 37–90. Budapest: Metem, 2004. A practical guide to the Hungarian-Ottoman diplomatic and military relations, as special attention is paid to the first clashes of the two countries. Papp argues in favor of the authenticity of the Mariazell foundation legend; consequently, he dates the first Hungarian-Ottoman war to 1365.
Szakály, Ferenc. “Phases of Turco-Hungarian Warfare before the Battle of Mohács (1365–1526).” Acta orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 33 (1979): 65–111. A standard breakdown of the Hungarian-Ottoman fights, based on the Serbian literature as well, not often used by Hungarian historians.
Bak, János. “Sigismund and the Ottoman Advance.” In Sigismund von Luxemburg: Ein Kaiser in Europa. Edited by Michel Pauly and François Reinert, 89–94. Mainz, Germany: Zabern, 2006. The author describes the process from the first unexpected defeats of King Sigismund through the consolidation of the Hungarian-Ottoman borders until the organization of the border-line defense system. A king is presented who, without any military success in the field, stopped and delayed the Ottoman advance.
DeVries, Kelly. “The Lack of a Western European Military Response to the Ottoman Invasions of Eastern Europe from Nicopolis (1396) to Mohács (1526).” Journal of Military History 63 (1999): 539–560. The author suggests that the Hungarian military success (like in 1456 at Belgrade) caused an illusion in the West, exaggerating the military capabilities of Hungary and hindering a rapid military response against the Turkish expansion in east and central Europe. DOI: 10.2307/120494
Veszprémy, László. “King Sigismund of Luxemburg at Golubac (Galamboc).” In Church Union and Crusading in the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries. Edited by Christian Gastgeber, Ioan-Aurel Pop, Oliver Jens Schmitt, et al., 291–308. Cluj-Napoca, Romania: Center for Transylvanian Studies, 2009. The most important campaign of King Sigismund on the south front after 1396. Though a humiliating defeat in 1428, it was properly organized and still serves as the first example of amphibious warfare in Hungarian history.
Veszprémy, László. “The State and Military Affairs in East Central Europe, 1380–c. 1520s.” In European Warfare, 1350–1750. Edited by Frank Tallett and D. J. B. Trim, 96–109. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2010. The military system of the country as a whole failed to come up to the increased requirements of the 15th–16th centuries, in spite of the mercenary system, the general professionalization of the warfare, the appearance of firearms, and adaptation to the castle-building practice, and that became the reason for accepting the Habsburg rule and letting Hungarian warfare integrate into the imperial border defense system. DOI: 10.1017/CBO9780511806278
Bak, János. “Hungary and Crusading in the Fifteenth Century.” In Crusading in the Fifteenth Century: Message and Impact. Edited by Norman Housley, 116–127. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave, 2004. The author emphasizes the ideological background of crusading in central Europe. DOI: 10.1057/9780230523357
Engel, Pál. “János Hunyadi: The Decisive Years of His Career, 1440–1444.” In From Hunyadi to Rákóczi: War and Society in Late Medieval and Early Modern Hungary. Edited by János M. Bak and Béla K. Király, 103–123. Boulder, CO: Social Science Monographs, 1982. Hunyadi’s career was the most exceptional in medieval Hungary, based on his anti-Ottoman campaigns.
Housley, Norman. “Giovanni da Capistrano and the Crusade of 1456.” In Crusading in the Fifteenth Century: Message and Impact. Edited by Norman Housley, 94–115. Houndmills, UK, and New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004. Examines the reasons for the unexpected victory of John Hunyadi and the untrained crusader masses, led by a 70-year-old Franciscan friar over the mighty Ottoman army. DOI: 10.1057/9780230523357
Jefferson, John. The Holy Wars of King Wladislas and Sultan Murad: The Ottoman-Christian Conflict from 1438–1444. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2012. The author gives an unprecedented overview of the turbulent years, using hitherto forgotten Polish sources and literature. He seems to be sure that the campaign of 1444 had good chances of being victorious and turning the tide of the Ottoman advance. DOI: 10.1163/9789004229259
Pálosfalvi, Tamás. “King Matthias’ Army.” In Matthias Corvinus, the King. Tradition and Renewal in the Hungarian Royal Court 1458–1490. Exhibition catalogue. Edited by Péter Farbaky, Enikő Spekner, Katalin Szende, et al., 295–297. Budapest: Budapest History Museum, 2008. A short but precise summary of the organization and tactics of Matthias’s army. Unfortunately this excellent and comprehensive catalogue pays limited attention to the military affairs.
Papp, Sándor. “Stephen the Great, Matthias Corvinus and the Ottoman Empire (1475–1478).” In Church Union and Crusading in the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries. Edited by Christian Gastgeber, Ioan-Aurel Pop, Oliver Jens Schmitt, et al., 367–390. Cluj-Napoca, Romania: Center for Transylvanian Studies, 2009. The strategic importance of the Romanian principalities was clear both for Hungary and the Ottoman Empire, and it led to a long and vicissitudinous struggle.
Housley, Norman. “Crusading as Social Revolt: The Hungarian Peasant Uprising of 1514.” In Crusading and Warfare in Medieval and Renaissance Europe. Edited by Norman Housley, 1–28. Aldershot, UK: Variorum, 2001. Examines the contribution of the anti-Ottoman crusading ideology and expectations to the peasant war in Hungary.
Kubinyi, András. “The Battle of Szávaszentdemeter-Nagyolaszi (1523): Ottoman Advance and Hungarian Defence on the Eve of Mohács.” In Ottomans, Hungarians, and Habsburgs in Central Europe. Edited by Géza Dávid and Pál Fodor, 71–115. Leiden, The Netherlands, and Boston: Brill, 2000. There was an important Hungarian victory over the Ottomans in 1523, but it revealed the problems of the Hungarian military organization as well.
Rady, Martyn. “Rethinking Jagiełło Hungary 1490–1526.” Central Europe 3 (2005): 3–18. A positive reassessment of the Jagiellonian period in Hungary, from a military historian’s aspect as well.
Szakály, Ferenc. “The Hungarian-Croatian Border Defense System and Its Collapse.” In From Hunyadi to Rákóczi: War and Society in Late Medieval and Early Modern Hungary. Edited by János M. Bak and Bela K. Király, 141–158. Boulder, CO: Social Science Monographs, 1982. The author presents the road to the final military disaster in the battle of Mohács from a military historian’s point of view.
Perjés, Géza. The Fall of the Medieval Kingdom of Hungary: Mohács 1526, Buda 1541. Boulder, CO: Social Science Monographs, 1989. The battle of Mohács is still a topic of public discussion in Hungary, with many questions on responsibility, fatality, and the mentality of the different social components and layers. This was the first modern monograph written by the best military historian at that time.
Bariska, István. A Contribution to the History of the Turkish Campaign of 1532. Szombathely and Kőszeg, Hungary: Institute for Social and European Studies, 2007. A good introduction to the defense of Kőszeg Castle and the significance of the Austrian border defense during the great Ottoman campaign in 1532.
Barta, Gábor. “A Forgotten Theatre of War 1526–1528 (Historical Events Preceding the Ottoman-Hungarian Alliance of 1528).” In Hungarian-Ottoman Military and Diplomatic Relations in the Age of Süleyman the Magnificent. Edited by Géza Dávid and Pál Fodor, 90–130. Budapest: Loránd Eötvös University Department of Turkish Studies, 1994. A collection of short but important studies about the decisive years of the Hungarian theater of war after the battle of Mohács.
Fodor, Pál. “Ottoman Policy towards Hungary, 1520–1541.” Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 45.1–2 (1991): 271–345. A very important work to the discovery of the background of the conquest of Hungaryfrom an Ottoman perspective.
Ágoston, Gábor. “Empires and Warfare in East-Central Europe, 1550–1750: The Ottoman–Habsburg Rivalry and Military Transformation.” In European Warfare, 1350–1750. Edited by Frank Tallett and D. J. B. Trim, 110–134. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2010. Comparative study of the interactions and long-term effects of military affairs of two neighboring superpowers in the Danube Basin. DOI: 10.1017/CBO9780511806278
Pálffy, Géza. “The Origins and Development of the Border Defence System against the Ottoman Empire in Hungary (Up to the Early Eighteenth Century).” In Ottomans, Hungarians, and Habsburgs in Central Europe: The Military Confines in the Era of the Ottoman Conquest. Edited by Géza Dávid and Pál Fodor, 3–69. Leiden, The Netherlands, and Boston: Brill, 2000. The most detailed and recent overview on the evolution of the Hungarian border defense system.
Kelenik, József. “The Military Revolution in Hungary: Ottomans, Hungarians, and Habsburgs in Central Europe.” In Ottomans, Hungarians, and Habsburgs in Central Europe: The Military Confines in the Era of Ottoman Conquest. Edited by Géza Dávid and Pál Fodor, 117–159. Leiden, The Netherlands, and Boston: Brill, 2000. A wider and innovative overview on the phenomena of the military revolution in Hungary.
Makkai, László. “István Bocskai’s Insurrectionary Army.” In From Hunyadi to Rákóczi: War and Society in Late Medieval and Early Modern Hungary. Edited by J. M. Bak and B. K. Kiraly, 275–295. New York: Columbia University Press, 1982. A short summary based on older pieces of Hungarian scholarship, i.e., mostly of László Nagy’s works.
Perjés, Géza. “The Zrínyi-Montecuccoli Controversy.” In From Hunyadi to Rákóczi: War and Society in Late Medieval and Early Modern Hungary. Edited by J. M. Bak and B. K. Kiraly, 335–349. New York: Columbia University Press, 1982. A very thoughtful study about two military writers and commanders of the mid-17th century and the afterlife of their controversy.
Perjés, Géza. “Count Miklós Zrínyi (1620–1664).” In A Millennium of Hungarian Military History. Edited by Béla K. Kiraly and Laszlo Veszprémy, 136–158. Boulder, CO: Social Science Monographs, 2002. A short biography of a significant Hungarian magnate and military writer and commander of the 17th century.
Ardelean, Florin Nicolae. “Military Justice, Regulations and Discipline in Early Modern Transylvanian Armies (XVI–XVII Century).” Studia Universitatis Cibiniensis. Series Historica 7 (2011): 185–191. The work of a young Romanian military historian on the early modern Transylvanian army with a new nontraditional Romanian viewpoint.
Kármán, Gábor. “György Rákóczi II’s Attempt to Establish a Local Power Base among the Tributaries of the Ottoman Empire, 1653–1657.” In Power and Influence in South-Eastern Europe 16th–19th Century. Edited by Maria Baramova, Plamen Mitev, Ivan Parvev, and Vania Racheva, 229–243. Berlin: LIT, 2013. A study with an insight into the complex political and military problems of east and central Europe in middle of the 17th century.
Szabó, János B. “‘Splendid Isolation’? The Military Cooperation of the Principality of Transylvania with the Ottoman Empire (1571–1688) in the Mirror of the Hungarian Historiography’s Dilemmas.” In The European Tributary States of the Ottoman Empire in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries. Edited by Gábor Kármán and Lovro Kunčević, 301–339. Leiden, The Netherlands, and Boston: Brill, 2013a. A most recent and basic overview of Transylvania’s military cooperation with the Ottoman empire.
Fichtner, Paula Sutter. The Habsburg Monarchy 1490–1848: Attributes of Empire. Basingstoke, UK, and New York: Palgrave-Macmillan, 2003. A useful manual for both researchers and university students on the history of the Habsburg monarchy. The author investigates the monarchy developing into a world power in this period as compared to England, Spain, and France, but he also mentions the relations established with the different parts of the empire. As Royal Hungary was the strongest part of the central European Habsburg monarchy, it is justified to analyze early modern Hungarian history from this perspective.
Kontler, László. A History of Hungary: Millennium in Central Europe. London: Palgrave-Macemillan, 2002. A general and impartial history of Hungary using international scholarly works. Reveals political, cultural, social, and intellectual changes within a European context. It is a basic work for approaching Hungarian history and has been published in the United States, the Czech Republic, and Russia.
Pálffy, Géza. The Kingdom of Hungary and the Habsburg Monarchy in the Sixteenth Century. CHSP Hungarian Studies Series 18. Boulder, CO: Social Science Monographs, 2009. The most recent synthesis of early modern Hungarian history. It was published before the Hungarian edition. After covering late medieval conditions, the book focuses on the survival of Hungarian institutions. It also underlines the fact that the Hungarian state had an important role within the Habsburg monarchy, as there was a mutual interdependence between the two parties. Although there are not any church or intellectual historical analyses in the book, the author offers detailed bibliographies on these topics.
Bak, János M., and Béla K. Király, eds. From Hunyadi to Rákóczi: War and Society in Late Medieval and Early Modern Hungary. Boulder, CO: Social Sciences Monographs, 1982. Contrary to the title, the book offers a general view of the history of the Kingdom of Hungary during the Renaissance and the Reformation. Several studies reveal the course of the wars fought against the Ottoman Empire and their impact on Hungarian economy and society. Many scholarly works cite this popular book.
Dávid, Géza, and Pál Fodor, eds. Hungarian-Ottoman Military and Diplomatic Relations in the Age of Süleyman the Magnificent. Budapest: Loránd Eötvös University, Department of Turkish Studies, 1994. The book reveals the main events of the history of the Kingdom of Hungary becoming the borderland of the Habsburg and the Ottoman world powers. Many studies emphasize the military and foreign history of the Jagiellon era, the events following the Battle of Mohács (and those of the Ottoman sultans’ campaigns), and the interrelation between national defense and economy. A copublication with the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Institute of History.
Kósa, László, ed. A Cultural History of Hungary. Budapest: Corvina Kiadó, 2002. The relevant chapters are written by Iván Bertényi and István György Tóth. A wider concept of intellectual culture is considered, and historical ecology and ethnic history also appear in the book. Its advantage lies in its diversity, but the chapters are not unified and thus the book is eclectic. This book is less detailed than its predecessor, Domanovszky 1940.
Sugár, Peter F., Péter Hanák, and Tibor Frank, eds. A History of Hungary. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1990. Studies written by Hungarian authors that sum up the results of Pach 1985. Its early modern chapters are really useful. Due to its readable style, it is very popular, and there are several editions. Good for researchers and university students.
Zombori, István, ed. Fight against the Turk in Central-Europe in the First Half of the 16th Century. Budapest: Magyar Egyháztörténeti Enciklopédia Munkaközösség (METEM), 2004. Based on modern results, with the cooperation of leading Polish and Hungarian historians, this book shows the preliminary actions, the course, and the impacts of the conflict with the Ottoman Empire in central Europe. Reveals the similarities and differences between Polish and Hungarian events. Unfortunately, it is difficult to obtain, but it is useful for researchers and university lecturers.
Réthelyi, Orsolya, et al., eds. Mary of Hungary: The Queen and Her Court, 1521–1531. Budapest History Museum, 30 September 2005–9 January 2006. Slovenská národná galéria, 2 February–30 April 2006. Budapest: Budapest History Museum, 2005. Mary of Austria arrived at the Hungarian royal court in 1521, which changed the political situation in many respects. The author claims that 1521 was a sharp dividing line, as several reforms started with the arrival of the queen. The studies and the descriptions of the exhibits deal with the politics and representation of the last years of the Jagiellon court.
Köpeczi, Béla, et al., eds. History of Transylvania. 3 vols. Boulder, CO: Social Sciences Monographs, 2001. The part dealing with the Middle Ages is written by László Makkai. General summary of the history of Transylvania that uses a rich collection of scholarly works. A long chapter deals with church and intellectual culture. Romanian historians criticize the work for nationalist political reasons.
Fügedi, Erik. Kings, Bishops, Nobles and Burghers in Medieval Hungary. Edited by J. M. Bak. London: Variorum Reprints, 1986. Contains writings dealing with the history of the Hungarian elite, the middle nobility, and the burghers. The aristocrats were also involved in the leading of the country, and thus the careers of certain families can be useful in analyzing social mobility. The book makes obvious that there is a correlation between urbanization and the appearance of mendicant orders in Hungary, and that the burghers had a strong relationship with noble society.
Rady, Martyn. Nobility, Land and Service in Medieval Hungary. Basingstoke, UK, and New York: Palgrave, 2000. This book analyzes the composition, financial status, and the retainer relationship of the county nobility participating in the diets. As they formed the body of the estates institution, they constituted one of the most important social groups threatened by the economic crisis at the end of the period. Published in association with SSEES, University College London. DOI: 10.1057/9780333985342
Andrić, Stanko. The Miracles of St. John Capistran. Budapest: Central European University Press, 2000. John of Capistrano was one of the most popular Franciscans of his age. He participated in the defense of Belgrade in 1456, and following his death he was buried in Ilok on the bank of the Danube. Several miraculous healings happened at his grave, which were listed during the process of his canonization. The author analyzes these reports from a social and social-psychological perspective, and from the point of view of the history of religious orders.
Kovács, E. Péter, and Kornél Szovák, eds. Infima Aetas Pannonica: Studies in Late Medieval Hungarian History. Budapest: Corvina, 2009. A collection of thirteen studies dealing with late medieval Hungarian intellectual culture. It includes works on Franciscan and Pauline writers, the famous library (Corvina) of King Matthias, and the libraries of certain dioceses. The book does not provide the readers with a comprehensive picture of Hungarian intellectual culture but offers several case studies.
Bak, János M., Péter Banyó, and Martyn Rady, eds. The Customary Law of the Renowned Kingdom of Hungary: A Work in Three Parts Rendered by Stephen Werbőczy (The “Tripartitum”). Idyllwild, CA: Charles Schacks Jr., 2005. The work, originally published in 1517, is a collection of the formerly existing customary laws. Offers insight into the legal background of public administration and the legal privileges of the society. The collection was valid until 1848. The book has gone through many editions, and it has a Hungarian edition as well. It is the basis of all legal historical works.
Olahus, Nicolaus. Hungaria: Athila. Edited by Colomannus Eperjessy, and Ladislaus Juhász. Budapest: K. M. Egyetemi Nyomda, 1938. The work of the humanist high priest is the description of Hungary in the Jagiellon era. Olahus wrote it in the Low Countries. It is primarily a literary work, but the author, as an eyewitness, offers precise characterizations. Contains important information concerning the characterization of certain towns and regions as well as agricultural production.
Szentpétery, József, ed. Cross and Crescent: The Turkish Age in Hungary (1526–1699). Budapest: Enciklopédia Humana Egyesület, 1999. These studies cover the most important issues of 16th- and 17th-century Hungarian history. The work deals with all the three parts of the country in detail and mostly concentrates on social history and intellectual culture. Available on CD-ROM.
Dávid, Géza, and Pál Fodor, eds. Ottomans, Hungarians, and Habsburgs in Central Europe: The Military Confines in the Era of the Ottoman Conquest. Leiden, The Netherlands: E. J. Brill, 2000. Reveals the construction and operation of the Christian and Ottoman border fortress system. Touches upon the financial background of the war and its impact on society. It offers a complete picture of the events of the 16th century.
Finkel, Caroline. The Administration of Warfare: The Ottoman Military Campaigns in Hungary, 1593–1606. Vienna: Verband der wissenschaftlichen Gesellschaften Österreichs, 1988. The Long War was the first modern war in the Carpathian Basin where logistics and supply were important issues. It influenced the development of military and central administration. Unfortunately, the work does not deal with the years before 1593, although the campaigns started earlier.
Perjés, Géza. The Fall of the Medieval Kingdom of Hungary: Mohács 1526–Buda 1541. Boulder, CO: Social Sciences Monographs, 1989. In this veteran writer’s opinion, Süleyman I did not want to occupy Hungary, as he realized he could not pacify it because of its distance from Istanbul. However, it is now obvious that the Ottoman political decisions were brought about for different reasons (see Fodor 2000, under Ottoman Hungary). However, Perjés reconstructs the events of the first fifteen years accurately.
Bayerle, Gustav. Ottoman Diplomacy in Hungary: Letters from the Pashas of Buda (1590–1593). Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1972. The continuation of Takáts’s work (Takáts, et al. 1915), which reveals the local preliminaries of the Long War. The Christian military successes triggered the attack of the Ottoman Empire trying to overcome internal problems, which caused intense suffering for the civil population.
Ágoston, Gábor. Guns for the Sultan: Military Power and the Weapons Industry in the Ottoman Empire. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2005. This book is about the disciplined Ottoman Army, and especially about the development of the weapons industry, which enabled sultans to make their conquests. European experience contributed to the development of the artillery all through the age. However, the Ottomans could not keep up with the novelties of the European military revolution.
Dávid, Géza. Studies in Demographic and Administrative History of Ottoman Hungary. Istanbul: Isis Press, 1997. A collection of studies on the building up of the Ottoman military administration and the ethnic and demographic changes of the conquerors. The autobiographies of the beys suggest that the majority of the conquerors came from the Balkan Peninsula and that there were only a few leaders from Anatolia. The Hungarian population dwindled soomewhat in the 16th century, but the immigration of the South Slavs from the Balkans increased from the 1580s.
Fodor, Pál. In Quest of the Golden Apple: Imperial Ideology, Politics, and Military Administration in the Ottoman Empire. Istanbul: Isis, 2000. These twenty studies analyze the internal mechanism of the imperial elite, the financial system of the state, certain aspects of military organization, and some of the phases of the Ottoman-Hungarian relationships in a wider context. The studies are linked loosely and do not offer a comprehensive look but focus on concrete issues instead.
Sudár, Balázs. “Baths in Ottoman Hungary.” Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 57 (2004): 391–437. This work looks at baths, which were indispensable elements of Muslim religious foundations. The presence of the many baths helps determine the volume of Muslim construction.
Gecsényi, Lajos. “Turkish Goods and Greek Merchants in the Kingdom of Hungary in the 16th and 17th Centuries.” Acta Orientalia 60 (2007): 55–71. The importing of Turkish goods was already significant at the end of the Middle Ages, but its volume grew during the Ottoman domination. Greek merchants replaced German tradesmen, which deepened the Balkanian nature of the Hungarian economy. DOI: 10.1556/AOrient.60.2007.1.4
Pach, Zsigmond Pál. Hungary and the European Economy in Early Modern Times. Aldershot, UK: Variorum, 1994. A synthesis of his earlier works, the author uses plenty of scholarly literature and sources, but the Marxist concept here is questionable. The author misguidedly thinks the ever-increasing power of the landlords caused the deterioration of the villeins’ lives and the economic crisis. However, the facts presented here are mostly reliable.
Zimányi, Vera. Economy and Society in Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century Hungary (1526–1650). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1987. An economic historian’s overall analysis of economic history reveals that the profit from the export did not flow into industry, and the Hungarian economy had little capital. This was the reason for the failure of modernization. The investigated changes start in the middle of the 15th century, but the author does not deal with this period. Foreign trade is overemphasized here.
Péter, Katalin, ed. Beloved Children: Aristocratic Childhood in Early Modern Hungary. Budapest: Central European University Press, 2000. Offers insight mostly into the lives of aristocratic children and deals with expectant mothers, childbirth, schooling, and mourning. Based on original sources.
Dán, Róbert, and Antal Pirnát, eds. Antitrinitarianism in the Second Half of the 16th Century. Proceedings of the international colloqium held on the 400th anniversary of Ferenc Dávid’s death, Siklós, 15–19 May 1979. Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1982. Analyzes the types of anti-Trinitarianism and how it spread, mainly from the aspect of the history of literature and intellectual culture. It mentions the close Polish relationships, the different Hungarian organizations, the religious debates with the Protestants, and the attitude of the princes of Transylvania toward religion. Copublished in the Netherlands by Brill.
Almási, Gábor. The Uses of Humanism: Johannes Sambucus (1534–1581), Andreas Dudith (1533–1589), and the Republic of Letters in East Central Europe. Leiden, The Netherlands: E. J. Brill, 2009. Modern biographies of the two most influential Hungarian humanists of the 16th century, within the framework of Hungarian intellectual life. Zsámboky and Dudith gained central European importance due to their correspondences. Zsámboky was also a significant historian and publisher.
Tóth, István György. Literacy and Written Culture in Early Modern Central Europe. Budapest: Central European University Press, 2000. Charts the spread of literacy in the social strata of peasants and lesser nobles. The majority of its examples are from the 17th century, but it is still useful for those researching earlier ages. Many helpful charts and tables.
Birnbaum, Marianna. Humanists in a Shattered World: Croatian and Hungarian Latinity in the Sixteenth Century. Columbus, OH: Slavica, 1985. Croatian historian sums up the humanists of the Jagiellon period. Many of them were of South Slav origin, but they were all connected by their intellectual culture and their knowledge of Latin language and culture. The monograph reveals that central European humanism was not secondary to the movement present in the western countries.
Monok, István, ed. Myth and Reality: Latin Historiography in Hungary 15th-18th Centuries; Exhibition in The National Széchényi Library 7 July–3 September 2006. Budapest: National Széchényi Library, 2006. This catalogue shows the achievements of neo-Latin historians from the aspect of how they contributed to the formation of historical myths. They were the ones to speak about the Hun-Hungarian relationship, and they set Matthias Corvinus on a pedestal. It offers great examples of the formation of the memory.
Feuer-Tóth, Rózsa. Art and Humanism in Hungary in the Age of Matthais Corvinus. Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1990. The court of King Matthias was the center of central European humanism, and it influenced the whole region. As a result of the king’s maecenate, significant artists of the age worked in Hungary for varying lengths of time. The book shows their artistic heritage using an abundance of evocative pictures.
Marosi, Ernő, ed. On the Stage of Europe: The Millennial Contribution of Hungaryto the Idea of European Community. Budapest: Balassi Kiadó, 2009. Reveals the thousand-year contribution of Hungary to the concept of the European community from an art-historical perspective. The 150 colored pictures of artifacts are commented on by art historians. A great reference resource for presentations, lectures, and books.
Primary Sources
Dávid, Géza, and Pál Fodor, eds. “Affairs of State Are Supreme.” In The Orders of the Ottoman Imperial Council Pertaining to Hungary (1544–1545, 1552). Budapest: MTA TTI, 2005. Contains the decisions concerning Hungary made by the most important decision-making body of the Ottoman Empire, the Imperial Council. Apart from the significant diplomatic and political decisions, the work shows data on some local affairs and appointments. Contains reliable information when used together with Christian sources. The titles of the published documents are translated into English.
Thuróczy, János. Chronicle of the Hungarians. Translated by Frank Mantello. Medievalia Hungarica 2; Indiana University Uralic and Altaic 155. Bloomington: Indiana University Research Institute for Inner Asian Studies, 1991. An English translation of the 15th-century Chronica Hungarorum of János Thuróczy.
Olahus, Nicolaus. Hungaria–Athila. Edited by Eperjessy Kálmán and Juhász László. Budapest: K. M. Egyetemi Nyomda, 1938. A critical translation of Miklós Oláh’s Latin description of Hungary and his work promoting the Hungarian-Hun relationship. There are some humanist topoi in the works, but the volume contains plenty of useful data on geography and agriculture.
Bak, János M., Martyn Rady, and László Veszprémy, eds. Anonymous, Notary of King Béla, The Deeds of the Hungarians, Master Roger’s Epistle to the Sorrowful Lament about the Destruction of Hungary by the Tartars. Budapest and New York: CEU, 2010. This is the first English translation of Master Roger’s work on the Tartar invasion.
Imber, Colin. The Crusade of Varna, 1443–45. Ashgate, UK: Aldershot, 2006. A fine selection of sources on the Varna campaign with an excellent introductory study.