Bonfini, Brandolini, Marzio, Michael Báthory

Galeotto Marzio
Antonio Bonfini
Antonio Bonfini (1427-1502)

He taught humaniora in Ascoli, then in Recanati. He went to King Matthias's court in 1486 and brought some books to the royal family. He dedicated his Hermogenes, Aphthonios and Herodianos translations to Matthias, and he wrote and dedicated his Symposion to Beatrix, which is about love in marriage and virginity. He also de dicated his Ascoli story to Beatrix, while John Corvin received the genealogy of the Corvinuses and a book of poems. In Buda he translated into Latin Philostratos's works and Filarete (Antonio Averlino, around 1500-1469)'s tract on architecture for King Matthias. In 1488 Matthias entrusted him with writing down Hungarian history, so he worked on this until 1497. He received a noble title from King Wladislas II. He died in Buda.

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Aurelio Brandolini Lippo (1454-1497)

A Florentine humanist writer. He was a teacher of rhetorics at King Matthias's court, where he wrote two of his most important works, the dialogues The Comparison of the Republic with the Kingdom (De comparatione republicae et regni) and Human Existence and the Tolerance of Bodily Diseases (De humanae vitae conditione et toleranda corporis aegritudine). The latter one is focused on the value of human life and dignity, such as Gianozzo Manetti (1369-1459)'s famous work called Human Dignity and Excellence (De dignitate et excellentia hominis).

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Galeotto Marzio (1427 ? - 1497 ?)

He was born in Narni. He was a poet, writer and doctor. From 1447 he studied at Guarino's school in Ferrara. There he became a close friend of Janus Pannonius. In 1461 Janus invited him to Hungary. He was also a follower of János Vitéz. Later he taught in Bologne and Padua, then in 1465 he came to Hungary again, together with Janus Pannonius, who returned home from his ministry in Italy. He wrote his medical work On Man (De homine) and dedicated it to Vitéz. He also taught at the Universitas Histropolensis in Pozsony and left Hungary when the plot against Matthias was discovered (1471-1472). Because of the heretical ideas of his work Generally Unknown Things (De incogniti vulgo) written around 1477 he was imprisoned in Venice by the inquisition, but he managed to escape from here in 1478 with the help of King Matthias and Lorenzo de' Medici. He came to Buda and brought his heretical work with him and dedicated it to Matthias. In 1482 he visited Matthias - who was engaged in war at the time - in Baden and asked him to support his daughters, who were about to get married. He wrote a book about King Matthias called King Matthias' great, wise and funny sayings and deeds (De egregie, sapienter, iocose dictis ac factis reis Mathiae) in 1485 in Italy and dedicated it to John Corvin.

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Michael (Miklós) Báthory (around 1435-1506)

He was Galeotto Marzio's student in Bologne. From 1475 he was the Bishop of Vác. He had some renaissance buildings erected in Vác and the county of Nógrád. He was Francesco Bandini's friend, and corresponded with Marsilio Ficino and Sebastiano Salvini, whom he invited to Hungary. Ficino dedicated his philosophical work to him. He also corresponded with Guarino da Verona's son, Battista. King Matthias respected him, but at the beginning of the 1480s he fell out of favour with the king. After Matthias's death he established a public college at Vác, where all the sciences were taught by famous Italian professors (Pescennio Francesco Negro, Bernardino d'Udine). He also wrote an historic poem, which was lost.

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