Janus Pannonius

Janus Pannonius, in Croatian Ivan Česmički (John, Ivan or Janos of Čazma, after his birthplace northern Croatia ) (* August 29 1434 in Čazma, † March 27, 1472 at Castle Medvedgrad in Zagreb) was " an Italian scholar, a Croatian humanist ... and a Hungarian bishop ".

Česmički was probably the son of a Croatian nobleman. However, it is known very little about the childhood Česmičkis. His mother Barbara († 1463 ) was a sister of Bishop Johann Vitez, Primate of Hungary since 1465. After the death of his father he sent him to 1447, the School of Guarino da Verona at the time acclaimed as a center of humanist art and culture farm of the Marquis Leonello d' Este in Ferrara. From 1454 to 1458 he studied law in Padua and then returned to Hungary, where he quickly made ​​his career, first as a canon with his uncle in Wardein. King Matthias Corvinus wanted his experiences in Italy and made avail him on November 5, 1459 to the Bishop of Pécs.

He spoke and wrote in Latin, then under humanists throughout Europe, the link language. Janus Pannonius, as he called himself, wrote numerous poems and famous epigrams in Latin.

With his uncle in 1471 he joined a conspiracy against the king because of his autocratic style of government and tried in vain to bring King Casimir of Poland to the Hungarian throne. He therefore had to flee to Croatia, where he died in 1472 at 38 years of age ( his uncle died four months later under house arrest in Gran ). Janus Pannonius designed his own grave inscription ( translation ): "Janus rests them here, and has brought to the shores of the domestic hedgehog was the first to laurel decorated Muses of Helikon heights. "