Mary, ‘King’ of Hungary, was coronated today in history, on 17th September, 1382. 

The Hungarian nobility had never had a female monarch, and did not recognize the possibility of one in law, so decided to crown her as if she was male - but that was by no means the end of her problems. Before long, Charles of Naples was leading a rebellion to overthrow the child monarch.

In this episode, The Retrospectors rank the numerous poor decisions of Mary’s mother, the Queen Regent Elizabeth; unearth the impressive linguistic leg-work put in by Mary’s future husband, Sigismund of Luxembourg; and explain how Mary’s father Louis’ best laid plans unraveled so dramatically…

Further Reading:

• ‘A concise history of Hungary - By Miklós Molnár’ (Cambridge University Press, 2001): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/A_Concise_History_of_Hungary/y0g4YEp7ZrsC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=mary+sigismund&pg=PA56&printsec=frontcover

• ’Outlines of Medieval History - By Charles William Previté-Orton’ (1916):

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=4PXDDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA481&dq=mary+sigismund&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjS2enHt6WBAxVUQkEAHeTwC2AQ6AF6BAgLEAI

• ‘Queen Mary of Hungary by Leoni, 1553 - 1564’ (American Friends of the Prado Museum, 2023): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yaagl1xhbLA

This episode first premiered in 2023, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 100 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!

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The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.

Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.

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