August 13, 1456 (Nuremberg)
By the middle of the fifteenth century the free imperial city of Nuremberg was one of the most thriving and important city-states in northern Europe. As a hub of politics, commerce, and culture, it was also a vital point of exchange for news of the rapidly unfolding events of the summer of 1456. Here the city council sends brief word of Belgrade to nearby Weissenburg, another independent city-state some thirty miles (fifty kilometers) to the south. The letter offers another highly condensed account of the battle.
Source: Trans. J. Mixson, from Theodor von Kern, “Zur Geschichte des Kampfes um Belgrad im Juli, 1456,” Anzeiger fur Kunde deutscher Vorzeit 11 (1864): 369–74.
To the esteemed and wise mayor and council of Weissenburg, our especially good friends:
Our friendly and eager service to our honorable and wise, especially dear friend. If our dear and worthy Christian associates are eager to learn of news that is both a consolation to the Christian faith and useful to the common good, we are pleased to let our dear friends know that we have received a reliable written and diplomatic report. As the Turkish emperor lay siege to the citadel and city of Belgrade with his great power, having assaulted the city with his cannons, with a great many of his troops he fought his way in on the Wednesday before the recent feast of Mary Magdalene,1 raising (as it has been reported to us) thirteen banners in the city.2 Then the noble John Hunyadi, governor of Hungary, who still held on to the citadel above the city, though worried about his enemy, boldly attacked them and fought mightily and strenuously with them, so much that he killed a large number of them and drove the rest from the city. The following day, on Thursday, the Turk sent a new wave of troops to storm the city, who then won it anew. But the governor [Hunyadi] withstood the fight with them in the name of God, and once more won the victory with almighty God’s help. The Friday thereafter the Turk undertook the fight anew with fresh troops, and the battle lasted from morning until evening. All the while the blessed father Capistrano was there, and with great devotion he continually asked our Lord God for help and favor. The Turk and his remaining people soon took to flight. During that flight, together with the previous attacks and battles, some one hundred thousand of his troops were killed. Many were drowned in the water as they fled. Moreover, the emperor lost twelve large cannons (many of which are said to be thirty-two hands long and seven hands wide) […] and firearms without number, together with all of his other matériel, carriages, food, and supplies.
Therefore our merciful lord and king Ladislaus [of Hungary] has [just now, with more to come],3 publicly called for soldiers in Vienna in order to raise troops and to send them further along to the governor, and with the help of the Almighty will bring a plague against the enemy of Christendom. We did not want to hold back this news from you, our dearest friends, but rather to share it with you to bring you special joy, to thank our Lord humbly and to offer praise and honor for his favor.
Given on the Friday after Lawrence,4 in the year, etc. ’56.
The mayor and city council of Nuremberg
1 July 21.
2 Literally “market,” without any further specificity as to the exact location. Most likely the Upper Town.
3 The phrasing here is obscure.
4 The feast of Saint Lawrence, August 10.