August–October 1456
Alongside the public and private correspondence that passed along news of Belgrade in the later months of 1456, a swirl of stories, rumors, and other narratives inspired by the battle arose as well. These are harder to access, because they often circulated orally, or in ephemeral written forms that are now lost. This document presents one example of the phenomenon. It appears in a Latin chronicle of the Observant Franciscan movement authored by Nicholas Glassberger. Born in Bohemia, Glassberger was a university student (most likely at Leipzig) when the battle for Belgrade unfolded. He entered the Observant wing of the Franciscan order at Amberg in 1472 and later worked as a missionary against the Hussites. He spent the last decades of his life in Nuremberg, and it was there that he completed his chronicle before his death in 1508. In his account of the rise of the Observants, Glassberger pauses to tell the story of Belgrade. He then appends to his account a letter that he attributes to John of Capistrano. It concerns “the miraculous victory of the Christians, and the wonders that preceded it.” Revealingly, the same letter also survives in a German version, a text which has a longer concluding passage that does not appear in Glassberger’s Latin work. The letter is notable not so much for its value as an “accurate” account, but as a witness to the wider resonance of the Belgrade story and the association of the outcome with signs and wonders.
Source: Trans. J. Mixson, from Chronica fratris Nicolai Glassberger, Ordinis Minorum Observantium, Analecta Franciscana 2 (Quaracchi: Typografia Collegii S. Bonaventurae, 1887), 366–8. The German text, whose concluding paragraph is appended here, is found in Robert Naumann, ed., Sarapeum. Zeitschrift für Bibliothekwissenschaft, Handschriftenkunde und ältere Litteratur 14 (1853): 161–6 (here 163–6).
To all who are signed by the mark of the Christian faith, let shine the wondrous mercy and inexpressible great deeds of God, which we have indeed seen and sensed to sparkle in our day, as the mother church has now been given one victory in war in the East against the Turks and pagans. We do not wish to stifle your affectionate devotion [concerning the fact] that on the sixteenth day of the month of July in the year 1456, at the fortress that is in the vernacular called Griechisch Weissenburg, between the sixth and seventh hours of the morning, there appeared a great star, outshining all others in its splendor – not in the heavens, like other stars, but close to the earth.1 This star had above it a cross, bright and of unimaginable size. At the sight of this star we rejoiced with a great joy indeed, knowing that divine aid would come to us – not so much from the sight of the star itself, as from the sign of the cross above it. From that point we offered praise and thanks to God, who does not abandon those who hope in him. Committing to God with devout cries in his name and calling on his aid, we went to battle against the Turks around the eighth hour of the morning. We sang the response Tua est potentia, etc. and then the response Christi virgo dulcissima, and thirdly Circumdederunt me viri, etc.2
Meanwhile the enemies of Christ, the pagans and Turks, fought for the fortress and nearly overwhelmed all of the Christians who were then in the fortress. And as we drew near to the Turks, they mocked us and our songs – and no wonder, since there were five hundred of them to every one of us. And so, with divine grace in our favor, we fought against them. They fell down before us as if dead, and of all who had gone forth to fight, not one remained. When they saw this, those who remained in the Turkish camp began to flee, leaving behind all of the arms that they had brought. We pursued them and killed many of them for a distance of about four miles. Thereafter, exhausted by such labor and fighting (for the entire day, from the eighth hour of the morning all the way to the [ninth hour of the]3 evening on that same day), we returned to our tent, giving thanks and praise to God for his many mercies, that he granted us his divine aid, and singing Cantemus domino; gloriose enim, etc.4
On the following day we gathered up arms and supplies. Your Devotion5 should also be made aware that when they fled the Turks left behind here five squadrons of ships, along with various arms and gold and silver. We have found more gold and silver here than we are able to write to you; but for the common good and to meet the needs of all those Christians who are either present here now or who will be coming here, we will store it all in the aforesaid fortress. And for four days straight we have dragged the bodies of the dead infidels to the river called Danube and thrown them in. But the bodies of the saints who met their end in this battle we have gathered together with both due devotion and reverence, and with hymns and praises buried them worthily in the Church of Saint Michael. Moreover, the star and cross noted above stood above our camp all day and night, and as we moved, the star moved with us, giving us unfailing light by night, until we returned to our tents.
Meanwhile the magnificent lord and baron, most vigorous voivode [Hunyadi], filled with pious devotion and sincerity, was greatly disturbed at the death of those saints who had been killed in this battle, not killed by lances or swords or arrows, but for the most part trampled by horses and camels. Then, during the night of the following day, a vision came to him in this way: there appeared before him one priest, reading Mass.6 When he came to the Kyrie eleison, many began to move to the Offertorium, and as each placed his offering, the priest signed him with the sign of the cross. Then immediately those who were signed had a place or a seat at the altar, and each took them quickly. When the priest, reading the Mass, came to the Sanctus, there came one very powerful king with his queen, along with a great retinue of ministers. They honorably greeted those who were seated at the altar and sat with them there. When the Mass was finished, the king and queen rose, and all rose with them. The king said to them, “Come all of you, blessed of my Father,” etc.7 Then all disappeared.
The lord baron [Hunyadi] rose in the morning and began to share this vision with me, asking me about its meaning. I responded to him in this way: “The priest reading the Mass is the supreme pontiff, the vicar of Christ, who has the power to bind and loose, and who out of his great fervor for the orthodox faith sends legates and cardinals to various parts of the world who preach and offer forgiveness of sins to all who fight [on crusade], or who offer a helping hand to that cause according to their ability. Those who take this preaching to heart and who offer their pious vow to God – whether by going [on campaign] themselves personally or sending another at their expense – these are the ones whom Your Lordship saw go forth at the offertory. Then the most holy father and lord Pope Callixtus, through his legates and their commissioners, signs them with the sign of the holy cross. These have fought for love of the Catholic faith and lost their lives. Our Lord Jesus Christ and his most glorious Mother, the Virgin Mary, have now received them unto their eternal reward, which they alongside the other saints will enjoy without end, crowned in eternal blessedness.” After this explanation the lord [Hunyadi] was filled with great joy at the crowning of the saints, and he died.8
Specifically, the number of saints that Christ the Son of God called to their glory in this battle was 3,043 men. The number of the enemies of the cross of Christ who were slain is unknown to us, and we can therefore not posit a specific number, lest we seem to add false accounts to true ones. But we can affirm that it was around sixty thousand or a little more, whom we overcame with thirteen thousand men.
Oh,9 you kings of the splendid and beloved Christian faith, open your earthly treasures, as God opens his heavenly treasures! Do not look to your crowns, with their precious stones; let your faith be enough and hasten to work in the vineyard of the Lord God Sabaoth. Oh, you unconquerable dukes and counts, knights and landlords, noble and ignoble, look to our struggle and be mindful; put on the yoke of Christian faith, put on the helmet of Jesus Christ, put on your armor and weapons, come to us in the struggle, help us to fight, that we in our fight and struggle might be those that none can conquer. We will have victory in our struggle against the Turks and pagans, with God’s help, if you will offer yourselves, and your money and aid, to the cause. Oh, all of you devout priests of God almighty, and you learned religious, and spiritual lords of the religious orders, and nuns, and all Christian people, pour out to God your pious vows and cries and devout prayers, so that the merits of those devout prayers will bring divine power to aid us in our struggle and fight against the pagans and Turks, so that we can all join with one another in these proclaimed good works to earn eternal glory.
Written and given at the abovenamed fortress on the twenty-first day of the month of July after the birth of Christ, in the year given above. To all Christians, useless servants, but faithful in prayer, Brother John of Capistrano of the Order of Friars Minor, with the other faithful who are with him, the well-prepared warriors of Christ.
1 The reference here is to what is now thought to have been Halley’s Comet. Modern calculations estimate that the comet’s perigee was on May 27, 1456. A later story provided the foundation for the long-standing myth, debunked only in the twentieth century, that Callixtus III had excommunicated the comet as an ill omen for Christendom. See also reference to the comet in document 23.
2 The references here are to common prayers, sung in response to a versicle. The themes of these particular responses – the power of God, praise of the Virgin, and deliverance from unjust persecution by lying enemies – are consistent with the moments leading up to battle. This is the first in a series of liturgical references that the anonymous author weaves into the story.
3 Reference to the “ninth hour of the evening” is in the German manuscript only.
4 A liturgical response of praise, consistent with a return from battle.
5 The addressee here is unknown.
6 The references which follow concern the main prayers that constitute the different elements of the liturgy of the Mass. For basic context see John Harper, The Forms and Orders of Western Liturgy from the Tenth to the Eighteenth Century (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2009), especially ch. 7.
7 Cf. Matthew 25:34, a passage with strong apocalyptic overtones.
8 The German version of the letter omits this abrupt line about Hunyadi’s death.
9 This paragraph appears only in the German version of the text. It is not present in Glassberger’s Latin version of the letter.