Letter #819
Sigmund von HERBERSTEIN to Ioannes DANTISCUSVienna, 1532-08-22
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Text & apparatus & commentaryPlain textText & commentaryText & apparatus
Reverendissimo in Christo [patri] et domino, domino
Reverendissime Praesul, domine observandissime. Post debitam mei commendationem.
Cum Vestra Reverendissima Dominatio mihi suo mandato cf.
Quae[3] autem apud nos aguntur, nollem quoque Vestram Reverendissimam Dominationem latere.
Nos illic obsidionem expectabamus et videmus frustra, provisi omnibus ferme necessariis. Forte ob id consilium mutavit, et cum falsus sit, sperans omnem Christianitatem in discordia et imperium ac
Illustrissimus dux
Dominus
Datum
Vestrae Reverendissimae Dominationis deditissimus
[1 ] Cf. letter cf.
[3 ] From this place to sua gratia (i.e. the entire novitates) the text is underlined in a different colored ink, originally perhaps red
[2 ] In his letters to Dantiscus Herberstein several times uses the imperfect conjunctive nollem in the sense I don’t want (without any connotation of the irrealis), which can be explained by the influence of vernacular languages
[4 ] The Turkish army corps, 80,000 or maybe even 140,000 strong, which marched towards Vienna under the command of Grand Vizier Ibrahim Pasha, in the end did not dare attack Vienna, nor Wiener Neustadt which also had strong defenses. After some offensive-defensive operations by the approx. 700 soldiers of the small Güns garrison, on August 10 the Turks began a regular siege upon orders from Suleiman I, which tied up the Turkish forces for three weeks. After a relentless defense, on August 28 Nikola Jurišić surrendered Güns to Suleiman I, who left it under Jurišić’s rule ( cf. AT 14 No. 362, p. 556, No. 451, p. 681-682, 684, footnote 3, 4, cf. No. 428, p. 639, No. 432, p. 644-645, No. 450, p. 679, No. 461, p. 703-704 ⌊AT, XIV, No. 362, p. 556, No. 451, p. 681-682, 684, footnote 3, 4, cf. No. 428, p. 639, No. 432, p. 644-645, No. 450, p. 679, No. 461, p. 703-704cf. AT 14 No. 362, p. 556, No. 451, p. 681-682, 684, footnote 3, 4, cf. No. 428, p. 639, No. 432, p. 644-645, No. 450, p. 679, No. 461, p. 703-704 ⌋; cf. KF 3 No. 657, p. 612-613, footnote 4 ⌊KF, III, No. 657, p. 612-613, footnote 4cf. KF 3 No. 657, p. 612-613, footnote 4 ⌋; cf. HERBERSTEIN 1560 f. D3r ⌊Herberstein 1560, f. D3rcf. HERBERSTEIN 1560 f. D3r ⌋; cf. SEPÚLVEDA 1995 1 p. 112-117 ⌊Sepúlveda, II, p. 112-117cf. SEPÚLVEDA 1995 1 p. 112-117 ⌋; Hammer-Purgstall, III, p. 110-114; Clot, p. 83-85; cf. DZIUBIŃSKI p. 88-89 ⌊Dziubiński, p. 88-89cf. DZIUBIŃSKI p. 88-89 ⌋; cf. POCIECHA 4 p. 156 ⌊Pociecha, IV, p. 156cf. POCIECHA 4 p. 156 ⌋, cf. cf. KOHLER 1999 p. 221-222 ⌊Kohler I, p. 221-222cf. KOHLER 1999 p. 221-222 ⌋; cf. KOHLER 2003 p. 216-217 ⌊Kohler II, p. 216-217cf. KOHLER 2003 p. 216-217 ⌋)
[5 ] Herberstein is referring to Hungary, or in fact to Mátyás Corvinus, king of Hungary (1458-1490), who – during the war over Lower Austria – took Güns (Köszeg) in 1483, which had been taken in 1445 by Emperor Frederick III von Habsburg after the death of Vladislav I Jagiellon, king of Hungary (1440-1444).
[6 ] Güns (Köszeg) was one of the towns and castles that were the subject of border conflicts between the empire and the Kingdom of Hungary. After the death of Vladislav I Jagiellon, king of Hungary (1440-1444), in 1445 it was taken by Emperor Frederick III. During the war over Lower Austria, Mátyás Corvinus, king of Hungary (1458-1490) took Güns in 1483, and after his death it was re-taken on behalf of Emperor Frederick III by king of the Romans Maximilian I (1490) (see Wiesflecker, I, p. 290, 303)
[7 ] Most likely a reference to the mission to Constantinople on behalf of Ferdinand I, which Jurišić completed as the companion of Joseph von Lamberg from October to December 1530. The chronicler of Charles V, Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda, notes that Ibrahim Pasha knew Jurišić as an envoy, which could have facilitated the negotiations on the surrender of Güns ( cf. SEPÚLVEDA 1995 1 p. 113, 115 ⌊Sepúlveda, II, p. 113, 115cf. SEPÚLVEDA 1995 1 p. 113, 115 ⌋; cf. DZIUBIŃSKI p. 80 ⌊Dziubiński, p. 80cf. DZIUBIŃSKI p. 80 ⌋; cf. POCIECHA 4 p. 85-86 ⌊Pociecha, IV, p. 85-86cf. POCIECHA 4 p. 85-86 ⌋)
[8 ] Dantiscus met Friedrich II during the diet in Augsburg in 1530 in connection with the matter of Ducal Prussia’s status (cf. letter cf.
[9 ] According to present-day estimates, the imperial forces gathering and moving towards Vienna in August and September (including Spanish and Belgian forces) numbered about 100,000-120,000. Charles V’s chronicler, Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda, speaks of over 120,000, while Stanisław Górski mentions about 140,000, and he also states that Suleiman I’s forces (today estimated at about 200,000) numbered 500,000 (see
cf. FERNÁNDEZ ÁLVAREZ 2002 p. 451-457 ⌊Fernández Álvarez 2002, p. 451-457cf. FERNÁNDEZ ÁLVAREZ 2002 p. 451-457 ⌋; Kohler I, p. 221; Kohler II, p. 216-217;
cf. POCIECHA 4 p. 144-145, 155, 157 ⌊Pociecha, IV, p. 144-145, 155, 157cf. POCIECHA 4 p. 144-145, 155, 157 ⌋;
cf. AT 14 No. 362, p. 556; 452, p. 684-685, cf. No. 379, p. 572-574 ⌊AT, XIV, No. 362, p. 556; 452, p. 684-685, cf. No. 379, p. 572-574cf. AT 14 No. 362, p. 556; 452, p. 684-685, cf. No. 379, p. 572-574 ⌋; cf.
[10 ] A reference to Lower Austria with Vienna and Upper Austria, lying to the west, with its capital in Linz
[11 ] From February 29 to September 1, 1532 Emperor Charles V was in Regensburg, and only set off to join the gathered forces on September 2; traveling through Passau and Linz, he ceremonially rode into Vienna on September 23, when Suleiman I was already in retreat (see Cadenas y Vicent, p. 225-226; cf. FERNÁNDEZ ÁLVAREZ 2002 p. 451-457 ⌊Fernández Álvarez 2002, p. 451-457cf. FERNÁNDEZ ÁLVAREZ 2002 p. 451-457 ⌋; cf. POCIECHA 4 p. 156-157 ⌊Pociecha, IV, p. 156-157cf. POCIECHA 4 p. 156-157 ⌋; see also cf. AT 14 No. 420, p. 630, No. 428, p. 639, cf. No. 432, p. 644-645, No. 461, p. 703-706, No. 466, p. 716 ⌊AT, XIV, No. 420, p. 630, No. 428, p. 639, cf. No. 432, p. 644-645, No. 461, p. 703-706, No. 466, p. 716cf. AT 14 No. 420, p. 630, No. 428, p. 639, cf. No. 432, p. 644-645, No. 461, p. 703-706, No. 466, p. 716 ⌋)
[13 ] In 1522 Andrea Doria joined the service of Francis I, and after the battle of Pavia – the service of pope Clement VII, and became the commander of the League of Cognac’s fleet. He later returned to the service of Francis I, but in 1528, at the price of the restitution of the Genoan Republic, he returned to the service of Charles V and was active as his chief admiral on the Mediterranean and actual administrator of Genua (officially censor) until 1555. In 1532 Doria received from the emperor the title of duke of Melfi as well as orders to prepare the fleet in view of Turkey’s growing sea forces. The news about Doria’s fleet, armed for battle at sea and on land, setting off for Epirus to halt the Turkish forces there, also reached Dantiscus from Alfonso de Valdes writing from Regensburg on August 8. Doria’s operations on the coast of Greece were meant to hasten the Turks’ withdrawal from Austria and Hungary. After taking Patras on the Gulf of Corinth and Corone (Koróni) on the Messenian Gulf, Doria was called back to Italy (see cf. JURIEN de la GRAVIÈRE p. 203-205 ⌊Gravière, p. 203-205cf. JURIEN de la GRAVIÈRE p. 203-205 ⌋; cf. AT 14 No. 93, p. 154-155, No. 141, p. 223, No. 379, p. 573, No. 416, p. 571-572, No. 452, p. 685, No. 462, p. 707, No. 470, p. 723, No. 528, p. 807, No. 549, p. 839 ⌊AT, XIV, No. 93, p. 154-155, No. 141, p. 223, No. 379, p. 573, No. 416, p. 571-572, No. 452, p. 685, No. 462, p. 707, No. 470, p. 723, No. 528, p. 807, No. 549, p. 839cf. AT 14 No. 93, p. 154-155, No. 141, p. 223, No. 379, p. 573, No. 416, p. 571-572, No. 452, p. 685, No. 462, p. 707, No. 470, p. 723, No. 528, p. 807, No. 549, p. 839 ⌋)