Janus Pannonius

Janus Pannonius (1434-1472), known in Hungarian as János Csezmicei or Kesencei and in Croatian as Ivan Česmički, was a humanist, poet, diplomat and bishop of Pécs. He wrote in Latin, the language of learned culture in his day, and is regarded as the most significant Renaissance poet of the Kingdom of Hungary, as well as one of the better-known figures of humanist poetry across Europe.

He was born in a small village near the Drava river, at the edge of Slavonia. Little is known about his family; his father's standing among the nobility is unclear, while his mother, Borbála Vitéz, was the sister of John Vitéz, the archbishop who would shape his career. After an early education at home, his uncle sent him to Italy in 1447. In Ferrara he studied Latin and Greek under Guarino da Verona and stood out among both teachers and classmates. It is said that he was writing epigrams in the rules of classical verse by about thirteen. He went on to study canon law at the University of Padua and, after a tour of Rome, returned to the Kingdom of Hungary in 1458, the year Matthias Corvinus came to the throne.

At home he took on posts of growing responsibility. He first worked in the royal chancery, then became Bishop of Pécs and later vice-chancellor of the realm. His contacts with leading thinkers of the period made him one of the most influential intellectuals in the country and a promoter of humanism. He also built up a notable library of humanist works. His classically minded poetry drew on Martial and includes epigrams, elegies and verses of praise, such as the poem honouring the painter Andrea Mantegna. In 1469 he served as Ban of Slavonia. He died at Medvedgrad castle, near Zagreb, in 1472.

His reputation survived through contemporary humanists who quoted his verses. His collected works first appeared in print thanks to János Zsambóky (Johannes Sambucus) and Count Sámuel Teleki. Today he is remembered as the great Latin poet of Hungarian Renaissance and as one of the figures who brought humanism to the heart of central Europe.