Andrew of Hungary

Andrew of Hungary (; fl. 1270) was a Hungarian priest, diplomat and writer. He wrote an account in Latin of Charles of Anjou's conquest of the Kingdom of Sicily, conventionally known as the Descriptio victoriae a Karolo Provinciae comite reportate ('Description of the reported victory by Count Charles of Provence'). Life Andrew was a chaplain to Kings Béla IV (1235–1270) and Stephen V of Hungary (1270–1272). In 1270–1271, bearing the title "master" (magister), he was part of a diplomatic mission led by Sixtus of Esztergom, as historian Jenő Szűcs considered. Sent by Stephen V to congratulate Charles of Anjou on the latter's return from the Eighth Crusade, the four-man delegation travelled via Naples to Catona and Messina in December and January, then with Charles to Rome in February. Andrew, however, did not return to Hungary, but remained behind in the service of Charles. He eventually attached himself to Charles's nephew, Count Peter I of Alençon, whom he followed to France. In contrast, Dániel Bácsatyai argued that Andrew arrived in the Kingdom of Naples much earlier. Stephen V was already crowned king sometime around 1246, Andrew could serve as a chaplain in his ducal court too. Bácsatyai identified Andrew with that Andreas Ungarus, who entered the service of Cardinal Stephen Báncsa prior to 1262. In that year, he was granted a praebenda (benefaction) of the chapter of Corinth by Pope Urban IV. In this capacity, he frequently stayed in Rome and the perspective of his work also confirms that he was in the Holy See when the events took place. Andrew was therefore a personal witness to the war. Following the death of Stephen Báncsa in 1270, he entered the service of Peter I of Alençon. Descriptio Andrew dedicated his Descriptio to Peter of Alençon. He wrote it in France, probably around 1272, certainly before Peter's death in 1284. Dániel Bácsatyai considered Andrew compiled his work sometime between August 1270 (Béla IV and Louis IX of France are already referred to as dead) and early 1272 (Stephen V and Bartolomeo Pignatelli, Archbishop of Messina are mentioned as living persons), most likely in 1271, incorporating his records into a coherent work. Only a single copy of survives in Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, MS lat. 5192, a 15th-century manuscript from Naples.