Similarities Between Charles I And Louis

Yet out of this chaos stepped an extremely capable ruler—Charles I of Anjou. It is important to note, however, that while Charles was from Anjou he and his son regarded themselves as Hungarians. Under Charles and his son, Louis I, Hungary would experience a sort of golden age where its prestige and borders swelled. While much of the success of the Angevin golden age can be attributed, coincidentally, to the discovery of massive amounts of gold within the kingdom, many of the aforementioned factors that explain the success of Stephen likewise characterize the successes of Charles and Louis. This is logical, as the challenge faced by the Angevin’s in uniting a land divided by barons was not altogether different than that faced by Géza and Stephen,

who united the Magyar tribes under one crown. Like Stephen, Louis aimed to build off the groundwork set by his father and relied heavily on a similar castle system to assert authority over his realm.

Historian Erik Fügedi notes that “a muster of the royal castellans shows that they came from the group of the Angevin kings’ most trusted fideles.” By recapturing castles that had been lost to royal authority after the Árpád dynasty, the Angevins reasserted control over the realm. This practice by Louis is certainly analogous to Stephen's reliance on the ispán to administer his realm. Furthermore, Louis, like Stephen, was blessed with a long life as he attempted to progress the work started by his father. Additionally, Louis was a deeply religious man who was inclined to fanaticism, which represents yet another characteristic he shared with Stephen. This again underscores the importance of religion as a unifying force in medieval

Hungary.
The Angevin’s, like Stephen, used not only Christianity, but also western institutions, to unify their realm.

This proclivity to adopt the institutions of Western medieval kingdoms is crucial to understanding the birth of Hungary, whether discussing Stephen’s unification of the Magyar tribes or the rapid growth in prestige that occurred under the Angevins. One such institution adopted by the Angevin kings was the royal residence: although previously kings spent much of their time traveling across the realm, Charles would build a royal residence at Visegrád, which would centralize his authority. Additionally, as Louis Heilprin notes, “[Charles] transplanted into Hungary one of the graceful institutions of Western Europe, that of chivalry.” Charles built up a goodwill with the nobility by granting nobles coats of arms, which helped support his military efforts. Charles benefitted further from the new Hungarian gold trade, as it was not only profitable economically, but almost certainly promoted the further diffusion of western institutions into Hungary. Like Stephen, the Angevins used a reliance on Christianity, castle-building, and an openness to western institutions to usher in a golden age for Hungary, where the population reached roughly three million people. By the end of Louis’ reign, he had expanded Hungary’s borders to include Poland through a dynastic union and had reached a point where he regarded himself as an equal of the French king or Holy Roman

Empire.
The transformation that occurred in the Carpathian basin during the years 900-1400 AD was profound. Under the leadership of King Stephen, the Magyar’s would undergo a stunningly rapid transformation from pagan steppe people to Christian kingdom. Then, 200 years later, under the sage leadership of King Robert and his son Louis, the same kingdom that Stephen established would swell into one of the most powerful in Europe. While both Stephen and the Angevin’s were incredibly capable leaders blessed with long lifespans, many other shared factors can explain the success each enjoyed as they transformed the kingdom of Hungary. Both Stephen and the Angevins relied on Christianity and castle administrators to gain authority and legitimacy throughout their vasts realms. Likewise, these wildly successful kings were always open to adopting western institutions that had proved successful for previous monarchs. By using these tools, the kings were able to transform Hungary from being perceived as steppe people who existed outside the western sphere of influence into a full-blown western Christian power that rivaled any of their contemporaries.