Incredible details emerged from an Italian archive concerning the death of King Matthias

King Matthias had to navigate through extremely turbulent times back in his days. On top of that, he was also bedridden towards the eve of his life, as a new discovery reveals us. A document from an Italian archive shows that four years prior to his death, the great Hungarian king was struck down by a minor stroke, which often precedes fatal ones.

King Matthias, or Matthias Corvinus, ruled Hungary and Croatia from 1458 to 1490. He was a successful king, with many victorious military campaigns. In addition to that, he was well-liked by his people, and he also patronised art and science. During his reign, Hungary embraced the new Renaissance wave arriving from Italy. The country had a flourishing economy in the 15th century, which some consider the golden age in Hungarian history. Sadly, the great king passed away at a relatively early age. There were countless conspiracy theories circulating about his death at that time. According to one, for instance, his wife poisoned him with a fig. However, the prevalent view of contemporary historian scholars is that the king died of a stroke at age 47 in 1490. Now an Italian archive finding reveals the truth.

The greatest Hungarian king’s death

As 24.hu wrote, after an extremely exhausting day, King Matthias, who had been ill for years did ask for a bowl of figs to satisfy his hunger. However, one fruit was rotten, and the king refused to eat it, a great rage came over him. He then turned dizzy, his vision blurred, and soon afterwards he died. His court historian, Antonio Bonfini, who was present at the tragic event, described him as having suffered a stroke. In early 1486, four years prior to the king’s death, King Matthias was struck down by a stroke. Even though he spent a month recovering, things turned for the worse. As we know now, after the first stroke, the risk of a second one is quite high.