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Janus Pannonius


Janus Pannonius (Latin: Ioannes Pannonius, Croatian: Ivan Česmički, Hungarian: Csezmiczei János, or Kesencei; 29 August 1434 – 27 March 1472) was a Croat-Hungarian Latinist, poet, diplomat and Bishop of Pécs. He was the most significant poet of the Renaissance in the Kingdom of Hungary and one of the better-known figures of Humanist poetry in Europe.

Born in Čazma, Slavonia, Janus's nationality has been debated among Croatian and Hungarian scholars and both ethnicities have claimed him.

Janus’s father was a Croatian whose social status and relation to the nobility is unclear. His mother, Borbála Vitéz, was Hungarian. Borbála came from a lower-ranked noble family on her mother's side (the Garázda family, originally Bosnian ancestry) and, on her father's side, she was originated from Pilis county (the "Vitéz" surname of her family is a latter name; they were originally called "Csévi"). The Garázda family was related to the Szilágyi and Hunyadi families. She was the sister of Archbishop Vitéz.

Pope Pius II wrote that Pannonius was of Slavonian origin (de origine Slavonica). His biographer and friend Vespasiano da Bisticci said that he was of Slavic nationality (di nazione Schiavo). According to Ronsano of Palermo, he was from Dalmatia (di natione Dalmata). M. Franičević, in citing Ronsano, notes that many Italians saw all “Croats” as Dalmatians. Ludovik Tuberon Crijević, writing of Pannonius, says that he was born a Slav (genere itidem Sclavenum) in that part of interior Dalmatia that lies between the Sava and Drava rivers.


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