L’empereur d’orient et l’empereur d’occident à Buda (1424) •

Abstract

The Byzantine emperors had never left their country until the second half of the 14th century, when John V Palaiologos undertook, with two of his sons, a journey to the court of Louis I to seek military aid against the Turks. Despite the failure of this first mission, from then on, contacts with the kings of Hungary determined Byzantine policy. They came to a head when John V’s grandson, John VIII, who replaced his father Manuel II, unable to govern because of an apoplexy, met Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund at Ofen (Buda) in 1424. This had been the first meeting between the rulers of the two empires since the coronation of Charlemagne in 800, and it was recorded by an eyewitness, Eberhard Windecke, who accompanied the Hungarian king during his travels.