“He Doesn’t Want to Spend His Money Here; He Keeps Sending It to Italy!” The Situation of the Diocese of Eger between 1498 and 1520

Abstract

On the basis of letters and account-book data produced in Hungary between 1498 and 1520 and dispatched to Ferrara, this study seeks to survey and interpret the operation of the episcopal court of Eger and its role within the network of benefices held by Ippolito d’Este, bishop of Eger and cardinal. It can be established that the main characteristics of princely diplomacy in this period also applied to the patterns of communication maintained by the episcopal court of Eger. From the 1510s onwards, mounting economic pressure from both the Hungarian and the Ferrarese side confronted the diocese of Eger with increasingly severe challenges. As a consequence, the Eger court came under ever tighter control and in practice came to serve almost exclusively the bishop’s Italian interests.