Black Army of Hungary - The Term Black Army and Its Captains

The Term Black Army and Its Captains

Several speculations arose about the army's cognomen. The first recorded accounts using the "black" attribute appear in written memoranda immediately after his death, when the rest of the army was pillaging the Hungarian and later Austrian villages when they received no pay. One theory suggests that they wore a black stripe on their shoulder as a sign of mourning. The Italian Medieval historian, Bonfini, used the word only to describe the "toughness" of veterans serving in their lines. Others suppose that Captain Frantisek Hag's black breastplate inspired the name. A third idea is that they adopted the adjective from another captain, "Black" John Haugwitz, whose nickname already earned him enough recognition to be identified with the army as a whole. Since no such name as the "Black Army" existed when Matthias' army was in service, all of his leaders, who were in charge of different army branches, count as Black Army generals. Another noteworthy general was Pál Kinizsi, who helped Corvinus' successor, Vladislas II of Hungary, to dissolve what remained of the discontent Black Army.