The 1527 election in Cetin (, meaning Parliament on Cetin(grad) or Parliament of Cetin(grad), or ) was an assembly of the

Croatian Parliament The Croatian Parliament () or the Sabor is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Croatia. Under the terms of the Constitution of Croatia, Croatian Constitution, the Sabor represents the nation, people and is vested with legislative power. ...

(Sabor) in the

Cetin Castle The fortress of Cetin is situated south of Cetingrad above the village of Podcetin, in Croatia. The castle and its immediate surrounding represent a monument of great value for Croatian national history because on this place in 1527 election in C ...

in 1527. It followed a

succession crisis A succession crisis is a crisis that arises when an order of succession fails, for example when a monarch dies without an indisputable heir. It may result in a war of succession. Examples include (see List of wars of succession): * The Wars of Th ...

in the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

caused by the death of Louis II, and which resulted in the Kingdom of Croatia joining the

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...

. The charter electing the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

Archduke of Austria Archduke (feminine: Archduchess; German: ''Erzherzog'', feminine form: ''Erzherzogin'') was the title borne from 1358 by the Habsburg rulers of the Archduchy of Austria, and later by all senior members of that dynasty. It denotes a rank within ...

Ferdinand I as King of Croatia was confirmed with the seals of six Croatian nobles.

Battle of Mohács and the succession crisis

Faced with the overwhelming force of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

, the nobility of the Kingdom of Croatia was alarmed as the Siege of Belgrade of 1521 caused the

to lose its last fortress on the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

Suleiman the Magnificent Suleiman I (; , ; 6 November 14946 September 1566), commonly known as Suleiman the Magnificent in the Western world and as Suleiman the Lawgiver () in his own realm, was the List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman sultan between 1520 a ...

. King Louis II showed no interest in defense, and was in a dire financial situation at the time. The Croatians appealed to the

Pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

, Emperor

Charles V Charles V may refer to: Kings and Emperors * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise Others * Charles V, Duke ...

and Archduke Ferdinand for help, but had little success. On 29 August 1526 at the

Battle of Mohács The Battle of Mohács (; , ) took place on 29 August 1526 near Mohács, in the Kingdom of Hungary. It was fought between the forces of Hungary, led by King Louis II of Hungary, Louis II, and the invading Ottoman Empire, commanded by Suleima ...

happened catastrophic defeat of the Kingdom of Hungary, in which died King Louis II. Only few Croats participated in the battle (by arrangement with Ferdinand remained to defend the kingdom), and Christoph Frankopan with 5,000 men didn't manage to arrive at the battlefield (as Hungarians prematurely began the battle). As the king didn't have an heir, this caused monarchical crisis for the ruler of kingdoms of Hungary-Croatia and

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

, and the majority of Croatian magnates and members of lower nobility were keen to elect a new king. In October 1526 the Bohemian Diet elected Ferdinand. At the session of the

Diet of Hungary The Diet of Hungary or originally: Parlamentum Publicum / Parlamentum Generale () was the most important political assembly in Hungary since the 12th century, which emerged to the position of the supreme legislative institution in the Kingdom ...

Székesfehérvár Székesfehérvár (; ; ; ; Serbian language, Serbian: ''Стони Београд''; ), known colloquially as Fehérvár (), is a city in central Hungary, and the country's ninth-largest city. It is the Regions of Hungary, regional capital of C ...

on 10 November 1526, the majority of the Hungarian untitled lesser nobility (the gentry) chose

John Zápolya John Zápolya or Szapolyai (; ; ; ; 1487 – 22 July 1540), was King of Hungary (as John I) from 1526 to 1540. His rule was disputed by Archduke Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor, Ferdinand I, who also claimed the title King of Hungary. He wa ...

to be the

King of Hungary The King of Hungary () was the Monarchy, ruling head of state of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1000 (or 1001) to 1918. The style of title "Apostolic King of Hungary" (''Magyarország apostoli királya'') was endorsed by Pope Clement XIII in 1758 ...

, and he was duly crowned with the

Holy Crown of Hungary The Holy Crown of Hungary ( , ), also known as the Crown of Saint Stephen, named in honour of Saint Stephen I of Hungary, was the coronation crown used by the Kingdom of Hungary for most of its existence; kings were crowned with it since the tw ...

the next day. In Croatia he was supported by statesman Juraj Utišenić, diplomat Antun Vrančić, bishop Stjepan Brodarić, bishop Franjo Jožefić, and bishop János Statileo, and most importantly by former-Habsburg serviceman, Christoph Frankopan. However, Ferdinand of Habsburg was also elected King of Hungary by the Hungarian higher aristocracy (the magnates or barons) and the Hungarian Catholic clergy in a rump Diet in

Pozsony Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...

on 17 December 1526. The next day, the Slavonian Sabor convened by Christoph Frankopan elected Zápolya. Christoph Frankopan's diplomatic activity didn't have any success among Croatian nobility.

Cetin

On the Habsburg's behalf, Nikola Jurišić and three other diplomats, successfully convened Croatian Sabor. The Croatian nobles met at Cetin on 31 December 1526, to discuss their strategy and choose a new leader. The Austrian Archduke Ferdinand also sent his envoys to be present at the time of the parliament session. The assembly occurred in the

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

monastery of St. Mary below the

in the settlement of

Cetingrad Cetingrad is a municipality in Karlovac County, Croatia near Croatia's border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia. The population of the village itself is 319, while the total municipality population is 2,027 (2011). The municipality is part of Ko ...

. At that time, the owner of the castle and the surrounding estate, where the assembly was held, was the Croatian nobleman Juraj III Frankopan. Advocates of both options, after a long debate, finally agreed on Ferdinand on 1 January 1527. The election of Ferdinand was a natural one because he was not only the powerful

, he also ruled the lands of Croatia's Slavic neighbours, the

Slovenes The Slovenes, also known as Slovenians ( ), are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Slovenia and adjacent regions in Italy, Austria and Hungary. Slovenes share a common ancestry, Slovenian culture, culture, and History of Slove ...

, as both

Duke of Carinthia The Duchy of Carinthia (; ; ) was a duchy located in southern Austria and parts of northern Slovenia. It was separated from the Duchy of Bavaria in 976, and was the first newly created Imperial State after the original German stem duchy, stem duc ...

and

Carniola Carniola ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region that comprised parts of present-day Slovenia. Although as a whole it does not exist anymore, Slovenes living within the former borders of the region still tend to identify with its traditional parts Upp ...

. Ferdinand I was elected the new King of Croatia, and the assembly "confirmed the succession to him and his heirs". In return for the throne Ferdinand promised to respect the historic rights, freedoms, laws, and customs the Croats had when united with the Hungarian kingdom, and to defend Croatia from Ottoman invasion and subjugation at all times with 1000 horsemen, 200 soldiers, and finance for another 800 horsemen. He also had an obligation to inspect and supply the fortified cities. The horsemen would be divided between the noblemen, and even among those who didn't participate at the election, but probably supported the outcome (like Budački, Drašković, Patačić, Ajtić, Tomašić, Farkašić and so on).

Charter

The charter signed by the Croatian nobles, which bears a fine example of the chequered seal of Croatia, is claimed as "among the most important documents of Croatian statehood", showing a special political status of Croatia at that time coming out of it. The charter confirmed at the same time the ancient rights of Croatian nobility to self-regulate the major issues – among which was the election of a king – freely and independently, regardless of opinion or decision of

Hungarian Diet The Diet of Hungary or originally: Parlamentum Publicum / Parlamentum Generale () was the most important political assembly in Hungary since the 12th century, which emerged to the position of the supreme legislative institution in the Kingdom ...

, since the two countries were in the personal union from 1102. The text of the Charter contains first the listing of names of the present Croatian high nobility members, church dignitaries and low nobility members, as well as names and titles of Ferdinand's plenipotentiaries, then the quotation of arguments for the legally valid election of a Habsburger to be the hereditary ruler of Croatia, further the declaratory statement of recognition and announcement of the Austrian archduke as king and his wife Anna (sister of Louis II) as queen, and finally "the swearing-in of loyalty, obedience and allegiance". Place and date of issue are specified at the end of the text as well. The mentioned Croatian nobles are Andrija the Bishop of Knin and

Abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...

Topusko Topusko is a Municipalities of Croatia, municipality and settlement in Sisak-Moslavina County, Croatia. Topusko is an underdeveloped municipality which is statistically classified as the Areas of Special State Concern (Croatia), First Category Are ...

Ivan Karlović Ivan Karlović (c. 1485 – 9 August 1531), also known as by his Latin name ''Johannes Torquatus'', was the Count of Krbava. His life during critical periods of Hundred Years' Croatian–Ottoman War was marked by constant efforts to stop Ottoman ...

Krbava Krbava (; ) is a historical region located in Mountainous Croatia and a former Catholic bishopric (1185–1460), precursor of the diocese of Modruš and present Latin titular see. It can be considered either located east of Lika, or indeed as ...

, Nikola III Zrinski, brothers Krsto II and Vuk I Frankopan of Tržac, Juraj III Frankopan of

Slunj Slunj is a town in the mountainous part of Central Croatia, located along the important North-South route to the Adriatic Sea between Karlovac and Plitvice Lakes National Park, on the meeting of the rivers Korana and Slunjčica. Slunj has a popu ...

, Stjepan Blagajski, Krsto Peranski, Bernard Tumpić ''Zečevski'' (of Zečevo), Ivan Kobasić ''Brikovički'' (of Brekovica), Pavao Janković, Gašpar Križanić, Toma Čipčić, Mihajlo Skoblić, Nikola Babonožić, Grgur Otmić, noble judge of the

Zagreb County Zagreb County () is a county in Northern Croatia. It surrounds, but does not contain, the nation's capital Zagreb, which is a separate territorial unit. For that reason, the county is often nicknamed "Zagreb ring" (). According to the 2021 censu ...

, Antun Otmić, Ivan Novaković, Pavao Izačić, Gašpar Gusić, and Stjepan Zimić, while the Austrian plenipotentiaries present were Paul von Oberstein ( Provost of

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

and Ferdinand's

Geheimrat was the title of the highest advising officials at the imperial, royal, or princely courts of the Holy Roman Empire, who jointly formed the ''Geheimer Rat'' reporting to the ruler. The term remained in use during subsequent monarchic reigns in Ge ...

), Nikola Jurišić and Ivan Katzianer (Ferdinand's chief military commanders), and Johann Püchler (

Prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect' ...

of the town of Mehov).

Seals

Beneath the text there are six seals of most notable Croatian magnates and dignitaries to verify the Charter, as well in the middle a seal of the Kingdom of Croatia, in the following sequence: ''Left side'' * Andrija Tuškanić (or Andrija Mišljenović Uzdoljski), Bishop of Knin *

, from the Kurjaković branch of the Gusić's,

Ban of Croatia Ban of Croatia () was the title of local rulers or office holders and after 1102, viceroys of Croatia. From the earliest periods of the Croatian state, some provinces were ruled by Ban (title), bans as a ruler's representative (viceroy) and sup ...

1521–1524 and 1527–1531. * Nikola III Zrinski, from the

Zrinski The House of Zrinski or Zrínyi was a Croatian- Hungarian noble family, a cadet branch of the Croatian noble tribe of Šubić, influential during the period in history marked by the Ottoman wars in Europe in the Kingdom of Croatia's union wit ...

branch of the Šubić's. ''Center'' * A chequered seal of the Kingdom of Croatia. ''Right side'' * Juraj III Frankopan, from the

branch of the Frankopan's. * Vuk I Frankopan, from the Tržac branch of the Frankopan's. * Stjepan IX Blagajski, from the Blagaj branch of the Babonić's.

Aftermath

Ferdinand's plenipotentiaries took over the Charter from the Croats and took it with them on their way back to Vienna. In return, earlier that day, in a document called '' Coronation Oath'', they confirmed the promises and assurances of Ferdinand (given before upon the previous demands of the Croats), and accepted all the related obligations and responsibilities of the new-elected king. Before their return to Vienna, the plenipotentiaries wrote a letter to their principal on 3 January 1527 in which they informed him about the sequence of events during the parliament session and explained their delay and longer stay in Croatia than expected before (among other things, some of Croatian magnates did not have their seals with them, but needed to go home and to verify the Charter afterwards). On 6 January 1527, the

Slavonia Slavonia (; ) is, with Dalmatia, Croatia proper, and Istria County, Istria, one of the four Regions of Croatia, historical regions of Croatia. Located in the Pannonian Plain and taking up the east of the country, it roughly corresponds with f ...

n nobility led by Christoph Frankopan distanced themselves from this election and insisted on

as the rightful claimant to the Hungarian throne instead, referring to Hungarian Diet conclusion from 1505 that the new monarch cannot be a foreigner. Roughly months later, as Ferdinand didn't keep election promises well, the Croatian nobility again gathered in Cetin and complained that "let Your Majesty know that no gentleman can be found who would rule Croatia by force. For after the death of our last king, Zvonimir of happy memory, we freely joined the holy crown of the Kingdom of Hungary, and after that now to Your Majesty". A civil war erupted, with Ferenc Batthyány leading the pro-Habsburg faction and Christoph Frankopan leading the pro-Zápolya faction. On 3 November 1527, Ferdinand was eventually crowned with rightful crown in

. The Austrian option prevailed, first in Croatian-Slavonian parts after Christoph Frankopan's death in 1527 (replaced by Simon Erdődy), and ultimatively after Zápolya's death in 1540 (who also asked for help the Ottomans, resulting in Habsburg–Ottoman wars in Hungary and formation of

Ottoman Hungary Ottoman Hungary () encompassed the parts of the Kingdom of Hungary which were under the rule of the Ottoman Empire from the occupation of Buda in 1541 until the Treaty of Karlowitz in 1699. The territory was incorporated into the empire, under ...

Legacy

The charter is preserved at the National Archives of Austria in

. The

Constitution of Croatia The Constitution of the Republic of Croatia () is promulgated by the Croatian Parliament. History While it was part of the socialist Yugoslavia, the Socialist Republic of Croatia had its own Constitution under the Constitution of Yugoslavia. ...

describes these events as one of the historical foundations of Croatian sovereignty, as an "independent and sovereign decision of the Croatian Parliament".

Sources

* * Milan Kruhek:

Notes

{{reflist, 2

External links

Cetingrad Charter in the Austrian lexicon

Letter addressed to Ferdinand Habsburg
(Archive.org) 1527 in the Habsburg monarchy 16th century in the Habsburg monarchy 16th-century elections 1527 in Europe History of Dalmatia Historical legislatures 16th century in international relations

1527 in Croatia Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor