János Wass (), or "Prince" John (16th century), was an illegitimate son of the ill-fated King
Louis II of Hungary and Bohemia
Louis II (; ; ; ; 1 July 1506 – 29 August 1526) was King of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia from 1516 to 1526. He died during the Battle of Mohács fighting the Ottomans, whose victory led to the Ottoman annexation of large parts of Hungary.
Earl ...
, who would die aged 20 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 ...
. His mother was
Angelitha Wass, formerly a
lady's maid
A lady's maid is a female personal attendant who waits on her female employer. The role of a lady's maid is similar to that of a gentleman's valet.
Description
Traditionally, the lady's maid was not as high-ranking as a lady's companion, who wa ...
of the king's mother
Anne of Foix-Candale.
Life
His and his mother's names appear in the sources of the Chamber in
Pozsony (now
Bratislava
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. ...
) as either János Wass, taking his mother's surname, or János Lanthos, meaning John the Bard. He was never officially recognized as the son of King Louis, but he styled himself a prince nevertheless. He received regular subsidy from the court of King
Ferdinand I of Germany, who was his uncle by his wife, Queen
Anna Jagiellon
Anna Jagiellon (, ; 18 October 1523 – 9 September 1596) was King of Poland, Queen of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, Grand Duchess of Lithuania from 1575 to 1587.
Daughter of Polish King and Lithuanian Grand Duke Sigismund I the Ol ...
, the sister of King
Louis II and then of King
Maximilian II, who was his cousin. With this financial backing he bought a house in
Pozsony, where he lived with family and eventually died.
Family
He had a large family; there was a rumour that his daughter gave birth to 20 children, and he demanded extra financial backing for his daughter's wedding.
References
*Kubinyi, András: Törvénytelen gyermekek a magyar középkorban. Utódok, örökösök, fattyúk (Illegitimate Children in Medieval Hungary. Offsprings, Successors, Bastards), ''História'' ''21'', 20–22, 1999. URL: See External Links
*Takáts, Sándor: II. Lajos király fia (A Son of King Louis II Jagiellon), ''Századok (Periodical Centuries)'', 183–185, 1903.
*Tardy, Lajos: Rémmesék II. Lajos és „természetes” fia körül. (Blood-freezers about King Louis Jagiellon and his 'Natural' Son In Lajos Tardy: ''Kis magyar történetek (Short Hungarian Stories)'', Budapest, 40–53, 1986.
External links
Kubinyi, András: Törvénytelen gyermekek a magyar középkorban (Illegitimate Children in Medieval Hungary) – 20. February 2011.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wass, Janos
Jagiellonian dynasty
16th-century Hungarian people
Illegitimate children of Hungarian monarchs
Sons of kings