4 hours ago
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Forget Yorick. Alas, poor Matthias!
A skull unearthed in a medieval Hungarian church two decades ago may belong to legendary King Matthias Corvinus, who ruled the country for more than 30 years and was known for his support of the sciences and arts, experts claim.
Emese Gábor, a facial reconstruction specialist and portrait sculptor based in Hungary, told Fox News Digital that the potentially royal skull was discovered in the ossuary portion of the Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Székesfehérvár.
The remains were first discovered in 2002, the Independent reported.
In an attempt to confirm her hypothesis, Gábor compared the newly discovered skull to that of Corvinus’ illegitimate son, Janos.
His remains had previously been discovered in Croatia, the Independent said.
What Gábor found led her to believe that the find is indeed that of King Matthias Corvinus, “a friend of the muses,” according to Britannica, who was one of the first European leaders to welcome the Renaissance.
Gábor told Fox News Digital that she discovered an “exceptionally high degree of morphological similarity” between the two skulls.
She created plastic facial reconstructions of the examined skulls in the hopes of helping to tease out the facial features of the long-lost remains.
“[The skull’s] external characteristics are also of exceptional importance: the greenish discoloration observed on the bone surface likely indicates the presence of a metal crown once worn, which left traces through oxidation,” Gábor explained.
The skull also conforms to what’s known about Corvinus, down to his age and height, she told the outlet.
“This phenomenon, along with other features — such as the estimated age at death (43–48 years; Mátyás died at age 47) and the body height of 172 cm — provide further support and reinforce the possibility of royal origin.”
Hungarian officials were quick to point out that the claims about King Matthias “are not yet confirmed,” with the Institute of Hungarian Research telling Archaeology Mag that “scientific verification of the hypothesis is ongoing. We will be able to make a final statement after the verification.”
Known as Matthias the Just, Corvinus ruled as king of Hungary and Croatia from 1458 to 1490 and earned his moniker by creating a standing army, altering tax codes to be fairer and ushering in judicial reforms.
Matthias the Just founded the Bibliotheca Corviniana, which was recognized in 2005 as a UNESCO site. Aside from the Vatican, it holds the greatest collection of books in Europe in the Renaissance period.
“One of the deepest concerns of King Mathias was the development of a library: he strove for a collection, where the whole body of knowledge of the ancient and modern world would be available,” Pal Engel, member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, told UNESCO.
English (US)