Pál Kinizsi

Who was Pál Kinizsi?

Pál Kinizsi or Paul Kinizsi was a Hungarian general, legendary commoner commander in the army of king Matthias Corvinus. He was comes of Temes since 1484 and Captain General of the Lower Parts of the Kingdom of Hungary. He is famous for his participation with Stephen V Báthory, the Voivode of Transylvania in the victory over the Ottoman Turks in the Battle of Breadfield October 1479.

Kinizsi, previously a journeyman miller, a miller's son, is a hero of some Hungarian and Romanian folk tales along with king Matthias Corvinus as an extremely strong former miller's apprenctice. According to these tales, the king was hunting in the Bakony forest near the mill where he worked and asked for a drink; Kinizsi, to show his strength, served the cup on a millstone. The king, impressed, took him into his service, where Kinizsi's strength, prowess and loyalty earned him rapid promotion. He is said to have wielded two greatswords in battle and to have danced a victory dance after the Battle of Breadfield with a captured or dead Turk under each arm and a third held with his hair or belt in his teeth.