Hungary has experienced a cult of knightly virtues under the rule of the Angevin dynasty’s second king, the well-regarded Louis I, called Louis the Great, who can be said to typify the so-called knightly ruler.

With his successful wresting of Dalmatian territory from Venice, Louis, ruling from his brilliant and highly civilized court at Buda, has become eastern Europe’s most powerful ruler, wearing the crowns of Hungary and—since 1370—Poland, and reigning as sovereign over surrounding dependencies in the Balkans, Galicia and elsewhere.

Louis’s expansive foreign policy has gained him considerable success in the Balkans; he has acquired for Hungary Dalmatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, and Wallachia, but papal opposition has doomed his efforts to gain control over the Kingdom of Naples, whence his family originated.

The male Angevin line in eastern Europe ends on September 10, 1382 on Louis’ death.

His older surviving daughter, Maria, inherits his throne, but Charles III of Naples promotes his own candidacy for the Hungarian crown.