John Hunyadi has sometimes been confused with an elder brother John (Romanian: Ioan Corvin de Hunedoara), also Ban of Szörény (Severin). The elder John died fighting for Hungary about 1440, defending Hungarian suzerainty.
While still a youth, the younger John Hunyadi entered the service of King Sigismund, who appreciated his qualities and borrowed money from him; he accompanied that monarch to Frankfurt in his quest for the imperial crown in 1410; took part in the Hussite Wars in 1420, and in 1437 drove the Turks from Semendria. For ...
John was born into a Vlach (Romanian) noble family in 1387 (or 1400 according to some sources) as the son of Vojk (alternatively spelled as Voyk or Vajk in English, Voicu in Romanian, Vajk in Hungarian), who in turn was the son of a Vlach Knyaz from Banate of Severin (Szörény in Hungarian). Most reliable sources state that his paternal lineage was Vlach and his mother was Hungarian. Some unfounded speculation suggests he had Cuman anscestry, but this was likely an attempt at propaganda by his enemies. Though widely res ...
