Athleta Christi

Abstract

Count Tamás Erdődy (1558–1624), Ban of Slavonia and Croatia, one of the leading knights bannerets in the Kingdom of Hungary, pursued an illustrious political career: at different stages of his life he held several high offices of state, he was a successful participant in the fight against the Ottomans, he enjoyed the unconditional confidence of the Habsburg rulers, and he was nominated four times to the post of palatine, the highest position in the land, second only to the king. As a patron of the arts he was quick to recognise the potential power of visual devices. His support for the arts was closely connected to his political activities, and the works he commissioned, including the building work carried out on his estates, all played a part in his political ambitions and were linked to particular stages of his career. In his campaign to be elected palatine, he defined himself as Christ’s victorious warrior, a hero defending both his nation and the Christian faith. This was reflected in his chosen motto, “In Deo vici,” with its allusions to Constantine the Great; it was proven by the military title bestowed upon him, as a knight of the Order of the Precious Blood of our Saviour Jesus Christ of Mantua; and this image was reinforced by the heroic pictures of him, and by the posthumous portraits painted after them. Though it failed to achieve its political objective – for Erdődy never became palatine – the complex programme of patronage he followed, rare in the extreme in the Kingdom of Hungary in the early modern period, still dominates the way we regard this eminent nobleman.