CHARLES I. (1288-1342), king of Hungary, the son of Charles Martell of Naples, and Clemencia, daughter of the emperor Rudolph, was known as Charles Robert before his en thronement as king of Hungary in 1309. He claimed the Hun garian Crown, as the grandson of Stephen V., under the banner of the pope, and was crowned at Esztergom after the death of the last Arpad, Andrew III. (1301), but was forced the same year to surrender the Crown to Wenceslaus II. of Bohemia (1289— 1306), who in 1305 transferred his rights to Duke Otto of Bavaria. Duke Otto was taken prisoner by the Hungarians and Charles was enthroned at Budapest on June 15, 1309, though his installation was not regarded as valid till he was crowned with the sacred crown (which was recovered from the robber barons) at Szekes f ehervar on Aug. 27, 1310. After three years of warfare Charles at length put down all the elements of rapine and disorder at Rozgony (June 15, 1312) . His foreign policy aimed at the aggran dizement of his family, but Hungary also benefited greatly from it. His most successful achievement was the union with Poland for mutual defence against the Habsburgs and the Czechs, which was accomplished by the Convention of Trencsen (1335), confirmed the same year at the brilliant Congress of Visegrad, where all the princes of Central Europe met to compose their differences. The result of the congress was a combined attack by the Magyars and the Poles upon the emperor Louis and his ally Albert of Aus tria, which was decided in Charles's favour in 1337. Charles wished to unite the kingdoms of Hungary and Naples under his eldest son Louis, but was frustrated by Venice and the pope, who feared that Hungary might become the dominant Adriatic Power. He was, however, compensated for this disappointment by his compact (1339) with his ally and brother-in-law, Casimir of Poland, whereby it was agreed that Louis should succeed to the throne of Poland on the death of the childless Casimir. Charles was a statesman of the first rank, who not only raised Hungary once more to the rank of a great Power, but enriched and civilized her. In character he was pious, courtly and valiant, popular alike with the nobility and the middle classes, whose increasing wel fare he did so much to promote, and much beloved by the clergy. His court was famous throughout Europe as a school of chivalry.
Three sons, Louis, Andrew and Stephen survived him. He died on July 16, 1342, and was laid beside the high altar at Szekesfeh ervar, the ancient burial place of the Arpads.
See Bela Kerekgyarto, The Hungarian Royal Court under the House of Anjou (Hung.) (Budapest, 1881) ; Rationes Collectorum Pontif. in Hungaria (Budapest, 1887) ; Diplomas of the Angevin Period, edit. Imre Nagy (Hung. and Lat.) vols. i.—iii. (Budapest, 1878, etc.) .