One of the more complex compositions in the historical arcade depicts Fráter György, Queen Izabella and the child János Zsigmond. The sculptural group recalls the period in Hungarian history which, after the defeat at Mohács, led to the country’s division into three parts.
The central figure is János Zsigmond, the son of King János Szapolyai and Queen Izabella. His birth in 1540 gained particular significance, since his father died only a few days later, bringing the infant onto the stage of history as heir to the throne. In the child’s name, his mother and guardians exercised power, while political struggles between the Habsburgs and the Ottoman Empire also determined the country’s future.
On one side of the sculptural group stands Queen Izabella, the royal consort who came from the Polish royal family. After her husband’s death, she fought to preserve her son’s inheritance and played an important role in the political life of the eastern part of the country. Her figure symbolises dynastic continuity and maternal protection.
On the other side appears Fráter György, whose secular name was Martinuzzi György, a defining personality of the age as friar, statesman and diplomat alike. For many years he sought to balance Habsburg and Ottoman interests, while attempting to ensure the survival of Hungarian statehood. His policy was often based on enforced compromises, but its aim was to restore the country’s unity.
Bory Jenő composed the three figures as a close unity. The child János Zsigmond is placed between the two adults, clearly conveying that the political events of the age were organised around his fate and his rights as ruler. The sculptural group does not preserve a single historical moment, but presents an entire era in which the country’s future was concentrated in the hands of a child heir, a queen and an exceptionally capable statesman. The composition also forms a transition from the history of the medieval Hungarian kingdom to the era of the emergence of the Principality of Transylvania, in which János Zsigmond would later play a decisive role.