Andrew, Bishop of Eger
Andrew | |
|---|---|
Bishop of Eger | |
 Seal of Andrew, 1292 | |
| See | Eger |
| Appointed | 1275 |
| Term ended | 1305 |
| Predecessor | Lampert Hont-Pázmány |
| Successor | Martin |
| Other post(s) | Chancellor of the Queen |
| Personal details | |
| Died | 1305 or 1306 |
| Nationality | Hungarian |
Andrew (
Ecclesiastical affairs
Andrew's origin and early career is unknown. His name first appeared in contemporary records on 3 April 1275, when he was already referred to as Bishop-elect of Eger, succeeding Lampert Hont-Pázmány, who died in that year.[1] Shortly thereafter, his election was confirmed by Pope Gregory X sometime before 21 May 1275, when Andrew was already styled as simply "bishop". After his election, Andrew made a promise to recover the privileges and revenues of the cathedral chapter of Eger, which were confiscated by his predecessor Lampert. It included the recovery of grain and wine tithes throughout the diocese, the unlawfully usurped properties of the canons in the town of Eger, in addition to several villages in Northeast Hungary, which belonged to the cathedral chapter prior to that. He also restored the chapter's right to hold a weekly market on Tuesdays.[2]
Despite that reconciliation, Andrew, like his predecessors, also had some conflicts with the local chapter. After a meeting with the delegation of the burghers of Kassa (present-day Košice, Slovakia) in 1290, Andrew exempted the parish of Kassa from the jurisdiction of the archdeacon of Újvár and placed it directly under the authority of him,[3] because of their complaint against the archdeacon, who in disputed situations often reached for the punishment of interdict, and demanded 1-1 marks for his work of absolution after every violent death in the town. Andrew also supported the efforts of the parish church of Kassa against the cathedral chapter during a lawsuit in 1292.[4] The bishop mediated between Arnold, the parson of Kassa and the Eger Chapter during their agreement over the tithes in the town, which Andrew formulated and confirmed in his charter in 1297.[3] According to a later complaint, Andrew unilaterally increased the number of canons to 30, filling new seats with his own supporters, which, however, undermined the livelihood of the canons.[3]
András sought to increase and concentrate the estates of his bishopric surrounding to the town of Eger. He exchanged the villages of
Over the decades, Andrew had a harsh dispute with
Involvement in national politics
Andrew's episcopal activity of thee decades coincided with one of the most chaotic periods of the medieval Kingdom of Hungary, the so-called era of "feudal anarchy". The territory of the Diocese of Eger was the scene of various oligarchic endeavors as powerful families tried to build their domain independent of the king. After Ladislaus IV was declared to be of legal age in 1277, the monarch intended to eliminate the
After Bishop Philip of Fermo left Hungary in the summer of 1281, Ladislaus IV attempted to restore political consolidation and reconcile with the Hungarian bishops. On his way to his military expedition against the strongholds of the rebellious lord Finta Aba in the summer of 1281, the monarch visited the Diocese of Eger, when he negotiated with Andrew. Three years later, Ladislaus returned four settlements – Bökény, Csépes, Kacsád and Recsk – to the chapter and also confirmed the bishop's right of ownership over the previously pillaged episcopal villages in Eger valley in June and September 1284, respectively. In the same time, the king also transcribed and confirmed the charter of his late father Stephen V from 1271, which guaranteed the rights and privileges of the diocese.[8][10] The king also provided the right of hold weekly fairs on every Thursdays to the episcopal village of Szikszó.[10] The territory of the diocese was heavily affected by the second Mongol invasion of Hungary at the turn of 1285 and 1286. Fierce fighting occurred in Újvár and Sáros counties, but local nobles soon expelled the invaders from the area.[10]
By the late 1280s, the territory of the diocese fell within the sphere of interest of some local powerful lords, who established their oligarchic dominions around that time. Stephen Ákos and his clan, who acquired large-scale landholdings in Borsod County, arbitrarily usurped the village of Cserép from the diocese for decades. Andrew complaint to the royal court in 1296 that Stephen Ákos had unlawfully seized the bishopric's two estates – Cserép and Kisgyőr –, therefore the monarch Andrew III permitted him to launch a lawsuit in any court.[6] Around the same time, Amadeus Aba – who had important role in the victory over the Mongols – ruled de facto independently the northern and north-eastern counties of the kingdom, which also covered the overwhelming majority of the bishopric of Eger.[6] Andrew maintained a good and cooperative relationship with Amadeus Aba during the second half of his episcopal tenure; the lord also supported the church financially in his oligarchic domain.[3] Bishop Andrew supported the political orientation of King Andrew III, who ascended the Hungarian throne in 1290. Upon the request of Archbishop Lodomer and two local bishops, Andrew of Eger and Paschasius of Nyitra (Nitra), the newly crowned monarch confirmed Amadeus Aba in his all revenues in Ung County along with his positions in November 1290.[10] Bishop Andrew was styled as the chancellor of the royal consort, Queen Fenenna of Kuyavia in July 1291.[11] It is possible he held the dignity for a brief time only, substituting Benedict Rád temporarily for some reasons.[10] In the 1290s, Archbishop Lodomer and the entire Church episcopal hierarchy were considered the strongest pillars of King Andrew's reign until his death and the extinction of the Árpád dynasty in 1301.[3]
Following the death of Andrew III, a war of succession for the Hungarian throne broke out between Charles of Anjou and Wenceslaus of Přemyslid. Along with the overwhelming majority of the Hungarian prelates, Andrew supported the claim of the Bohemian prince. He was member of that diplomatic mission led by Archbishop John Hont-Pázmány, along with several bishops and barons, who met Wenceslaus II in Hodonín in August 1301, where the king accepted their offer in his eleven-year-old son's name. Andrew was present at the coronation of Wenceslaus in Székesfehérvár on 27 August 1301.[12] In the upcoming years (1302–1303), the prelates – plausibly including Andrew – switched their support from Wenceslaus to Charles of Anjou, whose candidacy was also supported by the Holy See. The local powerful lord, Amadeus Aba was considered one of the strongest domestic partisans of the Neapolitan pretender too, who also resided in his territory (i.e. also the diocese of Eger) in the period between 1304 and 1306.[13] By that time, the elderly Andrew retired from national affairs. He was last mentioned as a living person in 1305. He died in still that year or early 1306, when his successor Martin was elected Bishop of Eger.[14]
References
- ^ Zsoldos 2011, p. 88.
- ^ Sugár 1984, p. 82.
- ^ a b c d e f Farkas 2020, p. 204.
- ^ a b c Sugár 1984, p. 86.
- ^ Sugár 1984, p. 83.
- ^ a b c Farkas 2020, p. 202.
- ^ Sugár 1984, p. 87.
- ^ a b Farkas 2020, p. 203.
- ^ a b Sugár 1984, p. 84.
- ^ a b c d e Sugár 1984, p. 85.
- ^ Zsoldos 2011, p. 116.
- ^ Sugár 1984, p. 88.
- ^ Sugár 1984, p. 89.
- ^ Engel 1996, p. 68.
Sources
- ISBN 963-8312-44-0.
- Farkas, Csaba (2020). "Viszály Egerben: Márton püspök és az egri káptalan konfliktusa [Feud in Eger: The Conflict between Bishop Martin and the Eger Chapter]". In Thoroczkay, Gábor (ed.). Püspökök, káptalanok, tizedek: Tanulmányok (in Hungarian). Kronosz Kiadó. pp. 201–220. ISBN 978-615-6048-57-8.
- Sugár, István (1984). Az egri püspökök története [The History of the Bishops of Eger] (in Hungarian). Szent István Társulat. ISBN 963-360-392-7.
- Zsoldos, Attila (2011). Magyarország világi archontológiája, 1000–1301 [Secular Archontology of Hungary, 1000–1301] (in Hungarian). História, MTA Történettudományi Intézete. ISBN 978-963-9627-38-3.