Nicholas, Archbishop of Esztergom
Nicholas | |
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Roman Catholic |
Nicholas (
Head of the royal chapel
The earliest record of Nicholas — a charter of grant of Géza II of Hungary to the Óbuda Chapter — refers to him as the head of the royal chapel in 1148.[3] He is the first leader of the royal chapel whose name was recorded.[3] The royal chapel was an important office of the royal administration.[3] Being the head of the royal chaplains, Nicholas signed at least four royal charters between 1148 and about 1157.[3] For instance, he appears as the attestor (sigillator) of the last will and testament of lady Margaret in Pannonhalma (an important source of 12th-century Hungarian economic history) in 1152.
He was styled as count (
Prelate
Nicholas is mentioned as
Nicholas was elected Archbishop of Esztergom following the death of Lucas, the most influential prelate in the 12th-century Hungary.[6] Nicholas first appears as archbishop in a royal document of 1181, when Béla returned fleeing serfs to the Cégény Abbey in accordance with the verdict of Farkas Gatal, Palatine of Hungary. Nicholas crowned the eight-year-old prince Emeric king on 16 May 1182, which confirmed Emeric's right to succeed his father, according to the narration of French chronicler Geoffroy du Breuil.[4] Nicholas is the first archbishop, whose own charter was preserved. Accordingly, the Esztergom Chapter sold a portion of land in Kéménd (present-day Kamenín, Slovakia) to Farkas Gatal for two marks in 1183.[7] The document contains the phrase "sigillum authenticum" (official authentic seal), which guaranteed systematically the contractants' transactions recorded in writing. Pope Alexander III distinguished that type of document from private seals in 1166, beginning with his papal decretals.[7] The permanent royal chancellery also emerged during the brief bishopric of Nicholas. Whether he was a promoter of court reforms, it is not known. Nevertheless, Béla separated the issuance of royal charters from the court clergy with that step after the experience of his long lasting jurisdictional conflicts with the strong-willed Lucas.[8] Nicholas died either in 1183 or 1184, as his successor Job appears as archbishop since 1185.[6]
References
- ^ Érszegi & Solymosi 1981, pp. 119.
- ^ Zsoldos 2011, p. 332.
- ^ a b c d e Thoroczkay 2016, p. 115.
- ^ a b c d e f Thoroczkay 2016, p. 116.
- ^ Zsoldos 2011, p. 98.
- ^ a b Zsoldos 2011, p. 80.
- ^ a b Thoroczkay 2016, p. 117.
- ^ Thoroczkay 2016, p. 118.
Sources
- Érszegi, Géza; Solymosi, László (1981). "Az Árpádok királysága, 1000–1301 [The Monarchy of the Árpáds, 1000–1301]". In Solymosi, László (ed.). Magyarország történeti kronológiája, I: a kezdetektől 1526-ig [Historical Chronology of Hungary, Volume I: From the Beginning to 1526] (in Hungarian). Akadémiai Kiadó. pp. 79–187. ISBN 963-05-2661-1.
- Thoroczkay, Gábor (2016). Ismeretlen Árpád-kor: Püspökök, legendák, króniák [The Unknown Age of the Árpáds: Bishops, Legends and Chronicles] (in Hungarian). L'Harmattan. ISBN 978-963-414-212-6.
- 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.