Ugrin Csák, Archbishop of Kalocsa
Ugrin Csák | |
---|---|
Archbishop of Kalocsa | |
Installed | 1219 |
Term ended | 11 April 1241 |
Predecessor | Berthold of Merania |
Successor | Benedict |
Other post(s) | Chancellor |
Orders | |
Consecration | June 1219 by Pope Honorius III |
Personal details | |
Born | c. 1190 |
Died | 11 April 1241 Battle of Mohi |
Nationality | Hungarian |
Denomination | Catholic |
Parents | Bás (I) |
Coat of arms |
Ugrin from the kindred Csák (
Family
Among the major ecclesiastics these fell [in the Battle of Mohi]: [...] Archbishop Ugolin of Kalocsa, scion of a most noble line, who, setting aside minor matters was in charge of great and pressing secular business; it was in him that the Hungarian nobles had confidence and it was to him that both the great and less great men humbly gave their devotion; [...]
Ugrin (I) (also known as Ugolin or Hugolin) was born into the Újlak branch of the
Due to his influence through his ecclesiastical career, Ugrin was a prominent patron of his branch within the Csák kindred. His namesake nephew (possibly son of Bás II) studied at the University of Paris, where he spent twelve years and his theologian studies was financially funded by his uncle Ugrin. Later, this Ugrin (II) served as Archbishop of Split from 1244 to 1248.[5] Another namesake nephew was the son of Pós, who died by 1240. In that year, his minor sons (Ugrin III and other unidentified one[s]) and their cousin Csák (another son of Bás II) were involved in a lawsuit against the St. Michael church in Vas County. During the case, the children were represented by Demetrius Csák from the clan's Ugod branch and their uncle, Archbishop Ugrin. By the end of the 13th century, Ugrin (III) became one of the most powerful oligarchs in the Kingdom of Hungary.[6]
Chancellor
Ugrin is first mentioned by contemporary records in 1217, when he was appointed chancellor of the royal court of Andrew II.[7] Under his tenure, the structure of royal diplomas has undergone a significant change. The charters had a full promulgatio and corroboratio thereafter, while the section arenga usually emphasized King Andrew's reform policy, the so-called "new institutions". This was the most significant chancellery reform since the reign of Béla III of Hungary. His role as royal chancellor in the first time is also unique, as he had no known ecclesiastical position (stallum) simultaneously.[8]
As royal chancellor, Ugrin participated in the Fifth Crusade, where accompanied Andrew II to the Holy Land in the second half of 1217.[9] During their journey to Zagreb, the local bishop Stephen and the cathedral chapter requested Andrew to confirm their privileges. Upon the order of the king, Ugrin read out and transcribe the former letters of royal donation and the monarch confirmed those thereafter.[5] The majority of the Hungarian contingent, including Ugrin, returned to home in early 1218.[9] Ugrin held the office of chancellor until 1219, when he was elected Archbishop of Kalocsa. He was succeeded by Cletus Bél, who continued his chancellery reform.[7]
More than a decade later, Ugrin was made chancellor for the second time in 1230. He held the office until the death of Andrew II in 1235.[7] His activity resulted the return of forms of corroboratio in royal charters.[10]
Archbishop of Kalocsa
Ecclesiastical affairs
Ugrin Csák was elected Archbishop of Kalocsa in early 1219, succeeding
He was the last Archbishop of Kalocsa, who impugned the supremacy of the Archdiocese of Esztergom. It is plausible, he raised objection against John, Archbishop of Esztergom in the Roman Curia simultaneously with his confirmation and consecration.[14] Consequently, Pope Honorius rebuked John, because he unduly exercised jurisdiction over royal churches in the Archdiocese of Kalocsa, in violation of the privilege of the newly elected Ugrin Csák. Honorius emphasized in his rescript that "the equal [archbishop] can not have power over the equal [archbishop]".[13] He permitted Ugrin to supervise royal churches located in his archdiocese and collect tithes from their revenues. Despite the pope's favorable decision, Ugrin and his successors could not enforce it; the Hungarian kings even prevented the popes from exerting influence over the operation and income of the royal churches. The strengthening of secular barons soon smoothed out the internal hierarchical conflicts of the Church in the following decades, and Ugrin no longer tried to increase the influence of his archdiocese to the detriment of Esztergom.[14]
It is possible that Ugrin was present in
Ugrin was also involved in some ecclesiastical affairs in the early years of his archiepiscopal tenure. In 1222, he contested the election of Raynald of Belleville as Bishop of Transylvania due to Raynald's half-blindness, but Honorius refused his complaint.[18] Ugrin judged over various ecclesiastical lawsuits, including the trial between Pannonhalma Abbey and Robert of Veszprém.[19] He also acted an arbiter in the lawsuit between Stephen II, Bishop of Zagreb and the Knights Templar over the land Rassecha in 1230.[20] With the leadership of Ugrin, the Hungarian prelates summoned in the first half of 1223 and persuade Andrew II to forgive his son Duke Béla, and withdraw the order which compelled his son to separate from his wife Maria Laskarina in the previous year. Ugrin also sent a letter to the pope, to inform him truthfully of the complicated matter. Béla fled Hungary, but after the pope's mediation, he was able to return together with his wife in the spring of 1224.[21] The pope authorized Ugrin and his suffragans to supervise the "harmful" royal land grants made by King Andrew II in his ecclesiastical province in August 1225 (he had called him for this before, as early as 1220).[19] When the majority of the cathedral chapter of Várad (present-day Oradea, Romania) elected Benedict Osl as Bishop of Várad in May 1231, his superior Ugrin Csák confirmed his election and consecrated him shortly thereafter. However, Pope Gregory IX contested Benedict's election and supported the candidacy of his subdeacon Primogenitus. The conflict continued in the coming years.[22]
In 1232, Ugrin established a
A significant number of Muslim communities lived in the territory of the Archidocese of Kalocsa. In 1225, Pope Honorius blamed Ugrin of tolerating the violation of the prohibition of the employment of Jews and Muslims in the royal administration in his archdiocese.[25] According to the pope's complaint, Ugrin ignored the fact that many Muslims possessed Christian slaves and maintained family and business relations from the Muslim world. During the conclusion of the Oath of Bereg (August 1233), papal legate James of Pecorara instructed Ugrin and four other Hungarian prelates, whose dioceses were inhabited by a significant number of Muslim or Jewish communities, to separate those people from Christian settlements and ensure the permanence of segregation during their annual cruises. Upon Andrew's request, Pope Gregory IX allowed the investigation of the separation of non-Christians to take place once every two years after 1235.[26]
Bosnian Crusade
Ugrin's archiepiscopal activity extended considerably to the case of Christians declared heretics in the
As a preparation of war against the heretics, Ugrin handed over a wage of 200
Prior to 1229, Ugrin Csák asked for permission to establish
Last years
Others asserted that these rumors [the Mongol invasion] were spread by some prelates of churches so that they need not go to Rome to the synod called at that time by the Roman pope [Gregory IX]. That was their opinion. However, it was well known to all that Archbishop Ugolin of Kalocsa had ordered galleys in Venice for himself and some of his bishops, but the king called them back from the journey, against their will.
Béla IV ascended the Hungarian throne in 1235. Soon, Ugrin Csák was replaced as chancellor by
By the early 1230s, the case of the heretics in Bosnia was taken over by Duke Coloman, King Béla's younger brother. The duke launched a crusade upon the request of the pope in 1235, but the crusaders succeeded in conquering only peripheral parts of Bosnia. In December 1238, Pope Gregory entrusted Ugrin and other Hungarian prelates to support Ponsa – the local pro-Hungarian Catholic bishop – and his activity in Bosnia. When Duke Coloman intended to unify the Archdiocese of Split with the Diocese of Zagreb, which would have extracted the latter bishopric from the administration of the Hungarian ecclesiastical organization, Pope Gregory reminded him in June 1240, that the two dioceses could not be united without the consent of Ugrin Csák, the archbishop of Kalocsa – superior of the bishop of Zagreb – and the chapters of their sees. Ugrin was commissioned to deliver the pallium to Matthias Rátót, the newly elected Archbishop of Esztergom in March 1240.[40] Pope Gregory summoned a council at Rome to give point to his anathema in his renewing conflict with Emperor Frederick II in early 1241. The Hungarian prelates were also invited to the council. Ugrin already arranged for the trip to the Republic of Venice for himself and his suffragans, when King Béla IV called them back because ominous news began to arrive from the eastern border of the country.[40]
Mongol invasion and death
Batu [...] began to burn down villages, and his sword did not pardon sex or age, and he hastened as fast as he could against the king. [...] But the king did not allow anyone to go out and engage them [the Mongols]. [...] Archbishop Ugolin of Kalocsa took it badly that they should, like robbers, dishonor so many good people, but bore it even worse that both to him and his men the king seemed to be fainthearted. Therefore, he went out, against the king's order, with a few men and wanted to have battle with them. But they turned their backs and began slowly to retreat. Seeing this, the archbishop spurred on his horse and gave them chase. Eventually, they reached a marshland and they crossed it swiftly. The archbishop did not notice this when he was quite close to them and hastily entered it. Being weighed down by their armor, he and his men could neither cross nor return. But the Tatars turned around quickly, surrounded the marsh and killed them all with a shower of arrows. The archbishop escaped with three or four men and returned embarrassed to the city, quite irate because of the loss of his men and that the king did not send any help to them.
King Coloman then ordered his battle units to arm and proceeded from the camp, followed by Archbishop Ugrinus and his company; for he too was a man of warlike spirit and ready and bold to take arms. So around midnight they came to the bridge; but already a part of the enemy host had crossed over. Seeing them, the Hungarians at once fell upon them. They fought them most bravely and killed a great number of them. [...] Nevertheless, King Coloman, Archbishop Ugrinus and a master of the Order of the Knights Templar [Rembald de Voczon] behaved as proper soldiers should. [...] When a number of their company had been killed the Hungarians retreated to the camp. Ugrinus, being ever outspoken and without fear, raised his voice and began to rebuke the king [Béla IV] for his negligence and to upbraid all the Hungarian barons for their slowness and idleness, remarking that when faced with such peril they had no concern for their own lives or any resolve to defend the country as a whole. So those who were ready went out and joined them. But the others were paralyzed with fear and the unexpected, and as if they had lost their minds had no idea what they should put their hands to or where to turn. The three aforementioned leaders, brooking no further delay, sallied forth again to engage the enemy. Ugrinus launched himself with such daring among the densest ranks of the enemy that they cried aloud and fled from him as if he were a thunderbolt. [...] All the same, they were unable to sustain the overwhelming numbers, and Coloman and the archbishop, both now seriously wounded, made it back to their fellows with difficulty. [...] They were not given the chance to take a different way; pressed on by the Tatars, almost the whole of the Hungarians entered the swamp and were there dragged down into the water and the mud and drowned almost to a man. There perished the most illustrious Ugrinus; there perished Matthias of Esztergom and Bishop Gregory of Győr; there many a prelate and crowd of clerics met their fate.
The Mongols gathered in the lands bordering Hungary and
The Hungarian army reached the flooded river Sajó in the following days. The cautious king ordered the building of a heavily fortified camp of wagons, a battle-tested countermeasure against nomadic armies.[46] Roger of Torre Maggiore emphasized in his narration Carmen miserabile that Ugrin urged the monarch to march out against the Mongols in force, because they "were day and night burning down villages all around".[47] According to Thomas the Archdeacon, a Ruthenian slave of the Mongols escaped to the Hungarians on 10 April and warned them that the Mongols intended a night attack over the bridge over the Sajó. Duke Coloman, Ugrin Csák and Rembald de Voczon, the master of the Knights Templar in Hungary and Slavonia, gathered their armies and marched to the bridge, arriving there by midnight. They attacked a vanguard of the Mongol army, who began to cross the bridge by then. The rapid onslaught was a resounding success, as most of the enemy were killed or drowned in the river. Coloman and Ugrin returned to the royal camp, leaving behind approximately 1,000 watchmen at the bridge, unaware that the main Mongol army was nearby. Arriving at the camp, they celebrated their victory. However, both Coloman and Ugrin spent the night fully armed, preparing for a possible attack.[48][49] According to historian János B. Szabó, the chronicler Thomas the Archdeacon arbitrarily emphasizes the courage of Duke Coloman and Ugrin, overemphasizing their role in the battle, while everyone except them turns out to be a coward and want to avoid a clash with the Mongols.[50] The unexpected Hungarian victory forced Batu and the Mongol generals to modify their plans. Shiban was sent north to a ford with a smaller force to cross the river and attack the rear of the bridge-guard. When the fleeing Hungarians arrived at the camp they woke the others. Coloman, Ugrin and Rembald, as Thomas the Archdeacon narrates, then left the camp again to deal with the attackers. Others remained there, believing this was also a minor attack and that Coloman would again be victorious. But as Coloman and Ugrin witnessed the horde of Mongols swell, they realized that this was not a minor raid but an attack by the main Mongol force. After some heavy fighting, they returned to the camp hoping to mobilise the full army. They were badly disappointed, as Béla IV had not even issued orders to prepare for battle. Archbishop Ugrin reproached the King for his faults in public. The main Mongol army crossed the bridge in the morning and an open battle took place. The Hungarian army was virtually annihilated in the Battle of Mohi on the Sajó River on 11 April 1241.[51][52] A great number of Hungarian lords, prelates and noblemen were killed, including the two archbishops, Ugrin Csák and Matthias Rátót.[53]
References
- ^ Master Roger's Epistle (ch. 30), p. 187.
- ^ Engel: Genealógia (Genus Csák 8., Újlak branch)
- ^ Zsoldos 2011, pp. 49, 62.
- ^ a b c d e Markó 2006, p. 307.
- ^ a b c Udvardy 1991, p. 117.
- ^ Galambosi 2017, p. 291.
- ^ a b c d Zsoldos 2011, p. 108.
- ^ Veres 2019, pp. 6, 12, 18, 21.
- ^ a b Borosy 1996, p. 12.
- ^ Veres 2019, p. 20.
- ^ Zsoldos 2011, p. 84.
- ^ Barabás 2015, p. 199.
- ^ a b Udvardy 1991, p. 118.
- ^ a b Koszta 2013, pp. 111, 113.
- ^ Solymosi 2013, p. 529.
- ^ a b Solymosi 2013, p. 536.
- ^ Udvardy 1991, p. 119.
- ^ Barabás 2015, p. 200.
- ^ a b Barabás 2015, p. 327.
- ^ Udvardy 1991, p. 127.
- ^ Udvardy 1991, p. 120.
- ^ Udvardy 1991, p. 126.
- ^ Koszta 2013, p. 112.
- ^ Barabás 2015, p. 33.
- ^ Barabás 2015, p. 236.
- ^ Udvardy 1991, p. 125.
- ^ Dautović 2020, p. 65.
- ^ a b Barabás 2017, p. 17.
- ^ Dautović 2020, p. 66.
- ^ Dautović 2020, p. 67.
- ^ Zsoldos 2011, pp. 181, 191.
- ^ Koszta 2013, p. 19.
- ^ Udvardy 1991, p. 121.
- ^ Dautović 2020, p. 68.
- ^ Barabás 2015, p. 193.
- ^ Udvardy 1991, p. 122.
- ^ Barabás 2017, p. 18.
- ^ Master Roger's Epistle (ch. 14), p. 157.
- ^ Udvardy 1991, p. 124.
- ^ a b c d Udvardy 1991, p. 128.
- ^ Master Roger's Epistle (ch. 21), p. 169.
- ^ Archdeacon Thomas of Split: History of the Bishops of Salona and Split (ch. 36.), pp. 263–269.
- ^ Pintér 2005, p. 672.
- ^ a b B. Szabó 2007, p. 117.
- ^ Udvardy 1991, p. 129.
- ^ Pintér 2005, p. 673.
- ^ Master Roger's Epistle (ch. 25), p. 175.
- ^ Négyesi 1997, p. 297.
- ^ Pintér 2005, p. 677.
- ^ B. Szabó 2007, p. 136.
- ^ Pintér 2005, pp. 679–680.
- ^ Négyesi 1997, p. 307.
- ^ B. Szabó 2007, p. 141.
Sources
Primary sources
- Archdeacon Thomas of Split: History of the Bishops of Salona and Split (Latin text by Olga Perić, edited, translated and annotated by Damir Karbić, Mirjana Matijević Sokol and James Ross Sweeney) (2006). CEU Press. ISBN 963-7326-59-6.
- Master Roger's Epistle to the Sorrowful Lament upon the Destruction of the Kingdom of Hungary by the Tatars (Translated and Annotated by János M. Bak and Martyn Rady) (2010). In: Rady, Martyn; Veszprémy, László; Bak, János M. (2010); Anonymus and Master Roger; CEU Press; ISBN 978-9639776951.
Secondary sources
- B. Szabó, János (2007). A tatárjárás. A mongol hódítás és Magyarország [The Mongol Invasion of Hungary] (in Hungarian). Corvina. ISBN 978-963-13-6348-7.
- Barabás, Gábor (2015). A pápaság és Magyarország a 13. század első felében. Pápai hatás – együttműködés – érdekellentét [The Papacy and Hungary in the First Half of the 13th Century. Papal influence – cooperation – clash of interests] (in Hungarian). Pécsi Történettudományért Kulturális Egyesület. ISBN 978 963 89482 5 0.
- Barabás, Gábor (2017). "Eretnekek, kalózok és legátusok. A boszniai eretnekség, a Magyar Királyság és a pápák a 13. század elején [Heretics, Pirates and Legates: The Bosnian Heresy, the Hungarian Kingdom and the Popes at the Outset of the 13th Century]". Világtörténet (in Hungarian). 39 (1): 5–32. ISSN 0083-6265.
- Borosy, András (1996). "A keresztes háborúk és Magyarország, II. rész [The Crusades and the Hungarian Kingdom, Part II]". Hadtörténelmi Közlemények (in Hungarian). 109 (2). Hadtörténeti Intézet és Múzeum: 11–54. ISSN 0017-6540.
- Dautović, Dženan (2020). "Historiographic controversy about the Crusades against Bosnian "heretics"". Journal of Balkan and Black Sea Studies. 3 (4): 63–77. ISSN 2667-470X.
- Galambosi, Péter (2017). "Csák Ugrin, a hűséges tartományúr [Ugrin Csák, the Loyal Provincial Lord]". Fons (in Hungarian). 24 (3). Szentpétery Imre Történettudományi Alapítvány: 289–322. ISSN 1217-8020.
- Koszta, László (2013). A kalocsai érseki tartomány kialakulása [The Development of the Archdiocese of Kalocsa] (in Hungarian). Pécsi Történettudományért Kulturális Egyesület. ISBN 978-963-89482-2-9.
- Markó, László (2006). A magyar állam főméltóságai Szent Istvántól napjainkig: Életrajzi Lexikon [Great Officers of State in Hungary from King Saint Stephen to Our Days: A Biographical Encyclopedia] (in Hungarian). Helikon Kiadó. ISBN 963-547-085-1.
- Négyesi, Lajos (1997). "A muhi csata. 1241. április 11. [The Battle of Mohi. 11 April 1241]". Hadtörténelmi Közlemények (in Hungarian). 110 (2). Hadtörténeti Intézet és Múzeum: 296–310. ISSN 0017-6540.
- Pintér, János Zsolt (2005). "Tatárok és magyarok (1241–1242) [Tartars and Hungarians (1241–1242)]". Hadtörténelmi Közlemények (in Hungarian). 118 (3). Hadtörténeti Intézet és Múzeum: 660–696. ISSN 0017-6540.
- Solymosi, László (2013). "Magyar főpapok angliai zarándoklata 1220-ban [The Pilgrimage of Hungarian Prelates to England in 1220]". Történelmi Szemle (in Hungarian). 55 (4). ISSN 0040-9634.
- Udvardy, József (1991). A kalocsai érsekek életrajza (1000–1526) [Biographies of Archbishops of Kalocsa, 1000–1526] (in Hungarian). Görres Gesellschaft.
- Veres, Kristóf György (2019). "A magyar királyi kancellária okleveles gyakorlata 1172 és 1235 között [The institutional practice of the Hungarian royal chancery between 1172 and 1235]". Turul (in Hungarian). 92 (1). Magyar Heraldikai és Genealógiai Társaság: 1–26. ISSN 1216-7258.
- 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.