13th-century Hungarian Catholic bishop
James
(
Hungarian
:
Jakab
; died 11 April 1241) was a Hungarian
Catholic
prelate in the 13th century, who served as
Bishop of Nyitra
(today Nitra,
Slovakia
) from 1223 until his death.
Career
[
edit
]
James was elected as bishop sometime between 1221 (when his predecessor
John
is last mentioned) and 1223 (when he first appears in this dignity).
He was the first incumbent Bishop of Nyitra, whose name was listed among the Hungarian prelates in royal charters since 1224.
James donated several estates and vineyards and their associated income (
tithe
) to the
Benedictine
monastery of
Skalka
(Szkalka) in
Trencsen County
(today Skalka nad Vahom, Slovakia), dedicated to the local hermit
Benedict of Skalka
in 1224. Several historians considered James founded the abbey itself, but the monastery was in fact erected by one of James' predecessors already before 1208. James also allowed the Benedictine monks to preach and confess freely in his diocese. James' donation letter was transcribed in 1297. According to a note, James later exchanged the portion of the tithes of his bishopric that had been ceded to the monastery for the tithes of the people of the abbey.
During his episcopate, James bought several lands in order to expand the property of his diocese. He pledged a portion in the village Keltk? (later Zsitvat?, present-day a borough of
Radva? nad Dunajom
, Slovakia) and a surrounding fishpond along the
Danube
in 1226. He also bought a portion in Em?ke, a village located near
Nyitra
(today Nitra, Slovakia) in 1231. He also acquired the other half of the settlement
Biccse
(today Byt?a, Slovakia) and the nearby
Kotesso
(today Kote?ova, Slovakia) from
castle warriors
of Trencsen County. He exchanged the village
Bodok
in
Nyitra County
(today Dolne Obdokovce, Slovakia) for
Vezekeny
in
Bars County
with the Garamszentbenedek Abbey (present-day Hronsky Be?adik, Slovakia) in 1228. Upon the request of King
Andrew II of Hungary
, he donated Lel?c to the Crown and subsequently he was compensated with the estate
Nadas
(today Neda?ovce, Slovakia), then an accessory of the
castle of Nyitra
, in 1232.
The monastery of
Skalka
in
Slovakia
King Andrew II of Hungary persuaded his heir and eldest son
Bela
to separate from his wife,
Maria Laskarina
in 1222. Andrew planned to arrange a new marriage for Bela, but
Pope Honorius III
mediated a reconciliation between Bela and Maria in the autumn of 1223. This angered Andrew, and Bela fled to
Austria
, where Duke
Leopold VI
sheltered him. Bela returned in 1224 after the bishops persuaded Andrew to forgive him. Nevertheless, border clashes took place between Hungary and Austria throughout 1224 and 1225, before the peace negotiations began. The Hungarian king was represented by James during the meeting. Andrew and Leopold concluded the Treaty of
Graz
on 6 June 1225. According to German historian Heide Dienst, the document was drafted by James. The arriving
papal legate
Conrad of Urach
vouched for the treaty.
James again performed a diplomatic mission in the winter of 1228, when took a journey to
Velehrad
, where
Ottokar I of Bohemia
confirmed the privileges of the local
Cistercian
monastery. Historian Veronika Rudolf considered Jamed acted as an envoy of
Pope Gregory IX
there, when the pope's conflict with
Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
has reached its peak. James was mandated to hinder the proposed marriage between Frederick and Ottokar's daughter
Agnes
.
When
Thomas, Archbishop of Esztergom
died around November 1224, the local cathedral chapter could not agree unanimously about the new archbishop. Two rival factions emerged in the following months: a large part of the canons nominated Bishop
Desiderius of Csanad
, while some members of the college supported the candidacy of James. Pope Honorius refused to recognize both elections, citing the contradicted canonical rules of procedure. Finally, the pope appointed
Robert
as the Archbishop of Esztergom in March 1226.
James also took part in the consecration of the new church of the
Pannonhalma Abbey
around 1225.
Under James, the
Franciscans
settled in his episcopal see Nyitra shortly after 1228. James consecrated their first church in the town, dedicated to
Blessed Virgin Mary
in November 1230.
He also consecrated the church of
Deaki
(today Diakovce, Slovakia), alongside
Briccius, Bishop of Vac
.
Pope Gregory IX delegated him to judge in the various stages (1227?1228, 1235) of a harsh litigation between the Pannonhalma Abbey and a Hungarian lord
Demetrius Csak
regarding the right of ownership over the castle
Nemetujvar
(present-day Gussing, Austria). Simultaneously in 1227, James also acted as a judge in the lawsuit between the Pannonhalma Abbey and the
Diocese of Veszprem
over the right of collection of tithes in
Somogy County
.
James was among the prelates, who took an oath to the
agreement at Bereg
in the presence of papal legate
James of Pecorara
in early 1234.
When
John, Bishop of Bosnia
, put Hungary under a new
interdict
in the first half of 1234, because Andrew had not dismissed his non-Christian officials despite his oath of Bereg, Pope Gregory ordered
Ugrin Csak, Archbishop of Kalocsa
, James of Nyitra and Abbot
Uros of Pannonhalma
to investigate the case.
According to
Roger of Torre Maggiore
's
Carmen miserabile
, James was one of the prelates, who was killed in the disastrous
Battle of Mohi
on 11 April 1241, during the
first Mongol invasion of Hungary
. Roger described James as "a man of laudable conduct and famous for the excellence of his morals".
[13]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Master Roger's Epistle
(ch. 30), p. 187.
Sources
[
edit
]
Primary sources
[
edit
]
- Master Roger's Epistle to the Sorrowful Lament upon the Destruction of the Kingdom of Hungary by the Tatars
(Translated and Annotated by Janos M. Bak and Martyn Rady) (2010). In: Rady, Martyn; Veszpremy, Laszlo; Bak, Janos M. (2010);
Anonymus and Master Roger
; CEU Press;
ISBN
978-9639776951
.
Secondary sources
[
edit
]
- Beke, Margit (2003). "Robert [
Robert
]". In Beke, Margit (ed.).
Esztergomi ersekek 1001?2003
[Archbishops of Esztergom 1001?2003]
(in Hungarian). Szent Istvan Tarsulat. pp. 98?103.
ISBN
963-361-472-4
.
- F. Romhanyi, Beatrix (2000).
Kolostorok es tarsaskaptalanok a kozepkori Magyarorszagon: Katalogus
[Monasteries and Collegiate Chapters in Medieval Hungary: A Catalogue]
(in Hungarian). Pytheas.
ISBN
963-7483-07-1
.
- Koszta, Laszlo (2009). "A nyitrai puspokseg letrejotte. (Nyitra egyhaztortenete a 9-13. szazadban) [
The Emergence of the Bishopric of Nyitra. (Ecclesiastical History of Nyitra in the 9th to 13th Centuries)
]".
Szazadok
(in Hungarian).
143
(2).
Magyar Tortenelmi Tarsulat
: 257?318.
ISSN
0039-8098
.
- Rudolf, Veronika (2019). "Nyitrai puspokok a diplomacia szolgalataban az 1220-es evekben [
The Bishops of Nyitra in diplomatic service in the 1220s
]".
Turul
(in Hungarian).
92
(1). Magyar Heraldikai es Genealogiai Tarsasag: 33?36.
ISSN
1216-7258
.
- Zsoldos, Attila (2011).
Magyarorszag vilagi archontologiaja, 1000?1301
[Secular Archontology of Hungary, 1000?1301]
(in Hungarian). Historia, MTA Tortenettudomanyi Intezete.
ISBN
978-963-9627-38-3
.
- Zsoldos, Attila (2022).
Az Aranybulla kiralya
[The King of the Golden Bull]
(in Hungarian). Varosi Leveltar es Kutatointezet.
ISBN
978-963-8406-26-2
.