Bebek (also Bubek) is the name of an ancient

Hungarian noble The Hungarian nobility consisted of a privileged group of individuals, most of whom owned landed property, in the Kingdom of Hungary. Initially, a diverse body of people were described as noblemen, but from the late 12th century only high- ...

family. The history of this family is connected with the areas in present-day Slovakia, notably in Gemer region, where they had their dominion.

History

The first mention of this family is from the year 1243, when the king

Béla IV of Hungary Béla IV (1206 – 3 May 1270) was King of Hungary and Croatia between 1235 and 1270, and Duke of Styria from 1254 to 1258. As the oldest son of King Andrew II, he was crowned upon the initiative of a group of influential noblemen in his fath ...

after the

Mongol invasion The Mongol invasions and conquests took place during the 13th and 14th centuries, creating history's largest contiguous empire: the Mongol Empire (1206- 1368), which by 1300 covered large parts of Eurasia. Historians regard the Mongol devastati ...

donated domains at upper Gemer to brothers Derek and Philip. Both Slovak and Hungarian historians consider these brothers as members ''gens'' (clan) Ákos. In the year 1318, descendants of Derek and Philip divided their heritage. Family had divided in two lines: Bebek de Pelsőc and Bebek de Csetnek branches, after the centre of their lands (present-day Plešivec and Štítnik, respectively). Pelsőc (Plešivec) had become the centre of Bebek family. Dominic Bebek decided to build here a castle, and along with the castle, he had built Gothic Church of St. George, which was mentioned for the first time in 1314. In the early 15th century, Gothic funeral chapel was built next to the church, but only one member of the family is buried in it: Ladislaus Bebek. In the 14th century, construction of

Krásna Hôrka Castle The Krásna Hôrka Castle ( sk, Hrad Krásna Hôrka, hu, Krasznahorka vára) is a castle in Slovakia, built on a hilltop overlooking the village of Krásnohorské Podhradie near Rožňava, in Košice Region. The first recorded mention of the c ...

( hu, Krasznahorka) started. The Bebek family was the owner of this castle from its construction until 1566, with the exception of short time, when it has been owned by the Máriássy family. After the Bebeks engaged in the conflict with the Emperor, castle in Plešivec was destroyed and Krásna Hôrka Castle was taken from the family. George Bebek had retreated to

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

, where he died in 1567, without descendants. The Bebek family have died out.

Name

Two variants of name of this family exist: ''Bubek'' and ''Bebek''. Nowadays, in Slovak historiography, both variants are used, but Bebek is more common, in Hungarian historiography, variant Bebek is used almost exclusively. However, in medieval sources, variant Bubek predominates, it is used in most of charters, as well as on tombstone of George Bebek (created around 1390) and on tombstone of Ladislaus Bebek from 1401.

Coat of arms

The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

of the Bebek family is formed by the silver

patriarchal cross The Patriarchal cross is a variant of the Christian cross, the religious symbol of Christianity, and is also known as the Cross of Lorraine. Similar to the familiar Latin cross, the patriarchal cross possesses a smaller crossbar placed above t ...

, which is placed in the red early Gothic shield. On the top of the cross are placed golden bird feathers. The coat of arms of the Bebek family was evolving and different variants of it exist. On some depictions bars of cross have same length, on some depictions lower bar is longer. Usage of silver patriarchal cross, symbol of ruling Arpád family testifies about close relations to the ruling

Árpád Árpád (; 845 – 907) was the head of the confederation of the Magyar tribes at the turn of the 9th and 10th centuries. He might have been either the sacred ruler or '' kende'' of the Hungarians, or their military leader or '' g ...

dynasty. Heraldic crest of the family is a crowned girl with two fish, which is interpreted as

Melusine Mélusine () or Melusina is a figure of European folklore, a female spirit of fresh water in a holy well or river. She is usually depicted as a woman who is a serpent or fish from the waist down (much like a lamia or a mermaid). She is als ...

Dominions

File:Plešivec17.jpg, Ruins of Plešivec castle File:Plešivec (7).jpg, Gothic Church of St. George in Plešivec File:Plešivec (3).jpg, Gothic Church of St. George in Plešivec, along with the funeral chapel of Bebek family. File:PlešivecKostol6.jpg, High quality frescoes in church in Plešivec show the wealth of the Bebek family File:KrasnohorskePodhradie11Slovakia1.jpg, Castle Krásna Hôrka, which was founded by Bebek family File:Kamenany1.jpg, Large romanesque church in Kameňany File:Gombasek4.jpg, Bebeks were patrons of the monastery of the

Order of Saint Paul the First Hermit The Order of Saint Paul the First Hermit ( lat, Ordo Fratrum Sancti Pauli Primi Eremitæ; abbreviated OSPPE), commonly called the Pauline Fathers, is a monastic order of the Roman Catholic Church founded in Hungary during the 13th century. Thi ...

in Gombasek

Literature

* TIHÁNYOVÁ, Monika. ''Bubekovci z Plešivca. Úspechy a pády jedného rodu v politike a umení''. O. Z. Georgius Bubek, 2017, 152 s., {{ISBN, 978-80-972888-0-8. * TIHÁNYOVÁ, Monika. ''Páni zo Štítnika. Putovanie kultúrnymi a hospodárskymi dejinami horného Gemera''. O. Z. Georgius Bubek, 2020, 240 s.

Notes

Hungarian noble families