Demetrius I from the kindred Csák ( hu, Csák nembeli (I.) Demeter; died after 1254) was a Hungarian baron, who held secular positions during the reign of kings Andrew II and

Béla IV Béla may refer to: * Béla (crater), an elongated lunar crater * Béla (given name), a common Hungarian male given name See also * Bela (disambiguation) * Belá (disambiguation) * Bělá (disambiguation) Bělá, derived from ''bílá'' (''wh ...

Career

Demetrius I belonged to the Ugod branch of Csák clan as the son of Luka. Possibly he had a brother Adam. From his unidentified wife, he had two sons (Ugod and Csák) and a daughter, who married Csépán II Győr, son of

Palatine A palatine or palatinus (in Latin; plural ''palatini''; cf. derivative spellings below) is a high-level official attached to imperial or royal courts in Europe since Roman times.

Csépán I Győr.Engel: ''Genealógia'' (Genus Csák 7., Ugod branch) He was loyal to King Andrew II. He served as

Master of the stewards The master of the stewards or master of the table (german: Königliche Obertruchsess, hu, étekfogómester, and la, dapiferorum regalium magistri or magister dapiferorum) was one of the high officials of the royal household in the Kingdom of Hung ...

( la, senescalcus) for thirteen years between 1217 and 1230. Beside that he was also ''

ispán The ispánRady 2000, p. 19.''Stephen Werbőczy: The Customary Law of the Renowned Kingdom of Hungary in Three Parts (1517)'', p. 450. or countEngel 2001, p. 40.Curta 2006, p. 355. ( hu, ispán, la, comes or comes parochialis, and sk, župan)Kirs ...

'' of Vas County from 1219 to 1222. He participated in the

Fifth Crusade The Fifth Crusade (1217–1221) was a campaign in a series of Crusades by Western Europeans to reacquire Jerusalem and the rest of the Holy Land by first conquering Egypt, ruled by the powerful Ayyubid sultanate, led by Al-Adil I, al-Adil, brothe ...

under the command of Andrew II between 1217 and 1218. Returning home, he governed

Pozsony County Pozsony county was an administrative county ( comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is now mostly part of Slovakia, while a small area belongs to Hungary. In 1969, the three villages that remained in Hungary were combined to form Du ...

from 1224 to 1229. After 1230, he became a supporter of Duke Béla. He was appointed

Judge royal The judge royal, also justiciar,Rady 2000, p. 49. chief justiceSegeš 2002, p. 202. or Lord Chief JusticeFallenbüchl 1988, p. 145. (german: Oberster Landesrichter,Fallenbüchl 1988, p. 72. hu, országbíró,Zsoldos 2011, p. 26. sk, krajinsk� ...

in 1232 and held that dignity until 1234. He was also ''ispán'' of

Bács County BACS is the Bankers Automated Clearing Services, a scheme for the electronic processing of financial transactions. BACS or Bács may also refer to: Organisations * Bay Area Christian School, in League City, Texas, US * Boston Archdiocesan Choir ...

during that time, from 1233 to 1234. Prior to 1225, Demetrius was granted the royal castle of Németújvár (present-day

Güssing Güssing (; hu, Németújvár, Német-Újvár, hr, Novi Grad) is a town in Burgenland, Austria. It is located at , with a population of 3,578 (2022), and is the administrative center of the Güssing district. For centuries the town occupied an i ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

) by Andrew II. Consequently, Demetrius became the first known member of his kindred, who owned a castle. It is plausible that Demetrius acquired the fort, when he served as ''ispán'' of Vas County, where the castle located. The

Pannonhalma Archabbey The Benedictine Pannonhalma Archabbey or Territorial Abbey of Pannonhalma (lat. ''Archiabbatia'' or ''Abbatia Territorialis Sancti Martini in Monte Pannoniae'') is a medieval building in Pannonhalma, one of the oldest historical monuments in Hun ...

, which once possessed

Küszén Abbey The Küszén Abbey was a short-lived Benedictine Christian monastery on the top of the mountain Küszén in the medieval Kingdom of Hungary (today Burgenland, Austria). The monastery was established by German-born knight Wolfer, forefather of the ...

, the short-lived predecessor of the castle, continuously petitioned against Andrew's decision to the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

, who urged Demetrius several times to recover Németújvár to the Benedictine friars, but he refused to do that. As a result,

Pope Gregory IX Pope Gregory IX ( la, Gregorius IX; born Ugolino di Conti; c. 1145 or before 1170 – 22 August 1241) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 March 1227 until his death in 1241. He is known for issuing the '' Decre ...

excommunicated Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...

Demetrius in 1228 or 1229. When the pope sent another complaint to the new king, Béla IV in 1238, Demetrius still possessed the castle. It is plausible that Demetrius owned Németújvár until his death; the next mention of the castle is from 1263, long after his death. Demetrius also seized

Abda The American-British-Dutch-Australian (ABDA) Command, or ABDACOM, was a short-lived, supreme command for all Allied forces in South East Asia in early 1942, during the Pacific War in World War II. The command consists of the forces of Austra ...

from the Benedictines and Merenye from the

Diocese of Veszprém In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

. From 1238 to 1241, now during the reign of Béla IV, Demetrius served as ''ispán'' of

Csanád County Csanád was an administrative county (comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is now part of Hungary, except for a small area which is part of Romania. The capital of the county was Makó. Geography Csanád county shared borders with ...

. He was appointed Judge royal for the second time in 1242 and held the office until 1244, however according to non-authentic royal charters he was Judge royal still in 1245 and 1246. During that time, he also functioned as head of

Moson County Moson (German: Wieselburg, Slovak: Mošon) was an administrative county (comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary, situated mostly on the right (south) side of the Danube river. Its territory is now divided between Austria and Hungary, except a sma ...

. According to a non-authentic diploma, he served as Judge royal and ''ispán'' of

Bodrog County The Bodrog is a river in eastern Slovakia and north-eastern Hungary. It is a tributary to the river Tisza. The Bodrog is formed by the confluence of the rivers Ondava and Latorica near Zemplín in eastern Slovakia. It crosses the Slovak–H ...

in 1246. He died after 1254.

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Csak, Demetrius 01 13th-century Hungarian people Demetrius I Judges royal Christians of the Fifth Crusade People temporarily excommunicated by the Catholic Church Masters of the stewards