Dénes Szécsi de Felsőlendva (or ''Széchy; ''c. 1410 – 1 February 1465) was a Hungarian prelate and cardinal, who served as

Archbishop of Esztergom In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdioc ...

from 1440 to 1465. He was the first

Primate Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians (monkeys and apes, the latter including huma ...

of Hungary since 1452 when donated the title and rights by

Pope Nicholas V Pope Nicholas V ( la, Nicholaus V; it, Niccolò V; 13 November 1397 – 24 March 1455), born Tommaso Parentucelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 March 1447 until his death in March 1455. Pope Eugene IV, Po ...

Career

He was born into a magnate family as the son Nicholas Szécsi, Jr., 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.

Nicholas Szécsi Nicholas Szécsi de Felsőlendva (''Széchy; '' hu, Miklós Szécsi; ''c.'' 1320 – ''c.'' June or July 1387) was a Hungarian nobleman from the influential House of Szécsi. Son of Peter, Count of Nógrád, and Sebe Debrői. He married Margar ...

and Helen Garay, daughter of Nicholas I Garay. He studied at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich histor ...

from 1426 and the

University of Bologna The University of Bologna ( it, Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna, UNIBO) is a public research university in Bologna, Italy. Founded in 1088 by an organised guild of students (''studiorum''), it is the oldest university in continuo ...

from 1433 where he became a doctor of

Canon law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...

. He also studied at the

University of Padua The University of Padua ( it, Università degli Studi di Padova, UNIPD) is an Italian university located in the city of Padua, region of Veneto, northern Italy. The University of Padua was founded in 1222 by a group of students and teachers from B ...

. Szécsi was appointed

Bishop of Nyitra The Diocese of Nitra ( sk, Nitrianska diecéza; la, Dioecesis Nitriensis; hu, Nyitrai egyházmegye) is a Roman Catholic diocese western Slovakia, with its seat in Nitra. , the bishop is Viliam Judák. History The diocese was created as the ...

(''Nitra'') on 2 March 1438.

Pope Eugene IV Pope Eugene IV ( la, Eugenius IV; it, Eugenio IV; 1383 – 23 February 1447), born Gabriele Condulmer, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 3 March 1431 to his death in February 1447. Condulmer was a Venetian, and ...

confirmed him in that position on 20 April, however Szécsi was later elected

Bishop of Eger The Archdiocese of Eger ( la, Archidioecesis Agriensis) is an archdiocese in Northern Hungary, its centre is the city of Eger. History * 1000: Established as Diocese of Eger * August 9, 1804: Promoted as Metropolitan Archdiocese of Eger Ordi ...

on 5 July 1438. After the death of King Albert, he supported his widow,

Elizabeth of Luxembourg Elizabeth of Luxembourg ( hu, Luxemburgi Erzsébet; 7 October 1409 – 19 December 1442) was queen consort of Hungary, queen consort of Germany and Bohemia. The only child of Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, King of Hungary and Bohemia, Eliza ...

. As a result, he was promoted to the cardinalate on 18 December 1439 at the request of the Queen. His

titular church In the Catholic Church, a titular church is a church in Rome that is assigned to a member of the clergy who is created a cardinal. These are Catholic churches in the city, within the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Rome, that serve as honorary de ...

(''titulus ecclesiae'') was the

San Ciriaco alle Terme Diocleziane San Ciriaco alle Terme Diocleziane was a church in the Baths of Diocletian in Rome. It was made a titulus by the Roman synod of 1 March 499. According to a list written by Pietro Mallio during the pontificate of pope Alexander III, it was linke ...

. He became archbishop of Esztergom on 8 January 1440. In this capacity, he crowned the infant

Ladislaus the Posthumous Ladislaus the Posthumous( hu, Utószülött László; hr, Ladislav Posmrtni; cs, Ladislav Pohrobek; german: link=no, Ladislaus Postumus; 22 February 144023 November 1457) was Duke of Austria and King of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia. He was the ...

with the

Holy Crown of Hungary The Holy Crown of Hungary ( hu, Szent Korona; sh, Kruna svetoga Stjepana; la, Sacra Corona; sk, Svätoštefanská koruna , la, Sacra Corona), also known as the Crown of Saint Stephen, named in honour of Saint Stephen I of Hungary, was the ...

on 15 May 1440. However, shortly afterward he joined the league of Vladislaus I, whom he crowned on 17 July 1440 with a crown from

Saint Stephen Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ''Stéphanos'', meaning "wreath, crown" and by extension "reward, honor, renown, fame", often given as a title rather than as a name; c. 5 – c. 34 AD) is traditionally venerated as the protomartyr or first ...

's reliquary. Vladislaus I was killed at the

Battle of Varna The Battle of Varna took place on 10 November 1444 near Varna in eastern Bulgaria. The Ottoman Army under Sultan Murad II (who did not actually rule the sultanate at the time) defeated the Hungarian–Polish and Wallachian armies commanded by ...

in 1444. He supported

John Hunyadi John Hunyadi (, , , ; 1406 – 11 August 1456) was a leading Hungarian military and political figure in Central and Southeastern Europe during the 15th century. According to most contemporary sources, he was the member of a noble family of ...

in the evolving power struggles. He vigorously attacked the

Hussite The Hussites ( cs, Husité or ''Kališníci''; "Chalice People") were a Czech proto-Protestant Christian movement that followed the teachings of reformer Jan Hus, who became the best known representative of the Bohemian Reformation. The Hussit ...

s in accordance with Hunyadi's policy. He served as chancellor from May 1453 to May 1463.

Matthias Corvinus Matthias Corvinus, also called Matthias I ( hu, Hunyadi Mátyás, ro, Matia/Matei Corvin, hr, Matija/Matijaš Korvin, sk, Matej Korvín, cz, Matyáš Korvín; ), was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1458 to 1490. After conducting several mi ...

was crowned by him on 25 March 1464. As a cardinal, he did not participate in the

papal conclave A papal conclave is a gathering of the College of Cardinals convened to elect a Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop of Rome, also known as the pope. Catholics consider the pope to be the Apostolic succession, apostolic successor of Saint ...

s which elected Nicholas V (

1447 Year 1447 (Roman numerals, MCDXLVII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–December * March 6 – Pope Nicholas V succeeds Pope Eugene IV, to become the 2 ...

Callixtus III Pope Callixtus III ( it, Callisto III, va, Calixt III, es, Calixto III; 31 December 1378 – 6 August 1458), born Alfonso de Borgia ( va, Alfons de Borja), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 April 1455 to his ...

(

1455 Year 1455 (Roman numerals, MCDLV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–December * January 8 – Pope Nicholas V publishes ''Romanus Pontifex'', an e ...

Pius II Pope Pius II ( la, Pius PP. II, it, Pio II), born Enea Silvio Bartolomeo Piccolomini ( la, Aeneas Silvius Bartholomeus, links=no; 18 October 1405 – 14 August 1464), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 August ...

( 1458) and Paul II (

1464 Year 1464 (Roman numerals, MCDLXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. It is one of eight years (CE) to contain each Roman numeral once (1000(M)+(-100(C)+500(D))+50(L)+10(X)+(-1(I)+5(V ...

). He held a provincial

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''wikt:synod, synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin ...

as archbishop of Esztergom in 1450 where he urged the restoration of monastic discipline and the institution of

celibacy Celibacy (from Latin ''caelibatus'') is the state of voluntarily being unmarried, sexually abstinent, or both, usually for religious reasons. It is often in association with the role of a religious official or devotee. In its narrow sense, the ...

. In 1452 he received the title of Primate of Hungary from Pope Nicholas V. He also became envoy 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 Rome ...

. He rebuilt the old

Esztergom Basilica The Primatial Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St Adalbert ( hu, Nagyboldogasszony és Szent Adalbert prímási főszékesegyház), also known as the Esztergom Basilica ( hu, Esztergomi bazilika), is an ecclesiastic basili ...

and donated 8,000

Florins The Florentine florin was a gold coin struck from 1252 to 1533 with no significant change in its design or metal content standard during that time. It had 54 grains (3.499 grams, 0.113 troy ounce) of nominally pure or 'fine' gold with a purcha ...

in 1453. His oratorical ability was outstanding.Szécsi Dénes, Szalkai László, Szalkai-glosszák
/ref> He was buried in the cathedral which was renovated by him.

References

Sources

* Markó, László: A magyar állam főméltóságai Szent Istvántól napjainkig – Életrajzi Lexikon ''p. 329.'' ''(The High Officers of the Hungarian State from Saint Stephen to the Present Days – A Biographical Encyclopedia)'' (2nd edition); Helikon Kiadó Kft., 2006, Budapest; . {{DEFAULTSORT:Szecsi, Denes 1410 births 1465 deaths University of Vienna alumni University of Bologna alumni University of Padua alumni 15th-century Hungarian cardinals Archbishops of Esztergom Denes Bishops of Eger