Franko Talovac or Franjo Talovac (in medieval sources: Francho Thallowcz, Tallocz, Tallovec; hu, Frank Tallóci; born late 14th century – died 1448) was a Croatian

nobleman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteristi ...

, a member of the Talovac noble family. He held the dignity of

Ban of Severin The Banate of Severin or Banate of Szörény ( hu, Szörényi bánság; ro, Banatul Severinului; la, Banatus Zewrinensis; bg, Северинско банство, ; sr, Северинска бановина, ) was a Hungarian political, mili ...

(1436–1439),

Diocesan administrator :''See: Catholic Church hierarchy#Equivalents of diocesan bishops in law'' A diocesan administrator is a provisional ordinary of a Roman Catholic particular church. Diocesan administrators in canon law The college of consultors elects an admini ...

(Steward) of the Diocese of Zagreb and

Archdiocese of Kalocsa 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 1433), Count of Temes (from 1437) and

Castellan A castellan is the title used in Medieval Europe for an appointed official, a governor of a castle and its surrounding territory referred to as the castellany. The title of ''governor'' is retained in the English prison system, as a remnant o ...

Nándorfehérvár Belgrade ( , ;, ; names in other languages) is the capital and largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. Nearly 1,166,763 million ...

in the associated kingdoms Hungary and Croatia.

Biography

Family

Franko Talovac was born in

Korčula Korčula (, it, Curzola) is a Croatian island in the Adriatic Sea. It has an area of , is long and on average wide, and lies just off the Dalmatian coast. Its 15,522 inhabitants (2011) make it the second most populous Adriatic island after K ...

(at the time within Kingdom of Croatia in personal union with Hungary, following the 1358

Treaty of Zadar The Treaty of Zadar, also known as the Treaty of Zara, was a peace treaty signed in Zadar, Dalmatia on February 18, 1358 by which the Venetian Republic lost influence over its Dalmatian holdings. The Treaty of Zadar ended hostilities between Loui ...

) in the late 14th century as the son of Luka (‘’Lucha’’), a patrician from Korčula. He moved with his father and three brothers, Matko, Petar (Perko) and

Ivan Ivan () is a Slavic languages, Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John (given name), John) from Hebrew language, Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. T ...

Dubrovnik Dubrovnik (), historically known as Ragusa (; see notes on naming), is a city on the Adriatic Sea in the region of Dalmatia, in the southeastern semi-exclave of Croatia. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterran ...

, where they were engaged in

trade Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. An early form of trade, barter, saw the direct excha ...

and eventually acquired citizenship of the

Republic of Dubrovnik hr, Sloboda se ne prodaje za sve zlato svijeta it, La libertà non si vende nemmeno per tutto l'oro del mondo"Liberty is not sold for all the gold in the world" , population_estimate = 90 000 in the XVI Century , currency = ...

. Later he moved with his brothers to the north of Croatia. He married Jelena Jakšić of Kuželj and they had five children (Nikola, Ladislav, Matko II, Franjo II and Anka) who succeeded him and managed to preserve a certain part of the family fortune.

Early life and military career

He entered the service of king

Sigismund of Luxemburg Sigismund of Luxembourg (15 February 1368 – 9 December 1437) was a monarch as King of Hungary and Croatia ('' jure uxoris'') from 1387, King of Germany from 1410, King of Bohemia from 1419, and Holy Roman Emperor from 1433 until his death in ...

and received new

titles A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...

, estates and

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

s from him for his loyalty and military service, which he shared with his brothers. One of those estates was ''Talovac'' (then spelled Thallowc, Tallowcz, Tallocz, Tallovec, Tallovez or Talloucz), which was located southwest of the town of

Virovitica Virovitica () is a Croatian city near the Hungarian border. It is situated near the Drava river and belongs to the historic region of Slavonia. Virovitica has a population of 14,688, with 21,291 people in the municipality (census 2011). It is als ...

in the former

Bjelovar-Križevci County The Bjelovar-Križevci County ( hr, Bjelovarsko-križevačka županija; hu, Belovár-Kőrös vármegye) was a historic administrative subdivision of the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia. Croatia-Slavonia was an autonomous kingdom within the Lands ...

, several kilometers southeast of the similar-named present-day village of Topolovica (in the municipality of

Veliki Grđevac Veliki Grđevac (, hu, Nagygordonya) is a municipality in Bjelovar-Bilogora County, Croatia. According to the 2001 census, there are 3,248 inhabitants, 80.41% of which are Croats, in 1,157 of family households. Geography The present municipal ...

). In 1436 he became

(territory in present-day

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

) and from 1437 he carried the title of Count of Temes. In the same year he was appointed

(present-day Belgrade in Serbia) along with his brother

. In his military career he distinguished himself in the

Ottoman wars A series of military conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and various European states took place from the Late Middle Ages up through the early 20th century. The earliest conflicts began during the Byzantine–Ottoman wars, waged in Anatolia in ...

taking part in many battles, e.g. the battle of Szendrő (present-day Smederevo in Serbia) in 1437 and the siege of Nándorfehérvár. When the Ottomans besieged the latter from May to October 1440, he successfully commanded, together with his brother

, the defense of the castle, so that besiegers eventually lifted the siege. Franco also defended some other strongholds and repulsed the Ottoman attacks, for instance, on Kevevára and Macsó, which significantly relieved the defence of Nándorfehérvár and some other strongholds. Together with his eldest brother Matko, he was in 1433 appointed

(Steward) of the Diocese of Zagreb and

Later life and death

In the dynastic struggles in 1440–1443, which took place between Vladislaus I Jagiellon and Ladislaus V Habsburg (Posthumous), Franko as well as his brothers sided with the former. But the crushing defeat suffered 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 ...

and the death of king Vladislav I in 1444 marked the beginning of a period of weakening family power. Franko took part in the battle along with his brother Petar and both survived. But the eldest brother Matko fell ill and soon died at the end of 1444 or beginning of 1445, while the younger brother Ivan was killed in a battle in

Slavonia Slavonia (; hr, Slavonija) is, with Dalmatia, Croatia proper, and Istria, one of the four historical regions of Croatia. Taking up the east of the country, it roughly corresponds with five Croatian counties: Brod-Posavina, Osijek-Baranja ...

in 1445. In the Serbian campaign 1443-1444 he took part in several conflicts against the Ottoman Empire. The brothers Franko and Petar distinguished themselves in the battles of Niš and Zlatica in 1443 as well as in the

battle of Kunovica The Battle of Kunovica or Battle at Kunovitsa was the battle between crusaders led by John Hunyadi and armies of the Ottoman Empire which took place on 2 or 5 January 1444 near mountain Kunovica (Suva Planina) between Pirot and Niš. Battle ...

near

Niška Banja Niška Banja ( sr-cyr, Нишка Бања) is a town and one of five city municipalities which constitute the city of Niš. It is also one of the spa resorts in Serbia. It is located east of Niš. According to the 2011 census, the population ...

at the beginning of 1444. In another campaign of the Hungarian army against the Turks, supreme commander

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 ...

engaged Franko to participate in the second

battle of Kosovo The Battle of Kosovo ( tr, Kosova Savaşı; sr, Косовска битка) took place on 15 June 1389 between an army led by the Serbian Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović and an invading army of the Ottoman Empire under the command of Sultan ...

in 1448. Talovac commanded Hunjadi's

military reserve A military reserve, active reserve, reserve formation, or simply reserve, is a group of military personnel or units that is initially not committed to a battle by its commander, so that it remains available to address unforeseen situations or ex ...

in the battle. During the long and bloody three-day battle he lost his life.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Talovac, Franko 15th-century Croatian nobility 15th-century Hungarian nobility 15th-century Croatian military personnel People from the Republic of Ragusa People from Korčula History of Banat 14th-century births 1448 deaths Year of birth uncertain

Biography

Family

Early life and military career

Later life and death

See also

References