Henry Preussel, also ''Preuscilinus'' (german: Heinrich Preussel, hu, Preussel Henrik; died March 1265) was an

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

knight in the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...

, a faithful confidant of

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

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'' (''whit ...

. Henry served as the first ''

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

'' of

Buda Buda (; german: Ofen, sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Budim, Будим, Czech and sk, Budín, tr, Budin) was the historic capital of the Kingdom of Hungary and since 1873 has been the western part of the Hungarian capital Budapest, on the ...

from 1264 until his death.

Life

Henry Preussel participated in Frederick the Quarrelsome's campaigns against the Kingdom of Hungary, still as an opponent to Béla IV, however later entered the service of the Hungarian king. He was already belonged to the entourage of the Hungarian king in the

Battle of Kressenbrunn The Battle of Kressenbrunn was fought in July 1260 near Groissenbrunn in Lower Austria between the Kingdom of Bohemia and the Kingdom of Hungary for the possession of the duchies of Austria and Styria.''A Global Chronology of Conflict: From the ...

in 1260. He especially enjoyed the confidence of Queen Maria, however the King's eldest son, the rebellious Duke Stephen considered Henry as his "mortal enemy" and also excluded him from the Peace of Pressburg in November 1262, which contained the division of the kingdom between Béla IV and Stephen following a short war. Henry was the ''

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

Bars County Bars (Latin: ''comitatus Barsiensis'', Hungarian: ''Bars'', Slovak: ''Tekov'', German: ''Barsch'') was an administrative county ( comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is now in central and southern Slovakia. Today in Slovakia, Te ...

in 1264. The reconciliation of Stephen and his father proved to be only temporary around 1263–1264, and the increasing tensions improved the military strategic importance of the

Buda Castle Buda Castle ( hu, Budavári Palota, german: link=no, Burgpalast) is the historical castle and palace complex of the Hungarian Kings in Budapest. It was first completed in 1265, although the massive Baroque palace today occupying most of the si ...

, which was recently built by Béla IV. The King decided to suspend the

town privileges Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the tradition ...

of Buda, including the free election of the burghers' magistrate. As a result, Béla IV dismissed '' villicus'' Peter after 11 September 1264 and appointed Henry Preussel as the first ''rector'' of Buda, perhaps under Lombard influence. Henry became commander and castellan of the fortress, while also had judicial function over the citizens. Preussel participated in the

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

against Duke Stephen. Following the defeat of

Ernye Ákos Ernye from the kindred Ákos (''Erne''; hu, Ákos nembeli Ernye; died after January 1275) was a Hungarian baron and landowner. He is best known for saving the life of king Béla IV after the disastrous Battle of Mohi in 1241. He participated in v ...

' army in February 1265, Stephen launched a counter-offensive, crossing the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

. Queen Mary sent Preussel with 1,000 auxiliary troops to increase Béla's royal army. He was one of the commanders alongside Henry Kőszegi and Béla, Duke of Macsó. Stephen gained a decisive victory over his father's army in the Battle of Isaszeg in March 1265. Henry Preussel was captured alive following the battle, however he was executed shortly afterwards. According to

Jans der Enikel Jans der Enikel (), or Jans der Jansen Enikel (), was a Viennese chronicler and narrative poet of the late 13th century. He wrote a ''Weltchronik'' () and a ''Fürstenbuch'' (, a history of Vienna), both in Middle High German verse. Name and ...

's ''Weltchronik'', Preussel was stabbed with a sword himself by Duke Stephen, while the Austrian knight begged for his life. Following his victory, Stephen also seized Buda for a short time, but soon the castle and the town came under the authority of Béla IV again. Henry Preussel was succeeded by ''rector'' Walter. His brother was Wernhard, who joined the allegiance of

Ottokar II of Bohemia Ottokar II ( cs, Přemysl Otakar II.; , in Městec Králové, Bohemia – 26 August 1278, in Dürnkrut, Lower Austria), the Iron and Golden King, was a member of the Přemyslid dynasty who reigned as King of Bohemia from 1253 until his deat ...

in 1260 and died sometime between 1265 and 1267.

References

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Preussel, Henry 1265 deaths Medieval Austrian knights 13th-century Hungarian people Austrian expatriates in Hungary Austrian people executed abroad People executed by stabbing