John Forrói (; died around 1360) was a Hungarian nobleman in the first half of the 14th century, who served as vice-''
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. (, , and ),Kirschbaum 2007, p. 315. deriving from title of župan, ...
'' of
Abaúj County
Abaúj (, , or ) is a historic administrative county (Comitatus (Kingdom of Hungary), comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. In parts of the 19th century, and in the beginning of the 20th century, it was united with Torna County to form Abaúj-To ...
in 1342.
Background
Forrói was born into a noble family, which possessed lands mostly in Abaúj and
Bereg counties. His grandfather was
Aladar, who acquired the lordship of
Forró
The term forró () refers to a musical genre, a rhythm, a dance and the event itself where forró music is played and danced. Forró is an important part of the culture of the Northeastern Brazil, Northeastern Region of Brazil. It encompasses ...
with its neighboring villages in the 1260s. By the early 14th century, the entire family entered the service of the powerful
oligarch Amadeus Aba
Amadeus Aba or Amade Aba (; ; ? – 5 September 1311) was a Hungarian oligarch in the Kingdom of Hungary who ruled ''de facto'' independently the northern and north-eastern counties of the kingdom (today parts of Hungary, Slovakia and Ukrai ...
. Forrói's parents were James (I) and his wife, who later became the spouse of
Stephen Zoárd (or Szentandrási, "Stephen the Page"). Forrói had a brother James (II) and a half-sister Kanicsa ("Rose"), the wife of Pócs Piskárkosi.
[Engel: ''Genealógia'' (Forrói family)]
Forrói's father James inherited the villages
Szentmiklós
Chynadiiovo or Chynadiieve (; ; ; ; ) is a rural settlement in Mukachevo Raion, Zakarpattia Oblast, Ukraine. It stands in the Latorica River valley, from the town of Mukachevo. Its population is
History
The settlement took its Hungarian name ...
,
Szolyva and
Verecke (present-day Chynadiiovo, Svaliava, Nyzhni Vorota and Kolchyno in
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
, respectively) from Aladar in 1310. The Forró lordship was also divided between James and his brother Aladar (II). Following the assassination of Amadeus Aba in September 1311 and the subsequent hostile relationship between
Charles I of Hungary
Charles I, also known as Charles Robert (; ; ; 128816 July 1342), was King of Hungary and Croatia in the union with Hungary, Croatia from 1308 to his death. He was a member of the Capetian House of Anjou and the only son of Charles Martel of A ...
and the
clan Aba, James swore loyalty to the monarch. He fought in the
Battle of Rozgony
The Battle of Rozgony or Battle of Rozhanovce was fought between King Charles Robert of Hungary and the family of Palatine Amade Aba on 15 June 1312, on the Rozgony (today Rozhanovce) field. ''Chronicon Pictum'' described it as the "most cruel ...
against the Abas on 15 June 1312, where he was killed.
Career
Forrói entered the service of
Philip Drugeth
Philip Drugeth (also Druget, , , ; ''c''. 1288 – June or July 1327) was a Kingdom of Naples, Neapolitan knight of Kingdom of France, French origin, who accompanied the twelve-year-old pretender Charles I of Hungary, Charles of Anjou to Kingdom o ...
, a strong confidant of Charles I, who became the new
provincial lord of Northeast Hungary following the Abas' defeat. It is plausible that Forrói faithfully fought against the Abas in Charles' war of unification, because Philip Drugeth returned the customs revenues and its right of collection to Forrói in 1319. Forrói was able to recover the Forró lordship for his family due to his pro-royal service. When his half-sister Kanicsa (the daughter of Stephen Zoárd and Forrói's mother) get married Pócs Piskárkosi, Forrói handed over his estate
Fancsal to him in 1333.
Forrói was styled as vice-''ispán'' of Abaúj County on 3 September 1342, only days before the death of his lord
William Drugeth
William Drugeth (also Druget, , , ; 1300s – September 1342) was a distinguished Kingdom of Naples, Neapolitan-born Kingdom of Hungary (1301–1526), Hungarian baron and military leader in the first half of the 14th century. Along with his family ...
. Forrói possessed a portion in Devecser (today a borough of
Encs
Encs is a small town in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county, Northern Hungary, 30 kilometers from the county capital Miskolc.
History
The area has been inhabited for at least 6,000 years. After the Hungarians occupied the area, it became part of ''Új ...
) still in 1358, while his cousins already sold their portions to the Szentandrási family. Forrói married Elizabeth, the daughter of Andrew Imregi from the
Kaplon clan. Forrói sold his estate Őszöd to his wife in 1356. He died without descendants around 1360, ending the Forrói line after three generations.
References
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Forroi, John
14th-century Hungarian people