Ladislaus Jánki ( hu, Jánki László; died between October 1336 and March 1337) was a Hungarian
Franciscan
, image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg
, image_size = 200px
, caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans
, abbreviation = OFM
, predecessor =
, ...
friar and prelate in the first half of the 14th century, who served as
Archbishop of Kalocsa
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 ...
and chancellor of the royal court from 1317 until his death. He was considered a faithful partisan of
Charles I of Hungary
Charles I, also known as Charles Robert ( hu, Károly Róbert; hr, Karlo Robert; sk, Karol Róbert; 128816 July 1342) was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1308 to his death. He was a member of the Capetian House of Anjou and the only son of ...
.
Ancestry and early life
He was born into a family of presume Italian origin, which possessed lands and villages in the
Banate 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 ...
, the southeastern part of 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 ...
. Their eponymous estate, the village of Jánk laid along the river Karas in Krassó County. According to historian
Mihály Horváth
Mihály Horváth (20 October 1809, Szentes – 19 August 1878, Karlsbad) was a Hungarian Roman Catholic bishop, historian, and politician. He was an exponent of Hungarian nationalism with an emphasis on its historical culture.
Further readi ...
, he was a relative of King Charles I, but there is no record of it. His father was Nicholas, from whom he inherited the village of Pacsinta (present-day Pačetin in
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
). He had a brother, royal courtier Gregory, who also owned a portion of the settlement and presumably died in 1308. He also had a sister, Margaret, the spouse of Michael Szentmihályi from the ''gens''
Dorozsma Dorozsma (''de genere Durusma'') was a genus (Latin for "clan"; ''nemzetség'' in Hungarian) in the Kingdom of Hungary . Their ancient possessions were in Csongrád county (today: village of Kiskundorozsma).Ede ReiszigBÁCS-BODROG VÁRMEGYE NEMES CS ...
.Engel: ''Genealógia'' (Jánki family) Ladislaus donated his portion in Pacsinta to his sister in 1330. The Jánki family belonged to the partisans of Charles I in his efforts to acquire the Hungarian throne. Ladislaus' cousins, Thomas, Paul and Nicholas played an active role in restoring and strengthening royal power against the
oligarchs
Oligarch may refer to:
Authority
* Oligarch, a member of an oligarchy, a power structure where control resides in a small number of people
* Oligarch (Kingdom of Hungary), late 13th–14th centuries
* Business oligarch, wealthy and influential bu ...
along the southern border of the kingdom.
Jánki entered the Franciscans. He was a well-educated cleric skilled in theology and
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 ...
. It is plausible that he is identical with that Minorite friar, who was referred to as King Charles' royal chaplain and personal confessor by a document issued in the Kingdom of Naples on 7 January 1316. He was an envoy of the king in this capacity. After the coronation of Pope John XXII, the Hungarian king sent his envoys, Dominican friar Peter and the Franciscan friar Jánki to Avignon to greet him in the spring of 1317. Among other issues, Charles requested the pope to appoint Jánki as the Archbishop of Kalocsa, which has not been filled for years. Peter became the new
Bishop of Bosnia
Diocese of Bosnia (Latin: ''Dioecesis Bosniensis'') was a Roman Catholic diocese that existed in Bosnia between the 11th and 15th centuries, and remained formally in existence until 1773.Demetrius Vicsadoli. Simultaneously, Jánki also became the chancellor of the royal court, holding both dignities until his death. He was consecrated as bishop by Nicolò Albertini, the Cardinal-bishop of Ostia in the papal court on 15 August 1317 and was granted his ''
pallium
The pallium (derived from the Roman ''pallium'' or ''palla'', a woolen cloak; : ''pallia'') is an ecclesiastical vestment in the Catholic Church, originally peculiar to the pope, but for many centuries bestowed by the Holy See upon metropol ...
'' too by four additional cardinals. Jánki paid his ''servitium commune'' (2,000 golden florins) to the Roman Curia in two installments in the spring of 1319.
Archbishop of Kalocsa
Jánki returned to Hungary by 23 October 1317. Joining the royal army, he participated in the siege of
Komárom
Komárom (Hungarian: ; german: Komorn; la, Brigetio, later ; sk, Komárno) is a city in Hungary on the south bank of the Danube in Komárom-Esztergom County. Komárno, Slovakia, is on the northern bank. Komárom was formerly a separate villag ...
(now Komárno in
Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
); Charles' troops successfully captured the fort from the powerful oligarch Matthew Csák in November. The king concluded a short-lived peace with the oligarch. After Charles neglected to reclaim Church property that Matthew Csák had seized by force, the prelates of the realm – archbishops
Thomas
Thomas may refer to:
People
* List of people with given name Thomas
* Thomas (name)
* Thomas (surname)
* Saint Thomas (disambiguation)
* Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church
* Thomas the A ...
, Ladislaus Jánki and their eleven suffragans – summoned a national synod to
Kalocsa
Kalocsa (; hr, Kaloča or ''Kalača''; sr, Kaloča or Калоча; german: Kollotschau) is a town in Bács-Kiskun county, Hungary. It lies south of Budapest. It is situated in a marshy but highly productive district, near the left bank of the ...
and made an alliance in the spring of 1318 against all who would jeopardize their interests. There, Jánki also issued a testimony letter on Matthew Csák's ecclesiastical punishment, who was
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 ...
by John, Bishop of Nyitra prior to that. Jánki remained a partisan of Charles I, but not without conditions. Several lands of his diocese was unlawfully seized by Serbian king Stefan Milutin and various Hungarian nobles in the previous years. The prelates entrusted Ladislaus Kórógyi, Bishop of Pécs and Ivánka,
Bishop of Várad
The Diocese of Oradea ( la, Dioecesis Magnovaradinensis Latinorum, hu, Nagyváradi Római Katolikus Egyházmegye, ro, Dieceza Romano-Catolică de Oradea Mare) is a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory in Romania, named after its episcopal s ...
to inform the royal court on the resolutions of their synod. Upon their demand, Charles summoned a diet immediately to the field of Rákos in summer and commissioned his ''
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 ...
''s and castellans to recover Church property in their territory. Returning to Kalocsa, they informed Jánki on Charles' resolutions. Thereafter, Jánki invited the majority of prelates to hold another meeting in the territory of his archbishopric, at Apostag in July 1318. They protested against Charles, who confiscated the castle of
Győr
Győr ( , ; german: Raab, links=no; names in other languages) is the main city of northwest Hungary, the capital of Győr-Moson-Sopron County and Western Transdanubia region, and – halfway between Budapest and Vienna – situated on one of ...
from the
Diocese of Győr
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 associat ...
before that for military strategic reasons. The prelates arrived to the diet from Apostag and jointly represented their interests against the monarch and the secular barons. Before the end of the year, the prelates made a complaint 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 ...
against Charles because he had taken possession of Church property. Jánki was made '' conservator'' of the
Knights Hospitaller
The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headq ...
in Hungary in 1319. According to historian Ildikó Tóth, the close cooperation between the prelates lasted until the death of Archbishop Thomas in early 1321; he was succeeded by the king's brother-in-law, Boleslaus. Jánki remained a strong pillar of Charles' reign, but also defended his province's interest. Charles, in contrast, did not even want to share his power with his own faithful church dignitaries.
Pope John appointed Jánki as ''conservator'' of the Pauline friars living in Hungary and the neighboring countries in 1322. The pope opposed the Franciscan understanding of the poverty of Christ and his apostles. He was determined to suppress what he considered to be the excesses of the Spirituals, who contended eagerly for the view that Christ and his apostles had possessed absolutely nothing, either separately or jointly, and who were citing ''Exiit qui seminat'' in support of their view. In March 1322, he commissioned experts to examine the idea of poverty based on belief that Christ and the apostles owned nothing. Ladislaus Jánki was among those theologians, who were invited to the papal court at Avignon to participate in the discussion. The experts disagreed among themselves, but the majority condemned the idea on the grounds that it would condemn the Church's right to have possessions. According to the surviving records, Jánki argued in favor of the joint possession of goods by Christ and the apostles, referring to various parts of the
Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...
(for instance, Jn 13,27–28, Jn 4,8 and Lk 22,36). Considering the majority opinion of his order, however, he refused to call heretics those Franciscan friars, who insisted that Jesus and the apostles did not possess anything, but he was willing to submit himself to the will of the pope if he declares the advertisers of opposite doctrines to be heretics. Historian László Tóth argued Jánki's alleged participation in this discussion is only narrated by Károly Péterfy in his work "''Sacra Concilia Ecclesiae Romano-Catholicae in Regno Hungariae''" (1741) due to a paleographic error, which information was later taken over by later historians (e.g.
Vilmos Fraknói
Vilmos Fraknói (27 February 1843 – 20 November 1924) was a Hungarian historian. He was an expert in Hungarian ecclesiastical history.
Life
Vilmos Fraknói (originally ''Vilmos Frankl'') came from a Jewish family of Ürmény (today Mojmír ...
and József Udvardy). According to this argument, the papal document, in fact, refers to Balianus (Belian), the Archbishop of Colossa.
Jánki acted as arbiter in various lawsuits over domestic ecclesiastical affairs during his episcopate. He had a mandate to mediate the dispute between Archbishop Thomas and the burghers of
Esztergom
Esztergom ( ; german: Gran; la, Solva or ; sk, Ostrihom, known by alternative names) is a city with county rights in northern Hungary, northwest of the capital Budapest. It lies in Komárom-Esztergom County, on the right bank of the river Dan ...
in 1320. Jánki was one of the four prelates, who excommunicated John, abbot of Pilis and monk Nicholas for their violent actions against the parsonage of
Budakalász
Budakalász is a town in Pest county, Budapest metropolitan area, Hungary. Residents are Magyars, with a minority of Serbs.
The town includes within its boundaries the island of Lupa, situated on the Danube.
Twin towns – sister cities
Buda ...
in September 1326. Alongside Archbishop Boleslaus, he co-judged over the dispute between the cathedral chapter of
Veszprém
Veszprém (; german: Weißbrunn, sl, Belomost) is one of the oldest urban areas in Hungary, and a city with county rights. It lies approximately north of the Lake Balaton. It is the administrative center of the county (comitatus or 'megye') of ...
and the Zala Abbey in spring 1327. Pope John XXII commissioned Jánki to send detailed summary about the Paulines in Hungary on 1 July 1327. Prior to that, the
monastic order
Monasticism (from Ancient Greek , , from , , 'alone'), also referred to as monachism, or monkhood, is a religious way of life in which one renounces worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual work. Monastic life plays an important rol ...
consisted of sixty monasteries in the kingdom and Charles requested the Holy See to confirm the adoption of the Rule of St. Augustine to the Pauline Order. In the same year, Jánki absolved Ladislaus Kaboli from his excommunication upon the order of the pope. Under Jánki's episcopate, the bishopric of Nándorfehérvár (Belgrade) was restored and subordinated to the Archdiocese of Kalocsa following Charles' successful military campaign against Stefan Milutin, when the Hungarian troops retook Belgrade and restored their suzerainty over Macsó. Jánki exchanged the archbishopric's lands in Hont and Gömör counties (including Rimaszombat, today Rimavská Sobota, Slovakia) for possessions in Bács and Syrmia counties with the influential lord
Thomas Szécsényi
Thomas (I) Szécsényi ( hu, Szécsényi (I.) Tamás; died 1354) was a Hungarian powerful baron and soldier, who rose to prominence during King Charles I's war against the oligarchs. He belonged to the so-called "new aristocracy", who supported th ...
in 1334. Later, Jánki's successors considered it a disadvantageous contract and blamed the late archbishop that he had exchanged rich estates in
Upper Hungary
Upper Hungary is the usual English translation of ''Felvidék'' (literally: "Upland"), the Hungarian term for the area that was historically the northern part of the Kingdom of Hungary, now mostly present-day Slovakia. The region has also been ...
for humble uninhabited lands in the southern frontier; they have been trying to recover the lost goods for decades. Due to the contribution of the Roman Curia,
Nicholas Apáti
Nicholas Apáti (also Keszei; hu, Apáti Miklós; died November/December 1366) was a Hungarian prelate in the 14th century, who served as Archbishop of Esztergom from 1358 until his death.
Ancestry and early life
His origin is uncertain; it is ...
successfully recovered the lost estates in 1357. As archbishop, Jánki owned the royal castles of Krassova and Érsomlyó (present-day Carașova in Romania and Vršac in Serbia, respectively) as "office fiefs" (or ''
honors
Honour (or honor in American English) is the quality of being honorable.
Honor or Honour may also refer to:
People
* Honor (given name), a unisex given name
* Brian Honour (born 1964), English footballer and manager
* Gareth Honor (born 1979 ...
''). Upon the contribution of Ladislaus Jánki, Charles I donated the lordship of
Nagylak
Nagylak ( ro, Nădlac or ) is a village in Csongrád-Csanád County, in the Southern Great Plain region of southern Hungary.
Geography
It covers an area of and in 2017 had a population of 433, 6% of whom is of Romanian
Romanian may refer to:
* ...
to his relative, Nicholas the "Lesser".
Jánki accompanied Charles I to the Kingdom of Naples in the summer of 1333 and stayed there until early 1334. He conducted negotiations with one Voivode Bogdan, son of Mikola, on King Charles's behalf about the movement of the voivode and his people "from his country" (
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...
or
Wallachia
Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and s ...
) to Hungary between the autumn of 1334 and the summer of 1335. A royal charter, dated to 6 October 1335, narrated that Charles had sent Jánki, to Clisura Dunării three times in 1334 and 1335 to make preparations for the movement of Bogdan. Historian
Pál Engel
Pál Engel (27 February 1938 – 21 August 2001) was a Hungarian medievalist historian and archivist, and member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. He served as General Director of the Library of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences between 199 ...
says that Voivode Bogdan led a large group of
Vlachs
"Vlach" ( or ), also "Wallachian" (and many other variants), is a historical term and exonym used from the Middle Ages until the Modern Era to designate mainly Romanians but also Aromanians, Megleno-Romanians, Istro-Romanians and other E ...
from Serbia to Hungary on this occasion. Charles, who was ailing during the last years of his life, sought to secure the undisturbed inheritance of the throne for his son,
Louis Louis may refer to:
* Louis (coin)
* Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name
* Louis (surname)
* Louis (singer), Serbian singer
* HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy
See also
Derived or associated terms
* Lewis ( ...
. In 1333, the monarch requested Pope John XXII to declare that the coronation ceremony must be performed by the archbishop of Esztergom, unless his possible illness or absence. In this case, Charles requested the pope to have the opportunity for Ladislaus Jánki,
Andrew Báthory
Andrew Báthory ( hu, Báthory András; pl, Andrzej Batory; 1562 or 1563 – 3 November 1599) was the Cardinal-deacon of Sant'Adriano al Foro from 1584 to 1599, Prince-Bishop of Warmia from 1589 to 1599, and Prince of Transylvania in 1599. His ...
, Bishop of Várad and Ladislaus Kaboli,
Bishop of Zagreb
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Zagreb ( hr, Zagrebačka nadbiskupija, la, Archidioecesis Zagrebiensis) is the central archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Croatia, centered in the capital city Zagreb. It is the metropolitan see of Croatia, a ...
, all of them were his royal dynasty's faithful partisans, to celebrate the event. This reflects the situation well, despite all previous disagreements, Jánki remained mainstay to the king in the coming decades. Pope John agreed to the request, conditional on its one-off and individuality, on 31 July 1333. However, Jánki predeceased his lord sometime between October 1336 and March 1337.