Ladislaus Jánki
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Ladislaus Jánki (; died between October 1336 and March 1337) was a Hungarian
Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...
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 (; ; ; 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 ...
.


Ancestry and early life

He was born into a family of presumed Italian origin, which possessed lands and villages in the
Banate of Severin The Banate of Severin or Banate of Szörény (; ; ; , ; , ) was a Hungarian political, military and administrative unit with a special role in the initially anti- Bulgarian, latterly anti- Ottoman defensive system of the medieval Kingdom of Hu ...
, 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 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...
. 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 Szentes () is a town in south-eastern Hungary, Csongrád-Csanád County, Csongrád county, near the Tisza, Tisza river. The town is a cultural and educational center of the region. It is the third most ...
, 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 Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
). 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.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 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 , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its membe ...
. 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 The Kingdom of Naples (; ; ), officially the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was established by the War of the Sicilian Vespers (1282–1302). Until ...
on 7 January 1316. He was an envoy of the king in this capacity. After the coronation of
Pope John XXII Pope John XXII (, , ; 1244 – 4 December 1334), born Jacques Duèze (or d'Euse), was head of the Catholic Church from 7 August 1316 to his death, in December 1334. He was the second and longest-reigning Avignon Papacy, Avignon Pope, elected by ...
, the Hungarian king sent his envoys, Dominican friar Peter and the Franciscan friar Jánki to
Avignon Avignon (, , ; or , ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the Communes of France, commune had a ...
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, while Jánki – as the candidate of the Hungarian monarch – was appointed his superior, the Archbishop of Kalocsa by Pope John XXII on 3 July 1317, after the annulment of the former election of 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 Nicolò Albertini, O.P. (c. 1250 – 27 April 1321), was an Italian Dominican friar, statesman, and cardinal. Early life Albertini was born about 1250 in the city of Prato, then in the County of Prato, part of the Holy Roman Empire, to pare ...
, 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 metropolitan bish ...
'' too by four additional cardinals. Jánki paid his ''servitium commune'' (2,000 golden
florin The Florentine florin was a gold coin (in Italian ''Fiorino d'oro'') struck from 1252 to 1533 with no significant change in its design or metal content standard during that time. It had 54 grains () of nominally pure or 'fine' gold with a pu ...
s) to the
Roman Curia The Roman Curia () comprises the administrative institutions of the Holy See and the central body through which the affairs of the Catholic Church are conducted. The Roman Curia is the institution of which the Roman Pontiff ordinarily makes use ...
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: ; or ; , later ; ) is a city in Hungary on the south bank of the Danube in Komárom-Esztergom County. Komárom fortress played an important role in the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 and many contemporary English sources r ...
(now Komárno in
Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, 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 west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...
); 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 (; or ''Kalača''; or Калоча; ) 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 Danube River. Historically it had greater ...
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 deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community or to restrict certain rights within it, in particular those of being in communion with other members of the con ...
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 Stefan Uroš II Milutin ( sr-Cyrl, Стефан Урош II Милутин, Stefan Uroš II Milutin; 1253 – 29 October 1321), known as Saint King, was the King of Serbia between 1282–1321, a member of the Nemanjić dynasty. He was one ...
and various Hungarian nobles in the previous years. The prelates entrusted Ladislaus Kórógyi,
Bishop of Pécs A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...
and Ivánka, Bishop of Várad 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. (, , and ),Kirschbaum 2007, p. 315. deriving from title of župan, ...
''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 Apostag is a village and municipality in Bács-Kiskun county, in the Southern Great Plain region of southern Hungary. Croats in Hungary call this village ''Štagara''.  Živko Mandić: Hrvatska imena naseljenih mjesta u Madžarskoj, Geogr ...
in July 1318. They protested against Charles, who confiscated the castle of
Győr Győr ( , ; ; names of European cities in different languages: E-H#G, names in other languages) is the main city of northwest Hungary, the capital of Győr-Moson-Sopron County and Western Transdanubia, Western Transdanubia region, and – halfwa ...
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 associated ...
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 (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...
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, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic military order. It was founded in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century and had headquarters there ...
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 is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...
(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 people, Hungarian historian. He was an expert in Hungarian ecclesiastical history. Life Vilmos Fraknói (originally ''Vilmos Frankl'') came from a Jewish family of Ürmén ...
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 (; ; or ; , known by Names of European cities in different languages: E–H#E, alternative names) is a city with county rights in northern Hungary, northwest of the capital Budapest. It lies in Komárom-Esztergom County, on the righ ...
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 the Budapest metropolitan area, Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, R ...
in September 1326. Alongside Archbishop Boleslaus, he co-judged over the dispute between the cathedral chapter of
Veszprém Veszprém (; , , , ) 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 of the same name. Etymology The city's name derives ...
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 (; ), also called monachism or monkhood, is a religious way of life in which one renounces worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual activities. Monastic life plays an important role in many Christian churches, especially ...
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 Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...
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 Syrmia (Ekavian sh-Latn-Cyrl, Srem, Срем, separator=" / " or Ijekavian sh-Latn-Cyrl, Srijem, Сријем, label=none, separator=" / ") is a region of the southern Pannonian Plain, which lies between the Danube and Sava rivers. It is div ...
counties with the influential lord
Thomas Szécsényi Thomas (I) Szécsényi (; 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 the king's efforts to restor ...
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 (, "Upland"), is the area that was historically the northern part of the Kingdom of Hungary, now mostly present-day Slovakia. The region has also been called ''Felső-Magyarország'' ( literally: "Upper Hungary"; ). During the ...
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 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, including a list of people with the name * Honour (surname), English-language surnam ...
''). Upon the contribution of Ladislaus Jánki, Charles I donated the lordship of Nagylak 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 , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...
or
Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ; : , : ) is a historical and geographical region of modern-day Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia was traditionally divided into two sections, Munteni ...
) 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 1996 ...
says that Voivode Bogdan led a large group of
Vlachs Vlach ( ), also Wallachian and many other variants, is a term and exonym used from the Middle Ages until the Modern Era to designate speakers of Eastern Romance languages living in Southeast Europe—south of the Danube (the Balkan peninsula ...
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: People * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer Other uses * Louis (coin), a French coin * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also ...
. 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, Bishop of Várad and Ladislaus Kaboli, Bishop of Zagreb, 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.


References


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* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Janki, Ladislaus 1330s deaths Hungarian Franciscans Archbishops of Kalocsa 13th-century Hungarian people 14th-century Hungarian people