Nicholas Neszmélyi de Poroszló (died 25 July 1360) was

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 ...

in 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 ...

from 30 March 1346 to 26 March 1360, not long before his death.

Life

Nicholas was born into a Polish noble family from

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

. He was a cleric in the

Diocese of Wrocław 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 ...

. He arrived to Hungary as a distant relative of

Elizabeth of Poland, Queen of Hungary Elizabeth of Poland (, ; 1305 – 29 December 1380) was Queen of Hungary by marriage to Charles I of Hungary, and regent of Poland from 1370 to 1376 during the reign of her son Louis I. Life Early life Elizabeth was a member of the Polish roya ...

in 1322. He became an educator of the young Prince Louis. In 1339, the estates of

Neszmély Neszmély () is a village in Komárom-Esztergom county, Hungary. Albert the Magnanimous, the first Habsburg King of Hungary and eventual King of the Romans King of the Romans (; ) was the title used by the king of East Francia following h ...

returned to the Crown, when the holder family became heirless. Nicholas has used his influence to obtain the possessions. Henceforth his name appeared as ''Nicholas Neszmélyi'' ("of Neszmély") in contemporary sources. According to the land survey, he obtained the ''"estate of Neszmély with arable lands, shrubs, ferry, water and land tariffs back and forth, fishing rights in the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

, two islands, by name Neszmélyi Island and Für Island until the middle of the Danube"'', along with his cousins, Hancko and Matthias. Later he was also received

Poroszló Poroszló is a village in Heves County, Northern Hungary Region, Hungary. Climate Poroszló's climate is classified as humid continental climate (Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen ( ...

Heves County Heves county (, ) lies in northern Hungary, between the right bank of the river Tisza and the Mátra and Bükk mountains. It shares borders with the Hungarian counties Pest (county), Pest, Nógrád (county), Nógrád, Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén and ...

by King Louis I. After that he used the noble title of ''poroszlói'' or ''de Poroszló''. He was appointed secret chancellor and chapel ispán in 1344. He also served as

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

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 ...

. He was the elected

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 ...

from 15 October 1344 to 9 October 1345, however

Pope Clement VI Pope Clement VI (; 1291 – 6 December 1352), born Pierre Roger, was head of the Catholic Church from 7 May 1342 to his death, in December 1352. He was the fourth Avignon pope. Clement reigned during the first visitation of the Black Death (1 ...

was not confirmed and appointed

Stephen Büki Stephen or Steven is an English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; he is widely regarded as the firs ...

as archbishop instead of him. He was appointed Bishop of Pécs on 30 March 1346. He participated in the

Neapolitan campaigns of Louis the Great The Neapolitan campaigns of Louis the Great, also called the Neapolitan Adventure (''Nápolyi kaland'' in Hungarian), was a war between the Kingdom of Hungary, led by Louis the Great, and the Kingdom of Naples. It was fought from 1347 until 1352 ...

in 1347. He led a 200-strong army to help the Hungarians in

L'Aquila L'Aquila ( ; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in central Italy. It is the capital city of the Province of L'Aquila and the Abruzzo region in Italy. , it has a population of 69,902. Laid out within medieval walls on a hill in the wide valley of the A ...

. He built a new church in

Pécs Pécs ( , ; ; Slovak language, Slovak: ''Päťkostolie''; also known by #Name, alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the fifth largest city in Hungary, on the slopes of the Mecsek mountains in the c ...

with eight altars. The church later known as ''Aranyos Mária '' Chapel. He transported the relic of

Livinus Saint Livinus (''c''. 580 – 12 November 657), also Livinus of Ghent, was an apostle in Flanders and Brabant, venerated as a saint and martyr in the Catholic tradition and more especially at the Saint Bavo Chapel, Ghent. His feast day is 12 N ...

from

Ghent Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

to Pécs in 1351. He placed great emphasis on development of educational level and academic skills of the clergy. He completed the organizational governance of the diocese and stabilized its economy. Due to his work, the first university of Hungary was founded in Pécs in 1367, during the period of his successor, William of Koppenbach.

References

* Koszta, László (2009). ''Neszmélyi Miklós (1346–1360)''. In: ''A Pécsi Egyházmegye története I: A középkor évszázadai (1009–1543)'' (Szerkesztette: Fedeles Tamás, Sarbak Gábor, Sümegi József) ("A History of the Diocese of Pécs, Volume I: Medieval Centuries, 1009–1543; Edited by Tamás Fedeles, Gábor Sarbak and József Sümegi"); Fény Kft.; Pécs; . * ''ed''. Romváry, Ferenc (2010). ''Pécs Lexikon I. (A–M)''. Pécs Lexikon Kulturális Nonprofit Kft. 2010, Pécs. ''p. 35.''
''Hungarian Catholic Lexicon''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Neszmelyi, Nicholas 1360 deaths 14th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Hungary Bishops of Pécs Hungarian people of Polish descent Year of birth unknown 14th-century Hungarian clergy 14th-century Polish nobility