Sixtus ( hu, Sükösd or ''Sike''; died 1285 or 1286) was a Hungarian clergyman in the 13th century, who served as a skilled diplomat of King
Béla IV of Hungary
Béla IV (1206 – 3 May 1270) was King of Hungary and Croatia between 1235 and 1270, and Duke of Styria from 1254 to 1258. As the oldest son of King Andrew II, he was crowned upon the initiative of a group of influential noblemen in his father ...
for decades.
Early life
Sixtus was presumably born around 1220
[The assumption of Sixtus' biographer Péter Kis; in 1215 new rules were issued in the University of Paris, governing who could become a ''magister''. To teach the arts, a candidate had to be at least twenty-one, to have studied these arts at least six years, and to take an engagement as professor for at least two years.] into a lower noble family, which possessed lands and fields in
Hetény (today Chotín 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 ...
). His permanent honorary title of "''magister''" demonstrates his university degree (possibly he studied in
Sorbonne
Sorbonne may refer to:
* Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities.
*the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970)
*one of its components or linked institution, ...
or other Paris-type cathedral schools, gaining rhetorical and legal erudition). In contemporary records, he is first referred to as a cleric by
Pope Innocent IV
Pope Innocent IV ( la, Innocentius IV; – 7 December 1254), born Sinibaldo Fieschi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 June 1243 to his death in 1254.
Fieschi was born in Genoa and studied at the universitie ...
on 20 February 1245, when he authorized papal legate
Giacomo da Pecorara
James of Pecorara or Giacomo da Pecorara (1170s – June 1244) was an Italian monk, cardinal and diplomat.
James was a cleric in the church of Ravenna before he joined the Cistercians in 1215, becoming abbot of Trois-Fontaines in France in 12 ...
to permit Sixtus' consecration and to grant him the right of possession of
church benefices despite his "lack of origin". The document says Sixtus was the son of a lowborn priest. Sixtus had a sister Joanna, who married Lawrence, a landowner in Szőllős (today
Vinodol, Nitra). Their marriage produced several children. His other brother-in-law Ampud of Macsala was also a landowner in Hetény. Through the paternal branch, he was related to
Mikó Szécs, a courtier in Esztergom.
Ecclesiastical career
Historian Péter Kis assumes Sixtus was identical with a namesake cleric who is mentioned as a ''cantor'' of the Győr Chapter by four charters in the period between 1241 and 1248. He also argues Sixtus functioned as dean of
Pressburg Chapter in 1253. Sixtus is first referred to as ''lector'' of the Esztergom Chapter in 1255. Through his extensive kinship in
Esztergom County, he could compensate his nuclear family's relatively low origin. Besides his duty to proclaim the Scripture readings used in the Liturgy of the Word, Sixtus was responsible for management of the cathedral school of Esztergom and teaching the clerics and the poor scholars, in accordance with Canon 18 of the
Third Council of the Lateran
The Third Council of the Lateran met in Rome in March 1179. Pope Alexander III presided and 302 bishops attended. The Catholic Church regards it as the eleventh ecumenical council.
By agreement reached at the Peace of Venice in 1177 the bitter ...
(1179). Thus he was also styled as "''scholasticus''" in contemporary documents. Additionally, Sixtus led the local
place of authentication
A place of authentication ( hu, hiteleshely; la, locus credibilis) was a characteristic institution of medieval Hungarian law. Places of authentication were cathedral chapters and monasteries
A monastery is a building or complex of buildin ...
in this capacity. Approximately thirty charters remain from Sixtus' term. For this role,
Charles I of Sicily
Charles I (early 1226/12277 January 1285), commonly called Charles of Anjou, was a member of the royal Capetian dynasty and the founder of the second House of Anjou. He was Count of Provence (1246–85) and Forcalquier (1246–48, 1256–85) i ...
referred to him as "chancellor of Esztergom" ( la, cancellarius Strigoniensis) in 1270. Sixtus occasionally also used this title thereafter.
Sixtus resigned as ''lector'', when he was sent as head of the Hungarian diplomatic mission to Rome, from 1258 to 1264. Then he became archdeacon 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 ...
(present-day Komárno, Slovakia). On 15 July 1264,
Pope Urban IV
Pope Urban IV ( la, Urbanus IV; c. 1195 – 2 October 1264), born Jacques Pantaléon, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 August 1261 to his death. He was not a cardinal; only a few popes since his time ha ...
ordered
Vincent, Bishop of Nyitra (or Nitra) to provide a dignity and benefice for Sixtus either in
Zagreb
Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...
or other cathedrals, or perhaps in a church of the Archdiocese of Esztergom, because he "wants to leave" his position of archdeacon in Komárom (probably due to its extensive administrative obligations). After 1266, Sixtus returned to his office of ''lector'' in Esztergom. In August 1271, after
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 ...
invaded the lands north of 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 ...
and destroyed the archives of the
Diocese of Nyitra (Nitra), vice-''ispán'' Michael,
Benedict
Benedict may refer to:
People Names
*Benedict (given name), including a list of people with the given name
*Benedict (surname), including a list of people with the surname
Religious figures
* Pope Benedict I (died 579), head of the Catholic Chu ...
,
provost of Arad and Sixtus were mandated by King
Stephen V Stephen V may refer to:
*Pope Stephen IV, aka Stephen V, Pope from 816 to 817
*Pope Stephen V (885–891)
*Stephen V of Hungary (born before 1239 – 1272), King of Hungary and Croatia, Duke of Styria
*Stephen V Báthory
Stephen Báthory of Ecs ...
to determine the borders of the diocese, cataloging its estates and churches upon the request of Bishop Vincent. In early 1272, Sixtus appeared as an ''
ad litem'' judge to investigate the credibility of the ''
udvarnik'' lands countrywide. In this capacity, he traveled the counties 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 ...
,
Zala,
Somogy and
Vas.
He last appears in contemporary sources on 17 April 1285. A certain Cyprian succeeded him as ''lector'' of Esztergom by 15 August 1286, suggesting Sixtus was deceased by then. In 1287, he is referred to as of "good memory" (''bone memorie''). Sixtus made his
last will and testament
A will or testament is a legal document that expresses a person's (testator) wishes as to how their property ( estate) is to be distributed after their death and as to which person (executor) is to manage the property until its final distributio ...
in 1272, along with ''cantor'' Valentine. Accordingly, his gifted lands in Hetény was inherited by the Archdiocese of Esztergom. Sixtus stipulated that the archbishop had to finish the construction of the St. Anne monastery in the area. The monastery later belonged to the
Williamites.
Diplomatic missions
Both Urban IV in 1264 and Charles of Sicily in 1270 referred to Sixtus as a "royal cleric", which connected his diplomatic activity. At first, he was sent to Italy in 1258 to represent King Béla's interests at the
Roman Curia, as some of his policies gave rise to many conflicts between the Hungarian royal court and the Holy See after the Mongol invasion. Sixtus sold some part of his inherited land in Hetény to his relative and neighbour Mikó Szécs, in order to finance his diplomatic mission to Rome. He stayed there as the permanent ambassador of the Kingdom of Hungary to the
Papal States
The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...
until 1264. For instance, Sixtus protested in the name of his king when Pope Urban IV appointed
Timothy as
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 ...
without Béla's consultation in late 1263. At the same time, the king was angered by the fact too that Pope Urban allowed his opponent
Cardinal Báncsa to be free to distribute Timothy's benefices in Hungary among his relatives. When the reconciliation of Béla and his rebellious son Duke Stephen proved to be only temporary in 1263, the king commissioned Sixtus to convince the pope to support Béla's interests and withdraw support from some pro-Stephen Hungarian prelates. For his loyal service, Sixtus was granted royal land donations from his monarch and spouse Queen
Maria Laskarina
Maria Laskarina (c. 1206 – 16 July or 24 June 1270) was a Greek Queen consort of Hungary by marriage to Béla IV of Hungary. She was the daughter of Theodore I Laskaris and Anna Komnena Angelina.
Life
She was a younger sister of Irene Lascarina ...
in Hetény and
Radvány (present-day Radvaň nad Dunajom, Slovakia) after returning home, when 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 ...
broke out. According to the s of three of Béla's donation letters, "
ixtusprotected us and the right of our crown for many years". For his merits, Sixtus was also appointed as titular papal chaplain by Pope Urban after 1264. During the years spent in Rome, his envoy companion was a certain Egidius 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 ...
.
In 1270, Sixtus was among the members of the Hungarian delegation presumably led by ''magister''
Ákos
Ákos is a Hungarian name. Today, it is mainly a masculine given name.
It may refer to:
Middle Ages
* Ákos (clan), a medieval Hungarian clan
** Ákos (chronicler) (d. after 1273)
** Ernye Ákos (d. after 1275)
Given name
* Ákos Buzsáky, ...
sent to
Naples
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
which escorted the then twelve-year-old princess
Mary
Mary may refer to:
People
* Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name)
Religious contexts
* New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below
* Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...
to marry
Charles the Lame. Before that he sold another part of Hetény for 70 silver coins to Mikó Szécs. For Charles of Anjou, Hungary was an important ally, when he forged alliances in the
Balkan Peninsula
The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
to counteract the surrounding great powers, the
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
and the
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...
. Charles' three documents mention Sixtus' stay in the Sicilian royal court at the end of 1270. Charles sent his notary Reginald of Florence as Sixtus' accompaniment. The diplomat returned to Hungary by June 1271. Historian
Jenő Szűcs
Jenő Szűcs (July 13, 1928 in Debrecen – November 24, 1988 in Leányfalu
Leányfalu is a riverside village in Pest county, Budapest metropolitan area, Hungary. It is just north of Szentendre located at . Located between the branch of the Litt ...
argued chronicler
Simon of Kéza
Simon of Kéza ( hu, Kézai Simon) was the most famous Hungarian chronicler of the 13th century. He was a priest in the royal court of king Ladislaus IV of Hungary.
In 1270–1271, bearing the title "master" (''magister''), Simon was part of a d ...
belonged to Sixtus' ''familia'' and also took part in the diplomatic mission, along with
Master Andrew.
Notes
References
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sixtus of Esztergom
1220s births
1280s deaths
13th-century Hungarian people
13th-century Roman Catholic priests
Medieval Hungarian diplomats