Thomas (I) Szécsényi ( hu, Szécsényi (I.) Tamás; died 1354) was a Hungarian powerful baron and soldier, who rose to prominence during King

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

's war 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 ...

. He belonged to the so-called "new aristocracy", who supported the king's efforts to restore royal power in the first decades of the 14th century. He was the first member of the influential

Szécsényi family The House of Szécsényi was a noble family of the Kingdom of Hungary in the 14-15th centuries. The ancestor of the family, Thomas descended from the ''gens'' ("clan") Kacsics. He was one of the most powerful barons of King Charles I of Hungary ...

Career

The son of Farkas from the ''gens'' Kacsics, he joined King Charles I against the powerful

Matthew III Csák Máté Csák or Matthew III Csák (between 1260 and 1265 – 18 March 1321; hu, Csák (III.) Máté, sk, Matúš Čák III), also Máté Csák of Trencsén ( hu, trencséni Csák (III.) Máté, sk, Matúš Čák III Trenčiansky), was a Hungar ...

in 1301; therefore, his relatives who followed Csák occupied his inherited possessions in

Nógrád County Nógrád ( hu, Nógrád megye, ; sk, Novohradská župa) is a counties of Hungary, county ( hu, megye) of Hungary. It sits on the northern edge of Hungary and borders Slovakia. Description Nógrád county lies in northern Hungary. It shares bor ...

. He fought at 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 b ...

(15 June 1312) when the king's armies defeated the allied troops of Matthew Csák and

Amadeus Aba Amadeus Aba or Amade Aba ( hu, Aba Amadé; sk, Omodej Aba; ? – 5 September 1311) was a Hungarian oligarchy, oligarch in the Kingdom of Hungary who ruled ''de facto'' independently the northern and north-eastern Comitatus (Kingdom of Hungary ...

's sons. Shortly afterwards, the king granted Thomas the possession of

Hollókő Hollókő () is a Palóc ethnographic village in Hungary and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its name means "Raven-stone" in Hungarian. Location The village is located in Nógrád county, approximately 91.1 kilometres northeast from Budapest, t ...

that had been confiscated from his relatives. In 1316, he occupied the

Visegrád Visegrád (; german: Plintenburg; la, Pone Navata or ; sk, Vyšehrad) is a castle town in Pest County, Hungary. It is north of Budapest on the right bank of the Danube in the Danube Bend. It had a population of 1,864 in 2010. The town is the s ...

Castle from Máté Csák. He became the head ''(ispán)'' of Arad, Bács and

Syrmia Syrmia ( sh, Srem/Срем or sh, Srijem/Сријем, label=none) is a region of the southern Pannonian Plain, which lies between the Danube and Sava rivers. It is divided between Serbia and Croatia. Most of the region is flat, with the exce ...

counties (1318) and the

Judge of the Cumans The judge of the Cumans ( hu, kunok bírája or ''kunbíró''; la, iudex Cumanorum) was a short-lived legal office, then an ''ex officio'' title in the Hungarian royal court, existed since the second half of the 13th century. In 1270, the Palatine ...

(1319). In 1320, he was appointed to the Master of the Queen's Treasury ''(királynéi tárnokmester)''. Between 1318 and 1334, he married one of Queen Elisabeth's relatives, Anna of Oświęcim as his second wife. Following Matthew Csák's death (1321), the king granted him several castles and possessions in

Heves Heves is a small town in eastern Hungary. About 100 km east of Budapest, Heves lies at the northern extreme of the Great Hungarian Plain, just south of the Mátra and Bükk hills and west of the Tisza River. Heves gave its name to the Heves ...

, Gömör and Nógrád counties; thus, he received Ajnácskő (today ''Hajnáčka'' 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 ...

), Baglyaskő, Bene, Somoskő (today ''Šomoška'' in Slovakia) and Sztrahora Castles. In the same year, he became the Voivode of Transylvania. He suppressed the rebellion of the

Transylvanian Saxons The Transylvanian Saxons (german: Siebenbürger Sachsen; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjer Såksen''; ro, Sași ardeleni, sași transilvăneni/transilvani; hu, Erdélyi szászok) are a people of German ethnicity who settled in Transylvania ( ...

(1324) and the king granted him Salgó Castle (today ''Sibiel'' in

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

). In 1342, he was appointed to the office of

Master of the treasury The master of the treasury or treasurerSegeš 2002, p. 316.Rady 2000, p. 113. (german: Königlicher Ober-SchatzmeisterFallenbüchl 1988, p. 80. or , hu, tárnokmester,Zsoldos 2011, p. 61. la, magister tavarnicorum, or , sk, taverník hr, tave ...

''(tárnokmester)'' and in 1349, he became

Judge royal The judge royal, also justiciar,Rady 2000, p. 49. chief justiceSegeš 2002, p. 202. or Lord Chief JusticeFallenbüchl 1988, p. 145. (german: Oberster Landesrichter,Fallenbüchl 1988, p. 72. hu, országbíró,Zsoldos 2011, p. 26. sk, krajinsk� ...

''(országbíró)''.

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Szecsenyi, Thomas 1354 deaths 13th-century Hungarian people 14th-century Hungarian people Judges royal Voivodes of Transylvania Masters of the treasury (Kingdom of Hungary) Medieval Hungarian military leaders

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 ...