Csanád, also Chanadinus, or Cenad, was the first head ''(comes)'' of Csanád County in 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 Hungarian monarch, c ...

in the first decades of the 11th century. Csanád defeated and killed

Ajtony Ajtony, Ahtum or Achtum ( hu, Ajtony, bg, Охтум, ro, Ahtum, sr, Ахтум) was an early-11th-century ruler in the territory now known as Banat in present Romania and Serbia. His primary source is the ''Long Life of Saint Gerard'', a 14 ...

who had ruled over the region now known as

Banat Banat (, ; hu, Bánság; sr, Банат, Banat) is a geographical and historical region that straddles Central and Eastern Europe and which is currently divided among three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania (the counties of ...

(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 ...

and

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 Hu ...

). Csanád County and its capital (

Cenad Cenad ( hu, Nagycsanád, during the Dark Ages (historiography), Dark Ages ''Marosvár''; german: Tschanad; sr, Чанад, Čanad; la, Chanadinum) is a communes of Romania, commune in Timiș County, Romania. It is composed of a single village, Ce ...

, in Hungarian ''Csanád'') were named after him.

Life

The

anonymous author Anonymous works are works, such as art or literature, that have an anonymous, undisclosed, or unknown creator or author. In the case of very old works, the author's name may simply be lost over the course of history and time. There are a number ...

of the 13th-century '' Gesta Ungarorum'' states that Csanád was the nephew of King

Stephen I of Hungary Stephen I, also known as King Saint Stephen ( hu, Szent István király ; la, Sanctus Stephanus; sk, Štefan I. or Štefan Veľký; 975 – 15 August 1038), was the last Grand Prince of the Hungarians between 997 and 1000 or 1001, and the ...

(1000/1001-1038) ''(nepos regis)'' and his father's name was Doboka. According to the '' Long Life of St Gerard'', an early 14th-century compilation of different sources, Csanád was a

pagan Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. I ...

in the service of Ahtum. Ahtum, whose residence was at ''“urbs Morisena”'' on the river Mureș, controlled traffic along the river and taxed transport of

salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quant ...

s from

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the A ...

to the heartland of Pannonia. It was in relation to salt that Ahtum found himself in conflict with Stephen, the newly proclaimed king of Hungary. According to the ''Long Life'', Csanád had been loyal to Ahtum, but later switched sides and at the head of a large army sent by King Stephen I eventually defeated and killed Ahtum. Csanád was subsequently given substantial grants of land in the newly conquered territories of his former lord. At ''urbs Morisena'', which was given the name of Csanád, a Roman Catholic bishopric was immediately founded, and

Gerard Gerard is a masculine forename of Proto-Germanic origin, variations of which exist in many Germanic and Romance languages. Like many other early Germanic names, it is dithematic, consisting of two meaningful constituents put together. In this ca ...

, who had hitherto lived as a

hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite ( adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a C ...

in the forest of the

Bakony Bakony () is a mountainous region in Transdanubia, Hungary. It forms the largest part of the Transdanubian Mountains. It is located north of Lake Balaton and lies almost entirely in Veszprém county. The Bakony is divided into the Northern an ...

, was invited to be its first

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

. By that time Csanád had been

baptized Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost i ...

and become the head of the royal county ''(comitatus)'' organized around the fortress at Cenad. With Csanád's help, Bishop Gerard began his mission in the region and established a

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whic ...

dedicated to

St George Saint George ( Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...

in a place later called ''Oroszlános'' ( Banatsko Aranđelovo, Serbia), most probably after the carved

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus '' Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adu ...

s decorating its gates (''oroszlán'' is the Hungarian world for ‘lion’). The

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

monks A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedic ...

of the

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or " canonical ...

monastery which Ahtum had established at ''Morisena'' were also moved to make room for Gerard's newly established bishopric. Csanád was the ancestor of the ''genus Chanad/Sunad'' (Csanád kindred), the site of whose main holdings in Arad, Csanád, Krassó and Temes counties demonstrated a quite remarkable continuity from the 11th to 14th centuries.

References

Sources

*Curta, Florin: ''Transylvania around A.D. 1000''; ''in:'' Urbańczyk, Przemysław ''(Editor)'': ''Europe around the year 1000''; Wydawn. DiG, 2001; *Curta, Florin: ''Southeastern Europe in the Middle Ages - 500-1250''; Cambridge University Press, 2006, Cambridge; *Engel, Pál: ''The Realm of St Stephen: A History of Medieval Hungary, 895-1526''; I. B. Tauris, 2001, London&New York; *Georgescu, Vlad ''(Author)'' – Calinescu, Matei ''(Editor)'' – Bley-Vroman, Alexandra ''(Translator)'': ''The Romanians – A History''; Ohio State University Press, 1991, Columbus; *Kristó, Gyula ''(General Editor)'' - Engel, Pál - Makk, Ferenc ''(Editors)'': Korai Magyar történeti lexikon (9-14. század) ''/Encyclopedia of the Early Hungarian History (9th-14th centuries)/''; Akadémiai Kiadó, 1994, Budapest; (the entry “Csanád” was written by László Szegfű). *Rady, Martyn: ''Nobility, Land and Service in Medieval Hungary''; Palgrave (in association with School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University College London), 2000, New York;

External links

Original Latin text of the ''Gesta Hungarorum'' by P. Magister

English text of the ''Gesta Hungarorum''

Latin writings and deeds of Saint Gerard of Csanád including the ''Legenda Maior'' on the events

{{DEFAULTSORT:Csanad Medieval Hungarian nobility History of Banat Romania in the Early Middle Ages 11th century in Serbia Csanád (genus) 11th-century Hungarian people

Life

See also

References

Sources

External links