Matthias Rátót
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Matthias from the kindred Rátót ( hu, Rátót nembeli Mátyás; died April 11, 1241) was a Hungarian prelate in the first half of the 13th century, who served as
Bishop of Vác 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 ca ...
from 1238 to 1240, then Archbishop of Esztergom from 1239 until his death in the
Battle of Mohi The Battle of Mohi (11 April 1241), also known as Battle of the Sajó River''A Global Chronology of Conflict: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East'', Vol. I, ed. Spencer C. Tucker, (ABC-CLIO, 2010), 279; "Although Mongol losses in t ...
( Sajó River). He was the first Archbishop of Esztergom, who was referred to as Primate of Hungary.


Biography

Matthias was born into the ''gens'' (clan) Rátót, which originated from Apulia and settled down in Hungary in late 11th century, according to
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 ...
's ''
Gesta Hunnorum et Hungarorum The ''Gesta Hunnorum et Hungarorum'Reader's encyclopedia of Eastern European literature'', 1993, Robert B. Pynsent, Sonia I. Kanikova, p. 529. (Latin: "Deeds of the Huns and Hungarians") is a medieval chronicle written mainly by Simon of Kéz ...
''. However his parents are unidentified, thus there is inability to connect his person to the any branches of the clan. Historian János Karácsonyi claimed that Matthias was the younger son of Rathold Rátót, ancestor of the Gyulafi branch. Consequently it is possible that
Dominic I Rátót Dominic (I) from the kindred Rátót ( hu, Rátót nembeli (I.) Domokos; died 11 April 1241) was a Hungarian distinguished nobleman from the ''gens'' Rátót, who served as master of the treasury between 1238 and 1240. His father was Rathold Rá ...
,
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 ...
, who was killed in Mohi too, was Matthias' elder brother. According to the narration of Roger of Torre Maggiore's '' Carmen Miserabile'', Matthias grew up in the royal court of Andrew II together with heir Béla, therefore possibly he was born in the early 1200s (historian Nándor Knauz considered 1206 as the year of birth). Since his early years, Matthias belonged to Duke Béla's confidants, who strongly opposed his father "useless and superfluous perpetual grants" which caused the derogation of the royal power in the realm. When Béla was made
Duke of Slavonia The Duke of Slavonia ( hr, slavonski herceg; la, dux Slavoniae), also Duke of Dalmatia and Croatia ( hr, herceg Hrvatske i Dalmacije; la, dux Dalmatiae et Croatiae) and sometimes Duke of "Whole Slavonia", Dalmatia and Croatia ( hr, herceg cijele S ...
in 1220, Matthias became a member of his ducal court. Since 1224, he served as provost of
Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Slov ...
and chancellor for Duke Béla simultaneously. He held both offices at least until 1233, even after Béla was transferred from
Slavonia Slavonia (; hr, Slavonija) is, with Dalmatia, Croatia proper, and Istria, one of the four historical regions of Croatia. Taking up the east of the country, it roughly corresponds with five Croatian counties: Brod-Posavina, Osijek-Baran ...
to
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 Ap ...
in 1226 to govern the province as
duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are rank ...
. In both capacities, he had an influence on the issuance of diplomas, which is confirmed by the philological similarity of the ''arengas'' of documents issued by the two institutions, the bishopric of Zagreb and Béla's ducal court. When Béla IV ascended the Hungarian throne in 1235, Matthias was promoted to the court office of chancellor in the royal court, while maintained his clerical position of provost of Zagreb. He was last mentioned as chancellor by a royal charter in 1236, but it is plausible that he held the office until 1238, when he was elected
Bishop of Vác 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 ca ...
, and his successor Stephen Báncsa first appeared as chancellor in contemporary records only in that year. Matthias was referred to as Bishop of Vác at first in January 1238, when the abbot of the Scottish Benedictine Abbey in
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
requested him to
excommunicate Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the Koinonia, communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The ...
a certain knight Wernher from Pest, based on a papal judgment in August of last year, thus Matthias was a consecrated and confirmed bishop by then. In August 1238,
Pope Gregory IX Pope Gregory IX ( la, Gregorius IX; born Ugolino di Conti; c. 1145 or before 1170 – 22 August 1241) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 March 1227 until his death in 1241. He is known for issuing the '' Decre ...
instructed Bishop Matthias to support Béla's policy against the domestic opponents. Matthias Rátót succeeded to the archbishopric of Esztergom upon the death of Archbishop
Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...
, who died on 1 November 1239. He was elected by the Esztergom Chapter between around 2 and 29 November. Initially, Pope Gregory IX refused the confirmation of his election, citing the "disregard for canon law standards" during the process. Following that several ecclesiastical and secular illustrious persons – including Béla IV himself and his younger brother Duke Coloman – testified in favor of the legitimacy of Matthias's election. Consequently, his election was confirmed by Pope Gregory IX on 6 March 1240, who then also sent a ''
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 metropol ...
'' to him. Despite that he was still referred to as postulated archbishop on 21 March, while still functioned as Bishop of Vác at the same time. Matthias Rátót was the first Archbishop of Esztergom, who was styled as Primate of Hungary by a royal charter. Pope Gregory invited him to
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
on 9 August 1240 to attend a council which should be addressed at Easter 1241 after he denounced Emperor Frederick II as a heretic. However Frederick responded by trying to capture or sink as many ships carrying prelates to the synod as he could. After these developments, Matthias refused to attend, referring to the dangerous journey. With the permission of Béla IV, received by his predecessor Robert in 1239, Matthias ordered to build Víziváros ( la, Civitas Archiepiscopalis, a neighborhood of
Esztergom Esztergom ( ; german: Gran; la, Solva or ; sk, Ostrihom, known by alternative names) is a city with county rights in northern Hungary, northwest of the capital Budapest. It lies in Komárom-Esztergom County, on the right bank of the river Dan ...
). He also built the Premonstratensian monastery of Gyulafirátót, the ancient seat of his kindred (today a borough in
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 ...
). During the
First Mongol invasion of Hungary The first Mongol invasion of Hungary ( hu, tatárjárás) started in March 1241, and the Mongols started to withdraw in late March 1242. Background Mongol invasion of Europe The Hungarians had first learned about the Mongol threat in 1229, when ...
, Matthias and his deputy, archdeacon Albert gathered their army in Esztergom and joined Duke Coloman's troops, marching together to Pest. In the Battle of Mohi on 11 April 1241, Matthias personally led his troops, when fell with commander Archbishop Ugrin Csák and majority of the bishops (for instance, Reynold of Transylvania and Jacob of Nyitra were among them) as they were leading troops against
Batu Khan Batu Khan ( – 1255),, ''Bat haan'', tt-Cyrl, Бату хан; ; russian: хан Баты́й was a Mongol ruler and founder of the Golden Horde, a constituent of the Mongol Empire. Batu was a son of Jochi, thus a grandson of Genghis Kh ...
.Richard Gabriel, ''Subotai the Valiant'' (Westport, CT: Prager, 2004), 122-124; David Morgan, ''The Mongols'' (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1986), 138-139; Michael C. Paul, "Secular Power and the Archbishops of Novgorod before the Muscovite Conquest," ''Kritika: Explorations in Russian and Eurasian History'' 8, No. 2 (2007): 240. According to ''magister'' Roger, his body was never found.


References


Sources

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External links


Mátyás
at ''Magyar Katolikus Lexikon (Hungarian Catholic Encyclopedia)'' (Hungarian) {{DEFAULTSORT:Ratot, Matthias 13th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Hungary Matthias Archbishops of Esztergom Bishops of Vác Hungarian military personnel killed in the Mongol invasion of Europe 1200s births 1241 deaths Year of birth unknown 13th-century Hungarian people