Gregory Kőszegi (; died 1297) was a Hungarian nobleman in the 13th century, member of the illustrious

Kőszegi family The Kőszegi () was a noble family in the Kingdom of Hungary and the Kingdom of Croatia in the 13th and 14th centuries. The ancestor of the family, Henry the Great, descended from the ''gens'' ("clan") Héder. Henry's paternal great-grandfathe ...

, who held several ispánates during the reign of

Andrew III of Hungary Andrew III the Venetian (, , ; – 14 January 1301) was King of Hungary and King of Croatia, Croatia between 1290 and 1301. His father, Stephen the Posthumous, was the posthumous son of Andrew II of Hungary although Stephen's older half brother ...

Biography

Gregory was the firstborn son of the powerful lord

Ivan Kőszegi Ivan Kőszegi (, ; died 5 April 1308) was an influential lord in the Kingdom of Hungary at the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries. Earlier historiographical works also refer to him Ivan Németújvári (, , ). He was Palatine of Hungary, Palatin ...

.Engel: ''Genealógia'' (Genus Héder 4. Kőszegi nd Rohoncibranch) He had a sister, who married a certain Dominic and a brother

John the Wolf Jean Leclerc (; born May 14, 1961) is a French-speaking Quebecer, Québécois singer-songwriter and author from Sainte-Foy, Quebec, Sainte-Foy, Quebec, Canada. He is popularly known as Jean Leloup (which he likes to translate to John the Wolf), a ...

, who was presumably born after Gregory's death, and integrated into the

Austrian nobility The Austrian nobility () is a status group that was officially abolished in 1919 after the fall of Austria-Hungary. Austria's system of nobility was very similar to that of Germany (see German nobility), as both countries were previously part of ...

. He also had a stepbrother from his father's extramarital affair,

Nicholas Nicholas is a male name, the Anglophone version of an ancient Greek name in use since antiquity, and cognate with the modern Greek , . It originally derived from a combination of two Ancient Greek, Greek words meaning 'victory' and 'people'. In ...

(born 1282), who entered ecclesiastical career and elevated into the dignity of

Bishop of Győr 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 ...

. Gregory had two sons from his unidentified wife: Nicholas III and

Andrew Andrew is the English form of the given name, common in many countries. The word is derived from the , ''Andreas'', itself related to ''aner/andros'', "man" (as opposed to "woman"), thus meaning "manly" and, as consequence, "brave", "strong", "c ...

, who were still minors during his death and inherited their grandfather's wealth and power after 1308. The future Andrew III came to Hungary for the first time in 1278 at the invitation of Ivan Kőszegi, who wanted to play Andrew off against

Ladislaus IV of Hungary Ladislaus IV (, , ; 5 August 1262 – 10 July 1290), also known as Ladislaus the Cuman, was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1272 to 1290. His mother, Elizabeth, was the daughter of a chieftain from the pagan Cumans who had settled in Hung ...

. Andrew achieved nothing, and went back to

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

in autumn. Gregory Kőszegi was first referred to as the Master of the stewards in the virtual ducal court of Andrew in 1287. During the reign of Andrew III, who ascended the Hungarian throne in 1290, Kőszegi served as ''

ispán The ispánRady 2000, p. 19.''Stephen Werbőczy: The Customary Law of the Renowned Kingdom of Hungary in Three Parts (1517)'', p. 450. or countEngel 2001, p. 40.Curta 2006, p. 355. (, , and ),Kirschbaum 2007, p. 315. deriving from title of župan, ...

'' of

Zala County Zala (, ; ; ) is an administrative county (Counties of Hungary, comitatus or ''vármegye'') in south-western Hungary. It is named after the Zala River. It shares borders with Croatia (Koprivnica–Križevci County, Koprivnica–Križevci and Me� ...

in 1291. Shortly after the signing of

Peace of Hainburg Peace is a state of harmony in the absence of hostility and violence, and everything that discusses achieving human welfare through justice and peaceful conditions. In a societal sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such a ...

, which concluded the brief war between Hungary and

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

and prescribed the destruction of the fortresses that Albert of Austria had seized from them, Kőszegis rose up in open rebellion against Andrew in spring 1292, acknowledging

Charles Martel of Anjou Charles Martel (; 8 September 1271 – 12 August 1295) of the Capetian dynasty was the eldest son of king Charles II of Naples and Mary of Hungary, the daughter of King Stephen V of Hungary. __NOTOC__ The 18-year-old Charles Martel was set up by ...

, as

King of Hungary The King of Hungary () was the Monarchy, ruling head of state of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1000 (or 1001) to 1918. The style of title "Apostolic King of Hungary" (''Magyarország apostoli királya'') was endorsed by Pope Clement XIII in 1758 ...

. His father

Charles II of Naples Charles II, also known as Charles the Lame (; ; 1254 – 5 May 1309), was King of Naples, Count of Provence and Forcalquier (1285–1309), Prince of Achaea (1285–1289), and Count of Anjou and Maine (1285–1290); he also was King of Albania ( ...

donated

Vas Vas (, ; ; or ; ) is an administrative county (comitatus or ''vármegye'') of Hungary. It was also one of the counties of the former Kingdom of Hungary. It is part of the Centrope Project. Geography Vas County lies in western Hungary. It share ...

and

Sopron Sopron (; , ) is a city in Hungary on the Austrian border, near Lake Neusiedl/Lake Fertő. History Ancient times-13th century In the Iron Age a hilltop settlement with a burial ground existed in the neighbourhood of Sopron-Várhely. When ...

counties to Ivan and his son Gregory. In September 1296, Gregory was styled as ''ispán'' Garics (Podgaric) and Gerzence (Garešnica) lordships by a contemporary document. In the next year, the two forts were handed over to the Diocese of Zagreb. Gregory shared his father's political orientation in order to establish their independent province at the borderlands between Austria and Hungary. According to Austrian chronicles and annals, he actively participated in the various plundering campaigns and raids against the two realms. The ''Continuatio Vindobonensis'' described Gregory as a "very bad man, the most worthless robber", thus, as the chronicle noted, "it is not surprising" that he was killed by a

lightning strike A lightning strike or lightning bolt is a lightning event in which an electric discharge takes place between the atmosphere and the ground. Most originate in a cumulonimbus cloud and terminate on the ground, called cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning ...

in 1297.

References

Sources

* * * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Koszegi, Gregory 1297 deaths 13th-century Hungarian nobility

Gregory Gregory may refer to: People and fictional characters * Gregory (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Gregory (surname), a surname *Gregory (The Walking Dead), fictional character from the walkin ...

Deaths from lightning strikes