Lawrence, son of Ampud (; died after 1229) was a noble in the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

in the first decades of the 13th century, who served in the court of Coloman, Duke of Slavonia.

Family

Lawrence was born into an influential noble family, which possessed landholdings in

Slavonia Slavonia (; ) is, with Dalmatia, Croatia proper, and Istria County, Istria, one of the four Regions of Croatia, historical regions of Croatia. Located in the Pannonian Plain and taking up the east of the country, it roughly corresponds with f ...

beyond the river

Drava The Drava or Drave (, ; ; ; ; ), historically known as the Dravis or Dravus, is a river in southern Central Europe.

. His paternal grandfather was Ampud I, a skilled military commander, who served as Ban of Slavonia and

Palatine of Hungary The Palatine of Hungary ( or , , ) was the highest-ranking office in the Kingdom of Hungary from the beginning of the 11th century to 1848. Initially, Palatines were representatives of the monarchs, later (from 1723) the vice-regent (vi ...

during the reigns of kings Stephen III and

Béla III Béla may refer to: * Béla (crater), an elongated lunar crater * Béla (given name), a common Hungarian male given name See also * Bela (disambiguation) * Belá (disambiguation) * Bělá (disambiguation) Bělá may refer to: Places in the Cze ...

. Lawrence was one of the three sons of Ampud II, who 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

Szolnok County Szolnok County (, , (modern spelling )) was a county in the Kingdom of Hungary between the 11th century and 1426. It was made up of two disconnected parts, one in what later became Transylvania and the , the other around the Tisza centred on ...

in 1199, and an unidentified daughter of Count Berthold III of Andechs,

Margrave of Istria Margrave was originally the medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or a kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain feudal families in the Empir ...

. Through the maternal lineage, Lawrence was the first cousin of

Gertrude of Merania Gertrude of Merania ( 1185 – 28 September 1213) was Queen of Hungary as the first wife of Andrew II from 1205 until her assassination. She was regent during her husband's absence. Life Gertrude was the daughter of the Bavarian Count Berth ...

, a daughter of Berthold IV and spouse of King Andrew II. Lawrence had two elder brothers;

Denis Denis may refer to: People * Saint Denis of Paris, 3rd-century Christian martyr and first bishop of Paris * Denis the Areopagite, Biblical figure * Denis, Bishop of Győr (13th century), Hungarian prelate * Denis, son of Ampud (died 1236), bar ...

was one of the most staunchest confidants of Andrew since the 1210s, and a key figure of the royal economic reform, while

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * he He ..., a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name * Michael (bishop elect)">Michael (surname)">he He ..., a given nam ...

belonged to the rival baronial group centered around Duke

Béla Béla may refer to: * Béla (crater), an elongated lunar crater * Béla (given name), a common Hungarian male given name See also * Bela (disambiguation) * Belá (disambiguation) * Bělá (disambiguation) Bělá may refer to: Places in the Cze ...

in the same time. Lawrence had no known wives nor descendants.

Violent actions

Lawrence entered the service of Duke Coloman – King Andrew's second son – who was made

Duke of Slavonia The Duke of Slavonia (; ), also meaning the Duke of Dalmatia and Croatia (; ) was a title of Nobility in the Kingdom of Hungary, nobility granted several times in the 12th and 14th centuries, mainly to relatives of King of Hungary, Hungarian monarch ...

in 1226. Around the same time, Lawrence was appointed ''ispán'' (župan) of the castle district of Gorica in the territory of

Zagreb County Zagreb County () is a county in Northern Croatia. It surrounds, but does not contain, the nation's capital Zagreb, which is a separate territorial unit. For that reason, the county is often nicknamed "Zagreb ring" (). According to the 2021 censu ...

, which belonged to Coloman's duchy. However, Lawrence committed crimes and acts of domination (''factum potentiale''), abusing his office. As a result, Coloman deprived Lawrence from his position. His elder brothers, Denis and Michael intervened for his sake, requesting the duke to take him back into his graces. Consequently, Lawrence was appointed ''ispán'' of the castle district of Podgorje, which also laid in Zagreb County (present-day ruins near

Draga Svetojanska Draga Svetojanska is a settlement in the Jastrebarsko administrative area of Zagreb County, Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea ...

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

). However, Lawrence continued his violent actions. He pillaged and devastated 24 villages surrounding the fort in the belief that he would "find treasures there that he could steal". Duke Coloman again dismissed from his position and the royal tribunal of Andrew II confiscated his all properties. Thanks to his family ties, Lawrence eventually had to get rid of only one estate, Lipóc in

Sáros County Sáros (- Hungarian, Slovak: ''Šariš'', Latin: ''comitatus Sarossiensis'', German: ''Scharosch'') was an administrative county ( comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is now in northeastern Slovakia. Today, Šariš is only an in ...

(today Kecerovský Lipovec,

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, 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 west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

). In 1229, Duke Coloman sold this landholding (later castle) and its accessories (i.e. tax exemption) to his faithful confidant

Demetrius Aba Demetrius is the Latinized form of the Ancient Greek male given name ''Dēmḗtrios'' (), meaning "devoted to goddess Demeter". Alternate forms include Demetrios, Dimitrios, Dimitris, Dmytro, Dimitri, Dimitrie, Dimitar, Dumitru, Demitri, Dhimi ...

for 1000

marks Marks may refer to: Business * Mark's, a Canadian retail chain * Marks & Spencer, a British retail chain * Collective trade marks A collective trademark, collective trade mark, or collective mark is a trademark owned by an organization (such ...

. There is no further information about Lawrence. Lipóc became one of the two eponymous estates of the Lipóc branch of the ''gens'' (clan) Aba, which reached its peak by the first half of the 14th century, when

Demetrius Nekcsei Demetrius is the Latinized form of the Ancient Greek male given name ''Dēmḗtrios'' (), meaning "devoted to goddess Demeter". Alternate forms include Demetrios, Dimitrios, Dimitris, Dmytro, Dimitri, Dimitrie, Dimitar, Dumitru, Demitri, Dhimi ...

(or Lipóci) directed the economic policy of Hungary.

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lawrence son of Ampud 13th-century Hungarian people

Lawrence Lawrence may refer to: Education Colleges and universities * Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States * Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States Preparator ...