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Matthew (I) from the kindred Csák (; ; ? – 1245/1249) was a powerful Hungarian baron of king
Béla IV 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 ...
, the first known member of the Trencsén branch of the ''gens'' (clan) Csák. His grandson was the oligarch
Matthew III Csák Máté Csák or Matthew III Csák (between 1260 and 1265 – 18 March 1321; , ), also Máté Csák of Trencsén (, ), was a Hungarian oligarch who ruled ''de facto'' independently the north-western counties of Medieval Hungary (today roughly th ...
.Markó 2006, p. 351.


Family

He was born into the Csák clan from unknown parents, as a result there is an inability to connect the Trencsén branch to the other branches of the clan. In 1235, when he was first mentioned by contemporary records, Matthew had already begun his political career as a well-known member of junior king Béla's court, therefore it was not necessary to distinguish him from the other lords by specifying the name of his father.Kristó 1986, p. 28. Matthew I married Margaret from an unidentified family. The marriage produced five children (four sons and a daughter): the eldest one was
Mark I Mark I or Mark 1 often refers to the first version of a weapon or military vehicle, and is sometimes used in a similar fashion in civilian product development. In some instances, the Arabic numeral "1" is substituted for the Roman numeral "I". " ...
,
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, ...
(''comes'') of
Hont County Hont County was an administrative county (Comitatus (Kingdom of Hungary), comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Most of its territory is now part of Slovakia, while a smaller southern portion is part of Hungary. Today, in Slovakia Hont is the i ...
in 1247, but there is no further information about him; Stephen I,
master of the stewards The master of the stewards or master of the table (, , and ) was one of the high officials of the royal household in the Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 ...
from 1275 to 1276 and from 1276 to 1279; Matthew II, a notable general 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 ...
(1278–1280; 1282–1283); and Peter I, who also held powerful positions, including palatine (1275–1276; 1277; 1278; 1281) and who, furthermore, was the father of the notorious Matthew III.Kristó 1986, p. 31. They had also a daughter, who married to the
Moravia Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The medieval and early ...
n noble Zdislav Sternberg, a loyal bannerman of the Csák clan.Kristó 1986, p. 50. Their son, Stephen Sternberg (or "''the Bohemian''") later inherited the Csák dominion because of the absence of a direct adult male descendant after the death of Matthew III in 1321.Kristó 1986, p. 199. After Matthew I's death, his wife, Margaret joined the Dominican monastery at the 'Rabbits' Island and lived there until her death.


Career

During the rule of
Andrew II of Hungary Andrew II (, , , ; 117721 September 1235), also known as Andrew of Jerusalem, was King of Hungary and King of Croatia, Croatia between 1205 and 1235. He ruled the Principality of Halych from 1188 until 1189/1190, and again between 1208/1209 and ...
, he supported the crown prince, when Béla's relation with his father became even worse. The king entrusted his son with the government of
Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...
with the title of
duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...
. After the death of Andrew II on 21 September 1235, Béla ascended the throne without any opposition and Robert, Archbishop of Esztergom crowned him on 14 October in
Székesfehérvár Székesfehérvár (; ; ; ; Serbian language, Serbian: ''Стони Београд''; ), known colloquially as Fehérvár (), is a city in central Hungary, and the country's ninth-largest city. It is the Regions of Hungary, regional capital of C ...
. On the same day, Matthew I was appointed
master of the stewards The master of the stewards or master of the table (, , and ) was one of the high officials of the royal household in the Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 ...
, one of the great offices 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 ...
.Kristó 1986, p. 26. During the first years of Béla IV, a new aristocracy arose, whom the king could rely on. Béla's main purpose was to restore the royal power that had weakened during his father's rule; e.g., he ordered the burning of his advisors' seats, because he wanted to force them to stand in the presence of the king. As he also wanted to strengthen the position of the towns, he confirmed the charter of Székesfehérvár and granted new privileges to several key towns in the kingdom. Furthermore, Béla dismissed his father's former loyal followers and advisors (during this time, for example, former palatines Denis, son of Ampud was blinded and Julius Kán was imprisoned). That consideration explains Matthew's rise in a short time from obscurity to the largest positions. He held the office at least until 23 September 1241. Besides that, he also functioned as ispán of Temes (1235–1238) and Nyitra Counties (1240–1242).Zsoldos 2011, p. 54. Following the disastrous
Battle of Mohi The Battle of Mohi (11 April 1241) was a pivotal conflict between the Mongol Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary during the Mongol invasion of Europe. The battle took place at Muhi (then Mohi), a town located in present-day Hungary, southwest of ...
(11 April 1241), Béla IV fled the scene to
Spalato Split (, ), historically known as Spalato (; ; see other names), is the second-largest city of Croatia after the capital Zagreb, the largest city in Dalmatia and the largest city on the Croatian coast. The Split metropolitan area is home to a ...
(today: ''Split, Croatia''), where Matthew I was also a member of the king's men.Kristó 1986, p. 27. After the Mongol invasion of Hungary, Matthew I was appointed
master of the treasury The master of the treasury or treasurerSegeš 2002, p. 316.Rady 2000, p. 113. (Fallenbüchl 1988, p. 80. or , ,Zsoldos 2011, p. 61. , or , )General Encyclopedia of the Yugoslav Lexicographical Institute, second edition, sixth volume SKA-ŽV. p 3 ...
, thus he became responsible for the royal's economic and financial affairs. Beside that position, he was also ispán of
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 ...
(1242) and Pozsony Counties (1242–1245).Zsoldos 2011, p. 62. Béla IV donated Chrenóc (; today part of Chrenovec-Brusno) in Nyitra County to Matthew I in 1243. One year later he acquired the estate of Pruszka (today: ''Pruské, Slovakia'') in
Trencsén County Trencsén county (Latin: ''comitatus Trentsiniensis / Trenchiniensis''; Hungarian language, Hungarian: ''Trencsén (vár)megye''; Slovak language, Slovak: ''Trenčiansky komitát / Trenčianska stolica / Trenčianska župa''; ) was an administra ...
, which previous landowner died without heirs. Later Matthew I exchanged that land to Tunig, Pozsony County. According to a royal charter issued in 1249, Béla IV formerly also donated Racsic (; today part of Nitrica) to Matthew, who was already dead by that time.Kristó 1986, p. 28. There is no source about his inherited possessions, thus data on his four sons' inherited estates also does not exist. Consequently, he did not initiate his family through the establishment of oligarchical power with land acquisitions, he just marked its direction (from the ancient estates of the genus in
Fejér County Fejér (, ) is an administrative county in central Hungary. It lies on the west bank of the river Danube and nearly touches the eastern shore of Lake Balaton. It shares borders with the Hungarian counties Veszprém, Komárom-Esztergom County ...
to northwest).Kristó 1986, p. 30. Matthew I Csák was last mentioned by sources on 12 December 1245. As it's written above, he had already died by 1249, according to the king's diploma. In contrast his widow, Margaret, who lived in the 'Rabbits' Island for a long time, claimed in 1276 that she was 51 years old and her husband died 22 years ago, so in 1254. The royal charter, however, is a more reliable source, because medieval people found the years and times difficult to keep track.


References


Sources

* Kristó, Gyula (1986). ''Csák Máté'' ("Matthew Csák"). Magyar História, Gondolat. Budapest. * Markó, László (2006). ''A magyar állam főméltóságai Szent Istvántól napjainkig – Életrajzi Lexikon'' ("The High Officers of the Hungarian State from Saint Stephen to the Present Days – A Biographical Encyclopedia") (2nd edition); Helikon Kiadó Kft., Budapest; . * Zsoldos, Attila (2011). ''Magyarország világi archontológiája, 1000–1301'' ("Secular Archontology of Hungary, 1000–1301"). História, MTA Történettudományi Intézete. Budapest. {{DEFAULTSORT:Csak, Matthew 01 1240s deaths Matthew I 13th-century Hungarian people Year of birth missing Masters of the treasury (Kingdom of Hungary) Masters of the stewards