Nicholas from the kindred Szécs (), also known as Nicholas of Komárom (; died 1297) was a Hungarian nobleman, who acted as lord of

Komárom Komárom (Hungarian: ; or ; , later ; ) is a city in Hungary on the south bank of the Danube in Komárom-Esztergom County. Komárom fortress played an important role in the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 and many contemporary English sources r ...

(today Komárno,

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 ...

) together with his brother

Paul Paul may refer to: People * Paul (given name), a given name, including a list of people * Paul (surname), a list of people * Paul the Apostle, an apostle who wrote many of the books of the New Testament * Ray Hildebrand, half of the singing duo ...

since the 1280s.

Career

Historians

György Györffy György Györffy (26 September 1917 – 19 December 2000) was a Hungarian historian, and member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (). Biography Györffy was born in Szucság (Suceagu, today part of Baciu, Romania), Hungary the son of ethnog ...

and Krisztina Tóth identified him with that certain Nicholas, son of Paul, 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

Győr County Győr county (in Hungarian: ''Győr (vár)megye'') was an administrative county (comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary, situated mostly on the right (south) side of the Danube river. Its territory is now part of Hungary, except seven villages on t ...

just before Paul Szécs. As Nicholas and Paul always appeared in contemporary records together since the 1280s, it is presumable that they were brothers (or at least cousins). According to an undated royal charter by Ladislaus IV, possibly around 1286, the King authorized

Lodomer Lodomer (; 1235 – 2 January 1298) was a prelate in the Kingdom of Hungary in the second half of the 13th century. He was Archbishop of Esztergom between 1279 and 1298, and Bishop of Várad (now Oradea in Romania) from 1268 till 1279. He was an ...

Archbishop of Esztergom In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdioc ...

excommunicate Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community or to restrict certain rights within it, in particular those of being in communion with other members of the co ...

Paul and Nicholas, if they would confiscate two-thirds part of the trade customs in Komárom which were entitled to the

Bakonybél Abbey The Bakonybél Abbey is a Benedictine monastery established at Bakonybél in the Kingdom of Hungary in the first decades of the 11th century. Its patron is Saint Maurice. Foundation (c. 1018–1038) The establishment of the monastery is conn ...

. That data confirmed they jointly owned Komárom Castle since the mid-1280s, possibly as ''

familiares In the Middle Ages, a ''familiaris'' (plural ''familiares''), more formally a ''familiaris regis'' ("familiar of the king") or ''familiaris curiae''In medieval documents, ''curiae'' may also be spelled ''curiæ'' or ''curie''. ("of the court"), ...

'' of the powerful

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 ...

. After 1296, King

Andrew III 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 ...

, who intended to establish an alliance among the local noblemen against the oligarchs – most notably Matthew Csák and the Kőszegis, started negotiations with Nicholas and Paul, among others. As a result, the Szécs brothers left the Kőszegi allegiance and joined Andrew's partisans. Tóth argued Nicholas was appointed ''ispán'' of Győr and Komárom Counties after that, thus it is possible he was elder than his brother Paul. He first appeared in sources in this regard since January 1297. Nicholas served as an ad-litem judge during a lawsuit in the case of Óbecse (today Bečej in

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

) in June 1297, along with Emeric, Bishop of Várad,

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 ...

Dominic Rátót,

Stephen Ákos Stephen (I) from the kindred Ákos (; died 1315) was an influential Hungarian nobility, baron in the Kingdom of Hungary in the late and the early . He was born into an ancient Hungarian clan. He was a staunch supporter of Andrew III of Hungary. H ...

and

Voivode Voivode ( ), also spelled voivod, voievod or voevod and also known as vaivode ( ), voivoda, vojvoda, vaivada or wojewoda, is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe in use since the Early Mid ...

Roland Borsa Roland Borsa (; ; 1250 - died 1301) was voivode of Transylvania for 3 periods in the late 13th century. He was known for battling the Mongol invasions and, later, for rebelling against King Charles I's attempts to control his territory. Origins ...

. As these all persons were members of the alliance which struggled against Matthew Csák, historian Krisztina Tóth argued initially Nicholas would have been that lord with whom King Andrew intends to contract. However Nicholas died shortly afterwards, and his brother Paul became one of the five barons in 1298, who entered into a formal feudal alliance with their King against the oligarchs and the bishops' college.

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Szecs, Nicholas 1297 deaths 13th-century Hungarian people

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 ...