Nánabeszter (genus)
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Nánabeszter or Nána-Beszter (''Nanabezter'') was the name of a minor ''gens'' (Latin for "clan"; ''nemzetség'' in Hungarian) 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 ...
, which mostly possessed lands along the river
Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...
in Central Hungary, around the capitals
Esztergom Esztergom (; ; or ; , known by Names of European cities in different languages: E–H#E, alternative names) is a city with county rights in northern Hungary, northwest of the capital Budapest. It lies in Komárom-Esztergom County, on the righ ...
and
Buda Buda (, ) is the part of Budapest, the capital city of Hungary, that lies on the western bank of the Danube. Historically, “Buda” referred only to the royal walled city on Castle Hill (), which was constructed by Béla IV between 1247 and ...
. After their only known branch, which existed until the early 14th century, the clan was also known as Berki family.


Social status

19th-century historian János Karácsonyi considered the clan rose from the social status of castle warriors to the
Hungarian nobility The Kingdom of Hungary held a Nobility, noble class of individuals, most of whom owned landed property, from the 11th century until the mid-20th century. Initially, a diverse body of people were described as noblemen, but from the lat ...
, while his contemporary, Mór Wertner identified them of noble origin. György Györffy excluded them from the list of kindreds of castle warrior origin too. Although they were referred to as "''iobaiones''" ("serfs") in 1228, when the kindred first appeared in historical documents, historian Attila Zsoldos argued there is no indication that any member of the clan was in the service in the system of castle districts in Hungary. It is possible that a certain Nana (I), 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 the udvornici in Esztergomváralja (a settlement at the foot of Esztergom Castle) in 1184, belonged to this kindred. In his later monograph, Zsoldos considered the early members of the Nánabeszter clan were initially royal servants, who were subordinate only to the king and rose to the nobility due to their loyalty and faithful service.


History and landholdings

The Nánabeszter kindred was first mentioned in contemporary records in 1228, when several members of the clan – Nana (II), Beszter, Csom, Koka, Joanz, Latizko and Radbod – separated their estate in Nána from the landholdings of the
cathedral chapter According to both Catholic and Anglican canon law, a cathedral chapter is a college of clerics ( chapter) formed to advise a bishop and, in the case of a vacancy of the episcopal see in some countries, to govern the diocese during the vacancy. In ...
of Esztergom. Based on the kindred's name, Nána, which situated in north of the
Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...
in Esztergom County (present-day in
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 ...
) is considered the ancient estate of the kinship. By the time of the separation in 1228, they also possessed domains in the village of Berki in Pest County, which laid in the territory of present-day
Érd Érd (; ; , ) is a town in Pest County, Budapest metropolitan area, Hungary. It is a city with county rights. History The area has been inhabited since ancient times. Archaeological findings indicate that prehistoric humans lived here 50,000 year ...
. The degree of kinship relations between the aforementioned members is unknown. Among them, only Nana (II) appeared in subsequent contemporary documents. He participated in the military campaign against the
Principality of Halych The Principality of Galicia (; ), also known as Principality of Halych or Principality of Halychian Rus, was a medieval East Slavs, East Slavic principality, and one of the main regional states within the political scope of Kievan Rus', establi ...
in 1231, where he was present at the successful siege of
Jarosław Jarosław (; , ; ; ) is a town in southeastern Poland, situated on the San (river), San River. The town had 35,475 inhabitants in 2023. It is the capital of Jarosław County in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship. History Jarosław is located in the ...
. As a result, he was granted a portion of the village Sóskút in the neighborhood of Berki by King
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 ...
in 1233. Nana was styled as "''procurator'' and ''provisor'' of the royal horses" in that year. His wife was Agnes, who later joined the Dominican nuns at Rabbits' Island around 1258. Their son, Nana (III) owned a landholding in Sasad in 1256, which laid at the foot of the hill Sashegy (today a borough of Újbuda, the 11th district of
Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
), when he sold one of his servants, who lived there, to his relatives,
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 ...
and Stephen, the sons of Csom. Following his mother, the childless Nana also entered the Dominican friars around 1266. They jointly donated the estate Sóskút to the Dominican nuns at Rabbits' Island in that year. Nana's relative (cousin?),
Demetrius Demetrius is the Latinization of names, Latinized form of the Ancient Greek male name, male Greek given names, given name ''Dēmḗtrios'' (), meaning "devoted to goddess Demeter". Alternate forms include Demetrios, Dimitrios, Dimitris, Dmytro, ...
, son of Beszter – who also owned a portion in Sóskút – filed a lawsuit against the donation already in 1266, because, being the closest living relative, he should have inherited the estate after the death of the childless Nana. In his royal charter, King Béla IV ensured the rights of the Dominican nuns, but he prescribed an agreement between the two parties. Demetrius and the nunnery concluded an arrangement in 1270. Accordingly, Demetrius could retain the estate until his death as a
usufructuary Usufruct () is a limited ius in re, real right (or ''in rem'' right) found in Civil law (legal system), civil law and mixed jurisdictions that unites the two property interests of ''usus'' and ''fructus'': * ''Usus'' (''use'', as in usage of or a ...
, but if he dies without a legitimate heir, the portion would automatically fall into the possession of the Dominican nuns. In addition to his landholding in Sóskút, Demetrius also owned portions in the ancient estates Nána and Berki, and, furthermore, a land called Teremecs in
Nyitra County Nyitra County (; ; ; ) was an administrative county ( comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory lay in what is now western Slovakia. Geography Nyitra County shared borders with the Austrian land Moravia and Trencsén County, Turó ...
(present-day Chrenová, a borough of Nitra in Slovakia) as a royal endowment. Demetrius compiled his last will and testament sometime between 1270 and 1277. As he had no male heirs, he bequeathed his inherited domains and a vineyard to his brother Mérk (Merkh) and his sons. He secured other vineyard as a morning gift to his unidentified wife, while the land Teremecs was inherited by his brother-in-law Andrew Hont-Pázmány, the husband of Maria. He left the aforementioned portion in Sóskút to the Dominican nuns in accordance with their agreement. He also divided his servants and armours. Demetrius died by 1277, when King Ladislaus IV inducted the nuns to their new ownership in Sóskút. Mérk and his sons died sometime thereafter. Subsequently, the late Demetrius' landholdings were passed down another line of the kindred, the descendants of Csom. Michael, son of Csom 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 Veszprém County between 1243 and 1244. He was also patron of the abbey of Kapornak in
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 1243. Michael, along with his brother Stephen, was a resident of Berki (as it appeared in the above-mentioned land contract with Nana III in 1256), therefore he and his descendants were also referred to as with the surname Berki ("of Berki") in contemporary documents. Michael bought a portion of Érd with half of the island and six servants belonging to it from John, son of Thaddeus Érdi before the collegiate chapter of Buda in 1243. His new lands laid in the neighborhood of the possessions of the provostry of Ócsa and the land of the royal armor-bearers to the north, which separated the other estates of the clan (Berki, Sóskút, Sasad and later Tárnok). Benedict, the provost of
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 ...
confirmed the contract of sale in 1244, when Michael Nánabeszter, John Érdi and Benedict, the provost of Ócsa determined the joint borders of their landholdings in Érd. Michael and Stephen endeavored to form their estates into single coherent areas in Central Hungary, southwest of the capital Buda. In the 1260s, they were involved in a series of lawsuits with the queen's servants over a land Deszka near Tárnok Valley. Michael died after 1268. Stephen and his nephew, Thomas (Michael's son) possessed portions in Keszi too by 1270, where they were also involved in lawsuit with local nobles. Between 1270 and 1272, they proved their right to their estate in Érd, when King
Stephen V Stephen V may refer to: *Pope Stephen IV, aka Stephen V, Pope from 816 to 817 *Pope Stephen V (885–891) *Stephen V of Hungary (born before 1239 – 1272), King of Hungary and Croatia, Duke of Styria *Stephen V Báthory (1430–1493), Hungarian co ...
donated the whole Érd island to his faithful royal armors. Stephen and Thomas complained in 1274, that their village Varsány was destroyed. They got remedy for the destruction of their village if they take the oath to make a complaint about the authenticity of it before the collegiate chapter in Székesfehérvár. After the death of Stephen around 1275, Thomas became head of the Berki family. In 1278, Thomas and his brother Lawrence (future Provost of Požega) managed to obtain further territories in Érd, namely the land of royal armor-bearers. King Andrew III confirmed and transcribed the donation letter in 1291. By the 1280s, Thomas became a prestigious landlord in the region, one of the letters of Archbishop Lodomer also proved this. Thomas also acquired possessions in the nearby Diósd and Keszi. At the time of his death, he also possessed two domains in Ében (laid in the territory of present-day Törökbálint). Furthermore, Thomas paid fifteen marks to the Dominican nuns of Rabbits' Island for the aforementioned estate in Sóskút. He died without legitimate heirs and he was the last member of the Nánabeszter (Berki) kindred. King Charles I endowed the majority of his property – portions in Berki, Sóskút, Érd (two), Tárnok, Ében (two), Keszi and Sasad – to his influential confidant Thomas Szécsényi in 1323. Stephen Sáfár, the castellan of Visegrád was granted Diósd in the same year, while the estate Nándor became the property of the city Buda in June 1323. Based on the name – Beszter – of the first known member of the kinship, historians Dezső Csánki and János Karácsonyi considered the Haranglábi noble family, which possessed landholdings in
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 ...
(primarily Küküllő County) by the mid-14th century, descended from the Nánabeszter clan.


Family tree


Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms of the kindred (silver horse with sword pierced neck) is appeared in the 17th-century ''
Siebmachers Wappenbuch () is a roll of arms first published in 1605 as two heraldry, heraldic multivolume book series of armorial bearings or coat of arms, coats of arms of the nobility of the Holy Roman Empire, as well as coats of arms of City state, city-states and ...
''. Based on this, the village Nána adopted a coat-of-arms in June 2003, designed by Slovak herold Ladislav Vrteľ.


References


Sources

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