Matthew Csák
Encyclopedia
Oligarchy
Oligarchy is a form of power structure in which power effectively rests with an elite class distinguished by royalty, wealth, family ties, commercial, and/or military legitimacy...
in the Kingdom of Hungary
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary comprised present-day Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia , Transylvania , Carpatho Ruthenia , Vojvodina , Burgenland , and other smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders...
who ruled de facto independently the north-western counties
Comitatus (Kingdom of Hungary)
A county is the name of a type of administrative units in the Kingdom of Hungary and in Hungary from the 10th century until the present day....
of the kingdom (today roughly the western half of present-day Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
and parts of Northern Hungary
Upper Hungary
Upper Hungary is the usual English translation for the area that was historically the northern part of the Kingdom of Hungary, now mostly present-day Slovakia...
). He held the offices of Marshal
Marshal
Marshal , is a word used in several official titles of various branches of society. The word is an ancient loan word from Old French, cf...
(főlovászmester) (1293-1296), Palatine (nádor) (1296-1297, 1301-1310) and Master of the Treasury (tárnokmester) (1310). He could maintain his rule over his territories even after his defeat at the Battle of Rozgony
Battle of Rozgony
The Battle of Rozgony or Battle of Rozhanovce was fought between King Charles I of Hungary and the family of Palatine Amade Aba on June 15, 1312, on the Rozgony field. Chronicon Pictum described it as the "most cruel battle since the Mongol invasion of Europe"...
against King
King of Hungary
The King of Hungary was the head of state of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1000 to 1918.The style of title "Apostolic King" was confirmed by Pope Clement XIII in 1758 and used afterwards by all the Kings of Hungary, so after this date the kings are referred to as "Apostolic King of...
Charles I of Hungary
Charles I of Hungary
Charles I , also known as Charles Robert , was the first King of Hungary and Croatia of the House of Anjou. He was also descended from the old Hungarian Árpád dynasty. His claim to the throne of Hungary was contested by several pretenders...
. In the 19th century, he was often described as a symbol of the struggle for independence in both the Hungarian
Hungarian literature
Hungarian literature is literature written in the Hungarian language, predominantly by Hungarians.There is a limited amount of Old Hungarian literature dating to between the late 12th and the early 16th centuries...
and Slovak literature
Slovak literature
-Middle Ages:The first monuments of literature in present-day Slovakia are from the time of Great Moravia . Authors from this period are Saint Cyril, Saint Methodius and Clement of Ohrid...
s.
Early years
He was a son of the Palatine Peter Csák, a member of the Hungarian genus ("clan") CsákCsák (family)
Csák was the name of a gens in the Kingdom of Hungary. The Gesta Hunnorum et Hungarorum records that the ancestor of the family was Szabolcs, son of chieftain Előd, the leader of one of the seven Magyar tribes. The family was probably connected to the Árpád dynasty...
. Around 1283, Máté and his brother, Csák inherited their father's possessions, Komárom (Slovak: Komárno
Komárno
Komárno is a town in Slovakia at the confluence of the Danube and the Váh rivers. Komárno was formed from part of a historical town in Hungary situated on both banks of the Danube. Following World War I, the border of the newly created Czechoslovakia cut the historical, unified town in half,...
) and Szenic (Slovak: Senica
Senica
Senica is a city in Trnava Region, western Slovakia. It is located in the north-eastern part of the Záhorie lowland, close to the Little Carpathians.-History:...
). At about that time, they also inherited their uncles' possessions around Nagytapolcsány (Slovak: Veľké Topoľčany, now Topoľčany
Topolcany
Topoľčany .The name Topoľčany was assumed to be derived from topoľ, Slovak for poplar tree. Groves of these trees were once abundant on the banks of the Nitra River...
), Hrussó (Slovak: Hrušovo
Hrušovo
Hrušovo is a village and municipality in the Rimavská Sobota District of the Banská Bystrica Region of southern Slovakia.-History:In historical records, the village was first mentioned in 1297 . It belonged to Blh castle, and in the 14th century to Derencsény...
) and Tata
Tata, Hungary
Tata is a town in north-western Hungary, Komárom-Esztergom county, northwest from county seat Tatabánya.-Location:Tata is located in the valley between the Gerecse and Vértes Mountains, some from the Budapest, the capital. By the virtue of its location, the city is a railway and road junction...
. Their father had started to expand his influence over the territories that surrounded his possessions, but following his death, the members of the rival Kőszegi family strengthened in Pozsony and Sopron
Sopron (county)
Sopron is the name of a historic administrative county of the Kingdom of Hungary in present-day eastern Austria and northwestern Hungary. The capital of the county was Sopron.- Geography :...
counties.
King Andrew's partisan
In 1291, Máté took part in the campaign of King Andrew III of Hungary against AustriaAustria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. In the next year, when Nicholas Kőszegi rebelled against King Andrew III and occupied Pressburg (Slovak: Prešporok, today Bratislava
Bratislava
Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava...
) and Detrekő (Slovak Plaveč
Plavec
Plaveč is a village and municipality in Stará Ľubovňa District in the Prešov Region of northern Slovakia.-History:In historical records the village was first mentioned in 1287. The ruins of the 13th century Plaveč Castle lie above the town, after a fire in 1856. -Geography:The municipality lies at...
), Máté managed to reoccupy the castles on behalf of the king. Henceforward, the Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
became the border between the developing domains of the Kőszegi and Csák families. King Andrew appointed him to Marshal and he also became the head of Pressburg county. On 28 October 1293, Máté issued a charter and promised that he would respect the liberties of the burghers of the city of Pressburg that King Andrew had confirmed before.
During this period, Máté started to augment his possessions not only by the king's donations, but also by using force. In 1296, he bought Vöröskő (Slovak: Červený Kameň
Cervený Kamen Castle
Červený Kameň Castle is a castle in southwestern Slovakia in the Little Carpathians near the village of Častá.-History:A stone castle was built in the 13th century as part of the chain of country frontier defense castles ranging from Bratislava to Žilina. This castle was completely rebuilt as a...
) from its former holders for money; however, contemporary documents prove that he enforced several neighboring landowners to transfer their possessions either to him or his partisans. He even was ready to occupy territories; e.g., around 1296, he took possession of the lands of the Archabbot of Pannonhalma
Pannonhalma Archabbey
The Benedictine Pannonhalma Archabbey is the most notable landmark in Pannonhalma and one of the oldest historical monuments in Hungary, founded in the year 996. It is located near the town, on top of a hill...
north of the Danube and he also trespassed the possessions of the Collegiate Chapter of Pressburg.
Around the end of 1296, Máté acquired Trencsén (Slovak: Trenčín
Trencín
Trenčín is a city in western Slovakia of the central Váh River valley near the Czech border, around from Bratislava. It has a population of more than 56,000, which makes it the ninth largest municipality of the country and is the seat of the Trenčín Region and the Trenčín District...
) and afterwards, he was named after the castle. In 1296 King Andrew appointed him Palatine, but shortly afterwards the king absolved one of Máté's opponents, Andrew of Gimes of all responsibility for the damage he had caused to Máté. The document proves that the relationship of the king and Máté worsened and the king deprived him of his office of Palatine in 1297. At the same time, the king granted Pozsony county to his queen.
The kings' rival
Máté continued to style himself Palatine even after 1297. He managed to overcome Andrew of Gimes and his family and thus expanded his influence along the Zsitva River (Žitava RiverŽitava River
The Žitava River is a 99.3 km long river in southern Slovakia. It is the right tributary of the Nitra river.-See also:* Peace of Zsitvatorok...
).
In 1298, King Andrew III allied himself with King Wenceslaus II of Bohemia; the alliance was probably directed against Máté whose possessions lay between the two monarchs' territories In the next year, King Andrew sent his troops against Máté, but he could resist the attack; only Pressburg county was reoccupied by the king's partisans.
Before 1300, Máté entered into negotiations with the representatives of King Charles II of Naples
Charles II of Naples
Charles II, known as "the Lame" was King of Naples, King of Albania, Prince of Salerno, Prince of Achaea and Count of Anjou.-Biography:...
and reassured him that he would assist the claim of his grandson, Charles
Charles I of Hungary
Charles I , also known as Charles Robert , was the first King of Hungary and Croatia of the House of Anjou. He was also descended from the old Hungarian Árpád dynasty. His claim to the throne of Hungary was contested by several pretenders...
for the throne against King Andrew III. However, in the summer of 1300, Máté visited King Andrew's court, but the king died on 14 January 1301, and following his death a struggle commenced among the several claimants for the throne. At that time, Máté's brother, Csák died childless and therefore Máté inherited his possessions.
Following the death of King Andrew III, Máté became the Neapolitan
Kingdom of Naples
The Kingdom of Naples, comprising the southern part of the Italian peninsula, was the remainder of the old Kingdom of Sicily after secession of the island of Sicily as a result of the Sicilian Vespers rebellion of 1282. Known to contemporaries as the Kingdom of Sicily, it is dubbed Kingdom of...
prince's follower, but shortly afterwards, he joined the party that offered the crown to Wenceslaus
Wenceslaus III of Bohemia
Wenceslaus III Premyslid was the King of Hungary , King of Bohemia and the king of Poland ....
, the son of King Wenceslaus II of Bohemia. He was present at the coronation of the young Czech prince (27 August 1301) who granted him Trencsén and Nyitra counties; therefore he became the lawful holder of all the royal castles and possessions in the two counties. In the following years, Máté Csák occupied the possessions of the Balassa family in the two counties and he also took several castles in Nógrád
Nógrád (former county)
Nógrád was the name of a historic administrative county of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is presently in southern Slovakia and in northern present-day Hungary. The name Novohrad is still used in Slovakia as an informal designation of the corresponding territory...
and Hont
Hont
Hont is the name of a historic administrative county of the Kingdom of Hungary and then shortly of Czechoslovakia...
counties.
King Wenceslaus could not strengthen his rule against his opponent and he had to leave the kingdom (August 1304). By that time Máté Csák had already left King Wenceslaus' party, and shortly afterwards he made an alliance with Duke Rudolph III of Austria
Rudolph I of Bohemia
Rudolf I of Habsburg was Duke of Austria and Styria from 1298 and King of Bohemia and titular King of Poland from 1306 until his death...
against the king of Bohemia. Although he did not join to King Charles' partisans, but his troops took part in the campaign King Charles and Duke Rudolph lead against the Kingdom of Bohemia
Kingdom of Bohemia
The Kingdom of Bohemia was a country located in the region of Bohemia in Central Europe, most of whose territory is currently located in the modern-day Czech Republic. The King was Elector of Holy Roman Empire until its dissolution in 1806, whereupon it became part of the Austrian Empire, and...
(September-October 1304). The internal struggles, however, did not end, because on 6 December 1305 a new claimant, Otto III, Duke of Bavaria
Otto III, Duke of Bavaria
Otto III of Bavaria , member of the Wittelsbach dynasty, was Duke of Lower Bavaria from 1290 to 1312 and disputably King of Hungary and Croatia between 1305 and 1307 as Béla V.-Family:...
was crowned King of Hungary. Máté Csák did not accept King Otto's rule, and his troops struggled together with King Charles' armies who occupied some castles on the northern part of the kingdom.
On 10 October 1307, an assembly confirmed King Charles' rule, but Máté Csák and some other oligarchs (Ladislaus Kán, Ivan and Henry Kőszegi) absented themselves from the assembly. In 1308, Pope Clement V
Pope Clement V
Pope Clement V, born Raymond Bertrand de Got was Pope from 1305 to his death...
sent a legate to the kingdom in order to strengthen King Charles' position. The legate, Cardinal Gentilis de Montefiori managed to persuade Máté Csák to accept King Charles' rule at their meeting in the Pauline
The Order of Saint Paul the First Hermit
The Pauline Fathers a Hungarian order of the Roman Catholic Church, are more formally known as The Order of Saint Paul the First Hermit .This name is derived from the hermit Saint Paul of Thebes , canonized in 491 by Pope Gelasius I...
Monastery of Kékes (10 November 1307). Although Máté Csák himself was not present at the following assembly (27 November) in Pest where King Charles' reign was again confirmed, he sent his envoy to attend at the meeting. Shortly afterwards, King Charles appointed Máté Palatine of the kingdom. However, at the new coronation of King Charles (15 June 1309), he was only represented by one of his followers. In the next year, King Charles appointed him to the office of Master of the Treasury.
Máté Csák did not want to accept the king's rule; therefore, he did not attend King Charles' third coronation, when he was crowned with the Holy Crown of Hungary (27 August). Moreover, Máté Csák still continued to expand the borders of his domains and occupied several castles in the northern part of the kingdom. On 25 June 1311, he led his troops towards Buda
Buda
For detailed information see: History of Buda CastleBuda is the western part of the Hungarian capital Budapest on the west bank of the Danube. The name Buda takes its name from the name of Bleda the Hun ruler, whose name is also Buda in Hungarian.Buda comprises about one-third of Budapest's...
and pillaged the surrounding territories and on this account the Cardinal Gentilis excommunicated
Excommunication
Excommunication is a religious censure used to deprive, suspend or limit membership in a religious community. The word means putting [someone] out of communion. In some religions, excommunication includes spiritual condemnation of the member or group...
him (6 July 1311. However, he did not accept the punishment and persuaded some priests to continue their services on his territories.
The indignant oligarch pillaged the possessions of the Archdiocese of Esztergom. When the citizens of Kassa
Košice
Košice is a city in eastern Slovakia. It is situated on the river Hornád at the eastern reaches of the Slovak Ore Mountains, near the border with Hungary...
(Slovak: Košice) killed Amade Aba
Amade Aba
Amade Aba, sometimes Amadeus Aba was a Hungarian oligarch in the Kingdom of Hungary who ruled de facto independently the northern and north-eastern counties of the kingdom...
, the powerful oligarch of the north-eastern parts of the kingdom (5 September 1311) Máté made an alliance with his sons against the king who sided with Kassa. Máté's troops liberated Sáros Castle
Šariš Castle
Šariš Castle are the ruins of a castle situated at top of a hill, 6-7 km north-west from Prešov, Slovakia in the traditional region Šariš .The castle is one of the oldest castles and biggest in Slovakia...
(Slovak: Šarišský hrad), besieged by the king, and then marched against Kassa. At the Battle of Rozgony
Battle of Rozgony
The Battle of Rozgony or Battle of Rozhanovce was fought between King Charles I of Hungary and the family of Palatine Amade Aba on June 15, 1312, on the Rozgony field. Chronicon Pictum described it as the "most cruel battle since the Mongol invasion of Europe"...
, the king's armies defeated Máté's and his allies' troops (15 June 1312). Following the battle, the king occupied the territories of Amade Aba's sons. Although Máté's domain stayed undisturbed, the occupation of the neighboring territories by the king hindered his expansion.
His last years
In 1314, the king's armies invaded Máté Csák's domain, but they could not occupy it. In the meantime, Máté occupied some fortresses in the March of MoraviaMarch of Moravia
The March or Margraviate of Moravia, was a marcher state, sometimes de facto independent and varyingly within the power of the Duchy, later Kingdom of Bohemia...
and therefore King John of Bohemia also invaded his territories (May 1315). The Czech armies defeated his troops (whom he encouraged in Hungarian language
Hungarian language
Hungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
) at Holics
Holíc
Holíč is a town in western Slovakia.-History:The oldest archaeological findings are from the Neolithic, and there are findings from the Bronze Age, Iron Age and the Roman time. The town was first mentioned in 1205 as Wywar, meaning "New Castle". The Árpád dynasty built a stone castle after Mongol...
but they could not occupy the fortress. King Charles also invaded Máté's domain and occupied Visegrád
Visegrád
Visegrád is a small castle town in Pest County, Hungary.Situated north of Budapest on the right bank of the Danube in the Danube Bend, Visegrád has a population 1,654 as of 2001...
.
In 1316, some of his former followers rebelled against him, and although he occupied their castle Jókő
Dobrá Voda
Dobrá Voda is a municipality of Trnava District in the Trnava region of Slovakia.-External links:*http://www.statistics.sk/mosmis/eng/run.html...
, but some of them left his domain. In 1317, he invaded the possessions of the Diocese of Nyitra, and his troops occupied and pillaged its see. As a consequence, the Bishop of Nitra excommunicated him and his followers again.
The king's armies continued to invade his territories and occupied Sirok
Sirok
Sirok is a historic village in Heves county in Hungary, situated near Eger in Mátra mountains. Today it is most known for its 13th century castle ruins....
and Fülek (Fiľakovo
Filakovo
Fiľakovo is a town in the Banská Bystrica Region of south-central Slovakia. Historically it was part of the Nógrád region.-Geography:...
), but Máté could maintain his rule over his territories until his death.
His domain
Máté Csák's domain had been developing gradually before the Battle of Rozgony, and it reached its greatest territorial extent around 1311. By that time, 14 countiesComitatus (Kingdom of Hungary)
A county is the name of a type of administrative units in the Kingdom of Hungary and in Hungary from the 10th century until the present day....
of the kingdom, and about 50 castles were under his and his followers' rule.
Around 1297, he organized his own court, similar to the king's court and he usurped royal prerogative
Royal Prerogative
The royal prerogative is a body of customary authority, privilege, and immunity, recognized in common law and, sometimes, in civil law jurisdictions possessing a monarchy as belonging to the sovereign alone. It is the means by which some of the executive powers of government, possessed by and...
s on his domains, similarly to other oligarchs (e.g., Amade Aba, Nicholas Kőszegi) of the beginning of the 14th century. Thus he became the de facto ruler of his domain and he made alliances independently of the king. He refused to accept appeals against his decisions to the king and he denied to put claimants in possession of lands the king had granted them on his territories. Although some of the local landowners did not want to accept Máté's supremacy, but sooner or later, they had to leave their possessions.
Following his death, his cousin Stephen Sternberg became the head of his domain, because his son had died and his grandsons were still minors at the time of his death. However, Stephen Sternberg could not resist the king's invasion and Máté Csák's former domain was occupied by the king's armies in some months.
Afterlife
During the period of Slovak national revivalRomantic nationalism
Romantic nationalism is the form of nationalism in which the state derives its political legitimacy as an organic consequence of the unity of those it governs...
in the 18th and 19th centuries, Máté Csák and his "realm" became the symbols of Slovak independence with the purpose to expropriate his historical heritage for the expectant national state of Slovakia. According to Slovak historian Peter Macho, the national myth that a separate and independent Slovak state existed within Hungary during the 13th century is very impressive. It was Alexander Boleslav Vrchovský who first proposed that Máté Csák was a "Slovak King". Later numerous Slovak poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
s and writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
s claimed the Hungarian oligarch for the Slovak national history. Ľudovít Štúr
Ludovít Štúr
Ľudovít Štúr , known in his era as Ludevít Velislav Štúr, was the leader of the Slovak national revival in the 19th century, the author of the Slovak language standard eventually leading to the contemporary Slovak literary language...
, the most prominent personality in the period of the Slovak national revival presented Máté Csák in his poem Matus z Trencina ("Máté of Trencsén") as champion of Slovak interests, predicting that the Slovak nation "will be free one day". Ján Nepomuk Bobula described Máté Csák as an invincible patriot who fought for the Slovak nation's freedom until he had been betrayed by which his fate was sealed. In 1881 Czech archeologist Josef Ladislav Píč
Josef Ladislav Píc
Josef Ladislav Píč was Czech archaeologist and paleontologist, one of founders of modern Czech archaeology....
identified the magnate's Upper Hungarian
Upper Hungary
Upper Hungary is the usual English translation for the area that was historically the northern part of the Kingdom of Hungary, now mostly present-day Slovakia...
"realm" as "the first Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
independent of the Hungarian King
King of Hungary
The King of Hungary was the head of state of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1000 to 1918.The style of title "Apostolic King" was confirmed by Pope Clement XIII in 1758 and used afterwards by all the Kings of Hungary, so after this date the kings are referred to as "Apostolic King of...
". Slovak historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
and linguist Jozef Škultéty elevated Máté Csák into the Slovak national pantheon in 1938 with his work titled Matúš Čák Trenčiansky a jeho vláda na Slovensku ("Máté Csák of Trencsén and His Rule in Slovakia"). The view of the older Slovak histography is that under the decades of Máté Csák's rule "Slovakia was an independent country" but after being defeated "Slovakia became part of Hungary again". According to a new generation of Slovak scholars:
See also
- Beckov CastleBeckov CastleBeckov Castle is a castle in ruins located near the village of Beckov in Nové Mesto nad Váhom District, Trenčín Region, western Slovakia.It is a natural cultural monument and its present appearance is the result of renovations in the last quarter of the 20th century and since 2002.-Great...
- owned and fortified by Máté Csák - Amade AbaAmade AbaAmade Aba, sometimes Amadeus Aba was a Hungarian oligarch in the Kingdom of Hungary who ruled de facto independently the northern and north-eastern counties of the kingdom...
- oligarch who ruled de facto independently the northern and north-eastern counties of the Kingdom of Hungary - Ladislaus Kán - oligarch who governed de facto independently the Transylvanian parts of the Kingdom of Hungary
Sources
- Engel, Pál: Magyarország világi archontológiája (1301-1457) (The Temporal Archontology of Hungary (1301-1457)); História - MTA Történettudományi Intézete, 1996, Budapest; ISBN 963 8312 43 2.
- Kristó, Gyula: Csák Máté (Máté Csák); Gondolat, 1986, Budapest; ISBN 963 281 736 2.
- Kristó, Gyula (General Editor) - Engel, Pál (Editor) - Makk, Ferenc (Editor): Korai magyar történeti lexikon (9-14. század) (Encyclopedia of the Early Hungarian History /9th-14th centuries/); Akadémiai Kiadó, 1994, Budapest; ISBN 963-05-6722-9.
- Markó, László: 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); Magyar Könyvklub, 2000, Budapest; ISBN 963 547 085 1.
