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When King St. Stephen I (r. 1000–1038) established the first independent Hungarian ecclesiastical province in 1001 with its center in Esztergom, he ensured that it had three suffragan dioceses, as was customary. In addition to the previously founded diocese of Veszprém and the Transylvanian diocese established in 1003, the third was that of Győr, which was probably founded in 1001 and was thus wedged between the dioceses of Veszprém and Esztergom.
In medieval Hungarian politics, diocesan bishops played a pivotal role. The high priesthood was one of the main pillars of royal power. For this reason, Hungary’s rulers preferred to appoint people they considered trustworthy to head the dioceses. Due to the vicissitudes of politics, the close relationship with secular rulers was sometimes a blessing and sometimes a curse, not only for the bishop but also for the community. Examples of this can even be seen when the House of Anjou was ruling Hungary in the 14th century. King Charles I (r. 1301–1342) spent almost two decades fighting against the oligarchs, the so-called “little kings” – powerful nobles who ruled separate provinces and had become stronger during the reign of the last Árpáds (1000–1301). Bishop Miklós (Nicholas) Kőszegi, bishop of Győr (1308–1336), as a member of the powerful Kőszegi family, which was dominant in Western Transdanubia and had rebelled against Charles, could not gain the king’s trust. His successor as bishop, Prince Kálmán (1337–1375) – who was the king’s illegitimate child – naturally enjoyed the support of the court throughout his tenure.
Loyalty and betrayal
In 1403, events took place in Hungary that had a serious impact on the life of the city. Taking advantage of King Sigismund’s (1387–1437) preoccupation with Bohemia, Hungarian nobles dissatisfied with his rule began to organize. The leader of the rebels in Győr may have been György Gordovai, a minor prelate. The resultant civil war did not last long, as Zsigmond’s quick-thinking and decisive generals quickly routed the slowly-gathering insurgent forces. Győr was captured by Stibor Stoborici – the ispán, or count, of Pozsony (Bratislava) and the former (and subsequent) voivode of Transylvania – and the castle handed over to János Garai, the former ispán of Temes. Sigismund wrote about these events in a 1406 letter of donation honoring Stibor’s services:
“He [Stibor] humbly asked for divine assistance in defending, maintaining, and restoring justice and the state. Leading his own men and other believers, he dismounted his horse, boarded a ship, and – following the course of the Danube – captured the castle and city of Győr, which was then in the hands of the unfaithful. Having seized and taken control of Győr, with the blood of many of his men shed in the contest, he immediately handed over the castle and the city to our faithful friend, Master János [Garai], the son of the late Palatine Miklós Garai [the elder], as compensation for the serious damage and great losses wrought by the rebels upon the latter and upon [János’s] brother, the current palatine, Miklós [the younger].”
After the uprising was crushed, the then bishop of Győr, János Hédervári (1386–1415), did not regain the city. Although Bishop Hédervári was permitted to retain his title, Sigismund confiscated his episcopal castles and revenues – as he had done with several other dioceses – and the episcopal assets were managed by his agents until a new bishop, Kelemen Molnári, was appointed in 1417.
When Czech nobles came to Győr
After Albert, king of Hungary and Bohemia, died unexpectedly on October 27, 1439, near Neszmély, when on his way to Vienna, the Hungarian nobles split into two factions. At a parliament convened in Buda in January 1440, one faction expressed preference for the unborn child of Albert’s pregnant widow, Elizabeth (Erzsébet), to assume the throne, while the other faction championed the young Polish king, Władysław (Ulászló) III Jagiellon, to rule the country. After Elizabeth accepted the marriage proposal of the young Polish king, she left Buda to give birth to her child in Pozsony. She would not reach her intended destination, however, as her son, Ladislaus (László), was born in nearby Komárom (Komárno) on February 22.
With the birth of a male heir to the throne, Elizabeth withdrew her earlier promise to wed the Polish king and regarded her young son as the heir apparent. Since Władysław, who had been elected king in Buda on March 8, was already crossing the Hungarian frontier with an armed escort by the end of April, Elizabeth had to act. From Komárom, she departed for Székesfehérvár, where on May 15, 1440, the Archbishop Dénes Szécsi of Esztergom crowned the young heir Ladislaus V (1440–1457), placing on his head the Holy Crown, which had been secretly stolen by Elizabeth’s lady-in-waiting Helene (Ilona) Kottaner. At the suggestion of Bishop Benedek of Győr (r. 1439–1444), who was present at the coronation, Queen Elizabeth left for Győr with her entourage.
We know most of what happened in Győr from the memoirs of the aforementioned Helene Kottaner. Since Lászlo also inherited the crown of Bohemia, Czech noblemen arrived at the bishop’s castle in Győr to pay homage to their newly born ruler. Elizabeth, however, did not feel safe in Győr, so after barely a month’s stay, she travelled to Pozsony, entrusting the protection of Győr to one of her most loyal men, Ulrik Cillei. Helene Kottaner, meanwhile, took the young Ladislaus to Sopron.
Since Władysław’s followers believed that Elizabeth had left the Holy Crown in Győr, they made every effort to capture the city. Around mid-June, Simon Rozgonyi, bishop of Eger, and Mihály Guti Ország, the former royal treasurer under Sigismund, lay siege to Győr, which was defended by German and Czech mercenaries. In the ensuing battle, they were unable to capture either the castle or the Holy Crown, but they did succeed in taking one of Elizabeth’s most loyal supporters – Ukrik Cillei – prisoner.
After Cillei’s capture, two of Elizabeth’s Czech Hussite captains defended the city. The first, Jan Śmikovský, originally from Moravia, had been present at the coronation ceremony in Székesfehérvár. Śmikovský served as captain of Győr until October 1441, when he handed the position over to another Czech Hussite, Henrik Czeczko. Besides the captains, there were a large number of Czech and Austrian mercenaries, whose salaries were paid from monies Elizabeth borrowed primarily from the city of Pozsony and from the Czech captains themselves. Further funds were provided by the Archduke Frederick Habsburg, as the guardian of young King Ladislaus.
War and peace
The successes of János (John) Hunyadi, the joint voivode of Transylvania, against the Turks convinced Pope Eugenius (Eugene) IV that the time had come to liberate Constantinople from its Ottoman besiegers, which would have brought about that Catholic-Orthodox union that had been agreed upon at the Council of Florence in 1439. The civil discord in Hungary, however, was an obstacle in organizing such a crusade. Thus, Eugene sent one of his ablest diplomats, Cardinal Giuliano Cesarini, who presided over the councils of Basel and Ferrara, to resolve the conflict.
From spring to late autumn 1442, the cardinal shuttled between Queen Elizabeth in Pozsony and Győr, Archbishop Dénes Szécsi in Esztergom, and Władysław’s court in Buda to settle the differences between the two parties. The cardinal succeeded in brokering a ceasefire agreement in August, but the planned meeting in Esztergom – where the terms of a possible peace would have been discussed – failed due to Elizabeth’s suspicions. Cesarini then proposed that Elizabeth and her followers should come to Győr while Władysław and his entourage would stay in nearby Pannonhalma. The cardinal would then take on the role of mediator himself.
The queen and her entourage arrived in Győr in early October, where they were awaited by Dénes Szécsi, the archbishop of Esztergom. Substantive negotiations began in early November. Discussions involved the queen, the archbishop of Esztergom, the queen’s vice-chancellor (and later bishop of Győr), Ágoston Salánki, and Baron László Töttös of Bátmonostor, who was inclined toward compromise. King Władysław sent Nicholas of Ilok (Miklós Újlaki), the joint voivode of Transylvania, and Stephen Báthory (István Bátori), the lord-lieutenant of Szatmár, to Pannonhalma to negotiate on his behalf. The two parties finally reached an agreement on December 13, 1442, according to which Elizabeth and Władysław retained those parts of the country they currently controlled. Władysław did not renounce the title of king of Hungary, while Elizabeth retained her son’s claim to the throne.
The next day, Władysław and his entourage of Hungarian and Polish nobles solemnly entered Győr, and peace was proclaimed in Hungarian, German, and Polish during a thanksgiving mass held in the cathedral. Elizabeth, however, died unexpectedly five days later, on December 19, 1442. As the queen’s coffin was laid to rest in Győr Cathedral, everyone knew that the troubled times were far from over. Less than two years later, King Władysław himself would fall in battle near Varna, on November 10, 1444, causing further turmoil.
After Elizabeth’s death, her supporters handed over Győr Castle to Archduke Frederick of Austria, King of Germany, who was also King Ladislaus V’s guardian. Győr was subsequently defended by Frederick’s Austrian mercenaries, while the diocese’s assets were managed by the Frangepán brothers – György (Georg), Bertalan, and Zsigmond (Sigismund) – scions of a noble Croatian family.
The situation was complicated by the fact that Ágoston Salánki, who had been consecrated bishop in November 1445 and had begun his career as Elizabeth’s secretary and then as her vice-chancellor, was unable to take up his post because of Archduke Frederick. János Hunyadi, who had been appointed regent on June 6, 1446, had been unable to persuade Frederick to return the territory of the Győr diocese, which the archduke’s forces had occupied during the troubles and whose tithes Frederick was now collecting. Even after Hunyadi’s forces ravaged the Vienna area in the autumn of 1446, Frederick refused to budge. Thus, diplomatic negotiations ensued, with Ágoston Salánki becoming a member of the delegation. A two-year truce was finally concluded in Radkersburg on the Mura River on June 1, 1447. The only significant element of this agreement from the Hungarian perspective was that the Austrian archduke relinquished Győr on June 24.
Medieval Győr
Medieval Győr should not be imagined as a city with a uniform spatial structure but rather as a loose network of small settlements. Each district of the city had its own local lord, and some even boasted their own seal and judge. When Győr became a fortified city, some of these smaller settlements were destroyed, and their location is now difficult to determine. The diocesan district of the city was formerly a royal estate, which gradually became the property of the bishop of Győr in the 14th and 15th centuries. The city itself was divided into two parts: the inner city, which included today’s Chapter Hill, and the outer city, which included the lower parts of the castle district. This included today’s Széchenyi Square, the surrounding area of which became independent under the name Szombathely or Szombatpiac by the end of the Middle Ages. To the north, along the Danube, lay the settlement of Dunamelléke, which probably consisted of a single street and which belonged to the powerful Hédervár family from the beginning of the 14th century.
Győr’s Chapter Hill (Káptalandomb) district lay east of Széchenyi Square. The chapter also owned the then uninhabited area between the Rába and Rábca rivers – today's Újváros – where the former St. Catherine’s Hospital was located. On the opposite, northern bank of the Rába River, there may have been a settlement called Szent-Benedekfalva, which is where the church canons lived. To the east of this lay Királyfölde – a royal estate that came into the possession of the Hédervári family in the 15th century and from whom it was acquired by the bishop of Győr at the end of the century. This estate included Kertesszer, located in what is now the Nádorváros district, and the Szabadi vineyard, now known as Szabadhegy. The ancient St. Adalbert Provostry and the surrounding settlement, Szentadalbertfalva, may also have been located in the Királyfölde estate, next to the Fehérvár road. Along the southern edge of the city, there may have been a Cistercian customs house near Ménfő and a “Crusaders’ village” (keresztesek falva) on the grounds of the Johannite monastery near Kismegyer.
Since Bishop Ágoston Salánki of Győr was one of King Ladislaus V’s most trusted followers in addition to being an active participant in national politics, prominent figures often visited his seat of power in Győr, and he hosted King Ladislaus V himself on several occasions when traveling between Buda and Vienna. In June 1455, Győr hosted a meeting attended by dignitaries including the Archbishop of Esztergom Dénes Szécsi, the Bishop of Várad János Zrednai (Vitéz), the Count of Beszterce János Hunyadi, the Palatine László Garai, and the Voivode of Transylvania Miklós Újlaki, which resulted in a joint communiqué calling on Ladislaus to return to Hungary. This gathering of notables – which, contrary to popular belief, did not constitute a national assembly – was joined by the Observant Franciscan monk János Capistrano, who had come to Hungary to take part in the crusade against the Turks. Following Ladislaus’s unexpected death in November 1457 and the ascension of King Matthias I Corvinus to the throne, Ágoston Salánki slowly withdrew from political life, either on account of his old age or due to the new monarch’s distrust.
The city of bishops
After Salánki, Győr had two bishops who were significant figures during Matthias’s reign: Orbán Dóczy von Nagylúcse (r. 1481–1487), who was also the royal treasurer, and Tamás Bakócz (r. 1487–1497), a royal secretary – both of whom were key figures in the daily life of Matthias’s court. Due to their royal duties, neither bishop was a frequent visitor to the episcopal seat in Győr. Similarly, their successor once removed – János Gosztonyi (r. 1511 –1525) – also spent little time at the bishop’s castle in Győr, as he was often away on diplomatic missions due to his position as then Queen Anna’s chancellor.
The diocesan chapter (capitulum) played an important role in medieval Győr. This 32-member body had at least as much say in molding the city as the bishop did: As the landlord of the city’s Chapter district and the village of Szent-Benedekfalva, it constituted a second ruling element in Győr. The primary task of the diocesan chapter was to participate in the cathedral’s liturgy, with the canons celebrating mass and conducting services. In addition, they also acted as an advisory board for the bishop.
The canons, who were mostly university-educated, comprised the intellectual elite of the city, and because of the authoritative office they occupied, many people visited them – not only from the diocese but also from areas on the other side of the Danube. The chapter also operated an inn, a bathhouse, and a hospital, all of which were important prerequisites for urban life. In addition, the canons also maintained a school near the cathedral, from which students went on to study at the universities of Vienna and Krakow.
(translated by John Puckett and Thürmer Andrea)
