Ladislaus IV of Hungary
Encyclopedia
Ladislas IV the Cuman (August 5, 1262 – July 10, 1290), also known as László IV, King of Hungary
(1272–1290).
and his wife, Elizabeth the Cuman
. Elizabeth was daughter of a chieftain of the Cumans
, who had settled in Hungary after Mongol pressure drove them westwards. She was a pagan and was required to be baptized before her wedding with the future Stephen V in 1253.
Just after his birth, a civil war had broken out in Hungary between his father, who had been crowned as junior king of Hungary, and his grandfather Béla IV of Hungary
. During the struggles, the senior king's troops occupied the castle of Sárospatak
, where the child Ladislas and his mother were staying, and he was taken to his grandfather's court. The two kings concluded a peace only in 1265 when Ladislas returned to his father's court. In 1269 Béla IV betrothed him to Elisabeth of Anjou
, the daughter of King Charles I of Naples.
(May 3, 1270) Ladislas' father became the sole ruler of the Kingdom of Hungary
. Shortly afterwards, Ladislas married his fiancée who had just arrived to the country. Ladislas was kidnapped at age ten from his father's court by Joachim
de genere Gut-Keled, Ban of Slavonia
. The rebellious ban took the child king to the castle of Kapronca
. Stephen V of Hungary vainly tried to occupy the castle with his troops, and shortly he fell ill and died unexpectedly on August 6, 1272. After the king's death the ban took Ladislas to Székesfehérvár
where Archbishop Philip of Esztergom crowned the child with the Crown of Thorns
.
His minority, from his accession to the throne until 1277, was an alternation of palace revolutions and civil wars, in which his Cuman mother Elizabeth barely contrived to keep the upper hand. After his coronation the major offices of the court were divided among Joachim and his allies (Lorand de genere Gut-Keled, Miklós Geregye). They were joined by Henrik Kőszegi, who had been living in exile during the reign of Ladislas' father. Henrik Kőszegi, shortly after his return, stabbed Ladislas' cousin, Prince Béla of Machva, whose extensive estates were divided among the allied barons.
In the beginning of 1273 King Ottokar II of Bohemia
, the murdered
prince's brother-in-law, made a campaign against the Kingdom of Hungary, and occupied the Counties of Pozsony, Moson
and Sopron
. In 1274 the queen dowager managed to overthrow Ban Joachim and his allies, but he again kidnapped the child king. Although Peter Csák liberated Ladislas IV shortly thereafter, Ban Joachim kidnapped Ladislas' brother, Andrew, and demanded the division of the kingdom between the king and his brother. Afterward, the government of the kingdom changed frequently among the several parties of the barons.
in Vienna
and they entered into an alliance against the King of Bohemia. In the next year he joined forces with King Rudolph and they defeated Ottokar II of Bohemia
on August 26, 1278 in the Battle on the Marchfeld.
Meanwhile, Ladislas IV alienated his Angevin
kinsfolk and the Hungarian nobility by favoring the society of the semi-pagan Cumans, from whom he was descended through his mother. He wore Cuman dress as his court wear, surrounded himself with Cuman concubines
and neglected his Angevin consort, Elizabeth of Anjou
.
In the beginning of 1279 a papal legate arrived in Hungary
to inquire into the conduct of the king, who was accused by his neighbors and many of his own subjects, of undermining Christianity
. The papal legate summoned an assembly to Buda
, where Ladislas IV ordered the Cuman tribes to settle down in limited areas of the kingdom. However, he was not able to (or did not want to) enforce the fulfillment of his order; as a result, the papal legate excommunicated him. Ladislas IV managed to escape from the court and joined to the Cuman tribes, and with their help imprisoned the legate. He was shortly captured by the Voivode of Transylvania, Finta de genere Aba who enforced him to reconcile with the papal legate.
Afterwards, the royal government, led by Finta and his allies, tried to force the Cuman tribes to settle down, which resulted in the revolt of the Cumans who were planning to leave the country, but Ladislas IV defeated them in a battle near Stari Slankamen
(Szalánkemén). In 1281 Ladislas IV replaced Finta and his allies with the members of the Kőszegi family; therefore the formers rose against him, but he managed to overcome them. In the next year some Cuman tribes decided again to leave Hungary; Ladislas IV won a decisive victory over the Cumans, but some of them managed to escape to the Balkans.
Ladislas IV, however, could not strengthen the royal power; therefore several factions of the barons governed the kingdom in the next years. All Hungary was convulsed by civil war, during which the young king was driven from one end of his kingdom to the other. The magnates and lower nobility were able to establish their power at the expense of the monarchy during the prolonged political unrest.
In February, 1285 troops of the Golden Horde
, led by Nogai Khan
, invaded and sacked the Eastern part of the country, but they retreated soon. The king's popularity was by now so low that many of his opponents claimed he had invited them. These rumors seemed to be justified when Ladislas employed some of the Mongol captives as members of his personal guards.
In September, 1286 Ladislas IV arrested his wife and began to live together with his Cuman mistress, Édua. One year later he broke into the Convent of the Blessed Virgin on the Nyulak szigete ('Rabbits' Island'), where his sister Elisabeth had been living as a nun, and married her to a Czech
magnate
, Zaviś z Rozenberka. Having informed on these events, Archbishop Lodomer of Esztergom excommunicated the king and asked the pope to proclaim a crusade against him.
Afterwards, the anarchy became total in the kingdom, whose parts were practically governed by the great oligarchs, the members of the Babonić (Babonics), Kőszegi, Aba
, Kán
and Csák
families, while Duke Albert I of Germany
occupied several Western counties
. In June 1289, Ladislas IV reconciled temporarily with the Archdiocese of Esztergom
and his wife, but he did not have enough power to rule over the barons, so he joined his Cuman followers again.
In the beginnings of 1290 he appointed Mizse, a Muslim converted to Christianity, to Palatine. He was shortly slain in his camp at Körösszeg by Cuman assassins.
He died heirless. His successor, Andrew III of Hungary, issued from another branch of the Árpád dynasty
.
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...
(1272–1290).
Early years
He was the elder son of Stephen V of HungaryStephen V of Hungary
Stephen V , was King of Hungary from 1270 to 1272.-Early years:...
and his wife, Elizabeth the Cuman
Elizabeth the Cuman
-Daughter of Kuthen:She was born in about 1239/40, a daughter of Kuthen/Kotyan/Kotony , khan of the Cumans , and his wife whose identity has not been established. The Cumans were the western tribes of the Cuman-Kipchak confederation. The Cumans were a confederation of Turkic speaking peoples who...
. Elizabeth was daughter of a chieftain of the Cumans
Cumans
The Cumans were Turkic nomadic people comprising the western branch of the Cuman-Kipchak confederation. After Mongol invasion , they decided to seek asylum in Hungary, and subsequently to Bulgaria...
, who had settled in Hungary after Mongol pressure drove them westwards. She was a pagan and was required to be baptized before her wedding with the future Stephen V in 1253.
Just after his birth, a civil war had broken out in Hungary between his father, who had been crowned as junior king of Hungary, and his grandfather Béla IV of Hungary
Béla IV of Hungary
Béla IV , King of Hungary and of Croatia , duke of Styria 1254–58. One of the most famous kings of Hungary, he distinguished himself through his policy of strengthening of the royal power following the example of his grandfather Bela III, and by the rebuilding Hungary after the catastrophe of the...
. During the struggles, the senior king's troops occupied the castle of Sárospatak
Sárospatak
----Sárospatak is a town in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county, northern Hungary. It lies northeast from Miskolc, in the Bodrog river valley. The town, often called simply Patak, is an important cultural centre.- History :The area has been inhabited since ancient times...
, where the child Ladislas and his mother were staying, and he was taken to his grandfather's court. The two kings concluded a peace only in 1265 when Ladislas returned to his father's court. In 1269 Béla IV betrothed him to Elisabeth of Anjou
Elisabeth of Sicily (1261–1300)
Elisabeth of Sicily was the youngest child of Charles I of Naples and his first wife Beatrice of Provence. Her maternal grandparents were Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence and Beatrice of Savoy. Her paternal grandparents were Louis VIII of France and Blanche of Castile...
, the daughter of King Charles I of Naples.
Child king of Hungary
After the death of Béla IV of HungaryBéla IV of Hungary
Béla IV , King of Hungary and of Croatia , duke of Styria 1254–58. One of the most famous kings of Hungary, he distinguished himself through his policy of strengthening of the royal power following the example of his grandfather Bela III, and by the rebuilding Hungary after the catastrophe of the...
(May 3, 1270) Ladislas' father became the sole ruler of 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...
. Shortly afterwards, Ladislas married his fiancée who had just arrived to the country. Ladislas was kidnapped at age ten from his father's court by Joachim
Joachim
Saint Joachim was the husband of Saint Anne and the father of Mary, the mother of Jesus in the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and Anglican traditions. The story of Joachim and Anne appears first in the apocryphal Gospel of James...
de genere Gut-Keled, Ban of Slavonia
Ban of Slavonia
The Ban of Slavonia was the governor of Slavonia, later appointed by the kings of Hungary in the 12th-15th centuries. According to the public law of the Kingdom of Hungary, the Bans were counted among the "barons of the realm" and thus they enjoyed several privileges connected to their office...
. The rebellious ban took the child king to the castle of Kapronca
Koprivnica
Koprivnica is a city in northern Croatia. It is the capital of the Koprivnica-Križevci county. In 2011 the city administrative area had a total population of 30,872, with 23,896 in the city itself.-Population:...
. Stephen V of Hungary vainly tried to occupy the castle with his troops, and shortly he fell ill and died unexpectedly on August 6, 1272. After the king's death the ban took Ladislas to Székesfehérvár
Székesfehérvár
Székesfehérvár is a city in central Hungary and is the 9th largest in the country. Located around southwest of Budapest. It is inhabited by 101,973 people , with 136,995 in the Székesfehérvár Subregion. The city is the centre of Fejér county and the regional centre of Central Transdanubia...
where Archbishop Philip of Esztergom crowned the child with the Crown of Thorns
Crown of Thorns
In Christianity, the Crown of Thorns, one of the instruments of the Passion, was woven of thorn branches and placed on Jesus Christ before his crucifixion...
.
His minority, from his accession to the throne until 1277, was an alternation of palace revolutions and civil wars, in which his Cuman mother Elizabeth barely contrived to keep the upper hand. After his coronation the major offices of the court were divided among Joachim and his allies (Lorand de genere Gut-Keled, Miklós Geregye). They were joined by Henrik Kőszegi, who had been living in exile during the reign of Ladislas' father. Henrik Kőszegi, shortly after his return, stabbed Ladislas' cousin, Prince Béla of Machva, whose extensive estates were divided among the allied barons.
In the beginning of 1273 King Ottokar II of Bohemia
Ottokar II of Bohemia
Ottokar II , called The Iron and Golden King, was the King of Bohemia from 1253 until 1278. He was the Duke of Austria , Styria , Carinthia and Carniola also....
, the murdered
prince's brother-in-law, made a campaign against the Kingdom of Hungary, and occupied the Counties of Pozsony, Moson
Moson
Moson was a historic administrative county of the Kingdom of Hungary in present-day eastern Austria and northwestern Hungary, on the right side of the Danube river...
and Sopron
Sopron
In 1910 Sopron had 33,932 inhabitants . Religions: 64.1% Roman Catholic, 27.8% Lutheran, 6.6% Jewish, 1.2% Calvinist, 0.3% other. In 2001 the city had 56,125 inhabitants...
. In 1274 the queen dowager managed to overthrow Ban Joachim and his allies, but he again kidnapped the child king. Although Peter Csák liberated Ladislas IV shortly thereafter, Ban Joachim kidnapped Ladislas' brother, Andrew, and demanded the division of the kingdom between the king and his brother. Afterward, the government of the kingdom changed frequently among the several parties of the barons.
The friend of the Cumans
On May 23, 1277 the assembly of the 'prelates, barons, nobles and Cumans' in Rákos declared Ladislas of full age and he theoretically began to govern the kingdom. On November 11, 1277, Ladislas IV met King Rudolph I of GermanyRudolph I of Germany
Rudolph I was King of the Romans from 1273 until his death. He played a vital role in raising the Habsburg dynasty to a leading position among the Imperial feudal dynasties...
in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
and they entered into an alliance against the King of Bohemia. In the next year he joined forces with King Rudolph and they defeated Ottokar II of Bohemia
Ottokar II of Bohemia
Ottokar II , called The Iron and Golden King, was the King of Bohemia from 1253 until 1278. He was the Duke of Austria , Styria , Carinthia and Carniola also....
on August 26, 1278 in the Battle on the Marchfeld.
Meanwhile, Ladislas IV alienated his Angevin
Capetian House of Anjou
The Capetian House of Anjou, also known as the House of Anjou-Sicily and House of Anjou-Naples, was a royal house and cadet branch of the direct House of Capet. Founded by Charles I of Sicily, a son of Louis VIII of France, the Capetian king first ruled the Kingdom of Sicily during the 13th century...
kinsfolk and the Hungarian nobility by favoring the society of the semi-pagan Cumans, from whom he was descended through his mother. He wore Cuman dress as his court wear, surrounded himself with Cuman concubines
Concubinage
Concubinage is the state of a woman or man in an ongoing, usually matrimonially oriented, relationship with somebody to whom they cannot be married, often because of a difference in social status or economic condition.-Concubinage:...
and neglected his Angevin consort, Elizabeth of Anjou
Elisabeth of Sicily (1261–1300)
Elisabeth of Sicily was the youngest child of Charles I of Naples and his first wife Beatrice of Provence. Her maternal grandparents were Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence and Beatrice of Savoy. Her paternal grandparents were Louis VIII of France and Blanche of Castile...
.
In the beginning of 1279 a papal legate arrived in 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...
to inquire into the conduct of the king, who was accused by his neighbors and many of his own subjects, of undermining Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
. The papal legate summoned an assembly to 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...
, where Ladislas IV ordered the Cuman tribes to settle down in limited areas of the kingdom. However, he was not able to (or did not want to) enforce the fulfillment of his order; as a result, the papal legate excommunicated him. Ladislas IV managed to escape from the court and joined to the Cuman tribes, and with their help imprisoned the legate. He was shortly captured by the Voivode of Transylvania, Finta de genere Aba who enforced him to reconcile with the papal legate.
Afterwards, the royal government, led by Finta and his allies, tried to force the Cuman tribes to settle down, which resulted in the revolt of the Cumans who were planning to leave the country, but Ladislas IV defeated them in a battle near Stari Slankamen
Stari Slankamen
Stari Slankamen , also known as Slankamen , is a village located in the Inđija municipality, in the Srem District of Serbia. It is situated in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina...
(Szalánkemén). In 1281 Ladislas IV replaced Finta and his allies with the members of the Kőszegi family; therefore the formers rose against him, but he managed to overcome them. In the next year some Cuman tribes decided again to leave Hungary; Ladislas IV won a decisive victory over the Cumans, but some of them managed to escape to the Balkans.
Ladislas IV, however, could not strengthen the royal power; therefore several factions of the barons governed the kingdom in the next years. All Hungary was convulsed by civil war, during which the young king was driven from one end of his kingdom to the other. The magnates and lower nobility were able to establish their power at the expense of the monarchy during the prolonged political unrest.
In February, 1285 troops of the Golden Horde
Golden Horde
The Golden Horde was a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate that formed the north-western sector of the Mongol Empire...
, led by Nogai Khan
Nogai Khan
Nogai , also called Isa Nogai, was a general and de facto ruler of the Golden Horde and a great-great-grandson of Genghis Khan. His grandfather was Baul/Teval Khan, the 7th son of Jochi...
, invaded and sacked the Eastern part of the country, but they retreated soon. The king's popularity was by now so low that many of his opponents claimed he had invited them. These rumors seemed to be justified when Ladislas employed some of the Mongol captives as members of his personal guards.
In September, 1286 Ladislas IV arrested his wife and began to live together with his Cuman mistress, Édua. One year later he broke into the Convent of the Blessed Virgin on the Nyulak szigete ('Rabbits' Island'), where his sister Elisabeth had been living as a nun, and married her to a Czech
Czech people
Czechs, or Czech people are a western Slavic people of Central Europe, living predominantly in the Czech Republic. Small populations of Czechs also live in Slovakia, Austria, the United States, the United Kingdom, Chile, Argentina, Canada, Germany, Russia and other countries...
magnate
Magnate
Magnate, from the Late Latin magnas, a great man, itself from Latin magnus 'great', designates a noble or other man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or other qualities...
, Zaviś z Rozenberka. Having informed on these events, Archbishop Lodomer of Esztergom excommunicated the king and asked the pope to proclaim a crusade against him.
Afterwards, the anarchy became total in the kingdom, whose parts were practically governed by the great oligarchs, the members of the Babonić (Babonics), Kőszegi, Aba
Aba (family)
Aba is the name of a Genus Aba in the Kingdom of Hungary. Their ancestors may have been among the tribal leaders of the Kabars...
, Kán
Kán
Kán is the name of a Hungarian noble family which gave bans to Croatia and Slavonia, voivodes to Transylvania, and palatines to Hungary in the 13th and 14th centuries.-History:...
and Csák
Csák (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...
families, while Duke Albert I of Germany
Albert I of Germany
Albert I of Habsburg was King of the Romans and Duke of Austria, the eldest son of German King Rudolph I of Habsburg and his first wife Gertrude of Hohenburg.-Life:...
occupied several 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....
. In June 1289, Ladislas IV reconciled temporarily with the Archdiocese of Esztergom
Archdiocese of Esztergom
The archbishopric of Esztergom was a historical diocese created in 1000 under Stephen I of Hungary largely on the territory of Upper Hungary. After the Treaty of Trianon, its territory was reduced to its present-day extent and it became the Archdiocese of Esztergom-Budapest on 31 May 1993...
and his wife, but he did not have enough power to rule over the barons, so he joined his Cuman followers again.
In the beginnings of 1290 he appointed Mizse, a Muslim converted to Christianity, to Palatine. He was shortly slain in his camp at Körösszeg by Cuman assassins.
He died heirless. His successor, Andrew III of Hungary, issued from another branch of the Árpád dynasty
Árpád dynasty
The Árpáds or Arpads was the ruling dynasty of the federation of the Hungarian tribes and of the Kingdom of Hungary . The dynasty was named after Grand Prince Árpád who was the head of the tribal federation when the Magyars occupied the Carpathian Basin, circa 895...
.
See also
- Maria of Hungary (1257-1323)
- Elizabeth the CumanElizabeth the Cuman-Daughter of Kuthen:She was born in about 1239/40, a daughter of Kuthen/Kotyan/Kotony , khan of the Cumans , and his wife whose identity has not been established. The Cumans were the western tribes of the Cuman-Kipchak confederation. The Cumans were a confederation of Turkic speaking peoples who...
- Cuman people
- CumaniaCumaniaCumania is a name formerly used to designate several distinct lands in Eastern Europe inhabited by and under the military dominance of the Cumans, a nomadic tribe who, with the Kipchaks, created a confederation. The Cumans were also known as the Polovtsians, or Folban...