A Nyíregyházi Jósa András Múzeum évkönyve 42. (Nyíregyháza, 2000)

Történelem - Attila Zsoldos: László IV and ancestros of the Kállai family

IV. László és a Kállaiak ősei WENZEL Árpádkori új okmánytár. Codex diplomaticus Arpadianus continuatus. Közzé teszi Wenzel Gusztáv. I—XII. Pest-Budapest 1860-1874. WERTNER 1900. Wertner Mór: Ki volt Banai Kozma? Turul 18. 1900. 147-148. WERTNER 1901. Wertner Mór: Az árpádkori ország- és udvarbírák genealógiája. (Comites curiales; comites seu indices curiae regináé vei aulae regiae, reges seu.) Turul 19. 1901. 7—26., 54—73. WERTNER 1916. Wertner Mór: Az 1291. évi magyar-osztrák hadjárat. Hadtörténelmi Közlemények 17. 1916. 349-386. ZALA Zala vármegye története. Oklevéltár I—II. Szerk. Nagy Imre — Véghely Dezső — Nagy Gyula. Budapest 1886-1890. ZICHY A zichi és vásonkeői gróf Zichy-család idősb ágának okmánytára. Codex diplomaticus domus senioris comitum Zichy de Zieh et Vasonkeő. Szerk. Nagy Imre — Nagy Iván — Véghelyi Dezső— Kammerer Ernő — Lukcsics Pál. I-XII. Budapest 1871-1931. ZOLNAY 1935. Zolnay László: Miklósfia Demeter mester (1250-1312). Turul 49. 1935. 35-37. ZSOLDOS 1997A. Zsoldos Attila: Téténytől a Hód-tóig (Az 1279 és 1282 közötti évek politikatörténetének vázlata). [From Tétény to Lake Hód (Political history in the years between 1279 and 1282.).] Történelmi Szemle 39. 1997. 69-98. ZSOLDOS 1997B. Zsoldos Attila: Az Árpádok és alattvalóik. Debrecen 1997. 131-133. ZSOLDOS 1998. Zsoldos Attila: Közszabad nemzetségek. Mediaevalia Transilvanica 2. 1998: 1. 53—54. László IV and ancestors of the Kállai family Attila Zsoldos The present study, through the history of the ancestors of the Kállai family, adds new data to the political history of the last years of the reign of Hungarian king László (Ladislaus) IV (1272-1290). Political history of this period was determined by the fights between oligarchs supported by their lands, casdes and armies of the vassals against the royal power opposing them. In the course of these, sometimes political maneuvers, sometimes warfare, László IV gradually lost his confidence in big landlords occupying key positions in the state establishment, and made attempts to put to the main state positions those persons, who were ready and able to serve the royal power. Thus, the king tried to abrupt the tradition of the Hungarian Kingdom of the Árpád Age (11th

—13th centuries) according to which only the members of the most aristocratic relative clans got positions in the establishment. This phenomenon was reflected in the strikingly increasing number of the homo novus appearing at the end of his reign. Among them we see the ancestors of the Kállai family — Ubul's son Mihály and his sons — who had their lands mainly in the Medieval Szabolcs and Szatmár counties. Although they were rich landowners, they had not got political role before that time. From the 1280s László IV tended to supply the Kállai ancestors with power by presenting them a plenty of lands and privileges. With this strength they were supposed to be able to oppose the ones revolting against the royal power. This idea must have been connected with the situation of the Kállai family: north and south of their properties, a province of an oligarch family was formed. Eastern part of modern Slovakia was controlled by the Aba family, and territory east of river Tisza belonged to the Borsa family from the 1270s. According to László IVs idea, the Killais must have served as a balance of the Borsa and Aba power. During the lifetime of László IV the Kállai family fulfilled the expectations of the king. However, the king did not have enough strength and time to build a solid basis for the Kállais' power, so after his murder the Aba and Borsa families, using their superiority, defeated the rival Kállai family, made them flee and occupied their lands. Only decades later, during the reign of king Károly (Charles) I (1301—1342) who broke the power of the oligarchs, they succeeded in getting back their lands. Translated by Valéria Kulcsár Attila Zsoldos Hungarian Academy of Sciences — Institute of History H-1014 Budapest, Úri u. 53. 87