The Duke of Transylvania (; ) was a title of nobility four times granted to a son or a brother of the Hungarian monarch. The dukes of the first and second creations, Béla (1226–1235) and Stephen (1257–1258 or 1259, 1260–1270) of the Árpád dynasty were in fact viceroys with significant authority in Transylvania. The duke of the third creation, Louis, did not administer the province. The fourth duke, Stephen of the Anjou dynasty (1350–1351) did not play any significant role in politics.
History
Duke Béla
Transylvania was an eastern "borderland" (Florin Curta) of the medieval Kingdom of Hungary from the early 11th century.Curta 2006, pp. 250-251., 350. Exposed to attacks by the Cumans and other neighboring nomadic tribes, a high-ranking official especially assigned to this task by the monarch, styled voivode administered the province from the last decades of the 12th century.Kristó 2003, pp. 98-100., 97-98. Transylvania experienced a steady demographic growth from the 1150s, to which the immigration of new settlers from Western Europe contributed.Curta 2006, pp. 352-356.
First King Andrew II of Hungary (1205–1235) considered to employ the Teutonic Knights both to defend the remote province of his kingdom and to stimulate the conversion of the pagan Cumans.Makkai 1994, p. 182.Curta 2006, p. 404. For this purpose, he granted the knights the Burzenland (Barcaság, Bârsei) region of Transylvania in 1211.Nägler 2005, pp. 19-20. The Cumans only became receptive to the idea of conversion after 1223.Kristó 2003, p. 154. Suffering a severe defeat in the battle on the river Kalka by the Mongols in that year, they had to take into consideration the threat of a new Mongol invasion thereafter.Makkai 1994, p. 193.
Having noticed the Teutonic Knights' attempt to get rid of royal authority by accepting the suzerainty of the Holy See, King Andrew II expelled them by force from his kingdom in 1225.Curta 2006, p. 405. Meanwhile, the monarch had issued a charter to summarize the privileges of a significant group of the descendants of colonists from Western Europe.Nägler 2005, pp. 220-223. According to the Diploma Andreanum of 1224, the Transylvanian Saxons were exempted of the authority of the voivodes.Nägler 2005, p. 223. Likewise, the existence of a royal official, the Count of the Székelys proves that the Hungarian-speaking Székelys were also administered independently of the voivodes from the 1220s at the latest.Kristó 2003, pp. 127-128., 133.
King Andrew II appointed his eldest son, Béla duke of Transylvania in 1226.Curta 2006, pp. 405-406.Kristó et al 1994, p. 92. Already a "junior king" crowned in 1214, the newly created duke had earlier administered Slavonia with the same title. As duke of Transylvania, Béla became responsible for the expansion of the kingdom over the Carpathian Mountains (Florin Curta). This included the protection of the missionary work carried out among the western Cuman tribes primarily by Dominican friars.
Indeed, a Cuman chieftain named Boricius voluntarily converted to Christianity in 1227.Curta 2006, p. 406. Next year Duke Béla accompanied Archbishop Robert of Esztergom to the lands of Boricius where a new bishopric was set up. The Cuman chieftains also accepted the authority of the king of Hungary, represented by the junior king in the region. Indeed, King Andrew and his son jointly confirmed the liberties of the Cuman chieftains and commoners in 1228 or 1229.
Sometime Duke Béla acted independently of his father, as it is demonstrated by his grant of tax exemption to Transylvanian knights in 1231 and by his donation of lands situated in Wallachia in 1233.Kristó 2003, p. 153. Pope Gregory IX also urged Duke Béla to protect the interests of bishop of Cumania against Eastern Orthodox prelates who offered the Sacraments not only to the Romanian, but also to the German and Hungarian believers in his diocese. The junior king's duchy of Transylvania ceased to exist in 1235 when Béla inherited his father's throne.Kristó 2003, p. 155.
Stephen, rex iunior
The second creation of the title is connected to the coming to age of Stephen, the elder son of King Béla IV of Hungary (Duke Béla of the previous creation).Kristó et al 1994, p. 294. Likewise his father, Duke Stephen had already been crowned "junior king" by the time he was appointed to govern Transylvania in 1257, and he had also bore the title of duke of Slavonia. Although temporarily removed from the office between 1258Engel 2001, p. 106.Markó 2000, p. 37. or 1259 and 1260,Sălăgean 2005, p. 234. otherwise Stephen actively administered the territories assigned to him during his rule.Kristó 2003, p. 164. He not only confirmed former privileges granted by his father or other monarchs, but granted new liberties and donated properties to his followers.Kristó 2003, pp. 164-165. From the same period, no charter issued by King Béla IV in relation with Transylvania has been preserved, implying that Duke Stephen run the administration of his territories without any royal interference.
Duke Louis
Louis received the title of duke of Transylvania from his father, Charles I in 1339, but he did not administer his province. His separate ducal court was first mentioned in a royal charter of 1340.Engel 2001, p. 157.
Duke Stephen
List of dukes
First creation
| BélaHouse of Árpád 1226–1235also:Duke of Slavonia (1220–1226),King of Hungary (1235–1270) || || June 1206son ofAndrew II of HungaryandGertrude of Merania|| Maria Laskarina12209 children|| 3 May 1270aged 63
Second creation
| StephenHouse of Árpád 1257–1258 or 1259, 1260–1270also:Duke of Slavonia (1246),Duke of Styria (1259–1260),King of Hungary (1270–1272) || || 1239son ofBéla IV of HungaryandMaria Laskarina|| Elizabeth the Cumanb. 12507 children|| 6 August 1272Csepel Islandaged 33
Third creation
| LouisHouse of Anjou 1339–1342also:King of Hungary (1342–1382) || || 5 March 1326son ofCharles I of HungaryandElizabeth of Poland|| 1st wife: Margaret of Bohemia13442nd wife: Elizabeth of Bosnia13533 daughters|| 10 September 1382aged 56
Fourth creation
| StephenHouse of Anjou 1350–1351also:Duke of Szepes and Sáros (1349–1350),Duke of Slavonia (1351–1354) || || 1332son ofCharles I of HungaryandElisabeth of Poland|| Margaret of Bavaria13502 children|| 9 August 1354aged 22
See also Gelou Gyula (title) Kingdom of Hungary in the Middle Ages Prince of Transylvania Transylvania in the Middle Ages Voivode of Transylvania
Footnotes
References
Curta, Florin (2006). Southeastern Europe in the Middle Ages, 500-1250. Cambridge University Press. . Engel, Pál (2001). The Realm of St Stephen: A History of Medieval Hungary, 895-1526. I.B. Tauris Publishers. . Kristó, Gyula; Engel, Pál; Makk, Ferenc (1994). Korai Magyar Történeti Lexikon (9–14. század) ("Encyclopedia of Early Hungarian History, 9th–14th centuries"). Akadémiai Kiadó. . Kristó, Gyula (2003). Early Transylvania (895–1324). Lucidus Kiadó. . Makkai, László (1994). The Emergence of the Estates (1172–1526). In: Köpeczi, Béla; Barta, Gábor; Bóna, István; Makkai, László; Szász, Zoltán; Borus, Judit; History of Transylvania; Akadémiai Kiadó; . Markó, László (2000). A magyar állam főméltóságai Szent Istvántól napjainkig: Életrajzi Lexikon ("Great Officers of State in Hungary from King Saint Stephen to Our Days: A Biographical Encyclopedia"). Magyar Könyvklub. Nägler, Thomas (2005). Transylvania between 900 and 1300. In: Pop, Ioan-Aurel; Nägler, Thomas; The History of Transylvania, Vol. I. (Until 1541); Romanian Cultural Institute (Center for Transylvanian Studies); . Sălăgean, Tudor (2005). Regnum Transilvanum: the assertion of the congregational regime. In: Pop, Ioan-Aurel; Nägler, Thomas; The History of Transylvania, Vol. I. (Until 1541); Romanian Cultural Institute (Center for Transylvanian Studies); .