Lodomer
Lodomer was a prelate in the Kingdom of Hungary in the second half of the 13th century. He was Archbishop of Esztergom between 1279 and 1298, and Bishop of Várad from 1268 till 1279. He was an opponent of Ladislaus IV of Hungary whom he excommunicated for failing to force the Cumans to adopt the Christian way of life. After Ladislaus' death, Lodomer and his suffragans were dedicated supporters of Andrew III of Hungary, who aimed to restore strong royal power against the rebellious lords and oligarchs.
Theories of origin
Lodomer or Ladomer was presumably born in the 1230s, not long before the First Mongol invasion of Hungary. He had an unnamed sister, the mother of Thomas, also an Archbishop of Esztergom, who studied in the University of Padua, courtesy of Lodomer. His ancestry, parentage and kinship relations have long been disputed among historians. Based on alleged "old manuscripts", 18th-century historian Miklós Schmitth claimed Lodomer originated from the territory of the Kievan Rus', and was a relative of Rostislav Mikhailovich and the Rurikids. It is presumable that, in fact, Schmitth deduced that conclusion only from the prelate's forename and its similarity to Ruthenian principality Lodomeria. Referring to a papal letter allegedly from the end of the 13th century, historian János Török also argued in favour of the Ruthenian ancestry in 1853. He argued Lodomer's real name was John and called himself "Lodomericus" after arriving to Hungary. However contemporary scholar Nándor Knauz proved that papal letter was written 100 years later, at the end of the 14th century, and it referred to then archbishop John Kanizsai.Himself Knauz also dealt with the issue in his large-scale monography Monumenta ecclesiae Strigoniensis. He claimed Lodomer originated from the gens Monoszló and has put forward three arguments; Archbishop Lodomer called a certain Maurice of Mencshely and Gregory, son of Saul from Monoszló as his blood relatives in 1292, when he donated his land of Henye in Zala County to them. When Gregory bought Sásdi in 1297, the cathedral chapter of Veszprém referred to him as Lodomer's nephew. In 1317, Charles I of Hungary mentioned his loyal servant Egidius, son of Gregory, who died without male heir, as a member of the Monoszló clan. Thus Knauz identified Gregory, Lodomer's nephew with Gregory II Monoszló, the father of Egidius. A 1296 charter also mentioned that Gregory related to Bánd and Csaba, members of the gens Atyusz. Lodomer's biographer, theologian Margit Beke supported Knauz's claim, arguing Lodomer issued his last surviving charter in late 1297 in Monoszló, two months before his death. However genealogist János Karácsonyi refused Knauz's theory, as Gregory Monoszló's father was Thomas, as he already outlined the clan's family tree at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.
For the first time, Karácsonyi's contemporary Mór Wertner identified Lodomer as a member of the Vázsony kindred, as he considered Bánd and Csaba belonged to that clan too. Later he revised his position and claimed the archbishop was the son of a certain Lawrence, a local landowner in Henye, mentioned by a royal charter in 1237. Historian Attila Zsoldos refused Wertner's argument, as the fact that Lodomer was granted landholding in Henye is not necessarily link to his hypothetical ancestry. Instead, Zsoldos clearly identified Maurice of Mencshely with Maurice Vázsony, the bailiff of Archbishop Lodomer's episcopal court in Esztergom. Zsoldos assumed Lodomer was the brother of Gregory's father, Saul, himself also a son of certain Mika. After philological and canon law considerations regarding the phrase "consanguineus" used by the well-educated Lodomer in 1292, historian Tamás Körmendi argued that Maurice and Gregory were the archbishop's patrilineal relatives – thus Lodomer himself was indeed a member of the Vázsony clan and the son of Mika. Historian Péter Kis considered that there were two Monoszló clans at the end of the era of Árpáds: the first, which originated from today's Podravska Moslavina and provided influential barons; and the second one, a significantly poorer and minor clan, Lodomer allegedly belonged to this, which came from Monoszló in Veszprém County, near to Vázsony and Mencshely.
Early career and studies
Lodomer is first mentioned by contemporary records between 1257 and 1261, when he functioned as the cantor in the cathedral chapter of Veszprém. Beside his duty to proclaim the Scripture readings used in the Liturgy of the Word, Lodomer was responsible for management of the cathedral school of Veszprém and teaching the clerics and the poor scholars, in accordance with the Canon 18 of the Third Council of the Lateran. Additionally, he led the local place of authentication in this capacity. For this reason, 19th-century scholar Vince Bunyitay considered Lodomer attended the clerical school in Veszprém. This biographical data is largely an assumption, nevertheless Lodomer was already referred to as a magister at the end of the 1250s, reflecting the acquisition of some basics of canonical studies by then. After 1260, Lodomer disappears from the sources for the next three years. As Margit Beke argued he studied canon law and Roman law at the University of Bologna during that period.File:V. István koronázása.jpg|thumb|right|Stephen V is crowned by his father, Béla IV
Körmendi noted that Lodomer's letters, which reflect his deepened legal and philological knowledge, prove that he was one of the most educated Hungarian prelates of the 13th century, thus he certainly attended an Italian universitas, but the exact location and date are uncertain. Considering a standard three-year study leave among the canons, which was secured and encouraged by the Roman Curia, Körmendi agreed that Lodomer studied abroad between 1261 and 1264. Based on the researches of literary historian Rabán Gerézdi, Hungarian historiography claimed that a certain Lodomer, son of comes Denis, who was a student of the University of Bologna on 26 October 1268 according to a register, is identical with the namesake prelate. However, at the latest, Lodomer was already styled as elected and confirmed Bishop of Várad on 9 November, according to a royal charter of Béla IV of Hungary. Nevertheless, Körmendi added if Lodomer is identical with that student, his relationship to the Atyusz kindred becomes more established, as there were two clan members named Denis during his time.
Returning home, Lodomer served as vice-chancellor in the royal court of junior king Stephen from 1264 to 1266, replacing Benedict, who defected to the partisans of Béla IV. Duke Stephen's relationship with his father Béla IV deteriorated by the early 1260s. Lodomer remained loyal to Stephen in the emerging 1260s civil war between the king and the duke, but took on a role of a mediator and conciliator in order to prevent the escalation of their conflict. The motivation of Lodomer's loyalty to Duke Stephen remained hidden. Historian Jenő Szűcs outlined three social groups according to their motivations to join the ducal court. In this sense, Lodomer belonged to that youth with illustrious Transdanubian aristocratic origin, who remained without office due to the influence of older generations in the royal court of Béla IV.
Bishop of Várad
Lodomer was elected Bishop of Várad at the latest on 9 November 1268. By then his confirmation was made by Pope Clement IV. Lodomer's last known predecessor Zosimus was last appeared as bishop in contemporary documents on 17 October 1265, when King Béla countersigned his last will and testament. Thus it is possible that Lodomer was already installed as his successor in 1266, after leaving the office of vice chancellery. The Diocese of Várad laid in the territory of Stephen's realm during his election. Lodomer was granted the land of Henye for his advice and mediation role by Béla IV still in that year. When Stephen V ascended the Hungarian throne in May 1270, he granted tax exemption for those serfs and hospes who were subjects of the Diocese of Várad, in addition to free use of mines for the bishopric. The king also permitted that the lands of the extinct local noble families have been transferred to the diocese. Lodomer founded monasteries, clerical schools and provided priests to numerous villages; these all were part of a restoration attempt in the territory of the diocese, which suffered heavy damages during the Mongol invasion decades earlier. According to a charter, Lodomer summoned an assembly, where subjects of the Diocese of Várad took an oath of allegiance before the reliquary of St. Ladislaus. Lodomer was a member of the royal council during the short reign of Stephen V.File:Kun laszlo.jpg|thumb|left|Ladislaus IV as depicted in the Illuminated Chronicle. Initially, Lodomer supported his efforts, but later became his inexorable opponent.
When Stephen V fell ill and died on 6 August 1272, it marked the beginning of the era of feudal anarchy, when two rival baronial groups struggled for power during the minority of Ladislaus IV under his mother, Elizabeth's regency. Initially, Lodomer was a staunch supporter of the young king, who represented the continuation of the desired strong royal power. Following his coronation sometime after September 1272, Ladislaus IV and his escort resided in Várad, when he donated the village of Szőlős in Komárom County to Lodomer. The bishop distanced himself from the conflict between the baronial groups. Nevertheless, Lodomer and his strong ally, Peter Monoszló, who held the dignity of Bishop of Transylvania since 1270, opposed the ambition of the Geregye kindred, which had aspirations to establish dominion independently from the royal power in Bihar County, where the vast majority of the Diocese of Várad located. Consequently, Lodomer apparently became a partisan of the rival Csák–Monoszló league. In May 1277, Lodomer participated in that general assembly of the prelates, barons, noblemen, and Cumans in Rákos, which declared the minor Ladislaus IV to be of age and authorized the 15-year-old monarch to restore internal peace with all possible means. In the next month, Ladislaus entrusted Lodomer to lead a six-member diplomatic mission to Vienna to enter into an alliance with Rudolf I of Germany against Ottokar II of Bohemia. They ratified their covenant on 12 July 1277. After the royal army captured the rebellious Nicholas Geregye's fortress at Adorján, Ladislaus IV held a "general assembly" for seven counties along the River Tisza near Cenad in early summer of 1278. Lodomer and other prelates were involved in the meeting, where the rebellious Geregyes were executed and the Gutkeled clan swore loyalty to the monarch. Lodomer and the clergy supported Ladislaus' efforts to restore royal power against the oligarchs, but the assembly at Csanád proved to be a short-lived consolidation.
The influence of Lodomer in the Roman Curia has increased by the second half of the 1270s. Pope Innocent V appointed him to preside that church committee, which investigated and supervised the beatification process of the late princess Margaret, daughter of Béla IV. The committee resumed its work in 1276 after a four-year forced break since the death of Philip Türje, Archbishop of Esztergom. The necessary investigations were taken up between 1271 and 1276, 74 miracles were ascribed to her intercession, most of them referring to curing illnesses, even someone coming back from the dead. Among those giving testimony were 27 people for whom miracles had been wrought. Margaret was beatified still in that year, but canonization process was not successful, it took place only centuries later.
The episcopal see of Esztergom was virtually vacant since 1272. After the death of Stephen Báncsa, Archbishop of Kalocsa in 1278, Lodomer became the most illustrious prelate in the Hungarian clergy, thanks to his political and church relationships in Rome and his outstanding literacy. Two representants of the rival baronial groups, Nicholas Kán and Peter Kőszegi fought for the position of archbishop of Esztergom. Pope Nicholas III summoned them to Rome in June 1278. Nicholas refused to confirm either nomination, instead, he decided to appoint the archbishop himself in accordance with the canon law. Meanwhile, Nicholas sent Philip, Bishop of Fermo, to Hungary to help Ladislaus restore royal power and to fill the position of Archbishop of Esztergom. The papal legate arrived in Hungary in early 1279. The clergy, including Lodomer became Philip's strongest ally, which also meant that they turned against Ladislaus in the long term. With the mediation of the papal legate, Pope Nicholas III appointed Lodomer as the new Archbishop of Esztergom on 13 June 1279. The Roman Curia sent his pallium on 7 May 1280, confirming the appointment.