Artolf, also Aistulf, Arnolphus or Atolf (died 1252) was a Hungarian

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

in the first half of the 13th century, who served as Bishop of Transylvania from 1244 to 1245, then Bishop of Győr from 1245 until his death.

Biography

Artolf (or Artolph) was born into an unidentified wealthy Hungarian noble family, which possessed large-scale landholdings in

Transdanubia Transdanubia ( hu, Dunántúl; german: Transdanubien, hr, Prekodunavlje or ', sk, Zadunajsko :sk:Zadunajsko) is a traditional region of Hungary. It is also referred to as Hungarian Pannonia, or Pannonian Hungary. Administrative divisions Trad ...

. The ''Schematizmus dioecesis Jauriensis'' refers to him as Artolf and Aistulf, simultaneously, while other documents also mention the name variants of Arnolphus and Atolf. Artolf was an educated prelate and skilled in theology and science. He was styled as provost of

Vác Vác (; german: Waitzen; sk, Vacov; yi, ווייצען) is a town in Pest county in Hungary with approximately 35,000 inhabitants. The archaic spelling of the name is ''Vácz''. Location Vác is located north of Budapest on the eastern bank o ...

in 1237. Artolf was appointed Bishop of Transylvania around June 1244 by

Béla IV of Hungary Béla IV (1206 – 3 May 1270) was King of Hungary and Croatia between 1235 and 1270, and Duke of Styria from 1254 to 1258. As the oldest son of King Andrew II, he was crowned upon the initiative of a group of influential noblemen in his fath ...

, who filled the dignity after a three-year period vacancy, which lasted from the death of Raynald of Belleville, who was killed in the

Battle of Mohi The Battle of Mohi (11 April 1241), also known as Battle of the Sajó River''A Global Chronology of Conflict: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East'', Vol. I, ed. Spencer C. Tucker, (ABC-CLIO, 2010), 279; "Although Mongol losses in t ...

on 11 April 1241. During their

invasion An invasion is a military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitical entity aggressively enter territory owned by another such entity, generally with the objective of either: conquering; liberating or re-establishing co ...

, the

Mongols The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member ...

completely devastated and perished the province of

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the ...

, along with its diocese and church property (including the

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...

). Artolf's task was to begin the restoration of the diocese's administrative and financial positions, but the lack of local knowledge and the shocking experience of the destruction exceeded his suitability. Around September 1245, the cathedral chapter of Győr elected Artolf as their bishop. Leaving the remote and war-torn Transylvania, he pleased to occupy the position, as the several lands of his family laid in the territory of the diocese. King Béla IV interceded

Pope Innocent IV Pope Innocent IV ( la, Innocentius IV; – 7 December 1254), born Sinibaldo Fieschi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 June 1243 to his death in 1254. Fieschi was born in Genoa and studied at the universitie ...

in order to transfer Artolf from Transylvania to Győr. The monarch called his protege as "popular, clean-lived, educated and principled", while argued, "the army of his powerful and influential kinship will be useful for the Crown against the hostile raids at the western boundaries of the kingdom". The remark obviously referred to the emerging tension between Béla IV and Frederick the Quarrelsome, Duke of Austria. The pope contributed to the change and

translated Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...

Artolf to the Diocese of Győr on 12 December 1245. Artolf's bishopric became a buffer zone between the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephe ...

and the Duchy of Austria in the upcoming years. He was responsible for to protect the frontier in Western Hungary. It is presumable that Artolf built the tower of the episcopal castle of Győr. Artolf was last mentioned as a living person by contemporary records in November 1251. He died in 1252.

References

Sources

* * * * * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Artolf 1252 deaths 13th-century Hungarian Roman Catholic priests 13th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Hungary Bishops of Győr Bishops of Transylvania