Conrad Győr

Conrad (I) from the kindred Győr (; 1299/1302) was a Hungarian lord in the 13th century, who served as Master of the cupbearers between around 1254 and 1260. Also known as Conrad of Óvár () in contemporary documents, he was the progenitor of the Gyulai, Geszti and Kéméndi noble families.

Family

Conrad was born around 1219 into the Óvár branch of the ''gens'' (clan) Győr of German origin, as one of the two sons of Stephen II. His grandfather was Maurus I, the first known '' banus maritimus''. Conrad also had a brother Maurus II, who married a daughter of nobleman Vekhard.Engel: ''Genealógia'' (Genus Győr 1., Óvár branch) He died before 1252, leaving Conrad as the only surviving member of the branch.

He had four children from his unidentified wife: James, Stephen III, Catherine and an unnamed daughter. James also served as Master of the cupbearers in 1291. He married Helena Kán (or Siklósi), later members of the branch, including the Gyulai, Geszti and Kéméndi noble families descended from them. Catherine was the wife of Miske Rátót from the Kővágóörs branch: thus they are direct ascendants to the illustrious Batthyány family through their granddaughter, also a Catherine. Conrad's another unidentified daughter married George Balog of Harsány, son of Nicholas the Sinister, Master of the stewards in the early 1250s.

Power struggles

Conrad is first mentioned by contemporary records in 1239, when he was already an adult. Historian Norbert C. Tóth argued a hypothetical Baranya branch of the kindred became extinct by the First Mongol invasion of Hungary (1241–42), thus Conrad inherited their lands in Baranya County as the closest relative within the Győr clan. Conrad was a prominent landowner in Moson County, the majority of his landholdings laid there. According to a list of his possessions from 1285, he owned Bán, Régen, Alsásony, Szerk, Gesztence, Szentiván, Szombathely-Fertőfő, Göncöl, Rosenfeld and Csedefölde. Beside that, he also possessed some portions in Csedefölde, for instance, Novák and Réti. Through purchases and exchanges, he attempted to create a coherent and extensive lordship in Moson County, especially in the western and eastern parts, like his contemporaries throughout Hungary. He also had some portions in Veszprém County, Patvására (now an uninhabited forest between Litér and Papkeszi) and Nosztraj (south of Várpalota). He pledged these estates sometime before 1288. He also had some interests in Somogy County, for instance, Gyarmat until 1296. Conrad Győr was involved in a lawsuit with the Gesztence branch, questioning the validity of a contract regarding the namesake estate in Győr County. He regained the whole parcel of Gesztence for 120 silver marks. Technically, the Gesztence branch broke up during this act. Later, he also acquired Börcs through this kinship.

Initially, he belonged to the courtiers of King Béla IV; he appeared as Master of the stewards in the court of queen consort Maria Laskarina in 1253. Former historiographical works considered that his contemporary Conrad Szák held that dignity, but historian Attila Zsoldos revealed that the office-holder named Conrad owned Alásony – as Conrad Győr dit it. By 1258 (or already 1256), he was appointed as ''ispán'' of Borsod County, an unusual position for a landowner from Transdanubia. In the year 1258, Conrad filed a lawsuit against his second cousins, the wives of Paul Geregye and Stephen Csák, disputing the legitimacy of their ownership over Ilsva and Rahóca in Baranya County, respectively. Béla IV rejected Conrad's accusations citing the two lady were granted the aforementioned possessions via daughters' quarter approximately thirty years ago.

Béla IV referred to Conrad as his "former" Master of the cupbearers in his 1263 charter. Thus it is plausible he served in this capacity sometime in the period between 1254 (when the last known office-holder Baldwin Rátót is mentioned) and 1260 (when Conrad fall out of favor in the Hungarian royal court until he obtained pardon from Béla in the diploma). C. Tóth considers Conrad Győr built his castle in Óvár (today Mosonmagyaróvár, ) in the 1250s, when Béla abandoned the ancient royal prerogative to build and own castles and allowed the barons and the prelates to erect stone fortresses after the Mongol invasion. Nevertheless, Conrad definitely built his seat by the end of Béla's reign.

However, soon, Conrad turned against Béla IV, according to the above-mentioned royal charter issued in 1263, which suggests he defected to Ottokar II of Bohemia, after his army vanquished the Hungarian troops in the Battle of Kressenbrunn on 12 June 1260. The document narrates Conrad invited and garrisoned Ottokar's Styrian soldiers in his fort at Óvár, and made plundering raids against the nearby villages and estates in Moson County. At the same time, Ottokar issued a safe conduct to Conrad's lands at the border in order to avoid plunder and destruction during the war between the kingdoms. Béla IV also accused his former loyal partisan of coin counterfeiting

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