Demetrius (; died August 1277) was a Hungarian clergyman in the 13th century, a loyal supporter of King
Béla IV of Hungary
Béla IV (1206 – 3 May 1270) was King of Hungary and King of Croatia, Croatia between 1235 and 1270, and Duke of Styria from 1254 to 1258. As the oldest son of Andrew II of Hungary, King Andrew II, he was crowned upon the initiative of a group ...
.
Béla's envoy
Demetrius was archdeacon of
Bars at least from 1263 to 1267. When King Béla's relationship with his oldest son and heir,
Stephen
Stephen or Steven is an English given name, first name. It is particularly significant to Christianity, Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; he is w ...
,
became tense in the early 1260s, he supported the elderly monarch.
Timothy
Timothy is a masculine name. It comes from the Greek language, Greek name (Timotheus (disambiguation), Timόtheos) meaning "honouring God", "in God's honour", or "honoured by God". Timothy (and its variations) is a common name in several countries ...
was appointed as
Bishop of Zagreb
The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Zagreb (; ) is the central Latin Church archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Croatia, centered in the capital city Zagreb. It is the metropolitan see of Croatia, and the present archbishop is Dražen Kutleša.
It ...
by
Pope Urban IV
Pope Urban IV (; c. 1195 – 2 October 1264), born Jacques Pantaléon, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 August 1261 to his death three years later. He was elected pope without being a cardinal; he was the fi ...
in September 1263. Béla IV protested against the pope's decision and sent a royal delegation led by his loyal clergyman Demetrius to
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
in October 1265 to attempt to invalidate Timothy's confirmation. There, Demetrius expressed Timothy's incompetence before the
Roman Curia
The Roman Curia () comprises the administrative institutions of the Holy See and the central body through which the affairs of the Catholic Church are conducted. The Roman Curia is the institution of which the Roman Pontiff ordinarily makes use ...
, arguing with his lowborn social status.
Pope Clement IV
Pope Clement IV (; 23 November 1190 – 29 November 1268), born Gui Foucois (; or ') and also known as Guy le Gros ( French for "Guy the Fat"; ), was bishop of Le Puy (1257–1260), archbishop of Narbonne (1259–1261), cardinal of Sabina ( ...
was outraged by the archdeacon's claim and disrespectful tone and refused his request. Béla sent his envoy Demetrius in April 1266, but Pope Clement did not change his decision. To indicate his goodwill, he appointed Demetrius as papal chaplain. Following that Béla IV abandoned the case and acknowledged Timothy's election.
At the same time,
Smaragd of Kalocsa
Smaragd (III) from the kindred Smaragd (; died July 1265) was a Hungarian prelate in the 13th century, who served as archbishop of Kalocsa from 1257 to 1265.
Early career
Smaragd III was born into the ''gens'' (clan) Smaragd (or Smaragdus). Acco ...
was murdered in mid-1265. Some members of the chapter elected Demetrius as their new
archbishop
In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...
. When he resided in Italy for the purposes of the diplomatic mission discussed above, other canons of the chapter elected
Stephen Báncsa as archbishop, neglecting the previous procedure. Báncsa, who supported Duke Stephen's efforts, was the nephew of the
namesake cardinal, a long-time opponent of King Béla. The dispute was judged over by Pope Clement, who asked for evidences from both parties by 6 December 1266. As the representatives of Demetrius did not present before the Curia, Clement confirmed the election of Báncsa on 11 December 1266. However, after the decision, Demetrius' envoys, provost James and canon Elias appeared in the Roman Curia to complain the confirmation, citing Báncsa's young age, "illiteracy" and the "unlawful method" of the election. Clement commissioned three cardinals,
John of Toledo
John of Toledo (died 1275) was an English Cistercian and Cardinal.
Little is known about John before 1244: He was born in England, had studied medicine in Toledo and acquired theological skills at an unknown place. He became a Cistercian monk in t ...
,
Matteo Rosso Orsini
Matteo Rosso Orsini (1178–1246), called the Great, was an Italian politician, the father of Pope Nicholas III. He was named ''senatore'' of the City of Rome by Pope Gregory IX in 1241: in this capacity he took a firm stand against the ventur ...
and
Guillaume de Bray
Guillaume de Bray (born at Bray in the Ile-de-France, date unknown; died in Orvieto, 29 April 1282) was a French ecclesiastic and Roman Catholic Cardinal, poet, and mathematician.
It is claimed Guillaume was Master of Theology, but the Cardinal' ...
to investigate the case, who found the charges regarding the allegations of his minor age against Báncsa was unfounded. In his judgment letter on 11 February 1267, Pope Clement explained Báncsa's erudition and science skills at length (mentioning his studies at
Bologna
Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...
) and maintained his decision, while ordered Demetrius and his representatives to "eternal silence".
Provostry
Despite his failures, Demetrius did not fall out of Béla's mercy, who has constantly lost his supporters by the end of his reign. He was elected provost of Székesfehérvár in 1268. His election was confirmed by Pope Clement just before his death. Beside that, Demetrius served as vice-chancellor in the royal court from that year until Béla's death in May 1270. Following that, when Stephen V succeeded his father, he lost all political and courtly influence for years. In early 1277, Demetrius regained his former position, when the late Béla's former supporters, the
Kőszegi–
Gutkeled The coat-of-arms of the Hungarian Gutkeled clan
Gutkeled (spelling variants: Gut-Keled, Guthkeled, Guth-Keled) was the name of a ''gens'' (Latin for "clan"; ''nemzetség'' in Hungarian) in the Kingdom of Hungary, to which a number of Hungarian nob ...
baronial group returned to power. He still held the office, when the minor
Ladislaus IV was declared to be of age at an assembly in May. As part of a six-member delegation, Demetrius represented Ladislaus IV in
Vienna
Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
in July 1277, when the king entered into an alliance with
Rudolf I of Germany
Rudolf I (1 May 1218 – 15 July 1291) was the first King of Germany of the Habsburg dynasty from 1273 until his death.
Rudolf's imperial election of 1273, election marked the end of the Interregnum (Holy Roman Empire), Great Interregnum whic ...
against
Ottokar II of Bohemia
Ottokar II (; , in Městec Králové, Bohemia – 26 August 1278, in Dürnkrut, Austria, Dürnkrut, Lower Austria), the Iron and Golden King, was a member of the Přemyslid dynasty who reigned as King of Bohemia from 1253 until his death in 1278 ...
. Demetrius soon died, as he was succeeded as
Thomas
Thomas may refer to:
People
* List of people with given name Thomas
* Thomas (name)
* Thomas (surname)
* Saint Thomas (disambiguation)
* Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church
* Thomas the A ...
as provost around August or September 1277.
References
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Demetrius
13th-century Hungarian people
1277 deaths
13th-century Hungarian Roman Catholic priests