Grab (; died after 1094), was a Hungarian nobleman in the late 11th century, who served as ''

ispán The ispánRady 2000, p. 19.''Stephen Werbőczy: The Customary Law of the Renowned Kingdom of Hungary in Three Parts (1517)'', p. 450. or countEngel 2001, p. 40.Curta 2006, p. 355. (, , and ),Kirschbaum 2007, p. 315. deriving from title of župan, ...

'' of

Somogy County Somogy (, ; ; , ) is an administrative county (Counties of Hungary, comitatus or ''vármegye'') in present Hungary, and also in the former Kingdom of Hungary. Somogy County lies in south-western Hungary, on the border with Croatia's Koprivnica- ...

around 1087–1090.

Career

According to historian Mór Wertner, Grab was a member of the ''gens'' (clan) Tibold of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

origin, which settled down in Hungary during the reign of

Géza, Grand Prince of the Hungarians Géza ( 940 – 997), also Gejza, was Grand Prince of the Hungarians from the early 970s. He was the son of Grand Prince Taksony of Hungary, Taksony and his OrientalKhazars, Khazar, Pechenegs, Pecheneg or Volga Bulgarianwife. He married Sar ...

. Wertner considered that his name derived from the title "''

Graf (; feminine: ) is a historical title of the German nobility and later also of the Russian nobility, usually translated as "count". Considered to be intermediate among noble ranks, the title is often treated as equivalent to the British title ...

''". Grab was an influential member of the court of King

Ladislaus I of Hungary Ladislaus I (, , , ; 1040 – 29 July 1095), also known as Saint Ladislas, was King of Hungary from 1077 and King of Croatia from 1091. He was the second son of King Béla I of Hungary and Richeza of Poland, Queen of Hungary, Richeza (or Adela ...

during the last years of the latter's reign. By the late 1080s, he was elevated into the position of ''ispán'' of Somogy County, where the majority of his clan's landholdings laid. Grab was present when Ladislaus I founded the Bishopric of Zagreb sometime between 1087 and 1090 (the Croatian historiography, however, put the date of the foundation to the year 1094, after Ladislaus' invasion of

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

). It is possible that the newly founded diocese was granted lands and estates from the territory of Somogy County too (perhaps Dubrava forest, for instance), which indicates Grab's presence as the only ''ispán'' among the prelates and court officials during the act. The name of ''ispán'' Grab without seat appears in a non-authentic charter with the date 1093, which narrates a border dispute between the

Archdiocese of Kalocsa In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...

and the Diocese of Pécs. The forgery was compiled, among others, by the usage of an authentic document from 1090, which assumes that Grab still held his post that year. Around 1093 or 1094, Grab founded a

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

monastery in Garáb in

Syrmia County Syrmia County (, , , ) was a historic administrative subdivision ('' županija'') of the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia. Croatia-Slavonia was an autonomous kingdom within the Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen ( Transleithania), the Hungarian par ...

(present-day Grabovo,

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

), dedicated to

Margaret the Virgin Margaret, known as Margaret of Antioch in the West, and as Saint Marina the Great Martyr () in the East, is celebrated as a saint on 20 July in Western Christianity, on 30th of July (Julian calendar) by the Eastern Orthodox Church, and on Epip ...

. Consequently, the settlement was named after him thereafter. It became one of the three family monasteries of the Tibold clan, beside the abbeys in

Babócsa Babócsa (, ) is a village in Somogy County, Hungary. Etymology Its name derives from the Hungarian or South Slavic world ''bab'' () which is a typical plant in the region. Geography It is on the southern side of ''Inner Somogy'', 5 km fr ...

and

Béla Béla may refer to: * Béla (crater), an elongated lunar crater * Béla (given name), a common Hungarian male given name See also * Bela (disambiguation) * Belá (disambiguation) * Bělá (disambiguation) Bělá may refer to: Places in the Cze ...

(today Bijela, Croatia). It is possible that

Theobald Theobald is a Germanic dithematic name, composed from the elements '' theod-'' "people" and ''bald'' "bold". The name arrived in England with the Normans. The name occurs in many spelling variations, including Theudebald, Diepold, Theobalt, Ty ...

, who served as ''ispán'' of Somogy County in ''c''. 1111–1113, was the son of Grab.

References

Sources

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Grab Founders of Christian monasteries 11th-century Hungarian nobility Tibold (genus)