Nicholas Zámbó de Mezőlak (; died 1395) was a 14th-century Hungarian treasurer and judge, who held several court offices as a loyal supporter of queens

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Empress Elisabeth (disambiguation), lists various empresses named ''Elisabeth'' or ''Elizabeth'' * Princess Elizabeth ...

and

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...

Career

Zámbó came from a minor Transdanubian noble family which belonged to the kindred Pápa. His father was Ladislaus de Mezőlak (died after 1317), he had three brothers: Martin, Ladislaus and Stephen. His nephew was

Lawrence Zámbó Lawrence Zámbó de Mezőlak (; died May 1402) was a Hungarian medieval cleric and Canon law jurist, who served as Provost of the St. Martin's Cathedral in Pressburg (; today Bratislava, Slovakia) between 1383 and 1402. Life As the son of Martin, ...

, the Provost of

Pressburg Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...

.Markó, 368. Nicholas Zámbó began his career as a squire of

Elizabeth of Bosnia Elizabeth of Bosnia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=/, Elizabeta Kotromanić, Јелисавета Котроманић ; ; ; – January 1387) was queen consort of Kingdom of Hungary, Hungary and Croatia in personal union with Hungary, Croat ...

, the queen dowager of Hungary, becoming a chamber count of Kassa and Szomolnok (1367–1371),

castellan A castellan, or constable, was the governor of a castle in medieval Europe. Its surrounding territory was referred to as the castellany. The word stems from . A castellan was almost always male, but could occasionally be female, as when, in 1 ...

Óbuda Óbuda (, ) is, together with Buda and Pest, one of the three cities that were unified to form the Hungarian capital city of Budapest in 1873. Today, together with Békásmegyer, Óbuda forms a part of the city's third district, although the to ...

(1367–1377) and also castellan of Beszterce in 1373. He was one of the men used by the dowager queen and Palatine

Nicholas I Garai Nicholas I Garai (, ) (''c.'' 132525 July 1386) was a most influential officeholder under King Louis I and Queen Mary of Hungary. He was ban of Macsó between 1359 and 1375, and palatine from 1375 until his death. He was also ''ispán'' or head ...

to form a new, reforming government. Beginning in 1377, Zámbó was in charge of the kingdom's finances, holding the office of

royal treasurer Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or Royalty (disambiguation), royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Ill ...

(). Zámbó was the first office-holder who seems to have been valued for his financial expertise. As a loyal supporter of Queen Elizabeth, he administered the royal revenues with the title of archtreasurer. During the

Peace of Turin The Peace of Turin of 1381, ended the War of Chioggia (1376–81), in which Venice, allied with Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultur ...

in 1381, Zámbó personally received the annual tribute of 7,000 ducats which the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...

should pay to the crown of Hungary.Weisz, 535. He was promoted to

Master of the treasury The master of the treasury or treasurerSegeš 2002, p. 316.Rady 2000, p. 113. (Fallenbüchl 1988, p. 80. or , ,Zsoldos 2011, p. 61. , or , )General Encyclopedia of the Yugoslav Lexicographical Institute, second edition, sixth volume SKA-ŽV. p 3 ...

() in 1382, the same year Elizabeth's daughter

succeeded to the Hungarian throne.Engel, Ayton, Pálosfalvi, 189. Zámbó also held the office of Jew judge (), and as such, his primary task was to deal with litigations between Christians and Jews. He took advantage of the turmoil that followed Queen Mary's accession and attempted to gain fortune for himself at the expense of Jews he was supposed to protect. He had several of them arrested and maltreated, confiscating their property. Upon her return from Croatia-Dalmatia, Elizabeth exempted the Jews of

Buda Buda (, ) is the part of Budapest, the capital city of Hungary, that lies on the western bank of the Danube. Historically, “Buda” referred only to the royal walled city on Castle Hill (), which was constructed by Béla IV between 1247 and ...

Sopron Sopron (; , ) is a city in Hungary on the Austrian border, near Lake Neusiedl/Lake Fertő. History Ancient times-13th century In the Iron Age a hilltop settlement with a burial ground existed in the neighbourhood of Sopron-Várhely. When ...

Nagyszombat Trnava (, , ; , also known by other alternative names) is a city in western Slovakia, to the northeast of Bratislava, on the Trnávka river. It is the capital of the Trnava Region and the Trnava District. It is the seat of a Roman Catholic a ...

Székesfehérvár Székesfehérvár (; ; ; ; Serbian language, Serbian: ''Стони Београд''; ), known colloquially as Fehérvár (), is a city in central Hungary, and the country's ninth-largest city. It is the Regions of Hungary, regional capital of C ...

, and other cities from Zámbó's overlordship until he agreed to pay them out for the injuries inflicted upon them.Patai, 62. In August 1384, Zámbó, along with Nicholas Szécsi and the House of Lackfi, renounced allegiance to Queen Elizabeth, who ruled in her daughter's name as regent, due to her intention to break Mary's engagement to

Sigismund of Luxembourg Sigismund of Luxembourg (15 February 1368 – 9 December 1437) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1433 until his death in 1437. He was elected King of Germany (King of the Romans) in 1410, and was also King of Bohemia from 1419, as well as prince-elec ...

and have her married to Louis of France.Engel, Ayton, Pálosfalvi, 196. Following the coronation of Sigismund as co-ruler, Zámbó gradually lost his political influence. In 1388, he was replaced by Nicholas Kanizsai.

Later life

During his early reign, Sigismund tried to increase his regular annual revenues through pledging royal domains. Zámbó participated in this process in the case of

Segesd Segesd () is a village in Somogy County, Somogy county, Hungary. Culture The Hungarian folk song :hu:Már megjöttünk estére, Már megjöttünk estére was collected in 1933 in Segesd by ''Vilmos Seemayer''. External links Street map (Hunga ...

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- ...

. He already possessed lands around the town (Egyházasgamás and today

Nagyatád Nagyatád is a town in Somogy County, Hungary and the seat of Nagyatád District. ''Bodvica'', ''Henész'' and ''Kivadár'' are parts of Nagyatád. Etymology Its name derives from the Turkish word ''ata'' (, ). Geography It lies on the southern ...

). He has acquired the town on 22 June 1389 for 10,771 gold forints. In practise, Zámbó became the new lord of Segesd which lost town privileges. After several conflicts and unrest, Sigismund confirmed his decision in 1393. However Zámbó was accused of having embezzled chamber's profit (''lucrum camerae'') by John Kanizsai,

Archbishop of Esztergom 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 archdioc ...

, demanding 1,200 gold forints.Incze, 113. In response, Sigismund confiscated Zámbó's estates in Csallóköz (today in

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

). After his death in 1395, his widow Elizabeth Szuharekai returned Segesd to Sigismund to repay the alleged debt. Thus the ownership of Segesd was not a profitable business for the Zámbó family.Incze, 114. Between around 1367 and 1383, Zámbó founded a Pauline monastery in Kisbaté (Gecseny),

Tolna County Tolna (, ; ) is an administrative county (Comitatus (Kingdom of Hungary), comitatus or vármegye) in present-day Hungary as it was in the former Kingdom of Hungary. It lies in central Hungary, on the west bank of the river Danube. It shares borde ...

, dedicated to Saint Ladislaus I of Hungary and

Sigismund of Burgundy Sigismund (; died 524 AD) was List of kings of Burgundy, King of the Burgundians from 516 until his death. He was the son of king Gundobad and Caretene. He succeeded his father in 516. Sigismund and his brother Godomar were defeated in battle b ...

. However the monks had left the monastery already in 1384 to join Told Abbey, established by Zámbó too in that year, in honor of the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

. Zámbó was buried there after his death in 1395. The monastery functioned until 1552.Incze, 111.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zambo, Nicholas 1395 deaths

Nicholas Nicholas is a male name, the Anglophone version of an ancient Greek name in use since antiquity, and cognate with the modern Greek , . It originally derived from a combination of two Ancient Greek, Greek words meaning 'victory' and 'people'. In ...

14th-century Hungarian people Masters of the treasury (Kingdom of Hungary) Royal treasurers (Kingdom of Hungary) 14th-century judges Hungarian judges Year of birth missing