Stephen (, ; died after 1304) was a Bohemian cleric in the early 14th century, who served as vice-chancellor in the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

, serving his lord

Wenceslaus Wenceslaus, Wenceslas, Wenzeslaus and Wenzslaus (and other similar names) are Latinized forms of the Slavic names#In Slovakia and Czech_Republic, Czech name Václav. The other language versions of the name are , , , , , , among others. It origina ...

from 1302 to 1304.

Career

Several historians incorrectly identified him with

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 ...

, the archdeacon of

Gyulafehérvár Alba Iulia (; or ''Carlsburg'', formerly ''Weißenburg''; ; ) is a city that serves as the seat of Alba County in the west-central part of Romania. Located on the river Mureș in the historical region of Transylvania, it has a population of ...

(today Alba Iulia,

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

), who studied in the

University of Padua The University of Padua (, UNIPD) is an Italian public research university in Padua, Italy. It was founded in 1222 by a group of students and teachers from the University of Bologna, who previously settled in Vicenza; thus, it is the second-oldest ...

and served as the last vice-chancellor of

Andrew III of Hungary Andrew III the Venetian (, , ; – 14 January 1301) was King of Hungary and King of Croatia, Croatia between 1290 and 1301. His father, Stephen the Posthumous, was the posthumous son of Andrew II of Hungary although Stephen's older half brother ...

until 1301. However that Stephen again became vice-chancellor in 1303, in the court of

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

, Wenceslaus' rival during the era of Interregnum. Historian György Rácz considered this Stephen was a Bohemian cleric and came to Hungary in the accompaniment of the young Wenceslaus in August 1301. He bore the title of ''decretorum doctor'' ("doctor of

canon law Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its membe ...

"), which reflects his university studies abroad. His name first appears in Hungarian contemporary records in November 1301, when resided in

Buda Castle Buda Castle (, ), formerly also called the Royal Palace () and the Royal Castle (, ), is the historical castle and palace complex of the King of Hungary, Hungarian kings in Budapest. First completed in 1265, the Baroque architecture, Baroque pa ...

and was among those clerics, who testified that a lawsuit postposed between the

Diocese of Veszprém 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

Knights Hospitaller The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic military order. It was founded in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century and had headquarters there ...

Esztergom Esztergom (; ; or ; , known by Names of European cities in different languages: E–H#E, alternative names) is a city with county rights in northern Hungary, northwest of the capital Budapest. It lies in Komárom-Esztergom County, on the righ ...

. According to the document, Stephen was a canon in the cathedral chapter of

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

. After

Jan Muskata Jan Muskata (1250 – 7 February 1320) was bishop of Kraków from 1294 to 1309. Muskata was born in Wrocław, Silesia. He was the son of a German spice trader. The name Muskata is derived from Latin, for nutmeg. He had brother named Stefan (f ...

returned to Bohemia in early 1302, Stephen succeeded him as Wenceslaus' vice-chancellor. He is first mentioned in this capacity in February 1302. He formulated that royal charter, in which Wenceslaus granted whole

Nyitra County Nyitra County (; ; ; ) was an administrative county ( comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory lay in what is now western Slovakia. Geography Nyitra County shared borders with the Austrian land Moravia and Trencsén County, Turó ...

to the powerful oligarch Matthew Csák. He is again mentioned as vice-chancellor throughout 1302, in January 1303 and March 1304. When

Wenceslaus II of Bohemia Wenceslaus II Přemyslid (; ; 27 SeptemberK. Charvátová, ''Václav II. Král český a polský'', Prague 2007, p. 18. 1271 – 21 June 1305) was King of Bohemia (1278–1305), Duke of Cracow (1291–1305), and King of Poland (1296–130 ...

took his son back from Hungary to Bohemia in August 1304, Stephen also left the kingdom, abandoning his office.

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stephen of Prague 14th-century Roman Catholic priests from Bohemia Czech expatriates in Hungary