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Michael of Hungary

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Michael
19th-century lithography byJosef Kriehuber
Duke of Nyitra(debated)
Reignc. 971 –c. 977 or 995
PredecessorGéza
SuccessorStephenorLadislas the Bald
Bornc. 960
Diedc. 977 or 995
Spousea member of theCometopuli dynastydebated
IssueVazul
Ladislas the Bald
DynastyÁrpád dynasty
FatherTaksony

Michael(Hungarian:Mihály;[1]after 960–995 orc.997) was a member of theHouse of Árpád,a younger son ofTaksony,Grand Prince of the Hungarians.Most details of his life are uncertain. Almost allkings of Hungaryafter 1046 descended from him.[2]

According to theHungarianhistorianGyörgy Györffy,Michael received aducatusor duchy from his brother, Grand PrinceGéza.Slovakhistorians specify that he administered the "Duchy of Nitra"between around 971 and 997. However, neither of these theories have universally been accepted by historians.

Life

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Michael's father, Taksony
Michael's father,Taksony,depicted in theIlluminated Chronicle

Anonymus,the unknown author of the late-12th-centuryGesta Hungarorumnarrates that Michael's father, Taksony, took his wife "from the land of theCumans".[3][4]However, the lands dominated by the Cumans at Anonymus's time had been controlled by thePechenegsup until the 1050s.[5]Accordingly, Györffy proposes that Taksony's wife was the daughter of a Pecheneg tribal leader.[5]Other historians, including Zoltán Kordé[4]and Gyula Kristó,[6]say that Anonymous's report may refer either to herKhazaror to herVolga Bulgarianorigin.

Michael was Taksony's younger son.[7]Györffy writes that he was still a minor when he was baptized around 972.[8]He received baptism together with his elder brother,Géza,who succeeded their father as Grand Prince around that time.[9]Michael was named after the archangelMichael.[8]According to Györffy, the frequent use of the name "Béla" by his descendants—four kings and two dukes from the House of Árpád bore this name—implies that it was Michael's original pagan name.[10]He also writes that the "a" ending of his name excludes that it was borrowed from aSlavic language,because "a" is afeminineending in these languages.[10]Instead, he proposes that the name derived from theTurkicbojlatitle.[10]

Michael's brother, Géza
Michael's brother,Géza,depicted in theIlluminated Chronicle

According to Györffy, Michael was a close ally of his brother, since there is no proof that their relationship was ever tense.[11]Therefore, Györffy continues, Géza "probably gave one of theducatus"in thePrincipality of Hungaryto Michael, although there is no record of these events.[12]According to Steinhübel, Michael received the "Duchy of Nitra" around 971.[7]His colleague, Ján Lukačka, adds that it was Michael who broke "the resistance of the native nobles" in this duchy.[13]

Michael's fate is unknown; Györffy proposes that he either died before his brother (who died in 997) or renounced of his duchy in favor of Géza's son,Stephen,without resistance.[14]On the other hand, Steinhübel writes that Michael was murdered in 995, an action "for which his brother Géza was probably responsible".[7]Lukačka likewise says that Michael "was killed, apparently, on the orders of" Géza.[15]Finally, Vladimír Segeš also says that Géza had Michael murdered, according to him between 976 and 978, but he writes that Michael was succeeded by his own son,Ladislas the Bald.[16]

Family

[edit]

The names of Michael's two sons,Vazul(Basil) andLadislas,have been preserved.[1][17]According to Györffy, "it is probable" that Michael's wife was related toSamuel of Bulgaria,because the names of his both sons were popular amongOrthodoxrulers, including the members of theCometopulifamily.[18]Györffy adds that Michael married his Bulgarian wife when he came of age around 980.[17]The following family tree presents Michael's ancestry and his offspring.[2]

ÁrpádMenumorut*
Zoltándaughter
Taksonya "Cuman" lady**
GézaMichaela Bulgarian princess***
Kings of Hungary
(to 1046)		a lady of
the Tátony clan		VazulLadislas the BaldPremislava****
Kings of Hungary
(from 1046)		Bonuzlo or Domoslav

*Whether Menumorut is an actual or an invented person is debated by modern scholars.
**A Khazar, Pecheneg or Volga Bulgarian lady.
***Györffy writes that she may have been a member of theBulgarianCometopuli dynasty.
****Kristó writes that she may have been a member of theRurik dynastyfromKievan Rus'.

References

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  1. ^abKristó & Makk 1996,p. Appendix 1.
  2. ^abKristó & Makk 1996,p. Appendices 1-2.
  3. ^Anonymus, Notary of King Béla: The Deeds of the Hungarians(ch. 57), p. 127.
  4. ^abKordé 1994,p. 659.
  5. ^abGyörffy 1994,p. 36.
  6. ^Kristó & Makk 1996,p. 24.
  7. ^abcSteinhübel 2011,p. 19.
  8. ^abGyörffy 1994,p. 52.
  9. ^Györffy 1994,pp. 49, 52.
  10. ^abcGyörffy 2000,p. 98.
  11. ^Györffy 1994,pp. 74, 76.
  12. ^Györffy 1994,pp. 76–77.
  13. ^Lukačka 2011,p. 32.
  14. ^Györffy 1994,p. 79.
  15. ^Lukačka 2011,p. 33.
  16. ^Segeš 2002,p. 278.
  17. ^abGyörffy 1994,p. 72.
  18. ^Györffy 1994,pp. 71–72.

Sources

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  • Anonymus, Notary of King Béla: The Deeds of the Hungarians(Edited, Translated and Annotated by Martyn Rady and László Veszprémy) (2010). In: Rady, Martyn; Veszprémy, László; Bak, János M. (2010);Anonymus and Master Roger;CEU Press;ISBN978-963-9776-95-1.
  • Györffy, György (1994).King Saint Stephen of Hungary.Atlantic Research and Publications.ISBN0-88033-300-6.
  • Györffy, György (2000).István király és műve[=King Stephen and his Work](in Hungarian). Balassi Kiadó.
  • Kordé, Zoltán (1994). "Taksony". In Kristó, Gyula; Engel, Pál; Makk, Ferenc (eds.).Korai magyar történeti lexikon (9-14. század)[=Encyclopedia of the Early Hungarian History (9th-14th centuries)](in Hungarian). Akadémiai Kiadó. p. 659.ISBN963-05-6722-9.
  • Kristó, Gyula; Makk, Ferenc (1996).Az Árpád-ház uralkodói[=Rulers of the House of Árpád](in Hungarian). I.P.C. Könyvek.ISBN963-7930-97-3.
  • Lukačka, Ján (2011). "The beginnings of the nobility in Slovakia". InTeich, Mikuláš;Kováč, Dušan; Brown, Martin D. (eds.).Slovakia in History.Cambridge University Press. pp. 30–37.ISBN978-0-521-80253-6.
  • Segeš, Vladimír (2002). "Nitra Appanage Duchy". In Bartl, Július; Čičaj, Viliam; Kohútova, Mária; Letz, Róbert; Segeš, Vladimír; Škvarna, Dušan (eds.).Slovak History: Chronology & Lexicon.Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers, Slovenské Pedegogické Nakladatel'stvo. p. 278.ISBN0-86516-444-4.
  • Steinhübel, Ján (2011). "The Duchy of Nitra". In Teich, Mikuláš; Kováč, Dušan; Brown, Martin D. (eds.).Slovakia in History.Cambridge University Press. pp. 15–29.ISBN978-0-521-80253-6.
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