Review article
The Palatine of Hungary Nikola II Gorjanski in Croatian-Hungarian History (the “Palatine” Branch of the Gorjanski Family)
Lásló Heka
; SZTE - Comparative Law Institute, Szeged, Hungary
Abstract
One of the most notable families in Croatian-Hungarian history is the Gorjanski (Garai) family. The family hails from Dorozsma village of old, which is part of present-day Szeged, the third largest city in Hungary. The village was named after the clan of Drušina (Drušba), from which the Gorjanski family draws its lineage. The progenitor of the family was Ivan Gorjanski, who received the Gorjani (Gara) town and fortress in the Vukovska County from Duke Bela in 1269. For two centuries members of the Gorjanski family held high level court positions in Croatia and Hungary and were, along with Karoly Khuen-Héderváry (the president of the central government in Budapest in 1903 and 1910-1912 and the Croatian ban from 1883 to 1903), the most notable political figures from Croatia. Namely, they held the highest court title of palatine (1375 – 1385, 1402 – 1433, 1447 – 1458) throughout three successive generations, while their other so-called “banal/Bánfi” branch also had an important role as Croatian and Slavonian bans, as well as bans of Macsó.
The most significant figure of the family was Nikola Gorjanski Junior, brother-in-law and closest associate of King Sigismund of Luxembourg, who stood in for the King during his frequent travels. He also performed the most delicate diplomatic duties in Germany, France and England, for which he was rewarded not only with huge estates, but also the Order of the Dragon and Order of the Scarf.
Keywords
Dorozsma; Gorjani; palatine; Nikola Gorjanski Senior and Junior; diplomatic activity
Hrčak ID:
200491
URI
Publication date:
28.12.2017.
Visits: 2.407 *