Ákos | |
|---|---|
 Seal ofmagister Ákos, 1266 | |
| Chancellor of the Queen | |
| Reign | 1248–1261 |
| Predecessor | Philip Türje |
| Successor | Mutimir |
| Died | after 24 August 1273 |
| Noble family | gens Ákos |
| Father | Matthew |
Ákos from the kindred Ákos (Hungarian:Ákos nembeli Ákos), better known asMagister Ákos (Hungarian:Ákos mester) was a Hungarian cleric and chronicler in the 13th century.[1] He is the author of theGesta Stephani V, which is a redaction, interpolation and extraction of theHungarian national chronicle.
He was a member of thegens (clan) Ákos as the son of Matthew.[2] He had two brothers, Philip, who served asispán of Gömör (1244), thenVeszprém Counties (1247), and Derek, who governedGyőr County in 1257. Possibly Ákos, who entered ecclesiastical career, was the youngest brother among three of them.[3] It is possible that Ákos raised in the court ofColoman of Galicia-Lodomeria, a younger son ofAndrew II of Hungary.[4] Probably he studied abroad as his work proves that he had an excellent knowledge of thecanon law of the Catholic Church and its reference method.Raymond of Penyafort compiled theDecretals of Gregory IX by September 1234, the Pope announced the new publication in aBull directed to the doctors and students ofParis andBologna, commanding that the work of Raymond alone should be considered authoritative, and should alone be used in the schools. Ákos was already referred to asmagister in 1240, confirming that he studied arts and canon law in youth and not at peek of his ecclesiastical career.[5]
Ákos was present at the coronation ofBéla IV on 14 October 1235, as he gave a detailed account of the event in hisgesta. According to his report, Duke Coloman carried the royal sword, whileDaniel of Galicia led the king's horse at the head of the procession.[4]György Györffy considered that Ákos strongly opposed Béla's early anti-aristocratic reign, who set up special commissions which revised all royal charters of land grants made after 1196 and also had the chairs of the barons burned in the royal council.[6] Ákos was avicar inPest between 1235 and 1244, later becameroyal chaplain for King Béla. He was one of the crown guards from 1246 to 1251, after that he served ascanon ofSzékesfehérvár between 1248 and 1251. Besides that he functioned as chancellor for QueenMaria Laskarina, the wife of Béla IV from 1248 until 1261. He was alsoprovost ofBuda.[7] For the last decade of his life, Ákos functioned as caretaker and patron of the Dominican monastery in theMargaret Island. Following the death of Béla IV, he retired from public life and resided in the provost's palace atÓbuda. He wrote hisgesta there.[8]
In 1270, afterStephen V's accession to the throne, Ákos was among the members of the Hungarian delegation sent toNaples which escorted the c. twelve-year-old princessMary to marryCharles the Lame. According to historian Elemér Mályusz, Ákos was the leader of the Hungarian delegation to Naples.[9]
Even after the sudden death of Stephen V in August 1272, Ákos has retained his influence and remained head of the royal chapel during the reign of the minorLadislaus IV.[10] Ákos died after 24 August 1273, when he was last mentioned by contemporary sources.Benedict, his successor in the position of provost of Buda already appeared in a document in late 1273, suggesting that Ákos died in that year.[11]
He was the author of thegesta which was later revised bySimon of Kéza in his work, theGesta Hunnorum et Hungarorum. In historiography, Ákos was first identified as the author of thegesta from King Stephen V's age by medievalist György Györffy in 1948, while previouslyGyula Pauler andSándor Domanovszky had already referred to an unidentified chronicler between the ages ofAnonymus and Simon of Kéza, whose some texts were preserved by the 14th-century chronicle composition. Ákos' work was preceded by a compilator from the 1220s.[12] Györffy realized that the chronicler praised untruthfully highly the past and privileges of Székesfehérvár and Buda, the two churches where Ákos functioned. Ákos' chronicle was mostly based on the so-called "ancientgesta" (Hungarian:ősgeszta) which had lost by today.[13] Györffy considered that Ákos might have used a second, shorter chronicle too (because of the terms "White Cumans" and "Black Cumans"). Ákos inserted a list or catalogue of Hungarian monarchs with their genealogical data to the chronicle text. Beside the interpolations to the original text made by himself, Ákos also prepared an extract for the holy princessMargaret, the Dominican nun and daughter of Béla IV, who was interested in historical works. For her, Ákos made always notices in case of holy kings and martyrs, in which hagiography could have been found a longer story about the lives of the saints, devotional constructions of churches (e.g.Vác Cathedral). The writing of the extract resulted in the subsequent existence of two text versions in the Hungarian chronicle textual traditions, which were expanded in parallel.[14]
Regarding the 13th century and his contemporary age, Ákos only added excerpts to the chronicle, without any relevant information. Györffy argued Ákos was not considered a supporter of the reigning Béla IV, so he could not honestly describe his opinion about the king's reign. Instead, his attention was focused on Hungarian prehistory,[6] since the previous text dealt with the history beforeSt. Stephen to a modest extent.Gyula Kristó argued Ákos, in fact, created a prehistory similarly to Anonymus.[15] Ákos preserved several legends such asLehel's horn myth andBotond's heroism, later also transcribed by theIlluminated Chronicle,[16] and theSaint Eustace legend with Hungarian motifs and persons, DukesGéza andLadislaus. Accordingly, they hunting a stag inVác, where saw a vision of a burning candle lodged between the stag's antlers. Following that King Géza built thefirst cathedral in that place.[17] Kristó considered that Ákos invented the Lehel's horn myth in order to offset the heavy defeat of the Hungarians at theBattle of Lechfeld in 955.[18]
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Ákos' work was aristocratic in its tone, as himself was also a member of a powerful kindred which rose by the 13th century; he prepared the story ofseven chieftains of the Magyars which can be found in the 14th century chronicle composition (as Anonymus'Gesta Hungarorum was lost until the 18th century).[19] However, Ákos also emphasized that the ancestors of the kindreds of his age actively participated too in theconquest of the Carpathian Basin in late 9th century, and contrary to Anonymus, he did not identify the seven chieftains with the whole Hungarian nation (Ákos deliberately mixed them with the motif of the seven mutilated "shameful" Hungarians, who returned from the disastrous Battle of Lechfeld).[20] Ákos even emphasized thatÁrpád was the first "first among equals" who had right to march in front during the conquest – referring duty of monarchs preserved from the "Scythian heritage", he argued.[21] Ákos emphasized that the kindreds of his age – Ákos (his own clan),Aba andCsák – are not inferior to the royal house.[6] According to Kristó, Ákos almost degraded theÁrpád dynasty. He considered the various clans chose territories arbitrarily without the need for Árpád's consent after the conquest.[18] During his efforts, Ákos made several anachronistic interpolations: for instance, he inserted "de genere" clauses in the case of 11–12th-century nobles, even though this term only appears in the charters from the beginning of the 13th century. On several occasions, he added the aforementioned genera to the persons, but he also made several material mistakes in the process. For instance, he plausibly wrongly connectedOpos the Brave to the kindred ofVecelin.[22] He also used anachronistic terms (e.g.castrum,barones orBeata Virgo) regarding earlier narratives. However, Gyula Kristó attributed this phrases to a pre-Ákos redaction in the early 13th century.[23]
In his work, Ákos called the group of aristocracy of his time ascommunitas, suggesting equal rights and duties among them, and preventing the emergence of certain clans in their ranks (called barons, which term was refused by Ákos, who used the "nobilis" phrase). Historian Mályusz argued the chronicler's idea ofcommunitas marked an argument for oligarchic form of society, while later Simon of Kéza has extended it to the whole lesser nobility.[24] Ákos sought to link genealogically the prominent kindreds of his age with 9th–10th century individuals who participated in the Hungarian conquest or took a major role in the foundation of the Christian state. For instance, by the usage of incorrectly dated historical events, he claimed chieftain Szabolcs was the forefather of the Csák clan, while he connected thegyulas to theKán kindred and its first prominent member,Julius I (Gyula).[25] Györffy attributed to Ákos that sentence from the chronicle, according to whichVazul's wife was a member of the Tátony clan, but his marriage lacked legitimacy.[26]
By comparison to Simon of Kéza,magister Ákos did not attach much importance to the xenophobic phenomenon. According to hisgesta, he preferred the social status against ethnicity.[27] Ákos considered theadvena ("newcomer", foreign-origin) kindreds as equals to the ancient ones. He is the author of the "advena list" (chapters 37–53), which can be found in the chronicle text. In this spirit, he highlighted that the German knights from whom theHont-Pázmány kindred originated, had already fought for Christ when the Hungarians were still pagans. Rejecting Hont and Pázmány's mercenary role and commoner status, Ákos even claimed that Grand PrinceStephen sought assistance personally in his fight againstKoppány from them, claiming members of European "royal dynasties".[21] Ákos also suggested theHahóts were descendants of theCounts of Weimar-Orlamünde, increasing their importance.[28] Proving the chronicler's ability of historiographical invention, Ákos linked the contemporaryispán Keled's kinship to a fictional 12th century German royal family, the Counts of Hersfeld, even refused by the Kórógyis, later 14th-century members of the family.[29] Ákos possibly intentionally placed the arrival ofHéder, forefather of the contemporaryHenry Kőszegi and his powerfulfamily, to the age of Grand PrinceGéza (r. 972–997), while in fact, the German knight came to Hungary during the reign ofGéza II in the 1140s.[30] In other aspects, themagister correctly named the places of the origins of theHermán,Smaragd andGutkeled kindreds.[31] Summarizing, Ákos only considered the importance of the assimilation process ofadvena kindreds, stressing the marriage and relation ties with the ancient Hungarian clans.[32]
Earlier historiography considered that the Hunnic story was inserted by Ákos to the beginning of the chronicle. Sándor Domanovszky and György Györffy argued that Ákos incorporated an existing short historical text into the chronicle, which Simon of Kéza later copied verbatim into his own work. In contrast,Bálint Hóman attributed the Hunnic story entirely to Simon, which he extracted in his own work. Historiography unanimously accepted the latter version.[33]
Direct borrowings fromGodfrey of Viterbo'sPantheon,Roger of Torre Maggiore'sCarmen Miserabile andThomas the Archdeacon'sHistoria Salonitana prove that Ákos used these works beside the "ancientgesta".[34] According to Györffy, Ákos was well aware ofRoman law, which can be understood in action when the chronicle narrates the exile ofPrince Álmos with the terms of Roman law.[26] According to literary historian János Horváth, Jr, Ákos' interpolations cannot be classified as stylistically sophisticated passages within the chronicle text, his rhythmic prose is often inconsistent and of poor quality.[35]
According to György Györffy, Ákos was the first chronicler who styled the seven chieftains of the Hungarians as "captains" (Latin:capitanei). He also referred to Lehel,Bulcsú, Vecelin andApor as "captains", when they led their armies. He also styled King Andrew II as "capitanues et dux preficitur", when the monarch led the Hungarian army during theFifth Crusade.
Ákos Genus Ákos Born: ? Died: 1273 | ||
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Chancellor of the Queen 1248–1261 | Succeeded by |
| Catholic Church titles | ||
| Preceded by Andrew | Provost of Buda 1254–1273 | Succeeded by |