CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2015
| Author | Petrovic, Miso |
|---|---|
| Title | POPES, PRELATES, PRETENDERS: THE ROLE OF THE HIGH CLERGY OF CROATIA, DALMATIA AND SLAVONIA IN THE FIGHT FOR THE HUNGARIAN THRONE IN THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY |
| Summary | This thesis examines the intricate connections between the popes, the prelates, and the pretenders while considering the roles they played during the succession crises for the Hungarian throne at the beginning and the end of the fourteenth century. The focus is on two succession crisis periods. The first (1290-1310) was a successful attempt by Charles Robert, backed by the Apostolic See, especially Pope Boniface VIII, to claim the throne. The second crisis (1382-1409) was a failed effort of Boniface IX and King Ladislas of Naples to take the throne from King Sigismund. In both cases it was the high clergy that found themselves confronted between their obedience to the pope, and their fealty to the king. Therefore the primary research focus was on the relationship between the pretenders and ecclesiastical structures, but particularly of the prelates of the dioceses of medieval Croatia, Dalmatia and Slavonia and their roles, functions and loyalties that have not been thoroughly researched before. By dividing my work into three chapters I contextualized the connections between the Apostolic See and the various pretenders it supported or confronted, while showing how the development of the election process and the possibilities for papal or royal intervention were used for political purposes, as well as analyzing the position and the role of the prelates within their dioceses. The thesis has revealed that during both aforementioned periods a crisis of the central government occurred which helped spread the papal influence to inner Hungary. The main weapon of controlling the Church was the appointment of the prelate. This development happened within the Church, where the pope came to influence the election process, and very soon after that used it for political purposes. Yet during the first succession crisis the pope was able to achieve a better control over the prelate and his actions, while during the second crisis this control shifted in favour of the rulers. One key aspect was the formulation of the legitimacy of the pretender the Apostolic See and the prelates supported. During the first period, the legitimacy was successfully disseminated from a single center, enabled by a coordinated effort from Pope Boniface VIII, Charles Robert and the prelates. Yet during the second one, it mostly rested on the individual actions of the prelates, which proved to be unsuccessful. During the succession wars the prelate’s position was weakened because it was shown that to effectively rule his diocese in the times of crises; a prelate had to rely on the help from either the king or the pope. This help mostly arrived with a price. The appendix contains the archontology of prelates of the researched dioceses and gives their short biographies together with the respective sources. |
| Supervisor | Katalin Szende |
| Department | Medieval Studies MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2015/petrovic_miso.pdf |
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