Kubinyi András: Matthias Rex (Budapest, 2008)
One. The Family and Relatives of Matthias Hunyadi
The daughter Apollónia was married to Benedek Csáki. The latter’s father, Ferenc Csáki—formerly count of the Szeklers, latterly of Bihar—exercised significant influence during Matthias’ reign, but Benedek failed to make an impact despite his kinship ties. As we have already noted, his children inherited the estate of Margit Szilágyi de Horogszeg. Apollónia and Benedek Csáki’s son was Miklós Csáki, bishop of Csanád, whom the Székely man-at-arms György Dózsa had impaled in 1514. When Miklós was studying at the University of Padua at the turn of the sixteenth century, he was referred to as Matthias’ “maternal nephew”; his mother was indeed the first cousin of the king. After the death of Péter Geréb (the last surviving member of the Geréb family), Miklós Csáki and his sister Anna—as descendents of László Szilágyi de Horogszeg—inherited the Horogszeg estate. Several conclusions can be drawn from Matthias’ kinship ties. Male relatives of the king had an advantage, but only if they were talented or the relationship benefited the king. The king’s female relatives, meanwhile, proved suitable for establishing firm links with noble families. One should also note that Matthias’ favourite male relatives, János Pongrác de Dengeleg and the three Geréb brothers, were some of the country’s most talented military commanders and administrators; they might well have achieved the same success even without ties of kinship. Their talents did not spare them, however, from royal disfavour when Matthias took offence for some reason. In this regard there is only one exception, a man whose exact degree of kinship with Matthias is unknown. The man in question is the scholar Imre Szapolyai. The term “scholar,” which Imre Szapolyai bore before joining the ranks of the aristocracy, was used at the time by men seeking an ecclesiastical career who had already been accepted into the lower clerical orders but who could still get married. In several places, the Hunyadi, Szilágyi and Szapolyai coats-of-arms appear together. Based on this evidence, several researchers have surmised about possible kinship ties between the Szapolyai family and Matthias—either by way of the Hunyadi family or via the Szilágyi family. But neither of these two possibilities has been verified. Without close kinship ties, however, the rapid advance of Imre Szapolyai and his subsequent brilliant career are difficult to explain. Imre Szapolyai was first mentioned in 1457 as the captain and salt monopoly administrator of Nagybánya. After Matthias came to the throne, 20