Coloman of Hungary

Coloman I the Book-lover [His Hungarian byname "(Könyves)" literally means "who possesses books" or "the one with books".] ( _hu. I. (Könyves) Kálmán"), also spelled Koloman (c. 1070 – 3 February 1116), King of Hungary (1095-1116) and King of Croatia (1097/1102-1116). Although Coloman was their father's elder son, during his reign, Coloman had to fight against his brother, Duke Álmos who permanently disputed his right to the crown because Coloman probably had a physical deformity. Finally, Coloman ordered to make his brother and his infant son blind which caused that later chroniclers, who was to live in the court of his brother's descendants, accused him of viciousness. However, he was one of the most educated rulers of his age, "p.e.", the Polish chronicler, Gallus Anonymus describes him as the king "who was more educated in literary sciences than any of the kings who was living in his age" [Gallus Anonymus: "Cronicæ et gesta ducum sive principum Polonorum", Book II, Chapter 29.] . Coloman, as legislator, mitigated the austerity of his predecessor's decrees. He managed to reoccupy Croatia and annexed that realm to the Holy Crown by making an agreement with the leading Croatian families.

Early years

Coloman was the elder son of the future King Géza I and his first wife, Sophia. When his father died on 25 April 1077, in accordance with the Hungarian tradition which gave precedence to the eldest member of the royal family over the king's son, King Géza's brother, Ladislaus was proclaimed king. Coloman and his younger brother, Álmos were educated in the court of their uncle.

King Ladislaus wanted Álmos to succeed him as king of Hungary [According to the chronicles, Kálmán may have had a physical deformity, which would have made him unfit to be king per medieval beliefs about such things, although this deformity may be a later falsification of this appearance as in the case of England's Richard III, as the chronicles reflected the image of Coloman created by his successors, who were in fact descendants of his brother Álmos blinded by him.] , and wished to make Coloman a bishop. Therefore, Coloman was educated pursuant to the clerical traditions and acquired his subsequently famous learning, which earned him the appellation "the Book-lover".

Pursuant to the chronicles, King Ladislaus appointed Coloman to bishop of Eger or Nagyvárad. However, Coloman did not want to live an ecclesiatical life, and in 1095, when King Ladislaus named officially Álmos as his heir, Coloman escaped to Poland. When Coloman came back followed by Polish troops provided to him by Duke Władysław I Herman of Poland, King Ladislaus died on 29 July 1095. Shortly afterwards, Coloman made an agreement with his brother, under which Álmos acknowledged his reign but received "Tercia pars Regni" ("i.e." one third of the Kingdom of Hungary) as appanage from the new king [The exact circumstances of how Kálmán acquired the throne after László's death are unknown; among other difficulties, he may have had to get papal dispensation, because ordained clergy could not become king. The sources are unclear on whether Kálmán was actually ordained. His later laws show that he had no problem with married clergy, so his eventual marriages are no evidence in this matter.] . Coloman was crowned only in the beginning of 1096.

Facing the Crusaders

Shortly after his coronation, Coloman had to face the problems the Crusader armies caused while passing through Hungary. Although the armies led by the knight Gautier Sansavoir passed peacefully through the country in May 1096, but the next hordes led by Peter the Hermit occupied the fortress of Zimony and they withdrew only when Coloman's armies were approaching them.

Shortly afterwards, the troops of a German knight called Folkmar were pillaging the territories of the Hungarian County of Nyitra, while the German priest Gottschalk's hordes were ravaging the Transdanubian region of the kingdom. Coloman managed to rout both of the armies and he denied the entrance of the new armies led by Emich von Leiningen and Guillaume de Melun, but the Crusaders laid siege to the fortress of Moson defended by Coloman. Coloman could only break out and win over the Crusaders just after a six week long defence.

On 20 September 1096, Coloman made an agreement with Duke Godfrey V of Lower Lorraine, the leader of the next army. Under their agreement, Coloman took hostages and he mustered his own army to guard the progress; therefore the Crusader armies passed through the kingdom peacefully.

Reoccupation of Croatia

Coloman changed Hungary's foreign policy: while his predecessor had asked for the Holy Roman Emperor's help (instead of the pope's) when waging war on Croatia, Coloman wanted to stay on good terms with the Holy See. In the spring of 1097, he married Felicia, a daughter of Count Roger I of Sicily who was close ally of the popes.

Shortly afterwards, Coloman led his armies against Petar Svačić, who had been proclaimed king of Croatia, and won a decisive victory over the Croat armies at the Battle of Gvozd Mountain, and reoccupied the country.

While Coloman was far away in Croatia, his brother, Álmos, who had governed Croatia during the reign of Ladislaus I, rose against him in Hungary; therefore Coloman could not occupy the Dalmatian towns. However, the barons wanted to avoid the internal struggle and obliged Coloman and Álmos to confirm their former agreement under which Álmos could maintain his duchy while he accepted Coloman's rule.

Wars with the neighbouring countries

In the beginning of 1099, Coloman allied himself with his cousins, Duke Svatopluk of Moravia and Duke Otto II of Moravia against Duke Břetislav II of Bohemia, but he had a meeting, on 29 May, with Břetislav II in Uherský Brod where they made a peace.

In the second half of 1099, Coloman led his armies against Prince Vasilko of Terebovl and laid siege to the fortress of Peremysl, but he was defeated by the Cuman allies of the prince.

Coloman as legislator

One of his most famous laws was half a millennium ahead of its time: De strigis vero quae non sunt, nulla amplius quaestio fiat (As for the matter of witches ,there is no such thing, therefore no further investigations or trials are to be held).

Coloman's court was a center of learning and literature. Bishop Hartvik's "Life of St. Stephen", a chronicle of Hungary, the shorter of the extant Legends of St. Gellért, and several collections of laws all stem from his reign.

In the synod of Tarcal, the prelates and barons of the kingdom revised the laws of the preceding kings, and Coloman issued new decrees. The new decrees reduced the severity of the laws of King Ladislaus I, but they also contained provisions against the Jews and the Muslims ("böszörmény").

One of his most famous laws was half a millennium ahead of its time: "As for the matter of "strigas", there is no such thing, therefore no further investigations or trials are to be held)" ["De strigis vero quae non sunt, nulla amplius quaestio fiat."] .

Expansion in Croatia

In the spring of 1102, Coloman went to Croatia and made an agreement, the Pacta Conventa with the representatives of the greatest Croatian families, under which he agreed that he and his successors would govern Croatia as a separate kingdom and they would acknowledge the special privileges and customs of the kingdom. Following the agreement, Coloman was crowned king of Croatia in Biograd na Moru. In Hungarian historiography it is generally accepted that the document is a forgery while Croatian historiography generally accepts it as authentic; a Croatian proponent of the forgery view is Nada Klaić.

In 1105, Coloman led his armies to Dalmatia and occupied the Dalmatian towns and islands from Venice.

Internal wars with his brother

Coloman had his son, Stephen crowned in 1105, which resulted in the open rebellion of his brother, Duke Álmos, who went to the court of Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor. But the emperor was engaged with the rebellion of his own son, the future Emperor Henry V, thus Duke Álmos had to come back to Hungary and accept Coloman's rule.

But Álmos did not give up his claims, and escaped to Poland and made an agreement with Duke Bolesław III who declared war against Coloman. However, Coloman sent envoys to the duke of Poland and convinced him to make an alliance against the Holy Roman Empire; therefore Álmos was obliged to return to Hungary and ask for the king's pardon.

In 1107, Coloman and Bolesław III gave assistance to Duke Svatopluk of Moravia against Duke Borivoj II of Bohemia. In the next year, Bolesław III could overcome the rebellion of his brother, Zbigniew with Coloman's help. In the same year, taking advantage of his brother's pilgrimage to the Holy Land, Coloman occupied Álmos' duchy.

In 1108, Coloman visited Dalmatia and confirmed the privileges of Spalatum (Split), Iadera (Zadar), and Tragurium (Trogir).

When duke Álmos returned from the Holy Land and realised that his duchy had been incorporated into the royal domains, he escaped again to the court of the Holy Roman Emperor. Upon his request, the Emperor Henry V laid siege to Pozsony. Coloman sought the assistance of Duke Bolesław III of Poland, who attacked Bohemia. In November, the emperor made a peace with Coloman, who let his brother come back to his court, but the duchy of Álmos was not to be restored. Shortly afterwards, Coloman set up the bishopric of Nyitra.

Last years

In 1112, Coloman married Eufemia of Kiev, daughter of Grand Prince Vladimir II of Kiev. However, a few months later, she was caught in adultery and immediately divorced and sent back to her father. Eufemia bore a son in Kiev, named Boris in 1112, but Coloman refused to acknowledge him as his son.

Shortly afterwards, Coloman had a meeting with Bolesław III who was going on a pilgrimage to Székesfehérvár and Somogyvár because of having made his brother blind. In 1115, Coloman, who had become more and more ill, also ordered to make Álmos and his infant son, Béla blind in order to secure his own son's inheritance.

In August 1115, Venice made an assault against Dalmatia and began to conquer the Dalmatian towns and isles. But Coloman was not able to answer to the aggression, because he died on February 3, 1116. He was buried in Székesfehérvár, next to St. Stephen.

Marriages and children

"#1. c. 1097:" Felicia of Sicily (c. 1078 – c. 1102), daughter of count Roger I of Sicily and his second wife, Eremburga of Mortain
* Sophia, wife of Saul, a Hungarian noble. Their son Saul was chosen heir of the Hungarian throne by his uncle Stephen II, but either died shortly before him or was bypassed by Bela II.
* King Stephen II of Hungary (1101 – 1 March 1131)
* Ladislaus (1101 – 1112), twin brother of Stephen.
* A daughter, wife of Prince Vladimyrko of Halicz. [http://genealogy.euweb.cz/arpad/arpad2.html] "#2. 1112:" Eufemia of Kiev (? – 4 April 1139), daughter of Grand Prince Vladimir II of Kiev and his second wife
* Boris (1113 – 1155/1156) [He was never acknowledged as Coloman's son because of his mother's adultery.]

Ancestors

Ancestors of Coloman of Hungary

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1= 1. Coloman of Hungary
2= 2. Géza I of Hungary
3= 3. Sophia
4= 4. Béla I of Hungary
5= 5. Adelaide/Rixa of Poland
6=
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8= 8. Duke Vazul
9= 9. Unnamed "de genere" Tátony
10= 10. King Mieszko II Lambert of Poland
11= 11. Richeza of Lotharingia
12=
13=
14=
15=
16= 16. Duke Michael
17=
18=
19=
20= 20. King Boleslaw I of Poland
21= 21. Emnilda
22= 22. Count Palatine Ezzo of Lotharingia
23= 23. Mathilde
24=
25=
26=
27=
28=
29=
30=
31=

References

* Kristó, Gyula - Makk, Ferenc: "Az Árpád-ház uralkodói" (IPC Könyvek, 1996)
* "Korai Magyar Történeti Lexikon (9-14. század)", főszerkesztő: Kristó, Gyula, szerkesztők: Engel, Pál és Makk, Ferenc (Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, 1994)
* "Magyarország Történeti Kronológiája I. – A kezdetektől 1526-ig", főszerkesztő: Benda, Kálmán (Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, 1981)

Notes