Stibor of Stiboricz

Stibor of Stiboricz ( _hu. Stiborici Stibor), (cca. 1348 – February 1414), also Stibor, was an aristocrat, of Polish origin, in the Kingdom of Hungary. He was a close friend of King Sigismund of Hungary who appointed him to several offices during his reign. Stibor was the Voivode of Transylvania (1395-1401, 1409-1414). He styled himself "Lord of the whole Váh", referring to his 10 castles around the river.

Early career

Stibor descended from a Polish noble family whose possession were located around Bydgoszcz in Greater Poland; his father was called Mościc. He arrived to the Kingdom of Hungary during the reign of King Louis I who was also King of Poland (1370-1382). Following the king's death (10 September 1382), the Dowager Queen Elisabeth, who governed the two kingdoms in the name of his daughters, made Stibor the governor of Kuyavia and Łęczyca in Poland in 1383. Around this time, Stibor became the close friend of Margrave Sigismund of Brandenburg (the future king and emperor), the fiancé of Queen Mary of Hungary, who had been living in the Hungarian court since 1379.

However, Sigismund could seize the government of Hungary only when the queen and her mother were captured by some rebellious barons (25 July 1386) and appointed Stibor to his Master of the Court. Following his coronation (31 March 1387), King Sigismund entrusted Stibor with the government of Galicia (a province under the supremacy of the kings of Hungary at that time), because the Hungarian "prelates and barons" had persuaded him to promise that he would not employ foreigners in his household. Nevertheless, King Sigismund granted Stibor Bolondóc (1388) and Ugróc (1389) Castles (today "Beckovský hrad" and "Uhrovec", respectively, in Slovakia).

The king's advisor

Stibor was granted the "ius indigenatus" (the right to hold offices) and became the head "(ispán)" of the Counties Pozsony (1389), Trencsén and Nyitra (1392). In 1392, Stibor was granted the possession of Csejte and Holics (today "Čachtice" and "Holíč" in Slovakia); and he received Berencs, Detrekő, Éleskő, Jókő and Korlátkő Castles in 1394 (today "Branč", "Plaveč", "Ostrý Kameň", "Dobrá Voda" and "Korlátka", respectively, in Slovakia).

In 1395, a foreign delegate mentioned that Stibor and the Archbishop John Kanizsai of Esztergom were the king's most influential advisors.cite book | last = Mályusz | first = Elemér | title = Zsigmond király uralma Magyarországon "(King Sigismund's reign in Hungary)" | publisher = Gondolat | date = 1984 | location = | page = 29 | isbn = 963 281 414 2] King Sigismund's decree, issued in October 1397 upon the request of the Estates assembled in Temesvár (today "Timişoara" in Romania), prohibited the employment of foreigners in the royal administration, but Stibor, mentioned by name, was one of the few foreigners the decree was not to be applied. [Article XLVIII of 1396]

However, Stibor assisted his relatives to acquire offices and possessions in Hungary, which produced envy amongst the king's other followers. When he had left for Brzeg to follow the king's fiancée, Margarete to Hungary, his opponents, led by the Archbishop John Kanizsai and the Palatine Detre Bebek, demanded that the king should dismiss his foreign advisors. When the king refused to comply with their demands, they brought him into captivity and deprived Stibor of his offices (28 April 1401). Stibor (and the king's other advisors of foreign origin) would have been ready even to renounce the possession of most of their castles, and finally, the members of the royal council set the king free (29 October 1401). Stibor remained the king's major advisor and he could maintain his possessions, as well. Shortly afterwards, Stibor led the negotiations with the Teutonic Knights who bought the Neumark (in the Margraviate of Brandenburg) from King Sigismund (25 July 1402).

In the first months of 1403, the some aristocrats, led by the Archbishop John Kanizsai, offered the crown to King Ladislas of Naples against King Sigismund. Stibor recruited mercenaries, invaded the north-western parts of the kingom and defeated the rebels' troops. The parties made an agreement under which the rebels accepted the king's rule and they were granted a royal pardon (29 October 1403). Shortly afterwards, the king appointed him to the head of Nyitra county. He was also entrusted to govern the possessions of the Achdiocese of Esztergom and the Diocese of Eger (1405).

His last years

In 1407, he fought in Bosnia. Stibor was among the first members of the Order of the Dragon founded by King Sigismund and his Queen Barbara of Celje (1408). In 1409, he was appointed again to the office of the Voivode of Transylvania and he also became the head of Trencsén county.

In May 1410, King Sigismund entrusted him and the Palatine Nicholas I Garay to mediate between the Teutonic Knights and King Władysław II of Poland. When the negotiations failed and the war broke out, Stibor led the Hungarian armies against Poland, but his troops could not take any fortresses and they had to retreat. At the end of 1411, he was one of the leaders of King Sigismund's troops fighting against the Venetian Republic in Friuli.

Before his death, he set up a collegiate chapter for Augustinians in Vágújhely (today "Nové Mesto nad Váhom" in Slovakia).

Family

His wife was Dobrohna Stęszewska, who gave birth to a son (also called Stibor) and a daughter (Rachna). Following his death, his son inherited his possessions but he died without issue. His daughter was the wife of Andrew Ossoliński.

Stibor's two brothers (Andrew and Nicholas) and their sons also held offices in the Kingdom of Hungary.

ources

*Engel, Pál: Magyarország világi archontológiája (1301-1457) "(The Temporal Archontology of Hungary (1301-1457))"; História - MTA Történettudományi Intézete, 1996, Budapest; ISBN 963 8312 43 2.
*Markó, László: A magyar állam főméltóságai Szent Istvántól napjainkig - Életrajzi Lexikon "(The High Officers of the Hungarian State from Saint Stephen to the Present Days - A Biographical Encyclopedia)"; Magyar Könyvklub, 2000, Budapest; ISBN 963 547 085 1.
*Mályusz, Elemér: Zsigmond király uralma Magyarországon "(King Sigismund's reign in Hungary)"; Gondolat, 1984; ISBN 963 281 414 2.

References