Integration into the nobility

Among the few Florentine families integrating into Hungarian nobility a common factor can easily be identified, and that refers to most of these families’ interest and presence in the royal financial administration in leading offices. Again, Scolari’s case is telling, as he could integrate into the Hungarian leading aristocracy by being appointed comes of Temes in 1404. His ambitions to found a new aristocratic dynasty were supported by his marriage with the daughter of the noble Ozorai family, the efforts of founding a church and monastery and finally, the building of a castle, meant to be his residence.⁶⁵⁴ His carrier is also interesting as one factor of outstanding importance, namely a significant capital was missing on his part, but he could provide it through the Florentine network he was acting within. In any case, his success can to great extent be ascribed to his close relation and services to the king, based on his personal talent, as a contemporary chronicler claimed.⁶⁵⁵ He entered the close circle of King Sigismund’s familiaris of foreign origin, who helped him consolidate his rule over the Kingdom of Hungary.⁶⁵⁶ Most telling evidence on his extraordinary position within the royal court and among the barons of the realm (barones) is the permission granted him by King Sigismund to let his burial chapel built in the Holy Virgin provostry of Székesfehérvár, the traditional coronation and burial church of the Hungarian ruling dynasties.⁶⁵⁷ Apart from Scolari, we have information on three other Florentine families, who were granted nobility in Hungary: the Noffri and Manini families, and finally the Florentine noble family of the Buondelmonti. The members of the Noffri and Manini families were hired by Scolari at first in the central financial administration of the kingdom. They never reached as high as Scolari did: the Manini, later named Szentpéterszegi, and then Kodori from their estates in Hungary resided in Transylvania and Máramaros, working in the management of the salt mines. Their local crediting activity was recorded in a document from 1463, more precisely a list of their debtors which provides a glimpse of the local network they acted within.⁶⁵⁸ In case of the first generation some records survived on their correspondence with the kin in Florence through a brother, who returned home from Hungary. The remaining records related to the second generation do not hint to any contact with the place of origin of the fathers. The documents mainly handle legal issues, disputed

654 István Feld, “Az ozorai várkastély története” [The history of the castle of Ozora], Műemlékvédelem 47 (2003): 1-13.

655 “Filippo Scolari úr élete (Névtelen 15. századi Florencei szerzőtől)” [Life of Master Filippo Scolari by an unknown Florentine author], in Ozorai Pipo emlékezete, ed. Vadas Ferenc (Szekszárd, 1987), 7

656 Pál Engel, Királyi hatalom és arisztokrácia viszonya a Zsigmond-korban 1387-1437 [The relation of royal power and aristocracy during the reign of King Sigismund, 1387-1437] (Budapest, Akadémiai kiadó. 1977), 58-60

657 Engel, The Realm,, 43; Engel Pál: Temetkezések a középkori székesfehérvári bazilikában [Burials in the medieval cathedral of Székesfehérvár], Századok 121 (1987): 627.

658 Draskóczy, “Olaszok”, 131.

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with local noble families. The strategy of working in the administration of the salt mines was however preserved by Paulus, who managed the mines of Máramaros before 1467.⁶⁵⁹

The family history of the Noffris, sons of Onofrio di Bardo of Florence is similar and still differs from the Manini kin’s strategies. First of all, it is not possible to identify the family among the householders in the Florentine catasto records. His long term absence from Florence is most probably the reason behind the lack of related tax records.In Hungarian scholarship he was identified as member of the potential Bardi family, but the only mention to be identified with him in the Florentine sources at the moment calls him “Onofrio di Bardo”, so the form “Bardi” seems to be simply a genitive of the patronym, which was rather popular in late medieval Florence.⁶⁶⁰ Also the research for an eventual member of the Bardi kin group sojourning in Hungary or any information in connection with the kingdom in the Catasto records of the family remained negative.

All these evidence seem to confirm, that Onofrio was not a Bardi.

Onofrio appeares in the Hungarian records in 1409, when he acted as agent to Filippo Scolari in Buda.⁶⁶¹ Rinaldo di Maso degli Albizzi, Florentine envoy to King Sigismund in 1426, confirms this information, because also noted to have been hosted in Onofrio’s Buda house on order of Scolari.⁶⁶² Onofrio di Bardo also worked in the royal administration as we could see in the earlier chapters and can be regarded as financial expert and, at times, also creditor to the king, Sigismund of Luxemburg too. In fact, his close connection to the ruler proved to be crucial for his definite settlement in Hungary and his integration into Hungarian nobility. He was even more succesfsful (and of course more fortunate) in founding a new Hungarian noble dynasty compared to Scolari, because he had issue, fours sons, Leonardus, John, Bardo and Jacob. Leonardus and John managed the royal financial administration of the thirtieth. From this second generation Leonardus seems to be particularly favored by the king. He played a notable role in the royal/imperial aula of King Sigismund, reaching among the high dignitaries of the kingdom, when in 1438 he was appointed treasurer (“thesaurarius supremus”) by King Albert I. (1437-1439).⁶⁶³ The family first owned the estate of Pölöske by royal grant from 1426, ⁶⁶⁴ which the king exchanged for the property of Bojnice in Nyitra county in 1426.⁶⁶⁵ All brothers held royal offices along with Leonardus, but the records in general are much more laconic on Jacob and Bardo. Their prominent position in the financial administration of the kingdom is also demonstrated by the network, they moved in. This is best

659 Draskóczy, “Olaszok”, 130

660 Debtors of Giovanni di Michele di messer Parente, “Nofri di Bardo ista a Buda” ASF, Catasto 1427, 61. fol. 873v.

661 ZsO II/2. 7240. Dec. 27, 1409; Teke, “Firenzei kereskedőtársaságok”, 205.

662 Guasti, Commissioni di Rinaldo di Maso degli Albizzi, 579.

663 MNL OL DF 239531. May 12, 1438; Engel, Archontology, I/53.

664 Engel, Archontology, I/396.

665 Engel, Archontology, I/271.

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proved by Bardo’s letter to Nicholas of Várda, “aule et [con]siliario d[o]m[i]ni nostril imp[er]atori frat[r]I et amico carissimo”, later (1455) treasurer. The members of the Várdai family as we could see were interested in financial positions, entered the circles of Filippo Scolari (and obviously had connection to the most prominent Florentines in Hungary), and rapidly rised among the main dignitaries of the kingdom and ranked among the learned elite.⁶⁶⁶

The third generation, exactly John’s descendants, Emericus, Albert, Onofrius show a somewhat different picture. Most of the records on them are typical disputes on property rights. In any case, the marriage of two of John’s son, Emericus and John’ sister, Veronika shows, that the family still sticked to royal circles, choosing the spouses from the Pongrácz (Sophia Pongrácz married Emericus in 1462) and the Ludányi families (Veronika married Thomas of Ludány, who was a young member of the royal aula in 1440, and had by 1462 already deceased leaving Veronica a widow).⁶⁶⁷ The two families were also owners of neighboring landed properties in Northern Hungary, which made the choice even more advantageous for the Nofri. The emerging inheritance problems from these family ties are the best sources for this generation.⁶⁶⁸ Emericus, who represented legally his widowed sister in front of Nyitra chapter, is entitled “egregius” in a document, which shows, that his social standing was more prominent than a simple nobelman’s (but not “magnificus”, like Scolari, that is one of the barones). ⁶⁶⁹

Their apparently well-succeeded integration into the nobility however ended in 1489, when the male line of the family went extinct in 1489 with the death of “Nyffor Honoffrus” of Bojnicw and the estate of Bojnice was granted by King Sigismund to his illegitimate son, John Corvinus.⁶⁷⁰ The last information on a family member dated to 1496, when the last will of Catherine, daughter of Valentinus Nyffor Bardo was confirmed by her husband. She left some properties to the chapel of Saint Sophy of the Saint Martin parish church in the town of Bojnice for religious services.⁶⁷¹

666 The letter is written presumably to Nicholas of Várda junior and not his father, see Kristóf, ”Vester Stephanus”.

667 MNL OL DL 15782. Nov. 1462; see also DL 18401. Sept. 28, 1480; DL 19191. Oct. 17, 1486.

668 MNL OL DL 63251. Oct. 1, 1472 on legal dispute over possession rights between Sophia Pongrácz, wife of Emericus Nofri of Bojnice and her maternal uncle, Blasius Nezpal; DL 268233. Jan. 12, 1473. On a legal case between Sophia Pongrácz, wife of Emericus Nofri of Bojnice and her maternal uncle, Blasius Nezpal, who charged her to have taken silver objects and jewels, fl 1000 and some documents proving the possession rights of Blasius on a few estates.

669 MNL OL DL 16415. Sept. 29, 1466. on Scolari see MNL OL DL 73919. Apr. 8, 1408.

670 MNL OL DL 37666. June 26, 1489. see also Engel, Archontology, I/271.

671 MNL OL DL 62620. May 17, 1496.

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5.7.1. The unknown case of Niccoló di Andrea Buondelmonti

As Filippo Scolari’s carrier and integration into Hungarian nobility is well known in both international and Hungarian scholarly literature, and the Noffris’ three generations in Hungary have also been investigated and analysed in Hungarian literature as shown above. Therefore, I would like to propose a case study on a third, less known Florentine, Niccoló, brother of Giovanni Buondelmonti, archbishop of Kalocsa (“Nycolo Italicus frater reverendi in Christo patris domini Johannis Colocensis et Bachiensis ecclesiarum canonice unitarum archiepiscopi”).⁶⁷²

Little is known on him in Italian sources, except for his leaving Florence for Hungary following the entourage of his brother, Giovanni, destined to invest the position of archbishop of Kalocsa. In Hungarian sources he is alternately named as Nycolo and Mykolo. His son born from his marriage with the daughter of a Hungarian baron was named Miklós (Niccoló), which, supposing, that he was named after his father, seems to be a factor in favour of identifying his father as Niccoló. Also genealogical information on the Buondelmonti kin seem to confirm this identification, although there was also a male called Michele among the brothers of Giovanni, archbishop of Kalocsa, to which the name variation “Mykolo” could be deducted.⁶⁷³ On Michele, his marriage and his descendants in Florence, however, there are a number of records in Florentine archives, whereas not much has been known so far on Niccoló, who seem to disappear from the Florentine sources in the early fifteenth century.⁶⁷⁴

The Buondelmonti kin group ranks among the prominent ones of noble origin. In fact, the brothers’

declaration submitted by Simone, the third brother of the archbishop of Kalocsa and also involved in Hungarian affairs as papal legate to whom he had eccellent relations.

Niccoló married Borbála, Miklós Treutel of Nevna’s daughter, and sister-in-law of Péter Lévai Cseh, belonging to the extended Garai kin group, around 1440.⁶⁷⁵ With this marriage Buondelmonti became related to a powerful baronial family of Hungary, and integrated into the aristocracy.⁶⁷⁶ His son, Miklós Tretrilo (he apparently used his mother’s Italianized name instead of the Buondelmonti

672 The agreement naming him deals with the partition of estates among Barbara, daughter of Miklós Treutel de Nevna and fiancé of Niccoló Buondelmonti and his sister, Catharina, widow of Péter Levai Cseh on one hand with László, son of the deceased Péter Levai Cseh on the other, and was issued by the Premonstratensian Convent of Ság, Aug. 01, 1440.

The item, as many of the records on property rights, survived in two copies, see MNL OL DL 13565. Aug. 1, 1440; DL 59263. Aug. 1, 1440.

673 Bizzocchi, “La dissoluzione di un clan”, 22.

674 The family tree, simplyfied and corrected by Roberto Bizzocchi does not even mark him among the Buondelmonti brothers, sons of Andrea di Lorenzo Buondelmonti. See Bizzocchi, “La dissoluzione di un clan”, 44. table entitled Family tree of the Buondelmonti.

675 Nicholas Treutel de Nevna (1382-1420), among other offices held the dignity of magister tavernicorum 1402-1408, ranked among the “barones regni”, that is barons of the Realm (the chief dignitaries of the kingdom. in Engel,

Archontology, II./247. Nevna castle, the property his name came from was situated in Valkó county in Srem, Peter Lévai Cseh (1393-1440) held high offices of the realm, among them count of county Bars 1412-1439, count of counties Hont and Nógrád 1415-1423, count of Macsó 1427-1431, voivode of Transylvania 1436-1437, ranked among the

“barones regni”. Engel, Archontology, II/146.

676 MNL OL DL 13565. and DL 59263. Aug. 1, 1440.

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family name) concluded a similarly successful marriage alliance with Orsolya, daughter of Pál Hercegh de Szekcső in 1459.⁶⁷⁷ Miklós Tretrilo died around 1464 without having issue. Therefore, the Hungarian “ramification” of the Florentine Buondelmonti family became extinct after two generations, but the large estates in their possession from the Lévai and Treutel families were subject to long legal debates between the son of Péter Lévai Cseh on one side, and Pál Hercegh de Szekcső on the other side.⁶⁷⁸ In any case, Niccoló Buondelmonti’s settlement and integration into the Hungarian landed aristocracy in 1440, long after Scolari’s death and also after King Sigismund’s death proves that the Buondelmonti kin group’s success cannot be ascribed solely to their family ties to the Scolaris.

677 MNL OL DL 15386. July 29, 1459; Paul Hercegh de Szekcső (1440?-1482) count of Macsó 1456-, ranked among the “barones regni”. Engel, Archontology, II/98. Raffael Hercegh de Szekcső was following Buondelmonti as archbishop of Kalocsa in 1450-1456 three years after the death of Giovanni Buondelmonti with the papal confirmation of his investiture only around 1453-1454.

678 MNL OL DL 16001. June 5, 1464; DL 15025. May 18, 1464.

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