Denis Türje

Denis (II) from the kindred Türje (Hungarian: Türje nembeli (II) Dénes) or nicknamed Denis the Big-nosed^[1] (Hungarian: Nagyorrú Dénes; Latin: cum magno nasu; died 1255) was a powerful Hungarian baron and landowner, who held several secular positions during the reign of kings Andrew II and Béla IV. He was the most notable member of the gens Türje.^[2]

Biography

He was born into the Szentgrót branch of the gens Türje from Zala County as the son of Denis I. In the old charters, the village of Türje was first mentioned in 1234. The monastery of the premontre monks was founded at the beginning of the 13th century. In this time, the namesake kindred was the landowner of the village and the neighboring villages too. Formerly, historian János Karácsonyi incorrectly assumed that Denis II was the son of Gecse and made a difference between him and Denis, who served as master of the horse.^[1]

His influence arose during the reign of Andrew II, as his name was first mentioned by contemporary records in 1220. However, his offices are unknown before 1233.^[2] Denis as a faithful supporter of crown prince Béla, who held the title of Duke of Transylvania after 1226, following the agreement between the king and his son after a series of conflicts for the throne. As a result he was appointed voivode of Transylvania for duke Béla in 1233. He held that office until 1234.^[3][4]

When Béla ascended the throne in 1235, Denis was nominated master of the horse and served in this capacity until 1241. Besides that he also functioned as ispán for the stablemen (Hungarian: lovászispán; Latin: comes agasonum) in 1235 and ispán (comes) of Temes County in 1240.^[5] He served as ban of Slavonia from 1241 to 1244. In the latter case, he held the title of "ban and duke of Slavonia" (Latin: banus et dux totius Sclavonie) after 1242, later also adopted the title "ban of Primorje" (Hungarian: Tengermellék). According to a non-authentic charter he also functioned as ban in 1245.^[6]

Denis participated in the disastrous Battle of Mohi on 11 April 1241, from where fled together with king Béla IV to the Dalmatian coast. Denis as royal governor of Dalmatia, took part in the Siege of Zara in 1243. On 30 June 1244, Béla made a peace with the Republic of Venice and he surrendered his supremacy over Zara (today Zadar, Croatia) but he retained the one third of the Dalmatian city's revenues of customs. In 1244, Denis led the royal army against Spalato (today: Split, Croatia), which rebelled against the Hungarian monarch.^[2]

In 1245, he was appointed palatine of Hungary, the second-highest secular office after the king in 1245 and held the position until 1246. Besides that he also functioned as ispán of Somogy County.^[7] He served as master of the treasury in 1247, according to László Markó, he held that office between 1246 and 1248.^[2] In addition, he also functioned as ispán of Pozsony County from 1247 to 1248.^[8] He was elected palatine for the second time in 1248.^[7] He served as ispán of Szolnok County between 1251 and 1255, until his death.^[9]

References

Sources

• Engel, Pál (2001). The Realm of St Stephen: A History of Medieval Hungary, 895-1526. I.B. Tauris Publishers. ISBN 1-86064-061-3.
• (Hungarian) Markó, László (2006). 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") (2nd edition); Helikon Kiadó Kft., Budapest; ISBN 963-547-085-1.
• (Hungarian) Zsoldos, Attila (2011). Magyarország világi archontológiája, 1000–1301 ("Secular Archontology of Hungary, 1000–1301"). História, MTA Történettudományi Intézete. Budapest. ISBN 978-963-9627-38-3