Lack Hermán

Lack from the kindred Hermán (Hungarian: Hermán nembeli Lack), also known as Lack of Kerekegyháza (Hungarian: Kerekegyházi Lack; died 1359) was an influential Hungarian nobleman, who served as Count of the Székelys from 1328 to 1343. He was the eponymous ancestor of the powerful and rich Lackfi family.

Life and career

Lack (or Ladislaus) was born into the gens (clan) Hermán as the son of Denis, whose ancestors are unknown, as a result there is inability to connect the Lackfi branch to the other branches of the clan. According to Simon Kézai's Gesta Hunnorum et Hungarorum, the ancestor of the kindred, knight Herman originated from Nuremberg, who escorted Gisela of Bavaria in 996, who became the wife of Stephen I of Hungary, the future first King of Hungary. Following that Herman received land donations in Vas County. Both magister Simon and the 14th-century Illuminated Chronicle described the Hermán kindred as "relatively poor".^[1] As his elder sons, Stephen I and Andrew I already appeared as office-bearers and active soldiers in the contemporary records since the 1320s, Lack presumably was born in the 1280s, thus his career began to rise when he was already relatively old. His degree of kinship to contemporary relative Lampert Hermán, who served as Judge royal from 1314 to 1324, is unknown.^[2]

Lack first appeared in a contemporary royal charter in 1323, when he was already among the barons, who confirmed the peace treaty between Charles I of Hungary and Frederick the Fair with their seals. After his successful struggle against the oligarchs to restore royal power, King Charles I of Hungary established a new aristocracy which had supported his efforts and depended on the strength of the royal authority. By 1323, Charles had taken "full possession" of his kingdom, and transferred his residence from Temesvár (present-day Timișoara in Romania) to Visegrád in that year. It is possible that Lack, whose kindred had estates in Arad County, including Kerekegyháza, became a loyal supporter of Charles, when the king still resided in Temesvár.^[2]

After his predecessor, Simon Kacsics was dismissed in 1327 or 1328, because he had committed "serious crimes", according to a contemporaneous royal charter,^[2] Lack Hermán was appointed Count of the Székelys.^[3] He first appeared in this status with his seal ("Ladizlaus comes Syculorum") at the diploma of Charles on 21 September 1328, when the Hungarian monarch signed a peace treaty with the three dukes of Austria (Frederick the Fair, Albert the Lame, and Otto the Merry), who renounced Pressburg (now Bratislava in Slovakia) and the Muraköz (now Međimurje in Croatia). His son, Stephen Lackfi, who then held the dignity of Master of the horse ("Stephanus magister agasonum"), was also among the signatories.^[4] Lack was participated in Charles' disastrous Wallachian campaign of 1330, when Basarab I defeated the Hungarian army in the Battle of Posada. Returning home, Lack sized and occuped the Péterfalvai family's estates in Transylvania.^[5] Beside the form "Count of the Székelys", Lack was also styled as "count of the three clans of the Székelys"; but the exact meaning of the title is unknown. It is possible that referred to the three emerging social classes of the Székely population.^[6] Frequently he was also mentioned as the "judge of the Székelys" since the 1330s, evidencing that the counts had acquired significant judicial authority by that time.^[6] In addition, Lack styled himself the commander of the royal army stationed between the rivers Rába and Rábca during a campaign against Austria in 1336.^[7]

Beside his baronial dignity, Lack also served as ispán of Medgyes (or Mediasch, now Mediaș in Romania). That Saxon district was subject to the counts of Székelys until Sigismund of Luxemburg, King of Hungary, exempted the local inhabitants from the counts' authority in 1402.^[8] From 1334 to 1339, Lack governed the Saxons of Bistritz (present-day Bistrița in Romania) too.^[9][10] He was also referred to as ispán of Csanád County in a document of 1339.^[11] Lack was last mentioned as Count of the Székelys on 2 May 1343. Thereafter, the office was almost continuously held by his descendants, the Lackfis for about 50 years.^[4]

Family

Lack had eight sons from his first unidentified wife: Stephen I and Andrew I were successful barons and military leaders, who established the family wealth. Nicholas I, Paul, who held ispánates too, and Michael I also participated in King Louis the Great's royal campaigns, supporting their elder brothers. Denis I joined the Franciscans and later elevated to the position of Archbishop of Kalocsa. Ladislaus I died early, while Emeric I was murdered by Thomas Csapi from the Baksa kindred during a 1335 campaign against Serbia.^[12] They were all referred to as "Lackfi" (lit. "son of Lack"). At the age of seventies, Lack, who had been widowed, married for the second time to Margaret Pósafi de Szer, around 1355. They had no children. Lack lived a long time and witnessed the rise of his sons during the reign of Louis I, when eight members of the family held high offices. The Lackfis became the most illustrious and influential noble house in the Angevin age. Lack died in 1359, when some of his grandsons already entered political and court service.^[13]

References

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