Csanád Telegdi

Boleslaus of Esztergom died in December 1328. The collegiate chapter initially elected his protege Nicholas Dörögdi as his successor in the beginning of next year. However the royal couple, King Charles and Queen Elizabeth were dissatisfied with his person for unknown reasons. As a result, Pope John XXII refused to confirm Dörögdi's election despite the fact that the prelate personally visited the papal court at Avignon after some trouble with robber knights during his travel. Charles made it clear that he supported Csanád Telegdi to fill the position.[17] To resolve the diplomatic conflict, Pope John decided to perform personal exchange between the sees of Esztergom and Eger; he transferred Telegdi from the Diocese of Eger to the Archdiocese of Esztergom on 17 September 1330,[18] while Dörögdi was made Bishop of Eger two weeks later, on 1 October.[12] According to the bull of Pope John XXII, dated 5 January 1331, he gave Telegdi's pallium to envoys cleric Nicholas of Várad (his nephew) and Benedictine friar Anselm to bring it to Hungary.[17] To express his gratitude, Telegdi donated the village of Demjén, Heves County to the cathedral chapter of Eger on 3 March 1331, for their assistance in his promotion to the metropolitan seat. As Telegdi argued this land donation contributed to strengthen and secure the episcopal castle.[19]

Charles I of Hungary

Upon his request, Charles I renewed the privilege of the archdiocese on 15 March 1332, regarding the collection of tithe beyond the Drava river, which right was donated by Béla IV and Stephen V to the archbishopric. Thereafter Charles I confirmed all privileges of Esztergom on 14 June by transcribing the royal charter of Béla IV, issued in 1262 on the occasion of Philip Türje's appointment.[17] Becoming his godfather, Telegdi baptized the royal couple's youngest son Stephen, who was born on 20 August 1332.[9][20] On this solemn occasion, he was granted oppidum Kürt in Komárom County (present-day Strekov in Slovakia).[16] When Charles visited his uncle, Robert, in Naples in July 1333, Telegdi was among the dignitaries, who escorted the royal.[9] There Charles' second son, Andrew, was betrothed to Robert's granddaughter, Joanna, who had been made her grandfather's heir. Simultaneously, Pope John XXII issued a document on 1 August, in which he provisionally authorized to the archbishop of Kalocsa and the bishops of Várad and Zagreb to crown Charles' eldest son Louis in the absence, prevention or death of the archbishop of Esztergom. The pope did this as a precaution, since Charles suffered from febrile illness during his trip.[17] Other historians – István Katona and István Sugár – argued, however, Charles intended to crown his eldest surviving son Louis still in his own life, but Telegdi refused to do that, referring to the traditional role of the Hungarian Estates in the royal succession process.[19] This assumption does not seem probable, as Telegdi retained his good relationship with the monarch until the latter's death. For instance, when a group of bishops made a complaint to Pope Benedict XII against Charles in 1338, because he had taken possession of Church property, in addition to his ecclesiastical policy, which "would jeopardize their interests", Telegdi did not join their movement and remained loyal to the king. The pope sent his reply letter to the bishops via Archbishop Telegdi and Bishop Dörögdi in February 1339.[9][20]

Charles I died in Visegrád on 16 July 1342. His corpse was first delivered to Buda where a Mass was said by Telegdi for his soul. In his speech, which portions were preserved by the Buda Chronicle, the Dubnic Chronicle and Johannes de Thurocz's Chronica Hungarorum, the archbishop used same trope and terminology, as twenty-seven years ago. He described Charles' death with Biblical parallels, referring to the "original sin" and hence "the general and unchangeable law of death". Its structure is largely the same as that of the Funeral Sermon and Prayer.[21] Arriving to Székesfehérvár, Telegdi crowned Louis I king with the Holy Crown of Hungary on 21 July. He delivered a praising speech there too, but it has not been preserved in contemporary sources or later chronicles.[20] When the young Louis launched his Neapolitan campaign against his brother's murderer Joanna, Telegdi acted as royal governor (viceroy) in the Kingdom of Hungary between 1347 and 1348.[22] Csanád Telegdi died between around September and December 1349. He was succeeded by his nephew Nicholas Vásári.[23]

Details of frescos in the Castle Chapel of Esztergom

Pope John XXII proclaimed the compulsory delivery of the tenth of church income in the whole Christian world to the Holy See in the upcoming six years, in order to liberate the Holy Land. During the archiepiscopal tenure of Telegdi, papal tax collectors visited the dioceses of Hungary between 1332 and 1337. As the dioceses refused to fulfill the command, the pope sent his two liquidators Jacobus Berengarii and Raymundus de Bonofato to Hungary. In response, Charles I allowed the collection of the papal tithe (the tenth part of the Church revenues) in his realms only after the Holy See agreed to give one third of the money collected to him. The collection process in the Archdiocese of Esztergom was supervised by Bonofato, then Jacobus de Lengres after his death. Telegdi did not seem to be cooperative according to the letter of Pope Benedict XII in August 1339, when the archbishop allegedly refused to present a list of assets previously counted.[24] Telegdi recovered several lands for his metropolitan seat during his episcopate: for instance, he regained Nezsider (today Neusiedl am See, Austria) in 1332, which Boleslaus had failed years earlier. He exchanged Bogdány (present-day Bohdanovce nad Trnavou, Slovakia) for Bél and Sáró (today eľký Biel and Šarovce in Slovakia, respectively) and two mills in Szentgyörgyfalva across the Garam (Hron) river in 1339.[25] Telegdi increased his own wealth simultaneously: Louis I donated the village of Tárnok and its revenues and river duty in Csanád County for his family in April 1343.[24] Upon the intercession of Telegdi, Franciscan friars were settled down in his family centre Telegd in 1339.[22] The archbishop caused controversy when increased the strictly hierarchical staff (38 members) of the collegiate chapter of Esztergom with one person.[26] He re-established the provostship of Szentgyörgymező (today a borough of Esztergom) and raised the number of its canons from four to eight persons.[6] Despite the intention of Louis I and Pope Clement VI, Telegdi successfully prevented the establishment of the Diocese of Szepes (Spiš) in 1348 (finally, it was created only three centuries later, in 1776).[22]

Continuing the efforts of his predecessors Thomas and Boleslaus in the previous decades, Telegdi finished the complete restoration and reconstruction of St. Adalbert Cathedral in Esztergom. The contemporary so-called Acephalus Codex reported in detail on the construction works. According to the chronicle, Telegdi ordered to rebuild the sanctuary "with polished and carefully carved stones, columns, strong foundations, wonderfully crafted stone beams and great vault", and decorate it with stained glass windows, while the exterior walls were strengthened in order to avoid such devastation like in 1304 by the Bohemian troops. Telegdi also rebuilt the old and collapsed towers of the cathedral. During his tenure, the archbishop's palace, uninhabited for a long time, was also restored and built two chapels in the neighborhood. He erected a stone wall around Víziváros (Latin: Civitas archiepiscopalis) too, while established many churches there.[26] He invited painters from Italy, who belonged to the Sienese School and Ambrogio Lorenzetti, to decorate the castle chapels with frescoes. These works represent the earliest and purest examples of the Italian Trecento art in Central Europe. Eight saints were portrayed at the nave of the cathedral, while two fragments of the Christ in Majesty (Latin: Maiestas Domini) preserved above the Archbishop's throne. The depictions of the life of Jesus were definitely made just before the outbreak of the Black Death.[6]