Ladislaus Baksa

Ladislaus was born into the Sztritei branch of the gens (clan) Baksa, as the son of Thomas III.[1] His father was referred to as Count of the Coursers (Hungarian: agarászispán, Latin: comes liciscariourum) in 1271.[2] Ladislaus had a brother Doncs. Ladislaus married the unidentified daughter of Bodon Györkei, who originated from the powerful gens Aba. They had three sons: Thomad adopted the Csapi surname, while Ladislaus II and Michael became progenitors of the Sztritei noble family.[1]

Ladislaus and Doncs inherited large-scale domains in Ung and Zemplén counties from their father, including Sztrite (or Szürte), Eszeny, Rát, Ásvány, Kövesd, Csap (present-day Siurte, Esen', Rativci, Tysaashvan, Kamianske, Chop in Ukraine, respectively). It is presumable that they also owned Tiszalúc and Tarcal, as both villages were acquired by Thomas Baksa in the late 13th century.[3] Additionally, Ladislaus acquired several lands in the early 14th century. He took possession of the pledge over Makkoshotyka for a period of three years from a certain Joseph, son of Michola around 1303. He bought the village in 1305. After the death of his uncle, the illustrious general George Baksa around 1307, Ladislaus inherited the royal forest of Patak and served as the castellan of its fort (today ruins near Sátoraljaújhely). He was also referred as ispán of Zemplén County since 1308.[4] Nine villages belonged to the accessories of the Patak lordship, where Ladislaus also acquired portions: Borsi (present-day Borša in Slovakia), Kovácsvágás, Ladamóc (Ladmoce), Nagytoronya (Veľká Tŕňa), Sátoraljaújhely, Szőllőske, Tállya, Végardó (today a borough in Sárospatak) and Zemplén (Zemplín).[5]

The ruins of Patak Castle (near Sátoraljaújhely), owned by Ladislaus Baksa and his kinship until 1319

Due to their wealth and influence in the region (primarily Zemplén County), Ladislaus Baksa and other members of his clan were able to preserve their autonomy from the local oligarch Amadeus Aba, who had established a powerful dominion in Northeast Hungary independently of the Hungarian monarch during the era of so-called feudal anarchy. Ladislaus was considered a faithful confidant of Charles I of Hungary. The burghers of Kassa (now Košice in Slovakia) assassinated Amadeus Aba in September 1311. After that Charles I was committed to eradicating the Abas' oligarchic rule. However, Amadeus' sons rebelled against the king. In late 1311 or early 1312, the Aba troops sacked Sárospatak, while plundered the surrounding region. Ladislaus and Doncs Baksa led a campaign against them and successfully recovered most of the prey. However, during the skirmish, Ladislaus was captured and held in captivity at Kassa until Charles' arrival. Subsequently, the Aba troops raided and devastated the lands of the pro-Charles Peter, son of Petenye and the Baksa clan, causing a damage of 1,000 gold ducats. After his release, Charles confirmed the brothers' right of patronage over the Premonstratensian abbey of Lelesz (today Leles in Slovakia).[6] Both Ladislaus and Doncs fought in the Battle of Rozgony in June 1312, resulting Charles' decisive victory, which brought an end to the Aba clan's rule over the eastern Kingdom of Hungary. Later, Ladislaus Baksa also participated in the royal campaign against Peter, son of Petenye, who turned against the royal power and established a de facto independent province in Zemplén County (and also claimed the title ispán) after 1312, endangering the Baksas' lands and property. When Charles' general Philip Drugeth launched a campaign against Peter in early 1317, his army marched in front of Regéc Castle, also joined by Ladislaus Baksa's auxiliary troops due to a threatening leaf by Drugeth. Regéc was besieged and seized in April 1317.[7]

Charles I retook the Patak lordship and its accessories from Ladislaus and his family in 1319 and compensated them with Borostyán Castle (Puruštan), a former seat of the defeated Peter, son of Petenye, and its accessories in 1321,[8] which composed 18 villages, including Tarnóka, Gálszécs, Parnó, Bacskó and Visnyó (present-day Trnávka, Sečovce, Parchovany, Bačkov and Višňov in Slovakia, respectively).[9] In addition, Ladislaus recovered the village of Szepestamásfalva in Szepes County (today Spišské Tomášovce in Slovakia) from the Zipser Germans in June 1320. He was granted Kisbosnya (today a borough of Parchovany in Slovakia) from Charles I in February 1321. He also owned Ágcsernyő (today Čierna, Slovakia) in May 1322. In 1323 and 1324, he also gained Guden, Maráza and Tárkány (Malé Trakany) during lawsuits in Zemplén County. In the course of the division of lands within the clan in 1329, Ladislaus' family was granted Sztrite, Eszeny, Rát, Bás, Kisbosnya, Agtelek, Kereplye (Kravany) and Parnó, a portion of Gálszécs, while some forests and farmlands left in joint management.[10]