Dominic II Rátót
Dominic, with the assistance of his brothers and cousins, established a province, which mostly laid in Nógrád and Heves counties, thus he was among the so-called oligarchs, who ruled de facto independently their dominions during the era of feudal anarchy.
Dominic II was presumably born in the early 1260s[1] into the prestigious and influential gens (clan) Rátót, as the son of Stephen I ("the Porc"), who was a strong confidant of Queen Elizabeth the Cuman and held several offices in her court since 1265.
[2] It is plausible that Stephen's only known wife Aglent Smaragd was not the mother of Dominic; she was still alive in 1327, and was a Beguine nun at the Sibylla cloister in Buda.
The other two documents contain donations of privilege to Pata and Szentgyörgy, as a reward to the members of the kindred, who bravely fought in the previous years against the Cumans.
According to a treaty, which was signed in Zagyvafő (present-day near Salgótarján) by the Rátóts and the Zagyvafői branch of the Kacsics clan in late 1290, there were serious clashes and confrontations between the two families prior to that.
According to the document, the Rátóts attacked and destroyed the three forts – including Szőlős – of Leustach Kacsics, who was also killed along with three family members and countless servants.
[8] Dominic was considered a loyal supporter and strong confidant of King Andrew III by December 1291, when he was appointed Master of the treasury, replacing Mojs Ákos.
According to historian Bálint Hóman, favorable changes occurred in the state economic policy and the Hungarian central financial administration for the last decade of the 13th century, when Dominic held the office.
[11] Andrew III visited Dominic's estates in Heves County in early 1295, and issued his royal charter in Pásztó on 16 February, which reflects his influence and prestige.
After the close of the diet, Andrew entered into a formal alliance with five influential noblemen – Amadeus Aba, Stephen Ákos, Dominic Rátót, Demetrius Balassa and Paul Szécs – who stated that they were willing to support him against the "rebellious lords", which term definitely covered Matthew Csák and the Kőszegi family.
[15] By the end of the reign of Andrew III, Dominic was considered a provincial lord, who established a huge domain with his brothers and cousins.
[16] His lands and villages laid in the borderland of Heves, Nógrád, Gömör and Borsod counties, at the valleys of the rivers Sajó and Rima (Rimava).
[19] Near the village of Hasznos (today part of Pásztó), he built his castle by the bank of the Kövecses stream, at the foot of the Western Mátra.
[18] A civil war between various claimants to the throne – Charles of Anjou, Wenceslaus of Bohemia, and Otto of Bavaria – followed Andrew's death and lasted for seven years.
[27] Wenceslaus, who spent most of his short reign only in the safe Buda, issued a royal charter in Pásztó on 5 May 1303, enjoying the hospitality and protection of his loyal baron, Dominic Rátót.
Historian Tamás Kádár considers, Dominic retired from politics after Wenceslaus' departure from Hungary, and did not interfere in the conflict between Charles of Anjou and Otto of Bavaria.
[30] When John III, Bishop of Nyitra excommunicated Matthew Csák in March 1318 for his previous lawlessness against the Church, he referred an incident that the oligarch had formerly imposed extraordinary tax to his subjects in order to ransom the hostages, who were sent to the court of Dominic during their short-lived reconciliation.
[19] The subsequently issued royal charter listed Dominic to the second place among the supportive barons, only Ugrin Csák, Charles' earliest and most ardent partisan preceded him.
[19] When the papal legate Cardinal Gentile Portino da Montefiore managed to persuade Matthew Csák to accept King Charles' rule at their meeting in the Pauline Monastery of Kékes on 10 November 1308, the oligarch also promised that "he will conclude a just and equitable peace with magister Dominic and other those barons, with whom he had conflict".
Thereafter Amadeus Aba and Dominic Rátót escorted Archbishop Thomas, who negotiated with the voivode in Szeged on 8 April 1310, on the conditions of return of the crown.
Simultaneously, Charles transferred his residence from Buda to Temesvár (present-day Timișoara, Romania) in early 1315, and launched his unification war against the provinces.
Dominic realized the situation that he can defend his interests and landholdings against the neighboring Csák and Aba domains, if he does not only cooperate with the central power, but also actively helps the monarch against the violent and disloyal provincial lords.
[41] After his appointment, he was granted the confiscated lands of three noblemen in Nógrád County in September 1315, who were considered strong supporters of Matthew Csák.
He issued only one private nature document, while his possible vice-palatine or permanent court were not mentioned, in addition to the counties, which he was granted as source of income (honor).
[44] Historian Tibor Szőcs argues Dominic resided constantly in the royal court at Temesvár, and because of the war conditions, he never visited the rest of the country and made no judgments.
[45] Historian Attila Zsoldos considers the counties of Pest, Fejér and Esztergom, in addition to the privileged Pechenegs of Sárvíz (Latin: comitatus Byssenorum), belonged to his honor, while he functioned as Palatine of Hungary.
