Henry II Kőszegi
[1] His elder (half-)brothers were Nicholas I, Ivan – who were also elevated into high dignities during the age of the late Árpáds – and Peter, the Bishop of Veszprém from 1275 till his murder in 1289.
Subsequently, the forts of Belec, Kostel, Vrbovec (Orbolc) and Oštrc (Oszterc) also belonged to his branch's property, but the time and circumstances of their acquisition are unknown.
In 1279, Jacopo Contarini, Doge of Venice demanded compensation from Palatine Matthew II Csák for the confiscation of the goods of certain merchant Blandius Roger by Henry's soldiers.
Taking advantage of the chaotic situation, which characterized Ladislaus' reign, the three Kőszegi brothers plundered the estates of the Diocese of Zagreb at various times in early 1281.
Having Ladislaus failed, Nicholas, Henry and Bishop Peter stormed into Southern Transdanubia and jointly invaded and besieged the episcopal town of Pécs in March 1284.
[12][14] After the assassination of Ladislaus IV in July 1290, the Kőszegi brothers initially supported the new monarch, Andrew III in his external efforts due to their short-term interests in order to recover those castles and estates, which had lost following Duke Albert's war against the family in 1289 (the so-called "Güssing Feud"; German: Güssinger Fehde).
When the diet in the autumn of 1290 ordered the restoration of estates that had been unlawfully seized to their rightful owners, Andrew urged Henry to return some certain lands to local nobles in Slavonia, but he refused to do that.
[19] However, after the conclusion of the Peace of Hainburg in August 1291, which prescribed the destruction of the fortresses that Albert had seized from the Kőszegis, Henry's family turned against the king and he lost his position in the royal court sometime after October 1291, along with his brothers.
Henry's position in the following years is unknown, he withdrew to his province and did not participate in Ivan's anti-royal activity, who remained a (nominal) supporter of the claim of the House of Anjou.
Henry Kőszegi concluded a peace with the bishop by the end of 1297 and handed over the forts of Gerzence and Garics (present-day Garešnica and Podgaric, respectively) to the diocese, which suffered from the endless warfare.
Simultaneously, Henry Kőszegi and Ladislaus Kán were created perpetual Ban of Slavonia and Voivode of Transylvania, respectively, acknowledging their dominance over the assigned territories.
In order to sanctify the settlement, Henry's "very nice" daughter was engaged to Turcho, the grandson of Albertino Morosini, King Andrew's maternal uncle, as Italian envoy and merchant Petrus de Bonzano wrote in his letter in September 1300.
His death resulted a period of interregnum, which lasted for seven years and various claimants – Charles of Anjou, Wenceslaus of Bohemia, and Otto of Bavaria – fought for the Hungarian throne.
[24] From the province of Slavonia, Henry Kőszegi gradually extended his influence over southeastern Transdanubia (his wife originated from there) and thus avoided the sphere of interests with the other two branches of his family; for instance, he acquired the castles of Somogyvár, Döbrököz, Dombóvár and Kőszeg (Batina) in the region.
He was a prominent member of that delegation, which visited the court of Wenceslaus II of Bohemia in Prague and offered the Hungarian throne to the king's young son in the summer of 1301.
Prior to that, both Ivan and Henry Kőszegi urged the king to intervene, who marched to Hungary with an army, but in the end serious fighting did not take place, seeing the hopeless situation of the young Wenceslaus.
[34] Because of his affiliation, Eyza, Charles' confidant commanded his troops to plunder and devastate the regions around the castles of Međurača (Megyericse) and Rača (Racsa) in Križevci County in Slavonia, both were the forts of Henry Kőszegi, in the winter of 1305.
[20] Shortly after the sudden death of Bishop Manfred, his successor Peter was appointed by the pro-Charles prelate, Archbishop Thomas at the end of 1306 after the canons of the cathedral chapter of Pécs did not reach a consensus.
In order to promote his movement, Henry Kőszegi captured castellan James and seized the fortress at Pécs, then handed it over to Nicholas who thus succeeded in prevent Bishop Peter from entering his see and collecting revenues from his bishopric.
As Franciscan friar John testimoned, Henry ordered the canons to "designate someone to guard the church and the castle according to my will, and I will give you a bearded man who will steer you well".
Following the assassination of Albert I of Germany (1 May 1308), Henry of Carinthia and Otto III, Duke of Bavaria (the former Hungarian claimant) planned to invade the duchies of Austria and Styria.
They convinced Otto III, Duke of Carinthia to marry his daughter to Henry Kőszegi's son in exchange for the Hungarian baron to attack Styria.
Otto of Carinthia sent ministerialis Conrad of Aufenstein who convinced Henry to attack, emphasizing the defenselessness of Styria due to the absence of Frederick the Fair, who prepared a war against Bohemia.
[40] After the imprisonment and ultimate failure of Otto in Transylvania, an assembly of Charles' partisans confirmed his claim to the throne on 10 October 1307, but the most powerful lords, including Matthew Csák, Ladislaus Kán, Paul Šubić and the Kőszegi brothers were absent from the meeting.
[43] Both of them appeared as leading participants of the national assembly in the subsequently issued document, representing their political influence and the great significance of their support for the Angevin pretender.
[42] Henry received guarantees in exchange for a written oath of loyalty; according to historian Ádám Vajk, for instance, he requested the confirmation of the election of Ivan's natural son, Nicholas as Bishop of Győr, in addition to the recognition of his rule over Upper Slavonia and the aforementioned four ispánates in Southern and Eastern Transdanubia.
