John III, Bishop of Nyitra
During his reign, which roughly coincided with the era of feudal anarchy, the diocese of Nyitra was constantly harassed and plundered by the troops of the powerful and greedy oligarch Matthew Csák.
John is the only known office-holder in the medieval kingdom of Hungary, who presided the cathedral chapter of Nyitra with the title of provost (otherwise, the church was headed by the lector, then the vicar).
[1] According to historians Mihály Kurecskó and György Rácz, John, with the title of provost, de facto governed the Diocese of Nyitra on a temporary basis, prior to his official confirmation as bishop.
The neighboring lords were all considered nominal partisans of Charles' rival, Wenceslaus, including John's archenemy, Matthew Csák, who had established a large-scale domain in the area at the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries; he ruled de facto independently the north-western counties of Medieval Hungary.
John participated in the provincial synod at Udvard, Komárom County (present-day Dvory nad Žitavou, Slovakia) convoked by Archbishop Thomas in May 1307.
In addition, Archbishop Thomas and his suffragans called all the subjects of the realm to obey the king's commandments, otherwise they were ready to place the whole kingdom under interdict.
[7] John, alongside other prelates and nobles, attended the meeting at the Pauline Monastery of Kékes on 10 November 1308, when the arriving papal legate Gentile Portino da Montefiore managed to persuade Matthew Csák to accept King Charles' rule.
John requested the cathedral chapter of Esztergom (place of authentication) in January 1312 to transcribe the donation letter of Béla IV of Hungary from 1267, who attached the tithe of Bánya (today Banka, Slovakia) to his diocese.
[10][11] However, he could not enjoy his rights and incoming as a bishop or as a count at all, because the greater part of the lands of his diocese was occupied and unlawfully seized by the oligarch Matthew Csák,[12] who expanded aggressively in Upper Hungary in the first decade of the 14th century.
[14][15] Years later, John recalled that after the seizure of Nyitra Castle and destroying several episcopal villages, Simon loudly abused and intended to stab the bishop with a sword in the presence of Matthew Csák, but the powerful oligarch prevented him by his admonition.
According to the document, the Csák troops plundered and burnt the episcopal villages of Cseke, Körtvélyes and Bille (present-day Čakajovce, Hrušovany and Belince in Slovakia, respectively).
Matthew Csák unlawfully acquired and usurped the diocese's mansion house at Trencsén (today Trenčín, Slovakia) since the death of Bishop Paschasius.
[18] Sometime, John bought valuable baize for his diocese at the fair of Nagyszombat (present-day Trnava, Slovakia), but Csák's men confiscated and transferred it to their lord's own manor house.
For instance, a certain Nicholas "the German" stole 70 oxen from Nyitra, while Ladislaus of Hrussó robbed and killed the episcopal serfs in Szkacsány (today Skačany, Slovakia).
Through the years, the oligarch's officials transferred the episcopal folks from the surrounding villages into the province of Csák and forced them to labour service in fortress reinforcements and constructions.
In order to eliminate the ecclesiastical censures against his territory (papal legate Gentile excommunicated Matthew Csák and placed the province under interdict on 6 July 1311), the oligarch convened "heretics, murderers, outlaw clergymen and seculars" (including Csák's ally, Stephen, abbot of Szkála), who held worship services and performed church activities (masses, ceremonies, burials, collection of church taxes etc.)
Simultaneously, John's clerics were expelled from their parishes and the seal of the cathedral chapter was also usurped and unlawfully used to falsify non-authentic documents and charters.
[14] He resided in Kakat (later Párkány, present-day Štúrovo, Slovakia) on 4 September 1317, alongside Archbishop Thomas and other prelates, when excommunicated Simon Kacsics for his crimes against the church.
[25] According to historian György Rácz, John's act was a demonstrative tool for expressing dislike towards Charles' politically motivated agreement with Csák, who was then considered nominally "loyal" in the royal court.
Because of peaceful period and slow growth, the bishop gradually appears less frequently in contemporary records, which also reflects that he retired from public affairs and the royal court.
[31] Upon the bishop's request, Charles I transcribed the former donations of Ladislaus IV to the Diocese of Nyitra in July 1323 (possibly as a compensation for the removal of perpetual ispánate).
