Lawrence, son of Kemény

He retained his influence in the courts of Stephen V and Ladislaus IV too, representing a stable point in the government, when two baronial groups fought for the supreme power.

[6] Accordingly, he was a page, when participated in the second royal campaign against Daniil Romanovich in order to support the claim of Rostislav Mikhailovich, Béla's son-in-law, to the throne of the Principality of Halych.

During the battle, Lawrence was seriously injured when his lower shin was pierced by a spear, but he bravely fought – "disgusted by the darkness of sluggishness" – and captured a Galician baron, who was later beheaded.

After a brief conflict, Béla IV and his son divided the country and Stephen received the lands to the east of the Danube in 1262, who also adopted the title of junior king.

[18] Béla IV's army crossed the Danube under Anna's command sometime after the autumn of 1264, which marked the beginning of the civil war between father and son.

[21] At first, he sent a vanguard of Cuman warriors led by brothers Ladislaus and Julius Kán, but their army was defeated by Duke Stephen at the fortress of Déva in late December 1264.

Thereafter Lawrence's main army advanced into the duke's realm, and his soldiers forced Stephen to retreat as far as the castle at Feketehalom (Codlea, Romania) in the easternmost corner of Transylvania.

[22] Historian Attila Zsoldos argues Lawrence's military manoeuvre served as a diversion, because in the same time, the royal army led by Anna and Henry Kőszegi occupied Stephen's capital, the fort of Patak (ruin near Sátoraljaújhely) and captured the junior king's wife, Elizabeth the Cuman and children, including the future Ladislaus IV.

Stephen intended to send a special envoy Demetrius Rosd to his parents in order to seek mercy, but the besiegers captured him and Lawrence tortured the prisoner.

[24] However, some nobles with the leadership of Panyit Miskolc, who were enlisted to the royal army by force during the early stage of civil war, switched allegiance and reconnoitered on the intentions of the besiegers, defeating them with "strength and cunning".

[22] In fact, the arriving rescue army were led by Duke Stephen's main generals Peter and Matthew Csák, who returned from Upper Hungary.

[25] Because of the prolonged siege of Feketehalom (which, in fact, failed by then, around January 1265) Henry Kőszegi sent a skillful military general Ernye Ákos with an army of Cuman warriors to Tiszántúl, in order to support the besiegers and, later, to hinder Duke Stephen's counter-offensive.

[24] Lawrence, along with other pro-Béla lords, was being held as prisoner and after the Battle of Isaszeg, Béla IV was forced to accept the authority of Stephen in the eastern parts of the kingdom.

Lawrence, a participant of the meeting and co-judge beside Béla, was an advocate of the "war party", along with Henry Kőszegi, Ernye Ákos and Csák Hahót.

However, as Zsoldos analyses, the mobilized royal servants were not enthusiastic about another internal war, instead they demanded the recognition of their rights and privileges from the monarch, and the name of the absent duke was included in the charter at their request.

The assembly of Somogy County delegated five local nobles – including John and Stephen Bő – to the ad-litem court chaired by Lawrence.

[32] Seeing the faithfulness and steadfast loyalty of our beloved follower Lawrence, Ban of Severin and Count of Doboka, and considering also that, when [...] some of his [Béla's] barons, wounded by the spear of infidelity, immediately after the glorious king [Béla] passed away, guided by evil, marched to the border and handed over the treasures of our realm to the ruler of Bohemia [Ottokar II] with tricks and stratagem, in contrast, Lawrence, then Palatine of the Realm, and Count of Somogy and Kemlék, [...] ahead of other barons and dignitaries of our realm, showed such obedience and devotion to our Majesty that he, by his own example, revealed and showed others the confidential path to our Majesty.Béla IV died on 3 May 1270.

[36][37] Lawrence was also present, when Stephen V met Ottokar II of Bohemia on an island of the Danube near Pressburg (present-day Bratislava, Slovakia), but they only concluded a truce.

Beside that he also served as ispán of Doboka County from 1270 to 1272, throughout the reign of Stephen V.[39] Instead of peaceful conciliation, several lords, who possessed lands along the border, including Henry Kőszegi and his sons, Lawrence Aba and Nicholas Geregye, followed Duchess Anna into exile to Bohemia and handed their castles to Ottokar II, who placed the treasonous nobles under his protection.

The Hungarian monarch, who saw the power machinations and aspirations of Ottokar behind the unrest in Western Hungary, launched a plundering raid into Austria around 21 December 1270.

Lawrence, "already tired of the constant warfare", was entrusted to organize the defense of the country along the western border and was sent to the region as head of the vanguard, before Stephen launched his large-scale royal campaign.

For his loyal service, Stephen V donated the castle of Vágújhely along the river Morava (Morva) in Nyitra County (present-day Nové Mesto nad Váhom, Slovakia) and its accessories in March 1271.

When she temporarily regained her lost influence over the royal council due to Ottokar's invasion in the spring of 1273,[45] Lawrence was appointed Palatine for the third time sometime around May 1273.

[46] Under Elizabeth's influence, Lawrence was granted the castle of Újvár along the river Morva in Pozsony County (present-day Holíč, Slovakia) in March 1273, which fort was formerly possessed by his late father Kemény too.

[47] When the Kőszegi family and their allies deprived Elizabeth and his courtiers from the power in June 1273, Lawrence lost his positions – he was again replaced by Roland Rátót – and never regained his influence again.