István, German: Stephan von Agram;[1] died 1260) was a Hungarian influential lord, an early prominent member of the gens Gutkeled and ancestor of its Majád branch.

Stephen was born into the Gutkeled kindred, a widely extended clan of German origin, which came from the Duchy of Swabia to the Kingdom of Hungary during the reign of Peter in the mid-11th century, according to Simon of Kéza's Gesta Hunnorum et Hungarorum.

When the Mongols raided Hungary in 1241, Stephen had participated in the Battle of Mohi where the Hungarian royal army suffered a catastrophic defeat against Batu Khan's troops.

He was able to flee from the battlefield and later joined the companion of the escaping Béla IV who fled to Dalmatia after a short and unfortune bypass in the Duchy of Austria.

[9] In this capacity, he participated in the Battle of the Leitha River in June 1246, where Frederick II, Duke of Austria was killed and the male line of the Babenbergs became extinct.

Stephen bought the lordship of Széplak (today Mintiu Gherlii, Romania) along the river Szamos (Someș) from his relative Paul Gutkeled (from the clan's Szilágy or Lothard branch) in 1246.

Later, however, Stephen exchanged these lands with his relatives in order to expand the Majád lordship in Sopron County (today Sankt Margarethen im Burgenland, Austria).

Since 1259, certain Alexander and Butko (Butheco) appeared as bans of the maritime provinces (i.e. Dalmatia), implying Stephen's retirement from the region shortly before his death.

[21] Stephen built several castles (including Jablanac) along the borders as part of Béla's radical reforms introduced after the Mongol invasion.

Stephen was the first secular landowner in Hungary, who founded a settlement, when he settled down the inhabitants of the Rab Island to along the walls of the Jablanac Castle in 1251.

[2] Stephen granted the same privileges to its burghers as the people of Trogir, Šibenik and other coastal cities in Dalmatia (for instance, the free elect of comes, the local superior, exemption from customs duties and restricting external immigration).

[25] Béla IV, in accordance with a treaty in Pressburg (today Bratislava in Slovakia), acquired the Duchy of Styria from his rival Ottokar II of Bohemia on 1 May 1254 after a series of wars.

Stephen Gutkeled was among the Hungarian dignitaries, who drafted and ratified the peace points in the agreement between the two realms in the previous month in Buda, under the mediation of papal legate Bernadino Caracciolo dei Rossi, Bishop of Naples.

[26] Subsequently, Stephen Gutkeled was installed Captain (i.e. governor) of Styria (Latin: capitaneus Stirie) in that year, while also retained the dignity of Ban and Duke of Slavonia.

Historian Veronika Rudolf emphasized that the long common border between Slavonia and Styria made Stephen Gutkeled an ideal candidate for the position, who had extensive local knowledge in the area.

This phenomenon reflects that Stephen gradually consolidated his rule and slightly extended his influence over the northern parts of Styria by that year.

[15] Stephen Gutkeled governed the occupied province from Pettau Castle (today Ptuj, Slovenia) on behalf of Béla, who adopted the title Duke of Styria, contesting Ottokar's claims.

[23] With these favours, Béla IV and Stephen Gutkeled attempted to counterbalance Philip of Spanheim, who was elected Archbishop of Salzburg and who did not support Hungarian rule in Styria at all.

[31] For unknown reasons, Stephen Gutkeled summoned Siegfried von Mahrenberg, one of the ministeriales to his seat Graz, who, however, refused to appear before his court.

[32] Austrian historian Gerhard Pferschy considered that Stephen Gutkeled wanted to secure the road to Carinthia by occupying the castle in order to provide assistance to the Bavarians in their defense war against Ottokar II.

[33] Unexpectedly, the Styrian noblemen along the river Drava with the leadership of the Pettau brothers, Frederick V and Hartnid II, and also Berthold von Treun, rose up in rebellion against Stephen Gutkeled and routed him in early 1258.

[31] Stephen Gutkeled unsuccessfully besieged his former seat, Pettau in the first half of the year, defended by Siegfried von Mahrenberg, who defeated the Hungarian troops.

[34] The Steirische Reimchronik writes that Stephen fled to Marburg (today Maribor, Slovenia) being chased by the army of Hartnid von Pettau.

[35] For instance, the Steirische Reimchronik claims that Stephen Gutkeled "was a disdainful man who was a burden to everyone, who loudly proclaimed that his lord [Béla] had bought this country [Styria]."

The author claims that Stephen always broke the rules of decorum (his frequent topos regarding the Hungarians) and his daughter called Graetze was born during his reign as captain.

[36] Therefore, several historians, e.g. Gerhard Pferschy or Jenő Szűcs, proposed that the Hungarians excessively favored the churches and ruled against the nobles and ministeriales in many compensation proceedings.

Although Stephen Gutkeled continuously bore the title captain of Styria, but he was given a much smaller role beside the duke's personal presence, and he no longer assumed a real power in the administration of the province.