Az út kezdete : Dengelegi Pongrác János politikai felemelkedése

Abstract

The study treats the rather neglected career of János Pongrác Dengelegi, an elder cousin and one of the most powerful baron of King Matthias (1458—1490). The first phase of his activity lasted till his appointment to the rank of Transylvanian voivode in 1462 for the first time. His family connections and kinship to King Matthias are well-known, likewise the exact date of his death (December 18, 1476), but his birth-date cannot be defined at all. The author attempts to estimate the age of János Pongrác and his brothers (László and András) with different methods and compare the start of their careers. The eldest brother, László died as a governor of the convent of Kolozsmonostor at the age about 32 (1463). János Pongrác was about 7 years older than his cousin, the king. The youngest brother, András got the rank of royal cup-bearer, and at the age of 22—25 died in the wars in Bosna (1465). All of the Dengelegi brothers started a promising political career, but they died rather early, with the exception of János Pongrác, who was the most successful among them.