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Andrew II of Hungary

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Andrew II the Jerosolimitan (Hungarian: Jeruzsálemi II András/Endre, Croatian: Andrija I. Slovak: Ondrej) (c. 1177 – 21 September, 1235), King of Hungary and Croatia (1205-1235), Prince of Halych (1188-1189, 1208-1209), Duke of Croatia and Dalmatia (1197-1199, 1200-1203).

The turbulent duke

Andrew was the second son of King Béla III and his first wife, Agnes of Antioch. As younger son, he could not rely on inheriting the Kingdom of Hungary from his father who wanted to ensure his elder son, Emeric's hereditary right by having him crowned already in 1182. However, when Prince Volodymyr II of Halych, who had been expelled from his country by his subjects, fled to Hungary seeking for assistance in 1188, King Béla III had him arrested and occupied his principality and he invested Andrew with Halych.

The child Andrew's rule in Halych must have been only nominal; he even did not visit his principality. In any case, his rule became unpopular soon, because the Hungarian soldiers were violent and they often violated the Eastern Orthodox churches. Although, the young prince's troops could get the mastery in 1189 when the boyars of Halych rose against his rule, but shortly afterwards Prince Volodymyr II managed to escape from Hungary and expelled the Hungarian troops from Halych.

On 23 April 1196, King Béla III died and he left the Kingdom of Hungary unportioned to his eldest son, King Emeric, while Andrew only inherited a large amount of money in order to fulfill his father's Crusader oath. However, Andrew used the money to recruit followers among the barons and also sought the assistance of Leopold V, Duke of Austria. In December 1197, Andrew's troops defeated King Emeric's armies in a battle near to Mački (Macsek) in December 1197 and following the battle, the king was obliged to transfer the government of the duchies of Croatia and Dalmatia to Andrew.

In the beginning of 1198, Pope Innocent III requested him to fulfill his father's last will and lead a Crusader to the Holy Land. Instead of a Crusade, Andrew made a campaign against the neighbouring provinces and occupied Zahumlje and Rama. He also conspired with some prelates against his brother, but King Emeric was informed on Andrew's plans and he arrested personally Bishop Boleszlo of Vác, one of Andrew's main supporters, and he also deprived his brother's followers (e.g. Palatine Mog) of their dignities. In the summer of 1199, King Emeric defeated Andrew in the Battle of Rád and Andrew had to fleed to Austria. Finally, the two brothers made peace with the mediation of the papal legate Gregory, and the king granted again the government of Croatia and Dalmatia to his brother.

Around 1200, Andrew married Gertrude, a daughter of Berthold IV, Duke of Merania. It was probably his wife who persuaded him to conspire again against his brother, but when King Emeric, who had realised that Andrew's troops outnumbered his armies, went unarmed, wearing only the crown and the sceptre, to Andrew's camp near Varaždin (Varasd), Andrew surrendered voluntarily on the spur of the scene. The king had his brother arrested, but Andrew managed to escape shortly afterwards.

However, the king become more and more ill, and wanted to secure the ascension of his young son, Ladislaus, who had been crowned on 26 August 1204 and reconciled with Andrew whom he appointed to govern the kingdom during his son's minority. After his brother's death on 30 September/November 1204, Andrew took over the government of the kingdom as his nephew's tutor and he also seized the money his brother had deposited on behalf of the child Ladislaus. The Dowager Queen Constance was anxious about her son's life and she escaped with Ladislaus to the court of Leopold VI, Duke of Austria. Andrew made preparations for a war against Austria, but the child king died on 7 May 1205, and he inherited the throne.

Novæ institutiones

Andrew was crowned by Archbishop John of Kalocsa on 29 May 1205 in Székesfehérvár, but before the coronation, as the first among the Kings of Hungary, he had to take an oath. Andrew broke the internal policy followed by his predecessors and began to bestow the royal estates to his partisans. He called this new policy novæ institutiones, and he declared that "Nothing can set bounds to generosity of the Royal Majesty, and the best measure of grants, for a monarch, is immeasurableness". He gave away everything - money, villages, domains, whole counties - to the utter impoverishment of the treasury. Andrew was generous primarily with his wife's German relatives and followers, which caused discontent among his subjects.

Struggles for Halych

During the first years of his reign, Andrew was occupied with the discords within the Principality of Halych. In 1205, he lead his armies to the principality to ensure the rule of the child Prince Danylo of Halych. Following his campaign, he adopted the title of "King of Galicia and Lodomeria" referring to his supremacy over the neighbouring principality. In the beginning of the next year, the child prince was again expelled from Halych but Andrew denied to give assistance to him because the child prince's opponent, Prince Volodymyr III Igorevych had presented him. Nevertheless, in the same year, he made a campaign in Halych and gave assistance to Prince Roman Igorevych to acquire the throne. In 1208, taking advantage of the quarrel between Prince Roman Igorevych and his boyars, Andrew occupied Halych and appointed a regent to govern the principality in his name, but Prince Volodymyr III Igorevych managed to reconquer his principality in 1209.

A group of the aristocrats of his court, scandalised by Andrew's generosity towards his wife's relatives and followers, planned to offer the throne to his cousins, who were living in the court of the Emperor Theodore I Lascaris of Nicea, but their envoy was arrested and Andrew could overcome the conspiracy. In 1211, he granted the Burzenland to the Teutonic Knights in order to quard the southeastern border of his kingdom against the Cumans, but the knights began to establish a country independent of the King of Hungary.

In 1211, Andrew provided military assistance to Prince Danylo to reoccupy Halych and he lead his armies personally to Halych in the next year to repulse the attack of Prince Mstilav of Peresopnytsia. Shortly afterwards, Prince Danylo, however, was obliged to leave his country and he sought again Andrew's assistance. Andrew left for his campaign in the summer 1213 when he was informed that a group of conspirators had murdered his queen on 28 September and he had to return. After his return, he ordered the execution only the leader of the conspirators and he forgave the other members of the group, which resulted in the emerging antipaty of his son, Béla. In 1214, Andrew had to adhere to the coronation of his son.

In the summer of 1214, Andrew had a meeting with Prince Leszek I of Cracow and they agreed to partition Halych. Their allied troops occupied the neighbouring principality which was granted to Andrew's younger son, Coloman. However, Andrew denied to transfer the agreed territories to Prince Leszek I who made an alliance with Prince Mstilav of Novgorod and they drove away Andrew's troops from the principality. Shortly afterwards, Andrew made an alliance again with Prince Leszek I and they occupied Halych where again his son was appointed to prince.

The Fifth Crusade

In the meantime, Andrew began to deal with the problems of the southern borders of his kingdom. In 1214, the Hungarian troops annexed Nándorfehérvár and Barancs from the Bulgarian Empire, and made them "társ ország" or "co-country". In February 1215, he married Yolanda, the niece of Henry I, the Emperor of the Latin Empire of Constantinople. When the Emperor Henry I died on 11 July 1216, Andrew was planning to acquire the imperial throne, but the barons of the Latin Empire proclaimed his father-in-law, Peter of Courtenay their emperor.

Nevertheles, Andrew decided to fulfill his father's oath and made preparations for a Crusade. He agreed with the Republic of Venice to undertake the delivery of his troops to the Holy Land, in exchange he renounced the supremacy over Zadar on behalf of the Republic. Andrew and his troops embarked on 23 August 1217 in Split. They landed on 9 October on Cyprus from where they sailed to Acre. The well-mounted army took over Jerusalem and fought on the Jordan River on November 10, 1217 and but had fruitless assaults on the fortresses of the Lebanon and on Mount Tabor. Andrew set home on (January 18, 1218). On the way home, he negotiated with King Levon I of Armenia, the Emperor Theodore I Laskaris of Nicaea and Tsar Ivan Asen II of Bulgaria and arranged several marriage contracts between his children and the courts he visited. When he was staying in Nicaea, his cousins, who had been living there, made an unsuccessful attempt to take his life.

The Golden Bull and the Diploma Andreanum

On his return he found its kingdom in anarchy. While he had been away in the Holy Land, even his regent, Archbishop John of Esztergom had been obliged to leave the country and his treasury had been exhausted. He tried to collect money by using new instruments, such as introducing new taxes, undermining the currency and leasing his income to Jews and Muslims which increased his unpopularity.

His foreign policy was also a total failure. In August 1219, his son, Coloman, who had been crowned King of Halych, was expelled from his kingdom by Prince Mstilav of Novgorod. Andrew had to make peace with the Prince of Novgorod and engaged his youngest son, Andrew with a daughter of Prince Mstilav. In 1220, he entrusted the government of Slavonia, Dalmatia and Croatia to his son, Béla whom Andrew enforced to separate from his wife.

In the beginning of 1222, the discontent serviens (nobiles) came to his court in large numbers, and they persuaded the king to issue the Golden Bull which confirmed their privileges, including the right to disobey the King when he acted not in line with the law (ius resistendi).

In 1223, the junior King Béla IV took back his wife and escaped to Austria fearing of Andrew's anger. Finally, Andrew made an agreement with his son with the mediation of Pope Honorius III and the junior king took over again the government of Slavonia, Dalmatia and Croatia. On 6 June 1224 he made a peace with Leopold VI, Duke of Austria.

In 1224, Andrew issued the Diploma Andreanum which unified and ensured the special privileges of the Transylvanian Saxons. In the same year, Andrew expelled the Teutonic Knights from Transylvania because they had ignored his overlordship.

Discords with his son

The junior King Béla IV started, with the authorization of Pope Honorius III, to take back the royal domains in his provinces that Andrew had granted to his partisans during the first half of his reign. Thus, Andrew entrusted Béla with the government of Transylvania while his younger son, Coloman became the governor of Béla's former provinces.

In the second half of 1226, Andrew lead his armies to Halych on the request of his youngest son, Andrew. Although Prince Mstilav defeated the royal armies, but finally he agreed to cede the government of the principality to the Hungarian prince.

During 1228, Andrew's two sons started again to take back the former royal domains in their provinces, and they persuaded Andrew to confiscate the estates of the barons who had taken part in the conspiracy against their mother. In 1229, Prince Danylo of Halych expelled Andrew's youngest son from Halych, while Frederick II, Duke of Austria started to attack the western borders of the kingdom in 1230.

The Agreement of Bereg

Pope Gregory IX requested Andrew not to employ Jews and Muslims in the royal household and Andrew was obliged to confirm the Golden Bull, supplemented with a provision that prohibited the employment of non-Christians and also authorised the Archbishop of Esztergom to punish the king in case he ignored his promise.

In the second half of 1231, Andrew lead his armies to Halych and managed to ensure his youngest son's rule in the principality. On his return to Hungary, Archbishop Robert of Esztergom took his kingdom under interdict and excomunicated his major dignitaries because Andrew insisted on the employment of Jews and Muslims in his administration. Upon Andrew's request the Archbishop withdrew the eclesiastic punishments and the Pope promised that the dignitaries of the King of Hungary would never be excommunicated without his special authorization.

On 20 August 1233, Andrew had a meeting with the legate of Pope Gregory IX in the woods of Bereg, and they made an agreement which ensured the privileges of the clergy. In the autumn of the year he also met with Leopold VI, Duke of Austria and they agreed to stop the skirmishes on the border, but the Duke soon broke the agreement.

His last years

On 14 May 1234, Andrew, who had lost his second wife in the previous year, married Beatrice D'Este who was thirty years younger than himself. Because of the new marriage, his relationship enworthened with his sons.

In the summer of 1234, the Bishop John of Bosnia excommunicated Andrew because he had not respected some provisions of the Agreement of Bereg. Andrew appealed to the Pope against the bishop's measure. In the autumn of 1234, Prince Danylo laid siege to the capital of Andrew's youngest son who died during the siege. Thus, the Hungarian supremacy over Halych disappeared.

In the beginning of 1235, Andrew made a campaign against Austria and enforced Duke Leopold VI to make a peace.

He was still alive when one of his daughters, Elisabeth, who had died some years before, was canonized on 28 May 1235. Before his death, he was absolved from the excommunication; moreover, the Pope also promised that the King of Hungary and his relatives would not be excommunicated without the special permission of the Pope.

Marriages and children

#1. around 1200: Gertrude (? – 8 September 1213), a daughter of Berthold IV, Duke of Merania and his wife, Agnes of Wettin

#2. February 1215: Yolanda de Courtenay (c. 1200 – 1233), daughter of Peter I, Emperor of the Latin Empire and his second wife, Yolanda I, Empress of the Latin Empire

#3. 14 May 1234: Beatrice D'Este (c. 1215 – before 8 May 1245), daughter of Aldobrandino I D'Este and his wife

Ancestors

Ancestors of Andrew II of Hungary

Sources

  • Kristó, Gyula - Makk, Ferenc: Az Árpád-ház uralkodói (IPC Könyvek, 1996)
  • Korai Magyar Történeti Lexikon (9-14. század), főszerkesztő: Kristó, Gyula, szerkesztők: Engel, Pál és Makk, Ferenc (Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, 1994)
  • Magyarország Történeti Kronológiája I. – A kezdetektől 1526-ig, főszerkesztő: Benda, Kálmán (Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, 1981)



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