29 Facts About Nicholas Pok

Nicholas Pok held positions in the royal court in the 1270s.

Nicholas Pok acquired extensive landholdings and estates in the area between the rivers Tisza and Szamos.

Nicholas Pok was among the so-called oligarchs, who ruled de facto independently their dominion during the era of feudal anarchy.

Nicholas Pok was ancestor of the Meggyesi noble family, thus later charters referred to him as Nicholas Meggyesi.

Nicholas Pok was born into the wealthy Pok kindred, which originated from Gyor County.

Nicholas Pok belonged to the Morichida branch, which erected a Premonstratensian monastery in 1251 at Morichida.

Nicholas Pok's only known son was Maurice II, Nicholas' father, who held several positions in the court of King Bela IV at least until 1269.

Nicholas Pok married a daughter of Dominic I Ratot whom Nicholas was born around 1245.

Nicholas Pok had three younger brothers, Maurice III, Stephen I and Dominic, who were mentioned only once in 1280 when they were excommunicated due to "tyrannical behaviour".

Maurice's son was Simon Meggyesi, Ban of Croatia, thus Nicholas Pok was an ancestor of the influential Meggyesi family.

Nicholas Pok survived her husband and died sometime after 1331.

From 1274 to 1275, Nicholas Pok functioned as Master of the stewards and ispan of Moson County.

Several news reports and diplomas say that Nicholas Pok continued to plunder the Transdanubian churches in the following years, while he invaded Tapolca in Zala County around 1278.

Nicholas Pok ordered to transfer its treasury, relics and jewelry to St Michael's Cathedral of Veszprem.

Some historians connect and merge the two events, and consider the treasury of the Nicholas Pok monastery were transferred to Szigliget Castle sometime after the Mongol invasion.

In 1277, for a short time, Nicholas Pok held the positions of Voivode of Transylvania and ispan of Szolnok County.

Albeit Nicholas Pok was one of the "oligarchs" in the Kingdom of Hungary plagued by anarchy, civil wars and fragmentation, he has not so much notorious like Matthew Csak, Amadeus Aba or Ladislaus Kan.

Probably Nicholas Pok seized the fortification arbitrarily without the permission of the king.

Meanwhile, Nicholas Pok was widowed and later married Catherine Kaplon, a member of the local nobility, who was much younger than him as she was still alive in 1331.

Nicholas Pok held that office until 1303, beside that he was ispan of Maramaros County for at least twenty years, between 1299 and 1319.

Nicholas Pok' position is unknown in the initial period, he did not take any realm dignity.

Nicholas Pok took part in the Diet of Rakos, where the nobles officially recognized Charles as their king.

However the Kan kindred had several supporters in the region and the late oligarch's son Ladislaus IV Kan declared himself voivode thus Nicholas Pok was unable to take up his office.

In contrast, historian Gyula Kristo argued in his 2003 publication that the skirmish between Mojs Akos and Nicholas Pok took place already at the end of 1315.

Accordingly, Nicholas Pok, who prepared a war against the Kans, arrived on a bypass road across the Meszes Gate from Lippa to Transylvania because of Mojs' sudden rebellion, which interrupted and delayed the showdown against the Kans, as Kristo considered.

Kadar argued Nicholas Pok chose Meszes Gate, because he tried to mobilize his spacious kinship and the royal nobility of the northeastern part of the country in the first instance.

Nicholas Pok argued, if, as Kristo considered, Nicholas Pok arrived to prepare a war to Transylvania immediately after his appointment, he would not have dealt with insignificant estate affairs in his diplomas as he did.

Nicholas Pok argued the Meszes Gate was chosen as a safer route than the Kans' freshly occupied territory.

Nicholas Pok retired from the national politics and moved to his estate in North-Transtisza.