Voivode Legforus

Who he is

Name

Legforus

Title

Voivode of Transylvania (voivoda), King Emeric's governor beyond the forest

Since

Named as voivode in a royal charter of 1199, the first to give him the title. The last voivode named before him is Leustach of the Rátót kindred (in office from 1176, known only from a charter of 1230).

Born

Not known

Family

Not known. No kindred, wife, children or estates are recorded for him.

Confidence

medium

The lists of voivodes in en.wikipedia (Voivode of Transylvania, after Zsoldos 2011, Kristó 2003 and Curta 2006) and hu.wikipedia (Erdélyi vajda) give Legforus 1199-1200 under Emeric, then Eth (Ete, Écs) of the Geregye kindred in 1200, who was also count of Fehér, then Gyula of the Kán kindred in 1201 (also count of Fehér), Nicholas (1201) and Benedict son of Korlát (1202-1206). Makkai (History of Transylvania I) confirms that the voivode was also count of Fehérvár in 1200 and 1201. No dated charter of January 1200 settles which of Legforus and Eth held office that morning: the lists carry Legforus into 1200 and Eth's only voivode's charter is of 1200, so Legforus is the likelier holder on 1 January.

Overlord

King Emeric

What it holds

• The county of Fehér round Gyulafehérvár, as its count (the voivode is count of Fehér in 1200 and 1201)
• The county of Torda and its castle (Tordavár), with the salt of Torda: no count of Torda ever appears, and it is the first county put directly under the voivode
• Command over the castle county of Küküllő (castle 1177, count only from 1214): see its record
• The western march down the Maros: Déva, Hunyad, Hátszeg, Szászváros and the road to the Iron Gate
• Command of the hosts of the southern counties and of the border guards in war (not pinned for 1200)
• The voivode's court: judgement over the counties under him

How it was acquired

Appointed by King Emeric; first named as voivode in a royal charter of 1199. Voivodes of these years served one to four years.

Allies and rivals

Emeric's officer. His successors: Eth (Ete) of the Geregye kindred (1200, also count of Fehér), Gyula of the Kán (1201), Nicholas (1201), Benedict son of Korlát (1202-1206). The bishop of Transylvania, Adrian, shares the castle of Gyulafehérvár with the count. The counts of Kolozs and Doboka are his equals in the royal charters, not his subordinates, in 1200.

How things stand that morning

Most likely in office on 1 January 1200, serving Emeric, with nothing to show that he took any part in the brothers' war. He holds Fehér as its count and commands the south; his authority does not yet reach Kolozs, Doboka or the Szolnok lands round Dés. Within the year Eth of the Geregye kindred appears in his place.

Wealth

The count's third of the dues of the castle folk of Fehér, and probably of Torda; his share of court fines; the voivode's retinue lives off the castle lands. The salt and the gold are the king's, run by royal officers, not the voivode's.

Military

The castle warriors and castle folk of Fehér, Torda and Küküllő and his own retinue; in war the border guards of the south. Gyulafehérvár stands in the walls of the Roman fort of Apulum; Torda's castle was an earthwork. No figures for 1200.

Threats

• Replacement at the king's will (Eth by 1200)
• A Cuman raid through the southern passes
• Andrew's partisans on the western road (Várad)

What the year holds

What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.

1. During 1200 (month not pinned)Eth (Ete, Écs) of the Geregye kindred is named voivode and count of Fehér in a charter of 1200; Legforus is not heard of again.Depends on: Emeric's choice Stopped by: Emeric keeping Legforus

Places of note

• Gyulafehérvár castle (the Roman fort of Apulum): Castle of the county of Fehér; the bishop's cathedral stands inside
• Torda castle (Tordavár) and the salt: Castle named in 1075; the county the voivode holds directly
• Marosszentimre (Sântimbru): Where voivodes later held their courts (not pinned for 1200)

Where the sources disagree

• The assignment counts Hunyad among the royal counties; Hunyad county is first recorded in 1265 (en.wikipedia, Hunyad County) and Makkai calls it a later creation, so its ground is drawn here as the voivode's western march.
• Which voivode holds office on 1 January 1200 (Legforus or Eth) is not pinned by a dated charter.

Evidence: One charter of 1199 for Legforus; the voivode's tenure of Fehér from Makkai (1200, 1201) and the voivode lists; the extent of his command from Makkai and hu.wikipedia (the voivode governed only the south until the late 13th century).

On the map: The counties' 1200 bounds are not recorded; the parts follow the later county cores. The voivode's wider command over the south is shown by the realm colour.

Primary sources for Transylvania (voivode Legforus)

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

• The Deeds of the Hungarians, by the Anonymous Notary of King Béla, Anonymus (P. magister) (about 1200 to 1210, the date disputed). Not a record of events but a picture of the kingdom's nobility and geography as a courtier of about 1200 wished to see it: the clans and their lands, the castles and counties, the Vlachs, Cumans and other peoples of the Carpathian basin, all projected back onto the conquest. Read online
• Hungarian royal charters: Fejér's Codex diplomaticus and Szentpétery's critical calendar of the Árpád kings (documents of the 11th to 13th centuries; Fejér published 1829 to 1844, Szentpétery vol. 1 in 1923). The documentary base for Hungary in 1200: King Emeric's grants to Pannonhalma, the bishops, the Templars and Hospitallers, Duke Andrew's acts in Croatia and Dalmatia, and the papal letters of 1200 to Emeric about his brother's rebellion and about heresy in Bosnia. Read online