The Immigrant Knights (10-13th Centuries)
The first knights from the western countries (mainly from the provinces of the Holy Roman Empire) arrived to Hungary during the reign of Grand Prince Géza in the 990s and he granted several estates to them on his domains. In 997, the future King Saint Stephen could gain a victory over Koppány (his relative who claimed the throne for himself after the death of Grand Prince Géza) with the assistance of the foreign knights serving in his German wife's retinues. The arrival of the immigrant (Hungarian: jövevény, Latin: advena) knights continued until the end of the 13th century; several of them (e.g., the brothers Hont and Pázmány) were invited by the monarchs who offered them estates in their kingdom; others arrived in the retinues of the queens of foreign origin; while some of them was obliged to leave their country and seek shelter in the kingdom. Most of the immigrant knights were horse-mounted men-at-arms thus the maintenance of their equipment required considerable financial resources that was ensured by grant of estates.
I have granted lands that are sufficient to set up two villages and also a forest called Sár in Karakó county to my guests, i.e., to the valiant knights Geoffrey and Albert who had left their country and their inherited estates upon my invitation and they came honestly to the Kingdom of Hungary, because they are noble men who deserve that we hasten to help them by royal generosity. —A deed of King Géza I (1141-1162)Read more about this topic: Upper Nobility (Kingdom Of Hungary)
Famous quotes containing the words immigrant and/or knights:
“There is no such thing as a free lunch.”
—Anonymous.
An axiom from economics popular in the 1960s, the words have no known source, though have been dated to the 1840s, when they were used in saloons where snacks were offered to customers. Ascribed to an Italian immigrant outside Grand Central Station, New York, in Alistair Cooke’s America (epilogue, 1973)
“Here we have bishops, priests, and deacons, a Censorship Board, vigilant librarians, confraternities and sodalities, Duce Maria, Legions of Mary, Knights of this Christian order and Knights of that one, all surrounding the sinner’s free will in an embattled circle.”
—Sean O’Casey (1884–1964)