Golden Bull of 1222 facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Golden Bull of 1222
The golden seal that earned the decree the name
Created	1222
Authors	Andrew II of Hungary
Purpose	confirmation of the rights of nobility

The Golden Bull of 1222 was an important edict (a royal order) issued by Andrew II of Hungary. King Andrew II was forced by his nobles to agree to this document. It was one of the first times in Europe that a king's power was limited by a written law.

The Golden Bull was created in 1222 at a special meeting called a diet in Fehérvár. This law set out the rights of the Hungarian nobility. It even gave them the right to disobey the King if he broke the law (this was called jus resistendi). Nobles and the church did not have to pay taxes. They also could not be forced to fight in wars outside of Hungary or pay for them. This document was very important because it said that all nobles in the country were equal. Seven copies of the Golden Bull were made. They were sent to important places like the Pope, the Knights Templar, and the Archbishop of Esztergom.

This document was created because a new group of nobles was growing. These were not the old, rich families. King Andrew often gave land to loyal servants. These new landowners became powerful. As the country's social and economic system changed, King Andrew had to issue the Golden Bull. This helped to calm tensions between the old noble families and the new ones.

The Golden Bull is often compared to the Magna Carta. The Golden Bull was Hungary's first constitutional document. The Magna Carta was England's first constitutional charter. Both documents limited the power of the king.

What Led to the Golden Bull?

Other Countries Limiting Kings

The Golden Bull issued by Andrew II of Hungary in 1222 was one of many documents in the 1200s that tried to limit royal power. Other rulers in Europe also faced similar demands. For example, Peter II of Aragon planned to give rights to his people in 1205. The Statute of Pamiers in 1212 limited the power of future rulers in France.

The famous Magna Carta in England also secured rights for the Church and set rules for feudal relationships in 1215. The Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick II, also gave more power to church leaders in 1220.

Hungary had connections with these countries. Some nobles from Aragon settled in Hungary. Hungarians on the Fifth Crusade might have met leaders who helped create the Magna Carta. Even though there were connections, we don't know if the Golden Bull directly copied ideas from these other documents. Historians believe these documents were a natural reaction. Feudal societies wanted to limit kings who were becoming too powerful.

Hungarian Society at the Time

In Hungary during the 1100s and 1200s, there were many different social groups. The two main groups were freemen and serfs. But there were also "semi-free" groups. Freemen could choose their lords, but they had to stay loyal. Unfree warriors could own large lands. But royal officials could still make unfair decisions against them.

The most powerful royal officials were from families who believed they were descendants of Hungary's first leaders. They were called "noblemen" by the late 1100s. But they were not yet a group where power was passed down through families. Over time, important families started using their ancestors' names. They often made up their family histories to seem more important.

At first, every freeman had to serve in the royal army. If they could not, they had to pay taxes. Most castle warriors were not free. But freemen could also choose to serve the leaders of royal castles, called ispáns. These warriors defended castles and went to war with the king. In return, they received land around the castles. Free castle warriors could also keep their own lands. The highest-ranking castle warriors began calling themselves "freemen" or "warriors of the holy kings." This showed their special status.

Thousands of foreigners came to Hungary. They were from places like Slavia, Germany, Italy, and Wallonia. They came to live in empty lands or work for the king. These "guests" stayed free, even if they lived on the lands of nobles or church leaders. Jewish people mainly lived in towns and were often merchants. Muslims and Christians also lived in Hungary. They helped manage the king's money. Some Muslims were also warriors.

Changes in the Kingdom

Golden Bull of 1222

Béla III of Hungary, who ruled from 1172 to 1196, was one of the richest kings in Europe. He made money from changing coins, selling salt (which was a royal monopoly), and customs duties. But most of his money came from his royal lands. He owned more than half of all the land in the kingdom. He ordered that all important deals made in his presence be written down. This led to the creation of the royal chancellery, which kept records. Later, private deals were also recorded at special monasteries or churches. These were called "places of authentication."

Béla III's son, Emeric, faced many rebellions from his younger brother, Andrew. Both the king and Andrew gave away lots of land to their supporters. This was to keep them loyal. Church leaders and high officials supported Andrew against the king. But Emeric defeated his brother. Andrew became king after Emeric's young son, Ladislaus III, died suddenly in 1205.

King Andrew gave the highest jobs to his old supporters. But he also kept many of his brother's officials. He needed their help. For example, four of Andrew's first seven palatines (a very high official) had worked for Emeric. The leaders of important counties were also often from Emeric's old supporters. New royal household leaders, like the master of the horse, became part of the king's council. Andrew always appointed his old friends to these new jobs.

Andrew started giving away huge amounts of royal land and money to his supporters. For instance, Alexander of the Hont-Pázmány family received 300 marks in 1217. He had helped Andrew escape from his brother's prison. Earlier kings had given away royal lands forever, but mostly lands near the borders. Andrew changed this. He gave away large lands in the middle of the country. This new policy, called novae institutiones ("new arrangements"), greatly reduced the income of the county leaders. They used to get one-third of all royal money from their counties. The "new arrangements" also lowered the king's own income. Andrew created new taxes. He also ordered that coins be exchanged twice a year. This was to get money to run his royal court. He let Jewish and Muslim people collect these taxes and manage the royal mint.

Many historians believe that these new, wealthy landowners threatened the status of royal warriors. Both free and unfree warriors were affected. Smaller landowners began to stress their direct connection to the king. In 1212, landowners from Hosszúhetény were the first to call themselves "freemen and royal servants." This happened during a court case. From the 1210s, Andrew started giving this same status to others. Royal servants had to serve in the royal army. But they served directly under the king, not under the county leaders.

King Andrew's "new arrangements" made many people unhappy. A group of important people tried to remove him from power in 1209. They wanted to replace him with his cousins. His wife, Gertrude of Merania, was killed in 1213. She had convinced him to give many gifts to her German relatives. In 1214, he was forced to crown his eight-year-old son, Béla, as king. When Andrew went on a crusade in 1217, his deputy was kicked out of Hungary. Andrew returned in 1218. Soon after, his office started dating documents as if he had become king in 1204. This ignored the last months of his brother's rule and his nephew's short reign. Historians think Andrew wanted to cancel royal documents issued during that time.

In 1220, the royal council ordered a review of land grants given to semi-free peasants. The next year, a similar decision was made about lands of castle folk. Andrew was forced to let his son Béla manage the lands beyond the Drava River in 1220. Nobles who had lost Andrew's favor gathered at his son's new court.

The 1222 Movement

We don't know all the details about how the Golden Bull came about. The Golden Bull itself is the main source of information. It tells us what forced King Andrew to issue it. Other royal documents and letters from Pope Honorius III also give clues.

On July 4, 1222, the Pope urged Hungarian church leaders to punish anyone who said they were loyal to Béla, not King Andrew.

The information we have suggests that unhappy nobles started a rebellion in the spring of 1222. Many of these nobles had held high positions when Emeric was king.

In the kingdom of Hungary, it had been decided lately that the entire people should assemble twice a year, and our dear son in Christ, [Andreas], the illustrious king of the Hungarians is bound to appear in person among them. On such occasions the riotous crowd, liable to get confused and to lose its self-control, tends to make demands on the king that are not only unpleasant but may even be unjust, among others they may demand to divest of their offices and honours the magnates and nobles of the realm whom they hate, to expel them from the country and distribute their property among the people. These demands have confused the king, and in order to comply with the demands of the unruly crowd, he is offending against the principles of justice, and is violating peace, which will lead to the weakening of his royal power. He is afraid of refusing to comply with the unjust demands, as this might endanger his life and that of his family.

—Pope Honorius III's Bull of 15 December 1222

The Golden Bull was written by Cletus Bél. He was the king's chancellor and a church leader in Eger.

Main Points of the Golden Bull

The Golden Bull had many important rules. Here are some of the key points:

King Andrew II

"We have also decreed that if We or any of our successors should at any time seek to go against this settlement, both the bishops and the retainers and the nobles of the kingdom, in common or in singularly, now and in the future, have by this authority for ever more the freedom to resist and speak against Us and our successors, without the taint of infeidelity.

Given by the hand of Cletus, chancellor of our court and dean of the church of Eger, in the year of the Incarnation of the World 1222, when the venerable John the Archbishop of Esztergom, the venerable Ugrin the archbishop of Kalocsa, Deserius the Bishop of Csanád, Robert (Bishop) of Veszprém, Thomas (Bishop) of Eger, Stephen (Bishop) of Zagreb, Alexander (Bishop) of Várad, Bartholomew (Bishop) of Pécs, Cosmas (Bishop) of Győr and Briccius (Bishop) of Vác, in the seventeenth year of Our reign."

Rights of Royal Servants

More than a third of the Golden Bull's articles were about the complaints of the royal servants. The king promised that a special tax (collecta) could be collected on their lands. But a regular tax (freemen's pennies) could not. He also promised that they would not have to host him or his officials. Royal servants who had no sons could leave their lands to others in their will. They could also receive money or benefits. The Golden Bull limited the power of the ispáns (county leaders) in court. They could only judge cases about taxes and money on royal servants' lands. Royal servants did not have to go with the king on military trips to foreign lands.

Here are some other important rules from the Golden Bull:

1. Noblemen could not be arrested unfairly by powerful people.
2. Noblemen were free from paying taxes. Their homes could only be entered if they were invited. Taxes could be collected from the Church.
3. If a nobleman died without a son, his daughter would get a quarter of his property. The rest would go to other relatives. If there were no relatives, the King would inherit it.
4. If the King wanted to send his army outside Hungary, nobles did not have to go unless the king paid them. But if an enemy invaded Hungary, all nobles had to fight to defend the country.
5. The Hungarian Palatine (a high official) could judge anyone in the kingdom. But he could not try a nobleman without the King's approval.
6. If foreigners came to Hungary, they could not get important jobs or honors without the Royal Council's approval.
7. No title or public job could be inherited.
8. The people who managed royal money, collected salt taxes, and collected tolls had to be noblemen from Hungary. They could not be from other groups like Muslims or Jews.
9. Hungarian lands could not be given to foreigners.
10. No one, except the Hungarian Palatine, the governors of Croatia and Slavonia, the King, and the Queen, could hold more than one title or honor.
11. If the king or any future king did not follow this agreement, the nobles had the right to resist and go against the king. This would not be considered treason.

To make sure this document was legal and followed in the future, seven copies were made. Each copy had a Golden Seal. One copy went to the Pope, one to the Knights of Saint John, one to the Templar Knights, one to the King, one to the Archbishop of Esztergom, one to the Archbishop of Kalocsa, and one to the Hungarian Palatine. This was to prevent the writings from being changed or confused.

See also

• Hungarian Diet