John de Surdis
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John de Surdis | |
|---|---|
| Archbishop of Esztergom | |
| Installed | 1376 |
| Term ended | 1378 |
| Predecessor | Thomas Telegdi |
| Successor | Demetrius |
| Other posts | Bishop of Vác Bishop of Győr |
| Personal details | |
| Born | |
| Died | April/June 1378 |
| Nationality | Hungarian |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Parents | Domenico de Surdis |
John de Surdis (Hungarian: De Surdis János, Italian: Giovanni de Surdis; died 1378) was an Italian-born Hungarian prelate in the 14th century. He served as Bishop of Vác from 1363 to 1375, Bishop of Győr from 1375 to 1376, then Archbishop of Esztergom from 1376 until his death. After acquiring the castle of Lipovec, his family elevated into the Hungarian nobility, and he was also known as John of Lipovec (Hungarian: Lipoveci János) thereafter.
He was born in Piacenza into an Italian noble family, as one of the four sons of Domenico de Surdis. His origin was proved by a papal register in 1349. According to a family tradition, their ancestor Galvano came to Italy from England in the 11th century, and settled down in Sordio (Latin: Surdis). A water snake was depicted in his coat-of-arms. John had three brothers (Lucas, Raphael and Michael) and an unidentified sister, who married Francesco de Surdis. With the arrival of the brothers to Hungary, their family belonged to the nobility, later was also known as Lipoveci. The family became extinct by the first half of the 15th century.[1]
John de Surdis was a canon of the Saint Antoninus church in Piacenza. It is presumable that he came to the Kingdom of Hungary upon the invitation of his former schoolmate James of Piacenza, a court physician of Charles I of Hungary, who eventually became Bishop of Csanád, then Bishop of Zagreb in 1345.[2] In the same year, de Surdis was first referred to as cantor of the Chapter of Čazma (Csázma), which belonged to the Diocese of Zagreb. Succeeding the late Demetrius Vicsadoli, De Surdis was appointed provost of Kalocsa by the newly-elected archbishop Denis Lackfi in 1351, who also sent him to Avignon to the court of Pope Clement VI for his pallium. De Surdis resided in the papal court for a year, because the pope conducted a lengthy investigation in connection with the regular election of Lackfi before its confirmation.[1] Louis I of Hungary sent his envoy John de Surdis to Bernabò Visconti, Lord of Milan in 1360 to persuade him to abandon the siege of Bologna. De Surdis has not achieved success; upon the request of Pope Innocent VI, Louis sent Hungarian troops to relieve the papal city. During his legation, de Surdis was created papal chaplain. He was elected provost of Eger on 4 February 1361. He was again sent to the Holy See in the next year.[3]
