Nicholas I Garay

Nicholas I Garai (c. 132525 July 1386) was a most influential officeholder under King Louis I and Queen Mary of Hungary. He was ban of Macsó between 1359 and 1375, and palatine from 1375 until his death. He was also ispán or head of a number of counties over his lifetime. Early life Son of Andrew Garai and his wife (an unknown daughter of Ladislaus Nevnai), Nicholas Garai was born around 1325. His uncle, Pál Garai (ban of Macsó between 1320 and 1328) was a leading baron under kings Charles I and Louis I of Hungary. Nicholas's career in politics started under Louis I who appointed him to administer the Banate of Macsó in 1359. As ban of Macsó, Nicholas also became the head of Bács, Baranya, Szerém, Valkó and Veszprém counties. The influential baron Garai launched, in 1369, a punitive expedition against Vladislav I of Wallachia who had rebelled against King Louis I and defeated a royal army led by Nicholas Lackfi, voivode of Transylvania. The 17th-century historian, Mavro Orbin relates that Garai supported Lazar Hrebeljanović of Serbia and Tvrtko I of Bosnia against their opponents, Nikola Altomanović. Around the same time, he arranged a marriage between his namesake son and a daughter of Lazar Hrebeljanović. Garai participated in the first Hungarian expedition against the Ottomans in 1375. Supported by Louis I's wife, Elizabeth of Bosnia, Nicholas Garai was appointed palatine in 1376. At the same time, he also became ispán of Pozsony, Csanád, Keve, Krassó and Temes Counties. He acquired more and more offices to his allies and succeeded in pushing aside those who resisted his growing influence. For instance, Stephen Lackfi, the once powerful voivode of Transylvania was dismissed by the king while in a pilgrimage in the Holy Land. On the other hand, one of Garai's allies, Demetrius was in 1378 appointed archbishop of Esztergom and cardinal, although he had most probably been born in a peasant family.