In June 2026, the Hungarian Heritage Archives Foundation acquired through purchase two charters dating from the Jagiellonian period, both relating to the affairs of the noble burgher Péter Pathkó of Komárom (mentioned between 1503 and 1518). The Pathkó family was an old Komárom lineage, several of whose members had already held the office of judge of the market town during the reigns of King Sigismund and King Matthias.[1] Péter Pathkó was ennobled by King Vladislaus II in 1503. According to the work of Gyula Alapi, Péter also received a grant of arms, and a copy of the corresponding armorial charter was reportedly preserved at that time in the archives of Komárom County.[2]
Péter Pathkó, whom contemporary sources unsurprisingly described at times as a burgher and at other times as a nobleman,[3] appears to have accumulated considerable wealth through various business ventures. In 1518, for example, he leased one of the tithe districts of the Diocese of Győr, situated near Komárom, for the substantial sum of one hundred florins.[4] Despite maintaining a largely urban lifestyle, he also sought to increase his wealth through the acquisition of noble landed property. According to one of the newly acquired charters, in March 1507 he purchased one half of the estate of Mesterfalva in Győr County from Zsigmond Bábolnai, in exchange for a mill at Nagylél near Komárom and an additional payment of five hundred florins. Although the charter itself does not mention the fact, the property was encumbered by a mortgage held by the Chapter of Győr. Consequently, one month later Péter redeemed the portion belonging to him from the canons for twenty-five florins.[5] The second charter records that in 1513 he purchased certain portions of the deserted settlement known as Benefölde, situated near Komárom, from several townspeople. Whereas six years earlier only one son, János, had been mentioned, by this time two additional children—Antal and Ilona—also appear in the records. The two sons are mentioned again in 1518, when Péter and a business associate from Tata jointly purchased the estate of Agostyán in Komárom County, near Tata, for 350 florins.[6] It is likely that the later modern-era members of the Pathkó family, who continued to live in and around Komárom, descended from these two sons.
The provenance of the charters is unknown, though it is entirely possible that they remained in the possession of the Pathkó family, which survived into the twentieth century. The Foundation donated both documents to the Hungarian National Archives, where they will be preserved in the Diplomatic Archives.
Regesta of the Charters:
2 March 1507 (f. III. p. dom. Reminiscere) Before the Chapter of Nitra, Zsigmond, son of the late János of Babona (nobilis), in order to alleviate pressing financial necessity, transferred in perpetuity to Péter, son of the late János Pathkó of Komárom, and to his son János (circumspectus et solers), one half of his estate of Mesterfalwa in Győr County, which belonged to him by hereditary right, together with all its appurtenances and revenues. In exchange, he received their mill on the Danube at Leel in Komárom County and five hundred Hungarian gold florins. He retained no rights whatsoever in the transferred property. Should he fail to defend the purchasers in their possession of the estate, they would be entitled, by virtue of the present charter, to seize property of equivalent value from his holdings at Babona and Kayanth in Komárom County.
Original on damaged and stained parchment, in several places difficult to read, with the silk cords of a pendant seal surviving. On the reverse appears a modern Latin summary of the contents and, beneath it, the old archival reference number: 1807.
6 September 1513, Komárom (in predicto oppido Komarom, f. III. a. Nat. Marie) Before Péter Szentgyörgyi, Judge Royal, Mihály Buday, Ulrik Vincze, Pál Mezaros, Margit, widow of the late Ambrus Konya, and another Margit, widow of the late Ambrus Dokos, inhabitants of the market town of Komárom (providi), made the following declaration. Mihály Buday acted on behalf of his son Ulrik, while Ulrik Vincze assumed responsibility for his daughter Katalin. Driven by necessity and at the same time hoping for the future assistance of Péter Pathkó (nobilis), likewise a resident of the market town of Komárom, they sold and transferred in perpetuity to Péter Pathkó, and through him to his children János, Antal, and Ilona, for a certain sum of money, all of their respective shares in the deserted settlement called Benefewlde in Komárom County. This included the entire holdings of Mihály Buday, Ulrik Vincze, and the two Margits, as well as the complete share of Pál Mezaros, which he had formerly purchased from the late Bálint Wegh (providus). They retained no rights whatsoever in the transferred properties.
Original on paper, the lower left corner missing, with fragments of a red wax seal beneath the text and the notation Lecta. On the reverse appears a modern Latin summary of the contents and the old archival reference number: 1802.
Tibor Neumann
[1] Rudolf Gyulai: Komárom vármegye és város történetéhez. Komárom, 1890, p. 86. The judge of Komárom recorded in 1465, János Patkó, may possibly be identified with János, the father of Péter Pathkó. See also: Magyi János közjegyző formuláskönyve. Edited by Gábor Dreska. Budapest, 2019, pp. 30–31.
[2] Gyula Alapi: Komáromvármegye nemes családai. Komárom, 1911, p. 13.
[3] For two further references to Péter Pathkó, see: Gábor Dreska: A pannonhalmi konvent hiteleshelyi működésének oklevéltára IV (1500–1526). (Publications of the Diocesan Archives of Győr, Sources and Studies 19.) Győr, 2013, p. 91; and Balázs Csiba: Autentický protokol Bratislavskej kapituly V. Prvá časť (1514–1518). Bratislava, 2024, p. 47.
[4] Jenő Házi † – Gábor Nemes: A győri székeskáptalan középkori számadáskönyve (1495–1528). (Publications of the Diocesan Archives of Győr, Sources and Studies 30.) Győr–Budapest, 2025, p. 577.
[5] Házi – Nemes, op. cit., p. 257.
[6] Hungarian National Archives, Diplomatic Archives, DL 106083, image 246. Available at: https://archives.hungaricana.