Mark of Kált (?), the Custos of Székesfehérvár (1357/1358–1368)

Remarks on the Biography of the Presumed Compiler of the Fourteenth-century Chronicle Composition of Hungary

Absztrakt

This paper reviews the biography of Mark of Kált, who has been long regarded as the presumed compiler of the fourteenth-century Hungarian chronicle composition commonly known as the Illuminated Chronicle. Earlier scholarship, following Emil Jakubovich maintained that Mark, custos of Székesfehérvár disappears from the sources after 1358. Based on new evidence, however, this paper extends his documented career by a further decade, demonstrating that he served as custos of the collegiate chapter of Székesfehérvár until 1368.
The study critically re-examines the traditional career outline, while addressing the methodological challenges of distinguishing between several high-ranking clerics bearing the same name in mid-fourteenth-century Hungary. Though the identification of Mark custos with Mark of Kált, provost of Kő, remains uncertain, his prolonged service at Székesfehérvár makes it possible that he could have undertaken the compilation of the chronicle commenced in 1358.