Koceľ
Kocel (c. 833 – c. 876) was the second Lord of Lower Pannonia centered in Mosapurc/Blatengrad (861 – c. 876).
Early life
He was the son of Pribina and his Bavarian wife. He was baptised with the Bavarian name Gozil, which was used in its Slavic form, Kocel. He was probably born before or just after his father was expelled by Mojmír I, duke of the Moravians, because he went with his father to the Bulgarian Empire shortly afterwards.[1] He also followed his father when he returned to East Francia where King Louis the German granted Pribina the parts of Pannonia around the Zala. In 850, Koceľ was present at the consecration of the church dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary in Blatnograd.
Reign
After the death of his father, probably in 861, Koceľ inherited his fiefs in Pannonia.
In 867, he hosted at his seat in Blatnograd (today: Zalavár, Hungary) the Byzantine brothers, Saints Cyril and Methodius when they were on their journey to Rome.[2] They established a religious school in Blatnograd and educated around 50 students. Koceľ played an important role in the propagation of Christianity, when he asked Pope Adrian II to let Methodius return to him and the Pope fulfilled his request; later, he also asked the Pope to ordain Methodius to the See of Saint Andronicus.[2] The arrival of Methodius gave rise to conflicts with the Archbishop of Salzburg whose Episcopal See Pannonia had traditionally belonged to.
The exact date and circumstances of his death are unknown.
Annotations
- In Slovak, his name is spelled Koceľ.[3] In Slovenian, his name is spelled Kocelj.[4] In Greek, his name is spelled Kotzeles.[4] He is known from Bavarian and Papal documents as Chozil, Chezil, Chezul, Gozil.[5]
References
- ↑ Libellus de conversione Bagoariorum et Carantanorum: "...Priwina ... fugam iniit in regionem Vulgariam ..., et Chozil filius eius cum illo" ("...Priwina escaped to the territories of the Vulgari ..., and his son, Chozil went with him").
- 1 2 The Lives of Saint Cyril and Methodios
- ↑ Elena Mannová (2000). Studia Historica Slovaca 21. Historický ústav SAV. p. 23. ISBN 978-80-88880-42-4.
- 1 2 Vatroslav Jagić (1866). Književnik. Brzotiskom Dragutina Albrechta. pp. 100–.
- ↑ Hellēnikē Hetaireia Slavikōn Meletōn (1999). Thessaloniki, Magna Moravia: proceedings of the International conference, Thessaloniki, 16-19 october 1997. Hellenic Association for Slavic Studies. p. 92.
External links
- Map – Kocel's state around the year 870 (Kocelova država oko god. 870.) at the Wayback Machine (Croatian)
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