Izgon Nijemaca iz Zagrebačkog kaptola 1458. godine

In 1458, seven canons of the Chapter of Zagreb were expelled by Bishop Demetrius Čupor and his supporters. In their protest before the pope, they claimed that the only reason for that was because they were Germans. Upon examining their careers and the current political situation within the Kingdom of Hungary, it becomes clear that, although an anti-German and generally anti-foreigner sentiment was present in the country (which is apparent in the laws passed by King Matthias), the real reasons for their expulsion were political. Bishop Demetrius had spent more than a decade fighting for the bishopric against his rivals, who were protected by the Counts of Celje, the then patrons of the Diocese of Zagreb. Most of the expelled canons had been given their offices by the said family, and some of them maintained close relations with Emperor Frederick III. The fact that most of the expelled canons returned to the chapter soon after their expulsion further indicates its political background. Those who returned once again became esteemed and trusted members of the chapter. Those who did not return – three out of seven – were all in the emperor’s service, and the chapter took special steps to prevent them from reclaiming their offices.
Ovaj rad bavi se slučajem izgona sedmorice kanonika iz Zagrebačkog kaptola 1458 godine. U žalbi koju su iznijeli pred papom, rečeni kanonici ustvrdili su da je jedini razlog za njihovo protjerivanje bilo to što su Nijemci. Istraživanjem slučaja ustanovljeno je da je glavni pokretač tih događaja bio biskup Demetrije Čupor, koji se tek nedugo prije toga, nakon petnaestak godina pravne i oružane borbe, domogao kontrole nad Zagrebačkom biskupijom. U radu se nastoji utvrditi razloge za Demetrijevo neprijateljsko postupanje prema njemačkim kanonicima, pri čemu je ustanovljeno da nije postojala čvrsta zakonska podloga za njihov izgon iako su on i njegovi pobornici tvrdili da jest. Čini se da je u to vrijeme zaista vladala određena antinjemačka klima u Ugarskom Kraljevstvu, ali se vjerojatnijim čini da je Demetrije ciljao točno određenu skupinu kanonika te da izlučni kriterij nije bio to što su bili Nijemci. Iako je neosporno da je nagrađivanje vlastitih pobornika nadarbinama izgnanih kanonika bilo jedan od njegovih motiva, čini se da su se na meti progona našli kanonici koji su podržavali grofove Celjske ili pak cara Fridrika III. Habsburga, dakle protivnike Demetrija i njegove strane u ugarskim dinastičkim sukobima. U prilog tome govori i to što se većina izgnanih kanonika relativno brzo vratila u Kaptol, ali oni koji su bili čvršće vezani uz cara nisu, nego su svoje karijere nastavili u Svetom Rimskom Carstvu.