Herbord (I) from the kindred Osl (; died 1279 or 1280) was a Hungarian nobleman and courtier, who served as Master of the horse from 1273 to 1274 and in 1277 (it is possible he also bore the dignity in 1279). He was also Master of the stewards for a short time in 1274. He was a confidant of the Hungarian monarchs during the internal wars.
Ancestry and family
Herbord was born into the gens (clan) Osl, which originated from Sopron County. He was one of the seven sons of Osl I, the first known member of the kindred, who founded a Premonstratensian monastery in Csorna. Herbord's brothers were Beled, who was Master of the cupbearers in the court of Duke Béla and ancestor of the Vicai family, which existed until 1873; Osl II, who served as Master of the treasury and Ban of Severin, and was also ancestor of the Ostfi family; Benedict, Bishop of Várad then Győr; Nicholas, who functioned as ispán of Győr County; Thomas, who did not hold any courtly positions, was forefather of the Csornai and Kanizsai noble families; and John, whose branch died out by the early 14th century.
Herbord had two children from his unidentified wife: his son was Herbord II, also called with the surname Herbortyai, who was last mentioned by contemporary records in 1321. He had a son Stephen. Herbord's branch, which remained marginal in the nobility, became extinct between around 1453 and 1455. His only daughter was Catherine, who married John Csák ("the Greyhound") from the Kisfalud branch of the gens Csák. She was deceased person by 1258 and her marriage produced three children; through them she became matriarch of the Mihályi then Csáky de Mihály noble families.
Military and court service
Herbord Osl grew up in the royal court of Andrew II together with Duke Béla, therefore possibly he was born in the early 1200s. He belonged to the group of so-called "royal youth" (, ), who supported the monarchs and took a leading role in royal military campaigns. He was first chronologically mentioned by contemporary documents in 1230, when participated in the military campaign of the duke, who crossed the Carpathian Mountains and laid siege to Halych together with his Cuman allies. According to King Béla's charter from 1248, he "fought appreciatively" at the "Porta Rusica" (lit. "Russian Gate"), then participated in the skirmish along the river Dniester. It is possible that he also fought in the post-1235 wars against the Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia, following Béla IV ascended the Hungarian throne after his father's death. During the First Mongol invasion of Hungary, when Béla escaped after the disastrous Battle of Mohi, took place on 11 April 1241, and fled to the coast of the Adriatic Sea, Herbord left behind his estates and relatives and joined to the royal companion to Croatia and Dalmatia by the end of June. The king took refugee in the well-fortified Trogir and entrusted Herbord to protect his eldest son Stephen at the fortress of Klis. Subsequently, he was one of the nobles, who protected the western boundary against the raids of Frederick the Quarrelsome. Herbord besieged and successfully recaptured the castle of Kőszeg with his own army from the Austrian and Styrian troops, according to the aforementioned royal charter of 1248. For his success and loyalty, he was granted landholdings beyond the Drava river.
According to the royal charter of 1248, he was sent to foreign courts in several occasions as an envoy and representative of the Hungarian king throughout in the 1230s. He acted in this capacity primarily on behalf of princes Coloman then Rostislav, pretender to the Principality of Halych. It is possible, that he was involved in Hungarian legations to the Polish and Bohemian realms too. He also served his monarch in Dalmatia as his loyal trustee following the Mongol invasion.