Buzád Hahót

Buzád II Hahót, O.P., (Hungarian: Hahót nembeli (II) Buzád; c. 1180 – April 1241) was a Hungarian nobleman, the first known Ban of Severin. He later gave up his position in society and entered the Dominican Order.
Buzád was killed during a Mongol invasion of his homeland, and is now honored as a martyr by the Catholic Church, for which he has been beatified.

Buzád was born into the Buzád branch of the Hahót clan, the son of Buzád I (died 1192). His brother was Arnold I (died c. 1234). He had four sons from his unidentified wife: Buzád III, Csák I, Voivode of Transylvania, Tristan and Lancelot.

According to a non-authentic charter, Buzád served as the Ispán (comes) of Győr County in 1209. There is no record of him receiving any official positions for the coming two decades. He functioned as the Ispán of Bihar County in 1222. After that he was the head of Pozsony County between 1222 and 1224. During that time there were emerging tensions between King Andrew II of Hungary and his son, Béla. The latter rebelled against his father's rule. Buzád became a supporter of Béla, as a result of which he had to follow his lord into exile to Austria in 1223. After reconciliation between father and son, he returned to Hungary and became the Ispán of Vas County in 1225.

Buzád served as the Ban of Severin from 1226 to c. 1232, when Béla governed Transylvania de facto independently from the king, holding the title of Duke of Transylvania. In 1233, he called himself "former ban" (Latin: quondam banus) in a charter, as a result former archontological and genealogical works of Hungarian historians (e. g. János Karácsonyi and Mór Wertner) referred to him as the Ban of Slavonia (1226–1228/9), nevertheless it is more likely that Buzád held the office of Ban of Severin, because of his close relationship with Béla, and there is also reason to believe he came into contact during that period with the Dominican friars, who were engaged in proselytizing among the Cuman people. Buzád served as Ispán of Sopron County in 1232.

Around 1233, Buzád joined the Dominican Order, giving up his political career and forsaking all property. He lived in a monastery at Pest, where, according to tradition, not willing to leave the monastery, the invading Mongols killed him before the altar in April 1241, shortly after the disastrous Battle of Mohi. Buzád was beatified by the Roman Catholic Church because of his martyrdom and self-sacrifice.

In honor of Hahót, a wooden sculpture was erected in 2009 at Hahót, Zala County, which village was founded by his clan. The lifesize statue depicts the noble, with one hand holding a sword and a Latin cross in the other, referring to his secular and ecclesiastical careers. László Vigh, a member of the Hungarian National Assembly, gave a speech during consecration, where he said the youth should follow persons who lived out their lives with God's love and honest work, instead of false role models.