Early activity

Desiderius descended from the Hédervár branch of the gens (clan) Héder, as the son of Denis (III) "the White-headed". He had two brothers, Nicholas (II) and Andrew, who died in 1330 and 1326, respectively.^[1] Desiderius first appears in contemporary records in 1285, when acquired the village of Bodak, which laid in the area between Danube and Csiliz creek in Győr County (present-day Bodíky in Medzičiližie, a southern sub-region of Žitný ostrov in Slovakia).^[2] Since the early 1280s, the Héderváris' distant relative, the powerful Kőszegi family gradually extended their influence over Western Transdanubia, including Győr and Pozsony counties, where the majority of the Héderváris' lands had laid. It is plausible that Desiderius and his brothers were also subjugated by the unscrupulous oligarch Ivan Kőszegi, who forced several local nobles to join his allegiance and enter his service.^[2]

His activities in the coming decades – including the era of interregnum (1301–10) and the subsequent unification war (1310–23) against the oligarchs – are unknown. When Charles I of Hungary waged war against the Kőszegis in 1316, Desiderius was among those familiares, who left the allegiance of Andrew Kőszegi and swore loyalty to the king. It is uncertain, whether the Hédervári brothers actively participated in the royal campaign in Transdanubia, nevertheless Andrew Kőszegi sent his mercenaries to pillage and burn their possessions. Temporarily, Desiderius lost all of his estates, "risking his entire fortune" for the monarch. Thereafter, he could hope the recovery of lost family landholdings only from a successful restoration of the strong royal power. After Charles I defeated the Kőszegis by the autumn of 1317, Desiderius was granted the villages of Sérc (Felsőlövő) and Szil near Lake Neusiedl (Fertő) in Sopron County as a compensation for his material losses and loyal service in September 1317 (present-day Schützen am Gebirge and Rust in Burgenland, Austria, respectively).^[3][4]

Court positions

After the fall of James Borsa and his clan's oligarchic province, Desiderius was made ispán of Zaránd County and castellan of Világos Castle (today ruins in Șiria, Romania) in 1318. He retained both offices until his death, as a result he appeared in contemporary documents with the suffix "de Világosvár" throughout his remaining life. He also served as castellan of Kapuvár for a brief time in 1318,^[5] which fort previously belonged to the domain of the Kőszegis, so perhaps he played a role in its capture.^[6] Charles I donated the land of Győrság (or Bocsság) in Győr County to Desiderius in that year,^[3] which was initially a possession of the royal winemakers.^[4]

Desiderius entered the queenly court of Elizabeth of Poland – Charles' third or fourth wife – by March 1321, when he was first styled as equerry (Master of the horse) to the queen. He also served as Judge of the Queen's Court since February 1323, which was the most prestigious position in the queenly household. He held both dignities until his death.^[7] Nevertheless, Desiderius remained a confidant of Charles I, there is no record of his any activity relating Queen Elizabeth or her interests.^[8] With his positions, Desiderius became a member of the government elite, albeit as one of its insignificant officials.^[9] He was one of the signatory barons in that document in April 1323, when Frederick the Fair and his brothers renounced Pressburg (now Bratislava in Slovakia), which they had controlled for decades, in exchange for the support they had received from Charles against Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor in the previous year.^[9] Desiderius frequently resided in the new capital Visegrád thereafter.^[8] He was granted the estates Farkasfölde and Kövesd in Győr County by Charles I in 1324, but the family of the late Stephen Vönöcki successfully recovered the lands shortly thereafter.^[6]

He was made ispán of Sopron County in July 1326, replacing Mikcs Ákos.^[10] In this capacity, he was entrusted to hand over the twentieth part of the county's tithe to the abbot of the Klostermarienberg Abbey (Borsmonostor, today part of Mannersdorf an der Rabnitz, Austria) and his brothers. He also judged in the lawsuit between the abbot and Lawrence Kanizsai over the ownership of Hidegség and Fertőhomok in August 1326.^[8] He dealt with the revenues of the Klostermarienberg Abbey too in 1327. When Charles I instructed the burghers of Sopron that all wooden and stone structures built outside the city walls should be demolished and that residents should move inside the city walls, the king commissioned Desiderius to calm the quarrels and to control the execution of the order in June 1328.^[11] Desiderius was one of the signatories of that diploma of Charles in Bruck an der Leitha on 21 September 1328, when the Hungarian monarch signed a peace treaty with the three dukes of Austria (Frederick the Fair, Albert the Lame, and Otto the Merry), who renounced Pressburg and the Muraköz (now Međimurje in Croatia). Desiderius was among those appointed noble judges in May 1330, who has ruled over the kindred Záh, which one of notable members, Felician Záh had attempted to assassinate the royal family on 17 April 1330 in Visegrád.^[12] By that time, Desiderius also became ispán of Győr County, succeeding his brother Nicholas, who died shortly before. Consequently, he had already held six positions simultaneously in that year, not long before his own death.^[13] Desiderius summoned a general assembly (Latin: generalis congregatio) at Sopron for the nobles of Sopron County in June 1330, where he acted as a co-judge alongside Demetrius Nekcsei and Paul Nagymartoni.^[11]