Lack Hermán

Lack from the kindred Hermán (Hungarian: Hermán nembeli Lack), also known as Lack of Kerekegyháza (Hungarian: Kerekegyházi Lack; died 1359) was an influential Hungarian nobleman, who served as Count of the Székelys from 1328 to 1343. He was the eponymous ancestor of the powerful and rich Lackfi family.

Lack (or Ladislaus) was born into the gens (clan) Hermán as the son of Denis, whose ancestors are unknown, as a result there is inability to connect the Lackfi branch to the other branches of the clan. According to Simon Kézai's Gesta Hunnorum et Hungarorum, the ancestor of the kindred, knight Herman originated from Nuremberg, who escorted Gisela of Bavaria in 996, who became the wife of Stephen I of Hungary, the future first King of Hungary. Following that Herman received land donations in Vas County. Both magister Simon and the 14th-century Illuminated Chronicle described the Hermán kindred as "relatively poor". As his elder sons, Stephen I and Andrew I already appeared as office-bearers and active soldiers in the contemporary records since the 1320s, Lack presumably was born in the 1280s, thus his career began to rise when he was already relatively old. His degree of kinship to contemporary relative Lampert Hermán, who served as Judge royal from 1314 to 1324, is unknown.

Lack first appeared in a contemporary royal charter in 1323, when he was already among the barons, who confirmed the peace treaty between Charles I of Hungary and Frederick the Fair with their seals. After his successful struggle against the oligarchs to restore royal power, King Charles I of Hungary established a new aristocracy which had supported his efforts and depended on the strength of the royal authority. By 1323, Charles had taken "full possession" of his kingdom, and transferred his residence from Temesvár (present-day Timișoara in Romania) to Visegrád in that year. It is possible that Lack, whose kindred had estates in Arad County, including Kerekegyháza, became a loyal supporter of Charles, when the king still resided in Temesvár.