Roger of Torre Maggiore

Roger of Torre Maggiore
Archbishop of Split
Cathedral of Saint Domnius, Split, Dalmatia
Province	Split
Diocese	Archdiocese of Split
See	Archbishop of Split
Appointed	1249
Term ended	14 April 1266
Predecessor	Ugrin Csák
Successor	John Hahót
Other posts	Archdeacon of Várad Archdeacon of Sopron Canon in Zagreb
Personal details
Birth name	Roger
Born	c. 1205 Torre Maggiore, Apulia
Died	14 April 1266 Split, Dalmatia
Buried	Cathedral of Saint Domnius, Split, Dalmatia

Roger of Torre Maggiore or Master Roger (Hungarian: Rogerius mester; 1205 in Torre Maggiore – April 14, 1266 in Split) was an Italian prelate active in the Kingdom of Hungary in the middle of the 13th century. He was archbishop of Split in Dalmatia from 1249 until his death. His Epistle to the Sorrowful Lament upon the Destruction of the Kingdom of Hungary by the Tatars is an important source of the Mongol invasion of the Kingdom of Hungary in 1241 and 1242.

According to archdeacon Thomas of Split, Roger was "from a town called Turris Cepia in the region of Benevento", that has been identified with Torre Maggiore in Apulia in Italy. He arrived in the Kingdom of Hungary in the retinue of Cardinal Giacomo di Pecorari, a papal legate sent to King Andrew II of Hungary in 1232. Although he received the prebend of a chaplainship, and later of the archedeacon in the cathedral chapter of the Diocese of Várad (today Oradea, Romania) in the kingdom, he was in the company of Cardinal Giacomo in Italy between 1236 and 1239.Rogerius quarter, a district in Oradea, Romania, is named after him.

Master Roger appeared to have stayed in Várad when the town was captured by the Mongols, who had invaded the kingdom from the east. He fled from the town, "ran away into the forest and hid there as long as" he could. Next, Master Roger arrived in Cenad, but it had also been devastated by the invaders. He was soon captured by the Mongols, but managed to escape as the invaders were withdrawing from Hungary in 1242.

...
Wikipedia