Family origins The Vrančić family name was originally recorded as Wranijchijch, Wranchijch and Veranchijch, later additionally latinized as Veranzio and Verancsics. According to one hypothesis it originates from
Bosnia as one of the Bosnian noble families that had moved to Šibenik in the era of
Ottoman military incursions of the 15th century, or before due to some political events. However, Bosnia fell in 1463 and according to the family genealogy and Federico Antonio Galvani (1884), the Vrančić family members were citizens of Šibenik already from the 14th century, when is recorded
Nicolo nicknamed
Cimador (1360) who had a son
Giovanni, mentioned in 1444 as member of the noble council, who in marriage with
Agnesia Gambara of Venice had son
Antonio (b. 1423) whose sons were
Pietro (b. 1474) and
Francesco (b. 1482-d. 1563). In his official talks with
Rüstem Pasha, upon request of Pasha himself, spoke Croatian language because it was their mother tongue. His father was Francesco/Frane Vrančić (c. 1481/82-1563), paternal grandfather Antonio/Antun Vrančić (b. 1423) and great-grandfather Zuanne/Giovanni/Ivan Vrančić (mentioned 1444), while his mother was Marietta/Margareta Statileo/Statilić. Antun had seven brothers and two sisters from his mother Margareta and stepmother Angelica/Anđelika Ferro, by letters was most closely connected to Michaele/Mihovil (1507/13-1570/71), Piero/Petar (1540-1570) and Giovanni/Ivan (1535-1558), but also nephews
Faust (1551-1617), Kazimir Vrančić (1557-1637), Jeronim Domicije-Berislavić (b. c. 1533) among others. Vrančić's uncle by mother side Ivan Statilić and his other relative,
Croatian
viceroy Petar Berislavić, took care of his education. His maternal uncle,
János Statileo,
Bishop of Transylvania also supported him in
Trogir,
Šibenik, from 1514 in
Hungary and in
Padua, where he earned the degree of magister in 1526. After later studies at
Vienna and
Kraków, Vrančić entered diplomatic service, aged only 26. of King Zápolya and after his death he remained with his widow,
Isabella Jagiellon. In 1541 he moved with her to
Transylvania, but he mostly traveled fulfilling diplomatic services because of his disagreement with cardinal
Juraj Utješinović's policy of claiming the Hungarian throne for Isabella's and Zápolya's infant son (instead of conceding it to
Ferdinand I as per the
Treaty of Nagyvárad). Utješinović, appointed by Zápolya as the guardian to his son,
John Sigismund Zápolya, fought against Ferdinand and allied himself with the
Ottoman Empire.
Habsburg service In 1549 Vrančić entered Ferdinand's service. In parallel to his diplomatic duties, he held important positions in the Catholic Church (chief dean of
Szabolcs County and abbot of
Pornó Abbey). In 1553 he was appointed bishop of Pécs and sent to Constantinople to conduct negotiations with sultan
Suleiman I on Ferdinand's behalf. That mission was previously declined by many other diplomats as an earlier negotiator was imprisoned by the Ottomans. Vrančić spent four years in Asia Minor and finally concluded a peace treaty. After his return he was appointed bishop of
Eger (17 July 1560 – 25 September 1570). After the
Battle of Szigetvár in 1566, as one of
Maximilian's ambassadors, Vrančić was sent to Turkey to negotiate peace again; he arrived in
Constantinople on 26 August 1567. After five months of negotiations with
Sokollu Mehmed Pasha and
Selim II, agreement was reached by 17 February, and the
Treaty of Adrianople was signed on 21 February 1568, ending the war between the
Holy Roman Empire and
Ottoman Empire. This attitude was in stark contrast with cardinal
Juraj Drašković,
ban of Croatia. On 25 September 1573, he crowned
Rudolf II king of Hungary and Croatia in
Pressburg.
Death ,
Trnava, Slovakia He died in Eperjes,
Kingdom of Hungary (present-day
Prešov,
Slovakia), just days after having learned that the Pope appointed him cardinal. Following his own wish, Vrančić was buried in
Saint Nicholas church in Nagyszombat,
Kingdom of Hungary (present-day
Trnava,
Slovakia). ==Influences==