Matko Talovac


Matko Talovac or Matija Talovac, was the Ban of Slavonia from 1435 to 1445.

Family

Talovac hailed from the island of Korčula and was also a citizen of the Republic of Ragusa. He belonged to the Talovac family which was influential in the region of Cetina in the 15th century. His brother Jovan has been described as being Serb.
Matko's brother Petar Talovac was the ban of Croatia and Dalmatia from 1438 to 1453. His second brother Franko was the ban of Severin, prefect of Temeš and captain of Belgrade. His third brother Ivan was
the prior of Vrana. Accepting the royal gifts of lands, the Talovac brothers were for a time the most powerful lords in all of the Croatian lands. Their rule extended from Belgrade to Senj and from the Drava to the Neretva.

Service

Matko served at the court of Serbian Despot Stefan Lazarević. He later became a castellan of Hungarian-held Belgrade, before he was appointed the position of ban in 1435. His brothers Ivan and Frank succeeded him on the position of castellan of Belgrade.
He held land in Topolovac, given to him by Emperor Sigismund from which he took the name Talovac. In 1430 he was the castellan of Kovin. In service to Emperor Sigmund he was named the steward of the Zagreb bishopric in 1433; in 1434 he was named prior of Vrana and in 1435 he was named ban of all Slavonia. His rulership came at a time of rapturous Ottoman incursions into Croatian territory and internal fighting of feudal lords.
Matko Talovac died in 1445.