Farkas Kovacsóczy de Körtvélyfa (c. 1540 – 11 September 1594)Markó 2006, p. 113. was a Hungarian noble in the Principality of Transylvania, who served as

Chancellor of Transylvania The following is the list of chancellors of Transylvania during the Principality of Transylvania. List of chancellors Principality of Transylvania Habsburg rule The Transylvanian Court Chancellery was established in 1694, according to the ' ...

from Summer 1578 to 28 August 1594. His son,

István István () is a Hungarian language equivalent of the name Stephen or Stefan. It may refer to: People with the given name Nobles, palatines and judges royal * Stephen I of Hungary (c. 975–1038), last grand prince of the Hungarians and first ki ...

later became Chancellor too.

Family

Kovacsóczy was born into a Transylvanian noble family of Slavonic origin. His parents were János Kovacsóczy, who fled from

Slavonia Slavonia (; hr, Slavonija) is, with Dalmatia, Croatia proper, and Istria, one of the four historical regions of Croatia. Taking up the east of the country, it roughly corresponds with five Croatian counties: Brod-Posavina, Osijek-Baran ...

due to the Ottoman invasion, and Erzsébet Török de Buda. He had two siblings. He married Kata Farkas de Harina first in 1581, three sons (including István) and two daughters were born. He married for the second time to Krisztina Kendi de Szarvaskend, they had no children. His father-in-law was

Sándor Kendi Sándor Kendi de Szarvaskend (''Kendy''; ? – 30 August 1594)Markó 2006, p. 113. was a Hungarian noble in the Principality of Transylvania, member of the Royal Council, who served as Governor of Transylvania for the underage voivode Sigi ...

, a member of the Transylvanian Royal Council and father of

István Kendi István Kendi de Szarvaskend (''Kendy''; ? – c. 1628)Markó 2006, p. 112. was a Hungarian noble in the Principality of Transylvania, who served as Chancellor of Transylvania from 31 March 1608 to 20 March 1610. Biography He was the only ...

, who was elected Chancellor in 1608.

Career

Between 1572 and 1573, he studied in France and at the

University of Padua The University of Padua ( it, Università degli Studi di Padova, UNIPD) is an Italian university located in the city of Padua, region of Veneto, northern Italy. The University of Padua was founded in 1222 by a group of students and teachers from ...

. He finished his studies there along with

Stephen Báthory Stephen Báthory ( hu, Báthory István; pl, Stefan Batory; ; 27 September 1533 – 12 December 1586) was Voivode of Transylvania (1571–1576), Prince of Transylvania (1576–1586), King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania (1576–1586) ...

, who later became

Prince of Transylvania The Prince of Transylvania ( hu, erdélyi fejedelem, german: Fürst von Siebenbürgen, la, princeps Transsylvaniae, ro, principele TransilvanieiFallenbüchl 1988, p. 77.) was the head of state of the Principality of Transylvania from the last d ...

and King of Poland. Kovacsóczy was a prominent counselor of his starting in 1571. He accompanied the prince to

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

in 1576, where he served as secretary for the Transylvanian affairs at the Royal Chancellery in

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

. He returned home in 1578 and was appointed Chancellor beside

voivode Voivode (, also spelled ''voievod'', ''voevod'', ''voivoda'', ''vojvoda'' or ''wojewoda'') is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe since the Early Middle Ages. It primarily referred to the ...

Christopher Báthory Christopher Báthory ( hu, Báthory Kristóf; 1530 – 27 May 1581) was voivode of Transylvania from 1576 to 1581. He was a younger son of Stephen Báthory of Somlyó. Christopher's career began during the reign of Queen Isabella Jagiellon, who ...

, who took on state affairs on behalf of his brother. Christopher died in 1581 and was succeeded by his son,

Sigismund Báthory Sigismund Báthory ( hu, Báthory Zsigmond; 1573 – 27 March 1613) was Prince of Transylvania several times between 1586 and 1602, and Duke of Racibórz and Opole in Silesia in 1598. His father, Christopher Báthory, ruled Transylvania as vo ...

in the office of the Voivode. Stephen Báthory established a three-member Regent Council beside the underage Sigismund. Between 1583 and 1585, Kovacsóczy served on that council, along with his future father-in-law Sándor Kendi and

László Sombori László Sombori (''Sombory''; ? – September 1590)Markó 2006, p. 123. was a Hungary, Hungarian noble in the Principality of Transylvania (1570–1711), Principality of Transylvania, member of the Royal Council, who served as Governor of Tr ...

. Kovacsóczy participated in the royal election of 1587 in Poland as envoy of the Prince of Transylvania. In 1594, he strongly opposed the turn against the Ottomans and the alliance with the

Habsburg Empire The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...

, along with

Balthasar Báthory Balthasar Báthory de Somlyó ( hu, Báthory Boldizsár; 1560 – 11 September 1594) was a Transylvanian politician from the Báthory family, and like his brother, prince Andrew Báthory, an opponent of the Habsburgs in Transylvania. Biogra ...

, cousin of prince Sigismund, and Sándor Kendi. He considered Sigismund's decision dangerous. As a result, the opposition magnate was arrested by the prince. Farkas Kovacsóczy was strangled to death in the prison of Szamosújvár (today: ''Gherla, Romania'') on 11 September 1594.

Works

* ''De administratione Transylvaniae'' (The administration of Transylvania; 1584)

References

Sources

* Markó, László: A magyar állam főméltóságai Szent Istvántól napjainkig – Életrajzi Lexikon ''p. 113.'' ''(The High Officers of the Hungarian State from Saint Stephen to the Present Days – A Biographical Encyclopedia)'' (2nd edition); Helikon Kiadó Kft., 2006, Budapest; . * Trócsányi, Zsolt: Erdély központi kormányzata 1540–1690. Budapest, Akadémiai Kiadó, 1980. {{DEFAULTSORT:Kovacsoczy, Farkas 1540s births 1594 deaths University of Padua alumni Hungarian nobility in Transylvania Hungarian politicians Chancellors of Transylvania Executed Hungarian people People executed by strangulation 16th-century executions by Hungary