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 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 31 March 1608 to 20 March 1610.

Biography

He was the only son of

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. He had three sisters: Zsuzsanna (wife of

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 ...

), Krisztina (second wife of

Farkas Kovacsóczy 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 from Summer 1578 to 28 August 1594. His son, István ...

) and Zsófia. His father was executed without any trial by

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

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 voi ...

in 1594. He regained his father's confiscated estates and property in October 1600. István Kendi married twice: his first wife was Zsuzsanna Csapy, stepdaughter of Prince

Sigismund Rákóczi Sigismund Rákóczi ( hu, Rákóczi Zsigmond; 1544 – 5 December 1608) was Prince of Transylvania from 1607 to 1608. He was the son of János Rákóczi, a lesser nobleman with estates in Upper Hungary. Sigismund began a military career as the ...

, the second one was Anna Horváth de Palocsa since 1618. He had a daughter.

Career

After his father's death, he functioned as

Lord Lieutenant A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibility ...

(Count; ''comes'') of

Doboka County Doboka County was a county in Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is th ...

since 1595. He participated in the uprising of Mózes Székely in 1603 and was captured by General

Giorgio Basta Giorgio Basta, Count of Huszt, Gjergj Basta or Gheorghe Basta (1550 – 1607) was an Italian general, diplomat, and writer of Arbëreshë origin, employed by the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II to command Habsburg forces in the Long War of 1591– ...

for a short time. He acted as lieutenant and mediator of the diplomatic affairs for

Stephen Bocskay Stephen Bocskai or Bocskay ( hu, Bocskai István; 1 January 155729 December 1606) was Prince of Transylvania and Hungary from 1605 to 1606. He was born to a Hungarian noble family. His father's estates were located in the eastern regions of th ...

in 1605. He served again as head of Doboka County from 1605 to 1610 and elected member of the Transylvanian Royal Council. After the resignation of

János Petki János Petki de Ders (1572 – 23 October 1612)Markó 2006, p. 116. was a Hungarian noble and poet in the Principality of Transylvania, who served as Chancellor of Transylvania from March 1607 to 31 March 1608. He was the maternal grandfat ...

, he was appointed Chancellor of Transylvania by Prince

Gabriel Báthory Gabriel Báthory ( hu, Báthory Gábor; 15 August 1589 – 27 October 1613) was Prince of Transylvania from 1608 to 1613. Born to the Roman Catholic branch of the Báthory family, he was closely related to four rulers of the Principality of ...

from whom he received the castle of Szamosújvár (today: ''Gherla, Romania'') as a donation in 1609. Soonly he involved in the conspiracy against the prince for family reasons. He made a contact with Michael Weiß, judge (mayor) of Brassó (today: ''Brașov, Romania''). On 20 March 1610, Boldizsár Kornis, the Captain General of the

Székelys The Székelys (, Székely runes: 𐳥𐳋𐳓𐳉𐳗), also referred to as Szeklers,; ro, secui; german: Szekler; la, Siculi; sr, Секељи, Sekelji; sk, Sikuli are a Hungarian subgroup living mostly in the Székely Land in Romania. ...

, and he tried to kill his guest, Báthory with an assassin in his estate, Szék (today: ''Sic, Romania''), however the hired man exposed them. Korni was executed and Kendi escaped to the area of

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...

from the revenge of the Prince. Kendi was sentenced to death ''in absentia''. He resided in Kassa (today: ''Košice, Slovakia''). Kendi received amnesty from the new Transylvanian ruler

Gabriel Bethlen Gabriel Bethlen ( hu, Bethlen Gábor; 15 November 1580 – 15 November 1629) was Prince of Transylvania from 1613 to 1629 and Duke of Opole from 1622 to 1625. He was also King-elect of Hungary from 1620 to 1621, but he never took control of th ...

and became again a member of the Royal Council in March 1614. However he had to fled Transylvania in the end of the year. As one of the several pretender to the throne, he attacked the principality in 1615 but Bethlen could keep his seat. Kendi married Anna Horváth de Palocsa, widow of

, in 1618. He died around 1628 in Hungary. There are opinions that he had no successor, while according to others the Cégény branch (''cégényi'') of the Kende family can be derived from him.

References

Sources

* Markó, László: A magyar állam főméltóságai Szent Istvántól napjainkig – Életrajzi Lexikon ''p. 112.'' ''(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. ''p. 106. {{DEFAULTSORT:Kendi, Istvan Hungarian nobility in Transylvania Hungarian politicians Hungarian soldiers Chancellors of Transylvania Istvan