Jeszenszky or Jesenský (also ''Jessensky'', ''Jessinsky'', ''Jessensky de Gross Jessen'') is the name of two old

noble families Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characterist ...

in the

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 ...

. They have a mutual name but their origins are different.

Kisjeszen family

The first known ancestor of the ''Kisjeszen'' (Minor Jeszen) family was the

castle warrior A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

''András Temérdek'' who received lands in

Turóc County Turóc ( Hungarian, historically also spelled ''Túrócz''), , /''comitatus Thurociensis'', ) was an administrative county (comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is now in north-western Slovakia, where the corresponding Slovak name ...

( sk, Turiec) from king

Béla IV of Hungary Béla IV (1206 – 3 May 1270) was King of Hungary and Croatia between 1235 and 1270, and Duke of Styria from 1254 to 1258. As the oldest son of King Andrew II, he was crowned upon the initiative of a group of influential noblemen in his father ...

in 1255. The family introduced their new surname after the name of a village "Jeszen" (Jaseno, now Turčianske Jaseno).László Fodor
A kisjeszeni Jeszenszky család Szatmárban
{{webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131020233517/http://www.szszbmo.hu/szemle/dokumentumtar/doc_download/119 , date=2013-10-20 , Szabolcs-Szatmár Bereg Megyei Önkormányzat, 2008, p. 31 In the 14th century the family used the "Kisjeszeni" ("de Kisjeszen") name form and the Slovak variant of their name "Jeszenszky" came into use from the 15th century.

Nagyjeszen family

The first known member of the ''Nagyjeszen'' (Major Jeszen) family was called ''Mágya''. In 1278 Mágya received his noble title, because of his valor in the

Battle on the Marchfeld The Battle on the Marchfeld (''i.e. Morava Field''; german: Schlacht auf dem Marchfeld; cs, Bitva na Moravském poli; hu, Morvamezei csata) at Dürnkrut and Jedenspeigen took place on 26 August 1278 and was a decisive event for the history o ...

Famous members of the families

Ladislaus Jesenský died in 1526 during the catastrophic

Battle of Mohács The Battle of Mohács (; hu, mohácsi csata, tr, Mohaç Muharebesi or Mohaç Savaşı) was fought on 29 August 1526 near Mohács, Kingdom of Hungary, between the forces of the Kingdom of Hungary and its allies, led by Louis II, and thos ...

. Subsequently, all Jesenský property was confiscated by the advancing

Ottomans The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922). Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...

, so brothers Melchior, Lorenz and Balthasar Jesenský moved to

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

(then part of the

Crown of Bohemia The Lands of the Bohemian Crown were a number of incorporated states in Central Europe during the medieval and early modern periods connected by feudal relations under the Bohemian kings. The crown lands primarily consisted of the Kingdom of Bo ...

) and lived in

Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...

and

Świdnica Świdnica (; german: Schweidnitz; cs, Svídnice; szl, Świdńica) is a city in south-western Poland in the region of Silesia. As of 2019, it has a population of 57,014 inhabitants. It lies in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, being the seventh larges ...

from 1541 onward. Balthasar's son was Ján Jesenský, known as

Jan Jesenius Jan Jesenius, also written as Jessenius (german: Johannes Jessenius, hu, Jeszenszky János, sk, Ján Jesenský; December 27, 1566 – June 21, 1621), was a Bohemian physician, politician and philosopher. Life Early years He was from an old nobl ...

, famous scientist and politician who lived and died in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

. Branches of the families are still living in

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

, the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and England. Important family members: *

(1566–1621), Bohemian physician, philosopher and politician, rector of

Charles University in Prague Charles University ( cs, Univerzita Karlova, UK; la, Universitas Carolina; german: Karls-Universität), also known as Charles University in Prague or historically as the University of Prague ( la, Universitas Pragensis, links=no), is the oldest an ...

* Růžena Jesenská (1863–1940),

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

novelist * Jan Jesenský (1870–1947), Czech scientist, professor of Charles University *

Janko Jesenský Baron Ján Jesenský (30 December 1874 in Tučiansky Svätý Martin ( hu, Túrócszentmárton), Kingdom of Hungary (present day Martin, Slovakia) – 27 December 1945 in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia) was a Slovak lower nobleman of the House of ...

(1874–1945), Slovak poet, prose writer and translator *

Milena Jesenská Milena Jesenská (; 10 August 1896 – 17 May 1944) was a Czech journalist, writer, editor and translator. Early life Jesenská was born in Prague, Austria-Hungary (now Czech Republic). Her family is believed to descend from Jan Jesenius, th ...

(1896–1944), Czech journalist and translator, friend of

Franz Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a German-speaking Bohemian novelist and short-story writer, widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of realism and the fantastic. It ...

* Jan Jesenský Jr. (1904–1942), Czech scientist, assistant professor of Charles University *

Ferenc Jeszenszky Ferenc () is a given name of Hungarian origin. It is a cognate of Francis, Francisco, Francesco, François, Frank and Franz. People with the name include: * Ferenc Batthyány, Hungarian magnate and general * Ferenc Berényi, Hungarian artis ...

(1905–1990), Hungarian economist, during 1949–52 was a president of

Hungarian National Bank The Hungarian National Bank ( hu, Magyar Nemzeti Bank (MNB)) is the central bank of Hungary and as such part of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB). The Hungarian National Bank was established in 1924 and succeeded the Royal Hungarian St ...

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

Géza Jeszenszky Géza Jeszenszky (born 10 November 1941) is a Hungarian politician and associate professor, former Minister of Foreign Affairs and a former ambassador to the United States. He was ambassador of Hungary to Norway and Iceland from 2011 to 2014. Fa ...

(1941–), Hungarian politician, in 1990–94

foreign minister A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

References

Sources

Jan Jesenius and his family's short bio (Hungarian)
Jesensky Jeszenszky Jeszenszky Jesensky Jesensky Jeszenszky

Kisjeszen family

Nagyjeszen family

Famous members of the families

See also

References

Sources