Zsuzsanna Lorántffy, anglicized as Susanna Lorantffy (1602 in

Ónod Ónod is a village in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County in northeastern 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 ...

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 ...

– 1660 in

Sárospatak Sárospatak (german: Potok am Bodroch; la, Potamopolis; sk, Šarišský Potok or ; ) is a town in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County, northern Hungary. It lies northeast from Miskolc, in the Bodrog river valley. The town, often called simply ''Pa ...

, Hungary) was a Princess consort of

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 the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

by marriage to György Rákóczi I, Prince of

Early life

Born as one of three daughters of Mihály Lorántffy, one of the great lords of royal Hungary and his first wife Barbara Kamarás de Zelemér (d. 1609). After the death of her mother, her father remarried to Zsuzsanna Andrássy with whom he had two further daughters. Zsuzsanna and her sisters were brought up in

, her family estate.

Biography

A passionate

Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

, she assisted her husband in his successful struggle to introduce Protestant reforms in the Transylvanian church.Fest, Sándor. ANGLO-HUNGARIAN HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL RELATIONS, ''Angol Filológiai Tanulmányok / Hungarian Studies in English'', Vol. 4, (1969), pp. 5–44. Published by: Centre for Arts, Humanities and Sciences (CAHS), acting on behalf of the University of Debrecen CAHS. Under her influence,

John Amos Comenius John Amos Comenius (; cs, Jan Amos Komenský; pl, Jan Amos Komeński; german: Johann Amos Comenius; Latinization (literature), Latinized: ''Ioannes Amos Comenius''; 28 March 1592 – 15 November 1670) was a Czech Philosophy, philosopher, Ped ...

, a prominent Calvinist teacher, took up residence in Sárospatak. Her older son,

George II Rákóczi en, George II Rákóczi, house=Rákóczi, father=, mother= Zsuzsanna Lorántffy, religion=CalvinismGeorge II Rákóczi (30 January 1621 – 7 June 1660), was a Hungarian nobleman, Prince of Transylvania (1648-1660), the eldest son of George I ...

, 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 ...

. Her younger son, Sigismund

Rákóczi The House of Rákóczi (older spelling Rákóczy) was a Hungarian noble family in the Kingdom of Hungary between the 13th century and 18th century. Their name is also spelled ''Rákoci'' (in Slovakia), ''Rakoczi'' and ''Rakoczy'' in some forei ...

, Prince von Siebenbürgen, (1622–1652), was married to

Henriette Marie of the Palatinate Henriette Marie, Princess Palatine (17 July 1626 – 18 September 1651) was a daughter born to Elizabeth Stuart of Bohemia and Frederick V of the Palatinate. Before her death, she was the wife of Sigismund Rákóczi. Early years Henriette Mari ...

, daughter of Elizabeth of Bohemia. She founded or sponsored several educational establishments, notably the Reformed College at Sárospatak. Her Protestant religious beliefs compelled her to shun the pampered life of an aristocrat and instead to express her religion through action especially through development of girls' education. While living in

Nagyvárad ) , blank2_name_sec1 = Patron saint , blank2_info_sec1 = Saint LadislausVárad Bible Várad is a village in Baranya county, Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast ...

, a completely new translation (and not a reproduction of the

Vizsoly Bible The Vizsoly Bible, also called Károli Bible was the first Bible printed in the Hungarian language. It was translated in the 16th century by pastor Gáspár Károli and fellow Calvinists and was printed in 1590 by Bálint Mantskovit. A copy is kep ...

References

Bibliography

* 1602 births 1660 deaths 17th-century Hungarian people Hungarian Calvinist and Reformed Christians

Zsuzsanna Zsuzsanna is the Hungarian form of the feminine given name Susanna. Notable bearers *Zsuzsanna Budapest (born 1940), American author of Hungarian origin who writes on feminist spirituality * Zsuzsanna Csobánki (born 1983), female Hungarian swim ...

People of the Principality of Transylvania {{Hungary-bio-stub