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 (1570–1711) and the (Grand) Principality of Transylvania (1711–1867). List of chancellors Principality of Transylvania (1570–1711), Principali ...

from Summer 1578 to 28 August 1594. His son, István 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 (; ) is, with Dalmatia, Croatia proper, and Istria County, Istria, one of the four Regions of Croatia, historical regions of Croatia. Located in the Pannonian Plain and taking up the east of the country, it roughly corresponds with f ...

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, a member of the Transylvanian Royal Council and father of István Kendi, 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 (, UNIPD) is an Italian public research university in Padua, Italy. It was founded in 1222 by a group of students and teachers from the University of Bologna, who previously settled in Vicenza; thus, it is the second-oldest ...

. He finished his studies there along with

Stephen Báthory Stephen Báthory (; ; ; 27 September 1533 – 12 December 1586) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania (1576–1586) as well as Prince of Transylvania, earlier Voivode of Transylvania (1571–1576). The son of Stephen VIII Báthory ...

, who later became

Prince of Transylvania The Prince of Transylvania (, , , Fallenbüchl 1988, p. 77.) was the head of state of the Principality of Transylvania from the late-16th century until the mid-18th century. John Sigismund Zápolya was the first to adopt the title in 1 ...

and

King of Poland Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of Royal elections in Poland, free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electab ...

. 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 extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

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

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

. He returned home in 1578 and was appointed Chancellor beside

voivode Voivode ( ), also spelled voivod, voievod or voevod and also known as vaivode ( ), voivoda, vojvoda, vaivada or wojewoda, is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe in use since the Early Mid ...

Christopher Báthory, who took on state affairs on behalf of his brother. Christopher died in 1581 and was succeeded by his son, Sigismund Báthory 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. 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, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...

, along with

Balthasar Báthory Balthasar Báthory de Somlyó (; 1560 – 11 September 1594) was a Transylvanian politician from the Báthory, Báthory family, and like his brother, Prince of Transylvania, prince Andrew Báthory, an opponent of the House of Habsburg, Habsbu ...

, 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