Count Ferenc II Nádasdy de Nádasd et Fogarasföld (6 October 1555 – 4 January 1604) was a
Hungarian nobleman and a distinguished soldier. His family, the
Nádasdy family, was one of the wealthiest and most influential of the era in Hungary. In 1571, when Ferenc was 16, his mother, Orsolya Nádasdy (; 1521–1571), using her association with many noble families in Hungary, organized a marriage to the young
Elizabeth Báthory
Countess Elizabeth Báthory of Ecsed (, ; ; 7 August 1560 – 21 August 1614) was a Hungarian noblewoman and alleged serial killer from the powerful House of Báthory, who owned land in the Kingdom of Hungary (now Slovakia). Báthory and fo ...
, daughter of the Count György
Báthory of Ecsed and his wife and cousin, Baroness Anna Báthory of Somlyó (1539–1570). The Báthory family were as rich and illustrious as the Nádasdy family, though older and more influential, since they had several relatives who had the charge of Nádor (
palatine
A palatine or palatinus (Latin; : ''palatini''; cf. derivative spellings below) is a high-level official attached to imperial or royal courts in Europe since Roman Empire, Roman times. ) of Hungary. Among them, included a cardinal, a
King of Poland-Lithuania, and a
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 ...
.
Early life
At the age of 14, Ferenc became engaged to a ten-year-old
Elizabeth Báthory
Countess Elizabeth Báthory of Ecsed (, ; ; 7 August 1560 – 21 August 1614) was a Hungarian noblewoman and alleged serial killer from the powerful House of Báthory, who owned land in the Kingdom of Hungary (now Slovakia). Báthory and fo ...
. He invited her to move into the Nádasdy Castle, Castle
Sárvár
Sárvár ( or ; ; ) is a town in Vas County, Hungary.
Sárvár lies on the banks of the River Rába at Kemeneshát. The population is nearly 16,000. The town has become a tourist centre of international renown.
Etymology
''Sár'' means "mud" i ...
, situated in Vas County in western Hungary. Ferenc, unlike his wife, could barely read and write in his mother tongue. He is said to have had a basic understanding of the Latin and German languages, which he intended to use while mediating the Hungarian wars. His wife, on the other hand, was known to be one of the most educated women of the time. Not only could she read and write, but spoke with great fluency in additional languages, such as
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
,
German and
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
.
Family life
On 8 May 1575, Ferenc and Elizabeth married at Castle Varannó in what is today
Vranov, Slovakia. They were 19 and 14, respectively. More than 4,500 guests attended the wedding. By mutual agreement, Ferenc adopted the maiden name of his wife, and not vice versa. At the time, the name Báthory was more honorable than Nádasdy. After the wedding, the new lords of Nádasdy, along with Orsolya and other Nádasdy family members went to live in
Csejte.
ÄŒachtice Castle
ÄŒachtice Castle (; , ) is a castle ruin in Slovakia next to the village of ÄŒachtice. It stands on a hill featuring rare plants, and has been declared a national nature reserve for this reason. The castle was a residence and later the prison of ...
, located in present-day
Slovakia
Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, 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 west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...
, was originally built in the 13th century. It was constructed by the
gens Hont-Pázmány, a notable clan in Hungary at the time. The castle's strategic position on a hilltop served as an excellent observation post for monitoring the road that connected Hungary to
Moravia
Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia.
The medieval and early ...
, which is now part of the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...
.
The castle later came into the possession of
Matt Csak, a member of the influential
Stibor dynasty. This transition reflects the changing power dynamics in the region during the medieval period.
The
Nádasdy and
Báthory families, both prominent Hungarian noble families, acquired Čachtice Castle as part of a wedding dowry. The castle, along with seventeen surrounding villages, was a significant gift, indicating the wealth and power of these families.
In 1578 Count Ferenc took over one of the flanks of the Hungarian army. Due to his frequent trips away from home, he did not conceive a first child with his wife for 10 years. Their first child,
Anna, was born in 1585 and was later to become the wife of
Nikola VI Zrinski. Their other known children include
Orsolya (Orsika) Nádasdy (1590 – unknown) who would later become the wife of
István II Benyó;
Katalin (Kata or Katherina) Nádasdy (1594 – unknown);
András Nádasdy (1596–1603); and Pál (Paul) Nádasdy (1598–1650), father of
Franz III. Nádasdy.
Military life
Count Ferenc Nádasdy was also known as the ''Black Bey'' or the ''Black Knight of Hungary'' due to his military prowess and was a notable military figure in Hungary during the late 16th century. As a soldier, in the
Ottoman–Hungarian Wars, Ferenc helped conquer the castles of
Esztergom
Esztergom (; ; or ; , known by Names of European cities in different languages: E–H#E, alternative names) is a city with county rights in northern Hungary, northwest of the capital Budapest. It lies in Komárom-Esztergom County, on the righ ...
,
Waitzen,
Visegrád,
Székesfehérvár
Székesfehérvár (; ; ; ; Serbian language, Serbian: ''Стони Београд''; ), known colloquially as Fehérvár (), is a city in central Hungary, and the country's ninth-largest city. It is the Regions of Hungary, regional capital of C ...
and, years later,
Győr
Győr ( , ; ; names of European cities in different languages: E-H#G, names in other languages) is the main city of northwest Hungary, the capital of Győr-Moson-Sopron County and Western Transdanubia, Western Transdanubia region, and – halfwa ...
. All of these castles were originally held by the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
. Thanks to the intervention of the Count, the Hungarians held a major advantage over the Turks. At this time, the central-southern part of Christian Hungary was under
Ottoman occupation. The military career, of Ferenc, flowed beside one of his best friends, the noble Hungarian
Nicholas Pálffy, who was considered one of the most important military commanders of his time. Pálffy had the full support of
Rudolf II
Rudolf II (18 July 1552 – 20 January 1612) was Holy Roman Emperor (1576–1612), King of Hungary and Croatia (as Rudolf I, 1572–1608), King of Bohemia (1575–1608/1611) and Archduke of Austria (1576–1608). He was a member of the H ...
, the
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...
King of Hungary and Holy Roman Emperor. He was noted for his struggle against the Ottoman Turks, eventually receiving the title of Count of Pozsony (later Pressburg, today
Bratislava
Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...
). During his long period of military service, Count Nádasdy was known for great courage in battle and also, for his extreme cruelty to all Ottoman prisoners.
Death
On 4 January 1604, Ferenc, the Black Knight of Hungary, died of a mysterious and sudden illness in the middle of a battle. The disease which killed Count Ferenc Nádasdy is still unknown. It is known, however, that he had suffered a disease of the lower limbs for at least two years before succumbing to the illness.
Aftermath
After Nadasdy's death, the wealth and properties were inherited by his widow,
Elizabeth Bathory. From 1610, a confused, conceptual lawsuit took place against the widow and on 29 December she was sentenced to house arrest in the castle. They could not handle the lawsuit in an official way. In July 1614, the testament of the Countess left her estate to her children. The process against Elizabeth ended with her death a month later. The descendants of Ferenc and Elizabeth were banished from Hungary and went to Poland. Although some returned to Hungary after 1640, that was the end of the noble status of the Báthory-Nádasdy family in Hungary.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nadasdy, Ferenc
1555 births
1604 deaths
Hungarian nobility
Ferenc
Elizabeth Báthory