Katalin Bánffy de Alsólindva () was a 16th-century Hungarian noblewoman, the wife of general and politician Ferenc Batthyány.

Life

Katalin Bánffy, a member of the noble

Bánffy family The Banffy family is an ancient Hungarian nobility, Hungarian noble family, whose members occupied prominent positions in the Kingdom of Hungary and later within the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Across different branches, the family was elevated to bar ...

of Lendava, was the wife of Ban Ferenc Batthyányi. Her husband spent much of his time away from home at war, or in assembly, and so there was a great exchange of letters between the two. Against the custom of the times, these letters were written mostly in Hungarian. Katalin Bánffy also corresponded in

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 ...

and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

with

King of Hungary The King of Hungary () was the Monarchy, ruling head of state of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1000 (or 1001) to 1918. The style of title "Apostolic King of Hungary" (''Magyarország apostoli királya'') was endorsed by Pope Clement XIII in 1758 ...

Maximilian II, the widowed Queen Mary, and Catherine de Medici. She was thought to be the wittiest and most refined Hungarian women by her contemporaries. Orsolya Kanizsai was her personal friend. As her marriage remained childless, Katalin took it on herself to raise the children of other families in the courts of

Güssing Güssing (; , ) is a town in Burgenland, Austria. It is located at , with a population of 3,610 (2023), and is the administrative center of the Güssing (district), Güssing district. For centuries the town occupied an important position on the we ...

and Rechnitz. Noble families asked her to take their children under her wing at court. If a girl was preparing for marriage, Katalin planned the wedding feast. She also hand a hand in all the various household work of the court: sewing, embroidering, weaving, and wreath-making. At the request of her husband she also learned how to cast cannonballs. The gardens of Katalin and her husband were known throughout Europe; they sent fruit to the Low Countries, to the

Archbishop of Esztergom In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdioc ...

, to the Hungarian royal court and to other courts as well. She was a success at fish- and poultry-breeding. She also enjoyed hunting, and was well-versed in medical practices of the era. After the

Battle of Mohács The Battle of Mohács (; , ) took place on 29 August 1526 near Mohács, in the Kingdom of Hungary. It was fought between the forces of Hungary, led by King Louis II of Hungary, Louis II, and the invading Ottoman Empire, commanded by Suleima ...

, she sheltered many persecuted families. Her last known letter was written in January 1563. In September of the same year she was present at the coronation of King Maximilian, but she was missing from the wedding of

Miklós Zrínyi Miklós Zrínyi (, ; 5 January 1620 – 18 November 1664) was a Croatian and Hungarian military leader, statesman and poet. He was a member of the House of Zrinski, a Croatian- Hungarian noble family. Full e-text available at He is the a ...

the following year; presumably she died at this time. Today her letters are preserved in archives in

Körmend Körmend ( Prekmurje Slovene: ''Karmadén,'' ) is a town in Vas County, Western Hungary. Places of interest The town is especially well known for its castle which used to belong to the Batthyány family, one of the most important aristocrat famili ...

, in the National Archives of Hungary, the Austrian State Archives, the Archives of Brussels, and the personal archives of the

Erdődy The House of Erdődy de Monyorókerék et Monoszló (also House of Erdödy) is the name of an old Hungarian people, Hungarian-Croats, Croatian noble family with possessions in Kingdom of Hungary, Hungary and Kingdom of Croatia (Habsburg), Croati ...

family. Between 1936 and 1951 the girls' secondary school in

Szolnok Szolnok (; also known by #Name and etymology, alternative names) is the county seat of Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county in central Hungary. A city with county rights, it is located on the banks of the Tisza river, in the heart of the Great Hungarian ...

, Hungary was named after her, and the schools' endowment is still named for her today.

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Banffy, Katalin 16th-century Hungarian writers 16th-century Hungarian women 16th-century Hungarian women writers 15th-century Hungarian nobility Hungarian women essayists Hungarian letter writers Women letter writers