Count Miklós Domokos Pál Bánffy de Losoncz (30 December 1873 – 5 June 1950) was a Hungarian

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

, liberal

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

, and historical

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

. His books include '' The Transylvanian Trilogy'' (''They Were Counted'', ''They Were Found Wanting'' and ''They Were Divided''), and ''The Phoenix Land''.

Biography

The

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 ...

emerged in 15th-century

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

and established itself among the foremost dynasties of the country. They owned a grand palace in Kolozsvár (, ), one of the main cities of

and one of the province's largest castles at Bonchida. One branch was raised to a

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

y in the 1660s, while another became

count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

s in 1855. The barons produced a 19th-century prime minister of Hungary ( Dezső Bánffy), and the counts held important offices at court. Among the latter was Count Miklós, born in Kolozsvár on 30 December 1873, as the only son and younger child of Count György Bánffy de Losoncz (1844-1929) and his wife and cousin, Baroness Irma Mária Bánffy de Losoncz (1852-1875). He had one sister, Countess Katalin Clarisse Mária (1871-1974), married to Tamás Barcsay de Nagybarcsa (1868-1936).http://w.genealogy.euweb.cz/hung/banffy8.html Beginning his political career at the time when Hungary was a constituent of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

, Bánffy was elected a Member of Parliament in 1901 and became Director of the Hungarian State Theatres (1913–1918). Both a traditionalist and a member of the

avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

, he wrote five plays, two books of short stories, and a distinguished novel. Overcoming fierce opposition, his intervention made it possible for

Béla Bartók Béla Viktor János Bartók (; ; 25 March 1881 – 26 September 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist and ethnomusicologist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Franz Liszt are regarded as Hunga ...

's works to have their first performance in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

. Bánffy became Foreign Minister of Hungary in his cousin Count

István Bethlen Count István Bethlen de Bethlen (8 October 1874 – 5 October 1946) was a Hungarians, Hungarian Aristocracy (class), aristocrat and politician, statesman and served as prime minister from 1921 to 1931. Early life The scion of an old Bethlen ...

's government of 1921. Although he detested the politics of the Regent, Admiral

Miklós Horthy Miklós Horthy de Nagybánya (18 June 1868 – 9 February 1957) was a Hungarian admiral and statesman who was the Regent of Hungary, regent of the Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1946), Kingdom of Hungary Hungary between the World Wars, during the ...

, he worked to review the boundary revisions confirmed by the

Treaty of Trianon The Treaty of Trianon (; ; ; ), often referred to in Hungary as the Peace Dictate of Trianon or Dictate of Trianon, was prepared at the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace Conference. It was signed on the one side by Hungary ...

after

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

through which Transylvania had been transferred to

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

. Little progress was made, and he retired from office. His trilogy, '' A Transylvanian Tale'', also called ''The Writing on the Wall'', was published between 1934 and 1940. Bánffy portrayed pre-war Hungary as a nation in decline, failed by a shortsighted aristocracy. In April 1943, Bánffy visited

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

to persuade

Ion Antonescu Ion Antonescu (; ; – 1 June 1946) was a Romanian military officer and Mareșal (Romania), marshal who presided over two successive Romania during World War II, wartime dictatorships as Prime Minister of Romania, Prime Minister and ''Conduc� ...

's Romania together with Hungary to abandon the

Axis An axis (: axes) may refer to: Mathematics *A specific line (often a directed line) that plays an important role in some contexts. In particular: ** Coordinate axis of a coordinate system *** ''x''-axis, ''y''-axis, ''z''-axis, common names ...

and sue for a separate peace with the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...

(''see also

Romania during World War II The Kingdom of Romania, under the rule of King Carol II of Romania, King Carol II, initially maintained Neutral country, neutrality in World War II. However, fascist political forces, especially the Iron Guard, rose in popularity and power, urgi ...

''). The negotiations with a delegation led by Gheorghe Mironescu broke down almost instantaneously, as the two sides could not agree on a future status for

Northern Transylvania Northern Transylvania (, ) was the region of the Kingdom of Romania that during World War II, as a consequence of the August 1940 territorial agreement known as the Second Vienna Award, became part of the Kingdom of Hungary (1920-1946), Kingdom ...

(which Romania had ceded to Hungary in 1940, and where Bonchida was located). Two years later, in revenge for Bánffy's actions in Bucharest, his estate at Bonchida was burned and looted by the retreating

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 ...

army. Hungary and Transylvania were soon invaded by the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

, an event which marked an uncertain status for Northern Transylvania until its return to Romania. His wife and daughter fled to Budapest while Bánffy remained on the spot in a vain attempt to prevent the destruction of his property. Soon after, the frontier was closed. The family remained separated until 1949, when he was allowed by Romanian communist authorities to leave for

, where he died the following year. A mellowing communist regime in Hungary permitted the reissue of ''A Transylvanian Tale'' in 1982, and it was translated into English for the first time in 1999. The Castle of Bonchida is now being restored as a cultural centre. An apartment is being prepared for the use of the Count's family.

References

External links

Bánffy at Hunlit

Book review from ''The Scotsman''Bánffy at ''Hungarian Review''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Banffy, Miklos 1873 births 1950 deaths Writers from Cluj-Napoca Hungarian male novelists Hungarian people of World War II Ministers of foreign affairs of Hungary Miklos Hungarian nobility Hungarian theatre managers and producers Hungarian jurists Hungarian male dramatists and playwrights Politicians from Austria-Hungary Members of the Miklós Barabás Guild 20th-century Hungarian novelists 20th-century Hungarian politicians 20th-century Hungarian dramatists and playwrights Lord-lieutenants of a county in Hungarian Kingdom