Stephen Báthory of Somlyó ( hu, somlyói Báthory István; 1553 – 21 February 1601) was a member of
Báthory family. He was the brother of
Balthasar Báthory and
Andrew Báthory.
Early life
Stephen was the eldest son of András Báthory and his wife,
Margit Majláth
Margit is a feminine given name, a version of Margaret.
People bearing the name include:
* Margit of Hungary (1175–1223), Empress consort of Isaac II Angelos, Byzantine Emperor
* Saint Margit of Hungary (1242–1271), Hungarian nun and prince ...
. He was born in 1553. His father died on 8 January 1563. Before the end of the year, his mother married János Iffjú, and moved to her new husband's estate in Érmihályfalva (now
Valea lui Mihai in Romania) along with her four youngest children.
Stephen and the eldest of his four brothers, Gabriel, stayed behind in the
Báthorys' castle in Szilágysomlyó (now
Șimleu Silvaniei in Romania). They were put under the guardianship of their uncle,
Christopher Báthory
Christopher Báthory ( hu, Báthory Kristóf; 1530 – 27 May 1581) was voivode of Transylvania from 1576 to 1581. He was a younger son of Stephen Báthory of Somlyó. Christopher's career began during the reign of Queen Isabella Jagiellon, who ...
. In his letters, Stephen would mention several times his distant relative, Miklós Báthory (from the Ecsed branch of the
Báthory family), with respect, showing that he knew him well in his childhood.
Royal nephew
Stephen attended the Diet where his uncle and namesake,
Stephen Báthory
Stephen Báthory ( hu, Báthory István; pl, Stefan Batory; ; 27 September 1533 – 12 December 1586) was Voivode of Transylvania (1571–1576), Prince of Transylvania (1576–1586), King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania (1576–1 ...
, was elected
voivode of Transylvania on 25 May 1571. He was the favorite nephew of his uncle who financed his studies at the
University of Padua
The University of Padua ( it, Università degli Studi di Padova, UNIPD) is an Italian university located in the city of Padua, region of Veneto, northern Italy. The University of Padua was founded in 1222 by a group of students and teachers from ...
from 1571 to 1573.
Farkas Kovacsóczy was responsible for his education. The childless Stephen Báthory, who was elected
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 free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electable position in Europe (16t ...
in December 1575, planned to make Stephen his successor. To strengthen Stephen's position, his uncle wanted to arrange a marriage between Stephen and
Anna of Sweden, who was the granddaughter of
Sigismund I, King of Poland, but both her father and the Polish noblemen opposed the marriage. His uncle also dispatched him to launch a military expedition against
Moldavia
Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centra ...
in 1577.
Stephen married Zsuzsanna Bebek without his uncle's consent in 1580. She was descended from an aristocratic family, but the marriage outraged Stephen's royal uncle. Stephen's conversion from Catholicism to Protestantism further worsened his relationship with his uncle, but he soon returned to the Catholic faith.
Family
References
Sources
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1553 births
1601 deaths
16th-century Hungarian people
Stephen Bathory (1553-1601)
{{Hungary-hist-stub