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

Tamás Nádasdy de Nádasd et Fogarasföld (I), called the ''Great Palatine'' (1498–1562), was Hungarian nobleman, great landowner and a

statesman A statesman or stateswoman typically is a politician who has had a long and respected political career at the national or international level. Statesman or Statesmen may also refer to: Newspapers United States * ''The Statesman'' (Oregon), a n ...

Early life

Born into the

House of Nádasdy A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

, he was the son of Ferenc I Nádasdy de Nádasd (1492-1541) and his first wife, Orsolya Therjék de Szenterzsébet (d. 1529). After Tamás's mother's death, his father remarried to Orsolya Véssey de Vésse.

Biography

He was educated at

Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

and

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

.In 1521 he accompanied

Thomas Cajetan Thomas Cajetan (; 20 February 14699 August 1534), also known as Gaetanus, commonly Tommaso de Vio or Thomas de Vio, was an Italian philosopher, theologian, cardinal (from 1517 until his death) and the Master of the Order of Preachers 1508 to 15 ...

(whom the

pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

had sent to Hungary to preach a

crusade The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were i ...

against the

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic o ...

) to

Buda Buda (; german: Ofen, sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Budim, Будим, Czech and sk, Budín, tr, Budin) was the historic capital of the Kingdom of Hungary and since 1873 has been the western part of the Hungarian capital Budapest, on the ...

as his interpreter. In 1525 he became a member of the council of state and was sent by King Louis II to the diet of Speyer to ask for help in the imminent Turkish war. During his absence the

Mohács Mohács (; Croatian and Bunjevac: ''Mohač''; german: Mohatsch; sr, Мохач; tr, Mohaç) is a town in Baranya County, Hungary, on the right bank of the Danube. Etymology The name probably comes from the Slavic ''*Mъchačь'',''*Mocháč'': ...

catastrophe took place, and Nádasdy only returned to Hungary in time to escort the queen-widow from

Komárom Komárom (Hungarian: ; german: Komorn; la, Brigetio, later ; sk, Komárno) is a city in Hungary on the south bank of the Danube in Komárom-Esztergom County. Komárno, Slovakia, is on the northern bank. Komárom was formerly a separate villag ...

Pozsony Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approximately 140% of ...

. He was sent to offer the Hungarian crown to the archduke Ferdinand, and on his coronation (3 November 1527) was made commandant of Buda. In 1528 with the help of

György Cseszneky György () is a Hungarian version of the name '' George''. Some notable people with this given name: * György Alexits, as a Hungarian mathematician * György Almásy, Hungarian asiologist, traveler, zoologist and ethnographer, father of Lászl ...

, commander of Tata Nádasdy occupied

Győr Győr ( , ; german: Raab, links=no; 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 ...

for Ferdinand. On the capture of Buda by

Suleiman the Magnificent Suleiman I ( ota, سليمان اول, Süleyman-ı Evvel; tr, I. Süleyman; 6 November 14946 September 1566), commonly known as Suleiman the Magnificent in the West and Suleiman the Lawgiver ( ota, قانونى سلطان سليمان, Ḳ� ...

, Nádasdy went over to King

John I John I may refer to: People * John I (bishop of Jerusalem) * John Chrysostom (349 – c. 407), Patriarch of Constantinople * John of Antioch (died 441) * Pope John I, Pope from 523 to 526 * John I (exarch) (died 615), Exarch of Ravenna * John I o ...

. In 1530 he successfully defended Buda against the imperial troops. In 1533 his jealousy of the dominant influence of

Lodovico Gritti Alvise Gritti (born 29 September 1480, died 1534), whose first name may also be spelled Aloisio, Lodovico, Ludovico, Luigi or Louis (Hungarian ''Lajos''), was a Venetian politician. He was influential in the Hungarian Kingdom under the reign of K ...

caused him to desert John for Ferdinand, to whom he afterwards remained faithful. In 1535 he married Orsolya Kanizsay de Kanizsa (1523-1571), the last member and heiress of the powerful and wealthy Kanizsay family. :hu:Kanizsai csal%C3%A1d He was endowed with enormous estates by the emperor, and from 1537 onwards became Ferdinand's secret but most influential counsellor. Subsequently, as Ban of Croatia-Slavonia, he valiantly defended that border province against the Turks. He did his utmost to promote

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

, and the school which he founded at Újsziget, where he also set up a

printing press A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a printing, print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in wh ...

, received a warm eulogy from

Philip Melanchthon Philip Melanchthon. (born Philipp Schwartzerdt; 16 February 1497 – 19 April 1560) was a German Lutheran reformer, collaborator with Martin Luther, the first systematic theologian of the Protestant Reformation, intellectual leader of the Lu ...

. In 1540 Nádasdy was appointed ''iudex curie regie''; in 1547 he presided over the Diet of Nagyszombat, and finally, in 1559, was elected palatine by the diet of

(now

Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approxim ...

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), 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 s ...

). In his declining years he aided the heroic Miklós Zrinyi against the Ottomans.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Nadasdy, Tamas I 1498 births 1562 deaths Hungarian nobility Palatines of Hungary Judges royal Tamas