Uhorsko

Research of the oldest aristocratic clans in Hungary encounters several difficulties. Sources of the period until as late as the 12th century usually noted only names of nobles without any mention of their family affiliation, nor any other genealogical relation, such as father or grandfather. Therefore, genealogical trees of most Hungarian aristocratic families can be put together only from the 13th century. However, there are some exceptions, such as the Hont-Poznans, an exceptional family that is written into the early medieval history of Hungary.

In the early modern period people were deeply aware of the importance of consanguinity and according to the heritage rights of the period they were expected to take care even of distant relatives. Moreover, in the aristocratic families special attention was paid also to familial ties created by their wedding strategy. Nonetheless, continuity of the family could be endangered by several factors, such as inadequate contemporary level of medicine, death of the male members of the family in war conflicts or some adverse demographical conditions.

It was in the beginning of the 16th century that fashion to publish about proper behaviour and improvement of manners from childhood to adulthood reached its peak. Court instructions and codes of conduct aimed to discipline a court society and depict to a great extent life at the aristocratic court. On the one hand, they represented an ideal of proper manners, on the other, they are also a reflection of certain conventions, traditions and common practice of the given time and place.

The period after the battle of Mohács saw significant migration movements from southern towards northern and north-western parts of the country. The research is delimited to the area bounded by the newly formed border - approximately in the line of the counties of Zala, Veszprém (Weißbrunn) and Komárom (Komorn). Areas behind this line served as a basis for recruitment of new effective troops for the battles against the Ottomans. Landlords in order to be able do protect their property and at the same time to fulfil their duty to defend the country, organised their own armies.

The research of nobility and lives of nobles in the Hungarian metropolis after the battle of Mohács has been rather neglected. The paper attempts to give a basic outline of the problem mainly from a genealogical and partly from an archontological perspective.

The church or liturgical calendar was the crucial factor that influenced differentiation between everyday and festive days in the whole Christian Europe. Religious service divided a day into separate sections; feasts of the church did the same within a year. The church calendar has an ultimate influence on the way how medieval men would spend their days.

The paper analyzes formation of nobility as an independent social group in the early Hungarian kingdom. The first mention of the term "noble" (nobilis) appears in the sources of Hungarian origin in the Law 3 of the king Ladislas I. Persons designated in the contemporary society as nobles were people born into upper class and wealthy families, forming a group which would be nowadays termed "aristocracy". The appearance of the term "noble" is connected with social changes in the 70´s of the 11th century, when a group of extra privileged was extolled from previously compact group of freemen.

Typically, aid for the poor in Hungary was the responsibility of church representatives and social elites. However, Christian teachings only requested support for people in need in the form of alms, not permanent provisions. The level of care for the poor in the country adhered to this understanding until the second half of the 18th century when social support and health care became the agenda of the state. During the Enlightenment era, Hungarian elites started to address these issues under the guidance of the Emperor. The initiative was influenced, but not regulated by Maria Theresa.

The text deals with the coexistence of two social classes with different social and legal status – the nobility and burghers within the context of the early medieval towns in the Kingdom of Hungary. The author analyses both members of nobility that settled in towns and burghers who became members of the nobility. At the same time, the author highlights the more complex and structured social and legal differentiation of noble representatives who lived in towns.

Property disputes have always been one of the main reasons of misunderstandings and conflicts among family members. Big conflicts among the family of Pálffy members were caused by the testament of Palatine János Palffy and the consequent property division. The author analyzes the correspondence between Károly Pál Pálffy and Rudolf (I.) Pálffy, and offers a portrait of the complicated family relationships during the long-lasting conflict.