Familiaris services – county tenure of office. The career of a 17th century Sopron county sub-prefect, Bálint Récsey of Gálosháza Cover Image

Familiárisi szolgálat – vármegyei hivatalviselés. Egy 17. századi Sopron vármegyei alispán, gálosházi Récsey (Rechey) Bálint
Familiaris services – county tenure of office. The career of a 17th century Sopron county sub-prefect, Bálint Récsey of Gálosháza

Author(s): Péter Dominkovits
Subject(s): History
Published by: KORALL Társadalomtörténeti Egyesület
Keywords: social history; tenure of office; 17th century; Hungary; Sopron county; familiaris services; circumstance of land possession

Summary/Abstract: The family relation network between aristocratic familiaris circles and the body of county office holders is not a new subject in Hungarian historical research. As known from sources the Récsey family of Gálosháza, as known from sources, was from the 1540’s on in the service of the Nádasdys, one of the most powerful aristocratic families of the West-Transdanubia region. During the 16th century, when the Récseys were among the few wealthy property holders (possessionati) of the municipality and possessed estates in the Sopron county Füles, they primarily rendered their dominus military service but didn’t hold county offices. In spite of this, Bálint Récsey of Gálosháza was Sopron county’s sub-prefect from 4th October 1629 until his death early 1637. As a leading familiaris of neighbouring Vas county’s Lord Lieutenant Pál Nádasdy, he embodied an office-holder type: a person by whose activity an aristocrat’s will might prevail in the county administration and jurisdiction. The period of his activity coincided with those decades when several powerful aristocratic families (Batthyány, Esterházy, Nádasdy) of he region strove to appoint persons from their familiaris circles to the sub-prefect’s position.

  • Issue Year: 2002
  • Issue No: 9
  • Page Range: 32-57
  • Page Count: 16
  • Language: Hungarian