Prethodno priopćenje
https://doi.org/10.21857/y6zolb481m
Becoming a Ban in the First Half of the Seventeenth Century Zsigmond/Žigmund Erdődy’s linguistic preparation for holding the supreme office in Croatia and Slavonia
Géza Pálffy
; HUN-REN BTK Történettudományi Intézet, Budapest
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* Dopisni autor.
Sažetak
The study explores a hitherto little-researched topic: foreign language acquisition by the bans in Croatia and Slavonia, through the example of Count Zsigmond/Žigmund Erdődy (1593–1639), who was himself a ban from 1627 to 1639. The research is primarily based on his voluminous correspondence preserved in the family archives of the Haus-, Hof- und Staatsarchiv in Vienna. Since the state union of Hungary and Croatia, established in 1102, became part of the Central European Habsburg Monarchy after 1526, the bans of the Croatian-Slavonian territories, united due to the Ottoman advance from the middle of the century, had to speak at least four languages at a high level of proficiency to successfully hold their office. In addition to Croatian, they needed to acquire the language of Hungarian administration (Latin), the mother tongue of their political partners in Hungary (Hungarian), and, finally, the main language of the central governmental bodies of the monarchy (German). In the case of Zsigmond Erdődy, this took place within the framework of a very conscious preparation arranged by his father, Ban Tamás/Toma I (1558–1624), who was also multilingual, similar to the grandfather, Ban Peter/Petar II (1504–67). Zsigmond was a native speaker of Hungarian and Croatian, which he acquired from his parents and their Croatian-speaking employees, as he was mostly raised in the family’s castles in Zagreb and Varasd/Varaždin counties. Between 1609 and 1612, he studied Latin at the Jesuit gymnasium in the imperial city of Vienna, where he also familiarised himself with the monarchy’s capital and made important contacts. Upon returning home, he did not hold any office between 1612 and 1620. During this period, he lived on the estates in Varasd/Varaždin County and corresponded with his father mostly in Croatian, but he also learned German. The latter language was of particular importance to him. His wife, Anna Maria Keglevics/Keglević, whom he married in 1616, had been brought up partly in Styria. With her, he mostly communicated in German, less often in Croatian or Hungarian. Consequently, the multilingual communication required for holding the position of ban, which Erdődy obtained in 1627, did not present any difficulties for him. He had no problem communicating with the Croatian and Slavonian estates in Croatian, and with the Hungarian dignitaries north of the Drava in Hungarian. He corresponded with his brothers and cousins in Hungarian, Croatian, and Latin, even within Croatia. At the same time, he held discussions in German with the government authorities in Graz, as well as with the aristocrats and towns in Styria. However, this was not a rare phenomenon among the bans in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The Draskovics/Drašković, Frangepán/Frankopan, Keglevics/Keglević, and Zrínyi/Zrinski families were also often multilingual. The study thus equally contributes to research on multilingualism, which is currently experiencing a renaissance, and adds valuable information to the exploration of family history, art history, political and church history, and the peregrinations of the Erdődys, as well as the history of early modern Croatian-Hungarian relations in general.
Ključne riječi
Hungary; Croatia; ban in Croatia and Slavonia; multilingualism; Erdődy family; Count Zsigmond/Žigmund Erdődy
Hrčak ID:
333138
URI
Datum izdavanja:
1.7.2025.
Posjeta: 0 *