The Elefánthy

The Hungarian Nobleman and His Kindred

von Erik Fügedi

184 Seiten, Hardcover

Kurzbeschreibung des Verlags

In an exploration of the life and customs of the Hungarian nobility, this book compares historical reality and legal literature on the example of one noble family--the Elefánthy kindred from northern Hungary (present-day Slovakia). The author begins by outlining the customary law regarding noble status, inheritance and marriage, as summarized in the famous code of Stephen Werb¿czy (1514). He then compares these norms with the documentary evidence and establishes the fact that the legal literature differs in regard to social mobility and kindred solidarity. With this frame of reference in mind, the fate of the Elefánthy family is traced through several generations, enabling the author to make some general statistical statements on inheritance, the rise and fall of various branches, marriage strategies, and the survival skills of the kindred. In his summary, the author outlines some of the major avenues for further research, including the peculiar Hungarian form of retainership (familiaritas), and the relationships between noble families and between the nobility and local communities.

• Themen: Gesellschaft und Sozialwissenschaften Gesellschaft und Kultur, allgemein Kultur- und Medienwissenschaften Kulturwissenschaften Sitten und Gebräuche
• ISBN: 9789639116207
• Sprache: Englisch
• Erscheinungsdatum: 01.05.1998
• Größe: 236 x 162 mm
• Verlag: Amsterdam University Press
• Herausgegeben von: Damir Karbic