A tudás hatalom – Észrevételek a magyar nemesi családok peregrinációjához a késő középkorban = Knowledge is power – comments on the peregrination of hungarian noble families in the late middle ages

Haraszti Szabó, Péter (2024) A tudás hatalom – Észrevételek a magyar nemesi családok peregrinációjához a késő középkorban = Knowledge is power – comments on the peregrination of hungarian noble families in the late middle ages. In: A rang kötelez : Rendi és rendies magatartásformák a középkortól a 20. századig. Eszterházy Károly Katolikus Egyetem Líceum Kiadó, Eger, pp. 135-155.

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Abstract

The late Middle Ages witnessed significant changes in policies of Hungarian noble family politics, at least the attitude towards university attendance indicates an important change in mentality. Among Hungarian families holding baronial dignities, university attendance showed a steadily increasing trend. The fact that under king Sigismund and king Matthias a number of families rose to the baronial dignities played a significant role in this, while the largest number of peregrines were also among them. These developments persuaded noble families, even of Árpád-era origin, which had hitherto shown little interest in university studies, to send their children to universities. At the same time, seemingly some families that had faltered in their loyalty also left for the universities after they fell off the royal grace, even after a long hiatus. It is also clear from the data that among the baronial families there was a steady decline of interest in legal studies, which was only useful within the church, and that already in the mid-15th century they were pursuing secular careers. Nor is it negligible (in comparison with the German nobility, for example) that the Hungarian nobility was more open to new cultural trends. Going to university therefore became a ‚prestige good’, which helped noble families to position themselves and to be noticed at court. Some kinsmen used this opportunity to return to the upper echelons of political life, while others sought to consolidate their newly acquired positions or to present themselves in a positive light following their fall into infidelity. And in the spirit of multi-legged family politics, by the end of the Middle Ages these families had also launched their university-educated members into the struggle for influence on the ecclesiastical and, increasingly, secular spheres.

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