Balogh Zoltán (szerk.): Neograd 2017. Tanulmányok a 70 éves Praznovszky Mihály tiszteletére - A Dornyay Béla Múzeum Évkönyve 40. (Salgótarján, 2017)
Történelem - Várkonyi Gábor: A magyar politikai kultúra a kora újkorban. I. Rákóczi György erdélyi fejedelem és Esterházy Miklós nádor levélváltása 1644–1645
GÁBOR VÁRKONYI POLITICAL CULTURE IN HUNGARY IN THE EARLY MODERN TIME. THE PUBLIC CORRESPONDENCE OF GYÖRGY RÁKÓCZI I. PRINCE OF TRANSYLVANIA AND MIKLÓS ESTERHÁZY PALATINE OF HUNGARY 1644-1645. The Hungarian Palatine Miklós Esterházy is well known of his political opinions, which were written on the problems of modernisation of the Hungarian public administration. Esterházy thoughts belong to the unwritten history of the Hungarian political thinking and culture of the 17th century. Like the public correspondence of Esterházy and Rákóczi is also the part of the Hungarian political culture, which was hardly investigated in the past by the Hungarian historians. In 1644 the Prince of Transylvania joined to the Protestant alliance fighting against the Habsburg Empire in the Thirty Years War. Being the part of the Habsburg Empire the Hungarian Kingdom was interested in keeping peace between Hungary and Transylvania. Above all Transylvania was the part of Hungary before the Ottoman invasion, therefore both, Transylvania and the Kingdom of Hungary, kept themselves as the inheritor of the Middle Age Hungarian Kingdom. The Palatine accused the Prince of breaking the peace between the two Hungarian homeland. Rákóczi was also in very difficult situation. His aim was to lead Transylvania into the community of European states. Fulfil this aim he needed strong presence in the European political life and he needed powerful allies, as France and Sweden. Rákóczi entered war in Hungary for the rights of the Hungarian protestants - this was the only possible way to create a legitimation of his war. An open war between Hungary and Transylvania threaten catastrophic consequences. Hungary faced to the pressure of the Ottoman Empire at that time for a century, the resources of the country were used to keep the border defence and not to fight against Transylvania. The Palatine had known well, that the Hungarian army - which were located in several forts along the border - not enough to stand against the Transylvania army, and it was beyond reason to sacrifice Hungarian soldiers in a fratricide. Therefore he tried to gain the Prince over not to enter war in Hungary. Esterházy's letter to the Prince were the very first public letters in the history of the Hungarian political life, which took a political discussion to the public. Esterházy was convinced on his moral rights. The Prince of Transylvania in Esterházy1 s letter became the traitor of the Christendom. Morally Esterházy’s arguments were irresistible. But practically he had not enough power to defend the country against the Prince. He had done what he had could: published his private letters written to the Prince creating the first Hungarian political public letters. 62
