Dénesi Tamás - Dejcsics Konrád (szerk.): Collectanea Sancti Martini - A Pannonhalmi Főapátság Gyűjteményeinek Értesítője 2. (Pannonhalma, 2014)

III. Forrásközlések

EGY FELSŐ-MAGYARORSZÁGI KATOLIKUS FŐÚR PENGEÉLEN 343

András Péter Szabó:

A Catholic aristocrat of Upper Hungary in crisis

The correspondence between Zsigmond Forgách (III) and György Rákóczi I, Prince of Transylvania (1644–1645)

The subject-matter of the present publication of sources and paper is the life and especially the final years of a Catholic aristocrat of Upper Hungary, Zsigmond Forgách (III) who died young and almost sank into oblivion. A significant part of his personal archives, and that of the documents of the Forgách family, respectively, have come to light this year from the Vép-archives of the Erdődy family deposited in Pannonhalma. These might have entered into the possession of the Erdődys about 1680, decades after the death of Zsigmond Forgách because of the relation of the two families by marriage.

The loss of memory concerning his person is best characterized by the fact that both his name and his date of birth have been known incorrectly so far. Zsigmond Forgách, whose full name is János Zsigmond Forgách and not Zsigmond Ádám Forgách, was born in Kassa in 1616 (some ten years later than the date in the secondary sources), the son of Zsigmond Forgách (II) (1565–1621), captain-general of Upper Hungary and Katalin Pálffy. He completed his secondary and higher education with the Jesuits in Graz (1626–1633), then he served at the Court in Vienna for many years. In 1640, after his mother’s death and having divided the landed property with his elder brother, Ádám Forgách (1612–

1681), he settled in his extensive estates in counties Sáros, Abaúj, Zemplén and Szabolcs. Being the Lord Lieutenant (supremus comes)

of Borsod County and a landed aristocrat in Upper Hungary, he was soon considered as one of the experts in the affairs of Transylvania. In 1642, he married Borbála, one of the sisters of his friend, Ádám Batthyány, the captain-general of Transdanubia. Early in 1643, in spite of his young age, Zsigmond Forgách was proposed for the position of the captain-general of Upper Hungary by the majority of the Hungarian estates, however, the position was ultimately given to his elder brother, and he was appointed the captain-general of Szatmár by the King. However, the negotiations over the authority and conditions of the latter position were protracted so long that the young aristocrat could not start his service even at the beginning of 1644, either. Finally, this appointment became unreasonable because of the campaign in Hungary started that time by György Rákóczi I, the Prince of Transylvanis and because the Fortress of Szatmár was quickly captured.

The currently published Forgách-documents of the archives in Pannonhalma, the correspondence between György Rákóczi I and Zsigmond Forgách in 1644 and 1645 clarifies exactly this period. Although early in July 1644, after the Prince had besieged the Fortress of Szalánc, the young aristocrat changed sides and joined the Prince under pressure, both parties completely lacked mutual confidence despite their earlier acquaintance. The aristocrat’s letters airing his grievances usually earned only responses of laconic concisesness. As for Zsigmond Forgách, this campaign did not caused a passing trauma only, because on 4 August 1645, in the camp of György Rákóczi I, some weeks before the conclusion of peace, he died due to unexplained reasons. The correspondence currently found clarifies the tension between the Catholic aristocrat of Upper Hungary and the Calvinist Prince of Transylvania. In addition, these documents provide a new – having left hitherto slightly disregarded – aspect in understanding the incidents of war in 1644 and 1645.