Folia historica 26

II. Közlemények - Tamás Edit: Rákóczi levelek a Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum Rákóczi Múzeuma gyűjteményében

display in the permanent exhibition of the Rákóczi Museum of the Hungarian National Museum entitled 'The Glorious Era of the Rákóczis'. The museum also purchased the letter written by György Rákóczi I at Gyulafehérvár, in 1646 March 21 (Archive, Inventory No. 70-37.). The document of one and a half page also can be seen in the permanent historical exhibition. In this writing, which is in Hungarian except for the initial lines György Rákóczi I, Prince of Transylvania orders a comissio, (a committee) to Tokaj. After 1999 the group of the Rákóczi-documents was enriched with several original letters. In 1999 there was an opportunity to purchase three documents. One letter related to Zsófia Báthory, one related to Ilona Zrínyi, one to Ferenc Rákóczi II had got to the Historical Collection. Out of them the earliest is the one related to Zsófia Báthory, dated to 1661, entirely in Hungarian. Zsófia Báthory often used to stay at Sárospatak after the death of his husband. She monitored the activity of György Gedon, who lived in the city, and previously served her husband, and according to this deed of gift she sent him. An old item in the collection of the Rákóczi Museum is a letter of Ilona Zrínyi dating from Munkács, 1697. Except for the starting and closing lines it is in Hungarian. The document was on display in the previous permanent exhibition organised in 1976, and now it is in the current Rácóczi-exhibition. The letter of Ilona Zrínyi dating from 1680, Makovica was bought in 1999 for the Historical Collection, and since 2003 it can be seen in the permanent Rácóczi-exhibition. It is a deed of gift for János Iván, and a document of the history of Sáros-Kis-Patak. The third document bought in 1999 was written in 1704, in Eger: it is a letter of Ferenc Rákóczi II to János Szathmáry. It is in Hungarian. Since 2003 it can be seen in the permanent Rácóczi-exhibition. The letter was written during the siege of Eger in the camp of the prince. The addressee, János Szathmáry became comissarius (comissioner) in 1 October 1705 in the restitution of churches in the counties of Abaúj, Zemplén, Borsod and Heves. In 2003 and in 2005 our thematic collection was enriched with a donation. The donátor is Dr. Ferenc Nagy, a philatelist, living in Vienna. In 2003 he had given a letter to salute the 300

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h anniversary of the Rákóczi War of Independence. It is in Hungarian, it was written in Szerencs by Rákóczi to the County of Ung in 1708. The main goal of the donátor was to support the permanent exhibition which was about to be realized. In 2005 Dr. Ferenc Nagy donated three more letters from his collection related to the War of Independence. Out of those the letter of Gábor Erős was written in 1705 to the County of Ugocsa, it is in Hungarian. The writer joined the supporters of Rákóczi as early as November 1703, and held various positions during the fight. The writer of the other letter (written in 1708) Miklós Eötvös of Szatmár County joined Rákóczi in 1703, he had different economic functions. The letter written by Sándor Keczer in 1708 is also in Hungarian. Keczer also held different economic functions, his activity is mostly connected to Kassa. The letters related to the Rákóczi family form a very little group in the collection of letters kept in the Rákóczi Museum of the Hungarian National Museum, though these objects are important in the point of view of local history. The objects of the collection are being published together for the first time in this paper. 112