Hungarian Heritage Review, 1989 (18. évfolyam, 1-9. szám)
1989-01-01 / 1. szám
those migratory herdsmen turned mercenary soldier. After the fire was forgotten, he returned to the Mossocz area and lived among his relatives under an assumed name. He was forced to attach himself to the powerful Revay family for protection. The arrangement was more formal that real: the Revays afforded the Polereczkys every conceivable liberty. Thus the grandfather of J. L. Polereczky, Matyas (born approximately 1662), enjoyed the curious distinction of being both nobleman and serf. Baroness Kata Szidónia of the Revay clan formally confirmed his free status in 1695: “I liberate him under my lady liege power; he may move, settle, and do as he will.” He eventually married a widow named Badda Badafalva, who had inherited a clothes shop from her late husband. As Hungarian resentment against the tyranny of the Imperial commissioners mounted, Matyas Polereczky became recruited by Miklós Bercsényi, Ferenc Rákóczi II’s principal advisor. Under the pretense of a business trip, Matyas journeyed into Poland to meet with Bercsényi, where the latter was laying plans for Rákóczi assuming command of a popular insurrection already in progress. Bercsényi wrote to Rákóczi that, when the decisive moment arrived, Matyas Polereczky would meet the Prince at the frontier with 180 horsemen from the Revay estates. In June 1703, Rákóczi crossed the frontier from Poland, and was met by the horsemen commanded by Matyas Polereczky. Matyas thus became the first nobleman (excepting Bercsényi) to take up the banner of Rakoczi’s cause. He soon established a reputation as a raider who was greatly feared by the Imperial enemy, and whose operations encompassed considerable territory in the highlands. Matyas’ responsibilities increased following the convening of the Diet of Onod in 1707. At this historic gathering, Rákóczi declared the house of Habsburg deposed from ruling Hungary. Many of the nobles had been fighting to preserve their constitutional liberties, and this new course was far too radical for them. Opposition in Thurocz county was particularly strong, since Rakoczi’s attempts to tax the copper mines interfered with the perogatives of a noble clique. Rákóczi responded to an attempt to take Thurocz out of the Hungarian confederation with a purge, so that Matyas Polereczky remained his last bulwark of support in that county. Now, too, a pro-Habsburg faction of Hungarians was arising. This group was commanded by Count Janos Palffy. Its members saw the Habsburg dynasty as a necessity for Hungary and deplored the social unrest which the kurucz revolt had furthered. Imperial Vienna now hit upon the idea that it would take a Hungarian to defeat Hungarians, and vested Palffy with full command. “Palffy shall not pass!” Matyas declared. He erected barricades in the mountain passes to obstruct the Field Marshal’s movements, and dispatched spies to keep the royalists under observation. Moreover, Matyas wrote to Bercsényi and Count Sándor Karolyi, he would soon launch a raid into Palffy’s rear. Indeed, Matyas Polereczky soon presented a major problem for Palffy. Knowing the temperment of his countrymen, Palffy preferred a peaceful settlement to a military solution. Why was this madman being so obstinate? Certain circles in Vienna were complaining that Palffy was “too lenient” with the rebels. If an example had to be made, this Polereczky was the most logical candidate. By 1710 Palffy was ready to move against Matyas in force. The latter’s house was burned, and his family was forced to flee to Poland. Matyas had already gone to the latter country to make arrangements for the families of those rebels who refused to swear allegiance to the Habsburgs in the face of a lost war. On April 30, 1711, Count Sándor Karolyi unilaterally made peace with Palffy at Szatmar. But Rákóczi, Bercsényi, and Polereczky were among those Hungarians who refused reconciliation and who consequently became dispossessed rebels. Karolyi’s decision has been hotly debated to this day, but he must be credited with charity towards those Hungarians who refused to take the oath to the Habsburg king, Charles VI. By the 1720s Matyas Polereczky became homesick. Karolyi arranged for him to return discreetly, and made the latter inspector of his estates. The exact date of Matyas’ death remains unknown, but documents indicate that he lived to a ripe old age, and may even have seen his one hundredth birthday. Matyas’ sons had meanwhile gone with the Rakoczis to France, where they were raised at the court of Louis XIV. His eldest son András rose high in the service of the French kings. From there the family’s road led to America and the victory at Yorktown. Ultimately, what Matyas attempted during the world’s first national war of independence was achieved by his grandson Janos László in the second one. 16 HUNGARIAN HERITAGE REVIEW JANUARY 1989
