Bányai Balázs - Kovács Eleonóra (szer.): A"Zichy-expedíció"- Szent István Király Múzeum közleményei. A. sorozat 48. (Székesfehérvár, 2013)
The "Zichy Expedition"
192 THE "ZICHY EXPEDITION it. To free the captured captain, the part of the land in Oroszvár brought into the family by Sára Chaby, daugher of the captain of Tata, Mihály Chaby (Csábi), needed to be pawned. This ransom was swiftly paid back because Pál’s loyalty was rewarded with the vice-leadership of Győr and its attached forts as well as the title of knight with golden bleeders by Ferdinand II. Resulting from his agricultural activity on much land held by pawning rights, he purchased the “German mill” in Tata in 1628 and the manor of Libényszentmiklós in 1634. He lifted the pawn from his part of Oroszvár and continued to buy up land as his father-in-law also did. His steadily growing possessions became the basis of the huge family fortune in the 17th century. His wealth allowed him to renounce the ancestral family lands in Somogy and Zala - which were mostly in Turkish hand at the time - in favour of his brothers.9 However, the greatest landclaimer was his son, István Zichy (1616-1693). He was well educated by his parents, then widened his view in Italy in the retinue of Miklós Zrínyi.10 After returning home, he served in the court of Ferdinand III (1637-1657) as a chamberlain and foodmaster." István followed his father’s example in many aspects. He was first lieutenant of Győr and cavalry commander in 1638, captain of Tata three years later.12 His military career continued, “after his so many victorious battles and noble trials’’ he was named vice-general of Győr and its borderlands by Ferdinand III in 1646.13 He expanded his property during his military career. In 1644 he received a donation for the manor of Tata, later he finished buying up the various parts of the manor of Oroszvár. By marrying Mária Baranyai, who was the sole heiress of the manor in Vedrőd, he acquired further lands.14 The expansion was nearly constant: in 1649 he received a donation to the estate of Vásonkő (today: Nagyvázsony). But to use the land, he had to pay 10 000 forints to the treasury, so practically he received the opportunity to purchase it from the ruler. The manor in Adony (County Fejér) was part of this estate.15 In 1650 he received the donation for the manor in Várpalota, Seregélyes, Kálóz, Nagyláng and Szentmihály. These lands were mostly in the occupied County Fejér and so generated substantial income only later on. For them, he had to pay 16 000 forints.16 In 1655 he resigned from military service, because Ferdinand III appointed him president of the Hungarian Royal Chamber in Pozsony (today: Bratislava, Slovakia). He received the title of baron and royal advisor in the same year.17 His autority has not diminished under the new rule of Leopold I (1657-1705) for he was named crownguard in 1661. During the war against the Turks the transportation of the crown to Pozsony meant considerable work and responsibility.18 Initially he was so trusted by the court that he was elected member of the iudicium delegatum, the temporary judicature assembled in Pozsony during the Wesselényi-conspiracy. In the assembly of the judicature in 1671, they had to decide how much of the “guilty one’s” fortune should be confiscated
