Habsburg Period (after 1526)
The use of such titles as duke or count, although of earlier origin, became widespread only in the Habsburg era.
According to István Werbőczy (a Hungarian jurist and palatine of the 16th century—mostly known for his work Tripartitum, a summary of customary laws) the rights of noblemen were:
- immunity from arrest without legal procedure,
- owing obedience only to the king,
- exemption from taxes and customs duties, and
- freedom from compulsion to perform military service except in defence of the country.
Most nobles either inherited the title or were ennobled by the king. There were two additional ways to become a noble: either by being adopted into a noble family with special permission from the king or, for a daughter of a nobleman who had no male heirs, by being granted special privileges by the king (thus the daughter was treated as if she were male, could inherit the title and the estates, and could pass the title to her children even if she married below her status).
Noblemen were usually wealthy landowners. There were two kinds of estates: those that were granted by the king (usually together with the title) and those that were purchased. The second class could be bought and sold freely, but the estates of the first class were inalienable and were always inherited by the eldest son (or sometimes, with the king's permission, the eldest daughter—see above). If the family became extinct, the estate reverted to the king.
Sometimes a nobleman granted a noble title and estate to one of his loyal men. Legally this required the permission of the king, but often the king's permission was not sought.
Due to the great demand for soldiers during the wars against the Turks in the 16th and 17th centuries, sometimes a whole unit of 80 to 120 soldiers was raised to nobiliary rank, and were granted a single coat of arms for all of them to share.
The Eighth Law of 1886 finally created the category of noble prince (Hungarian: herceg). The law gave a list of princely families, mostly of foreign origin such as Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Liechtenstein, Thurn and Taxis, and Schwarzenberg.
All hereditary titles were abolished in 1945. In newly formed states formerly belonging to the Hungarian crown the situation varies; for instance the constitution of Czechoslovakia abolished all indicators of nobility in 1918. This included titles and place origins suggesting noble rank (e.g. Forgach de Ghymes).
Read more about this topic: Nobility And Royalty Of The Kingdom Of Hungary
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