Zeman (nobleman) - Zemans and Society

Zemans and Society

The zemans were somewhat more concentrated in the kingdom's northern counties (present-day Slovakia). It is estimated that about 4.6% households were zeman families in that region, although there were differences — some areas had fewer of them, some villages were inhabited predominantly by zemans. Some zemans eventually became farmers not necessarily wealthier than their neighbors, but their status of the king's free and privileged subjects contributed to the dynamics of the kingdom's societies and to the development of its cultures.

The practical implications of their privileged status began to disappear with the reforms of Joseph II that gradually gave more freedom to the rest of the population and curbed the nobility's privileges as the kingdom became more firmly integrated in the Habsburg monarchy. Among the Kingdom of Hungary's zemans with entries in Wikipedia were Anton Bernolák, Štefan Marko Daxner, Janko Jesenský, Adam František Kollár, Lajos Kossuth, Pavol Országh Hviezdoslav, and Jonáš Záborský.