Beloved Children
Drawing on evidence from a wide collection of surviving family papers, Beloved Children is a valuable contribution to literature available concerning childhood history in pre-industrial Central Europe.
With the aid of detailed case studies, the volume illustrates every aspect of Hungarian childhood in the early modern age from a variety of contrasting perspectives—birth, care, education, marriage, orphanhood and death. The book also includes a unique portrayal of family life in the Hungarian aristocracy.
Beloved Children is a comprehensive study examining topics such as family intimacy, paternal and maternal attitudes, providing the reader with a valuable insight into a child’s life in Hungary during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
Some Preliminaries by Way of Introduction
Practical Information
A Note on Titles and Names
Notes
Historical Background (Katalin Péter)
The Kingdom
The Fall of Buda
The Principality of Transylvania
Poverty
Denominations
Notes
CHAPTER 1
The First Ten Years of Life (Katalin Péter)
Conception
Physical and Social Forms of Family Planning
Expecting a Child
The Birth
Boys and Girls
Mothers and Fathers
Health and Education
Illness and Death
Notes
CHAPTER 2
Orphans of Noble Birth (Ildikó Horn)
The Consequences of Being Orphaned
Last Wills and Testaments
Guardians
Half-orphans
The Care of Orphans after the Deaths of Both Parents
Widowed Mothers and Their Children
Stepmothers
Stepfathers
Life As an Orphan
Notes
CHAPTER 3
Count Ádám Batthyány I and His Children (István Fazekas)
Life in the noble household
The birth of the Children
At the Jesuit School in Sopron
Secondary School in Graz
Kristóf Batthyány’s Journeys Abroad
The Younger Batthyány
The Subsequent Careers of the Batthyány Brothers
Notes
CHAPTER 4
The Marriage Policy of the Esterházy Family After the Death of Palatine Miklós (Judit Fejes)
The Founder of the Dynasty
The Palatine’s Household
Esterházy’s Educational Principles
Building a Dynasty
Keeping the Family Together
Esterházy’s Legacy
The Execution of the Palatine’s Will
The Marriage of László Esterházy
The Marriage of Mária Esterházy and György Homonnai
The Secret Marriage of Pál and Orsolya
The Marriage of the Younger Brother
Notes
GENEALOGICAL TABLES
Tables I/1-I/2. The Batthyany Family
Tables II/1-II/3. The Csáky Family
Tables II/1-III/2. The Esterházy Family (Ferenc, Dániel, Miklós Eszterházy’s Branches)
Table IV. The Forgách Family
Table V. The Rákóczy Family
Table IV. The Zrínyi Family
Index