Géza Pálffy: Biographical database of captains-generals of borderfortress of Veszprém (16-17th century)
103Géza Pálffy: Biographical database of captains-generals of borderfortress of Veszprém (16-17th century)
The biographical collection of data of captains-generals and assistant captains-generals of borderfortress of Veszprém joins with that international researches, which pay more attention to the connection of wars and society in the last decades. Since one of the most important seats of war of Europe was the Hungarian forefront of the Hapsburg Empire against the Turks in the 16-17th century, this military and social-historical research of the soldiery serving in the fortresses can serve numerous new, interesting results for the international historiography. Doubly so as the researches dealing with fortresses up to now have paid little attention to that 15.000–20.000 regular soldiers, who did their military service on the pay of Hapsburg emperors in Hungary in premature modern times. This collection of data showing almost fifty Hungarian military courses of life from the premature modern times, published now, would like to recover this shortness at least in a small measure. Furthermore its intention to call attention to opportunities being in such research directions.
Each of the almost fifty courses of life teases the history of 16 century of the borderfortress of Veszprém, because all of the persons occurring in the collection of data was captain-general or assistant captain-general in some period of their course of life. Although the fortress of Veszprém did not belong to the high priority fortresses, but it was a borderfortress of second importance of the so called Raab borderfortress captain-generalcy which defended Vienna and Lower Austria (It means a borderfortress having central role and a system of small outposts be longing to it). Hungarian soldiers were forming most of its guards, this persons with mostly Hungarian origin can be found among its leaders. These Hungarian subaltern officers had the opportunity to make the same military career in Hungary in premature modern times – as numerous examples of collection of data document it – as the German, French or Italian generals acting on seats of war of Western Europe, and to attain to astonishingly high honors. The Hungarian forefront – because of the long fight against Turks – differed from the other seats of war in many peculiarities at that time (for example organization of defensive system, form and method of warfare, style of living of military), but the mercenary way of life offered favorable opportunities to make unique career or fortune also in Danube-basin.
1043. kép Veszprém vára, ismeretlen mester metszete a 17. századból
(Van der Nyport metszete, Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum Történelmi Képcsarnoka)
(Van der Nyport metszete, Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum Történelmi Képcsarnoka)
