He was the son of Batthyány Boldizsár who was well-versed in natural sciences, and Dorottya (Dorica), the daughter of Zrínyi Miklós (Nikola Subic Zrinski) of Szigetvár. We know about his two sisters, Dorottya and Kata. He was born around 1573, presumably in Németújvár. He was brought up by Beythe András, a teacher in Németújvár, but did not continue his education at the court in Vienna (Prague) because his father did not have good relations with the Habsburgs. He only made a short trip to Italy, via Venice and Padua.
He had no desire for serious education, and according to Istvánffy Miklós, “he preferred his horses and hunting dogs”. He became a soldier, and his qualifications were enhanced by the fifteen-year war that had just broken out. At the age of nineteen, in 1592, he took part in the relief of Sziszek and Kiskomárom, then in 1593 he fought also at Sziszek and Fehérvár, in 1594 at the siege of Esztergom, and in 1601 at the sieges of Székesfehérvár and Kanizsa. His friend and penfriend, Balassi Bálint, was killed at the siege of Esztergom Castle.
In 1601, after the fall of Kanizsa Castle, he was appointed the royal captain of Körmend and the surrounding castles, and after the death of Nádasdy Ferenc (1604), he was also given the post of the Transdanubian district captain. In 1601, together with his fellow Transdanubian lords (Nádasdy Ferenc and Zrínyi György), they submitted a proposal to the Military Council for a system of borderland castles to replace the lost Kanizsa.
From 1605 Batthyány became the chief Comes of Sopron county. He took part in the peace negotiations in Zsitvatorok and in 1608 he was appointed by King Matthias II as the chief stable master.
He did not join the uprising of Bocskai István but fought against the Hajdú troops. For his loyalty, he received the castle and the market town of Körmend. In 1607 he married Éva, a member of the Lobkovicz Poppel family, an evangelical Czech aristocratic family. He received the Dobra estate as a dowry. According to the sources, they fell in love. A famous dancer and music lover, he won his future wife with Balassi’s poems. Their first child was born in 1608 and was baptized Boldizsár. Two years later Batthyány’s son Ádám was born, who would later lead the family to greatness.
During this time, Batthyány Ferenc occupied himself with his estates, had the castles of Németújvár, Rohonc and Szalónak rebuilt, and the uninhabitable castle of Körmend completely reconstructed. In Csákány he had a new castle built. He also had the schoolhouse in Németújvár and the church in Rohonc renovated.
In 1620, however, after a long persuasion, he joined forces with Prince Bethlen Gábor, presumably with the assistance of his wife. On 7 October the prince arrived in Rohonc, where he met Batthyány. However, the lord tried to sabotage the cooperation, refused to forward the prince’s letters, and prevented his campaign in Croatia, although he had received the title of Transdanubian captain (which he resigned in 1609) and territorial governorship from Bethlen.
The imperial mercenaries, however, captured several of his castles the following year, including Rohonc and then Körmend, although Esterházy Miklós tried to spare the Batthyány estates. After the retreat of Imperial General Collalto, these fortresses were returned to Batthyány. In 1622 he was pardoned by King Ferdinand II and was soon nominated for the title of Palatine, although he only received one vote.
His family continued to grow, with the birth of daughters Magdolna, Erzsébet, and Borbála, and then Dorottya, who died soon after. In 1622, at 14, the eldest son, Boldizsár, died, as did Gábor, who was born in January 1624 but did not live to see his first birthday. Erzsébet later became a Catholic and a generous supporter of the Dominicans of Vas County.
Even greater grief fell on the family when on September 13, 1625, Batthyány Ferenc passed away. Preparations for the Reformed lord’s funeral lasted for a month and a half, during which time a passage from the Holy Scriptures was read out every evening in the palace in Szalónak. The funeral procession left for Németújvár on 1 November, and the funeral took place the following day. Poppel Éva was pregnant at the time of the service, but the late-born Miklós also died soon after. Only the only son, Ádám, carried on the family’s fortune.
Source: Szibler Gábor
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