The Activities of Hungarians in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in the Service of Stephen Báthory (1576–1586)

Abstract

In most existing studies on the reign of Stephen Báthory in the PolishLithuanian Commonwealth, the role of Hungarians has usually been marginalized. When their activities were considered at all, they were typically limited to the military campaigns against Moscow between 1579 and 1582. This issue seems significant from the perspective of the functioning of the immediate entourage of those elected monarchs in the Commonwealth, who were foreigners. To what extent could such rulers, unfamiliar with Polish political culture, make use of their compatriots in their new homeland despite clear formal-legal constraints? The main aim of this article is to present the activities of Báthory’s compatriots in the Polish-Lithuanian state throughout his entire reign, demonstrating that Hungarians were not merely occasional members of the monarch’s closest circle but rather maintained a constant presence. Only those compatriots of King Stephen who performed various tasks directly assigned by the monarch or carried out in his interest were taken into account, with a primary focus on military, political-dynastic, and court-related aspects. Each of these aspects was served by Hungarians throughout King Stephen’s entire reign, although the group of individuals executing the monarch’s particular orders was subject to constant fluctuations. This testified to the steady influx of the monarch’s compatriots into the Commonwealth and, consequently, served as evidence of strengthened relations with Transylvania. In total, several thousand of Báthory’s compatriots served in his immediate entourage over the course of his reign. Among the court personnel alone, nearly five hundred people were employed over the period of just under eleven years. Meanwhile, in military formations centered around the royal court, such as Hungarian infantry and cavalry, up to two thousand people served simultaneously. Over the years, their numbers underwent constant changes, so the total number of Hungarians in military service was even greater. The size of this group best illustrates the scale of Báthory’s compatriots’ involvement in Polish affairs.