person
Ferenc Rákóczi II
Rákóczi
also: Rákóczi Ferenc, Francis II Rákóczi
Ferenc Rákóczi II (1676–1735), prince of Transylvania and leader of the last great Hungarian anti-Habsburg uprising (1703–1711); after defeat he died in Turkish exile, becoming the great martyr-figure of Hungarian national memory.
Reading notes
- Drama Fragments (Five Pieces) §17 Rákóczi's name
Ferenc Rákóczi II (1676–1735), prince of Transylvania and leader of the last great Hungarian uprising against Habsburg rule (1703–1711); his name became a symbol of Hungarian patriotic resistance.
- Studies and Articles §1.4 Ilona Zrínyi
Ilona Zrínyi (1643–1703), mother of Ferenc Rákóczi II, who defended the castle of Munkács against Habsburg siege for over three years (1685–88). For Madách she is the supreme example of a woman elevated to 'colossal height by the virtues purely of her sex' — courage in defense of family and homeland, not borrowed masculine valor.
- Studies and Articles §3.1.3 Rákóczi
Ferenc Rákóczi II (1676–1735), leader of the Hungarian War of Independence against the Habsburgs (1703–11), and a symbol of steadfast sacrifice for religious and national freedom. Madách invokes him in the religious rescript speech as a model of courage in a politically and confessionally hostile environment.