Noble Madári Édes Family

On March 20 1638 Gergely Édes along with his wife, Katalin Kerekes and his brothers; Vince, Mátyás, György and Ferenc were granted nobility by Ferdinand III Emperor of the Austro-Hungarian empire for their valor in battle. This document commemorates that event.

The title in Hungarian reads; ‘Magyar Kir. Orsagos Levéltar. Masolát 52.’ which means; Kingdom of Hungary National Archives. Copy 52. The rest of pages 1 through 7 are in the original Latin. The last page, in Hungarian is the clerk or notary statement. Note the seals and stamps and colored binding thread.

Once an individual was deemed noble they were exempt from most taxes, but required to serve in wars at their own expense. They were under the exclusive authority of the king so that they had in essence diplomatic immunity from just about any crimes.  Many nobles received land and were responsible for the serfs.  It was an honor and a privilege that was of great importance to the family.  There are records through the decades in the county and national archives of descendants of Gergely and Katalin confirming their noble status. They would have been granted nobility for military service in battling the Ottoman Turks who occupied Hungary at the time.

In 1848 most of the privileges of nobility were abolished and in 1947 all features of nobility were abolished.

Wikipedia has an interesting account of the complicated history of nobility in Hungary.

See what you can you decipher anything from the document.

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