Bastards of Hungarian kings, nobles and artists: a short summary

Ever since the beginning of documented human history, there have been many occasions of unfaithfulness occurring between people. The innocent “results” of these actions, bastards if you like, were often subject to ridicule and had to live harsh lives.

Divany.hu has produced an excellent summary of unfaithfulness within the highest circles in Hungarian history; from kings and queens in the middle ages to celebrated writers and poets in the early twentieth century. 

Famous Hungarians who were born as bastards

Previously, we mentioned that kids born outside of marriage often had to go through abuse throughout their lives, but that was not always the case. Bastards who were born to wealthy parents did have the chance to live full lives. One such example is the father of Queen Beatrix (wife of Hungarian king Matthias Hunyadi), Alfonz, who inherited his father’s kingdom of Naples even though he himself was a bastard. Popular Hungarian novelist Zsigmond Móricz “found” a little bastard girl on the banks of the Danube and raised her as his own (inspiring works like Árvácska), although there is a suspicion that she was also his lover. Lajos Nagy, the famous Hungarian publicist, was born to an unknown, probably married man and a maid living in absolute poverty: his works reflect the awful conditions he had to endure in his childhood.

A similar fate befell Gyula Reviczky, a poet, who was the bastard child of an aristocrat and a handmaid from Slovakia. Although he was raised by his father’s family, eventually the aristocrat father excluded him from his will and made him live his life in poverty.

Perhaps the most famous Hungarian ever to have been born outside of marriage is Gyula Krúdy: his parents had ten children before they considered marrying each other.