Ferenc Nádasdy

Who was Ferenc Nádasdy?

Count Ferenc Nádasdy de Nádasd et Fogarasföld was a Hungarian nobleman. His family, Nádasdy, was one of the wealthiest and most influential of the era in Hungary. In 1571, when Ferenc was 16, his mother, Orsolya Nádasdy, using her association with many noble families in Hungary, organized a marriage to the young Elizabeth Báthory, daughter of the Count György and Anna Báthory. The Báthory family were as rich and illustrious as the Nádasdy family, though older and more influential, since they had several relatives who had the charge of Nádor of Hungary. Among them, included a cardinal, a King of Poland, and a Prince of Transylvania.