Carrières de nobles hongrois à la cour de France sous l’Ancien Régime

The court of Versailles, the creation of Louis XIV, was a route for social advancement for émigré European nobility. Numbered among these were several Hungarian aristocrats who had interesting careers during the final period of the Ancien Régime. Hungarian immigration to France began in the late seventeenth century and increased significantly after the Hungarian War of Independence (1703–1711). Francis II Rákóczi, an eastern ally of Louis XIV, found refuge in his court. Family ties facilitated his integration, but he lived in Versailles incognito, and his entourage faced financial difficulties. In the hope of reclaiming his throne, he finally left France in 1717. Hungarian immigrants still in France were assimilated into the new Hussar regiments. Their charismatic leader, Count Ladislas de Bercheny, profited from his good relations with Louis XV’s father-in-law, Stanislas Leszczynski, from whom he received important missions. At the end of his life, taking advantage of the queen’s support, he received the marshal’s baton. The history of another career is also presented: that of Count Valentin-Ladislas d’Esterhazy, the son of a colonel in the French Hussars regiment. He won the support and trust of Marie Antoinette, who showered him with her favours. In 1780 he was appointed general, and in 1789, a member of the War Council. This study presents, through various scenarios, a summary of the immigration of Hungarian nobles to the French court during the Enlightenment. Through their connection to influential figures, we try to show the components and functioning of the networks that enabled or precluded their careers in the royal court.

Abstract licence: CC BY-NC-ND

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