New Sources from the Koháry-Coburg Family’s Archive – Additions to Péter Koháry’s Biography

Abstract

The goal of this paper is to present some new sources as part of a greater project, the collecting of Baron Péter Koháry’s correspondence and other sources of his life, diplomatic as well as military administrative role, and activity. Koháry (1564–1632) was the vice-captain of Érsekújvár and vice-general of the border-fortress zone of the Cisdanubian district and mining region (1611–1632). The selection of the methods and tools to elaborate the sources and the first quantitative analysis concerning the 1620s has already been completed. Currently, the author is working on the vice-captain’s biography and sources concerning the peace process of Szőny (1627) and negotiations in Szécsény and Buda (1628–1629). More precisely, the article aims at summarising the new partial results of the research into sources concerning him. These new results can help complete and correct the data of Koháry’s biography. Furthermore, the analysis of these new sources allows for a better understanding of his life, relationships, acts, and financial status. In historical literature, a wide range of studies can be found concerning the life of Koháry’s son (István I) and grandson (István II), but research has not focused sufficiently on Péter, who established the reputation and status of the Koháry Family.