szemethy_tamas_gyulai

Out of the ninety-one gentry who was granted nobility between 1711 and 1799, Ferenc Gyulay was the only one who became a count, and thus, a member of amore exclusive echelon of Hungarian aristocracy. It took two rounds of promotion, both taking place during the reign of Charles III. Gyulay’s rise is an inter-esting subject for various reasons. On the one hand, although the family wasnot one of the better known noble kindreds, it brought up one of the most successful accumulators of wealth in the era. On the other hand, in addition to the traditional genealogical works, the level of detail in the available sources allowmicrohistorical methods to draw a precise picture about Ferenc’s extraordinary career from unknown Komárom gentry to lord lieutenant of Ung County, and becoming the tenant of the Ung chamber estate after acquiring a number of other estates. Exploiting an exceptionally detailed source base, this study aims to present a case which probably models many other similar career trajectories in the period. As such, it helps understand how ambitious lower-ranking county nobility could propel into the elite circles of the estate system in eighteenth-century Hungary.