Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 15:40, 23 April 2015

Jeszenszky or Jesenský (also Jessensky, Jessinsky, Jessensky de Gross Jessen) is the name of two old noble families in the Kingdom of Hungary. They have a mutual name but their origins are different.

Kisjeszen branch

The first known ancestor of the Kisjeszen (Minor Jeszen) branch was the castle warrior András Temérdek who received lands in Túróc (Template:Lang-sk) county from king Béla IV of Hungary in 1255. The family introduced their new surname after the name of a village "Jeszen". In the 14th century the family used the "Kisjeszeni" name form and the Slavic variant of their name "Jeszenszky" came into use only from the 15th century. While the word jesen means "autumn" in several Slavic languages, the Slovak name of the village, Jaseno, actually derives from the word jaseň, "ash tree".

Nagyjeszen branch

The first known member of the Nagyjeszen (Major Jeszen) branch was called Mágya. In 1278 Mágya received his noble title, because of his valor in the Battle on the Marchfeld.

Famous members of the families

Ladislaus Jesenský died in 1526 during the catastrophic Battle of Mohács. Subsequently, all Jesenský property was confiscated by the advancing Ottomans, so brothers Melchior, Lorenz and Balthasar Jesenský moved to Silesia (then part of the Crown of Bohemia) and lived in Wrocław and Świdnica from 1541 onward. Balthasar's son was Ján Jesenský, known as Jan Jesenius, famous scientist and politician who lived and died in Prague, Bohemia.

Branches of the family are still living in Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary and the United States.

Important family members:

• Jan Jesenius (1566–1621), Slovak physician, philosopher and politician, rector of Charles University in Prague
• Růžena Jesenská (1863–1940), Czech novelist
• Jan Jesenský (1870–1947), Czech scientist, professor of Charles University
• Janko Jesenský (1874–1945), Slovak poet, prose writer and translator
• Milena Jesenská (1896–1944), Czech journalist and translator, friend of Franz Kafka
• Jan Jesenský, Jr. (1904–1942), Czech scientist, assistant professor of Charles University
• Ferenc Jeszenszky (1905–1990), Hungarian economist, during 1949–52 was a president of Hungarian National Bank in Budapest
• Géza Jeszenszky (1941–), Hungarian politician, in 1990–94 foreign minister of Hungary
• Béla Tibor Jeszenszky (1962-2008), Hungarian singer

See also

The name of Jeszenszky de kis Jeszeny has varied in spelling over the centuries. Following WW2 and the Hungarian revolution a number of family members emigrated and made changes to the spelling of the surname. It has been confirmed that the name has been changed to Jeszen-Sky in England for example.

References

1. Járdáni Temérdek András Ivadékai, rakovszky.eu
2. ^ Jeszenszky, Géza: A szlovák-magyar kiegyezés útja. In: Szlovákok az európai történelemben. Közép-Európai Intézet, Teleki László Alapítvány, Budapest, 1994
3. ^ "Pallas Nagy Lexikona". Hungarian Electronic Library, mek.oszk.hu. Retrieved 2013-07-17.
4. ^ László Fodor, A kisjeszeni Jeszenszky család Szatmárban, Szabolcs-Szatmár Bereg Megyei Önkormányzat, 2008, p. 31

Sources

• Jan Jesenius and his family's short bio (Hungarian)

Template:Titled noble families in the Kingdom of Hungary

• Slovak nobility
• Hungarian nobility
• Hungarian noble families
• Bohemian noble families
• Czech people of Slovak descent
• Czech people of Hungarian descent