The Nobility of the Medieval and Modern Kingdom of Hungary

The so-called "academic" History of Slovakia (first volume published in 1986) only dedicated a few pages to the topic of nobility. Only the briefest data were provided and even these were obviously influenced by a marxist class perception of the history which significantly misinterpreted the reality. This short, or even superficial image fully accepting the requirements of contemporary marxist ideology, did not emerge as a result of a proper and systematic research. To put it simply – the nobility was not a "modern" or "fashionable" topic to deal with at that time, therefore some foreign patterns (especially those ideological ones) were assumed. Sometimes, the positivist approach as well as romantic attitudes of some older authors were adopted and subsequently, findings were filtered in order to fit into a previously established concept. This situation has essentially changed since the 1990s, since researchers have turned their attention to this topic. Questions of nobles´ origin, contemporary status, differentiations, tasks, relations or even their everyday life have been addressed. The most recent findings concerning noble population and their life in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Period are presented in this issue of Forum Historiae.