Baron Mihály Mérey de Kaposmére (''Mérei''; 1500 – 26 February 1572) was a Hungarian jurist and noble, who served as
Palatinal Governor () in the
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...
, between 1562 and 1572.
[Markó 2006, p. 240.]
Biography
Mérey studied law in the court of
Elek Thurzó
Elek (, ) is a town in Békés County, in the Southern Great Plain region of south-east Hungary. Until the World War II, Second World War, the town was home to the largest concentration of Germans of Hungary, Germans in the county, with its popu ...
, the Royal Governor of Hungary. Mérey became a member of the Vice-regency Council in 1542. He was appointed
Chief Justice () by
Ferdinand I in 1544. He held that office until 1562, when he was elected Palatinal Governor (or Vice-palatine), after the death of
Tamás Nádasdy. The office had only jurisdictional function, as the Hungarian magnates demanded restoring the office of the Palatine. The Emperor-King reigned Hungary over the Royal Governor.
Mérey was created Baron in 1563. He also functioned as
Ispán
The ispánRady 2000, p. 19.''Stephen Werbőczy: The Customary Law of the Renowned Kingdom of Hungary in Three Parts (1517)'', p. 450. or countEngel 2001, p. 40.Curta 2006, p. 355. (, , and ),Kirschbaum 2007, p. 315. deriving from title of župan, ...
(Count; ''comes'') of
Pest-Pilis-Solt-Kiskun County. During his tenure, he received substantial estate donations: he acquired, among others,
Éberhárd Castle (today: ''Malinovo, Slovakia''), and the large areas of
Somogy and
Trencsén Counties.
He participated in the development of the ''Quadripartium'', which would have been the ''
Corpus Juris
The legal term ''Corpus Juris'' means "body of law".
It was originally used by the Ancient Rome, Romans for several of their collections of all the laws in a certain field—see ''Corpus Juris Civilis''—and was later adopted by medieval jurists ...
'' of Hungary, however never became law. Mérey died in 1572. He was succeeded by
Imre Czobor.
References
Sources
* Markó, László: A magyar állam főméltóságai Szent Istvántól napjainkig – Életrajzi Lexikon ''p. 240.'' ''(The High Officers of the Hungarian State from Saint Stephen to the Present Days – A Biographical Encyclopedia)'' (2nd edition); Helikon Kiadó Kft., 2006, Budapest; .
* Bokor, József (ed.
Négyes könyv A Pallas nagy lexikona. Arcanum, FolioNET Kft, 1998. .
{{DEFAULTSORT:Merey, Mihaly
1500 births
1572 deaths
Hungarian nobility
Hungarian jurists
Chief justices of Hungary