Mária Széchy

Anna Mária Széchy^{[note 1]} of Rimaszécs (Hungarian: rimaszécsi Széchy Anna Mária; circa 1610–1678), born Mária Széchy, was an early Hungarian noblewoman. She became one of the best-known and most influential women of her time in Hungary for actively and personally defending her property rights in the courts. She first challenged an unfair settlement following the death of her first husband, fighting her in-laws for three years.

Her main dispute was with her sisters and their husbands over Murány Castle, which they inherited together. With the help of her third husband, Ferenc Wesselényi, she secured the castle for herself. She married Wesselényi after assisting him in taking Murány for the Habsburg party, imprisoning the guards herself, then letting him into the castle at night. As his wife, she became one of the most powerful women in Hungary, often representing her husband through letters or in person.

She was involved in the magnate conspiracy headed by Wesselényi, but she lost her leading position after her husband's death. She continued to provide the conspirators with her network, but she betrayed their plans to the imperial court in 1668. She was arrested in 1670 and imprisoned in Murány, followed by Pozsony and finally Vienna, and her estate was confiscated. She was only released in 1676; she spent the last two years of her life in Kőszeg.

A poem by István Gyöngyösi made her famous as the Venus of Murány (the murányi Venus). Her life became a matter of renewed interest in the 1840s, an age of Hungarian nationalism.

Mária Széchy was born between 1609 and 1612, probably around 1610,^[1] in Vámosbalog (today Veľký Blh, Slovakia) to György Széchy of Rimaszécs^[1] (died 1625) and his wife, Mária Drugeth of Homonna (or Homonnay, d. 1643).^[2] Her paternal grandfather, Tamás Széchy, had been the főispán of Gömör county, while her maternal grandfather, György Drugeth, had served as judge royal. Her maternal grandmother, Countess Katalin Nádasdy (b. 1594), was the daughter of Ferenc Nádasdy and Elizabeth Báthory.^[2]

Mária Széchy's biographer, Ignác Acsády, characterises her father as a typical military man of the age, ‘bold’ and ‘resilient’ but also ‘selfish’ and ‘cruel’. An ambitious man, he had few moral scruples in enriching himself, and he positioned himself successfully in an unstable period.^[2] His marriage to Mária Drugeth, a rich heiress, was part of his successful navigation. The marriage seems to have been happy and resulted in the birth of four sons (János, Péter, Sámuel, and György) and five daughters (Mária, Magdolna, d. 1621; Borbála, d. 1637; Kata, d. 1664; and Éva, d. 1665).^[2] All sons died in childhood, which would have a great impact on Széchy's life. In 1617, György Széchy inherited Murány Castle (today in Muráň, Slovakia), an isolated and strategically unimportant stronghold.^[2]

Széchy grew up in Murány and seems to have had a close relationship with her father.^[3] She and her sisters were educated by their mother, and religion played an important role in their curricula and life. She was only taught Hungarian, even though her mother spoke Latin. The children's education was aided by the Lutheran pastor in service with the family. The Széchys chose educated priests interested in the sciences and literature. Growing up around writers and poets gave Széchy her lifelong interest in poetry; she was also acquainted with music by them. However, the most important person to teach the girls was their mother and the öregasszonyok (literally 'old women', the senior female servants of the household). Theoretical knowledge was less important than etiquette. Széchy also learnt to ride, hunt, and fish, pursuits which she would excel at and enjoy her whole life.^[3]

In June 1620, the family were travelling when they were caught in a sudden storm. Lightning killed six people, including Mária's sister Magdolna.^[3]

György Széchy started planning his daughter's marriage in 1625, looking for a bridegroom among the supporters of Gabriel Bethlen, Prince of Transylvania.^[3] During the negotiations for Mária's marriage, György Széchy was sleeping in a barn, probably after a hunt that lasted into the night. His armour-bearer, Miklós Léty and other servants shot him in the head. Nothing is known of Léty's motivation or his later fate.^[3]

The father's death upset the life of the family. Their vast inheritance was challenged by the late György Széchy's brother, Dénes Széchy. Mária Drugeth worked over years to safeguard her daughters' fortune.^[3] As opposed to her opportunist husband, Drugeth was a staunch royalist and supporter of the Habsburgs. On 2 May 1626, she gave a written oath not to cede Murány Castle to any ‘foreign prince’, and especially ‘not to the prince of Transylvania, nor to any person belonging to’ him.^[4]

Nevertheless, she continued her husband's policy of marrying Mária into the Bethlen family.^[4] In March 1626, the bridegroom, Count István Bethlen of Iktár (today Ictar-Budinț, Romania), a nephew of Gabriel Bethlen, visited Murány. By the end of his stay, the two had certainly been betrothed, as Bethlen called Drugeth his ‘mother[-in-law]’ in an official document.^[4] István Bethlen was a favourite relative of Prince Bethlen, made rich by his favour. In contemporary sources, he is described as ‘very modest, temperate, with a fine mind, knowledge, and valiant courage’.^[4] He had been his uncle's heir until the latter married Catherine of Brandenburg, who became the new heir. The wedding was planned for 20 October 1626, but postponed because of the wars of Prince Bethlen and because Mária Drugeth tried to bargain on the dowry. Her husband had promised an exceptional sum because of the high standing and wealth of the bridegroom; Drugeth argued that his station had since diminished. Prince Betlen refused to accept a lower dowry, and, with Drugeth acquiescing, the wedding was held on 30 May 1627.^[4]

Széchy received a large dowry, containing jewellery from Bratislava and Vienna as well as expensive clothing. Many of her jewels, from her late father's treasury, originated in Stephen Bocskay's collection.^[4] The seven counties of Transylvania sent tributes to the wedding feast.^[4] Drugeth invited the king and the palatine, as well as the aristocracy of Hungary and Transylvania, and representatives of neighbouring counties and royal free cities. Both King Ferdinand II and Palatine Miklós Eszterházy sent representatives.^[4] The wedding was celebrated in the chapel of a castle the Széchys owned in nearby Jolsva (today Jelšava, Slovakia) and followed by days of feasting in Murány Castle. A week later, the couple travelled to Transylvania with many of their guests; they were received with celebrations along the way.^[4]

Széchy arrived in her new home, Gyulafehérvár (today Alba Iulia, Romania), on 18 June 1627.^[4] She became a prominent lady in the princely court.^[5] The couple spent most of their time in their countryside estates, but also participated in the lively entertainments of Catherine of Brandenburg, especially during the first winter of their marriage.^[5] Later, there is proof that Catherine and Széchy disliked each other.^[5] Széchy's first marriage seems to have been happy; the spouses treated each other with love and care. Bethlen often listened to his wife's advice.^[5]

In 1628, Széchy had her first child, a daughter named Krisztina. They were both often sick with a fever in the next two years.^[5] Following the death of Prince Bethlen, Transylvania experienced political turmoil; Széchy and her daughter stayed in the family seat of Nagyecsed.^[5] In the summer of 1631, Krisztina, not yet three, died of a childhood illness, and was buried with great ceremony.^[5] During 1632, Széchy probably had a second daughter who died in infancy.^[5] Around Christmas that year, her husband also died. The cause was possibly a pubic lice infestation or another unknown illness, of which he might have been suffering since 1630.^[5]

As soon as her husband died, Széchy's father-in-law, István Bethlen Sr., and her brother-in-law, Péter Bethlen, went to Nagyecsed. Citing the lack of surviving children, they deprived Széchy even of inheritance that was her due.^[5] The advisors Széchy's mother sent were helpless against the politically powerful men, who hastened the matter to prevent Széchy from gaining support in the princely court. On 1 March 1633, the family signed an agreement, in which Széchy unconditionally relinquised Nagyecsed and its surrounding estates, but kept Vajdahunyad, Déva, and Bábolna (today Hunedoara, Deva, and Bobâlna, Romania). It was further specified that upon her remarriage, she would give Vajdahunyad and Bábolna back, too. Déva was only hers until her death (meaning that her future children could not inherit it). She kept only an estate in Tasnád and a house in Nagyvárad (today Tășnad and Oradea, Romania) which were bought with money from her dowry.^[5] Széchy retired to Déva.^[6]

On 14 March 1634, she went to the cathedral chapter of Gyulafehérvár to declare the contract null and invalid. She alleged that she had been coerced into an unfair agreement while being in distress following her husband's death. She wanted to keep Vajdahunyad and Bábolna in the event of her remarriage. Her legal issues might have influenced her decision to find a second husband soon, who could support her in court.^[6]

By November 1634, Széchy had married István Kun of Rozsály. The Kun family were wealthy and prominent in Szatmár county, but not as politically eminent as the Bethlens. Acsády describes Kun as a ‘decent but very ordinary’ person, whose intellectual abilities did not match those of Széchy.^[6] This marriage appears to have been unhappy from the start; the characters of the spouses were incompatible. Neither Széchy's ambitions, nor her intellectual curiosity were satisfied. She complained of her life to Prince George II Rákóczi and Princess Zsuzsanna Lorántffy, who unsuccessfully tried to mediate.^[6]

Széchy was also disappointed as her husband did not help her at all in her legal battles with the Bethlens.^[6] From the first lawsuit, she appeared alone everywhere, negotiating and trying to gain Prince Rákóczi's support. On 15 March 1635, a new settlement was made in Rákóczi's presence, who claimed Bábolna as a fee for his meditation. Széchy ceded Vajdahunyad to the Bethlens and again kept only Déva. The agreement took long to carry out, and the Bethlens sued again. Just as Széchy was moving out of Vajdahunyad, her father-in-law revolted against Rákóczi. After the Prince and the Bethlens reconciled in December 1636, he supported their claim against Széchy. She finally ceded Vajdahunyad but re-established cordial relations with her former in-laws.^[6]

Throughout much of her second marriage, Széchy preferred living on her Transylvanian estates and gradually moved all of her possessions there. After late 1636, she never returned to the family home. She lived a luxurious life in Transylvania, indulging in the entertainments she had missed in Rozsály.^[6] After he repeatedly failed in calling his wife back, István Kun took soldiers to kidnap her from Déva. However, Széchy heard the noise and fled to the castle, attacking the men with old cannons found there.^[6] István Kun raided and destroyed her manor house outside the castle, causing significant damage, then left during the next night. The divorce proceedings started immediately afterwards.^[5]

After her brief second marriage, Széchy lived an active life managing her estates.^[7] She expressed an interest in agriculture. She purchased expensive clothing, jewellery, and furniture, but also gave donations to poor students and hospitals. She always spent more than she could afford and often had to mortgage her jewellery or sell land. In November 1640, she sold Déva and moved to Tasnád. László Véglesi Horváth sued Széchy, claiming that his father had been unlawfully deprived of Tasnád. The lawsuit lasted for years, and Széchy used the support of her mother.^[7] In spring 1640, she visited Murány and brought legal and financial advisers to Tasnád. She also spent a part of every year, especially winters, with her mother, where she could also see her sisters and their families.^[7]

Mária Drugeth demanded absolute obedience even from her adult daughters and clashed with them about this.^[7] She prized frugality as a virtue, and she repeatedly chastised Széchy for living wastefully. Seeing that she could not reform her daughter's behaviour, she made a will that preferred Széchy's two living sisters above her.^[7] Drugeth demanded that her daughter sign her inheritance away, but Széchy was unwilling, until her mother imprisoned her in Murány in 1641. Immediately upon being released, she declared the document to have been coerced and invalid, then travelled to judge royal Count János Homonnay to officially claim the same. She also protested against any future will her mother would make to disadvantage her.^[7]

By winter 1641, mother and daughter had reconciled. Still suspicious, Széchy continued to preemptively safeguard her inheritance by pleading the king's protection and the support of relatives.^[7] Eventually, when Mária Drugeth died on 28 May 1643, her will divided the paternal inheritance equally between the three daughters, but disadvantaged Mária Széchy when dividing her own wealth.^[7] On 21 July, Széchy, bearing the name of her first husband, was installed in Murány Castle and its estates. She then persuaded her sisters to make her co-heir in the maternal inheritance without having to pay money.^[7]

Managing the Murány estate together with her two brothers-in-law (the husband of Kata Széchy, János Listius and the husband of Éva Széchy, Count Gábor Illésházy) proved difficult.^[8] The two families moved to Murány in late 1643. The idea of dividing the Széchy inheritance seems to have originated with Illésházy, an enterprising and ambitious young man; he wanted to keep Murány for himself and give Enyicke (today Haniska, Slovakia) to Mária Széchy.^[8] His plans were furthered when Prince George II Rákóczi attacked Hungary. The Transylvanians seized the properties of royalists and the royal government those of Rákóczi's supporters. Illésházy joined Rákóczi, hoping to easily obtain Murány from her royalist sister-in-law. Mária Drugeth's will had ordered her heirs not to ever let the prince of Transylvania seize Murány, and Mária Széchy's interests aligned more with the Habsburg party.^[8]

Széchy, who had been staying in Tasnád, moved to Murány with her retinue for her safety. The castle by that time was under the rule of Illésházy, backed by Hungarian and German mercenaries.^[8] In March 1644, Széchy's sisters and brothers-in-law entered into a secret pact of protection and loyalty to each other, probaby as Listius hoped to secure his own portion of the Széchy inheritance through Illésházy's favour. Mária Széchy's property rights were simply ignored.^[8]

Széchy soon understood that her family were conspiring against her. She had few backers in Murány, and she could not count on royal support because the Viennese government considered all three owners of Murány equally guilty in treason.^[8] During this time, she received a secret message from Ferenc Wesselényi, captain of Fülek Castle (today Fiľakovo, Slovakia).^[9] The Wesselényis were friends of Széchy's late mother, and a prominent family. As opposed to the Protestant Széchys, they were resolute Catholics.^[9] Ferenc Wesselényi had been given a thorough education in military pursuits, science, and arts.^[9] He was considered one of the most attractive men of his generation. He was widowed in April 1644 by the death of his first wife Zsófia Bosnyák, and left with two young sons.^[9] Heading a retinue of soldiers, Wesselényi decided to take Murány to gain favour in the Viennese court. Using a peasant, János Nagy, who was taking produce to his mistress living in Murány Castle, he sent a concealed letter asking Széchy for a meeting.^[9] Széchy, whose situation was becoming unbearable, started an exchange with him, and Wesselényi probably already started considering marriage to her.^[10] In July 1644, Széchy succeeded at secretly leaving the castle and meeting Wesselényi. She agreed to help him take Murány for the king, and the two became engaged. They organised the attack on Murány for the time Illésházy would be away.^[10]

Széchy played a decisive role in the royalist occupation of Murány on 5 August 1644. She hid a ladder outside the castle walls for Wesselényi and his followers and waited for them on top of the wall. After everyone had gone to sleep, she and her servants captured and imprisoned the guards so they could not raise the alarm. She then helped Wesselényi and his men climb into the castle. By the time people started waking up, all officers of the castle had been captured.^[11] Obtaining the key from Éva Széchy, the conspirators opened the gates to Wesselényi's army, who marched in, crying ‘long live the king’.^[11] Three days later, on 7 August, a Sunday, Széchy and Wesselényi were married by a Lutheran pastor, as no Catholic priest could be found.^[11]

Széchy then sent messengers for the captains of the family's two other fortresses, Lipcse and Vámosbalog. When the two men arrived in Murány, they were forced to swear loyalty to the king.^[11] Éva Széchy was sent to Trencsén (today Trenčín, Slovakia), the seat of her husband's family. She notified Illésházy, painting her sister's role as darkly as possible.^[11] Contemporaries started suspecting that Mária Széchy had had a long affair with Wesselényi, even before his first wife's death. Chroniclers and travellers spread exaggerated stories of Széchy's bravery or treachery, which later served as the basis of her role in Hungarian art.^[11] Prince Rákóczi himself blamed Illésházy and considered the affair a family conflict, not a political one.^[11]

The Viennese court appreciated the service of the Wesselényis. King Ferdinand III sent a letter thanking Wesselényi, while his wife, Maria Anna of Spain, wrote to Széchy and sent her a horse with expensive equipment. In 1647, Ferdinand gave the right of disposing of her estates in her will however she desired to Széchy, again lauding her bravery at Murány.^[12]

Széchy's third marriage, based on mutual sympathy, was happy and harmonius. The spouses both liked feasting, music, and receiving guests.^[12] Their good relationship is evidenced by the way Wesselényi mentioned his wife in letters. He gave her the nickname Miczikém (‘my Miczi’) or asszonykám (‘my little wife)’, praised her skills in managing their household, and he complained how difficult it was to travel away from his ‘beloved wife, [his] very dear nurse and keeper’. In Latin, he called her his ‘charissima, dulcissima’ (dearest, sweetest) wife. He seems to have considered her his equal and a partner in politics, making her one of the most influential Hungarian women of her time.^[13] She supervised the education of her step-sons, Ádám and László. In 1654, Ádám married one of Széchy's relatives, Borbála Homonnay, but he died in early 1656.^[14]

Their only difference was that of religion. After many lengthy theological discussions with her husband, in 1645, Széchy converted to Catholicism, adopting the name Anna in addition to Mária.^[12] Her conversion raised legal issues. The Protestant faction, for whom the ‘apostasy’ of such a prominent noblewoman was a painful political loss, challenged the validity of her third marriage. Although Széchy had divorced her first husband, he was still alive. While Protestants could divorce and remarry, Catholics could only separate and not remarry as long as their spouse lived.^[12] The Wesselényis turned to the church courts of György Lippay, Archbishop of Esztergom (their supporter). Lippay asked the counsel of scholars at the universities of Nagyszombat (today Trnava, Slovakia) Graz, and Vienna, as well as John de Lugo. On 29 March 1645, the archbishop officially declared the marriage of Széchy and Wesselényi legal, arguing that her marriage to István Kun had been null and void.^[12] The next challenge was the fact that Széchy and Wesselényi were related in the third degree, an impediment to their marriage in Catholic canon law. They applied for and received a papal dispensation.^[12]

Over the years, the couple bought much of the Szécsy estate from relatives. Combined with the costs of official representation at political functions and their love of expensive clothing, jewellery, and entertainments drained their incomes and they were perpetually indebted.^[14] Every piece of land they acquired, either through buying or royal donations, became shared property, and they both signed all documents pertaining to them.^[14] When loans could not cover their expenditure, Szécsy mortgaged her jewellery.^[14] During the diet of 1659, Széchy had to borrow silverware as her own was mortgaged at the time.^[14] They borrowed money from archpriests, aristocrats, friends, and charitable foundations, and goods from merchants. Acsády argues that their constant financial problems were the sign of a transitionary age, when land and its agricultural produce could no longer cover a political family's expenses, but sufficient cash was not yet available either.^[14] Wesselényi also rarely received his or his retinue's salary from the state treasury, itself badly funded. He had to pay advances to his retinue to keep them in his employment, complaining that 'great wealth makes [one] a beggar in public service'.^[14]

Wesselényi was often sick, and Széchy diligently nursed her. She herself suffered from many illnesses, and she developed practical medical knowledge, making medicine for herself and her husband when a doctor was unavailable, evidenced by her letters ordering ingredients.^[14] She also took care of her friends, household, and servants, sending wedding gifts and medicine when necessary. Just like her mother or her husband, she permitted her retinue and servants to choose their own denomination, but she made donations to the Catholic monastic orders, especially the Franciscans.^[13]

In 1666, Wesselényi wrote his first will, naming Széchy as his sole heir. His surviving son, László, brought a legal challenge, then fled to Poland. He wrote letters to his father, who took a long time to forgive him. Later, it seems that the relationship between Széchy and László Wesselényi was cordial, and he entrusted his wife's care to her in his own will.^[13]

The diverging political loyalties of the family complicated the fate of Murány, leading to a years-long legal battle.^[12] Wesselényi clamed Murány for himself and his wife as spoils of war. He seized the gold and silver of the Illésházys to cover the wages of his mercenaries; in response, Illésházy persuaded Prince Rákóczi to seize Széchy's manor in Tasnád.^[12] Széchy's uncle, Count Dávid Széchy, as self-appointed head of the family, claimed and seized Vámosbalog Castle.^[12] In November 1644, Wesselényi persuaded Illésházy to support the king, but he soon returned to Rákóczi's camp. This put her at odds with the Listius family.^[12]

Both the Wesselényis and the Illésházys had supporters in Vienna, and the conflict was mediated by Archbishop Lippay.^[12] Wesselényi offered to buy his brothers-in-law out.^[12] Following the Treaty of Linz on 18 September 1645 between King Ferdinand and Prince Rákóczi, both treated Murány as a principal contention, making the family feud into a national political matter.^[12] In 1646, King Ferdinand created Wesselényi, his sons, and their heirs counts of Murány.^[12] Széchy continued to play an important role in the lawsuits, writing petitions.^[12] In 1648, first János Listius then György Illésházy agreed to exchange their portion of Murány for other estates.^[12] The matter was finally settled after years of legal battles on 12 February 1650, with a new royal charter confirming Wesselényi's and Széchy's holdings.^[12]

During her third marriage, Mária Széchy was considered an exemplary and courageous woman by her contemporaries, despite rumours by her political enemies.^[13] Some contemporaries considered Széchy more clever and capable than Wesselényi. She was often sent as an envoy to the king or to persuade other powerful people to support Wesselényi's causes; he relied on her negotiating skills in writing and speech.^[13]

As the wife of Wesselényi, Széchy was expected to manage their household (a small court including young men in military and administrative training) and represent the family publicly.^[13] It was her job to gather useful friends and supporters to the house and make them feel welcome, at which she was very successful. Wherever the couple lived, their home became a centre of social life.^[13] Széchy's base remained Murány, but she travelled often to other estates. After Wesselényi was made general of Upper Hungary, they briefly established their court in Eperjes, then in 1648 in Kassa.^[13]

On 15 March 1655, Wesselényi was elected palatine of Hungary, becoming second man after the king.^[13] This increased Széchy's standing and responsibilities; she now often travelled to Pozsony (today Bratislava, Slovakia) and Vienna, where she visited the imperial court.^[13] As the king of Hungary lived in Vienna, it was the palatine's responsibility to represent the state directly to its subjects. The couple purchased a house in Pozsony, and they were in favour with King Leopold I.^[13]

A trusted member of the Wesselényi retinue was the poet István Gyöngyösi, first as a secretary then as a captain. In 1664, he published an epic narrative poem on the taking Murány and the marriage of Széchy and Wesselényi. Titled Marssal társalkodó murányi Venus ('The Venus of Murány Conversing with Mars'), it made both the poet and the subject, Széchy, famous. After its 1702 republication, the poem became a bestseller in Hungary.^[15] She herself wrote poems influenced by the style of Bálint Balassi, which have been lost, and she friends with her famous relative, Miklós Zrínyi.^[13]

Letters written by her have been found in almost every noble family's archive from the age, attesting to her widespread networks. Whereas her mother had dictated all of her letters, Széchy wrote intimate ones in her own hand. She read the scientific, literary, and theological books of the age, and she funded the publishing of five books. She republished Péter Pázmány's Hungarian translation of The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis and Pázmány's prayer book, two books which had become scarcely available. She commissioned Hungarian artists to make original illustrations for them. She also liked music, and it is known that the tambourine and later the guitar were both played in Murány.^[13]

The second half of the 17th century was turbulent in Hungary. Ottoman occupation had devastated the population and the economy; Catholics and Protestants (the latter were then the majority of Hungarians) were at odds with each other.^[16] Following the Thirty Years' War, royal power was strengthened in Europe. The Habsburgs decided to decrease the political privileges and power of the Hungarian nobility.^[16] In 1663, Wesselényi called people to arms against the Ottomans. The army was gathering slowly despite his speeches and treaths, and the Viennese court signed the Peace of Vasvár in 1664, seen as disgraceful by Hungarians.^[16] Wesselényi was caught between the court and the nobility, and, as he could not reconcile the two, he decided to head the magnate conspiracy.^[16]

Széchy's main task was to keep her tired husband on the side of the rebels and to facilitate communications.^[16] She relayed letters and organised personal meetings. In the autumn of 1666, the Wesselényis went to Vienna for the wedding of Leopold I and Margaret Theresa of Spain. There, Széchy made a pact of mutual support with her cousin Ferenc III Nádasdy, who had been her husband' enemy and spread rumours about her to undermine him.^[16]

Wesselényi had been ill since early 1666, but briefly recovered. On 31 January 1667, he suffered from attacks of asphyxiation. At the end of February, he was feeling better and worked with his wife on the conspiracy.^[17] On 14 March, he signed his will, naming Széchy as his sole heir. Saying that no one but his son László could challenge Széchy's rights, he cursed him in case he ‘hurt [her] under any pretense’. The revolting nobles convened in the Wesselényi house in Besztercebánya (today Banská Bystrica, Slovakia), where their meetings were led by Széchy.^[17]

On 27 March 1667, Wesselényi died.^[17] Széchy arranged a simple funeral according to Wesselényi's wishes.^[17] As the Viennese court had not yet learnt of the conspiracy, King Leopold assured Széchy of his protection. He ordered courts to postpone any lawsuits against the Wesselényi estate for three years.^[17] After her husband died, as a woman, Széchy could no longer take a leading role in the conspiracy.^[18] As she was hoping to sell her lands to leaders of the uprising, she could not sever her ties either. She continued to provide them with her network and host their meetings.^[19]

Her husband's death left Széchy in a difficult position, especially financially. By the standards of the age, she was elderly, nearing sixty.^[20] She had no support from her family and she had to guide her step-son, László Wesselényi, who had difficulty managing his own affairs.^[20] Széchy tried to strengthen her relationship with one of her cousins, György Széchy, securing political positions for him, but he did not have the necessary skills to help her.^[20] Her two sisters had both died and left one child each. Kata Illésházy showed love and sympathy to her aunt, but was not in a position to help her.^[20] Baron János Listius Jr. was one of the people who had lent money to the Wesselényis, and as soon as the husband died, he started demanding repayment from his aunt. For three years, until the debt was repaid, he inspired ‘terror’ in Széchy according to her letters.^[20]

Her troubles and lonelienss made Széchy bitter. ‘My god does not want that any part of any worldly thing should be to my pleasure. Wherever I could hope for consolation for myself, everywhere sorrow is given in its place’, she wrote, or elsewhere: ‘God and my poor soul know how many various torments I am in even now, and what troubles they cause me, [so many] that I know [that] my soul shall go out [of me]’.^[20] Her health had already been poor since at least 1649 (when she suffered prolonged gastric issues and a repeated ‘swelling of the liver’), but it deteriorated significantly following her husband's death. She had a continuous headache and felt weak. She used a ‘soup cure’, which did not help.^[20]

She nevertheless continued to travel around her estates and manage them and her financial and legal matters with the help of Ferenc Lessenyei Nagy, an old member of the household.^[20] During her widowhood, she had little credit and could not get loans, only if she mortgaged her gold or silver. She secured a large grant from the royal court in April 1669 to settle her most urgent debts, and she started selling her estates. The king barred her from selling Murány, for which she had already negotiated a high price.^[20] Because of her frequent illness, the estates she still held were mismanaged.^[20]

Towards the end of 1668, Széchy travelled to Pozsony, where she stayed for months. She decided to denounce the magnate conspiracy to the Viennese court. The government had already heard reports of the conspiracy, and at least two members of the movement had already betrayed its plans to ministers.^[19] However, as a crucial connection between conspirators and due to her collection of the magnates' letters and papers, Széchy could cause the most harm to them.^[19] With the agreement another conspirator, Péter Zichy (her cousin), Széchy sent an envoy to Count Rottal, an imperial officer, to inform him in a way that protected the interests of conspiratos and obscured uncomfortable details.^[19] Despite her betrayal, Murány continued to be a centre of the conspiracy, and her signature was used by her advisor Ferenc Nagy for letters she did not always read.^[19]

In April 1670, King Leopold ordered an imperial guard to be established in Murány. In July, he officially forbade Széchy from contacting the rebels and ordered her to surrender the conspirators living with her, including her chief advisor, Ferenc Nagy.^[21] Széchy debated whether armed resistance against her king was justified. Deciding that it was, she prepared for a siege. When the army arrived, she negotiated with them for three days and pleaded with the king. On 2 August, Leopold ordered her imprisonment and sent reinforcements. On 10 August Széchy capitulated.^[21]

She was mistreated by imperial commanders and considered a Hauptrebellin (chief rebel) by the government.^[21] Her servants were sent away, she was imprisoned, and her properties in Murány seized for the army. Széchy wrote letters to Viennese officials asking for their help, writing to Count Rottal, ‘I am more Lazarus than Lazarus himself because of my many bitter mortifications, which I have to suffer for others’. A few days later, she begged, ‘for the mercy of God, I beseech you grace, my sweet lord count, to help me out of my hopeless and undeserved captivity’.^[21] In October, her formal imprisonment was ended and a new, less severe commander was sent to Murány, but in effect, she remained captive. The testimonies of the arrested conspirators heavily implicated her; her old enemies continued working against her, while some of her friends turned on her, hoping to lessen their own sentences.^[21]

In order to protect herself, Széchy sent her belongings to Besztercebánya with a trusted soldier and repaid her most pressing debts. She gave some of her possessions to foundations to which she owed money, with the condition that if ‘these current changeable times’ passed, she would be allowed to use them for life.^[21] On 7 November, the king ordered the confiscation of her estate.^[21] Széchy wrote petitions to be allowed to travel to Pozsony or Vienna and be tried in court, ‘whatever I am accused of, to be able to save my innocent cause’.^[21] On 13 December, all of her estate, except for a small amount of cash, was repossessed by the treasury.^[21]

In January 1671, she was permitted to travel to Pozsony. The costs and necessities of travel were released to her by the keeper of her confiscated estate. On 13 February 1671, Széchy left Murány for the last time.^[21] She was escorted into Pozsony under an armed guard of sixty soldiers.^[20] She wrote an extensive testimony, saying, ‘I admit, I erred’, pleading the king's mercy. She was not tried, but she was kept under house arrest in Pozsony. In early June, she was taken to Vienna with the promise of a trial, but she was kept imprisoned for weeks without any proceedings.^[20] She was not permitted to bring her own cook, and she suffered from the foreign foods provided to her.^[20] She was afraid that she would be imprisoned for life or forced to enter a convent, and she kept sending letters and petitions.^[20] On 1 December, she was released from imprisonment, but she was not permitted to leave Vienna. A vague promise of regaining a part of her estate was given.^[20]

The confiscation of her estates left Széchy impoverished. She lost her political significance, but she continued to work for regaining it.^[20] Her Széchy relatives and her niece, Kata Illésházy (the wife of Count Pál Batthyány) wrote to her and supported her financially, knowing that if her estate was restored, they would stand to inherit a fortune.^[20] On 11 November 1671, after learning that Széchy had kept some jewels and other expensive belongings and hid them in Besztercebánya, these were confiscated, too and taken to Vienna.^[20]

A part of this treasure was given to her to cover her expenses, including the large apartment she rented in the Viennese residence of the archbishop of Esztergom. She even purchased new jewellery and continued giving expensive gifts.^[20] However, she wanted to return to Hungary and live near Jesuits to gain spiritual guidance for the end of her life.^[20] In October 1676, at the intercession of Count László Csáky, the second husband of Kata Illésházy, Széchy was allowed to return to Hungary. She signed a document stipulating that she would live with the Csákys, under their supervision. László Csáky agreed to report on her if she did anything suspicious.^[20]

On 15 October 1676, she arrived in Kőszeg, a town of the counts Széchy, near the Csáky estate.^[20] She had to spend the first night in the inn, as the town council did not want to receive her without formal imperial permission.^[22] She then lived in a house owned by Csáky.^[22] She was surrounded by suspicion but was allowed to move around Kőszeg freely. She organised a genteel household with a cook and a male servant.^[22] She continued to fight for her estate, including trying to claim the inheritance of her nephew (and former creditor), János Listius.^[22] She became a mediator in the family disputes of her Széchy cousins, and a relative, Count Péter, entrusted the education of his daughters to her.^[22]

She continued to provide medical advice and prepared medications for her relatives and neighbours. Letters written to her during this period show that members of her network regularly turned to her for health advice. She had her own collection of herbal ingredients and an assistant for making medicine.^[22]

Her health was better in the final years of her life than it had been in the previous decades, and she lived in active life until her death on 18 July 1679. According to her will, her body was not taken to the crypt of the Széchys in Felsőlindva (today Grad, Slovenia), but buried in the Jesuit Szent Jakab Church with a simple funeral.^[22]

From her first marriage to István Bethlen of Iktár, she had two children, both of whom died in childhood:

• Krisztina Bethlen (1628–1631);
• Unnamed daughter (1632).

From her second marriage to István Kun of Rozsály and from her third marriage to Ferenc Wesselényi, she had no children. During her marriage to Wesselényi, she raised his two sons from his marriage to Zsófia Bosnyák:

• Ádám Wesselényi (died 1656), served as captain of Fülek and married Borbála Homonnay, Széchy's relative, in 1654, no issue;
• László Wesselényi (died 1668), served as captain of Szendrő and married Zsuzsánna Osgyáni Bakos in 1660, no issue.

Gyöngyösi's narrative poem Marssal társalkodó murányi Venus became famous in Széchy's lifetime, and even more so in the following century.^[15] The story was picked up again in early 1847, an age of nationalism, when the Kisfaludy Society called for epic poems on Széchy's life. Sándor Petőfi, János Arany, and Miháy Tompa all produced works, but none of these were submitted. The winner, Károly Szász Jr., never published his work (titled Murány hölgye, The Lady of Murány), out of respect for Petőfi, Arany, and Tompa, all considered the greatest poets of the time.^[15]

• Marssal társalkodó murányi Venus (Venus of Murány Conversing with Mars), epic narrative poem by István Gyöngyösi, 1664;^[1]
• Széchy Mária vagy Murány vár ostromlása (Mária Széchy, or the Siege of Murány Castle), drama by Károly Kisfaludy, 1817;^[1]
• Murány ostroma (The Siege of Murány), narrative poem by János Arany, 1847;
• Széchy Mária, narrative poem by Sándor Petőfi, 1847;^[1]
• A murányi kaland (The Adventure of Murány), play by Zsigmond Móricz, 1931;^[1]
• A murányi amazon (The Amazon of Murány), novel by Miklós Kállay (writer), 1940.^[1]

• Márssal társalkodó murányi Vénus by István Gyöngyösi in the Hungarian Electronic Library

• Acsády, Ignác (1885). Széchy Mária (in Hungarian). Budapest: Magyar Történelmi Társulat.