The estates, empires, & principallities of the world Represented by ye description of countries, maners of inhabitants, riches of prouinces, forces, gouernment, religion; and the princes that haue gouerned in euery estate. With the begin[n]ing of all militarie and religious orders. Translated out of French by Edw: Grimstone, sargeant at armes.

¶ The Gouernment.

He king of Hongarie gouerns his realme by the meanes of two magistrats, whereof [ XIIII] the vpper part of Hongarie is diuided into there Magistrats. The first gouernes the

realme in the kings name. They account in this ranke the Palatin of the realme, who is [ A] next vnto the king, and iudgeth the king himselfe if he be accused: he is chosen by them of the countrie, and his office is not hereditarie. There is also the Iudge of the court, who is one of the ordinarie Iudges of the realme. Then the perpetuall Chauncellor, which is the Archbishop of Strigonia, primat of the realme, who is called the chiefe Secretary: his charge is to a••••oint the king when he is chosen, and to seale all patents and priuiledges. There is also the maister of the court, who must of necessitie follow the king, and is his ••eerest Councellor. Moreouer the maister of the royall Tauernies, as they call him, wh•• hath charge of mines and saltpits, and doth judge of causes which concerne the kings ••euenues in townes, borroughs, and castells. [ B]

The second magistrat is appointed for matters of justice, and this m••gistrat compre∣hends three officers of very great authoritie, that is, the Vice Palatin of the realme, the Personall Iudge of the presence, who holds the kings place in judgements, and is aboue all other Iudges, and the Vice Iudge of the court. The lesser officers are those, who are rather executioners of judgement, than magistrats, that is to say, two Protonotaries of the personall Iudge, one of the Vice Palatin, and one of the Vice Iudge of the court. All these are called maisters, and haue ioined vnto them the Archbishop of Strigonias se∣cretarie, who is called Fiscall, twelue Assistants, and certaine sworne notaries.

Besides all these, there are the kings officers, as the Treasurer, the high Chamberlaine, and other Chamberlaines, the lord Steward of the kings house, and other maisters of [ C] the houshould, the chiefe Cupbearer, gentlemen seruants, Vshers, and many other infe∣riour Officers.

Since that the house of Austria came to possesse this crowne of Hongarie, they haue made their gouernment more absolute, and the people more seruile, hauing lost much of their former libertie: for in the auncient gouernment, whenas their kings meant to vndertake a warre, to conclude a peace, or to alter any thing in the gouernment of the commonweale; their manner was to assemble the Barons, Bishops, and Gentlement at a certaine place, where by the consent of the greater part their kings had power to con∣firme, abrogat, or to make lawes, to denounce war, conclude peace, and to charge their lands with impositions according to their necessities: which assemblie is still in vse, but [ D] the freedome thereof is much peruerted; these being nothing at this day propounded to the assemblie by the new gouernors, but a contribution of money to resist the Turke when he theatens any inuasion; to which demaund, the Estates giue their resolution at a certaine day.

[ XV] They judge according to the written law, but they haue another kind of deciding of controuersies which happen amongst them: for if the matter be difficult to end, they ordaine that it shall be tried by combat betwixt the parties, the which is performed in the presence of the king, or of his lieutenant: the victorie is adiudged to the stronger, and he is held victorious that doth so amase his enemie at his first approach, as he retires com∣ming into the field, or being entred is so pursued, as he is forced to abandon the place [ E] that is limited vnto them. They that fight on horse-backe charge fi••st with their launces, and then they fall to the sword; and as for those that fight on foot, they haue their priuie parts couered, and all the rest of their bodie naked.

[ XVI] Only the males inherit in Hongarie, and if they die without sonnes, the daughters doe not succeed but the king, to whom the lands of the deceased fall by escheat.