János Rimay (1569/1573 ?-1631)

He came from a noble family in county Nógrád, however, through his mother Christina Madách he was related to one of the important families of the region the Madáchs of Stregova. His cousin Gáspár Madách was the member of this family, who took care of Rimay's literary legacy and followed his pattern of poetry. As a child, Rimay worked for the powerful Protestant nobleman István Báthory of Ecsed. Báthory who was also a writer, his meditations influenced Rimay. As the personal secretary of Prince István Bocskai, he entered the bloodstream of big politics and worded the Prince's letters (1605-1606). Later, as the secretary of István Illésházy he became a member of the Turkish legation which meant to confirm the Peace Agreement of Zsitvatorok. (1608-1609) As a professional diplomat during the reign of Gábor Bethlen he was again sent to the Turkish legation as the chief person of the Thurzó family. His correspondence is the primary resource of the era's political history and diplomacy. At the end of his life he offered his services to György Rákóczi and copied Balassi's poems for the later Prince. Unfortunately this manuscript was lost, as well as his collection of poems which according to the Balassi-codex was dropped in the river Tisza.

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