He was born around the year 1535 in the village of Rakouch (Rakovo), in Turóc County, which is now in the Martin District of the Žilina Region in Slovakia.

During Turkish incursions into the region during the late 1560s, Rakovszky stayed at the mansion in Turóckelemenfalva, now Kaľamenová where he participated in defending his family's property against the Turks in 1569.

His ancestor László de Chernek was in the entourage of the Hungarian king Béla IV in the battle of Muhi against the Tartars/Mongols in 1242.

For his and his brother's (Márton de Chernek, a royal chaplain) loyalty they were given estates at Zanasan in Turócz, while still retaining some south-east of lake Balaton.

After arriving in Pozsony (now Bratislava, a name invented much after his death), Rakovszky wrote Libellus de partibus reipublicae et causis mutationum regnorum imperiorumque, a civil and political commentary dedicated to Emperor Maximilian II.