Prefection

Prefection,[1][2] also promotion of a daughter to a son[3] (Hungarian: fiúsítás; Latin: praefectio in filium), was a royal prerogative in the Kingdom of Hungary, whereby the sovereign granted the status of a son to a nobleman's daughter, authorizing her to inherit her father's landed property and transmitting noble status to her children even if she married a commoner.

The first prefection occurred in 1332, when King Charles Robert granted this status to Margaret Gersei.

The Gersei family sided with the king during the early, tumultuous years of his reign, when he had to defeat the local oligarchs to consolidate his rule.

Overall about 100 cases of prefection were recorded until 1526 (when most of Hungary fell to the Ottoman Empire and central rule became destabilized).

[4] In literature, prefection plays a role in the second part of János Arany's famous Toldi trilogy − both Toldi's beloved, Piroska Rozgonyi, and his niece, Anikó are granted praefecta status by Louis the Great.