Nobility, Land and Service in Medieval Hungary is the first Western language account of medieval landholding and noble society in Hungary. Rady indicates that although all noble land was held by the ruler, a complex web of relationships still permeated the Hungarian nobility. In his discussion of the institutions of lordship, clientage and office-holding, the author draws direct parallels between medieval Hungary and its better-known Western neighbors.

The absence in medieval Hungary of fief-holding and vassalage has often been cited by historians as evidence of Hungary's early 'deviation' from European norms. This new book argues that medieval Hungary was, nevertheless, familiar with many institutions characteristic of noble society in Europe. Contents include the origins of the Hungarian nobility and baronage, lordship and clientage, the role of the noble kindred, conditional landholding, the organization of the frontier, the administration of the counties, and the establishment of representative institutions.