Magnate family in the Hungarian lands, in the 17th century occupying the throne of the Princes of Transylvania and among the opponents of the Habsburgs. Prince Sigismund Rákóczi (1622-1652) invited Jan Amos Comenius to Hungary, and his invitation was also supported by his mother, Zuzana Lórántffy. Prince Rákóczi had previously known Comenius as the author of a textbook for Latin. Sigismund Rákóczi shared with his parents a desire to increase the overall level of education in their lands and an admiration of learning. The political hopes invested in him were increased by his marriage to Henrietta Maria (Henrietta Maria of the Palatinate), the daughter of Frederick V of the Palatinate in 1651, but within a year both had succumbed to smallpox. This event weakened Comenius’ position at Sárospatak in Hungary.
The father of Sigismund Rákóczi was György I Rákóczi, and his brother was György II Rákóczi.