Istorie – percepție istorică – istoriografie. Despre originea și etnia primilor coloniști occidentali ai Transilvaniei medievale
History – Historical Perception – Historiography. On the Origin and Ethnicity of the First Western Colonists of Medieval Transylvania

Summary/Abstract: 900 years ago, the direction of workforce migration in Europe was the opposite of today: the expertise needed for urban development along the new trade routes generated a transfer of population from the west to the sparsely populated eastern peripheries of the Christian Latinitas. These settlers enjoyed a wide range of fiscal and ecclesiastical immunities and privileges granted by local rulers, thus providing attractive conditions for a better life in their new homelands. One of these environments under construction was Transylvania, at that time a new territorial addition to the Kingdom of Hungary. The first wave of „royal guests” – ca. 2600 Walloon, Flemish and German colonists from today’s Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Low Countries – settled around Sibiu after 1150. During the last century, however, little academic analysis has been attempted to challenge or further appreciate these affirmations. The purpose of this paper is to underline the necessity of bringing a fresh view on the assessments concerning the origin and ethnicity of the first wave of colonists in medieval Transylvania, through updated methodological suggestions and an interdisciplinary apprehension of historical sources, material culture, linguistic elements, church institutions, and social structures.

• Details
• Contents