Late Medieval Plague Waves in Eastern Germany and Bohemia: Combining Narrative, Administrative, Epigraphic, and Pictorial Sources with Quantitative Approaches

Author(s): Martin Bauch,Christan Oertel / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2024

This paper aims to enhance our knowledge about late-medieval epidemic outbreaks in specific parts of Eastern Central Europe. The first part on modern-day Eastern Germany discusses narrative evidence and its use in the current research on plague history, before bringing in municipal records on testaments and conveyances from Görlitz and Stralsund for the reconstruction of seasonality and mortality rates, as well as funeral inscriptions and pictorial evidence from Erfurt as indirect indicators of plague waves. After a brief discussion of the scarce narrative sources, the second part of the paper concerning Bohemia works with the evidence of the Libri Confirmationum, a source originating from the chancellery of the archbishops of Prague. Every new appointment to a benefice was supposed to be approved by one of the vicars general of the archbishop, and this confirmation usually gives the reason for the vacancy. Expanding on Eduard Maur’s research, death statistics and their frequency are analyzed statistically. The paper provides insight into new evidence for the reconstruction of plague waves, mortality rates and seasonality, and thereby highlights the characteristics of the plague in Eastern Central Europe.

An Alternative Proposal Explaining the Origin of the Word and Social Group ‘Székely’

Author(s): Tamás Keszi / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2024

The word ‘Székely’ or ‘Szekler’ was formed from the Hungarian verb szökik (jump, move fast, escape, run away) using the suffix ‘-l/ly’ creating deverbal nouns. The original meaning of the word is fast-moving (person), fugitive, or runaway. The formation of the social group began in the eleventh century. The process was brought about the establishment of the landlord system and frequent wars which led to the escapes and ‘wanderings’ of slaves and free people coerced into bondage. The refugees mainly settled in the sparsely populated border region, where the institutional vacuum offered them favourable conditions to avoid the control of the feudal state. Here, the groups of different ethnic origins acquired a unified identity. We can understand the process of the formation of the community by using the conceptual frameworks of ‘unintended consequences, self-organization, spontaneous order, and exaptation.’ The spontaneous process may have been replaced by the conscious organizational efforts of the Hungarian kings only around 1100. This was followed by the first mention of the Székelys in the Battle of Olšava in 1116.

The Late Medieval Cult of the Saints. Universal Developments within Local Contexts. By Carmen Florea.

Author(s): Dorottya Uhrin / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2023

The Late Medieval Cult of the Saints. Universal Developments within Local Contexts. By Carmen Florea. London–New York: Routledge, 2022. 326 pp

“Pro arduis negociis destinandum” – Papal Delegates and the Neapolitan Succession (1328–1352)

Author(s): Ágnes Maléth / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2024

The Neapolitan succession was one of the most problematic issues of Hungarian foreign policy in the Angevin period. As has been emphasized in the secondary literature, the Holy See, especially Pope John XXII (1316–1334) and Clement VI (1342–1352), played an active role in the negotiations between the Hungarian and the Neapolitan crowns. The diplomatic mediation of the papal court was carried out mainly by papal delegates with different types of authorizations. The primary aim of the present paper is to examine the details of these commissions and reveal who the clerics appointed by the Holy See to handle this delicate diplomatic matter were, what title they were given for the time of their delegations, and most importantly, what the outcomes of their commissions were. The paper focuses on the time when the papacy was most actively involved in the diplomatic events concerning the Neapolitan succession, namely from the death of Charles, duke of Calabria, the sole heir of Robert, king of Naples (1328), until the agreement of Joanna I and Louis I in 1352.

Concepts of Diversity in the Time of Sigismund of Luxembourg (1368–1437): Introductory Remarks and Conceptual Approaches

Author(s): Julia Burkhardt,Paul Schweitzer-Martin / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2024

Alterity and Self-Understanding: Inclusion and Exclusion Strategies of Southern German Estates in the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries

Author(s): Markus Christopher Müller / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2024

This article analyses diversification strategies in the politics of Sigismund I as king and emperor. Three examples (Swabia, Bavaria, and Tyrol) show different aspects of this diversity. In Swabia, Sigismund attempted to mediate alliances between the knightly societies and the city federations in order to create a counterweight to the imperial princes. In Bavaria, he privileged the knighthood and thus created a dynamic that led to the formation of the land estates with their own identity. Sigismund also supported rebellious nobles in Tyrol against their prince. All interventions can be better contextualised against the backdrop of his imperial policy. At first glance, he was not successful anywhere, but the imperial privileges he granted had an impact on the conflicts between the knighthood/nobility and princes in the fifteenth century and thus diversified late medieval constitutional practice.

Początki i rozwój technologiczny artylerii ogniowej i jej wykorzystanie w średniowiecznych działaniach wojennych

Author(s): Andrzej Niewiński / Language(s): Polish Issue: 3/2024

This article attempts to trace the development of artillery since the appearance of blackpowder in Europe. Gradually, the process of gunpowder production was improved bypurifi cation of its ingredients and selecting the right proportions. Cannons became thenext stage in the evolution of the former throwing machines. In order to produce them,suitable metal alloys were discovered, and the art of gunfounding was perfected. Theuse of iron and lead projectiles instead of stone projectiles made it possible to reducetheir size and enhance their striking power. Initially not very effective, the new weaponsbecame increasingly signifi cant in battle outcomes, playing a key role in events such as thecapture of Constantinople or the end of the Hundred Years’ War.

Civitas nostra Bardfa vocata. Správa mesta Bardejov v stredoveku (1320–1526) [Civitas nostra Bardfa vocata. The Administration of the Town of Bardejov in the Middle Ages (1320–1526)]. By Mária Fedorčáková.

Author(s): Drahoslav Magdoško / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2023

Civitas nostra Bardfa vocata. Správa mesta Bardejov v stredoveku (1320–1526) [Civitas nostra Bardfa vocata. The Administration of the Town of Bardejov in the Middle Ages (1320–1526)]. By Mária Fedorčáková. Košice: Bessarion, 2021. 239 pp.

«Почтивъ отпусти и в свою отчину»: русские князья в Орде в 1250‑е гг.

Author(s): Yuriy V. Seleznev / Language(s): Russian Issue: 5/2024

The article studies the trips of Russian princes to the headquarters of nomadic rulers in the 1250s, when peaceful relations of citizenship were established with the conquerors. The features of the relationship between Prince Alexander Nevsky and Sartak are considered. It is established that there is no direct evidence of a personal meeting between Prince Alexander and Sartak in early (synchronous events) accounts. The details of Prince Gleb Belozersky’s trip to the “Cana of the Earth” to the “Caesar” are investigated. The analysis of indirect evidence shows that the trip should be associated with the need to accompany Sartak as part of his service in the guard of Genghisid the heir. Matchmaking/marriage was not the purpose of this visit.The chronology of Prince Alexander’s trip to Berke in 1262—1263 is reconstructed. It is noted that Berke and Hulagu carried out a serious mobilization at this time. It is known that Berke ordered the conscription of 8 men out of each ten. Such mobilization would cause serious damage to the demographic and economic resources of Russia: fulfilling the requirement to offer such a number of people into service would lead to the mobilization of 7 to 16% of the population and from 20 to 32% of the adult male population of the Russian principalities. Undoubtedly, attracting such a large number of people of working age to military operations would have a negative impact on farming and population growth — it would be an economic and demographic disaster.

Monoszló nb. Péter és Bajor Ottó alakja Stájer Ottokár Rímes krónikájában

Author(s): Péter Báling / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: XI/2024

Bishop Peter from Monoszló genus and Duke Otto of Bavaria play a prominent role in that part of the Rhymed Chronicle of Ottokar of Styria (Ottokar aus der Gaal), which narrates the return of the Hungarian Holy Crown from Bohemia. This short paper seeks to answer the question of the authenticity of the data of the Rhymed Chronicle and how the figures of the Bishop of Transylvania and the Duke of Bavaria were portrayed by the author.

Foreign Trade and Domestic Networks : A few remarks on the organisation of tributary embassies to China in the Muromachi period

Author(s): Csaba Oláh / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2024

The aim of this article is to rethink the connection between foreign trade and domestic economy in late medieval Japan.The article takes a look at the financial side of the tributary missions to Ming China, investigating how commodities for tribute and for trade were organised. In the 1970s, Sasaki Gin’ya was the first to criticise that research on foreign trade and research on the domestic economy were being conducted separately. He emphasised the importance of complex interdisciplinary research in order to reveal the connection between foreign trade and the domestic economy. Even though this issue had been previously raised, no research had been conducted with the explicit purpose of connecting foreign trade and the domestic economy during the Muromachi period until the past two decades. Contributions that have been made in recent years have aimed at revealing the connections between domestic commercial or religious networks with foreign relations, mainly focusing on the role of Zen monks in diplomacy and trade and on the import and distribution of commodities from China. In Western scholarship, this topic is still under-researched and provides potential for further investigations. Thus, the paper tries to provide an inventory of case studies that help us imagine and understand what kinds of connections existed between domestic networks and foreign trade in medieval Japan that made the procuring of tribute items and commercial products for official trade in China possible. Being aware of networks in medieval society, such as the religious network—and also closely connected to that the commercial network—of Honganji or Tenryūji, can help us connect the scattered and loose information in the sources, in order to explain what contributed to the development of foreign trade. The paper argues that despite the weakening of shogunal power, tributary trade continued because the structure of ship management transformed. Tribute ships became part of commercial ventures backed by the flourishing late medieval Japanese economy, and the increase of capital led to an increase in investors who were ready to participate in trade with China. The way that products were procured shows different patterns that provide good examples to help us understand how local commercial, social, and religious networks were utilised for procuring Japanese commodities.

Václav Nečada: Řečický děkanát a jeho klérus do roku 1436

Author(s): Jaroslav David / Language(s): Czech Issue: 2/2024

Review of the book

Geç Orta Çağ Avrupa’sında İktidar Mücadelesinde Köylü-Burjuva İşbirliği: Flander Örneği (1297-1328)

Author(s): Halil Yavaş / Language(s): Turkish Issue: 35/2024

In this study, we aim to examine the chain of rebellions that emerged in Flanders in the Late Middle Ages. For this purpose, after giving brief information about the early period of the Flanders region, cities and guilds, we will focus on the political and economic causes for the rebellions. While we are considering the events in a chronological way, we are making assessments about various problems. At the beginning of these problems are the nature of the rebellion, the England-France conflict and its connection with the feudal system. Although our study subject actually extends between the twelfth and fifteenth centuries, we limited it to the first half of the fourteenth century in order to make a better analysis. The most important conclusion we will reach in our study is that these rebellions are not a revolution. We consider the events as more than a class conflict in the modern sense, bourgeois and peasants acting together to protect their own power and economic interests and resisting the feudal system. We can even say that one result of the rebellion was that Flanders prevented the feudal system from advancing northwards from France. As a result, we think that we cannot compare the uprisings in the region with the peasant uprisings in either France or England. We tried to benefit from period sources as much as possible while providing information about the development of events. However, in the discussions on the subject, we benefited from experts in their field, the first name to be consulted when we talk about Medieval Flanders is Henri Pirenne. In addition, we benefited from many researchers, especially David Nicholas, Willem Blockmans and William Henry TeBrake.

The Four-Class System (sideng renzhi 四等人制) of Administration During the Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368) in China

Author(s): Tatiana Frank / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2025

Mongol rule in China stands as a remarkable example of the amalgamation of two distinct cultures—one sedentary and one agricultural. The progression of the Mongol conquest in both northern and southern China warrants special attention. Initially, the Mongol campaigns in northern China (1211–1234) were marked by excessive cruelty, city destruction, the conversion of lands into pastures, and the displacement of the conquered population. However, this strategy proved to be unproductive, yielding minimal benefits for the Mongols. The strategic proposal presented by Yelü Chucai 耶律楚材 (1189–1243), an adviser to Genghis Khan (Mong. Činggis qaγan, Temüǰin 1162–1227) and Ögedei Khan (Mong. Ögedei qaγan, 1186–1241), compelled the conquerors to reassess their subsequent plans. During the reign of the Mongols in China, the population was divided into four groups: the Mongols, the semu 色目, the northern Chinese, and the southern Chinese. The ethnic hierarchy during the Yuan Dynasty was a structured system that categorised the population into distinct classes, primarily to facilitate governance and maintain social order within the diverse and vast empire. This hierarchy had significant implications for the social, political, and economic life of the people under the Mongol rule. Moreover, the Mongols created their own centralised administrative system, which mostly excluded the Chinese from key government positions. The Chinese were often assigned to minor positions or given fewer opportunities for promotion. This study delves into the traits of the four-class system and the Mongol administrative system in China. The ethnic policy implemented by the Mongols against the conquered people during the Yuan dynasty had a significant impact on social relations, economic activity, and political stability in China, which partially contributed to the dynasty’s later downfall

Влада Станковић, Краљ Милутин (1282–1321

Author(s): Milena Repajić / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 4/2013

Vlada Stanković, King Milutin (1282–1321), Фреска, Београд 2012, 164. стр.

Zespół bram między przedzamczem a Nogatem w Malborku z XIV wieku Przyczynek do badań słabo poznanych elementów założenia zamkowego

Author(s): Bogusz Wasik / Language(s): Polish Issue: 4/2024

This analysis was prompted by the discovery of a fragment of a medieval wall at Malbork Castle during an archaeological inspection in 2023. Drawing from early mod- ern inventory descriptions, maps, and panoramas of the castle, it was determined that this fragment belonged to a previously unidentified complex of gates located between the outer bailey and the Nogat River. These gates have not yet been fully recognised or properly identified by researchers. Although limited archaeological investigations have taken place in this area, they have not provided substantial information about this gate complex. The most well-known of the gates was the first one, positioned near St Lawrence Church. Historical sources describe a long, narrow entrance passage ex- tending westward from this gate. Along the passage’s side walls were two additional gates, referred to as the Grain (Ger. Korn) or Granary (Ger. Kornhaus) Gates, named after a large nearby granary on the Nogat River. The northern gate led towards the gra- nary, while the southern gate provided access to the town of Malbork. In front of the southern gate was a transverse moat, crossed by a drawbridge. Another gate branched off towards the river. To the west of the gate complex was a small walled courtyard, surrounded by various buildings mentioned in surviving records. An analysis of these sources enabled the partial reconstruction of the gate complex, which did not survive the Swedish Deluge in its original form. However, key aspects – such as the dimensions of the complex, the precise layout of the walls, and the construction techniques – still require further investigation.

ВЕЛИКАШКО ПОРЕКЛО ГРБА КНЕЗА ЛАЗАРА

Author(s): Vladimir Aleksić / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 7/2016

Even the fact that Duke Lazar was just one among many prominent noblemen of the Serbian Empire at the beginning of his career, he died as the most prominent person of the fragmented and partially ruined state. As a part of a complex and long lasting struggle for the political prestige he asserted his personal Coat of Arms with great eager. It has been presumed, that his symbol was the display of a tournament helmet (Bascinet) of the West European origin equipped with a protecting iron net (Avental) and additionally decorated with a pair of twisted ox horns, which, combined all together, presented some type of the proto heraldic marc. However, the very same graphic emblem was used on the buttons ornamenting the luxurious belt, which was the crucial sign of the personal power and authority in the Middle Ages. It was found in the grave in the church of Saint Nikolas near the town of Suceava (Romania). The findings within were usually attributed to the Moldavian Voivode Laţcu (†– 1374). Taking into account just mentioned, and especially the newest results regarding the expansion of the heraldry in Serbia in the second half of the XIVth century, it seems that Coat of Arms of Duke Lazar should be further exclusively examined only as a part of the regional processes developing in Central Europe at that time. It is most probable that the examined symbol was not the result of the domestic designers.

АЛЕКСАНДАР УЗЕЛАЦ, ПОД СЕНКОМ ПСА. ТАТАРИ И ЈУЖНОСЛОВЕНСКЕ ЗЕМЉЕ У ДРУГОЈ ПОЛОВИНИ XIII ВЕКА

Author(s): Miloš M. Milojević / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 7/2016

ALEKSANDAR UZELAC, UNDER THE SHADOW OF THE DOG. THE TATARS AND THE SOUTH SLAV LANDS IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE 13TH CENTURY, BELGRADE: UTOPIJA 2015, 321 PAGES

ВИЗАНТИЈСКИ ЕП „ПРИЧА О ЧЕТВОРОНОЖНИМ ЖИВОТИЊАМА”: ИЗМЕЂУ ИСМЕВАЊА И ВРЕЂАЊА „СТРАНАЦА”

Author(s): Radivoj Radić / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 10/2019

The late Byzantine literature shows the blossoming of sorts of the so-called “animal epic,” otherwise widely popular in the literature of the Latin world of the medieval Western Europe. It is the literary genre that has as main characters representatives of flora and fauna assuming human features. These texts, and several of them have been preserved, have an educational value as they show the readiness of the Byzantines to ridicule certain negative phenomena in their society, but also to rather mercilessly ridicule other nations or ethnic communities. This text analyzes the intolerance or, it could even be said, contempt and hatred of the Byzantines towards the Jews, Gypsies and the Francs (Latins) in the epic “Tale of the Four-Footed Beasts” from the late 14th century, that consists of 1,082 political verses. This belittling of the “others” is sometimes metaphorical, sometimes harsh and bordering good taste, but always clear and undoubtedly offensive. Taken together as a whole, all the mentioned examples speak volumes about the well-known ostentation of the Byzantines, and their arrogance that considered all the other nations the contemptible barbarians.

Изостанак Ромеја у Маричкој бици и ступање Византије у вазални положај кроз призму деловања Андроника IV Палеолога

Author(s): Ivana D. Veselinović / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 15/2024

Taking into account Andronikos’ disobedience to Emperor John V, evident in several instances between 1366 and 1371, this paper posits the assumption that, throughout that period, the young prince was laying the groundwork and attempting to ascend to the Byzantine throne. The last in a series of events that unequivocally allude to the awakened imperial ambition of Andronikos IV, in our opinion, is the rebellion in the fall of 1371 immediately after the emperor’s return to the capital, which was unsuccessfully carried out by a group of distinguished aristocrats. We believe that the rebellion was caused by the connection of the rebels with Andronikos IV, using the discontent of the people of Constantinople towards the pro-Latin policy of the emperor who rejected the Orthodox faith in Rome and converted to Roman Catholicism. In addition to all of the above, it is important to emphasize Andronikos’ conciliatory attitude towards the Turks, followed by the desire to reach an agreement, despite the great engagement of the despot John Uglješa for a common struggle. Taking all this into account, it becomes clear why the Byzantines did not participate in the Battle of Maritsa. Andronikos IV did not need enmity with the Turks, since their alliance on the other hand, would have greatly facilitated his assumption of the throne. In our opinion, the rebellion at the end of 1371 was the catalyst for Roman Emperor John V Palaiologus to become a vassal to the Turkish Sultan Murat I, most likely occurring in 1372. This act can be seen as a strategy to maintain his position on the throne in the face of the impatient heir, who was actively seeking Turkish support. Approaching the problem from this perspective, there is a possibility that actually Andronikos IV’s closeness with the Turks, along with their military superiority especially as a potential ally in his struggle for power, forced John V to this act in order to maintain his throne. This is supported by the rebellion of the two princes in 1373, that is, only one year after the Byzantine submission to the Ottomans, which clearly speaks of the impossibility of cooperation of the Byzantine heir to the throne with Sultan Murat I, to whom John V, as a vassal, was completely responsible on the throne. These are the reasons that led to the alliance of the Ottoman and Byzantine princes, who, seeing the good relations between their fathers, realized that they would have to wait a long time for power, as a result of which they united their forces in an attempt to get hold of it.