A békebírság

Author(s): Éva B. Halász / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 1/2021

The fine of peace (iudicium pacis) was paid by the parties in a lawsuit to their ordinary judge in case they petitioned for and received permission, before judgement was pronounced, to make an agreement by arbitration or otherwise. The term itself emerged in the sources in the course of the fourteenth century, but the fine had certainly had to be paid to the judge already in the late thirteenth century if the case ended with an agreement instead of a judgement. From 1435 the judges were disallowed to exact it in acts of might (actus potentiarii), and the ban was extended from the end of the fifteenth century to all suits that ended with agreement prior to judgement. The fine of peace was generally shared by the parties: they either paid equally, or the defendant took on itself the payment of the bigger part. While few sources give precise sums, on the basis of the surviving evidence the amount of the fine was in the range between 3 and 5 florins. Higher sums only occur before the law of 1351.

A csíkszentkirályi plébániatemplom kutatása (2002)

Author(s): Boglárka Tóth,István Botár,Miklós Rácz / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: II/2007

The presented data were collected on the occasion of the outer refurbishment of the church of Sâncrăieni. We did not have the opportunity to do archaeological research elsewhere, nevertheless we could form a comprehensive history of the main building periods. Sâncrăieni is situated int he eastern part of Transylvania, in the former Szekler seat Csík. The name refers to Saint Stephen I, the first king of Hungary as „Saint King" (Szentkirály), this village name and its church had therefore been created before 1192, the canonization of the second saint king of Hungary, László I. The Hungarian-speaking population of the Szeklers was settled in the region int he late 12th and early 13th centuries. Sâncrăieni and its church were probably founded by the new settlers, but they can as well be of an earlier origin. The walls of the nave preserve the remains of two medieval phases. The western gate and one fragment of a window can be identified as parts of a Romanic period Later the nave was elongated towards the east, on this part of the southern wall an early gothic window was discovered. None of the medieval periods of the chancel is known, as the present chancel was built to the nave in 1759. Like the most village churches of the region, the medieval church had no spire, nevertheless a bell from 1562 testifies to the existence of a wooden tower. Based on dendrochronological dating of the timbers, the present tower in the west was built in the early 18th century. The roof forms of the two medieval phases of the nave were reconstructed on the basis of the western gable remains.The presented data were collected on the occasion of the outer refurbishment of the church of Sâncrăieni. We did not have the opportunity to do archaeological research elsewhere, nevertheless we could form a comprehensive history of the main building periods. Sâncrăieni is situated in the Eastern part of Transylvania, in the former Szekler seat Csík. The name refers to Saint Stephen I, the first king of Hungary as „Saint King" (Szentkirály), this village name and its church had therefore been created before 1192, the canonization of the second saint king of Hungary, László I. The Hungarian-speaking population of the Szeklers was settled in the region in the late 12th and early 13th centuries. Sâncrăieni and its church were probably founded by the new settlers, but they can as well be of an earlier origin. The walls of the nave preserve the remains of two medieval phases. The western gate and one fragment of a window can be identified as parts of a Romanic period Later the nave was elongated towards the east, on this part of the southern wall an early gothic window was discovered. None of the medieval periods of the chancel is known, as the present chancel was built to the nave in 1759. Like the most village churches of the region, the medieval church had no spire, nevertheless a bell from 1562 testifies to the existence of a wooden tower. Based on dendrochronological dating of the timbers, the present tower in the west was built in the early 18th century. The roof forms of the two medieval phases of the nave were reconstructed on the basis of the western gable remains.

A darlaci középkori falképek vizsgálata

Author(s): Erika N. Feketics / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: VIII/2013

Die mittelalterliche, heute evangelisch-lutherische Kirche in Durles (Dârlos/Darlac, RO) befindet sich im Norden des Landkreises Hermannstadt (Sibiu/Szeben, RO). Durles liegt 10 Kilometer westlich von Elisabethstadt (Dumbrăveni/Erzsébetváros, RO) und 6 Kilometer östlich von Mediasch (Media􀜈/Medgyes, RO). In einer Urkunde der päpstlichen Kurie aus dem Jahr 1332 erscheint der Ort unter dem Namen Dorlako. Die ältesten Dokumente, die Bezug auf die Wandgemälde der Kirche nehmen, verdanken sich dem französischen Schriftsteller Auguste De Gérando und stammen aus dem Jahr 1845. Die detaillierte Beschreibung umfasst Informationen über die Wandgemälde im Langhaus, im Chorraum und auf den Außenseiten des Kirchenbaus. Auf der Laibung trägt der Triumphbogen eine Aufschrift, die das Datum 1701 und den Vermerk enthält, dass im Jahr 1845 umfangreiche Renovierungsarbeiten am Kirchenbau vorgenommen worden sind. Während dieser Renovierungsarbeiten wurden die Wandgemälde in Chor und Langhaus mit Kalkfarbe überdeckt. Die Aufschrift gehört der ersten Kalkschicht an, die den Triumphbogen und die Wandgemälde der Chorwände bedeckt. Die letzten größeren Renovierungsarbeiten wurden im Jahr 1972 durchgeführt. Vermutlich sind mit dieser Gelegenheit auch die Wandgemälde auf den Wänden des Langhauses entfernt worden. Heute ist es nicht mehr möglich, Reste dieser Wandbemalung zu finden. Im Jahr 1975 wurden zufällig wenige Fragmente der Wandgemälde des Chorraums entdeckt. In den Jahren 2009–2011 führte der Restaurierungsfachbetrieb Imago Picta GmbH Rechercheund Konservierungsarbeiten in mehreren Etappen durch. Dabei trat auf der Nordwand des Chorraums eine Darstellung des Jüngsten Gerichts zutage; auf der gegenüberliegenden Südwand wurden Szenen aus dem Leben der Heiligen Katharina von Alexandrien und solche, auf denen Helena und Konstantin zu sehen sind, entdeckt. Die Fachliteratur hält keinen Aufschluss über den Fertigungsprozess von Wandgemälden in den mittelalterlichen Kirchen Siebenbürgens bereit. Der Großteil der verfügbaren Beschreibungen bezieht sich lediglich auf Maltechniken und Stilfragen. Die von mir durchgeführten Untersuchungen bieten neue Erkenntnisse über den aktuellen Zustand der Wandbilder, die Fertigungstechniken und die Abfolge der Malschichten, die verwendeten Materialien und Werkzeuge.

A decima et nona az Anjou- és a Zsigmond-korban

Author(s): Éva B. Halász / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 04/2019

The terms of decima et nona pars/partes appear in charters in the fourteenth century, in cases where the parties agreed in one of them paying the other a given sum. It occurs in cases of pledging, purchase, redemption of daughters’ quarter, termination of lawsuits by agreement alike. The sum, which could be termed „fee” in the modern sense of the word, was paid – if not otherwise stipulated – by the receiving party to the judge or to the issuer of the charter who fixed the agreement.

A DOBOZI SÁMSON VÁR

Author(s): András Liska / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 1/2008

A felforgató király esete a hagyománytisztelő herceggel

Author(s): Attila Zsoldos / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 02/2018

This study reviews the history and the nature of the conflict between Andrew II of Hungary (1205-1235) and his oldest son, prince Béla, the later king Béla IV of Hungary (1235-1270). This conflict was not centred upon the throne, but on the reforms of Andrew, radically altering the way in which power was exercised. Béla was firmly confident that the restoration of the absolute power of the 11th and 12th century is only a matter of will and determination. Although their views were radically opposed, they did not lead to any bloody confrontation. Andrew did not have to fear his son's claims to the throne, and Béla could be certain that he will eventually come to exercise his power according to his preferences.

A felvinci református templom újonnan feltárt középkori freskója

Author(s): Tekla Szabó / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: II/2007

On the medieval walls built in the 19th century church of Unirea (Felvinc) a significant Passion-cycle has been found. The frescoes found on the eastern and the southern walls of the sanctuary - in the area of the gallery supporting the organ - have been conserved between 2002 and 2007. The work will continue in the area beneath the gallery. The upper row of the south wall includes two fragmentary scenes before the Crucifixion: the Flagellation and the Trial of Christ. The Passion-cycle continues in the apex of the eastern wall with a large Crucifixion scene. The 19th century vault of the chancel covers the upper part of the scene. The two scenes of the second row - on either side of a window with the iconic representation of Kosmas and Damian - are the Deposition and the Entombment of Christ. The Resurrection and Anastasis of Christ are represented in the lower row, partly covered by the gallery. The scenes of the post-Resurrection incidents continue on the south wall with the Assumption. An apostle head depiction has been found under the Trial of Christ scene. The masterfully composed fresco full with emotions resembles the sparse compositions of the Middle Byzantine era, which lived throughout and influenced the art of the duecento. This is the heritage of the painters who fled Constantinople after 1204, and who found their new maecenas in the young Balkan and Crusade states, or further in Western Europe. It is interesting to note that at Unirea many depictions merge two scenes of the Holy History. The Deposition of Christ scene supports elements from the Lamentation of Christ, while the Anastasis Christ's victory pose refers more to the Resurrection. A Christ in victory is also represented a Resurrection. The scene blended this Western component with the Byzantine style: an angel points towards the empty grave and supposedly towards the three women, but that scene probably was covered by the 19 century structure. Other scenes prove the circulation of Franciscan patterns widespread in Italian painting from the middle of 13th century. The new images enhancing the sufferings like The Flagellum, the Trial shows the transformation process of the Byzantine imagery for Western use. We also find direct allusions to friars in the representation of the cord-bounded hands of Christ in the scene of the Trial, or the cord legged clothes of the holy personages in the Anastasis scene. The technique used is secco-fresco with sepia. The giornates follows the frame of the scenes. Considering the wall paintings, one can recognize the characteristics of the "Italo-Byzantine style". The figures with red haloes tend to fill out the red frames of the scenes. In the space between them, western architectural patterns were inserted. The "horror vacui" is proved by the preference for the numerous decorative patterns, mostly painted al secco. The almost sculptural forms of the figures are painted with different saturations of the same colours, creating a chiaroscuro effect. On the frescoes left, one can identify three masters. One of them, who painted mainly the women side figures and the medical saints, had also the characteristics of the "Linear Gothic Style". The interference of the two styles can be observed also at Cecejovce, Cserkút and Sânta Măria Orlea. Both styles have Byzantine features, but it appears that one should not necessarily search for a direct influence of either style. The discovery of the Unirea frescoes helped to reconsider the importance of the Italo-Byzantine style at the beginning of 14th century. Together with other new discoveries (Văleni de Mureş, Crăciunel) and the reanalysis of the ones which were already known (Sântimru, Cricău, Cecejovce, Cserkút,) the circle of the Italo-Byzantine wall paintings (mostly Sânta Măria Orlea, Spisská Kapitula, Dravce, Ghelniţa) became wider. One can find common features in almost all works of the style circle, but the Unirea fresco is closest to the fresco of Sântimbru, Criău and Sânta Măria Orlea. This is due to the relatively common painting technique and the common source of the iconography. The diversity and the high quality of both styles and composition are raising the question of a possible local mixing of styles.

A ferencesek asztala (A Kisebb Testvérek táplálkozási gyakorlata a késő középkori Közép-Európában)

Author(s): Marie-Madeleine de Cevins / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 3/2017

A FRANCISCAN FRIAR’S LETTER FROM THE CRIMEA (1287)

Author(s): Szilvia Kovács / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2016

From the second half of the 13th century, the Franciscan Order had played an important role in missionary activities in the Mongol Empire. The present paper investigates the Franciscans’ role based on a letter written in 1287 by a Franciscan friar from the Crimea (frater Ladizlaus custos de Gazma) in which he described the events of recent years. For example, he reported on the baptism of a certain “Yaylaq”, identified as a wife of Noghay, in the Crimea. In this paper, the historical background of this letter will be analysed with an emphasis on the relationship between the Franciscan order and the Golden Horde and the role of Yaylak Khatun’s conversion in this process.

A görög irodalom újraéledése az első humanista fordításokban

Author(s): József Marton / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 1/2010

The rebirth of the Greek culture is one of the unique characters of the renaissance humanism which makes it different from other renaissance movements. In that played the new Latin translations of the Greek classics crucial role which were pre-determined for the whole period by programming activity of Leonardo Bruni. This study analyses both the method (‘how?’) and motivation (‘why and what?’) of this revival. Firstly, the modern translation method of Bruni is interpreted which finds the essence of the text in its sense, presenting the historical-philological background of the method in the view of the contemporary intellectual schools and its complex linguistic aspects. Secondly, it discovers those literal motives, actual reasons and personal incitements according to that the Greek authors and works were chosen to be translated and purposefully ordered.

A Habsburg hercegek szentföldi utazásai

Author(s): Péter E. Kovács / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 01/2019

In 1399 Dukes Albert IV (the Patient) and William II (the Ambitious) of Austria tried to acquire from Venice a piece of the bones of Saint Stephen the First Martyr for the cathedral of Vienna, dedicated to the Saint. It was this event that called the author’s attention to the pilgrimage of the Habsburg dukes to the Holy Land, for it seemed curious enough that several members of the same ruling family, with an outstanding role in European history, decided to visit the Holy Sepulchre. Therefore, the paper examines the pilgrimages of Dukes Albert IV (the Patient), Ernst II (the Iron), and Frederick III from 1398, 1414 and 1436 respectively.

A Habsburgok és a magyar Anjouk kapcsolatainak kronológiája IV. (Luxemburgi) Károly uralkodása alatt

Author(s): Renáta Skorka / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 4/2014

In the 14th century the history of East-Central Europe was shaped by the cooperation, alliances and wars between three ruling dynasties. One of these was the Luxemburg family, governing the Kingdom of Bohemia, which, by the second half of the 14th century, also secured for itself a dominant position in the Holy Roman Empire. The second, the Hungarian branch of the Angevins, arrived from an Italian and French family background, while the Habsburgs governed the Austrian provinces of the Empire. By the middle of the century the relationship between the Habsburgs and the Angevins had become increasingly superfi cial, and then turned into outright confl ict in the wake of the repeated military clashes along the Austro-Hungarian border. In the second half of the 14th century the relations between the two realms were generally determined by the shifting policies of Charles IV of Luxemburg, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Bohemia. The changing diplomatic relations between Hungary and Austria in the second half of the century, and the factors of international politics which infl uenced them, are registered in the attached chronological database.

A horvátországi magyarlakta falvak története

Author(s): Krisztián Szigetvári / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 1/2004

A kikiáltott közgyűlés

Author(s): István Tringli / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 4/2021

The date of the introduction of the proclaimed congregation (proclamata congregatio generalis) has so far been wrongly defined, and its essence misinterpretated. This legal procedure was introduced in 1397, and abolished in 1486. It was applied in cases of acts of might committed within a year. If the complaint was proved just, immediate satisfaction was due to the plaintiff. It was in order to prove the complaint that the proclaimed congregation was introduced as a means of inquisition. The origins of this procedure go back to the 1350s. The word “proclaimed” (proclamata) was used to refer to other congregations as well in the fourteenth century.

A középkori magyar plébániák és a 14. századi pápai tizedjegyzék

Author(s): Beatrix F. Romhányi / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 03/2019

One of the most outstanding sources of Hungarian medieval studies is the papal tithe register that was made between 1332 and 1337. Its importance is reflected by the fact that in his great work on the Historical Georgaphy of Hungary in the Árpád Era György Györffy adopted its date as the closing term of data collection. The register, which has survived in Rome, together with the register of the dioecese of Zagreb, compiled in 1334, and covering the later Lower Slavonian counties as well, contains altogether 4066 parishes. Despite its unique wealth, however, the source is far from complete. While some of the gaps can be filled on the basis of other sources, the blankness of the Great Hungarian Plain seems beyond repair. Nevertheless, in comparison with other Hungarian and European sources, the papal register can be regarded as statistically complete, and most of its known lacunae (diocese of Győr, Szepesség, Barcaság) complemented. The trustworthiness of the database thus constructed does not lag behind that of any other early European database. On its basis, it seems safe to state that the consolidation of the Hungarian parish system was not late with regard to the West of Europe, and it seems probable that the parish/population ratio was close to the number known from similar English and French sources (cca. 520-530 persons/parish). All this seems to underpin the conclusion that it is not due to the destruction of the written sources that no more parishes are known on the Great Plain in the first third of the fourteenth century. Thus, the chronology and canonical situation of parish churches attested by archaeological evidence but unrecorded by the tithe register and, in consequence, the whole settlement and population history of the Great Plain should be reassessed from a new perspective.

A kunok története

Author(s): Tamás Péderi / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 1/2017

Kovács Szilvia: A kunok története a mongol hódításig. Bp., Balassi Kiadó, 2014. 324 p. (Magyar Őstörténeti Könyvtár, 29.)

A kusalyi Jakcsok birtokosztálya 1425 körül

Author(s): Géza Hegyi / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 03/2014

The Jakcs family, which originated from the Szilágyság region, had belonged to the narrow political élite of the Hungarian kingdom between 1382 and 1441. After the middle of the 15th century, however, they definitively dropped from the ranks of the barons. During their presence in the court they had managed to build up a medium-sized landed wealth, which in 1423 consisted of one castle (Hadad [Hodod, Romania]), some 50 to 60 estates in perpetuity, and a further 30–35 by right of pledge. The majority lay around the ancient property of Kusaly (Coșeiu, Romania), in the counties of Közép-Szolnok and Kraszna, and the rest in that of Kraszna. This landed wealth was divided around 1425 between the two principal branches of the family, that is, the descendants of György I (†1415/1416) on the one hand, and those of István I († after 1418) on the other. As we have no comprehensive report about this division, the act itself can only be reconstructed by working backwards from later material after all the surviving charters of the family had been gathered, grouped and filtered. The emerging picture shows that in the case of 28 estates owned in perpetuity and 4 in pledge each settlement was divided by peasant plots, whereas the remaining ones were assigned undivided (and in roughly equal numbers) to one or the other branch. (In the wake of Pál Engel the former type is known as division by plots, while the latter as division by blocks.) The case analysed here nuances the model elaborated by Engel, according to which after 1360 division by plots became exclusively applied at the division of noble estates. It also makes evident the existence of a third type, that of mixed division, which was obviously a combination of the other two. Alongside that of the Jakcs, the division of the Bélteki in 1424 and that of the Dezsőfi of Losonc after 1405 offer examples of the mixed division. Apparently this kind of estate division was only applied in a narrow region (along the river Szamos), and even there perhaps only in the first half of the 15th century. Which among the two elements constituting this type of division was applied depended not on the time when the settlement in question was acquired, nor on the right by which it was held; nor, indeed, can any relationship be observed, at least directly, with the population numbers. On the other hand, a strong correlation exists with the ethnic-legal qualification of any given settlement, which was then strictly taken into account; namely, it appears that in all three cases listed above, the settlements of a dominantly Hungarian character were always divided by plots, while the Romanian and Ruthenian ones were allotted to either of the branches in blocks. The underlying reason may have been that the Hungarian villages were more stable, in average three times more populous than the others, and the Hungarian tenants roughly twice as profitable as the non-Hungarian villagers, and thus a more differentiated approach was needed to make division equitable.

A MEMORANDUM ABOUT THE KING OF THE ON UYGUR AND HIS REALM

Author(s): Zhang Tieshan,Peter Zieme / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2011

The fragment we are editing here for the first time is a specimen of a new genre of Old Uygur literature. It is a memorandum or an account on the early years of the West Uygur Kingdom of Qočo. The leaf is the 22nd of an ötüg that contains a vivid text changing between prose and verse reflecting the literary heritage of the Old Uygurs. Supposing that the work was written during the Yuan period (13th to 14th centuries) we have to admit that it is an ambitious work of historical retelling political, military, and cultural events that took place at least two centuries before. Since the 62 lines are completely preserved, this text presents a new valuable source for further studies on Old Uygur.

A mezővárosi ingatlanforgalom szokásjoga a 14−16. századi Zemplén megyében és környékén

Author(s): László Szabolcs Gulyás / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 01/2016

The purchase, exchange, mortgage, alienation and bequest of real estate, as well as their offer to ecclesiastical institutions as pious donation was a general phenomenon in late medieval Hungarian market towns. Free disposition of various pieces of property – plots, houses, arable, mills, pasture, and before all vineyards – was an everyday and widely accepted occurrence. Supervision of real estate trade was a basic duty of the town council, a task it discharged on the basis of the town’s own customary law. It was the same body which put such matters to writing, and, although the ensuing real estate contracts were meant to have a limited, local degree of authenticity, practice proves that their legal binding force was in fact acknowledged by extensive social groups, both local and outsider. The present study explores the content of this customary law and its practical application in the market towns of northeastern Hungary in the late middle ages. Some of the legal institutions applied in such transactions were known throughout the country, and can thus be regarded as parts of national (noble) law. As examples can be cited the procedure employed at depositions, standing as guarantee, frivolous prosecution, or the taking into account of the right of pre-emption by kinsmen, but also demonstration by charters or witnesses in lawsuits. Other legal customs, however, were either restricted to certain areas, or otherwise common nationwide, but limited to the peasantry. Such was, for instance, pledging by drinking toast, the previous lodging of the estimated value of a piece of property in case of litigation, or, in the region of the Hegyalja, the sealing of land transactions with a delay of a year and three days, a practice evidently introduced with a view to prevent problems connected to the right of pre-emption. In forming this customary law the peasantry could rely on several legal sources. Part of the consuetudo no doubt filtered down to the local custom of the market towns from national law through the mediation of the literacy pursued by the so-called places of authentication (loca credibilia) and public notaries. Another such source may have been the legal practice of the free royal towns, which resembled parallel practice in the market towns in several points. Moreover, the dispositions of the letter of privilege granted to the town (if there existed one) were also respected. But there also existed procedures which had evidently emerged among the peasantry in the course of past centuries. By the late middle ages these different legal customs had frequently merged in distorted forms, and thus created the various customary laws which were proudly referred to in the charters of local communities (ius, mos, libertas, consuetudo etc.).

A minőségbiztosítás régészeti emlékei a közép- és kora újkorból

Author(s): Bence Péterfi / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 4/2018

Mordovin Maxim: Textilvégek védjegyei. A textilkereskedelem régészeti emlékei a Magyar Királyság területén. Bp., MTA BTK Történettudományi Intézet, 2018. 355 p. (Magyar Történelmi Emlékek. Adattárak.)