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At the turn of the 17th century in the royal town of Wschowa lived and worked the famous Lutheran pastor Valerius Herberger, called "little Luther". considering his eager preaching, pastoral activity and outstanding theological works.
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In this study, socio-economic aspects of Honaz Township in the first quarter of XVIth century, which was an important township of Kutahya City which was a state of Ottoman Empire in its golden age, will be examined in the framework of Anatolian Accounting Register which dates from 1530 and numbered 438. The register mentioned above has all necessary sources such as wealth sources, population movements, ethnic structure, foundations, administrative and military structure, system of the state. The main aim of this work is to eliminate the deficiencies by evaluating all data in the register written in Suleyman The Magnificent’s time and works about Honaz and its income sources, settlement, population, foundations, socio-cultural structure of that period and also provide materials which can be used safely and easily by the historians who search this topic.
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It’s a well-known fact that the court of the Royal Table became the principal royal conciliar court at the second half of the 15th century. The discussions usually took place during the judicial terms (generally four each year), the so-called octaves. The Royal Table of the elected king II. János Szapolyai has been mainly patterned after the medieval Table of the kings. The emerging new state’s characteristics, in particular the fact that it was composed of two slightly different regions (the so-called Partium and Transylvania with three privileged communities, Hungarian noblemen, Saxons and Szeklers) was reflected in the organization and the functioning of the Table. Different court sessions were held for the noblemen from Partium, for the Szeklers and for the noblemen of Transylvania. These octave courts (generally two for each privileged community) at the beginning of the studied period have started on the day of major feasts (Epiphany, St George, Lucae ev., Reminiscere) and from 1571 on the eighth day of these feasts, and they lasted around thirty days. The court sessions took place mostly in Gyulafehérvár (Alba Iulia), Kolozsvár (Cluj) and Székelyvásárhely (Târgu Mureș).
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After the secularization of the Catholic ecclesiastical institutions in 1556, a new era had begun in the history of the place of authentication of the Chapter of Transylvania, which resided in Alba Iulia. This period has been characterized by a specific and totally different evolution of this institution, which was no more under the control of the Church. For the purposes of conducting its charter issuing activity, lay letter searchers (requisitors) were appointed by the princes, who were also paying these office holders. The majority of the members of the Chapter have left the country together with the bishop Paul Bornemissza (who’s chair remained vacant for a long time), and those who remained in Alba Iulia were converted to Protestantism. They became the office holders of Queen Isabela and, after a while, of his son, prince Ioan Sigismund of Zápolya. The fact that some earlier members of the Chapter continued their work at the place of authentication proves that the state apparatus of the newly born Principality needed these intellectuals who had been previously educated by the Catholic Church. For almost 20 years, the place of authentication and its archives had been given very limited tasks. The institution didn’t dispose of a very important object used in the authentication process of the documents, namely the seal of the Chapter. This object has been probably taken by one of the canons, who left together with bishop Bornemissza. For this reason, the appointed office holders could only transcribe the documents kept in the archives of the Chapter. That’s why they were called requisitores, which means “letter searcher”. The reorganization of this institution took place in 1575, when the requisitors were granted all the previous tasks: a new seal was given to the place of authentication, which was similar to the earlier; the requisitors among transcribing the documents started to issue different charters and to fulfill external activities on the demand of the princes (entering into possessions, boundary inspections, etc.). Starting with 1556, the requisitors were appointed and paid by the princes and the character of the Chapter’s archive has changed as the time passed: not only the documents created by the place of authentication have been kept here, but also the Libri Regii, tax registers and legislative documents. As a result of these changes, the archive became the institution that preserved the most important documents of the Principality and at the same time the reputation of the office holders grew. So, it was natural that during the period of the Principality, the office holders of the place of authentication were chosen very carefully by the princes from the members of the Transylvanian intelligentsia, which had close ties both with the Unitarian Church and the Reformed Church. The first chapter describes the birth of the requisitorial office and the secularization of the Catholic ecclesiastical institutions. This chapter, based on the consulted documents, proves that the ecclesiastical estates (including the lands owned by the Chapter) were already given to Queen Isabela and his son in 1556, and they haven’t been returned to the Catholic Church, as one could suppose from the contradictory laws issued at the end of that year. The volume continues with the description of the period until 1575, when the appointed requisitors’ single task was to search and transcribe documents. The reorganization that took place in 1575, based on a detailed written instruction dated at the end of that year, made the charter issuing activity of the requisitors of this institution comparable with the activity of the Chapter before the secularization. These characteristics remained unchanged until the end of the period of Principality.The second chapter presents a detailed analysis of a group of intellectuals represented by the requisitors of the Chapter of Alba Iulia. The chapter starts with the presentation of this institution’s structure and also discusses both the way the requisitors were appointed by the princes, and their duties and privileges. This chapter emphasizes the fact that the institution needed well-qualified personnel, and the requisitors needed to be well-trained in matters of paleography, Latin and legal issues. Romanian or German language proficiency often constituted an important advantage. It seems to be proven that the majority of the office holders spoke one of these languages.Due to the fact that the prestige of the Chapters archive constantly grew, the requisitors have been entrusted with multiple new duties and responsibilities. In addition to these responsibilities, they were also granted some privileges.As regards the estates and other properties possessed by the requisitors, it became obvious that many of the office holders were given goods and possessions by the clients of the place of authentication, in return for their services. The charters granted property rights of movable assets and real estates, and these rights represented the evidence of ownership in trials. For the clients who were taking part in actions for the ownership of properties it was of great importance to find these documents in the Chapters archive and to obtain their transcripts. The services of the office holders were rewarded with different donations.It’s well-known that during the Middle Ages, the personnel of the places of authentication consisted of clergy members who studied at Western universities or at the chapter or monastic schools attached to the chapters or convents. After 1556, the place of authentication from Alba Iulia was no longer under the jurisdiction of the church, but the society, in which this institution functioned, still remained religious. During the first period after the secularization, the earlier members of the clergy were appointed as requisitors and they have worked there until the reorganization that took place in 1575. After that, the personnel consisted of lay intellectuals, many of them with theological training. We may say that the majority of them have received higher education and have studied at Western European universi ties. A good example is the carrier of the chronicler of the court Gáspár Bojti and the personal librarian of Gabriel Bethlen, Mihály Barsi.In addition to the above mentioned objectives, our purpose was to characterize the social class from which the requisitors originated, to describe their previous career and the time they served as a clerk at the archives. We concluded that before being appointed to this office, the clerks were often notaries of the princely chancellery and sometimes this office constituted a gift for different services rendered on behalf of the princes. It was also proven that every clerk became a noble at the end of his career as a result of his services rendered at the place of authentication on the request of the princes and other clients.The third, longest chapter presents the biographies of 37 requisitors. Among them there were important figures of the Transylvanian cultural history, such as the chronicler István Szamosközy and Gáspár Bojti.The volume presents the members of a group of intellectuals who worked in the probably most important charter-issuer institution during the period of Principality.To reveal the role and importance of these office holders, it is enough to have in mind the character of the Transylvanian society, based on the possession of estates. Nevertheless, the requisitors were members of an intellectual class that continued the heritage of the Medieval Era, they’ve had close ties with the Church, which supported their activity.
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The princely estate of Alba Iulia (Gyulafehérvár) has been established at the middle of the sixteenth century. The landlords of the estate were partly the Bishops of Transylvania before 1542, and the Chapter of Transylvania before 1556. The Episcopal estate have been managed by administrators (provisores) with exact duties and competences, and they were usually the bishop’s men of confidence. In 1542, after the death of bishop János Statileo, the Episcopal estate was offered to queen Isabella to supply the court of Alba Iulia. The study aims to discuss the system of administration, the territorial extension of the Episcopal estate, the aspects of the social development and the income of the estate between 1542 and 1556.
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The aim of this paper is to present the office of procancellarius of the Transylvanian princely chancellery during the Báthory era on the basis of archival sources. This new office appeared at the end of the year 1575, and first was held by Márton Berzeviczy, previously princely councilor and secretary of the chancellery. Then it was taken over by Ferenc Sulyok, formerly protonotarius, respectively by the cubicularius Miklós Bogáthi. Since this solution was used to coordinate the activity of the chancellery only when the office of chancellor was vacant, the office did not become a permanent one. Usually the duties of procancellarius were similar to those of the chancellor’s. Based on the examined charters and other sources my research revealed that they fulfilled tasks concerning diplomatic correspondence, countersigning documents, verification of princely mandates, opening letters of report, and supervising the libri regii.
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The Jesus Chapel is located at the south entrance of the town Odorheiu Secuiesc. This ecclesiastical building belongs to the group of four-lobe chapels with analogies in the west and north of the Carpatian-basin and Transylvania. Traditional belief dated the building of the Jesus Chapel to the 13th century. The chapel was mentioned in the written sources for the first time in 1602. There are no carved stone elements in its structure. The special technical components of its altar date from the end of the 17th century – beginning of the 18th century. The central picture of the altar, representing Jesus with His bleeding heart and the lamb, are strongly connected with the Jesuit order which appeared in Odorhei at the end of the 16th century. The painted wood ceiling was made in 1677, originally the chapel was probably vaulted. The archaeological researches made in 1973 and 2011 have also given postmedieval dating. Stratigraphical data proved the building of the chapel post quem the middle of the 15th century. The stone and brick crypts discovered in the centre of the building are directly linked to the foundation of the chapel, which was probably a miraculous healing. Although it has been used later as a burial chapel, there are no written documents concerning the founder’s person or their family. The chapels in Gheorgheni (Szent Anna/Saint Anne Chapel) and Sânzieni (Szent István/Saint Stephen Chapel) are in Szeklerland the closest architectural analogies of the Jesus Chapel. Their newest research dated them to the 17th century and marked them as being votive or private chapels.
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The service of the king played a particular role in upward social mobility in premodern Hungary, as the monarchs – thanks to the specific sovereign rights – had opportunities not comparable with that of the other members of society to reward subjects dear to them. Many commoners also managed to acquire nobility or seigneurial rights in the 15th and 16th centuries, thanks to their erudition (literacy and proficiency in Latin) which made it possible for them to be employed in the monarchic administration. The government of the Principality of Transylvania, a new state that emerged in the eastern part of Hungary in the mid-16th century, played a similar role. The present study gives the history of a family as an example of this.The father lived in Sziget, a small town in the north-eastern region of Hungary, and his profession possibly was that of a saddler. His sons were given an education. Péter started working at the Princely Treasury as an auditor (rationista), György supposedly served in the Princely Chancellery as a scribe, and István had been the private secretary to lords, and then worked as a scribe of the Princely Chancellery. The father already had been ennobled by a charter (this was usual among craftsmen from the end of the 16th century), and his sons were granted exemption for their plots in Sziget by the Prince. After the untimely death of the two elderly brothers, only István remained alive; he was awarded with estate donations as well by the Prince, and then entered into a marriage with a noblewoman from a well-to-do seigneurial family, inheriting landed properties by his marriage as well. After all, he used the cash from his father’s heritage or his court service to purchase the landed properties from different landlords being in difficulties. He attached great importance to good farming on the acquired landed properties. Old seigneurial families immediately accepted him, the homo novus, as one of them: this is clearly shown by the marriages of István and his children.
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This volume contains the edited texts of the papers presented at the conference "Sălaj (Szilágy) Region and the Wesselényi Family in the 14–17th centuries" held between 7 and 8 September 2012 in Cluj (Kolozsvár). The essays deal with the estate system and the political and economic history of the medieval Sălaj (Szilágy) region (Middle Solnoc/Szolnok and Crasna/Kraszna counties), as well as with the history of the Wesselényi family archives and the early modern history of the Wesselényi family.
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The essay tries to highlight the circumstances that undermined the successful signing of a peace treaty between the Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in 1514. It examines the system of the relationships for both sides. The Kingdom of Hungary wanted to maintain the diplomatic practice that had developed previously, in which a peace treaty signed with the Sultan would include other Christian European states as well, such as Venice, Ragusa, Moldova, Wallachia and Poland, as well as in this case the Holy Roman Emperor. On the other hand Sultan Selim I wanted each Christian state to petition him separately for the peace. For Venice it was of crucial importance that the Holy Roman Emperor would not sign a peace treaty with the Sultan, because that would have precluded Selim I from providing mercenaries for Venice in exchange for money in their fight against the Holy Roman Empire. After the Ottoman Sultan’s successful negotiations with two of Hungary’s neighbors, in October 1513 the Peace of Venice was signed, and between the 16th and 27th of May the treaty was ratified by the Polish ambassador in the Anatolian town of Akşehir. On the other hand the Sultan refused to sign the treaty with the Hungarians, and imprisoned the Hungarian legation in Konya. Due to the long distance, the Hungarian leaders did not found out, but felt that the Ottoman Empire had developed peaceful relations with their neighbors, while the negotiations with them had become prolonged. As a result, the voivode of Transylvania, János Szapolyai ( John Zápolya) crossed the Lower Danube between May 12th and June 3rd 1514 and broke into the Bulgarian territories, but, because under the leading of György Dózsa the peasants gathered for the anti-Ottoman crusade turned against the nobility, the campaign ended quickly and Szapolyai had to withdrew his forces. Based on the circumstances presented, the study concludes that Selim I was not afraid of the Kingdom of Hungary, which was left on its own, and despite of the possibility of an eventual Hungarian assault, he attacked Iran and defeated the Persian Shah Ismail. While the peasant uprising of Dózsa had stopped the attack of the Hungarian armies against the Turks in 1514, Szapolyai took advantage of the Sultan’s absence and attacked again in the spring of 1515, besieging the Turkish fortress of Avala (Havale/Zsarnó) across Belgrade. From the report of Süleyman (later Sultan Süleyman I), the heir to the throne, who was guarding the western frontier, we know the precise chronological order of the Hungarian attack and the story of its successful Turkish relief. The two Turkish documents, both in their original language and in Hungarian translation, are included in the appendices of the study.
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After studying a Latin record issued on 6 June 1574 (referring to the Transylvanian Romanians), the specialists expressed different opinions regarding the expression romana videlicet seu graeca religio, i.e. “Roman or Greek religion” (which seems to be a nonsense, because “the Roman religion” is the Catholic and “the Greek religion” is the Orthodox denomination). The author believes that the issuer of the 1574 document only transposed into Latin a phrase commonly used in the Romanian Transylvanian environment, so that the “Romanian religion” became practically naturally, in Latin, religio romana, all the more so as we are dealing with an internal document, not intended for the Holy See or for other foreign institutions, where it may have created confusion. The matter of this unusual document is far from being settled, as the arguments raised are probably insufficient or not eloquent enough. However, they are just as consistent as those that suggest an interpretation based on the alleged Catholicism of the Romanians. Consequently, we consider that in the current stage of our knowledge it is plausible to believe that in the document of 1574 religio romana sive greca means “Romanian or Greek religion.”
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Ohne Zweifel gehört der siebenbürgische Fürst Stephan Bocskay zu den eindrucksvollen Persönlichkeiten der ungarischen Geschichte. Auf dem Heldenplatz in Budapest wurde er anlässlich der Milleniumsfeiern 1896 zusammen mit Stephan I., dem Heiligen, mit Matthias Corvinus, Lajos Kossuth und anderen mit einem Denkmal geehrt. Bocskay gilt noch heute vielen Ungarn als Prototyp des aufsässigen Helden gegen die Übermacht der Habsburger. In der Zeit des ungarischen Nationalismus im 19. Jahrhundert wurden Lieder und Gedichte über ihn verfasst und seine ruhmreichen Taten gepriesen. Die deutschsprachige Geschichtsforschung behandelt ihn jedoch weitgehend stiefmütterlich1. Oft werden seine Taten und der Aufstand, den er an der Spitze der siebenbürgischen Nobilität gegen die Habsburger anführte, nur im Kontext der Widerstandsaktionen des ungarischen Adels gegen die kaiserliche Besatzung betrachtet. Dabei verdient gerade der Aufstand der Jahre 1604/1605 eine gesonderte Betrachtung, nicht zuletzt wegen der umfangreichen Briefkorrespondenz, die der Fürst dazu hinterließ.
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The aim of this article is to present how the Polish renaissance authors creatively transformed and adapted to the native context one of Erasmus’ dialogues, Senatulussive Gynaikosynedrion. The humanist exploited here a popular motif of a meeting of women who debate on different issues. Th e work is based on one of Aristophanes’ comedies as well as an episode from a biography of a Roman emperor, Heliogabal. Senatulus was very popular and was translated into a number of vernacular languages all over Europe. Erasmus, with his characteristic sense of humor and criticism, pointed to some vices of women, but did not stop there. He used a seemingly paradoxical formula of women’s council to draw attention to social and political problems of the time. Early modern Polish texts developing the theme in question can be understood in the context of Polish parliamentarism. But their literary inspiration has to be taken into consideration as well. The first part of this article focuses on problematic aspects of Senatulus, its somewhat provocative and ambiguous character, which probably attracted authors to this particular text. Th en two Polish dialogues that are linked to Erasmus’s work are examined. These are: anonymous Senatulus to jest sjemniewieści (Senatulus, or the council of women) from 1543 and Sjem niewieści (The council of women) written by Marcin Bielski in 1566/1567. Even a preliminary comparison of these two works with Erasmus’ colloquium indicates that the vernacular texts are a kind of sequel to the original and further develop its basic idea. References to the Latin version are present here on different levels. Similarity lays not only in the title and topics discussed by the characters, but also in the linguistic structure. In both cases, the concept of the female parliament was used by the writers as a pretext to draw attention to the political, social and economic problems Poland faced at that time and to suggest their own solutions.
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U našim pravnim naukama ustavna istorija predstavlja nedovoljno proučeno područje. Moderna ustavnost počinje raspadom feudalne države, a u razvoju te iste države postojalo je dosta dokumenata koji se mogu nazvati klicama moderne državnosti čije je upoznavanje preduslov razumijevanja prvih pisanih ustava. Prvi i najpoznatiji od ovih dokumenata je Magna Carte libertatum (Velika povelja o slobodama) od 15. juna 1215. donijeta u borbi između engleskih feudalaca i njihovog vladara Jovana »bez zemlje«, koja se odnosila na jedan sloj engleskog plemstva-barone i zato je u prvim godinama svog važenja i nazvana i nazvana »Carta Baronum«. Ona je svakom slobodnom čovjeku garantovala izvjestan stepen zaštite protiv zloupotrebe kraljeve vlasti, što je u to vrijeme bio samo baron. U 63 paragrafa Magna Carta posebno ograničava sudske prerogative kralja, propisujući zakonitost u lišavanju slobode i pravo na zakonito suđenje. Baronima je priznato i pravo na pobunu protiv vladara u slučaju da se ne pridržava obaveza propisanih Poveljom.
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Hasan Kafi Pruščak is one of the most renowned Islamic scholars in Balkans. In the field of Aqaid he wrote a number of outstanding works of which “Gardens of Paradise on Principles of Creed” (Rewdatul-džennat fi usūl al-i‘tiqādāt) is one of the most significant wherein he summed up most relevant works on Aqaid studied in Islamic schools of our area in that time. This book was translated and published in our language. As the book received much attention, upon requests of some distinguished people, he wrote commentary on this work and titled it Flowers of the Gardens in interpretation of The Gardens of Paradise (Ezharur-rewdat fi šerhi Rewdatul-džennat. Regrettably, this book is not well known to our readers due to the fact that it remained unpublished for a very long time, then it was edited and published in Arabic language. In this article the author presents this work of Hasan Kafi, his motives for writing it, Kafi’s attitude towards ‘Ilm el-Kalam, methodology and sources he used and some of the issues in the field of Aqaid treated by Kafi in his works.
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This article presents Akhisar (Prusac), a place where Hasan Kafi Pruščak (1544–1615/16), according to the available relevant sources was born and later lived. Documented reference of Akhisar is found in Qanun-nama of Sanjak of Bosnia from the year 1516. More detailed data of Akhisar settlement is found in records of census of Sanjak of Klis, to which this area was adjoined after its establishment in 1537. In the first census of Akhisar within the Sanjak of Klis dating from the year 1550, itwas classified, in terms of significance, first as a fort and later as a varoš (settlement). In year 1574 Akhisar is recorded as kasaba (small city), what tells us it fulfilled all the requirements for changing the status from varoš to kasaba. After the Cretan War and after the loss of Klis earlier in the year 1648, it remained a part of the Sanjak of Klis. It developed as kasaba, especially as a cultural and educational centre, which particularly reflects the efforts of Hasan Kafi Pruščak and other eminent scholars that followed. With the intention to determine precise location where Kafi lived and worked a certain period, the author here also presents locality of Nevabad/Novasel todays Donji Vakuf, and concludes that Hasan Kafi actually worked there at the same time while living and working in Akhisar.
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This publication reveals in print the content of the founding charter of 1508 concerning the establishment of the provostship and mansionary residence in Książnice Wielkie, a village near Koszyce, in the former Proszowice poviat district. Due to its detailed, even meticulous nature, the document made an important contribution to the organisation of the above Church institutions. The Tyniec monastery was the formal founder of the provostship in Książnice Wielkie, whereas Mikołaj of Koprzywnica (aka Mikołaj of Szadek) acted as the initiator and its actual founder. Until 1809, the provostship survived in the form in which had been established back in 1508.
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In his work on the history of the Thirty Years War (1618–1648), Peter Hamish Wilson points out that several military generals, who participated in the first phase of the biggest and most significant European armed conflict of the 17th century, had gathered their first military experiences or had established their military reputation in the Fifteen Years War (1593–1606) against the Ottoman Empire, which prepared them for commanding larger armies later. Examples include Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius Valdštein/Wallenstein, Jean T’Serclaes de Tilly or the famous-notorious commander of the Protestant Union, Peter Ernst II von Mansfeld. Raimondo Montecuccoli, who was undoubtedly one of the most famous generals of the Thirty Years War, cannot belong to this group, given that he was born in 1609. But I must note that he was not the first member of the family who decided to serve the Habsburg dynasty instead of the Modena princes. In my paper, I follow those four-decades from the life of one of the famed 17th-century general's distant relative, called Alfonso Montecuccoli, during which he was serving the Habsburg dynasty, with special emphasis on his role in the Fifteen Years War.
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