“… these foolish, yet dangerous Books”: Fashionable Sociability and the Circulating Library in Classic Modernity

Author(s): Mihaela Irimia / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2016

In or about the 1770s human individuality changed. This handy paraphrase of Virginia Woolf’s formulation could serve as an introduction to the revolution brought about by the established circulating library in Classic Modernity, aka the Enlightenment. With the novel settled in as commonplace, a growingly variegated and relaxed reading public enjoying extensive reading and delighting in what up until recently had been called dubious printed matter, the circulating library gradually won the battle for useful and amusing matters. Where it had been deemed “an evergreen tree of diabolical knowledge” (Sheridan The Rivals I. 2) comparable to brothels and gin shops, this modern type of library fitting the public sphere like a glove was snowballing into a sociable space where the great and the good were now impressive numbers of chic ladies advertising their knowledge as emotional and sartorial extravagance. Novels inundated the public and private spaces of the day: they were everywhere in salons, coffee houses, on shop and bank counters, on fashionable toilette or tea tables and kitchen ranges, in carriages and on board ships voyaging into, across and out of Britain, in English, French or Italian, devoured by aristocratic ladies and domestic maids and very often read in the midst of something else. Fiction and the circulating library revolutionized the book trade, the book and trade in 1700s’ Britain, as they saw a sea change in the attitude towards reading that had not been witnessed after the trail-blazing invention of print in the 15th century. As the royalty, the aristocracy and the higher ranks of the clergy were erecting huge libraries recalling ancient mausoleums, these new reading centres paved the way to modern individual freedom and were instrumental in expanding the reading classes across the country, between the sexes and down the social ladder.

”Et Moriebur” the Position of the Observer and Observed Through the Representation of the Funeral Oration in the 18-th and 19th Centuries

Author(s): Noémi Tünde Farkas / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2017

Ritualurile legate de moarte în societățile antice sunt acte de o importanță deosebită, deoarece percepția asupra finalității vieții, conștiința morții și evocarea lumii următoare erau considerate a fi părți ale vieții de zi cu zi. Conștientizarea morții și tratarea acesteia a constituit un element mai esențial al vieții decât în secolul al XIX-lea, când imaginile care cauzează anxietate au dispărut din conștiința cotidiană. Potrivit antropologului Arnold van Gennep, funeraliile și doliul ca ritual de bază și tranzitoriu au câștigat un rol proeminent în viața socială. Studiile istorice din secolul al XX-lea au recunoscut semnificația ceremoniilor din jurul morții. În primul rând, cercetarea lui Philippe Ariès a atras atenția asupra importanței atitudinilor față de moarte. Începând cu anii 1960, numeroase lucrări sociale și cultural-istorice s-au axat pe studierea morții, a reprezentării morții și a amintirii. Cercetarea istorică a descoperit și exploatat un număr de noi surse în acest domeniu. Testamentele s-au dovedit a fi de o importanță deosebită, întrucât istoricii le-au studiat atât ca decizii și documente individuale, cât și ca documente care reflectă relațiile și atitudinile din comunitate. Paradoxal, în timp ce testamentul a devenit punctul de plecare al nenumăratelor proiecte de cercetare internaționale, acesta nu este cazul discursului funerar, sursa care definește ritualurile de rămas bun. Analiza istorică a acestor documente din urmă este destul de nesemnificativă. Prezentul studiu își propune să contribuie la explorarea unor astfel de predici, într-o intenție de examinare a slujbelor de pomenire ale membrilor aristocrației ardelene din secolele al XVIII-lea și al XIX-lea și scopul acestor discursuri funerare. De asemenea, sunt în analiză problemele legate de autorii acestor discursuri, ale căror cuvinte au fost tipărite și pentru care scop și în ce sens a fost realizat tiparul. Studiul, bazat pe fondurile Bibliotecii Teleki din Târgu Mureș, intenționează să demonstreze în ce măsură discursurile de înmormântare ale secolelor XVIII și XIX cu privire la membrii decedați ai aristocrației transilvănene sunt unice și în ce măsură sunt acte de vorbire formalizate, ce elemente conțin ele și scopul părții care ordona să le includă și ce explicație poate fi găsită pentru dispariția și pierderea semnificației aceastei forme de comunicare. Pe baza surselor din fondul Bibliotecii Teleki, putem afirma că discursurile sunt reprezentative pentru „elementele superioare”. 80% din discursuri au fost ținute în legătură cu aristocrații transilvăneni, mica aristocrație și intelectualitatea urbană. Se poate afirma că discursul funerar a fost un element esențial al cultului morții al aristocrației protestante transilvănene din secolele al XVIII-lea și al XIX-lea și se găsește în special în locuri în care colegiile protestante i-au conferit un cadru instituțional, iar tiparnițele acestor colegii au asigurat publicarea.

„Ambitia podczas y pycha częściey się uczyć każą, niż cnota…”, czyli o szkodliwości pobierania nauk według Stanisława Lubomirskiego

Author(s): Waldemar Bednaruk / Language(s): Polish Issue: 3/2016

In the days of the fall of education, Stanisław H. Lubomirski proclaimed the superiority of the natural intellect and reason over academic knowledge. This well-known and respected magnate and philosopher, was called by his contemporaries “Polish Solomon”. His views, in which one can see a clear trace of fascination with the Stoics, enjoyed great popularity until at least the middle of the eighteenth century.

„Anglia elvárja, hogy mindenki megtegye kötelességét”

(Egy történelmi évforduló hozadéka)

Author(s): Gábor Búr / Language(s): Hungarian Publication Year: 0

„Bessarabien“ 2.0. Kognitive Kartierung einer walachisch-moldauischosmanisch- russisch-rumänisch-sowjetisch-autonomen Provinz in deutschen, englischsprachigen und rumänischen Lexika vom 18. Jahrhundert bis heute

Author(s): Armin Heinen / Language(s): German Issue: 71/2012

Few cultural-geographic terms relating to south-eastern Europe are as biased as the term “Bessarabia”. This article shows how to overcome restricted perceptions and how to develop much more refined multi-perspective views by using the Internet. The author investigates the development of the concept “Bessarabia” in those German, English and Romanian dictionaries (to some extent also in French and Russian encyclopaedias) since the 18th century that are freely accessible on the Internet. As shown in the articles, the transformation of the concept “Bessarabia” corresponds to general culturaland historical changes and thus gives insight into the construction of the “civilized west” and the “savage southeast”, each with its different meanings. At the same time the essays reflect a specific political perception due to different “national” experiences (cultural variety, imperial confrontation, national affiliation). At the end of his paper, the author discusses the consequences of Internet-based source analysis for today’s history teaching and research. It is argued, that by modern technology the spatial limitations of the library system regarding south-eastern Europe might be overcome. As a result the Internet might work as a global library and will enable us to write better argued historical narratives which bear the chance of consent between contemporaries and a realistic orientation in time (Jorn Rusen).

„CHESTIUNEA ARMEANĂ”: PREMISE ȘI RECUNOAȘTERE INTERNAȚIONALĂ

Author(s): Remus Tanasă / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 38/2019

During the XIXth century, due to the expansion of the Tsarist Empire into the region of Caucasus, the second largest Armenian community was found on the territory of the imperial Russia. However, most of the Armenians were still subjects of the Ottoman Empire. The rivalry and the proximity of the two states represented the international opportunity which, on one side, determined the Armenians to look for equity and self-determination, and on the other side, determined the Great Powers to propose the improvement of the condition of the Armenians on the territory of the Ottoman Empire.The preamble of ”the Armenian issue” was open in 1774, through the treaty of Kuciuk-Kainargi, which gave Russia the opportunity to interfere with the internal businesses of Turkey when it concerned the Christian Ottoman subjects. ”The Armenian issue” would get back its international recognition following the treaty of Berlin in 1878, through article 61 which stipulated that the Porte took all the necessary measures so that order and law equally became a norm for the Ottoman regions inhabited by Armenians, especially in order to protect them against the aggressions of the Kurds and the Circassians.

„Citrom, narancs s gránátalmával / Jóvoltodból szép kertem bő”

Luxus a 18. századi főúri kertekben

Author(s): Anna Tüskés / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 3/2016

The aim of this paper is to analyse the 18th century half-length portrait of an unidentified woman of the Historical Picture Hall of the Hungarian National Museum ( fig. 2). Two elements of the portrait – an orange tree and a deer with green ribbon show the fashion of that age: planting orange trees and constructing orangeries spread in Hungary in the 18th century, one or more orangeries were established in many mansion parks and gardens. Exotic clothing, plants and animals often appear on the women’s portraits of the ancestors’ galleries. The orange tree refers to riches, as a parrot, a unique jewelry and clothing on other female portraits ( figg. 3–4). The female portraits with orange trees are not uncommon in English, German, French and US 17-18th-century portrait painting either ( figg. 5–7). The orange trees on portraits are symbol of luxury and of abundance in mythological context ( fig. 8). Orange trees can have also the symbolic meaning of fertility ( fig. 9). Many depictions of the orange can be associated to have children.

„Cokolwiek serca i afektu Pańskiego mieć dla siebie upraszam”*. Dzieje romansu księcia Janusza Aleksandra Sanguszki z jego sekretarzem Kazimierzem Chylińskim

Author(s): Jarosław Pietrzak / Language(s): Polish Issue: 4/2013

This article is concerned with the seldomly studied topic of the relationship between the successor to the Ostrogski estate, Janusz Aleksander Sanguszko, and his courtier Kazimierz Chyliński. While a queer history approach has been taken, this article is not limited to the examination of the two men’s relationship. Instead, the affair is contextualised against the backdrop of customs in pre-partition Poland where homosexual behaviour was condemned in equal measure in public opinion and through church ordinances. The relationship between Sanguszko and Chyliński was defined from the outset by inequality in rank, wealth, education and influence. Eventually, Chyliński’s increasing prestige allowed him to gain control over the adminstration of business in the territory, influence several members, act as an intermediary between magnates and as the representative of minor noblemen and to influence considerably Janusz Aleksander Sanguszko’s decision-making. It was this economic and political power which attracted the jealousy of Sanguszko’s courtiers and the regional nobility and finally lead to Chyliński’s downfall as the result of a conspiracy planned by Sanguszko’s father, Paweł Karol.

„Die junge Fürstin Apraksejevna wurde von der fleischlichen Lust ergriffen“

Author(s): György Orosz / Language(s): German Issue: 2/2011

The oldest textual variant of the Russian religious folk song “Forty pilgrims and one more pilgrim” dates from the mid-eighteenth century. The song is a special type of apology, produced by pilgrims for their own laudation and glorification, with the intention to raise the respect of people for them. The wife of the Grand Prince of Kiev wanted to commit adultery with the spiritual leader of the pilgrims, for which God punished her with a severe disease, most probably with leper. The symptoms of the wife’s disease and the circumstances of her recovery indicate that the pneuma-theory, the most ancient concept of the origin of diseases, was familiar to the Russians. In connection to the religious songs analyzed in my paper I found medical practices similar to those in Hungarian folk culture and in the ancient medicine of the Lamaist Tibet. On the basis of this, it can be claimed that the disease of the wife of the Grand Prince was caused by some internal or external “evil wind”. Consequently, the treatment was connected to the wind as well.

„Die Starken, Helden wanken, doch Theresia stehet.“ Siebenbürgische Traueroden zum Tode Maria Theresias

Author(s): Szabolcs János / Language(s): German Issue: 2/2018

Am 29. November des Jahres 1780 starb die Kaiserin und Königin Maria Theresia, und ihr mitregierender Sohn Joseph II. übernahm die Regentschaft im Habsburgerreich. Dieser Moment gab für die literarisch tätigen Intellektuellen im gesamten Habsburgerreich Anlass Lob- und Huldigungsgedichte zu verfassen. In erster Linie waren es Epicedien (Traueroden), eine andere, weit verbreitete Textsorte war die literarisch anspruchsvolle Trauerpredigt, die gleichzeitig auch als Panegyrik zu deuten ist. Der Tod der Großfürstin wurde auch in Siebenbürgen von Vielen als historische Krisensituation betrachtet. Welche Ängste und Erwartungen in Siebenbürgen in diesem geschichtsträchtigen Moment auftauchen, lässt sich an den Gedichten ablesen, die aus diesem Anlass von verschiedenen siebenbürgisch-sächsischen Autoren verfasst wurden. Zu den Autoren gehören vor allem Kleriker wie der Stadtpfarrer in Hermannstadt und Dekan des Kapitels, Daniel Filtsch; Professoren der Gymnasien wie z.B. Martin Traugott Closius, Rektor des Kronstädter Gymnasiums; der Konrektor Johann Roth, der Lektor Samuel Schramm. Die wohl bekannteste Persönlichkeit ist aber der Historiker, Sprachforscher und Dichter Johann Seivert, der zugleich stellvertretender Rektor des Hermannstädter Gymnasiums und später Hammersdorfer Pfarrer war. In der vorliegenden Arbeit wird der Frage nachgegangen, wie die politischen Bestrebungen von Maria Theresia in Siebenbürgen literarisch rezipiert, bzw. in verschiedenen literarischen Textsorten beurteilt worden sind. Darüber hinaus wird versucht, das im kulturellen Gedächtnis der Siebenbürger Sachsen erhaltene, literarisch geformte Bild der Großfürstin von Siebenbürgen zu untersuchen.

„Entretiens” Stanisława Augusta z ambasadorem rosyjskim Ottonem Magnusem von Stackelbergiem i „Mémoires” ostatniego króla Rzeczypospolitej

Author(s): Ewa Zielińska / Language(s): Polish Issue: 56/2018

Among the most important historical sources for the reign of Stanisław August one should list Entretiens abbreviated notices of Stanisław August’s talks with the Russian Ambassador Otto von Stackelberg. This article approaches the structure, the state of survival, the date of composition and the authorship of the Entretiens as well as their content and the nature of information included. The Entretiens, firstly conceived as short notes, evolved into more and more complex and specific reports, so the king could easily find every essential piece of information about Polish-Russian relations in one place.Some of the talks recorded in the Entretiens were later included in King’s Memoirs, hence the second part of this article attempts at a comparison between the two. It reveals that the order of events described in Memoirs agrees with what we find in Entretiens, therefore we know that the latter was exploited during the composition of the Memoirs.The author of the present study was lucky to have found among the documents reclaimed from Russia a clean copy of Entretiens from 1779, which allows us to hope that in Russian archives there are still even later the yearbooks, which supposedly might have helped the King in the work on other volumes of Memoirs. Moreover, the author’s intention was to suggest a method which would allow to evaluate reliability of the Memoirs. Owing to a partial comparative analysis of both sources one can conclude that the king wanted to protect his loved ones from being seen as anti-Russian and to avoid criticism of Catherine II. Stackelberg was the only one described exactly as how the king knew him. However, it does not undermine reliability of the Memoirs in general.

„Gazeta Warszawska” o wielkiej wojnie wschodniej (kampania 1789 roku)

Author(s): Małgorzata Karkocha / Language(s): Polish Issue: 2/2018

The article presents a selected campaign of the Russo-Turkish War, which Turkey fought with Russia and its ally, Austria, in 1787–1792. The Author used the reports of „Gazeta Warszawska” – a leading information magazine, published in 1774–1793 under the editorial supervision of an ex-Jesuit, Father Stefan Łuskina, as the principal source of information. Throughout the entire conflict, Łuskin’s newspaper reported regularly (almost in every issue) on activities on the eastern front. The editor-in-chief was an advocate of pro-Russian position, which did affect the information provided by the publication. The news from the Eastern War published in „Gazeta Warszawska” was selected in such a way as to show the superiority of the Russian army over the Ottoman fleet and army and to prove that the opponents of the Tsaritsa opponents would be inevitably defeated. // Artykuł przybliża wybraną kampanię wielkiej wojny wschodniej, która toczyła się w latach 1787–1792 między Turcją a Rosją i sprzymierzoną z nią Austrią. Źródłem informacji wykorzystanych przez Autorkę są doniesienia „Gazety Warszawskiej” – czołowego pisma o charakterze informacyjnym, ukazującego się w latach 1774–1793 pod redakcją eks-jezuity, księdza Stefana Łuskiny. Przez cały okres trwania konfliktu łuskinowska gazeta regularnie (niemal w każdym numerze) relacjonowała działania na froncie wschodnim. Ksiądz redaktor był zwolennikiem orientacji prorosyjskiej, co nie pozostało bez wpływu na treść przekazywanych informacji. Publikowane w „Gazecie Warszawskiej” wiadomości z wojny wschodniej dobierał w taki sposób, aby wykazać wyższość oręża rosyjskiego nad flotą i armią osmańską oraz dowodzić nieuchronności klęski przeciwników carycy.

„Hamis barátok rebelliója”. Szűcs Jenő Dózsa-tanulmányai – 40 év után

Author(s): Pál Ács / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 04/2014

Jenő Szűcs (1928−1988) was a historian of great influence in the 1970s and 1980s, one of the renewers of Hungarian historical studies but has since been partially forgotten. In the 1970s, he wrote several important works on the „ideology” of Dózsa’s peasant war, that is, on the religious-intellectual background of the revolt. In striking opposition to the Marxist political understanding of the era, he did not pinpoint the real motives of the Dózsa revolt in economic and social tensions but in the peculiar spiritualism of Franciscan intellectuals. He saw the concepts of the Franciscan opposition as a kind of „pre-Reformation”. It was in connection to the Dózsa revolt that Jenő Szűcs elaborated his famous and much disputed thesis on the roots of Hungarian Protestant movements in the Franciscan opposition. The present essay seeks to weigh Szűcs’s four-decade old theses: it studies them in the light of the latest international trends in the research of Reformation and Millenarism.

„Hozott a legatus második expediciojából”

Esettanulmány a segélykérő körutak gyakorlatáról

Author(s): Mária Márta Kovács / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: III-V/2010

We get more familiar with the subsequent details of the Transylvanian Reformed Diocese assembly’s resources, together with the subsistence of the holy communions service since the 18th century general practice, and least but not lastly the distressed circuit’s modus operandi. The assemblies in the cases of bigger mischief or expenses, not only drew on slush-funds from the members of the parish, but they asked for the subservience of parishes in a narrower and broader apprehension. The present study undertakes, among the only ones, the analysis of the influence on the gathering trips of relics’, which is presented through the Kézdimátisfalva (Mătiseni) parish’s service reminiscence and archive sources. Usually the gathering trips’ turn came with the building operations and rectification of churches, but in the case of fire or war destruction, the parishes’ patrons and assemblies, past to bounties, helped the deadbeats with vessels and textiles. The synod has determined the donation circuit’s legitimate proceedings for several times, the deadbeat letter had been displayed by the Gubernium with the intervention of the Consistorium Supremum. In the reformed parishes did not evolve rich collections, because the assembly’s vessels that were beyond usage had been appropriated to the poorer ecclesiasts. With the help of some data about the inventories and services known by me, I succeeded in justifying the intervention of distress in several assemblies – primarily in the second half of the 18th centuries’ Hunyad-Zaránd parishes that have been plundered for several times. During the 1778 fire, the service of the Kézdimátisfalva church had been significantly damaged, that time the relic-chest together with the relics in it, belonging to the caretaker, completely burned down. In the first half of 1779, there had been taken place two gathering trips, the emissary being Keresztes Ferenc at both times. We do not know the period of the first circuit, but going by the donation, it must have weltered in the Hunyad-Zaránd Diocese, in the outskirts of Déva (Deva), where, from the parishes (Déva) and form the donations of noble families (Barcsai, Kun, Naláczi), have been gathered a very rich service. In April 1779, Keresztes Ferenc from Márkosfalva (Mărcușa), has gone to a charity trip, that time in the Maros Diocese, which is confirmed by the donation of Toldalagi Pál. Throughout the gathering trips, the footed beaker and silver plates, that were in the property of the church, had lasted to the present day, just like the fire-survivor tin flacon, or the tin tankard, tin plate and the hexagonal tin flacon, that were a donation after the ravage.

„INS GRÜNE“. DIE HERAUSBILDUNG DER FREIZEITRÄUME DER STÄDTISCHEN UMGEBUNG IN DER HABSBURGERMONARCHIE IM 18. UND 19. JAHRHUNDERT

Author(s): Borbála Mészáros / Language(s): German Issue: 1/2011

“Green merry-making”. The creation of recreational spaces around urban areas in the Habsburg Monarchy in the 18th–19th centuries. – My investigation is focused on a special phenomenon of urbanisation of the way of life in the 18th to 19th centuries: the functional and symbolical transformation of the immediate environs of the town, in the course of which the previously unconquered surrounding countryside or land used for agricultural purposes became the venue for urban leisure customs (excursions, May Day festivities, summer holidays). The period covered in the research is from the last third of the 18th century to the mid-19th century: this is sufficiently long to allow a comparison of areas of investigation having different source bases (towns within the Habsburg Monarchy of different sizes and with different traditions) and to trace changes in the various urbanisation phenomena examined. Nature in the urban environs as a recreational space is interpreted according to the aesthetic requirements of urban-dwellers. These nearby excursion places can be seen not only as compensation for increasingly unpleasant urban life, but also as a kind of cultural pattern, a symbolic expression of urbanity: the big city lifestyle pattern also appears in the smaller, barely urbanised towns. The phenomenon examined appears with differing emphasis in the leisure time of the different social groups. The petty bourgeoisie and the poorer social groups are encountered in these micro spaces mainly in connection with festive use, while visits to the green areas in and around the town are practically an everyday practice among the middle classes. Certain traditions dating from the period before the urbanisation in the Modern Age – such as church fetes in the vicinity of towns, and student traditions – play an important role in the emergence of the new customs. In addition, the social composition of the individual towns, the nature of their trend-setting strata, the denominational tradition, the existing educational or other institutions, in short the differing urbanisation histories also had a substantial influence in shaping leisure spaces in the urban environs. Where an important Protestant school operates in a town, middle-class townsfolk, intellectuals and officials are found in considerable numbers and if the urban elite and leaders are supporters of innovation, green leisure spaces appear earlier and in greater number. In towns with a strong Catholic tradition, the profanization of green fetes also contributes to leisure use of the urban environs, but at times Catholic customs can also be found in a Protestant environment.

„Istočno pitanje“ i balkanski odgovori u idejno-historijskoj perspektivi

Author(s): Safet Bandžović / Language(s): Bosnian Issue: 83-84/2020

Prošlost i sadašnjost su nerazdvojne, jedna tumači drugu. Mnogi procesi „dugog trajanja“ prevazilaze lokalne okvire i regionalne granice.To se odnosi i na složeno „Istočno pitanje“, njegov sadržaj i rukavce koji prelazi granice više stoljeća. Mada je veliki dio svog razdoblja Osmanskocarstvo držalo i do jedne četvrtine onoga što se naziva Evropom, nije smatrano članom evropskog međunarodnog sistema. Ono što je na Zapadu poznato o ovom carstvu, muslimanima i Balkanu, naročito ono što je govorila nauka, ali i ono što je govorila kvazinauka i popularna literatura, nikada nije bilo beznačajno. „Istočno pitanje“ je „višestoljetniproces sukobljavanja Istoka i Zapada, Prednje Azije i Europe, kršćanstvai islama, dviju kultura i civilizacija“. U biti, to je „nastojanje da se Osmanlije i islam izbace iz Evrope“. Stav da su muslimani „tuđinci“ u Evropi dio je mentaliteta poznatog pod imenom „Istočno pitanje“, koje je u Evropi živjelo od Kučuk-Kajnardžijskog mira 1774. do Lozanskogugovora 1923. godine. Mentalitet „Istočnog pitanja“ je nastavio da živi i dalje. Može se koristiti kao „referentni okvir“ za sažimanje i razumijevanje historije muslimana Balkana do kraja XX stoljeća. Ono što je na Zapadu poznato o Osmanskom carstvu, muslimanima i Balkanu, posebno ono što je govorila nauka, ali i ono što je „nudila“ kvazinauka i popularna literatura, nikada nije bilo beznačajno. Nema nacionalizma bez stereotipao “drugima”, bez njih nema stereotipa o “sebi”, niti interesnih manipulacija. Tomovi naučno utemeljenih djela ništa, pak, ne mijenjaju u odnosu prema historiji ukoliko su društvene i političke okolnosti takve daje poželjna drugačija “svijest” i “kultura sjećanja”. Načini prikazivanja historijskih događaja mogu da oblikuju i viđenja aktuelnih društvenih dešavanja. Historija se nikada ne ponavlja doslovno, iako se neke paralele teško mogu izbjeći.

„Jeśli król przystąpi do konfederacji…” Rosja wobec Stanisława Augusta w 1792 r. (kwiecień–sierpień 1792 r.)

Author(s): Adam Danilczyk / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1/2019

The accession of King Stanislaw August to the Targowica Confederation was one of the factors that significantly influenced the fate of the Commonwealth. The king justified this step with a hopeless situation and the result of voting by the Guard of Laws. He also hoped that by joining the confederation, he would be able to influence its further shape.Access to new documents in Russian archives, thus far unknown to researchers, made it possible to obtain information that sheds new light on the events of that time. They reveal that the course of the Polish-Russian war and the establishment of local confederations were negatively assessed by Russian commanders in chief, contrary to official propaganda. Nor the declarations of the Targowica leaders that, after the invasion of the Russian army, the nobility throughout the whole Polish Commonwealth would confederate and entrust themselves to Empress Catherine II fulfilled – this happened only in a few places and usually by force. It was also impossible to crush, despite the great advantage, the Polish-Lithuanian troops – although they retreated as far as the Bug River, but the forces were not broken and their morale improved. In St Petersburg, consideration was given to the possibility of negotiating with Stanislaw August. Thus, it can be concluded that the decision of Stanislaw August to join the confederation was taken too quickly; moreover, Russian sources reveal that the king was determined to make it without looking at the stance of the members of the Guard. As it turned out, he achieved the opposite effect than he expected – not only did he facilitate Russia’s pacification of the country, but also he deprived himself of any influence on further events.

„Jiskry v temnu?“ Evangeličtí venkovští písmáci jako nositelé české vzdělanosti v pobělohorském období

Author(s): Sixtus Bolom-Kotari / Language(s): Czech Issue: 1/2017

The aim of this paper is to approach non-Catholic rural writers (písmáci) during Counter-Reformation period in Czech lands with the stress on 18th century relating to the questions of literacy and education. My study consists of two halves. The first half contains enumeration of the characteristics of the scribe archetype, acquired by analysis of popular publication of the church historian František Bednář Jiskry v temnu. Obrazy ze zápasů českého člověka (Sparkles in the dark. Pictures from the struggles of a Czech man. Prague 1938). The results of the work with such a type of a source material make a picture of a “second life“ of the literacy available, in such a form, as it was perceived by the protestant society of 19th and 20th centuries and partly remained actual till the present. Characteristic features attributed to the scribes – often idealised and actualised according to the actual “social demand” are in the second part of the presentation confronted with the actual state of research in the topic introduced on the aspects of the biographs of two writers from Bohemian-Moravian Highlands – Řehoř Jakubec (1726 - 1786) and Tomáš Juren (1750 - 1829).

„Középkori" templomtornyok a Csíki-medencében

A székelyföldi dendrokronológiai kutatások első eredményei

Author(s): István Botár,Tamás Grynaeus,Boglárka Tóth / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: I/2006

This paper presents the first results of a Transylvanian dendrochronology project. Dendrochronology is a dating method, which uses the analysis of tree rings of recent trees and historical timber as well, for historical, architectonical, archaeological, and art history researches. When there is a sufficient number of samples and master chronologies, dendrochronology is able to give a year accuracy dating. In other cases a relative dating method can give detailed information about the chronological relationship of different buildings or building phases. The Transylvanian dendrochronological project was initiated by the authors in 2003. So far a floating pine chronology and absolute dated oak chronology have been made in the eastern part of the region. Moreover, due to this method, the dating of many church towers from the Csík-basin (Eastern-Transylvania), that were generally known in the historical and art history literature as having medieval building phases, were successfully corrected. Furthermore, the research has proved that these towers were built mostly in the 17th and 18th centuries, more or less in late gothic style. The dendrochronological data is also supported by the written sources, by the epigraphic inscriptions, and by the analogies of the exterior paintings. Although these facts had been known earlier, they were neglected because their data didn't fit into the literature's mainstream. All together lead to the conclusion, at one hand, that the study of the medieval architecture of the region must step over the many times superficial observations of the last decades and it should rather use and reanalyse the whole available data. On the other hand, the accordance of different types of data proved the correctness and applicability of the dendrochronological method and dating, suggesting the necessity of an extended data sampling. This work can lead to the construction of such master-chronologies, of which validity will cover larger geographical areas and wider periods of time. Nevertheless, dendrochronology will give a useful dating and interpretation tool for the research of the historical monuments and archaeological sites.

„Kto myslí len na svoj osoh, tomu nepatrí meno Pálffy...“1 Narušenie harmónie a dobrého spolužitia v rode Pálffyovcov v 18. storočí

Author(s): Anna Fundárková / Language(s): Slovak Issue: 1/2012

Property disputes have always been one of the main reasons of misunderstandings and conflicts among family members. Big conflicts among the family of Pálffy members were caused by the testament of Palatine János Palffy and the consequent property division. The author analyzes the correspondence between Károly Pál Pálffy and Rudolf (I.) Pálffy, and offers a portrait of the complicated family relationships during the long-lasting conflict. They were both partial owners of the Červený Kameň and Svätý Jur and Pezinok estates, but even despite several agreements and lawsuits were not able to reach reconciliation with each other. When Károly Pál became the guardian of Rudolf Pálffy's sons, the disagreements passed over to the next generation. Besides property and financial problems he had to solve also the problem of the planned marriage of Rudolf Pálffy with certain countess of Bethlen. The article tries to answer several questions: how did the family of Pálffy judge the conflict among its members and what was the attitude of aristocrats and royal court towards the dispute inside high-profile and politically influential Hungarian magnate family.