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O presente estudo apoia-se na constatação de que existe um sólido imaginário sobre a maleficência feminina lastreando toda a cultura medieval do Ocidente, cujas raízes encontram-se fincadas na Antiguidade Clássica e na tradição judaico-cristã. Com base nessa verificação, o estudo investiga certas formações e figuras do imaginário cultural medieval...
The article discusses physical status and external appearance of dvergar of pre-Christian Nordic folk belief, mythology and literature. Sources in focus of the research include a runic inscription, a skaldic poem, three Eddic lays and carvings on a runic stone.
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... The high percentages of pigs and wild animals at some of the sites would support the presence of woods in the local landscape. An increase in cattle trading, especially between Hungary and the west, and horse breeding is also noted in the later Middle Ages with a large-scale boom in trade in the 15th century (Bartosiewicz 1995;Varga 2007;Petrovics 2011;Szende 2011, p. 218). This probably led to an expansion in land used as pasture, as well as growing more crops as fodder. ...
... (hazelnut) and Prunus spinosa (sloe), although cultivation of the last two cannot be excluded. At Pécs, documentary evidence suggests that part of the area lying south of the castle during the 15th century had extensive gardens, vineyards and orchards belonging to the dwelling houses (Petrovics 2011). ...
This paper presents the results from archaeobotanical remains collected from ten medieval settlements and fort sites in the region of present-day Slavonia, Croatia. From the 12th century ad , Slavonia was part of the Kingdom of Hungary, although the region benefited from a certain amount of autonomy. Examining the archaeobotanical data from this period shows a diverse agricultural system, where crop fields, gardens, orchards, pastures and woodlands were all used to produce a range of cereals, fruits, nuts, vegetables and herbs, as well as fibre plants. The dataset is dominated by cereal remains, especially Triticum aestivum/durum (free-threshing wheat), Panicum miliaceum (broomcorn millet) and Secale cereale (rye). Vitis vinifera (grape pips) were the most common fruit recovered, which corresponds with the presence of vineyards and international trade in wine noted in the literature by the late Middle Ages. Also of significance was the recovery of Cannabis sativa (hemp) and Linum usitatissimum (flax), which suggest local cultivation, possibly for linen and hemp fibres, for oil or for medicinal purposes.
... 70 For King Béla IV, who issued many charters securing urban privileges, the strenghtening of urban communities was part of his royal policy, accelerated after the Mongol invasion. 71 The royal privileges given to the Dalmatian towns, though, were primarily a political 67 means of strengthening the king's rule over these towns, rather than a conscious urban policy as it was the case in Slavonia. 72 The issues of central authority are to be regarded in a broader geographical context. ...
... 70 For King Béla IV, who issued many charters securing urban privileges, the strenghtening of urban communities was part of his royal policy, accelerated after the Mongol invasion. 71 The royal privileges given to the Dalmatian towns, though, were primarily a political 67 means of strengthening the king's rule over these towns, rather than a conscious urban policy as it was the case in Slavonia. 72 The issues of central authority are to be regarded in a broader geographical context. ...
Bihar County was for a long time the largest county in the medieval Hungarian Kingdom. In 1588, its extent was even larger than the usual one, as it was extended with the villages of the Rétsági district previously belonging to the neighbouring Békés county, which had collapsed during the Ottoman conquest. The area of the county exceeded 12,000 km2 at that time, its largest extension being 140 km in both the north-south and the west-east directions. 48% of its territory is lowland (a significant proportion of which is marshland and swampland - e.g. Sárrét, Érmellék), 27% is hilly land and basin area, while 25% is low and medium-altitude mountainous area.
The map of Bihar County in 1588 shows the administrative situation of the county at the time of the disintegration of the medieval Hungarian state. By this time, after the Battle of Mohács (1526), the Ottomans had already occupied the central parts of the country and Buda had fallen (1541). The rest of the country was divided between the Hungarian Kingdom in the north and west, ruled by the Habsburg Monarchy, and the Principality of Transylvania in the east. As rival powers, they were unable to successfully counter the conquering Ottoman Empire. Bihar became the centre of the Calvinist Reformation in Hungary.
The final division of the territories that had not been occupied by the Ottomans was enshrined in the Treaty of Speyer (1570). Thus, recognised by the Christian powers, the Principality of Transylvania came into being. It did not operate within its historical boundaries, as it also supervised territories that were legally part of Royal Hungary, but could not effectively be governed from Pozsony due to the encroaching Turkish occupation. Thus, the concept of Partium (Parts) emerged (Szilágyi 2013), the central area of which became Bihar County. Várad/Oradea Fortress and its military leadership exercised military and political control over the territory of Partium.
The 200 difficult years that passed between the beginning of the 16th century and the early 18th century, the nearly constant campaigns, as well as the numerous sieges and ravages are the reason why archival sources from this period are scarce. Prince György Rákóczi II ordered the construction of two new rooms for the archive of Bihar County in Várad/Oradea Fortress, however it was destroyed in the battle of 1660 and the subsequent campaigns. In the course of the 16th and 17th centuries archival sources were so badly damaged, both at county and national level, that relatively few complete sets of data survived from that period, which allows us to reconstruct the administrative-territorial situation of Bihar County. The census also includes some settlements that were located near the county boundary and the affiliation of which was not clear (Szálkai 2014).
It can also be established from the fragmentary tax registers of Bihar (on microfilm copies) that in the second half of the 16th century, significant administrative changes took place in the Partium region. Békés county became an Ottoman territory, except for the settlements of Balkány, Csépany, Dévaványa, Ecseg, Füzesgyarmat, Károly, Nagyharang and Simasziget, which were annexed to Bihar County. From the data series for the year 1587-1588 – for the entire county – it is clear that, instead of the previous four districts (districtus), the following ones were created: Közép-Kalota, Nagy-Kölesér, Kis-Kölesér, Kis-Kalota, Közép-Nyír, Debrecen, Érmelléke/Valea Ierului, Belényes/Beiuș, Telegd/Tileagd and Két-Körösköz, which, due to their huge area, were divided into subdistricts (Lat. pars) (Szálkai 2014). By comparing these with the geographical landscapes of the county, we come to the conclusion that the boundaries of the districts in 1588 largely coincide with the landscape borders; typically, a district is formed by a larger landscape unit. District boundaries are sometimes marked by watercourses (Berettyó/Barcău, Sebes-Körös/Crișul Repede, Fekete-Körös/Crișul Negru). At times, we can also talk about topographical boundaries (e.g. Telegd/Tileagd and Belényes/Beiuș districts).
Bihar County fell into the grip of the two neighbouring powers (Ottoman Empire, Habsburg Empire), and as it was a Transylvanian border area, a continuous defence posture towards the west became necessary. In the south the Sanjak of Jenő and Gyula, and to the west the Sanjak of Szolnok were direct Turkish neighbours, while to the north, Szabolcs and Szatmár were territories of Royal Hungary. The territorial administration of the era had to support the defensive function; the districts were often organized around castles of local importance. The western districts became permanent battlegrounds (primarily Nagykölesér, Kiskölesér, Rétköz, and Debrecen districts), but Bél and its possessions Kétkörösköz, and Kiskalota were also affected. The data from 1588 do not include the fortress of Nagybajom and the surrounding villages of Sárrét, but at the same time, there is no historical evidence that the fortress would have been annexed to another neighbouring area. Since Nagybajom was the westernmost stronghold of the Transylvanians, it is likely that the taxes of the surrounding settlements were directly assigned to the service of Bajomi Fortress.
The difficulties of the era are well-illustrated by the fact that in the southwestern areas of the county a separate dominance and administration developed in parallel with the Ottomans. The headquarters of two Ottoman sanjaks, Gyula and Jenő/Ineu, also operated extremely close to the southern border of the county. These centres sought to extend their authority to the nearby settlements in Bihar, which were still claimed by Bihar County. Towards the end of the 16th century, there were many settlements that were paying taxes in both directions. Moreover, a Bihar district (nahije) was also established in the Sanjak of Gyula (Káldi-Nagy 1982), overlapping with the districts of Nagykölesér and Kiskölesér. Occasionally, villages that were located 10-20 km below the front line, in the interior of Bihar, also appear in the Ottoman tax registers. The leaders of Bihar and captains of Várad tried to pacify their neighbours with diplomatic means, and occasionally donated estates/villages to the Beys in the non-occupied territories as well (Káldi-Nagy 1982). Contrary to the presumed intention of the donor, these settlements were not only treated as private estates, but henceforth they (e.g. Bikacs, Nagyradvány) were also registered as Ottoman territories in a public administrative sense.
Várad/Oradea was not only the centre of the county, but also functioned as the headquarters of the chief captain until 1660. By virtue of its strong fortress, it was the western gate and protector of Transylvania. Thanks to the refugees coming from the occupied Hungarian territories, the population of the city increased significantly. However, by 1588, it fell behind that of Debrecen, located in the northern border area of the county, which had already become one of the most populous settlements in the Carpathian Basin, thus increasingly becoming the economic centre of the Tiszántúl region.
Bihar County was for a long time the largest county in the medieval Hungarian Kingdom. Even without the periodically annexed peripheral areas, it covered an area of 10,660 km2, its largest extent being 136 km in both north-south and west-east directions. 44.5% of its territory is lowland (a significant proportion of which is marshland and swampland - e.g. Sárrét, Érmellék), 29% is hilly land and basin area, while 26.5% is low and medium-altitude mountainous area.
The map of the Bihar County in 1552 shows the administrative situation of the county at the time of the disintegration of the medieval Hungarian state. By this time, after the Battle of Mohács (1526), the Ottomans had already occupied the central parts of the country. Buda had fallen (1541), and George Fráter Martinuzzi was trying to prevent the final division into two countries of the territories that had escaped Ottoman occupation. Bihar became the centre of the Calvinist Reformation in Hungary.
The 200 difficult years that passed between the beginning of the 16th century and the early 18th century, the nearly constant campaigns, as well as the numerous sieges and ravages are the reason why archival sources from this period are scarce. Prince György Rákóczi II ordered the construction of two new rooms for the archive of Bihar County in Várad/Oradea Fortress, however it was destroyed in the battle of 1660 and the subsequent campaigns. In the course of the 16th and 17th centuries archival sources were so badly damaged, both at county and national level, that relatively few complete sets of data survived from that period (such as the Conscriptio portarum Com. Bihariensis from 1552), which allows us to reconstruct the administrative-territorial situation of Bihar County. The census also includes some settlements that were located near the county boundary and the affiliation of which was not clear. In the census, each district (districtus) was marked with the name of the magistrate, which had been a common practice for centuries (Szálkai 2014).
There were four administrative-territorial units in the county, stretching from east to west. The boundaries of the districts in 1552 largely coincide with the landscape boundaries, several of these areas forming a single district. The Ferenc Sasi district includes the 'Érmellék'/Valea Ierului, 'Középnyír'/zona Nirului and 'Cserhát'/Dealurile Ierului, which are the northernmost parts of the county. Ferenc Szarvadi's district had in its composition the 'Rétköz', 'Sárrét', 'Kiskalota'/the area of Călata and 'Rézalja'/the area of the Plopiș Mountains. András Márkus's district included the west of Salonta Plain and the area between the Sebes-Körös/Crișul Repede and Hollód/Holod rivers, while Tamás Bencs's district comprised the 'Béli/Codru-Moma' mountain range, the valley of the Fekete-Körös/Crișul Negru and the mountains in the Belényes/Beiuș area (Szálkai 2014). The boundaries between the three northern districts are largely marked by watercourses (Berettyó/Barcău and Sebes-Körös/Crișul Repede), as well as, to a lesser extent, by orographic boundaries. Between the two southern districts, the boundaries are predominantly orographic.
Várad/Oradea was the perfect centre for the county because, being located in the middle of the territory, in the Sebes-Körös/Crișul Repede valley, it was the shortest connection in the east-west direction between Transylvania and the Pannonian Basin. At this point it was intersected by the north-south oriented East-Hungarian market line, following the area along the orographic contact zone. In 1552 Debrecen, located close to the north-western border of the county, was already the most populous settlement, increasingly becoming the economic centre of the region between Tisa and Transylvania. The number of tax-paying households (1216) in Debrecen was more than twice as high as that in Várad/Oradea. In political and military strategic terms, Várad/Oradea remained the centre of the region and of Bihar County. The total number of settlements mentioned in the Conscriptio is 464, which does not include the villages in the Borod area (these being treated together for tax purposes), nor the dispersed settlements of some peripheral areas (in the areas of Cséke/Ceica, Bél/Beliu, Belényes/Beiuș, Beznye/Beznea, Kiskáránd/Cărandu Mic, Nagykáránd/ Cărandu Mare, Lakság, Margitta/Marghita, Rogoz, Szalárd/Sălard and Széplak/Suplacu). The number of taxed households in the county was 11.881 (Jakó 1940), which probably does not include all social classes (e.g. petty nobles).
Oblicza Wojny to interdyscyplinarna seria poświęcona różnym aspektom konfliktów zbrojnych. Niniejszy tom pod tytułem Miasto i wojna, zawiera artykuły naukowców z Węgier, Polski i Rumunii – historyków, archeologów i muzealników. Teksty te dotyczą funkcjonowania formacji wojskowych w miastach, a także ich roli jako zaplecza bądź teatru działań wojennych. Omówiono również powinności wojskowe mieszczan i ich zasoby uzbrojenia. Pod względem chronologicznym opracowania zamieszczone w tym tomie obejmują okres od średniowiecza po czasy współczesne.
Through the course of the present work, will-making in Hermannstadt between 1720 and 1800 has been elevated as a canvass, upon which political, social, and economic trends intersected to leave a myriad of patterns. The present thesis has explored the collective profile of testators, as a group apart, by re-embedding it into a successive series of contextual frames.
In Hermannstadt, making a will, like any kind of engagement with authority after the Habsburg takeover at the end of the seventeenth century, indirectly reflected administrative renewal, state-building, as well as the entrenchment of political particularisms. Because will-making sometimes involved the devolution of property, and property rights were one of the essential, if not quintessential arguments in the arsenal of autonomy marshalled by the Transylvanian Saxon nation-estate, will-making was also politically potent.
An inquiry into the practices of probate and will-making showed how much variation existed within this field, compared to the rather sparse legislative framework. Because testaments were merely one potential conduit for the devolution of wealth at death, testators were examined as a sub-group of individuals whose estates were probated between 1720-1800. Among its major findings is the fact that 1 in 4 adult individuals of Lutheran or Roman Catholic faith who perished between 1753 and 1800 had their estates undergo probate. Restaments were not heavily used in Hermannstadt, as only a 3% yearly average of deceased disposed of their estate thusly. However, this share also varied significantly, reaching up to 8% in certain years.
A series of deeper but less transparent patterns largely determined the who, how, and why of testamentary behaviour: firstly, most testaments were made shortly before death, with one third written no longer than a week prior to an individual’s passing. Secondly, there was a clear class gradient to testation, as well as to probate. The elite group was under-represented among those who underwent probate, while within the testament group, the elite was slightly over-represented compared to the total decedent group. Thirdly, the thesis found that testators were much older than the overall decedent population, with most male testators still married, while most female testators widowed by the time a final disposition had been drafted. Moreover, the share of single women among female testators was nevertheless very high compared to the overall decedent group, signalling the priority of will-making for never-married women. Finally, slightly over 45% of all testaments were made by individuals (or couples) who had no bodily heirs, while only some 5% of testators had minor children. By comparison, among all probate events, only 10.5 % involved individuals without bodily heirs.
The 16th century life of a medieval Hungarian town differs from its previous history, being conditioned by circumstances unthought of before: the defeat of the Hungarians by the Ottomans in 1526, the death of the Hungarian king during the battle, the conflicts between his “rightful” successors and the rise of the Lutheran Reformation. Transylvania, namely Sibiu, as part of the Hungarian kingdom did not meet any different conditions during this century. Our analysis strives to emphasize the fate of the mendicant orders – Dominican and Franciscan – in Sibiu in these particular times by first showing what it meant for them to develop cloisters here, where they were located in relation to the fortified town and the events of the 16th century that eventually led to their dissolution and the banishment of the friars.
U radu se povlači dijagonalna linija između srednjovjekovnog urbaniteta bosanske države i ostalih zemalja istočno-centralne Evrope. Procesi isko-vani na zapadnom dijelu kontinenta odrazili su se i na njegov centralni dio i istočne krakove. Autor nastoji dijagnosticirati elemente koji su se preko sjevernih država prelijevali i preko bosanskih granica. Promatrajući razli-čite segmente srednjovjekovnog urbanog izraza u Bosni i ostalim zemlja-ma regije bosanski gradovi se uvrštavaju na urbanu kartu srednjovjekovne Evrope, sa svim prednostima i nedostacima. Nastojeći pratiti hronološko-prostorne konstante autor nudi prikaz razvoja bosanskih gradova pri čemu se kristališe ustaljena matrica izrastanja urbanih sredina istočno-centralne Evrope. U članku je skrenuta pažnja i na one dionice koje zbog obima ovog pristupa nisu mogli biti predmetom detaljne raščlambe, te predstavljaju plodno tlo za buduća istraživanja.
