In 1600, Sigismund III, King of Poland-Lithuania, sent an envoy to Michael the Brave the Voivode of Wallachia, three times. His mission aimed to conduct negotiations on the treaty between Poland-Lithuania and Wallachia. In brief, the treaty stipulated that Michael the Brave should become a voivode of Moldavia and, therefore, Sigismund III’s vassal. The contents of that pact came into conflict with both the reality and the general policy of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Although it might seem surprising, talks gave an extra opportunity to save time. It was the moment of his highest military activity when Wallachian troops would be unchecked power near to Polish-Lithuanian border. Taranowski’s mission represented unofficial and chaotic moves in establishing contacts with the Danubian Principalities, but still clearly shows how diplomatic practice worked in Poland-Lithuania at the end of the sixteenth century.
The Wallachian monasteries are very well documented in the 16th century, but the life of nuns or monks after joining the monastery is a lesser-known aspect. Various details can be found in the life of a noblewoman (taking the name of Mușa), who decided to become a nun (Magdalina) during the first years of the 16th century. Mușa’s life before entering the monastery is not very well known. Although many researchers tried to link her to the Craiovescu family, one of the most influential families in Wallachia at that time, this paper argues against this opinion. The historical sources describe her as a relative of a Wallachian nobleman, Cârjeu, and as the wife of Hamza, another important nobleman from the first decades of the 16th century. Mușa took vows in the monastery, which she built, and even after she became a nun, she preserved some of her former habits. Thus, the nun Magdalina kept in her possession villages and Roma families, which she donated to different monasteries, a widespread situation in the Byzantine monasticism. Although the sources did not describe her everyday life as a nun, they documented her relations with the political and ecclesiastical elites.
This article is aimed at showing the existence of a medieval aristocracy in north-eastern Hungary, characterized in connection to certain elements of the Serbian identity. The noble families from the Maramuresh region are often identified by their Orthodox identity. It linked them to the Serbian church organization and the Serbian aristocracy, in contrast with the peasants mostly represented by the Vlachs. The migration of the Vlachs within this zone probably was generated by the influx of noble elements from Serbia to Hungary, especially during the period, when Stefan Vladislav influenced actively the Hungarian politics in the 13-14th century. In this article I show that the social and ethnic processes in the region were determined by a wider context of connections between Serbia and Hungary and the presence of the Serbian Orthodox church. The Catholic organization in Hungary accepted its autonomy and ecclesiastical independence. That is why there was possible to integrate the Orthodox elites to Hungarian nobility and arrange a kind of dual identity of the region. On the other side, in the long-term perspective, the Orthodox branches became rustic, living in villages with other nobles who became impoverished. Only of the Magyarized groups were able to remain within the high aristocracy.
EN
This article is aimed at showing the existence of a medieval aristocracy in north-eastern Hungary, characterized in connection to certain elements of the Serbian identity. The noble families from the Maramuresh region are often identified by their Orthodox identity. It linked them to the Serbian church organization and the Serbian aristocracy, in contrast with the peasants mostly represented by the Vlachs. The migration of the Vlachs within this zone probably was generated by the influx of noble elements from Serbia to Hungary, especially during the period, when Stefan Vladislav influenced actively the Hungarian politics in the 13-14th century. In this article I show, that the social and ethnic processes in the region were determined by a wider context of connections between Serbia and Hungary and the presence of the Serbian Orthodox church. The Catholic organization in Hungary accepted its autonomy and ecclesiastical independence. That is why there was possible to integrate the Orthodox elites to Hungarian nobility and arrange a kind of dual identity of the region. On the other side, in the long-term perspective, the Orthodox branches became rustic, living in villages with other nobles who became impoverished. Only of the Magyarized groups were able to remain within the high aristocracy.
St. Nicholas processions are ranked among the most significant traditions and are frequently considered the climax of the Advent. This is definitely the case of Horni Lidecsko, where as soon as the All Saints’ Day is over, masked characters come out and walk around villages until the holiday of St. Nicholas. The devils that are present in villages where people incline towards the Roman Catholic faith form an inseparable part of the cultural heritage of the local villages and the entire region. This study outlines the current form of St. Nicholas processions and the masked characters, but attention is paid also to the most significant changes that impacted the formation of the flying phenomenon and have shaped the tradition into its existing form. A portion of the paper deals with the historical background of the tradition and the individual characters that are a part of it, their role, and the symbolic meaning of the procession. The aim of the paper is to present the St. Nicholas procession and its attributes by means of an analysis of individual factors that impact its form outside the Czech Republic. The research has also addressed several aspects that have formed this phenomenon, namely the organization of the event and the identity of both the active and the passive participants. The study presents a research sample of bearers of the tradition and motivational elements thanks to which the tradition is still alive and passed from one generation to the next in such a scope as it is. In addition to the above, the paper explores the forms of the support provided by the villages as well as the differing opinions held by inhabitants of the region with regard to entering the St. Nicholas procession on the List of Intangible Elements of Traditional Folk Culture of the Czech Republic. A section in the paper also answers the question whether the event is a part of cultural heritage that is present in Wallachia permanently and in an authentic, almost unaltered form.
This article shows the close link between religious policy, especially that of the confessional option, and the politicization of space in the building processes of territorial states. The study focuses on the two Danube Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia, which implemented their state building owing to three decisive steps: i) the jurisdictional option in favour of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Constantinople; ii) the territorial and social implementation of the Byzantine Orthodox faith by institutional infrastructure and monastic reform; iii) the Orthodox enculturation of the two Wallachian principalities.The main goal of this chapter is to show how cultural and historical phenomena transform the abstract geographical space into the political space of a state.
The hereby article presents an analogous analysis of the patrimonial and inheritance legal status of Moldovan women, contrasted with their counterparts in the neighbouring countries, such as Lithuania, Romania, Transylvania, Russia, Serbia and Montenegro. In author’s opinion, woman’s patrimony served as a warranty for her legal and social status. Officially, women could not participate in the political life of the state, yet, some of them, possessing large estates, were indeed influential. Empowered by the autonomous possession and management of their assets, women attained some economic independence in the social sphere. Characterizing the differences and similarities in the status of women regarding the laws of succession, it should be observed that too much emphasis was placed on the legal inequality of women in different countries. In consequence, a stereotype was established in historical literature. Frequently, in European countries, an inconsistency or even a contradiction between legislation and law enforcement could be observed.
Because the alliance between the Cumans and Bulgaria was a danger both for Hungary and the Latin Empire, it was preferable for Hungary to extend its domination over Cumania. The Teutonic knights were settled in south-eastern Transylvania in 1211 to defend it against the Cumans, who, after 1214, became enemies also for Bulgaria. Besides the few fortresses built in the Bârsa land, there is no certain proof for an expansion of the Teutonic Order outside the Carpathians, and by consecquence of the Hungarian kingdom, in the period before the Mongol invasion of 1241. After the departure of the Teutonic knights in 1225, Cumania became the target of the Dominican mission which was present since around 1221 in Terra Severin, a north-Danubian Bulgarian possession. The Cuman bishopric was established in 1227. The subjection of these Cumans made useless the preservation of the Hungarian-Bulgarian alliance closed in 1214, and the consequence was the annexation of Terra Severin by Hungary, sometimes between 1228 and 1232, as a Banat. The final act of the Hungarian expansion in Cumania was the introduction of the title of King of Cumania by Bela IV in 1236. The region where it was established the bishopric of Cumania continued to be under the influence of the Church of Tărnovo, even after the end of the domination of the Bulgarian state in this north-Danubian territory. In 1241, the Cuman bishopric was destroyed by the Mongol invasion. Because the Golden Horde domination did not extend west of Olt in the first years after 1242, Bela IV tried to regain positions by summoning the Hospitaller Knights in 1247. Terra Severin remained a part of the Hungarian kingdom, but the function of Ban was abandoned or suspended. One mission of the Hospitallers was to extend the Hungarian domination in Cumania, in the regions which were then conquered by the Mongols. The Mongol domination prevented the emergence of a Cuman kingdom in Moldavia, vassal of Hungary. Only the decline of the Golden Horde made possible a new penetration of the Hungarian kingdom in the former Cumania, in 1345. The former Cumania entered in the new states created during the 14th century by the Romanians liberated from the Hungarian domination, Wallachia and Moldavia.
Der Begriff „Bollwerk des Christentums“ wurde bereits in der Antike geprägt, um Verteidigungsmauern zu benennen, welche die Sicherheit der Städte garantieren sollten. Dem Begriff kam schnell auch eine metaphorische Bedeutung zu, und zwar als Bezeichnung strategischer Punkte zur Verteidigung gegen „Ungläubige“ - und vor allem in diesem Sinne wurde er im Mittelalter verwendet. Mit der wachsenden Macht der Türkei und der von ihren Herrschern eingeleiteten Expansion in den europäischen Raum wurde der Staat im Bewusstsein der mittelalterlichen Menschen zur größten Bedrohung für das christliche Europa. Der Begriff Antemurale Christianitatis wurde also ebenfalls für die Staaten verwendet, die unmittelbar von einem Angriff durch die Türken gefährdet waren. Zur Popularisierung der Bezeichnung im späten Mittelalter trugen in wesentlichem Maße die Humanisten bei. Da sie selbst von der Notwendigkeit des Kampfes gegen die Türkei überzeugt waren, versuchten sie durch ihre Chroniken, gewissermaßen die Wirklichkeit zu kreieren. Insbesondere an der Wende vom 15. zum 16. Jahrhundert wurden die Inhalte ebenfalls als Vorwand benutzt, die eigene dynastische Politik der Herrscher zu rechtfertigen, die sich hinter der Parole des Kampfes gegen „Ungläubige“ verbarg. Im Artikel werden drei Beispiele für die Verwendung der Bollwerk-Ideologie und Notwendigkeit des Kampfes gegen die Türkei durch drei aufeinanderfolgende Herrscher Polens erörtert: Johann I. Albrecht, Alexander den Jagiellonen und Sigismund den Alten.
EN
The term “Bulwark of Christendom” was coined already in ancient times to describe defensive walls that were supposed to guarantee the safety of cities. It quickly acquired a metaphorical meaning and was used to designate strategic points in defense against “infidels,” and in this sense it was predominantly used in the Middle Ages. With the growing power of Turkey and its expansion into the territory of Europe, this country became, in the minds of the people of the Middle Ages, the main threat to Christian Europe. The term Antemurale Christianitatis thus began to define countries directly threatened by a Turkish attack. A special role in the popularization of this term was played by humanists. As they themselves were convinced of the need to fight Turkey, by writing chronicles they somehow created reality. In particular, at the turn of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, these texts and this rhetoric also served as a pretext to justify their own dynastic policy of the rulers hidden under the slogan of the fight “against infidels”. In this article, Katarzyna Niemczyk-Wiśniewska examines three late medieval examples of the use of the ideology of the bulwark and the need to fight Turkey by three successive rulers of Poland, Jan Olbracht, Aleksander Jagiellończyk, and Zygmunt Stary.
PL
Termin „przedmurze chrześcijaństwa” ukuty został już w czasach antycznych na określenie murów obronnych, które gwarantować miały bezpieczeństwo miast. Termin ten szybko nabrał także metaforycznego znaczenia: punkty strategiczne w obronie przed „niewiernymi” - i w takim sensie był w przeważającej mierze używany w średniowieczu. Wraz z rosnącą potęgą Turcji oraz rozpoczętą przez nią ekspansją na terytorium Europy państwo to stało się w świadomości ludzi średniowiecza głównym zagrożeniem dla chrześcijańskiej Europy. Terminem Antemurale Christianitatis zaczęto więc określać kraje znajdujące się w bezpośrednim zagrożeniu atakiem tureckim. Szczególną rolę w upowszechnieniu tego sformułowania odegrali w okresie późnego średniowiecza humaniści. Jako że sami przekonani byli o konieczności walki z Turcją, spisując kroniki, niejako kreowali rzeczywistość - w szczególności na przełomie XV i XVI wieku treści te posłużyły również jako pretekst do uzasadniania własnej polityki dynastycznej władców ukrytej pod hasłem walki „z niewiernymi”. W artykule przedstawiono trzy przykłady wykorzystywania ideologii przedmurza i konieczności walki z Turcją przez trzech kolejnych władców Polski: Jana Olbrachta, Aleksandra Jagiellończyka i Zygmunta Starego.
The Illustrated Chronicle, manuscript from 1360, known under the Latin name Chronicon Pictum, ended with the story of the Battle of Posada. The armed clash that took place in 1330 between Hungary and Wallachia is today remembered as a momentous victory for the newly founded Basarab dynasty. Two miniatures depicting the Battle of Posada included on pages 143 and 146, often overlooked in the context of historical elaboration, are an integral part of the story and complement the written text. The picture serves as a record of events and additionally provides information on the then costumes, armaments and artistic means of expression. The analysis of the Battle of Posada based on the 14th-century Illustrated Chronicle is an attempt to supplement historical research with an analysis of miniature painting.
PL
Kronika Ilustrowana, manuskrypt z 1360 r., znana pod łacińską nazwą Chronicon Pictum, kończy się opowieścią o bitwie pod Posadą. Starcie zbrojne, do którego doszło w 1330 r. między Węgrami a Wołoszczyzną, dziś jest pamiętane jako doniosłe zwycięstwo nowo powstałej dynastii Basarabów. Dwie miniatury obrazujące bitwę pod Posadą zawarte na kartach 143 i 146 Kroniki Ilustrowanej, często pomijane w kontekście opracowania historycznego, stanowią integralną część opowieści i uzupełnienie tekstu pisanego. Obraz pełni funkcję zapisu wydarzeń oraz dodatkowo dostarcza informacji na temat ówczesnych strojów, uzbrojenia i artystycznych środków wyrazu. Analiza bitwy pod Posadą na podstawie XIV-wiecznej Kroniki Ilustrowanej stanowi próbę uzupełnienia badań historycznych o analizę malarstwa miniatorskiego.
JavaScript is turned off in your web browser. Turn it on to take full advantage of this site, then refresh the page.