CIVIC CONTROL OF SAINTHOOD IN LATE MEDIEVAL TRANSYLVANIA
CIVIC CONTROL OF SAINTHOOD IN LATE MEDIEVAL TRANSYLVANIA

Summary/Abstract: This study aims to investigate the shaping of civic religion in late medieval Transylvanian towns. Its starting point is represented by a discussion of existing research that focused on the concept of civic religion both in the Italian city-states and the towns of northern Europe. The characteristic features of civic religion will then be explored in connection to several Transylvanian examples provided by the cult of the parish patron saints. The chosen case studies concern the most important towns of the region (Bistriţa, Braşov, Cluj and Sibiu) that will be explored from the point of view of the way the city councils’ involvement in the promotion of parochial protectors decisively contributed to the transformation of these cults into civic ones. As a result, further nuances will be added to the on-going discussion of the concept of civic religion.

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