Die Chronik des Törzburger Porkolaben Hajdú István
The Chronicle of Hajdú István, Warden of Bran

Summary/Abstract: Hajdú István (1687‒1748), was born in Brașov, where his father was a Lutheran pastor. After attending college, he fought against the Kuruc in Brașov. In 1711 he became a city servant, in 1726 even a head servant. His appointment as the Warden of Bran in 1735, the highest office bestowed upon a Hungarian layman by the Magistrate of Brașov, was the pinnacle of his carrier. His notes, recorded on a handwritten book, recently dis-covered in the Central Archives of the Evangelical Church in Romania A. C., in Sibiu, refer mainly to family events (baptisms, funerals, weddings etc.). Records on political and public events are rather scarce, becoming, however, predominant after Hajdú started working as a warden. He focuses on two major events of his time: the Counter-Reformation and the Russian-Austrian-Turkish war of 1736‒1739. In the days preceding his death, the chronicle will be continued by his son-in-law, Szeli József (1710–1782), a preacher of the Hungarian Lutherans in Brașov. His records, however, refer only to events of his family. This edition of the chronicle consists of a modern German translation of the Hungarian original (which contains some Latin passages), a prime source for Hungarian History in Țara Bârsei. The introductory part presents the manuscript and the history of the Hungarian community in Brașov from the 16th to the 18th century, after which the local events mentioned in the chronicle are being analysed by consulting the ample Saxon chronicles of the period.

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