Ţările Române în Chronica lui N. Schaedel (sec. XV): text şi ilustraţie

Author(s): Zita Haiduc / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 54/2015

Liber Chronicarum is a true encyclopaedia that includes history, philology, geography, hagiography and martyrology, ecumenical councils, religious sects and orders, biographies of those who distinguished themselves on the stage of history since the beginning of the world until the times when the book was completed. For most towns, lands, or characters – either biblical or historical – a limited number of templates was employed (645 woodcut blocks for 1809 images), consequently each block was reproduced several times. An instance of pattern employment was the repetition of the same image used to represent Hungary, Wallachia, Prussia and Saxony at a few pages distance in the text taken form pope Pius II’s work, Aeneas Silvius in Europam, Memmingen, 1440. In the 23 rows of the text accompanying the picture called “Walachia” there are several pieces of information on the geographical position of the country and her neighbors, and it is stated that the language spoken by the “Vlachs” has Latin roots and it underwent changes. Updating the information, the text mentions that there are two rival parties in Wallachia, “Dăneştii” and “Drăculeştii”, that their enmity has nefarious consequences within the context of the struggle against the Turks, as well as the part played by Iancu of Hunedoara in the victories gained in this struggle. The latter is also mentioned when Hungary is described, particularly in the part on Transylvania, which the text notes that was once inhabited by Dacians; Iancu of Hunedoara’s Romanian origin, his valiance and his many battles against the Turks are mentioned here.

Sfidat e Pushtetit Osman, Gjon Kastrioti dhe Republika e Venedikut (1421-1431)

Author(s): Qerim Dalipi / Language(s): Albanian Issue: 44/2014

The Challenges of Ottoman Reign, Gjon Kastrioti and the Republic of Venice (1421-1431) The author attempts to reflect the position of Arbëria under the Ottoman raj, treating the issue of anti-Ottoman insurgent movement. The following, what attracts attention are especially the notices on the most powerful god of Arbëria, Gjon Kastrioti, in the context of his relations with the Republic of Venice and the Ottoman reign, which with the latter had escalated into an armed conflict. Within these circumstances take place also the relations between Arbëria masters of the North, against Serbian despot power, of that Venetian and Ottoman attacks.

Jan Hus jako dějinná výzva

Author(s): Petr Čornej / Language(s): Czech Issue: 1/2016

Translatio Studii: Praha a Lipsko 1409

Author(s): František Šmahel / Language(s): Czech Issue: 1/2016

Прилог биографији великог војводе Михаила Анђеловића

Author(s): Aleksandar Krstić / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 52/2015

The paper discusses data provided by a charter of the Hungarian estates, issued on March 13, 1450, which resulted from a litigation instituted by John Hunyadi against László Pataki, the familiaris of Serbian despot Đurađ Branković. According to the presented accusations, Despot Đurađ captured Hunyadi after the defeat on the Kosovo field in 1448, acting upon the persuasion of his wife, sons, „Michaelis vayvode Chelnek dicti de Uhad” and four of his Hungarian familiares. Based on this document and other known data on Mihailo Angelović, the author concludes that the aforementioned voivode Michael is no other than this Serbian nobleman of Byzantine origin. A noble title „de Uhad” shows that Mihailo Angelović had possessions in Hungary in 1450. This possession is most likely identical with the settlement Ohád (Ohát) near Ghilad in the Romanian Banat.

НЕКОЛИКО ДОКУМЕНАТА О ЗЕТСКОМ ВОЈВОДИ СТЕФАНИЦИ ЦРНОЈЕВИЋУ

Author(s): Đorđe Bubalo / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 1-2/2015

The paper contains four overlooked documents about Stefanica Crnojević, the Duke (vojvoda) of Zeta; the documents are published according to the copies in the collection of documents from Kotor made by Antonio Bisanti and dating from the 18th century. Three documents are directly concerned with Stefanica’s entry into Venetian service 1451– 1452, while the fourth concerns his plea for military help in 1460, in expectation of an attack from the Turkish commander of the Medun Fortress.

Anotimpurile cruciate ale unui rege: documente milaneze asupra politicii lui Matia Corvin în anul 1475*

Author(s): Alexandru Simon / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 4/2012

The paper is an inventory of selected sources that help retrace the main coordinates and the evolution (“the seasons”) of Matthias Corvinus throughout 1475, a year that began with great crusader hopes and expectations (in particular after mid March) and virtually ended in Ottoman fear and threat and Christian concern and feud. Based on documents extracted from Italian archives, the paper also directs attention towards the relation between fact and propaganda in the early months of 1476, after the Ottoman conquest of Caffa in June 1475 and prior to sultan Mehmed II’s Moldavia campaign of July 1476. The study indicates also the structural internal relation between the various units in king Matthias Corvinus’ “great anti-Ottoman” army and administration, as recorded that year by various western diplomats with “support” from the king of Hungary. The analysis reveals both the conscientious exaggerations made and their detrimental effects on the pragmatic reception and support of crusader warfare, led by East Central European monarchs, in the Italian Peninsula. At the same time, the sources point out the efforts made by the parties directly involved in the clash with the Ottoman Empire to overcome these handicaps and to secure actual funding, without however (fully) abandoning the rhetoric of exaggeration.

Ново виђење о пореклу Јанка Хуњадинија и његових потомака

Author(s): Živojin Andrejić / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 1/2016

Hunjadi Janka - Jovana – Janos`s grandfather is a certain Serban (!) - Sherban (?), he is considered a Vlah, father Vajk - Vladislav - Ladislav (+ after 1419) and mother Anko (Elizabeth Morsinai?). Janko - Jovan was born in 1406 and died on 11 August 1456. Janko - Jovan Hunyadi was married to Jelisaveta - Erzebet (* 1410th +10. 7, 1483), sister of Mihailo Siladyi, and with her had a son Vladislav - Ladislav (* 1433rd +16. 3. 1457) and Matija (* 23. 2. 1443 +6. 4. 1490), king of Hungary (1458-1490). The younger brother Janka - Jovana - Janos Hunyadi was called the same as him. His brother Janko - Jovan died in 1441. He had a brother Vajka, and three sisters: Clara (married to Pongrac Dengeledia, who was killed in the Battle of Varna in 1444.), Mary (married to Manzil Arges Basarab) and an unknown sister (married to Peter II Moldavic). According to medieval chronicles Hungarian Janos Hunyadi was the illegitimate son of King Sigismund, and beautiful noble from generation Morzineja. In contrast, Serbian yearbooks, folk epic poems and oral traditions claim that Jovan Hunyadi was the illegitimate son of Serbian Despot Stefan with her daughter of the Vlah Bogut - Budimir. It is believed that these Hungarian and mythical traditions are ahistorical, and are based on the myth that has oriental origins and is based on the Iranian story of Suhrabov`s birth in Ferdowsi`s epic Shahnameh. The fatherland of Kumanis - the latter Vlah`s in Great Kumania – the latter of Wallachia in todays Romania located in the eastern neighborhood of Iran and the other side in the western neighborhood of Hinduja. Thus the origin of the myth clearly proven to be Persian in the Danube region, which emanates in all the myths about the birth of sons of Vlah-Serban Boguta. Before us appears hidden Kumanian-Vlah origin of Janko Hunyadi and the Hungarian King Matija Corvinus. The appearance of the two brothers of the same name: Janko, is puzzling and may be referred to as an proof that they are truly sons of one mother and two fathers: the Hungarian King Zygmunt and Serbian Despot Stefan Lazarevic. The reason Serbian and Hungarian appropriation of Janko Hunyadi can undoubtedly be found in the creation of claims and rights of Janko Hunyadi and his son Matthias on the throne of Hungary but also Serbia.

Weisz Boglárka: A királyketteje és az ispán harmada. Vámok és vámszedés Magyarországon a középkor első felében

Author(s): Péter Haraszti Szabó / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 66/2016

Vechimea Bucureștilor

Author(s): Constantin C. Giurescu / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 1/1974

In the synthetic work Istoria Bucureştilor, published in 1967, I stated that the city of Bucharest is older than the first documentary mention (20 Septembrie 1459); It was a "city" (fortress) during the 14th century and a town before 1300. The main argument on which this assertion is based is of an economic nature: the need for the multitude of peasants in the region, Ilfov to have a market, a center where they can buy salt, indispensable to human life, the sickles, the faulxes, the axes and the serpes necessary for the agricultural, pastoral and forest life

Sława, chwała i plotka Władysław Warneńczyk jako król Węgier

Author(s): Stanisław A. Sroka / Language(s): Polish Issue: 2/2016

The author discusses Vladislaus’s of Varna reign in Hungary (1440–1444), highlighting those issues connected with the King which have recently been widely discussed and which cover three areas. The first one concerns the alleged disappearance of Vladislaus of Varna during the Battle of Varna (1444). In historiography, there are various fantastic theories about Vladislaus’s of Varna further life after the battle – their authors are usually amateur historians who unjustifiably reject the information given in many Turkish chronicles which report the death of the King during the battle. The most popular theory concerns the King’s staying on the Portuguese island of Madeira. Some even believe that Vladislaus got married there and was Christopher Columbus’s father. Another issue which has recently been hotly debated is the issue of the King’s alleged homosexuality, which even led to regarding him as an informal patron of gay men in Central Europe. Proponents base their theory on the chronicle of Jan Dlugosz, who rather had in mind sexual promiscuity of the ruler; therefore, the chronicler’s statement that the king was in marium libidinem proclivus should probably be understood in such a way. In this article the author also discusses the issue of the burial place of the King in the light of the recent initiative of the Bulgarian intellectuals who believe that the remains of Vladislaus of Varna should be sought in the Greek chapel in a place called Ak Yazala Baba (today Obrocziszte village near Varna). / Autor omawia panowanie Władysława Warneńczyka na Węgrzech (1440–1444), akcentując te zagadnienia, które w odniesieniu do postaci króla są w ostatnim czasie żywo dyskutowane. Chodzi głównie o trzy wątki. Pierwszy z nich dotyczy rzekomego zniknięcia Warneńczyka podczas bitwy pod Warną (1444). W historiografii występują różne fantastyczne teorie o losach Warneńczyka po tej bitwie (ich autorami są zazwyczaj historycy amatorzy, którzy bezpodstawnie odrzucają przekazy wielu kronik tureckich donoszących o śmierci monarchy podczas bitwy). Najbardziej popularna teoria dotyczy królewskiego pobytu na portugalskiej wyspie Madera. Niektórzy uważają nawet, że Władysław ożenił się tam i spłodził Krzysztofa Kolumba. Drugim zagadnieniem żywo ostatnio dyskutowanym jest sprawa rzekomej orientacji homoseksualnej władcy, co doprowadziło nawet do okrzyknięcia go nieformalnym patronem gejów w Europie Środkowej. Zwolennicy tego poglądu opierają się na przekazie kroniki Jana Długosza, który raczej miał na myśli pewną obyczajową rozwiązłość władcy (tak zapewne rozumieć należy użyte przez kronikarza sformułowanie, że król był in marium libidinem proclivus). W artykule autor zajął się także kwestią pochówku króla w świetle ostatniej inicjatywy intelektualistów bułgarskich, którzy uważają, że szczątków Władysława Warneńczyka należy poszukiwać w kaplicy greckiej w miejscu zwanym Ak Yazala Baba (dzisiejsza wieś Obrocziszte w pobliżu Warny).

A császári univerzalizmus Zsigmond diplomáciájának gyakorlatában (A franciaországi és angliai látogatás tanulságai)

Author(s): Sándor Csernus / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 3/2017

Sigismund of Luxembourg was the longest reigning monarch in the history of the independent Kingdom of Hungary. During fifty-year reign, significant changes occurred in the history of Western Christianity, and by extension, Hungary. The Western dynasties (Anjou, Luxemburg, Habsburg) were living a period of successful expansion in Central-Eastern Europe during the Anjou reign in Hungary and the Luxembourg reign in Bohemia. It's becoming more and more obvious that several aspects of Sigismund's rule in Hungary can also be considered parts of this process. The Luxembourgs were aiming to establish strong positions in Central Europe, and to acquire the title of Emperor. The study examines Sigismund's international policy, which encompassed an uncharacteristically large area, as well as the methods of such policy. The "crisis" of the medieval West brought several common problems to light, which were economic, societal, organizational, political, military and ideological in nature. One of the most obvious manifestations of the division of Christianitas and the waste of resources was the Hundred Years' War. The answer to the schism was reformatio in capite et in membris, in the case of the Hundred Years' War it was peace mediation, and the reaction to the outside threat was a new Crusade. Sigismund used the widespread notion of conciliarism to convoke the Council of Constance, and he was commissioned by the Council to launch a mediation mission during the Hundred Years' War as Imperator Pacificus. The aforementioned crisis brought about the renaissance of imperial universalism, as well as the general strengthening of the Emperor's position. Sigismund successfully solved some of these problems, even though his solutions were controversial. Sigismund strongly depended on the principle of imperial supremacy, that could be derived from imperial universalism. However, this obviously infringed the sovereignty of the big national monarchies. His endeavors sparked overt or covert opposition from his partners. This is clearly visible in the French and English stages of his mediation attempt, which included several symbolic events. These events were interpreted somewhat differently by English, French, Belgian, and German historiographies. The study examines this process by comparing sources, and confirms that the alliances in Canterbury and Calais (1416), formed instead of peace mediation, ensured the undisturbed operation of the Council of Constance, and created a temporary balance between the rivaling Western powers. However, this balance was tainted by internal tension, and it foreshadowed the final, desperate struggles of the Hundred Years' War. The decline of conciliarism and imperial universalism also decreased the effectiveness of Sigismund's actions. This study considers the process to be the culmination of Sigismund's diplomacy based on universalism, and at the same time the confirmation of the national component in the big Western monarchies ("the king is Emperor in his kingdom") in a new context, which means the consolidation of the concept of sovereignty.

Párhuzamos életrajzok? (Kúriai és kancelláriai jegyzők egyetemjárása és karrierlehetőségei a Zsigmond-korban)

Author(s): Péter Haraszti Szabó / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 3/2017

Szent László kultusza Luxemburgi Zsigmond uralkodói reprezentációjában

Author(s): Illés Horváth / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 3/2017

Megjegyzések az 1437–1438. évi parasztfelkelés történetéhez

Author(s): Géza Hegyi,András W. Kovács / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 02/2018

The peasant revolt of 1437-1438 is one of the most researched moments of medieval Transylvania. The present study modifies the current literature on the topic on three accounts. 1) The Nădaş parts, the segment of the Land of Călata which stretches along the river Nădaş, cannot be regarded as one of the centres of the revolt. The uprising barely extended to Alba and Turda counties and did not reach Târnava county at all. 2) The second battle between the peasants’ troops and the voivode’s army took place probably near Apatiu but surely not in the valley of the Someşul Mic river as stated by earlier literature. The mistaken data was based on a diploma assumed to have been issued by Transylvanian vice-voivode Lóránd Lépes Váraskeszi on September 30, 1437, which however has turned out to be one of the forgeries of count József Kemény (1795-1855). 3) The scene of the fraterna unio established on September 16, 1437, the market-town Cãpâlna, has been mistakenly identified as the settlement Căpâlna, nearby Dej, in Solnocul interior county. Based on further research into the settlement history of Transylvania, it can be stated that the Union was formed in what is today known as Căpâlna de Sus, in Târnava county.

Luxemburgi Zsigmond Friaulban őrzött kiadatlan levelei (1411–1418)

Author(s): Alessandro Di Bari / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 02/2017

The paper examines some letters issued by king Sigismund of Luxemburg, which are currently housed by the archives of the municipal libraries of Udine and Cividale. The letters, which are published in extenso, date from the period between 1411 and 1418, the years when Hungary and the Republic of Venice were engaged in a war for the possession of Friuli.

A kenyérmezei csata (1479)

Author(s): Lajos Négyesi / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 03/2019

István Báthori and Pál Kinizsi are among the figures of the Mátyás Hunyadi (Matthias Corvinus) statue group in Kolozsvár (Cluj-Napoca). The victory over Isa-Beg’s army on 13 October 1479 is related to these two Hungarian captains. Several contemporary sources tell us about the armed conflict, with Antonio Bonfini’s description standing out among them due to its many vivid details. Unfortunately, however, it also contains an error and a passage that was later misinterpreted. Still others have stigmatized the historian as untrustworthy. The misunderstanding is due to the fact that Bonfini swapped the designations of the right wing and the left wing. As a result, the relative positions of the two opposing armies were also confused, leading to erroneous conclusions.

La începuturile relațiilor moldo-moscovite

Author(s): Mihai Anatolii Ciobanu / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 1/2018

After the 6th of June 1475, Stephen the Great of Moldavia wrote a letter to the Grand Prince of Moscow, Ivan III. In his letter the Moldavian prince called for help from the Moscow side against the pagans – Ottomans, Tatars – and against his neighbors. First, historians dated this letter to 1482–1484. The author closely analyzes the international situation described in the document and confirms its new dating to the year 1475. This hypothesis was first mentioned in a study authored by Ștefan Andreescu. The present study also closely investigates the relations between Moldavia and Moscow from 1475 to 1483, when Stephen’s daughter, Elena, married Ivan Ivanovich the Young, son of the Moscow Grand Prince.

Peripețiile unei expediții otomane: izvoare noi și vechi despre incursiunea lui Malcocioglu Bali beg (noiembrie 1498 – februarie 1499)

Author(s): Ovidiu Cristea / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 1/2018

The paper focuses on an episode which occurred in 1509, during the expedition of Bogdan III against Poland. According to some Moldavian chronicles, during the siege of Lvov, the prince launched an individual charge against one of the city’s gates and struck it with his spear. Unfortunately the Moldavian chroniclers gave no clue about the event, while the Polish chroniclers simply ignored it. However the gesture could be properly understood if we compare it with similar actions of other monarchs during the Middle Ages. Also the analysis of the military role of the spear and of the mounted warrior could shed some light on the significance of Bogdan III’s gesture.A document preserved in the State Archives of Milan is the starting point for a new analysis of the Ottoman expedition in Southern Poland led by the famous Malcocioglu Bali beg. The episode is well known due to Polish, Ottoman and Moldavian chronicles. However, the new source is the report of an eyewitness who saw the remnants of the Ottoman army returning from Poland. The author of the document was a merchant and a spy, a subject of the Duke of Milan, and the text mirrors the interest of the Italian powers on the political and military events from the Ottoman Empire. The report strengthens the already known data provided by the chronicles and underlines with many details the misfortunes encountered by Malcocioglu beg’s troops during the expedition and on their way back to the Ottoman Empire. The document emphasizes the complicate political game played by the ruler of Moldavia and provides new insights into the history of the struggle for power in East-Central Europe at the end of the 15th century.

Reizbucnirea crizei politico-dinastice în Moldova în 1447. O nouă analiză a izvoarelor

Author(s): Alexandru Pînzar / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 1/2018

In the years of political instability after the death of Alexander the Good, agreements between the main pretenders to the throne caused periods of peace but also of war. Research confirmed the existence of a principle that underlined these agreements, a principle accepted by all parts, in general, namely that of seniority. According to the old custom regarding succession to the throne of Moldavia, the brothers of the ruler could pretend the throne and then also their sons. Consequently, all the sons of Alexander the Good had the right to succeed him to the throne, and then all his grandsons, but in the order of generation and seniority. The agreement between Stephen II and his younger brother, Peter, in which the former accepted the latter as his presumptive successor lead to a short period without conflicts. The one between the son of Stephen II, Roman, and his uncle Peter was even shorter lived. The formulas from the documents issued by the main actors, which confounded the historians – for instance, Roman called Alexander the Good “father” in a document from August 4, 1447, and Peter, few days later, on August 22, called Roman “brother” – proved to be the key to understanding one of the factors which contributed to the new outbreak of the political dynastic crisis in Moldavia in 1447. Interpreting these formulas as “metaphorical kinship” – formulas meant to define and articulate the political statutes of the individuals who used them, a practice present in the entire Eastern Europe at the time – could explain why the seniority of Peter in relation to his nephew, Roman, was not sufficient for preserving peace.