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Articolul prezintă informații cu privire la tezaurul monetar din secolul al XVIII-lea descoperit la Drăgești Tătărăști (județul Bacău)
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A Hebrew manuscript was found in the Library of Jews’ College, London in 1912, written by Jewish wine merchant Dov Ber Birkenthal (1723-1805) from the region of Galicia, which was at first part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, then belonged to the Habsburg Empire. The manuscript was translated by Mark Vishnitzer in 1922, and it was published in English under the title The Memoirs of Ber of Bolechow. Due to his secular education and language skills Birkenthal was an important figure in the events that shaped the lives of the Jewish people in the era, and he participated in the theological debates between the talmudists and the frankists as an interpreter. This was the source of his other work, Divrei Binah. As a wine merchant he travelled the 18th century North-eastern Hungary, especially the Tokaj-Hegyalja region, and during the last decade of his life he wrote a memoir recording his experiences. This work provides valuable information about the Jewish community in 18th century Poland, as well as the Jewish-Christian relationship. The author also retells the political crisis and first partition of Poland. Through his memories we learn about the 18th century Tokaj-Hegyalja wine trade, and we can follow the routes of wine transportation. The social network of the Bolechow merchant is also clearly identifiable, even though it was probably even more extensive then what we see in the memoir. We can also read about the business relations of merchants from different ethnic backgrounds, the financial circumstances of the time, as well as a method of wine fraud.
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The 18th century was a golden age of travel. The number of people undertaking journeys increased significantly. This gave rise to new types of travel. This study presents old and new types of aristocratic travel with the help of three examples. These three were the journeys of Prince Albert of Saxony-Teschen and his wife, Archduchess Marie Christine. The destinations and dates in question are: Kingdom of Hungary (1766), Italy (1775–1776) and Paris/France (1786). These are compared to other types of travel. All three journeys are atypical in the sense that an aristocratic couple traveled rather than a single person, or a male aristocrat with his female companion. During these journeys the high status of Marie Christine as daughter of Empress Maria Theresa, was significant. The couple’s first shared trip was a representative court visit. It was Prince Albert’s first journey to the Kingdom of Hungary as royal governor. His official role notwithstanding the Hungarian nobility accorded higher status in the proceedings to the Archduchess. Their journeys to Italy and France, however, were not official visits. Besides calling on family members, their goals were learning and self-improvement. These travels were informal. The couple consciously avoided lavish receptions and formal social events. In accordance with the new fashion of ‘improvement’ tours (Reformstudienreise), they familiarized themselves with economic and social institutions, visited churches, galleries and art collections. They avoided any official ceremonial responsibilities during their stay in Paris, traveling ‘in incognito’ as the lord and lady of Béllye. They did this probably in order to avoid possible conflicts of interest. Their incognito enabled them to have a private, unofficial meeting with the Archduchess’s sister, Marie Antoinette. The novelty of these journeys lies in the fact that they are unique examples of the travels of a married couple in the 18th century.
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Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II visited Russia during his time as co-ruler, not long before the death of Maria Theresa, between May and August 1780, to meet Russian Empress Catherine II. As Hungarian historiography recorded, this visit had significant consequences for the rest of the Emperor’s reign: it resulted in the Habsburg Monarchy entering a war against the Ottoman Empire on the side of Russia in 1788. Of course, joining the war had several other causes as well, and it was also preceded by another visit to Russia in 1787, but it is clear that the first visit started the intensive correspondence between the two emperors, as well as the harmonization of their foreign policies. Still, there are only vague Hungarian sources about these meetings, and even these don’t go much further than the most important events, which are often mentioned by foreign historiographers as well. One of the most important moments of this visit was the first meeting, which took place in Mogilev. This first encounter between these two important European monarchs – who are not only connected by the effect of Enlightenment values on their reigns, but also by the modern day historians’ heightened interest in them – provides valuable information about their personalities, as well as the circumstances and living conditions of the era, and by extension the 18th century Russian Empire in general.
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The article aims to reconstruct the circumstances that surrounded the preparation for the long European trip Archduke Paul and his wife Archduchess Maria made in 1781–1782, the rich cultural programme of their stay in the Habsburg capital, which included visiting the military, administrative, cultural and educational institutions and getting acquainted with the first dignitaries of the state and representatives of the major aristocratic families at the court. The article is based on the unpublished Russian and Austrian ambassadorial reports, published correspondence of Catherine II with her son and daughter-in law and with Emperor Joseph II, the newspaper Wiener Zeitung, and other sources.
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Count Karl von Zinzendorf, the commercial counsellor of the Habsburg Empire was beyond doubt one of the most active travellers of the 18th century. In 12 years, he visited Switzerland, Italy, French, Great Britain, Spain, Belgium, and Hungary, as well as distant locations like Portugal, Sicily, or Transylvania. This study focuses on a short episode of his last big trip to Eastern and Northern Europe: his stay in Moscow in August 1774. We believe that Zinzendorf’s experiences in the old Russian capital deserve the attention of not only historians, but wider audiences as well. The reason for this is that as an experienced traveller and expert on economy he could form an unbiased opinion about what he saw and compare it to his experiences in other countries, and he could evaluate the modernization efforts as well.
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Sandra Hertel: Maria Elisabeth. Österreichische Erzherzogin und Statthalterin in Brüssel (1721–1741) (Schriftenreihe der Österreichischen Gesellschaft zur Erforschung des 18. Jahrhunderts, Bd. 16) Böhlau Verlag, Wien, 2014. 386 oldal
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In this essay, I examine how an eighteenth-century Transylvanian nobleman constructed the meanings of kinship and family relations. The investigation primarily draws on the autobiographical work of László Székely (1716–1772), an educated and sensitive Transylvanian nobleman, who recorded the brief history of his family and himself. Being orphaned at a young age the author made his way out in life without the help of his biological parents, with the advice and support of his extended family: guardians, blood relatives, brothers-in-law; and other personal connections, such as servants, former colleagues, and friends. Due to the detailed description of his lineage and his constant preoccupation to record the major family events the present article offers an exhaustive study of the emotional bonds and kinship ties between some of the most important noble families from Transylvania.
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First, this study addresses issues related to the gendered patterns of remarriage in an eighteenth-century market town. Second, it investigates interpersonal relationships in the new family formations, including stepparents and stepchildren. When and why did widows and widowers choose to remarry? How did new marriages effect the lives of children born into earlier marriages? Drawing on several kinds of archival sources, such as marriage contracts, council protocols, court and parish records, the paper provides an in-depth case study, which by tracking multiple marriages and children of both spouses shows the complexity of the blended families which came into existence through the remarriage of spouses.
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This article offers a case study based on examination of legal documents concerning the marital conflicts which arose in the three consecutive marriages of a wealthy burgher woman. It situates this specific case in the context of Early Modern gendered marriage patterns. The documents which were produced in the course of the judicial dissolution of the first marriage described the young wife as a slave to her elderly, tyrannical husband. Other sources, however, including documents pertaining to her second two marriages, suggest that it would be misleading to argue, on the basis of the documents generated in the course of her divorce, the wife completely adapted herself to the patriarchal norms of her age. As her later marriages and economic successes show, she was not at all a helpless woman, though she could pretend to be one when this role served her interests. Her case suggests that the patriarchal model transmitted by the normative literature of the age could be successfully challenged, and ambitious, capable women, who had good financial and family backgrounds, had were able at least to some extent to negotiate relationships actively and challenge cultural norms. The documents concerning her second and third marriages add novel information to the study of the relationships between stepsiblings and halfsiblings. This case study highlights, moreover, the ways wedded women and widows could rely at times on the support of their families of origin.
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The article presents the course of actions undertaken by the Swedish army in the years 1708 and 1709. Both campaigns were directed against Russia, and the strategic goal outlined by the ruler of Sweden – Charles XII was to seize Moscow. At the end of 1708, however, the Swedish army was not in the foreground of the tsar’s capital, but in Ukraine, on the left bank of Dnepr. The following year the Swedes fought the battle of Poltava, which ended with their defeat. The author tries to answer the question, why did this happen? When discussing the path of Charles XII to the Poltava battlefield, he pays attention primarily to natural and objective factors (weather, surface shape, natural obstacles etc.) on which the King of Sweden had no influence. In the author’s opinion, these was this factors that largely influenced the fact that the Swedish army stood to the battle of Poltava significantly weakened and with a very little chance to win.
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The position of the Radziwiłł ordinats (principal heirs) of Nieśwież was expressed in affinities, offices, property and political influence. To determine their position, it is important to present their political influence, which has changed over the entire century. Here, the author discusses changes of the position of three successive ordinats: Chancellor Karol Stanisław, hetman Michał Kazimierz and voivode Karol Stanisław, who won the highest popularity and political position.
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Joseph II embarked on his journey in Transylvania (and Galicia) between the 6th of May and the 13th of September 1773 in order to familiarize himself with the two provinces of the Habsburg Monarchy. In order to lessen the financial burden of his visits on his subjects, the emperor neglected the protocols of the ceremonial court travellings, and opted for a simpler, thus more cost-efficient way of organizing it. ‘Incognito’ in his perception did not mean travelling in secret under a false identity, rather a particular way of organizing and undertaking his journey. His primary aim was to avoid the prescribed ceremonial elements of a court travel, its suffocating etiquette, social obligations and festivities. He travelled by a simple and not an elegantly decorated coach or by horse, and was accompanied by a small number of hand-picked confidants. Several authorities were implicated in the organizing process. The Transylvanian Court Chancellery forwarded the decrees of the Emperor and the planned route to the Transylvanian Gubernium, which instructed the Transylvanian counties, seats and districts of their duties. They had to provide provisions for relays and for accommodating quarters, and to perform only the necessary maintenance works of the roads and bridges. The local military authorities were informed, too, by the Imperial War Council. In Transylvania the Transylvanian General Commando of Sibiu (Nagyszeben) was in charge of the preparations, and the military troops had the duty to supply the travelers with saddles, horses, and military escort. Being a co-sovereign charged with the military problems of the Empire, Joseph II was interested in particular in inspecting the fortifications and the military troops of the Grand Principality. He also had the chance to gather personal impressions on the appointed bureaucrats and on the functioning of the whole administrative network of Transylvania. During his audiences and other informal conversations, he took thorough, often ironical notes on the professional knowledge, abilities and efficiency of the office-holders, and their personal opinion on various subjects. These personal notes show the young Joseph’ proficiency in evaluating the personalities of his subordinates. As a consequence of his visit, in the next year important changes were made in the administration of Transylvania: the activity of certain offices was reorganized, and several leading officials were dismissed, reassigned or new ones were commissioned. Our sources clearly indicate that the newly assigned officials were those who made a good impression on Joseph II during his journey, and they were to become the new leading officials of the 1770s and 1780s (or even after these decades) in Transylvania.
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Over the course of the turbulent history of eighteenth-century Iran, Nādir Shāh Afshār’s reign (r. 1736–1747) is to be regarded as an exceedingly significant turning point. Following the death of Nādir Shāh, succession struggles broke out, which lasted for several years and ledto the disintegration of the vast empire and to the diminution of sovereignty of the Nādiriddescendants. After the reign of ʽAlī Qulī Mīrzā and Ibrāhīm Mīrzā (1747–1749), the territory of the successor state decreased significantly and its internal functioning was based on a delicateequilibrium between the ruler Shāh Rukh (r. 1748–1750; 1750–1796) and the different tribalfactions of Western Khurāsān. This article engages the events of the contest for power after theassassination of Nādir Shāh to explore the origin of this tribal resurgence and the precursors of the Nādirid successors’ loss of political weight in Iran.
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The paper focuses on parent-child relationships in the family of the Transylvanian historiographer Péter Apor. He and his wife, Borbála Kálnoki, were married between 1699 and 1744, and five of their children reached adulthood. Drawing on the family’s correspondence, the study investigates the parents’ attitudes toward their children in different stages of their lives (infancy, childhood, school age, and young adulthood) and the ways in which emotions were expressed among the family members. The letters show constant change in the parent-children relationship and a transformation of the balance of power with the passing of time. One also notices the different rhetorical strategies used by the family members to emphasize the emotions they wanted to convey in writing.
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This paper draws on retirement contracts in the eighteenth-century market town of Óbuda and considers the insights these sources, which are only rarely made the subject of scholarly study, yield into the practices involved in the provision of care for the elderly. The retirement of a head of family and the division of an estate during the lifetime of the testament-maker was a well-established custom in early modern Western Europe, especially in German-speaking territories (Ausgedinge / contractual retirement). The study of sources concerning this phenomenon offer insights into the lives of widows and the sometimes rather conflicted relationships between elderly parents and their children and also between elderly spouses. From eighteenth-century Óbuda, 73 sources are known which are related to retirement. These sources include sections of testaments, parts of marriage contracts (similar to the Austrian practice), or pro forma retirement contracts, which could also be reaffirmed through inclusion into the town council registers. Considering that such contracts could also be verbal, the retirement of heads of families seems to have been an established tradition, especially among the German population, specifically among the vine-growers. Both fathers and mothers used this option, regularly choosing their daughters or sons-in-laws as caregivers. Around the end of the century, the retiring parent tried to secure his or her position with increasingly detailed stipulations concerning the conditions. Compared to customs in other European territories, it is worth nothing that in the case of Óbuda, the contracts which have survived were all lifetime contracts. There are no temporary contracts (i.e. contracts which came to an end after a specific period of time had elapsed) among the surviving sources.
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In the 18th century, the bans of Croatia were mostly high-ranking military men (except during the reign of Joseph II). Their earlier connections with Croatia and/ or Slavonia played no important role in their appointment. Usually they did not reside in Croatia until the banship of Francis Nádasdy. In the first half of the century, the ban’s dignity was the second most important after that of the judge royal. The bans were mostly very close relatives (their connections were commonly closer than the fourth degree, the limit of legitimate marriage under canon law). At the beginning of the century, Adam Batthyány was in the middle of a kinship network, and so did in the second half of the century Francis Esterházy. The only relative outsider was Francis Balassa. So in both aspects, the exceptions fell into the reign of Joseph II.
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The history of the Armenians in Transylvania has been the source of several myths. One of them is the common belief that the 18th century was a kind of golden age for the Armenian community of Transylvania. This myth was caused before all by the mist that had long covered the history of the Transylvanian Armenians in the 18th century, and the relatively recent emergence of the topic on the agenda of historical research. In reality, the Armenians of Transylvania and their church, united with Rome, struggled for their mere survival throughout the 18th century. The background to this struggle was constituted by serious church historical and confessional disputes and conflicts, many of them going back to the late 17th century. The aim of the present paper is accordingly to explore and nuance this myth in the light of recently discovered sources. It also seeks to answer the question of whether the 18th century was indeed a golden age for the Armenian community of Transylvania, especially regarding the history of their church.
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This study examines the remarrying behaviour of widows living in the market town of Csetnek and its affiliated parishes based on the Lutheran and Catholic registers. The community accepted the remarriage of widows as a norm, widows however remarried in smaller rates and more slowly than the general pattern. Women’s chances of remarriage were influenced primarily by their age and the sex and age of their children.
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Lehner, Ulrich L.: Enlightened Monks. The German Benedictines 1740–1803. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2011. 276 p
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