Abstract: Johannes de Thurocz was the author of the only chronicle that did not circulate in manuscript form. The first edition appeared in the printing house of Konrad Stahel and Matthias Preinlein in Brno on 20 March 1488, and shortly afterwards, on 3 June 1488, another edition was printed in Augsburg in the printing house of Erhard Ratdolt. Both editions end with the mournful song of magister Rogerius lamenting the destruction caused by the Tartars during the invasion of 1241. The printing of the second edition of the Chronica Hungarorum may be the result of the lack of a history of the kingdom of Hungary on the market that also captures the history of Transylvania as part of the kingdom. There are differences between the two editions: in content (towards the end), in the composition of woodcuts, number of woodcuts, decorative elements or discomposing of letters.
For the present research, we have turned to the editions found in the libraries in Cluj-Napoca and Alba Iulia, being particularly concerned with the way of penetration into book holdings and the ownership marks proving the European route of the copies in question.
Keywords: chronicle, Hungary, Transylvania, incunabula, library, ownership marks, printing house.
Abstract: This paper analyses the right of inheritance on the feminine line in medieval Transylvania, through the history of a noble family residing in Sântioana, in the Târnava county. The aim of this study is to highlight the practice of inheritance by girls from this noble family with increased attention on the category of goods they acquired, the right to own them, the importance of feminine inheritance for the girls and their descendants and the courts before which the inheritance disputes have been tried.
Keywords: Female Inheritance, Filial Quarter, Dowry, Nobility, Medieval Transylvania.
Abstract: Following the diplomatic sources written in urban contexts, account books represent one of the richest and most diverse sources of information concerning the governance and everyday life of any medieval town. This situation is also fully valid for the small Transylvanian corner of Eastern Central Europe, where a handful of urban settlements of German foundation had developed and flourished in the Late Middle Ages. Through a few historical records of this nature, dating from the last years of the 15th century, the town of Cluj – at this point jointly administrated by its Hungarian and German communities – resembles in their employment with the predominantly Saxon towns of Sibiu, Bistrița, Brașov and Sighișoara. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to typologically frame the preserved fragments of the medieval accounts of Cluj, part of them already put in circulation since the end of the 19th century, while another, more modest in scope, was completely unpublished so far, as well as to give all these sources a new and updated critical edition.
Keywords: accountability; urban governance; medieval towns; critical edition; Transylvania
Abstract: The last will and testament, situated on the border between oficial and private, becomes a privileged source for the reconstruction of what is generically called „microhistory”. Less studied Transylvanian urban testaments from the medieval and pre-modern periods provide ample support for the identification of the testator’s family cosmos, his community of residence, the ties he formed therein, etc. The testament of Mrs. Agnes (1531), the widow of Petrus Moldner, a merchant whose ascension ensured his access to the city council of Bistrița, becomes an important source for the restitution of some aspects of material civilization characteristic of the urban elite, of the interpersonal relationships that family members had established, and not ultimately for outlining the piety that was characteristic of the testator. Heiress to a sizable fortune, Mrs. Agnes donated it primarily to save her own soul at a time when the religious Reformation is also felt in Bistrița. This fact caused the „reaction” of 19th century historians, who were astounded by this woman’s adherence to the values of the Catholic Church. Beyond the already existing rivalries, the magistrate’s objection reflectes the lay authority’s attempt to halt these donations pro salute anime, in accordance with the Saxon University’s ruling in 1525 and the new reforming atmosphere.
Keywords: urban testament, community, patriciate, piety, Bistrița, Agnes, Petrus Moldner.
Abstract: The documents relating to medieval and pre-modern Transylvania indicate the existence and perpetuation from antiquity of a judicial practice of representation at trials by means of „proxies” (procuratores) designated by the authorization letter (litterae procuratorie). The term procurator was used in parallel with its synonym meaning lawyer (advocatus), being preferred and used with a much higher frequency. The nomination of someone as proxy/assignee was initially witnessed by the places of authentication, later secular institutions get priority. Noblemen frequently appointed educated, specialized, professional people in this position. Initially in small numbers, they come to constitute a social category during the time of the Principality, in numerical and material ascension both at the level of counties and seats and at the urban level. The other large category of legal proxies was occasionally constituted, depending on the circumstances, from family members and their relatives, supplemented by servants, familiars, local rulers, bailiffs, or village judges, sometimes even by serfs living on the estates, by exception.
Keywords: Transylvania, judicial praxis, proxy, lawyer, authorization letter
Abstract: The present article aims to bring attention to a new topic of Romanian medieval art centered on the figure of the holy hierarch represented in the frescoes of Orthodox churches in Moldova in the 15th century. During this study, the types of holy hierarchs are identified according to the clothes in which they are clothed, the connection between the liturgical context in which they are painted and the pieces of clothing they wear. The entire study is built on an analytical and comparative working method that brought frescoes of the Romanian space face to face with those of the neighboring territories.
Keywords: Hierarchs, bishop’s clothing, fresco, 15th century, Moldova.
Abstract: In this article I have presented as synthetically as possible the „story” of Princess Maria Christierna von Habsburg (1574-1621) – the wife of Sigismund (Zsigmond) Báthory (1572-1613), Prince of Transylvania – at the same time trying to capture the most important aspects of the period she spent in the Principality (1595-1598). Some contemporary authors and later some historians saw in her the „fatal” woman for Transylvania, because Sigismund – who shortly before the wedding discovered a manly dysfunction – would have lost his peace and his ability to make the best decisions both for his country and for himself. Therefore a question arises: was Maria Christierna „fatal” for Transylvania?
Keywords: Transylvania, Maria Christierna von Habsburg, Sigismund Báthory, XVIth Century, Báthory Zsigmond
Abstract Under the new conditions introduced by the newly enacted Basic Laws (October Diploma and February Patent), the entire Habsburg Monarchy was faced with a redefinition of the position of the crown lands and their internal organization. These had to be carried out under the political tensions that led to the dissolution of the Diet in Pest and the non-convening of the Transylvanian Diet. In 1862, the Saxon National University was the only representative that was functional and also had Romanian members in its ranks. Among the most important documents that were created here was the draft of the Seventh Commission, which intended to implement equality of rights through the creation of national administrative areas. It was also a continuation of the „territorial question” discussions of 1850 and 1851, which has now led to intense disputes mainly with the Hungarian opposition movement, but also to disputes with the Romanian national movement; these were reflected in sometimes extremely critical newspaper articles. The position and the answer of the higher authorities could only be fathomed after intensive consultations. Finally, the transgression of the competences of the Nationsuniversität was determined, since only the provincial Diet could decide in this matter, and this was the way the higher authorities wanted to follow through the future Transylvanian assembly.
Keywords: Saxon National University, Transylvania, October Diploma, February Patent, Equal Rights.
Abstract This study analyses to what extent social origin, family and confessional networks influenced the rise and development of the Romanian political elite in Transylvania in the second half of the nineteenth century and at the beginning of the twentieth century. This analysis focuses on the Greek-Catholic and Orthodox laymen and clergymen who asserted themselves in the political life of Transylvania during the studied period. Starting from the unanimously accepted premise that clergymen were gradually replaced by secular politicians (laymen) on the political stage in the second half of the nineteenth century, we aim to achieve the following goals.
First of all, we wish to identify the social provenance of this political elite and the decisive role played by the socio-economic background in their advancement as individual actors or as members of a decision-making group. Secondly, we intend to see to what extent belonging to a confession, in this case to the Greek-Catholic and Orthodox faith, was an incentive towards political cohesionin dualistic Hungary. Specifically, we will try to answer a few research questions such as: did confession still serve, in the second half of the nineteenth century, as an invisible bondamong the Romanian political elite? Given the existing structures in the territory, at the level of the dioceses, vicariates and deaneries, could confession ensure a broader and more efficient electoral support compared to other voter activation mechanisms?
Last but not least, we will attempt to capture the socio-confessional networks existing at the level of the Romanian political groups, their ramifications in the territory and their ability to support and influence the political leaders’decisions.
Keywords: Romanian political elite, Transylvania, social mobility, family and confessional networks.
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Abstract The Social Democratic Party and the Romanian Communist Party developed a very sinuous and difficult political relation after the events of August 1944. The origins of this relation were complicated since 1921, when the RCP separated itself from the SDP and adhered to the International Bolshevik. This essay briefly pinpoints some of the major divergencies between the two parts that culminated in 1946 with the split of the SDP and, in early 1948, with the dissapearance of the entire social-democratic movement through its absorption within the newly emerged Romanian Workers Party (RWP).
Keywords: postwar, international tensions, left-wing politics, crisis, political rivalry
Abstract The study aims to present the activity of ARLUS in the first year of operation based on some original documents kept in the Italian archives and which bring less known details on the crystallization of the association in the distinct climate of 1944-45, from its formation in the whole of Romanian-allies friendship societies until the acquisition of preeminence in the cultural-educational field, against the background of the sovietization policy started since the end of the Second World War under the permanent supervision of the occupation troops. Issues related to the internal organization of one of the most important pillars of Soviet propaganda in Romania are highlighted. The association’s role in appointing the first ambassador to Moscow after the resumption of bilateral relations on August 6, 1945, and the profiles of some of the personalities who illustrated the society’s evolution at the beginning of its operation are outlined. It is also highlighted the involvement of ARLUS and the House of Romanian-Soviet Friendship under its patronage in sending the most substantial contingents of Romanian scholarship holders to universities in the USSR in the late 1940s and early 1950s and the mechanisms for selecting young scholars as such so that they correspond to the precepts imposed by Moscow.
Keywords: ARLUS, Italian diplomacy, sovietization, Romanian education
Abstract: After the First World War, radical changes took place in Central Europe, which also affected the great Hungarian landowners, who owned numerous lands and other assets in the territories that had separated from Hungary in the fall of 1918. In Transylvania, a large part of these landowners, who settled in Hungary, were considered absentees, and their assets were expropriated by the Romanian state in accordance with the agrarian reform law of 1921. Among the large expropriated owners was Christina Wenckheim, who owned the Sebiș-Moneasa estate, which it included both agricultural land and forests, as well as the spa resort of Moneasa, mines, railways and other industrial assets. Through this study we tried to determine the way in which Christina Wenckheim and her descendants tried to obtain compensation for the assets expropriated by the Romanian state.
Keywords: Optants, compensations, Wenckheim, Romania, Romanian-Hungarian Mixed Arbitral Tribunal
Abstract: The present paper intends to provide a preliminary analysis of the social status of the homosexual minority in interwar Romania, applying the theoretical framework of „symbolic violence” defined by sociologist Pierre Bourdieu on the case study represented by the „Credința” press scandal from 1934-1935. The scandal opposed director Sandu Tudor and the editorial staff of „Credința” newspaper on the one hand, and Petru Comarnescu, Al.Chr. Tell, Mircea Vulcănescu and Gabriel Negry (members of the Criterion Association), on the other hand. The novelty of this study consists in integrating the press scandal into the broader scheme of social and economic interactions between different agents from the social field, emphasising their competition for symbolic capital which would legitimise them in defining the nation. The study reached the preliminary conclusions that homosexuality was a cultural identity instrumentalised and then weaponised in order to gain public legitimacy and that attributing sexual meanings to a minority was produced by groups which arrogated themselves the monopoly of moral normativity.
Keywords: „Credința”, Criterion, homosexuality, minority studies, press scandal, Sandu Tudor
Abstract: One can safely state that the «Andreas Schmidt era» (1940-1944) could be considered one of the most difficult periods of the history of the German minority in Romania. From the very beginning, the activity of Nazi controlled organization entitled the German Ethnic Group in Romania and its leader (Andreas Schmidt) was perceived by the Romanian authorities with suspicion and concern. This concern was legitimate since the aggressive policies of the leadership of the German Ethnic Group in Romania let to increasing tensions between the latter, on one side, and the Romanian authorities and the Romanian local population in mixed Romanian-German communities, on the other side. Consequently, the Special Intelligence Service (Serviciul Special de Informaţii, one of the Romanian secret services in the interwar period), the intelligence service of the Romanian army (entitled in Romanian: Secţia a II-a Informaţii a Marelui Stat Major), the General Inspectorate of the Gendarmerie, and the General Directorate of the Police kept under close surveillance the hostile activities of the German Ethnic Group towards the Romanian state. The reports of these aforementioned intelligence institutions emphasized the totalitarian character of the German Ethnic Group in Romania and illustrates how this Nazi controlled organization turned under the leadership of Andreas Schmidt into an effective tool of the Third Reich in South Eastern Europe.
Keywords: German Ethnic Group, Romania, Third Reich, Național-Socialism. Romanian Secret Service
Abstract: An outcome of the interplay between methodical ideological indoctrination and applied war-craft schooling, the final product of the GEG training system consisted of the Waffen-SS soldier. Fully motivated, dogmatically and assiduously qualified in war-techniques, the young Volksdeutsche recruit from Romania acted as an exuberant and impetuous fighter, ready to fulfil Hitler’s orders and his Weltanschauung ideals. Considering the numbers hereafter provided by several well-known historians, the GEG in Romania was able to assemble a considerable army of recruits thoroughly prepared to perform as a politized fighting force in consonance with the Waffen-SS ethos, as it had been promoted by its ideologists and military professionals.
Keywords: German Ethnic Group in Romania, Waffen-SS, National-Socialist ideology, The Third Reich.
Abstract: In the present study we propose to make a retrospective on the appearance of Bessarabia as a historical-geographical entity, on the approach and perception of this horonym as a distinct space in relation to Wallachia and Moldova in the works of Dimitrie Cantemir. The prince comes with the geographical and cartographic description of this territory, called by the Romanians „Bessarabia”, and by the Turks and Tatars „Bugeac”, the administrative structure, the ethno-demographic evolution during several centuries, both before and after the annexation to the Ottoman Empire, from which emerges the idea of continuity and resistance of the Romanian population in these lands.
Keywords: Moldova, Bugeac, Cetatea Albă, Chilia, populație românească, tătari nogai
Abstract: The historiographical writings about Grigore Gafencu framed him as a patriot and a Europeanist. All of the initiatives he later stood for, after leaving the country and going into exile, were fundamentally tied to his diplomatic destiny. His positions as a journalist and the contacts he made afterward, in Geneva, both reflect a complex personality. In retrospect, it appeared that writing was his first major commitment; now, we would refer to him as a distinguished political figure. His translated and published writings from exile continue to serve as proof of this work. Grigore Gafencu maintained the ideals of his generation and through his initiative, being a militant of the European cause, made a political commitment to the improvement of the European Union.
Keywords: Memoirs, Press, Diplomacy, Exile, Grigore Gafencu.
Abstract: At the end of the Second World War, in search of a favorable image on international level, the Romanian Government appointed four renowned intellectuals as heads of mission in the capitals who had priority in Romania’s foreign policy: Simion Stoilov in Paris, Mihai Ralea in Washington, Tudor Vianu in Belgrade, Iorgu Iordan in Moscow and Grigore C. Moisil in Ankara. In the case of all of them it was the only experience as an ambassador.
In this work, Grigore C. Moisil’s mandate as ambassador to the Republic of Turkey is analyzed. The analysis has three main objectives. Firstly, the goals of his mandate as ambassador are analyzed. Secondly, his position regarding the Romanian diplomats in Turkey that refused to accept the authority of the communist Government in Bucharest is examined. Finally, the effects of the different orientations of Romania and Turkey in the new post-war configuration and the way in which this reality influenced the position and behavior of the Romanian diplomat are explained.
The article is based on unpublished archival documents, documents from Grigore C. Moisil’s personal archive kept at the Romanian Academy Library and his partially published correspondence.
Keywords: Grigore C. Moisil, Romania, Turkey, Istanbul, Ankara.
Abstract: This study does not intend to change the perspective on the publication it refers to, namely Marx’s Notes about Romanians, published by the Romanian Academy Publishing-House, in which the famous author – quoting a 19th century French source – records the abuses suffered by the Romanian located within the extra-Carpathian principalities (due to the Tsarist interventionism), as well as in Transylvania (under the pressure of the Hungarian nobility). The publishing of these notes during strained times between the Romanian Labor Party and the other parties in the communist block- generated by the more and more apparent orientation of Romanian leaders towards a national politics – was seen, especially by the Soviet and Hungarian communists, as a gesture of defiance of the „friendly countries” and even of revisionism. Consequently, the diplomatic resonances became apparent. The Soviet and the Hungarian responses are the most renown, and both are worthy of the consideration that this study will give it.
Keywords: politics, Soviet Block, international relations, communism, historiography
Abstract: The study presents a historical perspective on the relations between the provost of Sibiu and the deanery of Brașov and the Hungarian archbishopric of Strigoniu. It is based on a historical-legal reading of the documents that establish the quality of the born legate of the archbishop of Strigoniu for all the structures founded by the Holy See within the Hungarian kingdom and its associated structures such as Transylvania. The born legate is the primate metropolitan of a medieval kingdom, dependent on Rome and acting in Rome’s interest. In the Hungarian kingdom, there was a competition between the metropolitans of Esztergom and Kalocsa that also targeted southern Transylvania, to which the Holy See granted, for the Germans there, exemptions for the ecclesiastical structures there being reported to Rome nullo mediante. The conclusion of the study is that the provostship of Sibiu and the deanery of Brașov did not have a diocesan relationship with the Hungarian archbishopric of Strigoniu, but a relationship with the born legate of the Holy See from the Hungarian kingdom.
Keywords: Transylvania, Sibiu, Brașov, Holy See, Esztergom, legatus natus.
Abstract: Much more than a mere book review, the following article critically presents Oliver Jens Schmitt’s recently published monograph and, starting from it, a heated polemic concerning the history and historiography of the Romanian Orthodox Church during the last century. Generous references to primary and secondary sources of the topic are suggested to the author of the reviewed book. Moreover, the reviewer also makes valuable considerations regarding the ethics and deontology of research in social sciences and humanities, the methods used by historians in general, and by church historians in particular. This elegantly written and scientifically based book review turns into a worthy model to follow in further cases of coping with ideologically marked pseudo-scientific approaches.
Keywords: Oliver Jens Schmitt, Historiography, church history, Orthodoxy