Historical Studies on Central Europe
https://ojs.elte.hu/hsce
<p><em>Historical Studies on Central Europe</em> (HSCE) is a double-blind peer-reviewed scholarly journal published by the Faculty of Humanities of Eötvös Loránd University. HSCE is a new historical periodical which considers the yearbook <em>Annales Universitatis Scientiarum Budapestinensis de Rolando Eötvös nominatae Sectio Historica</em> as its first series. Between 1957 and 1993, this earlier series was published by the same university in French, English, German, and Russian (issues are available at the following link: <a href="https://edit.elte.hu/xmlui/handle/10831/44176" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://edit.elte.hu/xmlui/handle/10831/44176</a>), with prominent historians on its editorial board. Whilst the <em>Sectio Historica</em> was attached to the Institute of History, it was decided that HSCE should be launched by the Doctoral School of History. According to its multidisciplinary character, HSCE is dedicated for contributions from various fields of historical scholarship in a broad, interdisciplinary spirit, including ethnology and archaeology.</p> <p>In accordance with its name, the journal focuses on the history of Central Europe: a region of crossroads and meeting points, where throughout the centuries diverse ethnic groups, confessions, traditions, and political entities have interacted in a very special way. As the definition of the region varies by age and discipline—it may mean the Habsburg Empire, the territory ranging from the Baltic Sea to the Adriatic Sea, or from German-speaking areas to the Balkans—, HSCE offers a forum for reflective interpretations of this region. Besides studies that specifically address the region’s history, the editors welcome papers that bear methodological and/or theoretical relevance to the study of historical processes.</p> <p>According to the editorial board’s concept, each issue consists of three to five thematic blocks, with two to four studies in each. The HSCE is also open to publish individual papers. The editors are committed to establish a review column with shorter and featured book reviews, as well as review articles critically approaching recent scholarly publications. Furthermore, we aim to publish regular reports on current research projects for disseminating information about ongoing projects in Central Europe.</p> <p>HSCE intends to build an interdisciplinary platform for enhancing the dialog and disseminating new findings on Central Europe, a region, whose research results have limited circulation in international scholarship due to language barriers, and in addition, research is heavily influenced by national narratives. This aim is supported by the fact that HSCE is an open-access journal published twice a year and is available in both printed and online formats.</p>Faculty of Humanities Eötvös Loránd Universityen-USHistorical Studies on Central Europe2786-0930Content
https://ojs.elte.hu/hsce/article/view/8469
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2024-07-242024-07-244113Modelling Christianisation: A Geospatial Analysis of the Archaeological Data on the Rural Church Network of Hungary in the 11th–12th Centuries. By Mária Vargha.
https://ojs.elte.hu/hsce/article/view/8141
Bernát Rácz
Copyright (c) 2024 Bernát Rácz
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2024-07-242024-07-244124624810.47074/HSCE.2024-1.13Christianization in Early Medieval Transylvania. The Oldest Church in Transylvania and its Interpretation. Edited by Daniela Marcu Istrate, Dan Ioan Mureşan, and Gabriel Tiberiu Rustoiu.
https://ojs.elte.hu/hsce/article/view/8143
András RibiPéter Galambosi
Copyright (c) 2024 András Ribi, Péter Galambosi
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2024-07-242024-07-244124925410.47074/HSCE.2024-1.14Der Thurzo-Kodex – eine einzigartige Quelle zum europäischen Bergrecht und Münzwesen um 1500. Edited by Miroslav Lacko and Erika Mayerová.
https://ojs.elte.hu/hsce/article/view/8116
István Draskóczy
Copyright (c) 2024 István Draskóczy
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2024-07-242024-07-244125525810.47074/HSCE.2024-1.15Stadt im Wandel / Towns in Change. Der Donau-Karpatenraum im langen 18. Jahrhundert / The Danube-Carpathian Area in the Long 18th Century. Edited by Mathias Beer, Harald Heppner, and Ulrike Tischler-Hofer.
https://ojs.elte.hu/hsce/article/view/8228
Mária Lengyel
Copyright (c) 2024 Mária Lengyel
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2024-07-242024-07-244125926210.47074/HSCE.2024-1.16Prosperität und Repräsentation. Facetten des Aufschwunges im Donau-Karpatenraum (1718–1914). Edited by Harald Heppner.
https://ojs.elte.hu/hsce/article/view/8229
Gábor Ambrózy
Copyright (c) 2024 Gábor Ambrózy
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2024-07-242024-07-244126326710.47074/HSCE.2024-1.17The Life and Death of States. Central Europe and the Trans-formation of Modern Sovereignty. By Natasha Wheatley.
https://ojs.elte.hu/hsce/article/view/8196
Imre Tarafás
Copyright (c) 2024 Imre Tarafás
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2024-07-242024-07-244126827410.47074/HSCE.2024-1.18Rechtsgeschichte und Volksbräuche (Ausgewählte Studien). By Ernő Tárkány Szücs. Edited by Janka Teodóra Nagy and Szabina Bognár.
https://ojs.elte.hu/hsce/article/view/8224
Judit Beke-MartosStephan Koloßa
Copyright (c) 2024 Judit Beke-Martos, Stephan Koloßa
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2024-07-242024-07-244127527810.47074/HSCE.2024-1.19The Past 80 years of Hungarian Minority
https://ojs.elte.hu/hsce/article/view/8230
Renáta Paládi
Copyright (c) 2024 Renáta Paládi
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2024-07-242024-07-244127928410.47074/HSCE.2024-1.20The Rise of Comparative History. Edited by Balázs Trencsényi, Constantin Iordachi, and Péter Apor.
https://ojs.elte.hu/hsce/article/view/8225
Nóra Szigethy
Copyright (c) 2024 Nóra Szigethy
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2024-07-242024-07-244128528710.47074/HSCE.2024-1.21Hungary’s Cold War: International Relations from the End of World War II to the Fall of the Soviet Union. By Csaba Békés.
https://ojs.elte.hu/hsce/article/view/8223
Gusztáv Kecskés D.
Copyright (c) 2024 Gusztáv Kecskés D.
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2024-07-242024-07-244128829310.47074/HSCE.2024-1.22Epic Songs in Árpádian Age Hungary
https://ojs.elte.hu/hsce/article/view/7430
<p class="p1">While there is no direct evidence of epic singers in the Hungarian Conquest period, their presence and activity can nevertheless be posited on the strength of indirect evidence. Epic songs in Hungarian are known from the later fifteenth century, while the chronicles mention certain epic songs from the late twelfth century. Some of these epic songs celebrated the Conquest period and its events, and it seems unlikely that these songs were inspired by written sources and were, in this sense, secondary. The Hungarian expression <em>énekmondás</em> [song-speaking] is expressly archaic and has its parallels in Turkic languages. Cobza, the name of the musical instrument used by epic singers as accompaniment (Hung. <em>koboz</em>) is likewise rooted in the Turkic world and is a legacy of the pre-Conquest period, similarly to the designation of the performers as fiddlers.</p>Balázs Sudár
Copyright (c) 2024 Balázs Sudár
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2024-07-242024-07-244117819110.47074/HSCE.2024-1.10An Alternative Proposal Explaining the Origin of the Word and Social Group ‘Székely’
https://ojs.elte.hu/hsce/article/view/7346
<p class="p1">The word ‘Székely’ or ‘Szekler’ was formed from the Hungarian verb <em>szökik</em> (jump, move fast, escape, run away) using the suffix ‘-l/ly’ creating deverbal nouns. The original meaning of the word is fast-moving (person), fugitive, or runaway. The formation of the social group began in the eleventh century. The process was brought about the establishment of the landlord system and frequent wars which led to the escapes and ‘wanderings’ of slaves and free people coerced into bondage. The refugees mainly settled in the sparsely populated border region, where the institutional vacuum offered them favourable conditions to avoid the control of the feudal state. Here, the groups of different ethnic origins acquired a unified identity. We can understand the process of the formation of the community by using the conceptual frameworks of ‘unintended <span class="s1">consequences, self-organization, spontaneous order, and exaptation.’ The spontaneous process may </span>have been replaced by the conscious organizational efforts of the Hungarian kings only around 1100. This was followed by the first mention of the Székelys in the Battle of Olšava in 1116.</p>Tamás Keszi
Copyright (c) 2024 Tamás Keszi
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2024-07-242024-07-244119221610.47074/HSCE.2024-1.11Absence and Presence
https://ojs.elte.hu/hsce/article/view/8403
Martin BauchAndrás Vadas
Copyright (c) 2024 Martin Bauch, András Vadas
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2024-07-242024-07-24414810.47074/HSCE.2024-1.01The Black Death in the Kingdom of Hungary
https://ojs.elte.hu/hsce/article/view/7981
<p class="p1">Western scholarship has studied the mid-fourteenth-century cataclysm of the Black Death for centuries. In contrast, due to the limited number of contemporary narrative sources, in East Central Europe, until recently historians discussed it only marginally. In the past decades, not independent of the emergence of new methods, such as archaeogenetics and palynology, and novel approaches to studying the Black Death such as climate and environmental history, scholars have increasingly turned to the analysis of the multiple waves of the second plague pandemic in this region. Recent studies have drawn attention to the apparent lack of data on the Black Death in the region while pointing to the potential role of the later waves, such as the <em>pestis secunda</em> and <em>tercia, </em>as well as later medieval and early modern recurrences of the epidemic in the historical demography of Bohemia, Poland, and Hungary. The paper provides an overview of the written evidence of the Black Death in Hungary and publishes <em>in extenso</em> some of the most important documentary evidence of the episodes of the epidemic in the Kingdom of Hungary. It argues that, unlike in the case of Bohemia and Poland, the first wave of the plague can be relatively well pursued by a critical analysis of the written evidence.</p>András Vadas
Copyright (c) 2024 András Vadas
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2024-07-242024-07-244192910.47074/HSCE.2024-1.02Late Medieval Plague Waves in in Eastern Germany and Bohemia
https://ojs.elte.hu/hsce/article/view/8092
<p class="p1">This paper aims to enhance our knowledge about late-medieval epidemic outbreaks in specific parts of Eastern Central Europe. The first part on modern-day Eastern Germany discusses narrative evidence and its use in the current research on plague history, before bringing in municipal records on testaments and conveyances from Görlitz and Stralsund for the reconstruction of seasonality and mortality rates, as well as funeral inscriptions and pictorial evidence from Erfurt as indirect indicators of plague waves. After a brief discussion of the scarce narrative sources, the second part of the paper concerning Bohemia works with the evidence of the <em>Libri Confirmationum</em>, a source originating from the chancellery of the archbishops of Prague. Every new appointment to a benefice was supposed to be approved by one of the vicars general of the archbishop, and this confirmation usually gives the reason for the vacancy. Expanding on Eduard Maur’s research, death statistics and their frequency are analyzed statistically. The paper provides insight into new evidence for the reconstruction of plague waves, mortality rates and seasonality, and thereby highlights the characteristics of the plague in Eastern Central Europe.</p>Martin BauchChristian Oertel
Copyright (c) 2024 Martin Bauch, Christian Oertel
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2024-07-242024-07-2441306710.47074/HSCE.2024-1.03Contemporary Perceptions of the Spread of the Plague in Central and Eastern Europe Following the Battle of Belgrade (1456)
https://ojs.elte.hu/hsce/article/view/8051
<p class="p1">The study examines contemporary perceptions of the emergence and spread of the plague in Central and Eastern Europe following the Battle of Belgrade in 1456. On one hand, the Battle of Belgrade represents a significant Christian victory in the conflicts with the Ottomans during the fifteenth century. Consequently, it was utilized in crusade-related propaganda discourse and perceived as a divine blessing for the anti-Ottoman crusade. On the other hand, some prominent figures such as John Hunyadi, John of Capistrano, and Serbian Despot George Branković died shortly after the event due to the outbreak of the plague during the battle. The research aims to explore how contemporary historical sources handled this duality between the sense of triumph and the plague outbreak. It provides an overview of the areas affected by the plague due to the movement of armies and the political and economic connections between different parts of East and Central Europe. The study investigates whether and to what extent reports of the plague from the region link the Battle of Belgrade to the outbreak of the disease. Additionally, it analyses fifteenth-century sources related to the battle itself. This segment of the research examines representations of the plague outbreak, particularly the infection and death of the aforementioned Christian leaders. The research focuses on how the discourse on the plague is interpreted in relation to narratives of heroism, martyrdom, and sainthood, addressing aspects of adaptation, marginalization, and the complete omission of mentions of the plague in these interpretations.</p>Igor Stamenović
Copyright (c) 2024 Igor Stamenović
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2024-07-242024-07-2441689210.47074/HSCE.2024-1.04Re-Evaluating the Eleventh Century through Linked Events and Entities
https://ojs.elte.hu/hsce/article/view/8212
<p class="p1">This report presents the aims and ongoing progress of the ERC-funded project “Re-Evaluating the Eleventh Century through Linked Events and Entities” (Grant #101002357). We introduce the rationale for the project and the innovative solution for recording historical data that we have developed, known as the STAR model. We then give details of the four case studies undertaken in the project, which will shed new light on the movement of people, the understanding of place and space, and the production of texts within and among Christian societies of the eleventh century. Through the work of this project, we hope to be able to represent, examine, and illustrate the multiplicity of perspectives and interpretations that arise in the history of a century that was so pivotal to the development of the modern Near East and Europe.</p>Tara AndrewsMárton RózsaKatalin PrajdaLewis ReadAleksandar Anđelović
Copyright (c) 2024 Tara Andrews, Márton Rózsa, Katalin Prajda, Lewis Read, Aleksandar Anđelović
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2024-07-242024-07-244121724510.47074/HSCE.2024-1.12On the Legal and Governmental History of the Principality of Transylvania
https://ojs.elte.hu/hsce/article/view/8145
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">History writing has already processed the political history of the Principality of Transylvania, clarifying many of its details. Nevertheless, the way state administration functioned, including the judiciary, is still very much a mystery, although understanding the framework of everyday life is vital in investigating past ages. </span></p>Teréz Oborni
Copyright (c) 2024 Teréz Oborni
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2024-07-242024-07-2441939410.47074/HSCE.2024-1.05The Union of the Estates in the Principality of Transylvania
https://ojs.elte.hu/hsce/article/view/7985
<p class="p1">The paper briefly describes the basis of the constitution of the Principality of Transylvania, the union of Estates. Among the antecedents, it reviews the late medieval alliances of the Estates that were made by the nations <em>(nationes)</em> living in Transylvania, highlighting that the three ‘political nations’ were not nations or ethnicities in the modern sense, but rather were separated by their privileges and legal status. Based on Latin and Hungarian sources, the author reveals the covenants as renewed in the Articles of Law and emphasized that the concept of Union was broadened in the seventeenth century so that it no longer served only to support the unity of the state but also guaranteed the maintenance of the privileges of the Estates. The most precise interpretation of the Union was set out in the <em>Approbatae Constitutiones</em>, a collection of laws compiled in 1653.</p>Teréz Oborni
Copyright (c) 2024 Teréz Oborni
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2024-07-242024-07-24419511510.47074/HSCE.2024-1.06Judicial Organization and the Sources of Decision-Making in Sixteenth-Century Transylvania
https://ojs.elte.hu/hsce/article/view/8021
<p class="p1">The paper describes the organization of the independent Transylvanian central court of law, the so-called Royal/Voivodal/Princely Table <em>(Tabula)</em> and its court of appeal, the court of personal presence <em>(personalis presentia)</em>, in the light of the modest secondary literature, dietary decisions, and archival sources. Manuscript and published sources of law referred to in the course of litigation in the Transylvanian Royal/Voivodal/Princely Table <em>(Tabula, Curia)</em> in the second half of the sixteenth century are also presented. Based on the analysed archival sources—mainly the various <em>allegationes</em> lawyers made—it may be concluded that different sources provided the grounds that were frequently given for the court decisions. The analysis of available sources shows that, besides the <em>Tripartitum</em>, which was mostly referred to, during the litigations lawyers generally used the laws of the Hungarian Kingdom, and that the <em>Decreta</em> of the Transylvanian diets and the Table judged some cases according to their own custom.</p>Zsolt Bogdándi
Copyright (c) 2024 Zsolt Bogdándi
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2024-07-242024-07-244111613310.47074/HSCE.2024-1.07Report on the Government of Transylvania, 1604
https://ojs.elte.hu/hsce/article/view/7984
<p class="p1">In the summer of 1604, the Transylvanian Council of Government, which had been formed shortly before, submitted a longer report to King Rudolf I of Hungary. They reported on the administration and financial situation of the newly pacified province of Transylvania. The most pressing issue, however, was the pay and maintenance of the mercenary corps stationed in Transylvania. Accordingly, the bulk of the report is devoted to discussing problems relating to the army. The report gives us an idea of how a Council of Government <em>(Regiment)</em> that had already been ‘tried and tested’ in the Austrian hereditary provinces functioned in Transylvania, and introduces the challenges members of the Council had to face.</p>Petra Mátyás-Rausch
Copyright (c) 2024 Petra Mátyás-Rausch
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2024-07-242024-07-244113415010.47074/HSCE.2024-1.08The Early Modern Székely Society from a Legal Historical Perspective
https://ojs.elte.hu/hsce/article/view/7986
<p class="p1">The paper discusses the changes in Székely society during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The topic is presented from a legal historical perspective because the scholarly literature has either paid no substantial attention to the legal framework of the early modern era or failed to utilize the sources relevant for Székely society. By re-examining already known sources and analyzing new ones, i.e., judicial proceedings, testimonies, contract and personal letters, it appears that the main turning points of the history of Székely society have been misinterpreted in some aspects, and a series of new questions have emerged that are yet to be answered.</p>Balázs Viktor Rácz
Copyright (c) 2024 Balázs Viktor Rácz
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2024-07-242024-07-244115117710.47074/HSCE.2024-1.09