middle ages

Preparation for the afterlife of the Hungarian nobility according to the preserved medieval testaments

Tihányiová, Monika

The current study is devoted to the efforts of the medieval Hungarian nobility to ensure a peaceful afterlife for themselves and their families. This was hoped to be achieved through donations to the church and religious orders serving in the area. The paper begins with a brief focused on donations to the church that members of the nobility made during their lives and the actions they expected from the church or individual clergymen in return for such pious contributions.

Pro salute anime. Holy Mass and salvation of the nobility in late medieval Hungary

Fedeles, Tamás

The people of the Medieval era strived to ensure salvation for themselves, their ancestors and their descendants in any way their social and financial status permitted. One possible means to this end was available through Mass-endowments. The current study is based on an analysis of 85 Mass-endowments from 34 Hungarian aristocratic families (1406 – 1531). Besides barons, family members—and particularly their widows and descendants—are covered in the scope of this research.

Corpus more regio curatum. When a king dies: Medieval post-mortem care of the body.

Dvořáková, Daniela

The present study deals with how the bodies of deceased medieval kings and other significant persons were treated after death. The body of a monarch still represented royal majesty, which, according to the beliefs of the time, had been entrusted to him by God himself. Because royal majesty was seen as immortal, complex rites of passage were necessary for the burial of kings.

Royal funeral ceremonies in fourteenth-century Central Europe

Zupka, Dušan

Death and dying were a ubiquitous reality of the world of medieval society, with lasting effects on the living from all social groups in equal measure. However, for the rulers of the day, the process of dying and the subsequent burial was an important social, political and cultural event. Over time, special funerary ceremonial complexes developed that included a variety of rituals and symbols which indicated the status and importance of the medieval monarchs.

The legal context of death in the time of the Mojmírs and the Árpáds

Lysý, Miroslav

The death of a person is a complex issue fact that older law looked at in two ways. First and foremost, death represented a consequence; the application of a legal sanction. The oldest law considered execution more as a means of healing, as a ritual, and only in the late Middle Ages was execution thought of as a deterrent or a means of retaliation towards a criminal. In the second approach, death could be a prerequisite for a range of legal consequences.

For salvation of the soul: Rituals before and after death in the Middle Ages (An introduction)

Hlavačková, Miriam
Lysá, Žofia

The question of death is essential at the level of individuals as well as society, from primitive tribes to high theology, ethics or philosophy. The Latin name for death—exitus letalis (natural departure)—implicitly suggests that death in our culture does not mean a definitive end but a mere “departure.” Based on the funeral rituals and myths found in nearly all cultures, almost none considered death to be a definitive end. What part of us departs, to where, in what way? What transcends our death?

On the Road to Crime in Moimir’s Moravia and Árpáds’ Hungary

Lysý, Miroslav

Sanctions and penalties enforced upon law-breakers are an age-old phenomenon. The division of civil and criminal laws from a legal standpoint began in practice relatively late in the territory now known as Slovakia. Terminology is first used in public administration beginning to distinguish clearly between these two spheres of legislation as late the 13th century. In previous times, the difference was not so obvious and in some norms from the 9th to 12th centuries, completely indiscernible.

From Slavic Leader to National Ruler: A Modern Discursive Construction of the Early Medieval Rulership of Pribina († 861)

Harvát, Matej

Pribina was a Slavic leader of unknown origin from the 9th century who was expelled by the Moravian prince (dux) Mojmir I. However, his rank in the territory north of the Danube before exile is a matter of an ages-long scholarly debate. This article presents an analysis of historiographic discourse which has resulted in the national scholarly construction of an early medieval, hypothetical Slovak/Nitrian rulership of Pribina.

On the Ethnic Origin of the Magnate Clan Hont-Poznan (Hont-Pázmany)

Lukačka, Ján

Research of the oldest aristocratic clans in Hungary encounters several difficulties. Sources of the period until as late as the 12th century usually noted only names of nobles without any mention of their family affiliation, nor any other genealogical relation, such as father or grandfather. Therefore, genealogical trees of most Hungarian aristocratic families can be put together only from the 13th century. However, there are some exceptions, such as the Hont-Poznans, an exceptional family that is written into the early medieval history of Hungary.

The Social Stratification of Servitores and Their Career Possibilities in Western Transdanubia During the 16th and 17th Centuries

Varga, János J.

The period after the battle of Mohács saw significant migration movements from southern towards northern and north-western parts of the country. The research is delimited to the area bounded by the newly formed border - approximately in the line of the counties of Zala, Veszprém (Weißbrunn) and Komárom (Komorn). Areas behind this line served as a basis for recruitment of new effective troops for the battles against the Ottomans. Landlords in order to be able do protect their property and at the same time to fulfil their duty to defend the country, organised their own armies.

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