engleski

Slavonia and Transylvania at the turn of the thirteenth and fourteenth century: oligarchs, king's appointees, local society and the (re)shaping of the political communities

Slavonia and Transylvania held a specific position in the Kingdom of Hungary during the Middle Ages, their distinctiveness being featured above all in the fact that the term regnum was connected to them. An important period in the shaping of these regna was the period between the 70s of the 13th century and the 30s of the 14th century, which is the focus of this paper. Namely, this period was characterized by the breakdown of the central royal power and with the rise of the oligarchical rule and the consequent restoration of the royal authority under Charles I. How were these changes in the locus of power reflected on the local noble communities of Slavonia and Transylvania? Their comparison reveals that they, although similar in certain respects, followed largely different paths, mainly thanks to the different relationship between the oligarchs and the local communities. While Slavonia was controlled by two oligarchical factions, those of the Babonići and the Kószegis, Transylvania was for the significant part of this period under the control of only one figure, Ladislaus Kán. In practice, this meant that Ladislaus Kán used the framework of the political community of Transylvanian nobility in the expression of his authority, while, on the other hand, the fact that Slavonia was practically split into two halves prevented any faction from such attempts ; furthermore, one of these factions (the Babonići) even started envisioning their territory of rule outside the framework of regnum Slavonie. This will be primarily argued on cases of holding of the general assemblies, through which existence and actions of political communities found their strongest expression. While they disappeared in Slavonia after 1270s, only to reemerge in 1320s, they were still held in Transylvania, and this puts the different nature of oligarchical rule in the forefront. Furthermore, it will be shown how this congregational regime was used during the restoration of the royal power, which will illustrate how these assemblies were used by the central authority. In the end, such a comparison across the long period will not only enable better understanding of the political and social processes in these two specific cases, but also of the more general question concerning the relationship between Herrschaft and Landschaft, that is of the shaping of the political communities.

noble communities, Slavonia, Transylvania

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