Kingdom Of Hungary (1000–1301)

The Kingdom of Hungary ( la, Regnum Hungariae, hu, Magyar Királyság) came into existence in Central Europe when Stephen I, Grand Prince of the Hungarians, was crowned king in 1000 or 1001. He reinforced central authority and forced his subjects to accept Christianity. Although all written sources emphasize only the role played by German and Italian knights and clerics in the process, a significant part of the Hungarian vocabulary for agriculture, religion, and state matters was taken from Slavic languages. Civil wars and pagan uprisings, along with attempts by the Holy Roman emperors to expand their authority over Hungary, jeopardized the new monarchy. The monarchy stabilized during the reigns of Ladislaus I (1077–1095) and Coloman (1095–1116). These rulers occupied Croatia and Dalmatia with the support of a part of the local population. Both realms retained their autonomous position. The successors of Ladislaus and Coloman—especially Béla II (1131–1141), Béla III (1176–1196), Andrew II (1205–1235), and Béla IV (1235–1270)—continued this policy of expansion towards the Balkan Peninsula and the lands east of the Carpathian Mountains, transforming their kingdom into one of the major powers of medieval Europe.

Rich in uncultivated lands, silver, gold, and salt deposits, Hungary became the preferred destination of mainly German, Italian, and French colonists. These immigrants were mostly peasants who settled in villages, but some were craftsmen and merchants, who established most of the cities of the Kingdom. Their arrival played a key role in the shaping of an urban lifestyle, habits, and culture in medieval Hungary. The location of the kingdom at the crossroads of international trade routes favored the coexistence of several cultures. Romanesque, Gothic, and Renaissance buildings and literary works written in Latin prove the predominantly Roman Catholic character of the culture; but Orthodox, and even non-Christian ethnic minority communities also existed. Latin was the language of legislation, administration and the judiciary, but "linguistic pluralism" contributed to the survival of many tongues, including a great variety of Slavic dialects.

The predominance of royal estates initially assured the sovereign's preeminent position, but the alienation of royal lands gave rise to the emergence of a self-conscious group of lesser landholders, known as " royal servants". They forced Andrew II to issue his Golden Bull of 1222, "one of the first examples of constitutional limits being placed on the powers of a European monarch" ( Francis Fukuyama). The kingdom received a major blow from the Mongol invasion of 1241–42. Thereafter, Cuman and Jassic groups settled in the central lowlands, and colonists arrived from Moravia, Poland, and other nearby countries. The erection of fortresses by landlords, promoted by the monarchs after the withdrawal of the Mongols, led to the development of semi-autonomous "provinces" dominated by powerful magnates. Some of these magnates even challenged the authority of Andrew III (1290–1301), the last male descendant of the native Árpád dynasty. His death was followed by a period of interregnum and anarchy. Central power was re-established only in the early 1320s.

Background

The Magyars, or Hungarians, conquered the Carpathian Basin at the turn of the 9th and 10th centuries. Here they found a predominantly Slavic-speaking population. From their new homeland, they launched plundering raids against East Francia, Italy, and other regions of Europe. Their raids were halted by the future Holy Roman Emperor Otto I, who defeated them at the Battle of Lechfeld in 955.

Hungarians lived in patrilineal families, which were organized into clans that formed tribes. The tribal confederation was headed by the grand prince, always a member of the family descending from Árpád, the Hungarians' leader around the time of their "land-taking". Contemporary authors described the Hungarians as nomads, but Ibn Rusta and others added that they also cultivated arable land. The great number of borrowings from Slavic languages prove that the Hungarians adopted new techniques and a more settled lifestyle in Central Europe. The cohabitation of Hungarians and local ethnic groups is also reflected in the assemblages of the " Bijelo Brdo culture", which emerged in the mid-10th century. Archaeological finds—a few objects with short inscriptions—indicate the use of a special runiform script in medieval Hungary. The inscriptions have not been deciphered, and the script was probably never used for administrative or legislative purposes.

Although they were pagan, the Hungarians demonstrated a tolerant attitude towards Christians, Jews, and Muslims. Muslim, Jewish, and Hungarian merchants from Hungary regularly visited the fairs at Prague, exchanging gold and Byzantine gold coins for slaves, tin, and fur. To Pereyaslavets, an important emporium on the Lower Danube, the Hungarians brought horses and silver. The Byzantine Church was the first to successfully proselytize among their leaders: in 948 the , and around 952 the , were baptized in Constantinople. In contrast, the grand prince Géza who ruled from the early 970s received baptism according to the Latin rite. He erected fortresses and invited foreign warriors to develop a new army based on heavy cavalry. Géza also arranged the marriage of his son, Stephen, with Giselle of Bavaria, a princess from the family of the Holy Roman emperors.

When Géza died in 997, his son had to fight for his succession with Koppány, the eldest member of the House of Árpád. Assisted by German heavy cavalry, Stephen emerged the victor in the decisive battle of the conflict in 998. He applied for a royal crown to Pope Sylvester II (), who granted his request with the consent of Emperor Otto III.

"Patrimonial" kingdom

King St Stephen (10001038)

Stephen was crowned the first king of Hungary on either December 25, 1000, or January 1, 1001. He consolidated his rule through a series of wars against semi-independent local rulers, including his maternal uncle, Gyula, and the powerful tribal chief, Ajtony. He proved his kingdom's military strength when he repelled an invasion by Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor, in 1030. Marshlands, other natural obstacles, and barricades made of stone, earth, or timber provided defense at the kingdom's borders. A wide zone known as was intentionally left uninhabited for defensive purposes along the frontiers.

Stephen developed a state similar to the monarchies of contemporary Western Europe. Counties, the basic units of administration, were districts organized around fortresses and headed by royal officials known as , or counts. Most of the early medieval fortresses were made of earth and timber. Stephen founded dioceses and at least one archbishopric, and established Benedictine monasteries. He prescribed that every tenth village was to build a parish church. The earliest churches were simple wood constructions, but the royal basilica at Székesfehérvár was built in Romanesque style. With the introduction of the Catholic church hierarchy, Latin emerged as the dominant language of ecclesiastic life and state administration, although some royal charters were likely written in Greek. The bishops were required to supply the local clergy with liturgical books, and the kings regularly donated codices to monasteries. The earliest extant literary works were composed in Latin during Stephen's reign. Bishop Gerard of Csanád, who had come from Venice, completed a Latin commentary on a chapter in the Book of Daniel in Hungary. Stephen's views on state administration were summarized around 1015 in a mirror for princes known as . Stating that "the country that has only one language and one custom is weak and fragile", he emphasized the advantages of the arrival of foreigners, or "guests". His laws were aimed at the adoption, even by force, of a Christian way of life. He especially protected Christian marriage against polygamy and other traditional customs. Decorated belts and other items of pagan fashion also disappeared. Commoners started to wear long woolen coats, but wealthy men persisted in wearing their silk kaftans decorated with furs.

From a legal perspective, Hungarian society was divided into freemen and serfs, but intermediate groups also existed. All freemen had the legal capacity to own property, to sue, and to be sued. Most of them were bound to the monarch or to a wealthier landlord, and only "guests" could freely move. Among freemen living in lands attached to a fortress, the castle warriors served in the army, and the castle folk cultivated the lands, forged weapons, or rendered other services. All freemen were to pay a special tax, the freemen's pennies—eight denars per person per year—to the monarchs. Peasants known as were exempt from this tax, being somewhat transitory between the status of freemen and of serf. Serfs theoretically lacked the legal status available to freemen, but in practice they had their own property: they cultivated their masters' land with their own tools, and kept 50–66 percent of the harvest for themselves. Stephen's laws and charters suggest that most commoners lived in sedentary communities which formed villages. An average village was made up of no more than 40 semi-sunken timber huts with a corner hearth. The huts were surrounded by large courtyards. Ditches separated them, keeping the animals away and enabling the growing of grains and vegetables. Many of the villages were named after a profession, implying that the villagers were required to render a specific service to their lords.

Pagan revolts, wars, and consolidation (1038–1116)

Stephen I survived his son, Emeric, which caused a four-decade crisis. Stephen considered his cousin, Vazul, unsuitable for the throne and named his own sister's son, the Venetian Peter Orseolo, as his heir. After Vazul was blinded and his three sons were expelled, Peter succeeded his uncle without opposition in 1038. Peter's preference for his foreign courtiers led to a rebellion, which ended with his deposition in favor of a native lord, Samuel Aba, who was related to the royal family. Supported by Emperor Henry III, Peter returned and expelled Samuel in 1044. During his second rule, Peter accepted the emperor's suzerainty. His rule ended with a new rebellion, this time aimed at the restoration of paganism. There were many lords who opposed the destruction of the Christian monarchy. They proposed the crown to Andrew, one of Vazul's sons, who returned to Hungary, defeated Peter and suppressed the pagans in 1046. His cooperation with his brother, Béla, a talented military commander, ensured the Hungarians' victory over Emperor Henry III, who attempted to conquer the kingdom two times: in 1050 and 1053.

A new civil war broke out when Duke Béla claimed the crown for himself in 1059, but his three sons accepted the rule of Solomon, Andrew I's son, in 1063. Bishop Maurus of Pécs wrote his ''Life'' of the hermits Benedict and Andrew Zorard—the earliest Hungarian hagiography—around this time. The young king and his cousins cooperated for almost a decade; for instance, they jointly defeated the Pechenegs plundering Transylvania in 1068. The power conflict in the royal family caused a new civil war in 1071. It lasted up to Solomon's abdication in favor of one of his cousins, Ladislaus, in the early 1080s. Ladislaus promulgated laws that prescribed draconian punishments against criminals. His laws also regulated the payment of customs duties, of tolls payable at fairs and fords, and of the tithes. He forbade Jews from holding Christian serfs, and introduced laws aiming at the conversion of local Muslims, who were known as .

The death of Ladislaus's brother-in-law King Zvonimir of Croatia, in 1089 or 1090, created an opportunity for him to claim Croatia for himself. Ladislaus's sister, Helena, and several noblemen (mainly from northern Croatia) supported his claim. Ladislaus's troops occupied the lowlands, but a native claimant, Petar Svačić, resisted in the Petrova Mounts. Nevertheless, Croatia and Hungary remained closely connected for more than nine centuries. Ladislaus I appointed his nephew, Álmos, to administer Croatia. Although a younger son, Álmos was also favored by the king against his brother, Coloman, for the succession. Even so, Coloman succeeded his uncle in 1095, while Álmos received a separate duchy under his brother's suzerainty. Throughout Coloman's reign, the brothers' relationship remained tense, which finally led to the blinding of Álmos and his infant son Béla.

Coloman routed two bands of crusaders (the perpetrators of the Rhineland massacres) who were plundering the Western borderlands, and defeated Petar Svačić in Croatia. The late 14th-century '' Pacta conventa'' states that Coloman was crowned king of Croatia after concluding an agreement with twelve local noblemen. Although most probably a forgery, the document reflects the actual status of Croatia proper, which was never incorporated into Hungary. In contrast, the region known as Slavonia, between the Petrova Mounts and the river Dráva, became closely connected to Hungary. Here many Hungarian noblemen received land grants from the monarchs. Zadar, Split, and other Dalmatian towns also accepted Coloman's suzerainty in 1105, but their right to elect their own bishops and leaders remained unchanged. In Croatia and Slavonia, the sovereign was represented by governors bearing the title ''ban''. Likewise, a royal official, the ''voivode'', administered Transylvania, the eastern borderland of the kingdom. The central administration's highest offices developed from the royal household's leading positions. Initially responsible for the management of the royal domains, the palatine emerged as the king's deputy by the early 12th century. His managerial tasks were transferred to a new official who quickly gained the functions of a chief justiciar as judge royal.

Like Ladislaus I, Coloman proved to be a great legislator, but he prescribed less severe punishments than his uncle had done. He ordered that transactions between Christians and Jews were to be put into writing. He prohibited them to hold Christian slaves and introduced a ban on sale of native slaves to places abroad. His laws concerning his Muslim subjects aimed at their conversion; for instance, by obliging them to marry their daughters to Christians. The presence of Jewish and Muslim merchants in the kingdom was due to its position as a crossroad of trading routes leading towards Constantinople, Regensburg, and Kiev. Local trade also existed, which enabled Coloman to collect the , the traditional in-kind tax of Slavonia, in cash. Coloman exempted those who lived on their own estates from the freemen's pennies, and allowed other freemen to redeem half of the tax through services provided. Modern scholars assume that the earliest Hungarian chronicle was composed under Coloman, but it did not survive. This "primary" chronicle is thought to have been expanded and rewritten in accordance with changing political expectations during the 12th century. All scholarly attempts to reconstruct the original text based on chronicles from the 14th and 15th centuries have proved futile.

The kingdom was sparsely populated, with an average population density of four or five people per . The ("Italians") streets or districts in Eger, Pécs and Várad (Oradea, Romania) point at the presence of "guests" speaking a Western Romance language, while the ("Germans") and ("Saxons") place names imply German-speaking colonists throughout the entire kingdom. Most subjects of the early medieval Hungarian monarchs were peasants. They only cultivated the most fertile lands, and moved further out when the lands became exhausted. Wheat was the most widely produced crop, but barley, the raw material for home brew, was also grown. Winegrowing flourished and vineyards existed in virtually all settlements with the exception of the highlands. The highest-ranking wines were produced in the Szerémség region (now Srem in Serbia), but the wines of Buda Hills, Hegyalja, Sopron, and Pressburg (Bratislava, Slovakia) were also popular. Fresh or dried fruits were common elements of the peasants' daily diet. Monasteries introduced the systematic growing of fruit trees. In their orchards, the trees were planted in holes dug at regular intervals. Even peasants were allowed to hunt and fish in the royal forests that covered large territories in the kingdom. Animal husbandry remained an important sector of agriculture, and millet and oats were produced for fodder. Both written sources and archaeological evidence indicate that famine was an exceptional phenomenon in medieval Hungary.

Expansion and colonization (11161196)

Unsuccessful wars with the Republic of Venice, the Byzantine Empire, and other neighboring states characterized the reign of Coloman's son, Stephen II, who succeeded his father in 1116. The earliest mention of the Székelys—a Hungarian-speaking community of free warriors—is in connection with the young king's first war against the Duchy of Bohemia. The Székelys lived in scattered groups along the borders, but they were moved to the easternmost regions of Transylvania in the 12th century. Stephen II died childless in 1131. His cousin, Duke Álmos' blind son Béla II, succeeded him. During his reign, the kingdom was administered by his wife, Helena of Serbia, who ordered the massacre of the lords whom she blamed for her husband's mutilation. Boris Kalamanos, an alleged son of King Coloman who attempted to seize the throne from Béla II, received no internal support.

Béla II's son, Géza II, who ascended the throne in 1141, adopted an active foreign policy. He supported Uroš II of Serbia against Emperor Manuel I Komnenos, and launched at least six military campaigns to the Kievan Rus' against the enemies of his brother-in-law Iziaslav II of Kiev

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases