HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Formulary Book of Somogyvár (, ) is a codex or formulary from the
Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...
, which was written mainly in the second half of the 15th century and was expanded in the 16th century. Beside legal texts, the manuscript contains three annals which date back to the time of the Árpádian era, a genealogy of the Hungarian monarchs from
Béla III Béla may refer to: * Béla (crater), an elongated lunar crater * Béla (given name), a common Hungarian male given name See also * Bela (disambiguation) * Belá (disambiguation) * Bělá (disambiguation) Bělá may refer to: Places in the Cze ...
to
Ladislaus of Naples Ladislaus the Magnanimous (, ; 15 February 1377 – 6 August 1414) was King of Naples from 1386 until his death and an unsuccessful claimant to the kingdoms of Hungary and Croatia. Ladislaus was a skilled political and military leader, protector ...
, a rhythmic list of kings and a record of events regarding the
Ottoman–Habsburg wars The Ottoman–Habsburg wars were fought from the 16th to the 18th centuries between the Ottoman Empire and the Habsburg monarchy, which was at times supported by the Kingdom of Hungary, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Holy Roman Empire, The ...
in Hungary. The codex is kept in the Teleki Library in Târgu-Mureş,
Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
.


Background

According to legal historian György Bónis, the 272-page document was written mainly between the 1460s and the end of the 1480s by an unidentified legal scholar of the royal court of King
Matthias Corvinus Matthias Corvinus (; ; ; ; ; ) was King of Hungary and King of Croatia, Croatia from 1458 to 1490, as Matthias I. He is often given the epithet "the Just". After conducting several military campaigns, he was elected King of Bohemia in 1469 and ...
. After his retirement, this scholar settled down in
Somogyvár Abbey The Somogyvár Abbey (Szent Egyed Abbey) was a Benedictine monastery established at Somogyvár in the Kingdom of Hungary in 1091. It was dedicated to Saint Giles. A Formulary Book of Somogyvár, legal formulary book was compiled there in the secon ...
, an important place of authentication in the Kingdom of Hungary, where he copied and compiled his work with his own records from the royal court and his subsequent local legal practice. It is possible that this scholar is identical with jurist John Izsó de Kékcse, who acted as secular notary and lawyer of the abbey in 1488. Following that, the formulary book and its three ''annales'' were extended and completed by two another unidentified authors who also resided in
Transdanubia Transdanubia ( ; , or ', ) is a traditional region of Hungary. It is also referred to as Hungarian Pannonia, or Pannonian Hungary. Administrative divisions Traditional interpretation The borders of Transdanubia are the Danube River (north and ...
. Lastly, a fourth person possessed the text, who recorded some events of the Ottoman wars in the 16th century, and acknowledged the legitimacy of
John Zápolya John Zápolya or Szapolyai (; ; ; ; 1487 – 22 July 1540), was King of Hungary (as John I) from 1526 to 1540. His rule was disputed by Archduke Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor, Ferdinand I, who also claimed the title King of Hungary. He wa ...
during the
civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
, while omitted to mention Ferdinand of Habsburg. The document went
Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...
in some way. Historian Dániel Bácsatyai considered the
Transylvanian Saxon The Transylvanian Saxons (; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjer Såksen'' or simply ''Soxen'', singularly ''Sox'' or ''Soax''; Transylvanian Landler: ''Soxn'' or ''Soxisch''; ; seldom ''sași ardeleni/transilvăneni/transilvani''; ) are a people ...
pastor Michael Siegler possibly used the text when wrote his historical work ''Chronologia rerum Hungaricum'' in the 1560–1570s, since both authors know
John Sigismund Zápolya John Sigismund Zápolya or Szapolyai (; 7 July 1540 – 14 March 1571) was King of Hungary as John II from 1540 to 1551 and from 1556 to 1570, and the first Prince of Transylvania, from 1570 to his death. He was the only son of John I, King o ...
's date of birth as an hour exactly, beside other similarities regarding the 16th century notes. Contrary to this, based on two attached copies of charters (issued in 1579 and ''c''. 1592), Bónis argued that Hungarian prelate István Szuhay brought the codex to the Principality of Transylvania, when he was sent as envoy to the court of
Stephen Bocskai Stephen Bocskai or Bocskay (, ; 1 January 155729 December 1606) was Prince of Transylvania and Hungary from 1605 to 1606. He was born to a Hungarian nobility, Hungarian noble family. His father's estates were located in the Eastern Hungarian Kin ...
in the 1590s. The fate of the formulary book is unknown for the upcoming two centuries. By 1794, lawyer József Batz de Zágon possessed the codex. He donated it to the library of the Rerformed Protestant High School in Marosvásárhely (legal predecessor of the Teleki Library) in 1811. György Bónis was the first historian, who analyzed the manuscript and determined the circumstances of its origin in 1957, but he did not describe the text itself. László Solymosi provided certified photocopy to the Diplomatic Photo Collection (DF) of the
National Archives of Hungary The National Archives of Hungary (in Hungarian: ''Magyar Nemzeti Levéltár'') were created in 1756. They were first located in Pressburg, Upper Hungary (now Bratislava, Slovakia). In 1784, they were transferred to Buda. The National Archive ...
. In the coming decades, only the footnote of Palatine Thomas' death (from the 16th-century fourth author) received attention. Adrien Quéret-Podesta was the first scholar, who analyzed the texts of the three annals in her 2009 study. Dániel Bácsatyai published and translated the texts concerning history – annals, genealogy, rhythmic list of kings and the 16th-century records – of the formulary book into Hungarian in 2019.


Content


Legal texts

The codex contains altogether 486 sections (copies of 446 charters, 3 clauses, a law text, 10 historical records and 24 notes and 2 additional charters from the 16th century). In terms of scope, two-fifths of the work consists of the publication of royal diplomas between the pages 119 ''verso'' and 226 ''verso'' (no. 223–374 formulas). Another sections contain charters from both the royal chancellery and the places of authentication: from 1 ''recto'' to 119 ''recto'' (no. 1–222 formulas), and from 227 ''recto'' to 272 ''verso'' (no. 375–456), which covers three-fifths of the scope of the formulary book. The collection of charters does not follow a chronological order, the author copied all newly added diplomas to the next blank page. Based on the dates, György Bónis considered the first original author compiled the vast majority of his work in the years between 1480 and 1486, just before the passing of the so-called ''Decretum maius'', when Matthias Corvinus ordered to replace many previous contradictory decrees with a systematic law-code. Bónis argued the formulary book a valuable resource for presenting pre-'' Tripartitum'' legal life in Hungary, regarding private law, criminal law and litigation. Bónis, after examining the content and form elements, defined the chapters of the formulary book as follows: The author collected the documents to educate students and novice professionals, he also provided the texts with a number of useful remarks, similarly to the 14th-century ''Ars Notarialis''. The author tried to gather the entire material of a single lawsuit, thus, the apprentice was able to trace all documents at all stages of the proceedings in a single case (for instance, investigation stage, requests for postponement, sentencing after a long absence despite the summons and applications for retrial). The author presents cases useful from the point of view of jurisprudence, which appear as many ad hoc possibilities as possible (e.g. postponement of litigation due to the litigant's minority or participation in a military campaign, out-of-court settlement). For the primary purpose of the case law illustration, the author frequently modified in the texts of the original diploma, the identity of the persons concerned (often deleted or changed). Multiple grammatical errors can be found in texts as a result of multiple copying. György Bónis emphasized the lack of logical organization and consistency of the texts too. Regarding the newer section, which contains documents from the places of authentication, represents less instructor intent. Instead of education, law practice mattered after his retirement to the Somogyvár Abbey, so he collected and compiled a sample library for himself. Here can be found some system organizing principles: lawyer advocates, last wills and testaments, pledges, petitions and omissions are found in roughly a subchapter.


Historical texts

Of the 272 pages, 10 pages – between 258 ''recto'' and 267 ''verso'' – are related to historical and genealogical narratives, while the vast majority of the manuscript contains legal aids (for instance, a guide to recognizing non-authentic charters), texts and copies of authentic diplomas.


First ''annales''

The first ''annales'' (called as "Christian Annals" by Quéret-Podesta), are between 260 ''recto'' and the top of the 262 ''recto'' (altogether five pages). Its first section contains Biblical events from the creation of the world (possibly based on
Bede Bede (; ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, Bede of Jarrow, the Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable (), was an English monk, author and scholar. He was one of the most known writers during the Early Middle Ages, and his most f ...
's ''chronica maiora'') to the
Acts of the Apostles The Acts of the Apostles (, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; ) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of The gospel, its message to the Roman Empire. Acts and the Gospel of Luke make u ...
and the subsequent history of the
Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
(based on
Regino of Prüm Regino of Prüm or of Prum (, ; died 915 AD) was a Benedictine Order, Benedictine monk, who served as abbot of Prüm Abbey, Prüm (892–99) and later of St. Maximin's Abbey, Trier, Saint Martin's at Trier, and chronicler, whose ''Chronicon'' is ...
's ''Chronicon''), thus placing Hungarian history in a universal context. The Biblical history contains 11 notes (5 are from
Old Testament The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...
, 6 are from
New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...
) while the history of the Catholic Church and early medieval Europe (until the reign of
Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...
) are made of 17 notes (altogether 28 notes). Hungarian events last from 993 ( Stephen I's ascension to the Hungarian throne, which, in fact, occurred in 997) to 1291 ( Andrew III's campaign against the
Duchy of Austria The Duchy of Austria (; ) was a medieval principality of the Holy Roman Empire, established in 1156 by the '' Privilegium Minus'', when the Margraviate of Austria ('' Ostarrîchi'') was detached from Bavaria and elevated to a duchy in its own ri ...
). In the mid-16th century, the first ''annales'' were supplemented by a single footnote from the fourth author – the death and burial of Palatine Thomas in 1186. Short notes of the events of the 11th century – mostly deal with Hungarian saints – are related to the '' Annales Posonienses'' in their core material, according to Bácsatyai. The text does not refer to kings Stephen I and Ladislaus I as "saints", when it mentions their coronation and death, which testifies to the early origin of the ''annales''. The ''annales'' accuse the "Hungarians" of killing Bishop
Gerard of Csanád Gerard or Gerard Sagredo (; ; ; 23 April 977/1000 – 24 September 1046) was the first bishop of Csanád in the Kingdom of Hungary from around 1030 to his death. Most information about his life was preserved in his legends which contain most c ...
, thus, the original text could have been written in an ecclesial community where foreign priests lived. Only two notes narrate events from the 12th century: Stephen II's invasion of
Dalmatia Dalmatia (; ; ) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Through time it formed part of several historical states, most notably the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Croatia (925 ...
(1124) and the canonization of Ladislaus I ("1113", in fact 1192). Two-third part of the Hungarian-related notes depict events from the 13th century. Dániel Bácsatyai considered that this section is the most valuable part of the entire formulary book. The text provides detailed genealogical data of
Béla IV Béla may refer to: * Béla (crater), an elongated lunar crater * Béla (given name), a common Hungarian male given name See also * Bela (disambiguation) * Belá (disambiguation) * Bělá (disambiguation) Bělá may refer to: Places in the Cze ...
and his family. It uniquely gives the exact dates of the death of Queen Maria Laskarina (23 July 1270) and
Béla, Duke of Slavonia Béla ( 1249 –1269) was the youngest and favorite child of King Béla IV of Hungary. His father appointed him Duke of Slavonia in 1260, but he only started to govern his duchy from 1268. He died childless. Early life Béla was the youngest ...
(11 June 1269), while in the case of the king it gives a day's earlier mortality – Friday, 2 May 1270, which was also confirmed by the ''necrologium'' of the Oberalteich Abbey. Bácsatyai claimed the Hungarian chronicles put the date of his death to 3 May (also "Friday", which is, however, wrong) in retrospect, because of the feast of the Finding of the Holy Cross. A note also contains the date of the death of
Francis of Assisi Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone ( 1181 – 3 October 1226), known as Francis of Assisi, was an Italians, Italian Mysticism, mystic, poet and Friar, Catholic friar who founded the religious order of the Franciscans. Inspired to lead a Chris ...
, as a single non-Hungarian event in this period. Therefore, Bácsatyai argued that this section of the first ''annales'' was originally written in the church of the
Franciscans The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor being the largest conte ...
in
Esztergom Esztergom (; ; or ; , known by Names of European cities in different languages: E–H#E, alternative names) is a city with county rights in northern Hungary, northwest of the capital Budapest. It lies in Komárom-Esztergom County, on the righ ...
, where Béla IV and his family were also buried, so the exact date of their death was known to the local friars. Historian Attila Zsoldos accepted this argument and, consequently, the reliability of the dates of death of the aforementioned royalties. Based on this, Bácsatyai considered the other notes of 13th century events as reliable too, which, however, differ from the scientific position. For instance, the first ''annales'' state that Béla IV was born in 1209, during a
lunar eclipse A lunar eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs when the Moon moves into the Earth's shadow, causing the Moon to be darkened. Such an alignment occurs during an eclipse season, approximately every six months, during the full moon phase, ...
. There is a scholar consensus that the monarch was born in 1206, because, upon King Andrew II's initiative,
Pope Innocent III Pope Innocent III (; born Lotario dei Conti di Segni; 22 February 1161 – 16 July 1216) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 until his death on 16 July 1216. Pope Innocent was one of the most power ...
had already appealed to the Hungarian prelates and barons on 7 June to swear an oath of loyalty to the King's future son. According to the pope's letter, this unnamed son was born by 29 November 1206. Bácsatyai claimed this son was an unidentified older brother of Béla, who died in childhood. According to him, Béla was born either 1208 or 1209, when there were complete lunar eclipses in the territory of Hungary. In response, Zsoldos pointed out that Béla and his wife Maria married around 1220 and had already reached the age of majority by 1223, when King Andrew II persuaded Béla to separate from his wife, according to a letter of
Pope Honorius III Pope Honorius III (c. 1150 – 18 March 1227), born Cencio Savelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 18 July 1216 to his death. A canon at the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, he came to hold a number of importa ...
. There is also academic consensus – albeit it based only on tradition (Mór Wertner) and not primary source – that Béla's younger brother, Coloman of Galicia was indeed born in 1208, thus Bácsatyai's interpretation about a possible another unnamed Hungarian prince (born in 1206) is a
fringe theory A fringe theory is an idea or a viewpoint that differs significantly from the accepted scholarship of the time within its field. Fringe theories include the models and proposals of fringe science, as well as similar ideas in other areas of schola ...
. The first ''annales'' narrate the
civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
between Béla IV and his son Duke Stephen in a short sentence under the year 1267. Bácsatyai accepted this date, despite Hungarian historiography uniformly place the events from late 1264 to early 1265, since the seminal monograph of Gyula Pauler (''A magyar nemzet története az Árpádházi királyok alatt'', Vol. 1–2). Later, Bácsatyai also wrote a study for journal ''Századok'' (2020), in which he sought to support the correctness of the year 1267 with foreign chronicles (for instance, the appendix of Jans der Enikel's ''Weltchronik'') and set up a new chronology of the events, practically return to the standpoint of the pre-Pauler historiography. Zsoldos, who had previously written the history of the civil war in 2007, contested his effort and argued the narrations of certain royal charters – which make Bácsatyai's proposal unsustainable – are more reliable sources than foreign (mainly Austrian) chronicles, which contain many elements of fiction and deal only tangentially with the Hungarian civil war. The ''annales'' also call Duke Stephen's
Cuman The Cumans or Kumans were a Turkic nomadic people from Central Asia comprising the western branch of the Cuman–Kipchak confederation who spoke the Cuman language. They are referred to as Polovtsians (''Polovtsy'') in Rus' chronicles, as " ...
father-in-law as "''Semperchan''". It is possible he is identical with Seyhan (Zayhan), whom Béla IV refers to his "kinsman" in 1255. The first ''annales'' state that Andrew III was crowned king on 6 August 1290, Sunday, the feast day of Pope Sixtus II. Bácsatyai accepted the reliability of the text, while the academic standpoint traditionally set the date to 23 July based on references in the ''
Illuminated Chronicle The ''Chronicon Pictum'' or ''Illuminated Chronicle'' (, , , also referred to as the ''Illustrated Chronicle'', ''Chronica Hungarorum'', ''Chronicon Hungarie Pictum'', ''Chronica Picta'' or ''Chronica de Gestis Hungarorum'') is a medieval illust ...
'' and the ''Steirische Reimchronik'', which, however, are not free from difficulties of interpretation. Bácsatyai argued that
Andrea Dandolo Andrea Dandolo (13067 September 1354) was the 54th doge of Venice from 1343 to 1354. He was elected to replace Bartolomeo Gradenigo who died in 1342. Early life Trained in historiography and law, Dandolo studied at the University of Padua, w ...
's chronicle confirmed this data, according to which the coronation occurred during the feast of
Saint Dominic Saint Dominic, (; 8 August 1170 – 6 August 1221), also known as Dominic de Guzmán (), was a Castilians, Castilian Catholic priest and the founder of the Dominican Order. He is the patron saint of astronomers and natural scientists, and he a ...
(4 August). The historian considered the Venetian chronicle misinterpreted the information and the ceremony took place on the anniversary of the death of Dominic (6 August). Bácsatyai also analyzed the charters of Andrew III, examining the dates around which there is a change in the number of years of the king's reign, which confirm the correctness of the date in the ''annales'' (6 August). Bácsatyai also emphasized that the text notes that Andrew was "jointly and unanimously elected king by the Hungarians", which would have been an inconceivable formula in the later 14th-century chronicle composition.


Second ''annales''

The second ''annales'' (called as "Hunnic Annals" by Quéret-Podesta), are between lower four-fifths of 262 ''recto'' and upper two-thirds of 263 ''verso'' (altogether four pages). The ''annales'' narrate events from Hunnic, Avar and Hungarian history, identifying the three people as a single Hungarian nation. Regarding the Huns, the work contains notes from the period between 337 (the
Goths The Goths were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe. They were first reported by Graeco-Roman authors in the 3rd century AD, living north of the Danube in what is ...
was expelled to the
Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...
by the Huns, which marked the beginning of the
Migration Period The Migration Period ( 300 to 600 AD), also known as the Barbarian Invasions, was a period in European history marked by large-scale migrations that saw the fall of the Western Roman Empire and subsequent settlement of its former territories ...
, in fact occurred in 376) and 405 (in fact 451,
Attila Attila ( or ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in early 453. He was also the leader of an empire consisting of Huns, Ostrogoths, Alans, and Gepids, among others, in Central Europe, C ...
's marching into Aurelianum). Regarding the Avars, the ''annales'' narrate the events between 503 (in fact 562, their failed attack on
Austrasia Austrasia was the northeastern kingdom within the core of the Francia, Frankish Empire during the Early Middle Ages, centring on the Meuse, Middle Rhine and the Moselle rivers. It included the original Frankish-ruled territories within what had ...
) and 612 (the text kneads several events together, some of them already applies to the
Hungarian invasions of Europe The Hungarian invasions of Europe (, ) occurred in the 9th and 10th centuries, during the period of transition in the history of Europe of the Early Middle Ages, when the territory of the former Carolingian Empire was threatened by invasion by th ...
). From the Hungarian history, the ''annales'' refer to events from the period between 910 (the collection of several clashes of the Hungarian invasions from various years) and 1222 (the settlement of the
Dominicans Dominicans () also known as Quisqueyans () are an ethnic group, ethno-nationality, national people, a people of shared ancestry and culture, who have ancestral roots in the Dominican Republic. The Dominican ethnic group was born out of a fusio ...
in Hungary). According to the analysis of Quéret-Podesta, the Hungarian section of the second annals contains 3 notes regarding the 10th century, 14 notes from the 11th century, 8 notes from the 12th century and finally 5 notes regarding the 13th century. The original author of the second ''annales'' also utilized information from Regino of Prüm's ''Chronicon'', but instead of the early history of Christianity – as the author of the first annals acted –, he focused on the barbaric past (the history of the Hunnic and Avar people). For the outline of the history of the Huns, the author also used Bene's ''chronica maiora'' as a source and – based on the text, for instance the ''annales'' correctly refer to Attila's brother as
Bleda Bleda () was a Hunnic ruler, the brother of Attila the Hun. As nephews to Rugila, Attila and his elder brother Bleda succeeded him to the throne. Bleda's reign lasted for eleven years until his death. While it has been speculated by Jordanes th ...
instead of "Buda" – the corpus of text was definitely written before
Simon of Kéza Simon of Kéza () was the most famous Hungarian chronicler of the 13th century. He was a priest in the royal court of king Ladislaus IV of Hungary. In 1270–1271, bearing the title "master" (''magister''), Simon was part of a diplomatic mission ...
's ''
Gesta Hunnorum et Hungarorum The ''Gesta Hunnorum et Hungarorum'Reader's encyclopedia of Eastern European literature'', 1993, Robert B. Pynsent, Sonia I. Kanikova, p. 529. (Latin: "Deeds of the Huns and Hungarians") is a medieval chronicle written mainly by Simon of K� ...
'' (early 1280s). After philological research, Dániel Bácsatyai emphasized the second ''annales'' utilized the continuation of the chronicle of Regino (edited by
Adalbert of Magdeburg Adalbert of Magdeburg (c. 91020 June 981), sometimes incorrectly shortened to "Albert", known as the Apostle of the Slavs, was the first Archbishop of Magdeburg (from 968) and a successful missionary to the Polabian Slavs to the east of what was ...
) independently of the well-known Hungarian chronicles, Anonymus' ''
Gesta Hungarorum ''Gesta Hungarorum'', or ''The Deeds of the Hungarians'', is the earliest book about Kingdom of Hungary, Hungarian history which has survived for posterity. Its genre is not chronicle, but ''gesta'', meaning "deeds" or "acts", which is a medie ...
'', Simon of Kéza's ''Gesta Hunnorum et Hungarorum'' and the 14th-century chronicle composition (e.g. the ''Illuminated Chronicle''). According to Bácsatyai, the second ''annales'' are more directly related to the ''Chronicon'': the work utilized an extract from Regino's work, which was also used by a hypothetical ''gesta'' (or ''annales'') about the early Hungarian history (the invasions to Europe). This ''gesta'' became a primary source for both Anonymus and the 14th-century chronicle composition for the events in the 10th century, independently from each other. Bácsatyai argued the second ''annales'' – as the earliest example – proves that the question of Hunnic–Hungarian identity was already present in earlier Hungarian historiography, before the age of Anonymus. Regarding the section of the Hungarian history, notes until the 1160s are closely related to the text of the ''Annales Posonienses'', but the second ''annales'' gave the years much more accurately (up to a year or two differences). The work contains much less unique information than the first annals. Its narrative, however, differs significantly at several points from other chronicles, for instance the ''Illuminated Chronicle''; the late medieval chronicles, which mostly used texts written under kings descended from
Álmos Álmos (), also Almos or Almus ( 820 – 895), was—according to the uniform account of Hungarian chronicles—the first head of the "loose federation" of the Hungarian tribes from around 850. Whether he was the Sacred king, sacred ruler (''k ...
– a claimant to the Hungarian throne –, preserved an unfavorable image of King Coloman and his rule. The second ''annales'' state that after the death of Ladislaus I in 1095, Coloman returned home "peacefully" from
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
and began to rule jointly with his younger brother Álmos. The second ''annales'' are also unique in the statement that Béla I obtained the Hungarian throne with a "violent hand" against his brother
Andrew I Andrew I may refer to: * Andrew I of Hungary Andrew I the White or the Catholic ( or ; 1015 – before 6 December 1060) was King of Hungary from 1046 to 1060. He descended from a younger branch of the Árpád dynasty. After he spent fifteen y ...
in 1060; the surviving chronicles were all written during the time of the descendants of Béla I, where such a formulation of events is understandably not found. Géza I was called as "Magnus" in those parts, when the subsequent monarch was still a duke, in accordance with the inscriptions on the coins issued by Duke Géza, which well reflects the author's awareness (later chronicles, including the ''Illuminated Chronicle'', erroneously claim the king receive the epithet "Great" or "Magnus" because of his monarchical greatness after his death). One of the events in 13th century history also deserves attention: under the year 1205, there is a truncated, unfinished sentence, according to which the young Ladislaus III "was ..violently from Esztergom" and subsequently his uncle Andrew II was crowned king. It is known that the child monarch died in exile, after his mother, Constance of Aragon, fled to Austria, taking Ladislaus with her. The ''annales'' also mentioned the brief reigns of the anti-kings Ladislaus II and Stephen IV (the rivals of their nephew Stephen III). According to Bácsatyai, there are philological parallels between the second ''annales'' and
Alberic of Trois-Fontaines Alberic of Trois-Fontaines ( or ''Aubry de Trois-Fontaines''; ) (, died 1252) was a medieval Cistercian chronicler who wrote in Latin. He was a monk of Trois-Fontaines Abbey in the diocese of Châlons-sur-Marne. He died after 1252. He wrote a ch ...
's chronicle regarding the list of Hungarian monarchs.


Third ''annales''

The third ''annales'' (called as "Hungarian Annals" by Quéret-Podesta), are between 265 ''verso'' and 266 ''verso'' (altogether three pages). The earliest text of the annals – copied by the original first author – contains elements only from the Hungarian history, lasted from 1001 (the coronation of Stephen I) to 1464 (the coronation of Matthias Corvinus). The subsequent owners of the formulary book – three different handwriting can be distinguished – continued the text of the third ''annales''. The second author preserved events from the year 1490 (the death of Matthias, the coronation of Vladislaus II and the first phase of the War of the Hungarian Succession). The third author contributed to the ''annales'' with a single note: the coronation of
queen consort A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king, and usually shares her spouse's social Imperial, royal and noble ranks, rank and status. She holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles and may be crowned and anointed, but hi ...
Anne of Foix-Candale in 1502. With the most entries, the owner of the fourth handwriting added the text: the events from this section last from 1516 (the death of Vladislaus II) to 1540 (the death of John Zápolya). According to Quéret-Podesta, 14 notes deal with events from the 11th century, 7 with the 12th century, 14 with the 13th century, only 3 with the 14th century and 9 notes with the 15th century, written by the original author. The three other authors expanded the text with 2 notes from the 15th century (second author) and 5 notes from the 16th century (1 by the third and 4 by the fourth author). The text of the ''annales'' contains mostly genealogical data of the Hungarian monarchs (except a large earthquake in the year 1092). Similarly to the first and second annals, the third ''annales'' are closely related to the ''Annales Posonienses''. Thus it is plausible that all four known annals (''Annales Posonienses'' and the three annals of the Formulary Book of Somogyvár) had a common source regarding the events of the 11th and 12th centuries, an ''annales'' now lost. It is the only ''annales'' of the formulary book, which use
Arabic numerals The ten Arabic numerals (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9) are the most commonly used symbols for writing numbers. The term often also implies a positional notation number with a decimal base, in particular when contrasted with Roman numera ...
(following the year 1048). The third ''annales'' have no unique information.


Miscellaneous records

A biographical and genealogical list of the Hungarian kings – written by the first original author – can be found in two separate pages; the first part is on the lower part of the page 263 ''verso'', immediately after the end of the second ''annales''. The section continues after a blank page, in 265 ''recto''. The list contains biographical data from Béla III to Ladislaus V, but also includes Ladislaus of Naples (an unsuccessful claimant against
Sigismund Sigismund (variants: Sigmund, Siegmund) is a German proper name, meaning "protection through victory", from Old High German ''sigu'' "victory" + ''munt'' "hand, protection". Tacitus latinises it ''Segimundus''. There appears to be an older form of ...
) and his sister
Joanna II of Naples Joanna II (; 25 June 1371 – 2 February 1435) was Queen of Naples from 1414 to her death in 1435, when the Capetian House of Anjou became extinct. As a mere formality, she used the title of Queen of Jerusalem, Sicily, and Hungary. Early ...
, the last monarch of the
Capetian House of Anjou The Capetian House of Anjou, or House of Anjou-Sicily, or House of Anjou-Naples was a royal house and cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty. It is one of three separate royal houses referred to as ''Angevin'', meaning "from Anjou" in France. Foun ...
. The names of the monarchs were written in
Blackletter Blackletter (sometimes black letter or black-letter), also known as Gothic script, Gothic minuscule or Gothic type, was a script used throughout Western Europe from approximately 1150 until the 17th century. It continued to be commonly used for ...
(or Gothic) script. The author preserved the name of Andrew II as "Endre", the old Hungarian variant of his name. There are some errors in the lineage: for instance, the text incorrectly claims that Andrew III was the son of his immediate predecessor, Ladislaus IV. On the last page of historical notes (267 ''recto''), different notes can be found rejecting the authenticity of certain royal charters issued by the Hungarian monarchs. Within this, there is also a rhythmic list of kings, lasted from Stephen I (1000) to Sigismund (1437). This text contains an aid for clerks of the chancellery and places of authentication to easily navigate which kings' letters of donation are considered valid or invalid at the time the formulary book is compiled. The fourth author of the formulary book recorded some events of the Ottoman wars in the 15th and 16th centuries, which reflected his historiographical awareness. He began the chronology on the page 265 ''recto'', in the space left blank by the original author under his own work, the biographical data of the kings of Hungary. This section lasted from 1438 (the Ottoman occupation of Szászsebes, today Sebeș, Romania) to 1469 (in fact 1467, Matthias' unsuccessful invasion to
Moldavia Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially in ...
). The author continued the chronology in 264 ''verso''. It narrates the events from 1479 (the
Battle of Breadfield The Battle of Breadfield (, , ) was the most tremendous conflict fought in Transylvania up to that time in the Ottoman–Hungarian Wars, taking place on October 13, 1479, on the Breadfield near the Transylvanian Saxons, Saxon village of Șibot, ...
) to 1567 (in fact 1566, the
Siege of Szigetvár The siege of Szigetvár or the Battle of Szigeth (pronunciation: �siɡɛtvaːr ; ; ) was an Ottoman siege of the fortress of Szigetvár in the Kingdom of Hungary. The fort had blocked Sultan Suleiman's line of advance towards Vienna in 156 ...
and the death of
Suleiman the Magnificent Suleiman I (; , ; 6 November 14946 September 1566), commonly known as Suleiman the Magnificent in the Western world and as Suleiman the Lawgiver () in his own realm, was the List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman sultan between 1520 a ...
).


References


Sources

* * * * {{Refend Hungarian chronicles Medieval historical texts in Latin 15th-century history books Legal history of Hungary 15th-century books in Latin