Tanulmányok
Inquisitor John Capistrano and Franciscan Dissent
In the past few decades a new approach based on historical criteria and devoid of preconceptions has gained ground in the study of the Inquisition, one that examines its subject within the relations of the given era. It assumes the study of orthodoxy as well as that of the inquisitors' education and values. With these considerations in mind it is worth rereading the activity as an inquisitor of John Capistrano, a notable figure of Franciscan observance, against the heresy of the Italian Fraticelli. The sources reveal that in the first half of the 15th century Franciscan preachers were often found in the forefront of the battle against heresy. Acting in the interests of papal policy, they were stern yet fair-minded in many cases. After the prosecution and the trial had ended, they settled in the territories affected and played an important role in the everyday reconversion process. It must be emphasized that the Inquisition is not a static legal construction but, beside its constant elements, it varies across place and the time. The second part of the paper discusses the conflict between John Capistrano and the unfrocked Filippo Berbegal, stressing that the latter cannot be regarded as a Fraticello. Their dispute and Berbegal's condemnation by the Pope highlights the conflict between the ideal of poverty and the obedience to the Pope, which Capistrano and other Observants meant to bridge.
The Ambivalent Model of Solomon for Royal Sainthood and Royal Wisdom
The paper first describes an early medieval ideal with lasting popularity: the cult of Solomon as a biblical model for kingship, and above all for royal wisdom. Starting with Carolingian "mirrors for princes", it follows the evolution and late medieval triumph of this model and elaborates upon two late medieval examples: the cult of St. Louis of France and Robert the Wise of Naples. The second part of the study points out, however, that the historical development of this model was not a linear evolution but one that was hindered, throughout the Middle Ages, by several detours. Two examples are presented: the history of the "unwise" King Solomon of Hungary, who – despite the fact that the cult of Solomonic wisdom had also been present in 11th-century Hungary thanks to Saint Stephen's Admonishments to his son Emeric – himself did not live up to this model, and lost his kingdom to his cousins. The ambivalent late medieval cult of his person as a saint also portrays him rather as a loser – this type is analyzed in the context of the models of royal sainthood. In the final part, the ambivalence of Solomon's medieval image is described by tracing the "esoteric", "dark" aspects of his wisdom, his alleged magical expertise, his familiarity with and mastery over the demons and his dubious fame in medieval magical literature.
Hermits in 11th-century Hungary
In the first half of the 11th century, Hungarian monasticism, which was just about to take shape, was subject to influences from many parts of Europe: by German, Italian and Kievan eremitism. It is widely known that the church of the Holy Roman Empire played an important part in the development of the Hungarian church system and monasticism. The Lotharingian monastic reform reached Hungary through Bavarian monasteries. As far as Italy is concerned, after 1004 Bruno of Querfurt visited Hungary twice trying to convert the population. He set out on his mission from the colony of hermits in Pereum. In the second decade of the 11th century, a group of hermits was sent to Hungary by Saint Romuald. The hermits living in the vicinity of Nyitra, just like St. Gellért, who had come from Venice, followed the Italian eremitic tradition.
The third direction from where eremitic life received incentives was the territory of Byzantine Christianity, and most of all Kiev, which provided the population for two hermit colonies in Hungary under Andrew I. Even though eremitism in Hungary were inspired by three different regions in the first half of the 11th century, these were easily connected. It is a characteristic feature of 11th-century Hungarian eremitism that it was always closely connected to monastic communities. In the neighborhood of the monasteries, the hermits did not live alone, in solitude but rather smaller hermit colonies were formed. Complete seclusion was not part of eremitism in 11th-century Hungary, and it was often connected to proselytism and church organization as well as apostolic life.
The veneration of hermits living at the beginning of the 11th century is noticeable as early as the second half of the century. Three of them were even canonized in 1083. In spite of this, by the end of the 11th century almost nothing was heard of the presence of eremitic life in Hungary. Even those two hermits, who had lived in the vicinity of Nyitra, were not canonized because of their ascetic life but rather because Saint Ladislaus held them in high esteem. The Hungarian church reform of the early 12th century did not support eremitic life, it exclusively meant to propagate monastic communities. The consequences, marked by the foundation of the eremitic order of the Pauline Fathers, became noticeable from the beginning of the 13th century.
Emperor Sigismund in Gubbio
Sigismund was crowned emperor in Rome on May 31, 1433. Then he left Rome to return to the empire. One of the places where he stopped during this journey (Romfahrt) was Gubbio. Despite the fact that Sigismund's itinerary has been reconstructed many times, his stay in Gubbio is practically unknown in both Hungarian and international literature, which is mostly attributable to methodological reasons. The reconstruction of an itinerary usually starts with checking the dates of the charters issued during the journey. But the traveler could have turned up at places where he did not issue any charters at all, or even if he did those may have not survived or remained unknown. This is what happened in the case of Sigismund and Gubbio.
Using previously unexplored sources, town chronicles, account books and correspondence, the paper describes the entry and the provision of the new emperor and his suite, including the costs which were fully covered by the town. Other aspects of the visit are also discussed, including commissions to various artists and craftsmen, feasts and merrymakings as well as the diseases members of the entourage suffered from partly as a result of these.
The paper ends with the publication of the records from the town account books concerning the visit of Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund.
Saint Elizabeth, Saint Guglielma and the Hungarian Royal Origin as a Topos in Italy
The paper describes how fictional Hungarian dynastic origin was ascribed to saints in Italian literature in the 13–16th centuries. As André Vauchez pointed out, the royal origin of a saint is often a literary-hagiographic fiction; the article analyzes some Italian case studies in order to understand this mechanism. The basis of Hungarian dynastic descent can be found in Saint Martin.s Pannonian origin and in the cult of the saints of the Árpád dynasty, primarily Saint Elizabeth of Hungary (1207–1231).
In the case of Guglielma, fictional Central European origin plays a double part. On the one hand, Guglielma of Milan (+1281/82) was believed to be a Bohemian princess (and cousin of Elizabeth of Hungary), on the other, literary tradition later mixed up her name and some of her attributes with those of the innocently accused queen in the well-known legend (the Saint Guglielma legend). Barbara Newman recently investigated the connection between the two traditions, emphasizing the role of the Visconti family. The paper makes an attempt to demonstrate that the Bohemian origin of Guglielma of Milan is most probably a mere hagiographic topos and that some of the details in certain versions of the Saint Guglielma legend were added later (in the 15–17th century) to the text, and have no historical basis whatsoever.
Saint Elizabeth, Saint Guglielma and the Hungarian Royal Origin as a Topos in Italy
The paper describes how fictional Hungarian dynastic origin was ascribed to saints in Italian literature in the 13–16th centuries. As André Vauchez pointed out, the royal origin of a saint is often a literary-hagiographic fiction; the article analyzes some Italian case studies in order to understand this mechanism. The basis of Hungarian dynastic descent can be found in Saint Martin.s Pannonian origin and in the cult of the saints of the Árpád dynasty, primarily Saint Elizabeth of Hungary (1207–1231).
In the case of Guglielma, fictional Central European origin plays a double part. On the one hand, Guglielma of Milan (+1281/82) was believed to be a Bohemian princess (and cousin of Elizabeth of Hungary), on the other, literary tradition later mixed up her name and some of her attributes with those of the innocently accused queen in the well-known legend (the Saint Guglielma legend). Barbara Newman recently investigated the connection between the two traditions, emphasizing the role of the Visconti family. The paper makes an attempt to demonstrate that the Bohemian origin of Guglielma of Milan is most probably a mere hagiographic topos and that some of the details in certain versions of the Saint Guglielma legend were added later (in the 15–17th century) to the text, and have no historical basis whatsoever.
Information Explosion and Paradigm Shift in Bulgaria (885–970)
The two technical terms mentioned in the title and appearing frequently in the literature are used in the paper to describe the fundamental changes Bulgaria went through between 885 and 970. Due to the information explosion Bulgaria joined a new cultural and religious community via Christianization. Slavic literacy and Slavic language liturgy made Bulgaria a source of religious and cultural mission (for the Orthodox Slavs and Romanians). The information explosion was completed by paradigm shifts, which finalized the special properties of Bulgarian cultural and religious life. As a consequence of these two processes, the special features of the Bulgarian ethnos as well as its administration emerged. As a result, cultural and religious traditions were created, which enabled the Bulgarians to preserve their national and cultural identity throughout their history.
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