Trust, authority and the written word in the royal towns of medieval Hungary / Katalin Szende.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Szende, Katalin, author.

Series:

Utrecht studies in medieval literacy ; 41.

Utrecht studies in medieval literacy ; 41

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Administrative law--Hungary--History--To 1500--Sources.

Administrative law.

Cities and towns--Hungary--History--To 1500--Sources.

Cities and towns.

Written communication--Hungary--History--To 1500--Sources.

Written communication.

History.

Hungary--History--1000-1699--Sources.

Hungary.

Genre:

History.

Sources.

Physical Description:

xx, 416 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Turnhout, Belgium : Brepols, [2018].

Summary:

This book is the first comprehensive overview of how written administration was established in the royal towns of medieval Hungary. Using the conceptual framework of trust and authority, the volume sheds light on the growing complexity of urban society and the impact that the various uses of writing had on managing this society, both by the king and by the local magistrates. The present survey and analysis of a broad range of surviving sources reveals that trust in administrative literacy was built up gradually, through a series of decisive and chronologically distinct steps. These included the acquisition of an authentic seal; the appointment of a clerk or notary; setting up a writing office; drawing up town books; and, finally, establishing an archive from the assemblage of collected documents. Although the development of literacy in Hungarian towns has its own history, the questions posed by the study are not unlike those raised for other towns of medieval Europe. For instance, both the gradually increasing use of various vernaculars and the controversial role of writing in Jewish-Christian contacts can be meaningfully compared with similar processes elsewhere. The study of Central European towns can therefore be used both to broaden seemingly disparate research frameworks and to contribute to studies that take a more general approach to Europe and beyond.

This book is the first comprehensive overview of how written administration was established in the royal towns of medieval Hungary. Using the conceptual framework of trust and authority, the volume sheds light on the growing complexity of urban society and the impact that the various uses of writing had on managing this society, both by the king and by the local magistrates. The present survey and analysis of a broad range of surviving sources reveals that trust in administrative literacy was built up gradually, through a series of decisive and chronologically distinct steps. These included the acquisition of an authentic seal; the appointment of a clerk or notary; setting up a writing office; drawing up town books; and, finally, establishing an archive from the assemblage of collected documents.0Although the development of literacy in Hungarian towns has its own history, the questions posed by the study are not unlike those raised for other towns of medieval Europe. For instance, both the gradually increasing use of various vernaculars and the controversial role of writing in Jewish-Christian contacts can be meaningfully compared with similar processes elsewhere. The study of Central European towns can therefore be used both to broaden seemingly disparate research frameworks and to contribute to studies that take a more general approach to Europe and beyond.

Contents:

Whose Literacy? Urban Development and Urban Society in Medieval Hungary p. 25

Pragmatic Approaches to Pragmatic Literacy p. 44

Sources and Scholarship p. 49

2 In the First-Person Plural: Civic Literacy and Communal Identity p. 61

Royal Charters and Urban Identity p. 62

The Beginnings of Civic Literacy p. 67

Civic Literacy and Places of Authentication p. 72

Formulae and Community p. 84

The Municipal Seal: The Matrix of Identity p. 87

Communal Concerns: The Contents of Early Municipal Documents p. 107

Conclusions: Trust in Charters p. 115

3 From Charters to Books and Back p. 121

The Institutionalisation of Writing Offices p. 121

Municipal Books as Instruments of Civic Governance p. 134

The Material of Town Books: The Use of Paper in Administration p. 140

The Contents of Municipal Books: Thematic Differentiation p. 148

Misceliancous Books p. 149

Financial Registers p. 157

Court Books and Judicial Administration p. 164

Municipal Books for Property Administration p. 176

Town Books and Testamentary Practice p. 181

Outlook 1 The Beginnings of Pragmatic Literacy in Craft Guilds p. 185

Outlook 2 Town Chronicles and Municipal Literacy p. 189

Conclusions: Trust in Municipal Books p. 197

4 Language and Literacy p. 203

Language on the Research Agenda p. 203

Why Not Monolingual? p. 206

Areas of Urban Life Where Language Became an Issue p. 218

Administration and Justice p. 218

External Relations p. 223

Trade and Accounting p. 225

Pastoral Care and Preaching p. 229

Medieval Urban Language Use in the Light of Sociolinguistic Research p. 234

Conclusions: Trust in Language p. 244

5 "in cartula scribere faciat" - The Uses of Writing between Christians and Jews p. 249

Legislation on Jews and Literacy - A Chronological Overview p. 250

Records of Urban Administration as Sources on Jewish-Christian Coexistence p. 259

Normative Legislation - Local Statutes p. 259

Administering Justice p. 262

Real Estate and Moneylending p. 266

Conclusions: Trust in Writing between Christians and Jews p. 279

6 From Charters to Archives p. 287

Variations on Archives p. 288

The Advent and Advantage of Civic Archives: Storage and Safekeeping p. 292

Binding Records: The Example of Sopron p. 306

Using Civic Archives p. 314

Conclusions: Trust in Archives p. 318.

ISBN:

2503578810

9782503578811

OCLC:

1049910783