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):

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

Cities and towns.

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

Administrative law.

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

Written communication.

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

Hungary.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (436 pages) : illustrations.

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.

Contents:

Acknowledgements

Abbreviations

List of Figures and Tables

Introduction

On This Volume

Trust and Authority

Literate Mentalities

European Frameworks

Setting the Scene

Whose Literacy? Urban Development and Urban Society in Medieval Hungary

Pragmatic Approaches to Pragmatic Literacy

Sources and Scholarship

In the First-Person Plural : Civic Literacy and Communal Identity

Royal Charters and Urban Identity

The Beginnings of Civic Literacy

Civic Literacy and Places of Authentication

Formulae and Community

The Municipal Seal : the Matrix of Identity

Communal Concerns : the Contents of Early Municipal Documents

Conclusions : Trust in Charters

From Charters to Books and Back

The Institutionalisation of Writing Offices

Municipal Books as Instruments of Civic Governance

The Material of Town Books : the Use of Paper in Administration

The Contents of Municipal Books : Thematic Differentiation

Miscellaneous Books

Financial Registers

Court Books and Judicial Administration

Municipal Books for Property Administration

Town Books and Testamentary Practice

Outlook 1 : the Beginnings of Pragmatic Literacy in Craft Guilds

Outlook 2 : Town Chronicles and Municipal Literacy

Conclusions : Trust in Municipal Books

Language and Literacy

Language on the Research Agenda

Why Not Monolingual?

Areas of Urban Life Where Language Became an Issue

Administration and Justice

External Relations

Trade and Accounting

Pastoral Care and Preaching

Medieval Urban Language Use in the Light of Sociolinguistic Research

Conclusions : Trust in Language

"In cartula scribere faciat" : the Uses of Writing between Christians and Jews

Legislation on Jews and Literacy : a Chronological Overview

Records of Urban Administration as Sources on Jewish-Christian Coexistence

Normative Legislation : Local Statutes

Administering Justice

Real Estate and Moneylending

Conclusions : Trust in Writing between Christians and Jews

From Charters to Archives

Variations on Archives

The Advent and Advantage of Civic Archives : Storage and Safekeeping

Binding Records : the Example of Sopron

Using Civic Archives

Conclusions : Trust in Archives

Final Conclusions

Appendices

Gazetteer of Names of Towns in the Medieval Kingdom of Hungary Discussed in the Book

Regnal Years of the Kings of Medieval Hungary

Documents Issued by Civic Authorities in Hungary, (1244) 1255-1305

Earliest Mentioning of Municipal Notaries (up to 1400)

The Earliest Preserved Charters of Bishops' Towns (Issued by the Municipality)

Municipal Books Started before 1500

Bibliography

Index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

2-503-57882-9