East Central Europe: Between the Baltic and the Adriatic
Since 2009, the research group Memoria Hungariae of the Institute of History of the University of Debrecen has been working on the organisation of international conferences on the history of Central Europe, the publication of volumes of studies, and the integration of the group into international research processes, thus examining the place and image of the medieval Kingdom of Hungary from a European perspective. The journal was launched after the publication in 2023 of Zwischen Ostsee und Adria then, in 2024 Zwischen Ostsee und Adria II, and in which the contemplative lives on: studies on the medieval and early modern history of Central Europe by Hungarian and foreign scholars are published in foreign languages. The international editorial board brings together the universities of Debrecen, Würzburg, Hamburg and Toruń. One issue per year is published.
University of Debrecen Faculty of Humanities
All articles submitted to East Central Europe: Between the Baltic and the Adriatic will be published under Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial (CC-BY-NC-4.0).
Political, Cultural, Religious and Economic Transformations in the 15th and 16th Centuries
This conference delved into a significant period in European history: the transition from the medieval to the early modern era. The specific experiences of Hungary, Poland, Italy, the Baltic East, and the Balkans were profoundly shaped by their proximity to the expansionist Ottoman Empire and geographical location...
Copyright (c) 2025 East Central Europe: Between the Baltic and the Adriatic https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
Báthori family and Mohács and the History of Nyírbátor from 1279 to 1847
The Báthoris and Mohács conference and the book launch for The History of Nyírbátor from 1279 to 1847 were organized by the MNMKK MNM István Báthori Museum (Hungarian National Museum Public Collection Center – Hungarian National Museum István Báthori Museum), the Municipality of Nyírbátor, and the Circle of Friends of the Museum on 25 September...
Tünde, Árvai – Katona, Csete (eds.), Medievisztikai Vándorkonferencia. Tanulmányok 2. (Studia Mediaevalia Itinerantia). Debrecen, Debreceni Egyetem Történelmi és Néprajzi Doktori Iskola, 2025. ISBN: 9789634907244
Itinerantes... The conference of doctoral students conducting research on the Middle Ages travels from city to city, from university to university. The itinerary started in Szeged in 2023, then it moved to the doctoral school of the University of Debrecen. The second volume of the Studia mediaevalia itinerantia series, edited by Tünde Árvai and Csete Katona, contains 11 studies, nine in Hungarian and two in English. There is a growing expectation that the scholarly achievements of Hungarian researchers should be embedded in a broad international discourse. At the same time, it has become a basic requirement of most Hungarian doctoral schools that their doctoral students publish their results in foreign languages before their dissertations to be submitted for public defense. Sometimes this is justified by the choice of topic itself, and at times by the need for making Hungarian research results available for comparative European studies...
Quellenerschließungsarbeiten am Beispiel des Herzoglich Preußischen Briefarchivs (HBA)
The Ducal Prussian Letter Archive (HBA) can be compared in its historical significance to the Vatican Archives or the great dynastic archives of Europe. It represents the continuation of the Order’s Letter Archive (OBA). Like its predecessor, the HBA primarily preserves unbound records. Charters are rarely to be found among these holdings; instead, the collection largely consists of incoming and outgoing correspondence, financial accounts, reports, and so-called “news” (Zeitungen). Outgoing correspondence has often survived in the form of drafts, which are palaeographically demanding. Closely connected to the HBA is a series of books known as Registranden or letter-books, which contain copies of both incoming and outgoing correspondence. As these have generally been transmitted exclusively in written form, they can be of considerable value for archival research. The Registranden belong to the so-called “East Prussian Folios” (Ostpreußische Folianten, abbreviated Ostpr. Fol.), which continue chronologically after the “Order Folios” (Ordensfolianten, abbreviated OF). The HBA is organized into departments (A–K) according to geographical and thematic pertinence. These departments are subdivided numerically, alphanumerically, or by means of lowercase letters (e.g., A.1. or J.1b). With approximately 117 linear meters of material, Department A ranks among the most extensive sections of the HBA.
continuation of the Order’s Letter Archive
Wirtschaftliche Ungleichheit oder ausgewogene Beziehungen. Das Königreich Ungarn im europäischen Wirtschaftssystem
The economic division of labour in Europe from the second half of the fifteenth century onwards is clearly visible. Western European historiography focuses primarily on the Atlantic region and Western Europe in its portrayal of the globalising economic system, while Central Europe is very often treated as peripheral. However, this cannot be confirmed by the relevant historical sources. The regions of the Carpathian Basin participated in the continental economic cycle mainly with raw materials, live animals and semi-finished products. Nevertheless, at the beginning of the early modern period, Central Europe and the Hungarian regions were indispensable partners of the Western European regions rather than vulnerable markets. The period from the second half of the fifteenth century to the first half of the seventeenth century was the last period of (early) modern history in which a more or less balanced system of relations still connected the regions above mentioned. This does not, of course, contradict the part of the classic centre-periphery model that states that the regions of Western and Central Europe had different production profiles from the fifteenth century onwards. While the former had a clear advantage in craft production, the latter concentrated mainly on agricultural products and mining raw materials. Nevertheless, it should be emphasised that in the first half of the early modern period, every region was still able to participate in multilateral trade with numerous goods that other regions needed. None of the regions became the exclusive consumer market for the other. Mutual dependence can be demonstrated in almost all bilateral interregional relationships.
Some Notes on the Putsch Map (“Europa Regina”) and Its Depiction of Southeastern Europe
This paper examines a series of anthropomorphic maps depicting Europe in the form of a woman, now collectively referred to as Europa Regina. The first such map was created by Johannes Putsch of Innsbruck (1516–1542) as a visual accompaniment to his poem Europa Lamentans, dedicated to Archduke Ferdinand I of Habsburg and his brother, Charles V. The concept gained widespread popularity through adaptations of Putsch’s map, including a more detailed version by Matthias Quad and Johann Bussemacher, printed in Cologne in 1587, and two smaller, simplified versions featured in Heinrich Bünting’s Itinerarium Sacrae Scripturae (1587) and Sebastian Münster’s Cosmographia (1588). Previously, the earliest known version of Putsch’s map was thought to have been printed in Paris in 1537. However, in 2019, an earlier edition printed in 1534 – now kept in the Retz Museum in Lower Austria – was (re)discovered. Along with describing this map and the circumstances of its rediscovery, this presentation will examine the representation of the south-eastern regions of the European continent in Putsch’s map and its derivatives. It is suggested that Putsch, in addition to drawing from Ptolemaic geography, was probably familiar with Lázár Deák’s Tabula Hungariae (1528).
Europäische und ungarische Peregrinatio academica im 15. und 16. Jahrhundert
This study explores the evolution of academic peregrination in Europe during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, with a particular focus on students from the Kingdom of Hungary. It examines how the expansion of universities and the impact of the Reformation reshaped student mobility across the continent. In the fifteenth century, the rise of regional universities led to a decline in international student migration, although Italian institutions like Padua, Bologna, and Ferrara remained popular for legal and medical studies. Hungarian students, lacking domestic universities, pursued education abroad, primarily in Vienna and Krakow, and also in Italy and France. The sixteenth century brought significant changes due to confessional divisions. Protestant students increasingly attended newly founded or reformed institutions such as Wittenberg, Marburg, and Heidelberg, while Catholic students gravitated toward Jesuit-led universities like Graz, Dillingen, and Ingolstadt. Confessional loyalty influenced university choice, with restrictions imposed by rulers to ensure ideological conformity. Hungarian academic peregrination mirrored broader European trends. While Wittenberg became the leading destination for Hungarian Protestants, Vienna and Padua remained important centers for Catholic students. The study draws on extensive archival sources, including rectoral registers and academic databases (RAG, RAH), to trace student movements and institutional preferences. Ultimately, the research highlights how geopolitical, religious, and cultural factors shaped the academic journeys of Hungarian students within the dynamic landscape of early modern European higher education.
Balancing between Loyalties The Teutonic Order Bailiwick of Utrecht and the Formation of the Dutch State, 1528–1648
During the Dutch Revolt, the Teutonic Order Bailiwick of Utrecht found itself caught between two fires: the rebels and the legitimate authority of the Spanish king, who had been sovereign of the Netherlands since Charles V expanded his Burgundian inheritance with a few territories and loosened the Burgundian Circle from the Holy Roman Empire, transferring it together with the Spanish possessions to his son Philip II. While at first the fiction was maintained that the battle was not against the king himself but against his evil advisers, with the abjuration of Philip II in 1581 that was over. The rebellious area became a republic of independent provinces, increasingly Calvinistic in character. From then on, the province of Utrecht had authority over the Bailiwick of Utrecht. This institution, under the leadership of the fiercely Catholic Land Commander Jacob Taets van Amerongen, resisted the push for Protestantization. He also remained loyal to the Habsburg Grand Master of the Teutonic Order and in 1594 he sent knights to Hungary to fight the Turks, whom the Dutch actually viewed as allies. This created a security problem for the new state. In 1615, the States of Utrecht decided that the next land commander and also new knights should be Protestant. In 1640, the Protestantization process was finished with the abolition of celibacy, which marked a break with the Grand Master. Henceforth, the Utrecht Teutonic knights were Protestant, mostly married nobles, who functioned as politicians or army officers in the Dutch Republic. This state was recognized at the Westphalian Peace in 1648, including by the Spanish king.
The Papal State and the Birth of the Modern Fortress: Innovation in Military Construction between the Late Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period
Transformations from the fifteenth to the sixteenth centuries, particularly focusing on the emergence of the angular bastion trace. It argues that this “modern style” of fortification was not merely a response to advances in weaponry but a generative force that reshaped political communities, especially evident in the Papal States. Drawing on Paolo Prodi’s seminal work, the study highlights how these military innovations contributed to the Papal States becoming a prototype of the early modern State. The analysis traces the evolution of papal fortification policy from the mid-fourteenth century, examining initiatives under Cardinal Albornoz and subsequent popes, including significant projects like Rocca Pia and Matteo Nuti’s designs. The “Borgia moment” under Alexander VI is emphasized as a period of unprecedented quantitative and qualitative innovation, characterized by a centralized defensive network and cutting-edge architectural advancements, notably at Nettuno. The essay then details the continuity of this strategic vision under Julius II and Clement VII, despite periods of conflict, illustrating the ongoing integration of military infrastructure with broader state-building objectives. Finally, it notes that this intense period of design and construction preceded the formal codification of fortification treatises, underscoring a unique channel of knowledge transmission.
Bauernkrieg in Franken 1525Grundzüge – Begriffe – Ressourcen
The term “Peasants’ War” generally refers to the events of 1524/25, when peasants and citizens in Switzerland, Upper Swabia, Württemberg, Austria, Tyrol, Thuringia, and Franconia dared to revolt against their feudal lords. The respective regional and local concerns played an important role that should not be neglected in a generalized account of the events, but there were also commonalities: a strong anti-clerical movement developed, particularly in areas where monasteries, abbeys, and other ecclesiastical landlords were strongly positioned. The lords’ control over the local and, in some cases, centuries-old special rights of peasants, citizens, and knights became stronger, and the conflicts with them became more intense. The mostly oral local laws of villages and noble lordships were pushed back in favor of the new written state law based on Roman law. The rebels operated in a diverse and fragmented landscape of various territorial rulers in Franconia, which made it difficult for them to take concerted action. This area is defined by a complex conglomerate of different rulers, towns, castles, and monasteries. Is this complexity of different rulers in a small region with open borders one of the causes of the uprising? Specifically, the following topics are addressed: Wine growing and vineyard workers, the deliberate destruction of vineyards, the ownership of mills, in general the natural resources and their use by humans, as well as the importance of the ‘community’ (gemein) in cities and towns, whose quartermasters had significant political influence in times of uncertainty. These would be intangible resources of social and political coexistence within the framework of city districts. This meant that conflicts in the Peasants’ War are focused on various natural, economic, social, and religious resources, which defined the respective scope for action, which took place in narrowly defined areas.
Ein böhmischer Ritter an der Epochenwende: Peter Doudlebský von Doudleby (* vor 1492, † 1550)
The study is dedicated to the remarkable personality of Peter Doudlebský of Doudleby (b. before 1492, d. 1550). A member of a South Bohemian knightly family, he devoted his life to serving the Lords of Rosenberg. As their official, gradually rising to the top of the Rosenberg bureaucratic hierarchy, he was in constant contact with a large number of aristocrats and was also very well informed about events not only in the Kingdom of Bohemia, but also in other parts of the then known world. He used his contacts for generous lending. He multiplied his wealth by investing in loans, which he constantly expanded by using all available funds, including interest income. Doudlebský’s activities anticipated the behaviour of later financiers from the lower nobility, but at the same time his lifestyle also had some unusual features. He showed no interest in building up his own land holdings; on the contrary, he sold the estates he had inherited from his ancestors. Peter remained unmarried and childless, so he did not have to worry about providing for his descendants. He bequeathed only half of his estate to his relatives; the other half went to members of the last generation of the Rosenberg family, to whom he was personally attached. Thanks to the preserved inventories, it is possible to gain an insight into Peter’s household, the composition of which provides a number of insights into his personality. The sources suggest that he spent his leisure time hunting game and catching birds. Otherwise, there is not a single reference to the knight’s literary interests, suggesting a “practical” rather than an intellectual dimension to his personality.
Under the Shadow of Vendetta: Decision-making Situations in the Story of Anselmo and Angelica
The factional struggles for position and influence were truly defining historical events in medieval Italian towns for decades. Families such as the Uberti, Donati and Cerchi of Florence or the Bentivogli and Marescotti of Bologna fought each other. The background and the cause of these struggles were recorded in the thirteenth–fifteenth-century Italian narrative sources. The chapters on revenge (vendetta) and other acts of violence are very important and valuable parts of the mentality of that age. The descriptions, which inform us about the resolution of conflicts and reconciliation provide essential information about the authors’ views of the factional conflicts. In medieval Siena, the Salimbeni were one of the most powerful families. During the fourteenth century they fought against the Tolomei, the Malavolti and the Piccolomini factions. In the meantime, the Senese popolo excluded these clans – the so called casati – from the main officies to insure the pax urbana. In my presentation, I will examine the fight between the Salimbeni and Montanini families as well as the turning-points in the story of the reconciliation of this struggle. According to the Annali sansei, a bloody, factional conflict broke out between these two influential families in 1394. This chronicle describes that the struggle led to many casualties, leaving only one young man, Carlo, in the male line of the Montanini family. Instead of continuing to fight, the two sides made peace the following year. According to the fifteenth century author of the chronicle of Siena, the solution to the conflict was a marriage between the members of the opposing families, Anselmo Salimbeni and Carlo’s sister Angelica Montanini. Anselmo’s choice between vendetta and peace symbolised a turning point in the city’s politics. In my lecture, I will examine how this case might be interpreted by analysing its particular features.
The Last Year of the Hospitallers’ Rule on Rhodes
Early in 1523, the Hospitallers had to leave Rhodes with a small number of ships, after a long siege by the Ottoman forces under Sultan Soliman I. The Hospitaller rule on Rhodes and the Dodecanese had been endangered at least since the middle of the fifteenth century, but the Order had successfully resisted both the sieges by the Mamluks in the 1440s and by the Ottomans in 1480. The paper discusses the perception of a growing danger for Rhodes after the fall of Belgrade (1521) and the measures taken by the Order, based on the surviving registers from the years 1521/1522. While regular administration continued, the new Grand Master fr. Philippe Villiers de l’Isle-Adam who reached Rhodes in September 1521 had to handle the situation. The appeals to the Emperor, the Kings of England and France, the Pope and others set aside, fr. Villiers focussed on strengthening the fortifications, gathering supplies and monies and revising the Order’s contingent on Rhodes. Internal problems were mostly overcome, but without relief from the Western powers who were at war with each other, the Order finally had to surrender.
A Strange Year: 1513 viewed from the East
Years that come before (in particular) or after an annus mirabilis as usually neglected, even though it stands to reason that major events have both origins and impact that exceed strict chronological limitations. 1513 is one of those years: “the eve” of the crusade/rebellion that spread through the eastern parts of the Kingdom of Hungary in 1514. The developments outlined in this short essay are potentially indicative for the policies of the three major neighbours of Jagiello Buda: Vienna, Krakow and Constantinople. Two “events” stand out in this regional framework ad annum 1513: an invented Ottoman-Tartar-Wallachian invasion of Transylvania and a failed – Habsburg-sponsored – Moldavian princely wedding. After crushing the opposition in Asia Minor, Selim I was asserting his power in Europe. Sigismund I Jagiello had to secure his borders against perils from all sides. Maximilian I of Habsburg still attempted to be Christendom’s “unifying spider”. In-between theme, Wladislaw II Jagiello had more down-to-earth concerns. The same applied, for Bogdan III, the vassal in fact of four mentioned monarchs (even though he did not accept Sigismund as suzerain and Maximilian was only de iure co-king of Hungary). Bogdan had one major problem (which had led to war between him and Sigismund, as his and Wladislaw’s youngest sister, Elisabeth, had not become his wife): the lack of a prestigious spouse. This is what Maximilian attempted to sort precisely at a time when Wladislaw’s envoys were claiming, outside of the Hungarian kingdom, that “the Wallachian” too had invaded Transylvania.
Diplomacy at the Time of the Breakthrough. Correspondence of King John I Albrecht (Jan Olbracht) with the Grand Masters of the Teutonic Order
This article discusses letters written by King John I Albert to the Grand Masters of the Teutonic Order and other recipients, preserved in the archives of the Teutonic Order. The first of these was sent by the prince, who sought the support of Grand Master Johann von Tiefen during the election of 1492. Most of the correspondence concerns the king’s relations with Tiefen’s successor, Duke Frederick of Saxony. The first problem was Frederick’s refusal to swear an oath of allegiance, which he consistently refused to do. The second important issue was the fight against the Turks, with the king demanding help from the Teutonic Order. The Grand Master’s brother, Duke Georg of Saxony, whose wife was the Polish king’s sister Barbara, was also involved in Polish diplomatic activities. Thirteen letters from the short reign of John Albrecht (1492–1501) were discussed, including their subject matter, form, and accompanying seals.
Distancing or Breaking? The Relation of the Hungarian Hospitaller Priory to the Central Convent of the Order in the late Middle Ages
In the course of recent historiography it has been debated that the Hungarian-Slavonian Hospitaller priory became detached from the Order’s central convent in Rhodes by the late Middle Ages: local Hospitallers failed to pay the regular taxes and other dues, they disregarded the centrally appointed priors, and elected their superiors locally. More recently, it has even been suggested that the Hungarian-Slavonian priory, known as the Priory of Vrana, may have also broken away from the administrative structure of the Order. Based on international analogies of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the article argues that despite the loosening of the administrative burdens, the Hungarian-Slavonian priory remained an integral part of the Order of the Hospital. Several other priories and bailwicks of the Order showed similar features in the period under query. The author argues that the internal changes of the Hospital, inter alia, the growing independence of the bailiwicks forced the Convent to react: the intensity of visitation manifestly increased in the fifteenth century. On the other hand, one of the most serious constraints that retained the Hungarian priory in the Order was the exemption/privilege that functioned as a basis of the Order’s economy, which the local knights could not renounce.
On the Manifold Identities of John Corvinus
According to the wishes of his father, King Matthias, John Corvinus should have become king of Hungary (the ideal dynastic case) or at least king of Bosnia (and maybe Croatia), in agreement with the House of Habsburg. Nothing came of it, as it is well-known. The co-king of Bohemia, Ladislaus II Jagiellon, was elected king of Hungary and John had to concede defeat and, gradually, “make a living” at the borders of the Ottoman Empire. By mid-1497, John Corvinus had reached agreements with Maximilian I of Habsburg, king of the Romans and co-king of Hungary, and with the Republic of Venice, becoming a citizen and a noblemen of the “strange ally” of late Matthias. John, however, did not renounce his allegiance to Ladislaus II, as the rightful (de iure) king of Hungary. As a result, for the final seven years of his life (1497–1504), John Corvinus seemingly had three “masters”: Ladislaus, Maximilian and Venice. The presentation aims to explore the impact of these political ties on the (royal) territories under the administration of John Corvinus and on his “other family”, by marriage (since 1496), the Frankopans (the Frangepans).
René d’Anjou in the Twilight of an Era: Last Prince or a “Roi Imaginé”
The launch of the Italian campaigns and the entry of Charles VIII into Naples in 1494 is a traditional political turning point in French history, on the border between the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period. This foreign political expansion was, of course, due to a number of things, one of which was the takeover of the Angevin inheritance, paved by the death of René of Anjou in 1480. However, the lord of Anjou and Provence was not only a great prince of this period, but his life’s work often crossed the sometimes blurred line between reality and imagination. The kingdoms of the dynastic legacy of the past, never possessed or long lost by the end of the fifteenth century, were revived again in his hands but in many ways for the last time. The presentation will seek to explore the imaginative elements of René’s figure and the extent to which these were perpetuated for a new, “unified” kingdom of France. As he proudly stated in his title: was the King of Jerusalem, Sicily and Hungary really one of the last counts of medieval France or was he already the prince of a new world?
Machtverhältnisse in Europa an der Wende vom 15. zum 16. Jahrhundert
At the turn of the fifteenth to the sixteenth century, Europe experienced profound upheavals that affected politics, society, culture and religion alike. After the population decline caused by the plague and wars, growth began again. Trade, commerce and agriculture flourished, particularly as a result of the overseas discoveries made by Spain and Portugal. Politically, early absolutist structures emerged in Western Europe: in France, England, Spain and Portugal, the influence of the nobility was curtailed in favour of strong monarchies. At the same time, these powers became increasingly expansionist in their foreign policy. In the Holy Roman Empire, however, the situation was more complex: internal conflicts such as the Hussite Wars and ecclesiastical tensions weakened central authority. It was not until Maximilian I that reforms were introduced with the Imperial Chamber Court and Imperial Circles, although the emperor had only limited power. Italy remained politically fragmented, and rival city-states and foreign powers prevented lasting stability. After the Hundred Years’War, France pursued expansion plans in Burgundy and Italy, while in Hungary, after the death of Matthias Corvinus, dynastic ties secured the Habsburgs’; long-term access to Bohemia and Hungary. Culturally, the Renaissance and Humanism shaped the era. New universities – especially in German-speaking countries – and the invention of printing contributed significantly to the spread of knowledge. At the same time, the Church fell into a deep crisis due to the sale of offices, the indulgence trade and the moral decline of the clergy, which intensified calls for reform. The House of Habsburg, especially under Frederick III and Maximilian I, gained increasing influence through marriage politics and territorial security. The Habsburgs thus laid the foundation for their supremacy in Europe and shaped the balance of power at the beginning of the early modern period.
Marktstädte in Ungarn an der Grenze zwischen Mittelalter und Früher Neuzeit
In the late Middle Ages, two principal types of market and agrarian towns can be distinguished in the Kingdom of Hungary: on the one hand, the lowland settlements, characterized by extensive animal husbandry and the possession of large tracts of land; on the other, the viticultural towns situated in hilly regions. The transition from the fifteenth to the sixteenth century – particularly the watershed moment of the Battle of Mohács in 1526, when the Ottoman advance brought about the military and political disintegration of the medieval Hungarian kingdom – had comparatively little immediate impact on most of these urban centers, especially those oriented toward pastoral production. Indeed, the sixteenth century largely reinforced their established developmental trajectory. The pattern proved more complex in the case of viticultural market towns. Syrmia (the hilly region around Fruška Gora, in present-day Serbia), which constituted the most important wine-producing area of medieval Hungary, was transformed into a frontier zone of the Ottoman Empire and thereby exposed to recurrent incursions. The ensuing insecurity prompted a significant outmigration of vintners and wine producers from the region into the interior of the kingdom. As a consequence, viticulture in Syrmia declined, while other centers, most notably the Tokaj region, experienced rapid expansion. From the sixteenth century onwards, Tokaj emerged as a leading center of Hungarian wine production, ultimately eclipsing Syrmia in both productivity and reputation.