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Machtverhältnisse in Europa an der Wende vom 15. zum 16. Jahrhundert
9-20Views:17At 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.
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Wirtschaftliche Ungleichheit oder ausgewogene Beziehungen. Das Königreich Ungarn im europäischen Wirtschaftssystem
261-276Views:15The 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
213-228Views:12This 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
193-212Views:12This 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. -
Quellenerschließungsarbeiten am Beispiel des Herzoglich Preußischen Briefarchivs (HBA)
277-290Views:27The 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. -
A Strange Year: 1513 viewed from the East
67-82Views:12Years 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.