In the year 1241, a Mongol army invaded eastern Europe, ravaging Poland, Hungary, Croatia and Romania.
Climate of Doubt: A re-evaluation of Büntgen and Di Cosmo’s environmental hypothesis for the Mongol withdrawal from Hungary, 1242 CE
January 3, 2018 by
Büntgen and Di Cosmo’s recent article in Scientific Reports attempts to tackle an important historical mystery (the abrupt Mongol withdrawal from medieval Hungary). We agree with their underlying assumption that an interdisciplinary analysis of environmental and documentary resources can result in a better understanding of the events. However, some of the supporting evidence does not withstand critical examination in the context of the Mongol invasion of Hungary.
Matthias Corvinus and Charles the Bold
September 18, 2017 by
The paper investigates the diplomatic relations of Matthias Corvinus with the Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, focusing on the 1460s and ‘70s.
The sons of Eadmund Ironside, Anglo-Saxon king at the court of Saint Stephen
August 22, 2016 by
Eadmund Ironside died shortly after his agreement with Canute, King of Denmark, deciding the boundaries of his realm. His decease took place on 30th November 1016.
Climatic and environmental aspects of the Mongol withdrawal from Hungary in 1242 CE
June 20, 2016 by
The Mongol invasion of Eastern Europe, and especially its sudden withdrawal from Hungary in 1242 CE, has generated much speculation and an array of controversial theories. None of them, however, considered multifaceted environmental drivers and the coupled analysis of historical reports and natural archives.
Did People Ice Skate in the Middle Ages?
December 19, 2015 by
How did medieval people pass the time during the coldest part of the year? I came across several instances of medieval people strapping on skates and taking a twirl (or a tumble!) on the ice. Here is how it all began!
Florentine merchant companies established in Buda at the beginning of the 15th century
September 10, 2015 by
The scope of the present article is to analyze the activity of these merchant companies through various sources housed by the Florentine National Archives and place them in the context of Florentine long distance trade.
‘Spurred on by the Fear of Death’: Refugees and Displaced Populations during the Mongol Invasion of Hungar
September 6, 2015 by
Sensitized by the grim headlines which daily announce the appalling plight of twentieth-century refugees in eastern Europe, I was motivated to investigate the behavior and conditions of medieval refugees fleeing the Mongols.
Prostitution in the Medieval City
July 21, 2015 by
Prostitution was a vice that was was considered a necessary evil because of “men’s lust”. Ecclesiastics felt that if brothels weren’t available to men in cities, they would find other inappropriate outlets for their entertainment. In an effort to curb potential problems, civic officials permitted prostitution to function within the city walls so long as it was regulated and turned a profit.
Latin Grammar in the Cathedral School: Fulbert of Chartres, Bonipert of Pécs, and the Way of a Lost Priscian Manuscript
November 30, 2014 by
The starting point of the classical tradition in medieval Hungary is marked by a letter written by Bishop Fulbert of Chartres in Northern France to Bishop Bonipert of Pécs in Southern Hungary.
Renaissance Contacts Between Dubrovnik (Ragusa) and the Kingdom of Hungary
November 23, 2014 by
During the rule of the Angevin dynasty (1308-82) in Hungary, towns and cities increasingly assumed greater political influence. The first treaty between the King of Hungary and Dubrovnik (in those days Ragusa) was signed in 1358, during the reign of Louis (Lajos) the Great.
Slippery When Wet: Madness and Eroticism in the Countess Elizabeth Bathory
October 30, 2014 by
The Countess Elizabeth Bathory, a 16th century Hungarian noblewoman, is purported to have killed and bathed in the blood of 600 virgin girls
Dynastic Intrigues and Domestic Realities during the Reigns of Andrew I and Bela I
October 23, 2014 by
In the mid-1030s, the cousin of King Stephen I of Hungary, Prince Vazul (the son of Michael, the younger brother of Geza, Stephen’s father) conspired to assassinate the elderly and ailing king.
Hungary’s Conversion to Christianity: The Establishment of Hungarian Statehood and its Consequences to the Thirteenth Century
September 1, 2014 by
The Carpathian Basin occupies a peculiar place in history. It was the ground where Roman-Germanic world met that of the Slavs and mounted nomad peoples, where no group had achieved sustained unity before the state of Hungary was founded.
The Journey of Charles I, King of Hungary, from Visegrád to Naples (1333): Its Political Implications and Artistic Consequences
September 1, 2014 by
The aim of this article is to reconstruct the journey of Charles I, King of Hungary (1310– 1342), from Visegrád to Naples in the year 1333.
The Visit of King Sigismund to England, 1416
August 23, 2014 by
Though Sigismund grew up in Prague and was known elsewhere as a German prince, in England he seems to be recalled as a Hungarian knight
The Magyar Raids: Fact and Fable
August 23, 2014 by
What is important is that the movement of some 200,000 men, women and children, and maybe more, with their herds of horses; cows; camels, sheep and goats and even pigs was done in an orderly, organized fashion that needs further research.
Castle Building and Its Social Significance in Medieval Hungary
August 22, 2014 by
The history of Hungarian fortification and castle-building has been a subject of Hungarian historiography ever since the 1870s, when Bela Czobor wrote his pioneering study, “Hungary’s Medieval Castles.”
The Origins of the Tale of the Blood Drinking Hungarians
March 29, 2014 by
The motif of the covenant of blood was quite widespread in West European chronicle literature, and it was not necessarily applied to Oriental peoples, nor particularly to Hungarians.
Fortified Settlements of the 9th and 10th Centuries ad in Central Europe: Structure, Function and Symbolism
March 10, 2014 by
The structure, function(s) and symbolism of early medieval (9th–10th centuries ad) fortified settlements from central Europe, in particular today’s Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia, are examined in this paper.
Natural conditions in the Carpathian Basin of the middle ages
February 13, 2014 by
The analysis of natural conditions is a new field in Hungarian medieval research. This field could only come into existence with the spread of new sources of research, and with the need of drawing the most realistic picture of medieval living conditions with the help of more – previously ignored – data and facts. This field of research may have a special meaning as according to sources of the age, the Carpathian Basin was one of the natural Paradises of Medieval Europe.
The medieval social topography of Szeged
February 8, 2014 by
As the name historical social topography implies it comprehends the ancient location and distribution of particular groups and layers of inhabitants in a settlement.
Life in the Pauline Monasteries of Late Medieval Hungary
February 8, 2014 by
The Pauline order emerged in the second half of the thirteenth century and became one of the most popular religious communities of medieval Hungary.
Manuel II Palaeologus in Paris (1400-1402): Theology, Diplomacy, and Politics
January 20, 2014 by
The end of the fourteenth century found the Byzantine Empire in a critical state.
Floods and weather in 1342 and 1343 in the Carpathian Basin
January 15, 2014 by
Concerning weather, weather-related extremes and catastrophic consequences, 1342 was an extraordinary year in most parts of Central Europe, even in such an extraordinary decade as the 1340s. Accounting with the seven flood events (including one Danube flood) mainly of great magnitude, at present 1342 is the most important known flood year of medieval Hungary.
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