54/11 2017 mvsei ensis MINISTERUL CULTURII ȘI IDENTITĂȚII NAȚIONALE MUZEUL NAȚIONAL DE ISTORIE A TRANSILVANIEI ACTA MVSEI NAPOCENSIS 54 HISTORICA II 2017 CLUJ-NAPOCA 2018 EDITORIAL BOARD: STEPHEN FISCHER-GALAȚI (Colorado University, SUA), KONRAD GUNDISCH (Institutul de Cultură și Istorie a Germanilor din Europa de Est, Oldenburg, Germania), IOAN-AUREL POP (Academia Română, Universitatea Babeș-Bolyai), MARIUS PORUMB (Academia Română, Institutul de Arheologie și Istoria Artei, Cluj-Napoca), VALENTIN ȘERDAN-ORGA(Biblioteca Centrală Universitară „Lucian Blaga”, Universitatea Babeș-Bolyai), NICOLAE SABĂU (Universitatea Babeș-Bolyai), TUDOR SĂLĂGEAN (Muzeul Etnografic al Transilvaniei, Cluj-Napoca), TORBAGY MELINDA (Muzeul Național Maghiar, Budapesta), RUDOLF DINU (Institutul Român de Cultură și Cercetare Umanistică, Veneția), IOAN DRĂGAN (Arhivele Naționale din România) , Ioan Bolovan (Institutul de Istorie „George Bariț”, Universitatea Babeș-Bolyai) EDITORIAL STAFF: HORAȚIU BODALE, CLAUDIA M. BONȚA, MELINDA MITU, OVIDIU MUNTEAN - editor in charge ENGLISH TRANSLATION: CARMEN BORBELY FOTO: SERGIU ODENIE, AUTORII COVER: TOROK KÂROLYI ON THE COVER: Three-colored scarf carried by Professor Ioachim Crăciun at the National Assembly in Alba Iulia on December 1, 1918, as an official delegate of the Cristian-Sibiu area FOUNDER: CONSTANTIN DAICOVICIU MUZEUL NAȚIONAL DE ISTORIE A TRANSILVANIEI ISSN 1454-1521 ACTA MVSEI NAPOCENSIS Publicație a Muzeului Național de Istorie a Transilvaniei. Corespondența se va adresa: Muzeul Național de Istorie a Transilvaniei, 400020, Cluj- Napoca, str. C. Daicoviciu, nr. 2, Tel/fax: 004 0264 591718; Tel: 004 0264 595677. email: secretariat@mnit.ro ACTA MVSEI NAPOCENSIS Publication of the National History Museum of Transylvania. All correspondence will be sent to the address: National History Museum of Transylvania, 400020 Cluj-Napoca, Constantin Daicoviciu St. no. 2, Tel/fax: 004 0264 591718; Tel: 004 0264 595677. email: secretariat@mnit.ro Editura Argonaut Cluj-Napoca Str. Ciucaș nr.5/15 www.editura-argonaut.ro ISBN 978-973-109-858-6 CONTENTS Studies ALEXANDRU MADGEARU Further considerations on Hierotheos’ mission to the Magyars......................................................1 VICTOR V. VIZAUER Ethnic Nicknames (Sobriquets) in Transylvania during the 13th - 14th Centuries... 17 MIHAI-FLORIN HASAN About a Theft of Oxen from Solnoc County (1353)............ 40 PAULA VIRAG General Aspects regarding The Jews in Satu Mare County at the end of the 18th Century.....................................................53 ROBERT OLAH GAL Petru Pipoș (1859 - 1913), The First Romanian Mathematician, Doctor of Mathematical Sciences in Cluj ..............................63 NICOLAE TEȘCULĂ The Order of Good Templars in Transylvania’s Saxon towns at the beginning of the 20th Century................................................68 HORAȚIU BODALE The Units of Transylvanian Romanian Volunteers in Italy (1917 - 1919).79 OVIDIU MUNTEAN Feminine Personalities in The Service of The Great Union. Sidonia Docan - The Secretary of The Romanian National Senate of Transylvania (4 nov. 1918 - 4 jan. 1919)................................................................ 98 VERONICA TURCUȘ, ȘERBAN TURCUȘ The First Secret Contacts for The Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between The Holy See and The Kingdom of Romania in 1918..................... 136 LEVENTE BENKO The Supreme Protest: Self-Immolation. In Memory of the former Student from Cluj, Marton Moyses (1941-1970), a Victim of The Communist Dictatorship....148 MELINDA MITU Fin-de-siecle Ceramics from the Collections of the National Museum of Transylvanian History................................................162 CLAUDIA M. BONȚA A Selective Overview of The Activity of The History Department from The National Museum of Transylvanian History in Cluj-Napoca 2013-2016... 173 Reviews and Presentations MARIN IOSIF BALOG Vasile Dobrescu, Adrian Onofreiu, Din istoricul instituțiilor de credit din județul Bistrița-Năsăud [On the History of Loan Institutions in Bistrița-Năsăud County] (1873-1940), Cluj-Napoca, Edit. Argonaut, 2018, ISBN, 978-973-109-759-6, 304 pp...........................................................................181 MARIN IOSIF BALOG Volker Wollmann, Un mileniu și jumătate de minerit aurifer la Roșia Montană [A Millennium and a Half of Gold Mining at Roșia Montană], București, DAR Development Publishing, 2017, ISBN 978-606-94409-0-2................. 187 CONTRIBUTORS 193 ALEXANDRU MADGEARU1 FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS ON HIEROTHEOS’ MISSION TO THE MAGYARS Abstract: The considerations on the date of the mission of bishop Hierotheos and the location of the territory mastered by the Magyar chief Gylas are resumed to examine the significance of the church discovered at Alba Iulia in 2011. The interpretation is the same: Hierotheos was sent in 948. Ending attacks and creating discord among chiefs were the goals of the mission, which must be seen in the context of the Byzantine diplomacy. The bishopric of Tourkia became afterwards a metropolitanate. Gylas was ruling between Mureș, Criș and Tisza, where there is a concentration of gold coins issued in that period, and of pectoral crosses dated in the 10th century. If he had been living in Transylvania, it could be difficult to explain the paganism of his descendent defeated by Stephen I in 1003. This Gylas was not the uncle of the one from 1003. The territory of Transylvania is a white spot in the description of De Administrando Imperio, and the gold coins of Constantine VII are also missing. The four crosses from the cemetery “Izvorul Împăratului” in Alba Iulia are simple testimonies for the presence of Christians. The rotonda discovered in 1973 could be the chapel of the ruler of the Romanian-Slavic voievodate dominated by Bulgaria. It has analogies in Moravia, dated in the 9th century. The church discovered by D. Marcu Istrate in 2011 is that partially uncovered by R. Heitel, called Ia. Its building at the middle of the 10th century is not supported by the archaeological context, being also possible a date after 1003, as siege of a bishopric included in the metropolitanate of Tourkia, replaced then by the church Ib, of Latin rite. Keywords: Hierotheos, Constantine VII, Gylas, Alba Iulia, Tourkia 1 Ph. D., Senior researcher, Institute for Defence Studies and Military History, Bucharest, amadgearu@yahoo.com 2 Alexandru Madgearu * In several previous studies2 I expressed my opinion about the controversial issue of the location and purpose of the Christianization mission among the Magyars led by the monk Hierotheos. The reason why I resume now this discussion is the discovery, in 2011, of a church at Alba Iulia, which was immediately connected with that mission by the author of the excavations, and by other researchers. It was seen as a remarkable and definitive solution to the problem. However, is it really so? In the following pages I will expose again in a condensed form my interpretation of the literary, archaeological and numismatical sources, and then I will try to find out how this new discovery fits or not into the aforementioned data. The first problem is the chronological framework of the mission briefly mentioned by Ioannes Skylitzes and Ioannes Zonaras. The monk Hierotheos was appointed bishop of Tourkia when the Magyar chief Gylas visited Constantinople, receiving the title of patrikios. He was preceded by other two chiefs, Boulosoudes and Termatzous, who were also mentioned by Constantine Porphyrogenitus (the emperor does not remember Gylas or the Christianization mission)3. Gylas (Djila) and 2 Alexandru Madgearu, Misiunea episcopului Hierotheos. Contribuții la istoria Transilvaniei și Ungariei în secolul al X-lea, Revista Istorică, SN, 5, 1994, 1-2, p. 147- 154; Idem, Transylvania and the Bulgarian Expansion in the 9th and 10th Centuries, ActaMN, 39-40, 2002-2003 (2005), II, p. 41-61; Idem, The Romanians in the Anonymous Gesta Hungarorum. Truth and Fiction, Cluj-Napoca, 2005, p. 97-98; Idem, A. Madgearu, The mission of Hierotheos: location and significance, ByzSlav, 66, 2008, p. 119-138; Idem, Misiunea episcopului Hierotheos în contextul diplomației bizantine, in I. A. Pop, J. Nicolae, O. Panaite (eds.), Sfântul Ierotei, episcop de Alba Iulia (sec. X), Alba Iulia, 2010, p. 69-94. 3 Ioannes Scylitzes, Synopsis historiarum, recensuit I. Thurn (CFHB. Series Berolinensis, V), Berlin, New York, 1973, p. 239 (Jean Skylitzes, Histoire des empereurs de Byzance, traduction francaise par B. Flusin, notes par J.-C. Cheynet, Paris, 2003, p. 202); loannes Zonaras, Epitomae Historiarum, vol. III, ed. Th. Buttner- Wobst, Bonn, 1897, p. 484 (XVI. 21. 14-19); Constantine Porphyrogenitus, De Administrando Imperio. Greek text edited by Gy. Moravcsik. English translation by R. J. H. Jenkins. New, Revised Edition (Corpus Fontium Historiae Byzantinae, Series Washingtoniensis, I), Washington DC, 1967, p. 178/179 (c. 40). Further Considerations on Hierotheos’ mission 3 Boulosoudes (Vulsudi) were also mentioned among the seven Magyar chiefs existing in the year 942, in the writing of the Arab historian Ibn Hayyan, who found it out from a prisoner in Spain. With reference to Djila, this author stated that it was the name given to the highest rank4. The year when Gyula came to Constantinople was usually considered to be 952 or 953, because the event was not recorded in De Administrando Imperio, finished in 948-952. This is not a too substantial argument, because that work was mainly based on older pieces of information. The single more recent event recorded in De Administrando Imperio is just the visit of Bulcsu and Gylas5. For this reason, the analysis of the chronicle of Ioannes Skylitzes remains the most appropriate way to establish the chronological framework. The clue is the new date ascribed to the visit of Olga: 946, not 954 or 9576. The visit of Olga is inserted in the chronicle between that of Termatzous and Boulosoudes, and the next one of Gylas. On the other hand, the first visit is mentioned just after the coronation of Romanos II as co-emperor in the spring of 946. The time span between the two visits was not too long, and it could be inferred that the visit of Gylas was related to the expiration of the five years peace agreement established after the invasion of 9437. Gylas was willing to continue the alliance with the empire. Therefore, the most suitable date for the mission of Hierotheos is 948. The second problem is the significance of the visit and of its outcome. We should be aware that such events must be seen in the wider perspective of the Byzantine grand strategy and diplomacy, and that the 4 Gyorgy Gyorffy, Dual Kingship and the Seven Chieftains of the Hungarians in the Era of Conquest and the Raids, A Orient Hung, 47, 1994, 1-2, p. 96-97. 5 James Douglas Howard-Johnston, The De Administrando Imperio: a re-examination of the text and a re-evaluation of its evidence about the Rus, in M. Kazanski, A. Nercessian, C. Zuckerman (eds.), Les Centres proto-urbains russes entre Scandinavie, Byzance et Orient, Paris, 2000, p. 325. 6 Constantin Zuckerman, Le voyage d’Olga et la premiere ambassade spagnole â Constantinople en 946, Travaux et Memoires, Centre de Recherche d'Histoire et Civilisation Byzantines, Paris, 13, 2000, p. 647-672. 7 Ioannes Skylitzes, Synopsis..., p. 231 (Romanos Lekapenos, 37); (Jean Skylitzes, Histoire..., p. 195); Panayotis Antonopoulos, Byzantium, the Magyars Raids and their Consequences, ByzSlav, 54, 1993, 2, p. 260-263; Ferenc Makk, Ungarische Aussenpolitik (896-1196) (Studien zur Geschichte Ungarns, 3), Herne, 1999, p. 13. 4 Alexandru Madgearu mission of Hierotheos was something out of the ordinary, because such missions usually concerned sedentary peoples who sometimes had even an incipient urban life (Bulgaria, Moravia, Serbia, the Kievian Russian state, or the Alans). The nomadism was usually seen as incompatible with the Christian religion8. On the other hand, contrary to other missions directed to the supreme chief of a people, Hierotheos was sent to Gylas, who ruled only over a part of the Magyars, as wrote Zonaras. The purpose was to split the Magyar confederacy of tribes and to find allies, in order to prevent future attacks in the Byzantine Empire, like that of 943, and the conversion to Christianity of at least a part of the enemies could lead to such effect9. The same monk Theophanes could have been the person who suggested the idea of conversion, in 943. If two Magyar chiefs came to Constantinople before the end of the five years peace agreement, it could be supposed that they searched for a special treatment in comparison with the supreme ruler Faisz, in order to strengthen their power. The second visit of 948 was the reaction of another chief, who wished similar or even greater advantages. More realistic, Gylas chose Christianity and the alliance with the empire. This alliance was needed by Constantine VII because there were troubled years for the northern policy of the Byzantine Empire, caused by the rising of the Pechenegs. This prompted the Byzantine Empire to conclude the alliance with Olga in 946, and it is known that the Pechenegs were also the enemies of the Magyars. There were thus two parallel actions, both directed to peoples who had a common enemy. In the case of Bulcsu and Gylas, the purpose was twofold: to create discord between the supreme chief (kende) and the chiefs who received Byzantine support, and to prevent other Magyar attacks. Hierotheos was appointed bishop of Tourkia. In the work of Constantine Porphyrogenetus, Tourkia was the land crossed by the rivers Tisza, Toutis (Bega?), Timiș, Mureș and Criș, which begins at the Iron Gates and which is separated from Bulgaria by 8 Jonathan Shepard, Spreading the Word: Byzantine Missions, in C. Mango (ed.), The Oxford History of Byzantium, Oxford, 2002, p. 243. 9 Mârta Font, Missions, Conversions, and Power Legitimization in East Central Europe at the Turn of the First Millenium, in F. Curta (ed.), East Central & Eastern Europe in the Early Middle Ages, Ann Arbor, 2005, p. 283-284. Further Considerations on Hierotheos’ mission 5 the Danube10. This region was of the greatest interest for the empire, because it was connected to the Morava valley, a way to Thessaloniki. Yet, because Constantine VII knew that the Magyars also lived in other regions, it seems that Tourkia concerned the entire territory peopled by Magyars by the middle of the 10th century, described with more details in its eastern part11. Therefore, it could be supposed that the title of bishop of Tourkia concerned all the regions peopled by Magyars and that his missionary action was theoretically directed to all the tribes. Skylitzes called Gylas archon ton Tourkon because he supposed that only a supreme ruler could receive the mission. He ignored that gylas was only the second after the kende. The attempt to end the Magyar attacks by the alliance with Gylas was successful only for a short time, because new such invasions are again attested between 959 and 97012. However, few years after the mission to Gylas, in 954, a group of Magyar (Tourkoi) warriors fought in the Byzantine forces in northern Syria13. They could have been his subjects. The third problem is the identity of Gylas. Gyorgy Gyorffy supposed that Gylas was only the title of the person mentioned by Skylitzes and Zonaras, and that his real name was Zombor, the son of Horca14. The identification with Horca is uncertain, because it was proposed only as a consequence of the alleged location of this Gylas in Transylvania, a point of view which is denied by other historians, and which is also denied in the present study, as it follows. It is otherwise 10 Constantine Porphyrogenitus, De Administrando..., p. 176/177-178/179 (c. 40). 11 P. Antonopoulos, Byzantium..., p. 264-265; Sândor Laszlo Toth, The Territories of the Hungarian Tribal Federation around 950 (Some Observations on Constantine VII's "Tourkia"), in G. Prinzing, M. Salamon (eds.), Byzanz und Ostmitteleuropa 950-1453. Beitrăge zu einer Table-Ronde des XIX International Congress of Byzantine Studies, Copenhagen 1996 (Mainzer Veroffentlichungen zur Byzantinistik, 3), Wiesbaden, 1999, p. 31-33; F. Makk, L'ensemble du pays de Turkie, Chronica. Annual of the Institute of History, University of Szeged, 3, 2003, p. 13-16, 19-20. 12 Gyula Moravcsik, Byzantium and the Magyars, Budapest, 1970, p. 55. 13 Lâszlo Balogh, The Turks in the Vita Sancti Athanasii Athonitae. Vardariota-Turks or Hungarians ?, Chronica. Annual of the Institute of History, University of Szeged, 9- 10, 2009-2010, p. 24. 14 G. Gyorffy, Landnahme, Ansiedlung und Streifzuge der Ungarn, AHistHung, 31, 1985, 3-4, p. 264. 6 Alexandru Madgearu true that the word gyula/gylas was then still applied to the dignity of the highest military commander of all the Magyar tribes. This means that the second visit to Constantinople was made by the second person in the ranks of the confederation of tribes, the archon ton Tourkon, as it was called by Skylitzes. His name is unknown. The need for alliance means that at least one of the Magyar chiefs was ruling in a region from whence the attacks came. Because the main direction was the Morava valley, it is very probable that the region was somewhere on the Tisza valley, not west of the Danube. The region could be identified by mapping the gold and silver coins issued between 948 and 959 obtained by gifts by the tribe of Gylas. They are concentrated in a small area, in the Csongrâd and Bekes counties15. No such coin was discovered in Transylvania. The concentration is in agreeement with the distribution of the pectoral crosses discovered in the areas dominated by the Magyars in the 10th century. Most of them are from the same counties16. Therefore, the archaeological researches are indicating the place of the missionary activity in the region west of the mouths of Mureș and Criș. Since the mission involved contacts with Byzantium and more specifically payments in gold for the allies, their spreading could define the area ruled by Gylas. It is not a mere coincidence that in this area there is a town Gyula, in the county of Bekes. The oldest record of the name (in 1313) is Julamonostora17. 15 Lâszlo Kovâcs, Munzen aus der ungarischen Landnahmezeit. Archăologische Untersuchung der arabischen, byzantinischen, westeuropăischen und romischen Munzen aus der Karpatenbecken des 10. Jahrhundert, Budapest, 1989, p. 31, 32, 41, 45-46, 61, 62, 67, 72, 73, 77, 91, 173; Csanâd Bâlint, Sudungarn im 10. Jahrhundert (Studia Archaeologica, 11), Budapest, 1991, p. 118-120; Gyula Kristo, Early Transylvania (895-1324), Budapest, 2003, p. 64-65. 16 See the finds with bibliography in A. Madgearu, The mission..., p. 136-138 and Idem, Misiunea episcopului Hierotheos în contextul ..., p. 91-93. Updated data and maps at Adâm Bollok, Byzantine missions among the Magyars during the later 10th century ?, in M. Salamon, M. Woloszyn, A. Musin, P. Spehar (eds.), Rome, Constantincple and Newly converted Europe. Archeological and Historical Evidence, volume II, Krakow- Leipzig-Rzeszow-Warszawa, 2012, p. 134-136. 17 Kâroly Mesterhâzy, Die Beziehungen zwischen Byzanz und dem fruhmittelalterlichen Ungarn im Lichte der materiellen Kultur, in Mitteldonaugebiet und Sudosteuropa im fruhen Mittelalter. Zbornik referătov z kolloquia, Bratislava, 1995, p. 76. Further Considerations on Hierotheos’ mission 7 After having considered these three controversial problems, one could easily notice that the location of the ruler who received the mission has a simple solution: Hierotheos was sent to baptize the subjects of a Magyar chief who bore the title of gylas and who ruled in the region bordered by the rivers Mureș, Criș and Tisza. The purpose of the mission was to prevent new attacks coming from there. This conclusion remains undisputed, because no supplementary evidence appeared against it, from the archaeological researches18. The bishopric of Tourkia survived (three bishops, Theophylaktos, Antonios, and Demetrios are known by their lead seals), and it was even transformed into a metropolitanate after 1018, when Basil II reorganized the eparchies after the destruction of the Bulgarian state (a metropolitan bishop of Tourkia, Ioannes, is attested in 1028). This metropolitanate subordinated to the Constantinopolitan church covered the entire area of the Hungarian kingdom, including Transylvania. It was even supposed by Istvân Baân and Șerban Turcuș that Morisena, Biharia and Alba Iulia were its suphragane bishoprics19. 18 For other historians who supported this solution, see A. Madgearu, The mission..., p. 130. After the publication of this study, Tudor Sălăgean, Transilvania și părțile vestice în secolul al X-lea și misiunea episcopului Hierotheos, Altarul Reîntregirii, Universitatea Alba Iulia, Facultatea de Teologie Ortodoxă, serie nouă, 15, 2, 2010, p. 19-23 expressed his agreement, with the observation that the problem is not yet solved. My interpretation did not convince instead Aurel Dragotă (Graves with ceremonial and worship objects from the King’s Spring necropolis in Alba lulia, Alba County, Slovenskâ Archeologia, 65, 2017, 1, p. 163) who continues to maintain that: “As I was faithfully saying in 2006, the Byzantine mission started by Gylas’ baptism, took place in Transylvania, more precisely in Alba Iulia. Today this fact is surer, and can also be proven by surrounding archaeological discoveries.”. See also A. Dragotă, Aspecte de multiculturalitate spirituală. Rit și ritual funerar în Transilvania și Europa Centrală și de Sud-Est (secolele IX-XI), Alba Iulia, 2006, p. 39-44; Idem, Bălgradul în jurul anului 1000. Repere istorice și arheologice: aspecte funerare în secolele X-XI, in I. A. Pop, J. Nicolae, O. Panaite (eds.), Sfântul..., p. 279-287; Idem, Dovezi ale misiunii bizantine la Alba Iulia (secolul al X-lea), Transilvania, Sibiu, s.n., 47 (123), 2018, 4, p. 89-96. My point of view was discussed by some of the participants at the conference on Hierotheos (Alba Iulia, 20th-21st October 2009), where I could not take part due to personal reasons. The organizers insisted on my submission of the study prepared for the conference. I thank them again for this opportunity. 19 Istvân Baân, The Metropolitane of Tourkia. The Organization of the Byzantine Church in Hungary in the Middle Ages, in G. Prinzing, M. Salamon (eds.), Byzanz..., p. 45-53; Șerban Turcuș, Sfântul Gerard de Cenad sau despre destinul unui venețian în 8 Alexandru Madgearu There is, nevertheless, another opinion with respect to the location of Gyula in Transylvania. This theory has had a long tradition in Hungarian and especially in Romanian historiography, being sometimes supported without a critical examination or even mention of the opposite point of view20. According to this theory, the chief mentioned by Skylitzes was the father of princess Sarolt, who in her turn was supposed to be Christian. Gyula (Minor), the son of Zombor, who was defeated in 1003 by Stephen I, was certainly pagan, as results from the accounts about this war. The expression noluit esse Christianos cannot concern the Orthodox faith, as some historians have wrongly stated21, because jurul anului O Mie, București, 2004, p. 115-119; Eva Revesz, Die erste byzantinische Oberpriestern Turkias. Hierotheos, Theophylaktos, Antonios, Demetrios, loannes, in P. Panajotov, V. Panayotov, G. Balazs (eds.), Studia Hungaro-Bulgarica, III, Shumen, Szeged, 2014, p. 55-68; Lâszlo Koszta, Byzantine Archiepiscopal Ecclesiastical System in Hungary ?, in The Carpathian Basin, the Hungarians and Byzantium (Acta Universitatis Szegediensis, Opuscula Byzantina, 11), Szeged, 2014, p. 128-133. 20 For the bibliography, see A. Madgearu, Misiunea episcopului Hierotheos. Contribuții..., p. 148; Idem, The mission..., p. 131. Recent works sustaining the Transylvanian location: Gâbor Kiss, Les influences de l’eglise orthodoxe en Hongrie aux Xe-Xllle siecle, Specimina Nova. Pars Prima. Sectio Mediaevalis. Dissertationes Historicae collectae per Cathedram Historiae Medii Aevi Modernorumque Temporum Universitatis Quinqueecclesiensis, Pecs, 4, 2007, p. 61-64; Mihai Blăjan, Descoperiri paleocreștine în bazinul mijlociu al Mureșului (secolele 1I-X), in I. A. Pop et alii (eds.), Sfântul..., p. 276; Vasile Mărculeț, "Terra Ultrasilvana" în secolul al X-lea, ActaMP, 31-32, 2009-2010, p. 15-18; E. Revesz, Die Siegel der Bischcfe von Turkia und die Rolle der Orthodoxie um das erste Millennium im Konigreich Ungarn, in M. Bolom- Kotari, J. Zouhar (eds.), Cogito, scribo, spero. Auxiliary Historical Sciences in Central Europe at the Outset of the 21th Century, Hradec Krâlove, 2012, p. 95-96; Gâbor Barabâs, The Christianization of Hungary, in J. Dobosz, J. Strzelczyk, M. Matla (eds.), Chrystianizacja „Mlodszij Eurcpy", Poznan, 2016, p. 118; A. Dragotă, Graves..., p. 164, 173. See also the history of the Hierotheos problem at Jan Nicolae, De dignitate memoriae. Sfântul episcop misionar Hierotheos și noimele istorice ale canonizării sale, in I. A. Pop, J. Nicolae, O. Panaite (eds.), Sfântul..., p. 100-157. 21 Ștefan Pascu, Voievodatul Transilvaniei, vol. I, Cluj, 1971, p. 73; Gheorghe Anghel, Cetățile medievale de la Alba lulia, Apulum, 13, 1975, p. 247-248; Imre Boba, Transylvania and Hungary. From the Times of Almos and Atpăd to the Times of King Stephen, in K. Benda et alii (eds.), Forschungen uber Siebenburgen und seine Nachbarn. Festschrft fur Attila T. Szabo und Zsigmond Jako, I, Munchen, 1987, p. 31; Horia Ciugudean, Catalogul expoziției "Anul 1000 la Alba 1ulia - între istorie și arheologie", Alba Iulia, 1996, p. 11; Ioan Aurel Pop, Românii și maghiarii în secolele Further Considerations on Hierotheos’ mission 9 the believers of the Greek rite were never considered so by the Latins, not even after the schism of 1054. It is a major mistake to consider that “schismatic” and “pagan” are equal terms. At that time the distinction between the eastern and western Churches was not yet in operation. Gyula Minor and his sons were heathen, and more specifically unwilling to be converted22. On the other hand, it was supposed that king Stephen I received his name at the baptism in the memory of his christened grandfather Gyula who became Stephen23, but now it is sure that this name was given because Saint Stephen was the patron of the Passau bishopric, involved in the conversion of duke Vajk and Sarolt by Bruno, the bishop of Mainz, who was sent by the emperor Otto I to duke Geza in 97324. Tenth century pectoral crosses were found in Transylvania only in two places. One is Dăbâca, where one such piece dated largely in the 10th-11th centuries was found in the area of the fortified settlement, without a certain context, which means that it could also be ascribed to the period following the conquest of Stephen I25. The other place is the 10th century cemetery researched by Mihai Blăjan and next by the team of Aurel Dragotă at Alba Iulia, in the spot Izvorul Împăratului. IX-XIV. Geneza statului medieval în Transilvania, Cluj-Napoca, 1996, p. 144; V. Mărculeț, "Terra Ultrasilvana"..., p. 19-20. 22 The same conclusion at Nicolae Dănilă, Episcopul bizantin Hierotheos la Alba Iulia ?. , in I. A. Pop et alii (eds.), Sfântul..., p. 196. 23 G. Moravcsik, Byzance et le christianisme hongrois du Moyen Âge, Corso di cultura sull'arte ravennate e bizantina, 16, 1969, p. 328; Richard Marsina, Christianization of the Magyars and Hungary between the East and the West, Studia Historica Slovaca, 19, 1995, p. 44. 24 R. Marsina, Christianization..., p. 45-47; Marianne Saghy, , Aspects de la christianisation des Hongrois aux IXe-Xe siecles, in P. Urbanczyk (ed.), Early Christianity in Central and East Europe (Congress of Commission Internationale dHistoire Ecclesiastique Comparee, Lublin, 2-6 sept. 1996), I, Warszaw, 1997, 58; Eadem, The Making of the Christian Kingdom in Hungary, in P. Urbanczyk (ed.), Europe around the year 1000, Warszawa, 2001, 455-456; M. Font, Missions..., p. 287. 25 Nicolae Gudea, Călin Cosma, Crucea-relicvar descoperită la Dăbâca. Considerații privind tipologia și cronologia crucilor-relicvar bizantine din bronz, cu figuri în relief, descoperite pe teritoriul României, EphNap, 8, 1998, p. 273, 284 (it was discovered in a pit dug for a pillar, in a point on the opposite bank of the river Lonea which borders the fortification). 10 Alexandru Madgearu According to the most recent report, four crosses were found in the graves 10, 24, 30 and 81. One of them is a local product, simpler than those coming from the Byzantine and Bulgarian workshops, while three are bronze reliquary crosses of Latin type26. This discovery does not mean by itself that the mission of Hierotheos was responsible for the existence of these Christians, if we admit that Bălgrad belonged to the region were Romanians survived after the retreat of the Roman administration, and if we admit that these Romanians were Christians. This is the simplest explanation for the presence of some crosses in a cemetery dated before and after the penetration of the Magyars in that region. Moreover, now it is clear that Bălgrad was the center of a territory dominated by Bulgaria, which was interested in the exploitation of salt and perhaps of gold from the Apuseni Mountains. The domination of a Christian state enabled the survival of the local Christians. Since no proofs concerning relations of this region in Transylvania with the Byzantine Empire by the middle of the 10th century exist, the simple presence of few crosses at Alba Iulia could signify only that the population or a part of it was Christian when the Magyars came there. A Byzantine mission directed to a territory already Christianized makes no sense. This fact should be understood by those who still believe that Hierotheos was sent in Transylvania, because this would imply that no Christians lived there before his mission. If we put on a map the regions mentioned in De Administrando Imperio, we will see that what is now Transylvania was a white spot surrounded by regions where some data, even scarce, are given (Moravia to the north, Patzinakia to the east, Bulgaria to the south, Tourkia to the west). This means that those who compiled the work finished around 952 knew nothing about the area supposed to be the same with that where Hierotheos arrived soon before. Transylvania is a white spot also when we put on the map the Byzantine coins issued around the time when the mission of Hierotheos was sent to the Magyars. The situation presented in my previous studies is still the same: the gold coins of Constantine VII are entirely spread outside Transylvania. Those Magyars who were living in what will be later called Terra Ultrasilvana 26 M. Blăjan, Descoperiri..., p. 274; A. Dragotă, Graves..., p. 165-173. Further Considerations on Hierotheos’ mission 11 had no documented connections with the Byzantine Empire after the withdrawal of the Bulgarian domination over the salt mines areas. Geula or Jula, as he is mentioned by Simon of Keza and in the 14th century chronicles, was a Magyar chief who was the holder of the title of gylas, the real conqueror of Terra Ultrasilvana. According to my interpretation, he first conquered the voievodate centered in Cluj led by Gelou, and then followed the advance to the southern voievodate of Bălgrad. This happened in the 930’s27. The Magyar conqueror of Bălgrad ruled over an isolated land peopled by Romanians and Slavs, whose remarkable testimony of existence and survival is the name Bălgrad itself28. The placename proves not only the Bulgarian domination, but also the presence of the Romanians in that area in the 9th-10th centuries. Otherwise, they would have borrowed the Hungarian name Gyulafehervăr, which appeared in the 11th century, like in other cases of Transylvanian town names. The borrowing of this Bulgarian name in the Romanian language was possible only if Romanians took it before the Magyar conquest, and more precisely before the reign of that Gyula who was defeated by Stephen I and who was the namesake of Gyulafehervăr. The single material proof for the location of the territory where Hierotheos was sent was supposed to be the so-called rotonda discovered by Radu Heitel in 1973 in a place near the western side of the Catholic cathedral of Alba Iulia. The rotonda consists in a circular structure inherited from a Roman tower, modified by the construction of an apse on the eastern side. The interior diameter of the round part is of circa 5 27 A. Madgearu, The Romanians... , p. 89-105. 28 Details in A. Madgearu, Transylvania..., p. 55-56, with previous bibliography. For later discussions on the Bulgarian domination in Transylvania, see, for instance: Ioan Marian Țiplic, Transylvania in the Early Middle Ages (7th -13th century), Alba lulia, 2006, p. 44-46; A. Dragotă, Aspecte..., p. 29-31; Valeri Yotov, The Bulgarian control over the Salt way in Transylvania during the 9th century (archaeological evidence), in V. Nikolov, K. Bacvarov (eds.), Salt and gold: The role of salt in prehistoric Europe. Proceedings of the international symposium (Humboldt-Kolleg) in Provadia, Bulgaria, 30 September-4 October 2010, Provadia-Veliko Tărnovo, 2012, p. 323-331; I. M. Țiplic, Aspecte de ritual funerar în necropola medieval timpurie de la Orăștie Dealul Pemilor X2, Banatica, 23, 2013, p. 230-231. 12 Alexandru Madgearu m. The stratigraphy makes it clearly datable before the 11th century29, but does not exclude an earlier date, in the 9th century, as the same R. Heitel has observed in another study30. However, the usual interpretation is that the rotonda was the church of Hierotheos31. A somewhat different opinion is that the rotonda was built during the reign of another Gyula, who departed from the Tisza region to Transylvania after 971, the moment when the restoration of the Byzantine administration at the Lower Danube enabled religious contacts with the Magyars. In this variant, Gyula was the father of Sarolta32. If instead it is dated earlier, in the 9th century, the rotonda could be connected with the ruler of that Romanian-Slavic polity which was under Bulgarian domination during the second half of the 9th century and in the first decades of the 10th century. The building of a princely small round chapel in the last third of the 9th century, after the conversion of Bulgaria, is not excluded. The source of influence was in this case Great Moravia, a state that had economic and perhaps religious relations with the Transylvanian space. 29Radu Robert Heitel, Contribuții la problema genezei raporturilor feudale în lumina cercetărilor arheologice de la Alba Iulia, MN, 2, 1975, p. 346-350; Idem, Die Archăologie der Ersten und Zweiten Phase des Eindringens der Ungarn in das innerkarpatische Transilvanien, Dacia, NS, 38-39, 1994-1995, p. 417, 427. 30 Idem, Unele considerații privind civilizația din bazinul carpatic în cursul celei de-a doua jumătăți a secolului al IX-lea în lumina izvoarelor arheologice, SCIVA, 34, 1983, 2, p. 103. This idea was shared by G, Anghel, Alba lulia, București, 1987, p. 65, 84 and by me. 31 Mircea Rusu, The Autochthonous Population and the Hungarians on the Territory of Transylvania in the 9th-11th Centuries, in Relations between the Autochthonous Population and the Migratory Populations on the Territory of Romania, București, 1975, p. 207; Idem, Les formations politiques roumaines et leur lutte pour l'autonomie, RRH, 21, 1982, 3-4, p. 380; G. Anghel, Alba..., p. 21; Vasile Moga, De la Apulum la Alba lulia. Fortificațiile orașului, București, 1987, p. 79-80; Gheorghe Petrov, Considerații asupra unor biserici medievale cu plan central din Transilvania, ActaMN, 33, 1996, II, p. 38; H. Ciugudean, Catalogul..., p. 3. 32 Cs. Bâlint, Sudungarn..., p. 121; K. Mesterhâzy, Der byzantinisch-balkanische Handel nach Ungarn im 10.-11. Jahrhundert im Spiegel der Grăberfunden, in Acta Universitatis Szegediensis de Attila Jozsef Nominatae. Opuscula Byzantina, 9 (Byzance et ses voisins. Melanges â la memoire de Gyula Moravcsik â loccasion du centieme anniversaire de sa naissance), Szeged, 1994, p. 120; G. Kristo, Early Transylvania..., p. 66; P. Iambor, Așezări fortificate din Transilvania (secolele IX-XII), Cluj-Napoca, 2005, p. 194. Further Considerations on Hierotheos’ mission 13 Several rotondas of Frankish inspiration dated in the last third of the 9th century were discovered in Moravia at Mikulcice, Stare Mesto, Nitrianska Blatnica, Ducove and Pohansko33. Good analogies for Alba Iulia are the Stare Mesto rotonda under the Saint Michael cathedral, and the one from Ducove; both have the same shape and similar dimensions (6-7 meters the interior diameter)34. Florin Curta observed that these analogies with the Moravian rotondas require a careful analysis of the social and political context of this presumable influence35. Because the building date of the rotonda could also be placed in the last third of the 9th century, this monument cannot be certainly ascribed to Hierotheos. As bishop, Hierotheos needed a real church and not a simple small chapel. The rotonda could not be his residence. It could be supposed instead that this monument was the private chapel of the ruler residing at Bălgrad after the Bulgarian expansion in the area of the salt mines. This was the situation when Daniela Marcu Istrate resumed the excavations in 2011, one year after the publication of my latest study about Hierotheos in 2010, in the same free space west of the Catholic 33 Josef Poulik, The Origins of Christianity in Slavonie Countries North of the Middle Danube Basin, World Archaeology, 10, 1978, 2 (Archaeology and Religion), p. 164- 166, fig. 2/2, 3/10; Dusan Caplovic, Archaeology and the beginnings of Christianity in the territory of Slovakia, in P. Urbanczyk (ed.), Early Christianity, p. 98; Pavel Kouril, Kirche Nr. 7 in Mikulcice, in L. Polâcek, J. Mankovâ-Kubkova (ed.), Fruhmittelalterliche Kirchen als archăologische und historische Quelle. Internationale Tagungen in Mikulcice VIII, Brno, 2010, p. 57-64; Jin Machâcek, Adela Balcârkovâ, Pavel Câp, Petr Dresler, Velkomoravskâ rotunda z Pohanska u Breclavi (The Great Moravian Rotunda at Pohansko near Breclav), Pamatki Archeologicke, 105, 2014, p. 87-153. 34 Ludek Galuska, The Question of Evaluating and the Present Level of Knowledge about the Great Moravian Agglomeration of Stare Mesto-Uherske Hradiste, in C. Stana, L. Polâcek (eds.), Fruhmittelalterliche Machtzentren in Mitteleuropa. Mehrjăhrige Grabungen und Ihre Auswertung. Symposium Mikulcice, 5.-9. September 1994, Brno, 1996, p. 192, fig. 2; Idem, Kirchliche Architektur des grofimăhrischen Veligrad und die Besiedlung des Machtzentrums. Funktion und Lage einzelner Bauten im Rahmen der Siedlungsstruktur der fruhmittelalterlichen Agglomeration Stare Mesto- Uherske Hradiste, in L. Polâcek, J. Mankovâ-Kubkova (eds.), Fruhmittelalterliche Kirchen als archăologische und historische Quelle. Internationale Tagungen in Mikulcice VIII, Brno, 2010, p. 168. 35 F. Curta, Transilvania în jurul anului 1000, EphNap, 12, 2002, p. 278. 14 Alexandru Madgearu cathedral which was previously investigated by Radu Heitel (in 1973). Heitel has covered with earth his discovery, the so-called Cathedral Ia, dated at the beginning of the 11th century, a building considered to be the first siege of the bishop of Alba36. This is the same monument excavated by Daniela Marcu Istrate in 2011, but on a more extended area than Heitel was able to dig37. After the works, the ruins were again covered with earth by the archaeologist. There are significant differences as concerns the dimensions and the shape of the construction, in comparison with what Heitel had observed. The church has a rectangular nave with four central pillars set in the form of a Greek cross, and a semicircular apsis. The dimensions are 21 x 12 meters. No graves could be linked with this church. The foundation of the monument destroyed some archaeological assemblages belonging to the settlement dated in the 9th-10th centuries, which means that it was built after the abandonment of the settlement which occupied the area of the former Roman camp. On this basis, Marcu Istrate argues that the post-quem moment of the construction could be placed by the middle of the 10th century, and that the monument was in its turn put down when the so- called Ib cathedral was constructed, that is by the third quarter of the 11th century (the churchyard was inaugurated in the same period, using the space of the former church Ia.) As concerns the pillars set in the shape of a Greek cross, Marcu Istrate points to some analogies in the Byzantine and Bulgarian churches, like those of Pliska and Preslav, and she remarks its large size, comparable with the Byzantine prototypes. She also supposes that the monument could testify direct relations with the Byzantine Empire, suggesting that the mission of Hierotheos was responsible for that, but avoiding to discuss the contradiction between this conversion of the first Gyula and the paganism of Gyula Minor, who had certainly not been baptized, according to all the sources. If the church was indeed built for the first Gyula by the middle of the 10th century, this would mean that the second Gyula, even being a 36 R. Heitel, Contribuții..., p. 346-347; Idem, Die Archăologie..., p. 429. 37 Daniela Marcu Istrate, Biserica din secolele X-XI, de influență bizantină, de la Alba Iulia. Restituiri preliminare, Apulum, 51 (Series Historia et Patrimonium), 2014, p. 95- 120; Eadem, Byzantine influences in the Carpathian Basin around the turn of the millennium. The pillared church of Alba Iulia, Dacia, NS, 59, 2015, p. 177-213. Further Considerations on Hierotheos’ mission 15 heathen, left his uncle’s church undestroyed, and that the destruction was done later, after the defeat of Gyula Minor, when Alba became a bishopric of the Hungarian church, in order to be replaced by a new one. Such a tortous interpretation cannot be accepted, because it is based on the premise that the monument could be dated only before 1003. Actually, it must be emphasized that the archaeological situation does not offer a certain date exclusively in the 10th century for the construction moment. The single certain fact is the superposition of a dwellings level that existed until an undetermined moment in that century, but whose destruction could be easily associated with the Magyar conquest dated after 934. It is not proved that the church was built short time after the end of this habitation, by the middle of the 10th century, in order to fit with the Hierotheos moment. Marcu Istrate has found what Heitel has partially unearthed before her: the church called Ia. The Byzantine plan does not contradict this theory, because the Byzantine influence survived a long time in Hungary after the coronation of Stephen I, and because Alba was, most probably, in its first period of existence, a bishopric included in the Greek metropolitanate of Tourkia, like Biharia and Morisena. This kind of organization which extended east of Tisza an ecclesiastical structure subordinated to the Eastern Church was necessary because the population living in those regions, Romanians among them, belonged to that Church. Therefore, it could be said that after the conquest of 1003, the new Hungarian masters allowed the construction of a church for their subjects, who were already Christians. If the church Ia could be associated with the eastern bishop settled there after 1003, the church Ib was constructed as the siege of the Latin bishopric, after the schism of 1054. Taking as true the idea of location of Hierotheos at Bălgrad-Alba, D. Marcu Istrate avoided to discuss the identification made by Heitel. The doubtful interpretation of Marcu Istrate was commented by Miklos Takacs, who remarked that the Greek cross plan is not decisive to establish the western or eastern origin of the churches dated in the 10th-11th centuries. He makes it clear that there is no certain chronology for the monument excavated at Alba Iulia, namely for its building sometime in the 10th century, and that the location at Alba Iulia of that baptized Gyula is based only on the name of the town, given after the 16 Alexandru Madgearu other Gyula who was defeated in 100338. Răzvan Theodorescu has instead no doubts about the conclusions of Marcu Istrate, resuming his previous considerations occasioned by the discovery of the rotonda, which was, according to him, a baptisterium39. If Hierotheos had no relation with Alba Iulia, it is neverthelesss true that Bălgrad was the residence of a Magyar ruler who moved there from Cluj, when he conquered the previous Romanian-Slavic voivodate dominated by Bulgaria. His family remained heathen, and this polity remained independent until the new conquest, that of Stephen I. The newcomers were buried near their cathedral and in the cemeteries excavated in the spots “Stația de salvare” and “strada Brândușei”, living together with the natives who were already Christians. 38 Miklos Takâcs, Considerații privind bisericile ce configurează crucea în planul și structura lor spațială. Cazul unor monumente din evul mediu timpuriu, recent descoperite în Bazinul Carpatic, Marisia, 33, 2013, 114-123. 39 Răzvan Theodorescu, "Hierotheos al meu", in I. A. Pop, J. Nicolae, O. Panaite (eds.), Sfântul..., p. 25-44; Idem, Decouvertes archeologiques â Alba lulia et une conversion des Hongrois, RRHA, 51, 2014, 3-9. VICTOR V. VIZAUER1 ETHNIC NICKNAMES (SOBRIQUETS) IN TRANSYLVANIA DURING THE 13th - 14th CENTURIES Abstract: In this article I intend to present and analyse briefly a special category of nicknames, which I have called ethnic nicknames, because each of them represents the name of an ethnicity in Hungarian and Latin. I have extracted the nicknames from published medieval documents relating to the Transylvanian principality and the contiguous counties to the west and north (Caraș, Timiș, Cenad, Arad, Zarand, Bihor, Crasna, Middle Szolnok, Sătmar and Maramureș). The period I had in view is that of the twelfth-fourteenth centuries; more precisely, the superior time limit is the end of the Angevin Age (1382-1386). Twenty nicknames have been identified and presented here. They are included in the sixteen annexes at the end of this study, as follows: 1. The Bulgarian; 2. The Czech; 3. The Croatian; 4. The Cuman; 5. The Jew; 6/A. The German, 6/B. The Saxon and 6/C. The Teuton 7. The Italian; 8. The Latin; 9. The Hungarian; 10. The Pecheneg; 11. The Pole; 12. The Romanian; 13/A The Russian, 13/B The Slav and 13/C The Slovak; 14. The Saracen; 15. The Szekler; 16. The Tartar. Keywords: ethnic nicknames, Transylvania, Middle Ages, onomastics, sobriquets, ethnicity * As is well known, in the past most anthroponyms had a clear meaning, which, to a large extent, has been lost in time. Numerous examples can be found in documents relating to medieval Transylvania, such as: Agnna (little lamb; 1235),2 Ancilla (maid, slave; 1235),3 Batur (valiant; 1221),4 Farkas (wolf; the twelfth-fourteenth centuries and later),5 Fichur (son, boy; 1202-1203),6 etc. 1 PhD ,Scientific researcher III, George Bariț History Institute in Cluj-Napoca, email: vviki200@yahoo.com. 2 Johannis Karâcsonyi, Samuelis Borovszky, Regestrum Varadinense. Examini ferri candentis, Budapest, 1903, no. 389, p. 307 (Infra: Regestrum Varadinense); Documente privind Istoria României, Veacul XI, XII și XIII, C. Transilvania, vol. I (1075-1250), București, Editura Academiei Române, 1951, no. 67/389, p. 147 (Infra: DIR.C.XI-XIII/1). 3Regestrum Varadinense, no. 385, p. 305; DIR.C.XI-XIII/1, no. 67/385, p. 146. 4Regestrum Varadinense, no. 307, p. 268; DIR.C.XI-XIII/1, no. 67/307, p. 121. 5 DIR.C.XI-XIII/1, no. 4, pp. 2-3; no. 41, pp. 23-27; Documente privind Istoria României, C. Transilvania, Veacul XIII, Vol. II (1251-1300), București, Editura Academiei Române, 1952, no. 369, p. 327 (Infra: DIR.C.XIII/2); Documente privind Istoria României, Veacul XIV, C. Transilvania, vol. I (1301-1320), București, Editura Academiei Române, 1953, no. 21, pp. 16-17; Documenta Romaniae Historica, C. Transilvania, vol. XIII (1366-1370), edited by loan Dani, Konrad Gundisch, Viorica Pervain, Aurel Răduțiu, Adrian Rusu, 18 Victor V. Vizauer Referring to the anthroponomy of the twentieth century, Romulus Vulcănescu noted that: “The structure of contemporary names no longer reflects the social status and the personality of the bearer. People’s names have become bland and irrelevant in our century...”.7 Even if the majority of Christian anthroponyms have a well-established meaning,8 they do not express physical traits, spiritual features or the nature of the events that the bearer went through and that influenced his existence. In most cases, these names indicated only the fact that the person denominated was a Christian. The relevant category of expressive onomastic elements includes nicknames, in this case ethnic nicknames, due to the fact that they tell us something important about the bearer, revealing that person’s ethnic background. Therefore, a research related to ethnic nicknames can bring an important contribution to a better knowledge of the history of Transylvania, more precisely, of its ethnic complexity. Thus, the purpose of this undertaking has been to identify, catalogue and bring ethnic nicknames to the attention of historical research or of auxiliary sciences (onomastics, for example). Ethnic nicknames represent an element that has so far been less frequently addressed by researchers. The nicknames that are the subject of this article have been extracted from published medieval documents referring to voivodal Transylvania and the adjacent counties (Caraș, Timiș, Cenad, Arad, Zarand, Bihor, Crasna, Middle Szolnok, Sătmar and Maramureș) until the end of the Angevin era (1382/1386).9 However, I will use the more extensive understanding of Transylvania as a region which includes the whole space mentioned above. Just like any type of research aimed at more distant periods in time, the study of medieval nicknames has its own limits and difficulties, which can affect the final results of the objectives the researcher aims to achieve. One of the main difficulties in the case of nicknames consists in identifying the reasons that led to the assignation / the emergence of a sobriquet. In many situations, the motivation is clear, but there are plenty of cases where it is downright difficult, if not impossible to surmise it,10 as the meaning of the Susana Andea, București, Editura Academiei Române, 1991, no. 314, pp. 480-481 etc. (Infra: DRH.C/13). 6 DIR.C.XI-XIII/1, no. 41, p. 26. 7 Romulus Vulcănescu, Antroponimia in “obiceiul pământului”, in “Actele celui de-al XII- lea congres internațional de lingvistică și filologie romanică”, București, Editura Academiei Române, 1970, pp. 1099-1103 (p. 1099). 8 Aurelia Bălan-Mihailovici, Dicționar onomastic creștin: repere etimologice și martirologice, București, Editura Sophia, 2009. 9 Documente privind Istoria României, C. Transilvania, Veacul XI, XII și XIII, Vol. I-II (1075-1300) și Veacul XIV, Vol. I-IV (1301-1350), București, Editura Academiei Române, 1951-1955; Documenta Romaniae Historica, C. Transilvania, vol. X-XVI (1351-1385), București, Editura Academiei Române, 1977-2014. 10 Mariann Sliz, Szemelynevadăs az Anjou-korban, Historiaantik, Budapest, 2011, p. 228. Ethnic Nicknames (Sobriquets) in Transylvania 19 nickname remains obscure.11 Concerning the situation of ethnic nicknames, the reason is obvious; however, we must not abandon caution entirely, because there are examples in which sobriquets did not express the ethnicity of the bearer, but had a different source. It is well-known that John Lenghel (Polack), who was not Polish, got his nickname due to the fact that he 12 accompanied King Charles Robert to Poland.12 The geographic location of individuals who had ethnic nicknames is also difficult, because many people owned property in different counties, and in the documents they are mentioned either in connection with a certain estate, or with another. Because of this, but also due to the lack of more information, most of the times it is possible to determine the place (town, county) of origin, or even the residence of the people we deal with in this study. In the annexes at the end of the article, where I nominated each individual who carries an ethnic nickname, I have shown the county or counties in which that person owned property or conducted his activity. However, the results obtained from researching ethnic nicknames are not to be neglected, as they reflect, in addition to interethnic relations or the mobility of some of the inhabitants, the great ethnic diversity of Transylvania in the medieval period. This was a determining element in the formation of Transylvanian society and culture, both medieval and modern. Before starting to analyse ethnic nicknames, I should clarify the difference between nicknames and surnames, although some researchers talk about individual surnames when they refer to what I call here nicknames.13 A nickname is regarded as an onomastic element with affective content, granted to a person on the basis of physical or mental characteristics, or taking into account his activities. When the nickname is generalised by being adopted by several members of the family, it loses both its affective content and its ironic or satirical character, becoming a surname.14 However, the surname derived from a nickname continues to have a somewhat personal 11 Monique Bourin, Les formes anthroponymiques et leur evolution d’apres donnees du cartulaire du chapitre cathedral de D'Agde (Xe siecle - 1250), in “Genese medievale de l’anthroponymie moderne, Etudes d’anthroponymie medievale (Ire et IIe rencontres - Azay le Ferron, 1986-1987)”, sous la dir. de Monique Bourin, Tome I, Publications de L’Universite de Tours, 1988, pp. 179-217 (p. 193). 12 Ibidem. 13 Albert Dauzat considered the name bestowed in the wake of heroic, comic, etc. happenings as an individual surname - Les noms de personnes. Origine et evolution, Paris, Libraire Delagrave, 1934, 11. 14 Camelia Firică, Porecle și supranume în Oltenia, Editura Universitaria, Craiova, 2008, p. 18; Camelia Zăbavă, Porecla - o “insulă” de mentalitate arhaică în postmodernitate, in Nicolae Felecan (ed.), “Numele și numirea. Actele Conferinței Internaționale de Onomastică, Ediția I: Interferențe multietnice în antroponimie”, Baia Mare, 19-21 September 2011, Cluj-Napoca, Editura Mega, 2011, pp. 287-295 (p. 288); Mariana Carmen Pielaru, Porecla în limbile română și franceză, Craiova, Editura Legis, 2012, p. 82. 20 Victor V. Vizauer character, reflecting the situation in which the bearer found himself at a given moment.15 I have clarified this aspect with regard to nicknames and surnames because we have a case in which a nickname may have been turned into a surname, being used by several members of the same families. This was Ceh / Cheh (The Czech). The first character mentioned by this nickname was Jacob yclept Cheh (Jacobus dictus Cheh), a noble of Reud (Rediu, Cluj County), referred to in 1336 as the late father of Peter16. His sons, Peter, Michael, Andrew, Deseu and Ladislau, mentioned in the following years, were also called Ceh / Cheh17. As I said, it is possible that the nickname Cheh was passed from father to sons. If this was the case, then a nickname was converted into a surname. Ethnic nicknames in medieval Transylvania I have identified 20 different ethnic nicknames borne by 136 individuals (135 men and 1 woman), which I have grouped into the 16 annexes that can be found at the end of the article: Annex 1. The Bulgarian; 2. The Czech; 3. The Croatian; 4. The Cuman; 5. The Jew; 6/A. The German, 6/B. The Saxon and 6/C. The Teuton 7. The Italian; 8. The Latin; 9. The Hungarian; 10. The Pecheneg; 11. The Pole; 12. The Romanian; 13/A The Russian, 13/B The Slav and 13/C The Slovak; 14. The Saracen; 15. The Szekler; 16. The Tartar. The following table includes some information that provides a clearer picture on the frequency of each of the nicknames. 15 Teodor Oancă, Geografie antroponimică românească. Metodă și aplicații, Editura de Sud, Craiova, 1998, p. 13. 16 Documente privind Istoria României, Veacul XIV, C. Transilvania, vol. III (1331-1340), București, Editura Academiei Române, 1954, no. 304, p. 396 (Infra: DIR.C.XIV/3). 17 A document from 1345 mentions all the brothers together: Documente privind Istoria României, Veacul XIV, C. Transilvania, vol. IV (1341-1350), București, Editura Academiei Române, 1955, no. 387, pp. 275-276, 646-647 (Infra: DIR.C.XIV/4); Ferenc Piti, Anjou-kori okleveltăr, XXIX (1345), Budapest - Szeged, 2013, no. 838, pp. 462-463 (Infra: Anjou, XXIX). Ethnic Nicknames (Sobriquets) in Transylvania 21 Ethnic nickname The forms encountered in documents No. of individuals (total: 136) In percentage s 1 The Bulgarian Bolgar, Bulgar 2 1.5% 2 The Czech Cheh, Chech, Cheeh, Cheech, Ceh 20 14.7% 3 The Croat Horuath, Horuat 3 2.2% 4 The Cuman Kun, Cwn, Kwn 9 6.6 % 5 The Jew Sydou 1 0.7% 6 A The German Nemeth 2 15 1.5 % 11% B The Saxon Saxo, Zaz, Zaaz 10 7.3 % C The Teuton Teutonicus 2 1.5 % 7 The Italian Olaz, Oloz, Olasz 4 2.9% 8 The Latin Latinus 1 0.7% 9 The Hungarian Magyar, Magar 7 5.1% 10 The Pecheneg Beseneu, Besseneu, Bessenow, Bissenus, Byssenus 5 3.7% 11 The Pole Polonus 1 0.7% 12 The Romanian Olacus, Olachus, Olachi, Volachus, Wolahus 9 6.6% 13 A The Russian Uruz, Vros, Vruz, Wruz 7 19 5.1 % 14% B The Slav Sclavus, Sclaus 5 3.7 % C The Slovak Tot, Toth, Thoth, Touth, Thowth 7 5.1 % 14 The Saracen Serechen 1 0.7% 15 The Szekler Syculus, Siculo, Zekul, Zekel 32 23.5% 16 The Tartar Tartarus, Tatar, Thatar 8 5.9% Table no. 1: Ethnic nicknames in Transylvania during the thirteenth- fourteenth centuries 22 Victor V. Vizauer The data in the table should not be seen as absolute. They offer only a general picture on the ethnic nicknames used by the population of Transylvania. The information I have obtained permits just a comparison between the various nicknames used. Certainly, a greater number of people had nicknames like this back then, but only some of them have reached us, through written documents. As can be seen in the annexes at the end of this study, the vast majority of the persons under examination were of noble condition. There is a small number of dependent people or free non-nobles, such as serfs, townspeople or “guests” from the West. It is impossible to determine how many people of a simple condition, who were not mentioned in official documents or in other types of written sources, were called by their fellows The Romanian, The Hungarian, The Saxon or The Slav. Therefore, the data obtained do not reflect the real situation in quantitative terms, but are merely orientative; nonetheless, this information allows the emergence of a hierarchy that highlights the main ethnic groups which determined the appearance of ethnic slurs. Also, it is possible for some persons to have been registered twice, in particular in those cases in which the information about the individual in question is poor. Further I will briefly analyse every ethnic nickname, going into details only where the available information is more consistent and relevant for a better understanding of the emergence and perpetuation of a specific sobriquet. * The Bulgarian (Bolgar, Bulgar): I have identified only two individuals nicknamed The Bulgarian inside the Carpathian Arch: Johannes dictus Bolgar and Ladislaus dictus Bulgar / Bolgar. Could they have been of Bulgarian ethnicity or descendants of Bulgarians, or, like the aforementioned John yclept Lenghel, could they have acquired nicknames in the wake of happenings related to Bulgarians or Bulgaria? In Alba County there was a village which had the name of Chergewd Bulgaricum / Chergewd Bulgary 57 (today, Cergău Mic, Alba County), founded, apparently, with the contribution of Bulgarians who came to this area from the south of the Danube in the thirteenth century.58 This confirms the existence of communities of Bulgarians in Transylvania also during the following century. Therefore, the appearance of the nickname The Bulgarian in an area inhabited by large numbers of Romanians, but also of Saxons, is more than plausible. 57 Franz Zimmermann, Karl Werner, Urkundenbuch zur Geschichte der Deutschen in Siebenburgen, I (1191-1342), Hermannstadt, 1892, no. 525, pp. 476-478 (Infra: Ub., I); DIR.C.XIV/3, no. 294, pp. 385-387. 58 Petru Sechel, Cergău Mic. Studiu monografic, Blaj, Editura Astra, 2005, pp. 57-60. Ethnic Nicknames (Sobriquets) in Transylvania 23 Still, let us not lose sight of the other hypothesis. It is more than possible that those two individuals, or at least John yclept the Bulgarian, first mentioned in 1366, took part in the Bulgarian campaign of the Hungarian King Louis, who besieged and conquered Vidin in 1365.59 Like the already mentioned John yclept Lenghel, who accompanied King Charles Robert in Poland, he may have owed his nickname to this fact. The Czech (Cheh, Chech, Cheeh, Cheech, Ceh; Annex 2): individuals carrying the ethnic nickname The Czech represented the second largest group, after those nicknamed The Szekler. These were 20 people, geographically distributed across several counties, such as Dăbâca, Cluj, Turda, Alba, Târnava or Bihor. Andrew, Michael, Peter, Deseu, George and Ladislau were the sons of Iacob, all being called Chech (see Annex 2). If we take into account the fact that several people came from the same family, and the younger generation bore the name Ceh [Czech] as a cognomen and not as an agnomen, then the number of individuals who actually bore the ethnic nickname The Czech was lower. Also, in a case like this, the sobriquet does not necessarily indicate the ethnicity of the bearer. The written sources do not talk about groups of Czechs colonising Transylvania or migrating from the area of Bohemia. However, some toponymic elements refer to their ethnic name: Chehyweolgfew (The Source of the Czech’s Valley) in the county of Crasna (a settlement in the proximity of the localities Șimleul Silvaniei, Nușfalău and Zăuan, now disappeared, Sălaj County; in 1341)60 or Chehteluke / Chehtelke, in the county of Cluj (Cistelec, today Vișinelu, Mureș County; in 1348)61. The aforesaid Jacob yclept Chech was mentioned as being a noble of Reud, Cluj County (Rediu, Cluj County), a village located at about 31-32 km in a straight line from Chehteluke (Vișinelu, Mureș County). This Chehteluke / Chehtelke would signify, in translation from Hungarian, Land of the Czech or Place of the Czech. Like in the case of the ethnic nickname The Bulgarian, it is possible that a group of emigrants got here and that this time they were Czechs. Thus, individuals called Cheh from the county of Cluj, or maybe only Jacob or an ancestor of his, could have been of Czech ethnicity; the ethnic nickname may then have moved onto the descendants as a cognomen. The Croat (Horuath, Horuat; Annex 3): in this category I have identified only three people, but I do not have information on their origin or their place of residence. We only know that a certain Symon yclept Horvath owned the property Hassas, today Hășdate in the county of Cluj,62 and Stephen yclept Horuat / Horuath was probably not from the area under 59 Pal Engel, Regatul Sfântului Ștefan: istoria Ungariei medievale (895-1526), second edition, Cluj-Napoca, Editura Mega, 2011, p. 195. 60 DIR.C.XIV/3, no. 58, pp. 54-58, 592-595. 61 DIR.C.XIV/4, no. 666, pp. 460-462, 684-685; no. 671, pp. 464-465, 685-686. 62DIR.C.XIV/4, no. 620, pp. 430-433. 24 Victor V. Vizauer investigation, because the document specifies that he was deliberately sent here from the royal court.63 In the former counties of Middle Szolnok and Crasna there were some localities whose names are reminiscent of the Croats (in Hungarian: horvăth = Croatian): Chroath, the county of Middle Szolnok (today Horoatu Cehului, Sălaj; in 1220)64; Horuath (in 1340)65, Matthyas- Horuatha (1350)66 and Sadan-Horuatha (1350)67 in Crasna County, all three settlements having disappeared. In another study I tried to figure out the ways through which Croatians might have reached the territory of Transylvania,68 but the problem was not solved in a satisfactory manner. Thus, two possibilities seemed closer to the truth: either some of the White Croats, who are said to have migrated from somewhere north of the Carpathian Mountains to the Croatia of today, also settled in the north-west of Transylvania, or, sometime during the twelfth century, groups of Croats came into this part of medieval Hungary after the conquest of Croatia by the Hungarians. Regardless of the path Croats took to reach this region, a fact that the toponymy appears to support, and regardless of whether the individuals registered with nicknames such as Horuath / Horuat (The Croat) were locals or not, I think the nicknames in question certainly referred to the ethnicity of the people named thus. The Cuman (Kun, Cwn, Kwn; Annex 4): as regards people referred to as The Cuman, only one was from voivodal Transylvania, the majority coming from the counties of Bihor and Sătmar. In fact, Cumans were summoned again to Hungary by the Hungarian King Bela IV, being colonised in two areas which were subsequently called Nagykunsâg (Greater Cumania; east of the Tisza) and Kiskunsâg (Smaller Cumania; between the Danube and the Tisza).69 Regarding the Cumans, the toponymy is poorer than in the case of other ethnic groups. We do know, however, the village 63 Frigyes Pesty, Krasso vărmegye tortenete. III. Okleveltăr, Budapest, 1882, no. 92, pp. 136-151; no. 93, pp. 151-152 (Infra: Pesty, III); Documenta Romaniae Historica, C. Transilvania, vol. XV (1381-1385), edited by Susana Andea, Lidia Gross, Adinel Ciprian Dincă, București, Editura Academiei Române, 2014, no. 257, pp. 413-438; no. 275, pp. 461- 4 63 (Infra: DRH.C/15). 64 Regestrum Varadinense, no. 238, pp. 242-243; DIR.C.XI-XIII/1, no. 67/238, p. 103. 65 Ferenc Piti, Anjou-kori okleveltăr, XXIV (1340), Budapest-Szeged, 2001, no. 329, pp. 154-155; Codex diplomaticus Transsylvaniae. Diplomata, epistolae et alia instrumenta litteraria res Transsylvanas illustrantia / Erdelyi okmănytăr. Oklevelek, levelek es măs irăsos emlekek Erdely tortenetehez, III (1340-1359), ed. Zsigmond Jako, Geza Hegyi, Andrâs W. Kovâcs, Magyar Orszâgos Leveltâr, Budapest, 2008, no. 17, p. 37 (Infra: EO, III). 66 EO, III, no. 563, p. 218. 67 EO, III, no. 563, p. 218. 68 Victor V. Vizauer, Rolul onomasticii în cercetarea istoriei Transilvaniei în secolele XII- XIII. Studiu de caz: etnotoponimele, in “Anuarul Institutului de Istorie George Barițiu din Cluj-Napoca”, LIV, 2015, pp. 17-36 (pp. 23-24). 69 Pâl Engel, op. cit., p. 133; see also the map on p. 395. Ethnic Nicknames (Sobriquets) in Transylvania 25 Kunfalu70 (in translation: the Cuman Village), probably located in the county of Caraș (a settlement somewhere at the boundary between the counties of Timiș and Caraș, now disappeared). The few data known about individuals called The Cuman give me cause to say that the nickname indicated their ethnicity. These Cumans - or perhaps their descendants - settled in some counties to the west of voivodal Transylvania, probably following the receipt of estates or official dignities from the Hungarian kings. The Jew (Sydou): in Annex 5, where I included this nickname, there is only one person, Paul yclept the Jew (Paulus dictus Sydou; in Hungarian zsido means Jew), a servant in the village of Zeudumutur, Middle Szolnok County (today Sauca, Satu Mare County). In this case it can safely be said that this was a man of Jewish ethnicity and that his nickname certainly reflected the ethnicity of the bearer. The German / Saxon: in Annex 6 (A, B and C) are included people who had a nickname referring to Germans: The German (Nemeth, Nemth - “nemeth” being the Hungarian term by which a German is designated), The Saxon (Saxo, Zaz, Zaaz) and The Teuton (Teutonicus). Saxons are one of the largest ethnic groups in Transylvania, alongside Romanians, Hungarians and Szeklers. In addition to the Saxon Seats, Germans were found in significant numbers in the district of Bistrița, but also in the counties of Sătmar (Satu Mare, Mintiu - united now), Cluj (the town of Cluj, Florești / Feneșul Săsesc - Saszfenes etc.), Inner Szolnok (Ocna Dej, Dej), Dăbâca (Sic) or Alba (Sebeș, Vințul de Jos, etc.). The individuals analysed here came mostly from the aforementioned areas: Saxon Land, the counties of Cluj, Dăbâca, Alba, Bihor and Caraș. In their case the nickname certainly expressed their ethnicity. The Italian (Olaz, Oloz, Olasz; Annex 7) and The Latin (Latinus; Annex 8): I have treated the ethnic nicknames The Italian and The Latin together because, as will become apparent hereinafter, the terms of latinus and olasz had very close meanings in medieval Hungary. In the twelfth-thirteenth centuries, Latins meant Walloons, guests who had come from the southern part of present-day Belgium. According to Gyorgy Szekely, villages called Latina or Olaszi on the territory of medieval Hungary were inhabited primarily by Walloons, and only in some cases by Italians.71 Also, Pal Engel stated that at the beginning (twelfth century) of colonisations from the west came several Walloons (Latins), also called olasz by Hungarians. The latter is a term borrowed from the Slavs. However, the Hungarian historian added that this olasz could also mean at that time 70 DRH.C/15, no. 448, pp. 613-614. 71 Gyorgy Szekely, A Szekesfehervări latinok es a vallonok a kozepkori Magyarorszăgon, in Szekesfehervăr evszăzadai, vol. II, Szekesfehervăr, 1967, pp. 45-72. 26 Victor V. Vizauer any Latin-speaking population.72 Relating to the Latins in Oradea, Nicolae 73 Drăganu considered that they were Italians.73 I have come across four bearers of the ethnic nickname The Italian, but only for two of them can the explanation regarding the source of the nickname be close to the truth. These were a former canon of the Church of Transylvania, called Michael yclept Olaz,74 and John yclept Olasz75, possibly a townsman from Oradea. As regards the former canon Michael yclept Olaz, it is very likely that he was an Italian or that he had studied in the peninsula, arriving in Transylvania after being appointed canon of the above-mentioned church. Also, it is possible that he received his nickname here in Transylvania, where he was a stranger to the locals, or maybe somewhere else where he conducted his spiritual activity. In the case of John yclept Olasz, if he was from Oradea or the surrounding area, his nickname is not surprising, because it is known that many Italics/ Latins lived in Oradea and the neighbouring villages, as attested by Veneția (Venecia, the name of the street / district mentioned in the thirteenth century),76 and the names of the neighbouring villages Olassi77 (Olosig, Bihor) or Olozi78 (today a district in the city of Oradea), the latter being also called villa Latinorum 79 Waradiensium (village of the Latins in Oradea).79 In the documents of the time, I encountered a single individual with the ethnic nickname The Latin, more specifically the Knight (miles) John the Latin (Iohannes Latinus). He was mentioned in 1204-1206 and had settled among the Teutons (Germans, Saxons) of Rivetel (today Cisnădie, Sibiu County. Sibiu). Later, in 1231, a document talked about the Saxon knights Corrard and Daniel, sons of John the Latin, Christians whom the Hungarian King Bela IV had exempted from taxes for four of their villages. Among 72 Pal Engel, op. cit., p. 89. 73 Nicolae Drăganu, Românii în veacurile IX-XIV pe baza toponimiei și onomasticei, București, Imprimeria Națională, 1933, p. 293. 74 Documenta Romaniae Historica, C. Transilvania, vol. XI (1356-1360), Edited by Ioan Dani, Aurel Răduțiu, Viorica Pervain, Konrad G. Gundisch, Sabin Belu, București, Editura Academiei Române, 1981, no. 147, p. 139; no. 251, p. 258; no. 252, p. 258. 75 DIR.C.XIV/3, no. 473, pp. 532-533. 76 Venetia Street is mentioned in numerous documents, but I will only list some of them: DIR.C.XIII/2, no. 381, p. 343; DIR.C.XIV/3, no. 396, pp. 476-477; DIR.C.XIV/4, no. 123, pp. 111-112; DRH.C/13, no. 27, pp. 39-41 etc. 77 Monumenta Vaticana historiam regni Hungariae illustratia / Magyarorszăgi Vatikăni Okirattăr, I, 1, Budapestini, 1887, pp. 42, 55, 60, 64, 71, 79, 83, 86 (Infra: Mon. Vat. Hung., I/1); DIR.C.XIV/3, no. 56, pp. 44, 63, 70, 71, 77, 84, 88, 102, 109, 114. 78 Mon. Vat. Hung., I/1, pp. 41, 45, 46, 60, 69, 77, 83, 89; DIR.C.XIV/3, no. 56, pp. 48, 49, 70, 71, 84, 99, 109, 120. 79 Regestrum Varadinense, no. 137, p. 202; DIR.C.XI-XIII/1, no. 67/137, p. 75 and note 8, p. 75. Ethnic Nicknames (Sobriquets) in Transylvania 27 these was the villa Latina in the county of Târnava (Waldorph, Valendorf, 80 today Văleni, Brașov County).80 What is somewhat intriguing in this case is the fact that in the document Corrard and Daniel, the sons of John the Latin, are called Saxon knights (milites Saxones).81 Could this John the Latin have integrated himself so well among the Saxons that his descendants were already considered Saxons? It is very possible that this was the case. Perhaps some interests drove Corrard and Daniel to consider themselves Saxons. There is no information about the wife of John the Latin, who could have been one of the Saxon locals among whom John had settled. This would have strengthened Corrard and Daniel’s sense of belonging to the Saxon community. However, John the Latin could very well have been a Walloon, or maybe a speaker of another language derived from Latin, whose offspring already considered themselves Saxons, their origin remaining nonetheless visible in the name of one of their villages, the above-mentioned villa Latina. The Hungarian (Magyar, Magar; Annex 9): among the seven individuals who wore the nickname The Hungarian, there were six nobles and a servant (famulus), all of the nobles coming from outside of voivodal Transylvania, more precisely from the counties of Sătmar, Bihor, Timiș and Caraș, and the servant from the Land of Bârsa. Anthroponyms and toponyms considered to be indicators of ethnicity appeared on the territory of Hungary in the eleventh-twelfth centuries, in the forms Mogurdi (the name of a serf) or Mogioroi (the name of a settlement).82 In view of the fact that a good part of the population of Transylvania was made up of Hungarians, logic urges us to consider that an individual nicknamed The Hungarian was probably living or performing a function in an area or a locality where the members of a large population of a different ethnicity, perhaps representing the majority, assigned him this name. This may have been the case of Stephen yclept Magyar, noble of Ermen, the county of Caraș (today Gherman, Timiș County).83 A large number of Romanians lived in the county of Caraș. Besides these, in the fourteenth century, there were also a few Cumans and Pechenegs or their descendants. It is possible that Stephen was given this nickname by members of one of the other ethnic groups living in the area. The Pecheneg (Beseneu, Besseneu, Bessenow, Bissenus, Byssenus; Annex 10): two of the five individuals called The Pecheneg, John84 and 80 Ub., I, no. 15, p. 7-8; no. 16, pp. 8-9; no. 63, pp. 54-55; DIR.C.XI-XIII/1, no. 46, pp. 28- 29; no. 54, pp. 32-33; no. 212, pp. 254-255. 81 Ub., I, no. 63, pp. 54-55; DIR.C.XI-XIII/1, no. 212, pp. 254-255. 82 Gyula Nemeth, A magyar nepnev legregib alakjai, in “Magyar Nyelv”, XXV/1-2, 1929, pp. 8-9. 83 Pesty, III, no. 76, p. 103-104; Documenta Romaniae Historica, C. Transilvania, vol. XIV (1371-1375), Edited by Aurel Răduțiu, Viorica Pervain, Susana Andea, Lidia Gross, București, Editura Academiei Române, 2002, no. 42, pp. 44-45. 84 Ioan is mentioned in many documents, which is why I will limit myself to listing only some of them: Pesty, III, no. 28, p. 32; no. 29, pp. 32-42; no. 32, pp. 44-45; no. 33, pp. 45- 28 Victor V. Vizauer Mathias,85 were brothers and came from the county of Caraș. Then, Andrew yclept Besse was a noble of Zuchak, Cluj County (Suceag, Cluj County). We do not know what area Albert yclept Beseneu and Paul yclept Bessenow / Beseneu, castellan of Ciceu, came from. However, toponymy can help us to locate the Pechenegs in the space of interest to us. These ethnic toponyms were found in the counties of Sătmar, Bihor, Arad and Cenad86: Beseneu / Besene / Besenew, Bihor County87 (the thirteenth century; a locality near Oradea, now disappeared); Beseneu, county of Cenad 88(it is possible that this was the village of Besenova Veche, today Dudeștii Vechi, Timiș County); Besenyeu Too, probably in the county of Sătmar (in 1169)89; Bessenyew / Bissena, a settlement and a forest in the county of Arad (thirteenth century; it may have lain in the vicinity of Agriș Arad County). For the next century, I identified about 12 settlements with names that make reference to Pechenegs. These settlements were distributed on a wider territory, including the counties of Timis, Hunedoara, Târnava and the Szekler seat of Sepsi.90 Let me mention only a few of the settlements: Beseneu, the county of Târnava 91(today, probably Valea Izvoarelor, Mures County); Besenis / Berzenev / Beseno / Bezenev, Timiș County92 (Beșenova Nouă, today Dudeștii Noi, Timiș County); Besenczsed / Besenzd, the seat of Sepsi93 (Beșeneu, today Pădureni, Covasna County), etc. Taking into account the toponyms listed above, I think the ethnic nickname The Pecheneg was a precise reference to this ethnicity. In fact, in the early nineteenth century, Reso Ensel Sandor considered that the origin of names like Besenyo (Pecheneg) was in the ethnic name of Pechenegs.94 46; no. 89, pp. 130-131; no. 90, pp. 131-132; no. 92, pp. 136-151; DRH.C/11, no. 201, pp. 200-201; no. 283, pp. 278-292; DRH.C/12, no. 16, p. 16; no. 17, p. 16; no. 24, pp. 20-21; no. 29, p. 23; no. 66, pp. 50-51; no. 67, pp. 51-53; no. 68, p. 53; no. 164, p. 144; DRH.C/14, no. 357, pp. 497-501; DRH.C/15, no. 140, pp. 190-191; no. 160, pp. 231-233 etc. 85 Pesty, III, no. 92, pp. 136-151; DRH.C/15, no. 257, pp. 413-438. 86 For more details, see: Victor V. Vizauer, stud. cit. 87 Among other mentions: Regestrum Varadinense, no. 352, p. 288; DIR.C.XI-XIII/1, no. 67/352, p. 134. 88 Hurmuzaki-Densușianu, I, 1, no. XCVII, p. 124-126; DIR.C.XI-XIII/1, no. 199, pp. 240- 241; no. 219, pp. 261-263. 89 Georgius Fejer, Codex Diplomaticus Hvngariae Ecclesiasticvs ac Civilis, Tom VII, Vol. I, Budae, 1831, no. CXVI, pp. 161-163; DIR.C.XI-XIII/1, no. 10, pp. 4-6. 90 For details, see: Victor V. Vizauer, Etnotoponimele și distribuția comunităților etnice în Transilvania medievală (prima jumătate a secolului al XIV-lea), in “Trecutul mai aproape de noi. Omagiu Profesorului Gheorghe Marinescu la 70 de ani”, edited by Alexandru Gavrilaș, Dan Lucian Vaida, Adrian Onofreiu, George G. Marinescu, Cluj-Napoca, Editura Mega, 2015, pp. 177-190. 91 Franz Zimmermann, Carl Werner, Georg Muller Urkundenbuch zur Geschichte der Deutschen in Siebenburgen, II (1342 - 1390), Hermannstadt, 1897, no. 639, pp. 59-60; DIR.C.XIV/4, no. 706, p. 488. 92 Mon. Vat. Hung. I/1, pp. 148, 151, 157, 160; DIR.C.XIV/3, no. 56, pp. 228, 232, 241, 245. 93 Mon. Vat. Hung. I/1, pp. 106, 134; DIR.C.XIV/3, no. 56, pp. 152, 202. 94 Ifj. Reso Ensel Sandor, HelynevekMagyarăzcja, Masodik Fuzet, Pest, 1862, pp. 215-225. Ethnic Nicknames (Sobriquets) in Transylvania 29 The Pole (Polonus; Lengyel; Annex 11): another ethnic nickname with a single identified bearer is The Pole. This was a certain Leukus Polonus / Lengyel (in Hungarian: lengyel = Polish), a noble in the county of Sătmar, mentioned in 1373 and 1376.95 Although the documents state that he was a noble of Nagysemjen, Szabolcs County, I have included him among the individuals analysed here because his family owned properties also in the county of Sătmar. However, regarding the nickname The Pole, without having more information it is difficult to determine the reason behind this ethnic sobriquet. The bearer could have had Polish ancestors or, like in the case above-mentioned John yclept Lenghel, a different kind of connection with Poland. The Romanian (Olacus, Olachus, Olachi, Volachus, Wolahus; Annex 12): like in the case of those dubbed The Hungarian, the situation of the 8 individuals called The Romanian is no different. In view of the fact that the large part of the population of Transylvania (in the broader sense) was composed of Romanians, it is natural that some of them will have been called The Romanian. The nickname may have been given either by members of other ethnic groups, as I think was the case of George yclept the Romanian (Georgius dictus Olah), a serf who received at one point the Felekfark / Gyurgfolua estate in the county of Cluj (today Gheorgheni, Cluj County) from a noble of Jucu,96 or even by the authorities, when they were referred to in official documents, this being probably the case of John the Romanian ( Wolahus) from the county of Maramureș, the brother of Drag and Balc from the Dragoșești kin (1378)97 or Karachon the Romanian (Olachus), a noble of Bilke from the county of Bereg (today in Ukraine).98 These are only a few examples. The Russian/ The Slav / The Slovak (Vros, Sclavus, Tot / Toth; Annex 13): this group contains the ethnic nicknames The Russian (in Hungarian: orosz = Russian), The Slav and The Slovak (in the same language: tot = Slovak), because all refer to people of Slavic origin. There are situations in which two names that specify ethnicity are used for an individual, sometimes in the same document, like The Slovak (Tot) and The Slav (Sclavus). This was the case of Laurencius yclept the Slovak / Slav (Laurencius dictus Tot/ 95 A nagykălloi Kăllai-csalăd leveltăra, II (1351-1386), Budapest, 1943, no. 1704, p. 166; no. 1734, p. 174; DRH.C/14, no. 244, p. 372; no. 245, p. 373; DRH.C/15, no. 66, p. 77. 96 Samu Barabas, A romai szent birodalmi grof szeki Teleki okleveltăra / Codex diplomaticus Sacri Romani Imperii comitum familiae Teleki de Szek, I (1206-1437), Budapest, 1895, no. CXXII, pp. 169-170 (Infra: Teleki, I); DRH.C/14, no. 28, pp. 27-28. 97 Antonius Fekete Nagy, Ladislaus Makkai, Documenta historiam Valachorum in Hungaria illustrantia, usque ad annum 1400 p. Christum, Etudes sur l’Europe Centre-Orientale, 29, Budapest, 1941, no. 246, pp. 280-282 (Infra: Documenta Valachorum); DRH.C/15, no. 281, pp. 469-471. 98 Documenta Valachorum, no. 77, pp. 110-111; DIR.C.XIV/4, no. 522, pp. 354-355; Anjou, XXXI, no. 387, p. 218. 30 Victor V. Vizauer Sclavus).99 Laurencius was the comes of Nitra (Slovakia), but members of his family had connections with Transylvania. His son Nicolas Konth was the voivode here, and another son, Leukus, was comes of the Szeklers and of Brașov100. It should be noted that Tot / Toth could refer to both Slovaks and Slovenians. Both Melich Jânos and Melegdi Jânos believe that the term tot was used by Hungarians not only for designating Slovaks, but also some Southern Slavs, more precisely Slovenes.101 By contrast, Simon Miklos 102 associates the ethnonym tot only with Slovaks.102 I have also come across an interesting situation in 1329, when a certain Stephen yclept Toth (The Slovak) represented Iwanka yclept Vruz (The Russian) in front of the chapter of the church in Cenad.103 Was that Stephen in the service of Iwanka because their ethnicity was the same? If so, then the significance of one of the ethnic nicknames is not just the one directly expressed. The word probably had a more general significance. I am inclined to think that this was Vruz / Uruz (The Russian), the word probably referring to Slavs in general, just like Sclavus / Slavus (Slav). This would not be the first time a term had been used in a general way to designate Slavs. The cleric Rogerius mentioned the Ruthenians (Rutheni) when he enumerated the populations that had been taken into captivity by the Mongols in 1241-1242 (in the area of the counties of Bihor, Arad and Cenad),104 most certainly with reference to the Slavs who lived in the region. The same Rogerius used the name of Ruscia for the Russian knezates.105 By contrast, Nestor the chronicler used the term Slovenian for Slavs.106 In the description of Oriental Europe, The Anonymous Geographer stated that Macedonia was surrounded 107 by Ruthenians (rutheni), and Thessaly was bordered to the west by Rasia.107 From the few examples it can be inferred that very clear terms to designate the different groups of Slavs did not exist in those times, which strengthens 99 For Tot see Imre Nagy, Anjoukori okmănytăr. Codex diplomaticus Hungaricus Andegavensis, VI (1353-1357), Budapest, 1891, no. 95, pp. 150-152 (Infra: Anjoukori okmănytăr, VI) sau Documenta Romaniae Historica, C. Transilvania, X (1351-1355), București, Editura Academiei Române, 1977, no. 235, p. 245 (Infra: DRH.C/10); and for Sclavus see Anjoukori okmănytăr, VI, no. 104, pp. 169-170 or DRH.C/10, no. 250, p. 257. 100 Anjoukori okmănytăr, VI, no. 63, pp. 109-111; DRH.C/10, no. 212, p. 230. 101 Jânos Melich, A tot nepnevrol, in Magyar Nyelv, XXV/9-10, 1929, pp. 321-328; Jânos Melegdi, Nepnevek, in Magyar Nyelv, XVIII/7-8, 1922, pp. 165-167 (p. 167). 102 Miklos Simon, Tot, szlovăk, in Magyar Nyelv, XVIII/1-3, 1922, p. 80. 103 Gyula Nagy, A nagymihălyi es sztărai grof Sztăray csalăd okleveltăra, I (1235-1396), Budapest, 1887, no. XLVIII, pp. 59-60; DIR.C.XIV/2, no. 550, pp. 293-294. 104 M. Rogerii, Carmen miserabile, in G. Popa-Lisseanu, Izvoarele Istoriei Românilor, Vol. V, Edit. Bucovina, București, 1935, Chap. XXXVII (Infra: Carmen miserabile). 105 Carmen miserabile, Chap. XIV. 106 Cronica lui Nestor, in G. Popa-Lisseanu, Izvoarele Istoriei Românilor, Vol. VII, București, 1935, Chap. V. 107 Anonymi Geographi, Descriptio Europae Orientalis, in G. Popa-Lisseanu, Izvoarele Istoriei Românilor, Vol. II, București, 1934, Chap. IV. Ethnic Nicknames (Sobriquets) in Transylvania 31 my belief that the word vruz / uruz referred to a Slav in general. As a result, it is difficult to determine how clear was the significance of the ethnonym tot / toth, especially since for a long time Hungarians used it to refer to both Slovaks and Slovenians, as I have shown above. As a result, the ethnic nicknames Vruz / Uruz, Tot / Thoth / Toth or Sclavus probably meant a Slav, but it is more difficult to determine, without additional information to which of the Slavic groups the individual belonged. The Saracen (Serechen; Annex 14): this was a special situation. In a document from 1269 I came across a man who was called Serechen (in Hungarian szerecsen = Saracen, Moor) and probably resided in the county of Inner Szolnok.108 Therefore, this could have been a personal name and not an ethnic nickname, although the anthroponym makes reference to a specific population, namely the Arabs in Spain or those of North Africa. Regarding the appearance of such a name or nickname, there are several possibilities: the individual was a captured Saracen or the offspring of a Saracen brought to the area as a prisoner of war or as a slave; the man had darker skin, which would have led to his comparison with a Moor / Saracen by the other members of the community of which he was a part; or this was a Muslim who was called The Saracen due to the fact that Saracens were Muslims. In support of this last hypothesis, we must not forget that there were Muslims who lived in the area of the counties Bihor and Arad in the first part of the thirteenth century. In 1223 documents mentioned some Ishmaelites who were involved in a conflict with the church and the provost of Arad109, and the above-mentioned cleric, Rogerius, in his Carmen miserabile, recounts that the Mongols, on their way to Arad and Cenad, took Hungarian, Ruthenian, Cuman and Ishmaelite prisoners110. However, if we take into account the fact that the son of Serechen was called John, which was a Christian name, we should not rule out the possibility that the Serechen was a Muslim brought to the area as a prisoner of war or a bought slave who was then Christianised. Unfortunately the social category to which Serechen or his son belonged is not specified. About John we find out that he owned a certain estate, without other details. The Szekler (Syculus, Siculo, Zekul, Zekel; Annex 15): the most numerous group is that of the ethnic nickname The Szekler, comprising 32 people. Among them is the only woman registered, Margaretha dicta Zekul, a slave (ancilla) released in 1339111. Besides the Szekler seats of eastern and south-eastern Transylvania, or the Seat of Arieș, the individuals called The Szekler also appeared in the counties of Cluj, Turda, Alba, Târnava, Timiș and on Saxon Land, or, at least, they came to own properties in those areas. As their inclination towards military service is well-known (they owed it to 108 DIR.C.XIII/2, no. 106, pp. 116-117. 109 DIR.C.XI-XIII/1, no. 141, pp. 196-197 and no. 144, pp. 198-199. 110 Carmen miserabile, Chap. XXXVII. 111 DIR.C.XIV/3, no. 458, pp. 522-523, 603-604. 32 Victor V. Vizauer Hungarian kings)112, some of them could be castellans: for instance, Georgius dictus Zekel and Petrus dictus Zekel, castellans of Unguras (in 1357),113 and Jacobus dictus Zekul, the castellan of Rupea (1362)114. The large number of people nicknamed The Szekler should come as no surprise because Szeklers, along with Romanians, Hungarians and Germans, were among the most numerous ethnic groups in Transylvania. And when the bearers of this nickname lived in regions where other ethnic groups represented the majority, it is easy to understand why the sobriquet was used. In some cases, however, this could have been a simple indication of the ethnicity of one of the aforementioned persons in the text of the document, without it being an ethnic nickname. An example is that of Franciscus siculus de Vduorhel115 (Odorheiu Secuiesc, Harghita County), where siculus de Vduorhel could have the meaning of The Szekler of Odorhei, thus showing only that Francis was a Szekler, without siculus having become an ethnic nickname. The Tartar (Tartarus, Tatar, Thatar; Annex 16): the last group of ethnic nicknames, The Tartar, contains 8 elements. Most of them, more precisely four, were mentioned in the county of Sătmar, Bihor and Ugocea. As for the last two, we only know that one was a canon of the Church of Transylvania and the other was a kingsman. The county of Sătmar has a history in this regard, made visible in its anthroponomy and toponymy. In 1215 a village with the name of Tatar116 was mentioned in the county of Sătmar. Ilona K. Fâbiân believed that the name originated from an anthroponym mentioned in documents in 1181.117 In fact, two Cuman men were mentioned on the territory of Hungary in 1333; one of them bore the name of Tatar (Tatar filio Vgudey)118. Taking this information into account, we may notice that there are two plausible paths for the appearance of the nickname The Tartar: either from a toponym, or from an anthroponym, in the case of the latter the bearer of the nickname being probably a Cuman. There 112 Pal Engel, op. cit., pp. 144-145. 113 Teleki, I, no. LXVI, p. 103-104; Documenta Valachorum, no. 96, p. 132-133; DRH.C/11, no. 81, pp. 81-82; no. 107, pp. 108-109. 114 Laszlo Makkai, Kiadatlan oklevelek Kolozsvăr kozepkori tortenetehez, Cluj, 1947, no. 2, p. 5-6; DRH.C/12, no. 96, pp. 71-72. 115 Teleki, I, no. LXXXIX, p. 128; DRH.C/12, no. 194, p. 177. 116 Regestrum Varadinense, no. 126, p. 198; DIR.C.XI-XIII/1, doc. 67/126, p. 73. 117 Ilona K. Fabian, Nehăny nepnevi eredetu helynev a Văradi Regestrumban, in Az V. Magyar Nevtudomănyi Konferencia eloadăsai (Miskolc, 1995, augusztus 28-30), Szerkesztete B. Gergely Piroska es Hajdu Mihaly, Budapest-Miskolc, Kiadja a Magyar Nyelvtudomanyi Tarsasag es a Miskolci Egyetem Bolcseszettudomanyi Intezete, 1997, II, Helynevek, pp. 254-259 (p. 256). 118 Istvan Vasary, Cumans and Tatars. Oriental Military in the Pre-Ottoman Balkans, 1185- 1365, Cambridge University Press, 2005, p. 11, note 35 (apud L. Rasonyi, Kuman ozel adlari, in Turk Kulturu Araștilmalari, 3-6, 1966-1969, pp. 71-144 - pp. 88, 106, 113 și 136) and notes 37-38. Ethnic Nicknames (Sobriquets) in Transylvania 33 are no indications to suggest in any way that the ethnic nickname Tatar / Thatar really referred to a Tartar. Annexes - Persons identified as having an ethnic nickname (agnomen) Annex 1 - The Bulgarian (in the documents: Bolgar, Bulgar - 2 persons): -Johannes dictus Bolgar (mentioned in 1366-1370), noble, Cluj County (?). -Ladislaus dictus Bulgar / Bolgar de Thusun / Tușinu, de Sancto Rege / Sâncrai, de Datus / Dătășeni (1356-1379), noble, deceased, the county of Cluj, Turda and Alba (?). Annex 2 - The Czech (Cheh, Chech, Cheeh, Cheech, Ceh - 20 people): -Andreas dictus Cheh (1345), noble, the county of Cluj or Turda (?); son of Jacobus; brother of Michael, Petrus, Deseu and Ladislaus, all called Chech. -Bakoch dictus Chech (1369), noble, master, the county of Târnava (?); brother of Jacobus, Zekul and Laurentius, all called Chech. -Deseu dictus Chech (1345, 1349), noble, judge of the nobles from the county of Cluj (1349); son of Jacobus; brother of Michael, Petrus, Andreas and Ladislaus, all called Chech. -Georgius dictus Cheeh (1324-1346), noble, man of the voivode of Transylvania (1326), the county of Cluj or Turda (?). -Georgius dictus Cheh (1355), noble. -Jacobus dictus Cheh (1336), noble, kingsman from the county of Alba (?). -Jacobus dictus Cheh (1325, 1336), noble, the county of Cluj or Turda (?); the father of Petrus, Michael, Andreas, Deseu and Ladislaus. -Jacobus dictus Chech (1369), noble, master, the county of Târnava (?); brother of Bakoch, Zekul and Laurencius, all called Chech. -Johannes dictus Cheh (1334), noble, judge of the nobles in the county of Dăbâca. -Ladislaus dictus Cheh (1345-1374), noble, man of vice-voievodes Egidius (1351), Petrus (1367), Johannes (1372) and Ladislaus (1373), judge of the nobles from the county of Cluj (1353), the kingsman, man of Voivode Emericus (1372); the county of Cluj or Turda (?); son of Jacobus; brother of Michael, Petrus, Andreas and Deseu, all called Chech. -Ladislaus dictus Cheh (1376), noble, castellan of Adorjan (county of Bihor). -Laurencius dictus Chech (1369), oble, master, the county of Târnava (?); brother of Bakoch, Zekul and Jacobus, all called Chech. -Mychael / Michael dictus Cheh (1334, 1340, 1345), noble, judge of the nobles in the county of Cluj; son of Jacobus; brother of Petrus, Andreas, Deseu and Ladislaus, all called Chech. 34 Victor V. Vizauer -Nicolaus dictus Chech (1347), probably a serf, the county of Bihor (?). -Nicolaus dictus Cheh (1358), noble of Scenmihaltelekw, the county of Turda (Sânmihaiul de Pădure, Mureș County). -Petrus dictus Cheech (1343), noble, deceased. -Petrus dictus Cheh (1345), noble, county of Dăbâca or Turda (?). -Petrus dictus Chech (1364), noble. -Thomas dictus Ceh (1356), noble of Lamperth, county of Cluj (?). -Zekul dictus Chech (1369), noble, master, county of Târnava (?); brother of Bakoch, Jacobus and Laurencius, also called Chech. Annex 3 - The Croat (Horuath, Horuat - 3 individuals): -Petrus dictus Horuath (1376), noble (?), man of the vice-voivode. -Stephanus dictus Horuat / Horuath (1378), noble, kingsman sent specially from the court; probably not from Transylvania. -Symon dictus Horvath (1348), noble, county of Cluj or Turda (?). Annex 4 - The Cuman (Kun, Cwn, Kwn - 9 individuals): -Wanthuk the Cuman (1283), possibly a noble, county of Bihor (?). -Franciscus dictus Kun de Kak (1382), noble, county of Satu Mare. -Johannes dictus Cwn / Kwn (1364, 1369), possibly a noble, county of Satu Mare. -Lucas dictus Kwn (1379), knight of the royal court, witness of the king. -Michael dictus Kun (1347), probably a serf, county of Bihor (?). -Nicolaus dictus Kun (1370), kingsman. -Nicolaus dictus Kwn de Zakal (1382), noble, county of Turda. -Petrus dictus Kwn (1362), freeman, non-noble (?), county of Bihor. -Stephanus Kun (1333-1334), noble (?). Annex 5 - The Jew (Sydou): -Paulus dictus Sydou: (1363), servant, from Zeudumutur, county of Middle Szolnok (Săuca, Satu Mare County). Annex 6/A - The German (Nemeth; 2 persons): -Johannes Nemeth (1385), noble of Melleche (in Hungary). -Michael dictus Nemth (1347), serf (?), possibly from the village of Vasary, county of Bihor (near Salonta, Bihor County). Annex 6/B - The Saxon (Saxo, Zaz, Zaaz; 10 individuals): -Alardus Zaz (1344), guest, Saxon Land; father of Gyan Zaz. -Andreas Saxo (1332), clergyman, priest in the village of Banabyky, county of Cluj (Vâlcele, Cluj County). -Andreas dictus Yaaz / Zaaz (1361), guest, from Vinch Inferiori, county of Alba (Vințul de Jos, Alba County). -Gyan Zaz (1344), guest, Saxon Land; son of Alardus Zaz. Ethnic Nicknames (Sobriquets) in Transylvania 35 -Jacobus dictus Zaaz (1377), house master of the hospital of St. Elizabeth’s Church in Cluj. -Johannes dictus Zaz / Zaaz (1341, 1361, 1367), kingsman, man of the voivode, noble of Borsiyacobfolua / Barsa Jacobfolua, county of Alba (settlement now disappeared near Sâncel, Alba County). -Johannes dictus Zaz (1369), noble, county of Caraș (?). -Johannes dictus Zas (1372), deceased, owned a part of Heesfolua, Saxon Land or the county of Alba (?) (Hașfalău, today Vânători, Mureș County). -Michael dictus Zaaz (1326), clergyman, priest; Sic, county of Dăbâca. -Nicolaus Saxo: (1361), county of Cluj. Annex 6/C - The Teutonic (Teutonicus; 2 persons): -Martinus Teutonicus (1206), guest from the village of Vratotus, Saxon Land. -Nicolaus Teutonicus (1332-1337), priest, county of Bihor (?). Annex 7 - The Italian (Olaz, Oloz, Olasz; 4 persons): -Johannes dictus Olasz (1340), townsman (?), deceased, from Oradea (?), county of Bihor. -Michael dictus Olaz (1357, 1358), clergyman, deceased, former canon of the Church of Transylvania. -Paulus dictus Oloz (1319), noble (?), county of Caraș. -Thomas dictus Olaz (1382), serf, from Rezege, county of Satu Mare (Resighea, Satu Mare County). Annex 8 - The Latin (Latinus): -Iohannes Latinus (1204, 1206, 1231), knight (miles), Saxon Land; father of Corrard and Daniel. Annex 9 - The Hungarian (Magyar, Magar; 7 people): -Dionisius dictus Magyar (1337-1357), noble of Redes and Paly, county of Satu Mare (today in Hungary). -Johannes dictus Magar (1341), noble, county of Bihor. -Johannis dictus Magyar (1370), noble, deceased, county of Satu Mare. -Nicolaus dictus Magiar (1368), servant, region / district of Brașov (?). -Paulus dictus Magyar (1333), master, noble of Themeskuz, probably the county of Timiș. -Paulus dictus Magar / Magyar (1323-1347), noble, great treasurer and castellan of Gymus (1324-1332). -Stephanus dictus Magyar (1371), noble of Ermen, county of Caraș (Gherman, Timiș County). 36 Victor V. Vizauer Annex 10 - Pecenegul (Beseneu, Besseneu, Bessenow, Bissenus, Byssenus; 5 persons): -Albertus dictus Beseneu (1320), noble. -Andreas dictus Besse de Zuchak / Suceag (1362), noble, county of Cluj. -Johannes Bissenus / Byssenus (1357-1378), noble, castellan of Ersomlou (Vărădia), county of Caraș, comes and castellan of Owar (1361), bailiff of the royal court; brother of Mathyas Bissenus. -Mathyas Bissenus (1378), noble, county of Caraș; brother of Johannes Bissenus. -Paulus dictus Bessenow / Beseneu: (1364), noble, castellan of Ciceu (Cycow / Chycho). Annex 11 - The Pole (Polonus): -Leukus Polonus (1373, 1376), noble of Nagysemjen, county of Szabolcs (Hungary), de Ker, county of Satu Mare (today in Hungary); brother of Stephanus de Radalf; killed in 1376. Annex 12 - The Romanian (Olacus, Olachus, Olachi, Volachus, Wolahus; 8 individuals): -Georgius Olachus (1359), serf, from Rewfalva, county of Alba (the settlement was located somewhere in the area of Aiud, Alba County). -Georgius dictus Olah (1371), serf, deceased, county of Cluj. -Johannes Wolaho (1378), noble, county of Maramureș. -Karachon / Karachond Olachi (1347), noble of Bilke, county of Bereg (azi în Ucraina). -Karapcz Olachus (1363, 1371), noble, county of Timiș (?). -Ladislaus Olachus (1372), serf, county of Cluj. -Myk Olacus (1346), noble, county of Maramureș. -Nicolaus Volachus (1363), noble (?). -Ztoyan Olachus (1377), noble (?), servant (?), county of Hunedoara. Annex 13/A - The Russian (Uruz, Vros, Vruz, Wruz; 7 individuals): -Iwanka dictus Vruz / Vruz Iwanka (1329), noble, county of Cenad or Zarand (?). -Uruz (1216), peasant (?) from the village of Sari, county of Bihor (Șauaieu, Bihor County). -Uruz (1219), peasant (?) from the village of Kenesy, county of Dăbâca. -Vros (1202-1203), vineyard keeper, serf, from the village of Regnen, county of Bihor (?). -Vros (1214), serf of the citadel of Bihor. -Vros (1214), peasant (?) from the village of Orobag, county of Szabolcs (?) (Ungaria). -Wruz (1214), serf from the village of Gyan, county of Bihor. Ethnic Nicknames (Sobriquets) in Transylvania 37 Annex 13/B - The Slav (Sclavus, Sclaus; 5 persons): -Gregorius Sclavus (1381), peasant, serf (?), from Egreg, county of Zarand (Agrișu Mare, Arad County). -Jacobus Sclauus (Jacobo Sclauo) (1371), peasant (?), county of Bihor. -Nicolaus dictus Sclauus (1347), noble, county of Satu Mare (?). -Petrus sclavus (1370), serf, county of Bihor (?). -Stephanus dictus Sclavus (1341), noble (?), county of Bihor. -Benedictus dictus Sclauus (the slave119) (1372), county of Timiș. Annex 13/C - The Slovak (Tot, Toth, Thoth, Touth, Thowth, Sclaus; 7 people): -Johannes dictus Touth / Thoth (1365-1382), noble of Chamafaya, county of Cluj (Ciumăfaia, Cluj County), man of the vice-voivodes of Transylvania. -Johannes Toth (1378), noble of Tusum, county of Cluj (Tușinu, Mureș County). -Nicolaus dictus Thoth (1345), noble, vice-castellan of Unguraș. -Petrus dictus Tot (1337), townsman (cives) from Satu Mare (Zothmar). -Petrus dictus Thowth / Touth (1347), serf, county of Satu Mare (?). -Stephanus dictus Toth (1329), noble (?), county of Cenad or Zarand (?); he had power of attorney in a trial involving Iwanka yclept Vruz. -Stephanus dictus Thoth (1353), serf, county of Satu Mare. Annex 14 - The Sarachen (Serechen): -Serechen (1269), county of Inner Szolnok (?); father of Johannes. Annex 15 - The Szekler (Syculus, Siculo, Zekul, Zekel; 32 persons: 31 men, 1 woman): -Dominicus siculus (1345), noble of Tylegd, the seat of Telegd / Tileagd (subsequently Odorhei). -Franciscus Siculus (1363), freeman, non-noble or noble (?), from Vduorhel, Odorhei Seat (Odorheiu Secuiesc, Harghita County). -Georgius dictus Zekel (1357), noble, castellan of Unguraș, man of the voivode. -Gregorius dictus Zekul: (1351), noble. -Ilba Siculus (1364), freeman, non-noble or noble (?). -Jacobus dictus Zekul (1362), noble, castellan of Rupea. -Jacobus Syculus (1381), noble of Kakas, Mureș Seat (Cocoși, probably Vălureni, Mureș County). -Johannes Zekul (1302, 1308, 1312), clergyman. 119 This is how the editors of DRH.C/14 translated the word Sclauus - see p. 104. 38 Victor V. Vizauer -Johannes dictus Zekul (1344), noble, kingsman, bailiff of the royal court (1344). -Johannes dictus Zekul (1352), townsman from Cluj. -Johannes Siculus (1360), noble, county of Turda. -Johannes dictus Zekul (1368), townsman, tailor, from Sebus, county of Alba (Sebeș, Alba County). -Ladislaus dictus Zekul (1363), noble, clerk of Almaș, county of Cluj. -Margareta dicta Zekul (1339), servant (ancilla) / freed slave, county of Târnava (?). -Martinus Siculus (1334), noble, county of Turda (?). -Meggyes Siculus (1317), noble, Mureș Seat (?). -Michael dictus Zekul (1362), servant (?), county of Cluj (?). -Mycael dictus Zekul (1381), noble. -Nicolaus Syculus (1360), freeman, non-noble, probably deceased. -Nicolaus dictus Zekul (1375), noble (?), county of Târnava or Saxon Land (?). -Nicolaus dictus Zekel (1376), noble. -Orbos Siculus (1344), noble. -Paulus dictus Zekul (1333-1334), servant of Sandrin, captain of the archers, county of Outer Szolnoc (?). -Paulus Siculus (1358-1360), noble of Nova Torda, county of Turda. -Petrus Siculus (1271), noble, comes. -Petrus dictus Zekel (1357), noble, castellan of Unguraș, man of the voivode of Transylvania. -Ropha Siculo (1345), noble. -Semian Siculus (1331), noble, Odorhei Seat. -Stephanus dictus Zekek / Zekel (1368), noble (?), county of Inner Szolnok. -Stephanus dictus Zekul (1382), noble of Zaruastelek, county of Timiș (a settlement now disappeared, near Fârdea, Timiș County). -Thomas dictus Zekul / Zekel (1377, 1380), townsman from Cluj (?); father of comes Nicolaus, judge of the city of Cluj. -Zubuslaus / Zucuslaus Siculus (1271), noble, county of Alba (?). Annex 16 - The Tartar (Tartarus, Tatar, Thatar; 8 individuals): -Johannes dictus Tatar (1347), serf (?), possibly from the village of Vasary, county of Bihor (near Salonta, Bihor County). -Johannes dictus Tatar (1358), noble, county of Satu Mare (?). -Ladislaus Tartarus (1370), peasant (?), from villa Vosuary, county of Sătmar (Oșvarău, Satu Mare County). -Nicolaus dictus Thatar (1327), noble, comes, county of Satu Mare (?). -Nicolaus dictus Tatar (1355), noble, kingsman. -Petrus Tartarus (1317-1329), clergyman, canon of the Church of Transylvania. Ethnic Nicknames (Sobriquets) in Transylvania 39 -Stephanus dictus Tatar (1323), noble, county of Ugocea (?). -Stephanus dictus Thatar (1352-1357), noble of Keter, county of Satu Mare. MIHAI-FLORIN HASAN1 ABOUT A THEFT OF OXEN FROM SOLNOC COUNTY (1353) Abstract: The aim of this short study is a clear one from my point of view. It is a part of my interest in the evolution of crimes and criminality in these parts of the medieval kingdom of Hungary. I stated this on various other occasions, even in my other studies dedicated to this particular aspect of medieval life: criminality has its own roots and these roots are connected with the “social soup” of different areas. These roots are connected with violence, pride, the idea of justice and many other aspects of medieval life. The act of stealing, in this instance, a pair of oxen from a peasant, could be regarded as an act of courage, of bravery, a desperate gesture, an act of insubordination to the rules of the mightier, an act of power (manibus armatis...), an act of revenge, but it has a simpler explanation from our point of view: an act of disrupting the balance of forces, an unstable one, in a world dominated by violence and intolerance. The study offers, also, the possibility of a reconstructed genealogy for two minor noble families of the region in the fourteenth century. Keywords: Solnoc County, Zothmar County, crime, theft, abduction, violence, justice * This article continues a series of studies I have dedicated, throughout time, to the subject2 of medieval criminality in the South-Eastern corner of the Kingdom of Hungary in that era. Through a series short articles, I aim to bring to the forefront some of the “tales of crime” from the Transylvanian Middle Ages. Through this collection of past stories, I wish to familiarise the historical community and the larger public with the “banality of evil”, if I were to use the phrase consecrated by Hannah Arendt, a survivor of the Holocaust, who was invited to recount the events of Adolf Eichmann’s trial in Jerusalem.3 1 PhD, Professor at the Orthodox Theological Seminary of Cluj-Napoca; e-mail: hasanmihai@gmail.com. 2 See Banditismul în epoca medievală, forthcoming, in AMN, with more elaborate references, the two popularising articles derived from and inspired by my PhD Thesis, printed in the collection Povești despre Cluj, volumes I and II, published in 2015 and 2016 by Editura Școala Ardeleană from Cluj-Napoca, my recently published PhD Thesis: Proscriși și infractori în Transilvania (secolele XIV-XVI), Cluj-Napoca, Editura Argonaut, 2017, or Neamul Kâllayi și infracționalitatea medievală, published in the proceedings of the 2003 historians’ colloquium from Bistrița. 3 Hannah Arendt, Eichmann in Jerusalem: a report on banality of evil, Viking Press, New York, 1963. About a Theft of Oxen from Solnoc County 41 My contention is that criminal acts were part of medieval quotidian reality, that they belonged to a series of activities designed to highlight the “manhood” of those individuals, their struggle for land, but also contradictory sets of values and ideals that animated the era. The actions I will present will only strengthen the point I am making. In a well-known work about the “communities of violence”, David Nirenberg shows that in modern historiography the fourteenth century has been associated with terms such as “full of calamities” or “crises”, and one of its features was war.4 Unlike in the thirteenth century, if there was a conflict between the king and his barons at the level of Europe, there was also a polarisation of social relations between the urban elite and the workers, the residents of the urban and rural areas, or between peasants and seigneurs.5 Richard W. Kaeuper states that in modern historiography, besides the great wars of the era, involving the military and their specific behaviour, discussions have also focused on a “private war”, on the home front of internecine struggles among the knights, which have been regarded as something non-specific or, rather, as a way of imposing hierarchical order.6 From his point of view, however, there is a dichotomy between the code of honour of the period and the behaviour of those who professed the idea of honour in an imperfect society, where, even if such ideals were achieved, they could not be at all compatible with the ideal of an even more orderly and more peaceful society, as people aspired to in the late medieval period.7 Richard Kaeuper is seen, in any case, as one of the most important historians who have lately approached the subject of internal struggles among the nobility. He is an American historiographer8 and his analytical structure is closer to English or Australian historiography.9 Kaeuper has spoken about the fact that, in 1387, Honore Bonet wrote to King Charles VI of France, telling him that “it’s no big deal that in this world wars and battles break out, since they were first and foremost waged in heaven”.10 Literary statements certify the fact that the nobility was often offended by the state of peace, as recorded in numerous such works.11 Chanson Gaydon (the twelfth century) informs about the fact that these knights preferred not to have peace, for, accustomed to battle cries, they loved war more than Nones and Complines12 [Night Prayer or Apodipnon in the East] and would have preferred to erase a city from the face of the earth than to have two cities 4 David Nirenberg, Communities of violence, New Jersey, Princeton University Press, 1996, pp. 18-19. 5 Ibidem. 6 Richard W. Kaeuper, Chivalry and Violence in the Middle Ages, New York, Oxford University Press Inc., 1999, p. 3. 7 Ibidem, pp. 3-4. 8 See the initial considerations of the researcher Claire Valente, The Theory and Practice of Revolt in Medieval England, Aldershot, Ashgate Publishing Limited, 2003, note 3, p. 2. 9 Ibidem, mentioned alongside the late Maurice Keen (ț 2012), Philippa Maddern (ț 2014) or John Roland Seymour Phillips. 10 Richard W. Kaeuper, Chivalry and violence in the Middle Ages, p. 162. 11 Ibidem. 12 Ibidem, p. 163. 42 Mihai Florin Hasan surrender to them without a fight.13 Boson, the hero of Girart de Roussillon (fifteenth century), is depicted as a man whose taste for battle is endlessly renewed.14 Returning to the first statement of the American historian, we may believe that the Hungarian nobility was undergoing a process of “settlement” and “composition” (after 1212), in particular through its aristocracy, and identified in the thirteenth-fourteenth centuries with these ideational values or adhered to them, at the level of images. This can be noticed in the sigillography and iconography of the period: Fig. 1. A representation of King Andrew II in Codex Stuttgarti. 15 Fig. 2. Comes Mathias, son of Ban Roland, seal (1281)16. 13 Ibidem. 14 Ibidem, p. 162. 15 Odon Boncz, A magyar viselet IVLâszlo korăig, în Archaeologiai Ertesito, Kiadja a Magyar Tudomânyos Akademiâ, Budapest, 1887, vol. 7, p. 2. 16 Bela Majlâth, Egy lovas pecset a XIII. szăzadbol, în Archaeologiai Ertesito, Kiadja a Magyar Tudomânyos Akademiâ, Budapest, 1879, vol. 13, p. 397. About a Theft of Oxen from Solnoc County 43 13 sz. Fig. 3. Types of Hungarian seals in the eleventh-fourteenth centuries.17 Karen Jones notes that in the medieval period there was, including among the non-privileged population layers, a desire to prove one’s masculinity, one’s manhood, in relation to the others18 - all the more so among the nobility. There were also sets of conflicting rules, imposed by the family, the church or the members of the social group19: Christian ethics and the virtues of honour and of self-control clashed with the secular values that defined the status of men and their identity, based on physical aggressiveness and sexual conquests, including for the older men.20 Trevor Dean indicates, in the footsteps of other historians of criminality, the fact that an official report was made when one or more limits of tolerance to violence had been violated, the first border delineating public order from private honour.21 17 Archaeologiai Ertesito, Kiadja a Magyar Tudomânyos Akademiâ, Budapest, 1880, vol. 14, plate XX. 18 Karen Jones, Gender and Petty Crime in Late Medieval England. The Local Courts in Kent: 1460-1560, Woodbridge, The Boydell Press, 2006, p. 2. 19 Ibidem, p. 3. 20 Ibidem. 21 Trevor Dean, Crime and Justice in Late Medieval Italy, New York, Cambridge University Press, p. 24. 44 Mihai Florin Hasan Hannes Kleineke notices that, in the case of the nobility from the area of Cornwall, for example, there were various reasons that headed the populace towards a life exposed to crime: violent land disputes, various resources that generated great profits in the area, a murderous disposition leading even to hiring gangs of familiars to carry out the dirty work of these nobles; the examples discussed by this scholar lead to a simple conclusion: the great mass of the nobility cannot be treated as a homogeneous mass.22 The document we want to refer to is part of the typology that I proposed in my PhD Thesis for validation by the scientific community. This typology shows similarities with the typological rudiments present in Trevor Dean’s book, which inspired me in my doctoral approach, and with the typology proposed by Karen Jones in 2006. The taxonomy structured by the series of crimes presented in the document from the year 1355 is this: type I, 4.m.I (ox theft); I, 13.b (wounding a battle horse); I,3 (armed attack); I,13.of (injury of persons), and I,2.e and 2.m.I (the robbery of clothes and big livestock).23 Fig. 4. DL 77085 (obverse). The document24 is part of the collection stored in the National Hungarian Archive, DL 77085,25 recorded in: Archive of the Zichy family, 214, C. 45, a 22 Hannes Kleineke, Poachers and Gamekeepers: four fifteenth century west country criminals, in Outlaws in Medieval and Early Modern England. Crime, Government and Society: 1066-1600 (eds. John C. Appleby, Paul Dalton), Farnham, Ashgate Publishing Limited, 2009, pp. 145-146. 23 Mihai Hasan, Proscriși și infractori în Transilvania (secolele XIV-XVI), Cluj-Napoca, Editura Argonaut, 2017, pp. 45-46. 24 The original can be found here:https://archives.hungaricana.hu/hu/charters/view/46690/ ?pg=0&bbox=-779%2C-3376%2C4349%2C23, accesed on 03.02.2018. About a Theft of Oxen from Solnoc County 45 transumption of the act issued by the noble judges of the county of Satu Mare on February 13, 1354,26 sent to King Louis I. The document of February 13, 1354 is original, written on paper, “with traces of 3 ring-shaped seals applied on the fold”.27 Fig. 5. DL 77085 (reverse). This document was published in a first phase in the diplomatarium of the Zichy family, volume II, then in the series DRH-C, and in the last phase, as a regest in CDT. The original shows a stain of moisture which has partly affected the document, featuring the following formula of address: ” Excelentissimo domino, domino Lodouico, dei gratia regi Hungarie” (see the obverse) and the sender: “quatuor iudicum”. The document of the four noble judges in the county of Satu Mare, from February 13, 1354, shows that the investigation initially requested by the king (or in the name of the king) was carried out. The inquisitoria-type letter was presented to the court by the vice-comes of Satu Mare, the noble Iacobus dictus de Erdel from Zakachy [today Săcășeni, formerly Socaciu, SM], who, as suggested by the text of the letter, had brought it before the county court after 29 January 1354, when it was drafted in the royal chancellery of Buda. The document of 29 January indicates that the vice-comes had personally gone to the royal court: “Lodouicus dei gracia... dicit nobis Jacobus dictus de Erdel de Zakachy” to solve the case that concerned him directly: “duos boves cuiusdam iobagionis sui nomine Stephani dicti Fudur de 25 Cf. Codex Diplomaticus Transsylvaniae (Erdely Okmânytâr), ed. Zsigmond Jako, Magyar Orszâgos Leveltâr, Budapest, 2008, volume 3 (1340-1359), pp. 274 and 275 (hereinafter CDT). 26 Documenta Romaniae Historica, series C, Transilvania, volume X, București, Editura Academiei RSR, 1977, doc. 251, p. 258 (hereinafter DRH-C). 27 Ibidem. 46 Mihai Florin Hasan predicta Zakachy subtraxissent”28. The robbery happened in Zakachy [Săcășeni], on the territory of Satu Mare county, and, as we learn further, the thieves were from Kege [Chegea] in Solnoc county. Fig. 6. The distance (at present) between Săcășeni and Chegea: 3.1 km (cf. Google Maps). The noble master Iacobus Erdelyi Szakâcsi was a familiar of Nicolaus Csâk, who was comes of Satu Mare between 1353-1354.29 The comes was mentioned in office between 20.06.1353 and 13.02.1354,30 the last date being also the one in which he brought the inquisitoria before the county courthouse. The case went to trial at the royal court, as it transpires from the documents preserved, at least in this phase, in view of the fact that the function performed by Iacobus, that of vice-comes and ex officio judge of the county of Satu Mare, would have placed him in a position of abuse of power, to which plaintiffs were very attentive, even in that period.31 For the same reason, we believe that this case was not tried entirely by the court of Solnoc county, in whose area of jurisdiction the wrongdoers lived (he was transferred directly to the court), and neither in other courts (the court judge, the palatine). Given this fact, plus the costs of a trial by the king and the last instance court (royal tribunal), Iacobus wanted to solve the problem in the costliest way possible for the perpetrators and without dragging the trial through other courts. And, again, like in thousands of other cases, we only have a sequence of the trial: the investigation (second, here) phase, in this case. 28 Ibidem. 29 Pâl Engel, Magyarorszăg vilăgi archontologiăja 1301-1457, vol. I, MTA Tortenettudomânyi intezete, Budapest, 1996 [Archontologia ], p. 188. 30 Ibidem. 31 Mihai Hasan, Proscriși și infractori în Transilvania...., p. 396. About a Theft of Oxen from Solnoc County 47 The two localities mentioned in the trial appear to have been located near the boundary line between the counties: “...the judges of Satu Mare county.. went at once to... to one of the judges of county Solnoc”, about over ^ of a Hungarian mile32 away (3.1 km, on the road, at present), as shown by the situation in the field (see figure 6). In the area can be found forest remnants, which indicates the fact that in the fourteenth century the forested area must have been more extensive, perhaps bordering the road connecting the villages. The fact was confirmed also toponymically, in 1361, when reference was made to the point Câmpia plopilor (Nyaresmezew) on the Zakachy estate.33 Returning to the case discussed, in the original text, preserved in the transumption, we understand that the two oxen of Stephanus dictus Fudur (flamboyant?, proud?) were stolen during the feast of Saint Catherine (25 November). Since said Stephanus complained to the master of the theft, it follows that the owner was not at home at that time, and we may suspect that he was attending mass. Sending this serf to investigate the traces suggests that no neighbours were in the area to give descriptions of the thieves. It follows, also, that Iacobus was the one making the subsequent decisions: “after ‘this’ happened and he found out, he wanted to look for those who had committed this crime..” and Stephanus was lucky because the master was in Zakachy. However, the pursuit was triggered on November 26. As it was late November, it might have already snowed in the region, and if the theft took place around noon, two-three hours may have passed before the vice-comes was informed. Sending the serf in pursuit of the perpetrators, at nightfall, was useless in those conditions. The early winter weather is suggested by Ștefan’s search for traces of the oxen: “to track down those two mentioned oxen” (prosequendum dictorum duorum bovum vestigia).34 The noun vestigia is part of the same family of words as the verb vestigatio = to search, to track, to identify, to trace, to be on the trail of.35 The tracks of the oxen could be identified clearly only in mud or loose snow, in autumn-winter, with low traffic on the roads connecting villages. It seems that the thieves, very sure of themselves, had not tried to cover their tracks, because Stephanus found the oxen in the stable (stabulo) of Iohannes Kegyei, son of Martinus. However, a question should be raised: was the gesture of the Kegyei family premeditated? Personally I’d be inclined to think that yes, because the two oxen of Stephanus “the proud” must have drawn their attention some time before, and the feast of St. Catherine proved to be a very good opportunity for theft. The related documents (17 October 1354, 22 October 1361) suggest that the Erdelyi family had property issues with the members of the Kegyei family, who owned, through 32 Nicolae Stoicescu, Cum măsurau strămoșii, București, Editura Științifică, 1971, pp. 99-100: they had in mind the distance of 7.6 km or 11.13 km. 33 DRH-C, XII, București, Editura Academiei RSR, 1985, doc. 61, p. 45. 34 DRH-C, X, doc. 248, p. 254. 35 J. F. Niermeyer, Mediae latinitatis lexicon minus, fasciculus I, E.J. Brill, Leiden 1976, p. 1080, entry: vestigatio, with this meaning from the above-mentioned document from 1354, in the laws of Edmund. 48 Mihai Florin Hasan Iohannes, the brother of Martinus,36 also part of the Vynemethi estate [Ujnemeth, today Unimăt, SM = Noul Neamț, the New German], and the reason that generated the conflict seems to have been Kege [Chegea], ultimately claimed as part of the heritage of the vice-comes’s family (cf. the document of October 17, 1354). It seems very plausible that the logical consequence of the series of violent actions from November 1353 was the taking over, at least partially, or at the level of documents, of the Kege estate by Iacobus. Thus, the initial gesture of the ox theft of 1353 must have had some connotations related to the family honour, demonstrating an ability to respond, beyond the limits of the law, to the family that was seen as being more potent. In keeping with those written above, the consequences were certainly detrimental to the family of Iohannes Kegyei. The serf Stephanus walked back ^ of the mile he had initially covered and reported to the vice-comes that he had identified the oxen in the stable of the Kegyei family. This action must have unfolded throughout the day of 26 November, and “on hearing this, that Iacobus went at once to Synka, son of Pete, that is, to one of the judges of county Solnoc”. The character is rather obscure, for in those years he was identified just on this occasion in the nomenclature of the nobility from Solnoc,37 and his genealogy is limited to a minimal tree: father-son. A single chronological and genealogical extension could be admitted, possibly, if the character of Petrus, son of Synka, mentioned on October 17 1354,38 was the son of the noble judge in county Solnoc, certified in February 1354. The association would be appealing,39 because it would fit in the anthroponomic pattern grandfather-grandson40 (Pete-Synka-Petrus), and this Petrus was prevented, among others, from enjoying the usufruct of the Zakachy estate [Săcășeni]. We could thus consider that Synka, if we accept the association of persons, was an owner in the vicinity of Săcășeni and maybe even co- metaneu (fellow yeoman) with the vice-comes at the border of the two counties. This would explain the rapid movement of Iacobus to the curia of Synka for the matter of the theft of oxen, on the same day, most certainly. 36 DRH-C, XII, București, 1985, doc. 61 [22.10.1361], p. 45. Martinus was the name of the father of Iohannes Kegyei cf. doc. 248, p. 254 and doc. 274, p. 284 (DRH-C, X). 37 Șerban Turcuș et alii, Antroponimia în Transilvania medievală (secolele XI-XIV). Evaluare statistică, evoluție, semnificații, Cluj-Napoca, Editura Mega, 2011, volume II, p. 1251. 38 Ibidem. See also DRH-C, X, doc. 274, p. 284. The chronological extension of up to 1374 for Synka, offered by the study of Petri Mor: Szilăgy vărmegye monogrăfiăja, 5. kotet. Birtokosok, csalădok tortenete A-K, Kiadja Szilăgy Vărmegye Kozonsege, 1903, p. 430, the entry Erdelyi is just a printing error, since his reference is to the document of 17 October 1354, quoted from Nagy Imre, Anjoukori Okmănytăr, volume 6 (1353-1357), Budapest, Kiadja a Magyar Tudomănyos Akademia, 1891, doc. 159, pp. 243-244. 39 In 2011 I hesitated, together with the co-authors of the above-mentioned paper, in merging the Synka characters into one; we were cautious because of the parsimonious nature of the identities of the characters attested in the source: DRH-C, X, doc. 274, p. 284. 40 Mihai Hasan, Antroponimia și modalități de transmitere a antroponimelor in cadrul familiilor nobiliare transilvănene de la sfârșitul secolului al XIII-lea si din secolul al XIV-lea, in Acta Musei Napocensis, 48/2, Cluj-Napoca, Editura Argonaut, 2011, pp. 9-30 and Anthroponymy and modes of anthroponym transmission in the Transylvanian noble families in the late thirteenth century and throughout the fourteenth century [II], in Acta Musei Napocensis, 50/2, Cluj-Napoca, Editura Argonaut, 2013, pp. 97-101. About a Theft of Oxen from Solnoc County 49 From the curia of judge Synka, the document says, the two officials went to the village of Kege [Chegea], where they announced that the two oxen found in the stable would be taken into the custody of the court (“legitimately”); in parallel, lest the perpetrators should “have” the oxen missing, four servants (famuli) of the vice- comes: Thomas de Zyrma (probably a petty noble), Nicolaus, Stephanus and Petrus dictus Feyes were sent by their master to oversee the village. Indeed, two of the sons of Iohannes, i.e. Ladislaus, the first born, and Iohannes, his fourth son, of course, the perpetrators of the theft, tried to take the oxen out of the parental yard, feeling that “this could imperil them” (ex hoc ipsis sencientes evenire periculum), but the four who had been sent to guard them (custodibus) and to spy on them from afar (speculatoribus) spotted them. The legal language of the text is obvious, for the four acted on official mandate from the master (who was also an official with judiciary powers in criminal matters) and from a judge of the neighbouring (identical) county. The verb deputasset is used (here, it seems, with the meaning of official mission: to delegate in order to retrieve)41 for the mission of those men. Also, the preference for the action of spying (speculare), rather than for investigation (explorare), previously undertaken by the serf Stephanus (that vestigatio of the oxen tracks) indicates the preparation of a flagrant by the posse of the vice-comes. We cannot rule out that the four had done this before. Surely, they were armed with bows and arrows, because one of them mortally wounded the horse of Ladislaus Kegyei, during the chase that started when the offenders tried to take the oxen out of the yard. We don’t know the location of Iohannes Kegyei’s curia, but it must have been in his part of the village, most likely towards Zakachy, and the direction of flight of the two brothers must have been to the South, across the field that was possibly covered in mud and/or snow. We can imagine the slight advance of the two, forcing the oxen to run as they were riding their horses, probably without too much noise, the four followers on their heels and the decision of the best archer of the four to stop the fugitives. Iohannes managed to escape, but Ladislaus, left without a horse, was captured by the four servants, who took his horse, his sword (gladium),42 his dagger (biccellum) and his mantle (pallium) as proof of the theft perpetrated by the two nobles. It seems that the oxen disappeared or were never found, as will be seen. It can be noted that Ladislaus was ready for any situation, as he was armed with weapons specific to one-on-one fights. The text of the document becomes rather obscure here, because the data from the evening of November 26 or perhaps 27 November (Tuesday or Wednesday) are blurred or unclear. On Monday, December 2, Iacobus, the vice-comes, may have presented the so-called “capture” to the court in county Solnoc. The comes himself may have heard this case (unofficially, the vice-comes, since the voivode of Transylvania held this honour). At the same time, we know that the servants had been attacked by the relatives of Ladislaus (proximi); one was injured, and they were dragged to Kege by the attackers. So, only two servants were, at that time, in the village of Kege, one being the noble Thomas de Syrma, the other two having left earlier to Zakachy with evidence of the fight and of the theft. We suspect that 41 J. F. Niermeyer, op. cit., entry: deputare, 11., p. 322, where the association deputare +custodia appears. 42 I notice that in the translation of the text, the sword does not appear among the things seized by the four servants of the vice-comes, see DRH-C, X, doc. 248, pp. 255 and 256. 50 Mihai Florin Hasan Iohannes the young alarmed his relatives, who, heavily armed, attacked the two servants left with Ladislaus behind. Here, on the way to Kege (as shown in another place of the text), there was a violent clash between Iohannes the old man, his sons, Andreas and Iacobus, and, probably, the second cousins Laurentius and Iohannes, sons of Simon Kegyei, who either now or in the village (the text claims that the injury occurred in the village, but it makes no sense) badly wounded Thomas with two arrows. After the release of Ladislaus, they carried those two into the village, took their horses, harnesses and cloaks, all valued at 13 marks (3.18 kg silver, calculated by the mark of Buda, in the amount of 0.245 gr. or of 2.67 kg by the mark of Transylvania, in the amount of 0.206 gr.). The horses were ordinary (equatiales), judging by the price, and not for battle, and the cloaks seem to have been of average quality, for they were worth a mark and a half a piece, that is, about 10-12 silver denarii. Such property was associated with the social layer to which these servants belonged. I do not know how those two servants managed to get home, in Zakachy. They were probably retrieved by the other servants of the vice-comes. Over the following days, the wounded horse of Ladislaus Kegyei died due to the injuries caused by arrows, and the carcass was skinned so that its hide could be shown to the judges on Monday, December 2, 1353. The two conflicting parties brought before the judges evidence that would have contributed decisively to the establishment of guilt. The text of the royal document insists strongly on the fact that the action of Iohannes and his relatives was diabolical (nequiciosam simulacionem), and Iacobus took Synka to court to ascertain the facts. Everything was proved thus, but the oxen were not found. In fact, the memory of the oxen in this context would appear hilarious if they did not play the role of judiciary argument in the determination of guilt. The text says that the traces of the horses and oxen were tracked, and the finding was that everything had happened as shown in the legal document. The culprits were the Kegyei family, as indicated by all the evidence. In February the court of Satu Mare reinforced the previous investigation. From here on, the news related to the trial are almost completely missing. On February 13, 1354 the court of Satu Mare county notified the king that it had also investigated the case, and the facts were exactly as found by the court in Solnoc in the first instance. The fact that on October 17, 1354 Iacobus Erdelyi stopped the Kegyei family members from any action of laying down the boundaries around the Kege estate or from settling on it, under the deed issued by the chapter of Oradea,43 suggests by inference who had prevailed in the trial, claiming rights on that estate. The document of 22 October 1361 suggests a conflict between the relatives of lohannes Kegyei from the Ujnemethi family and Iacobus Erdelyi for a flat area in the Zakachy estate,44 and in the same year, it appears that there was an agreement for the sale of an estate between Iohannes Kegyei and his sons, and Iacobus and Iohannes, sons of Peto Szântoi, in view of the attacks the Erdelyi Szakâcsi family had waged on the Kege estate.45 43 DRH-C, X, doc. 274, p. 285. 44 DRH-C, XII, doc. 61, p. 45. 45 Petri Mor, Szilăgy vărmegye..., p. 723. About a Theft of Oxen from Solnoc County 51 However, on November 4, 1365 Petrus de Kege appeared in the position of familiar and procurator of the Dobokâi family in a lawsuit with the Kusâlyi family,46 so the family must have stayed there and looked for more powerful allies in the Dobokâi family members from the Kokenyesradnot kin, whose familiar Petrus became. The fact is that these gestures, epitomising the “banality of evil”, were triggered by the fight for territory. I would be tempted to believe that the members of the Szakâci family were the moral authors, who forced the less potent nobility in the surroundings to take desperate measures against a more powerful noble. I would be tempted, from the start, to think that Louis I or his baron judges favoured the noble Iacobus because of the solidarity of the most powerful, but we must not forget that in 1351 the Angevin king reinforced the Golden Bull, including the jus resistendi of royal servants, so he tried to limit the abuses of the aristocracy. We must not forget that the Angevin system produced more legal acts than all the previous Arpad monarchs, and the type of western justice was always upheld through the justice of the king and of his judges. Abuse was not accepted at the level of political and legal discourse, but it was favoured by the pyramid of familiarity and the almighty power of the magnates at the institutional county or castellan level. What is certain is the theft of the oxen of that serf Stephanus and their loss in the midst of winter, the forest and the wolves on the border of counties Solnoc and Satu Mare. What is certain is that Thomas was seriously injured and that a horse was shot to death with an arrow, that violent blows were exchanged by both parties to the trial to “share” or “obtain” justice. The theft of the oxen could be seen as a desperate gesture, as an act of defiance, as an act of courage, of power, of vengeance if it did not have another, simpler explanation: the destruction of a precarious balance in a society dominated by violence and intolerance. 46 DRH-C, XII, doc. 436, p. 454. 52 Mihai Florin Hasan ANNEX Reconstruction proposal for the families Ljnemethi and Kegyei IM. ? | ? N. Chama N. 1354 I _________________________________________________I______________________? lohannes Ujnemethi lohannes Ujnemethi Martinus Kegyei N. 1361 1361 1354.. 1361 Elek Kegyei 1354.... 1361 1354 1 lohannes Kegyei L Symon 1354.... 1361 1 Lorandus lohannes 1354 1354 Ladislaus 1354 lacobus Petrus lohannes Andreas Michael 1 1354 1354.... 1365 1354 1354 1354 Laurentius 1354 I Paulus 1354 PAULA VIRAG1 GENERAL ASPECTS REGARDING THE JEWS IN SATU MARE COUNTY AT THE END OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY Abstract: According to the census made in the time of Joseph II, the Jews in Satu Mare County accounted for 1.9% of the population as a whole. Their main occupations were related to agriculture, the crafts, trade, and land leasing. In view of the legislation in force during that period, no Jew lived in the mining towns of Baia Mare and Baia Sprie. In the city of Satu Mare, their number was very small. The majority lived in rural areas, ensuring, by virtue of their activities, the link between urban and rural areas. Their religion, which was different from that of the Christian population, their mentality, clothing and physical appearance meant that they were regarded with reluctance by the majority of the population from Satu Mare County, this situation lasting until the middle of the nineteenth century. Keywords: Jews, population, county, census, conscription * General aspects of the Jewish population in Hungary during the eighteenth century The origins of the Jews in eighteenth-century Hungary are relatively recent, dating no further back than the end of the seventeenth century, when after a century and a half of Ottoman occupation, Hungary was recaptured by the Habsburgs. The increase in Jewish population from a few thousand people in the late seventeenth century to about 300,000 in 1830 was due to a large immigration, fostered by promising economic conditions and relatively favourable legislation. This immigration occurred in two stages. The first wave brought Jews from the Balkans and the German states, or from even more remote regions, such as France. They were included in the colonisation of fertile lands in the southern region of Hungary, a region that had recently been freed from Ottoman occupation. The Judeorum conscription ordered by Charles IV recorded 12,000 Jews in Hungary, in 1735-1738. The second wave of immigration occurred in the middle of the eighteenth century, between 1735 and 1785-1787. The number of Jews who were settled now in these areas was around 60,000. They came in two stages. In the first stage, about 30,000 to 35,000 Jews came mainly from neighbouring Moravia and fewer from Bohemia, where, as of 1726, family legislation had established a series of limits on the number of Jewish families. The majority settled on the northern borders of Hungary, not far from their communities of origin, along the of the western regions of the Burgenland, near Vienna, or in the mountainous 1 PhD, Scientific researcher III, Satu Mare County Museum, e-mail: pcvirag@gmail.com. 54 Paula Virag regions of Slovakia, where they formed a community similar to the one in Moravia, which the Hungarian Jews called Oberland. Another group, lower in number, settled down in Croatia or in the region of the military border, as well as in Banat and Transylvania. Here one could find a small number of Sephardi Jews, who had come from the Balkans. In the second stage, the Jewish population came from Poland and, after its dismantlement, especially from Galicia. In the beginning, this migration was slow, but it gained momentum from the last third of the eighteenth century until 1830. A wave estimated at 25,000 arrived before 1780, and another of 45,000 before 1830. Hungary became a country of opportunities for the 10,000 Jews from Galicia.2 Especially in its eastern half, this was the region with the densest Jewish population in Europe, a region which proved to be inexhaustible for emigration, sending waves of emigrants not only to Hungary, but also to the Romanian Principalities, Ukraine and Southern Russia, as well as to Vienna or the United States of America towards the end of the nineteenth century. The vast majority of the Jews in Hungary were concentrated in three relatively compact regions in the north-east, north-west and in the centre, on a radius of approximately 50 miles around Bratislava, Sâtoraljaujhely and Buda- Pest. The census of 1787 recorded two-thirds of the Jews of Hungary as living in the border regions of Hungary. In the south, the Jews were spread out in villages or in a chain of communities that stretched down from Nagykanizsa in the west to Arad in the east. During the eighteenth century, most Jews lived alongside Germans, Slovaks, Ruthenians and Romanians. In the nineteenth century the centre of gravity started to be represented by the regions inhabited mostly by the Hungarian population. Around 1830, a third of the population was located only in the territorial area of present-day Hungary. By 1880, this number had increased to more than half of the population, a percentage which did not change significantly until the First World War. Settlements with a population of 2,000 to 10,000 represented a type of settlements where the Jewish population had a higher percentage. These boroughs reflected the most characteristic function played by Jews in the economy, as mediators between the rural and the urban areas. They had a typical position in the life of the community. Jews settled in such localities ruled by the great families: Esterhâzy (Eisenstadt, Mattersdorf, Pâpa), Batthyâny (Rechnitz, Nagykanizsa), Pâlffy (Bratislava, Stampfen), Kârolyi (Carei), Festetics (Keszthely), Zichy (Obuda until 1765), Schonborn (Munkâcs, Beregszâz), some prelates (Mako, Veszprem), the royal chamber (Obuda) and others.3 2 Michael K. Silber, Hungary before 1918, in http://www.yivoencyclopedia.org/article.aspx/ Hungary/Hungary_before_1918 3 Idem. General Aspects regarding The Jews in Satu Mare County 55 The data preserved until today show that during the reign of Joseph II, on the territory of Hungary lived 6,085,236 people, 78,345 of whom were Jews. Thus, they represented 1.28% of the total number of inhabitants. Table no. 1 - The number of the Jewish population of Hungary and Transylvania Region Total population Jews Hungary 6,085,236 78,345 Transylvania 1,372,090 1,940 Of these, the largest percentage (1.8%) lived in the region “The left bank of the Danube”. At the opposite pole was “The area between the rivers Tisza and Mureș”, inhabited by Jews in a percentage of only 0.1% of the total population. This irregular distribution of the Jews on the territory of Hungary was due to several factors that influenced their settlement in different areas of the country. Table no. 2 - The total population of Hungary in 1787, by denomination/religion (in %)4 Region Catholics Evangelicals Reformed Orthodox Jews The right bank of the Danube 73.5 9.3 14.7 1.2 1.3 The left bank of the Danube 78.4 78.1 1.7 0 1.8 Between the rivers Danube and Tisza 60.5 8 22.2 8.5 0.8 The right bank of the Tisza 68.3 12.2 17.7 0.1 1.7 The left bank of the Tisza 35.6 1.6 41.2 20.4 1.2 The area between the rivers Tisza and Mureș 17.1 0.7 1.2 80.9 0.1 Hostile geographical conditions and the prohibition to settle in privileged regions, such as the mining areas and Jâsz-Nagy-Kun - Szolnok 4 Thirring Gusztâv, Magyarorszăg nepessege II. Jozsef Korăban, A Magyar Tudomânyos Akademia Kiadâsa, Budapest, 1938, p. 50. 56 Paula Virag and Hajdu, created a barrier to the establishment of the Jews in the centre of Hungary, by controlling the expansion of Galicia to the west, and the one from Moravia and Bohemia to the east. The buffer area delineated two distinct regions of the Jewish settlement in Hungary, separated by the river Vâh, towards the Transylvanian city of Cluj-Napoca. Even after the settlement restrictions were lifted in the mid-nineteenth century, this division proved to be remarkably long-lasting. The linguistic differences of the Yiddish spoken in Central and Eastern Hungary by the Holocaust survivors corresponded with the regions of origin in Moravia and Galicia noted in the census of 1735.5 In the eighteenth century limits were established for the settlement of Jews. Certain regions were granted privileges because they did not tolerate the Jewish population (Croatia, the regions of Jâsz-Nagy-Kun- Szolnok and Hajdu, mining towns and their contiguous areas) or because they had restrictions as regards accepting them (the military frontier, Banat, Transylvania). The occupational structure of Jews was linked to the agrarian character of the economy. A conscription organised in 1767-1768 gives us a picture of the occupations of about 5,500 family breadwinners. For about a third the occupation was not known, so most of them were recorded as very poor families. Lessees, publicans and alcohol producers amounted to approximately 17% of the family breadwinners. Another 17% were craftsmen: butchers, tailors, furriers, glaziers, shoemakers, etc. The rest of the 1,800 family “heads” were employed in trade. Of these, those who had a higher social status were merchants (merctores); about a quarter were tradesmen (quaestores) selling certain categories of goods, such as leather, textile, wool and tobacco; and more than half were traders. The lowest positions were occupied by peddlers, the so-called “bundle Jews” (Pinkeljude or dorsarius) who roamed the villages, chased by dogs and hit by the stones children threw at them, carrying their merchandise on their backs, selling needles, thread, umbrellas, hats, scissors and other utensils, collecting old clothes or small animals. The most prosperous collected goods from the production of grain, by amassing stocks in the city. In exchange, they brought to people living in villages colonial goods, such as spices, coffee, tea, ironwork, good quality textiles. Many worked for the commission of agrarian traders in Vienna, Bratislava and Pest, employed in import-export businesses with foreign markets. After his accession to the throne, Joseph II was concerned about how to improve the situation of the Jews in Hungary. His intentions were communicated to Count Esterhâzy Ferencz, on 13 May 1781. Thus, on 31 5 Michael K. Silber, Hungary before 1918, in http://www.yivoencyclopedia.org/article.aspx/ Hungary/Hungary_before_1918 General Aspects regarding The Jews in Satu Mare County 57 May 1783, the Hungarian government signed a decree known as Systematica gentis Judaicae regulatio. This laid down the following: • With the exception of mining towns, royal free cities were opened to the Jews; • The legislation relating to the Jews should no longer be drafted in Hebrew or Yiddish, but in Latin, German and Hungarian, the languages that were used in that period in Hungary and that young Jews were required to learn within two years. • Documents written in Hebrew and Yiddish were no longer legal; books in Hebrew were only used in prayer; • Jews were to organise elementary schools. The themes studied in Jewish schools had to be the same as those in state schools; the same textbooks had to be used in all elementary schools; anything that might undermine religious agreements had to be omitted. In the early years, due to a lack of Jewish teachers, Christian teachers had to be employed, but they were not allowed to have anything to do with the religious life of the students; • Young Jews could be accepted in the universities and they could specialise in any area, except in theology; • Jews could also deal with agriculture if they could cultivate the same crops as Christians, without their help; • Jews were allowed to engage in various industrial activities and to be admitted into guilds. Also, they were allowed to have seals and to sell gunpowder, but their exclusion from mining towns remained in force. Christian craftsmen were allowed to have Jewish apprentices. • All the distinctive signs worn by Jews until now had to be abolished, and they could even wear a sword. On the other hand, men had to give up all the distinctive signs imposed by religion, including shaving their beards. This last provision aroused the discontent of the Jewish population, who signed a petition on April 22, 1783, expressing their gratitude for the favourable new legislative changes. However, they requested the emperor to give up the provision that forced them to shave their beards, by reminding him of his own principle according to which one should not interfere in anyone else’s religion. Joseph II approved this request. There followed two other decrees that influenced the lives of the Jewish inhabitants of Hungary, namely the decree of 23 July 1787, by which Jews had to choose German first names and surnames, and that of 1789, which established that Jews had to serve in the military. Although the intentions of the first decree were to standardise and educate the Jewish population, name differences appeared between the Christian population and the Jewish one throughout time. The surnames adopted by Jews soon became identified as Jewish regardless of their Teutonic origin and they were quickly 58 Paula Virag abandoned by non-Jews. As regards military service, it must be said that the military conscription of the Jews in Hungary took place on August 10, 1788, half a year after it started in Galicia. Jews did not have to serve in combat units, but only in transportation bodies. Initially 204 Jews were to be recruited. Although, initially, their representatives tried to convince the emperor to abandon the idea of military service, they were not successful in this regard. At the end of his reign, Joseph II was faced with the dissatisfaction of the Hungarian nobility against his reforms. On his deathbed he relinquished a part of the edicts for Hungary, except for the Edict of Tolerance and two other laws. Almost immediately after the death of the emperor, royal free cities sought to banish Jews from their premises. Law 38 of 1790, known as De Judaeis, was approved by the Hungarian Diet and it stipulated that the Statute of January 1, 1790 should be maintained in force. This was understood by Jews as being related to their legal situation, entailing also the fact that there would be no restrictions on their lives in royal free cities. However, the Christian inhabitants thereof interpreted the law in the sense that the size of the Jewish population in these cities should be frozen at the level of the year 1790. Half a century had to pass for the Diet to consider a more comprehensive legislation so as to determine the legal status of Jews. In the absence of state intervention, the Josephine school system in Hungary decayed slightly, not because of the authorities’ opposition, but because of the financial difficulties faced by Jewish communities. Only a few schools in the larger cities survived. The demographic evolution of Jews in Satu Mare County After the end of the rebellion led by Râkoczi II, the Court of Vienna began to take measures for the reorganisation of the territories affected by these events. In accordance with this official policy of the Habsburg Empire, Count Kârolyi Sândor, the supreme leader of the county of Satu Mare, started the colonisation of Danubian Swabians on the territory of his domain. Thus, several families of Swabians who were to live there and work in agriculture were brought from the south of Germany, in the regions of Baden- Wurttemberg and Bavaria. His wish was to populate the regions in which the number of inhabitants had dropped very much, to intensify labour in agriculture, to cultivate plots of land that had not been worked until then, and to increase the number of Roman Catholic believers in this area. The newcomers were faced with numerous hardships, one of them being the differences arising between them and the native Hungarian population, most of which was of Protestant denomination. In parallel with the attempt to solve the problems emerging in connection with the Swabian settlers, Count Kârolyi began steps to bring families of Jews who had been expelled from Poland on his estates in Satu Mare County. To that end, he requested from the Court of Vienna permission to colonise the territory of Szatmâr with a Swabish population that would help the economic and General Aspects regarding The Jews in Satu Mare County 59 commercial stability of the county. The Royal Locumtenency Council approved the request of the count, provided that the authorities of the county had a clear picture of all the Jews who would live in this region. Thus, at the beginning of the eighteenth century, several Jewish families settled on the territory of Satu Mare County. We know that, according to the conscription from 1720-1721, 112 Jews lived in this area, i.e. 0.27% of the total population of the county. In 1723, Count Kârolyi concluded a contract with some of them regarding their rights and obligations on his domain. The contract was renewed in the next period.6 The expectations that Count Karolyi Sândor had from the colonisation of Jews on the territory of the county were partly confirmed. Their main occupations were landholding, brandy production, publicanism, more rarely, agriculture and trade. They transported goods not only to different parts of Szatmâr, but also in the more remote regions of Hungary, Poland and Moravia. In case their work was considered profitable by the Austrian authorities or by the Royal Hungarian Locumtenency Council, they were supported to achieve their economic or commercial objectives. Thus, there are documents that indicate that in 1771 the central authorities intervened with the local authorities to grant commercial passports to Jews who transported good 7 quality bread. The study of the demographic evolution of the Jewish population in the county of Satu Mare in the eighteenth century faces a series of obstacles that are difficult to pass, due to gaps in the official documents of the period under consideration. Thus, only the counties of Arad, Maramureș and Bihor, and the town of Satu Mare appeared in conscriptions regarding the Jewish population from 1727 and 1735-1739. The conscriptions from 1743-1745 included only the counties of Arad and Bihor. The one from 1746-1748 contains information about the situation in the counties of Satu Mare (including the city with the same name), Arad and Maramureș. The population census of 1784-1787, conducted at the order of Joseph II, included information about the family, social and material situation of the Christian and Jewish population. However, although Jews were listed under special headings, the information about them is not usable for determining their occupation and age groups. This fact is due to the aggregation of data referring to Jews with those about the Christian population.8 After the death of Joseph II, the vast majority of the documentation collected in the census of 1784-1787 was destroyed. Thus, an important demographic source for the situation of the population at the end of the eighteenth century was lost. 6 Anton E. Dorner, Evreii din comitatul Satu Mare în veacul al XVIII-lea, in Hans Gehl, Viorel Ciubotă (eds.), “Relații interetnice de contact româno-maghiaro-ucraineană din secolul al XVIII-lea până în prezent”, Ed. Muzeului Sătmărean, Satu Mare, 1999, p. 135. 7 Ibidem, p. 136. 8 Moshe Carmilly-Weinberger, Istoria evreilor din Transilvania (1623-1944), Ed. Enciclopedică, București, 1994, p. 20. 60 Paula Virag Table no. 3 - The legitimate population by religion9 County/ City Numbe r of househo lds Number of Christian families Number of Jewish families Total The Christian population present The Jewish populati on present Total Satu Mare 23,367 23,343 524 26,867 131,990 2,569 134,5 59 Satu Mare 1,735 1,836 1 1,837 8,205 4 8,209 Baia Mare 777 934 0 934 3,882 0 3,882 Baia Sprie 812 973 0 973 3,819 0 3,819 Bereg and Ugocea 16,055 17,491 440 17,931 88,994 2,170 91,16 4 Maramureș 19,653 17,861 479 18,340 83,864 2,254 86,11 8 Bihor 52,835 61,108 231 61.339 316,862 1,093 317,9 55 According to statistics drawn up in 1784-1787, 26,867 families lived in the county of Satu Mare. 524 of those families were Jewish, representing a percentage of 1.95%. With the exception of a single family (composed of 4 members), who lived in the royal free city of Satu Mare, all the others lived in various rural regions of the county. The 524 Jewish families included 2,569 people, that is, 1.90% of the total population of Satu Mare County. The legislation at the end of the eighteenth century relating to the Jewish population is reflected very well in the preserved demographic data. Thus, the mining towns of Baia Mare and Baia Sprie were not inhabited by any Jew, respecting the legislative provisions in this regard that had been introduced at the time of Empress Maria Theresa’s reign. Table no. 4 - The faith of the legitimate population, including differentiation by sexes 10 9 Thirring Gustav, op. cit., p. 121. 10 Ibidem, p. 127. General Aspects regarding The Jews in Satu Mare County 61 Coun -ty/ City Christi- an men Christian women Total Jewish men Jewish women Total Total men Total wo- men Total popula- tion Satu Mare 67,610 64,380 131,9 90 1,318 1,251 2,569 68,92 8 65,63 1 134,559 Satu Mare 4,023 4,182 8,205 2 2 4 4,025 4,184 8,209 Baia Mare 1,919 1,963 3,882 0 0 0 1,919 1,963 3,882 Baia Sprie 1,894 1,925 3,819 0 0 0 1,894 1,925 3,819 Out of the 2,569 people of Jewish religion who lived in the county of Satu Mare, 1,318 were men and 1,251 women. In the city of Satu Mare, in 1787, the authorities recorded a single family consisting of 2 men and 2 women. If we make an analysis of the entire population of Satu Mare County, we will notice that men (Christians and Jews) outnumbered women by 3,297 individuals. Chart no. 1 - The number of Jewish inhabitants in the counties of Satu Mare, Ugocea, Maramureș and Bihor in 178711 To get a clearer picture on the number of the Jewish population in the county of Satu Mare, we conducted a short comparative study with the surrounding counties, Bereg-Ugocea, Maramureș and Bihor. Analysing the data of official statistics from the end of the eighteenth century, we can see that in the regions neighbouring Satu Mare there was a much smaller number of Jewish residents than in the county in our attention. 1,093 Jews lived in 11 Ibidem, p. 127. 62 Paula Virag Bihor, which is less than half of the population of the same religion that lived in the county of Satu Mare. In Maramureș, in 1787, there were 2,254 Jews, and in Bereg-Ugocea 2,170. These numerical differences with regard to the Jewish population can also be explained by the attitude of the county authorities, the nobility and the rest of the Christian population towards the Jews. To this were added the economic conditions of the county, which could be favourable or unfavourable to the activities of the Jewish population. Conclusions. At the end of the eighteenth century, the Jews in Satu Mare County accounted for 1.9% of the population as a whole, the percentage comprising both men and women. Their occupations were related to agriculture, crafts, trade, and landholding. The amount of their contribution per person ranged between 400 and 500 florins, to which was added an annual fee of 5 Thalers. These amounts were determined by the Diet, but the nobles on whose lands they had settled, the city of Satu Mare, the county authorities and the Catholic and Protestant Churches could charge other fees for their own treasury. In compliance with the legislation in force, no Jews lived in the mining towns of Baia Mare and Baia Sprie. Even in the city of Satu Mare, their number was very small. The majority lived in the rural area, ensuring, through their activities, the link between the urban and the rural areas. Their physical appearance, clothing, mentality and religion were completely different from those of the Christian population, leading to Jews being regarded with reluctance by the population of Satu Mare County. This situation lasted until the mid-nineteenth century. ROBERT OLÂH GÂL1 PETRU PIPOȘ (1859 - 1913), THE FIRST ROMANIAN MATHEMATICIAN, DOCTOR OF MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES IN CLUJ Abstract: This article presents aspects of the life and work of Petru Pipoș, the first Romanian mathematician who obtained the title of doctor in mathematical sciences, at a university on the territory of today’s Romania, respectively at the “Franz Joseph” University of Cluj, on 13 April 1882. His PhD advisor was the renowned polymath from Cluj Sâmuel Brassai. Keywords: Petru Pipoș, “Franz Joseph” University of Cluj, Sâmuel Brassai, Mor Rethy, Antal Abt. * This paper aims to highlight the merits of Petru Pipoș in the field of mathematical sciences. All the biographical studies dedicated his Pipoș note that this remarkable Romanian intellectual studied at the “Franz Joseph” University of Cluj, where he became a doctor in philosophy in 1881. That year he “becomes professor of pedagogy at the Pedagogical High School in Arad - an important post which he occupied uninterruptedly till his death... He was the author of several textbooks and scientific papers in the pedagogical and didactic field. Petru Pipoș contributed to national journals and to Arad-based publications of the time: “Educatorul” in Bucharest, “Biserica și școala” in Arad, etc.”2 It is, however, less known that Petru Pipoș was the first Romanian mathematician with a PhD in mathematical sciences, which he obtained on the territory of today’s Romania, from the “Franz Joseph” University of Cluj. In the last decades of the nineteenth century, there were already many Romanian intellectuals with doctorates in mathematical sciences, obtained at the great universities in the West. Thus, Ioan Bozoceanu3 took his PhD in Brussels, in 1874, and Spiru Haret, David Emanuel and Constantin Gogu at the Sorbonne, on 30 January1879, 5 July 1879 and, respectively, 7 February 1882. But the first Romanian Transylvanian with a doctorate in mathematics, obtained in the country, was Petru Pipoș, who received this degree on 13 April 1882. The first specialist with a PhD in mathematical sciences obtained at the University of Cluj at the end of the nineteenth century was Paul Fuchs, from the city of Pecs (Hungary). In 1874, he submitted the thesis Rotation Systems and 1 PhD., Lecturer at Sapientia Hungarian University of Transylvania, Faculty of Economics, Socio-Human Sciences and Engineering, Miercurea-Ciuc, e-mail: olahgalrobert@uni.sapientia.ro. 2 http://www.aradcityguide.ro/_/monument-istoric/bustul-lui-petru-pipos/. 3 For the life and activity of Ioan Bozoceanu, see: https://www.crestinortodox.ro/carti- ortodoxe/romanii-covasna-harghita/valcele-82334.html 64 Robert Olâh Gal Their Most Important Properties, under the supervision of Professor Lajos Martin. In 1878, Fuchs was followed by Gyula Bartha, a primary school teacher in Baraolt, with the thesis Analytical Treatise on the Most Famous Properties of the Triangle, and the third dissertation was that of Petru Pipoș, with the title The Problem of Apollonius. His PhD supervisor was the renowned polymath from Cluj Samuel Brassai, a good connoisseur of Euclidean geometry, being the first who translated Euclid’s Elements into Hungarian. * Petru Pipoș was born at Alba-Iulia on 29 August 1859, in a wealthy family. His grandfather (who bore the same name) was an archpriest and rich owner of gold mines [who] insisted that two of his four children should also study mining. Thus, Ioan and... Victor [the uncle and father of Petru Pipoș], after they went to law school in Cluj, they also graduated from the mining academy in Schemnitz, undertaking afterwards a study trip through Austria, Salzburg, Tyrol and Italy.”4 In terms of the subsequent development of the two brothers, the better known was loan Pipoș (the uncle of Petru Pipoș), who - between the years 1861- 1867 - become supreme comes of Zarand.5 The father of Petru Pipoș, Victor, did not have such a spectacular career, occupying a modest position in the state apparatus, in Cluj. Given the establishment of his family in the city on the Someș, Petru Pipoș enrolled at the Piarist Highschool here (today, the “Bathory Istvân” Theoretical High School). In 1875, after his baccalaureate exams, Pipoș became a student of the “Franz Joseph” University of Cluj, at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, majoring in mathematics and physics. Here, between 1876 and 1880 his professors were Lajos Martin in superior mathematics, Samuel Brassai in elementary mathematics, Mor Rethy in theoretical physics and Antal Abt in practical physics.6 All of these professors were, at that time, important personalities in the scientific life of Transylvania. Petru Pipoș was an outstanding student and, in a way, the only one of the students in his class with a talent and a special devotion to mathematics. His qualities can be compared with those of Gyula Valyi, another colleague of his generation, who, in 1877, went to Berlin on a postgraduate scholarship. Back in the country, he became a university professor in Cluj, replacing Samuel Brassai in the department of elementary mathematics. 4 Traian Mager, Ținutul Hălmagiului, vol. 1. În cătușele dualismului austro-ungar de la 1867 http://www.darnick.com/halmagiu/catusele.html#N5, note 5. 5 Traian Mager, op.cit.; idem, Beneficiile revoluției de la 1848. Organizarea românească a județului Zarand la 1861. See http://www.darnick.com/halmagiu/beneficiile1848.html#N30. 6 Victor Marian, Petru Pipoș (1859-1913), in Gazeta matematică, 1938, no. 1. Petru Pipoș (1859 -1913) 65 Pipoș developed a mathematics paper in each of the following three years of college: I, II and IV. These papers were awarded prizes in money by the leadership of the Faculty. For the academic year 1876/77 the theme of the contest was: “Find the curve described by the centre of a circle with a variable radius and that is tangent to two other given circles”. In the second year of college a competition was announced for the elaboration of a paper on the theme: “Establish a general formula by which to express the volume of the following polyhedra, namely: the prism with parallel or slanting sections, the parallelepiped, the pyramid and the truncated pyramid, the cone and the truncated cone, the obelisk and the prismatoid and which, through adequate replacements, can transform into individual formulae that serve to the calculation of the volumes of the above- mentioned geometrical bodies. The required formula will be determined causally, i.e. deducted from the considerations and principles of geometric and it will be shown that it can be turned into particular formulae relating to each of the bodies listed above”. The faculty board granted the prize, again, to Pipoș, who was actually the only competitor. 7 In the next year Pipoș did not submit any paper, but in the academic year 1878/79 he again won a prize of 50 florins, for a paper on superior mathematics: “A monograph shall be written on trajectories”. In 1879 Pipoș enrolled in the Society of Medicine and Natural Sciences in Cluj, a prestigious scientific society, which included Mor Rethy and Gyula Vayi. After obtaining the degree of professor of mathematics and physics, Pipoș could not get a teaching job in Cluj, in his specialty. In 1881, he was forced to accept a vacancy in Arad, but in the field of pedagogy, at the Romanian Greek-Orthodox Pedagogical Institute in this town, a post which he occupied continuously until his death. During his career he contributed to the publications “Educatorul” in Bucharest and “Biserica și școala” in Arad. The bust of Petru Pipoș, a creation of the sculptor Marcel Olinescu, was unveiled in 1937 on the alley of Arad personalities next to the Cultural Palace. The works of Petru Pipoș: 1. Apollonius kerdese (The Problem of Apollonius). Doctoral dissertation. Budapest, 1882. 2. Metodica școalei poporale pentru elevii institutelor pedagogice (școalelor normale) [The Methodology of People’s Schools for the Students of Pedagogical Institutes], Arad, 1887 (second edition in 1895, Orăștie; third edition in 1901, Orăștie). 3. Istoria pedagogiei [The History of Pedagogy], Arad, 1892 (second edition in 1903, Orăștie). 7 Idem, Petru Pipoș (1859-1913), in Gazeta matematică, 1938, no. 2. 66 Robert Olâh Gal 4. Didactica pentru elevii institutelor pedagogice [Didactics for the Students of Pedagogical Institutes], Orăștie, 1896. 5. Psihologia pentru institutele pedagogice și școalele medii [Psychology for Pedagogical Institutes and Undergraduate Schools], Arad, 1896 (second edition revised and completed in 1901, Orăștie). 6. Pedagogia pentru preparandii (școale normale) [Pedagogy for Pedagogical Schools], Orăștie, 1900. List of illustrations: Fig. 1-2: Petru Pipoș in Arad, photo by Imre Ravasz (two-sided). From the collections of the National Museum of Transylvanian History, inventory no. M 12.017 Fig. 3-4: The Pipoș family, photo by Ferenc Veress (two-sided). From the collections of the National Museum of Transylvanian History, inventory no. M 12.018 Fig. 1 Fig. 2 Petru Pipoș (1859 -1913) 67 Fig. 3 Fig. 4 NICOLAE TEȘCULĂ1 THE ORDER OF GOOD TEMPLARS IN TRANSYLVANIA’S SAXON TOWNS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 20TH CENTURY Abstract. The Order of the Good Templars appeared in the United States of America, in 1850, as a fraternal organization for temperance and abstinence, following the organizational pattern of the Freemasonry, the members of the order being united in lodges. The order granted equal access to men and women of all races. The Order will spread from the United States into Europe. It will also appear in Transylvania, in the Protestant Evangelical milieu of Sibiu, Brasov, Sighisoara, Bistrita, Orastie, Sebes, and Medias etc. The Order of the Good Templars had a sustained activity in the Saxon area in Transylvania during the first half of the XXth century, acting with a certain firmness against alcohol consumption, but it did not manage to stop the members of the Transylvanian community from drinking alcohol. Keywords: abstinence, anti-alcohol movement, The Order of Good Templars, lodge, Transylvania. * The 19th century makes its debut through a period marked by scientific conquests. It is the period when man discovers more, a time full of inventions that make common man’s life a lot easier. At the same time, innovations in medicine cause the growth of life expectancy. Doctors weren’t concerned only with creating medication or better treatments but also with creating prophylactic measures. It is now when possible sources of different plagues like typhus, cholera, scarlet fever or measles are eradicated through extensive urban measures. Towns acquire new shapes due to the introduction of running water, sewerage, street paving and creating gutters. One of the major debates regarding the wounds which affected society is about excessive alcohol consumption. Alcoholism is regarded as a plague which leads to physical and psychic destruction of some individuals. Apart from these aspects, it represents, now - during a period marked by naționalism - a possible cause for a nation’s extinction and the elite is trying to fight with all means possible. This is noticeable with the Transylvanian Saxons as well, where - through press articles, speeches and sermons in churches - they militate for prohibition and abstinence. Next to these means we find The Order of Good Templars. 1 PhD. Nicolae Teșculă, The History Museum Sighișoara, e-mail: nicolaetescula@yahoo.com The Order of Good Templars 69 The Order appeared as a fraternal organization for temperance and abstinence, its members met in lodges, having the freemasonry as a structure model. In the year 1850, in Utica, state of New York, Daniel Cady founded an organization called The Knights of Jericho. In the year to come, at his cabin in Oriskany Falls, a town close to Utica, this organization was visited by another group led by Wesley Bailey and the two groups decided to unite and form The Order of Good Templars. The organization’s motto was: Friendship, hope and charity! The Order admitted men and women equally and made no distinction by race. It knows a good reception in the American society and during the same year, in August, H. Curtis sets the foundation of the Grand Lodge of the United States of America. In a short while, by 1866, it had 168,500 members and 2,686 lodges.21 Concerning the Order’s purpose, Wilhelm Morres, evangelical parish priest in Brașov, he points out that the group promotes abstinence from any kind of alcoholic drink and its members should follow a series of precepts in their lives: “ 1. one will avoid consumption of such drinks until the end of his life, 2. one will not offer anyone such drinks, 3. one will not prepare, purchase or sell such drinks, 4. one will persuade by any legitimate means to eliminate their consumption by the human society.” The only exception made by the Order is the one concerning the Holy Eucharist or if advised so by the doctor. They would advise here, if possible, to use grape juice or any other non-alcoholic remedies.3 Also, each member will see to improve his health, his wealth, will be a true family man, will improve his social relations. He will constantly see to improve the life quality of his peers by preaching for a no-alcohol life, showing the major problems this brings upon the individual’s health and upon society. A good templar does these through a thorough structure and by working together with the other members.4 Within the structure, if there are 10 adult members in a town, the basis of a lodge will be set. Although it is not written as a rule, it is shown that if a lodge grows over 50 members, the lodge cannot keep its familiar sense and it is advised that another lodge is formed. The lodges are seen as large families where the fraternal spirit dominates. Each lodge selects for leadership the mission. For the internal and external activity it selects a committee of seven members to which other auxiliaries are added. It is shown that more must know the responsibilities within the lodge and therefore the elections for 2 August Forel, Der Guttempler - Orden (Independent Order of Good Templars) Ein sozialer Reformator. Seine Geschichte, sein Zweck, sine Grundsătze, seine Organisation und seine Tătigkeit. Im Auftrăge des Schweizerischen Grossloge des I.O.G.T, Flensburg, 1913, p. 3-4. 3 Wilhelm Morres, Der Guttempler, Kalender des Siebenburger Volksfreundes fur das gemeinde Jahr 1914, XLV, 1913, p. 81. 4 Ibidem, p. 82. 70 Nicolae Teșculă positions take place quarterly. The committee’s election, the regularity of the meetings and all other regulations are set by the ritual book. Usually there are weekly meetings, at a preordained time in the evening, which don’t take more than two hours. Punctuality is very important. Also, any meeting begins and ends in a song or a prayer. A new member is accepted freely by vote by the members. Inside and outside the lodge members identify themselves through a white and blue metal button which has engraved on it the earth globe and the inscription I.O.G.T. - Internationaler Orden der Gut-Templer (The International Order of the Good Templars). Inside the order members are placed in a hierarchy by distinctions. After half a year of activity, each member receives a distinction - Districtual, after two years - Grand Lodge and after five years of activity World Lodge. As we shall see in the following paragraphs, according to the distinction he held, each member could become representative to the lodge he belonged and could participate in the meetings of the superior lodges.5 The ritual has at his roots moral and Christian principles and beliefs. For each member it has a compulsory character, the ceremonies and the rites of passage words, as well as order and discipline. It is not a religious ritual though, because within the order we find members of different Christian confessions and different political views, people who are more religious or less religious etc.6 The Order put accent on entering new young members within its ranks, to prevent them knowing the bad effects of alcohol. Therefor appear the young lodges, for children between 10 and 14 years old and the so called guard lodges for young people aged 15 to 18. They work alongside the adult lodges for abstinence and a life with no alcohol. The Order’s agreement must be obtained for building a new lodge. 7 Beside the regular meetings, each member must participate to public gatherings, where alcohol use is condemned, to militate for abstinence and to propagate their ideas in concerts, shows, reading evenings etc. Also, in society, they must have an impeccable behavior, to be punctual, tidy, to prove their discipline and will to help others. 8 Within each lodge there is a hierarchy. Its leader was the Grand Templar, who presided over the meetings. His role was to represent the lodge, he had the obligation to respect the constitution, the ritual and the daily order of meetings. He also had the role to follow on the punctuality of the arriving members and to maintain a good atmosphere inside the lodge. The Vice- Templar or The Grand-Old Templar was his second in command, he received 5 Ibidem, p. 83. 6 A. Forel, op. cit., p. 20-23. 7 W. Morres, op. cit., p. 84. 8 A. Forel op. cit., p. 16-17. The Order of Good Templars 71 help in presiding over the meetings and represented him in the meetings he could not attend. The Secretary position was an important one as well. It had to be held by someone extremely punctual - to hold meeting protocol and to render an account if there was or not much talking during the meeting - also to tell The Grand Templar of any irregularity in the lodge or done by any of its members. 9 The Chief Templar was the one who led the young people meetings with a major role in forming the new generation. He was a person who knew very well the rules of the order and observed strictly their evolution. Then, The Marshal kept the lodges inventory, The Supervisor kept the order and discipline during the meetings, the Chaplain had an essential role in the ceremonial service and during the ritual, The Treasurer or The financial Secretary managed the accounts and the finances of the lodge.10 Where there existed more lodges in a city, the work would be carried out through collaboration and a district lodge would exist. The district lodge represented the lodges in that district or province, according to the country’s administrative state. They are composed by at least one representative of each of the regions lodges. The condition was to hold at least the rank of District. The functions and dignities are the same as within a lodge. At a national level the district lodges for a group of 100 members a delegate is chosen for the Grand Lodge of a country. This is made of the district lodges’ representatives elected annually. Here as well there is the condition of having a Grand Lodge rank. Next to them there are the so called Old Representatives and the extraordinary members (with no right to vote). The Grand Lodge gathers once a year, for two or three days, in a town planned ahead.11 At the yearly meeting the leaders are elected. At the head of the Grand Lodge is the Grand Templar. He is the leader of the grand lodge and represents it. He calls a deputy (The Lodges Deputy) in each of the subordinate lodge, he will be the second in command to the Grand Templar, as his subordinate he has the role of first instance and has a specific role in building a new lodge. The Grand Secretary is the one who keeps the agenda of the day, the accounts, the paperwork and the correspondence. Each lodge subordinated has to send The Grand Secretary, quarterly, a report with the number of the members, its internal activity and also each of the members could address the Grand Lodge. Another grand office clerk was The Grand Treasurer. He is the one holding the accounts and alongside The Grand Secretary answers for the financial aspects of the Grand Lodge. Next to them were the other office clerks, following the structure of a subordinate lodge. 9 Ibidem, p. 27. 10 Ibidem, p. 28. 11 Ibidem, p. 16-17. 72 Nicolae Teșculă Discussions were held within the Grand Lodge and from there the organization was run in each country, the propaganda was made and a spirit of discipline was maintained on the inside. Every two years the Grand Lodge of a country would send representatives for the International Supreme Lodge. It was the highest instance of the order. Initially it had this role only for the United States territory, but since 1868 it has a universal character, it has lost it only during 1875 and 1889 when the order was split worldwide into two groups. 12 The International Supreme Lodge would gather every two years in a meeting that lasted between 8 to 10 days, every time on another continent. The delegates were two for each Grand Lodge. One belonged to the Grand Lodge and the other to The Old Representatives. The first one represented 5.000 members, the second one 1.000 representatives. Practically each member with World Lodge sent his representative. Alongside these were the Honorary Members who had a right to vote and discuss. Each Grand Lodge paid the International Supreme Lodge a tax, which was used for the travel expenses of its representative to its world meetings. With the same occasion the office clerks were elected. The leader was the Right-Worthy Grand Templar - R.W.G.T., who represented the order worldwide and he was elected for two years. At the same time of his election, The Grand Secretary of the International Supreme Lodge and the Grand Treasurer of the International Supreme Lodge were elected as well. Constitution changes, rights, laws and order rituals were also discussed at this meeting, having the role of last instance in case of conflict.13 Thus, after the same principle and hierarchy are organized the young lodges, and the Grand Chief of the Young Templars is a part of the Executive Committee of the International Supreme Lodge, and the same are they represented in each Grand Lodge and District Lodge.14 Each member must personally and individually lobby for abstinence and lead a morally impeccable life. He who wanted to become a member was subjected to a trial period and on the duration of it his evolution was evaluated. Also, individual lobbying was done on the occasion of musical meetings, workout meetings and reading meetings, when he had to prove that a good Templar although abstinent he is cheerful and funny, he knows how to have a good time and he is not an ascetic. Proving the same during the holidays, strolls, concerts, picnics and presenting those not familiar with the practice, the laws and rules of the order and invites them to join in. During these occasions he offers brochures and literature which promote abstinence. Also, to do propaganda through the media and in the communities for the authorities to 12 Ibidem, p. 16-17. 13 Ibidem, p. 18. 14 Ibidem, p. 19. The Order of Good Templars 73 adopt a legislation to promote the prohibition for alcohol production, sell and consumption. 15 Good Templars are not against a socially active life. They promote the foundation of restaurants and hotels with no alcohol, they are not for the destruction of vineyards and orchards, and they are for making compotes, juices and syrups from the fruits.16 Due to this doctrine The Order of the Good Templars knows a good welcome in the American society and this determines them, in a short while, to extend through the American continent and not only.17 So, in 1868, in Birmingham, Great Britain, the first European lodge is born and from here the movement is spread all through the old continent. A schism appears in 1875, between the American lodges and the rest of the world and only in1887, in Saratoga, U.S.A., the two branches of the order are reunited. This leads to the existence, in 1875 - worldwide - of 190.000 members in Great Britain, out of which 95.000 young people, 98.000 members in Sweden, 25.000 in Norway, approximately 6.000 in Denmark, 9.000 in Germany and 2.000 in Switzerland. Worldwide the number of members was of about 600.000, with lodges organized not just in Europe, but also Cape Town, India, Burma, Canada and all the English colonies. A major role in this expansion of the Good Templars has been played by the military lodges of the English officers.18 In the German space, the evolution is quite a rapid one. Although in 1883 we find the first Templar lodge mentioned in the “Pioneer”, in 1888 appears the first Grand Lodge of the Good Templars in Germany and a year later, the second Grand Lodge. 19 In 1906, we find a number of 22.000 members in Germany and 630 lodges, and worldwide 86 grand lodges with 9600 subordinated lodges and approximately 630.000 members. At that time, in Germany only, the order had over 40 periodical publications.20 So, from here to its apparition in the Transylvanian space there was just one step. An article appeared in 1899 in a supplement of the Wiener Arzzeitung magazine against alcohol consumption, signed by doctor Zerbes. This article managed to unite the members of the Saxon elite. Thus, on June 2nd 1899, at the Evangelical Schools Teachers’ Meeting, at doctor Heinrich Siegmund’s inițiative (from Mediaș), he held a speech with the title Alcohol and school, a theme dr. Siegmund will retake a few days later in Mediaș with the title About spiritual drinks. In both speeches he will speak about the 15 Ibidem, p. 29-30. 16 Ibidem, p. 29-30. 17 Georg Schuster, Die geheimen Gesellschaften Verbindungen und Orden, zweiter Band, Leipzig, 1906, p. 543. 18 A. Forel, op. cit., p. 4. 19 Ibidem, p. 5. 20 G. Schuster, op. cit., p. 544. 74 Nicolae Teșculă harmful effect of alcohol consumption in the Saxon communities. These ideas will find an echo with the headmaster of the Evangelical School in Rupea, Johann Rehner and also with the evangelical priest from Bistrița, Gottlieb Budaker. In 1902, Heinrich Siegmund will have set the base for a magazine entitled Volksgesundheit, its purpose: the fight against alcohol’s scourge. On October 10th, that same year, an announcement appears in the newspapers, the article was militating for the start of an anti-alcohol association called Alkohol- Enthaltsamkeit-Vereines fur Voklswohl und Volkserhaltung. On January 4th, 1903, in Mediaș, the foundation was laid for the association which then had 51 members. 21 The first Good Templar who comes to Transylvania, from Hamburg, is Epilinus, in 1904. Also, in the first issue of the Volkgesundheit magazine, dr. Siegmund had made the first introduction of the Order of the Good Templars. A year later, the Gerken couple, on their way from Berlin to Bucharest, will have set the grounds for the first lodge of the Good Templars, called the number 1 “Honterus” lodge, on June 1st, 1905, then, on June 18th that same year, in Mediaș, they lay the foundation for number 2 lodge “Volksgesundheit” and on May 19th, in Sibiu, they do the same with the number 3 “Brukenthal” lodge. The first Grand Templar of the lodge in Brașov was Wilhelm Morres, for the one in Mediaș was Dr. Siegmund, and for the one in Sibiu was Emil Siegerus. During that same year the young lodges and the guard lodges have appeared. The first of this kind was in Mediaș, ruled by Karoline Sykan. 22 The Order will evolve in all the space inhabited by saxons. So, in 1906, in Brașov, will appear a second lodge entitled “Neues Leben”, in Mediaș “Burgerwehr”, and in Sibiu, “Volkskraft”. One year later we will find the first lodge in a Saxon village, this is the “Eintracht” lodge in Vulcan (today in the Brașov county). Also in 1906, Dr. Siegmund and Friedrich Morres have participated at Germany’s Grand Lodge meeting. In the same year the first District Lodge appears in Țara Bârsei and the second District Lodge for the rest of the lodges, and because of the movement’s evolution in 1907, on June 2nd the foundation for Transylvania’s Grand Lodge in Sibiu is laid. In just two years of activity a number of 12 lodges are built. 23 The Evangelical church didn’t see with good eyes the activity of “The Order of the Good Templars”, thinking of them as being a sect. This determines Dr. Siegmund, in the Volksgesundheit magazine’s second issue (1906) to fight against this rumor through the article Is I.O.G.T. a sect?, and it was followed as a follow-up by Wilhelm Morres’ article “To the clergy men and teachers of our church”, where both fought against this aspect. In 1909, 21 Aufbau herausgegeben Rumăniens Grcfilaube 2 (deutsch) des I.O.G.T. nr. 45, Mediasch, 25. Brachtet 1930, p. 1-3. 22 Ibidem. 23 Aufbau herausgegeben Rumăniens Grcfilaube 2 (deutsch) des I.O.G.Tnr. 46, Mediasch, 25 Erniting 1930, p. 1-2. The Order of Good Templars 75 after Wilhelm Morres retires from priesthood from the Evangelical church from Bartolomeu, Brașov, any suspicion of connection between the church and the order has disappeared. 24 The order’s propaganda, if initially done through the Volksgesundheit magazine, between 1911 and 1916 the Mitteilungen der Grofilauben Ungarns des I.O.G.T, will appear under Viktor Ziske’s leadership. Unfortunately, this magazine is a bibliographic rarity today.25 The sustained activity of the order in the Saxon space will soon after be worldwide acknowledged by the World Grand Lodge, in 1911, when - after meeting in Hamburg - Wilhelm Morres was elected on July 18th to the rank of Chaplain of the order.26 In 1912 the first meeting of Transylvania’s Grand Lodge takes place in Mediaș, on August 24th, when representatives of 16 local lodges have met, they had a total of 470 members. There existed also 7 young lodges and 5 guard lodges with 370 members. 27 In regard to the number of the members, Wilhelm Morres, in his study dedicated to the order shows that worldwide, in 1913, there are around a 28 quarter of a million members and 600 Transylvanian Saxon members. 28 Until 1916 we have a number of 21 lodges affiliated to the Grand 29 Lodge of Transylvania, out of which one active in Bucharest. 29 Name of the lodge Town The start of the work Nr. 1 Honterus Brașov 16. 06. 1905 Nr. 2 Voklsgesundheit Mediaș 18.06.1905 Nr. 3 Brukenthal Sibiu 21. 06. 1905 Nr. 4 Vorwărts Sachsen Hărmann Uncertain activity before 1918 Nr. 5 Karpahtenwacht Brașov Uncertain activity 24 Ibidem. 25 Ibidem. 26 Auszug aus dem Verhandlungs-Protokoll der 43. ordentliche Sitzung der Weltloge ( I.S.L) in Hamburg von 6 bis 14 iuli 1911, Separatabdruck aus dem International Good Templar, Band XXIV, Heft /, Juli 1911, p. 45. 27 Aufbau herausgegeben Rumăniens Grofilaube 2 (deutsch) des I.O.G.Tnr. 46 Mediasch, 25 Erniting 1930, p. 2. 28 W. Morres, op. cit., p. 84. 29 Aufbau herausgegeben Rumăniens Grofilaube 2 (deutsch) des I.O.G.T, nr. 55, Mediasch, 25. Hornung 1932, p. 2. 76 Nicolae Teșculă before 1918 Nr. 6 Neues Leben Brașov Uncertain activity before 1918 Nr. 7 Eintracht Vulcan Uncertain activity before 1918 Nr 8 Burgerwehr Mediaș 24.02.1907 Nr. 9 Kokelwacht Mediaș 24.02.1907 Nr. 10 Volkskraft Sibiu 17.03. 1907 Nr. 11 Feste Burg Râșnov Uncertain activity before 1918 Nr. 12 Sachsentreue Bistrița 05.05.1908 Nr. 13 Immer Vorwarts Brașov Uncertain activity before 1918 Nr. 14 Kraft und Mut Ghimbav Uncertain activity before 1918 Nr. 15 Durch Kampf zum Sieg Cristian Uncertain activity before 1918 Nr. 16 Steilauwacht Sighișoara 10.05.1908 Nr. 17 Zum Schmied v. Nosen Bistrița Uncertain activity before 1918 Nr. 18. Volkswohl Sighișoara Uncertain activity before 1918 Nr. 19. Vortrupp Bistrița 15.12.1912 Nr. 20 Neue Heimat Turnișor/Sibiu 09.02.1913 Nr. 21 Carmen Silva Bucharest 09.06.1905 We notice that the Lutheran priest from Brașov Wilhelm Morres is the spiritus rector of the movement. Born in Brașov on May 22nd, 1849, after graduating the town’s gymnasium he enlists in the Austrian army and The Order of Good Templars 77 participates in the Prussian war in 1866 where he turns very ill. He comes back to Brașov and after he has recovered his health he follows the classes of the Evangelical Theological Seminar, becoming in 1869 teacher at the Evangelical School in Bartolomeu, Brașov, where he becomes rector in 1878. Starting with 1881 he becomes a priest at the Evangelical church in the same neighborhood and in 1909 he retires. All throughout his life he becomes known as the author of pedagogical and literary works. Also, apart from his involvement in the anti-alcohol movement he dedicates himself to a mission against smoking. He dies on October 22nd, 1936.30 Alongside Wilhelm Morres we see Dr. Heinrich Siegmund’s activity, from Mediaș. Born on September 30th, 1867 in Mediaș, after graduating high school in his hometown, he attends Medicine at the University of Vienna and in 1893 he returns to his hometown, where he works as a doctor. Starting with 1893 he becomes the local primary doctor, job that he retires from in 1927. He has a rich literary activity, and other than leading the Volksgesundheit magazine, he publishes articles of a medical view in different Saxon magazines. He dies on July 22nd, 1937 in Mediaș. 31 By their side we find important people from the Saxon intellectuals, people like etnologist Emil Sigerus, Dr. Joseph Bacon, the founder of Sighișoara’s history museum or Dr. Julius Oberth, father of the renowned scientist Hermann Oberth. The brotherhood character of the order will allow the foundation, in the Romanian space, of the first Romanian “Order of the Good Templars” in 1910, in Transylvania, in Sibiu, it will bear the name “Andrei Șaguna” Lodge. The solemnity of the founding of the lodge took place in the Romanian apprentices’ reunion hall, in the presence of the German lodge’s members from Sibiu, Brukenthal and For the Good of the People. The leader of the Romanian Templars was elected in the person of Nicolae Popovici from Sibiu’s seminar, and Aurel Lazăr as the deputy of the lodge.32 ”The Order of the Good Templars” had a sustained activity in the Saxon area in Transylvania during the first half of the XXth century, acting with a certain firmness against alcohol consumption, but it did not manage to stop the members of the Transylvanian community from drinking alcohol. The order granted equal access to men and women of all races. The Order will spread from the United States into Europe. It will also appear in 30 Aufbau herausgegeben Rumăniens Grofilaube 2 (deutsch) des I.O.G.T, Mediasch, den 25. Gilbfahrt 1936, Folge 79/80, p. 1-3. 31 Fritz Berweth, „Dr. Heinrich Siegmund“ în Sudostdeutsche Vierteljahresblătter 2, 1970, p. 164-168. 32 Oana Tămaș, Între uzul și abuzul de alcool din România: sfârșitul secolului al XlX-lea și începutul secolului, Cluj-Napoca, 2015, p. 244. 78 Nicolae Teșculă Transylvania, in the Protestant Evangelical milieu of Sibiu, Brasov, Sighisoara, Bistrita, Orastie, Sebes, Medias etc Although we have no information concerning the end of the Order’s activity, we believe this activity was interrupted at the debut of World War II, when the Nazism totalitarian doctrine did not allow the existence of secret societies, with ample activity in the community. HORAȚIU BODALE1 THE UNITS OF TRANSYLVANIAN ROMANIAN VOLUNTEERS IN ITALY (1917-1919) Abstract: One of the most important elements underpinning the Moment of 1 December 1918 was the fight of the Romanians abroad, a fight waged both with weapons in hand on the Italian, Russian, or French fronts, and with diplomatic means, through the more or less official delegations and the Romanian emigration in capital cities such as Paris, Rome, London or Washington. Keywords: Italy, volunteers, Romanians, Transylvania, Union * The Romanians’ activity in the Austro-Hungarian Empire was entwined with that of the Romanians from the Old Kingdom, in a common struggle of the Romanians throughout the historical provinces. It was a struggle that had started at the end of the eighteenth century, while its climax and end were reached at the time of the outbreak of the First World War. One aspect of this common fight is approached in the present study: the complex process that led to the formation of the Romanian Legion in Italy and the support of the Romanians’ national cause through propaganda in Italy, a member country of the Entente. The Romanians who were mobilised in Austria-Hungary as soldiers of the Habsburg monarchy expressed, through both individual and collective actions, their desire to rally themselves to the ideal of Romanian national unity. An example of this is provided by Lieutenant Ion Metea, a former combatant on the Italian front, where he served as an officer of the Austro-Hungarian army and, then, as an officer of the Romanian Legion in Italy: “In July 1914, mobilisation was launched. The regiment of which I was part, Regiment 31st, was stationed in Sibiu. There I was present from the first days of the mobilisation, with other comrades of mine. I was a student at the Polytechnic School in Brno and the war had caught me in 1 PhD, Museum curator, National Museum of Transylvanian History, Cluj-Napoca, email: horatiumus@yahoo.com 80 Horațiu Bodale the middle of my studies. In the courtyard of the regiment, we made friends, met former acquaintances, and planned attitudes for the future. We had been called to fight for foreign ideals, under a foreign flag. Among us there were very many students with short-term conscription obligations (Einjahrig Freiwilliger), and the reserve officers of the regiment included very many Romanians, all cherishing the same thoughts. The Transylvanian Theological Seminary was our place of meeting during those frantic days of mobilisation. Here we met every night, reading the press from the country (Romania) and, in particular, Universul and watching the attitude of Romania with interest. We truly rejoiced when we found out that our homeland would not go to war on the side of Austria- Hungary. The attitude of Romania entitled us not to fight for ideals that were foreign to us. In our souls we carried the thought of crossing the Carpathians into the homeland. In these meetings, held at the theological seminary, we were planning to get there and establish a body of Transylvanian volunteers, a legion that, at the right time, would fight to liberate Transylvania and Banat. Thus, the idea of the Romanian Legion in Italy, which would be formed later, was actually born in Sibiu, in the first days of mobilisation. The Austro-Hungarian authorities learned about our plans, especially since many young Romanians had managed to eschew the vigilance of the customs officers, enlisting as volunteers in the Romanian army. To prevent mass desertions, the Supreme Command of the Austro- Hungarian army ordered the 31st Infantry Regiment, consisting only of Romanians, to be moved from Sibiu to Prague; in its place was brought a regiment of Czechs and Slovaks. They believed that by distancing us from the borders with Romania, they would also remove the ideas from our hearts, but they were wrong.”2 Simultaneously with the desertions of Romanian soldiers on the Russian front and then on the Italian one, the Romanian civilian population in the counties bordering Romania crossed the Carpathians in large numbers during the years of neutrality and settled in the Old Kingdom, actively rallying themselves to the powerful movement of the Romanian public opinion, which was to speed up Romania’s entry into the war, in order to achieve the ideal of national unity.3 A large part of the refugees from Transylvania renounced their Austro-Hungarian nationality and voluntarily enlisted in the Romanian regiments: 70 Brăila, 11 Siret, 80 2 Octavian Metea, Legiunea română din Italia, in “România Nouă”, VII, no. 69, 1940, p. 3. 3 Eugen Hulea, Contribuția voluntarilor români la Unire, in “Apulum”, XIV, 1976, p. 344. The Units of Transylvanian Romanian Volunteers in Italy 81 Bucharest, 38 Ploiești or 7 Prahova.4 In this context, mention should be made of the 46th Regiment, composed almost exclusively of Transylvanians; after the battle of Ghimpați, it was left with only 30 living soldiers. At the time of Romania’s entry into the war alongside the Entente, about 20 000 Transylvanian Romanians were enrolled in the Romanian army; in the next period their number increased considerably. To them were added thousands of Romanian soldiers from the Austro-Hungarian army who had defected or had fallen prisoners to the Russians, the Italians or the Serbs. Suffice it to consider that on the Italian front alone - where, after the events of the Bolshevik revolution in Russia and after the temporary removal of Romania and Serbia from the war, most of the Austro-Hungarian troops, including the Romanian regiments were concentrated - over 400,000 soldiers and 10,000 officers of the Habsburg monarchy fell prisoners to the allies.5 Due to the intensifying crisis of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, but especially due to Romania’s exit from the war under the Peace of Bucharest in 1917, the Romanian prisoners in Russia, Italy and France realised that the problem of Romanian unity risked being omitted from the debates of the upcoming peace talks. This prompted them to join in the efforts of the Romanian emigration from the states of the Entente. Those efforts were channelled towards championing the Romanian cause before the Great Powers. The Romanian prisoners in the allied states endeavoured to continue the fight, as representatives of the Romanian army; hence, the idea of concentrating them in national units that would do battle on the Italian, French or Russian front, against the Central Powers. As a result of these initiatives, the Body of the Romanian Volunteers from Russia, the Romanian Legion from Italy and the Romanian Legion from France came into being during the First World War. These peripheral nuclei of what would become the future Romanian army after 1918 constituted themselves as hotbeds of Romanianism, all upholding the concept of national unity, with all its meanings - from the doctrine of the Transylvanian School and up to the 14 Wilsonian points. Romania continued to fight even after the Peace of Bucharest, through these units of volunteers. After Romania’s re-entry in the war in 1918, they became integral parts of the Romanian army, fighting in the Bolshevik Hungary of Bela Kun (1919-1920), or defending the eastern border from the anarchy that had been unleashed in Russia, where the civil war was fully underway. The fall of the Romanian soldiers from the Austro-Hungarian army into Italian captivity took place in different circumstances, throughout the 4 Sever Bocu, Les legions romains de Transylvanie, Paris, 1918, p. 18. 5 Ion Popescu, Augustin Deac, 1918-Unirea Transilvaniei cu România, București, Ed. Politică, 1978, p. 465. 82 Horațiu Bodale operations on the Italian front, starting on 23 May 1915, when Italy decided to intervene in the war alongside the Entente.6 If at the beginning of hostilities, prisoners were taken mostly during the military action itself (units of the Austro-Hungarian army, which also included Romanians, were captured in combat), as the war dragged on and especially after Romania’s entry into the war alongside the Entente, the phenomenon of defection became more and more frequent, as was that of crossing the lines en masse into the Italian zones. Many of the Romanians who were in the Italian theatre of war had had their minds set on defecting since their departure to the front. One of them, Ion Ilie was to write in his memoirs that when he arrived in Italy, he had fulfilled his wish because: “upon leaving for the front, I told my dad that I would not fight for a foreign cause and that when I arrived on the 7 Italian front, I would surrender myself.”7 In his turn, Corneliu Pop, who became a prisoner in Italy, confessed that many Romanian soldiers and officers had been planning to defect to the Italians when the first opportunity presented itself.8 The propagandistic preparation of the Romanian soldiers’ defection from the Austro-Hungarian army was carried out in two ways: one from within, through the intellectuals (reserve officers) and career officers from the Romanian regiments on the Italian front; the other type of propaganda came from the ranks of the Italian army, the Italian planes throwing manifestos written in Romanian. Placards were hoisted from the Italian trenches in some sectors of the front, saying “Vivat la Rumania”. Another fact which led to growing numbers of Romanian deserters consisted in the strong impression the Italian language made on them. Thus, in the frequent clashes on the Italian front at Isonzo, the Romanians realised that they could easily understand Italian, linguistic similarity being, for the less educated, reason enough to cross into the Italian lines. At first, the bravest, those who assumed the risks of individual defections crossed the lines to the Italians. Later, they defected in groups, consisting of two-three soldiers or of whole companies of soldiers, non- commissioned officers and officers. Although the front lines were very close together, the “no man’s land” was well organised by means of observation posts, which surveyed the front line, and of headlights that, at night time, illumined the trenches. Deserters who were spotted by the headlights were machine gunned. Toma Milea from Ileni confessed: “I read all the manifestos they threw from the Italian airplanes flying over our own lines. Now I was a few hundred metres away from them and yet I 6 Ion I. Șerban, Legiunea Română din Italia, in “Apulum”, XVIII, 1980, p. 497. 7 Vasile Frențiu, Amintirile unui fost ofițer din primul război mondial, in “Mitropolia Banatului”, XXVIII, no. 10-12, 1978, p. 655. 8 C. I. Stan, Intrarea României în război de partea puterilor Antantei și atitudinea românilor aflați în străinătate, in “Apulum”, XXIV, 1987, p. 329. The Units of Transylvanian Romanian Volunteers in Italy 83 could not move. Many a night, as I stood sentry, I saw a fugitive making his way through the rocks and through the networks. As soon as he was discovered by the rays of the reflector, machine guns started firing. I saw many comrades who lost their lives just one step away from the Italian lines.”9 Those who managed to reach the Italians were considered prisoners of war and, not infrequently, they were expected by Romanian officers, deserters or prisoners, attached to the various Italian commands to act as interpreters and to guide people to the various camps across Italy. The Romanian prisoners were divided into about 50 camps, from Lombardy to Sicily. These camps were not segregated by the prisoners’ ethnicity: the prisoners were of the various nationalities, from Czechs and Slovaks to Poles, Hungarians, Saxons, Serbians and Romanians. However, in some camps there were compact groups of Romanians from Transylvania and Bukovina. Thus, at the beginning of 1918, there were about 3600 Romanian prisoners in the camp of Mantova, 2000 at Cavarzere, 800 at Ostiglia, 800at Cavanelle, and 400 at Cona.10 By the end of 1918, the total number of Romanian prisoners in the Italian camps had risen to about 18,000.11 The perception on everyday life in these camps must take into account both individual perceptions, which can only be subjective and dependent on the level of the informant’s intellectual training, and the realities, which were different from one camp to another. For instance, Ion Cornea, a prisoner in the camp of Cavarzere, remembers: “A quarantine camp was formed in an open field, where we stayed for a month: we were about 12 000 prisoners. We were given one loaf of bread a day, and canned food for lunch. We were living better than on the front. In camp we had a well with a pump, and at night we slept in tents, five in each one. All this time we didn’t work at all. After a month we were seen by a doctor, then we were taken by train to Avezzano, where a camp had been set up for us. After three weeks, we were assigned to work in agriculture, railways and mines. To pass the time more quickly, I signed up for agriculture, my job. I was sent by train to the province De Luca, the village of Cavarzere. I was separated from my old comrades, for a while. The villages in this part of Italy were placed on hills, and the houses were isolated. Farmers owned one cow and one donkey. I was assigned to a farm, where I worked under the supervision of Bartolomeo, the administrator. 9 Octavian Metea, op. cit., VIII, no. 6, 1941, p. 3. 10 Simion C. Mândrescu, În Franța și Italia pentru cauza noastră (27 septembrie1918-7 ianuarie1919), Ed. Sfetea, București, 1919, p. 28. 11 Archive of the Union Museum in Alba Iulia (AMUAI), Fond Unirea, Doc. 3567 84 Horațiu Bodale I dug in the vineyard every day. On the hills there were many olive trees. They didn’t slaughter pigs; unlike us, they used oil instead of fat. They ate a lot of macaroni and cheese, which I really liked. We dug the coast of the hill into terraces, which we consolidated with stones. In the right places, we planted vines and olive trees, very sensitive trees. There were also fig trees, orange trees, all manner of trees unknown in my country. The farm at which I worked was situated on the side of a hill, surrounding a valley with a meadow that was 2-3 km long. The houses were built of stone. Here we were six prisoners, surveyed by a sentry with a gun. After a few days, seeing that we were trustworthy men, they no longer guarded us. We ate well and drank at will. Many a time, the wife of the manager prepared us food and a polenta from chestnut flour, after which we had plenty of wine. During work, because of the heat, we drank wine instead of the water. Each of us had a bowl of wine under the bed, which subtly, at night, we filled, though the next day it was empty again. Not being accustomed to the heat, we bathed daily in the lakes around the farm, where the waters from the mountains were gathering. Next to each lake was a mill. We often bathed in the moonlight. During this time I wrote home a few times, but the mail worked with great difficulty. I never received a reply.”12 Unlike Ion Cornea, another prisoner, David Cornea, who was in a camp near Rome and then at Avezzano, experienced a reality that was completely different. He reports the following: “We walked day and night, for four days. We had gathered some sugar and tobacco, the good kind, so in exchange for them we got some food. We reached the sea, where they took us into a garden. About 15 Italian officers inspected our backpacks and money. The sugar we had was divided among four comrades. I still had 900 crowns. I hid them so well that they weren’t taken from me. All the money snatched from the prisoners was burned. Then they put us on boats, about 80 on each. I was scared of water, especially because it was at night. That’s why I waited until morning, when I boarded with the Czechs. Because of this I got separated from the people I knew. We sailed by boat for six hours. The music of the Czechs was awaiting us on the shore. They lived better, they got a loaf of bread a day, not a half like us. The Romanians were placed in separate camps from the Czechs. I changed the money, received seven lire for a hundred crowns, so I could buy food from street vendors. We weren’t allowed to buy it, but people battled for the vendors’ baskets. 12 Apud Octavian Metea, Legiunea Română din Italia, in “România Nouă”, VIII, no. 8, 1941, p. 3 The Units of Transylvanian Romanian Volunteers in Italy 85 From here we left and four days later we were in Rome. We could see here the lowland strongholds, useless. From there, we walked 6 miles, to a camp, where there were Romanian officers. We were in the village of Verona, where very many prisoners had died. I gave a pair of boots for a canteen of flour. I don’t know why, they took our jack-knives, but we sharpened the edges of the spoons and, with these rudimentary knives, we felled a 2-feet tall oak tree to the ground. Here we stayed for four weeks, and then they took us to another camp, where there were Hungarians. Here we had large tents, but the camp was surrounded with seven rows of wire. There was a tailor among us. He worked in the city, where he bought everything we wanted. Here we stayed only eight weeks. On Christmas night we set off on the road again, for four days. We had a physician riding a bike among us. On Christmas night we quartered in the field, under tents. We were 1800 people. We build a fire with corn cobs, but it was still cold. In the morning four comrades remained there forever. Thus we got to Avezzano. Here we were put in barracks, a hundred soldiers in each. I heard that in 1913 this region had been shaken by an earthquake that had knocked down all the houses. The barracks of wood had been built then. Here we had better food.”13 Lieutenant Ion Metea, a prisoner in the camp at Urbaria, had a much broader and more consistent perception, a perception that exceeded the daily reality of the camp, encompassing the general problems of the war on the Italian front and the Romanian soldiers’ organisation in the Italian camps: “We were directed to the camp in Udine. The fraternal treatment, the good wine made us quickly became good friends. We came from regiments 31, 64 and 62. In this camp in Udine, after several talks among the officers, we decided to ask to be sent to Romania, to fight alongside the Allies, or, if this was not allowed, to set up a Romanian Legion in Italy. In Udine, we were divided into different camps, twelve being taken to Urbaria, where we were accommodated in very good conditions, we enjoyed good treatment, but we were deprived of freedom and had received no answer to our request to be sent to Romania. Every day we submitted to the commander of the camp requests for the establishment of the Romanian Legion. We were informed by a benevolent man that our requests had been thrown away by Colonel Schmidt, the commander of the camp. The Italians didn’t trust him enough to send him to the front, so they kept him in command of this camp. 13 Apud Octavian Metea, Legiunea Română din Italia, in “România Nouă”, VIII, no. 9, 1941, p. 3. 86 Horațiu Bodale Life in the camp was monotonous. We tried to make friends with the officers who were on duty, talking to them about Transylvania. The majority were unaware of our province; hence, the many disappointments, and the answers to our requests failed to come. To these was added the disaster of Caporetto, where the Italian front was broken by the Austrians. In Italy there were frequent defections and an almost general state of demoralisation. We often saw deserters, bound to one another, guarded by two or three riflemen. The population was very anxious. The priests made propaganda everywhere, even in our camp, for the revolution, for the people to escape from the war. This situation was filling our souls with deception. It was fortunate that General Cadorna, commander of the army, was replaced by General Diaz.”14 As regards the methodical organisation of a body of Romanian volunteers in Italy, this initiative was preceded by spontaneous movements among the Romanian prisoners; after Romania’s entry into the war, the Romanians requested the Romanian legation in Rome to intervene in order to be received in the ranks of the Romanian army.15 These requests created, for the Romanian prisoners, the illusion that they would be transported by ships to Romania, an illusion motivated by the hard times the Romanian army was experiencing at that time. Unfortunately, the situation in Romania made it impossible to answer the demands of the Romanians in the Italian camps favourably, so they channelled their efforts towards the formation of a Romanian Legion, ready to fight on the Italian front.16 The first petition addressed to the Italian authorities for authorising the establishment of the Romanian Legion in Italy was registered in July 1916. The initiative belonged to a group of officers. The petition stated, among other things: “The fight for the freedom of the Romanian people in Austria- Hungary is a fact, a reality. It has lasted and will last for as long as honest Romanians still live. In the last offensive, when all the Romanian regiments were concentrated on the Italian front, nearly 10,000 soldiers were taken prisoner. We believe that the terms of the Romanian prisoners’ enlistment in the legion are very suitable, the environment is very favourable to the war and the Romanians and the Italians have not, for one second, ceased to feel like brothers.”17 14 Ibidem. 15 AMUAI, Fond Unirea, Doc. 3568, p. 11. 16 Eugen Hulea, op. cit., p. 353. 17 Ion Bulei, Constantin Botoran, Ion Calafeteanu, Cu voința nestrămutată pentru Ro- mânia tuturor românilor, in “Flacăra”, no. 34, 1983, p. 8. The Units of Transylvanian Romanian Volunteers in Italy 87 The efforts to organise the Romanian prisoners in Italy on national bases were met, for a long time, with a lot of difficulties, of which the most important were Romania’s forced exit from the war, which made it impossible for the government in Iasi to grant its official support; on the other hand, the situation in Romania at the end of 1917 created moments of mistrust and suspicion on the part of the Italian government, regarding to what extent the Romanians could be counted on as the representatives of a country that was a “former ally” of the Entente.18 In a first phase, to overcome these hardships, the Romanian prisoners in Italy resorted to compromise solutions, such as enrolment by individual request in the ranks of the two Italian divisions that were fighting on the French front; others, such as those in the camp of Cavarzzere, offered to dig trenches and fortifications behind the Italian front line. At the same time, efforts continued towards the formation of a distinct Romanian unit that would fight on the Italian front. Noteworthy in this regard is the initiative of Lieutenant Petre Uglișiu, who crossed into the Italian frontlines in December 1917, leading a detachment of Romanian soldiers from the Austro-Hungarian army. Asking permission to go to Rome, Uglișiu submitted, a petition to Alexandru Lahovary, the head of the Romanian Legation in Rome, on February 24, 1918. The petition was signed by a group of officers from the camp in Cassino. In this petition the signatories requested Romania’s permission and support for the formation of a corps of Romanian volunteers. As Romania was no longer in a state of belligerence with the Central Powers, it could not provide official support, so Colonel Florescu, the military attache of Romania in Rome, intervened unofficially with General Spingardi, the president of the Commission of POWs. The latter expressed his verbal consent for the recruitment of a number of Romanian officers and non- commissioned officers in the Italian camps, for the establishment of future combat units, with an exclusive Romanian make-up. The initial nucleus of this unit was coagulated in the camp of Cassino, around Petru Uglișiu and 22 Romanian officers and non-commissioned officers.19 In March 1918, this initiative group submitted a memorandum similar to the one in February, to the Romanian Legation and emigration in Paris. Following it, Senator G. G. Mironescu arrived in Italy. Together with Professor Benedetto De Luca, he visited the camps in Cassino (18 April 1918) and Comaldoli (21 April 1918). During these visits, Mironescu found that: “the Romanian prisoners’ morale was admirable 18 Ion I. Șerban, op. cit., p. 498. 19 Petru Uglișiu, Pagini de suferințe și glorie (Amintiri din Italia), ms., vol.II, Doc.3305, in AMUAI, pp. 2-26. 88 Horațiu Bodale and they were ready for the ultimate sacrifice in support of the allied cause, which was also that of Romanianism”.20 A second reason why G. G. Mironescu was in Italy was to participate in the Congress of the Nationalities in Austria-Hungary. The congress was held in Rome between 8 and 11 April 1918 under the presidency of Italian Senator Ruffini and was attended by representatives of the Czechs, Slovaks, Poles, Serbs, Romanians, and Italians. Each nationality was represented by an action committee led by: Beneș and Stefanik on behalf of the Czechs and Slovaks, Trumbici on behalf of the Serbs, Jamorsky and Skirmut on behalf of the Poles and Torre on behalf of the Italians. The Romanians were represented by a delegation consisting of: G. G. Mironescu, Simion Mândrescu, Ion Ursu, Dumitru Drăghicescu, Nicolae Lupu and Benedetto De Luca. The congress in Rome voted unanimously on a memorandum to be submitted to the powers of the Entente. The memorandum expressed a common point of view, adopted in a representative frame, as follows: 1. Each of these peoples proclaims its right to build its own nationality and state unity, or to complete and raise them to full political and economic independence. 2. Each of these peoples sees in the Austro-Hungarian monarchy the instrument of German domination and recognises it as a fundamental obstacle to achieving their own aspirations and rights. 3. The assembly also recognises the need for a common struggle against the common oppressors, because each nation seeks its total liberation and complete national unity in the free unity of its state.21 A continuation of the Congress of Nationalities held in Rome from 8 to 11 April 1918 was the smaller scale meeting of April 24, 1918, organised in Rome. The representatives of the Romanians at this meeting were Vasile Lucaciu, Octavian Goga, Ion Ursu and Simion Mândrescu. The talks started from an analysis of the concrete results of the congress and the programmatic setting of common future propaganda actions. On April 6, 1918, the group of Romanian officers at Cassino addressed a call to the Romanian representatives at the congress. The call ended like this: “Our destiny, our duty and our will are yours. Long Live Greater Romania.”22 One effect of the congress was the intensification of the Italian public’s expression of sympathy for and solidarity with the cause of the 20 George Moroianu, Luptele de emancipare ale românilor di Ardeal, în lumina europeană, in “ Transilvania, Banatul, Crișana, Maramureș ”, Cultura Națională, vol.III, București, 1929, p. 1458. 21 Ibidem, p. 1455. 22 Petre Uglișiu, op. cit., vol. II, pp. 32-33. The Units of Transylvanian Romanian Volunteers in Italy 89 Romanian people’s unity, in general. The following Italian gazettes endorsed and popularised the Romanian cause: Il Messagero, Il Giornale d Italia, L 'Italia. and la Tribuna .2 3 As suggested by a note published in the newspaper from Cluj “Gazeta Voluntarilor”, when Francesca Garibaldi, the wife of Italian national hero Giuseppe Garibaldi, met two Romanian Legionaries in the winter of 1918, she expressed her interest in the fate of the Romanians from Transylvania and Bukovina.24 In terms of the practical consequences of the Congress, the Italian government headed by Prime Minister Orlando and Foreign Minister Sonnino, paid more attention to the problems of the Romanian prisoners. Having remained in Italy with G. G. Mironescu, Simion Mândrescu, the president of the “Society of the Romanians from Transylvania and Banat”, engaged in numerous diplomatic exchanges with Orlando, to allow the Romanians to organise themselves into a battle unit with a national character. This preliminary permission was obtained at the beginning of May 1918, when Orlando approved assigning a building in the city of Cittaducale in the province of Aquila to 111 Romanian officers. In that building they were to set up a “camp de triage”, for the recruitment and training of members of the future Romanian Legion.25 Over the following days, 32 Romanian officers arrived at Cittaducale. Among them was the group of officers from Cassino. By 20 May 1918 the number of Romanians who arrived there had reached 84.26 On 7 May, Simion Mândrescu arrived at Cittaducale. He informed the Romanian officers of the decision reached by the Italian government. The Romanians at Cittaducale were to become the core of the future Romanian Legions in Italy. The next day he sent a telegram thanking the Italian prime minister, a telegram in which he expressed the Romanians’ determination to fight in the ranks of the Italian army, as they “prefer to die rather than return under the yoke of the Austro-Hungarian empire”. Orlando replied stating that he would do everything for the achievement of the Romanians’ aspirations to national unity.27 Following the recommendations made by the Italian authorities, the officers in Cittadiucale drafted, on 10 May 1918, individual requests to the Italian Ministry of War, expressing their desire to be conscripted into the Italian army and to fight against the Central Powers. These requests were submitted on 15 May. The answer of the Italian General Staff was 23 Ion I. Șerban, op. cit., p. 503. 24 “Gazeta Voluntarilor”, I, no. 27, 1923, p. 3. 25 Dan Grecu, Robert M. Bell, The Romanian Legion in Italy (1918-1919), în “Romanian Postal History Bulletin”, no. 26, 1998, p. 26. 26 La Transylvanie, I, nr 3, 1918, p. 15. 27 La Roumanie, no. 21, 1918, p. 2. 90 Horațiu Bodale favourable in the sense that the Romanian officers were to receive 28 operative tasks according to the needs of the front.28 The first Romanians who went to battle alongside the Italian army were 10 officers from Cittaducale, who, on June 4, 1918, just before the Battles of the Piave River, were attached as information officers with the 29 Second Italian Army.29 Seeing that the official decision for the organisation of the Romanian Legion was delayed by the Italians, the Romanians in Italy decided on June 19, 1918 to form an Action Committee of the Romanians in Transylvania, Banat and Bukovina. The purpose of this committee was “to gather together all the Romanians subjugated to Austria-Hungary in the allied countries, to organise a Romanian Legion and to make the necessary propaganda in order to achieve national unity”.30 The headquarters of this committee were to be in Rome. The president was Simion Mândrescu, who was mandated to take all the necessary steps with the Italian government for the recognition of the Committee as the only representative body of the 18 thousand Romanians “who are in the land of Italy, those in the allied countries, and those remaining at home”. The minutes of incorporation were signed by 71 people, 45 of whom were from Transylvania and 26 from Bukovina. In the meeting which followed immediately after the formation of the Committee, it was decided to form three delegations tasked to travel to Paris, London and Washington in order to support an intense propaganda 31 in favour of the Romanian goal.31 As a natural result of all these events, Italian Prime Minister Orlando appointed Minister Bissolati to deal with the organisation of the Romanian Legion. Th latter handed Simion Mândrescu a government order stipulating that all the officers in Cittaducale who had submitted individual requests for enrolment should be declared free and equipped with Italian uniforms, as well as wear badges showing the Romanian flag as distinguishing marks. According to the same provisions, the Romanian officers received permission to visit the camps of prisoners from Mantova, Cavanello, Cona and Costiglia and to recruit volunteers from the more than 7000 Romanian soldiers there.32 Of these, 500 formed the first company of the Romanian Legion in Italy. On July 28, 1918, this company, along with two companies of Czechoslovak and Serbian volunteers, received the battle flag with the Romanian tricolour. Italian General Diaz, general commander of the Italian army, participated in the 28 Simion Mândrescu, În serviciul unității naționale, București, 1922, p. 150. 29 Dan Grecu, Robert M. Bell, op. cit., p. 27. 30 AMUAI, Fond Unirea, Doc. 3567, p. 1137. 31 Ibidem. 32 Simion Mândrescu, op. cit, p. 171. The Units of Transylvanian Romanian Volunteers in Italy 91 ceremony from Ponte di Brenta.33 At the beginning of August 1918 the second and third Romanian companies were formed. These three Romanian companies were the only units of the Romanian Legion in Italy that entered the heat of battle on the Italian front. Thus, the 1st Romanian Company was integrated in the 52nd Italian Division of the Eighth Army, distinguishing itself in the battles of Montello and Vittorio Veneto. The 2nd Romanian Company fought with two platoons in the 2nd French Division at Sisemoled and Val Vella, the other two platoons being attached to the First Italian Army on the front of Cimone. The 3rd Romanian Company was integrated in the Fourth Italian Army, fighting at Monte Grappa.34 The failure to recognise formally the establishment of the Romanian Legion, the small number of Romanian volunteers admitted in the sub-units destined for the front led the officers in Cittaducale to intensify their activities of recruitment, on the one hand, and of propaganda, on the other hand. Thus, on August 6, 1918, the members of the Action Committee of the Romanians in Transylvania, Banat and Bukovina set up three commissions designed to diversify the work of propaganda. Thus was formed a diplomatic-administrative commission, whose main purpose was to intervene with various cultural-political personalities in Italian society. The second military commission was to ensure the maintenance of permanent contact with the Romanian officers and soldiers in the camps and to continue the work of propaganda among them. The third literary-journalistic commission had the goal of supporting 35 the Romanian cause in the Italian public opinion.35 Of paramount importance for supporting the Romanian cause in the Italian public opinion was the demonstration held at Trajan’s Forum in Rome on 25 August 1918. It was preceded by numerous articles favourable to the Romanian cause in the Italian press, by over 600 invitations sent to Italian personalities to participate in this event and numerous expressions of solidarity arriving from all parts of Italy.36 The manifestation at Trajan’s Forum, also known as “la giornata romena”, gave a new impetus to the activity of setting up the Romanian Legion. Mândrescu stated on 31 August that the celebrations of 25 August had removed the last obstacles in the path of organising the legion. Italian Minister of War Zupelli agreed to increase the number of Romanian officers who were sent on missions of recruitment into the camps of prisoners. At the same time, medical expertise committees were sent to the camps and the new recruits were equipped with uniforms. 33 La Roumanie, Une Legion roumanie sur le tront italien, no. 32, 1918, p. 2. 34 Dan Grecu, Robert M. Bell, op. cit., p. 29. 35 Ion I. Șerban, op. cit., p. 511. 36 Elie Bufnea, Formațiile de voluntari, in “Transilvania, Banatul, Crișana, Maramureșul,”, vol. I, Cultura Națională, București, 1929, p. 132. 92 Horațiu Bodale The whole process of recruitment was seen differently through the eyes of the recruiting officer, compared with simple soldiers. Thus Lieutenant Ion Metea, the officer in charge of propaganda and recruitment in the camp of Avezzano, confesses: “In this camp Romanians were on one side and Czechs on the other, even though they had the same ideals as us. Those who had foreign thoughts, or caused confusion, were thrown into the sea or hanged overnight. With us things were very different than with the Czechs. We were in a shack with a table, through which each soldier passed and was asked if you would join the legion or not. Those who declared themselves for the legion received a tricolour rosette to be worn on the chest, and those who refused, very few, were sent to another room, where they were convinced quickly of the need for the legion. In the meantime many Romanian lives were cut down by the Spanish flu, which left many Romanian crosses in the cemeteries of Italy. Once sorting the good elements was finished, we organised ourselves into companies, forming a battalion, and later a regiment of volunteers. The Italians gave us the commanders of regiment and battalions, and we, Romanians, were the commanders of companies and platoons. Our military training was conducted in the Italian language.”37 Legionary David Cornea saw altogether differently this process of the structural formation of the Legion: “Now they really gave us the food. We started to do Romanian training. I ended up in the platoon of ensign Tampa, who was young. In one day he broke his brand-new boots at soccer, he even tore his pants. Now we received pay, every 10 days, five lire. For 70 cents I could buy a litre of wine. We were accommodated in large barracks, 100 and 200 soldiers in each. We didn’t have beds, but we slept on straws on the floor. At 5 in the morning we got coffee in bed, it was a bit too little. We did gymnastics for two hours and training for one. We were also commanded by Italian officers. We only had a hundred arms, so our turn to drill with them came only once a month. At lunch we got soup and meat. I think the meat came from America, because it was wrapped in two layers of cloth and was stored in ice. We also had tomato paste in large barrels. After the meal we had more training. Two months had to pass for us to learn the turns and marching in a column. As we didn’t know our comrades, we couldn’t handle turning in a column. 37 Apud Octavian Metea, op. cit., VIII, no. 10, 1941, p. 3. The Units of Transylvanian Romanian Volunteers in Italy 93 We also had much time for amusement. The boys danced the călușarii, and the Italians marvelled at our agility. All was a game and joy. We learned a lot of songs and marches. In the evening we cut up didos. The younger ones dressed like women, and four with whistles kept dancing and so we went from barrack to barrack and danced. The most cheerful did all sorts of mischief. One dressed like a bear and, tethered by a chain, danced the bears’ dance. When the Italians caught news of this, they no longer gave us permission. Every Sunday a priest, a prisoner like us, celebrated service. As soon as the Italians learned that you were Catholic, they embraced you. The weakest physically were put on a diet and received a double portion. But many died of malaria every day. The Italian officers liked music, quite a lot. At our dances we had 30 călușari, who were hopping like madmen. The Italians were astounded. After malaria appeared, they kept us isolated for 12 days. They disinfected everything around us. In the camp we had a cafeteria, in which you could find a hundred people a day. There were some who didn’t get to buy anything until evening. On Easter day the wind was blowing terribly hard. We stripped to the skin, threw everything into the fire and poured gasoline on us against malaria. Then we got new, Italian uniforms, on whose collar we sewed our tricolour. Every Sunday afternoon we had some kind of amusement in which the officers took part, too. From Avezzano we left for another town, where we slept in tents for 7 weeks, doing instruction. From here we went to Rome, where we paraded in front of King Victor Emmanuel”.38 At the end of September Brigadier General Luciano Ferrigo was appointed by order of the Minister of War Italian Zuppeli, commander of the Romanian Legion. This decision was all the more exciting as Ferrigo had been Italy’s military attache in Bucharest for a good while. He was 39 married to a Romanian and spoke fluent Romanian.39 The big moment of the recognition of the existence of the Romanian Legion in Italy, as a separate military unit directly subordinated to the Italian Supreme Military Command, was occasioned by the decree of October 15, 1918. By this decree the Italian Ministry of War provided the official framework for the legion and set up a warehouse of Romanian military effects under the leadership of Colonel Camillo Ferraioli, located in the latter’s mansion, in the town of Albano Laziale near Rome. The enlistment of volunteers was to be made by several committees, in all the POW camps in Italy where there were Romanians. Military ranks were to 38 Ibidem. 39 Petre Uglișiu, op. cit., vol. II, p. 68. 94 Horațiu Bodale be identical with those of the Italian army. The uniform was be Italian, with the Romanian tricolour cockade as a distinctive sign, to which was added the number of the regiment. In terms of the regulations, the military penal code and the pay, these were to be similar to those of the Italian 40 army. Immediately after the publication of the decree for the establishment of the Romanian Legion, the president of the Action Committee of the Romanians in Transylvania, Banat and Bukovina, Simion Mândrescu addressed a warm call to all the Romanians in the Italian camps to enlist in the legion: “Gather together around the flag of the irredentist Romanian Legion in Italy. Grab your weapons, this time for our cause.....”.41 The camp at Avezzano was chosen as a unique concentration place for the Romanian prisoners enrolled in the legion; the number of applications for enrolment was very high, so the first regiment of the Romanian Legion, the “Horea” regiment was ready to go to the front by the Piave at the end of October. It was endowed with campaign equipment and weaponry from the warehouse in Albano Laziale. The regiment was reviewed by the King of Italy Vittorio Emmanuele and was to leave for the font, but the precipitating events did not allow the “Horea” regiment to take part in the fighting. Due to the total collapse of the Austro-Hungarian army and the rapid advancement of the allied troops, the order for the “Horea” regiment’s departure to the front was cancelled.42 Following the insurmountable defeat which he suffered at the Piave, on November 3, 1918 Austria-Hungary signed the armistice of Villa Giusti. On 2 November of the same year, the Italian Supreme Military Command ordered all the units of volunteers, among which were the three Romanian companies attached to the large Italian units on the front, to be withdrawn and to make room for some Italian troops in reserve. The Romanian units were housed in settlements around Rome: Nemi, Rocca di Papa, Pietra Lata. At the time of the conclusion of the armistice of 3 November, the Romanian Legion was composed of three front companies deployed around Rome, the fully equipped “Horea” regiment, the “Cloșca” regiment, undergoing equipment and organisation. About another 15,000 Romanians from the camp in Avezzano were waiting to be enrolled in the Legion.43 The re-entry of Romania into the war and the establishment in Paris of the “National Council for the Unity of the Romanian People” (3 40 AMUAI, Fond Unirea, Doc. 3568, p. 63. 41 Simion Mândrescu, op. cit., p. 222. 42 Ibidem. 43 Valer Pop, Legiunea Română din Italia, in “Gazeta Voluntarilor”, VIII, no. 12, 1933, p. 3. The Units of Transylvanian Romanian Volunteers in Italy 95 October 1918), the representative body of the Romanians from abroad, officially recognised by the Entente, led to the intensified organisation of new units of the Romanian Legion in Italy. These units were to be transported to Romania. On 21 November 1918 a delegation of the Council of Paris arrived in Rome. The delegation comprised: Vasile Lucaciu, Nicolae Titulescu, Ion Ursu, D. Ghica and Constantin Mille. Accompanied by the ambassador of Romania to Rome A. Lahovary, this delegation travelled to Avezzano, where after a religious service officiated by father Lucaciu, the Romanians legionaries solemnly submitted the oath to the Motherland and to King Ferdinand.44 The ceremony for the consecration of the battle flag of the “Horea” regiment took place at Mriano on 5 December 1918. The ceremony was repeated with the flag of the “Cloșca” regiment in the Siena Plaza of Rome on January 26, 1919.45 In parallel with these celebrations, the process of recruitment, equipment and training of new units of Romanian volunteers continued. Thus, the subunits of the “Crișan” and “Avram Iancu” regiments were set up at the beginning of 1919.46 At the end of January 1919, the “Horea” regiment was boarded on trains, which left the Marino train station for the port of Taranto, where it was to be embarked on ships with the destination Constanța. Petre Uglișiu remembers that the train left the station “amidst the endless cheers of the Italians who came to say good-bye to the bravissimi fratelli romeni nipoti di nostra comune madre as they called the Romanians”.47 The regiment was embarked at the beginning of February on the ships “Meram” and “Regina d’Italia” with the destination Constanța. By the end of May, the regiments “Cloșca”, “Crisan” and “Avram Iancu” had been shipped as well. Behind the ships taking the Romanian Legion to the motherland remained the Romanian legionaries’ impressions about Italy. Their memories of Italy would long remain a “story-telling” subject for those at home. Thus, legionary ensign Mircea Derlosea remembers: “As I was in charge of the mess hall, I made a number of observations regarding the diet of the Italians. I had heard that their favourite food is pasta asciuta, that is, dry macaroni. I didn’t believe until I tried it and almost every day I made the mess hall menu in such a way as to include the pasta that was so much liked by the Italians. I’ve never come across this again except on the ship Brasile on the way to Constanța and not in the form of macaroni, but as square shaped pieces. I was surprised by the Italians’ food sobriety. No Italian comrade had anything in the morning except for a quarter (coffee). Lunch and 44 Ibidem. 45 L’Union fraternelle des Roumanis et des Italiens, in “la Roumanie”, no. 57, 1919, p. 4. 46 Petre Uglișiu, op. cit., p. 121. 47 Ibidem, p. 123. 96 Horațiu Bodale dinner were not too hearty, but they always had a quarter of dark wine. If they drank more than a glass, they stayed up until morning, without food supplements, while we ate two or three times even at night. But something incredible: at Avezzano, which is in the centre of Italy, I introduced serenades. With four gypsy boys (legionaries, too), with the violins under our arm, we crept underneath the window of the most beautiful girl, playing our usual serenade for her. I was greatly surprised at their surprise, especially since they didn’t know what the noise underneath the window was all about. After explanations, they wanted serenades every night. The prohibition of the Italian commander and four days of arrest put an end to my troubadour skills, to the desolation of the girls in Avezzano. What hurt us most was the Italians’ lack of geographical knowledge, as no one knew where Romania was located. I noticed the Italian soldiers’ poor moral preparation, their lack of patriotism and spirit of sacrifice. Italian officers were, however, brave, so I fully admired them.”48 As regards the journey back home, legionary David Cornea recalls: “I left crying when we got separated from the Italians. We also boarded 20 barrels of wine on the boat. As for equipment, I had received two pairs of boots. But at Constanța our folk took both the wine and the boots. We arrived in Constanța during Pentecost. As an older soldier, I was sent home, so I didn’t get to fight with the Hungarians.”49 Lieutenant Ion Metea recalls his arrival in Constanța: “After eight days we arrived in Constanța, with the joy of the shipwrecked who see land and know their salvation is within reach. But this was also the first disappointment. We weren’t let off the boat because the Bolsheviks had arrived from Italy. After thousands of interventions, we managed to touch our native soil. The legionaries were crying with joy, tapping with their feet the holy soil of the motherland. Dobrudja was occupied by the French. Romanians in Dobrudja were in a dire mess......the Bulgarians had destroyed everything in their path. Our legionaries gave up to half of their portions for the rest to be divided among the civilian population. Due to the lack of locomotives, we went up to Fetești on foot, and from the Fetești railway station we took a locomotive and a few carriages, from which we formed a train to transport us to Bucharest.... from Bucharest we were sent to Sibiu, then to Brașov. From Brașov to Făgăraș we destroyed all the inscriptions in Hungarian, and in Sibiu we continued the same operation......we then passed under the leadership of the Cluj Surveillance Zone, under the command of officers in the Romanian army.”50 48 Apud Octavian Metea, op. cit, VIII, no. 12, p. 3. 49 Ibidem. 50 Ibidem. The Units of Transylvanian Romanian Volunteers in Italy 97 The reception of the legionaries from Italy in the cities of Transylvania was made in a festive atmosphere. They were greeted by the crowd but also by delegates of the Governing Council, headed by Vasile Goldiș and Romulus Boilă. These were the last episodes of the epic of the Romanian Legion in Italy, because after their arrival in Transylvania, the regiments of the legion were transformed into line regiments of the Romanian army. An example was the transformation of the “Horea” regiment of the Romanian Legion in Italy into the Odorheiul-Secuiesc 97th infantry regiment. Legionaries proved their high military value during the campaign of the Romanian army in Hungary 1919-1920. Then, led by commanders such as Generals Moșoiu or Papp, they showed an extreme spirit of self-sacrifice. The establishment of the Romanian Legion in Italy and its active participation in the fight against Austria-Hungary and Germany had a major importance for supporting the cause of the Romanians’ national unity, especially since Romania exited the war in 1917, and the Romanian communities in Russia, France, Italy, Great Britain or the United States became the representatives of Romanianism, struggling for the achievement of their ideals. Until the re-entry of Romania into the war, in the autumn of 1918, the Legion of Romanian Legion in Italy and the Romanian Legion in France represented those peripheral cores that continued the struggle of the Romanian army on the fronts of the First World War. Starting from the symbolic value of these units, it can be said that their military value was significant. That value was proved especially in the battles with the Hungarian Red Army. OVIDIU MUNTEAN1 FEMININE PERSONALITIES IN THE SERVICE OF THE GREAT UNION. SIDONIA DOCAN - THE SECRETARY OF THE ROMANIAN NATIONAL SENATE OF TRANSYLVANIA (4 NOV. 1918 - 4 JAN. 1919) Abstract: Sidonia Docan (1868-1948) was the daughter of the Cluj-based lawyer Alexa Pop and of Ana, born Lemeny. In 1894 she married George I. Docan, a large landowner and cavalry lieutenant in reserve, the descendant of an ancient family of boyars in Moldova. She settled initially in Bârlad and, after her husband’s death, she returned to Cluj. There, after the outbreak of the Great War, she organised the Petran Ambulance, a hospital for the wounded or sick Romanian military. For four years, as “head nurse of the Red Cross”, she distinguished herself through medical activities and charity actions for relieving the sufferings of the wounded who were treated in hospitals in Cluj. On 4 November 1918 she was appointed secretary of the Romanian National Senate of Transylvania, the first democratic Romanian body from Cluj led by Dr. Amos Frâncu and then by Dr. Emil Hațieganu. She attended the National Assembly in Alba lulia, as delegate of the Romanian Women’s Association from Cluj. The notes she kept daily in this period constitute a precious document for understanding the process of self- determination of the Romanians in Cluj and its surrounding areas, in the difficult conditions generated by the existence of powerful hostile forces, as the city was positioned, up until 24 December 1918, beyond the demarcation line established arbitrarily by the Belgrade Convention. Keywords: First World War, memoir literature, Cluj, the Great Union of 1918 * Sidonia Docan was born in Cluj, in a distinguished family, on 19 December 1868. Her father was the Cluj-based lawyer Alexa Pop and her mother, Ana (1843-1937), the niece of Bishop Lemeni, was an important representative of the feminist movement in Transylvania, as well as the first president of the “St. Mary” Women’s Association in Cluj (1902- 1921).2 In her family, she benefited from a great education in the spirit of 1 Museum curator, PhD, the National Museum of Transylvanian History, Cluj-Napoca, email: ovidiu2505@yahoo.com. 2 See Lavinia Buda, Reuniunea Sf. Maria a femeilor române greco-catolice din Cluj, o “reuniune mariană atipică”, in Studia Universitatis Babeș-Bolyai, Theologia Graeco- Catholica Varadiensis, LVII, no. 2, 2012, pp. 5-22; Anca Doina Rădoi-Dâmboianu, Feminine Personalities in The Service of The Great Union 99 upholding the Romanian national values. Her family home became gradually, thanks to her parents’ efforts, a meeting place of the Romanian intellectuals who were passing through Cluj and the place where the poet George Coșbuc recited his first poems. In 1894 she married George I. Docan,3 a large landowner and cavalry lieutenant in reserve, the descendant of an ancient family of boyars in Moldova, and the couple settled in Bârlad, participating in the fashionable life of the city, where she charmed her audiences by the ease with which she played the violin.4 Throughout this period she kept in touch with her family, constantly supporting, with donations, Romanian charitable activities in favour of the Romanian Women’s Association, an aspect that was often emphasised by the press of the time.5 Having become a widow in 1907, Sidonia Docan returned to Cluj and continued her charity work at the Romanian Women’s Association here (fig. 1). After the outbreak of the First World War, she made direct contributions to the organisation of the first Romanian hospital (September 1914),6 a hospital for wounded or sick Romanian military called Petran Ambulance, (fig. 2) led by the physician Basil Bașotă.7 For four years, as “head nurse of the Red Cross”, she distinguished herself through medical activities and charity actions for relieving the sufferings of the wounded who were treated in hospitals in Cluj. For “the excellent services rendered since the beginning of the war”, in January 1916 she was decorated with 8 the Red Cross Medal with a war decoration.8 In the autumn of 1918, after the collapse of the Monarchy, the atmosphere in Cluj became increasingly tense, considering the political- military situation in town, which had immediately led to the delimitation of camps. The refusal of the Romanian military from Cluj to take the oath before the Hungarian National Council by 2 November 1918, as demanded by the new government in Budapest, enhanced the state of tension existing among the Romanian troops that had been deployed in the barracks of the city and was the catalyst that led to the creation of the Romanian National Mihai Dâmboianu, loan Bran Pop de Lemeni et Kozla -“Un stejar falnic bătrân”, Brașov, 2014, pp. 217-227. 3 The wedding took place in Cluj on 9 January 1894, one of the godfathers of the young pair being Alexandru Bohățiel, captain supreme of Năsăud District. 4 Familia, no. 22, year XXXI, 28 May/9 June1895. 5 Unirea, no. 19, 13 May 1905; Răvașul, year VII, 2 February 1909. 6 In September 1914, for the establishment of a Romanian hospital, Petran Ambulance, Sidonia Docan donated (on the list of “Economul” Bank) 15 pairs of socks, 15 scarves, 6 towels and 3 bedsheets; Românul, no. 196, 7/20 September 1914, p. 6. 7 Florea Marin, Medicii și Marea Unire, Târgu-Mureș, Editura Tipomur, 1993, pp. 70-71. 8 See the article Samaritene române decorate, in: Gazeta Transilvaniei, no. 4, 6/19 January 1916. 100 Ovidiu Muntean Senate, the first Romanian democratic body in Cluj, led by Dr. Amos Frâncu and then by Dr. Emil Hațieganu.9 The founding meeting of the Senate and of the Romanian National Guard was held in the building at 10 Union Square, on 3 November 1918 (fig. 3 a-b), and Sidonia Docan attended it. From her memories and those of another participant, the Greek-Catholic Archpriest of Cluj-Napoca, Dr. Elie Dăianu, we find that here, in a solemn atmosphere, the Romanian tricolour flag was hoisted for the first time publicly. The flag had been retrieved from a hiding place in Bob Church, located nearby, and carried triumphantly to the place where the Romanian assembly was held.10 Sidonia Docan began to write daily about the events in which she participated, starting from 18 October 1918. She referred to the historic moment when Dr. Alexandru Vaida Voevod presented the Declaration of Self-Determination of the Romanians in Transylvania in the Hungarian Parliament. Her Notes constitute a precious document for understanding the process of self-determination of the Romanians in Cluj and its surrounding areas, in the difficult conditions generated by the existence of powerful hostile forces, as the city of Cluj, with a Hungarian majority population, was positioned, up until 24 December 1918, beyond the demarcation line established arbitrarily by the Belgrade Convention. (see Annex I). Thus, she made daily notes about the difficulties faced by the Romanians in Cluj, the challenges raised by the Hungarian authorities of the city, and the prompt reply of the Romanian intellectuals. These intellectuals, headed by lawyer Amos Frâncu, director of “Economul” Bank, began to organise themselves and to set up Romanian institutions designed to ensure the self- determination of the Romanians (national councils and guards). The Romanian National Senate of Transylvania had to work in difficult circumstances, its actions for the self-determination of the Romanians being regarded with distrust and even hostility by the representatives of the Hungarian National Council, established in Cluj on October 29, 1918. This council was headed by Professor Dr. Istvan Apathy, whose chauvinistic feelings against the Romanians were well-known in the intellectual circles of the Romanians in Cluj. The leadership of the Hungarian National Council also comprised Dr. Sandor Vincze and Jeno Janovics, acting as vice-presidents. The Council’s headquarters were located in the old Town Hall building and those of the Hungarian National Guard were in the current location at 4 Stefan cel Mare Square (fig. 4). Because events were getting out of kilter, Dr. Amos Frâncu as President of the Romanian National Senate of Transylvania, signed and 9 Daniela Comșa, Eugenia Glodariu, Maria Magdalena Jude, Clujenii și Marea Unire, Cluj-Napoca, 1998, pp. 26-29. 10 Ilie Dăianu, Toamna clujeană, in: Constrantin Dumitrescu, Din lunga timpului bătaie. Anul 1918 în amintirile unor martori oculari, Cluj-Napoca, Editura Dacia, 1978, pp. 179-181. Feminine Personalities in The Service of The Great Union 101 released several manifestos and communiques 11- mentioned by Sidonia Docan in her Notes - which decreed the “civil and military organisation of the Romanians in Transylvania”. The Senate’s manifesto of November 2, 1918 stated that in order to “sustain public order”, there would be established the national guard and the civil guard, “both under the national flag, with Romanian as the language of command”. The Romanian bodies were not subject to the political authorities of other nationalities, but they could collaborate with them. It was now that the 52 localities of recruitment were set - the “garrisons” - corresponding to the 13 counties in Transylvania, where the guardsmen were supposed to gather under the leadership of the Romanian officers and to submit the following oath: “I swear loyalty and allegiance to the Romanian National Council, as the representative of the Romanian Nation, and to its body, the Romanian National Senate of Transylvania. So help me God!”. At the same time, there were laid down the means of armament, the per diem and the pay, outlining the fact that “on all celebratory occasions the national anthem Awaken, Romanian was to be sung”.12 Also, the leaders of the Senate requested the Romanian banks to financially support the establishment of national guards across the entire province.13 The manifesto-proclamation was printed and sent out by special couriers to all the corners of Transylvania, in order to obtain endorsement for the decisions reached in Cluj and the recognition of the Senate as the authority for entire Transylvania. Some of them (as was the case of the student Emil Dandea)14 were dispatched to the northern parts and in the area of the Apuseni Mountains with the mission to organise other national councils and guards, in accordance with indications transmitted from Cluj. In parallel with the huge effort of organising the Romanians in the territory, the Romanian National Senate established its headquarters in Cluj, on November 4, 1918, in the building of “Economul” Bank. In the new location, Sidonia Docan, appointed to the position of secretary, began a remarkable organisational activity together with the leadership of the National Senate (fig. 5). On November 12, 1918, the Romanian tricolour was hoisted for the first time on the pediment of the “Economul” Bank. The flag was sewn by Ana A. Popp and was handed over to the Senate leadership by a delegation of the Romanian Women’s Association from Cluj, headed by Nuțy Gherman. 11 Cluj County Branch of the National Archives (hereinafter: SJCJAN), fund National Guards of 1918, doc. 32/1918. 12 Marcel Știrban, Cojocnenii la Alba Iulia. Documente. Oameni și locuri la 95 de ani de la Marea Unire. Din istoria României, 1918, vol. X, Cluj-Napoca, Editura Napoca Star; Târgu Mureș, Editura Edu, 2013, pp. 127-129. 13 SJCJAN, fund The Year 1918, doc. 466/1918. 14 Ioan Silviu Nistor, Emil A. Dandea în slujba înfăptuirii și consolidării Marii Uniri, Cluj-Napoca, Editura Sedan, 2000, pp. 16-20. 102 Ovidiu Muntean It is very likely that in those days, a panel with the emblem THE ROMANIAN NATIONAL SENATE OF TRANSYLVANIA was hung on the building of “Economul” Bank, framed by a tricolour band. This is one of the most important themed exhibits in the patrimony of the museum related to the year 1918. The panel was discovered by us in the deposit of the museum. It was inventoried and then restored by a specialised division (fig. 6 a-b).15 The story of this museum artefact deserves to be mentioned here briefly as a testimony to the rapid effort of organising the Romanians in Cluj in those days of great intensity, at the beginning of November 1918. Therefore, under the current layer of paint the specialists discovered the logo of the PETRAN AMBULANCE, as proof of the fact that the panel with a wooden frame was originally located at the administrative headquarters of the Romanian hospital with the same name, a hospital set up for the wounded of war in the autumn of 1914, where, as seen above Sidonia Docan acted as head nurse for the Red Cross. To install and quickly organise the National Senate, it is obvious that as newly appointed secretary, she swiftly commissioned the Gratz painting workshop to repaint the old panel with the new logo of the Senate, which was subsequently placed on the building of “Economul” Bank with the “tricolour flag” donated by the Romanian women on 12 November 1918. Further on, Sidonia Docan mentions receiving at the Senate the Proclamation of General Constantin Prezan, the Chief of Staff of the Romanian Army, addressed to the Romanians in Transylvania (20 November 1918). This document was released in order to calm down the population of the province, amidst the political and military events which were happening at a pace that was unprecedented and almost incomprehensible or unacceptable for those who were losing their privileged positions, by contrast with the enthusiasm of the Romanians, who after all those sacrifices belonged now to the camp of the victors (fig. 7). Also during this period, she noted the efforts made by the Senate for organising the sending to Alba Iulia of delegations representing as many localities in the county of Cluj and the surrounding area as possible: “Tomorrow, on November 30, at 2 o’clock pm, the separate train leaves for Alba Iulia. In the assembly of 27 November, where they elected the delegates, they magnanimously included in circle II the Expresident (Dr. Amos Frâncu - our note16). I make and ceaselessly order tricolour flags. 15 I must thank my colleague Sabin Grapini who restored this museum artefact, so that the panel can be displayed at the anniversary exhibition The People of Cluj and the Great Union of 1918, which will open at the museum on November 2, 2018. 16 Sidonia Docan remained a supporter of the lawyer Amos Frâncu even after his replacement as head of the Romanian National Senate in Cluj on November 15, 1918. She regretted his departure from the Senate leadership, considering that he had been slandered by his close associates when the Romanian National Council in Arad replaced him with Emil Hațieganu. See loan Clopoțel, Revoluția din 1918 și Unirea Ardealului cu România, Cluj, Editura Revistei Societatea de mâine, 1926, pp.105-106. Feminine Personalities in The Service of The Great Union 103 Villages after villages are coming to reclaim the flag for which they ve had to suffer for so long, they want to see it fluttering from all the angles”. On the basis of the convening notice for the Assembly of Alba Iulia, the meetings for the election of delegates to the National Assembly took place in Cluj over the last ten days of the month of November, 1918. Delegates, both titulars and substitutes, were elected from the electoral circles, but also from various organisations and associations of women, teachers, youth, craftsmen. The election session was held on November 27 and several delegates received a mandate for participation in Alba Iulia : Dr. Emil Hațieganu, Dr. Nicodim Cristea, Dr. Elie Dăianu, Dr. Valentin Poruțiu, Dr. Augustine Pordea, Anton Mandeal, Petre Barițiu, Dr. Amos Frâncu, Dr. Ioan Giurgiu, Pavel Alb, Iuliu Muja, Iuliu Coroianu. On the same day, the Romanian Women’s Association in Cluj appointed Maria R. Pop and Sidonia Docan as delegates to Alba Iulia on behalf of this organisation. In the county of Cojocna, following the meetings held in Gherla and Turda, the participation mandate for Alba Iulia was also granted to the following women: the teacher Livia Coroianu, from the Greek-Catholic Diocesan Pedagogical School for Girls from Gherla, the teacher Aurelia Suciu from the “St. Mary” Romanian Greek-Catholic Women’s Association in Gherla, the teacher Eugenia Mesaroșiu and. Ecaterina Moldovan from the Romanian Women’s Reading Society in Turda.17 Saddened by the incident in the train station of Teiuș from 30 November 1918 and, at the same time, impressed by the numerous people present in the citadel of the Great Union, Sidonia Docan noted down the following: “At 2 we’re leaving, about 1,000 people. For these turbulent times the journey is fairly all right up to Teiuș, where they are shooting at our train, Ioan Arion drops dead, he was standing proudly next to the tricolour Big imbroglio, great sorrow in our souls. Leave happily, take the sacrifice to the place of salvation! In the morning, according to the ancient custom, a religious service before the gathering. Huge crowds, picturesque groups of peasants from all regions. With great excitement and satisfaction I am watching these proud and dignified figures, who have endured so many ordeals and fierce injustice, keeping calm and serene”. At Alba Iulia, on 1 December 1918, the 1,228 de jure or elected delegates (among whom were the 39 people from Cluj) decided the union of Transylvania with Romania in perpetuity. The Resolution of Union, read by Vasile Goldiș, was voted unanimously by the delegates. It was received with great enthusiasm by the more than 100,000 Romanians present at Alba Iulia on that historical day for the Romanian nation and its first point provided the following: “The National Assembly of all the Romanians in 17 D. Comșa, E. Glodariu, M. Jude, op.cit., Annex B. 104 Ovidiu Muntean Transylvania, Banat and the Hungarian Country, assembled through their lawful representatives in Alba Iulia on the day of 18 November/1 December 1918, decrees the unification of those Romanians and of all the territories inhabited by them with Romania. The national assembly proclaims, above all, the inalienable right of the Romanian nation to the whole of Banat, between the rivers Murăș, the Tisza and the Danube”. After returning from Alba Iulia, Sidonia Docan referred to in her Notes to the increasingly tense situation existing in the city and in the surroundings, remarking that immediately after the return of the delegates from Alba Iulia the threats against the Romanians in the city and especially against the leaders of the political body of the Romanian “Economul” Bank intensified: “Apathy is fretting about, inciting the Szeklers! They claim we should take down the tricolour flag from the Senate. A conjuration for the removal of the Legion and the leaders of all that Romanianism stands for”. These threats were quite real, considering the daily challenges and the existing conflicting situation, which was doubled by the lawlessness and insubordination of the recruited Szeklers, quartered in the barracks of Cluj-Napoca. Thus, at a meeting of the Szekler officers from December 4, 1918, the president, Sub-Lieutenant Zagoni, adjutant of the commander of the Szekler battalion, proposed unequivocally blowing out “Economul” Bank, storming the headquarters of the Romanian National Guard, and slaughtering the Romanian population in the city.18 On December 12, 1918, Sidonia Docan noted that, under the command of their officers, the Szeklers chanted, in the streets of Cluj, chauvinistic songs that were insulting to the Romanians. She recalled the incident with victims from Someșeni and the “criticai situation” in Sălaj, Aiton and Târgu Lăpuș, where the Szeklers were “shooting and tormenting peopie, if they are Romanian”. In Cluj, a city that had a majority Hungarian population and was located beyond the demarcation line, major military units were deployed starting from mid-November 1918; such was the case of the “division of Szeklers” led by Colonel Karolyi Kratochwill. Also, the government in Budapest did not recognise the political and legal value of the Resolution of Union passed at Alba Iulia and sought to undermine, by every means, the activity of the Governing Council in Sibiu through the establishment in Cluj of a governmental Commissariat General for Eastern Hungary. On December 8, 1918, Professor Istvan Apathy was appointed as its leader. He was at the same time President of the Hungarian National Council of Transylvania. On December 22, 1918, he organised a people’s assembly in the central square of Cluj, attended by several thousand people, which was 18 Anui 1918 în județui Bistrița-Năsăud. Contribuții documentare (eds. A. Onofreiu, I. Pintea, C. Vlașin), (hereinafter: Anul 1918...), Cluj-Napoca, Editura Mega, 2018, doc. 121, pp. 206-207. Feminine Personalities in The Service of The Great Union 105 meant as a counter protest to the Assembly in Alba Iulia. Motion read by Dr. Sandor Vincze (Vice President of the Hungarian Council in Cluj) was voted during that protest. It provided for maintaining the political and economic unity of historical Hungary and the non-recognition of the Resolution of Union from Alba Iulia.19 The growing number of ethnic incidents and the hostile attitude of the “division of Szeklers” towards the Romanian population led Dr. Amos Frâncu to travel to Bistrița, where he met with Major Dumitru Coroamă, commander of the 2nd battalion of the 15th Regiment “Războieni”. Here, he requested the Romanian officer to present this serious situation to General Headquarters, demanding that the Romanian army should pass as quickly as possible the dividing line and advance along the Someș valley to Cluj.20 A similar undertaking was made by Dr. Emil Hațieganu, president of the Romanian National Council in Cluj, who in a letter to the commander of the Romanian army in Bistrita informed him of the atrocities committed by the Hungarian soldiers against Romanians in Cluj (6 December 1918). In its preamble it, he wrote the following: “The Romanian population of the County of Cojocna/Kolozs megye:/ and of the city of Cluj, its capital, has been - especially from December 1 onwards, a memorable day when the great national assembly of Romanians voted and decided the annexation of Romanians and of the territory inhabited by them to Romania - under the terror and brutality of the Hungarians. The wealth and life of the Romanians are in danger and at any time we can expect mass slaughter to be perpetrated by our age-old enemies [...] Consequently, to guarantee the wealth and life of the Romanians in Cluj, the centre of Hungarian chauvinism, and for the Romanian national 19 On December 21, 1918, Ștefan Cicio-Pop, the chief of the Army and Public Security from the Governing Council in Sibiu communicated the following data about the situation in the city: “In Cluj and around the city there are about 12,000 Szeklers armed with rifles, machine guns and about 4 batteries of artillery, then 2 armoured trains, which, after the occupation of Teiuș and Aiud, passed through Arad and Oradea on their way to Cluj. The authorities in Cluj received orders to surrender the city without resistance, but, at the same time, the President of the Hungarian Senate in Cluj, Vincze, made semi- official statements, from which we can infer that the authorities disclaimed any liability in case when the Szeklers, disgruntled by the new order, would - without asking for their superiors’ permission and even against the will of their leaders - start a killing spree in Cluj. Consequently, the occupation was to be conducted with great caution. We are also informed that in Cluj there were stores offood, many clothes, some in shops, some in private homes. Then, there were hospitals equipped with many pharmaceutical articles. Therefore, we believe the application the following procedure would be appropriate: the occupation should not be delayed, lest the Hungarians should have time to transport anything away from Cluj. To this end. Our council ordered that no coal should be given away from Petroșani”. See Cornel Grad, Contribuția armatei române la preluarea puterii politico-administrative în Transilvania. Primele măsuri (noiembrie 1918-aprilie 1920), in: Revista de administrație publică și politici sociale, no. 4 (5), December 2010, p. 66. 20 SJCJAN, fund The National Guards of 1918, doc. 103/1928, f. 2-3. 106 Ovidiu Muntean interests of the highest order, we implore you to give orders for Cluj to be occupied without delay by the Romanian army”.21 It should be noted that, on December 12, 1918, at the request of General Constantin Prezan, the French General Henri Mathias Berthelot, chief of the French Military Mission in Romania and then commander of the Army of the Danube, gave his consent that the troops of the Romanian army could cross the demarcation line established arbitrarily by the Belgrade Convention, and could occupy strategic points beyond this line.22 The fact that the Romanian army was approaching the city prompted the departure from Cluj of the regular troops of the Hungarian army that had been stationed in the barracks of the city. They walked towards the train station via the present-day King Ferdinand St., Where the headquarters of the Romanian National Council were located. The Romanian tricolour was hoisted on the pediment of that building. After a series of challenges, on December 19, 1918, during this evacuation of Hungarian troops from Cluj, there occurred the most serious incident which marked the Romanian community in the city, namely the armed attack on the headquarters of the Romanian National Council. The Romanian National Guard, located in the building of “Economul” Bank, was severely attacked by the soldiers of the Szekler battalion led by Captain Werboczi. In the ensuing gun battle, the young Octavian Petrovici was killed and five other Romanians were injured. Impressed by the courage of the Romanian guardsmen, who had valiantly defended the flag, Sidonia Docan noted in her diary: The day of 19 December is a day of assaull on the Senate too. Werboczi’s Szekler battalion has attacked our guard. We have one dead man, Cornel Petrovici, and 5 wounded. The flag of the Romanian women on the front [of the building] is riddled with bullets, but persists and remains”. On December 21, 1918, a young man of just 15 years of age was buried with military honours in the Central Cemetery and the Romanian National Council in Cluj declared him a “martyr of the Romanian nation”23 (fig. 8 a-b). One day later, the political body of the Romanians from Cluj launched a manifesto addressed to “All the leaders and all the Romanian people in Cluj, around the city and in the Mountains of Gilău”, announcing that, on December 24, 1918, the 13th Infantry Brigade led by General Anton Gherescu would enter Cluj and inviting the Romanians to welcome the royal army with tricolour flags24 (fig. 9). 21 Year 1918..., doc. 124, pp. 209-212. 22 Constantin Kirițescu, Istoria războiului pentru întregirea României 1916-1919, second edition, București, Editura Casa Școalelor, 1925, vol. III, pp. 390-391. 23 SJCJAN, fund The National Guards of 1918, doc. 104/1927, f.1-2. 24 Ibidem, doc. 72/1918. Feminine Personalities in The Service of The Great Union 107 On December 23, 1918, while the last military formations consisting mostly of recruited Szeklers were leaving the city, Dr. Octavian Utalea and Dr. Iulian Pop, representing the Romanian National Council, met in the train station of Apahida with General Anton Gherescu for preparing the entry of the Romanian army in Cluj. The meeting was also attended by a Hungarian delegation headed by the mayor Guzstâv Haller, who protested against the entry of the Romanian army in Cluj. General Gherescu replied firmly that he was following orders received from the superior military authorities of the Entente, gave assurances that his intentions were peaceful, but he would repress any rebellion or disturbance of the public peace, demanded the removal of the armed Hungarian guards from the city and requested that several rooms at the New York Hotel (today, the Continental Hotel) should be made available for the accommodation of the Romanian officers. On Tuesday, December 24, 1918, the Romanian army entered Cluj. It was a historic moment of great importance that put an end to the state of tension that had dominated the life of the city in those tumultuous days after the National Assembly in Alba Iulia. The event was recorded by Sidonia Docan, who wrote down the following on that day: Young and old, everyone is running to Matthias Square to welcome the Romanian Army in Cluj. Is this not a dream? [...] The entry of the army, headed by Generals Neculcea and Gherescu, with a martial appearance, produces an indescribable emotion. Men are crying, women are crying, children, too, all are shaken by a holy emotion. Then they dance a hora around the square, around Matthias”. The first subunits of the 7th Infantry Division that entered the city, coming from Apahida, were Regiments 15 and 16 Dorobanți, the first two batteries of the 4th Artillery Regiment Roman and the cavalry squadron of the division. At “the edge of Cluj, towards Someșeni”, the files of the Romanian army were met by a delegation of the Romanian National Council in Cluj and Cojocna County, composed of Dr. Valentin Poruțiu (Vice President) and Dr. Alexandru Dragomir (head of the commissarial office). After a few greeting words, General Neculcea was invited into the automobile of the hosts but he turned down the offer and continued his way on foot, at the head of the military detachments. At the “old customs” of Cluj (in the area of Mărăști Square), the Romanian general was met by a Hungarian delegation led by the mayor of the city. The Romanian military marched down Magyar-utca (today 21 December 1989 Bld.), where they were cheered on by members of the Romanian National Guard, whose barracks were here. On the whole route and in Union Square, the military were acclaimed by an impressive crowd of Romanians who had come to town at the call of the National Council. At 11 o’clock, in Union Square, as the brass band played its marches, the Romanian troops appeared, led by the 108 Ovidiu Muntean officer corps and the two generals. The Orthodox Archpriest Tuliu Roșescu, the Greek-Catholic chaplain Petru S. Simu, Dr. Amos Frâncu on behalf of the Romanian National Council, Dr. Iulian Pop on behalf of the National Guard, Mrs. Olivia Telia on behalf of the Romanian Women’s Association and Dr. Emil A. Dandea on behalf of the Romanian academics of Cluj gave welcome speeches. These speeches, full of enthusiasm and joy, were answered by Generals Neculcea and Gherescu, each cheered on by the crowd of people who had filled the square. 4,000 soldiers, 70 officers and the artillery batteries, followed by the members of the National Guard, marched before the grand stand. The enthusiasm was high, the Romanian soldiers were acclaimed and a big hora was danced around the statue of Matthias Corvinus. All these manifestations of joy, speeches and welcome greetings were published, the next day, in an “occasional issue” entitled Cluj. A body of the Romanian National Council in Cluj and Cojocna County”. Edited by Chaplain Dr. Nicodim Cristea, the newspaper published on the front page an extensive article entitled “Welcome!”, voicing the participants’ feelings of tremendous exhilaration at the arrival of the Romanian army. On December 25, 1918 the New York Hotel hosted a “very animated” banquet, in the presence of 400 people, thrown in honour of the Romanian army (fig. 10). On this occasion, the choir of the officers from the Romanian guard, led by Dr. Y. C. Stanca sang Awaken, Romanian! Then the military band played the Royal Anthem and the Marseillaise, followed by ballads and national songs. Toasts were given in honour of King Ferdinand and Queen Marie (General Anton Gherescu), of the Romanian army (Archpriest Tuliu Roșescu), of Prime Minister Ionel Brătianu (Dr. Ioan Giurgiu), of the Entente and France (Dr. Elie Dăianu), of the American president W. Wilson (Dr. Nicodim Cristea), of Romanian women (General Gherescu), which was answered by Mrs. Olivia Telia, etc. At midnight French Captain Vierne from the mission of General Berthelot arrived here, most likely with the task to prepare the visit of the French general in Cluj. In the general acclaim of the participants, the welcoming speech was given in French by Mrs. Sidonia Docan and by Dr. Amos Frâncu. Indeed, a week after the entry of the Romanian army, Cluj experienced a second moment of triumph, when the officials and the crowds of Romanians from the surrounding villages and from the area of the Apuseni Mountains welcomed the illustrious French General Henri Mathias Berthelot. His tour began on 25 December 1918, when he left Bucharest by train, and he visited several localities in the west and north of the country (Orșova, Timișoara, Arad, Oradea, Satu-Mare, Baia-Mare). General Berthelot arrived in Cluj on 31 December 1918, coming by train Feminine Personalities in The Service of The Great Union 109 from Bistrița, where the day before he visited the city escorted by a troop of young cavalry25 (fig.11 a-c). His warm reception on December 31, 1918, at the station, in the streets and in Matthias Corvinus Square, led General Neculcea to thank the participants through a proclamation: “You have descended from the mountains and have come from the villages under our majestic tricolour, to welcome, in the city of Cluj, the capital of Transylvania, General Berthelot, the man who fought valiantly alongside us, for the fulfilment of our centuries-old ideal”. The atmosphere of enthusiasm for the French general, who will remain entrenched in history as a great friend of the Romanians, is also described in the Notes of Sidonia Docan, who, along with other officials, such as General Anton Gherescu and Dr. Amos Frâncu, welcomed him on the station platform in Cluj. She greeted him in French and gave him an “admirable bouquet with the inscription - The Romanian ladies from Cluj, to the heroic General Berthelot”. Further, referring to this historic moment, she wrote: “The view that presents the mass of Romanian peasants, the women astride their horses at the exit from the station, with the numerous tricolour flags, the enthusiastic liveliness they experienced at seeing the general. Words cannot describe this. From the train station to the city there was a sea of excited people, who deeply impressed the illustrious guest also through their picturesque appearance”. Also, the Romanian press widely reported about the receipt of the French guest in Cluj, the speeches that were given and the gifts that the Motzen had brought him on this occasion. 26 General Berthelot’s merits and effort for the accomplishment of Greater Romania were recognised in Cluj at that time also by assigning his name to a street (the present-day Constanța St.). On 18-19 January 1919, under the protection of the Romanian army, the Romanian administration was established in Cluj, as a result of the departure from the stations of the former Hungarian officials. On 27 January 15, 1919, after the incident at Crișeni (near Zalău),27 commissioner Istvan Apathy was arrested by the Romanian army and the headquarters of the Commissariat General of Eastern Hungary from Cluj was put under seizure. The new prefects of the city and the county, previously appointed by the Governing Council - Dr. Valentin Poruțiu and 25 Ioan Șerban, Constantin Stan, Călătoria generalului Henri M Berthelot în Banat și Transilvania, in Apulum, vol. 38/2, 2001, p. 175. 26 See Generalul Berthelot la Cluj, in Unirea, no. 5, 11 January 1919. 27 The armed attack in Crișeni (near Zalău) was committed by a group of Hungarian soldiers who had mined the railway line and attacked the train carrying Romanian army troops to the west. The attack ended with 6 dead, 13 wounded and 7 Romanian missing soldiers. The investigation that followed established beyond any doubt Apâthy’s involvement in this, after the discovery, in Zalău, of a telegram he had sent the Hungarian troops, urging them to resist the advance of the Romanian army. See Cornel Grad, op. cit, pp. 71-72. 110 Ovidiu Muntean Simion Tămaș - took over their administrative functions, and thus “the First Council of Romanian Cluj” could be set up. The first appointed Romanian mayor was Dr. Iulian Pop, a close collaborator of Sidonia Docan, former commissioner of the Department of Economic and Financial Affairs of the Romanian National Council in Cluj. The fact that many members of the Council were co-opted in various administrative and municipal functions determined the official termination of its existence on January 31, 1919. During those three months, the first Romanian democratic body from Cluj registered outstanding achievements, to which Sidonia Docan brought a remarkable contribution. This suite of events was designed to translate into practice the will to self-determination of the Romanians in Transylvania, in the spirit of the Resolution of Union. Thus, the Senate from Cluj immediately proclaimed the right of the Romanians in the city and the surroundings to self-determination, established itself as a department of the Central Romanian National Council in Arad, organised the national guard in the city and in the county and facilitated the participation of the 39 elected delegates in the National Assembly from Alba Iulia. In the citadel of the Great Union, through their voice, the people of Cluj gave expression to their adherence to the most important political event in the modern history of Romanians. Some of them were entrusted with high public posts in the Governing Council or in other bodies of the Romanian administration, which steered the destiny of the province in the first two years after the Union. In 1919, among other outstanding merits of Sidonia Docan was the establishment of the Red Cross Society in Cluj (22 May 1919) as well as the organisation of the canteen for the Romanian military in transit through the railway station in Cluj. Regarding this last initiative, she noted that King Ferdinand himself brought public thanks to the Red Cross Society when he visited Cluj on August 2, 1919. Two days later, on August 4, 1919, she wrote the last entry in her memoirs: “The Entry of the Romanian Army in Budapest. General Moșoiu leading. With great pride and holy emotion I am noting down this glorious event!” (fig. 12). In subsequent years, Sidonia Docan conducted a remarkable work of charity, as pointed out by the newspaper Patria, which, in an anniversary issue celebrating eighteen years since the Great Union,28 portrayed her thus: “Mrs. Sidonia G. I. Docan, president of the Red Cross, Cluj branch, is one of the daughters of the old family that stood at the forefront of the national and cultural movement, Alexă Pop, and widow of the Moldovan boyar G. Docan. She is a prominent figure of our lives. Her power of work, determination and intelligence have driven her to wonderful achievements in the society she leads with high competence 28 Patria, 1 December 1936, p. 3. Feminine Personalities in The Service of The Great Union 111 since its foundation in Cluj. We can justly say that there is no village, no hamlet where the name of Mrs. Docan is unknown. And it’s because since the union she has been working as an inspector of the Ministry of Social Protection, leading and directing the dozens of visiting nurses in her care to the fulfilment of their calling, which is so necessary for the Romanian people. Her work deserves to be presented in many newspaper columns and not only in this small space”. List of illustrations: Figure no. 1 - Sidonia Docan (1906) Figure no. 2 - The Petran Ambulance, Cluj, 22 November 1914 - The Doina and Mihai Dâmboianu Collection, Brașov Figure no. 3 a-b - Building where was held the founding meeting of the Romanian National Senate of Transylvania (today 10 Union Square) Figure no. 4 - Headquarters of the Hungarian National Guard in Cluj (October-December 1918), (today 4 Stefan cel Mare Square) Figure no. 5 - “Economul” Bank, the headquarters of the Romanian National Senate of Transylvania Figure no. 6 a-b - Panel with the emblem of the ROMANIAN NATIONAL SENATE OF TRANSYLVANIA (before and after restoration) Figure no. 7 - Proclamation of General Constantin Prezan (20 November 1918) Figure no. 8 a-b - Former headquarters of the Senate of the Romanian National Senate (today 31 King Ferdinand St, at the corner with 11 Octavian Petrovici St) Figure no. 9 - Manifesto of the Romanian National Council in Cluj (22 December 1918) Figure no. 10 - Headquarters of the Command of the 7th Division of the Romanian army, 24 November 1918 Figure no. 11 a-c - Aspects of the visit of General Berthelot in Transylvania (December 1918 -January 1919) Figure no. 12 - The celebration in Cluj of the day of the Romanian army’s entry in Budapest (4 August 1919) 112 Ovidiu Muntean ANNEX I 29 [Sidonia Docan], Daily Notes - from the autumn of 1918 Copy Extract from the notes taken daily in the Romanian National Senate by the president’s secretary, Sidonia Docan. From the turmoil preceding the final denouement [Year] 1918 18 October/Friday/ In the Parliament of Budapest Alex. Vaida Voevod is reading a declaration, on behalf of the Romanian people, leaving the doors [missing text]. Throughout the Country there’s great longing for Peace and Independence - with a blast of impatient yearning for rebellion [sic]. 28[October] The dismantling of the Monarchy has begun! A heavy atmosphere. Who’s to fight for Romania?! Who is to care for their fate and their future? This wretched people, hurled into all manner of dangers and sacrificed by all, other countries wish to rise to glory on its back, greatness and independence, [missing text]. 30[October] The revolution has been unleashed! Barbarian hordes have begun the destruction of the [missing text], the Hungarians have organised the 30 Nemzeti Tanacs” (National Council - our note) everywhere... Dr. Frâncu is struggling with the elements around him to lay the foundations and to ensure an indestructible protection for the Romanian cause! He is convening meetings, or sending couriers to the Matadors of the National Committee. Whence there comes no answer, no guidance! Don’t they also have the feeling that it’s now or never?!? 31[October] Imperialist Austria is now a Republic! At long last, it crosses our mind that we ought to admit the state of affairs [sic], and to declare firmly what we want? Don’t we have the guts or don’t we know what’s to be done? And “ECONOMUL” Bank has been invited to join the “Nemzeti Tanacs”! No! and no! 29 Apud Cornel Tucă, Activitatea Senatului Național Român (Cluj) oglindită în notițele Sidoniei Docan, in Buletinul Arhivelor Militare Române, no. 43, 2009, pp. 26-31. This version of the Notes has been annotated and completed with information we have come across during our investigations. 30 National Council (Hungarian) Feminine Personalities in The Service of The Great Union 113 Finally Dr. A. Frâncu realises that he should convene a meeting at “VATRA”31 for 5 p.m. Decisions must be made now or it will be too late [missing text]. Revolution! The soldiers are tearing off their badges, the streets are full of wild people, who want destruction, who are yelling, while down town, under “ECONOMUL” Bank, they are breaking the store windows with wooden bars, raising the place, plundering the clothes, destroying everything. You get terrified by the anger of the unleashed masses...at night, the streets are dark, no one dares to go out, there’s an order that the gates should be locked, stifled silence as before a blizzard [missing text]. 1[November] News about the assassination of Tisza!32 The fiercest enemy of the Romanians, the instigator of the War, with Wilhelm II. Three soldiers broke into his Palace in Pest and shot him without mercy, just like he sacrificed and massacred us. Everywhere there are proclamations to the people in Hungarian and Romanian/ and aren’t the walls of Cluj going to waste?/ and in German, signed by Dr. Apathy, an infamous and impudent Jew. A member of the National Committee passing through Cluj finally told us curtly to “Get organised!”, without further guidance. Dr. Kertesz and Vincze invited to the National Hungarian Senate Dr. Frâncu and Dr. Păteanu, where after the formidable speech of Mr. Frâncu - when Apathy had turned as white as a sheet and could no longer refute the arguments presented to him, could not even dare stave off an energy they had not believed a Romanian mind could have - they gave in, recognising rights and the Romanian oath, they even promised cooperation in parallel, for fear of the Romanian masses, who would finally be able to rise [missing text]. 1[November] Yesterday’s meeting of “VATRA” could not be held, as all the doors were locked! Intrigue! Or Fear! Frâncu and Păteanu’s fury and despair were beyond words. Next, accurate information, experienced and written down by Dr. Păteanu, secretary of the Romanian National Senate. In the city, dismay and great horror. Last night there was a rumour in the army that the Czechs had been advancing, and that they had marched even so far as Apahida. At the station they placed cannons and machine guns to prevent their entry into the city. Strict order to lock the gates. When I walk down the deserted, lightless streets, quickly, amidst a grim silence, I wonder, worried: will it be good or bad for us, Romanians? And will the world ever know what we have suffered, what sacrifices we have made? God help us! Then again, the spirits calm down when we hear, 31 A bank with Romanian capital set up in Cluj in 1907. 32 Istvân Tisza (1861-1918), Prime Minister of Hungary in 1903-1905 and 1913-1918, active supporter of Austro-Hungarian dualism. 114 Ovidiu Muntean when they say that the French and the English will occupy Transylvania! This is also the news that appears in papers. Dr. Frâncu has convened a Constituent meeting for Sunday, November 3. At long last!!! 3[November] Sunday, 3 pm, under the Romanian tricolour flag, with delusional enthusiasm, with a fiery speech, at the “Circle of Hungarian Industrialists “, in Matthias Square, Dr. Frâncu, Dr. Păteanu, will secure our point of law, that solid plinth on which the Romanian National Senate was erected, leading to the accomplishment of Greater Romania! What only inexhaustible energy and undefeated courage could secure! The Hungarian oath has ceased to be compulsory. The call to the ROMANIAN BROTHERS! 4[November] The Romanian National Council [was] installed with telephones, ordinance at “ECONOMUL” Bank. I have been appointed Secretary. Revolution! Our enemy have weapons, we nothing! 5[November] Printed Manifesto addressed to the Romanians. The commander of the regiment [63] is Romanian, he is Captain Coțuțiu, telephone 955, in the Barracks from Magyar-ut/Calea Victoriei. The Hungarians, very scared, come seeking salvation from the Romanian Senate, for the wrongs they committed fill them with the horror of a possible justified vengeance. In the Romanian communes they attack the peaceful villagers, then ask for help for the “Wallachians” have risen. Their heinous atrocities keep being repeated! Here, in the Senate, we are working day and night, feverishly, to avoid clashes and slaughter. Consultations at General Commander Siegkeri33 [sic] (Siegler - our note). The Romanian Senate is sending Romanian officers and military support everywhere, to calm down the spirits; sub-commissariats are formed in villages. 7[November] Talks with the Hungarian prefect and the general. The peasants, without distinction of nationality, retaliate against the official bodies for the wrongs they had endured. The Minister of War, Bartha, has admitted the Romanian oath of allegiance for entire Transylvania and for the Romanians in Hungary. Dr. Mihaly34 agrees with everything the Romanian Senate has decided here. /Finally!/, when he saw that Dr. Frâncu has pulled the 33 Konrad Siegler von Eberswald, infantry general and commander of the garrison in Cluj. Feminine Personalities in The Service of The Great Union 115 chestnuts out of the fire. The Hungarians are, directly, causing the revolution. Lord, let justice win! How proud I am to be precisely in the midst of this activity where, with every fibre strained, our future is in the making. I can see with my eyes, I live with ceaseless excitement those grandiose days of struggle towards light and truth [missing text]. Rebellions everywhere! All the aristocrats are running to find shelter under the shield of the Romanian Senate!!! Big imbroglio, restricted movement, few trains, cars, few carriages. Superhuman efforts to maintain order and peace in the poor spirits, overwrought because of the injustices endured, carried to the extreme during the war, the forced abductions, the aid, the requisitioned food, etc. exasperated them. Officers, soldiers from Bukovina are arriving, staying and forming the Legion. One every day! Allegro feats, no respite and no rest. It has been decided to take over the entire administration. [Added on the margins, by hand, in black ink]: On 8 November, in the evening, 3,600 men35 and 14 officers, led by Ditrich, committed the most gruesome murder in Beliș. 10[November] The President is ill, enormous workload, responsibility, but the cause is sacred, he is all strained nerves [missing text]. 10[November] Big discussion concerning the outfit to be adopted, complicated circumstances. At night the fame of Romania’s entry was spread around. Terrific excitement among us, great fear among the Hungarians. 5[November] The tricolour flag of the “Romanian Women in Cluj” was delivered by a few female representatives. Just arrived in line - very appropriate speech by Mrs. Nuțy Gherman - the flag has been sewn by Miss Anna A. Popp, the president responds. Uplifting moments. 13[November] Enormous workload, organisation, provisions for everything 14[November] On the frontispiece of the Senate the flag donated by the Romanian women has been hoisted for the first time, the first march with Romanian tricolour little flags/sewn standing/by Miss Anna Popp. In the car: the President with Lt. Col. Hidu. My heart is jumping with pride in my chest. Beautiful time! And God with us! Official summons addressed to the Romanian National Council and the Hungarian National Council in Cluj, that at the intervention of deputy Urmanczy, Captain Ditrich with 60 people burned Romanians at the stake in Beliș. 34 Teodor Mihali (1885-1934), a member of the Central Romanian National Council from Arad. 35 The figure is wrongly transcribed. 116 Ovidiu Muntean Arad. Meeting of the ministers with the National Party, where Dr. I. Maniu declared that we want to get out of the Hungarian framework and to be independent. I also took the oath. 15[November] It’s snowing! If only this deluge of snow, which shut down the roads, were not detrimental to us. I’m being asked, with no. 220/1918.c., signed by Dr. Frâncu, Dr. Hațiegan, Captain Cotuțiu to create the Romanian Red Cross without further delay. Board meeting, friends are cooking something, they crawl like lizards, small at heart and in thought, even in very serious times like these. 16[November] The President has abdicated [sic]! /He stayed at the helm 13 days and formed 13 legions!/ I was sure that they would not rest until they removed him from the helm, although none of them would have been able to cope with the overwhelming events, they’re afraid he’s going to make the country too great, will fight for [sic] too many important rights! And “His Holiness/ Dr. D/”36 (Elie Dăianu - our note) was treacherous too. Not a word did he find to save the situation and his unjustly struck “friend”, even though, with unquenchable energy, he devoted breath to a great cause! How petty and how wretched we are! The president left blase and enlisted as a simple worker, which offended those that remained, for this was a slap in their face. 17[November] In Blaj, with great solemnity: taking the oath. The ex-President was to leave for Năsăud, but they were terrified and moved every stone to detain him. “No for my sake, without fear, lest I should strike an agreement with the Kingdom.” Gosh, I’m very afraid that the cause might be imperilled when it’s almost won so brilliantly. Envy, envy... In the evening, big conference with the gentlemen who have come from the province, who, almost without exception, expressed their admiration, their gratitude for the one “who, by his speeches, lit off the spark that then illumined all spirits and broke the chains that we are no longer willing to carry”. Especially Dr. Tripon and Dr. Pahole37 insisted on clearing the misunderstanding, and even Dr. Dăianu raised his voice - driven by remorse perhaps? But Dr. Hațieganu would not relinquish the ground he had gained, his ambition, his aspirations took him far away, far away. 36 Dr. Elie Dăianu (1868-1956), Greek-Catholic Archpriest of Cluj and a member of the Executive Committee of the Romanian National Senate of Transylvania. 37 Gavril Tripon (1860-1930) was the president of the Romanian National Council of Bistrița County and the lawyer Vasile Pahone (1869-1931) was a member of this leadership body established on 4 November 1918. Feminine Personalities in The Service of The Great Union 117 The tricolour flag delivered to the First Command of the Romanian Transylvanian Legions, Commander Lt. Col. Hidu. Intrigues and veto and, in this sense, even from the ladies. What chicanery without judgment. 18[November] Disarray and lack of energy at the leadership level, tiresome Bedlam. Nasty weather, frost, snow, just like at Christmas. Foreigners say, the Romanian Senate is just one head less than it was! 19[November] It’s snowing! Cold. Commissioner Dr. Hațiegan went to Arad, to the conference. What will the result of that be? How will they cement, heal the dissensions caused? My most solemn moments, when harmony and pride should prevail, that the possibility of absolute independence has been created, in a country that is now free. What ingratitude. Last night there was an alarm caused by a machine gun in a hotel. Secret documents, enclosed in the iron box in the great hall. 20[November] The collapse of Haidudorog. The circulation of the Romanian national vicar, Mr. Marchiș. In the Senate, no one here dares to make - nor does one know how to make - a prompt decision. The gentlemen senators seem a little embarrassed that I, a woman, witness these barren frettings. I draw the parallel between what was and what is, they would be satisfied if I left. But I’ll stay and wait, with one great fear in my heart, lest everything should collapse. I order buttons, flags, tricolour flags, IDs, I never cease writing things down. Foreigners say, the Romanian Senate is only one head less and what a difference... 21[November] In writing I told my opinion both to Hațiegan and to Maj. Vidrighin. The ex-President arrived for a few hours and the whole mechanism was set in motion, life stirring again in all those crest-fallen cats. They don’t like him coming but, at the same time, they are glad that he tells them what has to be done! 22[November] Liked the expression: Does the New Senate insist perhaps against my setting up the Red Cross! What inertia! 23[November] Preparations are made for moving, the Senate will be installed elsewhere. I am clearly to understand that I am superfluous, but because I promised the ex-President to stay put, I turn a deaf ear, although it costs me; the lack of initiative and energy, the incapacity, narrow circles in which they keep returning, make me be afraid... may God allow the 118 Ovidiu Muntean Romanian soldiers to show up and set things right and I’m sure that the ex- President is watching. 24[November] Envoys arriving at Blaj by plane, proclamations from the Chief of Staff, General Prezan. We launch a call to stop the excesses and attacks against the national tricolour insignia. For December 1918 the decision is to hold an Assembly in Alba Iulia so that the people can express their will. Dr. Hațiegan departs on November 28, the ex-president on 29 November. If only he could smash the infamous, who are now calling him crazy, of all things! 25[November] A lot of talking here, little has been done, they come in and get out as if this were a shopping venue, and in the main telephone room, my surprised question is answered by Dr. Hațiegan: we are “Democrats “... 28[November] Colonel Sturdza38 showed up at the Senate and tried to talk on the phone. Is he a traitor/or not? When will we see clearly, and know exactly? Lieutenant Peștean gave his uniform for safekeeping, locked in the iron box in Satu Mare. 29[November] Tomorrow, November 30th, at 2 pm, the separate train leaves for Alba Iulia. In the Assembly of 27 November, where delegates were elected, they magnanimously put the ex-President in Circle II, in poll position. I work; I ceaselessly order small flags, tricolour flags. Villages after villages come to reclaim the flag for which they have suffered so long, I want to see it fluttering in every corner of the land. 30[November] Big wave, preparations for Alba Iulia. The special train that will set out, all trains following it from different directions. Nasty wet weather, but the spirits are lifted. 1[December] At 2 we’re leaving - about 1,000 people. For these turbulent times the journey is pretty all right up to Teiuș, where they are shooting at our train, Ioan Arion drops dead, he was standing proudly next to the tricolour. Big imbroglio, chagrin in our souls. Leave happily, take the sacrifice to the place of salvation! In the morning, according to the ancient custom, a religious service before the gathering. Huge crowds, picturesque groups of peasants from all regions. With great excitement and satisfaction I am watching these proud and dignified figures, who have endured so many ordeals and fierce injustice, keeping calm and serene. 38 Officer Alexandru D. Sturdza defected from the Romanian army in February 1917. Feminine Personalities in The Service of The Great Union 119 In the room, representatives of all the lands inhabited by Romanians, vibrant and alive. It’s a pity, though, that the jealousy [sic] of the leaders shows in the composition of the list, where the names of the most important persons are missing. This has sparked a murmur of reproval and discontent among many groups in the room. I would gladly ignore these misplaced vanities, if only the destinies of the Nation were well steered. 2[December] Large numbers of people from the villages; flowing, flowing, people holding flags, badges showing so that they can welcome the “brothers”! 3-5[December] Here, in the Senate, our people keep debating and nothing is decided... By contrast, Apathy is fretting about, inciting the Szeklers! They claim we should take down the tricolour flag from the Senate. A conjuration for the eradication of the Legion and the leaders of all that Romanianism stands for. 6[December] The brave Hungarians then run to us to protect them because “the Motzen are coming”! The shepherds, hearing that the Szeklers want to kill us, come to defend us, they won’t budge, let people see who’s the more valiant. Critical situation. All kinds of rumours about the ex-President, put into circulation by “friends”. 8[December] Hațiegan “left for Sibiu for three weeks, he is to be substituted by Dr. Utalea. 10[December] The Szeklers calmed down as soon as they heard that the Romanians are on the move. However, in Sălaj they steal, break in... Downright embarrassing, to see in such critical times that we don’t have people who can rise to the occasion. How many lives this indecision will cost. In Sălaj, Lăpuș, Aiton is shooting and tormenting people, suffice them to be Romanian. 11[December] A bright point - The Proclamation of General Moșoiu. The news speaks of attacks, killings! The indecision, the procrastination grinds you down, an endless source of vexation. 12[December] The Szeklers are singing in the streets, under the command of their officers, “Olah vert iszik, olah hust eszik a szakely baka”, “The Szekler drinks Romanian blood and eats Romanian flesh”, revealing the culture of a people who claim that they have the right to civilise and promote “freedom” throughout the world... 120 Ovidiu Muntean 13[December] Disheartening news and we are incapable of action. Today the military chancellery moved from the ground floor into the garrison from Magyar-u, Calea Victoriei. The gentlemen senators are setting up the tables again, as a sign that the situation is difficult, that they don’t know what they are doing, but at least they look busy. I don’t know where the ex-President is. He can’t be doing nothing to help!! When he knows how inactive people are here. 15[December] Dr. Tripon informs us from Bistrița that the ex-President is there. The Hungarians keep asking for our protection murdering our folks on the sly. In Someșfalău (Someșeni - our note) 15 lads from the guard were engaged in crossfire shootings with 300 Szeklers! 1 dead, only 7 injured, bravo! 16[December] Today, as they were marching to the station, the Szeklers fired again at the Flag hoisted at the Senate. 17[December] Shootings at the parish gate [missing text]. The Romanians crossed the demarcation line. 11[December] Colonel Alimănășteanu is speaking from Sibiu, asking to be connected to the Hungarian Command, waiting to speak on the phone with Lt. Bereșteanu39... Bravo, at last! “Ellenzek”, in an article, acknowledges that the Romanians have the right to occupy Cluj and other locations. Apparent calm. 19[December] Tumult, casualties at that station, shootings in the barracks. drunk, not drunk, 11 people gunned down, among the victims is one of theirs, Baron Zeyk, whom they killed in his home, shooting from the street through the window. The day of 19 December is a day of assault on the Senate. Werboczi’s Szekler battalion has attacked our guard. We have one dead man, Cornel Petrovici, and 5 wounded. The Romanian women’s flag on the frontispiece, riddled with bullets, but persists and remains... From Nemzeti, the Hungarian Tanacs has called: “ne tessek komolyan venni”! - ”Don’t make too much of this”. Do they think we are insane or are they just messing with us?! In Gherla the social-democratic assembly. The Hungarians, the gendarmes are shooting, they have 9 dead, 46 wounded. 39 Lieutenant-Colonel Gheorghe Bereșteanu was the liaison officer of the Great General Staff of the Romanian army at the Governing Council in Sibiu. Feminine Personalities in The Service of The Great Union 121 Colonel Telia is asking for linen and an ambulance. Now the Red Cross is no longer ridiculous, what senseless, reckless people, just like kids! All this while, caravans of Germans have been heading for Gilău, loaded with all kinds of things. They steals, loot, “in the name of civilisation”, wherever they go. If this is the atmosphere in which the free Romanians are marching to Cluj, these horrid clashes are the result of the education given in schools, journals, endlessly fuelled by threats and vile words. 20[December] Today something else seems to be brewing, does yesterday’s outcome not seem enough to them?! I receive instructions to no longer issue identification cards. The first who do not respect this decision are the senators themselves, who keep issuing them to the elected as they please. 21[December] Romanian troops pass through Apahida and enter Dej triumphantly. 22[December] The ex-President has arrived. Everyone here is scared. One can sense a force, energy in the midst of this terrible apathy! 23[December] Notice from General Gherescu, that he is entering with the Romanian troops tomorrow! Bravo, bravissimo! 24[December] “Big” Hungarian gathering, attended by no one!40 The eve of Catholic Christmas, /Tuesday/. Young and old, people are rushing to Matthias Square to welcome the Romanian army in Cluj. This isn’t a dream. A small attack. The official speech of Dr. A. Frâncu, the first president of the Romanian Senate, on behalf of the ladies /instead of A. Pop de Lemeny, president of the “St. Mary” Association / too old/ [the one who spoke was] the cashier, Mrs. Olivia Telia, Archpriests Tuliu Roșescu, Chaplain Simu, Dr. Dandea on behalf of the students. A banquet, for men only. The entry of the army, headed by Generals Neculcea and Gherescu, with a martial appearance, produces an indescribable emotion. Men are crying, women are crying, children, too, all are shaken by a holy emotion. Then they dance a hora around the square, around Matthias. 25[December] /Wednesday/ The senate gives a “Banquet” at New York, 400 people, very animated. The French Captain Vierne, from the Berthelot mission, arrives at midnight, being carried in triumph through the hall. The master of 40 The assembly of the Hungarians and Szeklers in Cluj took place on 22 December 1918. 122 Ovidiu Muntean ceremonies is Dr. Frâncu, Mrs. Docan and several other people speak French. 31[December]/Tuesday/ The reception of General Berthelot. Great reception at the station. Arranged by Dr. A. Frâncu, elegant, neat, impressive. Speeches: on behalf of the Senate, the first president, Dr. Frâncu, in French /political-historical content/ on behalf of the ladies: Sidonia Docan /in French/ offers [an] admirable bouquet with the inscription “From the Romanian Ladies from Cluj, to the heroic General Berthelot”. Then an embroidery, a typical Romanian fabric by Miss Elena Hossu-Longin is gifted to him. In the name of the Motzen, elementary school teacher Costea from Gilău offers the sword of honour donated by Mr. Frâncu. The Motzen women, led by Zotiția Ciuta and dressed up in national costume, hand over the Alphorn of Pelaghia Roșu, also donated by Dr. Frâncu. Annette Tomuța [sings] a march she has composed and dedicates it to the general. Then the Hungarians are received, coldly and curtly. The view that presents the mass of Romanian peasants, the women astride their horses at the exit from the station, with the numerous tricolour flags, the enthusiastic liveliness they experienced at seeing the general. Words cannot describe this. From the train station to the city there was a sea of excited people, who deeply impressed the illustrious guest also through their picturesque appearance. [YEAR] 1919 1 January The ex-President, Dr. Frâncu, is giving a banquet in honour of the French Captain Vierne. Tea parties in his honour, one after another, thrown by the ladies from Cluj: Docan, Ranta, Poruțiu... 2[January] Preparations to move the Senate, from “Economul”, to the Prefecture of the city/ Dr. Valentin Poruțiu/: Victory! Bliss! 4[January] I resign from the position of secretary of the Senate. 6[January] Christmas Eve, celebration at the kiosk, cake for the soldiers. In the evening, Christmas tree, remembrance medals for the officers, banquet, dance at New York, liveliness... 15[January] The arrest of Dr. Apathy. 16[January] Sent to the Senate: the documents, the table, the seals that were in my keeping, through the maid Maria/from “Economul”, picked up the package. for Mr. Feneșan at the Senate. On the occasion of moving the Senate, they took, instead of the flag of the Senate, donated by Romanian Women from Cluj, that of the Feminine Personalities in The Service of The Great Union 123 Military Command. I complained several times in vain, this confusion has not been cleared. 16[January] The Senate took over the Judiciary. The Hungarian officials [who ] refused the oath have been replaced with Romanians. 20[January] The interim Mayor, Dr. Iulian Pop, county prefect Dr. Simion Tămaș, subprefect Dr. Utalea. 22[January] Unrest. The Hungarians are getting organised, rumour has it they are about to attack the Romanian Army. General strike: the mail, trains, offices, muffled seething. 24[January] The reception of [French] General Pathe. A banquet organised by General Holban. Hostile demonstrations in the city, a few volleys fired in the air, the militia restored order, controlling the public in the evening and at night./ General Holban is not really good fit for Cluj. 25[January] Shops closed, order again, tranquillity on the surface. An aggravating telegram from Mr. Apathy, intercepted in the original by the secret Chancellery. General Pathe left for Csucsa, where things aren’t going well, dead, wounded, tortures... Savages! 30[January] From “Universul” a special envoy investigates interviews ex- President Dr. Frâncu about the very beginning of the Senate. How can one tell the “truth” when it casts a shadow over its second formation, not to mention publishing it in the journal. The moment hasn’t come yet... 31[January] The Romanian National Senate was dissolved, ending its mission, and the Romanians are occupying various dignities. Friday. To the countryside, young and old. 10[February] Sub-Lieutenant Jacob Grămadă, Mitucul - Drag in Chernivtsi. Paul Fărcaș, the merchant of Deuș, sends 2 letters full of gratitude and praise to “the first elected President of the People, Dr. Amos Frâncu. 15[February] Ecrasite accident [sic] in Dej, many Romanian officers, among them the brave Major Coroamă, seriously injured, taken to the Clinic in Cluj. 124 Ovidiu Muntean 2[March] The arrival of the French Colonel Frousson for the case of Beliș- Josika Falva, where the Romanians were burned alive at the stake, with a barbarity worthy of the dark ages, by “Urmanczy”, owner, MP. 5[March] Political and military news seems indeterminate, the Hungarians are spreading all kinds of lies, many murders, bloodshed on the territories that have not been occupied yet. 25[March] The ex-President is leaving us for Chernivtsi, where a beautiful situation has been offered to him. Whenever he’s here, he always has to deal with complicated stuff, which no one else dares untangle. April Requiem for the victims of the occupation line. 1[May] Both prefects consult with Dr. Frâncu, big complication with officials following the statements made by Dr. E. Hațiegan. The prefects have asked to have a message dispatched to General Berthelot. 10[May] The first Te Deum in the square, both Romanian churches, and the parade of the troops led by Colonel Opreanu. 14[May] [Missing text] Took over the National Theatre. 27[May] The first entry of M. M. L. at Cluj. The 25th anniversary of the Memorandum trial. Soiree of the students, a speech on a historical topic by Dr. Frâncu. Fundraising for the statue of Michael the Brave: Mrs. Docan, Mrs. Păteanu, Miss Anna Popp. Table 4248 “Economul”/ 4068 crowns/ delivered the table to the “Fellowship of the Cross”. 28[May] Propaganda for liberating the subjugated Romanians. Meetings. The Students’ League again with purpose from above, planned by Dr. Frâncu. The meetings in the counties halted by Dr. V. Poruțiu, allowed only in Cluj and in Mănăștur. 1[June] Much excitement among young people because the meetings have been stopped, appeals to the King. 9[June] Dr. Frâncu organises and speaks in Șiria, then in Teiuș, Câmpeni. 21[June] Abrud-Vidra, the house of Avram Iancu, arousing great enthusiasm. Feminine Personalities in The Service of The Great Union 125 29[June] Constituent assembly for the “Fellowship of the Cross” in connection also with the Crown of the “Sisters of the Cross”. Shooting sports sections, etc. 12[July] Frâncu departs, accompanied by Mrs. Docan, ex-secretary of the Senate, President of the Red Cross, Anna Popp, President of the “Crown of the Sisters of the Cross” from the Fellowship of the Cross, Lucia Mureșan and several other members to conclude the series of “Meetings at the statue of Tudor Vladimirescu in Târgu-Jiu”, where they are greeted with unbridled enthusiasm. On July 13, enthusiastic speeches are given. 17[July] Received in audience by Their Majesties at Cotroceni, asked to stay for breakfast, I presented the crutch of Iancu and a historic painting of Avram Iancu’s oak from Țebea. The fighting on the Tisza, permanent contact with the Army. 2[August] The visit of Their Majesties, coming from the Tisa, heartfelt thanks to the Canteen of the Red Cross at the station. 4[August] The entry of the Romanian Army in Budapest. General Moșoiu leading. With great pride and holy emotion I am noting down this glorious event! Set up Branch of the Romanian Red Cross in Cluj, on 22 May 1919. At the request of Dr. Amos Frâncu, I gave him these documents, for his personal use. 1 March 1922 Sidonia G. I. Docan m.p. Secretary of the President of the Romanian National Senate [Note]: During the Revolution of 1918. 1[December] Departure to Alba-Iulia. On the road, at Teiuș, they fired at the train and hit Ioan Arion in the heart, as he was standing next to the tricolour flag that accompanied us. 19[December] Attack on the Romanian National Senate. Student Cornel Petrovici killed, in Cluj, by Captain Werboczi’s Battalion of Szeklers. At Cristiș: priest Ioan Opriș is shot by the gendarmes, right before the altar, in the church. In Șiria: Virginia Dr. Hotăranu is killed treacherously with 37 bayonet wounds by the Szeklers, who cut off her head and put a pig’s head 126 Ovidiu Muntean in its place, a sign of pious civilisation on the part of those who claim to be disseminators of culture. 18[November]/evening/ the Beliș Case, commune of Motzen in Cojocna County/ Deputy Urmanczi Nandor, manufacturer, brought over, through “Pesti Hirlap”, a detachment of Hungarians under the command of Captain Ditrich, to take revenge on the Romanians, because Hungarian soldiers fleeing the front had devastated it. Upon the detachment’s arrival in the commune, women, old men and children came out to see what was happening. With 8 machine guns they mowed them down and 40 dead and severely wounded were rounded up and burned at the stake. Dr. Frâncu, Commander of the Guard in Cluj, sent a vigorous protest to Arad, Budapest and Paris. The Conference of Arad was dissolved. Thus, the last contact of the National Party with the Hungarians was interrupted. A commission went to the scene of the place, and minutes were drawn up on November 14, 1918. Urmanczy Factory has recently begun to make sheds and stables on the site of the bonfire from 1918, to prevent the erection of a monument. Note of S. Docan, 1924 Feminine Personalities in The Service of The Great Union 127 Fig. 1 Fig. 2 128 Ovidiu Muntean Fig. 3. a. Fig. 3. b. Feminine Personalities in The Service of The Great Union 129 Fig. 4 Fig. 5 130 Ovidiu Muntean Fig. 6. a. Fig. 6. b. Feminine Personalities in The Service of The Great Union 131 4. ^6 MARELE CARTIER GENERAL Români! Din Înalt ordin al M. S. Regelui Ferdinand I, în urma che- mărei Comitetului Național Român, armata noastră a trecut Carpații. Pășind cu dragoste frățească pe pământul Transilvaniei oștirea română vine în numele unor sfinte drepturi naționale și omenești pentru a garantă libertatea deplină a tuturora. Însuflețiți de aceste gânduri, asigurăm pe toți locuitorii pă- mântului românesc până la Tisa și Dunăre, fără deosebire de neam și de lege, că vom păzi cu credință viața și avutul .tuturora. Îndemnăm deci întreaga populație ca, sub pavăza oastei Române, să-și continue ocupațiile obișnuite, astfel ca viața nor- mală în sate și orașe să nu sufere nici o tulburare. Fiecărui locuitor i se va respectă libera exercitare a drep- turilor sale cetățenești, dar în acelaș timp se pune în vedere tuturora că orice încercare de a provoca dezordine, de a să- vârși acte de violență sau de nesupunere, se va pedepsi cu toată severitatea. Jefui siat-tnajoruîtti general al armatei. GENERAL PREZAN, Fig. 7 132 Ovidiu Muntean Fig. 8. a. Fig. 8. b. Feminine Personalities in The Service of The Great Union 133 MANIFEST Tuturor fruntașilor și întregului popor romanesc din Cluj, jur și Munții tiilaului. frăție ți taie buni! Orice inimă românească saltă în vederea oștirii neînvinse româ- nești, ce vine să desrobească moștenirea noastră sfântă: Ardealul românesc unit pentru vecie cu România. Una și nedespărțită dela Nistru pân’ la Tfsa! Mai ales bate însă năvalnic inima Românilor din Cluj și jur, unde suferințele neamului nostru au fost mai dureroase. Prin urmare aici în Cluj și cuvântul și faptul liberator e întimpi- nat cu mai multă aprindere decât ori unde, când îl aduc Leii dela Plevna și Mărășești. Dați deci, fraților dragi, din aceste părți năpăstuite, glas bucuriei noastre obștești la praznicul praznicilor: când va întră în Cluj viteaza brigadă 13 de infanterie românească. 13 e număr fără de noroc pen- tru tirani, norocos însă pentru oamenii libertății. Voi Români, din preajma Clujului, din Munții dilăului și Jerii, voinicii lui Buteanu, urmașii lui Micheș, vitejii lui lancu, odraslele eroilor dela Mărișel și Fântânele, porniți la drum spre Cluj fără întârziere! Așezați-Vă cu toții In bună rânduială și desăvârșită pace în satele românești din jurul Clujului așteptând porunca să veniți în piața Clujului. Brigada viteazului neîntrecut: General Gherescu, luptătorul dela Oituz, Cireșoaia, Mărești și Mărășești, va soși Marți în 24 I. c. st. n. 11 st v. înainte de amiazi Ia Cluj, ca să-l ocupe pe vecie cu glori- oasele regimente 14 Roman și 15 Războieni. Toți Moldoveni. Toți căciulari. Toți opincari. Români de viță vechie. Pe atunci să veniți în frunte cu Oardele Naționale înarmate și sub steaguri tricolore ia Clujul nostru. Strigați Cu toții: ,,Trăiască România Marelu Urra împăratul Românilor : FERDINAÎițJ I Urra Oștirea roinAnăl Cluj, 22 Decemvrie 1918 st. h. Comitetul Senatului Sațkual Român din Cluj și Județul Cojocna. Fig. 9 Fig. 10 134 Ovidiu Muntean Fig. 11. a. Fig. 11. b. Feminine Personalities in The Service of The Great Union 135 Fig. 11. c. Fig. 12 VERONICA TURCUȘ1, SERBAN TURCUȘ2 THE FIRST SECRET CONTACTS FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS BETWEEN THE HOLY SEE AND THE KINGDOM OF ROMANIA IN 1918 Abstract: This research focuses on a special moment in the history of relations between Romania and the Holy See: the discussions and efforts towards the establishment of diplomatic relations between them in the last year of the First World War. Taking advantage of a project envisaging the religious union of the Roman Catholic Church with the Orthodox Churches of Romania and Bulgaria, with a view to expanding the German religious and cultural influence, Cardinal Pietro Gasparri, Secretary of State of the Holy See, decided to engage in correspondence with King Ferdinand of Romania, mediated by Prince Vladimir Ghika, for the commencement of diplomatic relations between our country and the Holy See. The correspondence was forwarded via the apostolic nuncio to Bavaria, Eugenio Pacelli, the future Pope Pius X. A diplomatic bag was used, with the request that it should not be exposed to the German censorship. Keywords: Romania, Holy See, diplomacy, Eugenio Pacelli, Pietro Gasparri, King Ferdinand. * The theme of bilateral relations between the Holy see and our country has been a constant concern in recent historiography, even though over the past few years there has been a certain relaxation after the boom of the 1990s and the end of John Paul II’s pontificate (1999-2005). There have been many efforts of retrieving strands of research and some documentary sources that were prohibited during the atheocracy, but many documents still await being brought to light either because they have been kept secret, or due to a lack of projects of applied research of the kind existing in German historiography or in French historiography, in their research institutes in Rome, where teams of researchers analyse the archives of the Holy See. As part of the vast operations of declassifying the archives of Pius XI’s pontificate, decided more than a decade ago, a partial declassification of the archive produced by Pius XII has been achieved, for the period in which the future Bishop of Rome functioned 1 Phd Veronica Turcuș, Senior Researcher, “George Barițiu” Institute of History, Cluj, the Romanian Academy vturcus@yahoo.it; 2 Assoc. Prof. Dr. Șerban Turcuș, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, serbanturcus@yahoo.it The First Secret Contacts for The Establishment of Diplomatic 137 as apostolic nuncio to Munich, having been accredited to the Kingdom of Bavaria. Known for his pro-German sympathies, Eugenio Pacelli,3 the future Pius XII, was a career diplomat of the Apostolic See who marked the evolution of pontifical diplomacy as nuncio, as cardinal Secretary of State, and as Sovereign Pontiff. The circumstances of the year 1918 coincided with Eugenio Pacelli’s fresh appointment as apostolic nuncio to Bavaria. That was the only papal diplomatic mission accredited in the powerful German Reich. During the war, the interest of the German empire in the Catholic Church was spurred not only by the national imperative to support and mobilise the German Catholics, but also by a foreign policy desideratum, as the Reich was trying to involve Catholicism in the sphere of its immediate interests in the warring zones. One of the ways through which Germany aimed at consolidating its influence and pressure on the theatres of war in Central and Eastern Europe was by urging the Catholic Church to focus its attention on the Orthodox populations in this area. Starting from the idea that the unification of certain fragments of Orthodoxy with the Apostolic See in the previous centuries (sixteenth-seventeenth) had been the result of religious circumstances with a political background or of political circumstances that used the religious as support for the mundane projects whose protagonist had been the Habsburg Empire, the German elite (the political leaders and some of the religious hierarchs) developed a plan to encourage the ecclesiastical union between Catholicism and Orthodoxy. The political and ecclesiological ingenuity of the German leaders was fuelled by the latest developments catalysed by the Holy See’s reflections on the Christian Orient of Graeco-Slavic ritual. Unlike his direct predecessor Pius X, Pope Benedict XV showed greater sensitivity towards the tradition of the Christian Orient. On the one hand, through the papal briefs Cum Catholicae Ecclesiae of 15 April 1916, he encouraged Catholics to show benevolent openness to the Oriental churches, granting indulgences to those who prayed for ecclesial union.4 The consciousness of Catholics was thus prepared to 3 Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (2 March 1876 - 9 October 1958) was the Sovereign pontiff of the Catholic Church from 1939 - 1958. One of the most brilliant diplomats of the Holy See, he became the secretary of Pietro Gasparri in 1904 (who was, at that time, Secretary of the Congregation for Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs) and among his achievements was the negotiation and signing of the concordat between the Holy See and Serbia on June 24, 1914. On 13 March 1917 he was consecrated bishop by Pope Benedict XV, appointed Archbishop of Sardi in partibus, and designated as apostolic nuncio to the Kingdom of Bavaria. In 1925 he was appointed apostolic nuncio to Prussia. On 16 December 1929 he was made cardinal by Pius XI, and on 7 February 1930 he was appointed Secretary of State to the Holy See. On 2 March 1939 he was elected as the 260th successor of Peter. 4 Preghiera per l’unione dei Cristiani d’Oriente alla Chiesa Romana. «O Signore, che avete unito le diverse nazioni nella confessione del Vostro Nome, Vi preghiamo per i popoli Cristiani dell’Oriente. Memori del posto eminente che hanno tenuto nella Vostra Chiesa, Vi supplichiamo d’ispirar loro il desiderio di riprenderlo, per formare con noi un solo ovile sotto la guida di un medesimo Pastore. Fate che essi insieme con noi si compenetrino 138 Veronica Turcuș, Șerban Turcuș accommodate a willingness to respond positively to Oriental ecclesial systems that were not in communion with Rome. On the other hand, after Pius IX had decided, on 6 January 1862, that for the churches united with Rome there should be set up, besides the Congregation De Propaganda Fide, a section- congregation appointed to deal with “the problems of the Oriental rite”, Benedict XV decided to issue a Motu proprio entitled Dei Providentis, on 1 May 1917, stipulating the foundation, as of 1 December 1917, of a new congregation called the Sacred Congregation for Oriental Churches, led by the Roman Pontiff himself.5 What Benedict XV underlined in this Motu proprio was to be somehow premonitory for the whole of the twentieth century and its Catholic ecclesiology: “this initiative of ours will clearly demonstrate that in the Church of Jesus Christ, which is not Latin, Greek or Slavic, but Catholic, there is no discrimination between its sons and that all of these, be they Latins, Greeks, Slavs or other nationalities, are equally important before the Apostolic See”.6 Another Motu proprio, Orientis Catholici, from October 15, 1917, emphasised the same intentions. Under this document, Benedict XV decided the foundation of a Pontifical Institute in Rome for the development of Oriental studies (in the sense of Christian religious traditions) where access was granted to both Catholic and Orthodox Christians. In this research, based on several documents kept in a special archival fund, Segreteria di Stato della Santa Sede, Sezione per i Rapporti con gli Stati - Archivio Storico, declassified a few years ago,7 we will highlight how certam degl’insegnamenti dei loro santi Dottori, che sono anche nostri Padri nella Fede. Preservateci da ogni fallo che potrebbe allontanarli da noi. Che lo spirito di concordia e di caritâ, che e indizio della Vostra presenza tra i fedeli, affretti il giorno in cui le nostre si uniscano alle loro preghiere, affinche ogni popolo ed ogni lingua riconosca e glorifichi il nostro Signore Gesu Cristo, Vostro Figlio. Cosi sia».https://w2.vatican.va/content/benedict- xv/it/briefs/documents/hf_ben-xv_briefs_19160415_catholicae eclesiae.html 5 “Deliberatum Nobis est pro unitis, qui dicuntur, orientalibus propriam Sacram Congregationem instituere, cuius Nosmet ipsi geramus, Nostrique deinceps successores, prafecturam.” 6 “in Ecclesia lesu Christi, ut qua non latina sit, non graca, non slavonica, sed catholica nullum inter eius filios intercedere discrimen, eosque, sive latinos, sive Gracos, sive aliarum nationum, omne apud hanc Apostolicam Sedem eumdem locum obtinere ” https://w2.vatican.va/content/benedict-xv/it/motu_proprio/documents/hf_ben-xv_motu- proprio_19170501_dei-providentis.html 7 Emma Fattorini, La Segreteria di Stato e la Germania: il fondo degli Archivi per gli affari straordinari. Uno strabismo documentario: ricognizione di un campione significativo, “Melanges de l’Ecole francaise de Rome. Italie et Mediterranee”, the monographic issue Les secretaires d’Etat du Saint-Siege (1814-1979). Sources et methodes, Roma, Ecole francaise de Rome, tomCX, no. 2, 1998, pp. 545-551. The reference details of the document are: Segreteria di Stato della Santa Sede, Sezione per i Rapporti con gli Stati - Archivio Storico, Fondo Congregazione degli Affari Ecclesiastici Straordinari, Austria-Ungheria, 1918-1919, pos. 1343, fasc. 536, fol. 47r-48r. We have treated the documents in extenso (except for the one published here) in the study Mirajul unirii religioase (I). Nunțiul Pacelli și un proiect german despre unirea cu Roma a ortodoxiei românești în anul 1918, soon to be published in Anuarul Institutului de Istorie “George Barițiu, LVII, 2018. The First Secret Contacts for The Establishment of Diplomatic 139 diplomatic contacts between the Holy See and Romania for the establishment of diplomatic relations interfered with the German projects of encouraging the unification of the Roman Catholic Church with the Romanian Orthodox Church. Chronologically, this was the beginning of the summer of 1918, when our country was under German occupation. At that time, Eugenio Pacelli had served as apostolic nuncio to Bavaria8 for a few months, and the communiques he sent to Cardinal Pietro Gasparri,9 Secretary of State of the Holy See, signalled the emergence, due to the German interference, of a political- religious problem for our country.10 Romania occupied a defensive position, both politically and militarily, at that historic moment. The situation was sanctioned by the signing of the Treaty of Bucharest shortly before that.11 8 “Pacelli viene nominato nunzio a Monaco nel maggio del 1917 e a partire dalla primavera la sua corrispondenza con Gasparri e fittissima. Il nunzio rferisce giornalmente, a volte anche due volte al giorno ogni indiscrezione, ogni osservazione il piu delle volte tramite il suo piu solerte informatore, Erzberger. Un commento minuzioso sugli spostamenti anche minimi degli ambienti governativi e militari, nonche, ovviamente commenti sulla situazione interna ed internazionale”. Ibidem, p. 546. 9 Pietro Gasparri (5 May 1852-18 November 1934), a Catholic sacerdote, professor and diplomat, was made cardinal by Pope Pius X on 16 December 1907. He became Secretary of State of the Holy See in the autumn of 1914, remaining in that position until he was replaced by Eugenio Pacelli. Gasparri’s name is linked to the signing of the Lateran Accords of 11 February 1929, which normalised relations between the Holy See and the Kingdom of Italy. 10 The relationship between Pacelli and Gasparri was long-lasting, the future Bishop of Rome beginning his career in the Roman Curia and acting under the guidance of Gasparri. 11 The peace treaty was preceded by a form subscribed in Buftea on 20 February/5 March 1918 by the representative of Romania, Constantin Argetoianu and the delegates of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey. Subsequently, the details of peace signed in Buftea were transformed into the peace treaty that was eventually signed on 24 April/7 May 1918, at Cotroceni Palace in Bucharest. The signatories acting on behalf of Romania were Alexandru Marghiloman, Prime Minister, Constantin C. Arion, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mihail N. Burghele, Minister Plenipotentiary, and Ion N. Papiniu, Minister Plenipotentiary. Under the peace treaty, which placed us on the losing side, certain provisions negative were accepted for our country, such as: Romania had to return Southern Dobrudja and to cede a part of Northern Dobrudja (south of the Rasova-Agigea line) to Bulgaria, which had already re-annexed the Quadrilateral in December 1916; the rest of Dobrudja remained to be nominally administered by Romania, but was to be controlled and occupied by Germany and Bulgaria, until a later, definitive treaty; Romania was to give Austria-Hungary control over the passes of the Carpathian Mountains; at the same time, Romania was to lease all oil explorations to Germany for 90 years, through two oil companies; shipyards were now the property of the German state; Germany and Austria-Hungary the right of controlling navigation on the Danube. The Central Powers accepted, in exchange, not to oppose the unification of Bessarabia with Romania. Thus, according to the opinions of the signatories of the treaty, although defeated, the kingdom would have nonetheless expanded its borders by the end of the war. The treaty was ratified by the Romanian Parliament (by the Chamber of Deputies on 15/28 June 1918, and by the Senate on 21 June/4 July 1918) but was not sanctioned by King Ferdinand. The provisions laid down in the treaty entered into force, but were short-lived because when the Central Powers began, in October 1918, to give signs of exhaustion, there were annulled by the Marghiloman Government. 140 Veronica Turcuș, Șerban Turcuș Under the circumstances, the long-term German presence in the capital of the country, but also in the areas occupied by the troops of the Central Powers, brought about a whole series of privations and obligations that were burdensome and sometimes unbearable or hardly tolerable for the population. The most common were related to requisitions, confiscations, restrictions of civil liberties, but there were also propagandistic actions for creating breaches in the solidarity of the Romanians, in the hope that the occupant would look not just as an enemy or unwanted guest, but as a partner for a common future. One of these breaches was made on an ecclesiastical level. The Reich believed that the political situation in the area of Oriental Europe could be improved to the German advantage on the basis of a possible ecclesiastical union that would bring the Bulgarian Orthodox Church under the compass of the Catholic Church, in a first phase; in neighbouring Romania, the Reich counted on the help given by the monarch of German origin.12 Recent research led by Reimund Haas has demonstrated that several attempts to encourage this process were made in the early years of the First World War. The protagonists were Matthias Erzberger, a member of the Catholic Centre Party in Germany, a signatory of the armistice of Compiegne on 11 November 1918, and Hubert Bastgen, a priest from the Diocese of Trier and a professor at the Faculty of Catholic Theology of the University of Strasbourg.13 The idea of the religious unification of Bulgarian Orthodoxy with Rome was not new. It had been invoked in the pre-war period, motivated by the ethnicity of the king-tsar. There had been discussions in 1892-1893,14 in 1906 or 1913, 15but stronger efforts were made in 1916-1917. In 1916 German parliamentarians led by Matthias Erzberger made a visit to Sofia. On that occasion, a working document entitled “The Union of Bulgaria with Rome” was drafted. The motivation was now clearly objectified politically. At stake was the project of religious union to counter the Russian influence. In concrete terms, Erzberger organised a conference in Vienna, where the catholic German and Austrian 12 Ferdinand I (26 February 1861 - 10 September 1948), born Ferdinand Maximilian Karl Leopold Maria of Saxa-Coburg and Gotha-Kohâry, was the ruler of Bulgaria from 1887 to 1918, first as knyaz (prince regent, 1887-1908) and later as tsar (the years 1908-1918). On 5 October 1908 (celebrated on 22 September), Ferdinand proclaimed the de jure independence of Bulgaria from the Ottoman Empire, raising the status of Bulgaria to the level of kingdom and proclaiming himself tsar. He involved Bulgaria in the Balkan Wars and in the First World War on the side of the Central Powers. Bulgarian Troops were deployed in the campaign for the conquest of Romania in 1916. After the Bulgarian army was crushed in Greece, he abdicated in favour of his son Boris, who became the new King of Bulgaria on October 3, 1918. He died in Coburg in 1948. 13 Reimund Haas, Uniunile bisericești din Balcani - șansă pierdută sau utopie? Realismul lui Raymund Netzhammer în contextul strădaniilor unitariene (sic!) ale lui Matthias Erzberger și Hubert Bastgen în Bulgaria, in Raymund Netzhammer în România. Pe urmele spiritului locului, edited by Violeta Barbu and Nikolaus Netzhammer, Editura Academiei Române, București, 2014, pp. 194-201. 14 Ibidem, p. 196. 15 Ibidem, p. 197 The First Secret Contacts for The Establishment of Diplomatic 141 dioceses had to instruct the Bulgarian Catholic higher prelates about the steps to follow in order to induce the idea of religious union in the Bulgarian population. At the same time, the German parliamentarian informed in Rome Rudolf von Gerlach, a theologian and member of the Roman Curia, about the steps that had been taken, claiming that he had discussed with Tsar Ferdinand “all the means and ways of achievement of the union”.16 In 1917 Hubert Bastgen became an army chaplain in Bulgaria and in July the same year he came to Romania, where he discussed with Raymund Netzhammer,17 the Archbishop of Bucharest, about “talks concerning an ecclesiastical union with Romania”. The prelate from the capital of Romania was rather reserved on this 18 subject. In in the first half of 1918 the unionist projects continued and passed to a higher level, in a belligerent context that was favourable to Germany. The fact that direct access to the Holy was sought on this topic is mirrored by a diplomatic dispatch that Eugenio Pacelli sent from Munich to Cardinal Gasparri, on June 9, 1918. The bulk of the text is a translation of a request received on 7 June 1918 from Nham von Hertling (Chancellor of the Reich from1 November 1917 to 30 November 1918). The German high dignitary was a representative of the Catholic movement in German politics. According to him, a high official of the empire had made a visit to Romania. Being a practising Christian, from a family with old Catholic beliefs and ideals, he was 16 Ibidem, p. 198. 17 Raymund Netzhammer was born in the family of a farmer, in the town of Erzingen from the Grand Duchy of Baden, on 19 January 1862. He chose the monastic path, joining the Benedictine Abbey in Einsiedeln, where he became a novice on 12 October 1876. Fond of monastic life, but also of the exact Sciences, he was consecrated as a priest in Einsiedeln on 5 September 1886. He activated there as a teacher of mathematics, chemistry and physics, and at the age of 27 he published his “Textbook of Trigonometry for the Use of High Schools”, a book that secured his renown in the world of exact sciences. In 1900-1903 he worked as a professor and director of the “Holy Spirit” Roman-Catholic Seminary in Bucharest. After that he was transferred to Rome, as rector of the Greek College. Pope Pius X appointed him Archbishop of Bucharest, on September 16, 1905. He shepherded the Archdiocese of Bucharest from 1905 to 1924. He was forced to leave the archbishop’s see as a result of the position of Pius XI who, aiming to ease the tense relations with the Romanian authorities, imposed his resignation on 3 July 1924. Passionate about archaeology, art and ancient numismatics, a lover of Dobrudja, he wrote a large number of works relating to the ancient history of Romania, such as: “Das altchristiche Tomi” (Salzburg, 1903); “Aus Rumănien” (Einsiedeln, 1909); “Ancient Weights from Dobrudja” (1912); “Other Ancient Weights from Dobrudja” (1913); “Archaeological Miscellanea”. A New Weight Method from Kallatis. A Weight with Amphora” (1914); “Archaeological Objects. Five Weights from Constanta” (1914); “Die christlichen Altertumer der Dobrudscha” (1918); “Epiktet und Astion, diokletianische Mărtyrer am Donau-Delta” (Zug, 1936); “Die christlichen Mărtyrer am Ister” (Bucharest, 1939). He died on 18 September 1945. For a balanced historiographic perspective on Netzhammer, see the recently published volume Raymund Netzhammer in România, pe urmele spiritului locului, edited by Violeta Barbu and Nikolaus Netzhammer, București, Editura Academiei Române, 2014. 18 Reimund Haas, op.cit., p. 199. 142 Veronica Turcuș, Șerban Turcuș not just a government representative on a state mission of with propagandistic goals, but, as suggested by the entire context of the nuncio’s letter, he was also on an exploratory mission at a confessional level. Although the chancellor did not mention his name, given the associations he made in the letter (“a senior state official who is descended from a Rhenian Catholic family and maintained a fervent Catholic feeling “) and the diary of the Roman-Catholic Archbishop of Bucharest, Raymund Netzhammer,19 we know the person in question was the senior government advisor Karl Leopold Kaufmann.20 He did not limit himself to discussions on this topic with the Roman-Catholic Archbishop of Bucharest, but went further and visited Orthodox locations that allowed him to get an idea about Romanian Orthodoxy. His point of view, as resulting from Netzhammer’s journal, was not positive. Pacelli’s dispatch suggests, on the other hand, that the German high official had left Bucharest for Sofia, where he conferred with Ferdinand I, the King of Bulgaria, on the same topic. The text of the letter reveals that Kaufmann’s action was not a unique initiative, but part of a series of steps designed to address this issue. The confirmation came again from Netzhammer, who noted in his diary that, after Kaufmann’s visit, a political parliamentary leader, by the name of Friedrich Naumann,21 visited him. According to Netzhammer, Naumann “Shows much interest in the political consequences of the union between the Romanians and 22 other Balkan countries with papal Rome.”22 In February 1918 the young 19 “Thursday, 23 May1918. Senior Government Advisor Dr. Kaufmann, the president of the Insurance Office of the German Empire, is an interesting man. His father was the mayor of the city of Bonn, dismissed then from office in the “Kulturkampf” (struggle waged by Bismarck against Catholics and the Catholic Church). One of his brothers is the canonical of the Cathedral of Aachen, and one of his sisters is married to the famous historian Pastor. We had a talk about the current issues of the moment, about the dynasty and the union. Mr. Kaufmann had been on a visit to the Orthodox monastery of the monks of Cernica, near Bucharest, and his impression was deplorable; starting from the divine service performed there and from the squalid appearance of several monks, he reached certain conclusions with regard to the state of the national church.” Raymund Netzhammer, Episcop în România într-o epocă a conflictelor naționale și religioase, volume I, edited by Nikolaus Netzhammer, in collaboration with Krista Zach, Editura Academiei Române, 2005, p. 789. 20 Karl Leopold Kaufmann (15 November 1863 - 28 November 1944). 21 Friedrich Naumann (25 March 1860 - 24 August 1919) was a politician, publicist and theoretician of liberalism in Germany. In 1893, he transformed the publication Die Hife (Assistance) into a forum for debate on the ideas he promoted. In 1896 he founded the Social National Union, an organisation that appealed to the national strength through a democratic programme of social reforms. Failing to organise a political party based on his association, Friedrich Naumann joined the Freisinnige Vereinigung (Liberal Union), and was elected as MP in 1907. In 1910 this party merged with the Progressive Popular Party, and nine years later he was one of the founders of the Democratic Party, whose presidency he retained until his death. Friedrich Naumann was the author of a well-known treaty of geopolitics entitled Mitteleuropa (1915), which describes the project of a Central-European federation whose main actors are Germany and Austria-Hungary. 22 Raymund Netzhammer, op.cit., p. 790. The First Secret Contacts for The Establishment of Diplomatic 143 archbishop of Munich, Michael von Faulhaber23 visited the part of Romania occupied by German troops. He also performed the duties of military bishop to Bavaria. That succession of visits demonstrated interest of the German authorities for the fate of Romanian Orthodoxy, an interest that was more than circumstantial, but was underpinned by political calculations. In the letter mentioned above, the Holy See was requested by the high German authorities to look more carefully at these developments and projects. Taking into account that the pontifical authority could not abandon its neutrality on the warring parties and could clearly not position itself on one side or the other, the Germans nonetheless believed that, under the new political circumstances, Rome would have to make some corrections to its perception of the Oriental ecclesial situation. In view of the situation on the front and in Russia, Germany considered that the Apostolic See could relinquish the idea of impartiality in the context of the war, especially since Orthodoxy had been isolated in Russia and the Entente Powers were not interested in granting support to the Orthodoxies of Eastern Europe. The German official was of the opinion that the process of religious unification should start in Romania, which was occupied by the Central Powers, and then expand to Bulgaria. This was also the option of King Ferdinand I of Bulgaria, who gave his assent, according to von Hertling’s confessions, to such a large-scale operation. The religious union was a proposal with political underpinnings and the message to the Holy See was actually composed from this perspective. For Gasparri and Benedict XV, this was probably not the first time they had received information on this matter, having also been persuaded, as the missive states, on other occasions, as the Reich had emissaries in the Curia. The pressure exerted on the Pope was so strong that in 1916 Erzberger designed a plan to move the Holy See to 24 Liechtenstein. In the perspective of interfaith relations, the German project was somewhat congruent with the union with the Orient, desired by Benedict XV, but considering the dynamics of international relations, it was hard to believe 25 that the two high prelates, the Sovereign Pontiff and the Secretary of State,25 23 He was Archbishop of Munich in 1917-1952 and was appointed cardinal by Benedict XV in 1921. The echoes of his personality are discernible even today. Pope Benedict XVI stated that he wanted to be a priest because he was inspired by this prelate, the name the pontiff chose in 2005 being a tribute to the pope who appointed Faulhaber. Also, as Netzhammer noted in his journal, Ibidem, p., 757, Pope Ratzinger underlined the majestic impression Faulhaber made, dressed in his purple robe. Joseph Ratzinger, Il sale della terra, Milano, Edizioni San Paolo, 1997, p. 59 24 Maximilian Liebmann, Der Papst - Furst von Liechtenstein. Ein Vorschlag zur Losung der Romischen Frage aus dem Jahre 1916, “Romische Quartalschrift”, LXXIX, 1984, pp. 93-108. 25 “La sua politica, se e lecito un’impressione di profano, e l’ultima politica europea di tipo tra veneziano e inglese, ispirata cioe dai fatti piu che dalle idee, dal diritto piu che dalla 144 Veronica Turcuș, Șerban Turcuș both Italians, would pursue the project indicated by the German chancellor. Italy was in the opposite camp of Germany and stood to gain political and territorial advantages if the coalition of the Central Powers was defeated. Cardinal Gasparri, the Secretary of State, answered Nuncio Pacelli in a letter dated 29 June 1918.26 On a moderate tone, the pontifical dignitary rapidly surveyed the plea of the German chancellor for the agenda of the Holy See’s Oriental policy. Reference was made to the message of the German chancellor, but the only aspect that was retained was the diplomatic aspect of interest to the Secretary of State: the establishment of diplomatic relations with Romania and Bulgaria. After he presented to Benedict XV the political situation as derived from the information transmitted by Pacelli, Cardinal Pietro Gasparri did not take into account the points of view of the German chancellor, which encouraged the religious union. The analysis conducted at the level of the Secretariat of State probably revealed that engaging the Catholic Church in political projects would be detrimental and would provide ammunition to its enemies. However, what the German side had not taken into account was the ever-stronger aversion of the Holy See towards political interference in the affairs of the Church, a final episode that had triggered the reaction of Rome being the veto of Austria-Hungary at the election, in 1903, of Cardinal Rampolla del Tindaro as the successor of Leo XIII. At that time, the Cardinal of Cracow, Jan Puzyna had expressed the veto of the Court of Vienna, favouring the election of Pius X, who had decided not to admit this ius exclusivae, exerted by the Catholic kings in elections for the Bishops of Rome ever since the seventeenth century. Gasparri therefore decided, in agreement with the Pope, that the most useful solution for the Apostolic See was to try to follow the German idea, but along other avenues, in an attempt to establish connecting bridges with Romania, while respecting the legitimate power in our country. Here the cardinal mentioned the King of Romania, as a privileged interlocutor of the Holy See. Also, the Secretary of State highlighted that the decision was taken in a broader context of assessing the international situation, in which the issue of diplomatic relations with Bulgaria or with Turkey had been raised as well, stating that for Romania was important for Benedict XV at that moment in history. Gasparri even specified, in his correspondence with Pacelli, that the Bulgarian matter would be discussed after the end of the war and that what was important now was the possibility to develop a diplomatic dialogue with Romania. We do not yet know the context very well, due to our lack of access to relevant documentary sources, but Pietro Gasparri informed 27 Eugenio Pacelli that he had discussed this issue with Prince Vladimir Ghika,27 cosiddetta cultura”. Giuseppe De Luca, Pietro Gasparri nel centenario della nascita, L’ Osservatore romano, Cittâ del Vaticano, 19 novembre 1952. 26 Archivio Segreto Vaticano, Fondo Archivio Nunziatura Monaco 342, fasc. 8, fol. 30r-31r. 27 Vladimir Ghika was born in Constantinople on December 25, 1873, in the family of the Ghika/Ghica princes, which gave Moldavia and Wallachia ten rulers. After studying literature and law, medicine and history, he went to Rome, where he studied philosophy and theology at The First Secret Contacts for The Establishment of Diplomatic 145 an intimate of the King of Romania, a frequenter of the pontifical Curia, and the most famous Orthodox Romanian converted to Catholicism in the twentieth century, who was very dissatisfied with the intention of Benedict XV and his first collaborator. Actually - and here was the key to establishing the first diplomatic contacts between the Holy See and Romania - Cardinal Gasparri resorted to an interesting technique whereby the intentions of Benedict XV reached the Romanian authorities directly from Rome, albeit not through direct, but through mediated correspondence. The pontifical dignitary informed Pacelli that a letter from Vladimir Ghika to King Ferdinand on the topic of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations was included in the “diplomatic bag” and it was necessary for it to reach the recipient, without being exposed to Germane censorship. Thus, the pontifical Curia did not eschew the clear goal of establishing diplomatic relations with Romania, but pursued it through the intermediation of a Catholic-Romanian vector. The confidential quality of the correspondence is confirmed by the key words “diplomatic bag” and “German censorship”. It is a little strange that Cardinal Gasparri chose this way of communication with Romania, through the nunciature to Bavaria, but this was probably a matter of his diplomatic skills, as he tried to make the Germans believe that the diplomatic correspondence contained positive information for their projects of union, while the Holy See followed its own interests. the Minerva Dominican Institute. In 1902 he officially joined the Catholic Church by conversion, dedicating his life to the unity of the Church. In his youth he accompanied his brother Dimitrie on diplomatic missions, but he was always ready to put into practice charitable ideals in Romania, on an unprecedented scale. He brought to Bucharest the sisters of St. Vincent de Paul and, together with them, he founded the first free dispensary for the poor. He created a service of ambulances for the victims of the 1907 Uprising, and he cared for sick soldiers during the Balkan War and the First World War. In the First World War he was present in Italy, where he dedicated himself to helping the victims of the earthquake in Avezzano (January 2015) and consumptive patients in Rome, in addition to which he carried out voluntary diplomatic work. After the war, in 1923, he was consecrated as a priest in Paris, where he cared for foreigners and the marginalised, in the outlying district of Villejuif, in Paris. At Auberive he founded the Community of Saint John. He was appointed Apostolic Protonotary by Pius XI and was elected member of the Standing Committee of International Eucharistic Congresses. In this capacity he often accompanied the Secretary of State, Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli. In 1939 he could be found in Romania, where he remained even after 1947, when he knew that harsh times of suffering were facing his compatriots. Because he had championed the communion of the Catholic Church in Romania with Rome, he was arrested in 1952 and sentenced a year later. After a year in which he alleviated the prisoners’ suffering, he passed away, on 16 May 1954, because of prison hardships and deprivations. The information exchange process for beatification and canonisation began in 2002. The complete file was submitted to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints on February 2, 2012. On its basis, after receiving the unanimous favourable opinion of theologians and cardinals, Pope Francis recognised the martyrdom of Vladimir Ghika on March 27, 2013. Monsignor Vladimir Ghika was beatified 31 August 2013, in Bucharest. 146 Veronica Turcuș, Șerban Turcuș In the document we reproduce here, we are informed that Eugenio Pacelli received both the diplomatic dispatch his superior had sent him, and the letter Vladimir Ghika had addressed to King Ferdinand. Although he drew attention to the fact that it would not be easy for him, in the circumstances of the war, to ensure that the Romanian monarch would receive that letter for the establishment of “diplomatic relations between the Holy See and Romania,” Pacelli gave assurances that he would see through the operation. In spite of his pro-German position, the nuncio to Munich certainly kept the secret and forwarded the letter via discreet channels, perhaps through some religious orders. It is known that there was a Franciscan presence in Moldova, where the king was in retreat. In this correspondence we may detect, therefore, the little-known steps that led, at the end of September 1918, to Vladimir Ghika’s appointment by the Romanian National Council in Paris as its representative to Benedict XV, the act recognised by Pietro Gasparri on 11 December 1918.28 This was actually a public confirmation of the backstage role Ghika had played. What has not been known until now, however, is the contribution of Nuncio Eugenio Pacelli, the future Pius XII, to the onset of diplomatic relations between the Holy See and Romania, a contribution that was, admittedly, a technical one and was made in secret, but was not one to be ignored given the circumstances of the war and the watchful eye of German censorship. Launched at the German initiative, at a time when Romania was dominated from a military point of view, the project of religious union between the Catholic Church and the Romanian Orthodox Church offered the Holy See an opportunity for action that Cardinal Gasparri seized and capitalised upon. His sharp political sense probably made him act in a moment when the fate of Romania was still in the balance, but the briefings available to him determined him to make this apparently risky move. 28 România-Vatican. Relații diplomatice. Vol. I, 1920-1950, București, Editura Enciclopedică, 2003, p. XXV. The First Secret Contacts for The Establishment of Diplomatic 147 DOCUMENTARY ANNEX29 Nunziatura Apostolica, Munchen 11 Luglio 1918 Nr. 7791 Ref: Relazioni diplomatiche della Santa Sede colla Rumania Eminenza Reverendissima, Mi e pervenuto insieme col relativo Allegato l’importante e venerato Dispaccio dell’Eminenza Vostra Reverendissima in data del 29 Giugno scorso, relativo allo stabilimento di relazioni diplomatiche fra la Santa Sede e la Rumania. Nell’assicurare l’Eminenza Vostra che procurero di far giungere in modo sicuro, per quanto almeno e possibile sperarlo in questi tempi eccezionali, la ivi acclusa lettera a Sua Maesta il Re Ferdinando, m’inchino umilmente al bacio della Sacra Porpora e con sensi di profondissima venerazione ho l’onore di confermarmi di Vostra Eminenza Reverendissima Umilissimo Devotissimo Obbligatissimo Servo + Eugenio, Arcivescovo di Sardi Nunzio Apostolico Segreteria di Stato della Santa Sede, Sezione per i Rapporti con gli Stati - Archivio Storico, Fondo Congregazione degli Affari Ecclesiastici Straordinari, Romania, 1912-1922, posizione 33, fascicolo 13, foglio 22r. 29 The documents are brought to light through a project that is operational until 2019, by which the Archivio Segreto Vaticano, together with German specialists, unravel the reports and diplomatic dispatches of Nuncio Pacelli. See the link http://www.archiviosegretovaticano.va/content/archiviosegretovaticano/it/attivita/ricerca-e- conservazione/progetti/edizioni-di-fonti/patrocinio-dell_edizione-critica-online-dei-rapporti- del-nunzio-.html LEVENTE BENK01 THE SUPREME PROTEST: SELF-IMMOLATION. IN MEMORY OF THE FORMER STUDENT FROM CLUJ MARTON MOYSES (1941 - 1970), A VICTIM OF THE COMMUNIST DICTATORSHIP Abstract: This study presents the ordeal and the ultimate sacrifice by self- immolation committed by a former student from Cluj-Napoca, Mârton Moyses. He was a native of Aita Mare (Covasna County), who in the autumn of 1956, along with millions of Romanian citizens (Romanians, Hungarians, Swabians, Saxons etc.), followed with bated breath the events of the Hungarian Revolution and who, as a high school student, together with three other colleagues, tried to illicitly cross the border between Romania and Hungary, in order to join the Hungarian revolutionaries. This study briefly presents some aspects of the course events took in Central and Eastern Europe after the Twentieth Congress of the Communist Party in the Soviet Union; Mârton Moyses’s arrest and trial, as well as his path from liberation to self-immolation. Keywords: 1956, Hungarian Revolution, Mârton Moyses, Transylvania, Military Court of Cluj. * On February 13, 1970, in Brașov, a young man aged only 29, a native of the commune Aita Mare (Covasna County) poured gasoline on his body and set himself on fire, in front of the headquarters of the county organisation of the Romanian Communist Party, in protest against the communist dictatorship in Romania. After having been watched for many years by the Security, the young man died after three months, on 15 May, on his suffering bed from the City Hospital in Baraolt (Covasna County). This young man was a former student of Cluj-Napoca, Mârton Moyses, who, through his supreme gesture, emulated the Pole Ryszard Siwiec,2 the Czech Jan Palach,3 the 1 MA student at Babes-Bolyai University Cluj-Napoca, Editor of the cultural journal “Muvelodes ”, Cluj-Napoca,; benkolevente@gmail.com 2 Siwiec, Ryszard (1909, Debica-1968, Warsaw) Polish accountant. He was the first man from the former countries of Central and Eastern Europe, dominated by the communists, who expressed thus his protest against the intervention of Soviet troops and, implicitly, of the Warsaw Pact, to suppress the Prague Spring. Ryszard Siwiec set himself on fire on September 8, 1968 in front of 100,000 spectators, including party and state leaders in Poland, who had The Supreme Protest: Self-Immolation 149 Hungarian Sandor Bauer4 and preceded the Romanian Liviu Cornel Babeș5. The ultimate sacrifice of Marton Moyses shocked people in the surroundings of Brașov, but the news of his self-immolation and death was silenced by the authorities and was not broadly disseminated like the shattering news of the gesture committed by his three predecessors. The roots and motivations underlying the tragedy of Marton Moyses are found in the second, decisive intervention of the Soviet troops, on 4 November 1956, when they were sent by the communist power in Moscow to suppress the Hungarian Revolution, whose forces had been victorious only a few days before. The tragedy of Marton Moyses turned out to be closely connected with that of his predecessors, not only in terms of its content, but also from the perspective of its causality. For example, Ryszard Siwiec set himself on fire in the autumn of 1968, as a protest against Soviet interference in the suppression of the Prague Spring, as well as against Soviet tyranny in the whole of the East-European area, which was under Soviet military occupation and political domination. The same motivation drove the Prague-based student, Jan Palach, who set himself on fire a few months later, protesting thus against the Soviets, who had been stifling the aspirations towards reform and freedom of the Czech people. It was also against the communist dictatorship that a young man of just 17 years, Sandor Bauer, protested in Budapest, on 20 January 1969, when he set himself on fire on the steps of the National Museum in Budapest. Marton Moyses came from a mixed Saxon-Hungarian family. His father, Friedrich (Frigyes) was a descendant of the families Moyses and Gusbeth, Evangelical-Lutherans from Brașov, and his mother was descended from the unitarian Peterffy family, from the village of Aita Mare (Covasna County). Four children were born from the marriage of the two: Frigyes gathered in a stadium in Warsaw, for celebrating the harvest. He died from the burns he incurred on September 12, 1968. 3 Palach, Jan (1948, Prague-1969, Prague) was a Czech student. He was the first Czech who on 16 January 1969 immolated himself in Wenceslas Square in the Czech capital, in protest against the intervention of the Soviet and Warsaw Pact troops - not so much in Romania - for quelling the Prague spring. Jan Palach died from the burns he suffered on 19 January, his cortege being accompanied by hundreds of thousands of compatriots. After him, in the period January-April 1969, other young Czechs showed their protest by self-immolation: for example, Jan Zajic, Josef Hlavaty, Evzen Plocek, Jan Gabor, Miroslav Malinka, Emanuel Sopko, Blanka Nachazelova, Jan Beres. 4 Sandor Bauer (1952, Budapest-1969, Budapest), a car mechanic student in Budapest. He burnt himself as a protest against human rights violations and against the communist dictatorship. He passed away on his hospital bed on 23 January 1969. 5 Liviu Cornel Babeș (1942, Brașov-1989, Brașov) was an electrician and amateur painter from Brașov. He set himself on fire on the ski slope in Poiana Brasov, on 2 March 1989, protesting against the communist dictatorship in Romania. He died on the same day. 150 Levente Benko (1931-1987),6 Piroska (1932), and Marton (April 20, 1941, St. Gheorghe) and Eva (1944). In 1943 the family moved from Sf. Gheorghe, the father’s place of work, to the mother’s native commune of Aita Mare. The father died in 1945, and the mother in 1955; Marton and Eva, aged only 14 and 11 years, remained in the care of their sister, Piroska. This is the period in which Marton Moyses exhibited the first signs of - obviously childish - “dissent”. It happened, for example, that when Eva was late to school, the teacher “punished” her by demanding that she should write down in her notebook a hundred times: “School starts at 8 am”. In his turn, Marton noted in his sister’s notebook: “because of family hardships, my sister cannot come to school in timely fashion. M. M.”7 At another time, Marton and his colleagues wrote and threw “manifestos” in the streets, such as: “Let it be over with Soviet domination!”, “Why are machines not good if they are not Russian?”, “The Costroma cows may be giving more milk, but here they are starving!”8. At another time, Marton Moyses said the following about the leaders of those times: “Do you hear me, Sanyi? These are not Communists! I am a true Communist, because I want to do good to my people!”9. All his former friends and schoolmates, all the teachers I have interviewed said in unison: From a very tender age, Marton Moyses, was passionate about literature, read a lot, wrote poetry, but did not really want to stand out, as he was more reserved by nature. To understand the atmosphere of 1956, we should explain the moment of the Twentieth Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. On the last day of the Congress (14-25 February), in a session where foreign journalists and Communist delegations did not have access, the first secretary of the CPSU, Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev, read his famous report entitled “The Cult of Personality and Its Consequences”, a report by which the successor of I. V. Stalin to power exposed a series of atrocities and crimes, tortures and executions, all in mass, as well as the wrong external policy and agrarian decisions taken by the USSR, all related to the dictator who had passed away three years earlier. This condemnation of the Stalinist legacy shocked the audience, and later, “thanks to” the Poles, the Western press published details of the Khrushchev Report, which had been translated into 6 Moyses Frigyes (Frederick Moises), a statistician and sports journalist, is the author of two remarkable books: Turneele olimpice de fotbal, București, Editura Consiliului Național pentru Educație Fizică și Sport, 1968, 278 p., and Campionatele mondiale de fotbal 1930-1974, București, Editura Stadion, 1974. 247 p. 7 Interview conducted by the author, in 2001, with Eva Moyses, the sister of Marton Moyses. The audio recording is in the author’s possession. 8 Interview conducted by the author, in 2002, with the musician Lajos Bartha, who was a childhood friend of Marton Moyses. The audio recording is in the author’s possession. 9 Interview conducted by the author, in 2002, with Sandor Fekete, who was a childhood friend of Marton Moyses. The audio recording is in the author’s possession. The Supreme Protest: Self-Immolation 151 English and French and printed in millions of copies10. Following this report, notwithstanding the fact that many communist leaders in the entire area of Central and Eastern Europe were downright shocked and remained waiting (as did, for instance, Gheorghiu-Dej), there emerged an obvious and clear trend towards system reform. The most effervescent efforts to that end were made in Poland and Hungary - see the moment of June 1956, in Poznan, and the Hungarian Revolution of October-November that same year. In Romania and Czechoslovakia the desire or discourse for change proved to be more tentative - at least at the level of the intellectual elite, with a few exceptions (the Jar case).11 However, subsequent historical research proved as clearly as possible, that as far as the population, students and even high school pupils were concerned, the need for change was intense, at least at a discursive level. Moreover, in the - exclusively communist - press of the time, controlled and censored by the unique party, there had started to appear a series of articles, which included criticisms (as far as the system permitted, of course) about the working conditions, the supplies of food and bare necessities to the population, the boring party meetings, the abuses perpetrated by some local party secretaries and presidents of the people’s councils, etc., in short, criticisms aimed at the social side of the problem. Still, we cannot ignore those specific aspects of everyday life, affecting directly the Hungarian population and Hungarian culture in Romania. For example, the Hungarian press in Romania published articles on the need for reopening and fully appreciating the museum of the famous Salonta-born poet Jânos Arany12, on the commendable initiative of students and teachers from Odorheiul Secuiesc, who cleared the weeds and rehabilitated, through voluntary work, the grave of the famous Szekler traveller Balâzs Orbân13, close to the city, as well as 10 See, for more details: Doina Jela, Vladimir Tismăneanu (eds.): Ungaria 1956: revolta minților și sfârșitul mitului comunist, București, Curtea Veche, 2006. 11 Alexandru Jar (1911, Iași-1988, Bucharest), a writer. During the post-war years he was a foremost writer, the “first violin” of Stalinist literature. After Stalin’s death he changed his position and became a critic of Stalinism. On May 15, 1956, at a meeting of the PMR members of the Writers’ Union, he was expelled from the party for his “antiparty position”. 12 Arany Jânos (1817 Salonta-1882 Budapest), a poet, journalist, professor, president of the Kisfaludy (Literary) Society, a member and general secretary of the Hungarian Academy, the author of the famous epic poem trilogy Toldi, one of the most famous and prominent authors of Hungarian literature, who translated the works of Shakespeare. A memorial museum bearing his name, including manuscripts, personal belongings, furniture, photographs and paintings, all linked to the life and work of Arany, was set up in the medieval Tower (the donjon of the former fortress, erected in 1636, a building also known as the Truncated Tower) in 1898. 13 Orbân, Balâzs (1829, Polonița-1890, Budapest), a writer, ethnographer, photographer, a member of the Hungarian Academy. Being of Greek origin, on the side of his Greek grandmother, he scoured Constantinople, Egypt, the Holy Land, studying and describing ancient Greek culture. He is the author of the monumental works Szekelyfold le^răsa tortenelmi, regeszeti, termeszetrajzi s nepismei szempontbol. I-VI., Pest, 1868-73 (trans.: 152 Levente Benko articles on the need to relaunch Hungarian language classes at the Agronomic Institute of Cluj, and to establish a directorate for the ethnic minorities in the Ministry of Education. After a decade of Stalinist-Dej dogmatism, such articles published in the summer and autumn of 1956 proved to be literally sensational, as it was the press that oriented public opinion, of course, within the limits mentioned above. This slowly progressing “thaw” in Romania also included a meeting held in Cluj on 29 and 30 September 1956, to which were convened several writers, poets, literary editors, historians of literature, in other words, the Hungarian literary elite in the Autonomous Hungarian Region and the Cluj Region. The meeting was attended, in addition to PMR leaders from the Cluj Region, by Miron Constantinescu14, a member of the Politburo of PMR. The reports and accounts from the time of the Hungarian Revolution reveal that power holders - at the local, regional and central levels - were aware of the mindset of the population, implicitly of the rather tense atmosphere throughout Romania. As such, the central power, that is, the leadership of the PMR felt the need to tone down, or at least to ameliorate or keep the situation under control, detaching Janos Fazekas, for example, to the Hungarian Autonomous Region and Miron Constantinescu to the Cluj Region. Thus, the Hungarian literary elite of the two regions took advantage of his presence, showing him a series of complaints and disgruntlements regarding Hungarian literature and culture in Romania, the gradual exclusion of Hungarian specialists from various fields, some concerning the abuses of the police and the Security, from the beginnings of forced collectivisation in agriculture, after the Soviet model. All these problems had accumulated without being resolved into the fourth decade since the power takeover by the communists.15 It should be noted that at that time the Hungarian population in Romania did not have access to the press in Hungary; only some could afford it. On a large scale, the main sources of information were Radio “Kossuth”, in Budapest, and Radio Free Europe, with its broadcasts in Romanian and Hungarian. Description of the Szekler Land from a Historical, Archaeological, Natural History and Ethnographic Point of View, vol. I-VI., Pest, 18 68-73), this work representing the masterpiece of his life. 14 Miron Constantinescu (1917, Chișinău-1974 Bucharest), a Marxist sociologist, historian, a communist politician, a member of the Romanian Academy (1974), a member of the PMR’s PB (1968-1960), a member of the RCP (1945 -1955 and 1968-1974), etc. 15 See, for more details: Benko, Levente (ed., introductory study, notes): Az oszinteseg ket napja. 1956. szeptember 29-30. Erdelyi magyar ertelmisegiek 1956 oszen. Kolozsvar: Polis Konyvkiado, 2007. (Trans.: The two days of sincerity. 29-30 September 1956. Transylvanian Hungarian intellectuals in the autumn of 1956.) The Supreme Protest: Self-Immolation 153 It is in this context that we must see the movements or rather the manifestations of sympathy for the Hungarian Revolution, including among the Romanian population, and the whole story of Marton Moyses. Let us briefly reconstruct the film of Marton Moyses’s tragedy. In the days following the outbreak of the revolt in Budapest, on October 23, 1956, the teachers and older students of the high school in Baraolt were summoned to have the “events in Hungary” explained to them. Party activists tried to explain in a totally false and distorted manner that “hooligan elements went on a rampage, smashed windows on the streets of Budapest, but the police, together with the Soviet troops stationed in Hungary, restored peace and public order”. In reality, the events went as follows: on the morning of October 23, 1956, hundreds of thousands of students and citizens in Budapest came forward, completely peacefully, declaring their solidarity with the reform attempts in Poland16. People manifested openly against the Hungarian party leadership and government, dominated by Stalinists, such as the first secretary of the Hungarian Workers’ (Communist) Party, Matyas Rakosi and his allies, for instance, Erno Gero. The protesters wanted to restore to government Imre Nagy, who had been ousted from the Council of Ministers in 1953, precisely by the Rakosi clique. The students and the crowd of demonstrators gathered in front of Radio “Kossuth”, insistently demanding the live broadcast of a list of claims, comprising 16 points. After a series of failed talks, in the late evening of 23 October, the Hungarian security forces (ÂVH17) opened fire on the demonstrators. Several protesters were shot dead, so the angered crowd grabbed weapons and retaliated. That is how the Hungarian Revolution broke out. Returning to the meeting with teachers and students in Baraolt: during the speeches, at one point, Marton Moyses stood up and, to everyone’s amazement, asked: “Why don’t you tell us the truth? Why don’t you tell us that there is a revolution in Budapest?”18. Ârpad Csaba Jozsa remembers that they knew of the events in Hungary, having been informed by their boarding teacher, Csaba Dienes. “Already on the evening of October 23, Csaba Dienes told us: Guys, don’t go to bed yet, wait until I come. He returned very late but 16 On 28-30 June 1956 general workers’ a strike broke out in Poznan, demanding better working conditions and the dismissal of the pro-Stalinist government. About 100,000 protesters gathered in the city centre. The Polish People’s Army intervened by force, the repression resulting in more than 50 dead individuals, over 300 arrested people and as many wounded. In October 1956, the position of first secretary of the Polish United Workers’ Party was taken over by Wladislaw Gomulka, at the expense of Stalinist leaders in Poland, including of the Soviet officers present in the Polish Army. The obvious signs of reform and the tense situation in Poland were the reasons why hundreds of thousands of people in Budapest, led by students, took to the streets in solidarity with their Polish friends. 17 Âllamvedelmi Hatosag, trans.: State Security Authority. 18 Interview conducted by the author, in 2002, Gyorgy Marton, a former classmate of Moyses Marton, also present at that meeting. The audio recording is in the author’s possession. 154 Levente Benko told us that the news broadcasts on Radio Kossuth and those on Radio Free Europe clearly show that a revolution broke out in Budapest... The news simply shook us, but also invigorated us... “19 Upon notification that on the morning of November 4, 1956, Soviet troops had launched a new, shameful attack against the Hungarian Revolution20, four high school students from the town of Baraolt (Covasna County), i.e. Benjamin B^r6, Ârpâd Csaba Jozsa, Jânos Kovâcs and Mârton Moyses, all aged between 15 and 17 years, heeded the latter’s initiative and agreed to fraudulently cross the hermetically closed border between Romania and Hungary, so as to join the Hungarian revolutionaries in their heroic and desperate struggle against the Soviet invaders. The four students travelled by train up to Oradea, from where, also by train, they went up to Curtuișeni (Bihor County). There they split into two group, and on the night of 12 to 13 November, B^r6 and Jozsa managed to cross the Romanian-Hungarian border. Kovâcs and Moyses however lost their way, giving up and returning to Baraolt. B^r6 and Jozsa reached Ny^regyhâza, then Debrecen, from where they could no longer continue their journey to the Hungarian capital because of the frequent inspections and raids of the Soviet troops. With the help of a Hungarian policeman, they obtained false names and ID cards, settling in Debrecen, where they were adopted informally by the two local Hungarian families and continued their high school studies in the same city. But just as they were on the verge of official adoption, in the spring of 1957, the Security, together with the secret services of Hungary, identified them and handed them over to the Romanian authorities. The Military Tribunal in Oradea convicted Biro and sentenced him to three years and a half, while Jozsa was sentenced to three years in prison for fraudulently crossing the border21. Moyses and Kovâcs returned to Baraolt, where they were both expelled because of fleeing from the boarding school and having unmotivated absences. More precisely, they were placed in other schools. Moyses was transferred to Bolyai Farkas High School in Tg. Mures. He took the baccalaureate in that high school in 1959, not submitting his candidacy, for now, to any higher education institution. He found a job as a worker at the Dozsa Gyorgy Textile Factory in Sf. Gheorghe, continuing to be a great lover of books and literature and to write poems. 19 Interview conducted by the author, in 2001, with Ârpâd Jozsa Csaba, a former schoolmate of Mârton Moyses. The audio recording is in the author’s possession. 20 Through this operation, named the “Vortex”, Moscow succeeded in crushing the (victorious) Hungarian Revolution, and to remove from power the government of Imre Nagy, bringing Jânos Kâdâr to power. 21 Report by Ârpâd Csaba Jozsa, interview conducted by the author in 2001. The audio recording is in the author’s possession. The Supreme Protest: Self-Immolation 155 This is the period when Mârton Moyses became a target of the Security. On 14 November 1959, the head of the Rayon Section MAI in Sf. Gheorghe, Security Lieutenant Jânos Bartos, together with his deputy, Security Lieutenant Adalbert Harmati, and with the approval of Head of Service III, Security Captain Andras Szocs, submitted to the Regional Directorate of the Hungarian Autonomous Region a draft resolutione, marked “top secret”, in which they proposed opening a surveillance file for Marton Moyses, on account that there existed information that said individual “carried out inimical activity of a Hungarian nationalistic nature” and that Moyses, “when he was a student in Baraolt tried to cross the border into Hungary, together with three other students, in order to participate in the counter- revolution”; the head of the Regional Directorate, Security Colonel Mihai Kovacs approved the resolution22. On the same day, Security Lieutenant Adalbert Harmati drew up an action plan, endorsed by the Chief of the Sf. Gheorghe Raion District, Security Lieutenant Ioan Bartos, marked “Top Secret”, which, among other things, provided for the surveillance of all the elements in the entourage of Marton Moyses, establishing the place and content where compromising materials were located, conducting some investigations on Moyses, as of 1956, intercepting all of his incoming and outgoing correspondence, and finding a person from his entourage to be recruited as an informant23. The Security recruited an older acquaintance, from four years before, whom Moyses had known since his high school years in Baraolt24. He was given the codename “Babits Mihai”25 and furnished regular reports about everything Moyses did. Thus, on December 21, 1959, the source “Babits Mihai” reported that Moyses wrote poems, which, in the informant’s opinion, could be published only 20-30 years later, since these lyrics reflected a position that was not really compatible with Marxism- Leninism. In the opinion of Moyses, if these poems were to be sent to any publishing house, he might go to prison26. A few days later, on December 30, 1959, the source informed the Security that, in one of his poems, Moyses said that communism was a better system than capitalism, but that, as a rule, we “take a step forward and two backward” and “our leaders today do not really want peace”27. On January 22, 1960, “Babits Mihai” reported: Moyses said 22 National Council Archive for Studying the Security Archives (hereinafter: ACNSAS) file I002497 / 1 f. 11-12. 23 ACNSAS, file I002497 / 1, f. 29-31. 24 ACNSAS, file I002497 / 1, f. 52, 189. 25 By choosing this conspiratorial name, the Security officers made no doubt reference to the poetic inclinations of Mârton Moyses because the true person, named Mihâly Babits (the whole name was Mihâly Lâszlo Akos Babits, 1883 Szekszârd-1941 Budapest) was one of the most remarkable Hungarian poets of the inter-war period, a former professor in Făgăraș, during the same period. The two people should by no means be confused! 26 Idem, f. 50, 191. 27 Idem, f. 45, 195. 156 Levente Benko that he “wants to fight for a social order where those who work have a say, because today there is no progress, today we’re moving backwards”; in such circumstances, an improvement of the situation can “only occur by major force, through a revolution.” According to the informant’s report, Moyses told him that he wanted to awaken the masses, that he would like to take the first step in this direction, and that “in 10-20 years, when in all socialist countries the consciousness level of the working class is at the same level, this change will happen at once in all the socialist countries or worldwide”28. On the same day, in another report, “Babits Mihai” reported to the Security the fact that Moyses had allegedly said:” Today writers are not allowed to speak one word of truth”29. On February 6, 1960, the same “Babits Mihai” reported to the security officer, Lieutenant Adalbert Harmati: Moyses said that “he suspects that he is supervised by the Security”, and that in the past few years four people had tried to get information from him30. As a result of the information provided by “Babits Mihai”, the Security in the Rayon of Sf. Gheorghe , under the signature of the Head of Rayon Section, Security Lieutenant Ioan Bartos, the deputy of the section chief, Security Lieutenant Adalbert Harmati, with the approval of the Head of Service III, Security Captain Andrei Szocs, concluded: in 1956 Moyses wrote poems that praised the Hungarian Revolution, tried, with his friends, to cross fraudulently the border between Romania and Hungary and join the “counterrevolution”; writing about 50 lyrics, he continued his counterrevolutionary and anti-Marxist activity, in order to instigate the masses to the outbreak of a new revolution (sic!); moreover, he had an inimical attitude towards the party policy and the government, towards the socialist transformation of agriculture and towards the education system. Consequently, Lieutenant Adalbert Harmati proposed that Marton Moyses should be included on the list of “Hungarian nationalists”, and that an individual surveillance file should be opened for him31. Thanks to this surveillance file, the Security obtained further incriminating information about Marton Moyses, who was already, in the autumn of 1960, a student at the Faculty of Philology at “Babes-Bolyai” University in Cluj. On November 22, 1960, Marton Moyses was arrested. Five poems and a draft essay were found in his possession, all catalogued later, during the hearings, as inimical to the system. Hearings followed, during which, on December 7, 1960, Security Captain Vladimir Feigl ordered the indictment of the detainee, according to art. 209, point 2, letter a. of the 28 Idem, f. 39, 202. 29 Idem, f. 41, 200. 30 Idem, f. 37, 206. 31 Idem, f. 9-10. The Supreme Protest: Self-Immolation 157 Criminal Code, for the crime of conspiracy against the social order through incitement32. The Cluj Regional Military Court, in its session from Tg. Mures, dated July 14, 1961, sentenced Marton Moyses to 7 years in prison and 5 years of civic degradation and to the confiscation of his entire personal wealth for the crime of machination against the social order33. The next day, through his lawyer Moyses appealed, requiring a debate on the recourse34. Among other things, in his appeal Moyses was referring to an older disease of nerves, noting that he had nervous breakdowns when he did not have complete control over his mental faculties35. The defence lawyer, Alexandru Avram, argued the appeal, noting that the basic sentence was wrong because his client was suffering from nerves, which put his responsibility into question36. The Cluj Regional Military Court accepted, on August 15, 1961, Moyses’s appeal. Maintaining the charge, it ruled for a retrial and the defendant’s admission in the prison hospital at Văcărești37. Marton Moyses was admitted to the hospital in Văcărești on September 26, 1961, where, after investigations, a medical commission, consisting of Dr. Epaminonda Tomorug, Dr. Ion Quia and Dr. Vasile Sîrbu, concluded: “The defendant Marton Moyses is responsible for the act committed (counterrevolutionary activity). He requires further treatment for his current reactive condition”38. On June 28, 1962, the Cluj Regional Military Court, in its session from Cluj, under the chairmanship of Lieutenant Colonel of Justice Pavel Macskasi, reviewed the case of Moyses, sentencing him to two years in correctional prison and three years of correctional prohibition for committing the crime of machination against the social order, computing the preventive detention from November 22, 196039. A reckless attempt at fraudulently crossing the border, several - true, unusual - poetic incursions, somewhat incongruous with the dogmatic canons of the time, but grossly distorted, and sincere thoughts about the derailments of the system: these were the elements of a trial by which the rise of a very talented and studious youth, Marton Moyses, was stunted. What followed was the beginning of the end for Marton Moyses. He had a hard time in prison, the culminating point being September 28, 1962. On the same day, just a few weeks before his release, in unsolved circumstances until now, he resorted to self-mutilation, cutting his tongue with a thread. In 32 ACNSAS, file P000923 / 1., f. 25. 33 Idem, f. 119. 34 Idem, f. 123. 35 Idem, f. 122. 36 Idem, f. 133-135. 37 Idem, f. 131. 38 Idem, f. 157. 39 Idem, f. 197. 158 Levente Benko his medical file from prison are recorded diagnoses such as: gastritis, gastric hyperacidity, situation neurosis, psycho-neurosis. The Cluj prison physician, Dr. Ileana Ionescu, stated in his medical record that “it is necessary to hospitalise the patient M. M., aged 21 years, for three days, because there can appear phenomena of asphyxia, which can cause the decease of the aforesaid”40. In connection with the attempt to cut his own tongue, the medical file includes the statements of his colleagues in cell no. 10 of the penitentiary in Cluj. Thus, inmate Ioan Popa said that “on 28 September, at 12:05, we had lunch; after that [Moyses] sat on the bed next to the window, prisoner Todoran Gh. near him finished washing his waistcoat and prisoner Jacob I. sat on the bench. I climbed into bed, with approval (...) because of my heart condition. After prisoner Gh. finished washing his waistcoat, he sat on the bed next to the door and began to eat. Meanwhile prisoner Mozes (sic!) M. climbed on the bed edge, I saw this from my bed, I shouted at prisoners Jakab and Todoran about what crazy Mozes M. was doing. At this point said prisoners jumped at him41, but he had already tied the string to his tongue and the bedside”42. Similar statements were given by prisoners Gh. Tudoran43 and Pal Jakab44. The commander of the Cluj penitentiary and the doctor of the institution, Dr. Ileana Ionescu, admitted Moyses on the same day of September 28, at the Surgical Clinic I. Cluj. The receipt mentioned “We are sending patient M. M., 21 years old, with the tongue torn by a thread. The thread is in the wound. Please suture wound”45. According to the medical records, Marton Moyses remained in hospital from September 29 to October 6, receiving antibiotics (penicillin, streptomycin), analgesics (algosedin), vitamin K and chamomile tea46. Even today it is not clear what Moyses’s motive was when he mutilated his tongue. Obviously, one cannot rule out a nervous breakdown, or the need to avoid making incriminating statements about other colleagues, imprisoned or targeted by the Security. The latter variant is supported by his sister, Eva Moyses, who said: “I asked my brother why he had cut his tongue? He said that he wanted to prevent the Security from constraining him to make incriminating statements about his colleagues”47. Whatever the reason for self- mutilation, we can admit that Marton Moyses - despite the fact that he only had a few more weeks of detention - was in a particularly critical situation. 40 ACNSAS, file P000923 / 2., f. 9. 41 Marton Moyses. 42 ACNSAS, file P000923 / 2., f. 13. 43 Idem, f. 12. 44 Idem, f. 11. 45 Idem, f. 9. 46 Idem, f. 7. 47 Interview conducted by the author, in 2001, with Eva Moyses, the sister of Marton Moyses. The audio recording is in the author’s possession. The Supreme Protest: Self-Immolation 159 This may explain a new equally desperate self-mutilation attempt, only a week afterwards. The duty officer of the prison in Cluj, Captain Traian Socaciu recorded in the minutes from the evening of October 13, 1962, the fact that they had to enter cell no. 10 because they had been informed that prisoner Marton Moyses “intends again to commit suicide.” According to the minutes, “to ensure his security during the night”, Moyses was immobilised with handcuffs48. After so much misery and suffering, finally, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, U. M. 0123 E Bucharest notified the General Directorate of Prisons and Labour Colonies, on November 13, 1962, that prisoner Marton Moyses was to be released on November 21 - the expiry of detention time49. Marton Moyses served his entire sentence. The former police chief, at that time, of the post from Aita Mare, sergeant Imre Marosi confirmed the information, according to which, after his release, Moyses, as a former political prisoner, was under the Security’s constant surveillance, directly or indirectly. As police chief he had, from time to time, to submit reports to his superiors, but from the “information obtained from sources in the village, I rarely had the opportunity to learn and report negative elements. Even with evil intentions, I could not say anything negative on account of Moyses, for the simple reason that he took very, very good care of himself”50. After his release, Marton Moyses could not continue his higher education; he was forced to accept a job at the Agricultural Production Cooperative in Aita Mare. All his attempts to get a job in the state system - in order to have a more substantial income and use that to continue his studies - failed, as he was rejected by all the institutions he resorted to. For example, in 1969, Moyses applied for the post of Secretary / Administrator of the Aita Mare General School, but was turned down51. But that does not mean that he was not interested, for example, in mathematical sciences, in inventions and innovations, in certain aspects of physics and even folklore. The reply to one of his letters, addressed to the Atomic Research Institute at Dubna (USSR), was that he should write to the specialised institute in Romania52. Having subscribed to the magazine Mathematical Gazette, in 1967 he wrote to the Mathematical Society of the Socialist Republic of Romania, which replied, also in writing, that the article he had sent could not be published, and if he wanted to and ever travelled to 48 ACNSAS, file P000923 / 2., f. 10. 49 Idem, f. 6. 50 Interview conducted by the author, in 2001, with adjutant master sergeant Imre Marosi, former head of police in Aita Mare (Covasna County). The audio recording is in the author’s possession. 51 The collection of family documents kept by Eva Moyses, private property. 52 Ibidem. 160 Levente Benko Cluj, he could recover his manuscript, and find out other details on that subject matter53. In Marton Moyses’s folk collection I found a short study and a few ballads, sayings, stories and inscriptions on secular tombstones, all gathered in the village of Aita Mare54. Even on this track Moyses failed to break the bounds of anonymity! Having sent, in 1969, an article and a few more interesting pieces from his personal collection to the magazine Korunk in Cluj, the deputy editor thereof, Edgar Balogh, replied to him in writing two years later, in 1971, when Moyses was already dead55... Besides all these, Marton Moyses was concerned with certam aspects of international politics. In a letter dated October 4, 1969, addressed to the Central Committee of the CPSU, in Moscow, among others, Moyses brought to the attention of the Soviet Communist Party the situation of Transylvania after the Second World War. He noted: “The history of Transylvania is a part of the history of the Hungarian nation and of the Romanian nation; as such, it would be good if history were written jointly by specialised historians in Hungary and Romania; so that the youth of these two countries may be brought up in the spirit of this common history”. Moyses added that the “communist leaderships of both countries should do everything in their power to achieve a special friendship, and the boundary between the two countries should become a simple, administrative one”. Then he continued: “The fate of the two European peoples, Hungarian and Romanian, is common. Historical events may lead to the achievement of a federation between the two peoples.”56 Without entering the sphere of international politics, but seeing the reality today, i.e. the adhesion of the two member states to the same European Union and the same military bloc, what Moyses set down on paper in the autumn of 1969 is downright amazing! In his notes, there is no indication whether Moyses finalised and drafted his letter, or if he sent it to the recipient. Feeling isolated, with no chance of self-assertion, he tried one more thing: rehabilitation. He hoped that after so many setbacks and disappointments, the justice system would restore his rights and that he would get a state job in Brașov, resuming his higher education through night classes in the town under Tâmpa Mount. As such, he officially addressed himself to Covasna County Court, an institution that, on February 4, 1970, in public session, reinstated him in his rights57. The sentence was to come into force 10 53 Ibidem. 54 Ibidem. 55 Ibidem. 56 The letter draft is in the collection of family documents kept by Eva Moyses, private pro- perty. A digitised copy is in the author’s possession. 57 In the collection of family documents kept by Eva Moyses, private property. The Supreme Protest: Self-Immolation 161 days later, on February 14, but the judicial ruling was written down and typed only on February 25, being sent to him from Sf. Gheorghe, by mail, on 27 February. But something happened in the meantime... Having no information about the positive ruling of the Court House from Covasna County, on 11 February Moyses went to Brașov, where he tried to find work at the “Răsăritul” Brick Factory. From his actions it appears that he was accepted, there were only a few formalities, the medical visa and other things to solve, but these would take a day or two58. However, on 13 February, only one day before the entry into force of the judicial decision that rehabilitated him, he set himself on fire in front of the County Committee of the Communist Party, in the middle of the day, in the very centre of Brașov. On that fateful day, or the day before - the post office stamp of Brașov is quite illegible, but the date could certainly only have been 12 or February 13, 1970 - Mârton Moyses sent a letter to Mrs. Ida (Kun) Leta from Aita Mare. She was a distant relative of the Moyses family, the woman who had helped the two orphaned minors, Marton and Eva and had accompanied to Tg. Mures the little girl aged only 16 years, Eva, to her brother’s trial. The letter, only a few sentences long, is Mârton Moyses’s goodbye. Let me reproduce here a fragment that I have received from his family, with permission for publication: “It’s over. I do not want to live another second in a country where the Security people keep committing crimes after crimes, the party leadership being helpless in the face of these abuses. (...) Mârton”59. Mârton Moyses died on May 15, 1970, on a hospital bed in Baraolt. He was buried two days later in his mother’s native village, Aita Mare. In conclusion: who was Mârton Moyses? Was he a hero or simply a naive man? Was he a dissident, a vehement opponent of communism, or did he really believe in this system, observing and criticising only its derailments? Any of these hypotheses might be plausible, but the opposite can also be true, in the sense that none is true. However, one thing is certain and beyond any doubt: he was the victim of a totalitarian, communist regime. 58 Ibidem. 59 Ibidem. MELINDA MITU1 FIN-DE-SIECLE CERAMICS FROM THE COLLECTIONS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF TRASYLVANIAN HISTORY Abstract: This study briefly presents three industrial centres from which originate several modern-age decorative items from the heritage of the National Museum of Transylvanian History (NMTH), dating from the last decades of the nineteenth century and the first decades of the twentieth century. These artefacts highlight important aesthetic trends from this period, specific to the decorative arts in the Central European cultural area. Keywords: fin-de-siecle ceramics, Zsolnay porcelain from Pecs (Hungary), the Vilmos Fischer porcelain manufactory in Cluj, the Vocational School of Stone and Clay Crafts in Odorheiu Secuiesc. * At the third edition of the Cluj International Ceramics Biennale, which took place from 12 October to 26 November 2017, the National Museum of Transylvanian History presented to the public modern-age decorative items from its heritage, dating from the last decades of the nineteenth century and the first decades of the twentieth century. These cultural goods were displayed in a mini-exhibition entitled Fin-de- siecle Ceramics from the Collections of the National Museum of Transylvanian History. The exhibited objects were created in three industrial centres from that period: the ZSOLNAY porcelain factory in Pecs (Hungary), the Vilmos FISCHER porcelain manufactory in Cluj, and the Vocational School of Stone and Clay Crafts in Odorheiu Secuiesc. Glazed faience decorative objects produced in the Zsolnay Porcelain Factory2 The Zsolnay Factory was founded in Pecs, in 1868, by Vilmos ZSOLNAY (1828-1900). He took over and developed the manufactory of his father, Miklos Zsolnay, a company which had been in existence since 1852. Thanks to his remarkable artistic talent and technical innovations, Vilmos Zsolnay is considered the greatest Hungarian ceramist of all time and one of the pioneers of modern ceramic art. He stood out, above all, because of his invention of the so-called porcelain faience, as well as of pyrogranite, a ceramic material that is resistant at very low 1 PhD, Museum curator at the National Museum of Transylvanian History, Cluj-Napoca. e-mail: mitu_meli@yahoo. com. 2 Today the factory’s name is Zsolnay Porcelănmanufaktura Zrt. [Zsolnay Porcelain Manufactory]. Fin-de-siecle Ceramics 163 temperatures and is used for making outdoor objects and decorative elements.3 During the last decades of the nineteenth century, several representative buildings were decorated with such ornaments in Hungary, particularly with roof tiles. Among the most well-known buildings with roofs decorated in this way are Matthias Church, the Museum of Applied Art, the Institute of Geology and the Parliament of Budapest, the Town Hall in Kecskemet, the Synagogue in Subotica and the Dome of Kosice. In Transylvania, pyrogranite ornaments from the Zsolnay factory can be found, for example, on the roof of the Palace of Culture in Târgu Mureș or on the towers of the Church with Rooster in Cluj, designed by the architect Kâroly Kos. Like Lajos Petrik and Vince Wartha, renowned Hungarian chemists of those times, Vilmos Zsolnay had a remarkable contribution to the development of the technique of decorating ceramic objects with eosin enamel, manufacturing vessels of exceptional artistic value, which were awarded distinctions at various national and international exhibitions of industrial art. In 1878, for example, the products of the factory received the grand prize at the Universal Exhibition in Paris, and Vilmos Zsolnay was awarded the French Order of the Legion of Honour.4 In the period between the 1860s and the mid-1880s, the products of the Zsolnay factory exhibited the features of the historicist style.5 They were made mainly from ivory-coloured paste and their entire surface was painted with vegetal decorative motifs. In the 1880s, the factory adopted the Secession style, producing a whole series of vessels decorated with flowers in the manner of Jozsef Rippl-Ronai, one of the masters of modern Hungarian painting.6 Other famous decorators who worked for the factory as ceramist artists were Sândor Apâti Abt, Lajos Mack, Harry Darilek, Geza Nikelszky and Tâde Sikorski. In keeping with the trends of the Art Nouveau style prevalent at that time, they introduced ever more spectacular shapes and decorative elements, among which stand out feminine (nymphs, maenads) and animal figures (cats, birds, fish, lizards). Eosin enamel, a glossy surface, usually in shades of yellow-gold (the term “eosin” comes from the Greek word eos, meaning dawn, aurora), but also in shades of turquoise, metallic green or cherry red, was most adequate (considering its vivid colours) to the 3 On the life and work of Vilmos Zsolnay, see: Magyar Eletrajzi Lexikon, sub-entryZsolnay Vilmos (http://mek.oszk.hu/00300/00355/html/index.html); webpage of the Zsolnay Porcelain Manufactory, the entriesHistory of the Factory and Zsolnay Technology (http://www.zsolnay.hu/hu/gyartortenet and http://www.zsolnay.hu/hu/technologia); Sisa Jozsef, A magyar muveszet a 19. szăzadban. Ep^teszet es iparmuveszet, Budapest, 2013, p. 559-560; Masters of Art Nouveau in The Budapest Museum of Applied Arts (exhibition catalogue drawn up by Eva Csenkey and Miklos Gâlos), Budapest, 2014; 4 http://mek.oszk.hu/00300/00355/html/index.htm and http://www.zsolnay.hu/hu/gyartortenet. See also Luca Melegati, Aporcelăn, second edition, 1997, pp. 171-172; Masters of Art Nouveau..., p. 16. 5 Sisa Jozsef, op.cit., pp. 196; 585-586. 6 http://www.zsolnay.hu/hu/technologia. Jozsef Rippl-Ronai’s special interest in industrial art objects and in fanciful, stylised interior decorative objects was due to the aesthetic influences exerted on him by the Art Nouveau French masters, belonging to the group of Les Nabis, whose works he had become acquainted with during his studies in Paris. See Farkas Zsuzsa, Rippl-Ronai Jozstf, Budapest, 2009 (second edition), pp. 22 and 28. 164 Melinda Mitu Secession style, characteristic of the Zsolnay artefacts produced at the end of the nineteenth century and at the beginning of the next.7 Decorative objects manufactured in Vilmos FISCHER’s porcelain factory in Cluj Vilmos Fischer was the son of Mor Fischer, the owner of the famous porcelain factory in Herend, Hungary, founded in the first half of the nineteenth century. It produced neo-Baroque style porcelain at such high standards that in 1842, respectively, in 1845, Fischer’s ceramics were presented at the industrial exhibitions in Hungary and Vienna. Because of its repeated success at the international exhibitions of London (1851 and 1855), Paris (1867) and Vienna (1873), the factory acquired world renown and Mor Fischer was rewarded with the Merit of Honor in Paris, as well as with several imperial decorations. In 1867, after the success of his products at the international exhibition in Paris, he was knighted by Emperor Franz 8 Joseph.8 Vilmos Fischer began working in his father’s factory when he was a child. After intense studies in the field of ceramics, in Paris, Fischer the younger continued the family tradition by opening a subsidiary of the Herend factory in Cluj, in 1874. This was a storehouse of white porcelain, brought from Herend or Bohemia, and what Vilmos Fischer and his craftsmen did was to paint and decorate the finished 9 products. The repertoire of decorative porcelain items painted in Cluj was similar to that of the original factory in Herend. The Fischer Manufactory in Cluj produced both items with vegetal or animal motifs against a white background, and items with their entire surface coloured. In 1876-1879, Vilmos Fischer’s name was repeatedly associated with the photographer Ferenc Veress, another upstanding member of the artistic community in Cluj. The periodicals of the time showed that Fischer’s manufactory provided porcelain objects for the photoceramic experiments of Veress, who used a special furnace for achieving the photos represented on ceramic support. In this way, they accomplished a series of extremely valuable artefacts, in technical and aesthetic terms. Such objects of photoceramics could also be seen in some national exhibition 7 http://www.zsolnay.hu/hu/technologia. 8 The porcelain factory in Herend was founded by Vince Stingl in 1826. In 1839 it was taken over by Mor Fischer. The flowering period of the Fischer factory coincided with the years 1839-1876, when it produced porcelain of high artistic quality, comparable to those from the Orient, or with those created in Meissen and Sevres. The products of the Herend factory were used for decorating the houses of the Hungarian aristocracy (for example, the Esterhâzy family), but also of many buyers from abroad. They were noticed by Queen Victoria herself, at the international exhibition held in London, in 1851. The special quality of the Herend porcelain is also attested by the fact that, in 1872, Mor Fischer became the official supplier of the Habsburgs’ royal residences in Buda and Godollo. See Magyar Zsido Lexikon, 1929, edited by Ujvâri Peter; Gergely Anna, Adalekok Hevesy Gyorgy csalădtortenetehez, in Fizikai Szemle, 1999/7, p. 267; Sisa Jozsef, op.cit., pp. 315- 316. 9 Apud Gergely Anna, op.cit., p. 267. Fin-de-siecle Ceramics 165 of industrial art, like those organised in Szeged, in 1876, and Szekesfehervar, in 1879.10 Greek-style pottery created in the workshop of the Vocational School of Stone and Clay Crafts in Odorheiu Secuiesc The economic and industrial development of Transylvania within the framework of the dual Austro-Hungarian state in the last decades of the nineteenth century brought about the emergence of new forms of technical education. The workshops or vocational schools set up now had the mission to prepare students for the practice of traditional domestic crafts, but also for some new industrial professions. Among the best-known establishments of this kind in Transylvania was the Vocational School of Stone and Clay Crafts in Odorheiu Secuiesc, founded in 1873. This institution played an important role in the technical education of the region, instilling the residents of this area with confidence in their chances of local economic success, by practising the professions of bricklayer, stonemason and potter, and not by emigrating to other areas of the country or even the world, in search of means of subsistence.11 The teachers of the vocational school in Odorheiu Secuiesc sought to provide their disciples not only with specialised knowledge, but also with notions of general culture, based on which their graduates could become not only good craftsmen in their fields, but also intelligent artisans, who could appreciate beauty. “Let’s give industry well-instructed young men,” a bulletin of the school from 1910 stated, “because only industrial work carried out by a cultivated soul can compete with the already much more developed industries of other nations!”12 Such considerations also inspired, no doubt, the craftsmen who made the ceramic objects at the Vocational School of Stone and Clay Crafts in Odorheiu Secuiesc. These objects are currently in the patrimony of the history museum in Cluj. They prove that the artisans here were familiar with the repertoire of shapes of ancient Greek ceramics. The products of the three industrial centres presented in this article highlight important aesthetic trends from the turn of the nineteenth-twentieth centuries, specific to the decorative arts of Central Europe. 10 Lengyel Cs. Beatrix, Kemeny Găbor portrija Veress Ferenc fotokeramikăjăban, in Folia Historica (Muzeul Național Maghiar), 1993, vol. XVIII, op.cit., p. 282; Melinda Mitu, Fotoceramică în colecțiile de artă decorativă ale Muzeului Național de Istorie a Transilvaniei, in “Acta Mvsei Napocensis”, no. 45-46/Historica, II, 2008-2009, Cluj-Napoca, 2009, pp. 209-211. 11 Roth Edit, Szăzeves az ăllami ko- is agyagipari szakiskola. Fejezetek Szekelyudvarhely ipari szakoktatăsănak muljăbol, Szekelyudvarhely, 1993, pp. 5-7. 12 Ibidem, p. 17. 166 Melinda Mitu List of illustrations: 1. Decorative vase (figure no. 1)13 Decorative vase, Zsolnay brand. Mould-cast faience, embossed decoration, applied, shiny enamel. Height: 30 cm; maximum diameter: 55 cm Inv. no. M 2805 2. Decorative vase (figure no. 2) Decorative vase, Zsolnay brand. Mould-cast faience, embossed decoration, opaque enamel. Height: 39 cm; maximum diameter: 46 cm Inv. no. M 2807 3. Decorative pitcher (figure no. 3) Decorative pitcher, Zsolnay brand. Mould-cast faience, glazed pink background, embossed decoration (yellow floral motifs) Height: 31 cm; maximum diameter: 63 cm Inv. no. M 2801 4. Decorative pitcher (figure no. 4) Decorative pitcher, Zsolnay brand. Mould-cast faience, mat golden background, embossed floral decoration. Height: 33 cm; maximum diameter: 61 cm Inv. no. M 2817 5. Decorative plate (figure no. 5) Decorative plate in the shape of a folded napkin. On the bottom of the plate, the mark Fischer Vilmos Kolozsvărtt. Diameter: 15 cm Inv. no. M 3142 6. Decorative plate (figure no. 6) Decorative plate with the monogram WO (Countess Ottîlia Wass?) and a crown (from the coat of arms of the Wass family?). On the bottom of the plate, the mark Fischer Vilmos Kolozsvărtt. Diameter: 24 cm Inv. no. M 3143 7. Decorative vase (figure no. 7) Decorative vase made of porcelain, with the portrait of Count Gyula Andrassy. Originating from the workshop of Vilmos Fischer in Cluj. Object of photoceramics, 13 For the description of the cultural goods, I must thank my colleague Ioana Gruiță. Fin-de-siecle Ceramics 167 painted with blue, green, white and yellow vegetal motifs, against a blue background. The photo was applied onto the object in the workshop of the photographer Ferenc Veress from Cluj. Height: 22 cm; diameter: 10 cm Inv. no. M 6758 8. Decorative vase (figure no. 8) Decorative vase made of porcelain (pink, blue, and black), with stylised vegetal ornaments and with the portrait of an unidentified man (probably the politician Jeno Zichy). Photoceramics object. The photo was applied on the object in the workshop of the photographer Ferenc Veress from Cluj, as demonstrated by the inscription on the bottom of the item: Veress F. Mutermibol Kolozsvart. Height: 21 cm; diameter: 12 cm Inv. no. M 6762 Cultural good ranked in the legal category of Fund of the national cultural heritage. 9. Oil lamp (figure no. 9) Oil lamp painted in the workshop of Vilmos Fischer in Cluj. Total height: 49 cm (body: 33 cm, lid: 16 cm), maximum diameter: 41.8 cm. Pedestal and fittings made of brass. Inv. no. M 3618. 10. Urn with lekane-type lid (figure no. 10) Greek-style vessel made in the workshop of the Vocational School of Stone and Clay Crafts in Odorheiu Secuiesc, at the end of the nineteenth century. Burnt clay, black varnish, vegetal ornaments. Max height: 25 cm; foot diameter: 12 cm; upper rim diameter: 12 cm; max diameter: 68 cm Inv. no. M 3076 11. Ceramic vessel of the oinochoe type (figure no. 11) Greek-style vessel made in the workshop of the Vocational School of Stone and Clay Crafts in Odorheiu Secuiesc, at the end of the nineteenth century. Burnt clay, brown varnish, animal and vegetal ornaments. Height: 45 cm Inv. no. M 3059 12. Ceramic vessel of the oinochoe type (figure no. 12.) Greek-style vessel made in the workshop of the Vocational School of Stone and Clay Crafts in Odorheiu Secuiesc, at the end of the nineteenth century. Burnt clay, brown varnish, geometric, vegetal and animal ornaments. 168 Melinda Mitu Height: 46 cm; foot diameter: 10.5 cm; upper rim diameter: 11 cm Inv. no. M 3058 13. Ceramic vessel of the lekythos type (figure no. 13.) Greek-style vessel made in the workshop of the Vocational School of Stone and Clay Crafts in Odorheiu Secuiesc, at the end of the nineteenth century. Burnt clay, black varnish, geometric, vegetal and anthropomorphic ornaments. Height: 31 cm; foot diameter: 6.2 cm; upper rim diameter: 5.5 cm; max diameter: 32 cm Inv. no. M 3061 14. Ceramic vessel of the kyathos type (figure no. 14) Greek-style vessel made in the workshop of the Vocational School of Stone and Clay Crafts in Odorheiu Secuiesc, at the end of the nineteenth century. Burnt clay, black varnish, animal and vegetal ornaments. Max height: 30 cm (with handles); diameter of base plate: 12 cm; max diameter: 22 cm Inv. no. M 3064 Fin-de-siecle Ceramics 169 Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 170 Melinda Mitu Figure 5 Figure 6 Figure 7 Figure 8 Fin-de-siecle Ceramics 171 Figure 9 Figure 10 Figure 11 172 Melinda Mitu Figure 12 Figure 13 Figure 14 CLAUDIA M. BONȚA1 A SELECTIVE OVERVIEW OF THE ACTIVITY OF THE HISTORY DEPARTMENT FROM THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF TRANSYLVANIAN HISTORY IN CLUJ-NAPOCA 2013-2016 Abstract: This paper provides a general overview of the activity of the History Department from the National Museum of Transylvanian History in the period 2013-2016, listing a series of exhibitions organised by the specialists of this department, their research activity and exploitation of the museum’s heritage, the work carried out in the warehouses, as well as the general effort of modernising the museum. Keywords: heritage, research, history, museum, exhibitions * In this period the main exhibition remained temporarily closed in order to make possible the modernisation of the building of the National Museum of Transylvanian History and its exhibition spaces. The systematic work of verifying the museum’s heritage continued, in parallel with the program of museum digitisation. The inventory records and individual artefacts were verified. A series of activities of preventive conservation and of verifying the artefacts in the warehouses of the History Department were conducted. All the specialists of the History Department participated in the work carried out in the deposits of the museum: moving items, cleaning the deposits, arranging and relocating artefacts, reorganising some storage modules in the halls. In addition to this, the specialists of the History Department collaborated towards the preparation of several versions for the project of reorganising the main exhibition, suggesting themes and display structures for the exhibition spaces. The topics of scientific research continued to be structured mainly around several major research themes: Transylvanian Heritage - European Heritage; Culture and Civilisation in 1 PhD, Museum curator, National Museum of Transylvanian History, Cluj-Napoca, email bonta.claudia@mnit.ro. 174 Claudia M. Bonța Transylvania; State and Society in Medieval Transylvania (twelfth-fourteenth centuries); Political and Cultural Relations between Transylvania, Wallachia and Moldova during the Medieval Period; The History of Transylvania in the Late Nineteenth Century and the Early Twentieth Century (up until the Union of 1918); The Architecture of Transylvania in the Medieval, Early Modern and Modern Periods; Art History and Decorative Arts; Romanian- Italian Cultural and Political Relations (nineteenth-twentieth centuries); Numismatics, Phaleristics; The History of Transylvania in the Twentieth Century; Ethnicity and Confession in Cluj in the Twe.fth-Twentieth Centuries. A Model of Religious Tolerance; Conservation - Restoration of Cultural Heritage. The research resulted in a series of scientific papers, books, catalogues, studies and specialised articles published and/or presented at national and international conferences. Exhibitions. 2013: German Fine Faience in the National Museum of Transylvanian History Collections; Testimonies of the First World War in the National Museum of Transylvanian History Collections; Weapons from the Collections of the National Museum of Transylvanian History. Collaborations: Collections and collectors. 3D Images at the beginning of the twentieth century. Stereoscopic Photography, the National Museum of the Union, Alba Iulia; The Middle Ages. A colourful background. Coats of arms and seals from Szekler Land, the History Museum in Miercurea Ciuc; Far from Ararat. Armenian Culture in the Carpathian Basin (Tăvol az Ararăttol. Ormeny kultura a Kărpăt-medenceben), the History Museum of Budapest, the Szechenyi National Library; Lvmen est omen. The art, history and spirituality of artificial lighting, the Ethnographic Museum of Transylvania, Cluj-Napoca. 2014: Old- fashioned diary. Ball dress; Remembering the Great War 1914-2014; The art of Transylvanian soldering in the sixteenth-nineteenth centuries: function and iconography; A different kind of war. Moments of “peace” on the front in Northern Italy. Collaborations: Relics of the Revolution. Gabor Aron (1814-1849), the Szekler National Museum in Sfântu Gheorghe; Feminine charm & Co., the County Museum in Baia Mare. 2015: DE VITA CAESARUM - Great emperors in the phaleristic art of Christian Wermuth (1661-1739); Napoleon Bonaparte. A life illustrated in medals. Collaborations: It Happened and It Could Have Happened... Memorial exhibition dedicated to the architect Makovecz Imre, Hungarian Academy of Fine Arts in Budapest (Magyar Muveszeti Akademia), the “Cluj Treasure” Association; Relics of the Revolution of 1848, the “Haâz Rezso” Museum in Odorheiu Secuiesc, the Szekler National Museum, Sfântu Gheorghe, the “Incze Lâszlo” Museum of the A Selective Overview of The Activity of The History Department 175 History of Guilds in Târgu Secuiesc, the Town Hall of Odorheiu Secuiesc; The Great War in Pictures, the Culture House of Cluj-Napoca, the Cluj of Yore Association; Friends and Partners in Arms, the “King Ferdinand I” National Military Museum, Bucharest; Jakobovits Miklos (1936-2012), the Museum of Art Cluj-Napoca, the Union of Armenians from Romania, the Armenology Institute of Babeș-Bolyai University; The First 50 Years. The posters of the Hungarian Theatre of Cluj - highlights of a vocational activity, Academy Library, Cluj-Napoca, the Institute for the History of Hungarian Literature UBB; The European Cultural Heritage: Herend, the Porcelain Manufacture of Herend, Hungary, the Museum of Art Cluj-Napoca, the “Cluj Treasure” Association. 2016: The Cluj / Kolozsvăr / Klausenburg 700. The privileges of the city of Cluj; Hoard - The Bishopric of Tulcea; Workshop of Ebru water painting; In Memoriam. Emperor Franz Joseph I (1830-1916). Collaborations: Traian Vuia - a pioneer of world aviation, ARPIA - Cluj branch; The Great Decade of Theatre Troops in Cluj (1837-1847), Academy Library, Cluj-Napoca, the Institute for the History of Hungarian Literature UBB; Antonia de Gerando and Women’s Education in Transylvania, the Association of the Transylvanian Museum, the Museum and the National Institute of Theatre History in Budapest; Smaranda Brăescu - 85 years since the world record for female parachute height jump, ARPIA - Cluj branch; The Masters of the Fortress of Făgăraș, the “Valer Literat” Museum of the Land of Făgăraș; Romania in the Great War, the National Museum of Romanian History; The Great War (1914-1918) and Personalities from Dej, The Municipal Museum in Dej; The Treasures of Romania, the National Museum of Romanian History, etc. Publications. The following publications appeared in the series Biblioteca Mvsei Napocensis: Claudia M. Bonța, Baroque Influences in Central-European Medal Study. 17h - 18h Centuries, Cluj-Napoca, Ed. Argonaut, Mega, 2013; Livia Călian, Transylvanian Medals from the Esterhazy and Delhaes Collections (Seventeenth-Nineteenth Centuries), Cluj- Napoca, Ed. Argonaut, Symphologic Publishing, 2013; the catalogue Melinda Mitu, Ovidiu Muntean Rememorând Marele Război 1914-2014/ Remembering the Great War 1914-2014, Cluj-Napoca, Ed. Mega, 2014. In the period 2013-2016, the yearbook of the museum’s History Department, ACTA MVSEI NAPOCENSIS, the series Historica, published three issues, as follows: Acta Mvsei Napocensis, 50/II, Cluj-Napoca, Editura Argonaut, 2013; Acta Mvsei Napocensis, 51/II, Cluj-Napoca, Editura Argonaut, 2014; Acta Mvsei Napocensis, 52/II, Cluj-Napoca, Editura Argonaut, 2015. 176 Claudia M. Bonța Scientific articles published by the members of the History Department in the period under review: Horațiu Bodale, The Loyalty towards the House of Habsburg in the case of the Romanians from Transylvania and the Italians from the Lombard-Venetian Kingdom (1850- 1866), Transylvanian Review, vol. XXII, Supplement No. 2, 2013, pp. 75-88. Horațiu Bodale, The typology of political thinking of Giuseppe Mazzini in the Romanian area: C.A. Rosetti, in Giordano Altalozzi, Cornel Sigmirean (eds.), Il Risorgimento Italiano e i Movimenti Nazionali in Europa. Dal modello italiano alla realtă dell'Europa centro-orientale, Roma, Edizioni Nuova Cultura, 2013, pp. 153-164. Horațiu Bodale, The Center-Periphery Relation Reflected at the Level of Connections between the Austrian Central Institutions and those from the Lombardo-Venetian Kingdom between 1850-1866, in Anuarul Institutului “George Barițiu”, Supplement, 2013, LII, ISSN-L 2344-2107, pp. 329-335. Claudia M. Bonța, Episodes of the Italian Risorgimento in Graphics from Cluj Museum ’s Heritage, in Giordano Altalozzi, Cornel Sigmirean (eds.), Il Risorgimento Italiano e i Movimenti Nazionali in Europa. Dal modello italiano alla realtă dell’Europa centro- orientale, Roma, Edizioni Nuova Cultura, 2013, pp. 256-286. Claudia M. Bonța, Elemente arhitectonice în medalistica central-europeană. Secolele XVII-XVIII, in Studii de Istoria Artei. Volum omagial dedicat profesorului Nicolae Sabău, Cluj-Napoca, Editura Argonaut, 2013, pp. 156-167. Claudia M. Bonța, Reprezentări mitologice în medalistica barocă, in Ars Transsilvaniae, XXIII/2013, Cluj-Napoca, Ed. Academiei Române, 2013, pp. 175-190. Claudia M. Bonța, Conjuncturi astrale în medalistica barocă, in Studia Universitatis Babeș- Bolyai Historia Artium, LVIII, 1/2013, Cluj-Napoca, Ed. Cluj University Press, 2013, pp. 65- 74. Claudia M. Bonța, Transilvania în imagini pitorești și originale. Studiu de caz, in Revista Bistriței, XXVIII, Ed. Accent, Bistrița, 2014, pp. 266-274. Claudia M. Bonța, The Restoration of a Corner Stove Tile, in Acta Mvsei Napocensis, the series Historica, 52/II, 2015, Cluj-Napoca, Editura Argonaut, 2016, pp. 236-243. Claudia M. Bonța, Reprezentări heraldice în medalistica barocă, in Studia Universitatis Babeș-Bolyai Historia Artium, vol. LXI, 1/2016, Cluj-Napoca, Ed. Cluj University Press, 2016, pp. 49-66. Claudia M. Bonța, Historical Engravings from Museal Collections in Acta Mvsei Napocensis 53/II, 2016, Cluj- Napoca, Editura Argonaut, pp. 135-145. Claudia M. Bonța, Graphic Accounts about Student Life in 19th-Century Germany, in Crossing Borders: Insights into the Cultural and A Selective Overview of The Activity of The History Department 177 Intellectual History of Transylvania (1848-1948), eds. Carmen Andraș, Cornel Sigmirean, Editura Argonaut-Cluj-Napoca, Romania, Symphologic Publishing - Gatineau, Canada, 2016, pp. 118-131. Claudia M. Bonța, Tudor Tomescu, The Restoration of ceramic pot from Roman Period, in Acta Mvsei Napocensis, the series Historica, 50/II, Cluj-Napoca, Editura Argonaut, 2013, pp. 293-296. Mihâly Melinda, Monumente funerare neoclasice în lapidariul Muzeului Național de Istorie a Transilvaniei, in Studii de istoria artei. Volum omagial dedicat profesorului Nicolae Sabău, eds. Vlad Țoca et alii, Cluj-Napoca, 2013, pp. 278-291. Mihâly Melinda, The Reformed Church from Sfăraș (Sălaj County) in Acta Mvsei Napocensis, 51/II, Cluj-Napoca, Editura Argonaut, 2014, pp. 69-84. Mihâly Melinda, Nehăny Ijonnan elokerult kolozsvări keso reneszănsz kofaragvănyrol, in Certamen. Eloadăsok a Magyar Tudomăny Napjăn az Erdelyi Muzeum-Egyesulet I. szakosztălyăban, no. II, red. Egyed Emese, Bogdândi Zsolt, Weisz Attila, Cluj-Napoca, 2015, pp. 377-382. Melinda Mitu, Reciprocal images and attitudes from Wallachia and Transylvania during the epoch of Matei Basarab and the Răkoczy Princes, in Acta Mvsei Napocensis, 51/II, Cluj- Napoca, Editura Argonaut, 2014, pp. 9-22. Melinda Mitu, Cultural Relations between Wallachia and Transylvania in the Age of Matei Basarab and the Răkoczy Princes, in Acta Mvsei Napocensis (Historica), 52/II, Cluj-Napoca, Editura Argonaut, 2015 (2016), pp. 44-54. Ovidiu Muntean, Photography and History. The Photographic camera collection of the National Museum of Transylvanian History, in Acta Musei Napocensis, 50/II, Historica, 2013. Ovidiu Muntean, Pași în înregistrarea, reproducerea și vizualizarea imaginilor, in Colecții și colecționari. Imagine 3D la începutul sec. XX. Fotografia stereoscopică (ed. Ionela Mircea), Alba-Iulia, Editura Altip, 2013, pp. 27-30. Ovidiu Muntean, Mărturii despre Aurel Vlaicu în colecțiile Muzeului Național de Istorie a Transilvaniei, in Țara Bârsei no. 12, Brașov, 2013, pp. 324-332. Ovidiu Muntean, Arme și sigilii din perioada revoluției pașoptiste în colecția Muzeului Național de Istorie a Transilvaniei, in În Semn de biruință. La 190 de ani de la nașterea lui Avram Iancu (1824-1872). Patrimoniul muzeal în slujba regăsirii istoriei, (ed. Ionela Mircea), Alba-Iulia, Editura Altip, 2014, pp. 157-175. Ovidiu Muntean, Pagini din memorialistica militarilor români din armata austro-ungară în Primul Război Mondial. Mihai But - Carte de aducere-aminte 1914-1915, in Acta Musei Napocensis, the series Historica, no. 52/II, 2015, Cluj-Napoca, Editura Argonaut, 2016, pp. 149-189. 178 Claudia M. Bonța Claudia M. Bonța, Ovidiu Muntean, Faianță fină germană în colecțiile Muzeului Național de Istorie a Transilvaniei din Cluj-Napoca. Secolul XIX, in Magazin Istoric, no. 2, February 2014, pp. 55-56. Claudia M. Bonța, Ovidiu Muntean, The Collection of Fine Faience Earthenware from the National Museum of Transylvanian History in Cluj-Napoca, in Acta Mvsei Napocensis, the series Historica, 51/II, Cluj-Napoca, Editura Argonaut, 2014, pp. 155-175. Conferences, symposiums, national and international seminars. Among the main scientific events attended by the specialists of the History Department are: Transylvania in the Eighteenth-Twentieth Centuries. Memoirs, Correspondence, Travelogues, Bistrița, December 2013; Hungarian Science Day in Transylvania, Cluj, November 2013, The Land of Bârsa, twelfth edition, Brașov, May 2013; Europeana 1914-1918. Digitisingphotos, letters and memories 100 years after the outbreak of the First World War, Cluj - Napoca, October 2013; Fiatal Muveszettorteneszek Konferenciâja (Conference of Young Art Historians), IV, October 2013; Academic Days of Cluj, Cluj-Napoca, June 2014; The Land of Bârsa - War Correspondence, Brașov, May 2014; The Centenary of the First World War, Cluj-Napoca, July 2014; Imperi e nazioni nell’Europa centro-orientale alla vigilia della prima Guerra mondiale, Cluj-Napoca, February 2014; The Eternal Memory of the Ephemeral. The protection of the patrimony of historic cemeteries. The 429th anniversary of the establishment of Hajongard (Central) cemetery, Cluj-Napoca, 2014; The Land of Bârsa - Cultural dynasties, Brașov, April, 2015; Academic Days of Cluj, Cluj-Napoca, May 2015; Politics and Governance in the Romanian Space (seventeenth-twentieth centuries), Bucharest, May 2015; The First World War, Berlin, January 2015; The National Congress of Romanian Historians, Cluj-Napoca, August 2016; Borders of Modernity. Cultural and Intellectual transfers - Frontierele Modernității. Transferuri culturale și intelectuale, Târgu Mureș, May 2016. The specialists of the History Department were the organisers of the National Conference The Central Powers and Romania’s entry into the First World War, Cluj-Napoca; December 2016. Other activities. Documentation work was carried out in archives, libraries, museums; archival funds and specialised bibliography were studied. There were conducted a series of collective research projects and research workshops. The specialists of the History Department acted as guides in exhibitions, provided cultural goods expertise, granted advice A Selective Overview of The Activity of The History Department 179 and specialised assistance to students from the faculties of history, archaeology, art history, architecture, but also to specialists in the field of history and art history from Romania and abroad. They engaged in permanent actions of preventive conservation, in collaboration with the museum’s Restoration Laboratory. Editorial and proofreading activities were carried out for the publication of the three issues of the museum’s yearly journal, Acta Mvsei Napocensis, the Historica series. The staff of the department were actively involved in organising the European festival Night of museums, the editions of 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and of specific events, such as the Open Day at NMTH or the Artefact of the Month at NMTH. The collections and museum activities were popularised through information materials about the exhibitions and the museum’s collections, through special thematic guides, through interviews given by the specialists of the History Department in the written press, on television and on the radio. In addition to research on and exploitation of the museum’s heritage, the staff of the History Department participated in specific inventory-compiling activities: general inventories, inventories of fixed assets, sectorial inventories. The staff of the History Department worked in four committees of heritage inventory and verification: the Coin Cabinet Commission, the Commission of Medieval History, the Commission of Modern History and Museum History, and the Commission of Contemporary History. Regular organisational activities were carried out in the deposits of the department: inputs and outputs of museum artefacts, records of proceedings, sorting, packing, labelling of cultural goods, solving the detected inventory problems, incorrect topographic positions, illegible inventory numbers, etc. An intense effort was made towards the creation of a database of the digital images of the cultural assets that were verified and inventoried in registers N, F, M, C and C1. The museum heritage was enriched during this period with a series of cultural goods from the category of documents - letters, papers, photographs, patents, albums, journals, as well as with a series of artefacts, such as seals, decorations, medals, coins, badges etc. Reviews and Presentations Vasile Dobrescu, Adrian Onofreiu, Din istoricul instituțiilor de credit din județul Bistrița-Năsăud [On the History of Loan Institutions in Bistrița- Năsăud County] (1873-1940), Cluj-Napoca, Edit. Argonaut, 2018, ISBN 978- 973-109-759-6, 304 pp. This work is a valuable contribution to the financial-banking history of the area of Năsăud in the period 1873-1940. It is the fruit of a systematic effort of documentation and source interpretation, undertaken by two authors with extensive experience in researching the modern history of Transylvania, Professor Vasile Dobrescu from “Petru Maior” University in Târgu Mureș and Dr. Adrian Onofreiu, a researcher at SJAN Bistrița-Năsăud. As regards the structure of the volume, we are dealing with a collage of studies subsumed under a common topic: the history of loan institutions in the county of Bistrița-Năsăud. The paper begins naturally with a preface which, in fact, can be considered a self-standing, synthetic and analytical historical overview that aims to highlight the important role of the banking system in Transylvania, a system that was built in the period before the First World War primarily as an expression of economic associationism and for the purpose of consolidating the Romanian elites. We have to mention in this context a reality of those times: namely, the fact that, because of national-political divergences between various ethnic groups, there had also emerged, at this financial-banking level, a sort of more or less competitive separatism, each nation seeking to create their own banking system, as long as the fulfilment of their own economic, political and cultural projects was not possible without a source of capital and as long as the state allocated these resources according to often discriminatory criteria. In this way, not only Romanians, but also Slovaks, Croats, and Serbs, i.e. the non-Hungarian nations in the eastern regions of the Monarchy, sought 182 Reviews and Presentations to counterbalance the centralist and standardising projects of the Hungarian governments at the local level, including through the organisation and support of banks whose capital, often modest, came mostly from the financial resources of some large landowners, who made important financial contributions to the effort of founding numerous banking institutions; to these were added the financial resources of medium-sized landowners and rich peasants, sometimes of the local traders who had some capital and, last but not least, the financial and organisational contribution of local intellectuals from the so-called minor elites living in villages (lawyers, doctors, priests, teachers). From this perspective, banks were envisioned as steps capable of ensuring, in the first place, the resources for economic activities, avoiding lending dependency on the financial banking institutions of the competing nations, and as far as possible, avoiding too strong an interference of the state institutions in their own cultural, political and educational projects, while trying to finance these from their own resources. The authors show convincingly how the Romanian banks contributed, through their educational, cultural and philanthropic projects to strengthening the national political movement, and to the creation of a strong sense of community solidarity, beyond social and religious differences. I would also add, in this context, a reality that surprised the analysts of those times: the existence and functioning of a solid and well-articulated organic relationship between the leaders of the Romanian elite in Transylvania and the underlying, minor rural elites. The binding element between them, which ensured their communication, was this middle category, which we also find in this context of the establishment and functioning of the financial-banking sector. To arrive at an image of the Romanian loan system in the county of Bistrița-Năsăud around the year 1914, we should make some general clarifications. Occurring with a delay of a few decades compared to the Saxon and Hungarian banks, the Romanian banks managed, to a significant extent, to bridge these gaps through an exemplary Reviews and Presentations 183 mobilisation of institutional and capital resources. Thus, an analysis of the numerical evolution of the Romanian banks in Transylvania reveals the fact that the foundations of the Romanian financial-banking system in Transylvania, laid down in 1872 through the establishment of Albina Bank, were extended in the period 1885-1890, but the real period of expansion occurred after 1900, so much so that, on the eve of the outbreak of the First World War, the Romanian banking system comprised 168 banking societies and 104 credit unions. The share capital of the 168 banking companies amounted to 20.77 million crowns, which represented about 2% of the value of the share capital of all the banks in the Hungarian part of the Monarchy (which had a registered capital of 1.4 billion crowns). However, it would be more correct to appreciate the place and the share of Romanian banks in Transylvania, in the specific context of the province, within the socio- economic frameworks in which they were created and conducted their activity. As regards the banks in the area under examination, the authors state that the 8 banks, together with the co-operative loan institutions, cumulated assets (not share capital) in the amount of approximately 9.5 million crowns (about 3.5% of the total assets of the Romanian banks in Transylvania in 1914). The volume contains 11 studies that address the evolution of the main loan institutions in the area of the present-day county Bistrița-Năsăud, taking into account the chronological order of their establishment, both in the period before the First World War and in the interwar period. The studies illustrate a remarkable effort of the documentation made by the authors. It is known that direct sources have often been preserved in fragments and are incomplete, so they have had to be supplemented with complementary information from the press of the time, with different statistical materials, memoirs and other indirect sources. As the authors specify each time, most of the studies contained in this volume were first published in various collective volumes or 184 Reviews and Presentations specialised journals. It is to be appreciated that they have all been brought together in a single volume to make them more easily accessible and, thus, to put them at the disposal of all those interested in an important facet of the history of this region, a historical region extremely consistently represented in the historiography of the last few decades, whether we speak of doctoral theses, monographs, studies, volumes of documents, or memoirs, etc. It should be noted that the texts brought together here provide not only data and elements for a reconstruction of the local financial-banking history; there are represented aspects of social history, sufficient elements for a history of the local economic elites and their actions of solidarity in the context of the national movement, the efforts for achieving the Union of 1918, etc. From reading the book we also find out that the involvement of the local elites sheds light, like in other parts of Transylvania (a fact already demonstrated by the studies of Professor Dobrescu), on the existence of a plurality of functions and roles assumed by the members of the same elite that pursued simultaneously several purposes: economic empowerment, or supporting the educational, cultural and political-national efforts. For all this, under the given circumstances, banks constituted an important interface. On the other hand, the concomitant involvement of the same members of the elite in several projects for the establishment and management of banks seems a paradoxical phenomenon from today’s perspective on strictly economic principles, based on competition and market control, but this has to be viewed primarily in terms of the purpose pursued at that time by these elites, whose ultimate strategy was their own consolidation as an elite group in relation to the other non-Romanian elites, providing the financial resources for lending to the small entrepreneurs, especially those in the rural world, and to the few traders, and ensuring, from the profit made by these banks, the completion of the Romanians’ educational, cultural, and political projects, at the local and regional levels. Reviews and Presentations 185 The studies also analyse the relationship between banks and their clients, presenting a few defining features for the way this relationship worked at that time. A specific feature of the Romanian financial-banking system in Transylvania is the fact that, although exhibiting a significant geographical density, banks functioned in a network and not necessarily in a classic competitive system in which only the most powerful can last, at the expense of the weak. We have to add that the mission of the banks included, in addition to the insurance of crediting the Romanian population in Transylvania, assuming a mission of educating the people in order to improve their material and cultural status, by promoting the idea of the usefulness of savings and of increasing monetary resources through interest rates, but also through the rational use of loans; these goals were explicitly formulated by the founders of the Romanian banks and recorded even in their statutes. On the other hand, an important cultural-philanthropic mission of the banks consisted in assigning a certain proportion of their net profit for this purpose (usually 5%). Then, the case studies presented in the volume show that in periods of crisis the majority of the loan institutions sought to adapt their crediting solutions to the concrete situation of their clients (reschedulings of loans, the payment of interest only under certain conditions, etc.) We also appreciate the multitude of quantitative data accompanying the studies, some as support of the arguments underlying historical research, others summarised in tables and annexes that propose to the readers and to those interested data of utmost importance for the investigation of multiple aspects of regional economic and social history. (Take, for example, the fairly detailed data on the socio-professional composition of those in the management structures of these banks; I myself, in my recent research on the Romanian financial-banking elites, have often turned to the research carried out by Professor Dobrescu and to the data his books and studies have introduced into the scientific circuit.) Any comparative perspective or foray 186 Reviews and Presentations into the financial-banking history of Transylvania in the modern era must take into account the data and interpretations in this volume. Last but not least, the studies presented here suggest and open up other possible themes and directions of historical research, so we are sure that this work will be frequently cited by historians, doing justice to its genuine value. Bistrița, 23 February 2018 Iosif Marin Balog Volker Wollmann, Un mileniu și jumătate de minerit aurifer la Roșia Montană [A Millennium and a Half of Gold Mining at Roșia Montană], București, DAR Development Publishing, 2017, ISBN 978-606-94409-0-2 The historian Volker Wollmann is among the few scholars conducting research on the history of mining in Romania. He is a diligent researcher of aspects pertaining to the pre-industrial and industrial historical heritage on the territory of Romania in the eighteenth-twentieth centuries. His research findings are included in studies and reference books dedicated to the subject. To give an example, he is the co-editor of the 11-volume collection entitled Silber und Salz in Siebenburgen (Bochum, the Deutsche Bergbau Museum, 1999-2010) - an editorial project of European significance - and the sole author of the 6 volumes gathered under the title Patrimoniu preindustrial și industrial în România [The Pre-industrial and Industrial Heritage of Romania] (Sibiu, Edit. Honterus, 2010-2017) - works that, in time, will themselves become heritage books, as many of the industrial architecture monuments they describe are slowly disappearing from Romania, surviving only between the covers of the studies authored by Volker Wollmann. This volume is exceptional both in terms of its outstanding graphic appearance and especially of its content. It amounts to a historical monograph dedicated to over 1500 years of gold mining at Roșia Montană, a history that is remarkably well synthesised in the 312 pages of the book. Quite a lot has been written about Roșia Montană in recent years. This subject even became a topic of intense controversy and public debate at the time when the prospect of SC Gold Corporation relaunching gold mining here through the method of cyanidation loomed large. In the very first chapter of the study, the author states that the history of Roșia Montană became of interest when the above- mentioned gold-mining company was bound by the contractual provisions necessary for the pre-approval of its gold exploitation venture to carry out rescue archaeological investigations, for which it allocated significant 188 Reviews and Presentations financial resources. To these were added studies on the history of architecture, ethnological and demographic research, etc. which were published in several specialised volumes. In his turn, the author presents in detail the historiography and documentary sources relating to mining exploitations at Roșia Montană since ancient times (from when the famous wax tablets discovered in the nineteenth century date) to more recent sources, including: the very rich mineralogical- geological literature of the eighteenth-nineteenth centuries or the archival funds containing numerous documents about Roșia Montană and the mining practised here. In fact, some of the most relevant documents from the Archive of the Treasury of Transylvania and from the Cluj Directorate of Mining have been previously published by the same author in volume no. V of the collection Silber und Salz in Siebenburgen. The author tackles the history of mining at Roșia Montană from a chronological perspective, starting from the Roman and post-Roman periods and continuing with the Middle Ages in the principality. The period of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries is approached across a significant number of pages (pp. 90-270), which can be explained by the multitude of existing sources that are exploited to the full. Naturally, the evolution of mining is examined closely in line with the political and macro-economic realities of the time, to which the author pays considerable attention, analysing each of the relevant factors that marked this evolution. For example, it is obvious that the establishment of the Austrian administration in Transylvania, sanctioned by the Leopoldine Diploma of 1691, launched a new stage in the development of gold mining in Transylvania. Conducting a rigorous and systematic evaluation of the situation of mining and the problems it faced, the authorities in Vienna took then concrete steps for reorganising it on a new basis, in the spirit of the economic policies and conceptions of those times; as is known, one of these, mercantilism, enjoyed a systematic and consistent implementation in the Reviews and Presentations 189 Habsburg Empire. It is worth mentioning, in this context, the actions for the revival of mining during the reign of Maria Theresa, both at the legislative, institutional level, and by sending eminent specialists who could evaluate the situation in Transylvania and propose efficient measures for boosting mining activities. There were also a series of investments made directly by the state. In this context, Roșia Montană enjoyed a special attention. The author describes and reconstructs in detail, on the basis of documents, all the efforts and investments made here by the Erarium. It is worth mentioning just three of them, as they were to influence strongly the dynamics of mining activities for more than a century, whether we are talking of mining practised by the state or conducted by private mining companies. Thus, in 1746 extensive work was conducted for opening the Holy Trinity main gallery in Cârnic; at the same time with significant investments were made for opening gold mining exploitations at Săcărâmb or to expand the one in Băița. Also in Roșia Montană, the redevelopment and expansion of Tăut in Orlea provided increased energy-production opportunities for the operation of stamp mills in the area, including private ones. The reality was that of a steady increase in the annual production of gold. Similarly, in 1782 the opening by the Erarium of the Orlea Gallery marked a new turning point in the evolution of mining at Roșia Montană. Minute details and technical data are presented, with reference to all these works which, alongside other administrative measures, were intended to support and enhance the local mining activities. Along the same lines, the authorities in Vienna granted particular importance to the long- term boosting of mining activities in the whole area of the Apuseni Mountains, through measures for reconfirming the old individual and the collective privileges for miners. Since servitude had an important share in agriculture and mining in Transylvania, including on the erarial domains in the area of the Apuseni Mountains, the state was directly involved, taking measures in favour of the mining serfs. These had to be protected from their 190 Reviews and Presentations masters, the feudal lords, who permanently attempted to impose new obligations upon them, both upon those who worked mainly in agriculture, and upon those that, theoretically, earned a living from mining and had no obligations to the feudal landowners. A substantial chapter is dedicated to the evolution of mining in the period 1850-1867, when again significant changes occurred at Roșia Montană. They were primarily of a technical nature and were the result of investments made by the state: the investments in the Orlea gallery, the construction of new stamp mills at Gura Roșiei, etc. All of which are thoroughly reconstituted by the author. There were also institutional and legislative measures, two of which should be mentioned: the Mining Law from 1854, a statute of exceptional importance because along with other legislative measures regulating industry and commerce, it profoundly influenced economic life at the regional level. First of all, rules and administrative practices were standardised in the field of mining, thus ensuring a much higher consistency and stability. The new Mining Law from 1854 regulated in detail the conditions for opening exploitations and for the transfer of ownership, stipulating the rights to use movable and immovable property specific to the field of mining. Another change was caused by the abandonment of the old privileges and tax practices, many of them incoherent and erratic, and by the introduction of a system based on the principle of the proportionate taxation, according to the income, of all categories of taxpayers, even though this led to a considerable increase in the value of taxation. These measures, together with the liberalisation of the gold market, gave a new impetus to mining in the area. The patent of October 24, 1856, enforceable in all the provinces, lifted the obligation of delivering gold and silver exclusively at the state’s gold redemption offices and led to a growing interest in the exploitation of gold in Reviews and Presentations 191 the area, a phenomenon that was also reflected in the higher number of concessions granted to individuals. The chapter that makes reference to the developments of the period 1867-1914 reveals the oscillating evolution of the mining activities at Roșia Montană, determined, of course, by the macro-economic circumstances, but especially by the local conditions. The most important of these was that of water resources, necessary for the operation of stamp mills - which influenced the production depending on climatic conditions. The author treats in detail the effects of the introduction of electricity for the facilities at Roșia Montană. Electric power , the main source of energy of the second industrial revolution, led to the adoption of technologies with increased efficiency: ore transportation, “Californian”-style stamp mills, etc. Detailed descriptions are provided of all the technical facilities that used electricity as a source of power. The author’s conclusions show, however, that the data on the production of gold and silver were not reflected directly in the introduction of modern techniques, at least not in the period after 1905. A special chapter is dedicated to the social effects of gold mining at Roșia Montană: the author insists on the situation of public health services in the area, subsidised by the state since the eighteenth century. Summary data are presented about the denominational and state schools in Roșia Montană. Interesting data are offered about the churches and ecclesiastical architecture of Roșia Montană, a multi-confessional community par excellence in a place where, ever since the eighteenth century there have existed no less than 5 churches of different denominations. The chapter includes very accurate and detailed data on the architecture of these places of worship, accompanied by suggestive images. As a matter of fact, images of exceptional quality are used for illustrating the entire volume, increasing its attractiveness. Thus, as usual, Volker Wollmann offers readers a high quality editorial product on a subject that remains of interest not only for historiographers, but 192 Reviews and Presentations also for society at large, as long as the reopening of gold mining in Roșia Montană is still a matter of interest and has an important stake. The style is the one that has consecrated the historian Wollmann in all of the works he has published: meticulousness, a concern for conveying data and details as accurately as possible, the clarity of ideas. This is because he is not only a good archaeologist, legitimised as such by his doctoral thesis, but also a perfect connoisseur of the languages of his sources (Latin, German). His research reveals a real cult for archive documents, remarkably expressed by the volume under our consideration. To this is added his specialised knowledge of mining technologies, architecture and the history of architecture etc. We salute this effort and also wish to congratulate the editors of the volume, Ana Dumitran and Valentin Deleanu, who have ensured that the work is printed in outstanding graphic conditions in the Bibliotheca Mvsei Apvlensis XXV collection. Iosif Marin Balog CONTRIBUTORS Alexandru Madgearu, Ph. D. Scientific researcher at Institute for Defence Studies and Military History, 6 Constantin Mille St., București, 010141, Romania, e-mail: amadgearu@yahoo.com Victor V. Vizauer, Ph. D. Scientific researcher at George Bariț Institute of History, the Romanian Academy, 12-14 Kogălniceanu St., Cluj-Napoca, 400084, Romania, e-mail: vviki200@yahoo.com Mihai Florin Hasan, Ph. D. Orthodox Theological Seminary, 18 Avram Iancu Square, Cluj-Napoca 400117, România, e-mail: hasanmihai@gmail.com Paula Virag, Ph. D. Museum curator at County Museum of Satu Mare, 21 Vasile Lucaciu St., Satu-Mare 440031, România, e-mail: pcvirag@gmail.com Robert Olâh Gal, Ph.D. Lecturer at Sapientia Hungarian University of Transylvania, Faculty of Economics, Socio-Human Sciences and Engineering, Miercurea-Ciuc, 530104, România, e-mail: olahgalrobert@uni.sapientia.ro Nicolae Teșculă, Ph.D. Manager at Sighișoara History Museum, 1 Muzeului Sq., Sighișoara, 545400, Romania, e-mail: nicolaetescula@yahoo.com 194 Horațiu Bodale, Ph.D. Museum curator at National Museum of Transylvanian History, 2 Constantin Daicoviciu St., Cluj-Napoca 400020, România, e-mail: horatiumus@yahoo.com Ovidiu Muntean, Ph. D. Museum curator at National Museum of Transylvanian History, 2 Constantin Daicoviciu St., Cluj-Napoca 400020, România, e-mail: ovidiu2505@yahoo.com Veronica Turcuș, Ph. D. Scientific researcher at George Bariț Institute of History, the Romanian Academy, 12-14 Kogălniceanu St., Cluj-Napoca, 400084, Romania, e-mail: vturcus@yahoo.it Șerban Turcuș, Ph. D. Professor at the Faculty of History and Philosophy, Babeș - Bolyai University, 1 Kogălniceanu St., Cluj-Napoca 400084, Romania, e-mail: serbanturcus@yahoo.it Benko Levente, M.A. student Editor of the cultural journal “ Muvelodes ”, Cluj-Napoca, 11 Unirii Sq., Cluj-Napoca, 400015, Romania, e-mail: benkolevente@gmail.com Melinda Mitu, Ph.D. Museum curator at National Museum of Transylvanian History, 2 Constantin Daicoviciu St., Cluj-Napoca 400020, România, e-mail: mitu_meli@yahoo.com Claudia M. Bonța, Ph. D. Museum curator at National Museum of Transylvanian History, 2 Constantin Daicoviciu St., Cluj-Napoca 400020, România, e-mail: bonta.claudia@mnit.ro 195 Iosif Marin Balog, Ph.D. Scientific researcher at George Bariț Institute of History, the Romanian Academy, 12-14 Kogălniceanu St., Cluj-Napoca, 400084, Romania, e-mail: iosif_balog@yahoo.de