Medieval Nobility

Zwischen Familie und Kirche. Geistliche Fürstensöhne im spätmittelalterlichen Reich, in: Identität und Gemeinschaft. Vier Zugänge zu Eigengeschichten und Selbstbildern institutioneller Ordnungen, ed. Mirko Breitenstein/Julia Burkhardt/Stefan Burkhardt/Jörg Sonntag (Vita regularis. Abhandlungen 67), Berlin 2015, S. 189-209.

Elenco dei titoli napoletani concessi tra il 1458 e il 1860, con i riconoscimenti successivi; 2016 schede nelle quali sono riportati nel dettaglio le concessioni, notizie storiche sugli insigniti o le famiglie, la successione, dati sui riconoscimenti e sugli attuali detentori. Presentazione di Francesco Sanseverino di Marcellinara, Presidente del Corpo della Nobiltà Italiana. 230 pagine, 31x24 cm, brossura, Claudio Grenzi Editore, Foggia 2015. Non più disponibile presso l'autore e l'editore.

Until now unpublished book review on Tim de Ridder & Epko Bult (red.) 2014. 'Graven in Holland. De hoven van de Hollandse graven tot
het einde van de 13 e eeuw in vergelijkend perspectief '. In: Westerheem, het tijdschrift voor de Nederlandse archeologie, Special nr. 3, september 2014. ISSN 016 6 4301.

Cérémonies d’intronisation : jour de fête à travers les premières entrées épiscopales et les couronnements ducaux en Bretagne
Déroulé de ces cérémonies : principales étapes, persistances & changements
Focalisation sur les traces laissées dans la production artistique et les offices prééminenciers

... der Entwicklung des Deutschen Ordens im Mittelalter', in: ZH Nowak, ed., Ritterorden und Region ... Würzburg, 1958) 255-271; idem, 'Die inneren Wandlungen des Deutschen Ritterordens', in: Geschichte ... 11 Verder heeft Sonja Neitmann, die voor de catalogus het voor Lijfland zo ...

Monografie se zabývá historií posledních příslušníků jednoho z předních českých panských rodů. První z nich, Jan IV. Kruhlata z Michalovic patřil k vůdčím osobnostem severočeského protihusitského odporu. Jeho syn a poslední příslušník rodu, Jindřich II. Kruhlata z Michalovic patřil k dosud ne zcela doceněné skupině českých pánů "pod jednou", kteří své služby poskytli mocenskému bloku Jiřího z Poděbrad a vytrvali s ním i později, coby králem, v bojích proti vnitřní opozici i vnějšímu nepříteli.

The paper discusses the potential of Historical Network Research (HNR) in Medieval Studies with a special focus on the problem of the availability of sources. In particular, it identifies three research fields in which HNR will be a most promising approach to provide valuable new insights into the mechanisms of medieval society and politics: genealogy, prosopography of clerical and academic elites and political history.

in: M. Düring / U. Eumann u.a. (Hgg.), Handbuch Historische Netzwerkforschung. Grundlagen und Anwendungen (Schriften des Kulturwissenschaftlichen Instituts Essen zur Methodenforschung, 1), Berlin u.a. 2016, S. 85-99.

Презентация доклада на 24-й международной научной конференцим студентов, аспирантов и молодых учёных «Ломоносов-2017».
В докладе рассматриваются историографический поиск и выделение высшего слоя нетитулованной англо-саксонской светской элиты накануне Нормандского Завоевания (1066 г.) по материалам XII века. Последовательно разбираются и критикуются попытки в рамках конституционной истории (Р. Рид и Д. Рофф) и аграрной истории (У. Стаббс и П. Кларк). Докладчик приходит к выводу, что данные гипотезы не подтверждаются известными источниками (Книга Страшного Суда и нормандские переводы англо-саксонского права XII в.) при непредвзятом анализе и требуют насильного прочтения известных текстов. В заключении делается предположение, что подобные построения – это отражение современных представлений об устройстве общества (в том числе и английского), где относительно чётко выделяются имущественные классы.

A PowerPoint presentation at the 24th international academic student and young researcher's conference "Lomonosov-2017".
The presentation analyses the historiographical search for an upper layer of the titleless Anglo-Saxon lay elite on the eve of the Norman Conquest (1066). The presentation's consecutive study reveals the flaws in the constitutional (by R. Reid and D. Roffe) and agrarian (W. Stubbs and P. Clarke) approaches to the problem. The author finds that such hypotheses do not find support from the extant sources (the Domesday Book and Norman translation of the Anglo-Saxon law) when reading without any preconceived notions. The conclusion supposes that this kind of search might be a reflection of the modern-day view of the society (including the English one) as composed of more or less clearly defined classes.

When Holland and Zeeland were integrated in the Burgundian personal union, the court of the count disappeared in these counties . Instead. a regional administrative machinery was set up. in which the govemor,later called stadholder; was the most important officer.In the first years of Burgundian rule in Holland and Zeeland, the office of stadholder took shape. The office was based on predecessors in both the two counties as well as being modelled after French-Burgundian examples. In Holland and Zeeland the office developed out of a situation of crisis and war and found its final form after an unsuccessful experiment with a non-noble president. The stadholder replaced the count of Holland, that is the Burgundian duke, in allrespects. He was his lieutenant general and the subjects of Holland and
Zeeland regarded him as such. With the court at a distance, the stadholder was the most important link between the duke and his counties . He spoke the language of both the duke and his subjects in Holland and Zeeland. Moreover, he was a trustee of the duke and an expert in matters of justice, war and diplomacy. But he was not only formally the most important link between the regional and the supra-regional administrative level. Through
relationships based on patronage and kinship, nearly all stadholders had strong ties with one or more persons at the court . Fundamentally, the regional administration, and especially the stadholder, was the link between the duke and his subjects. They were the perfect mediators between the Burgundian dukes with their ambitious plans on the one hand and the towns that wanted to keep their independence and privileges without paying too many subsidies, on the other. In a sense they were brokers who could provide their clients access to the patron (the duke). Through their formal and informal relations, they connected the central powers with regional and local interest groups.

Based on the written sources it can be presumed, that originally a royal village existed in the turn of 12th to 13th century. In the beginning of the 13th century most probably the king Andrew II. presented the village to the Aba family from Bodrogkereztúr for military services. In 1269 the Pud from the Abas lineage sold the “terra Smilno” for 30 marks of silver to Simon from Tekule lineage. This village (perhaps only a part of it) belonged to Tekule lineage from 1269 to 1435. The Tekule family after the purchase in the second half of the 13th century they faced problems about justifying this huge land, which borders are stated in the document from 1269. Based on that, in the years 1343 – 1347 false documents of Smilno were made to prove the year 1250 the first real document of the village existence. During the settlement of a Royal castle domain “Makovica” in the 14th century there were statements of border dispute with Makovica castellans and the Tekule owners of Smilno. The last statement about the Tekule being Smilno owners come from 1357. The Makovica castle domain belonged to the Anjou kings. It is possible that half of Smilno was a part of Makovica domain at that time as it is stated in in documents from the first half of the 15th century. Based on those documents Smilno at that time belonged to the Czudars, which owned the castle domain Makovica from 1364. The second half of Smilno most probably belonged to the Tekule. “The whole of Smilno” became part of the Makovica castle well after 1435, when the Tekule finally abandoned their (half) of asset to the Czudars. In 1470, the king donated the castle Makovica to the lords of Rozhanovce. In 1492 the Makovica castle belonged to the king Vladislaus II. of Hungary. King Vladislaus donated “Makovica” castle altogether with the villages to Imrich from Perín in 1506. The same king endorsed in 1514 an exchange of counties between Imrich and Sara the widow of Jan Torysky from Šarišske Sokolovce. Imrich gave Sara “Makovica” the castle domain, Smilno was a  part of it. The lords of Šarišske Sokolovce owned Makovica castle until 1526. According to the portal list from 1427 Smilno had 46 portae, and was one of the biggest and the most populated villages within Makovica castle domain in the first half of the 15th century. It is presumed that the church of Saint Stephen the king was built in Smilno at the end of the 13th century. The first reference of the church existence is dated to 1492 stating that a church made out of stone with a cemetery vicinity. In the Middle Age in the beginning of the 16th century the parish was in Smilno, which later on ceased and was moved to Zborov. After 1526 Makovica castle domain along with Smilno became an asset to Gašpar Šeredy a honest supporter of the Hapsburgs.

New evidence concerning a well-known knight in the 13th-century Duchy of Brabant shows that at the end of his life he became a conversus or lay-brother in the important cistercian abbey of Villers, altough he was married to a noble woman, Oda, who also choosed to be buried in Villers.

Dacosta, Arsenio. "Las fuentes de renta del linaje de Salazar: aportación al estudio de las haciendas nobiliarias en la Corona de Castilla durante la Baja Edad Media", in: José Ramón Díaz de Durana e Íñaki Reguera, eds. Lope García de Salazar, banderizo y cronista. Actas de las II Jornadas de Estudios Históricos "Noble Villa de Portugalete". ISBN 84-922974-5-X. Bilbao: Ayuntamiento de Portugalete, 2002, pp. 43-63.

SOMMAIRE: L'auteur fait I'analyse de la trajectoire d'une famille dont les bases d'affinnation sociopolitique sont fondées à la seconde moitié du quatorzi~me si~cle. SUMMARY: This is a study where we pretend to analyse the trajectory of a family whose bases of the social-political afinnation repose at the second half of the founeenth century. Este trabalho pretende analisar o comportamento de uma família da pequena nobreza, cuja trajectória reflete bem as aspirações e estratégias de defesa dos elementos deste escalão social frente ao conturbado contexto dos reinados de D. Fernando e D. João I. Observaremos duas gerações pertencentes a esta família, ainda que não haja explícita referência às relações de parentesco que os ligam, constituindo elemento comum entre os seus representantes o renome Abreu, o qual relaciona-se ao núcleo patrimonial que identifica este agrupamento familiar. Da primeira geração a ser analisada detectamos três indivíduos:

Serving the state. The regional officers of Holland and Zeeland in the Burgundian period (1425-1482).

This is a summary of my phd-thesis, a prosopographical study into the officers of the Council and Chambre des Comptes of Holland and Zeeland in the Burgundian period (1425-1482)

In de jaren 1425-1433 kreeg de Bourgondische hertog Filips de Goede via een diplomatiek en militair offensief de graafschappen Holland en Zeeland in handen. In dit boek beschrijf ik op welke manier de ambtenaren van de hoogste bestuurlijk-juridische en financiële instellingen van Holland en Zeeland, de Raad en de Rekenkamer, hebben bijgedragen aan de integratie van deze gewesten in de Bourgondische personele unie. In het eerste deel wordt onderzocht welke institutionele vernieuwingen het gewestelijk staatsapparaat onderging in de vijftiende eeuw en passeren alle ambtenaren de revue. In het tweede deel bekijk ik welke strategie de vorst volgde bij de recrutering van zijn ambtenaren en met welke middelen hij trachtte hun dienstbaarheid en loyaliteit te bevorderen. De intermediaire positie van de ambtenaren - ingeklemd tussen de belangen van de hertog en die van de onderdanen - is het onderwerp van het derde deel. In een bijlage zijn biografische notities van 170 ambtenaren opgenomen met gegevens over hun herkomst, familie, carrière en netwerk.

This paper explores the dissemination of seal usage among the Flemish noble elite throughout the twelfth century. Aristocratic seal culture in the county of Flanders was impacted by opposing external influences: Flanders enjoyed strong relations with both the Anglo-Norman realm, whose cross-Channel baronage became increasingly familiar with seals from 1100 onwards, and the German Empire, where seal usage remained strictly reserved for to the upper nobility well throughout the twelfth century. The study shows that most leading Flemish aristocrats already owned a seal matrix by 1140–1160, while lesser lords and knights gradually accessed seal ownership between 1180 and 1220/30. Flanders therefore appears to have been heavily influenced by Anglo-Norman attitudes towards seals, although the spreading process was delayed by half a century compared to England and Normandy. This was a regular process of downward social diffusion, that happened along the lines of internal stratification in Flemish aristocratic society. Emulation among peers played a key role, as did the imitation of more elevated members of the ruling elite. This was initiated by the counts of Flanders whose iconographical archetypes tellingly set the tone. By contrast, in some peripheral parts of the county, especially in “Imperial Flanders”, dominant noble families may have used seals to politically challenge comital overlordship.

L’opera esamina l’affermazione e lo sviluppo delle signorie territoriali in Sardegna tra XIII e XIV secolo attraverso l’esempio dei Malaspina, casato originario della Lunigiana, del quale vengono ricostruite le vicende politico-istituzionali, familiari e patrimoniali e analizzati gli elementi strutturali della signoria, mettendo alla luce strategie e pratiche del potere, tra innovazione e continuità, sullo sfondo del rinnovato dinamismo economico-sociale che caratterizza l’isola durante il basso medioevo. L’incastellamento malaspiniano incide sull’assetto economico-sociale e su quello insediativo, creando i presupposti per una signoria pervasiva in quanto anche inclusiva delle élites locali, le cui istanze, come quelle delle stesse comunità rurali e urbane, trovano accoglienza negli statuti e nei privilegi signorili.

En juin 1366, Amédée VI de  Savoie, dit le Comte Vert, s'embarque à Venise pour porter secours  à l'Empire  byzantin, de plus en  plus menacé par les Ottomans. Placée sous le patronage du pape Urbain V cette croisade sera surtout le fait du comte de Savoie, entouré des principaux nobles de ses Etats. Durant une année, les croisés vont remporter de  grands succès, effectuant notamment la reconquête de la ville de Gallipoli dans le  détroit des Dardanelles et  affrontant pertes humaines, épidémies et difficultés financières. Cet épisode  de l'histoire militaire  de la Maison de Savoie connu grâce à un document administratif exceptionnel, le compte de la croisade, tenu par un certain Antoine  Barbier. Toutes les recettes et toutes les dépenses sont enregistrées  sur un rouleau de parchemin d'environ 7o mètres, ce qui permet de suivre les périples de l'armée croisée, jour après jour, de Venise  aux rivages de la mer Noire. Du financement de l'expédition à  la composition et à l'organisation de l'armée et de sa  force navale, en passant par les manœuvres  diplomatiques, ce travail analyse en  profondeur un sujet qui n'a pour l'instant été abordé que sous son aspect événementiel.
Complétée par  d'autres documents administratifs et narratifs publiés en annexe, cette recherche est ainsi une contribution à l'histoire des croisades et à la persistance de cet idéal dans l'imaginaire aristocratique du  Moyen Age tardif.

This thesis studies “svenner” – armed servants, bailiffs and administrators – and service ideals in late medieval Sweden by using a variety of sources including payrolls, correspondence, charters and service instructions. The study argues that in order to reach an understanding of the relationship between lord and servant, and the complexity of service ideals, questions must be asked about for whom service was open, if there was competition, and what in that case was characteristic of the people and requirements that constituted the service.

The conclusion is that service was not open to all; loyalty and strong social bonds were crucial, while other capitals such as military competence and ancestry could increase the material and immaterial benefits of service. The social field was closely connected to the political field why those who intended to compete in the field had limited opportunities to influence the terms of service. Although serving the aristocracy could be beneficial in many ways, legislation and a deeply rooted service ideal held the feudal power relations firmly intact.

„Bertholds Kandidatur hat bei der Genese des Thronstreits möglicherweise eine nicht geringe Rolle gespielt. Natürlich ist eine solche ´Was wäre wenn´-Erwägung spekulativ. Ihr Reiz liegt aber darin, dass wir hier gewissermaßen einen politischen ´Schmetterlingseffekt´ erkennen können, wie er in komplexen Akteursnetzwerken zuweilen auftreten muss. Innerhalb eines passenden politischen Gesamtszenarios können relativ kleine Ursachen große Wirkungen haben. Es erscheint faszinierend, die Verstrickung der Zähringer in das komplexe Ereignisgewebe von 1198 zu beobachten und die Episode ihrer Thronkandidatur nicht einfach als überflüssiges, letztlich belangloses Element der Erzählung zu betrachten.“

Die Welfen in der »Historia Welforum«: Ihre Identifikation mit der süddeutschen Region und ihre Verortung im Reich, in: Legitimation von Fürstendynastien in Polen und im Reich. Identitätsbildung im Spiegel schriftlicher Quellen (12.-15. Jahrhundert) (Quellen und Studien des Deutschen Historischen Instituts, Bd. 32), hg. von GRISCHA VERCAMER / EWA WÓŁKIEWICZ, Wiesbaden 2016, S. 97-129.

У першай палове XVII ст. баяры складалі адну з груп насельніцтва ў маёнтку Старыца Капыльскага княства. У адрозненне ад зямян, яны не неслі ваеннай службы, а за карыстанне зямлёй плацілі чынш і выдавалі мёд на патрэбы маёнткавай гаспадаркі. Аднак пасля вайны 1654–1667 гг. баярская грамада ўвайшла ў склад зямянскай супольнасці. Пры гэтым жыхары некаторых былых баярскіх паселішчаў (Шылаўшчына), якія раней атрымалі зямянскі статус, ужо нічым не адрозніваліся ад традыцыйных зямян, у той час як для іншых баярскіх вёсак (Баркаўцы, Сычаўцы) пэўныя асаблівасці захоўваліся. Перш за ўсё, баярская адметнасць праяўлялася ў захаванні мядовай даніны, якая асобна патрабавалася ад жыхароў Баркаўцоў і Сычаўцоў да канца XVII ст. У XVIII ст. адрозненні, якія вылучалі былых баяр, сышлі ў нябыт. Жыхары Баркаўцоў і Сычаўцоў пачалі несці ваенную службу нароўні з іншымі зямянамі, таксама страціў значэнне абавязак выдачы імі мёду на карысць двара.

The paper deals with one of the aspects of the historiographical research of Nada Klaić, concerning problems of the social position of nobility in the County of Luka in the middle of the 14th century. At the time of establishment and for the duration of Angevin rule, this was geographically an area in the hinterland of Zadar, between the Adriatic coast and the river Zrmanja, the plateau of Bukovica, Skradin and the river Krka. Preserved sources offer evidence about the aforementioned area in a better and more systematic manner than about any other area of the Kingdom of Croatia (except, of course, about the coastal city municipalities). Accordingly, the first part of the paper examines the corpus of written historical sources used by Nada Klaić in her research and, further, discusses reasons why she did not use the records created by various chapters as loca credibilia (places of public trust) – which published, recorded and verified all types of public and private legal matters – especially the one of Zadar, which predominantly records the nobility of the County of Luka. The conclusion is related to the understanding of Nada Klaić – as well as her perception – of the so-called noble association “nobiles duodecim generationum regni Croatiae” as an institutionalised organization of nobility in the County of Luka, rather than as a very loose association of noble kindreds of the same interest. Thus the charters of the Chapter of Zadar were not of so much interest to her because they mention nobles as individuals and not the institutionalised association. The second part of the paper deals with some conclusions of Nada Klaić regarding the nobility of the County of Luka. Special attention is given to the understanding of the phrase veri nobiles in the 14th-century Kingdom of Croatia, some cases of causa vituperate nobilitatis, localisation of the association “nobiles duodecim generationum” and finally its relationship to the king Louis I of Hungary.
Key words: historiography, Nada Klaić, fourteenth century, medieval Croatia, County of Luka, nobility