Kenyeres István (szerk.): Urbs. Magyar Várostörténeti Évkönyv XV. - Urbs 15. (Budapest, 2021)
Abstracts
Abstracts 415 However, these did not lead to instant ideological, cultural, and religious decay. The strengthened cultural networks of the late mediaeval period, which connected the Hungarian Kingdom to the rest of Europe, continued to operate and were expanded with new elements after the Reformation. The most important elements in this network were doubtless the German-speaking urban citizens, who had especially tight economic and family relations with Southern Polish, Moravian, Silesian, Austrian towns. Through them the most modem intellectual movements not only got to Hungary but found a fertile ground to prosper. My research focuses on the history of the once Upper Hungarian free royal town of Bártfa (Bardejov), which is now in Slovakia. One of the most important people bom here was Leonhard Stöckel, who - after his studies in Wittenberg - returned to his hometown and headed the school in Bártfa following the Melanchtonian model. In addition to teaching, Leonhard Stöckel wrote several works, mainly for educational purposes, most of which were published posthumously, while a smaller part remained in manuscript form. Although Stöckel did not write a separate book about the system of government, unlike his former teacher and friend Valentin Eck, from some chapters of his work it can be reconstructed what he thought about governance and about the tasks and responsibilities of the magistrate. The teachings of the schoolmaster from Bártfa about governance and state follow the track of thought of Melanchthon. Although these principles could not be fully implemented in the governance of the city, they served as a kind of benchmark for the city leaders. Attila Tózsa-Rigó The Lobbying and Communication Strategy of Pozsony in the Light of the Urban Tribute Gifts (1525-1543) In the period after 1526, the effective advocacy and lobbying strategy was of great importance to the towns of the Hungarian Kingdom. The town account-books (Kammerbücher) of Pozsony serve as an excellent source base for the examination of this issue. From among the data of the mentioned source, the so-called tribute gifts are particularly relevant for the analysis of the theme. The town chamberlain accurately recorded how much money and for what purpose the town spent on “gifts”. Most often these were given to the members of the political élite, to the officials of the central government, high-ranking military commanders, diplomats, or councillors of other towns. These gifts (on average 40-45 annually, during the second half of the period under examination 45-50 items) amounted only to 1-5% of the total annual budget, but considering their
