Veres Gábor - Berecz Mátyás (szerk.): Hagyomás és megújulás - Életpályák és társadalmi mobilitás a végváriak körében - Studia Agriensia 27. (Eger, 2008)

MÉHES PÉTER: Egy végvár hétköznapjai. Élet a kiskomáromi várban Túrós Miklós vicekapitány (1642-1658) leveleinek tükrében

Péter Méhes

EVERYDAY LIFE AT A BORDER CASTLE

Life at Kiskomárom Castle as reflected in the letters of Vice Captain Miklós Túrós (1642-1658)

After the Turks had occupied Kanizsa Castle on 20th October 1600, in the midst of the Fifteen-Year War (1593-1606), and gone about organizing their next vilad’et, a buffer region had been set up in southern Transdanubia “to stand up to Kanizsa”, of which the castle at Kiskomárom formed a part. Although the Kanizsa Turks could quite easily have avoided Kiskomárom, they nevertheless attempted to take the castle on a number of occasions on account of the fact that this particular outpost intruded deep into Turkish territory, constituting a constant danger to the marauding Turkish groups. The garrison at Kiskomárom was also capable of causing serious damage within Turkish-controlled territory.

Of the fortresses in the buffer region mentioned above, which also included Egerszeg and Légrád, it was Kiskomárom that occupied a central position, both from the point of view of its geographical position and the size of the garrison. In order for the defensive system to function successfully in any given situation it was absolutely vital to have intelligence coming in from a number of sources. It was for this reason that the captains made the most of the “spying” going on at all levels of society. Any incoming information would be passed on to the nearest castle and reach their lord Adám Batthyányi I, the cap- tain-general of Transdanubia, at great speed and by ingenious means.

With the help of 150 surviving letters written by the vice-captain of Kiskomárom, Miklós Túrós, to the captain-general of Transdanubia, it is possible to gain an insight into the everyday lives of those living in and around the castle. The vice-captain proved to be a conscientious correspondent, as he endeavoured to give detailed accounts of all the most important events. It is for this reason that we are able to get information about the identities of the informers and their activities; about the torturers and hangmen; everyday events, including the state of the castle garrison; the life of those resident at the castle; the Turkish and Hungarian incursions, as well as the preparations thereof. We also learn about the cattle trade at Kiskomárom; and, last but not least, we have a collection of historical anecdotes that don’t even pretend to offer a complete picture of the period.

228