Berecz Mátyás - Bujdosné Pap Györgyi - Petercsák Tivadar (szerk.): Végvár és mentalitás a kora újkori Európában - Studia Agriensia 31. (Eger, 2015)

CZIGÁNY ISTVÁN: A militarizált társadalom rétegződése és szerepe a felső-magyarországi végvidéken a 17. században

István Czigány

THE STRATIFICATION AND ROLE OF MILITARIZED SOCIETY IN THE BORDER FORTRESSES OF UPPER HUNGARY IN THE

17th CENTURY

As the result of numerous political, economic and social and psychological changes which took place at turn of the 16th and 17th centuries following the Turkish conquest, Upper Hungary and the territory to the east of the River Tisza became one of the most militarized societies within the Kingdom of Hungary. It was at this time that the Hajdúk, the military class which was to become characteristic of the region, appeared. The military communities initially took the form of free mercenary societies before the 16th and 17th centuries when they came under the control of Hajdúk captains. They in turn became the feared soldiers of the Fifteen Year War and the instigators of the Bocskai Uprising. In their capacity as Princes of Transylvania and major landowners István Bocskai, Báthory, Gabriel Bethlen and György Rákóczi I. invited more than twenty thousand Hajdúk to settle on their lands, which led to the creation of a whole chain of Hajdúk communities in the Upper Tisza region and the Partium. Most of the Hajdúk managed to integrate into the Captain-Generalship of Upper Hungary and Várad. The nobility’s private armies were also able to profit from the weapons that were available. This all contributed significantly to the strengthening of the anti-Turkish defence system. During the course of an investigation into the garrison structure at Ónod Castle it emerged that the number of formations of many different types, ranks and financial status was considerably higher than had previously been thought. From this one is able conclude that in the border fortresses and their immediate surroundings there was a much larger military presence and that therefore one now needs to take into consideration the existence of a much larger militarized population.

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