Rácz Tibor Ákos: A múltnak kútja. Fiatal középkoros regészek V. konferenciájának tanulmánykötete - A Ferenczy Múzeum kiadványai, A. sorozat: Monográfiák 3. (Szentendre, 2014)
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English Summaries Béla Szabó The Characteristics of the Most Important Russian Fortresses Besieged by Stephen Báthory in the Light of the Sieges at Velikie Luki and Pskov István Báthory, the prince of Transylvania was crowned by Stanislaw Karnkowski, the bishop of Kiev on the 1st of May in 1576. According to his coronation oath, keeping the unity of the state and restoring the conditions prior to the Livonian war fought against Ivan the Terrible since 1558, became his most important tasks. From the author’s point of view, it is important to know and present more about the details of the military campaign led by Báthory against the Russians, since the Hungarian soldiers also took part and provided substantial assistance for the Polish troops. On the other hand, they made use of their experience when fighting with the Ottomans in the fifteen-year war that started in 1591, to which Transylvania, formerly a vassal to the Ottoman throne, also joined in 1594. Báthory’s international “coalition” army led successful campaigns against Ivan the Terrible. The style of Russian fortifications was significantly different from the European standards. The besieged fortifications were mostly of wood, except the Pszkov complex, which meant that they could be easily taken down by the force of Báthory’s “fiery cannonballs”. Such cannons were already tested by Báthory during his campaign in Upper Hungary, and he also made use of them during the sieges of Russian fortresses. Cannonballs glowing from heat were put in the cannons - also inserting some wad between the gunpowder and the projectile to avoid incision -, and they were fired this way. The purpose was rather to set things on fire rather than destruction. The delaying tactics of Ivan the Terrible did not prove successful. Besides Polock és Velikie Luki, Báthory managed to take down castles one after the other. His failure at Pszkov had no significance from a political or military point of view. Returning from the battlefield, he also negotiated with success, fulfilling the promise he made in his coronation oath by regaining Polish-Lithuanian territories taken formerly by the Russian czar, for which not only his prowess but also the support of Hungarian soldiers can be accounted. 471
