Marisia - Maros Megyei Múzeum Évkönyve 32/2. (2012)
Articles
A Perished Medieval Settlement in Udvarhelyszék 157 perishing of the settlement can by no means be attributed to the intervention of the landlord because in medieval Udvarhelyszék, as in the entire Seder Land, there was no general system of large land estates based on serfdom type relations up until the second half of the 16th century. Plagues and Ottoman-Tatar raids most certainly had a role to play in the abandonment of the village but they certainly were not decisive or the only factors involved. A different reason for the abandonment of settlements, more common than the earlier ones was when villages with smaller economic and social potential were merged with larger ones, in the interest of their own development, which then gained access to the assimilated village’s precious lands, forests and human resources (Jakó 1945, 13-14). This was often advantageous even for the smaller villages but still the loss of old rights generated numerous problems and tensions. The increase of living space was achieved through decrees, purchases or exchanges. Similar to this is the case of Fancsika, appearing in sources from 1566, which by 1576 became an insignificant settlement inhabited by only two destitute serfs (SzOkl II, 198). During the surveys made on its territory we have found only few pieces of pottery from the modern period and as such it is presumed that the late medieval settlement had already been assimilated into nearby Luti(a during the 17th century as it was no longer mentioned after that. The above mentioned occurrence may also be studied in the case of Cristuru Secuiesc. Keresztárjaivá and Timafalva, two villages mentioned in medieval sources which have yielded artefacts dating back to the Árpád dynasty, merged during the 19th century to form the town of Keresztár, which later on assimilated Fiatfalva, a village with origins also dating back to the Árpáds (Benkő 1992, 174, 179, 187). Another similar settlement named Demeterfalva shows up in written sources in 1566 (SzOkl II, 202), which during the 19lh century administratively merged with Kobátfalva. A similar situation may also be observed in the case of Diafalva and Oroszhegy where the larger Oroszhegy assimilated the other smaller village. However, the assimilation of villages may best be observed in the case of Odorheiu Secuiesc. Because the town sits in a central area of the Odorheiu Basin, during the age of the Árpád dynasty several settlements appeared around it, considerably limiting the area in which the growing town could expand. Princes were also interested in the town’s growth as through granting privileges they could secure important allies among the inhabitants. After Izabella had lifted a series of taxes, in 1568 John Sigismund Zápolya withdrew the town from underneath the jurisdiction of Seder leaders and liberated it by placing it under his own authority (SzOkl II, 236). In this context the town’s intention to expand is completely understandable, so in 1571 Gyárosfalva and in 1577 Szentimre are annexed to the town by decree of the prince. The growing town’s need for territory and tendency to assimilate villages later resulted in Cibrefalva, Bethlenfalva, Kadicsfalva and Szombatfalva (Pl. 1/1) also being merged into the town (Nyárádi 2009, 83-128). Historical sources The sources, as in many other cases regarding settlements from Seder Land, offer very little information. The village does not appear in the registries of papal tax collectors in spite of the fact that the form of the name indicates that it dates back to the Árpád dynasty period. The village may have received its name from its church, which had been named after Saint Emeric of Hungary. This makes it certain that its first church was contemporary with other neighbouring
