Marisia - Maros Megyei Múzeum Évkönyve 1. (2019)
Oana Toda: Tobacco Clay Pipes from Rupea Castle and their Historical Context
128 О. TODA attempts were included in town statutes and local regulations; but this never halted the phenomenon. The first Diet measure was issued in 1670 and forbade the selling of tobacco. It was renewed over the subsequent three decades and more limitations were added related to the import, selling, consumption, and cultivation of the plant. At times the official dispositions also dealt with the law enforcers and social categories that had taken up the habit and fines were set accordingly to social status and rank.68 There were also regional and local tendencies to enforce the central regulations and a statute of Cluj County from 1676 clearly stated that, despite the large number of articles aimed at the eradication of smoking, nobody was being punished. In the following, the local statute established that the county officials should exact punishment without mercy and that all tobacco on the market be burned.69 The reasons for this attitude towards tobacco were multiple, starting with the negative effect on health,70 ones finances, morality (especially in clergymen), and public safety. The latter implied the risk of wildfire, as pipe smoking was mounting this possibility, and well-organized communities (the Saxon communes and neighborhoods) were considering this as well.71 Starting with the 18th century, when the practice was legal, several documentary entries clearly show that the local regulations of the Saxons set some limitations for smoking. No such provisos were as of yet identified in the regulations of the Rupea Seat and of its communes, despite the presence of some very specific rules for preventing wildfires and immoral conduct.72 Nevertheless, some examples from other Saxon regions can be brought forth to illustrate the attitude of the German population when faced with the need to elaborate and enforce rules of proper and safe conduct. For instance, in 1704 it was decided that no smoking was allowed in the streets of Sibiu in order to prevent fire.73 Furthermore, in 1721 the practice was banned in the peasant courtyards as well,74 possibly for the same reason, though nothing was said of the higher classes of the Saxon society. One article in the 1794 statute of the neighborhoods from the Medias Seat banned anyone from smoking outside the ‘room’ and in the fields, or the courtyards. It also set a fine of 99 denars for such a transgression.75 Something similar was recorded in 1801 by the statute of the neighborhoods from Brasov. Every neighbor (owner, tenant, worker, or servant) was fined 3 florins if he/she was caught during windy weather holding an open flame (lamp) or a lit tobacco pipe in the stable, barn, or even in the courtyard.76 The prohibition of smoking in the streets of Brasov was so drastic that action against the ones who violated this rule was allowed. This was the explanation behind the episode when the night watch patrolling Schei yanked the lit pipe right from Prince Nicolas Sutu’s hand.77 The effects of the negligence of smokers was sometimes the root of tragic events such as the wildfire recorded in October 1825 in Räsnov, burning down 235 households together with their dependencies and that year’s crops.78 When it comes to consumption, the exact process and speed at which the habit gained so much notoriety (yet still reached the Transylvanian population in urban centers, market towns, and villages regardless of social status)79 mostly remains a matter to be discussed, along with a larger and more detailed analysis of the 68 For a listing and an analysis of these articles, see: Gruia 2012c, 228-230; rediscussed in: Gruia 2013, 34-37. 69 Prodan 1987, 233. 70 The reason behind the first recorded interdiction, dated in 1662. For details, see: Gruia 2012c, 228. 71 Frincu 2018, 73. 72 Such as the neighborhood regulation from 1630 (Fabini 2002, 589). 73 Sigerus 1930, 20. 74 Besliu Munteanu 2006, 85. 75 Frincu 2018,221. 76 Fríncu 2018, 214. 77 Oisteanu 2010, 89. 78 QKron 1903, 64. 79 For an overview of the social categories that practiced smoking, see: Gruia 2013, 62-68.
