Budapest Régiségei 15. (1950)

Gerevich László: Gótikus házak Budán 121-238

doorways leading to the courtyard, where the carriages could drive through, the wide streets, the relatively low houses consisting of only 2—3 stories, are all proofs of a half-agricultural way of life. The data o, the records and other documents, describing the landed properties of burghers artisans furnish, similar information. In this belt was standing King Matthew's hunting castle and the turreted castle surrounded by a wall, which was excavated in 1934 in the precincts of Buda and Albertfalva. On the densely populated territory of the Buda Castle, gardens are seldom mentioned and walls surrounding the courtyard or the house occur seldom. The shape of the building site was strictly observed, the outhouses were crowded into the narrow courtyards, the entrance to which led through the wide doorway. The contemporary stonecutters were aware of the importance of these doorways and decorated them accordingly. The richly ornamented sedilia recessed in the wall of the doorway and crowned with arches witness the importance of the doorways. Their construction displays no innovations. They owe their origin to the sedilia and stalls in the walls of the chancel and aisles of churches. In the thirteenth century they appear in castle halls as well. But the sedilia under the doorway are not known abroad. On the territory of historical Hungary they appear at different places, in Kassa, Győr, Pozsony, Zólyom and we can follow them as far as the western frontier, Kismarton, where they disappear. Anyhow they are not so common at these places as in Buda and do not display such a rich variety of forms. In the tracery of the sedilia we can trace the Buda architects' style, the stonecutters' handmarks, recognisible sometimes on the window frames too. The most interesting group consists of trefoils, used at the sedilia in churches too. The lobes contain another, smaller trefoil, the whole decoration forming a canopy. The pointed arches were arranged in pairs and supported by alternating consoles and pillars. The simplest types of the sedilia have semi — circular or segmented heads and belong to the last period of the age. But the commonest decoration is the trefoil in several variations. Most finds belong to the reign of King Sigismund. It seems that the development of the town, which began during the reign of King Touis the Great, continued at the beginning of the fifteenth century, the houses built in a homogeneous style creating a characteristic panorama. Buda was at this time one of the stages of European politics, which required an elegant and magnificent scenery. A light is thrown on the speed and vigour of the building activity by contrasting the somewhat prejudiced, but doubtless disillusionizing report of the Buda ambassador of Francis Gonzaga dating from the year 1359 with the enthusiastic descriptions of the later period. About the year 1410 Sigismund issued an order concerning the repair and rebuilding of Visegrád houses, punishing the resisters with confiscation. The activity of Peter, royal architect, suggests, that the king was interested in the development of the town and perhaps gave himself the chief directives. After a transitional decline King Matthew proved an even greater builder than Sigismund. During the. first period of his reign he issued a decree similar to that of Sigismund concerning Buda and he really effected the punitive sanction, i. e. the confiscation of the houses. The repair and the building of the town houses was regulated not only by the kings but by the town corporations as well. The leases contained stipulations concerning the repair of the houses, which can be often traced back to the strict regulations of the city authorities. In almost every medieval town, the building regulations were highly developed. As an example we cite similar regulations of Abbeville, dating from the year 1389. These regulato