Diaconescu, Marius (szerk.): Mediaevalia Transilvanica 1998 (2. évfolyam, 2. szám)
Relaţii internaţionale
274 Marius Diaconescu alliance between equal parts", treaty of alliance concluded "on perfectly equal terms"165 etc. A treaty of alliance is supposed to stipulate mutual obligations - as does, for instance, the treaty between Mircea and the king of Poland concluded between 1389 and 1391, and between 1410 and 1411, respectively. In the deed of March 7lh we only find the Wallachian voivode's pledge of aid in case of anti- Ottoman campaigns carried out by Sigismund of Luxemburg! These promises are complementary to the previous homage and therefore, the concept of treaty must be carefully used. The deed consists of the following clauses166: 1. The voivode's army is bound to participate in any campaign led by the Hungarian king against the Turks and their allies. The personal presence of the king implied the voivode's personal presence as well. 2. The king's army was to be granted free access across Mircea's domains and food on their own expense both on their way to and back from the campaign. 3. In case the king had to be present in newly conquered territories, the Romanian voivode was bound to accompany him as well.. Otherwise, only his army had to be present. 4. In case of emergency the voivode was bound to do his best to support the royal army in the newly conquered territories. He also promised to provide food to the army at their own expense. 5. Eventually sick, wounded or stray soldiers (no matter the reasons why) were to be guaranteed their lives and possessions. In the end, all letters referring to this matter exchanged previously by the king and the voivode were globally confirmed. This implied the existence of previous negotiations and agreements that eventually got lost. As for the king, the only obligation he assumed was to pay for the supplies provided to his army. Indeed, this was not uncommon since a vassal's only financial obligation was the tribute but Wallachia had not been conquered and therefore could not be plundered according to the laws of war. There was no mutual engagement on the part of the king. As P. P. Panaitescu stated, the king's purpose was to drive away the Turks not only from Wallachia but also from the regions situated to the south of the Danube, "as if in preparation for a crusade"167. It can be assumed then that this deed was a sort of preparatory stage of the king's crusading plans. Together with the diplomatic letters which he had sent to the European courts in order to ask for support, the above-mentioned deed is a true act of birth of the crusade of Nicople in 1396. In Sigismund's view of an offensive strategy, Wallachia was bound to become a bridgehead for the future crusade. Mircea's presence in this project had 165 C. C. Giurescu, Istoria Românilor, I, Bucureşti, 1935, p. 457; P. P. Panaitescu, Mircea cel Bătrân (see note 15), pp. 252-253; B. Câmpina, op. cit. (see note 18), p. 262; N. Stoicescu, in his comments on the edition of A. D. Xenopol's work, op. cit. (see note 4), II, p. 110, note 72; Viorica Pervain, Din relaţiile Ţării Româneşti cu Ungaria (see note 20), pp. 96-97; O. Iliescu, op. cit. (see note 60), p. 76; etc. 166 DRH, D, I, no. 87, p. 138-142. The record is in The Hungarian National Archives, Dl. 8.043. 67 P. P. Panaitescu, Mircea cel Bătrân (see note 15), p. 253.
