Diaconescu, Marius (szerk.): Mediaevalia Transilvanica 1998 (2. évfolyam, 2. szám)
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280 Marius Diaconescu pledge fidelity to the sultan. This donation was taken back from Mircea during the period when his relations with the Hungarian king became colder, i.e. some time between 1408 and 1412. However, after resuming their traditional relationship in 1412, the Wallachian voivode got another fortress, situated at the border of the two countries, i.e. the fortress of Bran. The date of 1412 set for the coming into possession is further proved by the fact that during the autumn the Voivode of Transylvania moved out the customs to Braşov188. The relocation of the customs in the autumn of 1412 is a certain sign that the fortress of Bran, the old customs, had been recently donated to Mircea the Old189. This donation has to be correlated with the resuming of the traditional relations of vassalage, or even to a new homage, paid by means of delegates. The fortress of Bran was to remain under Romanian rule until 1419 (it was also ruled by Mihail, Mircea's successor). The Romanian voivode imposed here new custom taxes, which were annulled only after the fortress returned under the direct administration of the Hungarian king's officials. The relations of vassalage established between Sigismund of Luxemburg and Mircea the Old had an economic connotation as well. The trade routes connecting the Levant to Transylvania, and Hungary respectively, crossed Wallachia. The merchants from Braşov and Sibiu (two Saxon towns situated in the south of Transylvania) enjoyed a series of commercial privileges granted both by the Hungarian crown and by the Romanian voivodes. After Hungary had lost right of direct access to the sea on the Dalmatian coast in favour of the Venetians, the economic importance of the route to the mouth of the Danube increased considerably. Thus, in 1412, Sigismund initiated an ambitious project, which aimed at resuming the East - West commercial traffic at the mouth of the Danube, across Wallachia and Moldavia190. In spite of numerous attempts, the subsequent political unfolding of events delayed the actual achievement of this project. The respective relations of vassalage became economically important only after the initiation of this project, i.e. starting from 1412. An aspect that could not be elucidated is Mircea the Old's marriage to a Hungarian noblewoman. According to some documents dating back 1399-1400, a certain lady, wife of voivode Mircea, owned some properties in Zala county in Hungary191. Because of the ambiguity of the information there are different 188 DRH, D, I, p. 196. 189 We find the same date in Ş. Papacostea: începuturile politicii comerciale a Ţării Româneşti şi Moldovei (secolele XV-XVI). Drum şi stat, in SMIM, 1983, X, p. 20, but the historian attached too much importance to the economical relations to the detriment of those of vassalage. Most historians have dated the donation as early as 1395 or 1406, on the occasion of the meetings of the voivode and the king (but ignore or even deny its significance ): I. Minea, op. cit. (see note 10), p. 85; P. P. Panaitescu, Mircea cel Bătrân (see note 15), p. 194-195; Istoria României, II, p. 366; Viorica Pervain, Din relaţiile Ţării Româneşti cu Ungaria (see note 20), p. 97; N. Constantinescu, Mircea cel Bătrân (see note 23), pp. 143-144; I. A. Pop, Stăpânirile lui Mircea (see note 24), p. 690; etc. 190 Ş. Papacostea, Kilia et la politique orientale de Sigismond de Luxembourg, in RRH, 1976, no. 3, p. 421-436. 191 I. Nagy, D. Véghely, Gy. Nagy, Zala vármegye története, II, Budapest, 1890, p. 298-300; Zs. oki, I, p. 684; I. Pataki, op. cit. (see note 17), p. 426, note 5.
