Archívum - A Heves Megyei Levéltár közleményei 19. (Eger, 2010)
TANULMÁNYOK, KÖZLEMÉNYEK - Miskei Antal: Ortodox népesség a középkori Ráckevén (XV–XVIII. század) • 41
Antal Miskei: Orthodox people in Ráckeve in the Middle Ages (15-18. century) People of orthodox denomination played an important role in the economic-, social-, political- and spiritual life of Ráckeve in the late Middle Ages. The most important ethnic groups of orthodox people include Serbs (Raci), Greeks and Macedo-Vlachs. The word Raci (in HungariamRác) derives from the Latin name (Rascia) of the central part of Serbia - Raska. In the 15-16 century it was used as a collective noun given to all the Orthodox (Serbian, Macedonian, Montenegrin, Bosnian) and Roman catholic (Croatian, Dalmatian, Slovenian, Ragusian) settlers that got into the Carpathian basin from the Balkans, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Because of their mobile characteristic, these people were keen on settling down in riverside settlements where they would deal in commerce, artisanship and wine making. They transported clothes and oriental luxury articles from the Osman Empire, salt from Transylvania, kettle, sheep, horses and animal skins from the Great Plain of Hungary, wine from Transdanubia, iron- and metal tools, textiles and hats from the Western territories. It was also the Serbs who introduced red wine to Hungary. The other ethnic group whose presence on Csepel Island can be proven by authentic contemporary sources is Greeks. It may cause a little confusion that contemporary documents used this word for ethnic, linguistic, spiritual and economic denotation as well. The word Greek would describe the followers of the Orhodox church (apart from Ruthenians), people moving to Hungary from Hellas, and those tradesmen from the Balkans who used the Greek language for communication amongst themselves. Besides the core population, this group was composed of many Serbian, Bulgarian, Albanian, Macedonian and Macedo- Vlach ("Tsintsar") people too. Macedo-Vlach people live in Macedonia, Epeiros and in the southern part of today's Albania. They are probably the descendants of the Greek population and of the native people of Macedonia and Thessalia who became latinised and who spoke Greek well apart from their mother tongue. Macedo-Vlach tradesmen would live in Hungary together with Serbs and Greeks and would use the Greek language which was the official language of the merchants in the Balkans. As for the communication amongst each other and in their families they preferred using their mother tongue. In the 15-18 century in Ráckeve the orthodox tradesmen and the well-to- do craftsmen not only had major control over the economy of this market-town, but they had a significant influence in public affairs too. They actively contributed to the reviving of Ráckeve's cultural life and the practical realization of the royal privileges that they were given. 70
