Zentai Tünde: Domus Rusticae Baranyienses: A baranyai parasztházak változása a 18. század végén (Szentendre: Szabadtéri Néprajzi Múzeum, 1989)

Domus rusticae Baranyenses. Changes of peasant houses of Baranya County at the end of the 18th century

DOMUS RUSTICAE BARANYIENSES Changes of peasant houses of Baranya County at the end of the 18th century Our study deals with the records on peasant houses contained in the „Descriptio Physico Politico Topographicacomitatus Baranyiensis"ordered by Széchényi in 1785-1786, being of the utmost importance in the aspect of historical and ethnographical research of peasantry. The 1653 folio-, that is 3306 page-size Descriptio contains a detailed description of all the settlements of Baranya County - then 352 -, save for the free royal city of Pécs and the market town of Szabadszentkirály inhabited by nobles. Paragraphs 1 to 166 of Chapter 9 deal with the peasant and, in particular, three questions are directed towards the homes of serfs. There are concrete questions in the Descriptio asking what building materials were and have been used before and after the „royal decree". The answers were recorded in all communities except for the above mentioned two localities, so it became possible to obtain a particularly detailed picture of the building in Baranya County. So, it became possible for us to see the changes occurring in the second half of the 18th century. In order to draw the appropriate conclusions we had to inquire into the developments connected with the „logging rights" of serfs and with their timber supply. An equally important point was to understand the circumstances in which the „royal decree", the reference source of the Descriptio arose and also, what consequences it had. The timber shortage that took place by the end of the Turkish occupation (1526-1686) and during the ensuing decades of warfare led to the limitation of the timber supply of serfs. The seignioral domestic economy gathering momentum in the first half and middle of the century, and the increased building activity resulted in the further upgrading of timber. The seigniors were endeavouring to dissuade their serfs of building timber structure houses. The contradictions of interests in this, eventually led to the central royal regulation of the question. One of the important moments of this process was the national forestry statute. On December 21,1772 Maria Theresa had it put in a «royal order" of general validity that „...the subjects shall build the walls of their buildings out of solid or, at least, raw materials and the manors are only allowed to deliver timber from the forest for making roofs, doors, windows and similar parts of houses..." The second part of the study deals with the concrete analysis of data contained in the „Descriptio" regarding the houses. These inform us in the first place on the developments in the wall materials and wall structures, but we also learn about the gaining ground of chimneys and foundations. In another chapter of the „Descriptio" it is shown, where and what kind of craftsmen (brick layers, stone masons, carpenters, .peasant carpenters") were to be found in the county. Finally, there is a contraposition of the image of peasant house given by Széchényi in his "Descriptio" with its contemporary environment. It compares the development of the culture of peasant houses of the greater geographical region of Transdanubia with that of South-Transdanubia and Baranya County. In the Descriptio of Széchényi the differences between the mountainous region of Baranya and the flatland along the Danube river already take shape in the aspect of progress. In the eastern part of the county the houses with adobe walls and cob walls and the foundations become dominant earlier. The spread of chimney can be observed mainly on the lowland of Dráva river. On the west side, the house with smoky kitchen and rooms opening to the court separated from each other, as well as with its timber framed wall structure is still