Horváth M. Ferenc (szerk.): Vác The heart of the Danube Bend. A historical guide for residents and globetrotters (Vác, 2009)
Tartalom
94 VÁC IN THE OTTOMAN ERA activities. This ratio did not change much later either: more than a quarter, 27-37%, of the heads of families registered between 1562 and 1590 bore names of jobs. The most populous groups -just like everywhere else - were made up of Mészáros (Butcher) and Szabó (Tailor), and there were also several people called Kovács (Smith), Varga (Shoemaker), Tímár (Tanner), Molnár (Miller) and Ötvös (Goldsmith) living and working in the town. In each of the registers we can find the names of less frequent trades probably pursued by one or two craftsmen at the most: Erszényjártó (Purse maker), Lakatjártó (Padlock maker), Nyeregjártó (Saddler), Gombos (Button maker), Kerekes (Wheeler), Szita (Sieve maker). Nevertheless, the results of such surveys can be misleading. The 16th century was the period when family names became permanent, so it is possible that a Szabó (Tailor) or a Kovács (Smith) no longer pursued the trade implied by his name. We should also remember that not every craftsman bore the name of his trade, for instance the settlers - whatever jobs they might have had - were named after their previous dwelling place. Occasionally the two types of naming coincided, making the situation unambiguous as in the case of János Budai Mészáros, who was registered in 1590, who must have been a butcher having moved to Vác from Buda. We can find less distinct traces of Christian organizations too. The Ottomans retained the institutions of the judicial and council systems both in the towns and the villages. They respected these local government institutions and kept them under proper control.They had good reason to do so: this spared much routine work and the staff to perform it. What is more, instead of the Turks unfamiliar with the place and local customs, it was Hungarian leaders elected by the towns and villages themselves who were responsible for the distribution, collection and delivery of the taxes levied by the Turks, organized communal work, kept the peace, and chased and caught the offenders. The sultan recognised their hard work by allowing these judges partial tax exemption. All the Ottoman registers of Vác contain one or two native inhabitants called Bíró (meaning judge), who could have been heads of the town; among the immigrant Christians nobody had this name. People who had the note “exempted from taxation" next to their name in the register could also have been town officials recognised by the Ottoman authorities. Around 1570, at the time of the compilation of the property register, we even know the name of the judge, who in addition to his office he also had to endure all the concomitant troubles: Máté Horák. The judges were probably helped with their work by some literate men known as scribes, two or three of whom can be found in each register. Since some of the paterfamilias of the town were called Vámos (meaning “taxcollector") each and every time when registers were taken, we can even assume that Hungarians helped the Ottoman customs officials with their work; after all they must have needed someone to be able to communicate with the Hungarian or, incidentally, the German merchants. The conquerors tolerated the religious practices of the Christians in the town. Even if they despised the Christians, they left them alone; only the number Turkish soldiers' ravage of their places of worship was reduced. The church in the castle was turned into a djami; the medieval St Jacob's and St Margaret's Churches as well as the buildings of the archbishopric and the chapter went into the possession of the treasury in Buda and started a new secular life.The only church left for the Christians was St Michael's Church in today's Március 15 Square. Its property rights were accurately recorded in the register. “St Michael's Church. It has been owned by the rayas (tax-paying non-muslim citizens) of the town of Vác for a long time, and since they still need it they are allowed to keep it. Upon their request they have been given a certificate so that nobody bothers them.” With the ecclesiastic
