CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2014
| Author | Flóra, Ágnes |
|---|---|
| Title | The Matter of Honour. The Leading Urban Elite in Sixteenth Century Cluj and Sibiu |
| Summary | This dissertation focuses on the comparative investigation of two early modern urban centers: Cluj (Kolozsvár, Klausenburg) and Sibiu (Nagyszeben, Hermannstadt). My work has followed a scholarly tradition in elite research, yet developed a new perspective on urban history in Transylvania, since not much has been written lately on early modern urban elites, and older scholarly contributions, though important and indispensable, have gradually become outdated. This is an attempt to combine traditional and modern research methods, an approach that was necessary due to the large volume of unpublished data that had to be analyzed in a certain historical context and also the decision to compare two urban centers. The analogies relevant for to the research come mainly from German-speaking areas of Europe. The aims defined for this dissertation were pursued along three main research paths. First, the historical backgrounds of the town elites in Cluj and Sibiu were analyzed, including the development of town autonomy and governmental systems from the medieval period until the end of the sixteenth century. This allowed me to discuss the legal background of urban leadership, to illustrate its continuity, to present the milieu and the conditions under which the political urban elite acted in each town. Second, the findings of the archontological and prosopographical research, the focus on generations, marriage strategies, and professional competence are meant to explicate the character of the leading elite. Finally, an attempt was made to provide insight into their representation and self-fashioning. Generally speaking, the main contribution of this dissertation is that it opens the opportunity for larger central European comparisons, and thus might contribute to a shift in the clear-cut historical paradigm of a border between East Central Europe and the West. There are many different topics to compare: political elite creation, career building, governing systems and traditions, institutional developments, election procedures, and self-representation. Later, these topics might develop into self-standing research that can be extended to other urban centers. On the local level, the database of office-holders in the Appendix of the dissertation will become an instrument for historians dealing with the history of Cluj or Sibiu. |
| Supervisor | Szende, Katalin |
| Department | Medieval Studies PhD |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2014/mphfla01.pdf |
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