CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2015
| Author | Nagy, Szabolcs Balazs |
|---|---|
| Title | Architectural Prestige Representation in the Mid-Fifteenth Century: Nicholas Ujlaki and the Castle of Varpalota |
| Summary | Várpalota Castle is situated in western Hungary and was built by Nicholas Újlaki (around 1410 – 1477) in the first half of the 1440s. This was the time when Újlaki, an ambitious magnate, was about to reach the peak of his political career, being among the most powerful aristocrats of the kingdom along with John Hunyadi. According to a well-established historical model, in this short period of time, Várpalota Castle was meant to be the seat or main personal residence of his outstanding oligarchic power in western Hungary. Based on this historical background, the castle seems an ideal case for studying the ways by which power and prestige was displayed in the mid-fifteenth century. The first indispensable step was a thorough revision of the castle’s architectural history, a re-evaluation of all relevant publications, excavation records, restoration documentation, and the study of carved stone material kept in the castle’s lapidarium. I was able to refine the fifteenth-century building periods and also identify a significant reconstruction of the castle, including the building of an elaborate courtyard corridor, executed probably in the third quarter of the century. A comparative approach, overviews of the relevant contemporary residences of the elite and the magnate himself, opened the door for interpreting Újlaki’s building activities. In the 1440s, prestige and power were primarily displayed by the appropriate type of the new residence, where the dimensions and the specific layout resembled the architecture of the royal court. In the second half of the century the castle was enlarged in a period when Várpalota presumably had already lost its outstanding significance. However, this very dichotomy, the seemingly purposeless, yet spectacular reconstruction, seems to have been a way of demonstrating wealth and prestige. |
| Supervisor | Laszlovszky, József |
| Department | Medieval Studies MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2015/nagy_szabolcs.pdf |
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