Gyűlölt fejedelem – Bethlen Gábor és Lőcse város viszonya

The Hated Prince – The Relation between Gabriel Bethlen and Lőcse/Levoča

Szabó, András Péter

2018-09-13T11:27:30Z

2018-09-13T11:27:30Z

2014

2014

Bethlen Gábor

történelem

szepességi szászok

Lőcse

város és udvar

városi költségvetés

Bethlen Gábor megítélése

German minority in Spiš

Lőcse/Levoča

court and town

town household

contemporary views on Gabriel Bethlen

This essay offers a brief survey of the relations between a major town in early modern Upper Hungary, Leutschau (Lőcse/Levoča) today in Slovakia and the prince of Ottoman vassal Transylvania, Gabriel Bethlen, who as self-appointed protector of Protestant estates in Hungary and allied of European Protestant powers led three subsequent military campaigns against the Habsburg kings of Hungary (in 1619–1621, 1623, and 1626), and for some time occupied the whole of the region, a league of five important towns included. Our analysis of political events and economical questions is based on the correspondence and account books kept in the Leutschau town archiv, while we approach the reactions of local population with the help of local chronicles of the time. Despite their Lutheran faith, the German-speaking municipal elite of Leutschau did not identify themselves with the ideology of these interventions. In the background one can recognise the pecuniary interest, because the short-lived authority of the prince gave rise to a whole series of unfavourable financial changes. The frequent lootings of Transylvanian army and the costly stays of princely court represented an entirely new experience for an urban society in a relatively peaceful region. (Visits of Bethlen and their organizational particulars are assessed in detail.) And as an addition, their temporary but present Protestant ruler demanded more taxes and a bigger contribution to military eff orts (infantrymen, draught-horses) as the Catholic Habsburg kings living in distant Vienna. Bethlen also made and ample use of Leutschau craftsmen in his Kaschau (Kassa/Košice) headquarters and other locations, and employed a great number of their carts and horses for administration purposes, which further increased the fi nancial burdens of the town. Howewer, one can identify some less material components of refusal, too. Firstly, the deeply rooted tradition of Leutschau as a town fi ercely loyal to his king, which was shown also in the uprise of Stephen Bocskai at the beginning of 17th century. Secondly, they rejected Bethlen’s military cooperation with the Ottoman Empire. Strongly influenced by the very common Anti-Ottoman propaganda of the age they held that every communication with Turks (as greatest enemies of Christianity) is unacceptable. Thirdly, they perceived the Transylvanian prince as an oriental despote, which can be explained by denominational, ethnical and cultural factors. As Lutherans, they did not want a Calvinist overlord. Being Germans and having strong connections with cities in Holy Roman Empire they regarded the Hungarian speaking Bethlen as alien. And as for the cultural diff erences, their urban society had very few sympathy for Bethlen’s noble-dominated court and administration. Although the town of Leutschau in each of the three cases admitted the authority of the prince, but only reluctantly, and they found the greatest pleasure always in his withdrawing from town and land.

556-570. old.

magyar

angol

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https://eda.eme.ro/xmlui/handle/10598/30619

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