Unknown documents about the history of Hungary are found in the Vatican

Mult-kor.hu reports that priceless documents of two and a half centuries has been processed and made public by the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.

According to Sergio Pagano, a bishop of the Vatican Secret Archives, the collection contains nearly 1500 items, and provides the opportunity to examine the economic potential of the Hungarian ecclesiastical institutions in the Late Middle Ages, to compile a list of the Hungarian ecclesiastical dignitaries, and to analyze the relationship between the Hungarian church and the Italian banking houses.

”As the determining power of that age, the papacy had many connections with European states, including the Kingdom of Hungary as well. Therefore, thanks to the researches of the Camara Apostolica (the most important economic papal office), our knowledge of the medieval Kingdom of Hungary is expanded” said Péter Tusor, the leader of the research group. ”A more accurate picture can be generated about the lives of church communities, about their personal compositions, economic power, and income. These pieces of economic and cultural history can be useful for all the researchers of the Middle Ages” he added.

With the two volumes of the publication, the number of volumes published as a result of the researches on the Vatican archives is increased to 15. ”5 of these has been made after 2012, with the support of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences” said Péter Tusor. According to the historian, there is still a strong interest towards the age represented in the collections published now. He also drew the attention to the fact that the last hundred years of the period processed was determined by the struggles of the Kingdom of Hungary against the expansion of the Ottoman Empire.

In this fight, the papacy also had a major role. ”In the first volume, many documents are published about the diplomatic steps regarding the organization of the defense against the Turks” said Tusor, adding that the Renaissance papacy gave all the support to the Hunyadis and Jagellonians that it could. The popes felt that Italy, and Rome itself was also in danger, but the European political and military conditions did not allow such a unified action as during the Crusades.

The historian believes that the memory of the Battle of Belgrade in 1456 is still vivid, and there are many misbeliefs concerning the chime ordered by Pope Callixtus III. He pointed out that previous researches has also clarified that the pope did not want to celebrate the victory with the chime, as the Turks started the siege of the castle only 3 days after the order of the pope. It is not true either that Pope Callixtus III. ordered midday chime because of the Turks. He gave instructions to chime in every half hours between 3 and 6 o’clock. The midday chime became common only decades after, when it was ordered at the Council of Constance to symbolize the suffering of Jesus.

based on article of mult-kor.hu
translated by Vivien Pásztai

Photo: pixabay, mult-kor.hu

Source: http://mult-kor.hu