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Christian - Muslim Relations

1500-1900

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1
 Elegia de Sibenicensis agri vastatione
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Elegia de Sibenicensis agri vastationeElegija o pustošenju šibenskog polja

‘Elegy on the devastation of the district of Šibenik’

Juraj Šižgorić Šibenčanin; Georgius Sisgoreus (Sisgorich, Sisgoritus)

Sibenicensis Dalmata; Giorgio Sisgoreo

Date: 1477
Original Language: Latin

Description
This Latin poem of 98 verses in elegiac couplets was published in Šižgorić’s
Carmina (Venice, 1477, Book 2, poem 29). It is a poetic reaction to an early
summer incursion of the Ottoman akıncı into the area around Šibenik,
probably the 1470 expedition. The poem is clearly structured in three parts.
In verses 1-28, the elegiac narrator introduces the event as another in a series
of torments plaguing his life, a misfortune surpassing those that affected
Tibullus and Ovid. The central part of the poem, verses 29-86, first describes
the Turks as a hated, infidel people, who are supposed to obey Muḥammad’s
law and the Alcoranus, but are actually given to all kinds of transgressions
(forbidden intercourse with both women and men, drinking wine, being
themselves dirtier than swine while they avoid pork). They live by the sword
and are intent on destroying God’s sacred laws; they have conquered
Constantinople, Lesbos (1462) and Negroponte (the Venetian stronghold fell
in July 1470). The poem then describes the attack on Šibenik. A skirmish
between Turks and the locals occurred in front of the city walls, before the

2
narrator’s eyes. Turkish cavalry was especially prominent; the defenders
were Šibenik citizens, peasants and Venetian mercenaries. The Turks
attacked three times, and were repelled each time. Nevertheless, the enemy
torched the houses in the countryside, fed their horses on young wheat and
flowering grape vines, burned or cut down the olive trees, captured slaves
and raped them, and desecrated churches (specifically, holy images, altars
and the reserved sacrament) before setting fire to them. At the climax of the
poem, verses 87-98, anguish forces the narrator to lay down Apollo’s lyre
and books of law, and take up arms, ready to die for faith and homeland.

As is characteristic in autobiographical humanist elegies, the poet takes on a

double role, as the narrator of a painful episode from his own life and as the
interpreter of an event impressed on the collective memory (Novaković, Izbor
iz djela). Reality, however, is interpreted through the filter of ancient Roman
poetry, especially Ovid’s Fasti and Tristia (Šižgorić’s Turks are similar to
Ovid’s Getae in Tristia 5.7). Šižgorić describes the enemy in commonplace
terms of anti-Ottoman propaganda (sinfulness, lust, dishonesty, cruelty), with
specific features based on religious differences (Muḥammad, the Qur’an,
Islamic dietary laws) and current military events (advances in Greece). The
devastation of Šibenik is presented in growing intensity – first come the
crimes against property, then those against people, and finally those against
religion.

Significance
The poem is Šižgorić’s only text on the Ottomans and is the earliest
published poetic response to Ottoman attacks in Croatian literature. It was
printed in the same year as the Latin prose history Petri Mocenici imperatoris
gesta by Koriolan Cipiko from nearby Trogir (which reports on a phase of the
Ottoman-Venetian war 1470-4). Together, the two texts introduce a period
when many Croatian intellectuals contributed to the European anti-Ottoman
narrative.

The first modern readings found in Šižgorić’s elegy ‘an expression of the
great hatred with which Christian Europe regarded the Turks’ (Šrepel,
‘Humanist Šižgorić’), but appreciated it primarily for its patriotic and
Christian sentiments. Then, in the second half of the 20th century, it was
praised and anthologised as an individual response to the historical event, ‘a
3
picture taken from life’ (Kombol, Povijest hrvatske književnosti; Novak,
Povijest hrvatske književnosti). Its role as a bridge between international and
local perception of the Turk as the Other is sketched by Dukić (Sultanova
djeca) and Dukić and Grgin (‘Juraj Šižgorić and the Ottomans’).

Manuscripts
EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
Georgii Sisgorei Sibenicensis Dalmatae elegiarum et carminum liber primus
[-tertius], Venice, 1477

Šrepel, ‘Humanist Šižgorić’

V. Gortan (ed.) and N. Šop (trans.), Elegije i pjesme, Zagreb, 1966 (Latin text
and Croatian trans. of the 1477 edition)

V. Gortan and V. Vratović (eds), Hrvatski latinisti = Croatici auctores qui

Latine scripserunt, Zagreb, 1969, pp. 115-50 (includes a selection of texts in
Latin original and Croatian trans.)

D. Novaković, Hrvatski latinisti. Razdoblje humanizma, Zagreb, 1994

(includes selected texts in Croatian trans.)

V. Vratović (ed.), Latinism and Mediterraneanism. The Mediterranean

constant in Croatian literary culture, accompanied by Croatian Latin lyrics,
a bilingual anthology, Zagreb, 1997 (includes selected texts in Latin, with
English trans.)

4
V. Vratović (ed.), The Croatian muses in Latin. A trilingual anthology Latin-
English-Croatian, Zagreb, 1998 (includes selected texts in Latin, with
English and Croatian translations)

D. Novaković (ed.), Juraj Šižgorić: Izbor iz djela, Vinkovci, 2000 (contains

Croatian trans.)

D. Dukić and B. Grgin, ‘Juraj Šižgorić and the Ottomans. The image of the
other in a late medieval Dalmatian commune’, 2014 (forthcoming; includes
an English trans.)

Editions & Translations

Studies
Dukić and Grgin, ‘Juraj Šižgorić and the Ottomans’

D. Dukić, Sultanova djeca, Predodžbe Turaka u hrvatskoj književnosti ranog

novovjekovlja, Zadar, Croatia, 2004, pp. 11-12 (a study of the image of the
Turks in early modern Croatian literature)

Novaković, Izbor iz djela

S.P. Novak, Povijest hrvatske književnosti. Knj. 2, Od humanističkih

početaka do Kašićeve ilirske gramatike 1604, Zagreb, 1997, pp. 118-19 (a
history of Croatian Renaissance literature)

M. Tomasović and D. Novaković, Judita Marka Marulića. Latinsko

pjesništvo hrvatskoga humanizma, Zagreb, 1994, pp. 86-7

5
M. Kombol, Povijest hrvatske književnosti do narodnog preporoda, Zagreb,
1961, p. 65 (a history of Croatian literature)

Šrepel, ‘Humanist Šižgorić’

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1450-1500
Genre & Source Type: Poetry
Social History: Churches, Food and food laws, Religious violence,
Renaissance, sodomy, Warfare
Christians: Catholics, Christians

Neven Jovanović
Cite this page

Jovanović, Neven. " Elegia de Sibenicensis agri vastatione." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David
Thomas. Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016
<http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-ii/elegia-de-sibenicensis-agri-vastatione-
COM_27685>

6
 Tractatus de moribus, condictionibus et
nequicia Turcorum
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts MANUSCRIPTS EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Tractatus de moribus, condictionibus et nequicia Turcorum

‘Treatise on the customs, habits and perversity of the Turks’

George of Hungary

Date: 1480
Original Language: Latin

Description
George of Hungary offers a treatise about the Turks, their customs, habits,
values and religion, and also an autobiographical account of his being taken
prisoner and enslaved, and then he presents a detailed account of his 20 years
living in Turkey. He is deeply concerned about the imminent arrival of the
apocalypse, worries about the grave threat from the Turks to all of Christian
Europe, and wants to provide his readers with as much information as
possible about Turkish culture and people as a protective measure lest any
might be taken prisoner and enslaved by them. George was deeply
traumatised by his life as a slave, and wants to reflect as deeply as possible
on the Muslim religion so that he himself might be better prepared to defend
himself against the seductive power of Islam, to which he had become a
victim for some time during his early years of slavery, lest he fall into
Turkish hands again. In addition, his treatise appeals to many Christians who

7
have ignored or neglected their own faith and do not know anything about the
subtle but powerful temptations of the Muslim Turks.

George’s account is an intriguing mix of personal observations and general

comments about the Turkish world, and contains much information about
specific aspects of the religion as practised by the Turks, including a
particular focus on the cult of the dervishes, to whom he felt a great
attraction. Drawing on his own experience – at one time he almost converted
to Islam – many chapters focus on the reasons why individuals might
abandon their Christian faith and accept the Muslim religion. The treatise
concludes with several chapters in which George outlines and underscores
the great advantages of Christianity and denigrates and ridicules the Turks as
infidels.

Significance
The Tractatus provides a unique first-person eye-witness account of the
culture, religion and social, political and educational system of the Turks,
their religious rituals, and everyday customs and habits. George also
discusses Turkish saints and accounts of miracles, and contrasts all their
activities with those performed among Christians. He highlights the curious
attractiveness of Islam, to which a number of Christians had converted, while
the reverse never happened, as he mentions.

Manuscripts
MANUSCRIPTS
MS Vat – Pal. Lat. 1880, fols 150r-157v (c. 1481/2)

MS Stuttgart, Württembergische Landesbibliothek – HB V 85a (c. 1481/2;

the paper of the MS was probably produced between 1474 and 1477)

MS Nuremberg, Stadtbibliothek – Cent. V, App. 18 (1491)

MS Vat – Lat. 9522, fols 41r-67r (6 August 1499)

8
MS Copenhagen, Kongelige Bibliotek – Thott 1383, fols 1-81 (October
1499)

MS Frankfurt am Main, Stadt- und Universitätsbibliothek – Lat. qu. 59 No. 5

(c. 1500)

MS Vat – Lat. 6260 (early 16th century)

EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS

For a list of editions, see R. Klockow (ed.), Georgius de Hungaria. Tractatus
de moribus, condictionibus et nequicia Turcorum, Vienna, 1994, p. 420

Incunables and early modern editions:

R = Rome (probably by Georg Herolt, 1481)

U = n.p., n.y. (Urach: Conrad Fyner, 1481/2)

K1= Cologne: Johann Koelhoff the Elder, c. 1488-90

CC = Augsburg: Froschauer, 1498

K2 = Cologne: Kornelius von Zierikzee, before 1508/9

P1 = Paris: Henricus Stephanus, 1509

9
P2 = Paris: Henricus Stephanus, 1511

P3 = Paris: de Marnef, 1514

N = Nuremberg: Friedrich Peypus, 1530

W = Wittenberg: Johannes Lufft, 1530

B1 = Basel: Johannes Oporinus, 1543

B2 = Basel: Johannes Oporinus, 1550

Editions & Translations

Studies
A. Classen, ‘Life writing as a slave in Turkish hands. Georgius of Hungary’s
reflections about his existence in the Turkish world’, Neohelicon 39 (2012)
55-72

T. Razvan, ‘Ex Oriente lux? Georgius of Hungaria and his treaty on the
beliefs and customs of the Turks. Notes on an apocalyptic perception of the
other’, International Journal on Humanistic Ideology 2 (2008) 141-52

10
A. Classen, ‘The world of the Turks described by an eye-witness. Georgius
de Hungaria’s dialectical discourse on the foreign world of the Ottoman
Empire’, Journal of Early Modern History 7 (2003) 257-79

A. Schwob, ‘“Toleranz” im Türkentraktat des Georg von Ungarn. Eine

Infragestellung’, in M. Nagy et al. (eds), ‘ swer sînen vriunt behaltet, daz ist
lobelîch ' . Festschrift für András Vizkelety zum 70. Geburtstag, Piliscaba and
Budapest, 2001, 253-9

H. Stein, ‘Das türkische Sprachgut im Tractatus de moribus, condictionibus

et nequicia Turcorum (1481) des Georg von Ungarn’, Archivum
Ottomanicum 14 (1995/6) 39-78; 15 (1997) 89-118

R. Klockow, ‘Die Erstausgabe des Tractatus de moribus, condicionibus et

nequitia Turcorum des Georg von Ungarn. Prolegomena zu einer kritischen
Ausgabe’, Südost-Forschungen 46 (1987) 57-78

P. Johanek, ‘Georg (Jörg) von Ungarn’, in K. Ruh et al. (eds), Die deutsche
Literatur des Mittelalters. Verfasserlexikon, Berlin, 1980, vol. 2, cols 1204-6

T. Streitfeld, ‘Wer war der Autor des “Tractatus de ritu et moribus

Turcorum”?’, Forschungen zur Volks- und Landeskunde 16 (1973) 16-36

J.A. Palmer, ‘Georgius de Hungaria, O.P., and the “Tractatus de moribus

condicionibus et nequicia Turcorum”’, Bulletin of the John Rylands Library
34 (1952) 44-68

B. Capesius, ‘Die Persönlichkeit und das Leben des Ungenannten

Mühlbachers’, Deutsche Forschungen im Südosten 2 (1943) 576-99

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1450-1500
Thematic Region: Anatolia
Related Historical People: Mehmet II
Dynasty/Ruling elite: Mamluks
Genre & Source Type: Autobiographies, Captivity narratives, Ethnography,
Travel Writing

11
Theme: captivity, Christian descriptions of Islamic doctrine
Social History: Islamisation

Albrecht Classen
Cite this page

Classen, Albrecht. " Tractatus de moribus, condictionibus et nequicia Turcorum." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900.
General Editor David Thomas. Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016
<http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-ii/tractatus-de-moribus-condictionibus-et-nequicia-
turcorum-COM_24643>

12
 Liber cronicarum cum figuris et
ymaginibus ab inicio mundi
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts MANUSCRIPTS EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Liber cronicarumBuch der Croniken und geschichten mit figuren und

pildnussen von anbeginn der welt bis auf dise unsere zeit
'Book of chronicles with figures and images from the beginning of the world',
'Nuremberg chronicle'

Hartmann Schedel

Date: 1493
Original Language: Latin

Description
The Liber cronicarum, usually referred to in English as the Nuremberg
chronicle, is a world chronicle from the creation to the end of the 15th century
organised according to the classical seven ages. It comprises some 2250
different entries spread over 324 printed leaves in the original Latin version,
with the most recent events falling on fol. 258. Three blank leaves for the
recording of further events follow, and the history concludes with a short
description of the seventh age of eschatological fulfilment. The concluding
section comprises an extensive geographical appendix on various cities and
lands, drawn from Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini’s (the future Pope Pius II)
Europa. But descriptions and woodcut depictions of cities are also central
elements of the chronicle’s main text, which in addition includes numerous
descriptions of classical antiquity, biblical persons and events, ancestors of

13
Christ, popes, saints, heretics, church councils and synods, bishops, monastic
orders, miracle stories and other wondrous events, legends, philosophers,
scholars, Roman and Holy Roman emperors, and other kings and lesser
nobility.

Around 35 of the Chronicle’s entries address relations between Christians

and Muslims directly, above all in accounts of warfare in Spain, during the
various crusades, and between Christian Europe and the Ottoman Turks.
Many more entries, particularly descriptions of cities, mention Islam for the
same reason. The entry on Muḥammad (fol. 151v) concisely describes a
number of Muslim teachings, including the place of Jesus among the
prophets, abstinence from alcohol, and polygamy. The Chronicle depicts
Muslims above all as cruel enemies of the Christian faith whose
encroachment threatens both the borders and the very heart of Europe, though
its image of them is not entirely negative: it ascribes a Trojan heritage to both
the German tribes and the Turks (fol. 37r; but see also the competing claim of
the Turks’ earlier imprisonment by Alexander the Great, fol. 165r), and it
says that Saladin ‘lacked nothing worthy of the highest praise, except the
designation of Christian’ (fol. 205v).

Significance
Far more copies of the first edition of the Nuremberg chronicle have survived
to the present day (over 1200 by one count) than any other edition of any 15th-
century printed book, and the other four editions are also preserved in
numerous copies. The production of the Chronicle is uniquely well
documented among early printed books, and has been more thoroughly
studied than any other apart from the Gutenberg Bible (with Reske’s study
supplanting earlier work by Rücker and Wilson, although Zahn’s work
remains fundamental).

Schedel compiled the Nuremberg chronicle from the works of Italian

humanist historians, principally the Supplementum chronicarum of Jacobus
Philippus Foresti of Bergamo, with very little original contribution of his own
(the most significant study of Schedel’s sources remains that of Haitz). The
work’s value as a historical source is therefore low. However, a number of
16th-century authors borrowed heavily from it. According to Berger and
Bardill, the woodcuts of Constantinople preserve some details important for
14
reconstructing the first decades of the city following its fall to the Ottoman
Turks. As one of the most lavishly illustrated printed books of the 15th
century (over 1800 woodcuts from more than 600 different stocks), the
Nuremberg chronicle has above all influenced popular representations of the
Middle Ages since its first printing.

Manuscripts
MANUSCRIPTS
The printer’s manuscripts for the first Latin and German editions of the
Nuremberg chronicle are preserved as:

MS Nuremberg, Stadtbibliothek – Cent. II, 98 (1493)

MS Nuremberg, Stadtbibliothek – Cent. II, 99 (1493)

EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS

It appears in the standard catalogues of 15th-century printing, including that of
Hain (H) and the Incunabula short title catalog (ISTC), but at the time of
writing only provisionally in the Gesamtkatalog der Wiegendrucke (GW).
The complete bibliographical citations of ISTC and GW are available online.

Liber chronicarum, Nuremberg, 1493 (H 14508, ISTC is00307000)

Das Buch der Croniken und Geschichten, trans. Georg Alt, Nuremberg, 1493
(H 14510, ISTC is00309000)

Das Buch der Croniken und Geschichten, trans. Georg Alt, Augsburg, 1496
(H 14511, ISTCis00310000)

15
Liber chronicarum, Augsburg, 1497 (H 14509, ISTC is00308000)

Das Buch der Croniken und Geschichten, trans. Georg Alt, Augsburg, 1500
(H 14512, ISTC is00311000)

T he story of the creation of the world, being the first part of Dr. Hartmann
Schedel’s Liber chronicarum printed in Nuremberg in 1493, English trans. E.
Rosen, notes B. Dibner, New York, 1948

Liber chronicarum . Translation, ed. and trans. M. Zellmann-Rohrer, C.T.

Hadavas and Selim S. Nahas, Boston MA, 2010-12

Chronicle of the world 1493: the complete Nuremberg Chronicle, ed. and
trans. S. Füssel, Cologne, 2013 (edition and English trans.)

The Chronicle has been re-issued in printed facsimile editions (not to

mention online digitisations) too numerous to mention, most prominently and
recently S. Füssel (ed.), Weltchronik. Kolorierte Gesamtausgabe von 1493,
Cologne, 2001.

Editions & Translations

Studies
While the scholarly literature touching on the Nuremberg chronicle directly
or indirectly is very extensive, its treatment of Christian-Muslim relations has
been very little studied. Only the most significant studies are listed here.

16
F. Koch, Raumkonzepte in der Schedelschen Weltchronik. Die Darstellungen
der Länder in Text, Bild und Karte, Hamburg, 2013

S. Lembke, ‘Die Anfänge des Buchdrucks am Beispiel der Weltchronik von

Hartmann Schedel’, Rostock, 2011

M.J.O. da Silva Pereira, ‘Liber chronicarum ou Crónica de Nuremberga

(1493)’, Boletim da Biblioteca da Universidade de Coimbra 44 (2010) 87-97

J. Green, ‘The Nuremberg chronicle and its readers. The reception of

Hartmann Schedel’s Liber cronicarum’, Urbana-Champaign IL, 2003 (Diss.
University of Illinois)

C. Reske, Die Produktion der Schedelschen Weltchronik in Nürnberg,

Wiesbaden, 2000

A. Berger and J. Bardill, ‘The representations of Constantinople in Hartmann

Schedel’s World chronicle, and related pictures’, Byzantine and Modern
Greek Studies 22 (1998) 2-37

S. Füssel, Die Welt im Buch. Buchkünstlerischer und humanistischer Kontext

der Schedelschen Weltchronik von 1493, Mainz, 1996

S. Füssel (ed.), 500 Jahre Schedelsche Weltchronik. Akten des

interdisziplinären Symposions vom 23./24. April 1993 in Nürnberg,
Nuremberg, 1994

P. Zahn, ‘Die Endabrechnung über den Druck der Schedelschen Weltchronik

(1493) vom 22. Juni 1509. Text und Analyse’, Gutenberg-Jahrbuch 66
(1991) 177-213

A. Wilson, The making of the Nuremberg chronicle, Amsterdam, 1976

E. Rücker, Die Schedelsche Weltchronik. Das größte Buchunternehmen der

Dürer-Zeit, Munich, 1973

M. Haitz, Hartmann Schedel’s Weltchronik, Munich, 1899

Keywords
17
Chronological Category: 1450-1500
Thematic Region: Asia Minor, Byzantium, Constantinople, Crete , Damascus,
Genoa, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Jerusalem, North Africa, Palestine,
Persia, Portugal, Rhodes, Spain
Related Historical People: Alexander the Great, Aristotle, Bede, Bernard of
Clairvaux, Charlemagne, Constantine, Daniel, David, Frederick Barbarossa,
George, St., Helen, Hungarians, Jesus, John, John of Damascus, John the
Baptist, Luke, Mark, Mary, Matthew, Moses, Muhammad, Nero, Paul,
Pelagius, Saladin, Sibyl, Virgin Mary, Zoroaster
Genre & Source Type: Apocalypses, Biographical dictionaries,
Chronicles/Histories, Cosmography, Encyclopaedias, Ethnography,
Geographies, Hagiography, Heresiography, Legends and myths,
Martyrologies
Theme: Anti-Muslim polemic, Arab conquests, Arab siege of Jerusalem,
Biblical Prophets, Christian anti-Jewish polemic, Christian descriptions of
Islamic doctrine, Christian portrayal of Muhammad, Christian-Muslim
warfare, Conquest of Constantinople, Council of Nicaea, Creation,
Crucifixion, Death, Early Islamic conquests, Last Emperor, Last Judgement,
Miracles, Papacy, Raids into Byzantine lands
Social History: Conversion, Crusades, Heresy, Martyrdom, Monasteries,
Persecution, Reconquista, Relics, Religious art, Religious violence, Saints,
Warfare
Christians: Christians, Latins

Jonathan Green
Cite this page

Green, Jonathan. " Liber cronicarum cum figuris et ymaginibus ab inicio mundi." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900.
General Editor David Thomas. Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016
<http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-ii/liber-cronicarum-cum-figuris-et-ymaginibus-ab-
inicio-mundi-COM_24645>

18
 Die Pilgerfahrt des Ritters Arnold von
Harff
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts MANUSCRIPTS EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Die Pilgerfahrt des Ritters Arnold von Harff

'The pilgrimage of Arnold von Harff, knight’

Arnold Ritter von Harff

Date: 1499
Original Language: German

Description
Arnold von Harff’s Die Pilgerfahrt des Ritters Arnold von Harff. Von Cöln
durch Italien, Syrien, Aegypten , Arabien, Aethiopien, Nubien, Palästina, die
Türkei, Frankreich, Spanien, wie er sie in den Jahren 1496 bis 1499
vollendet, beschrieben und durch Zeichnungen erläutert hat is a description
of his journey. He produced several manuscripts within a year of his return,
apparently with the help of copyists and illustrators. One copy was given
officially to the Duke of Jülich in 1499. The description of his pilgrimage
remained popular until the mid-19th century among the nobles of the region.
Most of the surviving manuscripts were kept in family libraries, until the
work was edited by Eberhard von Groote in Cologne in 1860. The text in von
Groote’s edition is 250 pages long, and Letts’s English translation runs to 300
pages.

19
The contents of von Harrf’s account represent a combination of fact and
fiction. Some regions described, such as Mecca, India and Madagascar, he
clearly never visited. These episodes are copied from other travel descriptions
by contemporary authors. However, his accounts of Mamluk Alexandria and
Cairo are trustworthy and full of details not mentioned by other authors. In
these passages he shows a profound curiosity for the manners and customs of
Muslim society. He includes a glossary of Arabic terms, which is quite
accurate, as are the drawings of people he met and places he visited that are
included in the manuscripts. In particular, the clothing of Mamluk soldiers
corresponds well with descriptions given in Arabic sources. However, the
drawings of regions he did not visit are imaginary.

Von Harff travelled with an open mind and tried to find out the truth
concerning religious prejudices. In a passage explaining the recruitment of
Mamluk soldiers, who were imported as young slaves from outside the
Muslim realm in order to be trained in Cairo, he writes as follows: ‘Item it is
said in this country that when an apostate Christian becomes a Mameluke he
is forced to deny Christ and his Mother, spit on the cross, and suffer a cross
to be cut on the soles of his feet, in contempt, so that he treads on it. I tell you
no, this is not true. When these Mamelukes are first captured in Christian
lands they are sold to the heathen. They are then forced to say these words
“Holla, hylla, lalla, Mahemmet reschur holla”, that is in German, “God is
God and shall be so forever. Mahomet is the true prophet sent from God.”
Then they circumcise him and give a heathen name. But when three of us
were in prison [because of money disputes] nothing of this kind was forced or
done to me’ (Letts, The pilgrimage, p. 122).

Besides giving evidence of his interest in language and religion, this

quotation shows that von Harff was willing to contrast hearsay with actual
facts and enter into dialogue with his Muslim counterparts. The same is
illustrated in the following story. Once he visited the Temple Mount in
Jerusalem and tried to engage his Muslim guide in a discussion about Jesus
and his role on the Temple Mount. Unfortunately, the guide did not know
very much about Jesus, but the description of the holy sites that follows
represents a very neutral account and relies on the information provided by
this guide. This stands in stark contrast to other contemporary pilgrims, who

20
usually mourned the loss of Jerusalem to the heathens and told them stories
from the Bible.

Significance
The description of von Harff's journey in its non-fictional parts is a valuable
source for the history of Mamluk society at the end of the 15th century. It can
seen as an indication that some late medieval Europeans tried to use the
knowledge they acquired to make sense of things they encountered while
they were abroad, rather than prejudging them.

Manuscripts
MANUSCRIPTS
According to Letts (The pilgrimage of Arnold Von Harff, knight, pp. xiv-xvi),
ten MSS appear to have survived until the 19th century.

Von Groote’s edition is based on three MSS in the possession of the von
Harff family (von Groote, Die Pilgerfahrt des Ritters Arnold von Harff,
pp. vii-viii):

MS von Harff ‒ A, 152 pages in small folio (late 15th century)

MS von Harff ‒ B, 148 pages (mid 16th century)

MS von Harff ‒ C, 142 pages (late 16th century)

The only other MS listed by Letts with details is:

MS Trier, Stadtbibliothek ‒ L.N. 1938, St. N. 1582 (mid 16th century)

EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS

von Groote, Die Pilgerfahrt des Ritters Arnold von Harff

Letts, The pilgrimage of Arnold Von Harff, knight

Brall-Tuchel and Reichert, Rom ‒ Jerusalem – Santiago

21
Editions & Translations
Studies
Brall-Tuchel, ‘Der Reisende als Integrationsfigur?’

Knop, Die Pilgerfahrt des Ritters Arnold von Harff

Fuess, Verbranntes Ufer

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1450-1500
Thematic Region: Egypt, Jerusalem
Genre & Source Type: Travel Writing

Albrecht Fuess
Cite this page

Fuess, Albrecht. " Die Pilgerfahrt des Ritters Arnold von Harff." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David
Thomas. Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016
<http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-ii/die-pilgerfahrt-des-ritters-arnold-von-harff-
COM_26197>

22
 Historia Turcica
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts MANUSCRIPTS EDITIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Historia Turcica
‘Turkish history’

Felix Brutus Petancius (de Petanciis), Felix Petancius Ragusinus, Felice

Petanzio

Date: 1501
Original Language: Latin

Description
Historia Turcica is a historiographical work and can be dated to the period
between June and October of 1501. It is dedicated to Vladislas II. Preserved
in a single manuscript and currently unedited, the work covers 36 folio pages,
with parts missing. It begins with a prologue that encourages Vladislas to
avenge the disastrous Crusade of Varna, and traces the history of the Ottoman
Turks from the founder of the dynasty, Osman I, to the contemporary reign of
Bayezid II, with half of the work treating the rule of Mehmed II. It is
concluded by an epilogue, which again encourages Vladislas and other
European rulers to take up arms against the common enemy.

Historia Turcica is a patchwork. The first half, including part of the prologue
and leading up to the beginning of Mehmed II’s reign, was taken almost
verbatim from Niccolò Sagundino’s De familia Otthomanorum
epitome (‘Epitome on the family of the Ottomans’, also known as De origine
et rebus gestis Turcarum), composed in 1456 for Enea Silvio Piccolomini. It

23
inserts some new passages, such as the account of the assassination of Sultan
Murad I by Miloš Obilić at the Battle of Kosovo in 1389. The second part,
which continues after Sagundino’s text, seems to be an original piece of
writing, although it has not been subjected to philological analysis.

The codex unicus does not indicate either the title or the author of the work,
but on the basis of the two other contemporary works on the Ottoman Turks
by Petančić, and the fact that Petančić seems to have been the one who
copied and illuminated the manuscript, the work was attributed to him early
on. Agostino Pertusi has recently suggested the possibility of another,
unidentified author from Vladislas’s court, although the collected evidence
still favours attribution to Petančić.

Significance
Historia Turcica does not include any references to Islam as a religion, and
only chronicles the political events of Ottoman history. The work is
preserved in a single manuscript which, as can be gathered from unfinished
illuminations, was probably never presented to Vladislas II at all. As
such, Historia did not enjoy any substantial success, unlike Petančić’s treatise
on routes to Turkey or his Genealogia.

Manuscripts
MANUSCRIPTS
MS Nuremberg, Stadtbibliothek Nürnberg – Solger 31.2 (1501; in a
fragmentary state, as a result of the removal of a few folios bearing
miniatures of the Ottoman sultans)

EDITIONS
The work has not been edited or translated.

Editions & Translations

24
Studies
A. Pertusi, Martino Segono di Novo Brdo vescovo di Dulcigno, Rome, 1981,
pp. 273-7

Kniewald, Feliks Petančić i njegova djela, pp. 78-94

D. Kniewald, ‘Dubrovčanin Feliks Petančić o ratovanju s Turcima 1502’

[The Ragusan Feliks Petančić on fighting against the Turks in 1502], Vesnik
Vojnog Muzeja JNA 3 (1956) 80-106

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1500-1550
Thematic Region: Ottoman Empire
Dynasty/Ruling elite: Bayezid II Ottoman Sultan, Vladislas II, King of
Hungary
Genre & Source Type: Historiography

Luka Špoljarić
Cite this page

Špoljarić, Luka. " Historia Turcica." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David Thomas. Brill Online, 2016.
Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016 <http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-
ii/historia-turcica-COM_27689>

25
 Genealogia Turcorum imperatorum, lex
imperii domi militiaeque habita
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Genealogia Turcorum imperatorum

‘Genealogy of the Turkish emperors and the regulation of their empire at
home and at war’

Felix Brutus Petancius (de Petanciis), Felix Petancius Ragusinus, Felice

Petanzio

Date: 1502
Original Language: Latin

Description
Genealogia Turcorum imperatorum is a short work dedicated to Vladislas II,
in which Feliks Petančić briefly describes the state of the Ottoman Empire at
the time. He presented it to the king together with Quibus itineribus. The
work is preserved in two redactions which open with the same prologue
where Petančić urges the king to press on with the war against the Ottomans.
After the prologue, however, the two redactions differ greatly in both size
and style of the text. The first presents a longer text (15 pages in Adelmann’s
editio princeps), which briefly describes the origins of the Ottoman Turks
and reigns of the sultans from Osman I to Bayezid II. Then follows a
description of the administration, judiciary and army of the Empire before the
work concludes with an epilogue in which Petančić urges the king and the
rest of the Res publica Christiana to take up arms against the Ottomans.

26
The second redaction is preserved in a single, intricately decorated,
manuscript roll made of four folio leaves, which was presented to Vladislas
II. This copy offers a greatly condensed version of the text. It starts with a list
of the Ottoman sultans (accompanied by their portraits) and then briefly
presents in three columns the administration, judiciary, army, finances and
territory of the Empire, with each subsection accompanied by a miniature.

Most important, particularly from the perspective of Christian-Muslim

relations, is the section on the law and customs of the Turks (Lex et mores
Turcorum), which Petančić added at the end of the second redaction. This
section elaborates on the religious customs of the Turks as a nation that
follows the ‘Muhammadan sect’. It mentions the duty of the Muslims to
attack the Christians unless they convert to Islam, the prohibition on drinking
wine, and marriage practices. It describes the call to prayer of the ‘priest’
(who, Petančić says, is called Thalasman), and also comments on ritual
ablutions. This is followed by a discussion about the month of fasting
culminating in the feast called Buran (i.e. Bairam), on which Petančić
elaborates in some detail. Finally, he mentions the Muslim belief that in
heaven men will be given the ‘most beautiful virgins’.

Significance
With its detailed presentation of the Ottoman Empire and Islamic religious
practices, Petančić’s Genealogia represents a departure from the themes of
15th-century writers on Ottoman matters, who were more interested in
presenting the origins and primordial barbarity of the Turks, and who based
their knowledge on medieval and ancient authorities. By contrast, this work is
an example of the new wave of literature which, as Margaret Meserve in her
study Empires of Islam in Renaissance political thought (Cambridge MA,
2008) puts it, was more interested in ‘tales of Ottoman dynastic intrigues,
court ceremonials, and social customs’ (p. 241). Feliks Petančić was one of
the intermediaries who transmitted this information further west. As he
describes his credentials in the epilogue of the first redaction of Genealogia:
‘These are the things that I have ascertained by careful investigation about
the Empire of the Turks during my long travels; for indeed, my city,
Dubrovnik, which is located on their borders, conducts a lot of business with
these peoples.’ Unlike Quibus itineribus Turci sint aggrediendi, where he

27
passes off someone else’s work as his own, Genealogia seems to represent
the sum of information he himself had collected on the state of affairs in the
Ottoman Empire at the time.

Manuscripts
MANUSCRIPTS

MS Vienna, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek – Lat. 3522 (1520s; Johannes

Cuspinianus's MS which includes a copy of the first redaction)

MS Venice, Museo Correr Civico – Cicogna 1246 (16th century; a copy of

the first redaction)

MS Budapest, Országos Széchényi Könyvtár – Lat. 378 (1502; second

condensed redaction and dedication copy presented to Vladislas II)

For a more detailed discussion of these, see Kniewald, Feliks Petančić i

njegova djela, pp. 58-70.

EDITIONS

Konrad Adelmann, De origine, ordine et militari disciplina Magni Turcae

domi forisque habita Libellus, Haguenau, 1530 (editio princeps of the first
redaction by Adelmann, a canon of Augsburg Cathedral)

Four more editions appeared before the end of the 16th century. For a more
detailed discussion of the editions of the work, see Kniewald, Feliks Petančić
i njegova djela, pp. 70-8

Editions & Translations

Studies
Pertusi, Martino Segono di Novo Brdo vescovo di Dulcigno, pp. 67-71

Kniewald, Feliks Petančić i njegova djela, pp. 58-78

Kniewald, ‘Dubrovčanin Feliks Petančić o ratovanju s Turcima 1502’

28
Keywords
Chronological Category: 1500-1550
Thematic Region: Hungarian Kingdom , Ottoman Empire
Dynasty/Ruling elite: Bayezid II Ottoman Sultan, Vladislas II, King of
Hungary
Theme: Descriptions of Turks, Rituals and Customs, Society

Luka Špoljarić
Cite this page

Špoljarić, Luka. " Genealogia Turcorum imperatorum, lex imperii domi militiaeque habita." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 -
1900. General Editor David Thomas. Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016
<http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-ii/genealogia-turcorum-imperatorum-lex-imperii-
domi-militiaeque-habita-COM_27690>

29
 Quibus itineribus Turci sint aggrediendi
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts MANUSCRIPTS EDITIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Quibus itineribus Turci sint aggrediendi

‘The routes by which the Turks should be attacked’

Felix Brutus Petancius (de Petanciis), Felix Petancius Ragusinus, Felice

Petanzio

Date: 1502
Original Language: Latin

Description
Quibus itineribus Turci sint aggrediendi is a short work on the routes leading
towards the Ottoman Empire. Petančić dedicated it to King Vladislas II. In
Agostino Pertusi’s critical edition it comes to 30 pages. Passing over the
possible sea routes, the work presents a geographical overview of the land
routes that led from the Pannonian Basin and the Western Balkans to
Constantinople. In effect, it presents the geography of the Ottoman Balkans,
and in it Petančić advises the king to attack the Turks on their own territory,
evoking the expeditions of Alexander the Great, Hannibal and John Hunyadi
as historical precedents to follow.

Agostino Pertusi, the editor of the modern critical edition of the work, has
challenged Petančić’s authorship, showing that he plagiarised a work by
Martin Segon, Bishop of Ulcinj, which was composed in 1480. This was
preserved in a single manuscript, and was largely unknown in scholarship
until Pertusi’s edition. Though it omits a couple of chapters found in Segon’s

30
work, Quibus itineribus even copies its prologue and epilogue, changing only
the name of the dedicatee.

Significance
In dealing with the routes and geographical setting of the region, Quibus
itineribus Turci sint aggrediendi does not include any references to Islam as a
religion. Moreover, even in the political context, the Turks themselves rarely
appear in the text. The work appeared under Petančić’s name in numerous
collections of works related to the Ottoman Turks (see below), and thus
established him as an authority on Turkish matters.

Manuscripts
MANUSCRIPTS
The MS that served as the basis for Cuspinian’s 1522 editio princeps (see
below), possibly the dedication copy presented to Vladislas II, is still
unidentified. All extant MSS seem to be later copies of the editio princeps.
For an overview of these MSS, see

Kniewald, Feliks Petančić i njegova djela, pp. 48-55

EDITIONS
De itineribus in Turciam libellus Felice Petantio cancellario Segniae autore,
Vienna, 1522

Following the editio princeps, nine more editions appeared before the end of
the 16th century, usually as part of larger collections of anti-Turkish orations
and treatises, and no fewer than 15 editions have appeared altogether. For a
list of these, see Kniewald, Feliks Petančić i njegova djela, pp. 43-8.

Pertusi, Martino Segono di Novo Brdo vescovo di Dulcigno, pp. 75-117

(modern critical edition)

31
By 1558, the work had already been translated into German and printed three
times, always as an addition to the text by Bartholomaeus Georgius (Bartol
Jurjević), another 16th-century Croatian author, who wrote a treatise on the
Ottoman Turks. A shortened 16th-century Italian translation is also preserved
in manuscript, while in the 19th century both Serbian and Croatian translations
appeared, by Jovan Subotić and Petar Marković respectively.

For a list of translations, see Kniewald, Feliks Petančić i njegova djela, pp.
55-8.

Editions & Translations

Studies
Pertusi, Martino Segono di Novo Brdo vescovo di Dulcigno, pp. 60-6

A. Pertusi, ‘I primi studi in occidente sull’origine e potenza dei Turchi’, Studi

Veneziani 12 (1970) 517-47

Kniewald, Feliks Petančić i njegova djela, pp. 43-58

D. Kniewald, ‘Feliks Petančić 1502 o putevima kojima valja napasti Turke’

[Feliks Petančić in 1502 on routes by which the Turks should be attacked],
Vesnik Vojnog Muzeja JNA 5 (1958) 25-58

Kniewald, ‘Dubrovčanin Feliks Petančić o ratovanju s Turcima 1502’

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1500-1550
Thematic Region: Ottoman Empire
Dynasty/Ruling elite: Bayezid II Ottoman Sultan, Vladislas II, King of
Hungary
Genre & Source Type: Geographical Treatise

Luka Špoljarić
Cite this page

32
Špoljarić, Luka. " Quibus itineribus Turci sint aggrediendi." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David
Thomas. Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016
<http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-ii/quibus-itineribus-turci-sint-aggrediendi-
COM_27691>

33
 Putováni k Svatému Hrobu
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts MANUSCRIPTS EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Putováni k Svatému Hrobu

‘A pilgrimage to the Holy Sepulchre’

Jan Hasištejnský z Lobkovic

Date: 1505
Original Language: Czech

Description
In Strejček’s scholarly edition, this travelogue is 110 pages long, and in
Maleček’s slightly later edition (in which the spelling is updated) it is 152
pages. Both are based on a 1515 version of Lobkovic’s work.

As would be expected, Lobkovic gives details of the principle places he

travels through on his journey to Jerusalem and the distances between them,
and he also goes to great lengths to record the other pilgrims, noting some
137 of them, including other Czechs, Germans, French, English and Spanish
(Lisy-Wagner, Islam, p. 25).

Despite being a piece of travel writing, the work also functions as a

description of interactions between various religious and ethnic groups.
Lobkovic was a devout Catholic, though his attitude towards Islam was not as
antagonistic as one might expect. He sees the eastern Mediterranean as a
region ‘that can have conflict and difference within itself but which is
interconnected and interdependent’ (Lisy-Wagner, Islam, p. 25; Lisy-

34
Wagner, ‘Jan Hasištejnský’, p. 73). ‘It is a place of tolerance, where different
people coexist, and at times and in places, a site of hybridity. He paints this
picture through his discussions of political conflicts, economic
interdependence, and cultural or religious markers of identity’ (Lisy-Wagner,
Islam, p. 25; Lisy-Wagner, ‘Jan Hasištejnský’, p. 75). Necessarily, this
situation includes the ruling Ottomans as well as Christians of various
persuasions, both those resident in the area and those, like Lobkovic, who
were only passing through.

Significance
What is most striking about Lobkovic’s travelogue is his lack of antagonism
towards Muslims. Of course, he does not write in the post-Mohács world, a
world reeling from the disastrous Hungarian defeat by the Ottomans in 1526
and with Vienna under siege, though it is an age in which Ottoman military
aggression was very real. South-eastern Europe had already been the setting
for many battles between the Ottomans, who were intent on making
incursions into central Europe, and Christians, who saw themselves as
defenders of the so-called bulwark of Christendom. Lobkovic is well aware
of the region’s troubled history, and he refers to various conflicts, sieges and
so on, yet he does not appear to see the conflict in terms of Christians and
Muslims. He is more interested in the notion of the eastern Mediterranean ‘as
a unit separate from northern Europe’ (Lisy-Wagner, Islam, p. 27; Lisy-
Wagner, ‘Jan Hasištejnský’, p. 73), a view that resembles the interpretation of
modern historiography.

Manuscripts
MANUSCRIPTS
MS Prague, National Library – XVII A 13 (1515; given as XVII A 13 by
Strejček, ‘Jan Hasištejnský’, p. xxii, but as XVII A 2 by Tobolka, Knihopis,
iv, p. 316)

35
EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
Strejček, Jana Hasištejnského z Lobkovic Putování k Svatému Hrobu (old
Czech)

Maleček, Putování k Svatému Hrobu (modern Czech)

Editions & Translations

Studies
Lisy-Wagner, Islam, Christianity and the making of Czech identity

Lisy-Wagner, ‘Jan Hasištejnský z Lobkovic’

Rataj, České země ve stínu půlměsíce

Strejček, ‘Jan Hasištejnský z Lobkovic’

Strejček, ‘Jan Hasištejnský z Lobkovic ve svém spise’, pp. xxiv-xxx

Strejček, ‘Sloh Lobkovicův’, pp. xxxi-xxxii

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1450-1500
Thematic Region: Jerusalem, Mediterranean, Ottoman Empire
Related Historical People: Ottomans
Dynasty/Ruling elite: Ottomans
Genre & Source Type: Travel Writing
Social History: Economy, Ethnicity, Social interaction, Trade, Warfare
Christians: Albanian Church, Catholics

Chris Nicholson
Cite this page

Nicholson, Chris. " Putováni k Svatému Hrobu." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David Thomas. Brill
Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016 <http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-
muslim-relations-ii/putovani-k-svatemu-hrobu-COM_27651>

36
 Cantio Petri Berislo
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts MANUSCRIPTS EDITIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Cantio Petri Berislo

‘The song of Péter Beriszló’-

Mikhael de Zabatke

Date: 23 April 1515

Original Language: Hungarian

Description
The whereabouts of the original work are unknown. A copy was found in
Vienna in the 19th century, and a partial facsimile edition was made by Jenő
Ábel in the 1880s, but there is no precise knowledge about where the original
copy is held.

The poem is about Péter Beriszló (in Croatian Petar Berislavić, originating
from a Trogir/Trau Dalmatian patrician family), a prominent leader in the
anti-Ottoman struggle in early 16th-century Hungary and Croatia. It relates
that he was originally a cleric and followed an ecclesiastical career, and was
then elevated to the royal court and served as secretary to the king, Ladislaus
II Jagiellon (1490-1516), taking part in a number of diplomatic missions. In
1507, he became provost of Székesfehérvár, then in 1512 bishop of
Veszprém. He was appointed to a series of powerful offices along the frontier
with the Ottomans to replace inept and negligent secular nobles. Combining
military and financial resources, he was able not only to resist the Ottoman
advance but also to direct counter-attacks against them in Bosnia. It was

37
largely thanks to him that the Ottomans achieved no major successes in the
1510s along the Hungarian border. In the poem, he is celebrated as a hero
feared by the Turks and the hope of Christians.

The main story is about the Turkish sanjak-bey of Szendrő/Smeredevo,

Serbia, who is taken captive by Beriszló following a skirmish. He is utterly
ashamed to be captured by a cleric, and would rather be killed so that he can
go to heaven. He admits that his rule over the Christians in his sanjak ‘is not
fit for those of the true faith’, and he confesses that he extorted and stole
while he was in office and deserves his fate in prison. He is even doubtful
about his Muslim faith and about his God, asking whether he can save him.
His character serves as a counter to Beriszló, who by contrast is resilient and
steadfast in his faith. The Turk declares that God is on the side of the
Christians: ‘Many gods [understood as a reference to the Trinity] live in
Hungary who help the priest-ban with courage, valour, wealth, gains and
money.’ Thus, the Turk himself is doomed to his imprisonment, because his
God seems to have abandoned him, and there is no use fighting against these
enemies. Even though the Turks make attacks along the frontier, they fail
because providence is on the side of their enemies.

Significance
The poem is sometimes seen as having a political objective, or even as being
a political song. It starts with a warning: all people ‘should be grieved at the
danger of the bishop’, since while he continues to be aided by God ‘never
will an Ottoman emperor rule over his head’. This ‘peril’ or ‘danger’ must
refer to a reversal, injury or lost battle, and Szabatkai seeks to stir up the
reluctant Croatian lords to fight, and not to let their leader suffer a single
failure. This is a major motif throughout the poem: the Hungarians should not
fear the Ottoman threat, but it is the Ottomans who should be afraid because
the Hungarians have their warrior-bishop at their head. (In another
interpretation, the first line is understood as ‘you Hungarians should be
grieved at the loss of the bishop’, following the news of his death in 1515.)

The references to Péter Beriszló waging war because he could not bear to see
the loss of Christian lives, and also fighting at his own expense, are an
implicit criticism of the king and the nobility. A characteristic adjective used
of him is ‘furious’ and ‘wrathful’, which might refer to his being the scourge
38
of God as a missionary led by ‘divine providence’. He is to set an example to
the nation, because ‘only those who are true in their faith can win over the
heathen’. This recalls crusading ideology: only a true-born, chaste
and honourable crusader is to gain victory.

Manuscripts
MANUSCRIPTS
Ábel, ‘Beriszló Péter énekéhez’ (partial facsimile edition, taken from the lost
original)

EDITIONS
F. Toldy, A magyar nemzeti irodalom története [History of national
literature], Pest, 1851, vol. 2, p. 1034 (a fragment)

Á. Szilády (ed.), Régi magyar költők tára [Old Hungarian poets], Budapest,
1877, vol. 1, p. 204 (a fragment)

E. Madas (ed.), Szöveggyűjtemény a régi magyar irodalom

történetéhez [Collection of texts for the history of early Hungarian literature],
Budapest, 1991, pp. 542-3

Editions & Translations

Studies
Gerézdi, A magyar világi líra kezdetei

C. Horváth (ed.), Középkori magyar verseink [Our medieval poems],

Budapest, 1921, pp. 485-9

L. Zolnai, Nyelvemlékeink a könyvnyomtatás koráig [Our language

monuments down to the age of printing], Budapest, 1894

Á. Szilády, ‘Cantio Petri Berislo 1515’, Századok 13 (1879) 336-44

39
Keywords
Chronological Category: 1500-1550
Thematic Region: Bosnia, Hungarian Kingdom , Ottoman Empire
Related Historical People: Ottomans
Dynasty/Ruling elite: Louis II. King of Hungary and Bohemia
Genre & Source Type: Poetry, Songs
Theme: Christian-Muslim warfare
Social History: Warfare

Attila Barany
Cite this page

Barany, Attila. " Cantio Petri Berislo." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David Thomas. Brill Online, 2016.
Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016 <http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-
ii/cantio-petri-berislo-COM_26329>

40
 Tractatus de duabus Sarmatiis Asiana et
Europiana et de contentis in eis
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Tractatus de duabus SarmatiisPolskie wypisanie dwojej krainy świata

‘Treatise on the two Sarmatias, Asian and European, and what is found in
them’

Maciej Miechowita, Maciej Carpiga (Karpiga)

Date: 31 November 1517

Original Language: Latin

Description
Miechowa states his purpose in composing this work it as follows: ‘As the
Portuguese king revealed the southern part of the world as far as India and
the lands inhabited by people on the shores of the Ocean, so let the northern
part of the world with people living on the shores of the Northern Ocean and
further east be brought before the eyes of all people.’ The multi-layered work
contains accounts of the lands and peoples of the eastern parts of Europe. It
includes lengthy geographical descriptions and refers to local customs. It also
reflects on new powers such as Ottoman Turkey and the Duchy of Moscow.
It devotes much attention to the Mongols (Połowcy) and Tatars, people living
on the steppes, aiming to present the Tatars as people from various origins
and to show the derivation of the Slavic peoples from the Scythians and
Sarmatians, and thus to underline their closeness to the rest of Europe.
Miechowa also tries to show the ancient origin of the Poles.

41
Thanks to the accuracy and meticulousness of its description of eastern
regions (at least by contemporary standards), Miechowa’s work raised great
interest and was published in more than 20 editions, from the first in Kraków
in 1517 to Italian and Dutch editions.

It consists of two books divided into treatises, three in Book 1 and two in
Book 2, each further divided into chapters.

The first treatise of Book 1 contains a description of Sarmatia and the genesis
of the Tatars, and goes on to describe Batu Khan’s campaign of 1241,
including the Tatar raid on Poland and Hungary, and the extent of the
destruction caused. Book 1, ch. 5 bears the title: ‘The way Pope Innocent IV
sent a diplomatic mission to the Tatar khan with a request that the latter
would not persecute Christians, and the way the khan accepted the faith of
Mahomet’. This chapter reveals the scarcity of the information to which
Miechowa had access and the weakness of his sources, for he wrongly
introduces details about Judaism, and seems badly informed about Islam.
After the pope’s envoys were dismissed, he writes, the Saracens came to the
khan and offered him Islam, which he accepted. ‘And that is why they
accepted this religion and not any other. And when they say Eissa Rocholla,
i.e. Jesus is the spirit of the Lord [ʿ Īsā rūḥ Allāh], and Mahomet the Rossola,
i.e. Mahomet is God’s justice [as opposed to God’s messenger, rasūl], they
give evidence that they did not want to accept Jesus, the blessed spirit of God
teaching to live spiritually, but they accepted the justice of God, i.e. the
fleshy Mahomet indulging in filth like a carnal animal that the almighty God
punishes in the abyss of punishments day and night. And thus the Tatars
since that time have believed in Mahomet. They obey the Pentateuch of
Moses, practise circumcision, respect the Mosaic law, and do not use bells
but every day call ‘illo illoloh’ [lā ilāh ilā Allāh], which means there is no
god but God. They call themselves Ishmaelites, i.e. born of Ishmael, and they
call Christians ‘dzincis’, i.e. pagans, and ‘gaur’, i.e. ‘unbelievers without
religion’. Like other Saracens they observe three feasts every year. ‘Kuira’ –
offering-pesah – in commemoration of Isaac, when Abraham, the father of
many nations, decided to kill him on God’s order, is the first one. During the
feast they offer rams and birds, etc. Another feast is dedicated to the souls of
the dead, and then they visit the graves of their dead, they do works of charity
and feed the poor. The third feast is celebrated in order to secure well-being

42
and success. In order to celebrate the first feast they fast for 30 days, the
second for a lunar month, and for the third one 12 days’ (p. 36).

Subsequent chapters in this treatise are devoted to descriptions of customs

followed by the Tatars and of the areas where they live between the Caspian
Sea and the Volga and Don rivers.

The second treatise of Book 1 begins with a description of the ethnic groups
living in Scythia, then called Tataria. Subsequent chapters deal with Goths,
Alans, Vandals, Svens and Yurghs.

The third treatise of Book 1 begins with a description of the Turks from the
time of their arrival in the lands of the Goths and the beginning of the
Ottoman rise to power. In ch. 2, Miechowa returns to the origins of the
Perekop Tatars and continues the description of the Kazan and Nogai Tatars.

In the first treatise of Book 2, the first chapter opens with a description of
Ruthenia (Rus’), its component regions and their riches. Chapter 2 is devoted
to Lithuania and Samogitia (Žemaitija, Żmudź), and ch. 3 to the Grand
Duchy of Lithuania. This chapter contains not only a detailed geographical
description of the country, including the distances between the main urban
settlements, but also descriptions of its inhabitants and their customs.
Religious matters are not discussed in great detail: Miechowa states that
Catholics live there, adds a long account of the reasons for accepting
Christianity, and indicates that there are also Greek Orthodox Christian
Ruthenians. ‘In addition, in the Duchy of Lithuania there are Tatars near
Vilnius, where they live in their own villages. They till the land, as we do,
work and transport goods, and all go to war on the orders of the Lithuanian
prince, though they speak Tatar and venerate Mahomet because they belong
to the Saracen religion’ (p. 71).

The second treatise of Book 2 begins with a description of the Duchy of

Moscow, while the last chapter contains geographical descriptions of Scythia,
Perm, Bashkiria, Yurghia, Karelia and the lands conquered and incorporated
into the duchy.

Significance

43
The work was the first to give such a broad and detailed description of
eastern Europe. Miechowa devotes much space to geographical descriptions
of river systems, lakes and mountain ranges, often completely unknown to his
readers, or mistakenly situated on earlier maps. The attractive way in which
this unknown world is presented explains the popularity of the work,
signified by multiple editions in different parts of Europe. However, it is not
devoid of mistakes and misrepresentations. Miechowa sometimes mixes up
elements of Islam and Judaism, though it should be underlined that he pays
little attention to religious issues.

Miechowa’s work was used for centuries because, despite its shortcomings, it
was innovative in approach and contained a description of the world as seen
at the beginning of the 16th century.

It is worth underlining that Miechowa acknowledges the existence of

Muslims, though he is not judgmental about them but treats them objectively:
the Tatars, for example, are ‘pagans’ and live near Vilnius (today the
Łukiszki district of the city and surrounding areas such as Niemież) and they
speak Tatar. The issue of language is intriguing, because it is unclear whether
he meant that the Tatars spoke in a distinct language (these Tatar settlers still
used a variety of dialects in the 16th century) or that they prayed in Arabic. It
is obvious from his earlier descriptions that he had heard Muslim prayers
himself.

Manuscripts
EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
Tractatus de duabus Sarmatiis, Asiana et Europiana, et de contentis in eis,
Cracoviae, 1517, Augsburg, 1518, 15192 (poor edition)

Tractat von beiden Sarmatien, trans. J. Mair von Eckh, Augsburg, 1518
(German trans.)

44
Descriptio Sarmatiarum Asianae et Europianae et eorum, quae in eis
continentur, Cracoviae, 1521 (corrected and amended by Miechowia)

S. Grynaeus, Novus orbis regionum ac insularum, Basel, 1532, pp. 483-531;

Basel, 15372, 15823

‘Zwei Büchlein … von beeden Sarmatiis’, in Die new Welt, Strasburg, 1534,
pp. 153-69 (fragments of German trans.)

Andrzej Glaber z Kobylina, Polskie wypisanie dwojej krainy świata, Kraków,

1535, 15412, 15453(Polish trans.)

Epitome orbis terrarium, Venice, 1542

Historia delle due Sarmatie, trans. Ainnibal Maggi, in J.B. Ramusio,

Navigazzioni e viaggi, Venice, 1550, (Italian trans.)

J. Pistorius, Polonicae historiae corpus, vol. 1, Basel, 1582, pp. 121-50

(reprinted)

W. Mitzler de Kolof, Historiarum Poloniae et … Lithuaniae scriptorum…

collection, vol. 1, Varsoviae, 1761, 177-216

45
R.K. Kossowicz (trans.), Tractatus de duabus Sarmatiis Asiana et Europiana
et de contentis in eis, St Petersburg, 1855 (Russian trans.)

S. Vrtel-Wierczyński, Wybór tekstów staropolskich, Lwów, 1930; Warsaw,

19502; 19633 (selections from the Polish trans.)

S.A. Anninskij, Matwiej Miechowskij Traktat o dwoch Sarmatijach, Moscow,

1936

S. Kondratiew and A. Wazniecow, Aula lingua latinae. Kniga dla cztienija

po łatinskomu jazyku, Moscow, 1950 (selections from the Latin text)

T. Bieńkowski, ‘Maciej Miechowita, Traktat o dwu Sarmacjach’, Meander

13 (1958) 433-44 (selections from the preface, ch. 2.2 (on Lithuania) and
Epist. ad Hallerum 1, translated into Polish from the 1517 edition)

Opis Sarmacji Azjatyckiej i Europejskiej oraz tego, co się w nich znajduje,

wstęp Henryk Barycz, z łacińskiego przełożył i komentarzem opatrzył
Tadeusz Bieńkowski, a posłowie napisał Waldemar Voisé, Wrocław, 1972
(edition based on the 1521 publication, complemented by a letter to Stanisław
Turzon, bishop of Olomouc (Ołomuniec), attached to the first edition of 1517
and omitted in later ones)

Information about reprints is given in K. Estreicher, Bibliografia polska,

Kraków, 1872-1908, vol. 22, pp. 359-60.

46
B. Olszewicz (Geografia polska w okresie Odrodzenia, Warsaw, 1957, p. 24)
refers to a Dutch translation that is currently untraceable.

Editions & Translations

Studies
S.M. Kuczyński, ‘Miechowita jako historyk’, Studia i Materiały z Dziejów
Nauki Polskiej. Seria A, 7 (1965) 3-45

K. Głombiowski, Traktat o dwóch Sarmacjach i Kronika polska Macieja z

Miechowa na Śląsku, Wrocław, 1961

L. Hajdukiewicz, ‘Przyczynki do życia i twórczości Macieja z Miechowa’, in

H. Barycz (ed.), Maciej z Miechowa 1457-1523. Historyk, geograf, lekarz,
organizator nauki, Wrocław, 1960, 255-304

L. Hajdukiewicz, Biblioteka Macieja z Miechowa, Wrocław, 1960

H. Barycz (re-ed.), Maciej z Miechowa 1457-1523. Historyk, geograf, lekarz,

organizator nauki, Monografie z dziejów nauki i techniki t. XV, Wrocław,
1960

L. Krakowiecka, Maciej z Miechowa. Lekarz i uczony Odrodzenia, Warsaw,

1956 (reprint of selections from the works of S. Starowolski)

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1500-1550
Genre & Source Type: Geographical Treatise
Theme: Acts of worship

Artur Konopacki
Cite this page

Konopacki, Artur. " Tractatus de duabus Sarmatiis Asiana et Europiana et de contentis in eis." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500
- 1900. General Editor David Thomas. Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016
<http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-ii/tractatus-de-duabus-sarmatiis-asiana-et-
europiana-et-de-contentis-in-eis-COM_26278>

47
 Stauromachia id est cruciatorum servile
bellum
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts Editions
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Stauromachia
‘Stauromachia, the servile war of the crusaders’

Taurinus István, Stephanus Taurinus de Switawia, Stephanus Taurinus

Olomucensis, Stieröxel, Stieröchsel, Stephanus de Stierochsel

Date: 1519
Original Language: Latin

Description
Taurinus wrote Stauromachia, his major work on the subject of the peasants’
revolt of 1514, between 1515 and 1519. He started it following a discussion
with Szaniszló Thurzó concerning the way in which Taurinus should write
down what he had seen as a close observer of the events; he continued it in
Esztergom and Buda and finished it in Alba Iulia. It was first published after
his death in 1519, with a dedication to George, Margrave of Brandenburg-
Ansbach. The published edition contains the five books of Stauromachia in
38 pages, and an index in a further 19 pages. This edition was prepared by
Taurinus himself based on the manuscript, which is now lost but is mentioned
in the preface.

Stauromachia was the third epic written in Hungarian after Janus

Pannonius’s two panegyrics. Among the sources Taurinus used were the

48
Batrachomyomachia, attributed to Homer, with which it shares its mock-
heroic character, and Lucan’s Pharsalia, which it resembles in not having a
protagonist. Taurinus also mentions other poets, among them Vergil,
Catullus, Martial, Horace, Ovid and Juvenal.

In the first book, Archbishop Tamás Bakócz announces the contents of the
papal bull that calls for the crusade, Dózsa makes his first speech to the
peasants, and they begin to rise in revolt because, as Taurinus makes clear,
they object to the burdens this will impose on them. (It is no coincidence that
the epic was later interpreted as though it was concerned with Communism.)
In the second and third books, Vladislaus II calls together the noblemen, and
István Báthori, Miklós Csáki and Imre Perényi make speeches, as well as
György Dózsa, who was to lead the crusade. The ensuing Battle of Nagylak,
in which the peasants put the noblemen to flight, is described in some detail.
In the fourth and fifth books, the final Battle of Timișoara is described, after
which the king turns against the peasants.

Significance
Taurinus wrote his epic to flatter the noblemen of Hungary, and in
consequence it is a one-sided account of internal hostilities. He shows few
explicit concerns for the threat from the Ottomans, although he does castigate
Hungarian leaders who he sees wasting time on a civil war instead of fighting
the real enemy outside the borders; as László Geréb notes (Paraszti háború,
p. 3), the Battle of Mohács in 1526 had the same causes of internal
squabbling. On the other hand, László Jankovits (‘Aranykor a Mohács előtti
Magyarországon’) points to what he sees as the epic’s final outcome, which
is Taurinus’s vision of how King Louis II, who was at the time still a child,
would be the one to save Hungary and Europe from the Turks.

When he does make reference to the Turks, Taurinus mostly uses ideas
familiar from the time. For example, György Dózsa in his speech at Cegléd in
Book 1 states that the Hungarians are the chosen nation to defeat them.

Stauromachia influenced the poetry of Márton Nagyszombati, Gergely

Gyöngyösi, Miklós Istvánffy, Christianus Schaeseus, Bálint Szikszai
Hellopceus and Miklós Zrínyi (Csonka, ‘A Stauromachia’). Historians have
also used it as a source, even though most of the information in it is
49
historically inaccurate, as Jenő Szűcs (‘Dózsa parasztháborújának
ideológiája’) and others have warned.

Manuscripts
Editions
Stephani Tavrini Olomvcensis, Stauromachia id est cruciatorum seruile
bellum, qd’ anno ab orbe redempto post sesquimillesimum quartodecimo
&Pannoniam &collimitaneas prouincias ualde miserabiliter depopulauerat,
In quinque libros summatim digestum, Eivsdem index eorum quae in hoc
opere uisa sunt annotatu digniora, Impressum Viennae Pannoniae per
Ioannem Singrenium, 1519

S. Márki, ‘Dósa első költője’, Kathiolikus Szemle 3 (1889) 210-43 (translated

excerpts)

Juhász, Stauromachia id est cruciatorum servile bellum

Paraszti háború, Hősköltemény, melyet az 1514. esztendőbeli

Magyarországon dúló nagyszerű és véres eseményekről megírt, és öt évvel
később kinyomattatott Taurinus István, most pedig a latin verseket az eredeti
mérték szerint magyarul megszólaltatta és minden magyarok elébe
bocsájtotta Geréb László, with a preface by S. Gergely Sándor and L Geréb,
Budapest, 1946

Editions & Translations

Studies
L. Jankovits and L. Szörényi, ‘A megíratlan és a megírt tárgyú magyar eposz,
1519. Megjelenik Stephanus Taurinus Stauromachiája’, in M. Szegedy-
Maszák (ed.), A magyar irodalom történetei, Budapest, 20082, 195-203

L. Jankovits, ‘Aranykor a Mohács előtti Magyarországon. Taurinus

Stauromachiájának felépítéséhez’, in I. Bitskey and S. Oláh (eds),
Religió, retorika, nemzettudat régi irodalmunkban, Debrecen, 2004, 74-82

50
P. Kulcsár, Inventarium de operibus litterariis ad res Hungaricas pertinentiis
ab initiis usque ad annum 1700, Budapest, 2003, pp. 530-31

L. Szörényi, ‘Neolatin Dózsa-eposz. Homéroszi paródia és lucanusi történeti

irónia’, in L. Szörényi (ed.), Philologica Hungarolatina, Budapest, 2002, 51-
64

L. Szörényi, ‘L’influenza della Farsaglia di Lucano sull’epopea Tardo-

Umanista Latina in Ungheria. Stephanus Taurinus:
Stauromachia’, Neohelicon 27 (2000) 97-111

F. Csonka, ‘A Stauromachia utóélete a magyar szépirodalomban’, in J.

Jankovics (ed.), Klaniczay-emlékkönyv, Budapest, 1994, 143-67

S.V. Kovács, ‘A Dózsa-háború humanista eposza’, in S.V. Kovács

(ed.), Eszmetörténet és régi magyar irodalom, Budapest, 1987, 428-68

J. Szűcs, ‘Dózsa parasztháborújának ideológiája’, in J. Szűcs (ed.), Nemzet és

történelem, Budapest, 1974, 603-66

G. Barta and A. Fekete Nagy, Parasztháború 1514-ben, Budapest, 1973

F. Csonka, ‘A Dózsa-forradalom első eposzának fordítása’, Irodalomtörténeti

Közlemények … (1972) 653-80

F. Babinger, ‘Der mährische Humanist Stephan Taurinus und sein Kreis’,

Südost-Forschungen 13 (1954) 62-93

Z. Császár, A Stauromachia antik és humanista forrásai, Budapest, 1937

S. Márki, Dózsa György, Magyar Történelmi Társulat, Budapest, 1913

Márki, ‘Dósa első költője’

J. Kemény, ‘A Dózsa-pórhad egykorú emléke’, Új Magyar Múzeum (1857)

449-53

Keywords

51
Chronological Category: 1500-1550
Thematic Region: Hungarian Kingdom
Genre & Source Type: Epics
Theme: Diplomatic relations, Intra-Christian polemic, Papacy
Social History: Clergy, Crusades, diplomatic relations
Christians: Catholics

Borbála Sörös
Cite this page

Sörös, Borbála . " Stauromachia id est cruciatorum servile bellum." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor
David Thomas. Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016
<http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-ii/stauromachia-id-est-cruciatorum-servile-bellum-
COM_26633>

52
 Vios kai politeia tou hosiou kai
theophorou patros hēmōn Nēphōnos
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Vios kai politeia tou hosiou kai theophorou patros hēmōn NēphōnosViaţa şi
traiul sfinţiei sale părintelui nostru Nifon;, Viaţa sfântului Nifon
'The life and deeds of our venerable and God-inspired father Nēphōn'

Gavriēl ho prōtos; Gavril Protul

Date: Probably between 1508 and 1520

Original Language: Greek

Description
The Life of St Nēphōn (in full, Greek Vios kai politeia tou hosiou kai
theophorou patros hēmōn Nēphōnos arkhiepiskopou Kōnstantinoupole ō s,
askēsantos kata to hagiōnymon oros tou Athō en tē Monē tē kaloumenē tou
Hagiou Dionysiou; Romanian Viaţa şi traiul sfinţiei sale părintelui nostru
Nifon, patriarhul Ţarigradului care au strălucit între multe patimi şi ispite în
Ţarigrad şi în Ţara Muntenească; Viaţa şi traiul sfinţiei sale părintelui
nostru Nifon, patriarhul Ţarigradului) was presumably written at the
instigation of Prince Neagoe Basarab of Wallachia and his allies, the noble
family of Craiovescu, whose close relations with the saint are repeatedly
mentioned in the text. Although it explicitly refers to Nēphōn II, Patriarch of
Constantinople (1486-8, 1497-8) and Metropolitan of Wallachia (before
1506), the work is a hagiography not only of the saint but also of Prince
Neagoe, who embodies the ideal ruler. In fact, one of the aims of the Life is to

53
legitimate Neagoe’s accession to power and justify the manner in which he
eradicated the local dynasty with the help of the Ottomans. For this reason,
Gabriel’s work is also a (biased) chronicle of Wallachian history from 1504
to 1520, which explains why a revised version of it was later inserted into the
Chronicle of the Cantacuzenus family (Letopisețul cantacuzinesc, 1650-80)
and in the Chronicle compiled by Radu Popescu (around 1720).

Although no manuscript written in Gabriel’s hand is known, scholars

unanimously accept the authenticity of the text. The Vita exists in two
versions, Greek and Romanian, with several variations. Some specialists
maintain that the Romanian version is closer to the original, but discussions
about the original language of composition are still unresolved. It is most
likely that the prōtos wrote his work in Greek, the Romanian version being a
paraphrase through a Slavonic intermediary.

The Greek prototype is apparently lost. The oldest Romanian manuscript is

from 1682 (MS Bucharest, Library of the Romanian Academy – 464) and the
oldest Greek one from 1754 (MS Mount Athos, Dionysiou monastery – 661).
The Romanian version of the Vita is 39 leaves in length in the Bucharest MS,
and 32 pages in Simedrea’s edition, while the Greek version is 50 leaves in
the Mount Athos MS, and 132 pages in Grecu’s edition. Greek and Romanian
manuscripts containing various versions of Gabriel’s work circulated
extensively from the 17th to the 19th century. In addition, some of these
versions appeared in print, especially in liturgical books and hagiographical
anthologies.

References to Islam are not very frequent, but they are revealing for the
situation of the Orthodox Church during the first decades following the
Ottoman conquest, as well as for relations between the Ottomans and the
vassal principality of Wallachia.

As in other contemporary texts, the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople and

the Balkans is seen from a fatalistic perspective. In Gabriel’s view, the
Ottomans are the ‘iron stick’ that God employed to admonish his sinful
people and spur them to rediscover ‘true wisdom’. If ordinary Christians
were not able to grasp what occurred, men of God, nourished by biblical and
patristic teaching, understood that a new era of ‘Babylonian captivity’ was
about to begin. This was in many points the message given by the
54
Ecumenical Patriarchate itself, as proved by the writings of Gennadius
Scholarius, the first patriarch under Ottoman rule (d. c. 1472). In both cases,
the idea was that Christians must endure Ottoman slavery in order to expiate
their sins and win back God’s grace. Consequently, the sultan was God’s
agent on earth, while the Church and its people had to obey him as they
obeyed the Lord himself.

This explains why in Gabriel’s text the sultan (amira, ‘the Turkish emperor’)
appears to be the supreme (and legitimate) master of both the Ecumenical
Church and the Wallachian princes. In fact, no real difference is indicated
between the status of the patriarch, who was a kind of a Christian official of
the empire, and that of the princes of Wallachia, who ruled over an
autonomous principality under the sultan’s suzerainty. Thus, the sultan had
the right to appoint or dismiss patriarchs and princes at will and to interfere in
their affairs. Moreover, the sultan’s decisions were always right, even when
they went against the protagonist of the Vita, St Nēphōn himself; in all cases,
responsibility rested on various malevolent individuals who tried to mislead
the 'emperor'.

Gabriel also sees the Ottoman local authorities as God’s instruments. When
the Craiovescu clan was persecuted by Prince Vlad the Young (r. 1510-12),
they left the country and asked for justice from the local Ottoman governor
(pasha) ‘of the Danube’. Impelled by divine inspiration, and ‘despite the fact
that he was a pagan’, the latter hastened to accomplish ‘the right judgement’,
that is, to punish and execute the prince ‘like Joab who had killed Absalom’.

Despite this, Gabriel has no sympathy for Islam and is equally hostile
towards all religions and confessions other than Orthodoxy. When speaking
of the miracles that Nēphōn accomplished, Gabriel emphasises that the saint
saved (i.e. baptised) 4,000 ‘heretics’ from the ‘mouth of evil’ and brought
them to the ‘true wisdom’. Among these he mentions Turks, Armenians and
Latins, that is, precisely the same peoples who are constantly impugned by
the contemporary Moldavian chroniclers, and doomed to damnation in the
iconographical scenes of the Last Judgement on the walls of the monasteries
in northern Moldavia.

Significance

55
Nēphōn II was the first patriarch to be canonised after 1453. The fact that his
Life was composed by the prōtos of Mount Athos enables us to consider the
text as an expression of the official point of view of the Ecumenical
Patriarchate. Consequently, the message of submission that the Vita transmits
proves that relatively soon after the Ottoman conquest of the Balkans the
higher Orthodox authorities considered Ottoman rule over Christians to be
fully legitimate.

The life of St Nēphōn is among the first hagiographical texts after the
Ottoman conquest that provide information about the phenomenon of
neomartyrs, which became widespread throughout the Greek world under
Ottoman rule. In fact, the Greek versions of the Life give prominence to this,
while the Romanian versions make only a few brief references.

Nēphōn’s Life is a source of information on the conflicts and agreements that

took place on the northern and western borders of the Ottoman Empire during
the period preceding the reign of Süleyman the Magnificent (1521-66) and
the fall of the Hungarian kingdom (1526).

Manuscripts
For the Greek MSS, see:

V. Grecu (ed.), Viaţa Sfântului Nifon. O redacţie grecească inedită,

Bucharest, 1944, pp. 5-23

Euthymios (Dionysiatēs), ‘Symplērōmatikos katalogos Hellēnikōn

cheirographōn Hieras Monēs Dionysiou Hagiou Orous’, Epetēris Hetairias
Vyzantinōn Spoudōn 27 (1957) 233-71, pp. 248-9, 256

Năsturel, ‘Recherches sur les rédactions’, pp. 46-51, 69-73

N.A. Veēs, Ta cheirographa tōn Meteōrōn. Katalogos perigraphikos tōn

cheirographōn kōdikōn tōn apokeimenōn eis tas monas tōn Meteōrōn. Ta
cheirographa tēs Monēs Varlaam, ed. D. Sophianos, Athens, 1984, pp. 144-6

M. Kakouros, ‘Hē prōtē asmatikē akolouthia (ca 1514-1516) pros timēn tou
hagiou Nēphōnos, ho ekei periechomenos synaxarikos Vios kai hoi neōteres
akolouthies (19o ai.). Historia tēs paradosēs kai tēs leitourgikēs chrēsēs tōn
56
keimenōn stēn I.M. Dionysiou apo tēn syntaxē tous eēs sēmera. Me tēn editio
princeps tōn dyo morphōn tou synaxarikou Viou (se kritikē ekdosē)’, in Ho
Hagios Nēphōn Patriarchēs Kōnstantinoupoleōs (1508–2008). Tomos
epeteiakos epi tē symplērōsei pentakosiōn etōn apo tēs koimēseōs autou,
Mount Athos, 2008, 307-25, pp. 309-11

For the Romanian MSS, see:

I. Crăciun and A. Ilieș, Repertoriul manuscriselor de cronici interne sec. XV–

XVIII privind istoria României, Bucharest, 1963, pp. 145-7

Năsturel, ‘Recherches sur les rédactions’, p. 42 and n. 9

EDITIONS

B.P. Hașdeu, ‘Biografia patriarhului Nifon în Turcia și în Țara Românescă

scrisă de Gabriel, superiorul Muntelui Athos’, Arhiva istorică a României 1
(1865) 133-50 (Romanian version, MS Cluj-Napoca, Romanian Academy –
109)

I. Naniescu and C. Erbiceanu, Viața și traiul sfinției sale părintelui nostru

Nifon patriarhul Țarigradului c are au strălucit între multe patemi şi ispite în
Ţarigrad şi în Ţara Muntenească. Scrisă de chir Gavriil protul, adecă mai
marele Sfetagorei, Bucharest, 1888 (Romanian version, MS Bucharest,
Romanian Academy – 464)

T. Simedrea, Viaţa şi traiul sfinţiei sale părintelui nostru Nifon, patriarhul

Ţarigradului care au strălucit între multe patimi şi ispite în Ţarigrad şi în
Ţara Muntenească . Introducere şi text, Bucharest, 1937 (offprint of Biserica
Ortodoxă Română 55 (1937) 257-99) (Romanian version, MS Bucharest,
Romanian Academy – 464 and a MS in the personal collection of the editor)

57
Grecu, Viaţa Sfântului Nifon (Greek text following MSS Mount Athos,
Dionysiou monastery – 661 (610) and 716 (715), and Romanian and German
trans.)

D. Zamfirescu, ‘Viața și traiul sfinției sale părintelui nostru Nifon patriarhul

Țarigradului care au strălucit între multe patemi şi ispite în Ţarigrad şi în
Ţara Muntenească. Scrisă de chir Gavriil protul, adecă mai marele
Sfetagoriei’, in G. Mihăilă and D. Zamfirescu (eds), Literatura română
veche: 1402-1647, Bucharest, 1969, vol. 1, pp. 66-112 (Romanian version)

Editions & Translations

Studies
O.V. Olar, ‘Dracula à rebours. Notes sur la “Vie de Saint Niphon” (BHG
1373a)’, in Fr. Mosetti Casaretto (ed.), Il corpo impuro e le sue
rappresentazioni nelle letterature medievali, Alessandria, 2012, 435-60

A.D. Mavroudis, ‘Hagios Nēphōn, patriarchēs Kōnstantinoupoleōs apo ton

Mōrea eis tēn Achrida’, in S. Kotzabassi and G. Mavromatis (eds), Realia
Byzantina, Berlin, 2009, 167-71

A. Falangas, Présences grecques dans les pays Roumains (XIVe-XVIe

siècles). Le témoignage des sources narratives roumaines, Bucharest, 2009,
pp. 149-89

Kakouros, ‘Hē prōtē asmatikē akolouthia’

N. Panou, ‘Greek-Romanian symbiotic patterns in the Early Modern period.

History, mentalities, institutions (II)’, The Historical Review / La Revue
Historique 4 (2007) 59-104, pp. 67-85

58
A. Mareș, ‘Despre data traducerii Vieţii patriarhului Nifon şi despre
“momentul” inserării ei în Letopiseţul Cantacuzinesc’, in Al. Mareș, Scriere
și cultură românească veche, Bucharest, 2005, 348-57 (summary of
discussions and earlier literature)

F. Martelli, ‘Archetipo costantiniano e retaggio bizantino negli scritti del

voevoda Neagoe Basarab’, Bizantinistica. Rivista di Studi Bizantini e Slavi,
ser. 2, 3 (2001) 385-401

R.G. Păun, ‘La couronne est à Dieu. Neagoe Basarab et l’image du pouvoir
pénitent’, in P. Guran (ed.), L’Empereur-hagiographe. Culte des saints et
monarchie byzantine et post-byzantine, Bucharest, 2001, 186-224

Α. Falangas, ‘Nēphōn II Peloponnēsios, oikoumenikos patriarchēs kai

ethnikos hagios tōn Rhoumanōn’, Vyzantinai Meletai 5 (1993) 504-21

Veēs, Ta cheirographa tōn Meteōrōn, pp. 144-6

D.H. Mazilu, Literatura română în epoca Renașterii, Bucharest, 1984, pp.

178-86, 379-82

R. Șuiu, art. ‘Viața Patriarhului Nifon’, in Dicționarul literaturii române de

la origini până la 1900, Bucharest, 1979, 902-3

D. Zamfirescu, ‘Gavriil Protul’, in G. Mihăilă and D. Zamfirescu (eds),

Literatura română veche: 1402-1647, Bucharest, 1969, vol. 1, pp. 60-5

Năsturel, ‘Recherches sur les rédactions’

Academia RPR, Istoria literaturii române, Bucharest, 1964, vol. 1, pp. 264-6

Crăciun and Ilieș, Repertoriul manuscriselor, pp. 145-7

P.P. Panaitescu, ‘Începuturile istoriografiei în Țara Românească’, Studii și

Materiale de Istorie Medie 5 (1962) 195-256, pp. 203-6 (repr. in P.P.
Panaitescu, Contribuţii la istoria culturii româneşti, Bucharest, 1971)

F. Halkin, Bibliothaeca hagiographica graeca, Brussels, 19573, vol. 2, p. 154

(1373a, 1373b)

59
Euthymios, ‘Symplērōmatikos katalogos Hellēnikōn, pp. 248-9, 256

N. Cartojan, Istoria literaturii române vechi, Bucharest, 1940, 19802, vol. 1,

pp. 81-5

D. Russo, ‘Viața sfântului Nifon de Gavriil protul Sfetagorei’, in D. Russo,

Studii istorice greco-române, Bucharest, 1939, vol. 1, pp. 17-34

D.R. Mazilu, ‘Contribuții la studiul Vieții Sf. Nifon, patriarhul

Constantinopolului’, in Contribuții privitore la istoria literaturii române,
Bucharest, 1928, 21-36

D. Russo, Studii și critice, Bucharest, 1910, pp. 2-3

Popescu, ‘Nifon II’ (with the complete earlier bibliography)

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1450-1500, 1500-1550
Thematic Region: Albania, Constantinople, Greece, Moldavia, Ottoman
Empire, Serbia, Transylvania
Related Historical People: Bayezid II, Branković family, Cantacuzenus
family, Mehmed II, Ottomans, Selim I
Dynasty/Ruling elite: Mircea the Bad of Wallachia, Neagoe Basarab, Radu
the Great, Vlad the Young
Genre & Source Type: Chronicles/Histories, Hagiography
Theme: Christian descriptions of Islamic doctrine, Christian writings on other
faiths, Conquest of Constantinople, monasticism, Sins of the Christians as the
cause of military defeats
Social History: Apostasy, Churches, Clergy, Conversion, Martyrdom,
Monasteries, Peace treaties, Shrines
Christians: Christians, Church of Wallachia, Ecumenical Patriarchate, Mount
Athos

Radu G. Păun
Cite this page

Păun, Radu G.. " Vios kai politeia tou hosiou kai theophorou patros hēmōn Nēphōnos." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 -
1900. General Editor David Thomas. Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016

60
<http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-ii/vios-kai-politeia-tou-hosiou-kai-theophorou-
patros-hemon-nephonos-COM_26441>

61
 Oratio pro Croatia
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Oratio pro Croatia

'A speech on behalf of Croatia'

Bernardinus Frangipanus, Bernardinus de Frangepanibus, Bernardin

Frankapan Modruški, Bernardin Frankapan Ozaljski

Date: 1522
Original Language: Latin

Description
The text of Oratio pro Croatia (in full, Bernardini de Frangepanibus comitis
Segniae, Vegliae, Modrusiique etc. Oratio pro Croatia Nürenbergae in
Senatu Principum Germaniae habita) comes to eight pages of printed Latin
text. The original edition is extant, and it is also available in a great number
of copies. It was printed between 24 and 28 November 1522, by the
Nuremberg printer Friedrich Peypus.

It consists of four parts: a letter to Pope Adrian VI, and three speeches for the
Imperial Diet in Nuremberg, the first made on 19 November, the second on
22 November, and the third delivered after the publication on 10 December
1522.

In his introductory letter, Bernardin Frankapan encourages the pope to help to

organize European sovereigns towards a pan-Christian campaign, and in the
three speeches he tries to prevail upon the members of the Diet of the Holy

62
Roman Empire to offer military help against the Ottoman Empire. In his
argument, he stresses the damage his country is suffering from Turkish
incursions, thus trying to make the German representatives aware of the
imminent danger to the Holy Roman Empire, and Europe in general, if the
enemy is not stopped in time.

Throughout the text, the Ottomans are commonly labelled not only as
enemies, but also as ‘enemies of the true faith’, ruthless and savage
barbarians, beastly tyrants that Europe (as Christiana respublica) can defeat
only if led by the pope. Frankapan highlights the various aspects of Ottoman
military tactics, such as raids, enslaving the populace, rape, and ravaging the
territories under attack.

His description is typical of the genre known as Antiturcica, that appeared in

the late 15th century and spread throughout Europe, to disappear only in the
17th and 18th centuries. The first to publish such a speech in Croatia was Ivan
Vitez of Sredna (Orationes in causa expeditionis contra Turcas habitae,
1453-7). Such speeches are mainly petitions presented to various European
sovereigns asking for support against the Ottoman conquests.
The Antiturcica also include letters, diplomatic reports, travelogues
describing the Ottoman Empire, and poetic and dramatic works. Like Oratio
pro Croatia, speeches by many other Croatian writers were printed in
Western Europe, often in the cities where they were made.

This is the only extant anti-Turkish speech written by Bernardin Frankapan.

Earlier in the same year, on 13 March 1522, he made a similar speech in
Venice, asking for financial support from the Republic of Venice. There is
nothing to corroborate the idea that Oratio pro Croatia had any immediate
impact on other speeches of the same kind (Jurković and Moretti, Bernardin
Frankapan of Modruš, pp. 17-100).

Significance
Bernardin Frankapan’s appearance in the Nuremberg Diet was part of a
diplomatic campaign that also included the Syrmian bishop and Hungarian
envoy László Maczedóniai (Ladislaus de Macedonia) and Francesco
Chieregati, the pope’s envoy. All three had their speeches printed by the
same printing house. The conclusion that their cooperation was a matter of
63
agreement is further evidenced by the subjects they cover, and also by the
range of their examples and descriptions of the events preceding the fall of
some of the most important fortresses within the Croat-Hungarian Kingdom,
those of Belgrade and Knin.

In accordance with the diplomatic practice of the time, Bernardin

Frankapan’s Oratio made a plea for Christian morals and ethics. He insisted
that Croatia was the bulwark of Christianity, which was to become a staple
idea. The speech did not have the desired effect, the German aristocracy
being too engaged in dynastic disputes with France and coping with Martin
Luther’s religious movement.

Manuscripts
EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
Bernardinus de Frangepanibus, Oratio pro Croatia. Nürenbergae in Senatu
Principum Germaniae habita, Nuremberg, 1522 (first publication)

M. Mesić, ‘Hrvati nakon bana Berislavića’, pp. 153-4 and 159-60 (Croatian
trans.)

T. Smičiklas, Poviest hrvatska. Dio prvi. Od najstarijih vremena do godine

1526, Zagreb, 1882, pp. 707-8 (Croatian trans.)

N. Žic, ‘Govori Frankopana za obranu Hrvatske od Turaka’, Obzor 291

(1932) 6 (with Croatian trans.)

N. Klaić, Izvori za hrvatsku povijest do 1526. godine, Zagreb, 1972, p. 381

(Croatian trans.)

64
V. Klaić, Povijest Hrvata. Od najstarijih vremena do svršetka XIX. st.,
Zagreb, 1973, vols 4-5, pp. 358-60 (Croatian trans.)

V. Gligo, Govori protiv Turaka – Orationes contra Turcas, Split, 1983, pp.
344-5 (Croatian trans.)

Strižić, ‘Od provale Turaka do raspada Austro-Ugarske Monarhije’, pp. 41-2

(Croatian trans.)

V. Lipošćak and S. Sučić (eds), Ogulin, povijesna i kulturna baština, Ogulin,

2002, pp. 82-3, 84-5 (two Croatian translations, the first by M. Križman)

T. Macan, Hrvatska povijest, Zagreb, 2004, pp. 81-2 (Croatian trans.)

Jurković and Moretti, Bernardin Frankapan of Modruš, pp. 101-7 (Croatian

edition with the first complete Croatian trans.)

All Croatian translations of Oratio pro Croatia published before 2002 are
actually one and the same translation of a part of the text, made by M. Mesić
and copied by more recent scholars, mostly from N. Žic’s article.

Editions & Translations

Studies
Jurković and Moretti, Bernardin Frankapan of Modruš
65
Gligo, Govori protiv Turaka, pp. 7-65 (general study on Croatian speeches
against the Turks)

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1500-1550
Thematic Region: Croatia, Hungarian Kingdom
Genre & Source Type: Antiturcica, Letters, Orations
Theme: Muḥammad, falsity of his claims, Polemic

Violeta Moretti
Cite this page

Moretti, Violeta. " Oratio pro Croatia." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David Thomas. Brill Online,
2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016 <http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-
relations-ii/oratio-pro-croatia-COM_27697>

66
 Molitva suprotiva Turkom
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Molitva suprotiva Turkom

‘A prayer against the Turks’

Marko Marulić, Marko Pecinić

Date: Between 1493 and probably 1500

Original Language: Croatian

Description
This long prayer in the form of a poem of 172 lines was presumably written
after the Croats were defeated at Krbava in 1493, and probably before 1500,
when Marulus went on pilgrimage to Rome during the reign of Pope
Alexander VI. It is addressed to ‘My almighty God’, though it is more than a
simple prayer since it includes a call to political action. The original Croatian
text contains an acrostic with the first letter of each odd Croatian verse
forming the Latin (!) phrase: Solus Deus potest nos liberare de tribulatione
inimicorum nostrorum Turcorum sua potentia infinita (‘God alone with his
infinite power can free us from the tribulation of our enemies, the Turks’).

This prayer may show some similarity in content to a prayer by the

contemporary poet laureate from Trieste, Raphael Zouenzonius (Raffaele
Zovenzoni, 1431-c.1485), titled Ad Christum ut perdat Turcas (‘To Christ
that he may destroy the Turks’). Zouenzonius’s prayer was the third of four
poems included in the Poetae Christiani veteres (1502), a book in Marulus’s
possession. However, although Marulus entered numerous marginalia on

67
other texts in that edition, he did not do so with respect to Zouenzonius’s
poems.

The patriotic prayer assumes an angry God, whose mercy the poet implores
for the people suffering ‘at Turkish hands’, from ‘Turkish might’ and under
the ‘pagan sword’; ‘pagans oppress us’; the Turks are ‘as angry as wild
lions’; towns are robbed and burned, their populations captured and enslaved;
girls and nuns are raped; boys are circumcised; Christian churches, crucifixes
and chalices are desecrated; liturgical vestments are turned into kaftans; the
Turks fight against Croats, Bosnians, Greeks, Romans, Serbs and Poles; those
who do not convert to Islam are persecuted by those who disrespect ‘your
holy faith’; the Christians are unable to resist them without divine assistance.
May God ‘defeat all the Turks for their faithlessness’; they are the ‘damned
ones’.

And you, who are crucified God, our Lord in heaven,

You gave the Holy Cross to us, not to those who do not know you:

Deliver us from sins and from the devil’s hands;

With your crucified limbs, gather the trusting folk.

Do not let the pagans tread on us with their feet…’ (lines 155-59).

The conclusion is an invocation to the Virgin Mary asking her to intercede

before her divine Son.

Significance
This is an important example of Antiturcica literature. It (and other related
texts by Marulus) differs from most other contemporary works concerning
the Turkish threat, because Marulus did not write ‘from the detached
perspective of the… unthreatened analyst’ (Novaković, ‘Marulić and the
metaphysical dimension of history’, 137). Marulus’s prayer
differs particularly from early German-Lutheran prayers against the Turks, as
they compare the Turk to the pope.

Manuscripts
68
MANUSCRIPTS

MS Zagreb, National and University Library – R 6634, fols 17r-20r (c. 1530;
title: Gospodin M. M. protiua Turchom, ‘Ser M. Marulus against the Turks’)

EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS

I. Kukuljević Sakcinski (ed.), Pjesme Marka Marulića, Zagreb, 1869, pp.

244-8 (first printed edition)

N. Milićević and A. Šoljan (eds), Antologija hrvatske poezije od XIV stoljeća

do naših dana, Zagreb, 1966, pp. 33-35 (selections)

M. Marulić, Judita, Suzana, Pjesme, ed. I. Slamnig, Zagreb, 1970, pp. 129-33

R. Bogišić (ed.), Leut i trublja. Antologija starije hrvatske poezije, Zagreb,

1971, pp. 33-4 (selections)

R. Bogišić (ed.), Die ältere kroatische lyrische Dichtung, Zagreb, 1972, pp.
18-19 (German trans.)

S. Mihalić and I. Kušan (eds), La poésie croate des origines à nos jours,
Paris, 1972, pp. 20-2 (French trans. by J. Matillon, selections)

M. Marulić, Judita. Pjesme, ed. M. Franičević, Zagreb, 1974, 19762, pp. 93-7

69
J. Šmit (ed.), Antologija hrvaške poezije, Ljubljana, 1975, pp. 35-6
(Slovenian trans.)

M. Marulić, Versi harvacki, ed. M. Franičević and H. Morović, Split, 1979,

pp. 167-71

V. Pavletić (ed.), 100 pjesnika književnosti jugoslavenskih naroda, Zagreb,

1984, pp. 3-6

N. Kolumbić and P. Lucić (eds), Vartal, Split, 1990, pp. 222-6

V. Brešić (ed.), Krvatska lirika ratne 1991, Zagreb, 1991, p. 2 (extract)

M. Marulić, Pisni razlike, ed. J. Vončina, in Marci Maruli opera omnia, pp.
148-52 (Croatian edition)

M. Marulić, Versi harvacki, ed. T. Maroević and M. Tomasović, Zagreb,

1996, pp. 79-89

M. Marulić, Judita, ed. A. Pavešković, Vinkovci, 1997, pp. 89-94

F.J. Juez Gálvez, ‘La recurrencia del tema Otomana en la literatura Croata de
la edad moderna’, Bulletin d’Association Internationale d’Etudes du Sud-Est

70
Européen, 26-7 (1996-97) 187-207, pp. 191-2 (Spanish trans. by F.J. Juez
Gálvez, selections)

R. Bogišić (ed.), Vila Hrvatica. Hrvatsko pjesništvo humanizma i renesanse,

Zagreb, 1998, pp. 30-2 (selections)

J. Bratulić et al. (eds), Mila si nam ti jedina. Hrvatsko rodoljubno pjesništvo

od Bašćanske ploče do danas, Zagreb, 1998, pp. 19-23

Hrvatsko slovo 6/263 (2000) p. 15 (English trans. by E.D. Goy, selections)

J. Bratulić (ed.), Hrvatska poezija humanizma i renesanse, Vinkovci, 2000,

pp. 40-1 (selections)

M. Marulić, Antologija. Izbor iz poezije i proze, ed. M. Tomasović, Zagreb,

2000, pp. 63-70

M. Marulić, Duhom do zvijezda, ed. B. Lučin, Zagreb, 2001, pp. 173-80

M. Marulić, Od začetja Isusova. Izabrane duhovne pjesme, ed. B. Petrač,

Zagreb, 2001, pp. 96-103

I.M. Artl (ed.), Europa erlesen. Dubrovnik, Klagenfurt, 2001, pp. 117-19
(German trans.)

71
F.J. Juez Gálvez, ‘La caída de Constantinopla y los eslavos meridionales’,
Nueva Roma 19 (2003) 395-420, pp. 414-15 (Spanish trans.; selections)

I. Lökös (ed.), Horvát irodalmi antológia, Budapest, 2004, pp. 38-40

(Hungarian trans., selections)

L. Car Matutinović (ed.), Hrvatski pjesnici, Zagreb, 2005, pp. 25-6

(selections)

A. Stamać (ed.), Antologija hrvatskoga pjesništva od davnina pa do naših

dana, Zagreb, 2007, pp. 59-61

M. Marulić, Zsuzsánna. Jeruzsálem városának panasza. Imádság a török

ellen, trans. I. Lőkös, Budapest 2007, 53-56 (Hungarian trans.)

B. Lučin (ed.), The Marulić reader, Split, 2007, pp. 236-45 (Croatian-English
edition; English trans. by M. Kovačićek)

Prière contre le Turc (Molitva suprotiva Turkom), trans. I.C. Kraljić and S.
Šajnović, Bibliothèque Saint Libère, (s.l.), 2009 (Croatian-French
edition),http://www.liberius.net/articles/Priere_contre_le_Turc_(Molitva_sup
rotiva_Turkom).pdf

72
A. Pavešković (ed.), Šturak i čemerika. Antologija hrvatskoga pjesništva do
narodnoga preporoda, Zagreb, 2010, pp. 59-63

Editions & Translations

Studies
D. Dukić, ‘Das Türkenbild in der kroatischen literarischen Kultur vom 15. bis
zur Mitte des 19. Jahrhunderts’, in R. Lauer and H.G. Majer (eds), Osmanen
und Islam in Südosteuropa, Berlin, 2013, 157-91, http://bib.irb.hr/prikazi-
rad?rad=224477

L. Paljetak, ‘Molitva suprotiva Turkom u kontekstu protuturskog otpora u

Europi Marulićeva vremena i poslije njega’, Colloquia Maruliana 11 (2002)
333-62 (includes summary in English)
http://hrcak.srce.hr/index.php?show=clanak&id_clanak_jezik=12239

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1500-1550

Franz Posset (with the assistance of Branko Jozić and Bratislav Lučin)
Cite this page

Posset (with the assistance of Branko Jozić and Bratislav Lučin), Franz. " Molitva suprotiva Turkom." Christian-Muslim
Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David Thomas. Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016
<http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-ii/molitva-suprotiva-turkom-COM_27625>

73
 Qual maraviglia se ’l furor turchesco
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Qual maraviglia se ’l furor turchesco

‘What wonder if the Turkish fury’

Marko Marulić, Marko Pecinić

Date: 1501
Original Language: Italian

Description
This is one of only two known sonnets from a group that Marulus mentions
in his letter to Jerome Cippico of 2 November 1501 (Lučin, Marulic reader,
pp. 270-1). It may be considered a summary of his lost treatise in Italian on
the oppression of the Christians by the infidels, mentioned in a letter to
Jerome Cippico of 19 July 1501 (Lučin, Marulić reader, pp. 262-5). The
Turkish fury bears down on the Christian people. Referring to the metaphors
in Dante’s Inferno I, 33-60, and to Romans 2:24, Marulus laments that the
name of God is reviled and asserts that if this is not corrected the wrath of
God the Father will not abate.

Significance
In explaining the causes of the persecutions of Christians by the Turks,
Marulus uses an interesting reversal: negative characteristics usually
connected with the Turks are here applied to the Christians – it is they who
are rapacious, cunning, arrogant, greedy, etc. This reversal of attributes is

74
both strengthened and complicated by the use of animal metaphors, some of
which are applied in a traditional way to represent negative moral
characteristics in general, but some of which might also have political
connotations (see Posset, ‘The mouse, the frog’). The main sin of the
Christians, however, seems to be blasphemy. The only way for them to obtain
God’s help against the persecutors is through moral improvement. In his
sonnets Marulus admonishes Christians for their sinful actions and
irresponsibility.

Manuscripts
MANUSCRIPTS

MS Zagreb, Archive of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts – I a 64,

fols 46v-47r (c. 1530)

EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS

M. Deanović, ‘Due sonetti inediti di Marco Marulo’, Giornale storico della

letteratura italiana 108/234 (1936) 216-24, pp. 217-18

M. Milošević (trans.), Mogućnosti 38 11/12 (1991) 942-3 (Italian with

Croatian trans. by M. Milošević)

M. Milošević, ‘Sedam nepoznatih pisama Marka Marulića [Seven

unpublished letters of Marcus Marulić], Colloquia Maruliana 1 (1992) 5-31,
pp. 14-15 (Italian with Croatian trans. M. Milošević)

G. Scotti, ‘Marco Marulo – Marulić sotto una diversa luce’, La Battana 118
(1995) 107-18, p. 117

75
M. Tomasović, Prepjevni primjeri, Zagreb, 2000, pp. 75-77 (Italian with
Croatian trans.)

M. Tomasović, ‘Marulić o sonetu’, Colloquia Maruliana 9 (2000) 371-80,

pp. 376-8 (Italian with Croatian trans. M. Milošević and M. Tomasović)

M. Marulić, Antologija. Izbor iz poezije i proze, ed. M Tomasović, Zagreb,

2000, p. 161 (Croatian trans.)

M. Marulić, Duhom do zvijezda, ed. B. Lučin, Zagreb, 2001, p. 464 (Croatian

trans. M. Tomasović)

Nueva Roma 19 (2003) p. 413

J. Hekman (ed.), Split 1999. Dossier, Zagreb, 2005, p. 236 (Croatian trans.
M. Tomasović)

Editions & Translations

Studies
F. Posset, ‘The mouse, the frog and the unidentified flying object. Metaphors
for ‘empires’ in the Latin works of the Croatian humanist Marcus Marulus
and of the German humanist Ulrich von Hutten’, Colloquia Maruliana 17
(2008) 125-48

76
M. Tomasović, ‘Marulić sonetima opominje ‘kršćanski puk’ zbog grešnih
čina i neodgovornosti’, in J. Hekman (ed.), Split 1999. Dossier, Zagreb,
2005, 234-6

M. Tomasović, ‘Marulićevi talijanski soneti’, in M. Tomasović, Prepjevni

primjeri, Zagreb, 2000, 69-79

M. Tomasović, ‘Marulić o sonetu’, Colloquia Maruliana 9 (1992) 371-80

(with Italian summary)

M. Milošević, ‘Sedam nepoznatih pisama Marka Marulića’ [Seven

unpublished letters of Marko Marulić], Colloquia Maruliana 1 (1992) 5-31
(with English summary, pp. 165-6)

M. Deanović, ‘Due sonetti inediti di Marco Marulo’, Giornale Storico della

Letteratura Italiana 108/234 (1936) 216-24

Keywords
Franz Posset (with the assistance of Branko Jozić and Bratislav Lučin)
Cite this page

Posset (with the assistance of Branko Jozić and Bratislav Lučin), Franz. " Qual maraviglia se ’l furor turchesco." Christian-
Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David Thomas. Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February
2016 <http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-ii/qual-maraviglia-se-l-furor-turchesco-
COM_27626>

77
 De humilitate et gloria Christi
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

De humilitate et gloria Christi

‘On the humility and glory of Christ’

Marko Marulić, Marko Pecinić

Date: 1506
Original Language: Latin

Description
This is one of Marcus Marulus’s major theological works; it comprises three
books: Liber euangelicus, Liber propheticus, and Liber gloriosus. The work
alternates between fragments of sermon writing, exegetical deliberations and
political digressions; written in cultivated Latin, it contains numerous
figurative interpretations of biblical passages (Lučin, Marulić reader, p. 16).

In Book 1, Marulus includes a section on heresies; this includes the heresies

of the early Church (Opera omnia, vol. 9, p. 426), but not the Machumetana
heresis, about which he writes in his Evangelistarium. In Book 2, he refers
twice to the ‘Mohammedans’. First, within the section on the Apostles, he
says that one should read the lives of the martyrs and see that the Church of
Christ suffered from attacks by heretics and that Christian cities and
kingdoms are occupied and forced into servitude by the henchmen of the
‘Mohammedan depravity’ (a Machumetanę prauitatis sectatoribus; Opera
omnia, vol. 9, p. 554). Second, within the section on Communio, he inserts a
passage on Luke 22:31-2, about Christ’s prayer for Peter’s faith and his

78
command that Peter should strengthen the faith of his brethren, whom
Marulus interprets to be the universal Church. The infidels rage, they
persecute the Church, occupy Christian cities, land and kingdoms, and
control the entire world, but the religion of Christ will stand tall on earth as
Peter’s faith in Christ will persevere to the end. Then Israel, too, will convert
to Christ and be saved. Although the Muslims may dominate all the nations
of the earth, the faith of Christ will be victorious; Marulus cites 1 John 5:4:
‘our faith that conquers the world’. At this point, he speaks of the Turks and
likens them to the pagan Roman Empire: neither the Romans nor the Turks
will be able to destroy faith in Christ, since Christ’s prayer for Peter is more
powerful, and so the Christian faithful should remain confident ( Opera
omnia, vol. 9, p. 579).

Significance
Marulus reveals a typically hostile attitude towards the Turks and confidence,
maybe in defiance of the facts, that Christianity will win in the end. His
comments show the scale of the threat from the Turks, and the extent of
Christian desperation.

Manuscripts
EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS

De humilitate et gloria Christi Marci Marvli opvs, Venice,

1519, http://books.google.ca/books?id=iVMRwcmcXHUC

Dell'humilta et della gloria di Christo libri, Venice, 1595 (Italian trans. by

Gioseffo Alchaini OP), http://books.google.hr/books?id=eRhSAAAAcAAJ

Marci Maruli opera omnia, ed. B. Glavičić, vol. 9, trans. B. Glavičić (Latin-
Croatian edition)

Editions & Translations

Studies

79
P. Runje, ‘O nekim izdanjima Quinquaginta parabolae i De humilitate et
gloria Christi Marka Marulića’, Colloquia Maruliana 2 (1993) 9-12 (with
summary in Italian: ‘Intorno alle edizioni sconosciute delle Quinquaginta
parabolae e del De humilitate et gloria Christi di Marko Marulić’ 120-1)

B. Glavičić, ‘Sudbina Marulićeva djela De humilitate et gloria Christi’,

Radovi (Razdio filoloških znanosti, Sveučilište u Splitu, Filozofski fakultet
Zadar) 29 (19) (1990), 167-74 (with summary in English: ‘The fate of
Marulić’s work De humilitate et gloria Christi’)

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1500-1550

Franz Posset (with the assistance of Branko Jozić and Bratislav Lučin)
Cite this page

Posset (with the assistance of Branko Jozić and Bratislav Lučin), Franz. " De humilitate et gloria Christi." Christian-Muslim
Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David Thomas. Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016
<http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-ii/de-humilitate-et-gloria-christi-COM_27627>

80
 Evangelistarium
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Evangelistarium
-

Marko Marulić, Marko Pecinić

Date: Approximately 1515

Original Language: Latin

Description
The Evangelistarium is about 700 pages long, filling two volumes (4 and 5)
of Opera omnia. It is the first major result of Marulus’s scriptural studies, and
he published his first version in ‘seven books’, probably based on his study of
the Biblia Latina cum comento, which he had purchased after 1489.
The Evangelistarium is an impressive treatise on practical Christian morality
based upon the three theological virtues of faith, hope and love. However, it
is not simply a book on morality, even though its declared priority is ethics. It
is also a general theological work and a guide for readers of
Scripture (Jovanović, ‘Paratekst i loci Biblici’).

Probably as a result of his study of the biblical commentaries contained in his

1489 Biblia, Marulus observes in his Evangelistarium that in his time not a
few Christians are converting to Islam. He mentions the Machumetani again,
along with other historical heresies such as Arianism and also with those in
the Church who dare to contradict the ‘Catholic truth’ (catholica veritas), and
he explicitly uses the very rare expression Machumetana heresis (the

81
Mohammadan heresy), and also calls Turks infideles Turci (Opera omnia,
vol. 5, pp. 605-6, 671).

Significance
The Evangelistarium is regarded today as Marulus’s ‘most important moral
and theological work’ (Lučin, Marulić reader, p. 14). Its remarkable success
is primarily indicated by the fact that soon after its first publication in Venice
it was also printed elsewhere. Its corrector and editor in Basel, the German
humanist and Franciscan Friar Sebastian Münster (1488-1552), later a
Lutheran (W. Raupp, art. ‘Münster, Sebastian’, in Biographisch-
Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon, Hamm, 1993, vol. 6, 316-26), says of it:
‘There is no spirit of dispute, or confused opinions, or enumerable purely
human traditions. You will hear what is fitting for a truly evangelical work
[opus vere evangelicum]: only the voice of God, of our Saviour Jesus Christ,
apostle, and prophet, and the pure truth’ (Frater Sebastianus Munsterus… ad
pium lectorem, p. [399]).

Later editions underscore the effect of the work. The editions of 1529 and
1532 in Cologne played a role in theological debate when the Reformation
was being introduced in the city (von Erdmann, ‘Marko Marulić’). In the
18th century, the memory of these Cologne editions was kept alive by Johann
Albert Fabricius, who listed the Evangelistarium in his Bibliotheca Latina
Mediae et Infimae Aetatis (Hamburg, 1736, p. 138) as a work about ‘hope,
faith, and charity’ (in this sequence!). It was translated in full or in part into
Italian, Spanish, French and Flemish (extract). Altogether, it was printed
about 15 times, in Venice, Basel, Cologne, Paris and Antwerp.

King Henry VIII of England owned a copy of the 1529 edition, and with the
exception of his Psalter it is the most heavily annotated book known from his
library.

Manuscripts
EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS

82
Marci Maruli Spalatensis Evangelistarium, Venice, 1516 (the earliest extant
print, an improved version of an earlier unknown one), http://reader.digitale-
sammlungen.de/resolve/display/bsb10198513.html

Evangelistarium Marci Maruli Spalatensis viri disertissimi, opus uere

euangelicum, cultissimoque adornatum sermone, sub fidei, spei &charitatis
titulis, in septem partitum libros, Basel, 1519,
http://books.google.hr/books?id=-ANRAAAAcAAJ

Evangelistarium M. Maruli Spalatensis uiri disertissimi, opus uere

euangelicum, cultissimoque adornatum sermone sub fidei, spei &charitatis
titulis, in VII. partitum libros, Cologne: G. Hitorpius, 1529 (for different title
page see Bibliografija, no. 36)

Evangelistarium M. Maruli Spalatensis opus uere euangelicum, sub fidei,

spei &charitatis titulis in septem libros partitum, Cologne: G. Hitorpius,
1529 (for different title page see Bibliografija, no. 35)

Evangelistarium Marci Maruli Spalatensis viri disertissimi, opus vere

euangelicum cultissimoque adornatum sermone, sub fidei, spei & charitatis
titulus, in septem partitum libros, Cologne: F. Birckmann, 1529 (for different
title page see Bibliografija, no. 34)

Evangelistarium Marci Maruli Spalatensis viri disertissimi, opus vere

euangelicum cultissimoque adornatum sermone, sub fidei, spei & charitatis
titulus, Cologne: F. Birckmann, 1529 (for different title page see
Bibliografija, no. 33)

83
(The four different editions that were published in 1529 have different title
pages – further information on these can be found in B. Jozić and B.
Lučin, Bibliografija Marka Marulića. Prvi dio: Tiskana Djela (1477 - 1997),
Split, Croatia, 1998, 44-46)

Evangelistarium M. Maruli Spalatensis, opus vere euangelicum, sub fidei,

spei & charitatis titulis in septem libros partitum, Cologne: G. Hittorp, 1532,
http://daten.digitale-sammlungen.de/~db/0003/bsb00034888/images/

Evangelistarium M. Maruli Spalatensis, opus vere euangelicum, sub fidei,

spei & charitatis titulis in septem libros partitum, Cologne: P. Quentell,
1532, http://daten.digitale-sammlungen.de/~db/0002/bsb00028370/images/

Evangelistarium M. Maruli Spalatensis, opus vere euangelicum, sub fidei,

spei et charitatis titulis in VII. libros partitum, Cologne, 1541,
http://reader.digitale-sammlungen.de/resolve/display/bsb10205563.html

Euangelistarium Marci Maruli Spalatensis, opus vere euangelicum, sub fidei,

spei & charitatis titulis in VII. libros partitum, Paris, 1545,
http://www.google.hr/books?id=DYffH0ATbuAC

M. Maruli Evangelistarium, opus vere euangelicum, sub fidei, spei &

charitatis titulis, in septem libros partitum, Cologne, 1556,
http://daten.digitale-
sammlungen.de/~db/0001/bsb00016192/images/index.html

84
P. Baccherius, Hortvlvs precationvm, Dat is, Het hofken der bedinghen..,
Louvain, 1566 (extract in Flemish, fol. 40-40v)

S. Razzi (trans.), Evangelistario di Marco Marulo Spalatense, Florence, 1571

(Italian trans.)

J. Garet et al., De la vraye presence du corps de Jesus-Christ au s. sacrement

de l'autel …, Paris, 1599 (extract in French, fols 293v-294v)

Opus vere euangelicum, de fide, spe & charitate, in Operum M. Maruli

Spalatensis tomus posterior, Antwerp, 1601,
http://books.google.hr/books?id=y2KD4mYA_2AC

B. Fernandez de Reuenga (trans.), Evangelistario de Marco Marulo

Spalatense, Madrid, 1655 (Spanish trans.),
http://books.google.hr/books?id=8Us1jL98ZwQC

Marci Maruli opera omnia, ed. B. Glavičić, Split, Croatia, 1985, vols 4 and 5
(Latin-Croatian edition, trans. B. Glavičić)

Editions & Translations

Studies
R. Cattaneo, 'La base senecana della dottrina dei benefici nell'Evangelistario
di Marko Marulić', Colloquia Maruliana 24 (2015) 115-44

85
A. Clarke, ‘Henry VIII and Marko Marulić’s Evangelistarium’, Colloquia
Maruliana 20 (2011) 167-75

E. von Erdmann, ‘Marko Marulić in den Religionskonflikten der deutschen

Länder des 16. Jahrhunderts’, Colloquia Maruliana 20 (2011) 177-93

F.J. Juez Gálvez, ‘El Evangelistarium en España y el Evangelistario español

de 1655’, Colloquia Maruliana 19 (2009) 249-68

C. Béné, ‘L’Evangelistarium, maître-livre de Marulić’, Colloquia Maruliana

12 (2003) 5-22

N. Jovanović, ‘Paratekst i loci Biblici kao put od stila do tumačenja

Marulićeva Evanđelistara’, Colloquia Maruliana 12 (2003) 23-45 (with
English summary: ‘From style to interpretation. Paratext and loci biblici in
the Evangelistarium by Marko Marulić’)

S. Lukač, ‘Marulićev Evanđelistar (Coloniae, 1529) iz mađarskog

Gyöngyösa’, Colloquia Maruliana 12 (2003) 255-60 (with English summary:
‘The Marulić Evangelistary from Gyöngöys in Hungary’)

I. Martinović, ‘Marulićev etički nauk o miru’, Prilozi za istraživanje hrvatske

filozofske baštine 51-2 (2000) 17-57 (with English summary: ‘Marko
Marulić’s ethical doctrine on peace’)

F. Leschinkohl, ‘Le rôle historique de l’Evangelistarium et de l’Institutio au

XVIe siècle’, Cahiers Croates 1/1-2 (1997), 81-6

C. Béné, ‘Henry VIII et Thomas More, lecteurs de Marulić’, Colloquia

Maruliana 5 (1996) 87-106

F. Leschinkohl, ‘Povijesna uloga Evanđelistara i Institucije u 16. stoljeću’,

Colloquia Maruliana 4 (1995) 81-102 (with English summary: ‘The
historical role of the Evangelistarium and the De Institutione in the 16th
century’)

P. Runje, ‘O ranim izdanjima Evanđelistara i Institucije’, Colloquia

Maruliana 3 (1994) 93-8 (with English summary: ‘On the early editions of
the Evangelistarium and the De institutione by Marko Marulić’)

86
F. Leschinkohl, ‘Marko Marulić u njemačkim knjižnicama’, Colloquia
Maruliana 3 (1994) 99-126 (with English summary: ‘Marko Marulić in
German libraries’)

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1500-1550

Franz Posset (with the assistance of Branko Jozić and Bratislav Lučin)
Cite this page

Posset (with the assistance of Branko Jozić and Bratislav Lučin), Franz. " Evangelistarium." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 -
1900. General Editor David Thomas. Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016
<http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-ii/evangelistarium-COM_27630>

87
 Tuženje grada Jerozolima moleći papu
da skupi gospodu karstjansku ter da ga
oslobodi od ruk poganskih
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Tuženje grada Jerozolima

‘Lament of the city of Jerusalem, begging the pope to assemble Christian
nobles and deliver it from pagan hands’

Marko Marulić, Marko Pecinić

Date: Approximately 1516-17

Original Language: Croatian

Description
This work was written after the occupation of Syria and neighbouring
territories by the Turks in 1516-17, although it was first printed only in 1869.
It comprises 128 lines. Although there is an early Christian poem on this
subject (Elegia in Hierusalem) in the 1501 edition of Poetae Christiani
veteres, which was in Marulus’s possession, there are no traces of any
marginalia from his pen to indicate that he had actually read it.

Marulus’s poem is a passionate plea calling for help from the European
powers: the captured city of Jerusalem addresses the ‘Holy Father’ and
enumerates the Western rulers and states that he should call for a crusade. In
the final line, the Turkish ruler is referred to as car (in Croatian, South
Slavic) – ‘czar’/‘tsar’.
88
Significance
The call goes out to the unnamed ‘Holy Father’. (Another call for help was to
be issued by Marulus in 1522 as an ‘open letter’ to Pope Hadrian VI, and yet
another in 1523, an epistle to Pope Clement VII in the form of a poem
[Opera omnia, vol. 17, no. 101]). The Holy Father is to gather the Christian
peoples together in order to liberate Jerusalem from ‘pagan hands’. The
Turks are called the ‘damned people’ and ‘pagan beast’ (cf. Revelation 17);
they are worse than ‘those who put Christ on the cross’. Marulus’s advocacy
of papal leadership proves his Roman-Catholic position
in Antiturcica literature, distinct from the anti-papal German-Lutheran
attitude of the time and the refusal to call upon the pope.

Manuscripts
MANUSCRIPTS

MS Zagreb, Archives of the Croatian academy of Arts and Sciences - 'Vartal'

Petra Lucija, IV.a.31, fols 62v-64v (late 16th century)

MS Trogir, The Chapter Library – ‘Splitska pjesmarica trogirskoga kaptola’

[Split poetic miscellany of the Trogir chapter], no shelfmark, fols 55r-57v
(late 16th or early 17th century)

EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS

I. Kukuljević Sakcinski (ed.), Pjesme Marka Marulića, Zagreb, 1869, pp.

241-4

A. Zaninović, ‘Marulić pjesma. Tužen’je grada Hjerozolima’, Vjesnik za

arheologiju i historiju Dalmatinsku, god. 1924-1925 (1925) supplement 2, 1-
11, pp. 7-11

I. Slamnig (ed.), Judita, Suzana, Pjesme, Zagreb, 1970, pp. 134-37

89
T. Maroević and M. Tomasović (eds), Plavca nova, ed. Zagreb, 1971, pp.
117-19

P. Lucić, Vartal, ed. N. Kolumbić, Split, 1990, pp. 175-78

M. Franičević and H. Morović (eds), Versi harvacki, Split, 1979, pp. 172-75

B. Glavičić (ed.), Marci Maruli opera omnia, vol. 2, pp. 144-47

B. Petrač (ed.), Od začetja Isusova, Zagreb, 2001, pp. 89-95

M. Marulić, Duhom do zvijezda, ed. B. Lučin, Zagreb, 2001, pp. 181-86

B. Lučin (ed.), The Marulić reader, Split, 2007, pp. 246-53 (Croatian-English
edition; English trans. M. Kovačićek)

I. Lőkös (trans.), Zsuzsánna. Jeruzsálem városának panasza. Imádság a török

ellen, Budapest, 2007, pp. 49-52 (Hungarian trans.)

S. Šajnović and I.C. Kraljić (trans.), Plainte de la ville de Jérusalem

suppliant le Pape de réunir les seigneurs chrétiens pour la délivrer des mains
des infidèles, Bibliothèque Saint Libère, (s.l.), 2009 (Croatian-French

90
edition),
http://www.liberius.net/articles/Plainte_de_la_ville_de_Jerusalem_suppliant_
le_Pape_de_reunir_les_seigneurs_chretiens_pour_la_delivrer_des_mains_de
s_infideles.pdf

Editions & Translations

Studies
D. Dukić, ‘Das Türkenbild in der kroatischen literarischen Kultur vom 15. bis
zur Mitte des 19. Jahrhunderts’, in R. Lauer and H.G. Majer (eds), Osmanen
und Islam in Südosteuropa, Berlin, 2013, 157-91

D. Dukić, Sultanova djeca. Predodžbe Turaka u hrvatskoj književnosti ranog

novovjekovlja, Zadar, 2004, pp. 245-53

A. Zaninović, ‘Marulićeva pjesma. Tužen’je grada Hjerozolima’, Vjesnik za

Arheologiju i Historiju Dalmatinsku (1924-25) supplement 2, 1-11

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1500-1550
Thematic Region: Italian cities, Jerusalem, Rome, Syria
Theme: Crusade

Franz Posset (with the assistance of Branko Jozić and Bratislav Lučin)
Cite this page

Posset (with the assistance of Branko Jozić and Bratislav Lučin), Franz. " Tuženje grada Jerozolima moleći papu da skupi
gospodu karstjansku ter da ga oslobodi od ruk poganskih." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David
Thomas. Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016
<http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-ii/tuzenje-grada-jerozolima-moleci-papu-da-skupi-
gospodu-karstjansku-ter-da-ga-oslobodi-od-ruk-poganskih-COM_27631>

91
 De Gallis et Hispanis inter se bellantibus
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

De Gallis et Hispanis inter se bellantibus

‘On the French and the Spanish fighting one another’

Marko Marulić, Marko Pecinić

Date: Approximately 1521

Original Language: Latin

Description
This is a short poem of only 12 lines, featuring France and Spain as hatefully
warring nations who should instead join forces against Muḥammad, who is
enraged against the Christians. In his commentary on the poem, Novaković
suggests that it might have been written ‘ca. 1521?’ (Opera omnia, vol. 17, p.
164).

Significance
France and Spain are singled out as battling against each other instead of
uniting against the common enemy, the Turks. The two nations are guilty of
not making lasting peace with each other while the enemy ‘has conquered
almost the entire world’. In his sermon about the Last Judgment of Christ of
1520-21, Marulus again pleads with the rulers of France and Spain, and also
of Italy, to make peace in order to be able to resist the Mahumetani (Opera
omnia, vol. 11, p. 231).

92
Manuscripts
MANUSCRIPTS

MS Glasgow, University Library – Hunter 334 / U. 8.2, fol. CVIv (c.1524-

50)

EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS

D. Novaković (ed.), ‘Marci Maruli epigrammata’, Colloquia Maruliana 6

(1997) 37-77, p. 41 (first edition)

D. Novaković (ed. and trans.), Marko Marulić. Glasgowski stihovi, Zagreb,

1999, pp. 22-3 (Latin-Croatian edition)

G. McMaster and M. Kovačićek, ‘Latin Poems / Marko Marulić’, Most / The

Bridge Literary Magazine, 1-4 (1999), p. 85 (English trans.)

B. Lučin, Marko Marulić 1450-1524, Madrid, 2000, p. 71 (Spanish trans. F.J.

Juez Gálvez)

M. Marulić, Duhom do zvijezda, ed. B. Lučin, Zagreb, 2001, p. 453 (Croatian

trans. D. Novaković)

Marci Maruli opera omnia, vol. 17, pp. 164-5 (no. 95) (Latin-Croatian
edition, trans. D. Novaković)

93
B. Lučin (ed.), The Marulić reader, Split, 2007, pp. 144-5 (Latin-English
edition, trans. M. Kovačićek)

Editions & Translations

Studies
Keywords
Chronological Category: 1500-1550

Franz Posset (with the assistance of Branko Jozić and Bratislav Lučin)
Cite this page

Posset (with the assistance of Branko Jozić and Bratislav Lučin), Franz. " De Gallis et Hispanis inter se bellantibus." Christian-
Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David Thomas. Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February
2016 <http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-ii/de-gallis-et-hispanis-inter-se-bellantibus-
COM_27633>

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 Judita
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Judita
Judith

Marko Marulić, Marko Pecinić

Date: 1501
Original Language: Croatian

Description
In 1501, Marulus commented on his epic Judita: ‘As I read this tale, it
occurred to me to translate it into our tongue that those who knew no Italian
or Latin books might understand it’ (Lučin, Marulić reader, p. 209). He
revealed his poetic intentions by comparing the biblical story to a bunch of
wheat, and his epic poem to a fruit tree in full blossom in spring. His poetic
version in the vernacular contains several Turkish words, some of which
appear more than once: bar (multitude), bedev (mare),
bičak (dagger), dolama (dolman), skender (a kind of belt), sultan, baša,
subaša, vezir (vizier) and its adjectival form vezirski. In order to convey the
biblical story to his Croatian readership, the sophisticated religious teacher
sometimes makes contemporaneous references: e.g., Judith is dressed and
adorned like the ladies of Split in Renaissance times; the description of the
armies may remind the reader of the Croatian and Hungarian cavalries
(Lučin, ‘Introduction’, in The Marulić reader, p. 27).

95
The epic (its title in full is Libar Marka Marula Splićanina u kom se uzdarži
istorija svete udovice Judit u versih harvacki složena, kako ona ubi vojvodu
Oloferna po sridu vojske njegove i oslobodi puk izraelski od velike pogibili,
‘The book of Marko Marulić of Split containing the history of the holy
widow Judith, written in verses in Croatian, how she killed the general
Holofernes in the midst of his army and set the Israelitish people free from
great peril’) was written in 1501, during the war between Venice and the
Turks, but only came off the printing press in Venice two decades later; first
in 1521, when a war was raging again, with reprints following in 1522 and
1523. The assumption is often made that Marulus composed the poem as an
extended metaphor for events in his own homeland and hometown of Split:
just as the biblical town of Betulia was threatened by the ‘great peril’ (the
Assyrian army led by Holofernes), so was Marulus’s Split threatened by the
Turks, but there is in fact not the slightest hint in Marulus’s text to support
that assumption. Only the 1522 edition, published by Bernardinus Benalius
(Bernardino Benalio, c. 1458-1543), contains illustrations which may support
this view: the title page shows two cavalry forces fighting each other. They
are not identified by any banners, although the cavalrymen on the left are
wearing turbans and most likely represent the Turks. The cavalry on the right
would then represent the European forces.

Similar images appear at various points in the 1522 edition, but the battle
scenes have no direct connection with the text of Judita. The woodcuts are
those used in a 1516 Venetian edition of a text attributed to the medieval
Cistercian Abbot, Joachim of Fiore (c. 1135-1202), Expositio magni prophete
Ioachim in librum Beati Cirilli de magnis tribulationibus & statu Sancte
matris Ecclesie, published by Lazaro Soardi (Laçarus de Soardis, c. 1450-c.
1517) (Pelc, ‘Podrijetlo drvoreza Marulićeve Judite’). The military images in
the 1522 edition show the following scenes which are taken from the 1516
Expositio:

1. A soldier steps on the French flag: Expositio, fol. 30r = Judita, fol. [a iv].

2. The Turkish flag flying high: Expositio, fol. 35v [in commentary on
Revelation 20, the reign of Satan] = Judita, fol. b ii verso and again fol. h.

3. Two cavalry forces (one Turkish, one European) fighting each

other: Expositio, fol. 24r = Judita, frontispiece, and again fol. e ii verso.
96
4. Habsburg forces under the banner of the double-headed eagle defeat the
fleeing forces of the pope: Expositio, fol. 16r = Judita, fol. h ii verso.

Significance
At a time when the Bible was not yet available in Croatian, Marulus appears
to have wanted to familiarise his people with a story of courage from the
Hebrew scriptures in their own language. He had entered a few marginalia in
the text of Judith in his Biblia Latina of 1489, including a note on the
canonicity of the book (considered by non-Catholics as deutero-canonical).
He obviously accepted it as canonical and transformed it into a biblical-
Virgilian epic that is widely regarded as the cornerstone of Croatian language
and literature. Marulus wanted to offer not only spiritual food, but also
literary pleasure to his Croatian readers, and to prove his poetic abilities; see
the letter to Jerolim Ćipiko of 19 July 1501, in which he ventured to remark
that, owing to his Judita, which he had just finished, his mother tongue would
now also have its Dante (Lučin, Marulić reader, pp. 266-7). The publisher of
the 1522 edition added a significant twist: the book’s title alone may have
inspired the publisher to politicise and militarise the epic by adding woodcut
illustrations showing battle scenes related to contemporary wars. If one
assumes a non-political reading of the original text, the 1522 edition
thus presents a decisive change in perspective and interpretation through its
use of political iconography. The military scenes it incorporates illustrate not
the biblical story of Judith but rather the wars of the early 16th century,
utilising woodcuts that appear to have come into existence for an altogether
different purpose and were created for a book published in 1516 that had
nothing to do with the city of Split. They show city walls (perhaps of
Jerusalem, for Fiore’s text on p. 30), which, after the idea became current that
Judith’s Bethulia was a symbol of Split, may have been taken for the walls of
Split. In 1522, Marulus’s Judita appears to have been marketed not only for
his elegant use of the Croatian language, but as Antiturcica propaganda,
depicting contemporary wars and an imminent Turkish victory. The heraldic
symbols shown on the flags depicted scattered on the ground in the images
taken from the 1516 book, represent the European nations. Only one
standard, identifiable as Turkish by the crescent moon, is still flying high.
Only in this illustration and that on the title page of the 1522 edition is the
Turkish element presented directly to alert readers (even if they are not able

97
to read the Croatian text) to an imminent Turkish victory. None of the other
pictures make any specific reference to the Turks.

Questions remain: Did Marulus in his Judita make an intentional connection

between the biblical story and Split? What is more legitimate: to
interpret Judita as non-political, moral-catechetical and theological, like his
other works, such as the biblical poem Suzana, or Davidias, or
Evangelistarium (the last was understood as a purely biblical work with ‘no
spirit of dispute, or confused opinions, or enumerable purely human
traditions’ [S. Münster in his letter ad pium lectorem at the end of the 1519
Basel edition]), or as a politicisation and actualisation of the biblical story, in
line with Marulus’s Croatian ‘Prayer against the Turks’, which dates to
roughly the same time? Does the morally and didactically minded author
want primarily to actualise the biblical figure of ‘the holy widow Judith’ and
make it relevant, by way of a hagiography, to his intimidated Croatian
readers? And if so, why would he not make any direct, or even implicit,
reference to the contemporary political situation in Split?

Manuscripts
MANUSCRIPTS

No early MSS are extant.

MS Zagreb, National and University Library – R 3642, 6 fasc. fols 1-85 (19th-
century transcription of the first printed edition by F. Kurelac [1811-74])

EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS

Libar Marca Marula Splichianina V chomse usdarsi Istoria Sfete udouice

Iudit u uersih haruacchi slosena chacho ona ubi uoiuodu Olopherna Posridu
uoische gnegoue i oslodobi puch israelschi od ueliche pogibili, Venice, 1521
(first edition, without war images, but with some other woodcut illustrations)
http://www.bulaja.com/Marulic/djela/judita/str1.htm

Libar Marca Marula Splichianina Uchom se vsdarsi Istoria Sfete vdouice

Iudit u versih haruacchi slosena: chacho ona vbi voivodu Olopherna Posridu
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voische gnegoue: i oslodobi puch israelschi od veliche pogibili, Venice, 1522
(second edition, containing numerous war
images)http://opak.crolib.hr/judita/pages/judita0001.html

Libar Marca Marula Splichianina V chom se usdarsi Istoria Sfete udouice

Iudit u uersih haruacchi slosena chacho ona ubi uoiuodu Olopherna Posridu
uoische gnegoue i oslodobi puch israelschi od ueliche pogibili, Venice, 1523
(third edition, without war images)

Libar Marca Marvla Splichianina Vchomse vsdarsi Istoria Sfete vdouice

Iudit u versih haruacchi slosena: chacho ona vbi voi vodu Olopherna
Posridu voische gnegoue: i ollodobi puchisraelischi od veliche pogibili,
Venice, 1586 (fourth edition, with different illustrations)

[Libar] Marcha Marvla Splikyanina Vchomse, vzdarxi Isctoria Sfete vdouice

Iudite u versih haruaschi sloxena: chacho ona vbi voy vodu Olopherna
Posridu voysKe gniegoue: ioslobodi puch israelsKi od veliche pogibili,
Venice, 1627 (fifth edition, without war images)

I. Kukuljević Sakcinski (ed.), ‘Libar Marka Marula Splićanina, u kom se

uzdrži istorija svete udovice Judit u versih hrvacki složena, kako ona ubi
vojvodu Oloferna po sridu vojske njegove i oslobodi puk izraelski od velike
pogibili’, in I. Kukuljević Sakcinski (ed.), Pjesme Marka Marulića, Zagreb,
1869, 1-72

M. Kušar (ed.), Judita. Epska pjesma u šest pjevanja, Zagreb, 1901

99
Libar Marca Marula Splichianina V chom se usdarsi Istoria Sfete udouice
Iudit u versih haruacchi slosena chacho ona ubi uoiuodu Olopherna Posridu
uoische gnegoue i oslodobi puch israelschi od ueliche pogibili, Zagreb, 1950
(facsimile of the 1521 edition)

V. Štefanić (ed.), Judita, Zagreb, 1950 (with illustrations from the 1522
edition)

M. Franičević (ed.), Judita. Pjesme, Zagreb, 1976, pp. 15-90

S. Mihalić and C. Zlobec (eds), Antologija hrvaške poezije, Ljubljana, 1975,

pp. 34-6 (Slovenian trans. by J. Šmit; selections)

T. Butler (ed. and trans.), ‘Judita/Judith /The slaying of Holofernes by Judith.

From Canto Five ofJudith/’, Monumenta Serbo-Croatica. A bilingual
anthology of Serbian and Croatian texts from the 12th to 19th century, Ann
Arbor MI, 1980, pp. 230-5

M. Marulić, Versi harvacki, ed. M. Franičević and H. Morović, Split, 1979,

pp. 67-141

A. Bonifačić (ed. and trans.) ‘Judith and Holofernes’, The anthology of Croat
verse 1450-1950, Chicago, 1981 (English trans.; selections)

M. Grčić (trans.), Judita, Zagreb, 1983 (modern Croatian trans. with parallel
reprint of the
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N. Kolumbić (trans.), ‘Knjiga Marka Marula Splićanina u kojoj je sadržana
priča o svetoj udovici Judit hrvatskim stihovima složena kako ona ubi
vojvodu Holoferna posred vojske njegove i oslobodi narod izraelski od velike
pogibelji’, Forum 24 (1985) 1269-1328 (modern Croatian trans.)

A. Kadić, ‘Marulic’s Judith, Canto five, verses 165-240’, Journal of Croatian

Studies 27 (1986) 74-7 (English trans.)

M. Moguš (ed.), Judita, in B. Glavičić (ed.), Marci Maruli opera omnia, vol.
1

H.R. Cooper Jr. (ed. and trans.), Judith, New York, 1991 (English trans. with
parallel Croatian text)

M. Moguš and M. Tomasović (eds), Judita, Zagreb, 1996

D. Fališevac (ed.), Judita, Zagreb, 1996

‘Judit’, in A. Blažeković (ed.), Linda patria nuestra. Poesia croata de ayer y

de hoy, Buenos Aires, 1996, 14-15 (Spanish trans., selections)

L. Borsetto (trans.), ‘I libri di Marco Marulo di Spalato nei quali si contiene

la storia della santa Giuditta in sei libri composta a gloria di Dio

101
incominciano’, Colloquia Maruliana 6 (1997) 133-48 (Italian trans. of the
First Canto)

I. Lőkös, Zrínyi eposzának horvát epikai elözményei, Debrecen, 1997, 48-70

(Hungarian trans., selections)

I. Lőkös (trans.), ‘Juditnak, a szent özvegynek históriája horvát versekbe

szedve: Első ének’, in Új Hevesi Napló. Heves megyei irodalom, társadalom,
kultúra 8/5 (1998) 11-17 (Hungarian trans. of the First Canto)

M. Moguš (ed.), Judita, Zagreb, 1998 (with facsimile of the 1522 edition)

I. Lőkös (trans.), Judit. Spalatói Marko Marulić könyve, amely a szent életű
özvegyről, Juditról szóló történetet tartalmazza horvát versekbe szedve:
hogyan öli meg Holofernészt, a hadvezért, annak sergétől körülvéve, és
szabadítja meg az izraeli népet a nagy pusztulástól, Budapest, 1999
(Hungarian trans.)

G. McMaster (trans.), ‘The book of Marko Marulić of Split containing the

history of the holy widow Judith written in verses in the Croatian style how
she killed the general Holofernes in the midst of his army and set the
Israelitish people free from great peril’, Dossier: Marko Marulić, special
issue of Most / The Bridge Literary Magazine (Zagreb) 1-4 (1999) 16-31
(English trans.; selections)

102
F.J. Juez Galvez (trans.), ‘Libro de Marko Marulić de Split en que se contiene
la historia de la santa vidua Judit compuesta en versos a la croata’, in B.
Lučin, Marko Marulić (1450-1524), 2000, 82-8 (Spanish trans.; selections)

M. Marulić, Duhom do zvijezda, ed. B. Lučin, Zagreb, 2001, pp. 31-137

L. Borsetto (trans.), Giuditta. Libro di Marko Marulić Spalatino nel quale si

contiene la storia della santa vedova Judit in versi croati composta come lei
uccise il vojvoda Oloferne in mezzo al suo esercito e liberò il popolo di
israele da gran pericolo, Milan, 2001 (Italian trans. with parallel text in
Croatian)

M. Grčić (ed. and trans.), Judita, CD-ROM, Zagreb, 2001 (facsimiles of the
1521 and 1522 editions and modern Croatian trans.)

C. Béné (trans.), La Judith, Zagreb, 2002 (French trans.)

F.J. Juez Galvez (trans.), ‘Libro de Marko Marulo de Split en que se contiene
la historia de la santa vidua Judit compuesta en versos en croata cómo mató
ella al general Holofernes en medio de sus huestes y liberó al pueblo de Israel
de gran peligro’, Studia Croatica 145 (2002) 44-104 (Spanish trans.;
selections)

I. Lőkös (trans.), ‘Horvát művek fordításaí (szemelvenyék) Spalatói Marko

Marulić könyve, amely a szent életű Juditról szóló történetet tartalmazza, hat
énekre osztva, az isten dicsőségére itt kezdődik: Első ének’, in Godišnja

103
nagrada INE za promicanje hrvatske kulture u svijetu za 2002, Zagreb, 2003,
123-4 (Hungarian trans.; selections)

M. Grčić (ed. and trans.), Judit / Judita, Zagreb, 2003 (modern Croatian
trans. with parallel facsimile of the 1521 edition)

I. Lőkös (trans.), ‘Juditnak, a szent özvegynek históriája horvát versekbe

szedve’, in I. Lőkös (ed.), Horvát irodalmi antológia, Budapest, 2004, 38-45
(Hungarian trans.; selections)

D. Kiškyte et al., ‘Istoria apie šventąją našlę Juditą, kroatiškom eilėm sudėta’,
Colloquia Maruliana 15 (2006) 215-40 (Lithuanian trans. of the dedicatory
epistle and the first two cantos)

‘Judita’ = ‘Judith’, in Explorations in time, London, 2006, pp. 3-9

(Programme for concert at Purcell Room, London, 26 April 2006; English
trans. based on H. Cooper Jr; selections, with parallel Croatian text)

N. Kolumbić (trans.), Judita, Split, 2007 (modern Croatian trans.)

B. Lučin (ed.), The Marulić reader, Split, 2007, pp. 208-35 (English trans. G.
McMaster; selections)

J. Gulbinovič et al. (trans.), Judita, Vilnius, 2007 (Lithuanian trans.)

104
D. Karpatsky (ed.), L. Kubišta and I. Wenigová (trans.), ‘Kniha Marka
Marula Spliťana, v níž jest podána ve verších charvátských sepsaná historie,
kterak svatá vdova Judita zabila vojvodu Holoferna prostřed jeho vojsk a
zachránila lid izraelská od převeliké zkázy; Zpĕv první’ [First book], in
Koráb korálový. Tisíc let charvátské poezie v díle stovky básníků, Prague,
2007, 130-8 (Czech trans.)

B. Lučin, Marko Marulić: 1450-1524, Split, 2008, pp. 64-72 (German trans.
K. Jurčević, selections)

M. Marulić, ‘Judita, selections’, contemporary Croatian trans. B. Lučin;

French trans. L. Gordiani; English trans. J. Tyler Tuttle, in Judith. Une
histoire biblique de la Croatie renaissante, Paris, 2013, 38-59 (booklet
accompanying the DVD and CD)

Editions & Translations

Studies
H. Heger, ‘À propos du titre de la Judita de Marulić’, in T. Bogdan and C.
Pavlović (eds), Poslanje filologa: zbornik radova povodom 70. rođendana
Mirka Tomasovića, Zagreb, 2008, 235-49

M. Pelc, ‘Podrijetlo drvoreza Marulićeve Judite (1521-1523)’ [‘The origin of

the woodcuts in Marulić’s Judita (1521-23)], Mogućnosti 56 4/6 (2006) 1-12
(Pelc proves that Marulus is not the creator of the woodcuts. The book from
which the pictures are borrowed is titled Expositio in Librum Beati Cirilli de
tribulationibus et statu Sancte matris Ecclesie, Joachim de Flore, Venice,
1516)

K. Livljanić, ‘The agony of Judith. A biblical story from medieval Dalmatia.

Based on Judith by Marko Marulić’, Explorations in time, London, 2006, pp.
1-9 ((Programme for concert at Purcell Room, London, 26 April 2006)
105
I. Lőkös, ‘Die imitatio-Theorie der Renaissance und biblische Tradition in
dem Epos Judit von Marko Marulić’, in E. von Erdmann et al. (eds),
Tusculum Slavicum, Zürich, 2005, 370-80

D. Jelčić (ed.), Zbornik radova o Marku Maruliću; u povodu 550. obljetnice

rođenja i 500. obljetnice njegove Judite 1450.-1501.-2001. = Collected
papers on Marko Marulić; in celebration of 550th anniversary of his birth and
500th anniversary of the birth of his Judita 1450-1501-2001, Zagreb, 2005
(contains, among others: D. Fališevac, ‘Judita Marka Marulića’ = ‘Judith’,
pp. 21-31; H.R. Cooper, ‘Judita i ja’ = ‘Judith and I’, pp. 115-30; J. Vončina,
‘Marulićeva Judita u sazrijevanju jezikoslovne kroatistike’ = ‘Marulus’
Judith during the maturing of Croatian philology’, pp. 163-74)

I. Lőkös, ‘Intertekstualnost u Marulićevoj Juditi’, Colloquia Maruliana 13

(2004) 57-66 (with English summary: ‘Intertextuality in Marulić’s Judith’)

L. Borsetto, ‘Per una introduzione alla Judita in Italiano’, in L. Borsetto (ed.),

Italia-Slavia tra Quattro e Cinquecento. Marko Marulić umanista croato nel
contesto storico-letterario dell’Italia e di Padova, Alessandria, 2004, 97-117

D. Dukić, Sultanova djeca. Predodžbe Turaka u hrvatskoj književnosti ranog

novovjekovlja, Zadar, 2004, pp. 46-9

F.J. Juez Gálvez, ‘La caída de Constantinopla y los eslavos meridionales’,

Nueva Roma 19 (2003) 395-420, pp. 410-18

R. Pšihistal, ‘Treba li Marulićeva Judita alegorijsko tumačenje?’, Colloquia

Maruliana 11 (2002) 154-86 (with English summary: ‘Does Marulić’s Judith
need an allegorical interpretation?’)

B. Jozić, ‘Marulićeva Judita kao miles Christi’, Colloquia Maruliana 11

(2002) 187-205 (with English summary: ‘Marulić's Judith as miles Christi’)

Colloquia Maruliana 11 (2002) (contains numerous studies on J udita)

http://hrcak.srce.hr/index.php?show=toc&id_broj=304

L. Borsetto, ‘Storie di Giuditta in Europa tra Quattro e Cinquecento. Il

cantare di Lucrezia Tornabuoni; il poema di Marko Marulić (exordium e
narratio: prime ricognizioni)’, in Riscrivere gli Antichi, riscrivere i Moderni
106
e altri studi di letteratura italiana e comparata tra Quattro e Ottocento,
Alessandria, 2002, 83-120

G. Mecky Zaragoza, ‘Virgo und Virago. Zwei frühneuzeitliche Judith-

Figuren im Vergleich’, Daphnis: Zeitschrift für Mittlere Deutsche Literatur
und Kultur der Frühen Neuzeit (1400-1750) 31 (2002) 107-26

M. Ivanišević, ‘Ikonografija drvoreza u starim izdanjima Marulićeve Judite’

[Iconography of the woodcuts in the old editions of Marulić’s Judith],
Mogućnosti 49 10/12 (2002) 45-75

K. Kužić, ‘Nazivi oružja u Juditi i značenje drvoreza iz drugog izdanja’ [The

names of weapons in Judith and the meaning of the woodcuts in the second
edition], Mogućnosti 48 7/9 (2001) 58-73

M. Moguš, Rječnik Marulićeve Judite, Zagreb, 2001

J. Jerkov, ‘Amor sacro e amor profano nei poemi croati di Marulić’,

Colloquia Maruliana 9 (2000) 219-25

M. Tomasović, ‘Judita. A biblical, humanist and Renaissance epic’, in B.

Lučin (ed.), Dossier: Marko Marulić, special issue of Most / The Bridge
Literary Magazine (Zagreb) 1-4 (1999) 107-14

I. Lőkös, ‘A Judit és Holofernész-téma a horvát és a magyar reneszáns

epikában’, Studia Litteraria 30 (1992) 19-45 (with summary in German: ‘Die
Gestalt von Judith und Holofernes in der kroatischen und ungarischen Epik
der Renaissance’)

G.J. Gutsche, ‘Classical Antiquity in Marulić’s Judita’, Slavic and East

European Journal 19 (1975) 310-21

G. Bassani, art. ‘Judit – Marko Marulič [sic]’, in Diccionário literario de

obras y personajes de todos los tiempos y de todos los países, Barcelona,
1959, vol. 6, p. 373

P. Skok, ‘O stilu Marulićeve Judite’ [On the style of Marulić’s Judith], in J.

Badalić and N. Majnarić (eds), Zbornik u proslavu petstogodišnjice rođenja

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Marka Marulića: 1450-1950, Zagreb, 1950, 165-241 (for words of Turkish
origin in Judita, see p. 172)

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1500-1550
Genre & Source Type: Epics
Theme: Just war against the Ottomans, Old Testament, Scriptural exegesis,
Symbolism
Social History: Warfare

Franz Posset (with the assistance of Branko Jozić and Bratislav Lučin)
Cite this page

Posset (with the assistance of Branko Jozić and Bratislav Lučin), Franz. " Judita." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900.
General Editor David Thomas. Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016
<http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-ii/judita-COM_27634>

108
 Epistola domini Marci Maruli
Spalatensis ad Adrianum VI. Pont. Max.
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Epistola domini Marci Maruli Spalatensis

‘The epistle of master Marko Marulić of Split to Pope Hadrian VI’

Marko Marulić, Marko Pecinić

Date: 3 April 1522

Original Language: Latin

Description
The Open letter (its title in full is Epistola domini Marci Maruli Spalatensis
ad Adrianum VI. Pont. Max. de calamitatibus occurrentibus et exhortatio ad
communem omnium Christianorum unionem et pacem, ‘The epistle of master
Marko Marulić of Split to Pope Hadrian VI about present misfortunes and a
call to union and peace of all Christians’) comprises nine pages in Opera
omnia, plus a few lines (including the dedicatory epistle to Father Dominik
Buća [Dominicus Buchia] and a prayer for the pope at the end). The
dedicatory epistle is dated 3 April 1522, while the date of publication (in the
colophon) is 30 April 1522.

The name of the new pope does not appear until the very end of the letter,
raising the question of whether Marulus had written it at an earlier stage
rather than as a response to the election of Hadrian VI. He may well have,
because the prayer for the pope that he includes here is virtually identical

109
with the prayer he had written for Pope Leo X (Opera omnia, vol. 17, no.
93), and also because he sent the letter as early as spring 1522, when the new
pope had not yet arrived in Rome from Spain.

The open letter is another significant work of Antiturcica literature. The first
marginal note in the original edition reads: Pax Maumethana cum Christianis
(‘Muḥammadan peace with the Christians’), referring to the Venetians, the
rulers of Split, and their so-called friendship with Sultan Bayezid II. Marulus
says that this peace cannot be called a real friendship, since an opponent of
Christ cannot be a friend of Christians. With such differences in faith, laws
and customs, the only friendship is a feigned friendship (amicitia simulata).
The Turks are the most impious nation of all the Antichrists; they represent
the barbaric Maumethana perfidia, the denial of Christ, and the worship of
Muḥammad. They are a ravaging wolf, the Muḥammadan beast, the infidel
tyrant, and the common enemy.

Marulus calls upon Hadrian to unite the Christian nations against the
Ottoman armies’ attacks because it is the pope, and not the Holy Roman
Emperor or the Doge of Venice, who should be the leader in defending
Europe. In this he opposes, whether consciously or not, the views of the
German nationalists Ulrich von Hutten (1488-1523) and Martin Luther
(1483-1546) that the pope should not be involved in such affairs.

Marulus employs Aesop’s fable of the mouse and the frog, representing the
Holy Roman Empire and the Republic of Venice. Ulrich von Hutten,
spokesman for the movement of a ‘church without Rome’, called for the
financial support that was given to the papacy to be given instead to the
emperor for war against the Turks (S. Wheelis, ‘Ulrich von Hutten,
representative of patriotic humanism’, in G. Hoffmeister [ed.], The
Renaissance and Reformation in Germany. An introduction, New York,
1977, 111-27, p. 122). Taking an opposing view, Marulus uses the fable to
give a warning against the threat from the bird of prey (‘the barbarian foe’,
the Turks) to both the frog and the mouse (the Christian nations of Europe)
(Posset, ‘The mouse, the frog’).

Significance

110
The Turkish threat was usually perceived at that time as a result of the wrath
of God, and in this Open letter the wrath of God is said to be caused by the
sinful disunity of Europe and the Christian nations fighting against each
other. Although it cannot be assumed that the letter was actually read by the
pope, or that there was any immediate response, Hadrian VI did make the
issue of Christian unity the topic of his first speech at the consistory held on 1
September 1522, immediately after his coronation. Shortly afterwards, he
wrote to Emperor Charles V and warned of the disunity that actually offered
much greater assistance to the Turkish tyrant than an army of thousands of
soldiers. Marulus was convinced of this very point and called for the pope’s
involvement.

Manuscripts
EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
Epistola domini Marci Maruli Spalatensis ad Adrianum. VI. Pont. Max.,
Rome, 1522 (first edition),http://mek.oszk.hu/03600/03625

Hrvatska Revija = La Revista Croata 1 (1951) 20-1 (Croatian trans.,

selections)

V. Gortan and V. Vratović (eds), Hrvatski latinisti = Croatici auctores qui

Latine scripserunt, Zagreb, 1969, vol. 1, 308-13 (Latin-Croatian edition,
trans. V. Gortan; selections)

M. Marulić, Plavca nova, ed. M. Tomasović and T. Maroević, Split, 1971,

pp. 160-1 (Croatian trans.; selections)

E. Pivčević (trans.), ‘Letter from Marko Marulić to Pope Adrian VI’, British-
Croatian Review 4 (1977) 10-12 (English trans.; selections)
111
‘Pismo papi Hadrijanu VI o nevoljama koje nahrupljuju i poticaj za opće
jedinstvo i mir svih kršćana’, in V. Gligo (ed.), Govori protiv Turaka, Split,
1983, 165-78 (Croatian trans. V. Gligo and V. Gortan); pp. 449-62 (facsimile
of the 1522 edition)

D. Novaković (ed.), Hrvatski latinisti. Razdoblje humanizma, Zagreb, 1997,

pp. 66-71 (Croatian trans. V. Gligo and V. Gortan; selections)

M. Marulić, Epistola ad Adrianum VI. P. M. = Poslanica Papi Hadrijanu VI.

= Epistle to Pope Adrian VI. 1522, ed. J. Bratulić, Zagreb and Split, 1994
(trilingual edition, in Latin, Croatian trans. V. Gligo, V. Gortan and D.
Novaković and English trans. V. Andrassy; with a separate booklet
containing the facsimile edition of the Latin edition of 1522)

G. Lafon (trans.), ‘Au Souverain Pontife Adrien VI. Marko Marulić de Split
s’adresse en toute humilité en l’implorant’, Cahiers Croates 2/5-6 (1998)
135-53 (French trans.)

V. Andrassy (trans.), ‘The Epistle of Marko Marulić of Split to Pope Adrian

VI. about present misfortunes and a call to union and peace of all Christians’,
‘Dossier: Marko Marulić’, Most / The Bridge Literary Magazine (1999) 46-
51 (English trans. )

F.J. Juez Galvez (trans.), ‘Epistola al papa Adriano VI’, in Lučin, Marko
Marulić (1450-1524), pp. 60-2 (Spanish trans.; selections)

112
V. Gligo (trans.), ‘Poslanica Papi Hadrijanu VI.’, Zadarska smotra 3-4
(2001) 220-1 (Croatian trans.; selections; repr. in B. Glavičić (ed.), Marko
Marulić, europski humanist [1450-1524], Zadar, 2001)

M. Marulić, Duhom do zvijezda, ed. B. Lučin, Zagreb, 2001, pp. 331-43

(Croatian trans. V. Gligo, V. Gortan and D. Novaković)

F.J. Juez Gálvez (trans.), ‘Epístola del señor Marko Marulić de Split al papa
Adriano VI’, Studia Croatica 145 (2002) 75-84 (Spanish trans.)

F.J. Juez Gálvez (trans.), ‘Éstos son los males que nos oprimen’, Nueva Roma
19 (2003) 416-18 (Spanish trans.; selections)

K. Mirth (trans.), ‘Epistola domini Marci Maruli Spalatensis ad Adrianum

VI. pont. max. de calamitatibus occurrentibus et exhortatio ad communem
omnium christianorum unionem et pacem, Roma 1522.’, Colloquia
Maruliana 13 (2004) 203-4 (Spanish trans.; selections)

G. Lafon (trans.), ‘Epistola domini Marci Maruli Spalatensis ad Adrianum

VI. pontificem maximum de calamitatibus occurrentibus et exhortatio ad
communem omnium Christianorum unionem et pacem’ = ‘Lettre de Messire
Marcus Marulus de Split à Adrien VI. souverain pontife au sujet des
malheurs qui se produisent et exhortation a l’union et a la paix de tous les
chrétiens’, in I. Malec, Epistola. Cantate pour solistes, choeur & grand
orchestre; texte de Marko Marulić, Paris, 2006, p. 4 (French trans.;
selections)

113
G. Lafon (trans.), ‘Epistola domini Marci Maruli Spalatensis ad Adrianum
VI. pontificem maximum de calamitatibus occurrentibus et exhortatio ad
communem omnium christianorum unionem et pacem’ = ‘Lettre de Messire
Marcus Marulus de Split a Adrien VI. souverain pontife au sujet des
malheurs qui se produisent et exhortation a l’union et a la paix de tous les
chretiens’, in Programme du concert d’ouverture Luxembourg et Grande
Région, Capitale européenne de la Culture 2007, Luxembourg, 2006, pp. 10-
15 (Latin edition with French trans.; selections)

V. Andrassy (trans.), ‘Epistola domini Marci Maruli Spalatensis ad Adrianum

VI. pontificem maximum de calamitatibus occurrentibus et exhortatio ad
communem omnium Christianorum unionem et pacem’ = ‘Epistle of Master
Marko Marulić of Split to Pope Adrian VI. about present misfortunes and a
call to union and peace of all Christians’, in Lučin, Marulić reader, pp. 90-
109 (Latin edition with English trans.)

‘Epistola domini Marci Maruli Spalatensis ad Adrianum VI. pontificem

maximum de calamitatibus occurrentibus et exhortatio ad comunem omnium
Christianorum unionem et pacem’ = ‘Lettre de messire Marcus Marulus de
Split a Adrien VI. souverain Pontife au sujet des malheurs qui se produisent
et exhortation a l’union et a la paix de tous les chretiens’ = ‘The Epistle of
Marko Marulić of Split to Pope Adrian VI. about present misfortunes and a
call to union and peace of all Christians’, in I. Malec, Epistola, Luxembourg,
2009 (booklet accompanying the CD with the recording of Malec’s cantata;
French trans. G. Lafon, English trans. V. Andrassy, selections)

I.C. Kraljić (trans.), ‘Lettre du Seigneur Marko Marulić de Split au Souverain

Pontife Adrien VI au sujet des désastres actuels, et exhortation à l’union de
tous les chrétiens et à la paix’, Bibliothèque Saint Libère, (s.l.), 2010 (French
trans.), http://marulus.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/lettre-du-seigneur-
marko-marulic-de-split-au-souverain-pontife-adrien-vi-au-sujet-des-

114
desastres-actuels-et-exhortation-a-l-union-de-tous-les-chretiens-et-a-la-
paix.pdf

‘Epistola domini Marci Maruli Spalatensis ad Adrianum VI. Pont. Max. de

calamitatibus occurrentibus et exhortatio ad communem omnium
Christianorum unionem et pacem’, in Opera omnia, vol. 17, pp. 245-65
(Latin-Croatian edition, trans. V. Gligo, V. Gortan and D. Novaković)

R. Cattaneo (trans.), ‘Epistola di don Marco Marulo da Spalato al Sommo

Pontefice Adriano VI’, Colloquia Maruliana 22 (2013) 150-57 (Italian trans.)

Editions & Translations

Studies
R. Cattaneo, ‘L’Epistola a papa Adriano VI di Marco Marulić in Italiano.
Versione e nota traduttologica’, Colloquia Maruliana 22 (2013) 145-9

F. Posset, ‘Open letter of a Croatian lay theologian to a “German” pope.

Marko Marulić to Adrian VI’, Colloquia Maruliana 18 (2009) 135-60

F. Posset, ‘The mouse, the frog and the unidentified flying object. Metaphors
for ‘empires’ in the Latin works of the Croatian humanist Marcus Marulus
and of the German humanist Ulrich von Hutten’, Colloquia Maruliana 17
(2008) 125-48

R. Cattaneo, ‘O stilu i kulturnom značenju Marulićeve Poslanice papi

Adrijanu VI’, Colloquia Maruliana 17 (2008) 91-115 (with summary in
Italian: ‘Sullo stile e la rilevanza culturale dell’Epistola a Papa Adriano VI di
Marco Marulić’ pp. 116-24)

S. Marijanović, ‘Poslanice Marka Marulića i Stjepana Brodarića papi

Hadrijanu VI. (s osvrtom na temu “suprotiva Turkom” sjevernohrvatskih

115
humanista)’, Colloquia Maruliana 12 (2003) 85-93 (with summary in
English: ‘The Epistles of Marko Marulić and Stjepan Brodarić to Pope
Adrian VI (with reference to the “against the Turks” theme of the northern
Croatian humanists)

D. Novaković, ‘Marko Marulić and the metaphysical dimension of history’,

in Marulić, Epistola ad Adrianum VI. P. M., 43-52

I. Paić, Sloboda i strah. Hermeneutika predziđa – ogled o iskustvu svijesti

hrvatskoga narodnog opstanka, Zagreb, 1997, pp. 179-80

V. Gligo, ‘Marko Marulić Splićanin, Pismo papi Hadrijanu VI o nevoljama

koje nahrupljuju i poticaj za opće jedinstvo i mir svih kršćana’, in V. Gligo,
Govori protiv Turaka, Split, 1983, 141-63

Pivčević, ‘Letter from Marko Marulić’, pp. 10, 13

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1500-1550

Franz Posset (with the assistance of Branko Jozić and Bratislav Lučin)
Cite this page

Posset (with the assistance of Branko Jozić and Bratislav Lučin), Franz. " Epistola domini Marci Maruli Spalatensis ad Adrianum
VI. Pont. Max.." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David Thomas. Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II
Authors Temp. 02 February 2016 <http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-ii/epistola-domini-
marci-maruli-spalatensis-ad-adrianum-vi-pont-max-COM_27635>

116
 In discordiam principum Christianorum
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

In discordiam principum Christianorum

‘Against the discord among Christian rulers’

Marko Marulić, Marko Pecinić

Date: Unknown; about 1522

Original Language: Latin

Description
This work, only 12 lines long, may have been written at about the same time
as the 1522 open letter to Pope Hadrian VI, because it also uses Aesop’s fable
of the mouse and the frog, which are both threatened by the bird of prey, their
common enemy. Like the letter, it is against the disunity of the nations in
Europe who wage wars against one other instead of against the Turks, their
‘barbarian enemy’.

Significance
Marulus’s advocacy of papal leadership against the Turks here, as in his other
writings, proves once more his distinct Roman Catholic position among
authors writing about the Turkish threat at the time.

Manuscripts
MANUSCRIPTS

117
MS Glasgow, University Library – Hunter 334 / U. 8.2, fols CVIv-CVIIr (c.
1524-50)

EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS

D. Novaković (ed.), ‘Marci Marvli epigrammata’, Colloquia Maruliana 6

(1997) 37-77, p. 42 (first edition)

D. Novaković (ed. and trans.), Marko Marulić, Glasgowski stihovi, Zagreb,

1999, pp. 24-5

G. McMaster and M. Kovačićek, ‘Latin Poems / Marko Marulić’, Most / The

Bridge Literary Magazine, 1-4 (1999) p. 85 (English trans.)

J. Hekman (ed.), Split 1999. Dossier, Zagreb, 2005, p. 242 (Croatian trans. D.
Novaković)

B. Lučin (ed.), Marci Maruli opera omnia, vol. 17, pp. 164-7 (no. 96) (Latin-
Croatian edition, trans. D. Novaković)

B. Lučin (ed.), The Marulić reader, Split, 2007, pp. 144-7 (Croatian-English
edition; English trans. M. Kovačićek)

B. Lučin, Marko Marulić 1450-1524, Split, 2008, p. 53 (Croatian trans. D.

Novaković, German trans. K. Jurčević)

118
Editions & Translations
Studies
F. Posset, ‘The mouse, the frog and the unidentified flying object. Metaphors
for ‘empires’ in the Latin works of the Croatian humanist Marcus Marulus
and of the German humanist Ulrich von Hutten’, Colloquia Maruliana 17
(2008) 125-48

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1500-1550

Franz Posset (with the assistance of Branko Jozić and Bratislav Lučin)
Cite this page

Posset (with the assistance of Branko Jozić and Bratislav Lučin), Franz. " In discordiam principum Christianorum." Christian-
Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David Thomas. Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February
2016 <http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-ii/in-discordiam-principum-christianorum-
COM_27636>

119
 Ad Clementem VII. Pontificem
Maximum
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts MANUSCRIPTS EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Ad Clementem VII. Pontificem Maximum

‘To Clement VII, Supreme Pontiff’

Marko Marulić, Marko Pecinić

Date: After 19 November 1523

Original Language: Latin

Description
This is a congratulatory poem of 32 lines which does not appear to have
actually been sent to the newly elected Pope Clement VII (in office 19
November 1523 to 1534), who was ‘probably the most disastrous of all the
popes’ (Leopold von Ranke).

Marulus employs a play on words based on the pope’s family name Medici
and the Latin medicus (‘physician’), as he had before in his poem for the
previous Medici pope, Leo X, cousin of Clement VII. Marulus again
expresses his hope that the new pope will unite Europe to oppose the Turkish
threat. This is the pope’s task. The poem is thus similar to the open letter to
Pope Hadrian and to the Lament of the city of Jerusalem. It also includes a
catalogue of Turkish atrocities that is reminiscent of A prayer against Turks,
while the hint that some Christians even resort to converting to Islam
(Maumetica sacra sequuntur) repeats what is said in De ultimo Christi

120
iudicio (Nonne nostra ętate plurimos nouimus a fide discessisse et ex
Christianis Mahumetanos factos?, Opera omnia, vol. 11, p. 235).

Significance
This is Marulus’s last known piece in the Antiturcica genre and, as far as we
know, the very last thing he wrote (he died only a month and a half after the
pope’s election, on 5 January 1524). The poem calls for the unity of the
Christian nations against the Turkish threat, and the underlying thought in the
poem is Nomen est omen: the Medici name, ‘so venerable to us’, is a good
omen for those who are oppressed by war. The Medici pope should be like a
physician, who with his medicine would be able to heal any wounds that ‘the
perfidious barbarian inflicts on us’, referring to the Ottomans, who were
attacking Marulus’s home region. The poem testifies to the author’s impulse
for literary engagement in the public appeal for anti-Turkish resistance, as
well as to his undying hope that the saving and uniting impetus might come
from the pope – a hope he retained up to the very last moments of his life.

Manuscripts
MANUSCRIPTS
MS Glasgow, University Library – Hunter 334 / U. 8.2, fols CXXr-CXXv (c.
1524-50)

EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS

D. Novaković (ed.), ‘Marci Marvli epigrammata’, Colloquia Maruliana 6
(1997) 37-77, pp. 66-7 (first edition)

D. Novaković (ed.), Marko Marulić. Glasgowski stihovi, Zagreb, 1999, pp.

106-9 (Latin-Croatian edition)

121
M. Marulić, Duhom do zvijezda, ed. B. Lučin, Zagreb, 2001, pp. 454-5
(Croatian trans. D. Novaković)

B. Lučin (ed.), Marci Maruli opera omnia, vol. 17, p. 170 (no. 101), trans. D.
Novaković (Latin-Croatian edition)

B. Lučin (ed.), Marko Marulić. 1450-1524, Split, 2008, p. 53 (Croatian-

German edition, German trans. K. Jurčević)

Editions & Translations

Studies
Keywords
Chronological Category: 1500-1550

Franz Posset (with the assistance of Branko Jozić and Bratislav Lučin)
Cite this page

Posset (with the assistance of Branko Jozić and Bratislav Lučin), Franz. " Ad Clementem VII. Pontificem Maximum." Christian-
Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David Thomas. Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February
2016 <http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-ii/ad-clementem-vii-pontificem-maximum-
COM_27637>

122
 Opusculum ad regni Hungariae proceres,
quod in Thurcam bella movere negligunt
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts MANUSCRIPTS EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

‘To the dignitaries of the Kingdom of Hungary, because they were not
concerned to wage war against the Turks’

Márton Nagyszombati, Martinus de Tirnavia

Date: 1523
Original Language: Latin

Description
Martinus of Tyrnavia’s To the dignitaries of the Kingdom of Hungary is an
exhortation written to the Hungarian nobility in 911 distiches, divided into
three cantos of unequal length (220, 292, 399 distiches). The poem lacks an
organised structure, and its main themes recur in shorter or longer segments.
Among the historical events that inspire the poem, Martinus mentions the
loss of Nándorfehérvár (Belgrade, 1521). Using the rhetorical devices of
laudatio and vituperatio, the text praises the ideal golden age (1.365-82) and
the heroic past of the Hungarian kingdom and its valiant kings (e.g., 2.39-94).
In his praise of St Ladislas, King of Hungary, he compares him to ancient
Roman rulers (Lycurgus, Numa Pompilius, Trajan; 2.307-58), and St
Adalbert reminds him of the Roman Camillus. Even the story of St Ursula
and the 11,000 virgins slaughtered by the Huns is added to the list of
achievements of ancient Hungarians (2.103-4). At the same time, Martinus

123
blames the inertia and discord of the current nobility for their lack of unity in
confronting the Ottoman Turks (e.g. 3.529-70). The descriptions of the
demonised enemy and of the devastation caused by the Ottoman invasion are
abundant in detail. Martinus seems to have been heavily influenced by the
Erasmian rhetorical ideal of copiousness (copia) when writing his poem. The
enemy is described as diabolical and vile in nature, but at the same time as
cowardly and without virtue, which would enable the Hungarian nobility
successfully to stand up against the Ottoman army once they rid themselves
of the strife among themselves. The poem ends with a detailed description of
the tortures deserved by the enemy (3.701-12).

Martinus strongly relies on poetic imitation in his poetry and prose. The
dedication to Bishop László Szalkay employs Johann Kresling’s prose
panegyric addressed to Bishop György Szathmáry as a textual source
(published in the Orationes Viennae ... ad Divum Maximilianum... habitae,
Vienna, 1516, in which Martinus himself published a poetical panegyric). A
number of hemistiches and verses are copied from the Stauromachia of
Stephanus Taurinus (1519), an epic poem about the 1514 Hungarian peasant
war. Beside the classical epic and panegyric sources (Vergil, Claudian),
Martinus’s poetical language seems to have been inspired by the descriptions
in Lucan’s Pharsalia. The historical and mythological apparatus he employs
is based on the examples of Valerius Maximus and on classical poetic
sources. Given the popularity of these examples in Renaissance poetry, it is
unclear what contemporary sources he might have used, but there are several
similarities between his work and the Ad principes Germaniae ut bellum
Turcis invehant (1518) of Ulrich von Hutten, and Riccardo Bartolini’s Oratio
... de expeditione contra Turcas suscipienda (1518).

Significance
Martinus’s To the dignitaries of the Kingdom of Hungary is the first longer
epic poem by a Hungarian author calling for struggle against the Ottomans.
Despite the early arrival of humanist literature in Hungary in the 15th century,
anti-Ottoman rhetoric appeared only sporadically in poetry (e.g. Janus
Pannonius’ Ad Antonium Constantium, and Alexander Cortesius’s De
Matthiae Corvini Ungariae regis laudibus bellicis carmen). Martinus’s
exhortation paved the way for the later, longer epic compositions dealing

124
with the battles against the Ottomans, which included the Bellum
Pannonicum by Christian Schesaeus (1573), the Monomachiae
Hungaroturcicae carminum libri duo by Nicolaus Gabelmann (1590) and the
Obsidio Sigethiana by Miklós Zrínyi (1645-51).

Manuscripts
MANUSCRIPTS
No manuscript survives.

EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS

Martini Thyrnavini Opusculum ad regni Hungariae proceres, Vienna:
Singrenius, 1523 (VD 16 M, RMK III. 255, App. H. 173; the work survives
in three copies: Budapest, Hungarian National Library – RMK III. 255/1 and
2; Copenhagen, Royal Library – 70.326)

J. Ábel and I. Hegedűs (eds), Analecta nova ad historiam renascentium in

Hungaria litterarum spectantia, Budapest, 1903, pp. 217-70 (with some
corrections to the original text)

Á. Majtényi (trans.), ‘Magyarország főuraihoz’, in T. Klaniczay (ed.), Janus

Pannonius. Magyarországi humanisták, Budapest, 1982 (partial Hungarian
trans.)

Editions & Translations

Studies
Kiss Farkas, ‘Political rhetoric in anti-Ottoman literature’

Kiss Farkas, ‘1523 – Nagyszombati Márton. Magyarország előkelőihez’,

185-95

125
Ritoókné Szalay, “Nympha super ripam Danubii”, pp. 180-6

Gerézdi, ‘A “régi dicsőség” Jagelló-kori énekese (Nagyszombati Márton)’,

119-38

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1500-1550
Thematic Region: Serbia
Dynasty/Ruling elite: Louis II. King of Hungary and Bohemia
Genre & Source Type: Epics, Poetry
Theme: Christian descriptions of Islamic doctrine, Christian-Muslim warfare
Social History: Warfare

Gábor Kiss Farkas

Cite this page

Kiss Farkas, Gábor. " Opusculum ad regni Hungariae proceres, quod in Thurcam bella movere negligunt." Christian-Muslim
Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David Thomas. Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016
<http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-ii/opusculum-ad-regni-hungariae-proceres-quod-in-
thurcam-bella-movere-negligunt-COM_26353>

126
 Ad Ludovicum Regem Hungariae et
Bohemiae pro bello Turcis inferendo
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

‘To Louis, King of Hungary and Bohemia, in favour of fighting against the
Turks’

Eckius, Ecchius, Philyropolitanus

Date: 1524
Original Language: Latin

Description
This small volume of poetry contains two exhortations, a longer one to King
Louis II (Ad Ludovicum Hungariae et Bohemiae regem pro bello Turcis
inferendo) and a shorter one to the Hungarian nobility (Ad proceres
Hungariae), and a poem in praise of Alexius Thurzó (De Alexii Thursonis in
regalium thavernicorum magistrum electione plausus heroicus), preceded by
dedicatory poems by Matthias Pyrser and Stanislas Hosius. The volume is 16
pages long, of which the poem to King Louis takes up six pages, and the
poem to the Hungarian nobility takes up approximately three pages. The
dedicatory letter addressed to Alexius Thurzó (dated to 2 January 1524,
Bardejov) relates the circumstances that gave occasion to the publication of
these poems: once King Louis II’s intention to wage war against the Ottoman
Turks is implemented, all the rulers of Europe will join him in his war efforts,

127
but strong determination is needed, because God helps only those who are
striving hard for their aims. Nevertheless, virtue always remains undefeated.

A number of conscious references to ancient examples appear time and again

in several poems: Stanislaus Hosius compares Eck’s stance against the Turks
to the war poetry of the ancient Spartan poet Tyrtaeus against the Persians
(‘Spartanos veluti Tyrtheus ad arma ciebat’); the Ottoman Turks are referred
to as ‘Phrygian phalanges’ (‘Phrygias fudere phalanges’).

Eck employs the rhetorical figure of prosopopoeia in his exhortation to King

Louis II: the Holy Christian Church (‘sancta mater ecclesia’) addresses the
king and describes her desolate state, enumerating her losses (only one of the
original five Christian patriarchates remains in Christian hands), with urgent
pleas for his help. The poem includes imitations from Eck’s earlier Threni
neglecte religionis (‘Threnody of the neglected religion’, 1518), where the
personified figure of religion complains of the heretics menacing
Christendom (Turks, Tartars, Muscovites, etc.), a text which was in turn
inspired by a poem of similar title written by Augustinus Moravus (Threni
neglectae religionis, 1500).

The exhortation to the Hungarian nobles that follows this urges the
aristocracy, who Eck thinks are idle, to take a stand against the Ottoman
attack. Using classical examples, Eck explains that just as Hercules and
Achilles – disguised in female clothes – revealed themselves as great heroes,
the Hungarian nobles will have to demonstrate their talent for war.

The theme of the invincibility of virtue is further expressed in the poem in

praise of Alexius Thurzó, where a number of classical (Pompey, Numa
Pompilius, Quintus Fabius, etc.) and biblical (Moses, Jacob, Joseph, etc.)
figures are cited as examples of virtuous or sinful behaviour, to show that
virtue is the single moral quality that resists time and destruction (‘Virtus
nulli subiecta ruinae /Sola manet constans, toto insuperabilis aevo’). It is only
by following the example of the virtuous heroes of the past that the barbarism
brought by the Ottomans can be eradicated.

Significance

128
Eck’s poems in this volume reflect the political position of the royalist party
in Hungary before the battle of Mohács (1526): he endorses the young 18-
year-old Louis II, supported by his patron, Alexius Thurzó, and scolds the
‘nobility’, meaning the lesser and middle nobility led by István Werbőczy,
for not supporting the king’s war efforts. From a literary point of view, Eck’s
personification of the desolate Religion, and later of the desperate Holy
Church becomes a popular rhetorical device in humanist poetry, and is
echoed in many poems that deplore the fate of the Hungarian Kingdom in the
16th century, where, in an era when Protestant reform was fracturing religion
and church, their place is taken by the personifications of geographical names
(Germania, Hungary).

Manuscripts
EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
Ad Ludovicum Hungariae et Bohemiae regem pro bello Turcis inferendo,
Cracow, 1524 (the single known copy is in Targu Mureṣ, Teleki-téka; there
are photocopies in Budapest, Hungarian National Library, and the Polish
National Library, Warsaw)

Editions & Translations

Studies
G. Kiss Farkas, ‘Political rhetoric in anti-Ottoman literature. Martinus
Thyrnavinus: To the dignitaries of the Hungarian Kingdom’, in N.
Spannenberger (ed.), Ein Raum im Wandel, Stuttgart, 2014

Glomski, ‘Eck (Eckius, Ecchius, Philyripolitanus), Valentin’

Glomski, Patronage and humanist literature in the age of the Jagiellons, pp.
157-6

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1500-1550
Thematic Region: Hungary

129
Related Historical People: Ottomans
Dynasty/Ruling elite: Louis II. King of Hungary and Bohemia
Genre & Source Type: Poetry
Theme: Christian-Muslim warfare
Social History: Warfare

Gábor Kiss Farkas

Cite this page

Kiss Farkas, Gábor. " Ad Ludovicum Regem Hungariae et Bohemiae pro bello Turcis inferendo." Christian-Muslim Relations
1500 - 1900. General Editor David Thomas. Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016
<http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-ii/ad-ludovicum-regem-hungariae-et-bohemiae-pro-
bello-turcis-inferendo-COM_26389>

130
 Otvety khristian protiv agari͡an,
khuli͡ashchikh nashu pravoslavnui͡u
khristianskui͡u veru
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts MANUSCRIPTS EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Otvety khristian protiv agari͡an

‘Answers of the Christians to the Hagarenes who revile our Orthodox
Christian faith’

Maximus the Greek

Date: Before 1525

Original Language: Old Russian

Description
Maximus wrote this letter in Moscow before 1525. It covers 10 pages in the
Russian translation published in 1910. In it he gives an example to Christians
of how to dispute with Muslims. Since the Qur’an mentions the Gospel as
being sent from heaven, Maximus advises Christians to use only the Gospels
as proofs for the truthfulness of Christianity.

Maximus gives biblical references that demonstrate the divinity of Christ and
that he was Son of God, the need for baptism in order to be saved, the fact of
the Trinity, and the necessity of Christ’s death for the salvation of
humankind. He argues that Islamic ritual ablutions cannot make the soul
clean, and he gives various illustrations that might help Muslims to
understand the Trinity. He even argues that, when they raise their index
131
finger and profess their faith, Muslims unknowingly profess the Triune God,
since the finger consists of three joints. Thus, Muslims need to be baptised in
the name of the Trinity.

Significance
This document gives interesting insights into relations between Christians
and Muslims in Russia in the 16th century. It shows that even at this time
Christians were discussing their faith with Muslims, and were compelled to
defend their beliefs.

Manuscripts
MANUSCRIPTS
MS Moscow, Russian State Library – Rumyantsev Collection 264, F.256
(1551-5)

MS Moscow, State Historical Museum – Khludov Collection 73 (1563)

MS Moscow, State Historical Museum – Uvarov Collection 310 (16th

century)

EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS

Sochinenii͡a prepodobnogo Maksima Greka, 1859, 18942, part 1

Sochinenii͡a prepodobnogo Maksima Greka v russkom perevode, 1910, part 1

(modern Russian trans.)

Editions & Translations

Studies
Ivanov, Literaturnoe nasledie Maksima Greka

132
Keywords
Chronological Category: 1500-1550
Genre & Source Type: Polemics

Denis Savelyev
Cite this page

͡ khuliashchikh
Savelyev, Denis. " Otvety khristian protiv agarian, ͡ nashu pravoslavnui͡u khristianskui͡u veru." Christian-Muslim
Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David Thomas. Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016
<http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-ii/otvety-khristian-protiv-agarian-khuliashchikh-
nashu-pravoslavnuiu-khristianskuiu-veru-COM_26467>

133
 Slovo oblichitel'noe protiv agaria͡nskogo
zabluzhdenia͡ i protiv izmyslivshego ego
skvernogo psa Magometa
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts MANUSCRIPTS EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Slovo oblichitel'noe protiv agaria͡nskogo zabluzhdenia͡

‘A revealing word against the Hagarene aberration and against the filthy dog
Muḥammad, who invented it’

Maximus the Greek

Date: Before 1525

Original Language: Old Russian

Description
Maximus wrote this polemical work in Moscow before 1525. The text can be
found in all the earliest manuscripts containing collections of his works. It
comes to 32 pages in the Russian translation published in 1910.

Maximus begins by proposing three criteria for a true faith: it must be

established by God himself; the person who brought it must be righteous and
God-fearing; it must be consistent with previous teachings given through the
prophets, apostles and teachers. He briefly demonstrates that Christianity
fulfils these criteria, and then proceeds to apply them to Islam. He mentions
that he received his information about the life of Muḥammad from
‘trustworthy men, who truly know about him’. Muḥammad, he says, received
the whole of his spiritual knowledge from two teachers: a monk expelled
134
from Constantinople for Arianism, and a Jew expelled from Jerusalem for an
unknown heresy. The monk persuaded Muḥammad’s wife, and through her,
the people of Arabia, that her husband was a prophet.

Maximus portrays Muḥammad as a demon-possessed liar, who trained a dove

to sit on his shoulder and peck food from his ear in order to imitate
inspiration by Holy Spirit. He explained away the absence of miraculous
signs by stating that he was sent with the sword and not with miracles.

Following this account, Maximus gives examples of Islamic laws and

teachings that contradict the New Testament and previous revelations.

Significance
This document was the first polemical writing against Islam written in
Russia. It helps to explain how the views on Islam held by the Byzantine
Church influenced those of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Manuscripts
MANUSCRIPTS
MS Moscow, Russian State Library – Works by the Venerable Maximus the
Greek (Collection of the Academy of Science) 42, F.173.1 (16th century)

MS Moscow, Russian State Library – Collection of works of Maximus the

Greek 138, F.173.3 (16th century)

MS Moscow, Russian State Library – Works by the Venerable Maximus the

Greek 153, F.173.1 (16th century)

MS Moscow, Russian State Library – Works by Maximus the Greek (Trinity

Lavra of St Sergius Collection) 201, F.304.1 (17th century)

EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS

Sochinenii͡a prepodobnogo Maksima Greka, 1859, 18942, part 1

135
Sochinenii͡a prepodobnogo Maksima Greka v russkom perevode, 1910, part 1
(modern Russian trans.)

Editions & Translations

Studies
Ivanov, Literaturnoe nasledie Maksima Greka

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1500-1550
Genre & Source Type: Polemics
Theme: Polemic

Denis Savelyev
Cite this page

Savelyev, Denis. " Slovo oblichitel'noe protiv agaria͡nskogo zabluzhdenia͡ i protiv izmyslivshego ego skvernogo psa Magometa."
Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David Thomas. Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02
February 2016 <http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-ii/slovo-oblichitelnoe-protiv-
agarianskogo-zabluzhdenia-i-protiv-izmyslivshego-ego-skvernogo-psa-magometa-COM_26460>

136
 Slovo vtoroye, o tom zhe, k
blagochestivym protiv bogoborts͡a i psa
Magometa
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts MANUSCRIPTS EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Slovo vtoroye, o tom zhe

‘A second word, about the same, to the devout ones against the God-defier
and dog, Muḥammad’

Maximus the Greek

Date: Before 1525

Original Language: Old Russian

Description
Maximus wrote this letter in Moscow before 1525. It is shorter than the first,
covering 11 pages in the Russian translation published in 1910. He wrote it in
order to encourage Christians and preserve them in their faith in the face of
the expansion of Islam throughout the world. By this time, Muslims had
conquered places closely associated with Christianity, including Jerusalem,
Alexandria, Egypt, Libya and Antioch; and they were continuing to extend
their rule further.

The letter can be divided into three parts. In the first part, Maximus
encourages Christians not to lose hope. He explains that these events were
predicted as a sign of the second coming of Christ, and that Christians are
being punished for their sins and for the sins of their priests.
137
In the second part, he argues that Muḥammad’s victories do not mean he was
righteous, since he denied the divinity of Christ and that he was Son of God,
and he changed the commandments given by Jesus. Maximus mentions that
there are many examples of godless pagan kings being victorious, and refers
to the first 318 years of Christianity when the faithful suffered at the hands of
Greeks, Jews and Romans.

In the third part, Maximus explains what Christians should do. They must
abandon their hope of retaking Constantinople and of re-establishing the
imperial dynasty; they should repent of their sins and ‘put on the armour of
righteousness’. They need to follow the example of the first Christians, who
did not lose their faith but rejoiced when they were persecuted for Christ.
And finally, Christians should give worship to God through their righteous
deeds and patience, and he will honour them in heaven.

Significance
This document shows how the spread of Islam was influencing the attitudes
of Christians in Russia in the 16th century, and how some retained wistful
hopes of overthrowing the power of the Ottomans and restoring the former
imperial order.

Manuscripts
MANUSCRIPTS
MS Moscow, Russian State Library – Works by the Venerable Maximus the
Greek (Collection of the Academy of Science) 42, F.173.1 (16th century)

MS Moscow, Russian State Library – Collection of works of Maximus the

Greek 138, F.173.3 (16th century)

MS Moscow, Russian State Library – Works by the Venerable Maximus the

Greek 153, F.173.1 (16th century)

MS Moscow, Russian State Library – Works by Maximus the Greek (Trinity

Lavra of St Sergius Collection) 201, F.304.1 (17th century)

138
EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
Sochinenii͡a prepodobnogo Maksima Greka, 1859, 18942, part 1

Sochinenii͡a prepodobnogo Maksima Greka v russkom perevode, 1910, part

1 (modern Russian trans.)

Editions & Translations

Studies
Ivanov, Literaturnoe nasledie Maksima Greka

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1500-1550
Genre & Source Type: Polemics

Denis Savelyev
Cite this page

Savelyev, Denis. " Slovo vtoroye, o tom zhe, k blagochestivym protiv bogobortsa͡ i psa Magometa." Christian-Muslim Relations
1500 - 1900. General Editor David Thomas. Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016
<http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-ii/slovo-vtoroye-o-tom-zhe-k-blagochestivym-protiv-
bogobortsa-i-psa-magometa-COM_26465>

139
 Oratio protreptica
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Oratio protreptica
‘Hortatory speech’

Johannes Spiessheimer, Spieshaymer, Spiesheimer, Speissheimer

Date: 1526
Original Language: Latin

Description
On 29 August 1526, the Battle of Mohács (present-day Baranya County,
southern Transdanubia Region, Hungary) between the Kingdom of Hungary
and the Ottoman Empire ended with the disastrous defeat of the Hungarians,
and the death of the young King Louis II of Hungary and Bohemia.
Awestruck by this event, Johannes Cuspinianus turned to the princes and
nobles of the Holy Roman Empire with his Oratio proptreptica (in full,
Oratio protreptica Ioannis Cvspiniani ad sacri Ro. Imp. principes et
proceres, ut bellum suscipiant contra Turcum cum descriptione conflictus,
nuper in Hungaria facti, quo periit Rex Hungariae Ludovicus). Here, he
briefly outlines the background of the battle, the Hungarian-Ottoman wars
before 1526, the efforts of János Hunyadi (John Hunyadi) and his son, King
Matthias Corvinus of Hungary, to stop the relentless expansion of the
Ottoman Empire and to maintain Hungarian supremacy in the Balkans,
referring to important military events (the first siege of Belgrade, 1456; the
battle of Kenyérmező, 1479), and the prelude to the Battle of Mohács (the
second siege of Belgrade, 1521; the Ottoman occupation of Szalánkemény

140
and Pétervárad, 1526). He also describes the events of the Battle of Mohács
and its aftermath, namely the death of a good number of Hungarian prelates
and magnates, the Ottoman capture and sack of Buda, and also the escape of
the young widowed Queen Mary of Hungary.

Cuspinianus is the first to formulate the idea that King Louis II died through
the fault of his companions, or conspiracy. He is well aware of the events of
the previous wars between Hungary and the Ottomans and lists the battles in
which the kings of Hungary suffered defeat (Nikopol, Bulgaria, 1396;
Golubac, 1428; Varna, 1444), and he criticises the long and useless meetings
at the Imperial Diets (actually the Reichstag of Speyer, 1526), and the misuse
of the tax revenue that was collected in the Empire for the purpose of the
crusade against the Ottomans. His attack on and critique of Martin Luther,
though without mentioning his name, is also remarkable, since Luther did not
support the war against the Ottoman Empire.

Significance
Cuspinianus’s Oratio protreptica, despite its anti-Hungarian sentiments, is
one of the most important and reliable contemporary accounts of the Battle of
Mohács and its consequences. The results of the latest scholarly research
have proved the assumptions of some earlier Hungarian scholars that Oratio
protreptica significantly contributed to the memoir of Stephanus Brodericus
(István Brodarics and his Historia verissima, 1527). They claim that
Brodericus, as a survivor of the Battle of Mohács, responded to
Cuspinianus’s accusations, e.g. the incompetence of the Hungarian military
leadership, and the cowardice of the Hungarian soldiers (Kasza, ‘“Mert
látom”’, pp. 333-34). Brodericus was also commissioned by King Sigismund
I of Poland, the uncle of King Louis II, to answer Cuspinianus’s claims and
to protect the memory of the dead young king, who was now insulted by
these accusations (see Bartoniek, Fejezetek, p. 9; Birnbaum, Humanists in a
shattered world, p. 109; Hopp, Humanista eszméje, pp. 80-81).

As imperial ambassador, Cuspinianus had a firm knowledge of the Kingdom

of Hungary, and describes in his work Muslim customs and traditions. He
alerts the imperial estates to the fact that the Ottomans, who are victorious
and are about to conquer Hungary, represent an alien civilisation and
religious tradition. Their expulsion from the rich and fertile land of Hungary
141
is vital for the whole of Christianity, but this is only possible with the
cooperation of the imperial princes and estates. Cuspinianus maintains that
the nobility of the Empire can fight against the Ottomans only with moral
strength, integrity of faith, and the united action of the imperial forces.

Manuscripts
EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
Oratio protreptica Ioannis Cvspiniani ad sacri Ro. Imp. principes et
proceres, ut bellum suscipiant contra Turcum cum descriptione conflictus,
nuper in Hungaria facti, quo periit Rex Hungariae Ludovicus, ed. Johannes
Singrenius, Vienna, 1526

Austria Ioannis Cuspiniani cum eiusdem marchionibus, ducibus,

archiducibus, ac rebus praeclare ad haec usque tempore ab iisdem gestis.
Eiusdem Ioannis Cuspiniani oratio protreptica..., Basel, 1553, pp. 711-25;
Frankfurt am Main, 1601, pp. 72-82

Iohannis Cuspiniani...Oratio protreptica...emendatus quam antehac edita a

Iohanne Weiderno Lendsidelio, Frankfurt am Main, 1598

Cuspiniánus János beszéde [The oration of Johann Cuspinian], ed. J.

Podharaczky, Buda, 1841

Editions & Translations

Studies
V. Čičaj, ‘Peter Révai a Uhorská história’ [Peter Révai and Hungarian
history], in M. Kovačka, E. Augustínová and M. Mačuha (eds), Rod Révai v
142
slovenských dejinách. Zborník prác z interdisciplinárnej konferencie, ktorá
sa konala 16.-17. septembra 2008 v Martine, Martin, 2010, 232-40, p. 237

P. Kasza, ‘“Mert látom, hogy...néhányan az eseményeket másképp mesélik,

mint megtörténtek...” Megjegyzések Brodarics István Historia verissimá
jának keletkezéstörténetéhez’ [‘Because I see that…some people tell the story
differently from how it really happened’. Some comments on the genesis of
the Historia verissima by István Brodarics], Irodalomtörténeti Közlemények
111 (2007) 323-42, pp. 325, 327, 331-40

W. Stelzer, art. ‘Cuspinianus (Spieshaymer, Spieß-, -heimer), Johannes’, in

F.J. Worstbrock (ed.), Deutscher Humanismus 1480-1520. Verfasserlexikon,
vol. 1, Berlin, 2006, 519-37

F.G. Farkas, ‘II. Lajos rejtélyes halála’ [The mysterious death of King Louis
II of Hungary], Magyar Könyvszemle 116 (2000) 443-63, pp. 447-8

L. Hopp, Az ‘antemurale’ és ‘conformitas’ humanista eszméje a magyar-

lengyel hagyományban [The humanist ideas of ‘antemurale’ and
‘conformitas’ in the Hungarian and Polish tradition], Budapest, 1992, pp. 80-
1

M.D. Birnbaum, Humanists in a shattered world. Croatian and Hungarian

Latinity in the sixteenth century, Los Angeles CA, 1986, p. 109

E. Bartoniek, Fejezetek a XVI-XVII. századi történetírás

történetéből [Chapters from the history of the Hungarian historiography of
the sixteenth and seventeenth century], Budapest, 1975, p. 9

Ankwicz-Kleehoven, Der Wiener Humanist, Johannes Cuspinian, pp. 237-9

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1500-1550
Thematic Region: Hungarian Kingdom
Related Historical People: Hungarians
Genre & Source Type: Orations, Polemics
Theme: Anti-Muslim polemic, Battle at Mohacs, Christian-Muslim warfare,
Diplomatic relations, Intra-Christian polemic, Sins of the Christians as the
143
cause of military defeats
Social History: Warfare

Gábor Bradács
Cite this page

Bradács, Gábor. " Oratio protreptica." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David Thomas. Brill Online,
2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016 <http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-
relations-ii/oratio-protreptica-COM_26360>

144
 Commentarii de temporibus suis
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Commentarii de temporibus suis

‘Commentaries on his times’

Aloysius de Crieva (Cerva, Cervinus, Cervarius; Crijević), Tubero

Date: Before 1527

Original Language: Latin

Description
The Commentarii is a historiographical work running to 11 volumes and
containing more than 100,000 words (its title in full is Ludovici Tuberonis
Dalmatae Abbatis Commentariorum de rebus quae temporibus eius in illa
Europae parte, quam Pannonii et Turcae eorumque finitimi incolunt, gestae
sunt). It focuses on the historical events that affected south-eastern Europe,
particularly Italy and the Kingdom of Hungary, in the period 1490-1522, that
is, from the death of Matthias Corvinus, King of Hungary, to the election of
Pope Adrian VI. In addition to a great number of excursuses into recent and
distant history, Tubero lays special emphasis on the disputes over the
Hungarian throne following the death of Corvinus, bitter feuds in the Italian
Peninsula, fighting between the Ottomans and Venetians on the Peloponnese,
and finally Turkish disputes over the dynastic succession and their increasing
conquests while Christian rulers were involved in mutual hostilities.

Since it was written with the clear intent to entertain the reader as well as to
inform, the potential monotony in the exploration of the main theme is

145
broken with many highly stylised fictitious speeches and frequent
geographical, ethnographical and anecdotal digressions, which give the
Commentarii a distinct belletristic appeal. In addition to reflections on the
motivation behind political events, the work features its author’s
uncompromising criticisms of social deviations, in which (following the spirit
of the time) even the highest levels of the Church hierarchy are not spared.

On the formal and stylistic level, skilfully adapting content-neutral but

stylistically recognisable passages borrowed from the best classical authors,
Tubero kept in mind the aesthetic demands of the time, which sought to
emulate classical antiquity. Not only do classical allusions appear in
particular phrases or sentences, but whole discourses have a recognisable
antique colouring, which is especially noticeable in fictitious speeches based
on Sallust, and in the description of persons or peoples following Julius
Caesar or Tacitus.

Volumes 6-11 of the Commentarii are particularly abundant in descriptions

of the Ottoman conquests in Europe and inner dynastic struggles in Istanbul.
Thus, in Volume 6, the introductory description of the events pertaining to
Sultan Bayezid II and his long-standing quarrel with his brother Cem,
triggers a chronologically unreliable but descriptively effective excursus on
the establishment and rise of the Ottoman dynasty, the most interesting
segments of which are a detailed depiction of the Battle of Kosovo in 1389
and an overview of the character and habits of the Turkish troops and their
unswerving loyalty to the sultan. This volume is also spiced with anecdotes:
the story that stands out is about a certain Maverdin from Hadrianopolis,
burnt alive because of his uncompromising loyalty to his Christian faith and
his refusal to convert to Islam. Volumes 7 and 8 describe Bayezid’s
conquests of the Venetian cities on the Peloponnese, fighting between the
city-states on the Apennine Peninsula and their clashes with the French and
the Spanish. An anecdote about a Muslim priest who renounced Islam inside
Hagia Sophia and in front of the sultan, and a reference to the iniquities
attributed to Cesare Borgia, a son of Pope Alexander VI, particularly stand
out here. Volume 9 follows the events connected with the activities of Pope
Julius II, more precisely, the conflicts resulting from the creation of the
League of Cambrai in 1508 and subsequently the Holy League in 1510, and
also Turkish dynastic struggles and Selim’s bloody ascent to the throne after

146
the death of Bayezid. Volume 10 contains, among other things, a report on
the riots and rebellions of serfs throughout Hungary, and detailed descriptions
of Bayezid’s battles against the Mamluks in Asia and Egypt. Concluding this
volume with a piece about the life and death of Sultan Bayezid, Tubero
begins Volume 11 with a description of Süleyman’s accession to the throne,
and proceeds to a detailed portrayal of the events surrounding the Turkish
siege and capture of Belgrade. After describing the death of Pope Leo X and
the election of the new pope, Adrian VI, Volume 11 ends with a short report
on Turkish sacking and plunder throughout Syrmia at the beginning of 1522.

Besides simple facts, Tubero presents the reader with individual character
traits and notions, often even his own perception of particular individuals that
he writes about. When discussing the Turks, his views are mostly
stereotypical and do not differ from those of other authors writing on Turkish
invasions. Consequently, acrimony, distrust and a fear of ‘the other’ are
prevalent throughout, in addition to frequent lamentations over the discord
between the champions of Christian secular and ecclesiastical life, seen as a
main cause of the Turkish military successes. He judges that Turkish
barbarians are not to be trusted, as they agree on truces with Christians and
then attack them unawares. The more aware Christian rulers are of their
treachery in this the more often they commit it – indeed, to this effect they
pray three times a day – and not a single champion of Christianity, not even
the pope himself, cares to do anything about it. In line with the widespread
view adopted even by Luther, Tubero concludes that the Turks are nothing
other than God’s scourge to punish the sinful Christian world, although, as a
first-hand witness of the extent of the ravages committed by the Turks, he
himself, unlike Luther, has no doubts at all about whether to take up arms
against them.

Islam itself and its founder Muḥammad are referred to several times in the
Commentarii, and readers learn not only the views of the author himself but
also those of both Muslims and Christians given in the form of fictitious
speeches. They all share the view that Islam is heavily indebted to Christian
doctrine, but while from a Muslim perspective (Sultan Bayezid) the teaching
of the Prophet Muḥammad is depicted as a reflection of God’s will to replace
the old Law with the new one, from a Christian perspective (Maverdin and
the unnamed Muslim priest who converts to Christianity) Muḥammad’s

147
teaching is nothing more than his illusory attempt to present himself as God’s
messenger, and to deceive ignorant people with enticing promises of physical
pleasures in this life and the hereafter. Both attitudes run through the works
of Christian writers from the Middle Ages and before, and they are
extensively elaborated in a similar manner by Tubero’s predecessors, the 15th-
century Italian humanists Andrea Biglia, Flavio Biondo, Enea Silvio
Piccolomini, Benedetto Accolti, Francesco Filelfo, Marcantonio Sabellico
and others (M. Meserve, The empires of Islam in Renaissance historical
thought, Cambridge, 2008, pp. 157-245; N. Bisaha, Creating East and West,
Philadelphia PA, 2004, pp. 166-73).

Finally, despite all the negative traits of the enemy of the Christian faith that
he records, Tubero does not hesitate to highlight the moral qualities of
Muslims, such as hospitality, discipline, piety, loyalty to the ruler and the
ascetic fortitude of their troops. He even commends them for setting a
positive example to the sinful Christian world, in one instance saying that
Christians in their wartime conquests should take a leaf out of their book and
show clemency, as the Turks did during their capture of Cairo, and in another
praising Bayezid not only for his piety but also for his honesty, philanthropy,
keeping to his word, and refraining from taking what did not belong to him.
Lastly, he states that the Turks are human just like Christians, and should not
be despised. In this respect, Tubero’s attitude towards the Turks approaches
the views of his Italian contemporaries, Paolo Giovio, Giovanni Menavino
and Andrea Cambini, whose works do not fail to mention examples of the
honourable conduct of the Turks and their high level of social organisation,
as well as encouraging Christian readers to rise above the usual stereotypical
image of the Turks as barbarians and get to know their enemy better (Bisaha,
Creating East and West, pp. 174-9).

Significance
With regard to its style and content, Tubero’s Commentarii is one of the most
illustrious examples of the Latin-language culture of Croatian and European
humanism, with a wealth of first-hand information on Christian-Muslim
relations collected at the meeting point of the two cultures. The Ragusan
Benedictine has always been a favourite of the reading public: his erudition
and devotion to historiographical work were already commended by his

148
Dubrovnik contemporaries in occasional Latin poems, and the Commentarii
had become known outside of Dubrovnik even before the first printed
edition. Ferenc Forgách, a Hungarian historian, was so impressed with the
manuscript during his stay in Dubrovnik in 1570 that he completed the
writing of his own history under the same title, and it was through Forgách
that the Commentarii reached the court of Transylvania, where, as witnessed
by the Italian humanist J.M. Brutus, the Voivode of Transylvania, Stephen
Báthory, held it in the highest esteem.

The popularity of the work did not decline when, as a result of Tubero’s
fierce criticism of the Church, in the 18th century it appeared on the list of
books prohibited by the Catholic Church. In the Foreword to the third edition
(1746) the editor I. Schwandtner states that Tubero is second to none among
the writers of Hungarian history (scriptorum Hungaricorum nulli secundus),
which is corroborated by the status he enjoys in Hungarian historiography.
Extremely philanthropic, conciliatory towards cultural and religious
diversities, politically impartial, linguistically and descriptively appealing, in
addition to being warmly embraced all over the humanist world, Tubero thus
remains one of the most remarkable figures of the Croatian Latin-language
Cinquecento.

Manuscripts
MANUSCRIPTS

MS Venice, Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana – 3620, Classe X, Manuscripti

Latini Classici 155 (before 1527; autograph)

MS Kórnik, Biblioteka Kórnicka Polskiej akademii nauk – BK 137 II 11

(1570; copy of Marciana MS)

MS Milan, Biblioteca Ambrosiana – D 411 inf (16th century; copy of

Marciana MS)

MS Zagreb, Nacionalna i sveučilišna knjižnica – R 5875 (16th-17thcentury;

copy of Marciana MS)

MS Zagreb, Nacionalna i sveučilišna knjižnica – R 4027 (1751)

149
MS Dubrovnik, Arhiv Male braće – Brlek 171 (18th-19th century)

EDITIONS

Ludovici Tuberonis Dalmatae Abbatis Commentariorum de rebus quae

temporibus eius in illa Europae parte, quam Pannonii et Turcae eorumque
finitimi incolunt, gestae sunt, libri undecim, Frankfurt, 1603

Ludovici Tuberonis Dalmatae Abbatis Commentariorum de temporibus suis

libri undecim, in Syndromus rerum Turcico Pannonicarum historiam centum
quinquaginta annorum complectens, Frankfurt, 1627

Ludovici Tuberonis, Dalmatae Abbatis, Commentariorum de rebus, suo

tempore, nimirum ab anno Christi 1490. usque ad annum Christi 1522. in
Pannonia et finitimis regionibus gestis, libri XI, inScriptores rerum
Hungaricarum veteres ac genuini, tomus II, Vienna, 1746

Ludovici Cervarii Tuberonis, Patricii Rhacusani ac Abbatis Congregationis

Melitensis Commentaria suorum temporum, Dubrovnik, 1784

L. Blazovich and E. Galántai, Ludovicus Tubero. Kortörténeti feljegyzések,

Szeged, 1994 (partial Hungarian trans.)

V. Rezar (trans.), Ludovik Crijević Tuberon. Komentari o mojem vremenu,

Zagreb, 2001 (Croatian trans.)

150
Rezar, Ludovici Tuberonis Dalmatae Abbatis Commentarii de temporibus
suis (critical edition)

Editions & Translations

Studies
Rezar, Ludovici Tuberonis Dalmatae Abbatis, pp. vi-lxviii, ‘Introductory
study’

Rezar, Ludovik Crijević Tuberon, pp. vii-lxxxviii, ‘Introductory study’

Szőke, Ludovicus Cervarius Tubero

Vajda, Tubero Lajos mint történetiró

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1450-1500, 1500-1550
Thematic Region: Greece, Hungarian Kingdom , Italy, Ottoman Empire
Related Historical People: Hungarians, Ottomans
Dynasty/Ruling elite: Habsburgs, Louis II. King of Hungary and Bohemia,
Ottomans, Trastamara
Genre & Source Type: Historiography
Theme: Christian-Muslim warfare
Social History: Warfare
Christians: Byzantine Church, Christians
Muslims: Sunnis

Vlado Rezar
Cite this page

Rezar, Vlado. " Commentarii de temporibus suis." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David Thomas. Brill
Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016 <http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-
muslim-relations-ii/commentarii-de-temporibus-suis-COM_27640>

151
 De conflictu Hungarorum cum Solymano
Turcarum imperatore ad Mohach
historia verissima
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts MANUSCRIPTS EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Historia verissimaClades in campo Mohacz;, Descriptio proelii inter

Ludovicum et Solymanum ad Mohazium gesti; , Cladis Mohacsianae sub
Ludovico II. descriptio
‘The true history of the battle of the Hungarians against the Ottoman
Emperor Süleyman at Mohács’

Stephanus Brodericus

Date: Approximately February-March 1528

Original Language: Latin

Description
Apart from many diplomatic letters and two orations, Historia verissima is
the only work written by Brodericus. It is an account of the decisive battle of
Mohács between the Hungarian and Ottoman armies on 29 August 1526. The
text is quite short: in the modern critical edition by Péter Kulcsár it consists
of 253 sentences on 38 pages. It used to be thought that Brodericus had two
possible reasons for writing his work, either that he was asked by the Polish
King Sigismund I to relate the events that led to the defeat and the death of
King Louis II, who was Sigismund’s nephew, or that he intended to respond
to the accusations against the Hungarians made by the Viennese humanist,

152
Johannes Cuspinianus, in a speech addressed to the German princes.
However, more recent research (Kasza, ‘“Because I can see ...”’) has proved
that the Polish king did not play any part in the origins of Historia verissima,
while Cuspinianus’s oration did influence Brodericus (Kasza, ‘Cuspinians
Oratio protreptica und ihr Echo in Ungarn’). His work is therefore more than
a simple account; it can also be read as a polemic.

As to the date of publication, it is widely believed that Historia verissima was

printed in Krakow in April 1527, although copies of this first edition have not
survived. In view of newly discovered sources, however, it seems unlikely
that Brodericus could have written the account before the spring of 1528, so
it could not have been published in 1527. We cannot exclude the possibility
that the report remained in manuscript until 1568 and was first published only
in that year. This means that the edition by Sambucus, of which we have
extant copies, was the first.

Following the traditions of humanist historiography, at the beginning of his

work Brodericus describes political conditions in Hungary and introduces the
main figures among contemporary nobility, and then gives a detailed
geographical description of the country. Then he returns to his main subject,
summing up the Hungarian military plans for the campaign, and continues
with a description of the royal army’s march towards the site of the battle.
After giving a detailed description of the battlefield, he introduces the
opposing armies and their deployment. The climax of the work is the short
but very impressive description of the battle itself. At the end, Brodericus
reviews the casualties, listing all the members of the clergy and the secular
elite who perished, and adds a description of looting by the Ottoman army.

Significance
Since the battle of Mohács resulted in the Ottoman occupation of the central
part of the country and was a turning point in the history of the Hungarian
kingdom, the significance of Brodericus’s work cannot be overestimated. He
was the only Hungarian who both took part in the battle and also told the
story of it, and so was the only eyewitness chronicler of the events. Though
we have Ottoman accounts of the battle at our disposal, Brodericus’s work is
our only source that describes the events from a Christian point of view. The
importance of Historia verissima is highlighted by the fact that it was
153
included in several collections dedicated to the history of either 16th-century
Hungary or the Ottoman wars in Europe in general. See the repeated editions
of Bonfini, Schardius or Reusner listed below.

Manuscripts
MANUSCRIPTS
MS Győr, Ecclesiastical Archive Győr – GyEL GyKHhLt, fols 1-48 (about
1549; damaged)

MS Kraków, Jagiellonian Library – rkp 6550, fols 257-79 (about 1553)

MS Kraków, The Princes Czartoryski Library – rkp MS 1365 II, fols 1-39
(16th century; partial MS with the wrong title De clade Vlad Jagiellonski ad
Varnam [!])

MS Budapest, Archive of Hungarian Academy of Sciences – coll. Analecta

B, 5078/26 (17th century)

MS Paris, BNF – MS fr. 20152, fols 637 sqq. (approximately 17th century)

MS Kórnik, Kórnik Library – BK 225, fols 515-70 (1783)

EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS

J. Sambucus (ed.), Antonii Bonfinii rerum Ungaricarum decades, Basel,
1568, pp. 757-74; Frankfurt, 15812; Hanau, 16063

S. Schardius (ed.), Rerum Germanicarum scriptores varii, Basel, 1574, pp.

1177-95

154
L. Peechi and P. Ransanus (eds), Epitome rerum Hungaricarum, Tyrnaviae,
1579, Y5v-Z8v (partial edition – excerpts from Brodericus’s text)

N. Reusner (ed.), Rerum memorabilium in Pannonia sub Turcarum

imperatoribus gestarum narrationes, Frankfurt, 1603, pp. 17-47; Frankfurt,
16272; Colocae, 17703

S. Schardius (ed.), Rerum Germanicarum scriptores varii, Basel, 1673, pp.

218-29

C. Khunius (ed.), Stephani Broderici narratio de proelio, quo ad Mohatzium

anno 1526 Ludovicus Hungariae rex periit, Strasbourg, 1688

A. Bonfinii (ed.), Historia Pannonica, Cologne, 1690, pp. 554-67 [560-73]

L. Peechi and P. Ransanus (eds), Epitome rerum Hungaricarum, Buda, 1746,

pp. 281-98 (partial edition – excerpts from Brodericus’s text)

Calendarium Jaurinense ad annum 1756, Győr, 1755, D1r-H2v

J. Letenyei (trans.), Második Lajos Magyarország királyának a mohátsi

hartzon történt veszedelme, Buda, 1795 (first Hungarian trans.)

Acta Tomiciana, Poznań, 1860, vol. 8, pp. 231-53

155
I. Szentpétery (trans.), Brodarics históriája a mohácsi vészről, Budapest,
1903; 19722; 19763; 19774; 19835 (Hungarian trans.)

T. Kardos (trans.), ‘Igaz leírás a magyaroknak a törökökkel Mohácsnál vívott

csatájáról’, in T. Kardos (ed.), A Renaissance Magyarországon, Budapest,
1961, 529-63; Budapest, 19832 (Hungarian trans.)

P. Kulcsár (trans.), ‘Igaz történet a magyarok és Szulejmán török császár

mohácsi ütközetéről’, in P. Kulcsár (ed.), Humanista történetírók, Budapest,
1977, 289-328; also in T. Katona (ed.), Mohács emlékezete, Budapest, 1976,
10-30 (Budapest 19792, 11-48; Bratislava, 19793, 11-48; Budapest 19874, 10-
30); J.B. Szabó (ed.), Mohács, Budapest, 2006, 134-53; P. Kasza and G.
Pálffy, Brodarics-emlékkönyv, Budapest, 2011, 100-25 (Hungarian trans.)

P. Kulcsár (ed.), De conflictu Hungarorum cum Solymano Turcarum

imperatore ad Mohach historia verissima, Budapest, 1985 (Bibliotheca
scriptorum medii recentisque aevorum, Series nova 4)

S. Sršan (trans.), Mohačka bitka, 1526, Vinkovci, Croatia, 1990 (Croatian

trans.)

Editions & Translations

Studies

156
P. Kasza, ‘On the track of an edition. New sources for the dating of
Stephanus Brodericus’s Historia verissima’, Colloquia Maruliana 24 (2015)
193-206

P. Kasza, ‘Cuspinians Oratio protreptica und ihr Echo in Ungarn’, in Th.

Baier, J. Schultheiß (eds), Würzburger Humanismus (NeoLatina 23),
Tübingen, 2014, 175–84

P. Kasza, ‘Egy elveszett kiadás nyomában. Brodarics István Históriájának

első kiadásáról’, in G. Tóth (ed.), Clio inter arma. Tanulmányok a 16–18.
századi magyarországi történetírásról. A Kosáry Domokos 100.
születésnapjának emlékére rendezett konferencia előadásai, Budapest, 2014,
39–65

P. Kasza, ‘Stemma correcta sive completa. Adalékok a Brodarics-

szöveghagyomány kérdéséhez’, in E. Békés and E. Tegyey (eds), Classica-
Medievalia-Neolatina VI, Debrecen and Budapest, 2012, 99-109

Z. Gőzsy, ‘Verissima historia. “Cancellarius, qui apud regem erat” (Stjepan

Brodarić)’, Podravina. Časopis za Multidisciplinarna Istraživanja 9 (2010)
39-44

P. Kasza, ‘“Because I can see that some […] tell the events differently to how
they happened…” Comments to the story of the formation of István
Brodarics’s Historia verissima’, Camoenae Hungaricae (2007-8) 47-63

P. Kasza, ‘“Mert látom, hogy néhányan […] az eseményeket másképp

mesélik, mint megtörténtek…”. Megjegyzések Brodarics István Historia
verissimájának keletkezéstörténetéhez’, Irodalomtörténeti Közlemények 111
(2007) 323-42

G. Gyáni, ‘Elbeszélhető-e egy csata hiteles története? Metatörténeti

megfontolások’, Hadtörténelmi közlemények 119 (2006) 121-33

Z. Tóth, ‘Fons vs. memoria? Retorikatörténeti megjegyzések Brodarics

Istvánnak a mohácsi csatáról készült beszámolójához. Esettanulmány’, in
Tóth (ed.), A történelmem terhe, Kolozsvár, 2006, 53-81

157
E. Bartoniek, Fejezetek a XVI-XVII. Századi magyarországi történetírás
történetéből, Budapest, 1975, 8-23 (chapter on ‘Brodarics István’)

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1500-1550
Thematic Region: Hungarian Kingdom
Related Historical People: Hungarians, Ottomans
Dynasty/Ruling elite: Louis II. King of Hungary and Bohemia, Süleyman II
Genre & Source Type: Chronicles/Histories
Theme: Battle at Mohacs

Péter Kasza
Cite this page

Kasza, Péter. " De conflictu Hungarorum cum Solymano Turcarum imperatore ad Mohach historia verissima." Christian-
Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David Thomas. Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February
2016 <http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-ii/de-conflictu-hungarorum-cum-solymano-
turcarum-imperatore-ad-mohach-historia-verissima-COM_26375>

158
 Das siebend Capitel Danielis von des
Türcken Gotteslesterung vnd
schrecklicher morderey mit vnterricht
Justi Jonae
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Das siebend Capitel Danielis

‘The seventh chapter of Daniel on the blasphemy of the Turk and his terrible
murderous acts, together with an instruction of Justus Jonas’, ‘The seventh
chapter of Daniel’

Jodokus (Jobst) Koch

Date: Late 1529 or early 1530

Original Language: German

Description
Jonas finished Das siebend Capitel Danielis in autumn 1529, after the end of
the Ottoman siege of Vienna in October 1529. The book, containing 32
quarto pages, was printed sometime around December 1529 or January 1530
by Hans Lufft, one of the most important printers of the Wittenberg
Reformation.

Although Jonas was the author of the treatise, it was Philipp Melanchthon
who inspired him to compose it. In 1529, Melanchthon was writing his own
commentary on Daniel, though he had not finished it at the time of the
159
Ottoman siege. He thus encouraged his colleague Jonas to make a translation
and explanation of the seventh chapter, which he interpreted as a prophecy of
the Ottoman attacks against Christianity. Jonas agreed, and Melanchthon
gave him his preliminary work on the seventh chapter (see his letter to
Camerarius, 16 November 1529, in Melanchthons Briefwechsel. Texte
(MBW.T), ed. H. Scheible, vol. 3, Stuttgart, 2000, p. 637 (no. 841): ‘Ionas
hic componit libellum de Turcis, cuius operis sylvam nos ei congessimus’).
Since Luther had written an extremely long preface to his translation of
Daniel in 1529 – a small commentary in itself – Melanchthon only published
his own thoughts on Daniel in 1543. Therefore Jonas’s commentary is the
only part of Melanchthon’s 1529 commentary that was printed at all, apart
from the preface which Melanchthon published in 1529.

The treatise contains a world map showing the continents of ‘Africa’, ‘Asia’
and ‘Europe’, together with the Ottoman army standing in Asia ready to
invade Europe (A 1v), a dedication to the Landgrave Philipp of Hesse (A 2r-
v), an ‘Introduction on the Turk by Justus Jonas’ (A 3r-E 1r), remarks on the
differences between the Ottoman Empire and other kingdoms (E 1v-F 3v),
and a closing admonition (F 4v-H 4r).

Jonas advances an apocalyptic interpretation of Daniel 7, which sets out a

diagnosis of the present time that Melanchthon had already formulated in the
preface to his commentary on Daniel in April 1529 (MBW.T 3, no. 769).
Also following Melanchthon, Jonas interprets the beasts described in Daniel
7 as follows: the first three represent the empires of the Assyrians, Persians
and Alexander the Great and his heirs, while the fourth symbolises the
Roman Empire and its successor the Holy Roman Empire. The horn growing
on the forehead of this beast is the Ottoman Empire, which was to break up
the Roman Empire. Melanchthon had probably taken this interpretation,
which was already in circulation in the Middle Ages, from the Livonian
reformer Johannes Hilten via Friedrich Myconius.

Jonas interprets the Ottoman incursion apocalyptically as a punishment for

Christian unbelief and Protestant misuse of the freedom given by the Gospel
as permission for moral laxness. He also distinguishes the Ottoman Empire
from other empires, because the Ottomans do not serve peace and order but
are the scourge of God. They wage war aggressively and do not spare women
or children, even after a defeat. Nor do they observe any military codes, but
160
hack and carve up their victims, and sell survivors in the slave market like
animals.

Jonas includes a brief history of Islam (C 4v–D 2v): stirred up by the devil,
Muḥammad used the opportunity of divisions caused by heresies in the
Eastern Church to attack it. He took parts of Christian and Jewish beliefs and
mixed them together, rejecting the divinity of Christ, the doctrine of
justification, the sacraments and the activity of the Holy Spirit, and as a result
the Qur’an allows polygamy and blasphemy, and contains many lies.
Alexander the Great had locked up the ‘red Jews’ (whom Jonas identifies as
the Turks) behind the Caucasus, but Muḥammed showed them the way to
Asia Minor, where they almost totally destroyed the Christian Church.
Although the Turks are regarded as tolerant, this is not the case (E 4r): every
third child of the Christian minority in Asia Minor has to attend a Muslim
school, and preaching against the ‘law of Muḥammad’ is forbidden among
them (E 4r-v).

Jonas ends his Türckenbüchlein by emphasising Daniel’s prophecy that a part

of Rome would survive the attacks of the Turks. He interprets this as a
reference to the Holy German Empire, which will win in the end, when Christ
returns to earth and ends the persecution of his Church.

Significance
Das siebend Capitel Danielis belongs to the larger group of
Türckenbüchlein (see the entry on these) that were written to explain the
Ottoman advances into Christian territories in the years between 1521 and
1566, the reign of Süleyman I. Martin Luther took part in this offensive, as
did Justus Jonas, Johannes Brenz, Andreas Osiander, Veit Dietrich and other
theologians of the Wittenberg Reformation. This joint work by Melanchthon
and Jonas occupies a key position among these Türckenbüchlein. The
Württemberg theologian Johannes Brenz used it as a template, and in places
his publication Wie sich Prediger vnd Leyen halten sollen, so der Turck das
deutsche land vberfallen würde can be read as a summary of Das siebend
Capitel Danielis. Luther published his Heerpredigt in December 1529 or
January 1530 to replace his Vom Kriege wider die Türcken, the
Türckenbüchlein he had published in April or May 1529, after reading
Jonas’s work.
161
Jonas’s Das siebend Capitel Danielis was his first statement on the ‘Turkish
question’, and the most important. He continued to publish and translate
books on the Turks on the basis of what he had first written here. In 1538, he
translated the treatise Turcicarum rerum commentarius by the Italian
historian Paolo Giovio and published it under the title Vrsprung des
Türckhschen Reychs biß auff den yetzigen Soliman (Augsburg 1538 [VD 16
G 2050]). In his afterword (Kawerau, Briefwechsel des Justus Jonas, vol. 1,
pp. 269-72 [no. 366]), he explains that the Turks are God’s punishment for
the false teaching of the Roman Church and the pope. In 1540, he also wrote
a preface to a book published by the Wittenberg printer Joseph Klug under
the title Ein kleglich ansuchen, a ‘tearful request’ for military aid addressed
by the Estates of Lower Austria to those in Bohemia. In this preface (A 2r–A
4r), he repeats the view of the Turks he had expressed in Das siebend Capitel
Danielis ten years earlier.

Jonas can be counted among the most important of the authors of the
Wittenberg Reformation who wrote about the Turks, and thus one of the main
creators of the future Protestant image of Islam and the Turks.

Manuscripts
EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
Das siebend Capitel Danielis, Wittenberg: Hans Lufft, 1529 (VD 16 J 897)
(repr. Wittenberg: Hans Lufft, 1530 (ZV 26521), Nuremberg: Johann
Petreius, 1530 (J 895) Nuremberg: Johann Stuchs, 1530 (J 896)

Editions & Translations

Studies
Kolb, ‘The theology of Justus Jonas’, p.116

T. Kaufmann, “Türckenbüchlein”. Zur christlichen Wahrnehmung

“türkischer Religion” in Spätmittelalter und Reformation, Göttingen, 2008

J. Ehmann, Luther, Türken und Islam. Eine Untersuchung zum Türken- und
Islambild Martin Luthers (1515-1546), Gütersloh, 2008

162
H. Scheible, ‘Melanchthons Verständnis des Danielbuchs’, in K. Bracht and
D.S. du Toit (eds), Die Geschichte der Daniel-Auslegung in Judentum,
Christentum und Islam. Studien zur Kommentierung des Danielbuches in
Literatur und Kunst, Berlin, 2007, 293-321

A. Francisco, Martin Luther and Islam. A study in sixteenth-century polemics

and apologetics, Leiden, 2007

G. Miller, ‘Luther on the Turks and Islam’, in T. Wengert (ed.), Harvesting

Martin Luther’s reflections on theology, ethics, and the Church, Grand
Rapids MI, 2004, 185-203

J.W. Bohnstedt, The infidel scourge of God: The Turkish menace as seen by
German pamphleteers of the Reformation era, Philadelphia PA, 1968

S.A. Fischer-Galati, Ottoman imperialism and German Protestantism 1521-

1555, Cambridge MA, 1959

Delius, Lehre und Leben

M. Köhler, Melanchthon und der Islam. Ein Beitrag zur Klärung des
Verhältnisses zwischen Christentum und Fremdreligionen in der
Reformationszeit, Leipzig, 1938

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1500-1550
Thematic Region: Germany
Dynasty/Ruling elite: Ottomans
Theme: Biblical Prophets, Book of Daniel, Christian portrayal of
Muhammad, Christian-Muslim warfare, Gog and Magog, Sins of the
Christians as the cause of military defeats

Johannes Hund
Cite this page

Hund, Johannes. " Das siebend Capitel Danielis von des Türcken Gotteslesterung vnd schrecklicher morderey mit vnterricht
Justi Jonae." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David Thomas. Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II
Authors Temp. 02 February 2016 <http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-ii/das-siebend-
capitel-danielis-von-des-turcken-gotteslesterung-vnd-schrecklicher-morderey-mit-vnterricht-justi-jonae-COM_26555>

163
 Itinerarium oder Wegrayß Küniglich
Mayestät potschafft gen Constantinopel
zudem Türckischen Keiser Soleyman,
anno 1530
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Itinerarium
‘Itinerary or journey of his royal majesty’s embassy to Constantinople to the
Turkish Emperor Süleyman, in the year 1530’, ‘Itinerary’

Benedikt Curipešič, Kuripešič, Kuripečič, Kuripešić

Date: 1531
Original Language: German

Description
Curipeschitz’s Itinerarium is a description of the journey to Constantinople
and back, giving his observations on the road and reports about the progress
of his ultimately fruitless mission. It was written immediately after
Curipeschitz’s return, and was printed in Augsburg in 1531. This edition,
held in the Austrian National Library, consists of 63 pages.

The main object of the mission was to agree a treaty with the Sublime Porte
and to secure the claim of Charles V’s brother Ferdinand to authority in
Hungary, or at least a reversion to the position before the Battle of Mohács in
1526, in return for comprehensive annual tribute. Süleyman rejected this
164
outright in favour of John Zápolya, who had been elected by a faction of the
Hungarian nobility as King of Hungary against the claims of the Habsburg
Ferdinand.

The mission started in Laibach on 22 August 1530, and followed a route via
Bosnia and southern Serbia, through Ključ, Sarajevo, Višegrad, Novi Pazar,
Mitrovica and Kosovo Polje, Sofia and Adrianople. This was because the
way through Budapest, Belgrade and Niš was unsafe because of the recent
conquest of central and southern Hungary by the Ottomans. The mission
reached Constantinople 17 October, and remained until 22 December,
arriving home on 2 February, 1531.

A major feature of the Itinerarium is the account it gives about Bosnia and
the conditions of the subject Christian populations there. This early German
eye-witness report on what had become an Ottoman province remained
unparalleled until the 17th century. Curipeschitz writes in detail about the
institution of the devşirme, and is keenly concerned about possible strategies
for Christian counterattacks in the region. He frequently cautions against the
Turkish menace.

Significance
The Itinerarium gives a highly biased view of Islam, though this is hardly
surprising in the circumstances of an immediate military threat from the
Ottoman state. Curipeschitz wrote a work of political propaganda, intended to
induce unity against a common enemy.

Manuscripts
EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
G. Neweklowsky (ed.), Benedict Curipeschitz, Itinerarium oder Wegrayß
Küniglich Mayestät potschafft gen Constantinopel zudem Türckischen Keiser
Soliman. Anno 1530, Klagenfurt, 1997 (repr. of Lamberg-Schwarzenberg,
1910, with a new introduction and facsimile of the Ausgburg 1531 edition)

165
S.M. Džaya and J. Džambo (eds), Benedikt Kuripešić, Itinerarium der
Gesandtschaft König Ferdinand I. von Ungarn nach Konstantinopel 1530,
Bochum, 1983 (includes a facsimile of the 1531 edition)

Ö. Nutku (trans.), Yolculuk Günlüğü. 1530 yılında, Bosna, Sırbıstan ve

Bulgaristan üzerinden İstanbul’a giden Joseph Lamberg ve Niclas
Jurischitz’in Elçilik günlüğü, Ankara, 1977 (Turkish trans.)

Đ. Pejanović (trans.), Putopis kroz Bosnu, Srbiju, Bugarsku i Rumeliju 1530,

Sarajevo, 1950, Belgrade, 20012 (Croatian trans.)

E. Gräfin Lamberg-Schwarzenberg (ed.), Benedict Curipeschitz, Itinerarium

der Botschaftsreise des Josef von Lamberg und Niclas Jurischitz durch
Bosnien, Serbien, Bulgarien nach Konstantinopel 1530; aus einer
gleichzeitigen Handschrift neu herausgegeben, Innsbruck, 1910

Benedict Curipeschitz, Wegraysz Keyserlicher Maiestat Legation im 32. jar,

zu dem Türcken geschickt, wie, vnd was gestalt, sie hinein, vnd widerumb
herauß, komen ist, Augsburg: Steiner, 1532 (Munich, Bavarian State Library
- Res/4° Eur. 333, 49, http://reader.digitale-
sammlungen.de/de/fs1/object/display/bsb10200201_00012.html)

Benedict Curipeschitz, Itinerarium oder Wegrayß Küniglich Mayestät

potschafft gen Constantinopel zudem Türckischen Keiser Soleyman , anno
1530, Augsburg: Steiner, 1531

Editions & Translations

Studies
Procházka-Eisl and Römer, ‘Raub, Mord und Übergriffe an der habsburgisch-
osmanischen Grenze. Der diplomatische Alltag der Beglerbege von Buda
abseits von Zeremonien’

Geier, Südosteuropa-Wahrnehmungen. Reiseberichte, Studien und

biographische Skizzen vom 16. bis zum 20. Jahrhundert, pp. 46-56

Keywords

166
Chronological Category: 1500-1550
Thematic Region: Balkans, Constantinople
Related Historical People: Charles V
Dynasty/Ruling elite: Habsburgs, Ottomans

Sevket Küçükhüseyin
Cite this page

Küçükhüseyin, Sevket. " Itinerarium oder Wegrayß Küniglich Mayestät potschafft gen Constantinopel zudem Türckischen
Keiser Soleyman, anno 1530." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David Thomas. Brill Online, 2016.
Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016 <http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-
ii/itinerarium-oder-wegray-kuniglich-mayestat-potschafft-gen-constantinopel-zudem-turckischen-keiser-soleyman-anno-1530-
COM_28257>

167
 Simonis Begnii, episcopi Modrusiensis,
de Coruatiae desolatione oratio ad
Leonem X, Pontificem Maximum, Nonis
Nouembris habita MDXVI
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts Editions
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

‘Address on the devastation of Croatia delivered by Šimun Kožičić, Bishop

of Modruš, to Pope Leo X on 5 November 1516’

Simon, Simon Begna, Simon de Begna, Simon Modrusiensis

Date: 1516
Original Language: Latin

Description
In the Lučin edition, the address is a little more than four pages long, three of
which deal with the Ottoman conquests and cruelties, ending in an appeal to
the pope to mount a crusade. Kožičić opens his address with a reminder of his
previous address, of 1513, and then outlines the history of the Frankapan
family, with a commendation of its members. In addition, the commendation
contains a discrete paraphrase of the historical events outlined in the first
address. Kožičić then gives a short geographical description of Croatian
lands, and laments the tragic state of affairs in his see, which has been
ravaged and the population for the most part reduced to slavery. Christian
rulers deceive themselves when they think that danger is far away, and they
168
keep on warring against each other in Italy. Consequently, Kožičić addresses
Leo X by way of a request or even a grim warning, rather than an entreaty:
‘You are the shepherd of your flock; God appointed you ruler over kingdoms
and kings, and you will be called to account for the blood of the poor
Christians!’ If they do not receive aid soon, the remaining parts of Croatia
and Dalmatia will certainly be put under the yoke of slavery to the
Muhammadans (Maumethanae seruitutis iugum; Lučin, ‘Simonis Begnii de
Coruatiae desolatione oratio’, p. 99). All that Kožičić wants on behalf of the
defenders is a pittance in comparison with the gold and silver being spent in
Rome on sumptuous buildings; only a small fraction of this treasure would
save many Christians from dishonour, slavery and death. Therefore, Kožičić
appeals to Leo to launch a crusade himself: no ruler would disobey his
summons, and an army powerful enough to defeat the enemy could be
recruited.

Should this cry for help also come to no avail, the Christians will be left with
no choice but to strike up an alliance with the Ottomans, and as a result
plunder other Christians. At the end of the address Kožičić warns the pope
once again that he will be held personally responsible should such a situation
arise: ‘Let whosoever causes this to happen answer to God Almighty!’
(Lučin, ‘Simonis Begnii de Coruatiae desolatione oratio’, p. 101).

Significance
De Coruatiae desolatione was delivered outside the Lateran Council, which
probably reflects the urgent circumstances resulting from the death on 13
March 1516 of Vladislas II, king of Hungary and Croatia. The address is
barely half as long as the 1513 speech and is less coherent and considerably
harsher in tone. It alternates between historical excursuses and descriptions of
an almost hopeless state of affairs in Croatia, and uses stern rebukes because
nothing whatsoever had been done to mount resistance against the Ottomans.
There are no theological considerations, and the main purpose of the address
is to instigate a crusade. For the most part, Kožičić directly addresses Pope
Leo X, whom he sternly warns about his duty and responsibility before God.
Another difference from the earlier speech lies in the attitude he shows
towards the French: in the 1513 address Kožičić mentioned the French
cardinals negatively, as the inciters of schism (that address was delivered

169
when the Council of Pisa was still in session, and the French representatives
were at Pisa and not at the Lateran). In November of 1516, however – less
than four months after the Concordat of Bologna – Kožičić refers to the
shining example of ‘the most Christian French kings, dukes, marquises and
princes’ (Lučin, ‘Simonis Begnii de Coruatiae desolatione’, p. 98), who were
motivated only by the zeal of their faith when they embarked on a crusade to
free Jerusalem from the infidels.

The Ottoman advance is portrayed as ‘a creeping evil’ (serpit hoc malum,

‘Begnii de Coruatiae desolatione’, p. 98), and the standard topics (they
plunder and burn down cities and villages, turn Christians into slaves,
desecrate churches, defile virgins, trample on the consecrated host, etc.) are
reinforced by personal experience of the tragic events in his own see.
However, Christian rulers are not exempt from Kožičić’s indignation: they
ignore the danger, do not heed cries for help, wage wars against each other
incessantly, and selfishly hoard up riches.

The reason De Coruatiae desolatione received such a strong response in

France can be traced primarily to the keen criticism levelled at the pope, in
addition to the recognition of the contribution of the French nobility to the
crusades. It comes as no surprise that the second edition was printed soon in
Paris (probably in 1517, i.e. after the first edition, but before the French
translation), in the climate of growing discontent with the pope that followed
the Concordat of Bologna (Lučin, ‘Prilozi tekstu’, pp. 83-9). The address was
evidently perceived as an additional argument in the fight for the autonomy
of the Church of France, which becomes clear from the fact that as early as
1518 it was translated into French and published in a collection of pamphlets
in defence of Gallician liberties. The translation was reprinted in similar
collections in 1560 and 1561 (Lučin, ‘Prilozi tekstu’).

Manuscripts
Editions
Simonis Begnii episcopi Modrusiensis de Coruatiae desolatione oratio ad
Leonem X. Pontificem Maximum Nonis Nouembris habita MDXVI, s.l., s.a.
[Rome, 1516] (for the place and year of publication, see Lučin, ‘Šimun
Kožičić Benja’, pp. 118-21) http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k8415504
170
Simonis Begnii episcopi Modrusiensis de Coruatiae desolatione oratio ad
Leonem X. Pontificem Maximum Nonis Nouembris habita M. D. XVI, s.l., s.a.
[Paris, c. 1517] (for the place of publication see the printer’s mark – Jean
Petit – on the frontispiece; for the probable year of the edition, see Lučin,
‘Prilozi tekstu’, p. 83-6)

‘Epistre exortatiue a nostre sainct pere le pape leon x. de ce non pour la

recouurance de la terre saincte’, in J. de Rély (ed.), Cest lordre tenu et garde
en la notable et quasi diuine assemblee des troys estatz representans tout le
royaulme de france, conuoquez en la ville de Tours par le feu roy charles viii.
contenant la treseloquente et fructueuse propositio(n) faicte en ladicte
assemblee present le roy et son co(n)seil par feu maistre Iehan de Rely [...],
Paris, 1518, fols 85r-92r (French trans.; the year of the edition is established
by the date of the privilege, while the title of the translation is taken from the
long title on the frontispiece; on fol. 84v the unnamed author of the address is
designated as ‘reuerend pere en dieu leuesque de modrusie, ambassadeur
deuers sa sainctete pour le pais de coruacia’)

J. de Rely (ed.), Les remonstrances faictes au Roy Loys unzieme, sur les
priuileges de l’Eglise Gallicane, et les plainctifs et doleances du peuple,
Paris, 1560, fols 20v-28r (French trans. lacking name and title, but cf. ‘Ceste
oraison a esté recitée en latin deuant nostre sainct Pere le pape Leon
dixiesme, par reuerend pere en Dieu l’Euesque de Modrusie, ambassadeur
deuers sa saincteté, pour le païs de Croätie’, fol. 20r), http://www.bvh.univ-
tours.fr/Consult/index.asp?numfiche=140 (repr. Paris, 1561,
http://books.google.hr/books?id=0c05AAAAcAAJ)

‘De Corvatiae desolatione (oratio ad Leonem X Pontificem Maximum

habita)’ = ‘Opustošena Hrvatska (govor održan pred papom Leonom X)’, in
V. Gortan and V. Vratović (eds), Hrvatski latinisti = Croatici auctores qui

171
Latine scripserunt, Zagreb, 1969, vol. 1, 508-13 (Croatian trans. V. Gortan,
selections)

Šimun Kožičić Benja, ‘Opustošena Hrvatska (govor održan pred papom

Leonom X)’ = ‘Simonis Begnii, episcopi Modrusiensis, de Coruatiae
desolatione oratio ad Leonem X. Pontificem Maximum, Nonis Nouembris
habita MDXVI’, in Gligo (ed.), Govori protiv Turaka, pp. 329-34 (Croatian
trans. V. Gligo and V. Gortan, selections); pp. 605-10 (facsimile of an
incomplete copy of the first edition)

‘Simonis Begnii, episcopi Modrusiensis, de Coruatiae desolatione oratio ad

Leonem X. Pontificem Maximum, Nonis Nouembris habita MDXVI’ =
‘Opustošena Hrvatska: govor Šimuna Benje, modruškoga biskupa, održan
pred papom Leonom X. 5. studenoga 1516.’, in Kolumbić, Moguš and Nazor
(eds), Zbornik radova, pp. 221-23 (Latin text, ed. B. Glavičić); pp. 239-42
(Croatian trans. V. Gligo and V. Gortan, selections)

‘Opustošena Hrvatska: govor Šimuna Benje, Modruškog biskupa, održan

pred papom Leonom X. 5. studenoga 1516.’, in Stanković-Avramović, Šimun
Kožičić Benja, pp. 236-8 (Croatian trans. V. Gligo and V. Gortan, selections)

B. Lučin (ed.), ‘Simonis Begnii, episcopi Modrusiensis, de Coruatiae

desolatione oratio ad Leonem X, Pontificem Maximum, Nonis Nouembris
habita MDXVI’ = ‘Opustošena Hrvatska, govor Šimuna Benje, Modruškoga
biskupa, održan pred papom Leonom X. 5. studenoga 1516.’, Fluminensia
24/1 (2012) 96-106 (Croatian trans. V. Gligo, V. Gortan and B. Lučin). (This
is the first complete and critical modern edition and translation of the
address; previous modern editions were based upon an incomplete copy of
the first edition),
http://hrcak.srce.hr/index.php?show=clanak&id_clanak_jezik=130380&lang
=en.
172
Editions & Translations
Studies
B. Lučin, ‘Prilozi tekstu i recepciji Kožičićeva govora De Coruatiae
desolatione’, Fluminensia 24 (2012) 77-107, pp. 77-95

Nazor, ‘Inhabitant of Zadar’, pp. 20-1

Stanković-Avramović, Šimun Kožičić Benja, pp. 52-4

Glavičić, ‘O stilskim i jezičnim odlikama’, in Kolumbić, Moguš and Nazor

(eds), Zbornik radova, pp. 81-91

M. Kurelac, ‘Povijest i suvremenost’, in Kolumbić, Moguš and Nazor (eds),

Zbornik radova, pp. 121-2

V. Gligo (ed.), Govori protiv Turaka, Split, 1983, pp. 46-7

Rački, ‘Život Šimuna Kožičića-Begne’, 4: p. 25

Ferrari Cupilli, ‘Della vita e degli scritti’, p. 79

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1500-1550

Bratislav Lučin
Cite this page

Lučin, Bratislav. " Simonis Begnii, episcopi Modrusiensis, de Coruatiae desolatione oratio ad Leonem X, Pontificem Maximum,
Nonis Nouembris habita MDXVI." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David Thomas. Brill Online, 2016.
Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016 <http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-
ii/simonis-begnii-episcopi-modrusiensis-de-coruatiae-desolatione-oratio-ad-leonem-x-pontificem-maximum-nonis-nouembris-
habita-mdxvi-COM_28005>

173
 Simonis Begnii, episcopi Modrusiensis,
oratio in sexta sessione Lateranensis
concilii habita
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts EDITIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Simonis Begnii, episcopi Modrusiensis, oratio in sexta sessione Lateranensis

concilii habita
‘Address by Simon Begnius, Bishop of Modruš, in the sixth session of the
Lateran Council’

Simon, Simon Begna, Simon de Begna, Simon Modrusiensis

Date: 1513
Original Language: Latin

Description
Kožičić’s Latin address (also known by its Croatian title Govor Šimuna
Benje, modruškoga biskupa, održan na šestom zasjedanju Lateranskog
koncila, 27. travnja 1513) is eight pages long in the Glavičić edition, four
pages of which deal with the Ottoman conquests and unsuccessful Christian
resistance. The first part presents a systematic historical overview of church
history, conciliar schisms and other troubles encountered by the Church as a
result of not following ‘the teachings of the evangelical law’ (Glavičić,
‘Simonis Begnii oratio’, p. 213), which coincided with the loss of Christian
territories (the fall of Constantinople, Bosnia, Euboea, etc.). Nevertheless, the
Christian community was saved through the efforts of secular rulers and

174
some pontiffs, particularly popes Martin V and Eugene IV. Kožičić clearly
defines himself as an opponent of conciliarism (the ascendancy of Church
councils over the power of popes), but he does not support papal authority as
unquestioningly as some other speakers at the Council (Minnich, ‘Concepts
of reform’, p. 187).

Then he moves on to contemporary events: first he depicts the ravages

committed by the Ottomans in his native region of Krbava, Dalmatia and
Modruš, and then he chastises church leaders and secular rulers for their
callousness and improvidence, exemplified by the wars in Italy, which is ‘the
pivot of all the wars raging now’ (Glavičić, ‘Simonis Begnii oratio’, p. 217).
The final part is dedicated to conciliar subjects: the need for unity in the
Church, its reform, and the holy war against the Turks. Kožičić believes
reform should be carried out root and branch (Minnich, ‘Concepts of reform’,
p. 187), and consequently he has great expectations of the new pope, Leo X.
He welcomes him as saviour (Glavičić, ‘Simonis Begnii oratio’, p. 217), and
invites him to wage war against the Turks, for if no action is taken they will
soon conquer Rhodes and plunder Italy. He advises the Council fathers to
settle their disagreements, which are the cause of the past and present
troubles: when the Church achieves inner unity, reform and peace, the
Turkish invasion will be successfully checked.

Significance
Kožičić’s address maintains the long tradition (from the middle of the
15th century) of anti-Turkish speeches in Croatian literature. Although his
native region had been exposed to Ottoman raids and plundering for 50 years
already, Kožičić only touches upon an appeal for military aid and a crusade,
and focuses mainly on the conciliar subjects pertaining to Church reform.
The restoration of unity in the Church, Church reform, and the crusade
against the Ottomans were the proclaimed objectives of the Fifth Lateran
Council.

It is evident that Kožičić wanted to gain favour with the new pope, the only
person he thought he could positively rely on to organise a holy expedition
against the Turks (Glavičić, ‘Simonis Begnii oratio’, p. 218).
Notwithstanding this, he undoubtedly believed that the moral reform of the

175
Church based on evangelical principles was an essential prerequisite for its
successful fight against both internal enemies (heretics) and the Ottomans.

Discussing current events, Kožičić stresses that Italy has been protected from
the Ottomans so far thanks to the mettle of the Dalmatians, the strength of the
Venetian navy and the valour of the Hungarians and Poles. The Ottomans
themselves are treated rather generally, in the context of their advance into
Europe. Kožičić explicitly refrains from going into detail, and describes them
in terms of a few well-known characteristics: they burn and destroy cities,
turn Christians into slaves, and drink horse blood while thirsting for the blood
of Christians. They are infidels and heretics (infideles perfidosque),
belonging to the most abominable of sects (foedissimam sectam), as well as
followers of ‘most wretched Muḥammad’ (turpissimum Maumetum)
(Glavičić, ‘Simonis Begnii oratio’, p. 217).

Although the idea of a crusade came to nothing, on 15 July 1513 Leo X,

possibly prompted by Kožičić’s speech, appointed Cardinal Toma Bakač
legate de latere to organise war against the Turks, while in March of 1515 the
pope sent a substantial quantity of food and gun powder, together with
20,000 ducats, to the Croatian leader Petar Beriszló, for him to organise
defence against the Turks (Setton, Papacy and the Levant, pp. 150-1, 158).

Manuscripts
EDITIONS
Simonis Begnii episcopi Modrusiensis oratio in sexta Lateranensis concilii
sessione quinto Kalendas Maias habita MDXIII, s.l., s.a. [Rome, 1513]
(facsimile: Gligo [ed.], Govori, pp. 589-602),
http://books.google.hr/books?id=gB48AAAAcAAJ (for the place and year of
the edition, see A. Tinto, Gli annali tipografici di Eucario e Marcello Silbe r
(1501-1527), Florence, 1968, p. 87; B. Lučin, ‘Šimun Kožičić Benja, plivač u
matici’, Mogućnosti 49 (2002) 7/9, 115-22, pp. 118-21)

‘Oratio per Simonem Begnium episcopum Modrusiensem in sexta sessione

Lateranenensis synodi habita’, in S. Binius (ed.), Concilia generalia et

176
provincialia Graeca et Latina quaecunque reperiri potuerunt. Item epistolae
decretales et Romanorum pontificum vitae, Cologne, 1618, vol. 4/2, pp. 56-9,
http://reader.digitale-
sammlungen.de/de/fs1/object/display/bsb10321866_00066.html

‘Oratio per Simonem Begnium episcopum Modrusiensem in sexta sessione

Lateranensis synodi habita’, in S. Binius (ed.), Concilia generalia et
provincialia Graeca et Latina quae reperiri potuerunt omnia. Item epistolae
decretales et Romanorum pontificum vitae, Paris, 1636, vol. 9, pp. 71-5,
http://books.google.hr/books?id=73nDyVBR_g4C&pg=PA71

‘Oratio per Simonem Begnium episcopum Modrusiensem in sexta sessione

Lateranensis synodi habita’, in P. Labbé and G. Cossart (eds), Sacrosancta
concilia ad regiam editionem exacta, Paris, 1672, vol. 14, cols 144-52,
http://reader.digitale-
sammlungen.de/de/fs1/object/display/bsb10321978_00084.html

‘Oratio per Simonem Begnium, episcopum Modrusiensem, in sexta sessione

Lateranensis synodi habita’, in J. Hardouin, P. Labbé and G. Cossart (eds),
Acta conciliorum et epistolae decretales, ac constitutiones summorum
pontificum, Paris, 1714, vol. 9, cols 1683-8, http://reader.digitale-
sammlungen.de/de/fs1/object/display/bsb10321957_00854.html

‘Oratio per Simonem Begnium episcopum Modrusiensem in sexta sessione

Lateranensis synodi habita’, in P. Labbé, G. Cossart and E. Baluze (eds),
Sacrosancta concilia ad regiam editionem exacta, Venice, 1732, vol. 19, cols
798-805, http://reader.digitale-
sammlungen.de/de/fs1/object/display/bsb10321897_00411.html

177
O. Rinaldi (ed.), Annales Ecclesiastici: ab anno quo desinit Card. Caes.
Baronius MCXCVIII usque ad annum MDXXXIV continuati, Cologne, 1694,
vol. 20, pp. 136-7 (extract), http://reader.digitale-
sammlungen.de/de/fs1/object/display/bsb10938885_00146.html

C. Baronio, O. Rinaldi and G.D. Mansi (eds), Annales ecclesiastici ab anno

MCXCVIII ubi desinit Cardinalis Baronius, Lucca, 1755, vol. 12, pp. 10-11
(extract), http://reader.digitale-
sammlungen.de/de/fs1/object/display/bsb10939034_00018.html

Farlati, Illyricum sacrum, vol. 4, p. 111 (extract),

http://books.google.hr/books?id=s5m6iCgNWRIC&pg=PA111

C. Baronius et al. (eds), Annales ecclesiastici, Paris, 1877, vol. 31, pp. 9-10
(extract),
http://archive.org/stream/annalesecclesias31barouoft#page/8/mode/2up

‘Oratio per Simonem Begnium episcopum Modrusiensem in sexta sessione

Lateranensis synodi habita’, in J.D. Mansi et al. (eds), Sacrorum conciliorum
nova et amplissima collectio, Paris, 1902, vol. 32, cols 798-805,
http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k51617m/f406

‘Govor Šimuna Kožičića Benje na šestom zasjedanju Lateranskog sabora

održan 27. travnja 1513.’, in V. Gligo (ed.), Govori protiv Turaka, Split,
1983, pp. 323-8 (Croatian trans.by V. Gligo, selections); pp. 589-602
(facsimile of the first edition)

178
B. Glavičić (ed.), ‘Simonis Begnii, episcopi Modrusiensis, oratio in sexta
Lateranensis concilii sessione quinto Kalendas Maias habita MDXIII’ =
‘Govor Šimuna Benje, modruškoga biskupa, održan na šestom zasjedanju
Lateranskoga koncila, 27. travnja 1513.’, in Kolumbić, Moguš and Nazor
(eds), Zbornik radova, pp. 211-19 (Latin text); pp. 225-37 (Croatian trans. by
V. Gligo)

V. Gligo (trans.), ‘Govor Šimuna Benje, modruškog biskupa, održan na

šestom zasjedanju Lateranskog sabora’, in M. Stanković-Avramović, Šimun
Kožičić Benja, hrvatski književnik, Rijeka, 2002, 226-36 (Croatian trans.)

Editions & Translations

Studies
B. Lučin, ‘Prilozi tekstu i recepciji Kožičićeva govora De Coruatiae
desolatione’, Fluminensia 24/1 (2012) 77-107, pp. 80-2

Nazor, ‘Inhabitant of Zadar’, p. 20

Stanković-Avramović, Šimun Kožičić Benja, pp. 43-52

B. Glavičić, ‘O stilskim i jezičnim odlikama latinskih govora Šmuna

Kožičića Benje’, in Kolumbić, Moguš and Nazor (eds), Zbornik radova, pp.
81-91

M. Kurelac, ‘Povijest i suvremenost u djelima Šimuna Kožičića Benje’, in

Kolumbić, Moguš and Nazor (eds), Zbornik radova, 115-24, pp. 120-1

C.L. Stinger, The Renaissance in Rome, Bloomington IN, 1985, 19982, pp.
92, 109

K.M. Setton, The Papacy and the Levant (1204-1571), Philadelphia PN,
1984, vol. 3, pp. 147-48

179
V. Gligo (ed.), Govori protiv Turaka, Split, 1983, pp. 34, 45-46

N.H. Minnich, ‘Concepts of reform proposed at the Fifth Lateran Council’,

Archivium Historiae Pontificiae 7 (1969) 163-251, pp. 185-89, 230-34

K.M. Setton, ‘Pope Leo X and the Turkish peril’, Proceedings of the
American Philosophical Society 113 (1969) 367-424, pp. 372-3

C.-J. Hefele and J. Hergenröther, Histoire des conciles, d’après les

documents originaux, Paris, 1917, vol. 8, pp. 400-1 (trans. H. Leclercq)

L. Pastor, The history of the popes from the close of the Middle Ages,
London, 1908, vol. 8, pp. 385-6 (and other editions)

L. Pastor, Geschichte der Päpste seit dem Ausgang des Mittelalters, Freiburg
im Breisgau, 1906, vol. 4, p. 560 (with numerous trans.)

C.-J. von Hefele and J. Hergenröther, Conciliengeschichte: nach den Quellen

bearbeitet, Freiburg im Breisgau, 1887, vol. 8, pp. 563-5

Rački, ‘Život Šimuna Kožičića-Begne’, 2: pp. 10-11

Ferrari Cupilli, ‘Della vita e degli scritti’, pp. 78-9

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1500-1550
Thematic Region: Europe, Greece, Italy
Dynasty/Ruling elite: Habsburgs

Bratislav Lučin
Cite this page

Lučin, Bratislav. " Simonis Begnii, episcopi Modrusiensis, oratio in sexta sessione Lateranensis concilii habita." Christian-
Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David Thomas. Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February
2016 <http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-ii/simonis-begnii-episcopi-modrusiensis-oratio-
in-sexta-sessione-lateranensis-concilii-habita-COM_27728>

180
 Knjižice od žitija rimskih arhijerejov i
cesarov
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts EDITIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Knjižice od žitija rimskih arhijerejov i cesarov

‘Little books on the lives of the Roman pontiffs and emperors’

Simon, Simon Begna, Simon de Begna, Simon Modrusiensis

Date: 1531
Original Language: Croatian

Description
In its first edition of 1531, Knižice od’ žitiě rimskih’ arhierěov’ i cesarov ’(in
full, Šimuna Kožičića Zadranina, biskupa Modruškoga, knjižice od žitija
rimskih arhijerejov i cesarov: od Petra i Julija: daže do sadanjih Klimenta
Sedmoga i Karla Petoga: let Gospodnjih 1531) numbers 60 pages. It is
composed of two main parts equal in length: the first contains the lives of the
pontiffs from the Apostle Peter to Clement VII, and the second the lives of
the Roman emperors from Julius Caesar to Charles V. At the beginning, there
is a dedicatory epistle to Toma Niger, Bishop of Trogir (dated 4 May 1531),
in which Kožičić urges Niger to write a book ‘about the Croatian land and its
glory’. In the second part, there are four excursuses: one on the capture of
Rome by the Goths (‘Vazetje Rima’, Kožičić, Knižice, fols 40v-41r) and
another three on oriental subjects: the history of Persia, or the Middle East
(‘Od gospodstva Partov’ i Prsiěnov’’, fols 36v-37v), the beginnings of Islam
(‘Mahometa početie’, fols 42v-43r), and the history of the Ottoman Empire

181
(‘Od’ početiě turačkago’, fols 49r-50v). Information about the Turks,
however, can also be found elsewhere: in the opening dedication Kožičić
remarks that his ‘Croatian land’ is ravaged by ‘the pagan hand’. In the history
of the pontiffs, speaking about Pope Boniface V, he mentions Muḥammad,
who gave ‘a false new faith and law, which he called Alkoran’ (fol. 15r);
later on he mentions Christian-Turkish conflicts in the middle of the 15th
century, at the time of János Hunyadi: the Battle of Varna (1444), the Turkish
siege of Belgrade (1456) and the anti-Turkish plans of Pope Pius II (fols 32-
33r). In the history of the emperors, Turks are mentioned in the description of
the fall of Constantinople ( fols 48v-49r) and in connection with the defence
of Belgrade under the leadership of János Hunyadi and St John of Capistrano
(fol. 57r-v).

The work is not an original composition, but a combination of translation and

compilation. This is acknowledged by Kožičić himself at the end of the first
part (Kožičić, Knižice, fol. 33v), although he does not cite his sources. These
have been discovered only recently: for the lives of the pontiffs he used
Bartolomeo Sacchi (Platina), Liber de vita Christi ac omnium pontificum
(Tutschke, Die glagolitische Druckerei, pp. 286-99), and for the lives of the
emperors Giovanni Battista Cipelli (Egnatius), De Caesaribus libri
III (Mrkonjić, ‘Egnacij i Kožičić’, pp. 127-29). Kožičić introduces some
structural changes in his translation (Tutschke, Die glagolitische Druckerei;
Mrkonjić, ‘Žitija rimskih cesarov’): in some places he abridges his
translation, though he also makes his own additions, which he considers his
Croatian readers might find interesting. They usually pertain to local history,
but there is also some autobiographical information (Nazor, ‘Šimun Kožičić
Benja’, pp. 20-21).

The Croatian used by Kožičić is a carefully thought-out mixture of

Chakavian and the Croatian recension of Church Slavonic, which he may
have considered a literary language.

Significance
While in his Latin speeches Kožičić speaks from the perspective of danger
from the infidel conquerors, here his scope is much wider, thanks to his
sources; nevertheless, one should not disregard Kožičić’s personal interest in

182
history, which he studied and knew well (it is known that he collected and
copied documents about Croatian history).

Even though it is entitled ‘Of the rule of the Parthians and Persians’, the first
oriental excursus mostly deals with the history of the Saracens and discusses
their acceptance of Islam and conquests in Europe. The second excursus, ‘Of
Muhammad’s birth’, is even more interesting, being ‘the oldest known text
on the Prophet Muḥammad in Croatian’ (Dukić, Sultanova djeca, p. 58). It
draws attention to the Prophet’s lowly origins, his marriage to a rich widow,
connections with a Christian monk Sergius, the spread of the faith among the
Arabs and the Muslim threat to contemporary Europe as a result of the
heedlessness of Christian rulers. The information on the Prophet’s life and
the birth of the Muslim faith was to be repeated by later Croatian authors,
including Antun Vramec, Ivan Gundulić and Filip Grabovac. The depiction
of the fall of Constantinople (in the chapter on Constantine XI Palaeologus)
is the first of its kind intended for Croatian readers.

The third excursus, ‘Of the origin of the Turks’, is the most important and the
longest: it discusses the original homeland of the Turks, the founders of the
dynasty (Süleyman, Osman I and Orhan), the battles of Kosovo, Nicopolis
and Varna, and the battles between Mehmed II and Skanderbeg in the mid-
15th century. Some parts of the text here were composed by Kožičić himself
(Mrkonjić, ‘Žitija rimskih cesarov’, p. 72). On the whole, the depiction of the
battles in this excursus is neutral in terms of its attitude, though the
description of the atrocities by the Turks in Constantinople after it was
captured is anything but neutral (Dukić, Sultanova djeca, p. 59).

This work stands out in Croatian historiography as ‘the first world history
printed in our country in Croatian, which includes information about Islam
and the Ottoman Empire from its beginnings to its expansion to Byzantium
and the Balkans all the way to our regions up to Kožičić’s time’ (Kurelac,
‘Povijest i suvremenost’, p. 115), as well as in Croatian literary culture in
general as ‘an important reference work of church and world history, which
must have had an influence on the shaping of the mentality of the epoch’
(Kurelac, ‘Povijest i suvremenost’, p. 119).

Manuscripts

183
EDITIONS
Šimuna Kožičića Zadranina biskupa Modruškoga knižice od’ žitiě rimskih’
arhierěov’ i cesarov’: od’ Petra i Juliě: daže do sadanih’ Klimenta sedmoga
i Karla petoga: let’ Gospodnih’ 1531, Rijeka, 1531 (in Glagolitic script),
http://reader.digitale-sammlungen.de/resolve/display/bsb10201465.html

‘Knjižice od žitja rimskih arhijereov i cesarov, Rijeka 1531’, in V. Štefanić

(ed.), Hrvatska književnost srednjega vijeka, Zagreb, 1969, 86-88 (selections)

‘Šimuna Kožičića Zadranina, biskupa Modruškoga, knjižice od žitiě rimskih'

arhierěov' i cesarov': od Petra i Juliě: daže do sadanih' Klimenta sedmoga i
Karla petoga: let' gospodnih' 1531.’, in G. Tutschke, Die glagolitische
Druckerei von Rijeka und ihr historiographisches Werk. Knižice od žitiĕ
rimskih arhierĕov i cesarov, Munich, 1983, 38-240, http://daten.digitale-
sammlungen.de/0005/bsb00057089/images/index.html?fip=193.174.98.30&i
d=00057089&seite=1

Šimuna Kožičića Zadranina, biskupa Modruškoga, knjižice od žitija rimskih

arhijerejov i cesarov: od Petra i Julija: daže do sadanjih Klimenta Sedmoga i
Karla Petoga: let Gospodnjih 1531, ed. A. Nazor, Rijeka, 2007 (vol. 1:
facsimile of the 1531 edition; vol. 2: Latin transliteration with foreword and
introduction in Croatian and English)

Editions & Translations

Studies
D. Dukić, ‘Das Türkenbild in der kroatischen literarischen Kultur vom 15. bis
zur Mitte des 19. Jahrhunderts’, in R. Lauer and H.G. Majer (eds), Osmanen
und Islam in Südosteuropa, Berlin, 2014, 157-92

T. Mrkonjić, ‘Žitija rimskih cesarov. Vjernost izvorniku i originalnost

prijevoda’, Fluminensia 24 (2012) 57-75

T. Mrkonjić, ‘La versione croata glagolitica dell’opuscolo “Vite dei pontefici

e degli imperatori Romani” di G. B. Cipelli detto Egnazio’, in C. Alzati, M.

184
Grusovin and S. Tavano (eds), L’eredità di Cirillo e Metodio. Omaggio a
Vittorio Peri, Gorizia, 2009, 319-27

Nazor, ‘Inhabitant of Zadar’, pp. 23-4

A. Nazor, ‘Predgovor [Foreword]’, in Kožičić, Knjižice, vol. 2, pp. 5-7, 31-3

Nazor, ‘Šimun Kožičić Benja’, vol. 2, pp. 19-22, 44-8

F. Paro, ‘Tehnički podaci o faksimilu; Tipografske karakteristike originalnog

izdanja’ [Technical details concerning the facsimile; Typographic
characteristics of the original publication], in Kožičić, Knjižice, vol. 2, pp. 8-
9, 34-5

D. Dukić, Sultanova djeca. Predodžbe Turaka u hrvatskoj književnosti ranog

novovjekovlja, Zadar, 2004, pp. 56-61

Stanković-Avramović, Šimun Kožičić Benja, pp. 111-35

T. Mrkonjić, ‘Egnacij i Kožičić. Pitanje predloška za Kožičićeve “Knižice od

žitiě rimskih arhierěov i cesarov”’, in Kolumbić, Moguš and Nazor (eds),
Zbornik radova, pp. 125-36

Kurelac, ‘Povijest i suvremenost’, in Kolumbić, Moguš and Nazor (eds),

Zbornik radova, pp. 117-19

Tutschke, Die glagolitische Druckerei, pp. 30-32, 241-317

Štefanić, Hrvatska književnost, p. 85

Ferrari Cupilli, ‘Della vita e degli scritti’, pp. 80-1

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1500-1550
Thematic Region: Europe, Greece
Dynasty/Ruling elite: Habsburgs
Genre & Source Type: Chronicles/Histories

Bratislav Lučin
185
Cite this page

Lučin, Bratislav. " Knjižice od žitija rimskih arhijerejov i cesarov." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David
Thomas. Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016
<http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-ii/knjizice-od-zitija-rimskih-arhijerejov-i-cesarov-
COM_27687>

186
 Tranquilli Andronici Dalmatae
Traguriensis de rebus in Hungaria gestis
ab illustrissimo et magnifico Ludovico
Gritti deque eius obitu epistola
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts MANUSCRIPTS EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Memorandum
'The letter of Tranquillius Andronicus about the things done in Hungary by
the most illustrious and magnificent Ludovico Gritti and about his
death'Andronicus Tranquillus emlékirata

Andronicus Tranquillus Parthenius Dalmata, Andronicus Tranquillus

Dalmata Traguriensis, Fran Trankvil Andreis, Franjo Andreis,
Francisco Andreis, Andreisi Ferenc

Date: 16 December 1534

Original Language: Latin

Description
Andronicus Tranquillus addressed his reminiscences of Ludovico Gritti,
regent of Hungary, to Jan Tarnowski, the Grand Crown Hetman of Poland at
the time. The most recent edition of the letter, by Florio Banfi, containing a
short description of the circumstances of Gritti’s death on 26 September 1534
and the events leading to it, is 31 pages long. The letter was written on 16
December of the same year, testified by Andronicus’s signature. The oldest

187
known manuscript copy dates from the year 1578, as the original letter has
not survived.

Andronicus says that, in 1527, Ludovico Gritti and Hieronymus Łaski, the
legate of John I of Hungary, were in Istanbul, attempting to win the sultan
over to help against Ferdinand I. They were successful in their effort, and the
Turkish army recaptured Hungary on behalf of John I. Vienna was besieged
by Süleyman I but to no avail, and he had to return home. According to
Andronicus, the Germans soon appeared in Hungary to occupy Buda. John I
immediately sent for Gritti, who was in Istanbul, asking for his assistance.
While the king was contemplating making an escape, Gritti defeated the
German army and became the regent of Hungary. This success was not well
received by the king and his followers, as rumours emerged that he wanted to
seize the throne. Around this time, Andronicus was assigned by the king to be
close to Gritti.

Andronicus goes on to say that Süleyman I laid siege to Vienna again in

1532, also without success. Since the Hungarians had attacked the Turkish
army on their return through Slavonia, threatened to occupy the region
but was deterred by Gritti’s intervention. During his stay in Hungary in 1534,
Imre Cibak, the bishop of Várad, was plotting against Gritti, but this was
discovered by the regent, who ordered Cibak to be killed. Fearing the wrath
of the Hungarians, Gritti decided to flee to Transylvania. The Hungarian
army followed him to Medgyes with the support of Peter, the voivode of
Moldavia. Gritti summoned the Turkish army, but their arrival was delayed
and many of his followers changed sides. He then chose to surrender to the
voivode, who let the Hungarians kill him.

In the closing lines of the letter, Andronicus laments Gritti's death and tries to
justify his actions. He also refers briefly his own situation, and writes a few
words about John I, who, in Andronicus’s opinion, was right to fear
Süleyman’s retribution.

Significance
Andronicus Tranquillus’s memories are a detailed account on the last years of
Ludovico Gritti, who was a key figure in enabling the Turkish presence in
Hungary in the 1530s. Gritti was favoured by Süleyman I, and he was also
188
one of Ibrahim Pasha’s confidants. In the Memorandum, Andronicus sets out
to explain the Regent’s role in the relationship between the Ottomans and the
Hungarians. The Memorandum conveys no sense that religious difference
was an obstacle to seeking alliances or a factor in fighting enemies.

Manuscripts
MANUSCRIPTS
MS Budapest, Országos Széchényi Könyvtár Kézirattára – Fol. Lat. 3760
(1578)

EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS

H. Kretschmayr, ‘Adalékok Szapolyai János király történetéhez’, Történelmi
Tár 26 (1903) 198-229

F. Banfi, Archivio storico per la Dalmazia, Rome, 1934, 437-68

P. Kulcsár, ‘Andronicus Tranquillus emlékirata’, in P. Kulcsár

(ed.), Krónikáink magyarul 3/3, Budapest, 2008, 53-77 (Hungarian trans.)

Editions & Translations

Studies
Glavaš, ‘Franjo Trankvil Andreis i njegovo djelo’

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1500-1550
Thematic Region: Hungarian Kingdom
Dynasty/Ruling elite: Habsburgs, Ottomans
Genre & Source Type: Biographies
Theme: Diplomatic relations
Christians: Christians

Szabolcs Zsótér

189
Cite this page

Zsótér, Szabolcs . " Tranquilli Andronici Dalmatae Traguriensis de rebus in Hungaria gestis ab illustrissimo et magnifico
Ludovico Gritti deque eius obitu epistola." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David Thomas. Brill Online,
2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016 <http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-
relations-ii/tranquilli-andronici-dalmatae-traguriensis-de-rebus-in-hungaria-gestis-ab-illustrissimo-et-magnifico-ludovico-gritti-
deque-eius-obitu-epistola-COM_26627>

190
 De bello Pannonico libri decem
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts MANUSCRIPTS EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

'On the war in Hungary, ten books'

Caspar Ursinus Velius

Date: Between 1531 and 1537

Original Language: Latin

Description
The De bello Pannonico of Ursinus Velius amounts to 182 pages in the
edition of Franciscus Kollár made in 1762. According to Kollár, the tenth
book of the fragmentary work was left uncompleted because of Ursinus’s
death. No critical edition has yet been published, and there is only one
translation, into Hungarian. The manuscript, presumably in an incomplete
form, can be found in a mid-16th-century codex held in the National Library
of Austria.

Consisting of ten books of different lengths, Ursinus’s work focuses on one

period, 1527-31, in the war of succession for the throne of Hungary between
Ferdinand I Habsburg (1503-64) and John Zápolya (1487-1540), and on the
incursions of the Ottomans under Sultan Süleyman (1520-66). The first three
books (Kollár, pp. 1-54) describe the events of 1527. Ferdinand and his
troops entered Hungary on 1 August to take the throne and expel John
Zápolya, who had been crowned earlier. Zápolya withdrew eastwards and, at
the Diet of Buda, Ferdinand delivered two long speeches in which he

191
emphasized the need to expel the Ottomans and prevent any renewed
incursions into Hungary. Later in the year, he was crowned king of Hungary
at Székesfehérvár. Zápolya made two attempts to fight against him, but was
defeated on both occasions.

The fourth book covers the year 1528 (Kollár, pp. 55-92). Ferdinand first
prepared his troops garrisoned in Hungary for defence and then went to
Prague, where the Bohemian estates readily offered their financial and
military assistance for the war against the Ottomans. Defeated again, Zápolya
fled to Poland, where he accused Ferdinand of triggering the armed conflict
and blamed him for blocking an effective defence against the Ottomans’
attack (Kollár, pp. 75-6). He also rejected Ferdinand’s allegation that he had
sided with the sultan against Christians. In his reply, Ferdinand called
Zápolya a usurper and an ally of the Ottomans, and asked the Polish king not
to grant him asylum. Zápolya returned to Hungary, but at the Diet of
Bratislava, held in October, it soon became commonly known that he had, in
exasperation, asked help from the Ottomans to recover the Hungarian crown.
In order to resist the imminent Ottoman attack, Ferdinand turned to the
Austrian provinces for help.

In Books 5-7 (Kollár, pp. 93-139), which discuss the year 1529, Muslims
play the central role. First, Ursinus describes Ferdinand’s speech at the Diet
of Speyer, in which the king called for a union of Christians against the
Ottomans. The whole of Book 6 is devoted to Sultan Süleyman’s campaign
against Vienna. When the sultan crossed the Hungarian border, John Zápolya,
now an ally, greeted him on the field of Mohács and joined him against Buda,
which was under Habsburg control. After the occupation of Buda and
Zápolya’s restoration to the throne, Süleyman besieged Vienna. Ursinus, who
was in the city at that time, gives a detailed eye-witness account of the
unsuccessful siege and, following the departure of the Turkish army, the
mutiny of the defending mercenaries, who demanded higher pay.

Books 8 and 9 (Kollár, pp. 140-70) cover the events of 1530. Ursinus
presents the major stages of the winter campaign against Zápolya and a battle
between Count Hardeck and the Ottomans, which the count won. This part of
the work focuses mainly on the Diet of Augsburg, where, besides the
Ottoman question, the imperial estates were mostly preoccupied with the
Reformation. Although every participant underlined the importance of
192
Christian unity, Ursinus is correct when he observes that the internal
Christian conflicts remained unresolved. This part concludes with a report on
Wilhelm von Roggendorf’s futile campaign to recapture Buda.

In the tenth and last book (Kollár, pp. 171-81), Ursinus describes Ferdinand’s
coronation as king of the Romans and lists the main points of the treaty that
led to a three-month truce with Zápolya. He mentions the return of
Ferdinand’s envoys from Istanbul, but does not give any details of the
negotiations. The book ends in mid-sentence.

Significance
In the 16th century, the Catholic Habsburgs, who also held the crown of the
Holy Roman Empire, were the main obstacle in the way of Ottoman
expansion. As the court historian of Ferdinand Habsburg, the second most
important member of the family, Ursinus represents the official attitude of the
family towards the Muslims. He regards the Ottomans as the main threat to
Christianity, whom all Christians were obliged to fight, and illustrates the
brutality of Muslim soldiers through the speech of Siegmund von
Dietrichstein (1484-1533): they do not spare children or even unborn babies,
and kill Christians with immense cruelty (Kollár, pp. 156-60). According to
the clear conception of the work, it is only Ferdinand, the chief defender of
the faith, who is powerful enough to block Ottoman expansion. Ferdinand, as
the leader of Christian resistance, therefore looks for cooperation and asks for
the financial and military help of the Empire. Ursinus evaluates any alliance
with the Ottomans as an obvious outrage, and, in fact, this is the main
argument against the anti-king Zápolya (Kollár, pp. 72-3). He realizes that a
united Christian front was made impossible by the Reformation, and this is
part of the reason for his strong opposition to it.

Although De bello Pannonico abounds in propaganda, it is a first-rate source

for researchers. From the point of view of Christian-Muslim relations, its
significance lies in the fact that it provides a clear-cut presentation of the anti-
Ottoman ideology of the Habsburgs, representing them as the defenders of
Christian Europe. Ursinus’s image of the Muslims prevailed firmly in the
Habsburgs’ court until the expulsion of the Ottomans from Hungary.

Manuscripts
193
MANUSCRIPTS
MS Vienna, Austrian National Library – Cod. 7688, fols 352a-363b (16th
century)

EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS

A.F. Kollar, De bello Pannonico libri decem, Vindobonae (Vienna), 1762,
20082

Z. Szebelédi, Tíz könyv a magyar háborúról [Ten books about the Hungarian
war], Máriabesnyő, 2013 (full Hungarian trans.)

Editions & Translations

Studies
Z. Szebelédi, ‘Magyarország két tűz között [Hungary between two enemies]’,
in Caspar Ursinus Velius, Tíz könyv a magyar háborúról [Ten books about
the Hungarian war], trans. Zs. Szebelédi, Máriabesnyő, 2013

B. Lakatos, art. ‘Caspar Ursinus Velius’, in Magyar Művelődéstörténeti

Lexikon, Budapest, 2003-12, vol. 12, 232-3

M. Waczulik, ‘Ismeretlen magyar vonatkozású részletek I. Ferdinánd udvari

történetírójának munkájából [Unknown Hungarian-related details from work
of Ferdinand’s court historiographer]’, Történetírás 3-4 (1939) 149-60

M. Waczulik, A török korszak kezdetének nyugati történetirodalma a 16.

században [Western historical literature of the beginning of the Turkish era in
the 16th century], Budapest, 1937, pp. 45-56

G. Bauch, Deutsche Scholaren in Krakau in der Zeit der Renaissance 1460

bis 1520, Breslau, 1901

G. Bauch, Caspar Ursinus Velius, der Hofhistoriograph Ferdinands I. und

Erzieher Maximilians II, Budapest, 1886

Keywords
194
Chronological Category: 1500-1550
Thematic Region: Hungarian Kingdom
Related Historical People: Ottomans
Dynasty/Ruling elite: Ottomans, Habsburgs
Genre & Source Type: Historiography
Theme: Christian-Muslim warfare
Social History: Warfare
Christians: Christians
Muslims: Sunnis

Zsolt Szebelédi
Cite this page

Szebelédi, Zsolt. " De bello Pannonico libri decem." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David Thomas. Brill
Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016 <http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-
muslim-relations-ii/de-bello-pannonico-libri-decem-COM_26379>

195
 Oratio
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Oratio
‘Speech’

Caspar Ursinus Velius

Date: 1527
Original Language: Latin

Description
Caspar Ursinus Velius delivered his speech (its full title is Oratio habita in
Alba Regali die felicissimae coronationis inclyti ac potentis Ferdinandi
Ungariae Bohemiaeque regis etc. anno 1527 non. 3 novembris) on 3
November 1527 in Székesfehérvár, at Ferdinand’s coronation as king of
Hungary. The text was published in print the same year, in a document 18
pages long; to our present knowledge no manuscripts have survived.

At the beginning of his speech, which reveals his humanist education,

Ursinus points out the legitimacy of Ferdinand Habsburg’s claim to the
throne. On the one hand, he refers to the treaties between the Habsburgs and
the late Jagiellonian kings of Hungary, and on the other he exalts the power
and excellence of Ferdinand’s family. In reference to the civil war between
John Zápolya and Ferdinand, he stresses the ‘official’ Habsburg view:
Zápolya seized the royal title illegally and Ferdinand entered Hungary not as
an enemy, but to liberate the kingdom from the oppression of the ‘tyrannical’
usurper. Ursinus was well-aware of the traditional aversion of the Hungarian

196
nobility towards kings of foreign origin and does not miss the opportunity to
discuss this problem. As Ferdinand was not Hungarian, Ursinus reminds the
Hungarians present at the coronation that their foreign kings were often better
rulers than those from their homeland. He continues by listing the kings of
Hungary who successfully fought against the internal and external enemies of
Christianity. The catalogue is concluded with Ferdinand himself, who is
presented as a worthy successor to rulers who had sustained the Christian
faith in Hungary. Then, Ursinus praises the prosperity of Hungary in order
to contrast it with the tragic consequences of Ottoman raids. In order to avoid
further deterioration, he calls the Hungarians to unite against the infidels and
to support Ferdinand.

Significance
Addressed to the Hungarians present at the coronation, the speech mirrors
faithfully the Habsburg court’s view of its enemies, including the Muslim
Ottomans. Ursinus’s main aim is to prove to his Hungarian audience that
Ferdinand is taking the throne legitimately, though in addition to legal
arguments he emphasises Ferdinand’s suitability for the war against the
Ottomans. He draws a parallel between the former ‘pagan’ foes of Catholic
Hungary (Cumans, Sarmatians, Hussites) and the Muslim Ottomans. The
importance of the text is enhanced by the fact that it calls Hungary ‘the
rampart of Europe’ (propugnaculum et spirantes muri Europae). This echoes
the centuries-old expression ‘rampart of Christianity’ (propugnaculum
Christianitatis), which had been applied to the Christian countries situated on
the frontier of the advancing world of Islam. The expression was deeply
ingrained in Hungarian identity and still affects the country’s historical
consciousness today.

Manuscripts
EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
Oratio habita in Alba Regali die felicissimae coronationis inclyti ac potentis
Ferdinandi Ungariae Bohemiaeque regis etc. anno 1527 non. 3 novembris,
Vindobonae (Vienna), 1527, Basileae (Basel), 1527, 15282

197
A.F. Kollár (ed.), Casparis Ursini Velii De Bello Pannonico Libri Decem,
Vindobona, 1762 (includes text of speech)

Editions & Translations

Studies
K. József, Történelmi és irodalmi kalászatok [Historical and literary
collections], Pest, 1861, p. 73

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1500-1550
Thematic Region: Hungary
Related Historical People: Hungarians
Dynasty/Ruling elite: Habsburgs, Ottomans
Genre & Source Type: Orations
Christians: Christians
Muslims: Sunnis

Zsolt Szebelédi
Cite this page

Szebelédi, Zsolt. " Oratio." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David Thomas. Brill Online, 2016.
Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016 <http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-
ii/oratio-COM_26380>

198
 Epistolae familiares N. Olahi ad amicos
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts MANUSCRIPTS EDITIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Epistolae familiares N. Olahi ad amicosCodex epistolaris

‘Private letters of Nicolaus Olahus to his friends’

Oláh Miklós, Nicolae Valahul, Mikuláš Oláh

Date: After 22 August 1538

Original Language: Latin

Description
This volume, also known as Codex epistolaris, which was compiled by
Olahus himself, contains a selection of 611 letters written by and to him
between 1527 and 1538, together with poems in commemoration of the death
of Erasmus (Ipolyi, pp. 581-95). It comes to 582 folios in the manuscript, and
622 pages in the edition by Ipolyi.

Political topics frequently occur: almost every second letter refers to attacks
by the Ottomans and battles with them, including the Battle of Mohács and
the siege of Vienna. Olahus repeatedly emphasises the importance of
Christian leaders uniting against the Ottomans, and he urges noblemen,
bishops and the pope himself to come together.

From the end of 1530 Olahus begins to urge Christian powers to unite under
the leadership of King Ferdinand. He regards disunity as the most serious
problem, and encourages all Christians to work for harmony.

199
Significance
While the collection reveals the mind of a leading humanist, it is only a
subsidiary resource for Christian attitudes towards Muslims, because the
majority of Olahus’s information about the Ottomans and their movements
was derived from other works.

Manuscripts
MANUSCRIPTS
MS Budapest, National Archives – P 108 Rep. 71. 474. k, fasc. 23 (early 16th
century)

EDITIONS
A. Ipolyi (ed.), Oláh Miklós II. Lajos és Mária királyné titkára, utóbb Magy.
Orsz. Cancellár, esztergomi érsek prímás és kir. Helytartó levelezése,
Budapest, 1875, 18762 (Epistles; edition from the Budapest MS)

I. Fógel and L. Juhász (eds), Nicolaus Olahus. Carmina, Leipzig, 1934

L. Geréb (ed. and trans.), A magyar renaissance költői, Budapest, 1947

(Carmina; Hungarian trans.)

I. Tóth (ed. and trans.), Alkinoosz kertje. Humanista költőink Janus

Pannoniustól Bocatius Jánosig, Kolozsvár, 1970 (Carmina; Hungarian trans.)

200
S.V. Kovács (ed.), Magyar humanisták levelei, Budapest, 1971, pp. 597-684
(Epistles; incomplete Hungarian trans. by Gy. Hegyi)

M. Capoianu (trans.), Nicolaus Olahus. Corespondenţă cu umanişti batavi şi

flamanzi, Bucharest, 1974 (incomplete Romanian trans.)

T. Klaniczay (ed.), Janus Pannonius. Magyarországi humanisták, Budapest,

1982, pp. 324-36, 694-713 (Carmina and Epistles; Hungarian trans. by Gy.
Hegyi, L. Geréb and I. Tóth)

Editions & Translations

Studies
G. Tournoy, ‘Petrus Nannius and Nicolaus Olahus’, Humanistica
Lovaniensia 55 (2006) 129-60

Neagu, Servant of the Renaissance

M. Theunissen-Faider, ‘La correspondance de Nicolas Oláh (1493–1568)’, in

J.-F. Gilmont (ed.), Nugae humanisticae sub signo Erasmi, Brussels, 2000,
vol. 1, 65-77

C. Neagu, ‘Nicolaus Olahus, the Jesuits and the rhetoric of the ars
epistolandi’, Archaeus (Études d’Histoire des Religions) 4/3 (2000) 1-8

Neagu, ‘The Carmina of Nicolaus Olahus’

V. Huszti, ‘Oláh Miklós pályafutása, levelezése és leveleskönyvének

humanista vonásai’, in J. Jankovics (ed.), A magyar művelődés és
akereszténység, Budapest, 1998, vol. 2, 622-30

201
A. Corneliu, ‘Der Briefwechsel des rumänischen Humanisten Nicolaus
Olahus mit Erasmus von Rotterdam’, Cahiers roumains d’Études L ittéraires
2 (1986) 70-84

A. Corneliu, ‘Le correspondance de Nicolaus Olahus avec Erasme’, Revue

Roumaine d’Histoire 7 (1968) 515-23

A. Vizkelety, ‘Libri epistolaeque… Dokumente einer

Humanistenfreundschaft’, in S. Joost (ed.), Bibliothek und Wissenschaft,
Wiesbaden, 1967, vol. 4, 225-39

P. Schleicher, Oláh Miklós és Erasmus, Budapest, 1941

L. Juhász, ‘De carminibus Nicolai Olahi in mortem Erasmi scriptis’,

Gedenkschrift zum 400 Todestage des Erasmus von Rotterdam, Basel, 1936,
316-25

S. Hegedüs, Analecta recentiora ad historiam renascentium in Hungaria

litterarum spectantia, Budapest, 1906, pp. 371-429

A. Roersch, ‘La correspondance de Nicolaus Olahus’, Bulletin de la Société

d’Histoire et d’Archéologie de Gand 11 (1904) 297-307

Ö. Noszkay, Oláh Miklós levelezésének művelődéstörténeti vonatkozásai,

Érsekújvár, 1903

F. Kollányi, ‘Oláh Miklós és Rotterdámi Erazmus’, Magyar Sion 16 (1885)

585-604, 736-58

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1500-1550
Thematic Region: Austrian Dynasty, Buda, Europe, Hungarian Kingdom ,
Hungary, Ottoman Empire, Rome, Transylvania
Related Historical People: Charles V, Hungarians, Martin Luther, Matthias I
Hunyadi, King of Hungary, Ottomans, Vlad Dracul, Vladislav II of Bohemia
and Hungary
Dynasty/Ruling elite: Austrian Dynasty, Habsburgs, Louis II. King of
Hungary and Bohemia, Ottomans
202
Genre & Source Type: Imperial propaganda, Letters, Poetry
Theme: Battle at Mohacs, captivity, Christian descriptions of Islamic
doctrine, Christian Leaders, Christian-Muslim warfare
Social History: Churches, Conversion, Friendship, Warfare
Christians: Christians

Emoke Rita Szilágyi

Cite this page

Szilágyi , Emoke Rita . " Epistolae familiares N. Olahi ad amicos." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David
Thomas. Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016
<http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-ii/epistolae-familiares-n-olahi-ad-amicos-
COM_26624>

203
 Az Landor Fejirvár elveszésének oka e
vót és így esött
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts MANUSCRIPTS EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Az LándorfejírvárAz Landor Feyrwar el weeztesenek oka e wotht es így

essewth
'The loss of Belgrade and reasons for its fall'

Ferenc Zay

Date: About 1535-8

Original Language: Hungarian

Description
Az Landor Fejírvár elveszésének oka e vót és így esött (in the original, Az
Landor Feyrwar el weeztesenek oka e wotht es így essewth, though it is
usually referred to by its modernised title) is a memoir of the 1521 Ottoman
campaign against Hungary and the siege of Belgrade (in contemporary
Hungarian, Nándorfehérvár). The original text in Ferenc Zay’s own hand is
extant, and there is also a Latin translation, Historia de Belgradi amissione et
causis, 37 folios long, probably from around 1790.

The work is a remarkable example of the Hungarian linguistic heritage, and

one of the first extant works of historiography in the Hungarian language.
However, it is much more a work of literature than a genuine piece of history
writing. Some scholars go as far as labelling it a work of historical
propaganda, a polemical pamphlet, or an ‘indictment’ against the aristocracy

204
for the loss of Belgrade. It contains factual errors, and the chronology of
events is disordered. Some claim that Zay’s exaggerations and distortions are
deliberate in places, and they can even appear to be a manipulation of
historical facts since Zay was pro-Habsburg, loyal to Ferdinand I (r. 1526-64)
and biased against his rival János Szapolyai (r. 1526-40). Nevertheless,
although it may have to be approached with much caution as a historical
source, it has its strengths.

It gives minute details of the various stages in the siege of Belgrade as well as
those of the nearby castles of Zimony (Zemun) and Sabac, the looting and
burning carried out by the Ottomans in the surrounding region, and the
counter-measures of the Hungarian leaders. It provides a shockingly realistic
description of the derelict and neglected Hungarian frontier fortresses,
lacking in ammunition, food and supplies, as well as the unpaid garrison
forces, of whom only a handful remained at their posts. It serves as a first-
rate source for the political situation in Hungary and the conflicts between the
aristocrats, and it judges ‘the enmity of the lords’ as a major cause of their
own disaster.

One of the main values of the work is the insight it gives into the workings of
the Ottoman military machinery, so detailed that it records the debates of
Ottoman military leaders regarding strategy and tactics. It also gives a clear
picture of the fall of the key stronghold of the frontier castle system of
Hungary, focused on Belgrade, opening a way into the heart of Hungary.

Significance
One of the most intriguing elements of Az Landorfejírvár is the so-called
‘peace offer of Süleyman’, a subject of heated debate in Hungarian
historiography. When Süleyman became sultan he sent a messenger to King
Louis II of Hungary to renew the peace treaty between the two powers. The
messenger did not receive a prompt answer, and was kept prisoner in
Hungary. It has been speculated (though without evidence) that this was
because the Hungarian nobles refused to agree to new conditions that
Süleyman wanted to impose, which were tribute and free passage for his
armies through their country. Zay, one of the nearest in time to the ‘peace
offer’, mentions Süleyman’s embassy but speaks only of tribute: ‘in order to
renew the peace, [the sultan] wished and asked for tribute’. He also says that
205
the Hungarians mutilated Süleyman’s envoy, possibly picking up this rumour
from other accounts, among them that given by the Dalmatian chronicler,
Ludovicus Tubero, who wrote in 1522 that the mutilation and the ‘violation
of the law of nations’ was deliberately spread by the propaganda of the
Ottomans as a casus belli. The point that Zay makes is that the arrogance
shown by the Hungarian nobles when they kept Süleyman waiting and
humiliated his servant, gave the sultan an excuse to invade, and so the
Hungarians brought their fate down on their own heads.

Zay has little but contempt for the Hungarian nobles and commanders. He
goes into great detail about the disputes between custodians of the fortresses
around Belgrade and the king, and their pursuit of these even in the face of
the threats from the Turks. At Sabac, István and Balázs, Sulyok refused to let
the king’s soldiers into the castle until the very last moment, even though the
garrison forces were few and lacking food, gunpowder and cannons. He also
blames the self-centred and conceited nobles for not recruiting fighting men
or for arriving too late to mount a proper defence, so that the Ottomans were
free to move around ‘with many gains without any resistance’.

Many Hungarians are inspired by crusading fervour and sacrificial zeal,

preferring to die as martyrs than to surrender. Their heroism is highlighted by
the contrasting example of the traitor János Morgay, who deserted to the
Ottoman side, but did not receive the reward promised by Süleyman and
disappeared after the fighting. The Hungarian Christians never surrender and
never lay down their arms, but fight to the last man, true to their oath to the
king and loyalty to their country. Thus, in his last speech, vice-castellan Oláh
desires ‘to die amongst his fellows, but never serve the Turk’. In contrast, the
Turks, who are generally portrayed as cruel and treacherous, are dismayed at
such heroism, and the sultan even contemplates withdrawal (this is
historically improbable). Zay even suggests that the only reason for the
capture of Belgrade was treason: had the traitor Morgay not revealed the
weakest points in the city wall, Süleyman would have ordered retreat since
thousands of Turks had been killed.

The story fits into the centuries-long ‘shield of Christendom’

(propugnaculum Christianitatis) ideology, Nándorfehérvár being the very
bulwark of the whole of Christianity and its loss having tragic consequences,
because it could no longer protect the believers against the infidels. It had
206
served as a bastion, ‘where many thousands of heathen lost their heads’, a
theme of crusading martyrology that is discernible throughout the text.

Manuscripts
MANUSCRIPTS
MS Budapest, National Széchényi Library of Hungary [Országos Széchényi
Könyvtár, Kézirattár] – Fol. Hung. 96 (c. 1530s-50s)

MS Budapest, National Széchényi Library of Hungary [Országos Széchényi

Könyvtár Kézirattár] – MNy [Magyar Nyelvemlékek] 63, pp. 4-78 (c. 1530s-
50s)

MS Budapest, National Széchényi Library of Hungary [Országos Széchényi

Könyvtár Kézirattár] – Quart. Hung. 89 (19th-century copy)

MS Budapest, National Széchényi Library of Hungary [Országos Széchényi

Könyvtár Kézirattár] – Fol. Hung. 1031, fols 45-65 (19th-century copy)

EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS

L. Szalay, Az Landorfejírvár elveszésének oka e vót és így esött,
in Verancsics Antal …Összes Munkái, Pest, 1857, vol. 2, pp. 121-85

Kovács and Szakály, Az Lándorfejírvár

Bitskey, Magyar emlékírók

Kovács, Az Landor Feyrwar

Editions & Translations

Studies

207
L. Jakab and A. Bölcskei, Egy XVI. századi emlékirat szókincstára. Zay
Ferenc. Az Landor feyrwar el wezessenek oka e woth es igy essewth (1535
k.), Debrecen, 2003

Zay Ferenc, ‘János király árultatása’, ed. Bessenyei

Bessenyei, ‘Egy olvasó nemesúr a XVI. Században’

Bartoniek, Fejezetek a XVI-XVII, 44-51

Horváth, A reformáció jegyében, 125-9, 492-3

Thallóczy, Csömöri Zay Ferencz

Urkunden und Actenstücke zur Geschichte der Verhältnisse zwischen

Österreich, Ungern und der Pforte im XVI. und XVII. Jahrhunderte. aus
Archiven und Bibliotheken gesammelt von Anton von Gévay . ii.i,
Gesandtschaften König Ferdinands I. an Sultan Suleiman I. 1532-1536; i
Gesandtschaft König Ferdinands I. an Sultan Suleiman I. 1532-1533, Vienna,
1838

Ludovici Tuberonis, Commentarii de rebus suo tempore, in Pannonia et

finitimis regionibus gestis, in Scriptores rerum Hungaricarum veteres ac
genuin i cura et studio Joannis Georgii Schwandtneri, Vienna, 1766, vol. 2/1,
pp. 111-381

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1500-1550
Thematic Region: Hungarian Kingdom , Ottoman Empire
Related Historical People: Hungarians, Ottomans
Dynasty/Ruling elite: Louis II. King of Hungary and Bohemia
Genre & Source Type: Chronicles/Histories, Histories, Historiography
Theme: Christian-Muslim warfare
Social History: Embassies, Warfare
Christians: Christians

Attila Barany

208
Cite this page

Barany, Attila. " Az Landor Fejirvár elveszésének oka e vót és így esött." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General
Editor David Thomas. Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016
<http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-ii/az-landor-fejirvar-elveszesenek-oka-e-vot-es-igy-
esott-COM_26395>

209
 Proti Alchoranu
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Proti Alchoranu
‘Against the Qur’an’

Bartoloměj Dvorský

Date: 1542
Original Language: Czech

Description
This work is a polemic that seeks to point out so-called errors in the Qur’an
for its Christian audience (its full title is Proti Alchoranu, totiž zákonu
Tureckému a Saracenskému a falešnímu jich náboženství, a že vrchnostem
církve křesťanské přináleží víry svaté i lidu proti jich ukrutenství obhajovati.
A kterak se k tomu připraviti mají, aby jim Pán Buoh ráčil dáti vítězství,
knižky dvoje, and the original edition is 92 pages long). It follows the
tradition that sees Islam as a Christian heresy and begins by picking out basic
tenets of Islam and linking them with heresies in the early Church. For
example, the belief that there is only one God coupled with the denial of
Jesus’s divinity is classified as Arianism.

After establishing Islam as a heresy and giving a brief account of

Muḥammad’s life and the origins of Islam, it devotes 20 chapters to
identifying errors in the Qur’an and correcting them by referring to texts in
the Bible. The concerns range from material details, such as whether Jesus
was born under a palm tree, to abstract issues, such as the nature of the

210
Trinity. Dvorský explicitly acknowledges his debt to Dionysius the
Carthusian in this section of the book.

In the second part of the work, Dvorský turns from Islam in general to
concerns about the Ottoman threat. He identifies the Turks as the ‘scourge of
God’, and calls for two parallel responses. He states that it is the duty of
secular authorities to combat Ottoman military advances, while the Church
and individual believers should repent and reform so that they can regain
God’s favour. Much of this section is a reworking of the ideas in Martin
Luther’s On war against the Turk (1529).

Significance
Though this work is almost entirely derived from other sources, it played a
significant role in synthesizing the ideas in them and introducing them to a
Czech reading public. It demonstrates the influence that pre-existing
narratives about Islam had on Czech authors in the 16th century and the desire
for knowledge about the Ottomans in the wake of their conquests in Central
Europe. It also provides evidence of the extent of Luther’s influence in
Bohemia. It is mentioned by Kryštof Harant in one of the most widely-read
Czech travelogues of this period, and it laid the groundwork for the later and
better-known polemic, the 1614 Antialkorán by Václav Budovec z Budova.

Manuscripts
EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
B. Dvorský, Proti Alchoranu, totiž zákonu Tureckému a Saracenskému a
falešnímu jich náboženství, a že vrchnostem církve křesťanské přináleží víry
svaté i lidu proti jich ukrutenství obhajovati. A kterak se k tomu připraviti
mají, aby jim Pán Buoh ráčil dáti vítězství, knižky dvoje, Prague: Jan Severin,
1542

Editions & Translations

Studies
211
Lisy-Wagner, Islam, Christianity, and the making of Czech identity

Rataj, České země ve stínu půlměsíce

Kaňák, ‘Husitský předchůdce Budovcova Antialkorán’

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1500-1550
Thematic Region: Austrian Dynasty, Bohemia
Related Historical People: Martin Luther, Muhammad, Ottomans
Dynasty/Ruling elite: Habsburgs
Genre & Source Type: Comparative religion, Polemics
Theme: Anti-Muslim polemic, Christian descriptions of Islamic doctrine,
Christian exegesis of the Quran, Christian portrayal of Muhammad, Christian
writings on other faiths, churches, Just war against the Ottomans, New
Testament, Old Testament, Polemic, Polemic on Quran, Refutation of the
Qurʾān, Sins of the Christians as the cause of military defeats
Social History: Heresy, Muslim religious beliefs, Resistance to conversion,
Warfare
Christians: Christians, European Christians, German Protestants, minor sects
Muslims: Ottomans

Laura Lisy-Wagner
Cite this page

Lisy-Wagner, Laura . " Proti Alchoranu." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David Thomas. Brill Online,
2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016 <http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-
relations-ii/proti-alchoranu-COM_27676>

212
 Moldavian diplomatic correspondence
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Moldavian diplomatic correspondence

-

Moldavian diplomatic correspondence

Date: 16th century

Original Language: Various

Description
In order to preserve their independence from neighbouring powers,
Moldavian princes were compelled to engage in significant diplomatic
activity. This explains why, in addition to documents delivered in Church
Slavonic, which was the religious and cultural language of the country until
the middle of the 17th century, the Moldavian chancery also issued documents
in Latin, Polish, Italian and Ottoman Turkish. The major part of the
Moldavian diplomatic correspondence consists of letters addressed to Polish
and Hungarian kings, and to independent Saxon cities in Transylvania
(Brașov/Kronstadt, Sibiu/Hermannstadt and Bistrița/Nösen). There is
evidence that Moldavia also maintained diplomatic exchanges with Venice,
Muscovy and the Habsburgs. On the other hand, as vassals of the sultan, the
ruling princes had regularly to inform the Porte about the movements of the
Christian powers, although only a few documents of this sort are known.

The majority of the original diplomatic documents issued by the Moldavian

chancery are now lost, while the items that still exist are scattered in archives

213
and libraries all over Europe, especially in Austria and Poland. This loss is
partially made up by contemporary copies and translations made for the use
of the courts with which Moldavian princes had relations; later copies,
written down by historians and archivists, are also very useful. To these
should be added two indirect sources, both of which help to reconstruct the
dynamics of Moldavian diplomatic activities over time. The first is the
minutes, which record matters that Moldavian ambassadors were entrusted to
communicate to foreign courts on behalf of their masters. The second
consists of the accounts that foreign envoys to Moldavia were required to
present to their rulers (or to the Senate, in the Polish case) to inform them
about the negotiations they had conducted. In the absence of the original
documents, these ‘digests’ provide useful glimpses into the opinions of the
political actors.

The first four decades of the century were dominated by an anti-Ottoman and
‘crusading’ discourse, which however did not exclude agreements with the
Ottoman Empire. In their diplomatic correspondence, Moldavian princes
constantly claim that they belong to Christendom, for they ‘share the same
blood as all the Christians’. This communion of Christian faith and blood
directly refers to Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross and draws an encompassing
and homogeneous picture of Christendom, in which any confessional and
ethnic difference is deliberately smoothed over. Communion of faith and
blood also implies unity of decision and action. In this respect, in 1523 Ștefan
the Younger pointed out that the recent conquest of neighbouring Wallachia
by the Turks was putting all Christendom in jeopardy; moreover, he added,
the sultan himself had initiated the siege of Rhodes, a key outpost of the
crusade in the eastern Mediterranean. In such circumstances, Ștefan besought
the Polish king to act, and to summon ‘his holiness the pope, the emperor,
and all the Christian lords to gather all of their might and to confront the
unfaithful enemies of Christianity’. He urged Christian princes to respond
immediately to the Ottoman advance, to put aside any disputes and to fight
together against the Turks ‘like a nail attached to its finger’ (Documente
privitoare la istoria românilor culese de Eudoxiu de Hurmuzaki, 2/2, pp.
708-9). Similar ideas were shared by Prince Ioan the Terrible 50 years later:
‘It is the duty of Christians to provide each other with mutual advice’, and to
work against ‘the enemy of the holy Cross’ (Corfus, Documente privitoare la
istoria României... Secolele al XVI-lea şi al XVII-lea, pp. 72-73). Thus, God

214
and the Christian faith were the keystone of the Moldavian vision of the
world; as the same prince asserted: Si Deus nobiscum quid contra nos?
(Corfus, Documente privitoare, pp. 72-73).

This communion, that Jesus Christ himself had created and nourished with
his own blood, was critically threatened by a major enemy, the ‘pagans’ or
‘infidels’, meaning Ottomans and Tatars, whose main goal was ‘to destroy
the Christian faith’. Sources often called them ‘dogs’, ‘brigands’ or ‘damned
Turks’, whose first and foremost goal was to sow discord among Christians.
Therefore, a lot of caution was required when dealing with them, because
their friendship was nothing but illusion and treachery. A letter that some
Moldavian nobles addressed to the Polish king (dated 1540-1) tellingly
illustrates this utter opposition between Christians and ‘pagans’. After his
victory over Petru Rareș (1538), the sultan placed his own protégé on the
Moldavian throne. The nobles thought this would be an end to their pain as
the new prince was a Christian, ‘someone of our religion’, who would love
and protect them. But he soon revealed his true nature, and proved to be ‘a
Turk in Christian dress’, who intended to hand over the country to the
‘enemy of Christendom’ (Documente privitoare, Supliment 2, vol. 1, pp. 139-
40, 141-2). Thus, the opposition between Christians and ‘pagans’/‘infidels’
appeared to be practically unbridgeable for the Moldavian political actors, as
it did not derive from cultural factors but from a natural background.

In this context, the main concern of the Moldavian princes was to keep
themselves inside the ‘normal’ world of Christendom. Accepting the ‘infidel
emperor’ as overlord meant for them nearly stepping across Christendom’s
borders and facing the danger of being deprived of their faith, as had already
occurred in the Balkans and in Constantinople. Falling under Ottoman control
is depicted as the first step towards a kind of ‘de-Christianization’ of
Moldavians. When Ștefan the Younger alerted the Polish king that the
Ottomans were trying ‘to cut him off from Christendom’, he meant that they
were acting against nature, because they wanted to institute an abnormal
situation, in which Christians (i.e. Moldavians) would be ‘engulfed’ by
infidels or, even worse, would become infidels themselves. In order to
prevent this catastrophe, he urged the king ‘to wake up all the Christian
princes and the pope’ and drive them against the Turks (Documente

215
privitoare la istoria românilor culese de Eudoxiu de Hurmuzaki, 2/3, pp.
723-4).

On the other hand, warning often meant blaming Christian monarchs for their
compliant attitude towards the Ottomans. Petru Rareș’s discourse during his
second reign is telling in this respect; his message to the Polish king called
him the too loyal ally of the ‘pagans’. For a long time Moldavia had been a
shield for Hungary and Poland, ‘the gate and key of Christendom’: ‘I do not
know,’ he says, ‘what you have done and how, but you have destroyed the
well-being of these three Christian countries and allowed the pagans to
conquer Moldavia.’ Thus, they ‘knocked the gate down and broke the key
off, and no help came from [other] Christians.’ In other words, it was not the
Ottomans who defeated him, but the Christians themselves who delivered
him into the pagans’ hands (letter of 1542; see Corfus, Documente privitoare,
pp. 69-71, 72-3).

The political context in the second part of the century proved to be

unfavourable for an all-out war against the Porte. Moldavian princes had to
acknowledge the sultan’s authority; indeed, many of them had been
appointed by the sultan himself. These circumstances led to important
changes in the diplomatic discourse. The ‘crusading’ times had passed, and
now the sultan was often depicted as a source of legitimacy and a protector of
his vassals, who in turn began to integrate the Ottoman Empire and its rulers
into the general world order. However, this does not mean that the opposition
between Christians and ‘pagans’/’infidels’ was obliterated; on the contrary,
accusing someone of ‘acting like a pagan’ implied banishing them from the
Christian community and placing them outside the ‘normal’ world. As the
same Petru Rareș asserted, Moldavia’s situation under the authority of the
Porte was entirely unnatural, because Christians were forced to live together
with the Ottomans, and they were doing it ‘like the sheep with the wolf’
(letter of 1542; see Corfus, Documente privitoare, pp. 69-71, 72-3).

Significance
This diplomatic correspondence provides a valuable insight into the attitudes
that the last Orthodox Christian rulers of the Balkans showed towards the
Ottomans and towards Islam in general during the climax of the Ottoman
expansion. Although the Moldavian princes shaped their discourse in
216
accordance with their immediate interests and used and reused many
‘crusading’ clichés, some of which they borrowed from Hungarian and Polish
diplomatic rhetoric, they voiced a belief shared by the most of their
contemporaries, that Christians and Muslims (i.e. Ottomans) were two
irreconcilable cultural entities.

It is noteworthy that the anti-Ottoman message that emerges from the

diplomatic correspondence perfectly fits the iconography of several churches
and monasteries that Petru Rareș and his close entourage built in northern
Moldavia. Two scenes are particularly relevant in this respect: the siege of
Constantinople, an allegory of the fall of the Christian Empire in 1453 but
also of the Final Hour to come; and the representation of the ‘damned
nations’ in scenes of the Last Judgement. In the first, the images witness to
the general attitude of a world that felt itself besieged by the enemies of the
faith, who aimed to destroy its fundamental values. The latter makes apparent
the unquestionable opposition between Christians and non-Christians: while
Christians stand on the right of the Judge awaiting salvation, the ‘pagans’
(Turks, Tatars and Arabs/Saracens), Jews and ‘heretics’ (Armenians and
Roman Catholics) are all doomed to eternal torment. Believers in the true
God are thereby warned of the mortal danger that threatens them throughout
their lives: losing their faith, which means losing their own identity and any
hope of eternal life. It is also telling that this iconographical schema was
abandoned in the second half of the century.

Manuscripts
EDITIONS

Documente privitoare la istoria românilor culese de Eudoxiu de Hurmuzaki,

vol. 3/1 (1576-99), Bucharest, 1880

Documente privitoare la istoria românilor. Urmare la colecțiunea lui

Eudoxiu de Hurmuzaki.Supliment 1, vol. 1 (1510-1600), ed. G.G. Tocilescu
and A. Odobescu, Bucharest, 1886

217
Documente privitoare la istoria românilor culese de Eudoxiu de Hurmuzaki,
vol. 2/1 (1451-1575), Bucharest, 1891

Documente privitoare la istoria românilor culese de Eudoxiu de Hurmuzaki,

vol. 2/2 (1451-1517), Bucharest, 1891

Documente privitoare la istoria românilor culese de Eudoxiu de Hurmuzaki,

vol. 2/3 (1518-30), ed. N. Densușianu, Bucharest, 1892

Documente privitoare la istoria românilor. Urmare la colecṭiunea lui

Eudoxiu de Hurmuzaki.Suplimentul 2, vol. 1 (1510-1600), ed. I. Bogdan,
Bucharest, 1893

Documente privitoare la istoria românilor culese de Eudoxiu de Hurmuzaki,

vol. 8 (1376-1650), Bucharest, 1894

Documente privitoare la istoria românilor culese de Eudoxiu de Hurmuzaki,

vol. 2/4 (1531-52), ed. N. Densușianu, Bucharest, 1894

N. Iorga (ed.), Acte şi Fragmente cu privire la istoria Românilor adunate din

depozitele de manuscrise ale Apusului, vol. 1, Bucharest, 1895

Documente privitoare la istoria românilor culese de Eudoxiu de Hurmuzaki,

vol. 2/5 (1552-75), ed. N. Densușianu, Bucharest, 1897

218
Documente privitoare la istoria românilor culese de Eudoxiu de Hurmuzaki,
vol. 9 (1517-1612), ed. N. Iorga, Bucharest, 1900

Documente privitoare la istoria românilor culese de Eudoxiu de Hurmuzaki,

vol. 12 (1594-1602), ed. N. Iorga, Bucharest, 1903

Documente privitoare la istoria românilor culese de Eudoxiu de Hurmuzaki,

vol. 15/1 (1358-1600), ed. N. Iorga, Bucharest, 1911

E. Veress (ed.), Acta et epistolae relationum Transylvaniae Hungariaeque

cum Moldova et Valachia, vol. 1. (1468-1540), Budapest-Kolozsvár, 1914

A. Veress (ed.), Documente privitoare la istoria Ardealului, Moldovei şi

Ţării Româneşti. Acte şi scrisori, 11 vols, Bucharest, 1929-

Ia͡.S. Grosul et al. (eds), Istoricheskie svi͡azi narodov SSSR i Rumynĭi v XV -

nachale XVIII v.: dokumenty i materialy v trekh tomakh / Relaţiile istorice
dintre popoarele URSS şi România în veacurile XV - începutul celui de al
XVIII-lea. Documente şi materiale în trei volume, vol. 1 (1408-1632),
Moscow, 1965, pp. 82-237

M.A. Mehmet (ed.), Documente turce şti privind istoria României, vol. 1,
Bucharest, 1976, pp. 7-146

I. Corfus (ed.), Documente privitoare la istoria României culese din arhivele

polone. Secolul al XVI-lea, Bucharest, 1979
219
I. Corfus (ed.), Documente privitoare la istoria României culese din arhivele
polone. Secolele al XVI-lea şi al XVII-lea, Bucharest, 2001, pp. 1-141

Editions & Translations

Studies
V. Panaite, Pace, război şi comerţ în Islam. Ţările Române şi dreptul otoman
al popoarelor (secolele XV–XVII), Bucharest, 20132

Ş. Andreescu, ‘Presiune otomană şi reacţie ortodoxă în Moldova urmaşilor

lui Petru vodă Rareş’, Studii şi Materiale de Istorie Medie 27 (2009) 25-60

Pilat, Între Roma şi Bizanţ, pp. 219-49

Rezachevici, Cronologia critică, pp. 546-800

V. Panaite, The Ottoman law of war and peace. The Ottoman Empire and
tribute payers, Boulder CO, 2000

M. Maxim, L’Empire ottoman au nord du Danube et l’autonomie des

Principautés roumaines au XVIe siècle. É tudes et documents, Istanbul, 1999

M. Cazacu, ‘La chancellerie des principautés valaque et moldave (XIVe–

XVIIIe siècles)’, in C. Hannick (ed.), Kanzleiwesen und Kanzleisprachen im
östlichen Europa, Cologne, 1999, 87-127

E. Denize, Ţările Române şi Veneţia. Relaţii politice (1441-1541). De la

Iancu de Hunedoara la Petru Rareş, Bucharest, 1995, pp. 175-233

Pungă, Moldova în vremea lui Alexandru Lăpuşneanul, pp. 245-85

Iorga, Istoria Românilor, vol. 5, pp. 125-62

Iorga et al., Istoria Românilor, vol. 4, pp. 187-212, 242-313

220
M. Maxim, Ţările Române şi Înalta Poartă. Cadrul juridic al relaţiilor
româno-otomane în evul mediu, Bucharest, 1993

T. Gemil, Românii şi otomanii în secolele XIV–XVI, Bucharest, 1991

V. Ciobanu, La cumpănă de veacuri. Ţările Române în contextul politicii

poloneze la sfârşitul secolului al XVI-lea şi începutul secolului al XVII-lea,
Iaşi, Romania, 1991

G. Veinstein and M. Berindei, L’Empire ottoman et les pays roumains, 1544-

1545. É tude et documents, Paris, 1987

V. Ciobanu, Ţările Române şi Polonia. Secolele XIV-XVI, Bucharest, 1985

Andreescu, ‘Restitutio Daciae’

Ş. Simonescu, ‘Les pays roumains dans le projet de croisade (1517) du

Concile de Latran’, Revue Roumaine d’Histoire 18 (1979) 507-14

Şimanschi, Petru Rareş, pp. 85-161, 229-66

R. Constantinescu, Moldova şi Transilvania în vremea lui Petru Rareş.

Relaţiipolitice şi militare, Bucharest, 1978

Ş. Simionescu, ‘Ţările Române şi începutul politicii răsăritene antiotomane a

Imperiului Habsburgic (1526-1594)’, Revista de Istorie 28 (1975) 1197-213

D. Ciurea, ‘Relațiile externe ale Moldovei în secolul al XVI-lea’, Anuarul

Institutului de Istorie şi Arheologie ‘A.D. Xenopol’ 10 (1973) 1-46

M.K. Garidis, ‘La représentation des “nations” dans la peinture post-

bizantine’, Byzantion 39 (1969) 86-103

Giurescu, Ioan Vodă cel Viteaz

S. Ulea, ‘L’origine et la signification idéologique de la peinture extérieure

moldave’, Revue Roumaine d’Histoire 2 (1963) 29-71

G. Bezviconi, Contribuţii la istoria relaţiilor româno-ruse (din cele mai

vechi timpuri până la 1854), Bucharest, 20042, pp. 58-72
221
Minea, ‘Aron Vodă’

V. Motogna, Relaţiunile dintre Moldova şi Ardeal în veacul al XVI-lea, Dej,

1928

I. Ursu, Die auswärtige Politik des Peter Rareş, Fürst von Moldau (1527-
1538), Vienna, 1908

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1500-1550, 1550-1600
Thematic Region: Austria, Constantinople, Grand Duchy of Lithuania,
Hungarian Kingdom , Hungary, Moldavia, Ottoman Empire, Poland,
Wallachia
Related Historical People: Hungarians, Ivan IV, Ottomans, Selim I,
Süleyman the Magnificent
Dynasty/Ruling elite: Bathory, Habsburgs, Ottomans, Süleyman II
Genre & Source Type: Account of events, Diplomacy
Theme: Army, Battle at Mohacs, Cause of Good and Evil, Christian
ecumenics, Christian Leaders, Christian-Muslim warfare, Conquest of
Constantinople, Crusade, Diplomatic relations, Just war against the
Ottomans, Last Judgement, Ottoman conquests, Politics, Sins of the
Christians as the cause of military defeats, True religion
Social History: Conduct of Christian subjects of the Ottomans, Crusades,
diplomatic relations, Embassies, Islamisation, military history, Ottoman
culture and religious beliefs, Ottoman foreign policy, Peace treaties,
Rebellion, Warfare
Christians: Catholics, Greek Orthodox, Latins
Muslims: Ottomans

Radu G. Păun & Ovidiu Cristea

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222
 Eine Heerpredigt wider den Türcken
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts EDITIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Eine Heerpredigt wider den Türcken

‘Muster-sermon against the Turks’

Martin Luther

Date: 1529
Original Language: German

Description
This muster-sermon was written in the aftermath of the siege of Vienna in
1529. Its 37 pages (in the modern critical edition) are divided into two
distinct parts. The first half presents an apocalyptic interpretation of the rise
and expansion of the Ottoman Empire based on Luther’s exegesis of Daniel
7, where he interprets the Ottoman Empire as the historical manifestation of
the little horn that emerges on the head of the last great beast. For Luther, this
symbolises that the last days are near, but it does not mean Christians should
not take Turkish expansion seriously. In fact, throughout the second half of
the work he offers theological, spiritual and practical advice for Christians in
danger of becoming Turkish subjects. In short, he recommends Christians not
to flee but to stay and serve their Turkish masters faithfully in every respect
while, at the same time, remaining committed to the Christian faith.

Significance

223
Eine Heerpredigt is historically significant in that Luther perpetuates the
Christian exegetical tradition of assigning Islam a role in Christian
eschatology. This was to become a commonplace in the Lutheran tradition
for centuries after (see, inter alia, R. Barnes, Prophecy and gnosis, Stanford
CA, 1988). It is also significant for the history of Christian-Muslim relations,
for he gives practical advice about how Christians should conduct themselves
in a Muslim society.

Manuscripts
EDITIONS
Eine Heerpredigt widder den Türcken, Wittenberg, 1529

Eine herpredig wider den Türcke, Nuremberg, 1530

Ein heer predigt widder den Türcken, Marburg, n.d.

Eine Heerpredigt, Wider den Türcken, Wittenberg, 1541

Ein Heerpredig, Wider den Türcken, Strasbourg, 1542

Kriegssbuch, Frankfurt am Main, 1573, pp. 342-52

Heerpredigt D. Martin Luthers, wider den Türcken, 1593

224
Die ‘Antiturcica Lutheri’, Leipzig, 1596, pp. 106-97

Der ‘Ottomannus Theologicus’, Eisleben, 1601

Dr. Martin Luthers Heerpredigt wider den Türken, Leipzig, 1826

Martin Luthers politicsche Schriften, Leipzig, 1868, pp. 109-48

D. Martin Luthers Werke. Schriften, vol. 30/2, Weimar, 1909, pp. 149-97 (on
the numerous collected editions of Luther’s writings in which this appears,
see p. 154)

C.B. Brown et al. (eds), Luther’s works, vol. 56, St. Louis MO, forthcoming

Editions & Translations

Studies
Ehmann, Luther, Türken und Islam

Francisco, Martin Luther and Islam

Miller, ‘Luther on the Turks and Islam’

225
J. Baldwin, ‘Luther’s eschatological appraisal of the Turkish threat in
Eine Heerpredigt wider den Türken’, Andrews University Seminary Studies
33 (1995) 185-202

Bobzin, Der Koran im Zeitalter der Reformation

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1500-1550
Thematic Region: Austria, Germany, Hungary
Related Historical People: Ottomans
Dynasty/Ruling elite: Habsburgs, Ottomans
Genre & Source Type: Apologies, Exegesis
Theme: Advice for Christian captives of the Turks, The apocalyptic role of
the Ottoman empire
Social History: Conduct of Christian subjects of the Ottomans, Dervish
practices, Muslim religious beliefs
Christians: German Protestants (and Catholics)
Muslims: Ottomans

Adam S. Francisco
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Thomas. Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016
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226
 Vermahnung zum Gebet wider den
Türcken
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts MANUSCRIPTS EDITIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Vermahnung zum Gebet wider den Türcken

‘Appeal for prayer against the Turks’

Martin Luther

Date: 1541
Original Language: German

Description
This 40-page appeal was written at the request of the Saxon princes. The
Ottomans had recently occupied Hungary and war was inevitable. The
princes wanted Luther not only to appeal to Germans to pray for the
imminent conflict but also to build the morale of the people and encourage
those to whom the responsibility fell to take up arms for the defence of
Germany. Luther believed that war against the Turks should not be fought
without proper spiritual preparation, so he insisted that Germans in general
and soldiers in particular should prepare for war with the appropriate
repentance. To that end, he provided instructions for worship and prayers for
those affected by war with the Turks.

Significance

227
The Appeal for prayer against the Turk is invaluable for its insight into the
way Luther, his princes, and Germans in general thought about and reacted to
the Ottoman occupation of Hungary in the early 1540s.

Manuscripts
MANUSCRIPTS
MS Heidelberg, Universitätsbibliothek – Cod. Pal. Germ. 731 (1541)

EDITIONS
Vermanunge zum Gebet, Wider den Türcke n, Wittenberg, Augsburg,
Strasbourg, 1541

Vermanunge zum Gebet, Wider den Türcken, Wittenberg, 1542

Christlicher und kurtzer unterricht, Von vergebung der Sunde, und Seligkeit,
Wittenberg, 1542, D4b-E2a

Homiliae XXII sub incursionem Turcarum in Germaniam ad populam dictae,

Frankfurt, 1546

D. Martin Luthers Werke. Schriften, vol. 51, Weimar, 1914, pp. 577-625 (on
the numerous earlier collected editions of Luther’s writings in which this
work appears, see p. 582)

228
J. Pelikan et al. (eds), Luther’s works, vol. 43, Philadelphia PA, 1968, pp.
213-41

Editions & Translations

Studies
Ehmann, Luther, Türken und Islam

Miller, ‘Luther on the Turks and Islam’

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1500-1550
Thematic Region: Austria, Germany, Hungary
Related Historical People: Ottomans
Dynasty/Ruling elite: Habsburgs, Ottomans
Genre & Source Type: Devotional
Christians: German Protestants
Muslims: Ottomans

Adam S. Francisco
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Francisco, Adam S.. " Vermahnung zum Gebet wider den Türcken." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor
David Thomas. Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016
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229
 Verlegung des Alcoran Bruder Richardi
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts EDITIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Verlegung des Alcoran

‘Brother Riccoldo’s refutation of the Qur’an’

Martin Luther

Date: 1542
Original Language: German

Description
Running to 124 pages, the modern critical edition of Luther’s works contains
the Latin text Luther used to translate Riccoldo da Monte di Croce’s Contra
legem Saracenorum, with the German text on the facing page. In his preface,
Luther makes it clear that he believed it was the best polemic against Islam
available (there were others available to him, such as Nicholas of
Cusa’s Cribratio Alcorani ), and he wanted to make it accessible to a general
German-speaking audience.

The translation is quite free; parts of it are abridged. In some places Luther
simplifies the scholastic arguments of the original, and in other parts he adds
his own coarse rhetoric. The whole translation is tailored for its audience, to
convince them of the theological weakness and absurdity of Islam. In
addition, Luther hoped the book would aid and serve in the apologetic
promotion of the Gospel as part of any potential German-Turkish religious
dialogue.

230
Significance
The translation brought one of the most influential and informed medieval
polemics against Islam to a German audience, and almost certainly
influenced the way its readers thought about Islam and the theology of the
Qur’an.

Manuscripts
EDITIONS
Verlegung des Alcoran Bruder Richardi, Prediger Ordens, Anno. 1300,
Wittenberg, 1542

Kurtzer Innhalt Des Gotteslästerlichen Alcorans, und Religion der Türcken,

Rudelstadt, 1664

K urtzer Innhalt Des Gotteslästerlichen Alcorans, und Religion der Türcken,

Nuremberg, 1684

D. Martin Luthers Werke. Schriften, vol. 53, Weimar, 1919, pp. 261-396 (on
other collected editions of Luther’s writings in which this appears, see p. 270)

J. Ehmann (ed.), Ricoldus de Montecrucis Confutatio Alcorani (1300).

Martin Luthers Verlegung des Alcoran (1542) (Corpus Islamo-Christianum
6), Würzburg, 1999

C.B. Brown et al. (eds), Luther’s works, vol. 60, St Louis, 2011, 251-66
(Preface and afterword only)

Editions & Translations

Studies
Ehmann, Luther, Türken und Islam
231
Francisco, Martin Luther and Islam

Ehmann (ed.), Ricoldus de Montecrucis Confutatio Alcorani

Bobzin, Der Koran im Zeitalter der Reformation

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1500-1550
Thematic Region: Austria, Germany, Hungary
Related Historical People: Ottomans
Dynasty/Ruling elite: Habsburgs, Ottomans
Genre & Source Type: Polemics
Theme: Refutation of the Qurʾān
Social History: Muslim religious beliefs
Christians: German Protestants, German Protestants (and Catholics)
Muslims: Ottomans

Adam S. Francisco
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Thomas. Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016
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232
 Martini Lutheri Doctoris Theologiae et
ecclesiastis ecclesiae Wittenbergensis in
Alcoranum Praefatio
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts EDITIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

PraefatioVorrede zu Theodor Biblianders Koranausgabe

‘Preface to the Qur’an by Martin Luther, Doctor of Theology and priest of
the church of Wittenberg’

Martin Luther

Date: 1543
Original Language: Latin

Description
This is a short four-page preface that Luther wrote for Theodore Bibliander’s
edition of the Qur’an. It was written to alleviate any apprehensions Christians
might have about reading a heretical text. Luther especially encourages
teachers of the Church to become familiar with the teachings of the Qur’an,
and also presents what he considers the most basic points a Christian should
know about Islam: that it is a theological innovation devised by Muḥammad,
and it undermines the Gospel.

Significance
The most significant thing about this preface is the context in which it was
drafted. After convincing the city council of Basel that they should permit the
233
Swiss Reformed humanist theologian Theodor Bibliander and his publisher
Johannes Oporinus to print the medieval translation of the Qur’an by Robert
of Ketton, Luther drafted it for inclusion in Bibliander’s large compendium
of texts on Islam. It therefore played some role in shaping how readers of the
work thought about Islam.

Manuscripts
EDITIONS
Machumetis Saracenorum principis, eiusque successorum vitae ac doctrina,
ipseque Alcoran, Basel, 1543 (only appears in one of the editions)

D. Martin Luthers Werke, vol. 53, Weimar, 1919, 561-72 (for information on
the numerous reproductions, see pp. 269-70)

Henrich and Boyce, ‘Martin Luther. Translations of two prefaces on Islam’

C.B. Brown et al. (eds), Luther’s works, vol. 60, St. Louis MO, 2011, pp.
286-94

Editions & Translations

Studies
Ehmann, Luther, Türken und Islam

Henrich and Boyce, ‘Martin Luther. Translations of two prefaces on Islam’

Francisco, Martin Luther and Islam

Bobzin, Der Koran im Zeitalter der Reformation, pp. 153-56

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1500-1550
Thematic Region: Austria, Germany, Hungary
Genre & Source Type: Preface
Christians: European Christians
234
Adam S. Francisco
Cite this page

Francisco, Adam S.. " Martini Lutheri Doctoris Theologiae et ecclesiastis ecclesiae Wittenbergensis in Alcoranum Praefatio."
Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David Thomas. Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02
February 2016 <http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-ii/martini-lutheri-doctoris-theologiae-
et-ecclesiastis-ecclesiae-wittenbergensis-in-alcoranum-praefatio-COM_27908>

235
 Vorwort zu dem Libellus de ritu et
moribus Turcorum: Martinus Lutherus
lectori pio
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts EDITIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Vorwort zu dem Libellus de ritu et moribus Turcorum

‘Foreword to the Book on the ritual and customs of the Turks: Martin Luther
to the pious reader’

Martin Luther

Date: 1530
Original Language: Latin

Description
This short, four-page preface explains why Luther had the work to which it
was affixed, George of Hungary’s Libellus de ritu et moribus Turcorum,
published. He wanted to make sure his readers had the most accurate
information on the Turks that was available at the time, rather than some of
the hyperbolic polemical material he had apparently read. Interestingly, in the
preface Luther gives a hint of fair-mindedness towards the Turks, and even
offers qualified praise for them and for the seriousness with which they
attend to their religion. In the end, though, he explains that he was publishing
the Libellus so that Christians would not mistake Islam for an aberrant form
of Christianity should they encounter its claims or culture.

236
Significance
This little preface appeared in what has been described as the best European
source on Turkish culture in the late Middle Ages. It was published under the
direction of Luther in Wittenberg for the purpose of informing Germans
about the customs and religious beliefs and practices of the Turks.

Manuscripts
EDITIONS
Libellus de ritu et moribus Turcorum, Wittenberg, 1530

Chronica und beschreibung der Türcken, Nuremberg, 1530

Ursprung des Turkischen Reichs, Wittenberg, 1538

Zween brief, Einer D. Doctoris Martini Luther…von der Turcken Historien

P. Jovii, Halle, 1542

Machumetis Saracenorum principis, eiusque successorum vitae ac doctrina,

ipseque Alcoran, Basel, 1543

D. Martin Luthers Werke. Schriften, vol. 30/2, Weimar, 1909, 198-208 (on
the numerous collected editions of Luther’s writings in which this appears,
see p 204)

C.B. Brown et al. (eds), Luther’s works, vol. 59, St. Louis MO, 2012, 255-62

Editions & Translations

Studies
Ehmann, Luther, Türken und Islam

237
Francisco, Martin Luther and Islam

S. Henrich and J.L. Boyce, ‘Martin Luther. Translations of two prefaces on

Islam: Preface to the Libellus de ritu et moribus Turcorum (1530) and
Preface to Bibliander’s edition of the Qur’ān’, Word and World 16 (1996)
250-66

Georgius de Hungaria, Tractatus de moribus, condictionibus et nequicia

Turcorum, ed. R. Klockow, Cologne, 1994, pp. 57-60

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1500-1550
Thematic Region: Ottoman Empire
Related Historical People: Ottomans
Dynasty/Ruling elite: Ottomans
Genre & Source Type: Preface
Social History: Ottoman culture and religious beliefs
Christians: European Christians
Muslims: Ottomans

Adam S. Francisco
Cite this page

Francisco, Adam S.. " Vorwort zu dem Libellus de ritu et moribus Turcorum: Martinus Lutherus lectori pio." Christian-Muslim
Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David Thomas. Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016
<http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-ii/vorwort-zu-dem-libellus-de-ritu-et-moribus-
turcorum-martinus-lutherus-lectori-pio-COM_27909>

238
 Mahometis Abdallae filii theologia
dialogo explicata
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts MANUSCRIPTS EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Mahometis...theologiaCompendium Alcorani;, Epitome Alcorani

‘The theology of Muḥammad’

Johann Albrecht von Widmanstetter; Johann Albert Widmanstetter;

Hans Albrecht Widmannstetter; Johannes Albertus Widmanstadius;
Widmestadius; Johann Albrecht Widmanstadt; Johann Albrecht
Widmannstätter; Lucretius; Oesiander

Date: 1543
Original Language: Latin

Description
Mahometis...theologia extends to 117 printed pages (its title in full is
Mahometis Abdallae filii theologia dialogo explicata, Hermanno
Nellingaunense interprete. Alcorani epitome Roberto Ketenense Anglo
interprete, ‘The theology of Muḥammad, son of ʿAbd Allāh, explained
through a dialogue, translated by Hermann of Nellingen. Abridgement of the
Qur’an, translated by the Englishman Robert of Ketton’; references here are
to Munich Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Res/4 A. or. 1590, which was
presumably printed in Nuremberg). It contains the following texts: 1.
Dedication to Duke Ludwig X of Bayern-Landshut, dated Landshut, 15
January 1543; 2. Letter to the Nuremberg printer Johannes Otto; 3.
Mahometis...theologia (23 pages, b recto-d iv recto); 4. Alcorani epitome (60

239
pages, pp. d iv verso-m ii recto); 5. Widmanstetter’s annotations to
Mahometis...theologia (11 pages, pp. n recto-o ii recto); 6. Vita Mahometi (3
pages, o ii verso-o iii verso); 7. Widmanstetter’s annotations to Alcorani
epitome (14 pages, pp. o iii verso-q ii recto).

In the Dedication, Widmanstetter explains that he was moved to publish the

book in order to preserve the state from ‘religious revolutions’ and to show to
those who notice similarities between Islam and Christianity that Islam is full
of lies and impiety, and should be resisted as firmly as the religion of the
Jews.

In his letter to the printer, he gives some details about the texts that follow.
About the Theologia, he says he used a manuscript from Byzantium, and
adds that he once saw another exemplar in the library of Faustus Sabeus (d.
1559, poet and papal librarian; cf. Levi della Vida, Ricerche, p. 113, n. 1).
While the Byzantine codex did not bear the name of its translator, the other
attributes the translation to a certain Hermann of Nellingen. About
the Epitome, Widmanstetter says that it is a summary of the four books of the
Qur’an made by a Muslim who is not clearly identified, which was translated
into Latin by Robert of Ketton and mentioned by Nicholas of Cusa in
Cribratio Alcorani. He adds that he saw exemplars of the Theologia and
Epitome in Wrocław and in the Pera quarter of Constantinople.
Widmanstetter promises the printer to deliver a translation of the whole
Qur’an.

Mahometis...theologia, the Latin translation of Masāʾil ʿAbdallāh ibn

Salām made by Herman of Carinthia for Peter the Venerable in 1143, and
part of the Corpus Islamolatinum (formerly known as collectio Toletana),
was printed by Bibliander in Basel in 1543. Widmanstetter’s text is not
precisely identical with that of Bibliander, containing some omissions and
stylistic variants. These were probably due to Widmanstetter himself: the
‘mixed form’ of the translator’s name as Hermann of Nellingen (from the
first name Hermann of Carinthia plus Widmanstetter’s place of birth) could
be a hint to this ‘translating synergy’ between Hermann and Widmanstetter
across four centuries (Bobzin, Koran, p. 333 n. 308). There are at least two
other manuscripts connected with Widmannstetter’s text (MS Venice,
Biblioteca Marciana – 4662, and MS Milan, Biblioteca Ambrosiana – R 113
sup), but it is difficult to establish the relationship between these and the
240
printed text. In Widmanstetter’s edition, numbers appear in the margin,
corresponding to the annotations later in the work.

Alcorani epitome, presented as a summary of the Qur’an, is divided into

four orationes Arabum, which correspond to a division of the Qur’an into
four books that was known among Western scholars in the 15th and 16th
centuries (it is also mentioned by Juan Andrés and Guillaume Postel). The
first oratio appears to have three sub-chapters, leges de homicidis, de
matrimoniis and resurrectionis modus, though this is a mistake of the editor,
who printed as titles (in capital letters in the centre of the line) what are, in
fact, no more than concise summaries of single Qur’an verses. In the oratio
secunda and tertia, two further titles introduce inserted passages that do not
belong to the Qur’an but are inspired by other works in the Corpus
Islamolatinum, such as Peter the Venerable’s summula brevis, the Chronica
mendosa et ridicula Saracenorum, De generatione Mahumet et nutritura
eius and Doctrina Mahume t itself (Bobzin, Koran, pp. 347-8). Apart from
these insertions, what is here presented as a summary of the Qur’an in the
form of continuous prose text in fact derives from a qur’anic table of contents
like the one in MS Dresden, Sächsische Landesbibliothek – 120b; see
Burman, Reading the Qur ʾ ān, pp. 98-110). This table of contents, which
Burman defines as non-polemical, because it passes over some of the
passages familiar in anti-Islamic polemic and is more objective in its
descriptions, lost the form of a table at a certain point and was organised in
continuous form as a summary. For the interpolations from the other works
listed above, Burman hypothesizes similar tables of contents, now lost, that
found their way into this Epitome. In addition to Widmanstetter’s edition,
the Epitome is found in five manuscripts: those from Venice and Milan that
are connected with Mahometis...theologia, and also MS Paris, BNF – Lat.
3671, MS Vienna, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek – Cod. Pal. Vindobon.
11879 [Theol. 186] (well described by Burman, Reading the Qur ʾ ān, pp. 99
n. 76, 145-47), and MS Padua, Pontificia Biblioteca Antoniana – Scaff. X
207. Again, it is difficult to determine the relation between the manuscripts
and the printed edition.

The short account tells about Muḥammad’s parents, his marriage with
Khadīja, and his hiding in a cave for two years where he prepared himself for
every fraud. After he freed the slave Zayd on condition that Zayd believed he

241
was a messenger and prophet, he made the same promise to Christian and
Jewish slaves, so that conversion to Islam was seen as a new beginning and a
way to solve political problems by Christians and Syrians. Khadīja used her
influence to convince the people of Mecca, although there were some who
accused Muḥammad of being a magician and liar, and of writing the Qur’an
himself on the basis of what he took from Christian and Syrian slaves and
from the Syrian monk Sergius (a mention of Philo Alexandrinus at this point
could explain why the work was bound with Philo’s work in the exemplar in
the Pomeranian Library). After ten years, the people of Mecca conspired to
kill or imprison him, so he fled to Medina and lived there for 13 years. As he
could not persuade the Jews of Medina to join him because they would not
believe in his ‘dreams’ and his laws, which were fashioned in line with his
lust, he defeated them in battle and later defeated the people of Mecca as
well. He died a painful death at the age of 63. He continuously updated his
law over 23 years. He had his ‘verses’ written down on paper and collected
them in a box, and after his death they were organised and divided into four
books by Ozmanes (ʿUthmān), which is why the Qur’an appears to be so
confused.

Widmanstetter makes 47 annotations to the Theologia and 73 to the Epitome.

Some of these are polemical, pointing out the differences between Islam and
Christianity, while others are more objective, explaining the passages they
refer to without any explicit polemical purpose. Many establish parallels with
the ‘occultae Hebraeorum theologiae interpretes’, ‘Thalmudistae’ and
‘Cabbalistae’, Jewish exegetical traditions, sometimes pointing out that
Muḥammad misunderstood them. Some entries are numerological, while
others establish further parallels between Cabbalists and Greek culture. The
references to the Cabbalists are so many that Widmanstetter feels the need to
justify their use at the end of the book, saying that in them can be found the
actual explanation of Jewish lies, Christian heresies and Muḥammedan
fickleness. This remark also reveals that the struggle against Christian heresy
(i.e. the Protestants) is part of the annotations, with at least the same
importance as the fight against Islam and Judaism. This is well exemplified in
an annotation (Epitome, XXXVIII) about the doctrine of Purgatory, refusal to
accept which, as in the case of the Protestants, would lead to moral
corruption.

242
Significance
This work can be described as the Catholic pendant to the ‘Protestant’ Qur’an
of Bibliander. It offers an important depiction of the historical situation of
political instability and religious controversy in Widmanstetter’s time, not
only between religions but also within Christianity between Catholics and
Lutherans. Bobzin (Koran, pp. 7, 330) argues convincingly that the book was
written not only to avert the Turkish and Jewish dangers, but also to show the
‘affinities between the new “heresy” of the Lutherans and the old one of the
“Mahometistae”’ (Bobzin, Koran, p. 7), which was not uncommon among
Catholic humanists. This did not pass unnoticed by the Lutherans themselves.
The book seems, in fact, to have been an object of censure, and it could not
be published in its intended form, as is shown by a handwritten note on the
title page (Codex iste librariorum culpa et senatus Norimbergensis iussu
depravatus fuit maxime ubi Lutheranorum haeresis attingi videbatur) and
another at the beginning of the annotations to the Theologia, p. nv, (Quae
sequuntur ad hoc signo, a librario Senatus Norimbergensis iussu
praetermissa fuere). Incidentally, these notes are good evidence that the book
was printed in Nuremberg.

The annotations, which are most original part of the work, are very important
for their hints at the connections between the qur’anic text and the Jewish
cultural heritage; Bobzin (Koran, p. 335) says that Widmanstetter is one of
the first Western intellectuals to have a clear conception of the relationship
between Judaism and Islam, and that this aspect of
Widmanstetter’s scholarly activity definitely deserves further study. The
work was less widely circulated and popular than Bibliander’s edition of the
Qur’an, even though it was acknowledged as a possible competitor by the
Basel printer Johannes Oporinus (cf. Bobzin, Koran, p. 326) and as a work
critical of Protestants by Melanchthon, among others (cf. Bobzin, Koran, p.
360). Nevertheless, it contributed to shaping the Italian edition by Arrivabene
(Venice, 1547), which contains a translation of the annotations with
significant changes, and this also contributed to identifying the translator of
the Venetian Qur’an (cf. Tommasino, Alcorano, pp. 134-5, 196-202).
Widmanstetter’s ‘summary of the Qurʾān’ is also mentioned in the preface to
the German Qur’an of Salomon Schweigger. The theologian Theodor
Hackspan (1607-59) mentions it in his work Fides et leges Mohammoedis

243
exhibitae, while in his edition of the Sefer Niṣṣaḥōn he uses Widmanstetter as
a reference for the polemical argument that the Qur’an is rooted in Judaism.
The latest trace of the continuing influence of this work of Widmanstetter’s
seems to be present in an addition to the Specimen Alcorani quadrilinguis by
Andreas Acoluthus (1654-1704; see Bobzin, Koran, p. 362).

Manuscripts
MANUSCRIPTS
MS Paris, BNF – Lat. 3671 (16th century)

MS Milan, Biblioteca Ambrosiana – R 113 sup (16th century)

MS Vienna, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek – Cod. Pal. Vindobon. 11879

[Theol. 186] (16th century)

MS Venice, Biblioteca Marciana – 4662 (16th century)

MS Padua, Pontificia Biblioteca Antoniana – Scaff. X 207 (16th century)

EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS

O. de la Cruz Palma, ‘Vita Mahometi Widmestadii’,
http://grupsderecerca.uab.cat/islamolatina/sites/grupsderecerca.uab.cat.islamo
latina/files/Vita%20Mahometi%20Widmestadii.pdf (with an annotated
edition of the Milan MS)

Scanned version of Gdańsk, Pomeranian Library – Cc 12457 8° adl.

1,http://pbc.gda.pl/dlibra/docmetadata?id=1203&from=&dirids=1&ver_id=&
lp=1&QI=6892FA2057DB7BE08AD8277A6A27CFED-1 (this exemplar is
bound with Philonis Alexandrini [...] omnes quae [sic] apud Graecos et
Latinos extant libri, Basel, 1538)

244
Scanned version of Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek – Res/4 A. or. 1590,
http://dfg-viewer.de/v3/?set[mets]=https%3A%2F%2F2.zoppoz.workers.dev%3A443%2Fhttp%2Fdaten.digitale-
sammlungen.de%2F~db%2Fmets%2Fbsb00086337_mets.xml

C. Ferrero Hernández, Universidad Autonoma Barcelona, is currently

preparing a critical edition and Spanish trans. of the Liber de doctrina
Mahumet. A team composed of Reinhold Glei, Ulisse Cecini and Concetta
Finiello is also working on a critical edition and German trans. of the Latin
Doctrina Mahumet, which takes account of Widmanstetter’s version, as well
as of the Arabic text from which the Doctrina was translated, the Masāʾil
ʿAbdallāh ibn Salām

Portions of the work are published in the studies listed below, especially
Bobzin, Koran, pp. 323-63

Editions & Translations

Studies
C. Ferrero Hernández, ‘La traducción latina de Hermann de Carinthia del
Masa’il Abdallah b. Salam’, in A. Musco and G. Musotto (eds), Coexistence
and cooperation in the Middle Ages, Palermo, 2013, 557-67

C. Ferrero Hernández, ‘La contribución de Johann Albrecht Widmanstetter

(1506-1557) a la controversia islamolatina’, in J.J. Caerols (ed.), Religio in
labyrintho, Madrid, 2013, 157-65

P.M. Tommasino, L’alcorano di Macometto, Bologna, 2013

U. Cecini, Alcoranus Latinus. Eine sprachliche und kulturwissenschaftliche

Analyse der Koranübersetzungen von Robert von Ketton und Marcus von
Toledo, Münster, 2012, (particularly pp. 79-80 with description of MS Milan,
Biblioteca Ambrosiana – R 113 sup)
245
P.M. Tommasino, ‘Leer a Maquiavelo, traducir el Corán. Muḥammad,
príncipe y legislador en el Alcorano di Macometto (Venecia, 1547)’, Al-
Qanṭara 33 (2012) 271-96

C. Ferrero Hernández, ‘Difusión de las ideas islámicas a partir del Liber de

doctrina Mahumet’, in C.E. Prieto Entralgo (ed.), Asturiensis Regni
territorium. Documentos y estudios sobre el período tardorromano y
medieval en el noroeste hispano, vol. 3, Oviedo, 2011, 191-204

T.E. Burman, Reading the Qurʾān in Latin Christendom, 1140-1560,

Philadelphia PA, 2007, pp. 98-110 (with descriptions of the Paris and Milan
MSS)

R.J. Wilkinson, Orientalism, Aramaic and Kabbalah in the Catholic

Reformation. The first printing of the Syriac New Testament, Leiden, 2007,
pp. 137-69

H. Bobzin, Der Koran im Zeitalter der Reformation. Studien zur

Frühgeschichte der Arabistik und Islamkunde in Europa, Beirut, 1995, pp.
323-63

F. Secret, Les kabbalistes chrétiens de la renaissance, Milan, 19852 (first

edition Paris, 1964)

R. Glei, Petrus Venerabilis. Schriften zum Islam, Altenberge, 1985

G. Levi della Vida, Ricerche sulla formazione del più antico fondo dei
manoscritti orientali della Biblioteca Vaticana, Vatican City, 1939

G.F. Pijper, Het boek der duizend vragen, Leiden, 1924

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1500-1550
Thematic Region: Arabia, Mecca, Medina
Related Historical People: Muhammad, Peter the Venerable, Robert of
Ketton
Genre & Source Type: Biographies, Biography of Muhammad (sira),
Heresiography, Legends and myths, Polemics, Quran commentaries, Quran
246
translation, Refutations, Theological Compendia
Theme: Afterlife, Anti-Jewish polemic, Anti-Muslim polemic, Biblical
Prophets, Christian anti-Jewish polemic, Christian descriptions of Islamic
doctrine, Christian exegesis of the Quran, Christian portrayal of Muhammad,
Christian writings on Judaism, Christology, Divine sonship of Jesus, Intra-
Christian polemic, Torah, Translation of Quran
Christians: Catholics

Ulisse Cecini
Cite this page

Cecini, Ulisse. " Mahometis Abdallae filii theologia dialogo explicata." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor
David Thomas. Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016
<http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-ii/mahometis-abdallae-filii-theologia-dialogo-
explicata-COM_26557>

247
 In Danielem Prophetam commentarius
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

In Danielem Prophetam commentarius

Commentary on the Prophet Daniel

Philip Melanchthon

Date: 1543
Original Language: Latin

Description
When Melanchthon’s commentary on Daniel appeared, Europe had been
living with the Turkish threat for more than 100 years. Marching westward,
they had taken Thessalonika in 1430 and Otranto in 1480. Advancing through
the Balkans, they were at the gates of Vienna in 1529. This terrifying menace
prompted numerous publications. Juan Luis Vives published De conditione
vitae Christianorum sub Turca, and Luther Vom Kriege wider die Türken in
1529. In the same year, Erasmus wrote his Consultatio de bello Turcis
inferendo, publishing it a year later. Many other writings, including popular
tracts, songs and poems, appeared at the time. As Melanchthon wrote and
published his commentary on Daniel more than ten years later, the Turkish
threat was still fully occupying the minds of northern Europeans. In the 1543
edition, the commentary is 397 pages long, preceded by a Dedicatory epistle
and an introductory Argumentum.

The Turkish threat fitted perfectly into the prophetic material that appears in
the second half of the Book of Daniel, which can fundamentally be divided

248
into two parts (chs 1-6 focusing on history and chs 7-12 on prophecy).
Accordingly, while different approaches to the Ottomans were taken by
different individuals, Melanchthon’s emphasis here rests squarely on the
apocalyptic. The full title of his commentary includes the phrase, ‘in which is
described the great corruption existing in our age and the end of the Turkish
cruelty’ (in quo seculi nostri status corruptissimus, & Turcicae crudelitatis
finis describitur), which, given the historical context in which he wrote,
comes as no surprise.

In expounding Daniel ch. 7, Melanchthon commences by asserting that here

Daniel begins to prophesy concerning the vision of the coming kingdoms,
Christ’s advent, and the battle the Church will find herself in at the end of the
age. These themes fill his treatment of the second half of Daniel.

Developing and elaborating upon an already existing strand of Christian

exegetical tradition, including Luther, Melanchthon treats the Turks in
relation to the Antichrist. In his reading, the Turks are part of a dual threat of
the Antichrist along with the pope. This can be understood without the need
for careful investigation, because Melanchthon makes this assertion explicitly
in several places. As he sees it, these two threats are represented in various
parts of Scripture, such as the Book of Revelation ch. 13, which speaks of
two beasts arising from the land and from the sea. He also mentions Gog and
Magog, who are spoken about in Ezekiel ch. 38.

Melanchthon is not interested in predicting the date of the end of the age; he
keeps speculation to a minimum. His application of Daniel is focused more
on strengthening the faith of believers, who should know that the things
occurring in their day have been foretold by God, so they should place their
faith in God knowing that all is in God’s hands.

Significance
Melanchthon’s decision to take up a prophetic text such as the Book of
Daniel, and to interpret it apocalyptically, are both significant. While he
could not be called an important apocalyptic voice, he was nonetheless a
major intellect who was respected throughout Europe for his learning. His
exposition of Daniel fits quite neatly into a humanist style of biblical
interpretation. His learned warning of the coming threat to the Church of the
249
Ottomans sounded a sober note throughout Europe, and developed thought on
Antichrist in a manner that was adopted and developed by numerous
Lutheran exegetes, preachers, and theologians.

Manuscripts
EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS

In Danielem prophetam commentarius, Basel, 1543

Opera quae supersunt omnia, ed. C.G. Bretschneider and H.E. Bindseil in
Corpus Reformatorum, vols 1-28, Halle, 1834-60 (In Danielem prophetam
commentarius is in vol. 13)

Supplementa Melanchthoniana, 5 vols, Leipzig, 1910-29

Werke in Auswahl, ed. R. Stupperich, 9 vols, Gütersloh, 1951-75

STC (Short Title Catalogue) USTC 665439 (lists the locations where editions
are available)

Electronic editions:

http://www.prdl.org/author_view.php?a_id=9

http://www.melanchthonedition.com/

http://www.melanchthon.com/Melanchthon-
Akademie/Wissenschaft_und_Forschung/Melanchthon_im_Internet.php

The complete works of Melanchthon from the Melanchthonis opera database

(Corpus Reformatorum) edition and the Supplementa Melanchthoniana are
available in DVD format from Instituut voor Reformatieonderzoek,
Apeldoorn, The Netherlands

Editions & Translations

Studies

250
G. Hobbs, ‘Pluriformity of early Reformation scriptural interpretation’, in M.
Sæbø (ed.), Hebrew Bible, Old Testament, vol. 2. From the Renaissance to
the Enlightenment, 2008, 452-511, pp. 495-6

B. McGinn, Anti-Christ. Two thousand years of the human fascination with

evil, New York, 2000

M. Köhler, Melanchthon und der Islam - Ein Beitrag zur Kl ä rung des Verh
ä ltnisses zwischen Christentum und Fremdreligionen in der
Reformationszeit, Leipzig, 1938 (repr. Hamburg, 2013)

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1500-1550
Related Historical People: Erasmus van Rotterdam, Martin Luther
Genre & Source Type: Commentaries

Jon Balserak
Cite this page

Balserak, Jon. " In Danielem Prophetam commentarius." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David
Thomas. Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016
<http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-ii/in-danielem-prophetam-commentarius-
COM_29008>

251
 Praemonitio ad lectorem, preface to
Theodor Bibliander’s Machumetis
Saracenorum principis eiusque
successorum vitae, doctrina ac ipse
alcoran
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Praemonitio
‘Warning to the reader’

Philip Melanchthon

Date: 1543
Original Language: Latin

Description
Melanchthon’s preface, which he calls a ‘warning (praemonitio)’, served to
introduce Bibliander’s edition of the Qur’an. Produced at a time when Europe
perceived herself to be under the dark cloud of aggressive Ottoman
expansion, Bibliander’s publication was controversial and required support to
make it to the publisher. The character of this fear is captured in
Melanchthon’s title. In his eyes, as in those of much of Europe, the threat
posed by the Turks was apocalyptic in character. Many in European
Christendom understood the advancing Turkish army as a sign of the end of
the age, the coming of Christ, and the final judgement.
252
In this short preface, Melanchthon depicts the Turks as casting away the
revelation of God and replacing it with the words of Muḥammad. He insists
that the revelation associated with Islam is blasphemous and completely at
odds with the true Gospel. It spits blasphemies at the Lord Jesus Christ and
declares nothing about the forgiveness of sins. He continues for some time
declaring how wicked and diabolical the religion of the Ottomans is, insisting
that it contains nothing but impious fables and was authored by the devil
himself.

While Melanchthon mentions in this preface the prophecy in the second half
of the Book of Daniel, he does not treat the Turkish menace as apocalyptic as
he does in his In Danielem prophetam commentarius. Rather, his preface is
written in a fairly simple style, and focuses primarily on basics about the
wicked contents of the Qur’an. His overall aim seems to be to discuss the
ideas of Islam so as to lead one to the conclusion: ‘You see therefore, pious
reader, the errors and kingdom of Muḥammed are condemned by the clear
word of God (Vides igitur, pie lector, clara uoce Dei damnatos esse
Mahometi errores ac regnum).

That fact notwithstanding, as Gregory Miller points out, Melanchthon notes

that not everything in the Qur’an is wholly unsound. He regards Islam as a
religion informed by natural law and by ideas found in Judaism, Christianity,
and ‘pagan’ beliefs, mentioning specifically in this preface ancient Egyptian
religion—the mention of which in such a short preface is intriguing, given its
general tone.

Significance
It is difficult to ascribe profound significance to the contents per se of
Melanchthon’s preface. That being said, it played its part well as an
introduction to Bibliander’s publication. It was part of the intercessory efforts
of a number of leading reformers and scholars, including Martin Luther
himself, by which they urged the Basel magistrates to allow the work to be
printed and published.

Manuscripts
EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
253
Machumetis Sarracenorum principis vita ac doctrina omnis, quae &
Ismahelitarum lex, & Alcoranum dicitur: ex Arabica lingua ante 400 annos
in Latinam translata, nuncque demum ad gloriam Domini Iesu, & ad
Christianae fidei confirmationem, doctorum ac piorum aliquot virorum,
nostraeque a deo religionis orthodoxae antistitum studio & authoritate, velut
è tenebris in lucem protracta atque edita: quo volumine perlecto, pius &
studiosus lector fatebitur, librum nullum potuisse vel opportunè vel
tempestivè magis edi hoc rerum Christianarum & Turcicarum statu. Adiectae
quoque sunt Annotationes, Confutationes, Sarracenorum ac rerum
Turcicarum à 1400 annis ad nostra usq. tempora memorabilium historiae, ex
probatissimis autoribus tum Arabibus, tum Latinis & Graecis, quorum
catalogum v ersa in singulis tomis pagina prima reperies. Item, Philippi
Melanchthonis, viri doctissimi praemonitio ad lectorem, cum primis pia &
erudita. Theodori Bibliandri, sacrarum literarum in Ecclesia Tigurina
professoris, viri doctissimi pro Alcorani editione Apologia, multa eruditione
& pietate referta, lectuque dignissima: quippe in qua multis ac validiss.
argumentis & vitilitigatorum calumniis respondetur, & quam non solum
utilis, se & necessaria hoc praesertim seculo sit Alcorani editio, Basel:
Johannes Oporin and Nikolaus Brylinger, 1543

Machumetis saracenorum principis, eiusque successorum vitae, doctrina, ac

ipse Alcoran: his adiunctae sunt Confutationes multoru., & quidem probatiss.
authorum, Arabum, Graecorum, & Latinoru., unà cum doctiss. uiri Philippi
Melanchthonis praemonitione: adiuncti sunt etiam De Turcarum, siue
Sarracenorum / haec omnia in unum volumne redacta sunt, opera & studio
Theodori Bibliandri, s.n., 1550

Théodore Bibliander, Le Coran, ed. H. Lamarque, Les mondes humanistes

(GRAC - UMR 5037), 2010 (includes Melanchthon’s preface),
https://sites.univ-lyon2.fr/lesmondeshumanistes/wp-
content/uploads/2010/09/Le-Coran-latin-de-Bibliander1.pdf

STC (Short Title Catalogue) USTC 674630 (lists locations where editions are
available)

Editions & Translations

Studies
254
G. Miller, ‘Theodor Bibliander’s Machumetis Saracenorum principis eiusque
successorum vitae, doctrina ac ipse alcoran (1543) as the sixteenth century
“Encyclopedia” of Islam’, Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations 24 (2013)
241-54

J. Ehmann, Luther, Türken und Islam. Eine Untersuchung zum Türken-und

Islambild Martin Luthers (1515-1546), Gütersloh, 2008

T. Burman, Reading the Qurʾan in Latin Christendom 1140-1560,

Philadelphia PN, 2007

V. Segesvary, L’Islam et la Réforme. É tude sur l’attitude des Réformateurs

zurichois envers l’islam, 1510-1550, San Francisco CA, 1998

R. Barnes, Prophecy and gnosis. Apocalypticism in the wake of the Lutheran

Reformation, Stanford CA, 1988

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1500-1550
Genre & Source Type: Preface

Jon Balserak
Cite this page

Balserak, Jon. " Praemonitio ad lectorem, preface to Theodor Bibliander’s Machumetis Saracenorum principis eiusque
successorum vitae, doctrina ac ipse alcoran." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David Thomas. Brill Online,
2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016 <http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-
relations-ii/praemonitio-ad-lectorem-preface-to-theodor-biblianders-machumetis-saracenorum-principis-eiusque-
successorum-vitae-doctrina-ac-ipse-alcoran-COM_29009>

255
 De Turcarum in regno Hungariae
annorum MDXLIII. et XLIV. successibus
ad Guilielmum et Michaelem Martinum
Stellam fratres epistolae quatuor
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts MANUSCRIPTS EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Epistolae Quatuor
‘Four Letters about the Ottomans’ successes in the Kingdom of Hungary in
1543 and 1544, to his brothers Guilielmus and Michael Martinus Stella’

Johannes Martinus Stella; Jean-Martin Stella, Stern, de Lestoile,

Lestoile, l'Étoile; Johann Martin Stella, Steller

Date: 9 August 1543–10 May 1544

Original Language: Latin

Description
In 1543, Süleyman the Magnificent appeared in Hungary in person. The
conquest of Valpó, Siklós, Székesfehérvár and Esztergom secured the region
between the heartland of the Ottoman-occupied zone and the important
military road running from Buda to Esztergom on the right bank of the
Danube. By conquering several smaller but strategically important cities and
forts in the following two years, the Pasha of Buda created a ring of strong
points around his capital, the heart of Ottoman Hungary.

256
In his four letters (also known under the titles Exemplaria literarum de
Thurcarum in regno Hungaria, praeteriti et praesentis anni successibus and
De vastato Ungariae regno, 1543–1544), Ioannes Martinus Stella touches
upon the military endeavours of the years 1543 and 1544, when he was in the
imperial army camp in Altenburg. These letters were not written expressly
for literary purposes but were actually rough drafts, containing many
mistakes in the information and dates they give. They were addressed to
Ioannes’ brothers in Antwerp, Guilielmus and Michael Stella. Guilielmus had
them published in 1544, though he only included his own and Ioannes’
names. Michael himself inserted his own name when he had them reprinted
in revised form in Basel in 1556 (Monfasani, Nicolaus Scutellius, pp. 158-9).
In Schwandtnerus’s edition of 1748 the letters come to 20 pages.

A certain degree of literary arrangement can be detected in the letters, though

in the course of writing Ioannes’ emotions frequently run away with him, and
his accounts of military movements often become incoherent and
inconsistent. He repeatedly reflects on the reasons for the Turkish successes,
the questionable morality of Christian troops, and the cruel massacres that
took place after the Turkish capture of Christian strongholds.

In the first letter, Ioannes refers to the military events of the year 1543 that
led up to the siege of Esztergom on 26 July. The Turks captured one
stronghold after another, starting with Valpó in Bosnia. Its defenders gave in
when the Turkish army arrived, and all except the warden were slaughtered.
This was followed by the surrender of Pécs in southern Hungary without a
fight, and Soklós (viz. Siklós), which offered some resistance but finally
surrendered. The Turks did not assault the poor because they had nothing that
could be taken away, but they killed the rich for their property (ob
suspicionem praedae et divitiarum). Ioannes suggests that, because the
conquerors do not keep their promises (quantum fidei, Turcarum promissis
aut pactis sit adhibendum), there is no alternative to heroic resistance and
death (quam si pro patria certantes, gloriosam et honestam mortem
oppeterent).

The greater part of the second letter deals with the loss of Esztergom.
Although the defenders led by Franciscus Salamanca repelled many attacks
by the Turks, the tower, which contained the gunpowder, exploded during the
last assault. An Italian soldier went to negotiate, but Ioannes again describes
257
the Turkish cruelties. The second letter ends with the capitulation of Tata
without resistance and its devastation by the Turks.

At the beginning of the third letter, Ioannes concedes that the Turkish army is
superior to that of the Holy Roman Empire: they outclass the imperial
soldiers in expertise, patience and endurance (quanta peritia esset rei
militaris apud hostes, et quam longe nos, et scientia et patientia laborumque
tollerantia, superarent). He goes on to refer to the Italian commander,
Annibale Tasso, who abandoned the castle of Tata and was later beheaded in
Komárom. After demolishing Tata, the Turks turned against Székesfehérvár
and, although the defenders resisted bravely, the Turks’ strength and courage
finally prevailed (sed superatis nostris, et multitudine et virtute hostium).
Süleyman granted free and honourable retreat to the defenders and civilian
population, but the leading citizens were nevertheless killed inside the city a
few days later (Turca, nullius pacti aut conventionis religione motus, ad
unum omnes interfecit). At the end of this letter Ioannes relates the activities
of Hayreddin Barbarossa and his fleet off Marseilles in their assistance to
France, as well as the questionable conduct of Pope Paul III. The letter closes
with a description of the discord in the Christian camp at Altenburg.

In the fourth letter, from Speyer in 1544, Ioannes gives an account of the
imperial army’s disbanding at the end of 1543, the Diet of Besztercebánya
(present-day Banská Bystrica) in 1543 and the Diet of Prague in 1544, as
well as the surrender of Visegrád in the spring of 1544 and the fortification of
Vienna. The defenders of Visegrád had stipulated a free withdrawal, but the
Turks did not honour this agreement and all except the warden of the castle
were killed.

Significance
While the Battle of Mohács in 1526 had most serious political consequences,
only the final loss of Buda in 1541 and the Turkish campaigns in 1543 and
1544 made permanent the territorial fragmentation of the central lands of the
Hungarian Kingdom. Many contemporary sources report on the ‘wars of the
castles’ in 1543 and 1544, although they are often inconsistent in what they
describe. Ioannes Martinus Stella writes about the military successes of the
Turks from a Christian point of view, and in some instances he examines the
reasons for them. His letters are remarkable in this respect, since he is frank
258
about the lack of virtus on the Christian side, while he does not disregard the
horrific cruelty of the Muslims, especially the Turkish and Tartar soldiers.
Although his descriptions are inaccurate in some places, his letters are a
source of prime importance when they are read carefully.

European public opinion was very interested in events in Hungary in the 16th
century. Although Ioannes obtained his information at second-hand, he was
able to report the events of the Turkish wars with the authenticity of a
witness. His letters proved very popular in published form, and were
translated into French only one year after they were first published in 1544.

Manuscripts
MANUSCRIPTS
The MSS used for the preparation of the printed editions are lost.

EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS

Unauthorized edition of some of the letters (Antwerp?), 1543 or 1544,
apparently lost (first edition?)

Exemplaria literarum Ioannis Martini LL. doct. de Thurcarum in regno

Hungariae praeteriti et praesentis anni successibus, Antwerp, 1544, 24
leaves (A4–F4) (editio princeps)

G. de Bossozel (ed.), Les nouvelles & discours de la guerre faicte & yssue
par les Turcs au Royaulme de Hongrie, Paris, 1545, 32 unnumbered leaves
(French trans.)

259
J. Herold (ed.), Laonici Chalcondylae Atheniensis de origine et rebus gestis
Turcorum libri decem, Basel, 1556, pp. 604-27 (edition)

S. Schardius, Historicum opus [Scriptores rerum Germanicarum], Basel,

1574, vol. 2, pp. 1555-78 (edition)

P. Lonicerus et al. (eds), Chronicorum Turcicorum, in quibus Turcicorum

origo, principes, imperatores, bella, praelia..., Frankfurt am Main, 1578, vol.
2, pp. 226-46 (edition)

P. Lonicerus et al. (eds), Chronicorum Turcicorum, in quibus Turcicorum

origo, principes, imperatores, bella, praelia..., Frankfurt am Main, 1584, vol.
2, pp. 161-85 (edition)

I. Melchior, Epistolae ex historicis, tam veteribus, quam recentioribus...,

Montebelgradi [Montbéliard], 1594, pp. 612-64 (edition)

N. Reusner, Epistolarum Turcicarum variorum et diversorum Authorem, libri

I–XIV, Frankfurt am Main, 1599, pp. 38-60 (edition)

[J. Bongarsius], Rerum Hungaricarum scriptores varii historici et

geographici, Frankfurt am Main, 1600, pp. 423-38 (edition)

I.G. Schwandtnerus (ed.), Scriptores rerum Hungaricarum veteres ac

genuini, Vienna, 1746-8, vol. 1, pp. 603-22 (edition)

260
I.G. Schwandtnerus (ed.), Scriptores rerum Hungaricarum veteres ac
genuini, Trnava, Slovakia, 1765, vol. 2, pp. 355-91 (edition)

I.G. Schwandtnerus (ed.), Scriptores rerum Hungaricarum veteres ac

genuini, Vienna, 1768, vol. 2, pp. 263-89 (edition)

J. Monfasani, Nicolaus Scutellius, OSA, as Pseudo-Pletho. The sixteenth-

century treatise Pletho in Aristotelem and the scribe Michael Martinus Stella,
Florence, 2005, p. 161 (preface to the letters), pp. 161-3 (the last of the
letters)

P. Kulcsár (ed. and trans.), Krónikáink magyarul, Budapest, 2006, vol. 3, pp.
134-56 (Hungarian trans.)

Editions & Translations

Studies
I. Leder, Nachrichten über die Osmanen und ihre Vorfahren in Reise- und
Kriegsberichten: analitische Bibliographie mit Standortnachweisen 1095-
1600, Budapest, 2005, pp. 120-1, nos 98-102

J. Monfasani, Nicolaus Scutellius, OSA, as Pseudo-Pletho. The sixteenth-

century treatise Pletho in Aristotelem and the scribe Michael Martinus Stella,
Florence, 2005, pp. 157-60

P. Kulcsár, A magyar történeti irodalom lelőhelyjegyzéke a kezdetektől 1700-

ig, Budapest, 2003, p. 501

261
F. Szakály, ‘The early Ottoman period, including Royal Hungary, 1526-
1606’, in P.F. Sugar, P. Hanák and T. Frank (eds), A history of Hungary,
Bloomington IN, 1990, 83-99

E. Liptái, Magyarország hadtörténete, Budapest, 1984, vol. 1, pp. 175-76

E. Cockx-Indegeste, G. Glorieux, and B. op de Beeck, Belgica typographica

1541–1600. Catalogus librorum impressorum ab anno MDXLI ad annum
MDC in regionibus quae nunc Regni Belgarum partes sunt, Nieuwkoop,
1968-94, vol. 1, p. 361, no. 4423

J. Zoltán (ed.), Budapest történetének bibliográfiája, Budapest, 1967, vol.

1, pp. 518-19

C. Göllner, Turcica. Die europäischen Türkendrucke des XVI. Jahrhunderts,

vol. 1, Bucharest, 1961, p. 404, no. 860

J.D. Bánlaky, A magyar nemzet hadtörténelme, Budapest, 1940, vol. 13, pp.
187-217

A. Ballagi, Buda és Pest a világirodalomban, 1473–1711, Budapest, 1925,

vol. 1, p. 261, no. 546

S. Apponyi, Hungarica. Ungarn betreffende im Auslande gedruckte. Bücher

und Flugschriften, Munich, 1903-27, vol. 3, p. 179, no. 1739

J. Thury, Török történetírók, Budapest, 1896

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1500-1550
Thematic Region: Hungarian Kingdom
Related Historical People: Hungarians, Ottomans
Dynasty/Ruling elite: Habsburgs, Ottomans
Genre & Source Type: Letters
Theme: Christian-Muslim warfare

György Palotás
Cite this page

262
Palotás, György . " De Turcarum in regno Hungariae annorum MDXLIII. et XLIV. successibus ad Guilielmum et Michaelem
Martinum Stellam fratres epistolae quatuor." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David Thomas. Brill
Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016 <http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-
muslim-relations-ii/de-turcarum-in-regno-hungariae-annorum-mdxliii-et-xliv-successibus-ad-guilielmum-et-michaelem-
martinum-stellam-fratres-epistolae-quatuor-COM_26621>

263
 [Epistola] De perditione regni
Hungarorum
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts MANUSCRIPTS EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Epistola
'Letter on the downfall of Hungary', 'Letter'

György Szerémi

Date: Between 1546 and 1547

Original Language: Latin

Description
This account of the history of Hungary between 1456 and 1543 survives in a
single manuscript in the National Széchényi Library, Budapest. It is
described as an autograph in the library catalogue, though there is no
agreement about this; the manuscript may have been copied shortly after the
composition of the Epistola. The manuscript contains 134 folios, and the
edition by Gusztáv Wenzel comes to 401 pages (with many errors). A critical
edition is currently under preparation. It is disputed whether the Epistola
flebilis, added at the end of the manuscript, which repeats the account of the
battle of Mohács and the death of Louis II with some minor alterations, was
written by Szerémi or not. Some researchers hold the view that it was
composed by Miklós Tatai, a fellow-chaplain of Szerémi. The manuscript is
supposed to have belonged to the collection of Antal Verancsics, Archbishop
of Esztergom. When the codex was bound, several of the last pages were
mixed up, and some of these are missing from the Wenzel edition.

264
The genre of the Epistola is close to both historiography and memoire
literature, and although it was composed in the 16th century, it is influenced
by late medieval clerical scholarship rather than by humanism. Szerémi did
not use written sources, and his accounts are based on gossip and his own
experience so they are often unreliable. But he was not attempting to
document events with the ambition and accuracy of a professional historian.
The Epistola does not have a carefully designed structure, and only the first
third of the manuscript is divided into chapters, while the remaining part is
written without any division. In his edition, Wenzel introduced chapters, but
this is not followed by any of the translations. The contents of the work can
be described in three structural units.

The first unit (Wenzel, pp. 1-120) discusses the history of Hungary between
1456 and 1526. In this part, Szerémi includes stories that are not primarily
based upon his own experience but on vague oral tradition. As a result, the
reliability and accuracy of these descriptions is very questionable, and the
mistakes in them can be proved easily in many cases. The Epistola begins
with the conflict between Ladislaus Hunyadi (1431-57) and Ulrich II, Count
of Celje (1440-57), which leads to Ulrich’s murder by Hunyadi’s men and
Hunyadi’s beheading by order of King Ladislaus V. Shortly after this, King
Ladislaus is reported to have been drowned by Mihály Szilágyi (c. 1400-60),
although it is widely known that the king died of an illness in Prague.
Szerémi treats the reign of Matthias exhaustively, together with the fate of his
illegitimate son, John Corvinus and his family.

Despite the fictitious and incredible stories, this part of the work provides
much valuable information on Christian-Muslim relations. Szerémi presents
an authentic description of the affairs of Hungarian and Ottoman soldiers in
his frequent references to duels between them. He gives a more detailed
description of the duel between an Ottoman and György Székely, the future
leader of the peasants’ revolt in 1514, in which the Christian, the follower of
the true faith, wins. Such duels were regular in the frontier zone and provided
an opportunity for soldiers to prove their skills. Immediately after this,
Szerémi turns to the peasants’ revolt and highlights the fact that it began as a
crusade against the Muslims. The peasants turned overtly against their lords
only after the campaign had been called off, partly because the crusaders
were deprived of their promised indulgences when the holy war was

265
cancelled. A recurring theme in the first section of the Epistola is betrayals,
which for Szerémi means alliance with the Ottomans. In his view, the
Turkish occupation of Nándorfehérvár in 1521 was caused by the greed of
the Hungarian captains, who sold off the castle to the enemy. This and the
report that John Zápolya, voivode of Transylvania, allied himself with the
Ottomans, are strongly questionable. The author dedicates a longer account to
the Battle of Sremska Mitrovica (Szávaszentdemeter) against the Ottomans in
1523, which ended in a Hungarian victory. The first section is concluded by
the Battle of Mohács, in which the author did not participate personally, thus
explaining the inaccuracy of his description.

The second unit of the Epistola covers events from 1526 to 1534 (Wenzel,
pp. 121-345). In this part, Szerémi chiefly relies on his own experiences and,
as in the other units, the Ottomans do not play a prominent role here. The
author primarily focuses on the war of succession between Ferdinand
Habsburg and John Zápolya, while also relating his own personal
experiences. Owing to repeated military defeats in the first period of the war,
John Zápolya has no alternative but to flee to Poland, where he is followed by
Szerémi. Zápolya returns to Hungary only after signing the alliance treaty
with the sultan. From the perspective of Muslim-Christian relations, the most
valuable point is the meeting of John Zápolya and Süleyman I on the field of
Mohács in 1529, where the sultan assures Zápolya of his support in the war
against Ferdinand, and promises to help him regain the throne. Szerémi
remains in the company of Zápolya throughout the meeting, and provides a
careful description of the Ottoman camp and the atmosphere in the assembly.

Following Zápolya’s recapture of Buda with the assistance of the Ottomans,

Szerémi stays in the city with him. He reports that Ottoman auxiliary troops
were present in Zápolya’s entourage from 1529, and sees clearly that after
Zápolya’s appointment of the Venetian Lodovico Gritti (1480?-1534), a
favourite of the sultan, as the governor, the king’s power and independence
diminish. In the remaining part of the second unit, Szerémi deals with the
activity of Gritti in Hungary and his deepening conflict with the Hungarian
aristocrats.

After some silent years, the closing unit of the work (Wenzel, pp. 345-401)
continues the course of events from 1539. Szerémi relates the marriage of
Zápolya with Isabella Jagiellon (1519-59), a daughter of the Polish king, and
266
the birth of John Sigismund (1540-71), although many details are incorrect.
In Szerémi’s report, Zápolya is poisoned shortly after the birth of his son.
Szerémi attributes nearly all royal death to scheming, but in this case he was
incorrect. From this point on, Muslims play an important role again, and the
Epistola contains valuable details about relations with Muslims. At first,
Szerémi describes the siege of Buda in 1541 by Ferdinand’s forces under
Wilhelm von Roggendorf (c. 1481-1541). Queen Isabella and György Fráter,
guardian of the infant John Sigismund, ask for the sultan’s help. He breaks
the siege and takes possession of Buda, resorting to a stratagem. Isabella,
John Sigismund and György Fráter leave for Transylvania, but Szerémi stays
in Buda and lives there through the next unsuccessful German siege. He ends
his work with the Ottoman campaign in 1543. The sultan occupies
Székesfehérvár, which had recently turned away from Catholicism, and then
Esztergom. Szerémi depicts the sultan on these pages as quite tolerant to
Catholicism, but after his departure Ottoman officers showed a radically
different attitude towards Christians, resorting to brutal rape and butchery.

The appendix to the manuscript (Wenzel, pp. 402-10) contains three different
stories. The first discusses the confessions of two aristocrats, Imre Török and
Ambrus Sárkány, the second relates the capture of Vienna by Matthias
Corvinus, and the third is the Epistola flebilis, which covers the Battle of
Mohács and the alleged murder of King Louis II.

Significance
The importance of the Epistola lies in the person of the author himself. As a
court chaplain, György Szerémi was a member of the middle-ranking clergy,
and up to the time of the composition of the Epistola had not pursued
university studies. The knowledge he possessed had only been acquired in a
parish school. He was not affected by the humanism that characterized the
highest levels of education, and his attitude was not influenced by the ideals
and patterns of humanist literature. As a result, his work is far more personal
and vivid than books written by professional historians, since the reader can
get an insight into the unmapped way of thinking of a whole social class. Its
most important virtue does not lie in its accuracy, but in the fact that we can
get acquainted with the attitude towards the Muslims of a social group that
did not belong to the political and cultural elite.

267
It is true, however, that Szerémi’s viewpoint does not differ essentially from
the contemporary Christian approach. As a Catholic priest, he considers
Muslims as pagans and the enemies of Christianity. For him, the only true
belief is Catholicism, and he contrasts it sharply not only with Islam but also
with Protestantism. His position becomes crystal-clear when one reads the
passage describing the duel between György Székely and an Ottoman
warrior. Szerémi sees the victory of the Christian soldier over the ‘pagan’
Muslim as evidence of ‘the justice of the Christian faith’ (Wenzel, p. 57),
while the captains who converted to Islam after the alleged betrayal of
Nándorfehérvár had to die a gruesome death because God punishes those
who leave the Christian faith (Wenzel, p. 103). He also mentions the
Ottomans’ acts of wickedness, massacres and rapes against Christians. The
longest of these is the account of the year 1543, when, after Süleyman leaves
Hungary, Turkish soldiers who occupy Hungarian towns wreak terrible havoc
on Christians (Wenzel, pp. 399-400). However, despite Szerémi’s aversion to
Muslims, it is remarkable that he does not see Süleyman as an
unambiguously negative character. To a certain extent, this might be
explained by Szerémi’s experience of the sultan showing tolerance towards
Catholics (Wenzel, p. 396).

The Epistola also reports the attitude of John Zápolya and his court towards
their Ottoman allies, and the extent of the Turkish soldiers’ cultural influence
in Zápolya’s entourage. Despite this alliance, however, Christians around
Zápolya had a definite dislike of Muslims. This distrust must have been
mutual, because Ottoman soldiers did not respect Hungarian aristocrats
either, and rather listened to their own commanders. According to Szerémi’s
report, Muslim Ottomans and Christian Hungarians hardly ever
communicated with each other, both keeping their distance. He makes clear
that Hungarians adhered to their Christian faith, and Islam did not attract
them at all.

Furthermore, the well-known theme of the Ottomans being sent by God

against the Christians as retribution is also present, a recurrent topic among
Protestant preachers, who thought that the corruption of the Church was one
of the main sources of sin. This question is, however, judged by the Catholic
Szerémi in a totally different way. Although he also acknowledges the
immoral life of some prelates, for him the main sin of the Christians is the

268
Protestant separation from the true Church. He attributes the unsuccessful
German siege of Buda in 1542 to Lutheran soldiers being among the
besiegers (Wenzel, p. 375), and when Süleyman captures Székesfehérvár in
1543, he claims that the conversion of the citizens to Lutheranism contributed
to the quick fall of the town.

Finally, the Epistola reveals how much information contemporary Catholic

clergy had about Islam. Szerémi was evidently not well-acquainted with the
faith, because he does not mention the Qur’an or Muslim religious precepts at
all, though he is aware that Muslims regard Muḥammad as their prophet and
also revere Christ as a prophet. He writes that the Hungarians’ confiscation of
church property to finance their fighting was considered by Süleyman as an
offence against ‘the prophet Jesus Christ’ (Wenzel, p. 119). This is an
apparent invention, but the statement speaks for Szerémi’s awareness.

Although in many cases it cannot be used as a reliable source due to its

inaccuracies, the Epistola is a unique piece of literature, providing valuable
information about contemporary Christian-Muslim relations and the way of
thinking of those who were not well educated.

Manuscripts
MANUSCRIPTS
MS Budapest, National Széchényi Library – Fol. Lat. 4020, fols 1r-134v
(mid-16th century)

EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS

A. Gévay, ‘II. Lajos király halála. Egy kortárs előadása’ [Death of king Louis
II. Account of a contemporary], Tudománytár 8 (1840) 167-76 (fols 128v;
130v-132v)

269
G. Wenzel, Szerémi György II. Lajos káplánja emlékirata Magyarország
romlásáról 1484-1543 [Memoir of György Szerémi, chaplain of Louis II, on
the decay of Hungary], Pest, 1857 (this edition does not include the text of
manuscripts fols 130r-130v; 132v; 134r-134v)

J. Gyorgyevics, ‘Georgii Sirmiensis epistola de perditionum regni

Hungarorum’, Letopis Matice Srpske 98 (1858/1) 222; (1858/2) 1-72
(incomplete Serbian trans.)

K. Zilahy, ‘Szerémi György emlékirata’ [Memoir of György Szerémi],

Budapesti Szemle 10 (1860) 160-200 (Hungarian trans. of selected excerpts)

J. Mogyoróssy, Történelmi adatok Szerémi György emlékirataiból [Historical

facts from the memoirs of György Szerémi], Gyula, 1882 (Hungarian trans.
of selected excerpts)

L. Szádeczky, Szerémi György kiadásának hiányai [Errors in the edition of

György Szerémi], Budapest, 1894 (at the end, edition of fols 130r-130v;
132v; 134r-134v)

L. Erdélyi (trans.), A mohácsi vész kor a [The age of the Mohács-Bane],

Budapest, 1941 (Hungarian trans. except fols 130r-130v; 132v; 134r-134v)

L. Erdélyi and L. Juhász (trans.), Magyarország romlásáról [On the decay of

Hungary], Budapest, 1961, 19792 (Hungarian trans., except fols 130r-130v;
132v; 134r-134v)

270
M. Polgar (trans.), Poslanica o propasti ugarskog kraljevstva, Belgrade, 1987
(Serbian trans. of fols 1r-134v)

I. Bori, Szerémi György emlékirataiból [From the memoirs of György

Szerémi], Újvidék, 1996 (Hungarian trans. of selected fragments)

G.F. Farkas, ‘II. Lajos rejtélyes halála 2. [The death of Louis II]’, Magyar
Könyvszemle 117 (2001) 33-66 (at the end, edition of fols 130r-130v; 132v;
134r-134v)

Zs. Szebelédi, ‘Juhász László Szerémi-fordításának kézirati kérdései’ [Some

problems of the manuscript of László Juhász’s Szerémi – translation],
Magyar Könyvszemle 128 (2012) 260-2 (the Hungarian translation at the end
– fols 130r-130v; 132v; 134r-134v)

Editions & Translations

Studies
Zs. Szebelédi, ‘A zemet szó jelentése Szerémi György latin nyelvű művében’
[The meaning of the word ‘zemet’ in the Latin history of György Szerémi],
Magyar Nyelv 108 (2012) 470-3

Zs. Szebelédi, ‘Juhász László Szerémi-fordításának kézirati kérdései’ [Some

problems of the manuscript of László Juhász’s Szerémi – translation],
Magyar Könyvszemle 128 (2012) 256-62

D. Csorba, Mohács – egy ‘mesemondó’ szemével. Emlékezeti rétegek Szerémi

György Epistolájában [The battle of Mohács through the eyes of a storyteller.
Layers of memory in the Epistola of György Szerémi], Nyíregyháza, 2012

271
A. Bojtos, ‘Történelemszemlélet, folklór és obszervancia. Szerémi György és
a késő középkori magyar társadalmi tudat forrásairól’ [View of history,
folklore and observance. On the sources of György Szerémi and late
medieval social consciousness], Magyar Egyháztörténeti Vázlatok 3-4 (2011)
19-44

D. Csorba, ‘Un riferimento dantesco finora sconosciuto della letteratura

antica ungherese’, Rivista di Studi Ungheresi N.S. 10 (2011) 47-68

D. Csorba, ‘Szerémi György emlékezete’ [The memoir of György Szerémi],

in M. Balázs and Cs. Gábor (eds), Emlékezet és devóció a régi magyar
irodalomban, Kolozsvár, 2007, 447-56

J. Bessenyei, ‘Änderungen im Stadtnetz Ungarns in der Anfangsphase der

türkischen Besatzung, Unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der geflohenen
Bürger’, Sectio Philosophica 10 (2005) 3-20

I. Bori, ‘Utószó’ [Afterword], in I. Bori (ed.), Szerémi György emlékirataiból

[From the memoirs of György Szerémi], Újvidék, 1996, 85-105

E. Bartoniek, Fejezetek a XVI-XVII. századi magyarországi történetírás

történetéből [Chapters from the history of 16-17th century historiography in
Hungary], Budapest, 1975

L. Erdélyi, A mohácsi vész nemzedéke [Generation of the battle of Mohács],

Budapest, 1941

J.V. Vid, Szerémi György emlékiratának művelődéstörténeti adatai

[Historico-cultural details of the memoir of György Szerémi], Budapest, 1910

I. Acsády, ‘Verancsics Antal és Szerémi György’ [Antal Verancsics and

György Szerémi], Irodalomtörténeti Közlemények 4 (1894) 1-59

L. Szádeczky, Szerémi György kiadásának hiányai, [Deficiencies in the

Edition of György Szerémi], Budapest, 1894

L. Szádeczky, Szerémi György élete és emlékirata [The life and memoir of

György Szerémi], Budapest, 1892

272
L. Erdélyi, Szerémi György és emlékirata. Történelmi forrástanulmány
[György Szerémi and his memoir. Study of a historical source], Budapest,
1892

Gy. Dudás, ‘Szerb volt-e Szerémi? [Was Szerémi Serbian?]’, Századok

(1887) 462-4

Gy. Dudás, Szeréi György emlékirata. Történetkútfői tanulmány [The memoir

of György Szerémi. A critical study], Budapest, 1886

Gy. Dudás, ‘Szerémi György élete’ [The life of György Szerémi]’, Századok
(1886) 242-52

G. Wenzel, ‘Bevezetés’ [Preface], in Wenzel (ed.), Szerémi György II. Lajos

káplánja emlékirata Magyarország romlásáról 1484-1543 [Memoir of
György Szerémi, chaplain of Louis II, on the decay of Hungary], 5-34

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1450-1500, 1500-1550
Thematic Region: Hungary
Related Historical People: Hungarians, Matthias I Hunyadi, King of
Hungary, Ottomans
Dynasty/Ruling elite: Louis II. King of Hungary and Bohemia, Ottomans
Genre & Source Type: Chronicles/Histories
Theme: Battle at Mohacs, Christian-Muslim warfare
Christians: Christians
Muslims: Sunnis

Zsolt Szebelédi
Cite this page

Szebelédi, Zsolt. " [Epistola] De perditione regni Hungarorum." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David
Thomas. Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016
<http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-ii/epistola-de-perditione-regni-hungarorum-
COM_26384>

273
 Mande
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Tripče de Utolče
-

Marin Držić; Marino Darsa

Date: After 1547, probably between 1549 and 1551

Original Language: Croatian with Turkish and Latin idioms

Description
The original title of Držić’s comedy has not survived, and it is known by the
names of the main characters. Mande (short for Magdalena) is the wife, and
Tripče is her husband (diminutive of Triphon, the name of the patron saint of
the coastal town of Kotor, today in Montenegro, where the play takes place).
It was lost for many centuries, and did not appear in print until 1875.

The Turk Mustafa appears in Act 4, scene 1, and Act 5, scene 4. He turns out
to be Mande’s lost brother whom the Turks had kidnapped at sea. He
eventually explains that his real Turkish name is Mahmud, and his original
Christian name was Frančesco. But before his identity is revealed he is one of
Mande’s suitors, bringing him into conflict with the character of Chris
(Krisa), and occasioning the utterance of ripe language. He uses a mixture of
Croatian terms and Turkish swear words, e.g. sidigim (my friend), ćopek
đidisi (köpek gidisi, 'son of a bitch'), haramzada ('forbidden', ‘bastard’) and
so on. He also employs epic formulas (‘my shiny saber’, ‘slender spear’,
‘heroic horse’) and typically Petrarchan phrases: ‘What? He'll defend that my

274
heart does not want one of the fairies of the mountain, that my mouth does
not boast, does not celebrate her black eyes, the red hair, white face, yellow
(ugh!) breasts…?‘; ‘O my splendid morning star, have mercy, your slave
dies!’. He is a comical character, at once belligerent and overbearing, and
also helpless and smitten by love. He is intended to show the ridiculousness
of Petrarchan conventions, and also the Ottoman tyrants.

Significance
Before Držić, the Ottoman Turks were not portrayed in the theatre in
Dubrovnik, though afterwards the figure of the ‘Turk’ remained a major
feature in Croatian poetry and popular epics until the occupation of the
Republic by Napoleon in 1808.

Manuscripts

Editions

Djela M. Držića [Works of Marin Držić], Zagreb, 1875, 19302 (Mande is

found on pp. 166-98)

Marin Držić, Djela [Works], Zagreb, 1979

Editions & Translations

Studies
Leksikon Marina Držića (see entries on Mande, Tripče, Turčin)

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1500-1550, 1550-1600
Genre & Source Type: Drama

Zvonko Pandžić
Cite this page

275
Pandžić, Zvonko. " Mande." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David Thomas. Brill Online, 2016.
Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016 <http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-
ii/mande-COM_29107>

276
 Epistola ex Turcia
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Epistola ex TurciaEin schrifft eines fromen Predigers aus der Türckey

'Letter from the Turkish Empire'

Imre Eszéki Szigeti

Date: 3 August 1549

Original Language: Latin

Description
On 3 August 1549, Emericus Zigerius, Lutheran preacher of Tolna in the
sanjak of Pecs-Mohács in Ottoman Lower Hungary, wrote a letter to his
former teacher, Matthias Flacius Illyricus, in Wittenberg, who published it in
1550 in both in Latin and German (its full title isEpistola cvivsdam pii
concionatoris, ex Turcia, ad M. Illy. missa, qualis nam status Euangelij, &
Ecclesiarum sub Turco sit indicans, cum Praefatione Illyrici). The Latin text
comprises no more than 14 pages, of which seven are taken up with Flacius’s
preface and some of his polemical poems, and only five with the actual letter.
Almost half of the text deals with Ottoman power from a Christian
perspective. The imprint date of the Latin text is 1549, but that seems to be an
error. Wrong spellings of personal and geographical names indicate that
Zigerius had drafted the letter in a South-Slavic language that was translated
by the Croatian Flacius into Latin. Zigerius wrote the letter in the style of St
Paul’s missionary correspondence in Galatians 1-2 (Kaufmann, Das Ende der
Reformation, p. 289).

277
The letter aims to bear witness to Zigerius’s evangelical life and his pious
deeds in a Protestant manner. He therefore explains the various stages of his
activities. After studying in Wittenberg for one year, he returned to Tolna
where he had earlier been a teacher. Two weeks later, he moved to
Kálmáncsa and persuaded the local teacher Máté Endericus as well as the
entire community to convert to Lutheranism. Later, he relocated to
Vörösmart for two years and nine months. During this period, in Lásko, he
worked out a doctrinal agreement with Michael Sztáray, the most important
Hungarian church reformer after Matthias Dévai (Varga, ‘Kirchen,
Peregrination und Schulbildung’, p. 38; Kaufmann, Das Ende der
Reformation, p. 289). In late 1548, he moved again to Tolna where he
founded the Protestant Latin school, which was attended by 60 students and
300 lay persons. He instructed the students primarily about Lutheran doctrine
and thus came into conflict with the Catholic clergy and authorities. A
senator of the Catholic magisterium named Richter accused him before the
Ottoman financial administrator (defterdar), and demanded his execution or
at least expulsion from Tolna. It was Kasım pasha himself, the beylerbeyi of
the province of Buda (Eyālet-i Budin), who refused this demand and
discharged Zigerius. Kasım pasha instead accused the magistrate and allowed
Lutheran preaching in Tolna.

The beylerbeyi apparently declared the Lutheran faith to be the true Christian
religion. Although this may be Zigerius’s very optimistic interpretation of
Ottoman politics in Hungary, the Muslim power often pragmatically
supported denominations according to their local relevance, a religious policy
aimed at avoiding conflicts and suppressing turmoil.

At the end of the letter, Zigerius praises himself for spreading true Lutheran
faith right down to the Hungarian borders on the rivers Danube and Sava. He
also complains about Catholics in Lower Hungary and invites German
theologians to come and fill the vacant parishes there.

Significance
The letter took a whole year to reach Flacius, and at the time of writing
Zigerius had not been aware of the complicated situation in Germany that
followed the Lutheran defeat in the Schmalkaldic war (1546-7). He asked
Flacius to pass on his regards to Melanchthon, not knowing that Flacius had
278
by now begun disputing with Melanchthon about the Lutheran heritage.
Flacius opposed any compromise, and moved to Magdeburg, where a small
group of theologians were convinced they were the real heirs of Luther.
There, he made use of Zigerius’s accounts of the confessional change in
Ottoman Lower Hungary, and particularly his references to Christians
appealing to Ottoman authorities, to show their pragmatic behaviour towards
the Muslim power. He also cited the example of the Ottoman toleration of
Lutheran religious practices to blame the Christian authorities for suppressing
the true religion.

Manuscripts
EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
Epistola cuiusdem pii concionatoris, ex Turcia ad M. Illyricum missa, qualis
nam status Evangelii et ecclesiam sub Turco sit, indicans, cum praefatione
Illyrici, Magdeburg, 1549 [1550]

Ein schrifft/ eines fromen Predigers aus der Türckey/ an Jllyricum

geschrieben/ Darinnen angezeiget wird/ wie es dort mit der Kirche vnd dem
Euangelio zugehet, Magdeburg, 1550

F. Hortleder, Der Römischen Keyser- Vnd Königlichen Maiestete, Auch des

Heiligen Römischen Reichs Geistlicher vnnd Weltlicher Stände, Churfürsten,
Fürsten, Graffen, Reichs- vnd anderer Stätte ... Handlungen vnd
Auszschreiben, Send-Brieffe ... vnd viel andere treffliche Schrifften ... Von
den Vrsachen des Teutschen Kriegs Käiser Carls des Fünfften, wider die
Schmalkaldische Bundts Oberste Chur- und Fürsten ... Anno 1546. und 47,
Frankfurt, 1617, p. 1106-9

J. Ribini, Memorabilia Augustanae confessionis in regno Hungariae, Tomus

I. A Ferdinando I. usque ad III., Posonii [Bratislava], 1787, pp. 89-94

Editions & Translations

Studies
Varga, ‘Kirchen, Peregrination und Schulbildung’, p. 38

279
Jembrih, ‘Mirko Ciger i Matija Vlačić Ilirik’

Kaufmann, Das Ende der Reformation, pp. 286-93

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1500-1550
Thematic Region: Germany, Hungary, Ottoman Empire
Related Historical People: Matthias Dévai, Michael Sztáray
Dynasty/Ruling elite: Ottomans
Genre & Source Type: Letters
Theme: acculturation, churches, Eschatology, True religion
Social History: Churches, Clergy, Muslim influence on Christianity
Christians: Christians

Harald Bollbuck
Cite this page

Bollbuck, Harald. " Epistola ex Turcia." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David Thomas. Brill Online,
2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016 <http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-
relations-ii/epistola-ex-turcia-COM_26231>

280
 Bol’shaia chelobitnaia
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts MANUSCRIPTS EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Vtoraia chelobitnaia; , Pervaia chelobitnaia

‘Greater petition’

Ivan Semenovich Peresvetov, Ivashko son of Semen Peresvietov, Iwan or

John Pereswetoff

Date: About 1549

Original Language: Old Russian

Description
Two petitions to Tsar Ivan IV of Muscovy (r. 1533-84) bearing the name
‘Ivashko son of Semen Peresvietov’ have survived. As one of them is
significantly longer than the other, it is customary in historiography to refer
to them as the ‘Big’ and ‘Small’, or ‘Greater’ and ‘Lesser’ petitions. (The
alternatives, ‘First’ and ‘Second’ petitions, are better avoided, as they
sometimes refer to the order of appearance in manuscripts and sometimes to
the order of presentation to the tsar.) Both petitions state that they were
written 11 years after the author arrived in Muscovy. On the basis of internal
evidence and comparison with other texts, they can be roughly dated to 1548-
50. Most scholars accept that they were delivered to the tsar in 1549, the
‘Lesser’ before the ‘Greater’. (For a discussion of the main issues involved in
dating the petitions, see Zimin, I.S. Peresvetov i ego sovremenniki, pp. 266-
70.) Their authenticity has been challenged but is now commonly accepted
(see the biography above).

281
Peresvetov’s apparently earlier ‘Lesser’ petition is concerned primarily with
his own plight, and includes significant autobiographical data. The ‘Greater’
petition is a kind of political tractate as well as a repeated personal plea. It
consists of approximately 4,300 words. The most recent edition, by Kagan-
Tarkovskaia, covers ten printed pages and is based on a manuscript (BAN
33.7.11) in which the text is spread across 54 pages. The ‘Greater petition’ is
unusual in that virtually the entire discourse is placed in the mouth of Peter
(Petru) IV Rareș of Moldavia (r. 1527-38, 1541-46), whom Peresvetov for
some reason terms ‘the voivode of Wallachia’, and the text is peppered with
indications of this attribution: ‘And so said Petr, voivode of Wallachia....
Thus says Petr, voivode of Wallachia.... So also says Petr, voivode of
Wallachia... Petr, voivode of Wallachia, says with great tears...’. According
to Peresvetov’s account in this text, but oddly absent from the ‘Lesser
petition’, he himself had served under Peter for five months prior to
immigrating to Muscovy. It is not entirely clear why Peresvetov chose to
speak through Peter in the ‘Greater petition’, but it may be in response to a
perceived need to appeal to a foreign Orthodox Christian authority. Given the
nature of Peresvetov’s argumentation, a Byzantine source would not have
been suitable (for reasons explained below).

The ‘Greater petition’ repeats many of the themes in Peresvetov’s other

major work, the ‘Tale of Sultan Mehmed’. However, the message seems to
have been ‘softened’ and made more palatable for a Russian Orthodox
Christian audience. Moreover, the author addresses himself throughout to
Tsar Ivan, making this text explicitly about the Muscovite rather than the
Byzantine or Ottoman Turkish Empire. In addition, he urges the conquest and
conversion of neighbouring Muslim states. Due to the lateness of the
manuscripts, which date from some 80 years after the presumed time of
composition, the question of whether these elements formed part of
Peresvetov’s original conception remains very much open. These aspects of
the ‘Petition’ differ notably from the perspective expressed in the ‘Tale’,
despite the obvious commonality of basic content. Textual incongruities do
suggest that the petition attributed to Peresvetov was at least modified and
supplemented, if not systematically reworked, in the process of transmission.

The ‘Petition’ seems more rambling than the ‘Tale’, but highlights many of
the same motifs (using a somewhat different approach) and may in fact be

282
just as consciously structured. Near the opening of the ‘Petition’, the
Christian Voivode Peter (rather than the Muslim Sultan Mehmed) explains
that justice/truth (pravda) is what gives joy to the heart of God and great
wisdom to the ruler. Throughout the text, it is Peter who gives instruction
about Byzantine and Ottoman government and shares advice about how Ivan
should rule. The overall framing is provided by Peresvetov’s declaration that
he has brought with him to Moscow several collections of wise sayings from
the various countries where he has sojourned. He attributes the sayings to
‘Greek philosophers’, ‘Latin doctors’, and Peter of Moldavia. The tone in the
‘Petition’ is quite different from that of the ‘Tale’: Peter describes how the
Greeks (i.e., Byzantines) failed to stand firmly against the ‘infidels’, and as a
result many are now compelled to convert to Islam. He speaks of the crying
and mourning of parents as their seven-year-old children are taken from them
to serve the sultan – a reference to the devşirme that would certainly engender
sympathy among an Orthodox Christian audience. In the ‘Tale’, by contrast,
the janissary troops thus ‘recruited’ were held up as an example of the
sultan’s great wisdom.

The ‘Petition’ is also much more clearly an attempt to curry favour with Tsar
Ivan and/or to promote his image. As in his two short ‘Predictions of
philosophers and doctors’, Peresvetov informs Ivan of the great esteem in
which he is reportedly held among ‘wise people’ abroad. Foreign
philosophers and doctors have been greatly impressed with heavenly omens
and other signs of Ivan’s divine calling, and this is why they wanted him to
have their wise sayings, to write them out ‘in gold’, and eventually to pass
them on to his successors. Peresvetov writes that he arrived with these
sayings 11 years ago from Lithuania, wanting to serve the tsar, much as his
own claimed ancestors (Peresvet and Osliabia) served the tsar’s forebears. He
reports that the philosophers and doctors predict great glory for Ivan, similar
to that of Caesar Augustus or Alexander the Great. They have heard of his
great wisdom, and of how he brings God great joy by establishing justice
(pravda) throughout his realm. In brief, Ivan is a matchlessly ‘terrible’ or
‘awesome’ (groznyĭ) and wise sovereign.

Peresvetov then cleverly transitions to his own story by saying that both
Augustus and Alexander rewarded humble warriors who came to them with
military inventions. Similarly, Peresvetov himself has come bearing the

283
design for a special shield. However, (as recounted in the author’s biography)
his protector has died and he has been left without attachment and in an
uncertain situation. In addition to his attempts to manufacture military
equipment, Peresvetov has also given the tsar books of wisdom but has
apparently received nothing for his pains and heard nothing in response. He
asks the tsar to return these valuable books if they do not please him.

Next, the author mentions his service in Suceava under Voivode Peter.
According to Peresvetov, Peter speaks every day about Ivan’s empire and its
key role in strengthening Christendom. He prays for Ivan and Muscovy, that
they will be protected from the infidel and from heresies. These most
dangerous ‘heresies’ seem to consist of offences familiar to readers of the
‘Tale of Sultan Mehmed’: corruption and greed on the part of magnates who
‘enrich themselves by the tears and blood of the Christian race’ (note the shift
from 'the human race’ of the ‘Tale’), and widespread violation of sworn
oaths. Not surprisingly for readers of the ‘Tale’, Peter now lauds Mehmed
(Makhmet-saltan) for establishing justice and wisdom in his empire. He gives
a brief précis of some of the points expounded in the ‘Tale’. Notably,
however, he calls Mehmed an ‘infidel’ (neviernyĭ), although describing him
as acting in a manner pleasing to God and in accordance with scripture (in
establishing a justice system that renders ‘to each according to his deeds’,
Romans 2:6).

As if not wanting to stray far from the main point, Peresvetov has Peter
immediately return to the topic of Ivan himself and the prophecies about his
great wisdom and justice. He further reveals that the Russian magnates are
false to God and the tsar, as they are lazy, corrupt, greedy, and unwilling to
fight unwaveringly for the Christian faith (viera). As in the ‘Tale of Sultan
Mehmed’, the reader learns that the rich are by the nature of their
circumstances simply not motivated to fight. The author then applies the
‘wisdom’ explained in the ‘Tale’ to Muscovite Russia, proposing specific
methods for collecting revenue and supporting the army, as well as
maintaining discipline and executing justice. ‘Peter’ wants Ivan to maintain a
standing army of 20,000 elite soldiers to resist the Crimean Tatars. He claims
that ‘these 20,000 will be better than 100,000’ troops collected in the usual
manner.

284
Peter picks up on another theme of the ‘Tale’ and other works attributed to
Peresvetov: the unjust situation in the final years of the Byzantine Empire
under Constantine XI Palaeologus, and how it led to capitulation to the
Ottoman Turks. Here in the ‘Petition’, however, stress is placed on the
pitiable fate of the Byzantine Christians, who live as slaves of the sultan and
have to pay heavy obrok, and whose great nobles must even work in trade.
Weeping, Peter speaks of Russian Christianity and Tsar Ivan as providing the
only hope for Christians suffering ‘from the violence of the Turkish
foreigner-emperor’. He longs to know if justice (pravda) exists in that
Orthodox land. A Muscovite in his service, Vaska (Vas’ko, Vasiliĭ)
Mertsalov, reveals when questioned that Russia does indeed have the ‘good
Christian faith’ and ‘great ecclesiastical beauty’ – but justice is lacking. Peter
dejectedly responds: ‘If there is no justice, then there is nothing at all’ (Koli
pravdy niet, ino to i vsego nietu).

Unlike Peresvetov’s ‘Tale’, the discourse now suggests that true pravda may
not exist apart from the true faith. ‘Christ is the true pravda’, Voivode Peter
remarks: ‘Great is the Christian God.’ Mixed into the same passage are
refrains familiar from the ‘Tale’: justice is what gladdens the heart of God;
‘nothing is stronger than justice in the divine Scriptures’; God favours and
does not destroy any regime that practises justice. However, these phrases
have been given a different hue by the admixture of specifically Christian
content. Peter prays that God will preserve the Russian tsardom so that
Orthodox Christians will not be left – like Jews and Armenians – without an
independent state of their own. He goes further, expressing wonder that the
‘strong and pious’ Russian tsar continues to tolerate ‘his worst enemy’, the
Kazan khanate (Ivan IV will conquer Kazan in 1552 after a series of wars
lasting a decade and a half). Via a confused history of Ottoman-Byzantine
relations, the text’s ‘Peter’ then inverts completely the presentation in
Peresvetov’s ‘Tale’: here Sultan Mehmed ‘of bandit stock’ is said to have
killed the ‘pious’ Emperor Constantine and destroyed the ecclesiastical
beauty of Constantinople. This reads more like a lament than a celebration of
God’s preference for justice.

The recursive remainder of the ‘Petition’ is similarly a curious admixture of

the ideas and programme expressed in the ‘Tale’ on the one hand, and on the
other the much more Christian slant put into the mouth of Peter. The main

285
cause of the collapse of the Byzantine Empire is repeated: the corruption and
‘heresy’ of the great lords, who enrich themselves by oppressing the
‘Christian’ (again not ‘human’) race. According to Peter, such people should
be burned with fire (as befits heretics). Moreover, the military should be paid
and maintained well; this is of the utmost importance. When the lords and tax
collectors grow rich, the warriors grow poor, injuring the state. Yet a tsar
cannot exist without his military, which should be like the host of heaven:
never resting, but always protecting and fighting for the ‘Christian’ (again not
‘human’) race. Soldiers should be promoted in accordance with their deeds;
slavery should be abolished. The Byzantine Empire was destroyed because of
pride and slavery, just as the Jews were scattered after they failed to
recognize Christ.

Interestingly, Mehmed II is again held up as a positive example, as in

Peresvetov’s ‘Tale’, but more briefly and with qualifications. The sultan is
said to have pleased God by asking for his help in establishing justice and by
instituting justice in his own realm. As in the ‘Tale’, references to ‘Adam’ in
the speech of Mehmed himself suggest a common heritage. The text informs
us that one God is over the whole world, and he loves justice (pravda) even
more than faith (vera). However, the ‘Petition’ is careful to mention that the
Muslim sultan was a ‘foreigner’ and ‘not a Christian’. He could please God
by introducing justice, but (in this account) his justice was not complete
without Christ.

Peter advises that Kazan should be conquered by paying warriors well and
sending them against the Muslim khanate to burn, kill, and enslave. This
strategy will also bring about divine assistance, he says. Moreover, the
conquered Muslims should be converted to Christianity to make the conquest
secure (‘Ashche vozmet ikh, da krestit, to i kriepko budet’). Peter professes
amazement that such a fruitful land, which his informants compare to
paradise, has not yet been conquered and annexed by Ivan. He recommends
doing this immediately (a proposal probably intended to please Ivan).

The petition ends on a personal note. Peresvetov again recounts how he has
served under Voivode Peter and acquired many wise sayings, including the
much-repeated predictions of glory for Ivan attributed to ‘philosophers and
doctors’. The author has now brought these edifying texts, as well as military
technology, as a service to the Muscovite tsar. Hoping for favour from Ivan,
286
Peresvetov asks in closing: ‘O sovereign, how does my humble service, that
of your slave, please you’ (Kak tebie, gosudariu, poliubitsia sluzhbishko moe
kholopa tvoego’)?

Significance
In the form in which it has survived, Peresvetov’s ‘Greater petition’ is not a
consistent text. It appears to be a rewriting of the ‘Tale of Sultan Mehmed’
with significant modifications designed to appeal to a Russian Orthodox
Christian readership. How many of these modifications were introduced by
Peresvetov himself, and how many should be attributed to other editors and
censors, is simply not known. However, the ‘Petition’ feels very much like an
attempted synthesis of the ‘Tale’ – a strikingly exceptional treatment of the
Muslim theme in the context of Muscovite Rus’ literature – with a much
more traditional Russian Christian approach. This compromise is not entirely
successful; textual ‘seams’ and inconsistencies seem rather evident. Mehmed
is alternately esteemed and disliked; slavery is alternately condemned and
advocated (and the author even refers to himself as a ‘slave’ of the tsar). The
repeated substitution of ‘Christian’ for ‘human’ completely transforms the
entire worldview expressed in the text from universalist to particularist.
Sultan Mehmed has some good qualities but is carefully termed a ‘foreigner’
(‘Other’). Yet at the same time, remnants of the universalist thinking remain:
references to ‘one God over all’ and to Adam, the father of the human race.
Justice is regarded as superior to faith; but actually true justice consists in
having the right faith. Muslims can please God as Muslims; but they should
be forcefully converted to Christianity. And so forth.

Hence, although the ‘Greater petition’ is perhaps Peresvetov’s most-cited

work, it should be attributed to him only with caution and with significant
qualifications. The text manifests strong evidence of alterations carried out
under pressures exerted by traditional Muscovite society. It may be that
Peresvetov himself accomplished this revision, replacing Muslim ‘Mehmed’
with Orthodox Christian ‘Peter’ as his main narrator and instructor. This in
itself would already make the text much less cutting and offensive to
Christian sensitivities. Peresvetov may also have decided that Peter should
advocate (Orthodox) Christianity and not only justice/truth (pravda), should
bewail the conquest of 1453 and the plight of Christians under Ottoman rule,

287
and should promote the conquest of Tatar regimes. However, the possibility
that another author/editor carried out major revisions of Peresvetov’s original
text, or perhaps even forged it by using the ‘Lesser petition’ and the ‘Tale of
Sultan Mehmed’ as sources, should not be excluded. The content of
Peresvetov’s text should also be compared to the Kazanskaia istoriia (‘Kazan
chronicle’; see the entry in this volume) of the 1560s, which treats some
similar themes.

The main significance of the ‘Greater petition’ with respect to Christian-

Muslim relations consists precisely in this fusion of the traditional, pro-
Orthodox and anti-Muslim ideas of Muscovite society with the much more
universalist and apparently unbiased perspective of the ‘Tale’. In addition,
the ‘Petition’ is more explicitly concerned with the problems of Muscovite
Russian society, rather than ostensibly being a tale about the Byzantine and
Ottoman Empires. The text of the ‘Petition’ makes it clear that the Turkish
sultan has justice/truth (pravda) but not faith (vera); Muscovy has faith but is
missing justice. In the ‘Tale’, it was the Greeks who were lacking pravda,
and the reference to Russia was more muted and indirect. However, despite
all the differences between the two texts, Peresvetov’s principal ideological
vision remains the same: to combine pravda and vera within a single empire.

Manuscripts
MANUSCRIPTS
The ‘Greater petition’ exists in a number of 17th-century MSS. For lists of
MSS and discussion, see:

Rzhiga, ‘Peresvetov, publitsist XVI v.’, pp. 57-8

Zimin and Likhachev, Sochineniia I. Peresvetova

Zimin, I.S. Peresvetov i ego sovremenniki, pp. 243-51

288
EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
N.M. Karamzin, Istoriia gosudarstva Rossiĭskogo, St Petersburg, 1821, vol.
9, pp. 286-9 (excerpts; published in multiple editions and reprints)

S.A. Belokurov (ed.), ‘Chelobitnaia I.S. Peresvetova tsariu Ivanu IV, 7057
(1548-1549) gg.’, Chteniia v Obshchestve istorii i drevnosteĭ rossiĭskikh pri
Moskovskom universitete 203 (1902) iv, §2, 3-14

Rzhiga, ‘Peresvetov, publitsist XVI v.’, pp. 79-81

M.N. Kovalenskiĭ, Moskovskaia politicheskai literatura XVI veka, St

Petersburg, 1914, pp. 90-6 (text somewhat abbreviated)

M.N. Kovalenskiĭ (ed.), Khrestomatiia po russkoĭ istorii, Moscow, 1915, vol.

2, pp. 35-8 (excerpts; published in multiple editions)

V.I. Lebedev, M.N. Tikhomirov and V.E. Syroechkovskiĭ (eds),

Khrestomatiia po istorii SSSR, 3 vols, Moscow, 1937, pp. 210-14 (excerpts;
published in multiple editions)

Ş. Ciobanu, ‘Domnitorul Moldovei Petru Rareș în literatura rusă veche’,

Revista Istorică Română 14 (1944) pp. 327-52 (text and Romanian trans.)

Zimin and Likhachev, Sochineniia I. Peresvetova

289
G. Vernadsky (ed.), A source book for Russian history from early times to
1917, New Haven CT, 1972, vol. 1, pp. 162-3 (brief excerpts in English
trans.)

G.M. Basile, Scritti politici di Ivan Semënovic Peresvetov, Milan, 1976

(Italian trans.)

M.D. Kagan-Tarkovskaia (ed.), ‘Sochineniia Ivana Semenovicha

Peresvetova. Bol’shaia chelobitnaia’, Pamiatniki literatury Drevneĭ Rusi,
Moscow, 1984, vol. 6, 596-625, 755-63 (text accompanied by a translation
into modern Russian by A.A. Alekseev and commentary by I.S. Lur’e)

M.D. Kagan-Tarkovskaia (ed.), ‘Sochineniia Ivana Semenovicha

Peresvetova. Bol’shaia chelobitnaia’, Biblioteka literatury Drevneĭ Rusi, St
Petersburg, 2000, vol. 9, 432-51, 557-60 (text accompanied by a translation
into modern Russian by A.A. Alekseev and commentary by I.S. Lur’e)

Editions & Translations

Studies
Hundreds of works make mention of Peresvetov’s ‘Greater petition’. Salient
and representative studies are listed below. For additional bibliography, see
Zimin, I.S. Peresvetov i ego sovremenniki, pp. 458-78; Erusalimskiĭ,
‘Publitsist i tsentralizovannoe gosudarstvo’, pp. 100-28.

Mikhaĭlova and Mikhaĭlov, ‘Vera i pravda v tekstakh Ivana Peresvetova’

Martelli, Lo zar e il suo doppio, pp. 29, 46-9

290
Narozhniaia, ‘Sochineniia I.S. Peresvetova’

Riha, Readings in Russian civilization, pp. 98-103, 116 (other editions may
have different content and page numbers)

Al’shits, Ot legend k faktam, pp. 223-71

Pipes, Russian conservatism, pp. 42-3

De Madariaga, Ivan the Terrible, pp. 88-90

Leĭst, Istoriia politicheskikh, pp. 158-62 (other editions may have different
content and page numbers)

Schneck, ‘Political thinking’

Novikov, ‘Politicheskie i pravovye vzgliady I.S. Peresvetova’

Batunskiĭ, Rossiia i islam, vol. 1 (comparative perspective)

Al’, Pisatel’ Ivan Peresvetov i tsar’ Ivan Groznyĭ

Karavashkin, Russkaia srednevekovaia publitsistika

Lur’e, ‘Skazanie o Petre, voevode Volosskom’

Iurganov and Danilevskiĭ, ‘“Pravda” i “vera”’

Hosking, People and empire, pp. 47-56

Iurganov. ‘Idei I.S. Peresvetova’

Iurganov, ‘Ideal Ivashki Peresvetova’

Dvorkin, Ivan the Terrible, pp. 40-54

Lur’e, ‘Peresvetov Ivan Semenovich’

Kagan, ‘Povest’ o dvukh posol'stvakh’

Likhachev, A history of Russian literature (section on Peresvetov)

291
Likhachev, ‘Ėpokha’

Cazacu, ‘Aux sources de l'autocratie Russe’

Brown, ‘Early Modern Russian bureaucracy’

Pelenski, Russia and Kazan

Billington, The icon and the axe, p. 67

Cherniavsky, ‘Ivan the Terrible’

Letiche and Pashkov, A history of Russian economic thought, pp. 128-35

Danti, ‘Ivan Peresvetov’

Backus, ‘Muscovite legal thought’

Giterman, Storia della Russia, pp. 161-7 (other editions may have different
content and page numbers)

Klibanov, ‘Les mouvements hérétiques’

Zimin, ‘K izucheniiu vzgliadov I.S. Peresvetova’

Stökl, ‘Das Echo von Renaissance’

Zimin, I.S. Peresvetov i ego sovremenniki

Sakketti and Sal’nikov, ‘O vzgliadakh I. Peresvetova’

Sakketti, ‘Politicheskaia programma I.S. Peresvetova’

Budovnits, Russkaia publitsistika XVI veka, pp. 208-19

Bezviconi, Călători ruşi în Moldova şi Muntenia, pp. 20-6

Philipp, ‘Ivan Peresvetov und seine Schriften zur Erneuerung des Moskauer
Reiches’

Rzhiga, ‘Peresvetov i zapadnaia kul’turno-istoricheskaia sreda’

292
Rzhiga, ‘Peresvetov, publitsist XVI v.’

Iavorskiĭ, ‘K voprosu ob Ivashke Peresvetove’

Egorov, ‘Ideia “turetskoĭ reformatsii”’

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1500-1550
Thematic Region: Balkans, Byzantium, Moldavia, Ottoman Empire, Russia,
Turkey, Wallachia
Related Historical People: Ivan IV, Mehmed II, Mehmet II, Alexander the
Great, Vaska Mertsalov, Caesar Augustus
Dynasty/Ruling elite: Byzantine Emperors, Ottomans
Genre & Source Type: Account of events, advice literature, Comparative
religion, Letters, moral instruction, Philosophical writings, Polemics, political
treatise
Theme: Administration, Armed conquest, Christian anti-Jewish polemic,
Conquest of Constantinople, Conquest of Kazan, Conversion, Divine
retribution, Janissaries, oppression of Christians , Ottoman conquests,
Paradise, Philosophy, Punishment from God, Sins, Sins of the Christians as
the cause of military defeats, Slavonic refutations of Islam, The true religion,
True religion
Social History: Conversion, Heresy, Janissary, military history, Muslim
influence on Christianity, Non-Islamic religions, Slaves/slavery, Trade,
Warfare
Christians: Byzantine Church, Greek Orthodox, Slavonic church
Muslims: Ottomans

Yeshayahu Gruber
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Gruber, Yeshayahu. " Bol’shaia chelobitnaia." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David Thomas. Brill
Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016 <http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-
muslim-relations-ii/bolshaia-chelobitnaia-COM_27902>

293
 Dva rasskaza o pokhodakh Ivana
Groznogo na Kazan'
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts MANUSCRIPTS EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Dva rasskaza o pokhodakh Ivana Groznogo na Kazan'

'Two accounts of Ivan the Terrible’s Kazan campaigns'

Nifont Kormilitsyn

Date: Unknown
Original Language: Old Russian

Description
The first account, only four pages long, tells how, when the 19-year-old Ivan
IV was preparing a campaign against Kazan, he went to Vladimir, where he
was blessed by Metropolitan Makarii with the icon of St Peter the
Metropolitan and a fragment of the true cross from Simonov Monastery,
Moscow. Ivan took with him Nifont and Sergii, the abbot of
Vozdvizhenskii Monastery. When Ivan reached Kazan and saw the superior
strength of the Kazan army, he decided to end the campaign and his army
was able to withdraw without loss.

The second account is seven pages long and tells of a well-planned summer
campaign against Kazan. Although Ivan was not at first able to take Kazan,
he harassed the surrounding towns for ten days and took the town of Arsk
(Arça). Then he laid siege to Kazan, and after about six weeks he took it by
undermining the wall. In the second part of the account, entitled ‘About the

294
capture of Kazan: how Kazan was seized by the God-believing Tsar and
Grand Prince Ivan Vasil’evich of all Rus’, the sovereign and autocrat’, the
campaign is described in more detail. Nifont describes stationing the armies
around Kazan and the tsar’s address to his army after many prayers to various
saints and icons. In his address, Ivan tells his soldiers to follow his command
and be ready to die for the Christian faith, as he himself is. Before he rides
off, a monk from the Sergiev Monastery gives him icons, blessed bread and
water from the monastery. The battle begins with an attack against the Tatar
commander Bulak, then against the Arsk gate of the town. No Tatar army can
withstand the Muscovites, and they are all driven towards the town where
they are met by the right wing of the army. When Ivan is told of the seizure
of the town and the capture of the Tatar Khan Edigei, he erects a cross and
prays.

This account is a combination of a letter from the battlefield containing

detailed reports about the positions of the armies and their leaders, and a
Christian interpretation of the outcome of the war. The erection of the cross is
a significant act, because it likens Ivan to Constantine the Great and his
victory at the Milvian Bridge in 312. Like Constantine, Ivan brings
Christianity into the realm of the heathens.

The first of these two accounts has similarities to the account in the Ts
arstvennaia kniga, an official chronicle of the 16th century. It attributes the
suspension of the campaign to the tsar and his counsellors having concern for
the young fighting-men who might die in battle, emphasising that Ivan
personally looked after them and fed them from his own provisions, and that
they were all in good health when they got home. Tatars are not mentioned
very often and, when they are, they are discredited as bloodthirsty heathens.

The second account is similar in parts to the account of the campaign in

the Sofiiskaia chronicle (Polnoe sobranie russkikh letopisei, St Petersburg,
1853, vol. 6, pp. 303-15). It is less accurate in its chronology and details
(Polnoe sobranie russkikh letopisei, vol. 6, pp. 306-14), though Kuntsevich in
his foreword to ‘Dva rasskaza’, (p. 24), regards it as a source of this work.

Significance

295
The accounts show how ecclesiastical authors interpreted the victory over
Kazan’ in a religious rather than political way. This is especially significant
in the first account, which changes the meaning of a shamefully lost or barely
begun campaign into the moral victory of a Christian leader who takes pity
on the youth of his fighting men and does not want to risk their lives.

Both accounts show the significance of Tatar Muslims in the minds of

Orthodox Christians. They were a means to strengthen the faith of the
Russians, either through martyrdom in battle or through God-given victories.
The battles are won or lost not by the skill of humans but by their piety, and
their victories come from God. So, the Tatars are stereotypical heathens who
press Christians to give up their faith, rather than individual believers in
Islam. The clear prototypes of these anti-Tatar stereotypical accounts are
ancient saints’ Lives depicting Roman persecutions in the pre-Constantinian
Empire. The descriptions of Roman cruelty and the martyrs’ perseverance
serve as examples to the Russians to hold onto their Christian faith. In this
way, the Tatars serve the priests’ exhortation to their flock to stay firm in
faith.

Manuscripts
MANUSCRIPTS
MS St Petersburg, Otdel rukopisei Rossiiskoi natsional’noi biblioteki –
Q.XVII.64, fols 99r-102 (first account), 102-105v (second account) (date
unknown)

EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS

G.Z. Kuntsevich, ‘Dva rasskaza o pokhodakh tsaria Ivana Vasil’evicha
Groznogo na Kazan’ v 1550 i 1552 gg.’, in Otchety o zasedaniiakh Otdela
Liubitelei Drevnei Pis’mennosti v 1897-1898 gg. s prilozheniiami
(Pamiatniki drevnei pis’mennosti i iskusstva 130), St Petersburg, 1898, pp.
26-35

296
Editions & Translations
Studies
R.P. Dmitrieva, ‘Volokolamskie chet’i sborniki XVI v.’, Trudy otdela
drevnerusskoi literatury 28 (1974) 202-30, pp. 209, 217-22

A.A. Zimin and I.S. Lur’e (eds), Poslaniia Iosifa Volotskogo, Moscow, 1959,
pp. 101-7, 133-4

I.K. Begunov, ‘Kormchaia Ivana Volka Kuricyna’, Trudy otdela

drevnerusskoi literatury 12 (1956) 141-59, p. 144

G.Z. Kuntsevich, ‘Maloizvestnyia zapiski o Kazanskikh pokhodakh 1550 i

1552 goda’, Zhurnal Ministerstva Narodnogo Prosveshcheniia 318 (1898)
135-45

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1550-1600
Thematic Region: Russia
Genre & Source Type: Consolations, Historiography
Social History: Warfare
Christians: Slavonic church

Cornelia Soldat
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Soldat , Cornelia. " Dva rasskaza o pokhodakh Ivana Groznogo na Kazan'." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General
Editor David Thomas. Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016
<http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-ii/dva-rasskaza-o-pokhodakh-ivana-groznogo-na-
kazan-COM_26637>

297
 About a holy martyr Ivan, who was
tortured for Christ in the city of Kazan
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts MANUSCRIPTS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

O sviamom muchenike, izhe za Khrisma muchen vo gradeZhitie Ioanna

Kazanskogo;, Skazanie velikago i slavnago chiudesi, ezhe byst‘ vo grade
Kazani
‘The life of Ioann of Kazan'’, ‘An account of the great and glorious wonders
that happened in the town of Kazan'’

Nifont Kormilitsyn

Date: Not later than the 1550s

Original Language: Old Russian

Description
Many monks at Volokolamsk Monastery in the 1550-60s were veterans of the
Kazan’ campaigns, so Nifont may not be the author of this work. The
attribution is given by Kuntsevich, ‘Maloizvestnye zapisi’, who believes that
Nifont was the author of everything in MS Rossiikaia natsional’naia
biblioteka – Q.XVII.64. Some details suggest that the author had been in
Kazan’. The exact date of writing is not known, though it is likely to be close
to the date of the earliest known manuscript, which was written in the 1550s.

The account is very short, one page long, and belongs to the genre of saints’
lives. It tells of the murder by the Tatars of a captive called Ivan after he
refused to renounce his Orthodox faith. The event is dated 24 January 1529,

298
and the account is found under this year in three Menaion Readers,
Sinodal’nii, Chudovskii and Tulupov.

In the account, Ivan was born in Nizhnii Novgorod. He was made a slave of
Ali-Shukuria in Kazan, and he refused to renounce Christianity and become a
Muslim. Even torture could not change his mind, and he was finally
executed. After his death, miracles occurred around his body, and he even
rose from the dead, told his story to a priest and then died again. The account
ends with his burial in the ‘old Russian cemetery’.

Tatars appear in this account as anti-Christian aggressors, a role that in the

stories of the early martyrs was assigned to the pagan Romans. These Tatars
thus conform to the dictates of the martyrdom genre, rather than acting
according to their own ways as people who adopted Islam late and retained
their former shamanistic tolerance of other religions.

The Life appears in the same manuscript as Nifont Kormilitsyn’s description

of the Kazan campaign, and also in the later 1590 recensions of
the Kazanskaiia istoriia. The text is the same as in Velikie minei chetii of
1552. But Nifont’s authorship is not certain. He may have brought the story
back from the Kazan campaign, or he may have written it during his time
there.

Generally speaking, the Life bears the traces of a standard martyr’s life, and
there are no features to distinguish it from many other examples. It is possible
that there may not have been a historical martyr called Ivan.

Significance
This account is significant in the same way as all accounts of martyrs; it
served as an encouragement to the faithful who read and heard it. Its setting
in a Muslim region and the link to recent history gave it currency and
vividness to remind its audience of their own duties.

From the middle of the 16th century, the legends of martyrs in the West were
rewritten, and accounts of Christian martyrs at the hands of the Ottomans in
the Balkans were inserted. This account presumably served the same purpose
at a time when Muslims presented a common threat.

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Manuscripts
MANUSCRIPTS
MS St Petersburg, Rossiiskaia natsional’naia biblioteka – Q.XVII.64, pp.
254-254v (before 1561; described in Zimin and Lur’e, Poslaniia Iosifa
Volotsckogo, pp. 101-7)

MS Moscow, Rossiiskaia gosudarstvennaia biblioteka – Volokolamsk

Sobranie, Martin Rykov, no. 520 (16th century; copies exist in other
Volokolamsk volumes, dates unknown)

MS St Petersburg, Rossiiskaia natsional’naia biblioteka – Tolstoi Collection,

Otd II, no. 68 (16th century)

MS Radonezh, Sergieva Lavra – No. 173, Tulupovskie minei (1629; a

menaion, in which the account of the martyrdom is read on 24 January)

MS Moscow, Moskovskaia sinodal’naia biblioteka – Carskie minei, no. 396

(after 1642; a menaion, or lectionary, in which the account of the martyrdom
is read on 24 January)

MS St Petersburg, Biblioteka dukhovnoi akademii – Novgorodskie, Sofiiskie

minei, no. 1463 (17th century; a menaion)

MS Moscow, Rossiiskii gosudarstvennii arkhiv drevnikh aktov (RGADA) –

Obolenskie minei, no. 91 (17th century; a menaion)

MS Radonezh, Sergieva Lavra – No. 626 (17th century)

MS St Petersburg, Rossiiskaia natsional’naia biblioteka – Tolstoi Collection,

Otd II, no. 226 (17th century)

MS St Petersburg, Sankt Peterburgskii institut istorii Rossiiskoi akademii

nauk (former LOII) – Sobranie Likhacheva, no. 294, Skazanie velikago i
slavnago chiudesi, ezhe byst‘ vo grade Kazani, ‘Tale about the great and
glorious wonders that happened in the town of Kazan’’ (date unknown)

300
MS Moscow, Otdel’ rukopisej Gosudarstvennogo Istoricheskogo monastyria
Muzeia – Chudovskie minei (date unknown; a menaion)

MS Moscow, Moskovskaia sinodal’naia biblioteka – Minei Chetii

Sinodal’nyi spisok (date unknown; a menaion)

MS Moscow, Rossiiskaia gosudarstvennaia biblioteka – Undolskie minei, no.

1420 (date unknown; a menaion)

EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS

J. Pelenski, Russia and Kazan’. Conquest and imperial ideology (1438-

1560s), The Hague, 1974, p. 278, n. 3 (transliteration into Roman characters
of MS St Petersburg Q.XVII.64)

Editions & Translations

Studies
Pelenski, Russia and Kazan’, p. 278 (attempts to identify an historical Ivan in
1529, but without success)

G.Z. Kuntsevich, ‘Maloizvestnye zapisi o kazanskikh pokhodakh 1550 i 1552

goda’, Zhurnal Ministerstva Narodnogo Prosveshcheniia 318 (1898) 135-45

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1500-1550, 1550-1600
Thematic Region: Russia
Genre & Source Type: Martyrologies
Theme: salvation
Social History: Conversion, Forced conversion, Martyrdom, Saints
Christians: Slavonic church

Cornelia Soldat
Cite this page

301
Soldat , Cornelia. " About a holy martyr Ivan, who was tortured for Christ in the city of Kazan." Christian-Muslim Relations
1500 - 1900. General Editor David Thomas. Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016
<http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-ii/about-a-holy-martyr-ivan-who-was-tortured-for-
christ-in-the-city-of-kazan-COM_26638>

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 Skazanie o Magmete-saltane
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts MANUSCRIPTS EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Skazanie o Magmete-saltane
‘The tale of Sultan Mehmed [II]’

Ivan Semenovich Peresvetov, Ivashko son of Semen Peresvietov, Iwan or

John Pereswetoff

Date: About 1547-49

Original Language: Old Russian

Description
Skazanie o Magmete-saltane is one of Ivan Peresvetov’s most remarkable
works, both in general terms and specifically with respect to Christian-
Muslim relations. The text explicitly sets out to analyse a Muslim ruler from
a Christian perspective. On the basis of internal evidence and comparison
with the author’s other works, the time of writing can be estimated as the late
1540s (provided that one accepts Peresvetov’s historicity; see the biography
of the author above). Based on comments by Rzhiga, much scholarly
literature assigns the tale to 1547. However, Zimin argues that the date of
composition should be put at 1549. (For a discussion of the main issues
involved in dating the text, see Zimin, I.S. Peresvetov i ego sovremenniki, pp.
266-72. In the opinion of the present author, attempts to define the precise
date of composition are somewhat speculative.)

In its current form, the ‘Tale of Sultan Mehmed’ consists of approximately

3,400 words. Rzhiga based the first published edition of this text on a

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manuscript (Pogodin 1611) in which the tale occupied 21 pages; his printed
version covered seven pages. However, it is worth noting that the original
form of Peresvetov’s tales, including the way they were divided, may have
been different. As an example, consider that in the same manuscript the ‘Tale
of Sultan Mehmed’ follows directly after the ‘Tale of Emperor Constantine’,
which closes with the following words: ‘And after a short time Sultan
Mehmed, the Turkish emperor, came up by land and by sea to Constantinople
with a great force’. Then begins Peresvetov’s account of Sultan Mehmed,
which has been demarcated as a separate tale but obviously flows together
with, makes reference to, and indeed builds upon the previous text. The ‘Tale
of Emperor Constantine’ itself begins with the word ‘And’, and follows part
of a tale about the capital Constantinople. It is therefore uncertain whether the
titles and divisions by which we now know Peresvetov’s works belonged to
his original conception or were inserted by manuscript copyists and editors,
together with other modifications.

Like most of Peresvetov’s writing, the ‘Tale of Sultan Mehmed’ is at once

historical, contemporary, political, religious, polemical, popular, recursive,
direct, complex, and original. Although it appears on the surface to be a story
or essay about the Ottoman Turkish ruler Mehmed II (the Conqueror, 1432-
81), the main message of the work actually seems to pertain to Christian
societies. This first becomes evident in a harsh critique of the Christian
Byzantine Empire in its final years and the contrast Peresvetov draws
between that ‘unjust’ polity and the ‘justice’ manifest under Mehmed.
Despite the author’s effort to demonstrate the historical actuality of these
illustrations, it soon becomes evident that his hyperbolic depictions serve a
primarily polemical purpose. By means of an exaggerated and idealized
opposition, Peresvetov attempts to prove his vision of good government. The
conquest of 1453 and other historical references are merely the means of
demonstrating how a good ruler should govern, i.e. of presenting a political
theory. The main purpose of the work finally becomes apparent in its final
passages, as Peresvetov addresses himself to Tsar Ivan IV of Muscovy and
advises him to adopt the ‘just’ form of rule described in the text.

Peresvetov’s experience of service under two Ottoman vassals, John (János) I

Zápolya of Hungary and Peter (Petru) IV Rareș of Moldavia, gave him the
opportunity to acquire some familiarity with Ottoman practices. Despite or

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perhaps because of this, his depiction of the ideal ruler (‘Sultan Mehmed’)
appears to be a conflation of Mehmed II (r. 1444-46, 1451-81) with
Süleyman I (the Magnificent or Lawgiver, r. 1520-66). Similarly,
Peresvetov’s version of the last Byzantine emperor, Constantine XI
Palaeologus, may be a composite figure representing the failure to execute
‘justice’. The themes discussed in this text are common to Peresvetov’s
whole oeuvre, but are here presented in an especially bold and striking
manner. His ‘Greater Petition’, for example, presents a modified and much
more ‘Christianized’ version of much of the same content.

The ‘Tale’ is a multi-layered work that can be analysed from a number of

different perspectives. At root it seems to be concerned (despite appearances)
primarily with social and political issues in 16th-century Muscovite Russia,
and these aspects of the text have garnered the most attention in
historiography. For instance, Zimin devoted nearly 70 pages of his seminal
work on Peresvetov to an analysis of the author’s ‘socio-political views’.
This analysis is further subdivided into sections on Peresvetov’s social,
military, legal, financial, administrative, and foreign policy programmes and
proposed reforms, with reference to contemporary Muscovite actuality
(Zimin, I.S. Peresvetov i ego sovremenniki, pp. 339-405). Ostensibly,
however, the ‘Tale’ seeks to explain the causes of 1453 – why the great
Byzantine Christian Empire fell to the Muslim Turks – and to compare and
contrast the Byzantine and Ottoman rulers. It also implicitly takes up the
cause of all Christendom, considering what will be of most benefit to
Christians everywhere – and indeed to the whole world. Christian-Muslim
relations are thus obviously central to the text.

The ‘Tale’ begins: ‘The Turkish emperor (tsar’) Sultan Mehmed was himself
a wise philosopher by reason of his own Turkish books; and he [also] read
Greek books, and wrote [them] out word for word in Turkish, and thus great
wisdom was added to the emperor.’ After this striking introduction, the text
immediately has Sultan Mehmed speak to his advisors (sayyids, pashas,
mullahs, and hafizes, all of whom are collectively termed ‘philosophers’)
about the last reigning Byzantine emperor, Constantine XI. Mehmed’s
description is suspiciously unlike a biography of the latter, and suspiciously
like a depiction of the early reign of Tsar Ivan IV. The Christian emperor is
said to have been an awesomely powerful warrior and conqueror who

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ascended the throne at the age of three when his father died; the magnates
who had power during his minority were corrupt and greedy, enriching
themselves ‘by the tears and the blood of the human race’; evil and injustice
ruled while the tsar was young, but the blood and the tears of the oppressed
cried out to God in heaven. When the tsar grew up, he began to understand
more and wanted to make changes, but the lying, traitorous magnates
perceived that they would lose their wealth and power if the tsar began to rule
in his own right, and so they used the ‘deceptions of the devil’ against the
good tsar. God had to punish such sin, which led to the destruction of the
state. This opening section ends with the sultan asking his ‘wise
philosophers’ to be sure to help him guard against any lies, deception, or
injustice that could bring down God’s wrath on the Ottomans in the same
way.

The ‘Tale’ continues by recounting one of Mehmed’s first orders after

conquering Constantinople. Instead of assigning territories to the magnates or
great lords and allowing each to dispense justice in his own domain, with the
concomitant temptation to bribery and corruption, the sultan appointed paid
officials and charged them repeatedly with judging honestly and correctly.
Peresvetov’s most constant motif makes an appearance here: God loves
justice (pravda) and hates injustice (nepravda), so you (the sultan tells his
officials) must hold to justice and not give in to any injustice. The officials
are described as the sultan’s faithful pashas, qadis, shubashes, and amins. The
positive nature of Peresvetov’s portrayal of Mehmed may be understood from
the words he puts into the sultan’s mouth: ‘My beloved brothers, faithful
ones, judge rightly, and [in this way] render to God heartfelt joy.’

However, the sultan did not merely instruct his officials and send them out.
After some time, Peresvetov tells us, he tested his judges by having bribes
offered to them. Those who proved corrupt Mehmed did not bother to charge
with crimes; he simply gave orders for them to be flayed alive. Peresvetov
insists that it is ‘impossible to establish justice in a realm without such terror’
(bez takovyia grozy ne mochno v tsarstvo pravdy vvesti). Since justice is what
pleases God, it must be introduced at all costs and without any favouritism
shown to anyone. A tsar who tries to rule without terror is like one riding a
horse without a bridle: ‘It is impossible for a tsar to hold an empire without
terror’ (Ne mochno bez grozy tsarstvo tsariu derzhati). Peresvetov has Sultan

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Mehmed explain that Constantine XI failed in this task of establishing justice
by terror. Although his great lords took oaths ‘according to their Christian
faith’, they broke those oaths, betrayed their ruler, perverted justice, and fell
into heresy. All this angered God; the clear implication again is that this is
what engendered the conquest of 1453.

Mehmed takes a lesson from the experience of Constantine, and fiercely and
terribly executes justice. He ‘tests’ the oaths of his servants by lethal games
of chance and trials by ordeal. A sword would be hung over the neck of a
litigant, or arrows set up and aimed directly at his heart and throat, while a
spiritual leader read out a religious text. For Greeks (Christians), the text
consisted of a tenfold repetition of the ‘evangelical teachings’, apparently the
Decalogue; for Turks (Muslims), mullahs would read an equivalent Islamic
text. If the cleric finished his entire recitation without the arrows or sword
being released and killing the man, the latter was considered justified. For
other disputes, the two adversaries would be locked naked in a dungeon in
which a single razor had been hidden. Whichever found it was considered to
be in the right, won the case, and had the option of either killing his opponent
or letting him go free. ‘Thus God’s judgment was accomplished’, comments
Peresvetov.

The ‘Tale’ explains that Mehmed gleaned this ‘wisdom’ from ‘Greek books’,
studying how the Byzantines should have lived according to their own
writings. The sultan pleased God greatly by establishing justice and rooting
out falsehood. Peresvetov’s main catchphrases are here repeated and
attributed to the sultan: ‘God loves justice above all’ (Bog liubit pravdu lutchi
vsego; Bog liubit silniee vsego pravdu); it is impossible for a tsar to rule
(justly) without terror; the wrath of God burned with unquenchable force
against Constantine, his lords, and the whole Greek Empire due to their lack
of justice (pravda). Mehmed is careful to keep close watch on his own lords
and officials to ensure that they do not lead him and his empire into similar
disaster. He places under threat those charged with administering justice,
eliminates fees that can easily turn into bribes and extortion, and gives clear
instructions about how to carry out justice. Soldiers are judged separately and
with great strictness, capital punishment being the primary or perhaps the
only penalty for wrongdoing. The great wisdom and justice of the sultan
brings heartfelt joy to himself and to his army.

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Peresvetov next turns his attention to tax collection and the means of
maintaining the army. The Turkish sultan is said to be so wise and just that
God blesses him with an ‘unending’ treasury. Using similar means to those
described above, he rigorously fights against any possibility of embezzlement
in the chain of collection. This enables him fully to support and equip a
standing army. Mehmed extols the virtues of ‘service’ to his soldiers and
charges them never to let their weapons out of their hands. In this way, he
avers, they act on earth just as the angels do in heaven – never putting down
their weapons for a moment, but standing on guard to preserve ‘the human
race [that comes] from Adam’. The sultan’s army, greatly encouraged and
strengthened by these words, responds by expressing another of Peresvetov’s
key motifs: ‘God loves the army’ (Bog liubit voinstvo). The soldiers
understand that they are fulfilling the will of God on earth; and if any of them
die in battle, their sins will be washed clean by their own shed blood.
Meanwhile, any cowards not ready to die in the ‘game of death’ (war against
the enemy) should be executed immediately. The sultan is also wise enough
to keep 40,000 well-trained and well-paid janissaries continually about
himself to help guard against the ‘sin’ of rebellion. Peresvetov explains that,
by preserving himself, the ‘tsar’ actually preserves his whole land and
empire. In sum: ‘Wise is the tsar who makes the heart of his army glad’ with
proper pay and strict order.

According to Peresvetov, Mehmed abolished slavery in his empire and laid

down this law for all generations to come. Servants were to be engaged of
their own free will and only for set periods of time: seven years (almost the
same as in the biblical Torah; cf. Exodus 21:2; Deuteronomy 15:12; Jeremiah
34:13-14) or a maximum of nine years. Any master who did not release his
servant after this contractual period was to be put to death. Mehmed burned
the books of slavery and supported his policy by referring to the biblical story
of Exodus, when God punished the Egyptian Pharaoh for enslaving the
people of Israel. Rather than enslaving each other, the sultan’s people must
recognise that ‘One God is over us [all], and we are his slaves.’ An enslaved
people, we learn, does not fight bravely; that is part of what doomed
Constantine’s Byzantine Empire. Peresvetov stresses that the Turkish sultan
learned all of this wisdom by copying ‘Christian books’ – the principles are
those that a Christian ruler should also follow.

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Peresvetov’s egalitarianism went further even than opposition to slavery. He
reported that Sultan Mehmed promoted all brave and wise men in his empire,
without favouritism or any regard for lineage. To high and low alike he
proclaimed his policy of impartial promotion with the words, ‘Brothers, we
are all children of Adam!’ This greatly motivated all his soldiers, who knew
they had the opportunity for advancement if they stood firm and fought
bravely against the enemy in battle. As examples of this meritocracy,
Peresvetov cites ‘the Arvanidic pasha’ (Gedik Ahmed Pasha) and ‘the
Karamani pasha’ (Karamani Mehmed Pasha). Peresvetov’s sultan clearly
uses the carrot and stick approach: the constant threat of terrible punishment
invariably accompanies these incentives of great reward.

As might be expected, justice within the army is strict and swift. Peresvetov
describes the military organisation (commanders of tens, hundreds, and
thousands) and how they ensure discipline among the troops. All spoils are to
be gathered to the tent of the great pasha and distributed according to set
payments already established by the sultan. Thievery, drunkenness, banditry,
and other crimes are punished harshly, execution again being the preferred
sentence. We learn again that God was enraged against Emperor Constantine
because he did the opposite. The great Byzantine nobles were corrupt, unjust,
oppressive, and murderous: ‘whoever among them was rich was also guilty’
(kto byl u nikh bogat, tot i vinovat; cf. James 2:6)! Sultan Mehmed, who has
learned from Christian books, asks why anyone would dare to so anger God
merely for the sake of earthly wealth. They acquire gold, but also earn divine
wrath and vengeance, which may be carried out to the ninth generation (again
a concept similar to Torah; cf. Exodus 20:5; Numbers 14:18; Deuteronomy
23:3). Wealthy oppressors do not benefit even themselves: rather, for
comparatively little benefit, they ‘lose the way to the heavenly kingdom’
(put’ tsarstva nebesnago poteriali; cf. Proverbs 10:2; Matthew 16:26; Mark
8:36; Luke 9:25, 12:20).

Peresvetov’s Muslim sultan now turns into an apologist for Christianity,

arguing that those who spread it are praiseworthy and (if they are killed)
become glorious martyrs honoured in heaven. Constantine should have stood
firm for justice and the Christian faith (vera or viera), which is unmatched in
God’s eyes among all the religions. In fact, according to the ‘Tale’, Sultan
Mehmed had a deep desire to convert to Christianity. Peresvetov did not

309
simply fabricate this surprising assertion for reasons of literary or ideological
convenience; it resembles the contemporary reports of Hekim Yakub Pasha
(Jacopo of Gaeta), an influential Jew at the court of Mehmed II (see, e.g. E.
Kohen, History of the Turkish Jews and Sephardim. Memories of a past
Golden Age, Lanham MD, 2007, p. 19).

The wrath of God having fallen on the Byzantines for their injustice and
reckless parody of the Christian faith, all hope and pride among Greek
Christians now turns toward ‘the pious Russian tsar’. In a phrase that appears
to have become a key conception of the Muscovite state in the 16th-
17th centuries, Peresvetov remarks: ‘There is no other free Christian empire of
the Greek [i.e. Eastern Orthodox] law’ (inogo tsarstva volnogo
khristiian'skogo i zakonu grecheskago niet). Moreover, Ivan IV himself is the
answer to Catholic anti-Orthodox polemics. In disputations with Greek
Orthodox Christians, Catholics denigrate their opponents by comparing them
to Jews, who were punished by God with the destruction of their polity and
subjection to foreign domination. God similarly destroyed Byzantium on
account of the injustice and pride of its elite. However, Greek Christians
answer this charge proudly: ‘We do have a free empire and a free tsar, the
pious sovereign and grand prince Ivan Vasil’evich’ of all Rus’.’ The power of
the Muscovite state and the presence of miracle-working saints are adduced
as signs of divine choice and blessing. Hearing this, the Catholics capitulate
and admit the truth or justice (pravda) of what the Orthodox say. The final
postulates of the ‘Tale’ read as follows: ‘Would that to this true Christian
faith (viera) [could be added] also Turkish justice (pravda), so that angels
would converse with them [the Greek Orthodox]. And [would] that to that
Turkish justice (pravda) [could be added] also Christian faith (viera), so that
angels would converse with them [the Ottoman Muslims]’.

This final double aphorism expresses Peresvetov’s notion of the ideal state:
one in which both justice (executed with terror or awe) and Orthodox
Christianity exist conjointly. The Byzantine Emperor Constantine XI failed
dreadfully: though he was Orthodox, his regime was unjust. As justice is the
most important virtue to God, in Peresvetov’s understanding, Sultan Mehmed
ranks far higher: though he was Muslim, his regime was just. Now, however,
Ivan IV has the historic opportunity to combine these two great elements and
forge a truly ideal empire. Peresvetov’s principum specula, though expressed

310
in a rather complex form, is quite clear and straightforward in its essential
content.

Significance
The ‘Tale of Sultan Mehmed’ is highly significant and exceptional in the
context of Muscovite Russian literature for a number of reasons. As a
foreigner who had lived previously in Poland-Lithuania, Hungary, the
Habsburg Empire, and south-eastern Europe, Peresvetov introduced many
ideas that were unusual and even shocking to 16th-century Muscovy. The
‘Tale’ departs strongly from society’s standard and accepted forms for
describing Muslims. In virtually all Muscovite Russian texts from the 14 th to
the 17th centuries, Muslims are called by derogatory terms such as besurmane
(also basurmane, besermene, etc.) or agariane (agariene, Hagarites) and
described as evil infidels hateful to the Christian God. Peresvetov avoids this
terminology altogether, and his ‘Tale’ portrays Ottoman Muslims in a much
more favourable light than Greek (Byzantine) Christians. This seems almost
incredible in comparison to the rest of Muscovite Russian literature, all the
more so because Byzantium was generally venerated as the holy source of the
one true faith. Peresvetov bases his historical and moral evaluations on a
prioritization that must have seemed inverted or even incomprehensible to
many Muscovites: for him, justice/truth (pravda, conceived in a rather
biblical sense as ‘what is right’ generally) is by far the most important in
God’s eyes, and even faith (vera) occupies a distant second place. By
contrast, most Muscovite Russian literature holds up the Orthodox Christian
faith itself as the be all and end all of justice (and every other good); what is
true or just, according to that understanding, is simply what accords with
Eastern or Greek Orthodox Christianity. Peresvetov, perhaps, does not
completely reject this conception – he claims that Sultan Mehmed gained his
most important wisdom from Greek Christian books – but he certainly
challenges it on a deep level by presenting the Muslims as just and the
Orthodox Christians as unjust. The 'Tale' intentionally smashes through any
facile equation of ‘Orthodox’ with ‘good’ and ‘Muslim’ with ‘bad’ – the very
mindset expressed throughout virtually all other Muscovite Russian literature.

Presuming that his autobiographical sketches were accurate or roughly so,

Peresvetov lived in societies in east-central and south-eastern Europe that

311
tolerated multiple religions, including his own. Poland-Lithuania and
territories under Ottoman domination were multi-confessional and multi-
linguistic, allowing for a wide range of practices (despite the simultaneous
presence of prejudice and discrimination). By comparison, Muscovy at this
time was relatively less diverse and less tolerant. Tsar Ivan IV himself
banned Jews from entering his empire; Poland-Lithuania, with its ‘Latins,
Lutherans, and Yids’, and the Muslim Tatars to the south and east of
Muscovy, were seen as the quintessential evil enemies. Peresvetov stands out
markedly in the Muscovite context by evaluating people’s moral standing and
worth almost without regard to religion at all. Though many of his ideas
about how to govern may have been accepted and implemented by Ivan, it is
almost ridiculously easy to see how he might also have been accused of
heresy in a society that looked askance at even the slightest deviation from
religious norms.

Peresvetov’s God is far more ecumenical and universal than was common
anywhere in Europe in the 16th century; and so are his people. As the author’s
Sultan Mehmed proclaims: there is one God over everyone; and anyone
(from any religion) can please or displease him by acting in accordance with
either justice/truth or injustice/lies. In Peresvetov’s ‘Tale’, valiant Muslims
have their sins cleansed and enter paradise, while corrupt Christians lose their
salvation and are excluded from heaven. In this life, too, God blesses just
Muslims and curses unjust Christians. Rich and poor are also inverted: the
greatest magnates are always the guiltiest and most liable to sin. They must
be watched, and their power broken. Meanwhile, the poor who suffer are not
‘Russians’ or ‘Greeks’ or even ‘Christians’ – they are members of the
‘human race’. Peresvetov goes out of his way to stress the commonality of
Muslims with Christians, portraying both as descendants of Adam
responsible before God for the same fundamental obligations. He places
biblical examples in the mouth of the Muslim sultan, again suggesting a
common heritage.

Having a Muslim sultan – ostensibly the greatest enemy of the Christian

faith, in the Muscovite mindset – teach Orthodox Christians about the Bible
and the ways of God was a brilliant (if dangerous) stroke. Peresvetov’s entire
‘Tale’ represents a kind of a fortiori argument: If the Muslim sultan rules
according to justice and pleases God, how much more should Christian rulers

312
do the same? Peresvetov softens the blow for his Christian audience
somewhat by having Mehmed almost become a Christian at the end of the
story. Nonetheless, his presentation would probably have seemed strikingly
offensive to traditionalists. Perhaps most incomprehensibly from the usual
Muscovite perspective, the ‘Tale’ contains not a single trace of anti-Muslim
bias. The sultan is presented as an ideal ruler from whom Christians can learn
much; if he were to become an Orthodox Christian himself, he would be
absolutely perfect. The terror/awe (groza) with which he rules is regarded as
a highly positive characteristic: Mehmed ruthlessly destroys the unjust and
corrupt among his subjects, but favours and rewards those who are just, true,
and brave. All these unusual features of Peresvetov’s writing tend to support
his own reality as a historical individual. It seems much less likely that a
native author would have attributed the 'good' teachings to a Muslim, while
denigrating Byzantine Christians and otherwise blatantly transgressing many
common norms and prejudices of his own society.

Peresvetov thus appears as a semi-Machiavellian thinker in early modern

Muscovy. Like Machiavelli, he separates the methods of good government
from religion. Though Orthodox Christianity (for Peresvetov) is a better
choice than Islam, his Muslim Sultan Mehmed is a far better ruler than his
Orthodox Christian Emperor Constantine. Also like Machiavelli, Peresvetov
stresses the importance of ruling through terror, fear, and harsh punishments
(Blane, however, argues that ‘there is no necessary connection between
cruelty and groza in the writings of Ivan Peresvetov’ in spite of the very cruel
examples he uses; A. Blane, The religious world of Russian culture, The
Hague, 1975, p. 105, emphasis added). Unlike Machiavelli, however,
Peresvetov does not abandon a vision of morality defined by God in
describing how to rule in the proper way. His prescription is directed toward
‘justice’ – what is right and true – and his rulers are rewarded and punished
by God with reference to their performance vis-à-vis this standard. One God
rules over all. Might does not make right; nor can the mightiest hope to get
away with their crimes.

It is not at all impossible that Peresvetov was acquainted with Machiavellian

ideas. The Prince dates from about 1513 and was first published (in Italian)
in 1532. However, as early as 1523 a Latin work entitled De regnandi
peritia was published in Naples; it is regarded as a (modified or distorted)

313
plagiarism of Machiavelli’s Prince accomplished by Agostino Nifo (see P.
Cosentino, ‘Un plagio del Principe: Il De regnandi peritia di Agostino Nifo’,
in R. Gigliucci (ed.), Furto e plagio nella letteratura del classicismo, Rome,
1998, pp. 139-60). As a result, quasi-Machiavellian ideas were available to a
Latin readership; speculatively, this may have enabled them to become
popular in Poland. The first Latin edition of Machiavelli’s Prince itself (as
opposed to the 1523 plagiarism) dates from 1560 and was dedicated to a
Polish noble (see V. Lepri, ‘Machiavelli in Polonia’, Conferenze 129 (2014)
1-10, p. 2; and other works by the same author). Though this evidence is later
than Peresvetov’s time of writing, and significantly later than his time in
Poland-Lithuania, it may still carry relevance for earlier decades. Apparently,
for some time the kinds of ideas espoused by Machiavelli and directly or
indirectly attributable to him had been gaining ground among the Polish-
Lithuanian nobility, from which Peresvetov himself also hailed. (On these
themes, see also A. Dvorkin, Ivan the Terrible, pp. 48-9; H.B.
Segel, Renaissance culture in Poland. The rise of humanism, 1470-1543,
Ithaca NY, 1989.)

The originality of the ‘Tale of Sultan Mehmed’ may be readily appreciated

by comparing this text to an earlier Old Russian tale or set of tales about the
fall of Constantinople in 1453. Commonly attributed to Nestor Iskander,
Povesti o vziatii Konstantinopolia turkami v 1453 g. existed in many versions
by the early 16th century. Peresvetov was familiar with at least one redaction,
which he used in his works. These tales enjoyed great popularity and exerted
a very strong influence on subsequent Muscovite literature (see O.V.
Tvorogov, art., ‘Povesti o vziatii Konstantinopolia turkami v 1453
g.’, Slovar’ knizhnikov i knizhnosti Drevneĭ Rusi. 2.2 (vtoraia polovina XIV-
XVI v., L-Ia), Leningrad, 1989, 195-7; M.N. Speranskiĭ, ‘Povesti i skazaniia o
vziatii Tsar'grada turkami (1453) v russkoĭ pis'mennosti XVI-XVII vekov’, 2
parts, Trudy Otdela drevnerusskoĭ literatury 10 (1954) 136-65; 12 (1956)
188-225). In contrast to Peresvetov’s writings, the tales attributed to Iskander
follow a much more typical pattern for Muscovite Russian literature.
Mehmed II is termed ‘godless’ (bezbozhnyĭ), ‘cursed’ (okaannyĭ), ‘lawless’
(bezzakonnyĭ), ‘immoral’ (zlonravnyĭ), and ‘of evil faith’ (zlovr'nyĭ). All this
was absolutely typical for Rus' literature – but the contrast to Peresvetov’s
‘Tale’ could not be starker. Moreover, the earlier texts explained the fall of
Constantinople in entirely religious terms. Vague Byzantine ‘sins’ and

314
impiety indeed brought about God’s punishment, which had already for
centuries represented essentially the sole explanation for disasters in Rus'
literature. However, the nature of the failure to be Orthodox enough remained
imprecise; certainly nothing like Peresvetov’s quite practical exposition of
universally definable injustices and falsehoods, and their logical effects,
figured into these tales. (For the text of one version of Iskander's tale, see
‘Povest' o vziatii Tsar'grada turkami v 1453 godu’, Pamiatniki literatury
Drevneĭ Rusi, Moscow, 1982, vol. 5, pp. 216-67, 602-7.)

Peresvetov quite possibly also knew the anti-Islamic tracts of Maximus the
Greek (c. 1475-1556; see the entry in this volume), who was like himself an
immigrant to Moscow. However, again Peresvetov’s ‘Tale’ is completely
different in character from works such as these, as it contains absolutely no
anti-Islamic polemic. (On anti-Islamic polemical literature in Muscovite
Russia, see P. Bushkovitch, ‘Orthodoxy and Islam in Russia, 988-
1725’, Forschungen zur osteuropäischen Geschichte 76 (2010) 117-44.)
Many scholars point to Skazanie o Drakule (‘The tale of Drakula’), usually
attributed to Fedor Vasil'evich Kuritsyn (d. beginning of 16th century), as a
possible source for Peresvetov’s notions about the role of ‘terror’ in ruling
justly. Though there may have been some influence, Peresvetov’s ideas on
this score are much more developed and unambiguous than those evident in
that story. It is worth noting, as a sign of the general environment in Muscovy
at this time, that the authors Maximus and Kuritsyn were themselves both
accused of heresy. As Maximus came to discover, Greek learning was not
always accepted in Moscow, despite the adulation constantly expressed with
regard to the ‘parent’ Christian civilization. In actual fact, even the ‘Greek
books’ and ‘philosophy’ about which Peresvetov wrote could be viewed with
considerable suspicion (see I. Gruber, ‘Lexical daring: Muscovite Russian
experimentation with Greek language as a reflection of underlying
civilizational rivalry’, in O. Alexandropoulou and P. Sophoulis (eds), The
Slavs and the Greek world (Slavoi kai ellēnikos kosmos), Athens, 2014, 129-
45).

Peresvetov’s perspective on Christian-Muslim relations, as expressed in the

‘Tale of Sultan Mehmed’, is thus quite unique in its historico-literary context.
Even the late 17th-century Skifskaia istoriia (‘Scythian history’) by Andreĭ
Ivanovich Lyzlov still expressed a much more traditional Rus' perspective on

315
Islam and Muslims. Lyzlov’s tale employs the same religiously laden, anti-
Muslim language as that of Iskander approximately two centuries earlier (and
many other authors throughout Rus' history). Attempts have been made to
have Peresvetov fit smoothly within the context of 16th-century Muscovite
Russian religious culture. However, it is surely evident that Peresvetov’s
‘Tale’ represented the introduction of a very different way of thinking about
Muslims into early modern Orthodox Christian Russia. Given that Russians
maintain great interest in their national history and historical literature, this
atypical text may still have some relevance and influence today.

Manuscripts
MANUSCRIPTS
The ‘Tale’ exists in a number of 17th-century MSS. For lists of these and
discussion, see:

Rzhiga, ‘Peresvetov, publitsist XVI v.’, pp. 57-58

Zimin and Likhachev, Sochineniia I. Peresvetova

Zimin, I.S. Peresvetov i ego sovremenniki, pp. 243-51

EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS

N.V. Sinitsyna and V.S. Pribytkov (eds), Vse narody edino sut’. Istoriia
otechestva v romanakh, povestiakh, dokumentakh – vek XV-XVI, Moscow,
1987, pp. 629-41 (modern Russian trans. by S.A. Eliseev)

Basile, Scritti politici di Ivan Semënovic Peresvetov (Italian trans.)

Vernadsky, A source book for Russian history, vol. 1, pp. 162-4 (brief
excerpts in English trans.)

316
J. Fennell and D. Obolensky (eds), A historical Russian reader. A selection of
texts from the eleventh to the sixteenth centuries, Oxford, 1969, pp. 126-35,
198-200 (Russian text with English annotations)

Zimin and Likhachev, Sochineniia I. Peresvetova

S.P. Obnorskiĭ and S.G. Barkhudarov (eds), Khrestomatiia po istorii

russkogo iazyka, Moscow, 1938, vol. 1, 170-3 (excerpts; multiple editions)

N.K. Gudziĭ (ed.), Khrestomatiia po drevneĭ russkoĭ literature XI-XVII vv.,

Moscow, 1935, pp. 189-94 (this work exists in multiple editions)

Rzhiga, ‘Peresvetov, publitsist XVI v.’, pp. 71-8

Editions & Translations

Studies
Hundreds of works make mention of Peresvetov’s ‘Tale of Sultan Mehmed’.
Salient and representative studies are listed below. For additional
bibliography, see Zimin, I.S. Peresvetov i ego sovremenniki, pp. 458-78;
Erusalimskiĭ, ‘Publitsist i tsentralizovannoe gosudarstvo’, pp. 100-28.

Mikhaĭlova and Mikhaĭlov, ‘Vera i pravda v tekstakh Ivana Peresvetova’

Martelli, Lo zar e il suo doppio, pp. 29, 46-9

Narozhniaia, ‘Sochineniia I.S. Peresvetova’

Riha, Readings in Russian civilization, vol. 1, pp. 98-103, 116 (other editions
may have different content and page numbers)

Al’shits, Ot legend k faktam, pp. 223-71

Pipes, Russian conservatism, pp. 42-3

De Madariaga, Ivan the Terrible, pp. 88-90

317
Leĭst, Istoriia politicheskikh i pravovykh ucheniĭ, pp. 158-62 (other editions
may have different content and page numbers)

Schneck, ‘Political thinking in Moscow’

Novikov, ‘Politicheskie i pravovye vzgliady I.S. Peresvetova’

Batunskiĭ, Rossiia i islam, vol. 1 (comparative perspective)

Al’, Pisatel’ Ivan Peresvetov

Karavashkin, Russkaia srednevekovaia publitsistika

Lur’e, ‘Skazanie o Petre, voevode Volosskom’

Iurganov and Danilevskiĭ, ‘“Pravda” i “vera”’

P.M. Austin, The exotic prisoner in Russian romanticism, New York, 1997,
p. 25

Hosking, People and empire, pp. 47-56

Iurganov. ‘Idei I.S. Peresvetova’,

Iurganov, ‘Ideal Ivashki Peresvetova’

Dvorkin, Ivan the Terrible, pp. 40-54

Lur’e, ‘Peresvetov Ivan Semenovich’

Kagan, ‘Povest’ o dvukh posol’stvakh’

Likhachev, A history of Russian literature (section on Peresvetov)

Likhachev, ‘Ėpokha’

Cazacu, ‘Aux sources de l’autocratie Russe’

Brown, ‘Early Modern Russian bureaucracy’, vol. 2, pp. 627-35

Pelenski, Russia and Kazan

318
Billington, The icon and the axe, p. 67

Cherniavsky, ‘Ivan the Terrible’

Letiche and Pashkov, A history of Russian economic thought, pp. 128-35

Danti, ‘Ivan Peresvetov’

Backus, ‘Muscovite legal thought’

Giterman, Storia della Russia, pp. 161-7 (other editions may have different
content and page numbers)

Klibanov, ‘Les mouvements hérétiques’

Zimin, ‘K izucheniiu vzgliadov I.S. Peresvetova’

Stökl, ‘Das Echo von Renaissance’

Zimin, I.S. Peresvetov i ego sovremenniki

Sakketti and Sal’nikov, ‘O vzgliadakh I. Peresvetova’

Zimin and Likhachev, Sochineniia I. Peresvetova (standard critical edition of

texts with commentary)

Sakketti, ‘Politicheskaia programma I.S. Peresvetova’

Budovnits, Russkaia publitsistika, pp. 208-19

Bezviconi, Călători ruşi în Moldova şi Muntenia, pp. 20-26

Philipp, ‘Ivan Peresvetov und seine Schriften’ (entire issue)

Rzhiga, ‘Peresvetov i zapadnaia kul’turno-istoricheskaia sreda’

Rzhiga, ‘Peresvetov, publitsist XVI v.’

Iavorskiĭ, ‘K voprosu ob Ivashke Peresvetove’

Egorov, ‘Ideia “turetskoĭ reformatsii”’

319
Keywords
Chronological Category: 1500-1550
Thematic Region: Russia, Turkey
Related Historical People: Ivan IV, Machiavelli, Mehmed II, Mehmet II,
Süleyman the Magnificent
Dynasty/Ruling elite: Byzantine Emperors, Ottomans
Genre & Source Type: Account of events, advice literature, Essays, Letters,
Polemics, Tales, wisdom literature
Theme: Administration, Analogy, Anti-Catholicism, Anti-Jewish polemic,
Biblical prooftexts, Cause of Good and Evil, Christian anti-Jewish polemic,
Christian Leaders, Christian-Muslim warfare, Conquest of Constantinople,
Conversion, Descriptions of Turks, Divine retribution, Freedom of religion,
Intra-Christian polemic, Islamic law, Jewish influence on Muhammad, Jews,
Life and customs, Miracles, Muslim courts, Muslim descriptions of Christian
doctrine, New Testament, Old Testament, Philosophy, Politics, Punishment
from God, Raids into Byzantine lands, Religious Tolerance, Sins, Sins of the
Christians as the cause of military defeats
Social History: Christian influence on Islam, Conversion, Muslim influence
on Christianity, Muslim religious beliefs, Ottoman culture and religious
beliefs, Ottoman foreign policy, Relativism, Religious violence, Warfare
Christians: Byzantine Church, Greek Orthodox, Slavonic church
Muslims: Ottomans

Yeshayahu Gruber
Cite this page

Gruber, Yeshayahu. " Skazanie o Magmete-saltane." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David Thomas.
Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016 <http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-
muslim-relations-ii/skazanie-o-magmete-saltane-COM_26649>

320
 Three epistles to Ivan IV during the
Kazan campaign
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts MANUSCRIPTS EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Three epistles to Ivan IV during the Kazan campaign

-

Feodosii, Archbishop of Novgorod

Date: Epistles 1 and 3, 1545-6; Epistles 2 and 4, 1550-1

Original Language: Old Russian

Description
The discrepancy in numbers between three and four epistles comes from the
fact that the Epistle 2 has a second distinct redaction and is sometimes
counted as Epistle 4.

In all the epistles, Feodosii uses the Psalms and the Donation of Constantine,
and refers to the first Russian Princes, Igor’, Sviatoslav and Vladimir, who
had dealings with the Byzantine emperors. Feodosii also makes extensive use
of Vassian Rylo’s letter to Ivan III during the ‘Standing at the Ugra’, one of
the last 15th-century confrontations of Muscovites with the Tatars at the river
Ugra, concerning the payment of tribute.

Epistle 1 is two pages long and claims to be an answer to an epistle from the
Grand Prince Ivan IV, who intends to wage war against Kazan and its
Mongol leaders. Feodosii assures Ivan that he will support him in prayer, and
he compares him to Constantine the Great who fought against Maxentius,
321
Moses who fought the Amalekites (Exodus 17:12-13), and Joshua taking
Jericho (Joshua 6:1-15; Hebrews 11:30). By comparing Ivan to Constantine,
Feodosii makes him a defender of the Christian faith and the Christian
people. His opponents, the Mongols of Kazan, are made to appear like the
heathen opponents of the Old Testament Hebrews and the early Christians.
As another example for Ivan, Feodosii names the Byzantine Emperor Manuel
I Comnenus, who defeated the Muslims with the help of the Icon of the
Mother of God, and had Russian mercenaries in his army. Finally, Feodosii
advises Ivan to act like Moses, Joshua and Manuel against the heathen.

Epistle 2 is two pages long and again claims to be an answer to a letter from
the Grand Prince Ivan IV, in which he is announcing his intention to wage
war against Kazan. Feodosii reassures Ivan that moving against Kazan is his
duty, because Kazan is an enemy and the people of Kazan spill Christian
blood. He also reassures the Grand Prince that the clergy of Novgorod will
pray that God will give him help, strength, and victory. He compares Ivan to
Constantine at the Milvian bridge, and compares his opponents to the
Emperor Maxentius. As biblical references, Feodosii uses the examples of
David against the Philistine Goliath (1 Kings 17:55-8) and Samson against
the Philistines (Judges 15:9-16). In a further historical argument, Feodosii
refers to the great Grand Princes of Kievan Rus, Igor’, Sviatoslav and
Vladimir, who successfully fought against the Byzantine Greeks in their
empire south of Rus.

Epistle 3 is two pages long and is also an answer to an epistle from Grand
Prince Ivan IV, in which he announces his campaign against Kazan in the
spring and seeks forgiveness for all his sins. Feodosii answers that he and his
fellow clergy of Novgorod will pray ‘day and night’ for God to help the
prince. Making an allusion to Isaiah 45:1-2, Feodosii compares Ivan IV to the
Persian King Cyrus to whom God promised that he would lead in his
campaign and open all doors. Then, Feodosii explains that Christians and
heathens are opposites, and denounces the Mongols for idolatry. As a new
Constantine, Ivan will have victory over his foes with the help of God, his
angels and his saints, particularly the Russian miracle-workers. Feodosii then
exhorts Ivan to stay firm in the faith and against the foes of God. Feodosii
also grants him forgiveness for his sins, and calls down the help of the Father
and the Son, the Mother of God and the 14th-century Russian saints who were

322
involved in state affairs but also worked wonders: the holy metropolitans
Petr, Aleksei and Iona, the wonder-workers Leontii of Rostov, Isaia and
Ignatii, the new holy abbots Sergii, Varlaam and Kirill and, lastly, himself. At
the end of his letter, the bishop blesses Ivan, his brother, his princes, boyars,
voevodas, and his army, for the first time referring to all the significant
people in the campaign.

It is notable that Feodosii predicts the victory over Kazan seven years before
it occurred, though the change of biblical references between epistles 1-3 of
1545-6 and epistle 2 of 1550-1 is indicative of changing circumstances.
While in the earlier epistles Feodosii refers to examples of kings taking
towns, in the later epistle he refers to David and Samson, two Old Testament
characters who were less strong than their opponents but nonetheless beat
them. This change of themes shows how desperate the Russians were after
five years of futile fighting against Kazan.

Significance
Feodosii’s letters are about the duty of a Christian ruler to convert the
heathen. He regards it as the particular duty of the Russian rulers to struggle
against the pagan Tatars. His main concern a religious one, that Christians
should triumph over Muslims, whom he evidently regards as pagans.

As the letters were only made known at the end of the 18th century, no
immediate influence on Russian thought or action against Muslims seems
likely.

Manuscripts
MANUSCRIPTS
MS St Petersburg, Otdel rukopisei Rossiiskoi natsional’noi biblioteki –
Q.XVII.50: first epistle, pp. 243-4v; second epistle, pp. 166r-6v; third epistle,
pp. 241-3 (mid 16th century, before 1587)

MS St Petersburg, Otdel rukopisei Rossiiskoi natsional’noi biblioteki,

sobranie Sankt-Peterburgskoi Duchovnoi Akademii – No. 430: fourth

323
epistle, or second redaction of the second epistle, pp. 42-3 (last quarter of 16th
century)

EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS

N. Novikov, Drevniaia Rossiiskaia Vivliofika. Soderzhashchaia v sebe
sobranie drevnostei rossiiskikh, po istorii, geografii i genealogii
rosiiskiia kasaiushchikhsia, Moscow, 17902, vol. 14, pp. 263-5 (first epistle),
pp. 260-3 (third epistle)

Dopolneniia k aktam istoricheskim, sobrannyia i izdannyia

arkheograficheskoju kommissieju, St Petersburg, 1846, vol. 1, no. 37 (1-2),
pp. 38-9 (second epistle), pp. 39-40 (third epistle)

A.I. Filiushkin, ‘Gramoty novgorodskogo arkhiepiskopa Feodosiia,

posviashchennye “Kazanskomu vziatiiu”’, Germenevtika drevnerusskoi
literatury 10 (2000) 327-46, pp. 345-6 (fourth epistle, or second redaction
of the second epistle)

Editions & Translations

Studies
Filiushkin, ‘Gramoty novgorodskogo arkhiepiskopa Feodosiia’

R.P. Dmitrieva, ‘Volokolamskie chet’i sborniki XVI v.’, Trudy otdela

drevnerusskoi literatury 28 (1974) 202-30, pp. 205, 213-14

B.M. Kloss, ‘Nil Sorskii i Nil Polev – “spisateli knig”’, in Drevnerusskoe

iskusstvo. Rukopisnaia kniga, Sb. 2, Moscow, 1974, p. 162

Ia.S. Lur’e, Ideologicheskaia bor’ba v russkoi publitsistike kontsa XV-

nachala XVI veka, Moscow, 1960, pp. 505-6

324
A.A. Zimina and Ia.S. Lur’e (eds), Poslaniia Iosifa Volotskogo, Moscow,
1959, pp. 107-13

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1500-1550, 1550-1600
Thematic Region: Kazan Khanate, Russia
Related Historical People: Constantine, Ivan IV
Dynasty/Ruling elite: Riurikids
Genre & Source Type: Letters
Theme: Anti-Muslim polemic, Christian Leaders, Christian-Muslim warfare,
Conquest of Kazan, Cross, Intra-Christian polemic
Christians: Slavonic church

Cornelia Soldat
Cite this page

Soldat , Cornelia. " Three epistles to Ivan IV during the Kazan campaign." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General
Editor David Thomas. Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016
<http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-ii/three-epistles-to-ivan-iv-during-the-kazan-
campaign-COM_26640>

325
 The Chronicle of Moldavia from 1504 to
1551
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts MANUSCRIPTS EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

The Chronicle of Moldavia from 1504 to 1551

-

Episcopul Macarie de Roman

Date: Between 1531 and 1552

Original Language: Slavonic

Description
The Chronicle of Bishop Macarie was commissioned by Prince Petru Rareş
(r. 1527-38, 1541-6) and by Toader Bubuiog, the Great Chamberlain (r.
1524-38). Their intention was to continue the court annals composed during
the reign of Ştefan the Great (1457-1504), Petru Rareş’s father.

Despite the fact that no manuscript directly copied by Macarie’s hand has
been found, the authenticity of the chronicle is beyond any doubt. It exists in
two forms. The first ends in the year 1542, while the second continues to
1552. This suggests that Macarie proceeded with the composition of his work
in at least two stages: first between 1527 and 1531, and second between 1542
and 1552. The short version consists of 22 leaves (in the Kiev manuscript),
and the long version of 39 leaves (in the St Petersburg manuscript).
References to Christian-Muslim (i.e. Ottoman) relations are found throughout
the text.

326
For the first part of his work (1504-27), Macarie certainly employed official
chronicles, while for the following part he made use of oral information, his
personal experience and official documents to which he had access at the
princely court in Suceava. From a linguistic and stylistic point of view,
Macarie’s chronicle owes a lot to the 14th-century Middle Bulgarian
translation of Konstantinos Manasses’ chronicle, and to the writings of the
Bulgarian-born man of letters Grigoriĭ T͡samblak (d. 1420).

Macarie’s Chronicle illustrates the ambivalent, often ambiguous position of

Moldavia between the Christian world and the Ottoman Empire. The work
marks a clear departure from the older Moldavian Slavonic chronicles, in
which practically no attention is given to Ottoman religion and customs.
Macarie wrote in a particularly tormented period, when Ottoman power
spread terror throughout Europe. He knew about the Ottoman campaigns in
Persia (1514-15) and Egypt (1516-17) and the conquest of Belgrade (1521)
and Rhodes (1522), and he was confident that the crushing Hungarian defeat
at Mohács (1526) was in fact the result of some Ottoman ‘perfidious
scheming’.

In fact, treachery is constantly associated with the Ottomans, and it is clearly

a religious stereotype. The most relevant episode in this respect is the
conversion of Prince Iliaş Rareş (1551). Young and ignorant, he surrounded
himself with the ‘sons and daughters of Hagar’ and even with ‘Turkish
whores’, and followed their malicious advice until the ‘Devil settled in his
soul’. He abjured the faith of his ancestors, embraced Islam and took the
name of the ‘damned Muḥammad’, which was synonymous with Satan. The
naive Christian was thus a victim of Ottoman treachery.

Thus, from a strictly religious perspective, Macarie shows himself resolutely

hostile towards the Ottomans, who are constantly called ‘trice-cursed
Hagarians’, being identified with ‘obscurity’ and the Devil himself. If most of
these epithets are borrowed from Manasses, like many others, this is also
because the chronicler’s vision was, on this level, practically the same as that
of his Byzantine model from centuries before.

Macarie’s plain hostility towards the religion of the Ottomans is also apparent
when he writes about purely political matters. The defeat of his patron Petru
Rareş by the Ottomans, led by the ‘thrice-damned’ Süleyman, the ‘Barbarian
327
emperor’, is depicted with much emotion and sorrow, as is the conquest of
the Moldavian capital. Ottoman/Muslim wildness (the sultan roars like a lion
and leads ‘a multitude of ferocious beasts’) is contrasted with
Moldavian/Christian normal human behaviour, and if it was the first that
prevailed, then this happened because the Lord himself decided that it should
be so.

The tone of the narrative changes after 1541. The acceptance of Ottoman
suzerainty by Petru Rareș is considered a desperate but ultimately clever
decision inspired by God himself: defeated and abandoned by his followers,
the prince realized that the only solution was to beg for the sultan’s pardon.
When he heard about the tragic mishap suffered by his former enemy, the
‘most proud emperor’ suddenly became merciful and decided to give him
back his throne. This way of presenting events indicates that Macarie
considered that Süleyman acted in his own right when giving power to
whomever he liked. From that point on, the sultan is seen as the legitimate
suzerain of Moldavia.

Significance
Macarie’s chronicle provides a telling example of how clerical and lay
Moldavian elites in the first half of the 16th century portrayed the Ottomans.
The detailed story of Petru Rareş’s defeat, exile and return to power depicts
and justifies the vassalisation of Moldavia by the Sublime Porte. In Macarie’s
view, the Ottomans and the sultan are the instruments through whom God has
chastised the Moldavians and their prince ‘for their sins’, according to his
inscrutable design. The defeat was thus decided by God and it would have
been impossible to resist the Lord’s will without committing sacrilege. It is
important to note that Prince Petru Rareş himself expressed similar views on
these matters.

Considered from a broader perspective, Macarie’s work illustrates the

Orthodox reaction to the political and spiritual pressure that Islam exerted on
the Christian world, in a context marked by the dispute between the Roman
Catholic Church and Protestants during the Reformation. Macarie’s historical
perspective is consistent with his hesychast ideas about the regeneration of
the faith. He viewed Orthodoxy as the prime example of a prophetic religion
that was deeply threatened by the superficial understanding of the Christian
328
way of life of the Moldavian elites and people, and by ‘heresies’ (he firmly
condemned the Lutherans and the Armenians) and Islam. The admonitory
message of the iconographic programmes that Macarie himself inspired is
clearly directed against both the deviations from the right path and the
‘others’, as suggested by the representation of the ‘foreign nations’ in the
scenes of the Last Judgement, in which Turks, but also Latins and
Armenians, are doomed to eternal pain.

Manuscripts
MANUSCRIPTS
MS Kiev, V.I. Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine, Collection
Pochaevska Lavra – 116, fols 459r-481v (between 1554 and January 1561,
short version 1504-42, scribed by the monk Isaia of Slatina)

MS Moscow, Historical Museum, Manuscripts Department, E.V. Barsov

Collection – 1411, fols 154r-168r (16th century, short version, 1504-30)

MS St Petersburg, M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin Public Library – O. XVII. 13,

fols 238r-277v (end of the 16th to the beginning of the 17th century, long
version, 1504-51, made in Moldavia)

MS Bucharest, Library of the Romanian Academy – Rom. 5212, fols 65r-

107r (19th century copy of the St Petersburg MS)

EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS

Bogdan, Vechile cronice moldovenesci, pp. 149-62 (edition, MS Kiev), pp.
198-212 (Romanian trans.)

Bogdan, ‘Letopiseţul lui Azarie’, pp. 59-63 (edition, MSS St Petersburg and
Moscow), pp. 125-31 (Romanian trans.)
329
Panaitescu, ‘Cronica lui Macarie’, pp. 74-90 (critical edition using all the
available MSS), pp. 90-105

(Romanian trans.)

Mihăilă, ‘Cronica episcopului Macarie’, pp. 172-90 (Romanian trans.)

F.A. Grekul and V.I. Buganov, Slavi͡ano-moldavskie letopisi XV-XVI vv.,

Moscow, 1976, pp. 75-94 (Russian trans.)

Editions & Translations

Studies
The Oxford history of historical writing, ed. S. Foot and C.F. Robinson, vol.
2, Oxford, 2012, pp. 342-3

Păun, ‘Le couronnement des princes’

Turdeanu, ‘Egumenul Macarie’

P. Boicheva, ‘Moldovskii͡at letopiset͡s Makariĭ i tradit͡siite na Evtimievata

knizhovna shkola v Moldova prez XVI v.’, in Tū rnovska knizhovna shkola,
Veliko Tūrnovo, 1994, vol. 5, 147-54

Păcurariu, Istoria Bisericii Ortodoxe

Mazilu, Literatura română, pp. 280-304, 379-82

Ulea, ‘O surprinzătoare personalitate’

Şuiu, art. ‘Macarie’

330
M. Berza, ‘Turcs, Empire Ottoman et relations roumano-turques dans
l’historiographie moldave des XVe-XVIIIe siècles’, Revue des Études Sud-Est
Européennes 10 (1972) 595-627, pp. 604-8 (repr. in M. Berza, Pentru o
istorie a vechii culturi româneşti, ed. A. Pippidi, Bucharest, 1985)

Teodor, ‘Cronica lui Macarie’

Mihăilă, ‘Cronica episcopului Macarie’, pp. 168-71

Turdeanu, ‘L’activité littéraire en Moldavie’

Academia RPR, Istoria literaturii române, vol. 1, pp. 261-4

Panaitescu, ‘Cronica lui Macarie’, pp. 75-7

Ciobanu, Istoria literaturii române vechi, pp. 101-5

Cartojan, Istoria literaturii române vechi, vol. 1, pp. 38-9, 41-2

Minea, ‘Letopiseţele moldoveneşti scrise în slavoneşte’

I͡at͡simirskĭi, ‘Romanskĭi mitropolitˊ Makarĭi’

Bogdan, ‘Letopiseţul lui Azarie’, pp. 59-63

I.A. I͡at͡simirskĭi, Grigorĭi T͡samblak. Ocherk ego zhizni, administrativno ĭ i

knizhnoĭ dei͡atelˊnosti, St Petersburg, 1904, pp. 289-90

Bogdan, Vechile cronice moldovenesci, pp. 69-89

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1500-1550
Thematic Region: Moldavia, Wallachia
Related Historical People: Hungarians, John I of Hungary , Ottomans, Selim
I, Süleyman the Magnificent
Genre & Source Type: Chronicles/Histories
Theme: Battle at Mohacs, Cause of Good and Evil, Christian descriptions of
Islamic doctrine, Christian portrayal of Muhammad, Christian-Muslim
warfare, Conversion, Diplomatic relations, Idolatry, Purity/Impurity, The true
331
religion
Social History: Apostasy, Clergy, Impurity, Warfare, Women
Muslims: Ottomans, Tatars

Radu G. Păun
Cite this page

Păun, Radu G.. " The Chronicle of Moldavia from 1504 to 1551." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David
Thomas. Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016
<http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-ii/the-chronicle-of-moldavia-from-1504-to-1551-
COM_27486>

332
 Prognoma
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Prognoma
‘Presage’

Bartol Đurđević, Bartolomej Đurđević, Bartholomaeus Gjorgevic, Bartol

Jurjević, Bartolomeo Georgijević, Bartholomaeo Georgievitz,
Bartholomaeo Gyurgievits, Bartłomiej Georgiewicz

Date: 1545
Original Language: Latin

Description
In the 15-page Prognoma (Prognoma, sive praesagium Mehmetanorum,
primum de Christianorum calamitatibus, deinde de suae gentis interitu, ex
Persica lingua in Latinum sermonem conversum, ‘Presage or augury of the
Mahometans, first about the calamities of the Christians then about the doom
of their people, from the Persian translated into Latin’), Georgius presents a
‘Turkish’ prophecy in Ottoman Turkish (starting with Patissahomoz ghelur,
Ciaferun memleketi alur), along with a Latin translation and interpretation. In
the prophecy, a Muslim emperor with a red apple conquers a Christian
kingdom and rules for 12 years before ‘the sword of the Christian will
appear, that will put the Turks to flight whithersoever’.

Significance

333
This prophecy was part of a long apocalyptic tradition in which Byzantine,
Islamic and Latin threads were entwined in various ways. It changed the
motif of the kızıl elma (‘red apple’), which in the Ottoman tradition
symbolised a future victory over unbelievers, into a sign of ultimate Christian
victory. The prophecy may have been circulating among Christian prisoners
in the Ottoman Empire, and was presented by Georgius as a Habsburg
propaganda text (Denis, ‘Les pseudo-prophéties’; Rossi, ‘La leggenda’;
Setton, Western hostility, pp. 29-46; Yerasimos, ‘De l’arbre’;
Fleischer, ‘Shadows’; Moretti, ‘Profezie’).

This work was often published with other works of Georgius, as, for
example, in the Epitome.

Manuscripts
EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
B. Georgius, Prognoma, sive praesagium Mehmetanorum, primum de
Christianorum calamitatibus, deinde de suae gentis interitu, ex Persica
lingua in Latinum sermonem conversum, Antwerp, s.a. [1545]; Vienna 1547

Editions & Translations

Studies
Moretti, ‘Profezie scritte e figurate’

C. Fleischer, ‘Shadows of shadows. Prophecy in politics in 1530s Istanbul’,

International Journal of Turkish Studies 13 (2007) 51-62

S. Yerasimos, ‘De l’arbre à la pomme. La généalogie d’un thème

apocalyptique’, in B. Lellouch and S. Yerasimos (eds), Les traditions
apokalyptiques au tournant de la chute de Constantinople, Paris, 1999, 153-
92

K.M. Setton, Western hostility to Islam and prophecies of Turkish doom,

Philadelphia PA, 1992

334
Yerasimos, Les voyageurs

E. Rossi, ‘La leggenda turco-bizantina del pomo rosso’, in Atti del V

Congresso Internazionale degli Studi Bizantini, Rome, 1939, 542-53

J. Denis, ‘Les pseudo-prophéties concernant les Turcs au XVIe siècle’, Revue

des Études Islamiques 10 (1936) 217-20

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1500-1550
Thematic Region: Europe, Ottoman Empire
Dynasty/Ruling elite: Habsburgs, Ottomans
Genre & Source Type: Apocalypses, Captivity narratives, Imperial
propaganda, Prophecy
Theme: Christian-Muslim warfare, Conquest of Constantinople, Eschatology,
Last Emperor, Prophecies, Red Apple (kizil elma)
Social History: Prisoners of war, Slaves/slavery

Almut Höfert
Cite this page

Höfert, Almut. " Prognoma." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David Thomas. Brill Online, 2016.
Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016 <http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-
ii/prognoma-COM_27847>

335
 De Turcarum ritu et caeremoniis
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

De Turcarum ritu et caeremoniis

‘On the ritual and ceremonies of the Turks’

Bartol Đurđević, Bartolomej Đurđević, Bartholomaeus Gjorgevic, Bartol

Jurjević, Bartolomeo Georgijević, Bartholomaeo Georgievitz,
Bartholomaeo Gyurgievits, Bartłomiej Georgiewicz

Date: 1544
Original Language: Latin

Description
In the first Antwerp edition of 1544, De Turcarum ritu et ceremoniis is 40
pages long. It consists of four chapters: on religion, on the military, on
everyday life, and a short language guide with vocabularies and dialogues in
Tukish and Latin (Heffening, Transkriptionstexte). The chapters comprise
between 8 and 14 sections (e.g. ‘About their fasting’, ‘About their way of
sitting and eating’), which present clearly structured information. Georgius
clearly writes from a Christian perspective but, as in the majority of his texts,
he refrains from any moral judgments, refers to the discipline of Ottoman
soldiers, and even writes of the Prophet Muḥammad without the usual
polemical tone. Only at the end of the third chapter does he express any
hostility, when he condemns the ‘cruelty and most ignominious abuses’ of
the Turks, who hope to win salvation by ablutions and cleanliness while ‘they
are internally filled with the filth of their crimes’ (De Turcarum ritu, fol.
D3v; cf. Höfert, Ist das Böse schmutzig?).

336
This work was often published with other works by Georgius, as, for
example, in the Epitome.

Significance
See entry on the Epitome below.

Manuscripts
EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
B. Georgius, De Turcarum ritu et caeremoniis, Antwerp, 1544

B. Georgius, La manière et cerémonies des Turcs, Antwerp, 1544 (French

trans.)

B. Georgius, Der Turcken manieren en Ceremonien, Antwerp, 1544 (Dutch

trans.)

B. Georgius, Von der Türcken gebreuchen, gewonheyten und Ceremonien,

Nuremberg, 1545 (repr. 1664) (German trans.)

N.M. Aksulu, Bartholomäus Georgievićs Türkenschrift ‘De Turcarum ritu et

caeremoniis’ (1544) und ihre beiden deutschen Übersetzungen von 1545,
Stuttgart, 2005

Editions & Translations

Studies
Aksulu, Bartholomäus Georgievićs Türkenschrift

Höfert, ‘Ist das Böse schmutzig?’

Yerasimos, Les voyageurs

W. Heffening, Die türkischen Transkriptionstexte des Bartholomäus

Georgievits aus den Jahren 1544-1548. Ein Beitrag zur historischen

337
Grammatik des Osmanisch-Türkischen (Abhandlungen für die Kunde des
Morgenlandes 27), Leipzig, 1942 (repr. Nendeln, Liechtenstein, 1966)

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1500-1550
Thematic Region: Europe, Ottoman Empire
Dynasty/Ruling elite: Habsburgs, Ottomans
Genre & Source Type: Ethnography, Travel Writing
Theme: Anti-Muslim polemic, captivity, Christian portrayal of Muhammad,
Janissaries, Marriage and Divorce, Muslim festivals, Prayer, Purity/Impurity,
Rituals and Customs, The true religion
Social History: Agriculture, Festivals, Food and food laws, Impurity,
Marriage and Divorce, Warfare

Almut Höfert
Cite this page

Höfert, Almut. " De Turcarum ritu et caeremoniis." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David Thomas. Brill
Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016 <http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-
muslim-relations-ii/de-turcarum-ritu-et-caeremoniis-COM_27836>

338
 De Turcarum moribus epitome,
Bartholomaeo Georgieviz, peregrino,
autore
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

De Turcarum moribus epitome

‘Epitome on the manners of the Turks, by the pilgrim Bartholomaeo
Georgieviz’

Bartol Đurđević, Bartolomej Đurđević, Bartholomaeus Gjorgevic, Bartol

Jurjević, Bartolomeo Georgijević, Bartholomaeo Georgievitz,
Bartholomaeo Gyurgievits, Bartłomiej Georgiewicz

Date: 1553
Original Language: Latin

Description
In order to promote further publication of his work, particularly for the
French market, Georgius made this Latin compilation of his early works in
Antwerp. It consists of De afflictione, De Turcarum ritu et caeremoniis,
Exhortatio contra Turcas, Prognoma and Epistola exhortatoria. It amounts to
184 pages in the first edition (Lyons, 1553). As in all his other compilations,
he omits the detailed report about his captivity (De ritibus et differentijs
Graecorum et Armeniorum, tum etiam de captivitate illius), possibly because
it adds a few light touches to what he wanted to present as a thoroughly dark
and miserable period of his life as a slave.

339
Significance
The Epitome is only one example of how Georgius’s writings were published
in different combinations and many languages. In Venice, Francesco
Sansovino printed De ritu and De afflictione in a three-volume Italian
compendium about the Turks (Dell’historia universale). The much more
extensive report about the Ottoman Empire by Giovanni Antonio Menavino,
another Ottoman prisoner, was also often printed together with Georgius’s
works, starting with the first publication of Menavino’s I cinque libri (…) de’
Turchi (attached were De afflictione and De Turcarum ritu et caeremoniis,
translated by Lodovico Domenichi). In German-speaking areas, almost all of
Georgius’s works were translated and combined in various ways. Along with
George of Hungary (who has occasionally been confused with Georgius, both
in older literature and in some library catalogues), Georgius was also brought
into the Lutheran debate about the Turks – for example, in a compendium
printed in Wittenberg with a preface by Philip Melanchthon (De origine
imperii Turcorum). Other 16th-century translations were published in French,
Dutch, Polish, English and Czech. The most extensive list includes almost 90
publications, mostly from the 16th century, but also from the
17th (Yerasimos, Voyageurs, pp. 159-63, cf. also Göllner, Turcica).

Georgius’s enormous success was due not only to the priority he gave to the
promotion of his works but also to the fact that they were short and connected
very well with the topics raised in the debate on the Turks (see the entry on
Türkenbüchlein). Being based on his long experience in the Ottoman Empire,
Georgius’s books gave various arguments a note of authenticity. European
knowledge of the structure and everyday life of the Ottoman Empire in the
early 16th century was mainly reliant on reports by prisoners of war and,
compared with those written by others (Hans Schiltberger, George of
Hungary, Luigi Bassano, Giovanni Antonio Menavino), Georgius’s De
afflictione contained the most vivid depiction of the cruelties and miserable
conditions of a slave’s life, apparently without his going through any crisis of
faith such as George of Hungary had experienced.

In addition, extracts from De ritu were often quoted and reproduced. With its
clear structure and handy small sections, the text matched perfectly the
requirements of Early Modern ethnographical interests. The absence of moral

340
judgements in these sections made them suitable for many different contexts.
Compilers and editors who presented descriptions of the Ottoman Empire
would employ single sections from the Epitome to complete their own works
(Höfert, Den Feind beschreiben, p. 292).

Georgius’s works certainly do not represent the intellectual peak of

European Turcica: they do not demonstrate the rhetorical brilliance of
Aeneas Silvio Piccolomini, Pierre Belon’s joyful curiosity in exploring new
ethnographical fields, or Hans Löwenklau’s scholarly enthusiasm
for extending historiographical borders. However, in his instinct for meeting
the needs of a broad audience, Georgius was unmatched. There is no other
author whose writings cover so extensively the various aspects of the
contemporary debate on the Turks: Georgius was not only the most published
but also the most typical writer of the authors of 16th-century Turcica.

Manuscripts
EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
B. Georgius, De Turcarum moribus epitome, Lyons, 1553 (repr. Lyons 1555,
1558, 1567, 1568, 1578, 1598; Paris 1556, 1566, 1588; Geneva 1598)

G. Menavino, I cinque libri della legge, religione, et vita de’ Turchi (…).
Oltre cio, vna prophetia de’ Mahomettani, et la misera de’ prigioni, et de’
Christiani, che uiuono sotto’l Gran Turco (…), Venice, 1548 (Italian trans.)

B. Georgius, Türcken Büchlin. Gantz warhaftige vnnd aber erbärmkliche

beschreibung von der pein, marter, schmerzen und Tyranney (…), Strassburg,
1558 (German trans.)

B. Georgius, De origine imperii Turcorum (…) Cui libellus de Turcorum

moribus, collectus a Bartholomaeo Georgieviz, adiectus est, Cum prefatione
reverendi viri D. Philippi Melanchtonis, Wittenberg, 1560 (repr. Wittenberg,
341
1562; this collection is the same as De Turcarum moribus epitome, Lyons,
1553)

F. Sansovino, Dell’historia universale dell’origine et imperio de Turchi.

Parte prima, Venice, 1560 (repr. Venice 1564, 1568, 1573, 1582, 1600)
(Italian trans.)

J. Schwarzwald, Bartol Durdevic, Bibliografia izdanja, 1544-1686 (Croatica

bibliografije 27), Zagreb, 1980 (Serbo-Croat trans.)

Editions & Translations

Studies
Keywords
Chronological Category: 1500-1550, 1550-1600
Thematic Region: Europe, Ottoman Empire
Related Historical People: Luigi Bassano , Melancthon
Dynasty/Ruling elite: Habsburgs, Ottomans
Genre & Source Type: Autobiographies, Captivity narratives, Comparative
religion, Disputations, Ethnography, Imperial propaganda, moral instruction,
Prayers, Travel Writing
Theme: Anti-Muslim polemic, Battle at Mohacs, captivity, Christian writings
on other faiths, Christian-Muslim warfare, Pilgrimage, Rituals and Customs,
The true religion
Social History: Prisoners of war, Slaves/slavery

Almut Höfert
Cite this page

Höfert, Almut. " De Turcarum moribus epitome, Bartholomaeo Georgieviz, peregrino, autore." Christian-Muslim Relations
1500 - 1900. General Editor David Thomas. Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016

342
<http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-ii/de-turcarum-moribus-epitome-bartholomaeo-
georgieviz-peregrino-autore-COM_26282>

343
 De afflictione Christianorum
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

De afflictione Christianorum
‘On the suffering of the Christians’

Bartol Đurđević, Bartolomej Đurđević, Bartholomaeus Gjorgevic, Bartol

Jurjević, Bartolomeo Georgijević, Bartholomaeo Georgievitz,
Bartholomaeo Gyurgievits, Bartłomiej Georgiewicz

Date: 1544
Original Language: Latin

Description
In this 32-page book (its fuller title is De afflictione tam captivorum quam
etiam sub Turcae tribute viventium Christianorum, ‘On the suffering of both
the captives and also the Christians living under the tribute of the Turk’),
Georgius presents his experiences as a slave in the Ottoman Empire,
presenting them as calamities suffered by a true believer among cruel
infidels. He describes the miserable fate of Christian slaves, their transport in
chains to the slave market, the various functions they were given according to
age, sex, beauty and skills, and also the dangers of attempting to escape.
Slaves who resist conversion to Islam are treated even worse.

Christians who live as Turkish subjects have to pay heavy taxes, can hardly
practise their religion, must not carry weapons and may even be deprived of
their sons if the boys are taken for the devşirme: ‘Neither the Egyptian
slavery, the Babylonian exile, the Assyrian captivity, nor the destruction by

344
the Romans’ can be compared to such misery (De afflictione, fol. C4v). As in
the language guide in De Turcarum ritu, here Georgius presents samples of
Slavonic words and Latin equivalents.

This text was often published together with other works by Georgius, as, for
example, in the Epitome.

Significance
See the entry on the Epitome below.

Manuscripts
EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
De afflictione tam captivorum quam etiam sub Turcae tribute viventium
Christianorum, cum figuris res clare ex primentibus: additis nonullis
vocabulis libellus, Antwerp, 1544

Les misères et tribulations des chrétiens tributaires et esclaves tenus par le

Turc seuffrent et sont constraints endurer, mises par fgures: Avec aulcunes
oraisons, et vocable en langue esclavonique, qui jusques icy nont este veues
ny mises en lumiere, Antwerp, 1544 (repr. Paris, 1545, 1594; French trans.)

Vander benautheyt ende tribulatien, der gheuanghenen Christenen onder des

Turcx tribuyt leu ēde: met schoonen figuren ... Daer toeghedaen sommighe
uocabulen en̄ woorden Met den Pater noster Ave maria, en̄ dat gelooue in
Sclauonischer spraken ouerghesct int Duytsch, Antwerp, 1544 (Dutch trans.)

De Afflictione, Tam Captivorvm Qvam Etiam Svb Turcae tributo uiuentium

Christianorum: cum figuris res clarè exprimentibus ; Similiter de Ritu,
deq́[ue] Caeremoniis domi, militiaeq́[ue] ab ea gente usurpatis; Additis

345
nonnullis lectu dignis, linguarum Sclavonicae & Turcicae, cum
interpretatione Latina, libellus, Worms, 1545

Türcken Büchlin. Ganz warhaftige vnnd aber erbaermkliche beschreibung

von der pein marter schmertzen vnd Tyranney so die Türcken den gefangnen
Christen mann vnnd weib jungen vnnd alten an thůn Auch von ihren
Ceremonien Policien Kriegen Feldtbaw Gebreuchen vnnd ein Disputatz eines
Christen vnnd Türcken vom glauben mit angehenckten Dialogis Türckisch
Sclauonisch vnd das Pater noster Arabisch Türckisch vnd Sclauonisch;
Jetzund widerumb von Neuwem vberlesen vnd gebessert Mit angehenckten
Historien so vorhien in disem buechlin nit begriffen, Strasbourg, 1548
(German trans.)

De Tvrcarvm moribvs epitome, Bartholomaeo Georgieuiz, peregrino auctore,

Lyon, 1558 (repr. 1578, 1598)

E. Fügedi, Kimondhatatlan nyomorúság. Ket emlékirat a 15-16. századi

oszmán fogságról, Budapest, 1976 (Hungarian trans.)

Editions & Translations

Studies
Yerasimos, Les voyageurs

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1500-1550
Thematic Region: Anatolia, Europe, Ottoman Empire
Genre & Source Type: Autobiographies, Captivity narratives, Polemics,
Travel Writing
346
Theme: Anti-Muslim polemic, Battle at Mohacs, captivity, Christian-Muslim
warfare, Janissaries, Prayer, Purity/Impurity, The true religion
Social History: Impurity, Prisoners of war, Slaves/slavery, Warfare

Almut Höfert
Cite this page

Höfert, Almut. " De afflictione Christianorum." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David Thomas. Brill
Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016 <http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-
muslim-relations-ii/de-afflictione-christianorum-COM_26283>

347
 Exhortatio contra Turcas. Ad
illustrissimum principem Maximilianum
archiducem Austriae
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Exhortatio contra Turcas

‘Exhortation against the Turks. To the most illustrious Prince Maximilian,
Archduke of Austria’

Bartol Đurđević, Bartolomej Đurđević, Bartholomaeus Gjorgevic, Bartol

Jurjević, Bartolomeo Georgijević, Bartholomaeo Georgievitz,
Bartholomaeo Gyurgievits, Bartłomiej Georgiewicz

Date: 1545
Original Language: Latin

Description
In the 15-page Exhortatio contra Turcas, Georgius combines typical
elements of exhortatory writing and calls for war against the Turks (see the
entry on Türkenbüchlein). He contrasts the virtues of the Christian nations
outside the Ottoman Empire – Italian wisdom, Spanish diligence, German
strength, French intrepidity, Hungarian boldness, etc. – with Greek
cowardice, Asian corruptness, Egyptian effeminacy and Arab bloodlessness.
However, Christians are not only divided in disharmony but they also indulge
in vices and heresy. A successful war against the Turks has first to be a war
‘not against, but with God’, and should be waged by a united Christian army.

348
This work was often published with other works by Georgius, as, for
example, in the Epitome.

Significance
See the entry on the Epitome below.

Manuscripts
EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
B. Georgius, Exhortatio contra Turcas. Ad illustrissimum principem
Maximilianum archiducem Austriae, Antwerp, 1545

Editions & Translations

Studies
Yerasimos, Les voyageurs

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1500-1550
Thematic Region: Europe, Ottoman Empire
Dynasty/Ruling elite: Habsburgs, Ottomans
Genre & Source Type: moral instruction, Polemics
Theme: Anti-Muslim polemic, Christian-Muslim warfare, religious reform,
Sins, The true religion
Social History: Warfare

Almut Höfert
Cite this page

Höfert, Almut. " Exhortatio contra Turcas. Ad illustrissimum principem Maximilianum archiducem Austriae." Christian-Muslim
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349
 Cronica
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts Editions
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Cronica
‘Chronicle’

Sebestyén Tinódi Lantos

Date: 1554
Original Language: Hungarian

Description
Sebestyén Tinódi was the earliest and most prolific Hungarian poet-
performer of the 16th century, with 22 narrative songs and melodies extant in
print form. He recorded the clashes involving Ottoman, Hungarian and
Habsburg interests from 1540 to 1556, during the tripartite division of
Hungary. The songs belong to the widespread European genre of event
poetry that combines a relatively factual account of a recent, significant event
with an implicit or explicit political-cultural commentary. Intended for
performance, this genre proves an excellent vehicle for re-creating vividly for
listeners well-known and highly charged epoch-making actions. Tinódi’s
songs, to which scholars now apply this genre definition (Vadai, ‘Tudosító’,
pp. 278-9), are pithy poems of 200-1800 lines, whose limited length allows
for a focused vision. Once Tinódi had established his credibility by
interviewing eye-witnesses and visiting battle sites, he was able to insert his
interpretation of events, and the moral lessons to be learnt from them, into the
collective memory through his performances (Dobozy, ‘Schaffen’, pp. 59-
62).

350
Tinódi made certain that his influence would extend beyond his own
performances to reach successive generations when in 1554 he collected 22
songs to form a cycle he called Cronica (in full: Cronica Tinodi Sebestien
szörzese. Elsö reszebe Ianos Kirai halalatul fogua ez esztendeig Dunan innet
Erdel orszaggal löt minden hadac veszödelmec, reuidedön szép notakual,
‘Chronicle, written by Sebestien Tinodi. Part one, from the death of King
John to this year, covers the events east of the Danube and in Transylvania
including every battle, with lovely melodies’). He personally supervised the
printing of the texts and the melodies he composed. Although he chronicles
events and claims veracity, the title was a misnomer then as now – it is not a
chronicle, for it has neither the length, breadth, nor organisation of a
chronicle. The songs do not follow a chronological sequence and cover only
Buda and east of the Danube including Transylvania, but not western
Hungary. The first part encompasses events and their broader contexts from
1540 to 1554 in a few long poems; the second contains songs with specific
details of some of the same events, but also biblical subjects such as David
and Judith, historical pieces (i.e. the Schmalkaldic war), and complaints
about patrons and drunkards. These are typical of the variety in any singer’s
repertoire.

This variety nevertheless fulfils Tinódi’s stated purpose: to give an accurate

account of the menacing events in Hungary so that he may praise the valiant
actions of the soldiers in the border fortresses, and use their positive example
to encourage others. Most of the songs can be understood in this way.
Historians have examined the information in the book and concluded that
much is accurate, such as the account of the siege of Eger (1551), and, while
other elements, such as the song of Szeged, confuse events and details
(Szakály, ‘Introduction’, pp. 33-9), Tinódi is generally regarded as a reliable
historian (Várnai, Tinódi, p. 40), who does not dramatise events but simply
presents literary commonplaces (Szakály, ‘Introduction’, p. 59). Only
relatively recently have scholars begun to demonstrate literary creativity in
his multi-layered metaphorical poems (Szilasi, ‘“Kiknek bor lelkök”’, pp.
726-9). For example, the retelling of David’s defeat of Goliath sets up an
allegory, with the plight of the Israelites pre-figuring the Hungarians, that
encourages stalwart resistance despite the difference in strength between
them and Ottomans (Vadai, ‘Historia’, pp. 19-21).

351
Tinódi’s evaluation of the political-military situation forms the context of
most of the songs. After the disastrous defeat at Mohács in 1526, the
surviving Hungarian magnates realised they could not defend their kingdom
without outside aid. They asked Ferdinand of Habsburg for help, but at the
time he was a claimant to the Hungarian crown in contention with John
Szapolya, was the governor of Transylvania, and after him his infant son
John Sigismund. This rivalry split the Hungarians, with the Ottomans
supporting Szapolya’s party and the Habsburgs the other magnates, and
paved the way for a Hungarian-Ottoman-Habsburg struggle. During the next
14 years, the Hungarians were fighting on two fronts, and Tinódi along with
others tended to switch sides as power shifted. The result was a complex
relationship to the Turks, and in Tinódi’s poems the depiction of Muslims is
more tempered and less derogatory than it might have been if the sides
remained more fixed.

Below, the ideas and content of the songs are discussed in their order of
composition and not according to their sequence in the book. In the early
poem, Buda vesztéséröl és Török Bálint fogságáról (‘The loss of Buda and
captivity of Bálint Török’) written in 1541, Tinódi’s patron Bálint (Valentine)
has joined Süleyman’s troops to regain the capital Buda from Ferdinand’s
control, while other Hungarian magnates fight for Ferdinand. The song
describes Bálint’s prowess and loyalty to the Turkish allies, who suddenly
take him captive to Istanbul (hence his epithet Török). The betrayal is framed
in heroic terms: Bálint with his private army (banderia) was so powerful that
the Turkish pashas feared him. The unspoken inference of the poem is that
neither alliance with the Turks nor with the Germans will aid the Hungarians.

Soon afterwards, Tinódi rethinks the sultan’s motivation and writes Príni
Péternek, Majlát Istvánnak és Török Bálintnak fogságáról (‘Captivity of
Peter Príni, István Majlát, and Bálint Török’) in 1542. This cautionary tale is
devoted specifically to Ottoman practices of deception and conquest, pointing
to the conclusion that Hungary must fight the Ottomans alone. Tinódi
rehearses here the several strategies of deception used by the sultan to capture
these three Hungarian magnates, and he tells their stories to demonstrate the
perfidy of the Muslims, developing the theme of failed loyalty and trust and
building the theme of unresolvable moral difference between the two faiths.

352
The opening stanzas describe a weeping Hungary contrasted with the glee of
the Ottomans, who take advantage of the foolishly naive Hungarian nobles.
Next, in a direct address to his listeners, Tinódi spells out the commandments
of Islam: the Turks are to take non-believers captive by any means, including
deceit, and are rewarded with paradise. The Christian Hungarians, in contrast,
have received the commandment of love. Tinódi is not simply denigrating
Muslims here. Instead, he uses Islam as he understands it to illustrate the
serious faults of Hungarian nobles who fail in love. Moreover, he expresses
the even more serious difference between the two groups: The Turks follow
their commandment faithfully, whereas Hungarians fail to fulfil theirs. Thus
he specifically criticises the magnates’ irresponsible and impious
factiousness. At this point, Tinódi conceives the struggle as one between two
faiths and two ethnic groups. Consequently, the Hungarians in their
divisiveness are themselves responsible for the captivity of the three nobles
and, worse yet, the ruin of the entire country. His argument is possibly an
oversimplification of the concept of holy war as pursued by Süleyman, but it
nevertheless supports his admonition: they must distrust the Ottomans, stand
together, and support the Hungarian king, John Sigismund, and not ally
themselves with the Habsburgs.

Ten years later, in 1552, Tinódi is still attempting to reconcile the vacillation
of magnates between alliances with the Ottomans and Habsburgs in ‘Siege of
Lippa’, in which Ferdinand’s troops together with the Hungarians re-took the
town and fortress. Based on an agreement in 1549 ceding Transylvania to
Ferdinand, George Martinuzzi, the regent for King John Sigismund, expected
military protection from the Habsburgs. As he ponders the cruelty of the
Porte when it feels betrayed, he finds it necessary to negotiate with the sultan
because the troops Ferdinand sends are seriously inadequate. Tinódi
sympathises with Martinuzzi, and yet by negotiating with both sides,
Martinuzzi loses everyone’s trust. Important here is the description of the
frontier mentality of the locals, represented by Martinuzzi, who wish to
ameliorate human hardships by means of negotiated agreements
(Stein, Guarding the frontier, pp. 17-27). Unfortunately, Martinuzzi’s attempt
to negotiate a surrender and safe-conduct for the Turks is undermined by
marauding bands of Hungarians outside Martinuzzi’s control, who slaughter
the withdrawing Turks, and also by the cruelty and deception of Ferdinand’s

353
commanders, who murder Martinuzzi in his own chapel (Dobozy, ‘Two
cultural perspectives’, pp. 30-7).

Gradually, Tinódi merged the religious difference first articulated in Príni

Péternek with his admonition to unite into an exhortation to Hungarian
Christians to remain worthy of God’s mercy and not fall into apostasy,
because winning or success is only possible if the people are virtuous. This
idea is presented as a model hortatory speech in Hadnagyoknak tanuság
(‘Call to lieutenants’) of 1550, in which Tinódi insists that, when Hungarians
are fighting as Christians, God is the arbiter in battle, and his language
resonates with typical crusading sentiments. A different reading of this poem
claims that Tinódi accepted the apocalyptic view that the Turks were the
advance guard of the Anti-Christ (Jankovics, ‘The image of the Turks’, p.
271), though there is no explicit language in any text by Tinódi to
substantiate this interpretation. Instead, it is more likely that, once he realises
that the Hungarians have no reliable help and lack the resources to stand
against either the Austrians or the Ottomans, faith in God and
commemoration of heroic deeds and sacrifices is the only remaining
resource.

These new perspectives are articulated in Egri históriának summája

(‘Summary of the Eger siege’) of 1552, where Tinódi accounts for the
Hungarian victory in religious terms. Eger had come under the control of
Ferdinand of Habsburg, by then King of Hungary, in 1548, and at about that
time Tinódi also switched allegiance to him (possibly in the hope of personal
gain). Here Tinódi quite accurately names and praises the individual captains
and fighters who excel in bravery and also those who are killed, though more
important than historical accuracy is the elaborate distinction he draws
between the two sides, which justifies the struggle in which the wicked must
be vanquished. The sinful Turks are balanced against the morally upright
defenders and, whenever the Turks call on Allah for help, the defenders call
on God, who is implicitly the judge between the two sides. Faith provides the
necessary courage for victory, even though the Hungarians are severely
outnumbered, and after the Turks’ final unsuccessful assault, they can only
wail and cry over their dead, whereas the morally superior Hungarian fighters
acknowledge God as protector.

354
Describing the aftermath, Tinódi elaborates further on the dichotomy
between good and evil. The commander of the campaign in Hungary, Ahmed
Pasha, who has lost the battle, is furious and in an imagined tirade curses Ali
Pasha, the governor of Budun, because Ali has tempted him and misled him
out of pride. As the Turks curse and quarrel among themselves, they commit
the sin of wrath, which leads to devilish discord. This scene paints the
Muslims as inherently evil in contrast to the unity found inside the
stronghold, and proves that the Hungarians have overcome their divisiveness.
Consequently, the Hungarian defenders are now shown to be spiritually
superior to the enemy, and have earned God’s protection.

This song defines the conflict against the Ottomans as a holy war against the
infidel. Tinódi’s moral-religious interpretation of the Eger siege and the
invasions in general can be seen as a defensive crusade. Since he is not
looking at a political programme from the top down but viewing the action in
the fortresses, his ideas do not fit the definition of defensive crusade exactly
as historians present it (Bak, ‘Hungary and crusading’, p.118). Nevertheless,
the wars are definitely defensive in the Augustinian sense, because the
Hungarians are fighting in response to an invasion.

After Tinódi had described the fall of several Hungarian fortresses, his
antipathy to the Ottomans increased. In 1553, he chose to praise the heroism
of the son of his first patron in Enyingi Török János vitézsége (‘János Török’s
valiant deeds’). Bálint’s son János used the epithet Török (given to his father
when he was captured by the Ottomans) to signal his unrelenting desire to
avenge his father’s captivity and cruel death. Tinódi praises János’s hard-
nosed valiant deeds as he takes his private army and raids Turkish-controlled
fortresses and encampments. János frees Hungarian captives and also
massacres as many Turks as possible. Negotiations with the enemy and even
Christian virtues give way to violent attacks, and yet the poet never raises any
moral questions. By praising János, Tinódi appears to have reached a level of
acquiescence or despair, in which brutal resistance to the last man is the only
stance left.

In these last two poems the Ottomans have become associated with evil, and
the struggle is defined as one between Christians and pagans. It is in this
context that in 1554 Tinódi's introduction to the book encourages the soldiers

355
to fight, saying that in order to gain eternal life it is proper for Christians to
fight in their soul against the devil and in the world against pagans.

Significance
As the earliest known Hungarian vernacular poet-performer with a historical
perspective, Sebestyén Tinódi broadcast his assessment of the turbulent
epoch-making events of his time. His popular performances reached large
numbers of ordinary people and, most importantly, the garrison soldiers who
were his target audience, and they ensured that his interpretation of events
was learned and remembered. His accounts of individual events and heroic
deeds captured the imagination by means of narrative tension, rhetorical
ornamentation, melody and physical presence. In addition, he gave his
Hungarian-speaking audiences historical and ethnic identity, while not
excluding the multi-ethnic composition of the troops. Through the heroic
models they encountered in his songs, the garrison soldiers learned of their
own heroism that encouraged them to continue fighting for their land.

As a poet, Tinódi was the first in Hungary to adopt and blend the European
genre of event poetry with his own oral tradition, and then adapt these to his
goal of energizing resistance against the Habsburgs and the Ottomans. His
multi-layered, structurally sophisticated songs have not been valued by
historians, though in the last 14 years literary scholars have demonstrated the
artistic merit in the dramatic and vibrant dialogues and metaphorical
complexity of his poetry. His thoughtful, through-composed book was the
first in Hungary to bridge the divide from writing to print, and to encompass
both performance and text (Vadai, ‘Kolozsvárott’, pp 84-5). His unique and
erudite use of acrostics in both Latin and the vernacular underscores the
intentionally literate component of his works (Vadai, ‘Függöleges’, p. 635).
Consequently, the combination of musical notation with acrostics ensures
that the book provided two modes of reception: singing and reading.

As a historian, Tinódi is important for his political engagement because he

represented the people who actually fought and experienced war at first hand,
instead of recording the perspective of rulers. He evaluated the strategies of
the leaders of all factions when he analysed the events surrounding a diet or
campaign. Hence, he offers new insights into the conflicts and pressures of
the time. Because he used a popular genre, people were receptive to his
356
encouragement. Not only that, he gave the garrison soldiers hope and self-
assurance by framing their bravery within the familiar classical and biblical
heroic model. Probably his artistically successful commemoration of people
and events is his most important contribution. The historian and humanist
poet, Miklós Istvánffy (1538-1615), praised Tinódi’s immortalisation of the
Hungarian heroes when he wrote: ‘Pannonian heroes, whom war and glorious
bravery rendered blessed and placed among the stars, you owe as much to
Tinódi, the poet who sang your deeds, as the great Achilles and Ajax owe to
Homer of lofty words’ (a translation of the Latin verse cited in Szakaly,
‘Introduction’, p. 41). Gáspár Heltai, George Hoffgreff’s partner in Kolozsvár
(Cluj-Napoca, Romania), included some of Tinódi’s best known songs in his
Cancionale (Vadai, ‘Kolozsvárott’, p.74).

Tinódi’s image of Ottomans and Muslims is more restrained and

experientially based, and therefore less ideologically governed, than one
might expect. One possible reason may well be that the Hungarians had been
living in a frontier situation and needed to renegotiate their relationships daily
with several ethnic groups who were at some times bartering partners and at
others enemies, whenever towns and fortresses changed hands. Hence, he did
not think of Hungary as the ‘shield of Christendom’ in any clichéd manner.
In addition, in Kolozsvár he was among Lutherans, including his printers, and
yet he did not disseminate Luther’s interpretation that the Christians should
return to Christian piety before engaging the Turks in battle. For him and the
garrison soldiers, continuing military resistance was absolutely imperative.
He also avoids the vituperation that is present in German vernacular event
poetry or in Latin poetry, nor does he attribute to the Ottomans any greater
violence than to other soldiers in these battles. Instead of ascribing atrocities
to the Turks that would inflame an audience, Tinódi stresses that moral
superiority is necessary for successful defence. Therefore, the image he
presents is not completely original but it certainly does not follow the
prevalent humanist anti-Islam ideology.

Manuscripts
Editions

357
Sebestyén Tinódi, Cronica Tinodi Sebestien szörzese. Elsö reszebe Ianos
Kirai halalatul fogua ez esztendeig Dunan innet Erdel orszaggal löt minden
hadac veszödelmec, reuidedön szép notakual, Colosvarba [Kolozsvae(r)],
Romania, 1554 (author’s own edition)

Á. Szilády (ed.), Tinódi Sebestyén összes müvei, Budapest, 1881 (critical

edition)

N. [Miklós] Istvanffy, Carmina, ediderunt Josephus Holub et Ladislaus

Jubász, Leipzig, 1935

B. Varjas (ed.), Tinódi Sebestyén Cronica, Budapest, 1959 (facsimile)

G. Heltai, Cancionale azaz históriás énekeskönyv. Kolozsvár (Romania),

1574 [‘Cancionale, that is book of historical songs’], ed. B. Varjas, Budapest,
1962 (facsimile)

W.D. Snodgrass, ‘All sorts of drunkards’, New Hungarian Quarterly 11

(1970) 41-3 (trans. of ‘Sok féle részögösröl’, 1548)

I. Sugár (ed.), Tinódi Sebestyén Krónika, Budapest, 1984 (modernised edition

of Szilády’s 1881 critical edition but includes misreadings)

A. Makkai (ed.), In quest of the ‘miracle stag’. The poetry of Hungary,

Chicago, 1996, pp. 57-64 (excerpts from three songs: Fall of Zolnok, trans.

358
G. Borrow, Chronicle of Sigismund, trans. M. Beevor, Call to lieutenants,
trans. J. Leftwich)

Editions & Translations

Studies
L. Seláf, ‘Between lyric and epic. The great Turkish war in German, Italian
and Hungarian “Ereignisliedern”’, in J. Kessler, U. Kundert, and J.
Oosterman (eds), Controversial poetry, Amsterdam, 2015 (the first study to
identify affinities in the genre of event poetry across the three cultures and
languages)

M. Dobozy, ‘Das Schaffen des ungarischen Dichters Sebastian Tinódi und

das europäische Lied’, Phoibos. Zeitschrift für Zupfmusik (2014) 57-71
(attempts to place Tinódi’s poetry and music in the context of European event
poetry)

M. Dobozy, ‘Two cultural perspectives on the Battle of Lippa, Transylvania,

1551’, Fifteenth Century Studies 38 (2013) 21-39 (compares two accounts of
the same battle from German (Speltacher) and Hungarian (Tinódi)
perspectives that reveal the prejudices of each group)

I. Vadai, ‘História és fabula’ [‘History and fable’], in I. Csörsz Rumen

(ed.), Tinódi Sebestyén és a régi magyar verses épika [‘Sebestyén Tinódi and
Old Hungarian narrative verse’], Kolozsvár/ Cluj, 2008, 17-29

I. Vadai, ‘Kolozvárott kötetet komponálni’ [‘Composing a book in

Kolozsvar’], in C. Rumen (ed.), Tinódi Sebestyén, 2008, 79-85

I. Vadai, ‘A Tudosító Ének Müfaja. 1554 Megjelenik Tinódi Sebestyén

“Cronicája”’ [‘The genre of the report. Tinódi's “Cronica” appears in 1554’],
in L. Jankovics and G. Orlovszky (eds), A magyar irodalom története a
kezdetektöl 1800-ig [‘The history of Hungarian literature from the beginnings
to 1800’], Budapest, 2007, 274-85 (distinguishes Tinódi’s genre of event
poetry within the Hungarian literary genres)

359
M.L. Stein, Guarding the frontier. Ottoman border forts and garrisons in
Europe, New York, 2007

I.G. Tóth, (ed.), A concise history of Hungary. The history of Hungary from
the early Middle Ages to the present, Budapest, 2005 (excellent chapter on
the Ottoman wars, 1526-1606, pp. 181-97)

J. Bak, ‘Hungary and crusading in the fifteenth century’, in N. Housley

(ed.), Crusading in the fifteenth century. Message and impact, New York,
2004, 116-27

L. Szilasi, ‘“Kiknek bor lelkök”. Tinódi Sebestyén a borfogyasztás hatásairól:

a bor minöségéröl szóló kritikai beszéd kezdetei a magyar kultúrában’
[‘“Those whose soul is wine”. Tinódi Sebestyén on the effects of wine. The
beginnings of critical discourse in Hungarian culture about wine
quality’], Jelenkor 47 (2004) 725-33

D. Abulafia and N. Berend (eds), Medieval frontiers. Concepts and practices,

Burlington VA, 2002

N. Berend, At the gate of Christendom. Jews, Muslims and ‘Pagans’ in

medieval Hungary, c. 1000-c.1300, Cambridge, 2001

M. Molnár, A concise history of Hungary, trans. A. Magyar, Cambridge,

2001

J. Jankovics, ‘The image of the Turks in Hungarian Renaissance literature’,

in B. Guthmüller and W. Kühlmann (eds), Europa und die Türken in der
Renaissance, Tübingen, 2000, 267-73 (seeks to locate and trace the same
chiliastic interpretation of the Ottoman invasion in all texts, even those that
were not written by humanists)

I.G. Tóth, Literacy and written culture in Early Modern Central Europe,
trans. T. Vajda and M. Bodóczky, Budapest, 2000

P. Fodor and G. David (eds), Ottomans, Hungarians, and Habsburgs in

Central Europe. The military confines in the era of Ottoman conquest,
Leiden, 2000

360
F. Várnai, Tinódi és kora [‘Tinódi and his times’], Budapest, 2000

I. Vadai, ‘A függöleges beszéd. Tinódi akrosztichonjairól’ [‘Vertical speech.

Tinódi’s acrostics’], in M. Balázs et al. (eds), Müvelödési törekvések a korai
újkorban [‘Cultural developments in the Early Modern period’], Szeged,
1997, 617-38

S. Öze, ‘“Kereszténység védöpajzsa” vagy “Üllö és verö közé szorult

ország”’ [‘“The stronghold of Christianity” or “a country between hammer
and anvil”’], in T. Hofer (ed.), Magyarok kelet és nyugat köszt. A nemzettudat
változó jelképei [‘Hungarians between East and West. Changing images of
national identity’], Budapest, 1996, 99-107 (revealing study of Ákos Csányi’s
letters that describe the loss of pride and morale among the garrison soldiers
in the 1560s as Hungarian self-identity as ‘shield of Christendom’ becomes
untenable, though the author is unfamiliar with English language studies on
the ‘shield’ ideology)

S. Öze (ed.), 500 magyar levél a XVI. Századból Csányi Ákos levelei Nádasdy
Tamáshoz, 1549-1562 [‘500 Hungarian letters from the 16th century. The
letters of Ákos Csányi to Tamás Nádasdy’], Budapest, 1996

M. Imre, ‘A “magyarország panasza”– toposz a 16. század irodalmában’,

[‘The “Complaints of Hungary” topos in 16th-century literature’], in T. Hofer
(ed.), Magyarok kelet és nyugat köszt [‘Hungarians between East and West’],
Budapest, 1996, 109-21

P. Király, A lantjáték magyarországon a XV. századtól a XVII. század

közepéig [‘Lute music in Hungary from the 15th to the middle of the 18th
century’], Budapest, 1995

G. Perjés, The fall of the medieval Kingdom of Hungary. Mohács 1526–Buda

1541, trans. M. Fenyö, Highland Lakes NJ, 1989

F. Szakály, ‘Introduction’ (carefully researched historian’s perspective with

well documented contemporary sources)

J.M. Bak and B. Király (eds), From Hunyadi to Rákóczi. War and society in
late medieval Hungary and Early Modern Hungary, Brooklyn NY, 1982

361
B. Varjas, A Magyar reneszánsz irodalom társadalmi gyökerei [‘The social
roots of Hungarian Renaissance literature’], Budapest, 1982

F. Szakály, A Magyar adóztatás a török hódoltságban [‘Taxation in Hungary

during the Turkish occupation’], Budapest, 1981

B. Pukánszky, ‘Sebastian Tinódi und der deutsche Zeitungsgesang’, in Aus

den Forschungsarbeiten der Mitglieder des ungarischen Instituts und des
Collegium Hungaricum in Berlin, Berlin, 1927, 1-3

L. Dézsi, Magyar Történeti tárgyú szépirodalom [‘Literature containing

historical topics’], Budapest, 1927

F. Babinger, Die Geschichtsschreiber der Osmanen und ihre Werke, Leipzig,

1927

Z. Ferenczi (ed.), A régi magyar költészet [‘Old Hungarian poetry’], 2 vols,

Budapest, s.d. (volume 1 contains a chapter on Tinódi and the poetry of his
period)

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1500-1550, 1550-1600
Thematic Region: Austria, Balkans, Buda, Hungarian Kingdom , Istanbul,
Ottoman Empire, Transylvania, Vienna
Related Historical People: Hungarians, Ottomans, Süleyman the Magnificent
Dynasty/Ruling elite: Habsburgs, Ottomans
Genre & Source Type: Account of events, advice literature, Poetry, Songs
Theme: Anti-Muslim polemic, Armed conquest, captivity, Cause of Good
and Evil, Christian descriptions of Islamic doctrine, Christian-Muslim
warfare, Crusade, Cultural transfer, Divine aid, Ethics, Just war against the
Ottomans, Life and customs, Ottoman conquests, Paradise, salvation, Satan
Social History: Confiscation of property, diplomatic relations, Ethnicity,
military history, Muslim religious beliefs, Nationalism, Ottoman foreign
policy, Prisoners of war, Warfare
Christians: Catholics, Christians, Unitarians
Muslims: Ottomans

362
Maria Dobozy
Cite this page

Dobozy, Maria. " Cronica." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David Thomas. Brill Online, 2016.
Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016 <http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-
ii/cronica-COM_26619>

363
 Hans Dernschwam’s Tagebuch einer
Reise nach Konstantinopel und
Kleinasien (1553-55)
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts MANUSCRIPTS EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Hans Dernschwam’s Tagebuch

'Hans Dernschwam’s diary of a journey to Constantinople and Asia Minor
(1553-55)’

Johannes Dernschwam von Hradizcin

Date: 1555
Original Language: German

Description
In 1553, at the advanced age of 59, without any official assignment or
authority and at his own expense, Dernschwam joined the Habsburg
diplomatic mission sent by King Ferdinand I to Süleyman I that was headed
by Antonius Verantius (Antun Vrančić) and Franz Zay, both of whom
Dernschwam knew well. In Constantinople, the imperial ambassador Ogier
Ghiselin de Busbecq, who had gone ahead, and the attendant painter and
draughtsman Melchior Lorck were added to the group. The actual incentives
that caused Dernschwam to join are unclear, though rather than being
encouraged to go by his former employer the Fuggers, it is more likely that
he went in search of classical texts, epigraphs and remains, or out of a desire
to explore and discover.

364
Dernschwam’s journey lasted about two years. It began on 22 June 1553 in
Vienna, and ended there on 11 August, 1555. It can be divided into three
parts: first, the travelling from Vienna to Constantinople, second, from
Constantinople to Amasya (Amaseia) in north-central Anatolia, and third, the
way back. The way from Vienna over Esztergom to Buda followed the land
route. The journey from Buda to Belgrade was mainly along the Danube,
while the route from Belgrade to Constantinople was again covered overland
on the Via Militaris. The route in Asia Minor from Constantinople to Amasya
followed mainly the ancient Via Sebaste, and the return journey was along
the same routes.

This division of the journey in three parts equally applies to Dernschwam’s

travelogue. Two parts deal with the road through Rumelia and Anatolia
respectively, while the third and most comprehensive part is concerned with
the stay in Constantinople. The ordering principle of the travelogue is a day-
to-day report, with differing amounts of detail, giving the daily stages and
distances, encounters, living conditions, observations and discoveries along
the way, very much a private diary rather than a report for a higher authority
or publication.

The original copy of this text, which consists of some 400 folios, was
recovered in 1889 in the Fugger castle of Babenhausen in present-day
Bavarian Swabia, and is now in the Fugger archive in Dillingen. Two
transcripts were found in the Bibliotheca Augusta (Herzog August
Bibliothek, Wolfenbüttel), one probably from the 16th century and a copy of
this from the 18th century. Another highly deficient version was reportedly
found in the Czech National Museum in Prague. Although it has been used in
a number of studies since the late 19th century, the only edition of the original
copy was made in 1923 by the Ottomanist Franz Babinger, though this
contains extensive changes and omissions.

Since Dernschwam was not involved in the mission’s political and diplomatic
concerns, he had time and space for his own observations. As is typical of
travelogues, these often reveal more about his own cultural disposition than
about the society and people described, although he gives largely impartial
descriptions of an impressive range of items, among them the topography and
road systems of the Ottoman Empire, its cultural geography and ethnic
composition, and the different costumes of people he saw, reflections on
365
housing, religious architecture and baths, as well as classical epigraphs found
in Rumelia and Asia Minor. In addition, his travelogue features a wide range
of opinions relating to the degree to which the Turks exhibit reason and virtue
(true to his humanist outlook). Thus, he sourly comments that Hagia Sophia
had been made into ‘a den of thieves’ (spelunca latronum), with its interior
full of ‘abject Mahometan features’ (machometisch hundtz zaichen), that
Turks do not drink wine like other people, but only water like livestock, and
that before public prayers ‘whoever of the common herd wants to, washes
himself openly and shamelessly as do old whores [in our lands]’ (ed.
Babinger, p. 71). He reveals his estimation of Islam when he comments about
the dervishes that ‘they wanted to experience by force that God appears and
speaks to them, as he did to the prophets, or they wanted to go through the
way in which the devil revealed the Qur’an to their Muḥammad, who was an
epileptic and alleged that an angel had spoken to him’ (ed. Babinger, p. 119).

Significance
Despite the fact that Dernschwam might be expected to have some reliable
knowledge about the Turks, derived from his extensive collection of works
on them and his years working in the border zone between the Habsburg and
Ottoman empires, the travelogue reveals that he was rarely prepared to
scrutinise stereotypical attitudes, but instead it tends to confirm them. Hence,
while his work heralds the change in perception of the Turks that came in
during the second half of the 16th century, in itself it preserves inherited
biased attitudes combined with objective factual knowledge about Turkish
society and customs.

The most striking feature of Dernschwam’s attitude towards Turks as

the religious other is not his limited capacity to discern certain features or the
fact that in his eyes Islam is devoid of any dignity, but his basic lack of
knowledge, even about the essentials of the faith. Despite possessing works
that could have given him such knowledge, he appears to have shown little
curiosity about what he actually witnessed and was content to harbour old
prejudices without questioning them.

Manuscripts

366
MANUSCRIPTS
MS Dillingen, Fugger Family and Foundation Archive - no shelfmark, fols
1r-219v; I pag. 221-7; II pag. 1-I pag. 364 (1555; original copy)

MS Wolfenbüttel, Herzog August Bibliothek - Codex Guelferbytanus 40.1

Augusteus 2°, Nr. 2499 (probably a 16th century copy of MS Dillingen)

MS Wolfenbüttel, Herzog August Bibliothek - Codex Guelferbytanus 77.1

Augusteus 2°, Nr. 2757 (probably an 18th century copy of Nr. 2499)

MS Prague, National Library of the Czech Republic - Nr. XVII C 25

(undated; incomplete)

EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS

F. Babinger (ed.), Hans Dernschwam’s Tagebuch einer Reise nach
Konstantinopel und Kleinasien (1553-55), nach der Urschrift im Fugger-
Archiv, Munich, 1923

Hattenhauer and Bake (eds), Ein Fugger-Kaufmann im Osmanischen

Reich (Modern High German trans. of the Babinger edition)

Editions & Translations

Studies
The most recent studies include:

W. Geier, Südosteuropa-Wahrnehmungen. Reiseberichte, Studien und

biographische Skizzen vom 16. bis zum 20. Jahrhundert, Wiesbaden, 2006,
pp. 72-79

C. Jeggle, ‘Die fremde Welt des Feindes? Hans Dernschwams Bericht einer
Reise nach Konstantinopel und Kleinasien 1553-1556’, in M. Kurz et al.
(eds), Das Osmanische Reich und die Habsburgermonarchie in der Neuzeit,
Vienna, 2005, 413-26
367
Birnbaum, ‘The Fuggers, Hans Dernschwam, and the Ottoman Empire’

Yerasimos, Les voyageurs dans l’Empire Ottoman (XIVe-XVIe siècles, pp.

230-3 (with a detailed itinerary)

Reddig, Reise (with very useful tables of the issues treated by Dernschwam at
certain stages)

K. Kreiser, ‘Gefangene, Pilger und Kaufleute. Die Transkriptionstexte des

späten Mittelalters und der Neuzeit’, in D. Karasek (ed.), Germano-Turcica.
Zur Geschichte des Türkisch-Lernens in den deutschsprachigen Ländern,
Bamberg, 1987, 19-24

Kochwasser, ‘Der Humanist Hans Dernschwam und sein Bericht’

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1550-1600
Thematic Region: Ottoman Empire
Related Historical People: Süleyman the Magnificent
Dynasty/Ruling elite: Habsburgs, Ottomans
Genre & Source Type: Travel Writing
Theme: Christian portrayal of Muhammad, Descriptions of Turks, Rituals and
Customs

Sevket Küçükhüseyin
Cite this page

Küçükhüseyin, Sevket. " Hans Dernschwam’s Tagebuch einer Reise nach Konstantinopel und Kleinasien (1553-55)." Christian-
Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David Thomas. Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February
2016 <http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-ii/hans-dernschwams-tagebuch-einer-reise-
nach-konstantinopel-und-kleinasien-1553-55-COM_26559>

368
 The Chronicle of Moldavia from 1541 to
1554
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts MANUSCRIPTS EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

The Chronicle of Moldavia from 1541 to 1554

-

Egumenul Eftimie

Date: 1554-5
Original Language: Slavonic

Description
Eftimie’s work was commissioned by Prince Alexandru Lăpuşneanul.
Although he claims to continue Macarie’s chronicle (indeed Eftimie’s text
follows Macarie’s narrative in the Kiev manuscript), he in fact rewrites the
story of the years 1541-52 and then continues it until the first years of
Alexandru Lăpuşneanul’s reign (1552-4).

The unique extant manuscript, known as the ‘sbornik of Kiev’ or ‘of Slatina’,
was copied by the monk Isaia of the monastery of Slatina, Alexandru
Lăpuşneanul’s main religious foundation, sometime before 1561. The
authenticity of the chronicle is not doubted, even though no manuscript
written by Eftimie’s hand is preserved. The chronicle contains 16 leaves in
the Kiev manuscript and 7 pages in Panaitescu’s edition.

Besides Macarie’s chronicle, Eftimie also used other Slavonic texts to inform
his work. As an official chronicler, it is likely that he had access to official
369
documents and chronicles, but he also drew on his own knowledge and
impressions. His style and language are less sophisticated than those of his
master, Bishop Macarie.

The text should be viewed in the context of the political situation of the time
when it was written, which was marked by political instability and relentless
struggles for power. The victor in these struggles was Eftimie’s patron, who
drove the Rareş family from power and became Prince of Moldavia in 1552.
This explains why Eftimie relates the episode of Prince Iliaş Rareş’s
conversion to Islam in sombre tones. It is also true that the event considerably
shocked contemporaries, as Iliaş was the first (and only) Moldavian prince to
embrace Islam.

Eftimie’s logic is not much different from that of his master Macarie. For
him, too, Islam is the ‘evil and false faith’ and Muḥammad ‘the first born of
Satan and the son of damnation’, and treachery, perversion and debauchery
constitute the main features of the Ottoman/Muslim nature and behaviour. In
Eftimie’s view, the young and inexperienced prince was misled by the Turks,
whom he brought to Moldavia from Constantinople where he had previously
lived as a hostage for his father. Among them, Eftimie names Prince Iliaş’s
private confident, who appears to be the perfect type of the ‘evil other’: a
‘perverse and perverted man’ and ‘well trained in devilish schemes and
witchcraft’. It was under the influence of this ‘bad sorcerer’ that the prince
decided to dismiss his Christian counsellors and rely exclusively on his
Turkish entourage. The consequences appeared not long afterwards and may
be analysed on two levels. On a personal level, the young prince completely
changed his way of living: he no longer drank wine or ate pork, and he
preferred to live in depravity with ‘impure Hagarian whores’ instead of
marrying a Christian woman. His attitude towards the Orthodox faith and its
symbols and agents also changed, for he insulted the icons and disregarded
the priests. The second level concerns his way of governing the people God
had entrusted to him. By choosing to live ‘in a Turkish way’, Iliaș became an
anti-monarch: he persecuted and humiliated everybody, including nobles and
clergy and, above all, he dreamed up various and brutal ways to extort more
and more money from his subjects.

Sympathy for Turkish behaviour and customs was also used by Eftimie to
explain the violent death of Ştefan Rareş, the brother and successor of Iliaş,
370
who was assassinated by the nobles in 1552. This was in fact an attempt to
justify the way in which his patron Alexandru Lăpuşneanul came to power.
The storyline is almost the same but for one exception: Ştefan brought into
the country not only ‘Turkish whores’, but also ‘Turkish priests’, that is, two
of the most dangerous agents of the ‘wicked faith’.

On the political level, as long as the Ottomans stay away from Moldavia, the
Porte’s suzerainty over the country is never challenged. Like his master
Macarie before him, Eftimie constantly calls the sultan ‘the great emperor’ or
‘the great autocrat’ of the Turks (or Persians). His power is without limit and
no one can resist it. In consequence, it was inevitable that the Moldavian and
Wallachian princes should accept his authority and act on his orders. At the
same time, the sultan appreciated the qualities of a good ruler, and of course,
Eftimie’s patron was a case in point. In this, Eftimie is in line with Macarie’s
ideas about the sultan as upholder of law and protective authority.

Significance
Written in a period of deep political and spiritual unrest, Eftimie’s chronicle
is more than a panegyric devoted to his patron, Prince Alexandru
Lăpuşneanul. If the stories about Iliaş Rareş's conversion to Islam and the
Turkish behaviour of his brother Ştefan clearly serve to legitimize
Alexandru’s position, they also provide a useful insight into Moldavian ways
of seeing the Ottomans. While the Ottoman Empire is regarded as a distant
power whose authority over Moldavia may even exhibit positive aspects, the
Ottoman as an individual is the incarnation of ‘evil otherness’. Like the
chronicles of Bishop Macarie and the monk Azarie, Eftimie's work should be
considered an expression of a besieged and introverted world whose
principles and values were being heavily challenged by direct confrontation
with different attitudes and ways of life.

Manuscripts
MANUSCRIPTS
MS Kiev, V.I. Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine, Collection
Pochaevska Lavra – 116, fols 482v-499r (between 1554 and January 1561,
scribed by the monk Isaia of Slatina)
371
EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
Bogdan, Vechile cronice moldovenesci, pp. 162-71 (edition), pp. 212-22
(Romanian trans.)

Panaitescu, Cronicile slavo-române, pp. 109-16 (edition), pp. 117-25

(Romanian trans.)

Mihăilă and Zamfirescu, Literatura română veche, vol. 1, pp. 192-202

(Romanian trans.)

F.A. Grekul and V.I. Buganov, Slavi͡ano-moldavskie letopisi XV-XVI vv.,

Moscow, 1976, pp. 94-104 (Russian trans.)

Editions & Translations

Studies
The Oxford history of historical writing, vol. 2, ed. S. Foot and C.F.
Robinson, Oxford, 2012, pp. 342-3

Pungă, Ţara Moldovei, pp. 222-5

Turdeanu, ‘Autori, copişti, cărţi’, pp. 52-3

D.H. Mazilu, Literatura română în epoca Renaşterii, Bucharest, 1984, pp.

305-20, 411-13

372
Şuiu, art. ‘Eftimie’

M. Berza, ‘Turcs, Empire Ottoman et relations roumano-turques dans

l’historiographie moldave des XVe-XVIIIe siècles’, Revue des Études Sud-Est
Européennes 10 (1972) 595-627, pp. 608-9 (repr. in Berza, Pentru o istorie a
vechii culturi româneşti, ed. A. Pippidi, Bucharest, 1985)

Mihăilă, ‘Cronica lui Eftimie’, pp. 191-2

Academia RPR, Istoria literaturii române, i, pp. 261-4

Crăciun and Ilieş, Repertoriul manuscriselor, p. 432

Panaitescu, ‘Cronica lui Eftimie’, pp. 106-7

Ciobanu, Istoria literaturii române vechi, pp. 105-9

Cartojan, Istoria literaturii române vechi, i, pp. 38-9, 41-2

Minea, ‘Letopiseţele moldoveneşti’

Dan, Mănăstirea Suceviţa, pp. 14, 32, 45-8

Iorga, Istoria bisericii româneşti, i, pp. 161-2

Syrku, ‘Iz istoriĭi snoshenĭi russkikh s rumynami’

Bogdan, Vechile cronice moldovenesci, pp. 92-103, 280-3

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1500-1550, 1550-1600
Thematic Region: Moldavia
Related Historical People: Ottomans, Süleyman the Magnificent
Dynasty/Ruling elite: Moldovian Dynasty
Genre & Source Type: Chronicles/Histories
Theme: Cause of Good and Evil, Christian descriptions of Islamic doctrine,
Christian portrayal of Muhammad, Christian writings on other faiths,
Conversion, Diplomatic relations, Idolatry, Polygamy, Purity/Impurity, The
true religion
373
Social History: Apostasy, Collaboration, Conversion, Impurity, Peace
treaties, Warfare
Christians: Protestantism
Muslims: Ottomans

Radu G. Păun
Cite this page

Păun, Radu G.. " The Chronicle of Moldavia from 1541 to 1554." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David
Thomas. Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016
<http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-ii/the-chronicle-of-moldavia-from-1541-to-1554-
COM_27487>

374
 Robinja
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Robinja
-

Hanibal Lucić

Date: 1556
Original Language: Croatian

Description
Robinja is a simple drama in three acts with a short prologue, 1038 verses in
total. Set in Dubrovnik, it is one of the earliest secular dramas of Croatian
literature, and the first with a contemporary topic. The main story is about the
love between Robinja, an aristocratic girl who has been captured by Ottoman
soldiers, and Derenčin, a young noble who buys her from Turkish traders on
the slave market in Dubrovnik. The drama pivots around the motif of
Robinja’s liberation, a theme that already existed in folklore (in the popular
dramatic game ‘moreška’, which was played throughout the Mediterranean),
and also in earlier works written by authors in Dubrovnik (Džore Držić and
Mavro Vetranović).

Turks are portrayed in two different ways in the drama. In Robinja’s account
of her capture, they are predatory violators (Dukić, Sultanova djeca, p. 51),
though she also refers to them as helping her, while the Turkish slave traders
become Derenčin’s helpers. Thus, Turks cease to be merely infidel invaders
from the East, and take on the role of new neighbours (Dukić, Sultanova

375
djeca, pp. 51, 247). At the same time, Derenčin threatens to attack the Turks
beyond the boundaries of Dubrovnik’s rule, where her neutrality is no longer
effective, and the drama ends with the ruler of Dubrovnik praising Robinja
and Derenčin’s homeland of Hungary, which has been interpreted as the
author’s desire for concord and solidarity between the two Christian polities
in the face of the Turkish threat (Dukić, Sultanova djeca, p. 52). Some
scholars also think that the drama voices sharp criticism of the policy
followed by Dubrovnik of maintaining the status quo with the Turks
(Vončina, O izvorima i jezičnim slojevima, p. 266).

Such complex representations of Christian-Turkish relations are also evident

in Lucić’s first letter to Jeronim Martinčić, where he is restrained in his
judgments when he describes the siege of Rhodes by the Turks. He refrains
from overly negative descriptions of the Turkish conquerors, avoids
stereotypical explanations, and offers reasoned explanations for the Turkish
attack (Dukić, Sultanova djeca, pp. 52-3). His approach is similar in the
poem U pohvalu grada Dubrovnika, where despite describing the Turks
stereotypically as religious enemies, there is neither any idea about the
necessity of this religious war, nor any judgment of each instance of Christian
cooperation with the Turks as a betrayal of Christianity (Dukić, Sultanova
djeca, p. 52).

Significance
Although Lucić’s drama has been interpreted as expressing typical negative
stereotypes about the Turks, it is the first work in Croatian literature that
articulates the idea of the possibility of cooperation between Christians and
the Turks. In addition, it is only after this drama that Turkish characters
(often Muslim Slavs) appear and then only in comedies, frequently portraying
the traditional image of Turkish heroism, strength or bragging (Džore
Držić, Tripče de Utolče; Komedija od Raskota; Martin Benetović,
Hvarkinja; Šimun Dundurilo).

Manuscripts
EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS

376
Skladanje izvarsnich pisan razlicih počtovanoga gospodina Hanibala Lucia
vlastelina Hvarskoga, Venice, 1556

Robinja gospodina Anibala Lucia Hvarskoga vlastelina, Venice, 1638

A. Mažuranić (ed.), Skladanja, Zagreb, 1847

S. Žepić (ed.), Pjesme Petra Hektorovića i Hanibala Lucića, Zagreb, 1847

(critical edition)

Hanibal Lucić and Petar Hektorović, Skladanja izvarsnih pisan razlicih.

Ribanje i ribarsko prigovaranje i razlike stvari ine, ed. M. Franičević,
Zagreb, 1968

Petar Hektorović, Ribanje i ribarsko prigovaranje, Hanibal Lucić, Robinja,

ed. and trans. M. Grčić, with T. Maroević and M. Tomasović, Zagreb, 1988

Editions & Translations

Studies
D. Dukić, ‘Osmanizam u hrvatskoj književnosti od 15. do sredine 19.
stoljeća’, in K. Bagić (ed.), Jezik književnosti i književni ideologemi, Zagreb,
2007, 87-103

Dukić, Sultanova djeca

377
J. Vončina, ‘O izvorima i jezičnim slojevima Lucićeve Robinje’, Mogućnosti
23 (1976) 253-93

F. Švelec, ‘Robinja Hanibala Lucića’, Mogućnosti 20 (1973) 668-81

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1550-1600
Social History: Collaboration

Dubravka Dulibić-Paljar
Cite this page

Dulibić-Paljar, Dubravka. " Robinja." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David Thomas. Brill Online, 2016.
Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016 <http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-
ii/robinja-COM_27713>

378
 Zdanie sprawy o Tatarach litewskich
Article Table of Contents
1. Biography
2. Primary Sources of Information
3. Secondary Sources of Information
4. Works on Christian-Muslim Relations

Biography
Primary Sources of Information
Secondary Sources of Information
Works on Christian-Muslim Relations
 Zdanie sprawy o Tatarach litewskich przez jednego z tych Tatarów złożone
sułtanowi Sulejmanowi

Artur Konopacki
Cite this page

Konopacki, Artur. "Zdanie sprawy o Tatarach litewskich." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David Thomas.
Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016 <http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-
muslim-relations-ii/zdanie-sprawy-o-tatarach-litewskich-COM_26288>

379
 Zdanie sprawy o Tatarach litewskich
przez jednego z tych Tatarów złożone
sułtanowi Sulejmanowi
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts MANUSCRIPTS EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Risalei Tatari Leh

'Report on the Lithuanian Tatars submitted to Sultan Süleyman by a Tatar'

Zdanie sprawy o Tatarach litewskich

Date: 1558
Original Language: Polish

Description
This short text of 22 pages gives an abundance of information about Muslims
living in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the mid-16th century. It was written
in 1558 by an anonymous Tatar from the Grand Duchy, or someone who
knew the circumstances of the Tatars so well that he was able to describe the
Tatar settlements, and specifically to name villages and hamlets. It was
addressed to the Ottoman Sultan Süleyman ‘the Magnificent’ when the
author was in Istanbul on his way to Mecca. The original was presumably
written in Polish, though the only known version is in a simple form of
Turkish. This translation was probably made so that the document could be
presented to the sultan through his son-in-law, Rustem Pasha. In recent years,
some have doubted its authenticity, though strong arguments based on

380
language and historical details have been made in favour of its historical
reliability.

The Report starts with a brief account of the land of ‘Lehistan’, referring to
its location and its Christian and Jewish population. The term ‘Lehistan’
means ‘Poland’, and it is curious that the author does not say that he was
from Lithuania, because the Commonwealth of the two Nations
(Rzeczpospolita Obojga Narodów) – ‘Poland’ – only formally came into
being in 1569, and the main Tatar settlements were in Lithuania. The author
describes the history of Tatar settlement in Lithuania, and then explains why
he is on such a long journey through Istanbul on his way to Mecca.

The main body of the Report deals mainly with aspects of the religious life of
Muslims living in a Christian state. It presents mosque construction in great
detail, stating that in the mosques in Lithuania there are separate prayer
spaces for men and women, and describes how the imams do their job of
teaching religion and preparing future generations of imams. The author
bemoans the lack of continuing religious contacts with the Muslim world,
especially with the Crimean Khanate, owing wars, and affirms that the Tatar
settlers are attached to their religion: ‘We will never cease to boast that we
are Muslims.’

The Report refers to the problem of mixed Christian-Muslim marriages, and

stresses that in Lithuania only monogamy is practised. When they arrived
there, the Muslims were given land in return for providing military service.
Those of them who settled in towns were artisans, cart drivers, or cultivators
of vegetable gardens, though there is great poverty among the majority of
Muslims.

The Report ends with praise of the sultan, his army and the state. In the
conclusion the author affirms: ‘It would be the greatest happiness for our co-
religionists if we could pass under the mighty protection of the Ottoman
padishahs, the most powerful, inspiring the greatest fear in all lands.’

Significance
The work appears to be the first description of the Muslim community living
in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. It was not created as a carefully planned

381
text, but was composed ad hoc in Istanbul for Ottoman officials who wanted
an account of Muslims living among infidels, their customs and way of life.
As such, it gives a vivid picture of Muslims in northern Europe in the 16 th
century.

Manuscripts
MANUSCRIPTS
The original is lost, and the whereabouts of the Turkish translation are
unknown.

EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS

Offprints bound together as separate publications held in the Polish National
Library in Warsaw (Biblioteka Narodowa), see, e.g., sygn. II 2027792

A. Muchliński, ‘Zdanie sprawy o Tatarach litewskich przez jednego z tych

Tatarów złożone sułtanowi Sulejmanowi w r. 1558’, Teka Wileńska 4 (1858)
5-29 (edition and Polish trans. with facsimile of the Turkish
translation); Teka Wileńska 5-6 (1858) (translator’s commentary)

Editions & Translations

Studies
A. Konopacki, Życie religijne Tatarów Wielkiego Księstwa Litewskiego w
XVI-XIX wieku, Warsaw, 2010 (quotations)

Z. Kanapacka, ‘Risale-i-Tatar-i-Lech – kashtoŭnaia krynitsa pa gistoryi

litoŭskikh tataraŭ XVI st.’, Belaruski gistarychny chasopis 7 (2004) 33-40

Z. Kanapacka, ‘Risale-i-Tatar-i-Lech – tsennyĭ istochnik po istorii i kul’ture

litovskich tatar XVI veka’, in Tiurskie narody v istorii Belarusi. Materialy IX
mezhdunarodno-prakticheskoĭ konferentsii, Minsk, 2003, 95-106
382
K. Grygajtis, ‘Osadnictwo Tatarów hospodarskich w Wielkim Księstwie
Litewskim XIV-XVIII w.’, Rocznik Tatarów Polskich 8 (2003) 7-280

J. Tyszkiewicz, Tatarzy na Litwie i w Polsce. Studia z dziejów XIII-XVIII

wieku,Warsaw, 1989

J. Sobczak, Położenie prawne ludności tatarskiej w Wielkim Księstwie

Litewskim, Warsaw, 1984

M. Tayyip Gökbilgin, ‘Lehistan Tatarları Hakkında Bir Risale, Risale-i

Tatar-ı Leh’, İstanbul Üniversitesi Edebiyat Fakültesi Tarih Enstitüsü
Dergisi 1 (1971) 121-30

S. Kryczyński, Tatarzy litewscy. Próba monografii historyczno-

etnograficznej, Warsaw, 1938 (includes quotations and references)

A. Muchliński, Izsledowanije o proischożdienii i sostojanii Litowskich tatar,

St Petersburg, 1857 (earliest quotations and reference)

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1550-1600
Thematic Region: Grand Duchy of Lithuania
Related Historical People: Süleyman the Magnificent
Genre & Source Type: Testimonia
Theme: acculturation, Freedom of religion, religious reform, Rituals and
Customs
Social History: Social interaction, Tatars living in Lithuania

Artur Konopacki
Cite this page

Konopacki, Artur. " Zdanie sprawy o Tatarach litewskich przez jednego z tych Tatarów złożone sułtanowi Sulejmanowi."
Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David Thomas. Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02
February 2016 <http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-ii/zdanie-sprawy-o-tatarach-
litewskich-przez-jednego-z-tych-tatarow-zozone-sutanowi-sulejmanowi-COM_26289>

383
 De Turcarum tyranno emblema, 1558
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts MANUSCRIPTS EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

De Turcarum tyranno emblema

‘Emblem on the tyrant of the Turks, 1558’

Antonius Vrantius, Antun Vrančić, Verancsics Antal, Antonio Veranzio

Date: 1558
Original Language: Latin

Description
Verantius wrote and published this one-page emblem poem accompanied by
a woodcut in Vienna in spring 1558, immediately after his first mission to
Constantinople (1553-7). In the poem, which is addressed to Archduke and
King of Bohemia, Maximilian of Habsburg, the son of King Ferdinand I, he
summarises his experiences, and gives his opinion of Sultan Süleyman I.

The vocabulary used in connection with Süleyman ‒ tumefactus, furens,

fraude, perfidia, violat, tyrannum, impius, saevit, insidiis, fallax, pessundat,
devorat, ferus, calcat, odit, atrox, frustra ‒ depicts a cruel tyrant. His success
in fighting has made him conceited, every political and military act of his is
laden with violence, and scheming is his fundamental method. He violates
agreements and peace treaties, and directs raving violence not only towards
his enemies but also towards his own people. Surprisingly, he cannot be
‘bought’ or persuaded to abandon his intentions with either flattery or
wealth, because in the popular mind Turks (or people of the East) can be
enticed to do anything for presents. The main message of the poem is in the

384
last line: we need the sword now (ense opus est) and not peace negotiations,
as Süleyman, who only understands the language of weapons, only likes
those he fears (quos timet hos et amat).

The woodcut that accompanies the poem underlines this message. The central
figure is Fortuna, goddess of unpredictability. She balances with one foot on
a ball, and is holding a Turkish turban with an ostrich plume, into which a
straight sword is thrust by an iron-clad hand protruding from a cloud. The
message is clear: the turban, the Ottoman sultan, can only be defeated with
weapons.

Significance
Verantius meant the poem and print to be a warning that the kingdom’s
authorities should not trust the sultan or the Turks because they were
unreliable and only understood the language of weapons. It seems that
Archduke Maximilian, who came to the throne in July 1564 as King
Maximilian I of Hungary, heeded this advice, and in February 1565 launched
a war against the Turks in Hungary.

This verse and the woodcut were incorporated into the second edition of
Johannes Sambucus’s (János Zsámboky) Emblemata in 1566. The woodcut
was later copied for other German prints, and Verantius’s poem was
translated into German in a booklet on Turkish leaders in 1597.

Manuscripts
MANUSCRIPTS
MS Zadar, Croatia, Znanstvena knjižnica Zadar – Codex Lucianus 25290,
617, fol. 10 (1558; Antonius Verantius, Ad inclytum Bohemiae regem
Maximilianum de Turcarum tyranno – Varia Dalmatica)

EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS

De Turcarum tyranno emblema, Viennae: Raphael Hofhalter, 1558 (single-
leaf woodcut), RMK III. 5272 (Exemplar: Országos Széchényi Könyvtár

385
Régi Nyomtatványok Tára [National Széchényi Library, Budapest, Rare
Prints] OSZK RNYT App. H. 1783)

Joannes Sambucus, Emblemata, cum aliquot nummis antiqui operis,

Antverpiae, 1566 (altera editio)

Prosapia vel genealogia imperatorum Turcicorum. Das ist: Ein kurtzer

summarischer Ausszug, aller türckischen Kayser, wie lang die geregiert,
gelebt… mit sampt jhren wahren Contrafacturen oder Bildnussen, von
Kayser Ottoman an, biß auff jetzt regierenden Mahometen... Item: Von Art
und Eygenschafft dess Türckens, Straubing: Andre Sommer, 1597

S. Dilbaum, Ein schön warhafftig und frewdenreich new Lied, Von eroberung
der herrlichen Vestung Raab in Ungern: wie die von dem Wolgebornen
Herrn Herrn Adolph von Schwartzenberg Freyherrn den 29. Tag des Monats
Martii im Jar 1598 Ritterlich erobert und eingenommen, Augsburg: Michael
Manger, 1598

Croatiae auctores Latini (CroALa) Collectio

electronica, http://www.ffzg.unizg.hr/klafil/croala/cgi-
bin/getobject.pl?c.199:1:0.croala, http://www.ffzg.unizg.hr/klafil/croala/cgi-
bin/getobject.pl?c.201:1:0.croala

Editions & Translations

Studies
É. Gyulai, ‘Ense opus est – Verancsics Antal emblémaverse I. Szulejmán
szultánról, 1558’, Publicationes Universitatis Miskolcinensis, Sectio
Philosophica XVI, Fasciculus 2 (2011) 129-67,
http://epa.oszk.hu/02100/02137/00023/pdf/EPA02137_publ_uni_miskolciens
is_2011_2_129.pdf (with a reproduction of the original woodcut)

Keywords
Éva Gyulai

386
Cite this page

Gyulai, Éva. " De Turcarum tyranno emblema, 1558." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David Thomas.
Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016 <http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-
muslim-relations-ii/de-turcarum-tyranno-emblema-1558-COM_28011>

387
 Dialogus cum fratre suo Michaele de
itinere et legatione sua
Constantinopolitana, 1558
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts MANUSCRIPTS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Dialogus cum fratre suo Michaele de itinere et legatione sua

Constantinopolitana
‘Dialogue with his brother Michael about his journey and mission to
Constantinople’

Antonius Vrantius, Antun Vrančić, Verancsics Antal, Antonio Veranzio

Date: 1558
Original Language: Latin

Description
Like his brother, Michael Verantius (Mihovil Vrančić, 1507-71) first served
in the court of King John of Szapolya (Zápolya), then in that of his widow,
and spent a lot of time in Cracow. When Antonius set off for Istanbul in
1553, Michael undertook to manage his estates.

This dialogue between Antonius and Michael, preserved in fragment, was

written by Antonius in 1557-8 after his return to Hungary, in order to explain
why he went on the mission. As Michael puts it, visiting the Turks is as
dangerous as jumping into fire or water because ambassadors have either
returned from Turkey with diseases or died there.

388
King Ferdinand asked several people to go, but Antonius undertook the
mission in order to support him in his attempts to restore the medieval
kingdom to its former status. Michael is curious about the long voyage down
the Danube through Balkan regions under Ottoman rule, and also about how
the various places described by ancient authors have changed. Antonius
summarises his experiences in two words: barbarism and perplexity
(barbaries et perplexitas). Everything he sees is decayed and desolate, and
places have lost their former names and have new Turkish ones. The local
people are afraid to say anything about the Turks, while the Turkish
inhabitants give such unclear answers that the embassy hardly understands
anything.

Antonius says that the Turks regard all ambassadors as enemies, so they
provide them with escorts right up to the border. They accompany them day
and night, ostensibly to protect them from the dangers of the journey, but in
fact to prevent them from looking around and sending or receiving letters.

In the rest of the dialogue, Antonius outlines the circumstances of his journey
and speaks about conditions in Transylvania. The dialogue tails off before
getting to the main events of the mission.

Significance
The dialogue gives some first-hand details about life in Eastern Europe under
Turkish rule.

Manuscripts
MANUSCRIPTS
MS Budapest, Országos Széchényi Könyvtár Kézirattára [National Széchényi
Library] – Kt. Fol. Lat. 159/I fols 82-88 (late 18th, early 19th centuries)

EDITIONS AND TRANSLATIONS

‘De itinere et legatione sua Constantinopolitana Antonii Verantii cum fratre

suo Michaele Dialogus, Fragmentum’, in M.G. Kovachich, Scriptores rerum
hungaricarum minores hactenus inediti, Buda, 1798, vol. 2, 157-77

389
‘Dialogus cum fratre suo Michaele (De itinere et legatione sua
Constantinopolitana dialogus), 1558’, in L. Szalay and G. Wenzel
(eds), Verancsics Antal m. kir. helytartó, esztergomi érsek összes munkái,
Pest, 1857-75, vol. 1 (MHHS 2), 268-88; vol. 3 (MHHS 4), 1-7

Editions & Translations

Studies
D. Sorići and M. Lončar, ‘Pismom protiv nepoželjnih čitatelja. Kodirane
poruke Mihovila i Antuna Vrančića’, Colloquia Maruliana 22 (2013) 49-73

J. Bessenyei, ‘Verancsics Mihály’, in P. Kőszeghy (ed.), Magyar

Művelődéstörténeti Lexikon. Középkor és kora újkor (MAMŰL), Balassi,
2011, vol. 12, 401-2

K. Čvrljak, ‘Antun Vrančić i njegovi hrvatski korespondenti, europski

renesansni epistolografi’, in Lakić and Zenić, Zbornik o Antunu Vrančiću, 51-
88

D. Novaković, ‘Neobjavljena ostavština Antuna, Mihovila i Fausta Vrančića:

R-5717 u rukopisnoj zbirci NSK u Zagrebu / Hitherto unknown texts by
Antonius, Michael and Faustus Verantius (Vrančić): ms. R- 5717 in National
and University Library Zagreb’, in Lakić and Zenić, Zbornik o Antunu
Vrančiću, 155-81

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1550-1600
Thematic Region: Hungarian Kingdom , Ottoman Empire
Genre & Source Type: Ethnography, Geographies, Testimonia
Theme: Alliance, Conversion, Diplomatic relations
Social History: Social interaction

Éva Gyulai
Cite this page

Gyulai, Éva. " Dialogus cum fratre suo Michaele de itinere et legatione sua Constantinopolitana, 1558." Christian-Muslim
Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David Thomas. Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016

390
<http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-ii/dialogus-cum-fratre-suo-michaele-de-itinere-et-
legatione-sua-constantinopolitana-1558-COM_27424>

391
 Iter Buda Hadrianopolim anno 1553
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts MANUSCRIPTS EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Iter Buda Hadrianopolim anno 1553

‘Journey from Buda to Hadrianopolis in 1553’

Antonius Vrantius, Antun Vrančić, Verancsics Antal, Antonio Veranzio

Date: 1553
Original Language: Latin

Description
This account of Verantius’s journey to Istanbul is incomplete, only going as
far as Hadrianopolis (Adrianople, now Edirne). It was published in 1774 by
the Venetian writer and cartographer Alberto Fortis as the supplement to his
book describing Dalmatia.

Verantius and his escort set off along the Danube on 23 July 1553. The pasha
of Buda provided them with four cargo ships and six corvettes. Prejudiced as
he was against the Turks, Verantius was pleasantly surprised by the pasha,
who ‘talked with him in a civilised, friendly and cordial way in contrast to
every custom of his people’ (a passa budensi auditi, nobis se humanissimum
exhibuit, et non solum nobiscum familiariter, sed et civiliter praeter omnem
suae gentis morem colloquutus est). When they were nearing Niš, the
delegation came to the old Roman road, which was still called Trajan’s road,
and Verantius was surprised that the memory of the emperor had been
preserved among such savage barbarians as the Turks (miratus sum tanti
imperatoris memoriam adhuc apud tam rudes barbaros superesse).

392
Verantius hardly ever speaks about the Ottoman conquest, though he notes its
impact. Sailing along the Danube through the territory of the Ottomans, he
saw decayed, abandoned and ruined castles and settlements. On the site of the
market town of Kamoncz in Syrmia/Serm (now Novi Sad–Sremska
Kamenica, Serbia), which had 150 stone houses before the Turkish conquest,
he saw only 15 huts covered with straw. At Zemlinum (Semlin, today Zemin-
Beograd, Serbia), he remarks that the market town and its castle ‘were built
in old times by our Hungarian compatriots’ for the protection of Beograd, but
the castle has been completely destroyed and the town degraded to a village.
He does not mention that Beograd was an administrative and military centre
in the Ottoman Empire from 1521.

On 3 August 1553, the delegation left the Danube in the region of

Smederovo, and continued on land along the right bank of the River Morava
(Velika-Morava, Serbia). Here, they came across a strange procession, which
gave Verantius his first ‘culture shock’. It consisted of horses and donkeys
carrying huge baskets with people in them, the faces of some covered with
linen cloth. In answer to Verantius’s question about who these people were,
the leaders of the group told him that they were prisoners, and those with
their faces covered were young people or noblemen whom they protected in
this way from the wind and sun or from being recognised by their relatives.
These human traffickers had come from Thrace or even from inner Asia to
the Balkan border castles to buy their goods there cheaply ‘in bulk’ (in
copia), and they would then sell them in the Ottoman Empire for a much
higher price. Verantius comments: ‘It was horrible and deplorable to see
humans bought, sold and driven like beasts, and what is more, as cheaply
too.’

He had a similarly shocking experience when he was about to cross the River
Morava at the village of Drevent. Here, too, the delegation met Turks whose
leader was conspicuous for the richness of his garments. The Turks were
leading five Egyptians or Zigans (Aegyptii, quos nunc Ciganos sive Cinganos
appellamus), who were wailing and bound together with a huge chain. The
Turks identified themselves as tax collectors who were collecting taxes in the
form of both money and children (impuberum tributum). Verantius says that
the Turks used to collect children as tax every five years, but now they
demanded them every two or three years. ‘I was horrified by this wicked tithe

393
and ignominy (Exhorrui nefarias decumas et contumeliam)’, he writes, and
he adds that it would be good if this were taken into consideration by those
who longed to live under Turkish rule and thought that Turkish people were
compassionate towards Christians. In all probability, this remark was
addressed to those who opposed Ferdinand I of Habsburg and sought an
alliance with the Turks.

The first city that Verantius describes as typically Turkish is Sofia in

Bulgaria. He admires the mosques with their minarets and prayer niches not
on the east but on the south side, and he counts as many as 13 minarets. He
notes that only public buildings had any architectural merit, and that churches
had often been converted for other uses.

In Philippopolis (Plovdiv), the travellers met a Serb whom Verantius asked

about the Christian religion and relics. It turned out that, in earlier times,
there had been two huge monasteries in the surrounding mountains and, when
the Turks occupied the city, one of them, dedicated to the Virgin Mary,
simply disappeared together with its monks, leaving behind only a huge
crater, while the other was demolished by the Turks, although 70 of those
who had destroyed it with blasphemous hands died suddenly within a few
days. Christianity had not survived in Plovdiv, because the old Christians had
gradually died, and the youngsters, whose task it is to spread and maintain the
Christian faith, prefer to convert to Islam in order to have better prospects.

Verantius’s account tails off before he arrives in Hadrianopolis.

Significance
Since its first edition of 1774, the description of the journey as far as Edirne
has been popular reading, and is also an important source about the Balkans
under Turkish occupation.

Manuscripts
MANUSCRIPTS

394
MS Budapest, Országos Széchényi Könyvtár Kézirattára [National Széchényi
Library] – OSZK Kt. Fol. Lat. 2380/III; Fol. Lat. 422/II fols 76-98 (16th
century; autograph)

EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS

‘Iter Buda Hadrianopolim Anno MDLIII exaratum ab Antonio Verantio…
Nun primum e Verantiano Carthophylacio in lucem editum’, in A.
Fortis, Viaggio in Dalmazia, Venice, 1774, vol. 1, Supplementum, i-xlviii

The text is available at: http://www.ffzg.unizg.hr/klafil/croala/cgi-

bin/navigate.pl?croala.265

‘Antonii Verantii Sebenicensis iter Buda Hadrianopolim’, in Fortis, Travels

into Dalmatia, 549-80

‘Utazási napló, 1553’, in L. Szalay and G. Wenzel (eds), Verancsics Antal m.

kir. helytartó, esztergomi érsek összes munkái, Pest, 1857-75, vol. 1
(MHHS 2), 288-334

Editions & Translations

Studies
A. Wunder, ‘Western travellers, Eastern antiquities, and the image of the
Turk in Early Modern Europe’, Journal of Early Modern History 7 (2003)
89-119

M. Todorova, Imagining the Balkans, New York, 1997

H. Dernschwam, Tagebuch einer Reise nach Konstantinopel und Kleinasien

(1553/55), ed. F. Babinger, Munich, 1923

C.T. Forster and F.H.B. Daniel (eds), The life and letters of Ogier Ghiselin de
Busbecq, 2 vols, London, 1881

Keywords

395
Chronological Category: 1550-1600
Thematic Region: Belgrade, Bosnia, Constantinople, Hungarian Kingdom ,
Ottoman Empire
Genre & Source Type: Geographies, Historiography, Travel Writing

Éva Gyulai
Cite this page

Gyulai, Éva. " Iter Buda Hadrianopolim anno 1553." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David Thomas. Brill
Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016 <http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-
muslim-relations-ii/iter-buda-hadrianopolim-anno-1553-COM_27425>

396
 Dva rasskaza o pokhodakh Ivana
Groznogo na Kazan'
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts MANUSCRIPTS EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Dva rasskaza o pokhodakh Ivana Groznogo na Kazan'

'Two accounts of Ivan the Terrible’s Kazan campaigns'

Nifont Kormilitsyn

Date: Unknown
Original Language: Old Russian

Description
The first account, only four pages long, tells how, when the 19-year-old Ivan
IV was preparing a campaign against Kazan, he went to Vladimir, where he
was blessed by Metropolitan Makarii with the icon of St Peter the
Metropolitan and a fragment of the true cross from Simonov Monastery,
Moscow. Ivan took with him Nifont and Sergii, the abbot of
Vozdvizhenskii Monastery. When Ivan reached Kazan and saw the superior
strength of the Kazan army, he decided to end the campaign and his army
was able to withdraw without loss.

The second account is seven pages long and tells of a well-planned summer
campaign against Kazan. Although Ivan was not at first able to take Kazan,
he harassed the surrounding towns for ten days and took the town of Arsk
(Arça). Then he laid siege to Kazan, and after about six weeks he took it by
undermining the wall. In the second part of the account, entitled ‘About the

397
capture of Kazan: how Kazan was seized by the God-believing Tsar and
Grand Prince Ivan Vasil’evich of all Rus’, the sovereign and autocrat’, the
campaign is described in more detail. Nifont describes stationing the armies
around Kazan and the tsar’s address to his army after many prayers to various
saints and icons. In his address, Ivan tells his soldiers to follow his command
and be ready to die for the Christian faith, as he himself is. Before he rides
off, a monk from the Sergiev Monastery gives him icons, blessed bread and
water from the monastery. The battle begins with an attack against the Tatar
commander Bulak, then against the Arsk gate of the town. No Tatar army can
withstand the Muscovites, and they are all driven towards the town where
they are met by the right wing of the army. When Ivan is told of the seizure
of the town and the capture of the Tatar Khan Edigei, he erects a cross and
prays.

This account is a combination of a letter from the battlefield containing

detailed reports about the positions of the armies and their leaders, and a
Christian interpretation of the outcome of the war. The erection of the cross is
a significant act, because it likens Ivan to Constantine the Great and his
victory at the Milvian Bridge in 312. Like Constantine, Ivan brings
Christianity into the realm of the heathens.

The first of these two accounts has similarities to the account in the Ts
arstvennaia kniga, an official chronicle of the 16th century. It attributes the
suspension of the campaign to the tsar and his counsellors having concern for
the young fighting-men who might die in battle, emphasising that Ivan
personally looked after them and fed them from his own provisions, and that
they were all in good health when they got home. Tatars are not mentioned
very often and, when they are, they are discredited as bloodthirsty heathens.

The second account is similar in parts to the account of the campaign in

the Sofiiskaia chronicle (Polnoe sobranie russkikh letopisei, St Petersburg,
1853, vol. 6, pp. 303-15). It is less accurate in its chronology and details
(Polnoe sobranie russkikh letopisei, vol. 6, pp. 306-14), though Kuntsevich in
his foreword to ‘Dva rasskaza’, (p. 24), regards it as a source of this work.

Significance

398
The accounts show how ecclesiastical authors interpreted the victory over
Kazan’ in a religious rather than political way. This is especially significant
in the first account, which changes the meaning of a shamefully lost or barely
begun campaign into the moral victory of a Christian leader who takes pity
on the youth of his fighting men and does not want to risk their lives.

Both accounts show the significance of Tatar Muslims in the minds of

Orthodox Christians. They were a means to strengthen the faith of the
Russians, either through martyrdom in battle or through God-given victories.
The battles are won or lost not by the skill of humans but by their piety, and
their victories come from God. So, the Tatars are stereotypical heathens who
press Christians to give up their faith, rather than individual believers in
Islam. The clear prototypes of these anti-Tatar stereotypical accounts are
ancient saints’ Lives depicting Roman persecutions in the pre-Constantinian
Empire. The descriptions of Roman cruelty and the martyrs’ perseverance
serve as examples to the Russians to hold onto their Christian faith. In this
way, the Tatars serve the priests’ exhortation to their flock to stay firm in
faith.

Manuscripts
MANUSCRIPTS
MS St Petersburg, Otdel rukopisei Rossiiskoi natsional’noi biblioteki –
Q.XVII.64, fols 99r-102 (first account), 102-105v (second account) (date
unknown)

EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS

G.Z. Kuntsevich, ‘Dva rasskaza o pokhodakh tsaria Ivana Vasil’evicha
Groznogo na Kazan’ v 1550 i 1552 gg.’, in Otchety o zasedaniiakh Otdela
Liubitelei Drevnei Pis’mennosti v 1897-1898 gg. s prilozheniiami
(Pamiatniki drevnei pis’mennosti i iskusstva 130), St Petersburg, 1898, pp.
26-35

399
Editions & Translations
Studies
R.P. Dmitrieva, ‘Volokolamskie chet’i sborniki XVI v.’, Trudy otdela
drevnerusskoi literatury 28 (1974) 202-30, pp. 209, 217-22

A.A. Zimin and I.S. Lur’e (eds), Poslaniia Iosifa Volotskogo, Moscow, 1959,
pp. 101-7, 133-4

I.K. Begunov, ‘Kormchaia Ivana Volka Kuricyna’, Trudy otdela

drevnerusskoi literatury 12 (1956) 141-59, p. 144

G.Z. Kuntsevich, ‘Maloizvestnyia zapiski o Kazanskikh pokhodakh 1550 i

1552 goda’, Zhurnal Ministerstva Narodnogo Prosveshcheniia 318 (1898)
135-45

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1550-1600
Thematic Region: Russia
Genre & Source Type: Consolations, Historiography
Social History: Warfare
Christians: Slavonic church

Cornelia Soldat
Cite this page

Soldat , Cornelia. " Dva rasskaza o pokhodakh Ivana Groznogo na Kazan'." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General
Editor David Thomas. Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016
<http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-ii/dva-rasskaza-o-pokhodakh-ivana-groznogo-na-
kazan-COM_26637>

400
 Khozhdenie na vostok gosti͡a Vasili͡a
Pozni͡akova
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Khozhdenie na vostok gosti͡a Vasili͡a Pozni͡akova

‘A journey to the Orient by Vasilii Pozniakov’

Vassily Poznyakov, Vasiliĭ Pozniakov

Date: About 1561

Original Language: Old Russian

Description
It is not certain which member of the Poznyakov embassy took notes on the
journey. In 1820, the historian Karamzin and others ascribed the account to
Archdeacon Gennady (Loparev, ‘Khozhdeniie kuptsa Vasiliia Pozniakova’,
p. vii; Entsyklopedicheskii, vol. 47/xxiv, p. 234).

While Poznyakov’s journey is referenced in Novgorod Chronicle II (late

16th century), his name remained largely unknown until the late 19th century.
In 1845, P.M. Stroyev mentions him in his catalogue of the manuscripts held
by the Imperial (Moscow) Society of Russian History and Antiquities
(Obshchestvo Istorii i Drevnostei Rossiiskikh, OIDR), and also in his
catalogue of the Tsars’ Archives in 1848. Several other 19th-century scholars
who conducted research in Russian and European libraries also referred to it
(Loparev, ‘Khozhdeniie kuptsa Vasilia Pozniakova’, pp. vii-ix). However,
Poznyakov’s account was first published only in 1884, by Ivan Y. Zabelin,

401
who also established that it was almost entirely incorporated into Trifon
Korobeinikov’s Khozhdenie of 1583-84 (Zabelin, ‘Poslaniie tsaria Ivana
Vasil'evicha’, pp. ii-x). Khrisanf Loparev republished it in the Collections of
the Orthodox Palestinian Society (Pravoslavnyi palestinskii sbornik) in 1887.

The original manuscript has not been preserved. The Zabelin 1884 edition
was based on the so-called ‘Moscow’ manuscript held at the OIDR library,
which was described by Stroyev in 1845 (MS 214, 4°, fols 31-62). The
manuscript had been copied by Prince V.V. Kropotkin in 1657, and remained
in the Kropotkin family for some time before it appeared in OIDR (Zabelin,
‘Poslaniie tsaria Ivana Vasil'evicha’, pp. i-ii; Loparev, ‘Khozhdeniie kuptsa
Vasiliia Pozniakova’, pp. xi-xiv).

In addition to the ‘Moscow’ manuscript that he used for his 1887 publication,
Loparev lists six other 17th-century manuscript copies (‘Khozhdeniie kuptsa
Vasiliia Pozniakova’, p. xix). The most notable of these are the ‘Archival’
manuscript, which originally belonged to V.N. Sobakin, then to A. Volkov
and later to the Main Archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Moscow
(it is presently in the Russian State Archive of Early Acts (RGADA), MS
145, 4°, fols 84-154); and the ‘Copenhagen’ manuscript, which was
originally owned by the brothers T.V. and M.G. Dokhturov, and was later
acquired by the Royal Library in Copenhagen (Bibliotecae Regia Hafniensis,
MS no. 553, 4°, fols 559-605) (Loparev, ‘Khozhdeniie kuptsa Vasiliia
Pozniakova’, pp. xiv-xvi). In 1962, Pushkin House acquired several 18th-
century Russian manuscripts which contained two different, albeit defective,
copies of Poznyakov’s work (Belobrova, ‘Khozhdeniie na Vostok’,
Foreword). In 1976, K.-D. Seemann listed 9 copies of Pozniakov’s
Khozhdenie (see Die altrussische Wallfahrtsliteratur, p. 451). Currently, of
the 13 extant spiski of Pozniakov's Khozhdenie, seven are held in Moscow
libraries (RGB, GIM, RGADA) and five in St Petersburg libraries (BAN,
IRLI, RGIA) (see A. Reshetova, Drevnerusskaia palomnicheskaia literatura
XVI-XVII vekov, pp. 462-8)..

None of the existing manuscripts of Poznyakov’s account is complete. The

‘Copenhagen’ manuscript does not have the tsar’s epistle and the ending, but
it does contain the diplomatic report and most of the pilgrim account. The
‘Moscow’ and ‘Archival’ copies lack the opening paragraphs, but have the
endings. Loparev believed that the ‘Moscow’ manuscript was the fullest, best
402
preserved, and least affected by Trifon Korobeinikov’s later redactions
(‘Khozhdeniie kuptsa Vasiliia Pozniakova’, pp. xi, xvii), and that it was
possibly made from a secondary copy, while the ‘Archival’ spisok was
probably made from a copy three times removed from the original manuscript
(‘Khozhdeniie Trifona Korobeinikova’, p. xxxii). Other historians, however,
disagreed with Loparev’s characterisation of the ‘Moscow’ manuscript as the
‘best’ among these three, arguing that the ‘Archive’ and ‘Copenhagen’
variants are much closer to the proto-manuscript (Golubtsova, ‘K voprosu’, p.
40; Fedorova, ‘“Khozhdeniia” russkikh’, p. 740). The 2000 edition of
Poznyakov’s Khozhdenie, part of the Library of Ancient Rus Literature
project [Biblioteka literatury drevnei Rusi], is based on the ‘Copenhagen’
manuscript (MS no. 553-c) – from a microfilm copy at the National Library
of Russia [RNB] in St Petersburg – with an added ending from the ‘Moscow’
manuscript in the Russian State Library (Belobrova, ‘Khozhdeniie na
Vostok’, foreword). The majority of other extant spiski of Pozniakov's
Khozhdenie are defective fragments included in miscellaneous 17th- and
18th-century manuscript collections (for more on the manuscript and printing
history of Poznyakov’s Khozhdenie, see A. Reshetova, Drevnerusskaia
palomnicheskaia literatura XVI-XVII vekov).

Poznyakov’s Khozhdenie combines the genres of Early Modern diplomatic

account and pilgrimage narrative. It opens with Ivan IV’s epistle
(poslanie, gramota) to the Patriarch of Alexandria, Joachim, in which Ivan
greets Joachim, lists his charitable gifts, and asks the patriarch to pray for his
health and that of his family (Loparev, ‘Khozhdeniie kuptsa Vasilia
Pozniakova’, pp. 3-4; all further page references are to this edition). It then
moves to the standard diplomatic report (stateinyi spisok) detailing the
official reception of the Russian envoys by the patriarch, the questions he
asked them and their answers (pp. 4-8).

As a travel narrative, Poznyakov’s Khozhdenie follows the stylistic

conventions of the medieval pilgrim narrative genre. It has even been
suggested that Poznyakov did not himself describe the holy sites, but rather
adapted Pokloneniie sv. gradu Ierusalimu, a Russian translation of an
anonymous Greek proskynitarion, embellishing it with legends and personal
impressions (Golubtsova, ‘K voprosu’, pp. 38-50; Stavrou and
Weisensel, Russian travelers, p. xxxiii). In the travelogue, Poznyakov

403
describes major biblical sites of Egypt, Sinai and Palestine (Jerusalem and its
environs, including Bethany, Bethlehem, the Mount of Olives, Gethsemane
and the River Jordan). As in earlier medieval pilgrim narratives of the Holy
Land, the central shrine is the Holy Sepulchre, described at its most
significant moment – the descent of the holy fire on Holy Saturday night and
the Easter celebration that follows (pp. 37-44). Poznyakov adds to his
descriptions of the holy places biblical and apocryphal legends in order to
enhance their spiritual or mystical significance. One such is the fantastic
story of how, during the Israelites’ flight from Egypt, the pharaoh’s soldiers
were drowned in the Red Sea and turned into fish with human heads, teeth
and noses, but without torsos; and their horses also turned into fish, with
thick horse fur in place of scales (pp. 19-20). Poznyakov is believed to be the
first Russian traveller to Egypt to introduce this legend into a pilgrimage
narrative (Loparev, ‘Khozhdeniie kuptsa Vasiliia Pozniakova’, pp. 83-5).

He also makes observations about the local geography, natural features,

economy and the customs of the people: e.g. the Egyptians feed their camels
with dry beans and give them water only once every three to four days (p.
18); the Arabs make soles from the skins of the fish caught in the Red Sea
(presumably, these fish are the Pharaoh’s unfortunate soldiers and horses),
which last for a year in dry weather (p. 20); the ships that come to Raifa from
India are not built with iron nails but are ‘sewn’ with ‘Phoenician ropes’, to
avoid being attracted by the magnets at the bottom of the Red Sea (p. 30); the
Arabs bring water from the pool of Siloam to Jerusalem on camels and sell it
there, since the city has no water source of its own (p. 57). The cultural
comments are more frequent in the part describing Egypt than in the more
awe-inspired description of the holy sites of Jerusalem and Palestine. It is as
though Poznyakov the pilgrim becomes more relaxed and turns his attention
to everyday life in the areas where there are fewer holy shrines. At such
moments, his purpose is strictly informative, and his attitude to local people –
often Arab farmers or Bedouins – is usually matter-of-fact and neutral. When
describing a certain location, he often briefly states the predominant ethnicity
of the people living there and their religious affiliation: ‘There are no Greeks
in Raifa; Syrians, of the Orthodox faith, live there. […] no Turks, either, live
here, all are Christians; there is only one sanjak [-bey] and 10 Janissaries’ (p.
29).

404
Significance
In addition to describing Christian sacred sites and providing useful
geographical and cultural information about the East,
Poznyakov’s Khozhdenie strongly reflects the state ideology of mid-16th-
century Muscovy, which adopted the ‘Third Rome’ doctrine after the fall of
Constantinople to the Turks and assumed the role of protector of the
Orthodox East against the infidel Turks. The ‘Third Rome’ doctrine
originated from the prophecy of Methodius of Patara (4thcentury), which
incorporated some ancient prophecies attributed to Leo the Sage and
inscriptions on the tomb of the Emperor Constantine that predicted the fall of
Constantinople and its subsequent liberation by a ‘fair-skinned people’
(Gr. xanthon genos) (Loparev, ‘Khozhdeniie kuptsa Vasiliia Pozniakova’, pp.
79-83; see also Yermolenko, ‘Early modern Russian pilgrims’, pp. 60-3). As
formulated in 16th-century Muscovy, the doctrine began to identify the ‘fair-
skinned people’ with the Russians, by conflating the words ‘fair-skinned’ or
‘fair-haired’ (Russ. rusyi) with the name for those living in Rus
(Russ. rusichi, russkie, Rusy) (Loparev, ‘Khozhdeniie kuptsa Vasiliia
Pozniakova’, p. 82).

Poznyakov’s Khozhdenie is full of the prophetic rhetoric of this ‘Third Rome’

doctrine, particularly in the tsar’s epistle and the description of the embassy’s
reception by Patriarch Joachim. The tsar’s epistle to Joachim clearly points to
the political significance of his embassy: ‘We beseech your Holiness that […]
through your prayers […] Christendom be delivered from the persecution of
infidel Hagarenes, and Orthodoxy be raised and spread’ (p. 3; translations are
supplied). Regarding the Russian Orthodox faith and other faiths in Russia,
the envoys proudly state ‘how many infidel lands had submitted themselves
to our sovereign and how the tsar ordered the building of the holy Orthodox
churches in those lands’ (p. 6). In response, the patriarch praises the Russian
tsar, citing a prediction from some ancient Greek books that the East will be
delivered from ‘godless Turks’ by a tsar from an ‘Eastern Orthodox’ country,
who will take the throne in ‘Tsargrad’ (i.e. ‘Tsar-City’, the traditional
Russian name for Constantinople), and all nations will submit to him, just as
they did to Alexander the Great in ancient times (p. 6). The patriarch further
praises Ivan IV for not tolerating infidels and ‘cursed heretics’, such as the
Copts, Armenians and Jews in his realm, and he sheds tears when telling the

405
envoys how badly Orthodox believers in the East are suffering from the
Turks and the Jews (pp. 7-8).

The envoys’ pride in their land and their tsar acting as protector of the
Christian East manifests itself during their visit to the Mount Sinai
monastery. The abbot and elders meet the guests with tears, kisses and
embraces, saying: ‘Glory be to God for allowing us to see the Orthodox tsar’s
ambassadors!’ (pp. 21-2). The guests proudly present the Sinai elders with
the tsar’s gifts: a rich cover, made of velvet and embroidered with gold, for
the relics of Catherine of Alexandria, and 500 roubles for the construction of
the church of St Catherine on the spot where her relics are laid (p. 22).

The belief in Russia’s unique role in upholding and defending the Orthodox
faith also shows in the pilgrims’ awareness of their difference from both non-
Orthodox Christians (Catholics in the West and various other ‘heretics’) and
non-Christians (Turks, Arabs and Jews). This sentiment sometimes finds
expression in extremely intolerant language, particularly in relation to
‘godless’ and ‘cursed’ Turks, deemed enemies of Christianity because they
destroy and close Christian holy sites and churches (pp. 51, 59), or convert
them into dwellings, mosques or baths (pp. 15, 48, 49-50), or restrict
Christians’ access to churches by imposing heavy taxes and limited visitation
hours (pp. 37-8, 47, 52, 58). The author occasionally cites Arab and Turkish
hostility and violence towards Orthodox Christian pilgrims (p. 55), as well as
towards Orthodox churches and clergy. Thus, on Mount Sinai, 200 Arabs
would come to the monastery every day to demand as tax from the monks
wheat flour, salt, oil, and onions. If the elders refused to pay, the Arabs would
throw stones at them (p. 24). With regard to the Jews,
Pozniakov’s Khozhdenie clearly distinguishes between the ‘law-abiding
Israelites’ of the Old Testament, whose legends are often incorporated into
the descriptions of the holy sites of Palestine, and the ‘lawless Judeans’ of the
New Testament, who tortured and crucified Christ and who oppress and
persecute Orthodox Christians in the East (pp. 48, 54).

Intolerance of Turks, Arabs and Jews is directly linked to the conviction that
Orthodoxy is the only true faith, superior to Islam, Judaism and even non-
Orthodox Christianity, as well as to the constant threat of forced conversion
of Orthodox Christians to ‘infidel’ faiths. The ‘debate’ between the faiths is
featured in the description of a miracle associated with Patriarch Joachim (pp.
406
8-14). Although this story was known from earlier Western and Eastern
Christian sources (Loparev, ‘Khozhdeniie kuptsa Vasiliia Pozniakova’, pp.
67-77; Stavrou and Weisensel, Russian travelers, p. xxxv), Poznyakov
presents it as an account heard from the patriarch himself during the Russian
embassy’s reception. According to this legend, Joachim was urged by a
Jewish doctor to prove his Orthodox faith by drinking a cup of poison before
a Mamluk sultan, who himself had ‘turned Turk’. The Jew’s intent was
clearly ‘to exterminate’ the Orthodox Christians in the area, or at least to
persuade the sultan to convert them to Islam or Judaism. By killing the
saintly Patriarch Joachim with poison, the Jew had hoped to force the
Orthodox into apostasy, or to kill them all if they resisted. The patriarch
prepared for the ordeal by praying and fasting for a week, while the
Christians from his flock vowed to follow in his steps and become martyrs in
Christ. On the Sunday of the ‘faith debate’, after celebrating the liturgy and
pledging to his parishioners that he would ‘drink from the cup of death and
spill his blood for Christ’ (p. 11), he appeared before the sultan and a
multitude of people of all faiths – Turks, Arabs, ‘Latins’, Copts, Maronites,
Arians, Nestorians, Jacobites, Tetradites and others (p. 12) – who had come
to witness the patriarch’s martyrdom. But when he drank the lethal poison, he
miraculously remained alive, and his face even shone (although his teeth fell
out ‘without pain’ later that day). The Jew, on the other hand, died from
drinking plain water from the same cup. In recognition of the miraculous
power of the Orthodox faith, the sultan allowed Patriarch Joachim to take
charge of all the Orthodox in Egypt. The triumph of Orthodoxy was sealed
with thanksgiving to the Lord and a meal offered to the poor. The ‘universal’
power of Orthodoxy is also demonstrated through other miracles, and through
the miraculous and healing effects of Orthodox icons and relics on non-
Orthodox Christians and non-Christians (pp. 14-15).

Manuscripts
Manuscripts

MS Moscow, Russian State Library (Rossiiskaia

Gosudarstvennaia Biblioteka, RGB) – 214, 4°, fols 31-62 (1657; the so-called
‘Moscow’ manuscript)

407
MS Moscow, Russian State Archive of Early Acts (Rossiiskii
Gosudarstvennyi Arkhiv Drevnikh Aktov, RGADA) – 145, 4°, fols 84-154
(one of the six 17th-century copies listed by Loparev; the so-called ‘Archival’
manuscript)

MS Copenhagen, Royal Library (Bibliotecae Regia Hafniensis) – 553-c, 4°,

fols 559-605 (another of the six 17th-century copies listed by Loparev; the so-
called ‘Copenhagen’ manuscript)

For a recent list of available MSS of Pozniakov's account, see Seemann, Die
altrussische Wallfahrtsliteratur, p. 451, and Reshetova, Drevnerusskaia
palomnicheskaia literatura XVI-XVII vekov, pp. 462-8.

Editions

I.Y. Zabelin (ed.), ‘Poslaniie tsaria Ivana Vasil'evicha k aleksandriiskomu

patriarkhu Ioakimu s kuptsom Vasil'iem Pozniakovym i Khozhdeniie kuptsa
Pozniakova v Ierusalim i po inym Sviatym mestam 1558 goda’, Chteniia v
imperatorskom obshchestve istorii i drevnostei rossiiskikh 1 (1884) 1-32

Loparev, ‘Khozhdeniie kuptsa Vasiliia Pozniakova’, pp. 1-63

O.A. Belobrova (ed.), ‘Khozhdeniie na Vostok gostia Vasiliia Pozniakova s

tovarishchi’, in Biblioteka literatury drevnei Rusi, vol. 10: XVI v., St
Petersburg, 2000, 48-
93, http://lib.pushkinskijdom.ru/Default.aspx?tabid=5142

Editions & Translations

Studies
G. Yermolenko, ‘Early modern Russian pilgrims in the Holy Land’, in J.A.
Hayden and N.I. Matar (eds), Through the eyes of the beholder. The
Holy Land 1517-1714, Leiden, 2013, 53-74

408
I.V. Fedorova, ‘“Khozhdeniia” russkikh palomnikov XVII-XVIII vekov v
Pravoslavnom Palestinskom Sbornike’, Trudy otdela drevnerusskoi literatury
58 (2007) 375-82

A.A. Reshetova, Drevnerusskaia palomnicheskaia literatura XVI-XVII vekov.

Istoriia i poetika, Riazan, 2006

A.A. Reshetova, ‘Drevnerusskaia palomnicheskaia literatura XVI-XVII vv.

(istoriia razvitiia i zhanrovoe svoieobraziie)’, Moscow, 2006 (Diss. Moscow
Pedagogical State University) (see
abstract http://cheloveknauka.com/drevnerusskaya-palomnicheskaya-
literatura-xvi-xvii-vv)

O.A. Belobrova, foreword to ‘Khozhdeniie na Vostok gostia Vasiliia

Pozniakova s tovarishchi’, in O.A. Belobrova (ed.), Biblioteka literatury
drevnei Rusi,http://lib.pushkinskijdom.ru/Default.aspx?tabid=5142

Stavrou and Weisensel, Russian travelers pp. 37-8

K.-D. Sееmann, Die altrussische Wallfahrtsliteratur. Theorie und Geschichte

eines literarischen Genres, Munich, 1976, pp. 281-8, 436, 451

V.P. Adrianova-Peretts, `Puteshestviia XVI veka', in Istoriia russkoi

literatury, Moscow-Leningrad, 1946, vol. 2, pt. 1, 511-15, pp. 512-14

M.A. Golubtsova, ‘K voprosu ob istochnikakh drevnerusskikh khozhdenii v

Sv. Zemliu’, Chteniia v imperatorskom o bshchestve istorii i drevnostei
rossiiskikh 4 (1911) 1-78

V. R-v., art. 'Pozniakov Vasilii', in Entsyklopedicheskii slovar', vol. 47/xxiv,

p. 234

K.M. Loparev, foreword to ‘Khozhdeniie Trifona

Korobeinikova’, Pravoslavnyi palestinskii sbornik 27 (1889) xxxii-xxxv

Loparev, ‘Khozhdeniie kuptsa Vasiliia Pozniakova’, pp. i-xx and 65-86

Zabelin, ‘Poslaniie tsaria Ivana Vasil'evicha’, pp. i-xii

409
Keywords
Chronological Category: 1550-1600
Thematic Region: Alexandria, Anatolia, Antioch, Asia Minor, Cairo,
Constantinople, Cyprus, Damascus, Egypt, Jerusalem, Mediterranean,
Ottoman Empire, Palestine, Russia, Sinai
Related Historical People: Abraham, Adam, Constantine, Helen, Ivan IV,
Jesus, John, John the Baptist, Joseph, Mary, Matthew, Moses, Ottomans,
Paul, Peter, Sulayman, Caliph, Virgin Mary
Dynasty/Ruling elite: Ottomans, Riurikids
Genre & Source Type: Diplomacy, Travel Writing
Theme: Christian festivals, Christian sects, churches, Diplomatic relations,
Holy fire, Jews, Miracles, monasteries, pilgrimage, Shrines, The true religion
Social History: Churches, diplomatic relations, Ethnicity, Heresy,
Monasteries, Nationalism, Relics, Shrines
Christians: Catholics, Christians, Copts, European Christians, Greek
Orthodox, Jacobites, Latins, Maronites, Melkites, Mount Athos, Nestorians
Muslims: Ottomans

Galina Yermolenko
Cite this page

Yermolenko, Galina. " Khozhdenie na vostok gosti͡a Vasili͡a Pozni͡akova." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General
Editor David Thomas. Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016
<http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-ii/khozhdenie-na-vostok-gostia-vasilia-pozniakova-
COM_26645>

410
 Cesta z Prahy
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts EDITIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Cesta z Prahy
‘A journey from Prague’

Oldřich Préfat z Vlkanova

Date: 1563
Original Language: Czech

Description
Prefát’s Cesta z Prahy (in full Cesta z Prahy do Benátek a odtud potom po
moři do Palestyny, to jest do krajiny někdy Židovské, zeme Svaté, do města
Jeruzaléma k Božímu hrobu, kteraužto cestu s pomocí Pána Boha
všemohúcího šťastně vykonal Voldřich Prefát z Vlkanova léta Páně
MDXXXXVI, ‘A Journey from Prague to Venice and then across the sea to
Palestine, that is to the sometime region of the Jews, the Holy Land, to the
city of Jerusalem, to the Holy Sepulchre, a journey with the help of the Lord
God Almighty happily made by Voldřich Prefát z Vlkanova in the year of
Our Lord MDXXXXVI’) is a travelogue concerned with a pilgrimage to the
Holy Land, rather than a treatise on Islam. Prefát started his journey from
Habsburg Bohemia in 1546, and made his way to the Holy Land along the
well-worn route via Venice to Jaffa. The travelogue was not published until
1563, when Jan Kozel, of Prague’s Old Town, printed the text.

In Hrdina’s modern, but distinctly uncritical edition, the text comprises 339
pages and is split into an epistola to Václav Zajíc z Hazenburka (Hrdina,

411
Cesta z Prahy, pp. 5-8), a preface (pp. 9-11), and the journey itself (pp. 15-
344). The text relating the pilgrimage is divided into 84 chapters, most of
which run to no more than a few pages.

The sense that the Cesta is a piece of travel literature before anything else is
heightened by the inclusion of information of a purely practical nature. For
instance, the first and last chapters are entirely itineraries, while the second
specifies the terms and conditions of an agreement between a pilgrim and his
guide.

Recent scholarship has noted that Prefát uses his preface ‘to immediately
establish his antagonistic model’ (Lisy-Wagner, Islam, p. 40), though this is
unsurprising, since the Ottoman threat to Central Europe was very real in this
period. The Ottoman victory over the Hungarians at Mohács in 1526 had
allowed the Turks to lay siege to Vienna in 1529 and to take Buda in 1541. It
is therefore not difficult to see why Prefát expressed the view that Christians
living in the Holy Land were in a dangerous position, analogous to that of
Daniel in the lions’ den (Hrdina, Cesta z Prahy, p. 11). The Turks are
repeatedly identified as pagans, though there are also more subtle examples
of hostility in the narrative. Laura Lisy-Wagner has highlighted episodes that
emphasise the contempt with which Prefát views the Ottomans. Making
references to Josephus’s Antiquitatum Iudaicarum (Book 15, chapter 12) and
the Acts of the Apostles, when he sees the town of Caesarea, he laments its
sad condition in contrast to the ‘brilliant port’ of the past (Hrdina, Cesta z
Prahy, p. 76). Elsewhere, he recounts a skirmish at sea with a group of
unidentified ships during his return journey. He explains that in a dream he
had seen his ship attacked by the devil, and now he is convinced that the
attackers are Turks, making an obvious equation.

It has also been suggested that, while the overall tone of the Cesta towards
the Ottomans is negative, Prefát’s text may show hints of connectedness
between Christians and Muslims. For instance, in comparing the tomb of
Jesus in Jerusalem with that of Charles IV in Prague, it is possible that Prefát
‘is not only mapping Czech space onto Ottoman-controlled space, making
them linked and equivalent, but is also marking that connection as something
related to the central stories of Czech history’ (Lisy-Wagner, Islam, p. 44). If
this interpretation is correct, it may be taken a step further. Islam is being
linked with Czech history which, in turn, can be viewed as an episode in the
412
history of Western Christendom. Moreover, all of this is being brought
together through the conduit of perhaps the most famous, and most famously
pious, Czech king, Charles IV.

Significance
In Czech historiography, one author has gone so far as to say that ‘The book
by Prefat is as a whole a beautiful document of Czech cultural endeavor
during the renaissance period’ (Dostal, ‘Doslov’, p. 247). Certainly, Prefát
was a man steeped in Renaissance learning and principles. With respect to
relations between Christians and Muslims in the 16th century, the background
must always be taken into account. Hungary had been split and Buda taken
by the Ottomans, and Vienna had been under siege. The Ottomans had struck,
to borrow a relentlessly popular cliché, at the heart of Europe. It was also
conceivable that Bohemia could be a future subject of Ottoman aggression. It
is therefore arguable that the views held by Prefát regarding the Ottomans
were symptomatic of the upheavals of the period. His text might be read as a
representation of a certain form of anti-Ottoman sentiment present in central
Europe during the 16th century.

Manuscripts
EDITIONS
In addition to the editions listed below, Tobolka et al., Knihopis, vol. 7, pp.
308-10, report a number of complete and incomplete original printed texts,
mostly in the Czech Republic. Among them are the following:

Cesta z Prahy, Prague Old Town: Jan Kozel, 1563

National Library of the Czech Republic, Prague – 54 B 42

Strahov Library, Prague – AS XII 16

Library of the National Museum, Prague – 29 C 1 (incomplete)

Bocková, Cesta z Prahy

Hrdina, Cesta z Prahy

413
J. Dostal (ed.), Cesty do svaté země. Ze starých českých cestopisů, Prague,
1948, pp. 25-81 (selected chapters)

Editions & Translations

Studies
Lisy-Wagner, Islam, Christianity and the making of Czech identity

Bocková, ‘Komentář’

Rataj, České země ve stínu půlměsíce

Tobolka et al., Knihopis českých

Trávníček, ‘Oldřich Prefát z Vlkanova’

J. Dostal, ‘Doslov’, in Cesty do svaté země. Ze starých českých cestopisů, ed.

J. Dostal, Prague, 1948, 246-7

Hrdina, ‘Prefátův život a dílo’

Bartoš, ‘Evangelický poutník k Božímu’

Straka, ‘Zapisky Oldřicha Prefáta z Vlkanova’

Prásek, ‘Oldřicha Prefáta z Vlkanova’

Jungmann, Historie literatury České

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1500-1550, 1550-1600
Thematic Region: Jerusalem, Palestine
Dynasty/Ruling elite: Habsburgs, Ottomans
Genre & Source Type: Travel Writing
Theme: Pilgrimage

Chris Nicholson

414
Cite this page

Nicholson, Chris. " Cesta z Prahy." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David Thomas. Brill Online, 2016.
Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016 <http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-
ii/cesta-z-prahy-COM_27653>

415
 Kronika świata wszytkiego
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts MANUSCRIPTS EDITIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Kronika świata wszytkiego

‘Chronicle of the entire world’

Marcin Wolski

Date: 1551, 1554, 1564

Original Language: Polish

Description
The Chronicle (in full, Kronika. tho iesth, Historya Swiata na sześc wiekow,
a cżterzy Monarchie, rozdźielona z rozmaitych Historykow, tak w swiętym
pismie Krześćijańskim Zydowskim, iako y Pogańskim, wybierana y na Polski
ięzyk wypisana dosthathecżniey niż pierwey, s przydanim wiele rzecży
nowych: Od pocżatku Swiata, aż do tego roku, ktory sie pisze 1564. s
Figurami ochędożnymi y własnymi, ‘The Chronicle. That is the history of the
world divided into six periods and four monarchies from various historians,
drawn from Christian Holy Scripture, Jewish and also pagan, and rendered
into the Polish language better than before, with the addition of many new
items: From the beginning of the World to the year 1564’) appeared in three
different editions, rearranged and expanded by the author himself, all printed
in Kraków. The first edition in quarto contained 336 pages (numbered only
on recto with the text on both sides – likewise in later editions), and was
printed in 1551 at the printing house of Helena Unglerowa. The second folio
edition was printed at Hieronim Scharffenberg’s printing house in 1554 and
was 346 pages long (twice as long as the first edition). The third folio edition

416
was printed at Mattheus Siebeneicher’s printing house in 1564 and contained
483 pages, of which 467 were filled with the text (the rest for addenda
including an index).

The Chronicle was written in Polish, and dedicated to King Sigismund

August. All the editions were illustrated with increasingly elaborate
woodcuts. Copies of the editions are held by a number of leading libraries,
while a facsimile of the 1564 edition was produced in 1976. The following
description of the contents of the editions gives a general overview, and is not
concerned with a close sequencing of various addenda (the dedication, poems
of recommendation, woodcuts and index – for details, see Śnieżko,
‘Kronika’, pp. 35-44).

The first edition of the Chronicle begins with a cosmography, giving a

concise description of the geography of Asia, Africa and Europe, preceded by
an imprint of a less detailed version of the 1520 map by Peter Apianus. There
is then a brief comparison of different chronologies followed by a universal
history of the world arranged into six periods and four kingdoms. The biblical
material with Christ’s birth as the central event is accompanied by Sybiline
prophecies. The Christian era is presented in the framework of a list of
emperors and popes (with some other rulers), but the narration is very dry at
times and in some places passages on other matters appear, e.g. on
Muḥammad, the crusades, the discovery of America. This part ends with
Pope Julius III (1550). Then, there are several chapters describing the Italian
and German lands, Spain, the Tatars, the Turkish rulers and the Wallachians.
Hungarian, Czech and finally Polish chronicles follow, the last taking up over
a half of the whole book, ending with a description of the funeral of King
Sigismund I the Old in 1548.

The second edition, in which the author introduces himself as Marcin Wolski,
was expanded and rearranged into four chapters (called księgi, ‘books’).
Retaining the comparative chronology of the world, the work starts with the
period from the creation to the birth of Jesus in the first chapter, while the
Christian era (the history of the empire and papacy to 1550) fills the second.
The cosmography, together with the Hungarian, Czech and Polish chronicles,
fills the third chapter, to which the editor has added an augmented 1550
version of Peter Apianus’s map. The fourth chapter contains the most recent
information on the New World.
417
The third edition begins with a comparative chronology of the world divided
into ten chapters: 1. pre-Christian history; 2. the Christian era (the list of
popes is shown as subordinate to the imperial list by dates being given only
by the names of the emperors); 3. a summarised translation of the history of
the Protestant movement by Johannes Sleidanus (De statu religionis et rei
publicae Carolo V caesare commentarii, Argentorati, 1555); 4. an account of
the Ottoman sultans with a description of Ottoman lands, customs, beliefs
and religious practices (most of this is a translated summary of the story of
Skanderbeg by Marinus Barletius, De vita et laudibus Scanderbergii […],
1552); 5. the cosmography from the earlier editions (here separating
‘universal’ history from ‘local’); 6. the expanded Hungarian chronicle; 7. the
expanded Czech chronicle; 8. the Polish chronicle (with hardly any
additions); 9. an adaptation of the material translated from Siegmund von
Herberstein’s Memoirs about Muscovy, supplemented with a list of
Muscovite rulers up to Ivan the Terrible, together with information on
Lithuania and Livland (present-day Latvia) and the Tatars; 10. on the New
World, with additional chapters on Prester John, ‘Jewish oddities/madness
and their gossip’, on paradise, hell, the Resurrection and the Last Day.

Concerning material on Islam, the first edition contains only a biography of

Muḥammad on three-and-a-half pages in quarto (70r-72r), accompanied by a
woodcut depicting a bust of a turbaned man. The same text (without the
woodcut) with some linguistic improvements covers two pages in folio (165r-
165v) in the third edition. Descriptions of Turkish customs, beliefs and
religious practices in Chapter 4 of the third edition cover about five pages
(259v-261v). There are also a few lines in Chapter 5 on Muḥammad’s grave
in Medina and on Mecca (263v-264r). Thus, material relevant to Christian-
Muslim relations fills only about 10 folio pages in the third edition
(excluding the story of George Skanderbeg and the account of the Ottoman
rulers).

The list of the popes and emperors that Bielski used to present the history of
Christianity is interrupted (between popes Deusdedit/Adeodatus and
Boniface) with a part entitled: ‘The life of Machmet’ (Machmetow żywot).
The author gives the dating for the events in the first two lines below the title:
‘Years from the birth of the Lord Christ 630 there was Mahumet in the world.
In the 15th year of the reign of Heraclius.’ The name of Muḥammad appears

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in the text of the first edition in slightly different spellings (Machmet,
Mahumet, Machumet), which may be the result of typesetting mistakes
and/or lack of rules for spelling foreign names. The spelling in the third
edition consistently retains the form ‘Machumet’.

In the biography, Bielski gives Muḥammad’s family background,

highlighting his pagan Arab (paternal line) and Jewish (maternal line)
connections, and adding a Christian connection through his acquaintance
with Sergius, an ‘Arian-Nestorian’ monk expelled from Constantinople who
‘came to’ Muḥammad and taught him some Christian beliefs and practices.
Significant space is given to an account of Muḥammad’s mother’s plotting
with a Jew to persuade her husband to circumcise the boy and ‘make him a
Jew’ (a hired Jewish wet-nurse narrates a fictitious story about the boy
having his heart ‘purified’ by an angel). Muḥammad later comes to
prominence by marrying the widow of his wealthy patron, which gives him
material resources, and by his preaching (which he started after turning 18) to
‘the Arabs, Hagarenes, Persians and others’. He was successful in this
because of the great confusion and dissent among the Christians.

Bielski enumerates Islamic religious borrowings from the Jews, among them
circumcision, the holiness of Saturday, the ban on pork, and fasting for a
month without eating till sunset; from the Christians, including baptism with
water for cleansing of sins (because Sergius had baptised Muḥammad with
clean water, the Turks wash themselves with water after committing a sin),
and the belief that Christ was born of a chaste virgin, was sent to the Jews by
God and had been foretold by the prophets (the Turks believe that the
Christians, in their stupidity, made Christ equal to God, and the Jews wanted
to kill him but they could not because Christ ‘put his person on’ Judas,
concealed himself in a mist and disappeared while the Jews killed Judas); and
from the pagans Muḥammad took the practice of prostration at sunrise.

Muḥammad started raiding the neighbouring regions and successfully incited

the Arabs against the Byzantines. Bielski does not seem to hold
Muḥammad’s followers in high esteem as he calls them ‘brigands’
(łotrostwo). He notes that after Muḥammad’s death (he was 34 and ruled for
six years) his followers waited for his (predicted) resurrection, but when the
corpse began to stink they took it to the church [!] that had been constructed
for Abraham’s descendants in Arabia in the town called Mecha. He left laws
419
for his followers, including rules about marriage, diet and religious matters
(‘they should not argue about their faith but act’). Bielski says that he will
refrain from describing many strange things written in the Qur’an, and talks
about tricks used by Muḥammad to persuade people to join him – a trick with
honey and milk, and another with a trained dove that perched on his shoulder
and pecked from his ear.

Bielski repeats the rules about marriage and diet, and the reason for Turkish
belligerence in Chapter 4. He also notes the respect for justice among the
Turks, and the emperor’s privilege of being the sole owner of all and
everything, with the position of individuals in society depending on his will
(strikingly different from what Bielski knew in his own country).

Bielski writes that the Turks believe in one God, pray five times a day, wash
before praying, and end their month of fasting with a feast. He devotes a lot
of attention to highlighting the two issues of the differences between Turkish
‘priests’ and Christian clergy, and the role of God’s grace in saving a
believer. Concerning the first, he notes that Turkish ‘priests’ are married,
they accept whatever is offered to them for their services, and if they have a
big family they have to work as craftsmen or farmers to earn their living.
They are exempted from military service unless they choose to enlist, and
they are hardly distinguishable from simple peasants because they do not
need much learning. However, those who know Arabic are more respected
because the Qur’an was written in heaven in Arabic (and is known only in
this language). Bielski also stresses that Christian clergy face a hard time if
they fall into captivity, like all those who cannot earn their living by manual
work.

He notes a variety of religious practices (rozmaite nabożeństwo) among the

Turks – some live in the desert away from people, others live in guest-houses
offering hospitality to poor pilgrims, still others walk the streets offering
water to the thirsty. There are also those who consider themselves to be
prophets and act as if they were mad. They live in what he calls ‘churches’,
wear few clothes and pray and fast in order to obtain power to foresee future
events. They are consulted by the emperor when he is about to go to war.
Bielski expresses surprise that, even though the Turks excel in military
matters to the point that hardly anyone can withstand them, and they act

420
rationally and govern their affairs well, in matters of religion they show such
lack of discernment that these mad beggars are able to fool them.

On the issue of God’s grace, according to the law of Muḥammad no soul goes
to heaven, but instead lives a blessed bodily life in the paradise of pleasure.
Those who reject Islamic law condemn themselves to hell, though the Turks
believe that if anyone dies in grave sin but believes in that law, he will be
saved. However, many of them secretly think that the law does not count as
much as God’s grace, since people are saved by God’s grace alone. There are
also those who believe they will be saved by doing good deeds and fulfilling
the law without God’s grace, and also others who believe that anyone who
does good will be saved, regardless of his religion. To this Bielski adds
another comment, that, when there is no Christ, human thought veers one
way or another in confusion, though this also happens among Christians if
they seek salvation somewhere else and not from the Saviour.

Bielski is very interested in the fate of the Turks’ captives, even to the point
of giving hints on possible means of escape. Conversion does not always
immediately improve a captive’s fate, though becoming a Muslim is a point
of no return. Bielski describes the taxes Christians had to pay under Turkish
rule, and the general hardships of life.

Bielski often treats the terms ‘Turks’ and ‘Saracens’ (and also ‘Turkey’ and
‘Saracenia’) as synonymous, though sometimes he seems to distinguish
between them, and the link between the two is not clear apart from the fact
that the Turks accepted the faith of the Saracens.

The material in Chapter 4 of the 1564 edition bears a strong resemblance to

the contents of Chapter 4 of S. Münster’s Cosmographiae universalis, which
is in turn heavily indebted to B. Georgijevic’s (Georgius) De afflictione tam
captivorum quam etiam sub Turcae tributo viventium Christianorum and De
Turcorum ritu et caerimoniis (Danti, ‘L’aspetto’, pp. 551-2; Śnieżko,
‘Kronika’, pp. 62-3). Georgijevic’s works were printed in Antwerp in 1544
and also in Kraków in 1548 (one of them was translated into Polish).
Chrzanowski (Marcin Bielski. Studyum, pp. 111-12) has shown that Bielski
used Georgijevic directly, because there are items in the Chronicle that
feature in Georgijevic but were not used by Münster.

421
Significance
Although there is not much in the Chronicle on relations between Christians
and Muslims, this was one of the very first texts on Muslim beliefs and
practices to appear in print in Polish (the earlier Memoirs of a Janissary by
Konstantin Michailović circulated only in manuscript).

Though the Chronicle was initially well received, and the publication of three
constantly revised editions within 13 years may signify that the book was in
demand, it soon fell into oblivion, though old editions continued to be kept in
house libraries and, judging by the marginalia, were often intently studied
(Śnieżko, ‘Kronika’, pp. 303-11). The reasons for its fading popularity were
manifold. Socio-political conditions at the end of the 16th century focused
interest on domestic affairs, so that the part of the Chronicle dealing with
Poland was developed and published separately by Marcin’s son Joachim in
1597, and attracted most later public and scholarly attention. Polish
translations of well-known foreign works also started appearing, among them
Botero’s Relationi universali in 1609, 1613 and 1659, and
Baronius’s Annales ecclesiastici in 1607). In addition, similar works by other
Polish authors appeared. These were not stigmatised as ‘heretics’, which
mattered at a time when the wave of the Counter-Reformation was rising.
Bielski was constantly branded a ‘Protestant’, and warnings about the ideas
he had inserted into his work were repeated many times by various
commentators (Śnieżko, ‘Kronika’, pp. 17, 275, 310-11). When the Chronicle
was put onto the index of prohibited books, it was kept in libraries without
the title page, contributing to later difficulties in establishing the number of
editions. In the mid-19th century, Sobieszczański (‘O życiu i pracach’, pp.
xxxi-ii) remarked that, of four copies of what he identified as the second
edition he had seen in Warsaw, none had its title page.

The Chronicle, or more often fragments of it, had a wider reception further
east. According to S. Ptaszycki, who worked on the material in the early
1930s, there were five eastern translations of Bielski’s work. The third
edition was translated into Belarussian before 1568 (Russian literary
manuscript tradition holds that there was a translation by a Lithuanian
nobleman, later named as Ambroży Breżowski (or Brzeżewski or
Breżewski), from which a Muscovite translation was made probably between

422
about 1565 and 1568, though on the basis of the earliest preserved copy
Russian scholars date his translation to 1584). The second edition was
translated into ‘southern Russian’ at the beginning of the 17th century. Two
‘great Russian’ (Muscovite) translations were also known to Ptaszycki, the
cosmography from the third edition, apparently translated from Polish, and
the first edition, probably translated via Belarussian. Ptaszycki also describes
a so-called Chełm manuscript (in Belarussian), apparently complete, well
translated and the earliest (most probably a translation of the first edition).
This work became untraceable after the Second World War (Śnieżko,
‘Kronika’, p. 287). A ‘western Russian’, i.e. Belarussian, translation of some
parts from the third edition is held in the Czartoryskis Library in Kraków
(this includes the history and customs of the Turks).

The story of George Skanderbeg enjoyed particular interest: apparently 10

separate manuscript translations from various parts of Russia are extant,
including one from the Solovetsky Islands (Sielicki, ‘Kronikarze polscy’, p.
160). The fragment containing the biography of Muḥammad was translated
and included in the so-called Sbornik Supraślski, a polemical collection
compiled in the Orthodox monastery of Supraśl (present-day north-eastern
Poland) in the 1570-80s (Mironowicz, ‘Związki literackie’, pp. 541-2;
Sielicki, ‘Kronikarze polscy’, p. 160; ‘Marcin Bielski’, in Nowy Korbut’, p.
28).

Manuscripts
MANUSCRIPTS
MS Kraków, Czartoryskis Library – 1273 (17th century copy; west Russian
[Byelorussian] trans. of fragments of the third edition)

EDITIONS
Copies of the work are held in the following libraries: the Polish National
Library, the Jagiellonian Library, the Czartoryskis Library, the House Library
of the Dominican Order in Kraków, Library of Zakład Narodowy im.
Ossolińskich in Wrocław, Library of the Polish Academy of Sciences in
423
Kórnik, Library of the Poznań Society of Friends of the Sciences, the
Raczyńskis Library, Library of Adam Mickiewicz Uniwersity in Poznań,
Library of the University of Zielona Góra.

M. Bielski, Kronika wszytkiego świata, na sześć wieków, Monarchie czterzy

rozdzielona, z Kosmografią nową i z rozmaitemi Królestwy, tak pogańskimi,
Żydowskiemi, jako i krześcijańskiemi, z Sybillami i proroctwy ich, po polsku
pisana, z figurami. W której też żywoty Cesarskie, Papieskie i tych królów z
ich Królestwy: Asyryjskich. Egipskich, Żydowskich, Greckich, Perskich,
Tureckich, Węgierskich, Czeskich i inych rozmaitych, tak Królów, Książąt,
jako inych przełożonych od początku świata aż do tego roku, który się pisze
1551 są napisane. Między któremi też nasza Polska na ostatku z osobna jest
wypisana, Kraków, 1551

M. Bielski, Kronika wszytkiego świata na sześć wieków a na czwóry księgi

takież Monarchie rozdzielona, rozmaitych historii, tak w Świętym Piśmie jako
w prostym, z Kosmografią nową i z rozmaitemi królestwy, tak pogańskimi,
żydowskimi, jako Krześcijańskimi, w której też żywoty Papieskie, Cesarskie i
Królów innych takież Książąt, od początku świata aż do tego roku, który się
pisze 1554. Miedzy któremi też nasza Polska jest z osobna położona i świata
nowego wypisanie, Kraków, 1554

M. Bielski, Kronika, tho iesth Historyja Świata na sześć wieków a czterzy

Monarchie rozdzielona z rozmaitych Historyków tak w świętym piśmie
Krześcijańskim, Żydowskim, jako i Pogańskim wybierana i na Polski język
wypisana dostateczniej niż pierwej, zprzydanim wiele rzeczy nowych. Od
początku Świata aż do tego roku, który się pisze 1564, z Figurami
ochędożnymi i własnymi, Kraków, 1564 (facsimile, Warsaw, 1976)

‘S kojniku polskogo o Machmietie, koko on i jako, i jakim obyczjem k

czomu priszoł, zakon biesurmańskij turkom założył’, in Sbornik Supraślski
424
1578-80 (Russian trans. of the life of Muḥammad, according to Nowy
Korbut, p. 28, dated to 1564)

Editions & Translations

Studies
D. Śnieżko, ‘Kronika wszytkiego świata’ Marcina Bielskiego. Pogranicze
dyskursów, Szczecin, 2004

P. Buchwald-Pelcowa, ‘Marcin Bielski o odkrywaniu nowych światów’, in

J.K. Goliński (ed.), Wyobraźnia epok dawnych: obrazy – tematy –
idee [‘Imagination of former eras: images - themes - ideas’], Bydgoszcz,
2001, 153-65

A. Mironowicz, ‘Związki literackie Kijowa z monasterem supraskim’, Slavia

Orientalis 38 (1989) 537-42

E. Małek, Narracje staropolskie w Rosji XVII i XVIII wieku [‘Old Polish

narrations in Russia of the 17th and 18th centuries’], Łódź, 1988

A. Danti, ‘L’aspetto “utopico” delia letteratura antiturca in Italia e in Polonia

alia metà del XVI secolo’, in V. Branca and S. Graciotti (eds), Italia, Venezia
e Polonia tra Medio Evo e eta moderna, Florence, 1980, 551-70 (Polish
trans., ‘“Utopijny” aspekt literatury antytureckiej we Włoszech i w Polsce w
połowie XVI wieku’, in G. Brogi Bercoff and T. Michałowska (eds), Od
Lamentu świętokrzyskiego do Adona. Włoskie studia o literaturze
staropolskiej, Warsaw, 1995, 119-38

S. Starowolski, Setnik Pisarzów Polskich albo pochwały i żywoty stu

najznakomitszych pisarzów polskich ['Centurion of the Polish writers, or
commendations and lives of the hundred most prominent Polish writers'],
Kraków, 1970 (on the expanded version published in Venice, 1627; the
original Frankfurt, 1625)

425
F. Sielicki, ‘Kronikarze polscy w latopisarstwie i dawnej historiografii
ruskiej’ ['Polish chroniclers in the 'latopis' tradition and old Russian
historiography'], Slavia Orientalis 14 (1965) 143-78, pp. 157-62

H. Barycz, Dzieje nauki w Polsce w epoce Odrodzenia ['History of learning

in Poland in the Renaissance era'], Warsaw, 1957

S. Ptaszycki, ‘Ruskie przekłady kronik Bielskiego i

Stryjkowskiego’, Pamiętnik Literacki 30 (1933) 168-84

W. Lew, Ukrajins’kyj perekład chroniky Martyna Biels’koho ['The Ukrainian

translation of the chronicle of Martin Bielski'], Warsaw, 1933

A. Sobolewski, Pierewodnaja literatura Moskowskoj Rusi XIV-XVI

wieka ['Translated literature of Muscovy in the 14th-16th centuries'], St
Petersburg, 1903

Załuski, Biblioteka historyków, prawników

Ł. Gołębiowski, O dziejopisach polskich, ich duchu, zaletach i wadach ['On

the Polish chroniclers, their spirit, virtues and flaws'], Warsaw, 1826

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1550-1600
Genre & Source Type: Chronicles/Histories, Chronography, Cosmography,
Ethnography
Theme: Eschatology, Free Will and Predestination, Muḥammad, falsity of his
claims, oppression of Christians , Predicament of the Christians under the
Arabs

Stanisław Grodź
Cite this page

Grodź, Stanisław. " Kronika świata wszytkiego." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David Thomas. Brill
Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016 <http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-
muslim-relations-ii/kronika-swiata-wszytkiego-COM_27613>

426
 Istoriia o Kazanskom tsarstve
Article Table of Contents
1. Biography
2. Primary Sources of Information
3. Secondary Sources of Information
4. Works on Christian-Muslim Relations

Kazan chronicle
Date of Birth:
Place of Birth:
Date of Death:
Place of Death:

Biography
According to what the author says in the colophon, he was a Russian captive
who was held in Kazan for 20 years and converted to Islam. Then, at the
beginning of the Kazan campaign he fled and entered the service of Ivan IV.

Primary Sources of Information

The only source for the author is the Kazan chronicle itself.

Secondary Sources of Information

-

Works on Christian-Muslim Relations

 Kazanskaia istoriia

Cornelia Soldat
Cite this page

427
Soldat , Cornelia. "Istoriia o Kazanskom tsarstve." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David Thomas. Brill
Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016 <http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-
muslim-relations-ii/istoriia-o-kazanskom-tsarstve-COM_27896>

428
 Kazanskaia istoriia
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts MANUSCRIPTS EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Kazanskaia istoriiaIstoriia o Kazanskom carstve; , Istoriia o Kazanskom

tsarstve
‘Kazan chronicle’'History of the Empire of Kazan'

Kazan chronicle

Date: 1564-5
Original Language: Old Russian

Description
The Kazan chronicle is written in Old Russian with parts in vernacular
Russian and Church Slavonic. It comes from the time before the formation of
a unified Russian literary language, which makes it of interest to linguists.
The longest manuscript of the chronicle consists of 153 pages and is dated to
the 1660s. In G.Z. Kuntsevich’s edition, it is 496 pages long.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Kuntsevich identified three stages in the
development of the Chronicle. The first was the author’s original text,
probably datable to 1564-5, and a redaction of this from before 1573
(redactions 1-2). The second, written after 1592, is a radically reworked
version: a part of the Stepennaia kniga (‘Book of degrees’), which describes
the 1552 campaign, and parts of other chronicles, were inserted after ch. 50
(redactions 3-8). The third, at the beginning of the 18th century, resulted in
the Kratkii kazanskii letopisets (‘Short Kazan chronicle’) or the ninth
redaction. Kuntsevichem’s findings were revised in the 1950s by G.N.

429
Moiseeva, who identified two stages, the first from before 1592, and the
second afterwards.

The Chronicle is a history of relations between Russia and the Golden Horde
from the time of the invasion of Batu in 1237 and the formation of the
Golden Horde in the 13th century to Ivan IV’s Kazan campaign in 1552.
When he captured Kazan, Ivan conquered one of the successors of the
Golden Horde and therefore symbolically showed the pre-eminence of Russia
over the Tatars, a reversal of the 13th-century period when the Russians had
been overrun and made tributaries of the Horde.

The first part of the Chronicle relates the history of the Khanate up to the
16th century. Although the Tatars are described as oath-breaking, aggressive,
and constantly invading Russian lands and enslaving Russians, there are also
passages that refer to their good behaviour towards Russians. Thus, when
Vasilii II was captured by the Kazan khan, he was treated well and even fed
with food ‘worthy of a Christian’.

Following the structure of Kuntsevich’s edition, chs 1-15 tell of Tatar-

Russian relations before the 16th century, while chs 16-42 are about Ivan IV’s
reign and the decline of the Khanate because of disputes about the
succession. At the end, the khan’s widow, Süyün-Beke, who is already in
Muscovite hands, foretells the fall of the city.

The second part of the Chronicle describes Ivan IV’s campaign and the fall of
Kazan. Chs 43-71 relate the siege of 1552. The Muscovites hold a great
council of war and the siege is launched. It does not succeed and the
commanders of the army decide to retreat to Moscow, but two monks from
the Sergiev monastery prophesy victory (a clear allusion to the Battle at the
Don in 1380, the last time the Russians had defeated the Mongols). Help
comes in the shape of foreign fighting-men. Chs 72-102 then describe the
breaching of the city wall and the battle around it. They end with a prediction
of the city’s prosperity now that it has become part of the Christian world.
The culmination is Ivan’s entry into the city, and the khan begging for
baptism.

430
Chs 103-4 give a summary of the history of Kazan, while ch. 105, which is
found in only one manuscript dated after 1584, contains an obituary of Ivan
IV, who died in 1584.

Significance
The large number of manuscripts and redactions of the Kazan chronicle are a
reflection of the importance of Ivan’s victory. The Khanate of Kazan was a
major threat to the security of Russia and an obstacle to expansion to the east.
It conducted raids into Russian lands, and in the 16th century blocked the
trading route along the River Volga. This victory was thus a major triumph
for the young tsar and for the country as a whole.

The Chronicle reflects the Orthodox Church’s conviction that the inevitable
fate of Kazan and Islam was to fall to an Orthodox ruler. This theme recurs
frequently in church texts from the 16th century.

Manuscripts
MANUSCRIPTS
The Kazan chronicle is preserved in over 200 MSS, the earliest of which are
dated to the early 17th century. Descriptions can be found in the following
publications:

L.A. Dubrovina, Kazanskii letopisets, Yoshkar-Ola, Russia, 1981

L.A. Dubrovina and A. Liubov, Istoriia o Kazanskom tsarstve (Kazanskii

letopisets). Spiski i klassifikatsiia tekstov, Kiev, 1989

EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS

Istoriia o kazanskom tsarstve neizvestnago sochinitelia 16 stoletiia po dvum
starinnym spiskam, St Petersburg, 1791

431
Podrobnaiia letopis’ ot nachala Rossii do Poltavskoi vatalii, St Petersburg,
1798

F.T. Vasil’eva (ed.), Skazanie o zachatii tsarstva Kazanskogo, Kazan, 1902

G.Z. Kuntsevich (ed.), Istoriia o kazanskom tsarstve (Kazanskii letopisets), St

Petersburg, 1903 (repr. Moscow, 2000,http://psrl.csu.ru/toms/Tom_19.shtml)

G.N. Moiseevoi (ed.), Kazanskaiia istoriia, Moscow, 1954

N.V. Vodovozova (ed.), Skazanie o tsarstve kazanskom, Moscow, 1959

V.P. Shestakov (ed.), Istoriia estetiki. Pamiatniki mirovoi esteticheskoi mysli

v piati tomach, vol. 1. Antichnost’ - Srednie veka - Vozrozhdenie, Moscow,
1962, pp. 428-42 (selections)

F. Kämpfer (trans.), Historie vom Zartum Kasan (Kasaner Chronist), Graz,

1969 (German trans.)

‘Kazanskaiia istoriia’, in T.F. Volkovoi (ed.), Pamiatniki literatury drevnei

Rusi. Seredina XVI v., Moscow, 1985, pp. 360-565 (text), pp. 601-24 (notes)

http://www.pushkinskijdom.ru/Default.aspx?tabid=5148#_edn1

432
Editions & Translations
Studies
The Kazan chronicle has been the subject of many studies since the middle of
the 19th century. More recent studies tend to refer to these older works, so
only those published since the 1950s are listed here.

T.F. Volkova, ‘Slovesnyi portret v “Kazanskoi istorii”’, in L.A. Dmitriev

(ed.), Issledovaniia po drevnei i novoi literature. Sbornik trudov, Leningrad,
1987, 41-7

T.F. Volkova, ‘Kommentarii k odnomu fragmentu “Kazanskoi istorii”.

Siuzhet “Sergieva videniia” v sochineniiakh XVI v. o vziatii Kazani’, Trudy
otdela drevnerusskoi literatury 38 (1985) 179-84

T.F. Volkova, ‘Rabota avtora “Kazanskoi istorii” nad siuzhetnom

povestvovanii ob osade i vziatii Kazani’, Trudy otdela drevnerusskoi
literatury 39 (1985) 308-22

T.F. Volkova, ‘Osobennosti siuzheta Povesti o kazanskom pokhode i “Istorii”

A.M. Kurbskogo. K voprosu o belletrizatsii istoriko-publitsisticheskogo
povestvovaniia v XVI v.’, Trudy otdela drevnerusskoi literatury 40 (1985)
248-59

T.F. Volkova, ‘“Letopisets’ nachala tsarstva tsaria i velikogo kniazia Ivana

Vasil’evicha” i Troitskoe sochinenie o vziatii Kazani kak istochniki teksta
“Kazanskoi istorii”’, in D.S. Likhachev (ed.), Drevnerusskaia literatura.
Istochnikovedenie, Leningrad, 1984, 172-87

T.F. Volkova, ‘Osobennosti povestvovaniia v “Letopistse nachala tsarstva

tsaria i velikogo kniazia Ivana Vasil’evicha” i kul’tura epokhi “vtorogo
monumentalizma” ’, in Stil‘ pisatelia i kul’tura epokhi, Syktyvkar, Russia,
1984, 15-26

433
N.V. Trofimova, ‘Ob osobennostiakh i roli peizazha v “Istorii o tsarstve
Kazanskom”’, in N.I. Prokof’ev (ed.), Literatura drevnei Rusi. Sbornik
trudov, Moscow, 1983, vol. 4, 65-75

T.F. Volkova, ‘“Kazanskaia istoriia” i troitskie literaturnye pamiatniki o

vziatii Kazani. K voprosu ob istoriko-literaturnykh osobennostiakh
“Kazanskoi istorii”’, Trudy otdela drevnerusskoi literatury 37 (1983) 104-17

T.F. Volkova, ‘Problema avtorskoi pozitsii v istoriko-publisticheskom

povestvovanii XVI v. Na materiale sochinenii sovremennikov o vziatii
Kazani’, in Stil’ i ideologiia (Aktivnost‘ avtorskogo povestvovaniia),
Syktyvkar, Russia, 1983, 4-17

T.F. Volkova, ‘Dva tipa siuzheta v istoriko-publisticheskom povestvovanii

vtoroi poloviny XVI v. Rasskaz o vziatii Kazani v “Kazanskoi istorii” i
“Istorii o velikom kniaze Moskovskom”’, in F.Z. Kanunova, N.N. Kiselev
and N.B. Remorova (eds), Problemy literaturnykh zhanrov. Materialy
chetvertoi nauchnoi mezhvuzovskoi konferentsii, Tomsk, Russia, 1983, 17-18

T.F. Volkova, ‘Maloizvestnyi istochnik “Kazanskoi istorii”’, Russkaia

literatura 3 (1982) 135-8

T.F. Volkova, ‘“Kazanskaia istoriia” i istoriko-publitsisticheskoe

povestvovanie Moskovskoi Rusi vtoroi poloviny XVI v.’, Leningrad, 1982
(Diss. University of Leningrad)

T.F. Volkova, ‘K voprosu o literaturnykh istochnikakh “Kazanskoi istorii”.

“Kazanskaia istoriia” i zhanr chozhdenii’, Trudy otdela drevnerusskoi
literatury 36 (1981) 242-50

L.A. Dubrovina, ‘Kazanskii letopisets, istoriko-tekstologicheskoe

issledovanie’, Moscow, 1981 (Diss. University of Moscow)

N.V. Trofimova, ‘O sravneniiakh v “Istorii o tsarstve Kazanskom”’, in N.I.

Prokof’ev (ed.), Literatura drevnei Rusi. Sbornik trudov, Moskcow, 1981,
vol. 3, 68-74

434
L.A. Dubrovina, ‘Nekotorye voprosy teksta Kazanskogo letopistsa’,
in Materialy konferentsii molodykh uchenykh, Yoshkar-Ola, Russia, 1980,
12-21

G.N. Moiseeva, ‘“Kazanskaia istoriia” iz biblioteki M.V.

Lomonosova’, Trudy otdela drevnerusskoi literatury 9 (1953) 266-88

G.N. Moiseeva, ‘“Kazanskaia istoriia” – novyi etap v razvitii istoricheskogo

povestvovaniia drevnei Rusi’, Leningrad, 1951 (Avtoreferat kand. Diss.
University of Leningrad)

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1550-1600
Thematic Region: Kazan Khanate, Russia
Related Historical People: Ivan IV
Dynasty/Ruling elite: Riurikids
Genre & Source Type: Chronicles/Histories
Theme: Anti-Muslim polemic, Conquest of Kazan, Conversion, Slavonic
refutations of Islam
Social History: Conversion, Warfare
Christians: Slavonic church

Cornelia Soldat
Cite this page

Soldat , Cornelia. " Kazanskaia istoriia." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David Thomas. Brill Online,
2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016 <http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-
relations-ii/kazanskaia-istoriia-COM_27897>

435
436
 Descriptio peregrinationis Georgii
Huszthii
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts MANUSCRIPTS EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Descriptio peregrinationis Georgii HuszthiiGeorgii Hwz peregrinatio

Hierosolimitana
‘Description of the pilgrimage of Georgius Huszthius’

Hustius; Hust; Husz; Huszti de Raszinya; Hwz Rascinynus; Juraj Hus

Rasinjanin; György Husz Raszinyai

Date: 1548-66
Original Language: Latin

Description
Descriptio peregrinationis Georgii Huszthii is Huszthius’s memoir, written
after he returned from his ten-year captivity and travels in the Ottoman
Empire, Egypt, India and the Holy Land. It consists of 38 pages in
Matković’s 1881 edition, which combines the 1548 version (10 folios)
and Huszthius’s expanded 1566 autograph (30 folios). It is a narrative of
Huszthius’s Ottoman captivity, his life as a trumpeter in the Ottoman
military, and his period as a pilgrim, with descriptions of holy places and
reflections on moral themes, which often compare Muslim and Christian
points of view. A significant part of the text consists of quotations from the
Bible, classical (predominantly Latin) authors, humanists such as Erasmus,
and proverbs of various origins, sometimes in their original languages
(Turkish, Hungarian).

437
Numerous references to the Muslim world appear throughout the text and, as
might be expected, they are predominantly negative. They range from
passing mentions of Muslim customs, such as the celebration of Ramadan, to
open invective and strong disdain of the non-Christian ‘others’. The
Ottomans are often portrayed as morally inferior to Christians, self-seeking,
cruel and disloyal. Huszthius calls his captivity the ‘yoke of barbarian and
idolatrous tyranny’ (Matković, ‘Descriptio’, p. 4), and he expresses his open
refusal to visit ‘the temple which Muhammad dedicated to their god’ in
Mecca, or the tomb of the Prophet in Medina ‘in which they say Muhammad,
that impostor, was buried’ (‘Descriptio’, p. 21). Negative attitudes are also
shown towards other, non-scriptural religions (the Indians are called
idolatrae), though open sympathy is expressed for Eastern Christian churches
(the Coptic Orthodox Church, the Greek Orthodox Church).

Although Huszthius never explicitly declares his affiliation to any of the

Christian churches, he seems to have been a Roman Catholic, since he calls
the pope ‘the Roman pontiff of our religion’ (Matković, ‘Descriptio’, p. 18).
However, it has also been suggested that he was a fundamentalist Protestant
(Birnbaum, ‘Renaissance orientalism’, p. 385) or ‘leaning toward
fundamentalist Protestantism’ (Birnbaum, Humanists in a shattered world, p.
207), because of his stern disapproval of both Muslim and Christian
festivities as immoral. Another suggestion is that he converted to Islam
(Birnbaum, ‘Renaissance orientalism’, p. 385), but although it is true that for
years he lived dressed as a Turk and even acted as one in order to visit places
forbidden to Christians (‘Descriptio’, p. 34), the text only refers to his
reluctance to accept Islam. There is no doubt that his attitude towards Islam is
heightened in this anti-Turkish humanist narrative, where he tries to present
himself as a faithful and learned Christian opposed to Muslims.

Significance
Descriptio peregrinationis is Huszthius’s only known work. It is one of the
key captivity reports from the mid-16th century in Croatia and Hungary,
alongside the report by the Croatian Bartholomaeus Georgius. Its significance
lies in the broad thematic spectrum it presents, and it served as a historical
source for other works, especially for accounts of the siege of Diu. It
definitely circulated among Huszthius’s contemporaries, and a copy – no

438
longer extant – of the shorter (Viennese) version that was offered to King
Ferdinand I Habsburg. After it was published it was studied and interpreted
both as an Ottoman captivity report and – especially in Croatia – as an
adventure narrative, an early exotic travelogue to the East.

Manuscripts
MANUSCRIPTS
MS Vienna, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek – Cod. 9528 (10 November
1548; written in Pressburg)

MS Vat – Reg. lat. 931 (17 October 1566; written in Scharndorf; expanded
autograph version of the Vienna MS)

EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS

Rački, ‘Crtice iz putopisa Jurja Hustoga’ (Croatian trans. and paraphrase of
selected sections)

Matković, ‘Descriptio’

P. Grgec, Od Hrvatske do Indije. Lutanja i putovanja Jurja

Rasinjanina, Zagreb, 1933 (Croatian trans. of selected sections)

L. Tardy, Rabok, követek, kalmárok az oszmán birodalomról, Budapest, 1977

(Hungarian trans.)

Editions & Translations

Studies
G. Stepanić, ‘Creating a value-added text. Descriptio Peregrinationis Georgii
Huszthii’, Systasis 18
(2013), http://systasis.org/index.php/en/component/content/article/88-
s018/papers/101-creating-a-value-added-text-descriptio-peregrinationis-
georgii-huszthii
439
M.D. Birnbaum, ‘Renaissance orientalism’, Behind the image, another text.
Six essays on art and literature, Budapest, 2008, 102-23 (a shorter version of
the same article appeared in Harvard Ukrainian Studies 28 [2006] 379-89)

Birnbaum, ‘Humanists in Ottoman captivity’

Tardy, Rabok, követek, kalmárok az oszmán birodalomról

P. Grgec, Od Hrvatske do Indije

Matković, ‘Gjuro Hus, Hrvat iz Rasinje’

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1500-1550, 1550-1600
Thematic Region: Constantinople, Egypt, Hungarian Kingdom , India,
Jerusalem, Ottoman Empire
Related Historical People: Ottomans
Genre & Source Type: Captivity narratives, Memoirs, Travel Writing
Theme: captivity, humanism, pilgrimage

Gorana Stepanić
Cite this page

Stepanić, Gorana. " Descriptio peregrinationis Georgii Huszthii." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David
Thomas. Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016
<http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-ii/descriptio-peregrinationis-georgii-huszthii-
COM_27695>

440
 Obsidio Zigethiensis
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

‘The siege of Szigetvár’

János Zsámboki, Sámboki; Johannes Sambucus

Date: 1558
Original Language: Latin

Description
In this short work Zsámboky briefly describes the first siege of Szigetvár in
1556, when the Ottomans attempted to seize this important stronghold of the
southern trans-Danube region but were successfully resisted by the garrison
there.

Zsámboky’s text is based on the Hungarian poem Historia obsidionis Insulae

Antemi...rytmos per Hungaricos by the Protestant preacher Ferenc Tőke, and
on the personal account of the Croatian-Hungarian captain of Szigetvár, Márk
Horváth Stancsics. This explains the differences in Tőke's and Zsámboky’s
versions (e.g. the number of the Hungarian defenders). Zsámboky describes
the geographical position of the castle, its commanders, and the composition
of the garrison and, while his narrative is brief, he recounts each day of the
siege and the actions of individual defenders during the battle.

Significance

441
Zsámboky makes Tőke’s poem accessible to an international audience,
supplementing it with additional details. The essential message remains the
same in both Tőke’s Hungarian and Zsámboky’s Latin accounts: with
courage, ingenuity and military expertise, the Christians will resist the
Ottomans and overcome them, even though they face superior numbers.

Manuscripts
EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
Obsidio Zigethiensis an. M.D.LVI. descripta per Ioan. Sambucum Tirnauien.
Pannonium, Vienna, 1558

Rerum Ungaricum Decades Quatuor, cum dimidia. Quarum tres priores,

ante annos XX, Martini Brenneri Bistriciensis industria editae, iamque
diuersorum aliquot codicum manuscriptorum collatione multis in locis
emendatiores: quarta uero Decas, cum quinta dimidias, numquam antea
excusae, Ioanni Sambuci Tirnauiensis, caes. maiest. historici, etc. opera ac
studio nunc demum in lucem proferuntur, Basel, 1568, pp. 809-12

Zsámboky János, 'Sziget ostromának igen rövidre fogott és hű előadása,

amint azt a király számára a napról napra történtek alapján följegyezték,
1558' [The very brief and truthful description of the siege of Sziget, as
recorded day by day for the king, 1558], trans. G. Tihanyi, in P. Kulcsár
(ed.), Humanista történetírók, Budapest, 1977, 402-10

Editions & Translations

Studies
S.I. Kovács, Az író Zrínyi Miklós [The author Miklós Zrínyi], Budapest,
2006, pp. 92-5, 266

S.I. Kovács, ‘Szigetvár “veszedelmei” a magyar irodalomban’ [The ‘perils’

of Szigetvár in Hungarian literature], Hadtörténelmi Közlemények 117 (2004)
613-35, pp. 614-18

Gunst, A magyar történetírás története, p. 106

442
Bartoniek, Fejezetek a XVI-XVII, pp. 98-9

M. Waczulik, ‘Szigetvár 1566 évi ostroma az egykorú történetírásban’ [The

siege of Szigetvár, 1566, in contemporary historiography], in L. Rúzsás (ed.),
Szigetvári emlékkönyv. Szigetvár 1566. évi ostromának 400.
évfordulójára [Festschrift for the 400th anniversary of the siege of Szigetvár
in 1566], Budapest, 1966, 287-306, pp. 292-4

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1550-1600
Thematic Region: Hungary
Dynasty/Ruling elite: Ottomans
Genre & Source Type: Historiography
Theme: Christian-Muslim warfare
Social History: Warfare

Gábor Bradács
Cite this page

Bradács, Gábor. " Obsidio Zigethiensis." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David Thomas. Brill Online,
2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016 <http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-
relations-ii/obsidio-zigethiensis-COM_26419>

443
 Appendix de Ladislao et Ludouico
regibus Ungarie
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts EDITIONS & MANUSCRIPTS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Appendix de Ladislao et Ludouico regibus Ungarie

‘Appendix on Ladislaus and Louis, kings of Hungary’

János Zsámboki, Sámboki; Johannes Sambucus

Date: 1568
Original Language: Latin

Description
This work is a short history of Hungary written as a supplement to the
Hungarian chronicle of Antonio Bonfini, Rerum Ungaricarum decades,
covering the years 1490-1526. In addition to political events in Hungary,
including Ottoman incursions in the early 16th century, Zsámboky closely
follows the history of the Ottoman Empire and its expansion in the Middle
East during the reign of Sultan Selim I. The work contains only a few
chronological data, but the accounts of military events, particularly the siege
of Belgrade and Szabács (1521), and the Battle of Mohács (1526), are very
valuable.

Significance
This Appendix is important because the period 1490-1526 is poor in narrative
sources on Hungarian history. It is based partly on written materials, such as

444
letters and charters, and partly on oral tradition. Zsámboky constantly strives
for objectivity, and he does not fail to acknowledge that the miserable
condition of the state of Hungary under the Jagiellonian dynasty was caused
not only by the Ottomans, but also by the greedy and incompetent nobles and
bishops who failed to protect Hungary and the Christian world against the
Ottoman threat.

Manuscripts
EDITIONS & MANUSCRIPTS
Rerum Ungaricum decades quatuor, cum dimidia. Quarum tres priores, ante
annos XX, Martini Brenneri Bistriciensis industria editae, iamque
diuersorum aliquot codicum manuscriptorum collatione multis in locis
emendatiores: quarta uero Decas, cum quinta dimidias, numquam antea
excusae, Ioanni Sambuci Tirnauiensis, caes. maiest. historici, etc. opera ac
studio nunc demum in lucem proferuntur, Basel, 1568, pp. 751-57

Editions & Translations

Studies
Gunst, A magyar történetírás története, pp. 105-6

Bartoniek, Fejezetek a XVI-XVII, pp. 95-9

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1450-1500, 1500-1550
Thematic Region: Hungary
Related Historical People: Paul Kinizsi, Vladislav II of Bohemia and
Hungary
Dynasty/Ruling elite: Louis II. King of Hungary and Bohemia, Ottomans
Genre & Source Type: Biographies, Chronicles/Histories, Chronography
Theme: Christian-Muslim warfare, Diplomatic relations

Gábor Bradács
Cite this page

445
Bradács, Gábor. " Appendix de Ladislao et Ludouico regibus Ungarie." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor
David Thomas. Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016
<http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-ii/appendix-de-ladislao-et-ludouico-regibus-ungarie-
COM_26420>

446
 Appendix to Ransanus’s Epitome rerum
Ungaricarum
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Appendix
-

János Zsámboki, Sámboki; Johannes Sambucus

Date: 1558
Original Language: Latin

Description
The Epitome rerum Ungaricarum was written by the Sicilian Pietro Ransano
(Petrus Ransanus) (1428-91), a Dominican friar and Bishop of Lucera, in
about 1490. Zsámboky intended his Appendix as a continuation for the years
1485-1552. The events following the death of King Matthias Corvinus were
compiled partly from written sources and reports of witnesses, and partly
from Zsámboky’s own recollections. Compared with the more
concise Appendix to Antonio Bonfini’s Chronicle, this work is more
comprehensive and gives a more detailed account of the political and military
events of the early stage of the Ottoman-Hungarian conflicts, from the battle
of Mohács in 1526. The Ottoman failure to capture the fortress of Eger in
1552 is briefly described in an additional chapter, based on the poem by
Sebestyén Tinódi Lantos, and is only loosely connected to the rest of the
Appendix.

447
In the main, Zsámboky is interested in internal Hungarian political and
military events, and he sees the history of the Ottoman Empire from the
perspective of Hungarian history. In contrast to his Appendix to Bonfini’s
Chronicle, here Zsámboky reconstructs his narrative in chronological order.
He describes the Ottoman capture of Belgrade in 1521, and of Szalánkemén
(present-day Stari Slankamen, Serbia) and Pétervárad (present-day
Petrovaradin, Serbia) in 1526, as well the Hungarian defeat at the Battle of
Mohács and the death of King Louis II of Hungary in the same year. He also
traces the aftermath of the Ottoman victory as they captured and plundered
Buda, and the double coronation of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria and János
Szapolyai (John Zápolya) as King of Hungary, which eventually led to
internal conflict and civil war. In a separate chapter, he deals with the
military events of the year 1552, when several major fortifications, including
Lippa (Lipova, Romania) and Temesvár (Timișoara, Romania), were
conquered by the Ottomans, although the two united Ottoman armies were
halted and forced to withdraw by the defenders of the fortress of Eger.

Significance
This Appendix is one of the chief sources of political and military history, and
of Ottoman-Hungarian conflict, in the 16th century. Here Zsámboky expresses
his political views and ideas, together with his historiographical agenda, more
explicitly than in his edition and supplement of Bonfini’s Chronicle. As he
sees it, awareness of the past and present may inspire resistance against the
Ottomans, and help to maintain discipline and fortitude even in time of war.
Zsámboky also expresses his revulsion and antipathy towards King János
Szapolyai of Hungary, because of the alliance he made with the Ottoman
Empire.

The Appendix was used by both Ferenc Forgách and Miklós Istvánffy in their
historical works.

Manuscripts
EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
Rerum Ungaricum decades quatuor, cum dimidia. Quarum tres priores, ante
annos XX, Martini Brenneri Bistriciensis industria editae, iamque
448
diuersorum aliquot codicum manuscriptorum collatione multis in locis
emendatiores: quarta uero decas, cum quinta dimidias, numquam antea
excusae, Ioanni Sambuci Tirnauiensis, caes. maiest. historici, etc. opera ac
studio nunc demum in lucem proferuntur, Basel, 1568, pp. 797-808

Epitome rerum Ungaricarum velut per indices descripta autore Petro

Ransano, apud Mathiam regem olim triennium legato. Nunc primum edita,
una cum appendice quadam, opera Ioannis Sambici, Tirnaviensis. Adiecta est
rerum ad Agriam gestarum anno 1552. breuis eiusdem Sambuci narratio,
Vienna, 1558, pp. 139-62 (Zsámboky’s Appendix is on pp. 155-62)

Editions & Translations

Studies
Gunst, A magyar történetírás története, pp. 105-6

Bartoniek, Fejezetek a XVI-XVII, pp. 95-9

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1450-1500, 1500-1550, 1550-1600
Thematic Region: Hungary
Dynasty/Ruling elite: Louis II. King of Hungary and Bohemia
Genre & Source Type: Chronicles/Histories, Chronography
Theme: Christian-Muslim warfare

Gábor Bradács
Cite this page

Bradács, Gábor. " Appendix to Ransanus’s Epitome rerum Ungaricarum." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General
Editor David Thomas. Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016
<http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-ii/appendix-to-ransanuss-epitome-rerum-
ungaricarum-COM_26421>

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 Letter to the Ottoman Sultan Selim II
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts MANUSCRIPTS EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Letter to the Ottoman Sultan Selim II

-

Adam Neuser

Date: March 1570

Original Language: Latin

Description
Adam Neuser drafted his letter to the Ottoman Sultan Selim II in March
1570, expressing his view that Christianity in its current form was false. The
original of this letter – which was never sent – and a record of Neuser’s
interrogation by the Palatine prince-elector are presumed lost, but a German
translation of the letter exists. Recently, new historical material has been
found in the Gotha research library which sheds light on the case of Neuser.
This material includes two Latin versions of the letter to Selim II, as well as
anti-Trinitarian notes and fragments of the minutes from Neuser’s
interrogation. The bundle of papers is part of a collection of letters to Stefan
Gerlach, a Tübingen theologian, who was in Istanbul as a legation preacher in
1573-8 and was in contact with Neuser. It appears that Gerlach kept Neuser’s
records after his death. These two Latin versions of Neuser’s letter to Selim II
cannot be the original text, which was presumably confiscated in Heidelberg,
but there is good reason to believe that Neuser reconstructed in his notes the
letter and the interrogation from memory (hence the differences between the
two Latin versions and the only known German translation of the letter) in an

450
attempt to defend himself with an Apologia against accusations of
vilification. He hoped to print them in Transylvania, Ottoman territory, in
1572. In Istanbul, Neuser appears to have continued working on his
Apologia. He added addenda and marginalia in cipher (using the Caesar
Code), in which he reflects on how the texts could be used for his Apologia.

Significance
Neuser’s letter to Selim II, when discovered by the authorities, had an
extraordinary impact. His fellow anti-Trinitarian Johannes Sylvanus, who had
already been arrested when Neuser’s attempts to contact the Transylvanian
ambassador, Kaspar Bekes, were betrayed, was executed. Neuser was
charged as a traitor.

How did Neuser’s anti-Trinitarian stance lead him to Islam? His study of
patristic writings, especially Irenaeus and Tertullian who thought along
subordinationist lines (that the Son was subordinate to the Father), played an
important role. At some point, Neuser must have come across the edition of
the Qur’an published by Bibliander in 1543. He began, with great fascination,
to find similarities between Judaism, Christianity and Islam, when
approached from this subordinationist and purely monotheistic perspective.
Writings such as the Cribratio Alcorani by Nicholas of Cusa also tended to
emphasise the similarities between the religions rather than their differences.

However, these factors would not alone have sufficed to persuade Neuser to
call on the sultan to conquer all of Europe. He would also have had to be sure
that he was historically on the right side. The letter to the sultan refers to
Daniel 2 and 7, i.e. to the prophecy of the Four Kingdoms, which was
politically extremely influential in Early Modern Europe. Neuser interprets
the fourth, the ultimately promised kingdom, as referring not to the Holy
Roman Empire, but rather to the Ottomans: ‘And when the Christians
understand that the eternal Majesty’s [i.e. the sultan’s] Empire is precisely
that (as it is in truth) which Daniel talks of in the second and seventh
chapters, which will take over the entire world, and should rule over all
emperors and kings, they will no longer show themselves defiant, but
benevolently acquiesce’ (Struve, Ausführlicher Bericht, p. 233). The visions
of the Book of Daniel were, after all, the definitive basis for all theological
thinking about world history. The conviction that the Holy Roman Empire
451
was the fourth and definitive monarchy drew its legitimacy from this passage.
Luther’s ‘discovery’ in 1529, in association with Philipp Melanchthon and in
view of the siege of Vienna, that the Antichrist was the Ottoman Empire, was
likewise based on exegesis of Daniel. From that point on, a fiery debate
would rage for more than a century about how these prophecies could be
applied to past, present and future history. Shortly before Neuser’s letter, in
1566, there had been a decisive turning point in the debate about the
prophecy of Daniel. Jean Bodin, in his Methodus ad facilem historiarum
cognitionem (‘Method for the easy understanding of history’) had launched
an attack on the German Empire ideology and expressed grave doubts as to
whether the fourth kingdom really referred to the current Holy Roman
Empire of the German Nation. After all, there were also other large empires,
notably the current Turkish one. Similar thoughts seem to have preoccupied
Neuser, but the conclusions he drew were unprecedented.

Clearly Neuser’s post-Bodin interpretation of Daniel would have been

associated with a radical-reformationist anti-papist stance, which was
sceptically sensitised to the historical falsifications of the medieval period,
and which could consider as false such patristic testimonies as the Symbolum
Athanasii. In Neuser, dissatisfaction had triggered a radicalisation process
that did not shy away from extreme theses, but was attracted by them: the
Ottoman Empire as the fourth kingdom; the Trinity as a fundamental error;
authority as tyranny. ‘The bishops and the authorities’, Neuser goes on to
write in his letter to the sultan, suppress ‘and beat down the poor man so
heavily, that he publically calls for the future of the eternal majesty [i.e. the
sultan], so that the eternal majesty can defeat the German Empire, and take
care of the poor; at present all you hear from them are complaints that
everything that their clerics say is uncertainties and lies’ (Struve,
Ausführlicher Bericht, p. 233). These are sceptical, anti-clerical and socially
revolutionary tones that are in complete contrast to the views of
contemporary theologians.

Manuscripts
MANUSCRIPTS

452
MS Gotha, Forschungsbibliothek Gotha – Chart. A 407, fols 351r-351v (late
16th century; with marginalia in encoded script, Latin version B)

MS Gotha, Forschungsbibliothek Gotha – Chart. A 407, fols 352r-352v (late

16th century; Latin version A – shorter than version B, with additional notes
on fol. 352v)

EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS

Struve, Ausführlicher Bericht von der Pfälzischen Kirchen-Historie (German
trans.; translator unknown)

Editions & Translations

Studies
M. Mulsow, ‘Adam Neusers Brief an Sultan Selim II. und seine geplante
Rechtfertigungsschrift. Eine Rekonstruktion anhand neuer Manuskriptfunde’,
in F. Vollhardt (ed.), Religiöser Nonkonformismus und frühneuzeitliche
Gelehrtenkultur, Berlin, 2014, 293-318

P. Philippi, ‘Sylvanus und Transsylvanien. Ein Stück Toleranzgeschichte

zwischen Heidelberg und Siebenbürgen’, in Semper Apertus. Sechshundert
Jahre Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg 1386-1986. Festschrift in sechs
Bänden, Heidelberg, 1985, vol. 1, 213-30

A. Pirnát, ‘Die Heidelberger Flüchtlinge (Neuser und Glirius)’, in A. Pirnát,

Die Ideologie der Siebenbürger Antitrinitarier in den 1570er Jahren,
Budapest, 1961, 117-34

C. Horn, Der Kampf zwischen Calvinismus und Zwinglianismus in

Heidelberg und der Prozess gegen den Antitrinitarier Johann Sylvan,
Heidelberg, 1913 (this also appears in Neue Heidelberger Jahrbücher 17
(1913) 219-310, as ‘Johann Sylvan und die Anfänge des Heidelberger
Antitrinitarismus’)

453
H. Rott, ‘Neue Quellen für eine Aktenrevision des Prozesses gegen Sylvan
und seine Genossen’, Neues Archiv für die Geschichte der Stadt Heidelberg
und der rheinischen Pfalz 8 (1910) 184-259; 9 (1911) 1-70

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1550-1600
Thematic Region: Europe, Germany, Ottoman Empire
Related Historical People: Frederick III, Selim II, Theodore Bibliander
Dynasty/Ruling elite: Ottomans
Genre & Source Type: Letters
Theme: Anti-Catholicism, Book of Daniel, Corruption of monotheism, Creed,
Intra-Christian polemic, Monotheism, The apocalyptic role of the Ottoman
empire, Trinity, True religion, Unity of God
Social History: Conversion, diplomatic relations
Christians: Anti-Trinitarians
Muslims: Ottomans

Martin Mulsow
Cite this page

Mulsow, Martin. " Letter to the Ottoman Sultan Selim II." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David
Thomas. Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016
<http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-ii/letter-to-the-ottoman-sultan-selim-ii-
COM_26150>

454
 Novosiltstev’s ambassadorial report
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts MANUSCRIPTS EDITIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Novosiltstev’s ambassadorial reportStateĭnyĭ spisok

-

Ivan Petrovich Novosiltsev

Date: 1570
Original Language: Old Russian

Description
Stateĭnyĭ spisok is Novosiltsev’s official report of his embassy to Sultan
Selim II, submitted on his return from Istanbul in 1570. It is written in typical
16th-century ambassadorial style, recording minute details of every interaction
and conversation held with Ottoman officials both during the journey and in
Istanbul, where the Muscovites met the Grand Vizier, Sokollu Mehmed
Pasha, and were received by the sultan. The main objective of the embassy
was to understand the intentions of Sultan Selim II in the North Caucasus and
to negotiate ways of keeping the Ottomans out of Muscovy’s ever expanding
southern frontier, though they also negotiated the treatment of Muslims in
Muscovy and the opening of the Astrakhan route for Muslim pilgrims
travelling from the Central Asian khanates to Mecca and Medina.

Novosiltsev’s report reveals that Mehmed Pasha questioned Novosiltsev

about rumours that the Muscovites were destroying Muslim places of
worship and building Orthodox churches in their place, and about
obstructions placed in the way of pilgrims from Central Asia travelling to the

455
Islamic holy places. Novosiltsev tried to convince the pasha that such
accusations were not true, and that Muslims in Muscovy practised their
religion freely in their own places of worship.

Although most of Novosiltsev’s report deals with the matter of Ottoman

ambitions regarding Astrakhan and North Caucasus, it also shows that he
knew a great deal about Ottoman history, bureaucracy, palace hierarchy,
diplomatic protocols and behaviour. For example, when he witnesses salaries
being distributed to the palace officials and soldiers at the exact moment
when he has been asked to wait outside the pasha’s room, he surmises that
the pasha arranged this to impress the Muscovites with the Ottomans’ wealth.
In addition, his historical notes on Selim II’s struggle with his brothers and
eventual accession to the throne, as well as those on Süleyman I’s beloved
wife Hurrem Sultan and her Ukrainian origins, indicate his firm grasp of
Ottoman history. Finally, his analysis of the Ottoman Empire’s relations with
the Polish-Lithuanians and the Safavids is sound, attesting his skills as a
diplomat and the wide-ranging sources of information he amassed during his
travels in the Ottoman Empire.

Significance
Novosiltsev’s report sheds light on the manner in which the Ottomans, as
leaders of the Islamic world, dealt with the rising Orthodox Christian power
in Eurasia, which had already annexed the khanates of Kazan in 1552 and
Astrakhan in 1556, and appeared to be threatening Muslims living there. In
addition, the report offers Novosiltsev’s own interpretations and analyses of
Ottoman history, traditions and policies, showing how an educated Muscovite
of the 16th century perceived the Ottomans and Muslims.

Manuscripts
MANUSCRIPTS
MS Moscow, Rossiiskii Gosudarstvennyi Arkhiv Drevnikh Aktov [Russian
State Archives of Ancient Acts] – fond 89, Turetskie dela, kniga 2 (1570)

456
EDITIONS
Sadikov, ‘Pokhod tatar i turok na Astrakhan’ v 1569’ (excerpts in Russian)

Likhachev (ed.), Puteshestviia russkikh poslov XVI-XVII vv. Stateinye spiski,

pp. 63-99 (Russian edition)

T.K. Kumykov and E.N. Kusheva (eds), Kabardino-russkie otnosheniia v 16-

18 vv., vol. 1, Moscow, 1957 (excerpts in Russian)

I. Kamalov, Rus Elçi Raporlarında Astrahan Seferi, Ankara, 2011, pp. 29-70
(Turkish trans.)

Editions & Translations

Studies
I. Kamalov, Rus Elçi Raporlarında Astrahan Seferi, Ankara, 2011, pp. 29-70

Sadikov, ‘Pokhod tatar i turok na Astrakhan’ v 1569’

Smirnov, Rossiia i Turtsiia v XVI-XVII vv

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1550-1600
Thematic Region: Ottoman Empire, Russia
Related Historical People: Ivan IV
Dynasty/Ruling elite: Ottomans, Riurikids
Genre & Source Type: Diplomacy
Theme: Christian-Muslim warfare, Conquest of Kazan, Pilgrimage

Murat Yaşar
Cite this page

Yaşar, Murat. " Novosiltstev’s ambassadorial report." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David Thomas.
Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016 <http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-
muslim-relations-ii/novosiltstevs-ambassadorial-report-COM_26643>

457
 Vazetje Sigeta grada
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Vazetje Sigeta grada

‘The capture of the town of Sziget’

Charnarutich

Date: 1568-72
Original Language: Chakavian [Croatian dialect]

Description
Vazetje Sigeta grada is the first Croatian historical epic, and the first poem in
Croatian literature about the Battle of Sziget. It was written soon after the
battle, between 1568 and 1572, and was printed in Venice in 1584. It consists
of 1056 12-syllable verses in rhyming couplets, in four cantos.

It is about the Ottoman siege and capture of Sziget, and the heroic death of
Nikola Šubić Zrinski (it is dedicated to Nikola’s son, Juraj Zrinski).
Karnarutić wrote it on the basis of a prose report ascribed to Ferenac Črnko,
valet to Nikola Zrinski, who had written the only first-hand report of the
siege. His detailed account, which was published in Croatian, German and
Latin, includes a poignant description of Zrinski's last hours before the final
sortie (Posjedanje i osvajanje Sigeta, Zagreb, 1971).

The battle between the two sides is represented fairly objectively, and equal
space is given to the virtues of the two commanders, Zrinski and Sultan
Süleyman, who is portrayed as ‘an honourable pagan’. As in some other

458
works written in Croatia in the 16th century, the Ottoman advance is
interpreted as a punishment for the sins of the Christians against God. But
while the Ottomans are portrayed as fierce enemies, there is no extensive
demonisation of them in the poem.

Significance
The work was popular in Croatia, and significantly influenced the formation
of the myth around Nikola Zrinski. It also strengthened the image of
Ottomans as a religious ‘other’ in Croatian culture, reproducing stereotypes
of them as powerful warriors and also as dangerous religious enemies who
threatened Christendom. An important purpose of the poem was to encourage
and mobilise Croats against the Ottomans.

Manuscripts
EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS

Vazetye Sigetta grada sloxeno po Barni Charnarutichiu Zadraninu, Venice,

1584, 16392, s.l., 16613

Vazetje Sigeta grada, složeno po Barni Karnarutiću Zadraninu, Zagreb, 1866

‘Vazetje Sigeta grada’, in Građa za povijest književnosti hrvatske, Zagreb,

1968, 9-39

‘Vazetje Sigeta grada’, in Opsada Sigeta, Zagreb, 1971

‘Vazetje Sigeta grada’, in Kompjutorske obrade hrvatskih književnih

tekstova, Zagreb, 1981, vol. 3

459
Zrínyi énekek és feljegyzések. Horvát, szerb, bosnyák és szlovák népi énekek,
Pécs, 2002, 52-101

‘Vazetje Sigeta grada’, in Petar Zoranić, Planine. Barne Karnarutić, Djela.

Šime Budnić, Izabrana djela. Stoljeća hrvatske književnosti, Zagreb, 2002,
225-57

Editions & Translations

Studies
D. Dukić, Sultanova djeca. Predodžbe Turaka u hrvatskoj književnosti ranog
novovjekovlja, Zadar, 2004, pp. 76-9

P. Pavličić, Barokni pakao, Zagreb, 2003

D. Fališevac, Kaliopin vrt II, Split, 2003, p. 13

Švelec, ‘Barne Karnarutić’

S.P. Novak, Povijest hrvatske književnosti, Zagreb, 1997, vol. 2, pp. 431-43

F. Švelec, Iz naše književne prošlosti, Split, 1990, pp. 141-6

T. Raukar, I. Petricioli, F. Švelec and Š. Peričić, Zadar pod mletačkom

upravom 1409-1797, Zadar, 1987, pp. 337-52

I. Frangeš, Povijest hrvatske književnosti, Zagreb, 1987, pp. 69-70

J. Vončina, ‘Nejasna mjesta u Karnarutićevu Vazetju Sigeta

grada’, Umjetnost riječi 30 (1986) 63-88

N. Kolumbić et al., Sigetska epopeja od Karnarutića do Vitezovića (1584-

1684), zbornik, Zadar, 1986, pp. 1-29, 67-83, 85-111, 113-16
460
M. Franičević, Povijest hrvatske renesansne književnosti, Zagreb, 1983, pp.
520-37

N. Kolumbić, Hrvatska književnost od humanizma do manirizma, Zagreb,

1980, pp. 255-9

M. Ratković, ‘Brne Karnarutić i “Vazetje Sigeta grada”’, in F. Črnko

(ed.), Podsjedanje i osvojenje Sigeta i popratni tekstovi, Zagreb, 1971, 37-42

T. Matić, ‘Karnarutićevo Vazetje Sigeta grada’, Građa za povijest

književnosti hrvatske 29 (1968) 5-8

R. Bogišić, ‘Brne Karnarutić’, in Zbornik stihova XV. i XVI. stoljeća. Pet

stoljeća hrvatske književnosti, Zagreb, 1968, vol. 5, pp. 251-6

M. Franičević, ‘Pjesnik Vazeća i zaboravljene ljubavi Pirama i

Tizbe’, Forum 5 (1966) 358-66

D. Berić, Iz književne prošlosti Dalmacije, Split, 1956, pp. 27-33

M. Kombol, Poviest hrvatske književnosti do narodnog preporoda, Zagreb,

1945, pp. 156-61

M. Kombol, ‘Zadar u hrvatskoj književnosti’, Alma Mater Croatica 7 (1944)

144-6

S. Ježić, Hrvatska književnost od početka do danas 1100-1941, Zagreb, 1944,

pp. 104-5

V. Lozovina, Dalmacija u hrvatskoj književnosti, Zagreb, 1936, pp. 98-100

M. Evetović, ‘Najstariji ep o sigetskoj pogibiji’, Književni sever (Subotica) 1

(1925) 106-9

S. Ivšić, Podsjedanje i osvojenje Sigeta u glagoljskom prijepisu hrvatskoga

opisa iz g. 1566. ili 1567, Starine, 1918, pp. 36, 390-429

Urlić, ‘Prilozi za biografiju Brna Krnarutića’

B. Vodnik, Povijest hrvatske književnosti, Zagreb, 1913, vol. 1, pp. 187-90

461
F. Kidrič, ‘Oblega Sigeta v sodobnem hrvaškem opisu’, Časopis za
zgodovino in narodopisje (Maribor) 9 (1912) 42-97

M. Šrepel, ‘Sigetski junak u povjesti hrvatskoga pjesništva’, Rad

Jugoslavenske Akademije Znanosti i Umjetnosti (JAZU) 148 (1902) 81-173

M. Medini, Povjest hrvatske književnosti u Dalmaciji i Dubrovniku, Zagreb,

1902, vol. 1, pp. 266-74

Š. Ljubić, Ogledalo književne poviesti jugoslavjanske, Rieka, 1869, vol. 2, p.

392

I. Crnčić, ‘Vazetje Sigeta grada složeno po Barni Karnarutiću’, Novi

pozor (Vienna) 3 (1869) 1599-1600, 1603-4, 1607, 1611-12

V. Gaj, ‘Vazetje Sigeta grada’, Danica ilirska 20 (1866) 297-304, 306-12

P.J. Šafařík, Geschichte der illirischen und kroatischen Literatur, Prague,

1865, pp. 18, 167

I. Kukuljević Sakcinski, Bibliografia hrvatska, Zagreb, 1860, vol. 1, p. 65

T. Mikloušić, Izbor dugovanyh vszakoverztneh za haszen, y razveszelenye

szlusecheh, Zagreb, 1821, p. 89

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1550-1600
Thematic Region: Hungarian Kingdom
Related Historical People: Süleyman the Magnificent
Dynasty/Ruling elite: Habsburgs
Genre & Source Type: Epics
Theme: Armed conquest
Social History: Warfare
Christians: Christians
Muslims: Ottomans

Lahorka Plejić Poje

Cite this page

462
Plejić Poje, Lahorka. " Vazetje Sigeta grada." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David Thomas. Brill
Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016 <http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-
muslim-relations-ii/vazetje-sigeta-grada-COM_27707>

463
 Ecclesiastica historia
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts Editions
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Ecclesiastica historiaCenturiae Magdeburgenses; , Magdeburger Zenturien

‘Ecclesiastical history’Magdeburg centuries

Centuriators of Magdeburg

Date: 1559-after 1574

Original Language: Latin

Description
The abbreviated title, Magdeburg centuries (Lat. Centuriae
Magdeburgenses), which is derived from the division into centuries
(one Centuria for each 100 years) and the name of the city where the project
was begun, became popular from the third edition of the work, 1757-65 (the
fuller title is Ecclesiastica historia, integram Ecclesiae Christi ideam,
quantum ad locum, propagationem, persecutionem, tranquilitatem,
doctrinam, haereses, ceremonias, gubernationem, schismata, synodos,
personas, miracula, martyria, religiones extra Ecclesiam, & statum imperij
politicum attinet, secundum singulas centurias, perspicuo ordine
complectens: singulari diligentia & fide ex vetustissimis & optimis historicis,
patribus, & alijs scriptoribus congesta: per aliquot studiosos & pios viros in
urbe Magdeburgica, ‘An ecclesiastical history embracing the complete idea
of the Church of Christ, including the location, propagation, persecution,
tranquillity, doctrine, heresies, ceremonies, government, schisms, synods,
persons, miracles, martyrdoms, religions outside the Church and the political
state of the empire, century by century, in chronological order: with extreme

464
diligence and faith compiled from the oldest and best historians, fathers and
other authors: by some studious and pious men in the city of Magdeburg’).
Intended to be a polemical tool for Protestant theologians and churchmen,
the Magdeburg centuries is a huge multi-volume work (13 volumes, 12,741
folio columns in total, excluding dedicatory letters and indexes), covering a
period from the very beginning of Christianity to the year 1298. (This data is
based on the most comprehensive ‘first expanded’ edition, which is actually a
reprint of the first edition of 1559-74 with additions and corrections to the
second Centuria [amounting to about 53 columns], which were added to the
end of the third Centuria, published in 1560, a year after the first edition.
These changes are irrelevant for our study because they deal with the second
century.) Material in each Centuria is divided into 16 sections (loci
communes or ‘commonplaces’): 1. general characteristics of the period; 2.
state and propagation of the church; 3. persecution and tranquillity of the
church; 4. doctrines, 5. heresies; 6. rites and ceremonies; 7. governance of the
church; 8. schisms; 9. councils; 10. leading bishops and doctors of the
Church; 11. leading heretics and false teachers; 12. martyrs; 13. miracles; 14.
political history of the Jews; 15. other non-Christian religions; and 16.
(general) political history.

The fifteenth section, the one devoted to non-Christian religions, in all the
volumes together has approximately 330 folio columns in total, out of which
approximately 71 are dedicated to Islam (from the seventh Centuria
onwards). In comparison with other non-Christian religions, Islam attracts
most attention in the Centuries – there are about 54 columns on Judaism and
205 columns on all kinds of ‘gentile religions’ (from the 1st to the 13th
century). However, material on Islam is not divided proportionally. The
seventh Centuria understandably contains the most, with about 58 columns,
while others contain rather fewer: viii 5 cols, ix 2 cols, x 1 col., xi 1 col., xii 2
cols and xiii 2 cols.

In the seventh Centuria, Islam is treated quite systematically. More than 100
subtitles reveal a very broad scope of themes: Qurʼan, Muḥammad, prophets,
Holy Scripture (Bible), God, Divine Persons, Son of God, Christ, Ascension
of Christ, Holy Spirit, creation, stars, sun and moon, good angels, devils,
men, man’s fall, sin, law, Gospel, salvation and justification, faith, good
deeds, church, prayer, the cross, miracles, marriage, Antichrist, Jerusalem,

465
Mecca, the Virgin Mary, purgatory, paradise, hell, resurrection, feasts,
circumcision – to name just some of them (the texts vary greatly in length). It
is possible to discern the framework the Centuriators followed: first a general
introduction to Islam, the Qur’an and Muḥammad, then through divisions
characteristic of Christian systematic theology (the doctrine of God and
Trinity, Christology, pneumatology, creation and cosmology, angelology, the
doctrine of man and human sin, soteriology, ecclesiology, etc.) to a
miscellany (pilgrimages, feasts, circumcision, etc.) and finally a short
biography of Muḥammad. Basically, what the Centuriators did is present the
teaching of Islam and customs of Muslims through the Christian theological
categories that would be familiar to their intended audience.

The fifteenth section in each of the remainder of the Centuries (viii-xiii)

covers themes such as the spread of Islam (in Asia, Africa, Europe, in the
islands), and the ‘delusions’ of Islam, as well as brief overviews of the
authors and authorities who fought for or against Islam, in the light of
accessible contemporary sources.

In addition to the Bible (unknown edition), Bibliander’s 1543 Basel edition

of the Qur’an and eight short but important texts published as supplements to
it (Luther’s foreword or Praemonitio, Bibliander’s Apologia, Peter the
Venerable’s letter to Bernard of Clairvaux, Peter the Venerable’s Summ(ul)a
against Islam and Saracens, Robert of Ketton’s foreword to his translation of
the Qur’an, and Doctrina Mahumet (‘The teaching of Muḥammad’), De
generatione Mahumet (‘The book of the generation of Muḥammad and his
upbringing’), and Chronic a mendosa et ridicula Saracenor um (‘Lying and
ridiculous fables of the Saracens’), all made for Peter the Venerable), the
Centuriators explicitly referred to 41 other sources, both medieval and early
modern (some of them hard to identify). Among medieval authors (or works,
if the author is unknown), it is possible to identify the following
18: Chronicum Saxonicum, John of Damascus, Germanus I of
Constantinople, Michael Glycas, Leo of Ostia, Liutprand of Cremona,
Nicetas Choniates, Otto of Freising, Matteo Palmieri, Paul the Deacon,
Bartholomew of Lucca, Ranulf Higden, Sigebert of Gembloux, Turpinus
Remensis, Guillermus Tyrius, Vincent of Beauvais and John Zonaras.
Among early modern authors, it is possible to identify the following 14:
Antoninus of Florence, Giacomo Filippo Foresti da Bergamo, Flavio Biondo,

466
Johannes Cuspinian, Achilles Gasser, Caspar Hedio, Jacob Curio, Albert
Krantz, Johannes Lucidus, Johannes Nauclerus, Polydore Vergil, Marcus
Antonius Coccius Sabellicus, Valentinus Müntzer and Raphael of Volterra.

It is impossible to go through all the material on Islam in the Centuries,

because it is in a sense all about Christian-Muslim relations, so a brief
summarisation must suffice. Generally, the Centuriators saw huge
incompatibility between the Bible and the Qur’an, and also between
Christianity and Islam, in both religious and historical matters. They could
not reconcile their belief in salvation by faith in Christ alone with belief in
salvation on the basis of good deeds and by faith in Muḥammad. Saving faith
in Christ as God incarnate who was alone able to accomplish the eternal
salvation of humankind – for them, the crucial message of the Bible and
Christianity – was not even mentioned in the Qur’an, while for Muslims it
was the greatest sin to believe that Christ is God. In consequence, they
understood and presented Islam as a false religion, a ‘monstrous mixture of
pagan, Christian and Jewish religion’, and they portrayed the prophet
Muḥammad as the ‘second Antichrist’ (the first being the pope), ‘placing
himself in place of Christ’, and using the Qur’an, a ‘book full of lies and
blasphemies’, to preach a new legalistic religion.

Significance
The Magdeburg centuries was very significant for Protestant theology and
ecclesiastical historiography. It ‘proved to be a landmark in the study of the
history of doctrine and set the pattern for Protestant (Lutheran and Calvinist)
historiography up until the 18th century’ (Backus, Historical method, p. 394).

In their study and presentation of Islam, it is clear that the Centuriators

referred to numerous relevant sources. It is strange, however, that they did
not refer to other important authors, such as Isidore of Seville (Chronica
maiora), Thomas Aquinas (Summa contra Gentiles), Rodrigo Ximénez
(Historia Arabum), Godfrey of Viterbo (Chronique universelle) and Riccoldo
da Monte di Croce (Itinerarius, Confutatio Alcorani, Contra Sarracenos et
Alcoranum, etc.), from among the medieval corpus of sources. The same
applies to many early modern authors and works. But, generally, they were
well informed on Islam and they exhausted the majority of accessible
sources. Their methodology of documenting sources was revolutionary:
467
‘They were the first writers in modern times to cite scores of ancient texts
and authors’ (Diener, ‘The Magdeburg centuries’, p. 360).

In comparison to other previous and contemporary authors and works, the

Centuriators’ division of their material on Islam into more than 100 subtitles,
as well as their exhaustive documentation of sources, makes their
presentation of Islam and Muslims probably the clearest to comprehend,
highly accessible for polemical usage and very convincing for their cause,
though very fragmented as well.

Furthermore, the Centuriators’ understanding of Islam stands in accordance

with Luther’s view. Although often one-sided in presentation and selective in
its use of sources – a classic characteristic of polemical literature –
the Magdeburg centuries is probably the most representative example of how
Lutheran Protestant Christians of the third quarter of the 16th century
understood and presented Islam, thus affecting the image of Islam in
Protestant parts of Europe in particular, as well as Christian-Muslim relations
in general. Although the influence of the Centuries in creating a common
understanding of Islam and Muslims in European thought is not yet quite
clear (research still needs to be done), it can be assumed that the impact of
the work must have been significant from the very fact that it was much
opposed by Catholics (Canisius, Baronius et al.; cf. Diener, ‘The Magdeburg
centuries’, pp. 307-16), and widely read by Protestants (it is still to be found
in many libraries throughout Germany and Europe), even though it was not
frequently quoted among Protestants because of its relation to the
controversial theologians Flacius and Wigand.

It is important to note that, apart from references to the concept of the ‘dual
Antichrist’ in the Magdeburg centuries (the pope and Muḥammad/Islam) by
Heinz Scheible (Die Anfänge der reformatorischen Geschichtsschreibung,
pp. 76-7) and Harm Cordes (Hilaria evangelica academica, p. 147), there has
been almost no research on the understanding of Islam in the work prior to
this entry. The author of this entry has recently written the very first article on
the matter, and much research remains to be done.

Manuscripts
Editions
468
Ecclesiastica historia, integram Ecclesiae Christi ideam, quantum ad locum,
propagationem, persecutionem, tranquilitatem, doctrinam, haereses,
ceremonias, gubernationem, schismata, synodos, personas, miracula,
martyria, religions extra Ecclesiam, et statum imperij politicum attinet,
secundum singulas centurias, perspicuo ordine complectens: singulari
diligentia et fide ex vetustissimis et optimis historicis, patribus, et alijs
scriptoribus congesta: Per aliquot studiosos et pios viros in urbe
Magdeburgica, Basel, 1559-74 (first edition)

Historia ecclesiastica, integram Ecclesiae Christianae conditionem, indè à

Christo ex Virgine nato, juxta Seculorum feriem, exponens: jam olim per
studiosos ac pios aliquot Viros, in urbe Magdeburgicâ, & alibi, ex
vetustissimis & optimis Historicis, Patribus, & aliis Scriptoribus, diligenter
congesta; Nunc denuo per M. Ludovicum Lucium, Basileensis Academiae
Professorem fideliter recensita, Basileae, Typis & expensis Ludovic Regis,
excusa. Anno MDCXXIV, Basel, 1624² (Louis Lucius issued a complete
edition of the Centuries in six folio volumes, introducing various Calvinist
modifications to the original text and omitting the authors’ names and
dedications.)

Centuriae Magdeburgenses seu historiae ecclesiastica Novi Testamenti cum

variorum theologorum continuationibus ad haec nostra tempora…, ed.
Siegmund Jakob Baumgarten and Johann Salomo Semler, 4 vols, Nuremberg,
1757-65³ (the first four volumes alone, known as the Baumgarten-Semler, or
Semler edition)

Editions & Translations

Studies
T. Vidaković, ‘Understanding of Islam according to Magdeburg centuries’,
in Z. Blažević, N. Štefanec and S. Jambrek (eds), The Reformation in the
Croatian historical lands. Research results, challenges, perspectives, Zagreb,
2015

Bollbuck, ‘Die Magdeburger Zenturien’

Hartmann, ‘Matthias Flacius Illyricus’

469
Mentzel-Reuters, ‘Quellenarbeit in den Magdeburger Centurien’

Pohlig, ‘War Flacius Humanist?’

Hartmann, ‘Die Magdeburger Centurien und ihre Bedeutung’

Heitzmann, ‘Matthias Flacius Illyricus in der Herzog August Bibliothek

Wolfenbüttel’

Krenzke, ‘Die Autoren der Magdeburger Centurien’

H. Cordes, Hilaria evangelica academica. Das Reformationsjubiläum von

1717 an den deutschen lutherischen Universitäten, Göttingen, 2006 (esp. p.
147)

Backus, Historical method

Hohl, ‘Centuriators of Magdeburg’

Lyon, ‘B. Baudouin, Flacius, and the plan for the Magdeburg centuries’

Hartmann, ‘Spätmittelalterliche und frühneuzeitliche Kritik’

Olson, Matthias Flacius

Hartmann, Humanismus und Kirchenkritik

Norelli, ‘The authority attributed to the Early Church’

Camilli, ‘Six dialogues, 1566’

Diener, ‘The Magdeburg centuries’

Orella Unzué, Respuestas católicas a las centurias de Magdeburgo

Scheible, Die Entstehung der Magdeburger Zenturien

Scheible, Die Anfänge der reformatorischen Geschichtsschreibung

Scheible, ‘Der Plan der Magdeburger Zenturien’

470
Keywords
Chronological Category: 1550-1600
Thematic Region: Europe, Mediterranean, Africa
Related Historical People: Jesus, Moses, Muhammad
Dynasty/Ruling elite: Ferdinand I, Maximilian II
Genre & Source Type: Historiography, Polemics
Theme: Anti-Catholicism, Antichrist/Dajjal, Christian descriptions of Islamic
doctrine, Christian portrayal of Muhammad, Christian writings on other
faiths, Christology, criticism of Qur'an, Divine aid, Divine sonship of Jesus,
Doctrine, Eschatology, Free Will and Predestination, Incarnation, Intra-
Christian polemic, Last Judgement, Life and customs, Marriage and Divorce,
Miracles of Jesus, Polemic on Quran, Repentance, Resurrection, Rituals and
Customs, Trinity, True religion, Gog and Magog
Christians: Catholics, German Protestants, German Protestants (and
Catholics)

Tomislav Vidaković
Cite this page

Vidaković, Tomislav. " Ecclesiastica historia." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David Thomas. Brill
Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016 <http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-
muslim-relations-ii/ecclesiastica-historia-COM_28391>

471
 Sixteenth-century anti-Turkish literature
in Poland and Lithuania
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts EDITIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Sixteenth-century anti-Turkish literature in Poland and Lithuania

-

Sixteenth-century anti-Turkish literature in Poland and Lithuania

Date: About 1550-75

Original Language: Latin

Description
The first contacts between the Kingdom of Poland (joined with Lithuania by
the personal joint rule of the king, then after 1569 as the Commonwealth of
both Nations) and the expanding Ottoman Empire began in 1414 and were
diplomatic in character. However, the Ottoman expansion into central, south-
eastern and eastern Europe brought it into a collision course with Polish
interests. The first military encounters, in the form of the failed quasi crusade
led by King Ladislaus, which was defeated at the battle of Varna (1444), the
loss of access to the Black Sea ports of Kilia and Belgorod in 1484, and the
failed Moldavian campaign of King Jan Olbracht (1497), served as an
effective warning to exercise restraint when considering a military
engagement with the Ottomans. Efforts were made to maintain peaceful
relations for several decades. Nevertheless, the Crimean Tatars, who were
politically dependent on the Porte after 1475, launched frequent campaigns
against the south-eastern provinces of the Polish-Lithuanian kingdom,

472
sometimes with the support of Ottoman military units, looting and taking
captives, who were then sold on the Crimean and Ottoman slave markets.
The growing power of the Ottoman Empire was witnessed with increasing
concern. This led to a considerable body of ‘anti-Turkish’ works, known as
turcyki.

The intuitive assumption that these works were also anti-Islamic is proved
only in the fact that ‘the political’ and ‘the religious’ were constantly
conflated in the general attitudes of the times, for in fact the turcyki contain
very little ‘religious’ material. Their authors were more concerned either with
bemoaning the discord among Christians, or with depicting the Turks in a
derogatory manner and persuading the audience to take military action
against them before it was too late. Nevertheless, the turcyki contain scattered
hints about their authors’ knowledge of the Turks and attitude towards them
as Muslims. As in other European regions, ‘Muslims’ were increasingly
perceived through the Turkish perspective, to the point when ‘the Turk’
became a synonym for ‘the Muslim’ (e.g. in Mikołaj Radziwiłł’s account of
his pilgrimage to the Holy Land and trip to Egypt in 1582-4). This pattern
reflected mainly political relations with the Ottoman Empire, which was
considered a more serious rival than the Crimean Tatar Horde, though in
Polish literature the distinction between the Turks (only rarely referred to as
the ‘Ottomans’) and the Tatars was often not clear cut. Both were referred to
interchangeably as bisurmanie (sing. bisurman), an early Polish adaptation of
the word musulman (if not explicitly derogatory, then rather condescending).
This term seemed to be more often applied to the Tatars, though it was also
used in a verbal form: zbisurmanić / pobisurmanić się synonymous
with poturczyć się (‘to become a Turk’ = ‘to convert to Islam’).

Efforts to learn more about the Turks, especially their military power, had
already been made in the 15th century. Works written on this topic are usually
classified as ‘anti-Turkish’, since that knowledge was gained with the
purpose of using it against the Ottomans. Mikołaj Lasocki (1380-1450), the
envoy at the papal court speaking for Poland and Hungary, is considered to
be the author of the first Polish anti-Turkish speech advocating war against
the Turks. It was delivered to Pope Nicholas V in 1448 (ed. 1876).

Philip Callimachus Buonacorsi (1437-96), an Italian fugitive implicated in a

plot against Pope Pius II, allegedly spent some time in Istanbul before joining
473
the service of the royal court in Kraków. He authored at least three tracts
dealing with the growing Turkish threat: Historia de rege Vladislao, seu
clade Varnensi (probably in 1487, printed in Augsburg 1518; later published
a few times under slightly different titles) is a description of King Ladislaus’s
campaign of 1444; Historia de his quae a Venetis contra Turcos tentata
sunt Persis ac Tartaris contra Turcos movendis (after 1483, printed in
Haganoae, 1533) recounted Venetian efforts to win Tatar and Persian support
against the Ottomans between 1473 and 1487; Ad Innocentium VIII
pontificem maximum de bello inferendo Turcis oratio (printed in Kraków,
1524) was a speech delivered in Rome in 1490 pointing out the mistakes in
anti-Turkish activities on the part of the popes and advocating a more serious
reliance of the Holy See on the Kingdom of Poland in future anti-Turkish
actions. Though Callimachus posed as an expert on ‘Turkish affairs’, his
knowledge of the Turkish world was rather scanty, and religious matters were
not his concern. He advocated the notion that it would be easy to defeat the
Turks because their military power was deficient. This theme can be found in
a number of other 15th- and 16th-century tracts and speeches.

Anti-Turkish motifs, conflating the Tatars-Mongols-Turks with Muslims, had

already appeared in 15th-century poetry written in Latin (and earlier in some
liturgical texts). They became more noticeable in political speeches and
pamphlets (some in Latin later translated into Polish, others in Polish) in the
mid-16th century, and they intensified from the late 16th century onwards,
when contacts between the Commonwealth and the Ottoman Empire
deteriorated and turned into a series of wars in the 17th century. The late-16th-
century works can be more appropriately treated with the anti-Turkish
literature of the 17th century, and will be omitted here, as will works written
by authors who died after 1600.

Early 16th-century works

Early locally written works either bemoaned the destruction caused by the
Tatar and Ottoman raids, or gave information about the Ottoman advance
into Central Europe, e.g. Mikołaj Hussowski’s (1475/85-after 1533) Nova et
miranda de Turcis victoria (1524), or else – as e.g. in Andrzej Krzycki’s
(1482-1537) Religionis et reipublicae quaerimonia (1522) – they used the
474
Turkish threat to attack either the social and moral vices of the ruling class
(egoism, greed, living beyond their means) or political adversaries, as the
struggle between the pro- and anti-Habsburg factions intensified. Because the
Habsburgs tried to involve the kingdom ruled by the last Jagiellonians in war
with the Ottomans, anti-Turkish works were suspected of being
commissioned by the Habsburgs rather than arising from deep conviction.
Krzycki also wrote an epigram about the Germans who had expelled the
divine cult and the images of the saints from their churches and boasted that
they would crush the Ottomans if they dared to invade German lands.
Meanwhile, he mockingly observed, the dragon (i.e. the Ottomans) ravaged
German possessions with impunity because these same Germans had
expelled St George the dragon-slayer from their churches (Nowak-
Dłużewski, Okolicznościowa poezja polityczna, p. 122).

In other cases the Ottoman issue, with an obvious religious undertone (the
Ottomans were the religious ‘other’), served as an element in a diplomatic
game between Christian rulers. Traces of dealings with ‘guilt’ for not siding
with the Christians against the Muslims can be detected in Jan Dantyszek’s
(1485-1548) De nostrorum temporum calamitatibus (1530). He was the
envoy of King Sigismund I the Old in the negotiations between Pope
Clement VII and the Emperor Charles V at Bologna, and he struggled to gain
recognition for Jagiellonian diplomatic attempts to secure a long-lasting
peace treaty with the Ottomans in the wider context of negotiations to build
an anti-Ottoman coalition. Dantyszek tried to exculpate his royal patron, and
in his poem he described the history of the Ottoman conquests in Europe up
to the 1529-30 siege of Vienna, and appealed to Christian leaders for unity in
defence against a common enemy. While encouraging the pope to sign a
treaty with the emperor that could give him command over the armies of the
Christians, Dantyszek rebuked the emperor for being a part of the problem
(the quarrelsomeness, pride, greed and avarice of European Christian rulers)
that allowed the Ottomans to launch effective attacks on the Hungarian
kingdom. Dantyszek tried to convince his readers that, had the Christians
really united, the Jagiellonian forces would have joined their side against the
Ottomans (however, he was also known for issuing the recommendation that
the Jagiellonian-Ottoman peace treaty should be respected).

475
Later 16th-century works

Among the works containing wishful thinking, unrealistic war plans or

diplomatic juggling of arguments, there were also works (or parts of them)
apparently containing more serious information and deeper analysis of the
situation. Descriptio potentiae Turciae. Ordinatio belli contra illam 1514, a
tract included in the speech of Wawrzyniec Miedzieleski (or Międzyleski, d.
1529), the Polish royal envoy to Pope Leo X, though presenting unrealistic
plans for defeating the Ottomans, contained a more accurate assessment of
Ottoman military power, as apparently did the tract Consilium rationis
bellicae (1558) by Hetman (General) Jan Tarnowski (1488-1561).

C. Göllner in his Turcica. Die europäischen Türkendrucke des XVI.

Jahrhunderts (Bucharest, 1961, 1968, 1978) lists a number of Polish authors
who wrote anti-Turkish tracts and speeches before the last decades of the 16th
century: Sebastyan Marszewski (or Marzewski, Marschevius), Ad equites
Polonos de bello Turcis inferendo (1543); Jakub Przyłuski (c. 1512-54), Ad
equites Polonos pro sacerdotibus Turcicum bellum una cum illis
suscipientibus et pro Petro Gamrato... elegia (1545); Stanisław Orzechowski
(1513-66), De bello adversus Turcas suscipiendo… ad equites Polonos
oratio (1543, translated into Polish and published in the same year), and Ad
Sigismundum Poloniae Regem turcica secunda (1544, translated into Polish
in 1590); Andrzej Lubelczyk (c. 1500-c. 1557), Bellum theologicum ex
armamentario omnipotentis adversus Turcas instructum ac ordinatum (1545,
15972).

Some scholars, such as Bohdan Baranowski, have dismissed turcyki as of

little value (not providing reliable information) as they were propagandist in
intent.

Stanisław Orzechowski

Stanisław Orzechowski, who was a prominent orator at gatherings of local

nobility and during parliamentary sessions, made acclaimed anti-Turkish
speeches. However, both his De bello adversus Turcas suscipiendo and Ad
Sigismundum Poloniae Regem turcica secunda only touch on religious issues

476
in passing. He briefly presents Muḥammad as a Christian renegade who
gathered some fugitives and, taking advantage of quarrels between Christian
rulers, started his own conquests. Orzechowski bemoans the religious
quarrels and wars between Christian rulers (especially in German lands)
while they neglect efforts to form a unified front against ‘the Turk’, who does
not waste time on debates but takes military action. He also presents the
‘Turks’ as threatening the social order and the Christian faith, looting
churches, destroying altars, uprooting the graves of ancestors, and raping
daughters and wives in the presence of their captured relatives. On several
occasions, Orzechowski mentions that in the lands they have captured the
Turks dedicate Christian churches to Muḥammad. They are treacherous and
faithless because they do not respect treaties or promises (he cites the
massacre of the defenders of Kolozsvar).

Andrzej Lubelczyk

Andrzej Lubelczyk’s Bellum theologicum seems to be the only work that

contains substantial references to the religious dimension of contacts with
Muslims, though even there they appear to be only of secondary importance.

Lubelczyk was a Roman Catholic priest more known for his anti-
Reformation polemics (particularly against Philipp Melanchthon’s views) and
concern for bringing the Armenians into union with Rome (he spent part of
his life in Lvov, a city with a vibrant Armenian minority) than for anti-
Turkish publications. Defence of the true (Catholic) faith against all threats
was his main concern. His Bellum theologicum, written in Latin in a very
ornate style that at times obscures the message, does not deal exclusively
with the Turkish threat but uses it to issue a call for improvement of moral
life in what he saw as an overall atmosphere of decay. He bemoans lapses in
morals among Christians, protests especially against Ottoman influences on
dress and food, and accuses his compatriots of adopting a luxurious and easy
lifestyle from the Ottomans, habits that diminish the physical and spiritual
strength of the nobility. He accuses those who remain in the territories
conquered by the Ottomans of developing non-Christian manners, and
laments the sad fate of the Christian youth who have been taken into Tatar
and Ottoman captivity.
477
He indicates that the fight against the rising threat of the Ottomans cannot be
conducted solely by force but has equally to be waged on the spiritual level
(by prayer, Christian virtues, preaching the Gospel). Lubelczyk calls on the
king and other Christian rulers to add spiritual armour to their weaponry (he
points out that it is not to be disregarded, as for example the Corpus Christi
procession has power to disperse the ‘Saracen army’). He sees the Saracens
(=the Ottomans) as the contemporary symbolic ‘demon of evil’, the epitome
of ‘God’s wrath’ against Christians for their moral laxity.

Lubelczyk endorsed a view that political tyranny resulted in immorality

linked to heresy. Reminding his readers of the example of the Roman Empire
and its practice of imposing the imperial cult, he uses the Ottomans as the
contemporary example of the danger that can result from linking faith and
religious practices (religion) with political power (state rulers) and making
the first dependent on the second. He spoke against what may be called ‘a
theocratic state’ and underlined the importance of religious freedom. People
needed to be honest in professing their faith and could not be coerced by any
political authority. If religion was not chosen and practised out of free will,
there was a risk of insincerity and opportunism. He believed that the Ottoman
authorities had imposed their religion on people. The opposition of ‘freedom-
tyranny/slavery’ was increasingly used and elaborated by authors in the
Commonwealth, as the nobility took a progressively more active part in
running the state and began building up a system of guaranteed civil liberties
(the so-called ‘golden liberty’). The early admiration for some aspects of the
organisation of the Ottoman state system (e.g. in Mikołaj Rej’s
poem Turczyn or in Erazm Otwinowski’s observations during a diplomatic
trip to Istanbul in 1557), such as the possibility of social advancement,
respect for and serious implementation of justice in contrast to the situation at
home, gradually gave way to concerns and worries about a possible loss of
freedom and civil liberties.

Klemens Janicki

Klemens Janicki (1516-43) touched on issues of contacts with the Ottomans

in some of his elegies written in Latin (VI, written in 1540; VIII, in 1541; and
IX in 1542). However, religious matters were not his main concern. He
478
described the stages of the Ottoman conquest of Hungary (VI), directed
accusations against the Emperor Ferdinand for causing the Hungarian
calamity (VIII), and gave a pessimistic prognosis for Europe, strengthening it
with a vision of Poland conquered by the Ottomans (IX). In another work, In
Polonici vestitus varietatem et inconstantiam dialogus [‘A dialogue against
the diversity and changeability of Polish dress’] (printed in Antwerp, 1563),
Janicki bemoaned the indolence of the nobility in the face of the Ottoman
threat. Göllner lists Janicki’s De bello adversus Turcas suscipiendo (Cracow,
1543) which is an epigram in honour of Orzechowski bearing the same title
as Orzechowski’s first turcyka and comparing its author to Cicero.

Maciej Stryjkowski

The growing concerns were strengthened by Maciej Stryjkowski (1547-93)

who, after returning from Istanbul as a member of a diplomatic mission,
wrote a poem O wolności Korony Polskiej i Wielkiego Księstwa
Litewskiego [‘On freedom of the Polish Crown and the Grand Duchy of
Lithuania’] (1575) in which he vividly described the consequences of a
possible conquest by the Ottomans – reduction of the nobility to the position
of serfs and new fiscal burdens – and called on his countrymen to defend the
homeland.

An attempt at refocusing the perspective

Early anti-Turkish motifs appeared in lament poetry focusing on particular

heroes and, drawing on earlier pious religious texts, used the ecclesial
interpretation of the conflict with the Tatars/Turks as a religious one and an
expression of God’s justice on sinful Christians who should repent (the latter
motif used also by Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski in De republica emendanda,
1551).

Literary critics point out that Jan Kochanowski in his Canto V (Pieśń o
spustoszeniu Podola [‘Lament on war-ravaged Podolia’], 1575, printed in
Kraków, 1586) introduced important changes in approaching the subject of

479
Polish-Tatar/Ottoman relations. It should be stressed, though, that he rarely
treated this subject in his poetry. In Canto V, the lyrical subject ceased to be
solely a ‘pious Christian’, but became a guard and defender of his home
country. He was reminded of his duty to defend the fatherland and his
responsibility for the country’s future honour in the face of the nomadic
barbarians’ and pagans’ attacks. In the new approach adopted by
Kochanowski, the nobleman could not only repent and supplicate God while
submitting to God’s rulings, but he could also try to repel the threatening
danger by giving towards the war effort, and making use of his courage and
readiness to defend the fatherland. In applying such an approach, the poet
seems to be less inclined to see the Tatar and Ottoman (=Muslim) attacks as
Muslim-Christian (religious) war than to perceive them as a result of the
moral failings of the inhabitants of the Commonwealth (inclination to
luxurious lifestyle, effeminacy, indifference towards the state and fate of the
country). The poet’s focus shifts from Christianity (Christendom) to that of
the Commonwealth (i.e. homeland) and, while his interpretation of the
conflict is not devoid of religious dimension, the focus has shifted more
towards the ‘moral’ aspect of human behaviour (Krzewińska, Pieśń
ziemiańska, pp. 31-38). This new approach did not replace the earlier one,
which underwent a certain revival during the difficult times of bitter wars
with the Ottomans in the 17th century.

Works by foreign authors

Apart from the texts written locally, some works of foreign origin were also
(re)printed in the country, e.g. Epistolarium Turci Magni by Laudivio
Vezzanense, a collection of documents aiming to show the treachery,
faithlessness and unreliability of the Ottomans (Kraków, 1513, 16182);
Stephanus [Istvan] Brodaricus’s De conflictu Hungarorum cum Turcis ad
Mohacz verissima historia (1527); Mathias Franconius’s Oratio protreptica
ad Chrystiani orbis principes (Kraków, 1542); Michael Hillebrant’s, Die
rechte Christiche Weisze wider den turcken zustreyten (Kraków, 1542).
Others were published after the victory of Lepanto: De victoria
Christianorum by G. Rasario (1571), De insigni et memorabili Christianorum
ex Turcis victoria by A. Santutus (1571), and Prawdziwe y osobliwe każdey
sprawy wypisanie, a Polish translation of the work by F. Membre (1572).
480
The works of Bartholomaeus Georgius (Georgiewicz), a southern Slavonic
writer, were quite popular in Poland. They were published and republished in
parts either in Latin or in Polish translation (Jocher, Obraz bibliograficzno-
historyczny literatury, 1840-57, vol. 3, p. 605; Nosowski, Polska literatura
polemiczno-antyislamistyczna, vol. 1, pp. 48-66, 369-70; vol. 2, pp. 16-
20). Pamiętniki janczara (‘Memoirs of a Janissary’) by another southern
Slavonic author Konstantin Mihailović, though circulating in manuscript
form, must also have been quite popular, judging from the number of extant
copies.

Significance
The anti-Turkish literature of the 16th century deals more with military-related
matters than with social-cultural-religious issues. It concentrates either on
assessing Ottoman military power (with various degrees of accuracy), or on
encouraging the ruling class (the nobility) to undertake actions against the
Ottomans before they invade the country. The latter attitude is increasingly
linked with the conviction that the Ottomans pose a grave danger to the
cherished liberty of the nobility, including loss of freedom in religious
matters, as the public were told that the Ottomans would impose Islam on the
conquered peoples. Striking the chord of a possible loss of the freedom
enjoyed by the Commonwealth nobility was particularly sensitive, as that was
the sphere that the nobility guarded with great jealousy. The authors do not
appear to be very interested in the ‘religious other’, apart from using him as a
sort of mirror or contrasting background on which problems troubling the
country and their compatriots were presented, abuses criticised, and solutions
indicated. This moralising attitude did not, however, prevent the authors from
being hypocritical. For example, Lubelczyk protests against coercion by the
political authority in religious matters, especially the Ottoman sultan, while at
the same taking steps to promote what he sees as the sole acceptable form of
religion, i.e. Roman Catholicism. Re-editions and translations of various
works over the years signify that this type of literature was much in demand.

Manuscripts
EDITIONS

481
 As this entry deals with several different authors, the editions are listed in
alphabetical order of author:

I. Brodaricus, De conflictu Hungarorum cum Turcis ad Mohacz verissima

historia, Kraków, 1527

P. Callimachus Buonacorsi, Historia de his quae a Venetis contra Turcos

tentata sunt Persis ac Tartaris contra Turcos movendis, Haganoae, 1533;
(also as De his quae a Venetis contra Turcos tentata sunt Persis ac Tartaris
contra Turcos movendis, in P. Bizzari (Bizaro), Rerum Persicarum historia,
Frankfurt, 1601, pp. 402-31; and De his quae a Venetis tentata sunt Persis ac
Tartaris contra Turcos movendis, ed. A. Kempfi and T. Kowalewski,
Warsaw 1962)

P. Callimachus Buonacorsi, Ad Innocentium VIII pontificem maximum de

bello Turcis inferendo oratio, Kraków, 1524 (repr. Haganoae, 1533; Solebii,
1603; Warsaw, 1960)

P. Callimachus Buonacorsi, Historia de rege Vladislao, seu clade Varnensi,

Augsburg 1518 (republished several times under slightly different titles)

J. Dantyszek, De nostrorum temporum calamitatibus silva, Bononia, 1530

(also Kraków, Cologne and Antwerp in the same year)

M. Franconius, Oratio protreptica ad chrystiani orbis principes, Kraków,

1542

A. Frycz Modrzewski, De republica emendanda, Kraków, 1551

B. Georgius (Georgiewicz), Pro fide Christiana cum Turca disputationis

habitae et mysterio Sanctae Trinitatis in Alchorano invento, nunc primum in
latinum sermonem verso, brevis descriptio. Authore Peregrino Bartholomaeo
Georgieuits, Cracoviae, 1548 (Polish trans. 1548: Rozmowa z Turczynem o
wierze Krzesciyanskiey i o tayności Troyce świętej, która w Alkoranie stoi
napisana. Przez Bartłomieja Georgewits, który czternaście lat był więźniem
Tureckim).

M. Hillebrant, Die rechte Christiche Weisze wider den turcken zustreyten,

Kraków, 1542
482
M. Hussowski, Nova et miranda de Turcis victoria, Kraków, 1524

K. Janicki, In Polonici vestitus varietatem et inconstantiam dialogus,

Antwerp, 1563

K. Janicki, Tristium liber I. Variarum elegiarum liber I. Epigrammatum liber

I, Kraków, 1542

A. Krzycki, Religionis et Reipublicae quaerimonia, Kraków, 1522; Poznań,

1606

M. Lasocki, Oratio ad Dominum Apostolicum per Lasoczki facta Anno

Domini 1448, in J. Szujski (ed.), Codex epistolaris saeculi decimi quinti,
Kraków, 1876, vol. 2/2, pp. 51-54 (earlier published with mistakes and
incorrect date of 1442 by M. Wiszniewski, Historia literatury polskiej,
Kraków, 1841, vol. 3, pp. 390-6)

Laudivio (Vezzanense), Epistole Turci Magni, Vienna, 1512, Kraków, 1513,

16182

A. Lubelczyk, Bellum theologicum ex armamentario omnipotentis adversus

Turcas instructum ac ordinatum, Kraków, 1545, 15972

S. Marszewski (Marzewski, Marchevius), Ad equites Polonos de bello Turcis

inferendo, Kraków, 1543

W. Miedzieleski, Descriptio potentiae Turciae et ordinatio belli contra

Turcam 1514, in S. Gorski (ed.), Acta Tomiciana, Posnaniae, 1853, vol. 3,
pp. 168-81

S. Orzechowski, De bello adversus Turcas suscipiendo… ad equites Polonos

oratio, Kraków, 1543 (Polish trans.: Książki o ruszeniu ziemie polskiej
przeciw Turkowi, Kraków, 1543)

J. Przyłuski, Ad equites Polonos pro sacerdotibus Turcicum bellum una cum

illis suscipientibus et pro Petro Gamrato... elegia, Kraków, 1545

483
M. Stryjkowski, O wolności Korony Polskiej i Wielkiego Księstwa
Litewskiego ['On freedom of the Polish Crown and the Grand Duchy
of Lithuania'], Kraków, 1575

J. Tarnowski, Consilium rationis bellicae, Tarnów, 1558

Detailed bibliographical data can be found in R. Pollak et al.

(eds), Bibliografia literatury polskiej. Nowy Korbut. Piśmiennictwo
staropolskie, 3 vols, Warsaw, 1964-5, and in Elektroniczna Baza Bibliografii
Estreichera, http://www.estreicher.uj.edu.pl/staropolska/baza/szukaj.html;

Information on the authors and a selection of texts can also be found at:
Virtual Library of Polish Literature, http://literat.ug.edu.pl/~literat/books.htm

Editions & Translations

Studies
S. Grzeszczuk, Pisarze staropolscy. Tom 1: Sylwetki [‘Writers of Old Poland,
vol. 1: Profiles’], Warsaw, 1991

H.B. Segel, Renaissance culture in Poland. The rise of humanism, 1470-

1543, Ithaca NY, 1989

J. Tyszkiewicz, Tatarzy na Litwie i w Polsce. Studia z dziejów XIII-XVIII

w. [‘The Tatars in Lithuania and Poland. Studies in history 13th-18th
centuries’], Warsaw, 1989

J. Tazbir, Polskie przedmurze chrześcijańskiej Europy. Mity a

rzeczywistość [‘Polish bulwark of Christian Europe. Myths and reality’],
Warsaw, 1987

H. Olszewski, ‘Ideologia Rzeczypospolitej – przedmurza chrześcijaństwa’

[Ideology of Commonwealth – the bulwark of Christianity], Czasopismo
Prawno-Historyczne 35 (1983) 1-19

M. Bogucka, ‘Szlachta polska wobec Wschodu turecko-tatarskiego. Między

fascynacją a przerażeniem (XVI-XVIII w.)’ [Polish nobility with regard to

484
the Turco-Tatar East. Between fascination and terror (16th-
18th centuries)], Śląski kwartalnik historyczny Sobótka 37 (1982) 185-93

B. Kopański, ‘Znajomość państwa tureckiego i jego mieszkańców w

renesansowej Polsce’ [Knowledge about the Ottoman state and its inhabitants
in Renaissance Poland], Przegląd Orientalistyczny 103 (1977) 221-9

L. Bazylow, ‘Polsko-tureckie powiązania dyplomatyczne w XVI wieku’

[Polish-Turkish diplomatic links in the 16th century], Przegląd Humanistyczny
20 (1976) 1-13

J. Tazbir, ‘Problem nietolerancji religijnej w Polsce XVI i XVII wieku’ [The

problem of religious intolerance in Poland in the 16th and 17th
centuries], Przegląd humanistyczny 19 (1975) 1-19

J. Nosowski, Polska literatura polemiczno- antyislamistyczna. XVI, XVII i

XVIII w. Wybór tekstów i komentarze [‘Polish polemical and anti-Islamic
literature. 16th, 17th and 18th century. Selected texts and commentaries’], 2
vols, Warsaw, 1974

J. Tazbir, A state without stakes. Polish religious toleration in the sixteenth

and seventeenth centuries, New York, 1973

A. Krzewińska, Pieśń ziemiańska, antyturecka i refleksyjna. Studia nad

wybranymi gatunkami staropolskiej liryki XVI i XVII wieku, [‘Manorial, anti-
Turkish and reflective poetry. Studies on selected genres of old Polish lyrical
poetry of the 16th-17th century’], Toruń, 1968, pp. 80-105

J. Nowak-Dłużewski, Okolicznościowa poezja polityczna w Polsce. Czasy

Zygmuntowskie [‘Occasional political poetry in Poland. The times of the
Sigismunds’], Warsaw, 1966, pp. 93-122

A. Zajączkowski, Orientalistyka polska a Bliski Wschód, ['Polish Oriental

studies and the Middle East'] 2 vols, Warsaw, 1966

C. Göllner, Turcica. Die europäischen Türkendrucke des XVI. Jahrhunderts,

3 vols, Bucharest, 1961, 1968, 1978

485
B. Baranowski, Znajomość Wschodu w dawnej Polsce do XVIII
wieku [‘Knowledge of the East in former Poland to the 18th century’], Łódź,
1950

S. Kryczyński, Tatarzy litewscy. Próba monografii historyczno-

etnograficznej ['Lithuanian Tatars. An attempt at a historical and
ethnographic monograph'], Warsaw, 1937, Gdańsk, 20002

J. Bartoszewicz, Pogląd na stosunki Polski z Turcją i Tatarami. Na dzieje

Tatarów w Polsce osiadłych, na przywileje tu im nadane, jako też
wspomnienia o znakomitych Tatarach polskich [‘A view on the relationship
between Poland and Turkey and the Tatars. On the historiography of the
Tatars settled in Poland, on the privileges given to them there, and also
memoirs about the prominent Polish Tatars’], Warsaw, 1859

A.B. Jocher, Obraz bibliograficzno-historyczny literatury i nauk w Polsce od

wprowadzenia do niej druku po rok 1830 ['Bibliographical and historical
image of the literature and knowledge in Poland from the introduction of
printing to 1830'], 3 vols, Wilno, 1840-57

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1450-1500, 1500-1550, 1550-1600
Thematic Region: Austria, Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Hungarian Kingdom ,
Ottoman Empire, Poland
Dynasty/Ruling elite: Habsburgs, Ottomans
Genre & Source Type: Account of events, Antiturcica, Diplomatic Reports,
moral instruction, Poetry
Theme: Anti-Muslim polemic, captivity, Christian descriptions of Islamic
doctrine, Christian Leaders, Christian-Muslim warfare, Descriptions of
Turks, Ottoman conquests, Punishment from God, Religious Tolerance,
Repentance, Sins of the Christians as the cause of military defeats
Social History: Conduct of Christian subjects of the Ottomans, diplomatic
relations, military history
Christians: Catholics, European Christians
Muslims: Ottomans

Stanisław Grodź

486
Cite this page

Grodź, Stanisław. " Sixteenth-century anti-Turkish literature in Poland and Lithuania." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900.
General Editor David Thomas. Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016
<http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-ii/sixteenth-century-anti-turkish-literature-in-
poland-and-lithuania-COM_28433>

487
 Pjesanca slavi carevoj
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts Manuscripts Editions
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Pjesanca slavi carevoj

‘Poem to the glory of the “tsar”’

Maurus Vetrani

Date: Unknown; possibly between 1521 and 1537

Original Language: Croatian

Description
Pjesanca slavi carevoj (‘Poem to the glory of the “tsar”’) is 400 verses long.
It is a political poem, possibly written after the fall of Belgrade (1521) and
the battle of Mohács (1526), which are both mentioned in the text, and before
the fall of the fortress Klis near Split (1537), which is foreseen.

The ‘tsar’ in the poem refers to a Turkish sultan, who is a metonym for the
Ottoman Empire. In spite of the title, ‘the glory of the “tsar”’ is not the only
motif. Christendom also appears, represented by the metonym ‘Rome’s lady’.
The lyrical ‘I’ voice laments over the areas lost to the Ottoman Empire and
explains the reasons for the Ottomans’ power: Christians are sinners and the
Turkish conquests are God’s punishment.

A number of animal attributes are used to represent the Turks (lions and
wolves, and the empire as a dragon), though there are also positive images of
the ‘tsar’ as a mighty and brave ruler. In a word, the image of the Turks is
ambivalent. They are presented as being both mighty and brave, but also as

488
pagans who are violently conquering southern and eastern Europe, though
their religious character is not overstated.

The lyrical ‘I’ glorifies the sultan, but at the same time it accuses Christian
nations of bad politics, so that the Turkish ‘other’ is defined through the
Christian crisis. Such ambivalence, which is often seen in Vetranović’s
poems, reflects the delicate position of the Republic of Dubrovnik as a
tributary of the Ottoman Empire.

In the background of such ambivalence obviously lies frustration concerning

the superiority of the Turks in the European theatre of war.

Significance
The poem was written in Dubrovnik, where few literary works were
published, so it was influential only in Dubrovnik. It strengthened the image
of the Turks as God’s punishment for Christian sins, and as dangerous
religious enemies who threatened Christendom.

Manuscripts
Manuscripts
MS Dubrovnik, Monastery of the Friars Minor – MS 77 (Čulić) (17th century)

Editions
Mavro Vetranović, Pjesme Mavra Vetranića Čavčića, Zagreb, 1871, pp. 41-
52

Editions & Translations

Studies
L. Plejić Poje, Zaman će svaki trud. Ranonovovjekovna satira na hrvatskom
jeziku u Dubrovniku, Zagreb, 2012

489
D. Dukić, Sultanova djeca. Predodžbe Turaka u hrvatskoj književnosti ranog
novovjekovlja, Zadar, 2004, pp. 61-6

Z. Bojović, ‘Predgovor. Mavro Vetranović’, in Z. Bojović, Vetranović,

Mavro. Poezija i drame, Belgrade, 1994, 5-60

F. Švelec, ‘Satiričko u djelu Mavra Vetranovića’, in F. Švelec, Iz naše

književne prošlosti, Split, 1990, 107-15

D. Fališevac, ‘Poezija Mavra Vetranovića prema hrvatskoj srednjovjekovnoj

tradiciji’, in D. Fališevac, Stari pisci hrvatski i njihove poetike, Zagreb, 1989,
87-95

V. Foretić, ‘Politički pogledi Mavra Vetranovića’, Filologija 10 (1980-81)

291-301

Z. Kravar, ‘Emblematika Vetranovićeva Pelegrina’, Filologija 10 (1980-81)

315-24

M. Franičević, ‘Razliki versi i prikazanja dum Mavra Vetrani Čavčića’,

Forum 12/7-8 (1973) 5-72

Švelec, ‘Mavro Vetranović, II. Književni rad’

Švelec, ‘Mavro Vetranović’

M. Stojković, ‘Mavro Vetranić, savremeni satirični pjesnik’, Nastavni

Vjesnik 25/3 (1916) 136-48; 25/4 (1916) 204-12

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1500-1550
Genre & Source Type: Poetry
Theme: Christian-Muslim warfare
Christians: Catholics
Muslims: Ottomans

Lahorka Plejić Poje

Cite this page

490
Plejić Poje, Lahorka. " Pjesanca slavi carevoj." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David Thomas. Brill
Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016 <http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-
muslim-relations-ii/pjesanca-slavi-carevoj-COM_27703>

491
 Pjesanca gospodi krstjanskoj
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts Manuscripts Editions
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Pjesanca gospodi krstjanskoj

'Poem to the Christian lords'

Maurus Vetrani

Date: Unknown; early to mid-16th century

Original Language: Croatian

Description
This poem is 142 verses long (in old Ragusan dodecasyllabic couplets), and
deals with the current political situation in Europe in the 16th century. The
lyrical ‘I’ voice laments over the vain rulers of France, Austria and other
regions, who are in conflict with each other and ignore the threats from the
Ottomans. The central message of the poem is that, since worldly glory is
transient and all people are mortal, all wars must be pointless.

The lyrical ‘I’ speaks to both European rulers and the ‘eastern tsar’, i.e. the
sultan. In verse 45, this ‘tsar’ is described as being ‘the glory of all the
pagans’. Just one explicitly negative attribute of the Turks is mentioned: they
are mighty heathens and they let blood pour out (verses 55-58). However,
Christian rulers are also given this attribute owing to their vain policy.

One might expect more negative images of the Turks in a Christian poem
from this historical period, though their absence is understandable given that
Dubrovnik was a Turkish tributary. Vetranović was one of only a few poets

492
from Dubrovnik in the 16th century who wrote about the Turks. Anti-Turkish
themes became more popular the 17th century, when the political situation
changed as the Ottoman Empire grew weaker.

Significance
The theme of Christian discord facilitating the Turkish conquest appeared
frequently in Latin anti-Turkish oratory and epistles to popes from the mid-
15th century to the early 16th century. Orations and epistles, including some of
Vetranović’s and Marulić’s poems, insist that the Turks were conquering
territories quickly as a result of Christian discord, and this became a common
theme in Christian literary works. Unlike Marko Marulić from Split and his
poem Molitva suprotiva Turkom (‘Prayer against the Turks’), in Vetranović’s
poem there are no descriptions of atrocities committed by the conquerors. In
Dubrovnik, which enjoyed a special status even as a tributary of the Ottoman
Empire, poets rarely wrote about Christians and Muslims in the 16th century,
or, if they did, they were cautious.

In Dubrovnik, where Vetranović’s poem was written, many literary works

remained unprinted, and as a result the poem did not have much influence
further afield.

Manuscripts
Manuscripts
MS Dubrovnik, The Monastery of the Friars Minor – MS 77 (Čulić) (17th
century)

Editions
Mavro Vetranović, Pjesme Mavra Vetranića Čavčića, pp. 37-41

Editions & Translations

Studies
493
Plejić Poje, Zaman će svaki trud

D. Dukić, Sultanova djeca. Predodžbe Turaka u hrvatskoj književnosti ranog

novovjekovlja, Zadar, 2004, pp. 61-6

Bojović, ‘Predgovor. Mavro Vetranović’ Švelec, ‘Satiričko u djelu Mavra

Vetranovića’, 107-15

Foretić, ‘Politički pogledi Mavra Vetranovića’

Franičević, ‘Razliki versi i prikazanja dum Mavra Vetrani Čavčića’

Stojković, ‘Mavro Vetranić, savremeni satirični pjesnik’

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1550-1600
Genre & Source Type: Poetry
Theme: Christian Leaders
Christians: Christians
Muslims: Ottomans

Lahorka Plejić Poje

Cite this page

Plejić Poje, Lahorka. " Pjesanca gospodi krstjanskoj." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David Thomas.
Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016 <http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-
muslim-relations-ii/pjesanca-gospodi-krstjanskoj-COM_27704>

494
 Tužba grada Budima
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts Manuscripts Editions
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Tužba grada Budima

'Lament for the city of Buda'

Maurus Vetrani

Date: Unknown; between 1541 and 1576

Original Language: Croatian

Description
Buda was conquered by the Turks in 1541, and Vetranović wrote his poem
sometime after this. The poem, 429 verses long, takes the form of a lament in
which the conquered city itself is the speaker. It laments both the past, when
Hungarian soldiers fought near the Rivers Sava, Drava and Danube, and
when the city was the brave defender of the whole region, and the present,
when it is abandoned by the traitorous Habsburgs.

The dominant tone is struck by the contrast of Buda as a slave and the ‘tsar’
(the sultan) as a mighty pagan lord, with the Turks presented mostly as ‘fiery
dragons’ and sometimes as ‘ferocious dragons’. But there are not as many
negative stereotypes of the Turks as might be expected, given that the poem
was written from a Christian point of view in the 16th century. Accusations
and animosity over discord between Christian rulers is emphasised more than
animosity against the Ottoman invaders.

Significance
495
The poem was written in Dubrovnik, where many literary works remained
unpublished. This is the reason why it had negligible influence outside.
However, remarks about the relationship between the Ottoman Empire and
Christian states reinforced and strengthened the images of the Turks in the
city. The Ottomans are represented as the religious other, enemies who
threaten Christendom. At the same time, the Ottoman Empire is represented
as a mighty and important entity.

Manuscripts
Manuscripts
MS Dubrovnik, The Monastery of the Friars Minor – MS 77 (Čulić) (17th
century)

Editions
Mavro Vetranović, Pjesme Mavra Vetranića Čavčića, pp. 52-65, Zagreb,
1871

Editions & Translations

Studies
Dukić, Sultanova djeca, 61-6

Švelec, ‘Satiričko u djelu Mavra Vetranovića’

Foretić, ‘Politički pogledi Mavra Vetranovića’

Franičević, ‘Razliki versi i prikazanja dum Mavra Vetrani Čavčića’

R. Bogišić, ‘Marin Držić i Mavro Vetranović. Još jednom o aferi oko

Držićeve Tirene’, Croatica 1 (1970) 71-87

Švelec, ‘Mavro Vetranović, II. Književni rad’

496
Švelec, ‘Mavro Vetranović’

Stojković, ‘Mavro Vetranić, savremeni satirični pjesnik’

M. Medini, ‘Pjesme Mavra Vetranića i Marina Držića. Prilozi za poznavanje

starije dubrovačke književnosti’, Rad JAZU 176 (1909) 135-61

P. Kolendić, ‘Vetranovićev Orfeo’, Nastavni Vjesnik 17/10 (1909) 81-84

P. Kolendić, Tri doslije nepoznate pjesme Dum Mavra Vetranića Čavčića,

Dubrovnik, 1905

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1500-1550
Thematic Region: Buda
Genre & Source Type: Poetry
Christians: Catholics
Muslims: Ottomans

Lahorka Plejić Poje

Cite this page

Plejić Poje, Lahorka. " Tužba grada Budima." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David Thomas. Brill
Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016 <http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-
muslim-relations-ii/tuzba-grada-budima-COM_27705>

497
 De statu rei publicae Hungaricae
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts MANUSCRIPTS EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

De statu rei publicae Hungaricae

‘On the Hungarian state’

Forgách Ferenc

Date: 1572-6
Original Language: Latin

Description
Ferenc Forgách wrote his monumental historical work (its full title is De
statu rei publicae Hungaricae Ferdinando, Iohanne, Maximiliano regibus ac
Iohanne Secundo principe Transsylvaniae commentarii, ‘Commentaries on
the Hungarian state under the rulers Ferdinand, John and Maximilian and
John II, Prince of Transylvania’) between 1572 and 1576, after research
carried out in Transylvanian and Hungarian archives. The chronicle is
concerned with Hungarian history between 1552 and 1571. The first book
looks back to the 1540s and describes the years 1550 and 1551 in detail. The
second book deals with 1552, and then each book gives a detailed account of
the years from 1553 to 1571. Forgách focuses on the political and military
history of Hungary in the reigns of King Ferdinand I of Hungary (as Emperor
Ferdinand I), King Maximilian I (as Emperor Maximilian II) and Prince
János Zsigmond Szapolyai (John Sigismund Zápolya) of Transylvania (1556-
71, as King of Hungary 1540-51, 1556-70), and he also recognises the
importance of the economy and finance in war and military matters.
International relations and the history of foreign nations do not play an

498
important role in the narrative except for the affairs of the Ottoman Empire,
which Forgách describes in detail.

According to Forgách, Ottoman rule in Hungary was the dominance of a non-

Christian culture over a Christian country. However, he has high regard for
Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent as a great, just and noble ruler, comparable
to the king of the ‘golden age’ of medieval Hungary, Matthias Corvinus. The
decline of Hungary has been caused not only by the Ottoman invasion, but
also by the selfishness and indolence of the aristocracy and ecclesiastical
hierarchy, and the weakness and unfitness of its kings.

De statu rei publicae, apart from classical models (including Julius Caesar
and Tacitus), is based on archival sources, letters, diaries, memoirs and
historical poems (mostly by Tinódi), as well as on the oral accounts of
Forgách’s contemporaries, particularly his brother Simon Forgách.

Significance
Forgách tries to describe the participants in the events and explain their
motivation. He follows chronological order, avoids long speeches and other
rhetorical elements in the text, and uses eloquent humanist Latin. The
chronicle was frequently used by later authors, including Miklós Istvánffy
and Johannes Michael Brutus, as the most important source for the history of
the first period of Ottoman rule in Hungary.

Manuscripts
MANUSCRIPTS
See F. Majer and F. Toldy (eds), Forgách Ferenc, Magyar históriája 1540-
1572 [The Hungarian history of Forgách Ferenc, 1540-1572], Pest, 1866, pp.
li-lv, for a list of the 17 known codices.

EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS

499
Forgachii, Rerum Hungaricarum sui temporis Commentarii, ed. A. Horányi,
Possonii, 1788

Majer and Toldy, Forgách Ferenc , Magyar históriája 1540-1572

Forgách Ferenc, ‘Magyar históriája 1540-1572’, in P. Kulcsár

(ed), Humanista történetírók [Humanist historians], trans. I. Borzsák,
Budapest, 1977, 567-1039

Editions & Translations

Studies
Almási, ‘Variációk az értelmiségi útkeresés témájára a 16’, pp. 1406-23

P. Gunst, A magyar történetírás története [The history of Hungarian

historiography], Debrecen, 2000, pp. 108-11

Szabó, ‘Kortörténet és nyilvánosság a 16’, 9-16

A. Pirnát, ‘Gattungen der humanistischen Geschichtsschreibung: Historia et

commentarii’, in A. Buck, T. Klaniczay and K. Németh (eds),
Geschichtsbewusstsein und Geschichtsschreibung in der Renaissance,
Leiden, 1989, 57-64, pp. 61-2

J. Hóvári, ‘Forgách Ferenc és a szultánfiak’ [Forgách Ferenc and the sons of

Süleyman I the Magnificient], in I. Zombori (ed.), Az értelmiség
Magyarországon a 16-17. században, Szeged, 1988, 77-85

I. Borzsák, ‘Forgách Ferenc és Tacitus’ [Forgách Ferenc and Tacitus],

Irodalomtörténeti Közlemények 81 (1977) 51-60

Bartoniek, Fejezetek, pp. 225-38

I. Botár, ‘Forgách Ferenc Emlékiratainak kritikája’ [Critique of the Memoirs

of Forgách Ferenc], Századok 67 (1933) 529-45

Bíró, Forgách Ferencz mint történetíró

500
Bártfai Szabó, Ghymesi Forgách Ferenc évkönyvei

I. Madzsar, Adatok Forgách Ferenc kortörténelmének kritikájához [On the

evaluation of the contemporary history of Forgách Ferenc], Nagybánya, 1901

P. Sörös, ‘Forgách Ferenc kortörténelme’ [The contemporary history of

Forgách Ferenc], Századok 31 (1897) 97-106, 201-9

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1500-1550, 1550-1600
Thematic Region: Hungarian Kingdom , Hungary, Ottoman Empire
Related Historical People: Hungarians, Matthias I Hunyadi, King of
Hungary, Ottomans, Süleyman the Magnificent, John Sigismund Zápolya,
Ferdinand I of Aragon
Dynasty/Ruling elite: Louis II. King of Hungary and Bohemia, Ottomans
Genre & Source Type: Chronicles/Histories, Memoirs
Theme: Battle at Mohacs, Christian descriptions of Islamic doctrine,
Christian-Muslim warfare, Sins of the Christians as the cause of military
defeats
Social History: Economy, Nationalism, Warfare
Muslims: Ottomans

Gábor Bradács
Cite this page

Bradács, Gábor. " De statu rei publicae Hungaricae." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David Thomas.
Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016 <http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-
muslim-relations-ii/de-statu-rei-publicae-hungaricae-COM_26417>

501
 The Chronicle of Moldavia from 1551 to
1574
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts MANUSCRIPTS EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

The Chronicle of Moldavia from 1551 to 1574

-

Călugărul Azarie

Date: Between 1574 and 1577

Original Language: Slavonic

Description
Azarie wrote his Chronicle at the request of Prince Peter the Lame and
Metropolitan Anastasie. He continued the work (the long version) of his
spiritual master Macarie of Roman, and it seems he did not know of Abbot
Eftimie’s chronicle, although the two men lived in about the same period.

Azarie’s Chronicle is contained in a manuscript that includes some other

miscellaneous historical works. This compilation had a significant circulation
and was employed by 17th- and 18th-century Moldavian chroniclers. The
Chronicle is 32 leaves in length in the St Petersburg manuscript, and 12
pages in Panaitescu’s edition.

We do not know much about Azarie’s historical sources. He claims to have

relied only on memory, but it is likely that he also used some documents to
which he had access in his position as official chronicler. With regard to
style, he followed his master Macarie and took many extracts from the 14 th-
502
century Middle Bulgarian translation of Konstantinos Manasses’
chronicle. He was also influenced by the Vitae of the Serbian kings and
archbishops, which he transcribed himself.

Azarie’s work attempts to justify the position of his princely patron, Peter the
Lame. Indeed, Peter’s position was weak enough to need such a defence: he
was a foreigner (he belonged to the Wallachian dynasty) and was put on the
Moldavian throne by the Ottomans to replace Prince Ioan the Terrible (Ioan
cel Cumplit, r. 1572-4), who rebelled against the sultan, was defeated and
executed. It is thus understandable why Azarie depicts Ioan as the
perfect embodiment of the evil ruler. In doing so, he mobilises all the clichés
that other chroniclers employed when depicting the Ottomans and the
‘Turcified’ princes Iliaş and Ştefan Rareş. Ioan is accused of treachery (he
misled and bribed the sultan’s counsellors), cupidity (he persecuted and killed
nobles and high clergymen in order to steal their fortunes), brutality and
impiety (he is compared to the Byzantine iconoclast emperor Constantine
Copronymus).

In contrast with the other Moldavian chroniclers of the time, Azarie makes no
comments about the religion and customs of the Ottomans, although he does
not hesitate to do so when writing about the Lutherans, who are ‘detested by
the Lord’. His approach is purely ‘political’, and he endeavours to make clear
that the sultan is ‘the great emperor’ and the legitimate master and protector
of Moldavia. The sultan acts like a father towards his loyal vassals by
teaching them the virtues of governing (here Azarie uses some lines taken
from the coronation prayers), though he could show himself merciless
towards those who challenged his authority. It is thus unsurprising that
revolts are not seen as legitimate attempts to free the country, but as acts of
betrayal and disorder. For the same reason, the Ottoman reaction is fully
justified, because the sultan acts for the country’s good.

Significance
Written in the immediate aftermath of the first Moldavian revolt against the
Porte after the vassalisation of the country in 1538, Azarie’s Chronicle
marked a turning point in the Moldavian perception of the Ottomans. In
contrast with his predecessors, he was dealing with a context in which
military resistance to Ottoman power had been almost completely abandoned.
503
Thus, for Azarie the enemy is not the prince who bows before the Ottomans,
as appeared in older chronicles, but rather the ruler who dares to fight the
Porte, because his action puts the entire country in danger. It is significant
that the person who warned Prince Ioan that it was impossible to confront the
Ottomans militarily was Azarie’s patron, Ioan Golăe. Even if this incident did
not actually take place, Azarie’s words are telling, for they express the
attitude of a part of the Moldavian elite towards the Ottoman power.

Manuscripts
MANUSCRIPTS
MS St Petersburg, M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin Public Library – O. XVII. 13,
fols 277v-309v (end of the 16th to the beginning of the 17th century; Moldavia)

MS Bucharest, Library of the Romanian Academy – Rom. 5212, fols 107r-

128r (19th century)

EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS

I͡at͡simirskĭi, ‘Slavi͡ano-moldavskai͡a letopisˊ monaha Azarii͡a’, pp. 23-80
(edition and Russian trans.)

Bogdan, ‘Letopiseţul lui Azarie’, pp. 84-98 (edition), pp. 146-58 (Romanian
trans.)

Panaitescu, Cronicile slavo-române, pp. 126-39 (edition), pp. 139-51

(Romanian trans.)

Mihăilă and Zamfirescu, Literatura română veche, vol. 1, pp. 206-19

(Romanian trans.)

504
F.A. Grekul and V.I. Buganov (trans.), Slavi͡ano-moldavskie letopisi XV-XVI
vv., Moscow, 1976, pp. 125-38 (Russian trans.)

Editions & Translations

Studies
The Oxford history of historical writing, vol. 2, ed. S. Foot and C.F.
Robinson, Oxford, 2012, pp. 342-3

Turdeanu, ‘Autori, copişti, cărţi’, pp. 74-6

D.H. Mazilu, Literatura română în epoca Renaşterii, Bucharest, 1984, pp.

321-48, 413-17

Şuiu, art. ‘Azarie’, pp. 525-6

M. Berza, ‘Turcs, Empire ottoman et relations roumano-turques dans

l’historiographie moldave des XVe-XVIIIe siècles’, Revue des Études Sud-Est
Européennes 10 (1972) 595-627, pp. 609-12 (repr. in Pentru o istorie a
vechii culturi româneşti, ed. A. Pippidi, Bucharest, 1985)

Mihăilă, ‘Istoriografia românească veche’, pp. 118-19

Mihăilă, ‘Cronica călugărului Azarie’, pp. 204-5

Academia RPR, Istoria literaturii române, Bucharest, 1964, 19702, vol. 1, pp.
261-4

Crăciun and Ilieş, Repertoriul manuscriselor de cronici interne, pp. 50-1

Panaitescu, ‘Cronica lui Azarie’, pp. 125-9

Şt. Ciobanu, Istoria literaturii române vechi, Bucharest, 1947, pp. 109-13

N. Cartojan, Istoria literaturii române vechi, Bucharest, 1940, 19802, vol. 1,

pp. 40-2

505
I. Minea, ‘Letopiseţele moldoveneşti scrise în slavoneşte’, Cercetări istorice
1 (1925) 98-140

N. Iorga, Istoria literaturii româneşti, Bucharest, 19252, vol. 1, pp. 154-5

Bogdan, ‘Letopiseţul lui Azarie’, pp. 84-98

I͡at͡simirskĭi, ‘Slavi͡ano-moldavskai͡a letopisˊ monaha Azarii͡a’

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1500-1550, 1550-1600
Thematic Region: Moldavia, Ottoman Empire
Related Historical People: Ottomans, Peter the Lame , Ivan IV
Dynasty/Ruling elite: Moldovian Dynasty
Genre & Source Type: Chronicles/Histories
Theme: Christian-Muslim warfare, Diplomatic relations
Social History: Collaboration, Rebellion, Social interaction, Warfare
Christians: Protestantism
Muslims: Ottomans

Radu G. Păun
Cite this page

Păun, Radu G.. " The Chronicle of Moldavia from 1551 to 1574." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David
Thomas. Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016
<http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-ii/the-chronicle-of-moldavia-from-1551-to-1574-
COM_27488>

506
 Historia rerum gestarum inter
Ferdinandum et Ioannem Ungariae reges
usque ad ipsius Ioannis obitum
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Historia rerum gestarum inter Ferdinandum et Ioannem Ungariae reges

'The history of the events that took place between Ferdinand and John of
Hungary up to the death of John'

Johannes Zermegh

Date: Not later than 1584

Original Language: Latin

Description
It is difficult to determine when this work was written. Pongrác Sörös dates it
to after 1566, because it mentions the fall of Szigetvár in that year. However,
the few words referring to this event could have been added to the manuscript
later, maybe by Miklós Isthvánffi, who had a manuscript copy of Zermegh’s
work. In the first edition, the text comes to 100 pages.

The work recounts the main political and military events in the history of
Hungary between 1526 and 1540 in chronological order, in two Books. Book
1 is about events between 1526 and 1530, such as the double royal election
after the defeat at Mohács, the contest between King John and King
Ferdinand to rule the country, the civil war between their supporters, and
John’s plea for help to Süleyman, irrespective of religious differences. Book
507
2 contains, inter alia, accounts of how, in the civil war between the
supporters of the two kings, the Hungarians treated one another even more
cruelly than the Turks treated them. Süleyman’s 1532 campaign in Hungary,
the fall of Lodovico Gritti, the agreement – directed against the Ottomans –
between the two kings in Várad in 1538, and Süleyman’s 1538 campaign in
Moldova are also mentioned. The book ends with the death of King John in
the summer of 1540.

Zermegh was a contemporary of the events he presents, and participated in

some of them. According to his own account, he sometimes even played a
significant role, e.g. supplying food to King John, who was besieged in Buda
in the autumn of 1530.

Significance
The Ottoman Sultan Süleyman conducted three of his seven campaigns in
Hungary during the years covered by the Historia (1526, 1529, 1532). In the
work, the Ottomans are portrayed either as marauding soldiers, irrespective
of whether they are in the country as enemies or allies, or at a political,
diplomatic level in accounts of the legation of Hieronymus Łaski in 1528 to
Constantinople, the speeches of Sultan Süleyman to the envoys of King
Ferdinand in 1528 and to King John in 1529, Pasha Ibrahim, and Lodovico
Gritti. Zermegh also records the momentum of popular resistance against the
Ottoman army, which Hungarian historians later repeated, drawing upon his
work (pp. 7-8 in the 1662 edition).

Manuscripts
EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
Historia rerum gestarum inter Ferdinandum et Ioannem Ungariae reges
usque ad ipsius Ioannis obitum auctore Ioanne Zermegh, Amstelaedami,
1662, pp. 1-100

Joannis Zermegh, Rerum gestarum inter Ferdinandum et Joannem

Hungariae reges Commentarius ad editionem Amstelaedamensem Anni
MDCLXII recognitus. Observationes addidit Carolus Andreas Bel, in J.G.

508
Schwandtner, Scriptores rerum Hungaricarum veteres ac genuine,
Vindobonae, 1746-8, vol. 2, pp. 401-15

P. Kulcsár, Krónikáink magyarul III/1, Budapest, 2006 (Hungarian trans.)

Editions & Translations

Studies
Nagy, ‘Megjegyzések a Zermegh-életrajzhoz’

Kasza, ‘Néhány gondolat Zermegh János Commentariusáról’

E. Bartoniek, ‘Zermegh János’, in eadem, Fejezetek a XVI–XVII. századi

magyarországi történetírás történetőből. Kézirat gyanánt, MTA ITI, MTAK,
Budapest, 1975, 87-91

Sörös, ‘Zermegh János és munkája. I., II. Közlemény’

Szulpicz Molnár, Zermegh János és emlékirata, 1896

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1500-1550
Thematic Region: Hungary
Genre & Source Type: Commentaries, Historiography
Social History: Warfare

Gábor Nagy
Cite this page

Nagy, Gábor. " Historia rerum gestarum inter Ferdinandum et Ioannem Ungariae reges usque ad ipsius Ioannis obitum."
Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David Thomas. Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02
February 2016 <http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-ii/historia-rerum-gestarum-inter-
ferdinandum-et-ioannem-ungariae-reges-usque-ad-ipsius-ioannis-obitum-COM_26423>

509
 Rerum Hungaricarum libri XX
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts MANUSCRIPTS EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Rerum Hungaricarum libri XX

‘History of Hungary in 20 volumes’

Giovanni Michele Bruto

Date: Before 1591

Original Language: Latin

Description
Brutus’s Rerum Hungaricarum libri XX (‘History of Hungary’) has not come
down in full; of the original 20 volumes only the first 14 are known today,
with serious lacunae. The work was intended to be the continuation of Rerum
Hungaricarum decades by the Italian Antonio Bonfini, historian of Matthias
Corvinus, which finished in the year 1492. Following the wishes of Prince
István Báthory, Brutus tried in his work to legitimise the independence of the
Principality of Transylvania as heir of the former Kingdom of Hungary
against the claims of the Habsburgs. In its current state, his history
concentrates on the 1492-1552 period of the history of Hungary, including its
struggles against the Ottomans, such as the Battle of Mohács (1526), the
Turkish occupation of Buda (1541) and the grand campaign of Süleyman in
1552.

The 14 known volumes are found in published manuscripts from Vienna and
Budapest (ed. Toldy and Nagy). The Vienna manuscript contains the first
nine volumes of the work, whilst the Budapest manuscript has all 14 known

510
volumes. The other parts of the Historia are lost. In its modern edition, the
work contains 1430 pages.

Among Brutus’s sources are Italian humanists (Paolo Giovio, Ascanio

Centorio degli Hortensia), documents from Transylvania and Poland, and
notes from Ferenc Forgách (c. 1530-77), chancellor of Transylvania, as well
as oral reports. His information from critical sources is generally adapted by
later historians, who emphasise that his analyses were largely influenced by
the pro-Transylvania and anti-Habsburg position. His history was later used
by other Transylvanian Hungarian historians such as István Szamosközy,
Miklós Istvanffy and Farkas Bethlen. His solemn and diffuse style was
nevertheless widely criticised, even by his contemporaries. In defence of his
method, he wrote De historiae laudibus (Cracoviae, 1578).

Significance
Johannes Michael Brutus is one of the first historians to provide a
comprehensive and complex picture of the events of 16th-century Hungary.
Even though other partial works come directly from the time of the Turkish
invasion, his is the first historical analysis of the tripartite division of
Hungary from 1541 between Turks, Habsburgs and Transylvania and its
consequences.

The design of the Historia is twofold. Regarding the events before the Battle
of Mohács (1526), Brutus emphasises the weakness of the Kingdom of
Hungary, and condemns the political divisions among the Hungarian nobility
and the impotence of the king as the basic causes of the disaster of Mohács.
Then, demonstrating the situation in the country after 1526 when Hungary
was divided between Ferdinand of Habsburg (r. 1526-64) and John Szapolyai
(r. 1526-41), Brutus takes a clearly anti-Austrian position. In his view, the
birth of the Principality of Transylvania, a vassal of the Ottomans, was the
result of the political ambitions of Ferdinand. He presents the pro-Turkish
position of John Szapolyai and his son, John Sigismund (d. 1571), the first
prince of Transylvania, as a necessary compromise to allow them to retain at
least a portion (Transylvania) of the former Kingdom of Hungary against the
Habsburg suppression. At the same time, he is unceasing in his blame of the
Ottomans, calling them ‘cruel’, ‘pagan’, ‘barbaric’ and the ‘plague’ of his
time.
511
In Rerum Hungaricarum, Brutus preserves much information about Turkish-
Hungarian relations in the period 1492-1552. He shows in detail from one
year to the next the advance of the Ottomans in Central Europe from the
capture of Belgrade (1521) through the Battle of Mohács and the occupation
of Buda (1541) to the campaigns of the 1540s. The Historia ends with a
description of the Muslim expedition of 1552, and in particular the Hungarian
defence of the fortress of Eger.

Brutus’s work has received relatively little attention by modern historians. Its
importance lies in the fact that it was used by his contemporaries
(Szamosközy, Istvanffy), who have already received more attention in
modern scholarship, and determine current historical thinking.

Manuscripts
MANUSCRIPTS
MS Budapest, Budapesti Egyetemi Könyvtár [Library of Budapest
University] – Collectio Prayana, tomus 35: Joannis Michaelis Bruti
Historiarum libros I. usque VII-um; Collectio Prayana, tomus 36: Joannis
Michaelis Bruti Historiarum libros VIII. usque XIV-um

MS Vienna, National Library of Austria [Österreichische Nationalbibliothek]

– Rerum Hungaricarum libri IX, codex 8662, 259 fols (16th century); Rerum
Hungaricarum libri IX, codex 8642, 210 fols (18th century); Rerum
Hungaricarum libri IX, codex 8643, 212 fols (18th century)

EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS

Brutus János Mihály magyar királyi történetiró Magyar Historiája 1490-
1552 [The Hungarian History of Brutus János Mihály, Hungarian royal
historian, 1490-1552], 3 vols, ed. F. Toldy and I. Nagy, Budapest, 1863-7
(Latin edition)

512
Editions & Translations
Studies
I. Szabadi, ‘Johannes Michael Brutus és Marcello Squarcialupi’ [Johannes
Michael Brutus and Marcello Squarcialupi], in Eruditio, virtus et constantia.
Tanulmányok a 70 éves Bitskey István tiszteletére, Debrecen, 2011, vol.
2, 634-40

M. Balázs, I. Monok and I. Tar (eds and trans), ‘Az első magyar ars
historica. Szamosközy István Giovanni Michaele Bruto történetírói
módszeréről (1594-1598)’ [The first Hungarian ars historica. István
Szamosközy on the historiographical methods of Giovanni Michaele Bruto
(1594-1598)], in Lymbus. Művelődéstörténeti Tár IV, Szeged, 1992, 49-86

E. Bartoniek, Fejezetek a XVI-XVII. századi magyarországi történetírás

történetéből [Chapters from the Hungarian historiography of the 16th-17th
centuries], Budapest, 1975, pp. 252-6

E. Steiner, Művelődéstörténeti korkép az 1492-től 1552-ig terjedő időkről

Brutus János Mihály Magyar históriája alapján [Historical panorama from
the years between 1492-1552 based on the Hungarian History of Brutus János
Mihály], Debrecen, 1933

A. Veress, ‘Il veneziano Giovanni Michele Bruto e la sua storia

d’Ungheria’, Archivio Veneto s. 5, 6 (1929) 148-78

J. Vietórisz, De Ioannis Michaelis Bruti Historiae Hungariae latinitate,

Budapest, 1890

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1550-1600
Thematic Region: Buda, Hungarian Kingdom , Hungary
Related Historical People: Hungarians, Ottomans, Vladislav II of Bohemia
and Hungary
Genre & Source Type: Histories

513
Attila Györkös
Cite this page

Györkös, Attila. " Rerum Hungaricarum libri XX." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David Thomas. Brill
Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016 <http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-
muslim-relations-ii/rerum-hungaricarum-libri-xx-COM_26425>

514
 Annales Sultanorum Othmanidarum, a
Turcis sua lingua scripti
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

'Annals of the Ottoman sultans, written by the Turks in their own language'

Johannes Löwenklau, Joannes Leunclavius

Date: 1588
Original Language: Latin

Description
The Annales Sultanorum Othmanidarum (519 pages; German
editions: Neuwe Chronica Türckischer Nation with 535 pages in the second
edition) are divided into four parts. The ‘Gitabi Teuarichi’ contains Gaudier’s
translation of the ‘Annales Beccani’ that reported on the Ottoman sultans up
to the year 1550, while in the second part Löwenklau continues the chronicle
to the year 1588/90.

The third part, the so-called ‘Pandects’, is a large and impressive compilation
of background information about the Ottoman empire. In 254 sections,
Löwenklau writes about cities, peoples and dynasties, Turkish customs,
coins, and shows great interest in etymology, and various descriptions of
battles. He stresses the amount of preparatory work involved, for which he
had consulted ‘all hitherto published Greek, Latin, Italian, French, German,
Hungarian and other histories’, but this was necessary because ‘the

515
Musulman history cannot be understood without the help of the explanations
contained in the Pandectis’ (preface to Neuwe Chronica, 1595). The Latin
and German prints occasionally differ in each section as, for instance, in
respect to the sections dealing with the Monumentum Ancyrianum, the
famous inscription of the Res gestae Divi Augusti in Ankara (a record of the
deeds of the Roman Emperor Augustus) which was first revealed to a
European audience by Oghier Ghislain de Busbecq. Löwenklau printed the
Latin inscription in a version he had obtained through Faustus Verantius only
in the Annales Sultanorum (1588, Pandects no. 10, pp. 204-6), and not in the
Neuwe Chronica. The German version of Pandects no. 155 is extended by an
account of the Muslim ḥajj including a description of Mecca and Medina, the
ceremonies of the ḥajj and a Muslim sermon. This remarkable report was
based on an Italian text which Löwenklau got from Philipp Hanivald (Neuwe
Chronica, 1595, pp. 304-20). Philipp Hanivald also provided the Italian
description of Cairo, printed in Pandects no. 213 of the German version
(Neuwe Chronica, 1595, pp. 374-76). The German version of Pandects no.
254 includes a detailed battle report about the Ottoman campaign against the
Safavids in 1547, based on an Ottoman source which Löwenklau obtained via
Faustus Verantius in a French translation (Neuwe Chronica, 1595, pp. 418-
31; cf. Historia Musulmana, 1591, p. 837, ll. 8-15).

The fourth part of the Annales Sultanorum incorporates a report of the

Ottoman siege of Vienna in 1529 written by Paul Pesel (in both the Latin and
the German versions). The Latin version adds a life of Emperor Ferdinand II.
Furthermore, the German edition contains Niclas Haunolth’s report about the
circumcision feast of Sultan Murad III’s son and successor Mehmed III in
1582 (this event was also reported and illustrated in an Ottoman imperial
festival book, cf. Terzioğlu, The imperial circumcision festival), a travel
report about the Habsburg embassy of Heinrich von Liechtenstein and a
description of the wedding feast of the Ottoman vizier Ibrahim Pasha and the
Sultan’s daughter Ayshe in 1586, again written by Niclas Haunolth.

Significance
Löwenklau’s proud self-congratulation to be the first in presenting Turkish
history to a European audience in a particularly elaborate synthesis on the
basis of Ottoman sources is not exaggerated. His work was ground-breaking

516
indeed. Although Ottomanists of the 20th century have integrated
Löwenklau’s books into their editorial works on early Ottoman chronicles,
Löwenklau’s Pandectes are still worth consulting as a potential source for
Ottoman history in themselves, though until the present this considerable
compilation has hardly gained any scholarly attention. Furthermore,
Löwenklau’s narrative strategies still await a thorough analysis, which would
require language skills in Ottoman, Latin, German and preferably Greek.

Manuscripts
EDITIONS

Annales Sultanorum Othmanidarum, a Turcis sua lingua scripti, Frankfurt,

1588, 15962

Neuwe Chronica Türckischer nation, von Türcken selb beschrieben:

volgentdts gemehrt, vnnd in vier Bücher abgehteilt (…), Frankfurt, 1590
(German trans.)

Editions & Translations

Studies
Pál, ‘Pro Turcis and contra Turcos’

Terzioğlu, ‘The imperial circumcision festival’

Mordtmann, ‘Mitteilungen’

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1550-1600
Thematic Region: Ottoman Empire
Related Historical People: Ferdinand II, Mehmed I, Mehmed II, Muhammad,
Murad II, Ottomans, Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz
Dynasty/Ruling elite: Ottomans
Genre & Source Type: Chronicles/Histories
Theme: Battle at Mohacs, Christian portrayal of Muhammad, Christian-

517
Muslim warfare, Circumcision, Diplomatic relations, Early Islamic
conquests, Muslim festivals, Pilgrimage, Worship in Mecca
Muslims: Ottomans

Almut Höfert
Cite this page

Höfert, Almut. " Annales Sultanorum Othmanidarum, a Turcis sua lingua scripti." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900.
General Editor David Thomas. Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016
<http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-ii/annales-sultanorum-othmanidarum-a-turcis-sua-
lingua-scripti-COM_27759>

518
 Historiae Musulmanae Turcorum, de
monumentis ipsorum exscriptae, libri
XVIII
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

‘Islamic history of the Turks in 18 books, written on the basis of their own
sources’

Johannes Löwenklau, Joannes Leunclavius

Date: 1591
Original Language: Latin

Description
Löwenklau’s second major work on the Ottomans is the Historiae
Musulmanae Turcorum (…) Libri XVIII (only one Latin edition, Frankfurt,
1591). Unlike the Annales Sultanorum, which contains a huge variety of
information about the Ottoman Empire, the Historia Musulmana (also known
as Neuwer Musulmanischer Histori Tuerckischer Nation)is a purely historical
work, divided into 18 books. After an account of early Islamic history and a
report on the origins of the Ottomans (books 1-2), the majority of the
following books are dedicated to individual sultans. Löwenklau used the
Codex Verantius and Codex Hanivaldus as his main sources, but also referred
to non-Ottoman works. The first German edition (Neuwer Musulmanischer
Histori, 1590) appeared a year before the Latin version, but contains only

519
books 1-3. Löwenklau died while translating book 12 for the second German
edition. His editors in Frankfurt asked an unnamed colleague of his to
translate the remaining books 13-18, whereas book 12 was published as
Löwenklau had left it (Neuwer Musulmanischer Histori, 1595). The title of
the first German edition also states that the three books presented were the
first of ‘thirty books’ (instead of 18). This indicates that Löwenklau might
have intended to continue his work on the Historia Musulmana with a second
volume. Before book 1, numerous genealogical tables on Middle Eastern
dynasties are included.

In the various books, Löwenklau constantly compares Codices Verantius and

Hanivaldus, either in writing an account that follows both or by noting
different points of view and presenting both versions consecutively. In the
margins, he often refers to corresponding sections of his Pandectes, the third
part of his Annales Sultanorum. In the preface to the Historia, he first praises
the Turks for their united faith ruled by one monarch, their uniform and
equitable law, their religious tolerance without apparent need for an
inquisition, their efficient administrative system and their military virtues.
However, he then declares that most of these positive characteristics belong
to the past and gives a contrasting picture of the present, in which the Turks,
always cruel and treacherous, have been weakened by internal conflicts,
selfish viziers, heavy taxes, and also by the fearful, stupid and sick Sultan
Murad III. Since the Turks are particularly interested in conquering Germany
and are still to be feared, the princes of the German-Roman empire should
defend ‘the beloved German fatherland’ and take an interest in
Löwenklau’s Historia in order to know the enemy of themselves and God.

Significance
Together with the Annales Sultanorum Othmanidarum, the Historia
Musulmanae Turcorum was the first European history of the Ottoman Empire
based mainly on Ottoman sources. Ottomanists have used it to reconstruct
Ottoman chronicles that are now lost. Together with the Annales Sultanorum,
the Historia still awaits a study that will analyse Löwenklau as a historian.

Manuscripts
EDITIONS
520
Neuwer Musulmanischer Histori, Türckischer Nation, von jhrem
Herkommen, Geschichte, vnd Thaten, Drey Bücher die ersten vnter
dreyssigen (…), Frankfurt, 1590, 15952

Historiae Musulmanae Turcorum, De Monumentis Ipsorum Exscriptae, Libri

XVIII: Opus Jo. Leunclavii Amelburni ... quod gentis originem, progressus,
familias &principatus diversos, res Osmaneas a Suleimane Schacho, ad
Suleimanem II. memoriae nostrae, cum aliis maxime raris, &hactenus
ignotis, continet. Accessere commentarii duo, Libitinarius Index
Osmanidarum, quo fides historiae gentiliciis e thecis, ac titulis eorum
funebribus, adstruitur; &Apologiticus alter. Cum Onomastico gemino,
&Indice copioso, Frankfurt, 1591

R. Kreutel, Der fromme Sultan Bayezid. Die Geschichte seiner Herrschaft

(1481-1512) nach den altosmanischen Chroniken des Oruç und des
Anonymus Hanivaldanus, Graz, 1978

Editions & Translations

Studies
Pál, ‘Pro Turcis and contra Turcos’

Menzel, ‘Muḥyi ‘l-Dīn Meḥmed’

Ménage, Neshrī’s history

Babinger, Geschichtsschreiber

Ausserer, ‘Frühgeschichte’

Giese, ‘Einleitung’

Wittek, ‘Quellenproblem’

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1550-1600
Thematic Region: Ottoman Empire

521
Related Historical People: Mehmed I, Mehmed II, Murad II, Ottomans
Dynasty/Ruling elite: Ottomans
Genre & Source Type: Chronicles/Histories
Theme: Christian-Muslim warfare, Early Islamic conquests, Muslim courts

Almut Höfert
Cite this page

Höfert, Almut. " Historiae Musulmanae Turcorum, de monumentis ipsorum exscriptae, libri XVIII." Christian-Muslim Relations
1500 - 1900. General Editor David Thomas. Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016
<http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-ii/historiae-musulmanae-turcorum-de-monumentis-
ipsorum-exscriptae-libri-xviii-COM_27760>

522
 Razboji od Turaka
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts MANUSCRIPTS EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Razboji od Turaka
‘Struggles against the Turks’

Antun Bratosaljić Sasin

Date: About 1593-5

Original Language: Croatian

Description
Sasin’s chronicle in verse is about the first two years of the Austro-Turkish
‘Long war’ (1593-1606). The time of writing can be narrowed down to 1593-
5 because the death of Sultan Murat III in January 1595 is the last event
mentioned. The poem extends to 1820 verses.

The work deals with the battle of Sisak in 1593 and other struggles in the
‘Long war’, in which Christian armies fought with the Turks. Up to that time,
poets of the Republic of Dubrovnik had rarely written about Christian-
Turkish battles, and Sasin’s Razboji was the first literary work in Dubrovnik
to give descriptions of battles in which a narrator openly supports Christian
forces.

In Razboji od Turaka, as in many other works about the Christian-Turkish

wars written in Croatian, Muslims are represented as conquering infidels
from the East, who are rapidly taking over southern and eastern Europe.

523
Significance
While most works written in the first half of the 16th century include such
common themes as lamentations, descriptions of typical Turkish crimes, and
expressions of fear and helplessness, in Sasin’s work there is hope for
Christian victory.

But the reception of this work was negligible. Sasin lived on the periphery of
the Republic of Dubrovnik and was not a very notable poet. However, he did
exert some minor influence on Ivan Gundulić and his epic poem Osman.

Manuscripts
MANUSCRIPTS
MS Dubrovnik, Monastery of the Friars Minor – 122, fols 316-401v (17th or
18th century)

EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS

Djela Petra Zoranića, Antuna Sasina, Savka Gučetića Bendeviševića,
Zagreb, 1888, pp. 173-97

Editions & Translations

Studies
Arsić, Antun Sasin

P. Pavličić, ‘Čitanje Sasinovih Razboja od Turaka’, Forum 43 (2004) 1-3

D. Dukić, Sultanova djeca. Predožbe Turaka u hrvatskoj književnosti ranoga

novovjekovlja, Zadar, 2004

D. Mrdeža Antonina, ‘Portret dubrovačko-stonskog pisca Antuna Sasina’,

Dubrovnik 6 (1995) 2-3

M. Franičević, Pjesnici i stoljeća, Zagreb, 1974, 82-97

524
M. Purković, ‘Istorijska tačnost u Sasinovom epu “Razboji od Turaka”’,
Glasnik Jugoslovenskog profesorskog društva (1931-32) 1-12

Popović, ‘Antun Sasin’

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1550-1600
Thematic Region: Hungarian Kingdom , Croatia
Dynasty/Ruling elite: Habsburgs
Genre & Source Type: Epics
Theme: Ottoman conquests
Social History: Warfare
Christians: Catholics
Muslims: Ottomans

Lahorka Plejić Poje

Cite this page

Plejić Poje, Lahorka. " Razboji od Turaka." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David Thomas. Brill Online,
2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016 <http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-
relations-ii/razboji-od-turaka-COM_27709>

525
 Croatian anti-Turkish writings during
the Renaissance
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts MANUSCRIPTS EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Croatian anti-Turkish writings during the Renaissance

-

Croatian anti-Turkish writings during the Renaissance

Date: 1448-1600
Original Language: Various

Description
Croatian literary reactions to the series of Ottoman attacks, invasions and
conquests during 1450-1600 were twofold. On the one hand, authors rallied
to influence European (primarily Italian and German) decision-making and
public opinion by penning descriptions of Dalmatian, Croatian, and
Hungarian struggles for survival, the sufferings of their people, and the
immediacy and gravity of the Turkish menace, issuing warnings that this was
the last line of defence before Italy and Germany. The other group of texts by
Croatian authors recorded events in the struggle for survival and expressed
the fear, desperation and heroism that loomed large in the collective
consciousness of the people.

Texts in the first group were written in Latin (only L. Paskalić and P.
Cedulini wrote in Italian), in the form of speeches and letters, and were often
published. Most often the pope (often on the accession of a new pontiff) and

526
the Germans were the addressees, less frequently the Venetians and the
French. Such direct appeals were especially frequent in 1512-38, when
prelates, magnates, diplomats and laymen seem to have coordinated their
actions (with Toma Niger and Frankopans playing important roles). After the
1540s, such texts appear less frequently. Speeches by F. Trankvil Andreis
stand out for their ethnographic and humanist interests, as well as for a
certain attitude of respect towards the Ottomans, while the speech of
Archbishop Franjo Frankopan at the Diet of Regensburg (often reprinted) is
unusual for its outspoken criticism of German inaction. In the appeals, the
Turks are presented as a scourge of God, a cruel enemy, infidel antagonists of
all Christians. The threat of conversion to Islam is mentioned often but the
military urgency is such that religious differences are not extensively dwelt
upon. Moreover, denigration of the enemy is more pronounced in poetic calls
for anti-Turkish action.

The second group of texts consists, first, of prose historiography. As a rule it

is in Latin (two short Croatian notes by Martinac and Š. Klimantović, and a
longer chronicle on Siget by F. Črnko are the exception). Then, there are
poetic reports of victories and defeats,, in Croatian (apart from an epigram by
F. Trankvil Andreis and an elegy by J. Würfel). Historiographical narratives
are either chronicles or reports of a single event. On the whole, their tone is
calmer and more neutral than in speeches and letters. The Turks are enemies,
of course, and they are routinely referred to as infidels, but accusations of
cruelty and dishonesty seem to be aimed mainly at their leaders and generals.
The poetry expresses collective fears in laments. At other times, verse is used
as a medium for exchange of information, a Croatian equivalent to
the avvisi and Newe Zeytungen. The poems often show popular traits and
similarities to Croatian (and other South Slavic) heroic folk poetry.
Karnarutić’s epic on Siget, with its classicizing models, is a special case.

The earliest anti-Turkish texts from the corpus are letters and speeches by
Ivan Vitez of Sredna, as Bishop of Oradea (Nagyvárad) and Chancellor of
John Hunyadi and Matthias Corvinus; the most important letters were written
to Pope Nicholas V and his envoy in 1448, after Hunyadi’s defeat at the
second Battle of Kosovo (Boronkai, I.37 [= part I, letter 37]) on 17
September 1448, 3 pages; I.41, 30 December 1448, 2 pages), and, in the
name of Ladislaus the Posthumous, an appeal for help for Constantinople

527
(II.5, 16 January 1453, 2 pages). On 22 September 1464, Vitez proudly
informed Pope Pius II of Matthias Corvinus’s successes in Bosnia, asking for
further support (II.39, 4 pages). During the siege of Constantinople and after
its fall, Vitez, as a member of a Hungarian embassy, delivered a series of
speeches in Prague, Frankfurt, Wienerneustadt and Vienna (orationes 5-11,
Boronkai, 1454-5); the finest of these is speech 7 (incipit: Pulsatis merore
publico animis, 15 pages), given on 23 March 1455 in Wienerneustadt,
before Frederick III.

In September 1471, Tideo Acciarini, a humanist from the Marche who spent
20 years (1461-80) as a teacher in Dalmatian cities, was inspired by the
recent accession of the new pope to present him with a poem of
hexameters, Ad beatissimum Christianae religionis parentem maximumque
fidei Romanae antistitem Sistum pontificem IIII. seraphici Francisci
pientissimus hortatus in Turcas, per Tydeum Acciarinum Picentem (‘To the
blessed parent of Christian religion and the greatest defender of the Roman
faith, Pope Sixtus the IV: a most pious exhortation against the Turks by the
seraphic father St Francis’), mentioning attacks on Salona, Split, Klis,
Skradin and Zadar, as well as the Ottoman territorial gains in the area around
Euboea and the fall of Negropont on 12 July 1470; in the grand finale, St
Francis himself addresses Sixtus, encouraging him to go to war and listing
the Italian and European rulers to be invited to an alliance. Twenty years
later, the total defeat of the Croatian army by the Ottomans at the Battle of
Krbava Field (9 September 1493) prompted two brief dispatches by the papal
envoy Antonio Fabregues (Šišić, ‘Rukovet spomenika’, documents 142 and
144), sent to Alexander VI from Senj immediately before and after the battle
(8 and 13 September), and a longer, more literarily stylized, highly emotional
letter to the pope by the bishop of Nin Juraj Divnić (27 September, 5 pages).
All these works remained in manuscript, as well as two poems by the
Dubrovnik virtuoso poet Ilija Crijević: an Ad Carolum Francorum regem
concordia (‘Harmony, to Charles King of France’, c. 280 hexameters), on the
occasion of Charles VIII’s triumphal entry into Naples (22 February 1495),
where the poet, after a cosmological introduction and a review of Charles’
Italian campaign, expresses hopes for an expedition under the protection of
Christ, against the savage Turk, against the ‘stain of Maomethus’ and the
‘pollution of their sacrilegious rites’, going on to list all the regions of the
Christian Republic that required such a crusade. In 1499, Crijević composed

528
an epigram for Antonio Grimani as the recently elected Venetian capitano
generale da Mar (c. 3.13 Novaković, Quam bene sumpserunt Venetae noua
signa triremes – ‘It is appropriate that the Venetian galleys fly new banners’,
18 verses), in which the enemy over whom the captain general should
triumph is, cautiously, not named at all, though the ‘new banners’ mentioned
bear the cross. In 1501, Toma Niger, vicar general of the Archbishop of Split
Bernardo Zane, printed in Venice a panegyric Divina electio ac tempestiva
creatio serenissimi principis Veneti Leonardi Lauretani cum pronostico sui
invictissimi principatus (‘A divine choice and timely appointment of the most
serene Venetian doge Leonardo Loredan with an augury of his invincible
rule’, 432 elegiacs), containing a striking description of Turkish atrocities and
expressing hope of military action against them. In the next two years, the
bishop of Trogir (near Split, where Niger resided) sent two letters, one styled
as a speech, to the same doge (10 December, 1502: Francesci Marcelli
episcopi Tragurini oratio ad Leonardum Loredanum principem Venetiarum –
‘A speech of Francesco Marcello, Bishop of Trogir, to Leonardo Loredan,
Venetian Doge’; 21 July 1503: Franciscus Marcellus, episcopus Tragurinus,
Leonardo Loredano, de excursione Turcarum – ‘Francesco Marcello, Bishop
of Trogir, to Leonardo Loredan, on the Turkish attack’), with a request for
help to his bishopric. In May 1512, Niger’s prelate, Bernardo Zane, gave
an Oratio reverendissimi D. archiepiscopi Spalatensis habita in prima
sessione Lateranensis concilii (‘A speech by the most reverend archbishop of
Split in the first session of the Lateran Council’, printed in Rome in
November 1512, 16 pages, with an introductory letter from Toma Niger to
Marko Marulić, 11 May 1512; Šimun Kožičić Benja spoke before Leo X at
the sixth session of this Council). The first part of Zane’s speech is
theological and deals with heresies and papal authority; in the second, briefer
part, Zane presents the Turks as depraved people who honour Muḥammad by
persecuting Christians; the archbishop of Split speaks as an eyewitness of the
Turkish menace and calls for the defence of the Christian faith. In 1517, a
year after Kožičić Benja’s second speech, two more anti-Turkish speeches
were delivered before Leo X: one by Fr Bonaventura of Korčula (Curcureus
Dalmata) on February 17 (the speech is not preserved, but a contemporary
note says that Bonaventura ‘gave a beautiful speech urging the pope to take
up arms as a lion of the Tribe of Judah’, Sella, Leone X, p. 16), and the other
was Oratio Stephani Possedarski habita apud Leonem decimum pontificem
maximum pro domino Ioanne Torquato comite Corbauie defensore

529
Crouacie (‘Speech of Stjepan Posedarski before Pope Leo X in the name of
his lord Ivan Torquatus [Karlović], Count of Krbava, defender of Croatia’, 4
pages), printed in Rome (perhaps as early as 1516); Posedarski warns that his
lord, at the time the ban (viceroy, governor) of Croatia, long at the forefront
of the battle, has had to become a tribute-payer to the Ottomans, and that
Christians in his region are already entering into marriage with the Turks; as
minimal support, the ban asks for a cleric to stop fugitives and to strengthen
the faith. Similar worries and dangers are referred to the following year, in a
letter to Leo X by the Croatian ban Petar Beriszló (10 April 1518; 2 pages);
Berislavić ends by saying that the enemies’ subjects have already embraced
not only the dress but also the manners of their rulers, and have become
barely recognizable as Christians. In 1518, Fran Trankvil Andreis, a
wandering humanist from Trogir, makes his entrance as an anti-Turkish
author, publishing first an Ad Deum contra Turcas oratio carmine
heroico (‘A supplication to God against the Turks in hexameter’, Nürnberg;
16 pages, 326 verses, with laudatory epigrams by Dietrich Speth, Veit Werler
and David Rotmund; the dedicatory letter to Hieronymus von Croaria, dated
Ingoldstadt, 7 March 1518) – his poetry presents the Turks as insatiable
conquerors, ready to oust God himself from heaven; the poem ends with a
call for general repentance – and in Augsburg Andreis publishes a
prose Oratio contra Thurcas ad Germanos habita (‘Speech to the Germans
against the Turks’, 20 pages), which he gave as an envoy of Petar Berislavić
before the Emperor Maximilian I. After an ample historical and ethnographic
introduction – where he states that the Turks hate the Christians mainly
because of the stubborn resistance of the Hungarians and ‘Illyrians’ (Slavic
peoples), or because they strive for world domination – Andreis proclaims
the Turks a scourge of God and again calls for repentance. In the second,
more political part, he relates that the Grand Turk, going to war with
‘Soldanus, king of Syria’, and instructed by a ‘priest of the Turks called in
their language Deruise’ to make a vow to build a temple to Muḥammad,
offered to build two temples: one in Hungary and the other in Rome. After
describing the latest Ottoman attacks, Andreis calls on the Germans to take
up arms, and on Maximilian to free Jerusalem.

From the diary of Sanudo we know that in January 1520, in Rome, Toma
Niger, now an emissary of Petar Berislavić and the bishop of Skradin, spoke
before Leo X about the suffering of the Croatian people, requesting support

530
for further resistance (the speech is not preserved). On 20 September (or
perhaps August) 1521, Ivan Statilić from Trogir, provost of Felsőörs near
Veszprém, addressed the Venetian Signoria and the newly elected doge
Antonio Grimani in the name of Louis II, king of Hungary and Croatia,
asking for financial aid. The speech, which was soon followed by news of the
fall of Belgrade, ‘stirred emotions mightily’ (Morosini, Historia Veneta, p.
30). The election of Pope Adrian VI prompted the aging Marko Marulić to
publish his Epistola domini Marci Maruli Spalatensis ad Adrianum VI. Pont.
Max. de calamitatibus occurrentibus et exhortatio ad communem omnium
Christianorum unionem et pacem, in Rome, on 30 April 1522; in September
of the same year, in Nürnberg, the elderly Bernardin Frankopan (Frankapan)
Ozaljski (who in March had had an audience with the Venetian Council of
Ten) published his speech Oratio pro Croatia Nürenbergae in senatu
principum Germaniae habita, with an introductory letter to Adrian VI; in the
same month, Stephanus Brodericus (Stjepan Brodarić) spoke before Adrian
VI in the name of Louis II; the speech, Stephani Broderici iuris pontificii
doctoris, praepositi Quinque ecclesiensis, secretarii et oratoris serenissimi
Domini Ludovici Hungariae et Bohemiae etc. Regis ad Sanctissimum
Dominum Adrianum VI. Pontificem Maximum oratio, was published in Rome
in January 1523. In June of that year, also in Rome, Krsto (I) Frankopan
Brinjski, speaking in the name of his father Bernardin, published the Oratio
ad Adrianum Sextum (‘Speech before Adrian VI’, 8 pages), accompanied by
seven points of a Memoriale and a charter of the Hungarian King Bela IV,
which in 1260 had granted the Frankopans possession of the city of Senj.
After justifying the Frankopans’ recent capture of that Adriatic city, Brinjski
warned that ‘Croatia is the wall of defence or the gate to Christendom’;
should it be conquered, ‘greater danger is threatened than through the late
losses suffered by Christendom of Zemun, Belgrade, and Rhodes’; Frankopan
asked for aid for the ‘two thousand [Croatian] horsemen and one thousand
foot soldiers’ defending the country.

Four years after the Battle of Mohács, and a year after the siege of Vienna,
another Frankopan – Vuk, of the Brinjski line – appeared on 24 August 1530
as a speaker at the German Imperial Diet in Augsburg, publishing his Oratio
ad Serenissimum Carolum V Sacri Romani Imperij Caesarem inclytum ac ad
illustrissimos et potentissimos Principes Romani Imperii facta ex parte
Regnicolarum Croaciae per Vuolffgangum de Frangepanibus Comitem etc,

531
Oratorem ipsius Croaciae (‘Speech before the most serene Charles V,
glorious Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, and before the most illustrious
and powerful leaders of the Roman Empire, in the name of the inhabitants of
the Kingdom of Croatia, by count Vuk Frankopan, emissary of Croatia’,
Augsburg 1530, 8 pages, including a preface by Caspar Kurrer and a
response by Joachim I Nestor, Prince-elector of Brandenburg). Once again,
Vuk Frankopan requested help from the Holy Roman Empire, reminding the
assembly of Croatia’s 80 years of struggle and of the fact that Greece and
Hungary were defeated, but Croatia was still resisting – though the people
will ‘this winter’ be forced either to relocate or to submit to the ‘very same
insatiable dragon’. Charles’ assembling of an army against Süleyman in the
summer of 1532, as well as related naval operations in Morea, were the
theme of a laudatory elegy by Ludovik Paskalić from Kotor, In Caroli
Caesaris Pannonicam expeditionem (‘On the Pannonian expedition of
Charles the emperor’, 7 pages, 198 verses). On 16 June 1534, a humanist
from Dubrovnik, Damjan Beneša, wrote (in Latin) missives to King
Ferdinand I of Germany, King Francis I of France, and Charles V, using
carefully chosen biblical imagery and calling for Christian unity; copies of all
three letters were sent to all the rulers (editio princeps in Rezar, ‘Pisma
Damjana Beneše’, 7 pages). In the letter to Francis I, Beneša lists the
conquests of the Maumetani (his term), which are also mentioned in the letter
to Charles V. During the prolonged siege of Klis (a strategically important
fortress near Split), Frano Božićević Natalis, a poet from Split and friend of
the late Marko Marulić, composed most probably in 1535 an Ad
sanctissimum dominum d. Paulum tertium, totius Christianae rei publicae
diuino nutu pontificem maximum, quod oppidum Chlissae conseruando
plurimae sacrosanctae fidei nationes saluabuntur elegia (‘Elegy to the most
holy lord Paul III, by God’s will pope of the whole Christian estate: by
supporting the town of Klis, many nations of the holy faith will be saved’,
212 verses; c. 79 Marković): here, a dramatic sketch of Dalmatian hardships
caused by the Turks, enemies of the faith of the true God, is followed by a
prayer to Christ and the instruments of his passion; then the poet describes
Klis, the defence of which was strongly aided by Paul III, as a stronghold
from which the Ottomans could easily reach Ancona, Quarnero and Istria, as
well as Croatia. An anti-Turkish initiative of the Holy League prompted in
1537-8 six poems by Ludovik Paskalić, already mentioned, probably because
one theatre of naval operations was near Kotor; when the Latin poems were

532
published in Venice in 1551, after the author’s death, mentions of the name
‘Othomanus’ were replaced by dots. The first poem, Sylua prima eiusdem
Ludouici Paschalis Catharensis ad Regem Gallorum, reliquosque
Christianos Principes contra Turcas exortatio (‘The first silva of Ludovik
Paskalić from Kotor, to the king of France and other Christian rulers, an
exhortation against the Turks’, from 1537; IV.1 in the 1551 edition, 178
hexameters), pleads for Francis I to join the alliance as well. The poem In
foedus ictum inter principes Christianos (‘On the alliance of the Christian
rulers’; 8 pages, number of verses differs in the MSS and the 1551 edition;
there is no critical edition as yet) is a warrior’s cry to ‘stamp out the wild
people of Muḥammad and spread the faith of Christ’. Paskalić dedicated two
further Latin elegies to Venetian commanders of the allied fleet of the
League: Ad Marcum Grimannum classis pontificiae praefectum (‘To Marco
Grimani, leader of the papal fleet’, II.5, 102 verses), and Ad Venetae classis
praefectum Vincentium Capellum (‘To the leader of the Venetian fleet
Vincenzo Capello’, II.6, 66 verses). The successes prophesied by the poet did
not materialise, and two of his sonnets in Italian to Charles V (A Cesare –
Mirando Apollo da’l Leucadio colle, ‘To the emperor – While Apollo
wondered from the hill of Leucadia’; Felice Spirto che da ’l sommo choro,
‘Happy is the Spirit who from the highest heaven’, p. 81 of the Venice 1549
edition) claim that the naval Battle of Preveza, on 28 September 1538, was
lost because Charles was not there in person. During Süleyman’s third
invasion of Hungary and the siege of Buda, Franciscan friar Franjo (Ivan X)
Frankopan, Archbishop of Kalocsa and Bishop of Eger, delivered a scathing
speech at the Diet of Regensburg, on 9 June 1541 (Oratio reverendissimi in
Christo patris domini Francisci comitis de Frangepanibus, archiepiscopi
Colocensis et episcopi Agriensis, oratoris regni Hungarie ad Caesarem,
electores et principes Germaniae – ‘Speech by the most reverend father lord
Franjo, Count of Frankopan, Archbishop of Kalocsa and Bishop of Eger,
representative of the Kingdom of Hungary, before the emperor, the electors,
and the lords of Germany’, 14 pages, Augsburg 1541; reprinted Wittemberg
1541; German trans. Ingolstadt 1541, Nürnberg 1541). Harshly criticizing
German inaction, and presenting a grim picture of Turkish conquests in
Hungary, Frankopan warns that ‘the barbarian fierceness strives to destroy
the Catholic faith and to murder the souls belonging to Christ through the
gifts and honours that are offered to renegades who embrace their
ungodliness - and many of ours are doing this right now’; Frankopan also

533
states that the ‘abominable greed [of the Turks] forbids them to live in peace
even with the people of their own faith; their lawmaker ordered them to
defend their faith with arms and subject the defeated to their ungodliness.’
Six months later, after the fall of Buda, in Vienna on 5 December 1541, Fran
Trankvil Andreis, in the service of Ferdinand I, published an Oratio ad
Germanos de bello suscipiendo contra Thurcos (‘Speech to the Germans on
waging war against the Turks’, with an introductory letter to Cristoforo
Madruzzo, Bishop of Brixen; 50 pages), an appeal for Hungary similar to
Frankopan’s, but somewhat milder in tone, with longer ethnographic
excursuses and examples from Classical Antiquity. Andreis points out that
‘for the barbarians one’s origin does not matter, their aristocracy and nobility
consist in prudence and greatness of soul’; he even thinks that ‘the Turks
borrowed a lot from the ancient [military] skills of the Romans’. And yet,
they are ‘enemies and destroyers of civil propriety, of culture, of classical
antiquity, as well as attackers against the Catholic faith; [...] they will not
stop, unless they are defeated and annihilated, because their lawmaker (whom
they honour as the second Pythagoras) orders them to defend their religion,
that is their barbarian godlessness, not by polemic, but with arms’; Andreis
proposes Ferdinand and Charles V as leaders of the Christian resistance. In
Krakow, on 2 May 1545, Andreis published an Ad optimates Polonos
admonitio (‘A reminder to Polish magnates’, 38 pages, with an introductory
letter to Andrzej Górka, castellan of Poznań and starost-general of Greater
Poland), deploring the loss of Hungary, and repeating his warning about the
Turks, who value virtue above ancestry (this notion can also be found in
Trankvil’s dialogue Philosophandumne sit?, ‘Should there be
philosophising?’, also printed in Krakow in 1545); the Turks ‘consider
themselves one race, gathered from different peoples, but embracing the
same impious rites and vain superstitions’. Andreis calls for unity among the
magnates as the main defence against the enemy. Twenty years later, in
1565-6, Andreis directed three anti-Turkish epigrams to three rulers (Ad
caesarem Maximilianum – ‘To the Emperor Maximilian [II]’, In filium
Ioannis regis – ‘To the son of King John [Zápolya, i.e. John Sigismund
Zápolya, Maximilian’s enemy in 1565]’,Ad summum pontificem Pium V), and
probably in the winter of 1570-1 he composed a long letter to the pope
(Summo pontifici Pio V – ‘To the Supreme Pontiff Pius V’, 34 pages,
unpublished; cf. Cavazza, ‘Tranquillo Andronico e la guerra’), a proposal to
use the pending war of the Holy League against the Turks as an occasion for

534
a thorough reform of Christian spiritual life; the tragic destiny of Hungary is
an exemplary proof of the necessity for such reform, the Christians have
become worse than the Turks (who care for the law and the education of their
young, and select the best as their leaders); Andreis compares the rebels
against the Christian faith to the Turks. This letter, ‘a singular example of
ancient ideals of the crusade mixed with humanistic religious aspirations’
(Cavazza, ‘Tranquillo Andronico e la guerra’, p. 36), led to the posthumous
trial of its author before the Venetian Inquisition (1576-78).

Petar Cedulini from Zadar, Bishop of Hvar, addressed two letters to Pope
Clement VIII. The first was a greeting for Clement’s election (15 May 1592,
2 pages), with a proclamation of the greatness of ‘thirteen regions of the
Illyrian [i.e. Slavic] language’, and a plea to save these regions from the
Turks and from heretics. The second document, Relatione de Mons. Pietro
Cedolini Vescouo di Lesina del presente stato dell’ Imperio
Turchesco [...] fatta al [...] Papa Clemente VIIIo 28 Jan. 1594 (‘Report by
Monsignor Petar Cedulini, Bishop of Hvar, on the present state of the
Ottoman Empire, presented to Pope Clement VIII on 28 January 1594’, in
Italian, 32 pages), is a survey of later Ottoman policy and conquests (the
author was in Constantinople and on Ottoman territory as an apostolic
visitor), a warning that an Ottoman invasion is pending, with Italy as its most
probable target, and a recommendation for an alliance between Russia,
Poland and the Holy Roman Empire; Cedulini was obviously aware of
Clement’s plans for a crusade.

In northern Croatia, the fall of the fortress of Sisak to the Turks on 28 August
1593 prompted two almost identical letters by Nikola Stepanić Selnički
(Zagreb, 6 and 9 September, incipit Salvus quidem atque incolumis – ‘True,
safe and sound’, 2 pages): one to Faust Vrančić from Šibenik, secretary of
Rudolph II (as the King of Hungary and Croatia), and the other to David
Ungnad, Freiherr von Weissenwolf, president of the Hofkriegsrat. After
describing the taking of the fortress, Stepanić Selnički cries out for help: ‘the
little that was left of this kingdom will perish’, ‘the poor common people do
not know where to turn’, ‘we are slower than a turtle, and the sweetest
homeland will perish any minute’.

The first history by a Croatian author to treat of war with the Turks was
the Petri Mocenigi imperatoris gestorum libri III (‘The deeds of commander
535
in chief Pietro Mocenigo, in three books’, Venice 1477, 104 pages, with an
introductory epistle to Marco Antonio Morosini) by Koriolan Cipiko from
Trogir, a narrative of the Venetian naval expedition to the Levant in 1470-73;
Cipiko himself commanded a Trogir galley. Anti-Turkish sentiments are
found in Cipiko’s descriptions of the Ottoman leaders’ cruelty, and in a
speech by a certain Antonio (Book 2), who was caught in an act of sabotage
of the Ottoman ammunition depot in Gallipoli and brought before the sultan.

Zapis popa Martinca (‘A note by the priest Martinac’), a brief record of the
Battle of Krbava Field (9 September 1499), was entered shortly after the
battle in the breviary that Martinac was copying at the time. The record gives
evidence of the trauma caused by the Croatian defeat; the calamity was
‘worse than the one in the times of the unclean Tatars, Goths, and Attila’.
Brief notices of Turkish history and invasions are also found in the chronicle
of Šimun Klimantović (from the creation of the world until 1508), repeating a
standard formula of the Turks ‘doing great evils’. News of the siege of
Rhodes (1522; the author does not know about its fall in December) makes
up the third part of a poetic epistle in Croatian sent by Hanibal Lucić, from
Hvar, to Jeronim Martinčić in Split (incipit: Knjižica od tvoje pameti
sabrana– ‘A small book, composed by your wisdom’, some 120 12-syllable
verses). Lucić claims that ‘the unfaithful say that heaven awaits anyone who
puts even a shovelful in the moat [of Rhodes]’. An anonymous Croatian
poem, Razboj i tužba kralja ugarskoga (‘The battle and the lament of the
king of Hungary’, 336 12-syllable verses), probably composed by a poet from
Split or Hvar, is an echo of the Battle of Mohács in 1526; Louis II himself
describes the battle and, then, addressing his horse, prays to God for Christian
unity; the struggle with the Turks is clearly presented as a religious war
(Louis ‘dies for the holy faith’). The second half of the poem Pjesanca slavi
carevoj (‘Song of the emperor’s glory’, 400 12-syllable verses by Mavro
Vetranović from Dubrovnik, probably written after the battle of Mohács,
reveals the Turkish conquests as the main cause of the lament, interpreted as
God’s punishment for Christian sins and general discord (especially critical
words are reserved for Venice). In a similar vein, after the fall of Buda
(1541), Vetranović wrote Tužba grada Budima (‘Lament of the city of
Buda’, 492 verses), in which the conquered city relates its grief.

536
A Latin epigram by Fran Trankvil Andreis, Millos Pariseuich pugnat ex
prouocatione cum Bachota Turco (‘Miloš Parišević, accepting a challenge,
fights with Bakota the Turk’, hexameters, 21 verses), narrates a duel that took
place during the siege of Klis in 1537; Parišević is ‘of the Elysian fields’, and
the Turk ‘of the Orcus’. The Chronicon breve regni Croatiae (‘Short
chronicle of the Kingdom of Croatia’, Latin prose, 30 pages) by the
Franciscan friar Ivan Tomašić, covering the events from the death of Attila
the Hun in 453 to the year 1561, records the Battle of Krbava and its
‘beginning of disintegration of the country of Croatia’ in especially dramatic
tones, with key statements given in Croatian. The Pisam od Malte (‘Song of
Malta’, in Croatian, 526 8-syllable verses, published in Venice in 1655, 1699,
1724) must have been written soon after the lifting of the Ottoman siege of
Malta in September 1565; it is ‘a popular expression of belligerent Christian
propaganda’ (D. Dukić, Sultanova djeca, p. 76). A chronicle by Franjo
(Ferenc) Črnko, written after 1566 and before 1568, Die Geschichte zw Siged
im 1566 Jahr beschehen in chrabatisch Sprach beschriben (‘A history of
Siget in the year 1566, written in Croatian’; in Croatian scholarship
usually Podsjedanje i osvojenje Sigeta, ‘The siege and capture of Siget’, in
Croatian, 40 pages, translated into Latin in 1568), tells the story of the
famous, heroic, and ultimately tragic defence of Siget (Szigetvár) by Nikola
Šubić Zrinski. This is also the theme of the anonymous Pjesma o
Sigetu (‘Song of Siget’, fragmentary, 4 cantos, 377 surviving lines, mostly
11- and 12-syllable verses), with frequent mentions of the ‘damned Turks’,
and of the epic Vazetje Sigeta grada (‘The capture of the town of
Siget’, 1584, four cantos, 1056 12-syllable verses) by Brne Karnarutić, the
first epic in Croatian with a theme from recent history in which the dominant
role of the Turks is as unbelievers rather than as military foes (the siege of
Siget is an episode in a war of religion). Juraj Würfel, canon of Zagreb, wrote
a still unpublished Elegia in victoriam quam Georgius Drascouith habuit de
Turcis apud Glynam fluvium (‘Elegy on the victory over the Turks by Juraj
Drašković, at the river Glina’, 1567 or 1573); the original poem was
apparently composed in Greek. Antun Rozanović from Korčula left a stirring
first-hand testimony of a local success – the brave defence of Korčula by
citizens of the town against the galleys of Uluj Ali and Caracosa in August
1571, during Ottoman raids of the Dalmatian islands before the Battle of
Lepanto: Ulluzalis sive Occhialinus Algerii Prorex, Corcyram Melenam,
terra, marique oppugnat, nec expugnat. Relatio historica Antonii Rosenei ex

537
illustrioribus, et antiquioribus familiis eiusdem urbis, Archidiaconi, et Juris
Utriusque Doctoris, qui presens omnibus interfuit (‘Uluj Ali or Occhialì,
viceroy of Algeria, besieges Korčula on land and sea, but cannot take it. A
historical report by Antun Rozanović, archdeacon and doctor of both laws,
from one of the more distinguished and ancient families of the city, who
himself witnessed all the events’; 42 pages; at the end it includes two
poems, In Turcas oratio, ‘A prayer against the Turks’, 84 verses, elegiac
distiches, and In magna navali victoria – ‘On the great naval victory’, 136
verses, Sapphic strophes; a later version of the work, with a dedicatory epistle
to the Doge of Venice, Nicolò da Ponte, must have been written sometime in
1578-85). The defence is seen as almost miraculous. Anti-Turkish religious
overtones are much more prominent in the two poems than in the narrative
itself. The epic poem Razboji od Turaka (‘Battles with the Turks’, not before
1595, nine cantos, 1820 verses, 12-syllabic at the beginning, later 8-syllable
quatrains; a dedicatory epilogue to Marko Baseljić) by Antun Bratosaljić
Sasin from Dubrovnik chronicles battles, often using the same compositional
pattern (the poet meets a fairy, who tells him about the events) for precise
reports of military operations during the first two years of the Long War
between the Habsburg monarchy and the Ottoman Empire, from the battle of
Sisak (1593) to the fall of Győr (in Hungary, 1594). Near the end of
Bratosaljić Sasin’s epic, the fairy hopes for a Christian anti-Turkish alliance
led by the pope. Two events covered by Bratosaljić Sasin are also themes of
the anonymous Od Siska grada počinju verši od boja (‘On the town of Sisak,
here start the verses on the battle’, 66 irregular verses) and Počinje govorenje
od vojske od Janoka (‘Here starts the telling of the campaign of Győr’, 261
irregular verses). In the poem on Sisak, only the final lines present the
struggle as a war of religion, while the poem on Győr emphasises Turkish
cruelties and stresses God’s assistance to the Christian side. Another episode
from the same war is described in the anonymous Boj ili vazetje od
Klisa (‘The battle or the capture of Klis’, in Croatian, 178 12-syllable verses),
recounting the way in which the Christians, exhausted, insufficiently aided,
and riddled with internal dissent, were defeated by the well-organized
Turkish forces. A defeat of the Turks before Petrinja, on 11-20 September
1596, is the theme of the Latin Historia obsidionis Petriniae et
cladis Szerdarianae a reuerendo domino Nicolao Zelnicey, electo episcopo
Quinque ecclesiensi conscripta (‘History of a siege of Petrinja and defeat of
the serdar [Hafiz Ahmad Pasha], written by Nikola [Stepanić] Selnički,

538
appointed bishop of Pécs’; 14 pages, with a short note by Stjepan Medak
reporting the same event). The work begins with a vicious portrait of the
Turkish serdar, who at one point claims that ‘it is proper to the
Muḥammadan faith, and to the ancient Turkish tradition, to spare no one, nor
hold any promises, while their emperor is at war and in the field’.

Significance
Most Croatian anti-Turkish texts were written by people from Dalmatia or its
hinterland. The ambiguous position of Dubrovnik, which was independent
and pronouncedly Christian, but had to pay regular tribute to the Turks, found
expression both in the strongly anti-Turkish feelings of its poets (M.
Vetranović) and in the fact that their poems remained in manuscript. Texts by
authors from continental Croatia started to appear after the siege of Siget
(1567). Struggles around Sisak and Petrinja, fortresses commanded by priests
from the diocese of Zagreb, were prominent topics in the 1590s.

This corpus of anti-Turkish texts expresses, influences, and reinforces the

ideologeme of Croatia as an antemurale Christianitatis, ‘a bulwark of
Christianity’ (the phrase is confirmed for the first time, as pasteyen und
verpaw der cristenhayt, in a German letter from the Croatian nobility to
Emperor Maximilian I, in April 1494, after the Battle of Krbava; cf. Jurković,
‘Osmanska ugroza’, p. 54), a borderland defence zone where, over centuries,
the people selflessly hold back the much stronger enemy, ‘bleeding for the
sake of Europe’.

Manuscripts
MANUSCRIPTS
See the list of 13 manuscripts of Ivan Vitez (15th-17th century) in I. Boronkai,
‘Einleitung’, in I. Vitez de Zredna, Opera quae supersunt, Budapest, 1980,
pp. 12-13.

MS Milan, Biblioteca Ambrosiana – F 33 sup. cart. misc. XV, fols 12v-17

(Tideo Acciarini, Ad beatissimum Christianae religionis parentem)

539
MS Venice, Biblioteca Marciana – Lat. Cl. X. Cod. 174, 134 (Juraj
Divnić, Epistula ad Alexandrum VI Georgii Difnici Dalmatae episcopi
Nonensis)

MS Vat – Lat. 2939 (Ilija Crijević, Operum pars secunda)

MS Venice, Biblioteca Marciana – Cod. 217 membr. saec. XVI, a. 202, I l.

136 (L. XIV, CCXXV) (Franciscus Marcellus, episcopus Tragurinus,
Leonardo Loredano, de excursione Turcarum)

MS Budapest, University Library – H 46 (Fran Trankvil Andreis, Carmina)

MS Zadar, Znanstvena knjižnica [Research Library] – Varia Dalmatica, sign.

25290, ms. 617 (Fran Trankvil Andreis, Ludovik Paskalić, Carmina)

MS Venice, Biblioteca Marciana – Ital. cl. IX, 291 (Ludovik Paskalić,

autograph)

MS Dubrovnik, Knjižnica Male Braće [Library of the Monastery of the Friars

Minor] – AMB 1763

MS Vienna, Haus-, Hof- und Staatsarchiv – Hungarica, a. 1534, no. 19-21

(Damjan Beneša, autograph)

MS Split, Gradska knjižnica [City library] – M-35 (Frano Božićević Natalis,

autograph)

MS Modena, Biblotheca Estense – Ital. 710 fol. 251 (Petar

Cedulini, Discorso di Mons. Pietro Cedolini Vescovo di Lesina fatto alla
Santita di Nostro Signore Papa Clemente VIIIo per la difesa contro il
Turco l’Anno 1594)

MS Parma, Biblioteca Palatina – Carteggio Beccadelli, 1033

(‘Pietro Cedolini vescovo di Lesina, oratione per la difesa contra’l Turco’)

MS Vat – Urb. lat. 836, cc. 407r-v (‘Relation di Mons. Pietro

Cedolini Vescovo di Liesena dal present stato dell’Imperio Turchesco et
molti particolari degni di consideratione’)

540
MS Florence, Вibliotheca Nazionale di Firenze – Manoscriti Gino Capponi,
Cod. XXI (‘Orazione di Monsignor Pietro Cedolini, Vescovo di Lusina[!],
per la difesa contro il Turco 1593[!]’)

MS Cambridge, Trinity College – R. 4. 13 (nr. 646, cent. XVII) pp. 169-82

(‘Relatione de Mons. Pietro Cedolini Vescouo di Lesina del presente stato
dell’Imperio Turchesco [...] fatta al [...] Papa Clemente VIIIo 28 Jan. 1594’)

MS Copenhagen, Royal Library – Gl. kgl. Saml. 533 Fol; 534 Fol
(‘Relatione di M. Pietro Cedolini, vescouo di Lesina, del presente stato dell
imperio Turchesco al Papa Clemente VII, 1594’; another copy)

MS Zagreb, Arhiv zagrebačkoga kaptola [Archive of the Zagreb cathedral

chapter] – sig. Acta capituli antiqua, fasc. 99, nr. 89 (Nikola Stepanić
Selnički)

MS Budapest, National Library – Fol. Lat. 3606.II, fols 31-32r (XVII.) (Juraj
Würfel – Vurffel Georgius, Elegia in victoriam quam Georgius Drascouith
habuit de Turcis apud Glynam fluvium)

MS Zagreb, Nacionalna i sveučilišna knjižnica [National and University

Library] – R 4021 (Antun Rozanović – Rosaneo, Antonio, Corcyrae
Melaenae Opus)

MS Dubrovnik, Državni arhiv [State archive] – Fond obitelji Andrijić

(Ulluzalis sive Occhialinus, Algerii prorex, Corciram Meiaenam terra,
marique oppugnat nec expugnat. Relatio historica)

MS Zadar, Državni arhiv [State archive] – rkp 37, cart. misc. XVIII (Antonio
Rosano, Vauzalis sive Occhialinus Algerii prorex Corcyram Melaenam terra
marique oppugnat nec expugnat)

MS Dubrovnik, Knjižnica Samostana Male braće [Library of the Monastery

of the Friars Minor] – AMB 433, 409-10 (Antonii Rosanei Corcyre Melaene
Opus)

MS Zagreb, Nacionalna i sveučilišna knjižnica [National and University

Library] – R 3359 (Od Siska grada počinju verši od boja)

541
EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
C. Cippico, Petri Mocenici imperatoris gesta, Venice, 1477

T. Niger, Divina electio ac tempestiva creatio serenissimi principis veneti

Leonardi Lauretani. cum pronostico sui invictissimi principatus. Panegyris
P. Thomae Nigri Delmatae... in creati o ne fausta serenissimi principis veneti
Leonardi Lauretani, Venice, 1501

B. Zane, Oratio reverendissimi D. Archiepiscopi Spalatensis habita in prima

Sessione Lateranensis concilii, Rome, 1512

T.P. Andronicus, Hec continentur in hoc opusculo. Tranquilli Parthenij

Dalmate ad Deum contra Thurcas Oratio carmine heroico. Eiusdem Epistola
ad Clarissimum ac Nobilem virum Hieronymum de Croaria in Tapphain
vtriusque Juris Doctorem. Jtem Epigramma Viti Verleri: Dauid Rotmund
buchornensis: et Theoderici Spett Prepositi Stuchardiensis, Nürnberg, 1515
(VD 16 A 2804)

S. Posedarski, Oratio Stephani Possedarski habita apud Leonem decimum

pontificem maximum pro domino Ioanne Torquato comite Corbauie
defensore Crouacie, [Rome], [1516?]

T.P. Andronicus, Oratio Tranquilli Parthenii Andronici Dalmatae contra

Thurcas ad Germanos habita, Augsburg, 1518 (VD 16 A 2809)

542
K. Frangepán, Oratio ad Adrianum sextum pont. max. Christophori de
Frangepanibus, ves. seg. Modrusieque comitis etc., Rome, 1523

W. de Frangepán, Ain Oration oder Rede vor Roemischer Kayserlicher vnnd

Künigklicher Mayestaeten Churfürsten ... auff gegenwirtigem Reychßtag
allhie zů Augspurg versamblet durch ... Wolffgang Grafen von Frangepan ...
in Latein gehalten an dem ... Sanct Bartholomeus tag Anno 1530. Antwort so
der Durchleüchtigest ... Marggraff Joachim zů Brandenburg ... bald zů
Latein gegebenn hat. Alles ... verteutscht, Augsburg, 1530

W. de Frangepán, Oratio ad Serenissimum Carolum V Sacri Romani Imperij

Caesarem inclytum ac ad Illustrissimos et potentissimos Principes Romani
Imperii facta ex parte Regnicolarum Croaciae per Vuolffgangum de
Frangepanibus Comitem etc, Oratorem ipsius Croaciae, Augsburg, 1530

F. de Frangepán, Ein Oration des hochwyrdigsten Herrn Franciscen Graffen

von Frangepaen Ertzbischoff zu Calitschon vnd Bischoff zu Agran des
Hungerischen Koenigreichs Orator an Roe. Key. May. an Churfuersten
Fuersten etc. Lateinisch gestellet hernach zu gemeynem nutz verteutschet.
Gehalten zu Regenspurg am 9. Junij anno 1541, Nuremberg, 1541

F. de Frangepán, Eyn Oration vnnd Rede des hochwürdigsten in Gott vatters

herren Franciscen Grafen von Frangepaen Ertzbischoff von Calitschon vnd
bischoff von Agran des Hungerischen Künigreichs Orators an Roe. Kay. Mai.
Churfürsten Fürsten etc. lateinisch gestelet hernach zu gemainem nutz
verteutschet, Ingolstadt, 1541

F. de Frangepán, Oratio reverendissimi in Christo patris domini Francisci

comitis de Frangepanibus, archiepiscopi Colocensis et episcopi Agriensis,

543
oratoris regni Hungarie ad Caesarem, electores et principes Germaniae,
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bello suscipiendo contra Thurcos, Wien, 1541 (VD 16 A 2810)

C. Cippico, CORIOLANI CEPIONIS DALMATAE DE PETRI Mocenici

Imperatoris Gestis Libri tres. ITEM CONRADI VVENGERI Brixiensis De
Bello inter Sigismundum Archistrategum Austriae & Venetos Libellus.
PRAETEREA MICHAELIS Coccinij Tubingensis De Bellis Italicis Liber
unus, Basel, 1544

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(Cum praefatione Jacobi Gorscii)

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544
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EIVSDEM ARGVMENTI NONNVLLA alia ... addita sunt ... NVNC ITERVM
EDITA ET expositionibus breuibus illustrata, à IOACHIMO CAMERARIO
inclytae Reip. Norimb. Medico. ORATIO D.FRANCISCI COMITIS de
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545
Cardin. TVRCICAE orationes duae. ORATIO SENATORIA DE BELLO
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546
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into Croatian by an unknown translator)

547
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V. Klaić, ‘Pismo ninskoga biskupa Jurja Divnića papi Aleksandru VI, pisano
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548
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F. Kidrič, ‘Oblega Sigeta v sodobnem hrvaškem opisu’, Časopis za

zgodovino in narodopisje 9 (1912) 42-97

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arhiva 13 (1913) 214-19

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Dubrovniku’, Rad Jugoslavenske akademije znanosti i umjetnosti 212 (1916)
1-109

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povijest književnosti hrvatske 8 (1916) 1-62

S. Ivšić, ‘Podsjedanje i osvojenje Sigeta u glagoljskom prijepisu hrvatskoga

opisa iz g. 1566. ili 1567’, Starine Jugoslavenske akademije znanosti i
umjetnosti 36 (1918) 390-429

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Vjesniku kr. drž. arhiva u Zagrebu 3 (1928) 164-72

549
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hrvatske 29 (1968) 9-39

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srednjega vijeka, Zagreb, 1969, 82-4

550
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Zagreb, 1971, 43-82

F. Črnko, ‘Posjedanje i osvojenje Sigeta’, in M. Ratković (ed.), Opsada

Sigeta, Zagreb, 1971, 1-25

Ioannes Vitez de Zredna, Opera quae supersunt, ed. I. Boronkai, Budapest,

1980

V. Gligo (ed.), Govori protiv Turaka, Split, 1983 (facsimiles and Croatian
trans. of texts by F. Marcello, B. Zane, I. Statilić, F. Trankvil Andreis, J.
Divnić, S. Posedarski, K. Frankopan, V. Frankopan, F. Frankopan, P.
Cedulini)

L. Pasković, Sveti plamen, trans. R. Rotković and Š. Šonje, Titograd

(Podgorica), Montenegro, 1987

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veneziana in latino del Quattrocento: Filippo da Rimini, Francesco
Contarini, Coriolano Cippico, Padua, 1988

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551
V. Rezar, ‘Opsada Petrinje u spisu Nikole Stepanića Selničkoga’, in
Petrinjski zbornik 1, Petrinja, 1998, 29-49

P. Sella, Leone X e la definitiva divisione dell’Ordine dei Minori (OMin.). La

bolla ‘Ite vos’ (29 maggio 1517), Grottaferrata (Rome), 2001, p. 16

P. Berislavić, Lettere di principi = Litterae principum ad papam = Fejedelmi

levelek a pápának (1518-1578), ed. J. Bessenyei, trans. P. Kulcsár, G. Nagy,
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Zagreb, 2004, 9-251

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42 (2012) 191-214

Editions & Translations

Studies
N. Jovanović, ‘Antonio Fabregues o Krbavskoj bici’, Povijesni prilozi 41
(2011) 173-87

G. Čupković, ‘Zapis popa Martinca kao spomenik književnoga

djelovanja’, Umjetnost riječi 53 (2009) 1-27

552
K. Pajorin, ‘Antiturcica negli anni quaranta del’400. Le epistole di Francesco
Filelfo, di Poggio Bracciolini e di János Vitéz’, Camoenae Hungaricae 3
(2006) 17-28

I. Jurković, ‘Osmanska ugroza, plemeniti raseljenici i hrvatski

identitet’, Povijesni prilozi 31 (2006) 39-69

D. Dukić et al., Sultanova djeca, Predodžbe Turaka u hrvatskoj književnosti

ranog novovjekovlja, Zadar, 2004

D. Fališevac, Kaliopin vrt II, Split, 2003

N. Moačanin, Turska Hrvatska. Hrvati pod vlašću Osmanskog Carstva do

1791, Zagreb, 1999

N. Moačanin, ‘The historical fate of Croatia and Turco-Croatian relations in

the past’, in Tarıh Ara ș tirmalari Dergısı 4. 16.27 (1994) 243-55 XXX Is
this a journal article or a chapter in a book? XXX

M.D. Birnbaum, Croatian and Hungarian Latinity in the sixteenth century,

Zagreb, 1993

M. Franičević, Povijest hrvatske renesansne književnosti, Zagreb, 1983

M.B. Petrovich, ‘The Croatian humanists and the Ottoman peril’, Balkan
Studies 20 (1979) 257-73

M.B. Petrovich, ‘Croatian humanists and the writing of history in the

fifteenth and sixteenth centuries’, Slavic Review 37 (1978) 624-39

E. Hercigonja, ‘“Liber Judith” i Martinčev zapis “suprotiv Turkom” iz

Novljanskog II. Brevijara’, Radovi Zavoda za slavensku filologiju 12 (1971)
69-73

S. Cavazza, ‘Tranquillo Andronico e la guerra contro i Turchi: 1569-

1571’, Rivista di Studi Ungheresi 1 (1969) 21-39

E. Albrecht, Das Türkenbild in der ragusanisch-dalmatinischen Literatur des

XVI. Jahrhunderts, Munich, 1965

553
M. Popović, ‘Nekoliko podataka o pesniku Ludoviku Paskvaliću
(Pascale)’, Zbornik istorije književnosti Odeljenja literature i jezika Srpske
akademije nauka i umetnosti 2 (1961) 49-64

V. Foretić, ‘Turska opsada Korčule g. 1571’, Vesnik Vojnog muzeja 2 (1958)

5, 83-7

N. Žic, ‘Govor splitskog nadbiskupa Bernarda Zane u lat. Koncilu’,Obzor 55

(1934) 80-94

V. Lisičar, Obrana Korčule od Turaka 1571, Dubrovnik, 1934

A. Bacotich, ‘Delle rime volgari di messer Ludovico Paschale di Catharo

dalmatino’, Archivio Storico per la Dalmazia 2/8 (1926) 1-14; 2/9 (1926) 33-
6

M. Mesić, ‘Građa mojih razprava u “Radu”’, Starine Jugoslavenske

akademije znanosti i umjetnosti 5 (1873) 109-288, pp. 165-81, 186, 189, 192,
196, 223

M. Mesić, ‘Banovanje Petra Berislavića za kralja Ljudevita II’, Rad

Jugoslavenske akademije znanosti i umjetnosti 3 (1868) 1-64

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1450-1500, 1500-1550, 1550-1600
Thematic Region: Austrian Dynasty, Buda, Europe, Hungarian Kingdom ,
Hungary, Malta, Mediterranean, Rhodes
Related Historical People: Ferdinand II, Hungarians, Louis II of Hungary,
Matthias I Hunyadi, King of Hungary, Nicholas V , Pope, Ottomans, Paul III,
Pope, Pius II
Dynasty/Ruling elite: Austrian Dynasty, Catholic Monarchs, Habsburgs,
Louis II. King of Hungary and Bohemia, Ottomans
Genre & Source Type: Chronicles/Histories, Epics, Histories, Historiography,
Letters, Orations, Poetry, Prayers, Translation
Theme: Battle at Mohacs, Christian-Muslim warfare, humanism, Ottoman
conquests, Ottoman siege of Malta, Papacy, Sins of the Christians as the
cause of military defeats

554
Social History: Clergy, Conversion, Renaissance, Warfare
Christians: Catholics, Christians, European Christians, Franciscans
Muslims: Ottomans

Neven Jovanović
Cite this page

Jovanović, Neven. " Croatian anti-Turkish writings during the Renaissance." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General
Editor David Thomas. Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016
<http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-ii/croatian-anti-turkish-writings-during-the-
renaissance-COM_27785>

555
 Türkenbüchlein
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Türkenbüchlein
Turcica

Turcica

Date: 16th century

Original Language: Various

Description
The broad concept of ‘Turcica’ was established for a group of historical
sources in the bibliography of Carl Göllner (Turcica). This entry will give an
introduction to the Turcica printed in the German-Roman Empire with
reference to both the numbers given by Göllner and the Verzeichnis der im
deutschen Sprachbereich erschienenen Drucke des 16.
Jahrhunderts (‘German national bibliography for the sixteenth century’,
accessible online with links to the available digitalised copies). Here, both
bibliographies are also used to indicate the extent of distribution of each text.
However, it should be stressed that the numbers of several ‘editions’ of a text
can only be approximate, and many texts are also unregistered and scattered
in 16th-century compendia and omnibus volumes, so the corpus of knowledge
is flexible and fluid.

Newe Zeitungen, pamphlets and battle reports

556
Battlefield news and updated information about the Ottoman military and
diplomatic contacts between European powers and the Ottoman Empire were
disseminated through the new medium of pamphlets and single-leaf prints
called avvisi or Newe Zeitungen. The information came from private letters
and through the information channels of the European powers, especially
Venice (see Pertusi, Beck and Manoussacas, Venezia; cf. also
Meserve, ‘News’; Aulinger, ‘Kundschafterberichte’). The publication rate not
only of the Newe Zeitungen, but of all Turcica reflected war events – after
significant battles such as the Ottoman siege of Vienna in 1529 or the victory
of the Holy League in Lepanto in 1571, the numbers of all kinds of Turcica
increased notably (Göllner, Turcica, vol. 3, p. 19)

An example of a more comprehensive battle report is the official description

of the siege of Vienna in 1529 by the imperial secretary, Peter Stern
(Belegerung der Statt Wienn), which served as a pattern for many other
reports (Wien 1529; Sturminger, Bibliographie). In 1532, as the Ottomans
again marched towards Austria and besieged Güns, and Vienna feared a
further attack, the Warhafftige newe Zeitung von dem Türcken reported the
interrogation of a captured Turk about the Ottoman military strategy and
troops. In 1571, the Zeittungen, Von dem Grossen Christen Sieg, reported on
the Christian triumph of Lepanto, supplemented with a list of Christian and
Ottoman military commanders who were involved. Such battle reports often
stressed the atrocities committed by the Turks, as, for instance, at the
Ottoman capture of Pest in 1526: The Turks ‘burn and hew all people (…)’,
and decapitate girls and young women after raping them. ‘One cannot put
into words how much suffering and misery they spread: they act even more
dog-like and tyrannical.’ (Hernach volgt des Bluthundts (…) Gethaten, 1526).

Pictorial representations include the famous panorama of the Ottoman siege

of Vienna by Nikolaus Meldeman, various woodcarvings portraying
members of the Ottoman army by Hans Guldenmundt and five woodcarvings
of Charles V’s campaign in 1532 by Michael Ostendorfer (Wien 1529, pp.
59-71), along with many anonymous drawings with which the pamphlets
were often illustrated. (For images about the siege of Vienna, see
Sturminger, Bibliographie, pp. 337-49; for an analysis of the German Turcica
as part of media history, see the forthcoming PhD thesis by Yigit Topkaya,
University of Basel.)

557
Exhortatory writings and calls to war

This group of sources within the Turcica covers a wide range of topics. What
they have in common is the theme of the Turkish menace and the call for
united action by the Christian community against it.

The Türcken biechlein. Ain Nutzlich Gesprech (…) was published

anonymously in 1522 in Augsburg, Basel and Strasburg by a Protestant
author. After a preface calling Christians to the fight against the diabolical
Turks, the text is structured as a conversation between several characters
identified as a Turk, a gypsy, a Hungarian, an old hermit and the hermit’s
disciple. The debate covers the situation of many European powers and the
characteristics of their soldiers, and deplores the lack of Christian unity and
of obedience to the emperor and kings, the selfish behaviour of nobles, cities,
monopolistic guilds and, above all, clerics, and the pope’s intrigues. A sense
of the ‘common good’ (gemainer Nutz) is the leitmotif – absent in Christian
lands but practised by the Turks, and explaining both Christian misery and
Turkish victories – but the author is careful to counterbalance this motif by
also representing the Turks as tyrannical, cruel and treacherous, to ensure that
Christians would not wish to live under Ottoman rule.

In his Türcken Büchlein. Wie sich Prediger vnd Leien halten sollen (…), the
Lutheran theologian Johannes Brenz (1499-1570) presents the Turkish
menace within the older medieval narrative of Christian salvation history: in
accordance with the prophecy of Daniel, the (German-)Roman Empire is
interpreted as the last of four world empires before Judgement Day, and
obedience to the (German-)Roman emperor is presented as a divinely
ordained duty. The Turks have been sent by God as punishment for the
Christians’ sins of malice, lack of respect for God’s Gospel, heresy and vice,
against which preachers have a duty to proclaim the true message of the
Gospels. At the same time, the Turks are the enemies of God. The ambivalent
labelling of ‘the Turk’ as both the instrument and the enemy of God was
widespread, but was particularly debated among Protestants. Unlike Luther,
who in his early writings opposed war against the Turks, since God’s scourge
could be only met with penance, not with the sword (Ehmann, Luther, Türken
und Islam, pp. 227-29), Brenz takes fighting the Turks as a divine command.

558
Bernadin Türk (d. 1548), a Bavarian tradesman, refers in his writings to
information provided by the Hungarian embassy to the Ottoman Empire that
was led by Barnabas of Bélay in the 1510s. In his Getrewe vnd wolmeynende
kurzte erjnnerung (1542), Bernadin describes Turkish military training in
order to provoke the Diet in Regensburg to wage war against the Turks. In
another book, called Das der Türck ein erbfeind aller Christen weder traw
noch glauben halte (1542), Bernadin cautions Christian princes against
treatises with the treacherous Turks and lists six recent examples of the Turks
breaking agreements (Babinger, Zwei baierische Türkenbüchlein).

The New Türckenbüchlin (1558) of the otherwise unknown Simon Wolder

also laments Christian sins such as selfishness, greed, wrath, gluttony and
fornication, but then turns to presenting a detailed proposal for taxation of the
whole empire, including all clerical institutions and secular estates, and an
individual tax on everybody’s properties and incomes in order to raise an
army against the common enemy. Wolder also gives an account of how to
use the sum of 821,150,000 thaler that he calculated would be raised
(Wolder, New Türckenbüchlin, fol. C4v) for troops, supplies and weapons in
a joint Christian campaign against the Turks, to be led by the emperor. This
calculation, which took into account the economic performance of both the
political institutions and the population of the empire for the purpose of the
war against the Turks, was not unique but was presented in several pamphlets
with variations on the title Dies ist ein anschlag eines Zugs wider die
Türken (‘This is a tax assessment for a campaign against the Turks’, e.g.
Göllner, Turcica, vol. 1, no. 23, pp. 701-93, 762).

Johann Fickler (1533-1610), a Catholic lawyer and counsellor of the

Bavarian Duke Maximilian I, also judged in his Klagschrifft of 1595 that the
Turks were both an instrument of God’s wrath and the hereditary enemy of
Christianity. Instead of affronting Christians with a detailed list of their own
sins, Fickler praises Christians for their noble princes, honourable knights,
mighty cities and strong young people, who need further advice and comfort
in order to wage an effective war against the Turks. On the following 260
pages of his compendium, Fickler presents some of the classic Turcica that
were translated into German, mainly by Aeneas Silvio Piccolomini/Pope Pius
II (1405-64) and the Byzantine scholar Basilius Bessarion (1403-72), both
famous for their humanist speeches against the Turks (Döring, Rhetorik).

559
Sermons and prayers

Sermons on the Turks (Türkenpredigten) started with Luther’s Heerpredigt in

1529, inspired by the Ottoman siege of Vienna, and printed 17 times before
1601, the model for many Lutheran preachers to follow. For the 16th and
17th centuries, 97 Protestant (all Lutheran) and 35 Catholic sermons on the
topic of the Turks are known (Haag, Erbfeind).

The Lutheran theologian Esaias Heidenreich (1532-89), pastor and teacher in

Silesia, in his Zwölff Türcken Predigten, praises prayer and faith as ‘spiritual
armour’ against the Turks. Every Christian should know about the false
religion of the Turks and its history in order to distinguish light from
darkness. He warns war profiteers, idlers, insubordinate servants and vain
youth of their impending fate under the Turkish yoke if they continue to take
the Turkish menace lightly. The rise of the false prophet ‘Machomet’, cruel,
blasphemous and murderous, and the success of his followers in spreading
their false religion, show that the devil looks after his heretics, including
Anabaptists and Sacramentarians, enlisting clever but seriously misguided
people such as lawyers, nobles, educated burghers and artisans in order to do
so. Heidenreich draws on George of Hungary and Bartholomäus Georgie to
describe the miserable fate of Christians under Turkish rule. He discusses the
question of why God tolerates such evil by referring to the early Christian
martyrs, whose blood strengthened Christian doctrine and convinced people
of the true faith.

Although Lutheran and Catholic sermons from this time have many elements
in common, they combine and align them into different theologies and
concepts of social order. The balance between what is considered worldly or
spiritual also differs – for instance, the Protestant preacher Jacob Andreae
(1528-90), focussed only on spiritual matters while Urban Sagstetter (1529-
73), Catholic bishop of Gurk in Austria, judged war against the Turks a
patriotic duty. Protestant sermons framed the Turkish menace within an
apocalyptic scenario more often than Catholics (Haag, Erbfeind).

Prayers against the Turks were added to the sermons, and were also published
separately. Bishop Moritz von Sandizell (1514-67), author of two Catholic
prayers entitled Wider den laydigen Türcken, vnnd sein grausams fürnemen,
gemaine Gebet (1566), announces that every priest and preacher within the
560
bishopric of Freising should read the first prayer from the pulpit on every
festival. Priests should also see that their parishioners pray the second prayer
at home every day at noon when a bell (T ü rkenglocke) was rung, thus
encouraging Christians to remember the Turkish menace together. The first
prayer laments the sinful lives of Christians and their lack of unity in the right
faith, provoking the wrath of God. It asks God for forgiveness and help for all
who fight against the Turks ‘for our Christian faith, for us and our beloved
fatherland, the Holy Roman Empire’. The second prayer evokes the ‘rose-
coloured’ blood of Jesus Christ and asks that he might bestow peace and help
on Christian sinners against the ‘cruel Turks and all infidels’.

Travel reports and pictorial representations

The most widely published travel report about the Ottoman Empire that
appeared in the German-Roman Empire is that of George of Hungary, which
was printed 17 times (albeit in very different versions) in the 16th century.
Hans Schiltberger’s Reisebuch and the German translations of De ritu
Turcarum by Bartholomäus Georgie were both printed six times. The more
extensive description by Giovanni Antonio Menavino was also popular,
being printed five times in German and twice in Latin within the
compendium Chronicorum Turcorum by Philipp Lonicer. In the same league,
being printed twice in Latin and three times in German (all in Basel) is a text
by Antoine Geuffroy (probably not based on an actual journey); this was
originally published in French and reprinted five times together with an
English translation in Antwerp, Paris, Lyons and London (Geuffroy, Briefue
description). The three German editions of the French Navigations by
Nicolas de Nicolay complete the group of travel reports, with more than two
printings in the German speaking areas. Along with George of Hungary,
Schiltberger, Georgie and Menavino, this group is also dominated by the
experiences of authors who came to the Ottoman Empire as prisoners of war
(Höfert, Den Feind beschreiben, pp. 391-403).

In travel reports, statements about the Turkish menace were usually given in
the preface or another prominent place, though they often did not dominate
the whole text. The Hoffhaltung des Türckischen Keisers by (the otherwise
unknown) Antoine Geuffroy, however, is a good example of how the framing
could change with new editions and translations: the first French edition (as
well as the Latin translation of the first part about the court; cf.
561
Geuffroy, Aula Turcica) presents a description of the Ottoman court with its
many ranks (known especially from Italian travel reports, and mostly based
on a report by Benedetto Ramberti; cf. Höfert, Den Feind beschreiben, p.
210), customs, religion (including a report of Muḥammad’s Night Journey
through seven heavens, the miʿrāj), a history of early Islam, the Ottoman
Empire and Ottoman-European battles, with only a few headings
(Geuffroy, Briefue description de la court du Grant Turc). The German
translator Nicolas Höniger (1548-98) incorporated further material and
stressed the ethnographical structure of the text by inserting many headings
such as ‘fourth chapter about the impure and obscene life of Mahometh and
other nefarious and impudent vices’, thus also emphasising the theme of the
Turkish menace (Geuffroy, Hoffhaltung, p. 224).

Apart from this group of the most popular travel reports in print, there are at
least 50 reports written in the German-Habsburg context, most of them in
manuscript form (c. 70%) but some also in print. Half of these were authored
by travellers who were either members or companions of Habsburg
diplomatic missions to Constantinople, such as Melchior Besolt, Ogier
Ghislaine de Busbeck, Benedict Curipeschitz, Hans Dernschwam, Reinhold
Lubenau, Salomon Schweiger and Anton Verantius (Höfert, Den Feind
beschreiben, pp. 151-78, and see also the very extensive bibliography
covering archival sources in Müller, Prosopographie). Another text corpus is
the official diplomatic correspondence, consisting of both letters and, more
extensively, final reports written after the ambassadors returned to Vienna
(parts are edited in Gévay, Legatio; Gévay, Urkunden; and Nehring and
Bernath, Austro-Turcica). It is remarkable that one group of travellers is
missing among the authors of travel reports: traders and merchants usually
remained silent about their experiences, not only in Germany but also in Italy
and France.

Habsburg diplomatic missions also offered an opportunity for the creation of

pictorial representations, although these did not match the ethnographical
spectrum covered by the 68 beautiful copper engravings printed in the travel
report of Nicolas de Nicolay. The painter and engraver Melchior Lorichs (b.
1527) made two trips to Constantinople, where he created portraits of Sultan
Süleyman and his predecessors, the Persian ambassador Ismail, and three
Habsburg ambassadors. He also painted a detailed view of Constantinople in

562
a large tableau (ed. Mango and Yerasimos). The Flemish painter Pieter
Coecke van Aelst (1502-50) joined the embassy of Cornelis de Schepper in
1533, hoping to sell his tapestries, and depicted several scenes about ‘Turkish
manners’ (Les moeurs et fachons de faire des Turcz; Stirling-
Maxwell, Turks; Wien 1529, pp. 94-5). Hans Löwenklau could not afford to
publish his paintings of the Ottoman court and Ottoman everyday life, but
they are preserved in the Austrian National Library in Vienna (code 8615).

Historical works

Many Turcica report the history of early Islam and the Ottoman Empire
(often with the heading ‘about the origin of the Turks’) along with updated
information about European-Ottoman warfare. The more extensive texts were
usually based on Byzantine and Latin authors (Pertusi, ‘I primi studi’;
Meserve, Empires of Islam). In the late 16th century, Europeans started to be
interested in Ottoman historical works. For example, the French ambassador
and orientalist François Savary de Brèves (1560-1628) brought many
manuscripts from Constantinople to France. In the Habsburg context, the
move towards considering Ottoman sources took place with the works of
Hans Löwenklau.

Significance
The Turcica printed in the German-Roman Empire were interwoven with
other European Turcica by dense intertextual relations and numerous
translations from Italian and other European languages into German and
Latin, and vice versa. They played a part in the discourse on the ‘Turkish
menace’, which interpreted the Ottoman expansion as a fundamental danger
for the whole of Christianity. This discourse combined and shifted various
traditional Christian motifs, depicting a Christian community called into
action against the ‘Turks’ in various ways: to wage war, to unite and to do
penance. They instigated and integrated empirical information about the
Ottoman Empire, but they were also written without reference to this
information. The Turkish menace was, to a large degree, promoted by the
printing press invented by Johannes Gutenberg around the same time as the
Ottoman capture of Constantinople: among its very first products were
several Turcica (Döring, Türkenkrieg). Germany was the leading producer of
European Turcica in the 15th century: of 774 Turcica, 70% were printed in the
563
German-Roman Empire, while Italy produced 16%, including 8% in Rome
and 3% in Venice; the Netherlands produced 6%, England 3% and France
and the Swiss Confederation 2% each. (These calculations are based on
Döring [Türkenkrieg, p. 36], who also points to the fact that 70% of 15th-
century Turcica were ecclesiastical documents such as papal bulls and
indulgences.) In the 16th century, the share of German Turcica decreased with
the spread of the printing press in Europe, but Germany still held a leading
position: if Göllner’s bibliography is used as a statistical basis for the
16th century, around 45% of the 1788 Turcica whose place of printing is
known were published in the German-Roman Empire, 27% in Italy
(including 8% in Venice), 13% in France, 5% in the Netherlands, 3% in the
Swiss Confederation and less than 2% in England (Höfert, Den Feind
beschreiben, pp. 117-18). These figures do not reflect either relations of the
various European powers with the Ottoman Empire or the flow of
information; the latter was dominated by Italy, and especially Venice, which
leads the list for the number of travel reports about the Ottoman Empire (see
Yerasimos, Voyageurs, p. 10). Rather, they hint at the political situation in
the German-Roman Empire, where the Habsburg emperors promoted the
discourse about the Turkish menace in order to raise revenues at Diets from
the imperial estates whose territories were not threatened by the Ottomans.
These negotiations not only helped the Protestants to gain concessions from
the Catholic emperors, but also strengthened the whole political structure of
the empire, now consolidated by taxes (Schulze, Reich und Türkengefahr).
Another factor is the conflicts between Catholics and the various Protestant
denominations, which not only depicted the ‘Turkish religion’ as diabolical
heresy but also blamed their Christian opponents for heretical dogmas and
developed their various theologies in the light of the construct of the Turk
(Kaufmann, Türckenbüchlein; Ehmann, Luther, Türken und Islam).

Given the wide range of contexts within which the Turkish menace was
evoked to a greater or lesser degree, Turcica were found among many
different types of texts (travel reports and ethnographical compendia,
chronicles, battle reports, avvisi and pamphlets, exhortatory writings and calls
to war, theological tracts, speeches, sermons, prayers, songs, dramas, etc.).
Although modern categories are useful to give an overview, the texts often
overlap and should not be taken as genres of literature in the strict sense. The

564
texts mentioned in the various categories of sources serve as examples, and
are far from an exhaustive list.

Newe Zeitungen, pamphlets and battle reports

The pamphlets promoted the discourse of the Turkish menace. Thus, they
were more than mere descriptions of a threat to the population living within
the war zone: descriptions of the miserable lives of Christians under the
Turkish yoke attempted to prevent people from migrating to the Ottoman
Empire, an option that was particularly possible near borders (Lauer and
Majer, Osmanen und Islam). The pamphlets often call for both war and
penance (Ermanung an das Gemeyn Christenlich Volck) and treat allegedly
prevalent Christian sins as the causes of the Turkish successes
(Cantzler, Auss was ursache Gott dem Türcken verhengt hat).

The numerous Turcica registered by Göllner that are entitled avvisi, copia di
una lettera, (Wahrhaftige) Newe Zeitung or otherwise (Göllner, Turcica, vol.
2, index) are impressive. Another collection (the so-called ‘Wickiana’),
which has survived in Zurich in the Swiss Reform milieu influenced by
Zwingli and the more moderate attitude towards the Turks of Heinrich
Bullinger, shows, however, only minor concern with the Turkish menace.
Between 1559 and 1588, the clergyman Johann Jakob Wick collected in
Zurich single-leaf and illustrated broadsheets, pamphlets and other
publications, thus reflecting the horizon of interest of a contemporary. The
single-leaf broadsheets of the Wickiana report on comets, earthquakes,
monstrosities, crimes and historical events, witnessing to a deep sense of
crisis in face of all kinds of divine signs, among which the Turks, although
present, are not at all the most prominent: outside the Diets of the German-
Roman Empire and the Lutheran concern with the Turkish menace,
perspectives shifted (Harms and Schilling, Die Wickiana; see also the
digitalised collection available online at www.zb.uzh.ch).

Exhortatory writings and calls to war

Along with the sermons, this group of texts tends to reflect the internal affairs
of the German-Roman Empire rather than encounters with the Ottomans
beyond the battlefield. Many different approaches were adopted, covering a
wide spectrum.

565
Sermons and prayers

The Protestant sermons were mostly written in German with a broad audience
in mind, while a significantly higher proportion of the Catholic sermons were
in Latin, being aimed at educated circles and the ruling elites. All sermons
reflected the military events of the Habsburg-Ottoman conflict to a
significant degree, particularly during the siege of Vienna in 1529 and the
Ottoman campaigns in Hungary in the early 1540s and 1566, as well as at the
climax of the Long War of 1593-1606 (Haag, ‘“Erbfeind”’).

Travel reports and pictorial representations

To a large extent, these travel reports present information about the Ottoman
Empire and its everyday life gained through empirical observation. They can
thus be explored as sources for both Ottoman history and ‘entangled history’.
To describe them as ‘objective’, however, would be as misleading as it would
be for any historical source. The travel reports within the Turcica were part of
the ethnographical project of the 15th and 16th centuries to map the world by
establishing new rules for presenting ethnographical information in Early
Modern Europe: alongside the older pattern of describing a journey along its
itinerary (Schiltberger, Nicolas de Nicolay and the majority of the pilgrimage
reports), a new principle was developed that organised the information under
general topics, such as the court, religion, customs and manners
(Georgiewicz, Menavino, Geuffroy). This principle was formalised in the
Early Modern ars apodemica (art of traveling). The travel reports on the
Ottoman Empire particularly promoted the establishment of the
ethnographical field of ‘religion’. In doing so, they played a part in shaping
the modern concept of religion (Stagl, History; Asad, Genealogies;
Höfert, Religio Turcorum).

Manuscripts
EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
The references below are to Göllner, Turcica, 3 vols, Bucharest, 1961-78,
and Verzeichnis der im deutschen Sprachbereich erschienenen Drucke des
16. Jahrhunderts, Stuttgart, 1983-2000 [VD 16].

566
Newe Zeitungen, pamphlets and battle reports

Hernach volgt des Bluthundts, der sych nennedt ein Türckischer keiser,
Gethaten, Augsburg, 1526 (VD 16 B 5794 and several editions in other
places)

Peter Stern, Belegerung der Statt Wienn jm jar, als man zallt nach Cristi
geburt, tausent fünffhundert vnnd im newnundtzwaintzigisten beschehen
kürztlich angetzaigt, Vienna, 1529 (Göllner, no. 328; VD 16 S 8927)

Wahrhafftige newe Zeitung von dem Türcken, welcher eyn gefangner Türck
zuo Wien, auff die Fragstuck, so hierinn begriffen, geantwort, Augsburg,
1532 (VD 16 V 2753); Nürnberg, 1532 (VD16 2752)

Wolfgang Cantzler, Auss was vrsache Gott dem Türcken verhengt das er die
Christenheit so starck vberzeucht vnd it blutdurstiger hand, ermordt verfolgt
vnd hin wegkfürt, Ulm, 1532 (Göllner, no. 428; VD 16 C 787)

Ermanung an das Gemeyn Christenlich Volck, umb Gnad unnd Siegk widder
den Türcken zu pitten, unnd zuo unterhaltung des Christenlichen Heers jr
milte handtreichung gutwillig zuthun, s.l., 1542 (Göllner, no. 770)

Zeittungen, von dem grossen Christen Sieg (…) wider den Türcken, so bey
dem Porto le Panto (..) erhalten worden ist, Nuremberg, 1571 (VD 16 Z 327,
Z 328)

Exhortatory writings and calls to war

567
Türcken biechlein. Ain Nutzlich Gesprech oder Vnderrede etlicher personen
zu besserung Christlicher ordenung vnd lebens gedichtet, Augsburg, 1522
(VD 16 T 2233); Basel, 1522 (VD 16 T 2234, ZV 28152); Strasburg, 1522
(VD 16 T 2238; cf. Göllner, nos. 172-4; facsimile in Göllner, Chronica und
Beschreibung, pp. 121-64)

Bernadin Türk, Getrewe vnd wolmeynende kurtze erjnnerung von der

Türcken ordnung in iren Kriegen von Veldtschlachten, Nuremberg, 1542
(Göllner nos. 750, 751; VD16 T 2189)

Bernadin Türk, Das der Türck, ein erbfeind aller Christen, weder traw noch
glauben halte, klare beweysung aus den geschichten bißher inn kurtzen jaren
von jme begangen, Regensburg, 1542 (Göllner, nos. 752, 753; VD 16 T 2187,
T 2186;)

Johannes Brenz, T ürcken Büchlein. Wie sich Prediger vnd Leien halten
sollen, so der Türck das Deutsche Land vberfallen würde. Christliche vnd
nottürfftige vnterrichtung, Wittenberg, 1537 (VD16 B 7987); Magdeburg,
1595 (omitting ‘Türcken Büchlein’ in the title; Göllner, no. 2021, VD16 B
7990)

Simon Wolder, New Türckenbüchlin, der gleichen vor diser zeit nie getruckt
worden. Rathschlag, vnd Christliches bedencken, wie one sonderliche
beschwerde der Obrigkeit, auch der Vnderthanen, der Christenheit Erbfeind,
der Türck, (…) zu vberwinden were, Frankfurt, 1558 (Göllner, no. 998; VD
16 W 4178, W 4179, ZV 28400); Zerbst, 1595 (Göllner, no. 2073; VD 16 W
4180, O 969)

568
Johann Baptist Fickler, Klagschrifft Uber den Hochschädlichen Verlust der
Christenheit von dem laidigen Türcken (…) erlitten, Munich, 1595 (Göllner,
p. 2032; VD 16 K 222, B 2246, B 2258, F 979, K 217; with wrong date of
publication: VD 16 39:12370C, 12:206259Z, 12:206498D), also published
with the title Trewherztige Warnungsschrifft an die Stände zu Regenspurg
(…) wider den Türcken, Munich, 1598 (Göllner, no. 2330; VD 16 K 223, B
2247, B 2259, F 980)

Sermons and prayers

Martin Luther, Eine Heerpredigt widder den Türcken, Wittenberg, 1529 (VD
16 L 4914)

Moritz von Sandizell, Wider den laydigen Türcken, vnnd sein grausams
fürnemmen, gemaine Gebet, von der Cantzel zu diser zeit abzulesen, vnd im
Hauß täglich zugebrauchen, Dillingen, 1566 (VD 16 F 2616)

Urban Sagstetter, Gaistliche Kriegsrüstung, das ist, Christliche Buss vnnd

Trostpredigten (...) wider den Türcken, Vienna, 1567 (VD 16 S 1311)

Jacob Andreae, D reyzehen Predigen vom Türcken. Jn woelchen gehandelt

vürdt von seines Regiments Vrsprung, Glauben vnd Religion, Vom
Türckischen Alcoran vnnd desselben grundtlicher Widerlegung, Tübingen,
1568 (VD 16 A 2613)

Esaias Heidenreich, Zwölff Türcken Predigten vber den Neun vnd

siebentzigsten Psalm, Herr es sind Heiden in dein Erbe gefallen, Leipzig,
1582 (VD 16 ZV 7545)

569
Travel reports and pictorial representations

Antoine Geuffroy, Briefue description de la court du grant Turc. Et ung

sommaire du regne des Othmans avec un abregé de leurs folles superstitions,
ensemble Lorigine de cinq Empires yssuz de la secte de Mehemet, Paris, 1546
(MS Paris BNF – J 3325)

Pieter Coecke van Aelst, Les moeurs et fachons de faire des Turcz avecq les
regions y appartenents, ont esté au vif contrefaictes par Pierre Coeck
d’Alost, Antwerp, 1553

Antoine Geuffroy, Aulae Turcicae, Othmannicique imperii, descriptio, Basel,

1573 (Göllner, p. 1621; VD 16 G 1913 and others)

Antoine Geuffroy, Erste Theil der Hoffhaltung des Türckischen Keysers, vnd
Othomannischen Reichs (…), Basel, 1596 (Göllner, no. 2197; VD 16 G
1912); Basel 1573 (Göllner, no. 1621; VD 16 G 1910); Basel, 1578 (Göllner,
no. 1692; VD 16 G 1911)

Philipp Lonicer, Chronicorvm Turcicorvm, in quibus Tvrcorvm origo,

principes, imperatores, bella (...) et caetera huc pertinentia (...) exponuntur
(...), Frankfurt am Main, 1578 (Göllner, no. 1695; VD 16 L 2463)

A. Gévay (ed.), Legatio Ioannis Hoberdanacz et Sigismundi Weichselberger

ad Suleimanum I. imperatorem Turcarum, Bécsben, 1837

570
A. Gevay (ed.), Urkunden und Actenstücke zur Geschichte der Verhältnisse
zwischen Österreich, Ungarn und der Pforte im XVI. und XVII. Jahrhunderte,
3 vols, Vienna, 1838-42

W. Stirling-Maxwell, The Turks in 1533. A series of drawings made in that

year at Constantinople by Pierre Coeck d’Alost, London, 1873

C. Göllner (ed.), Chronica unnd Beschreibung der Türckey. Unveränderter

Nachdruck der Ausgabe Nürnberg 1530 sowie fünf weiterer ‘Türkendrucke’
des 15. und 16. Jahrhunderts, Cologne, 1983

K. Nehring and M. Bernath (eds), Austro-Turcica 1541-1552. Diplomatische

Akten des habsburgischen Gesandtschaftsverkehrs mit der Hohen Pforte im
Zeitalter Süleymans des Prächtigen, Munich, 1995

Melchior Lorichs, Melchior Lorichs’ Panorama of Istanbul, 1559, ed. C.

Mango and S. Yerasimos, Istanbul, 1999

Editions & Translations

Studies
K. Döring, Türkenkrieg und Medienwandel im 15. Jahrhundert. Mit einem
Katalog der europäischen Türkendrucke bis 1500, Husum, 2013

R. Lauer and H. Majer (eds), Osmanen und Islam in Südosteuropa, Berlin,

2013

571
J. Ehmann, Luther, Türken und Islam. Eine Untersuchung zum Türken- und
Islambild Martin Luthers (1515-1546), Heidelberg, 2008

T. Kaufmann, ‘Türckenbüchlein’ zur christlichen Wahrnehmung ‘türkischer

Religion’, Gottingen, 2008

A. Höfert, ‘Europe and Religion in the framework of sixteenth-century

relations between Christian powers and the Ottoman Empire’, in H.-Å.
Persson and B. Stråth (eds), Reflections on Europe. Defining a political order
in time and space, Brussels, 2007, 211-30

R. Müller, Prosopographie der Reisenden und Migranten ins Osmanische

Reich (1396-1611). Berichterstatter aus dem Heiligen Römischen Reich,
ausser burgundische Gebiete und Reichsromania, 10 vols, Leipzig, 2006

M. Kurz et al. (eds), Das Osmanische Reich und die Habsburgermonarchie,

Vienna, 2005

A. Höfert, Den Feind beschreiben. ‘Türkengefahr’ und europäisches Wissen

über das Osmanische Reich (1450-1600), Frankfurt, 2003

F. Fuchs (ed.), Osmanische Expansion und europäischer Humanismus,

Vienna, 2003

B. Guthmüller and W. Kühlmann (eds), Europa und die Türken in der

Renaissance, Tübingen, 2000

S. Yerasimos, Les voyageurs dans l’Empire ottoman (XIV-XVIème siècles).

Bibliographie, itinéraire et inventaires des lieux habités, Ankara, 1991

Verzeichnis der im deutschen Sprachbereich erschienenen Drucke des 16.

Jahrhunderts, Stuttgart, 1983-2000 [VD 16], continued as database
(www.bsb-muenchen.de/16-Jahrhundert-VD-16.180.0.html)

W. Schulze, Reich und Türkengefahr im späten 16. Jahrhundert. Studien zu

den politischen und gesellschaftlichen Auswirkungen einer äußeren
Bedrohung, Munich, 1978

572
C. Göllner, Turcica. vol. 1. Die europäischen Türkendrucke des 16.
Jahrhunderts 1501-1550, Bucharest, 1961; vol. 2. Die europäischen
Türkendrucke des 16. Jahrhunderts 1551-1600, Bucharest, 1968; vol. 3. Die
Türkenfrage in der öffentlichen Meinung Europas im 16. Jahrhundert,
Bucharest, 1978

Newe Zeitungen, pamphlets and battle reports

R. Lauer and H. Majer (eds), Osmanen und Islam in Südosteuropa, Berlin,

2013

M. Meserve, ‘News from Negroponte. Politics, popular opinion, and

information exchange in the first decade of the Italian press’, Renaissance
Quarterly 59 (2006) 440-80

W. Harms and M. Schilling (eds), Die Wickiana. Die Sammlung der

Zentralbibliothek Zürich, Tübingen, 1997-2005

R. Aulinger, ‘Kundschafterberichte über den Aufmarsch der Türken am

Balkan 1532’, Mitteilungen des Österreichischen Staatsarchivs 34 (1981)
147-73

Wien 1529. Die erste Türkenbelagerung. Katalog zur 62. Sonderausstellung

des Historischen Museums der Stadt Wien, Vienna, 1979

A. Pertusi, H.G. Beck and M. Manoussacas (eds), Venezia come centro di

mediazione tra Oriente e Occidente (secoli XV-XVI). Aspetti e problemi,
Florence, 1977

Göllner, Turcica

W. Sturminger, Bibliographie und Ikonographie der Türkenbelagerungen

Wiens 1529 und 1683, Graz, 1955

Exhortatory writings and calls to war

K. Döring, ‘Rhetorik und Politik im 15. Jahrhundert. Die “Türkenreden” und

ihre Verbreitung im Druck’, in G. Strack and J. Knödler (eds), Rhetorik in

573
Mittelalter und Renaissance. Konzepte – Praxis – Diversität, Munich, 2011,
429-53

F. Babinger, Zwei baierische Türkenbüchlein (1542) und ihr Verfasser,

Munich, 1959

Göllner, Turcica

Sermons and prayers

N. Haag, ‘“Erbfeind der Christenheit”. Türkenpredigten im 16. und 17.

Jahrhundert’, in G. Haug-Moritz (ed.), Repräsentationen der islamischen
Welt im Europa der Frühen Neuzeit, Münster, 2010, 127-49

C.M. Gigler, ‘“Gaistliche Kriegsrüstung”. Die Türkenpredigten des Gurker

Bischofs Urban Sagstetter (1566/67)’, in M. Kurz et al. (eds), Das
Osmanische Reich und die Habsburgermonarchie, Vienna, 2005, 213-27

Travel reports and pictorial representations

A. Höfert, ‘Die religio turcorum im Spannungsfeld zwischen

häresiologischer und ethnographischer Tradition’, in L. Grenzmann et al.
(eds), Wechselseitige Wahrnehmung der Religionen im Spätmittelalter und in
der Frühen Neuzeit, Göttingen, 2012, 279-99

R. Müller, Prosopographie der Reisenden und Migranten ins Osmanische

Reich (1396-1611). Berichterstatter aus dem Heiligen Römischen Reich,
ausser burgundische Gebiete und Reichsromania, 10 vols, Leipzig, 2006

A. Höfert, Den Feind beschreiben. ‘Türkengefahr’ und europäisches Wissen

über das Osmanische Reich (1450-1600), Frankfurt, 2003

J. Stagl, A history of curiosity, Chur, Switzerland, 1995

T. Asad, Genealogies of religion, Baltimore MD, 1993

Yerasimos, Les voyageurs dans l’Empire ottoman

Göllner, Turcica

574
Historical works

M. Meserve, Empires of Islam in Renaissance historical thought, Cambridge

MA, 2008

A. Pertusi, ‘I primi studi in occidente sull’origine e la potenza dei

Turchi’, Studi Veneziani 12 (1970) 465-552

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1500-1550, 1550-1600
Thematic Region: Europe, Germany
Dynasty/Ruling elite: Habsburgs
Genre & Source Type: Apocalypses, Chronicles/Histories, Comparative
religion, Cosmography, Diplomacy, Disputations, Ethnography,
Geographical Treatise, Heresiography, Imperial propaganda, Prayers,
Sermons, Songs, Theological Compendia, Travel Writing
Theme: Anti-Muslim polemic, captivity, Christian-Muslim warfare, Conquest
of Constantinople, Diplomatic relations, Intra-Christian polemic, Last
Judgement, religious reform
Social History: Churches, Clergy, Crusades, Embassies, Heresy,
Slaves/slavery

Almut Höfert
Cite this page

Höfert, Almut. " Türkenbüchlein." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David Thomas. Brill Online, 2016.
Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016 <http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-
ii/turkenbuchlein-COM_28268>

575
 Wallachian diplomatic correspondence
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts MANUSCRIPTS EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Wallachian diplomatic correspondence

-

Wallachian diplomatic correspondence

Date: 16th century

Original Language: Various

Description
This correspondence, only a minor part of which has survived, consists
mainly of letters sent by the rulers of Wallachia to the Kingdom of
Hungary, and to the Saxon towns of Kronstadt (Brasov) and Hermannstadt
(Sibiu) in southern Transylvania. A few letters were also sent to the kings of
Poland, the princes of Transylvania (after 1576) and the Habsburgs. Most of
the letters were written in Latin or Slavonic.

In addition to this correspondence with fellow Christian rulers, it is known

that the rulers of Wallachia also sent regular reports to the Sublime Porte.
Direct evidence for this is lost, though on one occasion the Habsburg
ambassador in Constantinople, Giovanni Maria Malvezzi, mentions that the
rulers of Wallachia and Moldavia used to send reports to the Porte written in
Turkish and that the governor of Transylvania, Giorgio Martinuzzi, adopted
the same practice (Džaja and Weiss, Austro-Turcica 1541-1552, p. 426, doc.
159). In this correspondence with the Porte, Turkish was sometimes used.

576
The contents of the letters closely reflect political and military events of the
times in which they were written. A ruler who enjoyed the support of the
Porte would always claim that the sultan was a legitimate ruler and that his
overwhelming power forced the Wallachians to submit to the Turks and even
side with them against other Christian rulers. Conversely, during periods of
tension, the Wallachian rulers would always try to argue that, despite their
tributary status, they were eager to throw off the Turkish yoke and fight
alongside their fellow Christians, and as a sign of good will they offered
information about the Ottoman armies and potential targets.

The language of the letters follows typical patterns of 16th century diplomatic
correspondence used during conflicts with the Ottoman Empire. The message
is usually full of Christian topoi and clichés about the Turks as mortal
enemies of the Christians. Like other Christian rulers, the rulers of Wallachia
present their country as a bulwark of Christianity, and argue that its survival
is vital for the whole of Christendom. In consequence, the Turks and their
Tatar allies are depicted as infidels, stubborn enemies of the cross and
Christianity. However, such sentiments are not elaborated, and there are no
details about Islam, even though a number of rulers spent periods in Ottoman
territories and had a good knowledge of Ottoman customs. Similarly, there is
hardly any explanation of the Ottoman ‘hatred’ towards Christians. Some
letters refer to the Ottomans as God’s punishment for the sins of the
Christians, while others emphasise the sultan’s ambition to conquer the whole
world.

Significance
The rulers of Wallachia in the 16th century were compelled by the closeness
of the Ottoman Empire to follow a very flexible policy in order to maintain
the autonomy of their country. Their diplomatic correspondence with
neighbouring Christian rulers sheds light on this flexibility as well as on their
perception of the Ottomans and their religion.

Despite the arguments they contain, the letters appear to have had very little
effect. Many contemporaries considered Wallachia an unreliable ally: at the
beginning of the ‘Long War’ between the Habsburgs and Ottomans (1593-
1606), the papal envoys did not visit the Wallachian prince, who was simply
regarded as the sultan’s puppet.
577
Manuscripts
MANUSCRIPTS
Many letters are scattered among various Romanian and foreign archives.

Most are preserved in two archives:

MS Brasov, Romania, National Archive Brasov, arh. orasului Braşov, col.

Stenner and col. Schnell

MS Sibiu, Romania, National Archive, Direcţia Judeţeană Sibiu (Sibiu

County Department), col. arh Universităţii Săseşti

EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS

Documente privitoare la Istoria Românilor 3/1, 1576-99, Bucharest, 1880

Documente privitoare la Istoria Românilor 2/2, 1451-1510, Bucharest, 1891

Documente privitoare la Istoria Românilor 2/1, 1451-1575, Bucharest, 1891

Documente privitoare la Istoria Românilo r 8, 1376-1650, Bucharest, 1894

Copies of Wallachian and Moldavian correspondence can also be found in an

earlier series, Documente privitoare la Istoria Românilor, culese, adnotate si
publ. de Nic. Densuseanu [Documents relating to the history of the
Romanians, collected, annotated and published by Nic. Densuseanu]:

578
I. Bogdan, Documente privitoare la relaţiile Ţării Româneşti cu Braşovul şi
cu Ţara Ungurească în secolele XV-XVI, Bucharest, 1905

S. Dragomir, ‘Documente nouă privitoare la relațiile Țării Românești cu

Sibiul’, in Anuarul Institutului de Istorie Națională din Cluj 4 (1926-7) 3-80

G.G. Tocilescu, 534 documente istorice slavo-române din Țara Românească

și Moldova privitoare la legăturile cu Ardealul 1346-1603, Bucharest, 1931

A.Veress, Documente privitoare la istoria Ardealului, Moldovei şi Ţării

Româneşti, I-V, Bucharest, 1929-32

P.P. Panaitescu, Documente slavo-române din Sibiu (1470-1653), Bucharest,

1938

I. Corfus, Documente privitoare la istoria României culese din arhivele

polone. Secolele al XVI-lea, Bucharest, 1979

Editions & Translations

Studies
M. Pakucs-Willcocks, Sibiu-Hermannstadt. Oriental trade in sixteenth
century Transylvania, Cologne, 2007

579
A. Pippidi, ‘La croisade au bas Danube. Les Roumains comme “rempart de la
chrétienté”’, in C. Delsol and M. Maslowski (eds), Histoire des idées
politiques de l’Europe Centrale, Paris, 1998, 77-89

S.M. Džaja and G. Weiss, Austro-Turcica 1541-1552. Diplomatische Akten

des habsburgischen Gesandtschaftsverkehrs mit der Hohen Pforte im
Zeitalter Süleymans des Prächtigen, Munich, 1995

M. Berindei and G. Veinstein, L’Empire Ottoman et les pays

Roumains, 1544-1545 . Ét udes et documents, Paris, 1987

Ș. Andreescu, Restitutio Daciae. Relațiile politice dintre Țara Românească,

Moldova și Transilvania în răstimpul 1526-1593, 2 vols, Bucharest, 1980-9

G. Mihăilă and D. Zamfirescu (eds) Literatura română veche (1402-1647), 2

vols, Bucharest, 1969

N. Iorga, ‘Îndreptări și întregiri la istoria românilor’, in Academia Română.

Memoriile Secției Istorice, s. 2, 27 (1905) 99-140

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1500-1550, 1550-1600
Thematic Region: Austrian Dynasty, Hungarian Kingdom , Moldavia,
Ottoman Empire, Poland, Transylvania, Wallachia
Genre & Source Type: Diplomacy

Ovidiu Cristea
Cite this page

Cristea, Ovidiu. " Wallachian diplomatic correspondence." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David
Thomas. Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016
<http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-ii/wallachian-diplomatic-correspondence-
COM_26445>

580
 Jeśliby Żydzi mieli zadawać naszoj
Hagary i Ismailu...
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts MANUSCRIPTS EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Jeśliby Żydzi mieli zadawać

‘If the Jews were to accuse our Hagar and Ismāʿīl….’

Jeśliby Żydzi mieli zadawać

Date: Late16th-early 17th century

Original Language: Polish (with Belarussian elements) written in Arabic
script

Description
The opening words of this religious polemic, ‘If the Jews were to accuse our
Hagar and Ismāʿīl…’, can be used as its title, though they belie its contents
because it is against the Christians as well as the Jews. It takes up the first
nine sheets of a 17th-century manuscript now in Leipzig University Library,
which is very likely to be an autograph because it does not contain the
mistakes characteristic of a copyist. Its ending has been lost, and perhaps also
its beginning. It comes from the Muslim Tatars of the former Grand Duchy of
Lithuania, though H. Fleischer, who was the first scholar to examine it,
judged it to be of Crimean Tatar origin. It is written in Polish with numerous
Belarusian elements, which would suggest that its possible origin was
somewhere in the territory of the present-day Hlusk, Luban and perhaps
Slutsk districts of Belarus. It may reflect Muslim attitudes to the Catholics in
the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (Rzeczpospolita Obojga Narodów) at

581
the time of the Counter-Reformation, who not only wrote anti-Muslim
pamphlets, such as Czyżewski’s Al-furkan, but also acted violently towards
Muslims.

The author first addresses the ‘genealogical question’, which was very
important for Muslims. He proves that Abraham (Ibrahim) and Hagar were
properly married, and goes on to refer to the vicious behaviour of the female
‘ancestors’ in the Old Testament, mentioning only the four women included
in the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1:1-17, Tamar, Rahab, Ruth and the
wife of Uriah. This is also touched on in specifically anti-Christian Tatar
works (see the entry Skąd poszły bałwany, ‘Whence the idols have arrived’).

The author goes on to discuss the topic of ritual purity, bathing and
prostration during prayer. He appeals to those who do not keep these
obligations, though without specifying whether he is referring to fellow
Muslims or to Christians (and Jews).

The author supports his arguments with quotations and paraphrases from the
Polish translation of the Old Testament made by Szymon Budny, published
in 1572. Budny was a member of the Polish Brethren/Unitarians, known in
the Commonwealth as ‘the Arians’ because they did not regard Jesus as the
Son of God. This explains why the author would choose this translation.

Significance
This original creation of the Tatars of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania
reflects both features of their own culture and the cultural context in which it
was written. It certainly emerges from a synthesis of different cultural
elements, and shows the deep influence of the Slavic-Christian environment
on the Tatar-Muslim population. It is unclear how widely it was known and
used.

Manuscripts
MANUSCRIPTS
MS Leipzig, University Library – signature B.OR.280, sheets 1-9 (17th
century)

582
EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
G. Miškinene, ‘Polemika mezhdu musul’manami i iudei͡ami (na materiale
arabskoalfabitnykh rukopiseĭ litovskikh tatar serediny 17 v.)’, in S. Temčinas
(ed.), Krakowsko-wileńskie studia slawistyczne. Seria poświęcona
starożytnościom słowiańskim, Krakow, 1997, vol. 2, pp. 234-49

G. Miškiniene, Seniausi lietuvos totorių rankraščiai, Vilnius, 2001, pp. 50-4,

214-18, 248-9

Editions & Translations

Studies
Miškinene, ‘Polemika mezhdu musul’manami i iudei͡ami’

A.K. Antonovich, Belorusskie teksty, pisannye arabskim pis’mom, i ikh

grafiko-orfograficheska ija sistema, Vilnius, 1968

H.O. Fleischer and F. Delitzsch, Catalogus librorum manuscriptorum qui in

Bibliotheca senatoria civitatis Lipsiensis asservantur. Codices orientalium
linguarum, Grimae, 1838, pp. 450-1

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1550-1600, 1600-1650
Genre & Source Type: Biblical commentary, Polemics, Refutations
Theme: Anti-Catholicism, Anti-Jewish polemic, Muslim exegesis of the
Bible, Polemic, Prophecy, Purity/Impurity, Rituals and Customs, Scriptural
exegesis

Iryna Synkowa & Michail Tarelko

Cite this page

583
Synkowa & Michail Tarelko, Iryna. " Jeśliby Żydzi mieli zadawać naszoj Hagary i Ismailu...." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 -
1900. General Editor David Thomas. Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016
<http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-ii/jesliby-zydzi-mieli-zadawac-naszoj-hagary-i-
ismailu-COM_26303>

584
 Kiedy Jezusa męczono
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts MANUSCRIPTS EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Kiedy Jezusa męczono

‘When Jesus was tortured…’

Kiedy Jezusa męczono

Date: Late 16th or early 17th century

Original Language: Polish (with Belarussian elements) written in Arabic
script

Description
This text has survived in five Tatar manuscripts from the former Grand
Duchy of Lithuania, all of them now in private collections. Three are dated
(1847, 1898 and 1934); the other two have no colophons but come from the
first part of the 19th century. The text is relatively short and fills three or four
pages in the various manuscripts.

The text begins with a commentary on Matthew 27:46: ‘And about the ninth
hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is
to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?’ The author argues
that Jesus was a prophet but not God, because he was tortured against his
will. Following this, the author writes that if somebody asks who is
better, Jesus or Muḥammad, the answer must be given: ‘They are both
followers of God, but Immanuel is better.’ Following this, the author argues
that Immanuel is Muḥammad.

585
The author explains that God gave four alphabets and books, the first to
Moses in Hebrew, the second to David in Greek, the third to Jesus in Latin
and the fourth to Muḥammad in Arabic, which was Chaldean, the original
language spoken by Adam and Eve. Immanuel is the one who was to be
given the original alphabet, and would imitate the first prophets, who
believed in one God, were circumcised, made prostrations, fasted during
daylight hours and did not eat pork.

Significance
This text provides a unique exegesis of the Bible by the Tatars of the former
Duchy of Lithuania. The Muslim author sees it as important to identify the
biblical Immanuel, referred to in the Book of Isaiah,
with Muḥammad, because the identification of Immanuel with Jesus was so
central in Christian theology. In doing this, the Scripture to which the author
appeals must be understood as the Bible, not the Qur’an, because only the
former had value in disputes with Christians. Such an argument could only be
made as part of deep Muslim-Christian reciprocal influence.

The popularity of this work among the Tatars is attested by the existence of
copies made much later, at least one known to be as late as 1934.

Manuscripts
MANUSCRIPTS
The five manuscripts known to contain this work remain in private
collections and have not been catalogued.

EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS

M. Tarėlka, ‘Kali Ezusa katavali… (religijna-palemichny tėkst z rukapisnaĭ
spadchyny belaruskikh tataray)', in M. Lewicka and C. Łapicz (eds), Dialog
chrześcijańsko-muzułmański. Klucz do wspólnej przyszłości, Toruń, 2012,

586
235-48, pp. 237-41 (edition of the 1847 manuscript copied by Mustafa
Szahidewicz with Belarusian trans.)

Editions & Translations

Studies
Tarėlka, ‘Kali Ezusa katavali…’

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1550-1600, 1600-1650
Genre & Source Type: Biblical commentary, Proofs of Prophethood
Theme: acculturation, Biblical predictions of Muhammad, Biblical Prophets,
Christology, Divine sonship of Jesus, Incarnation, Muslim exegesis of the
Bible, Muslim portrayal of Christ
Social History: Christian influence on Islam

Iryna Synkowa & Michail Tarelko

Cite this page

Synkowa & Michail Tarelko, Iryna. " Kiedy Jezusa męczono." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David
Thomas. Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016
<http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-ii/kiedy-jezusa-meczono-COM_26307>

587
 Skąd poszły bałwany
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts Manuscripts Editions
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Skąd poszły bałwany

'Whence the idols have arrived'

Anonymous - writings of Lithuanian Tatars

Date: Late 16th-early 17th century

Original Language: Polish (with Belarussian elements) written in Arabic
script

Description
The collection of texts ‘Whence the idols have arrived’ from MS P97 in the
Central Scientific Library, National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Minsk,
consists of four polemical works by various authors. The texts together take
up 61 pages of the manuscript.

The collection has a preface that briefly outlines the themes of the main
works, as follows: the companions (of God) and acquired gods, the target of
the first and second works; the spread of pagan cults in Israel and the struggle
of king Yoshiyahu (Josiah) against the Gentiles, the subject of the third work;
the opposition of believers in God to unbelievers, the subject of the fourth
work.

In the first work, the author defends the idea of the pure monotheism and
rejects any biblical basis for the doctrine of the Trinity. He begins by
criticising the doctrine of the Trinity and the divinity of Jesus on the basis of

588
quotations from the Bible, and goes on to criticise Christian exegesis of
verses from the Old Testament such as Isaiah 7:14 and 9:6, and Psalm 110,
which have traditionally been interpreted as predictions of Jesus as Messiah.
The work ends with an account of the Council of Constance (1414-18), at
which Jan Hus and Jerome of Prague were condemned for heresy. This
appears to be an addition.

The second work discusses the Hebrew word elohim. The author shows that it
has different meanings in the Old Testament, such as ‘God’, ‘angel’, ‘judge’,
‘king’ and ‘false gods’, and is even used for created beings, such as ‘judge’,
‘angel’, ‘prophet’, ‘nobleman’, ‘hero’ and ‘knight’. His purpose is to prove
that the reference in Isaiah 9:6, often understood as ‘mighty God’, is not to
God but to a knight and redeemer, and he names some heroes who could be
described in this way: Barak son of Abinoam, Gideon and Samson. By doing
this, he severs any connection between the verse and Jesus Christ.

The third work comprises three parts, all connected with King Yoshiyahu
(Josiah). The first is about the healing of King Hizkiyahu (Hezekiah),
Yoshiyahu’s great-grandfather, and the prophecy of Isaiah (9:5-6, 11:1-3),
which the author argues is about the birth of Yoshiyahu, not about Jesus. The
second part is about Yoshiyahu’s struggle against paganism and his renewal
of the Passover feast, and argues that Isaiah 9:5-6 and 11:1-3 more naturally
relate to him than to Jesus. The third part is about sinning and acts of
disobedience, including idolatry, and God’s punishment for them. The author
illustrates his argument by referring to Adam and Eve, Saul and Yoshiyahu,
who were all punished for disobedience.

The fourth work is about Ismāʿīl (Ishmael). The first part is about the noble
origins of Ismāʿīl, the legendary ancestor of the Arabs, and the second shows
that Psalm 110 is not about Jesus but about Abraham.

These four works are clearly independent of one another. This can be seen
from the different interpretations they give, from the wording of their
quotations from the Bible, and from the language they use, which is a variant
of the Polish literary language that existed in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania,
what can be called Belarussified Polish. The presence of archaisms suggests a
date between the end of the 16th century and the middle of the 17th.

589
Most quotations from the Bible (about 140 verses from the Old Testament
and about 20 from the New Testament, together with the Wisdom of
Solomon and Ecclesiasticus) are from the translation by Symon Budny
published in 1572. However, the quotations from Psalm 110 in the first and
fourth works are not directly from this translation, but from a source that
makes use of it and that may be called ‘The unknown comment on Psalm
110’. In addition, a fragment of Psalm 110:26 and the gloss on it from the
Brest Bible of 1563, and also a quotation from the translation of Psalms by
Jan Kochanowski (published in 1579) can be identified in the first work. It is
also possible that the author of the first work knew the Book of Adam, a work
that was translated into Polish by Krzysztof Pussman and published in 1543.

The use of the translation of the Bible by Symon Budny in all four works
means that they must all have been written after it was published in 1572.
While they may each have been individually composed before the end of the
16th century, the references in the opening preface and in the fourth work to
external pressures on the Muslim communities and their debates with
Christians make the 17th century the most likely period in which the
collection was made. This was the period when the Counter-Reformation
exerted strong pressure, and when libellous anti-Muslim works were
common.

There can be no doubt about the Muslim identity of the compiler-editor of the
collection as a whole, or of the author of the fourth work, and this is probably
also true of the authors of the first and second works. The origin of the third
text is less clear, though Muslim wording is detectible there.

It is noteworthy that none of the authors used any Muslim sources, but only
the Bible. In all the works, there are traces of a certain Jewish or
Arian/Unitarian influence that might have permeated as part of material taken
from earlier sources. It seems that the interpolation at the end of the first
work is a re-shaping of an unknown source of Protestant or Hussite origin.

The comparison of these polemical works with other known sources suggests
occasional reworking of earlier material. This shows that the four works were
not hastily written, but carefully composed as reflective works of apology
and polemic.

590
Significance
‘Whence the idols have arrived’ bears little resemblance to any traditional
Muslim works; it is full of the atmosphere of the European Renaissance and
Reformation. The various influences detectable in the four works and the
authors’ knowledge of numerous sources clearly show their education and
their full participation in the social and cultural movements of the time. The
works shed light on the changes that were taking place within the Muslim
community under the influence of the new advances in intellectual life, and in
particular on the formation of a Tatar-Muslim elite, like its Christian
equivalents, that was capable of sophisticated reflection and argument.

Since the works were written in Arabic letters, they were not accessible to
Christian readers and potential opponents. So the collection was probably not
intended for direct polemics, but rather for fellow Muslims who could use it
in debates if necessary. In fact, the collection is most appropriately seen as
intended to give Muslim readers moral support and to strengthen their faith.

‘Whence the idols have arrived’ is undoubtedly a very valuable source for the
study of inter-religious relations, influences between ethno-cultural groups,
and spiritual life in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 16th and 17th
centuries. Not only do these texts contain interesting information in
themselves, but they also raise important questions, not least regarding the
kind of education that was open to Tatars in the Grand Duchy, who within
their own community had access to no more than elementary religious
education and literacy.

Manuscripts
Manuscripts
MS Minsk, National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Central Scientific
Library – P97, fols 5r-18r and 25r-41v (late 18th century; lacks colophon)

Editions

591
M. Tarėlka and I. Synkova, Adkul’ paĭshli idaly. Pomnik rėligiĭna –
palemichnaĭ litaratury z rukapisnaĭ spadchyny tataraŭ Vi͡alikaha Kni͡astva
Litoŭskaha, Minsk, 2009

Editions & Translations

Studies
Tarėlka and Synkova, Adkul’ paĭshli idaly

I. Synkova, ‘Otrazhenie antitrinitarnoĭ polemiki v literature tatar Velikogo

kni͡azhestva Litovskogo’, in Orient v obshchestennoĭ tradit͡sii Velikogo
kni͡ashestva Litovskogo: tatary i karaimy, Vilnius, 2008, 223-32

M. Tarėlka, ‘Da pytanni͡a ab ͡tsytatakh z Biblii S. Budnaha i Brėst͡skaĭ Biblii ŭ

rukapise P97 z kalekt͡syi T͡sėntral’nay navukovay biblii͡atėki NAN Belarusi’,
in Gistoryi͡a vydavet͡skaĭ dzeĭnastsi y Pol’shchy i Belarusi y 16-20
stagoddziakh, Minsk, 2003, 13-16

M. Tarėlka, ‘Pra naradzhėnie Izmaila’, in Mechety i mizary tatar Belarusi,

Litvy i Pol’shi. Materialy VIII mezhdunarodnoĭ nauchno-prakticheskoĭ
konferentsii, Navahrudak, 2002, 162-64

Keywords
Chronological Category: 1550-1600, 1600-1650
Genre & Source Type: Apologies, Biblical commentary, Polemics
Theme: acculturation, Anti-Catholicism, Apocryphal Bible books, Biblical
Prophets, Christology, Divine sonship of Jesus, Falsification of scripture,
Messianism, Muslim anti-Jewish Polemic, Muslim exegesis of the Bible,
Muslim portrayal of Christ, Muslim writings on Judaism, Prophecy,
Rewritten scripture, Scriptural exegesis
Social History: Christian influence on Islam, Renaissance
Christians: Arians, Catholics

Iryna Synkowa & Michail Tarelko

Cite this page

592
Synkowa & Michail Tarelko, Iryna. " Skąd poszły bałwany." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David
Thomas. Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016
<http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-ii/skad-poszy-bawany-COM_26297>

593
 Shezhere Bashkir plemeni Jurmaty
Article Table of Contents
1. Description
2. Significance
3. Manuscripts MANUSCRIPTS EDITIONS AND TRANSLATIONS
4. Editions & Translations
5. Studies
6. Keywords

Shezhere Bashkir plemeni JurmatyIstorija aula Murdash i sosednych aulov

‘Chronicle of the Bashkirs from the tribe of Yurmaty’, ‘The Shezhere
lineage’Shezhere of the tribe of Yurmaty; , History of the Aul Murdash and
neighbouring Auls

Shezhere Bashkir plemeni Jurmaty

Date: 16th-19th centuries

Original Language: Turkic in Arabic letters

Description
The Shezhere are one of the most important sources on the ethnological
history of the Bashkirs, who live mostly in the southern Urals. They speak a
Turkic language, and until the 19th century they maintained a partly nomadic
existence. Quintessentially, the Shezhere are genealogical trees of individual
genealogical groups, containing all members of the male line. With the
gradual spread of Sunnī Islam among the Bashkirs, complete by the
15th century, and with the acquisition of Arabic writing, these genealogies
were named after the Arabic word shajara (‘tree’).

Knowledge about an individual’s family line was passed down from

generation to generation, especially through elders or the headman of a
group. Some Shezhere also included important events from the lifetime of
particular individuals, taking the form of a chronicle. From the 16 th century,
Shezhere began to be written down, being added to as generations continued.

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The authors are largely unknown, though they were usually mullas, and
dating applies only to the time of the first written compilation. By the
beginning of the 20th century, with changed ways of living among the
Bashkirs, this process of continual compilation came to an end. Most extant
Shezhere are copies from the 19th century.

Shezhere are divided into enumerating (nominal’nye), consisting of lists of

names in the form of a table or a text, and narrative (narrativnye), recounting
historical events in chronicle form.

In most of the Shezhere, the acceptance of the supremacy of the tsar in the
middle of the 16th century has a central place, as a far-reaching event in the
history of the Bashkirs. Two Shezhere of the Yurmaty, a kin group that had
been settled since the 15th century in the south of today’s Republic of
Bashkortostan in the region of the towns Sterlitamak and Ishimbai, are
particularly significant for the continuing history of relations with Russia.

Shezhere Bashkir plemeni Jurmaty (‘Shezhere of the tribe of Yurmaty’) is

one of the oldest known Bashkir Shezhere. It was written down for the first
time in the second half of the 16th century by a mulla named Bakyi at the
dictation of the headman of the Yurmaty, Tatigas-Bii (d. 1564/65). However,
it is believed that it was derived not only from oral tradition and memory, but
also from earlier written sources. It has been copied several times, though the
original text does not appear to have been modified in this process. It can be
found in two copies: the first, from the end of the 19th century, was published
in 1927 (Miras, ‘Shezhere Tatigas-Bija’), and the second, from the beginning
of the 20th century, was published in the canonical edition of Rail’
Gumerovich Kuzeev (Kuzeev, Bashkirskie Shezhere; references that follow
are to this edition). It was Kuzeev who gave it the title by which it is known
today.

In the usual manner, the earliest events in this Shezhere are entangled with
Bashkir legends and myths, though following these for the most part are
narratives that relate to identifiable historical events from pre-Russian times.
The last part (pp. 33-4) tells about the acceptance of the rule of the tsar and
the relationship between the Bashkir and the Russians. It narrates that after
Ivan IV had conquered the Khanate of Kazan’ in 1552, he sent envoys to the
Bashkir kin groups to order the Bashkir to acknowledge the tsar’s
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sovereignty, but to guarantee them the right to their land, religion and
customs. The Shezhere goes on to tell how Tatigas-Bii, together with other
headmen of the Yurmaty, went to Kazan’ and Moscow and gave obeisance to
the tsar and in return received the title murza. He promised to pay a yearly
tribute in kind (jasak), so that the Bashkirs could freely possess their land and
practise their religion. The Shezhere ends with the death of Tatigas-Bii and an
enumeration of all the rulers from Ghenghis Khan.

Another Shezhere of the Yurmaty, first published in 2002 (Bulgakov and

Nadergulov, Bashkirskie rodoslovnye), tells of the time after the
acknowledgment of Russian sovereignty. The manuscript of this account is a
copy from 1909 without a title (the edition has the title Istoriia aula Murdash
i sosednykh aulov, ‘History of the Aul Murdash and neighbouring Auls’). It
tells mainly of the events of the 18th and 19th centuries, when the Bashkir
lands were further incorporated into the Russian empire, and the Bashkirs
came under pressure to turn from a nomadic to an agrarian way of life.

A specific aspect of this process of incorporation was the issue of religion.

The Shezhere tells how, before the reign of Catherine the Great (1762-96) the
Muslim Bashkirs were forbidden to practise their religion freely, and the
building of new mosques was greatly restricted (Bulgakov and Nadergulov,
Bashkirskie rodoslovnye, p. 99). This policy of Russian rulers derived from
missionary activities that had been growing more active since the time of
Peter the Great (r. 1682-1725), founded on a move to modernise the Russian
Empire towards a regulated state with a religiously homogenous society. This
resulted in riots among the Bashkir through much of the 18th century, mainly
against settlement of non-Bashkir groups in the pastures of Bashkir kin
groups and increasing taxes, the closure of mosques as places of assembly
and the dismissal of religious leaders, who in parts were supporting the riots.
The culmination of this unrest came during the reign of the Elizabeth (1741-
61) with the destruction of mosques, though mainly in the middle Volga
region and not so much in the Urals. Catherine the Great’s edict of religious
tolerance in 1773 changed the relationship between the state and Islam. The
Shezhere tells that Catherine gave ‘us, the Muslims, freedom’ (p. 99).

This Shezhere also tells of the foundation of the Orenburg Clerical Muslim
Assembly in 1788 (dated 1777 in the text, p. 99). Its chair, and therefore the
spiritual head of Russian Muslims, was a mufti appointed by a Russian
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official, and one of its tasks was the organisation of Muslim congregations in
the empire. In this way, a sort of superior authority was created, which was
highly untypical for Islam but which would ensure government control of
religious dignitaries.

The Shezhere gives the names of all the muftis from the foundation of the
Assembly until the end of the 19th century. During the office of the last of
these occurred some ‘discomforts’ (to use the wording of the text), measures
employed to terminate customs that from the point of view of the authorities
were outdated, such as marriage for boys at 12 and girls at 18. In addition, the
authorities tried to bring the congregations under their direct control through
compulsory formal Russian education for mullas, and tests of their
knowledge of Russian. Indeed, the examination that a mulla had to pass in
order to receive his ukaz was in Russian. This may also be seen as part of the
policy of increasing Russification of the whole empire in the second half of
the 19th century.

The last part of this Shezhere describes a survey of land by Russian officials,
and the sale of Bashkir common land that frequently followed (pp. 100-1). It
ends with a list of the family of the Aul and a description of their family
connections.

Significance
When approached critically and compared with other sources and research,
these Shezhere yield a multitude of historical and ethnological information.
With regard to Russian supremacy over the Bashkirs, they mirror general
policies and some of the features of the gradual integration of the region of
Bashkiria into the Russian Empire from the mid-16th to the end of the
19th century.

Practically all the Shezhere acknowledge Russian sovereignty and the

conditions under which it was enacted in the second half of the 16thcentury:
mainly the right of the Bashkirs to own and make use of their land and freely
exercise their religion, in return for payment in kind. This model of rule,
based on the Russians deriving economic profit from the region without
interfering too much with Bashkir internal affairs, continued into the second
half of the 17th century. It changed under Peter the Great with the increasing
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trend towards integrating the region more closely into the empire, which
resulted in interference in the internal affairs of Bashkir groups. This conflict-
ridden process was noted by individual Shezhere, including the ‘History of
the Murdash Aul and neighbouring Auls’.

As sources written by the Bashkirs themselves and not about them, the main
historical significance of the Shezhere lies in their reflection of the Bashkir
view of the events they relate. There are few other sources by Bashkirs from
this period.

Manuscripts
MANUSCRIPTS
MS Ufa, Ufimski nauchnyj tsentr Rossijskoj akademii nauk – Fond 3, Opis’
93, Delo 1, pp. 70-5, ‘Shezhere bashkir plemeni Jurmaty’ (last third of the
16th century)

MS Ufa, Ufimski nauchnyj tsentr Rossijskoj akademii nauk – Fond 3, Opis’

93, Delo 1, pp. 101-6, ‘Istorija aula Murdash i sosednych aulov’ (1909)

EDITIONS AND TRANSLATIONS

C. Miras, ‘Shezhere Tatigas-Bija’, Bashkort Ajmagy 2 (1927) 2-14

R.G. Kuzeev (ed. and trans.), Bashkirskie Shezhere, Ufa, 1960, pp. 27-35

P.M. Bulgakov and M.K. Nadergulov (eds and trans.), Bashkirskie

rodoslovnye, Ufa, 2002, pp. 96-104

Editions & Translations

Studies
M.K. Nadergulov, Bashkirskie istoriko-literaturnye sochinenija XVI-nachala
XX veka (voprosy zarozhdenija zhanrovoj sistemy i tradicii), Ufa, 2013

598
V.R. Mazitov, Bachkirskie Shezhere kak istoriko-etnograficheskij istochnik,
Ufa, 2012

V.R. Mazitov, ‘Istoricheskaja dostovernost’ bashkirskich Shezhere’, Trudy

instituta istorii, jazyka i literatury Ufimskogo nauchnogo tsentra RAN, Ufa,
2011

M.K. Idel’baev, Bashkirskie Shezhere o poddanstve bashkirskich pleme n

Russkomu gosudarstvu, Ufa, 2007

M.K. Nadergulov, ‘Shezhere roda Jurmaty’, Agidel’ 9 (1993) 152-3 (in

Bashkir)

A. Fattakhutdinova, ‘Bashkirskie Shezhere (kratkoe archeograficheskoe

opisanie)’, in Z.G. Uraskin, G.B. Khusainov and Z.I.A. Sharipova
(eds), Bashkirskie Shezhere. Filologicheskie issledovanija i publikatsii, Ufa,
1985, 88-128

A. Fattakhutdinova, ‘Istochnikovedicheskoe izuchenie bashkirskich

Shezhere’, in Voprosy istorii izuchenija bashkirskogo literaturnogo jazyka,
Ufa, 1985, 30-7

U.K. Rakhmatullin, ‘Nekotorye voprosy istochnikovedcheskogo izuchenija

bashkirskich Shezhere’, in pis ’mennye pamjatniki Bashkirii. Istoriko-
filologicheskie issledovanija i publikatsii, Ufa, 1992, 117-29

R.G. Kuzeev, ‘Bashkirskie Shezhere o prisoedinenii Bashkirii k Russkomu

gosudarstvu’, Sovetskaja Etnografija (1957) 3-12

Keywords
Matthias Kaufmann
Cite this page

Kaufmann, Matthias. " Shezhere Bashkir plemeni Jurmaty." Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. General Editor David
Thomas. Brill Online, 2016. Reference. CMR II Authors Temp. 02 February 2016
<http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations-ii/shezhere-bashkir-plemeni-jurmaty-COM_28699>

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