Possessions Ceded for the Benefit of the Hospitals and Churches From the Sighisoara County

Abstract

Transilvania is a province of the actual state of Romania, geographically situated in the middle of the country, in the inner arch of the Carpathians. Starting with the 10th century, the territory of Transilvania became attractive for the neighboring Hungarian royalty and later on, in the 11th century it was annexed into Hungary. For a better control of the newly annexed territory and in order to convert the orthodox population to Catholicism, the Hungarian rulers brought the Szeklers to Transilvania and two centuries later, German originating populations, from Rhine, Luxemburg, and Saxony (the name of Sas people, or Saxon of Transilvania derives from “Saxony”). The aim of this paper is to focus on the Sighisoara County, namely on the easement of certain areas for temporary or permanent maintenance or use by the church and hospitals in the region. That was a common practice in Medieval Europe aimed at ensuring the survival means for these institutions. However, it was not the only one to serve this goal. There were also donations on behalf of various people or allocations of money by the county authorities. The documents attesting this are unpublished, unedited and are to be found in the archives of the Brasov County, Budapest, and Vienna. They are the stepping stone of this paper and hence, they grant its originality. The objectives of the paper are to bring arguments in favor of the thesis that community money was directed towards meeting the needs of the hospitals, as well as towards supporting the widows, the orphans, and the needy ones. Worth noting in this respect is the management of the funds ceded to the church and county hospitals and that actually benefitted the whole community. Moreover, the paper also emphasizes the role played by education, since the latter is an important landmark for a community’s development level.