Preliminary Programme

Between the Ottoman conquest of Buda (1541) and the end of the Long Turkish War (1591-1606) Transylvania underwent a complex process of transition from a province within the Hungarian Kingdom to a distinct and autonomous state. Frontier defence was one of the most pressing issues for the emerging state, one that required innovations but also the adaptation of medieval traditions. The conscription of peasant-soldiers, a military practice inherited from previous centuries, was one of the solutions implemented by Transylvanian rulers. The aim of this presentation is to provide a comprehensive analysis of the recruitment and mobilisation process of peasant militias in the Transylvanian Principality between 1541 and 1606. My analysis will focus mainly on military legislation (regulations issued by the Diet/Estates Assemblies) and fiscal conscriptions in an attempt to reconstruct the social mechanism behind the recruitment of peasant-soldiers. In addition, these sources also provide details on the social and economic impact of military conscription on rural communities. (Show less)

Traditional Croatian historiography argued that classification of social strata in late medieval and early modern era mostly depended on legal position of an individual. In early Middle Ages, peasants’ legal status, as an individual producer, presumed significant freedoms. During the subsequent centuries, these freedoms became significantly reduced. The presentation will show what can primary historical sources tell us about the changes to the level of freedom among peasants between the 13th and 16th centuries. Contrary to older Marxist historiography, reduction of freedom among peasants was not a linear process, but much more complex. Better understanding of the concept of coercion has led us away from the issue of “labor dualism”, and micro-historical data offers new proof in the same direction, as well as a chance to improve our terminology when describing these processes. In conclusion, the author will present his work on primary sources and compare his conclusions to other similar data drawn from analysis of primary sources in the region between the Adriatic, Danube and the Alps. (Show less)

In the independent Poland the relations between lords of the manors and villagers had a typically feudal character. Noblemen-landowners kept dominium directum while peasants had dominium utile.
The fall of the Polish state didn’t cause any serious changes in the Polish countryside. First reforms ordered from the courts in Berlin and Vienna were cautious and the only significant provision was the prohibition of evicting peasants . The changes in the Russian partition were even less meaningful.
In the western lands of the former Commonwealth some important changes took place after Napoleon established the Duchy of Warsaw. According to the constitution, the Napoleonic Code would be introduced to this French-depended country. There was no distinction between dominium directum and dominium utile in that code. There was only a capitalistic, undivided concept of ownership. It was not obvious who would be treated as the owners of fields cultivated by peasants: landlords or villagers
In my paper I will present some problems connected with implementation of the capitalistic French law in Polish countryside. The Napoleonic Code did not regulate many feudal obligations of landlords towards peasants (e.g. supporting them with wood for construction or in a case of crop failure) and peasants’ duties in favor of landowners (e.g. compulsory labour service). However, many old customs were still in force. I will try to describe that complicated situation. (Show less)