This volume offers an important contribution to the history of the Observant Franciscans in late medieval Hungary. The four sources edited here, two complete formularies and two fragments with a total of 878 texts, constitute the largest edition of such material from the Franciscan order published up to now. More than two hundred texts are included from the first manuscript, Széchényi National Library, Budapest, Cod. lat. 432, which dates from the period between 1515 and 1524. Excluded are some general sources which have already been published, among them exhortations by St Bonaventure. The second manuscript, Széchényi National Library, Cod. lat. 775, is printed in its entirety. From the third manuscript, Cod. med. 3 from the Franciscan convent of Gyöngyös, 133 of 140 identifiable texts are printed. The material in the last manuscript, Széchényi National Library, Oct. lat. 1220 (c. 1551–4) differs significantly from the earlier formularies because its purpose was to introduce more sophisticated stylistical features, modelled on humanist letters, into Franciscan correspondence.

In the introduction these sources are classified as part of a wider textual tradition which encompassed the kingdom’s religious orders as well as the royal chancery, ecclesiastical courts and notaries in the major towns. Molnár’s discussion of formularies also sets a wider context for late medieval Franciscan manuscripts which contain texts from between 1451 and 1554. He underlines the significance of the four manuscripts by pointing out that Hungary suffered a very serious loss of such source material during the Reformation, the Turkish wars and occupation as well as in the dissolution of religious houses in Hungary in 1950. Despite the disappearance of the majority of the medieval textual tradition, Molnár finds it is possible to conclude that the early sixteenth century saw a significant increase in written material. He interprets this as a sign of the intensification of the order’s administration, which in turn is seen as an indication of the enforcement of observant principles.

Apart from the formularies there are three other types of text connected with Franciscan administration, firstly those containing relevant constitutions, beginning with the constitutions of Atya, secondly miscellaneous manuscripts with narrative sources, papal bulls, privileges and similar documents, and thirdly manuscripts used for the ministry, some of which also contained administrative texts. Molnár’s introduction offers a complete survey of the surviving Franciscan manuscripts belonging to these three categories. Based on his wide-ranging and probably exhaustive survey he concludes that the gaps in the survival of medieval Franciscan sources are not unique to Hungary. Neither the order’s central archives in Rome nor the provincial archives preserve a large amount of medieval sources and this is also true for the conventual archives, partly because the friars did not have or did not need to preserve certain types of documents, for example title deeds. The same is true for administrative correspondence which was usually not preserved because it was often of only temporary importance.

The contents of the four manuscripts are varied. They preserve communication about chapters at the different levels, elections, visitations, disciplinary matters, the order’s economic affairs including the sale of real estate, debt, petitions to secular and ecclesiastical authorities and supporters, journeys undertaken for different purposes as well as private correspondence between friars. The largest group consists of administrative correspondence, covering all activities from the organisation of custodial or provincial chapters to the arrangement of visitations, the settlements of internal disputes or disciplinary matters. Of particular importance are those texts which are not merely formulaic but represent copies of genuine letters. Most of these include names, dates and references to real locations. Molnár sets them apart from a smaller number of letters not directly related to the order, dealing with crisis scenarios with their own bearing on the history of the friars in Hungary.

The texts are printed in full and the entries from each manuscript are consecutively numbered, 219 from Cod. lat. 432; 508 from Oct. lat. 775; 133 from Cod. med. 3 and 18 from Oct. lat. 1220. References to persons, places or events are usually annotated, the notes offering background information or point to other sources or modern studies. The quality of the underlying research enables the editor in a number of cases to attribute anonymous texts to potential authors or to establish their historical setting. As far as the contents are concerned, certain patterns emerge. Letters designed for specific purposes, for example letters of exhortation, or letters of confraternity for persons of different social rank, tend to be grouped together There are different types of letters expressing gratitude for material support, some combining their message with requests for further – often specific – assistance, especially for food and clothing. Much of the material deals with the complicated task of organising chapter meetings, of issuing letters of safe conduct for friars sent to other convents or provinces or permits for friars who wished to visit relatives. There are also repeated references to the plight of friars who had to flee from convents destroyed in attacks by the Turks and further information on the deteriorating circumstances of the province. The gradual decline of the Hungarian Observant province can be traced with the help of the information provided in appendix i, the oldest list of members of the Hungarian province, dated 1533, and appendix ii which monitors the fluctuations in the number of friars between 1523 and 1561, presenting a decline from 1,472 religious to 113 friars in less than forty years. Further background information is provided by a number of maps, showing the location of convents of the Hungarian province and the places of origin of Franciscan observant friars in 1533. In addition to an index of persons and an index of places, the editor supplies a list of the titles or subjects of the letters, as well as a summary in English and Hungarian.