Building on his innovative monograph, The Hospitallers in the medieval kingdom of Hungary, c. 1150–1387 (Budapest 2010), Zsolt Hunyadi has teamed up with András Ribi to expand our knowledge of the Hungarian Hospitallers into the sixteenth century. The book is divided into two long essays: the first, written by Hunyadi, is titled ‘Hospitallers in Hungary from the middle of the twelfth century to the Great Western Schism’, which covers much of the subject matter of his earlier book, though from a slightly different perspective; the second, written by Ribi, has the lengthy heading ‘From Hospitallers to Cruciferi: the history of the Knights Hospitaller province in Hungary from the Council of Constance to the end of the Middle Ages with special emphasis on the Székesfehérvár Convent’. The aim of the book, according to the authors, is to present the history and activity of the Hospitallers in the medieval kingdom of Hungary (c.1150–1543) based on thorough research of primary sources kept both in Hungary and abroad.
In part i, Hunyadi outlines the current state of research, the early general history of the order before their move to Rhodes and how the order was organised. In chapter iv, the subject matter zooms in on the history of the Hospitallers in Hungary, looking at settlement and consolidation, characteristics specific to the region, the takeover of Templar property and considers the role the Hungarian Hospitallers played in the continuing battle with the perceived enemies of Christendom. Chapter v analyses the Hospitaller province and its leaders, considering such factors as the Provenҫal-Italian ‘alternating administration’. Chapter vi considers the management of Hospitaller estates, such as the different types of leases. The following chapter looks at ‘place of authentication’ activity in the Hospitaller convents, where diplomas were issued and preserved, copies were issued and legal transactions conducted. All nine Hospitaller convents in Hungary were involved in this activity at some point, although by 1353 only Székesfehérvár and Dubica were active in this respect. The final chapter goes in depth into the preceptories and their personnel, such as where they served and for how long.
The second essay, by Ribi, extends our knowledge of Hospitaller activity in Hungary into the later medieval and early modern periods. Chapter i introduces us to the main sources consulted, which include local and regional, in addition to the records of the central convent now located on Malta. The second chapter considers the relations between the Hospitallers in Hungary and the headquarters on Rhodes and Malta. Chapters iii and iv focus on the Székesfehérvár convent, which most of the extant sources concern. The third chapter outlines the history of Székesfehérvár from 1390 up until the Ottoman conquest in 1543, while the fourth chapter details the personnel of this convent during the same period. Chapter v considers the taxes, litigation and administration of Hospitaller property in Hungary, including the estate of Szentkirályfölde that was on the boundary between the countryside and Székesfehérvár town and was associated with the Hospitaller convent there. Chapter vi reflects on the convent of Székesfehérvár as a place of authentication until 1526. The final chapter details the activity of the Hospitaller hospitals, first placing this activity into the European context of Hospitaller action, and then concentrating on the hospital of St Stephen in Székesfehérvár.
While this is undoubtably a valuable addition to our knowledge of the Hospitallers in Hungary, there are several aspects that could have been enhanced. Firstly, in the opinion of this reviewer, rather than have two essays that duplicate thematic chapters, such as those on estate administration, the amalgamation of chapters would have allowed a more holistic approach that covered the whole of the medieval period. This would have facilitated comparisons and changes in Hospitaller activity in medieval Hungary. It would also have been enlightening to have had an outline chapter on the other religious orders in Hungary, military or otherwise, to provide background to the Hospitallers’ position in the kingdom.
There are a few inconsistencies in referencing, such as the mention of researchers in the text, but no citation of their publications in the footnotes or bibliography. Also, a list of figures (including maps) and tables is missing from the contents list. Furthermore, there are irregularities in terminology. For example, most researchers are grouped on linguistic lines, i.e. ‘French-language scholarly works’, yet those that write in English are described as ‘Anglo-Saxon authors’. Such terminology needs to be streamlined, even more so as this book is a translation into English.
The above are minor discrepancies. More serious are the errors in pagination in the bibliography, which must have occurred late in the production process, after the PDF proofs had been reviewed by the authors. The page numbers are in the order 255–62, 265–70, 253–4, 263–4 and 271–87. The result is that the unpublished and some of the published primary sources appear after and in between the secondary material. A further complication is that it is not immediately apparent how you can purchase the book, as it is not available through any of the main online retailers, though it can be purchased from bookline.hu.
Despite the forementioned complications, this is still a book worth having, as it enhances and extends our knowledge of the Hospitallers in medieval Hungary, thus adding to our understanding of their activities in Europe generally. The combination of the use of both local and regional sources in Hungary and thereabouts with the central archives on Malta is an effective and beneficial methodological approach. It is a helpful work on the Hospitallers in medieval Hungary and in eastern Europe.
