NEIGHBOURING COUNTRIES AND PROVINCES
THE GOVERNMENT OF THE COUNTRY
SETTLEMENTS AND PLACES OF LIVING

NEIGHBOURING COUNTRIES AND PROVINCES

Compared to the age of the Árpád dynasty the borders of Hungary did not change, but not so the neighbouring countries. The Polish Kingdom lay to the north; it was ruled by the Piasts till 1370, the Angevine kings between 1370-1386, and the Jagellos from 1386. The ruling family of Halics-Volhinia died out in 1340, after some decades the western part of Halics and Volhinia fell under Polish influence. During the reign of Louis the Great as the king of Poland this region was governed by the Hungarians for a decade, under the title of the voivode of Russia. From 1837 it became part of Poland forever, under the name of Small Russia. This territory lost its significance for Hungarian foreign policy. With Charles I's first marriage to Maria from Halics the century-old Russian-Hungarian dynastic relations came to an end.

In the north-east Hungary was bordered by the territory of the Golden Horde. During the reign of Charles I there were several Tartar attacks against the country. By the middle of the century the Golden Horde retreated to the region behind the river Dnester, the territory without owner - the "Moldavian land" - fell under Hungarian supremacy, it was governed by the Rumanian voivodes of Máramaros: Drag, then his son, Szász. Another voivode of Máramaros, Bogdán, took over the region around 1359 and organised the principality of Moldavia. This country, which later became the vassal of Hungary, surrendered to Poland at the same time as Halics, though they sometimes acknowledged Hungarian supremacy as well.

The other Rumanian state, Wallachia [Havasalföld], became an independent principality around 1330, after Charles's unsuccessful campaign. Its territory consisted of Oltenia (district of Szörénység) and Muntenia, beyond the river Olt. Their voivodes, if they surrendered to the Hungarian king, bore the title of "the ban of Szörény" and they had power over the Fogarasföld, too. From 1394 they hesitated between being a vassal of the Turks or the Hungarians. Voivode Mircea cel Batrin (1386-1428) led a policy in favour of the Hungarians, but after his death King Sigismund put the castle of Szörény under Hungarian supremacy. The defence of the fortresses of Szörény was taken up by the German Order of Knighthood in 1429, but they were defeated by the Turks, so in 1435 royal troops occupied their fortresses again.

At the lower reach of the Danube Bulgaria was the neighbouring country. In the middle of the 14th century Bulgaria was divided into two parts. The part which was closer to Hungary belonged to the Bulgarian tsar of Vidin (Bodony). Louis the Great occupied this state in 1365, and till 1369 it was directed by a Hungarian governor, under the title of the ban of Bulgaria. Similarly to other bans, this ban also had power over Hungarian territories. After the battle of Nicapole (1396) Vidin was occupied by the Turks.

The ban district of Macsó lay outside the Borders of Hungary, but kings considered it as part of the country. Serbia also laid its claim for this territory, and Charles I launched several campaigns to get it. The king organised this ban district in 1320, which survived till 1479. Alternatively many Hungarian counties belonged under its supremacy: Valkó, Bodrog, Szerém, Baranya, Bács, Tolna. With the exception of Belgrade, the parts beyond the river Sava were taken by Serbia after 1389.

After the battle of Kosovo polje in 1389 in Serbia - which was the vassal state of the Turks -Stephen Lazarevics, who was said to be a despot, entered into alliance with King Sigismund around 1403, became member of the Dragon Association and received large gifts in Hungary. Before his death in 1426 he signed a contract with Sigismund, according to which his heir in Serbia and on his estates in Hungary would be his nephew, George Brankovics, who promised to give Belgrade (Nándorfehérvár) and Galambóc [Golubac] to the Hungarians. The captain of Golubac gave the fortress to the Turks, and the attempt to take it back - in 1428 - was not successful. Between Szörény and Galambóc Hungary became the direct neighbour of the Osman empire.

In the 14th century Bosnia became independent, its rulers acknowledged Hungarian vassalage with varying breaks till the Turkish conquest. In the 14th century the members of the Kotromanic dynasty ruled, first Louis the Great's father-in-law, Stephen II. This was the last dynastic relation with the south Slav ruling family, and it came to an end when the Turks pressed forward. In 1377 Tvarko was crowned king of Bosnia and Serbia with permission from the Hungarians. During the reign of Sigismund Bosnia seemed to be a hesitating vassal, so Hungarian armies occupied part of the one-time ban district of Ozora together with Srebernik in 1404 and Jajca in 1434.

Dalmatia was not a unified country. It consisted of city states along the coast, which had their own local governments and which led different policies. Charles I acknowledged that these cities surrendered to Venice, only Zeng remained under Hungarian supremacy. Hungarian rule lasted from 1358 to 1412 in Dalmatia. In 1420 Spalato and Trau also surrendered to Venice, and after this the right of Hungarian kings over Dalmatia became nominal, only Raguza remained under Hungarian authority.

In contrast to the above mentioned countries, Croatia had close contacts with Hungary. According to the principle of the dynastic share of power between 1353-1356 the country was governed by Prince Stephen together with Slavonia, then he was followed by his child son. After this Dalmatia and Croatia was directed separately from Slavonia till 1476 - by bans. The country was divided into several districts (zsupánság), which were quite different from Hungarian counties.

Croatia and Slavonia bordered upon Krajna, Slavonia and Hungary were the neighbours of Styria, Hungary bordered upon Styria and Austria - the part called Lower Austria. The district under the power of marquis Cilli became independent for two decades at the end of Sigismund's reign, so it became the neighbouring country of Slavonia. In Krajna, Styria and Austria the Habsburg dynasty ruled. To the north of the river Morva was Moravia under the supremacy of the Czech kings. Silesia, which was bordered by part of the country of Trencsén, also belonged under the authority of the Czech crown.

THE GOVERNMENT OF THE COUNTRY

Between 1370-1382 Hungary was in a personal union with Poland. The two countries were governed separately. It is wrong to talk about the empire of the "three seas", since though the Polish laid their claims on Pomerania, in reality Poland did not have a coast at that time. Under the reign of Louis the Great Moldavia, which was the vassal state of Hungary, had some ports at the Black Sea but the Hungarian king had no influence on these. Wallachia did not have any coasts, and Dobrodgen was a Bulgarian territory. Louis the Great owned only the Dalmatian ports at the Adriatic Sea.

In the middle of the 14th century the Angevines renewed the dynastic share of power for a short time. During the reign of Charles I his sons received the title of prince; Louis became Prince of Transylvania and Stephen Prince of Slavonia, but neither of them governed their country alone. Stephen had his own court in 1349, as he was Prince of Szepes and Sáros, then Transylvania. From 1351 he became Prince of Croatia and Dalmatia, from 1353 Prince of Slavonia as well. A year after, when he died, his child son, John, bore this title. In 1356 the separate government was abolished, so the dynastic separate government was terminated in Hungary forever.

Slavonia was considered an independent country, but the title of the Slavonian king was not used by the rulers - just the same as before. Transylvania was not called a country, only a "Transylvanian part". The leading voivodes of Transylvania bore the title of the ispán [head of local government] of Szolnok, and in the 14th century also the title of the ispán of Arad county. The bans of Macsó had a power similar to that of the voivodes and the bans of Slavonia. In their territories the ispáns were appointed by them, and they had independent law courts. During the 15th century the office of the ban and voivode was taken by several persons at the same time. The voivodes usually did not come from Transylvanian families.

Louis the Great, in case he was away for a long time, was substituted by his mother as a governor; Sigismund was substituted by his so-called 'vicarious'. The most important decisive body besides the king was the royal council, which consisted of prelates, barons and some gentlemen from the court. Common nobility represented themselves at the parliament, which was convoked many times in the first part of Charles's reign, and twice during the reign of Louis the Great. Nevertheless the decisive power was in the hands of prelates and barons. In 1385, at the diet, where Little Charles was elected king, each county was represented by 4 representatives for the fist time in Hungarian history. Laws were enacted without the consent of the diet several times later, based on the opinion of the royal council.

Counties and law courts

In the bigger part of the country counties were responsible for the local government. Newly settled regions were organised into counties at this time, for example, Liptó, Turóc, Máramaros. At the head of them there were the ispáns, who were usually ispáns of several counties simultaneously. Their substitutes, the vice ispáns, were appointed by them from among their familiares. The only regular forum of the counties were the law courts, which gathered every two weeks at a definite time and place. This was called sedria, a word borrowed from Latin. Usually only the vice ispáns took part at these meetings, and they were helped by the chief magistrates, who were appointed by the nobility.

In the 14th century town-clerks were employed in more and more counties. Smaller administrative districts became popular at that time, too. their number was usually the same as the number of chief magistrates. These districts were the units of tax collecting, and not local governments. Starting from the age Sigismund the role of castle districts in state administration became more and more important, so we can speak about the local governments of counties from this time on. Slavonian counties functioned similarly to Hungarian counties, with the exception of the so-called Lower Slavonian counties (Szana, Orbasz and Dubica). They had a special status.

In certain parts of the country not counties but chairs (law courts) were organised. Cuman chairs were based on nationalities. Originally each chair had its nationality. There were 6 Cuman chairs, the existence of the independent Jász chair was dubious in this period. Originally the Székelys had 7 chairs. After breaking down the 1324 Saxon revolt the government of the Saxon region was completely reorganised. The Saxon chairs were established then, but these did not cover all the Transylvanian regions where Saxon people lived. The Székelyföld (Székelyland) did not belong directly under the authority of the Transylvanian voivode, its government was headed by the Székely ispán. The Székely ispáns were not Székelys, they directed the Saxon chairs called "two chairs" till 1402.

Rumanian districts (kenéz) remained within the boundaries of the county, these were usually organised around a bigger castle. In the Szepesség three forms of government existed simultaneously: the county, the community of the Saxons of the Szepesség and the ten-spear chair. In 1412 Sigismund put the castle of Lublo, the oppidi of Lublo and Podolin and further 14 "free villages" from Szepes into pawn for the Polish king, Ulaslo II. This part of the Szepesség [Zipps] was reannexed to Hungary only in 1772. The local governments of the region could survive without a change in their legal status: they were considered part of the Hungarian Kingdom (Holy Crown).

Finance

The incomes of the country were the incomes of the king as well. The rulers considered the matters of the treasury or chamber as matters of their own private estates. Financial matters were controlled by local chambers, which depended first on the keeper of the treasury, then on the royal treasurer, with the chamber ispáns at the head of them. They rented these local chambers for a sum, which was recorded in a contract. The chambers were engaged in special activities. The salt chambers, for example, had nothing to do with mine chambers, which dealt with the mining of non-ferrous metals. In the course of his financial reforms, Charles I had 10 minting chambers set up, and each chamber had several mints.

Credible places

Credible places were the local institutions of authenticated literacy. They issued reports on investigations made by judicial command, or so-called 'confessions' following the request of private persons. The 1351 laws interdicted smaller convents from issuing charters in which estates were alienated. Two years later the signets of all the credible places were supervised, and only those could continue their activities that got their signets back. After this during the Middle Ages the number of chapters and convents which dealt with issuing charters did not really change.

Royal residence and capital city

Since the beginning of the 14th century Buda was considered the capital city of the country. The residence of the royal court with central law courts was Visegrád from 1323 to 1405-1408, they moved to Buda only between 1346-1355. Visegrád, however, had never been the capital, only a residence. Royal residences were not identical with capital cities in other European countries either. The separateness of the permanent residence and the capital city was the last temporary stage in the long development in the course of which the residence-capital, that is the residence and the capital together, came into being.

The royal castle and the new palace was built during Sigismund's reign in the place of today's palace complex. During his reign Sigismund wanted to move his residence to Pozsony, which lay on the borderline of the German-Roman Empire. He had that castle rebuilt then.

SETTLEMENTS AND PLACES OF LIVING

The development of farming, the cultivation of new territories enabled villages to produce extra food. This relative surplus of goods caused a growth in population, as a result of which more and more people decided to leave their villages to find work and place to live in the towns. In these urban settlements handicraft industry also produced surplus goods.

Because of the increasing exchange of goods contemporary church institutions seemed unsatisfactory and markets were formed near fortresses, which grew out of the local bounds. Long distance trade became very important.

At the beginning of the 13th century the Latins of Fehérvár originated their letter of privilege - which contained their urban rights - from King St Stephen. This is called the freedom of Fehérvár. On the basis of this several other towns managed to gain similar privileges. These were Nagyszombat in 1238, Nyitra in 1248, Győr and Szatmár in 1271, Sopron in 1277 and Vasvár in 1279. Many other towns dreamt of similar rights even in the 14th century. The most important element of these rights was that they were exempt from paying customs duties. The right for holding markets nationwide was also a significant privilege. Besides Fehérvár only a few towns had this right: for example, Buda from 1287, Sopron and Pozsony from 1344, Kassa from 1347 and the Transylvanian Beszterce from 1353.

The role of the new capital, Buda became more and more significant. While the most important trade routes were controlled by Fehérvár till the end of the 13th century, this was taken over by Buda after the time of the Tartar Invasion. Since the end of the 13th century the privileges of Buda are mentioned very often as an example, but Korpona, or for the mining towns Selmecbánya and Teschen were also set as examples. The legal unification of town privileges started only in the middle of the 14th century.

The majority of towns, surrounded by walls as a result of the 1241-1242 Tartar Invasion, were large towns earlier, too. Fehérvár, for example, was a large town at the end of the Árpád age, by the end of the 15th century it had a territory of 1780 hectares. It was impossible (and there was no point) to surround this huge territory with walls, so with the building of the town walls city blocks and streets were cut.

The surrounded inner city was first mentioned between 1259-70. Its territory is quite small compared to the whole city, it was only 20.8 hectares - one ninth of the territory of Fehérvár at the end of the 15th century. The artificially formed suburbs are mentioned by charters from this time on: the suburbs of Buda from 1331 as suburbium, in 1406 as civitas exterior, the New Town was mentioned in 1327 as the Island, the Swamp in 1372 as Inguan, the New Village in 1298 as Nova Villa.

The same thing can be seen in the case of Esztergom - Royal town, Győr, Körmöcbánya, the Watertown of Buda, Pécs and Pozsony. It was a typical urban problem that the dwellers did not have enough space inside the city walls and left the city. The solution was that the territory of the city was enlarged with a new section of the city wall, as in the case of Ruszt, Nándorfehérvár and Brassó, where large suburbs were established outside the town walls.

These parts, which grew like cells, were later incorporated by the city, or they received a fortification wall as suburbs (Győr, Nagyszeben, Pécs, Sopron). Pozsony received its city walls in 1311, Nagyszombat, Bártfa, Eperjes, Kőszeg, Trencsén, Kismarton and Szakolca were fortified in the 14th century. The majority of towns were built near a fortress, their markets were controlled by the owner of this fortress. These fortresses were in the possession of the King, Queen, an archbishop, a bishop or a count, They were not only built on top of hills (Brassó, Eger, Esztergom, Selmecbánya, Szalónak, Trencsén, Veszprém, Visegrád and Zólyom), but also they could be within the city walls - sometimes they were built earlier (Pécs - the bishop's castle), sometimes they were separated by a moat (Fehérvár - newer royal castle, Késmárk, Kolozsvár, Kismarton).

Until the middle of the 15th century there were no big changes in the fortification of the cities, which were built earlier, at the end of the 13th - at the beginning of the 14th century. The relatively high city walls preserved their form, which were dissected by towers of round, horse-shoe, semi-circle or square ground-plans. Towns built in more dangerous places were surrounded by wide moats. There were wooden bridges, which could be pulled up, above them in front of the two or three city gates. These gates were protected by separate gate towers. Contemporary castles had similar defence systems. These castles were usually built on top of hills. The spread and general use of canons in city sieges can be dated to the end of the 15th century - beginning of the 16th century. So they did not influence the architecture of this period.

Fortification walls were thin and very high, since they were built against the enemy approaching the fortress on ladders, and not against canons. Archers shot at the attackers, who wanted to occupy the fortress from the towers. Inside the cities a separate fence protected the parish church (Bártfa, Besztercebánya, Brassó, Eperjes, Földvár, Lőcse, Nagyszeben, Szepesszombat, Zólyom) or the royal basilica and the attached building complex (Székesfehérvár). In many cases the cathedral or church stood in the territory of the inner fortress (Óvár, Eger, Kolozsvár, Esztergom, Körmöcbánya, Pécs, Segesvár, Selmecbánya).

In planned cities there was a regular system of streets and a central, square market place. Beszterce, Korpona, Kolozsvár and Lőcse had such market places in the 13th century, but Pécs and Győr also followed their example.

The houses and city walls of Körmöcbánya, which was founded by 36 families, were built around a huge square market place on more than 10.000 square meters. The city received some privileges in 1328. The city walls were finished only in 1426. Cities which became rich from gold mining built smelting furnaces. Wine-trading also made the citizens rich.

The palace of the market place was a widening road, especially in towns which were formed spontaneously along busy trade routes (Gölnicbánya, Besztercebánya, Eperjes, Kassa, then the cities which received the title of 'oppidum': Pásztó, Szászsebes, Szepesszombat, Zólyom). There was another development in the second half of the 14th century: the trade connections of cities became firm. Their legal situation became stabilised, too. Their development depended on what extent they could take part in long distance trade. New mines were open, which led to the formation of new mining towns (Aranyosbánya, Nagybánya, Felsőbánya, Körmöcbánya, Telkibánya, Zólyomlipcse, Rózsahegy).

More than 20 settlements received the title of city by the middle of the 14th century. After the rivalling at the beginning there was a cooperation in the Angevine age, first of all in lawsuits (the Saxon right of Szepes, the court of appeal of seven Saxon law courts). Since the second half of the 14th century the right of Buda became the model, but around 1370 several cities demanded the same rights as Korpona. Since 1383 the law court of the master of the treasury employed lay members as well.

City dwellers were also engaged in farmwork in this age, too. In the 15th century, however, more and more people were employed in the handicraft industry. At the beginning of the 15th century this meant about one third of the population. In the agricultural production of towns the cultivation of corn and the wine-growing played a very important role (Sopron, Pozsony, Fehérvár, Buda, Kassa).

Wine cellars, farm yards - that is village buildings - characterised the picture of the city, which showed a closer, urbanised form only from the 15th century. Privileged rights to hold markets or deal with local or long distance trade remained the basic privileges. Foreign trade became very important, just as water or land routes.

At the turn of the 14th-15th centuries, then in the 15th century new types of cities were designed. Stone cuttings, decorative windows, doors and balconies appeared on the facade of houses (Buda, Sopron, Fehérvár). Parish churches became richly decorated, too, which was the symbolic proof of the wealth of the citizens.

By the 15th century some of the Hungarian cities reached Western-European standards. The 1405 decree meant a legal stabilisation for them. But several cities were put in pawn (Sárvár, Sárospatak, Sátoraljaújhely, Kőszeg), the 1405 decree helped the development of market towns and it was an important result.

Fortresses

Fortresses were built separately, near towns or as an organic part of cities. At the beginning of the 14th century all the fortresses had high walls dissected by towers. Fortresses which were built n towns, or to protect towns stood near important trade routes or near the intersection of these. The majority of fortresses were built as the centers of estates, or part of the defence line of borders.

The gate tower survived from old castles till the 14th century, but we can find some even in the 15th century. Their basic area was 10-12 x 10-12 meters, and some of their rooms could be heated. The core of the Visegrád fortress consists of such a gate tower and palace wings attached to it. Along fortification walls new buildings, residences were built in the 14th century, enriching the old fortress with castles and yards (Trencsén). It is typical that the fortress walls were fortified with new walls, creating wall passes with this (Zwinger).

The building of the fortress and palace of Diósgyőr - which had a square ground-plan and four corner towers - was attributed to King Louis the Great. The construction works and enlargements of the royal fortress of Buda and Visegrád were also carried out then. They show a strong Italian influence. The fortress of Végles - without corner towers - was built in Sigismund's age. It had a square ground-plan as well. The fortress of Gesztes had a regular ground-plan, with a square yard in the center. The buildings around the central yard (palace wings) could also be found in the new royal fortress of Fehérvár, which had a square ground-plan, too. King Béla IV had it built at the end of the 13th century. The fortresses of Kismarton and Kőszeg also had similar palace wings around their central yards.

Monasteries

Monastic orders functioned and built their buildings since the age of the founding of the state. The Benedictine monks, who appeared first, then the Cistercians and Premontrians founded several monasteries. Their constructions were of high standards. They rebuilt or enlarged old churches and monasteries, so they played an important role in contemporary architecture. However, in the development of cities at the end of the 13th century only the activity of begging orders was significant: first of all the monasteries of Franciscans and Dominicans appeared in urban settlements. Besides them the Karthausinas, Augustine hermits, the Paulines and the Carmelites raised monasteries.

According to the 1303 inventory the Dominican monks and nuns built their homes in prospering cities (Esztergom, Vasvár, Pécs, Csázma, Székesfehérvár), or in developing cities after the Tartar Invasion (Buda, Pest, Margaret Island, Sárospatak, Nagyolaszi, Nagyszombat, Kassa, Selmecbánya, Nagyszeben, Segesvár).

Not long after the Dominicans, the Franciscans also started their activities. In 1316 they had 43 monasteries in Hungary and in Slavonia, while the Dominicans had only 35. The first Franciscan monasteries were built in Beszterce, Buda, Esztergom, Székesfehérvár, Szombathely, Győr, Nagyszeben, Pest, Nagyszombat, Szeged and Sárospatak. The Augustine hermits were less significant, they had only 22 monasteries at the end of the Middle Ages: the most important ones were in Esztergom, Székesfehérvár, Gyulafehérvár and Pécs.

Besides the begging orders the number of hermits had significantly increased by the 14th century. There were a few Karthausians (in the Szepesség and the Bakony mountains),but the only monastic order which was founded in Hungary, the Pauline order was much more popular. The hermits probably asked Pope Orban IV (1261-1264) for a permission in the name of Özséb and his company to let them use St Augustine's regulations as the basis of their life. The Pauline hermits, who became an order at the end of the 13th century, founded a monastery at Budaszentlőrinc in 1301, which became the center of the order. In 1327 there were around 30 Pauline monasteries, and by the end of the Middle Ages their number was about 80. The majority of Pauline monasteries were built near cities. They had no monasteries on the Great Plain.

Landlords played an important role in the lives of monastic orders. They gave donations to the Franciscans and Paulinas as advowees, since they chose their burial places in their monasteries in the 14th-15th centuries. The Paulines built their monasteries far from the towns, in woody places in the mountains, but they also had some monasteries in bigger cities or near them (Szalónak, Huszt, Bereg). In contrast to this the Franciscans were a typical urban monastic estate, but they had some monasteries in villages as well. The number of their monasteries was around 80 at the end of the Middle Ages.

The Franciscans had monasteries in Bártfa, Buda, Pest, Debrecen, Eger, Esztergom - royal town, Gyöngyös, Győr, Kassa, Eperjes, Kolozsvár, Nagyszeben, Nagyszombat, Nagyvárad, Pécs, Pozsony, Sopron and Székesfehérvár. Dominican monks and nuns had monasteries in Beszterce, Brassó, Buda, Pest, Debrecen, Győr, Gyulafehérvár, Kassa, Kolozsvár, Nagyszeben, Pécs, Segesvár and Székesfehérvár.

Clarissan monasteries were built in Brassó, Nagyszeben, Nagyszombat, Pozsony, Segesvár and Óbuda. Carmelite monasteries can be found in the suburbs of Buda, in Eperjes, Privigye and Pécs. Begging orders built their cloisters in the edge of cities, in most of the cases near city walls. They had rarely built monasteries along inner streets or near city gates. They found empty places only in the suburbs, as they usually needed one quarter of a hectare territory for this. The most important building of monasteries was the church. Churches of the begging orders had long, narrow naves, which were separated from the chancel by a triumphal arch and the lettner in the east. Till the 13th century the longish chancels had straight closings, but from the 14th century on they had Gothic chancels with pillars and octagonal closing. Pillars were needed because the walls were not strong enough to hold the weight of the vault. The carved ribs of Gothic churches formed beautiful net vaults. The huge painted glass windows with stone bars (tracery) let the light through into the church.

The tower of the churches of begging orders were built to the northern side of the chancel, near the nave or in front of the chancel closing. But in the case of a few 13th-century monasteries the tower was built in front of the western facade. In this period people were buried in the nave or chancel of the church or in the yard of the monastery. The tombs were covered with carved stone sheets. Monasteries were built in the southern side of the church, but sometimes they were in the northern side (Zalaszentgrót, Óbuda, Szécsény, Szeged). In the center of the monastery was the ambulatory, and an entrance to the nave of the church. This corridor surrounded a square yard. There was a well-house in the yard, which was the pride of the monastery in most cases. From the ambulatory one could go to the important rooms, such as the chancel, near the sacristy, which was next to the chapter room. The kitchen, the heating room, the refectorium (dining hall), and dormitories were also here. Many monasteries had hospitals, guest houses, or separate chapels. A farm yard and farm buildings also belonged to the monastery. Usually the whole building complex was built in a closed system, the external parts were surrounded by a fence.

Villages

In the 14th-15th centuries the majority of Hungarian settlements were villages. Between cities and villages there were the market towns (oppidum) in juristic and geographical sense. Market towns were village-like settlements, but their basic area was much bigger. Concerning the jobs and social status of the dwellers of villages they show a great diversity. There were 'noble villages' (e.g.: Sarvaly) and 'villein' villages (such as Szentmihály and Csút). By the end of the 14th century more than half of the settlements had churches. These village churches were usually built in the center of the settlement or at a significant place. Within the circle or oval fence there was the cemetery, where more generations were buried. In the 13th century in these small villages with 18-20 houses the church had one nave and the chancel had a semi-circular or horse-shoe shaped closing. At the end of the 13th century, at the beginning of the 14th century these were rebuilt into chancels with square closing. Later Gothic chancel closings, vaulted spaces, pillars and Gothic details were also used.

Villages can be divided into two categories concerning their arrangement: regular (with streets) and irregular villages. Land pieces were attached to the houses, where one-room pit houses were replaced by two-, later three-room houses, which were sometimes made of stone.

Handicraft industry was very important in villages besides farming. They included smithery, tailoring, shoemaking and pottery. During the archaeological opening of village houses, bones of wild animals were found in the kitchen waste, which refers to the fact that the domestication of animals was not developed yet.