Colloquia, Volume XIII, No.
1-2, 2006
clude the possibility that the rulers had a
certain freedom in taking decisions, eventu-
ally something amounting to a political pro-
gram.
The extremely thoroughly researched work
concludes with the usual chapters: Refer-
ence, List of abbreviations, Illustrations. The
profuse list of reference attests the author’s
professional familiarity with the subject.
Phonetic transcription of Cyrillic titles into
the Latin alphabet could have been a happy
choice – as the author does with her own
reference works; similarly, the translation of
Russian, Ukrainian, Czech, and Polish titles
could have helped the readers. The volume
concludes with the 15 high-quality colour
plates (maps, tables); one also has to men-
tion the high number of graphics embedded
in the body of the text. Although the book is
aimed at a Hungarian professional reader-
ship first and foremost, it would have been
advisable to include a foreign-language
summary or even a translation of the Con-
clusions into Czech, Polish, Ukrainian.
In conclusion, here we truly have an indis-
pensable work (an adjective that is, maybe,
used with far too great indulgence in re-
views), one that truly deserves the attribute.
Such a work is hardly met in the historiog-
raphies of Inter-Europa; it is maybe not too
far from the truth to attribute this fact to
linguistic limitations. There are but very few
historians who have a thorough and deep
knowledge, not only of the history of the
region’s countries, but of their written
source material and historical reference
works as well. Márta Font possesses not
only an enviable scholarship, but also a sin-
gular set of linguistic “tools,” allowing for
such comparative research. Besides, Font’s
present work can easily be regarded as a
methodological warning. Her factual analy-
ses provide more than enough arguments
against the general, undefined use of the
“Central European model.” They throw light
on the methodological fallacy of automati-
cally adapting, or applying, a phenomenon
observed in one territory to another where
there are no available sources (an error all
too frequently made in present-day history).
One cannot disregard, nevertheless, that
although the methodological bases of a com-
parative approach have been laid over the
408 past few years, this development begins and
Colloquia 2007 b.p65 408
remains centred, not on medieval studies
but on the research of modern societies. 4
The apparition of Márta Font’s book turns
the scales in favour of medieval studies.
Mária LUPESCU MAKÓ
1
Marc Bloch, A történész mestersége [The histo-
rian’s proffesion] (Budapest: Osiris, 1996), pp.
172, 185.
2
Here I refer, first and foremost, to D. H. Green,
Medieval Listening and Reading. The Primary
Reception of German Literature 800-1300 (Cam-
bridge: C.U.P., 1994); Michael Richter, The Oral
Tradition in the Early Middle Ages (Turnhout:
1994) and Elisabeth van Houts, Memory and
Gender in Medieval Europe 900-1200 (London:
1999).
3
Christian Lübke, ‘Ethnische Gemeinschaften
und ihr Platz in der Topographie mittelalter -
licher Städte des östlichen Europas,’ Mittel-
alterliche Häuser und Strassen in Mitteleuropa.
Varia Archeologica Hungarica IX. Márta Font,
Mária Sándor (eds.) (Pécs: 2000), pp. 25-41.
4
It is sufficient if we are thinking at the works
appeared in the second half of the nineties:
Frank Hadler, ‘Mitteleuropa – Zwischeneuropa
– Ostmitteleuropa. Reflexionen über eine euro-
päische Geschichtsregion im 19. und 20. Jh.,’
GWZO Berichte und Beiträge, 1996, pp. 34-63;
A. T riebel (ed.), Pragmatik der Gesellschaft-
svergleich (Leipzig: 1997); Werner Daum, Günter
Riederer, Har m von Segger n, ‘Fallobst und
Steinschlag. Einleitende Überlegungen zum
historischen Vergleich,’ Vergleichende Perspek-
tiven, Perspektiven des Vergleiches. Helga Schna-
bel-Schüle (ed.) (Mainz: 1998), pp. 1-21.
F
Sigismundus Rex et Imperator.
Kunst und Kultur Sigismunds von
Luxemburg, 1387-1437:
Ausstellungskatalog. Imre Takács (ed.)
(Mainz: Philipp von Zabern, 2006).
733 pages, ISBN: ISBN-10: 3-8053-
3626-8, ISBN-13: 978-3-8053-3626-0,
ISBN-10: 3-8053-3640-3,
ISBN-13: 978-3-8053-3640-6).
I
t has been said that nowadays, in order
for a cultural project to succeed, it has to
be big. Well, this is surely the case with the
5/28/07, 9:39 PM

Sigismundus project. The Sigismundus. Art
and Culture in the Time of Sigismund of Lux-
emburg (1387-1437) took around ten years
to be achieved. The entire effort was sup-
ported by the Hungarian and Luxembourg
heads of states, it received funds from the
respective governments and had the blessing
of high church officials. The project mainly
consisted of an international conference
(Luxembourg, June 2005), an extensive in-
ternational exhibition displayed both in
Budapest (Museum of Fine Arts, March-
June 2006) and Luxembourg (National Art
History Museum, July-October 2006) and of
a series of publications in a number of lan-
guages. But it also involved several restora-
tion works (like the bust reliquary of St.
Ladislas or several sculptures from the
Brukenthal Museum in Sibiu), loans from
Museums in twenty countries and the cre-
ation of a website containing all the details
and an index of the items in the exhibition,
with good quality images (see: www.sigis-
mundus.hu).
The publications related to this project dis-
play the same luxurious characteristics. The
first is the Sigismundus Rex et Imperator.
Kunst und Kultur Sigismunds von Luxem-
burg, 1387-1437, edited by Imre Takács and
published at Mainz (Philipp von Zabern,
2006). This is an exhibition catalogue, com-
prising over 700 pages and 1000 high qual-
ity reproductions. It is available in German,
Hungarian and French editions. Another
publication related to the project is the col-
lection of papers presented at the confer-
ence in Luxembourg: Sigismund von Luxem-
burg: Ein Kaiser in Europa edited by Michel
Pauly, François Reinert (Mainz: Philipp von
Zabern, 2006). The articles are in German,
English and French, occupying nearly 400
pages, accompanied by the same exquisite
illustrations. There is also a “just“ 100-page
long exhibition guide published in Hungar-
ian, English, German, French and Slovak
versions: Sigismund of Luxemburg: Art and
Culture 1387-1437 edited by Ágnes Körber
(Budapest: Szépmðvészeti Múzeum, 2006).
The most extensive is the exhibition cata-
logue. This follows the structure of the ex-
hibition itself, being therefore divided into
seven thematic sections. The opening ex-
tracategory is a prologue referring to the
general historical background, including
chronologies, genealogies and maps, with
Colloquia 2007 b.p65 409
Book Reviews
documentary sources as part of the cata-
logue. The first theme refers to the Angevin
inheritance, that is the artistic peak accom-
plishments in late Angevin Hungary, the
catalogue section including art and archi-
tectural entries. The second theme con-
centrates on the figure of Sigismund, pre-
senting, both in the articles and in the
catalogue entries, items depicting the em-
peror. Equally specific is the third theme
that groups numismatic and sigillographic
evidence. A more general and extensive
overview is grouped under the fourth title:
The World of the Knights of the Dragon. This
presents Sigismund as patron of the arts,
describing his residences in Buda and Press-
burg (Pozsony, Bratislava), churches he had
built, the arts (sculpture, wall painting,
manuscript illumination, stove tiles, applied
arts especially metalwork) and items related
to the Order of the Dragon. The fifth theme
touches more on the international events
and connections, concentrating on Sigis-
mund as political leader. Referring to the
historical period just after the death of the
emperor, the sixth part presents the cathe-
dral of Várad (Oradea), his burrialplace, and
the later effigies of his sucessors. The sev-
enth and final unit of the catalogue is dedi-
cated to the international gothic style of the
era, illustrated through notorious examples
from all kinds of artistic fields. The book
closes with an extensive bibliography com-
mon to all articles and items, and an index
of names and places.
As one can easily see, the entire volume is
unballanced towards Sigismund as Hungar-
ian king rather than Sigismund as Holy
Roman emperor. In this sense, it is visible
that the initiative belonged to a group of
Hungarian scholars who tried to make bet-
ter known the artistic and historical herri-
tage of East-Central Europe. Which is, in a
sense good, considering the ongoing general
des-equilibrium in the availability of infor-
mation in the international scholarly world,
clearly leaning more towards the western
part of Europe. On the other hand the over-
all image does not fully correspond to the
title, that, for the sake of exactness, should
have been: Sigismundus Rex Hungariae (et
imperator). But the cultural integration of
the new or future members of the European
Union, was clearly an important political
element in the success of the project. It is
also good to see that among the authors one
409
5/28/07, 9:39 PM
 Colloquia, Volume XIII, No. 1-2, 2006
can find not only the “big names,” such as
Imre Takács, Pál Løvei and Ernø Marosi, but
also young scholars, such as Zsuzsanna
Kiséry and others.
But as a natural consequence of such a
large project, the volume somehow lacks
unity. It is not always clear why certain
themes are illustrated by certain catalogue
entries, or why the themes themselves are
chosen and entitled the way they are. Some
concentrate on a specific type of source
material, others are so general that they
could easily be expanded in other 700 pages
long volumes. Then, some articles are
merely one page long notes while others
consist of more lengthly presentations.
What they do have in common is that they
do not present new material and that they
concentrate on precious and prestigious
items, ofering a glittering and seductive image.
All in all, the catalogue of the Sigismundus
exhibition is a pleasure to the eye. It does
not bring great novelties but it is a sucessful
and diversified ensemble of artworks and
general presentations meant to recreate the
atmosphere and the looks of an era.
Ana Maria GRUIA
F dieval spiritual life, a less investigated field
Lidia Gross,
Confreriile medievale în Transilvania
(secolele XIV-XVI)
[Medieval Confraternities in
Transylvania (14th -16th centuries)]
(Cluj-Napoca: Presa Universitarã
Clujeanã, Ed. Grinta, 2004),
331 pages, ISBN 973-7924-26-6;
973-610-263-7.*
M edieval associations with a charitable
purpose, generically known as confra-
ternities represent a fascinating research
field for many reasons. Because of their lo-
cation within the articulations of the medi-
eval social body, that is, within the contact
points between the great institution of the
Church and the clerical order on the one
hand, and the City and the burghers on the
410 * This text was translated by Maria Crãciun
Colloquia 2007 b.p65 410
other, confraternities have had, as a func-
tion among others, to negotiate the ideals of
the two entities, to mediate their interaction.
That is why, the inquiries having medieval
confraternities as an object are equally en-
lightening for religious life, the ecclesiasti-
cal institution, devotional ideals and their
appropriation by the most dynamic category
of secular society – the inhabitants of towns.
One could note that one is not dealing with
a unilateral imposition of models and val-
ues, from the ecclesiastical institution to-
wards a receptive society, but rather with a
veritable exchange, through which the laity,
in their turn were able to model the church
in its most intimate aspects. Confraternities
have existed and acted at these critical junc-
tions of medieval society.
Lidia Gross’ book, as the title indicates rep-
resents an investigation concerning the
confraternal phenomenon in Transylvania,
a frontier zone both for urban civilisation of
a western type and the geography of Ca-
tholicism. The choice of subject has been, as
the author indicates, purely subjective (“Ar-
gument,” p. 7), invoking the fascination of
the living image of the medieval town and
the need for more refined knowledge of me-
in Romanian historiography. The presump-
tion that Transylvania has known a confra-
ternal history and that this has remained
largely unknown represents sufficient argu-
ments for such an investigation. Geographi-
cally speaking, this endeavour refers to the
voievodate (and leither principality) of Tran-
sylvania, while the chronological limits (the
fourteenth-sixteenth centuries) are linked to
the beginning of urban development and the
major changes brought by the Reformation.
Moreover, the same period defines the peak
of the confraternal movement throughout
Europe. The author chooses as a method-
ological approach the tracing of the charac-
teristic traits of the confraternities in con-
junction with the environment where they
made their mark, the religious and chari-
table activities they appropriated, the devo-
tion they practiced, their impact at the level
of the population, in a permanent parallel
with the development of the process in other
geographical areas, especially the German
lands. We are also warned that, although a
component of the general European phe-
nomenon, the medieval confraternity in the
Transylvanian area presents some pe-
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