Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of maps
- Acknowledgements
- List of abbreviations
- INTRODUCTION
- 1 HUNGARY: A FRONTIER SOCIETY
- 2 CHRISTIANS AND NON-CHRISTIANS
- 3 THE LEGAL POSITION OF HUNGARY'S NON-CHRISTIAN POPULATION
- 4 NON-CHRISTIANS IN HUNGARIAN ECONOMY AND SOCIETY
- 5 CONFLICTS BETWEEN THE PAPACY AND THE KINGS
- 6 CHRISTIAN PERCEPTIONS AND ATTITUDES
- 7 NON-CHRISTIAN COMMUNITIES: CONTINUITY, TRANSFORMATION, CONVERSION AND ASSIMILATION
- CONCLUSION
- Appendix 1 Hungarian kings of the house of Árpád
- Appendix 2 Toponyms, with Latin and German equivalents
- Appendix 3 The manuscript tradition of the Synod of Buda (1279)
- Bibliography
- Index
- Cambridge Studies in Medieval Life and Thought Fourth series
CONCLUSION
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 06 January 2010
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of maps
- Acknowledgements
- List of abbreviations
- INTRODUCTION
- 1 HUNGARY: A FRONTIER SOCIETY
- 2 CHRISTIANS AND NON-CHRISTIANS
- 3 THE LEGAL POSITION OF HUNGARY'S NON-CHRISTIAN POPULATION
- 4 NON-CHRISTIANS IN HUNGARIAN ECONOMY AND SOCIETY
- 5 CONFLICTS BETWEEN THE PAPACY AND THE KINGS
- 6 CHRISTIAN PERCEPTIONS AND ATTITUDES
- 7 NON-CHRISTIAN COMMUNITIES: CONTINUITY, TRANSFORMATION, CONVERSION AND ASSIMILATION
- CONCLUSION
- Appendix 1 Hungarian kings of the house of Árpád
- Appendix 2 Toponyms, with Latin and German equivalents
- Appendix 3 The manuscript tradition of the Synod of Buda (1279)
- Bibliography
- Index
- Cambridge Studies in Medieval Life and Thought Fourth series
Summary
The analysis of the economic, social, legal and religious position of non-Christians in Hungary has implications for the study of medieval frontier societies, minorities, identity and the nature of exclusion from and integration into society.
The situation of non-Christians in Hungary was unique within contemporary Latin Christendom in two respects. First, three groups of non-Christians were present as late as the thirteenth century: Jews, Muslims and ‘pagans’. Second, they did not become part of the kingdom through conquest. Hungary was a frontier kingdom, but not primarily a conquest kingdom in the eleventh to thirteenth centuries. The non-Christian population migrated to Hungary, rather than being forced to become a part of it, as was the case (with minor exceptions) in Iberia, Prussia and other medieval frontier areas.
Keeping this singularity in mind, a brief summary of the results of this study is necessary before drawing more general conclusions. In order to gain a satisfactory picture, we need to consider the interplay between the economic, social, legal, political and religious realities. Hungary was not a case of ‘tolerance due to economic necessity’. Non-Christians certainly played economic roles, even important ones, but they were not irreplaceable. They did not exclusively fill any occupation or role. The same monetary functions were held by Jews, Muslims and Christians, and there was no need for middlemen between Christians and another culture (as opposed to Reconquest Iberia).
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- At the Gate of ChristendomJews, Muslims and 'Pagans' in Medieval Hungary, c.1000 – c.1300, pp. 268 - 272Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2001