The Matter of Honour: The Leading Urban Elite in Sixteenth Century Transylvania

This monograph entails a comparative study of two early modern urban centers in Transylvania (nowadays Romania): Cluj (Kolozsvar, Klausenburg) and Sibiu (Nagyszeben, Hermannstadt). It develops a new perspective on urban history in Transylvania, by filling the recent historiographical lacuna on early modern urban elites since not much has been written recently on early modern urban elites. This book attempts to combine traditional and modern research methods, by analyzing and comparing a large volume of unpublished data along three research lines. First, the historical background within which of the town elites in Cluj and Sibiu monopolized power are analyzed, including the development of town autonomy and governmental systems, the legal background of urban leadership, its continuity and the conditions under which the political urban elite acted in each town. Secondly, a thorough archontological and prosopographical research, with a special focus on marriage strategies and professional competence leads to a socio-political characterisation of the elites of Cluj and Sibiu. Finally, an attempt is made to provide insight into the representation and self-fashioning of these elites.