1

Jean-Paul Van der Elst

The Low Countries

in Transylvania
The Dutch, the Flemings and the Walloons

in the history of Transylvania (11th-12th-13th century)

- Merchtem 2013 -

ISBN/EAN : 9789082011302

This book can be ordered by mail: jeanpaul.vanderelst@gmail.com

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“Go back to Flanders”, was the curse of a Romanian who quarreled with his Saxon
neighbours in Transylvania. It expresses that even the Romanians know about the
historical origin of (some of) the Saxons in their country.

Transylvania is a region in Romania that consists of 16 provinces with a total popula-

tion of a little more than seven million people (statistics of 2002). The historical Sie-
benbürgen was a lot smaller. It had only nine provinces and formed the Principality
of Siebenbürgen until the middle of the 19th century. On the 1st of December of 1918
the bigger Transylvania joined Moldavia and Wallachia to form the Kingdom of
Romania. At that moment the population of Transylvania consisted of Romanians
(57,1%), Hungarians (26,5%) and German speaking Saxons (9,8%). Before the
second world war more than half a million Saxons still lived in Transylvania. After the
war many were taken to Siberia. In the post war period until the revolution of 1989
their numbers dwindled to little more than 5%. The oppression by the communist
regime of Nicolae Ceaușescu was largely responsible for this. After the revolution the
borders opened and the remaining Saxons fled their homelands in vast numbers.
Today their presence is reduced to less than half a percent. In many of the Saxon
villages only a few, in others none of the original villagers have remained.

“Overwhelming natural beauty, forests, mountains, caves, rivers, meadows rich with
flowers and fertile land colour the landscape with green valleys, small villages lost in
time, walled cities and ruins from times long gone by which stand as witnesses of a
turbulent past”. These are the words of Ton van Rijen in his book “Transylvania, The
Saxon Legacy” (Cluj Napoca, 2009, p. 7).

When we asked Frau Sara Dootz (74 in 2010) a few years ago what would happen
when “the last Saxons will have disappeared from her village Deutschweisskirch” her
firm answer was: “You should not and cannot ask me this question. I refuse to think
about that”. Her reply illustrates clearly that the Saxon culture and the Saxon
presence in Transylvania are nearing their end.

The Saxon fortified churches, churches transformed into monumental strongholds

against the Ottoman Turks and other attackers, will probably resist in time but the
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dialects – testimonies of the geographical and historical background of the Saxon

population – will soon fade away forever.

The German speaking Saxons – who are called flandrenses, theutonici and saxones
in historical texts – arrived in the twelfth century from present-day Holland, Flanders,
Wallonia, the north of France, Luxemburg and western Germany (mainly the area
between Moselle and Rhine). They came to the Hungarian kingdom to populate the
deserta (areas where the original population was removed), to develop them and
defend them against all kinds of attackers ad rentinendam coronam (to safeguard
the (Hungarian) crown).

There is a vast literature in the German language that documents the different waves
of colonization that started in the 12th century (or even earlier) and continued deep
into the 19th century. But this literature was biased in trying to prove that the
immigrants were ‘Germans’. Paul Philippi (° 1923 in Kronstadt) is honorary president
of the Democratic Forum of German speaking citizens of Romania (DFDR) and was a
professor of theology at the renowned university of Heidelberg in Germany. In a
private conversation in Hermannstadt he confided that there was a lot of research
regarding the influence of German religious texts and rites on the texts and rites of
the church in Siebenbürgen (the name the Saxons use for Transylvania). “The more
we approached the western border of the German empire, the stronger this influence
grew,” he admitted, “but the research stopped at the border because the purpose
was to prove that the Saxons of Siebenbürgen were of German origin”.

A few years ago I spoke to Herr Schneider, the keeper of the key to the fortified
church of Wurmloch/Valea Viilor and asked him what, in his opinion, was the geo-
graphical origin of the Saxons in Siebenbürgen. Without hesitation he answered “Aus
Flandern” (from Flanders) without knowing that he was talking to someone who is
Flemish. When I consequently asked him why he gave me this answer he went on to
say that “we have learned like this at school”. The play Die Flandrer am Alt (1883) by
Michael Albert supports this statement. The plot of the play is pure fiction but the
title refers to popular believe that the first colonists in the Alte Land (the region
around Hermannstadt/Sibiu and the river Alt/Olt) were Flemish by origin.
5

The aim of this book is not to prove that all early immigrants were Flemish. And
definitely not to claim Transylvania for the Flemish. First of all the words ‘nationality’
and ‘territoriality’ did not mean the same in the twelfth century as what they mean
now. Among the first guests of the King there were undoubtedly people from the
Rhine-Meuse (Mosa) area, the north of France, present-day Wallonia, Brabant, the
south of present-day The Netherlands, Zeeuws-Vlaanderen (Zeeland) and
Luxemburg. For more than two centuries scholars have researched into the question
of the origin of the Siebenbürgen Saxons. The questions “Where did they come
from? “ is easily put but not easily answered. Let’s use “the Low Countries” as a
geographical denomination, the area where three languages collided: Low German (a
group of Lower Franconian dialects), Wallon (Walloon dialects) and French. An area
where there was not enough land to feed the growing number of people, an area
where crop failures and natural disasters caused famine and illnesses, an area where
smaller and bigger armed conflicts where fought, which led to even more misery.

Another important question which keeps the discussion about the colonization of
Transylvania alive, is: “How did the immigrants from the Low Countries come to the
Hungarian realm in general and to Transylvania in particular?”

Until a few decades ago nearly all historians thought that the migration was organi-
zed and systematical. Smaller and bigger groups of colonists, led by ‘lokatoren’, came
directly or via an in-between in the Holy German Empire (Magdeburg, Regensburg)
to the areas which were attributed to them by the Hungarian crown. This theory was
extensively documented by Karl Kurt Klein (Transsylvanica. Gesammelte Abhand-
lungen und Aufsätze zur Sprach- und Siedlungsforschung der Deutschen in Sieben-
bürgen, München, Oldenburg, 1963 ) and – more recently – by historians like Konrad
Gundisch (Siebenbürgen und die Siebenbürger Sachsen, 1998). They believe the co-
lonists advanced in five stages from the northwest tot the southeast of Transylvania.

A second, and a more recent, theory is defended eloquently by Horst Klusch (Zur
Ansiedlung der Siebenbürger Sachsen, Boekarest, 2001). He thinks that a number of
potential colonists were already present in the greater area, south of the Carpa-
thians. They were survivors of different expeditions from the first and second crusa-
de that were crushed by the Bulgarians and the Byzantine army. They went from the
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southwest and southeast to the northeast of Transylvania. Klusch is joined, among

others, by Wilhelm Andreas Baumgärtner (Der Vergessene Weg. Wie die Sachsen
nach Siebenbürgen kamen, Hermannstadt, 2007) who tries to reconcile the theories
of Klusch and Klein.

The bulk of historical literature on the colonization of Transylvania is in German,

Romanian and Hungarian. But in 1871 Emile de Borchgrave wrote his Essai Histori-
que sur les Colonies Belges qui s’établirent en Hongrie et en Transylvanie pendant les
onzième, douzième et treizième sciècles which was crowned and published by the
Académie Royale de Belgique. Emile Jacques Yvon Marie de Borchgrave (1837-1917)
was born in Ghent (Flanders) in a rich, French-speaking family. In 1865 he had
published his Histoire des Colonies Belges qui s’établirent en Allemagne au XIIe et au
XIIIe sciècles. His Essai from 1871 was a sequel to it. Both works have to be seen
as a way to support the legitimation of the young Belgian state which was formed in
1830. Of course the adjective “belge” is a flagrant anachronism in this context.

More than a hundred years later Frans M. Olbrechts devoted a few pages to the mi-
gration to Transylvania in his book Vlaanderen zendt zijn zonen uit (Davidsfonds,
Louvain 1942). For the rest there is only silence about this page of history. It is only
after the revolution of December 1989 that a few newspaper articles mention the
presence of the Low Countries in Transylvania. “Until now little is written and little is
known about this. I hope someone makes a sound investigation into the matter. It
seems really worthwhile to me,” declared Dr. Harald Roth of the prestigious
Siebenbürgen Institute in Gundelsheim in an interview with BN/DeStem of 14
November 2002.

There is only one snag: the sources referring to the migration from the Low
Countries to Transylvania are very scarce. For two reasons: sources from the
eleventh and twelfth centuries are scarce anyway (It was only during the reign of
King Bela III in 1181 that the system of oral administration and justice was replaced
by a system based on written texts and records. Four years later the permanent
chancellery of the Hungarian court was established). The second reason is that war
and plundering made them even more scarce.
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Sources from the Low Countries mention, next to a group of emigrants from
Opoldishausen (in the Wetterau, Mid-Germany), not more than two emigrants to
Hungary by name: Anselme de Bra(stiz), guardian of the fortress of Logne (south of
Liège) and Hezelo von Angelsdorp (thirty kilometers west of Cologne).

During the devastating attacks of the Mongols (1241-1242) cities throughout

Hungary, including Transylvania, were utterly destroyed. Canon Rogerius wrote in his
Carmen Miserabile: “On the eighth day (of the Mongol attack) we could finally leave
the woods and we arrived in Weissenburg where we only found bones and heads of
slaughtered inhabitants and destroyed walls of churches and palaces, covered in
Christian blood.” 1 Weissenburg/Alba Iulia was the bishop’s seat of the diocese of
Transylvania. Important historical documents went up in flames.

Twice the people of Transylvania themselves were responsible for the burning of
books in Saint Michael’s Church in Weissenburg. In 1277 Gyan (Jean), son of Alardus
of Salzburg/Ocna Sibiului headed a revenge expedition against the bishop’s seat of
Weissenburg. Gyan saw Bishop Peter of Transylvania as the man responsible for the
murder on his father. According to a text from 1278 religious objects and books were
destroyed by the fire set to the church. Gyan and his father Allardus are pointed out
2
by Karl Kurt Klein as belonging to a Walloon family of immigrants. Thirty years later
history repeated itself: Saxon colonists stormed the cathedral for the second time,
destroying the library by fire. It was one more episode in the long lasting strive
between the diocese of Transylvania and the praepositura of Hermannstadt. One
could say it is ironical that the immigrants probably destroyed a number of texts
documenting their own history.

Luckily a number of documents have escaped fires and disasters, although they are
rather rare. These documents prove that the so-called “flandrenses” and “latini” must
have had an important part in the first waves of colonists that came to Transylvania.
After the Mongol Storm (1241-1242) their numbers ànd influence decreased
dramatically.

1
Carmen Miserabile super Destructione Regni Hungariae per Tartaros(Sad Song about the destruction of the
Kingdom of Hungary by the Tartars), probably around 1241.
2
K. K. Klein, Latini in Siebenbürgen, Transsylvanica. Gesammelte Abhandlungen... pp. 226-255.
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Asides

Place names in Transylvania are often mentioned in three languages. There is the
Hungarian name, the German and the Romanian one. In old charters often the
‘Latinized’ name is used. And then there is often a Saxon dialect name that may
divert from the official German one. Let me illustrate this with an example: the
Romanian village of Unirea (now a district of the city of Bistritz/Bistriţa) has the
Hungarian form of Aldorf, the German form of Wallendorf and is mentioned in Latin
texts as Villa Latina. The locals however use the Saxon variant Wualndref. In this
book cities, villages and rivers are usually mentioned with their German
name/Romanian name.

The name Transylvania (ultra silvam, ultra silvana, also partes transsylvanæ ) is used
in the administration of the Hungarian court, as early as 1075. In 1296 the name
Siebenbuergen (Siebenbürgen) is used for the first time. Because our book
concentrates on the first period of colonization with the Mongol Storm of 1242 as a
turning point in the history of the colonists of the Low Countries, the name
Transylvania is used most of the time.

Because the (Latin) name saxones, used to point out the colonists, has no
geographical connotation we will use the term Saxon(s) as a translation for the name
Sachsen, used by the Transylvanian Saxons themselves.

I would like to express my gratitude for the help and encouragement offered to me
by Eugène van Itterbeek (+), Paul Philippi, Herman Fabini, Mircea Mýlcu, Stan
Distelmans, Ton en Gabi van Rijen, Ives De Bondt, Centrul Cultural Interetnic
Transilvania (Sibiu) and Philippe Beke, Belgian ambassador in Bucharest.
9

„Zu erfahren ist, dass Siebenbürger Sachsen zumeist Rheinländer waren, die aus
Flandern, aus Brabant, vom linken Niederrhein, aus den Erzbistümern Köln, Mainz
und Trier kamen. In der ethnischen Abgrenzung jener Zeit waren sie wohl Franken,
nach den territorialen Abgrenzungen von heute wären viele aus Belgien oder den
Niederlanden gekommen.“

“We have to know that most Saxons from Siebenbürgen were from the Rhine area.
They came from Flanders, from Brabant, from the left bank of the Nether Rhine,
from the Archdiocese of Cologne, Mainz and Trier. Ethnically speaking they were
Franconians, territorially many came from present-day Belgium and Holland.

(Dr. Christoph Zöpel, German Minister of State, in a speech held in Berlin on 7 May
2003.)
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Hungary and Transylvania

By the end of the ninth century the century-long-migration of the Magyars comes to
an end. After fighting alongside the Byzantine emperor against the Bulgarians – and
losing the battle – they were driven westwards by the Petchen (a Turkish tribe and
an alley of the Bulgarians). It is generally accepted that seven Hungarian tribes, led
by Arpad, crossed the Carpathian mountains in 895 (see picture). They crossed the
mountains through the Verecke Pass, north of the present-day city of Wolowez
(Ukraine) in the historical (Hungarian) province of Bereg (north of the province
Sathmar and west of Ugocsa).

Whether the Hungarians took possession of the Transylvanian basin immediately or

moved on to the Pannonian plain between Danube and Tisza is unclear up till now. At
the same time the last word about the ethnical origin of the Hungarian (Magyars)
hasn’t been spoken. In the early Byzantine writings they were invariably called
‘Turkish’. Whom they found in the Carpathian basin is not clear either. The presence
of Slavic people is generally accepted. Romanian historians, supported by archeo-
11

logical evidence, claim the presence of the Dacians. Others mention the presence of
Avars in the same basin.

Beyond any doubt and discussion is the fact that the Magyars held long and devas-
tating raids which brought them as far as Flanders, at that time already a prosperous
area. Their rampages were unexpected and caused great damage to the late empire
of Charlemagne, Italy, the north of Spain and the Byzantine empire. In 955 Otto I,
emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, beat the Hungarians on the Lechfeld near
Augsburg. The losses of the Hungarians were estimated at 30.000 to 35.000
warriors. It brought an end to the Hungarian raids on the west. Fifteen years later
the Byzantine empire stopped the raids on the east. The Magyars started to build
their own empire, which would become the Kingdom of Hungary.

Stephen I was first Great Prince of the Magyars (997-1001) and the first King of
Hungary (1001-1038). He asked Pope Sylvester II to crown him. According to the
legend the ceremony took place on Christmas Day of the year 1000. Stephen suppor-
ted the Christianization of the Hungarians – a difficult process which generated a lot
of opposition – and molded Hungary into a kingdom according to the Western model.

Stephen was born as Vajk (a “pagan” name meaning hero), son of the important
tribal chief Géza. His mother was Sarolt, daughter to Gyula of Transylvania, an
Hungarian nobleman. After being baptized Vajk’s name was changed into
Stephen/Stefanus I (István in Hungarian). He strengthened the ties with the Holy
Roman Empire by marrying Gisela of Bayern, the sister of emperor Henry II.
Moreover Stephen surrounded himself with monks from the West who introduced
Western values and traditions into Hungary (see below). By his descent and the
building of a strong central power Stephen (who would later be canonized and
become Szent István) managed to expand his influence in Transylvania. The name
‘Transylvania’ comes from Latin ‘trans silvana’ of ‘ultra silvana’ (beyond the woods) 3.
Seen from the Pannonian plains Transylvania was indeed the land behind the forests.

3
"terra Ultrasiluana”
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He divided the land in Transylvania between the crown (the King’s Land or Königs-
boden) and the Hungarian nobility. The latter usually stemmed from prominent
Magyar families or were ennobled by the king. On their lands they would build a
strong feudal system, similar to that in the West. The King’s Land knew a different
fate. It was situated at the borders of the realm and was of military importance. To
defend the southern border of Transylvania the king appealed to the Szekely, a tribe
related to the Magyars. The would defend the desertum (big lumps of land emptied
of its inhabitants) against Bulgarian, Petchen and Byzantine attacks.

Stephen died in 1038 and was canonized in 1083. His death was followed by a period
of intrigues and bitter struggles to win the crown, uprisings, treason and discord. It
was King Laszlo I (1077-1095) who brought back stability and peace. He added
Slovenia to the Hungarian Crown in 1090. Thirteen years later Croatia was subdued.
It would, however, never really be integrated completely into the kingdom. It was
ruled by a “ban”, a kind of civil governor. What followed was a period of stability in
which the Hungarian kingdom grew to become a regional power.

In the meantime the first colonists had come dropwise to the Hungarian kingdom.
The Szekely border guards were moved to the eastern border of the realm and their
place was taken by migrants from the Rhine-Moselle area, the Low Countries and the
north of France. René Richtscheid 4 called the area “Reichsromania”. The term refers
to the area where French (or a romance dialect) was spoken but which resulted
under the jurisdiction of the (German speaking) Holy Roman Empire. And the author
adds that it contained a number of parts of the Duchy of Lorraine that remained
independent until the twelfth century.

The Szekely and the annexation of Transylvania

The Magyars had built in the Pannonian plain a more or less stable (Christian)
monarchy after Prince Vajk had converted to Christianity, was baptized under the

4
R. Richtsheid, Motive zur Auswanderung ins Arpadenreich nach lotharingischen Quellen, Zeitschrift für
Siebenbürgische Landeskunde 27 (2004), Heft 1, p. 1
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name of Stephanus and crowned King of Hungary in the year 1000. He had cast an
eager eye on the territories “ultra silvana” (at the other side of the woods). In
conquering the area the Hungarians used the “Geypü” technique. Progressively the
5
border of the realm was moved eastwards by organizing geypü (German:
Ödlandstreifen, Latin: indagines) : stripes of land, 10 to 40 km wide, where the
inhabitants were chased away and which were deliberately left deserted and densely
covered by trees and bushes. At strategic points earthen fortresses and ‘portas’
(fortifications made of wood) were built. These places were guarded by armed men
and farmers who were given privileges in return. In this way the west of present-day
Transylvania was brought into the realm. The area was rich in salt (often already
mined in Roman times) which was an indispensable source of minerals for the cattle,
not only in the Hungarian kingdom but in a wide area around it. Once a newly-won-
6
area was sufficiently stable, the gyepü was moved to the south and the east.

The area was scarcely populated, by Slavs and Vlachs (Olaci) and ruled by the local
Magyar tribal chief Gyula 7, a ruler unwilling to change his “pagan” beliefs for the
Christian faith. In 1003 he was beaten by the troops of King Stephen who, in 1201,
also beat the Petchen who had invaded the eastern part of his territories. These
Petchen had tried to establish their own realm in present-day Transylvania but were
heavily defeated by King Laszlo (Ladislaus) in 1068 at Kyrieleis (near Bistritz/Bistriţa).
Nothing stood in the way of the annexation of the areas ultra silvana.

The stripes of land that remained after the gyepü had been moved, were scarcely
populated. They were indicated as deserta and became the personal property of the
king of Hungary or were donated (as a fief) to Hungarian noblemen and their
families. To defend the deserta and to develop them, first Szekely and later colonists
from the Low Countries were located there.

5
“Geypü” comes from the Turkish word “yapi” meaning “palisade”.
6
This gyepüstrategy bears a strong likeness to the “marken strategy” (advanced areas) which was used in the
rest of Europe.
7
“Gyula” was not really a personal name but the title of a local tribal chief.
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Who were the Szekely?

“Zu den wichtigsten Grenzwächtern Ungarns gehören die Szekler. Sie sind wohl
ursprünglich ein Türk-Stamm, der sich früh den Magyaren anschloß” Konrad
Gündisch writes 8. Thus setting the tone for the debate on the origin of the Szekely.
At present the Szekely form a militant minority in the Romanian state, with a large
presence in the provinces of Mures, Covasna and Harghita. They are called
Hungarians but they manifest themselves proudly as “Székely”. Legends boast that
they are the descendants of the Huns, others call them a brother tribe of the
Hungarians who followed (or preceded) the seven Hungarian tribes led by Arpad,
who conquered themselves a new homeland. Still others claim a relationship with the
Avars, who lived in these areas and were subdued by Charlemagne. But most
historians agree with Konrad Gündisch and see the Szekler as a people of Turkish
origin 9 who gave the Magyar their military support and slowly took their language.

DNA-analyses with 300 people showed that finally they belong to two different
ethnical groups who have exchanged very little genetical material: the Székely and
the Csango. The latter can be found nowadays in Moldavia and the area around
Brasov.

The Szekely were asked to defend the southern and western border of the Hungarian
kingdom, but later followed the gyepü into Transylvania. In the south (the area of
Hermannstadt/Sibiu) they were replaced by Saxon immigrants from Germany and the
Low Countries, in the south-east (area around Kronstadt/Brasov) by the knights of
the Teutonic Order. Eventually they ended up in the eastern Carpathians as keepers
of the border and defenders against the Cumans and the Petchen (both of nomadic
origin). The request to fight these nomadic people (at the eastern border of his
kingdom) probably came from the Hungarian king who believed that the tactics used
by the Szekely were more adapted to the nomadic style of warfare of these Cumans
and Petchen. The Saxon colonists and the heavy cavalry of the Teutonic Order in

8
K. Gündisch, Siebenbürgen und Siebenbürger Sachsen, Munchen 1998. Translation: “The Szeklers belong to
the most important guards of the Hungarian border. Originally they were a Turkish tribe who joined forces with the
Magyars”.
9
Their social organization would prove so.
15

return were the more suitable adversaries of the regular Byzantine army and their
Bulgarian allies.

In the eastern part of the Hungarian kingdom the Szekely

formed seven Szeklerstühle (administrative units). Together
with the Hungarian nobility and the Saxon colonists (in
Siebenbürgen, Nösnerland and Burzenland) the Szekely
formed the Union of Three Nations of Transylvania, founded in
1437 and confirmed in 1542. In the coat of arms of
Transylvania the Szekely are represented by the image of the
sun and the moon. The eagle stands for the Hungarian nobility
10
and the seven towers for Siebenbürgen.

The Colonists : Naar Oostland willen wij rijden

A lot of printing ink has been spent on the immigration of colonists from the area as
described above. There are two central questions to be discussed: ‘How have they
come?’ and ‘Why have they come?’ But let’s first consider the area of origin.

Where did the colonists come from ?

Roughly speaking, we can say: from the northern parts of the Duchy of Lorraine
(Lower Lorraine), the middle part of the empire of Charlemagne which had fallen
apart. An area where Low German (also called Plattdeutsch) was spoken as well as
French (or a Walloon dialect). An area between Rhine, Moselle and Scheldt running
into Flanders and the North of France. An area where Germanic and Romanesque
language islands collided, an area with powerful abbeys en monasteries with an
influence that spread over the whole of Europe. An area which was densely
populated, with important cities, divided into smaller and bigger fiefs that were
constantly in war with each other. An area which was afflicted by natural disasters

10
First the name for the Köningsboden (between Broos/Orastie and Draas/Drauseni), later for all Saxon territories
(including Nösnerland and Burzenland).
16

(storms and hurricanes that destroyed crops, regular floodings that wiped away
entire villages), bad harvests, famine and other calamities. An area with a lot of
people and a fragmentation of the arable land. An area where the petty nobles were
poor and knights had to put their sword and their life to the service of rich barons
and kings. In short: an area where – at least part of – the population had no future
and was willing to emigrate.

Already during the reign of Louis The German (806-876), a grandson of

Charlemagne, the expansion to the east had started. Franconians and Bavarians
formed colonies in present-day Slovakia and the Pannonian plain. In 1147 there was
the Wenden crusade, organized by Danes and Saxons tot Christianize the Slavs (ànd
steal their land). But the real Ostsiedlung (migration to the East) took place in the
twelfth and thirteenth centuries when major groups of colonists moved in to cultivate
the land east of Elbe and Saale. When the Teutonic Order entered the scene (they
were chased from Burzenland in 1225) Prussia and the Baltic states followed the
same fate.

At the same time there was a migration to far-off Hungary. Two factors played an
important part in this. Just like in the Ostsiedlung there was the attractive idea to
take possession of land and thus escape the status of landless serf. Next to that
there were the crusades which urged people to leave land and goods and find faith
and fate in far-off places in the Holy Land. In 1147 the German bishop Otto von
Freisung crossed the Hungarian kingdom as a participant to the second crusade. He
was impressed by the beauty and fertility of the land of the Magyars and compared it
to the garden of Eden. He had less admiration for the Hungarian people, wondering
11
why God had given such a marvelous country to “monsters hardly human”

The Flemish, a people of emigrants

The Flemish are less sedentary than most people tend to believe. From the early
middle ages – when poor farmers, craftsmen and traders moved across Europe – to

11
Otto Frisingensis, Gesta Friderici, lib. I, c. 31; in: Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Scriptores, vol. 20,
Hannover, 1869, p. 368.
17

the nineteenth century when – driven by hunger – they crossed the ocean to the US
till the twentieth century when they answered the appeal of far-away-countries like
Australia, South-Africa and the African colonies they have proved their willingness to
widen their horizon to fulfill their strive for better living conditions. They were not
afraid of taking risks. For the Dutch this is even more true. They sailed the oceans of
the world and founded colonies in distant continents.

In 1066 more than 1500 Flemish horsemen, infantry and archers stood at the side of
William of Normandy in the Battle of Hastings. After the victory of the Normans they
were rewarded with land, in Cornwall among other parts of Britain. The Flemish
knights had a reputation of being fearless fighters and they were frequently used as
mercenaries fighting important battles for kings and princes. Very often they did not
return to their homeland being rewarded – as was the case after the Battle of
Hastings – with land by the noblemen and royals they had served with courage and
battle experience.

That the cunningness and courage of the Flemish knights were widely appreciated
proves the ‘gift’ of Robert The Frisian, count of Flanders, who ‘donated’ – after his
visit to Constantinople in 1089 – five hundred Flemish knights with their followers
and horses to the Byzantine emperor Alexius Comnenus to help him in his struggle
with the advancing Ottoman Turks.

In the eleventh and twelfth century’s crusades, people from the Low Countries
played an important role. Two Flemish participants, Letold and Gilbert from Tournai,
in the entourage of the Flemish count Robert II (Son of Robert The Frisian) were the
first to climb the walls of the beseiged town of Jerusalem. Tens of thousands of
fellow countrymen had made the long trip before them, moving in several trains to
the Holy Land. Many of them have never seen Jerusalem and possibly made a new
life in the Hungarian kingdom.

But it was not always war or conquest that lead people from the Low Countries on
their quest for newfound happiness. Very often bishops or royals made an appeal to
their specific skills which made them welcome guests in other parts of Europe where
they put their knowledge and labour at the service of local rulers. It is well known
18

and well documented that the Flemish and the Dutch (another anachronism) played
an important role in the Ostsiedlung, the German expansion to the east. Thousands
of simple people from the Low Countries crossed Elbe and Saale to colonize the land.
They proved to be very useful in draining swamps and building dikes. The new-
comers were rewarded with land and privileges. The division of the land was super-
vised by so-called “Lokatoren” who continued to play an important role in the newly
founded communities. Historians believe that a similar system was used in the
founding of new villages in Transylvania.

It was archbishop Adalgot von Osterburg who wrote around 1107: “Die Heiden hier
sind übel, ihr Land aber höchst ergiebig an Fleisch, an Honig, an Mehl … an Vögeln.
Und wenn es sorgfältig bebaut wird, wird ein solcher Überfluss an allem Wachstum
aus der Erde sein, dass kein Land mit ihm verglichen werden kann. Das sagen, die es
kennen. Deswegen, ihr Sachsen, Franken, Lothringer, ihr ruhmvollen Flandrer,
Bezwinger der Welt, hier könnt ihr Eure Seelen erretten und – wenn ihr wollt – das
12
beste Land zum Siedeln bekommen“.

Translation : „The pagans here are ill, but their land is abundant in meat, fish, honey
and … birds. And when it is carefully worked, it will yield a plentitude of fruits of the
earth which cannot be compared with any other country. That say those who know
it. So - you Saxons, Franconians and people from Lorraine, you glorious Flemish,
restrainers of the world – here you can save your souls and – if you want so – get
land to settle“.

Cities were founded and ruled according to ‘German’ city laws. The new migrants
brought their farming methods, their legal and administrative organization and their
specific technology. The original Slavic population was Christianized and the
newcomers spoke their own language in the villages they had founded. Often, but
this was not always the case, the name of their dwelling referred to the town or
village of origin: Häsewig to Heeswijk (Noord-Brabant, Nl), Kalow to Kallo (Oost-
Vlaanderen), Krägen (before Craienhem) to Kraainem (Brabant), Muntenache to
Montenaken (Belgisch-Limburg), etc… Also Brück (Brugge, spelled exactly the same

12
C. Rasmus en B. Rasmus, Der Fläming, Erlebnisführer, Berlin, KlaRas Verlag, 2004, p. 151
19

in 1375), Euper (Ieper) and Rosenthal (Rosendaal) bear a clear reference to cities in
the Low Countries. Let me add Lichterfeld (south-east of Jüterbog) which echoes
Lichtervelde (in West-Vlaanderen). When these places were named after the villages
and cities in the original home country can we not expect the same thing to happen
in the same period of time in far-away Transylvania?

Where an “old” Slavic village coexisted with a “new” Germanic village the prefixes
Klein- (old) en Gross- (new) were used. Also in Siebenbürgen we find many
examples of neigbouring villages with the prefixes Klein- and Gross- !

Around 1157 the area around Brandenburg was populated with Flemish people from
the county of Flanders. That is why the region is – until today – called “Der Fläming”.
And in the south of Poland (Silesia) is Wilamowice, a city (more a central village with
five surrounding hamlets) where Wymysojer, an ancient Flemish dialect, was spoken
until recent years. The name would be derived from the name of the founder
(lokator): a Fleming called William, not a German called Wilhelm.

The cities in the north and east of present-day Germany and Poland (Lübeck,
Wismar, Stralsund, Greifswald, Stettin) were populated by migrants form West- and
Ostfalen, the Low Countries and the Lower Rhine. The Polish city of Wroclaw
(Breslau in German) had in the thirteenth century an important Flemish presence
near the church of Saint Mauritius. The Wallonenflecken started as a separate
13
nucleus but soon became part of the town. Mainly Flemish weavers lived there.
Maybe the reader will now frown his eyebrows when reading that a “Walloon district”
was lived in by “Flemish weavers”. We must bear in mind that the term ‘Flemish’ at
that time had a geographical connotation more than a linguistic one.

Migrants from Zeeland and Holland went to the east coast of England in the twelfth
century, to the delta of the Gironde in France, to Bremen and Hamburg (Hanse
cities) and the western part of North Rhine-Westphalia.

In the beginning of the thirteenth century Flemish weavers and cloth dyers formed a
separated group, so big and important that Duke Leopold VII granted them a guild
13
‘Ursprung und Bedeutung der Ortsnamen im Stadtkreis Breslau’, http://www.breslau-
wroclaw.de/de/breslau/geographic/ortsnamen
20

charter in which their specific rights were summed up. In this document the
professional name ‘cloth dyer’ (Verber) is used as a synonym for Fleming: “Hantuest
der Verber recht genanndt dy Flamming”. (Charter of the cloth dyer, rightfully called
the Fleming).

Also Walloons left their homes in the twelfth and thirteenth century to start a new
life elsewhere. We can trace them in Silesia, Austria, Moravia, Bohemia, Hungary and
Poland. In many places we can find villages named Wallendorf (Walloon village) and
Regensburg had its Wahlenstrasse (Walloon street). Cologne had not less than three
streets referring to an important Walloon presence in the city.

György Székely in his paper Les droits des hôtes ”Latins” et “Saxons” dans les
14
autonomies urbaines et territoriales de la Hongrie médiévale identifies several
noble families in Gran/Esztergom as being Walloons or of Walloon origin. The oldest
charter of the city (1255) was written by a judge bearing the name of Jakmynus, at
15
that time having the title of ‘maior ville’. Jakmynus, Jakemin is a Christian name
derived from Jacob, very common in the homeland of the colonist who came to
Hungary and Transylvania: the north of France, the Ardennes and Luxemburg. But
the Christian name Jakemin (and its female variant Jakemina) could also be found in
the country of Flanders, notably in the area of Bruges and Courtrai. From there it
even spread to England. In Flanders the family name Jacquemin/Jacquemijns still
refers to that Christian name.

György Székely mentions more Walloons in Gran/Esztergom: Mauritius (1265, 1295),

Theryn Latinus (1275), Petrus filius Gemeni (1299), Jehan (1299, 1231), … They
appear as owners of vineyards or witnesses to the selling of land or goods. It should
be clear that (wealthy) merchants from Wallonia, living in the ‘vicus Latinorum’
played an important part in the economic growth of the city.

14
Held at the ‘Konferenz’ Städtische Freiheiten und bürgerlichte Partizipation vom Mittelalter bis heute, 6.9.2009-
9.9.2009
15
See family names like Jacqmijn, Jacqmain or Jacqmijns
21

The Crusades

To free Jerusalem and to safeguard eastern Christianity from expanding Islam, Pope
Urban II, in Clermont (France) urged all Christians to go on a crusade to the Holy
Land.
For several centuries pilgrims had moved in
smaller en bigger groups around Europe, on
their way to the Holy Land. In general they
were not bothered by quite tolerant Arab
Muslims. In 1009 the sanctuary on top of the
Holy Grave was destroyed by ordnance of
Hakim, caliph of the Fatimides. Not more than
a decade later the pilgrimages to Jerusalem
were resumed. In 1033 – a thousand years
after the death of Jesus Christ – thousands
and thousands of pilgrims took to the road.
By the middle of the century the Byzantine
emperor had the devastated holy places
rebuilt.
“Erst nach der Öffnung der kontinentalen

Pilgerstrasse durch Ungarn im Jahre 1017

A pilgrim on his way to the city of Jerusalem
(pictured In the circle) wurde es möglich, dass auch zahlenmässig
grössere Gruppen aus Europa nach Jerusalem
gelangten. Nur durch diesen kontinentalen Weg, konnten neben den Adeligen und
Reichen, auch die weniger begüterten Pilger eine Reise nach Jerusalem
16
unternehmen” (Only after the opening of the continental pilgrim roads through
Hungary, in the year 1017, it was possible for large groups from Europe to reach
Jerusalem. Thanks to this continental route not only the rich and the noble but also
the people who were less well-off could undertake the journey to Jerusalem). Before
16
K. Herbers en D. R. Bauer, Der Jakobuskult in Ostmitteleuropa, Tübingen, 2003, p. 293
22

1017 they had to go by sea and that was much more expensive. A journey by land
from France tot Jerusalem (and back) took about eight months. Along the conti-
nental route there were safe place in cities guarded by soldiers from royal or imperial
armies.

“Im Jahre 1026 pilgerte eine Gruppe von mehreren tausend westlichen, haupt-
sächlich franzözischen und belgischen Pilgern unter der Führung des Grafen van
Angoulême und des Abtes des Benediktinerklosters von Verdun über den neu eröff-
neten Weg nach Jerusalem (door Hongarije). (…) Durch Seine Gastfreundschaft und
Seine Grosszügigkeit gegenüber den Pilgern versuchte der Köning (Stefanus I) einige
weltliche und kirchliche Persönlichkeiten dazu zu bewegen, sich in Ungarn
niederzulassen”. 17 (In 1026 a large group of a few thousand people from the west,
mainly French and Belgian (anachronisms!) pilgrims headed by the Count of
Angoulême and the Abbot of the Benedictine monastery of Verdun, took to the newly
opened route (through Hungary) . (…) By his hospitality and generosity the king
(Stephen I) tried to convince some high clerics and noble participants to stay and
settle in Hungary”. Later we will see that King Stephen and some of his successors
were anxious to recruit clerics and noblemen and gave them high posts in the young
Hungarian Christian dioceses and at the royal court. A few decades later 24 canons
fled Verdun. Some of them took high posts in the Hungarian catholic church.

By the middle of the eleventh century the Arabs in Asia Minor were outpowered by
more militant Turks. They were a real threat to the many trails of pilgrims - some
big, some small – that made the long journey to the Holy Land. From that time on
these undertakings were impossible without armed escorts. The Turks also formed a
new threat to the Byzantine Empire. In 1071 the Byzantine army was beaten close to
Manzikert in Armenia. The Turks moved on to Nicea, close to the Byzantine town of
Constantinople. Emperor Alexius Comnenus addressed a desperate appeal for help to
the West. In particular he asked for Norman mercenaries to be sent to the rescue.
The pope hesitated. On the one hand he was aware of the new threat by the Turks;
on the other hand he was not very keen to support the Byzantine Empire, the schism
between the church in Rome and Constantinople being so recent. Nevertheless Pope

17
K. Herbers en D. R. Bauer, ibid., p. 295
23

Urban II called on all Christians to go and free the Holy Land. His appeal was widely
answered. Not only by royals and noblemen but also by simple people who were
eager to listen to crusade preachers like Peter of Amiens. This man, also called Peter
the Hermit, urged the
masses to go and free the
Holy Grave of Christ (see
picture). While the wealthy
royals took their time to
carefully prepare the
undertaking, smaller and
bigger groups of common
people – among them
clerics, knights and lower
noblemen – were impatient to start their poorly prepared journey to Jerusalem. They
usually lacked money and resources. Is this colourful band of adventures there were
also women and children. “Many must have thought it was the ultimate journey to
the Promised Land, away from years of drought and dramatically poor harvests. Any
alternative to hunger and suffering at home must have been attractive,” writes M.
18
Billings.

Many groups took to the road. Among them quite an important band of armed men
headed by Walter the Penniless (Gauthier Sans-Avoir). This man belonged to the
lower nobility and was by no ways – contrary to what his name suggests – a poor
man. His fellow travelers were experienced and well-armed. They started off without
hesitation and travelled along the rivers Rhine, Neckar and Danube to the Hungarian
kingdom. They had no real problems until they arrived at the border with the
Byzantine Empire. The emperor was not ready to receive, accommodate and feed
large groups of crusaders. Hungry as they were the men of Walter started looting the
surroundings of Belgrade. The emperor sent troops to accompany the crusaders to
the garrison city of Nisj and provide them with food.

18
M. Billings, De Kruistochten: op oorlogspad in het heilige Land, 2006, p. 13
24

Other groups had also started the long journey. Some of them committed atrocious
crimes against the Jews they met on their way. A group headed by a man called
Emicho had plundered and murdered Jews in the Holy Roman Empire. When they
crossed the Hungarian border they lay siege on the city of Wieselburg (Moson-
magyaróvár). They were beaten by the defending forces of the city and they comple-
tely abandoned their plan to go to Jerusalem. According to popular belief 10.000
crusaders were slaughtered. What happened to the survivors? Did they return to
their homelands or did they try to make a new life in Hungary?

Another group was headed by Gottschalk, the monk. Like the followers of Emicho
they had prosecuted and killed Jews in the Rhineland and Lorraine. Their fate wasn’t
any better than the one of those led by Emicho. At the end of June 1096 they were
welcomed by King Coloman of Hungary. But they indulged in drunkenness and star-
ted plundering the countryside around Belgrade. The king spurred his army to action,
he demanded the crusaders to disarm and had them all killed. The repression of the
army was so violent that “the whole plain was covered in blood and dead bodies” 19

Estimates stay that 10.000 crusaders lost their lives (10.000 was a very popular
number among chroniclers!). Among the followers of Emicho and Gottschalck many
came from Flanders and the Duchy of Lorraine (which would later give birth to the
Duchy of Brabant).

Ekkehard of Aura writes about the fate of the bunch that crusaded with Gottschalck:
“A lot of them were killed or taken prisoner. The others fled and he – a mercenary,
not the shepherd of the herd – was expulsed, covered in shame”. Those who
survived returned – so they say – or tried to build a new life elsewhere. Did some of
them stay in Hungary? Maybe they crossed the Carpathian Mountains through
existing passes? Other theories say that a number of would-be crusaders escaped
the massacres and settled in the Hungarian kingdom between Danube and Sava
(present-day Srim at the Serbian-Croatian border), an area where the refugees are
supposed to have introduced viticulture.

An incident with the vanguard of Walter the Penniless would decide on the fate of
many followers (men and women) of Peter the Hermit. When Walter left the
19
T. A. Archer, The Crusades: The Story Of The Latin Kingdom Of Jerusalem, London, G.P. Putnam Son, 1894
25

Hungarian territory to continue east, sixteen of his men stayed behind in Malevilla
(present-day Zemun, a suburb of Belgrade). They were robbed of their armour,
clothes and possessions by the citizens of Malevilla. What followed is extensively
described by the chronicler Albrecht of Aachen: “In the same night that their com-
rades returned, naked and empty-handed, Walter wanted to buy provisions from a
Bulgarian leader and a magistrate of the city (Belgrade). But they thought that the
request of Walter was fake, that the men he had sent were spies and they forbade
any selling of foodstuff to them. Walter and his men were in a rage, they stole sheep
and cows that were grazing in the woodlands around the city. There were skirmishes
between the pilgrims and some Bulgarians. The number of Bulgarians rapidly
increased, the small group of pilgrims was isolated and they fled into a chapel. But
the Bulgarians lay siege on the chapel and put fire to it, killing the sixty pilgrims that
had taken refuge in it. Many others were severely wounded. After this disaster and
the loss of his men Walter fled into the woods of Bulgaria. He left his men in
complete distress and retired to Nish, a thriving city in the middle of the Bulgarian
realm”. What happened to the men that fled in complete disarray? Did they arrive in
Nish like their leader or did they try to start a new life elsewhere? In Hungary?

In the meantime the main force of Peter the Hermit was on its way to Jerusalem. It
was a colourful and diverse horde of thirty to forty thousand crusaders. “Simple
people, virtuous men and women but also sinners, adulterers, murderers, thieves,
perjurers and rogues … started their journey with joy,” Albert Van Aken wrote. “But
to this gallery of crooks (…) we have to add men of the clergy, knights, lower
noblemen, simple, pious townspeople and considerable numbers of women and
children who carried everything they possessed on carts and beasts of burden”. 20

Many of them had not made enough preparations for such a long journey, they did
not have sufficient financial means and were badly armed or not at all. The “army” of
Peter carried a number of coffers (strongboxes) with money, collected from gifts or
extorted from Jewish communities they had met on their route. The money had to
provide for food for so many adventurers. Peter had big trouble in keeping the
discipline in the bunch of rogues and plunderers who had joined the crusaders.
20
M. Billings, De Kruistochten: op oorlogspad in het heilige Land, Amsterdam, Pearson Education Benelux, 2006,
p. 15
26

Peter and his crusaders were given a warm welcome by the Hungarian king. They
could travel through Hungary without any problem. When they, in turn, arrived at
Malevilla (Zemun) they heard what had happened to Walter’s rearguard. According
to Albert van Aken Peter ordered the town to be attacked to take revenge for the
injustice done to their brothers. About four thousand inhabitants would lose their life.
Whereupon Peter’s troops took the city. When they heard that the Hungarian king
had sent a powerful army to reconquer the city, the crusaders wanted to cross the
Sava River as soon as possible to leave the Hungarian kingdom. But there were not
enough boats to accommodate for so many people. So Peter ordered to build rafts.
“But the rafts could not be steered because they had no rudder and many were
separated from their fellow travelers. Many of them died under the arrows that were
shot by the Petchen who lived in Bulgaria,” Albert van Aken wrote.

In his article ‘Neue Hypothesen über die Ansiedlung der Siebenbürger Sachsen in
Rumänien‘ in Luxemburger Wort und die Warte of 9 January 2003, Bodo Bost writes
about the fate of the participants of the farmers‘ crusade when crossing the Sava
near Belgrado: „Bereits bei diesem ersten Kämpfen des Bauernheeres mit den petsche-
nischen Hilfstruppen der Byzantiner ertranken viele Kreuzfahrer, andere wurden versprengt.
Diese versprengten Kreuzfahrer ließen sich als Siedler an der Save im ungarisch-byzantini-
schen Grenzgebiet nieder, ihr Land wurde später von den Byzantinern Francochorion
(Frankenland) genannt, bis diese Siedlungen durch den Mongoleneinfall im Jahre 1241
wieder verschwunden sind“.

In short: When crossing the Sava many participants of the farmers‘ crusade drowned
or were repulsed by the Petchen, who acted as auxiliaries for the Byzantine emperor.
Those who were repulsed settled in the Hungarian-Byzantine border area near the
Sava. The area was later called „Francochorion“ (Land of the Franks) by the
Byzantines. Their settlements were destroyed during the Mongol storm in 1241.

Peter and his followers who had survived, fled to the garisson city of Nisj. When they
left the city to go to Sofia more incidents happened: some of Peter’s men set fire to a
number of mills. While Peter was trying to settle the matter with the local chief,
others attacked the city. Nicetas, the local commander, released his troops on the
troublesome crusaders. A quarter of them were killed or taken prisoner. Many spent
27

the rest of their lives as slaves. Peter lost his treasure and took the survivors to
Sofia. From there he was escorted by the Byzantine army. One theory says that the
survivors of the incidents mentioned above, regrouped in smaller and bigger groups
and crossed the frozen Danube during a period of severe winter. Later, probably
after a pauze of several decades, they crossed the Carpathian Mountains by following
the river Olt and settled in the area around Cibinum. They called their settlement
Hermannsdorf (later Hermannstadt) after the man who led them to safer grounds. 21

The first official crusade

(1096-1099) was headed by
royals and high nobles.
Three seperate groups
followed different routes to
Constantinople. There they
were heartily welcomed by
the surviors of Peter’s
followers. Only the group
from Lorraine, headed by Geoffrey of Bouillon, took the continental trail, passing
through Hungary and the Byzantine empire. The crusaders this time were far more
disciplined and there were no notable incidents. Except that, in the course of the
crusade, several groups gave up. Most of them returned to their homelands.

The seven crusades, officially documented, were not the only big groups of people
going to the Holy Land. Quite early there were (often quite crowded) pilgrimages and
expiatory pilgrimages to Jerusalem. Even high ranked noblemen took the road to the
Holy Land. Konrad I, Count of Luxemburg, was condemned by the Pope for the
attack on archbishop Eberhard. He had to make an expiatory pilgrimage to Jerusalem
but died on the way back home. But often these dangerous undertakings were
voluntary: in 1086 Robert The Frisian, Count of Flanders, set off for Palestine. His
visit to the Holy Grave would take five years, two of which he stayed in Jerusalem.
21
“The prisoners of war were released by a decree of the emperor and went east. They settled south of the
Carpathians. In 1154 they sided with Geza II in his campaign against the Byzantine emperor because they felt
threatened by the Cumans. They were rewarded with land in Transylvania. They moved to the Sibiu area
following the frozen river Olt”, W A. Baumgärtner, Der Vergessene Weg, Hermannstadt, Hora Verlag,2007, p. 41
28

On his return Robert and his court visited Constantinople in 1089. He became friends
with the Byzantine emperor Alexius Comnenos and promised him the support of 500
Flemish knights and their servants in his battle against the Turks. Anna Comnena,
daughter of the emperor, wrote in the biography she made of her father: “And what
happened next? The five hundred knights that the count (Robert) had selected
himself brought a present for the emperor: one hundred and fifty selected horses.
On top of that they sold him the horses they didn’t need themselves. The emperor
22
welcomed them with grace and thanked the count from the bottom of his heart”.

In 1138 Dirk VI (Theodoricus Sextus), Count of Holland, in his turn went on a pil-
grimmage to Jerusalem. He took a number of noblemen and well-armed soldiers to
protect them. But what happened to the more simple people? They definitely took
the continental route through Hungary because it was much cheaper than the one by
boat. On their way they had to confront all kinds of dangers. Many did not return.
They were killed by bandits, died of illnesses or … settled somewhere along the
route.

Then there were large groups of soldiers and settlers who joined the ranks of the
crusaders who had already arrived in Jerusalem. There is the well-documented
journey of 1101 (two years after the first crusaders captured the city), which was
defeated by the Turks. Many nobles and their followers were killed. What happened
to the survivors is not always clear. Some of them were sold as slaves, others
managed to escape. But did they return to their homelands? Most of them had sold
everything they owned because they wanted to settle in the Holy Land. Hungary as
an emerging Christian state may have been a promising place to settle.

Contact between Hungary and The Low Countries

The crusades were not the first and by far not the only way in which The Low
Countries had contacts with the Magyars (Hungarians).

22
Anna Comnena, Alexiad, Book VII, p.179
29

First we must bring to attention that the Franks of Carlemagne had subdued the
Avars in the Pannonian plains. But the Avars only had to pay tribute to Charlemagne
and the Franks in the Pannonian plains were very scarce. When the Magyars (by the
end of the ninth century) entered the plains they mainly met Slavic people, Petchen
and Bulgarians and not in great numbers. The presence of Romanians (descendants
of the Dacians) in Transylvania is a topic of (mainly political) discussion. Some (the
Hungarian point of view) say that there were only roving herds with Romanian
shepherds, others (the Romanian point of view) say that there were villages, (small)
cities and military fortifications with Romanian inhabitants. Without taking sides in
the discussion, archeological findings seem to support the presence, in fairly small
numbers, of people descending from the Dacians.

Another point of discussion is whether the Hungarians came to Transylvania first and
then to Pannonia or the other way round. The question is obscured by the lack of
information on the matter. If we can believe the Gesta Hungarorum (a manuscript of
the end to the twelfth century) the Magyars first went to Pannonia and later con-
quered the lands “at the other side of the woods” from the Slavs and the Romanians
(Vlachii). But the historical accuracy of the Gesta Hungarorum is doubted by many.

Another theory says that the Magyars first went to Transylvania, sided with the
Bulgarians against the Byzantine empire and were driven to the Pannonian plains by
the Petchen allies of Byzantium. Once they had settled there, the nomadic tribes of
horsemen – called the Magyars – started a number of raids, directed against Italy
(not only Rome but also the southern part which was held by the Byzantine emperor)
and the south of Spain (the caliphate of Cordoba). But also the former empire of
Charlemagne (by then split up in three parts) moaned under the pillaging of the
Magyar raiders. Important cities like Cologne and Liège (and their surroundings)
were attacked and plundered. Liège was sacked by the Magyars in 881 and 954.
Their raids even led them into Flanders. That these dramatic events might have lured
migrants to Hungary can almost certainly be ruled out.

But there were more peaceful contacts as well. Let me illustrate this with a remark-
able anecdote written down in the records of the city of Liège. In 1447, in the first
half of July, in Aachen (Aix-en-Chapelle) arrived seven Hungarian pilgrims to vene-
30

rate the relics in the cathedral. When they met some citizens of Liège these could
fully understand the language the pilgrims were speaking. Questioned about an
explanation for this remarkable event the Hungarian pilgrims declared to be descen-
dants of a group of people from Liège who left the city in 1052, running away from
death by starvation. They went to Hungary and settled in the area of Agra/Eger. In
the centuries following their numbers had increased strongly and they had founded
several villages. The area where they lived was called “Gallica loca” by their Hunga-
rian neighbours.23

“Die Wallonen siedelten im Tal des Egerbaches (ungar. Egervölgy) und in dem heute
als Weinbaugebiet bekannten Tokaj-Hegyalja (dt. wörtlich: das Tokajbergfußgebiet).
Besonders aus der Umgebung von Liège (dt. Lüttich) ließen sich hier schon früh
Bewohner nieder. In Egervölgy wurde die Mundart von Liège selbst zu Beginn des
16. Jahrhunderts noch gesprochen. Der in diesen Regionen sich entwickelnde
Weinbau ist auf die Kultivierung der Rebe durch die Wallonen zurückzuführen,”
24
schrijven József Laszlovszky en András Kubinyi . (The Walloons settled in the valley
of the Eger river (Egervölgy in Hungarian) and in the wine area of Tokaj-Hegyalja
(literally: at the foot of the Tokaj mountains). Especially from the area of Liège
settlers migrated quite early. In the valley of the Eger the language of Liège was still
spoken until the beginning of the sixteenth century. The viticulture of the area should
be traced back to the cultivation of grapes by those Walloons.)

But our story doesn’t end here. When the people from Liège in 1052 fled to Hungary
they were accompanied by a group of Hungarians who had left their country in 1029
for exactly the same reasons. They were welcomed by the authorities of Liège and
Huy with great generosity.

In their book Les Wallons hors de la Wallonie, Histoire économique et sociale (1995)
Michel Oris and Jean-François Potelle mention that thousands of Walloons went east
in the company of Geoffrey of Bouillon, Duke of Lower Lorraine, to free Jerusalem.
The same authors bring to our attention that the German (Teutonic) Order had

23
F. J. Henaux, Études historiques et littéraires sur le Wallon, 1843, p. 40.
24
J. Laszlovszky en A. Kubinyi, ‘Völker und Kulturen im mittelalterlichen Ungarn’ (PDF), http://wwwg.uni-klu.ac.at,
p. 4.
31

several important settlements in Liège, Aldenbiezen and Maastricht. The Teutonic

Order played a short but important rol in the development of Transylvania (see The
Teutonic Knights in Burzenland).
“Dès les XIe et XIIe siècles, des populations originaires de l'actuelle Wallonie
s'établissent un peu partout en Europe centrale. On en retrouve des traces en Silésie,
en Autriche, en Moravie, en Bohème, en Hongrie, en Pologne. Leur présence est
attestée par la toponymie de nombreuses villes et bourgades (la Wahlenstrasse de
Regensburg, Wallendorff) ainsi que par la présence dans les chartes ou autres
documents de noms habituels en pays wallon (in Bonardi domo) ou d'expressions
25
telles unter der Walhen ou inter Latinos, inter gallicos.”
(From the eleventh and twelfth century on, groups of people originating from
present-day Wallonia settled across Central Europe. We can find traces in Silesia,
Austria, Moravia, Bohemia, Hungary, Poland. Their presence is evidenced by the
toponymics of their numerous villages and parts of towns ( the Wahlenstrasse of
Regensburg, Wallendorff) as well as by the presence in charters and other
documents of names frequent in Walloon country (in Bonardi domo) or expressions
like unter der Walhen ou inter Latinos, inter gallicos.” ). We will come back later in
the book on the part the Walloons played in the history of Transylvania.

Important lines of contact ran between monasteries of the Dominican and Cistercian
monastic orders in Hungary (inlcuding Transylvania), The Low Countries and France.
“In the twelfth century the reform movement of the Cistercians had spread. In the
thirteenth century the movement reached Hungary. Cistercians built the gothic
church of Bélapátfalva and the early-gothic monastery of Pilisszentkereszt. And it is
possibly thanks to the influence of the Cistercians that the Virgin Mary got a place of
honour in the tympanon above the entrance of the new basilica of Esztergom. The
Cistercian movement paved the way for the mendicant orders of Dominicans and
26
Franciscans. More than the Cistercians they were oriented to the cities”.

That we should not underestimate the importance of the abbeys for the contacts
between Wallonia, the North of France and Hungary, is also the opinion of Jószef
25
M. Oris en J.-F. Potelle ,’ Les Wallons hors de la Wallonie. Histoire économique et sociale’, Wallonie. Atouts et
références d'une Région, Namur, 1995.
26
K. Bakker, ‘De Mongolen! Hoe de doodsschrik van Béla László’s steun en toeverlaat werd’,
www.keesbakker.com
32

Laszlovszky en András Kubinyi: “So wurde die von König Ladislaus (ungar. László)
(1077–1095), genannt der Heilige, gestiftete Benediktinerabtei von Somogyvár 1091
mit Mönchen aus der französischen Abtei von Saint-Gilles besiedelt. Auch die meisten
der ersten Prämonstratenser- und Zisterzienserabteien wurden von französischen
Mönchen gegründet.” 27

(The Benedictine abbey of Somogyvár was founded in 1091 by King Ladislav

(Hungar. László)(1077–1095), also named The Holy King. It was populated with
monks from the French abbey of Saint-Gilles. Also most of the Premonstratensian
and Cistercian abbeys were founded by French monks).

Norbertine cannons (called Premonstratensians after their mother abbey, founded in

1120 in Prémontré in Picardy, at the southern border of the County of Flanders) had
already started an abbey in Váradhegyfok (present-day Romanian Oradea) during
the reign of Stephen II (1101-1131). The founder of the order was Norbertus of
Xanten, north of Cologne. The Norbertines were known for their adventurous spirit:
they set up many of their monasteries in border areas. They played an important role
in the conversion of the Wends and the bringing of Christianity to the territories
around the Elbe and the Oder rivers. From the new house of Wardein/Oradea a
number of new abbeys were founded on Hungarian territory, including one in the
neighbourhood of Weissenburg/Alba Iulia in 1235. Only a few years later the abbey
was completely destroyed by the Mongols in 1241.

Between 1171 and 1179 Norbertine monks from the abbey of Rièval (present-day
Menil-la-Horgne in the French department Lorraine) set up a monastery in Frankavilla
(literally: domain of the Franks) in the hills of Fruskagora, the area between Danube
and Sava, known for the production of wine. The grapes were probably brought
along from the mother abbey in Lorraine. It is precisely in this area that survivors of
the first crusade are situated, the „Francochorion“ in Byzantine documents.

The Cistercians, pioneers in the use of modern agricultural techniques and Gothic
architecture, were called to Hungary by King Geza II. They founded their first
monastery in Cikador (present-day Bátaszék in the south of Hungary, close to the

27
J. Laszlovszky en A. Kubinyi, ibid., p. 3
33

Croatian border and the area between Danube and Sava, mentioned above). Cikador
was founded from the mother abbey of Heiligenkreuz in Austria. Later settlements
(durign the reign of Bela III, 1148-1196) came under the direct supervision of the
most important mother abbeys in Burgundy, France. The abbey of van Igres (Igris),
in the border zone between Szeged (Hungary) and Arad (Romania), for instance was
founded by monks from the powerful abbey of Pontigny. Around 1202-1203 they set
up a subsidiary in Kerz/Cârta
between Hermannstadt/Sibiu
and Fogarasch/Fagaras. About
ten villages sprang around the
abbey. More information about
Kerz, its monks and protectors
will be given later.

Many higher clergymen were

recruited among the monks who came to Hungary to build abbeys according to
western model. Most of them came from the North of France and Burgundy. Lower
clergymen from the Rhine- and Meuse area and the North of France made a good
chance of winning a high(er) post in Hungary.

“Demzufolge standen dem Weissenburger Bistum bis 1181 fast durchgehend und bis
nach dem Mongoleneinfall grossenteils aus der “Reichsromania” (näherhin Lüttich)
stammende Bisschöfe vor” (As a result the diocese of Weissenburg/Alba Iulia was
ruled, until 1181 without interruption and even after the invasion of the Mongols, by
28
bishops from “Reichsromania”, more in particular from Liège).

More proof is to be found in the Short History of Siebenbürgen (edited in 1989):

“Nicht zufällig besetzten den Biharer Bischofsstuhl so herausragende Persönlichkeiten
wie der 1046 mit Bischof Gerhards zusammen den Märtyrertod gestorbene, seinem
Namen nach Italiener Baduil (Budli/Buldi, Budlu) sowie sein Nachfolger, der
Lothringer (aus Namur) Leodvin (vor 1061: Lieduinus episcopus Bichariensis), der
29
spätere Erlauer Bischof.” (It is not a coincidence that the bishop’s seat was taken

28
R. Richtscheid, ibid., p. 5.
29
Kurze Geschichte Siebenbürgens, Budapest, Akadémiai Kiadó, 1989, p. 139.
34

by outstanding personalities like Baduil, who died as a martyr together with Bishop
Gerard(us) and whose name Baduil (Budli/Buldi, Budlu) echoes an Italian origin, and
his successor Leodvin from Lorraine (Namur) (before 1061: Lieduinvus episcopus
Bichariensis), the later Bishop of Erlau.

In 1047 Geoffry III of Verdun (Geoffrey The Bearded) – in a mighty coalition with
Theodoric IV (Dirk IV) of Frisia, Baldwin V of Flanders and Herman of Hainaut – in
his struggle with Henry III, emperor of The Holy Roman Empire, destroyed the city
and the cathedral of Verdun. The 24 canons fled to Hungary where they occupied
important religious posts at the court of Andrew I. To this group belonged Leodwin,
30
who was from the area of Liège (which sided with the emperor). He became
bishop of Bihar (episcopus Bichariensis) and crowned András I in the same year.
Later he became the bishop of the large diocese of Erlau. Franko, another canon who
had fled Verdun, became the bishop of Transylvania. He was the successor of the
very first bishop (Buldur) of the diocese of Weissenburg/Transylvania which was
founded in 1009. A third Verdun canon (only known by his Hungarian name György)
31
even took the post of archbishop of Kalocsa.

“In 11. Jahrhundert wird der lothringische Einfluss in Hungarn nicht nur bei die
32
königlichen Kanzlei , sondern in gesamten Kirchenleben spürbar,” adds Lajos
Kakucs, author of the chapter on Hungary and Transylvania in the Kurze Geschichte
Siebenbürgens . Is it a coincidence that in these three dioceses we find important
groups of colonists (including a number of immigrants form The Low Countries)?
Konrad Gundisch explains: “So kamen 24 Domherrenaus Verdun im Jahre 1048 nach
Ungarn; einige werden zu Bischöfen herhoben. Diese riefen wohl Handwerker,
Kaufleute und Winzer ins Land, die sich in die bischöflichen Residenzen, aber auch in
33
die Königsitzen Gran und Stuhlweissenburg niederliessen” According to Gundisch
craftsmen, merchants and (wine)farmers answered the call of the canons of Verdun

30
René Richtscheid says “Liège” and not Verdun.
31
K. Herbers en D. R. Bauer, ibid., p. 296.
32
“In the eleventh century the influence of Lorraine grew, not only in the royal chancellery but in the whole of the
clerical organization”
33
K. Gündisch, Gruppenprivilegien im mittelalterichen Königreich Ungarn, in H. Roth, Die Szekler in
Siebenbürgen, Köln, Böhlau Verlag, 2009, p. 119.
35

to come to their newly won dioceses to settle there as well as in the royal cities of
Gran (Esztergom) and Stuhlweissenburg (Székesfehérvár).

Around 1150 Leodwin, in his new dignity of Hungarian bishop, goes to Liège and
Namur to donate, in the name of his liege King Andrew, two relics to the church of
Saint Alban (Namur). “Nach diesem Besuch kamen vermutlich die ersten Einwohner
34
aus Flandern in die Gegent von Nagyvarad” . (After this visit the first inhabitants of
Flanders presumably came to the area around Nagyvarad). Nagyvarad is the
Hungarian name for Wardein/Oradea.

That the 24 canons of Verdun fled to Hongary in 1047 was not a random choice. It
was Bruno, Bishop of Verdun, who was sent by Emperor Otto to the royal court in
Gran/Esztergom to guide Grand Prince Geiza (the father of Stephen I) in his
conversion to Christianity. So, there was already a strong relationship between
Lorraine and Hungary 100 to 150 years before the period (middle of the twelfth
century) which is supposed to be the time when large groups of immigrants came to
Transylvania.

In a document from Pope Innocentius III from 1199 there is word of Flemish priests
belonging to the diocese of Transylvania. The papal document mentions the church
of Saint Michael’s in the bishops’ city of Weissenburg/Alba Iulia: “flandrenses
35
sacerdotes, qui positi sunt in terra S. Michaelis” The Pope sides with the bishop of
Transylvania in his dispute with the provost (dean) of Hermannstadt/Sibiu and the
bishop of Gran/Esztergom. He decides that the Flemish priests in the diocese of
Transylvania do not resort under the diocese of Gran or the deanery of Hermann-
stadt. He endorses the authority of the bishop of Transylvania and confirms that he
can appeal at any time to the apostolic seat to safeguard his rights. The document
proves the presence – as early as 1199 – of a number of villages outside the royal
territories (Königsboden). The spiritual leadership of the people living on Königs-

34
Idem, pag. 309. If we have to take literally “die Einwohner aus Flandern” (inhabitants of Flanders) and identify
them with Flemish speaking people is doubtful. In 1215 the “villa Latinorum Waradiensis” of Weissenburg/Alba
Iulia is mentioned. ”Latinorum” refers to people speaking French, Walloon or Italian. A century later a church
devoted to Saint James (Jacob) is mentioned in this part of the town. This again refers to the North of France or
Wallonia. And then: not all inhabitants of the County of Flanders were speaking Flemish!
35
Urkundensammlung des Grafen Joseph Kemény. Ergänzungsband I, 11. Baluzius in cpp. Innoc. III. I, 2, p. 801.
Maybe these Flemish priests (‘flandrenses sacerdotes’) were the pastors of the ‘primi hospites regni’ that we meet
in the region of Weissenburg/Alba Iulia.
36

boden was in the hands of the Deanery of Hermannstadt (founded in the same year
1199). The Dean, in turn, resorted under the authority of the bishop of Gran/Eszter-
gom. The claim of the latter on the tithes op the parishes outside the Königsboden is
rejected by Pope Innoncentius III. The Flemish priests in question belong to the
“Flandrensibus prioribus” (on royal land) and the “alii flandrenses” (outside). This
proves, beyond doubt, that the Flandrenses did not settle exclusively in the area
around Hermannstadt (The Alte Land). That the document would refer to the few
villages founded during the very first wave of immigrants (see Krakau, Rams, …) is
improbable because they are in the heartland of the diocese of Weissenburg/Transyl-
vania. It is more likely about the villages in the so-called “overflow area” of the chairs
(Stühle) Markktschelken, Medias, Schässburg and Reps, a long way from the bishop’s
seat in Weissenburg/Aba Iulia. With “overflow area” we mean that the colonists from
the so-called Primärsiedlungen in the deanery of Hermannstadt went north and east
to found new villages. In that perspective the “prioribus flandrenses” are usually
situated in the Primärsiedlungen and the “alii flandrenses” in the new villages
outside the deanery of Hermannstadt.

In the thirteenth century the Cumans, who had settled east and south of the
Carpathians, felt the rising pressure of the Mongol hordes. They decided to pander to
the never ceasing attempts of the Hungarian kings to have them Christianized by
Dominican monks. The then Hungarian archbishop Robert was born in the diocese of
Liège. In 1227 he accompanied King Bela (son of Andrew and since 1223 king of
Slavonia, Dalmatia and Croatia) for the subjugation of the Cuman Prince Bars. At his
side were the (also French-speaking) prelates Bertalan (bishop of Pecs) and Rajnald
(bishop of Transylvania).

In short we can say that the in the beginning years of the Hungarian church, many
of her highest clergymen came from (the North of) France or Wallonia. The influence
of the French-speaking party at the court of the Hungarian kings dwindled in time.

Besides strong influences from the powerful monastic orders and the clergy there
were the ties of marriage between the Hungarian kings and noble ladies from
Flanders or Lorraine. The spouse of King Bela I (circa 1016-1063) was a daughter to
Richeza of Lorraine (picture next page). This Richeza (born in Zupthen, now in The
37

Netherlands) was the daughter of Ezzo of Lorraine. The wife of Bela I had a brother
Liudolf who was Duke of Zutphen, another brother was Duke Otto of Lorraine, a third
brother was Herman Archbishop of Cologne and her sister Adelheid was the abbess
of Nivelles (which in the eleventh century owned land up to the Rhine and the
Moselle) and her sister Ida was abbess of Cologne.
The family-in-law of Bela had deep roots in the area
from which the colonists would move to Transylvania.

Yolanda of Courtenay was the second wife of Andrew

II (1177-1235). She was the daughter of Peter II of
36
Courtenay and Yolanda of Flanders, daughter to
Baldwin V of Hainaut and Margret I of Flanders.
Andrew went on a crusade (the fifth crusade) and in
1222 had to approve the Golden Bill in which he
granted extensive privileges to his vassals. Also the
immigrants from the Low Countries saw their rights reaffirm-ed two years later in a
document known as The Andreanum.

Of course these high ladies brought their own servants and counselors to the court
of their royal spouses. Through them the influence of the Latin party (referring to
those speaking French or a Walloon dialect) at the court grew considerably. At times
there was a bitter rivalry with the German party. We should not forget that the ties
(through marriage) with the German-speaking neighbours were quite strong too.

A good example of the presence of the two parties at the court was the marriage of
Charles I of Hungary (also called Charles Robert of Anjou, a scion of the lineage of
Naples and Sicily and a descendant of the French king Louis VIII). In 1318 Charles
married Beatrice of Luxemburg, who died a year later. She was the daughter of
Henry VII of Luxemburg who was king of Germany and later emperor of the Holy
Roman Empire. Her mother was Margret of Brabant, who in turn was a daughter to
Margret of Flanders. Complicated? Maybe it is, but at the same time it illustrates how
the partition into three parts of the realm of Charlemagne led to a complicated puzzle

36
Count of Nevers, Auwerre and Tonnerre and later Emperor of Constantinople after the barons of the Latin
Empire had rejected the claims of his son-in-law Andrew to the same imperial throne.
38

of counties, duchies, kingdoms and empires who constantly made new lineages by
marriage or fought each other bitterly. Very often marriageable noble daughters
were the only way to buy peace or continue it. The counts and dukes who slowly
split up the middle part of Charlemagne’s empire, allied with their French-speaking
neighbours in the west as well as with their German-speaking neighbours in the east.
Also the Hungarian kings followed the same principle. Hence the fairly strong
influence of the French language and culture at their courts. And let’s not forget that
the ruling class in Flanders and Brabant (most of the time) did not speak the
(Germanic) vernacular and that their administration used Latin and French.

The Invitation by King Geza II

The oldest theories about the coming of the Saxons to Transylvania are based on the
invitation that King Geza II addressed – in the middle of the twelfth century – to
potential migrants to his country. Undoubtedly when doing so, he had in mind the
words of his illustrious predecessor Stephen I (1000-1038). This saintly king wrote a
kind of spiritual testament (De institutione morum ) addressed to his son Emmeric:

“Because the newcomers stem from different lands and provinces, they also bring
different languages and habits. Several instructive things and weapons that serve
and bring glory to the royal court but scare off foreign powers. A country that knows
only one language and one kind of customs is weak and vulnerable. That is why, my
son, I advise you to treat them with respect so they will prefer to stay at your court
37
and not elsewhere “. Emmeric was the only son of the Holy Stephen to reach man-
hood. But he would never be king of Hungary. He was killed by a bear during a
hunting party on 2 September 1031 . He was twenty-four. In his De institutione

37
Sicut enim ex diversis partibus provinciarum veniunt hospites, ita diversas linguas et consuetudines, diversaque
documenta et arma secum ducunt, quae omnia regiam ornant et magnificant aulam, et perterritant exterorum
arrogantiam. Nam unius linguae uniusque moris regnum, imbecille et fragile est. Propterea iubeo te, fili me! ut
bona voluntate illos nutrias et honeste teneas, ut tecum libentius degant quam alibi habitent. (Corpus juris
Hungarici 1000-1526, S. Stephani I. Cap. 6 ).
39

morum Stephen undoubtedly referred to the many foreign nobles and clergymen
which he had welcomed at his court.

Karl Kurt Klein, an authority in the field of migration to Transylvania, distinguishes a

number of stages in the colonization.

Before 1150 mainly people from Bavaria and Wallonia would have settled in the east
38
of present-day Hungary. Small nobles from the Lower German area came to the
region of Weissenburg/Alba Iulia and Broos/Orastie, the so-called ‘Unterwald’.

In the middle of the twelfth century King Geza II of Hungary (1141-1162) invites
people from the area between Mosel, Rhine, Meuse, Scheldt and North Sea to de-
velop the deserta (the “empty” lands) in the south of Transylvania. The deserta of
King Geza II were not only ‘unexploited’ or ‘waste’ border areas that were uninha-
bited (or whose inhabitants were either chased away or had moved away) they were,
above all, ‘crown areas’ (fundus regius) where the Hungarian crown had not given
the land in possession or fief lease to Hungarian noblemen. To emphasize the special
statute of the colonists in the crown areas, the Hungarian king decided that they
were not accountable to the Transylvanian Diocese, whose seat was in Weissenburg/
Alba Iulia, but to the newly formed praepositura of Hermannstadt/Sibiu. This new
deanery was directly under the authority of the Hungarian Primacy of Gran/Eszter-
gom, a town and diocese in the immediate area of present-day Budapest.

Shortly after the appeal of King Geza, the priores Flandrenses (the first Flemings,
also called Flandrensibus prioribus) settled in the south of Transylvania, in the Alte
Land, the area of Hermannstadt/Sibiu, Leschkirk/Nocrich and Schenk/Cîncu. Karl Kurt
Klein (Die Problematik der Ansiedlung der Siebenbürger Sachsen) estimates the
number of priores Flandrenses at 2500. They would have started thirteen settle-
ments in the Hermannstadt/Sibiu area.

38
“Towns such as Székesfehérvár and Esztergom were almost completely Magyar by 1500, although they had
had large French, Flemish, and Italian populations in the previous centuries.” (Transylvania, The roots of etnic
conflict, ed. By John F. Cadzow, A. Ludany and Louis J. Elteto, Ohio, 1983).
40

In the same twelfth century villages were founded in the north of Transylvania:
Rodenau/Rodna in the area of Bistritz/Bistriţa (called the Nösnerland ) and Sächsisch
Regen/Reghin. Rodna and its surroundings was a mining area and the immigrants
who settled there were mainly miners. But their specific situation and geographic
location made them into farmers and border guards at the same time. Other
immigrants worked the salt mines of Thorenburg/Turda and Burgless/Ocna Dejului.

In a third period (end of the twelfth – beginning of the 13th century) there is word of
the alii Flandrenses (the other Flemish) who settled in the area east of
Hermannstadt/Sibiu. In a document of 1191 there is a clear distinction between the
Flandrenses prioribus (the first Flemish) who came under the new Deanery of
Hermannstadt/Sibiu and the alii Flandrenses, subjects of the diocese of
Weissenburg/Alba Iulia.

How the migration was organized is

not totally clear. Many suppose that
so-called Lokatoren (locators) were
sent out to convince landless farmers,
small nobles and lower clergymen to
come and settle in Transylvania.
Whether the locators went all the way
to Reichsromania (that part of the
Holy Roman Empire where French or a
Walloon dialect was spoken) to find a
train of followers, is not very clear. Many historians think there was an “intermediate
settlement” which may have lasted several decades, somewhere in the south of the
Holy Roman Empire. Inspired by the name of Transylvanian Sächsisch Regen the
area of Regensburg is pointed out as a possible location of this intermediate
settlement. Others think that there were already considerable numbers of potential
colonists south of the Carpathian mountains. They were survivors of the bigger and
smaller trains of crusaders that passed through the Hungarian kingdom into the
Byzantine empire (see before). They were supposed to be quite willing to move to
41

the relatively quiet area in the Carpathian arch because they were frequently under
attack of “barbarian” Petchen and Cumans.

Participants of the second, failed, crusade (1147-1149) were promised land in the
north of present-day Germany. But when the crusade did not reach its goal (the
French army of crusaders were crushed in 1148 by the Muslims) these promised
were not held. Settlement in the Hungarian kingdom was an attractive alternative.

In this context we must point to an inconspicuous but nevertheless interesting

footnote in history. In 1248 the French king Louis XI, together with his vassal William
of Dampierre, Count of Flanders, goes on a crusade (the seventh knightly crusade).
But the campaign is not successful at all. Louis is beaten, taken prisoner and
released after paying a substantial ransom. He appealed to his nationals to send
fresh troops to the far east. From Flanders and the north of France simple folk went
to Paris. They were led by one Brother Jakob (1190-1251), a man who had left his
Cistercian monastery and was called “Master of Hungary” (Le maître d’Hongrie). A
remarkable name that was never explained. Jakob became the leader of the
Pastoureaux, a social movement of young farmers and landless serfs with a pagan
nature.39 Can we suppose that this monk was sent by his monastery in Flanders or
France to Hungary, maybe even Transylvania to enter a newly founded monastery?

Maybe Brother Jakob was one of the crimps, the locators, who had to spur farmers
and craftsmen from the Low Countries to start on the long journey to far-away
Transylvania. Because Hungary was desperately in need of new colonists to replace
their colleagues who had been murdered during the Mongol Storm of 1141-1142. But
Brother Jakob himself has never returned to Hungary or Transylvania. After some
violent clashes in Orleans, where a frenzied mass turned against the clergy, the
Master of Hungary was taken prisoner in Bourges and hanged. Was Brother Jakob
influenced by the pagan movement that was, at that time, very active in the south of
the Hungarian kingdom?

39
“The movement spread rapidly — from Picardy to Flanders, then to Brabant, Hainault, Lorraine, and Burgundy.”
(http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11539a.htm).
42

40
The ‘established’ theory of the locators who had to lure colonists to Hungary has
41
come under fire recently. Authors like Horst Klusch and Wilhelm Andreas
42
Baumgärter assume that there was already quite a substantial group of potential
immigrants south of the Carpathians. Survivors of the crusades – beaten, emprisoned
and later set free again by the Bulgarians or the Byzantine – are supposed to have
crossed the frozen Danube during a harsh winter when responding to the appeal of
King Geza. The fear for the hostile Cumans in the space between the Danube and
the Carpathians would have encouraged them to follow the river Olt and settle across
the mountains in the southern part of Transylvania (Unterwald and Alte Land ).

Klusch summons up: “The new theory is based on the fact (proven by numerous
documents) that in 1096 more than 10.000 German and Walloon peasant families
that participated in the peasant crusade lead by Pieter of Amiens, near Nisch (50 km
south of the Danube) were hindered by Byzantine mercenaries to continue their
route to Constantinople and were forgotten by history. It is not unreal to argue that
these farmers in the next winter crossed the Danube to settle south of the
Carpathian Basin in areas that seemed to them a safe place to call home. They
joined the Roman diocese of Milkow (in the present-day province of Vrancea).
In 1154 these immigrants south of the Carpathians possibly participated in the
campaign of Geza II against the Byzantine emperor Emmanuel. Because they felt
threatened by the Cumans in the area, they willingly answered the call of Geza to
settle in Transylvania. Where the river Olt broke through the mountains even in
winter carts and sledges could find their way. They settled in the area which would
later be called Schenk, Leschkirch and Hermannstadt but until the fifteenth century
43
they kept the ties with the diocese of Milkow where they originally came from”.

Klusch forgets to mention that in the “army” of Peter of Amiens (aka Peter the
Hermit) there were not only people from Germany and Wallonia but also from
Brabant (Lorraine) ànd Flanders. Moreover we have to point out that the Vrancea

40
This strategy was undoubtedly used to lure people from Flanders, Frisia and Holland to the territories east of
the river Elbe (the so-called “Ostsiedlung”) where they used their skills to drain marshlands and turn them into
fertile land that they could then farm themselves.
41
H. Klusch, Zur Ansiedlung der Siebenbürger Sachsen, Boekarest, 2001.
42
W. A. Baumgärter, Der Vergessene Weg, Hermannstadt, Hora, 2007.
43
H. Klusch, ibid., p. 26.
43

area (Milkow) is very sensitive to earthquakes which are quite frequent and may
have spurred the foreigners to move to safer grounds.

Hospites Flandrenses

When we talk about Flandrenses we have to realize that the notions of Flanders and
Flemish have not always been the same and that their meaning has evolved in time.
The Middle Ages did not have the notion of “nationality”. Even the word
“territoriality” has to be used with utmost prudence. When a Fleming is someone
who lives in Flanders we have to keep in mind that the word has not always had the
same geographical connotation. “The Flemish enter history in the early medieval
biography of Saint Eligius (ca. 590-660), the Vita sancti Eligii. This unique story was
written before 684 but only known to us from an adaptation dated around 725. This
text talks about the "Flanderenses" who live "in Flandris". In Latin the terms evolved
44
to Flandrenses and Flandria ”
Under Carolingian ruling the territory was divided in “gouwen” (shires). The Flemish
Shire (Pagus Flandrensis) was the area around Bruges and Oudenburg. This small
territory grew in the course of history to become the County of Flanders that stretch-
ed from the coast to the Scheldt. The area east of the Scheldt (including the Land of
Alost) was called Rijksvlaanderen (Imperial Flanders) because it was a fief to the
Holy Roman Empire. In its heydays the County of Flanders included areas which are
now part of The Netherlands (e.g. Zeeland) and areas deep into the actual Republic
of France. Politically speaking the counts of Flanders were vassals to the King of
France. Historically speaking the Pagus Flandrensis belonged to the Western Realm
after the partition of the empire of Charlemagne.

Neighbour to the County of Flanders was the Duchy of Brabant which had grown
from the northern part of the Middle Realm of Charlemagne’s heritage (Lorraine).
The cradle of the Duchy of Brabant was the Pagus Bracbantensis (the land between

44
http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graafschap_Vlaanderen.
44

the Scheldt and the Dyle). Part of the Duchy of Brabant were the counties of Louvain
and Brussels, the landgraveship Brabant (the area between the rivers Dender and
Senne), the margraveships Antwerp and ‘s Hertogenbosch and the custody areas of
the Abbeys of Nivelles and Gembloux. In 1183-1184 the imperial fief of Brabant is
raised to the status of Duchy.

When the term Flandrenses is used in documents of the chancellery of the Hungarian
court, it is almost certain that it refers to both people from Flanders and Brabant.
Moreover the term must have implicated a reference to the language these
Flandrensibus prioribus and alii Flandrenses spoke: Germanic (more precisely Low-
Franconian) in contrast to the Latini (Walloons, French and Italians) who spoke a
Romanasque language. József Laszlovszky is quite categorical when he writes: “Der
Ausdruck „latinus“ bezog sich vor allem auf die Wallonen.” 45 (The expression
“latinus” mainly related to the Walloons).

The first time the word Flandrenses was used was in the so-called “Legatenurkunde”
(a document issued by the Papal Legate), dated 1196. The text distinguishes be-
tween the Flandrenses belonging to the Praepositura of Hermannstadt/Sibiu, because
46
they had founded their villages on Königsboden (fundis regni) and the alii
Flandrenses 47 (other Flandrenses) whose villages were on Komitatsboden or Adels-
boden (land owned by the Hungarian nobility). Karl Kurt Klein also mentions the
earliest immigrants in Broos/Orastie and Weissenburg/Alba Iulia as Flandrenses. In a
document of 1206 they are called “primi hospites regni” (the first guests of the
king). We must point out that one of the oldest villages around Weissenburg – now
part of the town – was and still is called “Bar(a)bant”. The village is first mentioned
as “villa barbantina”, a name which, according to all historians, refers to the Duchy of
Brabant. In the document of 1196 (see footnotes 46 and 47) it is explicitly mentio-
ned that both groups of Flandrenses lived on land which was given to them by King
Geza.

45
J. Laszlovszky en A. Kubinyi, ibid., p. 4.
46
“Flandrenses ... qui tunc erant in illo solo deserto, quod gloriose memorie G(eysa) rex Flandrensibus concessit”
47
“quos de nullis aliis Flandrensibus intelleximus nec alios prepositure supposuimus, nisi dumtaxat illos, qui
tempore, quo ipsam preposituram constituimus, in illo tantum habitabant, et erant habitaturi deserto, quod Geisa
rex Flandrensibus prioribus concessit.”
45

Johannes Latinus

In our search for traces of immigrants from the Low Countries in Siebenbürgen
(Transylvania) we do not only meet Flandrenses but also Latini, a name given to not
only Italians and French but also to Walloons. And here as well we have to keep in
mind that the term has little or no geographic relevance. The name Latini was used
for colonists from present-day France, Luxemburg and Wallonia, yes even from Italy.
Here as well Latini refers more to the language they spoke than to their geographic-
al origin.

In a document of 1204 the name Johannes Latinus (John the Walloon) appears for
the first time. King Emmerich (1196-1204) rewards “Johannes Latinus inter Theuto-
48
nicos Transiluanenses in villa Riuetel” (John the Walloon among the Germans of
Transylvania in the village of Riuetel) and his kin for the service rendered to the king.
He promotes him to (Hungarian) nobleman thus excluding him and his possessions
from Saxon jurisdiction. We have to remark that we are dealing with one of the
oldest (and thus scarce) documents referring to Transylvania. That King Emmerich –
shortly before his abdication and death – in a document rewards Johannes Latinus
for his (military?) services, proves how important the services mentioned must have
been for the Hungarian crown or for the king himself. And King Emmerich could use
some military support because his reign was crowded with military campaigns. Short-
ly after he succeeded King Bela III in 1196 he started a war with his brother Andrew
who, with the support of the duke of Austria, beat him in battle (1197) and took the
duchies of Croatia and Dalmatia from him. Two years later Emmerich in return beat
his brother. To establish peace again Andrew retrieved Croatia and Dalmatia from his
brother Emmerich. In 1201 the Hungarians went to war with Stephan II, Great Prince
of Serbia. A year later Emmerich raised war against the Bulgarians who had come to
support Stephan of Serbia. In the very same year there were violent disagreements
with the Venetians and the leaders of the forth crusade about the control of the city
of Zára in Dalmatia. The year after there was a new armed conflict with his brother

48
Document from 1204, kept in the Hungarian National Archive in Budapest. (Document 15 in Volume 1 of the
Urkundebuch zur Geschichte der Deutschen in Siebenbürgen, Cologne 1892)
46

Andrew. Weary of war and seriously ill Emmerich left his crown to his minor son
Ladislav and appointed Andrew as his guardian until he would be full-grown. King
Emmerich died in 1204, his young son a few months later. In the middle of 1205
Andrew became king of Hungary. Remarkably enough one year later he would
reward Johannes Latinus with an area of 200 square kilometers, the so-called “terra
Gwezfey”. More about this later.

The fact that Johannes Latinus was first rewarded by Emmerich and two years later
by his brother and rival Andrew, can mean two things: or he took a neutral position
in the quarrel between the two brothers or he changed sides by first supporting
Emmerich and then joining the side of Andrew. The first hypothesis seems
improbable: why would King Emmerich praise and reward a knight (milites) who did
not support him while the document clearly speaks of services (propter servitium
suum) that Johannes Latinus had rendered many times (quod nobis multoties intulit)
to the king. Unless these services were not rendered during the bitter fights between
the brothers, of course. We also have to reject the second hypothesis because the
document to reward Johannes Latinus was written precisely in the period in which
the violence between Emmerich and his brother blazed again. Maybe Johannes
Latinus played an important role in solving the conflict without any further
bloodshed?

Whatever the motives of Emmerich were, in 1206 Andrew II rewards “Johan Latini
hospitis fidelis nostri militis servitiorum merita fideliter et efficaciter” (our faithful
guest and our knight who rendered us faithfull and efficient services ) with the
“terram quandam nomine Cwezfey pristaldo infideli nostro Andrea filio Teutonici
49
Martin de villa Vratotus”. (the lands named Cwezfey from our unfaithful bailiff
Andrew, son of the German Martin from the village Vratotus).

In which way the son of Martin, the German from Vratotus, was unfaithful to King
Andrew? Did he side with Emmerich? Or did he prove unreliable in later conflicts? In
the first years of his reign Andrew went to war with the kingdom of Halych (the
border area between present-day Poland, Belarus and the Ukraine). Did “Andrea de

49
Document of 6 september 1206, Number 16 in Volume 1 of the Urkundebuch zur Geschichte der Deutschen in
Siebenbürgen.
47

villa Vratotus” refuse military support to King Andrew and did Johannes Latinus
render the support? Questions we cannot answer anymore.

The name “Vratotus” raises a few questions, which are not without importance. It
was supposed to be a village where “theutonici” lived and thus belonged to the
earliest Saxon settlements in the country. Gerhardt Hochstrasser situates it near
Weissenburg/Alba Iulia and thinks it can be identified with Warda, Latin for
50
Unterwardein. The area around Weissenburg has the oldest Saxon settlement in
Transylvania mentioned in documents, so Vratotus would perfectly fit the picture.

Horst Klusch thinks differently. He identifies Vratotus with the still-existing village of
Vrata, south of the “Eisernes Tor”, a pass between present-day Bulgaria and
51
Romania. The Latin name for this village was “Vratotus” Klusch writes. And he
adds smilingly that it can be found in the area where 10.000 missing participants of
the peasants’ crusade possibly crossed the Danube to settle in Wallachia and later
moved on to Transylvania. Martin de villa Vratorus could have been one of them.
There is, however, a third and more recent indication for Vratotus. It could be
52
identical with Neustadt/Noistat east of Hermannstadt and south of Trapold,
where the sons of Johannes Latinus are situated in a document of 1231.

The domain that is given to Johannes Latinus

was big and clearly defined: it was the area
included between the villages Bekokten/Bărcuț,
Leblang/Lovnic, Kiwern/Cobor, Felmern/Felmer,
Scharosch/Şoarş and the Villa Militum (Knightly
Village, a small place near Seligstadt /Seliştat,
now disappeared). In the middle of this domain is the village of Woldorf (in
Romanian Valeni, in early documents written as Waldorf = Walloon village). Very
close is the village of Galt/Ungra which was in 1211 written as “Noilgiant” , a name
supposed to be derived from Wallonian “forest of walnut trees”. Other Wallonians

50
G. Hochstrasser, Ist die „villa Vratotus“ von 1206 das heutige Unterwardein?, Zeitschrift für Siebenbürgische
Landeskunde 18, Heft 1, (1995), pp. 78-79.
51
“Septem Castra – Siebenbürgen”, Article written by Horst Klusch (Hermannstadt 2008) and published on the
internet forum of the HOG-Kronstadt.
52
M.-E. Tiplic, Marturii arheologice si architectonice ale coloniizarii sasilor in sudul Transilvaniei , Sibiu, 2007
48

were not far away! When we stay a little more in the same area we will find villages
which were founded by the “alii Flandrenses”.

That Johannes Latinus and his offspring

enjoyed the favours of the Hungarian
kings is proved by a document from 1231
53
in which King Bela IV frees four villages
in the possession of the sons Corrardus
and Daniel ( “nostros Saxones Vltrasilua-
nos, Corrardum et Danielem filios Johannis
Latini „ – our Transylvanian Saxons, Cor-
rardus and Daniel, sons of Johannes
Latinus) from taxes: “villam Albe Ecclesie” (Weisskirch = Albesti), “villam Homus-
potoc” (Teufelsdorf, Romanian Vanatori, east of Schässburg), “villam Sarpotoc”
(Scharpendorf, now part of the Comuna Albesti), “villam Latinam, necnon et populos
eorundem de villa Oplid” (Trappold/Apold), all in the Schässburg/Sighisoara area.

A detail which is quite relevant: in the document of 1206 Johannes Latinus is

explicitly mentioned as an important merchant ( “Ad haec stabilimus, quod ad
quemcumque locum ipse vel eius famuli causa mercationis venerint, ab omni
exactione vel pensione tributi liberi sint et exempti.” ). King Andrew frees him and his
servants from all commercial and road taxes in the whole of his kingdom. Karl Kurt
Klein sees the rich nobleman and merchant as one of the sources of inspiration for
King Andrew when writing the so-called Andreanum, the Golden Bill of Rights that
the king in 1224 gave to his Saxon guests. It confirmed their legal position and
54
granted them large privileges. (see elsewhere)

We can now state that the Flandrenses and Latini – part of the first immigrants who
settled in the neighbourhood of Hermannstadt – after a relatively short period went
east, to the area of Schässburg/Sighisoara and Reps/Rupea. And that both groups
were present in the very same areas. Possibly they had come to the Hungarian
kingdom from their homelands where the language border was not yet rigid and
53
Document 63 in Volume 1 of the Urkundebuch zur Geschichte der Deutschen in Siebenbürgen
54
K. K. Klein, Latini in Siebenbürgen. Wesen und Funktion des welschen Elementes in mittelalterischen
Volkskörper der Deutschen Siebenbürgens, 1956.
49

where Walloon and Lower Franconian dialects were spoken in the same places.
Probably the more educated people spoke French because, precisely in that period of
time, the city of Liège was a centre of religious and secular art and knowledge.

Their expansion to the east brought them to the borders of the eastern Carpathians,
which were defended by the Szekely. That they had the company – at that time and
later – of more populous groups of ‘Germans’ (Theutonici) brought about the loss of
their own language, a slow but irreversible process. It was King Andrew who,
through his marriage with Gertrude of Merania, saw the German influence at his
court increase. And it was the same King Andrew who donated Burzenland (the area
of Kronstadt/Brasov) to the Order of Teutonic Knights in 1211. It was King Andrew
who wanted to give his daughter Elisabeth in marriage to Landgrave Louis IV of
Thüringen. But it was the same King Andrew who, after the death of Gertrude –
married in Yolanda of Courtenay, daughter of Yolanda of Flanders and Namur, in
1215. Don’t we see here the three spheres of influence that we can find in
Transylvania: the German, the Flemish and the Walloon immigrants?

In the document of 1231 Corrardus and Daniel, sons of Johannes the Walloon, were
called “nostros Saxones Vltrasiluanos ” (our Transylvanian Saxons) genoemd. It is
clear that here the name Saxones does not refer to the geographical origin of these
noble gentlemen nor to their mother tongue. The term Saxones refers to their statu-
te of privileged and esteemed hospites regni , guests and servants of the king.

On the internet forum Sibiul.ro Georg von Schoenplug von Gambsenberg quotes a
document of 1201 (from the Benedictine abbey Saint Martin of Pannonhelma). In
this document a number of noblemen are summed up. In the string of names we can
read: ‘Iohannes comes, Cib, tunc temporis factus comes curialis ’. Georg von Schoen-
plug thinks we have to read this as: ‘Iohannes comes Cib(iniensis) tunc temoris
factus comes curialis’. In translation: Johannes, count of Cibinium (Latin name of
Hermannstadt/Sibiu), recently made comes curialis (count at the royal court). Is this
Johannes, comes cibiniensis, the same as Johannes Latinus, hospitis fidelis nostri
militis servitiorum merita fideliter et efficaciter? That this man Johannes would not
live in Hermannstadt (at that time probably still Hermannsdorf) but in Villa Riuetel
(between Heltau and Michelsberg, see later) is not improbable when we realize that,
50

at the beginning of the thirteenth century Heltau had more inhabitants (hence more
importance) than Hermannsdorf.

A Walloon provost in Hermannstadt?

The great importance the Hungarian kings gave to the presence of hospites from the
55
Low Countries and the Holy Roman Empire in the so-called Desertum around
Hermannstadt/Sibiu is clearly illustrated by the founding of the ‘ecclesia Teutoni-
corum Vltrasiluanorum in praeposituram liberam ‘. The foundation of a ‘free deanery’
for the Teutonic (German) Church of Transsilvania is confirmed in 1191 by Pope
Celestinus III in a letter to the Hungarian King Bela III (born in 1148, king of Hunga-
ry from 1172 till his death in 1196). The free praepositura answers directly to the
archdiocese of Gran/Esztergom where Bela has his capital and does not have to
show obedience to the bishop of Transylvania or the archbishop of Kalocsa. This is
made clear in a dispute about the subordination of the alii Flandrenses, who are
56
outside the desertum , and belong to the diocese of Transylvania.

In this document, dated 1191, „P“ is mentioned as praepositus (provost) of

Cibinium. On the internet forum Sibiul.ro Georg Schoenpflug von Gambsenberg
thinks he can identify P. as the mysterious but very influencial scrivener (notary) of
King Bela II, magister P, aka Paulus, aka Anonymus. That this ‘scrivener’ really had a
big influence at the royal court is illustrated by his brilliant career: first he was a dean
(probably of the Royal Chapel), then he became bishop of Transylvania and after
that archbishop of Kalocsa. That he would have traded the post of archbishop to
become provost of Cibinium proves the importance of the newly founded
praepositura. But there is another argument that may have helped him to change his

55
“.. habitabant in deserto, quod Sanctae recordationis G(eysa). Pater suus Flandrensibus concesserat” (living in
the desertum that his father Geysa, holy remembrance, gave to the Flemish, Document of 1191, Document 2 in
Volume 1 Urkundebuch).
56
Same document: the Papal Legate Gregorius intervenes in a conflict between ”dilectum amicum nostrum P.
Praepositum Cibiniensem” (the Dean/Provost of Hermannstadt) and “A(drianus). Vltrasyluanum Episcopum” (the
bishop of Transylvania).
51

office: according to Georg Schoenpflug von Gambsenberg magister P. was

undoubtedly a Walloon: “Este mai mult ca sigur ca era un Wallon”. Because, he adds,
the whole court of King Bela consisted of foreigners: Walloons, French, Italians,
Germans and Flandrenses. And, the same author says, if he were French he would
be from the north of France, an area that in that time belonged to the County of
Flanders. If we follow the reasoning of Georg von Schoenplug, the Hungarian king
could have made him praepositus in an area where an important group of immi-
grants from the Low Countries were present. Schoenplug von Gambsenberg strongly
suspects that the oldest churches or chappels in Hermannstadt were houses of
worship for the Flemish (capela rotunda, round chapel) and the Walloons (capela
Sfanta Iacob, Chapel of Saint James). When in 1192 the newly founded praepositura
was devoted to Saint Ladislaus (King Ladislaus I, 1077-1095), a Saint Ladislaus
church (later Saint Ladislaus chapel) was built in the corner of the Huetzplatz. It was
the medieval burial ground of the small town, where now the big Evangelic church
(Saint Mary’s church) is. That magister P(aulus) is supposed to have studied in Paris,
strengthens von Schoenplug in his belief that he was a Walloon or even a French-
speaking Fleming. Under the pseudonym Anonymous magister Paulus is supposed to
have written the chronicle Gesta Hungarorum. Anonymus would have written the
chronicle between 1196 and 1199 while serving as Praepositus in Cibinium.

One final remark: also in the medieval Hungarian archdiocese of Calosca there were
immigrants from the Low Countries. Not only in the highest clerical circles (the
French-speaking bishop Bertalan, from Burgundy, who fought side-to-side with King
Bela against the Cumans) but also among the common people farming the land
around Fünfkirchen/Pecs.

Magister Gocelinus and the Cistercians

In 1223 Magister Gocelinus (royal chaplain of Andrew II) donates the hill church of
Michelsberg/Cisnadioara (Mons Sancti Michaeli) and all the lands and woods that
52

belong to it, to the Cistercian abbey of Kerz/Cîrta. The donation is confirmed by King
Andrew who calls Magister Gocelinus his “fideli et dilecto clerico nostro” (our loyal
57
and dedicated clergyman). The same document gives a meticulous description of
the domain that Gocelinus transfers

“Prima meta terrae montis sancti Michaelis incipit ab oriente in pede alpium et
descendit per torrentem descendentem ab ipsis alpibus versus villam Ruetel metis
assignatis secus rivulum usque ad viam, quae ducit de ipso monte ad villam Ruetel,
inde transit ipsam viam et ascendit per quandam viam usque ad metam quae dividit
territoria de villa Hermani et de villa Reutel, inde tendit sub pede montis vinearum de
villa Hermani et per quandam semitam quae ducit ad Insulam Christianam usque
vertieem montis nemorosi et per ipsum verticem ascendit iterum in alpes versus
occidentem et ibi terminatur.”
(The first border of the land of Michels-
berg starts in the east, at the foot of
the mountain, and descends to the
brook (Silberbach/Pârâul Argintului )
that flows from the mountain to the
villa Ruetel, the assigned boundary
goes from the river approximately to
the road that leads from the mountain
to the villa Ruetel. Then the boundary
crosses the road and climbs via a
certain road to the road that forms the
border between Hermannstadt and Ruetel. Then it runs along the foot of the hill with
vineyards from Hermannstadt, along a path that leads to the Insula Christianis. The
border goes to the wooded mountain and over the top of this mountain it rises again
to the mountain in the east and there it ends.)

When we try to locate the domain on present-day sattelite images (see picture) it
would contain, apart from the hill church and the village, mainly woodland. An ideal
place to start a Cistercian monastery. Cistercians planned their monasteries usually at

57
Document 38 in Volume 1 of the Urkundebuch …
53

the verge of the cultivated lands. They were masters in draining marshes, grubbing
and farming on before barren land. Originally the hill church and the lands around it
belonged to the newly founded praepositura of Hermannstadt (1191). The latter
exchanged the area with King Andrew II for Probstdorf/Stejarisu near Agnetheln/
Agnita. Andrew in turn gave it to his favourite Magister Gocelinus, who finally left it
to the abbey of Kerz “for the salvation of his soul”. It remained in the possession of
the monks until the abbey was dissolved by Matthew Corvin in 1474.

Magister Gocelinus was a Cistercian monk of the mother abbey of Pontigny. The
name Gocelinus (Gosselin or Josselin) was a very popular christian name in the
north of France and the south of present-day Belgium. Magister Gocelinus is
mentioned by many historians (including an expert of Transylvanian history like Karl
58
Kurt Klein ) as “a Walloon”. Linguistic information in the matter is provided by –
among others - C. Marynissen, Hypokoristische suffixen in oudnederlandse
persoonsnamen inz. de -z- en -l- suffixen, Koninklijke Academie voor Nederlandse
Taal- en Letterkunde, 1986, p. 447. He even mentions a ‘magister Jocelinus’ in Liège
in 1147, p. 127). That this would be the same person as Magister Gocelinus of
Michelsberg must be rejected because the time gap with the donation to the abbey
of Kerz in 1223 is more than 75 years. Also in Flanders and present-day The
Netherlands the name was popular. In a document (1186) issued by Duke John I of
Brabant to the abbey of Saint Michael (!) in Antwerp not less than three witness are
mentioned carrying the Christian name of Gocelinus: Gocelinus de Leewe, Gocelinus
Clotinc and Gocelinus, villicus de Lovanio. The name Gocelinus appears in the same
period in several documents in towns like Utrecht and even London.

Apparently Gocelinus belonged – together with Johannes Latinus – to the small circle
of trustees of King Andrew: fideli et dilecto clerico nostro. Karl Kurt Klein presumes
that they were both protégés of Yolanda of Courtenay, the second wife of King
Andrew. Because of his name Klaus Popa (together with Karl Kurt Klein) and his
relation with the Cistercian order believes he was a cleric from the County of

58
K. K. Klein, Latini in Siebenbürgen.
54

Champagne. Together with Johannes Latinus he was a trustee, maybe even a

59
relative of Yolanda of Courtenay.

The founding of Cistercian monasteries in the Hungarian kingdom shows the growing
influence of the French-speaking party at the royal court and outside. The oldest
Cistercian abbey in the country (Cikádor in the south of present-day Hungary) was
founded in 1142 (under King Geza II) from the abbey Heiligenkreuz close to Vienna.
Heiligenkreuz itself was a daughter of the abbey of Morimond in Champagne-
Ardenne. But the Cistercian monasteries that would follow were “daughters” or even
“granddaughters” from Clairvaux and Pontigny. In 1179 (under Bela III (1148-1196)
who had married Agnes of Châtillon in 1172 and Margret of France, daughter to
60
Louis VII, in 1186) thirteen monks of the abbey of Pontigny founded the abbey of
Egresch/Igris, 40 km west of Arad (now in Romania). Under Bela III the number of
Cistercian monasteries would increase rapidly: Zirc in 1182, Pilis en Szentgotthárd in
1184, Pásztó in 1190, Borsmonosztor in 1194). The wave of new foundations
continued under his son Emmerich (Pozsega en Tapolca in 1202, …). The abbey of
Zirc was founded by monks from Clairvaux, hence its Latin name Nova Caravalis.

The order was appreciated by the royal court as confessors and tutors for young
princes and junior noblemen. But the Cistercians were at their best when they could
turn wasteland into fertile soil by draining marches and working the land that they
took from the water. Parts of the vast forests were cut (e.g. the Bakony Forest and )
the woods on the Pilis Mountains) and cultivated. They improved agricultural
techniques and tools, thus making farming more profitable.

59
“Durch die Klientelpolitik dieser Königin, die in der Nähe von Pontigny aufgewachsen war und die engsten
Beziehungen zu den dortigen Zisterziensern pflegte, kam Berthold, der Bischof von Fünfkirchen, ebenso
Raynaldus, der spatere weissenburger Bischof, aus der Normandie zu ihren Bischofssitzen. So mag auch
Magister Gocelinus, wohl auch im Gefolge der Königin und als deren Verwandter, moglicherweise deren Onkel,
nach Sudsiebenbürgen gelangt sein.” (K. Popa, Das Burzenland als „Brückenkopf“ zwischen dem lateinischen
Westeuropa und den lateinischen Kreuzfahrerstaaten, Ein Beitrag zur Frage der Vertreibung des Deutschen
Ritterordens aus dem Burzenland. (Gewidmet der 800-Jahrfeier der Verleihung des Burzenlandes an den
Deutschen Orden), 2011, p. 5). (Through the clientele politics of this queen, who grew up in the vicinity of
Pontigny and had close ties with the Cistercians, Berthold, the bishop of Fünfkirchen, and Raynaldus, the later
bishop of Weissenburg, came to their bishop’s seat from Normandy. In the same way Magister Gocelinus, in the
court of the queen as her relative, possibly her uncle, came to the south of Transylvania).
60
“Der erste Konvent, bestehend aus zwölf Brüdern und dem Abt, waren Franzosen” The first convent consisted
of twelve brothers and the abbot, all French, Horst Klusch writes (Zur Ansiedlung der Siebenbürger Sachse,
Boekarest, 2001, p. 112). In writing so Klusch ignores the fact that many of the Cistercian monks, also the ones
from Potigny, came from present-day Flanders and Wallonia.
55

If we assume, like many historians do, that Magister Gocelinus was one of the
founders of the abbey of Egresch/Igris we must accept that he was in his young
twenties or thirties. When so, it is not impossible that 44 years later, in 1223, he
donates his domain in Michelsberg/Cisnadioara tot the abbey of Kerz. An older man
who wants to assure his place in heaven. Without providing hard evidence many
assume that he was (from the monastery in Egresch) one of the co-founders of the
new abbey in Kerz (probably in 1202 or 1203) at the farthest border of the
61
Hungarian kingdom and the foot of the southern Carpathians. The donation of
Michelsberg from King Andrew to Gocelinus at least brought him into the proximity of
the abbey that was to be founded. Maybe Gocelinus for some time had in mind to
found a monastery or at least a priory on the hill which is still called “der
Götzenhügel”, a geographical name that still echoes the name of Gocelinus.

The construction of the hill church was

started around (or just before) the year
1200. Whether it was the work of the
Saint Ladislaus praepositura of Hermann-
stadt or the new owner Magister Goceli-
nus, remains unclear. Still the Roma-
nesque church on the hill of Michelsberg
is one of the oldest, if not thé oldest, stone buildings erected by immigrants from the
Low Countries. It is a Romanesque “basilica” with three naves built in quarry stone.
In the choir we can still see traces of paintings on the ceiling and the walls. To the
right, in front of the choir, the top of a rock breaks through the floor. The biblical
saying “on this rock thou shalt build my church” was taken very literally here. The
façade to the west is quite interesting. It was originally planned as a façade with two
towers but only one, and even then only partially, was actually built. The west portal
has four arches, supported by four pillars at each side, very typical for Cistercian
architecture. At the same time a ring wall with four towers was built.
61
“Die Annahme ist wohl zulässig, das Gocelinus, ein Zisterzienser aus Pontigny, der Organisator ungarisher
Klostergründungen war und mit grosser Wahrscheinlichkeit auch die Gründung der Kerzer Abtei veranlasst hat,
die ja nur wenige Wegstunden von Seiner Michelsberger Domäne entfernt lag” (Michael Thalgoot, Die
Zisterzienser van Kerz, München, 1990, p. 17-18). (We can assume that Gocelinus was a Cistercian from
Pontigny, who organized the founding of new monasteries in Hungary. We can assume, with high probability, that
he was responsible for the founding of the Abbey of Kerz too. It was only a few hours away from his domain in
Michelsberg).
56

Eugène Van Itterbeek (+ 2012), a Fleming who was a professor of French literature
at the Lucian Blaga University in Hermannstadt/Sibiu, compares the hill church in
Michelsberg with the asylum church in Hermannstadt.62 He is puzzled by the
functionality of the hill church in Michelsberg. In contrast to the asylum church it has
never been a parish church. Van Itterbeek thinks it must have had a spiritual funct-
ion, taking into account its exceptional location on top of a steep, almost cone sha-
ped hill. A house of prayers, close to God, devoted to the Archangel Michael who was
chief of the celestial armies. He suspects that it was Gocelinus’ determination to
found here a priory of the abbey of Kerz, which was in full construction at that time.
Cistercians had a rule which said that the church had to be built first. Magister
Gocelinus must have appealed to one of the building teams of the Cistercians. When
he donated the church to the abbey did Gocelinus feel that his end was near or did
he realize that he would not succeed to found a priory on top of this steep hill?

Between 1223 and 1359 the hill church of Michelsberg is only mentioned as being
part of the abbey of Kerz. The abbots and the convent used the church and its forti-
fications as a flee castle in times of danger because the abbey of Kerz was at the
extreme border of the realm and fairly unprotected. The walls that surrounded the
church were merely meant to keep out any unwanted visitors than serving a defen-
sive purpose. But the hill church was also used for less spiritual exercises. Several
abbots of Kerz used the church as a hunting lodge where they indulged in copious
feasts where prayers were all too far away. As a consequence of these excesses the
abbey of Kerz was dissolved in 1477.

The mother abbey of Pontigny tried several times to stop the moral decay, which had
been going on for quite some time, by appointing monks form the mother abbey as
abbots of Kerz. In 1368 one Johannes von Flandern (John from Flanders) was made
abbot in Kerz. When the monastery was finally dissolve in 1477, its goods went to
the church of Hermannstadt. The monks disappeared for ever. Religious services
were concelebrated by priests from Hermannstadt. At that time the buildings were
already in decay (also because of the destructions caused by the Turks in 1421) but
the church and the building of the chapter were still standing. In 1495 and 1506
62
E. Van Itterbeek, Zwei Hermannstädter Kirchen. Ein Schiffbruch vergessenen Christentums?, Sibiu, Hora
Verlag,2007.
57

restoration works were undertaken. But the glorious years of the abbey of Kerz were
over and would never return. With the reformation the curtain fell for ever.

But long before the collapse of the abbey of Kerz the Cistercians had expanded their
influence to Burzenland. In 1240 (one year before the Mongol attack and 15 years
after the Teutonic Order had been expelled) King Bela donates Marienburg/Feldioara,
Petersburg, Honigsberg/Harman and Tartlau/Prejmer and all the rights that came
with them, to the Order of Cistercians who would play a determining role in the
architecture of the churches.

Hezelo and Anselme

63
Except for a group of inhabitants of Oppoldishusen (today Oppelshausen, 12 km
southeast of Bad Nauheim in Hessen) who sold all their belongings in 1313 “qui
quondam Vngariam fugerunt” (who left for Hungary) we know for sure only two
names of families who left the Low Countries for Hungary.

The first one is Anselme de Bra(stis) (aka Anselmus von Braz) who left for Hungary
in 1103. Anselme was the guardian of the Logne fortress, south of Liège. He held the
castle for the monks of the ‘double abbey’ of Stavelot-Malmédy. The Logne was a
flee castle for the monks who would hide and defend themselves in it in times of
unrest and war. In 1103, four years after the first successful crusade, Anselme sells
all he belongs in Brastis to the abbey in Stavelot. Together with his sons Boson and
Ne he left for Hungary leaving the custody of the Longe castle in the hands of his
son-in-law. Anselme was a free nobleman (“liber ex liberis genitus”). In 1103 he
64
returned the little church of Brastis , which was given to him and his father Alberic
as a fief, to the abbey of Stavelot. When Anselme sold the church to the abbey he

63
“Heinricus dictus Pluger, Heinricus, gener Oisterlindis, nec non Alhelmus, Gerlacus, Friedericus, fratres,
Wigandus dictus Oppoldisshussen, Wigandus dictus Konig, Wentzele Ruwe, Guda et Methildis, sorores,
Heinricus, famulus plebani in Rodenbach, Dielemannus de Hoiest et Henricus, filius textoris, Wigelo, filius domine
Dune et Heilemannus, filius Hartmanni” (Document nr. 227 from 1313 in Dr. L. Baur, Hessische Urkunden,
Darmstadt 1866). (Summary of names)
64
Today Bra is part of Lierneux (a few kilometers west of Vielsalm).
58

anticipated the possibility of a return so he or his sons could resume their vassalage
to the church. Later nothing more was heard of Anselme which leads us to think that
no-one returned. The naam ‘Bra(z)’ is linked, by some, to the name of Broos/Orastie,
one of the Primärsiedlungen (first settlements) in Siebenburgen. This theory is in
contradiction with the Latin name of Ambrosiopolis which suggests that the Saxon
name Broos was derived from Ambrosius, either a patron saint or the name of the
‘leader’ of those who settled there. Maybe it is of some importance to point out that
Magdeburg, which is often seen as an intermediate location for settlers, has a church
devoted to Saint Ambrose (Ambrosius).

In the Annales Rodenses, the chronicle of the Abbey of Rolduc (Kerkrade-Herzogen-

rath, on the border between present-day The Netherlands and Germany), we can
65
read how, in 1148, a man called Hezelo sells “negen morgen grond met een hof”
(nine morgen of land including a farm) to the abbey. The chronicle writes that “una
quidam Hezelo profectus in Ungariam” (one Hezelo left for Hungary) “ubi finivit et
vitam” (where he ended his life). For a long time Hezelo was recorded as von
Merkstein (a place near the medieval town of Aachen/Aix-la-Chapelle). This however
is a misreading of the Annales Rodenses. The chronicle mentions, in the year 1137, a
man called Hezelo van Ritzerfeld (Ritzerfeld-Merkstein is not near Aachen but just
north of Herzogenrath, a mere 10 kilometers from the abbey): “Hezelo van Ritzerfeld
- who owned the lands of Afden and Ritzerfeld – donated to the monastery sixteen
morgen of land. After said Hezelo had taken the vow with the brothers, he dis-
tinguished himself by the way in which he lived together with them,” the Annales
66
Rodenses say.

To find out where ‘one Hezelo’ came from, we have to read the entire entry of 1148
in the chronicle: “Godescalcus de Anchelstorph cum ibidem viginti propria haberet
iugera 67 cum curte una, dedit ea ecclesie et receptus est hic in communi fraternitate.
Ibi quoque vendidit ecclesie novem iugera cum curte una quidam Hezelo profectus in
Ungariam, ubi finivit et vitam.” We can read that Godescalcus from Anchelstorph
enters the convent and donates his possessions (land and a farm) to the church. “Ibi
65
The ‘morgen’ is a surface measure that – depending on the region – varies between 0,4 (Vlaamse Morgen),
0,85 (Rijnlandse morgen) and 1,07 ha (Waterlandse morgen).
66
J.T.J. Jamar en L. Augustus, Annales Rodenses. Kroniek van Kloosterrade, Maastricht 1995.
67
The ‘jugerum’ stems from Roman times and was about a quarter of an hectare.
59

quoque” the text continus (‘there as well, in Anchelstorph!) one Hezelo sells nine
‘morgen’ of land and a farm to the monastery and leaves for Hungary where he
finished his life. Hezelo is associated – purely because of phonetic similarity – with
Hetzelfdorf/Atel between Mediesch/Medias and the former episcopal church of
Birthalm/Biertan.

Angelsdorp (Anchelstorph) is now part of Elsdorf (west of Cologne and 40 km form

the abbey of Rolduc). We have to bring to the reader’s attention that the community
of Elsdorf has another village which is called Heppendorf. This name echoes Neppen-
dorf/Turnisor, today a suburb of Hermannstadt/Sibiu but in 1327 mentioned for the
first time as ‘Eppendorf’ (Villa Epponis). Moreover there is an Eppendorf/Faragau in
the Reener Ländchen (Saxon villages around Sächsisch Regen/Reghin).

More Latini

Karl Kurt Klein sums up more names of Latini in the Alteland, the Hermannstadt
region. He puts forward the counts of Talmesch/Talmaciu as French-speaking. He
does so because of their Christian names. The first count of Talmesch mentioned in
documents, is Comes Corlardus de Tolmach , son of Cryspannus. In 1233 King Bela
bestows him with the ‘Terra Loysta’, a domain on both sides of the mouth of the
Lauterbach, where it joins the river Alt/Olt. The donation is confirmed by the junior
king Stefanus in a document of 1265. In 1311 the donation is confirmed a second
time to Nycolaus de Tolmach, son of Corlardus.
The counts of Talmesch play an important role in the defense of Transylvania by the
proximity of the Roten Turm, a fortification on the banks of the river Olt that had to
protect the passage through the Carpathians against any invaders. The counts of
Talmesch were related to the counts of Heltau (see Johannes Latinus).
Then there were the counts of Salzburg/Ocna Sibiului, an ancient saltmine in the
immediate surroundigs of Hermannstadt. “Für die wallonische Herkunft des
Salzburger Grafengeschlechts sprechen die Namensformen Gyaninus und Alardus.
Das Geschlecht hatte die Pacht der Salzgefälle in Salzburg inne, woher Klein den
60

68
Reichtum der Familie ableitet.” (In favour of the Walloon origin of the dynasty of
Counts of Salzburg are the names Gyaninus and Alardus. The counts collected the
lease of the salt mines, hence the wealth of the family according to Klein).

Indeed, the tithes of the salt mine must have made the counts of Salzburg wealthy
and influential nobles. In the name Gyan, also Gaun, Gaan or Gyaninus Klein
recognizes a Walloonish variant of Jean. Alardus is the son of Gyan (mentioned in
69
the document of 1295 )

This Gyan or Jean played an important role in the history of Transylvania. In 1277 he
gathered an ‘army’ of Saxons and lay siege on the cathedral of Weissenburg, which
was plundered and set to fire. By doing so Gyan took revenge for the death of his
father Alardus (the name was quite popular in the family!). Gyan’s father was killed
in a battle with Peter, the bishop of Transylvania, about the possession of the salt
mine in Salzburg. Bishop Peter, vice chancellor of the junior king, was notorious for
his extreme moneygrubbing.70 Bishop Peter, in his turn, revenged himself and in a
number of villages the inhabitants fled for his rage. According to some sources they
moved to Burzenland where they supported the local people in their struggle against
the Mongols (1285). The attack of Gyan and his men destroyed the cathedral by fire
and part of the church treasures and documents were lost: “ecclesia kathedralis beati
Michaelis archangeli Transsiluane (…) combusta fuisset enormiter et destructa, et
71
omnibus rebus ac ornamentis suis spoliata” (The cathedral church of the
Archangel Michael of Transylvania (…) was largely consumed by fire and destroyed
and all its things and ornaments were spoiled).

68
K. Popa, Karl Kurt Klein und die Problematik der Ansiedlung der Siebenbürger Sachsen, 1997, p. 18.
69
Document 270 of volume 1 in Urkundebuch …
70
“Der Sachsenaufstand des Jahres 1277 scheint durch den Versuch von Bischof Petrus ausgelöst worden zu
sein, die Salzgruben von Salzburg (Ocna Sibiului, Vizakna), die dem sächsischen Grafen Alard gehörten, zu
besetzen. Alard wurde in den Auseinandersetzungen getötet und sein Sohn Gaan (Johann) setzte sich an die
Spitze eines bewaffneten Aufstandes. Bischof Petrus und seine korupten Geistlichen sollten gestraft werden. Die
Sachsen griffen den Dom in Weißenburg an und töteten mehrere führende Geistliche, doch Bischof Petrus
entkam.” (Klaus Popa, Die Siebenbürger Sachsen bis zum Tod von Andreas III, p. 7). (The uprising of the Saxons
in 1277 appears tob e caused by the attempt of Bishop Peter to occupy the salt mine of Salzburg (Ocna Sibiului,
Vizakna), which belonged to the Saxon count Alard(us). Alardus was killed in the conflict and his son Gaan
(Johann) took the lead of an arme uprising. Bishop Peter and his corrupted clergymen deserved a punishment.
The Saxons attacked the cathedral in Weissenburg and killed several leading clergyme, but Bishop Peter
escaped.)
71
Royal document of 1278. Document 186 in volume 1 of Urkundebuch …
61

A final name K.K. Klein proposes as belonging to the Latini is Chyl (Cheel) van
Kelling. In a document of 1269 the junior king Stephen donates to “fidelitates et
servitiorum merita Chyl comitis de villa Kelnuk” de “terra Demetrii et Vincentii” as a
reward for the loyal services in the struggle of the junior king (who was also Dux
Transilvanus) against his parents. In 1291 Daniel and Salomon, sons of Chyl, are
72
mentioned as buyers of the “terra Sohtheluk “ (possibly present-day Benzendorf/
73
Aurel Vlaicu). In 1313 Daniel and Nicolaus (sons of Salomon) are named in an
exchange of possessions with Ladislaus, voivod (ruler) of Transylvania.

The noble Kelling family lived in the castle of Kelling/Câlnic, a residential tower and
chapel protected by walls, which shows a lot of similarities with a traditional Franco-
nian ‘motte’. In 1430 the castle was sold to the villagers who surrounded it with two
strong walls that protected them against any attackers. The construction of protect-
ive walls, towers and bastions took place in many Saxon towns and villages of
Transylvania. After the devastating Mongol Storm of 1241-1242 King Bela, who had
until then – like his predecessors – been reluctant to allow his citizens to build stone
fortifications, changed tactics. Cities and villages were granted permission to build
stone walls and fortifications. Strongly fortified city walls were built in Bistritz,
Hermannstadt, Mediasch, Kronstadt, Schässburg, … For centuries (from the
thirteenth till the sixteenth) the locals continued to fortify their defensive structures.

The towers and bastions were financed by the powerful guilds of craftsmen. In the
struggle with mainly Turkish aggressors the guilds defended ‘their’ tower or bastion.
In smaller communities it was the church – very often the only building in stone –
that was provided with defensive floors, walls, towers and bastions. In that way the
famous fortified churches of Transylvania, religious buildings that served a military
purpose at the same time: keeping off Turkish troops and marauding groups of
bandits. In some villages a high hill was chosen to build a ‘peasant castle’, a forti-
fication that was never inhabited by noble families but only served as a safe haven
for the villagers in times of unrest and war. Siebenbürgen/Transsylvanië has four of
these peasant castles and more than a hundred fortified churches, seven of which

72
Document 255 in volume 1 of Urkundebuch …
73
Document 333 in volume 1 of Urkundebuch …
62

are on the list of UNESCO World Heritage. A very nice book on the fortified churches
is Transylvania: The Saxon Legacy, edited by Tudor Seulean, Maarten Ruiters and
Ton van Rijen (Cluj Napoca, Editura Grinta, 2009). The book is for sale in the Muzeul
Cetate (Museum of Fortified Churches) in Frauendorf/Axente Sever. The museum
shows the history of the fortified churches in Transylvania.

Saint James, Saint Nicolas and Saint Servatius (Sevastius)

Also the patron saints of churches and chapels can shed a light on the origin of the
oldest groups of settlers in Transylvania. Please allow me to make a detour before
coming to the subject.

Langenau/Campulung (south of the Carpathians) was probably founded by brothers

of the Order during the presence of the Teutonic Knights (1211-125) in Burzenland.
After the Order was expelled in 1225 only merchants (predominantly of German
origin) who had populated Langenau from Kronstadt/Brasov, remained. They erected
a church devoted to Saint James. It was a small, chapel like, church built in the
thirteenth century and replaced – after a Turkish attack in 1427 – by a bigger, gothic
church who had Saint Ann ánd Saint James as patron saints.

How Saint James became patron saint of the church in language is attributed by
74
Klaus Herbers and Dieter R. Bauer to missionary activities by Cistercian monks
who, after the expulsion of the Teutonic Knights, were active in Burzenland and
across the borders of the Hungarian kingdom (on Cuman land). They operated from
the abbey in Kerz and the mother abbey in Egresch. They strongly influenced the
architecture of several churches in Burzenland but also undertook the reconstruction
of the church of the Holy Mary in Mühlbach/Sebes, after the Mongol attack of 1241.

Herbers and Bauer quote a remarkable ritual that Langenau/Campulung has in

common with the city of Liège in present-day Belgium. According to the authors the
74
Der Jakobuskult in Ostmitteleuropa, Tübingen, 2003, p. 326 and later.
63

city of Liège was supposed to be the only city in Europe where the civilians elected
their mayor and city council in the church of Saint James (founded in 1015 by Prince
Bishop Balderic II). The first ones to do so, probably, but not the only ones because
documents show that in Langenau – until 1822 – the inhabitants elected their mayor
in Saint James’s church. This might appear as a mere coincidence, Herbers and
Bauer write, but at the same time they point out that Langenau is situated along the
trade route to Kronstadt. This city was, already so in a very early stage, a commer-
cial center. Prove of the wealth this brought to its citizens can be found in the rich
collection of oriental carpets in Kronstadt’s Black Church. Kronstadt was on the big
commercial road between the western European countries and the east. Herbers and
Bauer suppose Flemish cloth traders were present in Kronstadt as early as the
eleventh century. “But definitely so in the twelfth century,” they claim. Saint James
was the patron saint of the cloth makers and in the Rhine-Meuse area there were not
less than 150 centers where the fine cloth was made.

The above mentioned Mühlbach/Sebes belonged to the area where the first settlers
(primes hospites) are mentioned. Remains were found of a thirteenth century Saint
James’s Chapel that had two floors and hence, may have served – like the chapels in
Bayern (south of Germany) with Saint James as patron saint – as shelters for
pilgrims, not only to the Holy Land but also to the church of Saint Mary in Mülbach.
In medieval times it was a popular place for pilgrimages to the Holy Mary.

Also Kronstadt had a chapel devoted to Saint James (mentioned in 1342). This
chapel, like the one in Hermannstadt, is named as a rest house for pilgrims on their
way to Santiago de Compostella. On the hat of the statue of Saint James in the Black
Church of Kronstadt (statue dated middle of the fifteenth century) we can clearly
recognize the shell that is so typical for the Santiago pilgrims.

The Church of Saint James in Reps/Rupea (halfway Schässburg and Kronstadt) is

located in the centre of the city. Remarkable was the collection of 16 oriental carpets
which, however, were moved to the Black Church in Kronstadt. It proves neverthe-
less that the caravans of traders with the east passed through Reps. The same cara-
vans stopped in Schässburg where pray carpets from Armenia were kept. Also Alt-
64

Klausenburg/Kolos had a church devoted to Saint James and even a medieval

borough that was named after him.

Saint James’s churches were closely related to the presence of Flemish and Walloon
immigrants, e.g. in Breslau/Wroclaw and Neisse/Nysa in present-day Poland where
they established a large production of textile goods. The same thing happened in
Brün/Brno (Czech Republic). A city protocol from 1271 states that all “Teutonic”
(read: Flemish) and all “Gallic” (read: Walloon) citizens that live in the city belong to
the Church of Saint James (founded in 1200).

The chapels devoted to Saint James are nearly always named as churchyard chapels,
which implies that they were used as houses of worship for small communities,
usually cloth weavers and – traders from the Low Countries. Also the chapel of Saint
75
James in Hermannstadt/Sibiu had precisely that function. Proof was found in
recent excavations which brought to light graves in Hermannstadt from the earliest
period of colonization.

Hermannstadt had several chapels and churches. The oldest center of the town
(present-day Huetplatz/Piața Huet) had, next to the Church of the Lady Mary (now
the Evangelical Church, built on the spot of the former Saint Mary Chapel), the
Round Chapel (Capela Rotunda, probably the oldest of all, disappeared in the mist of
time but clearly located in the pavement with the renovation of the Huetplatz), the
Saint Ladislaus Chapel (linked to the praepositura of Hermannstadt), the Chapel of
Saint James and the Chapel of Saint Nicolas. Just outside the walls of the highest
(and oldest) plateau of Hermannstadt is the Asylum Church (until the Mongol storm
76
of the middle of the thirteenth century probably a minster of the Premonstraten-
77
sian (Norbertines) , later the church of the medieval hospital of Hermannstadt).

“The Walloons (romanici) had the church (it was a church at that time) of Saint
James, the Flemish (Flandrenses (germanici) had another church, possibly the church

75
"capella beati Jacobi apostoli in cimiterio eiusdem parochialis ecclesiae" (Document of 1442).
76
A church that is part of a monastery.
77
An order founded by Saint Nortbertus in Prémontré (1120), Picardie. Picardie was part of the County of
Flanders. Most of the Norbertine monasteries are in present-day Belgium (in the two provinces of Brabant and in
Wallonia) and The Netherlands. It is very likely that the Norbertine monastery in Hermannstadt was founded by
monks from The Low Countries.
65

of Saint Mary or the Rotunda … and this because the Flemings and the Walloons did
78
not mix,” Georg Schoenpflug von Gambsenberg writes.

His ideas are highly speculative but not unrealistic. As far as “because they did not
mix” is concerned, Georg Schoenplug probably was tricked into an anachronism
projecting the present political antagonism between Flemings and Walloons to a past
more than 800 years ago. To us it seems far more likely that Flemings and Walloons
lived together and at the same time also separated. They had their geographical
origin in common but spoke a different language. Hence it is not unrealistic to
suppose they had separated churches or chapels. Places of worship devoted to Saint
James are often associated with the presence of cloth makers (both Walloons and
Flemings). On the other hand it is not impossible that the Flemings among these
early immigrants had their own chapel and graveyard.

Remarkable – and doubtlessly linked to the presence of the Chapel of Saint James –
is the fact that archeological excavations in the Huetplatz in 2005-2006 unearthed a
scallop (in Dutch: Sint-Jacobsschelp, in German: Jakobsmuschel, in French: coquille
Saint-Jacques, all bearing a reference to Saint James) which served as a kind of
‘passport’ for pilgrims to Santiago de Compostella. The scallop was dated twelfth
century, the period when the first settlers came to Hermannstadt.

And it is also remarkable that the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostella was

extremely popular in the Low Countries in medieval times. In the area of Liège and
Maastricht punishments given by the court were calculated in pilgrimages to
Santiago. In Liège for example, chopping off someone’s hand was punished with 15
pilgrimages to Santiago for the victim and 7,5 pilgrimages for the city government.
Of course these punishments were transformed into financial fines but it shows the
79
important role the pilgrimage to Santiago played in this area. The pilgrimage was
used as a punishment in the Duchy of Brabant as well and Louvain had its own Saint
James’s Church.

78
“Valonii (romanici) au avut Biserica (atunci era Biserica) St. Jacobus, Flamanzii (Flandrenses) (germanici) au
avut alta Biserica..se pare ca Sta. Maria...sau poate Rotunda... Si asta pentru ca flamanzii si valonii nu s-au
amestecat.” (G. Schoenpflug von Gambsenberg, http://www.radu-
marginean.sibiul.ro/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2858, 25/08/2008).
79
K. Herbers, D. R. Bauer, Der Jakobskult in Südddeutschland, Tübingen, 1995, p. 333.
66

Transylvania has not less than three villages called Jakobsdorf: Siniacob (Bistritz),
Glacas (between Mediasch and Schässburg) and Iacobeni (near Agnethelen/Agnita in
the Harbachthal/Valea Hârtibaciului). Jakobsdorf/Iacobeni is situated in the
immediate vicinity of two “church villages”: Abtsdorf/Apos (the Saxon/German name
literally means village of the abbot), belonging to the abbey of Kerz, and Probstdorf/
Stejarisu (village of the provost), belonging to the praepositura of Hermannstadt.
Jakobsdorf/Iacobeni is at a stone’s throw of the source area of the Harbach-river
(Cwezfey) which was donated to Johannes Latinus in 1206 by Andrew II.

The placename Jakobsdorf can be found in the whole German speaking part of
Europe. Also in the areas which were Christianized during the Ostsiedlung. There are
two “Jakobsdorfen” in West Prussia and at least one in present-day Poland.

The questions where the Chapel of

Saint James in Hermannstadt was
situated, was skillfully answered by
Heidrun König in two articles in the
80
Hermannstadter Zeitung. There
had been quite some confusion
between the Chapel of Saint James
and the Chapel of Saint Ladislaus
(next to the late Priests’ Tower, both torn down in 1898, see picture). Heidrun König
could prove that the Chapel of Saint James was transformed into a dwelling house in
the nineteenth century. In the floor plan of house number seventeen in the Huetplatz
we can still recognize the semi-circular choir and fragments of mural painting have
been preserved.

With the flow of time the patrocinium Jacobus (James) was superseded by the
patrocinium of Nicolaas (Nicolas). He was the patron saint of the merchants and with
the growing of trade and craftsmanship in the whole of the Hungarian kingdom, and
surely also in Transylvania, the influence of Saint Nicolas grew stronger. We are not
surprised to find Klosdorf/Cloasterf (village of Nicolas) on the commercial route

80
Heidrun König, ‘Die Jakobskapelle am Huetzplats. Ein Pilgerweg’, Hermannstadter Zeitung, 14 Jan 2000, p. 5
(part I) and 21 Jan 2000, p. 5 (part II).
67

between Schässburg and Kronstadt. The Reichsabtei of Burtscheid (Aachen) played

an important role in the expansion of the Nicolas cult. The abbey still owns an icon of
Saint Nicolas (originally from Constantinople) which was donated by the first abbot of
the abbey (Gregorius, a Greek from Byzantine Italy) to the abbey at the time of its
foundation (shortly before the year 1000). Prince-Bishop Notger of Liège strongly
supported the spreading of the veneration of Saint Nicolas in the whole of Lorraine.

In the twelfth century Gran/Esztergom, the first capital of Hungary, had a district
(Vicus Latinorum) where all the foreigners lived. Their church was the Church of
Saint Nicolas. Hermannstadt had a Nicolas church as well, first mentioned in 1451 as
81
“extra cimiterium” (outside the graveyard).

But yet another patron saint deserves our attention. The church of Grossau/Cristian
(a few kilometers west of Hermannstadt) has the holy “Sevastius” (a miss spelling (?)
of Servatius) as patron saint. This patrocinium relates to the Liège area as well. Saint
Servatius (Servaas in Dutch) died at the end of the fourth century. He was the first
bishop of Tongeren, later of Maastricht. He built the very first church on the territory
of present-day The Netherlands. Servaas was the founder of Christianity in the whole
region and subject of one of the oldest texts in our language: the Leven van Servaas
(The Life of Servaas) by Hendrik Van Veldeke (1170).

“Because the first groups of German colonists who migrated in the twelfth century
form the Meuse and Rhine area to Hungary, it is almost self-evident that they
brought their patron saints like Lambert(us) of Liège and Servatius from Maastricht
82
to their new home,” Lajos Kakucs writes. The Servatius patrocinium of Grossau is
unique in Transylvania and clearly refers to the presence of colonists from the Liège
area. Many historians mention Grossau as one of the Primärsiedlungen (the first
settlements) together with Hermannstadt/Sibiu, Stolzenburg/Slimnic, Grossscheuern/
Seica Mare, Burgberg/Vurpar, Hammersdorf/Gusterita, Neppendorf/Turnisor and
Schellenberg/Selimbar in the Stuhl (Chair, and administrative unit) Hermannstadt ;
Alzen/Altina, Kirchberg/Chirpar and Leschkirch/Nocrich in the Stuhl Leskirch and
Grossschenk/Cincu, Mergeln/Merghindeal and Schönberg/Dealu Frumos in the Stuhl
81
Gustav Seivert in Archiv des Vereins für siebenbürgische Landeskunde, Band IX/3.
82
Der Jakobuskult in Ostmitteleuropa, Tübingen, 2003, p. 286.
68

Schenk. These thirteen villages are supposed to have been founded by the hospites
flandrenses mentioned in the document of 1192-1196. (see page 46).

Church treasures

Remarkable is that one of the church treasures of Heltau/Cisnadie – a monstrance

from the fifteenth century which survived the inconoclasm of the reformation
together with a few more religious works of art in a “Schatzkammer” (treasure room)
behind a fake wall – carries the engraved images of a number of saints in its foot.
Next to Saint Walburga (patron saint of the church of Heltau) we can spot an image
of Saint Servatius. To make it very clear, the monstrance carries the inscription
“s[ancta] walpvrga and s[anctus] servacius”. At the bottom it bears the name (or
more correctly the initial) of the donor: : “ L. ad cristain de insvla” (= L.[adislaus?]
from Insula Cristianis, the Latin name of Grossau/Cristian). But Saint Servatius was
also present in other Saxon villages. There is a Servatius altar in the bishops’ church
in Birthälm/Biertan. And there is a Servatius chapel in Grosschelken/Seica Mare. The
hill on which the chapel is built is called in the local dialect: “Af’m Zerwes” (on the
Servatius). In Hahnbach/Hamba there is a Servatius watersource. The lands around
it are called: “Bäm Zerwesbrannen” (at the Servatius well). And the Saxon family-
name of “Zerbes” is derived from the saint’s name. “In conclusion, Saint Servatius
was one of the most popular saints revered by the Saxons in County Sibiu. His
prayers and rituals are identical with those held in Liège, in Walloon (sic),” Daniela
83
Damboiu writes. The monstrance from Heltau/Cisnadie is kept in the Brukenthal
Museum in Hermannstadt/Sibiu.

To the same treasure, hidden in the Schatzkammer of Heltau, belongs a relic cross
(dated 1440). It carries an engraved image of Saint Servatius which is covered with
transparent enamel. A masterpiece of silver smithing in Transylvania. Saint Servatius
is portrayed with a key in his hand and his foot on a dragon, a reference to the fact

83
D. Damboiu, The Iconography of some pieces of liturgical orfevrerie belonging to the Cisnadie Treasure, Sibiu,
Muzeul National Bruckenthal, 2009.
69

that Servatius tried to crush Aryanism, a fourth-century current in Christian belief

that rejected the theory of the Holy Trinity. The foot of the cross carries the images
of eight saints, including Saint Michael (the immediate
neighbour of Heltau is Michelsberg with the Mons
Michaelis, a hill with the oldest Romanesque church of
Transsyvania), Saint Nicolas (a chapel in a field near
Heltau was devoted to him), and Saint Walburga (the
prayers spoken in Michelsberg and Hermannstadt on
her nameday on the first of May, are identical to the
ritual prayers in Cologne, Aix-en-Chapelle (Aachen)
84
and … Liège). Between the actual cross and the
foot of the cross there is a remarkable ornament:
eight more miniature pictures of saints. Among them Saint James, who can be
recognized by the scallop on his hat.

Heltau has more church treasures that can be traced back to the earliest immigrants
in the region. Next to the monstrance with the pictures of saints, described above,
there is the Missal of Heltau (dated middle of the fourteenth century). In this Codex
85 86
Heltensis , like in the Codex Cibiniense (the book of prayers of Hermannstadt)
we can find prayers and texts that Reinerth traces back to the area of the Lower
Rhine. But he also detects strong influences from the Magdeburg rite. His findings
lead to the conclusion that Magdeburg was a kind of ‘intermediate station’ for
immigrants that came from the Low Countries to Transylvania. We have already
mentioned that Magdeburg belongs to Der Fläming, an area developed by colonists
from Zeeland, Holland and Flanders. The question is whether we should not see it
more like a ‘parallel and simultaneous influence’. When colonists with the same
geographical origin settle in the area around Magdeburg and in the region of

84
Walburga churches are not only to be found in Antwerp, Bruges, Oudenaarde and Veurne (in present-day
Flanders) but also in Wéris (south of Liège) en Amby (Maastricht). Liège even has a district that is called ‘Sainte
Walburge’ and, evidently, also a Walburga church.
85
K. Reinerth, Das Heltauer Missale, eine Brücke zum Lande der Herkunft der Siebenbürger Sachsen, Köln,
Böhlau, 1963.
86
K. Reinerth, Missale cibiniense. Gestalt, Ursprung und Entwicklung des Messritus der siebenbürgisch-
sächsischen Kirche im Mittelalter, Köln, Wien, Böhlau, 1972.
70

Hermannstadt and Heltau, is it not logical that rites, texts and prayers show a strong
likeness? The Codex Heltensis is the second oldest book in Romania.

Another treasure kept in the fortified church of Heltau/Cisnadie is even more intri-
guing. In 1912 a worn piece of copper was found in the charnel house (osarium) of
the church. The people who had found it, wanted
to throw it away. But someone else took the – so
it seemed – worthless old piece of metal and sa-
ved it from oblivion. It appeared to be a pro-
cessionnal cross dating back to the twelfth cen-
tury. In German this unique piece is called
Vortragekreuz or Einwandererkreuz. It is a cross
with a wooden kernel covered with copper
plating. The front side has a picture of Jesus on
the cross, wearing a loincloth and with his feet
next to each other (not crossed). The back side
has an image of the Lamb of God. The front side
has fourteen glass pearls (white, blue, green and
red), the back side eighteen. The horizontal arms
of the cross have a small chain with another glass pearl. One of the chains and five
pearls are missing. A few years ago the cross was thoroughly restored and it is now
kept, together with the Heltauer Missale, in a secured chamber of the fortified church
of Heltau. The cross was dated twelfth century. It is supposed to have come to Hel-
tau, together with the immigrants from the Low Countries. Hence the name Einwan-
dererkreuz (immigrants’ cross). Some see it as an example of Mosan Art, thriving
artistic craftsmanship which peaked in the eleventh and twelfth century in the region
of Liège, Aix-en-Chapelle and Cologne. Others point out the rather primitive techni-
que that was used and suspect a byzantine influence. Even if the second hypothesis
is true it is not necessarily in contradiction with immigrants coming from the Low
Countries. Remember the theory of Horst Klusch that groups of crusaders from the
Low Countries were already present south of the Carpathians.
71

There is one more remarkable object that captures our attention: an ancient tomb-
stone with an image in half relief. The heavy stone that was found one meter deep in
1935 when some digging was done in the ancient
graveyard of Heltau. The stone is dated twelfth
century and represents a human figure. The
figure has a head and feet. Between the head
and the feet there is a cross-like shape. What it
represents is subject of discussion. Some see
arms and legs, others thinks it is a cross. It is
generally accepted that it is a grave stone. But
opinions differ greatly on what it represents and
whose grave was decorated with it. Without
having real proof some think it is the gravestone
of Johannes Latinus. Others point in the direction
of Magister Gocelinus from nearby Michelsberg.
Personally – but I have no proof either – I think
it represents a Teutonic knight. The shape in
87
between the head and the feet represents, in my opinion, a cross with split ends
(a so-called Maltese Cross) like the knights of the Teutonic Order were wearing. But
the Hospitallers of Saint John and even the Templers had the same cross with split
88
ends. Why then a Teutonic Knight? My opinion is based on a document of 1213 in
which William, bishop of Transylvania, explicitly forbids the knights of the Teutonic
Order to recruit inhabitants of his diocese – except for Hungarians and Szekely – and
transfer them to their territories (Burzenland) two years after their arrival there. Did
the Teutonic Order send crimps to try to persuade settlers from the Low Countries to
come to Burzenland? And when they tried to attract colonists from the diocese of
Transylvania why would they not try to do the same in the praepositura of
Hermannstadt? Did one of these Teutonic knights die in Heltau? Was he buried
respectfully under a heavy gravestone? Questions that can be asked but probably
never solved, unfortunately. A similar stone with a human figure was found in

87
The head shows a striking likeness with the heads in the capitals on top of the columns in the church portals of
Heltau and Michelsberg. An extra argument to attribute the gravestone to Magister Gocelinus.
88
Document 27 in volume 1 of Urkundebuch …
72

German Faha (Mettlach), some 10 kilometers from the present-day border between
Germany and Luxemburg.

The Teutonic Knights in Burzenland

In 1211 Andrew II donates a forward part of his kingdom (Terra Borza or Burzen-
land) to the Order of Teutonic Knights. Oficially the Order is called “domus Sanctæ
Mariæ Theutonicorum Hierosolymitanoru”, in German: Orden der Brüder vom
Deutschen Haus St. Mariens in Jerusalem (Order of the Brothers oft he German
House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem). Most often they are called „German Order“.

The German Oder originated at the end of the twelfth century in Acra, follwoing the
example of the Hospitallers of Saint John who took care in Jerusalem of crusaders
who were either ill or wounded. In 1143 the Hospitallers took over, on command of
Pope Celestinus II, the German hospital (domus Theutonicorum) that assisted many
German pilgrims and crusaders in their own language. In 1187 Jerusalem (and the
German hospital) was lost but during the siege of Acra in 1190 merchants from
Lübeck and Bremen organized a field hospital. It was the start of the German Order.
In 1192 the Order was recognized by Pope Celestinus III and in 1192 – after the
example of the Order of Templar Knights – transformed into a military order. In
particular under the rule of Grandmaster Herman von Salza (1209-1239) the Order
became a strong military and political power. The Order bought the castle of Mont-
fort (Starkenberg in German), northeast of Acra in 1220 and made it its headquar-
ter. Next to that the Order was given important quantities of land in the Holy Roman
Empire (in particular in present-day Germany and Italy), in Greece and in Palestine.

89
In 1211 King Andrew II of Hungary made an appeal to the Order to defend the
southeast border of his kingdom (called Burzenland) against Cuman attacks.90 They

89
Document 19 in volume 1 of Urkundebuch …
90
Horst Klusch writes in his book Zur Ansiedlung der Siebenbürger Sachsen that in 1192 the sum of 1 mark of
gold was entered in the Liber censuum Ecclesiae Romane for the recognition of “The new house of the Germans
in Bozza (…) that has taken possession of a domain in the diocese of Transylvania” (Klusch, p. 69). It is difficult to
presume that the German House was the possession of the German Order which was only recognized by the
73

were not the first and not the only knightly order to be favoured by the Hungarian
91
kings. Grandmaster Herman von Salza was a personal friend and a protégé of
Frederic II, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. King Andrew in his turn had good
relations with Hermann, Landgrave of Thüringen. Andrew negotiated with him about
the marriage of his four-year-old daughter Elisabeth (she was later canonized as
Saint Elisabeth) with Louis, son of Hermann of Thüringen. The family of Herman von
Salza were vassals of the Landgrave and probably Herman von Salza played an
important role in the negotiatons.

The German Order, not more than two decades active as a military order, must have
been considered by Andrew as a suitable partner to assist him in the defense of his
kingdom. He bestowed the Order with the “Terra Borza” in “everlasting possession”.
In the document of donation Andrew calls the area “deserta et inhabitata” (empty
and uninhabited). Serious doubts about this assumption has been caused by recent
archeological research which yielded graves of colonists dating back to a period
before the arrival of the German Order. Did these early colonists come from the Low
92
Countries? Klaus Popa thinks they did: “Fur die hauptsachlich flandrisch-
hollandische Erstbesiedlung des Burzenlandes spricht auch das grosangelegte
Kanalisierungs- und Entwasserungssystem, das auch heute noch im Betrieb ist”.
(Proof for the mainly Flemish-Dutch earliest settlement in Burzenland is to be found
in the large canalization- and dewatering system, which is still functional today).

Probably the area was quite thinly populated. The German Order – led by Brother
Theoderich – was given permission to build earthen and wooden castles, was

Pope in the very same year but most probably must have belonged to the Hospitallers. Horst Klusch thinks that
this new German House and the Terra Bozza (not Borza!) must have been south of the Carpathians, in the
diocese of Milkow. Klusch sees it as evidence for the presence of a number of German migrants who would
receive medical care and protection by this German House. He presumes the German Order was already present
in this area (as a military support point for the Church in Rome). With the donation of 1211 they only had to cross
the Carpathian mountains to take possession of Burzenland and start to develop it. (Klusch, p. 82).
91
“Die Ritterorden waren in Ungarn seit 1147 durch die Graner Johanniter bzw. seit 1169 durch die Templer von
Vrana vertreten, die sich besonders auf dem Gebiet der Krankenpflege und der Kriegführung hervortaten.” (The
knightly orders were present in Hungary from 1147 in Gran (The Hospitallers of Saint John) and 1169 in Vrana
(The Templars). They were very useful in the care for the sick and in warfare). (‘Die Arpadenköninge nach
Stephan Dem Heiligen (1038-1301)’,Encyclopaedia Humana Hungarica 02. CD-ROM, Encyclopaedia Humana
Association, Budapest, 1997).
92
Klaus Popa, Das Burzenland als „Brückenkopf“ zwischen dem lateinischen Westeuropa und den lateinischen
Kreuzfahrerstaaten, Ein Beitrag zur Frage der Vertreibung des Deutschen Ritterordens aus dem Burzenland.
(Gewidmet der 800-Jahrfeier der Verleihung des Burzenlandes an den Deutschen Orden), 2011 (Article not yet
published at that time).
74

allowed to keep half the gold and silver they could find but were forbidden to mint.
And they were only to answer to the king himself.

They built – despite the prohibition of the king – stone castles ( “quinque castra
fortia”, five fortified castles) including the order’s headquarters in Marienburg/
Feldioara and strongholds in Kronstadt/Brasov, Rosenau/Riznov and Zeiden/Codlea.
They defended their new territories successfully against the Cumans and even built a
“cruceburg” (castle of the cross) on the other side of the mountains. They lured new
settlers (from other parts of Transylvania and from the Holy Roman Empire) to come
to their new homeland. Despite the fact that they willfully ignored his restrictions,
King Andrew in 1212 enlarged his donation with a big junk of the diocese of Milkow
in Cuman land, the other side of the Carpathians.

On 23 August 1217 Andrew left on a crusade to the

Holy Land (the fifth crusade) at the head of an
Hungarian army. After failing a few expeditions he
returned only a few months later. Andrew was not the
shrewdest of politicians and his large donations of
lands to trustees of all kinds (including Johannes
Latinus and Magister Gocelinus, the Templars and the
German Order) set up the Hungarian gentry against
him. The religious leaders were appalled by the fact
that he pawned his royal revenues with Jewish and Muslim bankers.93 Most probably
the German Knights (picture) quite quickly understood that Andrew was not the most
feared opponent. In 1222 he expanded their territory across the Carpathians ”usque
ad Danubium” (to the Danube). Andrew had given the Teutonic Knights quite some
privileges: they could organize markets, trade goods tax free, did not have to pay
taxes to the king and could appoint their priests themselves. But the Knights had a
hidden agenda: they wanted to put their territory directly under the authority of the

93
“Es gab kein Element der von Andreas II. getroffenen Maßnahmen, welches nicht die Interessen irgendeiner
Gesellschaftsgruppe als ganzes oder einzelner ihrer Mitglieder verletzt hätte. Und so erwuchs der Politik der
neuen Einrichtung eine breitgefächerte und differenzierte Opposition.” (There was no element in the measures
Andrew took that did not offend one or other group in society, as a whole or as individual members. And so the
politics of the new organization caused a widespread and differentiated opposition). (‘Die Arpadenköninge …’ ).
75

pope. De facto this meant that they would have their own state (a crusaders’ state)
completely independent of the Hungarian court. In 1224 Pope Honorius III incorpo-
rated Burzenland into the jurisdiction of the Papal Seat ( “… in ius et proprietatem
apostolicae Sedis recipere dignaremur” ). When Andrew realized what was happening
and understood the danger, he decided to expel the Order from Burzenland and his
entire kingdom by military force. He ignored the letters of protest of the Pope. The
Teutonic Knights were driven away but the other immigrants were allowed to stay.
The Order had little time to grieve about the loss of Burzenland because in 1230 they
sided with Konrad I from Masovia to Christianize the land of the Pruzzen (Old Prussia
or Prutenii) by force. They built their power in present-day Poland and the Baltic sta-
tes. And they realized the dream they had had for Terra Borza: they founded their
own state, the state of the German Order. In the neighbourhood of Danzig (in Polish
Gdańsk) they built a powerful castle which they called – like in Burzenland –
Marienburg (Malbork).

94
Klaus Popa judges the expulsion of the German Order as the final blow in the
struggle for power between the Latin (French-Walloon) and the Teutonic (German)
fractions at the court of the king. The dynasty De Courtenay from the Champagne
area (in the north of France) played a prominent role in the Latin states of the Holy
Land. Agnes of Courtenay was the mother of Baldwin IV, king of Jerusalem (1174-
1185) and the wife of Amalrik I who occupied the same post before him. In 1204 the
first Latin Empire of Constantinople was founded with Baldwin of Flanders (1204-
1205) as the first emperor. He was succeeded by his brother Henry. Then the crown
of the emperor went to Peter I of Courtenay, the youngest son of Louis VI of France.
Peter was crowned emperor but taken prisoner on the way to Constantinople. He
died two years later, a prisoner, and was replaced by his wife Yolanda of Flanders
(1217-1219). She in turn was succeeded by her son Robert. The crusader states
were, from the very beginning, ruled by noble families from Flanders and the
Champagne, both vassals to the French king. After the murder on his first wife
Gertrude from Merania, King Andrew married Yolanda of Courtenay (daughter of
Yolanda of Flanders) in 1215. Gertrude had German roots (in Bayern) but Yolanda’s

94
K. Popa, “Das Burzenland als …”.
76

father Peter II of Courtenay was a grandson to the French king Louis VI. Gertrude of
Merania was murdered by prominent members of the royal court. Probably they were
members of the ‘Latin party’ who wanted to put a stop to the growing influence of
the (German) Holy Roman Empire. In 1211 the Teutonic Order was called to Hungary
to protect Burzenland and the diocese of Milkow against the Cumans and other
threats. Their territory was even expanded ‘ultra montes nivium’ (beyond the
Carpathians, in Cuman land). The date 1211 is important because at that moment
the ‘German’ party at the court was quite powerful. Ten years before Andrew II had
married Gertrude, his first wife who was a Bavarian, and in that period Herman von
Salza, Grandmaster of the Teutonic Knights, negotiated the marriage of Andrew’s
four-year-old daughter Elisabeth with Louis, son of Hermann of Thüringen. The arri-
val of the Order threatened to tilt the balance to the ‘German’ side and the promi-
nent members of the ‘Latin’ party at the court saw this evolution with envy. The
control over the ‘Terra Borza’ implied the control over one of the most prominent
trade routes to the east. And those trade routes were important for Flanders and the
Champagne where a prosperous production and trade of cloth needed the routes to
the east quite badly.

The Order managed to consolidate and expand their territory in no time. Stone
castles were built and (despite of the royal interdiction) colonists from nearby ‘Saxon’
areas were invited to come to Burzenland. Most of these Saxon areas, according to
Klaus Popa, belonged to the ‘Latin’ sphere of influence. He points at Johannes
Latinus “in villa Riuetel” (south of Hermannstadt), in 1204 raised to the status of
Hungarian nobleman and ‘freed from Saxon jurisdiction’. Two years later the territory
of Latinus was expanded with the “terra Gwezfey”, a domain more to the east, south
of Sighisoara and only a short distance from the Terra Borza. The sons of Johannes
Latinus would, in 1231, after the expulsion of the Order, receive another four villages
(east of Sighisoara this time). Klaus Popa recognizes a similar expansion in the direc-
tion of the Terra Borza in the founding of a Cistercian monastery in Kerz/Cârta
(founded in 1202/1203) and donation to this monastery (in 1223) of the hill church
on mons Sancti Michaeli (Michelsberg/Cisnadioara) and the village at its foot to the
same monastery.
77

One more question remains: what role did the people from the Low Countries play in
Burzenland? To find an answer to this question we must point in the direction of the
Alii Flandrenses who are mentioned in the document of 1192-1196, written by the
Papal Legate Gregorius. They lived outside the King’s land of the praepositura of
Hermannstadt and had to answer to the bishop of Transylvania in Sancta Michaelis
(Weissenburg/Alba Iulia). They probably belonged to a wave of colonists who went,
95
from the praepositura of Hermannstadt, north and east to the Stühle (chairs) of
Schässburg/Sighisoara and Reps/Rupea of the borders of these areas.

In his document of 1213 bishop William of Transylvania forbids the German Order to
transfer residents from his diocese – with the exception of Hungarians and Szekely –
to their new territory. Undoubtedly the Transylvanian bishop refers to villages outside
the praepositura of Hermannstadt because the latter was directly subordinate to the
archdiocese of Gran and not to the diocese of Transylvania. This means that bishop
William refers to the chairs (Stühle) of Schässburg and Reps. Precisely there we meet
immigrants from the Low Countries and a strong presence of Wallonians. In the Stuhl
Reps there is – among others – a village named Voldorf (Valendorf, Wallonendorf/
Villa Latina/Valeni).

Deutsch-Weisskirch/Viscri, in the same Stuhl Reps, invokes the alii flandrenses as the
founders of their village. We must bring to the reader’s attention that in this very
picturesque village – a favourite holiday spot for HRM Charles, Prince of Wales – that
a twelfth-century round chapel was uncovered, a type of chapel like the one in
Hermannstadt attributed to the first flandrenses. Also in the Stuhl Schässburg these
round chapels were found, in Keisd/Sashiz and Schässburg/Sighisoara itself. More
villages evoke the alii flandrenses as their forefathers: Arkeden/Archita (Stuhl
Schässburg) and Hamruden/Homorod (Stuhl Reps). Finally there is Galt/Ungra in the
Stuhl of Reps. It’s Latin name was castrum noilgiant, “noilgiant” being derived from
the Wallonian word mening “forest of walnuts”. As a consequence we can suppose
the first people to settle in Galt were immigrants from Wallonia.

95
Stuhl (Latijn comitatus) was een administratieve eenheid van het Hongaarse rijk. Aan het hoofd stond een Gräf
(Latijn comes). Sieben Stühle telde zeven dergelijke eenheden: Broos/Orastie, Mühlbach/Sebes,
Reussmarkt/Miercurea Sibiului, Selischte/Saliste, Talmesch/Talmaciu, Leschkirch/Nocrich en Grossschenk/Cincu
en de ‘hoofdstuhl’ Hermannstadt/Sibiu. Dan was er Zwei Stühle met Marktschelken/Seica Mare en
Mediasch/Medias en tenslotte de Stühle Schässburg/Sighisoara en Reps/Rupea.
78

The fact that the Transylvanian bishop explicitly forbids the transfer of people from
his diocese is enough proof to conclude that this transfer really took place. Moreover
the knights of the Teutonic Order operated under the personal protection of the Pope
which probably meant that they were unaffected by this episcopal ban. We must
assume, however, that the number of settlers originating from the Low Countries
was so small that they assimilated quite rapidly with larger groups coming from the
Holy Roman Empire and that the traces of their presence have dissolved with time.

Salt, silver and Flemish traders

The most northern part of Siebenbürgen is called Nösnerland, after the old German name
(Nösen, zu Nösen) for the most important town in the region: Bistritz/Bistriţa. South of this
Nösnerland – which had up to 36 Saxon cities and villages in medieval times – is the Reener
Ländchen, the region around the city Säksisch Regen/Reghin. Nösnerland had an exceptional
status in medieval Hungary, for two reasons. First it was Queen’s Land (the Hungarian queen
was liege to the land) 96. Secondly it provided the court with an important source of revenue:
salt and silver were mined on a fairly large scale and shipped over the Great Somesch to
Sathmar/Satu Mare. From there the salt was sold all over the kingdom and even in the
neighbouring countries.

Rodenau/Rodna was part of the very first places where German and Flemish colonists came
97
to settle. Dr. Fritz Holzträger claims the name Rodenau refers to the Pagus Rodanensis,
an ancient (alreay mentioned in 840) district (gouw) east of Bruges with Aardenburg (today
in the Dutch province of Zeeland) as most important center. He thinks – without giving proof
98
for his assumption – that the founder of Rodena was one ‘Graf Rotho’.

96
In 1264 Pope Urban IV in 1264 the young king Stephen II to return the possessions of ‘Bistritz, Rodna, Zolusm
en Querali’ he has taken from his mother. (Document 106 in volume 1 of Urkundebuch …). In a document of
1334 Queen Elisabeth frees all „citizens and guests“ of Bistritz (Beszterche) from the jurisdiction of the woiwod of
Siebenbürgen. They only have to answer to the queen herself, to the judges or leaders (Gräfen) appointed by her
or to the judges they have elected themselves.
97
Dr. F. Holzträger, ‘Die frühesten deutschen Siedler in Siebenbürgen’, Festschrift für Hans Reinerth, 1970,
p. 9.
98
The name ‘Gräf’ has to be understood in a specific migration context : the ‘Gräf’ or ‘Gref’ as leader of a group of
settlers. There is an old document (1268, document 118 in volume 1 of Urkundebuch …) which mentions a
‘comes Rotho’ but nothing proves that this man is the founder of Rodenau, let alone that anyone can prove that
79

The element ‘–au(e)’ refers to a piece of land surrounded by marshy land. In the Low
Countries, however, there is more than one Land van Rode (Land of Rode) which should be
considered, starting with the area of Kerkrade/Herzogenrath in the border area between The
Netherlands and Germany. Then there is a Land of Rode south of Ghent, a Land of Rode
between Eindhoven and ‘s Hertogenbosch, Oedenrode (Old Land of Rode) between Boxtel
and Den Bosch and the Manor of Rode, northeast of Louvain. In most of these cases the
name Rode was deducted from the verb roden which means (tree) grubbing.

Not so much the name of Rodna but the role which it played in the development of
Transylvania should carry our attention. Rodna must have been one of the oldest
settlements of colonists from Germany and the Low Countries and one of the oldest Saxon
places in Transylvania. The Romans had already built a defense line there and probably
(there is no hard evidence) mined the mountains for silver ore. After the great Mongol
attack of 1241 Rogerius (see page 107 and later ) describes Rodenau (Rudana) as “A
German ‘villa’ situated between impressive mountains, where silver was won for the king,
99
and a dwelling place for an uncountable mass of people.

The Mongol hordes had approached Rodna through the Tihutapass. The city of Rodna had,
most probably, from the beginning been constructed as a defense stronghold against possi-
ble attackers. Seven kilometers north of the city there was a ‘Schans’ (entrenchment,
sconce) made of earth and braided branches (called Burgberg by the common people) which
the Mongols could only take by trickery. After the plundering of the city 600 inhabitants of
Rodna were, by force, enlisted in the Mongol army. An impressive number that leads us to
believe that Rodna was densely populated. This assumption is supported by the result of
archeological research that revealed that Rodenau in the thirteenth century had quite a big
church (the dimensions of the church are, of course, relevant for the number of people who
lived in the city) and a stone castle. The document of 1268 (seefootnote 98) is about the
sale, for the sum of 150 mark of silver, of a “stone tower, a fortified farm with a piece of
land, a house and two more farmhouses, a mill on the river Somesch and half of his silver-
mines”. The seller is Comes Rotho who has to hand over the money pro officio to the king.

A Papal document of 1264 writes that the town and its silver mines stem from a time “cuius
memoria non exit ”, to be understood as: ‘of which our memory does not know the end’’.
These words lead to the assumption that Rodenau/Rodna already before the middle of the

he came from the Pagus Rodanensis. Holzträger probably draws this conclusion from the fact that Nösen, the old
name for Bistritz/Bistrita, might be derived from Terneuzen which was in this Pagus Rodanensis.
99
“… divitem Rudanam inter magnos montes positam, Theutonicorum villam, regis argentifodinarium, in qua
morabatur innumera populi multitudo”. (Rogerius, Carmen Miserabilis).
80

twelfth century (a period most historians see as the beginning of the colonization) was
populated with “Germans”. Reinhard Schmidt 100 believes that the first miners – from Saxony
and Steiermarkt (Austria), Bayern and the Oberfalz (Regensburg region) – came to Hungary
(the northern Carpathians, now Slovakia, and Transylvania) already during the reign of King
Stephen I (1000-1038) and later under Geysa II (1141-1161).

After the destruction by the Mongols in 1241 the city and its important silver mines were
reconstructed. Rodenau found a second breath. Proof is to be found in a document from
1268 (see footnote 101) in which Rodenau is called civitas (city), a term which implies a
bigger population than a villa (village). The total population of Rodenau in the second half of
the thirteenth century is estimated at 120 families. A few decades later the number of
families had more than doubled to 260. In 1270 there is a remarkable document in which
“grof Hans von der Rodna vnd die czwelf gesworen vnd dy gemeyn” (Graf Hans of Rodna
and the twelve sworn and the community) write down the “mining law” of Rodenau. In a
second Mongol attack in 1285 Rodenau suffered many losses but a document of 1292 sums
up a lot of buildings used by craftsmen: “Wirtshäuser, Bäckereien, Mühlen, Fleischereien,
101
Schusterwerkstätten, Küttelhofen, Waghäuser” (inns, bakeries, mills, butcheries,
shoemakers’ shops, slaughter houses, workshops for carts). The same document even
mentions “the palace of Graf Nicolaas”.

And yet … the decline was irreversible. The price of silver plunges and the price of gold
skyrockets. From 1325 till 1338 Hungary passes a kind of transition period in which both
silver and gold were standards but from 1338 on silver is definitively replaced by gold.

In a gift certificate of Queen Elisabeth from 1440 Rodna is called “castrum desertum seu
locum castri desolati” (an abandoned and desolate place). In 1475 the city was reoccupied.
In a document King Matthew Corvin transfers the ownership of Rodenau/Rodna ( “fondina
argenti a multis temporibus ruinam pava est” = the silver mines have been in ruin for a long
time) to the city of Bistritz. Apparently this transfer may have given new blood because at
the end of the fifteenth century there were new citizens in Rodenau. That much is made
clear by several documents which also testify that the mining activity had started again.

In Spring and Summer the silver ore was transported in very small boats downstream the
river Somesch. In Winter carts and sledges were used. From Burgless/Desch/Dej (sixty
kilometers west of Bistritz) the Somesch/Somes could carry bigger boats. The silver ore from

100
R. Schmidt, ‘Das Bergrecht von Rodenau’, Silber und Salz in Siebenbürgen, Bochum 2004, Band 7, p. 39
101
W. Zimmerman, Urkundebuch zur Geschichte der Deutschen in Siebenbüregen, Hermannstadt, 1892, Bd. 1,
p. 204. (Document 276, volume 1).
81

Rodenau and the salt from Salzdorf (a salt mine in the immediate surroundings of Desch)
were stocked in Desch and then loaded into freight ships sailing down to Szatmar/Satu Mare.
The most primitive boats were called corb or curb, they
looked like big baskets made of wicker, covered with
animal skins and made watertight with tar.102 Because
they were quite small, they could be used in the less
sailable part of the Somesch, upstream. In Desch the
silver ore was transferred to the bigger holk, a medieval
freight ship with a flat bottom. In Satu Mare the ore and
the salt were traded all over the Hungarian kingdom and
even to the neighbouring countries. Salt was indispens-
able in medieval cooking but also the cattle desperately
needed the minerals it provided. It is a remarkable fact
that the Hungarian name Sathmar has no relation to the name the Romanians gave it: Satu
Mare. In Romanian ‘satu mare’ means ‘big village’, which is only phonetically related to
‘sathmar’ which means ‘salt market’ in Hungarian. It is even more remarkable to mention
that in medieval documents Sathmar is spelled as Zoutmarkt, a Dutch word which even
today still means ‘salt market’.

Paul Niedermaier thinks that the oldest reference ‘castrum zotmar’ indicates that there was a
fortification (dating back to the period before the arrival of the Magyari) that had to help and
secure the trading route. He is talking of the end of the ninth and the beginning of the tenth
century. “Die spätere Bedeuting von Sathmar/Satu Mare war weitgehend an den Handel mit
Salz aus den Gruben bei Salzdorf gebunden,” (The later importance of Sathmar/Satu Mare
was largely due to the trading of salt from the salt mines near Salzdorf) he adds. 103 Shortly
after the turn of the millennium, in 1006 to be precise, immigrants from the south of
Germany, on invitation by Queen Gisela, would have settled in the area of the old fortress,
north of the Somesch (Villa Zotmar). On the other bank of the river (in an area that was
called Mintiu and that was united with Sathmar in 1721 to form a royal freetown) people
from the north of Germany lived. This explains the double Hungarian name that Sathmar
carried for ages: Sathmárnémeti. The element nemeti refers to the Germans of Mintiu.

Today Satu Mare is renowned for the extreme Hasidic Jews, a movement called Satmar that
was originated in Satu Mare by Chief Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum. Until the second world war Satu

102
In Wales a similar kind of vessel is being used. It is called ‘coracle’.
103
P. Niedermaier, Städte, Dörfer, Baudenkmäle: Studien zur Siedlungs- und Baugeschichte Siebenbürgens,
Köln, 2008, p. 320.
82

Mare had a large Jewish community. Its origin goes back to the beginning of the seven-
teenth century when the Jews settled in Satu Mare with the consent of Gabriel Bethlen,
prince of Transylvania.

“Wie erwähnt, mussten die bedeutenden Vorräte an Salz und Ersgesteinten von Szatmar ab
aüserhalb des ungarischen Reiches veräussert werden, weil nur dort hohe Preise erzielen
waren. Diesen Absatz konnten jedoch nur grosse Handelshäuser bewerkstelligen.
Bedeutende Handelsherren waren in der damaligen Zeit vor allem flandrische Kaufherren,”
(As mentioned, the important supplies of salt and ore of Satmar had to be exported outside
the Hungarian kingdom because only abroad the prices were high. This kind of foreign trade
could only be realized by big houses of commerce. In that time they were mainly run by
Flemish traders) Dr. Fritz Holträger writes in Die frühesten deutschen Siedler in Sieben-
bürgen, Festschrift für Hans Reinerth, Singen 1970 (pp. 5 and 6).

According to him the export of salt from Salzdorf and ore from Rodenau was organizes by
Flemish traders in Satmar. “Hauptsitz dieser Handelshäuser konnte den Umstanden ent-
sprechend nur Satmar sein; Zweigniederlassungen gab es jedenfalls in Burgless, der Haupt-
sammelstelle für das in de Nähe gehauene Salz und wohl auch in Rodna für das dort geför-
derte Erz” (The headquarters of these houses of commerce could only have been in Satmar.
But they must have had branches in Burgless, they place were the salt that was mined in the
area was collected, and also in Rodna for the ore that was found there) (ibidem, page 6).

What Dr. Holzträger writes about Flemish trading companies in Sathmar, Burgless and
Rodenau is based on assumptions about the magnitude of the salt and ore business in this
part of Transylvania. But he is not alone with his assumption. In 1853 Dr. Wattenbach
already wrote: “Dem Pilger aber wie dem Ritter ist immer der Kaufmann gefolgt, und die
Straße des Handels führt uns wieder nach Flandern. Das zwölfte Jahrhundert, welches mit
den Kreuzzügen eine ungewohnte Lebhaftigkeit und Beweglichkeit, vor allem aber auch
einen ungemeinen Aufschwung des Handelsverkehrs brachte, läßt uns die Wege des
flanderschen Handels bis nach Ungarn an ihren immer weiter vordringenden Kolonien
erkennen, aus denen die Bürgerschaften der bedeutendsten Städte erwachsen sind,”

(After the pilgrim and the soldier came the merchtant, and the commercial route leads us
back to Flanders. The twelfth century, which acquired an unusual vividness and mobility
through the crusades but most of all uncommon rise of trading, makes us notice the routes
of Flemsish traders and their always advancing colonies of settlers which gave birth to the
83

104
citizenry of the most important cities) Wattenbach links the pilgrims and crusaders that
crossed the Hungarian territory to the merchants who followed their trails trying to find new
routes for their trade. And those routes led to Flanders, Wattenbach says.

In 1241 Bistritz is mentioned as “Marktflecken” (Markt Nosa), a clear sign that its commercial
activities brought prosperity to its citizens. In 1261 it is mentioned as city (civitas) under the
name of Nösen, often ‘zu Nösen’. Any reference to ‘Terneuzen’ (a town in the old Pagus
105
Rodanensis) as quite a few historians suggest? Maybe there is more than the phonetical
similarities suggest. In the local Saxon dialect Nösen was pronounced as ‘Nîsn’. Etymological-
ly the name Terneuzen is explained as ‘ter nose’, meaning: situated on a sharply pronounced
tongue of land. This element can be found in other placenames with ‘nis’: Nisse, Scherpenis-
se and Nes. The most known example is probably the world famous Scottish ‘Loch Ness’.
106
What Nösen and Terneuzen have in common is the salt trade. According to P. Caland the
canal between Ghent and Terneuzen follows more or less the same route as the early
medieval Ottogracht (today still a streetname in Ghent). Via this water route the salt that
was won in the Vier Ambachten (the area around Hulst en Axel in the Netherlands) was
shipped to Ghent and Bruges.

“Flemish tradesmen, Flemish shipbuilders and –loaders, farmers from North-West-Germany,

were they not the ‘first Flandrenses’? ” Dr. Holzträger asks himself. 107 What he doesn’t
mention is that, north of Bistritz there is a village called tSchippendorf (also tSchippersdorf)
in German, Cepari in Romanian. It is some 10 kilometers north of Bistritz and five kilometers
south of the Somesch river. The ships that transported ore and salt on the Somesch, were
they built here or did their shippers live here? It is at least remarkable that the name of the
village was derived from Low German ‘schip’ and ‘schipper’ and not from High German
‘Schiff’ and ‘Schiffer’. North of Bistritz there is a place called Unirea, now a district of the
town. The German named is Wallendorf (Oberwallendorf and Niederwallendorf). Enough
reason to believe that its original inhabitants were immigrants from Wallonia or the north of
France. That the city of Bistritz owned its wealth largely to the mining and trading of salt is
illustrated by the name ‘Salz’ for one of its districts.

104
Dr. Wattenbach, ‘Ein Streifzug durch den Ardennenwald’, Archiv des Vereines für Siebenbürgsiche
Landeskunde, Kronnstadt 1853 , p. 84.
105
Dr. Fritz Holzträger: “Eingeschoben sei hier, dass die Wendung mit ‘zu’ ein Hinweis ist auf die flandrische
Herkungt dieser Gründungen. Bei keiner der anderen städte oder Ortschaften Deutsch-Siebenbürgen finden wir
dieses “zu”. Im Niederländischen gibt es jedoch die Stadsbezeichnung ‘ter Neusne’, heute Terneuzen”. (Between
brackets: the version with ‘zu’ points to the Flemish origin of this settlement. None of the other cities or villages of
German-Siebenbürgen has this ‘zu’. In The Netherlands on the contrary we have the city name ‘ter Neusne’, at
present Terneuzen)
106 de
P. Caland,’De Ottogracht’, De Navorscher, 17 Jaargang, Amsterdam 1867, pp. 323-324.
107
Dr. Fritz Holzträger, ibid., p. 6.
84

Flemings and Walloons in the Zips

Immigrants from the Low Countries did not only come the Praepositura Hermann-
stadt or Burzenland but also to Nösnerland and the Zips (in medieval times part of
the kingdom of Hungary but today mainly part of Sovakia) and the archdeaconates
of Ugosca and Sathmar.

The biggest part of the Zips belonged to the diocese of Erlau and had the (today
Slovak) Ore Mountains (Erzgebirge) as its southern border. The Zips was originally
populated by Slovaks. In the second half of the eleventh century it was conquered by
the Hungarians who founded the ‘Comitatus Scepusiensis’ (The Zips County). It is
generally assumed that the immigrants in the Zips were mainly miners from Silesia,
Saxony and Thüringen. They were invited to mine the mineral resources. They
‘repopulated’ the Saxon villages whose population was slaughtered during the Mon-
gol attacks. In the thirteenth century 24 cities in the Zips united to form the ‘Bund
der 24 Zipser Städte‘ (the federation of 24 cities of the Zips). The federation manag-
ed to win important privileges which were granted by the Hungarian kings. Starting
in 1370 they even had their own system of laws, the so-called ‘Zipser Willkür‘.

But also south of the Zips there were immigrants. The city of Satu Mare (Szathmar in
Hungarian) is supposed to have been present already in the tenth century as
‘Castrum Zotmar’, a fortified camp of the Hungarians. At least, that is what the Gesta
Hungarorum says. On page 81 we saw that Paul Niedermaier supposes that it was
already there before the arrival of the Hungarians. Around the turn of the millennium
German colonists are supposed to have settled at the edge of the city, following the
footsteps of Queen Gisela of Bayern, spouse of King Stephen I. Later they were join-
ed by more ‘German colonists’ from Mintin/Mintiu, a city at the other side of the
Somesch river, that still today divides the city of Satu Mare in two. The presence of
two cities explains the (double) Hungarian name: Szatmárnéméti.

That there were immigrants in the area can be illustrated by an entry in the ‘Reges-
tum de Varad’ (Wardein/Oradea). The text speaks about ‘justice with the glowing
iron’. One Paul from Beltuke (Bildegg, southwest of Sathmar) had to undergo in
85

Wardein/Oradea the test with the

glowing iron. He passed the test
successfully after starting a trial
against ‘all the Flemings from Batar’
who had killed his brother. The
Flemish accused of murder respon-
ded by saying that they had caught
Benedictus, Paul’s brother, red-
handed while stealing. Batar is present-day Botar in the Ukraine. Botar is part of the
‘municipio’ Nevetlenfolu in the district Vinohradiv, north of Satu Mare.

That is all the information we have about the Flemings from Batar. Emile de Borch-
grave wonders: “Quels étaient l'origine, le nombre et la condition sociale de ces Fla-
mands de Batar? A quelle époque s'étaient-ils fixés sur le sol de la Hongrie? A quel
moment cessèrent-ils de former une communauté séparée? » (What were the origin,
the number and the social condition of these Flemings from Batar ? In what period
did they settle on Hungarian territory ? At what time did they stop to be a separate
community ?) He speculates: « A toutes ces demandes l'histoire ne fournit pas de
réponse. Il est probable que cette colonie fut anéantie dans la grande invasion
tartare de 1241 » (To all these questions, history does not give an answer. It is
108
probable that this colony was wiped out during the big Tartar invasion of 1241)

There is yet another remarkable passage in a document of 1273 in which King

Ladislaus IV confirms a donation (and restitution) made by his father Stephen V
(1239-1272). Ladislaus confirms the donation of the ‘Terra Heydreh’ to ‘jan mercator,
109
dictus alba’. The ‘Terra Heydreh’ is located between Medies (Romanian Mediesu
Aurit?) and Erdeud/Ardud and reached to the bank of the river Somesch. The exact
location is far from being as intriguing as the name of the beneficiary: ‘jan mercator,
dictus albas’. Jan, whose nickname was ‘the white one’ (the blonde), apparently was
a tradesman (mercator). And his name and nickname sounds as typically Flemish,
without there being any proof that he actually was a Fleming.

108
Emil de Borghgrave, Essai Historique sur les Colonies Belges qui s’établirent en Hongrie et en Transylvanie
pendant les onzième, douzième et treizième sciècles, Brussels 1871.
109
Fejer V, 2, 72
86

In the same year 1273 King Ladislaus confirms the privileges given by his father
Stephen V (+1272) to ‘Ian, filio Nicolai, de Scepus’. Many think the Ian mentioned in
this document is the same as ‘jan mercator, dictus alba’. ‘Scepus’ was the Latin name
for the Zips. Do we meet here a descendant from the miners for the Zips? Highly
improbable. This man belongs to the favourites of the Hungarian kings and was
rewarded with a large domain and extensive privileges. This justifies the assumption
that jan mercator might be a tradesman involved in large-scale traffic of salt and ore.
A trade which was of vital importance to the royal court and the country. And we
should not forget the name ‘Zoutmarkt’ used for medieval Sathmar sounds very
Dutch or Flemish.

Fejer tells us that Jan, filio Nicolai de Scepus, was endowed with the Terra Bellula ‘
vltra portam Bartphensem ’ (in the neigbourhood of the town Barthpensa, present-
day Bardejov in Slovakia), a domain quite a distance from the Terra Heydreh, south
of Sathmar/Satu Mare. The same document mentions one Petro Latino (Peter the
Walloon or Peter the Italian?) in ‘terram villae Tarcha’ (Tarcsa near the Hungarian
city of Pecs). In 1227 Pecs had a French speaking bishop called Bertalan and east of
Pecs is the village of Olasz, supposedly founded by Walloon or French farmers who
introduced viticulture in the area. Still in 1273 there is word of ‘ hospites nostros de
Latinani Ila in Scepes ’ (our guests in the Walloon ‘island’ in the Zips). The German
name is Wallendorf, Spiśské Vlachy in Slovak. In an Hungarian list of villages from
1828 not less than six villages are mentioned, bearing the name ‘Olasz’ or ‘Olaszi’.

In 1264 one ‘Johannes Gallicus’ (someone who speaks French) acquires the ‘villa
Latina’ ‘intra villas Topla et Latinam existentis’. The Topla is a river in the Zips that
runs through Bardejov (see this page).

Perhaps more elements can be found which link the Low Countries to the Zips. But a
thorough study of these is outside the scope of this book. We just wanted to prove
that immigrants from the Low Countries can be traced in all corners of the medieval
Hungarian kingdom.
87

The Diploma Andreanum

In 1224 King Andrew II guarantees his “loyal guests, the Germans on the other side
of the woods” the so-called Golden Charter (also called Andreanum) in which he
confirms the privileges granted to them by his grandfather Geysa. The document is
presented to “all the people between Waras (Broos/Orastie in the present-day
province of Hunedoara) and Boralt (Baraolt in the present-day province of Covasna)
including the Szeklercountry around Mühlbach/Sebes and the land of Draas (Drauseni
in the present-day province of Brasov) who form one people (unus populus)”.

At the same time all counties (comitates) are dissolved, except for the county of
Hermannstadt. The power of the count of Hermannstandt is expanded to the whole
area (from Broos/Orastie to Draas/Drauseni) and the people can choose their own
priests and judges. The unus populous (one people) will pay a yearly tribute of 500
mark of silver to the royal treasure and provide 500 armed men (“milites”) to support
the king in interior conflicts, 100 men in expeditions outside the borders of the
kingdom. The merchants in the area mentioned can trade their goods tax free in the
whole country and organize markets free of taxes.

The original document from 1224 was lost but we know it thanks to a confirmation
(with the inclusion of a copy of the original) by King Charles-Robert of Anjou in 1317.
Originally the privileges were only for the area around Hermannstadt (the actual
Siebenbürgen). Later they were expanded to the other areas with a Saxon popula-
tion: Nösnerland and Burzenland.

In 1217 Andrew (king of Hungary from 1205 till 1235) took part – by order of Pope
Honorius III – in the fifth crusade, which proved to be a complete failure. At his
return his royal power had weakened so much that the Hungarian nobility pressed
him into signing (in 1222) a Golden Bull in which he had to make several concessions
to his powerful nobles which weakened his power even more. Also in Burzenland,
which he had conceded to the Teutonic Order in 1211, he saw power slip through his
hands. When the Knights in 1223 put their territories directly under the jurisdiction of
the Papal Chair, King Andrew realized he had to act. Hence probably the part of the
88

Adreanum which states that the Saxons of the County of Hermannstadt had to provi-
de him with 500 armed men in case of an internal conflict. The Saxons of Siebenbür-
gen had effectively helped him, one year before, in expulsing the Teutonic Knights
from Burzenland.

The privileges written down in the Andreanum continued to be the basis for the so-
called “Sächsische Nationsuniversität” (1486), that united all the Saxons in
Transylvania. Together with the Szeklers and the Hungarian nobles the formed the
medieval Principality Siebenbürgen.

One more little note: without providing proof some see in Johannes Latinus (see
page 45 and more) the man who, in his double identity as important commercial
agent and trustee of the king, held the hand of King Andrew when writing down the
privileges of the Andreanum.

Placenames

It is risky to use placenames to prove the historical presence of groups of people at a

certain place at a certain moment in time. The reader should keep this in mind when
reading this part of the book and keep a certain distance. First of all some place-
names (Mühlbach, Weisskirch(en), Neustadt, Neumarkt ... even Siebenbürgen or
Zevenbergen) are so frequent that it has become virtually impossible to trace them
back to the place where the colonists came from. Let us explain with an example:
the humanist Maximilianus Transylvanus (c. 1485 – c. 1538), secretary of Charles V,
emperor of the Holy Roman Empire was not at all a Transylvanian. He was born in
Brussels and his name was derived from a small village, Zevenbergen, near Breda
(The Netherlands). If you realize that Siebenbürgen/Transylvania was called ‘Sevens-
borgen’ of ‘Sevensbergen’ in fifteenth and sixteenth century Dutch, and Maximilian
was named ‘van Sevenborgen’ the erroneous Latin translation ‘Transylvanus’ is
readily understood. The story was reduced to its real proportion by professor Gilbert
Tournoy of the university of Louvain (see below).
89

Then there is the question: why would settlers give their new home the same name
as the place where they were born? When we look at a list with names of Saxon
villages, it springs to the eye that many villages have names like Jakobsdorf, Peters-
dorf, Waltersdorf, Ludwigsdorf, Hermannsdorf (predecessor of Hermannstadt), …
Often the names refer to the patron saint of the church. Jakobsdorf is Siniacob (Saint
James) in Romanian, derived from Hungarian Szászentjakab. Szás clearly refers to
the Saxon villagers, zent (saint) to the patron saint. In Szászludveg, the Hungarian
name for Ludwigsdorf/Logig (near Regen/Reghin) the element zent fails. Historians
believe that Ludwig (Louis) was the name of the founder of the village. This founder
is often identified as the ‘locator’ who brought colonists from the Low Countries (or
any other home country) to Transylvania on request of the Hungarian king.
Hermannsdorf, later Hermannstadt, was supposedly founded by one Herman(n)
heading a group of settlers.

That immigrants from the Low Countries named their new homes after their villages
or towns of origin can be proved with examples in the Ostsiedlung. In the chapter
The Flemish, a people of emigrants (page 16 and more) we have given a number of
examples. It is remarkable that some of the place names in the Ostsiedlung (like
Krakau and Kukulau in the Magdeburg area) can be found in Transylvania as well.

Place names evolve in time. The village of Romos in the province of Hunedoara
(Rumes in German, Romosz in Hongarian) claims, on its website, a link with Rumes
“in Flanders” (sic). Rumes is in the present-day province of Hainaut (southwest of
Tournai, Wallonia). But the placename Romos has quite some variants, the oldest
being ‘ramos’ (1206) and ‘roms’ (1291). If we base our assumptions on a purely
phonetic resemblance – like we suppose the website of Romos does – we can link it
to Ramsdonk or Rumst or even Ranst (near Antwerp) which has a toponym Zeven-
bergen - because Romos had the variants Ramaz and (in 1487) even Rwmsz. Also
Rummen (in 1078 already mentioned as Rumines), a community of Geetbets in the
110
province of Vlaams-Brabant might enter the picture. Why Romos is linked to a
village in the Low Countries is simply because it is in the western border region of

110
In 1995 the Belgian province of Brabant (a small part of the former Duchy of Brabant) was split up in three
parts: Bruxelles Région Capitale/Hoofdstedelijk Gewest Brussel, la province de Brabant Wallon en de provincie
Vlaams-Brabant.
90

Transylvania, an area populated by the ‘primes hospites regni’, the first guests of the
Hungarian king. Let’s look a little deeper into this area.

Weissenburg/Alba Iulia, das Weinland

In a document of 1206 Andrew II grants certain privileges to the inhabitants of

Crapundorph/Ighiu, Karako/Krakau/Cricau and Rams/Rumes, all in the vicinity of
Weissenburg/Alba Iulia (the German name of this city is derived from the medieval
Slavic name Balgrad = white fortress). The settlers in the three villages mentioned
111
are called “the first guests of the king” (primi hospites regni). The document calls
them Saxones who are freed from the jurisdiction of the woiwod (ruler) of
Transylvania. Saxons from the Duchy of Saxony they were most probably not. But
then where did they come from?

First we have to point out that Franko, a former canon from Verdun, had become
bishop of the newly formed diocese of Transylvania (see page 34). He was only the
second bishop, in succession of Buldur. The diocese of Weissenburg/Transsylvanië
was founded in 1009. The city of Weissenburg/Alba Iulia would later play an impor-
tant role in the history of Transylvania (as cultural and administrative capital of the
Principality of Siebenbürgen under Ottoman rule) and of Romania (on the first of
December 1918 the unification of Transylvania with Wallachia and Moldova was
proclaimed there). The document of 1206, mentioned above, was issued by the
provost of the cathedral of Weissenburg. Did immigrants from the Low Countries
follow the footsteps of the canons of Verdun and leave their then (1047) turbulent
region to settle in the diocese of Franko? Were they part of the primi hospites regni
who still enjoyed the favours of the high clergymen in Weissenburg?

Weissenburg was the seat of the diocese of Transylvania which spread its authority
over a big part of Transylvania. Only the Praepositura Hermannstadt escaped its
jurisdiction and had to answer directly to the archdiocese of Gran. A suburb of

111
Document 17 in volume 1 of Urkundebuch …
91

Weissenburg/Alba Iulia is called Barabant. The locals called it Borbant (which is

phonetically close to the actual (Flemish) dialect pronunciation of the name: brou
[a.u] bant) but also Weindorf (village of wine). If we take into account that grapes
and wine were supposedly introduced in the region by monks from the Low Coun-
tries (the area around Liège and the north of France, in specific) the latter does not
have to be in contradiction with the generally accepted idea that the name Barabant
112
refers to the former Duchy of Brabant. In Latin documents Barabant is called Villa
Barbantina. In that period the Duchy of Brabant was increasing in power while the
Duchy of Lotharingen (from which it was part) was on the decline. Louvain, the
capital of the duchy, had vineyards east of the city.

At a stone’s throw from Barabant, there is Blasendorf/Blaj, in Latin Villa Herbordi.

For a certain period of time Villa Herbordi was the property of Chyl von Kelling,
acoording to most historians an
immigrant from Wallonia who had
settled in Kelling/Câlnuc as a noble-
man. The old fortified church of
Kelling (probably one of the oldest
fortified churches in Transylvania,
see picture) still has the structure of
a typical Franconian ‘motte’: a resi-
dential tower on a small artificial hill
surrounded by a wall (in the beginning made of wood, later of stone). A Villa
Herbordi can be found in Herbeuville (Département de Meuse, La Lorraine) in the
vicinity of … Verdun.

In the diocese of Weisenburg there is Broos/Orastie (southwest of Weissenburg/Alba

Iulia) the most western of all Saxon villages. The name Broos is attributed by many –
without providing any real proof – to Anselmus von Braz (see page 57), keeper of
the Logne Castle south of Liège. Broos is close to Romos/Rumes. Northwest of the

112
In Bogeschdorf/Bagaciu, north of Mediasch, a family name ‘Brabander’ is mentioned.
92

113
city of Weissenburg are Crapundorf/Ighiu and Krakau/Cricau. Is it a mere coinci-
114
dence that there is a Cracau in the area south of Magdeburg which is called Der
Fläming because it was developed by colonists from the Low Countries 115 during the
Ostsiedlung? The Missal of Heltau (see page 69) shows clear influences from similar
texts in Magdeburg. Because of that Magdeburg is seen by a number of historians as
an ‘intermediate location’ for settlers from the Low Countries that later continued
their journey to the Hungarian kingdom.

Das Alteland

‘Das Alteland’ is the name of the region around Hermannstadt/Sibiu. Here we can
find more traces of the settlers from the Low Countries. Apart from Heltau/Cisnadie
and Michelsberg/ Cisnadioara which have been more extensively dealt with else-
116
where in this book , we have to mention Hammersdorf/Gusterita today a district
from Hermannstadt. The Latin name of Hammersdorf is Villa Umberti (1309) or Villa
Umperti (1342), a name related to the city of Saint-Hubert in the Belgian province of
Luxemburg. In medieval times Saint-Hubert was an influencial abbey devoted to
Saint Hubert(us) (+ 727), bishop of Maastricht and Tongeren who transferred the
seat of his diocese to Liège for safety reasons. Immigrants from precisely this region
are presumed present in the Heltau area. If we consider our theory about Heltau
(see below, pages 93-94 ) a link between Saint Hubert(us) or the abbey named
after him and colonists from the Liège-Tongeren area is not at all improbable. The
hypothesis becomes even more interesting when we notice that the castle of

113
Also Grabendorf, a name probably derived from “Graf”, the leader and representative of the local communities
of immigrants. In the Niederer Fläming – an area developed by people from Flanders, Holland and Friesland –
there is also a village called Gräfendorf.
114
The name Cracau can have originated from the Krakau castle in Krefeld, a small town close to the Dutch-
German border. ‘Krah-Kau’ means ‘cage of crows’. Did the name of the castle (now a district in the city of
Krefeld) travael with the Dutch and Flemisch settlers, first to the area around Magdeburg and later to
Transylvania? We should bring to the reader’s attention that the city of Bistritz/Bistrita has a district (before it was
an independent village) with the name Krefeld, also written Krewelt.
115
The people living in Cracau (today a district of Magdeburg) lived according to ‘the law of Holland’. That is
proved by a passage in a document of 1158: “ut eiusdem novelle plantacionis inhabitatores in omnibus caucis ac
negociis sive placitis suis iusticiam et consuetudinem seu plebiscita Hollandenseum habent” (that the people
living in this new settlement have the ‘law of Holland’ in all their legal matters) Text in Geschichte der
Christianisierung und Germanisierung des Wendeslandes, Berlin 1865, p. 349.
116
See the passages about Johannes Latinus and Magister Gocelinus.
93

Langendris (see the toponym Langendryes, south of Hermannstadt, page 95) is

situated partly on the territory of the village of Hoepertingen (15 kilometers west of
Tongeren). The earliest mention of Hoepertingen is from 1139 when the name was
117
spelled ‘Hubertingis’ (House of Hubert) . Have settlers from this area come to
Hermannsdorf and its surroundigs and did they found Hammersdorf and Langen-
dryes as an echo of their home country?

“Der Ritter Heinrich von Hamal verkaufte im Jahre 1249 an die Abtei Burtscheid für
21 Marken, 3 Bunder Ackerland zu Helta oder Elta, welche jährlich demn Lehenherrn
18 lütticher Denarien zahlen mussten. Den Kauf bestätigte der Lehenherr Arnold
edler Herr von Helslo” Cristian Quix writes in 1834. 118 The knight Henry Hamal sells
119
three acres of cropland in Helta or Elta in 1249 to the abbey of Burtscheid . The
matter becomes more interesting when we know that Helta was part of Rutten
(between Tongeren and Liège, in 1018 mentioned for the first time as Riuti). Helta
later became La Savatte, a hamlet of Wallonian Othée. Otheie/Elch 120 (Othée) was a
Cologne enclave under the walls of the city of Liège and, as a consequence, an area
of controverse between the two important cities. It had always been an allodial
possession of the Duke of Brabant.

121
In the immediate surroundigs of Heltau/Cisnadie (Auf dem Gehonnes ?) we find
the toponym ‘Riuetel’ or ‘Ruetel’, a settlement which perished just before or during
the Mongol Storm (1241-1242). When we list the names Heltau or Riuetel in the old
documents, we have:

117
M. Gysseling, Toponymisch Woordenboek van België, Nederland, Luxemburg, Noord-Frankrijk en West-
Duitsland (vóór 1226) , 1960, p. 501.
118
C. Quix, Geschichte der ehemaligen Reichs-Abtei Burtscheid, Aachen 1834, p. 100.
119
Burtscheid (in old texts often the French name ‘Borcette’ is used) today is a district of Aix-la-Chapelle
(Aachen). The abbey was a Benedictine monastery founded in 997.
120
« Il n'ya pas de doute qu'Helta ne soit Eltach, Elch ou la forme thioise d' Othée. La lettre h est déplacée et c'est
là un phénomène courant en matière d'étymologie. » (There is no doubt that Helta is nothing else but Eltach,
Elch, the Germanic vulgar tongue form for Othée. The letter ‘h’ is displaced, a frequently recurring phenomenon in
Etymology). (Le bulletin de la Société d'Art et d'Histoire du Diocèse de Liège, volume 19, 1910, p. 86).
121
‘Gehonnes’ is a so-called ‘Flurname’ (field name) for a piece of land between Heltau and Michelsberg, exactly
at the spot where the ‘Villa Riuetel’ is situated. ‘Gehonnes’ is also the Saxon name for Johannisdorf/Santioana,
eight kilometers north of Elisabethstadt /Dumbraveni also called Eppeschdorf in the local dialect. ’Auf dem
Gehonnes’ could be the place where the house (Villa Riuetel) of Johannes Latinus stood.
94

1204 : „Johannem Latinum inter Theutonicos Transiluanenses in villa Riuetel

commorantem”
1223 : „Villa Ruetel”
1327 : ,,Johannes plebanus de Helta”
1332 : ,,Johannes de Helta ecclesie plebanus”
1337 : ,,Johannes de Helta de IIII annis solvit LXXXVIII banales antiquos”
After 1223 ‘Villa R(i)uetel’ has disappeard in the documents. Its place has clearly
been taken by Heltau. What happened? Was Riuetel abandoned or destroyed? It is
strange that the document of 1204 clearly situates Johannes Latinus (the Walloon)
among the Transylvanian Germans (Theutonicos Transilvanenses) in Villa Riuetel.
Rutten and Helta are in the border area between the Germanic and the Romanesque
languages, between Tongeren and Liège. A region politically and territorially divided
between Brabant and Liège. In the eleventh and twelfth century there was frequent
warfare between the two powers so that it was far from being a quiet region to live
in. Reason enough to go looking for a new homeland? Was Johannes Latinus in his
region of origin already an influencial man who spoke French or a Walloon dialect?
Did he leave for the long journey to Hungary, accompanied by simple people who
spoke a Germanic dialect? In the same line of thinking Paul Niedermaier makes a
difference between the richer elite that settled in the Gräfengasse (Strada Măgurii)
and the common people who were to be found in the Langgasse (Strad Lungă), two
groups of settlers in Heltau, divided by the Silberbach/ Pârâul Argintului.

122
In 1430 the church of Heltau is mentioned with the patron saint Saint Walburga .
Walburgachurches were very popular in the Low Countries. You can find them in
Meldert (Aalst), Antwerp, Bruges, Oudenaarde en Veurne (Flanders), Arnhem,
Groningen en Zutphen (The Netherlands) but also in Wéris, south of Liège. Sainte
Walburge is today still a district of Liège with a church devoted to Saint Walburga, on
the left bank of the river Meuse along the road to … Tongeren.

122
„Capellanus Michael Mathaei portionarius parochialis ecclesiae Walburgis de Helta”.
95

More place names have a link with the region between Maastricht, Tongeren and
123
Liège. East of Hermannstadt/Sibiu is the village of Thalheim/Daia . There will be
more Thalheims in the Germanic speaking areas but an interesting hypothesis is the
link with Dahlem. From 1080 on it was the capital of the independent county of
Dahlem between Maastricht and Liège. It had ties to the Duchy of Brabant and was
part of the ‘Overmaase Landen’, east of the Principality of Liège. Dahlem is the
perfect example of an area where the Germanic and Romanesque languages met
(see above).

124
In 1342 a village called Langendryes is mentioned, situated between Schellen-
berg/Selimbar and Heltau/Cisnadie. The village was already ‘deserted’ in 1342.
Another victim of the Mongols? The toponym Langendries is also found as a hamlet
of Zottegem in the province of Oost-Vlaanderen. In neighbouring Oudenaarde there
is a church devoted to Saint Walburga. But also in Kasterlee (Flanders) and in Herten
(The Netherlands, in the marshy area of Roermond near the German border) there is
a streetname Langendries. Closer to the origin of the Transylvanian Langendryes is
the noble family ‘de Cortessem de Langdris’ in the Hesbay. They occupied important
public posts in Liège. Several members of the family were canons of the church of
Saint Lambert(us), Thibaut de Langdris was alderman of Liège, Jean de Langdris was
marshal of the troops of the bishop of Liège, governor of the Duchy of Bouillon and
the County of Loon and alderman of Liège.

The castle of Langdri(e)s was situated between Hoepertingen and Ulbeek (15 kilo-
meters west of Tongeren). In the immediate vicinity there is a toponym ‘Kukkelberg’
(see Kokelburg below). The castle of Langdri(e)s was destroyed twice at the begin-
ning of the fourteenth century: in 1315 and 1328. At the end of the century the
family was extinct by a lack of male heirs.

Still in the Alteland is Werd/Vard. Werd ( Saxon variants: Wiert and Wert ) is in the
valley of the Harbach. ‘Weert’ is derived from the words wert, wart, waert in Old
Dutch. They mean “a piece of land situated near or in water”. Flemish Weert (1242 :
Werde ) was in 1100 a polder village of Moerzeke, situated on the peninsula between
123
In 1327 Dalheim, in 1339 Thalheim, in 1372 Dahlem, … In Thuringen hebben Vlaamse kolonisten een dorp
met dezelfde naam gesticht.
124
‘Qui est purement flamand,’ schrijft Emile de Borchgrave, Essai historique, p. 59.
96

the rivers Durme and Scheldt. Until 1241 it was in the possession of the Lords of
Coudenborch from Temse. The ‘Hof van Weert’ (unil 1240) was a curtis or vroonhof
(feudal domain) of the abbey of Saint Bavo in Ghent.

There is also a Weert in The Netherlands (between Eindhoven and Roermond, close
to the present border with Germany). Weert was first mentioned as ‘Wertha” in a
text from 1062. It says that Margrave Otto von Thüringen and his wife Adela ceded
Weert to the Chapter of Saint Servatius in Maastricht. As we have written before:
King Andrew (c. 1175 – 1235) had good relations with the house of Thüringen. Since
she was five, his daughter Elisabeth stayed at the court of Hermann of Thüringen
and married his son Louis in 1221. On the other hand there is the link to Sint
Servatius and Maastricht.

Schässburg/Sighisoara

In the historiography of Transylvania onomastics (the study of place names) is often

used to prove that the oldest place names are Romanian, Hungarian or German in a
bitter jarring to lay a claim on Transylvania, for centuries an autonomous principality,
from 1866 until 1918 part of the Austro-Hungarian empire. For almost a century now
an integral part of Romania. The Romanian name of the Târnava river was said to
stem from Hungarian Küküljo (river of thorns). This deduction goes back to the
125
Hungarian linguist Paul Hunfalvy. Siebenbürger Johan Wolff (1844-1893) seriously
doubted this theory. He checked – as everyone should – the oldest names he could
find. The Saxon people from Siebenbürgen/Transylvania called it Kokel (in Saxon
dialect Keakel). In old texts he found denotations for Kokel and Kokelburg/Cetatea
de Balta: villa Cuculiensis castri (1197), inter duos fluvios Kukullw (1271), Kuquellev
(1278) en Kukula (1328). Later the ‘u’ of the first syllable would become an ‘o’ and
we can find new variants of these place names, like Koclowarensis (1500) and Kocly-
burg (1503). Johan Wolf points to several place names which have the same ele-

125
J. Wolff, ‘Zur Etymologie siebenbürgischer Fluss- und Bachname’, Archiv d. Vereins für siebenbürg.
Landeskunde, Neue Folge, XVII. Bd., 3. H., Hermannstadt, 1883, p. 487.
97

ments in the Old-Franconian area (Kockelberg, Kuckelberg, Kuckelsberg, Kokelscheu-

er and more). When the same author is looking for water names with the same ele-
ment he finds Kochenbach en Kuckenbach in German Siegerland (east of Cologne).

Walter Schuller, author of an intriguing article on this matter “Schespurch ob der

126
Kukel … Zur umstrittenen Etymologie zweier siebenbürgische Namen” shares the
opinion of Johan Wolff that the true meaning of the element “Kukul” or “Kokel”
should be understood as “unrestfully moving (water)”. Walter Schuller suspects that
the name ‘Kokel’ was originally a compound word ‘Kukelbach’ (= Kokel brook). He
bases his opinion on old manuscripts which talk about “fluvius Kuku” or “fluvius Kükül
aaquae” and the fact that the Kokel is the only river with a female adjective (die
Kokel) just like the compounds with “bach” (=brook).

But what about the influences from the Low Countries ? First of all Walter Schuller
points out the name of the late village of Kukulau, south-east of Bad Kösen (close to
Naumburg in former Eastern German). Moreover there is word of “a torrente ultra
Kokolowe”, a brook running wildly. 127 The village of Kokolowe (mentioned in docu-
ments of the second half of the 12th century) now belongs to the community of
Flemmingen in a region that was populated around the middle of the 12th century by
migrants from Flanders, Friesland and Holland.

Can we add a few more placenames from the Low Countries? Koekelberg used to be
a rural village (now part of Brussels), Koekelaere (20 km south of Bruges in West-
Vlaanderen) and the oldest part of the town of Sint-Niklaas which grew around the
Ko(k)kelbeek. In this town in the province of Oost-Vlaanderen we still have the
Kok(k)elbeekstraat which leads straight to the central market square. And in Veld-
hoven (in the neighbourhood of the Dutch town of Eindhoven) there is a street
128
named Koekelberg.

126
W. Schuller, ‘Schespurch ob der Kukel … Zur umstrittenen Etymologie zweier siebenbürgische Namen, …‘
http://www.schaessburg-net.de/sn12/schespruch.htm
127
It is beyond any doubt the Kockelbach , a tributary of the Liesbach, a small river which played a considerable
role in the battle of Jena / Auerstadt where in 1806 the army of Napoleon received a decisive blow by the
Prussian army. The area was colonized by the Flemish in the twelfth century.
128
In the immediate surrounding of Kukulau there is another place called Apolda (1119 Apollde). Is there any
connection with Trappold/Apold (in 1309 first mentioned as Apoldia)? In the village’s history Trappold/Apold is
98

But the most intriguing example is to be found in the Annales Rodensis, the chronicle
of the abbey of Rolduc (Kerkrode) in Kerkrade (province of Nederlands-Limburg, The
Netherlands). In this chronicle the placename Kalculen is mentioned seven times as a
point of orientation to situate the location of certain estates. In the comment on the
chronicle we can read to our surprise: “In the course of time the name was corrupt-
ed and lived on in Kerkrade as Kokelestraat and the cadastral name Kokeleveld. An
explanation for the name was never given but it is 100% certain dat it has nothing to
do with the mining of coal (kolenkuil = cole pit)”.

Is it a coincidence that it is the same chronicle that mentions that “one hezelo” in
1148 – one year after the call to organize a second crusade – sells his goods to the
129
abbey and “leaves to Hungary” ? This man called Hezelo is called “von Ritzerfeld”
by most historians. But a meticulous reading of the Annales Rodenses reveals that
Hezelo came from Ancherstorph. Angersdorf (present-day spelling) is now part of
Elsdorf, north of Kerpen, in between Aachen and Cologne. Harald Zimmerman
believes, with many others, that Hezelo might have been the founder of the Villa
Ezzelini 130, a village east of Mediasch that is called Hetzeldorf in German and Atel in
Romanian. Unfortunately there is no evidence for that. Nevertheless there are
remarkable similarities in place names in the Low Countries that have mirror place
names in Transylvania, in both cases in a fairly restricted area. Kerkrade (The
Netherlands) is separated from its sister city Herzogenrath (Germany) by a river that
is called the Wurm. In the immediate surroundings of Hetzeldorf there is Wurmloch
(Valea Viilor), another village founded and populated by immigrants from the Low
Countries (see introduction).

But the article of Walter Schuller has more to offer. He rejects the theory that the
German name Schässburg (Romanian Sighisoara) has its origin in the name castrum

attrributed to a group of immigrants from Oppoldishausen (in the Wetterau) who, in 1313, sold their lands to the
abbey of Engelthal because they left for Hungary. (“qui quondam Ungariam fungerunt”).
129
For the year 1148 the Annales Rodenses record: “Ook verkocht een zekere Hezelo daar (in Ancherstorph)
negen morgen land met een hoeve aan het klooster. Hezelo vertrok naar Hongarije, waar hij is overleden.”
(Also one Hezelo there (in Ancherstorph) sold nine morgen land with a farm to the abbey. Hezelo left for Hungary,
where he died) (Annales Rodenses. Facsimile-uitgave, van transcriptie, tekstkritische noten en een inl. voorz.
door P.C. Boeren en G.W.A. Panhuysen, Assen, Van Gorkum, 1968).
130
Speech by Harald Zimmermann on 4 October 2003 at the opening of the Siebenbürgisch-Sächsischen
Kultuurtage in Speyer. Printed in the Siebenbürgische Zeitung of 31 October 2003.
99

sex, often considered the sixth of seven strongholds (Sieben Bürgen = seven castles)
in Transylvania. The oldest versions of the place name are Schespurch (1298) and
Schesburg (1309). The element “schaes/schees” is in German often explained as
131
steep slope and as far as Schässburg in Transylvania is concerned the steep
slope is very present: the oldest part of the town was built on an impressive ‘hill’
which has – at three sides – really steep slopes. Walter Schuller points out that a
similar place name is used in the Rhine area and in the Low Countries, Schaesberg as
part of the town of Landgraaf (The Netherlands). But there is a Schaesbergerveld in
the eastern part of Heerlen (The Netherlands). They are only miles away from
Kerkrade and its abbey where the Annales Rodenses were written. Then there is
another Schaesberg in Schin op Geul, only 15 km west of Kerkrade. Yet another
Schaesberg is in Hombourg, a small village in the province of Liege, in the area
between Liège, Tongeren, Maastricht and Aachen, only a stone’s throw from Dahlem
(see above) and Kerkrade.
With a few examples Walter
Schuller demonstrates that the
elements –berg (mountain, hill)
and –burg (fortification, castle)
are often mixed up in Transylva-
nia. But Schässburg/Sighisoara
has no problem with that because
it is both: a fortification located
on a steep hill (the School Hill)
that surmounts with 50 meters
the plateau where the city originated and that you can reach by a spectacular
wooden staircase.

Recent linguistic research of the dialect spoken in Schässburg has proven that the
influences are not only from Moselle-Franconian but also Ripuarian-Franconian
132
(Lower Rhine and Meuse) and Flemish.

131
J. Dietz, Die Bonner Flurnamen, Bonn, 1973.
132
R. Bruch, ‘Die Mundart von Schässburg in Siebenburgen’, Luxemburg und Siebenbürgen, Siebenbürgisch
Archiv, Bd. 5, Köln/Graz, 1966, p. 160.
100

Can the presence of the place names Schaesberg and Kokel in a very small circle
around Kerkrade-Herzogenrath and the fact that one of the two migrants to Hungary
mentioned in twelfth-century documents (the second one was Anselmus of Braz near
Liège, a mere 40 km southwest of Kerkrade) prove – beyond any doubt – that
immigrants from the Low Countries have made their mark on the place names in the
area of the Big and the Small Kokel (Târnava Mica, Târnava Mare) and Schässburg/
Sighsioara, the second biggest city on the banks of the Big Kokel, after Mediasch/
Medias?

If this conclusion is too far-fetched, we have at least to admit that there are – a
mere coincidence ? - extensive similarities. The oldest church of Schässburg, not
more than a chapel, was built on the highest plateau of the city and devoted to Saint
Nicholas, patron saint of the merchants.

A final remark: the villages of Teufelsdorf/Vânatori and Arkeden/Archita, east of

Schässburg, claim that the first inhabitants were the alii Flandrenses (see before).
Teufelsdorf is one of the four villages that King Bela IV in a document of 1231 gave
to Corradus and Daniel, sons of Johannes Latinus (see above). And in Saschiz/Keisd
in 1494 fifty ‘gulden’ (an everyday medieval currency in the Low Countries) was paid
133
for repairs to the church.

Reps/Rupea

Deutschweisskirch/Viscri and Hamruden/Homorod are two more villages that point to

the alii Flandrenses as founders of their settlements. Then we have to point out that
these two are very close to Woldorf/Valeni (Villa Latina) and Galt/Ungra , which are
said to be of Wallonian origin. Woldorf/Valeni was the central village of the Terra
Gwezfey which was donated to Johannes Latinujs in 1206. Pierrot Frisch makes a
link between ‘Gwezfey’ and Flemish Wissekerke, a medieval domain with the villages
134
Bazel, Haasdonk, Melsele and Vrasene.

133
R. van Damme, ‘Zuid-Nederlandse sporen in Roemenië’ in BN/DeStem, 14 nov. 2002
134
P. Frisch, Auswanderung zwischen Rhein und Maas nach Siebenbürgen, Hermannstadt, Hora, 2005, p. 74.
101

135
Walter Schuller mentions a toponym Schelling (Repser Stuhl) and links it to
Terschelling (The Netherlands). In contrast to ‘zu Nösen’ (Bistritz) which was linked
to Terneuzen, there was never a variant ‘zu Schelling’. But Schuller also points to
Schellingwoude and Schellinkhout, the first not far from Amsterdam and the second
near the Lake IJssel (IJsselmeer).

The same Walter Schuller discusses the toponym Geist (Romanian Apata, east of
Reps/Rupea and north of Kronstadt/Brasov) which he calls “Low German”. The
village is pictured on seventeenth-century maps as Gest. Schuller derives the village
name from which means ‘barren, infertile soil’. There is a Gestel close to Beringen
(province of Limburg) and another Gestel (part of the community of Berlaar, near
Antwerp) in Flanders. But Gestel is also a district of Eindhoven (The Netherlands).
Gestel consists of the elements ‘gest’ (sandy soil) en ‘lo’ (wood). There is also a Geist
as a district of Münster and a small village called Geist near Lippstadt (both in Nord-
Rhein-Westfalen, Germany).

Kronstadt/Brasov

For the presence of immigrants of Wallonia in Wallendorf/Valeni, see the chapter

about Johannes Latinus (pages 47-51). In the local dialect the name of the village is
pronounced as ‘Wouldref’.

Bistritz/Bistriţa

The village of Aldorf/Waldorf is at present a district of the city of Bistritz. In

Romanian it is called Unirea. Originally there were two villages: Oberwallendorf and
Niederwallendorf (Upper Wallendorf and Lower Wallendorf). The latter was
mentioned in a document of 1295 as inferiori Waldorf. In a Vatican document of
1332 there is word of Waldorf Superiori and Villa Latina. The Saxon name of
135
W. Schuller, Wüstungsnamen im Dienste der siebenbürgisch-sächsischen Herkunftsforschung. Ein
Zwischenbericht. (Text sent to me by the author by e-mail).
102

Wallendorf is Wualndref, an undeniable reference to its (original) habitants of

Wallonian origin.

Bistritz itself is called ‘Nosa’, ‘Nösen’ and ‘zu Nösen’ in medieval texts. The name
could carry a link to Terneuzen, which was the centre of salt trade between the big
Flemish cities in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. It was situated in a region
called ‘De Vier Amachten’.

Levdal 136 is an old ‘German’ name for the valley of the Cusma, east of Bistriţa and at
a stone’s throw from Wallendorf/Unirea (the Cusma joings the Bistriţa river in Jaad/
Livezile). Levdal is mentioned in a document of 1366( “Levdal vulgo Kusuna” ), is-
sued by the Benedectine abbey of Pannonhalm. The document is a report on the
conflict between the (German) inhabitants of Neudorf and the Wallachians living in
Petersdorf. The conflict is about the Kusma/Cusma, a tributary of the Bistriţa river.
The authenticity of the document is questioned by Johan Carl Schuller: “daß der, in
der Urkunde von 1366 als Benennung des Thales von Kusma aufgeführte, deutsche
137
Name „Lewdal" in dem Munde des Volkes gar nicht gehört wird.” Schuller pre-
tends that the name Levdal is not used by the Saxon population. Yet there is a noble
family called ‘Schaller von Löwenthal’. They belonged to the Hongarian nobility and
held Kuzma and Demetrus as fiefs. The original name of this family was Soller de
Levdal ( János Soller de Levdal ). Whether ‘Levdal’ echoes the Flemish Leefdaal (a
community that is part of Berchem near Leuven, the old capital of the Duchy of
Brabant) in the valley of the river Voer, is not clear. The element ‘Leef’ refers to
laban the old name of the river Voer.

We have to point out that the mining city of Rodenau/Rodna has an echo in the area
of Liège with Roanne La Gleize (south of the city of Spa) which was mentioned in
1107 as Rodena. The village is situated only a few kilometers west of Stavelot, the
Logne Castle and Brastis (see page 57).

We could add some more placenames and some placenames in the Low Countries
which have a phonetical likeness but we don’t want to fall in the same trap as Pierrot

137
J.C Schuller, ‘Zwei Bistritzer Urkunden’, Archiv des Vereines für Siebenbürgsiche Landeskunde, Kronnstadt
1853 , pp. 30-87.
103

Frisch who links not less than 236 placenames in Transylvania to as many (and more
because sometimes he mentions more than one possibility) in the Rhineland, Luxem-
burg and Belgium. In his introduction he writes that it was his intention to link most
(all ?) of the placenames in Siebenbürgen to a placename in Luxemburg. Probably
because he realized this was a mission impossible, he widened his horizon to include
Belgium, Holland and a big part of Western Germany. But even then his arguments
are not always convincing. Let’s illustrate with an example. He traces the first settlers
of Baiersdorf/Crainimat in Bistritz back to Kraainem, close to Brussels. On the basis
of what arguments, remains unclear unless his link is bases on the phonetic resem-
blance between the Romanian (!) place name and the one in Flanders. The oldest
names for Baiersdorf are : terra Queraly (1264), districtus Kyrali (1311-1313) and
villa Bavaria. Is it not far more logical to trace the origin of Baiersdorf/Villa Bavaria in
Bayern (Bavarai)? The Saxon variants are ‘Baidres’ and ‘Baierdorf’. Crainimat is based
on a phonetic resemblance with the Hungarian form Királynémeti, of which ‘Király’
means king and ‘németi’ German. So, Baiersdorf was probably just a village in royal
possession, populated by immigrants from Bavaria.
104

The Mongol Storm

In 1241 the Mongols led by Subutai, the general and strategist of the feared
Genghis Khan, invaded the Hungarian kingdom at four different places. The main
body of the army, headed by Subutai and Batu Khan, a grandson of Genghis Khan,
crossed the Verecke Pass while smaller armies invaded Transylvania at three
different places. The total strength of the Mongol was estimated by János Túróczi
(1435-1490), author of the Chronica Hungarica, at 500.000 but this seems to be – in
the tradition of the medieval chroniclers – a firm exaggeration. The Mongol armies
crossed Transylvania, caused a lot of death and destruction and joined the main
body of the army to confront King Bela IV in the battle of Mohi (11 April 1241). After
their victory the way to the west was completely open to the Mongol riders.

Let’s dig deeper into what preceded this battle, which could have been a crucial vic-
tory of the Golden Horde in the history of Europe. For the Hungarian kingdom in
general and for Transylvania in particular the years 1241 and 1242 were more than
traumatical.

While the great Mongol leader Genghis Khan was occupied in Persia, a smaller band
of Mongol warriors, headed by the generals Jebe and Subutai, chased the Shah of
Khwarazm into the Caukasus. In the winter of 1120-1121 they attacked Georgia. It
was the first time the Mongols confronted a Christian army. A year later they emer-
ged again, this time in the steppe of southern Russia where they found Turkisch
Kipchak (Petchen) and Cumans. The Cumans were beaten and their prince Koten
(Kotjan) warned the Russians for the advancing Mongols. After initial victories the
Russian armies were beaten in the battle of Kalka (May or June 1223). According to
the Arabian historian Ibn al-Athir the Mongols withdrew end 1223 for a reunion with
Genghis Khan.

Of course the news of the Mongol attacks spread in the west as well but a misunder-
standing of the Mongols and their military strength prevented the Europeans of ring-
ing the alarm bells. In the period of the first crusades there was the belief that in the
far east there was a big Christian empire headed by a priest called John, who was
105

supposed to have a son called King David. In 1221 Albericus Trium Fontium writes in
his chronicle that “King David had come to Cumania and Russia and had killed
thousands of Cumans and Russians”. In 1223 Ricardus of Santo Germano writes that
“the king of Hungary had informed the Pope of the coming of King David (…) who
had killed 200.000 Russians and Plavci (the Slavic name for the Cumans) in one day.

In August 1227 Genghis Khan died. He was succeeded by his third son Ogedey.
During a quriltay (a kind of general assembly) the new ruler and his generals decide
to organize a big campagain against the Russians, the Alanians (between the Black
Sea and the Caspian Sea, north of present-day Georgia) and the Bulgarians. Batu
Khan (son of he deceased eldest son of Genghis Khan) has the support of the mighty
gerenal Subutai for this undertaking. With a massive Mongol invasion pending, one
of the Cuman leaders goes to the court of Ogedey to submit. In 1237 the city of
Bulghar (capital of the Volga Bulghars, just south of where the Volga joins with its
main tributary, the Kama) is taken by the Mongol army. It was the first step in the
Mongol plan to destroy Russia, Poland and Hungary. In the Spring of 1238 the
Mongols had already captured fourteen cities, including Moskou.

The news of the massive attack also reached the Hungarian court. The messenger
who brought the alarming news was Brother Julianus, a Dominican monk who went
looking for Magna Hungaria, the initial homeland of the Hungarians (which was Bas-
kiria, between the Volga and the Urals). On his long journey he had met with a Mon-
gol envoy who had told him that an attack was impending. This was reported by one
Ricardus, author of De Facto Ungarie Magne. When the Mongol army, with great
force and overwhelming numbers, attacked the Cuman territories, the Cuman fled
massively to Hungary, led by their leader Koten. On the condition that the Hungarian
king would grant them asylum and safety he was ready to convert to Christianity.
The decision of King Bela to welcome the Cumans, who spoke a Turkish language, in
his realm was not accepted with enthusiasm by the Hungarian nobility who reproach-
ed the king that he gave the Cumans preferential treatment.

But the Mongols were not happy with the integration of the Cumans in the Hungarian
kingdom either. In a letter to the Hungarian court the Mongol leaders reproach the
106

king to give shelter to “their Cuman slaves”. They suggest King Bela to surrender
without resistance.

On 6 December 1240 the city of Kiev

falls into the hands of the Mongols.
One thing is very clear now: Hungary
is the next target on the list of the
Mongols. Bela tries to organize the
defense of his realm but his own
nobility is unwilling and hesitates to
send troops. And of course he cannot
count on the Teutonic Order which he
drove single-handed out of Burzenland, on command of his father Andrew. In the
mean time the Mongol advance continues: Poland and Hungary’s allies from Silesia
are under attack. On 9 April 1241 the army of Henry II, duke of Silesia, including an
important number of Templars, is massacred by the Mongols on the battlefield of
Liegnitz. No obstacle has remained now between the feared and fearless riders of
the Yellow Horde and the Kingdom of Hungary. Bela IV manages to raise an impress-
sive army but some of his most powerful vassals keep hesitating and do not arrive
(probably on purpose) in time to fight alongside with their liege.

The bulk of the Mongol army – probably led by Subutai and Batu Khan in person –
came through the Verecke Pass. Three smaller armies invaded Transylvania at three
different locations. The first one crossed the Borgo Pass (north of Bistritz) where the
local resistance at Rodna was crushed, the second one broke into Transylvania
through the Oituz Pass (east of present-day Târgu Secuiesc in Szeklerland), a third
through the valley of the Alt/Olt. Plundering and killing they ravaged Transylvania to
join forces near the place where the rivers Mures en Tisza meet. Before he had the
chance to battle the Mongols the defensive strength of Bela was undermined by a
sad incident. While small groups of Mongol vanguard warriors brought death and
destruction in the Hungarian kingdom the Hungarian nobles turned against the
Cumans. They suspected them to act as secret allies of the Mongols. In violent con-
frontations Koten and a number of his followers were killed. The remaining Cumans,
107

plundering and killing, went south to Bulgaria. On their way they met and fought
groups of Bela supporters who were going north to join their king. The disarray must
have been complete.

The army of Batu, that had broken through the Hungarian defense at the Verecke
Pass, slowly moved into the direction of Pest. Batu Khan wanted to wait for his right
and left wing to be at full strength to confront the Hungarian army. But Bela took his
troops to the north. At the Sajo river both armies met. The battle was devastating.
Their high military efficiency combined with the slyness of Subutai, brought victory to
the Mongols. The prestigious army of Bela was almost completely destroyed. Many
high nobles and clergymen lost their lives. Among them Archbishop Ugrin Csák of
Kalocsa and Prince Koloman, the younger brother of the king. Ten thousand
Hungarian soldiers (we have warned you before that 10.000 was a very popular
number with chroniclers) and almost all the Templars were killed. But also “French
and Germans”, noblemen as well as common people lost their lives (“Multi Theutonici
et Gallici tam nobilos quam vulgares periere”) 138 Most probably these words refer to
the Saxons from Transylvania.

Bela fled and left the whole area east of the Danube to the plundering Mongol army.
“The conceited and uninterested” Bela was kept responsible in person by Emperor
Frederic II for the defeat. From April until the beginning of 1242 the Hungarians
could use the Danube as a defense line against the advancing warriors of Subutai
and Buta Khan. But in winter the Yellow Horde crossed the frozen river and chased
the Hungarian king.

Cannon Rogerius describes this scene in his Carmen Miserabile: “In winter there was
snow and ice in abundance. In so much that the Danube was frozen, which hadn’t
happened in length of years. But the Hungarian defense broke the ice every day and
guarded the river in a way that there was a daily battle between the soldiers and the
ice. But when severe frost came, the Danube was frozen anyway. But the Mongols
did not try to cross the river. Listen to what they did. They lead many horses and
animals to the bank of the river and for three days there was no-one to guard them.
So it appeared as if there was no-one left. The Hungarians, who thought that the
138
From the annals of the Pantaleon monastery in Cologne.
108

Tartars (Mongols) had withdrawn, crossed the river and lead the animals across the
ice. When the Tartars saw this, they knew they could cross the river with their
horses. They then crossed the rivers in great numbers.” 139

Bela fled to Austria but was captured by Duke Frederic and released only after pay-
ing a big ransom. The king then fled, over Hungarian territory still controlled by his
army, to the Adriatic coast (present-day Croatia) where he found shelter on the is-
land of Ciovo, facing the city of Trogir. A smaller group of Mongol warriors chased
him through Dalmatia and Croatia but then left the Hungarian territory to join the
bulk of the Mongol army in Bulgaria. The Mongols also left Transylvania which was
completely destroyed and did so through the very same passes they had come. By
May 1242 all Mongols had left Hungarian territory. The cause of their withdrawal is
usually found in the death of the Great Khan Ogodei on 11 December 1241. The
theory is that Batu Khan took his army back to Mongolia to play a role in the suc-
cession of Ogodei. A more recent and probably more realistic theory says that the
withdrawal was made for logistic reasons. The supplies would have lacked to support
an estimated army of 100.000 to 150.000 warriors, their cattle and horses (estimated
at some 400.000 heads). The army of Batu Khan did not withdraw to Mongolia but to
the steppes of Southern Russia where there was grassland in abundance.

The least you can say is that the Mongols left the Hungarian kingdom in shock. The
real impact of the destruction and the slaughter the Mongols had caused, can be
learnt from an eyewitness, Rogerius of Apula, an Italian monk born in Torre Magiore
and a servant to the Hungarian king. At the time of the invasion he was in Transylva-
nia and captured by the Mongols. He knew to escape and hid in a swamp. He descri-
bes the atrocities caused by the Mongols (which he calls Tartars) and the aftermath,
while running away from the invaders.

“In the fields and on the roads were the bodies of the many that were slain, decapi-
tated, corpses scattered in villages and burnt in churches where they had sought
protection in vain. Terrible heaps of bodies covered the streets over a length of two
days of travelling. The earth was coloured red by the blood and the corpses were as
many as cows, sheep and pigs in a meadow or stones in a quarry. In the rivers the
139
Rogerius of Apula, Carmen Miserabile super Destructione Regni Hungariae per Tartaro.
109

bodies of people drowned were food for the fish, the worms and the water birds. The
earth became owner of the bodies that were killed by poisoned spears, swords and
arrows. Scavenger birds and voracious animals, domestic animals as well as wild
ones, devoured the corpses to the bones. Fire consumed the dead that were burnt in
churches and villages. The flames were often smothered in human fat, released in
the burning process”. 140

Rogerius was in Hungary in 1232, first as chaplain later as arch deacon. In 1241 he
was an eyewitness of the Mongol invasion. He was captured in the neighbourhood of
Grosswardein/Oradea. His life was spared but he was made a slave and the Mongols
took him with them when withdrawing into the direction of present-day Republic of
Moldova. He could escape, stayed in hiding in swamps and woods staying alive on a
very scanty diet of acorns and grass. When the Yellow Horde had disappeared, he
crossed Transylvania on his way back to the royal court.

“We crossed a depopulated

area, empty of people, that
the Tartars had destroyed
during their predatory raids.
The belltowers of the
churches were the only bea-
cons leading us from village
to village. The streets and
footpaths were in a very bad
condition, completely over-
grown with weeds and thorns. Garlic, onions and what was left in the gardens of the
farmers were offered to me as the the greatest delicacies. The others fed on weeds
and roots. (…) On the eigth day we could finally leave the forest and we arrived in
Weissenburg where we found nothing but bones and skulls of dead civilians and the
141
walls of churches and palaces, destroyed and covered with Christian blood.”

140
Carmen Miserabile super Destructione Regni Hungariae per Tartaros, ed., L. Juhasz, I Szentpetery, ed.,
Scriptores Rerum Hungaricarum, 2 vols, Budapest ,1937-1938, pp. 543-588.
141
Ibid.
110

In his Carmen Miserabile Rogerius points out the causes of the defeat of the Hunga-
rian army: the reluctance of the Hungarian nobles to support their king in his battle,
the lack of support of other Christian kings, the lack of leadership and courage of the
Hungarian king, … But in his report Rogerius puts the emphasis on the horror, the
unbelievable horror of the Mongol attacks: “The knights and noble ladies, who were
present in big numbers, were brought together in a field, the farmers in another
field. They were robbed of their money, their weapons, their clothes and all other
possessions and atrociously murdered with axes and swords. Only a few women and
girls were spared but then abused. Only those who, covered in the blood of other
victims, had dropped to the earth and so managed to hide themselves, escaped
death. Oh the grief, the horror and immense anger! What normal person could have
142
seen this massacre without calling this place a field of blood?”

Rogerus continued his life as dean of Sopron in 1243, became bishop of Gross-
wardein/Oradea in 1249 and arch bishhop of Split (Croatia) where he died in 1261.
His report as an eyewitness made impressed both religious and wordly leaders and
would play an important role in the history of Hungary.

In his Carmen Miserabile Rogerius describes how the bishop’s city of Grosswardein
(Nagyvarad in Hungarian), surrounded by walls, was captured by the Mongols. Those
who survived the slaughter fled the city as quick as possible. After the Mongols had
left, the whole area around the city was a ghost zone without people. Several times
the Pope cancelled episcopal taxes in order to persuade people who had fled and
newcomers to return or come to the city. This illustrates the terror and the destruct-
ion the Mongolstorm had caused in Transylvania. The population was decimated,
cities and villages were burnt and most of the early documents about the history of
Transylvania were lost.

“Verglichen mit anderen Gebieten Ungarns blieben in Siebenbürgen kaum arpaden-

zeitliche Urkunden erhalten. 1241 zerstörten die Mongolen und 1277 die Salzburger
Sachsen das Weißenburger Kapitel mit Archiv und Regesten. Ähnlich erging es beim
Mongolensturm dem Bistum Tschanad, mit Ausnahme eines Teils der Regesten mit
Angaben vom Anfang des 13. Jahrhunderts dem Archiv des Bistums Wardein und
142
Ibid.
111

schließlich, aber nicht zuletzt auch der Registratur der Benediktinerabtei von Alt-
143
Klausenburg (Appesdorf)”.

(Compared to other areas in Hungary hardly any documents from the times of Arpad
144
have survided in Siebenbürgen. In 1241 the Mongols and in 1277 the Saxons
from Salzburg destroyed the Chapter of Weissenburg, its archives and yearbooks. In
the same way the documents were lost in the diocese of Tschanad – with the except-
ion of a part of the yearbooks of the beginning of the thirteenth century of the archi-
ves of the diocese of Wardein (Oradea) and finally, but not in the least, the year-
books of the Benedictine abbey of Alt Klausenburg (Appesdorf)).

Because of the massive slaughter by the Monogls so few people had survived that in
1246 (four years after the withdrawal) Bishop Gallus of Weissenburg asked the king
to grant new immigrants extensive privileges to encourage the repopulation of his
diocese. And about the fate of Hermannastad a Dominican monk write is the chroni-
cles ot the Abbey of Saint Peter in Ertfurt: “In the year 1242, in the month of April,
the Tartars in Hungary, in the land of the seven burgen (castles or cities) stormed
the city that is called “Hermannsdorf” and decimated the population to one hundred.
145
The monastery of the preaching monks (Dominicans?) was burnt”

A lot of cities in Hungary were completely burnt by the Mongols and their population
massacred. The citadel of Esztergom had resisted but the city itself was destroyed.
The same thing happened to Buda, on the bank of the Danube. In the countryside
the farmers were spared until the harvest was won. But as soon as this was done
they were murdered. Thousands were taken as slaves and entrained by the Mongols
at their withdrawal. Years later the missionary monks Plan Carpini and Rubruquis –
who were sent to the court of the Great Khan in Monogolia – still found Hungarian
and German slaves. Rogerius mentions that 600 people in Rodena/Rodna were

143
Kurze Geschichte Siebenbürgens, Herausgegeben von Béla Köpeczi, unter Miterbeit von Gábor Barta, István
Bóna, László Makkai, Zoltán Szász. Coordination of the German edition by Zoltán Szász. Original edition: Erdély
rövid története, Budapest, Akadémiai Kiadó, 1989, p. 137

.
144
Dynasty of Hungarian kings, starting with Aprad (ninth century?) and ending with Andrew III (1301)
145
Quoted in G.D.Teutsch, Geschichte der Siebenbürger Sachsen, Erster Band, Hermannstadt, 1852.
112

enliste by force in the Mongol army after thousands were killed in the city. The
Epternacher Notiz numbers 4,000 dead in Rodna and 6,000 in Bistritz.

The massacres, followed by epidemics and famine, cost Hungary an estimated half of
its population. On top of that there was the disintegration of the political and social
structure of the country. And at the borders animals of prey, Duke Frederic of Austria
in the first place, were waiting to steal away a few territories from the devastated
realm. Also in Transylvania the population was decimated. The majority of towns and
villages, founded by immigrants not more than a century before, were in ruins. Some
of them were never rebuilt. In other towns and villages people welcomed new citi-
zens from villages that had suffered less or from the west of the Holy Roman Empire.

King Bela made serious efforts for the reconstruction of his kingdom. In a document
of 6 May 1246 King Bela frees the “old and new inhabitants” of the episcopal
domains which were ravaged by the Mongols, from the justice of the Voivod and the
officials of the local landlords. He placed them directly under the jurisdiction of
146
bishop Gallus of Transylvania.

After the Mongols had left, King Bela encouraged the nobles to build stone castles,
thereby running the risk that he would lose even more his grip on his vassals. In
1251 for instance King Bela urges Voivod Laurentius to rebuild the old castle of Zenth
Leleukh, which was destroyed in a Mongol attack, and restore it in its old state as a
fortification on the border with Szeklerland.147

He recalled the Cumans who had not found a new homeland south of his kingdom
and encouraged the coming of new immigrants from the west. On top of that he
granted the cities in his realm, including those of Transylvania, the right to protect
their citizens with walls and towers. For decades the fear for new Mongol attacks
would incite the Hungarian kings to adopt a pragmatic way of ruling. In 1247 the
king transferred the whole of the Severin Banat to the Hospitallers of Saint John (the
so-called Johannieter Order). He gave them the task to protect it against any attack-

146
Original in Siebenbürgisch Capitular Archiv, Cista cap. Alb. Fase. 3, Nr.50. Document 86 in volume 1 of
Urkundebuch …
147
Original in the archive of the abbey of Kolosmonostor near Klausenburg /Cluj Napoca. Document 85 in volume
1 of Urkundebuch …
113

ers and populate it with immigrants. But the king explicitly forbade them to transfer
any Saxons from Hungary to their new territories without his personal consent. The
abbey of Kerz/Cârta, which was completey destroyed by the Mongols, was exempted
from taxes in 1246 by Duke Stephen, son of King Bela, in an attempt to rebuild the
community of monks.

That the fear for new incursions by the ‘Tartars’ was not without ground, was proved
in 1285. The Mongols invaded Transylvania again starting from the Nösnerland (the
area around Nösen/Bistriţa). Nösen (Bistriţa), Sächsich Reen (Reghin) and Kronstadt
(Brasov) were destroyed. Once again the Saxon population became the victim of the
Mongol atrocities. But this time the Golden Horde, led by Nogai Khan, was beaten by
the Hungarians and at its retreat ambushed by the Szekely (Szeklers). Nevertheless
the Mongols remained active in the wider region with attacks on Poland, Byzantium
and Bulgaria.

The toll Hungary and Transylvania paid for the defeat of King Bela should not only be
counted in lives. The material damage was more than considerable. Villages and ci-
ties were incinerated, stone buildings returned to ruins, documents carrying privile-
ges disappeared in flames, church treasures were plundered in (among other places)
Wardein/Oradea and Kolosmonostura (near Klausenburg/Cluj Napoca). Rogerius
describes Weissenburg/Alba Iulia after the Mongols have left: “The walls of churches
and stone buildings were full of breaches, were undermined and covered with
148
Christian blood”.

An important part of the diocese of Transylvania and the praepositura of Hermann-

stadt were put to ashes and their population decimated. Beyond any doubt an impor-
tant number of immigrants from the Low Countries, the hospites flandrenses, were
murdered or carried away as slaves. Many of their villages perished. It is remarkable
that after 1241 documents of the Hungarian court no longer mention Villa Riuetel,
the original domain of Johannes Latinus, a high nobleman who probably came from
the area of Liège with a following of ‘Flemish’ and ‘Walloon’ settlers. Those who were
not murdered or taken prisoner, returned to their villages or moved on more to the

148
“Basilicarum muros diruptos et subfossos quos nimia christiani sauguinis effusio macularat ».
114

north and the east, away from the villages and cities that were on the plunder routes
of the Mongols. Were these the alii Flandrenses in the Chairs of Schässburg and Reps
(supposed founders of new villages east and south of Schässburg) or did new
colonists come, lured by newly attributed privileges for those who wanted to settle in
the areas devastated by the Mongols? The numbers of those who had come a hun-
dred (or more?) years before, had dwindled and so they slowly merged into the
groups of new colonists (mainly from the Rhine-Mosel area and even the south of
present-day Germany). Yet, many people are still aware of the traditional belief that
their founding fathers were flandrenses. With the massive exodus of the Saxon popu-
lation (from Romania in general but from Transylvania in particular) after the Decem-
149
ber revolution of 1989 this awareness is fading away … for ever.

Commercal and cultural ties

After the Mongols had withdrawn – entraining thousands of slaves with them – King
Bela returned from his hiding place on the isle of Covo at the Adriatic coast. He finds
his realm in ruins and the population struggling with famine and epidemics. But Bela
takes measures to rebuild the country: he exempts monastic orders and religious
150
leaders from taxes, cities are granted permission to build fortifications in stone,
new settlers are attracted to repopulate depopulated areas. He valued the economic
impact of his hospites (guests) and gave them – like his predecessors – new privy-
leges like the right to organize markets and to stack goods while at the same time
freeing them from taxes on their commercial activities. To estimate the added value

149
In a personal mail Wilhelm E. Roth, a Saxon from Kronstadt who emigrated to Augsburg, wrote: “In den letzten
2 Jahren habe ich 2 Bücher herausgebracht: "Zwangsarbeit in Rumänien 1950 - 1961" und "Die Deutschen in
Rumänien 1943 - 1953". Außer bei den Rumäniendeutschen besteht dafür kein Interesse. Trotz deutscher Kultur
sind wir ein Fremdkörper in Deutschland. Erst die dritte Generation wird es nicht mehr sein.” (mail of 2 February
2011). Wilhelm Roth, who researches the repression against the Saxon population of Transylvania during and
after the second world war, complains in his mail that the Saxons of Siebenbürgen are seen as ‘strangers’ in
Germany. This will change only with the third generation, he adds. Implicitly he admits that the awareness (and
pride) of being a Transylvanian Saxon will have oozed away in a few decades.
150
In documents Weissenburg/Alba Iulia (sometimes also called Karlsburg) is called ‘civitas’ (city) only in 1282,
Rodenau/Rodna in 1292, Hermannstadt/Sibiu in 1326, Sathmar/Satu Mare in 1331, Kronstadt/Brasov for the first
time in 1344. Neumarkt am Mieresch/Târgu Mures is called ‘forum’ (markettown) in 1332. (P. Niedermayer,
Städtebau im Mittelalter: Siebenbürgen, Banat und Kreischgebiet, Volume 2, Böhlau, Köln, 2002, pp.35-36)
115

the colonists brought to the economic development of the Hungarian kingdom, we

can compare two documents from the twelfth century. In 1138 (before the coming of
the immigrants from the Low Countries) King Bela the Blind (Bela II who was king
from 1131 till 1141) donates to the newly founded praepositura of Demesch (Timi-
soara) a number of possessions in Transylvania. The new serfs of the praepositura
paid their tithes partly in salt but also in animal skins (twenty marten skins and one
151
bear skin) and leather belts. Less than fifty years later (in 1186) king Bela III
sums up his revenues in a letter to the French king, whose daughter he wanted to
152
marry. From his hospites in Transylvania he gets – at least that is what he writes
to his future father-in-law – 15,000 mark of silver. A very considerable sum of mo-
ney, even if we take into account a little exaggeration on the side of King Bela. But
the least we can say is that the newcomers in Transylvania had given an important
boost to the budding economy of the country.

153
After the Mongol attacks the immigrants showed their enormous resilience. Villa-
ges, cities and churches were rebuilt. Fields were sown for new crops, mills were
repaired and put to work, … The cities of Transylvania (Hermannstadt, Kronstadt,
Bistritz, Schässburg, Mediasch, Klausenburg, Neumarkt, …) developed into commer-
cial centers. Transylvania became the center of trade between the west and the
Levant (Middle East). Salt remained a profitable and much wanted export product,
and so did the silver from the silver mines at Rodenau/Rodna. In the cities craftsmen
formed guilds that favoured quality products and a flourishing artisanat. The comer-
cial routes crossed the country and the cities were granted – with the right to orga-
nize markets (Thorenburg/Turda 1291, Bistritz 1353, Neumarkt am Mieresch/Târgu
Mures 1405, …) and the right to stock goods (Kronstadt 1369, Hermannstadt 1382) –
the full right to store and trade diverse products. The commercial contacts with the
Low Countries were quite developed. In Bistritz, Hermannstadt and Kronstadt cloth
from (among other places) Bruges, Malines, Maastricht, Aix-en-Chappele and

151
Document in Fejer, volume 2, pp. 94-109.
152
Document in Fejer, volume 2, p. 217.
153
“Bei den Orten im Hermannstädter Komitat (…) sowie den benachbarten deutschen Gründungen, setzte nun
eine nachthaltig wirkende Binnenmigration ein, also eine Neuaufsiedlung der meisten verheerten und zerstörten
Orte aus solchen, die im Frühjar 1241 nicht so hart getroffen waren.” (In the villages in the county of
Hermannstadt (…) and in the German settlements neaby, a continuing process of internal migration started and a
repopulation of most of the places that were destroyed, by people from villages wich were less touched). (H. Roth,
Hermannstadt: kleine Geschichte einer Stadt in Siebenbürgen, Böhlau Verlag, Köln, 2006, p. 11).
116

Cologne was traded. But there were commercial ties with more cities like Ypres,
Ghent, Tournai, Poperingen, Louvain, Laon and Arras.154

Flemish traders will undoubtedly have played a role in this international commerce;
possibly they belonged to the first patrician families in cities like Hermannstadt en
155
Kronstadt. That they were running their businesses in the whole of the basin of
156
the Danube is generally agreed. Louis Leger writes that the city laws of the
Babenberg cities “show a remarkable resemblance” with those of the cities in
Flanders and Picardie (Ghent, Bruges, Ypres, Arras, Furnes and Laon) and explains
this is the result of the intensive trade by the Flemish and the merchants from
Picardie “in all Danube countries, in Hungary in particular”. The preposition is
important, he says “in” Hungary, not “with” Hungary.

Hermannstadt was at a crossing of commercial routes. Harald Roth, in his history of

Hermannstadt, writes : “From the Levant came, in transit through the principalities
(Moldova and Wallachia) spices, valuable tissues, carpets and other luxury goods.
The traders of Hermannstadt and other Saxon merchants took them to the markets,
not only as far as Ofen (present-day Budapest) and Vienna, but also to Venice,
Nuremberg, Cologne or Bruges”. 157 The same thing can be said about Kronstadt.

Remarkable is that the commercial contacts were not only with the county of
Flanders but also with the Duchy of Brabant (Louvain, Malines, Diest, …) and the
Meuse area (with Maastricht and later also Sint-Truiden). In the tax bills of
Kronstadt, beginning of the sixteenth century, Maastricht is on top as the most
prominent source of cloth. With 414 bales of cloth it beats Malines (182), Nuremberg
and Verona (134 each), Cologne (98) and Bruges (5) by far. Among the bigger and
154
“Zolltarife aus Kronstadt und Bistritz nennen 1412 Ypern, Löwen und Köln. Zu Anfang des 16. Jahrhunderts
zeigen dan Zollrechnungen aus Kronstadt und Hermannstadt Tuch von Brügge, von Mecheln, von Maastricht,
Aachen und Köln”. (Tax rates from Kronstadt and Bistritz name in 1412 Ypres, Louvain and Cologne. In the be-
th
ginning of the 16 century tax bills brom Kronstandt and Hermannstadt show cloth from Bruges, Malines, Maas-
tricht, Aix-en-Chapelle and Cologne) (Hansische Geschichtsblätter, Böhlau Verlag, Münster, Köln, 1954, p. 58).
155
“Die Siebenbürger Deutschen des 12. Jahrhunderts waren in Hauptsache Rhenenses “Rheinländer”, wobei es
möglich bleibt, das flandrische Kaufleute in den entstehenden Städten eine Zeitlang eine führende Stellung
eingenommen haben, wie es aus Gran und Brünn berichtet wird”. (Esztergom en Brno) (The Transylvanian
Germans from the twelfth century were mainly “Rheinländer” (people from the Rhine) although it is possible that
Flemish merchants have had, for a certain period, a leading position in the growing cities, like it is mentioned from
Gran and Brünn) (E.G. Schulz, Leistung und Schicksal. Abhandlungen und Berichte über die Deutschen im
Osten. Böhlau Verlag, Köln, Graz, 1967, p. 74).
156
L. Leger, A history of Austro-Hungary from the Earliest Time to the Year 1889 , London 1889, p. 138.
157
H. Roth, Hermannstadt: kleine Geschichte …, p. 24.
117

smaller cities in the Low Countries that exported cloth (Tuch) we also note Weert
(see page 95)! From the middle of the fifteenth century the share of the cities of the
Duchy of Brabant (Louvain, Malines and Brussels) in the tax books of Hungarian
Pressburg (Bratislava, today in Slovakia) increases.

Apart from commercial ties there were also cultural contacts between the Low
Countries and Transylvania/Siebenbürgen. From the beginning of the sixteenth
century the ideas of the reformation also spread in Siebenbürgen. Through mer-
chants and students the protestant writings reached the cities of Transylvania. The
attempts of King Louis II and of the archbishop of Gran to confiscate and burn the
works of Martin Luther could not prevent the spread of the reformation. When the
Hungarian kingdom was beaten by the Turks in 1526 at the battle of Mohács, the
grip of the Hungarian throne on the (catholic) church of Siebenbürgen weakens. In
Kronstadt the illustrious humanist and printer-editor Johannes Honterus (1498-1554)
plays an important role in the spreading of the writings of Luther. His Reformations-
büchlein of 1547 is reworked into the Kirchenordnung aller Deutschen in Sieben-
bürgen (Church Order of all Germans
in Siebenbürgen). It was a sound basis
for the reformation movement in Sie-
benbürgen. As a consequence the per-
sonality of Johannes Honterus grew to
mythical proportions. Honterus , his
name as a humanist, was deducted
from the name Honter (also Hynter).
Honter was not the family name of
Johannes Honterus. His father, who
was a leather worker, was called Jorg Austen. According to some Johannes Honterus
took the name Honter from his mother. Others believe that it was the name of his
wife who was of Flemish origin. In 1529 his humanist name appears for the first
time, during his stay in Regensburg. From 1530 till 1533 Honterus was in Basel. In
that year he returned to Kronstadt, the city where he was born. In 1535 he marries a
woman of Flemish decent, called Anna. Although no-one can really proof this the
name is supposed to be derived from de Honte, a Flemish name for the Wester-
118

schelde (an estuary of the Scheldt). On the south bank of the Westerschelde is the
city of Terneuzen (see page 83).

Nicolaus Olahus (1493-1568) was a diplomat and a humanist. He was a contempo-

rary of Johannes Honterus and had good contacts with Petrus Nannius (a professor
at University of Louvain in Flanders). For four years he exchanged letter with the
Dutch humanist Erasmus. Olahus was born in Hermannstadt/Sibiu but raised at the
royal court in Buda. From 1535 till 1538 Olahus stayed in the Low Countries, as a
secretary and a counselor of Queen Mary of Hungary who was appointed lady regent
158
of the Netherlands after the death of her aunt Margret of Austria. Olahus contact-
ed, shortly after his coming to the Netherlands, a number of members of the Colle-
gium Trilingue in Louvain. A detailed description of the contacts between Olahus and
Petrus Nannius was written by Gilbert Tournoy, professor at the University of
159
Louvain.

160
Professor Tournoy also wrote an article about another humanist, Maximilianus
Transylvanus (?1490-1538). He proved that the humanist name Transylvanus had
nothing to do with Transylvania but was not more than the Latin translation of his
family name van Zevenbergen. Transylvanus occupied the post of secretary at the
court of Emperor Maximilian I and later also Charles V (grandson of Maximilian I). In
1523 Maximilianus Transylvanus’ book De Moluccis Insulis was published, a report of
the journey around the world of the Portuguese Ferdinand Magellan. Maximilianus
was involved in diplomatic missions for Margret of Austria and Mary of Hungary. He
died in Brussels in 1538. He also had contacts with Nicolaus Olahus but was define-
tely not a Transylvanian.

This chapter and this book are far from complete. There is still a lot of research to be
done on the relations between the Low Countries and Transylvania in the period of
the Andreanum and the Mongol Storm. The rights that the Andreanum first reserved

158
The Netherlands of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries were also called ‘The Seventeen Provinces’ or ‘The
Habsburg Netherlands’. They included present-day The Netherlands, most of present-day Belgium, Luxemburg
and smaller parts of western Germany and a very small part of present-day France.
159
G. Tournoy, ‘Petrus Nannius and Nicolaus Olahus’, Humanistica Lovaniensia, volume 55, Leuven University
Press, Leuven, 2006.
160
G. Tournoy, Il primo viaggio intorno al mondo di magellano nella relazione di Massimiliano Transilvano,
Camoenae Hungaricae 2, Budapest, 2005.
119

for the people living on the Königsboden (the Seven Chairs and the Two Chairs, a
vast Saxon region from Weissenburg, Mediasch, Hermannstadt and Schässburg)
were expanded to the Nösnerland (region around Bistritz) and the Burzenland
161
(region around Kronnstadt). In this way originated the Eigen-Landrecht of the
Siebenbürgen Saxons, who united politically into the Sachsische Nationsuniversität.

But Siebenbürgen (and the whole of the Hungarian kingdom) had to face the pressu-
re of the advancing Ottoman Turks. After the battle of Mohács (1526) a large part of
the Hungarian kingdom came under Ottoman domination for more than 150 years.
Siebenbürgen (the name Transylvania has now been replaced by the German Sieben-
bürgen) became a semi-autonomous principality (with its own king, Johann Zápolya)
but had to pay tribute (taxes) to the sultan. When it is reconquered by the Austrians
(the Turkish troops are beaten in 1687 during the second battle of Mohács)
Siebenbürgen becomes an autonomous principality under Austrian supervision. With
the peace of Karlowitz (1698) Hungary and Siebenbürgen come under Austrian rule.
Belgrade is the last city in the Hungarian kingdom that is still occupied by the
Ottoman Turks. The crew of the Habsburg fleet that sailed down the Danube to free
the city was mainly made up of sailors from The Netherlands.

Samuel von Brukenthal (1721-1803, born in Leschkirk/Nocrich in Siebenbürgen) was

the Habsburg governor of the „Großfürstentum“ Siebenbürgen (1777 tot 1787). He
had his palace on the Grosser Ring (Piata Mare) in Hermannstadt. He was the perso-
nal counsellor of Empress Maria Theresia and a passionate collector of art. Today the
stately building still houses the Brukenthal Collection, including more than a hundred
paintings from the Netherlands. The collection has works by Van Eyck, Bruegel,
Memling and Jordaens. The Brukenthal Collection (especially the part with paintings
162
from the Netherlands) was thoroughly documented by the Fleming Jan De Maere
and he or she who visits Hermannstadt/Sibiu should not leave the city without
visiting he museum.

161
F. Sutschek, Das deutsch-römische Recht der Siebenbürger Sachsen (Eigen-Landrecht). Aus der
Rechtsgeschichte Siebenbürgens, Stuttgart, 2000.
162
J. De Maere, Bruegel, Memling, Van Eyck. La collection Bruckenthal, Mercatorfonds, 2009.
120

Language

If the use of onomastics (the study of place names) can be a tricky thing, comparing
the Saxon dialects with dialects from the Low Countries is like walking on very slippe-
ry ice. The dialects in Siebenbürgen are always called German dialects. This is of
course a very ‘wide’ definition. It would be more correct to say that they show a lot
of similarities with the Low German or Franconian dialects. A first thing that carries
away our attention is the fact that the Saxon dialects of Siebenbürgen have only a
partial second sound shift (the so-called High German consonant shift). It would
carry us too far to explain the consonant shift in detail, so let’s do with an example.
Compare the Dutch (and English, two languages who do not have the consonant
shift) ‘dat water’ (that water) with High German ‘das Wasser’. Remark that the ‘t’ of
Dutch and English, has become an ‘s’ in High German. In a lot of Saxon dialects
there is an intermediate form like ‘det Wasser’. A second remark is that there is great
variety in Saxon dialects, differences in vocabulary and – most of all – pronouncia-
tion. This is often explained by the ‘isolated position’ of many villages in the many
163
valleys of Transylvania.

For a long time scholars thought (and tried to prove) that most Saxon dialects have
descended from Letzeburgisch, the Mosel-Franconian dialect that was and is spoken
in Luxemburg. 164 But it remains a very tricky business to compare dialects that have
survived for more than 800 years as ‘language islands’ (isolated pockets of people
165
who speak the samen language). It is not because in Deutschweisskirch/Viscri for

163
“Siebenbürgisch-Sächsisch ist als Sprache so einmalig, wie die gesamte Kultur, die von Siebenbürger
Sachsen geschaffen worden ist. Zum Unterschied von den etablierten Nationalsprachen, ist Siebenbürgisch-
Sächsisch weniger eine eigenständige Sprache, als eher der Sammelbegriff für die Mundarten, die von den aus
dem deutsprachigen Raum nach Siebenbürgen ausgewanderten Kolonisten gesprochenen werden. (…)Von
insgesamt 250 Ortmundarten gibt es nicht zwei, die als identisch betrachtet werden könnten. Diese Vielfalt erklärt
sich durch die jahrhundertlange Isolation und Abgeschiedenheit der einzelnen Orte” (‘Die Sprache der
Siebenbürger Sachsen’, www.tartlau.eu)
164
“Die siebenbürgische Mundart ist wie das in Luxemburg gesprochene Luxemburgisch ("Letzebarjeresch") und
das "Trierische" eine moselfränkische Mundart. Sie war Teil eines Dialektes, der im Mittelalter in einem relativ
großen Gebiet gesprochen wurde, das nicht nur Luxemburg, sondern auch das Erzbistum Köln umfasste, danach
aber immer mehr überformt und verdrängt wurde.” (ibid.)
165
A very typical anecdote says: When a wandering craftsman from Siebenbürgen landed in Luxemburg, the
locals were surprised that they could understand him without too many problems. They supposed he had moved
from Luxemburg to Siebenbürgen. When they asked him when this had happened, his answer was: “approxima-
tely 800 years ago”.
121

instance the numbers three and five are pronounced as “droë” en “voëf” ( in which
the o-sound like in short is followed by a short e-sound like in the ) like in some of
the dialects of Flanders or Brabant that we can assume that the dialect spoken in
Deutschweisskirch has its origin in medieval Flanders or Brabant. Language is a dy-
namic process and constantly subject to change. This is certainly true for the spoken
language which usually evolves faster than the written one. And it is impossible to
know how words and sentences were pronounced let’s say 750 years ago. If we
agree that the Siebenbürgen dialects have a Mosel-Franconian origin than we must
also see them as relic dialects, the remains of dialects that have evolved with time.

Just for fun I have made a (short) list of words in the Saxon dialect (because they
may differ a lot I have tried to note the area where they are spoken), in High
German and in Dutch (some in dialect).

Saxon Region High German Dutch

Brelft ?? Hochzeit Bruiloft

Steenkool Tartlau Steinkohl Steenkool
Siechen Hetzeldorf Pinkeln Zijken (dialect of Opwijk “ziëken”)
Pisschen Hetzeldorf Pinkeln Pissen
Oech Honigberg Auge Oog (dialect of Opwijk “oech”)
Ziër Honigberg Schmerz Zeer (dialect of Opwijk “ziër”)
Fliten Schässburg Pfeifen Fluiten
Lefken Hetzeldorf Geliebte Liefje, liefken

The list could be a lot longer (appel, gaffel, pi(j)p, verken, hoisken, moisken, bon-
gert, …) but would not prove beyond doubt that these words in the Saxon dialects
did stem from Flemish or Dutch dialects. You could call them ‘possible Low German’
influences. To illustrate how dangerous it is to draw conclusions from phonetical
similarities I have given three examples of how these words are pronounced in the
dialect of my native village of Opwijk, now in the province of Vlaams-Brabant but in
medieval times it belonged to the Land of Aalst which was in Rijksvlaanderen (see
122

page 43). The phonetic resemblance is striking but the chance that immigrants in
Transylvania originally came from Opwijk is very, very small.

In a conversation with Frau Sigrid Haldenwang, who since 1986 works on the
Siebenbügisch-Sächsische Wörterbuch in Hermannstadt, I asked her if there are any
notable Flemish influ-ences on the dialects of Siebenbürgen. Her answer was clear:
“Yes, but don’t ask me to do any research on this. I have plenty of work with the
Wörterbuch and always short of time”. Taking into account the speed with which te
Saxons of Siebenbürgen and their dialects are disappearing there is indeed a lack of
time to get the Dictionary of Siebenbürgen Dialects ready. The first two volumes
were published in 1924 and 1926, a third volume (now completely revised) in 1931
then there was a pause of 40 years before the publication started again.

Attempts to point out French influences are either very scanty or based on language
kinship with Latin, more than with French. Words like ‘kujonieren’ (to bother some-
one) and ‘Karawatsch’ (whip) could be loanwords from French (‘couilloner’ en
‘cravache’). Jan De Maere in his inventory of works of the Flemish painters in the
Brukenthalmuseum in Hermannstadt notes a few examples from the work of Gustav
166
Kisch: 'Vae salt te vojaern?' (Where will you go?). In ‘vojaern’ we can hear the
French verb ‘voyager’ (travel) but also the Latin stem ‘vagare’. Or this one: “Et huet
emrest un der staünd gemovert sä äs stäl gestunden” (Someone ‘moved at’ the
167
clock, it stopped ticking) In ‘gemovert’ the French words ‘mouvoir’ (deplace,
move) and ‘mouvement’ (movement) but also the verb ‘movere’ in Latin. As we can
see, it is difficult to draw a unanimous conclusion.

One beautiful expression with would not like to withhold from our readers: in some
villages (Waldorf, Wallendorf, Galt, …) people probably spoke a Walloon dialect or an
antique variant of French. Germanic speaking Saxons, who did not understand this
language, called the chatting of their neighbours ‘talewalen’. ‘Taal’ is ‘language’ in
Dutch (Flemish), ‘Walen’ are our Walloon neighbours.

166
G. Kisch, Siebenburgen im lichte der Sprache, ein beitrag zur Kulturgeschichte der Karpatenländer, Leipzig,
Mayer & Muller, 1929.
167
Dialect from Felmern/Felmer near Kronstadt.
123

So, don’t the Saxon dialects fit in any drawer? In one drawer probably not, in more
than one without doubt. Die mittelfränkischen Mundarten Siebenbürgens besitzen
vorrangig Merkmale aus der westlichen Moselregion um Trier und Luxemburg, zeigen
aber auch jüngere ostmitteldeutsche und bairische Elemente sowie Einflüsse aus dem
168
Österreichischen, Ungarischen und Rumänischen.“ (The Middle Franconian
dialects of Siebenbürgen carry mostly characteristics from the western Mosel region
around Trier and Luxemburg, but also younger elements from Middle Germany and
Bayern as well as influences from Austrian, Hungarian and Romanian“)

To end up this little chapter on linguistic influences one final example: the word
‘forling‘ that Professor Leen Pons found on an old map of Grossau/Cristian. The map
169
also mentions field names (the so-called Fluhrnahme). Pons explains that the
voorling is an old measure that was used in the Netherlands until the seventeenth
century. It was the length of one voor or vore (one cut of the plow) that was plowed
with a couple of oxen before the plow was turned around. A voorling is about two
hundred meters long.

Heraldicism

170
In the past I published an article about the origin of the coat of arms of the
Sieben Stühle Hermannstadt: three leaves intertwined (and a crown on top). I de-
liberately use the general word ‘leaves’ because that is what the discussion is about:
what kind of leaves and where did they come from? ‘Water lily leaves’ (Seerosen-
blätter/Nenuphars) some say, ‘Leaves of a linden tree’ others disagree. What the
adepts of both theories have in common is that they point to the Duchy of Saxony as
the geographic origin of the leaves. Personally I feel more inclined to the nenuphar
party. In my article I pointed to the three nenuphars in the coat of arms of the lords
of Sint-Goriks (de Sancto Gaugerico), one of the oldest families of Brussels. Through

168
P.r Dr. W. Besch, ‘Wortschatz auf 850.000 Zetteln gesammelt’, www.uni-protokolle.de/nachrichten/id/132381
169
L. Pons,’ Nederlandse sporen in Transsylvanië’, Revista Transilvania, 2004, nr. 6, Sibiu, pp. 13-18.
170
J.P. Van der Elst, The Coat of Arms of the Sieben Stühle Hermannstadt, Revista Transilvania, 6, Sibiu 2004,
pp. 37-41
124

this family the water lily leaves (a symbol for the swamps on which the heart of
Brussels was built?) travelled to the abbey of Affligem (province of Vlaams-Brabant)
and from this abbey to Wavre (at the moment capital of the province of Brabant
Wallon). Whether three nenuphars (in the coat of arms of both the city of Hermann-
stadt and the Sieben Stühle) came from here is rather doubtful. Three ‘Seerosen-
blätter’ (water lily leaves) are also respresented in the coat of arms of the County of
Brehna, in the neighbourhood of Magdeburg and Wittenberg, the immediate
surroundings of the heartland of the colonists from Flanders and Holland in the Elbe
area. It is not impossible that the three water lily leaves travelled with the colonists
from Magdeburg (also see the Heltauer Missale) to Transylvania.

Left: the coat of armes of the family

De Saint-Servais from liège: three red
nenuphars on a background of gold.

Right: the coat of arms of the city of

Hermannstadt/Sibiu: three nenuphars in
gold on a background of red. This part of
the coat of arms is the coat of arms of
the Sieben Stühle of which
Hermannstadt was the Haupt Stuhl.

The heraldic colour red is represented

with vertical lines, the colour gold with
small dots.

But there is another important candidate to claim the water lily leaves in the coat of
arms of Hermann-stadt: the important family De Saint-Servais. It was a line of patri-
cians that counted in their ranks several eldermen of the city of Liège. At several
occasions a De Saint-Servais became “maître du temps” (mayor) of Liège: Alexandre
de Saint-Servais in 1258, Franckar de Saint-Servais in 1303, Henri in 1305 en
Baudoin de Saint-Servais in 1383. But also the cloth merchant family Paniot carried
three nenuphars in their coat of arms. This Paniot family was probably related to the
family De Saint-Servais who were cloth traders themselves. In the Miroir des Nobles
de Hesbaye 171 the coat of arms is described as follows: the background in ‘or’ (gold)
and the three ‘feuilles de marêts’ (lilyleaves) in ‘gueules’ (red).

171
Jacques de Hemricourt, Miroir des nobles de Hesbaye (1398), uitgegeven in Luik in 1791, p. 38, 142, 172,
190, 208, 212, 231
125

Is it a coincidence that the colours of the coat of arms of the Sieben Stühle are red
and gold as well but in a different order: a golden triangle of leaves on a red back-
ground? The crown refers to the fact that the Sieben Stühle were ‘Köningsboden’
(direct property of the king) and the swords recall the legend that the territory which
was given to the colonist was marked by putting two swords in the ground: one in
Broos/Orastie as western frontier, one in Draas/Drauseni as eastern border.

Folklore and culture

Next to linguistic influences, there are also cultural influences. We should interpret
172
‚cultural‘ here in its widest definition. In doing so, we can talk about the structures
of farms and villages, about the techniques used in agriculture but also about folk
customs like goose riding and church consecrations.

Quite a number of Saxon villages (and cities) have originated as ‚Angerdorfen‘

around a big rectangular or rectangular square, used as common space (often with
173
wells or ponds to water the cattle). Other villages have a typical Franconian
triangular village square (‚dries‘ in Dutch). Often the village church was built in this
triangle. There are remarkable similarities with village structures in De Fläming east
of Magdeburg.

‚Goose riding‘ is a very old popular entertainment in Belgium and Holland. It was
already described by the famous Dutch poet G.A. Bredero in his poem ‚Boeren
Geselschap‘ (A farmers company) from the beginning of the seventeeth century.
‚Gooseriding‘ was called ‚Hahnenschlagen‘ in Siebenbürgen and existed until deep
into the twentieth century. “Seit spätestens 1989 ist auch das Hahnenschlagen

172
“Über die ersten Aussiedlungen gibt es keine Urkunden und Namenslisten, so dass durch die
Forschungsquellen (Namens- und Mundartforschung, Sitten, Bräuche, Häuser- und Ackerbau, Trachten,
Heiligenverehrung, Gottesdienstform usw.) folgende Auswanderungsgebiete ausgemacht wurden: Flandern
(Belgien), Elsaß und Lothringen (Frankreich), Luxemburg und das Bistum Lüttich, das Erzbistum Köln, Hunsrück,
Südeifel, Westerwald bis ins Westfälische und das Bistum Trier. In der Mehrzahl sind es also Mosel- und
Rheinfranken.” (K. E. Orendi, ‘Geschichte der Siebenbürger Sachsen - Ein Überblick’, www.tartlau.eu)
173
See: P. Niedermaier, Städte, Dörfer, Bauwerke: Studien zur Siedlungs- und Baugeschichte Siebenbürgens,
Köln, 2008.
126

verloren, das einst in allen Regionen Siebenbürgens bekannt war. Die schon
konfirmierten, noch unverheirateten Männer (einst die Bruderschaften) schossen
oder schlugen in unterschiedlichen Varianten einen geschmückten Hahn tot, der
anschließend verspeist wurde. In den Städten, zum Beispiel Hermannstadt verlor sich
der Brauch schon Mitte des 19. Jahrhunderts, während in Weilau zum Beispiel bis
1989 die Männer der Gemeinde mit Pfeil und Bogen auf einen an einem Holzpflock
174
angebundenen Hahn schossen.” (Since 1989 the latest the Hahnenschlagen,
which was once known in all regions, was lost. The young but unmarried men (once
the Brotherhood) shot or flogged to death, in several variations, a decorated cockerel
which was later prepared in the kitchen. In the cities, for instance in Hermannstadt,
the tradition was lost in the middle of the nineteenth century, while in Weilau (Uila,
north of Säksisch Reen/Reghin) for instance until 1989 the men of the village shot
with bow and arrow at a cockerel tied to a wooden peg).

These popular traditions (which existed in Siebenbürgen under several different

forms) are variants on goose riding and ‘hanekap’ (a cockerel is hung upside down
and the young men of the village ride their horse under it, trying to pull off the head
of the dead animal). On his website (www.wilhelm-roth.de) Wilhelm Ernst Roth
describes the Gansschlagen in Törnen/Pacau (between Weissenburg and Hermann-
stadt) on Ash Wednesday 1982. He mentions that the tradition still exists in Blutroth/
Bergin and Weingartskirchen/Vingard (both east of Weissenburg). A dead goose was
beheaded with beatings of a whip. In the past a sword was used. A very similar
tradition can still be found in the Low Countries today. The Gansabreiten in Törner,
Blutroth and Weingartskirchen was extensively described by Carlo Göllner in his book
Im Kreislauf des Jahres. 175

Also the ‘egg run’ at Easter is a tradition we can find in the Low Countries and in
Siebenbürgen in several forms. The central idea of the ‘egg run’ is that young,
unmarried men roam the village to collect eggs. So, it had nothing to do with the
chocolate eggs we associate with Easter.

174
J. Jurgens, ‘Siebenbürgisch-Sächsische Brauche und Traditionen, Etnografische Sammlung’,
http://traditionen.evang.ro/fe/tradition.
175
C. Göllner, Im Kreislauf des Jahres. Historische Brauchtum der Siebenbürger Sachsen, Boekarest ,1987, pp.
42-45. (Met dank aan Wilhelm Roth voor het bezorgen van de tekst.).
127

As far as traditions are concerned a lot of work remains to be done. Unfortunately

with the Saxons also their traditions have disappeared. In some villages the Roma-
nians have continued the traditions so that some have survived in one or other form.
Whether this is enough proof for an influence from the Low Countries is doubtable
since the very same traditions were known in Germany and other European
countries.

Literature

A remarkable literary reference to Siebenbürgen can be found in the well-known

story The Rat Catcher of Hameln by the brothers Grimm. The story is situated in the
year 1284. The rat catcher has finished his job but when the officials of Hameln
refuse to pay him, he lures away the children of the city. He disappears with them in
a cave on the bank of the river Weser. The people living in Hameln have never seen
their children again. But where have they gone?

“Nun hörte ich einmal von ferne Leuten

Die ferne in Siebenbürgen leben, (…)
Sie kamen auf einmal aus Nachten und Grauen
Zusammen aus dunkeler Erde heraus, (…)
Uns allen jedoch ist es sonnenklar,
Das dieses die Kinder sein müssen,
Die sie noch heute in Hameln vermissen.” 176

(The author of the poem heard, from people living in far-away Siebenbürgen, that
one day they appeared there from the dark earth)

So the children would have reappeared in Siebenbürgen! Buckets of writing ink have
been spent on the matter. The most plausible explanation is that a saga about an
emigration of children (think of the so-called children’s crusade) was later linked to a
sage about rat destruction. Siebenbürgen must have played in the story the role of a

176
A version of the Ratcatcher Saga from approx. 1889.
128

distant and almost exotic country. Prof. Jürgen Udolf was able, through phonetic
similarities in the place names, to situate the region of emigration near Brandenburg,
about 300 kilometers away from Hameln. The rat catcher would have been a so-
called Lokator who was recruiting colonists to build a new existence east of the Elbe
(see the Ostsiedlung, pages 16 and more). So, exit Siebenbürgen!

The sad story of the life of Genoveva of Brabant (suspected of adultery by her
husband Palatine Siegfried who orders to have her and their two-year-old son
drowned) and the story of the ruse and guile of Reinaert The Fox (situated in the
Vier Ambachten, see page 83) belonged to the most popular books in Saxon houses
and schools. But it is doubtful that this popularity was due to direct influence from
the Low Countries because both stories have had numerous adaptations in German.
Genoveva was even the subject of an opera by Robert Schumann and a lighter
operetta by Offenbach. And Reineke Fuchs was made immortal by the great Goethe.

Then there is the already mentioned play ‘Die Flanderer am Alt: Historisches
Schauspiel in fünf Akten’ (1883) by Michael Albert. The author (Apold 1836 –
Sighisoara 1893) was a teacher at the Saxon Gymnasium in Sighisoara. He wrote a
number of romantic plays that have since disappeared under the dust of time. But
his ‘Flanderer am Alt’ (Alt being the German name for the Olt river) proves that
popular belief sees the earliest settlers in the area of Hermannstadt/Sibiu as
‘Flandrenses’.

Finally we have to direct the reader’s attention to the well-known “Naar Oostland
willen wij rijden” (to Eastland we want to ride), an emigrant song from twelfth- or
thirteenth-century Brabant. For years people have tormented their brains to find out
where this Oostland might have been. Some thought Oostland was the east that we
had learnt to know through the crusades. They base their opinion on the fifth stanza
which speaks of ‘notemuskaten’ (nutmeg) and ‘nagelen’ (cloves). But these spices
were introduced in our region only in the sixteenth century when the Verenigde
Oostindische Compagnie and Portuguese traders sailed the Indian Ocean. This fifth
stanza (which only has four lines instead of five) was probably added much later.
129

A second presumption says that Oostland refers to the Ostsiedlung, the migration of
people from Flanders, Brabant, Holland and Friesland to the land east of the Elbe.
But then there are those who say that the ‘wine’ in the third and fourth stanza (“Wij
drinken den wijn er uit schalen”) was not present east of the Elbe. So, says a third,
rather small group, this can only refer to Hungary (and Transylvania) where wine
had already been introduced.

Ah, do we have to know a geographical situation of the promised land? Is it not

typical for any promised land that its location is hidden in mystery? Isn’t it enough
and wasn’t it enough in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries that there is wine and
beer in abundance, that we are welcome and … that ‘my sweetest darling’ lives
177
there?

177
Naar Oostland willen wij rijden
Naar Oostland willen wij mee
Al over die groene heiden
Fris over die heiden
Daar is er een betere stee
To Eastland we will go riding
To Eastland we want to go
Over the heath so green
Merrily over the heath so green
For there is a better place

Als wij binnen Oostland komen
Al onder dat hoge huis fijn
Daar worden wij binnen gelaten
Fris over die heiden
Zij heten ons willekom zijn
And when to Eastland we have come
At a house so tall and fine
They’ll kindly bid us: stay
Merrily over the heath so green
And they will “welcome” say

Ja, willekom moeten wij wezen Yes, welcome we must be

Zeer willekom moeten wij zijn Most welcome we shall be
Daar zullen wij avond en morgen And we will, come evening or come morn’,
Fris over die heiden Merilly over the heath so green
Nog drinken den koelen wijn Drink the wine so cool

Wij drinken den wijn er uit schalen
En 't bier ook zo veel ons belieft
Daar is het zo vrolijk te leven,
Fris over die heiden
Daar woont er mijn zoete lief.
(Al voor mijne zoeteliefs deurken
Daar staan er twee boompjes fijn
Die ene draagt notemuskaten
En, d’ander draagt nagelen fijn)
We’ll drink both beer and wine
Full cups of each they’ll give
For there life is so fine
Merrily over the heath so green
And there does my sweetheart live.
(And in front of my sweetheart’s door
Two trees do grow
One carries nutmeg
The other cloves so fine)
130

Ţarile de Jos în Transilvania

Olandezii, flamanzii şi walonii în istoria Transilvaniei

Când am vizitat satul Valea Viilor (judetul Sibiu) acum câtiva ani, am vorbit cu Herr Schneider
care avea cheia bisericii fortificate din sat. Mi-a aratat imprejurimile bisericii. La plecare, când
ne indreptam spre masina mea, l-am intrebat: " De unde vin de fapt saxonii ?”, şi el mi-a
raspuns: "Din Flandra", fara sa ştie ca vorbeşte cu cineva din Flandra. Uimit de raspunsului
sau, am continuat: "Şi de ce spuneti acest lucru?". Herr Shneider mi-a raspuns: "pentru ca
aşa am învaţat la şcoala". Acest lucru mi-a transferat interesul de la impresionanta
arhitectura a bisericilor fortificate, spre istoria oamenilor care le-au construit si comunitatilor
din jurul lor.

Biserica a fost centrul vieţii sociale al comunitatii saxone. Dar în majoritatea satelor au ramas
(foarte) puţini saxoni. Acest lucru face ca studiul istoriei lor, al limbii şi al cultului lor sa devi-
na mai dificil dar în acelaşi timp şi mai urgent. Saxonii transilvaneni au fost întotdeauna
descrişi ca fiind nemţii care au trait în Siebenburgen. Se presupune ca au ajuns în
Transilvania (terra trans silva/terra ultra silvam, tarâmul din spatele padurilor), în secolul al
XII-lea în urma chemarii regelui Géza II.

La întrebarea “De unde veneau?”, s-a raspuns în general “din zona Rhine-Moselle”. Scopul
acestei carţi nu este acela de a arata ca acestia nu erau Germani, ci acela de a dovedi ca nu
toţi au venit de pe teritoriul Germaniei de astazi. Paul Philippi, un proeminent membru al
comunitaţii germanica din Sibiu, profesor de teologie al universitaţii din Heidelberg, a întarit
opinia mea, in ceea ce priveste cel puţin primele etape ale procesului de imigrare (începând
din secolul al XI-lea pâna la mijlocul secolului al XIII-lea), El spune ca un numar mare dintre
coloni au venit din Flandra, Wallonia şi Olanda de atazi. Aşa am început sa studiez documen-
tele provenite de la curtea regilor unguri. Acolo am gasit primele referinţe despre “hospites
regni” (oaspetii regelui), “Flandrenses” şi “Latini”.

Exista un numar important de întrebari carora nu li s-au gasit înca raspunsul cu privire la
venirea clericilor, fermierilor si neguţatorilor în Ungaria în general şi în Transilvania în
particular.

Prima întrebare este “Cum au venit?” Exista doua teorii. Prima teorie sau “teoria clasica”,
este bazata pe apelul regelui Géza II (mijlocul secolului al XII-lea). Aceasta teorie, extrem de
131

mult aparata de isoricul saxon Karl Kurt Klein(1897-1971), spune ca regele Géza II (1141-
1161) i-a chemat pe locuitorii Tarilor de Jos, Luxemburg si partea de vest a Germaniei, în
Ungaria. Regele Géza şi-a transferat soldatii care aparau granita de la Szekely, in Carpaţii de
Sud, în partea estica a regatului sau. Din aceasta cauza a avut nevoie de noi fermieri armaţi
pentru a apara graniţa de sud a Transilvaniei împotriva atacatorilor. Le-a dat pamânt şi
privilegii, dupa cum este atestat printr-un document datând din anul 1191. Papa Celestinus
III, într-o scrisoare adresata regelui ungur Bela III (nascut în 1148, rege al Unagriei din 1172
pâna la moartea sa în 1196) scrie: “.. habitabant in deserto, quod Sanctae recordationis
G(eysa). Pater suus Flandrensibus concesserat ” (traind în “desertum” pe care tatal sau
Géza, pentru memorie, l-a daruit flamanzilor). “Desertum” este aşa numita zona a celor
Şapte Scaune care avea centrul la Sibiu. Pamântul a constituit proprietatea directa a regelui
iar toţi cei care au locuit acolo au fost mutaţi.

O modalitate veche de a crea un teritoriu nelocuit care putea fi mai uşor aparat împotriva
oricarui atac. Ca sa evidenţieze statutul special al acestei regiuni a fost facut ‘free praeposi-
tura’ (ecclesia Teutonicorum Vltrasiluanorum in praeposituram liberam ) şi care nu trebuia sa
raspunda episcopului Transilvaniei, cu sediul la Alba Iulia, ci direct sub autoritatea arhi-
episcopului de Esztergom. În aceasta teorie, noii veniti s-au mutat dinspre Vest spre Est.

O a doua, mult mai recenta teorie, a fost expusa de catre Horst Klusch. Acesta susţine ca,
cruciadele, care au început in 1095 şi au continuat pâna în 1271, au adus mici clerici, fermie-
ri, mici nobili, chiar şi hoti şi mercenari, în regatul ungur. De foarte multe ori comportamentul
cruciaţilor nu a fost adecvat, şi din aceasta cauza au fost atacaţi de catre trupele ungariei,
bulgariei sau bizantine.

Un exemplu clasic ar fi cel al grupului de cruciaţi condusi de calugarul Petru Hermitul din
Amiens. Când au traversat regatul Ungariei şi mai târziu imperiul Bizantin, au scapat de sub
control. Cei ce-l urmau pe Petru Hermitul au intrat in conflict cu populatiile locale in eforturile
lor de a se aproviziona. Au fost alungaţi de unguri si batuţi de bizantini. Se spune ca un grup
foarte mare ar fi trecut Dunarea îngheţata si ar fi ajuns in principatul Valahiei, astazi sudul
Romaniei, la sud de muntii Carpati.

Mai târziu au traversat munţii, urmând valea râului Olt si s-au stabilit în regiunea sudica a
Sibiului. În aceasta teorie, noii veniţi s-au mutat dinspre Sud spre Nord-Est.

O alta întrebare a fost: „ De ce şi-au parasit ţara natala?” Raspunsul este simplu: foamete,
boli, razboaie fara sfârşit, creşterea numarului populaţiei si lipsa pamântului. Un motiv destul
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de puternic pentru a-ţi parasi ţara natala şi a-ţi încerca norocul în alta parte? Prima data au
fost cruciadele, pe Pamântul Sfânt sute de sate au fost înfiinţate de catre participanţii la
cruciade. Apoi a fost aşa numitul Ostsiedlung. Locuitori din Flandra, Olanda şi partea vestica
a Germaniei de astazi au trecut Elba si Saale ca sa ocupe pamântul slavilor pagâni. Erau
specialişti în prelucrarea lânii, taierea padurilor si cultivarea noului pamânt câştigat.

Au înfiinţat sate, cel mai adesea numite dupa numele satelor din ţara lor natala (Häsewig,
Kalow, Krägen (înainte Craienhem), Muntenache, Brück, Euper, Rosenthal … ) şi au trait
dupa “legea Olandei” (plebiscita Hollandenseum habent). O mare regiune din estul oraşului
Magdeburg este şi astazi numita “Der Fläming”, pentru ca a fost infiintata si dezvoltata în
primul rând de catre flamanzi.

Nu numai ca aşezarea anumitor sate din Transilvania este asemanatoare cu cea a satelor din
Der Flaming, dar in unele cazuri sate din Transilvania si Der Flaming au acelasi nume:
Grabendorf, Krakau, Krefeld, … Mai târziu în aceasta carte o sa vorbim despre Heltauer
Missale, care a fost în mod clar influenţat de scrierile din regiunea Magdeburg.

Un motiv important din cauza caruia locuitorii Ţarilor de Jos au plecat spre pamântu-rile din
estul Elbei, în Ungaria şi Transilvania, a fost faptul ca li s-au promis pamânturi şi privilegii.
Sistemul feudal din Ţarile de Jos favoriza fiul cel mai în vârsta într-o familie. El moştenea
pamântul şi astfel fraţii şi surorile mai mici ramaneau fara pamânt. Cresterea continua a
populalatiei şi o mare lipsa de pamânt, toate acestea au dus la foamete şi mizerie. Nevoia de
pamânt si o viaţa decenta i-au inspirat pe regii unguri în a atrage straini si „oaspeţi ai
regelui” (hospites regni). Le-au dat pamânt pe care au putut sa îl munceasca şi sa îl apere.
În mod progresiv şi-au mutat graniţa mai departe spre est prin organizarea de geypu: bucaţi
de pamânt, lungi de 10 pâna la 40 de km,de unde locuitorii au fost alungaţi si care au fost
lasate pustii în mod deliberat şi acoperite de o mare densitate de arbori.

În Andreanum, într-o nota de drepturi instituita în 1224, regele Andrei al II-lea, confirma
privilegiile oaspeţilor din Ţarile de Jos şi Germania, cerându-le în schimb sa plateasca taxe (în
1186 estimate deja la 15.000 monede de argint) sa asigure dat 500 de barbaţi armaţi pentru
conflicte în interiorul regatului şi 100 pentru orice conflict in exteriorul regatului. Aceste privi-
legii au fost acordate doar celor care locuiau în regiunea celor şapte scaune (Sieben
Bürgen?) cu sediul principal în Hermannstadt (Sibiu). Mai târziu aceste privilegii au fost
acordate si celor care s-au stabilit în Burzenland (Ţara Bursei) si Nösnerland (regiunea
saxona în jurul Bistriţei).
133

De unde veneau aceşti saxoni? Aceasta carte încearca sa dovedeasca ca nu toti proveneau
din Germania, şi ca un numar important dintre ei veneau din Ţarile de Jos. Este remarcabil
faptul ca în toate documentele medievale sunt menţionate doar trei cazuri ale imigrarii popu-
laţiei spre regatul Ungariei: un grup de locuitori din Opoldishusen din regiunea germanica
Wetterau (la nord de Frankfurt), Hezelo von Angersdorf legat de mânastirea Kerkrade/
Herzogenrath, în porţiunea de frontier dintre Olanda şi Germania, şi Anselme de Bra din sud-
estul provinciei Liege (Belgia). Pe lânga toate acestea, exista documente de la curtea regala
a Ungariei şi din partea bisericii catolice care-i menţioneaza pe „Flandrenses” (Flamanzii) si
„Latini” (Valonii). Documente vechi din Transilvania sau despre Transilvania, sunt foarte rare,
din mai multe motive. În primul rând traditia scrierii faptelor istorice a început doar la curtea
regatului Ungariei, la sfârşitul secolului al XII-lea. Înainte, o foarte mare parte din admini-
straţie si justiţie se baza pe tradiţia orala. În al doilea rând documentele pastrate în catedrala
episcopala din Alba Iulia (Weissenburg) au fost distruse cu mai multe ocazii: în 1241 de catre
mongoli, în 1277 de catre Gyan al Salzburgului (Ocna Sibiului) ca razbunare pentru moartea
tatalui sau, si trei zeci de ani mai târziu când o revolta saxona a distrus catedrala din nou.
Carţi şi documente au fost arse de fiecare data.

O a treia întrebare foarte importanta este „De unde au venit colonistii?”

Pentru foarte mult timp raspunsul a fost: din Germania. Aceasta carte va încerca sa explice
inse, ca adevarul este de fapt mult mai complex. Dupa moartea Charlemag-ne, imperiul sau
a fost împarţit în trei mari parţi. Partea de vest va deveni mai tarziu, regatul Franţei. Partea
de est a dat naştere Sfântul Imperiu Roman (Germania). Centrul a fost Ducatul de Lorena.
Imigranţii în Ungaria şi Transilvania veneau din partea de Vest a Imperiului Roman, din
partea de nord a ducatului de Lorena şi din Germania de Vest şi de mijloc de astazi.

Este un teritoriu în care erau vorbite limbi si dialecte germanice şi romanice (Brabant,
Ardenii, Luxemburg, zona Liege şi Cologne, ....) În acelaşi timp este o regiune în care existau
multe conflicte armate între puterile învecinate si unde casatoriile decideau care ţari sau
ducate vor fi unite sau desparţite: un teritoriu cu permanente schimbari politice care au dus
la conflicte mai mici sau mai mari.

La curtea regilor unguri existau foarte mulţi consilieri straini. Acestia erau împarţiţi în doua
fractiuni, grupul germanic si grupul latinilor (vorbitori de franceza si italiana). Munceau din
greu pentru a obţine cât mai multa influenţa la rege, de multe ori prin intermediul reginei.
Soţia regelui Bela I (circa 1016-1063) a fost una din ficele contesei Richeza de Lorena
nascuta în Zupthen, acum în Olanda, fiica a lui Ezzo de Lorena.
134

Un foarte bun exemplu al prezenţei celor doua fractiuni de sfetnici la curte, a fost casatoria
lui Carol I al Ungariei (numit şi Charles Robert de Anjou, un descendent al familiilor regale
din Neapole şi Scilia cat şi al regelui francez Louis al VIII-lea). În 1318 Carol s-a casatorit cu
Beatrice a Luxemburgului, care a murit un an mai târziu. Ea a fost fiica lui Henri al VII-lea al
Luxemburgului, regele al Germaniei si mai târziu împarat al marelui Imperiu Roman. Mama
sa a fost Margareta a Brabantului care la rândul ei a fost fiica Margaretei de Flandra. Marea
ciocnire intre gruparile germanica si latina a sfetnicilor a avut loc când soţia lui András al II-
lea (1177-1235), Gertrude a Meraniei, a fost ucisa. Gertrude avea origini germanice (in
Bayern) şi ucigaşii au fost probabil angajaţi de catre partea latina.

Dupa care, Andràs (împins probabil de partea latina?) s-a casatorit cu Yolanda din
Courtenay. A fost fiica lui Petru al II-lea din Courtenay (Conte de Nevers, Auwere şi
Tonnerre, şi mai târziu împarat al Constantinopolului, dupa ce baronii Imperiului Latin au
respins cererile fiului vitreg al lui András pentru acelaşi tron imperial) si Yolanda de Flandra,
fiica al lui Baldwin al V-lea de Hainut şi Margareta I-a de Flandra. Complicat? Într-adevar!

Am putea spune ca pe întreaga suprafaţa a regatului Ungariei, partea latina avea o foarte
mare influenţa. Nu numai la curte (il vom vedea mai târziu pe Johannes Latinus), dar şi în
cadrul bisericii.

În 1047 Geoffrey al III-lea de Verdun-într-o probabila coaliţie cu Theodoic al IV-lea de Frisia,

Baldwin al V-lea de Flandra si Herman de Haianut-în lupta sa cu Henry al III-lea, împarat al
marelui Imperiu Roman, a distrus oraşul şi catedrala din Verdun. Cei 24 ‚canoni’ au fugit în
Ungaria, unde au ocupat posturi religioase importante la curtea lui András I.

Acestui grup a aparţinut si Leodwin, originar din zona Liege (şi care a stat alaturi imperatoru-
lui). El a devenit episcop de Bihar (episcopus Bichariensis) şi l-a încoronat pe András I în ace-
laşi an. Mai târziu a devenit episcop a marii eparhii din Erlau. Franko, un alt ‚canon’ care a
fugit din Verdun, a devenit episcop al Transilvaniei. Aceasta a fost succesorul primului epis-
cop Buldur al eparhiei de Weissenburg/ Transilvania care a fost fondata în 1009. Un al treilea
‚canon’ din Verdun (cunoscut doar dupa numele sau unguresc György) a obţinut chiar postul
de arhiepiscop de Kalocsa.

Este o coincidenţa faptul ca primele sate menţionate ca şi carcase „hospites regni”, au fost
situate în zona Alba Iulieia (Land vor dem Wald): Crapundorph/Ighiu, Karako/Krakau/Cricău
and Rams/Rumes. Crapundorph (Grabendorf) şi Karako/Krakau au avut un ecou în Der
Fläming, si Rams este legat de satul de Rumes, astazi Wallonia. Şi mai apoi este satul
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Barabanţ, care acum este un district din Alba Iulia, dar care, se refera cu foarte siguranta la
Ducatul Brabantului (acum trei provincii din Belgia şi Olanda).

In aceiasi regiune mai avem Câlnic (Kelling în germana). Vechiul castelidentificat în mod
greşit ca fiind „biserica fortificata”, a fost locuit de catre o familie nobila de origine wallona
(spune Karl Kurt Klein, în baza numelui sau Chyl şi ale numelor descendenilor sai) . Chyl a
fost un slujitor credincios al regelui junior ungur Istvàn, care l-a recompensat pentru
serviciile sale în 1269 (fidelitates et servitiorum merita Chyl comitis de villa Kelnuk). Urme ale
altor valloni gasim si mai înspre est: conţii de Salzburg (Ocna Sibiului) se bucurau de venitu-
rile profitabilelor mine de sare. Gyan (Jean) a transformat in ruine catedrala din Alba Iulia în
1277 în timpul unui conflict apig cu episcopul Transilvaniei.

Mai mulţi flamanzi si valoni pot fi gasiţi în zona Sibiului (Das Alte Land). Karl Kurt Klein
identifica paisprezece aşa numite Primärsiedlungen: Grossau/Cristian, Hermannstadt/Sibiu,
Stolzenburg/Slimnic, Grossscheuern/Seica Mare, Burgberg/Vurpar, Hammersdorf/Gusterita,
Neppendorf/Turnisor şi Schellenberg/Selimbar în scaun Hermannstadt; Alzen/Altina,
Kirchberg/Chirpar şi Leschkirch/Nocrich în scaun Leskirch şi Grossschenk/Cincu, Mergeln/
Merghindeal şi Schönberg/Dealu Frumos în scaun Schenk. Locuitorilor acestei regiuni i-a
aparţinut un mare numar de familii de Flandrenses . Karl Kurt Klein a estimat numarul lor la
2500 de persoane. Cel mai probabil aceştia sunt “Flandrensibus prioribus” menţionaţi in do-
cumentul din 1192. Tex-tul îi diferenţiaza pe “Flandrenses” aparţinând de Praepositura de
Sibiu, pentru ca ei au înfiinţat satele lor în Konigsboden (fundis regni), de “alii Flandrenses”
(alţi Flandrenses), a caror sate nu au existat în Praepositura de Sibiu. Nunţiul papal Grego-
rius decide ca “alii Flandrenses”, care traiau în afara de Praepositura de Hermannstadt (fon-
data cu câţiva ani înainte), nu trebuie sa dea socoteala acesteia, ci episcopului Transilvaniei.

Apoi, îi avem si pe „Latini” în aceasta regiune. Numele lui Johannes Latinus (Ioan Valonul),
apare pentru prima data Într-un document din 1204. Regele Imre (1196-1204) îl rasplateşte
pe „Johannes Latinus inter Theutonicos Transiluanenses in villa Riuetel” pentru serviciile
sale. Johannes Latinus primeste in titlul nobiliar şi iar activitaţle sale de negustor sunt scutite
de taxe. Doar doi ani mai târziu, un alt rege, András, îl rasplateşte cu o mare proprietate, aşa
numitul „ţinutul Gweyfey”, situat în zona dintre satele Bekokten/Barcut, Leblang/Lovnic,
Kiwern/Kobor, Felmern/Felmer, Scharosch/Şoarş si Villa Militum, un loc mis lânga Seligstadt/
Seliștat,acum disparut . În mijlocul acestui domeniu se gaseşte satul Woldorf/Valenii, în
documentele mai vechi apare scris ca şi Waldorf (=satul valon).
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Foarte aproape avem satul Galt (în româneşte Ungra) care ân 1211 a fost amintit ca şi “Noil-
giant”, nume care se presupune ca ar fi derivat din vallonul “forêt de noisetiers”, padure de
aluni. Alţi valoni nu erau foarte departe! Când stăm puţin mai mult în aceasta zona, o sa ga-
sim sate înfiinţate de catre “alii Flandrenses”. Fiii lui Johan-nes Latinus, ar fi primit, în 1231,
dupa expulzarea Ordinului teutonic, alte patru sate la est de Sighişoara de aceasta data.

„Villa Riutel”, mentionata în documentul din 1204, a pus în încurcatura mulţi istorici. Acum se
poate identifica, ca o suprafata din pamântul dintre Cisnadie şi Cisnadioara, sudul Sibiului, şi
care este denumit în dialectul local saxon, „Auf dem Gehonnes” (Gehonnes este pamântul lui
Johannes). Este remarcabil faptul ca numele de Riutel nu apare în alte documente înainte de
1223. Oare a fost distrus în timpul invaziei mongole din 1241? Oare a fost abandonat şi
locuitorii s-au mutat în alte parţi (Cisnadie?). Exista vreo legatura între Heltau (Cisnadie),
Riutel si Ţarile de jos? Credem ca avem destule dovezi în aceasta privinţa.

Una din comorile bisericii din Cisnadie, pastrata în muzeul Bruckenthal din Sibiu, este o
monstranţa (chivot?) din secolul al XV-lea care au supravieţuit iconoclasmului reformei îm-
preuna cu alte lucrari de arta religioasăe într-o „Shatzkammer” (camera de comori) în spatele
unui perete fals. Aceasta poarta gravate imaginile mai multor sfinţi în partea inferioară (de
bază). Alaturi de sfântul Walburga (patronul bisericii din Cisnadie), putem vedea o imagine a
sfântului Servaţius. Pentru a clarifica toate acestea, monstranţa poarta inscripţia “s[ancta]
walpvrga and s[anctus] servacius”. La capat poarta numele (sau mai bine zis iniţiala) donato-
rului: “ L. ad cristain de insvla”. (= L.[adislaus?] din insula Cristianis, numele latin al satului
Grossau/Cristian. Dar sfântul Servatius a fost prezent şi în alte sate saxone. Exista un altar
Servatius în biserica episcopala din Birthalm/Biertan. Şi mai exista şi o capela Servatius în
Grosschelken/Şeica Mare. Servatius a fost primul episcop de Maastricht (oras la nord de
Liège, astazi în Olanda). Lajos Kakucs: “Din cauza ca primele grupuri de colonişti germani
care au migrat în secolul al XII-lea dinspre Meuse şi Rhine spre Ungaria, este aproape
evident ca aceştia şi-au adus patronii lor spirituali ca sfântul Lambert(us) de Liege şi
Servatius, la ei acasa”.

Apoi avem “Heltauer Missale”, o carte de rugaciuni de la mijlocul secolului al paisprezecelea.

O analiza a textelor pune in evidenta o mare influenţa din regiunea Magdeburg. Iar când
mergem pe urmele credincioşilor şi textelor din Magdeburg, ajungem, din nou, în regiunea
oraselor Liège si Cologne. Astfel, patronul bisericii din Cisnadie, sfânta Walburgae, este
foarte populară în regiunea celor doua orase de mai sus. Sainte-Walburge este un cartier al
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orasului Liege, situat pe o colina in varful careia o citadela strajuieste malul stang al Meusei.
In acelasi cartier se afla şi o biserica inchinata sfântei Walburgae.

Apoi, putem vorbi despre numele de Heltau si Riutel. Ecourile lor sunt în regiunea dintre
Tongeren (acum parte din Flandra) şi Liège. În 1249 cavalerul Henry de Hamal vinde câţva
acrii de teren agricol în Helta sau Elta preotului din Burtscheid (Aachen). Aceasta chestiune
devine mult mai interesanta atunci când aflam ca Helta facea parte din Rutten (între
Tongeren si Liège, menţionata în 1018 prima data ca şi Riuti). Helta medievala se va numi
mai târziu Othée si este un catun al comunei belgiene Awans din provincia Liège, regiunea
Valona din Belgia.

Othée/Elch a fost o enclava a Cologniei sub pereţii oraşului Liege şi, în consecinţa, o sursa de
conflicte între doua importante oraşe. A fost întotdeauna o posesie alodiala a ducelui de
Brabant. Între secolele XI si XII regiunea a fost devastata de frecvente razboaie între puterile
regionale, deci, viata locuitorilor de aici nu era nicidecum una liniştita. Un motiv destul de
bun pentru a cauta un alt loc pentru a trai? A fost Johannes Latinus, în regiunea lui natala,
un barbat influent care vorbea şi franceza şi dialectul wallon? Oare a plecat el într-o
calatorie lunga spre Ungaria, însoţit de oameni simpli care vorbeau dialectul germanic? In
acest context, Paul Niedermaier deosebeste pe de o parte elita bogata care locuia pe
Grafengasse (Strada Magurii) si oamenii obişnuiţi de pe Langgasse (Strada Lunga), doua
grupuri de locuitori din Heltau, separati de Silberbach/Pârâul Argintului.

În 1342 un sat numit Langendryes este menţionat, situat fiind între Schellenberg/ Şelimbar
şi Heltau/Cisnadie. Sunt locuitorii din Langendryes descendenti ai familiei de nobili „De
Cortessem de Langdris” din Hesbay/Belgia? Aceştia ocupau posturi importante publice în
Liege. Castelul de Langdri(e)s a fost situat între Hoepertingen şi Ulbeek (la 15 km vest de
Tongeren). În imediata vecinatate exista un loc numit „Kukelberg” (vezi Kokelburg/Cetatea
de Balta).

Dar ajunge cu Liege-ul. Haideţi sa vorbim despre magistratul Gocelinus. În 1223 magistratul
Gocelinus,capelanul regal al lui András II, doneaza biserica din dealul de la Michelsberg/
Cisnadioara (Mons Sancti Michaeli) şi toate pamânturile si padurile care îi aparţineau, schitu-
lui cistercian din Kerz/Cârţa. Donaşţia este confirmata de catre regele András care îl numeşte
pe magistratul Gocelinus al sau „fideli ac dilecto clerico nostro” (clericul nostru loial şi devo-
tat). Gocelinus a fost doar considerat ca şi un calugar cistercian care a venit în Ungaria şi
Transilvania , ajutand infiintarea de noi mânastiri aici. Dupa ce a servit la curtea regala a fost
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recompensat cu toate teritoriile dintre Michelsberg/Cisnadioara, Grossau/Cristian,

Hermannstadt/Sibiu şi Heltau/Cisnadie.

Daca el a fost cel care a cladit biserica din dealul Cisnadiei, acest lucru ramâne de vazut.
Eugène van Itterbeek, un flamand care a fost professor al Universitatii Lucian Blaga din Sibiu
şi care a trait mai mult de cincisprezece ani în Cisnadioara, crede ca aşa a fost. Ca şi calugar
cistercian (provenind din mânastirea din Pontigny, situata între Paris ai Dijon, în Ducatul
Burgundiei), a vrut sa construiasca un loc de închinare unde sa se poata retrage în solitudi-
ne. La un moment dat a vrut chiar sa construiasca pe dealul care îi aparţinea, o parohie a
mânastirii cisterciene din Kerz. Cistercienii au avut tendinţa de a-şi construi mânastirile în
partea cea mai îndepartata a lumii creştine. Erau specialişti în a construi mânastiri şi biserici,
în a cultiva pamântul care nu a mai fost niciodata cultivat. Kerz se afla chiar la graniţa cu
Konigsboden, pamânt care a aparţinut regelui în persoana dar care a fost daruit saxonilor de
catre Géza II.

Unii istorici vad venirea unor sfetnici loiali, vorbitori de limba franceză, în Transilvania ca o
mişcare a gruparii latine de la curtea Ungariei. Mişcarea spre est a avut scop sa limiteze
influenta părtii germane care crescuse în Burzenland odată cu veni-rea cavalerilor Ordinului
Teutonic. În 1211 András al II-lea donează înca o parte a regatului său, Terra Borza sau
Burzeland, cavalerilor Ordinului Teutonic. Oficial, Ordinul se numea "domus Sanctae Mariae
Theutonicorum Hierosolymitanoru". Marele maestru Herman von Salza, a fost un foarte bun
prieten si protejatul regelui Ferdinand al II-lea, împaratul Sfantului Imperiu Roman. Regele
András, a avut şi el relaţii foarte bune cu Hermann, Landgrave of Thüringen. András a
negociat cu acesta casatoria fiicei sale , în vârstă de patru ani, Elisabeta (canonizată mai
târziu ca şi Sfanta Elisabeta), cu Louis, fiu al lui Hermann de Thuringen. Cei din famailia lui
Hermann von Salza, au fost vasali din Landgrave şi probabil că acesta a jucat un rol foarte
important în negocieri.

Ordinul german, un ordin militar activ pentru două decenii, ar fi fost considerat de către
András un partener potrivit pentru apărarea regatului sau. András a recompensat ordinul
german cu "Terra Borza" pentru posesie definitivă. Săpăturile arheologice recente au dezvă-
luit morminte ale coloniştilor datând dinaintea existenţei ordinului german. Oare aceşti colo-
nişti veneau din Tările de Jos? Klaus Popa crede ca ei au făcut:“Fur die hauptsachlich
flandrisch-hollandische Erstbesiedlung des Burzenlandes spricht auch das grosangelegte
Kanalisierungs- und Entwasserungssystem, das auch heute noch im Betrieb ist”. (dovada a
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celei mai vechi asezări flamande din Burzenland găsită în cea mai mare canalizare, în ziua de
astăzi functionabilă).

Ordinul a facut ceea ce avea de fapt intenţia să faca: au apărat Terra Borza împotriva cume-
nilor, dar nu s-au reţinut în a păstra principille pe care regele le-a impus: doar castele facute
din pamant si lemn, interdicţia altor saxoni din alte parţi ale Transilvaniei de a veni pe aceste
pământuri. Au construit-împotriva voinţei regelui-casteluri din piatră ("quinque castra fortia",
5 castele fortificate); incluzând sediul ordinului în Marienburg/Feldioara şi cetăţile din
Kronstadt/Braşov, Rosenau/Râşnov şi Zeiden/Codlea. Numărul cinci a fost Cruceburg, locaţia
căruia continuă să fie subiect ale discuţiilor historice.

Pe 23 august 1217, András a plecat în cruciadă (a cincea cruciadă), în Pământul Sfânt, în

fruntea armatei ungare. Dupa ce a pierdut câteva expediţii s-a intors abia după cateva luni.
András nu a fost preferatul politicienilor şi faptul că a facut multe donaţii de pământuri şi
mandate de tot felul (incluzându-i pe Johannes Latinus şi Magistratul Gocelinus, Ordinul
Templierilor şi Ordinul German), toate acestea au aţâţat mica nobilime împortiva lui. Condu-
cătorii religioşi au fost îngroziţi de faptul ca şi-a amanetat veniturile regale, bancherilor evrei
şi musulmani. Cel mai probabil, cavalerii germani au inţeles destul de repede că András nu
era chiar cel mai puternic oponent. In 1222 a extins teritoriul lor peste Carpati "usque ad
Danubium” (până la Dunăre). Oare a fost executată la curtea acestuia o presiune din partea
parţii germane? András le dăduse cavalerilor teutonici privilegii: puteau să organizeze pieţe,
să comercializeze bunuri fără să plătească taxe, nu trebuiau să plătească taxele regelui şi
puteau să işi numească ei insuşi preoţii. Dar cavalerii aveau o agendă ascunsă: vroiau să îşi
pună teritoriul direct sub autoritatea papei. De fapt asta însemna că vroiau să aiba propriul
lor stat (un stat al cruciaţilor), independent de curtea Ungariei. In 1223 Papa Honorius al-lea
a încorporat Burzenland în jurisdicţia scaunului papal (…"in ius et proprietatem apostolicae
Sedis recipere dignaremur” ).

Când András a realizat ceea ce se intampla şi a inţeles pericolul, a decis să excluda Ordinul
din Burzenland şi din întregul regat folosind forţa militară. Cavalerii teutonici au fost alungaţi
dar celorlalţi imigranţi li s-a îngaduit să rămână . Au rămas în acelaşi loc deşi numărul lor a
diminuat. Ironic vorbind regele saxon a fost ajutat de saxonii de pe cele Şapte Scaune (zona
Sibiului), pentru a-i alunga pe cavalerii teutonici.

În nordul Transilvaniei regăsim Nösnerland (regiunea Bistriţei) şi Reener Landchen (regiunea

Reghinului), încă două regiuni aparţinând satelor saxone. Nösnerland avea un statut special
în Ungaria medievala, pentru două motive. În primul rând pentru că a fost pământul reginei
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(regina Ungariei era vasală pământului). Şi în al doilea rând pentru că aducea curţii impor-
tante venituri: sarea şi argintul erau exploatate la o scara destul de inalta si transportate cu
vapoarele peste Somes la Sathmar/Satu Mare. De acolo sarea era vandută în tot regatul şi
chiar şi în ţările înnvecinate. Rodna a fost o mină foarte veche de exploatare a argintului, da-
tând înca de pe vremea romana sau chiar mai devreme. Rodenau/Rodna a făcut parte dintre
primele ţinuturi în care germanii şi flamanzii s-au aşezat. Argintul a jucat un rol foarte impor-
tant în viaţa regilor unguri pana in 1338, când a fost înlocuit cu aurul. Argintul era exploatat
în Rodna şi transportat peste Someş în corăbii micuţe numite "corb" sau "curb", iar iarna
argintul era transportat cu căruţe sau sănii până la Bistriţa sau Dej. În Dej se întalneau cu
sarea găsită în Salzbur/Ocna Dejului, adusă în corăbii mai mari (holk) la Satu Mare, de unde
sarea era distribuită în tot regatul şi chiar exportată în alte ţări. Argintul ajungea în trezoreria
regală. Numele unguresc Szathmar, înseamnă "piaţa de sare" , ceea ce a şi fost oraşul timp
de secole.Unul dintre variantele medievale ale numelui de Satu Mare a fost 'Zoutmarkt', un
cuvânt care înseamnă, cu exact acelaşi ortografie, "piaţa de sare" în flamanda.

Avem foarte multe de învaţat din denumirea aşezărilor. Numele vechi al Bistriţei a fost
Nösen, foarte des scris ca 'zu Nösen', singurul loc din Transilvania, care în vocabularul ger-
man avea prefixul 'zu'. Poate sa fie un ecou din Terneuzen, astăzi Olanda. 'Ter' în flamanda
are exact aceiasi funcţie ca si 'zu' în germană: un prefix care arata o aşezare. Cuvântul
Nösen (pronunţarea locală Nisn) în dialectul saxon şi 'Neuzen' în flamanda, vin de la "Nisse"
care înseamna 'situata pe limba abrupta a pamantului'. Nosen şi Terneuzen au în comun
exploatarea sării. Prin intermediul vechiului Ottogracht medieval, sarea care a fost câştigata
în Vier Ambachten (zona din jurul Hulst şi Axel in Olanda) şi Terneuzen, a fost transportată
cu barca din Ghent la Bruges.

În nordul Bistriţei există un sat numit Schippendorf (sau tSchippersdorf) în germană, Cepari
în româneşte. Este cam la 10 kilometrii nord de Bistriţa şi câţiva kilometrii la sud de râul
Someş. Oare barci care transportau aurul şi sarea peste Someş, au fost construite aici sau
doar expeditorii locuiau acolo? Oricum este remarcabil faptul că numele satelor derivă din
germana populară 'schip' sau 'schipper' şi nu din dialectul nobil 'schiff' sau 'schiffer'. Este
foarte cunoscut faptul că în epoca medievală locuitorii Ţărilor de Jos erau experţi în
construcția de bărci.

O ciudată înregistrare din 'Regestum de Varad' (Oradea/Wardein) vorbeşte despre un caz de

justiţie. Paul din Beltuke (Bildegg, partea de sud-vest din Satu Mare) a trebuit să sufere în
Wardein/Oradea testul cu fier de călcat fierbinte. A trecut cu bine testul după ce a început un
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proces împotriva 'tuturor flamanzilor din Batar', care i-au omorât fratele. Flamanzii acuzaţi de
crimă i-au raspuns, spunând că l-au prins pe Benedictus, fratele lui Paul, cu mâinile însange-
rate în timp ce fura. În zilele noastre Batar este Botar, în Ucraina. Botar reprezintă o parte
din municipiul 'Nevetlenfolu', în districtul Vinohradiv, în partea de nord din Satu Mare.

Ce au devenit flamanzii din Batar nu se ştie nici astazi. Emil de Borhgrave, probabil primul
care a început să investigheze despre prezenţa belgienilor (un anacronism, deoarece statul
belgian a fost format doar în 1830) în Transilvania, crede "Este probabil ca această colonie a
fost stearsă în timpul marii invazii tătare din 1241 ».

Este ceea ce s-a intamplat cu foarte multe sate gasite de către locuitorii din Ţările de Jos:
satele din jurul Sibiului, satele din jurul Alba Iuliei, satele din jurul Bistriţei. La începutul
secolului al XIII-lea, puternica naţie mongolă, ameninţa întreaga zonă. Distrugeau oraş dupa
oraş, au înfruntat armatele ruseşti şi poloneze, încheind în regatul Ungariei. Cea mai mare
parte a armatei mongoleze - condusă foarte probabil de către Subutai şi Batu Khai - a trecut
prin pasul Verecke. Trei armate mai mici au invadat Transilvania prin trei locuri diferite. Pri-
ma a trecut munţii prin nordul Bistriţei unde rezistenţa locala de la Rodna a fost distrusă, o a
doua parte a intrat în Transilvania prin pasul Oituz (estul-în prezent Targului Secuiesc în
Szeklerland), iar o a treia parte a armatei a pătruns prin Valea Oltului/Alt. Jefuind şi omorând
au răvăşit Transilvania ca să întalnească noi forţe în locul unde râul Mureş şi Tisza se întâl-
nesc. Armata lui Batu, care a intrat distrugând apărarea ungurească prin pasul Verecke, s-a
mutat încet în direcţia Pest. Batu Khan ar fi vrut să aştepte pentru ca atât aripa sa dreaptă
cât şi cea stangă să fie destul de puternice pentru a putea înfrunta armata Ungariei. Dar Bela
şi-a dus trupele spre nord. Dar la râul Sajo, armatele s-au întâlnit. Bătălia a fost devastaoare.
Importanta eficienţă militară , precum şi şiretenia lui Subutai, a adus victoria mongolilor. Dar
înainte de a distruge armata care avea un număr mare de cavaleri templieri, mongolii au
distrus sate şi oraşe în Transilvania. Roger de Apula, un călugăr care mai târziu a devenit
episcop de Oradea/Grosswardei în 1249 şi arhiepiscop de Split (Croaţia) unde a murit în
1261, a fost luat prizonier de către mongoli dar a reuşit să scape. Apoi a traversat Transil-
vania. În raportul său destul de trist descrie ceea ce a văzut: "Pe câmpuri şi pe drumuri
zăceau corpurile celor care au fost ucişi, decapitaţi, corpuri împraştiate în sate şi arse în bise-
rici unde credeau că vor găsi salvare, dar în zadar. Ghioturi teribile de corpuri zăceau pe stră-
zi, pe o lungime de aproape două zile de călătorit. Pământul era colorat în roşu din cauza
sângelui scurs, iar corpurile erau atât de multe, ca şi vacile, oile şi porcii pe o luncă sau
pietrele dintr-o carieră. Corpurile aruncate în râuri serveau ca şi mancare pentru peşti, viermi
sau păsări de apă. Pământul a devenit mormântul corpurilor ucise de suliţe otrăvite, săbii sau
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săgeti. Păsări şi animale sălbatice, dar şi cele domestice au devorat corpurile pâna la oase.
Iar focul a consumat moartea celor care au fost arşi în biserici şi sate. Flăcările au fost
adesea înecate de grăsimea umană, emanată în procesul arderii."

În concordanţă cu Rogerius, oraşe Alba Iulia şi Sibiu au fost atacate, clădirile şi documen-tele
arse, populaţia omorâtă sau luată în sclavie. Barbaţii tineri au fost forţaţi să se înroleze în
armata mongola, fiind folosiţi apoi ca şi încărcătură pentru tunuri.

Când mongolii s-au retras în 1242, regatul Ungariei şi Transilvania au fost sub şoc: populaţia,
în cele mai bogate zone, a fost decimată, bisericile distruse, oraşe întregi şterse, pământul
rămas făra culturi, foamete, epidemii-toate acestea au adus şi mai multă mizerie celor care
au supravieţuit. Regele Bella a realizat că trebuie să schimbe tactica: a dat permisiunea sate-
lor şi oraselor să se apere prin fortificaţii din piatră, toate zonele scutite de taxe în favoarea
reconstrucţiilor, noi locuitori au fost aduşi promiţându-le noi privilegii, oraşe în zona pericu-
loasă (mongolii vor ataca din nou in 1285) care a fost abandonată şi supravieţuitorii de pe
cele Şapte Coline s-au mutat mai înspre nord şi mai înspre est, în zona Sighişoara şi Rupea.

Oraşele care au fost fortificate cu ziduri şi turnuri, şi apărate de către puternicele bresle, au
devenit centre de prosperitate prin maiestrie şi comerţ. Brasovul, Rupea, Sighişoara şi
Bistriţa erau situate pe rutele importante din punct de vedere comercial. Le-a fost dat dreptul
să organizeze pieţe şi depozite.

Colectia de covoare orientale din Biserica Neagră din Braşov arată importanţa rutelor comer-
ciale dinspre vest (Flandra, Franta, pământul Rhine, Austria,……) şi Levant (Orientul
Mijlociu). Hainele flamande, produse în multe dintre oraşele mini-industriale, au fost unul
dintre cele mai căutate produse din comert. Haine din Bruges, Malines, Maastricht, Aachen şi
Koln au fost comercializate în Bistriţa , Sibiu şi Braşov. Dar legaturile comerciale se
desavarşeau şi cu alte orase ca Ypres, Ghent, Tournai, Poperingen, Louvain, Laon şi Arras.

În afara contactului comercial au fost şi schimburi culturale. Poveşti ca 'Vulpea Reinaert' şi

‘Genoveva de Brabant' au făcut parte din lista de lectură a şcolilor saxone şi piesa 'Die
Flanderer am Alt: Historisches Schauspiel in funf Akten' (1883) de Michael Albert a arătat că
idea, cel puţin în parte, că locuitorii din Sibiu ar fi fost flamanzi, este înca vie până la sfarşitul
secolului al XIX-lea.

Apoi întâlnim o întrebare dificila cu privire la originea dialectului saxon în Tansilvania. Pentru
foarte mult timp o asemanare Letzebarjeresch, limba vorbita în Luxemburg, a fost o dovada
pentru mulţi istorici, ca locuiorii erau originari din Luxemburg. Oricum este destul de pericu-
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los sa tragem concluzii din asemanarile fonetice, mai ales în zilele noastre şi a forma teorii
despre limbaj şi istorie cu mai mult de 800 de ani în urma. Ceea ce putem spune este ca cea
mai mare parte a dialectelor saxone se aseamana mult mai mult cu germana veche (limba
vorbita în partea de nord a Germaniei şi în Ţaile de Jos), decât cu germana clasica (limba
vorbita in partea de sud a Germaniei). Unele dintre dialectele saxone (spre deosebire de
germana clasica) nu au, sau nu în întregime, o a doua schimbare consonanta.

Si gasim chiar şi influenţe flamande şi franţuzeşti. Una dintre cele mai interesante este folo-
sirea de “forling”, o masura a aratului solului. Un “forling” (în flamanda “voorling”) este dis-
tanţa pe care un fermier o ara pâna în momentul în care întoarce plugul. Este un exemplu,
nu numai în ceea ce priveşte influenţa la nivelul limbajului, dar şi în folosirea tehnicilor şi
ustensilelor în agricultura. Este clar ca tehnicile flamande de folosire a pamântului au fost
aduse de catre locuitori din Flandra şi Olanda sau din “dintre locaţiile” din zona Magdeburg.

În final mai avem contactele culturale, ca şi cele ale lui Nicolaus Olahus (1493-1568), care a
fost un diplomat şi un umanist. A fost un contemporan al lui Johannes Honterus şi a avut
bune contacte cu Petrus Nannius (profesor al universitaţii din Louvain în Flandra). Timp de
patru ani a întreţinut corespondenţa cu Erasmus. Olahus s-a nascut la Sibiu, dar a fost
crescut la curtea regala din Buda. Din 1535 pâna în 1538, Olahus a locuit în Ţarile de Jos
fiind secretar si consilier al reginei Maria a Ungariei care a fost numita doamna regenta a
Olandei dupa moartea matuşii ei, Margareta a Austriei.

În cele din urma, amintim o importanta colecţie de picturi din Flandra şi Olanda, care se
regaseşte in museul Bruckenthal din Sibiu. Samuel von Bruckenthal (1721-1803, nascut in
Nocrich, în Transilvania), a fost guvernatorul habsburg al Großfürstentum Siebenbürgen
(1777-1787). A avut palatul sau în Piaţa Mare în Sibiu. A fost consilierul personal al împa-
ratesei Maria Theresia şi un mare colecţionar de arta. Astazi, cladirea originala, mai ada-
posteşte colecţia Bruckenthal, incluzând colecţia de picturi din Ţarile de Jos. Colecţia are
lucrari aparţinând lui Van Eyck, Bruegel, Memling şi Jordaens. Colecţia Bruckenthal (în special
partea cu picturi din Ţarile de Jos) a fost profund documentata de catre Jan de Maere si cel
sau cea care viziteaza Sibiul, nu ar trebui sa paraseasca oraşul fara a vizita acest muzeu.

Jean-Paul Van der Elst

Traducere: Cotoi Minodora Violeta