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| '''Universitas Valachorum''' (''Estate of the ]'') is the ] denomination for |
'''Universitas Valachorum''' (''Estate of the ]'') is the ] denomination for an institution of the ] in medieval ]. | ||
| The structure of the '''Universitas Valachorum''' placed the leadership of common Romanians upon their own nobility ('']s, ]''), enjoying a jurisdiction based on their own laws (''''']'''''). |
The structure of the '''Universitas Valachorum''' placed the leadership of common Romanians upon their own nobility ('']s, ]''), enjoying a jurisdiction based on their own laws (''''']''''').{{cn|date = December 2013}} | ||
| When summoned by the king or the voivod to the general assembly of Transylvania (''congregatio generalis''), '''Universitas Valachorum''' attended the assembly together with the other three Estates of Transylvania: Nobility, ], and ] (''Universis nobilibus, Saxonibus, Syculis et Olachis in partibus Transiluanis'' - ] summoning the assembly of Estates of Transylvania that took place on 22 February 1291).<ref>Köpeczi Béla, Barta Gábor, Bóna István, Makkai László, Szász Zoltán, et al., ''Kurze Geschichte Siebenbürgens'', Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, 1989, p.195 </ref> | |||
| ⚫ | The last known document attesting the Universitas Valachorum is dated May 1355, as the general assembly of the ] (''congregatio generalis'') was summoned in ]/Torda.<ref>Pop I.-A., ''L’assemblée générale des Etats de Transylvanie de mai 1355'', Transylvanian Review, IX, 2000, pp. 36 - 45</ref> | ||
| After the formation of ] in 1330 the former Universitas Valachorum was separated in two parts. Those from ''ultra Alpes in terram Basarab'' formed the independent ruling class of Wallachia while the Romanians from Transylvania gradually lost their status as an Estate and were excluded from Transylvania's assemblies. | |||
| In the year 1366, king ] issued a law-and-order ]<ref>Dani I., Gündish K. et al. (eds.), ''Documenta Romaniae Historica, Series C, Transilvania'', vol.XIII (1366-1370), Bucarest, 1994, p. 161 - 162</ref> in part explicitly targeted against the Romanians (''presumptuosam astuciam diversorum malefactorum, specialiter Olachorum<sup>]</sup>, in ipsa terra nostra existencium'' - the evil arts of many malefactors, especially Vlachs /Romanians that live in that our country; ''exterminandum seu delendum in ipsa terra malefactores quarumlibet nacionum, signanter Olachorum'' - to expel or exterminate from this country malefactors belonging to any nation, especially Vlachs/Romanians). | |||
| Through the same decree, nobility (''nobilis Hungarus'') is partially redefined in terms of adherence to the ], thus excluding the ] ] Romanians. | |||
| The main reason for this policy was of political and religious nature: during Louis I's proselytizing campaign, privileged status was deemed incompatible with that of schismatic Eastern Orthodoxy in a state endowed with an ''apostolic mission'' by the ]. | |||
| Another consequence of the decree was socio-economic: the status of nobleman was determined not only by ownership over land and people, but (from 1366 on) by the possession of a royal donation certificate for the land owned. The Romanian social elite, chiefly made up of aldermen (''iudices or knezes''), managed to procure few writs of donation; they had ruled over their villages according to the old law of the land (''ius valachicum'', with its ] version, ''ius keneziale''); their lands were, to a great extent, expropriated. Lacking a recognized title to real property, the Eastern Orthodox Romanian elite was not able any more to maintain an Estate of their own and to participate in the country's assemblies. | |||
| Insofar as a Romanian elite was preserved, it adjusted to these circumstances by converting to ] and being absorbed into Hungarian Catholic aristocratic estate (''nobilis Hungarus''). Those Romanian ''knezes'' (and ''voivods'') who did not convert and could not gain the desired privileges gradually declined into the ranks of subjects or even bondsmen. | |||
| The last page of the history of ''Universitas Valachorum'' was written in 1437, as Transylvania witnessed the official establishment of the "brotherly union" or ''fraterna unio'' ], that is, a community or gathering (''universitas'') of nobles, Saxons and ], with the view of defending the country against the ] threat and the inner danger of rebellious peasants. The adoption of the Unio Trium Nationum, which implicitly excluded the Estate of Romanians, gave constitutional sanction to the end of the Universitas Valachorum. | |||
| ⚫ | The last{{specify|date=September 2012}} known document attesting the Universitas Valachorum is dated May 1355, as the general assembly of the ] (''congregatio generalis'') was summoned in ]/Torda.<ref>Pop I.-A., ''L’assemblée générale des Etats de Transylvanie de mai 1355'', Transylvanian Review, IX, 2000, pp. 36 - 45</ref> | ||
| ==Notes== | ==Notes== | ||
| <sup>1</sup>''Olachorum'' is ] for ''Olachus'', Latin form of '']'', meaning "Romanian" | <sup>1</sup>''Olachorum'' is ] for ''Olachus'', Latin form of '']'', meaning "Romanian" | ||
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Revision as of 16:01, 6 December 2013
Universitas Valachorum (Estate of the Vlachs) is the Latin denomination for an institution of the Romanians in medieval Transylvania.
The structure of the Universitas Valachorum placed the leadership of common Romanians upon their own nobility (Voivodes, Knez), enjoying a jurisdiction based on their own laws (Jus Valachicum).
The last known document attesting the Universitas Valachorum is dated May 1355, as the general assembly of the Estates (congregatio generalis) was summoned in Turda/Torda.
Notes
Olachorum is Latin genitive plural for Olachus, Latin form of Vlach, meaning "Romanian"
References
- Pop I.-A., L’assemblée générale des Etats de Transylvanie de mai 1355, Transylvanian Review, IX, 2000, pp. 36 - 45
Further reading
- Binder Pál, South-transylvanian antecedents and consequences of the formation of the Principality Muntenia, Századok, Budapest, 1995/5
- Pop I.-A., Instituţii medivale româneşti. Adunări cneziale şi nobiliare în secolele XIV XVI, Cluj-Napoca, 1991, pp. 9 – 26
- Pop I.-A., Nations and Denominations in Transylvania (13th - 16th Century) p. 111 - 125, In Tolerance and Intolerance in Historical Perspective, edited by Csaba Lévai et al., Edizioni PLUS, Università di Pisa, 2003