1. The choice of topic and the relevance of the proposed research project

At the scholarly meeting of the Committee for Ecclesiastical History of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in 1991, Dr. László Koszta, my first supervisor, submitted a report on the state of post-war research on the medieval Hungarian Church.[1] The otherwise extensive survey regarded arrearage as the most important characteristic features of the four-decade interval of local historiography. Remarkable progress can be observed during the fifteen years period since the submission of the above report, however, scholars of the field can not fully be contented. The reasons are manifold. On the one hand, there are several areas of ecclesiastical history on which no new research have been initiated. Thus scholars, in many cases, have to base their research on studies accomplished before World War II or in the nineteenth century. On the other hand, admittedly, a remarkable amount of scholarly and popular works were published on the occasions of the millecentenary of the Magyar Conquest (1996) and the millennial of the foundation of the Hungarian state (2000) the majority of these studies resulted in no scientific novelties. The problem is rooted not only in their repetitive nature  but also in the fact that these studies often disregarded the results of international undertakings. In this respect, it is also to be taken into account that due to an imprudent politico-academic decision of the communist régime, source edition radically receded soon in Hungary. Its direct consequence can be observed not only in the fallback of scholarly productions but also in the elimination of an entire generation of scholars of medieval church history.

The historiography of research on the development of papal–Hungarian relations show many of the above described symptoms. Most synthetic studies which met contemporary scholarly standards included this topic, however, the first monumental undertaking which was dedicated to the very field was that of Vilmos Fraknói at the beginning of the twentieth century. His three-volume monograph[2] on the papal–Hungarian relations was based on extensive archival research, many of them were both arranged and financed by Fraknói himself. His work has not yet replaced in many respects until nowadays. The hundred years since the publication of Fraknói’s work saw several minor studies[3] on the papal–Hungarian relations but these could not bridge all the gaps and these mostly failed in the application of newly established scholarly methods.

The above portrayed research situation particularly affected studies on the military-religious orders and this situation is demonstrated by the fact that the last scholarly Hungarian monograph on the Templars was published in 1912[4] and on the Hospitallers in 1925–1928.[5] A few articles and some popular works have come out since then, but these were backed by no new research on primary sources. One of the most serious shortcomings of the early monographs is that they do not meet modern scholarly standards, although many scientific works (especially source editions) have stood the test of time. Re-thinking the questions about the Templars and Hospitallers is motivated by the fact that the exploitation of new sources and using new methods may yield more exact and reliable results, which will eventually channel the students of the field towards contemporary international standards. The historiography of the Templars and the Hospitallers has also been burdened with a serious conceptual problem for a long time. In contrast to the Western European context, Hungarian – and many Central European – (Latin) written sources often use the term crucifer instead of the appropriate miles Templi or frater hospitalis conceivably with reference to the cross depicted on their habits. This led to confusion, as many scholars treated the houses and the landed properties of other orders of similar status (e.g., the Order of St. Anthony, the Order of the Holy Spirit, and so on) as belonging to the Temple or the Hospital, and vice versa. On the basis of this perception and by a close reading of primary sources as well as by the clarification of the notions and denominations applied in the primary sources, Karl-Georg Boroviczény discovered or, in fact, singled out in the late 1960s, a formerly unknown religious institution, the Order of Hospitaller Canons Regular of St. Stephen (often referred as Stephanites), founded by the Hungarian King Géza II (1141–1162) around the mid-twelfth century. The members of this order were also called cruciferi in contemporary sources – they even used this expression in the inscriptions of their own charters – but they had nothing in common with either the crusaders or with the Hospital of St. John.

The clarification of the above misunderstandings was impedited by the state-of-research concerning the role played by the medieval kingdom of Hungary in the Crusades: until very recently no synthetic survey had been accomplished on the very topic.[6] It is particularly striking in view of the extraordinary “boom” of the topic observable in the international scholarship since the early 1980s.[7] With regard to the new approaches and methods (e.g., research on logistics, means of communication) Hungarian scholarship did not even reach the level of reception of the unearthed sources.

In order to fundamentally amend the above outlined situation I took the first steps partly by the co-organization of a scholarly conference[8] at the Central European University (Budapest, Hungary) and partly in the course of the elaboration of my doctoral dissertation.[9] The readers-referees of the dissertation[10] made several proposals both concerning the published version of the thesis[11] and the future extension of the survey started by the doctoral study. One of these ways lays in the point of concurrence of the above historiographies: the planned research focuses on a hitherto unexplored projection of the twelfth-century papal–Hungarian relations.[12] The proposed research 1) plots the role played by the medieval kingdom of Hungary in the “early” crusades against the background of the contemporary relations with the papacy including the characteristics of this role; 2) the circumstances and consequences of the settlement of the military-religious orders (Templars and Hospitallers) are going to be surveyed in respect with the relations of the Hungarian rulers and that of the local church towards the papal Curia. In the course of the latter, the research attempts to analyze the presence of the military-religious orders and their relation towards the local clergy with special regard to the spiritual exemption and the liberations from the payment of the tithe which the local bishops mostly resented. One of the most important element of our working hypothesis is that notwithstanding the military-religious orders represented an important track of the reform movement consummated in the twelfth century, it is not evident that they acted as the “extended arms” of the papacy. Even though the eventual source for their exemptions the overall defensor of their privileges was the pope himself. The Central European provinces of these orders did not act as “private armies” of the papacy even if the pope heavily relied upon the financial aid of the Templars and Hospitallers in the period of the 1159–1177. It peculiarly concerns the Hospitallers since the Pope Alexander III warned his “beloved sons” in the 1170s that their primary duty was the service of the poor and not fighting.

An additional element can be found among the pillars of the working hypotheses of the proposed research: an observation noted by some researchers[13] that the settlement of the military-religious orders in Central Europe were always impregnated by remarkable royal intervention which had a profound impact on their later activity.

2. Methodological considerations

One of the most serious difficulties with regard to the methodology of the proposed research is the insufficient and scattered nature of the sources. In proportion, the extant sources of the twelfth century on which the research can be based are more scanty than those of the eleventh century.[14] Numerous letters issued by the papal chancery or that of the Hungarian ruler as well as narrative sources are at our disposal, yet in many cases we have to rely upon meticulously drawn analogies. In this respect we avoid loosing sight of the fact that analogies dragged out from their original context are by no means helpful in the process of apprehension. This “caveat” was tangentially stated in the article of László Mezey in 1968: “Daraus folgte, daß das Verhältnis zwischen Königtum und Kirche in Ungarn nicht allein nach Analogien der deutschen oder französischen Entwicklung zu beuerteilen ist.“[15] Therefore the widest range of source materials are planned to be involved in the proposed research.[16] At first sight, the length of the chosen interval (1096–1196) seems to contradict to the planned depth of the survey. Nonetheless, the research will focus on three nodes of the term: 1) the period of the First Crusade, the early years of the reign of King Coloman (1095–1116); 2) the period of the Second Crusade and the settling down of the military-religious orders, 1146–c.1160; 3) and the role of King Béla III (1172–1196) during the period of c.1169–1196.[17]

Due to the above considerations, the choice of the relevant sources is of primary importance. The determination of the range of sources is somewhat easier in case of the crusades as the narrative sources (particularly chronicles) and the relevant papal (and other) letters are better known for the scholars of the field. For the creation of the source basis concerning the twelfth-century papal relations (including those with the military-religious orders) one of the most important collection is the production of the Pontificia Project (Regesta Pontificum Romanorum), some 50-volume collection of calendars of pre-1198 papal documents. Since the majority of these works are inaccessible in Hungary, the choice of the institution hosting the proposed research had to meet all such requirements. Thus the research conditions and library facilities provided by the Monumenta Germaniae Historica[18] would be excellent and ideal for the accomplishment of the research within the planned period of time.

3. Expected results, foreseen benefits, and preliminary works done

It is our firm conviction that the accomplished research will provide a better and more complex understanding of the role played by the medieval kingdom of Hungary in one of the most “international” undertakings of the Latin Christendom during the one hundred years after launching the First Crusade. We also believe that new approaches to the sources will yield new results even in those cases when no new documents are going to be involved to the survey. From the point of view of Christendom, or better to say, that of the papacy the outcome of the research would like to point out a Central European way of dissemination of new religious norms and cultural values in the twelfth century on the basis of contemporary primary sources.

Beyond the immediate goals of the proposed research project, an important objective is to prepare the source materials of the pre-1198 papal–Hungarian relations for publication, that is, the Hungaria Pontificia. As far as Hungarian scholars concerned, the project was taken over by László Mezey in 1964 and after his tragic death it was continued by James Ross Sweeney in 1984 although it never became camera ready. Hopefully, as the new contributor to the Papsturkundenforschung, supervised by the Pius Stiftung, we manage to utilize the outcomes of the accomplished research while compiling the hitherto missing piece of the series launched at the late nineteenth century.[19]

In order to use the period of time at my disposal (9 months) in the most effective manner, I have done extensive preliminary research and am still working on its preparation. These phases partly mean the collection and preliminary analysis of the relevant primary sources extant/kept/accessible in Hungary and in part these are referred in publications.[20] Since the bulk of this phase has already been accomplished or going to be accomplished in the second half of this year, the first nine months of 2006 would be suitable for the accomplishment of the proposed research.