STUDII / STUDIES

1. Gruia FAZECAŞ

Trei topoare inedite din cupru descoperite în judeţul Bihor

Three novel copper axes from Bihor County

In this paper we present three inedited copper axes, two from Oradea Criş Country Museum collection and one from Săcuieni Museum. From a typological point of view, all three artifacts belong to the category of the adzes-axes of Jászladány type.
First axe from Săcuieni museum, which is from Penkert Maria collection, is broken in the middle (Pl. I/2). The sizes of the axe are the following: total length = 15 cm; maximum width of the piece = 6,5 cm; blade width = 5,5 cm; shaft hole diameter = 3,8 cm; weight = 470,49 cm. Because of fragmentary condition is difficult to identify a certain variant of Jászladány type.
Another axe was found in the proximity of Salonta city (Pl. I/5). Has a length of 18,2 cm., maximum width of the artifact is 5.4 cm; horizontal edge has a width of 4,1 cm and the vertical cutting edge of 2,3 cm; diameter of shaft hole is 3 cm; weighs 804 gr. The axe belongs to Orşova variant.
The third axe (pl. I/3) found in Săucani (Răbăgani com.). Has a length of 19.3 cm; horizontal edge has a width of 2,6 cm and the vertical cutting edge of 2,2 cm; diameter of shaft hole is 2,3 cm; weighs 726 gr. The axe belongs to Târnăviţa variant.
Until 1975 in Bihor county were documented 47 copper axes. In the last 10 years another 7 were published and with this three, the number of this hammer- and adze- axes rise at 57 which makes the Bihor the richest county in Romania in relation to chalcolithic copper axes. If in the case of Săucani and Săcuieni axes they occur in areas already known with such findings, the axe from Salonta is somehow isolated, the closest discovery of this type is at Sânnicolaul Român. Becouse copper axes occur mainly in northern Bihor on Ier and Barcăului valleys and not in south county near of copper source from Băiţa, makes us to appreciate that the source of copper is related to furthest copper sources from northwestern Maramureş and in relationship with the salt trade from Transylvania to the Pannonian Plain.

2. Carol KACSÓ

Noi date cu privire la depozitul de bronzuri de la Bogdan vodă (I)

Neue daten zum depotfund von Bogdan vodă (I)

Die ersten Stücke des Depotfundes von Bogdan Vodã (vormals Cuhea), Bez. Maramureº kamen beim Ackern im November 1980 auf dem Hügel Zneamãn zum Vorschein. Im Mai 1981 haben I. Motzoi-Chicideanu und G. M. Iuga an der Fundstelle eine Suchgrabung durchgeführt. Bei dieser Gelegenheit wurden andere Fundstücke gerettet. Weitere Bronzen wurden von den Dorfbewohnern bzw. von den Schüllern, die an Ort und Stelle nachgegraben haben, übernommen.
Laut der ersten Veröffentlichung (Motzoi-Chicideanu, Iuga 1995), enthält der Depotfund von Bogdan Vodã sechs vollständige oder fragmentarische Lanzenspitzen, zwei Fragmente von Schwertern, fünf Fragmente von Dolchen, drei Fragmente von Messern, ein Rasiermesserfragment, 23 vollständige oder fragmentarische Tüllenbeile, ein vollständiges und ein fragmentarisches Lappenbeil, 25 Sägeblätter, 88 vollständige oder fragmentarische Sicheln, zwei Spiralscheiben, ein Nadelfragment, sieben Armringe, davon sechs fragmentarisch, drei Stiftfragmente, ein Gürtelhaken, zehn Bronzeblechfragmente, die vielleicht von einem alt zerbrochenen Gürtel stammen, vier Bronzeblechfragmente von unbestimmbaren Gegenständen, eine Bronzeperle, ein Ringfragment, 15 vollständige oder fragmentarische Bronzestangen, 24 Gußfladenfragmente, drei Gußreste, insgesamt 227 Fundstücke. Die Verfasser beschreiben ebenfalls ein fragmentarisches Tongefäß, dessen Scherben an der Fundstelle entdeckt wurden.
Noch in einem 1999 veröffentlichten Artikel habe ich bemerkt, dass einige Stücke des Depotfundes von Bogdan Vodã fehlerhaft bezeichnet wurden (als Beispiel habe ich die sogenannten Spiralscheiben angeführt, die eigentlich Teile eines rezent zerbrochenen Armringes mit Spiralenden sind).
2002 habe ich erfahren, dass weitere Stücke des Depotfundes in einer Privatsammlung aus Moisei aufbewahrt werden. Der Sammler, ªt. Grad, hat mir die Aufnahme dieser Stücke gestattet.
Laut meiner Feststellungen hat der Depotfund von Bogdan Vodã folgende Zusammensetzung: zwei Fragmente von Schwertern, vier Fragmente von Dolchen, fünf vollständige oder fragmentarische Lanzenspitzen, 24 vollständige oder fragmentarische Tüllenbeile, ein vollständiges und ein fragmentarisches Lappenbeil, 84 vollständige oder fragmentarische Sicheln, vier Messerfragmente, ein Spatelfragment, 24 Sägeblätterfragmente, ein Armring mit Spiralenden, neun Fragmente von Armringen, drei torsionierte Stangenfragmente, ein Ring, ein Nadelfragment, 20 Bronzeblechfragmente, ein Phalerenfragment (?), vier kegelförmige Anhängerfragmente aus Bronzeblech, drei unbestimmbare, fragmentarische Gegenstände, 12 Bronzestangen, drei Gußzapfen, 19 Gußfladenfragmente, vier Bronzebrocken, insgesamt 231 Fundstücke. Dazu wird noch das Tongefäß hinzukommen.
Die Funstücke werden im Museum für Geschichte und Archäologie aus Baia Mare (Inv. Nr. 19355-19582) sowie in der Sammlung ªt. Grad aus Moisei (Nr. 31, 61, 216, 229) aufbewahrt. Die Scherben des Tongefässes befinden sich wahrscheinlich im Archäologischen Institut „V. Pârvan” aus Bukarest.

3. Sorin BULZAN

Date preliminare privind habitatul în aşezarea din epoca romană de la Margine “Valea Tăniei – la Ţarină”, judeţul Bihor

Some Preliminary Data Regarding the Habitation in the Roman Period Settlement from Margine, Valea Tăniei –Ţarina IInd-IIIrd Century a.d., Bihor County

A survey made in the winter of 2004 by archeologists of “Țării Crișurilor” Museum, Sorin Bulzan and Ioan Crișan, on the future so-called “Transilvania”, Brașov-Oradea hayway, revealed on the territory of the village Margine, in the place called Valea Tãniei -Þarina, some pottery fragments disturbed from original context by the plough and dated in the II-III century A.D. (for location see Fig. 1). We suppose that those artefacts belong to a roman period settlement located between km. 19+200-19+360-70. During the next summer excavation, between 19+580 to almost 19+700, we concluded that the settlement was extentended, but most of this part (19+600-19+700) was researched by another arcaeological team.
Because of the propriality problems in the years 2004-2007 we were forced to follow a treches system of excavation and not a surface one.
The stratigraphy of the site was very simple. The first level was arable soil which disturbed a part of the roman period settlement. So, we do not have in fact a true cultural level, just the deepen stuctures like houses rectangular or irregular in shape (Fig. 2 – 4, 5, 1-4). Sometimes, these went down in steps untill the depth of 70 cm (dwelling no. 4), but usualy, their depth varied between 12 and 25-30 cm. The roof was sustained by wooden pillars with implantation holes outside of the habitation perimeter. Clear proofs of fire instalations were discovered only in two or three cases, by discovering them in situ (the dwelling L.1, L. 9 – the charcoal and ash-hole and L. 4-a fragment near the fireplace). Inside the dwellings, fireplaces were destroyed, probably with intention. Just fragments of burned clay with stone prints on one side were preserved. Hence, they could not have belonged to the walls of which remains, mostly daub with wooden prints, were not found in this type of constructions. The lack of these clues could indicate that they were build from wood.The inside perimeter was small, due to their dimensions: dwelling no. 2 – 4,70 x 3-3,40 m; no. 5 – 3,70 x 2,36 m, 7 – 2,10 x 3,14, Dwelling no. 8 – 3,36 x 2,74, no. 9 – 2,60 x 3,56, no. 10 – 2,48 x 3,18 m.)
From adicent dwellings complexes some were oval in shape and those used as deposits were unearthed near almost all dwellings. Others were round with diameters between 3 and 4,5 m and most of them with entrances oriented towards the sunny side. In those cases, the structure was made often by wooden pillars displayed in sunken circumference and clay or a perishable material. Sometimes, the wooden pillars flanked the entrances and, in some cases, were integrated in surface structures (Fig. 6, 1, 3). The inventory contained ware, some iron pieces or mill stone, in majority well made and contained forms used for cooking or for food storage, or designed for different activities related with food production like grinding cereals. Maybe for this reason, the storage pits are rare. These were replaced by adjacent complexes near the dwellings.
The structures which prove evidences for metalurgic activity like slag fragments or iron blooms are numerous, but only two of them can be direct related with workshops, and one of these considered as such. The first one is an oval shaped dwelling with several round and oval holes variables in diameters (Fig.6, 2). Two of them were filled up with the same content, but the second one had a consistent structure because of the persence of iron slag or iron drops and a crucible (Gießtiegel). The second structure with clues regarding iron processing was also deepened, oval shaped and prolonged towards east (Fig. 5. 5 – 6). The long axe (almost 8 meters long -7,98) had an east-west orientation and the short one is 4,5 m. It is the biggest deepened structure discovered at Margine.
Surface structures were a major objective of the research, but not with entire satisfactory results. First, because of the term imposed for rescue excavation, and second, because of juridical problems of ownership of the land. The postholes delimited longed rectangular perimeters more specific to Germanic wooden dwellings. The longed perimeters were marked by 2, 3 or 4 rows of pillar holes. In some cases the long side of these buildings reached 10 meters (Fig. 7).
Many of the rectangular holes with burned edges (fireplaces?) were grouped two or tree and almost all were oriented NW-SE. Lot of wood carbon was identified inside (Fig. 8, 9). The holes dimensions varies in length between 0,80-1,10 m and 0,80 ºi 0,90 in width. In the roman period Barbaricum, this kind of holes is found from Ucraine to north and Barcau valley to south. These had the same orientation and the dimensions vary between 0,80 – 1,10 x 0,80 – 0,90 m
The wells discovered cut the subterraneous level of the water and in one case seems to be in close relationship with an open oven. The fourth wells discovered were unearthed to 2, 2 and at 3, 2 m in deep, having probably wooden structures at the surface. Their diameter oscillates between 1, 3 – 1, 5 m (Fig. 10).
A characteristic feature of roman settlements from N-V Romania is trenched structures (Fig.11). These are SV-NE and SE-NV oriented and have straight or oval bottoms. These structures had a maximum depth of 20 cm and contain a lot of ceramics and daub. Their width varies between 0,5 and 1 m. In some cases, they are flanked by holes or rows of wooden pillar implantation holes. Their lenght oscilates between 3,5 m to a maximum of 7,60 m. The archaeological material is abundent but, in this stage of research, their utility is hard to establish.
The inventory of the complexes consists almost entirely in ceramic. The recipients were wheel and hand made. Some shapes of hand made ware presents cutting edges at the maximum diameter specific to Germanic pottery (see Pl. VI, 3, IX, down left). Others fragments have polished surface and form specific to the Przeworsk culture. Those with alonged shape, had a specific dacian decoration with plastic decoration. Many of wheel made ware seem to be imported from the Dacia roman province, even those for common use. The iron pieces are reduced in number. Mill stones were made from sandstone and the pieces for fire starting from silex.
After the specific archaeological material, the settlement from Margine can be related to Przeworsk and partialy, to Dacian culture. The habitation may begin in the second half of the IInd century A.D., phase C1a of the central European cronology, but the main part of habitation belong to C1b. It ends towards the half of IIIrd century A.D.

4. Sorin BULZAN, Doru MARTA

Mişca. O aşezare medievală dispărută şi descoperirile arheologice de la Oradea – „Sere”

Mişca, A Disappeared Medieval Settlement and Archaeological Discoveries from Oradea “Sere”

In the year 2000 in the archaeological site from Oradea “sere” was carried rescue excavation. The site is situated vest from Oradea city. Along of prehistoric finds was unearthed numerous houses, pits and ovens belonging to XII – XIIIth century A.D.
The maps from 1784, 1887 and contemporary ones pointed some medieval denominations. This maps together with a village border setting from 1214, led us to conclusion that the area archaeologically excavated belong to the Mişca settlement, in present day disappeared.

5. Ioan CRIŞAN

Săpături arheologice de salvare în cimitirul târgului medieval Cefa

Des fouilles archéologiques de sauvetage dans le cimetière de la bourgade médiévale Cefa

La localité Cefa (dép. de Bihor) est attéstée documentaire dès l’année 1302; en 1322 elle avait déjà le droit de marché, plus tard, en 1421, le statut adéquat.
Les fouilles archéologiques de sauvetage ont été occasionnées par des travaux d’éxcavation effectués dans le centre de la localité Cefa, la rue „Ungurească”, en vue d’introduire un conduit d’eau pour l’église orthodoxe. Pendant ces travaux ont été mis au jour des ossements humains. À la suite des fouilles de sauvetage qui ont suivi, on a identifié 11 squelettes d’adultes sans inventaire funéraire. À l’appui du materiel céramique trouvé dans la terre de remplissage des tombeaux et du rituel funéraire accompli, on a établi que 10 tombeaux remontent du Moyen Âge (XIII-XVIe siècles) et un de l’époque moderne.
Ayant en vue que, à autres occasions, y ont été découverts encore des ossements humains, on peut affirmer qu’autour de l’église, édifiée probablement dans la première moitié du XIIIe siècle et reconstruite à la fin du XVIIIe siècle, s’est dévéloppé un cimetière.
Avec l’église, le cimetière fait partie d’un complexe ecclésiastique qui mérite une recherche archéologique plus étandue et plus approfondée.

6. Corina TOMA

Reevaluarea tezaurului monetar din sec. XIV/XV-XVII descoperit la Gurba (jud. Arad)

New appraisement of the 14/15-17th century hoard discovered at Gurba (Arad County)

The following article is a republishing of the monetary hoard of Gurba (Arad county), from 1963 part of the collection of the History Museum, Oradea. Beside the obvious need to take stock, to identify the coins according to catalogs, the main reason for republishing the hoard was the contradictory information supplied by various sources such as: the museum’s inventory registry, the catalog published in 1967 and even the actual content of the hoard itself.
The first contradictory data is the actual number of the coins, contained in the Gurba hoard, more exactly, the inventory registry shows 721 coins (701 coins in good condition and 20 fragments), while the 1967 catalog mentions only 719 coins, from which only 712 have a detailed description. As to be expected, the exact number of coins is very hard to establish, this is why we chose to include all the coins contained by the Gurba’s hoard in the present (721 coins). Including or excluding them was done purely on a hypothetical basis, mainly because the “extra” coins are very hard to identify without a detailed description in the inventory registry and also because there are significant differences on our coins identification when compared to the 1967’s catalog, regarding mints and dating.
Including a greater number of coins in the Gurba’s hoard, brought with itself another inconsistency related to the earliest possible date of when the hoard was buried. The reevaluation of the monetary lot, points to a new post-quem year, 1692, a much more realistic estimation, mainly because it was around 1692 when we can see a significant increase in the imperial military presence, 1684 (the previously mentioned year) being too soon after the Vienna events, so that its repercussions could be noticeable in southern Crisana.
Even if we disregard the difficulties caused by the inconsistencies of our sources and the poor preservation of the numismatic material due to modern intrusions, we still have issues with the structure (composition) of the Gurba’s hoard. Therefore, the huge gaps between groups of XVII century coins and the lack of several nominations that were defining for the early XVII century coinage, led us to believe that there were two distinctive stages while the hoard accumulated. On the other hand, we can give a different interpretation to the aforementioned data, such as that the coins were picked rather on a selective basis, especially on a period of a drastic monetary inflation, when quality had priority over quantity.

7. Alexandru SIMON

Crăişorii valahilor din a doua jumătate a secolului XV

Walachian king-pin from the second half of 15th century

Since day one, Matthias Corvinus had been accused, in Hungary and abroad, first of all by emperor Frederick III of Habsburg, of being just a valachorum regulus. King Matthias was only a Walachian king-pin. However insulting that should have sounded, its meanings were less harsh that those aimed by Frederick III, far from being John Hunyadi’s admirer, through his presentation of Matthias as born from a Walachian father. This was personal. Frederick’s words were also a charge brought against a political system, a Hungarian and Walachian one in this case, that ran with blood. Stephen III of Moldavia’s successful succession, unlike Matthias’ succession, was a late proof for it. At the very limits of Christendom, the system has allowed the rise of the barbaric Hunyadis against the civilized society. Still, Antonio Bonfini, Matthias’ last ‘official historian’ made no secret of these ‘charges’. He tried to fit them, in his master’s manner, into the Roman and even Christian glory that, on both slopes of the Carpathians, the Walachian origin of the Hunyadis had to offer. Besides, Matthias Corvinus’ biological heritage ‘had’ strong Byzantine and Ottoman ties. The king himself had made that clear. Bonfini had also stressed out the change, from a rather rustic, to a more civilized (Italian) royal court, that had occurred in Buda following Matthias marriage of late 1476 with the, at least equally, ambitious Beatrice of Aragon. By 1492, Bonfini clearly knew what valachorum regulus should have meant in Hungary and abroad. But the Italian also knew what it could mean, in a more advantageous way, for the bearer of this “title”. Under 1492, with great satisfaction, Bonfini wrote of Stephen III’s major contribution to Hungary’s defense from the Ottomans and the Tartars. Apart of the fact that it was a profitable defense for Stephen, first in terms of Hungarian subsidies and estates, later that same year in the very likely terms of Venetian ducats, it is worth noting that Bonfini’s satisfaction neighbored the title he bestowed upon Stephen III under these peculiar circumstances, valachorum regulus. In other words, Stephen III of Moldavia ‘became’ king Matthias successor to the title of Walachian king-pin.

8. Marcella FERRACCIOLI, Gianfranco GIRAUDO

Minimalia judaica venetica

This article presents some heterogeneous documents from Libraries and Archives in Venice about the life of Jews in Venice during the XVI and XVII centuries. The documents explores the problem of the influence of Jewish exoteric doctrines on the Venetian culture. Since the late fifteenth century and for over two centuries, on the one hand the Christian culture rework Jewish elements contributing to “clear” them, with the permission of Holy Office, on the other hand, Jewish are involved in a process of mutual cultural crossbreeding. A special category of Jews was represented by doctors, whose profession was somehow perceived as contiguous to the magic, and then to alchemy, astrology and Kabbalah. In Venice remain important traces of cabalistic Christianized culture to the limits of Catholic orthodoxy.

9. Gizella NEMETH, Adriano PAPO

György Martinuzzi Utyeszenics e la riforma luterana in Transilvania e nelle parti d’Ungheria

Györgyi Martinuzzi Utyeszenics and the Lutheran Reform in Transylvania and Parts of Hungary

György Martinuzzi Utyeszenics, better known as Brother George (1482-1551), filled numerous and important administratives, ecclesiastical, and military offices. He was one of the best Hungarian statesmen: he ran his country with great ability. However, if we know very much about his political and military activity, on the other hand we know only very little about his divine service: certainly, he was a fervent Catholic, but it is also undoubty that, at his time, the persecution of Protestants was both in Transylvania and in the diocese of Várad/Oradea less severe than elsewhere in Europe, apart from a few cases mentioned in this paper, some of which are however not supported by primary sources (i.e.: the condemnation to the stake of both a preacher of Kassa/ Košice and a Lutheran of Várad, this latter having smacked the face of a woman praying in front of a holy image; the criminal proceedings brought against the brothers Barcsay who had desecrated a crucifix; the punishment inflected to the inhabitants of Kolozsvár/Cluj where Gáspár Heltai and his group had started translating the Bibel into Hungarian; the exhumation of the corpse of Orbán Batthyány; the punishment of the inhabitants of Nagybánya/ Baia Mare for religious and political reasons; the banishment of the preacher István Szegedi Kis and the confiscation of his properties). Nevertheless, Martinuzzi was not able to restrain diffusion of Protestantism; on the contrary, during his administration some laws were promulgated that practically maintained the status quo as regards the profession of the new religious beliefs.

10. Florin ARDELEAN

Obligaţiile militare ale nobilimii în Transilvania princiară (1540-1657)

The Military Obligations of the Nobility in Princely Transylvania (1540-1657)

The nobility of the Transylvanian Principality maintained, until the second half of the Seventeenth century, an important military role. Continuing the medieval tradition established in the early Thirteenth century in the Kingdom of Hungary, each nobleman had the obligation to participate in every defensive expedition organized by the ruler of the country. The Transylvanian princes eluded this old custom, and persuaded the nobility of their country to take part in offensive military campaigns. Most of the nobles afforded enough weapons and equipment, to form decent light cavalry detachments, but some of the lesser nobles were only able to procure infantry equipment. The organization of military units followed regional patterns as all the nobles form one county were reunited under a single flag. Military inspections were organized periodically to observe and maintain the arming standards, and also the man power of each county flag. The survival of the principality was thus ensured by a flexible military organization that combined modern elements such as mercenary service, and traditional military structures such as the noble insurrection.

11. Florian DUDAŞ

Codicele Prologar slavon scris la Mănăstirea Perii Maramureşului în 1599-1600, în timpul domniei lui Mihai Viteazul

A slavonic codex written at Peri monastery Maramureş in 1599-1600, during the reign of Michael the Brave

The author presents a manuscript written in Slavonic, which includes lives of saints. This Codex was written at Peri Monastery, located in northern Transylvania, land of Maramures (nowadays Hrusevo town in Ukraine). In the Middle Ages, the monastery was subordinated to the Patriarchate of Constantinople.
Manuscript from the Monastery Maramures Peri was written by scholar monk Blasie, in 1599-1600, when the three Romanian countries (Wallachia, Moldavia and Transylvania) were under the reign of Prince Michael the Brave.
Codex of the Monastery Peri is a graphic artwork, is adorned with a miniature, with some original prints taken from the Venetian frontispieces. At the end of the manuscript there are a few pages from a copy of the book Minei praznicar, printed in Venice in 1536-1538. This printed section contains Pripealele of Filotei Monarch, representing the first manifestation of fiction in general understood, known, of a novel.

12. Florina CIURE

Da minoranza a maggioranza: i mercanti della Transilvania tra il Quattrocento e il Settecento

From minority to majority: Transylvania’s merchants between XVth and XVIIIth centuries

Due to the obtained privileges, the Saxons achieved the leadership of the XVth century Transylvanian trade. From the second half of the XVIth century on many Balkan and Levantine merchants arrived in Transylvania becoming the Saxon’s competitors. In the beginning, the authorities tried to limit the role they had gained in Transylvanian trade, but their growing number and the ever increasing quantity of commercialized products determined the authorities to give them some privileges, in spite of the Saxon merchants. In the XVIIth century the Greek Companies of Sibiu and Braºov were funded; their members included not only Greeks but also Ragusans, Armenians, Macedo-Romanians who had an important role in Transylvanian foreign trade development. The “Greek” Companies meant to be an association of merchants united by common interests, their purpose was to obtain privileges that might allow members a better development of their commercial activities. These companies had a particular statute among the other companies of the time for they didn’t have the direct support of the Ottoman Empire authorities to whom belonged most of its members. Beginning with the end of the XVIIth century when Transylvania passed under Habsburgical domination, the Viennese authorities became interested in developing the oriental trade and preferred rather an organized association which could guarantee its members the application of the rules established by the central authority and the payment of the fiscal obligations. In the XVIIIth century, some Macedonian merchants, members of the Greek companies from Braºov and Sibiu, funded their own companies and tried to obtain citizenship in those respective towns in order to enjoy some privileges reserved to the citizens alone; the value of the merchandises commercialized by the individual companies was representative of their importance within Transylvanian trade. Minoritary from the ethnical point of view, but majoritary as to the amount of the commercialized products, the merchants involved in Transylvanian trade, regardless of their origin, brought a decisive contribution to the development of the commercial exchanges of this state.

13. Mihai GEORGIŢĂ

Biserica românească din Comitatul Bihor şi calvinismul în prima jumătate a secolului al XVII-lea

Romanian Church in Bihor and Calvinism in the First Half of 17th Century

Romanian church in Bihar situated near Debrecen, one of the strongest centres of Calvinist Protestantism, suffered inevitable influences from proselytism which was promoted by this new denomination.
The persuasion on Romanian priests has increased even more as Calvinism became a State confession during the Calvinist princes.
The attraction of Romanian priests to Calvinism was made both through the distribution of religious books translated in Romanian, but with a Calvinist content, and by the rendering of privileges and material benefits of which the Calvinist priests enjoyed as well. Especially because of the latter strategy the Romanian priests embraced Calvin’s doctrine, which was attested by a series of testimonies of that age.

14. Cristian APATI, Ioan CIORBA

Pentru o istorie a alimentaţiei: noi documente privind cultura cartofilor în Crişana în a doua parte a secolului al XVIII-lea

For a History of Alimentation: New Documents About the Cultivation of Potatoes in Crişana in the 2nd Part of the XVIII Century

This article is based on two unpublished directives identified in The National Archives – The Branch of Bihor County, about the cultivation of potatoes and the authority’s actions for that purpose. Present documents belong to a longer series, which was already published by Ed. I. Găvănescu in a work, printed in 1940. For a better understanding of these, I found helpful to present in Anexe these documents too, because all of them aggregated unfold the sustained efforts about the spreading of this plant into rustic world of Crişana, in the 2nd part of the XVIII century.

15. Petru ARDELEAN

Aspecte ale emigraţiei româneşti în Statele Unite ale Americii de la începutul secolului al XX-lea, reflectate în corespondenţa unui emigrant cu familia

Aspects of the Romanian Immigration from the Beginning of the 20th Century in the, USA Reflected in the Correspondence of an Emigrant with his Family

One of the serious problems of the peasants point from the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century was, undoubtedly, that of the constantly increasing mass immigration to other places, which could offer a better way of living. The appearance, complexity and magnitude taken by the phenomenon are a strong side of the crisis which the rural population was passing at that time, crisis involving economic, social, political, demographic, psychological issues etc.
This work is based on a number of letters sent from those remaining in country (family, friends) to the left in America, in this case Ioan Ardelean from Ucuriº, region Criºana, which he kept them, and are now in the personal archive of his grandchildren. It is important to follow in these letters the hard life of those at home experiencing poverty, especially the permanent need of money.

16. Radu MILIAN

Dezbateri parlamentare şi de presă din România în perioada neutralităţii (1914-1916)

Parliamentary and Press Debates and Press in Romania During the Neutrality Period (1914-1916)

The outbreak of World War I found officially Romania on the side of Triple Alliance. Public opinion and most politicians in the country wanted openly that Romania entered in the war on the Entente side. Opening of parliamentary session in early autumn of 1914 marked the beginning of a stormy parliamentary debate on Romania’s national interest to the war.
The speeches from the tribune of the Senate or Deputies Chamber, parliament tried to change the position of official neutrality for immediate entry into the war.
Most lawmakers have argued the need for entering the war with the Entente, for fulfillment of the national ideal, which in their view was that the issue of Transylvania emancipation from the Austro-Hungarian rule. A smaller group advocated for keeping treaties and for war of the Triple Alliance side, waving Russian threat. Politician’s manifestations continued beyond the parliament tribune, in the media, attracting on debate great personalities of Romanian cultural and scientific life.

17. Marius-Răzvan MESZAR

Colonizarea ţăranilor în Ineu, judeţul Arad, prin reforma agrară din 1921

Peasant Colonization in Ineu, Arad County, due to Land Reform from 1921

Through the agricultural reform from 1921 in Arad district there have been set up a number of 16 colonists’ centres. Among them, Traian Colony has been set up in 1928 by 195 families of colonists that came from villages like: Dud, Draut, Araneag, Agrisul-Mare, Pecica, Bodesti and Brusturi. The colony was founded near the village of Ineu. Every family received 5 hectares (lot and pasture), and also 400 fathoms, in order to build their own household. The colonists from the villages Bodesti and Brusturi have brought their mentality based on mountain habits.
The blending is amazing among the specific elements of each zone the colonists originated from into a complex socio-economical and cultural human mozaic. Today Traian Colony is a quarter of Ineu city. It is a place where original colonists’ houses, stables, clothing and tools can still be found. This study is based on information archives and by word of mouth history.

18. Gabriel MOISA

Istoriografie – istorie – politică. Istoriografia românilor din Ungaria referitoare la trecutul istoric al comunităţii (1920-2010)

Historiography – History – Politics. Historiography of Romanians from Hungary Concerning the Past of Comunity (1920-2010)

The present research introduces us to some very interesting conclusions on the history of the Romanians in Hungary, and even offers a series of projections on its future, a future that several present leaders of the community do not see in very bright colours.
The considerations on the history of the Romanians in Hungary provide the image of a community almost assimilated today, with a population share that has been continuously decreasing after the Treaty of Trianon. In the ‘90s only the number of the Romanians in Hungary fell by 25% and the trend has continued even after 2001, the date of the last census. And surely, the next census in Hungary (2011) will confirm this reality. The destiny of the Romanian community has always assumed a persistent struggle to preserve its national identity.
We should also assess that most researchers belonging to the Romanian community in Hungary, with very few exceptions, believe that the population belonging to their own ethnic group from several locations in eastern Hungary settled here in the late 17th century at the earliest and, due to the lack of systematic archaeological researches or archive investigations, the approach of Hungarian historiography was adopted.

19. Cornelia ROMÎNAŞU, Radu ROMÎNAŞU

Contribuţii la istoricul asociaţiei ortodoxe „Oastea Domnului” – filiala din Beiuş – în perioada interbelică

Contributions to the History of the “Army of God” Orthodox Association – Branch of Beiuş – During the Interwar Period

After the Great Union of 1918, the unitary national state took over the main directives which endorsed the cultural development of the postwar Romanian society. Gradually, in time, they heard some voices argued a particular crisis which the Romanian Church was passing through. This – in the minds of some – was not able to keep pace with the interwar time changes and needs. To keep a note of balance between the many points of view expressed, we must specify that the institution has endeavored, throughout the period between the wars, to make the clergy in a dynamic cultural factor, in a spiritual “light”, in the process initiated by the young Romanian unitary state. In addition to strengthening the religious sentiment among the community, the Church was required to increase the nation’s culture and civilization by supporting the cultural act in cooperation with the other official institutions of the country.
In this context, the “Army of God” Association emerged, a movement that fought to renew morally and religiously the society, a firm declaration of a spiritual war against the passions and wickedness.
Initiated in Sibiu, by the Orthodox priest Iosif Trifa (1888-1938), on January 1st 1923, having the blessing of the Metropolitan of Transylvania, Nicolae Bãlan, the “Army of God” raised at its inception, against two scourges which crushed the Romanian society: alcoholism and oath. Gradually, it has expanded its action against all passions that dehumanize the man, this increasingly more alienating him from the authentic Christian life. Therefore, the fundamental goal of the “Army” was “finding, living and proclamation of Jesus Christ the Crucified” in the middle of the Orthodox Church. The activity of the Association’s Beiuş subsidiary revealed especially in 1932, when 21 cultural and religious meetings were held (lectures, recitation and religious chants), attended by many residents of the town. Such events continued until the spring of 1933, when the branch temporarily ceased its work, being repeated in the winter of 1934, by a religious social soire held in the town House of Culture.
The program included conferences held by the priests Petru Papp and Ioan Mihale backed by the recitation of religious verses.
Throughout the whole Lent of 1940, the “Army of God” of Beiuş organized a cycle of lectures and sermons, which covered various topics in the sphere of the religious and historical life.

20. Adriana RUGE

Arhitectura ecleziastică românească din bihorul interbelic. Estetica faţadelor

The Romanian Ecclesiastical Architecture in Bihor during the Interwar Period. The Aesthetics of Facades

The development of ecclesiastical architecture of the interwar period was conditioned by political, economic and religious factors. By uniting under a single crown on December 1st, 1918, the Romanians living in the provinces newly united to the Kingdom gained full-fledged rights when expressing their religious beliefs. This was followed by the implementation of a revitalization project of the Romanian spirituality within a new political and religious reality which favoured the establishment/reestablishment of several Orthodox bishoprics including the one in Oradea. This context created the conditions necessary for an impressive building campaign with religious programme.
A significant interest was paid in building cathedrals. Bishop Nicolae Popoviciu expressed his desire to erect a cathedral during a holiday atmosphere in Oradea, that is the feast of Nativity, in 1937. He called it The Sun Cathedral during his correspondence with the former Bishopric Cathedral, The Moon Church. The monument was to be built according to the plans drafted by the architect George Cristinel, which have remained unidentified so far, except for a planning project of the cathedral square in Traian Park. Due to the outbreak of the World War II, this intention is still in the same stage, that of a project.
Speciality papers, archive documents and the rotatives in the church porch reveal the names of four architects involved in outlining the phenomenon of religious architecture in Bihor during the interwar period: Francisc Sztarill, Anton Sallerbeck, Victor Vlad and Pintér ªtefan.
There have been three major directions in the decoration of the facades; the architects used either the decorative repertoire of neo-Romanian style or the neo-Byzantine one which was also understood as a redefinition of the national style, yet nourished with elements inspired from the Byzantine church, or they turned to eclectic style, a blend of decorative motifs characteristic to more styles that gave birth to some hybrid compositions.
The ecclesiastical monuments in Bihor during the interwar period represent local versions which were synchronous with the religious architecture practiced at the same time in the other regions of Great Romania.

21. Lucia CORNEA

Date privind activitatea filialei Oradea a Ateneului Român (1925-940)

Données concernant l’activité de la Filiale Oradea de l’Athénée Roumain (1925-1940)

En 1865 fut fondée à Bucarest la Société de l’Athénée roumain dont le but principal était de faciliter l’accès à la culture pour le peuple, essentiellement par le biais de conférences publiques. Des filiales de l’Athénée apparurent dès 1866. D’abord, naturellement, dans l’Ancien Royaume et, après l’union de la Transylvanie à la Roumanie, depuis les années 20, également en Transylvanie. Ainsi apparut en 1925 à Oradea une nouvelle société culturelle – la Filiale d’Oradea de l’Athénée roumain. Celle-ci eut comme présidents: le juriste Bogdan Ionescu (1925-1934), le docteur Ioan Glãvan (1934-1938) et le professeur George Bota (1938-1940). Suivant la tradition, l’Athénée d’Oradea pratiqua une forme unique de message culturel – la conférence publique. La conférence de haut niveau, promouvant le style académique et l’esprit universitaire. Ce sont des personnes de l’élite intellectuelle et politique de l’époque qui donnèrent ces conférences: nombre d’universitaires, de politiques, d’enseignants d’école secondaire, de scientifiques, d’hommes de lettres, d’artistes, de magistrats, de journalistes et de médecins, d’historiens, de militaires, de prêtres et de hauts fonctionnaires de l’administration. L’activité de l’Athénée d’Oradea, comme d’ailleurs l’activité de toute autre société culturelle roumaine locale, cessa brusquement début septembre 1940, suite à l’application des décisions du Diktat de Vienne.
Tout au long de ses 15 années d’activité, l’Athénée d’Oradea donna au public local la possibilité de connaître et d’écouter nombre de personnalités représentatives de la science et de la culture roumaine. Il apporta sa contribution à la valorisation de l’intérêt pour la culture en transformant celui-ci dans une habitude de la vie de tous les jours.

22. Ioan F. POP

Obscuritatea limbajului totalitar

The Obscurity of the Toatalitarian Language

The totalitarian system’s determination, constraint, and survival have been favoured, among other things, by language obscurity and by its posibility to outline multiple semantic paths. All of them speculated and imposed to persons and colectivity. From the injurious advertisement – that ehhibits mostly the bareness of the meaning – to the crippling impact of the empty political ideology. Language has become more and more a maintained mistake of words, a phonological prefabricate. The nothingness exercise of the language’s obscurity has been practiced sometimes subliminally, and sometimes directly. But also, as an ideological innuendo, next to which false has always been continuously strained, until its identification with the truth.

MUZEOGRAFIE / MUSEOGRAPHY

Iudita CĂLUŞER

Donaţia familiei Ştefănică din Beiuş

The donation of the Ştefănică family of Beiuş

The philanthropic spirit and the spirit of donation have been elements that characterized the Romanian society for a long period of time. They encouraged the foundation of many large museums. The donors always understood that by including their values in great public collections, they offered them to be correctly evaluated by specialists in the field.
Such a passionate collector, mostly of books, was Dr. Constantin Malinas who managed to come into the possession of some documents belonging to the Stefanica family of intellectuals from Beius. One member of this family entrusted to him a number of notebooks, documents and cuts of those times newspapers. The latter furthered them to the undersigned for them to be valorized. After the demise of Constantin Malinas, I considered that the best place for them is the collection of the History Section of the Cris County Museum in Oradea and proceeded to register them as a particular item under the name of “The Donation of the Stefanica family of Beius”. The donation contains 26 notebooks and provides information related both to the book collection of the family and the cultural events carried on in Beius in the period 1905-1947. The events taking place at the girls’ high school as well as at the boys’ high school in the town are best represented here.

CONSERVARE – RESTAURARE / CONSERVATION – RESTORATION

Olimpia MUREŞAN

About corrosion and conservation problems of iron artefacts coming from Oradea fortress

A lot of metallic artifacts were discovered during diggings in the Fortress of Oradea (starting from 1991 and intensivelly restarted after 2007).
Iron and alloys of cupper are the mainly metallic structures. The soil contains a lot of ruins coming from buildings of the XII-XVII centuries, that’s why the artefacts are drastically corroded, especially the iron ones. Having to conserve/restore a great quantity of metallic/iron artifacts with different degrees of mineralization may be a difficult task to do. To know the specific corrosion process and to devide the discovered artifacts on categories/degrees of urgency of interventions may be useful. May be burnt iron artefacts a privileged category? We must investigate such objects!
The importance of the examination of the artifact is out of question. Metallic artifacts affected by an advanced mineralization process allow to determine: the stratigraphy, the degree of mineralization and fragilisation, details hidden within corrosion products, the presence of different materials, the location of the original surfaces. The analysis of composition have their relevances too. Some preliminary investigation on a cremated fragment of an iron harmour are showed.

NOTE. DISCUȚII. PUNCTE DE VEDERE / NOTES. DISCUSSIONS. POINTS OF VIEW

Nicolae NISTOROIU

Cetatea de pământ de la almaşu Mic (comuna Sîrbi, judeţul Bihor). Precizări privind descoperirea unei fortificaţii de tip „pinten barat”, necunoscută până acum în literatura de specialitate

The Fortress from Almaşu Mic (Sîrbi, Bihor County). Some Thoughts on the Discovery of a „Barrage-Type Promontory” Type Fortress Unknown to the Specialized Literature

On 20th June during a field work I discovered a fortress on a hill on kilometer south from the village Almasu Mic, on the inferior side of the Almasu valley. The fortress is on a hill that rules over the valley and is covered by the forest Ţâclu. It is hard to tell from which century the fortress is because there are no ceramic artifacts. It is the task of further studies to determine the era to which it belongs, I want to draw the attention of the specialists with this article to the existence of this fortress.

RECENZII / BOOK REVIEWS

1. Tendinţe în conservarea preventivă, editor Márta Guttmann, Editura „Astra Museum”, Sibiu, 2009, 197 p. (Olimpia Mureșan)
2. David Scott, Gerhard Eggert, Iron and Steel in Art: Corrosion, Colorants, Conservation, Archetype Publications Ltd., London, 2009, 196p. (Olimpia Mureșan)