A country without regions? The case of Hungary

    Research output: Contribution to Book/Report typesChapterpeer-review

    Abstract (may include machine translation)

    During the Middle Ages, the Kingdom of Hungary was among the larger countries of Latin Christianity. Subsequently, geographers divided the kingdom into regions (Transdanubia, Upper Hungary, Transylvania, and the Great Hungarian Plain). Although these divisions are geographically useful, the medieval monuments of the Kingdom of Hungary do not necessarily follow their logic. Among known Romanesque churches, certain features can be found throughout the country (‘Lombard’ ground plans, western towers, and six-lobed rotundas). While a special style developed in western Hungary, where buildings were enriched with stone carvings featuring acanthus and palmette motifs in the 11th century, this style became widespread by 1100. Micro-regions – the Saxon Lands in Transylvania, for example, or the region around Ják – can be detected though their local styles do not develop to form a larger regional dialect. Regions within Hungary did not function as autonomous units, nor was there a powerful local aristocracy. Administration was centralised, and the nobility, which had estates in different parts of the country, often moved between regions. This probably explains the strong interregional artistic connections within the country.
    Original languageEnglish
    Title of host publicationThe Regional and Transregional in Romanesque Europe
    EditorsJohn McNeill, Richard Plant
    Place of PublicationAbingdon
    PublisherRoutledge Taylor & Francis Group
    Pages261-272
    Number of pages12
    ISBN (Electronic)9781003162827
    DOIs
    StatePublished - 2021

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'A country without regions? The case of Hungary'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this