Publisher's Synopsis
For many scholars the study of Hungarian history has been impeded by problems of language; in this volume, along with Professor F³gedi's existing articles in Western languages, have been included two more that were previously unpublished, and one specially translated from the Hungarian. The articles examine the social and economic history of the kingdom of Hungary, mainly in the 13th - 15th centuries, and demonstrate the value of using statistical, demographic and sociological approaches in areas where such methods had hitherto been little employed. Particular themes are those of urban development, both in major centres and in the smaller 'agrarian towns', and of the status of the aristocracy and the ecclesiastical Úlite, and their attitudes towards learning and literacy. Throughout, the author draws attention to the distinctive features that characterised Hungarian society, without losing sight of its place in medieval Europe.
