The Late Medieval Zagreb County as the Part of Antemurale Christianitats. The Case Study of Zrin Estate

Hrvoje Kekez

doi:10.21697/sc.2024.31.1.5

Published: 2024-11-10

Vol. 31 No. 1 (2024)

The Late Medieval Zagreb County as the Part of Antemurale Christianitats. The Case Study of Zrin Estate

Hrvoje Kekez

Saeculum Christianum. Historical Writings

Section: Rozprawy i Artykuły

https://doi.org/10.21697/sc.2024.31.1.5

Abstract

Although Ottoman raids on parts of Medieval Slavonia, which is now Central Croatia, began in the early 15^th century, it wasn't until the fall of the Medieval Kingdom of Bosnia into Ottoman hands in 1463 that the raids intensified and the Ottoman raiders continuously plundered areas of medieval Croatia and Slavonia. It was during the mid-15^th century that Croatian lands started to be recognized as Antemurale Christianitatis, meaning they were seen as frontier states of Western Christendom, primarily serving as a defensive barrier against non-Christian peoples in the East. During this time, several important strongholds were established in the late medieval Zagreb County, particularly on the Zrin estate, to defend against the Ottomans. Feudal lords of medieval Croatia and Slavonia began organizing elaborate defensive systems on their estates, consisting of strategically positioned smaller and larger strongholds. The Zrin estate was one such example. This paper focuses on the defensive systems of the Zrin estate during the late 15^th and first half of the 16^th century. It examines the number, typology, and fortification features of the strongholds on the estate, as well as their strategic positions and defensive capabilities.

Keywords:

Ottoman wars, late medieval Slavonia, late medieval strongholds, Antemurale Christianitatis, Zrin estate, 16th century

Download files

PDF

Citation rules

Kekez, H. (2024). The Late Medieval Zagreb County as the Part of Antemurale Christianitats. The Case Study of Zrin Estate. Saeculum Christianum. Historical Writings, 31(1), 58–80. https://doi.org/10.21697/sc.2024.31.1.5

Cited by / Share

Licence

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

References

Biblioteca Universitaria di Bologna, Bologna, Italy, collection: Luigi Marsili (IT-BUB-1044).
Google Scholar

Hrvatski državni arhiv (HR-HDA-), Zagreb, Croatia, fond: 25 Ugarska dvorska komora, Hrvatske plemićke obitelji i vlastelinstva (25-NRA).
Google Scholar

Österreichisches Staatsarchiv, Wien, Austria, Kriegsarchiv, Kartenund Plansammlung, Genieund Planarchiv, Inland.
Google Scholar

Arhiv Hrvatske akademije znanosti i umjetnosti (HR-AHAZU-), fond: Diplomata
Google Scholar

Acta comitialia Regni Croatiae Dalmatiae Slavoniae. Hrvatski saborski spisi, F. Šišić, vol. 3, Zagreb 1916.
Google Scholar

Bojničić I., Izvješća o kretanjama turske vojske uz hrvatsku granicu u drugoj polovici XVI. vijeka, “Vjesnik Kr. hrvatsko-slavonsko-dalmatinskoga zemaljskog arkiva,” 16/1914, pp. 16-101.
Google Scholar

Codex diplomaticus partium regno Hungariae adnexarum. A horvát véghelyek oklevéltára, eds. L. Thallóczy, A. Hodinka, Budapest 1903.
Google Scholar

Codex diplomaticus Regni Croatiae, Dalmatiae et Slavoniae. Diplomatički zbornik Kraljevine Hrvatske, Dalmacije i Slavonije, ed. T. Smičiklas, vol. 11, Zagreb 1913.
Google Scholar

Codex epistolaris et diplomaticus comitis Nicolai de Zrinio, ed. S. Barabás, vol. 1, Budapest 1898.
Google Scholar

Iacobi Vnresti, Theologi et sacerdotis Carinthiaci Chronicon Avstriacvm, pars posterior, Friderici III. Imperatoris vitam lvcvlenter descriptam imprimis exhibens, ed. D.S.F. Hahnii, Brvnsvigae 1724, “Collectio Monvmentorvm Vetervm et Reventivm.”
Google Scholar

Lopašić R., Prilozi za poviest Hrvatske XVI i XVII vieka iz štajerskoga zemaljskog arhiva u Gradcu, “Starine JAZU,” 17/1885, pp. 151-231.
Google Scholar

Lopašić R., Prilozi za poviest Hrvatske XVI i XVII vieka iz štajerskoga zemaljskog arhiva u Gradcu, “Starine JAZU,” 19/1887, pp. 1-80.
Google Scholar

Magyar diplomacziai emlékek. Mátyás király korából, eds. I. Nagy, A. Nyáry, vol. 2, Budimpest 1877.
Google Scholar

Monumenta Habsburgica regni Croatiae Dalmatiae Slavoniae. Habsburški spomenici Kraljevine Hrvatske Dalmacije i Slavonije, ed. E. Laszowski, vol. 1, Zagreb 1914, vol. 2, 1916.
Google Scholar

Monumenta historica episcopatus Zagrabiensis. Povijesni spomenici zagrebačke biskupije, ed. A. Lukinović, vol. 5, Zagreb 1992.
Google Scholar

Österreich’s Ehrenspiegel, eds. B. Höfel, A. Reitze, P. Bohr, vol. 2, Wien 1836.
Google Scholar

Pannoni N.I., Historiarvm de rebus Vngaricis libri XXXIV, Coloniae Agrippinae 1622.
Google Scholar

Spomenici Hrvatske krajine, ed. R. Lopašić, vol. 1, Zagreb 1884.
Google Scholar

Spomenici Hrvatske krajine, ed. R. Lopašić, vol. 3, Zagreb 1889.
Google Scholar

Valvasor J.V., Die Ehre des Herzogthums Krain, vol. 4, Rudolfswerth 1879.
Google Scholar

Vramec A., Kronika, Zagabriae 1908, “Monumenta spectantia historiam Slavorum meridionalium. Scriptores,” vol. 31.
Google Scholar

Budak N., The Coming of Fed Habsburg to the Croatian Throne, “Croatian Studies Review,” 2/2002, no. 1, pp. 135-155.
Google Scholar

Engel P., The Realm of St Stephen. A History of Medieval Hungary, 895-526, London–New York 2001.
Google Scholar

Filipović E.O., Bosansko Kraljevstvo i Osmansko Carstvo (1386-1463), Sarajevo 2019.
Google Scholar

Grgin B., Počeci rasapa. Kralj Matijaš Korvin i srednjovjekovna Hrvatska, Zagreb 2002.
Google Scholar

Gunjača S., Tiniensia archaeologica-historica-topographica II, “Starohrvatska prosvjeta,” serija III, 7/1960, pp. 7-142.
Google Scholar

Horvat Z., Stari grad Zrin, “Zrinski zbornik za povijest i obranu Hrvatskog Pounja,” 1997, vol. 2, pp. 75-105.
Google Scholar

Jurković I., Klasifikacija hrvatskih raseljenika za trajanja osmanske ugroze (od 1463. do 1593.), “Migracijske i etničke teme,” 19/2003, pp. 147-174.
Google Scholar

Karbić D., Miljan S., Knezovi Zrinski u 14. i 15. stoljeću između staroga i novoga teritorijalnog identiteta, in: Susreti dviju kultura. Obitelj Zrinski u hrvatskoj i mađarskoj povijesti, Zagreb 2012, pp. 15-43.
Google Scholar

Karbić D., The Šubići of Bribir. A Case Study of a Croatian Medieval Kindred (unpublished doctoral thesis, Central European University), Budapest 2000.
Google Scholar

Kekez H., An Abbey as a Stronghold: A Strategic Role of Cistercian Abbey of Blessed Virgin Mary in Topusko (Toplica) in Anti-Ottoman Defense Efforts during 16th Century, “Review of Croatian History,” 2021, vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 229-271.
Google Scholar

Kekez H., Prilog kontekstualizaciji i rekonstrukciji bitke na ‘gazu Zrinskih’ 1483. Godine, in: Antemurale Christianitatis: Crkva i društvo na području središnje Hrvatske krajem 15. i početkom 16. stoljeća, Sisak 2021, pp. 69-105.
Google Scholar

Kekez H., Royal power and magnates on the borderlands of the kingdom: The counts of Blagaj and anti-Ottoman defence at the beginning of the 1520s, in: Reform and Renewal in Medieval East and Central Europe: Politics, Law and Society, Cluj-Napoca–Zagreb–London 2019, pp. 339-356.
Google Scholar

Kekez H., Regan K., Srednjovjekovna Dubica: Orisi grada na obalama rijeke Une, Zagreb 2022.
Google Scholar

Klaić V., Knin za turskog vladanja (1522-1688), “Vjesnik Arheološkog muzeja u Zagrebu,” 15/1928, no. 1, pp. 257-262.
Google Scholar

Klaužer V., Ustrojstvo i djelovanje Senjske kapetanije od njezina osnutka do organizacije vojne krajine po vrhovnom zapovjedniku Ivanu Lenkoviću (1469.-1563.) (unpublished doctoral thesis, University of Zagreb), Zagreb 2015.
Google Scholar

Kolstø P., Antemurale Thinking as Historical Myth and Ethnic Boundary Mechanism, in: Rampart Nations: Bulwark Myths of East European Multiconfessional Societies in the Age of Nationalism, New York Oxford 2019, pp. 347-373.
Google Scholar

Kruhek M., Cetin grad Hrvatskoga sabora 1527. godine: s posebnim osvrtom na ulogu Frankopana Modruških u izboru novoga hrvatskog kralja, “Modruški zbornik,” 11-12/2018, pp. 79-108.
Google Scholar

Kruhek M., Gvozdansko: kaštel Zrinskoga srebra, Split 2007.
Google Scholar

Kruhek M., Krajiške utvrde i obrana Hrvatskog kraljevstva tijekom 16. stoljeća, Zagreb 1995.
Google Scholar

Kruhek M., Stvaranje i utvrđivanje obrambene granice na Kupi u toku XVI i XVII stoljeća, in: Vojna krajina. Povĳesni pregled – historiografija – rasprave, Zagreb 1984, pp. 215-257.
Google Scholar

Kukuljević Sakcinski I., Zrin grad i njegovi gospodari, Zagreb 1883.
Google Scholar

Kunčević L., Retorika granice kršćanstva u diplomaciji renesansnog Dubrovnika, “Anali Zavoda za povijesne znanosti Hrvatske akademije znanosti i umjetnosti u Dubrovniku,” 2010, vol. 48, pp. 179-211.
Google Scholar

Lopašić R., Bihać i Bihaćka krajina. Mjestopisne i poviestne crtice sa jednom zemljopisnom kratom i sa četrnaest slika, Zagreb 1890.
Google Scholar

Malcolm N., Useful Enemies: Islam and The Ottoman Empire in Western Political Thought, 1450-1750, Oxford, 2019.
Google Scholar

Margetić L., Cetinski sabori u 1527, “Senjski zbornik,” 17/1991, pp. 35-44.
Google Scholar

Matić T., Porijeklo termina Antemurale Christianitatis u kontekstu protuosmanske propagande 15. Stoljeća, in: Antemurale Christianitatis. Crkva i društvo na području Središnje Hrvatske krajem 15. i početkom 16. stoljeća, Sisak 2021, pp. 127-141.
Google Scholar

Mirnik I., Srebra Nikole Zrinskog: gvozdanski rudnici i kovnica novca, Zagreb 1992.
Google Scholar

Nadilo B., Zrinske utvrde u Hrvatskom Pounju, “Građevinar,” 2003, vol. 55, no. 5, pp. 304-307.
Google Scholar

Pajorin K., Antiturcica negli anni quaranta del ‘400: Le epistole di Francesco Filelfo, di Poggio Bracciolini e di János Vitéz, “Camoenae Hungaricae,” 2006, vol. 3, pp. 17-28.
Google Scholar

Pajorin K., Iprimordi della letteratura antiturca in Ungheria e Pio II, in: Pio II Umanista Europeo. Atti del XVII Convegno Internazionale (Chianciano-Pienza 18-21 luglio 2005), Firenca 2007, pp. 815-827.
Google Scholar

Pálffy G., The Kingdom of Hungary and the Habsburg Monarchy in the Sixteenth Century, New York 2009.
Google Scholar

Pálosfalvi T., From Nicopolis to Mohács. A History of Ottoman-Hungarian Warfare, 1389-1526, Leiden–Boston 2018.
Google Scholar

Povijest obitelji Zrinski. Zbornik radova s međunarodnog znanstvenog skupa održanog u Zagrebu, 8.-9. studenog 2004., eds. Z. Ladić, Đ. Vidmarović, Zagreb 2007.
Google Scholar

Regan K., Plemićki gradovi, kašteli i tvrđave obitelji Zrinski, in: Povijest obitelji Zrinski. Zbornik radova s međunarodnog znanstvenog skupa održanog u Zagrebu, 8.-9. studenog 2004., Zagreb 2007, pp. 137-193.
Google Scholar

Šišić F., Izbor Ferdinanda I. hrvatskim kraljem, “Starohrvatska prosvjeta,” 1/1927, no. 1-2, pp. 15-44.
Google Scholar

Srodecki P., Antemurale Christianitatis, in: Religiöse Erinnerungsorte in Ostmitteleuropa. Konstitution und Konkurrenz im nationenund epochenübergreifenden Zugriff, Berlin 2013, pp. 804-822.
Google Scholar

Srodecki P., Antemurale-based frontier identities in East Central Europe and their ideological roots in medieval/early modern alterity and alienity discourses, in: Collective Identity in the Context of Medieval Studies, Ostrava 2016, pp. 97-120.
Google Scholar

Srodecki P., Murus et antemurale pollens et propugnaculum tocius christianitatis. Der Traktatenstreit zwischen dem Deutschen Orden und dem Königreich Polen auf dem Konstanzer Konzil, “Schweizerische Zeitschrift für Religionsund Kulturgeschichte,” 2015, vol. 109, pp. 47-65.
Google Scholar

Stanić D., Bihać kao sjedište Bihaćke kapetanije i slobodni kraljevski grad (unpublished doctoral thesis, University of Zagreb), Zagreb 2020.
Google Scholar

Štefanec N., Država ili ne. Ustroj Vojne krajine 1578. godine i hrvatsko-slavonski staleži u regionalnoj obrani i politici, Zagreb 2011.
Google Scholar

Štefanec N., Heretik njegova Veličanstva. Povijest o Jurju IV. Zrinskom i njegovu rodu, Zagreb 2001.
Google Scholar

Štefanec N., Osmanski zapovjednici i struktura osmanske i habsburške vojske na hrvatskom dĳelu krajišta (prema špĳunskim izvješćima iz 1570-ih), in: Ascendere historiam. Zbornik u čast Milana Kruheka, Zagreb 2014, pp. 209-227.
Google Scholar

Susreti dviju kultura. Obitelj Zrinski u hrvatskoj i mađarskoj povijesti, eds. S. Bene, Z. Ladić, G. Hausner, Zagreb 2012.
Google Scholar

Thallóczy L., Povijest (banovine, grada i varoši) Jajca 1450.-1527, Zagreb 1916.
Google Scholar

Uyar M., Erickson E.J., A Military History of the Ottomans. From Osman to Atatürk, Santa Barbara–Denver–Oxford 2009, pp. 58-61.
Google Scholar

Varga S., Europe’s Leonidas: Miklós Zrínyi, Defender of Szigetvár (1508-1566), Budapest 2016.
Google Scholar

Weiland K., The Origins of Antemurale Christianitatis Myths – Remarks on the Promotion of a Political Concept, in: Rampart Nations: Bulwark Myths of East European Multiconfessional Societies in the Age of Nationalism, New York–Oxford 2019, pp. 31-59.
Google Scholar

Hrvoje Kekez

hrvoje.kekez@unicath.hr

Affiliation:

Catholic University of Croatia Croatia

Bio Statement (e.g., department and rank)

Hrvoje Kekez is a Full Professor of Medieval History at the Department of History, Catholic University of Croatia in Zagreb. His scholarly interests encompass the history of medieval Croatian and Slavonian nobility, medieval urbanism, medieval and Renaissance narratives, anti-Ottoman defensive wars, medieval topography, and Croatian heraldic heritage