The aim of this article is to analyse the presence of merchants from the Croatian lands in the towns of Slovenian Styria, based on the archival sources and scholarly literature. Th e study is meant ...as the first contribution to the research on the economic and political relations between individuals from the Croatian and Slovenian territories.
For the purpose of this paper, we have set out to answer some key questions of the debate, mainly relating to the timing and cause of the arrival of the Jews in individual smaller urban locations. We ...have selected smaller cities where the Jewish presence is recorded in the documents as prime examples. We have to note that the role of the sovereigns, especially the Habsburgs, has proved to be crucial in encouraging and supporting the Jews in their decision to settle in a particular place. This is probably most evident in the different histories of the two border towns of Ormož and Brežice, both of which are owned by the Archbishop of Salzburg. Both towns are therefore owned by the Archbishop of Salzburg, but while Ormož was largely owned by the Ptuj family and their close ties with Salzburg were largely shaken due to their support on Styrian Dukes, the subjugation of the Salzburg rule in Brežice remained very pronounced. This is also shown by the fact that Ormož (though relatively short-lived) experienced the formation of the Jewish community of Ormož, while there is nothing comparable in Brežice. However, the commitment of Styrian Dukes seems to be best in the case of the (Slovenian) Bistrica, where it is clear that their interest that has not only made the arrival of Jews in the town possible, but also largely regulated their activities. The case of Slovenj Gradec also points to a similar pattern. Here, too, the influence of the landed gentry is decisive for the arrival of the Jews in the city, but in this case it is indirectly expressed through the actions of the Aufensteiner landed gentry, which was undoubtedly entirely in the spirit of their master, the Duke of Carinthia. From the overall picture, the example of Dravograd stands out most, where we are dealing with a rather unusual moment when the Jews from Styria (at least as the fact that they are subject to the judge for the Jews of Graz) settle down in one place. Especially the example of Dravograd shows how small the amount of data is, because neither the time of arrival and thus the longevity of the data is clear, nor the connection of Dravograd Jews with potential communities from Carinthia or Styria. The fate of Jew David from Dravograd in Vienna only shows that the connection with Dravograd was very tight and had to go beyond a purely short-term stay. In any case, it can be concluded that it was not only the role of Provincial Lords that largely controlled the presence or absence of Jews in individual places, but that the role of the Habsburgs (and Tyroleans as Dukes of Carinthia) as Styrian sovereigns is also particularly exposed. Different approaches to the (non-)presence of Jews can be seen in the comparison of the Salzburg town of Brežic, where Jews are freely sought, and the Salzburg town of Ormož, where they were freely sought in the 14th century. The emphasis on the Habsburgs is also brought to our attention by the analysis of the material of the town Slovenska Bistrica In any case, this analysis must be added for further answers in a similar way for the Kranjska region and for the Goriška and Istra regions.
The paper focuses on the leading layer in the urban societies of medieval Slavonia, seeking to answer the following questions: Who comprised the urban elite in Slavonian towns? What were their ...professions and what properties did they own? What was the significance of family relations for the formation of elites, and what other factors could help an individual to join their ranks? An important issue regarding the urban elites is the relationship between the elites and urban space; thus, the spatial development of Gradec and Varaždin are discussed in the second part of the paper.
Tema je ovoga članka proučiti i predstaviti postojeće trgovačke veze između stvarnih trgovaca hrvatskoga i slovensko-štajerskoga prostora. Autor se kao polazišnom točkom poslužio arhivskom građom ...gradova današnje slovenske Štajerske. Pritom je najprije trebalo definirati pojam Slovenske Štajerske te ga geografski, politički i demografski odrediti. Pokazalo se da postoje velike razlike između Podravlja i Posavlja. Općenito možemo ustanoviti da je Posavlje bilo usmjereno na trgovinu između Zagreba i Italije, dok je Podravlje bilo više usmjereno na trgovinu između Mađarske i Italije. U oba je slučaja konačni cilj trgovaca bila Italija kao glavni uvoznik robe s istoka. Mnogo je teži zadatak bio ući u trag stvarnim pojedincima koji su se bavili trgovinom. Arhivska nam građa, naime, ne govori gotovo ništa o trgovcima koji su u Štajersku dolazili s istoka.
Iznenađuje nas činjenica da pregled arhiva kneževskoga grada Maribora, kao i salzburškoga grada Ptuja te Celja kao središta nastajućega teritorija celjskih grofova/kneževa, čiji glavni strateški element predstavljaju upravo mađarski/hrvatski posjedi, službe odnosno titule, ukazuje na gotovo identičnu odsutnost konkretnih veza s hrvatskim trgovcima. Građa nam pruža nekolicinu manjih iznimaka. Poznat nam je samo dubrovački trgovac Mihael Allegreti, koji je 1441. godine bio u Mariboru na poslovnome putovanju, a uz njega možemo, uz veliku dozu opreza i skepse, spomenuti trgovca s hrvatskoga prostora Nikolaja iz Ugarske, koji se 1341. godine na hodočašću i poslovnome putu nalazi u pratnji mariborskoga trgovca po imenu Cirol. To su jedina svjedočanstva o postojećim pojedincima. Oba ptujska statuta omogućuju nam rekonstrukciju još jedne vrste rijetkih trgovačkih veza između Ptuja i hrvatskih trgovaca koji su u Ptuju prodavali ribu. Riječ je o praksi koja se na kontinuitetu održavala dvjesto godina. Nažalost, ne postoji dokument koji bi te hrvatske trgovce, za koje pretpostavljamo da su bili iz Varaždina i/ili njegove okolice, detaljnije predstavio, na primjer poimence, pripadajućom količinom i vrstom prodane ribe, njihovim utrškom i tako dalje.
Općenito možemo ustanoviti da su monopol nad trgovinom s istokom najprije imale takozvane njemačke, a zatim talijanske trgovačke obitelji. Zbog iznimno visoke zarade o kojoj svjedoči građa iz Nürnberga, gdje su se zatekli trgovci koji su koncem 15. stoljeća odbjegli iz Ptuja i tamo odmah stupili u najviši krug gradskih patricija, takvo je ustrajanje u monopolu nad trgovinom potpuno razumljivo. Razlog za takvu odsutnost hrvatskih trgovaca u velikoj su mjeri nedvojbeno nedovoljno sačuvani izvori. Ipak, uvjereni smo da u ovome slučaju takav nedostatak izvora odražava pravo stanje jer u oštroj konkurenciji velikih trgovačkih obitelji njemačkoga i talijanskoga prostora i uz, očito, ne tako zanemariv broj domaćih “supertrgovaca,ˮ barem u Ptuju, nije bilo mnogo prostora za djelovanje drugih trgovačkih obitelji ili pojedinaca. Nema nikakve dvojbe da je tjedna prisutnost malih trgovaca – kramara – s hrvatskoga prostora bila mnogo veća, ali riječ je o pretežito te više ili manje isključivo malenim, relativno nevažnim, trgovcima u kontekstu trgovine na veliko koja je cvjetala.