Milites in the Kingdom of Hungary Society from 11 th and 12 th Century Sources

ONDREJKA, Andrej. Milites in the Kingdom of Hungary Society from 11 th and 12 th Century Sources.

Milites remain a frequently discussed component of Middle Age Hungarian society, though their standing among the general population can be examined mainly through surviving references from the legal codes of Hungarian kings Stephen I, Ladislaus I and Coloman.In the Kingdom of Hungary times, milites can be found among both the free and unfree population.From contemporary sources, it is possible to identify milites within Hungarian society and to observe a unifying element in the apparent dichotomy.The common characteristic that connected milites of different social status, from members of the lowest social classes to nobles, princes or counts, was the execution of a specific armed service to their lords.By way of this performance, the milites formed a relatively closed group of men comprising an elite part of the larger army, whose fellowship was strengthened not only on the battlefield, but also during feasts in the lords' mansions.Gradually, the milites became a more exclusive group of men from the upper social classes who, from the 12 th century onwards, could call themselves knights.
M ilites 1 are an often discussed component of medieval Hun- garian society by historians and scholars alike. 2 A group of elite forces, milites can be identified within groups belonging to the free population as well as among groups classified as "unfree." The aim of the present study is to focus on references to milites in An armed man serving in the army, warrior, soldier; a member of an armed escort, a free person living a military life, see: A magyarországi középkori latinság szótára 6.
Edited by Miklós Maróth.Budapest : Argumentum Kiadó, 2017, pp.343-345.The Latin term milites ceased to refer to warriors in general during the 11 th century and became a name for elite mounted warriors, or knights.Due to their specific way of fighting and the adoption of a system of moral, ethical and religious values, from the second half of the 11 th century onwards, they began to shape themselves into an elitist group made up primarily of men of wealth and nobility, eventually resulting in a merger with the nobility.For more on this, see: e.g.FLORI, Jean.Chevaliers et chevalerie au Moyen Age.Paris : Hachette Littératures, 1998, pp.47-88; FLORI, Jean.Knightly Society.In LUSCOMBE.David -RILEY-SMITH, Jonathan (eds.)The New Cambridge Medieval History 4. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2008, pp.176-184.In the 11 th and early 12 th centuries, it is not yet possible to attribute the characteristics of classical chivalry, typical of chivalry from the middle of the 12 th century onwards, to milites or knights, even in the Western European area at the earliest.In the 11 th century, milites can be seen as elite, well-armed and armoured, mounted warriors who formed the most valuable component of an army and were part of the retinue (entourage) of the richest and most powerful men. 2 On the social groups in the first decades after the establishment of the Kingdom of Hungary, see: e.g.ENGEL, Pál.Hungarian sources from the 11 th and early 12 th centuries and to define the position and role of milites in Hungarian society from the foundation of the Kingdom of Hungary to the early 12 th century.

The concept of milites in the European context
In areas of present-day France in the 11 th century, the term milites referred to men from different social classes, including counts, princes or kings.According to French historian Jean Flori, these were not only men from the highest social classes, 3 as seen in examples from contemporary sources of Western European provenance. 4Over the course of the 11 th century, the term milites grew in importance so much that in addition to being used as a general term for soldiers and warriors, it was also used to refer to mounted warriors (equites), gradually transforming into the designation of an elite armoured mounted warrior, who can be described more simply as a knight.It is important to remember that in the period in question, knights were the most valuable and expensive unit of the army and were not ascribed the lofty values and ideals that would be conveyed by chivalry until later times.Milites came from all different social groups (free or unfree) with a range of property bases.The common element that united milites of different social status, from members of the lowest classes to nobles, princes or counts, was the performance of a specific armed service to their lords.Through the execution of this service, the milites in Western Europe formed a relatively closed group of men encompassing an elite part of the army, whose fellowship was strengthened not only on the battlefield, but also during feasts in the lords' mansions where the milites dined alongside their lords.

Milites in 11 th century Hungarian sources
The most important type of source which mentions the milites in the early period of Hungarian history are the legal codes (decreta) of Hungarian kings Stephen I, Ladislaus I and Coloman. 5 It would be incorrect to see the milites mentioned in these legal codes as members of a single social class.
In the first book of the laws of St. Stephen the King (Decreta S. Stephani regis), there are two ordinances concerning what appears to be the same issue at first sight-the departure of a miles from his lord.On closer examination, however, it is possible to see just the different social status of the milites.In regulation chapter 23, it reads: "We wish that each lord has his own milites and no one shall try to persuade a miles to leave his long-time lord and come to him, since this is the origin of quarrels." 6 The key words here are suadere and deserere.The legislation does not sanction the departure of the miles from the lord, but at the same time it does not mention any restrictions in case the miles should do so.Since the regulation in question was necessary, it is clear that such situations did occur.Something similar is written in regulation chapter 25: If a miles or a servus 7 flees to another and he whose miles or man has run away sends his agent to bring him back, and that agent is beaten and whipped by anyone, we decree in agreement with our magnates that he who gave the beating shall pay ten steers. 8e term fugere here indicates that such a change of lord was an unlawful act.These two different interpretations of a termination of service, or different ways of changing one's lord, imply a different legal status of the said milites.In the first case, the milites can be classified as free men who were in the service of another lord, but their service did not affect their status as free men.Thus, they were free to leave their lord and enter the service of another.The second case puts the milites in the same position as the servientes.On this basis, it can be assumed that these milites were from the unfree classes of the population and 5 The thus not allowed to arbitrarily leave the service or to change lords.The first mentioned regulation (Decreta S. Stephani regis, I. 23) is complemented by regulation chapter 24 of the same code: If someone receives a guest with benevolence and decently provides him with support, the guest shall not leave his protector as long as he receives support according to their agreement, nor should he transfer his service to any other. 9 we accept the idea that in the period in question, the guests (hospites) were primarily clerics and knights (milites), 10 this would be a class of free milites in the same position as the milites in the regulation chapter 23.A bilateral relationship based on a personal agreement of maintenance is evident here.This arrangement is strikingly reminiscent of the well-known personal lord-vassal relationship of Western Europe, in which the lord agreed to nurture and protect his vassal and in return, the latter pledged obedience, loyalty and service. 11egulation chapter 23 states why it is undesirable to arbitrarily leave one's lord's service: "for from this, the law has its beginning" (inde enim ligitium habet initium), and regulation chapter 24 on guests, which included milites, suggests that it was possible if the lord did not properly observe the conditions.The Code regulates the conditions of service similarly for milites and hospites, and hence it may be assumed that the status of milites and hospites was the same.Further, since the hospites were among the freemen, the milites were also among the freemen and were subject to similar conditions of service as the hospites. 12ccording to regulation chapter 15, the milites in may be included among the free classes: If a comes 13 with a hardened heart and a disregard for his soul-may such remain far from the hearts of the faithful-defiles himself by killing his wife, he shall make his peace with fifty steers to the kindred of the woman, according to the decree of the royal council, and fast according to the commands of the canons.And if a miles or a man of wealth commits the same crime he shall pay according to that same council 10 steers and fast, as has been said.And if a commoner has committed the same crime, he shall make his peace with five steers to the kindred and fast.In the abovementioned decree, three groups of free inhabitants of the Kingdom of Hungary during the reign of Stephen I are mentioned, comites, milites and vulgares (commoners).The fact that these were groups of free inhabitants is proven by the fact that at that time, the unfree could not legitimately marry, and even a freeman became unfree if he took an unfree woman or slave (ancilla) as his wife. 15Regulation chapter 27 similarly states: If anyone, who has humbled himself by lewdness, kidnaps a girl for his wife without the consent of her parents, we order that the girl be returned to her parents, even if he has done anything to her by force, and the kidnapper shall pay 10 steers for the kidnapping, even though he has afterwards reconciled with the girl's parents.If a poor man, who is an ordinary man, should attempt it, he will compensate for the kidnapping with five steers. 16e reconciliation with the girl's parents (reconcilietur parentibus puelle) mentioned evidently implies marriage with the girl in question, and hence it is a milites from the free classes, since as mentioned above, unfree men were not allowed to marry legitimately. 17The milites may also be seen included among the freemen in regulation chapter 35: We wish that peace and concord may prevail […] For if any sojourner be found so presumptuous as, after the order of this common council, to seek another at home to destroy him and his goods, and if the lord of the house be there and fight with him and be slain, the sojourner shall be punished according to the law of the drawing of the sword.If, however, the comes shall fall, he shall lie without compensation.If he did not go in person, but sent his milites, he shall pay compensation for the incursion with a 100 steers.If, in addition, a miles invades the court and house of another miles, he shall pay compensation for the invasion with 10 steers.If a commoner invades the huts of people of similar status, he shall pay for the invasion with five steers. 18lites are again mentioned here along with comites and vulgares (commoners), that is, with other persons of the category of freemen.The same is true in the text of regulation chapter 22: Because it is worthy of God and best for men that everyone should live his life in virtuous liberty, it is ordained by royal decree that henceforth no comes or miles shall dare to reduce a freeman to serfdom.It should be added that the vulgares-a general name for a broad stratum of the lower free social classes, commoners-are missing from this decree, since they were the ones who might have been deprived of their liberty. 20Milites were put in the opposite position in regulation chapter seven: It is our will that just as we have given others the opportunity to lord their own possessions, so equally the goods, milites, servi, and whatever else belongs to our royal dignity should remain permanent, and no one should plunder or remove them, nor should anyone dare to obtain any advantage from them. 21re, milites represent a kind of property, of the king in this case. 22Other men had similar rights, since the regulation explicitly says: "just as we have given others the ability to control their own affairs" (sicuti ceteris facultatem dedimus dominandi suorum rerum).From the above, it can be concluded that the milites mentioned belonged to the class of the unfree population, since they are included between the res (things) and servientes (unfree).This law is apparently followed by regulation chapter 25, where it speaks about the flight of milites and servientes from the lord, language equally indicative of their unfree status. 23he miles mentioned in regulation chapter 18 may be included among the unmarried in office in the Second Book of the Laws of St. Stephen the King, in which there is an appendix that reads: "Similarly, if a servus kills his lord, or a miles his comes." 24 Miles is again mentioned with servus, like in regulation chapter seven and chapter 25 of the First Book of the Laws of St. Stephen the King.
On the contrary, the milites in chapters nine, 10 and 11 of the Second Book of the Laws of St. Stephen the King can be assigned to the free population.In the former, it states that: "If a miles, scorning the just judgment of his comes appeals to the king, seeking to prove the injustice of the comes, he will owe 10 pensae 25 of gold to the comes." 26 If the miles mentioned in the decree was not free, he could not accuse the suo comite (his comes) of injustice, as the unfree were forbidden to make accusations against their lords (and mistresses). 27 milites and comites are also regulated in chapter 10: "If, on any pretext, a comes takes something unjustly from a miles, he shall make restitution and also pay the same amount out of his own resources, " 28 and chapter 11: "If a miles says that his freely given gift was taken from him by force and in so doing tells a lie, he shall be deprived of it and in addition, pay the same amount." 29 The foregoing statutes are obviously related.The person who should have been charged with forcible taking of the thing by miles is comes.The ordinances also show that comes needed a legitimate reason to take something from the milites, which is another argument in favour of the claim that the milites in the three regulations in question came from the free population.
Milites hardly appear in the legal codes of Hungarian King Ladislaus I or King Coloman.They are mentioned in regulation chapter 11 from the Second Book of the Laws of Ladislaus I, which reads: If a noble 30 or miles invades the house of another noble and causes a fight there and beats the other man's wife, two-thirds of his property, if he has enough, shall be given for the commission of the crime, one-third shall remain for his wife and sons.If, however, he lacks property, he shall be led with his head shaven around the market-place bound and whipped, and sold in this state.Others who were with him, if freemen, shall redeem their crime with 55 bezants; 31 if bondmen, shall be punished by the same penalty as their lord. 32e free status of milites in the regulation is evidenced by the fact that he can redeem himself from guilt like other freemen who would have participated in the assault, and he can only be sold if he has nothing to pay.The unfree servientes mentioned below are to be punished in the same way as their lord.They are further discussed in regulation chapter 15 of the Third Book of the Laws of King Ladislaus I: Anyone at all who violates the decrees of the king and the magnates shall be judged according to the king's will if he is a bishop; shall be deposed from his office if an comes, shall be deprived of his commission and pay and additional 50 pensae if a centurion; and shall likewise pay 50 pensae if a miles. 33iscussed in the context of men who rank among the free classes of the population, and thus it can be assumed that the milites named there also belonged to this class.
Milites are also mentioned in the charters, but any classification as part of the free or unfree population is problematic. 35Thanks to their explicit name, the liberis scilicet ducentis militibus (two hundred free warriors) made available for the protection of the Pécsvárad monastery 36 can be considered freemen who were obliged to provide military service to the monastery if necessary. 37ndoubtedly, the milites mentioned in De institutione morum 38 belonged among the free and at the same time, among the highest social classes.In the fourth chapter, entitled De honore principum et militum, it states: The fourth ornament of rulership is the fidelity, strength, diligence, comity and trust of the principes, 39 comites, 40 and milites.For they are the bulwark of the realm, defenders of the weak, conquerors of the enemy, and expanders of the kingdom.They will be, my son, your fathers and brothers; you should never reduce any of them to servitude nor designate any as a bondman. 41They will fight for you, not basely serve you […] If you are peace-loving, you will be called a king and a king's son and loved by all the milites.If you are stiff-necked in anger, pride, hatred, and strife concerning the comites and principes, the power of the milites will doubtlessly overshadow the royal dignity and your kingdom will be given over to others. 42 For example, in one charter from 1091 it is mentioned that King Ladislaus sends "Sorinum, nostrum militem" to protect his messengers sent to the Pope, see: Diplomata Hungariae antiquissima: Accedunt epistolae et acta ad historiam Hungariae pertinentia, Volumen 1 (DHA).Edited by György Györffy.Budapest : Academiae Scientiarium Hungaricae, 1992, p. 272, no.91.36 The generic term "warrior" is deliberately used, because it is unlikely that the king would put two hundred milites, i.e. elite mounted warriors, at the disposal of a single monastery.More importantly, the document is a forgery and was very probably written sometime before 1228.However, its author used information from the authentic founding charter, probably from the beginning of the 11 th century, and its royal copy by Géza II from 1158.DHA 1, pp. 64-72, no.12.For details, see: Milites are mentioned as quartus decor along with principes and comites, who are considered members of the highest social classes. 43Logically, it can be assumed that the milites mentioned along with them also had such a status.In the second part of the quoted chapter, it appears as if the term milites also includes the names for principes and comites.This is seen in the statement: "If you are stiff-necked in anger, pride, hatred, and strife concerning the counts and magnates, the power of the warriors will doubtlessly overshadow the royal dignity" (si iracundus, superbus, invidus, inpacificatus super comites et principes cervicem erexeris, sine dubio fortitudo militum hebitudo erit regalium dignitatum). 44Exaltation above principes and comites reduces the courage of someone else, namely the milites.A question arises here: if the king belittled the princes and comes did the knights cease to be loyal to him?In that case, the milites in the text would represent knights dependent only on principes and comites.It then makes no sense why the author would mention them as quartus decor, regni propugnaculum, defensores imbecillum or expugnatores adversariorum.The terms fidelitas, fortitudo, agilitas, comitas and confidentia of principes and comites would suffice.More likely, it seems the writer held a dual perception of milites.In the first sentence it was milites (knights, armoured mounted warriors) in the sense of a social group.The remaining two times he used the term milites as a common designation for men who were to fight for the king: "They will fight for you, not basely serve you" (Illi tibi militent, non serviant).In other words, they could be described as members of a privileged class who gained their freedom and privileged status as a reward for their armed service to the king.

Conclusion
From the evidence available in the sources, it is safe to conclude that milites could be found among both the free population and the unfree population.Despite such an apparent dichotomy, a unifying element is clear in the nature of the service which was rendered to their lords.As the very content of the term miles suggests, it was service with a weapon in hand, which is specificity demonstrated by the explicit references to milites among both free and unfree populations.Milites formed an armed retinue by means of which the lord could assert his authority among the population, increase his influence and extend his power.Evidence of such is found in the aforementioned regulation chapter 35 of the First Book of the Laws of Stephen I, on the invasion of the house.In addition to the attack in which he participates, a comes personally is mentioned only in the case that he sent only his milites. 45As participants in similar hostilities in the service of their lord, or on his behalf, the milites gradually assimilated to the holders of power, their lords, with whom they fought.Alongside the martial solidarity built during combat, social belonging based on membership of a specific group of warriors gradually developed, despite the different positions within the social strata that separated the lords from their milites.The context in which milites are mentioned needs to be adapted to our current translation of the term.If it is clear that the milites in question are from the upper social classes, it is possible to opt for a translation of knights in the sense of elite armoured mounted warriors. 46If the context shows a lower social status, by the end of the 11 th century, a more general translation of warriors on horseback is more appropriate. 47Milites in the Kingdom of Hungary can be found among both the free and unfree population, providing a specific armed service to their lords, which is the one unifying element defining their common name, milites, despite different social origins and status.Eventually, milites would become a relatively closed group of men of the upper social classes who would be known as knights from the 12 th century onwards. 48 Europe.Debrecen : Multiplex Media-Debrecen University Press, 2002, pp.39-49; SOLYMOSI, László.Gesellschaftsstruktur zur Zeit des Konigs Istvan der Heiligen.In ZSUZSA, Fodor (ed.) Gizella és kora.Felolvasóülések az Árpád-korból.Veszprém : Laczkó Dezső Múzeum, 1993, pp.59-69; ZSOLDOS, Attila.The Árpáds and Their People: An Introduction to the History of Hungary from cca. 900 to 1301.Budapest : Research Centre for the Humanities, 2020, pp.125-230; ZSOLDOS, Attila.Vznik šľachty v stredovekom Uhorskom kráľovstve.In Forum Historiae, 2010, vol.4, no.2, pp.3-13.On the military groups in the Kingdom of Hungary, see e.g.BOROSY, András.XI-XII századi harcosrétegünk néhány kérdéséről.In Hadtörténelmi Közlemények, 1974, vol.21, no. 1, pp. 3-25; KRISTÓ, Gyula.Háborúk és hadviselés az Árpádok korában.