Tata (eBook)

2

However before I report about my Tata, I have to tell you something about the development and the career of our small folk where our clan comes from and that shaped us.

In 1224 German settlers received in the country of Transylvania (country on the other side of the forests) the first imperial bestowal. the socalled “Golden Letter” by the Hungarian King Andreas II.

With it Andreas gave the settlers their base of existence they needed in the year 1141 when they followed the call by King Geysa from Hungary in order to colonize Transylvania. However, this imperial bestowal only applied to the Saxons settled by the king on free royal ground.

Part of the most important privileges of the settlers were the free judges and priests, the jurisdiction according to their own customary law, exemption from duty, free markets and hereditary land ownership.

In return the colonists of farmers, craftspeople and miners committed themselves to pay to the king an annual interest as well as to provide military service. Up to the end of the first world war as a result of this historical development only Germans lived in the Transylvanian cities with their own administration, schools, churches and judiciary.

The call of the promoters followed people loving freedom and adventurers with the courage to venture a new start, brothers and sisters that were put at a disadvantage by the law of inheritance and saw a chance to own their property, oppressed people of the rural population in order to escape from the bondage and those who tried to escape from the volatile increase of the population in the cities.

The path of the promoters passed via today’s Luxembourg, Germany, Austria and Hungary up to Transylvania.

Especially in the year 1211 the build-up of the settlements was boosted by the second surge of immigration accompanied by the German chivalric order and gave rise to the characteristic fortress churches of the Transylvanians.

The name of Transylvania (Siebenbürgen) is at times declared with the fact that in the Hungarian use of the language “burg” means that the land of the settler was divided into seven administrative areas and every administrative area owned a chair. Thus this area was given the name Siebenbürgen (seven chairs).

On the other hand the denomination “Saxony” was in 1206 for the first time evidenced with documents by officials who documented all the settlers with the term Saxons. Thus one could define this as the beginning of the bureaucracy of the officials. Prior to this one called the colonists hospices (guests).

Transylvania is situated in the ring of the Carpathian Mountains. In addition to Transylvania young viable states such as in 1330 the Wallachia and in 1359 the Moldavia developed in the south and the east of the Carpathian Mountains.

The first heavy blow the settlers were exposed to was the attack of the Mongolian army from 1241 until 1242 that almost completely destroyed the young settlements and thousands of people were battered to death or ended in captivity. Over hundreds of years the Mongols who had united in the north of the Black Sea in the “Golden Horde”, again and again attacked Transylvania and only in the middle of the 14th century the power of this horde was broken, whereupon started the prosperity of the Saxon history.

The manual craft and the trade boomed and thus the Transylvanian cities became more and more the cultural, economic and political centre of the settlers. At the time one counted 19 crafts and 25 trades. Trade also flourished since Transylvania was situated at the exit of the Carpathian Mountain passes and the commercial routes reached from the Black Sea to Western Europe, from the Mediterranean up to Poland and into southern Russia.

In the 15th century schools developed in all Saxon cities and communities and they were located in the fortress churches so that the lessons could also be continued during the times of the siege.

During this time the Turks had conquered the Balkans and had invaded the Walachia. Thus the 15th century was also marked by the attacks of the Turks and in spite of the severe fights the Saxons - protected by the fortress churches - were able to continue their lives

Threatened from the outside they succeeded especially in this time to realize the merger of all the Saxons living on the royal grounds and thus at the end of the 15th century arose the “Nations University” as the supreme political administration authority of the settlers.

In 1767 a small town introduced a police dress code and I would like to recite some of the passages.

“Policey-Order”

… since the arrogance and the splendour of the clothes and the immoderacy of the marriages and the meetings in the local city have increased so much that under this exuberant vice the contempt on the verge of the fear of God and the civil economy and modesty are spreading in order to provide with it a false impression in front of others.

12 Also to obtain clothes with borrowed money that are not at all suitable for their status.

Thus, taking this to heart, one found it officially necessary to strongly stop this ruinous evil and with the intention of maintaining the royal serviceable status and the making of the necessary thrift and order to prescribe to the dear citizenry the following clothes and police order.

And that nobody may apologize with ignorance, to make it herewith publicly known and to hand over a copy to every guild and neighbourhood.

Prior to this, however, one also finds it necessary to remind:

That:

1. the women have to comply with the condition and the class of their men.
2. Everything that is forbidden to the parents also continues to be forbidden to the children, they might be supported by their parents or not, and as long as the children are in the unmarried status and as long as the male children have not become members of a guild.
3. The citizens, male and female, who are reacting in German or Hungarian should be determined by the regulations of the class they belong to.

Dress regulations:

Thus the class is perceived from below:

1. The hangers-on
2. Thor-keepers
3. Town-office-servants
4. Town knights
5. Becker and Beckinnen and all who are members of a guild
6. And all who are not in a guild.

Hangers-on:

The male persons of this class are forbidden to wear:

1. Foreign wide hats

2. Foreign and better than regional cloth

3. Everything else but linings made of lambskin

4. Everything else but petticoats made of linen or ofv cloth coming from Siebenbürgen ‘Transylvania’

5-15 and so on

The Thor keepers

The second class is formed by:

1. The merest kind of guild-orientated citizens who have never been guild masters and seniors of the respectable guilds as well as neighbour, father and senior of the respectable neighbourhood.
2. Especially the ones that do not yet have property.
3. Citizens who only live off borrowed money.

These male persons will be forbidden to wear :

1. Fine foreign and wide hats.
2. Other and better than good core cloth that will be allowed to be worn in multiple colours.
3. Better than silky metal buttons.
4. Better than suburban belts and high heels shoes and so on.

The female sex of this class, married as well as single, will be forbidden to wear:

1. Headscarves better than the ones made of coarse cotton yarn.
2. Head and navel jewellery that is more valuable than the one prepared with fake jewels and pearls imitated with silver.
3. The camisoles will be forbidden.
4. High heel shoes.
5. Foreign fine summer and winter gloves and so on and at once to point 15 …

Part of the last class are all the ones, with the exception of the laudable community, the twelve oldest persons and the ones wearing the potiora OFFICIA.

1. Sable hats.
2. But gold and silver buttons are allowed.
3. It will also be forbidden better lining than from the back, neck and dewlap of the fox.

It will be forbidden for the females of this class:

1. Gold and caps with silver stars.
2. Concerning the head pins everybody will know how to behave modestly according to his/her status and wealth.

Thus it is stipulated that:

1. That it should not be allowed in markets nor in villages to invite to a marriage more than 4 wedding guests with the exception of the clergy-men and their physical parents, physical siblings and their children, newly engaged persons and the ones of the wedding fathers. But when they organise a wedding their sworn men will be allowed to invite a few more guests, i.e. 5 couples. Who dares to counteract here will have to pay a penalty of 6 Hungarian guilder for every couple that was invited too much.
2. No more meals are permitted at the wedding than more than 4 usual dishes usually known in addition to some baked food and fruits are allowed. And during drinking moderation and soberness should be observed. The person who counteracts here, should pay 1 Hungarian guilder as a penalty before every excessive meal, fried and baked food.
3. No wedding should last longer than 2 days, specifically the copulations day or the actual wedding day and the day following afterwards that is called the virgin day and with it the wedding shall completely come to an end after two days.
4. During these two wedding days no more than their 6 sworn men,, but the 7th couple of young people are allowed...